(5-A) ~ Health-Care Benefits ~ [A1] General, [A2] Maternity Leave, ~
(5-B) ~ Unemployment Benefits and Rates ~
(5-C) ~ Retirement Benefits ~
(5-D) ~ Temporary Employment ~
(5-E) ~ Wages and Hours ~
(5-F) ~ Saving, Credit, Bankruptcies ~
(5-G) ~ Jobs and Labor-Force Size Data ~ [G1] General, [G2] Factory, ~
(5-H) ~ Social Costs ~
(5- I) ~ Work Force Population Shifts ~
(5-J) ~ Labor/Management Relations and Work Rules ~
(5-K) ~ Female Participation in the Work Force ~
(5-L) ~ Trade Disadvantages ~
(5-M) ~ Economic Polarization ~
(5-N) ~ Sustainability Issues ~
(5-O) ~ Currency Declines ~
(5-P) ~ Globalization Case Studies ~ [P1] Viet Nam, [P2] China, [P3] Japan, [P4] EU, ~
(5-Q) ~ Human Capital Issues ~
(5-R) ~ Financial Capital Glut, ~
(5-S) ~ Labor Force Participation ~
(5-T) ~ Caste System ~
(5-U) ~ Natural Resource Prices ~
!- - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------------
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

SECTION (5-A) ~ HEALTH-CARE BENEFITS ~ [A1]~General, [A2]~Maternity Leave, ~

64% of college graduates in the US received health coverage in entry-level jobs in 2005, vs. 71% in 2000. 33% of workers with high school diplomas received health coverage in entry-level jobs, vs. 67% in 1979 (06G3).

Percentage of large companies (more than 500 employees) offering health coverage to retired employees (from a graph) (Data from Mercer). (Wall Street Journal (12/28/07))

Percentage of US firms with more than 200 employees that offer retiree health benefits: (from a graph) (06W1) ((in gci.html Section (3-A)[A1])

Sources: Kaiser/ HRET; KMPG; Health Insurance Association of America.

The percentage of the US on private medical insurance not job-related fell from 6.9 to 5.5% during 1997-2003 (04F2).

During 1997-2003 the percentage of the US population enrolled in public health insurance (Medicaid and SCHIP) increased from 7.6 to 11.9% while the percentage of uninsured fell from 15.4 to 15.0% (04F2).

The percentage of children enrolled in programs such as State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) increased from 37.9 to 49.3% during 2001-03 (a big reason why the number of US uninsured did not grow significantly during 2001-03 (04F2).

During the economic boom of the late 1990s, the percentage of Americans with health benefits tied to their jobs rose modestly, e.g. employer medical insurance covered 65.1% of the population in 1997 (04F2).

The number of Americans with job-related health benefits declined to 63 from 67% between 2001-03 (04F2). The cost of health insurance increased 28% over these two years (04F2).

Some 5.5 million people received long-term disability benefits in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, a 62% jump since 1992 (03P2).

As recently as 3-5 years ago, most companies paid health benefits for the long-term disabled until they were 65 (when federal Medicare benefits kick in). Today, 15% of companies do. 27% of companies now fire disabled workers as soon as they go on long-term disability (03P2).

In a survey of 435 large employers in 12/02, The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 5% considered themselves very or somewhat likely to terminate subsidized health care coverage for current retirees at some point in the future (03C2).

About 22% or American retirees (about 8.8 million people) get health insurance through a former employer, according to the Department of Labor (03C2).

The United Steelworkers of America says that nearly 200,000 retired steelworkers nationwide have lost health care benefits or will lose them in the coming months because of the bankruptcies of LTV and Bethlehem Steel (03C2).

Americans without Health Insurance, in millions (Wall Street Journal (9/12/03)) (from a graph)

On average, large employers pay 60% of retirees' health-care costs, while retirees contribute the remaining 40% (02K1). The companies surveyed have 5.4 million employees and their family members. Health care benefits cost them $12.5 billion in 2001 and an estimated $14.5 billion in 2002 (02K1).

85% of large employers said they would continue to pass on more health care costs to retirees. Over 2002 retiree contributions increased an average of 20% (02K1).

More than one third of the large employers that offer health care to retired workers have recently stopped such benefits for future retirees (13%), or expect to do so within the next three years (22%) (02K1). (in gci.html)

Only 38% of all new jobs in the US offered health benefits, vs. 43% in 1979 (93Z2).

In 2000 the number of Americans with no health-care insurance fell 600,000 to 38.7 million from 39.3 million in 1999 (Census Bureau data) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (12/6/01)).

In 2001 the number of Americans with no health insurance increased to 41.2 million (14.6%) from 39.8 million (14.2%) in 2000 (Census Bureau data) (Wall Street Journal (9/30/02)).

One out of every 8 Americans have no private or public health insurance, and 65% of these 32.7 million people are working adults and their families. 178 million Americans have private health insurance, including 20 million American Medicare beneficiaries who have purchased private supplemental insurance. Medicaid covers 12 million Americans who are covered solely by Medicaid. Nationwide, America's private hospitals in 1984, handed out $6.9 billion in debts and charity. The study found a major portion of this uncompensated care - $6.7 billion- was cost-shifted onto the hospital bills of privately insured patients (Stephen G. Thompkins, Pittsburgh Press (8/4/86) reporting on an AHA study "Cost and Compassion").

Pre-Medicare-eligible Retired Employees receiving Medical Coverage from Employers (for employers with 500+ workers) (William M. Mercer Inc. data) (Wall Street Journal (3/13/01)):

In 1998 (the latest year for which full statistics are available) 62.9% of US private sector workers had employer-provided health insurance (vs. 63.1% in 1989) (01U1).

The number of Americans without health insurance increased by 1.1 million during 1996, although the percentage without it, 15.6%, remained unchanged (Census Bureau data) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/30/97)).

US Health Care Economics (Peter T. Kilborn, Pittsburgh Post Gazette (2/28/99))

• 43.4 Americans do not have health insurance.
• In 1985, nearly 2/3 of all businesses with 100 or more workers paid full cost of an individual worker's healthcare. In 1995 1/3 did.
• Employers that asked workers to pay part of the cost of health insurance through payroll deductions raised the worker's share from 13% in 1988 to 22% in 1996.

Americans Without Health Insurance (Wall Street Journal (2/23/98) and (9/28/98) and (9/30/02)) (Census Bureau data) (from a graph) (Numbers are in millions)

39% of the 503 small businesses surveyed said they offer health-care benefits in mid-1998 (46% in mid-1996). (Wall Street Journal (6/24/98)).

57% of companies provided dental coverage in 1995, vs. 77% in 1984. Among those who retained coverage (in 1995), 54% helped pay for individual coverage, vs. 34% in 1988 (Wall Street Journal (11/10/98)) (Bureau of Labor Statistics data).

The number of new hourly jobs with health insurance dropped from 23% of the total in 1979 to 15% in 1988 (Clare Ansberry, Thomas F. O'Boyle, "Voice of a Generation Fear for Status of American Dream", Wall Street Journal (8/12/92)).

Number of people in the US without health insurance for all of 1992: 37.4 million (Wall Street Journal (10/05/93)) (22.2% under age 18; 42.2% aged 18-34; 27.3% aged 35-54, 8.3% over age 55).

In a study of 56 retiree health plans offered by companies with at least 5000 active employees, it was found that 17% have "virtually eliminated their liabilities for such benefits by requiring retirees to pay the full premium. 20% have eliminated such plans altogether for new hires (02G1).

The share of private-sector establishments offering health insurance to retirees under age 65 dropped to 12% in 2000 from 21.6% in 1997. Offerings to retirees who were 65 and older dropped to 10.7% from 19.5% during 1997-2000 (02G1).

Employers who continue to offer retiree health benefits to future retirees and new hires have reduced their share of the premiums, on average, from 80% for current retirees to less than 60% for future retirees. They are also requiring longer stints at the company to qualify, with only about 25% of the plans offering benefits as of last year to workers retiring with 5 or fewer years of service, compared with nearly 90% in 1984 (02G1).

Although 25% of companies have imposed caps on their contributions to each retiree's health care premiums, 39% have imposed them for current employees who qualify for future benefits, and 45% have caps in place for new hires. Also the caps are dropping. The median cap of $4450 for current retirees under age 65 drops to $3900 for future retirees (02G1).

In the 1980s, a 60-year-old employee with 10 years on the job could expect to contribute 39% of total lifetime retirement medical costs not paid by Medicare. By 2001, that share had shop up to 68%. By 2031, retirees shifted to medical accounts or plans with caps can expect to pay 92% of these costs (02G1).

A survey of 1002 US employers of 10/13/05 by the Families and Work Institute shows that 17% of US companies now offer full pay during maternity leave, vs. 27% in 1998. Another 2005 survey of 386 human resource managers by Society for human resource managers showed that 17% of those employers paid maternity leave, down from 19% in 2001 (05S2).

Go to top of this Section (5-A) ~ Health-Care benefits ~
Go to top of this Chapter 5 - Economic/ Social Degradation in the Developed World ~
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

Legally mandated severance costs in weeks of pay (based on a set of assumptions including 20 years of full-time employment) Source: World Bank. (06W4)
US (0); Italy (1.7); Singapore (4.0); Japan (8.6); UK (22.1); France (31.8); India (55.9); Germany (69.3); China (91.0); Indonesia (108.3); Sri Lanka (177.7); Egypt (186.3); Sierra Leone (328.7); Zimbabwe (446.3).

About 3.6 million American workers ran out of unemployment insurance benefits in 2004, the most in at least 3 decades (John Leland, "For Unemployed, Wait for New Work Grows Longer", New York Times (1/9/05)). (gci.html)

According to the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, the percentage of unemployed US workers who qualified for unemployment insurance (now known as "employment insurance") dropped from 87% in 1989 to 39% in 2001 (03M3). (in gci.html)

US unemployment rates: 8.1% in the 1980s, 4.8% in the 1960s (87T1).

Only 15% of workers displaced in the last recession expect to return to their former jobs, compared with an average of 44% in four previous recessions (93Z2).

Nationwide, the maximum severance offered by 168 employers to rank-and-file employees averaged 24 weeks of pay, compared with 30 weeks in 1997, says a survey by Manchester Inc. a career-management firm. Because employees stay on jobs for shorter periods these days, tenure-based packages may not be as big (Wall Street Journal (6/5/01)).

Japanese Unemployment Rates (Datastream data) (Wall Street Journal (12/28/98)) (from a graph)

Comments: The mid-1990s increase probably resulted from a real estate valuation bubble bursting. The long-term trend probably reflects the need to compete with growing Chinese exports and Chinese wages far smaller than Japan's.

Value of US Food Stamps issued in fiscal years ending Sept.30 (in $billions) (Agriculture Department Data) (from a chart)

Since the Canadian-US free trade agreement came into effect, the Canadian Unemployment Insurance Program has been repeatedly reformed so that less than 50% of unemployed workers now qualify for benefits, vs. over 90% in 1988. Welfare benefits have also been cut severely. Social spending has fallen sharply as a share of the economy (Wall Street Journal (12/23/97)).

Go to top of this Chapter 5 ~ Economic/ Social Degradation in the Developed World ~
Go to top of this Section (5-B) ~ Unemployment Benefits and Rates ~
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

Percentage of working-age households at risk of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement, by age and income (from a chart prepared by Retirement Research at Boston College) (06R1)

The tendency of younger workers to have more problems is attributed to (declining) rates of personal savings, changes (mainly reductions or eliminations) in employer pension plans, and changes in social security in recent decades (06R1).

In 2004, 11% of Fortune 1000 companies had frozen or terminated pension plans, up from 7% in 2003 according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Experts expect the trend to continue. Companies in the S&P 500 have $292 billion in non-funded health care and other retirement benefits, vs. a $150 billion pension-funding shortfall (S&P data of 2005) (Len Boselovic and Christopher Snowbeck, "Future of health, pension benefits cloudy", Pittsburgh Post Gazette (12/29/05), p. E1.).

Degree to which U.S. single-employer pension plans are under-funded (Source: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) (From a chart in Pittsburgh Post Gazette (8/15/05) p. A8) (in billions of US$). (In Section (3-A) [2] of gci.html.)

Magnitude of US Pension Plan Deficits (05G1) (in gci.html)

Row 1: Number of corporations reporting deficits in their pension plans in excess of $50 million.
Row 2: Aggregate deficit in these pension plans (in billions of US$).

20% of employees in the US currently has a traditional pension plan with their employers. Two decades ago the figure was 40% (05G1). (in gci.html.)

Companies paid $1.5 billion in premiums in 2003 to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (The PBGC is not taxpayer-financed.) (04B1).

The number of retirees and workers entitled to pension benefits from PBGC topped one million in 2004 (04B1).

The PBGC paid out $3.0 billion in retirement benefits to US retirees during the fiscal year ending 9/30/04 (04B1).

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), the federal agency that insures pension plans covering more than 44 million Americans, reported a record deficit of $23.5 billion on 11/15/04, vs. the previous record of $11.5 billion set in 2003 (04B1). Large corporate pension plans accounted for nearly the entire PBGC deficit, which measures the difference between the PBGC's $40.1 billion in assets and the $63.6 billion in benefits it is obligated to pay. In 2001 the PBGC had a surplus of $7.8 billion (04B1).

In 2003, 1119 company pension plans were terminated in the US. Since 2000, companies have shuttered nearly 7500 pension plans in the US (04O1). About 31,000 private sector pension plans still exist in the US (04O1). (in gci.html)

During the first 8 months of 2004, more than 1200 pension plans were terminated in the US, affecting tens of thousands of workers across the US, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) (04O1). (in gci.html)

During fiscal year 2002, 144 failed companies with 187,000 retirees turned worker pension plans over to the federal government, vs. 89,000 retirees in FY 2001 (03C2).

Only 15% of all new jobs offered pension benefits, vs. 23% (in 1979?) (93Z2).

During 1950-75, the percentage of private sector, full-time, year-round employees in jobs where they were earning credits toward a pension roughly doubled to 52%. The employee Benefit Research Institute reported that the share of all civilian non-farm workers who were earning credits toward a pension dropped from about 50% of the labor force in 1979 to 46.1% in 1983 and 44.2% in 1988. This means that 57 million workers weren't earning credits. Experts expect that for a while, the ratio of elderly retirees receiving pensions will grow beyond the current 30%, reflecting the upward surge in pension-covered jobs in 1950-75 and a recent law reducing, to 5 years, the time a person must usually work in a firm's plan to "vest"- earn a permanent right to some future pension. But the number of recipients will level off and perhaps even start dropping because of the decline in workers earning credits on the job (91U1).

In 1998 (the latest year for which full statistics are available) 49.2% had employer-provided pension plans (vs.44.3% in 1989 and 51.1% in 1978) (01U1).

An article by Ellen E. Schultz (Wall Street Journal (7/27/00)) discusses the trend of US employers devising all types of complex revisions to pension rules that result in reduced pensions without employees being aware of what is happening. A lawyer who runs a pension-consulting firm in Dallas was quoted as saying, "Never have so few plundered so much from so many."

Roughly half of the workers on private payrolls do not have employer-sponsored retirement plans at all. About 74% of the best-paid fifth of American workers participate in some form of pension plan on the job, but only 17% of the lowest-paid fifth do (Economic Policy Institute analysis of Labor Department data) (Wall Street Journal (3/7/02)).

19% of the 503 small businesses surveyed said they offer retirement plans in mid-1998. The figure for mid-1996 was 28% (Wall Street Journal (6/24/98)).

The number of new hourly jobs with pensions dropped to 30% of the total in 1988 from 43% in 1979 (Clare Ansberry, Thomas F. O'Boyle, "Voice of a Generation Fear for the Status of American Dream", Wall Street Journal (8/12/92)).

Go to top of this Section (5-C) ~ Retirement Benefits ~
Go to top of this Chapter 5 ~ Economic/ Social Degradation in the Developed World ~
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

SECTION (5-D) ~ TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT/ CONTRACT LABOR ~

The number of US workers working part-time for economic reasons in 2007 was 4.79 million vs. 4.13 million in 2006, the highest since 1993. In 2007, 1.8 million people in the US worked at two (or more?) part-time jobs for economic reasons, the highest number since the government began tracking such data in 1994 (08M1).

The average supermarket employee lost 3 hours per week since 2003, from 32.3 hours to 29.5 hours. Retain workers overall have lost 0.7 hours per week over the same period (08M1).

Overall the part-time share of the job market in the US has been fairly constant, accounting for about 17% of jobs (08M1).

Part-time jobs typically pay 10% to 20% less per hour than comparable full-time work. Often they receive no health or retirement benefits and little job security, even though some "part-timers" work 60 hours per week or more. Those working two part-time jobs are taxed twice for unemployment insurance (08M1).

Number of people in the US working part-time for economic reasons (in millions) (from a chart) (Source: US Labor Department) (08M1)
2001 - 3.2 || 2002 - 4.2 || 2003 - 4.4 || 2004 - 4.4 || 2005 - 4.3 || 2006 - 4.1 || 2007 - 4.3 ||

There are an estimated 117,600 day- laborers in the US on a typical day. An interview of 2600 day-laborers at 264 hiring sites found that they earn a median of $10/ hour and $700/ month. Incredibly high incidence of wage violations and injuries were found. 49% of those interviewed said that in the previous 2 months an employer had not paid them for one or more day's work. 44% said that some employers did not give them any breaks during the workday. 28% said employers had insulted them (06G1).

The Bush administration announced, on 11/14/03, plans to eliminate about half of the 1.7 million federal civilian workers by contracting out jobs. Advocates of this estimate savings of more than 30% (03H1). (in gci.html)

A K-Mart spokesman stated that one of the corporation's goals is to staff the company's 1800 stores mostly with part-time people (who will not be eligible for benefits) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/4/02)).

A decade ago, BankAmerica had mostly full-time employees. Soon, only 19% will work full time; nearly 60% will work fewer than 20 hours per week and receive no benefits (93Z2).

A series of articles (93Z2) argues that companies are turning to contingent labor - part-timers, temporaries, and contract-labor -- to avoid fringe benefits and increase profits.

Part-timers (no benefits) in Japan now make up 23% of the work force, up from 17% in 1995, according to government data. Many of these "part-timers" work 48 hours per week. Both the US and Europe have been adding temporary- and part-time workers to their work forces (Yumiko Ono, Wall Street Journal (12/19/01)).

"Contingent workers" under one US government definition, are people who've worked on a job for a year or less, and who expect to work there for another year or less. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the number of such workers in 1997 as just over 3 million, vs. 3.4 million in 1995. Of those, only 9.4% had employer-sponsored health insurance, and 13% were offered pension coverage (Wall Street Journal (1/12/99)).

Average job tenure in the US: 7 years in 2001; 8 years in 2000; 9 years in 1999. (This is from a survey of about 2000 laid-off clients of outplacement concern Drake Beam Morin as reported in Wall Street Journal, early in 2002.)

31% of the 503 small businesses surveyed said they hired temporary workers in 1997. The figure for 1996: 22% (Wall Street Journal (6/24/98)).

Europe's temporary-labor market is growing by more than 10%/ year.
US has 40% of the global temp market.
France has 30% of the global temp market.
3.2% of workers in the Netherlands are temp workers.
2.2% of workers in the US are temp workers.
1.9% of workers in Britain are temp workers.
(Helene Cooper and Thomas Kamm, "Loosening Up", Wall Street Journal (early 1998).)

In 1997, Spanish employers and unions agreed to new regulations that reduce severance pay to 33 days/year worked from 45 days in return for lengthening the duration of labor contracts for first-time hires (Helene Cooper and Thomas Kamm, "Loosening Up", Wall Street Journal (early 1998)).

In France, 86% of new hires are on short-term contracts, usually for 6 months, renewable once, and they frequently have to work nights and weekends (Helene Cooper and Thomas Kamm, "Loosening Up", Wall Street Journal (early 1998)).

Go to top of this Section (5-D) ~ Temporary Employment/ Contract Labor ~
Go to top of this Chapter 5 ~ Economic/ Social Degradation in the Developed World ~
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

Entry-level wages for US college and high school graduates fell more than 4% from 2001 to 2005 in inflation-corrected terms. Entry-level wages for male college graduates fell by 7.3% to $19.72/ hour, while wages for female graduates fell 3.5% to $17.08. For men with high school diplomas, entry-level pay fell by 3.3% to $10.93/ hour from 2001 to 2005 (inflation corrected). For US female high school graduates, entry-level pay fell 4.9% to $9.08/ hour (06G3). (in gci.html Section (3-A) [A20] (06G3).

Americans put in 350 hours per year more on their jobs than the average European, even more than the Japanese (08R1).

Compensation costs (wages and benefits) for US civilian workers rose 3.1% for all of 2005, vs. 3.7% in 2004. The 2005 increase was the smallest annual increase since 1996. US Wages and salaries were up 2.6% for 2005, not enough to compensate for inflation (3.39%). The costs of benefits such as health insurance rose 4.5% in 2005, vs. 6.9% in 2004. (US Labor Department data) (06P1). (in gci.html, Ch. 3 as (06P1))

Wage growth in service industries rose 2.7% in 2004 to 3.2% in 2005. In manufacturing, the sector most exposed to global competition, wage growth fell from 2.6% in 2004 to 2.3% in 2005 (06U1).

The US Labor Department's inflation report of mid-May, 2005, noted that 80% of the US work force has seen its pay fail to keep up with price increases over the past year. For non-managers in both white- and blue-collar jobs, hourly wage gains have failed to beat inflation every month for the past year. The workweek lengthened in April of 2005, but inflation ate up all the added income from the additional work - and more; over the past year, average weekly earnings have fallen by 0.3% after inflation ("Wages Lag Inflation, Again", New York Times (5/23/05)). (In Section (3-A) of gci.html)

In the 1980s and 1990s, 2/3 of US workers who lost jobs in manufacturing industries hit by overseas competition earned less on their next job (study by Lori Kletzer). 25% of US workers who lost their jobs and were re-employed saw income fall 30% or more (04H2).

Singapore's living standards are higher than Germany's (04H1). (in ifp.html)

Between 1999 and 2001 the number of US homeowners who spent more than half their income on housing rose 36%, vs. 24% among renters (02A1). (in gci.html)

More than 4 million households are spending at least 50% of their salaries on rent or mortgages. This number is 67% greater than the 1998 figure (data from the Center for Housing Policy) (02A1).

In a study of how American industries were affected by increasing import competition in the 1980s and 1990s, it was found that, of the half-million workers who lost jobs in the furniture sector between 1979-99, 38% couldn't find new work. About 20% of those who did find new work had to take a pay cut of 30% or more (02H1).

Labor's share of the US GNP: 60.3% in 1979; 59.5% in 1985 (87T1).

Of the 10.7 million new earners added to the economy during 1979-85, 48.6% were paid less than $10,000 (in 1985 $), 30.5% were paid $10,000 to $25,000 (37.6% of the work force was in that range in 1979), and 20.9% were paid more than $25,000 (vs. 23.2% in 1979). Right across the earnings distribution, the new jobs were inferior to those the US economy had been generating before 1979 (87T1).

After correcting for inflation, the compensation to labor per hour of work rose 2.7%/ year during 1960-69, but fell 0.4%/year during 1979-85 (87T1).

Rate of growth of US GNP: 3.8%/year during 1960-69; 2%/ year during 1979-85 (87T1).

From 1976-85 the number of middle income male jobs (those paying from 75 to 125% of median male earnings ($13,334-$22,224) declined from 23.4% down to 20.3% of the male work force. The decline was larger (38% down to 32.6%) for male workers who worked full time all year (87T1).

According to a US Dept. of Labor report on 1998 wages, a 30-year-old American man with a high school diploma earned an average of $29,057 - 20% less, adjusted for reported inflation, than in 1974 (00M1).

Average hourly labor costs for 1990 (from a chart) (data from Institute of German Industries) (92R1)

Wage erosion was also a characteristic of the 1980s, especially among poorer and less-educated workers. They had to replace lost income by working an average of two weeks longer each year and rely on a huge influx of working wives. Without these factors, the median household income would have fallen sharply; with them it still stagnated (93Z2).

Total employment rose by 8 million jobs from 1979-84. But the number of jobs paying $14,000/ year or more in 1984 dollars declined by 1.8 million, and nearly 60% of the net job growth occurred in jobs paying less than $7000.

Between 1973-84, average family income (1984 $) dropped $787 to $31,052 (not including food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, employer-paid health- and pension benefits). Per-capita income rose, in real terms, to $12,149 (Wall Street Journal (9/8/86)). The family data uses the consumer-price index, while the per-capita series uses a price index based on the consumer-spending component of the GNP.

Income inequality is growing, not only between groups of different occupations and levels of education, but within them (e.g. the income gap between the highest-paid and the lowest-paid lawyers is also widening). This suggests that globalization cannot lie at the heart of the inequality dilemma (95W1).

Trade-related jobs in general, and export-related jobs in particular, pay better than the US overall average, and better even than the higher manufacturing average (95W1).

15 years ago, the average male college graduate earned 49% more than his counterpart with a high school diploma; by 1993 he was earning 83% more (US Labor Department data).

Real family income growth, 1979-1993 (in 1993 dollars) (US Labor Dept. data): Top 20% - +18%; Fourth 20% - +5%; Middle 20% - minus 3%; Second 20% - minus 8%; Bottom 20% - minus 17%.

Robert Z. Lawrence of Harvard suggests that US wage and job problems stem mostly from items such as slow productivity growth in services, technology changes and housing's high cost (Robert Keatley, Wall Street Journal (10/08/93)).

Between 1989-99, while the median hourly wage for all workers grew by 2.4%, the median income for all CEOs nearly doubled to an average of 3.5%. CEOs of the 350 biggest corporations earned an average of $12.4 million/year in salary, bonuses and stock options, a figure that grew more than 500% in the 1990s (01U1).

An average middle-class husband and wife worked 3885 hours in 1998, up 247 hours since 1990. Most of this increase reflects more working women and longer hours for women (01U1).

Year-to-Year percentage change in US employment cost indexes for all civilian workers (Bureau of Labor Statistics data) (Apparently not inflation-adjusted) (from a graph)

American household income during 1996 was $1083 below the 1989 peak of $36,575 after inflation is taken into account (Census Bureau data) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/30/97)).

The growth in US wage rates during 1979-1993 was virtually flat, after adjusting for inflation and including all benefits. In this period, output per worker-hour (i.e. productivity) increased 10%. The ratio of wages earned by college graduates to high-school graduates rose by 15% during the 1980s (Gene Epstein, Barron's (11/8/93)).

Average annual hours worked by US workers (Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal (5/16/02))

Since 1972 the median income of men 25-34 has fallen 26% after adjustment for inflation. For black men who did not finish high school, earnings fell by 50% between 1973-89 (report by Annie E. Casey Foundation (4/24/95)).

Hourly compensation costs, including wages and benefits, for factory workers (Wall Street Journal (1/26/98)) (Bureau of Labor Statistics data)

Inflation-adjusted Weekly Earnings for the Bottom 10% of the US Pay Scale (Wall Street Journal, 3/28/98) (from a graph)

Minimum Wages:
Indonesia $2.46/ day (Wall Street Journal (6/4/97))

Real wages for the majority of workers are declining in all three NAFTA countries. Real US median wages: $10.78/hour in 1993, $10.35/hour in 1996. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (7/30/97)).

Average weekly earnings in the private sector (1982 dollars) (Labor Department data) (from a chart):

Median household income for the US remains $1083 below its 1989 peak of $36,575 (inflation-adjusted) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/30/97)).

For a US family headed by a high school graduate or worker with some college, the hours at work per week since the 1960s increased by 17.4%, but real earnings increased during that period by less than 4% (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (8/17/98)).

The proportion of mothers working full time, year-around climbed to 39% of households with kids in 1996 from 17% in 1969. The median income for married couples with children expanded 25% between 1969-96 (inflation-corrected), but without the increased participation by mothers in the labor force, median income would have expanded by only 2% during the same period (Wall Street Journal (9/1/98)).

Number of US multiple-job holders: 4.9% of labor force in 1979, 6.3% in 1997. (Economic Policy Institute data) (Pittsburgh Press (9/15/98)).

Percentage of US Married Couples in which both Husband and Wife Work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics data) (From a chart)

Number of US Work Stoppages Involving 1000 Workers or More (from a plot) (Wall Street Journal (12/16/99))

A program entitled "Time Frenzy" on PBS, aired on the San Francisco affiliate on 8/30/00. It had to do with how Americans are experiencing terrible time pressure. Jack Kurzweil, Professor of Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University was one of those interviewed. Although population issues were not addressed, he did say that there are thousands of engineers recently laid off or unemployed a while, in their 40's and 50's, with enormous backgrounds of skills, who could learn the particular specialized skills required by a Silicon Valley company in three or four months of training.

Go to top of this Section (5-E) ~ Wages and Hours ~
Go to top of this Chapter 5 ~ Economic/ Social Degradation in the Developed World ~
Go to List of References of this Literature Review ~
Go to Table of Contents of this entire Literature Review ~
Go to "Globalization: The Convergence Option" ~ 
Go to Home Page of this Web Site ~

During the 10-year period from 1994 through 2003, personal bankruptcy filings in Japan increased from 40,000/ year to 240,000 (Source: The Financial Services Agency) (Yuka Hayashi, Wall Street Journal (4/27/06) p. C1) Comments: This may simply reflect Japan's economic downturn in the stock market during this period, which may have more to do with the real estate bubble than with globalization. When did the real estate bubble collapse?)

For American households with at least one person under age 35, the savings rate is minus 16% (06G3). (Americans have not spent less than they earned since the Great Depression of the 1930s (06G3).)

Since 1987, US home mortgages increased from $1.8 trillion to $8.2 trillion. (in gci.html - (07H1))

Since 1987, US consumer debt increased from $2.7 trillion to $11.0 trillion. (in gci.html - (07H1)).

Between 1987 and 2006, US household debt quadrupled. (in gci.html - (07H1))

The US government debt is now approaching $9.0 trillion (07H1).

The number of US families headed by people aged 55 or older with housing debt has increased steadily from 24% in 1992 to 36% in 2004, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington DC (Tim Grant, "Retiring with Debt," Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/28/07)).(In gci3.html.doc Section [3A9] on debt)

In the 4^th quarter of 2007, the number of American homes entering foreclosure rose to the highest level on record. More than 2% of all US mortgage loans were in the foreclosure process and 0.83% of loans entered the foreclosure process in the 4^th quarter of 2007. Both figures are the highest since records started being kept in 1972. (Mortgage Bankers Association data). The delinquency rate for home loans hit 5.82%, up nearly a 0.25% percentage point during the 4^th quarter of 2007 and the highest since 1985 when delinquency rates were over 6% (08R2).

In the 4^th quarter of 2007, homeowners' share of equity in their homes fell to a post-World-War-II low. In 2007, for the first time, American homeowners, in the aggregate, owed less than half the value of their houses. Their share of home equity dropped to 47.9% in the 4^th quarter of 2007 (Source: Federal Reserve in a quarterly report) Home equity as a percentage of home value has been falling from a high of more than 80% since 1945, when such data first started being recorded (08R2).

The total wealth of American households fell about $533 billion to $57,700 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. (Another estimate computed a drop of $1.4 trillion during the 4^th quarter of 2007.) A major portion of the decline was in housing-related assets (including those that are mortgaged) fell by $170 billion to $20,200 billion. The value of other financial assets (e.g. stocks) fell by $254 billion to $45,300 billion (08R2).

For most of the past decade British consumers went on a debt-financed spending spree that made them the most indebted rich nation in the world, accumulating a record US$2.8 trillion in debt (more that Britain's GDP). Personal debt in the US is $13.8 trillion, including mortgage debt, compared to the US GDP of $14 trillion. The average British adult has 2.8 credit cards, more than any other country in Europe. Britons have a household debt-to-income ratio of 1.62 vs. 1.42 for the US and 1.09 for Germany. In 2007, British housing foreclosures reached their highest level since 1999. Foreclosures are expected to increase in 2008 because more than one million homeowners have adjustable-rate mortgages that are expected to reset in the next 12 months to significantly higher rates. Less than 50% of Britons save regularly (08W1)

Of the 80 million homes in the US, about 55 million have mortgages. Of those, 4 million are behind in payments. Foreclosure proceedings were begun on about 1.5 million homes in 2007, up more than 50% from 2006. Foreclosures in 2008 are expected to be worse. Home prices could drop another 10-15% (08W2).

Moody's Economy.com estimates that roughly one in 12 American families (4 million in all) already owe more than their house is worth. By early 2009, nearly one in 4 (12 million homeowners) will owe more than their house is worth (08W2).

Average debt for graduating Medical students (Source: Association of American Medical Colleges)

1995 - $70,000 // 2007 $140,000 (in Economic data.doc) (08W3)

The net worth of the typical (median) American family rose only 1.5% after inflation between 2001 and 2004, according to a Federal Reserve survey done every 3 years (06C1). ($93,100 in 2004) It rose 10.3% between 1998 and 2001, and 17.4% during the 3 years prior to that (06C1). A stagnant stock market and rising debt offset many of the gains resulting from the booming housing market. Less affluent (bottom 25%) households lost ground to $13,300 during 2001-04, while the richest 10% of households increased their net worth by 6.5% to $831,600 during 2001-04 (06C1).

The median price of a primary residence in the US rose 22.1% after inflation to $160,000 in 2004. The typical (median) home-owning family had $95,000 in mortgage debt on its house (06C1).

The value of the median portfolio fell to $24,300 in 2004 from $36,700 in 2001 adjusted for inflation (06C1).

Mortgage and other debt as a percent of total family assets in the US rose to 15% in 2004 from 12.1% in 2001 (06C1).

Median net worth of US households headed by 25-34-year-olds, in 1998 dollars (Source: Economic Report of the President) (Greg Ip, "Report Plays Down Economic Woes", Wall Street Journal (2/14/06) p. A2.) (in gci.html Ch. 3)

A record 4.81% of credit card accounts were at least a month behind in the second quarter of 2005 (USA Today, 9/28/05). This number surpasses the prior high, set in the first quarter of 2005. About 1.24 million Americans declared personal bankruptcy this year through 9/17/05. The US Federal Reserve has been increasing short-term lending rates since June 2004. Since banks must base their prime lending rates upon the Federal Reserve rate, this has led to higher loan rates. On average, these loans were at 6.75% in September of 2005, higher than at any time during the last four years. These rates are used for many short-term loans, including home equity lines of credit (Startribune.com (9/29/05)). (Consumer spending accounts for 2/3 of US economic activity (05U1)).

The US personal savings rate was negative for the first time since the Great Depression (excluding the month following 9/11/01). Now, the personal savings rate has been negative for three months in a row. Following a revised minus 0.3% rate in June, and a revised minus 1.1% rate in July, in August, the personal savings rate was minus 0.7%. Personal income during August also fell by 0.1%, as did consumer spending - by 1% (Washington Post, 10/1/05). What makes these statistics worrisome is that even though consumer spending decreased proportionately more than personal income, people still spent more than they earned. This indicates that Americans had to dip into savings, sell assets, or take on more debt to maintain their standard of living (05U1).

US Credit Card Delinquencies as a percent of total loans (smoothed data are from American Bankers Association, and appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (9/29/05)) (In gci.html)

Personal bankruptcy filings in the US have almost doubled in the past decade, reaching 1.58 million in 2004 vs. about 800,000 in 1995 (data of Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). The Bankruptcy Coalition says these bankruptcies cost them $40 billion/ year and is lobbying Congress to tighten bankruptcy laws and make them more in favor of the lender (Laura Litvan, "Banks want changes in personal bankruptcy law", Pittsburgh Post Gazette (1/10/05), p. C18.). (in gci.html)

Estimated number of bankruptcy filers in the US, by age, in thousands (04H3):

Source: Consumer Bankruptcy Project

Source: Consumer Bankruptcy Project
Comments: Part of the increase shown in this table could be a result of the recession in 2001.

College loans were taken out by 45% of full-time students in 2000, compared with 30% in 1990 (Wall Street Journal (6/2/04) p. A1).

The ratio of net worth to disposable personal income sank to a 7-year low of 4.9 in the third quarter of 2002 (vs. 6.3 at the end of 1999) (02I2). Comments: Some of this may be due to the slump in the stock market and thus be temporary.

US household wealth has fallen to its lowest level since 1995 - to $38 trillion according to the Federal Reserve (02I2).

Eliminating consumer credit would go a long way toward raising the personal savings rate in the US, but what politician wants to advocate that (87T1)?

Interest rates have fallen since 1980, making installment purchases of things such as cars easier (00M1).

The Federal Reserve reports that Americans' household wealth was 6.3 times income in 1999, vs. 5 times income in the early 1990s. This was due in part to the Dow earning a total compound return of over 18%/year between 1983-99 (00M1).

Losses by US Credit-Card Issuers in percent and Bankruptcy Filings in millions (from plots) (Eileen Alt Powell, Wall Street Journal (6/20/01))

US Consumer Debt ($trillions) and Household Debt-service Payments in percent of disposable personal income (from plots) (Federal Reserve data) (Eileen Alt Powell, Wall Street Journal (6/20/01))

Estimated Claims handled by Collection Agencies (billions of US dollars) (American Collectors Association) (from a graph)

Note: 1986-87 data are not available.

In 1984, half of all retirees had a net worth (aside from their homes) of under $20,268 (91U1).

Total Consumer Credit Outstanding, in billions of dollars (Wall Street Journal (3/29/01)) (from a graph) -

Comments: The above data has apparently not been corrected for inflation or for population growth.

Personal Savings as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income in the US (Commerce Department data) (from a plot) (Wall Street Journal (8/29/00))

Total outstanding debt in the US is about $15 trillion, broken down roughly into one-third government debt, one-third business debt, and one-third consumer debt. Debt growth in the US economy is about 5%/year--about the same rate as economic growth, unadjusted for inflation (Federal Reserve data) (Bernard Wysocki Jr., Wall Street Journal (7/28/97)).

Outstanding Debt of US non-financial Corporations ($trillions) (Federal Reserve data) (Wall Street Journal (12/31/99)) (from a chart)

(Corporate debt now represents 43% of US GDP, up from 38% in the early 1990s, and near the highest level since 1960.)

Corporate Short-term Debt-load (Commercial paper outstanding issued by US non-financial corporations ($billions)(from a chart) (Wall Street Journal (12/21/00))

At the end of the third quarter of 2001, US corporate debt was $4.92 trillion and consumer debt was $7.53 trillion. At the end of 1989 the corresponding figures were $2.38 trillion and $3.36 trillion (Federal Reserve data as reported in Wall Street Journal, 1/2/02).

More than 90% of people who file for bankruptcy do so because of job-loss, illness or divorce (02S1).

Personal Bankruptcies in the US in millions (from a chart) (ABI World data) (02S1)

Total average debt of households headed by someone aged 65+: $8000 in 1992, $23,000 in 2000 (Pittsburgh Post Gazette (7/8/02)).

A third of Americans spend so much of their incomes on housing that they cannot afford other necessities (Economic Policy Institute of August 1990).

Banks closed due to financial difficulties (FDIC data) (Deposit data are in $billion)

Estimated Claims Handled by Collection Agencies (American Collectors Association data) (from a chart)

Bankruptcy Data (data from the Administrative Office of the US Courts) (from a plot) Numbers in thousands)

Personal bankruptcies as a percent of total US households (Wall Street Journal (8/18/99)) (Administrative Office of the US Courts)

Personal Bankruptcy Filings (thousands) (ABI World, 1997) (from a graph in Wall Street Journal of unknown date)

Personal Bankruptcies (Administrative Office of the US Courts data) (from a plot)

US Personal Savings Rate as a percent of Disposable Income (Wall Street Journal (12/21/98)) (from a graph)

Consumer Installment Debt (US) (Wall Street Journal (10/8/98)) $1.271 Trillion on 8/31/98 (up 4.1% in past year).

US mortgage-delinquency Rates