Assessing Workforce Trends

Various workforce trends are presented in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics website. These trends can contribute to assessing the current labor force by observing the changes that are taking place. For instance, the demographic characteristics of the labor force link of the website would tell the readers an ample amount of information about those who are currently employed in the U. S. Their description details include their age, race, sex, wage and benefits, employment status (full-time or part-time), and even their rate of absence. The demographic trends are very essential for organizations as the information allows them to adapt to the changes in the labor force, thereby affecting their operational strategies. The demographic trends imply that the workforce is getting old and is increasingly becoming multi-cultural. In 2006, most members of the labor force were 24 to 54 years old (approximately 78. 8 million or 67 percent of the total labor force) while more than 15. 7 million employees (approximately 13 percent) were 55 years old and above.

The U. S. Bureau of Statistics predicts that the number of workers who are more than 55 years old will likely rise to 17 percent in three years. The information from the website also states that there are more men than women workers regardless of age. However, the difference in the number of male and female workers is getting smaller by the year. It also reports that the number of foreign-born workers is increasing, most of whom are Hipics. Last year, they comprise 15. 3 percent of the current labor force. Meanwhile, employer costs for employee compensation are escalating as well, amounting to 27. 75 percent of the compensation in the second quarter of 2007. These costs include benefits, paid leave, insurance, retirement and savings, and supplemental pay (i. e., overtime and premium pay, shift differential, and non-production bonuses). However, the health care costs are increasingly shifted to the workers, as they contribute an average of $81. 37 per month for single coverage, and $312. 78 per month for family coverage. Because of this, the employees are becoming health-conscious.

Reference

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1. Bls. gov. (2007).
2. Demographic Characteristics of the Labor Force. Retrieved November 23, 2007, from http://www.bls. gov/cps/home.html Bls. gov (April 25, 2007).
3. Foreign-born workers: labor force characteristics in 2006. Retrieved November 23, 2007, from ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news. release/forbrn.txt Bls. gov (2007).
4. Absences from work of employed full-time wage and salary workers by age and sex, from ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special. requests/lf/aat46.txt Bls.gov. (August 22, 2007).
5. http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost Helman, R. et al. (November 2007).

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