Letters: Feb. 10, 1997

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WHERE THE JOBS ARE

"How long before we realize that proper management of a company's people, its most valuable resource, is the key to long-term prosperity?" RICHARD D. TOWNSEND Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

I was disturbed by your article "Where the Jobs Are" [BUSINESS, Jan. 20], which placed undue emphasis on the pace of job creation for skilled workers and only briefly mentioned the troubles that unskilled workers have. Alongside the boom in job opportunities in high-tech and service industries, there continue to be serious difficulties in the labor market for workers who are less skilled. By emphasizing growth in specific labor markets, you may strengthen the misperception that there are many jobs available for the disadvantaged. JOEL POLLAK Cambridge, Massachusetts

You neglected to mention how many of today's jobs are leased or filled by contingent or contract workers. In addition, it is important to note that the growth in jobs, some of which pay well, disguises the fact that we are facing a crisis of employment for black males. The closing of the industrial age and its mass employment has left them out of the job equation. With so many high-paying jobs, why do we have the greatest disparity between rich and poor since 1945? There are too many workers looking for decent-paying, lower-skilled jobs. KIMBERLY A. SHANAHAN Pacifica, California

The problem of trained employees' "moving on" to other companies wasn't a concern until greedy corporations started trashing the time-honored tradition of job security. Mandatory service contracts that bind employees as a condition for receiving training are adversarial and largely unenforceable in the real world. They are not part of the answer, as your report suggests, but an extension of the underlying problem. DANIEL COBEN Somerset, New Jersey

Your story was one dimensional. What about the "hiring bust" that exists for talented, skilled first-time job seekers who get lost in the shuffle? The technological explosion may be providing jobs for those already established, but what about the little guy who consistently encounters a slamming door not because he lacks skills but because companies don't want to be the first to take a chance on him? DOUGLAS FISHER Boston

Some authorities estimate that a majority of job seekers cannot find work because they lack the basic skills for employment, such as getting to the job on time, putting in an honest day's work, being dressed and groomed appropriately, being drug free and getting along with fellow workers and the boss. These skills are learned in the home. Until we address this problem, no federal program is going to change anything. GIDEON JONES Tallahassee, Florida

SUING THE PRESIDENT