Based on more than a year of research on factors affecting the economic future of Macomb County in Michigan, this paper examines employment and population trends, looks at the ways in which these trends influence the workplace, and identifies factors in the county's future growth and economic development. The first section considers trends that will affect the county's ability to build a sound economic base, such as the transition from manufacturing toward service industries in a county where more than 40% of the workforce is currently employed in the manufacturing sector. This section also considers the potential use of the county's strong manufacturing infrastructure to create more service sector jobs, such as drafting and design, computer programming, software design, and financial services. The next section focuses on educational considerations, including: (1) the relationship between educational attainment and earning potential; (2) increasing demands for an educated, rather than skilled, workforce; (3) educational levels in Macomb County; (4) the skill levels of new entrants into the manufacturing workforce; and (5) retraining the existing workforce and all displaced workers. Following a section that describes the demographic make-up of the workforce in the year 2000, the paper closes with a discussion of ways of attracting new business to Macomb County. An appendix lists 30 job training and retraining programs in Macomb County. (AYC)