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Claudio Sanchez of NPR hosts a stunning five part series on America’s dropout crisis. Latinos have the highest dropout rate in the United States (47%) followed by African-Americans (43%), Whites, and Asian-Americans. The series examines not only the long-term career consequences of dropping out but the economic losses associated with not educating our communities of color. Worth a watch when you have some time. Overview is below.  

The National Employment Law Project released a report outlining what types of  jobs (by wage) were lost during the Great Recession.  According to the report, most of the jobs coming back during this slow recovery have been concentrated in the low wage category. Mid to higher wage jobs have not returned as quickly.

Guess where many Latino jobs are were concentrated? Yup.

And while many Latinos have found work in the recovering lower wage category, these jobs don’t drive economic growth – or provide a bright future for a growing community.

Why assure that we as a country develop ALL our avaiable workforce? This graphic says it all (h/t Lumni USA)

(Click here for a viewer)

PEW Hispanic Research just came out with a report that examines the impact of the “Great Recession” on the economic vitality of Latinos. Net worth for Latinos fell 66% – mostly related to home losses. Without a doubt, Latinos (and other minorities) were hit the hardest by the last recession. When it comes to employment numbers, the Latino workforce was impacted significantly:

Job losses were higher for Hispanic and black workers than for whites. The Hispanic unemployment rate (nonseasonally adjusted) increased from 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 12.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009. The black unemployment rate increased from 8.6% to 15.6%. The increase in the unemployment rate for whites was much less, from 3.7% to 8.0%.

Immigration is an economic nexus that provides organizations with talent in key industries. Aside from intellectual muscle, immigration also instills cultural and artistic life into our country. Countless studies, reports, and think tanks forewarn a workforce shortage if we don’t fix our immigration system. Yet, many still don’t see it this way. A recent Gallup poll measures American attitudes toward immigration and categorizes these attitudes by age and educational level. Note anything interesting?  

Georgia (and other Southern states for that matter) is dealing with farm labor shortages because of recent immigration policies. The L.A. Times shares the story of Don Pedro and his efforts to help find farm workers – many of who have already fled the state. Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Agriculture reports farmers needed to fill more than 11,000 positions this year. Solution:

Meanwhile, Gov. Nathan Deal would announce that Georgia was considering a new solution to the labor shortage. Perhaps the work could be done by unemployed probationers.

 Yeah, that’ll work.

CNN-Money shares a simple but telling graphic regarding the increase cost of a college education and median income. According to the article  “…if incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year. But in reality, it’s nowhere near that.” 

This is particularly disheartening for low-income students – they’re literally getting priced out of college. I understand the rising costs are caused by numerous factors including budget cuts, infrastructure, salaries, etc. However, for whatever the reasons, the fewer people have access to higher education the more our workforce will suffer.  

A cool report by Georgetown University, “What’s it Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors”, just came out and is filled with interesting salary data. The report is based on Census data and found that majors are segregated by race and gender.

Field of study obviously impacts long-term earnings of college graduates with science and technology majors earning more than social science and humanities majors. Another key finding is not a surprise: women’s wages are lower than those of men. The same can be said of other minorities including Latinos:

Hispanics earn the most with a major in Mechanical Engineering ($70,000 median). However, the median for Hispanics is$13,000 less than the median for Whites with the same major.

Hispanics earn the least in Theology and Religious Vocation majors with median earnings of $30,000, which is less than the White and African-American medians in this field.

The New York Times has an excellent piece regarding the emergence of multi-racial students. 

…the number of applicants who identify themselves as multiracial has mushroomed, adding another layer of anxiety, soul- (and family-tree-) searching and even gamesmanship to the process.  The new options have forced colleges to confront thorny questions, including how to account for various racial mixes in seeking diversity on campus…

While focused on colleges, the article is also relevant to businesses, non-profits, or anyone interested in knowing what the future workforce will resemble. Organizations will gain from some awareness of how the needs of multiracial individuals might be distinct from those who self-identify as a “single race.” This type of awareness can help leaders to change organizational cultures and to help them in serving an increasing population of people.

Ouch. Ronald Brownstein describes the situation for the class of 2011. Money quote:

Students now finishing their schooling—the class of 2011—are confronting a youth unemployment rate above 17 percent. The problem is compounding itself as those collecting high school or college degrees jostle for jobs with recent graduates still lacking steady work. “The biggest problem they face is, they are still competing with the class of 2010, 2009, and 2008…”