How Work Has Changed In The Last 100 Years
By: Karla Glatt
Tags: History, Medium, Work, Employment, Life

How Work Has Changed In The Last 100 Years

An insight of how drastically the workforce and workplace has changed over the last century in USA. Karla Glatt Sep 4·6 min read

Production of radiators on the assembly line at Ford Motor Company in Detroit, c. 1920s. ullstein bild/Getty Images.

Recently, I’m sure you heard about “people don’t want to work” or “there’s a high increase in unemployment”, etc. A lot of changes and transformations are occurring regarding employment. Out of curiosity, I decided to take a look 100 years back into the workplace and workforce. Here are my findings:

1920s. Automobile Industry.

The 1920s represented an era of change and growth. The rapidly growing automobile industry provided a lot of jobs because of the machinery. By that time, women had to enter the workforce as a result of the industrial revolution. In 1920, women made up about 20% of the labor force, and many of them were involved in the manufacturing of apparel, food, and tobacco products.

After World War I, Europe was on the decline, while America was on the rise. American culture, like books, films and Broadway theatre, was now exported worldwide. The decade was one of learning and exploration. As well as, helped to establish America’s position in respect to the rest of the world, through its creativity, industry, and inventions.

1930s. The Great Depression.

In the 1930s, a large portion of the male population lost their jobs, which drastically altered the daily lives of the entire family. The distinctions between men and women were mainly considered to explain why most men were unemployed.

The most common jobs for them before the depression were domestic servants, teachers, nurses, and doctors. Men at the time had different job opportunities but very few jobs were available. They worked as labourers, farmers, military jobs, firemen, police, and government jobs.During The Great Depression, banks failed, businesses closed, city streets were desolate, families lost their homes, and unemployment rose to nearly 25%.

1940s. Rise and Fall of Female Labor.

In 1940, 132 million people lived in the U.S. and during the war 11 million men and women served in the armed forces. Even if the economy had continued at pre-war levels, this would have represented a significant drop in the workforce. But US production skyrocketed to supply planes, ships, guns, ammunition, uniforms, and food for the Allies. By that time, maybe women saved the day, but after the war, things changed swiftly. Soldiers were returning home, and they needed jobs to get back on their feet and adjust to civilian life.

1950s. Rules and Rising of Working Women.

Workers in the 1950s were dedicated to their jobs, and many stayed with the same company for their entire career. They believed in following the rules, abiding by the law, and showing respect for authority in and outside of the workplace. Women make up 28.8% of

workforce.

Jobs were mainly industrial or agricultural, with many men working in blue-collar jobs as mechanics, plumbers, bus drivers, warehouse workers and road construction workers. Some worked in office jobs as executives and middle management. If women did work, they were secretaries, teachers, nurses, stewardesses and stenographers. On average, workers did a 48-hour week and 8.7 million people worked in manufacturing. Around six million people worked in the public sector, which is exactly the number which currently make up the State workforce.

1960s. Dawn of The Information Age.

The 1960s were characterized by rapid workforce growth, economic transformation resulting from automation, and policy attention to poverty alleviation through ―Great Society programs. The most popular jobs for men were doctor, lawyer, and pilot, while the most popular jobs for women were teacher, nurse, and secretary.

Men made up the majority of the workforce, while women stayed at home. A large number of academics, consultants, computer suppliers, and journalists pushed the ‘totally integrated Management Information System (MIS)’ as their destination for corporate and management computing.

1970s. Time of Workers’ Strikes.

In the 1970s, jobs have shifted away from areas of farming and manufacturing, and positions have been created in the technology sector. Some jobs saw a noticeable decline, like coal mining, telephone operators, farming, and construction. Unemployment was highest in these sectors. The average American earned about $7,500 per year; by the end of the decade, that amount rose to about $11,500.

Several industries were hit by worker strikes in the 1970s as a result of labor disputes and rising unemployment. Strikes were frequently used by truck drivers, postal workers, and miners to draw attention to poor working conditions. Strikes beginning in 1970 totaled 5,716, the highest annual level ever recorded. A ten-day truck driver strike in 1979 threatened to halt commerce, and more than 200,000 post office workers walked off the job and onto picket lines. The United States experienced two recessions, the first following the 1973 oil embargo, with unemployment reaching 9% in May 1975; and New Federalism policies resulted in revenue sharing and block grants.

1980s. Deindustrialization And The Shift To services

The early 1980s were marked by high levels of unemployment while interest in―supply-side economics and a belief in limited government shaped the policy environment in which program reductions and tax cuts took place.

From 1980 to 1985 employment in the US economy increased from 104.5 million to 107.2 million workers, or by 2.6 percent. But employment of operators, fabricators, and laborers fell from 20.0 million to 16.8 million, a decline of 15.9 percent. As countries develop, manufacturing often declines as production is shifted to trading partners where the costs of labor are lower.

1990s. Job Growth And Low Unemployment.

In the 1990s, economic growth and low unemployment resulted in a focus on labor market attachment and skill development to meet employers’ needs for skilled workers. The mid to late 1990s was characterized by significantly low oil prices, which would have reduced transportation and manufacturing costs, leading to increases in economic growth.

The total number of jobs in the U.S. grew by 28 million from 1990 to 2000. More than half of this growth (14.6 million) was in services with another 4.4 million jobs added in retail trade. The stock market boom of the 1990s and the growth in the diversity of financial instruments allowed the finance, insurance, and real estate sector to lead the nation in percentage gain of earnings per job at 87.7 percent. For the American economy, the 1990s was a fascinating decade.

2000s. Death to the cubicle and decline of manufacturing.

During the 2000s, the decade began with great economic expansion; however, employment growth was slow and the decade concluded with the Great Recession. America lost 5.7 million manufacturing jobs, or 33 percent of its total. The real reason the United States lost 5.7 million manufacturing jobs over the last decade was a decline in manufacturing output, which was caused by U.S. manufacturing losing out in global competition.

The shift in skills necessary for new production activities, together with the competition in imports and mobility decreases, have contributed to the decrease in the production employment rate since 2000. At the same time, new technologies were on the rise like automation and ecommerce which took off the “routine jobs” like manufacturing and clerical positions.

2010s. Rise of Startups and Remote Jobs.

The decade of the 2010s will go down in history as the decade with the most job creation in the United States, with 22.6 million created. As the economy recovered, job gains accelerated, reaching a blazing pace of 251,000 jobs added per month on average during 2014. That year marked a turning point for the economy. That surge of job gains pushed the unemployment rate below 6 percent and turned up the heat on employers facing difficulty filling open jobs. This decade has enabled startups, including those with limited resources, to work internationally in ways that were previously difficult, if not impossible.

Bottom Line

According to a recent report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the U.S. will add roughly 20 million new jobs by the year 2020 — a nearly 14% annual rate of growth in new jobs over the next decade. Given a historic growth rate of 6% over the last century, 14% is an astounding number.

During the last decade, technology is developing quickly, leading to broad automation and technology businesses extending their grip on traditional sectors. Unfortunately, office roles, such as administrators in government, personal assistants, telephone salespeople and pensions clerks are in long-term decline. As a result, new roles will emerge but roles in accounting, engineering, computer science, business and economics are expected to have an increase in employment.

References:

https://www.bls.gov/

https://research-content.glassdoor.com/site-us/bls-predictions-december-2019/