America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2007 presents an overview of current conditions and notable trends affecting the American labor market and economic activity.

Primary emphasis is on measures of labor market performance – employment, labor force participation, unemployment, and compensation. General measures of economic performance such as gross domestic product (GDP) and productivity growth are also described as they relate to labor market conditions and trends.

Throughout this report the focus is on the data – what the numbers actually say about the American labor market – and on how individual data items fit together to present an overall portrait of the health and dynamism of the market.

The report shows that the American labor market is strong and resilient. Labor market indicators describe an economy that is creating jobs, expanding output, and rewarding work with good compensation. Since job growth began recovering in 2003 from the effects of the last recession, the economy has tallied 46 consecutive months of job gains (through June 2007, the latest data available for this report). Employment has reached record heights. The report also recognizes that, even as our economy grows steadily, there are challenges. The United States and the world are experiencing a major economic transformation. Technology has accelerated the pace of change, and the United States is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.

The American economy is creating good jobs. The majority of employment growth over the past six years was in occupations with above-average compensation (wages plus benefits). This trend is likely to continue in the future, and most new jobs projected for the future are expected to be filled by persons with some kind of post-secondary education. Education to gain the knowledge and skills that are in demand is the key to success in America’s dynamic labor market.

Workers who bring to the labor market the knowledge and skills that today’s competitive economy demands are finding good jobs and rising compensation.

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Provided by U.S. Department of Labor, August 2007.

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SECRETARY’S MESSAGE
BY U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR ELAINE L. CHAO

Today’s U.S. economy is healthy and resilient. Despite recent challenges, including a declining housing market, financial market volatility, and high energy prices, the fundamentals of our economy remain positive. America’s labor market is vibrant: unemployment is low, compensation is rising, and millions of new jobs have been created in the past four years.

In the first half of 2007, the unemployment rate averaged 4.5 percent. That’s lower than the 4.6 percent average of 2006 and about a full point lower than the 5.7 percent average unemployment rate of the 1990s.

By June 2007, the latest month for which data for this report were available, the United States had enjoyed 46 months of uninterrupted job growth. More than 8.2 million net new jobs had been created in the United States since August 2003. This level of job creation reflects the overall economic growth that our country has been experiencing. The U.S. economy grew at an average rate of 2.9 percent in 2006.

But even though our economy has grown, there are challenges. Our country is in the middle of a major economic transformation. Technology has accelerated the pace of change and our country is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.

Good jobs are still being created. In fact, the majority of employment growth over the past six years was in occupations with above-average compensation. But there is a caveat. Most of the new jobs projected for the future are expected to be filled by persons with some kind of post-secondary education. Over the next decade, new jobs will be created in high-growth industries, including health care, geospatial technology, and the life sciences. Education to gain the knowledge and skills that are in demand is key to future success in America’s dynamic labor market.

Workers who acquire and maintain competitive knowledge and skills are finding jobs with good compensation. Our goal at the Department of Labor is to ensure that all workers have access to the information, training, and resources that will help them get the skills they need to access the growing opportunities in our nation’s 21st century economy.

Despite the difficult challenges that America has confronted over the past six years, our economy remains healthy and resilient. Its strength is a tribute to the dynamism, productivity, and flexibility of our nation’s workforce.

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