For most of their lives, Americans have thought all good people could find work and support themselves.  That is gone forever, and no economic recovery will bring it back.  The recession is officially long over, yet 14 million people remain unemployed, 9 million more work part-time but want to work more, and another 9 million would take jobs if they thought they could get them.  Yet Washington has only recently started discussing this devastating national problem, let alone negotiating anything to solve or even improve it. 

Neither political side is getting anywhere.   Conservatives are wrong:  cutting corporate taxes is not the answer.   Liberals are wrong:  blaming businesses, increasing the minimum wage, or encouraging unionization won’t help either.  Romney and Obama have shown that they do not understand the problem.  Meanwhile, all signs point to even fewer jobs in the future.  Today’s innovations, such as eBay, Facebook, and Twitter, provide employment not for millions but only thousands or hundreds.  Almost a quarter of 20 to 24-year-olds never work each year, along with ¾ of those 16 and 17.  At the same time, many careers end around 50, leaving those that age with no clear course of action.  Employment and workplace productivity have parted statistical company.   These facts have huge implications for everyone, working or not.

A 2012 IPPY award winning book giving a fresh view on what is happening with American jobs is now available.  Work’s New Age:  The End of Full Employment and What It Means to You is a resource for all of us.  It explains what we are experiencing in terms of numbers, trends, and social patterns, and what we can – and cannot – do about it. 

Work’s New Age is the first full-length book in years to address this massive national concern.  It shows why the gap between workers and jobs will get ever larger, and which possible solutions will only harm.  It is well documented and thoughtful but easy to understand.  The book even provides hope, by demonstrating how we have the potential to transform this crisis into a new American golden age. 

James B. Huntington has been a business professor, teacher, and professional speaker.  His 2007 doctoral dissertation is the only book written on career jobs for post-65 baby boomers.  He has also written on leadership, organizational change, and human development.  He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden University.