The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary. By 1893, more than half the states were observing a “Labor Day” on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

Who Are We Celebrating?
147.9 million
Number of people age 16 or older in the nation’s labor force in July 2004. Among the nation’s workers are 79.2 million men and 68.7 million women. These men and women represent 66 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population. <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf>

Employee Benefits
75%
Percentage of full-time workers ages 18 to 64 with employment-based health insurance coverage during all or part of 2002. For part-time workers, the corresponding percentage was 57 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/health_care_insurance/ 001372.html>

79%
Percentage of workers in private industry who receive a paid vacation as one of their employment benefits. In addition –

• 79 percent of workers receive paid holidays.
• 18 percent have access to employer assistance for child care.
• fewer than 10 percent have access to subsidies for commuting, telework   opportunities and adoption assistance.
• 11 percent have access to long-term care insurance.
(From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004.)

Another Day, Another Dollar
$39,429 and $30,203
The annual median earnings, respectively, for male and female full-time, year-round workers in 2002. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/001371.html>

$1,480
Average weekly wage in New York County, N.Y., the highest among the nation’s 315 largest counties. Collier County, Fla., led the nation in growth of average weekly wages over the fourth quarter 2002-2003 period, with an increase of 9.7 percent. <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewqtr.pdf>

$120,000
Median annual earnings in 1999 for physicians and surgeons who work year-round, full-time. Doctors are among the top-earning professions. Among occupations at the other end of the spectrum are dishwashers at $13,000. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001833.html>

Our Jobs
Americans work in a wide variety of occupations. Here is a listing of the 10 most common ones, according to the latest census:

Occupations	Number of employees
Secretaries and administrative assistants	3.9 million
Retail salespersons	3.6 million
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	3.3 million
Elementary and middle school teachers	3.1 million
Cashiers	3.1 million
First line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers	2.8 million
Registered nurses	2.3 million
Customer service representatives	2.1 million
Janitors and building cleaners	2.0 million
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (by hand)	2.0 million

Note: Because of sampling error, the point estimates in this chart may not be significantly different from estimates for other occupations not listed.
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/eeoindex/page_c.html>

7.3 million
Number of workers who hold down more than one job. So-called moonlighters comprise 5 percent of the working population. Of these moonlighters, 3.8 million work full-time at their primary job and part-time at their other job and about 300,000 work full-time at both jobs.
(From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004.)

10.3 million
Number of self-employed workers.
(From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004.)

20.1 million
Number of female workers in education, health and social services industries. More women work in this industry group than in any other. Manufacturing was the most popular industry among men, with 11.8 million workers. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_lang=en&_ts=98617243523>

28%
Percentage of workers 16 or older who work more than 40 hours a week. Eight percent work 60 or more hours a week.
(From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004.)

15.8 million
Number of labor union members nationwide. About 13 percent of wage and salary workers belong to unions, with New York having among the highest rates of any state at 25 percent. North Carolina has one of the lowest rates, 3 percent.
(From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004.)

3.7
Median amount of time, in years, that workers have been employed by their current employer. Ten percent have worked for their current employer for 20 or more years.
See Table 610 at <http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-03.html>

39,700
Number of jobs added in Clark County (Las Vegas), Nev., between December 2002 and December 2003, the highest of the nation’s 315 largest counties. Among these counties, Clark, Nev., and Loudoun, Va., experienced the highest rate of job growth, 5.2 percent. <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewqtr.pdf>

Early, Lonely and Long: the Journey to Work
25.4 million
Number of commuters who leave for work between midnight and 6:29 a.m. These
early birds represent 20 percent of all workers and were, by the time of day they left home, the fastest-growing group of commuters between 1990 and 2000.<http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet_program=ACS&_lang=en&_ts=107345127192> and <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001715.html>

77%
Percentage of workers who drive alone to work. Another 10 percent carpool, 5 percent use public transportation and 2 percent walk. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/001701.html>

24.4 minutes
The average time it takes to commute to work. New York City residents spend an average of 38.4 minutes getting to work each day — the equivalent of one full week per year. “Big Apple” residents endure the longest commute time of any city with a population of 250,000 or more. Nationally, the daily commute takes an hour or more for 7 percent of workers. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/001695.html> and <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet_program=ACS&_lang=en&_ts=107345127192>