The National
Association of Workforce Board (NAWB) President/CEO Ron Painter launched a new blogtalkradio
show, Workforce Central that focuses on key workforce issues and investment strategies
to help America compete globally. Drexel
University’s Paul Harrington joined Painter the day after the election to talk
about the re-election of Obama and insights into what is actually happening in
the labor market. Harrington highlighted all of the market indicators pertaining
to economic recovery and underscored an important marker that workforce
professionals should watch— the unemployed workers to vacant jobs ratio. While the recession brought on a 6:1 ratio
(on average) immediately after the recession, the slow pace of the job recovery
to date has only decreased this to 3.5:1, or 3.5 job seekers to every one (1)
vacant job. This demand deficient
environment poses a continued challenge for workforce professionals.
Harrington
referenced a recent paper co-authored with Research
Professor, Neeta P. Fogg, Center for
Labor Markets and Policy, Drexel University about the collapse of the labor
market for 16 to 24 year old. Harrington said that higher education is
clearly an important alternative for many high school graduates, but it is too
often the only pathway to employment for young people, especially in our
cities. We need to rebuild these pathways — starting at the high school level —
so that students develop not just academic competencies, but occupational and
behavioral traits as well, because these qualities are valued by employers.
How do you plan to
tackle the multitude of workforce challenges in your region? Weigh in now, and also tune in to our next Workforce
Central blogtalkradio show
with John Colbert from Capitol Hill Partners for a lively discussion about what
the election results mean for the workforce investment system and trends to
watch.
