Universit Commerciale

Luigi Bocconi

Career Service Country Guides

United States of America

This document is reserved to Bocconi University students/graduates.

For more information access the e-learning platform Extracurricular Courses One-to-One
Sessions on the International Job Market: Country Specific Materials
For a proper use of this guide and to find additional sources and further guidance, refer to
the Placement Library or send an e-mail to: Placement.Library@unibocconi.it.

July 2013

Working in USA
The United States of America is the largest and most powerful economy in the
world with around 15 trillion dollars GDP in 2012. After the global economic
downturn of the last few years, the Country is showing signs of recovery: slow but
stable GDP growth, lowering unemployment rates and increasing salaries.
The USA is a Federal Republic consisting of 50 states and a federal district. While
we think to USA as a whole country, there are strong differences among the
various States, in particular between the more dynamic coastal areas and the
more traditional inner ones. As you change State you may experience very
different working environments.
What is common to the US working culture regardless the State is the attention
towards discrimination. Personal data (for instance, concerning age, gender, race
and nationality) are considered sensitive and therefore should not be taken into
account in the selection.
Labor market is more flexible than in Europe and this results in a higher level of
meritocracy: employers face no or few obstacles in dismissing workforce, but on
the contrary they easily hire when they need to and invest in keeping the most
productive employees.
While English is still the business language, Spanish is growing in importance
thanks to the growth of the Latin population (that will account for half of the US
population by 2040).
The best way to find jobs in the United States is through referrals and leads from
personal acquaintances (i.e. networking). Social networking sites are increasingly
popular, but jobseekers should carefully review the information they include in their
profiles, as employers may reject a candidate for unprofessional behavior
displayed in the social networks.
For a jobseeker outside of the USA, the easiest way to find a job in the United
States is to seek a position in a multinational corporation with US offices and then
arrange a transfer to a position in the USA.
This option also allows to overcome the Visa problems: in recent years the US
authorities have become increasingly stringent in issuing working Visas.
.

Economic conditions
Economy in 2013
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world,
with a per capita GDP of $49,800. In this market-oriented economy, private
individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and
state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private
marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in
Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus
workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher
barriers to enter their rivals'' home markets than foreign firms face entering US
markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially
in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage
has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely
explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at
the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the
top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance
coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household
income have gone to the top 20% of households. Since 1996, dividends and
capital gains have grown faster than wages or any other category of after-tax
income. Imported oil accounts for nearly 55% of US consumption.
Crude oil prices doubled between 2001 and 2006, the year home prices peaked;
higher gasoline prices ate into consumers'' budgets and many individuals fell
behind in their mortgage payments. Oil prices climbed another 50% between
2006 and 2008, and bank foreclosures more than doubled in the same period.
Besides dampening the housing market, soaring oil prices caused a drop in the
value of the dollar and a deterioration in the US merchandise trade deficit, which
peaked at $840 billion in 2008.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, investment bank failures, tight
credit, and the global economic downturn pushed the United States into a
recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making
this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help
stabilize financial markets, in October 2008 the US Congress established a $700
billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The government used some of
these funds to purchase equity in US banks and industrial corporations, much of
which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the
US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an
additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on
additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the
economy recover. In 2010 and 2011, the federal budget deficit reached nearly 9%
of GDP. In 2012 the federal government reduced the growth of spending and the
deficit shrank to 7.6% of GDP.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan required major shifts in national resources from
civilian to military purposes and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit
and public debt. Through 2011, the direct costs of the wars totaled nearly $900
billion, according to US government figures. US revenues from taxes and other
sources are lower, as a percentage of GDP, than those of most other countries.
In March 2010, President OBAMA signed into law the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, a health insurance reform that will extend coverage to an
additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance

for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. Total spending on
health care - public plus private - rose from 9.0% of GDP in 1980 to 17.9% in
2010.
In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act, a law designed to promote financial stability by
protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial
firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving
accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring
certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government
regulation and oversight. In December 2012, the Federal Reserve Board
announced plans to purchase $85 billion per month of mortgage-backed and
Treasury securities in an effort to hold down long-term interest rates, and to keep
short term rates near zero until unemployment drops to 6.5% from the December
rate of 7.8%, or until inflation rises above 2.5%. Long-term problems include
stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment in
deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging
population, energy shortages, and sizable current account and budget deficits including significant budget shortages for state governments.1
See also
For better knowledge of the USA, its considerably districts and geographical
differences and its macro-sectors (manufacturing, non financial services, banking
and finance, real estate) please refer to:
United States of America, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Beige book = Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by
Federal Reserve District.
Composed and published 9 times a year by the Federal Reserve Banks. It can be
found at this URL: http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook/.
International Monetary Fund, United States,
http://www.imf.org/external/country/USA/index.htm
Official documents, economic analysis and forecasting (World Economic Outlook)
OECD, United States, http://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/
Economic forecast summary, country reviews, "How's life in ...". The country
statistical profiles include a wide range of indicators on economy, education,
energy, environment, foreign aid, health, information and communication, labour,
migration, R&D, trade and society. Economic Survey books series give an in deep
analysis of economic condition.
Economist Intelligence Unit, United States of America, http://country.eiu.com/US
Economic analysis, data and forecasting.

United States of America, Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook,

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html, page last updated on
Jun 10. 2013

Data
Main economic indicators
GDP per capita (PPP):

USD 50,700 (2012 est.)

note: data are in 2012

US dollars

GDP composition by sector:

Agriculture
Industry
Services

1.2%
19.1%
79.7% (2012 est.)

Labour force by occupation:

farming, forestry, and fishing

manufacturing,
extraction,
transportation, and crafts
managerial, professional, and
technical
sales and office
other services

0.7%
20.3%

Unemployment rate:

37.3%
24.2%
17.6%

8.2% (2012 est.)

Source: United States of America, Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, page last
updated on Jun 10. 2013

Youth unemployment rates second quarter 2011-2012:

Total

Female
Male

2011
17.3 (ITA 27.8)
15.7 (ITA 32.9)
18.9 (ITA 24.2)

2012
16.3 (ITA 34.4)
14.6 (ITA 35.8)
17.9 (ITA 33.5)

Source: International Labor Office, Global employment trends for youth 2013, p. 85-88
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_212423.pdf

Full time wage and salary workers-numbers and earnings 2000 to 2010
[In current dollars of usual weekly earnings. Data represent annual averages (101,210 represents
101,210,000). Full time workers are those who usually worked 35 hours or more at all jobs combined. Based
on the Current Population Survey; see text, Section 1 and Appendix III. For definition of median, see Guide
to Tabular Presentation]

Characteristic
2

All workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Female. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number of workers (1,000)

Median weekly earnings (dollars)
2000
2005 1
2010 1
2000
2005 1
2010 1
101,210
103,560
99,531
576
651
747
57,107
58,406
55,059
641
722
824
44,103
45,154
44,472
493
585
669

White 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Black 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asian 3, 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

83,228
12,410
4,598

84,110
12,388
4,651

80,656
11,658
4,946

590
474
615

672
520
753

765
611
855

Hispanic 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12,761

14,673

14,837

399

471

535

34,831
14,240
20,590
3,051
2,781
989
1,641
1,039
5,467
1,488
4,134
12,595
1,731
2,281
3,483
3,354
1,746
25,606
9,650
15,956

36,908
14,977
21,931
2,924
2,509
1,164
1,797
1,162
6,066
1,488
4,821
14,123
2,085
2,549
4,007
3,425
2,057
25,193
10,031
15,161

39,145
15,648
23,497
3,202
2,366
1,127
1,909
1,248
6,535
1,431
5,678
14,424
2,219
2,872
3,823
3,310
2,199
23,060
9,121
13,939

810
877
770
938
949
811
629
919
704
724
727
365
358
591
317
351
351
492
525
480

937
997
902
1,132
1,105
965
725
1,052
798
819
878
413
410
678
356
394
409
575
622
550

1,063
1,155
1,008
1,289
1,255
1,062
1,909
1,213
913
920
986
479
471
747
406
446
455
631
666
619

10,958
842
5,852
4,263

12,086
755
6,826
4,504

9,869
729
5,020
4,120

582
310
580
628

623
372
604
705

719
416
709
794

17,221
10,378
6,843

15,251
8,403
6,848

13,034
6,861
6,172

475
471
481

540
538
543

599
599
599

OCCUPATION
Management, professional and related occupations . . .
Management, business, and financial operations . . . . . .
Professional and related occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer and mathematical occupations . . . . . . . . . . .
Architecture and engineering occupations . . . . . . . . . .
Life, physical, and social science occupations . . . . . . .
Community and social services occupations. . . . . . . . .
Legal occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Education, training, and library occupations . . . . . . . . .
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media . . . . . .
Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations . . . .
Service occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.Healthcare support occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Protective service occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Food preparation and serving-related occupations . .
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance
Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sales and related occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Office and administrative support occupations . . . . . . . .
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations . . . . . . . . . . .
Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations . . . . .
Production, transportation, and material-moving
occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Production occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Transportation and material-moving occupations . . . . . .

1
See footnote 2, Table 586. 2 Includes other races, not shown separately. 3 Beginning 2005, for persons
in this race group only. See footnote 4, Table 587. 4 2000, includes Pacific Islanders. 5 Persons of Hispanic
origin may be any race.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings Online, January 2011 issue, March
2011, <http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm> and <http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm>.

Source: US Census Bureau, Statistical abstract of the United States 2012

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/labor_force_employment_earnings/compensation
_wages_and_earnings.html

Median usual weekly earning of full-time wage and salary workers 1980 to 2010
[In current dollars, except as indicated. For wage and salary workers 25 years and over. Based on Current
Population Survey; see text, Section 1 and Appendix III. Wages and salaries are collected before taxes
and other deductions and include overtime
pay, commissions, or tips usually received at principal job. Earnings reported on basis other than weekly are
converted to a weekly equivalent. Excludes all incorporated and unincorporated self employed]
Year and sex
CURRENT DOLLARS
Male:
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1990 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2000 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2010 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Female:
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1990 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2000 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2010 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WOMENS EARNINGS AS
PERCENT OF MENS
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1990 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2000 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2010 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total

Less than a high

school diploma

High school,
no college 1

Some college or Bachelors degree

associates degree
and higher 2

339
512
693
874

267
349
406
486

327
459
591
710

358
542
691
845

427
741
1,020
1,330

213
369
516
704

164
240
304
388

201
315
420
543

231
395
505
638

290
535
756
986

62.8
72.1
74.5
80.5

61.4
68.8
74.9
79.8

61.5
68.6
71.1
76.5

64.5
72.9
73.1
75.5

67.9
72.2
74.1
74.1

1
Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. 2 Includes persons with a bachelors,
masters, professional, or doctoral degree. 3 Data not strictly comparable to data for earlier years. See text
this section and <http://www.bls.gov/cps
/eetech_methods.pdf>.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Highlights of Womens Earnings in 2010, Report 1031, July 2011,
<http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2010.pdf>.

Source: US Census Bureau, Statistical abstract of the United States 2012

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/labor_force_employment_earnings.html

Employment projection by industry and by occupation 2008-2018

[7,214.9 represents 7,214,900. Estimates based on the Current Employment Statistics program. See source
for methodological assumptions. Minus sign () indicates decline]

Industry

2007
NAICS
code 1

LARGEST GROWTH
Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6211, 6212,
Offices of health practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6213
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services . . . . . . . 5416
Food services and drinking places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Computer systems design and related services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5415
Retail trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 45
General local government educational services compensation . . . (X)
Nursing and residential care facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623
Employment services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5613
Hospitals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Individual and family services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6241
Home health care services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6216
Services to buildings and dwellings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5617
Architectural, engineering, and related services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5413
Other educational services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61147
6214, 6215,
Outpatient, laboratory, and other ambulatory care services . . . . . . 6219
Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools . . 6112, 6113
Legal services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5411
General government, other compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X)
FASTEST GROWTH
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services . . . . . . .
Other educational services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Individual and family services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home health care services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specialized design services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data processing, hosting, related services, and other information
services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer systems design and related services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyright works)
Offices of health practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personal care services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Outpatient, laboratory, and other ambulatory care services . . . . . .
Facilities support services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Software publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Independent artists, writers, and performers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Local government passenger transit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elementary and secondary schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scientific research and development services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Waste management and remediation services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other miscellaneous manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community and vocational rehabilitation services. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MOST RAPIDLY DECLINING
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Apparel knitting mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textile and fabric finishing and fabric coating mills . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fabric mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio and video equipment manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing . . . . . . . . . .
Fiber, yarn, and thread mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textile furnishings mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Railroad rolling stock manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Footwear manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basic chemical manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing . . .
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other textile product mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Federal enterprises except the Postal Service and electric utilities.
Leather and hide tanning and finishing, and other leather and
allied product manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cutlery and handtool manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manufacturing and reproducing magnetic and optical media . . . . .
Ventilation, heating, airconditioning, and commercial refrigeration
equipment manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employment

Average
annual rate
of change
20082018

2008
(1,000)

2018
(1,000)

Change,
20082018
(1,000)

7,214.9

8,552.0

1,337.1

1.7

3,713.3 4,978.6
1,008.9 1,844.1
9,631.9 10,370.7
1,450.3 2,106.7
15,356.4 16,010.4
8,075.6 8,728.3
3,008.0 3,644.8
3,144.4 3,744.1
4,641.2 5,191.9
1,108.6 1,638.8
958.0 1,399.4
1,847.1 2,182.6
1,444.7 1,769.5
578.9
894.9

1,265.3
835.2
738.8
656.4
654.0
652.7
636.8
599.7
550.7
530.2
441.4
335.5
324.8
316.0

3.0
6.2
0.7
3.8
0.4
0.8
1.9
1.8
1.1
4.0
3.9
1.7
2.0
4.5

989.5
5,963.9
1,602.7
1,163.7
4,224.1

1,297.9
6,219.8
1,857.4
1,416.8
4,464.0

308.4
255.9
254.7
253.1
239.9

2.8
0.4
1.5
2.0
0.6

5416
61147
6241
6216
5414

1,008.9
578.9
1,108.6
958.0
143.1

1,844.1
894.9
1,638.8
1,399.4
208.7

835.2
316.0
530.2
441.4
65.6

6.2
4.5
4.0
3.9
3.8

518, 519
5415
533
6211, 6212,
6213
8121
6214, 6215,
6219
5612
5112
7115
(X)
6111
5417
562
3399
6242, 6243

395.2
1,450.3
28.2

574.1
2,106.7
37.9

178.9
656.4
9.7

3.8
3.8
3.0

3,713.3
621.6

4,978.6
819.1

1,265.3
197.5

3.0
2.8

989.5
132.7
263.7
50.4
268.6
854.9
621.7
360.2
321.0
540.9

1,297.9
173.6
342.8
64.8
342.6
1,089.7
778.9
451.0
399.4
672.0

308.4
40.9
79.1
14.4
74.0
234.8
157.2
90.8
78.4
131.1

2.8
2.7
2.7
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.3
2.3
2.2
2.2

155.2
26.2
48.3
65.4
27.0
17.0
37.4
75.4
28.4
15.8
126.1
152.1
432.4
182.8
72.2
63.5

66.7
12.5
23.5
35.0
14.6
9.2
20.7
41.9
17.5
10.0
81.9
99.9
286.8
124.7
49.4
44.9

88.5
13.7
24.8
30.4
12.4
7.8
16.7
33.5
10.9
5.8
44.2
52.2
145.6
58.1
22.8
18.6

8.1
7.1
7.0
6.1
6.0
6.0
5.7
5.7
4.7
4.5
4.2
4.1
4.0
3.8
3.0
3.4

17.8
49.1
34.9

13.0
35.9
26.0

4.8
13.2
8.9

3.1
3.1
2.9

149.5

112.8

36.7

2.8

3152
3151
3133
3132
3343
3159
3131
3141
3365
3162
3221
3251
3344
3341
3149
(X)
3161, 3169
3322
3346
3334

X Not applicable. 1 Based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007; see text, Section 15.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Industry output and employment projections to 2018,
Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 132, No. 11, November 2009,
<http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/11/art4exc.htm>.

Source: US Census Bureau, Statistical abstract of the United States 2012

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/labor_force_employment_earnings.html