Six takeaways from the latest figures on the worldwide space workforce

The space economy is hot and the number of space jobs is booming along with it.

Europe’s space workforce jumped 66% during the past decade and the United States’ space employment grew by 18% at the same time, according to a new quarterly report from The Space Foundation, a Colorado non-profit organization that advocates for the space industry.

Here are six takeaways from the report and commentary from Lesley Conn, the foundation’s director of research and analysis.

1. Post-pandemic space jobs are lifting off

The U.S. workforce for space included roughly 222,300 jobs in 2023, the report said. That figure is up about 11% over the 2022 figure, due in large part to more accurate figures about the number of space personnel from the U.S. Army.

Europe accounts for another 62,000 jobs. That includes roughly 12,000 more jobs since 2020.

“We're seeing some pretty aggressive growth,” Conn said, noting that the boost in space jobs represents stronger growth than in other employment sectors.

Consider Seattle, where Blue Origin, Amazon Kuiper and SpaceX Starlink have locations. The region has nearly doubled the number of space jobs in their boundaries, according to a separate report from Alliance Velocity, LLC. The area’s space employment rose from more than 700 to about 1,500 in the last year.

2. Countries in Europe are finding unexpected ways to contribute

Nations such as France, Germany and Italy have traditionally been the largest players driving Europe’s space economy.

But Conn said there’s also growth in unexpected places. In Luxembourg, the country’s history of mining has resulted in new space jobs with the expectation of carving out a niche in space mining. Granted, it’s small numbers but that nation’s figures have soared from 78 space jobs in 2018 to 466 last year, the report said.

Scotland, for example, hopes to become a leader in small satellite manufacturing, Conn added.

3. The space workforce could be even larger as small commercial companies boom

The Space Foundation uses a series of data points and surveys for its reports. But officials are clear that their figures are not absolute, definitive numbers.

“There's a lot happening in the commercial sector with smaller companies, with companies that may not be sharing their employment data yet,” Conn said.

As the number of space startups and small commercial businesses blast off, those employees are not necessarily counted. This could add up to even larger gains.

4. A series of government space programs are helping drive job growth

Chief among the programs helping to accelerate jobs in the space business are the Ariane 6 rocket in Europe, developed by the ArianeGroup with the European Space Agency, and a series of contracts for satellites in low Earth orbit from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Development Agency. Conn also pointed to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which is a series of indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts worth as much as $2.6 billion through 2028, for space contractors.

5. If the last five years were good, the next five years could be even better

“In the next five years, there is potential to achieve truly transformative technology and initiatives that could see the economy and hiring and again, innovation be a huge multiplier,” Conn said. “We are poised to be the equivalent of what the jet industry did to transform aviation.”

6. High school students see a future in the Space Force … and the space economy.

Perhaps one of the most promising signs for the workforce of the future comes from a Space Force survey that shows 35% of high school students would consider a career in the service. That’s a welcome development because many working in the military space arena often transition to a career in the commercial space world.

“Young people, especially when they start thinking about their employment in the future, are optimistic,” Conn said. “They want to see advancements. They want to change the world. And they see that space can do that.”