The unemployment rate is down to 6.7 percent. That’s according to a Jan. 10 Labor Department report.
On the surface, this is great news. The more people off unemployment benefits and into the workplace, the better it is for the economy.
But the government only counts people actively searching for work as unemployed.
With only a dismal 74,000 jobs added in Dec. 2013, the fall in unemployment is likely due to people giving up.
The drop in hiring may compel the Federal Reserve to recommit to its bond-buying program, an effort that the Fed recently announced would be brought back.
Yet any further stimulus from the Federal Reserve will be much like all the efforts of the past six years: indulgent short-termism that does not contribute to long-term productivity and job generation.
The recession officially ended in June 2009. It is time to recognize that our unemployment is structural.
Interest rates have been at near-bottom levels for years and yet, unemployment has remained stubbornly high.
The use of monetary policy is understandable to fight off or a recession, but it is no longer our problem.
Our problem is a workforce not properly trained for the jobs of the 21st century. Our problem is an eroding infrastructure system and a lack of investment in research and development.
Confronting these issues will take long-term strategy and many revisions along the way. It will be difficult, but it’s what is needed to attract the good-paying jobs that Americans need and desire.
We must advance the education that develops skills that will be in demand. We must construct the quality transportation lines that make for cheap transport.
And we must fund the initiatives that lead to new growth and development. We must not engage in short-term gimmicks that do nothing to solve our fundamental challenges.
Respond to Derek at
