Facts of labor life

• The unemployment rate for Sacramento County is slightly below that for the state as a whole; 4.7 percent of the eligible workers in Sacramento County are out of work, while 4.9 percent of all eligible California workers don’t currently have a job.

Source: California Employment Development Department

• The average per capita income for the Sacramento metro area in 2005 was $35,463, slightly above the national average of $34,471. The average per capita personal income for California as a whole was $36,936.

Source: U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Economic Accounts

• California is one of 25 states with minimum wages mandated by law that are higher than the federal minimum wage. California’s current minimum wage is $7.50 per hour, due to rise to $8 per hour on January 1, 2008. The current federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor; California Department of Industrial Relations

• The number of workers who are members of unions has been steadily declining. In 2000, 13.4 percent of workers were union members; by 2006, that figure had dropped to 12 percent.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• Unions aren’t just about negotiating benefits—they make a real difference in wages, too. In 2006, union workers averaged $833 a week in pay. Their non-union counterparts averaged $642 per week.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• Almost 14,000 people were laid off from their jobs in 2006. Californians accounted for 3,702 of them.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• The average American worker made a respectable $690 a week in the second quarter of 2007. But there are some pretty major differences, based on ethnicity and gender, in the average income of workers. Workers average weekly wage, 2nd quarter 2007: all workers $690, men $763, women $607, African-American workers $562, African-American men $597, African-American women $521, Asian-American workers $827, Asian-American men $942, Asian-American women $709, Hispanic or Latino workers $503, Hispanic or Latino men $523, Hispanic or Latino women $470.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• The single biggest contributor to income appears to be education. On average, high-school dropouts earned $440 per week in 2007’s second quarter. A high-school diploma meant an average weekly increase of slightly more than $150—a very good reason to stay in school. An associate’s degree or some college bumped the average weekly pay another hundred bucks, while a bachelor’s degree put the average weekly pay over $1,000 per week. But without a doubt, those with advanced degrees earned more—an average of $1,220 per week, or better than $63,000 per year.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• In spite of White House spokesman Tony Fratto’s recent dismissal of reports that growth in U.S. incomes is almost entirely among those whose incomes are at the top of the ladder ($1 million or more per year) as “not a very interesting story,” income inequality accounts for some interesting Labor Day facts. Last year, the average CEO of a Standard & Poor’s 500 company received $14.8 million in pay and compensation. Compare that to the average worker’s $35,880. In 1980, the average CEO received 42 times as much pay as their workers; in 2005, that average CEO received 411 times as much as his (or rarely, her) employees.

Sources: The New York Times; Institute for Policy Studies; United for a Fair Economy; AFL-CIO 2007 Executive Pay Watch; Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor