A study examined the labor market problems of the United States' out-of-school youth population and trends in the development and attempted solution of those problems over the past 20 years. The study's major areas of focus were as follows: trends in the nation's out-of-school youth population's size and demographic composition; trends in the…

Over the past 2 decades, the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of full-time employed males and females decreased by 31% and 13%, respectively, and the deterioration in the real weekly earnings of young adults (ages 18-24) shows no signs of abatement. Male high school dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary schooling experienced the…

This document, which is based on data gathered during the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), examines the literacy skills of the U.S. civilian labor force, including the employed and unemployed. The following topics are among those discussed: (1) human resources and the U.S. economy; (2) literacy proficiencies of the nation's labor force;…

The effectiveness of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 was critiqued. WIA was praised for providing an avenue for communication among state and local agencies during development of workforce development plans, potentially allowing individuals to choose from a wider array of services and service providers, spreading the concept of one-stop…

The labor market prospects of out-of-school young adults and options for improving the employment and earnings potential of all young adults were examined. The following issues were among those considered: demographic and social factors affecting young adults' employment prospects; employment trends and labor market problems in the United States…