Divergent Paths

Bernhardt (Center on Wisconsin Strategy, U. of Wisconsin, Madison), Morris and Handcock (sociology and statistics, U. of Washington), and Scott (educational statistics, New York U.) combined efforts in a five-year project examining new trends in career opportunities in the contemporary American labor market. Focusing on young white males, their study compares the experiences of a sample group of workers entering the job market in the 1960s to a sample of workers entering the market in the late-1970s. The study's results show increasing inequality between the upwardly mobile and the growing number of workers in low-wage careers. Areas of focus in the study include rising job instability; changes in the effects of job instability on workers' wages and careers; changes in long-term wage growth; the role of job stability in achieving long-term wage growth, and the extent to which education mediates this process; and the growth of the "low-wage trap." They conclude with a discussion of the causes of the increase in inequality, and policies which could reverse the trend. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)