U.S. Labor Statistics for the 21st Century

Working in the 21st Century

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics - Working in the 21st Century is a portrait of the U.S. workforce at the beginning of the New Millennium: a set of charts and related information about subjects ranging from education levels to retirement plans.

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Table of Contents

• The labor force is growing more slowly:
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The very rapid labor force growth over the 1970s reflected two dramatic changes: the baby-boom generation reached working age, and it became more common for women to work outside the home.

Since the 1970s, the labor force has continued to grow, but at a slower rates.

A substantial slowdown in the pace of labor force growth is projected for the 2015-25 period, as the baby-boom generation retires.

DID YOU KNOW?

The baby-boom generation was born from 1946 to 1964. The oldest baby boomers turn 55 in 2001.


• The labor force is getting older:
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  The median age of the labor force is rising. It will approach 41 years by 2008 -- a very high level by historical standards. (The median age is the age at which half of the labor force is younger and half of the labor force is older.)
  
  Many of the changes in the age structure of the labor force reflect the aging of the baby boom.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  One-fifth of men in the labor force are veterans. The median age of these workers is 50 years, compared with 39 years for nonveterans.
  

• More women are working today than in the past:
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  About 60 percent of all women are in the labor force, compared with nearly 75 percent of all men. (The participation rate is the share of the population 16 years and older working or seeking work.)
  
  The long-term increase in the female labor force largely reflects the greater frequency of paid work among mothers.
  
  The slow long-term decline in work activity among men reflects, in part, the trend to earlier retirement.
  
  Women now account for 47 percent of the labor force, up from 40 percent in 1975.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Among married-couple families where both the wife and the husband work, about one-fifth of the wives earn more than their husbands.
  

• Minorities are the fastest growing part of the labor force:
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  Asians and Hispanics have the fastest labor force growth, primarily because of immigration.
  
  The higher-than-average labor force growth for blacks reflects a higher birth rate among blacks than among white non-Hispanics.
  
  White non-Hispanics will still be the largest labor force group, accounting for about 71 percent of the labor force in 2008. Hispanics will account for about 13 percent, black non-Hispanics for about 11 percent, and Asians and other groups for about 5 percent.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Half of all Hispanics live in California and Texas, but over the past decade nearly all states saw an increase in the Hispanic share of their population.
  

• Immigrants are found at the high and low ends of the education scale:
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  Only about 7 percent of 25-34 year old workers born in the U.S. have not completed high school. In contrast, about 26 percent of recent immigrants in that age group have not obtained a high school diploma. (Recent immigrants are foreign-born persons who entered the country from 1996 to 2000.)
  
  At the same time recent immigrants age 25-34, are more than twice as likely as their U.S.-born counterparts to have a master's or higher degree.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Large numbers of legal immigrants come to the United States from Mexico, China, India, and the Philippines.
  

• Education pays:
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  College graduates age 25 and over earn nearly twice as much as workers who stopped with a high school diploma.
  
  College graduates have experienced growth in real (inflation-adjusted) earnings since 1979. In contrast, high school dropouts have seen their real earnings decline.
  
  From 1979 to 2000, the earnings of college-educated women grew nearly twice as fast as the earnings of men, but these women still earn less than men.
  
  The unemployment rate for workers who dropped out of high school is nearly four times the rate for college graduates.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  High school graduates are more likely to go on to college today than in the past. Sixty-three percent of the year 2000 high school graduates had enrolled in college by the following fall, up from 52 percent of the class of 1970.
  

• Some jobs with above-average earnings do not require a bachelor's degree, but most require substantial training:
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  Short-term on-the-job training (OJT): Workers develop the skills needed after a short demonstration or up to 1 month of on-the-job experience or instruction.
  
  Moderate-term on-the-job training: Workers develop the skills needed after 1 to 12 months of combined on-the-job experience and informal training.
  
  Long-term on-the-job training: Jobs require more than 12 months of on-the-job training or combined work experience and classroom instruction.
  
  Postsecondary vocational training: Jobs require completion of vocational school training and may require passing an examination after completing the training.
  
  Associate degree: Completion of the degree program requires at least 2 years of full-time academic work.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  The median earnings for all workers were $23,545 in 1998.
  

• Workers with computer skills are in demand:
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  Of the 10 fastest growing occupations, the top 5 are computer-related.
  
  Three of the top 10 are health-related: personal care and home health aides, medical assistants, and physician assistants.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Half of all persons age 35-54 participate in adult education, the majority in career- or job-related courses.
  

• The ten occupations that will generate the most jobs range widely in their skill requirements:
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  These 10 occupations are projected to add a total of about 5 million jobs during the 1998-2008 period, nearly one-fourth of the projected job growth over the decade.
  
  Occupations with the most job growth tend to have a large number of workers already.
  
  Six of the 10 occupations—retail salespersons, cashiers, general managers and top executives, truck drivers, general office clerks, and registered nurses—each employed at least 2 million workers in 1998.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Kids start working early. Half of 12-year-olds have some work experience, primarily yard work or babysitting. Nearly four out of ten 15-year-olds hold a job with a regular employer sometime during the year, mostly in service, sales, or laborer jobs.
  

• Benefits account for more than one-quarter of total compensation:
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  Benefits' share of compensation costs has remained relatively steady since the late 1970s.
  
  Legally required benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation) account for the largest share of benefit costs -- nearly three-tenths of the total.
  
  Vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other paid leave account for about a quarter of benefit costs.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Stock option and related stock-purchase plans are available to less than 10 percent of the workforce.
  

• Retirement plans are changing:
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  With more retirement plan choices, today's workers are increasingly responsible for their own retirement planning.
  
  A declining share of workers are enrolled in traditional defined benefit plans, which promise workers a specific monthly benefit upon retiring.
  
  A growing share of workers are in defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans, where their retirement income will be much more dependent on their own investment decisions.
  
  Workers with defined contribution plans can more easily transfer retirement savings from one employer to another or into private accounts.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  About half of all American families owned publicly traded stock in 1998; the proportion had been only one-third a decade earlier. Families own stock in many different ways--through direct ownership, mutual funds, retirement accounts, or other managed assets.
  

• Workers will be supporting more Social Security recipients:
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  The Social Security Administration expects that before the middle of the 21st century there will be only two workers for every Social Security beneficiary; as recently as 1960 there were five workers for every beneficiary.
  
  Of the 45 million people receiving Social Security payments in 2000, about 29 million were retired workers. The remainder were spouses of retirees, spouses and children of disabled and deceased workers, and disabled persons under age 65.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Many disabled people work. According to the Census Bureau, among those whose disabilities were classified as not severe, 82 percent of those age 21-64 were working in 1997, little different from those without disabilities. Among the severely disabled, 31 percent were employed.
  

• The trend in years spent with an employer is down for men and up for women:
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  Over the last 2 decades, the number of years men have been with their employer has fallen.
  
  In contrast, the number of years women have been with their employer has risen slightly.
  
  People change jobs for many reasons. For instance, if the economy is performing well, more workers may take the opportunity to change jobs. When that happens, measures of workers' length of service can go down.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  The average person in the U.S. holds around 9 jobs from age 18 to age 34.
  

• The temporary help industry has grown rapidly:
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  The number of jobs in the temporary help industry grew sharply for much of the 1980s and 1990s.
  
  The industry accounts for less than 3 percent of total nonfarm employment.
  
  Workers employed by temporary help agencies work in all sectors of the economy, but notably in the services and manufacturing industries.
  
  Workers employed by temporary help firms work in a range of occupations, including computer systems analysts, engineers, clerical workers, janitors, and construction laborers.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  About half of temporary help workers appreciate the flexibility of temporary work and about half would prefer to have a permanent job.
  

• The most common alternative employment arrangement is independent contractor:
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  About 13 million people work under alternative employment arrangements, as independent contractors, temporary help workers, contract workers, or on-call workers.
  
  About 8.6 million of this group identify themselves as independent contractors, sometimes called freelancers.
  
  The vast majority of independent contractors are satisfied with their work arrangement.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Whether female or male, about 1 employed person in every 20 works more than one job.
  

• Most mothers work:
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  Nearly three-quarters of all mothers are in the labor force.
  Even among mothers with very young children, more than sixty percent are in the labor force.
  
  Unmarried mothers are more likely than married mothers to work.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  The most popular type of childcare arrangement for preschool children is center based. In 1999, nearly 60 percent of 3-5 year olds were attending day care centers, nursery schools, Head Start, or related programs, up from 53 percent in 1991.
  

• Married couples are working longer:
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  Among married couples, the combined weekly hours of husbands and wives are rising. In 1969, couples age 25-54 worked an average of 56 hours a week. By 2000, this had increased to 67 hours.
  
  Couples with children under 18 tend to work somewhat fewer hours than those without children--66 hours compared with 70 hours. Nevertheless, average combined hours have increased by almost 20 percent over the past 3 decades for both groups.
  
  The increase mostly reflects the fact that more and more women are working, with those who work increasingly likely to be employed year round.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  The average commuting time for workers who drive to work is 20 minutes each way. About one worker in eight spends 40 minutes or more driving to work.
  

• The workplace is becoming safer:
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  A total of 5.7 million injuries and illnesses occurred in private industry workplaces in 1999. This resulted in the lowest rate recorded (6.3 cases for every 100 full-time workers) since Federal data collection began in the early 1970s.
  
  The sharpest declines in injuries and illnesses were among cases serious enough to require days away from work.
  
  In contrast, there are a growing number of cases in which the worker comes back to work but cannot do the full range of usual job activities.
  
  Truck drivers, laborers, and nursing aides have the largest number of injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work.
  
  DID YOU KNOW?

  Highway crashes are the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities. Falls are the second-leading cause of workplace deaths, and homicides are third.