Strengthening One-Stop Career Centers

On May 8, The Brookings Institution and the National Association of State Work Force Agencies hosted a discussion forum on a new paper, “Strengthening One-Stop Career Centers: Helping More Unemployed Workers Find Jobs and Build Skills.”

One-stop career centers help millions of unemployed and disadvantaged workers each year find new jobs and opportunities for advancement. Unfortunately such centers are hampered by poor accountability and a lack of adequate funding. This Hamilton Project paper proposes a new approach to “One-Stops” that would increase cost effectiveness, reduce unemployment and underemployment and provide a more highly skilled workforce.

Following an introduction by Rich Hobbie, Executive Director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, Louis Jacobson, Senior Economist at CNA (Center for Naval Analyses) presented his paper. Following the presentation, Jeffrey Kling, senior fellow and deputy director of Economic Studies commented on the paper.