This report is a response to congressional requests for the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to identify, synthesize, and explain the core components of the workforce skills gap discourse and, to the extent possible, explore and clarify evidence on the existence of skills gaps. The report acknowledges that the skills gap label is often applied…

The impending retirement of the baby boom cohort represents the first time in the history of the United States that such a large and well-educated group of workers will exit the labor force. This could imply skill shortages in the U.S. economy. We develop near-term labor force projections of the educational demands on the workforce and the supply…

This study used archival sources to examine the factors that encouraged for-profit business education to shift during the 1970s from small, certificate programs for bookkeepers and secretaries to large, multisite universities for mid-level managers. Using data from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, as well as trend data from the Bureau of Labor…

If a person is making a decision about education, training, or a career--or if he/she is helping someone else who is making such decisions--he/she needs to know how the labor market is expected to unfold in the future. How many jobs are likely to be available in the career a person wants? How much will they pay? What kind of training will the…

The impending retirement of the baby boom cohort could pose dramatic challenges for the U.S. labor force for at least two reasons. First, the boomers--adults born between 1946 and 1964--are large in number. Second, boomers are relatively well educated. In this report we develop and analyze occupational and labor force projections to the year 2018,…

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

The graying of the labor force, together with the recession of 2008-2010, has forced employers and prognosticators to take a hard look at workforce preparation, training, and planning. This employer research survey is one component of a larger project that explores the workforce, labor force projections, and employer views on training,…

The authors analyze civilian occupations and employment data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 with respect to 6 kinds of work (Holland's RIASEC [Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional] classification), employment, and gender. For the 1990 and 2000 censuses, kinds of work,…

Presents an interview with Elaine Chao, United States Secretary of Labor, in which she suggests that, because of the information-based economy, education is a more vital element in the training of America's workforce than it has ever been. Discusses an initiative that will use high-tech tools to give Americans with disabilities greater access to…

Data were collected from 69 large employers and interviews were held with 25 of these for purposes of introducing the researchers to research in the problems of manpower planning and forecasting. Findings from this heuristic survey of employers included: (1) 72 percent forecast some of their manpower requirements, (2) 36 percent forecast external…

One of the responsibilities of the Utah Department of Employment Security is the development and dissemination of information concerning occupational manpower requirements. Highlighted in this document are the occupational employment data for employees in Utah's nonagricultural payrolls. Data entered on an occupational industry matrix obtained…

This report, one of a series of manpower studies, presents various series of data on the manpower of Czechoslovakia, especially for the years 1950-70, and two projections of the economically active population for the years 1971-90. The different measures are defined, the population base, manpower trends, and the general manpower situation are…

To determine the nature and extent of rural youth and adult educational and employment opportunities, this study assessed existing and projected job titles in agricultural production and the agribusiness sector of Montana's economy. Using job position taxonomies identified by the United States Office of Education, two survey instruments were…

In a look ahead at the 1995 labor force, all three projections--high, middle, and low--indicate that women will account for two-thirds of the growth, most of which will occur in the prime working-age group; the Black labor force will grow twice as fast as the White. (CT)

This monograph systematically explores the implications of changes in the composition of the labor force and of related socioeconomic trends for the availability of workers in lower level occupations (mainly less skilled and/or lower wage blue-collar and service jobs), and assesses the forms of labor market adjustment to be expected, in the event…