by George Bao

    LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Labor Day in the United States is a holiday to recognize the contributions of workers to the nation's growth and economic health, but, during this Labor Day, many workers have nothing to celebrate - they have no work to do.

    Since late 2007, seven million jobs have vanished in the United States and industrial production has fallen nearly 17 percent, statistics show.

    Official unemployment hovers just under 10 percent in the United States, the highest since the early 1980s. But the unemployed and underemployed together total 16.8 percent of the labor force, which means one out of six American workers is unemployed or underemployed.

    A recent survey shows young workers are unemployed in record numbers -- 25 percent of teenagers, or about 1.6 million, are without work, the highest since 1948.

    According to a survey conducted by Peter Hart Research for the union peak body, AFL-CIO, only 31 percent of respondents say they make enough money to put some aside, down from 52 percent in 1999.

    With private-sector unionization at a mere 8 percent, the living standards of non-professional young Americans are spiraling lower.

    The situation for older workers is no better. The Pew Research Center found nearly two out of five Americans older than 62 who are still working say that they've delayed their retirement because of the recession, and a stunning 63 percent of workers with ages from 50 to 61 say that they might have to push back their retirement dates because of economic conditions.

    Labor Day is a holiday to celebrate the unofficial end of summer, and it is usually a busy travel season. But the recession has kept many Californians from venturing far from home this summer.

    According to the American Automobile Association (AAA) of Northern California, which tracks holiday travel trends, the number of Golden State residents who expect to travel more than 50miles (80 km) from home is 13.1 percent lower than a year ago. Nationally, the drop is 13.3 percent.

    The AAA projects that more than 4.7 million Californians will travel over the three-day weekend, and about 3.8 million will drive. That's an 11.2 percent decrease from last year, even though gasoline prices are down by almost a U.S. dollar a gallon.

    An estimated 270,000 residents will travel by air, down about 20 percent from last year. An additional 700,000 will venture forth on boats and trains, a decrease of about 20 percent.

    California's state parks are also seeing a slight drop-off in the number of campers reserving sites for the long weekend.

    Last year, 11,074 reservations were made for campsites, filling nearly every reserved site. But the total this year is 10,403.

    The drop in the number of Labor Day travelers means better bargains for those hitting the road. Hotels, airlines and travel Web sites have been offering last-minute deals. Airfares are down 17 percent over last year, and hotels are about 12 percent cheaper, according to the AAA.

    The recession and high unemployment have also changed the way Americans spend their summer vacation, which unofficially ends with Labor Day.

    In a telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, more than6 out of 10 (62 percent) didn't take a vacation this year. Of those who did, 58 percent said economic conditions caused them to cut back on how much they spent.

    People with children were more likely than those without children to say they were forced to cut vacation spending. And a higher percentage of lower income Americans said they had to cut back than adults who earn more, according to the survey.

    The survey found most Americans indulged in some low-cost, close-to-home activities this summer.

    About 70 percent said they were doing barbecuing, 67 percent said they just stayed at home reading, 57 percent said they played board games, 57 percent said they watched fireworks, 46 percent said they preferred swimming in a pool or lake, 37 percent said they went to the beach, 41 percent said they saw a feature film, and 30 percent said they went to an outdoor concert or theater event, which are usually free.

    Overall, the Rasmussen survey found that Americans were much less active this summer compared to 2008. For example, barbecuing was down 6 points from last year, and swimming dropped 10 points.

    Meanwhile, Southern California union leaders and their allies held a Labor Day march, rally and Mass Monday to press their case for increased government-funded health care.

    "Many people who work hard still do not have access to affordable health care," said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

    Health care was among the topics Cardinal Roger Mahony discussed at the annual Labor Day Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, along with workers rights, "economic justice" and liberalizing immigration laws.

    Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882 and became a federal holiday in 1894.

    "Labor Day also makes me think of the millions that don't have jobs. We have a lot of people, who are out of work. That is something else we need to think about (today) and work hard together to figure out how do we create these new jobs so these people have a chance to go to work," said Hahn.

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