The U.S. Department of Labor is reviewing nominations for members to serve on the newly reinstated National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. Candidates will include a diverse set of stakeholders—from those representing unions, employers or apprentices to community colleges and other institutions—to build a Registered Apprenticeship Program. Members will focus on expanding apprenticeships into fast-growing industries and sectors to create more…
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Marijuana consumption skews workforce drug test positivity rates
Sources: Quest Diagnostics, Secaucus, N.J.; CP staff The Covid-19 pandemic did not dampen workforce drug testing positivity for marijuana, which continued to increase last year in the general U.S. workforce, according to a new Quest Diagnostics analysis. Based on seven million-plus urine drug tests collected between January and December 2020, the overall rate of 4.4 percent was down only slightly…
Read MoreLead economist tracks pandemic’s waning effects on construction
Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the construction industry added 110,000 jobs in March, bringing to 931,000 the number gained since April 2020, or nearly 84 percent of those jobs lost during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The construction unemployment rate…
Read MorePandemic effects slightly skew 2020 union membership rates
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; CP staff Wage and salary workers who were members of unions represented 10.8 percent of the 2020 workforce, a 0.5 percent year-over-year gain, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. In construction, the union membership rate rose 0.1 point, to 12.8 percent or 1.05 million workers, over the same period.
Read MoreUnions’ share of U.S. workforce falls farther
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; CP staff
The 14.7 million wage and salary workers who were members of unions in 2018 represented 10.5 percent of the U.S. workforce, down 0.2 percent year-over-year, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report confirms. The figure underscores a sustained union membership rate decline since 1983, the first year for which comparable worker data are available. BLS calculated a rank-and-file of 17.7 million workers that year, or 20.1 percent of the wage and salary workforce.
Read MoreWorkforce age continues upward clip as Baby Boomers stay on the job
From U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Branch Chief Teri Morisi … By 2024, nearly one in four people in the labor force will likely be over the age of 55, a sharp change from 1994, when just under 12 percent of workers were at or above that age threshold. Workers 55 and older will represent the largest share of the 2024 workforce as measured by the other age groups of 16-24, 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54.
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