Public Service/Subsidized Employment Programs

In the White House jobs summit this week, policy recommendations to get the unemployed back to work are essential. But for the good of the economy and society, Institute Fellow Margaret Simms argues, a system of policies is needed to both promote immediate employment and create opportunities to advance to better jobs. See our recommended research on employment and work force development.

The U.S. unemployment rate is above 10 percent, with nearly 16 million Americans out of work, and President Obama is calling for a December summit to consider job-creation ideas. Two labor economists explain why it's time for the federal government to directly create more publicly funded jobs.

The case for expanding the EITC for workers without qualifying children is compelling, as the current EITC provides little help to this group. We argue that the EITC for these workers should: - provide these workers with a strong incentive to increase work effort;  - provide a significant subsidy to low-earning workers working near a full-time work level; - begin phasing out only after an individual is working at a level at least equivalent to full-time minimum wage work; - apply to both prime-age and younger workers; and - be effectively coordinated with the Making Work Pay Credit.

If you think apprenticeship sounds like a relic from centuries past — good enough for Ben Franklin but a no-go in a 21st-century economy — think again, Institute Fellow Robert Lerman explains in a commentary for thestate.com

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the economic stimulus package passed in February, provides significant resources for developing environment-friendly “green jobs.” The act includes $48 billion overall for job training and education, nearly $100 billion for transportation and infrastructure, $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy, and more than $41 billion for energy-related programs. But it is unclear how green investments will benefit the country’s most vulnerable individuals: low-wage workers with limited skills.