Major technological changes are occurring primarily in three fields: telecommunications, computer applications, and advanced manufacturing technology. High technology is having a great impact on every aspect of the labor market. Most new jobs will not be in the high technology field, however, and the newly created occupations will not require a…

This digest presents an analysis of the workforce participation of Latinos, emphasizing findings by generation. It describes the demographics of native-born and immigrant Latinos and compares labor market outcomes for adult, young adult, and teen workers. The digest also explores the relationship between schooling and labor market participation,…

Employers believe high school graduates have inadequate reading, writing, math, thinking, and communication skills. A declining number of good jobs for first-time workers can be attributed to employers' focus on retraining their remaining employees or in recruiting skilled and otherwise qualified workers who were laid off because of other…

Labor market information (LMI) describes the interaction between occupations and employers. Three major components make up LMI: economic or labor force information, occupational information, and demographic information. Various agencies, including federal departments and state employment security agencies, compile LMI. A guide to the information…

This brief paper summarizes a full length report of the same title on the faculty job satisfaction of women and minorities. In light of probable faculty shortages in the coming decades and the need for increasingly diverse college faculty, institutions must make faculty positions attractive to women and minorities. Current trends, low faculty…

This digest briefly describes key components for building a local school-to-work (STW) partnership and discusses the rural context for implementing such an initiative. The School-To-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 established a national framework for each state to create STW systems that are part of comprehensive education reform, are integrated…

This publication is a brief digest of a longer monograph on compensation policies for higher education faculty and the impact of these policies on the professoriate and the higher education enterprise. An early section describes the monograph's treatment of the current financial turbulence in higher education that has caused many institutions to…

Employers cite the following skills as important for both blue- and white-collar entry-level workers: (1) employee application and interview skills; (2) work-related social skills and habits, especially communication and interpersonal skills; (3) basic academic skills, particularly in reading, mathematics, writing, and problem solving/reasoning;…

Various economic, technology-related, and other factors have converged to serve as a catalyst for the emergence of workers who consider themselves free agents. Estimates of the number of free agent workers range from 12.9 to 25 million. Individual free agent workers may take widely varying approaches to their careers; however, all have taken…

Although 6 of the 20 fastest growing occupations are associated with high technology, only about 7 percent of all new jobs projected for the remainder of the century will be in high-tech areas. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that far more job openings will occur in low- and entry-level occupations than in highly skilled or professional…