Money Money Money
Critical Analysis
What is the most common job in the United States?
Why do you think that is?
What is one consequence of that type of job being the most common?
Which of these types of jobs do most American children grow up dreaming of?
Is this legitimately good news?
The median wage of a retail salesperson is $12.14 an hour, which translates to a full-time annual salary of $25,250. How does that impact the American economy?
I have worked as a retail salesperson. It is an honorable job. How will automated checkouts and robots impact this work?
How different do you think this chart would have looked fifty years ago?
How does this chart affect you?
In an ideal world, what would the most common job in the United States be?
The U.S. has one of the lowest rates of unionized labor in the developed world. How does that impact the American economy and politics?
Why do we even have a Labor Day in the first place?
Learning Extension
You can see a slideshow from NPR's Planet Money of how the most common job in each state has changed, year by year, since 1978.
Action Extension
Today is Labor Day. Thank someone who labored for you today.
