A new report by the Central Valley/Mother Lode Center of Excellence finds there is a growing need in the region for middle-skill workers, with 99,880 annual openings projected for jobs requiring some education and training beyond high school, but less than a bachelor’s degree. 

The “2021 Labor Market Overview: Central Valley/Mother Lode Region” report reveals that although there are nearly 100,000 middle-skill annual openings projected in the region, community colleges are only producing 22,000 students on average each year to fill those jobs. This represents a substantial undersupply of more than 77,600 workers.

The three sectors with the greatest potential shortage of workers in the region are:

• Health, an undersupply of 14,914 workers
• Business and entrepreneurship, an undersupply of 15,273 workers
• Energy, construction, and utilities, an undersupply of 7,363 workers

The report also identifies:

• Middle-skill occupations with the most annual openings in the region
• Entry-level and median wages for key middle-skill occupations 
• Top skills requested by employers in job postings by sector
• Worker disparities in terms of reported race/ethnicity by sector 
• The number of students receiving awards (degrees and certificates) by community college program