President Biden's job-generating policy should improve the lives of Americans over the next few years.

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• Reviving the flagging American economy is one of the major pillars of President Joe Biden’s policy goals. Just a week into his term, Biden has outlined several plans for creating jobs and otherwise improving the lives of workers across the nation.
• An analysis by Moody's Analyties estimates that Biden’s first major proposal, the American rescue Plan, could create 7.5 million jobs this year, with another 2.5 million jobs in 2022.
• But Biden has a lot of ground to make up for: the U.S. continues to slowly recover from the pandemic unemployment crisis, with millions of people still out of work or managing a reduced income. More than 40 million workers—about 25% of the entire labor force—lost their jobs last spring, as the economy shut down to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
• The unemployment rate improved in the summer and fall (as of January 2021, it’s sitting at 6.7%, or about 10.8 million people). But as recently as December 2020, four miliion people had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.
• If Biden’s wishlist is fulfilled, the impact of his plans for workers go beyond increasing employment. Biden has repeatedly said that by protecting workers during the pandemic, raising wages and increasing jobs in other key policy areas like climate change, long-term economic damage can be minimized and it will keep the U.S. economy competitive with the rest of the world.
• But right now, the success of his plans to bolster the workforce depend in large part on Congress. Not only must the House of Representatives and Senate approve of many of Biden’s proposals, but the two chambers must also come to agreement about how much to spend on the initiatives they pass.
• Here’s what Biden has proposed so far and where his ideas stand.
• 1. Extend Unemployment Benefits Until September
• Biden's American Rescue Plan aims to provide a $400 weekly supplement for people receiving unemployment benefits through their state, and it would include people who have already exhausted their weekly state benefits. That amount would start when the current $ 300 supplement , authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, expires in March and last through September 2021. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which offers benefits to people who are self-employed or gig workers, would also be extended through September.
• What’s next: Congress must consider this as part of proposed American Rescue Plan legislation.
• 2. Expand Emergency Paid Sick and Family Leave
• The American Rescue Plan calls for providing at least 14 weeks of paid sick, family and medical leave for workers who are impacted by the pandemic. A benefit of $1,400 per week would be available, with leave available through September 2021. You would qualify if you were quarantining after being exposed to the coronavirus, caring for a sick family member, or caring for children participating in remote learning. A similar allowance was authorized by theFamilies First Coronavirus Response Act , which offered a weekly benefit of $1,000 for up to 12 weeks, but it expired at the end of 2020.
• What’s next: Congress must consider this as part of proposed American Rescue Plan legislation.
• 3. Increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $15
• Biden’s American Rescue Plan asks Congress to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour nationwide for everyone, including tipped workers and people with disabilities who earn sub-minimum wage.
• A $15 minimum wage for all workers would provide a pay boost for 21% of U.S. workers, the Economic Policy Institute estimates. And it would begin to close the wage gap for Black workers and other workers of color who often get stuck in low-paying jobs. The minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, when it was raised to $7.25.
• What’s next: On Jan. 22, Biden signed an executive order requesting that the director of the Office of Personnel Management provide a report to the president with recommendations on how to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour for federal employees.

• Once that report is delivered, it’s uncertain how quickly action could be taken to raise the minimum wage for employees of the federal government. As for raising the minimum wage for everyone else, that will be up to Congress to consider as part of the American Rescue Plan. It’s possible that this aspect of the plan will get cut from whatever version Congress votes on. Twenty-nine states already have a floor that’s higher than the federal minimum wage, which leeches some of the urgency from Biden’s plan. And it appears that Biden’s economic plan will likely be presented for a vote by Congress in reconciliation, a process that can only be used for budgetary matters, like government spending.

Meanwhile, the Raie the Wage Act  has been re-introduced by Democrats in the House of Representatives. It proposes raising the minimum wage to $9.50 this year, and raising it to $15 per hour by 2025. The bill also proposes phasing out the tipped minimum wage.
4. Launch a Public Health Jobs Corps
Biden’s American Rescue Plan proposes establishing a public health jobs program. It would provide funding for 100,000 jobs to include contact tracing, vaccine outreach and broader community health outreach. Some of the initial roles may be temporary, but Biden’s plan specifies that workers would have opportunities to transition into long-term community health roles beyond the pandemic.
What’s next: There is no kickoff date for this job corp. Congress will consider authorizing this initiative as part of the American Rescue Plan.
5. Launch a Civilian Climate Corps
President Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 27 to establish a hiring initiative that will create jobs relating to mitigating climate change and conservation efforts. White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said during a press briefing that roles would be created within communities where jobs are needed instead of requiring workers to relocate in search of jobs that serve infrastructure improvement, clean energy goals, and sustainability.
What’s next: Biden’s executive order instructs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a strategy for creating the climate corps within 90 days.
Biden’s effort to create jobs that support his climate policies may help him make up for jobs that may be lost in areas that aren’t a priority to the administration. For example, some lawmakers including senate Minorit Leader Mitch McConnell have raised concerns that Biden’s decision to stop construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline results in lost jobs. The project employed about 1,500 people before it was halted in January, and was expected to generate 10,500 jobs during the construction process, according to a project brief.
6. Invest in Job Training
During his campaign, Biden proposed investing $50 billion in workforce training. That effort would include training programs ranging from a few months to two years in high-demand industries. It would also increase the number of apprenticeships by partnering with unions to oversee these on-site training programs.
What’s next: No action has been announced yet but, with millions of Americans out of work, job training programs will be essential. Women and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by layoffs, especially in low-wage leisure and hospitality roles. They may need specialized training to be able to pivot into other roles as the pandemic economy evolves. Biden’s targets for climate technology and infrastructure as well as public health jobs will also demand specific skill sets that may spur demand for training programs.