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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Prances Perkins,

Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin,
(on leave)
A . F. H inrichs,

Commissioner
Acting Commissioner
+

Wages in the Rayon Industry
May 1944

Bulletin 7s£o. 806

For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D. C. - Price 10 cents




Letter of Transmittal

U nited States D epartment of Labor
B ureau of Labor Stastics,
Washington, D. C., January 8, 1945.

The Secretary of Labor:
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on wages in the rayon industry,
H ay 1944. This report was prepared in the Bureau’s Division of Wage Analysis
;by Willis C. Quant under the direction of Victor S. Baril.
A. F. H inrichs, Acting Commissioner.
H on. F rances P erkins,
Secretary of Labor.

Contents

Summary_______________________________________________________
Nature of the industry______________________________________________
Development of the industry------------------------------------------------------American rayon industry today-----------------------------------------------The labor force_____________________________________________________
Scope and method of survey_________________________________________
Hourly earnings____________________________________________________
Factors affecting earnings level of workers________________________
Earnings of factory workers_____________________________________
Going job rates------------------------------------------------------------------------Trend in earnings of factory workers-------------------------------------------Earnings of office workers-----------------------------------------------------------------




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Bulletin No. 806 of the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
[Reprinted from the M onthly L abob R eview , December 1944].

Wages in the Rayon Industry, May 19441
Summary
Factory workers on the first shift in the rayon industry had
straight-time average hourly earnings of 84.0 cents in May 1944.
These earnings are based on data for 30,605 factory workers in 58
representative occupations in 25 plants. Earnings varied from 59.1
cents for women working as cleaners to $1,472 for men working as
lead burners. The earnings of office workers varied from 49.6 cents
an hour for office boys and girls to 83.1 cents for class A stenographers.
Nature of the Industry
Rayon is by far the most important of the synthetic textile fibers,
from the standpoint both of production and of number of workers
employed. The survey that is summarized in the present article was
limited to plants engaged principally in the manufacture of rayon
filaments2 and rayon staple fiber,3 from cellulose or a cellulose base.
The manufacture of nylon, the next most important synthetic textile
fiber, is controlled by a single company. Synthetic textile fibers
other than rayon and nylon are as yet comparatively unimportant
commercially.
Rayon is a synthetic fiber or yam made by extruding a solution of
modified cellulose through minute perforations into an acid bath or
warm air, which causes the solution to coagulate. Cellulose, the basic
raw material of rayon, is derived principally from wood pulp and
cotton linters,4 although straw, grass, bamboo, vegetable cells, etc.,
are other sources of cellulose. Wood pulp is much more extensively
used in the manufacture of rayon than are cotton linters, the ratio
being approximately 3 to 1.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY

Although European scientists predicted, nearly 300 years ago, that
silk filaments similar to those produced by silkworms would be pro­
duced artificially, it was not until the middle of the 19th century that
practical experiments were actually undertaken. Rayon did not
become a commercial success until near the close of the 19th century.
In the United States, the manufacture of rayon was first introduced
at the turn of the century, but it was not a successful commercial
enterprise until 1910. In that year a plant was established at Marcus
i The results of an earlier survey of the industry appear in Bulletin No. 587: Wages and Hours of Labor
in Rayon and Other Synthetic Yam Manufacturing, 1932.
21, c.. threadlike fibers.
3Rayon tow, cut into short lengths.
3 Short fibers obtained after the second ginning of cottonseed.




(i)

2
Hook, Pa., to produce a rayon-filament yarn by the viscose method.
The industry developed rapidly during the first World War, owing
largely to the heavy demand for textile fibers, and the United States
assumed a leading role in world production of rayon. By 1923 this
country was producing about a third of all rayon-filament yam. The
growth of the industry in this country during the last two decades
has been phenomenal, indicating wide acceptance of this new synthetic
yarn by the textile industry. In 1943, rayon represented fully 10
percent of all textile fibers consumed in the United States.
Rayon was first produced in the form of filament yarn and was
used either by itself or in combination with other yarns to produce a
wide variety of textile products. When used in combination with
other yams, rayon-filament yarns remained clearly distinguishable.
Rayon staple fiber was developed and extensively used in Germany
as a substitute for cotton during the first World War. Unlike rayonfilament yam, staple fiber is combined with other textile fibers to
produce a mixed yam, and in the process loses its identity. Pro­
duction of rayon staple fiber increased rapidly after the war, Germany
accounting for over two-thirds of the world output in 1930. The
manufacture of rayon staple fiber was started on a small scale in the
United States in the late twenties, but increased slowly until the
middle thirties. Since then production of staple fiber has increased
rapidly in this country. Despite this increase, however, rayon staple
fiber produced in this country in 1942 accounted for only one-fourth
of the domestic production. In that same year, slightly more than
half of all rayon produced abroad was staple fiber.
Practically all rayon-filament yarn and staple fiber produced in the
United States has been for domestic consumption. Despite the
superior quality of American-made rayon, its exports have been
limited, because of the lower prices in other rayon-producing countries.
American-manufactured rayon finished products are preferred in
foreign markets, even though the foreign-made rayon products may
be had at lower prices. Imports of rayon-filament yarn dropped
sharply after 1929, declining from somewhat more than a tenth of the
total domestic consumption in that year to less than a tenth of 1
percent of the total in 1939. Imports of staple fiber have also fallen
off sharply in recent years.
Since the beginning of the rayon industry in the United States, the
most important consumers of its products have been manufacturers
of hosiery, knit goods other than hosiery, and broad woven goods. At
the start, the hosiery industry consumed the greatest amount of
rayon, but was displaced in the early twenties by the knit-goods
industry. During the past two decades, manufacturers of broad
woven goods have accounted for from one-half to three-fourths of the
rayon consumed. The present war has developed many new uses for
rayon, principally in the manufacture of tires, parachutes, insulating
materials, filters, linings, belts, and other materials needed in modern
warfare.
Much of the success of rayon in this country is undoubtedly due
to the very sharp drop in the price of that product since the first
World War, a drop made possible by technological improvements
and mass-production techniques. In 1919, the average spot price of
rayon was $4.77 per pound. By 1924, rayon had dropped to $2.11
per pound, and by 1930 it had dropped to $1.06 per pound. In 1941,



3
the average spot price of rayon was 54 cents a pound. During the
same period, the spot price of silk dropped from $9.64 to $2.94. Despite
this decline, the price of silk was still 5% times as high as that of
rayon in 1941. Between 1919 and 1941 the average spot price of
cotton dropped from 32.5 to 13.9 cents per pound and that of wool
from $1.7,4 to $1.09.
AMERICAN RAYON INDUSTRY TODAY

At the time of the present study, May 1944, there were 28 plants
engaged in the manufacture of rayon-filament yarn and rayon staple
fiber in the United States. These plants employed approximately
55,000 workers in all departments and occupations. Since 1925, the
first year for which the Census of Manufactures reported separate
figures for the rayon industry, the number of rayon plants has doubled
and the number of workers nearly trebled.
There is a very marked concentration of production facilities in
this industry. Four companies own and operate more than half of
all the plants and employ slightly more than two-thirds of all the
workers in the industry.
The rayon plants are situated in 13 States in the eastern half of the
United States, extending from Massachusetts in the North to Georgia
in the South and as far W est as Ohio and Tennessee. The greatest
concentration of plants is in Virginia, where there are 6 rayon-pro­
ducing establishments. Other concentrations are in Tennessee with
4 plants, and in Pennsylvania and Ohio with 3 plants each.
Of the 28 plants, 12 have collective-bargaining agreements with the
Textile Workers of America (a C. I. O. affiliate), 3 have agreements
with the United Textile Workers (an A. F. of L. affiliate), and 3
additional plants have agreements with both of these unions. Five
plants have agreements with independent unions and 5 are unor­
ganized. Approximately, three-fourths of all workers in the rayon
industry are employed in plants with union agreements.
Twenty of the 28 rayon-producing mills use the viscose process, 5
use the acetate process, 2 use the cupra-ammonium process, and 1 uses
both the viscose and acetate processes. Until 1934, rayon was also
produced by the nitrocellulose method. This method is now extinct
as far as the production of rayon for commercial purposes is concerned.
The viscose and cupra-ammonium processes accounted for about
two-thirds of all the rayon yam produced in this country in 1943, the
remaining third being made by the acetate process. Figures are not
available for the viscose and cupra-ammonium processes separately
because of the limited number of plants using the latter process.
Rayon staple fiber, which represented approximately one-fourth of
all the rayon produced in the United States in 1943, is generally made
by the viscose process, although a small amount is produced in mills
using the acetate method.

In principle, the three rayon-production methods or processes in
use in the United States today have much in common. Each includes
the conversion of wood pulp or cotton linters to a chemical solution
(cellulose or cellulose base), the extrusion of the chemical through
minute perforations, the coagulation of the liquid in an acid bath or
in warm air, and the finishing of the solid substance into filament
yarn or staple fiber. In actual practice, however, the mechanics of



4
the operations are quite different, resulting in substantially different
occupational structures in the processing departments. These differ­
ences are indicated in the description of each of the three processes in
the following paragraphs.
Viscose process.—This process involves the use of two basic cellulose
raw materials, namely, wood pulp and cotton linters. As a rule,
these two materials are mixed or blended according to established
formulas. The wood pulp is obtained primarily from spruce and
hemlock logs and is of a higher grade than that ordinarily used by
paper mills. Cotton linters are the short fibers obtained after the
second ginning of cottonseed.
Under the viscose method, the raw materials are first converted
into an alkali-cellulose by steeping them in a caustic solution. The
alkali-cellulose is shredded, aged, and then mixed with carbon bisul­
phide to form a cellulose-xanthate solution. This solution is then
forced or extruded through the fine openings of the spinning cup, com­
monly referred to as the “spinneret,” into an acid bath which causes
the extruded liquid to coagulate into a threadlike fiber or filament.
This filament is then wound on a bobbin or spun in “cake” form in a
pot or spinning box.
The filament is then finished as a yam by washing, skeining, drying,
bleaching, re-drying, spooling, twisting, coning, inspecting, and pack­
ing. Some of these operations may be eliminated or may take place
in a sequence differing from that outlined.
Extruded filaments which are to be finished as staple fiber are
handled somewhat differently from filament yarn. The spun fila­
ments are not wound onto bobbins or in pots, but are collected in
rope-like form, treated (washed, bleached, and dried) and then cut
into pieces of desired length or, in certain plants, first cut into lengths
and then treated.
The viscose method includes three distinct systems of spinning,
namely, the pot system, which is the most common; the spool system,
which is the next most common; and, finally, the continuous system
found in only two mills. In the pot spinning system, the filament
passes over a wheel and into a pot, which spins at a high speed. A
twist is imparted to the yarn as it enters the pot and the yarn is forced
against the inside wall of the pot to form a cake. The spool system
differs from the pot system in that the filament is wound directly
onto a spool or bobbin and no twist is imparted to the yarn; the twist­
ing is done later in a separate operation. Under the continuous
system the filament is spun, washed, bleached, twisted, dried, and
wound onto spools, in a single continuous operation.
Acetate process.—This process is the most recent of the three
processes now in use and is steadily increasing in importance. For­
merly, cotton linters were used exclusively in this operation, but
recent developments now also permit the use of wood pulp. The
acetate process differs from the viscose process in that the extruded
spinning solution coagulates as it passes through a flow of warm air,
making it unnecessary to wash, bleach, or dry the filament after
spinning. The viscose spinning solution, it will be recalled, coagulates
in an acid bath, with the result that the filament must be washed,
bleached, and dried before it can be finished.
The initial step in the acetate method is the chemical preparation
of the cellulose-acetate, which involves washing, extracting, and



5
drying into a flake form. This is followed by the dissolution of the
flake cellulose acetate in pure acetone, and then by spinning. The
rayon yarn is next either twisted and packaged for fabric-making mills
or cut to form staple fiber which is shipped to other mills to be made
into spun rayon yarns by much the same method as is used in spinning
cotton, wool, etc.
.— In this process, cotton linters are the
basic raw material used. After washing and bleaching, the cotton
linters are dissolved in a copper-oxide solution and filtered to produce
the spinning solution. This solution is then forced through the
spinneret into an acid bath, which neutralizes the copper oxide and
produces a continuous cellulose fiber which, in the case of yarn, is
generally wound on reels, although some mills use the bobbin system,
similar to that used in the viscose method. The yarn is then washed,
dried, and prepared for packing either in skein form or on bobbins,
cones, etc. Some of the yarn may also be twisted, depending on the
needs of the trade, but most of the cupra-ammonium yarn is sold
untwisted. Rayon processed by the cupra-ammonium method may
also be finished as a staple fiber in the same manner as in the viscose
process.

Cupra-ammonium process

The Labor Force

The skill requirements in the rayon manufacturing industry are, on
the whole, comparatively high. In the chemical-preparation depart­
ment, great care must be taken at all times in order to insure the proper
preparation of the spinning fluid. The timing of operations and the
temperature control are all-important in this department. Equally
exacting are the various operations in the spinning and finishing of
rayon filaments. Manual dexterity and alertness are prime requisites
in the textile department, where the yarn is twisted, wound, inspected,
wrapped, and packed for shipment.
Among the more highly skilled workers are the chemical-department
workers, who prepare the spinning solution, the various maintenance
crafts, powerhouse engineers, and generator-switchboard operators.
Of the moderately skilled occupations, the more important, numer­
ically, are the following: Spinners, who regulate the flow of the spin­
ning solution through the spinneret, the coagulation of the solu­
tion in an acid bath or in warm air, and the winding of the filament on
bobbins or into cakes; doffers, who remove cakes and bobbins of
filament from the spinning machine; operators of washers, wringers,
and driers in the treating department; product inspectors and routine
laboratory testers, who inspect and test the product at various stages
of production; reelers, throwers, and winders, who prepare the yarn for
shipment; and craftsmen's helpers in the maintenance department.
Among the least-skilled jobs in the industry are those of hand
truckers, clean-up workers, and general laborers, accounting for a
substantial number of workers. New workers with no particular
experience in the rayon industry are generally placed in one of these
unskilled occupations and advanced to the more skilled and respon­
sible occupations as they become more experienced.
Slightly more than three out of every five workers in rayon plants
are men. This rather high ratio is due to the nature of the industry,
which, in the early stages of manufacture, involves working with
chemicals. Somewhat more than four-fifths of all the women covered



6
in the Bureau's study were employed in the finishing department and
well over half were either throwers (twisters) or yarn winders. In
plants using the viscose and cupra-ammonium processes, virtually all
workers who were employed in the chemical preparation and spinning
departments were men, but more than a third of the workers in the
treating department were women. In acetate plants, no women were
found in the chemical-preparation department, but approximately 20
percent of the workers in the spinning department were women. In
the latter department, women worked as doffers and jetmen. A sub­
stantial number of women also worked as hand truckers, routine
laboratory testers, and cleaners. Men constituted virtually the entire
force in the maintenance department as well as in the powerhouse.
The workers are concentrated in comparatively few occupations.
Thus, four-fifths of the workers were in 18 of the 58 representative
occupations for which figures are presented. One-fourth of the
workers were either Jhrowers (twisters) or yarn winders, while
slightly over 15 percent were spinners, doffers, or topmen, and nearly
10 percent were in the broad group of chemical-department workers.
Of the 58 occupations, 18 had fewer than 100 workers and 5 fewer
than 50 workers.
Variations in occupational structure.—The occupational structure
varies considerably from plant to plant, owing to differences in process,
product, and type of equipment. As was pointed out earlier, certain
occupations are peculiar to specific processes. For example, the
occupations of washer operator, drier operator, and wringer operator
found in the viscose and cupra-ammonium processes do not have
counterparts in acetate plants, as acetate yarn is not treated. Sim­
ilarly, plants producing staple fiber have fewer occupations than do
yarn mills; for instance, staple-fiber plants do not have textile depart­
ments. Finally, variations in type of equipment exert a profound
influence on the occupational structure as well as on the content of the
jobs. Some mills are only partially mechanized and retain a number
of hand operations, whereas other mills are highly mechanized, and a
few even employ the continuous spinning process in which spun
filaments are washed, bleached, twisted, dried, and wound onto spools
in one continuous operation.
Equally wide variations among plants are found in their method
of work assignment. For example, in the chemical-preparation de­
partments of some plants workers are assigned to specific tasks;
among these are the acetone recovery man, acid-correction man,
chum man, filter man, shredder operator, soda dialyzer, etc. In other
plants, the entire chemical-preparation department force works as a
group, performing all of the duties incidental to the preparation of
the spinning fluid. For that reason, it was necessary in this study to
combine all chemical-department workers and to present a single
figure for the group as a whole.
The plants also showed substantial variations in the duties of work­
ers in certain occupations in the production departments, particularly
in the spinning department. In 10 of the 20 viscose and cupra-am­
monium plants, spinners did nothing but tend the spinning machines;
in 8 plants they also doffed the machines. Similarly, in the acetate
plants, some spinners tended the spinning machines only; others
performed the work of both the spinner and the topman, and still
others combined the duties of spinner, topman, and doffer. Because



7
of these variations, the wage data which appear later in this report
are presented separately for production workers under each process
and for each significant occupational group.
Scope and Method of Survey
The figures presented in this report are based on data obtained
from 25 of 28 rayon mills in operation at the time of the survey. Of
the 3 mills not represented in this study, 1 is a comparatively small
New England mill and 2 are medium-size Southern mills. The
omission of the two Southern plants from the survey does not appre­
ciably influence the general level of wages indicated by this survev.
It is estimated that the general level indicated by the 25 plants actually
studied is approximately 1 cent higher than it would have been had
all Southern rayon plants been studied. Owing to the small size of
the New England plant, its omission has but a negligible effect on the
figures presented.
Occupational wage-rate data and general plant information were
obtained from each of the 25 plants studied. Field representatives
of the Bureau visited over half of the establishments and obtained
the desired information directly from pay rolls and other pertinent
records. Data for the remaining plants were compiled by the firms
themselves, under the direction of representatives of the Bureau.
The data for these plants were carefully checked by Bureau repre­
sentatives to insure the accuracy and representative character of the
figures.
Wage data were obtained for 58 selected key occupations, which
are believed to be fully representative of the different skill and earnings
levels in the industry. These occupations account for approximately
two-thirds of all plant workers in the 25 establishments studied.
In order to insure as full comparability of occupational wage data
as possible among the plants, standard job descriptions were used.
Any significant deviations from the duties listed in these descriptions
were reported in detail and were given careful consideration in classify­
ing workers in the proper occupation. Full information on job con­
tent made it possible to overcome, to a large extent, interplant varia­
tions in duties of workers and to arrive at significant occupational
classifications. In a number of cases, it was possible to refine further
the data for certain occupations in which substantial interplant varia­
tions in job content were found.
The occupational wage data presented in this report for selected
key occupations are straight-time average hourly earnings of firstshift workers and, as such, reflect the basic wage structure of the
industry. Premium-overtime and shift-differential payments were
excluded from these earnings. Incentive earnings, however, whether
based on piecework or production bonuses, are included in the earn­
ings. The averages were also adjusted to reflect payments for lunch
periods. The earnings data relate to May 1944.

It should be pointed out that two types of occupational averages
are presented in this report. The first are straight-time average
hourly earnings, which were arrived at by weighting the individual
rates of qualified workers in each occupation by the number of workers
receiving each rate. These figures reflect the rates actually received
by first- or day-shift workers. The second set of occupational figures

627478°—45-----2




8
represents the “going rates” of the various selected key occupations.
For purposes of this survey, the “going rate” was defined as the rate
paid to a fully qualified worker who has served the required time in
an occupation. In plants having union agreements, this rate is also
known as the “union rate” for the job. In plants having a rata
range in occupations, the going rate is the upper limit of that range,
while in plants having a single rate, the going rate is the rate paid to
all workers in the occupation. In arriving at the average going rate
for an occupation, the going rate for each occupation was weighted
by the total number of workers in that occupation in each plant.
Hourly Earnings
FACTORS AFFECTING EARNINGS LEVEL OF WORKERS

The level of earnings of workers in the rayon industry is determined
not only by the basic rates of pay for the various occupations, but
also by a number of other factors, such as entrance rates, provisions
for automatic advancement, extra pay for overtime work and for
work on late shifts, incentive methods of wage payment, and paid
lunch periods. In addition, most workers in the rayon industry not
only receive paid vacations, but also benefit from a number of other
plans, such as insurance plans financed wholly or in part by the
companies, sick-benefit plans, and retirement plans. These various
factors are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.
Entrance rates.—Entrance rates of adult male common laborers
varied from 47.5 cents in one plant to 78 cents in another plant
(table 1). Thirteen of the 25 plants had entrance rates of 70 cents or
more an hour, while 4 plants had entrance rates below 55 cents an
hour. Three of the 4 companies operating plants in both North and
South paid somewhat lower entrance rates in their southern plants
than in their northern plants. A fourth firm paid the same rate in
both regions.
T able 1.—Entrance Rates of Adult Male Common Laborers and Automatic Advancement
Provisions in the Rayon Industry, May 1944
Entrance
rate

Number of plants
1 plant__________________________
1 p lan t
1 plan t

. .....

1 plant
__
l p lan t ,
____
6 plants_________________________
1 plant__________________________
1 plant__________________________
1 plant__________________________
1 plant__________________________
1 plant__________________________
1 plant _
2 plants

1 plant__________________________
I plant..................................... ................
1 plant__________________________
1 plant _____
1 plant. _
_ ___ _
1 plant.
_ ___




___

$0.78
.75
.75
.75
.745
.73
.70
.70
.645
. 633
.60
.58
.55
.55
.55
.53
.505
.495
.475

Provision for automatic increases
None.
None.
Increased to 85 cents after 6 weeks and to 95.5 cents
after 4 months.
None.
None.
None.
None.
Merit increases only.
Increascd by 10 percent of base rate, after 2 weeks.
Merit increases only.
Do.
Increased to 63 cents after 4 weeks, to 68 cents after
8 weeks, and to 70 cents after 12 weeks.
Increased to 60 cents after 3 months and to 67 cents
after 6 months.
Increased by 5 cents after 6 weeks and by another 5
cents after 12 weeks; merit increases thereafter.
Increased to 60 cents after 12 weeks and to 65 cents
after another 12 weeks.
Increased to 56 cento after 2 months, to 60 cents after
3 months, and to 63 cents after 6 months.
Increased to 55 cents after 2 months.
Increased to 54.5 cents after 3 months.
Increased to 51 cents after 13 weeks and to 62 cents
after 26 weeks.

9
Advancement beyond the common-labor entrance rate in most
plants was on a merit rather than an automatic basis. In only 11 of
the 25 plants reporting on advancement provisions did workers
receive automatic increases. These increases varied from a 3.0-cent
an hour increase after 2 months of service in one plant to two increases
aggregating 14.5 cents an hour after 6 months of service in another
plant. Most of the plants having automatic-advancement provisions
also had substantially lower entrance rates than the plants which
had no automatic-advancement provisions beyond the entrance rate.
Occupation rate range.—Most rayon plants have rate ranges, rather
than single rates, for certain jobs. Workers generally advance auto­
matically within these ranges. The spread of the rate range and the
rate of advance vary by occupation and also among plants. For
example, in Plant A, doffers start at 86 cents an hour, advance to 91
cents after 6 months and to 96 cents after 12 months. In Plant B,
truck drivers start at 74 cents an hour and, over a period of 48 weeks,
receive three automatic advances to reach a going rate of 89 cents
an hour.
. Overtime provisions.—Twenty-three of the 25 plants paid for overtime
at the rate of time and a half after 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
One plant paid day workers time and a half after 8 hours a day and
40 hours a week and paid late-shift workers time and a half after 6 hours
a day and 36 hours a week. Another plant paid time and a half after 40
hours a week.
Most plants paid time and a half for work on recognized holidays and
double time for work on the seventh consecutive day. In most cases,
the holidays on which premium rates were paid were the six holidays
specified in Executive Order No. 9240.5 Two plants paid premium
rates for work on the following day when a holiday fell on Sunday.
Incentive-wage plans.—A relatively small number of workers in the
rayon industry are paid on an incentive basis. Piece work, although
found in 16 of the 25 plants studied, was almost invariably limited to
the textile departments and generally applied to such operations as
coning, winding, reeling, and, in a few plants, to inspecting, wrapping,
and packing.
Only four plants had production-bonus plans; in three of these,
most workers participated in a plan under which a bonus was paid for
production above fixed standards, while in the fourth plant only a
few workers participated in such a plan. Two plants (one with
piece work and one with production bonus) also reported so-called
“ make-up for outage” plans, under which workers in any processing
group may elect to work short-handed and receive all or part of the
potential earnings of absent workers. In one of these plants, the
working members of the group were paid the full potential earnings of
the absent members; in the other plant they received only two-thirds
of such earnings, the remaining third being retained by the company.
Shift differentials,—Because of the continuous nature of rayon manu­
facturing operations, a high proportion of workers in this industry
work on shifts, most of whom rotate from one shift to another. Vary­
ing shift differentials were paid in 21 of the 25 plants studied, In a
number of plants, the differentials were averaged over all three shifts*
* Christmas, New Year’s Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, and either Memorial
Day or one other such holiday of greater local importance.




10
and workers on these shifts received the same rate of pay. Thus, all
workers on rotating shifts received a 10-percent differential above day
rates in 11 plants and in 6 plants they were paid amounts varying from
to cents for men and from
to cents for women. Workers on
oscillating day and evening shifts received amounts varying from
percent in plants to 10 percent in 2 other plants. In other plants, dif­
ferentials were paid only to workers on the second and third shifts.
These differentials varied from cents to 10 percent for second-shift
workers and from
cents to 20 percent for third-shift workers. In
arriving at straight-time average hourly earnings, differentials averaged
over all three shifts were eliminated from the rates paid to workers on
the first shift. Thus, if shift workers in a given occupation, whether or
not on rotating shifts, received $1.10 per hour and this rate reflected
a 10-percent shift differential, the rate was reduced by one-eleventh in
order to eliminate this differential and the rate of $1.00 instead of $1.10
was used. In plants paying a differential only to second- and thirdshift workers, the rate for day-shift workers was used.

4

7

2% 5

7

5

3

3

Paid lunch periods.—Workers on rotating shifts were granted paid
lunch periods in 23 of the 25 plants studied. The lunch period of dayshift workers or of most workers on oscillating day and evening shifts
was not paid for. Of the 23 plants having paid lunch periods, 2 had a
15-minute period, 5 had a 20-minute period, 1 a 25-minute period,
14 a 30-minute period, and in 1 plant women had a 30-minute period
and men a 20-minute period. Seven plants also paid workers for travel
to and from the lunchroom, this time having been determined by com­
pany and union representatives. In the earnings presented in this
report, correction has been made for paid lunch periods. Thus, if a
worker with a rate of $1.00 an hour was paid for 8 hours on a shift but
actually worked only 7%, the other half-hour representing a paid lunch
period, the hourly rate of this worker was adjusted upward to $1,067
(his average hourly earned rate for 7}{ hours of work at $8.00) and the
rate of $1,067 was used.
Paid vacations.—Paid vacations were granted to factory workers
in all but one of the 25 plants studied. The length of the vacation
period, the conditions under which granted, and the number of plants
with each type of paid vacation are listed below:
Provisions for paid vacations
10 plants______ 1 week after 1 year of service and 2 weeks after 5 years of
service.
4 plants________2 weeks after 1 year of service with satisfactory attendance
record.
4 plants________1 week after 1 year of service.
2 plants........... .. - 1 week after 1 year of service and 2 weeks after 2 years of service.
1 plant________ 1 week after 6 months of service.
1 plant________ 1 week after 1 year of service; proportionate amount after 3
months of service.
1 plant________ 1 week for less than 5 years of service and 2 weeks after 5 years
or more of service.
1 plant.................1 week for over 1 year but less than 5 years of service and 2
weeks for 5 years or more of service.
1 plant_________None (plan pending before regional War Labor Board).

Workers generally received vacation pay for their scheduled hours
of work at their regular rate of pay or, in some cases, at their straighttime average hourly earnings over a specified period of time. Some
plants paid a percentage of the workers earnings for the previous year.



11
Insurance and related plans.—Workers in the rayon industry also
derive substantial benefits from insurance and related plans6 in effect
in many plants. Perhaps the most common of these plans is the
insurance plan—either life or accident and health. Twenty of the
25 plants have life-insurance plans, the cost of which is borne wholly
or in part by the plants. Seven plants assumed the entire cost of the
premiums after 6 months of service, one plant after 3 months of service,
and four other plants after 1 year of service. Group health and acci­
dent plans paid for in part by the employees and in part by the firm
were found in 18 plants. Twelve plants had pension and retirement
plans which were largely maintained by the companies.
EARNINGS OF FACTORY WORKERS

The straight-time average hourly earnings of factory workers in the
rayon industry amounted to 84.0 cents an hour in May 1944 (table 2).
These earnings are based on data for 58 representative occupations in
which two-thirds of the workers were employed. These occupations
are believed to be representative of the skill and earnings levels found
in the industry; as a whole.
As a group, men earned an average of 91.8 cents an hour, or 20.5
cents more than women. This difference is due largely to the fact
that men were generally employed in the better-paid processing,
maintenance, and service occupations, while women were very largely
confined to the finishing or textile department, where the lowest
wages were generally paid. Wherever both men and women were
employed in the same occupation in any one plant and performed the
same duties, they received, as a rule, the same rate of pay. There­
fore, substantially different wage levels indicated for males and females
within the same occupation (e. g. 91.5 cents for male doffers and 76.5
cents for female doffers in acetate plants) typically reflect interplant
variations in wages paid and not sex differentials within occupations
in the same plant.
Wide variations are found in the average hourly earnings of male
workers, the range being from 69.1 cents for clean-up workers to
$1,472 for lead burners. Within this range, there are definite con­
centrations at certain wage intervals which reflect in general the
respective levels of pay in the various departments. Skilled main­
tenance men and engineers, firemen, and generator-switchboard
operators in the powerhouse averaged $1.00 or more an hour, whereas
virtually all workers in the chemical-preparation and spinning depart­
ments had earnings within the 20-cent range from 85 cents to $1.05.
Maintenance helpers and such miscellaneous occupations as stock
clerks, stockmen, truck drivers, and watchmen earned between 80
and 90 cents an hour. Earnings below 80 cents an hour were reported
for a majority of the textile occupations as well as for hand truckers,
clean-up men, and general laborers.
There was much less dispersion in the earnings of women than in
those of men. The lowest earnings, 59.1 cents an hour, were for
clean-up workers, and the highest, 84.3 cents, were for wringer opera­
tors. Nine-tenths of these workers were in occupations averaging
between 65 and 80 cents an hour. Throwers (twisters) and yarn •
• Detailed information on special insurance and benefit plans in the rayon industry appears in a specie
mimeographed supplement issued on November 17,1944. This supplement is available upon request.




12
Table 2.—Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings and Going Rates of First-Shift
Workers in Selected K ey Occupations in the Rayon Industry. May 1944

Going job rate

Hourly earnings
Occupational classification by
process, department, and sex

Total selected occupations..................
Viscose process'
Chemical preparation—Male work­
ers:
Chemical department..................
Filter cleaners.................................
Pulp handlers................................
Spinning—Male workers:
D offers.............................................
Jetmen.............................................
Spinners..........................................
Spinners, including doffers..........
Spinners, including doffers, con­
tinuous process...........................
Washing, bleaching, and drying:
Male workers:
Cake wrappers........................
Drier operators........................
Washer operators...................
Wringer operators..................
Female workers:
Cake wrappers........................
Drier operators........................
Wringer operators..................

Acetate process

Chemical preparation—Male work­
ers:
Chemical department..................
Spinning:
Male workers:
Doffers......................................
Jetmen.......................................
Spinners, including topmen..
Spinners, including topmen
and doffers.......................... .
Female workers:
Doffers____________________
Jetmen____________________
Viscose1 and acetate processes
Finishing:
Male workers:
Inspectors, product..........
Packers............................... .
Shippers...............................
Shipping laborers..............
Throwers (twisters)..........
Weighers............................
Yam winders.....................
Female workers:
Inspectors, product............
Inspectors and wrappers..
Packers................................
Peelers..................................
Throwers (twisters)..........
Yam winders.....................
Yam wrapp rs....................
Maintenance—Male workers:
Blacksmiths..............................
Blacksmiths’ helpers...............
Carpenters, class A..................
Carpenters, class B..................
Carpenters’ helpers...................
Electricians, class A..................
Electricians, class B..................
Electricians’ helpers..................
Humidity mon...........................
See footnotes at end of table.




Num­
ber of
plants

Plant aver­
Num­ In­
age
Num­
ber of dustry
ber of
work­ aver­
plants
ers age Min­ Max­
imum imum

In­ Plantageaver­
Num­ dusber of try
work­ aver­
ers age Min­ Max
imum imum

25 30,605 $0,840

25 23,290 $0,883

20 1,849 .940 $0,825 $1.126
13 88 .884 .745 1.061
16 142 .824 .665 1.065
8 985 .999 .866 1.110
18 123 .940 .641 1.287
10 844 1.025 .875 1.239
8 848 .965 .886 1.080
2 129 1.012 (2) <2)

19 1,817 .956 $0.825 $1.136
12 80 .874 .745 1.000
16 142 .838 .665 1.065
7 971 1.010 .943 1.112
15 91 .947 .641 1.242
10 844 1.027 .875 1.239
4 177 .957 .924 1.003
2 129 1.012 (2) (2)

3
11
13
7
12
4
4

11
11
6
5
3
2

49
62
885
96
518
18
79

.933
.913
.886
.873
.811
.672
.843

.755
.787
.787
.688
.600
.569
.687

.966
1.135
.954
.915
.970
1.135
.951

62
653
92
124
9
65

.913
.925
.885
.839
.666
.867

.787
.787
.688
.600
.569
(2)

1.135
1.008
.960
.945
1.133
(2)

5 1,005 1.002 .993 1.073

5 1,005 1.014 .994 1.095

2 229 .915 (2)
4 30 .957 .850
3 385 .915 .870
2 1,036 .942 <2)
3 407 .765 .753
2 30 .775 (2)

2 229 .934
4 30 .956 (2)
.850
3 385 .979 .960
2 1,036 .983 (2)
3 407 .824 .811
2 30 1.005 (*)

(2)
.991
1.022
(2)
.870
(2)

2 55 .922
(2)
8 48 .730 (2)
.489 .870
16 65 .856 .749 1.250
13 183 .794 .548 1.015
6 469 .754 .735 .944
6 22 .874 .736 1.023
4 192 .745 .741 .795
18 1,060 .708 .623 .898
10 247 .687 .617 .957
9 114 .636 .510 .760
9 983 .706 .603 .818
11 2,541 .722 .612 .779
21 4,666 .701 .608 .806
8 100 .676 .580 .810
15 18 1.097 .897 1.292
10 14 .815 .726 .910
17 188 1. Ill 1.000 1.210
16 53 1.067 .835 1.285
11 42 .842 .729 1.093
25 264 1.147 .833 1.550
19 66 1.010 .725 1.285
127 .822 .630 1.000
15 99 1.04S .847 1.425

(2>
.991
1.025
(2)
1.024
(2)

2 55 .923 (*) (2)
8 48 .774 .620 .870
14 63 .858 .750 1.040
13 183 .828 .620 1.015
2 190 .776 (2) (2)
5 20 .868 .736 1.023
2 87 .751 (2) (2)
13 667 .724 .630 .919
6 193 .648 .625 ,690
7 79 .651 .570 .710
1
3 (2) (2) (2)
7 2,167 .756 .645 .939
5 1,933 .730 .645 .782
7 94 .675 .580 .693
15 18 1.117 .897 1.280
10 14 .827 .726 .930
17 188 1.117 1.000 1.295
15 52 1.C81 .835 1.285
10 40 .851 .750 1.108
24 263 1.155 .800 1.550
18 56 1.035 .800 1.285
19 126 .832 .750 1.015
14 94 1.061 .847 1.425

13
T able 2.— Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings and Going Rates of First-Shift
Workers in Selected K ey Occupations in the Rayon Industry, May 1944—Continued
Hourly earnings
Occupational classification by
process, department, ana sex

Viscose 1 and acetate processes—Con.
Maintenance—Male workers—Con.
Lead burners................ -.................
Machinists, class A____________
Machinists, class B .........................
Machinists’ helpers........................
Mechanics, maintenance, class A.
Mechanics, maintenance, class B.
Mechanics’ helpers, maintenance.
Millwrights, class A__....................
Millwrights, class B-----------------Oilers.................................................
Pipe fitters, class A.........................
Pipe fitters, class B .........................
Pipe fitters’ helpers........................
Water filterers.................................
Power—Male workers:
Ashmen............................................
Engineers, stationary.....................
Firemen, stationary boiler............
Generator-switchboard operators.
General:
Male workers:
Clean-up workers.....................
Laboratory testers, routine...
Laborers, general.....................
Stock clerks...................... ........
Stockmen_________________
Tool clerks.................................
Truck drivers............................
Truckers, hand.........................
Watchmen.................................
W orking leaders
__ _
Female workers:
Clean-up workers.....................
Laboratory testers, routine.._
Truckers, hand____________

Num­
ber of
plants

14
24
15
12
23
21
22
12
9
20
21
16
20
19
9
20
23
13

Num­
ber of
work­
ers

Going job rate

In­ Plantageaver­
Num­
dusNum­ ber
of
try
ber of
aver­ Min­ Max­ plants work­
ers
age imum imum

97 $1,472 $1,090 $1,750
270 1.143 1.027 1.400
87 .973 .834 1.172
77 .807 .729 .885
455 1.124 .975 1.343
833 1.012 .775 1.280
748 .807 .682 1.C96
208 1.118 .988 1.291
144 1.C06 .864 1.285
191 .896 .689 1.006
278 1.110 .976 1.417
55 1.083 .725 1.280
231 .822 .710 1.000
58 1.017 .645 1.196
55 .713 .544 1.035
86 1.214 1.040 1.391
116 1.038 .720 1.223
54 1.154 .720 1.347

23 534 .691 .548 .968
10 116 .852 .735 .997
25 1,329 .699 .548 .903
16 90 .854 .750 1.100
13 61 .889 .730 1.015
12 16 .897 .780 .995
19 118 .834 .636 1.082
20 1,177 .733 .574 .954
21 297 .842 .574 .978
16 430 1.050 .856 1.242
13 201 .591 .514 .917
16 204 .796 .507 1.003
9 536 .685 .539 .826

14
23
14
12
23
20
21
12
8
19
21
15
19
17

7

18
21
13

In­ Plantageaver­
dus­
try
aver­ Min­ Max­
age imum imum

97 $1.478 $1,090 $1,750
269 1.162 1.037 1.400
85 1.000 .870 1.198
77 .819 .750 .885
455 1.137 .975 1.343
820 1.025 .775 1.280
744 .847 .750 1.110
208 1.140 1.088 1.295
142 1.015 .875 1.285
187 .907 .701 1.015
278 1.122 .976 1.417
53 1.087 .750 1.285
228 .836 .750 1.015
54 1.038 .821 1.196
43 .646 .550 1.015
77 1.209 1.040 1.406
106 1.021 .720 1.223
54 1.155 .730 1.347

21 491 .707 .602 .968
6 106 .927 .884 1.008
24 1,311 .709 .552 .955
15 88 .865 .750 1.100
13 61 .894 .730 1.015
12 16 .906 .780 .995
18 117 .851 .636 1.173
18 1.153 .787 .587 .904
9 78 .811 .616 .976
12
10
8

183 .627 .559 .917
166 .850 .672 1.008
532 .702 .570 .855

i Includes data for viscose and cupra-ammonium plants combined in order not to disclose identity of
individual plants.
* Number of plants and/or workers insufficient to justify presentation of figures.

winders, which together accounted for well over half of all the women,
earned 72.2 and 70.1 cents an hour, respectively.
The general range in plant occupational straight-time hourly
earnings is on the whole quite wide. Thus, of the 71 occupational
classifications for which such figures are shown, 10 had a spread in
plant earnings of less than 20 cents; for 37 the spread was between 20
and 40 cents; for 12, between 40 and 50 cents; and for 12, 50 cents or
more. In general, the differences between the minimum and maximum
plant earnings were somewhat greater for maintenance and powerhouse
occupations than for processing occupations. It should be borne in
mind, however, that these figures indicate the greatest possible
difference in interplant earnings, and that many of the plants actually
pay wages within a more limited range. For example, the total
spread in plant averages for class A electricians was from 83.3 cents
in one plant to $1.55 in another. Actually, for 22 of the 25 plants,
the spread in earnings was less than 40 cents (between 95 cents and
$1.35) and for 16 it was less than 15 cents (between $1.05 and $1.20).



14
On the basis of the data obtained from the 25 plants studied, there
appears to be no consistent regional pattern of variation in wages.
The highest wages are not confined to plants in the Northern States,
neither are the lowest wages paid only in southern plants. Although
some firms operating plants in both Northern and Southern States
pay somewhat lower wages in their southern plants, others have the
same basic wage structure in all their plants, regardless of location.
A comparison of earnings in occupations in which both time and
incentive methods of wage payment were found reveals somewhat
more dispersion in earnings as well as a slightly higher wage level for
incentive than for time workers. In 16 plants in which women
winders were paid on a piece-work basis, earnings varied from 56.0
cents in one plant to 80.6 cents in another, while in 5 plants in which
winders worked on a time basis, earnings varied from 64.1 to 71.5
cents. Seven of the 16 plants paying on an incentive basis had aver­
ages which were higher than the highest average for plants paying
winders on a time basis. It should be remembered, however, that
these differences in earnings of time and incentive workers may also be
due in part to interplant variations in wage levels.
GOING JOB RATES 7

In addition to straight-time average hourly earnings the going
hourly rate is also shown in table 2 for most of the selected key occupa­
tions. As previously pointed out, this rate, or the “union rate” as it
is called in union plants, is the time rate paid to a fully qualified worker
who has served the required time in a given occupation. It is gen­
erally the highest rate when more than one rate is paid within an
occupation, and in rate ranges it is generally the upper limit of the
range.
The going rate is to be distinguished from the straight-time average
hourly rate. The former is generally a single rate in a given plant,
whereas the latter may be an average of several rates. In such
cases the going rate will usually be higher than the weighted average
of the several rates within the range. No going rate is shown for
occupations in which workers are primarily paid on an incentive or
salaried basis. For this reason, the going-rate figures presented in
table 2 are generally based on fewer plants and fewer workers than are
the straight-time average hourly earnings. These differences in
coverage should be kept in mind in comparing hourly earnings and
going rates.
The average going job rate in the rayon industry in May 1944
was 88.3 cents an hour. This compares with an average straight-time
rate of 84.0 cents an hour for the same month. The 4.3-cent variance
between the two rates is only an approximate measurement of their
difference, because of differences in the size of the groups covered.
The straight-time hourly rate is based on data for 30,605 workers,
whereas the average going rate is based on data for 23,290 workers in*
* The term “going rate” as herein used refers to the rate paid to a fully qualified worker who has served
the required time in an occupation. These “going rates” should not be confused with the so-called.sound
and tested rates used by the National War Labor Board in establishing wage brackets.




15
occupations which are primarily on a time basis of wage payment.
The same is true for individual occupations, as in most cases the going
job rate is based on data for fewer plants and fewer workers than the
average straight-time hourly rate. This is especially true of occupa­
tions in the textile department in which incentive methods of pay are
often found.

In general, the differences between the average going rate and the
average straight-time rate were small. In 65 of the 73 occupational
classifications for which these two figures are shown the variation was
less than 5 cents, and in 52 classifications less than 2.5 cents. These
observations lead to the conclusion that the pay of a large proportion
of the workers actually equaled or closely approached the going rate.
In 60 of the 73 cases, the average going rate was higher, and in only
11 was it lower; in two cases there was no difference. The inclusion
of incentive earnings in the straight-time average hourly rate for a
few occupations undoubtedly reduced the difference between the
two rates and may account for the fact that in a few cases the straighttime average hourly earnings were higher than the going rate of the
job. Variations in coverage may also affect the results in some
instances, particularly when the two figures are based on substantially
different groups of plants and workers.

As in the case of straight-time average hourly earnings, the total
range in average plant going rates is rather wide. The difference
between the minimum and maximum going rates varied from less
than
cents in three occupations to
cents in another occupation.
On the whole, the differences were much larger for maintenance and
powerhouse occupations than for most processing occupations. Of
the
occupational classifications for which minimum and maximum
going job rates are presented in table
had a spread in average
plant going rates of more than
but less than
cents, and
had a
spread in plant rates of more than
but less than
cents an hour.

10

75

65

10

2, 56

20

55

40

37

TREND IN EARNINGS OF FACTORY WORKERS

The general level of wages in the rayon industry was substantially
higher during the summer of 1944 than in January 1941. According
to data compiled by the Bureau’s Employment Statistics Division
from reports submitted monthly by cooperating firms in the industry,
gross average hourly earnings (including premium payments for
overtime and shift differentials) increased from 69.9 cents in January
1941 to 90.2 cents in July 1944, an advance of 29 percent (see table 3).
Most of the increase occurred prior to June 1943 and was due very
largely to a number of general wage increases granted by most plants
in the industry. Automatic increases in a number of plants and
individual merit increases in other plants also account for part of the
increase in earnings. Premium payments for overtime have also had
some influence on the general level of gross hourly earnings, partic­
ularly during 1943 and 1944, as the average time worked increased
by approximately 3 hours during that period.
Straight-time earnings increased by 26 percent between January
1941 and April 1944—from 68.4 to 86.2 cents. These earnings do not




16
include premium payments for overtime, but do include shift-differ­
ential earnings. The actual increase in straight-time earnings of firstshift workers would be somewhat lower.8
Gross weekly earnings, which rose from $27.40 in January 1941 to
$39.45 in May 1943, primarily reflected changes in gross hourly earn­
ings, although the lengthening of the workweek also resulted in higher
weekly earnings. Throughout 1941 and most of 1942, weekly hours
remained practically unchanged, averaging slightly less than 40 per
week. Weekly hours increased slowly in 1943 and 1944, reaching a
high of 43.4 in May of the latter year.
T able 3.— Weekly Hours and Hourly and Weekly Earnings of Workers in Manufacture
of Rayon and Allied Products, by Months, January 1941 to July 1944 1
Year and month
1941:
January...............................................................
February.............................................................
M arch................................................................
April....................................................................
M ay....................................................................
Ju n e...................................................................
July......................................................................
August.................................................................
September.................................................. .
October.................... ...........................................
November...........................................................
December...........................................................
1942:
January............................. .................................
February.............................................................
M arch.............................................................
April....................................................................
M ay.....................................................................
June.—................................................................
July......................................................................
A ugust-..............................................................
September-........................................................
October..............................................................
November...........................................................
December............................................................
1943:
January......................... .....................................
February.............................................................
March.................................................................
April................... ................................................
M ay....................................................................
Ju n e..................................................................
July......................................................................
August.................................................................
September........................................................
October...............................................................
November...........................................................
December...........................................................
1944:
January................................................................
February.............................................................
M arch...............................................................
April.....................................................................
M ay.....................................................................
June.—............. .................................................
July......................................................................

Average
weekly
hours
39.2
38.4
38.9
39.0
39.5
39.3
39.8
39.3
39.2
39.4
39.4
39.1
39.6
39.3
39.6
39.5
39.8
39.7
39.1
39.7
39.5
39.5
39.4
40.7
40.5
40.9
41.3
41.4
42.4
41.4
42.7
42.5
42.2
42.2
42.7
41.8
42.2
42.5
42.8
42.6
43.4
43.2
43.0

Average hourly earnings
Unadjusted* Adjusted *

Cents

69.9
70.2
70.0
70.6
71.2
72.2
72.9
72.8
74.6
77.3
77.5
79.7
80.0
81.2
81.2
81.2
80.3
80.8
82.4
82.7
84.5
83.4
82.9
84.0
84.6
84.5
84.8
86.3
86.6
90.1
88.0
88.3
90.5
88.2
88.4
88.6
89.4
89.4
90.0
90.5
90.9
90.5
90.2

Cents

68.4
68.9
68.6
69.2
69.6
70.6
71.1
71.2
73.0
75.6
75.8
78.0
78.2
79.4
79.3
79.3
78.3
78.9
80.7
80.7
82.6
81.5
81.1
81.3
82.0
81.6
81.6
82.9
82.5
86.6
83.7
84.1
86.4
84.2
84.1
84.9
85.4
85.1
85.5
86.2
85.9
85.6
85.5

Average
weekly
earnings
$27.40
26.94
27.28
27.54
28.16
28.35
29.06
28.60
29.29
30.42
30.50
31.13
31.71
31.95
32.15
32.05
32.13
32.07
32.20
32.85
33.38
32.96
32.68
34.18
84.27
34.54
35.01
35.73
36.74
37.32
37.57
37.50
38.15
37.22
37.76
37.07
37.68
38.01
38.56
38.59
39.45
39.12
38.78

i Compiled by the Bureau’s Division of Employment Statistics from employment, man-hour, and pay
roll totals submitted monthly by cooperating firms.
* Gross earnings including both premium-overtime and shift-differential earnings.
* Net earnings excluding premium-overtime earnings but including shift-differential earnings.
* The over-all straight-time average hourly earnings based on data for workers in the selected key jobs
studied are remarkably consistent with the adjusted average based on the monthly reports from cooperating
firms, the respective figures being 84.0 and 85.9. The slightly higher average based on the monthly reports
is due partly to the fact that this figure includes shift-differential payments, whereas the average rased
on the current survey excludes shift-differential earnings. Differences in plant coverage may also account
for some of the difference.




17
Earnings of Office Workers
During the course of the survey, wage data were collected also
for 1,307 office workers in 10 selected key occupations. All of these
occupations are below the top executive and administrative levels.
Most of the workers in these occupations are women, and for that
reason it is not feasible to show separate figures by sex.
The average hourly earnings of office workers varied from 49.6
cents for office boys or girls to 83.1 cents for class A stenographers,
(table 4). Despite this wide range, nearly a half (48.6 percent) of
the workers studied were in three occupations averaging 80 cents or
more an hour, and nearly another fifth were in three other occupations
which averaged between 70 and 80 cents an hour.
Individual plant averages indicate wide interplant variations in
earnings. Accounting clerks show the greatest spread in earnings
(from 59.0 cents in one plant to $1,051 in another) and office boys
and girls show the least spread (from 40.7 cents in one plant to 60.0
cents in another). For 3 of the 10 selected occupations, the total
spread in plant average hourly earnings was over 40 cents; for 3, be­
tween 30 and 40 cents; for 3, between 20 and 30 cents; and for 1,
slightly less than 20 cents.
T a b le

4.—Straight -Time Average Hourly Earnings of Workers in Selected Key Office
Occupations, M ay 1944
Hourly earnings
Number of Number of
plants
workers Industry
average

Occupation
Accounting clerks______________________
Clerk-typists_________ ________ _______
Ofirifiral nlftrlrs
____ ___
O ffic e b o y s o r g ir ls _ _ _ _ _ _ _
O r d e r c le r k s
................. _
___ __
P a y -r o l l c lerk s
S te n o g r a p h e r s , c la ss
S te n o g r a p h e r s , c la ss
S w itc h b o a r d o p e r a to r s
T y p ists

A
B __




_ _

_

17
12
8
15
9
13
14
19
14
14

345
133
213
53
50
157
77
138
40
101

$0,816
.608
.800
.496
.708
.719
.831
.678
.723
.623

Plant average
Minimum Maximum
$0,590
.500
.608
.407
.572
.591
.665
.558
.575
.481

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 194*

$1,051
.798
.832
.600
.907
.923
L093
.804
.978
.873