Workforce Development

On May 21, at the CSG 2010 Economic Summit of the States, Janet Joseph, Vice President for Technology and Strategic Planning at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, made a presentation on economic opportunities in the new energy economy.

According to a new CSG report, stimulus-funded green jobs grew by 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. CSG’s original report, released in December, found roughly 13,000 green jobs were created or saved from when the Recovery Act was enacted to Sept. 30, 2009.

State eNews Issue #39 | February 3, 2010

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, with its strong jobs and middle-class families themes, seemed to echo the famous Clinton campaign war room posting, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

States are using a variety of tactics to get people back to work through retraining programs, most of which are on community college campuses.  Big enrollment increases, couple with state budget cuts, is leaving many colleges in a fiscal crisis.

While the Recovery Act has made unprecedented investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and other environmental improvements, a new report by The Council of State Governments finds that in most states the wave of green jobs tied to these investments has yet to arrive.