Workforce in Focus
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- “62% of Americans Lack a College Degree. Can They Solve the Labor Shortage?” (Wall Street Journal): Even as companies have begun eliminating degree requirements from their job postings, individuals without degrees largely still aren’t being hired for these roles. ” Broadly, the data suggest there is a large gap between discarding requirements and offering jobs to applicants who not long ago wouldn’t have gotten a second look. After companies opened up roles to noncollege graduates, the share of those jobs that went to nongraduates was 3.5 percentage points greater in the year after the change, according to a new report from Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project.”
- “Half of College Grads Are Working Jobs That Don’t Use Their Degrees” (Wall Street Journal): A new study from Burning Glass Institute found that half of college graduates end up in jobs not requiring a degree, impacting their earnings and career paths. This “underemployment” is especially sticky, as first jobs often define career trajectories. The study emphasizes the importance of internships, with humanities and social science majors seeing a significant reduction in underemployment after having an internship. Universities are acknowledging this by making internships mandatory or offering financial support for them. The findings raise questions about the value of a college education for some majors and the challenges recent graduates face in a changing job market.
- See these MI Resources to help: In August 2023, The Manufacturing Institute in partnership with Toyota launched our High School Internship Toolkit for Manufacturers. This toolkit is designed to highlight key components of a high-quality internship program that will prepare students for success in postsecondary education, workforce development programs or careers in manufacturing.
- “Gen Z May Soon Outnumber Boomers in the Workforce — How Would That Affect Retirees?” (Yahoo Finance): Gen Zers (born between 1996 and 2012) may outnumber Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) in the workforce as soon as 2024. The article mentions how Gen Z workers differ greatly from Baby Boomers in work and retirement expectations. They change jobs more, prioritize flexibility over security, and value social responsibility in employers. They are largely responsible for managing their own road to retirement via 401k’s and IRA’s, unlike many Baby Boomers who grew up working in the age of pensions. While Gen Z’s rise in the workforce won’t directly affect Social Security payouts, the system is already facing significant challenges due to an aging population, “The rise of Gen Zers and the declining number of boomers in the workforce might suggest that Social Security payouts might somehow change for retirees. But any changes to Social Security aren’t going to be directly affected by the proportion of Gen Zers in the workforce. Rather, the diminishing number of total active workers compared with the number of retirees is what may cause problems going forward.”
- “Who Still Works From Home?” (New York Times): Workers with more education are more likely to either work fully remotely or have a hybrid schedule. Demographically, White, and Asian workers are more likely to work from home as well as women. Younger workers are more likely to work fully in office, the article suggests this is partly because a smaller share of younger workers have completed college degrees, but also that they value the social aspect and are less likely to have dependents at home to take care of.
