WASHINGTON, March 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
MARCH 3: CHILD LABOR
Profile America — Friday, March 3rd. Children have worked for family enterprises like farms and small shops for countless generations. But child labor in mines and the often-dangerous factories arising from the Industrial Revolution was quickly regarded as a social ill. In response, Massachusetts became the first state to regulate child labor on this date in 1842. The modest measure prohibited children under the age of 12 from working more than 10 hours a day. Now, all states have statutes regulating child labor, and nationally, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provides basic protection for children under 16. In the U.S. today, out of a population of some 324 million people, around 60 million are age 16 and younger. Meanwhile, nearly 162 million Americans over the age of 16 are in the workforce. Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4574
Child Labor Laws/accessed 1/12/2017: https://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html
Child Labor history/accessed 1/12/2017:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/history-child-labor
Massachusetts and labor/accessed 1/12/2017: http://www.city-data.com/states/Massachusetts-Labor.html
Current child labor law/accessed 1/12/2017: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/agerequirements.htm
Population: http://www.census.gov/popclock/
Population age groups/Annual Estimates of Population: https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2015/PEPAGESEX
Current labor force/American Community Survey: https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/DP03
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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