Employment

Employment

United States Labor Force Participation Rate from 1948 to 2011 by gender. Men are represented in light blue, women in pink, and the total in black.

There are approximately 154.4 million employed individuals in the US. Government is the largest employment sector with 22 million.^[81] Small businesses are the largest employer in the country representing 53% of US workers.^[74] The second largest share of employment belongs to large businesses that employ 38% of the US workforce.^[74]

The private sector employs 91% of Americans. Government accounts for 8% of all US workers. Over 99% of all employing organizations in the US are small businesses.^[74] The 30 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 64% of newly created jobs (those created minus those lost).^[74] Jobs in small businesses accounted for 70% of those created in the last decade.^[82]

The proportion of Americans employed by small business versus large business has remained relatively the same year by year as some small businesses become large businesses and just over half of small businesses survive more than 5 years.^[74] Amongst large businesses, several of the largest companies and employers in the world are American companies. Amongst them are Walmart, the largest company and the largest private sector employer in the world, which employs 2.1 million people world-wide and 1.4 million in the US alone.^[83][84]

United States mean duration of unemployment 1948–2010.

There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the U.S. Minorities such as Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans (35% of the country's population),^[85] own 4.1 million of the country's businesses. Minority-owned businesses generate almost $700 billion in revenue and employ almost 5 million workers in the U.S.^[74]

The median household income in the US as of 2008 is $52,029.^[87] About 284,000 working people in the US have two full-time jobs and 7.6 million have a part-time job in addition to their full-time employment.^[81] Of working individuals in the US, 12% belong to a labor union; most union members are government workers.^[81]

In May 2009, the unemployment rate was 9.4%.^[88] A broader measure of unemployment (taking into account marginally attached workers, those employed part-time for economic reasons, and discouraged workers) was 15.9%.^[89] In 2009 and 2010, following the financial crisis of 2007–2010, the emerging problem of jobless recoveries resulted in record levels of long-term unemployment with over 6 million workers looking for work longer than 6 months as of January, 2010. This particularly affected older workers.^[56] Since the recession's end in June 2009 in the United States, immigrants have gained 656,000 jobs, while U.S.-born workers lost more than a million jobs.^[90]

In April 2010, the official unemployment rate was 9.9%, but the government’s broader U-6 unemployment rate was 17.1%.^[91] In the period between February 2008 and February 2010, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons has increased by 4 million to 8.8 million, an 83% increase in part-time workers during the two-year period.^[92]

Female unemployment continued to be significantly lower than male unemployment (7.5% vs. 9.8%). The unemployment among Caucasians continues to be much lower than African American unemployment (at 8.5% vs. 15.8%).^[88] The youth unemployment rate was 18.5% in July 2009, the highest July rate since 1948.^[93] The unemployment rate of young African American men was 34.5% in October 2009.^[94] Officially, Detroit’s unemployment rate is 27%, but Detroit News suggests that nearly half of this city’s working-age population may be unemployed.^[95]

In 1955, 55% of Americans worked in services, between 30% and 35% in industry, and between 10% and 15% in agriculture. By 1980, over 65% were employed in services, between 25% and 30% in industry, and less than 5% in agriculture.^[96]

Research, development, and entrepreneurship

See also: Technological and industrial history of the United States

Tennessee in 1897. The United States was a leader in the adoption of electric lighting.

The United States has been a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late 19th century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone. Thomas Edison's laboratory developed the phonograph, the first long-lasting light bulb, and the first viable movie camera. Nikola Tesla pioneered the AC induction motor and high frequency power transmission used in radio. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford popularized the assembly line. The Wright brothers, in 1903, made the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight.^[97]

The late Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were two of the best-known American entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.^[98]

According to Paul Reynolds, entrepreneurship scholar and creator of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, "by the time they reach their retirement years, half of all working men in the United States probably have a period of self-employment of one or more years; one in four may have engaged in self-employment for six or more years. Participating in a new business creation is a common activity among U.S. workers over the course of their careers."^[99] And in recent years has been documented by scholars such as David Audretsch to be a major driver of economic growth in both the United States and Western Europe.

Venture capital, as an industry, originated in the United States and it is still dominated by the U.S.^[100] According to the National Venture Capital Association 11% of private sector jobs come from venture capital backed companies and venture capital backed revenue accounts for 21% of US GDP.^[101]

Some new American businesses raise investments from angel investors (venture capitalists). In 2010 healthcare/medical accounted for the largest share of angel investments, with 30% of total angel investments (vs. 17% in 2009), followed by software (16% vs. 19% in 2007), biotech (15% vs. 8% in 2009), industrial/energy (8% vs. 17% in 2009), retail (5% vs. 8% in 2009) and IT services (5%).^{[102][clarification needed]}

Americans are “venturesome consumers” who are unusually willing to try new products of all sorts, and to pester manufacturers to improve their products.^[103]

Income and wealth

A middle-class suburban development in San Jose, California

Main articles: Income in the United States and Wealth in the United States

See also: Personal income in the United States, Household income in the United States, Income inequality in the United States, Poverty in the United States, Affluence in the United States, and Homeownership in the United States

According to the United States Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2007 was $50,233. The median ranged from $68,080 in Maryland to $36,338 in Mississippi.^[104]

In 2007, the median real annual household income rose 1.3% to $50,233, according to the Census Bureau.^[105] The real median earnings of men who worked full-time, year-round climbed between 2006 and 2007, from $43,460 to $45,113. For women, the corresponding increase was from $33,437 to $35,102. The median income per household member (including all working and non-working members above the age of 14) was $26,036 in 2006.^[106] The average home in the United States has more than 700 square feet per person, which is 50%–100% more than the average in other high-income countries. Even in the lowest income percentiles people enjoy more space – average 400 square feet per person – than middle classes in Europe do. Likewise, ownership rates of gadgets and amenities are exceptionally high compared to other countries.^{[107][108][109]}

The recently released US Income Mobility Study showed economic growth resulted in rising incomes for most taxpayers over the period from 1996 to 2005. Median incomes of all taxpayers increased by 24 percent after adjusting for inflation. The real incomes of two-thirds of all taxpayers increased over this period. Income mobility of individuals was considerable in the U.S. economy during the 1996 through 2004 period with roughly half of taxpayers who began in the bottom quintile moving up to a higher income group within 10 years. In addition, the median incomes of those initially in the lower income groups increased more than the median incomes of those initially in the higher income groups.^[110]

Between June 2007 and November 2008 the global recession led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value.^[111] Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth is down $14 trillion.^[112] The Fed also said that at the end of 2008, the debt owed by nonfinancial sectors was $33.5 trillion, including household debt valued at $13.8 trillion.^[113] About 30% of the entire world's millionaire population resides in the United States (in 2009).^[114] The Economist Intelligence Unit estimated in 2008 that there were 16,600,000 millionaires in the U.S.^[115] Furthermore, 34% of the world's billionaires are American (in 2011).^[73][116]

Financial position

Components of total US debt as a fraction of GDP 1945–2009

Main article: Financial position of the United States

The overall financial position of the United States as of 2009 includes $50.7 trillion of debt owed by US households, businesses, and governments, representing more than 3.5 times the annual gross domestic product of the United States.^[31] As of the first quarter of 2010, domestic financial assets^A totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities $106 trillion.^[32] Tangible assets in 2008 (such as real estate and equipment) for selected sectors^B totaled an additional $56.3 trillion.^[117]

Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt.^[118] Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk.^[119][120] Lawrence Summers, Matthew Yglesias and other economists state that at such low rates, government debt borrowing saves taxpayer money, and improves creditworthiness.^[121][122] In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the US and UK both reduced their debt burden by about 30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but there is no guarantee that government debt rates will continue to stay so low.^[119][123] In January, 2012, the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association unanimously recommended that government debt be allowed to auction even lower, at negative absolute interest rates.^[124]

Now that the connection between public and private debt is better-known,^[125][126] U.S. combined debts are worrisome. See of the Great Depression: Debt Deflation.

Composition

Main article: Economy of the United States by sector

See also: Technological and industrial history of the United States and Agriculture in the United States

 

Boeing 747-8 wing-fuselage sections during final assembly.

Although most of the U.S. economy is composed of services, the United States is the world's largest manufacturer, with a 2009 industrial output of US$2.33 trillion. Its manufacturing output is greater than of Germany, France, India, and Brazil combined.^[127] Main industries include petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction machinery, aerospace, agricultural machinery, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, and mining. The US leads the world in airplane manufacturing,^[128] which represents a large portion of US industrial output. American companies such as Boeing, Cessna (see: Textron), Lockheed Martin (see: Skunk Works), and General Dynamics produce a vast majority of the world's civilian and military aircraft in factories stretching across the United States.

The manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy has experienced substantial job losses over the past several years.^[129][130] In January 2004, the number of such jobs stood at 14.3 million, down by 3.0 million jobs, or 17.5 percent, since July 2000 and about 5.2 million since the historical peak in 1979. Employment in manufacturing was its lowest since July 1950.^[131] The number of steel workers fell from 500,000 in 1980 to 224,000 in 2000.^[132]

A wheat harvest in Idaho

The U.S. produces approximately 18% of the world's manufacturing output, a number that has declined as other nations developed competitive manufacturing industries.^[127] The job loss during this continual volume growth is the result of multiple factors including increased productivity, trade, and secular economic trends.^[133] In addition, growth in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, heavy machinery and other industries along with declines in low end, low skill industries such as clothing, toys, and other simple manufacturing have resulted in U.S. jobs being more highly skilled and better paying.^{[citation needed]} There has been much debate within the United States on the decline in manufacturing jobs are related to American Unions and lower foreign wages.^{[134][135][136]}

Although agriculture comprises less than two percent of the economy, the United States is a net exporter of food. With vast tracts of temperate arable land, technologically advanced agribusiness, and agricultural subsidies, the United States controls almost half of world grain exports.^[137] Products include wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish.