Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the Job Quality Framework Launch
Aug 8, 2022
Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the Job Quality Framework Launch
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Mon, 08/08/2022 – 12:46
Investing in communities and workers
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Thursday, August 4, 2022
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Good afternoon. Welcome, Secretary Walsh and our guests, to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Today, we’re excited to release our new Job Quality Toolkit, along with seven case studies provided by the National Skills Coalition.
Small- and medium-sized employers are the building blocks of our economy, and those that offer high-quality jobs have a clear competitive advantage.
The demand for workers is high. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that businesses are looking to fill nearly 11 million jobs.
The labor shortage is especially acute for our smallest companies. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, an extraordinary 94% of small businesses that are trying to hire are finding few or no qualified applicants for their open positions. 23% said that labor quality was their top problem.
Workers are voting with their feet – and they should. We all deserve to find work that meets our needs. Employers that can offer quality jobs will attract and retain quality talent.
Over the last year, our team at Commerce has consulted with experts from business, labor, think tanks, the White House, and the Department of Labor on the drivers of job quality.
Together with DOL, we published a set of Good Jobs Principles, which create a framework and shared vision around what constitutes good jobs.
The toolkit we’re releasing today provides strategies for small- and medium-sized employers to improve workers’ experiences building on the Good Jobs Principles. Increasing worker satisfaction and engagement can translate into increased enthusiasm for work, lower absenteeism, higher retention, improved products and services, higher customer satisfaction, and increased revenues.
We know that examining and addressing job quality can be overwhelming for small businesses. That’s why we’re looking to build partnerships with enablers like many of you. Our discussion will focus on how we can partner to deploy a toolkit to improve job quality across the country, and how we can measure success.
We at the Department of Commerce are ready to do our part. Just yesterday, we announced the 32 awardees for our Good Jobs Challenge, a $500 million investment in employer-driven training programs into high-quality jobs. We will be deploying this toolkit to hundreds of employer partners that will train and hire workers through these programs.
With that, I’d like to give the floor to Secretary Walsh and then hear from each of you. Secretary Walsh, thank you for your leadership on good jobs. The floor is yours.
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National Institute of Standards and Technology
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Secretary Gina Raimondo
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