Growing the American Workforce: Bolstering Participation is Critical for U.S. Competitiveness and Economic Strength

It is essential for US competitiveness and global leadership in a rapidly changing 21st-century economy that business leaders and policy makers work together to implement policies that make it easier and more attractive for Americans to find work and remain working.

Business leaders and policy makers can improve labor force participation and attachment by:

• Increasing EITC benefits and expanding eligibility to reach more potential workers who do not have qualifying custodial responsibility for a child, thus incentivizing more people with initially low-income job prospects to enter the labor force and remain working;
• Connecting potential workers, particularly those most at risk of dropping out of the labor force following a job loss, to a wider set of employment opportunities by reducing geographic and occupational licensing barriers to entry;
• Weighing the participation benefits of family-friendly labor market policies, including funding evaluations of the labor force impacts of different high-quality preschool program designs, thus helping parents remain connected to the workforce; and
• Piloting initiatives to help workers age 55 and over remain at work.