United States Department of Labor
BLS celebrates the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day on March 2. Not by coincidence, it is also the birthday of the well-known author Dr. Seuss.
In the words of the famous author, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
BLS data show that reading is every bit as important as Dr. Seuss claimed. Only 2.5 percent of workers do not need to read or write on their job, according the Occupational Requirements Survey. However, the American Time Use Survey finds that only about 20 percent of people read for personal interest on an average day.
In honor of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day, how about taking some time to learn what else BLS data tell us about reading?
Consumers spent $15,268,000,000 on reading in 2016, according to the Consumer Expenditure Surveys. On average, households (technically referred to as consumer units) spent $118 on reading. So, of the Whos down in Whoville, which Whos are reading?
- Households in the West region spent an average of $171 on reading. Those in the Midwest averaged $121, while households in the Northeast and South regions averaged just under $100.
- Married couples without children spent an average of $174 on reading for their household; those with children spent $123. The households of single parents with children under 18 spent an average of $41.
- Generationally, when the reference person was a baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964), the household spent an average of $130 on reading. That compares with an average of $64 spent by households of millennials (those born in 1981 or later).
The Consumer Price Index gives us information about changes in the prices of the goods and services we buy. For example, prices for eggs (white or brown, but not green) increased 11.6 percent in 2017, and prices for ham were up 2.7 percent.
- Prices for recreational books decreased 3.2 percent in 2017 and were 7.7 percent lower than in 2007.
- Costs for newspapers and magazines declined 1.1 percent in 2017, but were 37.5 percent higher than a decade ago.
- Prices for educational books and supplies decreased 1.8 percent in 2017, but were 58.3 percent higher than in 2007.
According to the American Time Use Survey, the share of women who spent time reading for personal interest was larger than the share of men. In addition, women were slightly more likely than men to spend time reading to and with children in the household (excluding education- and health-related reading).
- Seventeen percent of men and 21.8 percent of women spent time reading for personal interest on an average day. On the days they read, men and women spent an average of around an hour and a half participating in this activity.
- On an average day, 13.4 percent of fathers and 18.5 percent of mothers spent time reading to and with their young children. On days they engaged in this activity, it accounted for about a half an hour of time for both fathers and mothers.
Do you want to spend more time with Thing 1 and Thing 2? How about a fox in socks or a cat in a hat? Library workers get to do all of that!
Librarians, library technicians and clerical library assistants spend all day with books. Librarians earn the highest wages of the three and also require higher levels of education and work experience, according to the Occupational Employment Statistics and the Occupational Requirements Surveys.
- Nearly 50 percent of librarian jobs required a bachelor’s degree, and another 42 percent required a master’s degree in 2017. High school diplomas were more common for library techs (42 percent) and clerical library assistants (80 percent).
- The average annual wage for librarians in 2016 was $59,870. Library technicians averaged $34,780 and clerical library assistants, $27,450.
- Lifting books is a big job. On a scale from sedentary to very heavy, a medium level of strength was required for about 57 percent of librarian jobs and 71 percent of clerical library assistant jobs.
So, how will you celebrate Read Across America Day—in a boat, with a goat, in the rain, on a train, in a box, with a fox, in a house, with a mouse? Don’t forget the green eggs and ham! And remember, “You can find magic wherever you look, sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” –Dr. Seuss