Time To Employment

What is time to employment?

Description

Why is this outcome important?

What group of students am I seeing?

To change the student group, use the Student Type dropdown.

The Year refers to the end of the school year when a student exits their postsecondary program.

To change the year, use the Year buttons

Student Type

Year

How many students get a stable job within 6 months of graduation?

How long does it take a student to get a stable job after graduation?

6-Month Employment Rate

6-Month Employment Count

Population Total

What is the six-month employment rate, by gender?

What is the six-month employment rate, by race?

What is the six-month employment rate, over time?

What is the six-month employment rate, by gender?

Six-Month Employment Rate by Gender

What is the six-month employment rate, by race?

Six-Month Employment Rate by Race

What is the six-month employment rate, over time?

Six-Month Employment Rate Over Time

Dashboard Definitions

This section provides definitions relevant to this outcome.

Career cluster

A method of grouping college fields of study based on shared skills and interests.

Non-stable employment

Employment is considered non-stable if the worker was employed by the same employer for less than three quarters, for more than three quarters but not consecutively, or did not earn more than the state minimum wage.

Postsecondary Exit

Leaving college with or without earning a degree and/or a certificate.

Six-month Employment Rate

The percentage of former Nebraska public college students who secured stable employment in Nebraska within six months following their postsecondary exit.

Stable employment

Employment is considered stable if the worker was employed by the same employer for at least three consecutive quarters (nine months) and earned more than the state minimum wage.

Underemployment

Working part-time or in a job that does not align with one’s training or financial needs.

Unemployment

Not currently working but actively looking for a job.

Using this Dashboard

This dashboard presents longitudinal data from Nebraska public schools and agencies and allows users to interact with data visualizations to explore data in ways that cannot be done easily in a report or spreadsheet. Select the drop-down options and year radio buttons to navigate through the information and data visualizations on this dashboard. Additional information can be viewed by hovering over the data within the visualization.

What does this time to employment dashboard show?

Each year, approximately – students find a job within six months of postsecondary graduation, maintaining an average –% time to employment rate. Generally, – males (–%) than females (–%) find employment within six months of postsecondary graduation. Time to employment rates drop each quarter after college graduation, with the most significant decreases in the first six months. From year to year, the statewide average time to employment rate remains constant.

Time to employment rates differ across racial groups. Asian, White, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students have the highest employment rates while Black, More Than One Race, and American Indian/Alaska Native students have the lowest public postsecondary graduation rates. Hispanic students have employment rates in the middle of those groups. For more information and references regarding time to employment, visit the Time to Employment Literature Review here.

Why is time to employment important?

–

How is time to employment measured?

This dashboard examines the amount of time it takes for graduates to obtain employment.

Six-month Employment Rate:

The percentage of former college students who obtained a stable job (receiving earnings from the same employer for three consecutive quarters) in Nebraska within six months following their educational exit. This percentage is computed out of total job holders (with at least one year of employment in Nebraska within two years following their educational exit) in the given year.

NSWERS Information & Research Agenda:

Data within the NSWERS Data System inform analysis for the following NSWERS Information & Research Agenda questions related to time to employment:

What are the summary characteristics of time to employment?
What variables impact time to employment?
How does time to employment change over time?
How does time to employment change with respect to institution type within the state?

Longitudinal Cohorts

A cohort is a group of individuals who share a common characteristic or characteristics. This dashboard groups students based on their expected postsecondary status and tracks them over time. This allows for data analysis throughout the students’ education and workforce journey. Data include students with expected academic year ending dates between – and –.

Data Source

The data on this dashboard is from the NSWERS Data System, –––. The data includes records for public high schools and public postsecondary institutions in Nebraska. Data was not provided by Central Community College. Employment information is sourced from Nebraska’s Unemployment Insurance quarterly wage reports. These provisional results are based on certified NSWERS data as of –. The provisional results on this dashboard may change because of data resubmissions by NSWERS Partners and/or Affiliates. For updated results, please contact support@nswers.org.

Disclaimer:

The data on this dashboard is based on information provided to NSWERS by partner agencies and institutions. While NSWERS strives for accuracy and reliability, official estimates should be obtained directly from the respective partners.

Questions?

Please contact NSWERS at info@nswers.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NSWERS?

NSWERS is a partnership between Nebraska’s public education system, in affiliation with the Nebraska Department of Labor, to create a data-informed decision culture that supports successful pathways of learning and earning for the people of Nebraska. In 2020, the Nebraska Legislature codified this idea into law (LB 1160), envisioning NSWERS as a “comprehensive, sustainable, and robust lifelong learning and workforce longitudinal data system to allow for the targeting of resources and focus data analysis on assessing workforce development and employment success to enable the training of tomorrow’s workforce.

What are the NSWERS outcomes?

NSWERS is currently focused on eight key longitudinal outcomes –four education and four workforce-related. The data elements identified in the NSWERS File Specifications are used to operationalize these eight outcomes in addition to the research constructs used to longitudinally analyze these outcomes across Nebraska’s education-workforce continuum.

Where can I find information about the NSWERS outcomes?

Visit the NSWERS Outcomes page on the NSWERS website at: https://nswers.org/insights/outcomes/.

What is insights?

insights is NSWERS’ public platform that features public data products aligned with the NSWERS Information & Research Agenda (found on the NSWERS website at https://nswers.org/insights/information-research-agenda/). Products include dashboards, data briefs, special reports, stories and more, each highlighting NSWERS’ eight longitudinal outcomes.

Who might be interested in the insights public portal?

insights is a useful resource for educational institutions and workforce development agencies to design and improve educational and training programs that align with the needs of Nebraska businesses. It is also useful for individuals who are working with students or clients who are trying to determine their own career path.

What institutions are represented in this data? Where does the data come from?

The majority of data used in the insights public portal is drawn from the NSWERS Data System. Data includes records for Nebraska public high schools and Nebraska public postsecondary institutions. Data was not provided by Central Community College. Employment information is sourced from Nebraska’s Unemployment Insurance quarterly wage reports. Data is supplemented with other sources. For example, the NSWERS data system currently does not contain program completion data for private colleges in Nebraska. For this reason, NSWERS used the program completer counts from Nebraska private postsecondary institutions as reported to the National Center for Educational Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS).

How do I find out what an acronym or term means?

Visit the Data Dictionary icon in the upper right corner.

I need help with an issue that isn’t covered in this FAQ. What should I do?

Please send an email to info@nswers.org.

Does the NSWERS Data System replace annual reporting and collection requirements?

NSWERS serves as a clearinghouse where data are linked across partner agencies and institutions to support evaluation. NSWERS does not replace institute or agency data collection and administration responsibilities.

What does “student type” mean? How do I change it?

Student type refers to the population of students included in each analysis. Each outcome may focus on a different population, depending on the goal of the analysis. For example, outcomes like talent retention may analyze students two years after their educational exit, which means the cohort is determined based on when these students first enrolled or exited. To change the student type, use the dropdown menu provided on the page.

How do I know which students are represented in the data?

Students included in the data are typically those enrolled at Nebraska public institutions or tracked via partnerships with the National Student Clearinghouse and Nebraska Department of Labor. Additional details are available for each outcome under the data definitions tab.

Why is the most recent year of data several years old?

Certain outcomes, such as time to employment, require a delay to allow for the observation of long-term results. For instance, employment outcomes look at students two years after they finish their education. Additionally, there may be delays in obtaining data from partners like the National Student Clearinghouse or the Nebraska Department of Labor.

How is the data verified for accuracy?

When data is submitted by NSWERS partners, it undergoes validation checks for issues related to formatting, data types, and consistency. This ensures that the data adheres to predefined standards before it is integrated into the data analysis. After NSWERS calculates summary statistics, such as counts, rates, and proportions, these figures are provided back to the data partners. This step allows partners to review the calculated statistics and ensure they align with their own records, verifying the data’s accuracy and consistency. After the initial submission and certification process, ongoing cross-validation ensures that any discrepancies or errors identified are remedied.

What do the longitudinal data buttons show, and how can I view trends over time?

Selecting the longitudinal data button changes the figure from a single-year bar chart to a line graph, showing trends over time. This feature allows users to observe changes in outcomes across different years and demographic groups. Note that while calculation methods are consistent across years, variations in data quality may occur.

Why is stable employment important?

Stable employment is used as a proxy for having a quality job, which can provide a reliable source of income to sustain a worker’s living. In general, a full-time job is considered a quality job, but NSWERS’ employment data does not include the number of hours worked. However, stable employment suggests that the worker had consistent work, which may also indicate that the worker has a reliable income source.

Why was the six-month employment threshold chosen?

The six-month threshold is considered a significant milestone for college graduates as it coincides with the end of the federal student loan grace period. This period allows graduates time to find a job before they are required to begin repaying their student loans. Even if a student does not complete their program, the grace period automatically begins once their enrollment status in college drops below half-time enrollment. Half-time enrollment is an enrollment status applied to students who are only enrolled in half of the expected full-time course load.

What happens if a worker has multiple employment records from different employers?

NSWERS takes the start date of the earliest stable employment record. If the worker has a non-stable employment record that predates the stable one, NSWERS still uses the start date of the stable employment record.

Why is the proportion of students with unstable employment so large?

Unstable employment may appear inflated because workforce data does not differentiate between part-time and full-time employment. Additionally, the data does not account for students who leave the state for work, which results in them being classified as “unstable” due to insufficient records. Future data collection plans for this outcome include incorporating workforce data from other states to improve this measure.