In June 2021, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated significant investments in child care, using $537 million in Child Care and Development Funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). Investments included: $304 million in direct payments to providers through Child Care Stabilization Grants; $22.5 million for Child Care Facility Grants…

The population of the United States is getting older. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), older workers -- which the BLS defines as those who are 55 and older -- made up 22% of the U.S. workforce in 2016, nearly double the 12% recorded in 1995. This increase is largely "fueled by the aging baby-boom generation, a large…

For this report, the authors analyzed federal government data to look at gender, racial and ethnic diversity among those employed in and earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Analysis of the STEM workforce is based solely on occupation, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1990 and 2000 U.S. decennial censuses…

Can professional cultures contribute to wage inequality? Recent literature has demonstrated how widely held cultural biases reproduce ascriptive inequalities in the workforce, but cultural belief systems "within" professions have largely been ignored as mechanisms of intra-profession inequality. I argue that cultural ideologies about professional…

Washington employment projections continue to show strong demand for workers with postsecondary education. Nearly 70 percent of all projected job openings require at least some education beyond high school, with two-thirds requiring midlevel education or higher. As businesses, industries, and workplaces become increasingly complex, employers need…

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers help drive our nation's innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas and new companies. For example, workers who study or are employed in these fields are more likely to apply for, receive, and commercialize patents. STEM knowledge also has other benefits; while often very…

California has long been a national and global leader in developing and maintaining quality higher education options, as well as in providing financial aid and consumer protections for Californians who access that education. However, although California's colleges and the state government do collect, receive, and report a great deal of data, these…

The science and engineering (S&E) labor force helps to create and advance our scientific and technological knowledge, transform these advances into goods and services, and fuel America's economy, security, and quality of life. This report details several aspects of the U.S. S&E workforce, including growth, demographic makeup, earnings, and…

Continuous learning over the life course is necessary to successfully compete in a knowledge-based global economy. Workers are increasingly encouraged to remain in the labor force at older ages, which for many will require skills upgrading. While a wide range of individual and community factors play a role in whether older workers receive skills…

During the past half-century, there has been a trend toward increasing the minimum age a child must reach before entering school in the United States. States have accomplished this by moving the school-entry cutoff date earlier in the school year. The evidence presented in this paper shows that these law changes increased human capital…

Gender inequalities persist in all areas of social and economic life and across countries. Young women in OECD countries generally obtain more years of schooling than young men, but women are less likely than men to engage in paid work. Gaps widen with age, as motherhood typically has marked negative effects on gender pay gaps and career…

Four telling facts about jobs and wages for young Americans, as explained in this policy brief, suggest a labor market recovery is coming, although it will be gradual and uneven by educational attainment. Young Americans with a postsecondary degree are more likely to be employed, but the nature of their employment suggests they are taking…

The need for educational programs to show their return on investment is exemplified in the intense debate surrounding gainful employment programs--defined as programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation and theoretically differ from programs that offer education in the liberal arts or prepare students for further education.…

Gender equality is not just about economic empowerment. It is a moral imperative, it is about fairness and equity, and includes many political, social and cultural dimensions. Gender equality, however, is also a key factor in self-reported well-being and happiness across the world. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, there is now an urgent…

Across the massive megalopolis stretching from the northern suburbs of Los Angeles County through the metropolitan complex along the northern border of Baja California is a diverse area containing 24 million people, with a disproportionate percentage of Latinos and African Americans who are facing an educational and economic disaster. As it…