Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 27

INTRODUCTION
When both these groups are included, the percentage of workers left out of the recovery was
14.3 percent12 in July 2013—nearly twice the official unemployment rate of 7.4 percent.13
The most effective way to reduce poverty and hunger is to reduce unemployment. Over
the decades, the percentage of Americans below the poverty line has closely tracked the
unemployment rate. See Figure i.4. A much stronger economic recovery would be good news
for everybody, but especially for all who are struggling to feed themselves and their families.
The federal government needs to take a much more aggressive approach to creating
jobs. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) gave a boost to
the economy, and it may have prevented a full-blown depression, but
Figure i.5 Alternative Measures of Unemployment
the White House and Congress
Millions
clearly underestimated the severity
35
of the recession, so the Recovery
30
Act did not do enough to stimulate
Official unemployment + involuntarily part-time + discouraged workers
25
the economy. We need a stronger
commitment from both branches
20
Official unemployment + involuntarily part-time
of government to achieving full
15
employment.
Official unemployment
10
Since the Great Recession, the
5
Job openings
Federal Reserve has put more
0
Jan-01
Jan-03
Jan-05
Jan-07
Jan-09
Jan-11
Jan-13
emphasis on reducing unemployment, managing monetary policy
Sources: Mike Evangelist and Anastasia Christman (April 2013), “Scarring Effects: Demographics
of the Long-Term Unemployed and the Dangers of Ignoring the Jobs Deficit,” National Employto keep interest rates low and try
ment Law Project.
to stimulate private sector investments that will create jobs. But
with Congress and the president almost completely tied up in debates over the budget deficit,
Federal Reserve policies have been only modestly successful in supporting job creation. Even
though unemployment is still unacceptably high, the Fed is signaling that it will shift toward
a less expansive monetary policy that will put less emphasis on jobs.
The Recovery Act provided funding to help fix weaknesses in the country’s physical infrastructure. Renovating the nation’s fragile and neglected infrastructure is still one of the best
investments we can make to put people to work and help boost economic productivity for
the long term. Investments in human infrastructure or human capital, as economists often
call workers’ knowledge and skills, also drive productivity growth. We know from decades of
research that early education is one of the best investments countries can make to improve
human capital. Early education has also proven to be one of the best ways to give children a
chance to escape intergenerational poverty. More than a third of young families (those where
the breadwinner is under 30 years old and there is at least one child) are living in poverty.14
Plus, parents in these families need the childcare component of early education just to be
able to work.
The relationship between hunger and unemployment seems obvious. Getting back to full
employment takes us one big step toward ending hunger in America. It’s necessary but it’s
not enough, because millions of families experience hunger in spite of holding down jobs.
All jobs should pay a wage that makes it possible for full-time, year-round workers to support
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