In earlier editions, this publication analyzed some of the issues that were then being addressed: the decline in employment in the manufacturing sector, the high unemployment rates for young minorities, the cost of health care services and prescription drugs, the changing pension plans, the specter of inflation as a result of the rise in fuel prices, the impact of changing technology on the educational and occupational requirements of industry, and the impact of immigration on the structure of the labor force. The dramatic aging of the labor force is a major factor in current discussions about the cost of health care and changing pension plans. Policy decisions on these questions are still relevant today. Other issues include the stagnation of real wages despite an increase in productivity, which has led to concern that this trend indicates a lack of progress in improving the standard of living of workers.