Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Manpower Report of the President.

To the Congress of the United States:

As required by section 107 of the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, as amended, I am sending to the Congress the fourth Manpower Report of my Presidency and the final one of my first Administration.

The report describes the acceleration of the economic recovery in 1972 and analyzes the significant decrease in rates of unemployment that occurred following a revitalization of labor demand under Phase II of our Economic Stabilization Program. Significantly, these overall employment gains have been achieved in the face of an unusually rapid expansion of the civilian labor force. I am especially gratified by the evidence that this Administration's intensive effort to improve the employment situation of Vietnam-era veterans has been increasingly effective in recent months.

In the course of a decade of experimentation, numerous federally sponsored manpower programs have been devised and executed in response to changing perceptions of national requirements. The experience of these I O years has demonstrated conclusively that "national" manpower issues really have a sharply differentiated impact among the many States and localities and hence that the effect of many large-scale federally designed programs has been to unduly constrict States and localities, preventing them from directing resources to meet their problems.

In response to these findings, this Administration will take steps during 1973 and 1974 to institute a new program of manpower revenue sharing within the existing legislative framework. The new Manpower Report discusses this much needed reform, which will permit States and localities to use manpower resources in a manner consistent with their requirements.

I commend this report to the careful attention of the Congress.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House,

March 20, 1973.