Posted on October 19, 2011 |
Last week, Senate Republicans and two Democrats voted to block debate of the full American Jobs Act, even though 14 million Americans – 9.1 percent – are still looking for work. Now, the Obama Administration and Senator Harry Reid are looking to take up the Jobs Act one piece at a time to tackle our nation’s jobs deficit.
First up on the agenda is the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act. It’s a part of the American Jobs Act that particularly helps women, and it couldn’t have come sooner. Since the recovery began in June 2009, women have lost 264,000 jobs while men have gained 1.1 million jobs. The job-hemorrhaging public sector is primarily to blame for women’s dismal employment picture.
Local government education, a field which is three quarters women, lost more than 255,000 jobs since June 2009. So the $30 billion the Senate bill would provide to protect or create about 400,000 education jobs would be a boon to women’s employment, families’ economic security, and children’s education. Read more »