New report shows only 28.4% of Asheville workers hold analytical occupations

Press release from Lattice Publishing:

Machine learning and AI are quickly becoming an everyday presence in people’s lives. While these emerging technologies have raised fears of job displacement, technological innovation also frequently creates new roles for analytical workers who know how to leverage that new technology. In today’s digital economy, these types of analytical jobs have become increasingly important—though this demand largely depends on factors specific to state and local economies. Researchers calculated the percentage of all workers in analytical occupations, then ranked metros accordingly.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as O*NET Online. To determine the locations with the most analytical workers, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the percentage of all workers in analytical occupations — or occupations that rank in the top 50% for O*NET’s Critical Thinking index. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater total workers in analytical occupations was ranked higher.

Here is a summary of the data for the Asheville, NC metro area:

Percentage of all workers in analytical occupations: 28.4%
Concentration of workers in analytical occupations (compared to average): -16.0%
Total workers in analytical occupations: 53,250
Total workers in non-analytical occupations: 134,010
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

Percentage of all workers in analytical occupations: 33.8%
Concentration of workers in analytical occupations (compared to average): N/A
Total workers in analytical occupations: 47,664,140
Total workers in non-analytical occupations: 93,222,170

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Smartest Dollar’s website: https://smartestdollar.com/research/cities-with-the-most-analytical-workers-2023