Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
This Labor Day you’re probably doing what the edhat staff is doing. Sitting in front of a fan with ice packs on their head and a cold soda in their hand, bottle not can. It’s hot out there.
When not in a heatwave, Labor Day is usually about beaches, BBQs, ballgames and taking advantage of those holiday sales. And some of you may have gotten out of town for the long weekend, although you would have to travel as far north as Seattle and east to Wisconsin to beat this heatwave.
According to WalletHub, 53% of Americans plan to get out of town for Labor Day weekend and more than 150 million will enjoy a cookout, wherever they are.
The holiday’s origins can be traced back to the streets of 1880s New York City, where rival union leaders joined forces to protest the unfair labor practices that plagued industry at the time. Its place on the calendar is uniquely American – most other countries celebrate labor in May. And there’s ample reason for celebration, considering the industrial fatality rate has fallen by roughly 79% since the early 1900s.
Top 5 Labor Day Facts for 2022:
- 75% of Americans left vacation days unused in 2021.
- 61% of remote workers find it more difficult to unplug during off-hours now than before the pandemic.
- 818 hot dogs are eaten every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- More than 647,000 workers’ lives have been saved since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted in 1970.
- $176+ Billion is the annual cost of worker injury and illness in the U.S.
