This week, we’re covering:
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
Want To Connect More Workers To Good Jobs? Start With Career Awareness
Potential for AI to Accelerate Manufacturing Skills Training
💻 New CompTIA Research on Corporate AI Adoption
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
89% of surveyed healthcare employers offering workforce education programs indicate that they improve retention and career mobility among those that use them, but less than half (48%) have a comprehensive workforce education program, according to a new Harris Poll commissioned by Workforce Edge. [Reuters, subscription model]
Hiring data from LinkedIn shows an increase of 1.9% in August 2026 compared to July 2026, led by Technology, Information and Media hiring which increased 8.1%. Hiring overall in August was 6.5% slower than August 2025 according to the platform, and hiring for the year overall is 25% below pre-pandemic rates.
Labor share of income—the fraction of economic output that goes to workers—in the nonfarm business sector was 52.8% in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest level ever recorded. [Fortune, subscription model]
Want To Connect More Workers To Good Jobs? Start With Career Awareness
Many industries offering strong wages and advancement opportunities face talent shortages partly because workers and students simply don’t know those careers exist, argues JFF president and CEO Maria Flynn. For example, a survey from the Global Electronics Association revealed that nearly two-thirds of college students in electronics-related majors are unfamiliar with the jobs available in the electronics industry. [Forbes, subscription model]
Potential for AI to Accelerate Manufacturing Skills Training
AI could help manufacturers address persistent skills shortages by accelerating on-the-job training and making technical expertise more accessible to workers transitioning from adjacent fields, according to a new study from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. The analysis identifies nearly 2 million technicians in other industries whose skills may be transferable to manufacturing, as employers face an estimated 2.3 million openings across manufacturing and adjacent technician occupations between 2025 and 2030. By embedding AI into workflows and training, manufacturers could broaden pathways into high-demand technician roles while allowing experienced workers to focus on more complex, higher-value tasks.
Webinar: New CompTIA Research on Corporate AI Adoption
Kimo Kippen, former CLO at Hilton, will join CompTIA’s VP of Research for a fast-paced conversation covering both new data on corporate AI adoption as well as offering strategies to bridge the gap between AI aspirations and secure, effective use.
🗓️ Thursday, September 24 at Noon ET
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
Johnson Controls announced $3 million in grants to 30 community colleges for the 2026-27 academic year through its Community College Partnership Program. Since 2021, the program has invested $15 million across 38 institutions and supported more than 5,800 students pursuing careers in fields like HVAC, fire protection, and security technologies. In addition to providing participating students with mentorships, colleges can use the money to cover barriers like emergency transportation and childcare.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), CareerWise, and Jobs for the Future (JFF) launched the Compact for America’s Youth, a call for employers, unions, schools, and funders to make public commitments to help young people start careers as AI reshapes entry-level work. Early commitments include $5 million from the Walton Family Foundation for CareerWise to build apprenticeship programs in up to 60 school districts, $500,000 from General Motors for an AFT program connecting Detroit-area middle schoolers to manufacturing careers, and a $400,000 JFF and LinkedIn study of how AI is changing entry-level jobs.
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
The Working Class Face a ‘Class Ceiling’ in Elite Occupations [The New York Times, subscription model]
Employees are becoming bot bosses — without boss pay [Business Insider]
Good pay, high demand, no takers. The status problem behind America’s trades shortage. [Fortune, subscription model]
Workforce policy for the age of AI [Brookings Institute]
The Tech Elite Is Funding an Alternative to College [Wall Street Journal, subscription model]
Report: AI Created Recession-Like Job Market for Some New Grads [Inside Higher Ed, subscription model]
This edition of “New Skills, Talent and Development” was drafted by Annie Han and Ben Clatterbuck, and edited by Julia Pasette-Seamon and Erica Price Burns.