Labor Day, According to the Numbers

Many years ago, about 10,000 workers in New York City marched around town in celebration of the country's first unofficial Labor Day on Sept. 5, 1882, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Congress then passed a bill to establish Labor Day as a federal observance in 1894, and President Grover Cleveland signed it, designating the first Monday in September as the holiday.

Now workers across the country—and here in Hermosa Beach—spend that three-day weekend as the summer's last hoorah in celebration of the nation's workforce.

As of July, there were about 153.2 million workers (16 and older) in the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 84.7 percent of full-time workers between 18 and 64 years old were covered by health insurance in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

During that same year, what were these workers doing?

About 3,039,523 were grade school teachers; 101,889 were computer operators; and about 10,980 were actors.

There were about 265,429 bus drivers and 117,405 bakers; and about 55,733 telemarketers; 395,503 hairdressers; and 1,478,204 janitors.

About 5.9 million people worked from home.

Men were earning a median annual salary of $47,127 in 2009 and women were earning $36,278, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The average time it took us all to drive to work that year, according to census figures, was 25.1 minutes.