Talent in the City
Employers should be scouting pools of young talent today because the demand for such talent could grow much stronger in the near future.
The race to attract these younger adults is already on in many U.S. metropolitan areas. They are scrambling to entice what some experts call the “young and the restless.” By attracting well-educated younger adults today, those cities hope to retain them over the long haul when these Americans become less mobile and settle down with homes, families, jobs and other ties.
Joseph Cortright, author of the report The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy, argues that three major demographic changes are raising the importance of young talent: the impending retirement of many Baby Boomers, the fact that U.S women are no longer quickly increasing their labor participation rates, and the plateauing of college degree attainment rates.
This last point is an under-reported social trend. Over the last three decades, the total number of Americans with a college degree rose quickly because younger adults were much more likely to have a degree than their older counterparts. These days, “there is very little difference in the college attainment rate of the population between 25 and 55 years of age,” Cortright notes (p. 18). Therefore, the U.S. will not enjoy another equivalent spike in the educational levels of workers, and the domestic educational attainment levels will remain relatively fixed.
So, where should employers seek out skilled younger adults? They should start with the central neighborhoods of major U.S. metropolitan areas. In the year 2000, 25- to 34-year-olds were, on average, 34% more likely than other metropolitan residents to live within three miles of the area’s center. That likelihood rose from just 12% in 1990 (Coletta & Cortright, 2006).
Although this clustering trend was true for all 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas, most areas lost overall population in the younger adult age group from 1990 to 2000. In the nation as a whole, there was a 9% drop in the number of younger adults during the decade (“Study,” 2006). Buffalo, Rochester, Norfolk and Hartford, for example, all saw significant declines in the percentage of college-educated young adults.
But other areas turned out to be major social magnets for young talent between 1990 and 2000. During that period, the largest percentage increases in college-educated 25- to 34-years were in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Charlotte, Austin, Portland and Atlanta, according to The Young and the Restless: How Atlanta Competes for Talent (p. 48). It should be noted, however, that large cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles still have larger overall numbers of college-educated younger adults than, say, Atlanta (“Study,” 2006).
Some metro areas have exceptionally high concentrations of young talent living in neighborhoods close to the center of their respective regions. Fully 72% of the younger adults living within three miles of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island center are college graduates, as are 70% in the “in-close” neighborhoods of the Chicago area, 67% of those in the San Francisco area, 56% in the Seattle area, and 55% in the Portland area, according to The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy (p. 44).
The true hotbeds of skilled 25-to-34-year-old activity turn out to be relatively few and far between. “There are a dozen places, at best, that are becoming magnets for these people,” notes Prof. Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class (Dewan & Goodman, 2006).
What’s interesting about this trend is that young adults often decide on a community before they decide on a job. That is, they’re attracted first by lifestyle and social vibrancy, and then they find jobs in the surrounding community. There’s a kind of virtuous cycle, with businesses naturally being drawn to cultural activity and population growth, which serve to attract even more skilled people.
Employers can, of course, seek and court these pools of young talent, setting up local offices in the most vibrant communities. They can also try to work with city managers to create environments – including workplaces – that are attractive to the 25-to-34-year-old crowd. Many of the young urbanites clearly value cultural diversity, a climate of openness to new ideas, a feeling of pride in place, and the chance to enjoy to a certain kind of lifestyle, whether it’s connected to outdoor sports, arts, entertainment or other factors.
To effectively tap and nurture such pools of talent, more employers will likely have to go beyond the corporate perks that ran rampant in the late 1990s, from foosball tables to nap rooms. What might work best for businesses is becoming part of the larger social fabric of the communities that are drawing so many skilled young people into their core.
Documents used in the preparation of this TrendWatcher include the following:
Coletta, Carol and Joseph Cortright. “Wanted: The Young and the Restless.” Washintonpost.com. February 13, 2006, p. A21.
Cortright, Joseph. The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy. CEOs for Cities: December 2005.
Dewan, Shaila and Brenda Goodman. “Cities Compete in Hipness Battle to Attract Young.” New York Times, November 25, 2006.
Impresa, Inc. and Coletta & Company. The Young and the Restless: How Atlanta Competes for Talent. 2006.
“Study: Atlanta Lures More Youngest and Brightest Than Any U.S. City.” Atlanta Business Chronicle, November 20, 2006.
For much more information about the How Atlanta Competes for Talent study, click here.
For a PDF version of the The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy report, click here. For more information on CEOS for Cities, click here.
For more on the “Young and the Restless” research, click here.
For a table showing changes in U.S. college graduation rates, click here.
The race to attract these younger adults is already on in many U.S. metropolitan areas. They are scrambling to entice what some experts call the “young and the restless.” By attracting well-educated younger adults today, those cities hope to retain them over the long haul when these Americans become less mobile and settle down with homes, families, jobs and other ties.
Joseph Cortright, author of the report The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy, argues that three major demographic changes are raising the importance of young talent: the impending retirement of many Baby Boomers, the fact that U.S women are no longer quickly increasing their labor participation rates, and the plateauing of college degree attainment rates.
This last point is an under-reported social trend. Over the last three decades, the total number of Americans with a college degree rose quickly because younger adults were much more likely to have a degree than their older counterparts. These days, “there is very little difference in the college attainment rate of the population between 25 and 55 years of age,” Cortright notes (p. 18). Therefore, the U.S. will not enjoy another equivalent spike in the educational levels of workers, and the domestic educational attainment levels will remain relatively fixed.
So, where should employers seek out skilled younger adults? They should start with the central neighborhoods of major U.S. metropolitan areas. In the year 2000, 25- to 34-year-olds were, on average, 34% more likely than other metropolitan residents to live within three miles of the area’s center. That likelihood rose from just 12% in 1990 (Coletta & Cortright, 2006).
Although this clustering trend was true for all 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas, most areas lost overall population in the younger adult age group from 1990 to 2000. In the nation as a whole, there was a 9% drop in the number of younger adults during the decade (“Study,” 2006). Buffalo, Rochester, Norfolk and Hartford, for example, all saw significant declines in the percentage of college-educated young adults.
But other areas turned out to be major social magnets for young talent between 1990 and 2000. During that period, the largest percentage increases in college-educated 25- to 34-years were in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Charlotte, Austin, Portland and Atlanta, according to The Young and the Restless: How Atlanta Competes for Talent (p. 48). It should be noted, however, that large cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles still have larger overall numbers of college-educated younger adults than, say, Atlanta (“Study,” 2006).
Some metro areas have exceptionally high concentrations of young talent living in neighborhoods close to the center of their respective regions. Fully 72% of the younger adults living within three miles of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island center are college graduates, as are 70% in the “in-close” neighborhoods of the Chicago area, 67% of those in the San Francisco area, 56% in the Seattle area, and 55% in the Portland area, according to The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy (p. 44).
The true hotbeds of skilled 25-to-34-year-old activity turn out to be relatively few and far between. “There are a dozen places, at best, that are becoming magnets for these people,” notes Prof. Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class (Dewan & Goodman, 2006).
What’s interesting about this trend is that young adults often decide on a community before they decide on a job. That is, they’re attracted first by lifestyle and social vibrancy, and then they find jobs in the surrounding community. There’s a kind of virtuous cycle, with businesses naturally being drawn to cultural activity and population growth, which serve to attract even more skilled people.
Employers can, of course, seek and court these pools of young talent, setting up local offices in the most vibrant communities. They can also try to work with city managers to create environments – including workplaces – that are attractive to the 25-to-34-year-old crowd. Many of the young urbanites clearly value cultural diversity, a climate of openness to new ideas, a feeling of pride in place, and the chance to enjoy to a certain kind of lifestyle, whether it’s connected to outdoor sports, arts, entertainment or other factors.
To effectively tap and nurture such pools of talent, more employers will likely have to go beyond the corporate perks that ran rampant in the late 1990s, from foosball tables to nap rooms. What might work best for businesses is becoming part of the larger social fabric of the communities that are drawing so many skilled young people into their core.
Documents used in the preparation of this TrendWatcher include the following:
Coletta, Carol and Joseph Cortright. “Wanted: The Young and the Restless.” Washintonpost.com. February 13, 2006, p. A21.
Cortright, Joseph. The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy. CEOs for Cities: December 2005.
Dewan, Shaila and Brenda Goodman. “Cities Compete in Hipness Battle to Attract Young.” New York Times, November 25, 2006.
Impresa, Inc. and Coletta & Company. The Young and the Restless: How Atlanta Competes for Talent. 2006.
“Study: Atlanta Lures More Youngest and Brightest Than Any U.S. City.” Atlanta Business Chronicle, November 20, 2006.
For much more information about the How Atlanta Competes for Talent study, click here.
For a PDF version of the The Young and the Restless in a Knowledge Economy report, click here. For more information on CEOS for Cities, click here.
For more on the “Young and the Restless” research, click here.
For a table showing changes in U.S. college graduation rates, click here.