Publication
For more than two decades now, annually, on Labor Day, COWS reports on how working people are faring in the state. The State of Working Wisconsin, released biannually on even-numbered years since 1996, is our long-form report, and looks at the economy comprehensively from a working-family perspective. In odd-numbered years, also biannually, we provide a more abbreviated and focused report, called The State of Working Wisconsin 2017: Facts & Figures.
Pairing skilled workers with quality, high-paying jobs is one way to ensure Mississippi families succeed. However, limited access to skills training and low educational attainment keep many workers from securing good-paying skilled jobs. This gap between middle-skill positions and a comparably skilled workforce limits productivity for employers and access to jobs that support self-sufficiency for working families. Bridging the gap starts with investments in working families and skills training opportunities that are accessible for all Mississippians. This brief examines two enterprising programs tackling the intersections of persistent poverty, low educational attainment levels, and high unemployment rates, which threaten the economic security of Mississippians.
Georgia parents work hard every day to put food on the table and provide a brighter future for their children. Yet more than one in three of the state’s working families with children are likely to find themselves struggling to make ends meet due to low income.
In order to reach the state’s workforce and economic goals, Indiana needs leadership to better align resources for adult students and to remove barriers that stand between them and post-secondary education and training programs. The state has made progress in tailoring academic and training programs to workforce demands and made steps toward incentivizing those programs with financial aid. And yet, too many of the would-be students who need these programs most never take the first step because their path is blocked by non-academic barriers. Many more start but stop or drop out permanently before completing degrees and credentials that would benefit their families and Indiana’s economy.