----- Original Message ----- From: Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: lbo-talk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 04, 2000 10:15 AM Subject: Labor Day cheer > [Happy Labor Day, the holiday the U.S. celebrates instead of May Day, > which we're rebranded as Loyalty and Law Days.] > > Financial Times - September 4, 2000 > > Booming US economy sees return of job security > By Robert Taylor, Employment Editor > > The full-time permanent job is back again in the booming US labour > market with a decline in the proportion of flexible workers in > temporary or part-time jobs - thanks to the return of full employment > since the mid 1990s which has strengthened workers' bargaining power. > > This key finding in the latest biennial study of the state of working > America, published this week by the Washington-based independent > think-tank, the Economic Policy Institute, suggests a dramatic shift > is taking place away from flexible employment and towards the revival > of regular work. > > The report also reveals that the growth in e-commerce and information > technology has so far not brought any significant increase in jobs. > Only 7.5 per cent of all new jobs created in the 1990s came in the IT > sector. Last year a mere 2.0 per cent of US workers were employed in > IT compared with 1.3 per cent in 1989. > > "The long-term rise in job instability and job insecurity, which > continued well into the current economic recovery, finally abated at > the end of the last decade," claims the report. "Even the share of > workers in nonstandard - often substandard - work arrangements such > as temporary work and part-time work has declined as opportunities > for regular full-time employment have grown." > > The study, which remains the most comprehensive independent analysis > of the US labour market, suggests the situation has changed since > 1995 with the prolonged decline in registered unemployment to under > 5.5 per cent for more than four years. > > The percentage of workers in regular part-time jobs fell from 16.5 > per cent of the labour force in 1995 to 15.5 per cent last year. The > proportion of "involuntary" part-time workers declined to 2.6 per > cent last year - down from 3.7 per cent four years earlier. > > The number of those employed through temporary help agencies declined > over the same period from 1.0 per cent to 0.9 per cent and workers > employed on call from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent. Those classified > as independent contractors dropped from 6.7 per cent to 6.3 per cent. > The proportion of workers doing more than one job dropped from 6.2 > per cent to 5.8 per cent. > > The proportion of US employees covered by non-standard jobs fell > between 1995 and 1999 from 26.4 per cent to 24.8 per cent of the > total workforce while those employed in regular full-time work > increased from 73.6 per cent to 75.1 per cent. > > "Persistent low unemployment has allowed workers to move from > substandard jobs - temporary, part-time, or without benefits - to > better, more regular jobs," says the report. At the same time > low-wage workers and low income families have benefited the most, > reversing nearly 20 years of declining real incomes. > > The study also reveals income inequality has narrowed between the > middle and lower income groups although those on the highest incomes > have continued to pull away. "The turnround from widespread wage > decline between 1979 and 1995 to widespread wage growth since is a > significant new development for working Americans," says the report. > "After more than 15 years of stagnation and decline, > inflation-adjusted wages began to rise in 1995". > > It also shows that 5.4 per cent of black and Hispanic men have seen > their pay move above the poverty level with a similar shift of 4.3 > per cent for women over the 1995-1999 period. > > Other "remarkable" changes in the US labour market indicate a > substantial improvement since the mid-1990s. Labour productivity - > the value of goods and services that an average worker produces per > hour of work - grew an annual rate of 2.5 per cent since 1995, far > above the 1.4 per cent annual improvement experienced from the > mid-1970s to mid-1990s. > > The report believes persistently low unemployment has played the "key > role" in the " recent and dramatic improvements in the labour market" > because it has strengthened workers' bargaining power. "When > unemployment is low, workers can more easily press for higher pay, > better benefits and improved working conditions because employers > cannot easily replace dissatisfied workers with less demanding ones > from the pool of the unemployed," says the report. > > "When unemployment remains low for a prolonged period, the work > environment changes. Workers feel more and more empowered and > employers become more and more sensitive to workplace issues that can > effect recruitment and retention of workers," it adds. >
