Career One Stop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides a directory of Website links to state and national career and labor market information offices. Users can search by state to find a state profile with employment trends data, employment-related resources, and the website link to the state’s labor market information office, if available.

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies released this report about State labor market information (LMI) shops. State LMI shops have varying roles and responsibilities in different State governments, and may be part of the State workforce agency or a separate agency, but all LMI shops can foster effective workforce development through the products they disseminate and the services they provide. The report uses Michigan, Utah, and Washington as examples to demonstrate the integral contributions of these States’ LMI shops to the workforce system.

Self-regulation skills, which research suggests are important for goal setting, help individuals achieve employment goals. In this report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the self-regulation skills that have an impact on employment are discussed, as well as the ways in which environmental factors like poverty can hurt development of these skills. The report also includes advice for practitioners on how to build the self-regulation skills of program participants and highlights employment programs that have integrated skill development opportunities into their programming.

Subsidized employment programs create jobs for unemployed individuals using public funds. According to this issue brief by MDRC, these programs are helpful in challenging economic circumstances when individuals are struggling to find work, and they are also helpful to those who have barriers to employment because they allow these individuals to gain workplace experience. The brief discusses benefits of these programs and also discusses a type of subsidized employment, transitional jobs. In transitional jobs programs, individuals are offered a temporary job to build their skills and offered additional support services while they seek permanent work.

Many middle-skill jobs, which require some postsecondary education but not always a four-year degree, are available in the growing healthcare industry and are excellent opportunities for lower-skilled workers to develop skills and access career pathways. This report from the Urban Institute discusses employer engagement in the development of middle-skill initiatives, such as training programs, from an employer perspective. By looking at this issue from the employer perspective, workforce development programs and funders can better access the proven benefits from employer involvement in building middle-skill programs.

Connecting low-income individuals to available jobs can be a challenge when available training programs are too expensive or do not teach the skills that employers are looking for. In this podcast from MDRC, a sector-focused approach to training is discussed, which can help with these issues by making sure the available labor force receives credentials that will lead to success in the workforce. Engaging employers in the skill-building process is one facet of the WorkAdvance program, and one of the researchers evaluating this program serves as an expert discussant on the podcast.

Between 2012 and 2016, the Capital One Foundation’s Human Capital Innovation Fund supported five workforce organizations in an effort to develop new strategies for serving unemployed and underemployed individuals. This report from the Aspen Institute describes the experiences of the five organizations, located in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Louisiana, and New York, New York, as they developed and implemented their new strategies. Topics discussed include partnerships with other organizations and building employer relationships.

This brief from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy discusses demographics in Southwestern Minnesota, a rural area where the population is aging and becoming more diverse, particularly among youth. The goal of the brief is to analyze the circumstances youth face in this region, including consideration of economic, educational, and social indicators. Also discussed is the increasing inequality of opportunity, as well as the strengths of the region that could facilitate improvements to social circumstances and youth opportunities.

This post from the Annie E. Casey Foundation presents data at the state and national level regarding the well-being and economic status of families. The author notes that to achieve financial stability, all available parents will likely need to work. In addition, the post discusses the need for access to affordable child care and paid leave.