Florida Not Producing Enough College Graduates To Meet Job Market Demand

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Graduation day at Northwest Florida State College. A new report shows Florida isn't producing enough college graduates to meet job market demands.

Florida is not producing enough college graduates to meet the projected job market needs by 2018, according to a new report from the Lumina Foundation.

The Sunshine State ranks 31st in the nation for the percentage of adults who have earned a college degree.

About 36.5 percent of state residents have earned an associate’s, bachelor’s or a graduate or professional degree. Nationally, 38.3 percent of adults have a college degree.

The Lumina Foundation projects 59 percent of jobs will require a college degree by 2018, but Florida will fall far short of that mark at its current pace. The result could mean many state residents are frozen out of high-paying jobs that come with a college degree.

The state trails national rates for most racial groups as well. However, Hispanics are the exception. More than 31 percent of Florida Hispanics have a college degree, while nationally just 19 percent of Hispanics have a degree.

Check out the Florida results here, and read the full report here.