Two significant reports that were published recently have important implications for policymakers, employers, and literacy workers. "Workforce 2000," commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, is intended to help shape federal workplace policies and programs as the nation moves toward the next century. The report documents labor patterns and social trends that will produce an unrecognizable America. Chief among the changes is the shift from manufacturing to service industries. The fastest growing jobs show a striking trend toward higher educational requirements. The problem that looms becomes apparent when the trend toward higher skilled occupations is juxtaposed with the inadequate skills of the developing work force. The study sees employers having a new and more extensive role to play in the development of their work force. "Toward a More Perfect Union," a Ford Foundation report, proposes that a national effort to address the current crisis in basic skills will advance the nation's goals. The report implies the need to analyze the consequences of inadequate skills together with their effects on the decline of the nation's work productivity. It asserts that policy planners and legislators must develop more unified responses to the interlocking problems of basic skills, poor families, and the economic future, and argues that basic skills and economic growth are interdependent. (YLB)