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M PLO YM EN T O U TLO O K IN THE PLASTICS PRODUCTS INDUSTRY Job Prospects Duties Training Earnings Working Conditions UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR • BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK SERIE S - B U L L E T IN No. 929 Injection molding of fountain pen barrels. This high-speed machine, run by a skilled operator, can turn out hundreds of plastic pieces in an hour. Employment Outlook in the Plastics Products Industry Bulletin No. 929 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR L. B. Schwellenbach, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Ewan Clague, Commissioner For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents Letter of Transmittal U n it e d S tates D epa r t m en t of L abor, B u r e a u o f L a bo r S t a t is t ic s , Washington,D. O.,April IS,1948. The S e c r e t a r y o f L a b o r : I have the honor to transmit a report on the employment outlook in the plastics products industry. This is one of a series of occupational and industry studies prepared in the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Division for use in vocational counseling of veterans, young people in schools, and others considering the choice of an occupation. The study was prepared by Sol Swerdloff and Caiman E. Winegarden. The Bureau wishes to acknowledge the cooperation received from other Government agencies and from officials of trade associations, unions, trade periodicals, and companies in the plastics field. The Bureau, however, takes full responsibility for the interpretations and conclusions in this report. E w a n C l a g u e , Commissioner. Hon. L. B. S c h w e l l e n b a c h , Secretary of Labor. II Contents Introduction____________________________________________________________________ What is the plastics products industry?_________________________________________ What are plastics?_________________________________________________________ What is meant by the plastics products industry? ________________________ Location of plastics products plants________________________________________ Size of plants in the industry_______________________________________________ How plastics products are made________________________________________________ Compression molding______________________________________________________ Transfer molding__________ Injection molding__________________________________________________________ Molding by extrusion______________________________________________________ Laminating________________________________________________________________ Finishing and inspection___________________________________________________ Plastics products workers and their jobs________________________________________ Kinds of jobs______________________________________________________________ What are the earnings?____________________________________________________ Working conditions________________________________________________________ Jobs in plastics products industry— Duties, training and qualifications, and earn ings __________________________________________________________________________ Jobs in the molding department____________________________________________ Jobs in the tool room______________________________________________________ Jobs in finishing operations________________________________________________ Jobs in the inspection department__________________________________________ Jobs in laminating_________________________________________________________ Professional, technical, and sales jobs_______________________________________ Outlook for employment in the plastics products industry______________________ Past trends in production and employment_________________________________ Future supply of plastic materials__________________________________________ Capacity of the plastics products industry__ _______________________________ The future market for plastics products___ '________________________________ Technological changes affecting employment________________________________ Employment outlook______________________________________________________ Training opportunities for new workers_________________________________________ On-the-job training________________________________________________________ Trade schools______________________________________________________________ Colleges and universities___________________________________________________ Appendix A— Output of plastics products, 1931-45_____________________________ Appendix B— Estimated employment in the plastics products industry, 1937-46___ Page 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 III Employment O utlook in the Plastics Products Industry Introduction Plastics are now commonly found in hundreds of uses—in industry, in automobiles and airplanes, in homes—and new uses are rapidly appearing. Stories of spectacular future growth, of a coming “plastics age,” have been widely circulated. It is no wonder, that many veterans, young people in schools, and others interested in choosing a field of work are looking to the growing plastics products industry for new and promising job opportunities. At the end of 1946, the number of jobs in the plastics products industry was higher than the wartime peak, and nearly three times the employ ment in 1939. Prospects are for a relatively large increase in employment in the industry during the next year or two and for steady growth thereafter. Most of the openings, however, will be for semi skilled and unskilled production workers. This study discusses job prospects in the industry and describes the duties, training, earn ings, and working conditions of its employees. What is the Plastics Products Industry? What are Plastics? What Is Meant by the “ Plastics Products Industry”? Plastics are synthetic organic materials which, through application of pressure or heat or both, may be formed into almost any desired shape. They are man-made from substances like coal, petroleum, wood, and cotton. Although not entirely of recent origin, plastics are mainly prod ucts of modern research. Not only are plastics easy to shape, but they have many other useful properties. Generally they are light, resistant to corrosion, easy to color, odorless, and tasteless. Some are noted for tough ness, electrical insulating qualities, transparency, resistance to water, or flexibility. Plastics prod ucts constitute parts of electrical appliances, automobiles, airplanes, and industrial equipment of various kinds, and are seen in daily use as radio cabinets, toys, novelties, bottle tops, and telephone hand-sets as well as in hundreds of other forms. The tabulation on the following page shows some typical plastic materials, their prop erties, illustrations of their uses, and common trade names. The term “plastics products industry” refers to plants which make molded and laminated plastics articles and parts for sale. This is the largest and most distinctive of the three main divisions of what has been popularly called the field of plastics. The other divisions are plastic materials manufacturing and plastics fabricating. Plastic materials manufacturers—part of the chemical industry—supply molders and extruders with molding compounds in powder, granular, or flake form, and furnish laminators with impreg nating resins. They also furnish sheets, rods, and tubes to fabricating plants. Molders, lami nators, and fabricators make the so-called “rigid” plastics products that the public sees and readily recognizes. Less than half of the plastics mate rials, however, go into these products. The rest are consumed in the making of such other prod ucts as paints and coatings, adhesives, brake lin ings, and grinding wheels. There are about 30,000 workers employed in the plants which manufac ture plastic materials, in jobs similar to those found in many other chemical processes. 1 Plastics Have M any Different Properties and Uses Some Typical Plastic M aterials and Their Products Material T h erm osettin g m aterials Phenolics____ __ Urea Melamine_______ Manufactured from— Outstanding properties Typical uses Common trade names Light, resistant to heat Electric switch parts, Bakelite, Durite, Durez, Makalot, Indur, Resibottle tops, radio and w a ter, g o o d nox. cabinets, gears, bear surface appearance, ings, table tops, cam strong, and hard, era cases. Ammonia and car Unlimited color range, Cosmetic containers, Beetle, Bakelite Urea, Plaskon, Sylplast. odorless, tasteless, machine housings, bon dioxide.1 automobile hard very light, rigid, ware, clock cases, hard surfaced. buttons. Calcium cyanamid L Heat resistant, electri Light reflectors, table Melmac, Plaskon, Resical insulating, resis ware, buttons, tele mene. phone handsets, cir tant to moisture, cuit breakers. hard surfaced. P henol1_________ T h erm op la stic m aterials Cellulose acetate___ Cotton linters, acetic Water resistant, di acid, acetic anhy mensionally stable, electrical insulating, dride, sulphuric easy to color. acid. Cotton linters, caus E xceptionally tough, Ethyl cellulose-. resistant to moisture, tic soda, eth y l electrical insulating. chloride. Acrylics ________ Propylene, acetone, T ran sp aren t, lig h t, shatter resistant, eas methyl alcohol. ily formed, resistant to chemicals. Polystyrene____ __ Benzene and ethyl Electrical insulating, relatively waterproof, chloride. dimensionally stable, odorless, tasteless, color fast. Vinyls A cetylen e reacted Flexible, hard, chemi with acetic acid or cal resistant, electri cal insulating. hydrogen chloride. Toys, novelties, cultery handles, automobile knobs and handles, brushes and combs, fountain pens. Flashlight cases, steer ing wheels, instru ment panels, vacu um cleaner parts. M edical instrum ents, lenses, dials, toilet articles, n ovelties, furniture, dentures. R efrig era to r p a rts, instrum ent panels, bottle caps, cosme tic containers, bath room and kitchen tile. Phonograph records, instrument housings, chemical tubing and pipe, furniture, toys. Bakelite C. A., Kodapak Lumarith, Nexonite, Tenite I, Chemaco, Fibestos. Ethocel, Celcon, Nex onite E. C., Ethofoil. Plexiglas, Lucite. B akelite P olystyren e, P olyflex, Styram ic, Styron, Lustron, Loalin. Saran, Vinylite, Butacite, Koroseal, Gelva, Chemaco, Geon, Velon. 1 Formaldehyde is usually added in making molding compounds from these materials. in other chemical processes. Plastics fabricators—also make plastics prod ucts, but unlike molding and laminating plants, are not considered part of the plastics products industry. Their production methods are basically the same as those used in woodworking and metal working. Plastics fabricators buy plastic forms, such as sheets, rods, and tubes, from the materials producers and turn them into finished articles or parts. As many as 2,000 plants fabricate plas tics, including some which also work other mate rials, such as wood or light metals. They range in size from one-man shops making novelties in basements and garages to a few plants with more than 100 employees. The equipment used ranges 2 from simple hand tools, such as files, to power machines of the kind employed in machining metal or wood. Although there are many fabricating shops, the number of jobs is much lower than in the plastics products industry. Plants in the plastics products industry are engaged mainly in molding or laminating plastics articles for sale. Most of the industry’s output consists of plastics parts made to order for firms in other industries, such as the electrical machinery, automobile, radio, aircraft, and foun tain pen industries. Other plastics products are sold in finished form, such as novelties, toys, combs, and container tops. Some plants in other indus tries, such as automobiles and radios, have plastics departments of their own, instead of purchasing plastics parts from independent molders or laminators. At the end of 1946, there were over 1,000 plants in the plastics products industry, with a total of about 50,000 employees. In the 200 to 300 plastics departments of plants in other industries, an additional 12,000 to 15,000 were employed. The jobs in these plastics departments correspond to those in the plastics products industry. In 1945, the total output of molded and lam inated plastics products (including products made outside of the plastics products industry) was valued at 330 million dollars, compared with approximately 76 million dollars in 1939. Location of Plastics Products Plants Plastics products plants are located principally in the more important industrial regions of the country, near the main users of their products. At the end of 1946 there were plants in 35 States, but over four-fifths of the workers in the industry were employed in 7 States: Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Connecticut, and California. Size of Plants in the Industry Plants in this industry are usually small. One factor is the relative newness of the industry; another is the fact that it is possible to operate fairly small molding plants efficiently. Plants range in size from those which are run by their owners without help to a few large establishments with over 1,000 employees. In 1939 more than half of all plants had less than 50 employees. During World War II and thereafter, the older estab lished companies tended to become much larger. On the other hand, most of the new plants which have opened up within the last few years are still comparatively small. How Plastics Products Are Made Plastics products are made primarily by ma chines. Hand work comes in mainly in the finish ing and inspection of the products. In a particu lar plant, one or more processes may be used, each having its special type of machine. These ma chines are largely automatic in their operation. Quantity production is the rule, even in the smaller plants. Typically, large numbers of each item are turned out; for example, a plant may have an order for many thousands of identical bottle caps or fountain-pen barrels. It is usually not economical to make plastics products in small quantities, because of the high cost of the indi vidual molds used in their manufacture. Without mechanization and quantity production, the cost of plastics articles would be prohibitively high and their widespread use impossible. The principal methods of shaping plastics are by molding and laminating. There are four main ways of molding plastics—compression, transfer, injection, and extrusion. Choice of method is based on the shape of the piece to be molded and the kind of plastic materials used. In laminating, pressure is used to bond together plastic impreg nated sheets of paper or fabric. Plastics fall into two main classes: thermoset ting and thermoplastic. Thermosetting materials undergo chemical change under heat and pressure, whereas thermoplastic materials do not. After molding, thermoplastics can be reheated and used over again, whereas thermosetting materials can not be reused. Some of the most commonly used thermosetting compounds are phenol formal dehyde and melamine. Typical thermoplastic compounds include cellulose acetate, ethyl cellu lose, polystyrene, acrylics, and the vinyl resins. Compression Molding More than half of all molded plastics, including such products as container tops, knobs and han dles, instrument housings, electrical fuse boxes, and radio cabinets, are made by the compression method. A carefully measured amount of thermo setting material, either in powder form or in pre heated pellets, is loaded directly into the heated cavities of the steel mold, as the simplified dia gram 1 shows. The mold closes and pressure is 1 Data for diagrams adapted from York, N. Y.). Product Engineering (New 3 softened. The plastic material in a semiliquid form is then forced by pressure into a cool, closed mold, and here the material hardens by cooling, and the plastics part is ejected. The entire cycle (the whole operation of changing the heated ma terial into the finished piece) can be completed in as little time as 20 seconds. applied. Inside the mold, the material softens under heat and pressure, flows into the shape of the mold, and fuses and hardens permanently. The pressure is released, the press is opened, and the molded piece is removed. Transfer Molding This method is employed for molding many thermosetting plastics objects difficult to produce by conventional compression molding—especially those in which metal parts are inserted, as, for example, many electrical devices. Transfer mold ing is a variation of compression molding, differ ing from it in that the plastic materials, instead of being loaded directly into the mold cavity, are first placed in a transfer chamber, where they are softened by heat. The material is then forced by means of a plunger into the closed mold, where it is held under pressure for the period required to harden or “cure” the piece being molded. Injection Molding Most of the molding of thermoplastic materials is done by the injection method, which produces such articles as combs, eyeglass frames, flashlight cases, tooth-brush handles, vacuum-cleaner attach ments, instrument panels and costume jewelry. This process is usually done by semiautomatic ma chines and with the use of multicavity molds, which produce many items at the same time. The diagram1 shows the basic features of injection molding. The plastic material is loaded into a hopper, which feeds into a cylinder. A ram forces the material into a heating chamber, where it is See footnote on page 3. 4 Molding by Extrusion This method is used to produce continuous cross sections (strips) from thermoplastic materials for such products as flexible tubing and wall moldings. Plastic material is fed into the extrusion machine, which, as the diagram1 indicates, operates much EXTRUSION like a sausage grinder. A continuous screw forces the material into the heating chamber, where it is softened by heat and pressure and then forced, in paste-like form, through the die opening. The strip which emerges takes the form of the die, is carried off on a conveyor, and cooled by blowers or baths. The strips are then cut into the desired lengths or wound on spools. Laminating Laminating is used to produce sheets and tubes of high strength and hard finish. Sheets of paper or fabric are soaked in resin solutions and squeezed together under heat and pressure. Lamination may be high pressure, low pressure, or contact, differing according to the type of pressure used. In high pressure laminating, which is shown in the diagram,1 rolls of paper or fabric are run through a bath of resin, the excess resin is drained LAMINATION Inspecting a molded plastics piece for proper size and finish. Very little training is needed for most inspection jobs. off, and these rolls are dried in ovens. Sheets of the material are cut to proper length and placed in stacks between two steel plates. The stacks are then placed between the platens of a hydraulic press, where heat and pressure forms them into laminated sheets. The sheets are cooled and removed from the press. Any type of finish can be obtained, because the finished sheets duplicate the surface of the steel plates. Some typical products machined from laminated sheets or tubes include automobile gears, switch board panels, bearings, trays, and table tops. Finishing and Inspection FINISHED SHEETS MADE UNDER HEAT AND PRESSURE OF 1,000-2,000 LB. PER SQ. IN. Before molded plastics products are ready to be shipped to the user, they undergo a series of hand- and machine-finishing operations. Excess material must be removed, surfaces polished, and in many cases holes must be drilled and other machining done on the plastics pieces. Frequently, pieces have to be assembled. Laminated sheets, rods, and tubes may be further shaped by sawing, machining, and punching holes. Plastics articles are inspected for proper size, finish, color, and other specified qualities required by the user. See footnote on p. 3. 7S3375— 4J 2 5 Plastics Products Workers and Their Jobs As this is a relatively new industry, and one which has added many workers in recent years, most of its employees are young. During World War II, women constituted 40 to 50 percent of the workers in plastics products plants. By 1947 the proportion had dropped to about a third. Most of the women are in the finishing and inspection departments and in office work, although they frequently operate semiautomatic molding ma chines. In 1946 about 5 percent of the workers in the industry were Negroes. Some Negroes are em ployed in production jobs, but most are employed as janitors and as laborers in the shipping and storage departments. Kinds of Jo b s Finishing room worker hand-filing a plastics telephone hand-set. Many of the finishing jobs are held by women. Because the production methods of the plastics products industry are largely mechanized, the bulk of the jobs are semiskilled and unskilled. Employ ment in major departments is shown in chart 1. MOST JOBS IN THE PLASTICS PRODUCTS INDUSTRY ARE IN FINISHING. INSPECTION. AND MOLDING E S T IM A T E D E M P LO Y M E N T B Y D E P A R T M E N T , D E C E M B E R 1946 THOUSANDS OF WORKERS 4 6 8 TOOL ROOM C H A B T 1. 6 10 12 14 Over a fourth of the workers are in the molding departments. Almost all molding machine oper ators learn their duties in a few months of onthe-job training. Hand molders (operators of nonautomatic molding machines), however, are relatively skilled. Operators of fully automatic molding machines may be trained in a few weeks. In the finishing and inspection departments, which have nearly a third of the workers, semiskilled and unskilled employees do the various tumbling, sanding, assembling, and polishing operations. Similarly, much of the inspection is done by workers who need brief training. In laminating departments, as in molding, nearly all the jobs center around machine operation. Plastics prod ucts plants also employ a number of men who move materials or perform laboring jobs. These are found in the storage and shipping depart ments, as well as the various production and maintenance departments. On the other hand, molding plants which make their own molds have toolrooms where highly skilled tool and die makers and machinists are employed; but toolroom jobs are only a small percentage of employment. There are also a number of workers who maintain the plant and its equipment, among them being some skilled men, such as electricians and mechanics. White-collar workers constitute nearly oneseventh of the industry’s total employment. There are, of course, the usual clerical jobs, such as typing, bookkeeping, and filing. Many salesmen are employed in the marketing of plastics prod ucts. In the technical fields, there are chemical and electrical engineers, mold and product de signers, and draftsmen. facturing industries as a whole in the same month. These figures include extra pay for overtime, holi day work, and night shifts, and therefore do not show the straight-time pay. Typical straighttime earnings in each of the main occupations of the plastics products industry are given in the subsequent discussion of jobs in the industry. This industry does not have seasonal ups and downs in production, so that nearly all its employ ees work the year round. W orking Conditions Working conditions in plastics products plants are usually good, compared with factory work in general. The buildings are often modern, well- W h at A re the Earn in g s? In early 1948 hourly earnings of plant workers in this industry ranged from an entrance rate of 60 cents an hour for some unskilled finishing jobs to more than $2 an hour for especially skilled tool and die makers. A high percentage of the workers are on incentive pay, with a guaranteed minimum hourly rate. The average hourly earnings of production workers employed in 115 plants report ing to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in December 1917 were about $1.21. On the average, they earned $51.32 a week for 41.4 hours of work. This compares with hourly earnings of $1.28 and weekly earnings of $52.74 for production workers in manu Transfer molding is a variation of compression molding. operator is taking out molded telephone parts. The lighted, and adequately ventilated. Molding de partments tend to be noisy, and it may be quite hot next to the molding machines. The operators have to wear gloves, since they handle hot plastics pieces. In laminating plants, the odor from the laminating solution may be disagreeable, and heat near the presses may be bothersome. 7 The work in the industry is not particularly dangerous. Accident data for 1946 indicate that in this industry there were about 16.8 dis abling injuries for each million employee-hours worked, compared with a rate of 19.9 for all manufacturing industries. The machines used in molding are largely automatic, with numerous safety devices to reduce the hazards. In finishing operations, cutting and stamping machines cause Jobs in Plastics Products Industry — occasional injuries, and the workers may be affected by dust from grinding and polishing. Most plastics products plants operate more than one shift; three-shift operation is the most com mon. About half of the plants in the industry are unionized. Locals of various CIO and AFL unions and some independent unions haveorganized these plants. Duties, Training and Qualifications, and Earnings Thus far a general picture of the industry and its workers has been given. Anyone considering a career in the plastics products industry will want a closer look at the more important occupations in the industry, especially those jobs unique to plastics. ing and ejection devices, the operator need only keep the hopper full of molding materials and call his supervisor if anything goes wrong with the machine. In some plants, automatic and semi automatic compression molding machines are ar ranged and timed so that one operator may run several machines. Jobs in the M olding Departm ent In the plastics molding plant, molding is the heart of the production process. Over one-fourtli of total employment in the industry is in the mold ing departments. Most of the workers in the molding department are machine operators, run ning the various kinds of molding presses. Duties What a compression molding machine operator does and what he has to know depends on the kind of machine—hand, semiautomatic, or fully automatic. Semiautomatic machines are the most common in compression molding. If he operates one of these, he loads the proper amount of powder or preformed materials into the mold cavity. He starts the machine by pressing the starter but ton. By means of electric timing controls the machine automatically closes, cures, opens, and breaks the article free from the mold. These con trols are usually set in advance, by a set-up man, for each run of identical pieces. Finally, the operator removes the molded article from the ma chine and cleans the mold with an air hose. It is clear that the machine does most of the work and that its operator needs little skill. Fully automatic machines have these features, but go even further. With their automatic load 8 Operator loading plastic material into the mold cavities of a com pression molding machine, which is the most widely used type of molding press. Hand molding is used only for experimental and laboratory work and for the making of articles required in very small quantities. There are therefore, relatively few hand molders. The hand molder removes the mold from the machine and fills it with plastic materials. He then assembles the mold and places it into position in the press. When the curing time is up, the press is opened and he removes the mold from the press, takes it apart, and removes the molded piece. Clearly, the hand molder must have considerably greater skill and must use more judgment than other molding machine operators. In transfer molding, the operator’s duties are similar to those of the compression molding machine operator. The injection molding machine operator fills the machine hopper with plastic materials and starts the machine, which automatically does the mold ing. When the molding is completed, the mold opens automatically and the operator removes the molded pieces. While the machine is running the operator may perform other tasks, such as cutting excess material from the pieces and packing the molded pieces into a box. An extrusion machine operator feeds his machine with plastic materials and watches the extruded strips, as they are carried away from the machine on a conveyor, to see if the pieces are of the right size and. without flaws. He may cut the plastic strips as they come from the press. The job of the set-up man (also known as a “mold setter” or “die setter”) is to make ready the molding machines used by semiskilled or unskilled operators. He bolts and clamps the mold into place in the machine and checks mold alignment. The set-up man regulates the time, heat, and pressure controls and makes other adjustments of the machines as required from time to time. His job is more difficult and responsible than that of most machine operators. Training and Qualifications Usually no previous experience or training is required to obtain the job of molding machine operator. The general practice is to hire inexperi enced persons and to train them on the job. The operator has to be an alert and dependable person. Although the skill needed is small, the job involves careful watching of the process and the use of expensive and complicated machines. His strength should be average, and he should be able to move about freely. Some women are em ployed as operators, usually of injection machines. The training period varies from the 2 or 3 weeks necessary to learn operation of the more automatic machines to the 12 to 18 months needed to become a skilled hand molder. With little additional training, workers can transfer from one type of molding machine to. another; e.g., from compres sion to injection machines. Set-up men are selected from among experienced molding machine operators or from among the tool room workers. Jobs as molding room fore men are filled by promoting machine operators or set-up men. Earnings What may a young person who gets a job as a molding machine operator expect in the way of earnings ? In the early part of 1948, most of the experi enced men operating compression molding ma chines earned from $1.10 to $1.75 an hour. Ex perienced men operating injection molding ma chines typically earned from $1.00 to $1.40 an hour. These earnings include any incentive pay received, but exclude extra pay for overtime and night work. Earnings of women, as is true in most jobs in the industry, are often 5 to 20 cents an hour less than those of men. Beginning pay for inexperienced workers ranged from 75 cents to $1.00 an hour. Set-up men earned from $1.10 to $1.75 an hour. The hourly rate for molding foremen varied from $1.20 to $2.00. Jobs in the Tool Room Many molding plants, especially the larger ones, make their own molds instead of buying them from outside machine shops. These molding plants have tool rooms in which skilled tool and die makers and machinists are employed. Although this is only a small part of employment in the plastics products industry, with less than 3,000 workers at the end of 1946, it is the place in the industry where most of the skilled jobs are found. (However, this industry is just one of the many places where tool and die makers and machinists work, since the bulk of them are employed in the various metalworking industries.) Duties Tool and die makers use machine tools and hand tools to shape molds from steel. They must be able to read blueprints, to use precision measuring instruments, and to set up and operate various machine tools, such as lathes and boring mills. Machinists assist the tool and die makers, recon dition and repair worn or damaged molds, and make replacement parts for the various machines 9 in the plant. Machinists must be able to set up and operate machine tools. Machinists generally earned between $1.30 and $1.75 an hour. Apprentices usually start at about half of the journeyman rate. The hourly rate for toolroom foremen varied from $1.75 to $2.50. Jo b s in Finishing O perations Machining a plastics mold in the tool room. Tool and die makers are the most skilled production workers in the plastics products industry. Train ing and Qualifications The work of the tool and die maker is usually learned through formal apprenticeship or the equivalent in other types of on-the-job training. A tool and die apprenticeship ordinarily covers 4 or 5 years of shop training in various parts of the job. In addition, during the apprenticeship, courses such as shop arithmetic and blueprint read ing are given in vocational schools. One may be come a machinist through a 4-year apprenticeship similar to that of the tool and die maker. Men also become machinists by picking up the trade while working in the tool room as machinist’s helpers or machine tool operators. Earning s Earnings of first-class tool and die makers in the plastics products industry ranged from $1.50 to $2.00 an hour, straight-time, in early 1948. This is the highest-paid factory job in the industry. 10 One of the largest groups of jobs in the plastics products industry is the finishing department group. Most molded plastics undergo a series of finishing operations before they are ready for use. In general, not much skill is needed of finishing department workers, most of whom are women. There are a number of different jobs in finish ing rooms. Tumbler operators place molded pieces in wire tumbling barrels containing polish ing materials and start the tumbling machine. The rotating motion of the barrel rubs the pieces against one another and against the polishing material, which gradually removes the excess material. Bench grinders hold the molded articles against rotating abrasive wheels to remove excess material. Hand filers or burrers use hand files or carving spindles to smooth edges and remove ma terial. Buffers and polishers polish articles to a high luster by holding them against rapidly rotat ing wheels. Drill-press operators drill holes in plastic pieces and clean the excess material from holes. In some plants, a number of assemblers are employed to put together molded pieces, making the finished product. Because these jobs are easy to learn, unskilled and inexperienced workers are hired. Training to operate the various machines and tools is given on the job. Workers in the various finishing operations in the first part of 1948 usually earned from 85 cents to $1.20 an hour, depending on the job and the skill involved. Beginning rates for inexperienced workers were as low as 60 cents an hour. Finish ing department foremen earned from 85 cents to $1.50 an hour. Job s in the Inspection Departm ent Plastics products usually must be inspected be fore they leave the plant. The amount of inspec tion needed differs widely. For some molded products, the workers only look over the articles for blisters or improper finish. Other products must be examined more closely to see if they are the exact shape and size required and meet other specifications. As in finishing, a large proportion of the workers are women. Previous experience is usually not required. Good eyesight is essential, but little physical strength is called for. Very brief training is needed to perform most of the inspection opera tions. On the other hand, instruction in blueprint reading and use of measuring instruments such as micrometers, dividers, and the various types of gages is essential for some inspectors and super visory inspectors. In early 1948, the hourly earnings of experienced inspectors in molding plants generally ranged from 85 cents to $1.20 an hour. Supervisory inspectors earned from $1.05 to $1.75. Jobs in Laminating About 6,500 workers were engaged in laminating operations at the end of 1946. Most of the jobs are in plants which specialize in laminating, although some plants which do molding also have laminating departments. Most of the workers in the laminating shops are semiskilled machine operators, helpers, and labor ers. Three typical jobs are those of coater, press operator, and mandrel man. The coater operates the machine that impreg nates paper or fabrics with synthetic resins. He places large rolls of paper or fabric into the Laminating plastics products. machine and directs the course of the material through a resin bath and through drying ovens. After that, the dried material is wound in rolls by the same machine. A laminating press operator runs a hydraulic press which produces sheets of plastic material by pressing layers of resin-impregnated paper, tex tiles, or other material between steel plates. The laminating press operator has to regulate the heat and pressure controls. The mandrel man tends a semiautomatic ma chine which winds resin-impregnated paper or fabric onto heated cores (mandrels) used in mak ing laminated plastic tubing. He regulates the thickness of the tube by using simple gaging tools. After the desired thickness is reached he stops the machine and cuts the material. The tube is then taken to an oven where the cure is completed. In laminating plants, sheets and tubes are often fabricated into finished products such as gears and bearings, before they are shipped. This work is done by lathe operators, power-saw operators, and other machine operators, most of them semiskilled. Production workers in laminating departments usually learn their work through informal on-thejob training. The amount of training required ranges from 2 to 12 months, depending on the complexity of the job and the kind of machinery used. Inexperienced workers are usually hired as laborers or learners and are upgraded to fill vacancies as they occur. Workers stack sheets of resin-soaked paper between metal plates; after the stack is placed in a hydraulic press, heat and pressure are applied. 11 At the beginning of 1947, semiskilled produc tion workers in laminating shops, such as coaters and press operators, were earning from 80 cents to $1.25 an hour. Professional, Technical, and Sales Jobs Although most of the jobs in the plastics prod ucts industry require little skill or knowledge, such technically trained people as chemists, engineers, designers, and draftsmen are needed to carry on this complex, rapidly changing industry. Plas tics products companies must also have salesmen, men who know plastics products and who can go out and sell them to skeptical purchasing agents and production men in competition with other materials. Most of the technicians work at devel oping new products and improving old ones. Qualified production superintendents are also needed to plan and oversee plant operations, keep ing the plant running efficiently and turning out high quality products. College training in chemical or mechanical en gineering is a prerequisite for most technical jobs; and to qualify for the more responsible positions, such as production superintendent, considerable experience is required. These technical workers are not a large proportion of the industry’s em ployment, and are most commonly found in the large plants, since many of the smaller molding firms do not employ designers, engineers, or drafts men. Instead, these small companies temporar ily engage the services of independent technical men and consultants for this work. Some of the development of plastics products is carried on by the plastic materials producers and they employ technical men in this activity. Salesmen, often called sales engineers, should have some technical training. They need a knowl edge of the properties of plastic materials, of costs, of plant equipment, and of marketing pos sibilities. It is often necessary to have experience in a plastics plant or engineering school training in order to become a salesman for a plastics prod ucts firm. Outlook for Employment in the Plastics Products Industry The outlook is for a relatively big increase in the number of jobs in the plastics products in dustry during the next year or two and for steady growth in employment thereafter. This conclu sion has been reached after an analysis of trends of production and technological change in the industry. Past Trends in Production and Employment Since the beginning of the industry in 1869, with the invention of the first plastic material—cellu loid—there has been continued expansion both in the amounts and types of materials made and in the production and uses of plastics products. In recent years, however, growth has been phenome nally rapid, as chart 2 shows. It can be seen that in 1939 output was nearly four times that in 1931. The rise between 1937 and 1939 is significant in view of the fact that general business conditions were better in the for mer year than in the latter. There were many factors in this rapid growth: New plastic mate 12 rials were developed; the cost of materials de creased; the methods of molding and laminating were greatly improved; widespread consumer and industrial acceptance of plastics was achieved. During World War II there was another great expansion of the industry, with 85 percent of plas tics products going directly or indirectly into mili tary uses. These included, for example, parts for hand grenades and gas masks; housings for radio and radar equipment; aircraft ammunition boxes and bomb racks; and laminated plastics bearings and gears. In 1944, production had risen to four times the prewar rate. Not only did wartime needs greatly expand the production of plastics products but there were also effects important in the peacetime development of the industry. For example, numerous substitu tions were made of plastics in place of metal and other scarce materials; many plastic materials were improved in connection with military uses. These developments have carried over into the postwar period. C hart 2. In the plastics products industry the number of employees doubled between 1939 and 1943 and con tinued to rise during the war years. Employment did not go up nearly as much as production, how ever, because lengthening of working hours and use of improved production equipment and meth ods resulted in a great increase in output per worker. In chart 3 we have a picture of the trend of employment in the plastics products industry. The outstanding feature of this industry’s de velopment is the fact that employment at the end of 1946 was above the wartime peak, as well as nearly three times the 1939 level. What happened w^as that a big increase in peacetime uses of plas tics products more than took the place of their wartime uses. If it had not been for a severe shortage of plastic materials, an even greater post war increase of the industry would have occurred. In the spring and summer of 1947 there was a temporary slackening in the demand for products E M P L O Y M E N T IN T H E P L A S T I C S s& P R O D U C T S IN D U S T R Y 0~ i made from thermoplastics, resulting in some small lay-offs in the industry. This situation reflected an oversupply of plastics novelties and gadgets and, in some cases, buyers’ resistance to high prices and improper uses of plastics. This slump in business ended in the early fall and production increased rapidly in the last few months of the year, so that by the beginning of 1948 the industry had more than recovered from its mid-1947 decline. Demand for products made from thermosetting materials remained strong, on the other hand, and the supply of these materials continued to be inadequate. Since materials shortages have been a limiting factor in the industry’s development, the prospec tive supply of materials is important in the indus try outlook. Future Supply of Plastic Materials Scarcity of plastic materials developed because the expanding needs of the plastics products makers outran the capacity of the plastic mate rials manufacturers. Not only have there been shortages while new plants for making materials were being constructed, but there has also been a scarcity of many of the basic chemicals used in the manufacture of these materials. A much larger supply of plastic materials, however, is in prospect. The plastic materials manufacturers in 1946 began a large scale program of new plant construc tion to be completed in 1948. Many of the neces sary basic chemicals are also likely to be more plentiful. According to estimates of the Plastic Materials Manufacturers Association, the rate of production for all plastic materials after comple tion of the present expansion program will be double that of 1945, and the rate for molding powder (excluding vinyls) will be more than two and a half times the 1945 rate. By the end of 1947 this expansion had already greatly increased the supply of plastic materials, and the thermo plastic materials were relatively abundant. Capacity of the Plastics Products Industry 1937 1939 1943 1944 1945 1946 DECEMBER UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS________________ REFER TO APPENDIX B FOR DATA AND EXPLANATION Chart 3. It is expected that the plastics products industry will have adequate machine capacity to absorb the increased supply of plastic materials. The num ber of machines installed has grown faster than the supply of materials, so that many machines are not now being fully used. Moreover, figures 13 lating qualities, laminated and molded plastics parts are being increasingly used in this equip ment in such applications as junction boxes, Type of m achine:1 circuit breakers, panel boards, fuses, bases for Injection_____________ 1,000 1, 720 3,275 3,625 Compression__________ 8, 000 12, 065 12, 975 13, 390 electric motors, and meter boards. In the next few years, there should continue Some additional increase in the number of to be a high volume of production of refrigerators, machines seems probable in the next 2 years. It vacuum sweepers, and the many other electrical appears likely, then, that there will be enough molding machines to use all the increased supply appliances. This should provide a good market of plastic molding material. The extent to which for plastics parts. The growing use of electronic this capacity is used in actual production, how devices will expand another market for plastics. The output of radio receiving sets in the last 2 ever, depends on the prospective markets for years has been an all-time record and is expected to plastics products. remain at a high level for a few more years. Apart from their other uses in radios, plastics have The Future Market for Plastics Products replaced wood largely as cabinets for table models. Only a small percentage of plastics products The probable growth of FM and television will are sold directly to the public as finished articles, create some additional demand for plastics prod such as toy guns, sink strainers, and combs. Most ucts, which are used in both the transmitting and of the products go to manufacturers who use receiving equipment. Although the automobile industry was one of plastics parts in the making of other products, such as radios, automobiles, fountain pens, and the heaviest consumers of plastics before the war, industrial machinery. Thus, the demand for the average automobile contained only about 5 plastics products and the resulting volume of pounds of plastics. The postwar cars generally production that can be expected for the next few showed small increases in the amounts of plastics years will be determined primarily by the level used. Increased use of plastics parts is forecast, of activity in the industries which consume plas however, and some experts predict the use of as tics products and by the development of new much as 15 to 20 pounds of plastics per car. An uses for plastics by these industries. The most important application of plastics in the postwar important industrial users of plastics products automobile has occurred: the inside surface of include the manufacturers of electrical machinery some station wagons, taxis, and truck cabs consists (both industrial electrical equipment and con of laminated paneling. Not only are more plastics sumer appliances), radios, automobiles, novelties per car likely, but also a high level of automotive least 5 million cars and trucks annu and toys, aircraft, household equipment and furni output—at ally—may be expected for the next few years. ture, industrial machinery and equipment, pack The aircraft industry was one of the largest aging, and building supplies. A high level of users of plastics during the war. Although current activity is expected in most of these industries for aircraft production is only a small fraction of the the next few years. wartime rate, it remains considerably higher than The electrical equipment industry constituted the prewar volume. In view of the Government the largest prewar market for plastics products. program for greatly increased production of mili In view of the recent large increase in demand tary aircraft and of the new uses for plastics in air for electric power in this country and of foreign planes, this industry should provide an expanding needs for electric-power machinery, the production market for plastics products. of generating and distributing equipment is Another important use for plastics products expected to be at an all-time high during the has been as tops for bottles and other containers. next few years. Because of their excellent insu In the past the bulk of the closures have been metal, but plastics, because they are odorless, taste 1 Data are from Modern P lastics (New York, N. Y .), January less, nonrusting, and resistant to chemicals, are 1948. These estim ates include machines used in plastics depart m ents of plants in other industries, as well as in the plastics expected to be used much more widely in the future. products industry. They do not include laboratory presses nor make allow ances for scrapping of older machines. In other important plastics-products-consuming on the number of machines in use in recent years show a rising trend in capacity. 1941 14 1945 1946 1947 industries—the building, household equipment and furniture, and novelty and toy industries—pro duction is expected to be at a high level for several years, with some new uses of plastics also being introduced. Already plastics have appeared in many new uses in buildings and furniture, and the trend to plastics is growing. An example is the recent development of plastic bathroom tile. A visit to any 5-and-10-cent store will show that numerous familiar items, such as tool handles and towel racks, formerly made of other materials, are now often plastic. All in all, market prospects for plastics products appear highly favorable, provided general business conditions continue to be good. It seems entirely possible that in 1950 the industry, together with the plastics departments of plants in other indus tries, will be using all or nearly all of the increased supply of materials expected to be available at that time. This would mean a rate of output of plastics products as much as 75 percent higher than in the latter part of 1946, itself a record period. This increase will not be achieved, however, unless the use of plastics products is intensively promoted. The rise in the output of the industry might vary somewhat from the estimate of 75 percent, depend ing on how much of the expanded production occurs in the plastics departments of plants in other industries. There are some indications that such departments may grow more rapidly than the independent industry. The demand for plastics products over a longer period—for example the 5-to- 10-year period be ginning about 1950—will depend not only on the rate of production of the present users of plastics, but also to an increasingly important extent on new applications by these and other industries. After a few years, the demand for plastics products for use in the electrical appliance and radio industries will probably decline somewhat. Nevertheless, these industries, as well as other major consumers of plastics products, such as the automobile industry, are expected to continue at relatively high levels of production. Further growth of the plastics products in dustry, however, will depend mainly on the new uses that will be developed. As has previously been indicated, many of the present industrial consumers expect to develop new uses for plastics parts in their products. This is especially true in the construction, automobile, railroad equipment, and household equipment industries. Some of the new applications of plastics, which have been deferred because of the shortage of materials, will come on the market within the next few years. Moreover, extensive research is continually in progress in an effort to find additional uses for plastics products and to develop new plastic materials with properties which will create new fields for plastics. Prices of plastics products are especially im portant in the long-range outlook. For some time there has been a downward trend in the prices of plastic materials, especially in the newer materials, such as polystyrene. Plastics prices, as a whole, are still high compared with other materials, and as a result many important markets are closed to plastics products. As the production of the differ ent plastic materials increases, however, some further price reductions are probable. Costs of making plastics products may also decline because of the increased efficiency of the newer machinery and methods. Wider use of new methods, such as low-pressure laminating, may open up some new markets for plastics, because these processes can produce larger and more intricate shapes. To sum up, it seems likely that with develop ment of new markets for plastics products, and with continued growth of population and national income, a long-range upward trend in the volume of output is in prospect. This growth, however, will probably be much less rapid than the rate of increase expected to occur in the next few years. Technological Changes Affecting Employment In order to estimate from the anticipated volume of output how many workers will be employed in the industry, it is necessary to consider prospective technological changes which affect the quantity each worker can produce. The use of new equipment will considerably in crease output per worker. The many new ma chines delivered to the industry in the last 2 years have been generally more efficient, faster, and capable of molding larger pieces. A high pro portion of the new equipment consisted of injec tion-molding machines, which are faster than the more widely used compression machines. The in dustry has begun to make greater use of fully auto matic machines; one semiskilled worker can operate several of these machines simultaneously. Moreover, many molding firms are modernizing 15 their old molding machines to obtain more efficient operation. It is also possible that the average order re ceived by molding plants will be larger in the future, so that the plant will be able to make longer production runs with less time out for changing molds and materials. The end of the shortages of materials will also permit more efficient operations. Moreover, as the industry develops and as competi tion among plants becomes keener, the tendency will be for the least efficient plants to close down. Higher output per man in the industry as a whole will result. Other technological changes that will alfect em ployment include increased use of the faster trans fer-molding method and further application of electronic preheating of molding preforms, which has speeded up compression molding. Partly offsetting technical advances will be the probable reduction of the workweek. In the first part of 1948, many plastics products workers were on a 44- or 48-hour week. The tendency will be to cut their hours to around 40. All in all, since machinery and processes are continually improving, output per worker in the plastics products industry will rise considerably; employment, therefore, is not expected to increase as rapidly as production. years will have good chances of continued employ ment over a long period. It must be remembered, however, that the plas tics products industry will be relatively small, even after the anticipated expansion. Normal re placement needs of each of such large industries as automobiles, cotton textiles, or iron and steel will create more job opportunities each year than the combination of new jobs and replacements in the plastics products industry. Em ploym ent Outlook Taking into account the prospects in production, and allowing for the probable effects of technolog ical change, it wrould appear that a sharp increase in the number of workers in the plastics products industry is in store for the next 2 years. In 1950, if the demand for plastic products is then as great as expected, the number employed in the industry may reach 75,000—an increase of 25,000 over em ployment at the end of 1946. Added to these new jobs will be the openings created in the replace ment of those workers who die or retire, or who leave the industry for one reason or another. Also, plastics molding and laminating departments of plants in other industries wbll hire additional workers, and this will have the same general effect on employment opportunities for plastics workers as the expansion of the industry. Looking further into the future, the prospects are for a continued, but gradual, rise in employ ment. This is important, because it means that those entering the industry during the next few 16 Preforming of plastic material into pellets preparatory to mold ing. Preform machine operator puts plastics material into the hopper at one end of the machine; the pellets come out at the other end. Future opportunities in the plastics products in dustry cannot be measured solely by the number of jobs; the types of w7ork are of equal impor tance. The fact is that most of the openings will be for inexperienced persons, who will be trained on the job for semiskilled or unskilled production jobs in the molding and laminating plants. Earn ings, however, are about equal to those in manu facturing industries as a whole, and the working conditions are generally satisfactory. The longrun growth of the industry will improve the workers’ chances for promotion to better jobs. In addition, there will be some openings for ap prentices to be trained for skilled jobs in the tool rooms. There also will be vacancies for office and maintenance help. A small number of persons with engineering training will be hired for such positions as production engineer and mold and product designer. Some men will be hired as sales men—one of the better paying and more interest ing positions. Selling jobs, however, will still be only a small part of the industry’s employment. In recent years, many men have opened up small molding plants. There will continue to be some opportunities of this kind, but only for those who have adequate capital and a thorough knowledge of plastics production and marketing. Training Opportunities for New Workers On-the-Job Training Trade Schools As we have seen, most of the new workers who will enter this industry will fill semiskilled or un skilled production jobs. These employees will in most cases learn their jobs through relatively short, informal, on-the-job training. Those in terested in obtaining such trainee jobs can consult the nearest local office of their State employment service or can apply directly to the plastics prod ucts companies. The addresses of plastics prod ucts plants in one’s community can be found in the classified section of the local telephone book. A list of molding and laminating firms and their addresses may be obtained by writing to the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., 295 Madison AvenueJ New York 17, N. Y. Veterans may get information about Government financial aid while training, at the nearest office of the Veterans Ad ministration or at a Veterans Information Center. Young men interested in training for the jobs in the toolroom should investigate the possibilities of apprenticeship. This is the main route to skilled jobs, such as tool and die maker or ma chinist. Persons interested in apprenticeship can consult the local office of their State employment service or apply directly to the employers. Since most tool and die makers and machinists are em ployed outside of the plastics products industry, mainly in the metalworking industries, young men can also apply to companies in those industries. They may also write to, or visit, the local head quarters of unions which include machinists or tool and die makers among their members.2 There are .a number of trade schools in the plastics field—usually located in the larger cities. These schools give training in the various branches of the plastics industry and include in their courses such subjects as properties and applications of plastic materials, molding and laminating prac tices, and techniques of fabrication. The large majority of employees in the plastics products industry have not had these courses, nor are such courses generally necessary to obtain jobs in the industry, since the bulk of the jobs are learned while working in the plants. However, training in a good plastics trade school may be helpful for those interested in becoming salesmen for plastics molding firms. In some cases, for those already working in the industry, training in a plastics trade school may be helpful in obtaining promotions to supervisory jobs. These courses may also be very helpful for those who intend to open up small fabricating businesses of their own. A list of private plastics trade schools and in formation regarding the standing of these schools can be obtained from the National Council of Technical Schools, 839 17th Street NW., Washing ton 6, D. C. Names and addresses of schools may also be obtained from the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., 295 Madison Avenue, New York 17, N. Y. 2 Some of the more important of these unions are the Inter national Association of M achinists (independent), the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (CIO), the United Automobile, Aircraft, & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (CIO), and the M echanics Educational Society of America (independent). Colleges and Universities Specific courses in plastics are offered by a grow ing number of colleges and universities. Some schools have separate courses in plastics ; others provide instruction in plastics as part of broader training in engineering or chemistry. However, these courses are not usually needed for the profes 17 sional jobs in the industry, since it has been the custom to require only basic mechanical or chemi cal engineering training, the necessary specialized knowledge of plastics being learned in the plant or by home study. Names and addresses of these schools and the kinds of plastics courses given may be obtained from the 1947 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia, published by the Plastics Catalogue Corp., and available in most main libraries. A list of col leges giving plastics courses is also obtainable from the Society of the Plastics Industry. One may get a list of accredited engineering schools from the Engineers’ Council for Professional Develop ment, Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y. Appendix A Output of Plastics Products, 193 1 -45 1 Year Value 1931______________________________ $20,900, 000 1935______________________________ 38,300, 000 1937___________________________________________ 1939 ___________________________________________ 67,700, 000 7 6 ,10o’ 000 1943 _____________________________ 261,000, 000 1944______________________________ 306,000,000 1945 ______________________________ 330, 000, 000 1 Data for 1931-39 are from the Census of M anufactures ; for 1943-45 from the Civilian Produc tion Adm inistration. The value of output includes plastics products made in plastics depart ments in plants of other industries, as well as in the plastics products industry. Appendix B Estimated Employment in the Plastics Products Industry1 Year 1937___________ 1939___________ 1943 ___________ 1944 ________ 1945 ________ 1946 (December) Number of employees ___ 16,900 ___ 18,000 ___ 36,800 ___ 37,700 ____ 42,000 ___ 50,000 1 1937—46 estim ates are derived from the 1939 Census of M anufactures and from unpublished data of the Bureau of Employment Security of the Social Security Adm inistration. E stim ates for 1943-46 may be slightly understated because in some States employment data for very small establishm ents are not available to the Bureau of Employment Security. The photographs reproduced in this bulletin are by courtesy of Boonton Molding Co., U. S. Office of Education, Shaw Insulator Co., and Modern Plastics. 18 Occupational Outlook Publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Studies of employment trends and opportunities in the various occupations and pro fessions are made by the Occupational Outlook Service of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reports are prepared for use in the vocational guidance of veterans, young people in schools, and others considering the choice of an occupation. Schools concerned with voca tional training and employers and trade-unions interested in on-the-job training have also found the reports helpful in planning programs in line with prospective employment oppor tunities. Two types of reports are issued: Occupational outlook bulletins describe the long-run outlook for employment in each oc cupation and give information on earnings, working conditions, and the training required. Special reports are issued from time to time on such subjects as the general employment outlook, trends in the various States, and occupational mobility. The reports are issued as bulletins of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and may be pur chased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Occupational Outlook Bulletins Employment Opportunities for Diesel-Engine Mechanics Bulletin No. 813 (1945), price 5 cents. Employment Opportunities in Aviation Occupations, Part I—Postwar Employment Outlook Bulletin No. 837-1 (1945), price 10 cents. Employment Opportunities in Aviation Occupations, Part II—Duties, Qualifications, Earnings, and Working Conditions Bulletin No. 837-2 (1946), price 20 cents. Illustrated. Employment Outlook for Automobile Mechanics Bulletin No. 842 (1945), price 10 cents. Employment Opportunities for Welders Bulletin No. 844 (1945), price 10 cents. Postwar Outlook for Physicians Bulletin No. 863 (1946), price 10 cents. Employment Outlook in Foundry Occupations Bulletin No. 880 (1946), price 15 cents. Illustrated. Employment Outlook for Business-Machine Servicemen Bulletin No. 892 (1947), price 15 cents. Illustrated. Employment Outlook in Machine-Shop Occupations Bulletin No. 895 (1947), price 20 cents. Illustrated. Employment Outlook in Printing Occupations Bulletin No. 902 (1947), price 20 cents. Illustrated. Employment Outlook in Hotel Occupations Bulletin No. 905 (1947), price 10 cents. Illustrated. 19 Special Bulletins Occupational Data for Counselors, a Handbook of Census Information Selected for Use in Guidance Bulletin No. 817 (1945), price 10 cents. (Prepared jointly with the Occupational Infor mation and Guidance Service, U. S. Office of Education.) Factors Affecting Earnings in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Bulletin No. 881 (1946), price 10 cents. State and Regional Variations in Prospective labor Supply Bulletin No. 893 (1947), price 15 cents. Labor in the South Bulletin No. 898 (1947), price 35 cents. Recent Occupational Trends Serial No. R 1902 (1947). Limited supply available for free distribution. Order directly from Bureau of Labor Statistics. 20 U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1948
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