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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Report: Michigan Needs To Do More To Bolster Benefits For Non Degreed
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| LANSING - With a growing gap in jobless rates between those with a four-year degree and those without, the state should do more to bolster benefits to people without advanced education and should increase training opportunities for adults who want to return to school, the League for Human Services said in a recent report.
The Labor Day Report: Economic Challenges Underscore the Needs of Low-Income Workers said that in 2007, people without a high school diploma had more than a 15 percent higher rate of unemployment than those with a bachelor's degree. While those with a four-year degree had less than a 5 percent unemployment rate last year, people who hadn't finished high school had a 20 percent jobless rate.
While two decades ago, a worker's level of education wasn't an accurate prediction of his or her earning potential, a person now earns about 1.5 times more with a degree than without a diploma. Last year, the average wage of people who didn't graduate from high school was about $10 an hour, $15 less than those with a bachelor's degree.
"We think this simple fact alone provides a clear call to action to create a better path to postsecondary education in Michigan, particularly for adults caught in a changing labor market," said League President Sharon Parks.
Suggestions in the report include that the state take advantage of the federal government's recent move to count education and training for adult learners as allowable activity under welfare-to-work participation requirements by sending more welfare recipients to training and education programs.
Four of the top six jobs held by Michigan residents last year, which include retail sales, cashiers, food service and wait staff, earned less than $21,000, the federal poverty level for a family of four.
Only nurses, who can work with a two-year degree, earned a wage much higher at an average of around $29 per hour, without a four-year degree.
The report also reiterated past calls that the state work to increase quality and access to public transportation and increase unemployment and cash assistance benefit amounts, along with Medicaid reimbursement amounts.
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Author: Staff Writer
Source:
Gongwer News Service
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