EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 



Educational attainment provides an index of an area's potential occupa- 

 tional skills. An overview of the educational attainment of residents in the 

 Southwest Florida are given in Tables POP 11-12 in the Data Appendix. Data 

 are given for persons 25 years old and over who received no schooling, and for 

 those who attended school. The median school years completed from 1950 to 

 1970 was about the same for Southwest Florida and for Florida as a whole. 

 Non-Whites are considerably less educated than White residents. Southwest 

 Florida appears to have an adequate number of public K-12 schools, teaching 

 staff, and enrol lees. The region has about 25% of the State's population, but 

 only 20% of the educational facilities (Table 7). 



Current enrollment in such education programs as Adult Basic Education, 

 (ABE) although not outstanding, are similar to those across the State (Table 

 8). This program and other similar programs potentially can help overcome 

 illiteracy and increase occupational skills. Major educational institutions 

 in the region can also have a stabilizing influence on the economy. 



THE LABOR FORCE 



LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS 



The number of males and females in the labor force and the percentage 

 unemployed are shown in Table 9; those employed in manufacturing, white collar 

 occupations, and government jobs are shown in Table 10. An analysis of the 

 1970 data shows that the percentage of male laborers 18 to 24 years old in 

 Southwest Florida exceeded that for the State (85% compared to 75%). Both 

 areas had virtually the same percentage of government workers (about 16%). 

 The percentage of females 16 years and older, married women (husband present), 

 males 65 years old and over, and employed persons in industries and white 

 collar occupations was below that of the State (Table 9). The percentage of 

 the available work force that is employed in different occupations is given in 

 Table 10. 



Both the State and Southwest Florida had the same unemployment rate 

 (3.8%) in 1970 and in 1982 (7.1%; Table 11). The county in Southwest Florida 

 with the highest unemployment in 1982 was Collier (9.2%), followed by Char- 

 lotte County (8.2%) and Pasco County (7.8%). Manatee and Pinellas Counties 

 shared lowest unemployment (5.9%). 



The number and percentage of women in the labor force increased rapidly 

 in the 1970's and will probably continue to increase in the 1980's. In recent 

 years, many women have taken jobs to supplement the family income to offset 

 inflation, or support themselves and their children. The number and percent- 

 age of men and women employed in the counties of Southwest Florida in 1950, 

 1960, and 1970 are given in Table 12. 



Despite smaller families, an increased sense of family sharing and the 

 growing equality of education and employment opportunities for women, some 

 substantial differences between male and female employment still persist. For 

 example, relatively few women with young children enter the labor market. The 



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