21st Century career success essential skills
The business-led metro Kansas City regional prosperity organization KC Rising recently published a terrific report defining what are the essential skills all students need for career success. Their definition: Communication – The ability to adapt within various channels, to connect effectively with clients, co-workers, supervisors, and other collaborators. Collaboration – Cohesive teamwork that recognizes and […]
Michigan’s top ten upper middle class occupations
This post answers the question “What are Michigan’s top ten upper middle class occupations?” Where we define upper middle class as jobs that pay at least $70,539. Our calculation of what it takes to be upper middle class for a three person household. In 2019 there were 914,000 of those jobs out of a total […]
STEM doesn’t dominate Michigan middle class jobs
This post updates our analysis of the proportion of good-paying Michigan jobs that are in STEM fields. This time using our middle class jobs for a three person household threshold. Where we define middle class as payroll jobs than pay at least $47,026, and upper middle class as payroll jobs than pay at least $70,539. […]
Michigan Future’s American Rescue Plan priorities
For the first time in a generation Michigan, its schools and local units of government have new revenue for public investments. An unprecedented amount of new money, anchored by the American Rescue Plan funding. Which, of course, raises the question “how can those new funds be used to best help improve the well-being of all […]
How much workers make in a two-tier labor market
In a previous post we detailed that Michigan has a two-tier labor market. One for those with a B.A. or more and the other for those without a B.A. The B.A. labor market is dominated by jobs that pay middle class wages for a household of three. The non B.A. labor market is dominated by […]
McKinsey on economic opportunity post pandemic
Must read new report from McKinsey entitled Unequal America: Ten insights on the state of economic opportunity. The findings come from an online survey conducted by Ipsos of 25,000 Americans in the spring of 2021. Results are reported on for Americans as a whole as well as for a wide variety of demographic and geographic […]
Michigan has a two-tier labor market
Michigan’s two-tier economy exists in large part because Michigan has a two-tier labor market. Michigan’s high ALICE rate––38 percent in the strong 2019 economy––exists in large part because Michigan has a two-tier labor market. The reality is that in both expanding and contracting economies, Michigan has two labor markets: one tier of occupations that do […]
Oracle bringing 8,500 high-wage jobs to Nashville
Last month Oracle announced they are bringing 8,500 jobs at an average salary of $110,000 to central city Nashville. The company will invest $1.2 billion to build out its new campus, including $175 million for public infrastructure. The city, in its statement about the Oracle investment, writes: “We are thrilled that Oracle is ready to […]
Turning a K-shaped economy into an economy that benefits all
K-shaped economy is how many describe our economy since the pandemic. And most expect the recovery to be K-shaped as well. The reality is that the Michigan economy was K-shaped pre-pandemic. With those at the top doing well, but far too many households struggling in the strong 2019 Michigan economy. As we explored in our […]
The 2019 Michigan economy was not one of our best ever
The Michigan Association of United Ways recently reported that in Michigan’s strong pre-pandemic 2019 economy 38 percent of Michigan households were unable to pay for basic necessities. So in what many called the best U.S. and Michigan economy ever, nearly four in ten Michigan households (1.5 million) did not earn enough to pay for housing, […]