An article last week in Community College Times illustrates the important role that two-year colleges play in helping give regional economies a much-needed boost. By furnishing skilled workers in a timely fashion, community and technical colleges are “incredibly important economic engines,” according to Karen Elzey of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive [...]
Mar. 30, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightArchive for the ‘Featured’ Category
EMSI study analyzes creative occupation cluster
EMSI recently completed a study of the “creative” occupation cluster for the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a non-profit organization that developed the “Creative Vitality Index” (CVI). The CVI was generated off the premise that strong regional creative economies are simulative for individual, societal, and economic progress. The index gives “municipalities and states a well-researched [...]
Mar. 27, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightROI report helps Alabama training institute demonstrate its value to lawmakers, taxpayers
With Alabama lawmakers bracing for difficult budget issues in the 2009 legislative session, one state-funded organization that provides critical workforce training and economic development incentives decided to take a proactive approach to show its value with a dollar-and-cents assessment. To read the case study in PDF format: ROI report helps Alabama training institute demonstrate its [...]
Mar. 25, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightCentral Florida workforce board helps jobseekers train for careers in energy
A record number of home foreclosures and soaring unemployment have left the Ocala, Florida, region trying to cope with the economic slowdown. To help people get back to work, the workforce board and its partners are preparing the area’s labor force for a proposed $17 billion nuclear plant. To read the case study in PDF [...]
Mar. 19, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightSan Bernardino CC District awarded $2 million grant for nanotechnology
Labor market projections from EMSI helped the San Bernardino Community College District land a $2 million Community-Based Job Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will go toward a Nanotechnology Training Center. The announcement comes on the heels of a $400,000 grant SBCCD was awarded in 2007 from the California Community College’s Chancellor’s [...]
Mar. 16, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightGreen Jobs, Part 3: Green Pathways
Green Jobs, part 3: A data-driven approach to defining, quantifying, and harnessing the green economy To read Green Pathways (PDF): EMSI green jobs part 3 data spotlight Summary At the local level, the discussion of green jobs should be rooted in data as much as possible. As regions consider major investments in the green economy [...]
Mar. 4, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightCalifornia Centers of Excellence use data-driven approach to identify, assess green jobs
With California community colleges seeking to understand how the growth of green jobs will affect workforce education and training, the state’s 10 Centers of Excellence came together to discuss how best to approach the issue. One of the outcomes for Michelle Marquez, director of the Central Valley Region Center of Excellence, was to dive into [...]
Mar. 3, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightStimulus: Job Impact by Congressional District
Earlier this month, the White House released job creation estimates tied to the $787 billion stimulus package. By now, the total estimated figure — 3.5 million jobs — has been well circulated around the media. What’s less well known, however, is the White House’s impact numbers by congressional district (for a PDF version of the [...]
Feb. 27, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightData Spotlight: The “shape” of occupations
Now more than ever, displaced workers and career seekers need help adapting their skill sets to fit in-demand and available jobs. To that end, EMSI’s Strategic Advantage gives workforce development and education professionals the ability to compare occupations by knowledge, skills, and abilities using O*NET data. Among our latest developments, EMSI has introduced a unique [...]
Feb. 18, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightBreakdown of official stimulus package
What’s in the $787 billion stimulus bill? That question can now be answered with certainty after President Obama officially signed it into law. The best breakdown we found was done by The Wall Street Journal, which listed the costs by classification, keyword, and description. The paper also included totals for the major sections, by funds [...]
Feb. 18, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightReturn on Investment study highlights impact of Washington’s two-year colleges
Across the country, states are adapting to tough economic conditions by trimming higher education budgets. And even though most lawmakers recognize the important role community and technical colleges play in the development of regional economies, two-year schools continue to face massive cuts. To make sure that the state of Washington continues to recognize and understand [...]
Feb. 17, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightUnemployment by occupation — EMSI’s most up-to-date figures
With the pre-release this week of our most current data, we’d thought it would be intriguing to show unemployment figures by occupation on a national scale. The figures below are based on U.S. county-level data through November of last year. The first grouping, Farming, fishing and forestry, is a bit of anomaly since it is [...]
Feb. 13, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightConnecticut’s largest city, CC partner to add Construction Management program
Shortly after Bill Finch took office as Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2008, he started the Small and Minority Business Resource Center (SMBRC). Its goal is to help small business owners thrive by providing training and assistance they can use to earn construction, architectural, and/or engineering contracts. One of the center’s first projects was to [...]
Feb. 12, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightGreen Jobs, Part 2: Which (Green) Project is Best for your Region?
Green Jobs, part 2 – Assessing Workforce and Economic Impacts, Return on Investment of stimulus projects Last month we took a look at some occupations that would likely be affected by the new administration’s “green policy.” To review last month’s article click here. This month we want to bring in more perspectives like working layoff [...]
Feb. 4, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightDetailing the stimulus package
With lawmakers continuing to feverishly debate the economic stimulus package, we’d thought it would be good to offer a breakdown of where the spending is slated to go. As of now, the key number is $535 billion. That’s the figure, under the recently approved House bill, that is targeted for spending. Of course, the total [...]
Feb. 3, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightSouth central Michigan stakeholders partner to shape career/tech programs
“An economic tsunami”—that is how Randy Yagiela, a business services manager at South Central Michigan Works! and director of the Partnership for Regional Solutions, describes the situation in Michigan in recent years. Manufacturing firms have disappeared, unemployment rates have skyrocketed, and many of the state’s skilled workers have left. Nevertheless Yagiela and other local practitioners [...]
Feb. 2, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightRecent studies show value of Socioeconomic Impact reports
As the economy’s prolonged slump continues, it’s become all the more important for educational institutions to demonstrate their worth to their communities. Community colleges play an especially vital role in the economic development of their service regions. This has been shown time and again, but two recent articles serve as a healthy reminder: South Plains [...]
Jan. 28, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightA list of top companies that are hiring
If you follow media reports these days, chances are you’re going to hear or read about companies that are downsizing. But there is actual hiring going on. Here’s a list compiled by CNNMoney.com, which details the openings at corporations such as Cisco Systems and T-Mobile. All the companies in the breakdown are included under the [...]
Jan. 27, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightLayoffs mount across the U.S.
The bleak start to 2009 for the labor market continued today with several major companies — from a wide range of industries — announcing big cutbacks to their workforce. Among U.S. corporations, the layoffs amounted to 45,000. The most significant reduction came from heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., which says it will trim 20,000 jobs worldwide. [...]
Jan. 26, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightCC enrollment on the rise while funding takes a hit
With the souring of the national economy, community colleges are seeing booming enrollment levels across the board. At the same time, however, states are putting higher education budgets on the chopping block. For a detailed look at the dilemma many CC’s are facing, here’s a report from The Chronicle for Higher Education. The downturn in [...]
Jan. 20, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightHow the economic stimulus plan might affect education
With an estimated $141 billion of the Obama administration’s proposed economic stimulus package targeted for education, a U.S. News & World Report blog has compiled a detailed listing of where the money might be directed. Federal legislators call this part of the stimulus “Education for the 21st Century.” Here are excerpts from their breakdown: School [...]
Jan. 16, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightFormer community college trustee the pick for top Labor post
Hilda Solis, a Democratic representative from California and the Obama administration’s choice to be the new head of the Department of Labor, has a background as a community college trustee and a backer of investment into green collar jobs. Solis entered public life in 1985 when she was elected to the board of trustees of [...]
Jan. 13, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightTennessee at the center of green jobs wave
With more details coming out almost daily on the Obama administration’s proposed economic stimulus plan, the creation of green jobs has become a hot-button issue. But even before the need arose to jolt the economy out a major downturn, Tennessee was positioning itself to become a big-time player in the alternative energy industry. The state [...]
Jan. 12, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightPittsburgh remakes itself after steel collapse
For all those communities struggling to cope in this tough economic landscape, here’s a model of how to reshape your future. This New York Times profile of Pittsburgh, which is thriving in comparison to many industrial centers, shows the value of taking a proactive approach to economic and workforce development. Stakeholders in the Pittsburgh area [...]
Jan. 12, 2009 | Posted by Joshua WrightGreen Jobs, Part 1: A Look at “Green” Occupations
In this first installment, we will take a look at some of the implications of policy to create green jobs. Over the coming weeks and months we will be releasing periodic articles, essays, white papers, data spotlights and other perspectives around green jobs. The goal is to help local practitioners know and understand this issue [...]
Dec. 19, 2008 | Posted by Joshua WrightEducation data key as CEWD takes steps to tackle energy workforce shortage
With nearly 40% of the nation’s energy workforce due for retirement over the next five years, recruiting and training new workers for these jobs is essential. To respond, the Center for Energy Workforce Development, a non-profit consortium of utilities, performed an analysis of the number of students projected to graduate in energy-related college programs over [...]
Dec. 19, 2008 | Posted by Joshua WrightWhite Paper: Strategic Responses to Layoffs for Re-employment
Background Because of the recent economic turmoil, EMSI has received many questions about how to deal with local mass layoffs. In this white paper, we have compiled our main recommendations for using labor market data and analysis when drafting re-employment strategies. Download a PDF version of the white paper: Strategic Responses to Layoffs for Re-employment [...]
Dec. 19, 2008 | Posted by Joshua WrightReplacement Jobs: a key component for finding in-demand jobs
In this data spotlight we take a look at the top occupations with a high number of replacement jobs. These job openings are not due to overall economic growth but to normal turnover in the workforce, including retirement. Even in industries experiencing total employment decline, replacement jobs are often plentiful. The occupations were selected based [...]
Dec. 8, 2008 | Posted by Joshua WrightACCT: Two-year colleges should spotlight economic ties
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), a longtime partner of EMSI, recently touted the need for two-year colleges to stress how they are economic drivers in their communities and regions. Below is an excerpt from a Community College Times article published this week: ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown encouraged trustees and presidents [...]
Nov. 25, 2008 | Posted by Joshua WrightCBS News highlights economic revitalization in Newton, IA
In the span of two years, Newton, Iowa, has reinvented itself after the loss of Maytag’s corporate and manufacturing headquarters. As a result, it has received national attention and serves as a textbook example of how small and rural communities can survive even the most devastating job loss. Watch the video here. EMSI contributed to [...]
Nov. 25, 2008 | Posted by Joshua Wright-
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The EMSI Blog provides data, links, articles, and other information related to labor market trends, regional economics and workforce and economic development.
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Joshua Wright is a member of the EMSI marketing team and manages the EMSI blog. If you have any questions, comments, or article ideas, please email him.
