As the regional economy rapidly reorganizes itself in the face of automation, artificial intelligence and labor shifts, a critical question faces every student on campus: What jobs are out there? And do UToledo graduates actually fit the job market they are about to enter?
What’s shifting in the national and regional job market?
Short answer: Broader economic growth is pivoting toward specialized services, health management and technology, and the threshold for entry-level jobs has been raised.
From 2014 to 2024, total U.S. employment grew 13%, with especially large gains in transportation and warehousing, professional, scientific and technical services, private health care and social assistance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 3.1% overall growth from 2024 to 2034. The economy continues to pivot toward health care and social assistance and information, while traditional production and retail sectors are in decline. For example, health care and social assistance are projected to grow nearly 9% from 2024-2034, while manufacturing is projected to remain the same.
Since 2000, Ohio’s employment has done more than just grow or shrink — its makeup has changed form. Manufacturing employment fell from about 1 million jobs in 2000 to about 678,000 in 2025, a decline of roughly one-third. Over the same period, education and health services grew from about 677,000 jobs to 991,000, an increase of 46%.
Toledo followed part of Ohio’s shift. Manufacturing remains a large employer, yet it saw the largest decrease in jobs from 2000 to 2025. Education and health services added 10,300 jobs over the same period. According to the BLS, from 2000-2025, Toledo’s local economy has added jobs in education and health services but lost jobs in several manufacturing, trade, transportation and business services fields.
Is UToledo Producing Grads in Market-Aligned Fields?
Short answer: Yes — with caveats.
Data from the most recent IPEDS Completions Survey for the 2023-2024 academic year indicate that the University of Toledo awarded 501 bachelor’s degrees in engineering and engineering technologies and 498 in health professions. Together, they made up nearly 80% of total degrees awarded. They also sit near the parts of Ohio’s labor market expected to keep growing: Architecture and engineering occupations are projected to grow 5.1% from 2022 to 2032, while healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are projected to grow 5.3%.
Among those majors, biological and biomedical sciences saw the fastest growth in the past decade. UToledo’s annual bachelor’s degrees awarded in the field rose from 118 to 205, a 74% increase — the largest increase by far compared to other disciplines. Ohio’s life, physical and social science occupations — the larger employment category that biological and biomedical sciences graduates fall under — are projected to grow 5.6%, with about 3,399 annual openings.
Meanwhile, UToledo awarded 60 bachelor’s degrees in computer and information sciences in the 2023-2024 academic year, essentially unchanged from a decade earlier. Yet, computer and mathematical occupations are projected to grow 10.6% and generate about 11,400 annual openings each year in Ohio, the fastest projected growth rate among the broad occupational groups. This makes computing a promising area for the university to consider for growth, especially as students and employers look for stronger pathways into this high-demand field.
Are UToledo Grads Prepared for Entry-Level Work?
Short answer: In the face of artificial intelligence, entry-level positions now require practical competency beyond what universities have traditionally offered. To meet these demands, UToledo must continue to adapt.
Having a degree in a market-aligned field is not enough to guarantee a perfect fit. The rapid integration of AI tools and automation has caused employers to redefine their expectations for recent graduates.
According to 2026 research conducted by D2L and Morning Consult, nearly half of surveyed U.S. HR leaders said artificial intelligence has increased productivity expectations for entry-level roles. Similarly, 30% said their companies now favor hiring fewer junior workers and more mid-level workers because software tools are taking on tasks once assigned to entry-level staff.
In other words, the practical competency that used to be learned in the first few years on the work site now has to be gained before graduation.
This is why higher education’s next move matters. It is not enough to ensure graduates are employed after graduation or earn a good salary. The real question is whether graduates are prepared for the kind of work employers now expect: work that requires critical thinking, human discernment, effective communication and more.
It looks like UToledo is gearing toward that direction; the school’s new ASCEND program — which stands for Applied Skills for Career Experience, Networking and Development — is set to roll out for the class of 2030 and would require students seeking a bachelor’s degree to complete an experiential learning opportunity by the time they graduate.
In a changing Rust Belt economy, UToledo plays a pivotal role in Northwest Ohio’s talent pipeline: It has the power to determine whether the region can keep talent, whether graduates can have a means to stay and whether young people can see Toledo as a hopeful place to build a life.
