Insights for Workforce Developers and Employers

RECENT ARTICLES

• From Accenture: By 2040, the most advanced factories won’t be managed – they will be orchestrated. AI will govern production in real time, digital twins will model every decision before execution and humanoid robots will adapt without human intervention. Manufacturing will shift from forecast-driven to fully autonomous, demand-responsive ecosystems. Factories will self-optimize, self-correct and self-learn, ensuring seamless coordination across supply chains, production networks and customer demands. The manufacturers of 2040 won’t be debating automation, AI, or digitalization—those will be the baseline. Click here to read more.

• From The Annie E. Casey Foundation: Chal­lenges remain in ful­ly real­iz­ing the impact of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), par­tic­u­lar­ly in state imple­men­ta­tion, fund­ing lim­i­ta­tions and ser­vice avail­abil­i­ty — espe­cial­ly in rur­al and under­served areas. States must con­tin­ue expand­ing evi­dence-based pre­ven­tion ser­vices while ensur­ing that child safe­ty remains a top pri­or­i­ty. As the law con­tin­ues to take shape, ongo­ing eval­u­a­tion and pol­i­cy adjust­ments will be cru­cial to refin­ing its effec­tive­ness. The future of FFP­SA depends on col­lab­o­ra­tion between fed­er­al, state and local agen­cies as well as sus­tained invest­ments in pre­ven­tion-focused pro­grams. Click here to read more. 

• From The Aspen Institute: Real transformation rarely comes from a single solution or organization working in isolation. Through our work in global health and community development, we’ve witnessed how the most powerful changes emerge when someone helps connect the dots – bringing together grassroots innovators, institutional partners, and local communities to reimagine entire systems. These are the system catalysts: individuals and organizations who understand that lasting change requires more than just good ideas – it requires weaving together networks of people, resources, and solutions in ways that amplify everyone’s impact. Click here to read more.

• From Brookings: Advances in big data, machine learning, and data processing are poised to fundamentally alter the job search and hiring process. Today’s labor market suffers from a critical information gap. Job seekers often step into roles with minimal insight into job expectations, team dynamics, or their manager’s leadership style. Employers, in turn, often struggle to assess whether candidates truly have the necessary skills and competencies. This gap results in mismatched hiring, where job seekers’ skills do not align with employers’ needs. These inefficiencies contribute to wage inequality, prolonged unemployment, and lower productivity, ultimately dragging down economic output. Click here to read more. 

• From Center for American Progress: New Mexico’s economic future will not be transformed by short-term tax cuts and subsidies but rather though deliberate investments in long-term resilience and strategic planning. The “Empower and Collaborate” plan reflects a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the complexities of economic transformation and prioritizes investments that will yield lasting benefits for communities across the state. By aligning fiscal policy with economic development, investing in workforce capacity, and ensuring that rural and energy communities are not left behind, New Mexico is setting a national example for how to build a more prosperous and sustainable economy. Click here to read more.

• From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Climate change negatively affects all people and sectors of society, but these impacts are not experienced equally. States, which play a critical role in responding to climate change, should approach climate policy with a commitment first and foremost to the people and communities most impacted and with the fewest resources to respond. That is, they should take a “climate justice” approach connecting climate action to broader efforts aimed at overcoming the inequities and barriers that hold some people and communities back. Click here to read more. 

• From Economic Policy Institute: Even before federal investments spurred the state’s manufacturing growth, lawmakers were using generous economic development subsidies to lure manufacturing to South Carolina. While the state’s approach has created jobs, the quality of those jobs and the overall benefit to South Carolina communities—at substantial public cost—remains dubious. Click here to read more.

• From FedCommunities: Today’s aspiring homebuyers contend with a US housing market of fewer available units selling for higher prices. It can be an especially frustrating combination if you earn a modest income and want to finance a lower-priced home purchase with a manageable mortgage. Homeowners accounted for just 36 percent of households earning less than $50,000 a year in a recent Federal Reserve survey. Among those earning $100,000 or more, 87 percent owned their homes. Click here to read more. 

• From the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta: The Southeast economy continued to grow and employment held steady, while consumer spending dipped slightly, according to the new Beige Book. The Atlanta Fed’s latest report on economic conditions includes anecdotal feedback from January through mid-February. On the labor market front, little changed since the last report: headcounts remained mostly flat and firms’ abilities to hire and retain workers continued to improve. Contacts did observe some emerging risks that center on potential changes to immigration policy, such as increased competition for workers if the labor market tightens. Click here to read more.

• From Gallup Workplace Insights: As U.S. business owners think about the future of their enterprise, many are uncertain and many imagine closing the business as they retire from it. This comes at a time when a large portion of owners are nearing retirement. This is largely the case, however, for nonemployer-businesses, which tend be smaller by revenue and, by definition, do not directly employ workers. From a personal and familial wealth perspective, just over one-third are positioned to boost net worth or intergenerational assets for owners at the time of retirement. Click here to read more. 

• From the International Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP): The days of a simple, polished page securing your dream job are long gone. Today, your resume embarks on a digital journey, navigating the intricate pathways of AI-powered hiring systems. To thrive in this evolving landscape, job seekers and workforce development professionals alike must understand the profound shift from human-centric to algorithm-driven recruitment. Click here to read more. 

• From Jobs for the Future: Virtual reality (VR) holds great promise as an educational tool, offering engaging immersive experiences that could revolutionize learning. By creating interactive, experiential environments, VR has the potential to make learning more personalized and impactful for all learners. However, despite this promise, adoption of VR in education remains limited. Click here to read more. 

• From JPMorganChase: JPMorganChase announced the launch of a new organization to improve financial health and academic outcomes built on the legacy of the Money Smart Financial Coaching Program (MSFCP). The new organization, MSFCP.org, is fiscally sponsored by FJC and supported by $1.9 million in philanthropic capital from JPMorganChase. It combines financial coaching and financial education into a post-secondary course with the potential to reach at least 1,500 students across the country, opening up new pathways to well-paying jobs after graduation. Click here to learn more.

• From Manpower: Used internationally as a bellwether of labor market trends, the Net Employment Outlook – calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions to staffing levels from those who plan to hire – now stands at 35%. IT hiring demand remained relatively stable when compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year, changing by – 2 and +1 percentage points, respectively.​ Click here to read more. 

• From McKinsey & Company: As the United States and other regions seek increased self-sufficiency, the value of investments in semiconductor materials could have a far-reaching impact in the United States and globally. Establishing a resilient supply of semiconductor materials is a vital part of efforts to establish an at-scale domestic semiconductor industry and secure access to one of the most critical technologies of the 21st century. Click here to read more. 

• From the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): Many college students recognize the importance of building industry connections, yet they often find it challenging to take the first step. When surveyed about their expectations for university career centers, 64% of students prioritized recruitment events, while 62% sought assistance in securing internships. Resume guidance and career exploration also ranked highly, at 69% and 62%, respectively. These preferences reveal a pressing need for career centers to strike a balance—providing support with planning and application materials while serving as bridges to meaningful professional opportunities. Click here to read more. 

• From the National Association of Counties (NACO): For many rural counties, securing federal funds feels like navigating a maze without a map. Limited staff, tight budgets and a lack of grant-writing expertise leave crucial funding opportunities untapped. This is where technical assistance providers like Rural Prosperity Partners step in—helping communities adapt, access resources and secure transformative funding. Click here to read more. 

• From the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB): The House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing held on Wednesday, March 5, Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America’s Workforce, addressed such things as the economic costs of not connecting young people to education and/or work, the important role community colleges play in preparing workers for today’s economy, and the critical need for better data to support workforce development efforts. While these are all good aspects of the discussion to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the hearing did not explore all that workforce boards do to meet the needs of business and those trying to enter the labor market. Click here to read more. 

• From the National Conference of State Legislatures: We have good research, for example, linking gains in eighth grade report card scores at the state level to improvements in later life outcomes, ranging from postsecondary education, teenage motherhood, arrest and incarceration. They are strongly predictive of states’ rates of economic growth. The pandemic disrupted education and was a factor in lower scores in both math and reading in the 2022 NAEP. But the downward drift of reading scores started before the pandemic. What we’re seeing in reading is a longer term erosion of student skills that started, depending on the grade you’re looking at, around 2015 or 2017. Click here to read more.

• From the National League of Cities (NLC): Accurate data is the foundation of effective local governance. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a yearly survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It collects data on the US population’s demographics, economics, housing and social characteristics. The ACS provides critical insights that help cities, towns and villages make informed decisions about infrastructure, economic development and community services. However, efforts to weaken the ACS by making participation voluntary and reducing the data collected threatens the accuracy and availability of this essential data. Click here to read more.

• From the National Fund for Workforce Solutions: The National Fund’s deep experience in leading efforts to improve job quality shows that when employers engage and empower employees to make critical decisions about business operations, employees experience increased job satisfaction, retention and advancement improve, and both businesses and workers prosper. Human-centered design approaches prioritize co-creating and testing solutions alongside the workers most affected by workplace policies and practices. “Deeply engaging workers in co-creating workplace solutions is central to the National Fund’s approach to advancing equity,” said Michelle Rafferty, the National Fund’s Chief Program Officer. “Whether a business seeks to improve retention or better help its employees to navigate their own careers, it’s best to start by listening to and seeing workers as partners.” Click here to read more. 

• From the National Skills Coalition: Industry sector partnerships (ISP) are a proven way to build strong talent pipelines that train workers for quality, in-demand jobs and help businesses address labor shortages. They succeed by bringing together key stakeholders such as businesses, training providers, higher education, community-based organizations, and labor organizations to create training strategies collaboratively. The Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium (MEWDC) shows what’s possible when states and business leaders work together to create and advocate for the growth of ISPs. Click here to read more.

• From Prosperity Now: The February Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2%, reflecting price increases across a broad range of goods and services in the U.S. economy [LINK]. This marks a slowdown from January’s concerning 0.5% increase. On an annual basis, inflation stood at 2.8% in February, down from January, yet it remains elevated despite the Federal Reserve’s ongoing efforts to reach its 2% target, continuing to pose challenges for many Americans. Click here to read more.

• From the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): We have made significant progress in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Focusing instead on building cultures that cultivate well-being is a path to organizational resilience. However, the responsibility for addressing mental health issues is not always clear. Despite advancements, mental health still trails physical health in terms of priority and positive outcomes. Click here to read more.

• From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: While just 20% of small businesses reported increasing staff over the past year, many remain hopeful about future hiring prospects, with 37% expecting to increase staff in the coming year, despite uncertainty and inflationary headwinds. This optimism is particularly strong in the manufacturing sector, where 56% of businesses plan to expand their workforce. Click here to read more.

• From Workforce Monitor: Staffing employment edged down during the week of March 10-16, with the ASA Staffing Index decreasing 0.3% but holding at a rounded value of 83. Staffing companies cited no primary factor that hindered further growth. Staffing jobs were 7.7% lower relative to the same period last year, widening the gap slightly from 7.5% observed the previous week. New starts also edged down in the 11th week of the year, decreasing 2.2% from the prior week. Almost four in 10 staffing companies (37%) reported gains in new assignments week-to-week, below the average of 45% so far in 2025. Click here to read more.

• From Workday: AI agents talking to each other is going to change the game. We’re talking about a future where our systems are getting smarter and more efficient all the time. As AI technology continues to progress, enterprises should anticipate increasingly sophisticated AI agents that collaborate to address the growing and ever-changing needs of organizations. Click here to read more.

• From WorkingNation: Prior SLEI (Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative) research has shown that even when controlling for business performance metrics such as revenue, industry, and profitability, the odds of obtaining funding approval are significantly lower for LOBs (Latino-owned businesses) compared to WOBs (white-owned businesses). SLEI says that Latino entrepreneurs also don’t get enough feedback as to why they were denied funding, a critical component of the lending process and one that could help them improve their future applications and potentially increase their overall contributions to the economy by more than $1.1 trillion. Click here to read more. 

• From WorkRise: Using data from B Corporation certification assessments, the report compares job quality metrics between certified B Corps—firms that have made social and environmental commitments—and similar non-B Corp firms. The analysis finds that B Corps were more likely to offer benefits such as parental leave, health insurance, flexible scheduling, professional development, and employee feedback mechanisms. It further finds that, conditional on their job quality characteristics, B Corps and comparison firms do not differ significantly on indicators of firm outcomes such as job growth and revenue. These results provide potential insights for policymakers, employers, and other labor market stakeholders seeking to improve job quality to benefit workers, either through voluntary adoption of associated employer practices, or corresponding policy levers related to job quality. Click here to read more.

DATA TOOLS

• From Atlanta Regional Commission: Each week ARC, in partnership with Neighborhood Nexus, provides updated research and analytics through the 33^on blog. From a look at housing, rental rates, and cost of living to the job market and latest on wages, this blog is a one-stop portal to a treasure trove of local and regional data. Click here to learn more.

• From Brookings: Using data from hundreds of thousands of real job transitions, the Job Mobility and Smart Growth Toolkit shows how workers can advance through labor markets—featuring national and city-by-city data on wage levels, local labor demand, and job mobility rankings for 441 occupations, from retail salespeople to cooks to computer programmers.  Click here to see the toolkit.

• From FedCommunities: FedCommunities is offering Using Qualitative Research to Understand the Economy: A Toolkit for researchers, policymakers, employers, and workforce organizations interested in engaging directly with the populations they serve to elevate those populations’ perspectives in policy, programming, and practice. Research that engages communities as equal partners can yield unique, authentic results. This new Worker Voices Project toolkit, “Using Qualitative Research to Understand the Economy: A Toolkit,” offers insights on the community-engaged qualitative research practices used for the Fed’s Worker Voices Project and shows how researchers, policymakers, and workforce organizations might use these methods in their own work. Click here to access the toolkit. 

• From the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity (CWEO): The Unemployment Claims Monitor displays data from the weekly and monthly unemployment claims reports from the U.S. Department of Labor. It is updated every Thursday. Users will find weekly and monthly data on claims and on who have filed for unemployment insurance, including special unemployment programs like Short-Time Compensation (or Workshare), Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees, Ex-Service Members, and Extended Benefits programs. The Opportunity Occupations Monitor displays opportunity employment and its prevalence across labor markets. Opportunity employment is an estimate of the number and share of jobs accessible to workers without a bachelor’s degree that pays more than the national median wage. Click here to learn more.

• From the Georgia Department of Labor: The Georgia Department of Labor provides access to a complete set of data tools for workforce developers to better understand the labor market conditions in Georgia. The portal also includes resources for job seekers and employers. Click here to learn more.

• From Georgia Power: Georgia Power’s Community & Economic Development team maintains interactive tools to take a deeper dive into the data on target industries, the labor force, and more. Click here to learn more.

• From the National Fund for Workforce Solutions: The National Fund for Workforce Solutions’ Workforce Equity Dashboard provides disaggregated data that uncovers racial gaps in workforce outcomes, identifies opportunities to advance racial equity across systems, and informs high-impact strategies to build a future where employers, workers, and communities prosper. This dashboard was developed in partnership with the National Equity Atlas. Click here to learn more.

• From Neighborhood Nexus: Neighborhood Nexus, a data partner of ARC, developed Data Nexus, a powerful tool to find, visualize, analyze, and download community data including demographic, education, health, and economic indicators from state and national sources, all in one place. Click here to learn more.

• From the Partnership for Southern Equity: The Metro Atlanta Racial Equity Atlas (MAREA) is designed to offer an immersive, story-centric experience that contextualizes personal narratives with engaging, interactive community data and historical background. This tool has been developed by the Partnership for Southern Equity, Neighborhood Nexus, and archi. Click here to learn more.

• From Prosperity Now: The Prosperity Now Scorecard is a comprehensive resource for data on household financial health, racial economic inequality, and policy recommendations to help put everyone in our country on a path to prosperity.  Click here to access.

• From the Technical College System of Georgia: TCSG’s Data and Research provides access to the System Scorecard, enrollment data, and more. Click here to learn more.

• From the University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG): CVIOG has developed toolkits and other resources on a variety of workforce topics. Click here to learn more.

• From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Right now, there are too many jobs without people to fill them. As a result, businesses can’t grow, compete, or thrive. The America Works Data Center captures trends on job openings, labor force participation, quit rates, and more. Click here to learn more.

• From WorkSource Georgia: Through its portal, WorkSource Georgia provides access to labor market facts, area profiles, industry profiles, educational profiles, and occupational profiles. Click here to learn more.

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