This Labor Day, the US Department of Labor celebrates 250 years of the American worker, our nation’s greatest asset

News Release

This Labor Day, the US Department of Labor celebrates 250 years of the American worker, our nation's greatest asset

WASHINGTON - As America celebrates Labor Day and its 250th anniversary, the U.S. Department of Labor is honoring the generations of American workers whose skill, strength, ingenuity, and determination built the greatest nation and most powerful economy the world has ever known.

For 250 years, American workers have built our cities, cultivated our land, powered our factories, forged our steel, laid our railroads, pioneered new technologies, and carried American industry to every corner of the globe. From the workshops and farms of 1776 to the factories, construction sites, small businesses, and cutting-edge industries of today, the American worker has always been the backbone of our nation.

"American workers are the greatest workers in the world," said Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. "For 250 years, their skill, ingenuity, determination, and hard work have built the greatest nation and most powerful economy the world has ever known. This Labor Day, we celebrate the American workers, job creators, retirees, and unions who have built, manufactured, invented, and always outwork the rest of the world and who will lead America into its next 250 years."

Today, more Americans are working than at any point in the nation's history. The unemployment rate remains below the historic average. The economy has added more than 1 million private sector jobs since President Trump took office, 401(k)s have reached record highs, and the U.S. manufacturing sector has expanded for eight straight months.

President Trump has secured trillions of dollars in new investments, bringing jobs and high-skilled, high-paying opportunities back to communities across the country. At the Department of Labor, we are ensuring American workers have the skills to fill those jobs by expanding apprenticeships and skills-based training and preparing the next generation for the good-paying careers these investments are creating.

This Labor Day, we celebrate the American workers and job creators who built the greatest economy in the world and encourage all Americans to pause, reflect, and recommit to ensuring the American worker remains our nation's greatest asset.