“In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth.” -Denis Villeneuve
The power of a full-time job with health benefits is profound. A good job has the power to change an individual’s life and a family’s future. Job rich communities are healthier because they have a stable and predictable revenue base, the ability to form partnerships with the private sector, and provide for the most vulnerable. People with job and healthcare benefits feel more secure, buy more things, generate small business opportunities, and fuel our consumer economy. You get the picture–when and where jobs exist, so does hope and confidence.
The current economic conditions can be difficult to understand. The solid job market brings all the benefits mentioned above, but may simultaneously be causing inflation to remain high. Inflation is a mysterious phenomenon influenced by a variety of economic, geopolitical and psychological factors. There are many commentaries and opinions about why it happens and why it is so hard to defeat once it begins to rise, but little consensus on getting it under control.
As stubborn as these problems are, the demand for workers remains steady, if not very high. Even companies that are struggling are reluctant to let go of their employees and are constantly on the hunt for experienced and skilled people.
I’m not rooting against the central bankers and those working hard to tame the pains of inflation, but I am truly amazed by the confidence that a full-time job with benefits provides to people and communities.
For the economic development professionals reading this, I hope you will keep fighting to create job opportunities in your community with every tool you have and continue to innovate and evolve so that more and more people in your communities are prepared to take them.
Let’s have a great week, lift each other up, and move forward.
– Kenny McDonald