By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Is the national economy showing signs of sustained improvement? Certainly there are encouraging signs: the unemployment rate is creeping downward; consumer confidence, retail sales and the Dow are all on the rise.

If the trends hold, it’s wonderful news – unless you’re a Republican member of Congress or you’re seeking the GOP presidential nomination. After all, the Republicans have been betting heavily that the economy would still be flat on its back at this point in the campaign cycle. If, despite the GOP’s best efforts to stall President Obama at every turn, we’re in a sustained recovery – even a slow one – then they’ll have to change strategies. Even modest prosperity is bad news for Republicans.

Here in Somerville, the current job picture is especially good. Our unemployment rate stands at 4.5 percent: with unemployment rates at 6.8 percent for Massachusetts as a whole and 8.3 percent nationwide, that’s a rate most cities would envy. But we can’t afford to get complacent about that relatively low level of unemployment: Somerville still needs to attract new employers, and help local businesses expand, so that jobs remain plentiful and our residents can find work when they need it.

We also need to ensure that, whenever possible, those new jobs go to local workers. A strategy of “local jobs for local residents” helps our community in many ways: Jobs we can walk or bike to promote both personal health (through exercise) and public health (through reduced vehicle emissions). They improve quality of life, saving our residents time and money by reducing the length of their commutes. Above all, they add to our commercial tax base, which eases the burden on residential taxpayers and gives us the recourses we need to maintain and improve city services.

So the question isn’t whether to support local jobs for local workers: the question is how best to do it.

For years, now, we’ve been working as a community to get development under way at Assembly Square. And this spring, at long last, we’re going to see major construction start up on the phase one of the retail and residential district between the refurbished mall and the Mystic River. At the same time, we’re going to see construction work start on the new Assembly Square Orange Line station. Not long after, we’ll see development of a new AMC Theatre complex. All of that activity is going to bring thousands of jobs to Somerville – both short-term construction jobs and long-term retail, restaurant and entertainment jobs.

And that’s just the beginning: As I noted in my last column, the City and its people have collaborated in the development of a trailblazing, citywide comprehensive planning document that sets a goal of 30,000 new jobs in Somerville by 2030 – jobs in every sector and in every Somerville neighborhood.

Back in October, to make certain we’re nurturing the right jobs in the right industries, I convened a Future Economies Commission to study technological and business trends to help indentifying business opportunities that have the potential to offer the most and best long-term employment opportunities.

And this week, I’ve taken the next step in the long-term jobs effort by naming a Somerville Jobs Advisory Committee (SJAC).

Composed of local business leaders, workforce development specialists and elected officials, this eleven-member panel will look at ways to match current and future employers with qualified local seekers. They’ll be looking at ways to pre-qualify job-ready candidates, and to help local candidates get training for the next generation of local jobs.

I remain very skeptical about the efforts of some communities to set specific targets for local hiring. Frankly, that’s the kind of regulatory requirement that could discourage new businesses from locating here and current businesses from expanding.

But there is much to be gained by creating in an inventory of the training programs available to job-seekers and by establishing a pre-qualified pool of work-ready job-seekers that provides a convenient starting point for local employers whenever they need to hire new workers.

Over and over again, you’ve heard me say that our defining goal as a community is to make Somerville a great place to live, work, play and raise a family. But, for almost all of us, the achievement of that goal begins with the “work:” Without a decent job, the living, playing and raising-a-family parts are pretty hard to pull off.

That’s why we’ve created the Somerville Jobs Advisory Committee, and why I look forward to working closely with them in the coming year to develop strategies that match local jobs to local workers in ways that benefit not only employer and employee, but the entire community.

4.5 percent unemployment is pretty good – but I’d like us to do even better.