Labor Day 2010: Sept. 6

The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade of 10,000 workers on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, 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 Congress passed a bill to establish a federal holiday in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

Thursday 13.

1. 154.4 million Number of people 16 and older in the nation’s labor force in May 2010.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf>

2. 78% Percentage of workers in private industry who receive a paid vacation as one of their employment benefits.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010 Table 640 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

3. Our Jobs

Americans work in a variety of occupations. Here is a sampling:

Occupation	Number of employees
Teachers	7.2 million
Chief executives	1.7 million
Janitors and building cleaners	2.1 million
Computer software engineers	1.0 million
Aerospace engineers	137,000
Electricians	874,000
Registered nurses	2.8 million
Social workers	729,000
Clergy	441,000
Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists	773,000
Chefs and head cooks	351,000
Customer service representatives	1.9 million
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	373,000
Firefighters	293,000
Roofers	234,000
Pharmacists	243,000
Machinists	409,000
Musicians, singers and related workers	186,000
Artists and related workers	213,000
Gaming services workers (gambling)	111,000
Tax preparers	105,000
Service station attendants	87,000
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers	751,000
Farmers and ranchers	751,000

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 640 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

53% Projected percentage growth from 2006 to 2016 in the number of network systems and data communication analysts. Forecasters expect this occupation to grow at a faster rate than any other. Meanwhile, the occupation expected to add more positions over this period than any other is registered nurses (587,000).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 605 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

4. 7.6 million Number of workers who hold down more than one job. So-called moonlighters comprise 5 percent of the working population. Of these, 4 million work full time at their primary job and part time at their other job.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 596 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

5. 10.1 million Number of self-employed workers.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 592 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

6. 26.4 million Number of female workers 16 and older in management, professional and related occupations. Among male workers 16 and older, 24.7 million were employed in management, professional and related occupations.

Source: 2008 American Community Survey <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/index.htm>

7. 27% Percentage of workers 16 and older who work more than 40 hours a week. About 7 percent work 60 or more hours a week.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 589 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

8. 16.1 million  Number of labor union members nationwide. About 12 percent of wage and salary workers belong to unions, with Alaska, Hawaii and New York having among the highest rates of any state. North Carolina has one of the lowest rates, 3 percent.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010, Table 650 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>

9. -5.3% Percentage decline in employment in the United States, between September 2008 and September 2009. Employment declined in 329 of the 334 largest counties (large counties are defined as having employment levels of 75,000 or more).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewqtr.pdf>

10. -14.5% Percentage decline in Elkhart County, Ind., between September 2008 and September 2009, the largest decline in employment among the 334 largest counties. Los Angles County saw the largest numerical loss over the period: 278,000.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewqtr.pdf>

11.  5.9 million The number of people who work at home.

Source: 2008 American Community Survey <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/index.htm>

12. $46,367 and $35,745 The 2008 real median earnings for male and female full-time, year-round workers, respectively.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008
<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb09-141.html>

13. According to AAA, - The most popular destinations for motorists this Labor Day weekend are Atlanta, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Asheville, Raleigh, Savannah and Washington D.C., according to AAA Vacations, which tracks hotel bookings and TripTik routings. Gas prices have fallen across the state in August helping lead AAA Carolinas to forecast an 7.7 percent increase in Labor Day travel.

An estimated 32,000 more motorists are expected to vacation more than 50 miles from home this holiday than last year.

WAY COOL! Hurricane Earl From Space!

This was posted on NASA’s Site

Photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station, this is an oblique view that shows the eye (just left of center) of Hurricane Earl (at this time a category 4 but later downgraded to a category 3), centered just north of the Virgin Islands near 19.3 north latitude and 64.7 west longitude packing 115-kilometer winds. A Russian Soyuz vehicle is docked to the station (foreground). The photo was taken with a digital still camera using a 55mm lens.

………..

Thursday Thunks: At the Zoo
The TT questions are brought to you by Bud, the color of my neighbor’s wife’s eyes and the number 33,333.

1. Would you rather have a pet hippo or a pet elephant?
I’ll just stick with my pit bull thanks.

2. Why do you think bananas are shaped the way they are?
Ask Thom.

3. In one word (OK, you can go three to four MAX) , what do most people describe you as? Ruler of the Blogoverse.

4. Choice (stupid but a choice…): Loss of vision, ability to speak or hearing – which do you choose? (you have to choose one….) It’s like a law. But we can’t make you.
Apparently, I’ve already got the crappy vision thing going on.

5. Do you like lemons? Do you use them to clean with or just as a food source? Or are you saving them up for 2012?
I love lemons. I’m drinking lemonade with a lemon in it right now.
6. When you are feeling icky with that sickness feeling, what is your first choice for feel-better medicine?Nothing cause I’d just throw it up.

7. You are starving. You have not had anything to eat for days. In front of you is poison ivy, a live hissing cockroach, and a rotten stinky piece of some sort of mystery meat to eat. Which would you pick and why? Starving.

8. Who was the last person you bought a present for? What was it? Will you buy Berleen one? I bought my dog a squeaky toy at the dollar store.

9. Name 3 things you want your kids to learn before they grow up. (If you don’t have kids, feel free to explain to the other players why you chose the “no kids“ choice. Yea. I know. (Those who have children will NEVER get it. And no, don‘t explain it…) Well this sucks. My kids are grown up and they are now freeloaders.

10. What was your favorite toy as a child? What happened to it?
Gumby. He ran off with Pokey.
That or the dog are him.

11. If you could paint your house ANY color you wanted and your friends, family & neighbors would love the color from the moment they saw it, what would it be? It would be pretty hard to paint brick and aluminum.

12. If the Pillsbury Dough Boy got into a fight with Mrs. Butterworth who would win? And would anybody get hurt? And do we seem desperate even asking? It all depends on what is falling out of the tall building and who is on the ground waiting to get hit or not hit.

13. What was the last thing you would guess that Kimber took a picture of? Bud’s twins.

Tagged as: hurricane earl, labor day 2010