The 1970s were marked by an increase in the level of education attainment of the average worker. By 1979 thirty-six per cent of all workers over 18 completed at least one year of college, and the percentage of workers not completing high school declined considerably. While the proportion of men participating in the labor force continued to fall,…

From 1978-79 incidence of long hours among full-time wage and salary workers dropped for the first time since the 1974-75 recession. Of those who worked long hours, about 43% received premium pay (time and one-half the regular wage for hours worked in excess of forty per week). Employers used overtime hours to cope with disequilibrium phenomena…