many of them unauthorized, were taking jobs away
from Americans. Examination of the kinds of jobs
taken by immigrants, however, indicated that many
immigrants were performing tasks that Americans
would not or could not do. These involved low-in-
come, strenuous “stoop labor” jobs on farms and in
domestic service. At the high end of the income
scale, employers seeking scientists and engineers
could not find enough suitably trained Americans.
The number of U.S. medical schools declined from
124 in 1990 to 118 in 2000, and the number of medi-
cal degrees conferred in 2000 was only 1 percent
larger than in 1990. Not surprisingly, by year 2000
about one-fourth of physicians were foreign-born.
Impact The 1990’s were a good period for job
growth. After the recession of 1990-1991, produc-
tion and employment expanded rapidly, so unem-
ployment ended the decade at a very low level. Em-
ployment in manufacturing failed to grow, but the
reason lay in rapid productivity increase rather than
deindustrialization and globalization. The service
sectors were the basis for the most vigorous expan-
sion of employment.Further Reading
Ehrenberg, Ronald G., and Robert S. Smith.Modern
Labor Economics: Theor y and Public Policy. 8th ed.
New York: Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2003. This
college-level text deals comprehensively with re-
lationships among production, employment, and
wages.
Leamer, Edward E. “A Flat World, a Level Playing
Field, a Small World After All, or None of the
Above? A Review of Thomas L. Friedman’sThe
World Is Flat.”Journal of Economic Literature45,
no. 1 (March, 2007): 83-126. A witty and insight-
ful survey that deflates much of the hysteria about
negative effects of globalization on the U.S. job
market.The Nineties in America Employment in the United States 313
Employment in Major Sectors of the U.S. Economy, 1990-1999SectorNumber Employed (millions)
1990 1999 % Change
Agriculture 3.2 3.3 +1.8
Natural resources and mining 0.8 0.6 –22.8
Construction 5.3 6.5 +24.4
Manufacturing 17.7 17.3 –2.1
Durable goods 10.7 10.8 +0.9
Nondurable goods 7.0 6.5 –6.7
Services, total 85.8 104.5 +21.9
Trade, transport, utilities 22.7 25.8 +13.7
Information 2.7 3.4 +27.2
Finance 6.6 7.6 +15.6
Professional and business services 10.8 16.0 +47.1
Education and health 11.0 14.8 +34.7
Leisure and hospitality 9.3 11.5 +24.3
Other services 4.3 5.1 +19.4
Government 18.4 20.3 +10.3
Federal 3.2 2.8 –13.4
State 4.3 4.7 +9.4
Local 10.9 12.8 +17.5
Source: Economic Report of the President, 2008.