Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Jobs in America. Edited by David Ramm. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 2006. 1 vol. 181 p. $50.00. ISBN 0-8242-1062-X.

With the current work issues of outsourcing and NAFTA for Americans as well as minimum wage and trends in economic well being, it becomes even more critical that students should be aware of the future they will face. Immigration and retirees also affect the immediate as well as the distant future. As the preface states, “Our relationship to the working world remains distinct, since Americans, more so than people in other countries, define ourselves by what we do.” These articles discuss employment from political, social, economic, demographic, technological and global perspectives and paint a realistic picture of the state of workers in the U.S. “Toward a Progressive View on Outsourcing” reports “Whatever happened to the once-touted Great American Jobs Machine? Lately it seems to have popped a gasket. More than 700,000 jobs disappeared… Where’d they go? Abroad is the standard answer.” Articles are divided into sections titled “American Workers and the Health of the U.S. Economy,” “The Role of Governments in the Job Market,” “American Jobs and the Global Economy,” and “The Working World in Transition.” Of interest to female students and minorities, two articles look at employment trends among U.S. workers in “Glass Ceiling? More Like Steel,” and “The Business Case for Diversity.” The Appendix includes information on “Tomorrow’s Jobs” from the 2006-2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2600. An essential purchase for social studies, civics and vocational study.