We need to better tell Mississippi’s story to retain best and brightest, auditor says

For the first time since the 1950s, census results show Mississippi has lost population over a 10-year period. That makes our state one of only three in the country, with fewer people in 2020 than in 2010. What’s more alarming is millennials — Mississippi’s younger working-age population group — left the state in droves. Around 10% of that age group left the state in the last 10 years.

Population loss alone is a concerning issue, but Mississippi faces something worse: “brain drain,” or the loss of the college-educated or skilled young people. It’s a huge concern for everyone. Grandparents are growing old, not seeing their grandkids. Hospital and nursing home CEOs say they will not be able to care for the elderly as health care workers leave. Our state will not have the entrepreneurs and skilled workers we need to have a strong economy in the future if we do not fix this.

Aside from these concerns I have as a Mississippian, it’s my job as state auditor to tell the taxpayers how their money is being spent. That’s why I directed my staff to identify the cost of brain drain to taxpayers, the folks who foot the bill. We worked with the State Longitudinal Data System and a team at the National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center to answer that question.

When I saw the analysts’ report, I was shocked: only 50% of 2015-2017 public university graduates held a job in Mississippi three years after graduation. During that time, taxpayers spent more than $1.5 billion dollars educating those students. And the problem is getting worse. The report shows more college-educated workers quit working in Mississippi as time passes.

Data does show some specific universities and degree programs are more likely than others to produce a Mississippi worker. For example, nursing students have been some of the most likely of all graduates to remain working in Mississippi after leaving college. The great hospitals and other employers on the Coast will continue to play a key role in keeping our state’s public university graduates in Mississippi.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the report shows where recent college graduates who stay in Mississippi actually worked. In 2020, just over 9% of recent college graduates worked in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties combined. This points to the economic success and quality of life Mississippi’s Gulf Coast residents enjoy.

People ask me how we can curb brain drain in Mississippi. I’m not sure there’s a one-size-fits-all answer, but I’ve traveled around Mississippi trying to convince students to stay here or at least come back if they choose to leave. I grew up in rural Mississippi, left for a while, and came back. We need more people telling students their stories about why Mississippi is a great place to live.

Our universities must also do a better job of linking graduates to Mississippi employers. These public universities spend public dollars, and I believe they have an obligation to make our state better. There’s no better way to do that than encouraging graduates to stay.

Finally, another step my office has taken to address brain drain is our “Stay in the ‘Sip” Fellowship. In that program, our office pays for some accounting students’ school if they agree to come work at the Auditor’s office for at least two years. Visit www.StayInTheSip.com to learn more. It’s my hope more offices will think of ways like this to keep young people in Mississippi.

Shad White is Mississippi’s 42nd State Auditor

This story was originally published May 1, 2022 at 4:50 AM.