-->>WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed confidence Thursday that the long-battered U.S. job market will perk up"before long" and warned Congress not to take"protectionist" steps to curb the movement of white-collar jobs to such countries as India and China.
>Greenspan said the 'outsourcing' of U.S. jobs to foreign countries has generated a"palpable unease" among Americans, who fear that it foreshadows a long-term decline in their standard of living. Some U.S. lawmakers have responded with proposals to deny federal grants to companies that outsource U.S. jobs and to require 'call-center' workers in other countries to state where they are when they speak with U.S. customers.
>"In response to these strains and the dislocations they cause, a new round of protectionist steps is being proposed," Greenspan told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce."These alleged cures would make matters worse rather than better. They would do little to create jobs; and if foreigners were to retaliate we would surely lose jobs." Instead, he said, Congress should focus on improving the U.S. education system and"further open markets here and abroad."

-->>WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed... Instead, he said, Congress should focus on improving the U.S. education system and"further open markets here and abroad."