Career Advice & News Center

As President Obama enjoys his summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard, analysts are anxiously awaiting a speech he will reportedly give in September. During the prime-time address, the president will unveil a new job creation plan, which officials assert is aimed at helping the long-term unemployed, among other groups.

According to a report from NPR, one of the president's first major policy moves as commander in chief was to pass the 2009 federal stimulus bill. While economists are mixed in their view of the bill's effectiveness, it allotted more than $800 billion toward infrastructure development plans, along with a host of other projects aimed at spurring job growth.

However, any future job creation bill unveiled by the president will not have the support of officials if it contains hefty spending measures. The 2009 federal stimulus passed thanks to the Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, but the sharp partisan divide that has gripped Washington since has left many jobless Americans wondering just how, exactly, the president will entice companies to hire more workers.

There have been glimmers of hope in the otherwise gloomy job reports over the past few months. Though job growth has slowed from levels achieved earlier in the year, construction jobs are on the rise, and many businesses are tirelessly working to fill positions in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

While small businesses have historically accounted for more than 70 percent of all new job creation following an economic contraction, many small business owners assert they are worried about taking on new workers.

"People like me and my husband, we're going to be smart," sandwich shop owner Terry Frank told National Public Radio in an interview. " We're not going to try to expand or do anything like that if we don't know what tomorrow holds, if we think maybe the other shoe is going to drop and it's all going to implode."

Experts are split as to whether the government can fuel gob growth without large-scale spending programs, but Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former chief economic adviser to Senator John McCain during his failed 2008 presidential bid, affirms the government can restore confidence by overhauling entitlement programs like Social Security. Such actions, he argues, would restore confidence and ultimately convince companies to hire new workers.

Still, many economists assert the president is likely to propose at least some new spending initiatives in his highly anticipated speech. Obama, along with many experts, acknowledges the increased spending will contribute to higher deficits in the short-term, but he contends they will ultimately result in higher tax revenue and economic growth in the future.

With companies continuing to announce large-scale layoffs, many jobless Americans hope that whatever policy is ultimately employed does what it is intended to do: Stimulate companies to hire again.