America Works Initiative
Helping your company and our country solve our workforce challenges.
America is facing a worker shortage crisis: There are too many open jobs without people to fill them. The result: Too many businesses can’t grow, compete, and thrive. And too many workers can't realize their American dreams.
Through the America Works Initiative, we’re helping employers across the country develop and discover talent to fill open jobs and grow our economy.
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Understanding America's Labor Shortage
Understanding the problem
Discover the latest data on job openings, unemployment, labor force participation, quit rates, and more, for a quick understanding of the current state of the workforce—paired with in-depth analysis of the trends.
Become a member
U.S. Chamber members range from the small businesses and local chambers of commerce that line the Main Streets of America to leading industry associations and large corporations.
Learn more about how your business can become a member.
Understanding the Problem
Report
America’s woefully inadequate immigration system is directly contributing to the worker shortage crisis and hindering American business operations.
Join the #AmericaWorks Conversation
Make your voice heard. Ask Congress to take action to close the skills gap, grow our country’s workforce, and keep America’s economy strong.
Resources and Guides
U.S. Chamber Foundation Programs to Help Your Company
- Develop your talent pipelineThe U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) helps employers partner with educators and economic development leaders to make sure future workers are learning the right skills to meet employer needs.Read More
- Hire from the military communityThe U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) program connects companies with military community talent through world-class hiring events and fellowship programs.Read More
- Use data to find the perfect matchJoin the more than 500 organizations using the latest tech and data to better match people with the right jobs through the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Jobs and Employment Data Exchange (JEDx) and T3 Innovation Network.Read More
- Invest differently in upskilling and trainingTake a new approach to paying for education and skills training to create more opportunity, more inclusion, and more jobs with the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Talent Finance initiative.Read More
Case Studies
- Developing Essential Nursing Talent in PhoenixUsing the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s TPM strategy, the Hospital Workforce Collaborative in Arizona teamed up with local community colleges to train needed specialty nurses.Read More
- Workforce Readiness and Reentry Program at BlackburnA unique program is creating pathways to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals in the equine industry in Kentucky using the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s TPM strategy.Read More
- An Industry-Leading Training Model in AutomotiveUsing the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s TPM strategy, a Toyota training program is meeting industry demand for automotive technicians.Read More
America Works Policy Priorities
Feature story
Business Roundtable, SHRM, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to help American businesses find and hire talented workers based on their skills, not just their degrees, to boost the economy and create more job opportunities.
We are calling on elected officials at the federal and state level to take immediate action to help address this national economic crisis.
Get in Touch
The U.S. Chamber is here to help. Get in touch today to learn more about our workforce programs.
Latest Content
U.S. Chamber President & CEO Suzanne Clark outlined some of the insights from her first 100 days in office for Barron's. Read her full op-ed here.
Most Appealing Incentive to Hesitant-to-Return Workers, New U.S. Chamber Poll Shows WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hiring bonuses are an effective instrument to encourage more unemployed, Americans to return to work, new polling data released today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows. The survey results reveal some of the most impactful and immediate solutions employers and elected officials can deploy in helping address the country’s deepening worker shortage crisis.
This Hill letter was sent to the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, supporting H.R. 3897, the "H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act of 2021." This bill is on the Legislative Leadership list for the “How They Voted” scorecard.
New federal data released today illustrate the increasingly urgent need to address the country’s ever-worsening workforce crisis.
Survey shows many of the newly reported 9.3 million unemployed are never coming back to work.
America is on the verge of what could be a great economic resurgence, but job creators are currently held back by a serious worker shortage.
New poll of unemployed Americans reveals jobs lost and return-to-work barriers, including childcare access and skills gaps.
Businesses are increasingly saying they are unable to hire the workers they need to make their products and provide their services.
By analyzing more than two decades worth of federal jobs and employment data and conducting surveys of top industry association economists and local and state chamber of commerce leaders across the country, we examined the current state of the American workforce and the monumental challenges employers are facing across the country.
New research shows worker shortage slowing the recovery across states and industries; Chamber calls for eliminating barriers to work, deeper investment in skills training, and visa increases
