[Excerpt] With almost five unemployed workers for every job opening, the economy is not yet creating enough jobs to make a significant reduction in unemployment. Yet employers report that they are having difficulty finding skilled workers for key positions, despite the high ratio of unemployed workers to job openings. Helping workers build new skills and search more effectively for positions that are a good match for their skillset can help to address the mismatch. But to address the high rate of long-term unemployment, this report finds that policymakers will need to simultaneously spur job creation while also investing in education and training programs that can prepare workers for new employment opportunities
