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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 693-4650
We celebrate the 21st century with 21 million newly created
jobs since the beginning of the Clinton-Gore administration. At 4.1 percent, we
have reached the second full year of the nation's unemployment rate at or below
4.5 percent. The employment population ratio of 64.7 percent remains near its
historical high.
I am particularly pleased that the unemployment rate for
African Americans fell to 7.3 percent, the lowest on record.
Last month we saw strong growth in the services industry,
which gained 150,000 jobs - in areas ranging from agriculture to computer
technology.
The message behind these numbers: In this new economy
skills matter most. Our nation does not have a worker shortage, but we do have
a skills shortage. That is why on Tuesday, I am hosting the first-of-its-kind
National Skills Summit at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Business and labor leaders will join advocates from the
non-profit, disability and education communities to exchange ideas and develop
strategies and forge partnerships to meet employers' immediate needs for
skilled workers.
There is no better time than now - during this period of
great national prosperity - to build skills and grow the economy.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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