JOBS: The Elusive Objective of Full Employment

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These are only first steps; many more could be suggested. The nation should surely set up a computerized "job bank," which would list employment opportunities all over the country and perhaps pay Government job-search and relocation allowances to people who cannot find work in their home communities. Many economists argue for revisions of U.S. tax laws, such as higher depreciation allowances and a lower corporate income tax, to spur more job-creating investments. Whatever the precise mix of policies, the point is that the U.S. must begin some such program of structural reforms in the labor market soon. In the economy of the 1970s, even continued growth, though indispensable, can no longer guarantee a regular job to everybody who wants one.