Jobs
Full employment promotes healthy economic growth, and vice versa. When growth is healthy, capitalism encourages small businesses to be super competitive. To stand out from the crowd, they must invent new and better ways to serve their customers’ needs. As demand increases, companies grow and hire more people.
Small businesses now account for 65% of all new jobs being created. In a healthy economy, government should be supportive of business and encouraging of additional growth by cutting back on burdensome regulations, offering loans at a reasonable rate and boosting consumer confidence to help promote job growth.
Full employment also helps to combat poverty. When the labor market is strong, or “tight,” it offers increased job opportunities for those looking for work. Unemployed workers are not only more likely to find jobs in a tight labor market, but they are also in a better position to secure higher wages.
Creating More Jobs Today
One way to create more jobs in our economy today is to reduce the negative balance of trade we have with foreign nations. A trade imbalance occurs when our country’s imports exceed its exports. In 2017, the U.S. trade deficit was more than $500 billion.
Trade Deficit = Total Value of Imports – Total Value of Exports
If this trade deficit continues over a number of years, it may lead to the creation of fewer jobs. This is because less expensive imports from foreign countries usually cause prices to go down. Companies manufacturing product in our country often find it difficult to be competitive at these lower prices. The result is either fewer jobs or lower income for their employees. When less people are working, it means that fewer goods are produced in our economy, which in turn leads to even more imports and a greater trade deficit. Imagine how much more product American companies could manufacture and sell if the prices were more equitable? Then imagine how many more workers our American companies would need to hire to make all the product required to fill that demand? Applying a tariff, like President Trump did recently for imported steel and aluminum, can help to reduce the trade deficit and increase jobs by making U.S. steel companies price competitive again. That’s a great start. We must be careful not to spark a global trade war on other American exports such as our agriculture, technology and consumer products. But if these new tariffs allow us to renegotiate outdated trade deals to the benefit of American workers and our economy, then it will be worthwhile.
Creating More Jobs For Tomorrow
Education, business and political leaders must work closely together to make sure that our students are developing the skills required to seize 21st Century job opportunities. For example, projections indicate that by 2030, 95% of U.S. car miles travelled could be served by on-demand autonomous electric vehicles owned by fleets, not individuals.
The Artificial Intelligence components included in these vehicles will require a workforce that is more closely aligned with software engineering rather than mechanical engineering.
The accelerating pace of change in healthcare, financial services, communication and transportation means that entire industry segments will continue to experience massive disruption. But rapid change creates opportunity, growth and lots of jobs for those who are properly educated, trained and motivated to pursue their American Dream.