“He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses …”
That is how Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution outlines the president’s duty to inform the country.
For most presidents, the topic of jobs has taken center stage at their address to Congress as a way to reassure the American people they have not been forgotten in the ever-changing economy. Over the past 20 years, presidents have had to try to come with solutions to the four pillars of structural unemployment that has been impacting American jobs: globalization, technology, an aging population and a broken education system.
This presidency will be no different.
While the unemployment rate is down to 4.9% — what economists consider “full employment — the problems surrounding structural unemployment are not being addressed fast enough to keep up with the needs of American families and the companies that employ them.
As we await President Trump’s solutions in first address Congress Tuesday evening, WorkingNation put together a short montage to look back at what past presidents have said regarding the changing workforce and what some of their solutions were to help workers.
To watch more from these and other speeches and to read our in-depth version of this article, click here.