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| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 319 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 301 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 296 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 276 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 266 | 0.00% |
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $57,277 | $27.54 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $55,915 | $26.88 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | $55,605 | $26.73 | +0.8% |
| 2022 | $55,139 | $26.51 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $53,915 | $25.92 | +1.4% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 180 | 24% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 314 | 23% |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 160 | 23% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 163 | 22% |
| 5 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 174 | 20% |
| 6 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 359 | 19% |
| 7 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 469 | 16% |
| 8 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 339 | 16% |
| 9 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,524 | 15% |
| 10 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 486 | 15% |
| 11 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,800 | 14% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,467 | 14% |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 836 | 14% |
| 14 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 410 | 14% |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,673 | 13% |
| 16 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 821 | 12% |
| 17 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 722 | 12% |
| 18 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 587 | 12% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 213 | 12% |
| 20 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 173 | 12% |
University of Alaska Fairbanks

University of Nebraska - Omaha

Ohio University
Clemson University

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
West Virginia State University

University of Houston-Downtown
American University

The University of Texas at Arlington

Baker University
University of Redlands

University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Jaunelle Celaire: Learn from everything. Remember every moment is a learning opportunity from everyone around you, no matter their title. Pay attention when things go well and clue in and pay extra attention when they do not; watch how people react to it. Build relationships and network with the people who face problems by being their solution.

Dr. Dustin White Ph.D.: I think that the biggest trend that we should expect to see in the job market (both during the pandemic and after) is an acknowledgement that remote work can be effective in many kinds of jobs. This should lead to increased flexibility in location for job seekers. Previously, most companies were very reluctant to hire remote workers. The pandemic should have changed that opinion for many firms. If companies are reluctant to accept remote work and can't give a good reason why, they are likely to lose a competitive edge to more flexible workplaces.

Ohio University
College of Arts and Sciences
Brian Collins Ph.D.: Intercultural competency and critical thinking are absolutely essential to dealing with our increasingly diverse and fragmented society.
Brian Collins Ph.D.: The ability to deal with change, the only constant in life, is the product of a humanities education and is also what puts people in the running for promotion within an organization or allows them to get hired into new and often largely undefined positions that require someone who can navigate the shifting sands.
Curtis Simon: I think it is hard to gauge the impact of the pandemic. We know that downturns in economic activity have a negative impact on cohorts entering the labor market, and historically, that negative impact persists in the form of depressed earnings for many years. So that's a guess.

Dr. Marianne Wanamaker Ph.D.: There has been a steady push towards more analytic and data skills for undergraduates over the past decade. That emphasis appears to be here to stay.
Dr. Marianne Wanamaker Ph.D.: Any hands-on experience is a huge advantage in today's labor market. I always encourage my students to take as many project-based courses as they can. It gives you something tangible to talk about in an internship or job interview. Writing experience is also really helpful.
West Virginia State University
Economics Department
Dr. Mark Wilson: Job skills that stand out: two skills that every job seeker should now cultivate are: proficiency with spreadsheets and proficiency with online conferencing (e.g., Zoom, Skype). Most graduates have low skills in spreadsheets and will be trying to learn these skills on-the-fly. Proficient spreadsheet users are able to take their skills to the next level. As for teleconferencing, we are just scratching the surface of what COVID has taught us about online meetings. Newbies in the job market should be skilled enough in teleconferencing that they can share screens, do hosting, and know etiquette of conference calling.

Rob Austin McKee Ph.D.: Some of the most significant workplace issues are the uncertainty regarding when the pandemic will end, and the degree to which our shift away from the traditional workplace model (i.e., in-person versus remote work) is permanent. This predicament is similar to the idea of punctuated equilibrium; we are enduring a great upheaval, but we will achieve a new status quo at some point. To the extent that employers shift to a more remote workforce, graduates will need to learn how to be productive in their home environments while maintaining a clear division between work and other aspects of their lives.
In other words, it will be necessary for them to defend proper work-life balance. Doing so may be challenging because remote workers will likely have to contend with increasingly popular employer-required productivity and performance tracking software that may incentivize them to work more or focus on employer-prescribed metrics that are imperfectly aligned with their work tasks. So, workers need to master the autonomy resulting from such physical separation from their managers while simultaneously learning how to navigate the productivity and surveillance systems that intend to substitute those aspects of traditional management.
Rob Austin McKee Ph.D.: We have established that internships are scarce, and the job market is dismal. In this environment, applicants must demonstrate that they were not complacent while they were unemployed or underemployed. They can rise above the applicant pool and impress potential employers by showing that they used any time spent unemployed or underemployed building or refining the knowledge, skills, and abilities of value to prospective hiring firms.
Beyond the resume, applicants should master the virtual interview process and realize that some underappreciated factors may influence their success. Good lighting, a clean and quiet environment, and a stable internet connection are all important. Any student taking virtual classes knows how easy it is to lose focus or become distracted by their phones, pets, family members, etc. Realize that any person(s) remotely interviewing them may have the same distractions present, especially if they are conducting the interview from home. So, interviewees must be able to provide an engaging interview. So, practice!
Evan Kraft Ph.D.: In the next few months, I am afraid that we will not see a lot of good economic news. If anything, we can expect more restrictions on people's movements and on business activities that require people to be in close proximity to each other. We probably will not see a lot of good news until the later spring/early summer, when larger numbers of people will have received the vaccines, and better weather allows for more outdoor activity.
Overall, unemployment insurance claims rose last week to 853,000, the highest level since October. To give you an idea of how big that is, in a good economy 200 to 250,000 would be a normal number. And this number represents an increase from recent numbers.
However, there are some companies expanding at the moment. AU grads may be well-equipped to cope with jobs that involve working remotely, using analytical and computer skills. Those parts of the economy that can operate online are chugging on, in some cases growing, while those parts of the economy that operate in-person are having difficulties.
Evan Kraft Ph.D.: In general, employers are usually looking for people who can take initiative and responsibility. Specific skills such as computer programming, knowledge of useful software are great, but a job candidate's ability to express themselves, their confidence and ability to communicate, and their interpersonal skills are still very important. The AU degree and specific knowledge students gathered at AU can be a big plus, along with these other qualities.
Michael Ward: Doing well in coursework is great, but what sells a job candidate is the initiative in an activity that shows that you have synthesized and applied what you have learned across multiple courses. This is a big ask but, there are plenty of ways to do this. You can join an extra-curricular club, but better is providing the leadership to enhance the club experience. You can take a part-time job, but better is founding a small entrepreneurial business that fills an unmet need. You can write term papers for classes, but better is helping draft and implement action plans for, say, a non-profit. If you have an interest in a hobby, a sport, or an industry, show that you have developed it into an expertise. All resumes include coursework, but activities that demonstrate initiative will stand out.
Michael Ward: More dynamic areas provide more opportunities. This applies to regions, to industries, and to skill sets. Since economists excel at problem solving, more dynamic settings provide more opportunities for creative solutions. Dynamic settings are also more receptive to the new solutions economists can identify. This is why so many economists have been courted by Silicon Valley startups. The beauty of economics is it provides an analytical framework in so many areas. The difficulty is that it is up to the job candidate to demonstrate how this framework applies in a particular endeavor.

Baker University
Business and Economics
Narbeli Galindo: It is my prediction that in the next few years some of the companies, in the industries I have mentioned above, will have high demand for graduates, who are creative, eager to learn and ready to be train, so they can start to make a difference. As the economy improves and the virus is under control, more companies in industries that were affected, will start looking to hire graduates, who have innovative ideas, so they can help those companies overcome the recent economic downturn.
University of Redlands
School of Business
Johannes Moenius Ph.D.: Almost surely, yes, and for several reasons:
1) There are fewer entry-level jobs where graduates can get basic training to complement their university education.
2) Fewer jobs means lower entry-level pay, so payment trajectories start out at lower levels. This has already been observed after the Great Recession. Those lower-level starts in terms of salaries are hard to ever make up for in the future.
3) Fewer jobs also mean many graduates will likely be forced to work in professions that they did not intend to work for or in and in which only part of their skills developed during their university education will be applicable. Getting back into the original job trajectory they had studied for gets harder with every year they work in a different type of job.
Johannes Moenius Ph.D.: Everyone talks about STEM, soft skills, high levels of expertise, and management. Our own analysis shows that this is likely not going to be correct across the board. Street math (i.e., addition, subtracting, etc.) is already done by calculators everywhere. Not all jobs require higher levels of math. Our research has especially shown that there is substantial regional variation in skill requirements, so there is no one size fits all. However, there are some sets of skills that ranked first in our research almost across the board, specifically, fundamental skills like reading comprehension and writing. Combined with communication skills and entrepreneurial attitudes, these are workforce skills and traits that will be almost universal.

C. Jeffrey Waddoups Ph.D.:
The absolute collapse in demand for workers in the hospitality sector, in other sectors where in-person services are provided, and the accompanying economic hardships these workers face.
Also, the change to remote work will permanently alter the way many of us do our jobs.
C. Jeffrey Waddoups Ph.D.: Workers must be able to communicate clearly and professionally, and in an era of remote work, this suggests that writing skills are particularly important. Economics graduates are often expected to be good with data and numbers. The pandemic has not changed this.