Labor Day by the Numbers
Census Bureau facts for Labor Day
by the U.S. Census Bureau
Who Are We Celebrating?
154.5 million
Number of people 16 and older in the nation's labor force in May 2008, including 82.6 million
men and 71.9 million women.
Employee Benefits
82%
Percentage of full-time workers 18 to 64 covered by health insurance during all or part
of 2006.
77%
Percentage of workers in private industry who receive a paid vacation as one of their employment benefits. In addition:
- 77% of workers receive paid holidays.
- 15% have access to employer assistance for child care.
- 12% have access to long-term care insurance.
- 71% have access to medical care, 46% to dental care, 29% to vision care, and 64% to outpatient prescription drug coverage.
Our Jobs
Americans work in a wide variety of occupations. Here is a sampling:
| Teachers | 7.1 million |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists | 778,000 |
| Chefs and head cooks | 345,000 |
| Taxi drivers and chauffeurs | 333,000 |
| Firefighters | 288,000 |
| Roofers | 269,000 |
| Pharmacists | 247,000 |
| Musicians, singers and related workers | 170,000 |
| Gaming industry (gambling) | 111,000 |
| Tax preparers | 104,000 |
| Service station attendants | 90,000 |
| Logging workers | 88,000 |
7.7 million
Number of workers who hold down more than one job. So-called moonlighters comprise 5% of the working population. Of these moonlighters, 4 million work full time at their primary job and part time at their other job.
When Do They Sleep?
There are about 288,000 moonlighters who work full time at both jobs.
10.4 million
Number of self-employed workers.
22 million
Number of female workers 16 and older in educational services, health care, and social assistance industries. Among male workers 16 and older, 11.5 million were employed in manufacturing industries.
28%
Percentage of workers 16 and older who work more than 40 hours a week. Eight percent work 60 or more hours a week.
4
Median number of years workers have been with their current employer. About 9% of those employed have been with their current employer for 20 or more years.
10.3 million
Number of independent contractors. Other workers with alternative work arrangements include 2.5 million on-call workers, 1.2 million temporary help agency workers, and 813,000 workers provided by contract firms.
15.6 million
Number of labor union members nationwide. About 12% of wage and salary workers belong to unions, with Hawaii and New York having among the highest rates of any state. North Carolina has one of the lowest rates, 3 percent.
73.5%
Size of labor force growth in Frisco, Texas, between 2000 and 2005, the highest among cities
with populations of 25,000 or more. Frisco was followed by the fellow Texas cities of Cedar
Park (growth of 66%) and McKinney (52.5%), then by Carmel, Ind. (49.9%)
and Dania Beach, Fla. (45%).
74,700
Number of jobs added in Harris County (Houston), Texas, between September 2006 and September 2007, the largest increase in employment among the nation’s 328 largest counties.
5.4 million
The number of people who work at home.
Another Day, Another Dollar
$42,261 and $32,515
The 2006 annual median earnings for male and female full-time, year-round workers, respectively.
$1,585
Average weekly wage in Santa Clara County, Calif., for the third quarter of 2007, the highest among the nation's 328 largest counties. Clayton, Ga., led the nation in growth of average weekly wages the third quarters of 2006 to 2007, with an increase of 24% to $919.
Hot Jobs
53%
Projected percentage growth from 2006 to 2016 in the number of network systems and data communication analysts. Forecasters expect this occupation to grow at a faster rate than any other. Meanwhile, the occupation expected to add more positions over this period than any other is registered nurses (587,000).
Early, Lonely, and Long—the Commute to Work
16.7 million
Number of commuters who leave for work between midnight and 5:59 a.m. These early birds represent 13% of all workers.
76%
Percentage of workers who drove alone to work. Another 11% car pooled, and 5% took public transportation (excluding taxicabs).
30.9 minutes
The average time it takes to commute to work for residents of New York state. New York residents had the most time-consuming commute in the nation, followed by that of Maryland residents with 30.6 minutes. The national average was 25.0 minutes.
3.1 million
Number of workers who face extreme commutes to work of 90 or more minutes each day.
53%
Percentage of workers 16 and older living in Virginia who worked and lived in different
counties, the highest rate in the nation.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
