Grow, Retain, and Attract Talent

Overall Goal:

• Increase the region’s available and qualified workforce talent needed to support a growing economy. 

What This Will Take:

• Pre-COVID-19, the unemployment rate in Hampton Roads was under 3%. Even in the middle of the pandemic, unemployment is 8%. 
• In a post-COVID-19 world, experts predict we will return to a time where qualified talent is in demand. Demographics support this. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2030, the total U.S. population will expand by 9%. Over the same period, the U.S. working-age population will grow less than 5%.
• To effectively increase the available and qualified workforce, the 757 region must advance the productivity (output) of all sources of qualified talent across the entire talent development pipeline (see next page).