US Educational Services Sector NAICS 61

Jun 5, 2025 - DOE Workforce Reduction Plan Injunction Upheld

• A federal appeals court denied a US Department of Education (DOE) request to temporarily halt a district judge’s preliminary injunction against a planned Reduction in Force (RIF) of half of the remaining employees at the DOE and the closure of the department. "What is at stake in this case, the District Court found, was whether a nearly half-century-old cabinet department would be permitted to carry out its statutorily assigned functions or prevented from doing so by a mass termination of employees aimed at implementing the effective closure of that department," the court of appeals wrote. Republican senators supported the Trump administration RIF with the introduction of the "Returning Education to Our States Act" after Trump signed an Executive Order to close the DOE in March. The bill would redirect portions of the department funding to other federal agencies, such as the Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor, Defense, Justice and State. "The Department of Education was created to collect education data and advise state and local organizations on best practices," Senator Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, said. "Since then, it has grown into an oversized bureaucracy that dictates one-size-fits-all policies, standards, and practices for students across the nation."
• The US educational services sector may face staffing shortages if Trump administration efforts to reduce immigration and increase deportations are successful. Immigrants are employed across many industries, with concentrations in education, health, and professional services, according to USA Facts. Educational and health services employed the most immigrants — 5.5 million, or 18.4% of all foreign-born employees — in 2023. This is followed by professional and business services with 4.7 million (15.8%) and construction with 3.3 million (11.1%). Almost 20% of the US workforce was foreign-born in 2023: about 29.7 million of the 160.2 million people in the 2023 US workforce were immigrants. Immigrants made up 15.6% of the workforce in 2010.

• Moody's Ratings has revised its outlook for the US higher education sector from stable to negative. The credit rating agency cited recent and potential federal policy changes that have created a more difficult operating environment for colleges and universities. Key factors driving the negative outlook include cuts to research funding, enforcement actions against diversity programs, staff reductions at the US Department of Education, uncertainty over federal student aid, and possible expanded taxes on endowments.
• Educational services sector employment continued rebounding during 2023 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels by mid-2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Educational services sector sales are forecast to increase at a 6.04% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.