[Accessibility Information]
Welcome Current Issue Index How to Subscribe Archives
Monthly Labor Review Online

April  2003, Vol. 126, No.4

Labor month in review

ArrowThe April Review
ArrowFewer work stoppages in 2002 
ArrowTime lost to injuries in 2001
ArrowAdded value from associate degree


The April Review

Once upon a time, pensions were pretty simple to understand. Once you had worked for your company until their specified retirement age, they arranged for you to get a regular payment until you reached the end of your allotted years on earth. (Retirement income was always a more complicated issue: relatively few got company pensions at all, those pensions varied widely in generosity, and indexing was something librarians did.)

Allan P. Blostin’s report shows how much more complex the issue of retirement income benefits has become. In addition to the well-documented fact that retirement incomes are now far more likely to be from solely a defined contribution plan than from a traditional defined-benefit pension, the nature of the payout in defined benefit plans is changing. In 1997, less than one-fourth of participants in a defined benefit plan had a lump-sum option. In 2000, nearly half of workers with defined benefit plans had such a choice.

Jeff Chapman and Jared Bernstein outline the surprisingly small impact the growing share of the population that is foreign born has had on the rate of poverty. Chapman and Bernstein point out that in the race between the share effect of the increasing numbers of immigrants (immigrants, on average, are somewhat more likely to be poor) and the effect of their substantial income growth (again on average), there was something of a photo finish in favor of the income effect, at least on average for the Nation as a whole.

Umar Faruqui and several co-authors have updated us on the evolution of the productivity gap between the business sectors of Canada and the United States. In both economies, productivity began to pick up its pace of growth in the mid-1990s, and in both cases, according to this report, the gains reflected additional growth in productivity in services industries. However, productivity growth in Canada has remained slower than in the United States.

TopTop


Fewer work stoppages in 2002

During 2002, 46,000 workers were idled due to major work stoppages. This was a historic low for the series, which dates back to 1947. One work stoppage, beginning in 2002, accounted for 20 percent of all workers idled. This stoppage was between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, with 10,500 workers idled.

There were 19 major work stoppages that began in 2002. None of the remaining stoppages idled 5,000 or more workers. Of the major work stoppages beginning in 2002, the largest number (five) occurred in the manufacturing sector, followed by the construction sector (three) and the transportation and warehousing sector (three). In State and local government, two stoppages were in education services and one was in public administration. See news release USDL 03–100, "Major Work Stoppages in 2002," for more information. Major work stoppages are defined as strikes or lockouts that idle 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift.

TopTop


Time lost to injuries in 2001

Truckdrivers suffered more injuries and illnesses with days away from work in 2001 than workers in any other occupation.  Truckdrivers experienced 129,100 work-related injuries and illnesses that required recuperation away from work beyond the day of the incident. Nursing aides and orderlies suffered the second highest number of occupational injuries and illnesses involving time away from work at 71,000, followed by nonconstruction laborers at 68,900 and construction laborers at 44,100.

Floors and other surfaces, worker motion or position, containers, and parts and materials were the sources of 57.4 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses involving time away from work in 2001. Floors, walkways, and ground surfaces accounted for 17.2 percent of lost-worktime injuries and illnesses, and worker motion or position accounted for 16.0 percent. Containers were the source of 13.6 percent of the injuries and illnesses resulting in time away from work and parts and materials accounted for 10.6 percent.

TopTop


Added value from associate degree

Compared with workers whose highest level of educational attainment was a high school diploma, workers with an associate degree averaged an extra $128 a week in 2001. People with associate degrees also are more likely to find jobs: the unemployment rate in 2001 was less than 3 percent for associate degree holders, compared with more than 4 percent for high school graduates. And, according to several academic studies, advantages in the job market might be even greater for those just starting their careers and for those who work in a career related to their degree.

An associate degree is a college degree awarded after the completion of about 20 classes. It either prepares students for a career following graduation or allows them to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program. Associate degrees are available from public community colleges, private 2-year colleges, for-profit technical institutes, and many 4-year colleges and universities. More information can be found in "Associate degree: Two years to a career or a jump start to a bachelor’s degree," in Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Winter 2002–03.

TopTop


Communications regarding the Monthly Labor Review may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief by e-mail to mlr@bls.gov, by mail at 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2850, Washington, DC, 20212, or by fax to (202) 691–7890.


Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives

Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research Papers