Connecting Degrees to Careers Through Labor Market Data

Enrollment pressure and growing skepticism about the value of a degree have continued to push institutions to consider how they can ensure the best outcomes for their students after graduation. While many institutions do use labor market data, this information is rarely used in a systemic matter across new program development, curriculum updates, and student-facing sources.

Labor market information from government projections, regional employer trends, and job posting analytics are more readily available than ever. Some academic operations platforms now embed it directly into curriculum workflows, making it possible to surface workforce data at the exact moment a program proposal is being written or reviewed. This post looks at how institutions are already putting labor market data to work, why aligning it with curriculum decisions pays off, and what steps academic leaders can take to start doing the same.

How Higher Ed Is Using Labor Market Data

Labor market data has moved well beyond the institutional research office. According to a 2023 Rutgers study, colleges are increasingly using workforce information to analyze graduate employment outcomes, recruit students, and build new programs. Two-year colleges have historically led the way, with research suggesting that 96% already use labor market data to research skills required for different careers, compared to 70% of public four-year institutions.

West Virginia University offers a clear example of what systematic use looks like. WVU began requiring labor market data for every program proposal and renewal in 2018, initially as a way to help faculty meet a curriculum requirement. What started as a compliance exercise became something broader. According to the administrators who built the process, workforce data prompted a fundamental shift in how faculty thought about their programs, what students learned, and where graduates went afterwards.

The most common applications fall into two categories. Internally, institutions use workforce data during program proposals, periodic reviews, and curriculum development to assess whether a field is growing, which skills employers seek, and whether regional demand supports a new or continuing program. Externally, some are beginning to display that same data on catalog pages and program listings, giving prospective students a clearer picture of career outcomes before they enroll.

Why Curriculum Aligned with Labor Market Data Produces Better Outcomes

Institutions that align curriculum with labor market data tend to build programs that are easier to justify, fill, and sustain. The case for a new program is significantly stronger when it includes regional job demand trends, employer hiring activity, and occupational wage data alongside the academic rationale. Strada Education Foundation found that 30% of public college graduates do not earn a positive return on their educational investment within ten years of graduating, a figure that underscores how much is at stake when program development is misaligned with market evidence.

Curriculum alignment benefits students in ways that extend beyond graduation. When institutions use workforce data to shape what is taught, graduates enter the job market with skills that match what employers are actively hiring for. The University of Illinois Gies College of Business used job posting data to identify skill gaps between career positions and their existing offerings, then built new graduate certificates to fill them. The result was a targeted credentials that reflect demonstrated employer demand rather than assumptions about workforce needs. This alignment is more easily achieved when labor market data is part of the curriculum development conversation from the beginning.

How to Build Labor Market Data Into Your Institution's Processes

Getting started with labor market data does not require a major technology investment or a dedicated research team. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, state workforce agencies, and tools like Projections Central publish occupational demand and wage data that any institution can access at no cost. Some academic operations platforms also now embed labor market data directly into curriculum management workflows, making it possible to pull workforce insights without leaving the system where proposals are already being written and reviewed. The right starting point depends on what your institution already has in place and where the biggest gaps exist.

An important decision when factoring in labor market data is process design. Data that sits outside the workflow often goes unused. Institutions that make the most consistent use of labor market information build it into the moments where academic decisions are made. That includes areas such as program proposals, periodic reviews, and curriculum development cycles. For example, requiring a labor market analysis as part of any new program submission helps to normalize the practice.

Institutions should also use a regional lens when interpreting and applying labor market data. Because most graduates stay and work near where they attended school, national projections should not be more than a starting point. The most actionable analysis centers on the metropolitan statistical areas and states where your graduates are most likely to land. Building that geographic lens into your process from the start, whether through state workforce data, regional employer partnerships, or local economic development resources, ensures that the decisions made reflect the market conditions students will face.

Where to Start: Actionable Steps for Academic Leaders

Establish a core set of labor market data sources. Government sources like BLS and Projections Central provide the baseline, while regional employer organizations and advisory boards fill in the local picture.

Define the geographic scope that makes sense for your institution, typically the metro areas and states where your graduates most commonly find work.

Require a labor market analysis component in new program proposals and periodic reviews to anchor the practice to your curriculum cycle.

Use catalog pages and program listings to highlight workforce outcomes for prospective students, including job titles, salary ranges, and regional hiring trends.

When evaluating academic operations platforms, prioritize those that incorporate labor market insights directly into curriculum management workflows.