The forces that shaped us as an industrialized nation are shifting. We grew up in the 1950s when half of American workers belonged to a union. The power of organized labor wrought great changes in American culture — a 40-hour, five-day work week and laws to protect children from laboring rather than learning.

Today, less than 15 percent of the workforce is unionized. Gone are many of the traditional blue-collar jobs — literally building America. At the same time, white-collar workers, like teachers and government employees, have organized into unions.

Are we progressing or regressing as a society? So much, in answering that question, depends on viewpoint.

We got a letter this week from a lifelong Voorheesville resident who expressed outrage that children raised in his hometown cannot afford to live there. “Even once our children have graduated from college they still can’t afford the housing being constructed in the town and village,” writes Glenn Schultz. “They have loans up the wazoo,” he told us.

The same day we received Schultz’s letter, we were emailed a report from Sean Maguire at the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. The 55-page statistical report is filled with charts and graphs and numbers, meant to inform the Capital Region about its progress since the 2009 “Tech Valley Trends — A Basis for Civic Change.”

The commission provides an objective analysis of trends, opportunities, and challenges. We urge our local planners and government leaders to take heed, to keep this analysis in mind as they make decisions that shape our future.

The report amasses and analyzes data in eight areas, each of which has a vision statement to monitor progress over time: social welfare; education; housing; economics; transportation; environment; recreation, arts, and culture; and public safety.

A quick look at population changes in Albany County over the decade from 2000 to 2010 shows the city of Albany has increased by 3,555 while the surrounding suburban towns have grown, too — Guilderland by 1,257, Bethlehem by 2,352, and Colonie by 2,376.

At the same time, the outlying more rural towns have stayed about the same or decreased in population. Berne is down 52 residents, Rensselaerville is down 72, Westerlo is down 105, and Coeymans is down 632 residents.

Many of the issues in the report have a yin and a yang. For example, library use has increased (circulation is up 23 percent) and so has park use (up a whopping 150 percent). But, while there are many recreational and cultural opportunities, public support for these organizations has decreased in recent years, according to the numbers in the report.

Also, while the Capital Region has seen the job market grow since 2000, the growth in salaries has not kept pace in many sectors of the economy. In other words, more people are working but they’re being paid less. The number of people below the poverty threshold in Albany County has grown from 10.6 percent to 13 percent. Children are the most likely to be poor.

The biggest categories for employment in the Capital Region, accounting for nearly half of all jobs, are government at 22 percent, health care and social assistance at 15 percent, and retail trade at 12 percent.

And, housing values have begun to rebound from the Great Recession. But, at the same time, the number of residents who are cost-burdened by their homes — whether rented or owned — has jumped significantly, indicating that finding housing for families of a variety of incomes, just as Glenn Schultz has observed, is becoming an economic strain for residents.

The Federal Housing and Urban Development Department guideline for affordability is that housing costs should take not more than 30 percent of household income; households spending more than 30 percent are considered cost-burdened and may have trouble affording necessities such as food, clothing transportation, and medical care, the report says.

In Albany County, close to half of the renters are cost-burdened, a jump from 38 percent in 2000. Similarly, the jump for homeowners is from 18.7 percent to 24 percent being cost-burdened. Albany County has the highest percentage, among the five counties in the region, of cost- burdened lower-income homeowners — two-thirds of those in households earning $35,000 or less are cost-burdened.

That means middle- and working-class families among us may be forgoing the necessities of life in order to have a roof over their heads.

But a house in our society is more than just shelter.

“Americans tend to place a high value on owning a home,” the report says, “and historically government policies have supported this goal. Homeownership provides a variety of benefits to individuals and the community, including improving neighborhood stability. Further, a high homeownership rate indicates that the housing stock is affordable and in acceptable condition.”

This report provides ample food for thought as we approach Labor Day. As we labor, each of us, at our jobs — or work at finding a job, if we’ve lost one — let us keep in mind the imperative to build communities that allow for a mix of housing, affordable to all classes of natives and newcomers alike. A diverse community is rich and strong.

A college education, as Schultz has noted, is no longer a ticket to the middle class, and not just because of the burdensome loans. Students who have mastered a trade — from carpentry to welding — often can earn as much as their peers with academic degrees.

The worth of work is measured in more than dollars and cents. A job well done — by hand or head, with heart — satisfies the soul.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer