In 1993, about 21 million persons in the United States (about one-fifth of the total in nonagricultural industries) worked part time (fewer than 35 hours a week). Although the majority of persons working part time do so voluntarily, over the past 2 decades the number of involuntary part-time workers, those who want full-time jobs but who settle…

The number of persons working part-time for economic reasons increased 60 percent (by 2.112 million workers) between 1979 and 1985. Although total wage and salary employment is up since 1979, nearly one in five new positions is a part-time job filled by a worker unsuccessful in finding full-time employment. Sixty-two percent of those working…

Federal and State employment data were examined in a study of the industrial, occupational, and job segmentation of Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites by sex in New York City's private sector. Primary focus was placed on the effects of the city's growing service-oriented economy on the employment patterns of Blacks and Hispanics. The study found that…

The United States is a labor surplus society, one with a persistent shortage of jobs. This labor surplus--manifested in excessively and persistently high unemployment--will continue through the 1980s. The existence of a persistent job shortage, resulting in a labor surplus of four to six million unemployed workers without a constructive economic…

This chartbook presents information on the extent and nature of unemployment in the United States. The statistics presented are part of a broad array of unemployment and related labor force data available from the Current Population Survey, a sample survey of some 60,000 households conducted monthly by the Bureau of the Census. The 28 charts and…

Although youth between the ages of 16 and 19 account for only 6.7 percent of the nation's labor force, they constitute 17.9 percent of the officially unemployed. Unemployment among youth is rising. More than 46 percent of the nation's black youth and nearly 39 percent of Hispanic children currently live below the poverty level. Moreover, real…

Social statistics may exaggerate the degree of hardship caused by labor market problems. Yet, in many ways social statistics underestimate the degree of hardship caused by extended unemployment, underemployment, and low wages. Therefore, new measures are needed to reassess long-term and cyclical labor market developments, the changing status of…

As the United States population ages, employers face the possibility of a sustained retirement of the baby boom generation and a loss of their most experienced and knowledgeable employees. The public sector appears to be even more vulnerable, with an older-than-average workforce as well as a more traditional retirement system that encourages early…