Where have all the jobs gone?

"Only four percent now of the owners out there think it's a good time to expand their business, and 70 percent say, 'No way,'" said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist with the National Federation of Independent Business. "And the rest just don't even bother to answer the question."

Dunkelberg points to two issues: Consumers, whose confidence has plunged to the lowest level in two years, aren't spending enough to get businesses hiring; and he faults policy squabbles in Washington.

"How about some certainty about what my future looks like? What will my tax rates be? Will 'Obamacare' be found to be unconstitutional? Or if not, what is the government going to ask me to provide as a minimum package for my workers?" said Dunkelberg.

"Isn't there always, though, in a business going to be uncertainty?" asked Jarvis. "I mean, if you start a business today, you don't know who's going to be in power, who's going to be elected in two years. They could change the entire dynamic. Is there something that is exacerbating that uncertainty at this point?"

"Well, I think having everything up in the air right now seems to be making it worse," said Dunkelberg. "There are too many moving parts."

Too many moving parts ... and too few areas of job growth, particularly for workers unprepared for a leaner, meaner economy.

The number of manufacturing jobs has fallen by almost half in the last 30 years.

So, where have all the good jobs gone?

"Well, where they haven't gone, or where they are not longer, is in manufacturing, especially for very unskilled workers," said Holzer. "There are good jobs in other sectors. Certainly in healthcare and in construction, in financial services, and many other places.

"The bottom line is, there are good jobs out there in a lot of different sectors, but workers need usually a higher level of skill to get those good jobs than they did in the past."

Tiffany Serrano decided she needed to go back to class, after leaving the military and finding her training didn't translate into the civilian workforce. She has been out of work for a year.

"The job fields, organizations that I want to go into - Google, or anything with Veterans' Affairs, or even NASA if I aim high - you have to be very well-skilled and have a lot of experience," Serrano said.

/ CBS

So she came to Per Scholas, a job training program in the Bronx, N.Y. It's what's called "sectoral job training," teaching specific skills that lead to jobs in specific industries (in this case, IT, the people who fix your computer when it crashes).

"In this global economy, for our economy to remain vibrant, we need to invest in our labor force, and that requires - for us - a commitment by government, by corporations and foundations to invest in programs like these," said Plinio Ayala, the president and CEO of Per Scholas (which means "for schools" in Latin). A non-profit, most of its funding comes from corporations and foundations - one fifth from government.

Ayala says that four out of five graduates from his program get a full-time job.

• « Previous Page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page »

[AmericaHires360]

The America Hires Virtual Job Fair will run from October 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 at AmericaHires360.com and aims to connect millions of job candidates with hiring companies throughout the United States. Visit http://www.americahires360.com for details.

[Todd-Debt-Free]

1) The Government does Not Run the Economy.
We The People Do. If we are having problems we should look in the mirror.
2) One generation does not a Nation Make.
Boomers think they do. And in Turn, They have run The US into a ditch.
3) Manufacturing dictates the Wealth we will have to Export.
Those jobs are not around anymore. Not as many anyhow.
4) Labor, Goods and Services, and Supply and demand Still are the Basic form for an Economy. NOT DEBT< ENTITLEMENTS< AND OUT OF CONTROL GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

5) Finally, Congress makes Budgets, Not the President. Article 4 Section 4 of the Constitution of the United State.

Until these realities are accepted by the People and the powers that be. We will continue to circle to NOWHERE with the BOOMERS running the show like they KNOW what they are doing. Unfortunately, they have not a clue. Just desire and willfulness, with little reason, sacrifice or logic in them. They pretend they are Smart and well Experienced, But they are once again, Not. Just Failures that want to be in charge and unwilling to understand they are failures to an entire NATION as well as their Posterity.

[fishoften]

Where have all the jobs gone!
Go to WalMart and at random pick up 10 items (not grocery), dont be selective, any ten, then look at where they were manufactured.
This should answer the above question.

[enwr77]

It is not that all the jobs require people with a higher level of skills. They are the same jobs that were formerly done by those with less educational requirements. Employers have raised these requirements.

I was offered a job through a temporary agency. I turned the job down. I have a degree and it was a very, very, very, low paying job. It was one of those jobs that keeps reappearing in the help wanted ads because no one will stay. It only required a high school diploma. A few years later, it was posted with a slightly different title, same job duties and skills with a few added. Now the educational requirement was a Bachelor's degree. Sometimes to raise the rate of pay in order to keep people on the job, the manager will rewrite the duties to meet the requirements of the higher degree therefore personnel will let them raise the rate of pay. I think there has been a lot of this going on so that there are jobs with degree requirement and experience higher than necessary.

[Resin-Smoker]

Seam like "Globalization" worked out great for the top 5% of America. To bad the other 95% of us have to deal with the fall out and the decline in our standard of living.

Globalization should mean that products made and later imported into the US should meet the same Labor / Safety & Environmental restrictions we see at home. None of the BS where companies produce else where, sell here and avoid taxes after the fact.

[ddog88]

They are with the rain forests. We ate them because our masters told us to. My question is what will happen after we have lost our masters? Oh-yea, 12-21-12.

[hairynews]

A Big Reason for Dismal Job Growth
Corporations are sitting on piles of cash and no hiring is the normal state of business in America because there is NO DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS. The three engines of US economic growth &#8212; consumers, government and corporations &#8212; are radio silent right now. Consumers are still busy paying down the mountain of debt they accumulated over the past decade; the government is in big-time austerity mode after the debt/deficit negotiations; and corporations, which are making lots of money , are keeping the money, not boosting wages or creating jobs.
Consumers are tapped out and worried about their jobs. In the 1970's, 80's and 90's, the U.S. economy created more than 18 million jobs during each decade. But from 2000 to 2007, the economy added only 7 million jobs. The seven years before the great recession hit marked the worst business cycle we have on record as far as job creation goes. We have now faced about 11 years of really weak job growth.
Everyone knows people out of work, but the richest 400 people in the U.S. have as much wealth as the bottom 125 MILLION. The GOP still uses your tax dollars to ship our jobs overseas, tax breaks for Big Oil, 9 TRILLION in lost home equity which was the inheritance of the next generation, gone. The rich are laughing at you America, while we created 18 million jobs in each decade of the 70's, 80's and 90's, we are short 11 Million jobs in this decade. WHERE DID THEY GO?
GOOGLE HOW MANY JOBS WERE LOST OVER SEAS USING TAX DOLLARS TO BIG COMPANIES ?
5,160,000 HITS AND COUNTING, STILL THINK GOP HAS NOT SOLD YOUR JOBS AMERICA?
GOP and 400 of their closest friends are laughing all the way to the bank while the bottom 125 MILLION are wondering where the jobs have gone. Trickle down? Ask the bottom 125 MILLION how the concept of money in rich people's hands have worked out during the worst business cycle in 70 years and lowest tax rate in 60 years .

[mekwichat]

Finally!! Someone who is truly hitting the nail on the head. These corporations are holding the American people hostage while they attempt to deliver the elections to their GOP candidates, what a shame and a disgrace...this is patriotism!!

[jkelley76]

"There are thousands of IT jobs across this country that are going unfilled," Ayala replied. "And the primary reason that we hear from employers ... is the fact that they can't find qualified workers"
THAT is such B.S. What they really mean by "qualified workers" is cheap workers,I know plenty of very qualified I.T techs that can not get hired because they are not cheap enough. My work placed is half full of India I.T so called techs and they are not half as good as the American counterpart, I know I am constantly either advising them or repairing their errors..BUT they certainly are a lot cheaper than we are,the most they earn is a 3rd of what a real qualified I.T.er makes. Another thing,H.R should really prepare their "qualifications factor with real world qualifications. Almost all the ones I read under "Title and Responsibilities" have absolutely nothing in common with the skill sets they are attempting to hire. And don't, even get me started on those silly tests, who prepared that dribble. The tests I have taken, have nothing to do with the position they are hiring for. I laughed at those tests. I mean, "cant find qualified workers"? How about hiring qualified H.R people that know what to look for or at least have an inkling. Jeeez. Its like the blind leading the sighted, what a joke. No wonder they cannot find qualified I.T.ers Heck, we don't even understand what they are attempting to hire and for what I.T specialism they are looking for.

[netjunkie1]

Indians with any self esteem wont do that low income job anymore.
sound familiar?

[bankersvox]

GOV'T CAN'T CREATE JOBS. Just get govt off our backs, stop the regulations, drill for energy here, and see what happens. By stopping the new regulations, Obama shows that he knows that this hurts job creation, he knows what is needed, but refuses to give in fearing a loss of his Progressive idiot base. While America suffers, they get to feel good about themselves in Liberal bastions. got to H

[hairynews]

bankersvox, you really need to do some research. Next time you take a road trip and see airports, schools, hospitals, libraries, bridges, highways, reststops, military bases, railroads, aircraft carriers, fighter planes and the list could go on but you need to educate yourself, I am not going to do all the work about the millions of jobs government has and continues to create. Just because you hear it on the radio does not mean it is true.

[American1111]

So, America forgets we govern ourselves. It seems that Americans would like to give up their rights and to be governed by only one person. This comes from everyone wants to blame only one person for the situation America is in. We all have a voice, which is why we have representatives Congress (state and federal), senate (state and federal), Governors, mayors, and Councilmen, so on. If Americans forget this then we should give up our rights as a democracy and become a dictatorship. If you find that your representatives are making decisions that are not of the people and for the privileged few, then you need to vote them out. Representatives are just that, they are to be of the people in their area. Listen to the people and hear their concerns and needs. Carry the message of the people, to meet with other representatives. Then to deliver that message to other representatives and to hear the concerns and needs of others in order to come to an agreed fare solution to the needs that benefits all. This basic form of government has seemed to of been lost and forgotten. Replace by Corruption and greed. American's do not exercise their rights to participate in their own right to govern themselves or vote.
P.S. this message is not to support or condemn any one political group, more so, as reminder of who is really in charge. Also for better or worse who's to blame. You have an opinion, that is fine, but more so you have a right you should be exercising. Don't blame others for your own weakness. Stand up and take back your rights!

[venusvegasvada]

The American public no longer controls the Govt. The US Govt. is the lapdog of the RICH and the CORPORATIONS. EVERYTHING they do is designed to accomodate them. Enjoy your table scraps and like it.