SSTI Digest

For the United States to achieve greater security in chip manufacturing, the critical sector requires a much larger, better trained workforce. Between 2020 and 2022, annual postings for semiconductor jobs tripled from about 8,000 to almost 25,000, according to a new report, “The challenge of building a regional semiconductor workforce pipeline: What regions can learn from Austin, Texas and an agenda for cross-regional learning” from the Institute for Networked Communities (INC). As noted in the report, analysts expect that between 2023 and 2030, the industry will grow 33%, an increase of 115,000 jobs. At current degree completion rates, approximately 67,000 jobs would go unfilled. The INC report illustrates what it takes to build an industry-driven workforce system in the semiconductor industry based on the experience of Austin, Texas. The co-authors Francie Genz, Ryan Donahue, and Erin Sparks delve into what other regions can learn from Austin and why a cross-regional learning and action network is needed. “The stakes for getting regional workforce strategy right in the semiconductor space couldn’t be higher,” said Francie Genz, CEO of INC, in an email. “…

In this final coverage of gubernatorial addresses as they discuss the innovation economy, the following highlights have been selected from State of the States or budget addresses given between Feb. 18 and March 14, 2025, by the governors from Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio.  Information on previous 2025 State of the States and/or budget addresses can be found here, here, here, and here. With revenues for many states relatively consistent with forecasters’ expectations, lawmakers, with a few exceptions, continue to maintain cautious or constrained views of their funding priorities and proposed initiatives. As a result, many governors in SSTI’s analysis of addresses delivered this season speak more to previously implemented programs and their continued successes rather than rolling out many new programs. However, new priorities for growing stronger innovation economies have not been completely overlooked.  On March 4, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his State of the State address. Prior to his address, the administration rolled out a number of legislative priorities and budget proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026, including a tax…

Recent headlines have been full of discussion on cryptocurrencies and speculation on significant changes in federal policy related to the technology. Anticipating federal action, leaders of several states are exploring ways to get their own jurisdictions involved in the space. Here are some recent examples, drawing from proposed legislation to implemented policies and structures for acceptance of the financial innovation: States Considering Bitcoin Reserves Alabama lawmakers are mulling the creation of a bitcoin reserve. The state recently established a Blockchain Study Commission, which held its inaugural meeting in July 2024, to explore how blockchain technology could benefit Alabama and how the state might regulate it. Also, Alabama Rep. Mike Shaw announced that he intended to introduce legislation focused on the regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. These two coupled actions seek to understand the technology’s implications for economic development in the state and advance Alabama’s cautiously proactive approach to integrating blockchain and digital assets into the state’s financial and regulatory framework. Meanwhile, Alabama State Auditor…

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently awarded  $14.5 million in Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) grants for five projects. ARISE is ARC’s multi-state initiative that aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through collaborative projects. These awards included $3,980,996 awarded to Morehead State University to build the aerospace workforce in Kentucky and West Virginia. The university will use ARISE funding to expand its SpaceTrek initiative, which addresses the region’s aerospace workforce deficits. Academic institutions will collaborate with industry partners to implement the SpaceTrek summer program and SpacePrep explorations workshops. These programs will introduce pre-college students to higher education opportunities and careers in aerospace and provide an immersive experience in aerospace subdisciplines, including electronics, telecommunications, and data analysis. ARC awarded $2,870,702 to Thrive Regional Partnership to expand three collaborative capacity-building programs in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The partnership will use ARISE funds to expand three…

Forty-one states and Puerto Rico voted on 151 statewide ballot measures this fall. Many measures focused on abortion, citizenship, or electoral system reforms. Three measures with direct connection to innovation all were approved by voters, augmenting the strong track record tech-based economic development initiatives have when they are placed directly before voters. The three measures were for vocational-technical school scholarships in Arkansas, a $25 million R&D bond issue in Maine, and a $160.5 million higher ed facilities bond bill in Rhode Island. Voters have previously approved R&D bond measures in Maine and Rhode Island. SSTI highlights more information on those and other initiatives that could have or will impact economic development in individual states. Minimum wage increases and paid sick leave Voters in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri decided on minimum wage increases, with voters in both Alaska and Missouri approving measures to raise the minimum wage while California and Massachusetts voters opposed their measures. Seventy-four percent of Nebraska voters approved an initiative requiring paid sick leave for employees.,…

On average, Black households engaged in entrepreneurial activity have a higher rate of return on their business in comparison to Hispanic and white households, according to an Economic Commentary from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Public policy encouraging and supporting minority entrepreneurship and innovation pays profits as well as social dividends, the study reveals. The average yield of equity invested in a business, regardless of the household’s involvement in the business, is 5.6% for Black households, 4.6% for white households and 2.5% for Hispanic households.  However, white households tend to have higher percentages of business ownership and entrepreneurship than their Black and Hispanic counterparts. About 15.4% of white households invest in private business in some form and the entrepreneurship rate is 12.4%. This rate is significantly higher than Black households, of which 5% are entrepreneurs and 0.9% are passive investors, and Hispanic households where business ownership rates are 6.4% and entrepreneurship rates are 5.6%.  The authors note that the rates of entrepreneurship and business ownership among white…

After a busy election season that saw gubernatorial elections in 36 states, newly elected and re-elected governors delivered their annual State of the State addresses, kicking off new programs and reviewing the conditions of their states. SSTI reviews the speeches every year and covers news of new developments and initiatives the governors have highlighted as they relate to the innovation economy. New programs are laid out here in the governors own words as excerpts from their State of the State or budget addresses. Not all governors delivered a State of the State, and some that did may not have revealed new innovation-related initiatives and so are not included in our coverage. Common initiatives among the governors that touched on innovation included an emphasis on workforce, education and broadband; water issues for Western governors; and, clean energy. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey delivered her 2023 State of the State on March 7 and called on legislators to “look ahead and crate an economic development strategy for the 2030s.” “… I am calling on you to get behind our playbook for economic success, what I am calling The Game Plan.” “We will…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced 11 additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Utah. This is in addition to the 20 states that have been approved this year: California, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Colorado, Montana, New York, North Carolina and Oregon. Funds aim to make capital more accessible for underserved communities and increase economic growth and opportunity. Alaska has been approved to receive $59.9 million across four state programs. The largest program of the four is the Alaska Loan Guarantee Program, which will receive $32 million and aims to provide funding to small businesses that have decreased revenue, according to Alaska’s News Source. In addition to the loan guarantee program, $15.9 million will be allocated toward a loan participation program, $10 million will go towards an equity and venture capital program and $2 million will be allocated to a collateral fund program. Idaho has been approved for…

As state budgets move into the legislatures for final negotiations and approvals, the last of the governors have addressed their constituents and put forth their proposals. While a renewed sense of hope is seeping into the latest addresses, governors are still cautious and guarded in proposing new programs. Broadband, small business, education and workforce initiatives continue to be among the innovation-related initiatives announced by the state leaders, with the intent that those efforts will also boost the economic recovery of the states. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, in acknowledging the unusual circumstances of his April 12, 2021, State of the State address (he gave it from the A.W. Mumford Stadium on the campus of Southern University as opposed to a usual address inside the House chamber due to COVID-19 safety precautions) sounded a hopeful note, saying, “A new day is dawning with every shot in every arm.” In addition to the pandemic, Louisiana is still recovering from the two hurricanes that hit its coast, and the governor said that “no state is more adversely impacted by climate change….” He said the state will be a leader in reducing carbon emissions…

A new commentary from a senior policy analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland examines the extent to which disparities exist between Black and whites in labor market outcomes such as levels of labor force participation, unemployment rates, and earnings. Economic inclusion trends have been studied at the national level, but this commentary takes a look at how those disparities vary within and across states with a specific look at the Fourth Federal Reserve District states of Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Relying on monthly data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the Fed analyst, Kyle Fee, examined differences in state-level outcomes for Blacks and whites in the employment rate, the labor force participation rate, the unemployment rate, and real median hourly earnings. He found that states generally mirror national trends, but the degree of economic inclusion varies over time and across states. For instance, the national black and white (BW) gap in employment shows cyclical behavior where the gap increases during a recession, peaks once the recession ends, and slowly declines during expansions. In 2007 before the Great Recession, the national BW…

For those looking for examples of the impact state investment, university involvement and tech-based economic development can have in rural parts of the country, one can examine news from Appalachian Ohio that Stirling Ultracold reached a definitive merger agreement on March 22 to be acquired for a reported $258 million by publicly-traded BioLife Solutions. The original lead investor in Stirling Ultracold is TechGROWTH Ohio, one of Ohio Third Frontier’s regional entrepreneurial service providers. BioLife intends to keep the Stirling Ultracold brand intact and maintain existing staff in Athens, Ohio. The 160 employees in the rural Southeast Ohio county is the equivalent on a per capita basis to more than 11,000 employees in Cook County, Illinois (the county Chicago is located in).     TechGROWTH provided multiple rounds of follow-on funding during the company’s startup and growth stages. Lynn Gellerman, executive director of TechGROWTH Ohio and Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs’ associate dean of innovation partnerships, said the size of the acquisition makes it the largest venture-backed exit in southeast Ohio…

While the Appalachian region began the 21st century by expanding the reaches of its fossil fuel industries, clean energy development and carbon emission reductions are not yet out of reach for Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. A set of reports developed by the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) present opportunities available to these states for the advancement of clean energy technologies within the region while also detailing the economic and employment benefits of potential climate stabilization programs. The studies, individually turning their focus towards West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, present outlines for clean energy investment projects that would allow each state to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent in 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Additionally, the reports note that successful investment towards climate stabilization on the state and federal levels can provide a total of 243,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, 235,000 in Ohio, and 41,000 in West Virginia through the clean energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, agricultural, and land restoration sectors. To achieve these goals, PERI…