Forecast: Procurement work force growth will be mixed

The number of government purchasing managers will grow slightly in the years ahead, says an analysis from Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), a CareerBuilder company. The number of purchasing managers employed by the government is expected to marginally increase, says statistics experts at the Moscow, Idaho-based firm. The number of government purchasing manager jobs in the U.S. totaled 10,052 nationwide in 2010. EMSI projects that the number of those jobs will grow to 10,203 in 2018.

These segments of government have the highest number of purchasing managers in their work force, according to the EMSI analysis. The chart shows number of purchasing managers in government entities for the years shown:

Industry                                                                                       2010      2014     2018

Federal Gov’t., Civilian, Excluding Postal Service                   6,056    6,091    6,212

Local Government, Excluding Education and Hospitals        2,044    2,002    2,044
State Government, Excluding Education and Hospitals           765    738    747
Colleges & Professional Schools (State Government)               538    546    557

The number of purchasing manager jobs in federal agencies will grow 3 percent between 2010 and 2018. In state government colleges, universities and professional schools, those jobs will grow by 4 percent between 2010 and 2018. About a quarter of purchasing managers employed in the U.S. work in government agencies. Data covering the 2010 and 2014 years reflects post-recession trends in the U.S. labor market.

The number of procurement clerks employed in the U.S. is expected to grow a little through 2018. But government employment of procurement clerks will decline during that time, says Joshua Wright, director of marketing and PR at EMSI (photo below at right). “Procurement clerks are projected to be on the decline in the public sector, going from 26,974 jobs in 2010 to 25,633 in 2018. That dip is significant given that in 2010 more than a third of all procurement clerks nationwide (36.6 percent) worked in government jobs.”

EMSI uses several sources to develop its work force projections. Some of the sources include data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Census Bureau and state labor market agencies in the U.S. Go here to read the chapter on purchasing managers, buyers and purchasing agents from the BLS’ “Occupational Outlook Handbook.”

EMSI turns labor market data into information that helps organizations understand the connection between economies, people and work. The firm works to help educational institutions, workforce planners and regional developers build a better work force and improve the economic conditions in their regions. The firm consults more than 90 data sources to develop its work force estimates. More information on the firm’s data sources is here.

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