WEBVTT - DOL's Lu on Need for Culture of Continuous Job Training (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>Global business news twenty four hours a day at Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>This is a Bloomberg Business Flash from Bloomberg World Headquarters.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Charlie Powlett. Stocks for hire as stronger payroll growth

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<v Speaker 1>calms concerns that slowing momentum in the job market would

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<v Speaker 1>weigh on the economy. Our coverage continues here on Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of reaction to today's report. We've got the SMP

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<v Speaker 1>up twenty nine now to twenty seven again there of

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<v Speaker 1>one point four percent down. Industrial is up two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>thirty six points, a gain of one point three percent,

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<v Speaker 1>and nastack is up seventy five points, a gain of

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<v Speaker 1>one and a half percent. The tenure up a four

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seconds, that yield one point three six percent, Gold

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<v Speaker 1>lower little change down point one percent, dropping a dollar

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<v Speaker 1>thirty benounced to thirteen sixty and crude oil up eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>cents of arral it is now at a forty five

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<v Speaker 1>thirty one for West Texas Intermediate. That's a gain of

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<v Speaker 1>four tenths of one percent. I'm Charlie Pellott, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>a Bloomberg Business Flash. This is Taking Stock with Pim

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<v Speaker 1>Fox and Kathleen Hayes on Bloomberg Radio. It's been our rollercoaster,

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<v Speaker 1>Ryan in the labor market the last couple of months.

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<v Speaker 1>At least, that's the picture we get from the Department

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<v Speaker 1>of Labor's monthly employment report. We saw in June that

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<v Speaker 1>jobs searched by two d eight seven thousand, but they

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<v Speaker 1>had risen only eleven thousand the month before. So which month,

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<v Speaker 1>which set of numbers tells the true story of where

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<v Speaker 1>the economy is and where it's heading and is it

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<v Speaker 1>really that volatile lately? We're gonna put this question out

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<v Speaker 1>of Chris lou He's Deputy's secretary at the Department of Labor. Chris,

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<v Speaker 1>welcome back to the show. Thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm sure you've gotten that that question all day long.

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<v Speaker 1>Why so volatile? I mean, it's it's frequently a bit volatile,

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<v Speaker 1>but this is extreme. Well, Kathleen, Look, it's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the reasons why we don't put too much stock on

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<v Speaker 1>any one month's numbers. If you look at the three

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<v Speaker 1>month average, it's about a hundred and seven thousand jobs

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<v Speaker 1>created per per month. If you look at the year

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<v Speaker 1>as a whole, it's about a hundred seventy two. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's best to take these numbers in the

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<v Speaker 1>aggregate and realize that with any individual month, UH, they're

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<v Speaker 1>going to be fluctuations. Now, not often as much as this,

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<v Speaker 1>but it does show the strength of the U S economy,

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<v Speaker 1>the resilience of of the U S economy, and so

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of good in these numbers. Chris Lew

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<v Speaker 1>I'm wondering if you could tell us where there's been

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<v Speaker 1>any kind of meeting or conversations that you've had in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of the strength of the US dollar and what

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<v Speaker 1>that's doing to US businesses. You're right, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>important to note that these numbers predated Brexit, and while

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<v Speaker 1>these are very positive numbers, it shows, um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it continues the longest economic recovery and history. There are

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<v Speaker 1>certainly headwinds, and one of those headwinds is the strong

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<v Speaker 1>US dollar, weakening global demand, and you know, the uncertainty

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<v Speaker 1>that Brexit creates. So we continue to watch what happens

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<v Speaker 1>not only overseas, but other headwinds here in the United States. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>but we know what we can do. We know, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>infrastructure spending is a great way not only to create

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<v Speaker 1>good paying jobs, but also uh, to help businesses shift

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<v Speaker 1>their products in the most efficient manner. So there are

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<v Speaker 1>lots of things we can do. We can increase the

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<v Speaker 1>minimum wage, we can enact paid leaf policy. So we're

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<v Speaker 1>going to focus on what we can hear, always with

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<v Speaker 1>an eye towards um other issues, other factors. Well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>but I PM, let's let's follow up on Pim's question

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<v Speaker 1>though on on the strong dollar, because that's certainly against

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<v Speaker 1>the pound. Uh. You know, big big move after Brexit,

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<v Speaker 1>and we know that many US manufacturers say this, this

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<v Speaker 1>hurts them. It hurts us their ability to sell their

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<v Speaker 1>goods overseas. Now, Uh, there are frequently rumblings, uh, in

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<v Speaker 1>in Washington, in academia. It's not the most popular view,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot of people say, you've gotta you've gotta

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<v Speaker 1>do something about how currency arrangements are conducted around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there ever any talk about that within the administration? Well, look,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if those conversations are happening, they're not happening

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<v Speaker 1>at the Department of Labor. We're focusing on what we

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<v Speaker 1>can focus on, which is to try to provide skills

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<v Speaker 1>to workers that they can take advantage of this growing economy,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, the currency issues are what they are, and

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<v Speaker 1>as they said, there are always going to be headwinds

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<v Speaker 1>that we're going to face, not only overseas but here

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<v Speaker 1>UM and certainly the strong dollar makes it more challenging

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<v Speaker 1>for U S. Exporters. But when you look across the board,

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<v Speaker 1>not only today's numbers, that a lot of the other

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<v Speaker 1>important indicators, whether it's consumer spending, whether it's auto sales,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's on initial unemployment claims UM. It shows the

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<v Speaker 1>continued resilience of this economy. But they're always headwinds. Chris Luke,

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<v Speaker 1>could you speak to the issue of the Federal reserves

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<v Speaker 1>debate over whether to raise interest rates if the economy

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<v Speaker 1>is as well, not robust, but as healthy as it

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<v Speaker 1>is made out to be, at least by this Job's

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<v Speaker 1>report with twenty five basis points of an increase really

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<v Speaker 1>damage the U S economy. You know, we we we

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<v Speaker 1>make it a practice not to opine on what the

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<v Speaker 1>Federal Reserve should should not do. That's really in their prerogative.

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<v Speaker 1>What I can tell you is this, just as good

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<v Speaker 1>as these numbers are, there is more work to be done.

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<v Speaker 1>As we say, all the time. Um, the wages are

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<v Speaker 1>the unfinished business of this recovery. For on an annualized basis,

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<v Speaker 1>wages have grown two point six percent, and that's one

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<v Speaker 1>of the highest that's been in a long time. But

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<v Speaker 1>that really doesn't make up for the wage tagnation that

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<v Speaker 1>most workers have faced over the last couple of decades.

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<v Speaker 1>So we know we need to do more on that.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not prepared to say that we are at full

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<v Speaker 1>employment and I'll leave that to others, but We're going

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<v Speaker 1>to continue focusing on providing skills to workers so that

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<v Speaker 1>they can compete for the job on century you know it,

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<v Speaker 1>We're all for that. I think in this country, let's

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<v Speaker 1>provide the skills, you know, let's boost community colleges for example.

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<v Speaker 1>There that's been going on for a while now, but

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<v Speaker 1>we still see a big gap. We still see, for

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<v Speaker 1>example that Java's claims, you know, our way down, but

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of jobs that aren't getting filled. Is

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<v Speaker 1>there something lacking? This has been talked about and steps

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<v Speaker 1>are taken, but we still have a big skills gap.

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<v Speaker 1>Does it have to start in in junior high two?

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<v Speaker 1>People in need to get educated better? What needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be done Chris, You're right. This is not something that

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<v Speaker 1>we can do after somebody has finished high school, finished

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<v Speaker 1>community collegees. This needs to be a whole of government

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<v Speaker 1>approach that really starts all the way from pre K

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<v Speaker 1>up through high school, through community colleges, through colleges, through

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<v Speaker 1>the workforce system. Last months, there were five point eight

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<v Speaker 1>million open jobs in this country. About ten percent of

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<v Speaker 1>them are in the I T sector. Those are great

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<v Speaker 1>paying jobs and when Secretary President I travel around the country,

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<v Speaker 1>we meet with companies all the time that are ready

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<v Speaker 1>to hire, but they can't find the skilled workers they need. Likewise,

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<v Speaker 1>we talk to job seekers who want to to get

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<v Speaker 1>these jobs but lack the skills. And so what we've

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<v Speaker 1>been focusing on is how do we retool the workforce

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<v Speaker 1>system in this country to be more responsive to the

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<v Speaker 1>needs of industry and not only train people for the

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<v Speaker 1>jobs of today, but the jobs of tomorrow. So that

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<v Speaker 1>it requires working with our partners in the federal government

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<v Speaker 1>on how you improve our education system, how we make

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<v Speaker 1>greater use of community colleges, how we ensure um greater

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<v Speaker 1>use of technology like online training bootcamps, coding bootcamps to

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<v Speaker 1>help people get the skills they need you know. I

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<v Speaker 1>think one of the other big challenges we have in

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<v Speaker 1>this country is that there used to be a time

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<v Speaker 1>when you could train for a job once and then

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<v Speaker 1>you never needed any more training. That's not the economy

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<v Speaker 1>we live in right now. So we need to create

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<v Speaker 1>a culture in which people are willing to get trained

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<v Speaker 1>throughout their entire life. Thank you for spending time with

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<v Speaker 1>us and sharing your views. Chris leu is, Deputy Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>of the U. S Department of Labor. Joining us from Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. Home the Bloomberg and one oh five point

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<v Speaker 1>seven h D two. You're listening to taking Stock. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>pim Fox, my co host Kathleen Hayes, and this is Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 1>Good jobs growth in June after pretty dismal jobs growth

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<v Speaker 1>in May. What's going to happen for the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the year. What does it mean for FED policy makers?

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<v Speaker 1>What does it mean for the markets? That's coming up

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<v Speaker 1>on taking Stock