From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: The Relationship between STEM Education and the Workforce Description: Audio interview by GAO staff with Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Related GAO Work: GAO-14-374: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Assessing the Relationship between Education and the Workforce Released: June 2014 [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report; your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's June 2014. Federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education programs, known as STEM programs, help enhance the nation's global competitiveness by preparing students for STEM careers. A team led by Melissa Emrey-Arras, a director in GAO's Education, Workforce, and Income Security team, recently looked at how well STEM education programs are aligned with workforce needs. GAO's Sarah Kaczmarek sat down with Melissa to talk about what they found. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] For this report, your team looked at trends in the number of STEM degrees being awarded. What did your team find there? [ Melissa Emrey-Arras: ] We found that the growth in STEM degrees outpaced the growth in non-STEM degrees for a recent 10-year period. And when we refer to STEM degrees, we're talking about three different types of STEM areas. One is called core STEM, which has engineering, life sciences, physical sciences, computer and IT, and math and statistics, another is called healthcare STEM, and the other is other STEM, which has more of the social sciences in it. And for all three areas, the growth exceeded the non-STEM degrees. However, there was quite a bit of variation within this group. For example, computer science and IT degrees actually declined during this period, while degrees in math and life sciences significantly increased. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] Let me ask you, do you think that the U.S. is preparing enough STEM-educated workers for the available jobs? [ Melissa Emrey-Arras: ] It's difficult to know whether the U.S. is producing enough STEM workers to meet employer needs for several reasons. One of the reasons is that demand for STEM workers can change when the economy changes. For example, the number of jobs in certain STEM fields declined between 2008 and 2010, and then increased by 2012. Another reason is that STEM workers don't actually always work in STEM fields. For example, they may have a Bachelor's degree in a STEM area, and then may pursue a career in management or another field. And, in fact, we found that in 2012, 62 percent of all workers with STEM Bachelor's degrees worked in non-STEM fields. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] Given these trends, do you think it makes sense for students to continue to major in STEM fields? [ Melissa Emrey-Arras: ] Absolutely. On average, STEM occupations have had a higher wage growth than non-STEM occupations. In addition, workers with STEM degrees have also had relatively low unemployment rates in recent years, and this suggests that there is generally demand for these workers, both in STEM and in non-STEM fields. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] Could you talk then a little bit about some of the efforts that are under way at boosting interest in STEM careers? [ Melissa Emrey-Arras: ] Sure. During our work, we visited several programs that were trying to encourage students at the K-12 level to learn about STEM areas and potentially become interested in STEM careers, and one of those was actually a museum which received a federal grant to develop an outdoor bilingual science exhibit, with the hope of attracting Latino students to STEM issues. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] That's a really interesting example. Finally, let me ask you, what do you see as the bottom line of this report? [ Melissa Emrey-Arras: ] It is difficult to know whether there is a shortage or a sufficient supply of STEM workers in the United States. However, job market conditions are generally better for workers with STEM degrees. In addition, the rigor of a STEM education may help fuel innovation and economic growth in the United States. [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] To learn more, visit GAO.gov and be sure to tune in to the next episode of GAO's Watchdog Report for more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office.