The Key to Prosperity: The Skills of the American Worker

Labor Day celebrates the American worker upon whom our nation builds its prosperity. In boom times, the American workforce and the economy it fueled were the envy of the world and helped drive a thriving global economy as well. But the current unemployment rate of 9.6 percent sums up two key facts about the economic recovery. Obviously, it means that millions of Americans still cannot support themselves and their families. It also shows how much we are squandering the potential to generate future prosperity.

Workers, businesspeople, and politicians have a common goal: getting more people into productive work as fast as possible. While that’s important, the same strategies that will put millions to work quickly can also lay a foundation for a sustainable thriving economy. And in communities across the nation, a wide variety of innovative new projects show the way forward.

This JFF op-ed highlights efforts in some of these communities, related to one of the following initiatives: the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Jobs to Careers, or Breaking Through.