Priorities for Federal Workforce and Higher Education Policy

There are some negative consequences caused by the fragmentation of federal and state support for workforce policy across programs administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and agencies. Most students in high school and community college receive little labor force information or career counseling. Their choices about which institutions to attend, programs of study, and the courses they take are often not supported by information about later job prospects, and they receive few services to help them enter the labor market successfully. This report points out the range of other problems among students and institutions that limit outcomes.