A joint campaign between the White House, business leaders and associations to encourage jobless people to seek new skillsets is being blasted by critics who say it ignores the reality of why so many people are currently out of work.

The "Find Something New" campaign was developed by the Ad Council in collaboration with a White House task force on workforce policy. The campaign's ads encourage Americans to find new jobs through a website that points to a range of education and training options, including online and virtual learning.

The Ad Council noted that 18 million people are currently out of work. "Our Find Something New campaign, backed by an extraordinary coalition of supporters, will empower people all across the country to find the education and training path that's right for them," CEO Lisa Sherman said.

But social media users were quick to point out the reason the U.S. is seeing historic levels of unemployment is because the jobs simply aren't there, with most people having lost jobs through no fault of their own. Many saw the campaign as a way for the administration and business leaders to deflect blame for job losses onto those who have lost jobs.

"Oh my god. Fits perfectly with their belief that the real problem is people don't want to work not that there's a raging pandemic and massive business closure/job loss!!!" Rising with the Hill co-host Krystal Ball said in a tweet.

Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of Community Colleges are among the business groups participating in the campaign. None had responded to the criticism of the campaign as of early Wednesday after, but in statements, many praised the goal of giving people the tools to train themselves for the modern workplace.

"Our CEOs are all-in on this campaign because they firmly believe multiple pathways to a career will expand economic opportunity for more Americans and increase the shared goal of a more diverse workforce," BRT CEO Joshua Bolten said.

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