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Labor Day Observances Date to 1882
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The efforts of nearly 148 million people will be commemorated on this year's observance Sept. 6 of Labor Day, according to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably 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 a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day. As of July, the Census Bureau estimates the nation's labor force at 147.9 million workers age 16 or older. Among the nation's workers are 79.2 million men and 68.7 million women. These men and women represent 66% of the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population. are 20.1 million female workers in the education, health and social services industries; more women work in this industry group than any other. Manufacturing was the most popular industry among men, with 11.8 million workers. The median amount of time that workers have been employed by their current employer is 3.7 years, and 10% have worked for their current employer for 20 or more years.According to the most recent census, 3.9 million citizens work as secretaries and administrative assistants. The other nine most common occupations include: retail salespersons, 3.6 million; driver/sales workers and truck drivers, 3.3 million; elementary and middle school teachers, 3.1 million; cashiers, 3.1 million; first-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers, 2.8 million; registered nurses, 2.3 million; customer service representatives, 2.1 million; janitors and building cleaners, 2.0 million; and laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (by hand), 2.0 million.According to the data, the gender gap remains in the work place. Annual median earnings for full-time, year-round male and female workers were $39,429 and $30,203, respectively. The average weekly wage in New York County, N.Y., was $1,480, the highest among the nation's 315 largest counties. Collier County, Fla., led the nation in growth of average weekly wages over the fourth quarter 2002-2003 period, with an increase of 9.7%.Doctors are among the top-earning professions. Median annual earnings in 1999 for physicians and surgeons who work year-round, full-time were reported at $120,000. Among occupations at the other end of the spectrum are dishwashers at $13,000.Of full-time workers ages 18 to 64, 75% had employment-based health insurance coverage during all or part of 2002, with 57% of part-time workers covered by such coverage. Nearly four in five -- 79% -- receive a paid vacation as one of their employee benefits, and a like percentage receive paid holidays. In addition, 18% have access to employer assistance for child care, 11% have access to long-term care insurance, and fewer than 10% have access to subsidies for commuting, telework opportunities and adoption assistance. So-called moonlighters comprise 5% of the working population, with 7.3 million holding down more than one job. Of these moonlighters, 3.8 million work full time at their primary job and part time at their other job, and about 300,000 work full time at both jobs. More than a quarter of workers age 16 and older -- 28% -- works more than 40 hours a week, and 8% work 60 or more hours a week.Labor union members nationwide totaled 15.8 million, and about 13% of wage and salary workers belong to unions, with New York having among the highest rates of any state at 25%. North Carolina has one of the lowest rates, 3%. The number of self-employed workers was 10.3 millionOf the nation's largest 315 counties, Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, saw the greatest jobs growth between December 2002 and December 2003, with 39,700 jobs added. Among these counties, Clark, Nev., and Loudoun, Va., experienced the highest rate of job growth, 5.2%.For many of the nation's employed, the journey to work can be long and solitary. The Census Bureau reports that 25.4 million workers or 20% of all workers -- leave for their jobs between midnight and 6:29 a.m. These workers represented the fastest-growing group of commuters between 1990 and 2000. Most workers 77% -- also travel to their jobs alone, while 10% carpool, 5% use public transportation and 2% walk. The average commute time is 24.4 minutes. New York City residents spend an average of 38.4 minutes getting to work each day -- the equivalent of one full week per year. "Big Apple" residents endure the longest commute time of any city with a population of 250,000 or more. Nationally, the daily commute takes an hour or more for 7% of workers."