State of the St. Louis Workforce Reports
Understand the St. Louis job market through our in-depth reports, surveys, and infographic summaries.
2023 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
The 2023 State of the St. Louis Workforce report focuses on the comprehensive overview
of the regional economic and workforce trends. It adds a highlight on an individual
sector each year to track trends in a specific industry that is key to the region,
and therefore key to St. Louis Community College’s education and training efforts.
This report includes a spotlight on advanced manufacturing, a pillar of our region
and gateway to future economic growth and jobs. The St. Louis area holds 42% of Missouri’s
jobs in advanced manufacturing.
Download the 2023 Report
2023 Report to the Region
This summary highlights key findings of the 2023 State of St. Louis Workforce Report.
Explore a snapshot of data and opportunities explored in the full report.
Download the 2023 Report to the Region
2022 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
For the first time in three years, we can examine the St. Louis workforce beyond the
immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual State of the St. Louis Workforce
report supplies our region with a clearer picture of our primary asset: our workers.
The report also highlights three key topics that impact St. Louis now and that will
continue to influence our economy for the foreseeable future: geospatial, startups,
and immigration. For all the attention they receive in the media, they remain buzzwords
and a mystery for most of us.
Download the 2022 State of St. Louis Workforce Report
2022 Report to the Region
This summary highlights key findings of the 2021 State of St. Louis Workforce Report.
Explore a snapshot of data and opportunities explored in the full report.
Download the 2022 Report to the Region
2021 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
This report explores the trends and challenges impacting our region’s employers and
workforce and examines “Equitable Recovery, Equitable Opportunity, Equitable Growth”
with a focus on aspects of the recently released STL 2030 Jobs Plan, including the
definition of “quality jobs,” building the pipeline to equitable opportunity, the
workforce of the future and the role employers, institutions and individuals can play
in helping our region become a talent engine and magnet for workers living in St.
Louis.
Download the 2021 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
2021 Report to the Region
This summary highlights key findings of the 2021 State of St. Louis Workforce Report.
Explore a snapshot of data and opportunities explored in the full report.
Download the 2021 Report to the Region
2020 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
Prior to COVID-19, last year's report questioned if our region had achieved a full-employment
economy and discussed who had been left behind. Our 2020 report has expanded to explore
the shorter-term impacts of COVID-19 on our region's workforce and the implications
of what lies ahead. While many employers and workers in the St. Louis region have
faced challenges during the past 12 months, a sense of resiliency remains for many,
and hints of optimism are starting to emerge.
Download the 2020 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
2020 Report to the Region
This summary highlights key findings of the 2020 State of St. Louis Workforce Report.
Explore a snapshot of data and opportunities explored in the full report.
Download the 2020 Report to the Region
2019 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
Our 2019 survey of 1,144 employers from 16 industry sectors represents a composite
of the St. Louis regional economy. Since St. Louis Community College’s first report
in 2009, we have tracked the region’s transition from the high unemployment of the
Great Recession through the last ten years of growth to a labor market now constrained
by a lack of available workers. Over one-third of employers reported that they were
experiencing a shortage of skilled applicants. The percentage of employers reporting
they will hire new full-time employees has dropped by six percent. And employers are
continuing to balance a desire for experience and education with the need to maintain
a pipeline of candidates in a low unemployment economy. We partnered with three local
organizations to understand who is being left behind in our full-employment economy,
why, and what employers and community partners are doing to eliminate those gaps.
Download the 2019 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
2019 Report to the Region
This summary sheet highlights key findings of the 2019 State of St. Louis Workforce
Report. Explore a snapshot of data and opportunities explored in the full report.
Download the 2019 Report to the Region
2018 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
For 2018, the survey and report focused on three industry sectors that are of critical
importance to our economy. Information Technology is represented by Technology-Intensive
Services, employing more than 140,000 workers in the region, many of whom utilize
information technology skills in their work. Average wages exceed $90,000. Financial
Services has become an important factor in the changing profile of the economy with
first- and second-tier corporate locations established in St. Louis. Health Care –
with nearly 165,000 employees – provided a crucial employment lifeline during the
difficult recession years and continues to grow to serve an aging population. More
than half of the job postings for health care are for middle-skill jobs. The 2018
State of the St. Louis Workforce Report reflects a growing local economy but with
a constricted labor market supply due to low unemployment, an aging workforce and
static labor force participation that may eventually constrain future growth.
Download the 2018 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
2018 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2018 State of St. Louis
Workforce Report on St. Louis Technology, Finance and Health Care industry sectors.
Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, barriers to employment, applicant
shortages and shortcomings, required workforce skills, and education and experience
requirements.
Download the 2018 Report to the Region