San Francisco Fed Declares US Economy at Full Employment

In a letter released November 19th, a trio of Fed economists declared the US Economy to be at full employment.  Diving into the reasons – they find education to play a significant factor in workforce participation duration.  In other words- the higher the level of education attained, the longer people tend to work.  The largest factor is age.  As the US population continues to age and the Baby Boomers eventually retire, the workforce participation number will decline.  That factor cannot be mitigated.  So what should we do to ensure we have enough skilled workers?  We argue that anyone who attains a college degree in the US should be afforded a path to long term employment and eventual citizenship if desired.  Also, increased incentives to attain higher education should be expanded.

Hiring companies have long resisted the need to sponsor work visas, for either political or economic reasons.  The fact of the matter is that there are not enough qualified candidates in accounting and finance to support current hiring demand.  Companies need to re-evaluate what it will take to attract and retain qualified staff.  The cost of sponsoring a work visa is insignificant in the long run to the cost of jobs going unfilled or worse – filled with unqualified staff.

For the full Fed letter Click Here.

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