Ideas for Job Creation
While the recession technically ended in 2009, economists expect that it will take years for the economy to recover fully to meet the demand for jobs. What those new jobs will be, where they will be located, and the kinds of skills they will demand are critical to defining and developing effective policies to improve job quality and support investments to spur growth in high wage sectors. At the same time, we need to understand the skills of current job seekers to determine the kinds of workforce development strategies that might be necessary to promote their re-employment in the jobs to come.
To help guide organizers’ work to create jobs in their communities, we commissioned a labor market and demographic study by the Urban Institute that helps to identify occupations that are expected to grow in the next five years, at both the national level and for 25 metro areas, and identifies those who are currently unemployed. Click here to view the reports.
Ideas about Job Creation
We need to put people back to work -- and not just in any job, but in good jobs that will provide decent wages, benefits and working conditions. We hear a lot of politicians say that the private sector is the nation’s job creator, but we know that the government can take action to reduce our high unemployment and invest in our communities to build a new economy. Click below to download 10 ideas to create jobs in your city or state.
Also below are three guides written for organizers that provide a roadmap for grassroots groups considering specific action around the green economy, worker-owned cooperatives, and subsidized jobs with a focus on young worker employment as a way to create jobs and improve job quality for low income workers, particularly those with low skills or other barriers to employment. The three reports examine the benefits and challenges of each strategy, highlight successful examples, and offer discrete ideas for organizers interested in pursuing or promoting the strategy at the local or state level.
