1. Labor Trends In The Market

2. The Labor Force Today’s labor force is transforming before our eyes
Computer related occupations is where the jobs are at
Bureau of Labor Statistics survey households to assemble the necessary information about employed & unemployed people
Employed:
16 years or older
1 hour of pay per week
15 or more hours of week
without pay (family bus.)
Illness, vacations, bad weather,
or labor disputes

3. Unemployed People who do not meet the qualifications for the employed
Must have worked lined up in the future
Actively searching for a job
Exceptions
F/T students
Stay at home parents
Discouraged workers
The BLS provide the answers
to 2 economic questions:
How many people?
How many are employed or
Unemployed at the same time?

4. Occupational Trends A changing economy Fewer Goods, More Services:
Change from a manufacturing economy to a service economy
Productions of services increasing faster than those in goods
International Competition Effects:
Today capital & labor are mobile
Crossing international borders
Demand for skilled workers has increased
A changing economy
Once a nations of farmers
Industrial revolution
The rise of corporations
Electronics industry
Technological Age
Information Age
½ American workers reported some use of computers on the job

5. The Changing Labor Force
A person can expect to have 4 to 5 different jobs in their lifetime
College Graduates
Human capital.
Cost $
HS Diploma will not prepare you for financial success
Higher earnings compensate for expense
Learning effect
Screening Effect:
Tells an employee that
you are hardworking &
intelligent
Identifies useful qualities
for employees

6. The Changing Labor Force Cont.
Women at Work
Changing face of the workforce
38% of workforce in 1960 to 60% by the year 2000
Encouraged to get a higher education
More jobs in the service than in physical strength
More than 61% by 2006
Temporary Workers
P/T & Temp workers seem to be more popular
Contingent employment: white collar/contract workers
Flexible arrangement
Discharging is easier
Paid less & fewer benefits
Workers prefer flexible arrangement

7. Trends in Wages & Benefits
Up for some but down for others
The last 20 years there has been slightly lower earnings
$275 (1980) to $278 in 2003 with measured inflation at the dollar amount of $523
Paid in wages before but benefits cost now
College graduates earnings have gone up while workers w/out education degrees have decreased
Greater competition with cheap
Foreign labor
Deregulation of industries have
Forced firms to cut employees
Wages as competition has
increased

8. Benefit Costs
Pensions & health insurance are a significant portion of wages received
28% of total compensation in the US economy today
SS is seen as a benefit
Contingent employment
Production facilities moving overseas
The more benefit costs continue to rise the more firms will continue to cut in order to make a profit