Economics

Career Opportunities

New employees tend to learn task-specific skills on the job. More often than not, employers are more concerned with your general skills package than your specialized knowledge and expertise. Economics majors bring an impressive package to the employment table.

Because of their broad analytical skills, quantitative background, and clarity and precision of expression, economics majors are in high demand in many career sectors. Employers hire economics majors because they can think on their feet, adapt to new settings and situations, and rapidly learn specialized skills across a range of occupations.

Employment Information

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Career Categories

Banking and finance
  • Economics majors have the ideal skill set.
  • Who’s hiring: Banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, investment houses
  • Knowledge of the economy is indispensable.
Management and marketing
  • Economics majors grasp the market system in a broader social context.
  • Who’s hiring: Commercial businesses, law firms, nonprofit agencies
  • Managing scarce resources is indispensable.
Government service
  • Economic majors choose public service next after business.
  • Who’s hiring: federal, state, county, municipal agencies
  • Data analysis expertise is indispensable.
Economic journalism
  • Economics majors are trained to write for the general reader.
  • Who’s hiring: Newspapers, blogs, magazines, journals, trade publications, TV networks
  • Understanding the bottom line is indispensable.

Potential Job Titles

  • Auditor
  • Market analyst
  • Budget analyst
  • Marketing administrator
  • Credit analyst
  • Pricing analyst
  • Economic analyst
  • Product manager
  • Environmental planner
  • Purchasing analyst
  • Financial analyst
  • Real estate appraiser
  • Import/export agent
  • Reporter
  • Insurance agent
  • Research analyst
  • Loan officer
  • Sales analyst
  • Loan review analyst
  • Stock broker
  • Lobbyist
  • Statistician
  • Management consultant
  • Underwriter

Important Economic Variables

Principal Federal Economic Indicators (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Consumer Price Index: All Urban Consumers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Economic Indicators (U.S. Census Bureau)
Currency Converter (OANDA)
Budget of the United States Government (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
Historical Income Tables: Income Inequality (U.S. Census Bureau)

More Economic Data Sources

Economagic
Economic Report of the President
(U.S. Government Publishing Office)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor)
Data (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
Economic Census (U.S. Census Bureau)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The World Factbook (CIA)
Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Career Links