State Net Migration and Migration Rates by Age and Degree-Level
Why is this important?
These are good measures of the alignment of supply and demand of college-educated residents and the strength of state economies - particularly the ability of states to attract educated and high- skilled workers from other states and countries. The calculations are provided for 22 to 39 year olds (which reflect the strength of the job market for recent college graduates and young working adults) and 40 to 64 year olds (prime working age). These data reflect the migration patterns from 2005 to 2007.
What are the policy implications?
States with high net in-migration of college- educated residents tend to have more vibrant economies that demand more educated workers. Some states are relatively high net-importers of all residents. However, when broken out by degree- level, the data reveal that several of these states are importing residents with high school and less- than-high school attainment while exporting college- educated residents. Patterns like this point to economic conditions that demand low-educated and low-skilled workers. If this pattern occurs in the 22-39 age-group, it also points to the probability that a state is over-producing college graduates relative to the demand for them.
Other factors to consider:
These data are more reflective of the demand- side of workers by education level. It's very useful to look at the in-state degree production - the supply side - in key areas such as engineering, nursing, and computer science. Finally, it's useful to look at many of the measures linked to the "Employment and Workforce" diagram - which help to provide a broad picture of the strength of each state's workforce and economy.
In-State Degree Production by Selected Degree Field
Employment and Workforce Diagram
Data sources and related links:
US Census Bureau
http://www.censu s.gov
