Occupation Growth and Decline

We looked at shifts in job distribution over the past several decades, but it was difficult to see by how much each occupation group changed individually. The chart below makes the changes more obvious. For example, computer and math jobs went from relative nothing to a +544% explosion since 1970.

Changes Since 1970

As you might expect, jobs in computers and math grew a lot over the past several decades, which changed everything.

Notes

The data comes from a combination of the American Community Survey and the Decennial Census. I downloaded the data via IPUMS. They provide unified occupation classifications, which allows for comparison of jobs over time.

I analyzed and prepared the data in R. I made the chart with D3.js.


Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.

See What You Get

Learn to Visualize Data See All →

How to: make a scatterplot with a smooth fitted line

Oftentimes, you’ll want to fit a line to a bunch of data points. This tutorial will show you how to do that quickly and easily using open-source software, R.

The Baseline and Working with Time Series in R

A big part of statistics is comparisons, and perhaps more importantly, to figure out what to compare things to. Perspective changes with the baseline.

How to Make a Bump Chart in R, with ggplot

Visualize rankings over time instead of absolute values to focus on order instead of the magnitude of change.

How to Make an Animated Donut Chart in R

There are “better” ways to show proportions over time, but sometimes you just want an animated donut.

Favorites

Seeing How Much We Ate Over the Years

How long will chicken reign supreme? Who wins between lemon and lime? Is nonfat ice cream really ice cream? Does grapefruit ever make a comeback? Find out in these charts.

Pizza Place Geography

Most of the major pizza chains are within a 5-mile …

Sleep Schedule, From the Inconsistent Teenage Years to Retirement

From the teenage years to college to adulthood through retirement, sleep is all over the place at first but then converges towards consistency.

Real Chart Rules to Follow

There are rules—usually for specific chart types meant to be read in a specific way—that you shouldn’t break. When they are, everyone loses. This is that small handful.