SJI Job Trends Report: Recession - 2 Year Report (February 2010)

This Job Trends Report takes a look at the data available for the region and nation - and how things stack up in terms of job growth/losses and unemployment over the last 2 years. In addition, it highlights the areas of opportunity and what is hoped to be the slow and steady economic improvement needed for the region's families and economic well-being.

Top Job Vacancies (September 2009)

Top Job Vacancies, jointly released by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County and Seattle Jobs Initiative, analyzes the state’s April 2009 Job Vacancy Survey of King County employers.  The key feature of the report is a foldout chart showing the top 25 jobs and all industries arranged by number of job vacancies.

A Growing Green Economy: Opportunities of Tomorrow (April 2009)

Seattle Jobs Initiative recently completed a report for the National Network of Sector Partners on the growing green economy and sector strategies related to this growth. A Growing Green Economy: Opportunities of Tomorrow provides a foundation of knowledge about emerging green sectors, with particular emphasis on the Puget Sound region and the energy efficiency sector. Topics covered include policy, investment, labor marketing impacts and training opportunities. The work culminates in recommendations for others who are interested in doing similar research and development in emerging green sectors. Funding support was provided by NNSP and the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development.

SJI Job Trends Reports

• SJI Job Trends Report: Recession - 2 Year Report, February 2010 (PDF, 780K)
• SJI Job Trends Report: Focus on Public Utilities, January 2009 (PDF, 182K)
• SJI Job Trends Report: Focus on Green Jobs, July 2008 (PDF, 562K)
• Archived Labor Market Reports

Middle Wage Jobs

A report from SJI confirms that middle-wage jobs -- those jobs that pay a livable wage and require some training beyond high school but not a 4-year degree -- are and will continue to support key industries in the Puget Sound region.  This work supplements an earlier working paper, detailing middle-wage occupations expected to grow in each industry as well as available and accessible training opportunities in the region. 

• Skills Required: Preparing Puget Sound for Tomorrow's Middle Wage Jobs
  Paul Sommers, Ph.D, Mark Gardner, and Juliet Scarpa. 03/2008
  • Brief Overview (PDF, 70K)
• Executive Summary (PDF, 45K)
• Full Report (PDF, 312K)

Peer Learning Group Work

Seattle Jobs Initiative has been playing a convening role with local agencies and community colleges. The goal of the Peer Learning Group is to make recommendations on what system-wide college prep courses would look like. The following report, released in February 2009, includes recommendations from the collaborative group.

• On Ramps and Bridges: Building Community Pipelines to Community College Certificate and Degree Attainment

Supported by the Working Poor Families Project as well as the City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, this report examines the role the state can play in instituting the career pathways framework, which can be a key strategy for linking low-income, low-skilled adults to education and training that leads to family supporting jobs.  The report should serve as a resource for other states that are interested in utilizing a career pathways framework.

• Charting a Path: An Exploration of the Statewide Career Pathway Efforts in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin (PDF, 12MB)

A Survey of U.S. and Washington State Postsecondary Attainment Data (August 2009)

SJI completed a survey on the rates of postsecondary attainment in the United States and in Washington State among different demographic groups, with a focus on community college attainment. The survey provides some additional data on the association between wages and attainment level in Washington State.

• A Survey of U.S. and Washington State Postsecondary Attainment Data (PDF, 570KB)

SJI Policy Updates
SJI has created monthly summaries for its partners and stakeholders to keep them up-to-date about key policy and labor market information.

• September 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 129 KB)
• August 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 107 KB)
• July 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 149 KB)
• June 2009 Policy Update (PDF 129 KB)
• May 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 207 KB)
• March-April 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 205 KB)
• February 2009 Policy Update (PDF, 177 KB)

SJI Lessons Learned from King County Food Stamp Employment & Training (FSET) Pilot

• Lessons Learned: 6 Month Evaluation
• Lessons Learned: 6 Month Evaluation Attachment (Program Descriptions)
• Lessons Learned: 18 Month Evaluation
• Lessons Learned from Massachusetts, Texas, San Francisco and Wisconsin