The U.S. economy is booming — just not where 50 million Americans live
The U.S. economy shows strong national employment metrics, but over 50 million Americans in distressed communities face persistent joblessness and economic decline. Geographic disparities in job growth and access to opportunity have widened, particularly in areas that have not recovered from past economic shocks. Solutions require coordinated local efforts that align training, supportive services, and employer needs to connect workers to stable employment.
- ▪More than 50 million Americans live in economically distressed communities with lower employment, poorer health, and weaker civic life.
- ▪While national prime-age employment is around 80%, one-third of U.S. counties lag by at least five percentage points.
- ▪Only about 100 of over 3,000 U.S. counties accounted for half of all job growth in 2020.
- ▪Workers often face barriers like childcare, transportation, and lack of job-aligned training, preventing access to available jobs.
- ▪Communities making progress align workforce programs with employer needs and treat support systems as essential parts of the jobs infrastructure.
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I was in high school in the early 1990s when the timber town where I grew up took it on the chin. Mill closures and job losses left workers and families who had done everything right scrambling just to survive. Local stores struggled, schools tightened budgets, and public services shrank. For many, lost paychecks led to lost faith in the system in the country.Recommended Video During 12 years in Congress and now at The Rockefeller Foundation, I have seen that my hometown is similar to too many others. More than 50 million Americans live in economically distressed communities, marked by inadequate jobs, poorer health outcomes, higher crime, and frayed civic life. We tend to lose sight of those distressed communities because overall job numbers are excellent.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Fortune.
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