Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Chapter 1 | Page 22

CHAPTER 1 A “Skills Gap” or a “Demand Gap”? Not everyone is convinced the U.S. economy can achieve full employment. In fact, many appear convinced that it cannot. Newspaper stories quote employers who struggle to find skilled workers to fill jobs, as in this Associated Press story from July 2011: “…the president of Ultra Scientific Analytical Solutions (John Russo) has found himself in a vexing spot, struggling to fill openings that require specialized training in a Figure 1.11 Unemployment Rates of All Workers, and Workers in state where the jobless rate is close STEM and Non-STEM Occupations with at Least a to 11 percent, the third-highest in Bachelor’s Degree, 1994-2012 the nation. ‘It’s very difficult to find the right person. I honestly 10% think there’s a large swath of 9 unemployable,’ said Russo, whose 8 firm manufactures and supplies 7 All workers, all education levels analytical standards.”81 6 “They don’t have the skills,” goes 5 the refrain. Frustrated employers 4 Non-STEM workers, such as Russo appear regularly in 3 at least a bachelor’s degree these articles to provide a touch of 2 empirical evidence and lend an air STEM workers, 1 of credibility to the skills-gap theory. at least a bachelor’s degree 0 Many top officials and industry 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 executives add their voice to the Shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions skills gap theory. In 2011, according to a report by the National AssociaSource: Economic Policy Institute (2012), “STEM Labor Shortages? Microsoft report distorts reality about computing occupations.” Analysis of Current Population Survey data. tion of Manufacturers, there were 600,000 manufacturing jobs that could not be filled because workers lacked the right set of advanced skills.82 President Obama, during the 2012 campaign, often invoked the skills gap to describe the challenges facing the U.S. economy in coming decades.83 The skills gap theory is basically about supply and demand: there is an inadequate supply of workers available to meet employers’ demand for labor. And supply and demand is precisely why the skills gap theory shouldn’t be taken seriously. Today, the United States has more college graduates than ever before—30 percent of the population, up from 26 percent a decade ago.84 Yet unemployment rates for most college graduates in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)—the crème de la crème of the country’s skilled workers—are still higher than they were before the recession began in 2007.85 See Figure 1.11. If employers were having trouble meeting customer demand, we’d expect to see them schedule more hours for their current workers. No evidence exists for longer workweeks, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.86 www.bread.org/institute? ? 2014 Hunger Report? 55 n