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In 2018, there were 20 major work stoppages involving 485,000 workers. There were 8 major work stoppages in educational services, 5 in health care and social assistance, 2 each in accommodation and food services, construction, and information, and 1 in utilities.
Industry | Number of work stoppages | Number of workers involved | Number of days idle |
---|---|---|---|
Utilities |
1 | 1,200 | 157,200 |
Construction |
2 | 6,000 | 78,000 |
Information |
2 | 11,100 | 50,100 |
Accommodation and food services |
2 | 11,500 | 306,900 |
Health care and social assistance |
5 | 76,200 | 239,600 |
Educational services |
8 | 379,200 | 1,531,200 |
A total of 379,000 workers were involved in the work stoppages in educational services, more than 3 times the total of 106,000 workers involved in all other major work stoppages of 2018.
Work stoppages in educational services resulted in a total of 1,531,000 days of idleness during 2018. The number of days idle was 306,000 in accommodation and food services, 240,000 in health care and social assistance, and 157,000 in utilities.
These data are from the Work Stoppages program. See "Major Work Stoppages in 2018" to learn more. See the supplementary files accompanying the news release for more detailed information about the specific work stoppages in 2018 and earlier. Major work stoppages include both worker-initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts that involve 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift. Days idle are calculated by multiplying the number of workers involved in the strike or lockout by the number of days workers are off the job, based on a 5-day workweek excluding federal holidays.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Eight major work stoppages in educational services in 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/eight-major-work-stoppages-in-educational-services-in-2018.htm (visited September 18, 2024).