Jobs and wages need a major boost! Though I shared in part 3 of this four part series, jobs creation increased by 261,000 last month dropping the unemployment rate to its lowest level since December 2000 at only 4.1%.
Unfortunately, most of that job creation was in the service sector. For example, two of the fastest growing American job categories are only paying about $22,000 per year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that in the next ten years there will be 1.2 million new jobs for home health and personal care workers.
As a result, a lot more needs to be done to create high paying work especially R&D (research and development), scientific, engineering, IT (information technology), technical and manufacturing employment, which my recruiting firm specializes in.
3 Entrepreneur & Small Business Solutions For Job And Wages Growth
Entrepreneurship is still alive and well in America. Furthermore, statistics from both the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration confirm that most of the net new jobs created over the past several decades have been recruited by smaller, entrepreneurial firms.
Therefore, a lot more needs to be done to cultivate entrepreneurship. One solution is expanding successful established programs like SCORE. For over 50 years, Service Corps of Retired Executives or SCORE (a nonprofit association headquartered in Herndon, VA. And supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA, and with 300 chapters across the U.S.) has provided inexpensive mentors, tools and workshops dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.
A second solution is reformulating government efforts to help and NOT hurt entrepreneurs. For example, lower taxes and reduced government regulations to encourage entrepreneurship.
Finally, much more needs to be done to improve our country’s STEM education programs because tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and technical talent will create future technology businesses that will recruit the most jobs and highest wages for our country!
Case in point: 8 Growing Small businesses Recruiting Jobs
Eight new startups prove that you don’t need to invent something new to succeed. You only have to make things better.
Foodietrip the “Airbnb of food trips” now has tours and culinary experiences in more than 100 cities around the globe. They match people looking for food tours with hosts for tastings around the globe.
The Gadget Flow has the largest product search engine with 25 million visits per month. They feature both established products and cutting-edge products not available elsewhere.
COSIGN is a handy app that lets you click on clothing and other objects on a friend’s photo on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Then both: a) presents a short list of places from which to buy those items and b) pays you commissions when someone buys off your social media feed.
GlobalVcard allows companies to move from an antiquated paper check payment system to digital ones globally.
Uptake, which was started by Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell, is focused on helping the transportation, manufacturing and construction industries enhance performance with data. They have already raised $145 million and are adding jobs quickly!
Pindrop offers services to identify and neutralize phone calls that are trying to steal someone’s identity. Three major banks have recruited their services to flag phone numbers and provide notification if that number may be a scam.
Nowait provides an app that allows people to virtually stand in line at a restaurant. They have partnered with Yelp and Carnegie Mellon Ventures to reduce your actual dining waiting time.
Bellhops offers local college students to move your stuff. They use algorithms to determine how to make the most efficient and affordable move. Everything is handled online.
In Summary: Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Create Jobs!
Instead of focusing on the old ways of doing things, like paying huge ransoms to attract established businesses, governments should focus on time proven strategies to grow entrepreneurial ventures. Over the past several decades, these small businesses have grown the fastest recruiting the most employment!
To that end, proven programs like SCORE need to be expanded. Additionally, things that hinder entrepreneurship, like higher taxes and more regulations, need to be eliminated. Finally, more efforts need to be employed for recruiting of better STEM teachers and programs. The results will be exponentially higher wages and more jobs for U.S. workers!
14 Responses
I agree that the academic infrastructure needs to better facilitate STEM education to create more home-grown ready-to-work job candidates. In the meantime the new scrutiny by the DOJ and DHS on all H-1B visa applicants has slowed the in-flow of desperately needed highly skilled workers, The current anti-immigrant fervor is causing American companies to lose access to the very people who would help keep the country in the global vanguard in so many fields.
Scott gives several good examples of entrepreneurs and start-ups. The need for more STEM works here in the US is strong.
But I also believe that the rate of formation of new companies is much less than before the recession. And the rate of new IPO’s is also less. China is now a hotbed for innovation. I do not understand all the factors which have retarded innovation in the US, and why China is now more successful than ever. But an unbiased study would probably reveal government policies which would further increase the rate innovation in the US.
I completely agree that more home grown ready to work job candidates are need to become available to the job market based upon new immigration scrutiny. I am also aware that there seems to be a huge disconnect between trained and certified candidates and willing employers looking to hire that talent. I know many young talented and trained candidates that are being forced to work at jobs beneath their skill levels and even outside of their training certifications. Filling the market with more trained and certified young professionals without addressing the lack of our ability to get the right folks in front of the right employers will only further demoralize our future leaders.
SCORE is a great resource, but it’s a generic resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses of all varieties. Federal programs that are focused on STEM-related ventures include SBIR and STTR programs and the NSF’s I-Corps program, among others.
Scott makes a good point about the value of small innovative companies, which do not require government to pay huge ransoms to attract, like it’s done for large companies. Several small companies were name that I’ve never heard of That seem to have very creative business models that are filling a need.
I do not necessarily agree that we have a shortage of STEM.-educated people. There are plenty of older unemployed STEM workers in this country. The problem is companies do not want to hire them instead want to hire cheaper younger workers and perhaps that is why they’re claiming a shortage. Additionally I would not blame the teachers: in general I think we have many good teachers in this country. The bigger challenge is many students today or less interest in learning and more interested in just getting the degree, which probably leads to less learning. Universities are also emphasizing just giving out degrees instead of grading students fairly. Too much emphasis is on pressure for teachers just to pass the students Wanting to learn, not just wanting to get the degree. I’m not saying all students just want to get the degree or not learn, but I do think the attitude is becoming more common
Mike,
Thanks so much for your insightful comments.
-Scott
Dan,
I greatly appreciate your wonderful contributions. They add a lot to my blogs.
Thanks again,
-Scott
Tom,
I greatly appreciate your sharing the additional programs.
Thanks again,
-Scott
Do you feel if the tax reform act is passed it will be enough of a stimulus?
Michael,
Thanks for sharing.
-Scott
Scott is spot on in identifying the often misleading job statistics. As his research shows, the growth is significantly loaded at the low end of the pay and skill set spectrum. We need to continue to fuel the small business and entrepreneurial marketplace in order to grow the broader job market.
Kurt,
Very interesting prospective. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
-Scott
I agree with Scott’s main thesis that small businesses are the engines for job creation, especially for the IT/technology industry. Also, these days it is not uncommon for bigger companies to be shedding jobs: Publically traded companies are finding it easier to grow the top-line through M&A and improve the bottom-line through reducing R&D expenses (including operational savings). In this environment, small companies have an extremely important role to play in exploiting business opportunities that today’s mega companies are simply not in a position to pursue.
Meanwhile, as others have pointed out, big companies are usually interested in a very narrowly defined profile of engineers. Historically, smaller companies have been more open to working with (and retraining) a broader spectrum of engineering talent.
Unfortunately, there are far fewer new companies being formed these days than there were 20 years ago. Many segments of the technology industry are increasingly dominated by mega companies and venture capital is increasingly targeting a limited set of business opportunities.
Ultimately, a healthy balance between small and big companies is the best bet for the society at large. Government policy does have a useful role to play in maintaining this balance, for example by giving preferential consideration to small companies for government contracts (instead of giving no-big contracts to Halliburton), by expanding R&D spending (like DARPA) and by giving R&D tax credit for small technology companies, etc.
R Khan,
I greatly appreciate your contributions. They add a lot of my readers.
Thanks again,
-Scott
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