Labor day in the time of unemployment

Last May 1, Labor Day was celebrated in the usual fashion: parades and rallies were mounted by different labor groups, even as statements praising the laboring class were issued by the government. A few days earlier, the Department of Labor announced that 115,000 new positions were filled up during job fairs. In the meantime, a few weeks before Labor Day, more than 700,000 new graduates were estimated to have joined the labor force.

As expected, labor unions demanded hefty increases in minimum wages, even as government officials did not give in; they soothingly replied that they will study the issues raised.