Author Description

The year 2000 will mark the end of what has been called the American century. Since 1900, the United States has become wealthy and powerful by exploiting the rapid changes taking place in technology, world trade, and the international political order. The last years of this century are certain to bring new developments in technology, international competition, demography, and other factors that will alter the nation's economic and social landscape. By the end of the next decade, the changes under way will produce an America that is in some ways unrecognizable from the one that existed only a few years ago. Four key trends will shape the last years of the twentieth century: the American economy should grow at relatively healthy pace; U.S. manufacturing will be a much smaller share of the economy in the year 2000; the workforce will grow slowly, becoming older, more female, and more disadvantaged; the new jobs in service industries will demand much higher skill levels than the jobs of today.