Spotlight on Statisitcs recent articles

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.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, the services offered by grocery stores greatly expanded to include curbside pickup, online ordering, self-checkouts, and more. What better time to make a trip back to the grocery store to see how productivity has changed since all these developments?

In June 2024, the transportation and warehousing industry had an employment level of 6.6 million, accounting for 5 percent of all private-sector jobs. Transportation and warehousing encompasses a wide variety of industries, such as warehousing and storage, truck and air transportation, and school and city buses. This Spotlight examines these industries' differing employment trends, worker characteristics, earnings, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, and projected 2032 employment.

In Summer 2022, BLS conducted a survey of private-sector business establishments to learn about hiring, vacancies, and telework. At that time, when the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons per job opening were at near historic lows, many employers had difficulty filling job vacancies. This Spotlight focuses on hiring by industry and area. It also examines how establishments sought to attract new workers, including teleworkers.