The American hourly workforce is a much larger and more powerful sector of the US economy than most people realize, according to research released today by LinkedIn and Job board Snagajob. The Workforce Trends Survey found there are currently 78 million hourly workers in the US comprising 59% of the entire US workforce.

Hourly workers tend to be young with 71% under 30 years old (31% under age 20 and 40% in their 20s).

When looking at education levels, the report found 45% of hourly workers over 30 have some post-secondary education, with 15% having at least a bachelor’s degree.

Other key survey insights include:

• Hourly workers find the most job fulfillment and stay employed the longest — two-plus years — working in the telecom, grocery and restaurant sectors. 
• Many hourly workers pursue higher education once they have begun hourly work. Of those who do, business is the most popular field of study, but healthcare, IT and engineering are the fastest growth areas of study.
• Sports retailers, beverages and fast food employers have the lowest levels of employee engagement and retention.
• Hourly employees in beverage, crafts and furniture get promoted to manager positions the fastest — within two years on average. 
• Workers in telecommunications and casual dining get promoted to manager positions the slowest, taking more than three years, on average.

The report analyzed the job application activity of Snagajob’s top 142 employers over the past three years. This was comprised of more than 120 million applications by more than 20 million hourly workers. Researchers then examined millions of LinkedIn profiles with common hourly job titles to understand career progression trends in hourly work.