The Economics Daily
A look at manufacturing occupations for National Manufacturing Day
From automobiles, batteries, and carpets to x-ray equipment, yogurt, and zippers—American manufacturers of these and myriad other products accounted for about 12.8 million jobs in May 2024. In recognition of National Manufacturing Day, the first Friday in October, we take a look at employment and wages of the most common occupations in manufacturing industries. read more »
Beyond the Numbers
Employment and wages for alternate definitions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations
Analyzing data for STEM occupations can be challenging because many definitions of STEM exist. This Beyond the Numbers (BTN) article provides research and analysis of STEM occupations by presenting employment and wage data for different definitions of STEM, based on options for defining STEM developed by the interagency SOCPC. This article uses a special tabulation of May 2023 OEWS data to look at national STEM employment and wages for alternate SOCPC definitions. read more »
Spotlight on Statistics
A Look at Jobs Paying Less Than $15.00 Per Hour
In response to the Great Depression, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 instituted numerous labor law reforms. These reforms included establishing a federal minimum wage of $0.25 per hour ($5.49 per hour in today’s dollars). The minimum wage was later increased, and its scope extended to cover more workers. The most recent update, bringing the federal minimum wage up to its current value of $7.25 per hour, became effective 15 years ago in 2009. read more »