Anthony P. Carnevale - Nicole Smith - 

Jeff Strohl

Release date: June 15, 2010

• Read the Full Report (PDF)*

  • NEW:  Download the ePub or Kindle versions**

  • Read the Appendices (PDF)

• Executive Summary (PDF)

• Press Release (PDF)

• Access the State-Level Analysis

• Help Wanted has been cited by the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Huffington Post, NPR, The Associated Press, Fox News, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Center for American Progress. 

"America is slowly coming out of the Recession of 2007—only to find itself on a collision course with the future: not enough Americans are completing college . . . By 2018, we will need 22 million new workers with college degrees—but will fall short of that number by at least 3 million postsecondary degrees . . . At a time when every job is precious, this shortfall will mean lost economic opportunity for millions of American workers."

 -Help Wanted, Executive Summary

The report presents a new approach that answers some critical questions about the emerging economy, including:

• When will the jobs come back?

• Where will the jobs be? Which states? Which industries? Which occupations?

• What postsecondary certificates and degrees will be required?

• Will the education system be able to keep up?

• How much will it cost to fund the postsecondary education America needs?

*The technical report on the Center's methodology can be found here.

** These eBooks were made possible by Lumina Foundation.