ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the major transformations that have characterized the US labor force and labor market. Women have increased their participation in the labor force to the point where they account for almost half of all employed workers. Many of the better manufacturing jobs were transferred out of the urban areas where the blacks had relocated and the large inflow of white women into the labor market provided many employers with an alternative to hiring more blacks. In the first half of the twentieth century, the strength of the US economy was rooted in the preeminence of its manufacturing companies. It was American production that overwhelmed the enemy in World War II by the output of its shipyards, defense production, munition plants, and, finally, by the successful development of the atomic bomb. Acceptance of trade unions came late in the United States. Membership is heavily concentrated in manufacturing, transportation, construction, mining, and selected branches of public employment.
