Labor month in review
The
May Review
Joblessness rises among families
Shift work versus flexible schedules
Lost-time injuries
Industry productivity in 1990s
Foreign-born workers made up only about 1 in 17 workers in 1960 versus 1 in 8 workers in 2000. As Abraham Mosisa points out in his article, the large increase in foreign-born workers is having an impact not only on the aggregate size of the labor force, but on its ethnic, racial, and educational composition as well:
Immigrants accounted for about half the net increase of the labor force between 1996 and 2000.
Mitra Toossi extends the horizon of the Bureau’s basic labor force projection out to the middle of the century. In general, she finds that labor force growth will, at an average of 0.6 percent per year, be slower over the next 50 years than it was over the previous half-century, that women as a share of the labor force will continue to converge on 50 percent, that a greater share of the labor force will be over 55 years of age, and that the labor force will be more diverse in race and ethnic composition.
It is increasingly common for retirement plans, pension as well as defined contribution, to have an early withdrawal or lump-sum distribution provision. James H. Moore, Jr., and Leslie A. Muller look at some of the factors influencing the decision to take and how to use a lump sum distribution. They find, among other things, that most people save at least some part of any such distribution they might receive and that most spend the rest of the distribution to pay down debt and cover every day expenses.
Joblessness rises among families
Reflecting the economic downturn that began early in 2001, the proportion of families containing at least one unemployed member rose by nearly a percentage point to 6.6 percent between 2000 and 2001. In an average week in 2001, 4.8 million families had at least one member who was unemployed, a rise of 665,000 families from 2000.
The proportion of black families with an unemployed member, 11.4 percent, was higher than that for either Hispanic or white families (9.9 and 5.8 percent respectively). For all three groups, the proportion of families with someone unemployed was higher in 2001 than the year before. Find out more in "Employment characteristics of families in 2001," news release USDL 02–175.
Shift work versus flexible schedules
In May 2001, about 29 million full-time wage and salary workers had flexible work schedules that allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work. At the same time, about half that number usually worked an alternate shift—evening, night, irregular, rotating, or split—generally at the behest of their employer.
Men were more likely than women to work an alternate shift. Blacks were more likely than either whites or Hispanics to work such shifts. The proportion of workers on alternate shift schedules had fallen from almost 17 percent in May 1997 to less than 15 percent in May 2001.
Men were also somewhat more likely than women to work flexible schedules in May 2001. In contrast to the case of alternate shifts, flexible schedules were more common among white workers than black or Hispanic workers. The proportions working flexible schedules had risen slightly for most worker groups since 1997. Learn more about flexible work schedules and shift work in "Workers on Flexible and Shift Schedules in 2001," USDL news release 02–225.
Truck drivers had more workplace injuries and illnesses involving time away from work than any other occupation in 2000. Truck drivers experienced 136,100 work-related injuries and illnesses that required recuperation away from work beyond the day of the incident. Each year since 1993, truck drivers have had the highest number of such injuries and illnesses of any occupation.
Nonconstruction laborers suffered the second highest number of occupational injuries and illnesses involving time away from work at 87,000, followed by nursing aides and orderlies at 74,200 and construction laborers at 45,400. Additional information is available from "Lost-Worktime Injuries and Illnesses: Characteristics and Resulting Time Away From Work, 2000", news release USDL 02–196.
Industry productivity in 1990s
During the 1990–2000 period, labor productivity—as measured by output per hour—increased in 92 percent of the 170 industries studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Output rose in 85 percent of the industries, while hours of labor increased in only 46 percent of the industries.
Comparing the 1995–2000 period with the 1990–95 period, productivity growth rates increased in 97 of the 170 published industries. In 19 industries, annual output per hour grew at least 5.0 percentage points faster in 1995–2000 than in 1990–95. Another 33 industries posted annual productivity growth rates 2.0–4.9 percentage points above their 1990–95 rates. Learn more in "Productivity and Costs by Industry, 2000," news release USDL 02–237.
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