Local labor shortages are helping workers with only a high school education find employment, Governing reports.
According to Labor Department data published last week, 53% of adults with a high school education or less were employed in July, compared to 72% for those with at least a bachelor’s degree. Similar discrepancies exist for unemployment rates.
Despite these disparities, employment prospects for Americans without a higher education have largely improved in recent years.
Unemployment rates for this segment of the workforce have fallen by nearly half over the past five years. Some regional economies stand out as being particularly favorable for these less-educated workers.
Looking at data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Governing computed regional employment-to-population ratios for prime-age workers—those between the ages of 25 and 64.
In four metro areas, more than 75% of prime-age workers with high school diplomas or less were employed: Appleton, Wisconsin; Fargo, North Dakota; Rochester, Minnesota; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Meanwhile, only about half of such workers were employed in select other regions with weaker economies.
In the Baton Rouge area, 62.6% of workers with a high school education or less are employed, while 79% of workers with a college degree are employed. The unemployment rate for those without any higher education is 8.3% in Baton Rouge and 3.8% among all other workers.
Generally speaking, regions where those without a college degree have the best chances of securing employment are in the upper Midwest and parts of the Northeast. These areas typically have tight labor markets where there aren’t enough workers to fill vacancies, as well as low migration of workers relocating from other parts of the country. Â
