Study: Washington state ranks first in STEM jobs, 42nd in high school graduation rates GeekWire – John Cook Almost one in ten jobs in Washington state are STEM related, compared to 7.6 percent in California and 5.1 percent in New York. According to a report released today by the Technology Alliance, A strong STEM talent pool is particularly important to attract, grow, and retain innovation-based companies. Indeed, there is little doubt that Seattle’s uniquely high levels of STEM employment has a lot to do with King County’s incredible 3.3 percent unemployment rate . Unfortunately, this same report outlines how our public education system remains our main weakness in STEM fields: The report finds that Washington state ranks 42nd in the U.S. in the number of high-school kids who graduate on time. Meanwhile, at the college level, bachelor degree production has continued to worsen, with the state now ranking 39th in total bachelor’s and 34th in natural sciences and engineering bachelor’s production. That compares to 37th and 32nd, respectively, in 2011, and 32nd and 31st in 1998. A good jobs report, but not a full recovery: For the 14th time in 15 months the US has topped 200,000 jobs, with 280,000 jobs being added in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What’s more, average earnings rose 8 cents an hour in May and are up 2.3 percent over the past year, significantly faster than the rate of inflation. The economy is not completely ‘fixed’, however. As FiveThirtyEight reports , In terms of total jobs, the U.S. finally got back to pre-recession employment levels in the middle of last year. But in terms of full-time employment, we’re still waiting. When the recession began in December 2007, there were 121.6 million Americans working full-time (which the government defines as at least 35 hours a week). As of May, there were 121.4 million. Some 6.7 million Americans are stuck working part-time because they can’t find full-time work, a number that’s been falling but remains far … Continue reading Daily Clips: June 5th, 2015
