North America > United States > Labor

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Agricultural workers > Female	1%		[70th of 77]
Days off work	163 days		[4th of 20]
DEFINITION: Number of days not worked for every 1000 salaried employees. Selected OECD countries only. Data for 2000.
SOURCE: ILO (International Labour Organization). 2002. Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2001-2002. February 2002
Economic activity > Men aged 65 plus	13.49		[128th of 162]
DEFINITION: Economically active population ("usually active" or "currently active" (currently active is also known as "the labour force")) comprises all persons of either sex above a specified age who furnish the supply of labour for the production of economic goods
SOURCE: OECD
Female decision makers	45%		[1st of 67]
DEFINITION: Female legislators, senior officials and managers (as % of total). Data refer to the latest year available during the period 1991-2000. Those for countries that have implemented the recent International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88) are not strictly comparable with those for countries using the previous classification (ISCO-68).
SOURCE: Economic activity rate and economically active population, by sex, thirteen age groups, 1950-2010 (ILO estimates and projections) are data from the International Labour Union (ILO). Source details: ILO, Economically Active Population, 1950-2010, fourth edition, diskette database (Geneva, 1997). The latest set of estimates and projections covering the period 1950-2010 (4th edition) was released by ILO in December 1996. These data are updated every five-ten years by ILO and a new set of these data is in preparation
force, total	155,462,400		[3rd of 184]
DEFINITION: Total labor force comprises people who meet the International Labour Organization definition of the economically active population: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes both the employed and the unemployed. While national practices vary in the treatment of such groups as the armed forces and seasonal or part-time workers, in general the labor force includes the armed forces, the unemployed, and first-time job-seekers, but excludes homemakers and other unpaid caregivers and workers in the informal sector.		View time series
SOURCE: calculated on the basis of occupational data from ILO (International Labour Organization). 2002. Laboursta Database. February 2002
Gender division of housework	2.26		[1st of 13]
DEFINITION: Gender Division of Labour Index, 1994 Range = 1.00 (female does all) through 2.50 (equality) to 5.00 (male does all).
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Hours worked	1,792 hours		[3rd of 9]
DEFINITION: Number of hours worked in 2003; average of all people in employment. Note that different nations use very different practices and definitions in this data field, so comparisons such as this table are tentative at best.
SOURCE: Jeanne A. Batalova and Philip N. Cohen, 'Premarital Cohabitation and Housework: Couples in Cross-National Perspective', Journal of Marriage and Family 64, August 2002, p.748
Labor force > By occupation farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.9%, managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25%, other services 16.5%; note: figures exclude the unemployed
DEFINITION: Component parts of the labor force by occupation.		View time series
SOURCE: OECD
Long term unemployment	0.2%		[26th of 27]
DEFINITION: Long term unemployment as a % of labour force, 2000. Long term implies 12 months or longer.
SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Strikes	60		[11th of 27]
DEFINITION: Strikes five-year average in days not worked per 1000 employees (1996-2000)
SOURCE: OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2001. Employment Outlook. Paris
Trade union membership	13%		[17th of 18]
DEFINITION: Union members as % of all employees. Figures are for 2000.
SOURCE: OECD
Unemployment	5%		[11th of 18]
DEFINITION: Unemployed as proportion of the total labour force. Data for 2000-2002.
SOURCE: Figures are from the OECD. The figures are from EIRO for France, Ireland and Italy
Unemployment gender ratio	105%		[17th of 30]
DEFINITION: Female unemployment rate as a % of the male unemployment rate.
SOURCE: OECD Historical Statistics
Unemployment, total > % of total labor force	5.5 %		[56th of 101]
DEFINITION: Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.		View time series
SOURCE: calculated on the basis of data on male and female unemployment rates from OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2001. Employment Outlook 2001. Paris
Vacation > Minimum vacation time around the world > legally required Not required, but 7-21 days is standard for most employers. Typically, 10 working days with 8 national holidays.
DEFINITION:
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Work Time > More than 40 hours	67.6%		[2nd of 18]
DEFINITION: Percentage of persons in employment working more than 40 hours/week. Data is for 2000.
SOURCE: Wikipedia: Vacation
Working time to buy a car	1,459 hours		[8th of 16]
DEFINITION: Hours worked by average worker to buy a car. Indicative of the purchasing power of the currency of the country.
SOURCE: ILO, Key Indicators
Working time to buy a television set	15 hours		[13th of 15]
DEFINITION: Hours worked by average worker to buy a television set. Indicative of the purchasing power of the currency of the country.
SOURCE: International Metalworkers' Federation, The Purchasing Power of Working Time 2002: An International Comparison of Average Net Hourly Earnings 2001 (International Metalworkers' Federation, Geneva, 2002)
Working time to buy beef	50 minutes		[11th of 16]
DEFINITION: Number of minutes worked by average worker to buy one kilo of beef. The comparison of income levels only becomes meaningful if the cost of buying the necessities and luxuries of life is also considered.
SOURCE: International Metalworkers' Federation, The Purchasing Power of Working Time 2002: An International Comparison of Average Net Hourly Earnings 2001 (International Metalworkers' Federation, Geneva, 2002)
Youth unemployment	9.3%		[19th of 30]
DEFINITION: Youth unemployment rate
SOURCE: International Metalworkers' Federation, The Purchasing Power of Working Time 2002: An International Comparison of Average Net Hourly Earnings 2001 (International Metalworkers' Federation, Geneva, 2002)

Interesting facts on American Labor

• American women have the most powerful jobs.

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