If May's job figures are any indication, the fragile U.S.economic recovery has shriveled in the bud. Businesses filled only69,000 jobs last month, the weakest growth in a year. Theunemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent, the first increase sincelast June.

But some business experts believe things can be turned around byencouraging more foreign investment in the U.S. economy.

According to a report released this week by the Organization for International Investment(OFII), U.S. subsidaries of foreign-owned businessesare already big contributors to the American economy -- andthey could be doing more.

"Ten years ago, the U.S. attracted about 40 percent of crossborder investments; most recently, it's about 17 percent," saidNancy McLernon, president and CEO of OFII. "The pie itself hasgrown, but our slice of it has gotten dramatically smaller whileother developed countries have not. Close to 90 percent ofinvestment in the U.S. is from Europe and Canada. There is adeveloping world out there and we'd like to see us go after theseemerging markets."

Foreign companies in the U.S. are responsible for 21million American jobs, or 12.2 percent ofall jobs in this country. For every worker receiving an employeepaycheck at a U.S. subsidiary of a global company, an additionalthree jobs are supported in the U.S. economy.

"We are in a global competition for capital," said Dennis F.Kerrigan Jr., executive vice president, general counsel andcorporate secretary for Zurich North America, a memberof OFII. "Whether it's an insurer or a manufacturing company,senior management is looking to allocate capital for the bestreturn on investment, and there are better returns in the U.S. Wewant to create policies that actually encourage this andcreate a level playing field for foreign companies."

According to OFII, these U.S. subsidiaries:

• Spend an annual $43.4 billion on U.S. research and developmentactivities
• Reinvest an annual $93.6 billion in their U.S. operations
• Account for less than 1 percent of all U.S. business but pay$38 billion in annual U.S. corporate taxes, nearly 17 percent oftotal U.S. corporate tax payments
• Spend an annual $154.2 billion on property, plant constructionand new equipment
• Directly employ 5.3 million Americans
• Support an annual payroll of $409.7 billion, with averagecompensation per worker of $77,597, about one-third higher thancompensation at all U.S. companies
• Manufacture in America to export goods around the world,accounting for more than 21 percent of all U.S. exports, or $219.7billion
• Buy $1.8 trillion in intermediate inputs from local suppliersand small businesses, almost 80 cents for every dollar spent oftheir total input purchases
• Are more highly unionized than the overall business community,with 12.4 percent of employees covered, compared with 8.2 percentat all U.S. businesses.

For example, Zurich's U.S. headquarters in suburban Chicagoemploys 3,000 and contributes more than $300 million to theIllinois economy through wages paid. "Just as importantly,Zurich purchased more than $175 million worth of goods and servicesfrom Illinois-based vendors, multiplying our economic impactthrough the supply chain," said CEO Mike Foley.

To help encourage more investment, Senate and House leaders ofboth parties this week introduced the Global Investment inAmerican Jobs Act, which encourages ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) by assessing current U.S. policyon inbound investment. Sens. Kerry (D-MA) and Corker(R-TN) sponsor the Senate legislation and Reps. Dold(R-IL-10), Roskam (R-IL-06), Peters (D-MI-09) and Barrow (D-GA-12)lead the House bill.

Encouraging foreign investment also creates more opportunitiesfor insurers and brokers, Kerrigan said. "This is the opposite ofoutsourcing," he said. "The more businesses are attracted to theU.S., the more insurance policies need to be written, and the morecustomers for both insurance companies and brokers. We're agnosticas to where investment comes from; we just want to compete for theinsureds."