Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
League of United Latin American Citizens
National Women's Conference
New York, New York
Saturday, April, 2006

Thank you, Margaret [Moran, National Vice President for Women] for that warm introduction.

What a pleasure it is to be a part of your National Women's Conference. Your theme — A Journey to Greatness — is very timely. In the last census estimate, Americans of Hispanic origin comprised about 14 percent of our population. Your influence on America continues to grow and increase the diversity of our country.

Today, I'd like to update you on the state of our nation's economy, talk about how workers can access the new opportunities being created, and then share some thoughts on one of the most important challenges our country faces today.

First, let me start by giving you a snapshot of our country's economic progress. The national unemployment rate last month was 4.8 percent-nearly a point lower than the average 5.7 percent unemployment rate of the 1990s! Our economy is the most vibrant of all industrialized nations. It clocked in at an average 3.5 percent GDP growth rate in 2005. Our economy has created 5 million net new jobs in the last two-and-half years. Contrast this with Europe where job growth has been stagnant over the last 10 years and where Germany and France, for example, have permanent unemployment rates nearing 10 percent! In America, more Americans are working than ever before.

I've also got some good news for the many college students here for this Conference. You'll be glad to hear that this year's job market is the strongest since 2001!

Demand for workers is especially high in the business, computer, engineering, education and health-care fields. In fact, our country will need more than 3 million new workers in the health-care sector, including 1.2 million registered nurses in the next 10 years. Other growing sectors include aerospace, biotechnology, energy, financial services, homeland security, information technology, and skilled trades.

A clear trend is emerging. Our country is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy. The majority of new jobs created require higher skills and more educational attainment. And they also require some understanding of technology and computers. In addition, more than 90 percent of the new occupations being created require some kind of post-secondary education. Post-secondary education can be a 4-year college degree, a 2-year degree from a community college or specialized training in the skilled trades.

Because the majority of these new jobs require higher skills and more education, by definition, they are higher and better paying jobs.

The challenge for our country is the skills gap. There are workers seeking jobs but lacking the right skill sets. And, there are employers unable to find skilled workers.

So, in the 21st century workforce, education is more important than ever before. Please tell young people that it's so important to stay in school and graduate. Their lifelong earnings will depend upon this.

For example, the unemployment rate for high school dropouts is 50 percent higher than that of high school graduates. And high school graduates earn 50 percent more on average than high school dropouts.

That's why it's important to emphasize to young people to stay in school and get a good education. Then, once out of school, it's important to continue to learn, get training and acquire new knowledge.

Speaking on a more macro level, to sustain America's economic growth, it is critical to address the fundamental issue of the competitiveness of our economy as a whole. The President addressed this head-on during his State of the Union Address in January of this year by introducing the American Competitiveness Initiative. This Initiative is based on the premise that innovation-the creation of new ideas, products and services-is a critical driver of economic growth in the 21st century.

The President pledged an additional $136 billion over the next decade to:

• Increase U.S. investment in research and development;
• Strengthen U.S. education in math and science; and
• Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

A key part of his initiative commits an additional $380 million to strengthen the math and science skills of our children in grades K through 12. Over the next 10 years, there will be more than 6 million new and replacement job openings in engineering, science, computer, health-care and technical occupations that require strong math and science skills.

The American Competitiveness Initiative also includes a new program that would help workers gain more control over their own learning and training needs by introducing the Career Advancement Accounts. This is a new proposal to empower workers by giving them up to $3,000 to purchase the education or job training of their own choosing. $3,000 is roughly the equivalent of a year's tuition at many community colleges. Modeled after Pell grants, Career Advancement Accounts would be renewable for a total of 2 years. Workers could access these training accounts through the publicly funded nationwide network of 3,500 One-Stop Career Centers. This program will have to be passed by Congress before it can be activated. We hope Congress will act favorably on this proposal.

Let me move on and tell you a bit about the Department's Hispanic Worker Initiative, which I started. To address the growing presence of Hispanic workers in our workforce, the Hispanic Worker Initiative helps Hispanic immigrants improve their language proficiency and gain the occupational skills needed to access jobs in rapidly growing industries.

We have reached out to involve a variety of community organizations, hired more Spanish-speaking enforcement officers, and widely distributed information about health, safety and wages in Spanish. The goal here is to ensure that all workers, especially vulnerable immigrants, know their rights under our nation's labor laws. And it is this Administration's policy that all workers are protected by our nation's health, safety and wage laws — regardless of their status.

Helping our nation's workers access opportunities in the 21st century is part of our mission at the Department of Labor. As we talk about opportunity and freedom, let me touch upon another challenge that impacts us all: and that is the war on terror.

The President held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week. And we heard firsthand reports from CENTCOM Commander General Abizaid, Multinational Force Commander General Casey and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Khalilzad about what's happening in Iraq.

The events of 9/11 demonstrated the absolute necessity of discarding the old paradigm that law enforcement actions could defeat terrorism. Before 9/11, if a terrorist attacked, we would send law enforcement officers after them. Now we know that the terrorists have global ambitions. On Al Quaeda's own website, they clearly state their goal is to establish an Islamic empire from Spain to Southeast Asia, to reclaim the Caliphate of previous centuries and to establish Islamic law. This is the essence of our battle. They will not succeed. But it will take the combined power of military, political and economic resources to defeat them.

These military leaders also discussed how important it is to continue taking the battle to the terrorists, so we don't have to fight them here at home.

I have visited Iraq. Among other places, I spoke at a women's democracy center in Hilla, about 90 miles outside of Baghdad, which was teaching women the basics of participating in a democracy. The women I met were courageous and absolutely committed to claiming a role in rebuilding their country.

They asked us not to leave them at the mercy of extremists who want to turn back the clock to the 16th century, and force them to live under extremist religious laws. They want their daughters to have the same things that we do: the opportunity to go to school, to earn a living, to own property and to build a better life. And when democratic reform prevails in Iraq, they will have that opportunity.

We are all proud — and you, in this community especially so — of the Hispanic Americans who have joined the Armed Forces to protect our country's freedoms and liberties. They are following the proud tradition of many Hispanic Americans who have gone before them and won so many Medals of Honor. They are taking the battle to the terrorists — "defending forward" — and depriving the terrorists who seek to harm us of resources and sanctuaries so we can be safe here at home. We are grateful to them beyond words. America is unique because of the opportunity and freedom it provides.

So before I close, let me ask for your assistance in helping others access greater opportunities in our country. In the next five years, the federal government is facing a wave of retirements in the civil service ranks. Hispanics are an under-represented group in the federal workforce. This upcoming wave of retirements presents a tremendous opportunity for those who are looking at career options. There are more than 20,000 job opportunities listed on the federal employment Web site: www.USAJOBS.gov. We hope you will help us spread the word of the opportunities in the federal government.

President George W. Bush has led the way by appointing more Americans of Hispanic heritage to top positions in government than any other President in history. This includes six Latinas who work in the White House and were pictured on the cover of Latina Style with the First Lady Laura Bush in September.

Finally, let me give you a heads up on the upcoming annual Opportunity Conference hosted by the Department of labor. This is a Summit to help traditionally underserved communities access opportunity in mainstream America. It offers free workshops on networking, communications and accessing government grant and contracting opportunities. Last year, LULAC was a regional partner for the conference in Chicago. I hope you will check out this Conference on www.opportunityconference.gov, or www.dol.gov, and consider attending.

Good luck to you and God bless you all.