February 2000, Vol. 123, No. 2
Labor month in review
The
February Review
Shiskin
Award nominations
2000-01
Occupational Outlook Handbook released
Factory
worker compensation compared
As the American economy entered 1999, it was approaching its ninth year of expansion following the recession of 1990–91. As the year ended, unemployment was at its lowest rate in 30 years and nonfarm employment had increased by 2.7 million. Jennifer L. Martel and Laura A. Kelter examine last year’s strong job market in some detail. In one section, they analyze the impact the changing demographic composition of the labor force may have had: "If the age composition of the labor force in 1999 had been the same as in 1969, but each component age group retained its 1999 rate of unemployment, the overall unemployment rate in 1999 would have been about 0.4 percentage point higher."
Preparations for this year’s census account for part of last year’s growth in employment, according to the report by Laura A. Kelter. In fact, Census 2000 hiring became noticeable as early as August 1998, when the number of census workers rose by 12,000 over the month. At that early stage, the Census Bureau is compiling its address list. Particularly in rural areas with noncity-style addresses, this may involve door-to-door canvassing of substantial area. At its peak, Census employed nearly 40,000 workers during the Address Listing phase. (Editors’ note: We are sure it is unnecessary to admonish the Review’s readers to participate in Census 2000.)
Ron L. Hetrick summarizes the propensity of manufacturers to increase overtime hours rather than hire new employees during the 1990s. Although overtime hours were at relatively high levels at the beginning of the current expansion, they were increased by nearly half—roughly as much as they had been in earlier recoveries. Conversely, manufacturing employment grew by only 4 percent following its low point in 1993, in contrast to an increase of 15 percent in the long expansion of the 1960s.
Jane Osburn uses some relatively new capabilities in the Occupational Employment Statistics program to carry out a study of interindustry wage differentials. She finds that differentials are often associated with the primary mission of firms in an industry. For example, "Within the services sector, most of the occupations having the lowest correlation with the all-occupation wage differential are related to physical production activities, while those having the highest correlation are occupations having coordination functions…."
Nominations are invited for the 2000 Julius Shiskin Award for Economic Statistics, a prize established in 1979 to recognize contributions to the development of economic statistics or their use in interpreting the economy. A nomination form may be obtained by writing the Julius Shiskin Award Committee, American Statistical Association, 1429 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314–3415, or via e-mail to: NancyH@amstat.org. Completed forms must be received by April 1, 2000.
2000-01 Occupational Outlook Handbook released
The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides detailed discussions of the nature of work and the typical working conditions in more than 250 occupations. In addition, it gives details on the requirements for entering an occupation and the opportunities for advancement once in it. Each occupational statement discusses projected job growth relative to the entire economy over the next decade and, in some cases, the ease or difficulty of finding a job. Users also will find facts on current earnings, related occupations, and sources of additional information.
The 2000–01 edition of the Handbook will help guide workers into the new century, presenting essential information about prospective changes in the workplace and the qualifications that will be needed by tomorrow’s work force. Copies of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2000–01 Edition (Bulletin 2520) can be purchased from the BLS Publications Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145,Chicago, IL 60690–2145, phone (312) 353–1880. The cost is $49 for soft cover; $51 for hard cover.
Factory worker compensation compared
For all foreign economies studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly compensation costs were $14.69 in 1998. This was 79 percent of the U.S. level, down from 95 percent in 1995. The widening gap reflected the continued appreciation of the U.S. dollar against most foreign currencies, particularly the Asian currencies. In the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs), hourly compensation costs in manufacturing were $5.72 in 1998. Hourly costs in the Asian NIEs are now less than one-third the U.S. level.
In Europe, hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for production workers in manufacturing were 11 percent higher than in the United States in 1998. Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars were $20.67 in Europe in 1998, compared with $18.56 in the United States. This gap of 11 percent is much smaller than it was 3 years earlier—in 1995, compensation costs in Europe exceeded those in the United States by 28 percent.
Learn more in "International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs for Production Workers in Manufacturing, 1998," news release USDL 00–07.
Communications regarding the Monthly Labor Review may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief at 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2850, Washington, DC, 20212, or faxed to (202) 691–7890.
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