It’s estimated that 25 percent of Americans plan to get out of town for the Labor Day weekend, and that 86 percent of them plan to travel by car. If you’re one of these, be sure to drive carefully. Another estimate is that about 400 people will die in traffic accidents during the holiday weekend, and 45,300 will sustain serious injuries.
The top travel destinations are New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Chicago.
I wish I’d be at a cookout like the 40.6 percent of Americans who plan to barbecue over Labor Day.
A lot of people will probably be working on the holiday weekend because the largest category in the workforce is retail with 4,450,000 salespeople and second is food preparation and service workers with 3,680,000. Third is cashiers with 3,640,000 workers.
Americans take an average of 17.4 days of vacation a year, but 55 percent of them left vacation days unused in 2018. Eighty percent say they’d take more time off if their boss was more supportive and 37 percent say they’re afraid vacations make them appear less dedicated to work or replaceable.
Although I’ve been writing about Labor Day sales for a couple of months and there are some really good ones, only about 23 million consumers will be shopping compared to 67 million who will be barbecuing. Top items on sale include clothing, appliances, mattresses, cars, furniture, and computers.
I think I’ll join the 35 million Americans who plan to have some quiet time. A similar number, 36 million, plan to go to a movie.
See “Facts and Figures for Labor Day 2019” for details.
I hope you have a great Labor Day celebration. It’s good to take time to recognize the importance of the American worker to the health and economics of the country.
