A study was conducted to determine the long-term consequences of restructuring on the nature of work and mobility in the United States. The study compared the first 16 years of work experience for two cohorts of young white men from the National Longitudinal Surveys: the original cohort, followed from 1996-1981, and the recent cohort, followed from 1979-1994. Some of the findings are as follows: (1) in recent years, young workers' transition to the labor market has become more volatile and is also taking longer; (2) job instability has increased for young workers during the 1980s and early 1990s; (3) as a result of this higher job instability, youth in recent years have worked for more employers and have shorter tenures with one employers; (4) the recent cohort has failed to capture the all-important wage gains from early job searching, and the gains have become more unequal; and (5) wages are declining and wage mobility is more unequal. The study concluded that, on average, about two-thirds of job changes and wage growth occur during the first decade of labor market experience. Without a dramatic shift in the economy, therefore, the recent cohort can expect lower and more unequal lifetime wage growth than their predecessors. (Contains 20 references) (KC)