Education, Demand and Unemployment in Metropolitan America explores the relationship between high unemployment in U.S. cities and “education gaps” – instances in which employer demand for educated workers exceeds the supply of such workers.
For this report, researchers gathered data on education levels and unemployment data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for all 366 U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of at least 500,000. The report focused mainly on findings from the largest 100 metropolitan areas, which included several cities in Ohio (Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Youngstown).
The study found that from 2005 to the peak of the recession in 2009, employers – on average – sought workers with higher levels of education. It was a buyer’s market and they wanted better educated workers. Furthermore, cities with larger education gaps had higher unemployment rates. This result reflects the declining demand for less-educated workers that are often employed in industries like construction and manufacturing. At the same time, more elastic industries like education and health care actually saw job gains. This results in relatively low levels of unemployment in cities like Washington D.C. and Columbus, both of which have smaller education gaps. In fact, Columbus ranks first in Ohio in predicted growth largely due to its better educated citizens and diversified industry. Meanwhile cities like Youngstown and Toledo that suffer from large education gaps and declining manufacturing base have seen unemployment figures sky-rocket.
Boosting educational attainment across the board is imperative, especially in cities like Toledo, Youngstown, and Dayton. From 2005 to 2009, Toledo was among the top ten metro areas in seeing an increase in the education gap. Youngstown was one of the top ten metro areas with the highest average education gap during that same time frame. Students in these communities need to not only attain secondary diplomas but postsecondary degrees in order to make significant progress in closing gaps between the supply of educated workers and industry demand. For instance, in the cities of Akron, Dayton and Toledo, workers with a bachelor’s degree have at least a 10.5 percent lower chance of being unemployed than workers with just a high school diploma. This figure captures the drastic need for these cities and others like them to improve their K-12 education.
Education,
Demand, and Unemployment in Metropolitan America
Jonathan Rothwell and Alan Berube
Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings
September 2011
