A landmark new study reported that upward mobility in the Keystone State since the late 1990s exceeded that in most parts of the United States. This report, focused on more recent trends, contains some bad economic news. It shows that Pennsylvania's economy has performed poorly from the perspective of typical working families since the end of…

Prepared to provide background for groups concerned with rural development in South Dakota, this paper addresses the nature, extent, and causes of South Dakota's unemployment and underemployment problems. Findings indicate that while South Dakota's unemployment rate (5.4% in 1983) has traditionally been lower and less volatile than the national…

Unemployment rates vary considerably across nonmetro counties, where adjusted average annual unemployment rate was 12.2% in 1984 compared with 10.4% in metro areas. Differences in unemployment rates among nonmetro areas can be explained in part according to their dependence on agriculture, mining, manufacturing, or other single sources of income.…

A structural approach which focuses on social and economic conditions under which poverty exists and which de-personalizes causes is used to study the extent and trends of poverty in general and Maine in particular. The 1980 Census reported that 13% of Maine's population was poor, but since income in Maine is generally low many people fall in and…

This report summarizes trends in the job search experiences and employment outcomes of 1993-1994 physics graduates at all degree levels. Data were gathered via the American Institute of Physics' Employment Survey. Type of position secured in terms of permanence, fields of permanent employment, and level of utilization is reported for doctoral and…

Asserts that the Russian educational system is facing a crisis of confidence among its teachers and students regarding employment opportunities after leaving secondary education. Calls for educational reform in curriculum and instructional methods that can provide periodic retraining as economic changes occur. (CFR)

Dramatic demographic and socioeconomic shifts have occurred in rural areas over the last decade, increasing poverty among America's rural population. Analysis of the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey indicates that outmigration from rural areas, which has grown steadily since 1980, reached almost 1,000,000 between 1986 to 1987. Those…

Stagnant or declining wages for less-educated workers make policies to upgrade the job market options for low wage workers an urgent priority. One in three low wage workers lives in a low income family. The link between low basic skills and low wages is strong. No single standard of minimum skill requirements applies to all middle income jobs, and…

A study examined the job-training needs of high-risk adults to determine who they are, what they need in order to obtain productive careers paying a living wage, what is available, what works and doesn't, and what South Carolina should do to assist this population. Data were obtained from several dozen focus groups across the state, discussion…

Presents results of a 1981 survey of 2,554 household heads in low income counties in 10 southern states. Finds lack of job opportunities, not knowing the right people, not having enough training or education, not knowing where to look for jobs, and discrimination to be major problems perceived by respondents. (LFL)

Asserts that enormous public resources are being expended to teach over specialized disciplines that are useless in a market economy. Calls for educational changes including updated curricula and training materials in economics; inservice education and retraining; and a national network of entrepreneurial education. (CFR)

The House select committee met to hear testimony from parents, children, service providers, and researchers concerning the effects of job and income loss on families in central Illinois. The testimony of the first panel consisted of personal narratives. A high school student whose parents may move the family in order to find better paying jobs…

This report contains five papers with discussions identifying policy and research issues in rural labor markets, assessing the adequacy of existing data and theories for researching these issues, and assigning priorities to research questions. The papers focus on rural economic goals, market linkages with metropolitan, national, and international…

American society is based on work. The industrial revolution exposed a growing proportion of the population to unemployment, underemployment, and dislocation. Early theoreticians believed that unemployment was a temporary labor market imbalance that would correct itself with downward wage adjustments. John Maynard Keynes, on the other hand, argued…

This report, a product of the Commission on Youth and America's Future, addresses the problem of the approximately 20 million 16- to 24-year-olds who are not likely to attend college. Although many youth without college education are successful, a large fraction are not and need help to succeed. However, the portrait of them as troubled and in…