When the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the economy back into recession in early 2020, it laid bare a fragile and profoundly inequitable labor market. The economic expansion that reigned from 2009 through 2019 brought historically low unemployment and inflation but failed to reduce income inequality or arrest the decline in the number of high-quality,…

Excerpts from President Carter's economic message to the Congress, proposing a recovery package which included (1) an increase of authorizations for local public works, (2) an expansion of public service employment, (3) expansion of training and youth programs under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), and (4) an increase in the…

Examines changes in economic conditions and policy that have influenced special employment programs. Reviews and assesses public works programs, job creation, subsidized schemes, self-employment, and welfare-oriented programs. Discusses two critical issues: targeting and program duration. (SK)

A review of proposed employment strategies and priorities of Ray Marshall, Secretary of Labor, with regard to training programs, governmental subsidy programs, apprenticeships, private sector jobs, etc. (WL)

These five papers underscore the fact that the labor market policies of Japan, West Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia are similar in many ways. The papers are "Japanese Labor Market Policies" (Koji Taira), "The Labor Market Policies of West Germany" (Deborah R. Cichon), "The Management of the U.K. Labour…

This document contains (1) the text of the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1976 (H.R. 50), a bill to establish a national policy and nationwide machinery for guaranteeing to all adult Americans able and willing to work the availability of equal opportunities for useful and rewarding employment, (2) the statements made in committee…

The National Urban Coalition conducted this evaluation to determine the manner in which the provisions of the Emergency Employment Act of 1971 have been carried out, the problems raised by legislative and administrative guidelines, and the difficulties experienced in implementing projects locally. Some major findings were: (1) The Labor Department…

The National Commission for Manpower Policy assesses the effectiveness of public service employment (PSE) programs. Reports on numbers of jobs created, types of PSE workers, and the amount and effects of job displacement caused by the policy of "fiscal substitution" in local jurisdictions. Recommendations include strengthening PSE…

This article draws on the findings of seven country studies of youth employment programs in Africa (Botswana, Somalia, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mauritius). Considered are public service/public works programs, agricultural development, employable skills development and vocationalization of education, and national youth services. (SK)

The current displaced worker initiative towers over the 30-year effort to bring the economically disadvantaged into the mainstream of the labor market. The Congressional Budget Office defines displacement as all workers 18 years of age and older who lose full-time employment due to slack work, job abolition, or plant closure. Major displaced…

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…

Compares federal job creation efforts of the 1970s to the Work Project Administration (WPA) program in the 1930s. Traces the development of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and stresses the need to unite public and private resources to achieve both balanced economic growth and full employment. (SK)

The conference reported here was held to bring together European manpower experts and United States representatives to discuss European manpower programs and policies developed and expanded as a result of the 1974-1976 recession and recovery, and methods for coordinating manpower and general economic policies. This report contains a list of the…

This paper examines various aspects of public employment programs designed to reduce unemployment in Western industrialized countries. The historical context in which these programs emerged and the forms such programs might take are discussed. Public employment is considered in terms of special public service jobs, public works, and training and…

This report profiles three workforce organizations across the country--in Colorado, Georgia and New York--and explores the strategies they used to grow their programs locally. The report examines the dilemmas workforce organizations frequently face in meeting not only the needs of their dual customers--job seekers and employers--but also the needs…