You don’t have to be an economist to know the economy sucks right now.  Unemployment has yet to drop below 9% and in some states like my adopted home state of North Carolina, that figure is way above 10%.  Fourteen million people out of work and those are just the ones still being counted. It’s downright depressing. This week the media is abuzz about President Obama’s job speech and the plan he’ll lay out to the American people. I hope it’s an innovative, ambitious and aggressive plan but when I look at the gridlock in Congress, I’m not that optimistic that anything will get done if we leave it to our elected officials. That’s why I was very intrigued by a grassroots movement that is slowly gathering steam across the US.

One Job for America is the brainchild of Carla Emil. She had a simple but powerful idea: what if every business in America, no matter the size, created just one job? It’s not a political movement endorsed or supported by any political party. Its premise is that ordinary Americans (that’s you and me) can do our part to rebuild our economy by creating jobs in our companies. Will it work? Who knows but I hope so. Is it idealistic? You betcha. But we are in desperate need of fresh ideas these days and this is one. That’s why I was really happy to see my local chamber of commerce in Greensboro, NC  launch its own One Job program. My company is signing the pledge to create at least one full-time job to help create a total of 1,000 new jobs in our community. It won’t solve our problems but it’s a decent start.

Just last week, I posted this new position that we are hoping to fill in our Marketing Group.  Some of my Twitter and LinkedIn friends helped me get the word out and we are getting great candidates. Imagine if  every local business that had the means to create a single job got behind this effort! The positive impact would be undeniable.

Interested in signing the One Job pledge or learning more? Check out One Job for America’s website or check with your local chamber of commerce to see how you can help rebuild our economy one full-time job at a time.

… switch out at least half of your incandescent light bulbs for CFLs.

… recycle all of those cans, bottles, boxes and magazines piling up in your garage.

… donate clothes or household items you haven’t used in two years to Goodwill.

… plant a kitchen herb garden in recycled containers.

… start your own compost heap with scraps from the kitchen.

… skip the meat and whip up this glorious tomato and onion tart for Easter brunch.

… stay up too late reading a good book.

… leave this weekend’s laundry for another day.

… enjoy the sunshine and fresh air with the ones you love.

Happy Earth Day and Bon Weekend!