The Growing Gap in Retraining

Millions of jobs call for new skills, but few are acquiring them

Tucked away in the $5 billion public works job bill that President Reagan is expected to sign is a provision that could allocate as little as $75 million for worker retraining programs. That modest sum is a sign of recognition—a lamentably small sign—of one of the nation's most pressing problems.

As the U.S. economy sloughs off its declining manufacturing industries and increases its dependence on faster-growing service and technology sectors, an ever widening gap has opened between the new jobs that are...