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For recent high school graduates, life is tough. In the past year, one in four young high school graduates was unemployed and over half were underemployed. In the past decade, recent high school graduates' wages have fallen by 12 percent to just $19,400 annually in 2011, below the poverty threshold for a family of four. The downward plight of high school graduates did not begin yesterday. It is a story that goes back at least 40 years and represents a structural change in the United States economy, demarcated by rising educational requirements across the labor market and a smaller share of the economic pie for high school-educated workers. As jobs that require only high school or less have disappeared, postsecondary education and training on the job and in schools have become the gateways to the middle class. Most postsecondary education and training discussions focus on the baccalaureate pathway, but there has been an increasing interest in so-called "middle jobs." These are jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a Bachelor's degree, and secure middle-class earnings. The education and training programs that prepare Americans for these jobs are commonly referred to as career and technical education (CTE). This report has two parts. Part One explores in detail the five major CTE pathways at the sub-baccalaureate level: employer-based training, industry-based certifications, apprenticeships, postsecondary certificates, and Associate's degrees. Part Two lists the occupations for which CTE prepares American workers. Middle jobs are defined in terms of both education and earnings. The first criterion is that jobs require more education and training than high school but less than a Bachelor's degree. The second criterion is a minimum earnings threshold (MET) of an average of $35,000 a year, which was 185 percent of the poverty line earnings for a family of four in 2011. Employment of Middle-Education Workers, Average Annual Wages, and Projected Growth of Top 10 Paying Middle Jobs by Occupational Group are appended. (Contains 28 figures, 7 tables, and 50 footnotes.) [For "Career and Technical Education: Five Ways That Pay along the Way to the B.A. Executive Summary," see ED535319.]

The rising cost of college education and high unemployment levels among recent college graduates are raising the question "Is college worth its cost?" in the minds of many Americans. A recent study published by the Associated Press found that one out of every two recent college graduates is jobless or underemployed, suggesting maybe college isn't worth the money. Yet, job losses in the recession and job gains in the early recovery tell a very different story. The marked global economic decline that began in December 2007, termed the Great Recession, severely damaged the economic progress of the United States. Employment gains of a decade were lost, sending January 2010 employment down to August 1999 levels. The Great Recession was the longest recession since World War II and recovery from it has been slow. By early 2012, only about half, 47 percent, of the jobs lost during the recession had been regained. Job creation is still insufficient to move the unemployment rate below 8 percent. The recession hit those with less schooling disproportionately hard--nearly four out of five jobs lost were held by those with no formal education beyond high school. At the other end of the spectrum, workers who had completed a four-year college degree or higher were largely protected against job losses during the recession and some high-education fields even had job gains. The job recovery has only increased the divide between the less-educated and more-educated: More than half of the employment increases have gone to workers with a Bachelor's degree or better, the rest of the gains to those with some college education or an Associate's degree. Even in the recovery, workers with only a high school degree or less have continued to lose jobs. At a time when college education is under attack from cost cutters and the increasing cost of college education is raising the question of whether postsecondary education is worth the money, the findings presented int this paper provide a compelling reason to say, yes. In jobs at every skill level and in many different occupations, the better-educated applicant has the edge. For workers, the findings point the way to acquiring the skills that the market needs and values. For students and their parents who are contemplating whether higher education is a good value, these findings make clear that the answer is a resounding yes. And for employers, the findings indicate the need to ensure that more of the workforce is prepared for higher education and their willingness to pay higher salaries to guarantee the workforce they need. Appended are: (1) Employment change over the recession by industry and sex, December 2007-January 2010; (2) Employment change over the early recovery by industry and sex, January 2010-February 2012; (3) Employment change during recession by industry and education, December 2007-January 2010 (All); (4) Employment change in the recovery by industry and education, January 2010-February 2012 (All); (5) Employment change during recession by industry and education, December 2007-January 2010 (Men); (6) Employment change during recession by industry and education, December 2007-January 2010 (Women); (7) Employment change in the recovery by industry and education, January 2010-February 2012 (Men); (8) Employment change in the recovery by industry and education, January 2010-February 2012 (Women); and (9) Employment by occupation and education, December 2007. (Contains 20 tables, 17 figures and 20 footnotes.) [For "The College Advantage: Weathering the Economic Storm. Executive Summary," see ED534455.]

This executive summary highlights several findings about healthcare. These are: (1) Healthcare is 18 percent of the U.S. economy, twice as high as in other countries; (2) There are two labor markets in healthcare: high-skill, high-wage professional and technical jobs and low-skill, low-wage support jobs; (3) Demand for postsecondary education in healthcare professional and technical occupations is third to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and education; (4) Upskilling in nursing is growing especially fast; (5) Healthcare skills are concentrated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, but healthcare poaches STEM talent from other high-skill occupations because of high wages and different work values; (6) Despite STEM skill sets, healthcare workers tend to value "relationship: and "support" in the workplace and have "social" work interests; (7) Healthcare is predominantly female, yet women still make less than men; (8) Healthcare has largest proportion of foreign-born and foreign-trained workers in the country; (9) The healthcare workforce is growing in ethnic diversity; (10) Physicians and other doctors are the highest income earners in the country, and doctors tend to come from the most affluent families; and (11) Obesity continues to be a concern. (Contains 5 tables, 10 figures and 9 footnotes.) [For the main report, "Healthcare," see ED533705. For "Healthcare. State Report," see ED533707.]

This report projects education requirements linked to forecasted job growth in healthcare by state and the District of Columbia from 2010 through 2020. It complements a larger national report which projects educational demand for healthcare for the same time period. The national report shows that with or without Obamacare, the United States will need 5.6 million more healthcare workers by 2020. 4.6 million of those jobs will demand postsecondary education and training. The state report shows the: (1) Growth rate of the healthcare industry by state; (2) Growth rate of four occupational categories: nurses, doctors, allied health professionals and support workers by state; (3) Distribution of demand for postsecondary education in healthcare jobs, by state; (4) Distribution of demand for middle skills education in healthcare jobs, by state; and (5) Proportion of obese and overweight residents by state which also contributes to growing healthcare costs from associated chronic illnesses. The state report finds that: (1) The growth of healthcare jobs exceeds the national growth rate for all jobs except in Maine, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and West Virginia; (2) States with the highest concentration of doctors in their healthcare workforce are all on the nation's coasts; (3) States with large metropolitan areas have the highest concentration of practitioners in their healthcare workforce; (4) Nine of the top ten states with the highest concentrations of nurses in their healthcare workforce are in the South; and (5) States with highest concentrations of overweight or obese populations will increase the demand for primary care services to treat chronic illnesses. Appended are: (1) Education distribution of healthcare job openings by state 2010-2020 state High school; (2) Distribution of the Healthcare workforce by state; and (3) Total jobs by broad healthcare occupational categories, 2010 and 2020. Individual state profiles contain figures and tables. [For the main report, "Healthcare," see ED533705. For "Healthcare. Executive Summary," see ED533706.]

This report, provides detailed analyses and projections of occupations in healthcare fields, and wages earned. In addition, the important skills and work values associated with workers in those fields of healthcare are discussed. Finally, the authors analyze the implications of research findings for the racial, ethnic, and class diversity of the healthcare workforce in the coming decade. Appended are: (1) Forecast of detailed healthcare occupations, 2010-2020; (2) Forecast of detailed job openings in healthcare occupations by education, 2010 through 2020; (3) Wage premium by education attainment for healthcare professionals over support workers; (4) Wages of detailed healthcare occupations by education; (5) Sample of healthcare wages and employment levels; (6) Mean annual healthcare wages; (7) Time-series growth of wages in detailed healthcare occupations; (8) Occupation distribution of top 1% of family income in the nation; (9) Distribution of female doctors and male nurses; (10) Age distribution of detailed healthcare occupations; (11) Nativity of detailed healthcare occupations; (12) Household income by detailed healthcare occupation; (13) Sample of healthcare professions, average education and general licensure requirements; (14) Summary table of projections of surplus/shortages by various institutions/authors; and (15) Summary table of projection methodologies employed by various institutions to forecast demand for the healthcare workforce. (Contains 33 tables, 88 figures and 64 footnotes.) [For "Healthcare. Executive Summary," see ED533706. For "Healthcare. State Report," see ED533707.]

The question, as individuals slowly dig out from under the wreckage left by the Great Recession, is unavoidable: "Is college worth it?" The authors' answer: "Yes, extensive research, ours included, finds that a college degree is still worth it." A Bachelor's degree is one of the best weapons a job seeker can wield in the fight for employment and earnings. And staying on campus to earn a graduate degree provides safe shelter from the immediate economic storm, and will pay off with greater employability and earnings once the graduate enters the labor market. Unemployment for students with new Bachelor's degrees is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but it's a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job seekers with a recent high school diploma--and an almost unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent high school dropouts. This paper takes a look at several factors that current and future college students should consider as they choose their courses. Underemployment and Earnings for College Majors are appended. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This report presents data on job opportunities and skill requirements through 2018 arranged by the 16 career clusters in the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006. The data are arranged state-by-state and the District of Columbia, from 2008 through 2018. Skill requirements are reflected in the length and extent of educational preparation and training required for the job. Nationally, the demand for high school jobs will decrease from 41 percent of all jobs in 2008 to 37 percent of all jobs in 2018. By the same token, the demand for postsecondary education will increase from 59 percent of all jobs to 63 percent of all jobs by 2018. This state report provides state by state: (1) Job totals and job percentages by career cluster and education level in the base year (2008), and the forecast year (2018); (2) Estimates of postsecondary vocational certificates by career cluster; and (3) Comparison of career clusters implemented in each state to total jobs by career cluster in each state. In so doing, the authors highlight high demand career clusters within states that are not tied to distinct career pathways. Interesting highlights include: (1) Information Technology (23%), Health Sciences (21%) and Human Services (20%) are the three fastest growing job clusters for the nation: (a) Nevada (41%), Virginia (38%), Utah (37%), Washington (32%) and Arkansas (31%) are the fastest growing states for Information Technology; (b) Nevada (46%), Utah (35%), Idaho (33%), Colorado (33%) and Texas (32%) are the fastest growing states for Health Sciences; and (c) Nevada (40%), Utah (33%), Texas (31%), Colorado (29%) and Vermont (28%) are the fastest growing states for Human Services; (2) The highest proportion of STEM jobs as a fraction of all state employment are found in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Washington and Maryland; and (3) The highest proportion of health science jobs as a fraction of all state employment are found in the District of Columbia, Vermont, Idaho, South Dakota and New Jersey. Appended are: (1) List of Occupations and Career Clusters; and (2) List of Career Clusters and Job Totals Per Cluster. (Contains 5 footnotes.) [For "Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School through College Jobs, 2008-2018. Executive Summary," see ED526351.]

Going directly from high school to college is not possible for everyone. Many who go to college will not do so straight out of high school, and many more need to work to pay for college. Good jobs for people without college degrees certainly still exist, although they are on a steady decline as computers and related technology take over routine functions historically handled by low-skill employees. Still, opportunities will present themselves for workers across the full range of educational preparation in the next decade as the Baby Boom generation retires. The key for students, workers, job counselors and educators will be knowing where to find these opportunities and then matching the right job with the right applicant. That is where this report can help. In the full version of the report, the authors present forecasts on job opportunities and skill requirements through 2018, broken down by the 16 career and technical education (CTE) clusters by the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006. The Perkins act is a federal program aimed at improving technical education in the United States, and its clusters are widely used by vocational programs and counselors to assist students in preparing for and then finding jobs. It is hoped that program planners across the country will be able to use the information in this report, along with their knowledge of regional labor-market conditions and employer advice to improve outcomes for new graduates. The report offers a detailed portrait of the job landscape that applicants will be facing between now and 2018. For those with high school educations or less, the picture is one of restricted opportunity--there will be jobs for them, but in diminishing quantity and only in certain clusters. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 2 footnotes.) [For the full report, "Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School through College Jobs, 2008-2018. State Data," see ED526352.]

These Selected Findings are part of a larger report: "What's It Worth?: The Economic Value of College Majors." In the full report, readers can find detailed information about earnings, broken down by 171 different undergraduate majors and a variety of demographic factors. The study also analyzes the likelihood that students in specific majors going on to graduate school, and which occupations and industries they can expect to work in. In these Selected Findings, the authors have aggregated the 171 majors into 15 large groups and provided relevant data on earnings, graduate degree attainment, and demographic characteristics. This data covers not just recent graduates, but all workers with Bachelor's degrees in the U.S. economy. Their findings make it clear that while getting a degree matters, there is significant variation depending on which major students pick. (Contains 1 footnote.) [For the full report, "What's It Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors," see ED524305.]

Education and earnings interact in complex and often unexpected ways--but there are rules to the game. "The College Payoff," a new paper from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, uses in-depth data analysis to identify, illuminate and elucidate those rules. This executive summary provides a glimpse of the education and earnings game, and cracks open the rule book for examination. (Contains 17 figures.) [For the full report, "The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime Earnings," see ED524299.]

Over the years, there has been a persistent lack of available information about the economic consequences of choosing one academic major over another. As a result, students have had little financial data on hand to help them choose between majors. No longer. This report finds that different majors have different economic value. While going to college is undoubtedly a wise decision, what students take while they're there matters a lot, too. On average, Bachelor's degree holders earn 84 percent more than those with a high school diploma. However, returns to majors run a wide gamut. At the extreme, the highest earning major earns 314 percent more at the median than the lowest-earning major at the median. Among other things, the authors detail: (1) Median earnings and earnings variation among typical workers (at the 25th and 75th percentiles) for all (not only recent graduates) full-time, full-year workers with a terminal Bachelor's degree; (2) These same earnings information by gender and race/ethnicity; (3) The likelihood that a person with a specific major will obtain a graduate degree and the subsequent earnings return that a graduate degree confers; (4) The pathways between education and work: which occupations and industries employ the most workers with various majors; and (5) Data on labor market attachment (employment and work status) by specific undergraduate major. In the summary of findings, the authors give an overview that compares "all" detailed majors by earnings, gender and racial/ethnic composition, labor force characteristics, and the like. The second section aggregates the 171 majors into 15 major groups. The second section compares earnings and other outcomes across broad major groups. The remaining sections deal in detail with each of the 15 major groups. They compare the majors within these groups, providing information on, for instance, the differences in earnings between a General Business major and an Accounting major. (Contains 42 tables.) [For the companion report, "Selected Findings from What's It Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors," see ED524307.]

The United States has been underproducing college-going workers since 1980. Supply has failed to keep pace with growing demand, and as a result, income inequality has grown precipitously. From 1915 to 1980, supply grew in tandem with demand. But, starting in 1990, the share of college-educated young people in the workforce rose very slowly. If the nation continues to underproduce college-educated workers, the large and growing gap between the earnings of Americans of different educational attainment will grow even wider. The authors suggest that adding an additional 20 million postsecondary-educated workers over the course of the next 15 years will make America's level of educational attainment comparable with other developed nations, help meet the economy's need for efficiency, and reverse the growth of income inequality. The authors lay out their argument in five sections. The first tracks the evolution of increasing educational attainment in this country and in other countries around the world. They give an overview of the data that demonstrate that other countries have accepted that economic growth has been tied to rising educational levels. The second section documents the change in the supply and demand of college-educated workers from 1915 to 2005. They assess and confirm the consensus economic interpretation of the rise of the Bachelor's degree to high school wage premium from 1980 to 2005 that suggests that there has been an undersupply of college graduates. The third section shows how this rising Bachelor's degree premium has led to a sharp, distressing rise in inequality and discusses the positive effects of increased postsecondary attainment on wages and inequality. The fourth section addresses the arguments that we have too many college graduates today. The final section details their calculations regarding how many additional college graduates are needed between now and 2025 to meet the rising demand for college-educated workers and to meet a target Bachelor's degree to high school wage ratio that will result in a more shared prosperity. Appended are: (1) Methodology; (2) Simulation to Create Additional 18 Million Bachelor's Degrees through 2025; and (3) Considering the Costs of College-Going. (Contains 11 figures and 21 footnotes.) [For "The Undereducated American. Executive Summary," see ED524301.]

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) state-level analysis provides policymakers, educators, state government officials, and others with details on the projections of STEM jobs through 2018. This report delivers a state-by-state snapshot of the demand for STEM jobs, including: (1) The number of forecast net new and replacement jobs by state for each of the five STEM occupational groups; (2) The educational distribution of STEM jobs by state; (3) The share of STEM jobs in each state, by education level; and (4) The growth of STEM jobs by state between 2008 and 2018. The STEM state-level analysis finds that: (1) The District of Columbia will have the highest proportion of STEM jobs as a fraction of job openings through 2018 (10%), followed by Virginia (8%), Washington (8%), and Massachusetts (8%). However, nine states are projected to have only have 3 percent of their future job vacancies in STEM occupations in 2018; (2) 19 states will be at or above the national average of 92 percent in terms of the share of their STEM jobs that will require postsecondary education or training. Hawaii leads all states in the proportion of STEM jobs that require postsecondary education and training (96%), followed by Massachusetts (94%), Colorado (94%), and Minnesota (94%); (4) Oklahoma and Nevada lead in the proportions of the state's STEM jobs available for workers with some college, including postsecondary vocational certificates and on-the-job training (23% each); (5) Compared to all other states, North Dakota will have the highest proportion of its STEM jobs for workers with Associate's degrees (24%); (6) Wyoming leads all other states in its proportion of STEM jobs for Bachelor's degree-holders (55%); (7) The District of Columbia will have the highest proportion its STEM jobs for workers with Master's degrees (36%), while Massachusetts and New Mexico will have the highest share of their STEM jobs for PhDs (9%); and (8) In most states, Computer occupations are the largest of the STEM occupations. However, in Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Wyoming, Engineers and Engineering Technicians will be the largest of the STEM occupations in the state, and in Alaska and Montana, the largest STEM occupation will be Life and Physical Scientists. (Contains 1 footnote.) [For the full report, "STEM: Science Technology Engineering Mathematics," see ED525297. For the executive summary, "STEM: Science Technology Engineering Mathematics. Executive Summary," see ED525298.]

The recession that began in December of 2007 is already 30 months old, but the U.S. economy will not recover its pre-recession employment levels for at least another two years. From there, it will take an additional three years to make up for lost growth and create a job market strong enough to employ both the casualties of the recession and the millions of new workers who will stream into the workforce from schools across the country. In this report, the authors look at the current state of the economy, assess the prospects for job creation through 2018, and detail what employers will be looking for once hiring resumes. Among other things, they find that: (1) There is a growing mismatch between the jobs that will be created over the next decade and the education and training of our adult workers. More than 60 million of our prime-age workforce who are 25-54 years old are still working in jobs that require high school or less; (2) The postsecondary education and training system will fall short by 3 million or more postsecondary degrees. Economic demand will not be met, denying numerous Americans access to middle-class career pathways; (3) Hundreds of thousands of Manufacturing and Natural Resources jobs in farming, fishing, and forestry have been destroyed in the recession and will not be coming back; (4) The U.S. economy will create 46.8 million job openings by 2018, including 13.8 newly created jobs and 33 million "replacement" positions produced when workers retire; (5) Employers filling these jobs, overwhelmingly, will require college degrees or other postsecondary preparation of 63 percent of their new hires; (6) Postsecondary education and training is quickly becoming the only viable path to the American middle class; and (7) Education and training connects directly to occupations and less directly to industries, which can complicate economic development efforts. (Contains 18 tables, 63 figures and 29 footnotes.) [For "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018. Executive Summary," see ED524311.]