Going directly from high school to college is not possible for everyone. Many who go to college will not do so straight out of high school, and many more need to work to pay for college. Good jobs for people without college degrees certainly still exist, although they are on a steady decline as computers and related technology take over routine…

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

Americans with disabilities depend on the disability services infrastructure, which consists of health, education, and social services programs. The need for these services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as a result of several factors, most notably the aging of the baby boom generation and declining birthrates. These…

America's demography in the new century will be affected by the aging baby boom generation and by new immigrants. Focus on just the national implications of aging baby boomers and the new immigrants is inadequate. This policy brief takes a regional perspective, examining recent trends and population statistics and making the case that aging baby…

More people moved from nonmetro to metro areas than in the opposite direction during 1999-2000. Only the Midwest saw nonmetro growth. Nonmetro outmigration is concentrated among young adults leaving for college and jobs in cities, while inmigration among the college-educated dropped to near zero. Migration decisions of baby boomers will determine…

Children of the Baby Boom generation have set off a population explosion in U.S. schools. This dramatic enrollment growth, known as the Baby Boom echo, began in the nation's elementary schools in 1984, and elementary enrollment has increased annually since then. At the secondary level, enrollment increases began in 1991 and are expected to…

The increasing number of young people filling U.S. classrooms will be a defining feature of American education for years to come. This report, which includes a message from U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, describes the impact of the rising number of young people and gives special attention to the large number of teenagers who…