workforce

The study funded by The Rockefeller Foundation states that many of New Yorks troubling trends predate the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Advances in technology, the study observes, have enabled firms greater flexibility in choosing whether to create or reallocate new positions, and many companies are increasing revenues without increasing their workforce. To recharge the New York economy, the report suggests that city officials pursue policies that help to retain fast-growing companies and sectors.

The report from the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing indicates that nearly 60 percent of the new jobs in the knowledge-based economy of the early 21st century will require skills that are held by just 20 percent of the present workforce. The study also examines a growing skills gap in the nations manufacturing sector and the problems employers have in finding skilled workers able to deal with technological changes in the workplace.

The study uses state-level variation in labor productivity levels at twenty-year intervals between 1880 and 1980 to examine the relative importance of institutional and geographical influences in explaining observed and persistent differences in standards of living over time and across regions.

The Information Technology Association of America study finds that racial minorities and women lost ground in information technology (IT) employment between 1996 and 2002, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Surveys. Among the key findings of the report is the percentage of women in the overall IT workforce fell from 41 percent to 34.9 percent between 1996 and 2002.

The Information Technology Association of Americas annual survey suggests that following a dramatic turnaround in the national economy, a recovery in the IT sector in 2003 will most likely continue to be a “jobless” one. Sixty-seven percent of those interviewed said they thought hiring demand would stay the same or decline over the next 12 months.

The report by the U.S. Department of Commerce examines employer demand for information technology (IT) workers, the IT education and training landscape, and the role of employers and workers in IT education and training. The report was prepared following a review to identify and analyze the education and training programs through which Americans prepare for IT jobs and maintain the skills needed in a digital technology environment

The Ohio Board of Regents performance report tracks employment outcomes within the first six months of graduation, finding that over the course of an 11-year study, graduates earning the highest degrees are least likely to remain in the state. Those earning masters degrees were almost 30 percent more likely to leave than those with bachelors degrees and those earning doctoral degrees were more than twice as likely to relocate.

The study reveals that three out of every four of Maines best and brightest students choose to live and work outside of Maine because of greater perceived career opportunities outside the state. The report offers some policy recommendations that may provide direction for states looking to reverse "brain drain" within their borders.

The report finds that returning to school for even a one-year equivalent at a community college and pursing courses in science, technology and math can substantially benefit workers who are laid-off or demoted to a less-paying job. The jobs being filled by experienced workers who are laid-off generally pay less, therefore, new skills are required to earn the same pay.

The study assessed the importance of government training programs to small businesses and served as an update to a study conducted in 1992. While overall use of training programs fell for both large and small firms, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees were even less likely than they were in 1992 to use them.