In the past two years, 25 states committed to remove unnecessary degree requirements from public sector jobs. We study the impact of these actions on public perceptions and job posting behavior.
In the past two years, 25 states took action through executive orders and legislation to remove unnecessary degree requirements from public sector jobs. In this paper, we study the impact of these actions on public perceptions, news coverage and job posting behavior in the months following the first set of states. We uncover important shifts in both public awareness and in the behavior of the state actors in the months after the passage, including increased public awareness of the “paper ceiling” and an increase in job postings available to STARs.
We looked at the first eighteen states to take executive or legislative action on removing unnecessary degree requirements from state jobs. In the 12 months following their commitment, our analysis finds that in those 18 states, 7% more middle- and high-wage state jobs—or 3,950 additional job postings—became open to workers without four-year degrees. These shifts cover a wide range of jobs including financial managers, human resources, and health technologists. These are critical in-demand roles that offer economic mobility opportunities to STARs.
