Americans without college degrees are having one of the best job markets in years

[illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Wall Street Journal or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Unemployment among US workers aged 22 to 34 without college degrees has rarely been lower in the past two decades, according to a new analysis by the Burning Glass Institute
• College graduates face the opposite: a weakening market. For most American workers — the majority without degrees — it is among the strongest job markets in decades.

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Non-graduate employment is concentrated in construction, installation and skilled trades
• The energy transition depends on these occupations, from grid upgrades to heat pump and solar installation
• Labour availability in these trades is a recognised constraint on deployment timelines, so a tight market for such workers has direct bearing on how quickly decarbonisation infrastructure can be built

📈 One stat: Unemployment for non-graduates aged 22 to 34 near its lowest in two decades, per the Burning Glass Institute

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