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Who has benefits in private industry in 2012?
Who has benefits in private industry in 2012?
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Health, retirement, and paid leave benefits made up more than three-fifths of private industry employer-provided benefit costs in June 2012.1 Although employers in most states are not required to offer these benefits, they often make some form of each major benefit type available to their employees, especially to full-time and high-wage workers. For example, paid holidays are offered to 77 percent of private industry workers overall and about 90 percent of full-time and high-wage workers. Medical care and retirement benefit availability show similar patterns.
This issue of Beyond the Numbers provides an overview of benefits for private industry workers, focusing on access to and participation in retirement, medical care, and paid leave benefits by various worker and establishment characteristics. The estimates of private industry benefit access, participation, and share of medical care premiums in this issue are from the “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States—March 2012,” available online at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/sp/ebnr0018.pdf.
A glossary of terms used in this issue is at the end of the article.
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2011
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
A preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2011, down from a final count of 4,690 fatal work injuries in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2011 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, as compared to a final rate of 3.6 per 100,000 for 2010.
Over the last 3 years, increases in the published counts based on additional information have averaged 166 fatalities per year or about 3 percent of the revised total. Final 2011 data from the CFOI program will be released in Spring 2013.
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week. The celebration expanded in 1988 to span a month-long period beginning on September 15 and ending on October 15. The independence anniversaries of Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua all occur during this time period.
National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the cultures, histories, and accomplishments of Americans of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. Across the United States, many communities, businesses, and schools take time to recognize and honor this heritage.
The U.S. Hispanic or Latino population exceeded 50 million in 2010, constituting more than 16 percent of the total U.S. population. In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
The Employment Situation — August 2012
The Employment Situation — August 2012
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 96,000 in August, and the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in food services and drinking places, in professional and technical services, and in health care.
Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2011
Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2011 (PDF)
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
In 2011, the unemployment rate for the United States averaged 8.9 percent, but varied across race and ethnicity groups. The rates were highest for Blacks (15.8 percent) and for American Indians and Alaska Natives (14.6 percent) and lowest for Whites (7.9 percent) and for Asians (7.0 percent). The jobless rate was 13.6 percent for persons of two or more races, 11.5 percent for Hispanics, and 10.4 percent for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders.
Differences in labor force characteristics emerge when the race and ethnicity groups are compared. These differences reflect a variety of factors, not all of which are measurable. These factors include variations across the groups in educational attainment; the occupations and industries in which the groups work; the geographic areas of the country in which the groups are concentrated, including whether they tend to reside in urban or rural settings; and the degree of discrimination encountered in the workplace.
This report describes the labor force characteristics and earnings patterns among the major race and ethnicity groups—Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics—and provides more detailed data through a set of supporting tables. These data are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of 60,000 households that is a rich source of information on the labor force.
Consumer Price Index data quality: how accurate is the U.S. CPI?
Consumer Price Index data quality: how accurate is the U.S. CPI?
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an estimate of the average change in prices over time paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services in the United States. The CPI is used extensively in many different ways, including three major uses: to adjust historical data, to escalate federal payments and tax brackets, and to adjust rents and wages. It directly affects the lives of Americans, so it must be as accurate as possible. But how accurate is it? If, for example, the CPI measures annual inflation as 2.3 percent, how confident can we be in that estimate?
This issue of Beyond the Numbers looks at some different ways the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has responded to questions about the accuracy and precision of the CPI. The first section examines the sampling error of the CPI, and the second section discusses possible sources of bias in the index.
How parents use time and money
How parents use time and money
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The time pressures faced by working wives have led economists to predict that market goods and services would be substituted for those produced at home. Earlier research using Consumer Expenditure data found that a wife’s employment status (full time, part time, or not employed) had some influence on her family’s purchases of market goods and services, but other factors, such as family income and the wife’s education, were more influential.
Current Population Survey data show that, among married-couple families with children under 18 in 2009, both the wife and the husband worked for pay in 58.9 percent of these families.
This article examines weekday resource allocation decisions of married couples with a husband employed full time and with children under 18. These decisions relate, among other things, to working for pay; doing unpaid household work; purchasing services such as childcare, laundry and drycleaning, and food away from home; and eating out. Information about spending decisions was obtained from the 2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) and information about time use was obtained from the 2009 American Time Use Survey (ATUS).
Results show that,
- Regardless of employment status, wives were more likely than husbands to spend time in household activities.
- On an average weekday, married fathers spent more time working than married mothers did, even married mothers employed full time.
- The proportion of families reporting childcare expenses and the average amount spent by those reporting were highest for families with full-time working wives and lowest for families with wives not employed for pay.
- Consistent with other research, working-wife families did not spend more on housekeeping and laundry services than did families with wives not employed for pay.
- Families with full-time working wives spent the greatest dollar amount on food away from home, but there was no significant difference in spending between families with part-time working wives and families with wives not employed for pay.
Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — Summer 2012
Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — Summer 2012
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From April to July 2012, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old rose 2.1 million to 19.5 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This year, the share of young people employed in July was 50.2 percent. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) Unemployment among youth increased by 836,000 from April to July 2012, compared with an increase of 745,000 for the same period in 2011. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Worker Displacement: 2009 — 2011
Worker Displacement: 2009 — 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From January 2009 through December 2011, 6.1 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was down from 6.9 million for the survey period covering January 2007 to December 2009. In January 2012, 56 percent of workers displaced from 2009-11 were reemployed, up by 7 percentage points from the prior survey in January 2010.
Atlanta’s thriving air transportation industry: employment and wages, 1990–2010
Atlanta’s thriving air transportation industry: employment and wages, 1990–2010
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Air transportation1 is a popular form of travel in the United States and a thriving industry in the Atlanta metropolitan area, primarily Fulton County. Fulton County’s employment concentration for air transportation is higher than any other industry, and pays higher wages than the Fulton County average for all private industry. A major reason for the prominence of air transportation within Fulton County is that it houses the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Overall, the airport serves more than 150 domestic destinations and 80 international destinations in 52 countries,2 along with being the state of Georgia’s largest employer. It has been the world’s busiest passenger airport3 since 1998 and the world’s busiest operations airport4since 2005. The local air transportation industry has faced several significant challenges over a recent 20-year period (1990–2010) including the interplay of rising fuel costs, the 9/11 attacks, and fewer passengers due to three economic recessions. These events have contributed to numerous airline bankruptcies and consolidations, which have reshaped the industry. Meanwhile, airport improvements at Hartsfield-Jackson have greatly improved efficiency.
This issue of Beyond the Numbers uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) for the air transportation industry to compare employment in Fulton County, Georgia, (Hartsfield-Jackson Airport), with employment in Cook County, Illinois,5 (O’Hare International Airport), and Los Angeles County, California, (Los Angeles International Airport). After Fulton County, Cook and Los Angeles Counties housed the next busiest airports in the United States. This article compares total passengers and aircraft operations among the busiest airports in the United States using data from Airports Council International.6
Facts of the catch: occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities to fishing workers, 2003–2009
Facts of the catch: occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities to fishing workers, 2003–2009
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Fishers and related fishing workers1 deal with a set of working conditions unique among all other occupations. This occupation is characterized by strenuous work, long hours, seasonal employment, and some of the most hazardous conditions in the workforce.2 These workers are often at sea for weeks or months at a time, sometimes having to stand on deck, fishing for long periods with little or no sleep. They are constantly being tossed around by wind and rough seas, with water in their face and under their feet, which adds an element of balance to the skills needed to do their job safely. Weather does not stop production, and given that these workers do not work in a factory or office building, it increases the unpredictability of their working conditions. Access to on-site medical care for these workers is limited to the knowledge of those on the boat with them or the response of the Coast Guard.
Thanks to television shows such as Deadliest Catch, Lobstermen, Swords, Rajin Cajuns, Hook Line and Sisters, Wicked Tuna, Big Shrimpin’, and Toughest Tribes,3 viewers can see the hazards these workers face first hand. But what do the numbers show? Fishers and related fishing workers have had the highest fatal injury rate of any occupation since 2005. Their rate of fatal injury in 2009 was 203.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, more than 50 times the all-worker rate of 3.5. From 2003 to 2009, an average of 48 fishers and related fishing workers died each year as a result of an injury incurred on the job.
There were approximately 31,000 people employed as fishers and related fishing workers in 2009.4 This issue of Beyond the Numbers looks at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program on fishers and related fishing workers for the period from 2003 to 2009.Although this report focuses primarily on fatal injuries among workers in this occupation, for context, it begins with some information on the nonfatal injuries and illnesses experienced by these workers. This is followed by a detailed description of what the data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) show about fatal injuries to fishers and related fishing workers during the 2003–2009 period. The final section gives an overview of the fatal injuries that occurred among a subset of the fishers and related fishing workers in the private shellfish fishing industry, including crab fishing, lobster fishing, and shrimp fishing, in order to provide more insight into the special hazards these workers endure.
Employment Situation (8/3/12)
Employment Situation (8/3/12)
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 163,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 8.3 percent. Employment rose in professional and business services, food services and drinking places, and manufacturing.
An overview of U.S. occupational employment and wages in 2011
An overview of U.S. occupational employment and wages in 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
A substantial share of U.S. employment in May 2011 was concentrated in a relatively small number of occupations. Just 10 occupations made up more than 20 percent of total employment, and the 20 largest occupations made up nearly one-third of employment—more than 41 million jobs. Most of these large occupations had below-average wages, as did most of the occupations with the highest job gains and losses between May 2007 and May 2011. Growth in the healthcare industry helped to shape employment gains in individual occupations, while construction and production occupations were concentrated in shrinking industries. Although the overall occupational structure of the U.S. economy generally reflected that of the private sector, education and protective service occupations were more prevalent in the public sector, particularly in local government.
This issue of Beyond the Numbers uses data from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program to provide an overview of U.S. occupational employment and wages in May 2011. The first section presents employment and wage data for wage and salary workers in the largest U.S. occupations and selected occupational groups. The subsequent sections highlight occupations with the highest job gains and losses between May 2007 and May 2011, occupations prevalent in growing and shrinking industries, and occupational employment comparisons between the public and private sector.
Persons born in the latter years of the baby boom held 11.3 jobs from ages 18 to 46
Persons born in the latter years of the baby boom held 11.3 jobs from ages 18 to 46
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The average person born in the latter years of the baby boom (1957-1964) held 11.3 jobs from age 18 to age 46, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly half of these jobs were held from ages 18 to 24.
These findings are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979; a survey of 9,964 men and women who were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979 and ages 45 to 53 when interviewed most recently in 2010-11. These respondents were born in the years 1957 to 1964, the latter years of the "baby boom" that occurred in the United States from 1946 to 1964. The survey spans more than 3 decades and provides information on work and nonwork experiences, education, training, income and assets, health, and other characteristics. The information provided by respondents, who were interviewed annually from 1979 to 1994 and biennially since 1994, can be considered representative of all men and women born in the late 1950s and early 1960s and living in the United States when the survey began in 1979.
Occupational Outlook Quarterly — Summer 2012
Occupational Outlook Quarterly — Summer 2012
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
More than play: Three careers in sports
Dennis Vilorio
Snippet
PDF (922K)
Electric vehicle careers: On the road to change
James Hamilton
High wages after high school—without a bachelor’s degree
Elka Torpey
My career: Manager
Brief items of interest to counselors and students.
You’re a what? Tower technician
Dennis Vilorio
Monthly Labor Review — June 2012
Monthly Labor Review — June 2012
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Time use of youths by immigrant and native-born parents: ATUS results
Yelizavetta Kofman and Suzanne M. Bianchi
Summary | Full text in PDFWhich industries are shifting the Beveridge curve?
Regis Barnichon, Michael Elsby, Bart Hobijn, and Aysegül Sahin
Summary | Full text in PDFThe hard truth about telecommuting
Mary C. Noonan and Jennifer L. Glass
Summary | Full text in PDFIndustry shifts in hours and nonfatal work injuries and illnesses, 2003–2008
Alexander Measure
Summary | Full text in PDF
Green Technologies and Practices — August 2011
Green Technologies and Practices — August 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
About three-quarters of business establishments reported the use of at least one green technology or practice during August 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Green technologies and practices (GTP) are those that lessen the environmental impact of an establishment’s operations. About 854,700 jobs, representing approximately 0.7 percent of total U.S. employment, were held by workers who spent more than half of their time involved in green technologies and practices in August 2011. Over one-quarter of these GTP jobs were in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations or in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.a
How have health benefits changed in state and local governments from 1998 to 2011?
How have health benefits changed in state and local governments from 1998 to 2011?
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Health insurance coverage for state and local government employees has undergone significant changes over the past decade. Although state and local governments still provide comprehensive coverage to most employees, the total percentage of employees who are covered by insurance has declined. In addition, a higher proportion of health care costs have shifted to employees, and a larger percentage of employees are now enrolled in contributory plans that require employees to pay premiums. Coverage for benefits has also changed; more employees have restricted health plans or plans with limited coverage, requiring them to pay deductibles or coinsurance.
This issue of Beyond the Numbers looks at changes in health care plan participant provisions for state and local government employees in 1998 and 2011. Detailed provisions on state and local government benefits are collected periodically in the National Compensation Survey (NCS).1 Data for 2011 are now available in the NCS; this is the first detailed study of government benefits since 1998.2 Estimates of 2011 state and local government benefit provisions in this issue are from “National Compensation Survey: Health Plan Provisions in State and Local Government in the United States, 2011,” available online athttp://www.bls.gov/ebs/detailedprovisions/2011/ebbl0049.pdf. Estimates of 1998 state and local government benefit provisions in this issue are from “Employee Benefits in State and Local Governments, 1998,” available online at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/sp/ebbl0018.pdf. Estimates of 2011 benefit provisions in this issue are from “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2011,” available online at http://www.bls.gov/ebs/benefits/2011/ebbl0048.pdf.
See the Glossary for definitions of the terms used in this issue.
American Time Use Survey — 2011 Results
American Time Use Survey — 2011 Results
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
In 2011, 16 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population age 15 and over were eldercare providers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This and other information about eldercare providers and the time they spent providing care were collected for the first time in the 2011 American Time Use Survey (ATUS). This release also includes the average amount of time per day in 2011 that individuals spent in various activities, such as working, household activities, childcare, and leisure and sports activities. For a further description of ATUS data, concepts, and methodology, see the Technical Note.
Spotlight on Statistics: Fashion
Spotlight on Statistics: Fashion
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Throughout history, fashion has greatly influenced the “fabric” of societies all over the world. What people wear often characterizes who they are and what they do for a living. As Mark Twain once wrote, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
The fashion industry is a global industry, where fashion designers, manufacturers, merchandisers, and retailers from all over the world collaborate to design, manufacture, and sell clothing, shoes, and accessories. The industry is characterized by short product life cycles, erratic consumer demand, an abundance of product variety, and complex supply chains.
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the fashion industry’s supply chain—including import and producer prices, employment in the apparel manufacturing and fashion-related wholesale and retail trade industries, labor productivity in the manufacturing sector and in selected textile and apparel industries, and consumer prices and expenditures on apparel-related items.
