Trends in employment, occupations, output, and input provide evidence that firms increased their use of contract and contingent labor. Further research is needed to explore the causal factors behind the shift toward market-mediated work arrangements. (JOW)

A review of 17 studies of high-performance work systems concludes that benefits of employee involvement, skill training, and other high-performance work practices tend to be greater when new methods are adopted as part of a consistent whole. (Author)

About half of all private sector workers are employed in small businesses with fewer than 100 workers. Work hours, compensation, and other working conditions differ between these employees and their counterparts in larger establishments. (Author)

Preview of nationwide survey presents preliminary findings on workers' attitudes toward labor standards problems and job satisfaction. (Editor)

The new direction in employee participation, workplace technology, and labor force characteristics may be reviving practices that failed to flourish in the past. Theoretical and historical perspectives provide a context for the effective use of high performance workplace practices. (JOW)

Identifies major subjects of state labor legislation in 1998: increases in minimum-wage rates, prevailing wage changes, child-labor revisions, workplace surveillance regulations, and bans on employment discrimination. Offers a state-by-state summary of labor legislation. (JOW)