Interesting report - http://cew.georgetown.edu/recovery2020/

"This report looks forward to the year 2020 and predicts the state of the American economy. Recovery 2020 provides vital labor market information such as which fields are expected to create the most jobs, the education requirements required to gain employment in the U.S., and the skills most coveted by employers.

Recovery 2020 finds that:

• There will be 55 million job openings in the economy through 2020: 24 million openings from newly created jobs and 31 million openings due to baby boom retirements.

• By educational attainment: 35 percent of the job openings will require at least a bachelor’s degree, 30 percent of the job openings will require some college or an associate’s degree and 36 percent of the job openings will not require education beyond high school.

• STEM, Healthcare Professions, Healthcare Support, and Community Services will be the fastest growing occupations, but also will require high levels of post-secondary education.

• Most jobs will require some type of post-secondary education, and individuals that only possess a high school diploma will have fewer employment options.

• Employers will seek cognitive skills such as communication and analytics from job applicants rather than physical skills traditionally associated with manufacturing.

• The United States will fall short by 5 million workers with postsecondary education – at the current production rate – by 2020.

http://www.opportunitynation.org/pages/the-opportunity-index

The Opportunity Index is the nation’s first – and only – tool designed to provide a snapshot of what opportunity looks like at the state and county levels.

Using more than a dozen data points grouped into three different dimensions of opportunity - Jobs and the Economy, Education, and Community Health and Civic Life - the Index ranks every state and assigns almost every county in America a first of its kind Opportunity Score ranging from “A” for excellent to “F” for failing.  

Armed with this knowledge, engaged citizens and leaders at the local, state, and federal levels can identify concrete solutions to improve economic mobility at the ground level.  First launched in 2011, the Index will be issued annual giving leaders a way to track the progress of their efforts.

Visit www.opportunityindex.org to see where your state ranks, enter in your zip code to see what score your county earns, and check out whether your area improved in not since 2011.

http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/sei/edTool/index.html

"How well prepared are the students in my state in science and mathematics? Am I doing enough to help my child as a parent? What are the career opportunities in science and engineering fields? How much do science and engineering workers earn?

This website allows you to explore the answers to those and other questions, by providing easy access to data on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and related careers."

Designed for parents, this site has direct links to numerous reports and publications re: STEM.