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Extra!: Labor Day

CNN STUDENT NEWS

(CNN Student News) -- Here are some facts about Labor Day and the working people whom it honors.

The holiday

Labor Day is a national holiday to honor working people. It is celebrated in the U.S. on the first Monday in September. This year, Labor Day is September 5. Labor Day is also observed in Canada.

Labor Day's origins

The idea for creating a holiday to honor workers was proposed in the early 1880s. On September 5, 1882, New York City held the first Labor Day parade. Not all employers supported the idea, but many union workers took the first Monday in September off anyway. Some unions levied fines against workers who did go to work. At the time, workers got the day off on Christmas, the Fourth of July and every other Sunday. [Note: The exact origin of the day is uncertain. Both Peter McGuire of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and Matthew Maguire of the International Association of Machinists have been given credit.]

By 1893, more than half of the states were observing a "Labor Day" on some date. In 1894, Congress passed a bill to establish Labor Day as a federal holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

Facts about the nation's workers

  • As of July 2004, there were about 148 million individuals aged 16 or older in the U.S. workforce. About 79 million of these are men, and 69 million are women. Together they represent 66 percent of the civilian adult population.

  • Today, about 79 percent of workers in private industry receive at least one week of paid vacation in addition to paid holidays.

  • Approximately 75 percent of full-time workers receive employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.

  • The annual median earnings of male full-time workers in 2002 were $39,429. For full-time females, these earnings were $30,203.

  • Approximately 10.3 million Americans are self-employed.

  • There are about 7.3 million Americans who hold more than one job.

  • More women (approximately 20 million) work in education, health, and social services industries than in any other sector. Manufacturing, with 11.8 million workers, is the leading career sector among men.

  • There are 15.8 million workers who are members of labor unions.

  • Of workers who are 16 years of age or older, about 28 percent work more than 40 hours per week.

    • (Sources: CNN, U.S. Census Bureau)

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