Annual Report
Facing the Challenge
How policymakers can address the multiple crises threatening our economic recovery BY NEIL L. BRADLEY
AS WE MOVE PAST the pandemic economy of the two years, America is poised for a great recovery—provided we successfully navigate three key challenges: the worker shortage crisis, inflation, and the growing movement to radically remake the rules of the road for our free market system. At the U.S. Chamber, we are calling on policymakers to adopt prudent policies that will help our nation address the worker shortage and tame inflation while avoiding policies that will worsen the situation and add more uncertainty to the economy. The worker shortage crisis The worker shortage is worsening. There are now 10.4 million open jobs, which is over two million more vacancies than there are people 70
looking for work—and there are three million fewer people total in the workforce today than before the pandemic. Our economy can’t grow when our workforce is shrinking. There is no single solution to helping fill these open jobs, but several things will make a difference. For working parents, expanding access to affordable child care is key, and the government can help with regulatory changes and targeted financial assistance. For the longterm unemployed, rapid, employer-driven skills training programs can help. The government should focus its resources on the programs that are most likely to get people back to work the fastest and introduce transparency initiatives so that employers and individuals can readily identify which training programs work. It is also long past time to increase legal immigration. The U.S. Chamber is calling on Congress to Jan uar y / Fe b r uar y 2022 | DELAWARE BUSINESS
