Since 2000, two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities have seen on average a 26 percent increase in the number of young, college-educated adults choosing to live within three miles of the urban center — compared to an average increase of 13 percent in the rest of the metropolitan area. In Young and Restless 2011, a new report by Impresa and CEOs for Cities, researchers utilized 2010 Census data to examine the migration of young individuals (between the ages of 25 to 34 year olds).

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions.

Manufacturers face a growing talent deficit due to an outdated education system based on 19th and 20th century principles, according to the Roadmap to Education Reform for Manufacturing. The report, coauthored by the Manufacturing institute and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), is a compilation of books and research related to education reform and manufacturing topics available on NAM's website.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) in partnership with 15 other federal agencies and bureaus intends to commit $33 million in direct federal funding and provide technical assistance resources for the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge — a new public-private initiative focused on supporting and accelerating the growth of regional innovation clusters that exhibit high-growth development potential. Approximately 20 industry clusters will be selected through a nationwide competitive process that includes all industry sectors.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has made a series of announcements over the past few weeks aimed at improving the high-tech skill set of the state's workers and students. A new STEM strategic plan released yesterday would refine Massachusetts' efforts to expand the pipeline of young, skilled science and technology workers and improve the quality of STEM education.

Fresh off a nationwide listening tour and against the backdrop of 1776, a global hub for startups in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled the department's strategic vision and priorities focused on three key areas: trade, innovation and data. Pritzker said her department will make sure businesses have a strong voice when it comes to strengthening the digital economy by working to protect intellectual property, ensuring robust cybersecurity infrastructure and championing free and open Internet.

Providing students with industry-relevant education and skills is the idea behind the Youth CareerConnect grant program, which will provide $100 million to implement curriculum for high schools to strengthen the talent pipeline. In partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Labor will award 25-40 grants for individual or multistate projects using revenues from the H-1B visa program. The goals are to integrate both career and academic learning, provide work-based learning opportunities, better engage employers, and elevate industry training.

Several bills promoting skills development through Wisconsin technical colleges were passed as part of Gov. Scott Walker's workforce agenda introduced in September (see the Sept. 26, 2013 issue of the Digest). A measure to create a tuition reimbursement program for apprentices or businesses that employ them passed with near unanimous support in hopes of bridging the skills gap reported by employers.

The agenda for the upcoming legislative session unveiled by Gov. Scott Walker promotes investment in technical schools to provide skill development and quickly fill critical needs of employers. The governor outlined a package of eight workforce development bills, which include funding for youth apprenticeships, tuition reimbursement for apprentices and employers, technical education incentive grants, and scholarships for students to attend technical schools. Much of the new investment would augment funding for existing programs.

In the days before the federal government shutdown, the White House released details of a $300 million cross-agency strategy to revive the Detroit economy following the city government’s bankruptcy filing. Most of the funding comes from existing programs that will either continue to support efforts in Detroit or will now allocate a portion of their grants, loans or services to Detroit-based recipients. However, while innovation and entrepreneurship is a major plank of the strategy, little of the $300 million will directly benefit technology-based economic development programs.

Only two states will hold gubernatorial elections this year: New Jersey and Virginia. But those states have garnered a great deal of media attention because of the candidates’ stark policy differences on a wide range of issues, including jobs and the economy. This week, SSTI takes a look at the plans for economic growth and higher education put forth by Virginia Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli.

In contrast to last week's coverage of the Virginia gubernatorial candidates on issues that affect jobs and the economy, there are little specifics on the topic provided by either New Jersey candidate. Incumbent Gov.

U.S. adults are less proficient in basic reading, math and problem-solving skills than many of their international counterparts, according to the first Survey of Adult Skills from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD found that, overall, U.S. adults possessed below average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments.

Los Angeles County (CA), New York County (NY) and Cook County (IL) topped the list of places where people older than 25 with graduate or professional degrees moved to between 2007 and 2011, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County-to-County Migration Flows Tables. Middlesex County (MA) and Fairfax County (VA) also ranked among the top destinations for highly educated transplants. The Census report provides data on domestic migration at the county level, including data on income and educational attainment.

The Department of Labor announced it will commit up to $150 million to the Ready to Work Partnership grant competition — a program that supports and scales innovative  public-private partnerships to build a pipeline of talented U.S. workers in middle- and high-skill jobs.

A bill providing $35.4 million in workforce training grants to expand Wisconsin’s Fast Forward program was signed into law on Monday by Gov. Scott Walker. Funding will be available in the form of grants to technical colleges to reduce waiting lists for enrollment and for programs and courses that train students in high-demand fields. The funds also will support collaborative projects among school districts, technical colleges and businesses and for employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad announced the first major initiative of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council, a public-private partnership of six regional STEM network hubs to promote STEM education and economic development. Each of the hubs will be housed at one of the state's universities or community colleges, and will coordinate local programs with businesses, nonprofits and other institutions in their regions.

U.S. immigration policies are irrational and undirected according to a new report from the Partnership for a New American Economy and Partnership for New York City — Not Coming To America: Why the U.S. is Falling Behind in the Global Race for Talent. In sharp contrast, to attract immigrants that drive economic growth and increase international competitiveness, foreign countries have adopted targeted and strategic policies that include:

Two bold proposals seeking to make big changes to community colleges in Massachusetts and New Jersey research universities recently were approved by lawmakers. In Massachusetts, more funding for the state's 15 community colleges is tied to increased oversight, performance measures and integration of workforce development initiatives. Meanwhile, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill merging a medical and dentistry school with Rutgers University in hopes of strengthening partnerships for research projects and drawing more federal funding.

American manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions — even as unemployment numbers hover at historic levels — according to Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, a new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. This annual skills report provides a stark snapshot of the manufacturing sector's inability to find qualified workers.

Building on several of the new programs enacted during the regular legislative session (see the June 15, 2011 issue of the Digest), Gov. Dan Malloy last week signed into law HB 6801, a comprehensive legislative package that authorizes $626 million in bonds to support efforts aimed at job creation. The bill has several components to support high-tech entrepreneurship, workforce development, and incentivize manufacturers and small businesses.

Just three months after unveiling a statewide regional economic development plan, Gov. John Hickenlooper released a new version of the document that speeds up timelines and adds more specific measurable outcomes to the plan's 24 job creation strategies. The governor also submitted a budget proposal for FY13 that calls for additional funds to help the Economic Development Commission attract high-wage jobs and support initiatives that address distinct market barriers in the energy sector.

Gov. Chris Gregoire outlined a series of proposals to boost Washington's competitiveness in the aerospace sector, including support for university research and funding to expand high school workforce curriculum and enroll more university students in engineering fields. By investing in education, research, and expanding tax incentives, Gov. Gregoire hopes Boeing will select the state to build and manufacture its 737 MAX, which the governor calls a once-in-a-generation opportunity expected to support up to 20,000 jobs.

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) released a new report that uses real-time labor market information data (web-based job advertisements) to analyze the U.S. manufacturing sector for the first half of 2011. Using Labor Insight, a web tool that aggregates data about web-advertised job openings, co-authors Lauren Gilchrist, Ken Poole and Mark White highlighted several important characteristics of anticipated manufacturing hiring:

Most state economic development programs employ quantifiable metrics, but too few report metrics related to job creation and job quality, according to a study and report card released by Good Jobs First. The authors examined 238 economic development subsidy programs in all 50 states and Washington D.C., including corporate income tax credits, cash grants, loans, enterprise zones, worker training grants and other types of programs. Though none of the states scored an "A" in the report ratings, Nevada, North Carolina and Vermont took the top spots.