Labor month in review
The
March Review
Labor productivity gains in 2002, 2003
Fewer mass layoffs in 2003
Juggling work and school
Multifactor productivity in manufacturing, 2001
The annual Bureau of Labor Statistics review of labor market developments leads off this issue. As authors Rachel Krantz, Marisa DiNatale, and Thomas J. Krolik chronicle, the first parts of the year were negatively affected by the drawn-out effects of the burst technology bubble, the ensuing recession, related State and local government budget problems, and continued intense competition in a wide variety of product markets. Set against this were generally more favorable conditions in interest-rate sensitive industries such as construction, housing, and related financing institutions.
The study guide version: After rising throughout the first half of 2003, the unemployment rate, by the end of the year, had returned to where it had been in the fourth quarter of 2002. On the employment side, job losses continued to occur in the first three quarters of the year before a small gain was recorded in the final canto.
Stephen M. Pegula reports on work-related fatalities recorded by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Although the self-employed made up about one-tenth of the total employed in the private sector, they accounted for a little over one-fifth of those fatally injured on the job.
Al-Amin Ussif studied workplace injuries in several advanced industrialized economies. In general, according to a simple econometric model, injury rates are trending down in these countries, but are positively correlated with their employment-to-population ratios. Thus, Ussif concludes that economic recovery and expansion are associated with upward pressure on injury counts.
Labor productivity gains in 2002, 2003
Productivity in the nonfarm business sector, as measured by output per hour, rose 4.2 percent in the nonfarm business sector during 2003, reflecting a 3.7-percent rise in output and a 0.5-percent decline in hours. During 2002, productivity had increased 4.9 percent in nonfarm business, as output rose 2.3 percent and hours of all persons fell 2.5 percent. The 2002 productivity increase was the largest since 1950, when productivity rose 6.6 percent.
When the productivity increases for 2002 and 2003 are combined, productivity for the 2001� period rose 4.5 percent in nonfarm businesses. The last comparable 2-year rise occurred over the 1949� period, when productivity increased at a 4.6- percent annual rate, incorporating rises of 6.6 percent in 1950 and 2.7 percent in 1951. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Fourth-Quarter 2003 (Preliminary)," news release USDL 04�9.
During 2003, there were 18,963 mass layoff events, resulting in 1,888,926 initial claims for unemployment insurance. In 2002, there were 20,277 events and 2,245,051 claims. For the second consecutive year, over-the-year decreases in mass-layoff initial claims occurred in each of the four broad regions. The largest decreases in initial claims were in the West and South. California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (�8,537), followed by Texas (�,208), and South Carolina (�,005). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in New York (+8,005) and Georgia (+7,121).
Working while in school was common among high school and college students during the 2000� school year. Employment rates rose from 77 percent for those who were age 17 at the start of the 2000� school year to 84 percent for those age 19. The vast majority of enrolled youths who worked between the start of the 2000� school year and the start of the next school year worked during the school year. Only a small percentage of youths worked exclusively during the summer.
Differences in employment among enrolled youths were apparent by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Non-Hispanic whites were more likely to be employed at all ages. Non-Hispanic white youths were more likely to combine schooling and employment than their non-Hispanic black or Hispanic counterparts. To learn more, see "Employment of Teenagers during the School Year and Summer," news release USDL 04�7.
Multifactor productivity in manufacturing, 2001
Multifactor productivity梞easured as output per unit of combined inputs梖ell by 0.8 percent in manufacturing in 2001. The decline was the first in 10 years. The decline in multifactor productivity was the result of a 4.5-percent decline in manufacturing output and a 3.7-percent decrease in combined inputs. Capital services posted a 1.5-percent advance in 2001. In contrast, hours fell 5.6 percent. On average, multifactor productivity in manufacturing has grown 1.2 percent annually from 1949 to 2001.
Multifactor productivity is designed to measure the joint influences on economic growth of technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other factors. Multifactor productivity, therefore, differs from the labor productivity (output per hour) measures that are published quarterly by BLS since it requires information on capital services and other data that are not available on a quarterly basis. Additional information is available in "Multifactor Productivity Trends in Manufacturing, 2001," news release USDL 04�8.
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
