Provides a detailed look at the labor market situation during 1983. Gives a brief overview of the recovery compared with previous recoveries and discusses selected characteristics of the jobless and labor force participation rates. (SK)

Current Population Survey data indicate that 1 of 11 people in the United States is self-employed, much lower than the 1 in 5 immediately after World War II. Unpaid family farm and business work has virtually disappeared, whereas incorporated self-employment has increased. (SK)

Current Population Survey data show the largest gains in job growth in the highest paying occupations; some increases in relatively low-earning jobs; and declining employment in middle-paying occupations. Job growth was concentrated in managerial/professional specialty occupations and services/retail trade. (SK)

An analysis of the California Work and Health Survey indicates that people with disabilities have lower employment rates and less secure kinds of employment than those without disabilities. Once on the job, the two groups do not differ fundamentally in their working conditions. (Contains 19 notes and references.) (Author/JOW)

The number of Americans working for themselves continues to increase, reaching 9.1 million in 1983. They tend to be older than other workers, and although they work longer hours, their earnings are lower. (SK)

Discusses cyclical and noncyclical components of unemployment. Examines demographic, occupational, industrial, and other sources of changes in the unemployment rate. (SK)

As life expectancy increases, more people continue working later in life. Some retirement plans offer incentives, others disincentives to retire. Health, life, and disability insurance plans often have different provisions for older workers. (SK)

Occupational Employment Statistics surveys of hospitals, conducted in 1983, 1986, and 1989, show that, after declining in the early 1980s, hospital employment is increasing. Emphasis on cost control and new technologies caused declines in occupations involving direct patient care and increases in those using complex technology. (SK)

Discusses the relationship between occupational tenure (cumulative number of years a person has worked at an occupation) and employer tenure (the continuous number of years that a person has worked for the same employer). Looks at factors such as age, employment trends, education and training, compensation and benefits, and sex, race, and…

The 1990s saw considerable growth in employment, especially among high- and low-paid workers. However, there has been comparatively little real wage growth. (SK)

Preference for alternative work arrangements increased between 1995 and 1997. Independent contractors and contract company workers are more satisfied with these arrangements. Temporary and on-call workers, whose schedules and income are more unpredictable, would prefer traditional arrangements. (SK)

In 1982 the civilian jobless rate for men exceeded that for women for the first time since 1947. Employment trends suggest that the female unemployment rate may be lower in the future. (Author/SK)

Earnings differences are relatively small between women and men in narrowly defined jobs; however, relatively few women fill the higher levels of these jobs. (Author/JOW)

Documents the sharp decrease in the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds in the labor force between October 1981 and October 1982 as the last of the post-World War II baby-boom generation completed high school. States that this trend will probably continue through the 1980s as enrollments continue to decline. (NJ)

During the early 1990s, there was no growth in women's labor force participation rates. Since 1994, however, the rate has edged upward with mothers accounting for most of the rise. (Author)