The Micro and Macro Effects in Support of More Education

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Rajiv Malhotra

UMassOnline, Blogger, Raj Malhotra Dean Calbreath is a staff writer for The San Diego Union Tribune. In an article he’s just written, entitled “Employment data lesson: Get a good education,” he’s gone way beyond the usual and common advice about staying in school. Two specific points he makes really stand out. First, using reliable government stats, Mr. Calbreath demonstrates how the unemployment rate breaks down as it applies to people with and without education credentials:

As the national jobless rate hovered at 10 percent last month, it was 15.3 percent for workers who never graduated high school; 10.5 percent for high school graduates; 9 percent for workers who attended some college; and 5 percent for those with a four-year degree or better, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On some level people everywhere probably intuitively know this, but I don’t recall seeing the numbers like that and the stark contrast in joblessness based on more or less education. But the second point made in is piece seems even more startling.

Referring to a recent survey by the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington, D.C, Mr. Calbreath notes the collective impact over time due to college dropout rates:

…the alliance calculated that in the nation’s 45 biggest metropolitan areas, 1.3 million students dropped out of the Class of 2008. If only half of them had remained in school, the study said, by the time they reached the middle of their career, they would be earning an additional $4.1 billion, generating spending and investments that would create an additional 30,000 jobs for the economy, adding a net total of $5.3 billion to their regional economies.

The unusual and thoughtful piece goes on to discuss ways various people and institutions are trying to lower dropout rates and there are additional regional calculations including some for the San Diego area. I highly recommend the article which is available here.