SSTI Digest

Even employing a “conservative estimate of spillover jobs”, the Progressive Policy Institute’s updated report on employment related to the App Economy works out to just over one job per published application. Total January 2022 employment reported in PPI’s U.S. App Economy Update, 2022, was estimated at 2.564 million jobs. While up 1.7 percent from the August 2020 update, the figure is only nominally higher than the cited 2.1 million apps launched in 2021 alone. PPI used three job groupings in making their estimate. “Core” app economy jobs include those direct IT-jobs that use skills to “develop, maintain and support mobile applications.” This first group, estimated from related job postings on Indeed, can range from app developers, software engineers, security engineers, and any domestically based help desk support. Indirect app economy jobs comprise the second group and include those non-IT jobs that support core app positions in the same company. The third group, “spillover jobs” is an estimate of any “job in the local economy that is supported either by the goods or services purchased by the enterprise or the income flowing” to workers in the first two groups.…

Moving away from four-year degree programs and toward apprenticeships is one of the recommendations to help ease the workforce shortage experience in the life sciences industry. This and other recommendations are part of a recently released report from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, also known as MassBio, on workforce trends in the life sciences industry in Massachusetts. The report also offers recommendations for short- and long-term solutions and strategies for building the workforce in the life sciences industry in Massachusetts that might have applicability in other regions. The labor market for the life sciences industry in Massachusetts grew by 131 percent between 2006 and 2021, while the overall statewide labor market only increased by about 6.9 percent, according to the report. The report identified a gap between the skills and experience expected and available to firms. While talent competition continues to be high, firms use methods like higher wages, improved benefits, and hybrid work to attract and retain talent. About seven in 10 surveyed firms said they prefer entry-level applicants with bachelor's degrees; however, only 58.8 percent require a…

Between March and April of 2020, the United States saw a massive drop in employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic: from approximately 151 million employees to fewer than 131 million. More than two years since the beginning of the pandemic, surveys suggest a near-complete recovery to pre-pandemic employment levels. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through March 2022 (the most recent final data published by BLS) reveal an average decrease of just 1 percent in employment across the country as whole since February 2020. While the U.S. is approaching full employment recovery at the national level, 36 states and D.C. continue to lag while 14 and Puerto Rico have surpassed their pre-pandemic employment. As of March 2022, 21 states and territories are within 1 percent of their pre-pandemic employment. Puerto Rico and 14 states have greater employment than in February 2020. On a percentage basis, the regions with the greatest increase are led by Idaho (+5 percent) and Utah (+5 percent), while Texas (+263,000), Florida (+172,000) and North Carolina (+111,000) have seen the greatest absolute increases in employment.   Of the 37 regions that…

New modeling techniques and detailed data helped identify locations across the country with the highest potential for distributed wind energy of all forms. The study, which also modeled opportunities for distributed wind in disadvantaged communities and was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, could help communities transition to a clean energy future. Distributed wind energy refers to wind technologies deployed as distributed energy resources. These technologies are place-based solutions that support individuals, communities, and businesses transitioning to carbon-free electricity. Building on an earlier 2016 study, the 2022 study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) added real-world dimensions for 150 million parcels of property in the United States to size turbines for those locations and improved the model to consider front-of-the-meter wind systems. In front-of-the-meter applications the system is interconnected to the distribution network and provides community-scale energy supply while bolstering the local distribution network. In behind-the-meter applications, the wind system provides on-site generation and…

A recent National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators report on the knowledge- and technology-intensive (KTI) industries analyzed production, trade and enabling technologies of KTI industries and found that KTI industries contributed 11 percent to both U.S. GDP ($2.3 trillion) and global GDP ($9.2 trillion) in 2019. Even though overall U.S. GDP declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, the value added generated by domestic KTI industries increased by 2.2 percent in 2019–20 as industries responded to a surge in demand led by increases in output of industries supporting remote work transitions and supplying medical products, while manufacturing of chemicals, transportation equipment and machinery declined.  KTI industries are composed of both the manufacturing and services industries. While the national share of gross domestic product (GDP) produced by KTI industries has remained stable at 11 percent since 2002, a shift has occurred in the composition of U.S. KTI output away from manufacturing industries and into services industries. KTI manufacturing industries include air and spacecraft and related machinery; pharmaceuticals; computer, electronic,…

From 2005 to 2008, the clean technology industry experienced a venture capital boom where the share of total VC investments in clean energy technologies tripled before falling dramatically. Many studies have concluded that the boom and bust in cleantech as an equity investment focus was because clean energy does not fit the venture capital “model.” A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research explores other possible reasons for the failure of venture capital to remain interested in clean energy. The NBER researchers propose that a lack of demand for clean technologies impacted investors’ decisions, especially when coupled with the failure of the cap and trade bill in Congress in 2009. Additionally, they suggest clean energy firms may be unable to earn oversized profits rapidly – a priority for VC investors – due to difficulties differentiating products and increasing market power. A third concern or explanation the researchers explored is the role of governments and public sector investments in funding clean energy startups. The study uses firm-level data on funding activities and startups from Crunchbase, a source that collects its data through…

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont launched the Community Investment Fund 2030 (CIF), a five-year grant program of up to $875 million to foster economic development in historically underserved communities across Connecticut. Eligible projects include capital improvements as well as small business support programs that provide revolving loans, gap financing, microloans, or start-up financing. The first round of funding will provide a target of up to $75 million in total funding, with a minimum individual project size of $250,000. The CIF board anticipates two rounds of funding per year for five years. The CIF will be administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and overseen by a 21-member board that will review applications and make recommendations to the governor, who will approve and forward applications to the State Bond Commission. The deadline to submit applications is July 25.

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the appointment of 32 members to the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE). Individuals chosen from a pool of more than 260 nominees will be charged with helping to identify and recommend solutions to drive the innovation economy. “NACIE will be charged with developing a National Entrepreneurship Strategy that strengthens America’s ability to compete and win as the world’s leading startup nation and as the world’s leading innovator in critical emerging technologies. The council will help with identifying and recommending solutions to drive the innovation economy, including growing a skilled STEM workforce and removing barriers for entrepreneurs ushering innovative technologies into the market. The council also facilitates federal dialogue with the innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development communities,” according to the press release. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo and Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation will serve as NACIE’s two federal ex-officio co-chairs. The full list of…

After declines in 2016 and 2017, the number of graduate students and postdoctoral appointees at the nation’s institutions of higher education increased nationally from 2018 to 2020, according to National Science Foundation (NSF) data from its Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) survey. However, this SSTI analysis shows considerable variation among the states over the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. Evaluating long-term trends in S&E graduate students and postdocs can help policymakers and program designers identify potential issues, enabling the development of more effective policies and programs.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito are urging Massachusetts legislators to act on their proposed  legislation  that includes $3.5 billion in clean energy and economic development initiatives. The bill includes $2.3 billion in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and over $1.256 billion in capital bond authorizations to support projects to strengthen state infrastructure, create jobs and invest in all 351 cities and towns in the state. The legislation, called An Act Investing in Future Opportunities for Resiliency, Workforce, and Revitalized Downtowns (FORWARD), includes $1.2 billion in ARPA funds for climate resiliency and preservation efforts, with more than half of that designated for the commonwealth’s clean energy industry.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that five states — Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan and West Virginia — have had their State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) capital programs approved by the agency. Not all programs to be run by these states have been announced at this time, but they include: HI-CAP Invest program, which will support impact funds; GROWKS Angel Capital Support Program; Maryland’s Neighborhood Business Works Venture Debt Program; and, West Virginia’s seed capital co-investment fund. Maryland TEDCO reported that it will receive $50 million of the state’s SSBCI funding and will split those resources between four existing programs targeting technology-based businesses and entrepreneurs. Three programs — the Venture Equity Fund, Venture Capital Limited Partnership Equity program, and Seeds Funds Equity program — are primarily focused on venture capital and startup funding. The fourth, the Social Impact Fund, provides investment and support to entrepreneurs who demonstrate economic or social disadvantage. Through these programs, TEDCO will continue to leverage its relationships with top-tier technology companies, entrepreneurs,…

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center recently released the third report in its Some College, No Credentials (SCNC) series investigating the educational trajectory of U.S. adults who have left postsecondary education without receiving any credentials. This report addresses concerns about low student success rates across the nation and intends to identify opportunities where SCNC students can be encouraged to continue postsecondary programs and earn credentials. This edition features three new metrics for tracking SCNC students: re-enrollment, completion of the first credential, and perseverance indicated by continued enrollment after the first re-enrollment. The report found that the number of SCNC students increased in the U.S. to about 39 million as of July 2020, which was about 3.1 million (8.6 percent) more than the 36 million SCNC students reported in 2019. Most states experienced a net growth in the number. Combined, California, Texas, New York, and Illinois account for over a third of SCNC students in the country. However, the report found that Alaska has the largest population of SCNC students per 1,000 undergraduates currently enrolled among states…