The CNBC headline of
Long-Term Unemployment is Close to a Great Recession Record was enough for me to “hit the link” and read the story. This is very scary stuff, friends. There are millions of jobs available in the country right now.
However, there is a serious mismatch between the skills unemployed persons have and the skills needed by employers to fill job vacancies.
Last Friday, the January jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that “almost 40% of jobless workers in January were long-term unemployed,” which means many people have been idle for six months or longer now.
One way to solve this problem is to encourage long-term unemployed family, friends, or neighbors to sign up for Forward Delaware. This is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a skills reset that places the unemployed into accelerated, entry level programs for IT, health care, building trades, and more. The State Chamber is an active part of this program and is looking for ways to incentivize employers and workers to get additional, follow-up training once hired.
For many, they will never receive that call to return to work from their former employer. In fact, the former employer may no longer be in business. Please encourage as many as possible who find themselves unemployed or underemployed to sign up and move into fields with a future.
Our economy may be slow for several more months as we await more vaccinations and hopefully positive results that lead to more businesses becoming fully open. Until that time, there are many great opportunities for long-term success and family wealth creation going unfilled. As JPMorgan Chase economist, Jim Glassman, stated at our Annual Dinner last month, we need to help workers understand where the job opportunities are and help them acquire the skills needed to fill those jobs. Please do all you can to promote
Forward Delaware.
