Expanding education opportunities and increasing quality are not only good for workers and their families, but are also good for communities and the economy as a whole. Investing in proven middle-skills pathways will enhance the skills of America’s workforce, boost U.S.competitiveness, and prepare a new generation of American workers for labor market success. By scaling up these programs, regional and local communities can effectively shape the workforce to meet the needs of employers while advancing opportunities for prosperity for workers.

Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff are comparing job growth each month to the average in the late 1990s (a boom time in the economy), but also to the best individual month each series has ever seen.

Although the U.S. economy overall continues its expansion following the Great Recession and associated financial crisis, the recovery can look very different from state to state. The lion’s share of economic gains are not only concentrated at the top of the income and wealth distribution, but also in a small share of regions. While some parts of the country have surged ahead, millions of Americans in urban and rural communities are still waiting for their wages to start rising again and struggling to make ends meet.