The State of Working America, 1998-99

Praise for previous editions-- ?A truly comprehensive and useful book that provides a reality check on loose statements about U.S. labor markets. It should be cheered by all Americans who earn their living from work.'--William Wolman, Chief Economist, Business Week, CNBC ?If you want to know what happened to the economic well-being of the average American in the past decade or so, this is the book for you. Required reading for Americans of all political persuasions.'--Richard Freeman, Harvard University ?This book provides valuable factual and analytic material on the economic conditions of American workers. It is the very best source of information on this important subject.'--Ray Marshall, Former Secretary of Labor and Professor, University of Texas ?This book is the single best yardstick for measuring whether or not our economic policies are doing enough to ensure that our economy can, once again, grow for everybody.'--Richard A. Gephardt, House Democratic Leader ?An indispensable work . . . on family income, wages, taxes, employment, and the distribution of wealth.'--Simon Head, New York Review of Books This highly regarded volume, prepared biennially since 1988 by the Economic Policy Institute, sums up the problems and challenges facing American workers. Drawing on both original research and published sources, the authors present a wide variety of data on family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty--data that enable them to closely examine the impact of the economy on the living standards of the American people. This latest edition will be welcomed by journalists, government leaders, researchers, policymakers, professors, and others eager for a comprehensive portrait of the economic well-being of the nation.