workforce

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.

This article documents changes in the spatial distribution of corporate headquarters of large U.S.-domiciled corporations during the 1990s. The authors find that the largest metropolitan areas continue to host a disproportionate share of headquarters, but there have been significant shifts toward cities with population between one and two million.

The paper estimates the effect of Wal-Mart expansion on retail employment at the county level. Using an instrumental-variables approach to correct for both measurement error in entry dates and endogeneity of the timing of entry, the author finds that Wal-Mart entry increases retail employment by 100 jobs in the year of entry.

The Progressive Policy Institute report argues that while unemployment insurance expansion is needed in the short run, the program is also in need of more fundamental and permanent reform. According to the author, an approach to unemployment insurance reform that not only gives workers the right incentives to remain at work and get back to work, but also provides them with adequate benefits when they lose their jobs.

The report from the Progressive Policy Institute argues three main reasons why Congress should expand prison labor. According to the author, notwithstanding the fact that prison labor can be good for both prisoners and the economy, the current federal prison industries program is in need of significant reform.