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Descriptors:
Labor Legislation; Employment Patterns; Labor; Labor Market; Minimum Wage; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Economic Change; Employees; Surveys; Sampling; Role; Correlation; Industry; Salaries; Guidelines; Compliance (Legal); Competition; Costs

Abstract:
Despite three decades of scholarship on economic restructuring in the United States, employers' violations of minimum wage, overtime and other workplace laws remain understudied. This article begins to fill the gap by presenting evidence from a large-scale, original worker survey that draws on recent advances in sampling methodology to reach vulnerable workers. Our findings suggest that in America's three largest cities, violations of employment and labor laws are pervasive across low-wage industries and occupations, affecting a wide range of workers. But while worker characteristics are correlated with violations, job and employer characteristics play the stronger role, including industry, occupation and measures of informality and nonstandard work. We therefore propose a framework in which employers' noncompliance with labor regulations is one axis of a competitive strategy based on labor cost reduction, contributing to the reorganization of work and production in the 21st century labor market. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Career Development; Career Ladders; Coordination; Definitions; Economic Change; Economic Impact; Economic Status; Education Work Relationship; Employment Patterns; Entry Workers; Estimation (Mathematics); Job Security; Labor Market; Labor Turnover; Longitudinal Studies; Low Income Groups; Measurement Techniques; Models; National Surveys; Occupational Mobility; Policy Formation; Predictor Variables; Public Policy; Salary Wage Differentials; Service Occupations; Statistical Analysis; Tenure; Trend Analysis

Abstract:
The changes in career development and upward mobility in response to recent changes in the U.S. labor market were examined in a study that included an analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Analysis of the data, which covered the period 1966-1994, established that the transition into the labor market has changed noticeably. Young people are taking longer to complete their schooling, are significantly more likely to work while in school, and are more likely to hold service sector rather than goods-producing jobs once out of school. Wage attainment has deteriorated, and job instability has increased. Economic mobility has declined and become more unequal, and the prevalence of low-wage careers has increased from 12% in the original cohort to 28% in the recent cohort. The following policy strategies were recommended as ways of restoring the "American dream": constructing external career ladders; constructing or strengthening internal career ladders; improving low-wage jobs; and improving labor market coordination. Information about the following items is appended: variable definitions and construction; validation and attrition analysis for the job change measure; relative distribution measures; and permanent wage estimation. (Contains 78 tables and 221 references.)(MN) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Blacks; Economics; Employed Women; Government Role; Hispanic Americans; Private Sector; Privatization; Public Agencies; Salary Wage Differentials; Sex Differences; Unions; Wages

Abstract:
A study used data from the 1998 Current Population Survey to document job growth in the public and private sectors and examine the quality of jobs in terms of wages and benefits. Findings indicated public sector employment declined for both women and men during the period from 1979-98 with a somewhat sharper decline among men. In 1998, median earnings in the public sector were higher than in the private sector for most categories of workers. Privatization was likely to erode the wages and benefits of women workers, especially for African American and Hispanic women and those with less formal education. Unionization emerged as a central factor in understanding why the public sector pays better than the private sector. While there was clearly a gender bias in both sectors, women's wages were closer to men's wages in the public sector than in the private sector. The public sector did not, in general, offer exceptional opportunities for women to hold managerial and professional positions. The bottom line was that privatization, and the de-unionization that frequently accompanies it, were likely to prove detrimental to the economic welfare of women workers. (Two figures and two tables are appended.) (YLB) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Research Methodology; Salary Wage Differentials; Statistical Bias; Wages

Abstract:
Some research has shown discrepancies in earnings trends between the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the Current Population Survey. When the sample is limited to full-time, year-round workers, the discrepancies are largely eliminated. (SK)

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College Graduates; Dropouts; Educational Attainment; Educational Benefits; High School Graduates; Longitudinal Studies; Outcomes of Education; Policy Formation; Postsecondary Education; Public Policy; Secondary Education; Wages

Abstract:
A longitudinal study of two cohorts of young white men (the first followed from the late 1960s through the 1970s; the second from the 1980s through the early 1990s) determined that long-term wage growth between the ages of 16 and 36 has both declined and become significantly more unequal for the recent cohort. The declines have been concentrated among less-educated workers (high school dropouts and high school graduates). While workers with sub-bachelor's degrees or only some college experience have a clear advantage over high school graduates in terms of wage growth, that advantage has not increased noticeably in recent years. By contrast, young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher have seen increases in their wage growth, although those with more practice-oriented degrees have had higher wage growth than those with more theoretical degrees. Education pathways have a strong effect on long-term wage growth. Working while enrolled has a positive impact; interrupted schooling has a very strong negative impact. These trends raise a difficult challenge to public policies aimed at improving the living standards and upward mobility of American workers. Developing policies that support more flexible education paths and choices about field of study may help. (KC) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Career Development; Career Education; Career Ladders; Economic Change; Economic Status; Educational Opportunities; Employer Employee Relationship; Employment Level; Employment Opportunities; Employment Patterns; Employment Practices; Entry Workers; Futures (of Society); Influences; Job Training; Labor Force Development; Labor Market; Low Income; Minimum Wage; Models; Occupational Mobility; Professional Occupations; Retailing; Salary Wage Differentials; Service Occupations; Technological Advancement; Trend Analysis

Abstract:
The business press abounds with examples of innovative companies that have created high-quality jobs; however, low-wage, deskilled jobs filled by contingent workers are equally prevalent. More than one in six U.S. workers currently hold retail jobs. The effect of globalization of trade on the retail industry is unclear. The most significant development to date is that the retail market has, according to many analysts, become highly congested and overbuilt. The leading retail strategy is the Wal-Mart model, which includes a "low-road" human resource approach. Sales jobs are dead-end jobs, starting pay is at or near minimum wage, raises are given yearly but not guaranteed, and the low pay is exacerbated by short and uncertain work schedules and the lack of opportunity to work sufficient hours each week to produce a livable paycheck. Upward mobility in the retail sector is limited. Most retail firms choose to import educated workers rather than train incumbent workers. The problem of mobility is not limited to the retail sector. Although skilled workers in professional occupations may be able to create new career paths that preserve their opportunities, opportunities for upward mobility do not look promising for the more numerous occupations further down the ladder. (Contains 12 references.) (MN) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Career Development; College Graduates; Colleges; Education Work Relationship; Educational Attainment; Educational Benefits; High Schools; Outcomes of Education; Part Time Employment; Part Time Students; Postsecondary Education; Reentry Students; Reentry Workers; Stopouts; Student Employment; Wages

Abstract:
A study identified different educational and working paths that workers take, asked which paid off for long-term wage growth and career development, and tested whether educational pathways helped explain more of the variability in wage outcomes. It compared long-term wage growth for two cohorts of young white men: the original cohort that entered the labor force in the late 1960s at the end of the post-World War II economic boom and the recent cohort that entered in the early 1980s after the onset of economic restructuring. Long-term wage growth between the ages 16-36 declined and became significantly more unequal for the recent cohort. The rising demand for education and skill in the new labor market apparently benefitted only those with four-year college degrees. Rising inequality in wage growth was found in all education groups. Working while enrolled and interrupting and returning to school were the dominant pathways to educational attainment. A second set of analyses focused on the recent cohort. Multiple regressions showed educational pathways had a strong effect on long-term wage growth: working while enrolled had a positive impact and interrupted schooling had a negative one. Career choices about industry and occupation mattered. Taking an academic track in high school paid off for workers who get some college credit or enter occupations requiring cognitive skill. Applied and practical fields of study offered the most long-term wage growth to college graduates. (Appendixes contain 19 references and a permanent wage estimation model.) (YLB) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Career Development; Career Education; Case Studies; Economic Change; Economic Status; Educational Opportunities; Employer Employee Relationship; Employment Level; Employment Opportunities; Employment Patterns; Employment Practices; Entry Workers; Fringe Benefits; Futures (of Society); Industrial Structure; Influences; Job Training; Labor Force Development; Labor Market; Low Income; Minimum Wage; Occupational Mobility; Retailing; Salary Wage Differentials; Technological Advancement; Trend Analysis

Abstract:
The future of low-wage jobs is examined through a case study of firm restructuring in the retail industry. The study confirms that the retailing sector has come to be dominated by the Wal-Mart model, which emphasizes an efficient technology-driven inventory management system and a human resource approach that includes the following elements: dead-end sales jobs with starting pay at or near minimum wage; small, nonguaranteed raises; constantly changing work schedules that define full-time employment as 28 hours per week; and few fringe benefits. Many analysts argue that a human resource strategy based on improving workers' skills and input could be viable in retail trade, yet the Wal-Mart model stresses fast service and cheap products rather than sales staff trained to provide quality customer service. Although technology has enabled the Wal-Mart model of efficiency, it has generally resulted in the elimination of sales and stocking jobs rather than in the upskilling of front-line retail jobs. Because retail workers receive an average of only 7 hours of training, they acquire few valuable skills that can be taken to the open market. Retail workers' upward mobility is also quite limited as firms are increasingly hiring outside workers to fill managerial slots. (Contains 66 references.) (MN) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adults; Banking; Career Ladders; Case Studies; Employment Patterns; Employment Practices; Entry Workers; Finance Occupations; Occupational Mobility; Promotion (Occupational); Technological Advancement

Abstract:
The banking industry has undergone marked changes over the past 20 years, driven by deregulation and new technologies. Two strategies have emerged: the low-cost transaction approach and the high-road relationship banking approach. The number of employees in commercial banking has fallen significantly, and average hourly earnings for nonmanagerial employees have remained low. A case study of a large, multinational bank showed a reduction in employees. Reengineering has had important effects on the staffing, task content, and quality of jobs at the bank branches. Back-office jobs have been eliminated or moved to national customer-service phone centers, whereas some jobs have been upgraded toward customer service. Teller jobs have become mostly part time, especially for entry. Although the bank requires high levels of communication skills for tellers, it has difficulty attracting the type of people it needs to a job with low status and low pay. Tellers have a high rate of attrition because of low pay and few opportunities for upward mobility. At the same time, tellers are expected to participate more in sales while still making accurate transactions, leading to more job stress. The process of restructuring is ongoing and is redefining the role of bank employees. Low-level employees are expected to have increased commitment to and performance for the firm, whereas rewards--compensation, upward mobility, and rewarding job content--usually lag behind. (KC) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Comparative Analysis; Economic Factors; Employment Patterns; Employment Practices; Employment Problems; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Males; Occupational Mobility; Personnel Policy; Salaries; Salary Wage Differentials; Socioeconomic Status; Wages; Whites; Young Adults

Abstract:
To examine the impact of rising wage inequality on lifetime wage growth, a study compared the wage mobility experienced by two cohorts of young white men from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The original cohort entered the labor market in the mid-1960s at the end of the economic boom and was followed through the end of the 1970s. The recent cohort entered the labor market in the early 1980s after the onset of economic restructuring and was followed through the mid-1990s. For each cohort, wage profiles were analyzed across 16 years using a mixed-effects model. Analysis indicated that wage growth during the critical years of career development had been hit on two fronts: it had both stagnated and become significantly more unequal. To the extent that wage growth represented upward mobility, the prospects for such mobility had clearly deteriorated in recent years. (Appendixes contain 48 references, 3 data tables, and 8 figures.) (YLB) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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