Embracing today's global economy

A second source of help is the temporary jobs industry, which supports other companies as they adjust up and down in employment, assuring that there is ready access to workers with the light skills at the right time. They help business succeed in a fluctuating economy, responding to cyclical shifts in revenues by redeploying talent where it is most needed and productive. Contingent workers, or temporary employees, and other noncom employees represent 30% of the entire U.S. labor force, reports the Advisory Council of the Department of Labor--and that number is expected to increase dramatically in the next 10 years.

Outplacement firms play a role as well. They teach people how to find and acquire a job, how to move beyond being stuck emotionally and functionally in being without employment. They take care of those caught in the middle of change. They provide the counseling, coaching, and contacts to help individuals move to where the jobs are, to get them ready to capitalize on the changing opportunities the global economy presents.

Companies that hire temporary employees enjoy the freedom and flexibility of using staff resources as needed versus investing in employees on a permanent, full-time basis. This helps improve productivity and profitability. Many employees today want the flexibility of temporary work as a bridge to full-time employment, a way to go back to school part-time to further their education, or to try a new career path without making a long-term commitment to an employer.

A third thing that will help us fill the shortfall of labor is the strength of the U.S. itself. We are the envy of the world for our open borders, lack of structural barriers, and abundant diversity of our people. Our workforce reflects the faces of the people around the world. First-and second-generation Americans have the language skills and the cultural understanding to be citizens of the world and participate fully in the global economy.

We are a nation of immigrants. We came from afar seeking to make the most of ourselves. It is no different for the thousands who seek our shores today. The U.S. is a magnet for the best and the brightest. They will continue to come as long as opportunity abounds. They can and will start businesses of their own. That is good for them and us.

I believe that the global economy represents the next Silicon Valley, the next big growth opportunity for our companies, workers, and nation. In the coming years, as the economies of China, India, Mexico, Russia, and the Philippines heat up from their growing interdependence with the U.S., it is likely that they will become our biggest trading partners. The potential upside demand from these countries and from others in a major global expansion is enormous, bigger than the tech expansion of the 1980s and 1990s, enough to fuel the U.S. economy and create jobs for decades to come.

We have the potential to become a world of trading partners who depend on each other for the well-being of our people. That certainly is a future less threatening than the one we know at present.