Employment & Job Readiness

• Why focus on job training and employment?
• Living Wage
• Context
• Population growth
• Work force
• Job openings
• Wages
• Education
• Immigration
• Best practices
• Resources
• Footnotes
• NEW! Unemployment and Layoff Data - UPDATED monthly

Vision

Residents of King County earn a living wage and are able to provide for themselves and their families.

Why focus on job training & employment?

• Wages in high skill jobs and in certain industries have increased over the past decade but wages have stayed flat or declined in many entry level low-wage jobs.
• Often people cannot progress to living wage jobs because they lack the skills, education and English language ability to advance in their employment.
• It is imperative to improve the ability of low-wage workers to progress out of entry-level jobs so that they can increase their capacity to care for themselves and their families.
• In 2008, 9.5% of all people in King County had income in the previous twelve months below the poverty level. ^[1]

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Living Wage

A living wage is the minimum income that a family needs to provide the basic necessities of life. A living wage for a family of 4 with only one working adult is about $50,000 annually. A single person needs to earn at least $26,000 a year to afford a basic standard of living. A family of 4 where both adults work would need $71,374 a year to cover basic expenses, plus child care.

• 24% of jobs don’t pay a living wage for a single person.
• 76% of jobs don’t pay a living wage for a single parent with a toddler and school-age child.
• 64% of jobs don’t pay a living wage for a 4 person family with one wage earner.^[2]

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Context

The ability of people to get and retain living wage jobs is influenced by economic and cultural factors. Regardless of economic conditions, when good paying jobs are available people must have the skills to be hired at those positions and the stability in their lives to be successful. Those that have very low-income, lack specific skills or work history, and individuals new to the country often require additional resources and attention. Empowering these populations by providing access to employment resources will enable them to advance to well paying jobs.

Population Growth:

• King County’s estimated population in 2008 was 1,861,792.
• An estimated 124,758 people were added to the county between 2000 and 2008. All four subregions experienced population increases with South King County accounting for the highest portion of the overall increase at 34.2%.
• King County represents 28.6% of Washington State’s population. 
• Between 2000 and 2008 the county population grew at a rate of 7.2%.^[3]

Work Force

• The average employment in all of King County averaged 1,134,735 for the first three quarters of 2009.
• The preliminary April 2010 unemployment rate is 7.5%, which is down from 8.2% in March 2010.^[4]

The official unemployment rate does not take into account “discouraged workers,” that is unemployed workers who have given up looking for work because they believe that they will not find a job. Depending on the tightness of the labor market best estimates indicate that the adjusted unemployment rate, including discouraged workers, is between .2 and .5% higher than the official unemployment rate.

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Job Openings

• King County had approximately 13,665 job vacancies in October 2009, a 2.1% vacancy rate. The median wage offered in those vacancies is $11.75.^[5]
• From April 2009 to April 2010 the construction industry has lost 20,700 jobs, the highest volume and percentage loss of any industry.^[6]
• According to Employment Security Department’s job vacancy survey, the top four occupation groups in King County with the highest number of job openings during 2009 were computer applications software engineers, computer systems software engineers, registered nurses, and janitors and cleaners.
• According to the Seattle Job Initiative’s February 2010 report, the four occupations expected to see the largest average annual growth rates are: child care worker, registered nurse, personal and home care aides, and medical secretaries.
   

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Wages

For most people wages earned through work are the primary source of income. Wage rates for most jobs are driven by market forces but there is a minimum wage that civilian non agricultural employers are required to pay any worker in the State of Washington.

• The minimum wage in the state of Washington as of January 2010 is $8.55 per hour.
• The Washington State minimum wage is the highest in the nation and Washington is one of less than 10 states that adjusts its rate annually for inflation.
• A full time minimum wage worker earns approximately $17,100 per year in Washington State.
• Because of the high cost of living in King County an income greater than the minimum wage is necessary to pay for basic necessities.
   

According to the Self Sufficiency Calculator provided by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle / King County depending on the size and composition of the family as much as three times the minimum wage may be necessary to maintain self sufficiency. The table below shows the average annual expenses 4 different household types would experience living in King County and the wages necessary to make ends meet.

Source: Washington State Employment Security Department

Specific employment barriers include:

• Lack of Education
• Lack of Work History
• Low Income
• Child Care
• Transportation
• Substance-Abuse
• Homelessness
• Language Barriers
• Disabilities

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Education

Education is a critical foundational element of job readiness. High School completion is required for the vast majority of jobs and additional education and specific skills training is often necessary to acquire and retain a well paying job.    

• In the 2008-09 school year 80.5% of King County high School students graduated on-time and an additional 6.0% completed graduation requirements within a year after their expected graduation date.
• In 2008-09 the on-time graduation rates in King County were 85.1% for Whites, 64.5% for Blacks, and 64.1% for Hispanics.^[7]
• In 2008, 91.9% of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school or earned a high school equivalent. 44.5% of people over 25 had a bachelor's degree or higher.
• The total school enrollment in King County was 442,064 in 2008. 79.9% (353,646) of the school enrollment was in public schools.  Pre-Primary school enrollment was 53,051, 28,654 of which were enrolled in public schools.  High school enrollment was 90,226 and college enrollment was 127,810.

A student’s ability to learn in school is related to several factors that may limit his or her capacity to understand what is being taught or participate in class in a meaningful way. The diversity in King County is reflected in the growing number of students for which English is not the first language.

• In 2009, the number of languages spoken by students in King County school districts varied between 22 and 85.
• Almost 29,000 students or 11.2% of the total student population of King County participated in Transitional Bilingual programs offered through public schools in 2009.^[9]

Sufficient nourishment is necessary for normal development of a child and is very important to a student’s ability to maximize the learning experience in school. The Free and Reduced Price lunch program provides students with a substantial meal at little or no cost to children of parents with low incomes. The lunch program is also an indicator of the level of the number of children living in or near poverty in our community.

• 86,719 or 33.9% of the student population in King County were eligible for the Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program in 2009.^[10]

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Immigration

• Language and cultural barriers, coupled with immigration policy impacting legal and work status challenges, delay the smooth transition of limited English job seekers into our local workforce.
• As of  2008,12.5% of people in the United States are foreign born.^[11]
• Nationally, foreign born workers make-up 15% of all workers, while foreign born individuals account for one out of every 5 low-wage workers.  Additionally, foreign born workers comprise 45% of lower-skilled workers.^[12]
• Over thirty percent of all foreign-born residents in Washington State arrived after 2000 and 56.0% are non-citizens. The majority of our current foreign- born refugee and immigrant residents originated in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.^[13]
• According to the 2008 American Community Survey 367,464 King County residents, or 19.6% of the population, were foreign born.^[14]

America’s aging   workforce and growth rate of foreign born populations make workforce planning entities vital in improving access to resources that assist immigrants with limited English-language proficiency to obtain the necessary training and skills to achieve wage advancements.

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Best Practices

Go to the index to best and promising practices

Resources

Footnotes

^{[1] American Community Survey 2008 1-year estimates US Census Bureau. Downloaded from American Fact Finder 6/14/2010 http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_DP3YR3&-ds_name=&-gc_url=null&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=05000US53033&-format=&-_lang=en
[2] Communities Count 2008. Rep. Communitiescount.org, 2008. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.communitiescount.org/index.php?page=archives&year=2008>.
[3] Claritas 2008 Update (Census Tract Level)
[4] Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Downloaded from Databases, Tables, & Calculators by Subject 6/14/2010 http://data.bls.gov:8080/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet;jsessionid=6230ec4084f242197e75
[5] Washington State Job Vacancy Survey Report. Rep. Washington State Employment Security Department, Fall 2009. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/10229_JVSOct_09Rep.pdf#zoom=100
[6] Job Trends Report. Rep. Seattle Jobs Initiative, Feb. 2010. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.seattlejobsinitiative.com/policy/publications/documents/SJI_Job_Trends_Report_Jan_2010_vFINAL.pdf>
[7] Graduation and Dropout Statistics for Washington in 2008-09. Rep. Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2010. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.k12.wa.us/dataadmin/pubdocs/GradDropout/08-09/GraduationDropoutWashington2008-09.pdf>.
[8] American Community Survey 2008 1-year estimates US Census Bureau. Downloaded from American Fact Finder 6/14/2010 <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G2000_C14003&-mt_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G2000_C14002&-mt_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G2000_B14002&-mt_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G2000_B14001&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=05000US53033&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en>
[9] Educating English Language Learners in Washington State, 2008-09. Rep. Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dec. 2009. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/pubdocs/2008-09TBIPLegReport_16DEC09.pdf>.
[10]Free and Reducded PRice MEals Eligibility (October Count), Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, DOwnloaded 6/14/2010 <http://www.k12.wa.us/ChildNutrition/Reports/FreeReduced/NSLP2009-Sch.xls>
[11] American Community Survey 2008 1-year estimates US Census Bureau. Downloaded from American Fact Finder 6/14/2010 <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-gc_url=null&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en>
[12] Trends in the Low-Wage Immigrant Labor Force, 2000–2005. Rep. The Urban Institute, Mar. 2007. Web. 14 June 2010. <http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411426_Low-Wage_Immigrant_Labor.pdf>.
[13] American Community Survey 2008 1-year estimates, US Census Bureau, Downloaded from American Fact Finder 6/14/10 <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US53&-context=adp&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-tree_id=308&-_lang=en&-_caller=geoselect&-format=>
[14] American Community Survey 2008 1-year estimates, US Census Bureau, Downloaded from American Fact Finder 6/14/10  <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-tree_id=308&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=05000US53033&-format=&-_lang=en}
 

^{Updated: June 2010}

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