How the White House Job Proposal Could Impact Communities

The 2010 poverty numbers illuminated the continuing challenge that communities across the country are facing in ensuring that families have the jobs needed to support their families. According to most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' August report, employment rates remained unchanged in August with unemployment holding at 9.1 percent. The unemployment rate for adult men was 8.9 percent and was 8 percent for adult women. The statistics when broken down by age and race were even more stark. Youth unemployment has reached 25.4 percent. And while the unemployment rate for whites is below the national average at 8 percent, the rate for blacks is nearly double the national average and more than double the rate for whites at 16.7 percent. Similarly, the unemployment rate for Hispanics is 11.3 percent. In addition the August report show that the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) remained unchanged -- but that accounts for about 42.9 percent of the unemployed. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor statistics show that the average period of unemployment for workers has ballooned to over 40 weeks.

Many advocates are pointing to President Obama's Americans Jobs Act as one solution to improving the current economic situation (albeit with skepticism as to whether it will be legislated in full). The Jobs Act contains many provisions that could significantly impact the economic well-being of families, including:

• a $500 million investment in transportation infrastructure and $10 million to captalize a National infrastructure bank. We know how essential transit is to linking communities to opportunities, reducing economic isolation and making household budgets more manageable for low-income people and working families.

• $15 million for a new "Project Rebuild" program that would put people back to work rehabilitating and refurbishing vacant and foreclosed homes. In Supporting the Economic Well-Being of Families: Opportunities for Communities in the Federal Budget, we highlight how a local community in Atlanta was able to leverage Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to acquire foreclosed housing and then work in partnership with their local Center for Working Families to connect residents with career opportunities in the rehabbing of these homes. As we discuss in Affordable Housing as a Platform for Improving Family Well-Being: Federal Funding and Policy Opportunities, this is an important strategy that communities are utilizing across the country to respond to the dual and interrelated impact that the recession has had on both employment and housing.

• $5 million for a Pathways Back to Work Fund that would expand job opportunities for low-income youth and adults by providing subsidized employment, innovative training programs and summer/year round jobs for youth. This program builds off the successes of many communities that were able to creatively use the TANF Emergency Fund to create jobs. According to CLASP, the TANF Emergency Fund created 260,000 jobs in 39 states between 2009 and 2010 and was so successful that several programs were continued even after federal funding ended.

We will be following the President's proposal and subsequent Congressional action and will keep you updated with relevant information.

Find out how state and local officials are responding to the American Jobs Act.

For more information on how the Jobs Act could impact your state.

Read about how the American Jobs Act could impact youth, low-income families, and non-profits.