Monday, April 30, 2007

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[IWS] RAND: UTILIZATION of WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES in FEDERAL CONTRACTING [27 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

RAND

The Utilization of Women-Owned Small Businesses in Federal Contracting [27 April 2007]
By: Elaine Reardon, Nancy Nicosia, Nancy Y. Moore
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR442/
or
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2007/RAND_TR442.pdf
[full-text, 63 pages]

Summary
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2007/RAND_TR442.sum.pdf
[full-text, 6 pages]

Press Release 27 April 2007
RAND STUDY ASSESSES WHETHER WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN FEDERAL CONTRACTING
http://www.rand.org/news/press.07/04.27b.html

[excerpt]
In 2000, the Small Business Reauthorization Act authorized restricting competition for federal contracts on a discretionary basis to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) in industries where they are underrepresented, i.e., where the share of contracts awarded to them is small relative to the prevalence of like firms in the pool of those "ready, willing, and able" to perform government contracts. Underrepresentation is commonly measured by a disparity ratio. A disparity ratio of less than 1.0 suggests that the firms are underrepresented in federal contracting, one greater than 1.0 suggests that they are overrepresented.

This report presents disparity ratios for WOSBs, computed in four ways: based on number of contracts and on contract dollars for the population of all employer firms, and based on number of contracts and contract dollars for the population of all firms that have registered as potential bidders for federal contracts.

The measurement is sensitive to whether awards are measured in dollars or in number and to whether the population of ready, willing, and able firms comprises all employer firms or just those that have registered as potential bidders on federal contracts. Depending on the measure used, underrepresentation of WOSBs in government contracting occurs in 0 to 87 percent of industries. The variation is especially large in the measures that use contract dollars rather than number of contracts. The report highlights industries where disparities occur and discusses how their identification varies depending on the methodology used and on data limitations.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] AARP: NEW MEXICO--OLDER WORKFORCE--Employer Focus [April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

AARP Policy & Research

Looking Toward an Older Workforce: A Focus on New Mexico Employers
Research Report
Regina Sims, AARP Knowledge Management
Joanne Binette, M.P.A., AARP Knowledge Management
April 2007
http://www.aarp.org/research/work/retirement/nm_worker_07.html
or
http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/nm_worker_07.pdf
[full-text, 42 pages]

With 54 percent of New Mexico's total workforce currently age 45 or older, the state's employers are likely to be experiencing shortages of qualified workers in the next five years. At the same time, workers approaching what is considered traditional retirement age may, for a variety of reasons, be more likely to remain in the labor force. This AARP survey of randomly selected New Mexican employers with three or more workers assesses their awareness of – and readiness for dealing with – these trends.

Of the 437 surveyed employers...

    * 78 percent are aware of the impending worker shortage, but only 24 percent have taken steps to prepare for it
    * 75 percent consider retaining institutional knowledge that is lost when employees retire or leave to be highly important, but only 30 percent have a formal process for enabling departing workers to share knowledge they have obtained on the job
    * 63 percent currently use at least one strategy for encouraging and allowing older workers to work past the traditional retirement age while 44 percent use none

Strategies currently being used most frequently in New Mexico include:

    * providing training to upgrade skills
    * hiring retired employees as consultants or temporary employees
    * easing into retirement with reduced schedules
    * offering part-time work without benefits

The mail survey was conducted from October 13th to November 17, 2006, using a random sampling of businesses provided by Wilkerson & Associates. Further information about the survey may be obtained by contacting the report's co-author, Joanne Binette, at 202-434-6303. (39 pages)
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] CRS: ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY SCHOOL ACT, as amended by NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: A PRIMER [12 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL33960

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer
April 12, 2007
Wayne C. Riddle, Specialist in Education Policy, Domestic Social Policy Division
Rebecca R. Skinner, Specialist in Social Legislation, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://opencrs.cdt.org/rpts/RL33960_20070412.pdf
[full-text, 22 pages]

Summary
The primary source of federal aid to K-12 education is the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), particularly its Title I, Part A program of
Education for the Disadvantaged. The ESEA was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89-
10), and was most recently amended and reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (NCLBA, P.L. 107-110). Virtually all ESEA programs are authorized
through FY2008. During the current 110th Congress, congressional hearings are
being conducted in anticipation of subsequent consideration of legislation to amend
and extend the ESEA.

The NCLBA initiated a major expansion of federal influence upon several
aspects of public K-12 education, primarily with the aim of increasing the
accountability of public school systems and individual public schools for improving
achievement outcomes of all pupils, especially the disadvantaged. States must
implement in all public schools and school districts a variety of standards-based
assessments in reading, math and science; make complex annual adequate yearly
progress (AYP) determinations for each public school and district; and require
virtually all public school teachers and aides to meet a variety of qualification
requirements. State AYP policies must incorporate an ultimate goal of all public
school pupils reaching a proficient or higher level of achievement by the end of the
2013-14 school year. Further, participating states must enforce a series of
increasingly substantial consequences for most of their schools and almost all school
districts that fail to meet the AYP standards for two consecutive years or more. All
of these requirements are associated with state participation in the ESEA Title I-A
program.

Other major ESEA programs provide grants to support the education of migrant
students; recruitment of and professional development for teachers; language
instruction for limited English proficient students; drug abuse prevention programs;
after-school instruction and care; expansion of charter schools and other forms of
public school choice; education services for Native American, Native Hawaiian, and
Alaska Native students; Impact Aid to compensate local educational agencies for
taxes foregone due to certain federal activities; and a wide variety of innovative
educational approaches or instruction to meet particular student needs.

This report provides a brief overview of major provisions of the ESEA. It will
not be updated.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Title I: Improving the Academic Achievement
of the Disadvantaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by
Local Educational Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Part B: Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part C: Education of Migratory Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part D: Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and
Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part E: National Assessment of Title I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part F: Comprehensive School Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part G: Advanced Placement Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part H: School Dropout Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part I: General Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Title II: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting
High-Quality Teachers and Principals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part A: Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part B: Mathematics and Science Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Part C: Innovation for Teacher Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Part D: Enhancing Education Through Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and
Immigrant Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Part A: English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement,
and Academic Achievement Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
National Programs (Sections 3131 and 3303) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Title IV: 21st Century Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part A: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Part C: Environmental Tobacco Smoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Title V: Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs . . . . . . 11
Part A: Innovative Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Part B: Public Charter Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Part C: Magnet Schools Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Part D: Fund for the Improvement of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Title VI: Flexibility and Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part A: Improving Academic Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part B: Rural Education Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part C: General Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Title VII: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Part A: Indian Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Part B: Native Hawaiian Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Part C: Alaska Native Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Title VIII: Impact Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Section 8002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Section 8003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Section 8007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Section 8008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Title IX: General Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Part A: Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Part B: Flexibility in the Use of Administrative and
Other Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Part C: Coordination of Programs; Consolidated State and
Local Plans and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Part D: Waivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Part E: Uniform Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Part F: Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18


______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BEA: PERSONAL INCOME AND OUTLAYS: MARCH 2007 [30 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL INCOME AND OUTLAYS:  MARCH 2007 [30 April 2007]
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/2007/pdf/pi0307.pdf
[full-text, 12 pages]
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/2007/xls/pi0307.xls
[spreadsheet]
and
Highlights
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/2007/pdf/pi0307_fax.pdf


Personal income increased $79.9 billion, or 0.7 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI)
increased $65.5 billion, or 0.7 percent, in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $24.4 billion, or 0.3 percent.  In February,
personal income increased $74.9 billion, or 0.7 percent, DPI increased $62.3 billion, or 0.6 percent,
and PCE increased $69.2 billion, or 0.7 percent based on revised estimates.

[TABLE omitted]

                                Wages and salaries

        Private wage and salary disbursements increased $38.3 billion in March, compared with an
increase of $25.3 billion in February and an increase of $66.3 billion in January. The January change
in private wages and salaries reflected an adjustment of $50.0 billion (at an annual rate) for
unusually large bonus payments and the exercise of stock options, based on data from state
governments and from other sources.  These types of irregular payments are not accounted for in the
primary monthly source data for wages and salaries.  (The March and February changes to private
wages and salaries were not affected because the $50 billion adjustment was made to each month of
the first quarter.)  Goods-producing industries' payrolls increased $11.5 billion in March, compared
with an increase of $1.5 billion in February; manufacturing payrolls increased $5.7 billion,
compared with an increase of $1.4 billion.  Services-producing industries' payrolls increased $26.8
billion, compared with an increase of $23.7 billion  Government wage and salary disbursements
increased $3.2 billion, compared with an increase of $4.4 billion.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


Friday, April 27, 2007

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[IWS] IADB: [Latin America] LABOR COMPASS (Database of Graphical Labor Market Descriptions]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)

LABOR COMPASS
http://www.iadb.org/res/CompasLaboral/index.cfm?language=english?language=en&parid=1


Labor Market

Employment is the main source of income for the immense majority of the inhabitants of the region. Reliable and timely information on the situation in the labor market is vital for understanding the impact of policy decisions on the life of the population of our countries. With Labor Compass the IDB Research Department aims to provide data for a better and timelier understanding of the conditions and trends in regional labor markets. This publication is intended to be a guide for analysts and policymakers on recent trends in the labor market through the presentation of a graphic description of the state of the labor markets of the region's key countries. In this edition, we report information on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela; in future editions we will expand the coverage of countries as information becomes available.

The situation in the labor market of each country is presented in three main groups of information. The first describes the structure of the labor market and captures in detail the impact of changes in inflation and growth on employment and unemployment. We present data from household surveys processed by the Social Information Service (SIS) on the changes in the structure of employment by type of worker (registered wage-earner, unregistered wage-earner, self-employed, etc), and by sector of activity during the last decade. With the objective of describing the impact of macroeconomic trends on the labor market, we also present data on the relation between unemployment and inflation, and between employment and growth.

The second and third blocks present high-frequency updated information reported by the countries on quantities and prices in the labor market. The information on quantities, given in the second block, describes short-term changes in the trends in employment and unemployment. We also provide information on rates of activity, employment, unemployment, underemployment and registration. This block ends with an estimate of the net generation of employment by period. The price data in the third block describes changes in minimum and real wages by group. This block ends with an estimate of labor costs per unit of output. A detailed explanation of each of these indicators is given in the glossary.


Covering the following countries to date for the these categories of information:
Employment Distribution
Activity and Employment
Quantity variables
Price variables

Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Mexico
Perú
Venezuela
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] IADB: EDUCATIONAL GENDER GAP in LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN [April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
Research Dep. Working Papers:
WP-600
The Educational Gender Gap in Latin America and the Caribbean
http://www.iadb.org/res/pub_desc.cfm?pub_id=WP-600
or
http://www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubWP-600.pdf
[full-text, 52 pages]
Author:
Duryea, Suzanne;Galiani, Sebastian; Ñopo, Hugo; Piras, Claudia
Published:
April 2007

Abstract:
This paper analyzes the evolution of gender differences in schooling attendance and attainment in Latin America and the Caribbean, for both adults who left the educational system and children in school. For individuals 21 years old and above the paper uses a cohort analysis of school attainment. The results indicate that the schooling gap has closed for the cohort born at the end of the 1960s. Since then, the gap has reversed such that within the cohort born in 1980, females have, on average, ¼ of a schooling year more than males. During the four decades of birth cohorts of our analysis (1940-1980) the gender gap in attainment has moved in favor of females at a pace of 0.27 years of schooling per decade. A decomposition exercise suggests that the changes in the schooling gap are mainly explained by the educational attainment of females at the higher levels, rather than improvements in the early years of education. An analysis of attendance and attainment among girls and boys between 6 and 18, for Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru (the countries that have not closed the gap in adult schooling attainment) reveals noticeable gender differences, favoring boys, only among older children of the lowest income quintiles and indigenous ethnicity.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: UNEMPLOYMENT & EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

BLS

[Unemployment and Educational Attainment]


Unemployment and earnings for full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over, by educational attainment
http://www.bls.gov/emp/emptab7.htm


CHART
http://www.bls.gov/emp/emped05.pdf


TABLE
7. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and over by educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat7.txt


______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BEA: GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: FIRST QUARTER 2007 (ADVANCE)[27 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:  FIRST QUARTER 2007 (ADVANCE)[27 April 2007]
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2007/pdf/gdp107a.pdf
[full-text, 13 pages]
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2007/xls/gdp107a.xls
[spreadsheet]
and
Highlights
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2007/pdf/gdp107a_fax.pdf

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2007,
according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the fourth quarter, real
GDP increased 2.5 percent.

        The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter "advance" estimates are based on source data that
are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see the box on page 3).  The first-
quarter "preliminary" estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on May 31, 2007.

        The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and state and local government spending that were partly
offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and
federal government spending.  Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

        The deceleration in real GDP growth in the first quarter primarily reflected a downturn in exports,
an upturn in imports, a deceleration in PCE for nondurable goods, and a downturn in federal government
spending that were partly offset by a smaller decrease in private inventory investment, an upturn in
equipment and software, a smaller decrease in residential fixed investment, and an acceleration in PCE
for durable goods.

        Final sales of computers contributed 0.04 percentage point to the first-quarter growth in real GDP
after contributing 0.22 percentage point to the fourth-quarter growth.  Motor vehicle output contributed
0.09 percentage point to the first-quarter growth in real GDP after subtracting 1.18 percentage points
from the fourth-quarter growth.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-MARCH 2007 [27 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-MARCH 2007 [27 April 2007]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/eci.pdf
[full-text, 22 pages]
and
Supplemental Files Table of Contents
http://www.bls.gov/web/eci.supp.toc.htm

 Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from
December 2006 to March 2007, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  This was about the same as the 0.9
percent increase for the September to December 2006 period.  Wages and salaries rose
1.1 percent for the three-month period, compared with 0.7 percent for the previous
period.  Benefit costs changed by 0.1 percent, after an increase of 1.1 percent during
the previous three-month period.  The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of
the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs,
which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits for civilian
workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government).

     Increases in wages and salaries accounted for 84 percent of the rise in
compensation costs for civilian workers from December 2006 to March 2007, not
seasonally adjusted.  Among private industry workers, wages and salaries comprised
96 percent of the compensation gain.  In state and local government, wages and
salaries accounted for 40 percent of the change in compensation.  In state and local
government, benefit increases were due primarily to increases in defined benefits
and health benefits.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


Thursday, April 26, 2007

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[IWS] ADB: Asian Development Bank's Annual Report [25 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Asian Development Bank's Annual Report [25 April 2007]
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Annual_Report/2006/default.asp

Volume I -- Main
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Annual_Report/2006/ADB-AR2006.pdf
[full-text, 124 pages]

Volume II -- Financial
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Annual_Report/2006/ADB-AR2006-Vol2.pdf
[full-text, 177 pages]

Press Release 25 April 2007
ADB Loans Jump to $7.4 Billion in 2006, Annual Report Says
http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2007/11792-adb-annual-reports/default.asp

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - ADB approved a total $7.4 billion in loans in 2006, reflecting a 28% increase over the previous year's level, according to the < http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Annual_Report/2006/default.asp > ADB Annual Report 2006, released ahead of the 40th Annual Meeting to be held 4­7 May in Kyoto, Japan.

"Sustainable economic growth was the most prevalent theme," said ADB's latest annual report, in describing the general thrust of the 67 projects supported by the loans approved in 2006.

Grants approved in 2006 amounted to $538.4 million, earmarked for 43 projects. This amount is less than half the $1.1 billion in grants approved in 2005, when more funds were needed to immediately address the destruction wrought by the December 2004 Asian tsunami and the earthquake that struck Pakistan in October 2005.

Loans

The People's Republic of China received $1.6 billion, or 21%, of the total loans that ADB extended last year, making it the biggest loan recipient.

The finance sector was the top recipient of ADB loans last year, receiving $1.8 billion, or 24%, of total loans, sharply higher than the $261.2 million the sector secured in 2005. The transportation and communications sector received the largest share of loans that ADB provided in 2005.

Loans with government guarantees last year totaled $6.8 billion for 59 projects. Out of this amount, $5.5 billion for 26 loans came from the ordinary capital resources of ADB, while the balance, which financed 45 loans, was sourced from the concessional < http://www.adb.org/ADF> Asian Development Fund (ADF).

Overall, sovereign lending increased 30% over the $5.2 billion approved in 2005.


______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] CRS: U.S. TRADE REMEDY LAWS & NON-MARKET ECONOMIES: A LEGAL OVERVIEW [23 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL33976

United States' Trade Remedy Laws and Non-market Economies: A Legal Overview
April 23, 2007
Todd B. Tatelman, Legislative Attorney, American Law Division
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33976_20070423.pdf
[full-text, 18 pages]

Summary
In the United States, there are two major forms of domestic trade remedy laws:
antidumping law (AD), which combats the sale of goods at less than their fair market
value, and countervailing duty law (CVD), which assess duties on imported goods
to offset the amount of government or other public entity subsidization. Both of
these remedies are available when the imported goods come from competitor
countries that have free market policies. Since 1984, however, only AD law has been
applied to those imported goods that come from non-market or other "transitional"
economies. With the continued economic growth of some non-market and
"transitional" economies, such as China and Vietnam, pressure has increased on the
U.S. government to more aggressively utilize domestic trade remedy laws such as
AD and CVD against unfair imports from these countries.

AD law has been amended several times since its initial inception in 1921. Each
modern amendment has allowed for a new methodology for dealing with imports
from non-market economies. With Congress's continued statutory guidance, the
Department of Commerce (DOC) has developed and implemented several different
methodologies for applying AD law, even when the fair market value in the
originating country is not readily ascertainable.

CVD law, however, has not been used against non-market economies since the
DOC concluded in 1984 that it could not determine subsidization in such situations.
This decision by the DOC was upheld as reasonable by the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Georgetown Steel Corporation v. United States. Since that time,
with the noted exception of a 1991 petition against China, the DOC has refused to
review CVD petitions against non-market economies. In November 2006, however,
the DOC accepted a petition seeking a countervailing duty against imported "coated
free-sheet paper" from China to offset alleged government subsidization. In April
2007, the DOC published a preliminary determination levying duties against the
Chinese imports, as well as a memorandum distinguishing the Chinese economy
from those economies that were at issue in the Georgetown Steel case.

While such an action appears to be consistent with U.S. law, a review of U.S.
international obligations under the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Agreement
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, as well as China's accession agreement
to the WTO is also required. Both agreements appear to accept and sanction the use
of surrogate country data in the application of domestic AD or CVD law. As a result,
while a challenge to its actions at the WTO is always a possibility, the United States
appears to have acted in a manner consistent with its obligations.

Several pieces of legislation have been introduced in the 110th Congress to
specifically address the application of CVD laws to non-market economies. These
include, but are not limited to, H.R. 708, H.R. 910, H.R. 1127, H.R. 1229, S. 364,
and S. 974. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Antidumping Law (AD) and Non-market Economies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Application of AD Law to Non-market Economies: Various Approaches . . . .. . . . 2
Countervailing Duty Law (CVD) and Non-market Economies . . . . . . . . . . 4
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Application of CVD Law to Non-market Economies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Court of International Trade's Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Federal Circuit's Georgetown Steel Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Post Georgetown Steel Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Recent Application of CVD Law to "Coated Free-Sheet Paper" Imports from China . . .. . . 10
World Trade Organization Issues and Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] CRS: PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION & THE FEDERAL BUDGET [24 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RS22650
April 24, 2007

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Federal Budget
William Joseph Klunk, Actuary, Domestic Social Policy
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22650_20070424.pdf
[full-text, 6 pages]

Summary
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a wholly owned government
corporation that insures private-sector defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC
receives no appropriations, but some of its operational cash flows are included in the
federal budget. In FY2006, the PBGC generated net revenue of $2.6 billion. Since
1975, it has generated more than $15 billion in revenue and has had net outlays (i.e.,
years in which its outlays exceed its receipts) in only two years, FY2003 and FY2005.
The current budget, however, projects net outlays to continue in FY2007 and FY2008.
In August 2006, the President signed the Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006,
which changes the premiums that plan sponsors must pay to the PBGC as well as the
contributions they must make to their plans. Over the next 10 years, the PPA provisions
related to the PBGC are expected to decrease federal spending by $5.5 billion and
decrease revenue by $2.4 billion. This report outlines the operational cash flows of the
PBGC and how they are affected by provisions of the PPA as well as certain provisions
included in the President's budget proposal for FY2008.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] CRS: UNAUTHORIZED EMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: ISSUES & OPTIONS [20 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL33973

Unauthorized Employment in the United States: Issues and Options
April 20, 2007
Andorra Bruno, Specialist in Social Legislation, Domestic Social Policy
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33973_20070420.pdf
[full-text, 16 pages]

Summary
As Congress considers immigration reform and ways to address the
unauthorized alien population, the issue of unauthorized employment is the focus of
much discussion. The unauthorized alien working population, like the unauthorized
alien population generally, has been growing steadily. There were an estimated 7.2
million unauthorized workers in the U.S. civilian labor force in March 2005. It is
widely accepted that most unauthorized aliens enter and remain in the United States
in order to work. Thus, eliminating employment opportunities for these aliens has
been seen as an approach to curtailing unauthorized immigration.

Provisions enacted by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986,
which are sometimes referred to as employer sanctions, made it unlawful for an
employer to knowingly hire, recruit or refer for a fee, or continue to employ an alien
who is not authorized to work. It also established a paper-based employment
eligibility verification system, known as the I-9 system, which requires that
employers examine documents presented by new hires to verify identity and work
eligibility, and complete and retain I-9 verification forms. There is general
agreement that the I-9 process has been undermined by fraud. Employers violating
prohibitions on unauthorized employment in the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA) may be subject to civil or criminal penalties. The Department of Homeland
Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE) is responsible for
enforcing the INA prohibitions on unauthorized employment.

Building on the employment verification system established by IRCA, the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)
directed the Attorney General to conduct three pilot programs for employment
eligibility confirmation that were to be largely voluntary. Under the Basic Pilot
program, the only one of the three pilots still in operation, participating employers
verify new hires' employment eligibility by accessing Social Security Administration
(SSA) and, if applicable, DHS databases.

A variety of options has been put forth to curtail unauthorized employment and
related practices, a selection of which is discussed in this report. Some of these
options would build on the current employment eligibility verification system; these
include making electronic verification mandatory, increasing existing penalties, or
increasing resources for worksite enforcement. Others represent new approaches to
address unauthorized employment, such as shifting responsibility for employment
eligibility verification from employers to the federal government.

This report will be updated if developments warrant.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Estimates of Unauthorized Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Prohibitions on Unauthorized Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Basic Pilot Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Worksite Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Options for Addressing Unauthorized Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mandatory Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Increased Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unauthorized Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
New Penalty for Unauthorized Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Increased Worksite Enforcement-Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Data Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Changes to Issuance and Acceptance of Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Government Responsibility for Employment Eligibility Verification . . . . 11
Shift Focus to Enforcement of Workplace Protections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

List of Tables
Table 1. Estimates of Unauthorized Employment in Selected Industries, 2005 . . 2

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] CRS: IMMIGRATION OF FOREIGN WORKERS: LABOR MARKET TESTS & PROTECTIONS [24 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL33977

Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections
April 24, 2007
Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33977_20070424.pdf
[full-text, 24 pages]

Summary
Many business people have expressed concern that a scarcity of labor in certain
sectors may curtail the pace of economic growth. A leading legislative response to
skills mismatches and labor shortages has been to increase the supply of foreign
workers. While the demand for more skilled and highly-trained foreign workers has
garnered much of the attention in recent years, there has also been pressure to
increase unskilled temporary foreign workers, commonly referred to as guest
workers.

Those opposing increases in foreign workers assert that there is no compelling
evidence of labor shortages. Opponents maintain that salaries and compensation
would be rising if there is a labor shortage and if employers wanted to attract
qualified U.S. workers. Some allege that employers prefer guest workers because
they are less demanding in terms of wages and working conditions, and that
expanding guest worker visas would have a deleterious effect on U.S. workers.
The number of foreign workers entering the United States legally has notably
increased over the past decade. The number of employment-based legal permanent
residents (LPRs) has grown from under 100,000 in FY1994 to over 250,000 in
FY2005. The number of visas for employment-based temporary nonimmigrants rose
from just under 600,000 in FY1994 to approximately 1.2 million in FY2005. In
particular, "H" visas for temporary workers tripled from 98,030 in FY1994 to
321,336 in FY2005.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars the admission of any alien who
seeks to enter the U.S. to perform skilled or unskilled labor, unless it is determined
that (1) there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and
available; and (2) the employment of the alien will not adversely affect the wages and
working conditions of similarly employed workers in the United States. The foreign
labor certification program in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for
ensuring that foreign workers do not displace or adversely affect working conditions
of U.S. workers.

President George W. Bush has stated that comprehensive immigration reform
is a top priority of his second term. His principles of reform include a major overhaul
of temporary worker visas, expansion of permanent legal immigration and revisions
to the process of determining whether foreign workers are needed. These issues were
addressed in legislation (S. 2611) passed by the Senate in the 109th Congress and are
emerging again in the 110th Congress. The challenge inherent in this policy debate
is balancing employers' hopes to increase the supply of legally present foreign
workers without displacing or adversely affecting the working conditions of U.S.
workers.

This report does not track legislation and will be updated if policies are revised.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Key Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Labor Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Labor Attestation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Brief History of Labor Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Permanent Employment-based Admissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
LPR Labor Certification Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Temporary Employment-Based Admissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
H-1B Visas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
H-1B Dependent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
H-2A Visas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Required Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
H-2B Visas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Summary of Labor Market Tests for Workers on H Visas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Funding Foreign Labor Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Selected Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Certification versus Attestation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Protections for U.S. Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Fraudulent Claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Enforcement Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Small Business Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Subcontractors and Multinational Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

List of Figures
Figure 1. Permanent Employment-based Admissions for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Preferences, 1994-2005 . . . . 4
Figure 2. Temporary Employment-based Admissions, 1994-2005 . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 3. Appropriations for Foreign Labor Certification, FY1998-FY2007 . . . 15

List of Tables
Table 1. Selected Foreign Temporary Worker Labor Market Tests and Protections  . 14
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BEA: Local Area Personal Income, 2005 [26 April 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Local Area Personal Income, 2005 [26 April 2007]
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/lapi/lapi_newsrelease.htm
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/lapi/2007/pdf/lapi0407.pdf
[full-text, 6 pages]
and
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/lapi/2007/xls/lapi0407.xls
[spreadsheet]
and
Highlights
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/lapi/2007/pdf/lapi0407_fax.pdf

Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of personal income at the county level for 2005 based on newly available source data. Personal income is a comprehensive measure of the income of all persons from all sources. In addition to wages and salaries it includes employer-provided health insurance, dividends and interest income, social security benefits, and other types of income. /1

The growth in county personal income for 2005 ranged from 34 percent in Cheyenne County, Kansas to -80 percent in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. For the Nation, personal income grew 5.2 percent. Farming was the largest contributor to growth in the 10 fastest growing counties-all in Kansas and North Dakota. The five largest declines in county personal income-all in Louisiana-were due to the destruction of housing and businesses from wind, storm surge, and floods caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Per capita personal income (personal income divided by population) ranged from $93,377 in New York County, New York to $5,148 in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.

The county estimates released today complete the increasingly detailed series of data releases depicting the geographic distribution of the nation's personal income for 2005. National estimates typically are released one month after the end of the year, state estimates are released two months later, and metropolitan area estimates for 2005 were released last September.

Personal income and its components are available for 3,111 counties from 1969 to 2005. In addition, detailed annual estimates of earnings and employment by industry, personal current transfer receipts, and farm gross income and expenses by major category for each county are available. A partial sample of the data available is presented in the attached table for Los Angeles County, California. These estimates are the only detailed, broadly inclusive, annual measure of economic activity available for local areas. Go to < http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/>  to access these estimates.

A computer-generated narrative describing county, MSA, and state personal income using current estimates, growth rates, and a breakdown of the sources of personal income is available at < http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/> .


AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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