Labor Day 2011 finds the nation’s labor market unsettled. The federal unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in July, down just a tick from 9.2 percent in June.
The situation in Washington state is slightly worse. The preliminary July unemployment rate was set at 9.3 percent, unchanged from the previous month.
Locally, the picture is much brighter. Thurston County’s unemployment fell to 8.1 percent in July from a revised 8.3 percent rate in June. That’s much better than neighboring Pierce County, which reported a 9.6 percent unemployment rate in July.
The tight local job market was reflected in the faces of the 340 people who recently attended a job fair organized by Nationwidejobfairs.com, an Olympia company that also has offices in Las Vegas and Houston. Job-seeker lines formed quickly on the first floor of the Ramada hotel for the three-hour fair. Many people left with the hope that their efforts would lead to future employment.
With nearly 14 million Americans in the unemployment line, it’s clear that this nation has been unsuccessful in its efforts to shake off the severe economic recession of the last three years. The fear now is that the country is headed into a double dip.
Let’s hope not.
The economic uncertainty, the wrangling over economic strategies in Washington, D.C., and the continued war in Afghanistan, contribute to the uneasiness of many Americans who are simply hunkering down and holding onto their money.
It’s easy, in that environment, to lose sight of the fact that while there are more than 313,000 people on the unemployment rolls in this state, the state’s total labor force is 3.46 million workers.
And while most of us like to moan and groan about our jobs and the challenges we face on a daily basis, we must not lose sight of the fact that most of us have a job and for that – in this economy – we should be very thankful.
It’s instructive, too, to remember why we celebrate Labor Day.
The holiday was created as a day dedicated to highlight the social and economic achievements of American workers. Labor Day constitutes an annual tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
While there is a debate over who gets credit for hatching the Labor Day idea, it’s recognized that the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union.
On June 28, 1894, Congress passed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
In her 2009 Labor Day address, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said, “Labor Day differs significantly from other holidays. It is devoted to no particular gender, individual, battle or religious observance. Simply put, it’s a day shared by all. That’s an especially important notion at a time when workers are feeling more anxiety than festivity.”
What Solis said that day holds true today. “We should all think about those families struggling during this Labor Day, and I’d like to suggest that we use this day not as a day ‘off’ but a day ‘on.’ We can still have picnics and barbecues, and use the day to do last minute back-to-school shopping, but let’s do something else, too. Let’s use Labor Day as a day where we all personally commit to play a role in the recovery of our economy and our nation. Let’s use the day as an opportunity to mentor a young person, or volunteer at a veterans center or maybe help a friend looking for a job. Let’s all do the work that will get America working.”
At the very least on this last day of the Labor Day weekend, we should take a moment to reflect on the positive aspects of the labor movement.
We owe it to those who preceded us to give thanks for the huge advancements in working conditions and wages since that first Labor Day celebration in New York City. We should use the holiday to acknowledge how the labor force in this country has helped mold the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known – even in the grip of an economic recession.
Let us hope, and pray, that Labor Day 2012 simply brings this community, state and nation brighter news of economic recovery.
