Panama has achieved socio-economic improvements in recent decades thanks to strong economic growth and consequent poverty reduction. Its growth model is characterised by a dual economy in which a small number of activities, including those related to the Canal and Special Economic Zones, have exhibited high productivity growth but limited job…

It is generally accepted that human capital is an important factor in economic growth, but its impact on growth depends on the demand for education and skills on the labor market. Demand for human capital is largely determined by the institutional environment that governs the basic conditions for economic activity. The author expresses ten doubts…

Older workers are the fastest growing segment of the labor force, yet little is known about designing jobs for older workers that optimize their experiences relative to aging successfully. This study examined the contribution of workplace job design (opportunities for decision-making, skill variety, coworker support, supervisor support) to…

The Great Recession left a crater in the labor market that has been devastating for unemployed Americans of all ages. After more than two years of unemployment at well over 8%, there is a hole of more than 11 million jobs, with average spells of unemployment lasting nearly nine months. The weak labor market has been particularly tough on young…

The Boston metropolitan area is recognized by many for its concentration of prestigious private colleges and universities. The metropolitan area is home to over 80 private colleges and universities employing 68,600 people and attracting over 360,000 students from all over the world. This report uses employment and wage data from the Bureau of…

Evaluation of 78 multicommunity development organizations (MDOs) sharing economic development resources found that MDOs with higher levels of job retention were in areas with low per-capita income and more manufacturing. MDOs with larger staffs and budgets were more successful at job creation and retention. Community size and MDO age also…

Discusses various aspects of new and emerging occupations: factors influencing these occupations (technological changes, demographic changes, legislation, life style changes, resource changes); and a process for identifying these new and emerging occupations (monitoring trends and collecting and processing data on these occupations). (CT)

A field study examined the Public Service Employment (PSE) Program's intergovernmental effects. Addressed during the study were such questions as whether the program creates jobs in local government, whether local governments give preference to disadvantaged persons, and what kinds of services are provided. To collect these data, a network of…

This paper asks whether manufacturers of high technology are locating production facilities in nonmetropolitan areas and, if so, which industries and geographical areas are affected. It identifies high-technology manufacturers and estimates national employment trends for the sector from 1975 to 1982. National and regional employment data for…

The "Bridges...From School to Work" project, funded at five sites by the Marriott Corporation, develops competitively paid internships for students with disabilities in their final year of high school. Of 762 students accepted by the program, 86% received internship placements, 82% completed their internships, and 75% were offered…

The extension of the 1989 Institute of Employment Research (IAB)/Prognos projection of the sectoral and job-specific labor force demand by levels of qualification shows that the previous trends toward higher qualification requirements of jobs is expected to continue in Germany. The main reasons are the significant shift in favor of secondary…

Vermont's Welfare Restructuring Project (WRP), which was implemented in 1994-2001, required that single-parent welfare recipients who could not find wage-paying jobs after receiving cash assistance for 30 months accept work in subsidized, minimum-wage community service employment (CSE) positions to satisfy their work requirement and improve their…

Introduced in 1971, the French "Continuing Vocational Training (CVT)" system was designed to promote workers'"socio-professional promotion." The contribution of its induced mobility to the fulfillment of this objective has always been considered as one of its key performance indicators. Outcomes of the CVT over the last 3…

A committee examined the number, type, and quality of work and training opportunities available for heads of households under Maine's Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Program and suggested ways to improve them. Comprised of such representatives of the private and public sectors as employers, AFDC recipients, welfare advocates,…

The performance of Alaska's State Training and Employment Program (STEP) in fiscal 2000 was evaluated by matching the records of participants of the following STEP subprograms with Alaska and Washington state unemployment insurance (UI) wage records and federal military and federal civilian payroll records. Data were collected for participants of…