According to Brookings (2011), there are approximately 6 200 recycling and reuse sector jobs in the region as of 2010, a 73% jump from 2003. Another 1 500 workers are involved in the manufacture of recycled content products, and some 16 000 jobs exist in the waste management and treatment sector, although the latter figure may be misleading as it also includes jobs related to wastewater treatment. Net job growth is limited, however, because most jobs are likely filled by currently unemployed workers or training programme graduates (CWIC-CJC, 2010). However, an analysis prepared for the Chicago Department of the Environment estimated that a 5% improvement in the local recycling rate would yield direct employment gains of 230 jobs and a comparable amount of indirect job gains (Schrock and Sundquist, 2009). The public and private sectors will need to co-ordinate efforts to address the skill mismatch problem at all skill levels. First, addressing skill shortages in the green sector requires an understanding of the larger, systemic challenges to workforce development in the metro-region, where evidence of a significant skill mismatch stymies regional economic growth.