How can 3 million job openings mean bad news for America’s economy?
Business Week argues these open jobs, in this downturn, provide “evidence of an emerging structural shift in the U.S. economy that has created serious mismatches between workers and employers.”
If you look at the jobs, most of them are in services: education, healthcare, professional and business services. Many of them probably represent a significant step down for a lot of the unemployed, and even so will require extensive training (like teaching or nursing). Business Week argues that the housing bust has made it impossible for people to move to where the new jobs are.
Its solution: Retrain workers.
Both the government and employers both need to invest in training. Business Week notes that there is $3.5 billion in the stimulus package for training. But many businesses are reluctant to train workers, as Peter Cappelli made clear in Talent on Demand. Nor will training get people out of homes.
What do you think, BNET? Can we train our way to prosperity?
