On Sunday, I attended the Olympia Harbor Days celebration. After I enjoyed walking along the boardwalk and taking photos, I participated in another Labor Day typical activity – shopping. Although I didn’t find any bargains, it was fun to get out and walk along the waterfront, an area local activists worked to make available to the public.
I’m glad I’m not traveling. With the computer hack at Seattle International Airport, air travel is tough. Also, traffic is bad on Labor Day weekend and the chance of having an auto accident goes up significantly.
However, I’m close to Seattle, the top destination on many most popular Labor Day destination lists. Orlando, Anchorage, New York, and Boston also made one list of popular places to visit for this holiday.
While traveling and shopping on Labor Day are fun, the holiday is about recognizing the importance of the American worker.
Some statistics from my article, “Facts and Figures for Labor Day 2024,” on American workers are:
- 68 million Americans aged 16-plus are in the labor force.
- The national unemployment rate is 4.3 percent.
- The median annual household income is $75,149.
- The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009. The highest minimum wage is Washington, D.C. with $17.50. Some cities have a higher minimum wage for some workers.
- Eighty-five percent of full-time workers have health insurance.
- The top categories of workers in America are home health and personal care aides; retail salespersons; fast food and counter workers; general and operations managers; cashiers; and registered nurses.
So, cheers to the American worker.
I hope your Labor Day is going well and you don’t have to work. I’m headed out now to do some yard work now, another popular Labor Day activity. There’s a lot to do before winter sets in.
