Rhode Island had its fourth straight month of job losses in April with 700 more jobs lost. This situation looks no better for May and June with thousands of new graduates and others looking for jobs in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island entered a recession in late 2007 with job losses every month since November. The state's unemployment rate is higher than the national rate. In the past, recessions have lasted on average nine or ten months. By looking at economic measures, particularly the housing situation and the high cost of gasoline and energy, Rhode Island may not come out of the recession until well into 2009.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training reported, on a year-over-year basis, the number of employed Rhode Island residents fell 9,100 between April 2007 and April 2008 and the number of jobs lost in this same time period was 8,800. The largest annual employment losses in Rhode Island were in manufacturing, professional and business services, financial activities, construction and retail trade.

We need an immediate job creation program. A ten step program is presented in this article. Some of the steps are new, some are already in place and others have been tried in Rhode Island and other states.

Job creation is important for the state in generating tax revenue to reduce the budget deficit. The objective is to create higher-paying jobs but the reality is that the job loss rate is growing faster than forecasted. Jobs need to be created now so that Rhode Islanders can keep their homes and pay for food, gasoline and health insurance.

The first step in the process is to focus the efforts of all state and local economic development agencies on working with existing businesses to create jobs by identifying marketing opportunities.

Second, get the support of professional and trade associations, and chambers of commerce to publicize job opportunities. Some of the professional and trade associations create entry barriers making it difficult to enter jobs in their fields. These entry barriers need to be reviewed to see if they are still important today.

Third, businesses need to sponsor coop programs and internships for high school and college students. These programs often lead to job offers.

Fourth, require high school students to take a course in personal finance that includes career planning so that high school graduates who do not go to college get the skills needed to find a job.

Fifth, partner with the career services offices at Rhode Island colleges and universities. The personnel in these offices are familiar with job creation. Attention has to be placed on career preparation at colleges and universities so that students begin their job search process as soon as they enter college. Teachers and professors should be part of this process since they often know of job openings before they are posted.

Six, invest in education that emphasizes the skills and knowledge needed in the marketplace. This education has to be a combination of learning how to live and learning how to make a living.

Seven, build on this investment by offering programs to individuals who want to upgrade their skills. The Community College of Rhode Island and other institutions including proprietary schools offer trade-related courses and design customized training programs for businesses and industries.

There are also opportunities for specialized certificate programs that would open new job possibilities for high school and college graduates and provide companies with trained employees.

Eight, more effectively communicate job openings through career fairs targeted at specific employment sectors, kiosks in public areas, state agencies, libraries, community centers and on the internet.

Nine, encourage state support for job creation by reducing the entry time for individuals to enter specific crafts through changing legislation or rules, supporting bond issues that create jobs, providing tax credits for new jobs and employee training programs and providing "seed" money for new entrepreneurial businesses that create jobs.

And ten, businesses and government agencies should take advantage of "shared-work" programs that create two jobs for every job because of life-style demands of employees. There are times where employees would like to work part-time if given the opportunity. At the same time there are individuals who need to care for children and others who can only work part-time. With the large number of Rhode Island "baby boomers" ready to retire, companies can first hire part-time workers to take the place of those planning to leave the workforce and then hire them for full-time jobs.

The public and private sectors of Rhode Island must take unusual and aggressive steps to create jobs to get the economy back on track. We need to encourage businesses to invest in human resources and at the same time provide them with a well educated and motivated workforce.

Rhode Island's opportunity for economic growth lies in its small and mid-sized companies and entrepreneurial businesses that provide products and services to niche markets in the state, region and the world and create jobs.