The economy is well on its way toward a restructuring characterized by deindustrialization of the old manufacturing base and dualism in the evolving jobs distribution. These two phenomena cause serious social problems, including high levels of unemployment, downward occupational mobility, and a significant increase in earnings inequality. To…

The Federal Institute for Education and Vocational Training Research undertakes research, development, promotion, and counseling work to develop the principles of vocational training provision. Its primary focus has been problems encountered during the transition from vocational training to the labor market. The Institute has been monitoring one…

Examines the situation of 40 Missouri farm families who were forced out of farming because of financial reasons. Includes family members' experiences with 15 common reactions to stress, sources of help, degree of adjustment to the uniform way of life, and characteristics of families and farms involved in the study. (JHZ)

Discussions centered on circumstances faced by laid-off workers in Portsmouth, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Upper Cumberland, Tennessee, and Gary, West Virginia. These diverse Appalachian communities are prototypes of the extent of local distress imposed by the impersonal workings of the market and the absence of precedents for dealing with…

The objective of this paper is to investigate if downsizing contributes to, or impedes, a firm's intellectual capital performance (ICE) based on a longitudinal analysis of 56 United States publicly listed companies that significantly downsized their workforce during the mid-1990s. Empirical analysis indicates that for the majority of firms, ICE…

The desirability of raising the minimum wage long revolved around just one question: the effect of higher minimum wages on the overall level of employment. An even more critical effect of the minimum wage rests on the composition of employment--who gets the minimum wage job. An examination of employment in eating and drinking establishments…

This book assesses the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the management practices of North American companies. It undertakes four tasks: (1) compilation and analysis of the results of "Laborforce 2000," an intensive survey of the human resource strategies of more than 400 Conference Board member companies; (2) examination of practices across…

A survey of a random sample of 400 companies (100 in each of 4 size groupings) was taken in December 1994 to determine business attitudes toward older workers (defined as 50 or older) and to provide insight into how older workers can best position themselves in order to get and keep the jobs they need. In each company the person interviewed was…

The New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Reemployment Demonstration Project was undertaken to examine the feasibility of using the unemployment insurance (UI) system to identify displaced workers early in their unemployment spells and then accelerating their return to work by providing them with alternative, early intervention services. Three…

A case study was done on the effects of training programs sponsored by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) on 835 women textile workers dislocated by a plant closing in Blount County, Tennessee. Data were gathered by former workers through structured interviews with 100 women typical by age (about 45-years-old) and length of service (14-16…

The significant decrease in the price of office automation technology has made this technology more affordable for more companies. This has serious implications from the standpoint of future demands for secretarial and clerical workers. For this reason, a study was conducted to assess the likely impact of automation on secretarial and clerical…

A study examined the Canadian-American Plant Closing Demonstration Project (CAPCDP) to assess the influence of the labor-management approach on factors critical to project success and to identify practices that enabled the labor-management committees set up under the project to work better. CAPCDPs in Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, and Vermont were…

This document offers a selected review of literature relevant to retraining displaced workers. A description of the economic conditions leading to the displacement of workers, the nature and scope of the displaced worker problem, and factors potentially affecting displaced workers' participation in adult education and training programs is…

This report explores the organization and administration of the education for employment delivery system in Illinois. Problems central to service delivery in Illinois are identified in such key areas as intake, assessment and follow-up practices, gaps in services and duplicative services and regional and local planning boundaries. Legislative…

A study conducted as part of a project concerned with the increasing internationalization of the U.S. economy addressed three questions: (1) whether the rate of worker mobility kept pace with changing labor demand, and if not, what strategies might be used to increase it; (2) when faced with dislocation, whether workers responded by migrating…