Frederick Community College Facilities Master Plan Chapter 2 Environmental Scan 2-24 May, 2023 SUMMARY – ECONOMY Why is Inflation at a 40-Year High?69 The recovery has been like a roller coaster and has policymakers, economists and everyday households dealing with higher prices for groceries, cars, rent and other essentials. Inflation is larger than it has been in forty years causing fears about a potential recession. Higher energy costs have joined with higher price at the grocery store and blockages in the supply change globally as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Where are the students? In times of economic recessions, community colleges see enrollment growth as unemployed workers need to retain or acquire different credentials to survive in a tight labor market.70 In fall 2021, nationally, many community colleges resumed in-person classes. The loss from 2019 through 2021 was a 5.9% drop in undergraduate enrollment71 This has furthered the discussion that since majority of Americans lack a college degree why do employers require it. There is a disconnect between labor shortages reported by business and the skills gap needing to be addressed in order to fill that shortage. Former IBM CEO Virginia Rometty stated, at the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit,72that companies in all parts of the economy needed to shift their hiring criteria to emphasize skills over degrees and this would aid in building a more diverse workforce. She became the first female CEO in 2012. She perceived the digital era as “haves and have-nots” with access to tech training and opportunity leaving people behind. She is a proponent of AI-driven learning systems such as 69https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/inflati on-charts/ 70 https://www.newamerica.org/educationpolicy/edcentral/community-college-enrollment-survey/ 71 https://nscresearchcenter.org/stay-informed/ 72 https://fortune.com/2020/10/01/ginni-rometty-ibmmpw-summit-skills-diverse-workforce/ a “Netflix for learning” type of platform. Individuals will seek to learn more than just their skills, as such, they would be provided more coursework based upon their interests and performance. On September 30, 2020, Heather Long, Andrew Van Dam and Leslie Shapiro wrote in the Washington Post that job losses from the pandemic disproportionately affected lowwage, minority workers. Black women, Black men and mothers of school-age children took the longest to regain their employment.73 This disparity was closely followed by Hispanic men, Asian Americans, younger Americans ages 25 to 34, and people without college degrees.74 The number of international students has been shrinking and that has negatively affected the U.S. economy.75 In and around college towns and communities, international students generate economic activity. Data from NAFSA: The Association of International Educators revealed that in 2019-20 there was a reduction of $1.8 billion to $38.7 billion. There was a 43% decline in new international students in fall 2020. In Maryland community colleges, the economic contribution was $89.3 million spawning 480 jobs on the basis of 2,324 students.76 Frederick County has received national recognition, being named #6 on the Top 10 Remote-Ready locations in the US by Livability and Top 10% of Healthiest Counties in the US by US News & World Report. The County is dynamic and diverse, with a $12.4B economy that boasts a strategic location, comprehensive transportation network, educated workforce 73https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/busin ess/coronavirus-recession-equality/ 74 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/former-ibm-ceoginni-rometty-hiring-based-on-skills-over-degree.html 75 https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-number-ofinternational-students-is-shrinking-heres-how-thatsaffecting-the-economy?cid=gen_sign_in 76 ibid.
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