The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented economic and policy challenges to the United States and other countries. Navigating out of the pandemic slowdown is another novel experience, which makes it more difficult to answer the question addressed each year in the "State of Working Pennsylvania": How is the Pennsylvania economy…

The United States and Pennsylvania economies are at a pivot point: Will we build forward better or will we build back the same? Will we make things even worse? This report revisits the policy choices that lie ahead. Most of this annual checkup on the Pennsylvania economy, the 26th "State of Working Pennsylvania," presents labor market…

Tom Wilson, the chair of the executive committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published an op-ed titled "Save Capitalism by Paying People More." Wilson acknowledges in blunt terms that ordinary working Americans are not flourishing economically. This year's annual "The State of Working Pennsylvania" documents the accuracy of…

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…

This completely updated edition of "The Almanac of American Education" helps users understand and compare the quality of education at the national, state, and county levels. Compiled from official U.S. government sources, this book contains historical and current data, insightful analysis, and useful graphs that provide compelling…

This Data Point examines the early labor market outcomes of public high school students, focusing on graduates who earned different numbers of credits in career and technical education (CTE; see definition in figure notes). The Data Point uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 initially surveyed a national…

The Worker Retraining (WRT) program is a key strategy in meeting the economic and workforce needs of Washington's workers and employers. Funded through the state legislature, the aim of WRT is to ensure dislocated and other unemployed workers have access to education and training that will help them reattach to the labor market in jobs and careers…

This paper presents an analysis of changes in occupational status and hourly earnings after workers experience a spell of nonemployment, during a period of stable but slow economic growth and a recessionary period. In addition, an effort is made to identify factors associated with changes in occupational status and hourly earnings, including a…

Between Utah's strong economic measures and numerous nationally recognized achievements (i.e. Best States Rankings, Top States for Business 2019, Utah Ranks Among the Fastest Growing States in the Nation), it is clear that the state's economy has experienced one of the strongest expansions in the country. As Utah's economy prospers, the need for…

"The State of Working Pennsylvania 2018," Keystone Research Center's 23rd annual review of the Pennsylvania economy and labor market finds that, nearly a decade into the current national economic expansion, many Pennsylvania workers are still waiting for a raise. The report points to three factors that help explain this. First, despite…

This completely updated edition of "The Almanac of American Education" helps users understand and compare the quality of education at the national, state, and county levels. Compiled from official U.S. government sources, this book contains historical and current data, insightful analysis, and useful graphs that provide compelling…

"The Status of Women in North Carolina: Poverty and Opportunity" is the final publication in a four-part series of publications on women's status in North Carolina. The report builds on the Institute for Women's Policy Research's "Status of Women in the States" initiative, which has sought to measure women's economic, social,…

The median weekly earnings for individuals age 25 and older who worked full time and had less than a high school diploma was $504 in 2016 (approximately $26,200 per year), compared to $819 (approximately $42,600 per year) for individuals with an associate degree. Data show that more education not only leads to higher earnings but also to lower…

Policymakers are interested in extending federal higher education dollars to programs fewer than 15 weeks. This analysis shares key facts about the outcomes and equity implications of very-short-term (15 weeks or fewer) programs. This analysis of nationally representative survey data from the Adult Training and Education Survey, combined with…

This completely updated edition of "The Almanac of American Education" helps users understand and compare the quality of education at the national, state, and county levels. Compiled from official U.S. government sources, this book contains historical and current data, insightful analysis, and useful graphs that provide compelling…