US economy's latest output: better jobs

The US economy isn't just producing jobs these days, it's also producing good jobs. Alongside the ads for jobs handling a cash register or a spatula are these new opportunities:

• In St. Louis, AFB International is enlisting both technicians, paid $30,000 to $40,000, and PhD scientists, offered $80,000 to $100,000, in its quest for the perfect pet food.

• In Delaware, Honeywell plans to hire people at $40,000 to $100,000 to work in a data-storage center.

• In southern California, some of the latest openings involve working on the railroad, for $35,000 to $70,000 a year. Union Pacific plans to add 2,000 employees altogether.

These reports in the past month symbolize a welcome trend during an economic expansion that at first offered only tepid job gains, both in quantity and quality.

This good news about the breadth of job creation comes against a backdrop of labor-market anxiety that has persisted despite the economy's solid overall footing. Competition from imported goods, the threat of outsourcing services abroad, and a controversial influx of illegal laborers are just some of the forces that make many workers worried about their future.

Creating good jobs - the kinds that can keep American living standards rising - appears likely to remain a challenge. But the current employment picture at least indicates movement in a positive direction.

"We're creating lots of all kinds of jobs, across many industries, occupations, and pay scales," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. But he adds: "If your skill sets are rusty, or at the low end of the skill range, you're going to have a tougher time."

The economy added 211,000 jobs in March, according to a Labor Department report Friday - a solid showing about on par with expectations. The unemployment rate fell a notch, to 4.7 percent.

The new jobs still include plenty at the low end: An analysis by Merrill Lynch finds that some 40 percent of the net gain in March came in two areas known for low pay: retail services and leisure/hospitality, which includes restaurants.

But this is just part of a broader tapestry. Management and professional occupations are employing 1.2 million more people this month than a year ago - or about 1 in 3 new jobs in America. This is the highest-paying of five broad categories tracked by the Labor Department. Not all of them are CEOs or engineers, but the median paycheck for full-time workers in this category is $937 a week, far above the US median of $651.

The construction industry continues to hammer out more than its share of new jobs. It accounts for about 6.4 percent of US jobs, but has provided 14.4 percent of the past year's job growth. The quality of construction jobs is mixed - often offering higher hourly pay than the US median but with lower benefits.

The Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis

Paraprofessional workers--nursing assistants, home health aides and personal care attendants--are the backbone of the formal long-term care system. These workers provide necessary care and support to millions of elderly people as well as younger people with chronic diseases and disabilities.

As policymakers focus more attention on quality outcomes in long-term care, the need for a prepared, committed and sustainable long-term care workforce has become an increasing priority.

Unprecedented vacancies and high turnover among these workers have affected both home and community-based providers and nursing homes, which have reported turnover rates ranging from 40 percent to over 100 percent annually.

In a national survey conducted in 2000, 42 states reported that nurse aide recruitment and retention were major issues. There is increasing evidence that these recruitment and retention problems are affecting both the quantity and the quality of long-term care services received.

The recent softening of the economy might be expected to take pressure off tight labor markets and make direct care jobs more competitive; however, there is little evidence to support such a trend. The latest national survey of state long-term care workforce recruitment and retention practices, conducted in the first half of 2002, found that the vast majority of states continue to report serious concerns about attracting and retaining direct care workers.

Moreover, shortages of qualified, committed paraprofessionals are likely to worsen. In the coming years, the U.S. will experience a tremendous increase in the size of its­ elderly population as baby boomers age. At the same time, the number of middle-aged women who have traditionally filled these jobs is not growing fast enough to meet the increased demand for services. The result of these demographic shifts is an emerging "care gap" that could severely curtail our nation's ability to provide long-term care.