The American Worker Past and Present JUNE 2024 The labor force Who is the American worker? 2 2 The US labor force is bigger than ever, at close to 170 million workers… Size of the civilian labor force The labor force includes people who are working or looking for work. [...] Average years of education of the labor force for those 25 years or older Source: American Community Survey and the Decennial Census 10 More than a third of prime-age workers have at least a bachelor’s degree, and the share is climbing. [...] Civilian labor force age composition 1980 share 2023 share Source: The Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement 15 Nearly one of out five people in the labor force is foreign-born… Share of the labor force that is foreign-born Source: American Community Survey and the Decennial Census 16 …and immigrants in the labor force are more likely to be college educated than in the. [...] The share of workers who are below the poverty line Source: The Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement 18 Compensation Paid more than ever—but progress has slowed 19 The typical worker is better paid than ever—but the path of real wage growth has been uneven. [...] Trends in the real hourly wage for men and women 2023 Dollars Median real wage - men Median real wage - women Source: Current Population Survey - Merged Outgoing Rotation Group Earnings Data 27 Despite the wage convergence of recent decades, women’s wages have yet to reach the level of men’s wages in 1980.
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Table of Contents
- The labor force 2
- Who is the American worker 2
- The US labor force is bigger than ever at close to 170 million workers 3
- The share of labor force participants in their prime working years is near its historical peak 5
- The growing share of married women in the labor force has led the rise in female participation. 7
- The improvement in female participation and the decline in male participation apply across race and ethnicity... 8
- The typical worker has never been better educated. 10
- More than a third of prime-age workers have at least a bachelors degree and the share is climbing. 11
- Another quarter of prime-age workers either have an associates degree or attended college but did not graduate 12
- The labor force is aging. The share of workers 65 continues to grow... 14
- Nearly one of out five people in the labor force is foreign-born 16
- Employment is a reliable safeguard against povertyeven before accounting for tax and transfer programs. 18
- Compensation 19
- Paid more than everbut progress has slowed 19
- The typical worker is better paid than everbut the path of real wage growth has been uneven. 20
- Zooming in on this recent period real wages have grown more slowly than during the postwar boom but they are far from stagnant. 23
- Roughly two-thirds of todays workers never experienced the earlier pre-1994 era of wage stagnation in their careers. 24
- Wage trends have followed different trajectories for men and women since 1980. 25
- Wages earned by women climbed by 13 percent from 1980 to 1993 while mens wages declined by 11 percent during the same period 26
- Real median hourly wage 1980 2023 Change 28
- 21.63 28
- 20.99 28
- Despite the wage convergence of recent decades womens wages have yet to reach the level of mens wages in 1980. 28
- Broader male-female wage trends hold true across racial and ethnic categories. 29
- Family income for workers is up 46 percent since 1980... 30
- The rise of services and the productivity slowdown 32
- Roughly five out of six workers are now in service industries rather than industries that make goods reflecting a long-term shift in the labor market. 33
- Since 1980 the manufacturing industrys share of total jobs represents the biggest decline 34
- Productivity growth has been slower in the last half century than it was in the postwar decades. 36
- What jobs are like now 37
- Safer more benefits fewer hours 37
- The average employee works 4.5 fewer hours today than in the past but the workweek stopped shrinking around 2000. 38
- Only a small share of part-time workers would rather be working full- time. Most have chosen to be part-time. 39
- Having more than one job is rarer than it was in the past. 40
- The share of workers who are self-employed as their primary source of income has remained stable since 2000. 41
- Since 1980 wages for the typical worker have climbed by more than the federal minimum wage 42
- One out of every 10 workers is a union member down by half since the 1980s. Public-sector membership is much higher. 44
- Workplaces have become much safer with rates of injury and illness collapsing for three decades. 45
- The share of all families in the US holding retirement accounts reached a record 54 percent in 2022. 46
- The higher a familys income the more likely to hold a retirement account. 47
- Paid vacation offered to the typical private-sector worker has grown by roughly 2 days in the past couple of decades. 48
- Nearly four out of five full-time workers in the private sector have access to paid sick leave the highest share on record 49
- The typical worker spends roughly four years with each employer slightly longer than in past decades 51
- How workers feel about their jobs 53
- Never better 53
- Earns better pay and benefits than ever before. 56
- Entered the labor force the era of stagnant 56
- Has seen significant gains in hourly wages and 56
- Enjoys overwhelming job satisfaction and job 56
- The pace of progress for wages and productivity 57
- The Great Recession and weak recovery diminished 57
- Prime-age men are experiencing a long-term 57
- Womens wages today have yet to catch up to 57
- The labor force is aging rapidly. 57
- Learn more eig.orgamerican-worker 58
- InnovateEconomy 58
