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Employment Trends: Data Presentation

100 Years of Sectoral Change

Thousands of employees and percent of total.
Employment 1900 Employment 2000 Percent 1900 Percent 2000
Agriculture 11,680 3,281 43.5 2.4
Goods 7,252 25,710 27.0 18.8
Services 6,832 85,370 25.4 62.5
Government 1,094 22,131 4.1 16.2
Total 26,858 136,492 100.0 100.0
Source: Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Washington, DC, 1975 (for 1900 data); Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of the Census for data on the 2000 structure of employment.

Major Sectors over 20 Years

Values in thousands of employees.
1980 1990 2000
Agriculture 3,364 3,223 3,281
Goods Producing 25,658 24,905 25,710
Services Producing 48,506 66,194 85,370
Government 18,292 20,348 22,131
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employees on nonfarm payrolls by major industry, 1950 to date, downloaded January 2002 from http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm. Data for agricultural employment, from BLS, was published in Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Table 672, p. 420. Included in totals for the government are data not reported by BLS but obtained from U.S. Department of Defense, published in Statistical Abstract, 2000, Table 579, p. 168. The military on active duty for the year 2000, included but not shown, was estimated from 1998 data by the editors.

The Services Producing Sector's Component Elements

In thousands and employees.
1980 1990 2000
Transportation and Public Utilities 5,146 5,777 7,019
Wholesale Trade 5,292 6,173 7,024
Retail Trade 15,018 19,601 23,307
Finance and Real Estate 5,160 6,709 7,560
Services 17,890 27,934 40,460
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employees on nonfarm payrolls by major industry, 1950 to date, downloaded January 2002 from http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm.

Government Employment, by Level of Government

In thousands of employees.
Local Government State Government Federal Government
1992 9,606 3,836 2,737
1993 9,552 3,891 2,704
1994 9,996 3,917 2,644
1995 10,119 3,971 2,580
1997 10,227 3,987 2,492
1998 10,505 3,985 2,447
1999 10,715 4,034 2,449
2000 10,995 4,083 2,426
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Public Employment and Payroll, http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apes.html, downloaded December 21, 2001. Federal employment excludes military.

Elementary and High School Education -Staff and Enrollment (in thousands) and Student-to-Staff Ratio

Teachers & Support Staff (000) Elem./Secondary Enrollment (000)
1992 4,754 42,823
1993 5,016 43,465
1994 5,279 44,111
1995 5,341 44,841
1996 5,415 45,484
1997 5,489 46,127
[Continued]

Elementary and High School Education -Staff and Enrollment (in thousands) and Student-to-Staff Ratio [Continued]

Teachers & Support Staff (000) Elem./Secondary Enrollment (000)
1998 5,684 46,535
1999 5,782 47,244
2000 5,959 47,533
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Public Employment and Payroll, http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apes.html, downloaded December 21, 2001. Values for 1996 are extrapolated. School enrollment data are from U.S. Center for Education Statistics, published in Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, Table 239, p. 151.

Defense and Postal Service as Elements of Federal Employment

In thousands of employees.
Total Federal Employment Defense Dep. Civilian Employment Postal Service Employment Defense as % of Total Post Office -% of Total
1992 2,737 959 595 35.0 21.8
1993 2,704 901 629 33.3 23.3
1994 2,644 858 640 32.4 24.2
1995 2,580 808 651 31.3 25.2
1996 2,536 782 653 30.8 25.7
1997 2,492 755 654 30.3 26.2
1998 2,447 718 653 29.3 26.7
1999 2,449 693 670 28.3 27.4
2000 2,426 675 672 27.8 27.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Public Employment and Payroll, http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apes.html, downloaded December 21, 2001. Values for 1996 are extrapolated.

Percentage of Workforce Which is Union Member or is Covered by a Union

Values are in percent of the workforce
% Union Member % Covered by a Union
1964 29.3 -
1965 28.9 -
1966 28.4 -
1967 28.3 -
1968 28.2 -
1969 28.0 -
1970 27.8 -
1971 27.2 -
1972 26.6 -
1973 26.6 -
1974 26.2 -
1975 24.6 -
1976 24.5 -
1977 24.1 26.9
1978 23.4 26.2
1979 24.4 27.4
1980 23.3 26.1
1981 21.7 24.3
1982 21.0 24.0
1983 20.3 23.6
1984 19.1 21.9
1985 18.2 20.8
1986 17.7 20.2
1987 17.3 19.4
1988 17.0 19.2
1989 16.6 18.8
1990 16.3 18.6
1991 16.3 18.5
1992 16.0 18.1
1993 16.0 18.0
1994 15.7 17.7
1995 15.1 16.9
1996 14.7 16.4
1997 14.2 15.8
1998 14.1 15.6
1999 14.0 15.5
2000 13.6 15.0
Source: Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and Wayne G. Vroman, "Estimates of union density by state," Monthly Labor Review, July 2001.

Median Weekly Pay, Selected Years, Unionized, Covered by Union Contract, and All Workers

All data are in 2000 constant dollars.
Pay of Union Member Pay of Person Covered by Union Pay of Non-Union Person Average of All Employees Dollar Difference Union and All
1983 670.8 662.2 497.9 541.2 129.7
1988 698.7 692.9 518.2 560.4 138.3
1989 690.2 686.0 516.6 554.1 136.1
1991 645.6 640.7 495.9 527.8 117.8
1993 685.2 678.1 507.7 551.8 133.5
1994 687.9 682.1 502.0 542.6 145.2
1995 680.2 675.7 505.1 541.2 139.0
1996 675.0 669.5 507.1 537.8 137.2
1997 686.7 678.1 512.8 539.7 147.0
1998 696.2 689.9 527.2 552.5 143.7
1999 694.6 689.4 533.3 567.5 127.1
2000 696.0 691.0 542.0 576.0 120.0
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1980-2001, United States Department of Commerce. Data have been normalized to 2000 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index, All Items series.

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