The United States labor market has seen dramatic shifts in its occupational composition over the past few decades. Employment and wages have grown for workers at both the high and low end of the skill distribution, while those in the middle have suffered. Community colleges have historically acted as suppliers of middle-skill jobs and drivers of…

As the U.S. workforce ages, baby boomers retire, and birth rates decline, the United States is facing an estimated shortfall of 8 million workers between now and 2027. At the same time, the U.S. economy is becoming ever more knowledge-based. Having a marketable postsecondary credential, whether an academic degree or a professional certification or…

Scholarship on minority-serving institutions (MSIs) has established the critical role they play in spite of significant financial constraints. At the same time, descriptive statistical analyses have also found that MSIs, as a group, have lower completion rates than the national average. More research is thus needed on the factors underlying the…

Despite three decades of scholarship on economic restructuring in the United States, employers' violations of minimum wage, overtime and other workplace laws remain understudied. This article begins to fill the gap by presenting evidence from a large-scale, original worker survey that draws on recent advances in sampling methodology to reach…

This is the technical appendices for the report, "Higher Education and Economic Opportunity in California." Lower rates of college access and completion among Latinos, African Americans, and low-income Californians exacerbate the state's economic divide and puts California further behind in meeting its workforce needs. And even though a…

There is a persistent concern over mismatches between the degrees awarded by universities and the needs of the job market. Although there are shortages of graduates in some fields, many university graduates have difficulty finding jobs that make good use of their education. This has been discussed in newspaper articles, in education and business…

California's community colleges continue to play a crucial role in the state's economy by providing students with the skills and knowledge to succeed and by advancing the economic growth and global competitiveness of California and its regional economies through the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD). The EWD program invests in the…

California's degree gap is a growing concern. According to recent reports and news articles comparing the number of degrees awarded with the jobs expected in the coming decade, California will not have enough university graduates to meet the needs of the labor market. Previous work by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) showed…

Economic projections for California indicate a continuation of the trend toward a more highly skilled economy. Projections of educational attainment for the future population tend to predict a wide gap between the levels of skills the population is likely to possess and the level of skills the economy is likely to need. This issue of California…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

A stratified random sample of 69 6 workers in 361 households in Kern County, California, was selected to investigate the changes in labor use resulting from farm mechanization, and to explore the trend towards a stable labor force. Some major findings were: (1) Mechanization of the cotton harvest has erased the high peak of seasonal farm labor,…

This dissertation deals with the relationship between wages and employment in five industry classifications covering mullwork and furniture plants. Census and other data for 1958, 1963 and 1967 are used, as well as data for the three years combined. The data are on the state level. The relationship is estimated within a simultaneous equation…

This working paper serves as a preview of the second in a series of four policy briefs that will explore the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development. The completed policy brief will focus on a number of questions about California's workforce and examine economic and workforce trends in California, including projected…

To investigate the effect of technological change upon farm labor use, a stratified random sample of 696 farm workers from a population of 12,215 in Kern County, California, provided a basis for analysis. Some major findings were: (1) The high peak of seasonal labor use has been eliminated, (2) The need for migratory labor is decreasing, (3)…

Describes 1984-88 employment and wage trends among California hired farmworkers, following immigration reforms. Describes farm employment trends by commodity and region. Discusses emergence of two-tiered farm labor market. Large farms tended to hire workers directly. More contractors shared expanding labor-contractor market. Suggests implications…