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 Labor Day 2012: Sept. 3 The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade of 10,000 workers on Sept. 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 “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. Who Are We Celebrating? 155.2 million Number of people 16 and older in the nation's labor force in June 2012.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 
<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf> Employee Benefits 85.0% Percentage of full-time workers 18 to 64 covered by health insurance during all or part of 2010. 
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, derived from Table 8
<https://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf> Our Jobs Americans worked in a variety of occupations in 2010. Here is a sampling: Occupation
    Number of employeesActors
    7,835Computer programmers
    389,471Cooks
    1,051,896Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists
    395,311Janitors and building cleaners
    1,445,991Teachers (preschool - grade 12)
    3,073,673Telemarketers
    48,455Telephone Operators
    33,057Web developers
    115,561 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table B24124
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B24124&prodType=table> 26.3 million Number of female workers 16 and older in management, business, science, and arts occupations in 2010. Among male workers, 16 and older, 23.7 million were employed in management, professional and related occupations.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table C24010 	
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_C24010&prodType=table> 1.4% Percentage increase in employment in the United States between December 2010 and December 2011. Employment increased in 266 of the 322 largest counties (large counties are defined as having employment levels of 75,000 or more).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm> 5.3% Percentage increase in Kern County, Calif., between December 2010 and December 2011, the largest increase in employment among the 322 largest counties. Harris County, Texas, had the highest level increase of 62,700 jobs. 
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm> 3.4% Percentage decline in employment in Benton County, Wash., between December 2010 and December 2011, the largest percentage decrease among the nation's 322 largest counties.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm> 5.9 million The number of people who worked from home in 2010. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table B08128
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B08128&prodType=table> Another Day, Another Dollar $47,715 and $36,931 The 2010 real median earnings for male and female full-time, year-round workers, respectively. 
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010
<https://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf> Early, Lonely and Long — the Commute to Work 16.3 million Number of commuters who left for work between midnight and 5:59 a.m. in 2010. They represent 12.5 percent of all commuters.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table B0813
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B08132&prodType=table> 76.6% Percentage of workers who drove alone to work in 2010. Another 9.7 percent carpooled and 4.9 percent took public transportation (excluding taxicabs).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table DP03 
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP03&prodType=table> 25.3 minutes The average time it took people in the nation to commute to work in 2010. Maryland and New York had the most time-consuming commutes, averaging 31.8 and 31.3 minutes, respectively.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table R0801 
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_R0801.US01PRF&prodType=table> 3.2 million Number of workers who faced extreme commutes to work of 90 or more minutes each day in 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Table B08012 
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B08012&prodType=table> For detailed information on the data force, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics at <http://www.bls.gov/>
 
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