Spotlight on Statisitcs recent articles

As the population ages, the workforce that provides long-term services and support to elderly people—as well as those with disabilities and others needing assistance—has grown considerably. Traditionally, much of this care has been provided in institutional settings, such as nursing homes. However, many people prefer to age in place, both because they wish to remain in their homes and because it may be less expensive.

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.