Nowhere in the nation will a college education be more important in the job market than in Washington, according to a new report.
Researchers from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce predict that by 2018, 71 percent of all jobs in the District — a total of 500,000 jobs — will require more education than simply a high school degree.
That percentage is higher than any state’s. Maryland is ranked ninth and Virginia 14th.
By 2018 …
Percentage of jobs requiring postsecondary education
1. Washington, D.C. ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 71%
Barack Obama,President,Democrats,Republicans,Libertarians,Mark Tapscott:26973199:26973199:Mark Tapscott. North DakotaÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 70%
Mark Tapscott:26973199:26973199:Mark Tapscott. MinnesotaÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 70%
4. MassachusettsÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 68%
5. ColoradoÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 67%
6. WashingtonÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 67%
7. NebraskaÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 66%
8. UtahÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 66%
9. MarylandÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 66%
House,Senate,President,White House,Conservatives,Liberals,Barack Obama,President,Democrats,Republicans,Libertarians,Mark Tapscott:26973199:26973199:Mark Tapscott0. HawaiiÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 65%
14. VirginiaÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ ÊÊÊ 64%
Source: Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce
Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown professor and director of the center, said D.C. ranks No. 1 because the local economy is the economy of the future, with no manufacturing jobs. “D.C. is the quintessential services economy,” he said.
Coupled with government jobs, the large professional and business services sector accounts for the need for higher-level degrees.
The report predicts 2 million jobs in Maryland (66 percent of all jobs) will require training beyond high school, compared to Virginia’s 2.8 million jobs (64 percent).
Carnevale said Maryland’s job makeup is similar to that of the District, whereas Virginia, with a more blue-collar identity, is more representative of the national climate.
“Virginia looks more like America than D.C. does,” he said.
The report also says the nation’s employers are projected to encounter a shortage of postsecondary-educated workers. Employers are projected to need 22 million new workers with at least some postsecondary education by 2018, but only 19 million will be available.
According to Carnevale, those employers will be forced to wedge less-qualified workers into those jobs and train them up. Competition between employers for those qualified will increase.
He also said the divide between the higher-earning and underqualified work forces is going to widen.
“In America, if you don’t get some kind of secondary education,” Carnevale said, “you’re not going to make a middle-class wage.”
