One of the most pressing questions facing researchers and policy makers today is how economic restructuring has affected the nature of work and mobility in the United States. Emerging research has begun to focus on analyses of longitudinal datasets, taking up such questions as whether wage growth has deteriorated and whether the rate of job…

Economic, technological, and political changes have created a new employment relationship characterized by an externalized labor market, more tenuous ties between workers and employers, and growing wage inequality. To date, policymakers have sought to address these problems through a supply-side approach focused on education and training. What is…

The changes in career development and upward mobility in response to recent changes in the U.S. labor market were examined in a study that included an analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Analysis of the data, which covered the period 1966-1994, established that the…

The future of low-wage jobs is examined through a case study of firm restructuring in the retail industry. The study confirms that the retailing sector has come to be dominated by the Wal-Mart model, which emphasizes an efficient technology-driven inventory management system and a human resource approach that includes the following elements:…

The business press abounds with examples of innovative companies that have created high-quality jobs; however, low-wage, deskilled jobs filled by contingent workers are equally prevalent. More than one in six U.S. workers currently hold retail jobs. The effect of globalization of trade on the retail industry is unclear. The most significant…