Sustaining Capitalism

Principals and teachers were challenged with organizing a new way of delivering K-12 education while schools were being shut down last year. Before the pandemic, less than half of 1% of K-12 students studied virtually.

The new online approach required not only innovative and flexible educators, but also skilled and strong school principals to help implement the seismic changes required in delivering remote education to the over 50 million students who make up the K-12 population in the U.S. Joining us to help shed light on the critical school leadership role of the principal, on the lessons learned from the past 15 turbulent months in education, and on how principals can help ensure students are being successfully prepared for the future, is Ronn Nozoe. Ronn is a lifelong educator and the CEO of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, an organization dedicated to transforming education through school leadership.

Economists from the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and The Conference Board Labor Markets Institute join forces to break down the monthly US Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report and reveal the relevant policy implications for the future workforce.

In this episode, Eric Seleznow, Senior Advisor at Jobs for the Future's Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning joins Elizabeth Crofoot, Senior Economist at the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED), to discuss the role that apprenticeships can play in addressing the dual talent and labor shortages that have emerged in the post-pandemic economic recovery. We lay out the business case for apprenticeships, provide some ground level insights on how business leaders can engage in partnerships to more effectively implement them, and touch on the role of public policy to incentivize public-private partnerships that expand work-based learning opportunities.

This conversation follows the release of a CED report, "A US Workforce Training Plan for the Postpandemic Economy," that offers collaborative solutions to narrow the skills gap and better prepare a future ready workforce. CED's call to action is for business leaders to strategically partner with training providers and educators to expand viable talent pools and to map training pathways to the actual skills and jobs in demand, including through apprenticeship models.

One distinctly disparate impact as a result of COVID-19 has been on women, and particularly mothers of young children. They have left in troves to take the primary responsibility for caregiving of their children during the pandemic. Preeminent labor economist, historian, and trailblazer in the field of economics, Dr. Claudia Goldin, currently the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University and co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research's Gender in the Economy Study Group, joins to discuss what a reduction in the workforce participation of women means for them, their families, employers, and the economic success of our nation.

US employers added 266,000 jobs in April. Overall, this is a huge miss compared to economists' expectations of a six-figure hiring boom as parts of the economy begin to fully reopen. Fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, remote schooling and the ensuing childcare crisis, and elevated unemployment insurance benefits are temporarily constraining the labor supply, explained Frank Steemers, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. Gad Levanon, Vice President of Labor Markets at The Conference Board, added that, while recruiting and retention difficulties may ease later this year, in the longer-term by 2023, unemployment rates will likely be very low and sustained labor shortages will make a comeback.

Elizabeth Crofoot, Senior Economist at the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED), noted that rapid technological adoption during the pandemic has increased the demand for higher skilled workers, further exacerbating talent shortages. She highlighted takeaways from CED's report "A US Workforce Training Plan for the Postpandemic Economy," which provides recommendations for business leaders on how they can help prepare workers for in-demand skills and jobs.

US employers added an astounding 916,000 jobs in March 2021. Employment has now doubled each month since the start of the year, marking a turning point in the economic recovery. There will likely be 4.5 million more jobs added to the economy this year, especially in in-person services, explains Frank Steemers, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. He adds that job gains will likely hover around 800,000 per month in the near term, and may even reach 1 million.

Elizabeth Crofoot, CED's Senior Economist, also discusses the potential job growth associated with the Biden Administration's proposed infrastructure package. She notes that, if the infrastructure proposal were to become law, the economy would add about 15 million jobs over the next 8 to 10 years. Yet the plan itself may spur less than 3 million additional jobs on top of what would be generated without it.

After a year of unprecedented upheaval in the economy due to the impact of COVID-19, a trail of devastation has been left in its wake on both employers and families. What does child care have to do with recovery and future prosperity?

Distinguished researcher and leader in the field of work-life, Ellen Galinsky, currently Chief Science Officer at the Bezos Family Foundation and president of the Families and Work Institute, joins to discuss how child care serves as economic infrastructure and parent work support, in addition to key developmental learning setting for children.

With millions of workers still out of the labor force a year after the COVID-19 pandemic first widely disrupted US businesses, for many, a successful path back to working may not be a return to old jobs. Dillard University College of Business Dean and Hamilton Project Policy Director Dr. Kristen Broady joins to discuss the promise and challenges of federal worker training programs and how to ensure the US can equip its most vulnerable workers with in-demand skills for a post-COVID economy.

Despite a rebound from December's job losses, employment gains in January were relatively small and likely overstated by seasonal factors. While there is much uncertainty about the next two to three months, the rollout of the vaccines will be the dominant force driving a strong employment recovery in the hardest hit industries, explains Gad Levanon, Vice President of Labor Markets at The Conference Board. He added that there will be a strong recovery in the second quarter and it will continue for the rest of the year. Elizabeth Crofoot, CED's Senior Economist, also summarizes the ongoing debate around the appropriate size of the fiscal response. She noted that, in targeting full employment, it is important to find a balance between offsetting the risk of a slowing economy and concerns of inflationary pressures.