The American labor force grew rapidly from 1971 to 2005, a period that saw the entry of the post-World War II baby-boom generation into the labor force, an increase in the percentage of women working outside the home, and the addition of workers gained through immigration. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the number of workers in the American civilian noninstitutionalized lab…
Historically, the United States unemployment rate reached a post-World War II high of 9.7% in 1982. It remained high at 9.6% in 1983 as a result of the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The unemployment rate then dropped, approaching 5% in 1989, but again began increasing, reaching 6.8% in 1991 and rising to 7.5% in 1992. As the economy improved, the rate fell…
Education is an investment in skills, and like all investments, it involves both costs and returns. The cost to the student of finishing high school is quite low. However, the cost to the student of attending college is higher because it includes tuition, books, fees, and the earnings a student gives up either by not working at all during college or by working part-time. It is important to remembe…
Making informed career decisions requires reliable information about employment opportunities in the future. Job opportunities result from the relationships between the population, the labor force, and the demand for goods and services. Population ultimately limits the size of the labor force, which, in turn, drives how much can be produced. Demand for various goods and services determines employm…
While no longitudinal study has yet examined the entire working life of any group of Americans, which would be necessary to compile data that statistically document how many job changes may be expected during one's work life, many career counselors estimate that Americans typically change jobs as often as every eighteen months between the ages eighteen and thirty-five, while those over the …
Over the past century, federal, state, and local governments have created a body of laws, rules, and regulations to protect the rights of workers. These laws cover many aspects of work. A helpful source of information on the topic is Your Rights in the Workplace by Barbara Kate Repa (Nolo, 2005). The Family and Medical Leave Act, enacted in 1993, gives employees the right to take up to twelve week…
Starting or acquiring a business has long been considered an American dream. For many, this dream is a reality, whether it is a part-time venture with annual receipts of less than $25,000 or a corporate entity with receipts of millions of dollars per year. For the purpose of discussing the present and future of self-ownership business opportunities in the United States, the material in this chapte…
