Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
National Association of Hispanic Publications Media Summit
National Press Club Washington, D.C.
Thursday, May 18, 2006

Thank you, Robert [Bard, President and CEO, LATINA Style], for that warm introduction.

I am so pleased to be with you today and hope I may chat with you about the state of our economy, the outlook for the job market, the competitiveness of our workforce, the many programs the Labor Department has initiated to help Hispanic workers, and, of course, the President's proposal a comprehensive immigration program.

Let me start by giving you a snapshot of our nation's economic condition. The national unemployment rate remains low at 4.7 percent, which is below the 5.7 percent average unemployment rate of the decade of the 1990s.

The GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2006 is 4.8 percent, which is remarkable for a mature, industrialized economy like our own. Our economy has experienced 32 months of uninterrupted growth, creating approximately 5.3 million net new jobs since August 2003. That's more jobs created than Europe and Japan combined.

Contrast this with Germany and France, which have persistent unemployment rates nearing 10 percent! Their job growth is stagnant. And their average unemployment duration is about three times that of the U.S.

In America this year, our college graduates face the best jobs market since 2001. Most employers say there is increased competition to hire new college graduates. And 20 percent of the employers say they have raised or plan to raise starting salaries. In fact, accounting and computer-engineering graduates can expect starting salaries that are more than 5 percent higher this year.

Demand for workers is also high in the business, education and health-care fields. Other growing sectors in our economy include aerospace, biotechnology, energy, nanotechnology, financial services, homeland security and the skilled trades.

These growing sectors reflect the fact that our country is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy where education is more important than ever to lifetime earnings and advancement. More than two-thirds of the new jobs that will be created over the next 10 years will require some kind of postsecondary education. Postsecondary education can be defined as a 4-year college degree, a 2-year degree from a community college or specialized training in the skilled trades. In essence, the majority of new jobs created these days require more education and training. By definition, the new jobs are better paying jobs!

More and more, workers with more education will have greater advantages than others who possess less education in landing a job.

A high school graduate will earn 25 percent more earnings, over a lifetime, than a high school dropout. A college graduate will earn twice the earnings, over a lifetime, than a high school dropout. So, education makes a big difference in individual achievement and the competitiveness of our workforce. We need to urge our young people to stay in school.

A troubling development is that our country is facing a skills gap. That's the mismatch between the skills of our workforce and the skill sets needed for the new, highly skilled jobs that are being created in the economy.

Closing the skills gap and helping our nation's workers remain competitive in the 21st century is central to our mission at the Department of Labor. That's why the Department launched many special initiatives to help traditionally underserved communities access new opportunities and remain competitive.

To help Hispanic American immigrants access greater economic opportunities, the Department has launched the Hispanic Worker Initiative. The goal is to help Hispanic American workers who have difficulties with English to access help to improve their language proficiency and gain the occupational skills needed to access jobs in rapidly growing industries. To help get the word out, the Department is reaching out to a wide variety of community-based Hispanic American organizations.

The Department also hosts an annual Opportunity Conference to help traditionally underserved communities access opportunity. It offers free workshops on networking, communications and accessing government grant and contracting opportunities. The fourth annual conference will be in Philadelphia on October 17, 2006. More information about the Conference can be found on www.opportunityconference.gov, or www.dol.gov.

Enforcing the nation's labor laws is another aspect of the Department's work. 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.

In fact in July 2004, OSHA, a part of the Department of Labor, hosted the Department's first ever Hispanic Safety and Health Summit.

Last year, the Department recovered a record amount for workers who had been subjected to unlawful employment discrimination — more than $45 million. This total reflects a 56-percent increase over what was collected just four years ago.

The Department has also targeted enforcement of our nation's wage and hour laws on low-wage industries that often employ large numbers of vulnerable immigrants. As a result, the Department has recovered record back wages for immigrant workers.

The goal 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.

President George W. Bush is a leader who has done so much to reach out to America's diverse communities. He believes deeply that diversity makes our nation strong. And he does not hesitate to celebrate diversity, by tapping Americans from all communities for high-level positions in his Administration.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, for example, is the first Hispanic in our nation's history to be appointed Attorney General. Carlos M. Gutierrez is the first Hispanic Secretary of Commerce. And Senator Mel Martinez was the first Hispanic Secretary of Housing and Urban Development!

Joining us today is Jennifer Korn, Associate Director of the Office of the Public Liaison from the White House. She is one of many Latinas who work at the White House — several others were pictured on the cover of Latina Style with the First Lady Laura Bush in September.

At the U.S. Department of Labor, we have Ronnye Vargas Stidvent, who is the Assistant Secretary for Policy. With me here is Melissa Naudin, a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary, from California, who is Hispanic and speaks Spanish!

In fact, President George W. Bush has appointed more Americans of Hispanic heritage to top positions in the federal government than any other President in history.

These are historic times for the Hispanic community and America. On Monday, President Bush spoke to our country about his proposals for comprehensive reform of our immigration system. In his remarks, he shared his goal of leading America toward a more lawful and welcoming society.

Securing our borders is a basic responsibility of our nation and an urgent requirement for national security. At the same time, we are a nation that has welcomed immigrants and benefited from their contributions. So, the President's plan includes a guest worker program that will create a legal path for foreign workers seeking opportunity. These different elements depend on and reinforce one another.

The President's plan will ensure our country has an immigration system that is appropriate for the 21st century. He wants a system that is secure, orderly and fair.

This afternoon you will have a briefing at the White House. There, I am sure, you will hear more detail about the Administration's efforts to enact comprehensive immigration reform and to address these issues in a reasoned and respectful tone.

Before I close, let me ask for your assistance in spreading the word about a unique opportunity to increase the diversity of the federal workforce. In the next 10 years, the federal government is facing an unprecedented wave of retirements in the civil service ranks. 60 percent of the current federal workforce will be eligible to retire. This is a tremendous opportunity for those who are looking for new 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 in the Hispanic community about these opportunities.

You have a very full luncheon agenda. Colonel Angela Salinas is going to be sharing her personal and inspiration story of her career in the Marines and the important role education played in her remarkable success.

I also want to thank the young women and men marines who accompanied Colonel Salinas. Let me ask them to stand so we can recognize them with a round of applause.

We are so proud of the Hispanic Americans in the Armed Forces who have shown such courage and valor and who, as a community, have received so many Medals of Honor. Thank you for your service to our country and thank you for protecting our country's freedoms and liberties.

God bless you all and God bless America.