Community college enrollment is down. Here’s what will happen to workers and the US economy if it doesn’t come back

Community colleges provide access to postsecondary education at a much lower cost compared to four-year universities. But even as employers nationwide are struggling to find qualified workers, community college enrollment is barely beginning to recover from a two-decade steady decline and an even steeper dive when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Community colleges provide access to postsecondary education at a much lower cost compared to four-year universities. But even as employers nationwide are struggling to find qualified workers, community college enrollment is barely beginning to recover from a two-decade steady decline and an even steeper dive when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Things have finally turned a corner for community colleges with enrollment numbers picking up in the spring and fall semesters, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. But if that recovery doesn’t persist, that could come with economic consequences in coming years, such as labor shortages in certain industries and mergers between two-year schools. Demand for certain jobs, such as electricians and health care aides, is expected to hold steady, or even increase, in the coming years. Community colleges offer training programs and degrees for just those kinds of jobs. A report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce projects that “72 percent of jobs in the US will require postsecondary education and/or training” by 2031. Yet enrollment at two-year schools remains well below pre-pandemic levels. The story is the same at four-year universities, with enrollment also on a steady decline which only intensified during the pandemic. There are a few possible reasons why enrollment at community colleges in particular has declined so sharply. One is attributed to the strength of the US labor market in recent years, which argues that some students are not enrolled in school because they’re taking advantage of the abundance of available jobs paying higher wages.