The Journey to meaningful workforce participation among graduates in Southwest Minnesota - Research report overview

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

The report analyzes how high school decisions and post-graduation pathways shape meaningful workforce participation among Southwest Minnesota graduates. It uses data on 38,154 high school graduates to compare outcomes for those who build regional ties through local colleges and career and technical education (CTE) versus those who leave the region for education or testing-driven pathways. It also examines labor-force pressure from job vacancies, retirement, pandemic effects, migration and birth-rate trends, and competitive recruitment from neighboring states.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Key findings on workforce participation

How high school choices predict later outcomes

Regional ties vs. leaving the region

Labor-force needs and vacancy trends

Defining meaningful workforce participation

Staffing shortages and underlying causes

Vacancy rates across planning regions

Narrative challenges and employment growth

P.O. Box 3185 Mankato, MN 56002-3185 (507)934-7700 [www.ruralmn.org](www.ruralmn.org) The Journey to meaningful workforce participation among graduates in Southwest Minnesota The data show that the choices students make in high school and that paths they take after highschool can predictably guide them to specific states of meaningful workforce participation later on. November 2023 By Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher | Marnie Werner, VP of Research & Operations The need for a larger labor force in Southwest Minnesota is at peak heights and employers are looking for strategies that keep local high school and college graduates in the region. Our analysis of 38,154 southwest high school graduates shows that their post-high school paths and plans are related to whether an individual has meaningful workforce participation in Southwest. If their paths and planning for after high school involve programs with regional ties such as attending a college in the region or engaging in career and technical education (CTE) programs, they are significantly more likely to work in the region. However, if their paths and planning take them outside of Southwest, such as attending colleges outside the region, or performing well on ACT and MCA testing, they are significantly more likely to find work outside the region. We have a narrative that outlines what paths and plans students should make for success after high school, but that narrative is outdated. This old narrative, that young people need to leave rural areas to find better job opportunities, is being replaced by a new narrative that better links the educational plans and paths to local workforce demand. In our analysis, CTE programming indicates that having local ties to the labor force and increasing awareness among our youth of the local opportunities available is a key part of the path and plans that keep them in Southwest. However, the data also indicates that the old narrative still holds sway: students that plan for and take a path that earns a more “advanced” degree tend to not stay and work in Southwest, despite there being significant demand for their skills locally. These students are pulled to other areas of Minnesota, and in particular, from wherever they graduate college. Center for Rural Policy & Development 1 Adding to the complexity for southwest Minnesota is the increasing competition of border states. In particular, the state of South Dakota has developed an entire recruitment and marketing campaign targeted at our young people in southern Minnesota. And the data indicates that the region is losing nearly 20% of their own students to other states. But we also know that students are confronted with many messages, narratives and experiences that shape their perceptions oftheir local opportunities. Although this analysis paints a story of how to move forward, there are likely many other factors at play that can impact Southwest’s labor force. Current trends in jobs and the labor force For decades the economic development narrative about Southwest Minnesota has been,“How do we bring ‘better’jobs (i.e., better paying jobs requiring higher skilled workers) to the region?” In the last ten years, well before the pandemic, however, that narrative has been turned on its head. Ask anyone in the Southwest Minnesota economy about the job outlook, and you’ll likely get the same answer: “Plentiful.” No matter where you go, you’ll find ads for job openings or, in worstcase scenarios, signs stating that hours of operation or services have been cut due to staffing shortages. The jobs sitting vacant now are not low-skilled, part-time jobs or summer jobs worked between college semesters. The urgent need today is for workers who can engage in “meaningful workforce participation,” defined here as when an individual is employed for 1,000 or more hours with a single employer over one calendar year. State and local officials looking to make significant investments th

FAQs

How do students’ high school choices and post-graduation paths influence workforce participation later on?

The analysis links students’ plans after high school to whether they achieve meaningful workforce participation in Southwest Minnesota. Paths that include regional ties such as local colleges or CTE programs increase the likelihood of working in the region.

What distinguishes “meaningful workforce participation” in the report?

It is defined as being employed for 1,000 or more hours with a single employer over one calendar year. This definition guides how investments and staffing needs are discussed.

Why are job vacancies and labor shortages increasing in Southwest Minnesota?

The report attributes current staffing shortages to retirement leaving the labor force, pandemic-accelerated transitions, migration and slowing birth rates, ongoing business expansion, and specific regional pressures such as South Dakota’s education and employment offers.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys