The current recession in the Czech Republic is driven by aggregate demand, unsustainable growth of wages, weak enforcement of the legal system, non-operational bankruptcy law, and poor corporate governance. The wage dispersion has been growing continuously, and wage setting has become increasingly more responsive to market forces. Education has…

During the years 1989-1997 in Estonia, employment has decreased; unemployment and inactivity have increased. Females have tended to move to inactivity while males have become unemployed. The wage patterns are very flat relative to those in market economies. Estonia has opted for very low levels of unemployment benefits, pensions, and a low minimum…

Most deficiencies of the Hungarian labor market emerge from a combination of the transition crisis and special features of the economy or transition process. The most crucial labor market problem is low employment. Negative impacts are high taxation and social security contributions; reduced investment, job creation, and economic growth; and…

Transition to a market economy in Lithuania has changed the labor market significantly. The employment rate has decreased in all age groups and resulted in increased productivity of labor. Employment in the private sector and self employment have increased considerably. The share of those employed in agriculture has increased. The worst employment…

Romania's adoption of a more gradual approach in restructuring and privatizing the state-owned sector has resulted in industry with an unchanged structure that remains the main cause of social and economic decline. Employment has shown a steady decline. Industrial employment has decreased dramatically. Sectors like transport, hotels, and…

A study estimated the aggregate effects of antipoverty policies on wages and unemployment of different groups. The context was one in which emphasis was on labor supply policies, such as welfare reform or job training, and not on policies to increase labor demand for the poor, such as public employment or subsidizing private employers to hire the…

A survey was conducted in three technical and vocational training centers in Beijing (China) to determine whether receiving technical or vocational training at training centers made it easier for unemployed girls to have a job. Data were obtained through structured and open interviews and questionnaires; 286 of 350 trainees who were solicited…

Interim estimates were made of program impacts on earnings and employment of adults and out-of-school youths during the first 18 months after their acceptance into employment and training programs funded under Title IIA of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). In the national study, 20,601 JTPA applicants in 16 service delivery areas were…

Presentations of panelists at one in a series of monthly seminars on Family Centered Social Policy are summarized. The first panelist, Maria E. Enchautegui, began with a statistical overview of Latino poverty and then highlighted data for subgroups. Mirien Uriarte presented findings from her study on the experiences of Latinas in the Massachusetts…

All employees are influenced by career management actions at each step of their career. The responsibility for career planning rests with the individual, whereas the responsibility for career development support should be the employer's: career management is a shared decision. Career planning training helps employees to analyze their interests and…

A comparison study of the school-to-work transitions of young people aged 16-19 in Germany and England was followed up several years later when the former subjects were in their early twenties. Research was conducted through interviews, case studies, and studies of labor market trends. The analysis of the transition of the young people studied…

This document describes major changes that have occurred in the integration of young people into working life in Europe and suggests policy implications in this area. The following articles are included: "Interview" (H. C. Jones); "A European Cultural Policy to Prevail over a Rapidly Changing and Uncertain Environment" (Sergio…

This paper presents an overview of the Equal Opportunities and Vocational Training program of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) from its inception in 1977 until 1990. In the first section, the report describes the legislation that spurred the equal opportunities and vocational training program and presents…

The need for a national policy for the development and use of human resources is evident. One part of the human resource development issue centers around the needs of adult workers who are unemployed or threatended with unemployment because of structural changes in the labor market. The issue of retraining adult workers was examined in detail in…

Increasing concerns about the skill level of U.S. workers are driven by demographics, technological change, and international competition. Greater percentages of the labor force will be comprised of those groups that have traditionally faced the greatest barriers to full participation in the labor force. Rapid technological change is increasing…