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InformationWeek: Although the U.S. unemployment rate hovers around 9 percent, Microsoft says it had 4,551 job openings as of May and that it was taking an average of 65 days to find qualified workers. Microsoft’s Brad Smith told the Senate that the IT unemployment rate is only 4 percent, which is below the government’s definition of full employment. In part, Smith blamed the problem on a lack of education, saying, “The unemployment problem in the United States is also a skills problem.”
In addition, Microsoft wants the government to allow more immigrants with tech jobs to get green cards. “Our continued ability to help fuel the American economy depends heavily on continued access to the best possible talent. This cannot be achieved, and certainly not in the near term, exclusively through educational improvements to ‘skill up’ the American workforce,” Smith added.
