Even with worker shortages, GOP and Democrats focus on more jobs

Ty Davenport is a man on a mission. As economic development director for Fairfield County in South Carolina, he’s traveling to places like Colorado and Germany trying to bring jobs back to a place that very much needs them.

Even though the national unemployment rate is down to 4.1 percent, pockets of the country – including his area – still face high joblessness, such as Fairfield County’s 9.5 percent. Often that's coupled with a high number of working-age people who have become disengaged from the labor force for reasons that range from discouragement and drug addiction to skills that don’t match today’s jobs.

In South Carolina, only 58.6 percent of working-age adults are in the labor force, well below both the national level (62.7 percent) and prior

Participation headed back up?Going for growth, not debt-reductionWork requirements for a safety net?