Future of U.S. Labor Force
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
As we honor the men and women who make up our workforce, what does the future hold and what will we have to do to be part of it? KSN`s Stuart Price looks to our nation`s capital for some answers.
At one time our nation`s economy was manufacturing based, then it became service based. Now, according to U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, it centers around information. Whether its trade, technical school or college, she says education after high school is the key.
"The better educated workers are, the more they will be paid and sought after, a college graduate will make twice what a high school graduate will make"
Chao says the demands of the information age are such that education doesn`t end, even after graduation. She says the future of our standard of living depends on our ability to change our economic emphasis to information.
With the slowing of birth rates and the aging of existing U.S. residents, Chao says our labor force is shrinking. Getting older workers back into the workforce in the future, and making them productive in the new economy is a major challenge.
