State of the St. Louis Workforce Reports
Understand the St. Louis job market through our in-depth reports, surveys, and infographic summaries.
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
2017 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
Our survey of nearly 1,100 employers from fifteen industry sectors represents a composite
of the St. Louis regional economy. This year's theme is “Right in the middle: Skills
at the center of the St. Louis economy.” It focuses particular attention on middle-skill
jobs, those that require education or training beyond high school but not a four-year
degree. Individuals can prepare for these jobs in a variety of ways including community
college degrees and certificates, industry recognized credentials, and formal and
informal apprenticeships.
Download the 2017 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
2017 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2017 State of St. Louis
Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, barriers
to employment, workforce skills, education and experience requirements, and opportunity
and advancement.
Download the 2017 Report to the Region
2016 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
The 2016 report focuses on three important industry sectors that represent the past, present and future of our economy and workforce: manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation & logistics. Manufacturing is a rich part of our history and will play an important part in our future if we can make the adjustments to new markets and technologies. Healthcare not only has provided a strong employment base for the region, but also shows growth opportunities in health information and services. Transportation & logistics represents untapped growth for our region, given our central location and multi-modal capacity.
2016 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2016 State of St. Louis Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, barriers to employment, workforce skills, education and experience requirements, and bridges to opportunity.
2015 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
This report focuses on the wide range of industries and occupations that comprise the St. Louis economy and workforce. The events of 2014 in Ferguson remind us, however, that the benefits of an improving economy have not been evenly distributed throughout our community. The theme of the 2015 report is Economic Opportunity Gaps in the St. Louis Workforce.
2015 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2015 State of St. Louis Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, workforce skills, education advantage, and college graduate preparedness for employment.
2014 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, occupations drive our information economy and STEM graduates are the most sought after by employers while demanding some of the highest wages. We have tailored this year’s State of the St. Louis STEM Workforce Report to the supply and demand for STEM talent as well as the challenges and opportunities in developing and acquiring the region’s STEM workforce.
2014 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2014 State of St. Louis STEM Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, required workforce skills, STEM employment and education, and the value of STEM.
2013 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
The information we gathered for 2013 was broad and deep. It told the story of an improving economy and an increase in employer optimism, but with a continued bias towards caution. It informed us that there is a very competitive labor market with a premium on knowledge workers. It revealed that soft skills were still the major shortcoming of job applicants and that a lack of qualified graduates in various disciplines was the most cited reason for skill shortages.
2013 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2013 State of St. Louis Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, workforce skills, education advantage, and college graduate preparedness for employment.
2012 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
This year's survey interviewed over 1,200 companies about the employment outlook and talent acquisition and development issues. We found an improving economy but a cautious employer community. In the most in-depth look we’ve ever taken to obtain qualitative insights into the skill gap question we conducted case study interviews with six executives representing a cross section of growing industries and occupations.
2012 Report to the Region
This four-page summary report highlights the findings of the 2012 State of St. Louis Workforce Report. Gain critical insights on the region's employer outlook, workforce skills, education advantage, and college graduate preparedness for employment.
2011 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
The effects of the recession are still being felt. Be it a company or individual, this recession spared no one and has spurred a critical examination of how we build a stronger economy together. A theme of Moving Forward, a proactive effort championed by the St. Louis Community College to better understand how employers, education and training providers, and job seekers can collaborate for accelerated recovery, guided the efforts of this study.
2010 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
The 2010 State of St. Louis Workforce Report is the second annual report providing critical workforce intelligence to business, economic development and education decision makers as they attempt to “pierce the veil” of an uneven and somewhat uncertain economic recovery. This report focuses on an economy that has experienced a jump start from a number of economic stimuli but is now settling into the reality of a long and uneven recovery, particularly in job creation.
2009 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report
This report provides critical workforce intelligence that business, economic development and education decision makers will find valuable as they develop strategies to address a changed environment for business development, economic development and talent development for our region.