As we approach this Labor Day, the Pennsylvania economy is growing steadily. Working families are sharing in prosperity in a more sustained way than at any point since 1980--although many families still struggle to make ends meet and, in our polarized nation, a big partisan divide exists in perceptions of whether the economy is better than four…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented economic and policy challenges to the United States and other countries. Navigating out of the pandemic slowdown is another novel experience, which makes it more difficult to answer the question addressed each year in the "State of Working Pennsylvania": How is the Pennsylvania economy…

The economic boom of the 1990s veiled a grim reality: in addition to the growing gap between rich and poor, the gap between good and bad quality jobs was also expanding. The postwar prosperity of the mid-twentieth century had enabled millions of American workers to join the middle class, but as author Arne L. Kalleberg shows, by the 1970s this…

Data on women in labor unions in 1988 reveal the following facts: (1) women are becoming an increasingly important part of membership in organized labor, as the total number of workers in unions declines; (2) in 1988, nearly 6 million of the 47.5 million employed women in the United States, or about 13 percent, were members of unions; (3) since…

Nine articles discuss the effect of economic and social upheaval on employment and wages in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, the USSR, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. (SK)

The rising wage inequality in U.S. urban labor markets during the 1980s was examined in a study of 20 metropolitan area labor markets. The study's perspective differs from the prevailing perspective on the problem in three ways: (1) it focuses on changes in the wage structure in a sample of local labor markets; (2) it examines changes in the…

This brief analyzes the employment patterns and socioeconomic characteristics of Latinos. Nationally, Hispanics constitute 11.1 percent of the U.S. workforce. The number of Latino workers is expected to grow by 36.3 percent this decade. Working Latinos have persistently had high poverty and unemployment rates due to such factors as insufficient…

Compares working conditions of documented and undocumented Dominicans in New York City. Concludes that one of the most important functions served by the illegal alien population in a surplus labor region like New York City resides primarily in its greater controllability by employers in the secondary labor market. (RDN)

Data on flexibility in German companies were compiled through interviews and followed up annually. Employment trends in western Germany indicated a historic peak of 29.5 million employed in 1992 followed by a steady decline of about 1 million to 28.5 million in 1995. Employment losses continued in 1996; 1997 showed some signs of stability.…

Part-time college and university faculty account for over 40% of faculty nationwide, double the proportion two decades ago. Increasingly, these groups are becoming organized, often separately from full-time faculty. Issues include pay and workload. Some administrators express concern that part-time faculty are rushing to organize rather than…

Causes of the significant decrease in productivity growth and dramatic increase in unemployment in the United States since the mid-1960's are examined in order to test the underlying assumption of current economic policies that increasing capital savings and investments will create fuller and more productive employment. Data on trends in…

There have been concerns that employment-enhancing reforms along the lines of the 1994 OECD Jobs Strategy could inadvertently lead to increased income inequality and poverty. This paper focuses on the impact of institutions and redistributive policies on inequality and poverty with the view of assessing whether a trade-off between better labour…

Training measures in the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, the National Child Development Study for Britain, and the Australian Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to study determinants and labor market outcomes of postschool training received by young men. Twelve percent of U.S. youth reported getting formal training in the first…

This publication consists of 73 figures correlated to short summaries that present an overview of employment in the health care field from 1993 to 1998. Most of the information is from public sources. The statistics focus on registered nurses, but also include laboratory technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical scientists, occupational…