Labor Day Facts and History
On Sept. 5, 1882, Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary, organized a parade of about 10,000 workers who marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. That day has been historically accepted as the first observance of LaborDay. McGuire is now commonly known as the “father” of Labor Day.
By 1893, more than half the states were observing “Labor Day” on one day or another. In 1894, Congress passed a bill to establish a federal holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.
Some interesting Labor Day facts, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau:
153.2 million: The number of people, 16 and older, who makes up the nation’s labor force as of July 2011.
5.9 million: The number of people who work from home.
84.7%: The percentage of full-time workers 18 to 64 covered by health insurance during all or part of 2009.
26.2 million: The number of female workers 16 and older in management, professional and related occupations. Among male workers, 16 and older, 24.0 million were employed in management, professional and related occupations.
0.9%: The percentage change in employment in the United States between December 2009 and December 2010. Employment increased in 220 of the 326 largest counties (large counties are defined as having employment levels of 75,000 or more).
$47,127 and $36,278: The 2009 real median earnings for male and female full-time, year-round workers, respectively.
53%: The projected percentage growth from 2008 to 2018 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 (581,500).
16.5 million: The number of commuters who leave for work between midnight and 5:59 a.m. They represent 12.4 percent of all commuters.
76.1%: The percentage of workers who drive alone to work. Another 10.0 percent carpool and 5.0 percent take public transportation (excluding taxicabs).
25.1 minutes: The average time it takes people in the nation to commute to work. New York and Maryland had the most time-consuming commutes, averaging 31.4 and 31.3 minutes. (They are not significantly different from each another.)
3.2 million: The number of workers who face extreme commutes to work of 90 or more minutes each day.
