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America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007
is presented
in two versions:
Full Text (PDF) - The full text version includes extensive discussion and
additional data and analysis beyond the basic charts presented.
Chart Book (PDF)
- The chart book version features larger format charts for easier
reading and summary text extracts related to each chart.
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America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007 presents an overview of current conditions and notable trends affecting the American labor market and economic activity. Primary emphasis is on measures of labor market performance – employment, labor force participation, unemployment, and compensation. General measures of economic performance such as gross domestic product (GDP) and productivity growth are also described as they relate to labor market conditions and trends.
Throughout this report the focus is on the data – what the numbers actually say about the American labor market – and on how individual data items fit together to present an overall portrait of the health and dynamism of the market.
The report shows that the American labor market is strong and resilient. Labor market indicators describe an economy that is creating jobs, expanding output, and rewarding work with good compensation. Since job growth began recovering in 2003 from the effects of the last recession, the economy has tallied 46 consecutive months of job gains (through June 2007, the latest data available for this report). Employment has reached record heights.
The report also recognizes that, even as our economy grows steadily, there are challenges. The United States and the world are experiencing a major economic transformation.
Technology has accelerated the pace of change, and the United States is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.
The American economy is creating good jobs. The majority of employment growth over the past six years was in occupations with above-average compensation (wages plus benefits). This trend is likely to continue in the future, and most new jobs projected for the future are expected to be filled by persons with some kind of post-secondary education. Education to gain the knowledge and skills that are in demand is the key to success in America’s dynamic labor market.
Workers who bring to the labor market the knowledge and skills that today’s competitive economy demands are finding good jobs and rising compensation.
There are six chapters:
- Chapter 1 summarizes the current levels and trends of payroll jobs, total employment, job openings, turnover, unemployment, and GDP. 2006 was a good year for American workers, and the first half of 2007 continued the growth trend. In 2006, job growth resulted in 2.3 million net new jobs, and the unemployment rate averaged 4.6 percent over the year. The pace of job growth in the first half of 2007 suggests that we are moving into a steady and sustainable economic path. With the unemployment rate holding steady at around 4.5 percent in the first half of 2007, the labor market outlook is favorable for those seeking to enter or re-enter the labor market.
- Chapter 2 presents an overview of recent trends in labor productivity and worker compensation. Over the last two decades the capital-labor ratio and educational attainment of workers have increased, helping make American workers more productive. Greater productivity gains have translated into greater compensation gains. Today’s workers earn the fruits of their labor in different forms, as benefits are both significant and increasingly diverse.
- Chapter 3 provides a global context for understanding the U.S. labor market and compares the United States and other countries along common dimensions of labor market indicators. The successful record of the United States across a broad range of indicators and over an extended time period is remarkable for a mature industrial economy. The fact that the United States has achieved these results in the face of growing worldwide competition and other challenges, both natural and man-made, is a further testament to the robustness and resilience of an economic system based on free and open markets.
- Chapter 4 examines the educational attainment of the labor force, including trends and comparisons of employment, earnings, and unemployment relative to educational attainment. The 103.1 million Americans ages 25 and older in March 2006 who had completed some post-secondary education comprised a valuable national asset of knowledge, skill, and experience. The 21st century labor market seeks and rewards workers who can offer the educational foundation, technical skills and creative flexibility that employers need to compete and to adapt to changing needs successfully.
- Chapter 5 examines the dynamic features of the labor force in terms of job tenure, work schedules, work arrangements, and factors outside of work. Workers are taking advantage of new opportunities and move relatively quickly from one job to another. Flexibility is a hallmark of the American labor market, which places a high value on the freedom to choose one’s work and the terms of employment. Flexible work schedules allow workers to do more outside of work, whether it is taking care of household responsibilities, volunteering, or pursuing more education.
- Chapter 6 highlights two trends that will significantly affect the shape of the labor force through the first half of the 21st century: an aging population and increasing racial and ethnic diversity. The aging of the population will lead to an aging of the labor force and slower labor force growth. Workers in the future will have to support a relatively greater dependent population as the baby boomer generation enters retirement. Between 2006 and 2050, the labor force will increase from 151.4 million to over 195 million, with racial and ethnic minorities comprising an increasing share of the labor force.
Data is presented through June 2007 and reflects updates and revisions published through July 31, 2007. Subsequent updates or revisions may occur that are not reflected in this report.
America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007 is presented in two versions:
The full text version, America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007 – Full Text Version, includes discussion and additional data and analysis beyond the basic charts presented.
The chart book version, America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007 – Chartbook, features larger format charts for easier reading and summary text related to each chart.
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