State of the Workforce Report 2019

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) is proud to present the first-ever State of the Workforce Report. As the national organization that supports the workforce agencies in every state, we know that much of the workforce success throughout the country is led by the frontline workers in these state agencies. They are managing the programs and tools that help connect job seekers to training, education and career opportunities.

In August 2018, the two of us met together to discover a way to highlight the uniqueness of every state and the innovations taking place to serve the workforce. Every state is set up differently in how they manage workforce programs. Yet each state works to accomplish the same thing in supporting their citizens with every opportunity to become self-sustaining. Our vision came together in this first ever NASWA State of the Workforce Report.

Every state will be highlighted with the latest year’s key labor market information and workforce agency profile. In addition, each state had the opportunity to feature “State Innovations” to demonstrate unique programs they are implementing to further support the local labor force.

We applaud every state in the union and more specifically the workforce agencies in each state. They are the boots on the ground, the partners in the community and the innovators that are striving to build each state’s workforce to support the economic success we are striving for.

Please utilize this report as a tool for better understanding, but you don’t need to stop there. If you see something you find interesting and want to learn more, contact the state workforce agency and start a conversation.

We appreciate representatives from every state who worked to put this report together. We are excited to see how it will be received and how it will evolve over the years to showcase the work that is happening in every state to support the workforce.