Since U.S. economic growth began to slow in 2006, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have enacted a number of fairly costly programs designed to stimulate the economy and employment growth. Because many of these programs are fairly new, there has been little comprehensive examination of their impacts, but initial analysis suggests that these…

It is estimated that by 2010 there will be 20 million full- and part-time telecommuters working in the United States. The purpose of this article is to assist employment counselors in their work with organizations in implementing e-worker programs as well as in their counseling of e-workers. The authors define e-worker, summarize the growth of…

In the Federal Republic of Germany, as elsewhere, the recent unemployment crisis has forced politicians, economists, trade unionists, and experts to consider a number of courses of action designed to reduce working time. Included among these alternatives are the following: adopting the 35-hour work week, shortening working life through early…

A study examined training in the retail trade in Luxembourg. During the study, information was gathered on employment, work, and training patterns in Luxembourg's retail sector, and case studies of a retail clothing firm and a large supermarket with permanent continuing vocational training for all employees were conducted. The general/personnel…

A study examined training in the retail trade in Portugal. Employment, work, and training patterns in Portugal's retail sector were researched, and case studies of two firms in the supermarket/hypermarket group, one firm in the stationary/cigarette shop sector, and one clothing manufacturer/retailer were conducted. Teams of researchers interviewed…

This collection includes eight reports of findings from a series of employer surveys designed to assess the effectiveness of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC). The following papers are included: "Introduction," by John Bishop; "Utilization of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit," by John Bishop and Susan Ashbrook; "Multivariate…

A study examined training in the retail trade in Spain. Employment, work, and training patterns in Spain's retail sector were researched, and case studies of five retail firms were conducted. Two retailers were too small to afford their own training organization but had formulated personnel policies providing for training. The third case was a…

Multi-year applied research studied operations and outcomes of six employment initiatives that developed industry-based approaches to workforce development. Findings from the longitudinal survey of 732 individuals indicated participants in sectoral programs improved their position within local labor markets; increased wages, hours worked, and…

Tennessee employers were surveyed regarding secondary vocational education as a source of entry-level employees and on their perceptions of issues in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. A survey instrument secured ratings for various types and levels of educational and governmental agencies. The population consisted…

This document contains four symposium papers on work force development. "Effects of Two Different Learning Paths on School-to-Work Transition" (Esther Van Der Schoot) discusses a Dutch study documenting that the following items make a difference in the school-to-work transition: learning path, curriculum characteristics, individual…

Over the past 2 decades, the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of full-time employed males and females decreased by 31% and 13%, respectively, and the deterioration in the real weekly earnings of young adults (ages 18-24) shows no signs of abatement. Male high school dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary schooling experienced the…

This document contains 11 papers from a 2-day meeting on the principles, practice, and effectiveness of Jobrotation, which denotes a European Union program of investing in human capital by giving employees the opportunity to temporarily leave their posts for training without any major disturbance in the production process. The following papers are…