LOW WAGE AMERICA...

This dialogue on NBR recently regarding American Jobs...

GHARIB: That`s an interesting point. But, Darren, you`ve spent months traveling around the country and doing lots of research about the workplace. As you reflect on the research that you`ve done, what is the most striking change that you`re seeing in the American workplace?

GERSH: I was really struck by just how many low-wage jobs there are in our economy and they`re really growing fast. There are about 28 million people who make about nine bucks an hour. And if you look, the low-wage job categories, janitors, home health workers, they`re growing the quickest. So some economists are starting to say we`re having a polarization of our labor force. We`ve got the high-tech folks do great and the low-wage people aren`t keeping up and they`re starting to have low- wage careers. They don`t just work low-wage jobs for a little while and then move up.