Discusses the use of reduced worktime, including work sharing, as a strategy in combating unemployment. Covers the experiences of Western European countries in using this strategy to reduce unemployment. It also covers the negative aspects of work sharing, Americans' desires for increased leisure time, and, finally, some issues and answers. (EM)

Gold mining brought a forced labor system to Witwatersrand, South Africa, in the 1880s as African laborers were rounded up from the hinterland and delivered to the mines. The system produced low wages, high mortality, and the loss of chances for upward mobility. Forced labor persists today in South African mines. (VM)

Between 1992 and 1995, 2,117 nonmanagerial employers in 31 public and private sector organizations throughout the United Kingdom were interviewed for the following purposes: analyzing the need for training and development (T&D); obtaining feedback on existing training provision; identifying barriers to T&D that might affect individuals'…

Sheltered work programs for the handicapped in five European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Poland, West Germany, and The Netherlands) are described in this paper. Basic features of the programs in each country are discussed, including population, financing, and aspects of the programs that can be applied in helping America improve employment…

This is the first of two volumes of selected papers presented at the 1996 conference on "Changes in Working Time in Canada and the United States." Eleven chapters focus on weekly hours worked by individuals, including the recent changes in the distribution of weekly working time in Canada and the U.S., implications of the changing…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) studied selected nations' policies to increase the number of older workers participating in the labor force. The main data collection activities were as follows: (1) an analysis of population and labor force data from eight high-income Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations; (2) an…

Research synthesized from three studies of the Finnish labor market indicates that a rapidly changing working life in Finland (and the rest of Europe) sets many different challenges for the workforce. In Finland, the population is even more aged than in the other European Union (EU) member states, and the transition of older workers to retirement…