Chart of the Week: Businesses Are Ready to Hire More Americans Now Than at Any Point Since 2001

Six years after the financial crisis, America’s resurgence is real and beginning to touch more and more lives across the country. As the President said, “With a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production, we have risen from the recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.”   

America’s businesses are already setting pen to paper, creating jobs in burgeoning industries at a breakneck pace. In fact, there are more open jobs today than at any point since 2001.

Whether in information technology, health care, or other growing industries, there are more jobs now that offer higher wages and an important step up into the middle class. Here’s the chart to prove it: 

Now, to ensure that millions of Americans can take advantage of these new opportunities, it is crucial that they have the know-how to fill the positions. That’s why the President is committed to investing in what works: middle-class economics, or the idea that this country does best when everyone gets a fair shot to find security in a world of constant change. 

To do that, the President is proposing these clear-cut ways to help Americans get ahead and learn the skills they need to earn higher-paying jobs in the 21st century economy: 

1. Make Community College Free -- So many hardworking Americans don’t always have the opportunity to attend private, four-year colleges. Whether they’re older workers, veterans, or parents trying to transition back to the job market, they’ve got other financial obligations on top of school. The President’s plan to lower the cost of community college to zero will give these workers a chance to gain the skills they need to earn higher-paying jobs without being buried under student debt.
2. Expand Opportunity for Well-Paying Jobs -- The President wants to help workers of all ages earn a shot at better jobs even if they don’t have a higher education. That is why the Administration has already announced more than 30 employers who are taking steps to provide apprenticeships and other pathways for employees to upgrade their skills and advance, and why the President has called on more employers to follow their example ahead of an upcoming White House convening. The Administration has also begun to work with cities, states, and rural communities across the country to give anyone willing to put in the work and able to master the skills the chance to get one of the half-a-million tech jobs open today.
3. Build the Most Competitive Economy in the World -- From modernizing our public infrastructure and helping American manufacturers export more of their goods overseas, to delivering trade agreements that give our businesses a level playing field and protect American workers, the President is working to ensure that America remains the number-one place where businesses want to locate, hire, and expand. 

Watch the President’s Enhanced State of the Union address to learn -- and see -- more about his vision for America’s future: WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU