Mississippi’s leaders have increasingly been focused on trying to raise the state’s low workforce participation rate.
Following his reelection to a second term, for example, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said getting that number up would be a top priority.
Why has Mississippi been at or near the bottom of that labor measurement for years? And why is it important?
Empower Mississippi, a conservative research and advocacy group, has provided some helpful answers to both questions.
This week it released a study it commissioned from a research center at Mississippi State University. The purpose of the study, one of at least two reports Empower Mississippi is planning on the subject, was to identify the problem and its causes. The report includes no recommendations. Those supposedly will come later.
So why are less than 54% of Mississippi adults either employed or looking for work?
The research found two main factors. The first is the overall low educational attainment. The other is the age of the population.
The lower a person’s level of education, the less likely he or she is to be in the labor force. People with low education and skill levels are not that employable. If they do find work, it’s generally at lower wages, frequently in seasonal jobs.
As far as age as a determinant of whether one is working or looking for work, that’s also no surprise. As people age, they think about retirement, not working. Nearly 9 out of 10 people in Mississippi age 65 and over are not in the labor force. The vast majority of those say it’s because they have retired.
In both of these respects — educational attainment and age — Mississippi does not fare well, if the goal is to increase the labor force participation rate.
Although the state has shown some remarkable improvements in recent years on standardized test scores, especially in the lower grades, still a significant share of its population does not get much past high school or learn a trade. And while the entire country is aging due to the imbalance between the large baby boom population and the smaller numbers in generations behind them, the imbalance seems particularly acute in Mississippi. Our mostly rural state has trouble keeping and attracting young adults, who have been gravitating toward large metropolitan areas to work and raise their families.
Although race is also a factor in predicting labor force participation, its impact is not what some might expect. Black and white residents have virtually the same likelihood of being in the labor force, both roughly equivalent to the disconcerting state average. The higher percentage comes from Hispanic residents, whose participation rate is close to 62%.
So why do these numbers matter?
Empower explains it well. Low labor force participation translates into slower economic growth and greater dependency on the government. Both outcomes also translate into higher taxation on those who are working or have investment income.
To have large numbers of able-bodied people not working, though, doesn’t just put a drag on the economy. Being unemployed also puts a drag on self-esteem and a sense of purpose. There is a pride that comes from being able to provide for yourself and your family from your own labor. Those who have to depend on the government for housing, food or other daily expenses don’t experience the satisfaction that comes from being self-sufficient.
The Bottom line: To raise Mississippi’s labor force participation, we need more schooling and more young people. That’s not hard to understand.
The challenge is coming up with the strategies that are likely to result in both. Empower Mississippi, already a major proponent of school choice, will assuredly have more to say about that.
