ECONOMIC

TABLE 38.—Averageusual weekly earnings of males who worked fullschooling, 1973time, by age and years ofYears of schoolingAge121620-24 years25-34 years..35-44 years45-54 years55-64 years$158201226227227$170238317347323Note.—Data are from a survey made in May 1973.Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.EMPLOYMENTThe annual labor market earnings of a worker are a function of theworker's weekly earnings and the number of weeks of employment duringthe year. Weeks of employment can vary because of unemployment; butthey also vary because of voluntary withdrawals from the labor force.The number of weeks worked is greater for male workers 25 to 54 yearsof age than for younger, older, or married female workers. Younger personswork less because of school attendance and a greater incidence of unemployment.Students (who now make up 59 percent of the teenage labor force)ordinarily work during vacations or have part-time jobs for a few monthsduring the year. Most new entrants and reentrants to the labor force areyoung people or married women, and most also experience some unemploymentbefore taking their first job. One reason for the higher unemploymentrate for young workers is that they voluntarily leave jobs to acquaint themselveswith the labor market and to gain experience in various jobs. In addition,the instability of their employment is increased by the fact that theirproductivity is very close to the legal minimum wage, and they have asmaller amount of specific job training.Employers make investments specific to the firm for some workers. Specificinvestments include the component of training a worker receives that is usefulonly in that firm, and also hiring and placement costs. The more importantspecific training is, the more costly it is for both the firm and theworker if the worker is separated from the firm. Workers with more specifictraining are therefore less likely to be subjected to layoffs or to quit, and theywill work more weeks during the year. Workers with advanced schoolingordinarily work more weeks during the year, partly because their higherwage makes absence from work more costly, and partly because they havemore specific training.Married men work more weeks per year than men who have not married,but married women work fewer weeks than those who have never married.Most married women work less if they have young children. Older workerswork less because of deteriorating health and partial retirement.The weekly wage and the number of weeks worked are related. Thosewho work more weeks per year tend to have a higher weekly wage, partly,149