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PSEO data gaining traction as states use employment outcomes to inform higher-education decisions
Summary
At a virtual Midwestern Higher Education Compact meeting, the U.S. Census PSEO dataset and PSEO Coalition were presented as tools for tracking graduates’ earnings and job flows; speakers highlighted state dashboards, a planned IRS pilot, and use of PSEO in Ohio’s funding formula.
Gina Johnson, cofounder of Data Empowered and director of the PSEO Coalition, told Midwestern Higher Education Compact participants that the Post‑Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset provides validated, longitudinal earnings and employment flows for graduates and can be used by institutions, policymakers and advisors.
Johnson said PSEO pairs institutional enrollment and degree records with state unemployment‑insurance wage records at 1-, 5- and 10‑year intervals and that the matching is done by the U.S. Census Bureau using a masked Social Security number; she noted only a very small number of Census staff can access identifiable data before it is de‑identified. "To me, the gem in here is the flows data," Johnson said, pointing to industry and geographic flow tables that show where graduates go after finishing programs.
The presentation outlined how PSEO grew from a University of Texas System project into a multi‑state effort: David Troutman’s early work led to a long‑running Census collaboration, and the dataset now includes more than 35 states and about 1,000 participating institutions. Johnson described the PSEO Explorer tool, which lets users filter by state, institution, degree level and cohort and view percentile earnings (25th, 50th, 75th) and industry codes.
Presenters also discussed planned enhancements. Johnson said PSEO 2 will broaden wage records and permit disaggregation by race and ethnicity; she previewed a Census–IRS pilot intended to add W‑2 and self‑employment income (1099) data to better capture earnings for majors with multiple employers or gig/self‑employment income, with an initial timeline discussed for early 2027 but with possible delays.
Speakers gave examples of state uses: Indiana briefs high‑school counselors with PSEO outputs; Iowa’s Board of Regents uses PSEO under state statute to provide earnings information and distributes dashboard links to enrolled students; and Ohio has created a public graduate employment outcomes dashboard and, according to an introducer at the meeting, moved to a funding approach that referenced PSEO data and cited a $100,000,000 allocation described as "4.6% of our total SSI, which is 2,156,000,000, which is 70% of my agency's budget." The presenter said institutions use PSEO for accreditation, program review and to inform advising materials such as one‑pagers tied to specific majors.
Johnson outlined membership mechanics: Census signs MOUs with state agencies, systems or individual institutions; some independent colleges join through consortia or state longitudinal data systems (SLEDS). She described the PSEO Coalition as a no‑cost forum that meets monthly to share practices, advise Census on future features, and distribute resources; Johnson noted support from the Gates Foundation and the Stroud Education Foundation for research grants and training.
The session closed with questions about participation options for nonprofit colleges and how regional compacts can encourage member participation. Susan asked, "Is there a role for nonprofit colleges, and, you know, how might they participate if they'd like to?" Johnson replied that consortia and state systems are common routes and highlighted existing compact engagement.
The presentation did not announce policy changes other than discussing existing or proposed uses of PSEO data; presenters said slides and resource links would be circulated to attendees.
