A study tracing the United States economy over the last 40 years reports the skills needed in the changing economy around the turn of the 21st century. Data sources were the March Annual Demographic files of the Current Population Survey for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 1996, and the Public Microdata Sample of the 1960 Census. The study notes the rise of the premium in wages for college graduates and the decline in real earning for all high school graduates, especially males. Some highlights of the findings include the following: (1) office work dominates the U.S. economy; (2) office professionals outnumber clerical workers; (3) the wages for less-skilled counter workers have dropped and are continuing to drop; (4) high-skilled services (e.g., education, health care, police, and firefighters) have become more important components of the economy); (5) most office jobs fall into the "elite" and "good" jobs categories; (6) the status of female workers has improved in the new office economy; (7) the office economy has sharply increased wages and workplace opportunities for African Americans; (8) despite advances for females and African Americans, a substantial racial and gender gap remains between those groups and white males; and (9) access to the office, not access to new technology, has become the major source of increasing earning inequality. Implications of the study's findings include that it is high-level office workers (managers, lawyers, doctors, accountants), not "high tech" workers (computer technicians, engineers), whose incomes have risen the fastest and that "management" is more crucial than ever and more rewarded. The study raises questions about the structure of organizations, the role of unions and government, and the future of government protection and consumers' rights. (Contains 55 references.) (KC)