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Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September, celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers. Labor Day is also often seen as the unofficial end of summer, the last weekend before the beginning of the school year, and an occasion for a memorable meal or an opportunity for a three-day-weekend getaway. In this TED, we present data about workers that make our Labor Day events possible, often with extra work before Labor Day or working on Labor Day itself.
Employment in selected Labor Day celebration-related industries, 2001–2023
Year
Grocery and convenience retailers
Hotels (except casino hotels) and motels
Gasoline stations
Scheduled passenger air transportation
Amusement and theme parks
Airport operations (total, private and local and federal government)
RV (recreational vehicle) parks and recreational camps
Nature parks and other similar institutions (total, private and local, state, and federal government)
Interurban and rural bus transportation
2001
2,532,058
1,453,168
919,932
553,689
140,239
118,819
50,711
69,934
23,107
2002
2,469,400
1,405,390
895,547
505,333
134,470
118,633
50,346
76,314
22,846
2003
2,454,903
1,402,396
879,182
472,247
135,308
112,923
50,469
75,821
21,904
2004
2,438,312
1,422,069
872,863
457,848
138,050
114,126
50,839
75,977
20,447
2005
2,432,109
1,437,264
864,710
441,992
137,646
114,556
51,246
76,347
20,103
2006
2,445,277
1,453,656
860,592
424,712
137,147
110,926
52,571
75,659
19,524
2007
2,474,596
1,482,882
860,372
432,449
141,100
109,821
54,317
77,229
19,161
2008
2,501,555
1,494,597
843,429
431,723
147,830
109,795
54,040
78,984
18,901
2009
2,477,559
1,401,184
822,552
407,100
146,992
103,389
52,705
80,337
18,251
2010
2,462,730
1,401,892
818,057
396,738
149,781
103,079
52,590
80,642
18,398
2011
2,473,037
1,430,533
823,620
402,814
153,776
104,763
53,417
78,664
18,401
2012
2,502,319
1,459,144
841,381
406,391
161,738
107,133
55,656
79,645
18,825
2013
2,564,403
1,485,769
860,533
397,775
165,199
111,441
57,390
79,171
18,456
2014
2,622,649
1,515,930
878,931
396,395
172,021
115,815
58,763
79,608
18,438
2015
2,678,891
1,547,326
903,511
405,986
179,149
125,167
61,753
80,420
18,796
2016
2,693,456
1,572,066
921,184
420,259
184,353
131,782
63,664
81,745
18,519
2017
2,701,484
1,603,660
931,565
437,630
185,281
143,173
65,830
78,476
19,047
2018
2,685,885
1,628,417
932,389
445,817
191,261
148,579
68,336
70,514
18,687
2019
2,675,375
1,659,783
941,074
447,524
196,701
155,021
69,388
71,896
18,736
2020
2,726,173
1,120,186
919,768
406,112
113,675
126,349
54,666
62,872
13,266
2021
2,724,482
1,184,056
933,392
397,058
149,369
130,693
66,780
66,087
12,895
2022
2,765,998
1,419,906
958,353
440,465
187,401
118,438
72,011
69,529
14,142
2023
2,805,984
1,513,674
975,670
480,403
203,422
132,060
75,695
74,976
14,836
Note: Data are for private industry, except as noted. Gasoline station data for 2001–2021 are industry code 4471 in the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), gasoline stations data for 2022–2023 are code 4571 in the current NAICS. Data for airports operated under state government ownership are not available and not included in the totals. Data for the most recent year are preliminary.
Many Americans will prepare special foods on Labor Day, perhaps for a picnic or a barbeque. Almost none of them could do so without a trip (or trips) to the grocery store. Grocery store employment averaged 2.8 million during 2023 and has generally increased over the past dozen years. From 2001 to 2012, employment in grocery stores was close to 2.5 million.
A Labor Day getaway might be a road trip, with stops at some of the nation's gas stations, which employed about 976,000 workers during 2023. Labor Day might also involve travel by air. Airlines in the United States (providing scheduled passenger service) employed 480,000 workers. At least 132,000 workers were employed in airport operations in 2023.
Employment at hotels and motels (excluding casino hotels) averaged over 1.5 million in 2023. It was over 1.6 million in 2016, 2017, and 2019 before falling to 1.1 million in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Other Labor Day destinations might include amusement and theme parks (with average employment of 203,000 in 2023), RV parks and recreational camps (76,000), and nature parks and other similar institutions (75,000).
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Data for 2023 are preliminary. QCEW data are calculated with data in quarterly reports from establishments covered by the unemployment insurance program. Employment that is not covered by unemployment insurance (for example, the self-employed) is not included in QCEW data. Data are for private industry, except as noted. Data for airports owned by state governments are not available and are not included in the totals.
United States Department of Labor
