|
|
Closing the Jobs Gap The US has the highest rate of unemployment among the
world's 10 major developed countries. The Brookings Institute
estimates that the jobs gap - the amount of jobs needed to lower unemployment
to pre-recession levels -- is 12.3 million jobs.
If the US were to create jobs at the average rate experienced in the
first half of the 2000s, or about 208,000 jobs per month, it would still
take 12 years (until October 2023) to close that jobs gap.
To keep the current 9% national unemployment rate constant, the US needs
to generate 95,000 new jobs each month. To put that in perspective,
the fastest growth sector in the US currently is health care, which is
adding only about 25,000 jobs per month.
|
|
|
|
|
Maybe Jobs, but
Contracts?
US workers need jobs - but
it's not clear who or what will create them. At a proposed $447
billion, President Obama's Jobs Bill is about half the size of the $787
billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
That stimulus created 550,000 jobs (Recovery.gov) at a cost of
$172,391,273,168 - or more than $300,000 per job.
Yet, despite the stimulus, the
unemployment rate has held steady nationwide at about 9%. The US
Department of Labor (USDOL) reports that there are about 14 million
unemployed nationwide. Of these, 6 million (42.9%) are long-term
unemployed, that is, those without a job for at least 27 weeks (over
six months).
The Jobs Bill will provide
funding to enable states and localities to retain Government jobs,
including teachers, police officers and firefighters. The United
Federation of Teachers reports the bill includes "$35 billion to
protect teaching jobs." Without this stimulus, it is likely
that the trend of Government shedding jobs would only accelerate:
USDOL reports that since employment peak in 2008, the public sector has
lost more than 550,000 jobs. Economic surveys of local and state
Governments indicate another 500,000 public sector jobs are likely to
be cut through 2012.
|
|
What the Jobs Bill Doesn't
Do
It doesn't invest where the
jobs are. The Obama Jobs
Bill does not invest in sectors that are experiencing job growth, which
USDOL identifies as including health care / hospitals, and computer
systems design. Instead, investment is concentrated in
construction, transportation and the public sector. Further, it
appears that when the funding ends, so will the jobs.
It doesn't address growing
needs of the poor. The US
Census reports that 46.2 million Americans are living below the poverty
line - the highest number reported in the 52 years that the bureau has
been publishing figures on it. Despite this, and despite
increased need for investment in housing, food, education, and human
services - the Jobs Bill does not provide funding to the nonprofit
sector beyond training for jobs that may not exist. To add insult
to injury, the Independent Sector found that the Jobs Bill will
incentivize nonprofits at only 66% of the payroll tax breaks given to corporations.
It doesn't improve Federal
contracting to small business.
According to the American Small Business League, small businesses are
"cheated out of as much as $200 billion in Federal contacts
annually" because the US Government fails to enforce its own goals
of allocating 23% of all Federal contracts to small businesses.
The Huffington Post quoted Obama Administration figures that indicate
65% of its contracting dollars are awarded to Fortune 500 companies and
other large businesses. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, chair of the
Senate's Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship estimated
(April 2010) that increasing contracts to small businesses by just 1%
would create more than 100,000 new jobs.
|
|
About Proposal Pro,
Inc.
In this competitive
environment, you need an edge. Proposal Pro writes to win
Government contracts - helping businesses and non-profit organizations
to secure the large-scale, multi-year contracts that ensure their
growth and profitability regardless of the economic climate. We
offer technical writing, complete proposal preparation and strategic
consulting that get results for our clients. Since 1995 we have
helped our clients to secure more than $500 million in contract awards.
|
|
Is it Your Turn to
Win?
Proposal Pro's Write to
Win™ training materials provide the inside information
that savvy proposers use to win large-scale contract awards. Our audio
CD reveals what to read an RFP for, what the evaluators want to see,
and what mistakes to avoid. In addition to providing a step-by-step
review of a Government RFP, each disk includes the worksheets and forms
that we use to create proposals that evaluators respond to - with
contract awards! And remember, the purchase of training
materials is a tax-deductible business expense.
To purchase, contact us at 914-633-3352 or visit our website at http://www.wingovtcontracts.com\
|
For further information or a
free 10-minute consultation, contact:
Judie Eisenberg
President
Proposal Pro, Inc.
914-633-3352
info@proposalpro.com
Send Story
Suggestions, Questions or Comments to
info@proposalpro.com
Join Our
"Friends" List
Want to subscribe to this
newsletter? Click on Update Profile/Email Address, below.
Have You Forwarded to
a Friend Yet?
Do you know someone who would benefit
from knowing more about trends in Government funding? We're looking to
spread the word - please share this newsletter with a friend by
clicking on the button below.
|
|
|
|
