According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade of 10,000 workers on September 5, 1882, in New York City, 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 Congress passed a bill to establish a federal holiday in 1894.
President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day. Here are some statistics about America’s workforce from the U.S. Census Bureau:
- there were 154.4 million people 16 and older in the nation’s labor force in May 2010;
- during all or part of 2008, 83 percent of full-time workers 18 to 64 were covered by health insurance; and
- in private industry, 78 percent of workers in private industry receive a paid vacation as one of their employment benefits;
- 7.6 million workers hold down more than one job;
- 284,000 moonlighters work full time at two jobs;
- there are 10.1 million self-employed workers;
- 7 percent of workers work 60 or more hours a week;
- about 12 percent of wage and salary workers belong to unions, with Alaska, Hawaii and New York having among the highest rates of any state; and
- 5.9 million people work at home.