Puzder said more work needs to be done to improve the
skills of people who want to get jobs.
“In May there were 5.6 million Americans who were not in the labor
force that ‘want a job now.’ One major obstacle they face is what
experts call the ‘skills gap,’ or too few laborers with the skills
needed for the open positions,” he said. “To address this concern,
President Trump is emphasizing workforce development.”
Trump plans to boost support for apprenticeship programs and accreditation for vocational training so that people can qualify for jobs without wasting money on a four-year degree.
“Working with the private sector to train Americans for the jobs that exist will help get people back into the workforce,” Puzder said.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 237,000 for the week ended June 10. Economists had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits falling to 242,000 in the latest week.
Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 119 straight weeks, Bloomberg News reported. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.