December, 2000, Vol. 123, No. 12
Labor month in review
The
December Review
More experience employment
Shiskin Award nominations
Raises biggest in Washington, Massachusetts
As we wrap up the final issue of the Monthly Labor Review for the 20th century, it is fitting to look at that century’s final decade, the 1990s. (Why is it we name decades by their first year and centuries by their last?) Julie Hatch and Angela Clinton take a broad look at the 1990s as they manifested themselves in the employment, hours, and earnings statistics. After the recession that occurred during the decade’s first two years, overall employment began a sustained period of growth. The long expansion was not evenly distributed, however, and there was a continuing divide between the goods-producing and service-providing sectors of the economy.
In contrast, there was a degree of convergence throughout the decade in terms of earnings. In fact, average hourly earnings in some service-providing industries—wholesale trade and finance, insurance, and real estate—actually moved higher than those in manufacturing by the decade’s end.
It is also meet that the Review should publish another look at some of the research issues that remain open as the century ends. Kathryn Parker Boudette, Richard J. Murnane, and John B. Willett take on several issues at once as they ask, "In an economy that increasingly values skill, can a young woman without a high school diploma get a second chance?" They find that obtaining a General Educational Development (GED) credential is associated with earnings gains of about 25 percent (after a l0-year lag), and that combining a GED with an additional year of off-the-job training bumps that gain up to 50 percent. The authors warn, however, that the absolute earnings of dropouts, even after these second-chance efforts, are still too low to establish economic independence.
In this issue, it is also right to present an analysis of some labor and labor standards history. Howard D. Samuel does this for us in his study of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This legislation established the 40-hour workweek, required premium pay for overtime, and stipulated a minimum wage. Samuel points out that what is now a well-established part of the labor market’s legal infrastructure once faced a good deal of resistance—and not all of it was from the business community or the more reactionary political elements.
It is certainly our bounden duty, as we conclude the Monthly Labor Review’s final 20th century volume, to thank the thousands of authors who have contributed such excellent work to our pages since our launch in 1915. To our readers, we reaffirm our commitment to being their first-choice journal of fact, analysis, and research in the field of labor economics, broadly defined.
The proportion of the working-age population that was employed at some point during the year increased slightly to 70.6 percent in 1999. This upward movement has been the trend for the past three decades, interrupted occasionally by recessions.
The increasing participation of women in the workforce has been the main factor behind the rising employment rate. The proportion of women who worked at some point during the year has risen 11.9 percentage points since 1969, to 64.5 percent in 1999. In contrast, the proportion of men who worked at some time during 1999 was 77.2 percent, a decrease of 8.0 percentage points since 1969.
The number of individuals who experienced some unemployment during the year continued to decline in 1999. About 13 million individuals were in this category, down about 1 million from 1998. Roughly 149 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 1999. Thus, the 13.1 million who experienced some unemployment during the year represented a "work-experience unemployment rate" of 8.8 percent. This rate was 0.8 percentage point lower than in 1998—the lowest since the series began in 1958. Learn more in "Work Experience of the Population in 1999," news release USDL 00–333.
Nominations are invited for the annual Julius Shiskin Award for Economic Statistics. The award is given in recognition of unusually original and important contributions in the development of economic statistics or in the use of economic statistics in interpreting the economy.
A nomination form may be obtained from the Julius Shiskin Award Committee, American Statistical Association, 1429 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3402, or via e-mail at nancyh@amstat.org. Nominations must be received by April 1, 2001.
Raises biggest in Washington, Massachusetts
Leading the Nation in pay growth for the third year in a row, Washington State’s average annual pay advanced 8.0 percent in 1999. The next highest pay increase occurred in Massachusetts, where wages climbed 6.8 percent. Three other States had pay gains in excess of 5.0 percent in 1999: California (6.3 percent), Colorado (6.0 percent), and Virginia (5.2).
Overall, pay gains moderated in 1999 compared with the previous year. In the United States, average annual pay rose by 4.3 percent in 1999, compared with 5.2 percent in 1998. Pay data presented here represent all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Data for 1999 are preliminary and subject to revision. Find more information on 1999 pay in "Average Annual Pay By State and Industry, 1999," news release USDL 00–339.
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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