While the Congressional Black Caucus (among others) pushed unsuccessfully for a major investment in job training to be included in the stimulus package, new
“„Unemployment is expected to remain above 9% for at least the next two years, according to Christopher Woock, research associate for The Conference Board, and other economists. That’s because many of the estimated 4 million jobs lost in the construction and manufacturing industries during the recession may never come back. That’s what happened after the 2001 recession in sectors such as data processing, computer and electronics manufacturing, and textile manufacturing.
“„“If we have substantial structural change,” says Woock, “then that’s going to require a significant reallocation of workers across various industries and that is going to make for a very slow and drawn out labor market recovery.”In other words, as industries shift and jobs vanish forever, some workers may be forced to retrain to find work in a different industry.
“„Barry Bluestone, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, predicts that within the next eight years, 2.4 million job vacancies could appear in the U.S. in the education, health care, government and nonprofit sectors.Jagadeesh Gokhale, an economist at the Cato Institute, says demand from aging baby boomers will drive job growth in health care and other related service industries.