2024 PCC EWD Conversations: the IIJA, AI, and Entrepreneurs

Over the past two years, The Pulse newsletter, a production of the Economic and Workforce Development division of Pasadena City College (PCC EWD), has been exploring how a variety of EWD elements impact the economy, from individual industries to worker satisfaction to economic sector evolutions. From a worker’s point of view, we’ve looked at how society values labor, how diversity and equity principles affect workforce performance, and how workers leveraged the COVID-19 pandemic to further their personal goals and aspirations.

In this article, we’re looking at factors beyond the workforce that are playing an immense role in the evolution of economic growth. In just three short years, three phenomena have emerged that are overhauling the future of work:

• the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA),
• the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, and
• the explosion of entrepreneurship as a way out of pre-caste EWD norms and standards.

Data indicates that the impact of these three influences will continue to roil America’s economies and transform the way their work gets done.

The IIJA aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)

While IIJA funding spans virtually all meta-industries, five are receiving the bulk of its resources: transportation, energy, watersheds/coastlines, water systems in general, and broadband. Further, almost all of its initiatives -97% – allow spending specifically on workforce development as a critical element of the end goal of an updated, modernized national infrastructure. With more than $1.2 trillion authorized for expenditures on the country’s physical assets, including its roads, rails, airports, etc., the Bill is also focused on building an updated, modernized labor force to maintain it long into the future.

Four agencies are delegated with 95%+ of the distribution of its financial resources: the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Commerce (DOC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DOT has the most funding available and is already deploying half its allotted amount across the country.

A Federal Infrastructure Hub developed by the Brookings Institute lists all projects authorized by the Bill, as well as funding allocations by state, awards granted (as of August 15, 2024), and the sectors in which they are deployed. The think-tank also shares a Published Guidance on calculating the formula for workforce training funds, which cover new and upskilling training costs within industries, including apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and other on-the-job training opportunities. Standards that facilitate a more equitable and balanced workforce sector are built into the workforce development strategy. Funding is available for job creation efforts that support occupations with union capacities, promote the use of project labor agreements, and ensure employer neutrality regarding union organizing. There is also guidance on best practices for expanding access to work and economic opportunities, especially as those arise through investments in transportation infrastructure projects.

The IIJA investments are already funding thousands of new jobs while rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure for the 21st Century and beyond.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Like the money associated with the IIJA/BIL, the technology related to AI is having an immense impact on global, national, and regional labor force developments. While the digital automation of repetitive tasks isn’t new, applying an overview of AI across those processes reveals new ways to improve the systems in which they operate. AI programming is able to discern system and workforce-related nuances that are invisible to the human eye and are often buried deep within processors and databases. Those digitally obtained insights provide new process perspectives that also frequently suggest a need for further innovation and development, such as occupational upskilling requirements, enhanced opportunities for personalization, and even the creation of new jobs to fulfill evolving industry demands.

On the other hand, as the opportunities and promise of AI evolve, the number of occupations it can potentially disrupt rises. A White House report analyzed laborforce data as it reflects aspects that are particularly ‘AI vulnerable.’ According to the July 2024 document:

• As much as 10% of America’s overall occupational roster is at risk of decline or obsolescence because of the new technology.
• Older workers are also more at risk of losing their jobs to or because of an AI resource. In many cases, the complexity of the emerging digital toolset is beyond the skill set of the older employee.
• Organizations and occupations that are Ai-vulnerable are also less likely to unionize or have unionization efforts supported by management.

Another facet of the IIJA/BIL is providing resources that offer workers displaced by AI access to educational and training opportunities to replace AI jobs. In fact, Cisco, a global technology services provider, reports that, in the Information and Communications Technology sector (ICT), up to 92% of all occupations might require technology-related upskilling and reskilling as the digital tool becomes more embedded in industrial and economic processes. Its report, created in conjunction with several other global technology conglomerates, outlines not only how AI is transforming the ICT industrial network but also offers recommendations for upskilling 47 jobs to match future ICT demands.

Entrepreneurs

The United States celebrates its entrepreneurial history regularly, as many of the contributions invented by notable Americans continue to provide service and value. Ben Franklin’s eyeglasses, Thomas Edison’s lightbulb, and Henry Ford’s automobile are all fundamental elements in the country’s persona and sense of pride.

Its emerging entrepreneurial corps is also making waves in the history books; recent data shows that the number of entrepreneur-owned businesses is growing, as is the number of jobs they’re creating. Especially in the small business sector (<500 employees), across the country, new companies are opening in response to unmet labor and market demands. According to the U.S. Treasury, they are responsible for over 70% of all new jobs created since 2019, and that number is growing. In 2024, new business applications averaged 430,000 per month, with those intending to hire workers comprising ~1/3 of those (140,000). And the diversity of the burgeoning entrepreneurial community is impressive, too. Almost half (42%) are female, while the numbers of Black, Asian, and Hispanic small business owners are also nearing their all-time highs.

Additionally, as of Q4 23, small businesses accounted for ~half (51%) of all private employers while also generating over 70% of all new jobs since 2019. These new enterprises are also seeking a well-trained workforce so they canvass specifically for updated digital and AI-related skillsets to ensure their competitive edge.

Further, economic developments in 2024 are encouraging entrepreneurs to continue their investments in labor and the economy. Recent drops in inflation and interest rates are compelling them to seek growth funding at a higher pace as they envision robust investments and engagement with consumers.

These three influences – the IIJA, Artificial Intelligence, and Entrepreneurialism – are already having an immense impact on how the nation moves forward economically in the post-COVID era. As we look toward 2025, we are expecting their presence to exert even more pressure on businesses and industries and, consequently, their affiliated workforce and economic development resources. The Pulse newsletter will be following those evolutions, giving our readers insights into the ‘future of work’ and how the evolution of jobs and employment will influence the global industrial complex.