Clinton forum hears jobless woes could last until 2023 unless stronger growth

If the economy stays on its present course there won't be enough jobs to employ new workers and people out of work until the year 2023, said economist Laura Tyson, who served in the Bill Clinton presidential administration and is now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

In a session on creating jobs at the former president's Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago, Clinton told about 750 business, government and non-profit leaders Wednesday that there are three million jobs open now, and if employers filled them that would cut the nation's 9.1 percent unemployment rate in half.  But he said companies are filling posiitions slowly compared to the past.

Manufacturing jobs are down about 25 percent compared to 2005 and entrepreneurship is down 23 percent, said Tyson.

Small business has been hampered by the inability to get loans, she said, while Clinton noted that banks have about $2 trillion in cash they could deploy and still satisfy conservative reserve requirements.

A panel including Clinton and Tyson noted a mismatch between jobs available and the people out of work.  "It Is very depressing to note," that people between 25-34 of age are less likely to have a college degree than older workers, said Tyson.

The conference is seeking solutions, and Clinton noted that rather than "paying unemployed people to sit at home," in Germany employers are paid to keep employees at work and retrain them.

Former Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond noted that Georgia provides subsidies so that employers can train potential new employees on the job without incurring costs.  "It's like an audition," in which the employer can decide if the employee will serve the company's needs and most employees are hired permanently.