Page 46 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 2 • Social and Ethical Environment of Business

FIGURE 2-3 Labor Participation Rate for Men and Women
(November each year)

Percent

80

Male
70

60
Female

50
1980 1990 2000 2003 2005

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

in new skills. As technology changes and old jobs disappear, many workers
need retraining. At the same time, technology has simplified jobs, such as short-
order cook or bank teller. These jobs now require little training and therefore
pay low wages. Some jobs, such as telephone operator, have been eliminated
since the work has been automated. A large number of workers are in dead-end
jobs and are not earning an adequate income to maintain a reasonable standard
of living.
For various reasons, including lack of financial resources, public schools in
many areas are failing to provide the quality of education historically expected facts
of high school graduates. High school graduates are particularly deficient in &
math, computer, social, and communication skills. Businesses are sometimes
forced to provide remedial education in basic skills for newly hired workers. figures

POVERTY
In 1966, women earned 58 cents
The prosperity of Americans is not equally distributed among the population. for every dollar earned by men
According to the Bureau of the Census, between 12 and 15 percent of the popu- for comparable work. That gap
lation in any given year live in poverty. This means that these people are poorly has closed by an average of half
housed, clothed, and fed. Many live in inner-city slums or in rural areas. Statistics a penny each year since then. In
suggest that the richest 20 percent of American families have continued to earn 2004, women earned 76.5 cents
more over the past 30 years, whereas the income of the lowest fifth has remained for every dollar earned by men
about the same. Thus, the gap between the rich and poor is widening. for comparable work. Nearly
Due to such programs as Social Security, poverty among elderly people is much every year the difference in
lower today than previously. However, many children live in poverty because they earnings narrows somewhat.

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