Understanding and appropriately measuring the role that community colleges play in rural areas is important to how we evaluate policies and funding for workforce and community development throughout the rural Fifth District.

Over the past 50 years, male labor force participation in the U.S. has fallen over 10 percentage points. What are the factors behind this decline?

Community colleges serve a larger share of minority students than public or private four-year schools.

In order to observe Fifth District community college outcomes, we decided to collect consistent data that would enable us to calculate a new success metric: the Richmond Fed Community College Success Rate.

The STEM East initiative aims to show students in eastern North Carolina how they can stay and thrive in their home communities.

HEERF dollars helped community colleges and their students withstand pandemic disruptions. But schools that used the money for revenue replacement or other recurring items may have difficulty operating in a post-HEERF world.

Hispanic postsecondary enrollment has nearly doubled in the Fifth District over the past decade, contributing to increased diversity across college campuses. Organizations work to engage Hispanic youth throughout the college application and attendance process to ensure their success as college students.

The Richmond Fed's Survey of Community College Outcomes presents a new way to measure success that includes previously underrepresented cohorts of students, including those receiving Pell grants.

In a world where employers are struggling to find workers, facilitating meaningful work and competitive pay for previously incarcerated individuals could improve economic outcomes both for the individuals and their communities.

This new system for measuring community college outcomes better reflects how the institutions are serving their students and communities than current data collection methods.

While all sectors of higher education have experienced declines, community colleges have been hardest hit: this fall, community college enrollment declined significantly for the second consecutive year.

Fifth District states have amassed budget surpluses over the past few years. Additionally, state and local governments received aid through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Now, states must decide how to spend both.

Vance-Granville Community College's early college high schools and workforce programs are improving education and job opportunities for area residents.

Community college enrollment declined significantly across the country in fall 2020, breaking the typical pattern of increased enrollment during a recession.

The most recent stimulus bill extends many 2020 changes to the unemployment insurance program but reduces the supplement to weekly benefits.

Policy changes and the unique nature of the COVID-19 pandemic may impact the way labor market health is evaluated going forward.

COVID-19 has disrupted traditional higher education institutions and is forcing institutions to make substantial changes to their plans for the coming academic year.

As part of the U.S. response to COVID-19, unemployment insurance recipients are receiving increased weekly payments. For many individuals in the Fifth District, these enhanced unemployment benefits are greater than the wages they earned while at work.