• Helping adults earn a postsecondary certificate or degree is vital to preparing the SREB region’s workforce for the future.
• The percentage of working-age adults with at least some postsecondary education increased over the last decade.
• The overall employment rate increased across most SREB states at all education levels.
• By 2030, every SREB state will have more dependent-age individuals than working age adults.
• Adults with higher credentials are less likely than their peers with less than a high school education to earn wages below the poverty threshold.

Educational Attainment

Rapid advancements in automation and artificial intelligence will increasingly displace adults with low levels of education, transforming some positions while eliminating others. Better-paying careers in the coming years will require students to earn a certificate or degree after high school. In the SREB region, the percentage of working-age adults with at least some postsecondary education increased 7.6 points between 2012 and 2022. But across the region in 2022, 38% of working- age adults still had a high school diploma or less.

Job Share by Education Level

Employment Rates by Education Level

Rapid advancements in automation and artificial intelligence will increasingly displace adults with low levels of education, transforming some positions while eliminating others. Better-paying careers in the coming years will require students to earn a certificate or degree after high school. In the SREB region, the percentage of working-age adults with at least some postsecondary education increased 7.6 points between 2012 and 2022. But across the region in 2022, 38% of working- age adults still had a high school diploma or less.

Helping adults earn a postsecondary certificate or degree to prepare for employment is imperative for states. Rapid advancements in automation and artificial intelligence will increasingly displace adults with low levels of education, transforming some positions while eliminating others. Better-paying careers in the coming years will require students to earn a certificate or degree after high school. In the SREB region, the percentage of working-age adults with at least some postsecondary education increased 7.6 points between 2012 and 2022. But across the region in 2022, 38% of working age adults still had a high school diploma or less.

Job Share by Education Level

The share of jobs held by adults with a high school diploma or less in the SREB region between 2012 and 2022 decreased by 3.0 points, while the share held by adults with a bachelor’s degree or more increased by 6.4 points.

Test state

Subtopic

Text