In France, a "Very Small Enterprise" (VSE) is defined as a legally independent company with fewer than 10 salaried employees. VSEs are characterized by a great deal of movement in the creation, transformation, and disappearance of jobs and the extent of turnover, which seems tied with intensive use of public employment programs, notably…

The information bulletins presented here are the first three issues of a biannual serial. They provide up-to-date information on key developments in women's employment position in the European Community (EC) plus some topical items of news and research from member states. Number 1 focuses on the feminization of the EC labor force that continued…

During the past decade, the number of jobs in France's administrative service sector has remained stable. General administrative work has become more infrequent; however, the basic occupations of secretary and accountancy have been maintained. Although the number of typists has declined, the number of "secretarial" jobs has increased…

Women comprised 43% of the United States labor force in 1980, up from 29% in 1950. The surge in women's employment is linked to more delayed marriage, divorce, separation, women's increased education, lower fertility, rapid growth in clerical and service jobs, inflation, and changed attitudes toward "women's place." Employment has risen…

Changing workplaces offer opportunities for workers and companies that are flexible and willing to learn and adapt. Some trends in the changing workplace include the following; (1) downsizing among companies is decreasing; (2) companies are creating jobs while eliminating other jobs; (3) economic factors are as likely to create jobs as eliminate…

As in many other industrialized countries, advances in computer technology are transforming Germany's industrial society into an information and services society. Increasingly fewer jobs are available in traditional industries and in the public sector. In the 1990s, Germany's trade unions and employers' associations have experienced steady…

Throughout the world, the forms of employment in industrialized countries are in a state of flux. Employment relationships that were previously considered "regular" (permanent, full-time) are becoming less significant. In place of these relationships, other employment options (such as fixed contracts, part-time employment, and contingent…

The U.S. economy, workplace, and work are in the midst of historic change. New ways of organizing and managing the workplace and new ways of working are becoming increasingly common. Large companies are giving way to smaller and leaner organizations. Today, the typical business establishment employs 15 people. Across all industries, smaller…

Economic, technological, and political changes have created a new employment relationship characterized by an externalized labor market, more tenuous ties between workers and employers, and growing wage inequality. To date, policymakers have sought to address these problems through a supply-side approach focused on education and training. What is…

This newsletter contains two articles dealing with the changing shape of corporations. The article "Trends in Business Culture" argues that Wal-Mart's emergence as the largest corporation in the United States reflects the larger economic shift in the U.S. economy from production of goods to provision of abstract goods such as services…