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What are the essential benefits of the job guarantee?
- True full employment – everyone who wants work can have it on demand
- A labor standard for the entire economy –the job guarantee sets a minimum standard for wages, benefits, and workplace conditions across the economy
- An alternative to the NAIRU – it is a stabilizing tool that fights inflation without causing unemployment
- Anti-cyclical – the program naturally expands in times of recession and shrinks in periods of strong economic growth
- Anti-inflationary – It functions anti-cyclically, increases both supply and demand, and reduces costs (real and financial) associated with unemployment
- Anti-poverty – As the UN report on the employment guarantee outlines, increasing labor incomes is key to reducing poverty levels. Unemployment is a primary contributor to poverty—the job guarantee provides the work and income people need on demand.
- Social inclusion and civic participation – The job guarantee connects people with their communities through socially beneficial projects
- Economic security – A robust approach to economic security includes both income security and employment security. The job guarantee is the assurance that an employment safetynet is always available to those who need work.
- Enfranchising the most vulnerable and excluded – Unemployment is concentrated among the most vulnerable (youth, minorities, women, and people with disabilities). The job guarantee recognizes their capacity and empowers them through participation.
- Economic stability – The job guarantee dampens the effects of and shortens recessions
- Strengthening local resilience – The program itself strengthens community bonds and the projects undertaken help prepare communities for economic and climatic changes
- Filling needs gaps – The job guarantee projects help fill the gaps in public needs (care, transportation, and infrastructure)
- Easier transition to other forms of employment – The job guarantee helps lift people out of unemployment and gives them the work experience, training, and credentialing to transition to alternative employment opportunities
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