A rchive Date
[ 22-02-2004 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2413411
Greenspan fears 'cure' will worsen job losses
Associated Press
Feb. 20, 2004, 10:54PM
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Friday that "protectionist cures" being advanced to deal with the country's job insecurities would make the situation worse.
Entering the politically charged debate over U.S. service jobs being shipped overseas, Greenspan said it was a lack of adequate educational training that posed the greatest threat to American prosperity.
Greenspan, speaking in Nebraska to the annual meeting of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said it was not surprising there was a high level of job insecurity in the country with more than 2 million people in the work force having been unemployed for more than a year.
He predicted that the strengthening economy should lead to stronger employment growth in the months ahead.
"We have reason to be confident that new jobs will displace old ones as they always have," Greenspan said, "but America's job-turnover process is never without pain for those in the job-losing portion."
The issue of jobs - how to create, find and keep them - has dominated the Campaign 2004 early primary season.
The Bush White House has backtracked on a forecast in the president's economic report to Congress that said 2.6 million jobs should be created this year.
Greenspan also said the migration of service sector jobs, such as employees working in telephone call centers, to India is a new phenomenon. But he cautioned that any answer that involved erecting trade barriers in this country would be wrong.
"The protectionist cures being advanced to address these hardships will make matters worse rather than better," he said.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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