Scott advisers: Unemployed people aren't trying hard enough to get jobs

Laura Mroczko lost her job at a printing plant a couple of months ago and now spends a couple of hours a day scouring Internet job boards, placing cold calls and visiting labor offices.

So, the 40-ish Tampa woman was offended at statements made by incoming Gov. Rick Scott's advisers. The gist of the advisers' comments: people drawing unemployment benefits aren't working hard enough to find work.

"Look around," she said, pointing at a line of people at the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance jobs agency searching for work. "These people are here looking for work. You can't survive on what unemployment pays you."

Scott's business-minded advisers on economic development Wednesday gave the governor-elect 109 pages of observations and recommendations for reinvigorating Florida economy. Among the topics, unemployment compensation.

"According to [former U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary Alan] Krueger's research, the amount of time people on UC spent looking for a job averaged only 20 minutes a day! Within 2 weeks of UC ending, that increased but to only 70 minutes a day," states the document, noting that the median duration of unemployment benefits receipt has increased nationally from 10 weeks to 18.7 weeks.

The team's recommendations: tighten job-search requirements for people getting benefits, cut off assistance for those who don't comply and assign community work for those who don't get a job in 12 weeks. Goals: increase employment and reduce the payout of unemployment benefits, as well as the unemployment compensation tax burden on businesses.

Reached via email, Krueger told the Tampa Tribune Thursday that the Scott team's report misstated his findings.

In fact, Krueger confirmed today, his research revealed that the average amount of time spent job-searching is more than 40 minutes a day, not 20.

Krueger, who recently returned to Princeton University, was also critical of the Scott team's proposals.

"They seem to have misinterpreted my study," the Treasury Department's chief former economist said. "More importantly, those results were for the mid 2000s. The main problem we face now is an inadequate number of jobs, not inadequate search by the unemployed.

"Their proposals strike me as punitive, and unlikely to be very effective. Research by [Princeton economist] Orley Ashenfelter shows that stricter enforcement of the work search requirement does not save ... money."

Wayne Huizenga Jr., a South Florida businessman who leads Scott's economic development team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Told of Krueger's comments, Scott spokeswoman Jenn Meale said she was unable to comment on the report's reference to his research but said that "Gov.-elect Scott and his team will be reviewing all of the suggestions and conducting their own research as well."

Thursday afternoon, several job-seekers at the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance office on Florida Avenue were flustered by the statement by Scott's advisers - regardless of whether it is accurate.

The job-seekers at the Workforce Alliance, a job assistance agency, may not be the unmotivated people Scott's team was referencing. After all, they were taking some initiative to find work. However, they insisted most people spend far more than 20 minutes looking for jobs.

"That's stupid," said Freddy Pacheco, a 61-year-old Town 'n Country woman who lost her job at a Tampa clothing store a month ago. She spends about four or five hours a day, three days a week, looking for work, she said.

Nearby, Kayla Dozier, 27, was waiting to speak with a career counselor. It has been hard to look for work while caring for her young children. But, she still manages to squeeze in a few hours a day for her job search. She lost her job at LabCorp in September when the firm moved the job to North Carolina.

"Twenty minutes a day, wow!" she said.

Other proposals in the economic development team's report include:

• Cut costs at the Department of State. Cancel member projects funded through the department and "evaluate" grants for cultural, historical and library resources, as well as the role of the modern library itself. Evaluate cutting staff, too.

• Cut fees paid by corporations. Create more property tax exemptions and a 1 to 2 year moratorium on impact fees to spur industry.

• Stop raids on the state's Transportation Trust Fund - a strategy that lawmakers have used for years to plug annual budget gaps. Such raids have totaled more than $3 billion since 1998, according to Scott's team.

• Double funding for the State University System over the next five to seven years.

• Boost Florida's annual investment in its major ports by at least $14 million.

• Double annual state spending on tourism marketing through Visit Florida, to nearly $63 million.

Proposals like the last few might be tough for Scott to balance against the state's $3.5 billion budget hole, which he and state lawmakers will have to fill next year.

Scott spokesman Brian Burgess said the recommendations are being taken under advisement but should not be considered as "anything more than big ideas that will help inform [Scott] as he forms his administration."