The microeconomic picture of the U.S. has changed immensely since 1973, and the trends
are proving to be consistently downward for the nation's high school graduates and high
school drop-outs. 'Of all the reasons given for the wage squeeze - international competition, technology, deregulation, the decline of unions and defense cuts - technology is probably the most critical. It has favored the educated and the skilled,' says M. B.Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report (7/31/95). Since 1973, wages adjusted for inflation have declined by about a quarter for high school dropouts, by a sixth
for high school graduates, and by about 7% for those with some college education. Only the wages of college graduates are up.
Of the fastest growing technical jobs, software engineering tops the list.
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