We’re thrilled to announce that Pacific Community Ventures and our President and CEO — Mary Jo Cook — were chosen as one of 15 fellows by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program to more deeply engage in work that expands the availability of better quality jobs in our economy. Americans place a high value on work, and believe hard work should offer a pathway to economic security. But decades of lagging wages, eroding benefits, and declining employment security means too many jobs do not match that vision of work as a pathway to a better life. To restore the ideal of work as the pathway to the American Dream, our economy needs more quality jobs. “Now is the time to focus on making better quality jobs,” said Maureen Conway, vice president for policy programs and executive director of the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute. “That’s why we’re launching the Job Quality Fellowship. It … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: August Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. Since 2010, the Brookings Institution has been calculating and tracking something they call the “jobs gap,” which is the number of jobs the economy needs to return to pre-recession levels. With August’s better-than-expected jobs report, the jobs gap is now … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: July Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. June was the eighth anniversary of the end of the recession, when the jobless rate more than double what it is today. The economy has completely recovered over that time, at least in terms of the number of jobs on … Read More
We Need Your Small Business’ Voice
Here at Pacific Community Ventures, we’ve seen firsthand though our work with small businesses that job creation alone is insufficient to create lasting economic change in underserved communities and for working people. We view the advancement of quality jobs as an important avenue to better support underserved communities and address rising income and wealth inequality across the U.S. As part of our vision to make quality job creation the norm, we must equip small businesses with the practical tools and resources they need to offer higher quality jobs in a way that balances their business’ financial and operational needs with their employees’ interests. We’re committed to empowering small business owners to succeed – and believe a simple, practical quality jobs toolkit will help them to improve job quality for their workers, thereby reducing turnover, improving productivity and revenue, and boosting brand reputation. In order to create a resource that meets … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: June Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. There was a study this month on the effects of Seattle’s newly implemented $15 minimum wage, and it kicked off a wide-ranging discussion and a lot of criticism. The study said that raising the wage caused companies across the city … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: May Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. The minimum wage has been in the news a lot this month – both for good and for ill. The minimum wage’s buying power is less today than it was in 1950 – and the millions of working families who … Read More
Public Policy and Investments in Good Quality Jobs
Despite years of economic growth and a declining unemployment rate, the economy – from the perspective of many Americans – is far from healthy. For decades, wages for everyone but the top quintile of earners have remained stagnant or declined, while Americans’ participation in the workforce is at its lowest level in nearly forty years. At Pacific Community Ventures, we believe that community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and the broader impact investing industry are ideally positioned to tackle this issue by supporting businesses that create high-quality jobs offering decent wages, benefits, career and wealth-building opportunities, and fair and engaging workplaces. Yet America’s jobs problem is too large and complex for individual businesses and investors to confront on their own. Without a concerted effort by government to improve job quality in partnership with businesses, investors, and the social sector, we cannot credibly expect to see changes in the economic trends that … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: April Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. More Americans work in retail than in manufacturing or mining. Over the last two weeks you’ve probably read a lot about big job losses in the retail sector, from Sears and Macy’s to Kmart and Urban Outfitters. According to Slate … Read More
PCV Receives Grant from Aspen Institute to Create Quality Jobs Toolkits for Retail Small Businesses
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program announced today that it has awarded a grant $200,000 to Pacific Community Ventures to take part in Reimagine Retail, a project made possible through a $5.5 million grant awarded by the Walmart Foundation to the Aspen Institute in 2016. Over a two-year period, Pacific Community Ventures will engage retail employers and explore strategies to improve job quality and support advancement for retail workers. Workforce development organizations, retail businesses, and other partners have potential to collaborate to improve the quality of jobs for workers in entry-level positions, create pathways for advancement in retail and related sectors, and increase employee engagement, productivity, and retention. To explore open questions about how to expand opportunities for working people, leaders in these fields will need to build capacity, experiment with new and innovative strategies, and learn from their experiences. Through Reimagine Retail, the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP), … Read More
An Economy For Everyone: March Good Jobs Recap
In order to build wealth and create opportunities in and across America’s underserved communities, and reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing in our economy, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone. It’s clear that job creation does not itself equate to lasting economic change. And so, we must shift our focus to the creation of higher quality jobs — jobs that are good for workers and their families, good for businesses, and good for communities — enabling us to build an economy that works for everyone. Each month, we bring you the latest roundup of news from the fight for quality jobs for working people. What is the real state of working America? In 1900, factories and farms employed 60 percent of the work force. By 1950, a half-century later, those two sectors employed 36 percent. In 2014, they employed less than 10 percent. The … Read More