Labor Force: Includes all people who are at least 16 yearsold and are working or actively looking for work.
In the U.S. two thirds of all people 16 years of age or olderare members of the civilian labor force.
The civilian labor force makes up 98% of all people in theU.S. who are working or looking for work.
Armed forces are employed by the military.
The most important factor in choosing anoccupation is the SALARY or WAGES.
Consider the following:
Job Duties
Long-term vs Short-term
Advanced Opportunities
Commute
Question? What is more important to you -choosingan occupation that pays high wages or choosing anoccupation that you have a passion for? Remember:“Do what you like. Like what you do.”
Wages
Consider the kinds of jobsare in demand and thesupply of different kindsof workers.
Supply and Demandaffect the prices of otherresources, they also affectthe price of labor, orworkers’ wages.
When an occupation hasmany potential workersbut few available jobs, thewage rate tends to be low.
High wages occur whenthe number of workers areinterested and arequalified for anoccupation is limited andthe demand for them ishigh.
It is best to find a good-paying job in anoccupation with a highdemand and a low supplyof workers.
Education, experience, and abilities all affectyour skills and help determine what jobs youare-and are not- eligible to hold.
Skill level can limit the supply of workers. Themore skills a particular job requires, the fewerqualified people there are who can perform thejob.
Jobs requiring high skill levels usually offerhigher wages.
Low-skilled labor occupations usually offerlower wages.
The U.S. work place is carefully regulated byfederal and state legislation.
Some high-risk occupations can be dangeroussuch as; skyscraper construction, fire fighting,coal mining, clean-up crews (911 ground zero).
Hazardous occupations sometimes pay higherwages than those jobs with low risks to life.
Sometimes employers offer higher wages toencourage workers to move to a different area.
Jobs in distant or remote locations pay higherwages to help make up for the isolation.
Engineers who are recruited to work in othernations receive higher salaries.
Intrinsic rewards are nonmonetary reasonsfor working at a particular job.
such as; worker’s pride, respect.
Intrinsic reward jobs often pay lowersalaries.
Is the industry expanding or contracting?
Consumers’ demand for a particular goodcreates a demand for the labor-and otherresources-needed to produce the good.
Derived demand: Is the increased demand forresources, such as labor, that results fromconsumer demand for a particular product. Forexample, in the 1900s consumer demandshifted from the horse and carriage to theautomobile.
The industrializationrevolution in the U.S. inthe 1700-1800 encouragedfactory workers.
The U.S. economy becamecapital-intensive, ordependent on machines toproduce goods.
Agricultural economiesare labor-intensive,producing goods throughanimal and human power.
In the 1700s, 80% of thelabor force was farmlabor.
By 1850 farmworkersmade up only 63% of thelabor force.
By 1900 labor made uponly 37% of the laborforce.
Today less than 3% of theU.S. Labor force works inagriculture.
In the U.S. 90% of theworkers hold services andmanufacturing jobs.
The industrialization movement created morefactory labor for women.
During WWI & WWII women continued to be partof the workforce. In WWI – 1.5 million worked indefense plants and during WWII more than 4million women worked in the defense plants
Today 6 out of 10 women in the U.S. are part of thelabor force, compared to 3 out of 4 men.
Educational facilities have given women theopportunity to gain the same level of job trainingas men.
Increase education levels improve employmentopportunities for men & women.
A worker’s level of education will increase hisor her income level.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires employerspay the same wages to male & female workerswho perform the same job.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workersform employer discrimination based on race,sex, religion, or national origin.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993protects employment for medical/familyemergency (ex: pregnancy, family illness...).
Affirmative Action: Program aimed ateliminating racial and gender bias in theworkplace. Quotas were sometimes used as ahiring practice to encourage employment ofwomen and minorities.
Supreme Court Case- Regents of the Universityof California v Bakke (1978)
Supreme Court Case-Regents of the Universityof California v Bakke(1978) Allan Bakke, awhite male, had beendenied admission to theuniversity’s medicalschool at Davis. Theschool had set aside 16 ofthe 100 admission seatsfor nonwhite students. Hesued the university forreverse discriminationand the violation of the14th Amendment and theequal protection law.
Supreme Court ruled bya 5-4 majority. TheCourt held that Bakkehad been denied equalprotection and shouldbe admitted to themedical school.
The U.S. government passed legislation toprotect minimum wage.
The national minimum wage today is $7.25.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938established the first minimum wage at 40 centsper hour.
