The active population in figures

Note: (e) Estimated data

Working conditions

Legal weekly duration

40 hours.

Retirement age

65 years.

Working contracts

The contract determines if the employee is part of the regular or non-regular staff. Full time employees form the regular staff. Among the non-regular staff, there are different types of contract: part-time workers, temporary workers, Interns.

Cost of labor

Minimum wage

The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is USD5.85 per hour effective. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.

Average wage

Weekly average wage in USA is USD 818.

Social contributions

Social security contributions paid by employers: 7,65% (medicare + social security), 6.2% Unemployment
Social security contributions paid by employees: 7,65% (medicare + social security)

Social partners

Social dialogue and involvement of social partners

Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005.

Unions

Unions

Unionization rate

Union Membership had been steadily declining in the US since 1983. In 2007, the labor department reported the first increase in Union memberships in 25 years and the largest increase since 1979. Most of the recent gains in union membership have been in the service sector while the number of unionized employees in the manufacturing sector has declined. Most of the gains in the service sector have come in West Coast states like California where union membership is now at 16.7% compared with a national average of about 12.1%

Labor regulation bodies

Department of Labor
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics