Maryland and Virginia must produce significantly more college graduates to keep up with the changing work force, according to an independent report released Monday.
Currently, 45 percent of Marylanders and 44 percent of Virginians hold at least a two-year degree. But by 2018, 66 percent of 908,000 new Maryland jobs and 64 percent of 1.3 million new Virginia jobs will require some form of education after high school.
Nationwide, 38.3 percent of 25-64 year-olds held at least an associate’s degree in 2010, up slightly from 37.9 percent in 2008. At the current pace, less than 47 percent of Americans will have a degree by 2025, a shortfall of 23 million skilled workers from anticipated labor demands, according to the third annual “A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education” report from the Lumina Foundation, a private, independent foundation focused on increasing higher-educational attainment.
Experts warn that the gap between would-be workers’ education levels and the skills required in new job openings could lead to a permanently high unemployment rate.
“More and more economists say it won’t go below 6 percent, some are saying 6.5 percent,” said Tony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. “If that’s the case we will have a [problem] in a level we haven’t seen since the ’70s.”
The nationwide unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in February.
The Washington area boasts many more college graduates than the farther reaches of Maryland and Virginia, but some areas have work to do to meet the 2018 projections.
As 2010 Census data revealed, the region ranks first among major metropolitan areas for college degrees, with 54.4 percent of adults holding a degree.
In Falls Church, a whopping 78 percent of adults hold at least a two-year degree, along with 77 percent of Arlington County, 67 percent of Alexandria, and 65 percent of Fairfax County.
Montgomery County has a small catch-up game to play, with 64 percent of adults holding degrees. But Prince George’s County lags far behind, with just 37 percent of work-age adults obtaining a post-secondary education. The report did not examine the District.
Jamie Merisotis, president of the Lumina Foundation, said “the proverbial low-hanging fruit” in this dilemma is the millions of adults who have dropped out of college and other degree programs.
“Some of these adults are only a few courses short of fulfilling their credentials,” said Merisotis, who urged colleges to focus on better serving returning veterans and minorities.
