Memo: Job Creation for a Clean Jumpstart
By Amanda Novello Data for Progress Fellow
Reviewer: Kira McDonald
Introduction
While running for President, Joe Biden campaigned on a vision to rebuild our post-pandemic economy through infrastructure and clean energy investments to put millions of Americans to work. We released the original Clean Jumpstart plan, in May 2020, to provide a roadmap and policy recommendations for how to make this vision a reality. Now, government plans to boost the economy and address climate change are in progress. The American Jobs Plan and Families Plan would create millions of jobs through investment in infrastructure, home care, and a variety of other safety net supports for individuals and families. The moment of intersecting crises we’re in demands big, bold solutions that meet the scale of these crises we face. The real risk is not going too big—it’s going too small.
Government stimulus is sorely needed: more than a year into the pandemic recession, nearly 10 percent of Black workers are unemployed, and over 6 percent of all workers are unemployed. There are still more than 7 million fewer jobs than there were last June, and nearly 40% of all unemployed workers are long-term unemployed. A majority of those out of work have no college degree. In addition, there are 5 million fewer people in the labor force than pre-pandemic, including 3 million women who left the labor force since last February, and 2 million men.
Decarbonizing the economy in tandem with a full, job centered green recovery, will require many different plans to be executed at all levels of government and society. That’s why, this March, Data for Progress and Evergreen Action released the Clean Jumpstart 2021 report that offers 39 policy priorities for how to carry out our existing commitments, while increasing ambition and creating good jobs that Americans desperately need, in communities that need them most. All components of this plan are popular with likely voters. The Clean Jumpstart 2021 plan represents how a bold climate investment package, like the American Jobs Plan, could tackle the climate crisis and build a clean energy economy.
