Environmental Scan 2012

ECONOMIC TRENDS

• Mid-2010 Economic Update. With data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Office, SABER Research Institute has produced this presentation on the economic outlook of the U.S., Texas, and San Antonio.
• Five-Year Comparison. Available U.S., Texas, Bexar County, and San Antonio data on Employment, Income, Poverty, Occupation, and Industry for 2003 and 2008 from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
• Alamo Colleges Service Area Job Growth. Two tables showing three-year job growth projections by industry and occupation for the Alamo Colleges service area. Additional comprehensible data tables are available by industry and occupation.
• Targeted Industry Clusters. Workforce Solutions Alamo has identified the following seven key industry clusters that have potential to raise the region’s wages and number of quality jobs: (1) Advanced Manufacturing, (2) Aerospace, (3) Bioscience, (4) Construction, (5) Financial Services, (6) Health Care, and (7) Internet, IT, and Telecom. Each of these industries is growing fast in the Alamo region and is outpacing the national average.
• San Antonio Area Targeted Industries. The latest available economic impact and labor information for the major industries in the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area from the City of San Antonio Economic Development department.
• San Antonio Area Industry Composition. This is a pie chart of San Antonio MSA employment by industry produced by Workforce Solutions Alamo. Counties included are Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson.
• Alamo Region High-Priority Occupations. A comprehensive list of current and projected occupations, including preferred education and wages, for the Alamo region by Workforce Solutions Alamo. Targeted occupations, occupations adding the most jobs, and fastest growing occupations are highlighted.
• San Antonio's Priority Industries. The city of San Antonio's application for companies seeking incentives for bringing new jobs lists the following industries: Agribusiness, Aviation/aerospace, Biotechnology, Creative services, Environmental (or "green") technology, Finance, Information technology and security, Logistics and distribution, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Corporate and regional headquarters, and Downtown projects.
• San Antonio's Cyber Security Presence. San Antonio's robust information technology sector ($8 billion in economic impact for San Antonio in 2008) could be poised for remarkable growth over the next few years if the "cyber action plan" strategy succeeds. The cyber operations and security industry is expected to rank among the most lucrative sectors for San Antonio. The IT sector could double in size over the next five years.
• Population, Labor Force, and Occupational and Industry Employment Projections through 2018. This is the latest Occupational Outlook Handbook by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Occupations with Fastest Growth and Decline. Data from the 2008-2018 occupational projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 10 Job Sectors in Decline. The federal government projects that a number of industries will continue to lose jobs through 2018. The industries expected to lose the most jobs are listed in this article. A more recent article based on Moody's Analytics indicates that millions of jobs lost in the recession, mainly in retailing, manufacturing, and advertising, are unlikely to return.

• Moving Texas Forward: The Economic Contribution of Texas Community Colleges. This economic impact study by EMSI documents that Texas taxpayers see a rate of return of 6.9 percent on their investment in Texas community colleges and the Texas economy sees a total annual contribution of $1.6 billion from these institutions. The report finds that every dollar of state and local tax money invested in the colleges today yields a cumulative of $28.00 in benefits that accrue to all Texas residents as added income and avoided social costs.
• Real-Time Labor Market Data for Community Colleges. Jobs for the Future has begun a program that provides community colleges with up-to-date information to better align postsecondary education offerings with the needs of employers. Participating community colleges can use the labor market data to adjust their program offerings and course curriculums. The Joyce and Lumina Foundations are funding the program. In addition, to highlight the emerging role of online job ads for providing real-time intelligence about occupations and skills in demand, Jobs for the Future has prepared the report "Aligning Community Colleges to Their Local labor Markets."
• Two-Year Degrees That Pay Off. Online salary data source PayScale.com provides a list of the best-paid careers with strong long-term outlooks that require no more than an associate’s degree to start.
• San Antonio As One of the Next Big Boom Towns. According to Forbes.com, San Antonio is number four among 52 large metro areas in the country best positioned to grow and prosper in the coming decade. Selection criteria included job growth trends, rates of family formation (percentage growth in children 5-17), growth in educated migration, population growth, and attractiveness to immigrants to settle, make money, and start businesses.
• Employers Say College Graduates Lack Job Skills. According to the findings of a new study by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, more than half of 1,000 employers surveyed said finding qualified applicants is difficult, and just under half thought students should receive specific workplace training rather than a more broad-based education.
• San Antonio With Few Skilled Immigrant Workers. According to a national study, San Antonio is last among the state’s four largest metro areas, with 18.5 percent of its immigrant worker population considered high-skilled (i.e., a person between the ages of 25 and 64 with at least a bachelor's degree). That compares to Austin, at 29.1 percent; Houston, at 22.3 percent; and Dallas, at 21.6 percent. The relatively low percentage of high-skilled immigrant workers in the city could have future implications on the types of employers that San Antonio can attract for the city’s overall economic development.
• New Study Defines, Identifies Green Jobs in U.S. A new report from the Brookings Institution offers the first assessment of how many "green jobs" are actually being created, in what industries, and in what geographic regions of the U.S. The included Clean Economy Profile for San Antonio metropolitan area is available here. The estimated median wage in San Antonio's clean economy is $34,195. This compares to $33,610 for all jobs in San Antonio.
• President Obama Launches Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. President Obama announced in June a series of efforts involving research and education to promote advanced manufacturing. In one multi-agency program, a $70 million fund will support research on next generation robots. Another program will create a multi-university collaborative framework for sharing of educational materials and best practices relating to advanced manufacturing and its linkage to innovation. The universities will also work with businesses and government agencies to define research opportunities and build a collaborative roadmap for identifying key technology priorities.
• Report Confirms Employment and Salary Differ by Major. A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce finds that while unemployment rates are lower for college graduates, choice of major can affect likelihood of employment and salary once employed, with technical fields of study generally outperforming non-technical ones.
• Employment Trends to Watch in 2012. According to CareerBuilder's annual job forecast, U.S. employers expect to add jobs increase compensation for skilled positions, focus on training their employees and new hires, and target minorities for their organizations in 2012.
• San Antonio is a Growing Economic Center. San Antonio continues to attract businesses in a down economy, making it an economic center rivaling Houston and Dallas. In addition to its thriving medical research community, the city is poised to benefit from the South Texas Eagle Ford Shale energy boom, the relocation of Mexican professionals with significant capital to invest, increased tourism because of extensive civic improvements, and a growing aerospace industry.
• The Third Phase of the Great Recession. Most of the jobs added in Texas since 2007 have come from government and education. But both sectors have shrunk nationally in 2011 and could continue to shrink in 2012 (see included graphs on percentage changes by industry). That doesn't bode well for cities like San Antonio and El Paso, which rely on steady government spending to keep their education, medical, and military jobs.
• Unemployment Drops Sharply for Least-Educated Americans in 2011. Unemployment dropped for the least-educated Americans in 2011. According to the Associated Press, for workers without a high school diploma, unemployment in 2011 slid from 15.1 percent to 13.8 percent. Among high school graduates with no college experience, it fell from 9.8 percent to 8.7 percent.
• At Texas Community Colleges, Efforts Are Under Way to Tie Education to Job Needs. State higher education officials and two-year colleges in Texas are working to make programs more responsive to the labor market, so that students aren't merely amassing college credits that won't lead to employment.
• More Associate's Degrees, Less Unemployment. The latest unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Americans over 25 years old show the following: those with less than a high school degree, 13.8 percent; those with a high school degree and no college, 8.7 percent; those with some college or associate degree, 7.7 percent; and those with bachelor’s degree or higher, 4.1 percent.
• San Antonio Named Nation's Top Performing City. The Milken Institute has ranked San Antonio as the nation's best-performing city for 2011 in its annual ranking of 200 metropolitan areas. The city ranked 14th in 2010, and reasons for leaping to the top spot this year include military base realignment, drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale and the growth of health care. The study noted that San Antonio was one of a handful to exceed prerecession employment levels.
• Unavailable Training for Available Jobs. Technical, engineering, and health care expertise are among the few skills in huge demand in today's job market. They are also some of the most expensive subjects to teach, resulting in the elimination of entire engineering and computer science departments at some colleges, and long waiting lists to get into some nursing schools.
  San Antonio #13 in Forbes Magazine’s Best Places for Business and Careers. More than half of trade between Mexico and U.S. flows through San Antonio. The city is bolstering its green cred: local utility CPS Energy is committed to making renewable energy 20% of its total capacity by 2020. Read the article here. 
   Top 30 Occupations Forecast. This table from the Bureau of Labor Statistics presents the nation’s occupations with the most job growth for 2010, their growth projections to 2020, and their median annual wage.
• College Labor Market Trends 2011-2012. According to data prepared by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, this year’s college labor market appears to be broader and a little deeper and shows a more consistent pattern of growth across industry sectors as well as by company size. More confidence is leading more employers to increase their hiring targets. Still one-third have decided to cut their hiring goals for this year. 
• The Economic Benefit of Postsecondary Degrees. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association has released new data on the wage premiums received by those who are college graduates. The data show a consistent economic advantage for those with a higher education. However, there is variation on the extent of the wage premium when the data are analyzed by field of study, and by state. This report utilizes two main data sources. Completions data are from the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) Completions Survey. Wage data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. This study includes all completions data for fiscal years 2004-05 and 2009-10 from the IPEDS Completions Survey. Only Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Graduate degree completions, are included in this analysis. Community college certificates are outside the scope of this analysis. 
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• The Underemployment of Recent College Graduates. About 48 percent of employed U.S. college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests requires less than a four-year college education. Eleven percent of employed college graduates are in occupations requiring more than a high-school diploma but less than a bachelor’s, and 37 percent are in occupations requiring no more than a high-school diploma. This Center for College Affordability and Productivity study argues that a growing disconnect has evolved between employer needs and the volume and nature of college training of students, and that the growth of supply of college-educated labor is exceeding the growth in the demand for such labor in the labor market. 
• An Example of Education for Employability. The Milwaukee School of Engineering is committed to active and applied learning--applied experience connected to active job clusters. Here is how the school has seen 95% of graduates getting a job in the field of their choice, a placement rate which is high even for an engineering school. 
• Massachusetts Community Colleges Focus on Employability. Fifteen Massachusetts community colleges are collaborating with industry and workforce development systems in order to improve rapid pathways to high wage jobs. Their statewide strategies include: hiring college and career navigators for all campuses, jointly designing industry-responsive programs, and refining developmental education curriculum.