Claim: Labor Day involves honoring the contributions that workers have made to the prosperity of the country.

Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September . It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength , prosperity , laws and well-being of the country . It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer in the United States . The holiday is also a federal holiday .   Beginning in the late 19th century , as the trade union and labor movements grew , trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor . `` Labor Day '' was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor , which organized the first parade in New York City . In 1887 , Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday . By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894 , thirty U.S. states officially celebrated Labor Day .   Canada 's Labour Day is also celebrated on the first Monday of September . More than 80 countries celebrate International Workers ' Day on May 1 -- the ancient European holiday of May Day -- and several countries have chosen their own dates for Labour Day .