page_title: Economy of the United States
section_title: Employment
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of the United States / Employment
caption_attribution_description: English: Chart illustrates nine key economic variables measured annually from 2014-2017. The years 2014-2016 were during President Obama's second term, while 2017 was during President Trump's first term.
context_page_description: The economy of the United States is that of a developed country with a mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and net wealth and the second-largest by purchasing power parity. It has the world's eighth-highest per capita GDP and the tenth-highest per capita GDP in 2019. The United States has the most technologically powerful economy in the world and its firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, pharmaceuticals, and medical, aerospace, and military equipment. The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world's foremost reserve currency, backed by its economy, its military, the petrodollar system and its linked eurodollar and large U.S. treasuries market. Several countries use it as their official currency and in others it is the de facto currency. The largest U.S. trading partners are China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, India, and Taiwan. The U.S. is the world's largest importer and the second-largest exporter.
context_section_description: There were approximately 160.4 million in the U.S. labor force in 2017, the fourth largest labor force in the world behind China, India, and the European Union.
  The government (federal, state and local) employed 22 million in 2010. Small businesses are the nation's largest employer representing 37% of American workers. The second-largest share of employment belongs to large businesses employing 36% of the U.S. workforce.
  The nation's private sector employs 85% of working Americans. Government accounts for 14% of all U.S. workers. Over 99% of all private employing organizations in the U.S. are small businesses. The 30 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 64% of newly created jobs (those created minus those lost). Jobs in small businesses accounted for 70% of those created in the last decade.
  The proportion of Americans employed by small business versus large business has remained relatively the same year by year as some small businesses become large businesses and just over half of small businesses survive for more than 5 years. Amongst large businesses, several of the largest companies and employers in the world are American companies. Amongst them are Walmart, which is both the largest company and the largest private sector employer in the world. Walmart employs 2.1 million people worldwide and 1.4 million in the U.S. alone.
  There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the U.S. Minorities such as Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans (35% of the country's population), own 4.1 million of the nation's businesses. Minority-owned businesses generate almost $700 billion in revenue, and they employ almost 5 million workers in the U.S.
  Americans have the highest average employee income among OECD nations. The median household income in the U.S. as of 2008 is $52,029. About 284,000 working people in the U.S. have two full-time jobs and 7.6 million have part-time ones in addition to their full-time employments. Out of all working individuals in the U.S., 12% belong to a labor union and most union members work for the government. The decline of union membership in the U.S. over the last several decades parallels that of labor's share of the economy. The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers. The United States is the only advanced economy that does not legally guarantee its workers paid vacation or paid sick days, and is one of just a few countries in the world without paid family leave as a legal right, with the others being Papua New Guinea, Suriname and Liberia. In 2014 and again in 2020, the International Trade Union Confederation graded the U.S. a 4 out of 5+, its third-lowest score, on the subject of powers and rights granted to labor unions. Some scholars, including business theorist Jeffrey Pfeffer and political scientist Daniel Kinderman, posit that contemporary employment practices in the United States relating to the increased performance pressure from management, and the hardships imposed on employees such as toxic working environments, precarity, and long hours, could be responsible for 120,000 excess deaths annually, making the workplace the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.
caption: Panel chart illustrates nine key economic variables measured annually in 2014–2017. The years 2014–2016 were during President Obama's second term, while 2017 was during President Trump's first term. Refer to citations on detail page.
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