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«LABOR REVIEW

’U N ITED S TA TE S D EPA RTM EN T OF LABOR

• BUREAU OF LABOR STA TISTIC S

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P RFRASER
IL
1933
Digitized
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Vol. 48 *
No. 4
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Influence of Age on Employment Opportunities •
Annual Earnings in Furniture Factories • Industrial
Aspects of Labor M obility • International Labor
Conference Program

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins, Secretary
+
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commissioner

Sidney W. Wilcox, Chief Stat
istician

Hugh S. Hanna, Chief, Edito
rial and Research

A.F.Hinrichs, Chief Economist

Henry J. Fitzgerald, Adminis
trative Officer

C H IE F S

O F D I V IS IO N S

and

Swen Kjaer, Industrial Acci
dents

Lewis E. Talbert, Employment
Statistics

Florence Peterson, Industrial
Relations

J. M. Cutts, Wholesale Prices
Stella Stewart, Retail Prices

Charles F. Sharkey,
Law Information

Faith M. Williams, Cost of
Living

Boris Stern, Labor Informa
tion Bulletin

Herman B. Byer, Construction
and Public Employment

John J. Mahaney, Machine
Tabulation

Jacob Perlman, Wage
Hour Statistics

Labor

Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under authority of
Public Resolution No. 57, approved May 11, 1922 (42 Stat. 541), as
amended by section 307, Public Act 212, 72d Congress, approved
June 30, 1932. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Wash
ington, D. C. Price, 30 cents a copy. Subscription price per year in
the United States, Canada, and Mexico, $3.50; other countries, $4-75.
This publication approved by the Director, Bureau of the Budget.

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C O N T E N T S

A P R I L 1939

Vol. 48

No. 4

Cover:
A new farm-to-market road connecting Muscle Shoals and Memphis
highways.

Page

Special articles:
Influence of age on employment opportunities_____________________
Annual earnings in 68 northern furniture factories, 1936____________
Industrial aspects of labor mobility_______________________________
Program of International Labor Conference of June 1939___________

765
781
789
803

Social security:
Duration of public relief in Milwaukee County____________________
Canadian trade-union benefits, 1937______________________________
Operation of French social-insurance system, 1935 and 1936________
Revision of disability benefits in Soviet Union_____________________
British health-insurance system: A correction_____________________

809
812
812
814
817

Productivity of labor and industry:
Industrial instruments and changing technology__________________
Productivity and employment in the crushed-stone industry, 1913-37_

818
820

Labor involved in industrial production:
Labor requirements- in road construction__________________________

824

Industrial relations:
Agreements of the gas, coke, and chemical workers (District Fifty,
U. M. W.)___________________________________________________
Recent arbitration decisions:
Closed-shop agreement______________________________________
Increase in wage rates for piece workers______________________
Liquidation of firm_________________________________________
Replacement of discharged employee_________________________
Lay-off during depression____________________________________
Refusal of longshoremen to go through picket line__ __________
Basic agreement on industrial relations in Sweden, 1938____________

829
837
838
838
839
839
840
841

Women in industry:
Recognition of married women’s right to work in Sweden__________

845

Negro workers:
The C. C. C. work for Negro youth______________________________
Recommendations on vocational education and guidance of Negroes. .
135055— 39-

■1

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846
847

Contents

Cooperation:
Cooperative enterprises among college students____________________
Dividend practice of credit unions________________________________

Page
850
852

Health and industrial hygiene:
Health of industrial policyholders, 1 9 3 8 .-________________________

853

Industrial accidents:
Causes and prevention of accidents in the fertilizer industry, 1936 and
1937___________________________________________________________

856

Labor laws and court decisions:
Supreme Court decisions on labor relations:
Sit-down strikers and the National Labor Relations Act______
Effect of breach of contract by employees______________________
Collective bargaining under Labor Relations A ct______________
Constitutional status of antileaflet ordinances_____________________
Recent court decisions of interest to labor:
Liability of city for damages to property during strike_________
Force and violence in picketing________________________________
Rights of loyal and seceding members of union________________
Breach of contracts by seceding union________________________
Coverage of teachers’ tenure laws________________________________

872
877
879
881
885
886
886
887
887

Labor organizations:
Labor organizations in Canada, 1937_____________________________
Organization of labor in Rumania_________________________

889

Industrial disputes:
Trend of strikes________________________________________________
Analysis of strikes in December 1938-------------------------------------------Activities of United States Conciliation Service, February 1939_____

894
895
903

Cost and standards of living:
Effect of rural electrification upon farm life_______________________
Nutritive value of diets of city workers___________________________

905
910

Minimum wages and maximum hours:
Guaranteed annual wage encouraged by Fair Labor Standards Act__
Application of Federal 8-hour law________________________________

914
916

Wages and hours of labor:
Washington State— Municipal salaries, 1938_____________________
Germany— Wages in 1938_______________________________________

919
920

Labor turn-over:
Labor turn-over in manufacturing, January 1939__________________

938

Employment offices:
Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939___
Employment Service registrants in August 1938___________________

942
948

Building operations:
Summary of building construction in principal cities, February 1939. _

953

Retail prices:
Food prices in February 1939______________________________ ______

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958

Contents
Wholesale prices:
Wholesale prices in February 1939________________________________

in
paga
965

Trend of employment and pay rolls:
Summary of reports for February 1939:
Total nonagricultural employment___________________________
Industrial and business employment__________________________
Public employment_________________________________________
Detailed reports for industrial and business employment, January
1939--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

970
970
973
976

Labor offices:
National labor and welfare offices in Latin America________________

Recent publications of labor interest________________________

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988

991

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This Issue in B rief

Industrial Aspects of Labor Mobility.
An analysis of the employment
records of 188,757 workers in Michigan
over an approximate period of 5
years, indicated that fishermen, miners,
and forestry workers were the groups
most mobile in search of employment.
Agricultural workers were next. Pro
fessional and semiprofessional workers
were more likely to move, looking for
work, than were those usually em
ployed in factories and mechanical
industries. The distance traveled was
in direct relation to the industry in
which work was sought. Labor mo
bility does not, of course, always bring
the job and the worker together, as the
worker so often lacks accurate informa
tion as to employment opportunities,
and much wasted effort results. The
article on page 789 throws light upon
the mobility (frequency, length, and
direction of moves), in relation to in
dustry, of workers in all the industrial
groups in Michigan.
Accidents in the Fertilizer Industry.
For each million man-hours worked
in the fertilizer industry in 1937, there
were 41.59 disabling injuries. This
was practically the same rate of fre
quency as that shown in 1936 (41.45).
The severity rate, however, showed a
considerable increase in the same
period. In 1936 the time lost because
of disabling accidents averaged 4.80
days for every thousand man-hours
worked, whereas in 1937 the rate rose
to 5.81 days. This rise was due largely
to the increased number of fatal acci
dents in 1937. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ findings in its survey of this
industry are given on page 856.

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Age and Employment.
The reduction in employment in
1937-38 resulted in a higher proportion
of older workers among the forces of a
group of Massachusetts factories re
cently studied. This was because, in
times of reduction of force, seniority
comes into play and the older, expe
rienced workers, especially those with
long service, are generally retained.
Employers have a sense of obligation
in such cases. Younger men may be
given preference in hiring, but they
also are most likely to be laid off
in times of depression. Two-thirds of
the men hired during 1937-38 were
under 35 years, but the same propor
tion of those laid off were also from
this age group.
Analysis of production records re
vealed no definite tendency toward
decreased productivity with advancing
age, except in a few special jobs, nor
did there seem to be a greater liability
to accidents.
Indeed, among the
woman workers, the younger ones had
the more accidents. Page 765.
Social Insurance in France.
Approximately 5,850,000 workers in
industry and commerce and 575,000 in
agriculture and forestry were regular
contributors under the French socialinsurance system in 1936, according to
a report covering the system for the
years 1935 and 1936. The contribu
tions in 1936 amounted to over
billion francs, but were increased to
over 4 billion francs in 1937, owing to
general wage increases, the restoration
of the 8-percent contribution rate,
and an increase in the maximum wage
on which contributions are calculated.
V

This Issue in Brief

More than 1 / billion francs were ex
pended for sickness benefits for workers
in industry and commerce by 699
funds during the period January 1,
1935, to March 31, 1936. Maternity
benefits amounted to more than 184
million francs, and death benefits to
over 39 million francs. Page 812.
Annual Earnings in Furniture Fac
tories.
Wage earners in furniture factories,
whose employment extended over 12
months, averaged $1,202 in 1936. In
cluding all workers employed 9 months
or more, the average was $1,177, while
for employees working 6 months or
more it was $1,133. 'For all wage
earners working any part of the year,
the average annual earnings amounted
to $997. These figures are based on
annual earnings data obtained by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics from 68
northern furniture factories for the
year 1936. Page 781.
Industrial Instruments and
logical Change.

Techno

The use of industrial instruments
has recently increased very signifi
cantly. These instruments consist of
meters, gages, thermometers, chro
nometers, valves, switches, and nu
merous other devices for performing the
three functions of indicating, record
ing, and controlling a great variety of
conditions and processes. A recent
WPA study, summarized on page 818,
describes the relation of the in
crease in the use of these instruments
to the types of labor required and to
the amount of employment.
Electrification and Rural Life.
That the rural electrification pro
gram has contributed enormously
toward raising the standard of living
and the enjoyment of life on farms is

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evident from the annual report of the
Rural Electrification Administration,
summarized on page 905. Not only
have the labors of the farmer and his
wife been lightened by the installation
of electric power, but the improve
ments in farm techniques made pos
sible by electrical equipment have
resulted in new sources of income.
Many incidental advantages—in im
proved safety and rural health, in
creased farm values, benefits to rural
schools and other community meeting
places etc.— are noted. Business has
also profited, through the sales not
only of electrical products but of
commodities (such as bathroom equip
ment) , the demand for which is stimu
lated by availability of electricity.
Labor Requirements on Road Con
struction.
Of every million dollars spent for
construction on Federal road projects
completed between July 1935 and
August 1937, financed under the
Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts
of 1935 and 1936, $373,000 was paid
to workers at the site. Material costs
were $346,000, 16 percent of which
went for iron and steel, 16 percent for
sand, gravel, and crushed stone, 16
percent for petroleum products, 14
percent for cement, 7 percent for
paving materials and mixtures, 6 per
cent for lumber, and 25 percent for all
other materials used. Other costs and
profit amounted to $281,000.
For every million dollars in contracts
awarded, approximately 1,402,000
man-hours of site and off-site labor
were worked on roads. Site man
hours accounted for 58 percent of this
total and off-site for 24 percent. In
the article o;n page 824, data on road
construction are shown for the follow
ing types of construction as well as for
the total: Bituminous paving, bridge
construction, concrete paving, and
grading and drainage.

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
FOR APRIL 1939

INFLUENCE OF AGE ON EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
B y D wight L. P almer and J ohn A. B rownell , Industrial Relations Section,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Summary
A STUDY of employment opportunities by age groups in New
England industries was conducted during August and September
1938 by two staff members of the Industrial Relations Section of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, in order to obtain information for the use of the Committee
on Employment Problems of the Older Workers. The inquiry was
designed to illustrate the problems of employment encountered by
workers in different age groups in New England; to collect such infor
mation as was obtainable on hiring and lay-off policies, and on acci
dent, sickness, and production records, by age; and to indicate the
possibilities for a broader inquiry.
The survey was confined to 26 rather large manufacturing compa
nies, of which only one had fewer than 200 employees. For the most
part, they employ skilled or semiskilled labor and are old established
firms, representing a balanced group of New England factories in
diverse lines of business. The inquiry was carried out by personal
interview, usually with the operating executive of the plant, supple
mented by detailed statistical records compiled by the companies on
special forms developed for the purpose.
The study covered all age groups and both sexes, and provided an
analysis of the age distribution of employees on a recent date in 1938
and on the corresponding date in 1937; an analysis by age groups of
the hirings and separations for 1 year and of the ages of applicants for
jobs; and analyses of accident and sickness rates and cost, and of pro
ductivity, by age groups.
New England workers are not representative of the entire country
because New England has more middle-aged and older persons in its
working population than has the country as a whole.
The findings of the survey may be summarized as follows:
1.
The age distribution of the working population is markedly
affected by industrial fluctuations and, in New England, the reduction
in employment which took place in 1937-38 resulted in an increase in
765

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766

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

the proportion of workers in each 5-year age group over 30 years, and
a decrease in the proportion in each group under that age.
2. Productivity records for three firms indicate no definite tenden
cies toward diminution in production with advancing age, except in a
few special jobs. This relates to employed workers; ineffective
workers of any age presumably are weeded out.
3. Accident records, available for only seven plants and hence not
suitable for broad generalization, showed no definite relationship
between age and either frequency or severity of accidents in the case of
men, while among woman workers, younger women experienced more
accidents. Records for one large plant showed a trend toward fewer
and less severe accidents and lower accident costs for older workers;
the records of another large plant indicated a trend in the opposite
direction.
4. Interviews with employers reveal that the sense of obligation to
provide for older workers who are no longer able to work constitutes
their only specific reason for hesitation in the hiring of older workers,.
except for the belief in some instances that younger men and women
are more versatile. Employers expressed a generally high regard for
the older workers on their pay rolls. On jobs where skill is required,
and where there is any shortage of suitably trained workers, age is
definitely not a consideration in hiring.
5. Two-thirds of the men hired were younger workers under 35.
On the other hand two-thirds of the 1937-38 cut in working force was
taken by the men in this same age group. It appears that older
people who are on industrial pay rolls are protected by the employers’
sense of obligation to older workers with long service records, and by
seniority policies governing lay-offs. Seniority appears to be im
portant in both union and nonunion plants.
Purpose of the Study
The older worker’s much-discussed present difficulty in finding a
job is, at least in part, a reflection of the severe unemployment of the
last 9 years. At the same time, there may be particular hazards of
employment affecting other age groups as well as the older workers.
It is clear that, if a problem really exists for any age group, a solution
which does not simultaneously solve the problem of general unem
ployment must be carefully scrutinized to make certain that it does
not merely transfer the problem from one set of workers to another.
Comparatively little objective information has been available on the
subject of the employment obstacles—whether based on reality or
misconception—which face these different age groups in the employ
able population.
The study of employment opportunities by age groups which is
presented here was undertaken to illustrate the problems of employ
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Influence of Age on Employment Opportunities

161

ment encountered by workers of different age groups in New England
and to determine the availability and usefulness of existing industrial
records as sources of information on the subject.
Interest in obtaining factual information on this subject has been
heightened in New England by the Massachusetts act of 1937, which
states that it is “against public policy to dismiss from employment any
person between the ages of 45 and 65, or to refuse to employ him,
because of his age.” Although the act is enforceable only through
publication of violations, it has awakened employers to the alternative
of industrial, as compared with legislative, action in this field.
In order to cover a large number of workers within the brief time
available for the survey, only rather large manufacturing establish
ments were included. With one exception, the 26 companies cov
ered each had 200 or more employees. Although the group was too
limited to be strictly representative of New England industry, every
effort was made to include a balanced group of industries and firms,
with respect to size of community and plant, competitive situation,
age of the industry and firm, technical labor requirements, union
agreements, and seasonal fluctuations.
The 26 companies cooperating in the study, whose records are sum
marized here, represent the following broad industrial classifications:
Number of plants

Light metal_______________________
Light electrical equipment__________
Shoes_____________________________
Textiles__________________________
Rubber goods_____________________
Heavy chemicals__________________
Heavy steel_______________________
Miscellaneous_____________________

5
4
3
3
3
2
2
4

As a group these firms employed about 30,000 factory workers in
1938.
Method of Study Employed
The data collected covered the age distribution of factory employees1
on a date in the summer of 1938 and the corresponding date in 1937,
shown separately by skill wherever possible; the age grouping of
persons hired and rehired and of persons separated iron their jobs
during 1 year; the age grouping of persons applying for work; accident
exposure, frequency, severity, and cost for factory workers by age
groups for 1 year, and similar information (except cost) as regards
sickness of employees; and productivity of factory workers by age
1 Although efforts were made to cover both clerical and factory workers, the data obtained with regard
to the former were so scattered and incomplete that it was decided to lim it the present report to factory
workers only.

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768

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

groups. Standard forms were provided for records on each subject
covered. Personal interviews were arranged, in most cases with the
chief executive of each firm; the general nature of the survey was
outlined, and the importance of obtaining objective statistical data
was emphasized, even though the cost of compiling such information
involved a reduction in coverage. The operating staff which was to
do the actual clerical work was given careful instructions on the
definitions and procedures involved in the completion of the forms,
with necessary adaptations to the diverse record keeping of the
several firms. As a result of these interviews it was possible to
secure data which are accurate within a narrow margin of clerical
error.
The reception of this survey by industry was almost uniformly
friendly and cooperative. If the requests had been for information
of the type which can be given easily and quickly in one interview,
this willingness to be of aid might provide little cause for comment.
But the work involved in completing the various forms constituted a
clerical task of very considerable proportions. Certain types of
information, particularly on accidents and sickness, where it was
necessary to compute the time exposure for each age group, could
only be obtained from a limited number of firms. Accordingly, each
of the tables presented here deals only with those companies among
the 26 covered from which adequate d a ta 2 were collected on the
particular subject in question.
The Results Obtained
It is essential to keep in mind the age distribution of the population
in New England 3 in order fully to understand the particular problem
of the relation of age to employment opportunities in this area. New
England has more than its share of older persons. According to the
1930 United States Census, New England had a larger percentage of
population over 35 and a smaller percentage below 30 years of age
than had the United States as a whole. New England also had a
higher percentage of gainful workers in each 5-year age group between
40 and 74. Whereas 43.6 percent of New England’s gainful workers
were between these ages, only 39.3 percent of the gainful workers of
the United States as a whole fell in this category.
* T he Social Security Act has undoubtedly caused many firms to improve and enlarge their labor records.
In addition, the 1937 Massachusetts act, designed to eliminate age discrimination in employment, requires
that “ * * * every employer shall keep a true and accurate record of the ages of all his employees.”
Legislation of the foregoing types rendered the field work both easier and more productive.
* This is not intended as an endorsement of the policy of deliberately matching the age distribution of a
company’s employees to the age distribution of the local population. Since many industries are suitable
primarily for certain age groups, such a policy, to be sound, would have to be based on a study of all employ
ment in a district and impartial allocation of suitable age groups to each employer.

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Influence of Age on Employment Opportunities

769

B U S IN E S S F L U C T U A T IO N S A N D FAC TO R Y A G E D IS T R IB U T IO N

The make-up of the working population is continually changing
between periods of active and depressed business, and this affects not
only the size of the group actually at work but its age composition as
well. Accordingly, the period covered by the present survey (mid1937 to mid-1938) was chosen in order to analyze employment through
a time of marked and consistent shrinkage of industrial production.
Table 1 shows an analysis of 24 New England plants which employed
32,489 factory workers in 1937, and compares the age distribution of
that year with that of 1938. During these 12 months the total em
ployment of the whole group of firms was reduced by 15.9 percent, to
27,314, although 7 of the firms increased their forces during the period.
T able 1.— Comparative Age Distribution of Factory Workers, by Sex, in 24 New

England Plants 1
M en

Women

Total

Age group

Total number of workers.—............... .......................... .

1937

1938

1937

1938

1937

22,934

20,663

9, 555

6,661

32,489

1938
27, 314

Percentage distribution J
Under 30 years_________________ __________________
30 years and over.-------------------------------------------------

30.3
69.7

28.2
71.8

63.1
36.9

54.4
45.6

40.0
60.0

34.5
65.5

15 to
20 to
25 to
30 to
35 to
40 to
45 to
50 to
55 to
60 to
65 to
70 to

2.4
13.5
14.4
12.1
12.0
11.8
11.1
9.0
5.9
4.2
2.4
1.0
.2

2.6
12.0
13.6
12.2
12.3
12.0
11.5
9.3
6.5
4.3
2.5
1.0
.2

10.0
33.2
19.9
10.5
9.1
7.0
4.5
2.9
1.5
.9
.4
.1

6.0
27.4
21.0
12.7
10.6
8.5
5.6
4.1
2.1
1.3
.6
.1

4.7
19.3
16.0
11.7
11.2
10.3
9.1
7.2
4.6
3.2
1.8
.7
.2

3.4
15.7
15.4
12.3
11.9
11.1
10.1
8.0
5.4
3.6
2.1
.8
.2

19 years______________ ______ ____ ____ _______
24 years________________________ ____ _______ _
29 years_____ _____ ____ ____ ________________ _
34 years_____________________________________
39 years_____________________________________
44 years_____ ______ ________________ _________
49 years_______ ______ _____ __________________
54 years___________ _____ ____________________
59 y e a r s .......... ........................... ............................
64 y e a r s ..___________________________ _______
69 years__________________ _____________ ____ _
74 years................................................ .........................

1 In every case the comparison was between 1937 and 1938, with 12 months intervening between the 2
pay rolls analyzed. Efforts were made to get the age distribution for June of each year, but the records of
certain firms necessitated the use of a different month in some cases.
2 In this and the following tables figures representing less than Ho of 1 percent are omitted. All other
figures are shown to the nearest tenth of 1 percent.

It is apparent from the record given in table 1 that, in a time of
lay-off, greater protection is given the older workers. Thus a net
lay-off of about 16 percent of the workers employed in these plants in
1937 resulted in a reduced proportion of the total workers in each age
group under 30 years, and an increased proportion in every age group
over 30. The percentage of the total force aged 29 or less was reduced
from 40 to 35 while the proportion aged 30 or over increased from 60
to 65 percent. More than two-thirds of the total net reduction took
place in the group under 30, which represented only 40 percent of the
1937 force. The men under 30, who were only about 30 percent of the
1937 male force, suffered 50 percent of the net male reduction.

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770

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

In this connection seniority appears to be a determining factor,
although recent studies indicate that need and ability also play their
part. Among the executives interviewed there was a general feeling
that the firm’s obligation to a worker increases substantially with
his length of service. No difference was apparent in this respect
between the firms with union seniority agreements and the nonunion
plants.
A G E D IS T R IB U T IO N , H IR IN G , A N D SE P A R A T IO N S

An error frequently made in approaching the problem of age and
employment is to analyze primarily the age distribution of persons
hired and rehired. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that a study
of the ages of persons hired may be totally misleading without a simul
taneous examination of separations from the working force over the
same period, and of the age distribution of the current force. This is
demonstrated by the following tables which compare the age distri
bution of the hirings, lay-offs, and total separations occurring over a
12-month period with the age distribution of those employed by the
same companies at the beginning of the period. Table 2 shows the
distribution of male factory employees in 17 4 plants and female
workers in 11 6 plants for which records could be obtained.
T able 2.—Distribution, by Age, of Factory Employees Hired, Laid off, and Totally

Separated During a 12-Month Period, in New England Plants 1
Males (17 plants)
Age group

Number of employees............

Age dis
tribution Hired
at begin and
ning of rehired
period
18, 560

3, 728

Females (11 plants)
Total
Age dis
separa tribution Hired
tions (in at begin and
ning of rehired
cluding
lay-offs)
period

Laid
off

3,498

4,713

7,906

Laid
off

Total
separa
tions (in
cluding
lay-offs)

2,072

3,034

4,123

Percentage distribution
Under 35 years___________

43.9
56.1

67.6
32.4

68.2
31.8

67.1
32.9

79.5
20.5

75.3
24.7

87.5
12.5

88.0
12.0

15 to
20 to
25 to
30 to
35 to
40 to
45 to
50 to
55 to

2.5
14.2
14.8
12.4
12.5
12.2
11.0
8.5
5.3
3.5
2.1
.8
.2

10.2
25.2
18.5
13.7
11.3
9.6
6.2
3.4
1.3
.2
.3
.1

5.2
27.6
22.2
13.2
9.9
9.4
5.7
4.0
1.7
.6
.3
.1
.1

5.1
26.7
21.9
13.4
9.9
9.0
5.6
4.0
1.9
1.0
1.0
.3
.2

11.5
37.7
20.6
9.7
8.2
5.6
3.1
1.8
.9
.6
.3

10.4
32.0
22.0
10.9
10.9
7.9
4.2
1.4
.3

15.9
46.0
18.6
7.0
6.0
3.8
1.9
.6
.2

14.1
47.1
19.7
7.1
5.7
3.5
1.7
.6
.3
.1
.1

19 years______________
24 years______________
29 years______________
34 years________ _____
39 years______________
44 years______________
49 years______________
54 years................. ...........
59 y e a rs...........................

1
In every case the comparison was between 1937 and 1938, with 12 months intervening between the 2
pay rolls analyzed. Efforts were made to get the age distribution for June of each year, but the records
of certain firms necessitated a different month in some cases.
* Representing all the industrial classifications on page 767 except textiles.
> Representing all the industrial classifications on page 767 except steel and textiles.

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The table indicates that while two-thirds of the men hired and
rehired were under 35 years, it was also in this age group that over
two-thirds of the lay-offs and two-thirds of the total separations took
place. With the women, the situation was similar except that the
lay-offs were even more concentrated in the age groups under 35.
Thus, while the younger workers are favored in hiring, they are
even more likely to be laid off when reduction of the working force
is necessary.
It should be emphasized that the age distributions shown do not
represent a static situation, and a study covering some other period
might show a different age structure. Nevertheless, this record
presents a clear-cut picture of the recent situation in the New Eng
land plants covered by the survey.
A P P L IC A T IO N S

The question of age and employment may be clarified by analyzing
the age distribution of applicants for industrial work. Records of
all of the people seeking work at a plant are difficult to find because
most firms weed out unlikely applicants before accepting written
applications. Figures covering 2,494 individuals were obtained from
6 firms 0 which take applications from all who apply. The age dis
tribution of these applicants is presented in table 3.
T able 3.—Percentage Distribution, by Age, of Unselected Applicants for Factory Work

in 6 New England Plants 1
Men
Age group
Skilled >

Number of applicants............................................... ............

622

Semiskilled
and un
skilled 3
1,348

Women:
Total
Total

1,970

524

Percentage distribution
Under 30 years____________ ___________ ___________—
30 years and over............... .......................................................

39.7
60.3

80.3
19.7

67.3
32.7

93.5
6.5

15 to
2D to
25 to
30 to
35 to
40 to

4.0
19.3
16.4
16.7
15.8
12.4
9.0
3.7
2.1
.6

24.5
32.3
23.5
7.3
4.7
4.3
1.9
.6
.4
.4
.1

17.9
28.2
21.2
10.4
8.2
6.9
4.1
1.6
.9
.5
.1

54.2
31.9
7.4
1.0
3.6
1.5

19 years______ _____ _______ ______________ ____
24 years............. ...............................................................
29 years______________________________________
34 years.............................................................................
39 years___________ ___________________________
44 years.......................... ..................................................

50 to 54 years______________________________________
60 to 64 years______________

______________ _____ _

.2
.2

i The period covered diflers for each plant but in all cases unselected groups of applicants were used.
* Uniformity of definitions for the terms “skilled,” “semiskilled,” and “unskilled” is difficult, if not
impossible. The distinctions usual to each industry and plant were accepted.
• Two firms in the miscellaneous classification; one firm from each of the following categories: Textile
electrical equipment, rubber, and shoes.

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

In these cases the concentration in the younger age groups was
even greater than in the age distribution of persons actually hired or
rehired. Thus, 72 percent of the applicants were below 30 years of
age, and 92 percent were under 40. The woman applicants, as a
group, were even younger, 86 percent being less than 25 years old.
While only one-fifth of the semiskilled and unskilled men applying
were over 29, the skilled applicants were decidedly older. Threefifths were 30 or over, and 28 percent were over 39. It may be that
this age distribution reflects the ideas, held by the local unemployed,
as to the hiring policies of the six firms. If a rumor gets started that
a company hires only those under 30, it may effectively discourage
older people from applying for work, whether or not the rumor be true.
In any case the coverage is too narrow to present a true cross section
of all of the unemployed seeking work, but it does indicate the picture
of job seekers which is presented to these New England factories.
In one plant, which is the largest single factor in the local labor
market, the State employment service was extensively used. An
analysis of the applications at this employment agency is presented
in table 4.
T able 4.—Age Distribution, by Sex, of Applicants for Work at a Public Employment

Office in New England, September 1938
Men
Age group

Number
of
applicants

Women
Percent
of
total

Number
of
applicants

Percent
of
total

Under 30 years.................. ................... ............ .
30 years and over................................................ .............

373
599

38.4
61.6

33
41

44.6
55.4

15 to 19 years..................................................... ...............
20 to 24 years__________________ _______ ______
25 to 29 years............................................................................
30 to 34 years__________ ________________
35 to 39 years___________ ____ _________
40 to 44 years............. ................................
45 to 49 years.._________________
50 to 54 years..............................................................
55 to 59 years_____ _____ ______ _______
60 to 64 years_____ ________ ____________
65 to 69 years................................ ............
70 to 74 years...... ............................. ................
75 years and over...........................................

70
159
144
125
90
89
88
75
51
46
28
5
2

7.2
16.4
14.8
12.9
9.3
9.2
9.0
7.7
5.2
4 7
2.9
5
.2

8
20
5
11
7
10
2
5
3

10.8
27.1
6.7
14.9
9.5
13.5
2.7
6.7
4.1

2.7

1.3

972

100.0

T otal.................. ................................

In this case the average age of applicants is considerably higher than
in the plants whose records are summarized in table 3. Only 39 per
cent of the applicants were under 30 years, while another 39 percent
were 40 or more years old. This may be attributable either to special
conditions in the industry and locality represented here, or to the
greater average age of applicants at public offices.

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A C C ID E N T CO STS, B Y A G E G R O U PS

An important question often raised in discussing deterrents to the
hiring of older workers is whether, as a group, they are more frequently
or more severely injured than their younger colleagues.
Data on this subject are hard to collect, for several reasons. Although
good records are generally available on number of accidents, days lost,
and total direct cost, and these items can easily be classified by age
groups, such figures have no meaning until compared with the relative
exposure to hazard of each age group.
Although no attempt was made to evaluate the degree of hazard for
each job, it was deemed essential to measure at least the comparative
time length of exposure of each age group. This made it necessary to
compile, by age groups, the hours worked by all employees—a process
which is extremely costly because records are not maintained in this
way. Although the period covered was limited to 1 year, only seven
firms were willing to undertake the task of compiling the data. In two
firms, where the weekly hours of work are uniform throughout the
force, the total weeks worked by each age group were estimated from
the records.
It was the opinion of the investigators that if accidents affect the
employment opportunities of different age groups, it would be cost as
related to exposure which would exert the greatest influence. As
used in this study, direct cost was defined as the actual cash expended
for compensation, specific benefits, and medical care. Each company,
or its insurance carrier, maintains a separate file for each worker
suffering a lost-time injury, and in this file each cash payment in
connection with that accident is entered. Accordingly, it was a
simple matter to obtain the total direct cost from these records.7
Since State laws differ, and direct medical cost is influenced by the
presence or absence of a salaried physician within the firm, it must be
remembered that cost has a somewhat different significance for each
firm studied. Premium cost, however, is even less uniform, since
it is based on the average accident experience of all firms in the indus
try and State, modified by the weighted average of several years’
accident experience for the individual firm. In addition, premium
costs vary by 20 percent or more, depending on whether the insur
ance carrier is a mutual company, which pays dividends to policy
holders, or a stock company, which does not.
No combination of the records for all seven firms is presented, partly
because of their diverse character and their limited number, and
partly because there appeared to be no definite relationship between
age and accidents, except for a tendency for accident hazards among
women to be higher among younger workers. In all cases, however,
1 1n the few cases in which final settlement had not yet been made, the insurance company’s estimate
of the ultimate cost was used.

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

the small accident cost per employee in these firms—which no doubt
had safety records well above the average for New England—sug
gests that the cost of accidents in such firms does not constitute a
convincing reason for favoring any age group in developing employ
ment policies.
The records of two of the large companies which compiled data on
exposure to accidents illustrate completely opposite tendencies.
They are shown in table 5. These two firms accounted for almost
80 percent of the employees in the seven firms for which accident
records were available. Although they represent two different indus
tries, the nature of the operations which their employees perform are
somewhat similar. Both firms exerted the greatest care in compiling
their figures. For the first plant (plant A) the records show that
frequency, severity, and cost of accidents decrease as age increases,
while in the second plant (plant B) frequency and severity as clearly
increase with age, and cost shows a general tendency to rise. The
divergent experience of these firms indicates the importance of
further study before conclusions may safely be drawn.
T able 5.—Frequency, Severity, and Cost of Accidents to Male Factory Workers, During

1937, in 2 New England Plants, by Age Groups
Plant A

Age group

Plant B

Expo N um N um
Expo N um N um
of Days Direct
sure
sure
ber of Days
of ber
(man- ber
acci lost per cost
(man- ber of
acci lost per Direct
lost
per
lost
cost per
years of time
dents
100
years
of
dents
100
mantime
man2,000
100 man2,000
100 manacci per
year
acci per
year
man
manman
years
manyears
dents
dents
hours)
years
hours)
years

15 to 19 years_____
20 to 24 years...........
25 to 29 years_____
30 to 34 years_____
35 to 39 years_____
40 to 44 years_____
45 to 49 years_____
50 to 54 years_____
55 to 59 years_____
60 to 64 years_____
65 to 69 years_____
70 to 74 years_____
75 years and o v e r ..

57
438
504
413
396
416
385
253
170
86
71
16
5

6
27
26
31
30
26
12
9
3
2
0
0
0

10.5
6.2
5.2
7.5
7.6
6.3
3. 1
3.6
1.8
2.3
0
0
0

124.7
71.6
51.8
77.5
86.7
47.4
24.7
32.8
10.0
20.9
0
0
0

$10.17
2. 05
1. 65
7.44
« 10.80
4.98
1.24
" .97
" .43
*9.41
0
0
0

30
144
208
225
277
4 282
222
165
120
79
32
16
0

0
5
6
5
11
18
12
5
10
6
6
0

0
3.5
.3
2.2
4.0
6.4
5.4
3.0
8.0
7.6
18.8
0

0
46.5
28.4
42.7
52.3
124.8
303.2
33.3
121.7
72.2
431.2
0

0
$1.43
.91
1.41
2 1.94
3. 82
12.31
1. 57
5. 56
1.81
15. 92
0

All ages_____

3, 210

172

5.4

53.6

4.15

1,800

4.7

99.3

3. 69

1 The cost of 1 fatal accident in this age group, amounting to $4,109, has been omitted.
2 The cost of 1 fatal accident in this age group, amounting to $3,382.65, has been omitted.
8 The high cost and low severity combination in this group is due to a high specific benefit for a permanent
arm injury.
S IC K N E S S B Y A G E G R O U PS

Records on frequency and duration of absence caused by sickness
are rare and are usually found only in those firms where sickness and
accident insurance is made available to the employees. Even then,

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records seldom cover absences lasting less than 7 days, and no dis
tinction is made between sickness and nonoccupational accidents. A
further difficulty is found in measuring the relative exposure of each
age group, without which the other figures are of little value.
Only five New England plants submitted statistics on this subject.
Their records were not comparable and showed no clear-cut trends.
Three plants showed a decided increase in days lost from sickness as
age increases, but the other two plants showed a less decided trend in
the opposite direction.
PR O D U C T IV IT Y

Another question frequently asked is whether younger or older
workers turn out a larger volume of work. Here, again, the records
necessary to an adequate answer are rarely kept. Surprisingly few
occupations were found in which a substantial number of workers
were employed on work of equal difficulty, the speed of which was
governed by the worker himself, and for which individual production
records were maintained. However, some information with regard
to the effect of age on productivity was obtained from six companies.
As examples of this type of data, table 6 presents a comparison of
productivity by age groups for 172 textile weavers, 127 textile spinners,
and 147 workers in nonferrous metal manufacturing. Although not
conclusive, the figures do suggest that, for those workers who remain
on the pay roll, that is, who can maintain the minimum production
standards, there is no clear relation between age and output.
T able 6. — Productivity of Employees in New England Plants, by Age Groups
172 TEXTILE W EAVERS«
Men
Age group

Number
of
workers

15 to 19 years______
20 to 24 years_______
25 to 29 years_______
30 to 34 years______
35 to 39 years_______
40 to 44 y e a r s ..____
45 to 49 years______
50 to 54 years______
55 to 59 years_______
60 to 64 years..............
65 to 69 years_______
70 to 74 years..............
75 years and over___

0
i
4
5
8
8
2
8
4
5
1
1
0

Women

Productivity
Average

Highest

Lowest

90.5
103.9
98.7
99.8
104.0
107.4
106.6
93.5
104.0
86.5
90.2

90.5
109.5
113.5
111.5
114.2
113.0
122.2
101.0
119.3
86.5
90.2

90.5
93.4
83.1
88.1
92.7
101.8
91.5
80.0
94.2
86.5
90.2

Number
of
workers

0
5
12
24
14
19
20
18
10
2
1
0
0

Productivity
Average

Highest

97.5
98.8
101.5
99.2
100.5
100.2
97.5
96.8
98.9
100.0

114.2
114.5
115.6
122.2
115.0
114.0
118.7
110.6
103.8
100.0

Lowest

80.1
79.7
84.7
84.3
90.6
85.1
82.1
90.7
95.9
100.0

i These figures include all employees of the firm who worked 2 or more 40-hour weeks in both 1937 and 1938.
Productivity is measured by calculating for each worker the total piece-work earnings for four 40-hour weeks.
The arithmetical average of the totals for all workers, both men and women, is expressed as 100.

135055— 39-------2

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 6. — Productivity of Employees in New England Plants, by Age Groups— Con.
127 TEXTILE SPINNERS 2
Women

Men
Age group

Number
of
workers

25 to 29 years_______
30 to 34 years_______
35 to 39 years_______
40 to 44 yeats_______
50 to 54 years_______

75 years and over___

0
0
5
13
14
14
16
21
7
6
0
1
0

Productivity
Average

Highest

Lowest

105. 2
102.6
105.4
103.9
102. 7
102.0
101.2
100. 7

108.3
107.8
118.5
109.5
110.0
110.4
107. 2
105. 8

102.7
95.6
98.3
99.0
95.1
95.2
98.4
93.4

97.6

97. 6

97.6

Number
of
workers

Productivity
Average

Highest

87.6
86.8
86.1
88.0
91.8

96.0
93.1
86.1
90.6
93.6

84.4
81.7
86.1
86.4
90.1

88.6

86
96
104
100
105
104
98
89
102
102

94
112
126
121
131
129
98
96
102
112

78
76
82
79
92
86
98
84
102
92

0
13
10
1
3
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

Lowest

147 NONFERROUS-METAL WORKERS 3
15 to 19 years_______
20 to 24 years_______
25 to 29 years______
30 to 34 years______
35 to 39 years_______
40 to 44 years_______
45 to 49 years_______
50 to 54 years______
55 to 59 years_______
60 to 64 years_______
75 years and over___

4
6
15
14
7
11
11
7
10
13
4
3
0

92
96
103
103
103
104
101
106
99
96
90
91

94
110
115
113
107
116
123
115
115
105
99
95

91
87
93
88
94
87
86
92
86
81
82
86

2
4
10
9
6
3
1
3
1
3
0
0
0

2 Productivity measured by calculating for each worker the average weekly piece-work earnings for thirteen
40-hour weeks. The arithmetic average of the totals for all workers, both men and women, was expressed
as 100.
3 Includes several different factory operations. Productivity computed by calculating the average
hourly earnings of each worker for a 3-month period, and expressing the result as a percentage of the
average hourly earnings for his department over the same period.

In general, these records show no pronounced tendency for pro
ductivity to vary with age. Cases of high individual output on the
part of people well advanced in years may be the result of encountering
a few “physiological freaks” and may not justify the assumption that
the occupation in question is particularly suited to older workers. It
should be added, however, that the field survey revealed no assump
tion on the part of employers that, prior to the approach of retirement
age, productivity is reduced with advancing years.
In addition to those factors of age which can be measured statis
tically, the investigators received, during their 2 months’ direct con
tact with industrial executives, certain impressions pertaining to the
problem of the employment of workers in different age groups. Al
though the considerations raised by these impressions are, by their
very nature, impossible to verify statistically, they are presented here
as a background for more complete understanding of the question.

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SK IL L

In a substantial number of skilled occupations there appears to be
a shortage of qualified workers, and in such cases any accredited
applicant with the desired skill is welcomed irrespective of age. How
ever, in other occupations, which formerly required skilled workers,
technological developments have simplified the requirements and ren
dered the skill obsolete. In such cases skilled men have little advan
tage in seeking employment, and may even, because of the nature of
the former job, be at a disadvantage as compared with unskilled
applicants.
In a few skilled operations it was found that advancing age, at least
to the extent that it is assumed to foster maturity and responsibility,
is considered a definite advantage. This may occur where the nature
of the work prevents close supervision, or where the least carelessness
could result in substantial damage to equipment or product.
V E R S A T IL IT Y

Some of the employers expressed a preference for hiring younger
workers, on the ground that youth is more versatile and flexible.
This preference seems to-be based largely on the argument that it is
desirable to shift men to several departments during their early
years with the company so that they will have a wider knowledge of
the plant. Such a policy involves keeping them at a minimum rate
for a considerable time while they learn the various operations, and
it may be felt that the older worker is more dependent on compara
tively high earnings which can best be maintained by keeping him
on the job at which he has acquired substantial dexterity. In some
cases a preference for younger applicants is based on the assumption
that advancing age lessens the willingness or the ability to learn new
operations.
No evidence was found, however, of the existence of any inflexible
age limits in hiring. For example, of the 17 companies included in
table 2, 5 firms had hired some new employees aged 50 or over, and
7 other plants had rehired employees in that category. These 12
firms, moreover, accounted for about 96 percent of all the workers
hired or rehired by the 17 plants. The Massachusetts law against
age discrimination makes questioning as to any formal hiring age
limits a delicate matter. However, the records reveal what is more
important than any formal policy, namely, the actual practice of
each of the included firms.
PH Y SIO L O G IC A L A G E

I t may also be worthy of comment that in almost all phases of the
problem of age and employment it is “physiological age” which is of

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778

importance rather than strict chronological age. The latter is used
on the assumption that the two measures correlate closely. Many
experts maintain that it is inaccurate to attribute specific physio
logical characteristics to certain age groups, because individuals
differ so widely. If this is true it would justify the expense of the con
siderable study and experimentation that would be necessary to devel
op practical and more positive tests for measuring physiological age.
P E N S IO N S

In addition to the general recognition of seniority rights, by the
executives interviewed, there was found a strong sense of obligation
to provide for workers when they become too old to work, especially
those with substantial service records. Pensions were a very live
issue to all of the employers and, while only three had formal pension
plans, nearly all were paying some form of pension to a few super
annuated employees. All the executives seemed to accept the prin
ciple that an old employee with inadequate savings cannot be dis
charged without a pension.
In this situation it is not surprising that employers should prefer
young applicants who will be longer in reaching the pension age and
who, when they are retired, will be provided for by the Social Security
Act. That same act, however, when its pension provisions become
fully effective for all industrial workers, may remove one of industry’s
major reasons for hiring primarily from the younger applicants.
e x e c u t iv e s ’

o p in io n

older

w orkers

Apart from this apprehension that the older worker will ulti
mately become a liability to the company, the employers generally
had a high regard for the older people on their pay rolls. No preju
dice against older workers, based on low productivity or high acci
dent or sickness rates, was encountered among the executives inter
viewed, except as regards a very few special occupations. On the
contrary, many of the executives felt that older workers up to 55 and
even 60 could more than hold their own against the young people.
That high regard, however, is not extended equally to an older ap
plicant who is unemployed through the closing down or curtailment
of operation in another plant, even though he may have had an equally
good reputation with his former employer and be intrinsically more
desirable than many people already on the prospective employer’s
pay roll.
This relationship between preference for young applicants and a
sense of obligation to older workers who are no longer able to carry
on their regular work, as well as the similarity shown in table 2 be
tween the age distribution of persons hired and of those laid off,

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suggests that a definite state of equilibrium has been established with
respect to the age composition of the working force. The employer
who feels that he cannot get rid of a worker because of his age, with
out providing some kind of pension, is also careful to see that his
working force is not too heavily loaded with older people, and there
fore picks his replacements from the younger applicants. Similarly
perhaps, the employer who knows that older workers have greater
difficulty in finding new employment retains them when a lay-off is
necessary, and releases the young people who can more easily get
other jobs. It may be that, if the hiring preference were reversed so
that older people could obtain jobs more easily than the young, the
older workers would lose their current advantage in retaining their
jobs during a lay-off. This is especially likely since the change would
result in a smaller proportion of older workers being included among
the long-service employees.
Any plan to improve the situation of the older worker which would
disturb the balance apparently existing at present, should be carefully
analyzed to make certain that the action it contemplates will not
create compensating reactions which will result in a new equilibrium
without any net gain to older workers as a group.
It is important to consider the origin and present basis for the
practice of hiring predominantly from the younger groups. It may
result from carefully considered policy, or be merely a habit which
has unconsciously grown up. The passage of time alone would con
tinually increase the average age of a completely stable force. Only
by hiring young people can any stability of average age be maintained.
Some such simple factors may explain the origin of the firmly estab
lished habit of hiring primarily from the lower-age groups.
Whatever the origin of the practice, it appears that it is the foremen
who now maintain the rule, since they usually have the final word in
selecting applicants. If any change is to be made, the foremen as
well as the principal executives of industry must be convinced of its
wisdom. However, it is not certain that the preference for younger
workers is a very compelling one. In times of serious unemployment
in all age groups, a very slight preference might confine all hiring to
one age group as long as the supply of desirable applicants holds out.
Conclusions
1. The company records of many New England industries contain
valuable data relating to age and employment possibilities. The
executives of these firms welcome impartial efforts to analyze and pre
sent such data in the interest of clarifying the many issues involved.
2. The business cycle, as it alters the number of workers employed,
intermittently contributes changes both to the average age and to the
age distribution of a firm’s employees. Moreover, the average age of

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780

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

a working force would increase by 1 year during every 12 months if
no hiring or firing took place. These factors are of great importance
in any effort to understand the relation of age to employment.
3. The objective analysis in this study with reference to accident
frequency, severity, and cost does not provide sufficient evidence to
be conclusive as to the relation of accidents to advancing years. The
available data, however, suggest that any differential that may exist
among the several age groups would constitute in many industries too
insignificant a percentage of total wage costs to make it a valid con
sideration in determining employment policies.
4. When industrialists feel, as they seem to in New England, that
needy older workers cannot be laid off without some kind of pension,
there appears to be a strong case for hiring younger men for those job
vacancies which occur. Younger applicants are chosen for the great
majority of vacancies that occur in New England industry.
5. It is equally clear, for reasons partly indicated above, that in a
period of curtailment it is the younger workers who bear the brunt of
the lay-off.
6. This study indicates that any realistic approach to the problem
of age and employment opportunities, must recognize the interaction
of three closely linked factors, i. e., the age distribution of (1) the labor
force at any particular time, (2) the hires, and (3) the lay-offs and sepa
rations, by which the existing distribution was achieved. Consider
ation of one factor without the others may result) in wholly misleading
conclusions, or in a failure clearly to perceive the nature of the
problem.

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ANNUAL EARNINGS IN 68 NORTHERN FURNITURE
FACTORIES, 1936 1
THE average annual earnings in the furniture manufacturing industry
in the North in 1936 amounted to $1,202 for wage earners whose
employment extended over 12 months. When the group was enlarged
to include those working 9 months or more, the average fell slightly
to $1,177, and then dropped again, to $1,133, when employees working
at least 6 months were included. For all of the employees who had
work in these factories at any time during the year, the average was
only $997. These averages are based upon an analysis of the annual
earnings of 8,701 workers in 68 furniture factories, but relate only to
their earnings in the factories in which they were at work in October
1937.
Scope and Method of Study
The above data on annual earnings were obtained during the
course of the Bureau’s general survey 2 of wages and hours in the
furniture industry, made in the winter of 1937-38. That survey
included case goods,3 upholstered, novelty, kitchen, wood office,
metal office, and public seating furniture. The information on
wages and hours related for the most part to a pay-roll period during
the month of October 1937. In addition to these figures, the Bureau
collected information where possible on annual earnings and number
of pay-roll periods worked during the calendar year 1936.
Because of the great amount of time involved in compiling data
for individual workers for all pay-roll periods in the year, the informa
tion was obtained only from those plants with figures available in
summary form. This necessarily reduced the coverage for the annual
data, as compared with that obtained in connection with wages and
hours. In the northern region, of a total of 300 establishments with
32,693 wage earners scheduled, annual data were collected only for
68 plants with 8,701 workers. In the southern territory, the survey
covered 73 establishments and 10,735 employees for wages and hours,
but annual data were obtained only for 2 plants with 251 workers. In
view of the very small coverage in the South, annual data are not
shown for this region in the present article.
It should be noted that the larger sample covering wages and hours
was selected on a representative basis, taking into consideration
product, geographical distribution, size of plant, corporate affiliation,
size of community, and unionization. On the other hand, the smaller
1 Prepared by J. Perlman and Victor S. Baril, assisted by Abner C. Lakenan, of the Bureau’s Division
of Wage and Hour Statistics.
2 For report on that general study, see M onthly Labor Beview, November 1938. A similar report, in
greater detail, was published in mimeographed form.
8 “ Case goods” include largely bedroom and dining-room furniture.

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782

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

sample for which annual data were obtained is not so well balanced,
the selection here being determined almost entirely by the availability
of the information in summary form in the various establishments.
Because of this limitation, therefore, the article first presents the
annual data on the basis of individual plants. This presentation
indicates the variation in annual earnings among the various estab
lishments. Summary figures are also shown, but in analyzing them
one should bear in mind the smallness of the coverage, as well as the
inevitable inequalities existing in the sample.
The sample covering annual data in the northern region includes
plants located in 14 States—California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. In terms of the
number of wage earners, the heaviest representation appears in New
York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and California.
It should also be pointed out that the figures cover only the total
earnings and number of pay-roll periods in 1936 of each employee in
the establishment in which he worked during October 1937,* which
includes the pay-roll period covered by the wages and hours data.
This limitation makes it necessary to classify the wage earners accord
ing to the number of months worked in that plant in 1936, the classes
used here embracing those employees whose work extended over (1)
12 months, (2) 9 months or more, (3) 6 months or more, and (4) any
part of the year. Those Who worked in the same establishments
throughout the year constitute the stable employees. However, those
who worked 9 but less than 12 months may also be classified with the
permanent labor force, because in most instances the opportunities
for such persons to obtain work in other plants are very small. In
other words, for these employees the figures obtained by the Bureau
cover more or less their total annual earnings for 1936. No such
reliance may be placed on the data when the group is enlarged to
include those whose work extended over 6 months or more and least
of all when those employees are included who worked any part of the
year, as each of these classes includes a large number of employees
who quite likely worked in other establishments.
The proportion of employees whose work extended over 12 months,
9 months or more, and 6 months or more to those who worked any
part of the year throws some light on labor turn-over in the various
plants covered. In some establishments, however, the proportion
of those who worked during 12 months to the total employees is
relatively small, because of partial temporary shut-downs for inven
tories, repairs, or strikes, or because of the granting of vacations
without pay. During shut-downs, the average annual earnings of
the force retained are often considerably higher than those for the
* For a fuller discussion of the limitations of the annual data collected by the Bureau, see the article on
annual earnings in navy and private shipyards, in the December 1938 issue of the M onthly Labor Review.

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Annual Earnings in Furniture Factories

783

normal force at other times, owing to the fact that the former is
largely composed of working foremen and generally of the more
skilled and efficient employees.
Although 1936 was not a year of high activity in the furniture manu
facturing industry, it was one during which both employment and
pay rolls were rising very rapidly to the high level maintained through
out most of 1937. Using 1923-25 as a base or 100, the index numbers
of employment in 1936 amounted to 84.8, which may be compared
with 57.4 in 1932, 61.0 in 1933, 64.6 in 1934, and 75.6 in 1935. On
the other hand, in 1937 the index stood at 94.0. As regards pay rolls,
the index numbers were 34.6 in 1932, 35.9 in 1933, 42.1 in 1934, 53.6
in 1935, 66.0 in 1936, and 78.0 in 1937.
Average Annual Earnings of Individual Plants
Table 1 presents the average annual earnings of individual estab
lishments in the furniture manufacturing industry in the North for
which such data were obtained for 1936. These averages are pre
sented separately for each product.
Analysis of the annual data indicates the wide variation among the
68 plants in the ratio of employees whose work extended over 12
months to those who worked any part of the year. In 18 establish
ments, this ratio was below 50, amounting to less than 10 percent in
7,5 10 and under 20 percent in 2, 20 and under 30 percent in 3, 30
and under 40 percent in 4, and 40 and under 50 percent in 2 plants.
A close examination of the figures shows that in nearly every case this
low ratio may be attributed to either a complete or partial shut-down.
Of the remaining 50 establishments, on the other hand, the ratio was
50 and less than 60 percent in 15, 60 and less than 70 percent in 17, 70
and less than 80 percent in 11, and 80 and less than 90 percent in 7
plants. The figures for this latter group of plants are largely an
indication of the existing differences in labor turn-over.
The average annual earnings of employees who worked the full
year also varied widely among the 66 establishments reporting such
employees, the figures ranging from $822 to $2,345. Of these plants,
in 2 the average was less than $900, in 8 between $900 and $1,000,
in 14 between $1,000 and $1,100, in 13 between $1,100 and $1,200,
in 12 between $1,200 and $1,300, in 9 between $1,300 and $1,400, in 5
between $1,400 and $1,600, and in 3 over $1,600. To a marked degree,
the average annual earnings varied inversely with the ratio of em
ployees who worked during 12 months to the total labor force. As
explained before, this is due to the fact that the most stable employees
are generally the more skilled and efficient workers. In fact, some of
the establishments with the highest averages were evidently those that
had shut down partially at some time during the year.
• Of the 7 plants, 2 reported no employees whose work extended over 12 months.

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784

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 1.—Average Annual Earnings in 68 Individual Furniture Factories in the North,

by Product, 1936
Relative number of employees
whose work extended over—

Average annual earnings of em
ployees whose work extended
over—

Product and plant
Any
Any
9
6
9
6
12
part of
12
part of
months
months
months
months
months or more or more the
months or more or more the
year
year
Case goods:
Plant No.
Plant No.
Plant No.
Plant No.
Plant No.
Plant N o.
Plant No.

$1,014
1.207
1,118
982
995
1,307
975
1,072
1,460
968
1,000
1,227
807
765
928
1,047
1,242
916
1,059
1,130
1,245

$933
1,173
1,061
944
975
1,138
975
1,014
1,441
933
916
1,191
793
718
915
1,009
1,213
859
1,034
1,117
1,240

$933
986
889
722
804
740
692
811
1, 348
857
874
957
722
641
846
895
945
815
917
973
1,139

1,548
1,374
1,094
1,319
1,293
1,277
1,118
980
1,197
1,242
1,068
1,379
1,990
1,181
943
1,188
1,223
1,689
1,183
1,247

1,105
967
1,374
1,532
1,302
1,094
1,359
1,231
1,214
1,102
939
1,156
1,191
1,023
1,260
1,647
1,151
857
1,091
1,203
1,593
1,162
1,178

1,105
946
1,369
1,476
1,234
1,094
1,375
1,170
1,198
1,075
918
1,055
1,113
947
1,239
1,594
1,143
846
1,058
1,181
1,539
1,143
1,160

982
897
1,037
1,476
1,176
961
1,139
1,073
906
1,035
803
929
829
818
1,049
1,494
1,112
801
1,023
1,095
1,313
1,063
1,047

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

1,160
1,367
1,046
1,035
1,048
1,119
1,568

1,125
1,136
1,002
975
1,016
1,102
1,196

1,110
869
977
862
962
1,095
1,009

1,095
609
777
699
838
1,000
942

91.7
84.3
88.4

100.0
100.0
100.0

1,180
920
1,162

852
902
1,120

838
835
1,091

793
733
993

86.5
93.3
71.2
79.7
70.1

89.2
97.8
76.7
86.4
71.7

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

1,266
1,076
1,066
1,112
1,282

1,220
1,027
1,019
1,072
1,292

1,206
1,020
990
1,031
1,287

1,113
1,002
799
921
1,050

20.0
59.9
65.6
57.7
2.1
34.3

90.8
69.4
78.2
84.8
68.8
86.9

96.7
76.2
83.7
87.4
79.9
90.1

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

1,356
1,305
1,227
1,322
2,345
1,166

1,288
1,271
1,194
1,241
1,554
1,234

1,250
1,213
1,159
1,224
1,445
1,215

1,213
982
1,024
1,095
1,225
1,132

75.4
50.9
35.8

82.5
85.5
76.2

87.7
96.4
78.6

100.0
100.0
100.0

936
1,529
1,366

914
1,446
1,286

893
1,367
1,270

806
1,327
1,062

1___ ___ _ _______
2_.-------- ---------------3___________________
4---------------------5_____ ____ ______
6_____________ ____
7_________________ _

71.4
60.9
12.0
5.6
62.0
36.0
51.6

Plant No. 9_______ --- ______
Plant No. 10____ . ___________
Plant No. 11__________________
Plant No. 12__________________
Plant No. 13_______________ —
Plant No. 14---- ------- ---------Plant No. 15_________ _ ------Plant No. 16__________________
Plant No. 17__________________
Plant No. 18__________________
Plant No. 19___ ____ ___ _
Plant No. 20__________________
Plant No. 2 1 -------------------------Upholstered furniture:
Plant No. 1__________
____
Plant No. 2___________________

73.5
62.2
54.1
69.5
73.1
53.7
81.0
74.8
56.5
60.6
19.4
73.1
62.9

Plant No. 4___________________
Plant No. 5___________________
Plant No. 6_______ __________
Plant No. 7___________________
___
Plant No. 8_______
Plant No. 9_____________ - --Plant No. 10____ ________
Plant No. 11__________________
Plant No. 12___ _____ ______
Plant No. 13___ ______________
---Plant No. 14__ _ _ _ _
Plant No. 15___
_________
Plant No. 1 6 ____________ ___
Plant No. 17__________________
Plant No. 18__________________
Plant No. 19__________________
Plant No. 20__________________
Plant No. 21__________________
Plant No. 22_____ ____ ________
Plant No. 2 3 _________________
N ovelty furniture:
Plant No. 1________________
Plant No. 2________________ . .
Plant No. 3___________________
Plant No. 4___________________
Plant No. 5___________ . . ____
Plant No. 6___ _______ ______
Plant No. 7___________________
Kitchen furniture:
Plant No. 1___ _____________
_______
Plant No. 2___ ____
Plant No. 3___________ ______
Wood office furniture:
Plant No. 1___ _ _ ---------- _
Plant No. 2___________________
Plant No. 3___________________
Plant No. 4---- . . .
---------- -- Plant No. 5__________________
M etal office furniture:
Plant No. 1________ ________
Plant No. 2___________________
Plant No. 3___________________
Plant No. 4 . . . . .
Plant No. 5___________________
Plant No. 6---- -- -------------- -----Public seating furniture:
Plant No. 1----------------------------Plant No. 2......................................
Plant No. 3___________________

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100.0
78.3
80.0
66.7
78.0
56.0
61.3
73.8
91.2
88.9
93.4
76.6
86.9
86.3
90.0
85.2
70.8
92.1
84.5
84.9
90.2

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

$958
1,235
1,070
1,080
1,027
1,406
1,002

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

1,166
955

53.6
58.8
83.3
53.1
32.6
51.2
83.3
63.1
57.3
43.1
63.2
59.5
23.7
80.6
60.4
61.8
79.9
54.4
69.4
60.5

86.7
86.7
93.5
90.3
62.9
65.7
92.9 . 100.0
82.4
94.1
83.3
83.3
62.5
65.6
80.4
89.1
65.1
69.8
87.5
93.8
78.5
82.6
70.7
84.0
56.9
65.5
73.5
83.8
77.0
79.7
87.6
92.8
95.0
96.4
90.1
93.7
89.4
95.9
87.5
90.3
73.7
79.5
86.9
90.3
86.2
83.0

86.4
5.1
53.3
44.4
68.2
82.4
8.3

95.5
16.9
71.1
56.7
75.3
86.8
53.8

97.7
47.5
75.6
73.4
82.4
88.2
89.6

8.3
67.8
72.9

87.5
73.6
84.0

74.3
77.8
60.3
70.6
28.3

66.7
87.1

85.7
73.9
72.0
61.1
74.0
44.0
61.3
63.8
89.4
84.4
77.0
73.4
83.8
76.8
87.0
80.0
67.3
79.6
80.2
83.1
89.5

1,520
1,016
1,095
1,252
831
822
955
1,059
1,300
982
1,255
1,153
1,293

Annual Earnings in Furniture Factories

785

As regards the ratio of employees whose work extended over 9
months or more to the total labor force, only 1 of the 68 establish
ments reported a relatively low figure, namely 16.9 percent, which
was clearly due to a protracted partial shut-down. The extent of
variation in labor turn-over among the remaining 67 plants may be
seen from the fact that in 1 the ratio was 40 and under 50 percent,
in 3 it was 50 and under 60 percent, in 9 it was 60 and under 70 per
cent, in 20 it was 70 and under 80 percent, in 27 it was 80 and under
90 percent, and in 7 it was 90 and under 100 percent. The large
number of establishments with a ratio above 70 percent is indicative
of the relatively low labor turn-over in the industry.
The average annual earnings of employees who worked 9 months or
more ranged in the individual plants from $765 to $1,647. The aver
ages amounted to less than $900 in 4 establishments, between $900
and $1,000 in 11, between $1,000 and $1,100 in 13, between $1,100
and $1,200 in 15, between $1,200 and $1,300 in 15, between $1,300
and $1,400 in 4, with the remaining 6 plants scattered over a fairly
wide range above $1,400. In other words, the heaviest concentration,
accounting for 30 of the 68 establishments, occurred between $1,100
and $1,300.
For employees whose work extended over 6 months or more, the
average annual earnings in the individual plants ranged from $718 to
$1,594. The spread in the average annual earnings for employees
who worked any part of the year was from $609 to $1,494.
Annual Earnings of Individual Workers
The average annual earnings of wage earners whose employment
extended over 12 months amounted to $1,202 in 1936. (See table 2.)
That this average covers a considerable spread of individual annual
earnings, ranging from a figure under $400 to one over $2,500, may
be seen from table 3. In spite of this wide range, there is a large con
centration between $900 and $1,300, which accounts for over onehalf (54.3 percent) of the workers. There were only 14.6 percent
paid less than $900 during the year, which may be compared with
roughly one-third (31.1 percent) receiving $1,300 and over. In fact,
as many as one-tenth (10.6 percent) earned $1,600 and over, and 5.2
percent were paid $1,800 and over.
Classified on the basis of skill, the average annual earnings of em
ployees who worked during 12 months were $1,317 for skilled, $1,120
for semiskilled, and $988 for unskilled employees. This means a
difference of $197 between skilled and semiskilled workers, as compared
with a difference of $132 between semiskilled and unskilled employees.
These differences are also shown by a comparison of the respective
distributions. For example, the percentage earning under $1,000 a

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786

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

year, which is slightly above the average of the unskilled workers,
amounted to 17.5 percent for skilled, 33.1 percent for semiskilled, and
55.8 percent for unskilled employees. On the other hand, if $1,300
is taken as the lower limit, which is slightly below the average of the
skilled, the number earning that figure or above was 44.1 percent for
skilled, 21.4 percent for semiskilled, and 8.0 percent for unskilled
workers.
The average annual earnings of employees who worked 9 months or
more were $1,177, or only $25 less than the average of those working
throughout the year. According to the distribution of individual em
ployees whose work was spread during 9 months or more, the largest
concentration also appeared between $900 and $1,300, within which
limits were found over one-half (51.3 percent) of the employees. The
number earning under $900 constituted 18.7 percent, while threetenths were paid $1,300 and over. There were 10.6 percent earning
$1,600 and over, while 5.2 percent received $1,800 and over, which
figures are exactly the same as the respective percentages of employees
working during 12 months.
Comparing the average annual earnings for the skill groups of em
ployees who worked 9 months or more, the difference amounted to
$190 between skilled and semiskilled workers and to $139 between the
semiskilled and unskilled employees, the respective averages being
$1,294, $1,104, and $965. According to the distributions, the number
paid $1,300 and over, which is slightly above the skilled average, was
43.1 percent for skilled, 21.3 percent for semiskilled, and 6.4 percent
for unskilled workers. By contrast, the number earning under $1,000,
which is somewhat above the unskilled average, amounted to 21.0
percent for skilled, 36.8 percent for semiskilled, and 59.9 percent for
unskilled workers.
The average annual earnings of employees who worked 6 months or
more were $1,133, which may be compared with $997 for those who
worked any part of the year.
In view of the small coverage, any generalizations with respect to
differences in average annual earnings among the various product
divisions of the industry should be made with caution. Generally
speaking, the highest average annual earnings were reported in the
metal office and public seating furniture branches of the industry.
Upholstered furniture plants occupied a middle position, while the
lowest figures are shown for plants making case goods, novelty,
kitchen, and wood office furniture.

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T able 2.—Average Annual Earnings in 68 Furniture Factories in the North, by Product and Skill, 1936
Employees whose work extended over—
12 months

9 months or more

6 months or more

A ny part of the year

Product
All
Semi
workers Skilled skilled

U n
All
Semi
skilled workers Skilled skilled

U n
All
Semi
skilled workers •Skilled; skilled

U n
skilled

All branches of industry..........

4,386

2,118

1,848

420

6, 696

3,085

2,919

692

7, 301

3,310

3,195

796

8,701

3, 655

3,885

1,161

Wood furniture................
Household fu rn iture_____
Case goods_____________
Upholstered furniture_______
N ovelty furniture__________
Kitchen furniture___ ______
Wood office furniture... .
M etal office furniture..........
Public seating.......................

3,412
3,117
1,289
1, 222
438
168
295
610
364

1,690
1, 550
616
661
209
64
140
263
165

1,413
1,294
544
488
176
86
119
266
169

309
273
129
73
53
18
36
81
30

4, 771
4,383
1,806
1,651
695
231
388
1,207
718

2, 291
2,108
815
902
306
85
183
491
303

2,016
1, 861
791
649
302
119
155
567
336

464
414
200
100
87
27
50
149
79

5, 252
4, 842
1,931
1,750
918
243
410
1,302
747

2,467
2,273
868
954
363
88
194
520
323

2,233
2,071
838
686
422
125
162
617
345

552
498
225
110
133
30
54
165
79

6,233
5, 737
2,320
2,033
1,111
273
496
1, 537
931

2,734
2,514
971
1,056
398
89
220
557
364

2,692
2,489
1,016
813
522
138
203
757
436

807
734
333
164
191
46
73
223
131

A verage a n n u a l earn in g s

All branches of industry_________ *
Wood furniture__________
Household furniture.........
Case goods___________ ______
Upholstered furniture............ .......
N ovelty furniture..... ...........
Kitchen furniture...........
Wood office furniture..................
M etal office furniture_____
Public seating........................................

$1, 202

$1, 317

$1,120

$988

$1,177

$1,294

$1,104

$965

$1,133

$1, 254

$1,063

$910

$997

$1,168

$923

$701

1,175
1,178
1.149
1, 229
1,125
1,162
1.150
1,278
1,328

1.287
1.287
1,266
1,331
1,206
(0
1,284
1, 409
1,479

1,089
1,092
1,059
1,126
1,096
(>)
1,052
1, 214
1, 232

964
965
971
(0
(')
0)
0)
0)
(')

1.131
1.131
1,093
1,194
1,096
1,071
1,135
1,304
1,272

1,245
1, 245
1,208
1,301
1,195
0)
1,249
1,452
1,402

1,048
1,047
1,018
1,083
1.053
1,033
1.054
1,240
1, 215

926
921
922
947
(')
0)
0)
1,057
(0

1,084
1,082
1,056
1,163
992
1,045
1,109
1,261
1,252

1,205
1,204
1,169
1,270
1,126
(>)
1, 219
1,416
1,'365

1,005
1,002
989
1,055
941
1,009
1,035
1,197
1,200

864
856
868
909
789
0)
0)
1,015
C)

958
956
919
1,045
871
958
972
1,114
1, 062

1,121
1.121
1,074
1,186
1,058
0)
1,121
1, 350
1,245

879
879
857
935
817
937
883
1,030
1,011

667
657
657
688
630
0)
0)

Annual Earnings in Furniture Factories

N u m b e r o f em ployees

811
721

1 Employees too few to justify computation of an average.

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CO
•si

788

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 3. —Percentage Distribution of Workers in 68 Furniture Factories in the North,

by Skill, 1936
Percent of employees whose work extended over—

Semi
All
workers Skilled skilled

0)
0.1
1.4
4.5
8.0
12.9
15.1
13.8
12.5
9.5
6.3
4.7
3.2
2.2
1.9
1.0
.8
.3
.3
.3
.1
.5

0.3
.8
2.4
5.6
8.4
11.9
12.8
13.7
10.7
8.3
6.9
5.0
3.5
3.4
2.0
1.5
.4
.5
.6
.2
1.1

100.0

1C0.0

$Qnn and under $1,000 -

9 months or more

12 months

Annual earnings

_______

$ l’30f) and under $1,400 . . . _______
$1,400 and under $1,500____________
$L500 and under $L600____________
$L700 and under $ l’800____________
$2’000 and under $2,100.--...............

Semi
All
U n
Skilled skilled
skilled workers

0.1
.3
.6
1.9
5.6
9.0
15.6
16.9
15.2
13.4
9.5
5.0
2.8
1.7
1.2
.5
.2
.2
.1
.1
.1

0.2
.2
2.6
2.4
10.2
15.8
24.4
21.5
11.4
3.3
3.6
2.1
1.7
.2
.2
.2

100.0

U n
skilled

0.1
.5
1.3
3.3
6.7
9.7
15.2
15.7
13.8
12.4
8.8
5.2
2.6
2.3
1.1
.5
.2
.3
.1
.1
.1

0.4
.6
2.9
4.9
12.7
15.6
22.8
18.7
10.5
4.5
2.5
1.7
1.4
.3
.4

1.0
.4
.3
.3
.1
.4

0.1
.1
.3
.9
1.3
3.5
5.9
8.9
11.2
11.8
12.9
10.6
7.7
6.8
4.8
3.6
3.2
1.9
1.8
.7
.4
.3
.2
.8

100.0

(i)
0.1
.4
1.3
2.5
5.8
8.6
13.1
13-9
12.5
11.8
9.0
6.0
4.4
3.2
2.2
1.7
1.0

Percent of employees whose work extended over—

Semi
All
workers Skilled skilled

$200 and under $300...............................
$300 and under $400____________
$400 and under $500..............................
$500 and under $600_______________
$600 and under $700__________ _____
$700 and under $800_______________
$800 and under $900-----------------------$900 and under $1,000---------- ----------$1,000 and under $1,100____________
$1,100 and under $1,200____ ________
$1,200 and under $1,300____________
$1,300 and under $1,400.......................
$1,400 and under $1,500_____ _____ _
$1,500 and under $1,600____________
$1,600 and under $1,700____________
$1,700 and under $1,800____________
$2,000 and under $2,100____________

T otal.............................................
i Less than Ho of 1 percent.

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A ny part of the year

6 months or more

Annual earnings

0)
0)
0.3
.7
1.6
2.8
3.9
6.7
8.7
12.4
13.0
11.6
10.8
8.3
5.5
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.6
.9
.9
.4
.2
.3
.1
.3

0)
0.3
.4
1.0
1.9
2.4
4.3
6.5
8.9
10.5
11.2
12.1
10.0
7.2
6.3
4.5
3.4
3.0
1.8
1.7
.7
.4
.5
.2
.8

0.3
.6
2.0
3.0
4.7
7.7
9.7
14.1
14.3
12.7
11.4
8.1
4.7
2.3
2.1
1.0
.5
.2
.3
.1
.1
.1

100.0

Semi
U n
All
skilled workers Skilled skilled
0.1
.1
.6
2.0
2.9
5.4
7.3
12.6
14.1
19.9
16.2
9.2
3.9
2.1
1.5
1.3
.3
.4
.1

100.0

U n
skilled

2.0
3.5
4.2
3.7
3.3
3.2
3.6
5.8
7.4
10.6
10.9
9.7
9.1
7.0
4. 6
3.4
2.5
1.7
1.3
.7
.7
.3
.2
.2
.1
.3

1.0
1.6
2.4
1.9
2.2
2.6
2.6
4.2
6.1
8.2
9.7
10.0
10.8
9.1
6. 5
5.7
4.1
3.1
2.7
1.6
1.5
.6
.4
.5
.2
.7

2.2
3.7
4.7
4.2
3.9
3.6
4.1
6.4
8.0
11.7
11.7
10.5
9.3
6.6
3.9
1.9
1.7
.8
.4
?
.2
.1
.1
.1

4.7
8.7
8.7
7.7
4.7
4.2
5.3
8.7
9.7
13.6
11.0
6.3
2.7
1. 5
1.0
.9
.2
.3

100.0

INDUSTRIAL ASPECTS OF LABOR MOBILITY
By John N . W ebb and A lbert W estefeld , Division of Research, Works Progress
Administration

BOTH industry and labor benefit from tbe ability and willingness of
workers to move from places in which their services are not needed to
places where they are in demand. Were it not for labor mobility,
industrial activities would at times be seriously handicapped because
of an inadequate number of workers residing in the community of
operation. Similarly, employment opportunities would be restricted
to what local industries could offer, if workers were confined to a single
market for their services.
Labor mobility, however, does not always bring job and job seeker
together. Much wasted effort occurs because the unemployed worker
does not always know where his services are most likely to be needed;
this waste is particularly noticeable when normal industrial operations
are disturbed by an economic depression. Another factor that limits
the effectiveness of migration in bringing men and jobs together is the
marked differences in the needs of individual industries for workers to
supplement the resident labor force; these differences are the result
not only of changes in general business activity, but also of seasonal
and long-time changes in the activity of particular industries.
Information concerning these and other aspects of labor mobility
has been limited almost solely to conditions existing in the extractive
industries, such as agriculture, and forestry and fishing, where the
need for a mobile labor supply is readily observed. It is the purpose
of this article to present information on the movement of workers in
all the major industrial groups in the State of Michigan, with special
reference both to variations occurring during the worst part of the
depression and to those caused by seasonal fluctuations in business
activity.
The place and time at which this information was collected make it
especially suitable for an analysis of mobility in relation to industry.
Michigan includes within its borders a wide variety of industrial
centers and raw-material-producing areas, ranging from the important
manufacturing cities and fertile agricultural sections in the southern
part of the State, to the depressed mining, lumbering, and agricultural
areas in the northern part of the State. The period studied, April
1930 to January 1935, is also a particularly suitable one, in that it
included some of the worst years of the depression, when migration
was frequently the only alternative to prolonged unemployment.

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789

790

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Summary of Findings
Among the 188,757 workers whose employment histories were
examined, the most mobile group consisted of persons usually em
ployed in forestry, fishing, and the extraction of minerals. About
one-fifth of these workers made one or more moves during the 57month period covered by the study. The group in agriculture had
the second highest proportion of workers moving. Persons usually
engaged in professional and semiprofessional service were more mobile
than were persons usually employed in the manufacturing and mechan
ical industries, including the automobile industry. Workers contin
uously unemployed during the period studied were least mobile.
The distance a worker moves is related to the industry in which he
seeks work. Workers entering the manufacturing and mechanical
industries made the highest proportion of moves that were confined
within the boundaries of a county; workers entering agriculture made
the highest proportion of moves across county lines within the State
of Michigan; and workers who entered the transportation and com
munication industries reported the highest proportion of moves across
State lines.
When the 57-month period covered by the Michigan census is
divided into two parts, corresponding roughly to the recession and
revival phases of the depression, it is found that there were important
differences during the two periods in the proportion of moves to and
from various industries. During the first part of the period—April
1930 to October 1932—there was a pronounced movement of workers
from manufacturing into agriculture, whereas during the second part
of the period—November 1932 to January 1935—many workers
moved from agriculture into the manufacturing industries. The
movement of workers into rural areas during a time when economic
conditions were growing increasingly worse was a reflection of the
large volume of unemployment, and the insecurity of living, in cities;
while the reversal of the “back to the land” movement when economic
conditions improved demonstrates the strong attraction and greater
opportunities of industrial employment.
The number and direction of moves made by Michigan workers
were also influenced by seasonal changes in employment opportunities.
Labor needs at planting and at harvest time are clearly evident in
the movement of workers into agriculture. Among other industries
seasonal variations in movement were related to seasonal changes in
industrial activity, although the relationship was less marked than
in the case of agriculture.

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791

The Michigan Census and the Mobility Study
The labor mobility study was based upon data collected in the
Michigan Census of Population and Unemployment. That census
was taken during the early months of 1935 as a special work project
of the Michigan State Emergency Relief Administration. The census
was conducted on a complete enumeration basis in some types of
community, and on a 20-percent sample basis in others. Where less
than the total population was enumerated, every effort was made to
secure a group of persons who were typical of the community in which
they lived. A separate census schedule was filled out for each house
hold, and about 522,000 of such schedules were taken in all. About
40 percent of the total population of Michigan was represented on
these schedules. For the mobility study, 120,247 of the original
522,000 census schedules were selected to yield a reliable cross section
of the State as a whole.1
The mobility and industry data were taken from the work history
section of the Michigan census schedule. This work history was
filled out for every person who was 15 years of age or older at the time
of enumeration (January 14, 1935). The work history covered the
57-month period from April 1930 to January 1935. For each month
during that period it showed whether the person was employed (in
which case the occupation and industry were entered), or whether he •
was unemployed or not seeking work. In addition, each place of
work (or place of residence for periods of unemployment or not seeking
work) was indicated.
A person was considered to have made a move whenever his work
history showed a change between communities under one of the
following circumstances: (1) Between places of work, when the per
son was employed both before and after moving, (2) between places
of residence, when the person was unemployed both before and after
moving, or (3) between place of work and place of residence, when the
person was employed at one end of the move and unemployed or not
seeking work at the other, provided in this case that the move was
longer than between adjoining counties. This restriction was adopted
because short-distance moves between employment and unemploy
ment were usually of the “commuting” type which did not involve a
definite transfer of workers from one labor market to another.
1 The tabulation of the m obility data from the Michigan census schedule was a cooperative undertaking
of the Michigan State Emergency Relief Administration, the Michigan Works Progress Administration,
and the Division of Social Research of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, D . C.

135055— 39-

-3

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792

Usual Industry of Workers
Since the individual household frequently contained more than one
worker, the 120,247 households included in the mobility study con
tained 188,757 persons who had been in the labor market (working or
seeking work) for the whole or a part of the period studied. In table 1
these persons are classified by their usual industry and by the longest
move they made during the period studied. The “moving” column
in this table shows, in addition, the proportion of workers in each
industrial group that made ¡one or more moves during the period
studied. Because the usual industry was the industry in which the
person worked longest during the period studied, table 1 shows the
relative mobility of workers attached to various industries.
T able 1.— Usual Industry and Longest Move Completed
Percent of workers
Moving
Usual industry

Number of
workers

Total

Total
moving

Longest Longest Longest
move
move
move
between
within
inter
Michigan state
the
*
county counties

Total
not
moving

All industries_______________________ 188. 757

100.0

12.9

2.7

6.4

3.8

87.1

28,260
3,377
67,185
31,682
35,503
12,046
28,446
3,420

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

16.9
20.4
11.5
10:5
12.4
14.4
11.0
10.3

4.1
4.8
2.7
2.8
2. 6
2.6
2.1
2.0

9.6
9.2
5.1
4.9
5.4
6.2
5.3
5.2

3.2
6.4
3.7
2.8
4.4
5.6
3.6
3.1

83.1
79.6
88. 5
89.5
87.6
85.6
89.0
89.7

11,899
17, 589

100.0
100.0

16.5
13.5

1.9
2.5

9.1
6.2

5.5
4.8

83.5
86.5

886
15,649

100.0
100.0

9.0
9.6

1.6
1.6

4 4
6.5

3.0
1.5

91.0
90.4

Agriculture..................... ................ ............
Other extraction » . .. ------- -----------------Manufacturing and mechanical --------Automobile factories_____________
Other___________________________
Transportation and communication---Trade______ ____ _______ - ------ --------Public service_________
-------------Professional and semi professional serv
ice_______________________________
Domestic and personal service________
Casual employment and unknown in
dustries_____ ____________________
U nemployment *........................................

1 Includes a few persons who moved from foreign countries (particularly Canadal to Michigan.
1 Forestry and fishing, and extraction of minerals.
• Includes persons who had no private employment during the tim e they were in the labor market.

Approximately one-eighth (12.9 percent) of the workers made one
or more moves 2 during the period April 1930 to January 1935. The
most mobile group in table 1 is that consisting of workers in extractive
industries other than agriculture, i. e., forestry and fishing, and
extraction of minerals. More than one-fifth of these workers made
one or more moves during the 57-month period studied. The rela
tively high proportion moving was in large part a result of the long• This proportion moving is slightly higher than the proportion reported in an earlier article which was
based upon the same study. (See M onthly Labor Review, January 1939, p. 16.) The higher mobility
in the present report is due to the inclusion of workers who were in the labor market for less than the 67month period studied, many of whom moved at the time of entering or leaving the labor market.
The exclusion of “commuting” type moves from the study explains the small proportion of persons in
table 1 who reported their longest move as within the confines of the county.

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793

time decline of employment opportunities in lumbering and mining
in Michigan. For many of these workers, migration was the only
alternative to becoming part of the “stranded population” of cut
over timber areas or submarginal mining communities. The second
highest proportion of workers moving was found in the group whose
usual industry was agriculture. The mobility of this group is ex
plained chiefly by the fact that many persons who worked in agricul
ture for most of the period studied also had industrial employment
either before or after the worst years of the depression. The shift
of workers in this group from industry to agriculture or from agricul
ture to industry usually involved a change in place of residence.
These shifts between agriculture and industry are of fundamental
importance in an analysis of industrial adjustment and are discussed
more fully below.
Another group that contained a large proportion of persons who
moved during the survey period consisted of workers in professional
and semiprofessional service. These persons moved longer distances
than did most persons in the study. For persons in professional and
semiprofessional service, migration was apparently an important
means of finding new employment opportunities during the depression.
The mobility of workers in manufacturing and mechanical indus
tries was less than might be expected in view of the severity of the
economic dislocation in this branch of industry. It must be remem
bered, however, that the manufacturing and mechanical industries
are generally located in the more populous urban centers, and that
workers separated from these industries during the depression formed
an immediately available labor supply subject to recall at each
increase in industrial activity. The possibility of recall probably
tended to hold many workers in these centers who otherwise would
have moved, while the existence of a large labor surplus tended to
reduce the attraction of these industries for outsiders. It is especially
noteworthy that workers attached to the automobile industry re
ported a relatively small amount of migration. The extreme depres
sion of this industry during most of the years covered by this study
must have discouraged migration to the automobile centers and
encouraged migration out of Michigan, in which case the workers
could not be reported in the Michigan census unless they had returned
to the State by January 1935.
The “unemployment” entry in table 1 represents persons who had
no private employment during the time they were in the labor mar
ket, which in many cases was for the entire period, April 1930 to
January 1935. The proportion of persons in this group who made one
or more moves was distinctly less than that of all workers, and lower
than that of all but one of the industrial groupings. Moreover, the pro
portion of continuously unemployed workers making interstate moves

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

794

was smaller than that of any of the groups. It should be noted,
however, that a long-time unemployed group usually includes a
high proportion of older workers, which in itself tends to lower the
mobility of the group. Aside from the age factor, however, the most
probable reason for the relatively low mobility of this group is the
inertia produced by long-continued unemployment. Another reason
is that many persons in this group received relief, which normally
tends to hold population in place.3
Industry After Move
The information presented up to this point has indicated the rela
tive mobility of persons usually attached to particular industries.
In the next table attention is directed to the move rather than the
person moving. Each move is classified by range, i. e., by an indica
tion of distance traveled, and by the industry or activity after moving.
From this table it is possible to show that industries differ in the extent
to which they draw workers from the immediate vicinity of operation.
T able 2. — Industry After Move, and Range of Move
Percent of moves
Industry after move

Number
of
moves

Total

Within Between Inter
Michigan
Other2
the
county counties state 1

All industries-. . ----------------- - - -----------------

34, 847

100.0

20.9

49.9

26.6

2.6

Agriculture.
. . . _ _ --------------------- ------------Other extraction 3___. .. _
---------------------Manufacturing and mechanical.-- -------------- -Automobile factories______________________
Other----------- ------ ------------------- -------------Transportation and communication____________
T ra d e.. --------------------- ------------------------ Public service___________ ________ - - ------Professional and semiprofessional service_______
Domestic and personal service_______ _______
Casual employment and unknown industries___
Unemployment. - - - - - ----- ------N ot seeking work---- --------------------------------------

5,194
961
8, 591
4,074
4, 517
2,144
3,065
393
1,797
2,456
191
8,039
2,016

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

27.5
27.5
31.1
30.9
31.3
27.8
25.2
22.9
17.8
24.0
38.8
4.7
5.6

54.4
49.1
42.9
45.7
40.4
36.4
46.4
54.2
52.8
46.8
36.7
60.2
49.4

17.0
21.4
23.7
21.8
25.4
33.0
25.5
17.6
24.9
26.7
21.4
32.2
41.2

1.1
2.0
2.3
1.6
2.9
2.8
2.9
5.3
4.5
2.5
3.1
2.9
3.8

1 Moves from other States to Michigan and from Michigan to other States.
2 Moves between other States, and between Michigan and foreign countries (particularly Canada).
3 Forestry and fishing, and extraction of minerals.

It is evident from table 2 that manufacturing and mechanical
industries, including automobile manufacturing, drew a larger propor
tion of their workers from within the county than did any other
industries; an explanation of this result has already been suggested.
Short distance moves (within the county) were least important in
the case of persons leaving the labor market and of persons who were
unemployed after moving. This was due in part to the exclusion
from the study of moves within a county that involved unemployment
3 For a more complete discussion of this point see article already cited (M onthly Labor Review, January
1939, p. 16).

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Industrial Aspects of Labor Mobility

795

or not seeking work at destination and that did not constitute a real
labor market transfer. Moves to unemployment or to not seeking
work were therefore more frequently between Michigan counties or
interstate in range.
The industries that drew most heavily upon other counties in
Michigan for a supplementary labor supply were agriculture, public
service, and professional and semiprofessional service. Excluding
moves followed by unemployment or not seeking work, the moves
that were interstate in range were most commonly made by persons
who entered transportation (particularly lake shipping) and com
munication industries.
Industrial Shifts and Time of Migration
In addition to providing a rough measure of the distance from which
different industries drew workers, the investigation of mobility on a
move basis provides information on the shifts between different in
dustries according to the time at which the workers moved. The
importance of such information is that it shows changes in the dis
tribution of the mobile part of the labor supply under different eco
nomic conditions. Although the period covered by this study is too
short to permit an analysis of the long-time variations in the distri
bution of the labor force, or even of the variations throughout one
complete business cycle, it is possible to compare the industrial shifts
associated with migration during the part of the study period when
economic conditions were becoming increasingly worse, with the
industrial shifts when economic conditions were improving. The
period studied has accordingly been divided into two parts, corre
sponding approximately to the recession and revival phases of the
past depression. The first period covers the interval April 1930October 1932, the second period the interval November 1932-January
1935. The selection of the two periods was based upon indexes of
employment in Michigan.4
The classification of the moves according to industry before and
after moving and by period of move is first used to trace the broad
shifts between industries as a result of migration. This involves a
comparison of the number of persons who worked in a given industry
before moving with the number who worked in it after moving. The
resulting percentage change indicates whether the industry was gaining
or losing workers through migration. The findings are presented in
table 3.
‘ This information was supplied by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

796

T able 3. — Industrial Shifts Accompanying Moves, and Period of Move
First period i

Total

Industry

Number in
Number in
class
class
Per
Per
Per
cent
cent
cent
of
of
of
Before After change Before After change Before After change
mov mov
mov mov
mov mov
ing
ing
ing
ing
ing
ing
Number in
class

22,872 22,872

11,975 11,975

All industries_____________________ 34, 847 34,847
Agriculture___________________ ___
Other extraction 3___. . . _____ _____
Manufacturing and mechanical_____
Automobile factories___________
Other____________________
Transportation and communication..
T ra d e.. ______ _________ - . . . -Public service__ _________
. .- -Professional and semiprofessional
service_________ _____ __________
Domestic and personal service______
Casual employment and unknown
industries..
__________________
Unemployment .....................................
N ot seeking w ork .._______________

Second period 1

5, 537
921
8, 256
3,166
5, 090
2, 671
3, 367
489

5,194
961
8, 591
4, 074
4,517
2,144
3,065
393

- 6 .2
+ 4 .3
+ 4 .1
+28.7
-1 1 .3
-1 9 .7
-9 .0
-1 9 .6

1, 511
386
3,526
1,368
2,158
1,116
1,307
164

2,427
274
2,134
777
1, 357
858
1,185
131

+60.6
-2 9 .0
-3 9 . 5
-4 3 .2
-3 7 .1
-2 3 .1
- 9 .3
-2 0 .1

4,026
535
4, 730
1,798
2,932
1, 555
2,060
325

2, 767
687
6,457
3, 297
3,160
1, 286
1,880
262

-3 1 .3
+28.4
+36.5
+83.4
+ 7 .8
-1 7 .3
- 8 .7
-1 9 .4

1. 841
2, 394

1, 797
2,456

-2 .4
+ 2 .6

715
749

774
755

+ 8 .3
+ 0 .8

1,126
1, 645

1,023
1,701

- 9 .1
+ 3 .4

267
6, 211
2,893

191 -2 8 .5
8, 039 +29.4
2,016 -3 0 .3

75
1,383
1,043

88 +17.3
2. 503 +81.0
846 -1 8 .9

192
4, 828
1,850

103
5, 536
1,170

-4 6 .4
+14.7
-3 6 .8

1 April 1930-October 1932.
3 November 1932-January 1935.
3 Forestry and fishing, and extraction of minerals.

There are several striking facts contained in this table. One is the
marked shift into agricultural employment during the first period,
and the shift out of agricultural employment during the second
period. Another is the large net movement out of manufacturing
industries during the early part of the depression and the large net
movement into these industries during the later part of the depression.
The movement away from automobile manufacturing during the
first period, and the even more marked movement to the automobile
industry during the second period, are especially striking. As will
be shown later, there was a definite shift of workers from manufac
turing into agriculture during the early part of the depression, and
from agriculture into manufacturing during the later part. These
shifts represent the “back to the land” movement of industrial work
ers when employment in the cities was contracting, and the reverse
movement into industry when employment in the cities was expanding.
The deepening of depression during the first period and the improve
ment in economic conditions during the second are revealed also in
the greater gains (or the smaller losses) in employment in nearly all
industries during the second period than during the first. Agri
culture and professional and semiprofessional service are the only
industries that are exceptions to this statement.
Moves involving unemployment show with particular clarity the
economic character of migration during the two periods under con
sideration. During the first period, 81.0 percent more persons were
unemployed after moving than before, whereas during the second

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Industrial Aspects of Labor Mobility

797

period this percentage had declined to 14.7. It is evident that migra
tion was relatively more successful during the second period than
during the first. At the same time, it should be noted that economic
conditions had not improved enough during the second period to
bring about a greater number of moves to employment than to un
employment. This explains why, in some industries, there was only
a smaller decrease rather than an actual increase in employment
during the second period.
During the 57-month period there were 30.3 percent fewer persons
not seeking work after moving than before, or in other words, 30.3
percent more persons entered the labor market than left it at the time
of moving. This shift into the labor market was proportionately
greater in the second period than in the first. In part, this change
represents the normal entrance of new workers, but in part it also
reflects the reentrance of workers whose withdrawal was interrupted
by the depression. The interesting point here is the resort to migra
tion as a means of entering or reentering the labor market, probably
as a result of the limited opportunities in rural areas and one-industry
towns.
Reference has been made above to the pronounced gains and
losses in agriculture and industry resulting from migration. This is
one of the most significant industrial shifts that is shown by the
analysis of moves according to industry. The evidence presented
so far has indicated that agriculture gained workers during the first
period and lost workers during the second period, and that manufac
turing industries lost workers during the first period and gained
workers during the second. Evidence is presented next to show that
the gains of agriculture during the first period were largely due to
workers’ leaving manufacturing when they moved, and that the
losses of agriculture during the second period were largely due to
workers’ entering manufacturing. This evidence is presented in
table 4, in which the industries entered by workers who moved out
of manufacturing and agriculture are compared for the two periods.
Table 4 demonstrates that there was a well-defined movement of
workers from the manufacturing industries into agriculture during the
period April 1930 to October 1932, and from agriculture into manu
facturing during the period November 1932 to January 1935. The
proportion of moves made in the first period from manufacturing to
agriculture (27.7 percent) was half again as great as the proportion in
the second period (18.5 percent). In the case of moves from agricul
ture, approximately the same proportions (25.8 and 26.5 percent)
were to agriculture and to manufacturing during the first period; dur
ing the second period, however, the proportion of moves to manu
facturing (41.5 percent) was more than double the proportion to agri
culture (19.3 percent). It should also be noted that the proportion

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

of moves to manufacturing during the second period was about the
same for agricultural and industrial workers.5
T able 4.— Industries Entered by Workers Moving From Manufacturing and Mechanical

Industries and From Agriculture
Number of moves

Industry entered at time of move

First
period
(April
1930October
1932)

Second
period ■
(Novem
ber 1932January
1935)

Percent of moves
First
period
(April
1930October
1932)

Second
period
(Novem
ber 1932January
1935)

Workers moving from manufacturing and me
chanical industries
All industries...........................................................................

3, 526

4, 730

100.0

Agriculture_____________________________ _____ _____
Other extraction 1________ ____ ____________________
Manufacturing and mechanical_____________________
Transportation and communication.......... .......................
Trade____________________ ________________________
Public service___________________ _______________ _
Professional and semiprofessional service_____________
Domestic and personal service__________ _ ________
Casual employment and unknown industries........ .........
Unemployment_______________________ ___________
N ot seeking work________________ .
...........................

979
51
883
152
278
38
62
105
39
792
147

873
64
1,939
195
276
52
74
146
31
915
165

27.7
1.4
25.0
4.3
7.9
1.1
1.8
3.0
1.1
22.5
4.2

18.5
1.4
40.9
4.1
5.8
1.1
1.6
3.1
19.3
3.5

Workers moving from agriculture
All industries_______ _______________________ . . . . . . .

1,511

4,026

100.0

Agriculture.______ ________________________________
Other extraction 1___ ___________________________ . . .
Manufacturing and mechanical_____________________
Transportation and communication__________ ._
Trade_____________________________________ . . . .
Public service_____ _________ ____ _______ _ . ___
Professional and semiprofessional service_____________
Domestic and personal service______________________
Casual employment and unknown industries_________
Unemployment____________________________________
N ot seeking work__________________________________

390
80
401
114
142
12
59
45
16
205
47

776
191
1,669
238
281
25
63
109
26
558
90

25.8
5.3
26.5
7.5
9.4
.8
3.9
3.0
1.1
13.6
3.1

19.3
4.7
41.5
5.9
7.0
.6
1.6
2.7
.6
13.9
2.2

1 Forestry and fishing, and extraction of minerals.

These findings represent two types of situation. One is the “back
to the land” movement of industrial workers seeking to escape economic
insecurity in the cities. Such persons frequently moved to the farm
of a friend or relative, or to an abandoned farm, where they hoped at
least to maintain themselves. Many then returned to the cities when
industrial opportunities improved. The other situation represents
the effect of the depression in blocking the normal migration of work
ers from country to city. Both of these situations are of considerable
importance as affecting the distribution of the labor force.
'T h e “back to the land” movement is equally evident from a comparison of the absolute number of
moves between manufacturing and agriculture during the two periods, even though the information is
derived from a relatively small sample of the population of Michigan. Of the moves made by Michigan
workers included in the sample, 979 were from manufacturing to agriculture, and only 401 were from agricul
ture to manufacturing during the first period. During the second period this relationship was reversed:
873 moves were from manufacturing to agriculture, 1,669 moves from agriculture to manufacturing.

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Industrial Aspects of Labor Mobility

799

The “ back to the land ” movement seems generally to have failed in
its purpose. In the first place, such migration was usually to the
poorest farming areas where it was extremely difficult to make a liv
ing. The high proportion of the population on relief in the counties of
Michigan that showed the largest increases in farm acreage from 1930
to 1935 shows that “ back to the land ” migration merely shifts the relief
burden from urban to rural areas.6 Furthermore, absence from the
city usually reduced the workers’ contact with employment oppor
tunities, and thereby lengthened the period of unemployment. In
the great majority of cases, therefore, there were no tangible benefits
derived by industrial workers from emergency migration to rural areas.
The depression not only caused many city dwellers to move to rural
areas, but it also restricted the movement of young farm people to
the cities. Farm-to-city migration has been a characteristic of the
American population movement for many years because of the sur
plus population in rural areas relative to employment opportunities.
In addition, such migration is necessary to maintain the population
of the large cities, since “without migration, the population of the
large cities would soon begin to decrease.” 7 Thus, the slowing down
of the farm-to-city movement during the worst years of the depres
sion was against the best interests of both the country districts and
the cities.
Seasonal Pattern of Migration
One of the important characteristics of migration, and one about
which little information has been available, is the time of year at
which workers move when they enter a given industry. Such move
ment is, of course, related to the seasonal rise and fall of employment
in the industry in question. Nevertheless, the peaks of migration
may either precede or follow the peaks of employment in the industry.
If the labor market were perfectly organized, an expanding industry
would absorb the available workers in the local community before it
drew workers from other communities. That is, it would seem reason
able to expect that an increase in migration would follow an increase
in employment. Workers ordinarily have such incomplete knowledge
of the labor market, however, that they frequently move to another
community in search of employment in a given industry with little
more basis for doing so than the rumor that jobs would soon be avail
able. Under such conditions, an increase in migration to an industry
precedes an increase in employment in that industry.
By relating the month of move 8 to the industry of employment
after the move it is possible to obtain information on the seasonality
6See Michigan State Emergency Welfare Relief Commission, Unemployment Relief and Economic
Security, by William Haber and Paul L. Stanchfield, Lansing, 1936, pp. 130, 131.
7National Resources Committee, The Problems of a Changing Population, Washington, 1938, p. 136.
8The month of the move was the last month at the location which the worker left.

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

800

of migration in Michigan industries. Unfortunately, such a classifi
cation of the data is so involved that only three such patterns can be
shown, namely moves into agriculture, moves into the automobile in
dustry, and moves to all industries.
The procedure used in obtaining the seasonal indexes was as fol
lows: The moves made during each month of the period studied were
first plotted on graph paper. Next, a line describing the trend was
fitted to each plotted series, and the percentage differences of the
individual monthly values from the trend were calculated. An aver
age of the individual monthly values was then computed and sea
sonal indexes of migration obtained in which the average monthly
movement throughout the year was taken as 100. The results, for
all moves, moves into agriculture, and moves into automobile manu
facturing, are presented in table 5 and the figure on page 801.
T able 5. — Seasonal Indexes of Movement
[Average for year=100]

Month

All
moves

June___________

76
92
. 142
107
114
97

Moves into
Moves into automobile
agriculture manufac
turing
60
161
236
136
95
72

140
112
121
80
82
72

Month

July.......................
A u g u st...............
September_____
O ctober..............
November............
D ecem ber...____

Moves into
All
Moves into automobile
moves agriculture manufac
turing
78
118
98
88
77
113

65
76
84
88
57
70

46
78
65
98
116
190

The indexes derived for all moves reveal, in general, the influence of
the seasonal rises and falls in general business conditions. According
to table 5, the volume of movement is lowest in midwinter (January),
rises to a peak in early spring (March), and declines to a midsummer
low in July. Then follows a secondary peak in August, a subsequent
decline to November, and a third peak at the end of the year. On the
whole, this pattern of migration for all workers moving is predomi
nantly a reflection of economic conditions, although it is probable that
it is also influenced by the ease or difficulty of migration at different
times of the year.
The series for agriculture shows an exceptionally well-defined
seasonal pattern. Following a low level of mobility during the winter
months, the volume of movement rises sharply to its peak in March.
It declines steadily throughout the late spring and summer, and reaches
a low point in July. Then follows a moderate rise in early fall, and
finally a decline to the year’s low point in November.
This series follows closely the needs of agriculture for its labor sup
ply, the spring rise corresponding to the planting season, and the fall
rise to the harvesting season. The rise in the fall is much smaller than
the rise in the spring because many persons who enter agriculture in

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801

SEASONAL MOVEMENT OF MICHIGAN WORKERS

160
140
120
00

80
60
40
20

0
F

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Index

802

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

the spring remain on the farm during the growing season. Some of
these workers seek industrial employment during the winter months
and return to farming the next spring.
The automobile manufacturing series, while not so regular as the
agriculture series, nevertheless follows a fairly clear seasonal pattern.
Starting in the fall months, there is a steady rise to the year’s peak in
December. Migration then tapers off during the spring months and
declines gradually to the year’s low point in July. This index corre
sponds generally to the seasonal fluctuations in employment in the
automobile industry. However, it reaches its peak about 4 months
before the peak of employment in the industry.9
The considerable time interval by which the peak in migration
preceded the peak in automobile employment indicates that these
workers moved to the automobile centers at the first signs of seasonal
expansion in the industry. As shown in table 2, these workers were
attracted principally from nearby communities during the years
covered by the Michigan census. For many of the workers here
studied, therefore, little risk was involved in shifting into work at auto
mobile plants. But for those migrants who came from more distant
places, information concerning employment opportunities in the auto
mobile industry was less reliable, and migration entailed a greater risk.
It must be remembered that only the successful job seekers are reported
here; undoubtedly many of the workers who moved into the auto
mobile centers were unable to secure employment. What is true of the
automobile industry applies to other industries as well. Since industry
benefits from the willingness of workers to move to areas in which their
services are needed, it seems obvious that the effectiveness of this
means of distributing the labor supply is improved when full informa
tion is made available about job opportunities.
» During 3 of the years covered by this study, namely 1930, 1931, and 1934, April was the peak month in
automobile employment. In 1932 employment during April fell behind employment during the peak
month, February, by only 1,000 persons (see Michigan report previously cited, p. 153).

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PROGRAM OF INTERNATIONAL LABOR
CONFERENCE OF JUNE 1939
By

ohn

a m bs,

Assistant United States Labor Commissioner, Geneva

EACH year, in June, the International Labor Organization in Geneva
holds an International Labor Conference. At these Conferences the
work of the preceding 12 months is reviewed and acted upon by some
400 representatives of governments, employers, and workers from
approximately 50 countries. The attitude of these delegates toward
the problems of the Organization helps to determine its program for
the following year.
Next June, Mr. John G. Winant, by virtue of his post as director
of the International Labor Office, is to be secretary-general of the
Conference, the twenty-fifth in the history of the Organization. This
will be the first time that an American citizen will have had that
high honor. Other Americans will take part, as in recent years; two
will represent the Government, while two others will represent em
ployers and labor. These four delegates will, together, have perhaps
a dozen or more advisers.
Much of the discussion of the year’s work centers on the annual
report of the Director, which is discussed by representatives of gov
ernments and by delegates of employers and workers from every
quarter of the globe. Last year the discussion of the Director’s report
covered five main subjects: Reduction of hours, freedom of associa
tion, increased participation of the Americas, problems of the Eastern
agricultural countries, and the relationship of social justice to war.
Although events move rapidly and the relative importance of these
problems has altered considerably in the past year, the problems
themselves remain.
The second and perhaps greater task of the Conference is the
elaboration of international regulations to be submitted to member
States for ratification. The following six items are on the agenda
for action: Generalization of the reduction of hours of work in industry,
commerce, and offices; reduction of hours of work in coal mines;
regulation of hours of work and rest periods of professional drivers (and
their assistants) of vehicles engaged in road transport; technical and
vocational education and apprenticeship; regulation of contracts of
employment of indigenous workers; and recruiting, placing, and con
ditions of labor (equality of treatment) of migrant workers.
In order to understand more clearly how the items on the agenda
will be handled at the twenty-fifth International Labor Conference in
June, it is necessary to know the process of drafting international
regulations. At last year’s Conference, a number of tripartite com
mittees, each concerned with problems which now appear as items

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804

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

on this year’s agenda, discussed the appropriate preliminary reports
that had been drawn up by the I. L. O. permanent office staff. Out of
this discussion the staff was able to sense the attitudes of the dele
gates, and received guidance for the preparation of a questionnaire
on each item. A sample of the questions sent to Governments re
garding certain topics on the agenda is as follows:
Technical and vocational education and apprenticeship (3d question).— (1) Do
you consider it desirable to provide for all children on reaching a specified age an
initiation into occupational life within the framework of the compulsory educa
tion system, by developing among such children the idea of and the taste for
manual work so as to facilitate their future vocational guidance?
(2) If so, what should be: (a) the age of commencement of such initiation?
(6) its duration?
(3) What form should this initiation take with regard to: (a) the importance
of practical work? (b) the nature of such work? In this connection, do you
agree: (i) that it is desirable, in drawing up programs, to avoid any vocational
specialization? (ii) that practical work should nevertheless take into account
the nature of the principal occupations and industries in the district?
Regulation of hours of work of professional drivers (eleventh question).— Do you
consider that hours of work should be defined as comprising the time during which
the worker is at the disposal of the employer or of any person entitled to claim his
services?
Generalization of the reduction of hours of work (eighth question).— Do you con
sider that the competent authority in each country should be permitted to exempt
from the application of the international regulations undertakings or establish
ments where only members of the employer’s family are employed?
Reduction of hours of work in coal mines (sixth question).— Do you agree that
in mines where access is by a shaft the time spent in the mine should be considered
to mean the period between the time when the worker enters the cage in order to
descend and the time when he leaves the cage after reascending?

The questionnaires were transmitted to the various governments.
Experts from various governmental departments replied to the
questions. On the basis of these replies, the staff of the International
Labor Organization is drawing up for each item a final report which,
no doubt, will include the draft of an international regulation.
One of the first tasks of the Conference is to choose tripartite com
mittees, one for each item on the agenda. Thus the large, unwieldy
assembly of delegates is broken up into relatively small and effective
groups, which discuss intensively the problems at issue. Each com
mittee will have for consideration the documentation prepared by the
Office. The committee will determine first, whether the time is ripe
to take final action in the field of international regulation. If the
answer is in the affirmative, it will examine the proposed regulation to
see what alterations are desirable. Finally, it is prepared to submit
its report to a plenary session of the Conference, where discussion—
though now quite formal—again takes place. A final vote is taken.
At this last stage, the proposed regulation must receive two-thirds

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Program of 1939 International Labor Conference

of the votes cast before it is adopted and referred to governments for
ratification. The Conference cannot go beyond this point. Final
action upon the international regulations adopted by the Conference
is left to the several governments. They may, within certain time
limits, accept the obligations imposed by the convention, or reject
them, as they see fit. If a government accepts the obligations im
posed, it need not give effect to its acceptance until after one or more
other governments have accepted, fora convention or recommenda
tion is a kind of treaty, and there must be at least two parties to an
agreement.
Reduction of Hours of Work
Three of the agenda items relate to a question of special interest to
Americans, particularly in view of the recently enacted Fair Labor
Standards Act. That question is the reduction of hours of work,
which will be involved in the following agenda items: Regulation of
hours of work of professional drivers; general reduction of hours; and
reduction of hours in coal mines.
Since the I. L. O. first began to center attention on the establish
ment of the 40-hour week, much difference of opinion has prevailed
as to the best method of attaining this ideal. Sometimes it has been
held that there should be a single, inclusive convention, for all indus
try; at other times it has been held that this method was inflexible
and unrealistic, and that there should be a considerable number of
conventions to cover a variety of industries. At the June Conference
last year, the hours of work committee decided that its labors should
prepare the way neither for one convention nor for many, but for a
limited number. An hours convention for maritime labor was
adopted recently; this category, therefore, did not have to come up
for attention. Barring this classification—and, of course, agricul
ture—the remainder of economic life was divided into the following
classes by the I. L. O.: (1) Industry, commerce, and offices; (2) coal
mines; (3) road transport; and (4) other transport.
It is not yet known whether the plan of the Office is to subdivide
“Industry, commerce, and offices” into two parts—a manual workers’
final report, and a white-collar workers’ final report—or only one. It
is known that a final report on “Other transport” will not be sub
mitted, but that there will be final reports for coal mines and road
transport. Thus, there will be either three or four reports—though
none on “Other transport”—and perhaps three or four conventions.
By proposing separate conventions, the way is left open for the adop
tion of at least a part of the program.
Certain flexible provisions and stipulations for progressive appli
cation may have a bearing on the result. If the Office, after receiving
governmental replies, decides to draw up an industry, commerce, and

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

offices convention or conventions for 40 hours, it is possible that the
draft (or drafts) will contain provisions for a progressive reduction
in hours, as does the Fair Labor Standards Act. A similar transi
tional scheme may appear in the drafts for coal mines and road trans
port. A certain flexibility will, no doubt, be provided by stipulations
in respect to overtime, and in respect to exemptions that would permit
countries of sparse population, or in a primitive stage of development,
to limit the application of any hours convention they may ratify
without being considered to have violated their treaty obligations.
Even if conventions are not adopted, the mere discussion of ques
tions important to labor, the dissemination of information not avail
able elsewhere, the opportunity that delegates have of making an
international inventory of the status of problems in which they are
interested—all these things have an important place in elevating
abor standards.
Technical and Vocational Education and Apprenticeship
The I. L. O. has drawn up a questionnaire on the subject of tech
nical and vocational education and apprenticeship. Judging from
the preparatory work, it seems likely that the final report on this item
of the agenda will include a draft recommendation. A recommenda
tion is a proposal which has less force than a convention; the latter,
when ratified, has the force of a treaty, while the former is submitted
to member States “for consideration with a view to effect being given
to it by national legislation or otherwise.” 1
It is not yet known what this draft recommendation will contain,
but it may be predicted that it will be a sort of model code on voca
tional instruction, for the guidance of governments, employers, work
ers, and educators. It will point out the value of coordinating insti
tutions and agencies on the basis of a general educational program.
It will stress the value of maintaining an equilibrium between the
industrial demand for certain skills and the training of young people
to be competent in those skills. Institutions of vocational education
will be warned that, although some highly specialized skills are now
more in demand than ever, the value of others is being destroyed by
the onward march of the machine; and as the solution it may be sug
gested that young people should receive a general, all-around training
for industrial fitness. Allied to this is the problem of a broad general
educational background. Although the final report will not assume
that unemployment can be appreciably minimized through vocational
education, it will point out the evils of blind-alley jobs and will suggest
that a more advanced school-leaving age will reduce the labor supply.
i Constitution and Standing Orders of the International Labor Organization, Conference Edition, 1938,
art. 19, p. 11.

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Program of 1939 International Labor Conference

807

The recommendation seems to have an excellent chance of adoption
by the Conference, for this item was placed on the agenda for 1939
without a dissenting vote. If adopted, it will go to member States
for consideration.
Migrant Workers and Indigenous Workers' Contracts
There are two items on the agenda which relate to matters in which
the United States is involved only to a limited extent. One aims at
the regulation of contracts of employment of indigenous workers, and
the other relates to the recruitment, placement, and conditions of
labor of migrant workers.
The indigenous workers with whom the I. L. O. is concerned “are
primarily the workers employed in tropical and subtropical territories
by agricultural and industrial undertakings which are owned and man
aged by Europeans, or * * * are worked in accordance with
European methods.”2 The countries most concerned are Great Brit
ain and its Dominions, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Liberia, the
Netherlands, and Portugal. Although the Government of the United
States appreciates the accomplishment of the I. L. O. in raising the
standards of indigenous workers, and hopes that further progress will
be made during the Conference, it has indicated that it would not be
in a position to contribute to the discussions of this subject.
The second item in this category is the recruitment, placement,
and conditions of labor of migrant workers. In the last two decades
the immigration problems of the United States have altered so com
pletely as to remove the difficulties that still concern other new coun
tries. Our laws are, besides, rather strict about recruiting labor either
by stimulating immigration through advertisement, or by admitting
contract labor. Since the I. L. O. preparatory work on migrant work
ers has been directed toward countries in which conditions are unlike
ours, our practical cooperation will be limited.
For both of these items the I. L. O. will present final reports in
cluding, no doubt, draft conventions. Judging from the preparatory
work, there is more agreement among the three groups composing the
Conference on the item of migrant workers than on the item relating to
indigenous workers, but it seems not unlikely that conventions will be
adopted for each of the two items.
Resolutions and Application of Conventions
The Conference always appoints a number of tripartite committees
to fulfill specific responsibilities that arise in connection with the ad
ministration of the I. L. O., such as the Standing Orders Committee,
whose work this year, by contrast with last year’s, will be light. The
2 Regulation of Contracts of Employment of Indigenous Workers, Questionnaire II.
135055— 39------- 1

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Geneva, 1938, p. 6.

808

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Credentials Committee will perform its usual tasks. There will be
the always interesting work of the Committee on Resolutions, which
examines resolutions submitted, on the basis of their expediency and
the competence of the Conference. The Committee on the Applica
tion of Conventions will consider the measures that have been taken
by member States to give effect to the provisions of conventions to
which they are parties. Since the United States has, in the past year,
taken its place among the members who have ratified conventions,
American delegates will, presumably, cooperate for the first time in the
labors of this committee.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Social Security

DURATION OF PUBLIC RELIEF IN MILWAUKEE
COUNTY
AN ANALYSIS of 1,634 cases on the public relief rolls in Milwaukee
County, as of January 1, 1937, covered the relief experience of these
persons for the 6-year period since January 1, 1937. The findings of
this analysis, recently published,1 indicate that during the 6-year
period 46.4 percent of the cases analyzed had received relief for 4
years or more; 41.2 percent had received aid continuously since the
time of their acceptance for relief and an additional 28.6 percent had
had but one break in an otherwise continuous relief history. In
57.7 percent of the cases, the head of the family had been able to
obtain no private employment whatever during the 6 years, and 15
percent had had only from 1 to 5 months’ employment.
In making the survey every sixth case in the active case load was
taken for study. Analysis of their relief history showed that the
median duration of relief for all cases included was 44.8 months out
of a possible 72 months. Only one-tenth of the whole group had re
ceived relief for less than a year. It is pointed out, however, in this
connection, that the analysis was based only on persons who were
still on relief at the time the study was undertaken and therefore
did not include “the great many who had been on relief rolls, but
whose cases were closed. It is quite likely that the duration on relief
of these cases may be quite short.”
Age, Employment, and Relief Status
The median age of the family heads on relief was 46.5 years (as
compared with a median age, for all family heads in Milwaukee, of
41.7). “It should be noted that one-third of the total cases analyzed
fall within the most favorable age group from the point of view of
employment, namely 30 to 45.” Slightly less than 10 percent were
under 30, about one-third (34 percent) were between 45 and 60, and
20 percent were over 60 years.
Although 42.3 percent had been able to find some private employ
ment during their relief periods, their earnings were so small as to
i American Public Welfare Association
Alexander J. Gregory. Chicago, 1938.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

How Long are Clients on Relief?, by Benjamin Glassberg and

809

810

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

necessitate their being given supplementary relief in order to enable
them to provide for their families. Their median age was 44.4, as
compared with 48.7 for those who had had no employment.
A direct relationship was noted between length of time on relief
and ability to obtain employment other than on WPA. The longer
the period of relief the less likely the client was to obtain work.
This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the so-called long-term “reliefer” is
usually the less efficient employee or is physically handicapped and so was the
first to be laid off in the early years of the depression. The long years of unem
ployment which have been his lot since 1931 have naturally resulted in a deteriora
tion of the little skill of which he was possessed.

Causes of Dependency

An additional handicap was the size of the relief families. Among
the general population in Milwaukee County the median size of family
was 3.51 persons. Among the 1,634 relief families, the median was
4.71 persons, and among the 150 families that had been on relief con
tinuously since 1931 the median was 6.08 persons. In this last
group there were 29 (of 150) families that had no employable persons,
and 15 of the 33 families with 2 to 4 members contained no employable
member.
Among the 150 families continuously on relief during the 6-year
period, 43.2 percent of the heads of the family were reported as un
skilled workers, 24.3 percent as semiskilled, and 20.0 percent as
skilled. The remaining 12.5 percent included 6.3 percent who were
“white-collar” workers. By far the greater number (66.6 percent)
had had to apply for relief originally because of loss of employment
from lay-off or illness, and 14.7 percent because (although employed)
they were not able to earn enough to support their families. For
nearly a quarter (24.7 percent) the cause of continued dependency
was unemployment—inability to find work. In the case of 35.3 per
cent the continued dependency was due to the physical or mental
disability of the breadwinner or to his age. Emotional or personality
problems and broken homes (desertion, etc.) were the causes in 32.7
percent, and “disinclination to work” in 3.3 percent. Four percent
of the families had some employment but had to have supplementary
relief for full family support.
Conclusions

Summarizing the findings, the report concludes as follows:
How long families are on relief, it is evident, is determined by a number of
factors, including the individual characteristics in a given case. There is first
to be considered the number of available jobs. * * * Another important
factor is the size of a man’s family. If it is large it will make it necessary for him
to apply for supplementary assistance. The same wage, when received by
another worker, will suffice to meet his needs and make relief unnecessary. * * *

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Social Security

811

Differences in policy between cities will greatly influence the continuity of
clients on relief. * * *
In spite of these variations in policy it is evident that a very large proportion
of the unemployed who have been forced to apply for relief remain on relief for
very long periods. It should be understood that conditioning these findings is
the presence or absence of a normal degree of business activity and the presence
or absence of available employment opportunities. When business activity is at
a low ebb, we will be faced with a group who will be without work opportunities
for long periods of time. Since this is the case it would appear that there is need
for more careful planning and a more realistic facing of the facts of relief than the
Federal Government or the States and local communities have thus far permitted
themselves. It is not sufficient to denounce relief as un-American and as degrad
ing. Everyone concerned with the problem will agree that it is most deplorable
that in a country possessing such immense wealth of resources and man power
millions of people should be forced to depend for a living on relief. Just exactly
how degrading and demoralizing a relief experience is may be subject to question.
A study recently completed by Mrs. Katherine Ranck and Mrs. Ruth Cavan,
published by the University of Chicago Press, would seem to indicate that those
relief families who deteriorated and disintegrated did so not because of the de
pression; that at most the depression intensified tendencies already in evidence,
but did not cause them. Leaving this consideration aside, there has been too
much of an effort to damn the relief system and by inference those engaged in
administering relief, without any attempt to make clear just how relief was to
be eliminated or whether it could be completely eliminated, as would appear to
be the aim of those who insist that the only form of relief America will “tolerate”
is a job. The proponents of the “job only” theory remind us of the days when
the classic objection to the introduction of a system of unemployment insurance
in the United States was the argument that what was needed was a job, not a
“dole.” This is all very desirable, to be sure, but is it possible? An analysis of
the relief load of any agency will indicate the presence of large numbers who,
because of age, or because of physical or mental conditions, or because of the
technical requirements laid down by WPA, are not able to work. Some of
them might hold down a job if the demand for labor was at a maximum, but with
ten or more millions unemployed it is hardly conceivable that these marginal
cases would find employment, even on WPA.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

812

CANADIAN TRADE-UNION BENEFITS, 1937
BENEFITS paid in 1937 by 6 of the 31 Canadian central labor organi
zations amounted to $47,657.78. This was a decrease of $20,331.39,
as compared with the figures reported by 5 organizations for the pre
ceding year.1 The amounts paid in 1937 in benefits for various pur
poses by each of the organizations are shown in the following table.
Benefits P aid in 1937 by Canadian Labor Organizations
Organization

Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees-----------------------Canadian Brussels Carpet Weavers’ Beneficial Association____

Death i
benefits

Strike
benefits

Sick
benefits

$34, 500. 00
3, 229. 96
110. 00

$999.82
$3, 215. 00

a 5, 500. 00
103.00
43,339.96

3, 318.00

999.82

i Includes benefits paid by insurance companies with which the organizations had group insurance
policies.
> Includes disability benefits.

OPERATION OF FRENCH SOCIAL-INSURANCE
SYSTEM, 1935 AND 1936
THE number of industrial and commercial wage earners registered
under the French social-insurance system on December 31, 1936, was
nearly 10% million and the number of agricultural and forestry
workers about 1,250,000, according to a report of the French Ministry
of Labor covering the years 1935 and 1936. The number of actual
contributors, however, is much smaller than the number registered,
because of multiple registrations of the same persons, delay in dis
charging the names of persons leaving the system, and other errors.
The figures for contributors are based on the quarterly leaflets re
turned by them. Prior to the application of the decree-laws of Octo
ber 1935, if an insured person had sent in his annual contribution card
and had paid at least one contribution during the year he was con
sidered as a contributor, but since the annual card was abolished the
figures are based on the quarterly returns. These showed that the
number of regular contributors in 1936 in nonagricultural occupations
averaged 5,850,000 and in agriculture and forestry, 575,000. As com
pared with the preceding year, this was an increase of about 350,000
industrial and commercial workers and about 50,000 agricultural
workers, but was less than was shown under the former method of
computation.2
« Canada. Department of Labor. Twenty-seventh Annual Report on Labor Organization in Canada, for
the Calendar Year 1937. Ottawa, 1938.
a Data are from report by Benjamin M . Hulley, American consul, Paris; and Journal Officiel, Paris,
December 2,1938: Rapport du Ministère du Travail sur l’application de la législation des assurances sociales
(Statistiques du 1er janvier 1935 au 31 décembre 1936). For a general discussion of contributions, benefits,
and coverage of system, see M onthly Labor Review, March 1938.

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Social Security

813

Contributions paid to the social-insurance fund by employers and
workers from the time the law became effective (July 1, 1930) to the
end of 1936 were as follows:
Francs

1930 (6 m o n th s)__ . . .
1931______________ ___
1932______________
1933______________

Francs

1,496,736,174 1934________ ------------3,
3,562,401,338 1935________ ------------3,
3, 261, 798, 160 1936________ ------------2,
3,271,276,895

175, 994, 197
085, 908, 635
641, 654, 512

During the first 5 years, the contributions were based on five
salary classes, the maximum monthly contributions for both employers
and employees ranging from 12 francs to 80 francs, or an average of
8 percent of wages. The decree-law of October 28, 1935, fixed the
contribution at 7 percent of wages for the year 1936, with a maximum
of 70 francs per month. Since January 1, 1937, the contribution has
amounted to 8 percent of the wage, with a maximum of 100 francs per
month. The steady decrease in the amount of contributions from
1933 to 1937 was due to the lowering of wages and the increase in
unemployment, and, during 1936, to the reduction in the rate and a
change in the method of paying the contributions.
During 1937, because of the restoration of the 8-percent rate, the
general increase in wages, an increase in the number of persons
insured, and an increase in the maximum wage on which contribu
tions were calculated, the contributions increased to 4,186,000,000
francs.
The organizations administering sickness and maternity insurance
at the end of 1936 totaled 1,009, including 727 primary allotment
funds (caisses primaires de repartition), 267 agricultural mutual-aid
societies or agricultural sections of departmental funds, and 15 re
gional unions. There were also 5 national agricultural unions, and
the general guaranty fund. The regional unions, which have the
same territorial limits as the regional social-insurance organizations,
replaced the 36 reinsurance funds which operated prior to the decree
of October 1935. There were 80 primary capitalization funds covering
the risks of old age and invalidity, and death.
These organizations have expended the amounts shown in table 1
for certain types of insurance.
T

able

1.—Disbursements by Social-Insurance Organizations in France for Various Types
of Insurance, 1930 to 1936
Disbursements (in francs) for—
Year
Sickness

1930-31.
1932--.
1933.. .
1934.. .
1935
19361.. .
1 Provisional figures.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

714,644, 616
875,873,375
935,401, 696
998,126,448
1,097,925,128
1,011,279,135

Maternity
155,780,335
178,084,057
170,144,342
173,035, 780
169, 603, 290
152,470,087

Death

Other

7,016, 262
30,460,686
33,596,860
34,430,614
33,996,851
14,278,431

662,970
2.011.009
2,145,244
1.746.009
2, 279,210

Total
878,104,183
1,086,429,127
1,141,288,142
1,207,338,851
1,303,804,479
1,178,027,653

814

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

More than l}{ billion francs were expended in benefits for com
pulsory sickness insurance for workers in industry and commerce by
699 funds for which detailed expenditures were reported during
the period January 1, 1935, to March 31, 1936. Maternity benefits
paid amounted to more than 184 million francs, and death benefits
amounted to over 39 million francs. The amounts paid in benefits
of each kind by the 699 nonagricultural funds; and by 83 agricultural
sections of departmental funds and 152 mutual-aid societies under the
system for agricultural workers are shown in table 2.
T able 2 .—Benefit Expenditures of French Social-Insurance Organizations, January 1,

1935-March 31, 1936
».

Nonagricultural
workers

Kind of benefit

Medical, surgical, dental, hospital, pharmaceutical, etc., benefits.
Old-age pension contributions--------------------------------- ------------Subsistence payments, in cash and in k in d -----------------------------

Medical, surgical, hospital, pharmaceutical, etc., benefits...... ..
Old-age pension contributions------- ----------------------------------- .
Nursing benefits and m ilk allowances. _____________________
Subsistence payments, in cash and in kind ---------------------------Death benefits and miscellaneous--------------------- -------------------------

Agricultural
workers

Francs
1,251,119, Oil
805,471,133
391,835,382
14,913,603
5,072,102
174, 745
33,652,046

Francs
83,102,327
63, 720,908
18,982,454
224,864
174,101

184,317,274
70,793,761
46, 204,676
1,804,377
57,437, 763
i 689,841
7,386,856

20,335,882
9,592,362
4,174,965
45,720
6,469,534
53,301

39,145,811

4,800,378

1 Includes expenditures for treatment in special cases.

Retirement under the pension provisions of the law is optional at
the age of 60. The law became effective July 1, 1930, and it was
provided that there should be a transition period of 5 years before
the pension provisions became fully effective, but persons who reached
the retirement age before July 1, 1935, were entitled to receive a
certain minimum pension. The total number of applications for a
pension to December 31, 1936,was 500,741, of which 419,925 had been
settled and 80,816 were in process of adjustment.
########

REVISION OF DISABILITY BENEFITS IN SOVIET
UNION
FOR the purpose of providing an incentive to workers to continue in
service with the same enterprise, the Soviet Union on December 29,
1938, issued a decree modifying the eligibility requirements and the
scale of pensions for disability.1 By encouraging the workers to
acquire long-service records, it is hoped to increase their efficiency
and productivity and enable the employing enterprise to benefit by
the work of experienced employees.
i Data are from Izvestiia (official Soviet dailyi, Moscow, December 29, 1938.

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Social Security

815

The Soviet social security system is not an insurance plan, for it is
noncontributory. It provides pensions for sickness,2 accident, and
old age, but not for unemployment. It is administered by the labor
unions which function as an arm of government.
The decree provides for reduction of benefits in some cases and for
increases in others. Formerly, for temporary disability, full wages
were paid to workers with 2 years’ service in one enterprise and a
total work history of over 3 years. The new decree reduces the benefit
to 50 percent of wages, but graduates the benefits, without increasing
years of service, up to 100 percent after 6 years’ continuous service
with the same employer. Persons not members of the labor union of
their industry receive only half the above benefits.
Workers who are dismissed or who leave their jobs voluntarily
become eligible for disability pensions only after they have worked
on their new job not less than 5 months.
Previously, expectant mothers received sick benefit for 8 weeks
before and 8 weeks after childbirth. The new decree provides for
benefit only after 7 months’ continuous service in the employing
enterprise and reduces the period of benefit to 7 weeks before and 4
weeks after the confinement.
Pensions for permanent invalidity are conditioned upon age and
upon the period of service, as shown in the following table.
T able 1 .— Years of Service Required for Eligibility to Invalidity Pensions in the Soviet

Union, by Age Group
Period of service ( n years)
required
Age of worker
Males

20 to 22 years____________________
22 to 25 years ______ __ . . . ____
25 to 30 years ___________________
30 to 35 years ___________ •________
35 to 40 years
_________________
40 to 45 years ________ _________
45 to 50 years, ________
_______
50 to 55 years . ____________ _
55 to 60 years _ _______ _________
Over 60 years__________________ _

3
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20

Females

2
3
4
5
7
9
11
13
14
15

Hazard
ous
work
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
12
14

In case of disability before 20 years of age, or if disability has
resulted from an industrial accident or disease, the pension is paid
regardless of the length of the previous working period.
Increases in the general scale of invalidity pensions are made in
the case of permanently disabled workers who have had specified
periods of continuous employment with the same employer, as follows.
2 For provisions of the general sickness insurance system, see M onthly Labor Review, August 1938.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

816

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 2. —Increase in Invalidity Pensions in Soviet Union, by Class of Work and Period

of Service
Period of contin
uous service in
the same enter
prise

Invalidity group

Percent of
increase in
pension

Group 1: Workers engaged in hazardous work________________________

3 to 5 years______
5 to 10 years_____
Over 10 years____

10.0
20.0
25.0

Group 2: Workers engaged in metal, electrical, machine construction,
coal mining, oil, chemical, rubber industries and trades, and transportation.

4 to 8 years............
8 to 12 years_____
Over 12 y e a r s ___

10.0
15.0
20.0

Group 3: All other wage earners and salaried employees.......... ...................

5 to 10 years...........
10 to 15 years____
Over 15 years____

10.0
15.0
20.0

Disabled workers of either of the first two groups shown in table 2
are allowed to supplement their earnings by home work for the artels
or cooperatives, up to a total of 100 rubles per month, without reduc
tion of disability pension; but if these earnings are more than 100 rubles
a month, the pension is to be reduced, in proportion to the amount of
the earnings, to as low as 50 percent of the full pension. The increases
of pension provided by the decree of February 29, 1932, are abolished;
but increases made under the terms of that decree, in pensions granted
prior to the present decree, remain in effect.
The minimum permanent disability pensions (including increases)
fixed by the decree are shown in table 3.
T able 3. —Minimum Invalidity Pension in Soviet Union
Minimum monthly pension
Group of pensioners

Pensioners receiving pension on account of old age or comple
tion of the required service period, and invalids in group 1 ..

With no dis
abled mem
bers in fam
ily
Rubles 1
50
40
(2)

W ith 1 dis
W ith 2 or
abled mem
more dis
ber in fam abled mem
bers in family
ily
Rubles 1
60
50
30
(2)

Rubles 1

75
60
40

1 Ruble>=about 20 cents in United States currency.
1 N ot less than 25 rubles.

Old-age pensions are payable without regard to whether the bene
ficiary has been employed for wages.
The savings resulting from the above modifications in benefits and
eligibility requirements are to be used by the labor unions for the
construction of new dwellings for workers and for the establishment
of nurseries and kindergartens. They will supplement the regular
appropriations made for this purpose.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Social Security

817

BRITISH HEALTH-INSURANCE SYSTEM:
CORRECTION
THE January 1939 issue of the Monthly Labor Review contained
(p. 77) an article on national health insurance in Great Britain in
which the number of insured persons was given as 17,500,000. This
figure applied to England and Wales only, the total membership in the
system in 1937, including Scotland, numbering 19,842,400 persons.
In addition, 421,920 persons were insured in Northern Ireland.
The section on statistics of operation on pages 91 and 92 of that
article, showing the estimated number of persons entitled to bene
fits, and the receipts and expenditures, related only to England.
The total receipts in England and Wales in 1937, as given in the sta
tistical abstract for the United Kingdom,1 the only publication which
brings the figures together for the entire system, were £38,963,000
and for Scotland £4,512,000, or a total for Great Britain of £43,475,000. Receipts in Northern Ireland amounted to £861,000. Expendi
tures for the various types of benefits in England and Wales amounted
to £30,339,000 and in Scotland to £3,632,000 or a total of £33,971,000.
In Northern Ireland benefit expenditures amounted to £735,000.
The total cost of administration in Great Britain was £5,813,000 and
in Northern Ireland £135,000.
1 Great Britain. Board of Trade. Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom for Each of the 15 Years
1913 and 1924 to 1937. (Cmd. 5903.) London, 1939.

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Productivity o f Labor and Industry

INDUSTRIAL INSTRUM ENTS AND CHANGING
TECHNOLOGY
A RECENT development that seems to have escaped general notice
is the increase in the use of industrial instruments. These may be
classified, according to their functions, into three main groups, namely,
indicating, recording, and controlling instruments. The indicating
type, which was the first to be developed, includes various kinds of
meters and gages. Next came the recording type, such as recording
thermometers and chronometers. Both of these types have long been
in limited use. The control devices, which comprise the third type,
were not used extensively in industry until the middle 1920’s. In
addition to indicating and recording temperature, pressure, speed,
liquid level, fluid flow, concentration of solutions, composition of gases,
etc., they automatically maintain a desired condition through the oper
ation of valves, switches, and other regulatory devices.
The development of an industry devoted primarily to the making of
industrial instruments, the nature of these instruments, and their role
in industry form the subject of a recent study by the National Research
Project of the Works Progress Administration.1 With the growth of
mass-production industries, the development of new processes, both
chemical and mechanical, and standardization of products, quantita
tive methods of specification and control have become practicable and
economical in many fields of production. These methods call for the
use of instruments for regulating and facilitating the operation of
machines. The use of industrial instruments is in a sense a new
stage, increasingly automatic, in the general process of mechaniza
tion. Thousands of instruments are now made, some of which are
major inventions, while others are minor mechanical refinements. The
National Research Project study is not comprehensive, but is restricted
to the more standardized types of industrial instruments such as are
manufactured on a comparatively large scale and are suitable for in
stallation as auxiliary equipment with major production units.
The earlier and simpler indicating and recording devices have re
cently been superseded increasingly by instruments that include auto1U. S. Works Progress Administration. National Research Project. Studies in Equipment Changes
and Industrial Techniques, Report No. M -l: Industrial Instruments and Changing Technology, by George
Perazich, Herbert Schimmel, and Benjamin Rosenberg. Washington, 1938;

818

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Productivity of Labor and Industry

819

matic control features. In terms of value of sales of the three types
of instruments, in 1923 indicators were 28.6 percent of the total, re
corders 63.7 percent, and controllers only 7.7 percent; in 1935, indi
cators were 21.6 percent, recorders 45.1 percent, and controllers 33.3
percent. Control instruments frequently also indicate and record.
The industries that have made most extensive use of industrial in
struments are the metals industries, which in 1935 purchased 26.5 per
cent of the instruments as measured by sales value; the power indus
tries, which purchased 16.3 percent; and petroleum, mainly petroleum
refining, which also purchased 16.3 percent.
There has been much emphasis in recent years on the development
of labor-saving techniques. Industrial instruments are vitally signifi
cant as illustrations of the recent emphasis on capital-saving as well
as labor-saving techniques. They have tended to economize materials
as well as capital equipment. In some cases, instruments have made
possible the use of less expensive materials, and yet they have fre
quently improved the quality of the product. Fuel economy, particu
larly important in the power industry, is illustrated by the experience
of a public-utility plant, which, merely by means of carbon-dioxide
recorders, achieved a saving of 15.5 percent in fuel. Instruments
have frequently made possible an increase in the speed of operation of
machines without a corresponding rise in operating costs. They have
not only increased the efficiency of machinery but also in many cases
have safeguarded machinery from excessive strains, etc., and have
reduced repair and maintenance costs. Increased efficiency has tended
to make unnecessary an increase of capital equipment, and the safe
guarding of machinery has tended to prolong its life and thus reduce
replacement costs.
The effect of such technological changes in reducing the funds
needed for investment is particularly significant under contemporary
conditions of restricted outlets for investment throughout the world.
Such developments direct attention to the problem of the unemploy
ment of capital resources as well as labor. When income not needed
for consumption by those who receive it finds no profitable field for
investment, there is raised the further fundamental question of the
maintenance of a balanced allocation of income to investment and
consumption.
Under prevailing conditions of restricted demand for the products
of industry, the increasing use of industrial instruments has had some
effect on the demand for labor as well as on the demand for funds for
investment. Economies in operating processes, in the reduction of
waste, breakage, etc., in the maintenance of continuous operation, and
in repair and maintenance charges have contributed indirectly to re
ductions in labor requirements as well as in requirements for capital
outlays. In some cases there have been direct savings of labor. Ke
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

820

lays, switches, and other mechanisms for transferring the actions of
instruments into automatic operations have eliminated manual work
ers. In the canning industry, for example, automatic controllers made
it possible for a single attendant to operate a battery of kettles. An
instrument, used in the automobile industry, for inspecting wristpins
and grading them according to size eliminated between 10 and 20
men. When the use of industrial instruments results in a sufficient
increase in the volume of production, through price reductions or
improvements in quality or variety of products, there is of course no
net reduction in the number of workers required.
Another economic effect of the use of industrial instruments is the
shift in the composition of the labor force. The obsolescence of cer
tain skills may cause serious dislocations, particularly if the skills are
highly specialized and are not in demand in other establishments or
industries. Some types of industrial instruments have tended to cre
ate a demand for new skills and to require the employment of men
with a broad grasp of industrial processes. Some operators and main
tenance men are in fact professional engineers.
The authors of the study conclude their survey by evaluating the
recent and probable future role of industrial instruments:
Instruments can be and have been a stimulant to attaining new levels of pro
duction by aiding in the increase of labor productivity and in the development of
new products and services. However, during the last 8 years (notably from 1929
to 1935) their chief function in the industries which are the largest purchasers of
instruments has been to reduce costs and the labor associated with production.
If the attainment of greater levels of production and higher living standards
were the primary objectives for the application of the available industrial tech
nology, progressive instrumentation would be an obviously beneficial social goal.
The future role of industrial instruments in the economy and their effect on em
ployment will depend on the extent to which such objectives are in conflict with
immediate pressures for cost reductions through economies in labor utilization
regardless of the levels of production and employment.

PRODUCTIVITY AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE
CRUSHED-STONE INDUSTRY, 1913-37
THE national importance of the crushed-stone industry is perhaps
somewhat obscured by the localized and widely scattered nature of
crushed-stone operations and by the indirect relation of the product
to the national economy. In a recent study of the historical develop
ment and present status of the industry,3 its place in the national
economy is described:
Crushed stone for use as furnace flux is one of the three basic raw materials of
the iron and steel industry; it is one of the chief materials used in the construc1U . S. Works Progress Administration. National Research Project. Mineral Technology and Output
Per M an Studies, Report No. E-8: Changes in Technology and Labor Requirements in the Crushed-Stone
Industry, by Harry S. Kantor and Geoffrey A. Saeger. Washington, 1938.

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Productivity of Labor and Industry

821

tion and maintenance of highways and railway roadbed and in various other
types of construction. Agricultural limestone constitutes a large part of the
total tonnage of soil-rebuilding materials produced in the United States. Other
important outlets for crushed stone are the chemical industries, glass manufacture,
and sugar refining.
In the early 1890’s, when hand labor predominated, the industry produced
only 5 or 6 million tons annually. By 1913 the total output was 80 million tons,
and the industry offered a livelihood to 67,000 men. The number employed in
1913 has not since been equaled. The great gains in productivity—from 0.49
ton per man-hour in 1913 to 1.38 tons in 1929—brought about a drop of one-third
in the number of men employed, despite a two-thirds increase in the industry’s
production. In 1936 output per man-hour reached an average of 1.85 tons. In
that year only 33,000 men, working on the average three-fourths as many hours
per year as in 1929, produced 93 million tons at commercial crushed-stone opera
tions.

The main processes are stripping or removal of overburden, drilling
and blasting, loading and haulage, crushing, screening, and washing.
The estimates of changes in average man-hour output given above
and in the accompanying table take into account these various proc
esses.
Production, Employment, and Average Output in the Crushed-Stone Industry, 1929-36 1
Commercial operations >

Year

All operations

Average out
Average out
man
man
Average Average put per
Average Average put per
hour
hour
number hours
Production number
hours
Production
men per man
men per man
(short tons) ofem
(short tons) ofem
Index
per year Short Index
ployed per year Short (1929
ployed
=
tons
tons (1929=
100)
100)

1929........ . 131,984,945
1930_____ 116, 523,149
1931_____ 90,427,525
1932......... 60,173,358

45,763
42,675
41,484
34, 571

2,095
1,980
1,557
1,375

1.377
1.379
1.400
1.266

100.0
100.1
101.7
91.9

139,296,936
123, 862,811
97,498,270
67,177,535

50,299
47,065
46,456
40,764

2,072
1,968
1,544
1,361

1.337
1.337
1.359
1.211

100.0
100.0
101.6
90.6

1933..........
1934..........
1935_____
1936_____

32,933
33,700
29,143
32, 573

1,282
1,303
1,367
1, 547

1.374
1.536
1.616
1.849

99.8
111.5
117.4
134.3

65, 665,117
84,699,176
81,074,943
122, 599,090

39,801
48,112
44,403
49,135

1,255
1,230
1,242
1,478

1.314
1.432
1.470
1.688

98.3
107.1
109.9
126.3

58,013,707
67,390, 436
64,411,083
93,175,614

1 Sources and methods of making estimates of employment and average output are described on pages 17,
18,128, of the report under review. (See footnote 1 above.)
J The U. S. Bureau of Mines defines noncommercial production, here excluded, as the tonnages reported
•by States, counties, municipalities, and other Government agencies, produced either by themselves or by
contractors expressly for their consumption, often with publicly owned equipment. (Minerals Yearbook,
1937, p. 1199.)

During most of the years from 1919 to 1929, the industry was ex
panding and was called upon therefore to increase its productive ca
pacity for meeting the rising demands of such industries as iron and
steel, the railroads, highway construction, and glass manufacturing.
Many old establishments were modernized and new enterprises natur
ally utilized the newer techniques. One of the important earlier tech
nological improvements was the adoption of power loading and hauling
in the stripping process or removal of material overlying rock deposits.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

822

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

This made possible the exploitation of important rock deposits which
could not have been utilized economically under hand-labor stripping
processes. Power loading stimulated the use of larger crushing ma
chines. Improved drilling and blasting processes were introduced,
making it possible to shoot down enough rock to keep the shovels
busy. Mechanized screening and washing devices not only increased
the output per unit of labor but facilitated conformity to the increas
ingly rigorous specifications of highway and construction engineers and
industrial chemists. Building problems at the scene of operations were
simplified by belt-conveyor installations between buildings as well as
within buildings.
A particularly sigificant phase of technological improvement was
the increasing emphasis on balanced operation. Equipment and pro
ductive processes were increasingly designed to facilitate a smoother
flow of materials and product from the preparatory stage to the final
loading for shipment and were planned for the purpose of coordinating
and integrating the various stages and units so as to reduce to a mini
mum the amount of unused capacity. Equipment was selected and
operating practices were adopted for the purpose of meeting most
efficiently the physical conditions existing at each separate location.
Before 1929, the principal technological changes were of such nature
as to be best adapted to large establishments. Between 1913 and 1929,
establishments producing more than 100,000 tons per year increased
their average output per man-hour almost fourfold, whereas smaller
establishments experienced less than a threefold increase. Conditions
after 1929 tended to favor a relatively large increase in average man
hour output in the smaller establishments. The increase in the larger
limestone establishments between 1929 and 1936 was only 17 percent,
while the increase in smaller establishments during the same period
was about 44 percent. The larger establishments seemed to have
reached relative stability in techniques by 1929, but some important
recent technological changes, such as improvements in mechanical
shovels, making possible the use of smaller crews and less power, have
become available to smaller plants. Another important factor that
tended after 1929 to stimulate technological improvements in smallerplants was the change in the character of the market. Rising demand
before 1929 made possible the profitable operation of small and rela
tively inefficient establishments for supplying markets served also by
large and relatively efficient producers. After 1929, the declining
demand and the intensification of competition made greater efficiency
on the part of many small plants the price of survival.
In spite of the impetus to improvement resulting from these con
ditions, there is still a wide range of efficiency and productivity in the
industry. Many producing units offer opportunities for further
mechanization and improved techniques. It is probable that any in
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Productivity of Labor and Industry

823

crease in demand and in aggregate production will not be accompanied
by a corresponding increase in employment.
Even if commercial output 5 years from now reaches its 1929 total of 132 million
tons, the industry is likely to employ 19,000 fewer men than in 1929 to produce
that tonnage at an estimated average of 2y2 tons per man-hour. If in 5 years pro
duction is no greater than in 1936, there will probably be a much smaller gain in
productivity, but the number of men employed is likely to be considerably below
the 33,000 who worked in the industry in 1936. The prospects for new jobs or
reemployment in the commercial crushed-stone industry in the near future are
therefore slight.

135055- -39-

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Labor Involved in Industrial Production

LABOR REQUIREMENTS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION 1
By L illian L u n en bu r g , Bureau of Labor Statistics

FOR years the Federal and State Governments have been spending
large sums annually for the construction of new roads and for repair
and maintenance. Under The Works Program and other emergency
programs, road building was given an added impetus because of the
work-creating potentialities. Men previously unemployed were put
to work directly at the road site, and employment was stimulated
away from the site in occupations producing materials used in road
building.
In order to evaluate the effect on employment of a road-building
program, the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed reports of con
tractors and subcontractors on 2,017 completed Federal road projects
financed from funds provided by the Emergency Relief Appropriation
Acts of 1935 and 1936. These projects were completed between the
beginning of the program (in July 1935) and August 1937, and were
representative of four types of road work: Bituminous paving, bridge
construction, concrete paving, and grading and drainage. The total
cost of the completed projects was $85,259,000, or 40 percent of the
$211,516,000 worth of contracts awarded for Federal road projects
financed from 1935 and 1936 relief funds during the period covered.
The Bureau of Public Roads in the Department of Agriculture admin
isters the emergency appropriations for road construction.
In this study the phrase “pay rolls at the site” refers to the pay
received by workers of varying degrees of skill who are engaged directly
at the construction site. “Expenditures for materials” represent the
cost of the materials delivered at the site. “Other costs and profit”
cover items such as taxes, depreciation, rent, profit, insurance, etc.
D istribution of Costs p er M illion Dollars o f Contracts Awarded

Of every million dollars spent for road construction, $373,000 was
paid to workers at the site. Material costs were $346,000, 16 percent
of which went for iron and steel, 16 percent for sand, gravel, and
crushed stone, 16 percent for petroleum products, 14 percent for
1 Prepared under the direction of Herman B. Byer, chief of the Division of Construction and Public
Employment.

824

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Labor Involved in Industrial Production

825

cement, 7 percent for paving materials and mixtures, 6 percent for
lumber, and 25 percent for all other materials used. Other costs and
profit amounted to $281,000.
On grading and drainage projects pay rolls at the site were more
per million dollars than on any of the other types of road work,
amounting to $402,000. The lowest material costs ($301,000) were
on this type of road construction. The highest material costs and the
lowest site pay rolls per million dollars occurred on concrete paving
projects. Other costs and profit ranged from $221,000 on concrete
paving work to $297,000 on grading and drainage.
The distribution of costs per million dollars of contracts awarded
for road construction is shown in table 1, by type of construction
T able 1. —Distribution of Expenditures per Million Dollars of Contracts Awarded for

Road Construction, by Type of Construction
Item

Pay roll at the site_______________
Cost of material.................................. .
Cement___ ____ ______ ______ _
Iron and steel_____ _____ _____
Lumber__________ __________
Paving materials and mixtures.
Petroleum products__________
Sand, gravel, and crushed stone.
Other_____ _____ ___ ____ ____
Other costs and profit____________

All types

Bitum i
Bridge
Grading
nous
construe- Concrete
and
paving
tion
drainage

$373,000
346, 000
50,000
56,800
21,200
25,200
53, 600
54, 200
85, 000
281,000

$348,000
373,000
29, 800
27,600
12, 300
99, 600
58, 900
73, 500
71,300
279, 000

$308,000
469,000
90,000
166, 500
69, 900
8,000
20, 600
66,100
47, 900
223,000

$266, 000
513, 000
188,800
59, 500
6,700
40, 500
22,100
113,400
82,000
221, 000

$402,000
301, 000
27, 400
52, 700
21,100
8,400
60, 800
39,100
91, 500
297,000

Labor at the site on road construction, for all types of work
combined, was 37.3 percent of the total estimated cost, material 34.6
percent, and other costs and profit 28.1 percent. The proportion of
the total estimated cost disbursed as pay at the site of construction
on the various types of work ranged from 26.6 percent for concrete
paving to 40.2 percent for grading and drainage, a type of road con
struction in which relatively few materials are required in proportion
to the amount of labor necessary. Materials purchased for grading
and drainage projects accounted for 30.1 percent of the total cost of
such projects, while on concrete paving jobs material costs were 51.3
percent of the cost, the lowest and highest percentages, respectively,
reported for any of the four types of construction. On concrete
paving jobs materials such as cement and sand and gravel are impor
tant factors in the cost. Other costs and profit were noticeably higher
on bituminous paving projects (27.9 percent of the cost of the projects)
and on grading and drainage (29.7 percent) than on either of the other
two types of construction. The use of heavy machinery and equip
ment on bituminous paving and grading and drainage projects,
involving purchase price or rental and upkeep, accounted for these
high percentages.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

826

The percentage distribution of labor, material, and other costs and
profit for road construction projects is shown in table 2, by type of
construction.
T able 2. —Percentage Distribution of Road Construction Costs, by Type of Construction
Type of construction

All types........................
Bituminous p a v in g ...
Bridge construction...
Concrete paving..........
Grading and drainage.

Pay roll at
the site

Cost of
material

Other costs
and profit

37.3

34.6

28.1

34.8
30.8
26.6
40.2

37.3
46.9
51.3
30.1

27.9
22.3
22.1
29.7

These percentages can be appbed to any amount of money expended
for road work, if done by contract, to give an approximation of the
distribution of expenditures. The estimates would be most nearly
accurate under conditions similar to those prevailing during the con
struction of the projects included in this study. Actually, the proba
bility of identical conditions on any two projects is slight, because of
frequent changes in one or more factors, such as average hourly
earnings,2 cost of materials, etc., each change resulting in subsequent
shifts in the ratios of pay rolls at the site, cost of materials, and other
costs and profit. For the most part, such shifts in the ratios will not
be sufficiently great to affect appreciably estimates of labor and
material disbursements based on the analysis of the 2,017 completed
road projects.
D istribution of M an-H ours Per M illion Dollars o f Contracts
Awarded

In road construction, carpenters, cement finishers, concrete puddlers,
grader operators, common laborers, roller operators, truck drivers, and
other workers are employed at the site. In addition to the men who
work at the site, men work in mines, forests, factories, transportation
systems, and administrative offices to produce and deliver the requisite
materials to the construction site. For most types of construction,
off-site labor is of considerable importance. However, until quite
recently little progress had been made in the measurement of these
off-site man-hours. Within the past several years the Bureau of
Labor Statistics has made several comprehensive studies of the labor
requirements of the more important construction materials 3 and on
8 Average hourly earnings for all types of work on these 2,017 road projects were 45.8 cents. On hituminous
paving jobs average hourly earnings were 42.8 cents; on bridge construction, 51.7 cents; on concrete paving,
49.7 cents; and on grading and drainage projects, 45.7 cents.
• For articles in this series see M onthly Labor Review, M ay 1935, p. 1155 (steel manufacture); March
1936, p. 564 (cement production); M ay 1937, p. 1136 (lumber production); October 1937, p. 846 (rail transpor
tation of construction materials); December 1937, p. 1391 (clay products); June 1938, p. 1381 (production and
distribution of plumbing and heating apparatus).

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Labor Involved in Industrial Production

827

the basis of these special studies is able to estimate the hours of labor
away from the site in mines, forests, factories, transportation, and in
administration.
For every million dollars in contracts awarded, approximately
1.402.000 man-hours of site and off-site labor were worked on roads.
Site man-hours accounted for 58 percent of this total and off-site for
42 percent. Total man-hours worked were highest (1,453,000) on
grading and drainage and lowest (1,154,000) on concrete paving.
Grading and drainage projects used more men at the site than other
types of road work, one million dollars of contracts awarded resulting
in 880,000 man-hours of site labor. Approximately 814,000 man
hours of site labor resulted from each million dollars spent for bitumi
nous paving jobs, 595,000 man-hours from bridge construction, and
535.000 from concrete paving.
Off-site man-hours per million dollars of contracts awarded were
highest (684,000) on bridge construction. On concrete paving proj
ects labor away from the site amounted to 619,000 man-hours, on
bituminous paving to 601,000 man-hours, and on grading and drainage
to 573,000 man-hours.
In table 3 the man-hours per million dollars of contracts awarded
for road construction are shown.
T able 3.—Man-Hours of Labor per Million Dollars of Contracts Awarded for Road

Construction
All types

Bituminous
paving

Bridge con
struction

Concrete
paving

Grading and
drainage

Labor
Number

Per
cent

Number

Per
cent

Number

Per
cent

Number

Per
cent

Number

Total m an-hours... 1,402,000 100.0 1,415,000 100.0 1,279,000 100.0 1,154,000 100.0 1,453,000
Site man-hours____
Off-site man-hours-

813.000
589.000

58.0
42.0

814.000
601.000

57.5
42.5

595.000
684.000

46.5
53.5

535.000
619.000

46.4
53.6

880,000
573,000

Per
cent
100.0
60.6
39.4

For each man-hour of labor at the site there was 0.72 man-hour of
off-site labor, a lower ratio than would probably occur if machinery
rather than man power were used more extensively at the site. On
bridge construction where highly fabricated materials were required
in the construction processes, there was 1.15 man-hours of off-site
labor to each hour worked at the site; and on concrete paving jobs,
1.16 man-hours per man-hour of site labor. On bituminous paving
and on grading and drainage projects, however, the off-site labor was
relatively less important than the site labor, amounting to only 0.74
man-hour for every man-hour worked at the site on bituminous
paving and 0.65 on grading and drainage.
Table 4 shows the man-hours of off-site labor per million dollars of
contracts awarded for various types of road construction, by certain

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

828

specified types of materials for which it was possible, on the basis of
special studies made of the industries producing these materials, to
estimate the man-hours of off-site labor.
T able 4 — Man-Hours of Off-Site Labor per Million Dollars of Contracts Awarded, by

Types of Materials and of Construction
Bituminous Bridge con Concrete
paving
paving
struction

Type of material

Sand, gravel, and crushed stone______

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

_____

_ _

24, 600
37, 200
13,800
81.700

60,800
224,900
81.400
68.400

134,400
80,500
7,400
130,100

Grading
and
drainage
21, 200
71,100
24, 600
44, 700

Industrial Relations

AGREEMENTS OF GAS, COKE, AND CHEMICAL
WORKERS (DISTRICT FIFTY, U. M. W.)1
UNIONIZATION in the coal byproducts industry began as recently
as 1933 with the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act.
At that time federal labor unions, directly affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, were established in several coke and gas plants
in Massachusetts. These locals formed an association known as the
Massachusetts Council of Utility Workers, which was changed in the
following year to New England Council of Utility Workers. Efforts
were made to obtain an international union charter for the byproducts
branch of the coal industry, and to organize these workers on a national
scale. In 1935 the National Council of Gas and By-Product Coke
Workers was formed under the A. F. of L., a loose organization of the
federal labor unions in the industry.
After a year’s experience with this type of organization, the council
petitioned the United Mine Workers of America for affiliation. In
August 1936, District Fifty of the U. M. W. was formed, national in
scope (other U. M. W. districts are regional), and a Nation-wide
organizing drive was begun.
In June 1937, District Fifty representatives began organizing
chemical plants which came under their jurisdiction, this being defined
as including all products derived from coal-tar processing. It was
soon discovered, however, that the distinction between coal-tar and
non-coal-tar chemicals was impossible to maintain, as the same com
panies manufactured both, often in the same plant. Accordingly it
was decided that all chemical workers would be accepted into mem
bership in District Fifty.
By March 1939, the Gas, Coke and Chemical Workers (District
Fifty) with 126 locals in various parts of the country except the far
West, had 127 agreements with employers, covering over 17,000
employees in the industry.
1 Prepared by Fred Joiner, under the direction of Florence Peterson, chief of the Bureau’s Industrial
Relations Division.

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

830

Abrasives______________________________
Alkali__________________________________
Building materials---------------------------------Drugs and cosmetics------------------------------Explosives_____________________________
Fertilizer_______________________________
Gas and coke (production and distribution)
Industrial chemicals------------------------------Coal tar________________________________
Linseed oil--------------------------------------------Paints and varnish--------------------------------Wood preserving-----------------------------------Miscellaneous 1--------------------------------------

Num ber
of locals

Agreem enu

4
6
9
11
5
7
42
20
6
3
12
5
10

1
3
13
16
3
7
27
6
5
4
21
4
17

Total______________________________________ 2 126

127

i Includes polish and wax, food flavoring, textile oils, shampoos, aspirin, fire extinguishers, steel wool,
candles, firebrick, shoe polish, and compressed industrial gases,
i T his is not a total of this column, as a few locals cover more than one industry.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has on file 90 of these current
District Fifty agreements. The following is an analysis of the principal
provisions of these agreements.
Duration o f Agreements

All of the 90 agreements run for 1-year periods. In addition, most
of the agreements make provision for extension and renewal, either
indefinitely until required notice is given or, less frequently, for
another annual term. Generally 30 days’ notice of intention to
terminate or change the agreement is required. A few require 45
days’ or 60 days’ notice, and one agreement was found in which
6 months’ notice is necessary. Eleven agreements contain a
definite provision for future negotiations when the present agreement
expires, and 5 contain a definite termination date but no provision
for renewal or further negotiation.
Specific provisions preventing the employer from moving the plant
or creating a corporate successor to avoid collective bargaining were
found in eight agreements. These agreements expressly bind the
company or its successors wherever located in the United States.
Seven agreements stipulate that the union will not negotiate “more
favorable” terms with competitors of the employer.
Status of Union

Of the agreements on file, almost half are “closed shop” agreements
while half grant sole bargaining rights to the union. Only a small
number either provide that the union is to be bargaining agent for its
members only, or fail to specify the status of the union in relation to

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Relations

831

the employees. Under 17 closed-shop agreements the company
agrees to call on the union for new workers. New employees are most
frequently required to join the union within 2 weeks, but some
agreements specify periods ranging from 48 hours to 30 days. Four
agreements, which require new employees to join the union, specifically
exempt from the membership requirement present employees who are
nonmembers.
Provision for the check-off, whereby the employer agrees to deduct
union dues from the employee’s pay, is contained in 26 of the 90
agreements.
Pledges by the employer not to discriminate against employees
because of union activity are found in nearly all agreements, while the
union agrees that there shall be no intimidation of nonmembers and
no union activity on company property or during working hours. In
one agreement the employer agrees not to foster or promote a company
union.
Union delegates or officials are given leave of absence, in many
agreements, without loss of seniority or other rights, to attend con
ventions or participate in other outside union activity.
A number of agreements specifically exclude certain groups of em
ployees from their provisions. Thus foremen and supervisory
employees are mentioned in 11 agreements as being outside the agree
ment, while other exclusions specify watchmen, salesmen, clerical and
office employees, laboratory workers, truck drivers, and maintenance,
technical, and nonproduction workers.
Twenty-five agreements specify that the union shall be allowed the
use of bulletin boards for union announcements inside the plant.
Settlement of Disputes

Without exception, the agreements on file create machinery for the
adjustment of grievances. Typically, a shop steward or other union
official in each department takes up the matter with the foreman of
the employee involved. Failing settlement of the dispute, the matter
is passed on to the union grievance committee which meets with the
plant management. If the grievance is not adjusted at this point, it
is referred to a national representative of the union, who then takes
the matter up with a responsible official of the company. If still not
settled, the dispute goes to arbitration as outlined below.
Modifications of this typical procedure exist in approximately onethird of the agreements which stipulate that the employee is to take
up any grievance with his foreman directly before taking it to the
union. In 21 agreements the final step, arbitration, is not specifically
provided as part of the adjustment procedure.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Regular meetings between the grievance committee and the em
ployer are sometimes provided. A few agreements call for such
meetings on company time, if officials of the company are present.
Arbitration .—By far the largest number of those agreements which
provide for arbitration (69 out of 90) also specify that the arbitration
award is to be final and binding on both parties. Typical arbitration
provisions establish a 3-man arbitration board consisting of 1 repre
sentative of each side and an impartial chairman selected by the
other 2. In the event of failure to agree on the impartial chairman
he is to be selected by an impartial body or official; those specified in
the various agreements include the National Labor Relations Board,
the mayor of the city, the American Arbitration Association, State
and Federal courts, departments of public utilities, and the United
States Department of Labor.
In 12 agreements the typical 3-man board is not provided for, the
agreement merely stating that the company and the union are to
appoint an impartial umpire. Four agreements in New York and
Massachusetts call upon State arbitration tribunals and abide by
their rules. Four other agreements provide for arbitration but set
forth no detailed outline of procedure to be followed.
Nearly all agreements provide for sharing the expenses of arbitra
tion between the parties. One agreement specifies that the expense
is to fall on the losing party.
Strikes and Lock-Outs
Since nearly all agreements analyzed have provisions for grievance
procedure, including arbitration, many of them also contain clauses
prohibiting strikes and lock-outs during the life of the agreement.
Some specify only that work stoppages are forbidden while negotiations
are proceeding and one also bans picketing while disputes are being
adjusted. “Sit-down” strikes are specifically prohibited in one, and
“slow-downs” in another.
One agreement penalizes the employer $2 per day for each employee
locked out, and $2 on each employee for each day if a strike is called
in violation of the agreement. A similar provision in another agree
ment fixes the penalty at $1 per day.
Seniority
Some provision for seniority was found in all of the agreements
analyzed. Typically the agreements provide that seniority is to
prevail in all cases of increase or decrease of the working force. This
general provision is modified by fitness and ability in 23 agreements,
and family status in 17 others. If these other factors are relatively
equal, length of continuous service is to determine the choice. Twenty
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one agreements stipulate that no new employees are to be hired until
all former qualified employees are given an opportunity to return.
In over half of the agreements, seniority is to be a factor in pro
motions, ability also being taken into consideration.
Four agreements specifically allow employees scheduled for lay-off
in one department to transfer to other departments of the plant and
displace employees with less seniority. Men and women have sepa
rate seniority in two agreements, while in one agreement skilled,
semiskilled, and unskilled employees are considered in separate
seniority groups.
Seniority is lost by quitting, discharge for cause, failure to return
to work after lay-off, or by extended lay-off, ranging from 4 months
in one agreement to 1 year in several others.
The length of the probationary period for new employees, during
which seniority provisions do not apply, varies widely in these agree
ments, ranging from 15 days to 1 year. The most usual provision
is 30 days.
Some agreements provide that the official seniority list may be made
available to the union, while others make such lists available to any
employee. In three closed-shop agreements in Minneapolis the union
is allowed to discipline employees by reducing their seniority status
for violation of the union constitution, bylaws, or the terms of the
agreement. Nine agreements award top seniority to union officials
and members of the grievance committee during their term of office.
Provisions fo r Slack Periods

Provisions for sharing work during slack periods occupy an impor
tant place in these agreements. Thirty-seven contain such provisions,
usually providing some limit (in most cases 3 days a week) below
which the work shall no longer be shared and lay-offs will begin.
In three agreements the employees are to decide whether to divide
the work or ask for a reduction of the working force. In a few cases
it is stipulated that new and temporary employees are to be laid off
before the share-the-work provisions operate. Under six agreements
the union must be notified in advance of lay-offs.
H iring and Discharging

In 17 agreements the employer is required to obtain new employees
from the union. In 22 agreements it is specifically provided that the
employer alone has the power to hire and fire.
The subject of discharge is taken up in many agreements. Causes
for discharge are listed, and the union is specifically given the right
to take up a discharge as a grievence case, in 47 agreements. In
these instances the employer agrees to reinstate the employee and

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

compensate him for time lost, if the discharge is found to have been
unjust. In approximately one-third of the agreements, advance
notice of an impending discharge is necessary.
Hours of Labor and Overtime

The 8-hour day and 40-hour week prevail in almost all the District
Fifty agreements on file in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only 4
call for a 6-day, 48-hour week, while in 7 others the hours range from
41% to 44 per week. Twenty-five agreements stipulate that the work
week shall be Monday to Friday, inclusive, with Saturdays and Sun
days off except for watchmen and necessary maintenance men.
Sunday work is prohibited in 1 agreement. Advance notice of a
change in the schedule of hours is required by 19 agreements.
Additional hours of work necessary for expanded plant operation
during peak seasons are allowed in six agreements. During such
seasonal operation regular overtime provisions do not apply. Other
exceptions to the regular schedule of hours include a 48-hour week
for delivery men and a 44-hour week for employees necessary for the
continuous operation of the plant, specified in eight agreements.
Other overtime provisions stipulate, in 16 agreements, that employ
ees shall not be required to take time off to equalize overtime earned.
In 22 agreements it is provided that overtime must be equally dis
tributed. If an employee works 3 or more hours of overtime, he is
to be furnished a meal at company expense, in 13 agreements. If
an employee has left the plant and is called back for overtime duty,
he is guaranteed not less than 3 hours’ overtime pay, in several agree
ments.
Wage Rates and Other P a y Provisions
Wage increases are established by 19 agreements, while 22 agree
ments stipulate that the present rate is to remain unchanged during
the life of the agreement. Six agreements have provisions for chang
ing the rates during the life of the agreement; 3 adjust wages according
to a change in cost-of-living index; 1 calls for automatic increases
based on production statistics of the company; 1 agrees to reopen the
wage question if the firm’s financial statement shows a profit as of
a given date; 1 provisional pay increase is based on an increase in
the company’s net sales.
The overtime rate is time and a half in all agreements except 6.
Of these, 4 agreements provide for time and one-third and 2 for
time and one-quarter. Overtime work on Sundays and holidays is
paid for at the rate of double time in 38 agreements, time and onehalf in 24 agreements, and time and one-quarter in 1 agreement.
Employees who report for work but are not given employment for
a full shift are given a minimum of 4 hours’ pay in 16 agreements, 3

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hours' pay in 4 agreements, 2 hours’ pay in 12 agreements, and in 1
agreement such employees are guaranteed a full shift’s work or 8
hours’ pay. Employees “on call” for emergency duty but not actually
working are to receive 3 hours’ pay for 12 hours’ duty on call in 1
agreement, and one-half the regular rate in another agreement.
Two agreements provide regular pay for all such waiting time.
Employees temporarily transferred to a higher position are to receive
the higher rate of pay which goes with the position, in 29 agreements.
In 24 a temporary transfer to a lower position will not result in a
deduction from the employee’s regular rate unless, as in 2 agreements,
such transfer is to avoid a lay-off for lack of work in the employee’s
regular position.
A guaranteed work year is found in only one agreement. There
the employer agrees to give 48 weeks of 5 days or its equivalent if
the volume of sales is 15 percent greater than the preceding year, to
all employees with over 1% years’ service.
In four agreements an employee may receive his regular rate of
pay for jury duty or National Guard service, by turning over to the
company all compensation received for such service. In one agree
ment regular pay, in addition to compensation for civic service, is
paid for the first 2 weeks of such service. In one agreement the com
pany agrees to set aside $4,000 annually which the union may dis
burse in any way it sees fit.
About half (42) of the agreements analyzed were found to contain
either provision for minimum rates of pay or detailed wage schedules
by job classifications. The most common entrance wage in these
agreements is 45 and 50 cents per hour, although a minimum wage of
60 cents is not uncommon, and 1 agreement in the linseed-oil industry
provides a starting wage of 65 cents per hour. A few agreements,
mostly in the drugs and cosmetics industry where a large part of the
working force is made up of women, show a minimum wage of 35
cents, 30 cents, and in 1 instance 25 cents per hour.
Maximum pay, in those agreements which contain detailed wage
schedules, is usually around 75 cents per hour, although maximum
rates range from 40 cents to $1.12 per hour.
Holidays
In 38 agreements time off with pay is granted on specified holidays,
while in 8 others it is provided that such holidays shall be considered
regular days off, and the shifts adjusted so that employees may make
up time lost. The number of such holidays is typically 6, including
New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanks
giving Day, and Christmas Day.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
Vacations

Over 80 percent of the agreements on file provide vacations with pay
for employees. By far the largest proportion of these grant 1 week’s
vacation with pay to all employees with 1 year or more of service,
while in 7 agreements the length of service necessary for a week’s
vacation ranges from 6 months to 5 years. Provision for longer vaca
tions for employees with additional years of service was found in 15
agreements.
In two agreements deductions from the vacation allowances were
used for disciplinary purposes, employees absent without authoriza
tion being penalized by reducing their vacation period.
Sickness and D isability Benefits

Eight agreements of those analyzed were found to contain provisions
granting sick leave for total disability arising from sickness or injury
other than that coming under the compensation laws of their respective
States. There is a wide variation in benefits granted:
Three agreements provide full pay, beginning with the eighth day
of disability, up to a total of 10 days in any 1 calendar year. Two
agreements provide for half pay after the first day of illness up to 1
week in any calendar year. One agreement provides full pay for 40
hours, then half pay for the next 240 hours of sickness. One agreement
provides 5 days of sick leave after 1 year’s service.
In addition to the above sick benefits, five agreements arrange to
compensate injured employees during the “waiting period” provided
under State unemployment-compensation laws.
Safety and Welfare

Provisions for safety and welfare are found in approximately half
of the agreements on file. Usually this provision is no more than a
pledge by the employer that he will abide by State laws covering safety
appliances and sanitary conditions.
In a few agreements it is specifically provided that the company shall
furnish locker rooms, raincoats and boots for outside work, and trans
portation for work certain distances away from the plant.
In five agreements older employees are given preference for lighter
work.

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837

RECENT ARBITRATION DECISIONS
Closed-Shop Agreement

THE question of a closed-shop agreement was presented for arbitra
tion to Judge Nathan Cay ton of the Municipal Court by the District
of Columbia Gas Workers’ Union and the Washington Gas Light Co.
A year ago a small claims and conciliation branch was established in
the Municipal Court of the District of Columbia. This branch was
given the authority, upon consent of all parties involved in a dispute,
to make settlement by means of arbitration and conciliation. The
above was the first labor case to be arbitrated since the establishment
of the small claims and conciliation branch.
The union involved is a nonaffiliated organization which at the time
of the arbitration hearing included in its membership 93 percent of the
eligible employees of the company. The arbitrator found that during
the 18 months the union had been functioning it had secured a sub
stantial general pay increase, a 5-day, 40-hour week, a uniform system
of vacation and sick leave, and recognition of seniority rights. It
had also helped to overcome favoritism and nepotism, secured new
safety measures, and other benefits.
In opposing the closed shop, the company contended that such an
agreement was against the basic principle of freedom of choice to
belong or not to belong to a labor union, and that the company would
be at the mercy of the union in determining who should work for it.
The union contended that, since it already had so high a percentage of
the employees, the remaining minority should be compelled to join and
to pay the dues required, and thus help to support a movement which
had brought all employees considerable benefits.
The arbitrator decided in favor of the closed shop on the ground
that the union should be empowered actually to represent all the
eligible employees of the company in order to preserve the present
satisfactory relationship between the company and its workers. Other
wise, he contended, the union would lose its effectiveness as a repre
sentative bargaining agency. The arbitrator held that both the com
pany’s and the employees’ interests were amply safeguarded against
rash or arbitrary conduct on the part of the union, through the
provision in the agreement that expulsion from the union shall take
place only for cause, after hearing, and that any disputed expulsion
may be submitted to arbitration.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

838

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Increase in Wage Rates for Piece Workers
The question of whether piece workers on a foundry operation were
entitled to an increase in the piece-work rate to parallel a general
increase granted to time workers, was submitted to the American
Arbitration Association.1
The company contended that, because of the considerable capital
investment which changed and improved the methods of production,
the piece workers automatically were able to increase their output and
consequently their weekly earnings. The company’s position was that
general wage increases are made for the purpose of securing for the
worker a larger weekly pay envelope and if, through technological
improvements, this result is obtained, the piece-work rate loses its
importance, since increased productivity is reflected in higher weekly
pay. The union attacked this argument as unsound, contending that
payments based on piece-work rates are incentive wages adopted for
the purpose of increasing production and that piece-rate workers
should not be penalized by the method set up by the employer and
should be entitled to the same increase in their incentive pay as has
been granted to other workers.
It was the arbitrator’s opinion, particularly in view of the fact that
the company had benefited from a saving in overhead and a lowered
cost on each item produced, that the workers on the piece-work rates
were entitled to an increase and, on the basis of the evidence presented
by both sides, he awarded them an increase of 10 cents per hundred
on the piece-work rate.
Liquidation of Firm
The obligation to fulfill the terms of a union contract, after a firm
had changed its name, was referred to the United States Department
of Labor Conciliation Service. A contract had been signed between
the United Wholesale and Warehouse Employees’ Union and a whole
sale shoe dealer of New York in May 1938. The following September
the company notified the union that it was about to liquidate and that
it was therefore no longer bound by the terms of the contract. The
union challenged the actuality of such a liquidation, claiming that
the only change was a difference in name and that the business was
being carried on as usual.
The arbitrator found that there had been a change in corporate
title but that the same person was managing and financing the busi
ness, that it was dealing in the same kind of footwear, and was buying
from the same manufacturers. The only actual difference was a
change in certain sales policies. On the basis of these findings, the
arbitrator decided that the collective contract entered into was
effective until its expiration.
1 Docket 2522 of the Voluntary Industrial Arbitration Tribunal, American Arbitration Association
Journal, January 1939.

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Replacement of Discharged Employee
According to the terms of an agreement between a wholesale dry
goods company and the union, the company is required immediately
to obtain from the union a new worker when any employee resigns or
is discharged. The question of such a replacement was recently
referred to the United States Department of Labor Conciliation
Service for arbitration.
The company contended that the union had not accepted the dis
charge of this worker and the company therefore had not rehired
anyone to take his place; furthermore, that the company had tried out
several persons sent from the union and had found them unsatis
factory. In the meantime, the company had paid the discharged
worker $50 as adjustment for any claim under consideration.
The arbitrator decided that, under the terms of the agreement, the
company should pay to the union the total accrued wages for the time
of vacancy, less the $50 paid to the discharged worker, less the amount
paid to the men sent by the union who had proved unsatisfactory.
Lay-Off During Depression
The matter of a lay-off of 5 union men during a period of re
trenchment by a wholesale shoe company was referred to the United
States Department of Labor Conciliation Service. The arbitrator
found that no provision for lay-off was made in the agreement,
although the matter had been thoroughly discussed during negotia
tions preceding the signing of the contract. In the absence of such
provision the union claimed that the company was not entitled to
lay off or discharge any persons covered by the agreement unless such
discharge was due to inefficiency or insubordination. The agreement
covered 11 union men out of a total of 14 employees in the warehouse.
The company contended that there was an implied right under the
contract as a whole to lay off any employees if business conditions
required.
The arbitrator decided that the company has the right to discharge
or lay off any employee in the warehouse department provided, how
ever, that such employee or employees are not covered by the terms of
the contract. His argument read in part: “To hold, as claimed by
the company, that there is an implied right to lay off employees under
the existing contract would be to destroy the stabilizing purposes for
which such contracts are entered into. Nor is the 8-month period
of this contract so long that the events of the future take unknowable
and unforeseen shapes that call for emergency relief. It is obvious
that any employees who have a contractual relation with an employer
are by virtue of that fact in a preferential position. They are legally
in a superior relation to the employee who has no contractual relation,
135055— 38-------«

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

840

and who may be dismissed at will by either reason or caprice. Such
a preferential relation cannot be denied or brushed aside, since the
very purpose of the contract was to establish just such a preferential
relationship as against nonunion employees. The loss of business
due to the depression is undoubtedly a problem that calls for retrench
ment and business strategy, but there is no more reason for asking
the union to modify or alter its contract than there is for asking the
landlord to modify his lease, or any other holder of a contract with
the company to change its provisions.”
Refusal of Longshoremen To Go Through Picket L ine

When a union of ship clerks and checkers at a San Francisco
terminal declared a strike, the longshoremen refused to go through
their picket line. Although the terminal was not covered by the
general agreement between longshoremen and the Waterfront Em
ployers’ Association of the Pacific Coast, members of the association
frequently use this port and they contended that the longshoremen
could not refuse to load and unload their ships at this port even though
it involved going through a picket line of another union.
The matter was referred to the arbitrator for the port of San
Francisco, as provided in the agreement signed on October 1, 1938.
This agreement provided that the Secretary of Labor should appoint a
standing local arbitrator in each of four regional districts—Seattle,
Portland, San Francisco, and southern California. To these arbitra
tors should be referred any questions involving a basic interpretation
of the agreement, or any other questions of mutual concern not
covered by the agreement relating to the industry, which could not
be settled by the joint labor relations committee of the employers and
union.
In this case the arbitrator decided that the longshoremen were not
compelled to pass through the picket line of the ship clerks and
checkers at this terminal. He held that their refusal to do so was not
a violation of the agreement which provided that “the employees
shall perform work as ordered by the employer in accordance with
provisions of this agreement. In case a dispute arises, work shall be
continued pending the settlement of same in accordance with provi
sions of the agreement and under the conditions that prevailed prior
to the time the dispute arose * * *.”
The arbitrator held that this section of the agreement was intended
to apply only to those disputes which arise out of the ordinary and
regular course of employment governed by the agreement. The
clear aim of this provision was to prevent stoppages of work and
job action by way of “quickie” strikes and sudden lock-outs prior to
arbitration, but that it was not the intention of the agreement that

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841

the longshoremen should be required to work cargo upon a dock at
which there is a strike, especially when it would be necessary to cross a
picket line.
The arbitrator explained his decision by saying:
In the absence of an express agreement that the longshoremen would pass
through the picket line of another union on strike, it is to be implied that both
parties to the agreement of October 1, 1938, knew or should have known that
the longshoremen would not pass through such a picket line. There are certain
basic tenets of unionism, a knowledge of which can be reasonably charged to all
employers. As pointed out by counsel for the union at the hearing, one of the
cardinal principles of unionism is that a union will not permit itself to be used
as a means of breaking the strength of another union which at the time is out on
strike.
The “sanctity of picket lines” is basic in the teaching and practices of American
unionism. The arbitrator is compelled by the record in this case and by a
careful analysis of the agreement to accept the view that the Waterfront Em
ployers’ Association knew or should have known when they entered into the
agreement of October 1, 1938, that if a strike situation involving such facts as
existed at the Encinal Terminal on February 18, 1939, should arise, the long
shoremen under the agreement would not be expected or required to go through
the picket line.
W

BASIC A G R E E M E N T ON IN D U ST R IA L
IN SW ED EN , 19381

RELATIONS

A BASIC labor agreement was adopted in Sweden between the Fed
eration of Swedish Employers and the Confederation of Swedish Trade
Unions late in 1938, in order to promote industrial peace. Negotia
tions were begun in the spring of 1936 by employer and employee
representatives, designated as the labor-market committee. This
committee concentrated its efforts on providing more efficient methods
of negotiation in labor conflicts in order to reduce industrial waste
resulting from strikes, thereby safeguarding employer-employee in
terests as well as those of third parties and the general public.
The basic agreement, known as the Saltsjobaden agreement, con
tains the results of the committee’s deliberations on which full agree
ment was reached by the committee. It is hoped that under the
terms established, if adopted by the employers and employees belong
ing to the central organizations which established the labor-market
committee, capital and labor will be able to compose future differences
that arise, thus avoiding the need for enacting special legislation to
settle disputes. As many collective labor contracts expire during 1939
and the basic agreement will be considered in negotiating new con
tracts, the general acceptability of the basic contract will be determined
in a comparatively short time.
1 Report of Hallett Johnson, American consul general, Stockholm.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Specifically the basic agreement provides for: (1) The establishment
of a permanent body for negotiations between the two parent organi
zations of employers and employees; (2) a uniform system of negotia
tions to settle labor disputes; (3) the establishment of a general prac
tice to be followed with respect to dismissals and furloughs; (4) the
abolition of certain direct actions; and (5) the adoption of a system
for dealing with labor conflicts touching upon functions essential to
society.
Labor Market Board
In order to negotiate differences between employers and employees
the basic agreement provides for establishing the labor-market board.
Membership is to consist of three representatives each of employers
and employees and their alternates. The term of office is 3 years.
If a majority decision is not reached in a case, the Federation of
Swedish Employers and the Confederation of Swedish Trade Unions
are empowered to appoint an impartial chairman to render a decision.
The particular jurisdiction of the board is the handling of certain
questions relating to discharges and lay-offs as well as differences
which affect services essential to the general public and society as a
whole. As an arbitral agency the board is also responsible for inter
pretation of the provisions of the basic agreement with respect to
direct action. Decisions may be made only when all members of the
board are present. When the affairs of any trade or trades are under
consideration the board may summon representatives of the trade
federation concerned or the employers or workers involved. Persons
so summoned have no vote but may be heard.
Procedure
A uniform system of negotiation to settle labor disputes is estab
lished in order to make existing procedure more effective and to
facilitate peaceful settlements. Provision is made for conducting
negotiations directly between the parties to a dispute not later than
2 weeks from the day when action was requested, unless the parties
agree to a postponement or unless special circumstances require
that the case be taken to the central authority without first seeking
to obtain a direct settlement. Central negotiations, when invoked,
must commence not later than 3 weeks from the date when first called
for, unless a postponement is agreed upon by both parties.
No party may appeal for a decision on questions of interpretation or
application of a collective agreement, or in any other dispute which
should be decided by the labor court under Swedish law, until all
obligations to negotiate under the basic agreement have been ful
filled. A party desiring to place a matter before the labor court for
arbitration, after meeting the obligation to negotiate, may apply to

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the court for a summons to be served or apply to the other party to
the dispute not later than 3 months from the day when negotiations
were concluded. Failure to follow this procedure results in forfeiture
of the right to appeal.
Among the most significant provisions of the basic agreement is the
article (ch. II, art. 8) which prohibits direct action by parties to a
dispute before they have sought to compose their differences by ne
gotiations and unless such action is approved by the respective em
ployer or labor federations.
Since the labor court has no jurisdiction in an industry after a collec
tive agreement expires, the parties to a dispute in the past could take
any action they chose without delay after the expiration date of an
agreement. The basic agreement postpones strike or other direct
action upon expiration of an agreement and, in combination with the
previously existing requirement that notice of termination should be
given 3 months before an agreement expires, promotes industrial
peace by allowing a long period for negotiation.
Strikes, lock-outs, blockades, boycotts, or any other similar form of direct
actions— even if permissible by law or collective contract— must not be resorted
to because of any certain dispute (1) by a party who has forfeited his right to
negotiate in the matter; (2) by a party before he has fulfilled his obligation to
negotiate; (3) unless, following negotiations, a written notice of the contemplated
action is served on the respective trade federation of the other side not later than
3 months from the day the negotiations by virtue of article 9 shall be deemed as
having been concluded; (4) without the action having been decided or approved
by the respective trade federation.

With the exceptiqn of point 4 above, the provisions of the chapter
on procedure do not apply to making or prolonging a collective agree
ment, to resort to sympathetic actions, or to recovery of uncontestable
wages or other compensation which may have fallen due.
Dismissals and Lay-Offs

In general, employees have accepted the statutes of the Federation
of Swedish Employers whereby employers claim the right to hire and
fire workers at their own discretion, to allot the work, and to employ
organized or unorganized labor. However, the basic agreement pro
vides for consultation and serving of due notice on workers to be dis
missed or laid off, in order to insure a certain degree of protection to
the worker in his employment. If employees demand negotiations
relative to discharges or lay-offs, the cases are to be referred to the
workers’ trade federation board which may in turn refer them to the
labor-market board if this is deemed to be necessary. The board is
required to “seek to arrive at a unanimous opinion in its judgment on
problems referred to it and to devise means for bringing about an
understanding between the parties.”

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

If employees quit their work to such an extent as to cause inconven
ience to the employer, and when there is “ no question of a masked
strike,” the employer may bring the case before his trade federation
which may also appeal to the labor-market board for consideration.
Direct Action
Against third party .—Direct actions are defined as any “strikes,
lock-outs, blockades, boycotts, or other similar actions, as well as such
terminations of employment contracts which are made for the purpose
of bringing pressure to bear on the other party or for the purpose of
causing damage to him.” Such actions are forbidden under the basic
agreement if they are directed against a neutral third party, notwith
standing that they may be permissible if directed toward a party to a
dispute. The chapter which prescribes this limitation also prohibits
action to prevent a party from appearing before a court, action for
the purpose of religious or political persecution, and for other purposes.
Against society.—The final chapter of the basic agreement was
adopted to prevent labor conflicts from disrupting the essential services,
thereby endangering the general public. It provides that in conflicts
of this kind the employer and employee organizations shall jointly
consider means of protecting the public interest. The labor-market
board is the designated agency to deliberate on questions of preventing,
limiting, or removing such labor conflicts. If the board reaches a
majority decision in a case, the employer and employee organizations
are required to take the requisite action to bring about a settlement
between the parties concerned.
Effective Date of Agreement

The basic agreement will become effective when it is adopted by
organizations of both employers and employees. Pending that time,
its validity rests on the law on collective contracts, and to cancel the
agreement it is necessary to give 6 months’ notice. However, if a
collective agreement between two parties is in effect at the time the
basic agreement terminates, after due notice is given, the basic agree
ment remains in effect until the collective agreement terminates.

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Women in Industry

R EC O G N ITIO N OF M A R R IE D W O M EN ’S R IG H T TO
W ORK IN SW ED EN
THE problems connected with women’s work were made the subject
of an inquiry by a committee appointed by the Swedish Government
in 1935, and a brief summary of the report of this committee, which
was adopted unanimously, is given in the February 13, 1939, issue of
Industrial and Labor Information published by the International
Labor Office.
The committee was of the opinion that the difficulties of adjust
ment consequent on the entry of women into economic life could be
prevented by the influence of society on some of the factors involved.
Attention was called to the following measures which the committee
believed could be given immediate consideration: Removal of existing
impediments to the right of women to enter certain public employ
ments; provision of more extensive vocational education for girls in
industry, handicrafts, and agriculture, and extended vocational guid
ance, as well as retraining of middle-aged woman workers; public and
private measures for equalizing employment opportunities for men
and women in any particular district, especially in agriculture and
industry, as a means of promoting family life and a higher birth rate.
The conclusions of the committee on specific proposals were—
1. The proposal to prohibit by law married women’s retention of, or search for,
gainful employment outside the home must be definitely rejected, and also the
proposal for other restrictions on married women’s right to work.
2. Bonuses, marriage loans, lump-sum payments in respect of acquired pension
rights, premature pensioning on leaving an employment, and other similar eco
nomic measures intended to encourage voluntary resignation on marriage, cannot
be regarded as expedient.
3. Married women and other workers who, for justifiable reasons, wish to have
shorter hours, should be given facilities for obtaining part-time work, or work as
substitutes for persons absent on annual or sick leave; this should be arranged by
means of existing public-service regulations, or, in the case of private employment,
of collective agreements.
4. The possibility should be considered of providing married couples with em
ployment, whether public or private, in the same locality, subject to the legitimate
interests of other parties.
5. The question of a married woman’s right to retain her own surname should
be reconsidered at the earliest possible moment.
6. Social institutions to facilitate the care of young children by their mothers
should be established and given financial support, but they should be equally
available, even if in different forms, to mothers going out to work and those work
ing in the home.
345

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Negro Workers

THE C. C. C. WORK FOR NEGRO YOUTH
SINCE the organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933,
approximately 200,000 young Negroes have served in its ranks.
According to a recent report by that corps,1 the combination of regu
lar work habits, training, discipline, fresh air, and 3 good meals a day
has served to improve both the health and the morale of these young
men, whose gain in weight since enrollment has generally ranged from
7 to 15 pounds. This report was compiled in the latter part of 1938,
and much of the information is applicable to the beginning of 1939.
The 30,000 young colored men and war veterans in the corps at that
period constituted one-tenth of the total C. C. C. enrollment. They
were reported as taking an active part on work projects of the corps
throughout the country and in the Virgin Islands.
For the year under review an aggregate monthly allotment of
about $700,000 was made by these young men to their parents and
dependents.
- Personnel.—The colored personnel engaged in the work of the
camps included about 2,000 project assistants, leaders, and assistant
leaders; approximately 600 cooks; some 800 boys working as store
clerks and as managers in the C. C. C. post-office exchanges; 400
typists; over 140 college-trained educational advisers; approximately
1,200 part-time experienced teachers; and about 25 medical Reserve
officers and chaplains on active duty. For over 2 years the Negro
personnel in Pennsylvania’s C. C. C. camps has included 4 engineers
and 6 technical foremen.
Among the commanding officers ranking as captains in the United
States Army Reserve Corps, at the time of the report, on active duty
with the Civilian Conservation Corps, two colored officers were
included, one of these being stationed at Fisher’s Landing, N. Y., and
the other at Gettysburg National Park. Four other line officers were
actively engaged at these camps.
Instruction .—Approximately 11,000 colored enrollees have been
taught to read and write. More than 90 percent of the enrollees
regularly attend classes, ranging from elementary to college level.
1 Civilian Conservation Corps, Office of the Director. The Civilian Conservation Corps and Colored
Youth. Prepared for Second National Conference on Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth, Washington,
D . G., January 12-14, 1939. Washington, 1939.

846

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Negro Workers

847

These classes are conducted in camp education buildings, which are
well equipped and especially constructed for vocational instruction.
Howard University, Wilberforce University, Tuskegee Institute,
Hampton Institute, Florida Agriculturpi and Mechanical College at
Tallahassee, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College,
and a number of other Negro colleges, have granted scholarships and
fellowships to C. C. C. enrollees.
Classes in Negro history had been held ever since the opening of
the camps in 1933, it was stated. For 5 consecutive years national
Negro health exhibits had been set up for the corps through coopera
tion with the United States Public Health Service.
In the past 5 years (1933-38), approximately 12,000 colored en
rollees have completed first-aid courses through the cooperation of
the C. C. C. and the National Red Cross.
Through the War Department and the Office of Education, approx
imately 90,000 books have been furnished to libraries in Negro camps.
Camp recreation halls also are supplied with current magazines and
daily and weekly newspapers.
Work 'projects of Negro enrollees.—Over 100 of the camps are in
forests, parks, recreational areas, reservations for fish and game, or
on mosquito-control and drainage projects. Soil-conservation under
takings have engaged the energies of about 48 companies.
One C. C. C. company was reported as working at Zanesville, Ohio,
on one of the largest tree nurseries in the country, and another was
carrying on a flood-control project which had been begun after the
Dayton flood of 1913.
Restoration of the battlefields at Yorktown, Va., was made possible
through the work of these C. C. C. enrollees. Furthermore, it was
reported that one company was doing work in connection with the
Williamsburg and Jamestown historical project, and another had
been assigned to the Tennessee Valley Administration site.
The textile and food industries and the railroads of the country
have been aided by orders of the colored C. C. C. camps for over
$33,000,000 worth of supplies.
REC O M M EN D A TIO N S ON VOCATIONAL ED U CA TIO N
AND G U IDANCE OF NEGROES
THAT the land-grant colleges in the various States, especially those
for Negroes,1 should conduct studies of problems regarding the future
vocational success of this racial group in the sections which the indi
vidual colleges serve, is recommended by the United States Office of
Education. This recommendation is made in a report which embodies
i In many States such colleges are the only publicly controlled higher educational institutions that Negro
students may attend.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

848

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

the results of a survey in 1936 2 by a staff of 500 Negro relief workers
of the ‘‘white-collar” class, most of whom had college training. Areas
in 33 States and the District of Columbia were included in the study.
Based on the findings of this survey, it is further recommended in
the report that the land-grant colleges (1) take an active part in the
State educational program formulated to solve the vocational problems
of Negroes; (2) cooperate with colleges and universities, extension
workers, industrial and business leaders, agricultural employers,
interested public officials and lay citizens, in the improvement of the
educational facilities and employment status of Negroes; (3) cooper
ate with other land-grant colleges within a given area, through con
ferences and other means, in the study of the common problems of
that region; and (4) encourage a greater number of their students to
consider the needs of Negroes along vocational lines and follow courses
other than those which prepare for teaching.
It was also advocated in the report—
That the Negro citizens, in cooperation with the faculties of the land-grant
college, vocational teacher-trainers and supervisors, farm and home demonstra
tion agents, and Jeanes teachers, make a study of the needs of Negroes for vo
cational education and present their findings to school officials. Such a group
should acquaint itself with the provisions of the Federal aid program for voca
tional education, and through the local school officials seek to share in its benefits.
That the group give consideration also to the improvement of the general
educational situation among Negroes with respect to (1) establishing needed
and accessible high schools; (2) increasing facilities for vocational instruction;
(3) enforcing school-attendance laws; (4) encouraging an increase in the number,
qualification, and compensation of teachers and supervisors.

Schools for Negroes should, it is felt, pay more attention to meas
ures for providing courses, as soon as practicable, which will meet
the requirements of students and of increasing occupational demands;
for reducing pupil mortality; and for adapting teaching materials
and methods to requirements of present-day occupational life.
Furthermore, it is stated, schools for Negroes should institute as
soon as possible a definite guidance program, in charge of competent
persons, to begin in junior high-school grades and continue through
college, which should provide for the application of modern tech
niques for the study of individual needs, aptitudes, and interests;
frequent surveys of occupations of Negroes and the status and trend
of Negro employment; student counseling conducted according to
approved methods; and the counseling of both employed and unem
ployed adults.
It is urged that extension education be furnished “where necessary,
by schools and available colleges, for the purpose of (1) providing
reeducation to youth and adults; (2) assisting both youth and adults
2 U. S. Department of the Interior. Office of Education. Bulletin, 1937, No. 38: Vocational Educa
tion and Guidance of Negroes, by Ambrose Caliver. Washington, 1938.

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Negro Workers

849

in keeping abreast of the changing occupational demands; and (3)
repairing the defects resulting from inadequate earlier education.”
Schools should cooperate with interested persons and groups in
contacting employers in order to open up additional occupational
opportunities for Negroes and to aid them to enter new fields now
being developed. Schools should also make an effort to change the
attitude of Negroes with reference to occupations and the opportu
nities for training designed to help them to become more efficient in
and to hold their present jobs and to equip them for new opportunities
when they are offered.
Individuals and groups interested in the matter of improving
educational ways and means for Negroes are advised to continue
and increase their efforts to secure equitable opportunity for educa
tion and equitable distribution of funds, regardless of race or color,
especially in connection with Federal and State funds designated for
educational purposes.

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Cooperation

COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISES AMONG COLLEGE
STUDENTS
COLLEGE bookstores operated along more or less cooperative lines
have been in existence on American campuses for many years. Their
main purpose is of course to reduce the cost of the textbooks required
for the various courses. Many of these stores handle not only sta
tionery, notebooks and other students’ supplies, but also sweaters,
sport goods of different kinds, candy, lunches, etc., and at least one
large organization has a tailoring department.
The deprivations attendant upon the depression made it imperative
for many students, if they were to be able to continue at school at
all, to reduce their expenses in other ways also. Room and board
being the outstanding items of expense, these have naturally received
the largest amount of attention. The result has been the under
taking of a growing number of cooperative dormitories and coopera
tive dining clubs for students. Some of these are entirely cooperative,
being started and run solely by the students. In others the initiative
was taken by the university, which generally also retained a certain
measure of control and often of support.
Some of these enterprises are described in a recent report by the
United States Office of Education,1 based upon replies received to a
questionnaire addressed to all of the colleges and universities. That
report noted that altogether 24 State colleges and universities and
10 State teachers’ colleges reported cooperative housing units estab
lished by the institution, and 11 State universities and 10 State
teachers’ colleges reported cooperative units created by the students.
In some cases both types of organizations are found, and at others
the cooperative owes its existence to some student organization which
took the initiative.
Among the privately supported institutions of learning, 32 colleges,
2 medical schools, and 9 junior colleges reported that some provision
had been made for cooperative living accommodations. “It appears
that the provision of this mode of living has become a permanent
policy at institutions of higher learning. Permanence and growth
of the cooperative movement in colleges indeed are almost inevitable.”
1 U . S. Department of the Interior.
Aiding Students. Washington, 1938.

850

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Office of Education. Bulletin, 1938, N o. 9: College Projects for

Cooperation

851

Where the institution has taken the lead in creating the cooperative
enterprise, participation is often limited to needy students and in
some cases only to students meeting certain scholastic standards.
Producer Activities

A varied list of money-producing activities was reported.
Among those devised by the students themselves, one of the com
monest was the agency for supplying services or commodities to
other students. “In some of the larger institutions the number of
these agencies seems to be limited only by the lack of further ways
in which to serve.” These not only “afford financial benefit to the
students who participate, but they serve as laboratories through
which the students in charge gain profitable experience in business
organization and management.” Such agencies provide laundry,
news, travel, furniture-moving, shoe-repair, typing, dry-cleaning,
barber, hairdressing, and many other services. At one college a
group of girl students has a beauty parlor.
Other student-devised projects include linoleum block printing,
making of Christmas cards, sign painting, and operation of student
employment bureaus.
In many institutions the administration has initiated work projects
for students. Thus, in one institution an organization had been
formed, in which only chemistry students were allowed to participate.
Its purpose was the manufacture and sale of various chemical prod
ucts—cosmetics, cough syrup, liniment, soap, vanilla, etc. At several
colleges cooperative student groups were making and selling rubber
mats of various kinds, manufactured from used rubber tires. Other
groups were making metal craft work, woven articles, furniture, etc.
One college maintained a shop, manned by students, where the
college furniture and equipment were repaired. Another owned a
quarry where the stone used in the university buildings was cut by
the students. Other college enterprises giving employment to the
students included printing and multigraphing shops, a coal mine, a
250-acre farm, and a steam laundry. In various places students
were delivering the mail on the campus, driving school buses, acting as
firemen, watchmen, and maintenance men, and participating in radio,
orchestral, and university entertainment programs.
These were continuing projects. In addition special jobs had been
undertaken at various times in order to give paid employment to the
students.
Self-help colleges.—There are in the United States a score or more
of the so-called “self-help colleges.” These are institutions in which
instruction and labor are combined. They emphasize the dignity of
labor and its influence on character building, and are run for the

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

852

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

benefit of young people who are without the capital to finance training
in the usual pay institutions.
As these colleges aim to be as nearly self-sustaining as possible, most
of them are located in the open country where they carry on, with
student labor, farming, dairying, and indeed practically all of the
activities necessary for the support and maintenance of the college.
Some of them have also undertaken industrial enterprises on a com
mercial basis. None of these activities can, however, be regarded as
cooperative, as they are controlled by the college, not by the students.
A number of these colleges are described in the report, the more
outstanding of these being Berea, Berry, and the Seventh Day Ad
ventist Colleges, and Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes.

D IV ID EN D PRACTICE OF CREDIT UNIONS
IT IS the accepted practice among credit unions to divide the surplus
earnings, remaining after provision for expenses, depreciation, and
reserves, among the members in proportion to the number of shares
held by each. This is in contrast with the so-called “Rochdale
principle” practiced by consumers’ cooperatives, under which the
surplus savings are divided on the basis of the members’ patronage.
At least one credit union—in Nebraska—has brought its dividend
practice into conformity with Rochdale methods. Under the
Nebraska law, credit unions are termed “cooperative credit associa
tions.” That act deals with the division of earnings only to the
extent of prohibiting associations from paying dividends at a rate
higher than the rate of interest charged on loans. The association
mentioned above, however, was formed by persons who are members
of Farmers’ Union cooperatives and as such are familiar with the
Rochdale cooperative methods.
This Nebraska association is reported 1 to have adopted the pro
cedure of paying a fixed rate of interest on shares. Any surplus
earnings then remaining are paid as patronage dividends on interest
paid and interest received by members. Thus, every member, in
addition to the fixed rate of interest on his shares, gets a supplemen
tary return based upon that interest; the borrower receives also a
refund on the interest he has paid to the association on his loan.
The organization paid 3% percent interest on shares for 1938, and
also paid a patronage refund amounting to 12% percent, on interest
paid and received. This raised the returns on capital to 3.94 percent,
and reduced the rate of interest on loans from 6.00 to 5.25 percent.
1 Nebraska Union Farmer (Omaha), February 8, 1939.

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Health and Industrial H ygiene
*+*+***»* ***** * * +* ** ** ** +* ** +* ** * 44* * 44* 4+ 4 ** * * 444444444* 4* 44444444*44

HEALTH OF INDUSTRIAL POLICYHOLDERS, 1938
A PROGRESSIVE improvement in the mortality rate among the
many millions of men, women, and children who are industrial policy
holders of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has taken place during
the past decade, with only slight regression in 2 years. The year
1938 showed even more marked improvement.1 In addition to being
a banner year for this group, it is reported to have been, in all
probability, the best health year of all time among the general popu
lation of the United States and Canada; this cannot, however, be
definitely determined until the final death rates for the 2 countries
become available. The crude death rate for the year was 7.663 per
1,000 as compared with 8.225 per 1,000 in 1937—a reduction of 6.8
percent. The death rate for 1938 (ages 1 and over) was nearly 40 per
cent lower than for 1911, the first year of the company’s series of mor
tality records. If the same ratio of death had prevailed in 1938 as in
1911 there would have been 240,632 deaths among the industrial
policyholders instead of the 130,074 which actually occurred. As a
consequence of this improvement in mortality, about 110,500 lives
were saved. The total saving in lives since 1911 amounts to approxi
mately 1,383,500. The improvement in mortality among the general
population has also been marked but has not been as great as among
the group of policyholders.
According to provisional figures for 1938, the average length of life,
or expectation of life at birth, reached a new maximum of 61.86 years.
In 1911 the life expectancy of industrial policyholders was 46.63 years,
or 6.41 years less than that of the general population. In 1936, the
latest year for which there are comparable data, the expectation of life
among the policyholders was 60.31 years, or only a half year less than
that of the general population. The total gain in life expectancy in the
27-year period since the beginning of the mortality series is 15.23 years.
Although the decline in mortality has been greatest at the younger
ages, it has been significant for every age group except in extreme old
age, where the number of policyholders is relatively small. The
decrease in mortality during the most productive years of life is re
garded as of special economic and social importance, since more and
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Statistical Bulletin, January 1939: Minimal Mortality in 1938.

853

854

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

more breadwinners are surviving through the age ranges of life where
their children still require their support. “Reduced mortality and
sickness/’ it is said, “has enhanced the potential productivity of the
United States and Canada by conserving earning power.”
New low death rates were registered for 9 diseases in 1938—scarlet
fever, diphtheria, influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrheal con
ditions, appendicitis, chronic nephritis, and puerperal causes—while
a rate identical with the previous low was reported for typhoid fever.
The rates for deaths by violence—namely, homicides, accidents (all
forms combined), accidental burns, and railroad accidents—also were
lower than ever before. On the other hand, the 1938 cancer mortality
rate was higher than that of 1937 and the rate of 11.2 per 100,000 for
syphilis was only slightly below that of the preceding year and very
nearly the same as the rate in 1911.
The tuberculosis death rate fell below 50 per 100,000, for the first
time, both among industrial policyholders and in the general popula
tion. The rate of 46.9 for the policyholders was 10 percent below
the 1937 rate—the largest decline reported for any single year in more
than a decade. Although large reductions—from 7 to 9 percent—were
registered during the worst years of the depression, it was generally
assumed that these declines were only temporary and that the wide
spread privation and suffering caused by the depression would result
in a rise in the incidence and death rate of tuberculosis. This has not
occurred, and it is stated in the report that it now seems certain that
within a very few years the prevalence of tuberculosis will have been
so reduced that the disease will no longer rank among the important
causes of death in the country. In spite of the improvement which
has taken place, however, tuberculosis is still the leading cause of
death in the age group 20 to 44, and is a serious problem among the
colored population and residents in the slums of the large cities.
Deaths from heart disease declined in 1937 and 1938, the reduction
of 4.1 percent in 1938 being the largest recorded in any single year
since 1919 when there was a remarkable reduction following the
influenza epidemic of the previous fall. The 1938 decline was due in
part to the progress made against chronic endocarditis, which mainly
affects younger persons, and also to prevention of infectious diseases
such as acute rheumatism and streptococcic infections, which helped
to reduce the mortality from valvular lesions of the heart. The
unusually good weather conditions, with a marked absence of influenza
and other respiratory diseases which are so dangerous to sufferers
from heart affections, constituted another factor in the favorable
showing for 1938.
Deaths of mothers from puerperal causes dropped 10 percent during
1938 or to 6.2 per 100,000 policyholders. This was the lowest point
ever recorded for these diseases and marked the eighteenth successive

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Health and Industrial Hygiene

855

year, with a single exception, in which the puerperal death rate showed
a decrease. The figure for 1938 was 65 percent lower than that of
15 years ago.
A new all-time low in the death rate from chronic nephritis was
registered in 1938, with a rate of 53.2 per 100,000, or a reduction of
4.5 percent from the preceding year. The mortality rate from diabetes
showed about the same reduction—4.3 percent—and reached about
the level prevailing between 1933 and 1936. The factors contribut
ing to the favorable showing for diabetes were the decreased preva
lence during the year of respiratory diseases, which are ordinarily
responsible for a considerable proportion of the deaths reported
among diabetics, improvements in insulin therapy, and the general
improvement in the treatment of diabetes.
The appendicitis death rate of 10.4 per 100,000 was 7 percent below
the 1937 rate. There has been a decrease of 26 percent in deaths
from this disease in the past decade, but it is stated that both among
policyholders and the population at large the rate is still very high
as compared with the average throughout the civilized world.
The mortality from cancer increased from 96.0 per 100,000 in 1937
to 97.8 in 1938, the highest rate yet reported. The increase in the
death rate since 1911 has been nearly 44 percent. However, this
rate cannot be regarded as an accurate measure of the actual rise in
mortality from this cause, because of the increase in the proportion of
elderly persons in our population, the improvement in diagnosis, and
the greater accuracy in reporting causes of death, all of which facts
have an important bearing on the apparent increase in the death rate.
The report states that when allowance is made for these and other
factors it is doubtful whether any increase in cancer has occurred.
Violent deaths are grouped under three headings—suicides, homi
cides, and accidents—and the first named was the only one of the three
which had a higher rate in 1938 than in 1937. The highest suicide
rate in the past 10 years was in 1932 at the depth of the depression,
after which it declined, with slight rises in 1937 and 1938. The homi
cide rate of 4.4 per 100,000 was the lowest ever recorded among these
insured wage earners, while the rate of 48.3 per 100,000 for fatal acci
dents was much below that of previous years. Automobile fatalities
dropped to 17.5 per 100,000—the lowest point since 1926. It is
estimated that the decrease in deaths from motor accidents for the
country amounted to 8,000 as compared with 1937. In view of this
record and the fact that motor-vehicle travel did not decline in 1938,
it is considered that there is ground for hope that the safety movement
is making headway in safeguarding the lives of the people from this
form of accidental death.
135055— 39-------7

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Accidents

CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS IN THE
FERTILIZER INDUSTRY, 1936 AND 1937 1
THE frequency rate 2 of the injuries in the fertilizer industry re
mained practically unchanged in 1937 (41.59) from 1936 (41.45),
while the severity rate 3 rose from 4.80 in 1936 to 5.81 in 1937.
An analysis of data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
shows that the most frequently recurring cause of injuries in both
1936 and 1937 was the handling of tools or equipment. Falls were the
outstanding cause of lost time in the 2 years, accounting for the
highest number of days lost in 1937 and the second highest in 1936.
A very revealing fact is obtained from the 1937 data by combining
the number of injuries due to falls, falling materials, and machinery.
These causes, though accounting for only 240 of the 965 injuries, were
responsible for 4.11 of the 5.81 days lost per thousand employee-hours
worked—more than 70 percent of the total. Involved in only onequarter of the number of disabling injuries, they were responsible for
nearly three-quarters of the total days lost. From the point of
severity, then, these three injury causes should be of special interest
to safety engineers and management.
From the description of individual accidents it was apparent that the
unfavorable experience of the industry can be materially minimized
by more attention to and effective practice of fundamental safety
principles.
In the geographic comparison of the injury data for 1937 the
Southeastern States group experienced the highest injury frequency
and severity rates. In each of the three areas compared, the same
causes were responsible for the greatest number of injuries and the
same types of departments experienced the highest frequency and
severity rates.
i Prepared by R oy F. Fleming and Jacob Lotven, Bureau of Labor Statistics, under the direction of
Swen Kjaer.
a The frequency rate is the average number of disabling injuries for each million employee-hours worked.
A disabling injury is defined as one which causes a permanent injury or a loss of time beyond the day or
shift on which the injury was incurred.
s The severity rate is the average number of days lost for each thousand employee-hours worked. The
standard time-loss charges used for fatal and permanent disabilities are those approved by the American
Standards Association in 1937.

856

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

857

Industrial Accidents

T able 1.— Summary of Injury Experience for 361 Identical Establishments in the

Fertilizer Industry, 1936 and 1937
Item

Average number of em ployees1................................................
Total employee-hours worked.............. .............. .
Average annual hours per employee___ _________ . .
Total number of disabling injuries____________________ ____
Frequency rate______ _______ _____ ____________
Total days of disability._______________________ __________
Severity rate______ _____________________ . . .

1936

11,976
21,086,640
1,761
874
41.45
101,321
4.80

1937

Percentage
of change

12, 559
23,204,216
1,848
965
41.59
134,891
5.81

+ 4 .9
+10.0
+ 4 .9
+10.4
+. 3
+33.1
+21.0

1 The average number of employees equals the total number on the pay roll on the fifteenth of each month
of plant operation, divided by the number of months of operation.

The number of employees in the 361 establishments covered in
creased from 11,976 in 1936 to 12,559 in 1937, with a corresponding
increase in employee-hours worked from 21,086,640 to 23,204,216, a net
gain of 4.9 percent in the number of employees and 100 percent in the
number of hours worked. These employees had 874 disabling in
juries in 1936 and 965 in 1937, an increase of 10.4 percent. With
disabling injuries and employee-hours each increasing by about 10
percent, the frequency rate remained practically unchanged. The
increase in the severity rate was due largely to the increase in the
number of fatalities.
Experience of Departments in Identical Establishments
This special survey of the causes of injuries in the fertilizer industry,
begun in 1936 and continued for 1937 by the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics with the endorsement and cooperation of the National Fertilizer
Association, yielded tabulatable reports from 361 identical establish
ments for the 2 years. The injury data were collected according to
a scheduled series of injury causes for the plant employees of each
type of department. The 4 departments, reflecting the general
structure of the industry, are unloading and transportation, dry
mixing (i. e., the mixing of dry chemical compounds), acidulating
(i. e., the treatment of other chemicals with acid), and acid making.
The 361 reporting establishments comprised 528 departments in
1936 and 554 in 1937.
Of the total of 874 disabling injuries in 1936, 9 were fatalities,
21 permanent partial disabilities, and 844 temporary total disabilities.
In 1937 there were 14 fatalities, 27 permanent partial, and 924 tem
porary total disabilities. More than one-half of all the injuries
listed under specific causes occurred in the handling of tools or equip
ment in both 1936 and 1937, with 312 and 366 injuries, respectively.
Most of these injuries, however, were of a minor character, as is
indicated by the relatively low severity rate of 0.77 in 1936 and 0.50
in 1937. Although the frequency rate for the entire group of plants
remained practically unchanged for both years, the number of injuries

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

858

from specific causes varied. The frequency rate for handling of tools
or equipment rose from 14.80 to 15.77, that for falling materials
dropped from 4.60 to 3.62, and the rate for acid or chemical burns
dropped from 1.80 to 1.08. The changes in the frequency rates of
the other injury causes were slight.
T able 2.—Injury Experience of 361 Identical Establishments in the Fertilizer Industry,

by Departments and Causes of Injuries, 1936 and 1937
1936

Number of disabling
injuries resulting
in—

Cause of injury

Average days
lost
InInTotal Dura jurynum tion of
juryfrePer T em ber of disa quen- sever- Per T em
ma
bility
disa
ity
ma
cy
rate
nent porary
nent porary
Death partial
total bilities (days) rate
partial total
disa
disa disa
disa bility
bility bility
bility
All d e p a rtm e n ts (528 d e p a rtm e n ts, 11,976 em ployees, 21,086,640
em ployee-hours)

All causes_______________ ________

844

874 101, 321

41.45

4.80

1,648

F alls.__________________ ____ ____

2
2
8

96
97
312
17
38
39

4. 55
4. 60
14.80
.81
1.80
1.85

.90
.47
.77
1.15
.11
.82

2,375
4,000
1, 562
1,800
1,533

23
21
12
17
12
21

275 12,388

13.04

.59

600

M achinery..... ......................... .............

1
3

92
95
304
13
37
34

All others...................... .............. ...........

269

18,888
9,957
16, 289
24, 223
2,250
17,326

U nloading an d tra n sp o rta tio n (120 d e p a rtm e n ts, 1,237 em ployees,
2,155,337 em ployee-hours)

Falls

148

149

8,479

69.13

3.93

19
14
52
1
5
57

19
14
52
1
5
58

527
402
930
4
36
6,580

8.82
6.50
24.13
.46
2. 32
26. 91

.24 _A ___
.19
.43
0)
.02
3.05

28
29
18
4
7
10

__________ ____ ____

D ry m ixing (214 d ep a rtm en ts, 5,002 em ployees, 8,144,058
em ployee -hours)
8

All causes................................................

Falls

I______________________ -

329
22
23
52
131
101

337
24
24
54
134
101

24,038
4, 729
1.133
9,101
7,876
1,199

41.38

2.95

2,431

2. 95
2.95
6. 63
16. 45
12.40

.58
.14
1.12
.97
.15

2,150
750
4,000
2,133

20
17
21
11
12

A cidulating (45 d ep a rtm en ts, 556 em ployees, 1,227,687
em ployee-hours)

All causes____ ____ - ........................—

Falls

1Less than 0.005.

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........................

8, 238

33.40

6. 71

4
1
4
4
3
5
6
. . . 13

4
5
4
4
5
6

14
1,820
44
6,023
67
71
199

3.26
4.07
3.26
3. 26
4.07
4.89
10.59

.01
1.48
.04
4.91
.05
.06

.16

1,800

11
4

1,800

11
8

13
12
15

Industrial Accidents

859

T able 2.— Injury Experience of 361 Identical Establishments in the Fertilizer Industry,

by Departments and Causes of Injuries, 1936 and 1937— Continued
1936

Number of disabling
injuries resulting
in—

Cause of injury

Average days
lost
InTotal Dura
Innum tion of jury- juryfrePer Tem ber of disa
sever Per Tem
ma porary disa bility quenma
ity
cy
rate
nent porary
Death nent total bilities (days)
rate
partial disa
partial total
disa
disa disa
bility bility
bility bility
A cid m a k in g (22 d e p a r tm e n ts, 327 e m p lo y e e s, 682,807
e m p lo y ee-hou rs)

All causes________ ________ _______

Gassing.______ __________________
Acid or chemical burns___________
Direct burns (heat).......................... .
Machinery___ ____ ______________
Falls____________________________
Falling materials..............................
Handling of tools or equipm ent........
All others.............................. ..................

872

33.68

1.28

7.32

.08

1
5

300
368

1 46
7.32

44
.54

3
9

30
116

4. 39
13.18

.04
.17

300

26
12

300
74

10
13

N o t elsewhere classified (127 d e p a rtm e n ts, 4,854 em ployees,
8,876,751 em ployee-hours)

All causes________ ____ ______ ____

G assin g.______ ____________ . . .
Acid or chemical burns___________
Direct burns (heat)_______________

Falls___ ."__________________ _____
Falling materials_________________
Handling of tools or equipment........
All others________________________

2
1

1
5
5

306

324

59,694

36.50

6. 72

8
23

12
23

24, 205
336

1.35
2. 59

2 73
.04

8
42
24
112
89

10
44
24
117
94

12,253
10,837
387
7,382
4,294

1.13
4.96
2 70
13.18
10.59

1 38
1.22
.04
.83
.48

1,191

15
26
15

4,000
1 220
'600

32
20
16
11
15

1937
All d ep a rtm en ts (554 dep a rtm en ts, 12,559 em ployees, 23,204,216
em ployee-hours)
A ll causes.................................................

924

965 134,891

41.59

5.81

1,315

Falls......... ...............................................
Falling materials__________ _______
Handling of tools or equipm ent........
Gassing_______________.*__________
Acid o f chemical burns___________
Machinery_______ ____ _____ _____
Direct burns (heat)__________ ____
A ll others.................................................

5
2

3
6
9

109
76
357
13
24
30
5
310

117
84
366
13
25
39
5
316

5.04
3.62
15 77
.56
1.08
1.68
. 22
13. 62

1. 71
1.16
50
.01
. 27
1.24
.01
.92

2,300
2,133
733

25
28

820

22
12
22
25
14

1
4

39, 577
26, 921
11, 636
282
6,291
28; 748
125
21,311

1,275

U nloading an d tra n sp o rta tio n (139 d e p a rtm e n ts, 1,809 em ployees.
3,217,052 em ployee-hours)
A ll causes________________________

Falls______________________ ______
Falling materials_________________
Handling of tools or equipm ent____
Gassing________ ________________
Acid or chemical burns_____ ______
All others................................................
1 Less than 0.005.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

177

181

19, 704

56.26

6.12

35
16
68
2
2
54

35
18
68
2
2
56

685
10,435
1,116
7
71
7,390

10.88
5.60
21.14
.62
.62
17.41

21
3.24
.35
(l)
.02
2.30

2,150
4,000

300

19
20
27
16
4
36
20

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

860

T able 2. — Injury Experience of 361 Identical Establishments in the Fertilizer Industry,

by Departments and Causes of Injuries, 1936 and 1937— Continued
1937
Number of disabling
injuries resulting
in—
Cause of injury

Per
ma
nent
Death partial
disa
bility

Tem
porary
total
disa
bility

Average days
lost
InTotal Dura- juryInnum tion of
juryfre- sever
ber of disa quenPer Tem
disa bility
ma porary
ity
cy
bilities (days)
rate
nent
rate
partial total
disa disa
bility bility

D ry m ixing (245 d ep a rtm en ts, 5,105 em ployees, 8,287,920
em ployee-hours)

All causes........................................

363

375

40,909

45. 25

4.94

836

M achinery............................... ......
Falls.................................................
Falling materials.......................... .
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others.........................................

1
2
1

15
41
28
161
118

18
43
29
164
121

7,780
13,056
6| 646
3i 413
10,014

2.17
5.19
3.50
19. 79
14.60

.94
1.58
.80
.41
1.21

750

19
26
23
13
9

3
2

450
1,500

A cidulating (51 d e p a rtm e n ts, 748 em ployees, 1,498,862
em ployee-hours)

All causes.....................................

11, 686

39. 36

7.80

Gassing................. .........................
Acid or chemical b u rn s.............
Machinery......................................
Falls.................................................
Falling materials------------ ------Handling of tools or equipment.
All others.................................... .

5
7
4
4
5

5
7
5
4
6
20
12

32
88
6,250
85
2, 611
2, 321
299

3. 34
4.67
3. 34
2. 67
4. 00
13. 34
8.01

.02
.06
4.17
.06
1.74
1. 55
.20

18
12

1,500

2,400
1,050

22
6
13
63
21
42
12
25

Acid m aking (23 d ep a rtm en ts, 570 em ployees, 1,338,152
em ployee-hours)

All causes........................................

16, 252

40.35

12.15

Gassing............. ................. ...........
Acid or chemical b u r n s.............
Direct burns (heat)...... .............. .
Machinery..................................... .
Falls.________ _______________
Falling materials_____ ______ _
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others................... .....................

4
5
4

4
6
4

64
6,039
107

2.99
4. 48
2.99

.05
4. 51
.08

7
7
12
9

9
9
13
9

8,738
759
442
103

6. 73
6. 73
9. 71
6. 73

6.53
.57
.33
.08

825

20
16
8
27

2,400
300
300

48
23
12
11

N o t elsewhere classified (96 d ep a rtm en ts, 4,327 em ployees,
8,862,230 em ployee-hours)

All causes..................................... .
Gassing.......................................... .
Acid or chemical burns_______
Direct burns (heat)..................... .
Machinery..................................... .
Falls.................... ...........................
Falling materials_____________
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others...................................... .
I Less than 0.005.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2
2

3
2
2
3
1

281

296

46, 340

33.40

5.23

2
10
1
11
22
20
98
117

2
10
1
16
26
22
101
118

179
93
18
14, 718
17,013
6,470
4, 344
3,505

.23
1.13
.11
1.81
2.93
2.48
11.40
13.31

.02
.01
(>)
1.66
1.92
.73
.49
.40

1,595

867
2, 250
2,900
950
1,800

90
9
18
11
23
34
15
15

Industrial Accidents

861

The injuries caused by falls, falling materials, and machinery
accounted for more loss of time from work than any others. Falls
had the second highest severity rates in 1936 and the highest in 1937,
0.90 and 1.71, respectively. The number of fatalities listed against
this cause increased from two in 1936 to five in 1937, equaling more
than one-third of the total number of deaths in the industry for the
latter year. Falling materials were the cause of two deaths in 1937
as compared with none in 1936, and of six permanent partial injuries
in 1937 as against two in 1936. In 1936 machinery accounted for
two fatalities and three permanent partial disabilities, as compared
with four fatalities and five permanent partial injuries in 1937.
Injuries due to gassing showed the outstanding reduction in severity
in 1937 over 1936, the rate dropping from 1.15 to 0.01. It is pertinent
to note that the four deaths attributed to gassing in 1936 occurred in
one plant in a single accident. It would seem, therefore, that the
1937 figure is more indicative of the normal injury experience due to
gassing.
The average days lost per disability increased slightly in the tem
porary total injuries, from 15 days per injury to 17 days. This in
crease was more than offset by the large reduction in the average days
lost per permanent partial injury, the average falling from 1,648 days
per case to 1,315 days. Falls and falling materials caused the highest
average time lost for both temporary total and permanent partial
disabilities in both years.
Unloading and transportation.—Unloading and transportation de
partments were reported by 120 establishments in 1936 and 139
establishments in 1937, with total employee-hours of 2,155,337 and
3,217,052, respectively. The average number of employees increased
from 1,237 in 1936 to 1,809 in 1937. The 149 disabling injuries with
1 fatality and no permanent injuries, in 1936, resulted in a frequency
rate of 69.13 and a severity rate of 3.93, while the 181 disabling in
juries with 2 fatalities and 2 permanent partial injuries, in 1937,
resulted in a frequency rate of 56.26 and a severity rate of 6.12.
Falls had a sizable increase in the frequency rate (8.82 to 10.88) and
gassing a slight increase (0.46 to 0.62). Causes of injuries showing a
marked decrease in the frequency rates were handling of tools or
equipment (24.13 to 21.14), acid or chemical burns (2.32 to 0.62),
and all others (26.91 to 17.41).
Falling materials were responsible for the greatest increase in the
severity rate of injuries occurring in unloading and transportation
between 1936 and 1937. Falling materials caused 0.19 day of lost
time for every thousand employee-hours in 1936, but this rate jumped
to 3.24 days lost in 1937. Falls and handling of tools or equipment
experienced slight decreases. Acid or chemical burns retained the
same low severity rate for both years (0.02). The “all others'’

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

862

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

classification had a large reduction in the severity rate, decreasing
from 3.05 to 2.30.
The average time lost per temporary total injury for all causes
rose from 17 days per case in 1936 to 19 days in 1937. Largely re
sponsible for this increase were the injury causes in the “all others”
group for which the average time loss for this type of disability rose
sharply from 10 days to 20 days. For handling of tools or equip
ment the average time loss decreased from 18 to 16, and for falls,
from 28 to 20. The 2 permanent partial injuries averaged 2,150
days of lost time per case in 1937. There were no permanent partial
disabilities in 1936.
Dry mixing .—Establishments reporting dry-mixing activities in
1936 included 214 departments with 5,002 employees working a total
of 8,144,058 employee-hours. These workers had 337 disabling in
juries, of which 8 resulted in disabilities of a permanent character.
The frequency rate was 41.38 and the severity rate 2.95. In 1937
these same establishments reported 245 dry-mixing departments with
5,105 employees and a total of 8,287,920 employee-hours. In 1937,
these employees experienced 375 disabling injuries, of which 5 re
sulted in death, 7 in permanent partial, and 363 in temporary total
disabilities. The frequency rate increased over the 1936 rate (41.38)
to 45.25, while the severity rate rose more sharply from 2.95 to 4.94.
Three of the five causes of injuries in dry mixing were responsible
for the increase in disabling injuries in 1937 over 1936. These causes
and their frequency rates were handling of tools or equipment (16.45
to 19.79), falls (2.95 to 5.19), and “all others” (12.40 to 14.60).
Injuries due to falling materials dropped in frequency, from 6.63
to 3.50. Increases of considerable magnitude in the severity rate
occurred in falls (0.14 to 1.58) and “all others” (0.15 to 1.21). Han
dling of tools or equipment and falling materials experienced note
worthy reductions, with declines in the severity rates of 0.97 to 0.41
and 1.12 to 0.80 respectively.
As for the average days lost per injury, there was no change for
temporary total injuries, the average remaining at 14 days for each
of the 2 years. There was, however, a large decrease in the average
number of days lost per permanent partial injury, with 2,431 days
per case in 1936 and only 836 days in 1937.
Acidulating .—There were 45 departments engaged in acidulating
in 1936 and 51 in 1937, with 556 employees working 1,227,687 em
ployee-hours in 1936, and 748 employees working 1,498,862 employeehours in 1937. Forty-one disabling injuries occurred in 1936, 1 of
them resulting in death and another in a permanent partial disability,
giving a frequency rate of 33.40 and a severity rate of 6.71. In 1937
the frequency rose to 39.36 and the severity rate to 7.80 as a
result of 59 injuries, including 1 fatality and 3 permanent partial

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Industrial Accidents

863

disabilities. Injuries caused by “handling of tools or equipment’’
accounted for the greatest increase in the frequency rate, from 4.89
to 13.34. The outstanding causes of severe injuries in 1936 were acid
or chemical burns and falls. In 1937 the important causes of serious
injuries were machinery, falling materials, and handling of tools or
equipment.
Acid making .—The number of acid-making departments totaled
22 in 1936 and 23 in 1937. The number of employees increased
from 327 to 570 and the employee-hours from 682,807 to 1,338,152.
Of the 23 disabling injuries occurring in 1936, 1 resulted in a per
manent partial disability. The 54 injuries in 1937 included 2 fatalities
and 4 permanent partial injuries. The frequency rate increased sharply
from 33.68 to 40.35 and the severity rate soared from 1.28 to 12.15.
The two outstanding causes of serious injuries in 1937 were falls and
acid or chemical burns, each accounting for one death; and falls
caused an additional permanent partial disability.
In establishments which were unable to give a regular departmental
analysis of their operations there were fewer disabling injuries for
every million employee-hours in 1937 than in 1936, and fewer days
lost for every thousand hours worked. The frequency rate dropped
from 36.50 to 33.40 and the severity rate from 6.72 to 5.23. The
reports of 127 departments in 1936 and 96 departments in 1937 gave
the total number of employees as 4,854 in 1936 and 4,327 in 1937,
with 8,876,751, and 8,862,230 employee-hours worked, respectively.
The 324 disabling injuries in 1936 included 7 fatalities and the 296
injuries in 1937 included 4. Eleven permanent partial disabilities
occurred in each of the 2 years. The injuries, however, were less
severe in 1936 than in 1937, as indicated by the average days lost per
injury of 1,191 in 1936 as compared with 1,595 days in 1937.
Falls had the most marked decrease in frequency, dropping from
4.96 to 2.93. There was, however, an increase of 1 fatality and 1
permanent partial disability in 1937 over 1936, and the severity rate
rose from 1.22 days lost per thousand employee-hours to 1.92 days.
The other causes of injuries having sizable decreases in the frequency
rates were gassing ("1.35 to 0.23), acid or chemical burns (2.59 to 1.13),
and handling of tools or equipment (13.18 to 11.40). The frequency
rate of the “all others” classification increased from 10.59 to 13.31
and that of machinery from 1.13 to 1.81.
Geographic Differences
As the number of establishments in most of the States is small, an
analysis of the injury data in the fertilizer industry by States would
tend to reveal the identity of individual plants. For this reason the
States are grouped into three areas in order to discover if any signifi
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

864

cant differences in injury experience existed in various sections of the
United States during 1937.
The areas are designated as follows: Southeastern (Alabama,
Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Missis
sippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia);
Northeastern (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
and Wisconsin); and Western (Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington).
T able 3. —Injury Rates in the Fertilizer Industry, by Departments, in Geographic

Areas, 1937
Injury-severity rate

Injury-frequency rate
Department

All departments—.............................
Unloading and transportation--------D ry mixing______________ _____ _ ...
A cidulating............. ..............................
Acid making_____________________
N ot elsewhere classified------------------

South North W est
ern
eastern eastern
States States States

All
States

24.60

41.45

7.18

2.73

3.29

5.89

44. 25
19.16
33.34
7.86
36.06

56.16
44.85
39.36
40.35
33.40

8.02
7.10
10. 61
14. 24
4.92

1.04
.59
.36
.41
4.68

1.46
.28
.55
.14
20.29

6.11
5.17
7.80
12.15
5.23

44.23
63.39
53. 94
43.32
43.05
27.22

37.84
35.62
24.95
26. 51
54. 94
46.35

All
States

With a frequency rate of 44.23 and a severity rate of 7.18, estab
lishments in the Southeastern area experienced more disabling injuries
for every million employee-hours worked and lost more days for each
thousand employee-hours worked than establishments in either of the
other two areas. The Northeastern area occupied the middle ground
in frequency rate (37.84) and the most favorable position in severity
rate (2.73). The Western area experienced the lowest injury-fre
quency rate (24.60) and held the middle position in severity rate
(3.29). The average number of days lost per permanent partial
disability was 1,233 in the Southeastern area, 1,750 in the North
eastern area, and 2,150 in the Western area. For each temporary
total disability the average number of days lost was 16, 17, and 22,
respectively.
The handling of tools or equipment caused the greatest number of
disabling injuries in the Southeastern and Northeastern areas, 274 out
of a total of 724 (38 percent) in the former, and 86 out of a total of
204 (42 percent) in the latter. Among the specific causes of injuries
in both areas, falls were responsible for the second greatest number of
disabilities, and falling materials was third. In the Southeastern
area falls accounted for 80 injuries, and falling materials for 69 (11
and 10 percent, respectively). In the Northeastern area falls account
ed for 28 injuries (14 percent), and falling materials for 13 (6 percent).
In the Western area falls caused the greatest number of injuries, 9

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Industrial Accidents

865

out of a total of 38 (24 percent), and the handling of tools or equip
ment followed with 6 out of 38 (16 percent).
T able 4. —Injury Experience in the Fertilizer Industry, by Geographic Areas,

Departments, and Causes of Injuries, 1937
S O U T H E A S T E R N S T A T E S «— 225 E S T A B L IS H M E N T S

Number of disabling
injuries resulting in—

Cause of injuries

Average days
lost
Total Dura
InInnum tion of juryjuryPer Tem ber of
Tem
disa
fre- sever- Per
ma
po
disa
ma
po
bility quency ity
nent
rary
bili
nent
Death partial
(days)
rate
rate partial rary
total
ties
total
disa disa
disa disa
bility bility
bility bility
All d ep a rtm en ts (349 d ep a rtm en ts, 9,058 em ployees, 16,369,159
em ployee-hours)

All causes........................................

Falls..................................................
Falling m aterials.........................
Handling of tools or equipment.
Gassing____________ _________
Acid or chemical burns_______
Machinery___________ _____ _
Direct burns (heat)..................... .
All others............................ ............

4
2

1
6
8

75
61
266

1
4

5
235

724 117,497

44. 23

7.18

1, 233

80
69
274

4.89
4. 22
16.74
.73

1.73
1.51
.58

2,400
1,867
731

.86

.38
1.73

14
29
5
241

1. 77
.31
14. 72

.02

950

.01

1.23

1,275

U nloading an d tra n sp o rta tio n (85 d ep a rtm en ts, 1,322 em ployees,
2,334,657 em ployee-hours)

All causes.......................................

144

148

18,718

63. 39

8.02

Falls................................................
Falling materials..... .................... .
Handling of tools or equipment
Gassing............................ ...............
Acid or chemical burns.............. .
All oth ers...................... ............

24
15
54
2
2
47

24
17
54
2
2
49

269
10, 424
824
7
71
7,123

10. 28
7. 28
23.13
.86
.86
20.99

.12
4.46
.35
(2)
.03
3.05

2,150
4,000

300

17
11
28
15
4
36
18

D ry mixing (155 d ep a rtm en ts, 3,796 em ployees, 5,932,517
em ployee-hours)

All causes___________________

307

320

42,145

53.94

7.10

1,031

Machinery________________
Falls..................................................
Falling materials..... ................ .
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others.........................................

1
2
1

13
33
23
137
101

16
35
25
140
104

7,724
12,928
8| 701
2,987
9,805

2.70
5. 90
4. 21
23. 60
17.53

1.30
2.18
1. 47
. 50
1.65

750

17
28
13
12
8

1
3
2

2,400
450
1,500

A cidulating (32 dep a rtm en ts, 544 em ployees, 1,084,846
em ployee-hours)

All causes....................................... .

11, 509

43. 32

10. 61

Gassing__________ ___________
Acid or chemical burns_______
Machinery..... ............................... .
Falls................................................ .
Falling materials..........................
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others________ _____ _____

4
4
3
4
5
15
8

4
4
4
4
6
17
8

29
28
6,246
85
2,611
2,296
214

3. 69
3.69
3. 69
3. 69
5. 53
15. 67
7.37

.03
.03
5. 76
.08
2. 41
2.12
.20

1,500

2,400
1,050

23
7
7
82
21
42
13
27

1 Includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, M ississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
• Less than 0.005.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

866

T able 4. — Injury Experience in the Fertilizer Industry, by Geographic Areas,

Departments, and Causes of Injuries, 1937— Continued
S O U T H E A S T E R N S T A T E S —225 E S T A B L IS H M E N T S —C o n tin u ed

Number of disabling
injuries resulting in—

Cause of injuries

Average days
lost
Total Dura
InInnum tion of jury- juryPer Tem ber of disa
Tem
sever- Per
frepo
ma
disa bility quency
ma
po
ity
rary
nent
bili (days)
nent
rary
Death partial
rate
rate
total
partial total
ties
disa disa
disa disa
bility bility
bility bility
Acid m aking (19 d ep a rtm en ts, 487 em ployees, 1,138,092
em ployee-hours)

All causes........................................

16, 206

43. 05

14.24

Gassing................... ........................
Acid or chemical burns...............
Direct burns (beat)___________
Falls..................................................
Falling materials____ ____ ____
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others____________________

4
3
4
6
7
11
8

4
4
4
8
9
12
8

64
6,018
107
8,720
759
439
99

3. 51
3. 51
3. 51
7.03
7.91
10. 54
7.03

.06
5. 29
.09
7. 66
.67
.39
.09

825

21
16
6
27
53
23
13
12

2, 400
300
300

N o t elsew here classified (58 d ep a rtm en ts, 2,909 em ployees, 5,879,047
em ployee-hours)
A ll causes________________________

Direct burns (h eat)......... ....................
Machinery______ 1_______________
Falls.......................... ............................

2
1

151

160

28,919

27. 22

4. 92

2
4
1
5
8
11
49
71

2
4
1
9
9
12
51
72

179
58
18
14, 354
6, 250
2,245
2, 929
2,886

.34
.68
. 17
1.53
1. 53
2. 04
8. 67
12. 25

.03
.01
O)
2. 44
1.06
.38
.50
.49

1
2
1

Handling of tools or equipment____
All others_____________ .'__________

1,333

1,150

90
15
18
11
31
40
17
15

1,800
1,050
1,800

NORTHEASTERN STATES s—90 ESTABLISHMENTS
All d e p a rtm e n ts (141 d ep a rtm en ts, 2,735 em ployees, 5,390,931
em ployee -hours)

All causes........... ................................... .

200

204

14, 725

37.84

2. 73

1,750

Falls......... ................................................

25
13
85
10
8
59

28
13
86
10
8
59

11, 109
402
2,055
65
121
973

5. 19
2.41
15.95
1.85
1. 48
10.94

2.06
.07
38
.01
.02
. 18

2, 250

24
31
15
7
15
16

All oth ersl.._____________________

’ 750

U nloading and tra n sp o rtatio n (37 d e p a rtm e n ts, 412 em ployees,
729,910 em ployee-hours)

All causes___________________

756

35. 62

1.04

Falls..................................................
Falling materials. .....................
Handling of tools or equipment
All others......................................

7
1
12
6

282
11
249
214

9. 59
1.37
16. 44
8 22

39
02
34
29

40
11
21
36

....

t Less than 0 005.
2 Includes Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana. Maine. Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey. New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Accidents

867

T able 4. — Injury Experience in the Fertilizer Industry, by Geographic Areas,

Departments, and Causes of Injuries, 1937— Continued
N O R T H E A S T E R N S T A T E S —90 E S T A B L IS H M E N T S —C o n tin u ed

Number of disabling
injuries resulting in—

Average days
lost
Total Dura
InInnum
tion
of
juryjuryPer Tem ber of disa
fre- sever- Per Tem
disa bility quency
ma
po
ma
po
ity
bili
rary
nent
nent
rary
rate
(days)
rate
Death partial total
ties
partial total
disa disa
disa disa
bility bility
bility bility

Cause of injuries

D ry mixing (59 d ep a rtm en ts, 867 em ployees, 1,562,863
em ployee-hours)

All causes________________________

Machinery_______________________
Falls___________________________
Falling materials____ ____________
Handling of tools or equipment____
All others_________ _____________

4
5

21
7

2
4
5

21
7

921

24. 95

0. 59

57
64
345
373
82

1.28
2. 56
3.20
13.44
4.48

.04
.04

29
16
69
18

.22
.24
.05

A cidulating (15 d ep a rtm en ts, 134 em ployees, 264,040
em ployee-hours)

All causes...________ _ _________

Acid or chemical burns___________
Handling of tools or equipment........
All others____ ____ ________ _____

2
3
2

26. 51

.36

7
25
64

7. 57
11. 36
7. 57

.03
.09
.24

Acid m aking (3 d ep a rtm en ts, 36 em ployees, 72,804
em ployee-hours)

All cau ses____

_______________

Acid or chemical burns___________
Handling of tools or equipment____
All others_________ _____________

2
1
1

22
4
4

54. 94

.41

27. 47
13.74
13.74

.30
.05
.05

8
11
4
4

N o t elsew here classified (27 d ep a rtm en ts, 1,286 em ployees,
2,761,314 em ployee-hours)

AlLcauses................................................
Acid or chemical burns.............. .........
Machinery____________________ . .
Falls__________ __________________
Falling materials_________________
Handling of tools or equipment____
All others_______________ . . .

1
1

2
1

124

6
6

14
7
48
43

128

6
6

17
7
49
43

12, 922

46. 35

4. 68

1,750

36
64
10, 763
46
1,404
609

2.17
2.17
6.16
2.54
17. 75
15. 57

.01
.02
3.90
.02
.51
.22

2,250
750

6
11

19
7
14
14

W E S T E R N S T A T E S 4— 51 E S T A B L IS H M E N T S
All d e p a rtm e n ts (71 d e p a rtm e n ts, 873 em ployees, 1,544,736
em ployee-hours)

All causesFalls,................................................
Falling m aterials.................... .
Handling of tools or equipment.
Gassing........................................ .
Acid or chemical b u rn s.______
Machinery___ ______ ________
All others........................................

1
1

2
6
1
1
1
16

9
3

6
1
1
2

5,078

24.60

3.29

217
4.179
108
4
53
304
213

5.83
1.94
3.88
. 65
.65
1.29
10. 36

.14
2. 71
.07
(2)
.03
.20

.14

2,150

4, 000

24
90

18
300

4
53
4
13

2 Less than 0.005.
4 Includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana ,Nevada, Oregon, Texas,
and Washington.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

868

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
T able 4. — Injury Experience in the Fertilizer Industry, by Geographic Areas,

Departments, and Causes of Injuries, 1937— Continued
W E S T E R N S T A T E S —51 E S T A B L IS H M E N T S - C o n tin u e d

Number of disabling
injuries resulting in—

Average days
lost

Total

Cause of injuries

Permanent
Death partial
disability

DuraInIntion of jury- juryTern- bei of disafre- sever- Per- Ternpomapobility quency ity
rary
nent
rary
(days)
rate
rate
total
partial total
disadisa- disability
bility bility

U nloading and tra n sp o rta tio n (19 d e p a rtm e n ts, 92 em ployees,
158,185 em ployee-hours)

All causes....................................... .

231

44. 25

1.46

Falls................1____ ____ _____ _
Handling of tools or equipment.
Ail others____________________

4
2
1

135
43
53

25.29
12. 64
6. 32

.85
.27
.34

D ry mixing (36 d e p a rtm e n ts, 532 em ployees, 887,450
em ployee-hours)

All causes_______ ____ _____ ...

246

19.16

.28

Falls.............................................
Handling of tools or equipment.
All others............. ......................

4
3
10

64
54
128

4.51
3. 38
11.27

.07
.06
.14

16
18
13

A cidulating (4 d ep a rtm en ts, 70 em ployees, 149,976
em ployee-hours)

All causes.

33. 34

.55

Gassing---------------------Acid or chemical burns.
Machinery....... ................
All others..........................

1
1
1
2

4
53
4
21

6. 67
6. 67
6. 67
13.34

.03
.35
.03
. 14

4
53
4
11

A cid m aking (1 d e p a rtm e n t, 47 em ployees, 127,256 em ployee-hours)

Falls.

7. 86

N o t elsewhere classified (11 d e p a rtm e n ts, 132 em ployees, 221,869
em ployee-hours)

2
Machinery..............................................
Falling materials........... .......................
Handling of tools or equipment____
All others______________ ________

1
1

4,501

36.06

20. 29

2,150

2
1
3

1
3
1
3

300
4,179
11
11

4. 51
13. 52
4. 51
13. 52

1. 35
18 84
.05
.05

300
4,000

34
90
11
4

Departmental frequency rates.—With the exception of the acid-mak
ing department in the Northeastern area, operations in the unloading
and transportation departments had the worst departmental injury
experience in the fertilizer industry. For comparative purposes the
exception can be disregarded, as the reports received show only 73,000
employee-hours worked.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Accidents

869

Injury-frequency rates for the unloading and transportation depart
ments in the three areas were as follows: Southeastern 63.39, North
eastern 35.62, and Western 44.25. The average number of days lost
per temporary total disabling injury was 17, 29, and 33, respectively.
The dry-mixing department followed with the second highest fre
quency rate (53.94) in the Southeastern area and the acidulating de
partment came third with a frequency rate of 43.32. Disregarding
the experience of the small group of acid-making departments in the
Northeastern area, second place in injury-frequency rate, both in the
Northeastern and Western States, was occupied by the acidulating
departments. The frequency rates were 26.51 and 33.34, respectively.
The dry-mixing departments followed with injury-frequency rates of
24.95 and 19.16.
Departmental severity rates.—That each department of the fertilizer
industry in the Southeastern area lost far more days for every
thousand employee-hours than either of the other areas is revealed
in the following recapitulation of severity rates.
T able 5.— Severity Rates for the Fertilizer Industry, by Area and by Departments
Severity rates in
Department
Southeastern Northeastern
area
area
Unloading and transportation________________________ ____
D ry mixing------- ------ ---------- ------------------- --------------------A cidulating...__________ . ___________ __________________
Acid m a k in g .....____________________ ______ ___________

8.02
7.10
10. 61
14.24

1.04
.59
.36
.41

Western
area
1.46
.28
.55
.14

Injuries in the acid-making department, with a severity rate of
14.24, accounted for the greatest number of days lost proportionately
in the Southeastern area. In the Northeastern and Western areas in
juries in the unloading and transportation departments accounted for
the highest severity rates, 1.04 and 1.46, respectively. The extremely
high severity rates in the Southeastern area were largely due to the
concentration of fatalities in this area. Out of 724 disabling injuries
13 (1.8 percent) proved fatal. In the Northeastern area 1 (0.49 per
cent) out of the 204 disabling injuries resulted in death. In the
Western area no fatalities were reported for the year 1937.
Causes of Disabling Accidents
From the accident descriptions in the reports of individual estab
lishments it is possible to indicate the types of accidents found in the
various departments. A number of accident descriptions are given,
with the safe practice which, if followed, would have prevented the
accident. It is clear from the descriptions that many of these acci
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

870

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

dents were due to violations of the most simple and basic safety rules
and procedures, and that better supervision is the keynote for better
safety in the fertilizer industry. This is particularly true because of
the type of labor involved.
D e s c r ip t io n

A c c id e n t a n d

Sa f e

P r a c t ic e

Unloading and Transportation
1. A crew was moving the loader near a pile of fertilizer when part of the pile
slid down, killing one man and temporarily disabling another.
Piles of loose material should be properly sloped.
2. Oiling gear of motor of wagon loader while machine was in operation.
Worker lost two fingers.
Men should not be permitted to clean machinery in motion.
3. Watchman, making his rounds, stopped to wait for grab bucket to be lifted
to hopper. After the bucket had been raised, he walked under it. Phosphate
rock fell from bucket, injuring kneecap, leaving leg stiff permanently.
Men should be instructed never to walk under loaded buckets, but to wait
until bucket is clearly out of the way.
Dry Mixing
1. Four men were moving a Burton loader. The machine fell over, striking
one man who subsequently died from the injury.
Floor should be kept in good repair and also clean in order to prevent the
accumulation of material making floor surface uneven.
2. A worker entered a batch mixer. Gang boss, on platform below, unaware
that worker had entered mixer, ordered machine tender to start the machinery.
Worker crushed to death.
Men should be instructed never to enter mixer until after notifying foreman.
Foreman should station someone at switch to prevent anyone from throwing
machinery into operation while worker is in mixer. Switch should be thrown
only after worker who entered mixer has reported back to foreman.
3. Worker trucking fertilizer backed into a hole in the floor leading to cellar of
warehouse. Hole used regularly to and from cellar. Fall resulted in death.
“A frame has since been built arouyid this opening.” All floor openings
should be guarded adequately with both guard and hand rails.
4. A crew of three men was loading fertilizer from a pile. The upper part of the
pile was undermined, slid down, and suffocated one of the workers.
Supervisors should never permit workers to undermine pile.
5. While doing overhead repair work employee took short cut by stepping on
guard rail rather than going around post and using safety platform. Guard rail
broke, and employee was killed by falling 15 feet to concrete floor.
Employees should not be permitted to walk on guard rails. These rails should
always be strong enough to support not only the weight of a worker, but also the
impact of a falling worker.

6. Employee cut out wrong switch for overhead electric system and stepped on a
live rail, causing electrocution. In falling, the worker grabbed the foreman direct
ing the work, causing him to be burned severely enough to lose 6 days from work.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Accidents

871

Workers should not be permitted to step on rails, regardless of whether these are
alive or dead. It is helpful to use red warning lights which will show red when
the current is on.
7. While loading a hand truck with 100-pound bags, the stack behind the worker
fell, causing permanent injury to worker’s elbow.
Bags should be removed from pile in tier sequence so as to prevent toppling over.

8. While cleaning a screw conveyor in motion, an iron bar in hands of employee
caught in the conveyor, causing loss of part of index finger.
Men should not be permitted to clean machinery in motion.
9. Employees were sitting on a cage-mill door while cleaning out cage mill.
The door was leaning on an ammonia pipe. Because of the weight of the men the
pipe broke off at the valve, spraying liquid ammonia over the men. One worker
lost an eye, and two others were temporarily disabled, one for 25 days.
Men should not be permitted to sit on ammonia pipes. When not in operation,
the flow of ammonia should be cut off at the tanks. Pipes should be properly
protected.
10. Worker caught hand in fan of conveyor belt while greasing conveyor motor.
Men should not be permitted to oil machinery in motion.
Acidulating and Acid Making
1. Worker was digging out hot bin, when falling lump knocked bar out of his
hand. Bar struck foot, causing a permanent impairment.
Workers should be instructed in proper method of digging out hot bin so as to
prevent falling of material caused by undermining.
2. Worker, mixing phosphate rock and acid, received some superphosphate in
eye, causing loss of eye.
Workers should wear goggles for this operation.
3. Employee went up on scaffold to look at a leak in tower trough. One end of
scaffold gave way, causing worker to fall, which resulted in a permanent injury
to one foot.
Scaffolds should be built of strong timber and should be inspected periodically.

135055— 39-------8

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Labor Laws and Court Decisions

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON LABOR RELATIONS
Sit-Down Strikers and the National Labor Relations Act
THE Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion written by
Mr. Chief Justice Hughes, on February 27, 1939, held that although
employees had the right to strike, they had no right to commit acts of
violence or to seize the employer’s plant.1 The Court declared that
the discharge of employees because they had participated in a sit-down
strike was not an unlawful labor practice under the National Labor
Relations Act, and hence the employer could not be compelled to rein
state them. For this reason, the Court sustained the decision of the
Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit setting aside an order
of the National Labor Relations Board that required the reinstatement
of sit-down strikers. The opinion was by a divided Court, as Mr.
Justice Stone concurred in part only, and Mr. Justices Reed and Black
dissented.
The case involved a dispute between the Fansteel Metallurgical Cor
poration, of North Chicago, 111., and the Amalgamated Association of
Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, an affiliate of the
C. I. O. The facts in the case showed that in the summer of 1936 a
group of employees organized a union, within the plant, known as
Lodge 66. Shortly thereafter the Fansteel Corporation employed a
“labor spy” to watch the activities of the union. On September 10,
1936, the superintendent of the plant was requested to meet with a
committee of the union. He consented to do so, provided the com
mittee consisted only of employees of 5 years’ standing. The com
mittee then presented a contract relating to working conditions etc.,
but the superintendent objected to the “closed-shop and check-off
provisions” and announced that it was the policy of the company to
refuse recognition to “outside” unions. Several times thereafter the
superintendent refused to deal with the union on the ground that it
was an “outside” union. Attempts were made by the employer to
form a company union, and subsequently difficulties were placed in
the way of the president of the union.
On February 17, 1937, a committee of the union decided upon a
“sit-down strike” by means of taking over and holding two of the
i National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation, 59 Sup. Ct. 490.

872

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Labor Laws and Court Decisions

873

principal buildings. About 95 employees occupied these buildings.
Work in the plant ceased. Late in the day the superintendent, with
police officials and an attorney, went to each of the buildings and de
manded that the men leave. They refused and the attorney for the
employer announced that all the employees in the plant were dis
charged because of the “seizure and retention of the buildings.” The
men continued to occupy the buildings for a period of about 9 days.
On February 18, the company obtained from the State court an
injunction ordering the men to surrender the premises. They refused,
and a writ of attachment for contempt was served the following day.
The men successfully resisted attempts to evict them, and mediative
efforts on the part of the Federal and State Governments proved un
availing. On February 26 the sheriff, with an increased force of
deputies, made a further attempt to evict and arrest the men and this
time, after a battle, they were ousted and placed under arrest. Most
of them were eventually fined and sentenced to jail for violating the
injunction.
On regaining possession of the plant, the employer undertook to
resume operations and by March 12 the restaffing was approximately
complete. A large number of the strikers, including many who had
participated in the occupation of the buildings, were solicited indi
vidually to return to work with back pay, but without recognition of
the union. Some accepted the offer and were reinstated, while others
refused to return unless the union was recognized and unless a mass
reinstatement took place. Gradually new men were hired to fill the
positions of those remaining on strike. Again, the union requested
meetings to consider the recognition of the union for collective bar
gaining, but the corporation refused. There was no collective request
for reinstatement of the strikers. The position of practically all
the strikers who did not go back, and who were named in the complaint
filed with the Board, was that they were determined to stay out until
the union reached a settlement.
Early in April the Rare Metal Workers of America, Local No. 1,
was organized. A meeting was held in one of the buildings and by a
vote of 185 to 15 the men favored the formation of an “independent”
union. The National Labor Relations Board concluded that the Rare
Metal Workers of America, Local No. 1, was the result of the em
ployer’s “antiunion campaign” and that it had dominated and inter
fered in the formation and administration of it. Upon the basis of these
findings, the Board issued an order directing the employer to cease
from interfering with the right of the employees to self-organization
and collective bargaining. The Board also directed the employer
to cease dominating or interfering with the formation or adminis
tration of the Rare Metal Workers or any other labor organiza
tion, and further ordered the employer to bargain with the Amalga
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mated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America,
Lodge 66, to offer, upon application, to the employees who went on
strike “immediate and full reinstatement to their former positions,”
with back pay; and to withdraw all recognition from Rare Metal
Workers and completely to disestablish that organization as a repre
sentative of the employees for the purpose of collective bargaining.
M A JO R IT Y O P IN IO N

In reviewing the case, Mr. Chief Justice Hughes agreed with the
ruling of the National Labor Relations Board that the employer
had engaged in unfair labor practices, because of alleged antiunion
statements and actions of the superintendent, including the employ
ment and use of a “labor spy.” He also sustained the ruling of the
Board that the employer was guilty of unfair labor practices in refusing
to bargain collectively with the employees on February 17, 1937.
The Court considered the main question as to whether the Board
was authorized to require the reinstatement of the employees dis
charged for engaging in a sit-down strike. In this connection, it
was observed that the company had on February 17, clearly dis
charged its employees when they had refused to leave its property,
pursuant to counsel’s request, and that this seizure and retention of
the company’s property was the cause of the discharge of the men.
“Nor is it questioned,” the Chief Justice observed, “that the seizure
and retention of respondent’s property were unlawful.” He declared
that this conduct of the striking employees was “a high-handed
proceeding without shadow of legal right,” and that it had even been
the subject of denunciation by the State court.
In connection with the reinstatement of the striking employees
thus discharged, the Court reviewed the contentions of the Board:
(1) That the unfair labor practices led to the strike and thus furnished
grounds for requiring the reinstatement of the strikers; (2) that under
the terms of the act employees who go on strike because of an unfair
labor practice retain their status as employees and are to be con
sidered such despite their discharge for illegal conduct; (3) that the
Board was entitled to order reinstatement or reemployment in order
to “effectuate the policies” of the act.
In answer to the first contention of the Board, the Chief Justice
pointed out that the National Labor Relations Act provides a remedy
for the unfair labor practices of the employer, and that interference
with the right of self-organization could at once have been the subject
of complaint to the Board. The same remedy was available to the
employees when collective bargaining was refused on February 17,
1937. The Court declared that, reprehensible as was the conduct of
the company, “there is no ground for saying that it made respondent
an outlaw or deprived it of its legal rights to the possession and pro
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tection of its property.” It was also observed in the majority
opinion that the employees had the right to strike but could not
commit acts of violence or seize their employer’s plant. In this
regard, the Court said:
The seizure and holding of the buildings was itself a wrong apart from any
acts of sabotage. But in its legal aspect the ousting of the owner from lawful
possession is not essentially different from an assault upon the officers of an
employing company, or the seizure and conversion of its goods, or the despoiling
of its property or other unlawful acts in order to force compliance with demands.
To justify such conduct because of the existence of a labor dispute or of an unfair
labor practice would be to put a premium on resort to force instead of legal
remedies and to subvert the principles of law and order which lie at the foundations
of society.

It was further observed that, as the unfair labor practices afforded
no excuse for the seizure and holding of the buildings, the employer
had its “normal rights of redress.” Those rights, in their most obvious
scope, included the right to discharge the wrongdoers, and the em
ployer was not deprived of them by the National Labor Relations
Act. In support of this conclusion, the Court quoted from its
decision in the case of National Labor Relations Board v. Jones <&
Laughlin Steel Corporation (301 U. S. 1), in which it was said that
“the Board is not entitled to make its authority a pretext for inter
ference with the right of discharge when that right is exercised for
other reasons than such intimidation and coercion.”
It was argued by the Board, moreover, that under the circumstances
of the case, the employees retained their status as such, despite dis
charge for unlawful conduct, by virtue of the definition in the act
of the term “employee” namely—“any individual whose work has
ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor
dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not
obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment.”
The Court was of the opinion that this argument misconstrued the
statute, and declared that—
We are unable to conclude that Congress intended to compel employers to
retain persons in their employ regardless of their unlawful conduct— to invest
those who go on strike with an immunity from discharge for acts of trespass or
violence against the employer’s property, which they would not have enjoyed
had they remained at work. Apart from the question of the constitutional valid
ity of an enactment of that sort, it is enough to say that such a legislative intention
should be found in some definite and unmistakable expression.

It was pointed out that the true purpose of Congress was reasonably
clear in that it was “intent upon the protection of the right of em
ployees to self-organization and to the selection of representatives
of their own choosing for collective bargaining without restraint or
coercion.” To assure that protection, the employer is not allowed
“to discharge his employees because of union activity or agitation

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for collective bargaining.” It was observed that the conduct thus
protected was “lawful conduct.” Congress, it was said, also recog
nized the right to strike, but this recognition contemplated a “lawful
strike.” The Court declared that it was not applicable in this case,
since “the strike was illegal in its inception and prosecution.”
As to the argument of the Board that its order was valid under the
terms of the act regardless of whether the men remained “employees,”
the Court observed that the authority to require affirmative action
to “effectuate the policies” of the act is broad but not unlimited. As
to this, the Court continued further:
We are of the opinion that to provide for the reinstatement or reemployment
of employees guilty of the acts which the Board finds to have been committed
in this instance would not only not effectuate any policy of the act but would
directly tend to make abortive its plan for peaceable procedure.

The Board had stressed the fact, in this connection, that when the
employer obtained possession of its buildings and resumed operations,
it offered reemployment to many of the men who had participated
in the strike. The Court was of the opinion, however, that this
action did not alter the unlawful character of the strike or the em
ployer’s rights in that respect, and declared:
The important point is that respondent stood absolved by the conduct of those
engaged in the “sit-down” from any duty to reemploy them, but respondent
was nevertheless free to consider the exigencies of its business and to offer re
employment if it chose.

With respect to the strikers who aided and abetted the sit-down
strikers, the Court was of the opinion that they were in no better
position than the sit-down strikers themselves, and declared that the
employer had a right to discharge such employees as well as the
employees who had taken possession of the buildings. The Court,
therefore, held that the Board had no power to order their reinstate
ment.
Finally, the Chief Justice declared that the employer did not engage
in an unfair labor practice by refusal to bargain with Lodge 66 after
the strike, in view of the change in the situation by reason of the valid
discharge of the sit-down strikers and the filling of their positions
with new men. The Court did, however, hold that the formation of
the organization, Bare Metals Workers of America, was brought
about through “promotion efforts” of the company contrary to the
act, and that therefore recognition should be withdrawn from this
organization.
SE P A R A T E O P IN IO N S

Mr. Justice Stone concurred in so much of the Court’s decision as
held that the Board was without authority to order reinstatement of
those employees who were discharged on February 17, 1937. How
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ever, he based this conclusion solely on the construction of the sec
tions of the act under which the Board has been given authority to
reinstate only those who are “employees.” In this connection, Mr.
Justice Stone declared that there was nothing in the act expressing a
purpose “to cut off the right of an employer to discharge employees
who have destroyed his factory and to refuse to reemploy them, if
that is the real reason for his action.” He was of the opinion, how
ever, that the employees who aided and abetted the sit-down strikers,
but who were not discharged, retained their status as employees, and
that the Board had power to reinstate them.
A dissenting opinion was delivered by Mr. Justice Reed, concurred
in by Mr. Justice Black. These justices were of the opinion that the
order of the Board directing the reinstatement of the sit-down strikers
should have been sustained. Mr. Justice Reed pointed out that both
labor and management had erred grievously in their respective con
duct, and that it could not be said to be unreasonable “to restore
both to their former status.” He also declared that a disapproval of
a sit-down strike does not “logically compel the acceptance of the
theory that an employer has the power to bar his striking employee
from the protection of the Labor Act.” The dissenting opinion ob
served that the Labor Act had been enacted to protect interstate
commerce “from the interruptions of labor disputes.” Mr. Justice
Reed outlined some of the objects and the assurances which the
act extended to the employees. Without the assurance of the con
tinued protection of the law, he said, “the striking employee would
be quickly put beyond the pale of its protection by discharge.”
As now construed by the Court, the dissenting Justice said, “the
employer may discharge any striker, with or without cause, so long
as the discharge is not used to interfere with self-organization or col
lective bargaining. Friction easily engendered by labor strife may
readily give rise to conduct, from nose-thumbing to sabotage, which
will give fair occasion for discharge on grounds other than those
prohibited by the Labor Act.”
Effect of Breach of Contract by Employees
Two other decisions denying enforcement of orders by the National
Labor Relations Board were rendered on the same day as the sit-down
strike case by the United States Supreme Court. In the case of
National Labor Relations Board v. Sands Manufacturing Co. (59 Sup.
Ct. 508), the Court affirmed an order of the Circuit Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit which held that the findings of fact and evidence
in the record did not support the Board’s conclusions.
In this case, the Sands Manufacturing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio,
entered into a contract with the Mechanics Educational Society of

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America on June 15, 1935. Shortly afterward, because of lack of
work, the firm closed all of its plant except the machine shop. When
the employer later wished to increase the machine-shop force, a con
troversy arose as to the interpretation of the contract. The union
contended that the employer could not hire any “new men” as long
as old employees in other departments were still available. After a
conference with the employees, the union declared that the company
would not be allowed to run the machine shop unless it employed old
employees. Thereupon the plant was closed. Shortly afterward,
the employer negotiated with the International Association of Ma
chinists, an A. F. of L. affiliate, and reopened the plant with “prac
tically all” employees members of this union. The old union picketed
the plant, and subsequently obtained an order from the National
Labor Relations Board alleging discrimination, lock-outs, coercion,
interference with self-organization, and failure to bargain collectively.
It was urged by the Board that the conduct of the employer per
mitted no reasonable inference except that the employees were locked
out, discharged, and refused employment because they were members
of the M. E. S. A. and had engaged in concerted activities for the
purpose of collective bargaining. The Court, in its decision, however,
did not agree with this contention, and stated that the conclusion
had no support in the evidence.
Mr. Justice Roberts pointed out that the employer did not attempt
to prevent organization of its employees or discourage their affiliation
with M. E. S. A. or interfere with their relations with that body, and
that “there is no evidence of espionage or coercion by the company.”
In support of its conclusions the Board relied on the testimony
concerning the antiunion statements of two men connected with the
company. Mr. Justice Roberts pointed out, however, that neither
of them held such a position that his statements were evidence of the
company’s policies, and declared that “the inference of hostility to
M. E. S. A. drawn from their testimony does not in any event amount
to a scintilla when considered in the light of respondent’s long course
of conduct in respect of union activities and in dealing freely and
candidly with M. E. S. A.”
It was also argued by the Board that after the plant closed the
employer was under an obligation to send for the shop committee of
the union and again reason with its members or to wait until it could
operate its whole plant “without antagonizing the employees’ views
with respect to departmental seniority.” The Court, however, de
clared that the employer was not under an obligation to do any of
these things. As there was no refusal to bargain, there could be no
duty on either side to enter into further negotiations for collective
bargaining “in the absence of a request therefor by the employees.”
Mr. Justice Roberts further observed in this connection that as the

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company rightly understood that the men were irrevocably com
mitted not to work in accordance with their contract, “it was at liberty
to treat them as having severed their relations with the company be
cause of their breach and to consummate their separation from the
company’s employ by hiring others to take their places.”
Finally, the Court declared that the act did not prohibit an effective
discharge for repudiation by the employee of his agreement, any more
than it prohibited such discharge for a tort committed against the
employer and since the employer had lawfully obtained others to fill
the places of the former employees and recognized a new union, the
old union and the shop committee were no longer in a position to
demand collective bargaining on behalf of the company’s employees.
Mr. Justices Black and Reed dissented from the majoiity opinion,
but rendered no written opinion.
Collective Bargaining Under Labor Relations Act
In the third case decided by the United States Supreme Court, it
was held that the employer involved had not committed an unfair
labor practice inasmuch as the union concerned did not give the
employer any indication of a willingness to bargain during a strike.
(National Labor Relations Board v. Columbian Enameling cfc Stamping
Co., Inc., 59 Sup. Ct. 501.)
From the facts of the case, it appeared that on July 14, 1934, the
Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co. of Terre Haute, Ind., and the
Enameling and Stamping Mill Employees Union No. 19694 entered
into a written contract for 1 year. Between the date of the signing
of the agreement and March 23, 1935, numerous meetings were held
for the consideration and adjustment of various demands of the union.
Because of the failure of the employer to comply with certain demands
of the union, a strike was called on March 23, 1935, and on March 30
the employer announced that its factory would be closed indefinitely.
The strike was in effect on July 5, 1935, when the National Labor
Relations Act became effective, and continued until about July 23,
when the plant was reopened. On that day two conciliators from the
Department of Labor appeared in Terre Haute and were requested
by the union to effect negotiations with the company. The concilia
tors, on the same day, met and conferred with the president of the com
pany, who agreed to meet them with the scale committee of the union.
Later the officials of the company withdrew from the negotiations.
The National Labor Relations Board concluded that, on the day
the plant reopened, the union represented a majority of the employees,
and that it sought to bargain with the employer, who refused to do
so. The Board ordered the employer to discharge all of its produc
tion employees who were not employed on July 22, 1935, and to re
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instate its former employees as of that date, and further to desist
from refusing to bargain with the union as the exclusive representative
of the employer’s production employees. Application by the Board
for a decree enforcing its order was denied by the Circuit Court of
Appeals on the ground that as the employees had struck before the
enactment of the National Labor Relations Act, in violation of their
contract not to strike and to submit differences to arbitration, they
did not retain and were not entitled to protection of their status as
employees.
The decision of the United States Supreme Court, however, was
based on the ground that the union had given no evidence of a desire
to negotiate. After discussing the nature and extent of the legal duty
imposed upon the employer by the act, Mr. Justice Stone pointed out
that although an employer is compelled to bargain with his employees,
no like duty is imposed on his employees. Since there must be at
least two parties to a bargain, the Court declared that there can be
no breach of the statutory duty by the employer, “when he has not
refused to receive communications from his employees,” without some
indication “of their desire or willingness to bargain.”
For these reasons, Mr. Justice Stone expressed the view that the
statute does not compel an employer to seek out his employees or
request their participation in negotiations for purposes of collective
bargaining. He may ignore or reject proposals for such bargaining
which come from third persons not purporting to act with authority
of his employees, without any violation of law and without suffering
the drastic consequences such violation may entail. The employees,
the Court observed, must at least have signified to the employer
their desire to negotiate in order “to put the employer in default here.”
Finally, Mr. Justice Stone announced that substantial evidence
must be adduced if the Board’s findings are to be sustained, and that
this type of evidence “is more than a scintilla, and must do more than
create a suspicion of the existence of the fact to be established.”
A vigorous dissenting opinion was delivered by Mr. Justice Black,
concurred in by Mr. Justice Reed. The opinion declared that the
findings of the Board should have been upheld, as the inferences to be
drawn from the testimony were for the Board and not the courts, and
that “the inferences drawn by the Board were supported by the evi
dence.” It was observed also that various administrative agencies,
including the Labor Board, were created to deal with problems of everincreasing complexity, and that Congress thus sought to utilize
procedures more expeditious and administered by more specialized
and experienced persons than courts had been able to afford. The
dissenting justice observed that “the decision here tends to nullify
this congressional effort.” It was the view of Mr. Justice Black
that the Department of Labor conciliators must have informed the

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president of the company of the union’s desire for collective bargain
ing. In this connection, Mr. Justice Black opined that to hold the
company was unaware that the conciliators were acting at the instance
of the union and, therefore, not to hold it responsible for its refusal to
meet with the employees, is “to ignore the record and to shut our eyes
to the realities of the conditions of modern industry and industrial
strife.” It was pointed out further by Mr. Justice Black that the
atmosphere of a strike does not evoke, and should not require, punctil
ious observance of legalistic formalities and social exactness in discus
sions relative to the settlement of the strike.

CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS OF ANTILEAFLET
ORDINANCES
THE constitutionality of city ordinances regulating or forbidding the
distribution of leaflets and circulars on the streets has been considered
recently by many of the courts, including the Supreme Court of the
United States. Although most of the ordinances do not specifically
pertain to the distribution of leaflets by labor unions or persons en
gaged as pickets, they were in many cases enacted for the purpose of
discouraging or preventing labor disturbances. The distribution of
leaflets sometimes affords an effective medium of publicity for labor
groups, and the small cost makes it a useful means of publicizing
meetings and strikes, and of appealing to the public in connection
with local labor activities. As many communities with such ordi
nances have also outlawed picketing, labor is thus prevented from
presenting its position and appealing for public support.
The stated purpose of some of the ordinances is to prevent the litter
ing of the public streets. Some merely prohibit the throwing or
scattering of printed matter in the streets, or the distribution of
materials tending to litter the streets. Generally, the ordinances
either prohibit the distribution altogether or require the securing of a
license. In many instances, when a license is required, special condi
tions are imposed such as the posting of a bond, the payment of a fee,
and even the photographing and fingerprinting of the applicant.
The courts have not been in agreement as to the validity of such
ordinances. Measures absolutely forbidding the distribution of leaf
lets have frequently been held invalid. On the other hand, those
prohibiting the scattering of handbills on the streets and those regu
lating the distribution of leaflets have in many cases been upheld.
Quite often, however, burdensome conditions imposed on applicants
endeavoring to secure a license to distribute pamphlets have led the
courts to hold such ordinances invalid.

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Interference With Constitutional Rights— The Lovell Case
An ordinance of the latter type was held unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court of the United States on March 28, 1938, in the case
of Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U. S. 444. An ordinance of Griffin,
Ga., prohibited the distribution of literature of any kind without first
obtaining the written permission of the city manager. In this case
a member of the sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses was convicted of
violating the ordinance by distributing religious tracts without the
required permission. The conviction was affirmed by the superior
court of the county, and later the supreme court of the State denied an
application for review. An appeal to the United States Supreme
Court was based on the claim that the ordinance violated the Four
teenth Amendment in that it abridged the freedom of the press.
Mr. Chief Justice Hughes, who delivered the opinion of the Court,
held the ordinance invalid and pointed out that it was comprehensive
with respect to the method of distribution, and covered every sort of
circulation “either by hand or otherwise.” It was not limited, the
Court said, to ways which might be regarded as inconsistent with
the maintenance of public order or as involving disorderly conduct,
the molestation of the inhabitants, or the misuse or littering of the
streets. The Court pointed out further that the ordinance prohibited
the distribution of literature of any kind at any time, at any place,
and in any manner, without a permit from the city manager.
After stating that freedom of speech and freedom of the press were
among the fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the
Fourteenth Amendment from invasion by State action, the Court
declared that the ordinance was invalid on its face, and that “what
ever the motive which induced its adoption, its character is such that
it strikes at the very foundation of the freedom of the press by sub
jecting it to license and censorship.” The Chief Justice further
observed that the liberty of the press is not confined to newspapers
and periodicals but “necessarily embraces pamphlets and leaflets.”
Finally, he announced that the ordinance could not be saved because
it related to distribution and not to publication. In this regard, he
quoted an earlier case: “Liberty of circulation is as essential to that
freedom as liberty of publishing; indeed, without the circulation, the
publication would be of little value.”
Valid Exercise of Police Power
Prior to the decision in the Lovell case, an ordinance of the city of
Fall River, Mass., was held valid by the supreme judicial court of that
State as a proper exercise of the police power of the city.1 The ordi
nance prohibited the distribution of posters, bills, or sheets of paper
i Commonwealth v Kimball. 13 N . E. (2d) 18.

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of any description containing advertising matter of any kind,
whether printed or written, in any public street, highway, or public
place. The defendant in the case was arrested for distributing a
pamphlet entitled “Garment Worker,” which contained an adver
tisement of a play to be given by a labor organization. Among other
things contained in the notice was a statement that tickets could be
obtained free at the office of the union. The court declared that the
distribution of handbills, etc., on the streets tended to annoy travelers,
that it obstructed the streets, and littered them with paper. A city
could validly prohibit such distribution, the court said, as an exercise
of the power to maintain its “internal police.” It was also declared
that the word “advertising” was not limited to notices for commercial
purposes, but applied to any kind of advertising.
A similar ordinance was upheld in another case by the Massachu
setts Supreme Judicial Court on December 21, 1938, in the case of
Commonwealth v. Nichols (18 N. E. (2d) 166). In deciding that the
ordinance of the city of Worcester was constitutional, the court
declared that it did not deny or impair the freedom of the press, but
was “a reasonable and valid regulation of the use of the public ways for
the preservation of public order, the protection of travelers from
annoyance, and the prevention of misuse or littering of the streets.”
It was argued by the defendant that the Worcester ordinance should
be held invalid on the authority of the Lovell case. The court pointed
out, however, that the ordinance of the city of Griffin which was
there struck down was not a regulation of the use of the streets. Con
tinuing, the court said that “it was an absolute prohibition of the dis
tribution of ‘literature of any kind’ anywhere within the city, whether
delivered free or sold, without the written permission of the city
manager.” Since the city manager was thus made the sole arbiter
as to what literature of any kind should be allowed within the city,
the court stated that “such an ordinance goes far beyond reasonable
regulation and infringes upon fundamental rights.”
In Los Angeles, Calif., an ordinance similar to that of the two
Massachusetts cities was recently held constitutional by the appellate
department of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.2 This ordi
nance prohibited the distribution of any handbill to pedestrians along
any street, or to passengers on any streetcar, or any automobile or
other vehicle. The ordinance was upheld as a reasonable exercise of
the police power of the city to guard against the littering of the streets.
As in the Massachusetts cases, it was argued that the ordinance should
be declared unconstitutional on the authority of the Lovell case. The
court held, however, that there was a vital distinction between the
Griffin ordinance and that of Los Angeles. The ordinance of the city
of Griffin, it was pointed out, prohibited the distribution of handbills
s People of California v. Young, 85 Pae. (2d) 231.

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and cards “anywhere in the city /’ while the Los Angeles ordinance
prohibited the distribution “only in a very limited number of places.”
In Wisconsin, the State supreme court recently upheld the validity
of an ordinance of Milwaukee which also prohibited the circulation
of handbills on the streets of the city.3 The court held that this
ordinance did not interfere with the freedom of the press, under the
ruling in the Lovell case, and declared that the ordinance of the city
of Milwaukee and that of the city of Griffin were “widely different.”
The latter ordinance, the court said, “was manifestly not aimed to
prevent the littering of streets, as was the instant ordinance.” The
court was also of the opinion that the Milwaukee ordinance was not
rendered unconstitutional by the enactment of the Wisconsin anti
injunction act which declares lawful the acts of “giving publicity to
and * * * communicating information regarding the existence of,
or the facts involved in, any [labor] dispute, whether by advertising,
speaking, patrolling any public street or any place where any person
or persons may lawfully be, without intimidation or coercion, or by
any other method not involving fraud, violence, breach of the peace, or
threat thereof.” It was said that the act was not intended and could
not be construed “to repeal or render void existing valid ordinances
enacted to provide for the necessities or convenience of traffic in the
city streets.”
Recent Decisions Based Upon the Lovell Case
The decisions of the State courts heretofore analyzed have been
primarily based on the ground that the ordinances were enacted for the
purpose of preventing the littering of the streets, and were not in
tended to interfere with the exercise of the right of freedom of speech
and of the press. However, a similar ordinance of Jersey City, N. J.,
has been held unconstitutional by the United States Circuit Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit,4 on the ground that the ordinance was
“squarely within the decision of the Supreme Court of the United
States in Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U. S. 444.” This ordinance pro
vided that no person shall distribute about any street or public place
any “newspapers, paper, periodical, book, magazine, circular, card,
or pamphlet.” The court held the ordinance unconstitutional in that it
violated the freedom of speech and of the press, which are “fundamental
civil rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from any
abridgement by State action.” Recently the United States Supreme
Court granted a review of this case.
Although there have been no recent decisions of State appellate
courts holding city ordinances of this type unconstitutional, in many
cases prosecutions have been dismissed by lower courts on the author1 City of Milwaukee v. Snyder, 283 N . W. 301.
<Hague, individually and as Mayor of Jersey City, it al. v. Committee for Industrial Organization et al, 101
Fed. (2d) 774.

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ity of the Lovell decision. In the case of People of New York v. Giliona,
decided on December 31, 1938, the police court of Schenectady dis
charged a defendant who had distributed handbills containing a
notice of the meeting of a labor body, in violation of an ordinance of
that city. That ordinance prohibited the distribution of handbills
upon the streets of the city without a permit. Upon the authority of
the Lovell case the court declared that Giliona must be discharged.
The court also had occasion to observe that on October 11, 1938,
Justice Russell of the State supreme court, in the case of People ex rel.
Gordon v. Public Safety Commissioner of the city of Cohoes, N . Y.,
discharged one Max Gordon for an alleged violation of an ordinance
similar to the Schenectady ordinance, based upon the authority of the
Lovell case. However, without any reference to the Lovell case, the
Supreme Court of New Jersey, on February 24, 1939, held an ordinance
of Westfield, N. J., making it unlawful to distribute circulars, etc.,
without a permit, did not apply to one who merely distributed hand
bills announcing a meeting to discuss Fascism. ( Town of Westfield v.
Milgram, 4 Atl. (2d) 515.) In reversing a conviction the court pointed
out that reasonable restrictions might be imposed upon the distribu
tion of circulars, but doubted the reasonableness of a regulation
imposing hardships on “an individual who desires only to hand out
unobjectionable notices of a meeting to persons who may be regarded
as potentially interested in the subject matter.”
W W W

RECENT COURT DECISIONS OF INTEREST TO LABOR
Liability of City for Damages to Property During Strike
THE Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently held that a
city would be liable in damages to an owner of a restaurant whose
personal property was destroyed during a strike. In this case, a group
of more than five persons assembled for the purpose of compelling the
owners of the restaurant to sign a contract, and then destroyed certain
personal property in the restaurant.
A West Virginia statute provides that five or more individuals
assembled “for the purpose of exercising * * * regulative powers
over any person or persons by violence and without lawful authority,
shall be regarded and designated as a mob,” and that anyone suffering
serious injury to his property by a mob within a city, shall have an
action against the city for the damages sustained, not to exceed
$5,000. In holding that such a suit could be maintained against the
city of Logan, the court declared that the group of strikers constituted
a “mob” within the meaning of the statute, if the individuals “as
sembled for the purpose of forcing” the owners of the restaurant “by
violence and without lawful authority to sign an agreement.” (Mead
ows et al. v. City of Logan, 1 S. E. (2d) 394.)

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

886

Force and Violence in Picketing
Rioting by a crowd at a retail store was held by the Minnesota
Supreme Court to constitute no part of the right to picket and to be
in violation of the State riot statute. The crowd assembled in front
of the store which was being picketed in an attempt by a local labor
organization to unionize the company’s employees, and forced its way
into the store, resisted the local officers and destroyed merchandise.
In holding that this was a violation of the statute, the court observed
that the essential elements of the crime as defined by the statute are an
assemblage of three or more persons, the use of force or violence against
property or persons, and a resulting disturbance of the public peace.
It was pointed out that “regardless of the purpose of the original
assemblage the participants disturbed the public peace by using force
and violence,” and “such conduct is in no sense a part or incident to
the right to strike, the right to picket, or to the exercise of any other
right afforded individuals attempting to improve their working con
ditions.” The court further declared that “all of the elements of riot
were present and each participant became a violator of the riot
statute.” (State v. Winkels et at., 283 N. W. 763.)
Rights of Loyal and Seceding Members of Union
A local union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor was
held by the Oregon Supreme Court to be entitled to recover from a
local union affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization,1
the money, office furniture, files, and records which came into the pos
session of the C. I. O. union when some of the members of the A. F. of
L. union seceded and joined the C. I. O. union.
In its decision, the court pointed out that the charter of the partic
ular A. F. of L. union provided that it must conform to the constitu
tion of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America,
and that in case of the withdrawal or dissolution of the union, all
property, moneys, books, and papers should become the property of
the brotherhood. The constitution of the brotherhood provides that
“the funds or property of a local union cannot be divided * * *
among the members individually, but shall remain the property of the
local union for its legitimate purpose while 10 members remain there
in.” As more than 10 members remained affiliated with the A. F. of L.
union, the court declared that that union had never ceased to exist.
It was the opinion of the court that the charter of the A. F. of L.
union and the constitution of the united brotherhood “constituted an
enforceable contract” and precluded the seceding members from trans
ferring the money, office furniture, files, and records of the A. F. of L.
i The name of this organization was later changed to Congress of Industrial Organizations.

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Labor Laws and Court Decisions

887

union to the C. I. O. union. The court declared in this connection that
the seceding members forfeited “all right to the property and funds of
the union/’ and had “no more right to control the disposition of such
property and funds than if they had never been members thereof.”
(Harris et al. v. Backman et al., 86 Pac. (2d) 456.)
Breach of Contracts by Seceding Union
A C. I. O. cannery workers’ union was held by the Supreme Court of
Washington to be liable for breach of contracts, although the contracts
were executed by an A. F. of L. union, as the union was the same or
ganization except for change in name and affiliation. The contracts
provided that the union would procure employment for workers in an
Alaska cannery upon payment by each worker of $5 for a permit to
work there. It was urged that as the contracts were executed by local
No. 18257 of the Cannery Workers’ and Farm Laborers’ Union which
was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, C. I. O. local
No. 7, which took over the entire membership and property of the
A. F. of L. local, was not liable for breach of the contracts.
In holding that the new union was liable, the court pointed out that
the only changes made were in name and transferring allegiance to the
Committee for Industrial Organization, and in every other way “the
union remained the same and hence could not by the simple change of
name and affiliation be relieved from a contractual obligation.” It
was also observed that the new organization followed the old in the
manner of conducting business, and kept in office most of the officers
of the old union. (Labonite v. Cannery Workers’ and Farm Laborers’
Union, et al., 86 Pac. (2d) 189.)
COVERAGE OF TEACHERS’ TENURE LAWS
TENURE laws for teachers in the United States vary not only in re
gard to the civil and political subdivisions to which they are appli
cable, but also in the classes of school positions protected. In such
legislation, tenure is defined as “permanent employment, with notice
before dismissal and right to a hearing.” The National Education
Association recently made an analysis 1 of teacher tenure laws, from
which the data in this article are taken. In that analysis continuing
contract laws are not included, as their only security is that of requiring
notice before dismissal.
In only 6 of the 16 States listed in table 1 are the tenure provisions
applicable to the whole State. In 5 States—Colorado, Illinois,
Kansas, Minnesota, and Oregon—only the teachers in the large cities
are protected.
1 National Education Association of the United States.
Washington, D . C., January 1939.
135055— 39-------9

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Critical Analysis of Teacher Tenure Legislation.

888

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
T able 1.— Coverage of Teacher-Tenure Laws in States With Such Legislation
Area covered by tenure law

State
California____
Colorado_____
Florida______
Illinois_______
Indiana______
Kansas...........
Louisiana____
Maryland____
Massachusetts.
Michigan____
M innesota___
N ew Jersey__
N ew York___
Oregon______
Pennsylvania.
Wisconsin____

Mandatory in school districts with more than 850 pupils in average
daily attendance; optional, under 850.
First-class districts of over 20,000 population.
Counties of not more than 155,000 or less than 150,000 population.
Cities of over 500,000 population.
City and town school corporations.
Cities of over 120,000 population.
Entire State.
Entire State (but Baltimore teachers are under a separate plan).
Entire State (but Boston teachers are under a separate plan).
Optional with each district upon vote of electors.
First-class cities.
Entire State.
Cities and union free districts having a population of over 4,500 and
employing a superintendent.
Cities of more than 20,000 population.
Entire State.
D o.1

> Milwaukee not included under State law.

In table 2 the various types of school employees coming under
tenure legislation are reported.
T able 2 .— Classes of School Employees Covered by State Teacher-Tenure Laws 1
Type of employee (as defined in tenure law)
All certificated employees______________________
Administrative and supervisory employees in cer
tificated positions.
Teachers------ ------ ------------------------------- ------------

States
California, Louisiana, Michigan, Wisconsin.
California.

Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mary
land, Massachusetts, Minnesota, N ew Jersey, New
Yohkt Oregon, Pennsylvania.
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
Supervising principals.
Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massa
Principals_____ _____
chusetts, Minnesota, N ew Jersey, N ew York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania.
Assistant (or vice) principals......................................... Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Oregon.
Supervisors.......................................................................... Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, N ew York, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.
Superintendents________________________ _______ Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts (except union or
district superintendents), N ew York (cities).
Assistant superintendents.......................... ................... Indiana, M innesota.
Appointive administrative employees when hold Florida.
ing certificate is necessary to employment.
Professional employees required to hold an in Kansas.
structor’s certificate.
Professional assistants of county superintendents... Maryland.
Members of State teachers’ retirement system____
Do.
Holders of certificates required of teachers in State- Massachusetts.
aided high schools.
Placement teachers_____________________________ Minnesota.
Visiting teachers................................................................ Minnesota, Pennsylvania.
Holders of teachers’ certificates..................................... N ew Jersey.
D irectors..................................... .............. ..................... N ew York (cities).
Teaching and supervising staff..................................... N ew York.2
Directors of vocational education________________ Pennsylvania.
Dental hygienists______ ____ ____ ______ _________
Do.
School secretaries when their selection is on basis of
Do.
merit from eligibility list.
School nurses if certified as teachers..______ ______
Do.
Any regular full-time employee who is certified as
Do.
teacher.
Full-time employees of Stout Institute, Wisconsin Wisconsin.
Mining School, and local boards of vocational
education.
1 This table should be interpreted in the light of table 1. Only 6 States have State-wide tenure laws.
2Associate superintendents and examiners are excluded from the law for cities.

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Labor Organizations

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN CANADA, 1937
MEMBERS of trade-unions in Canada at the close of 1937 totaled
384,619—a gain of 62,146 over 1936. The number of trade-union
locals was 3,258—an increase of 372 as compared with the preceding
year.
Based upon returns from trade-unions and upon other reliable data,
the international-union group in the Dominion included the Canadian
members of 96 organizations—an increase of 8 over the 1936 record.
This group had 2,048 branches in Canada (a gain of 152 as compared
with the previous year) and a total membership of 217,465 (which was
42,696 above the figure for 1936).
The national Catholic group consists of 285 unions, a gain of 95, the total
membership as supplied by the secretary of the Federation of Catholic Workers
of Canada being 52,000, an increase of 7,000.
There were 72 independent units, 12 more than in 1936, the membership as
reported by 67 being 16,521, a loss of 2,342.

These statistics are taken from the Twenty-seventh A nnual Report
of Labor Organization in Canada, for the calendar year 1937, pub
lished by the Canadian Department of Labor.
The paid-up membership, as of December 31, 1937, of the Trades
and Labor Congress of Canada, was 145,966. That of the AllCanadian Congress of Labor was 19J335.1 The total number of
affiliated members of the Canadian Federation of Labor was reported
as 52,622.
Members

All industries---------------------------------------------- 384, 619
Mining and quarrying______________________
Building---------------------------------------------------Metal-------------------------------------------------------Printing and paper making_________________
Clothing, boots and shoes___________________
Railroads--------------------------------------------------Other transportation and navigation_________
Public service, personal service, and amuse
ment-----------------------------------------------------All other trades, and general labor___________

Percent

100. 00

26, 909
30, 408
38, 318
24, 273
28, 830
79, 347
35, 161

7.00
7.90
9.97
6.31
7.50
20.63
9.14

37, 106
84, 267

9.64
21.91

1 It is in general maintained that the percentage of members in arrears is quite substantial—in some cases
as great as 25 percent.

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889

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

890

Of the 96 international organizations with branches or members
in the Dominion, 16 had 5,000 members or over. Six of these im
portant bodies are composed of employees connected with railroad
operation, as indicated in the following table:
International Trade-Unions in Canada Having 5,000¿Members or Over, 19371

Organization

Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America.......................................... - ......................

Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach EmployBrotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and
Station Employees---------- --------------- ------------------------------------------------------

Number
of
Canadian
local units

Reported
Canadian
member
ship

72
196
112
92
7
44
20
17
78

19.000
13,000
11.733
11,456
10,000
9,600
8.929
8.014
7,600

7,056

94
20
87
96
29
13

6,932
6,505
6,287
5,271
5,000
5,000

•T h e Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees which is not an international union has 14,790
members.

ORGANIZATION OF LABOR IN R U M A N IA 1
A ROYAL decree governing the formation, recognition, and function
ing of corporations (bresle) of salaried and wage-earning employees and
craftsmen in Rumania was enacted on October 11, 1938, to supersede
the trade-union law of May 24, 1921, with its subsequent amendments.
Associations, federations, and trade-unions of workers which, under
the terms of the trade-union law or any other law, were in existence on
October 11 and wished to retain their legal personality were required
to bring their rules into agreement with the provisions of this decree
within 2 months and to submit a request to the Ministry of Labor for
the retention of their legal personality. If this request was rejected
they might still continue to function as de facto societies, but without
the title of association, federation, or trade-union.
The work of the corporations is to be carried on in the interest of the
State, and affiliation with international bodies is prohibited. Repre
sentation at international demonstrations or congresses is permitted
only by specific permission of the Ministry of Labor.
1 Monitorul Oficial, Bucharest, October 12.1938.

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Labor Organizations

891

Formation of Corporations
Salaried and wage-earning employees and craftsmen working in the
same, similar, or kindred occupations, as well as salaried employees
of the State, the departments, local authorities, autonomous offices,
and other public and public-utility services, are entitled to form cor
porations. All persons, either Kumanians or aliens, over 18 years of
age, who are employed in a specified occupation, may become members
of a corporation. Membership is open also to persons, temporarily
unemployed, who were working in the occupation in question for not
less than a year before becoming members of the corporation. Proce
dure in resignation or exclusion from membership is also given. A
registry of corporations and associations is to be maintained by the
Ministry of Labor, in which pertinent facts concerning the organiza
tions are to be recorded. The presidents of corporations are to report,
within 15 days and with supporting documents, any action taken in
their corporations.
Recognition of Legal Personality
The recognition of legal personality of a corporation is made by
royal decree, issued at the suggestion of the Ministry of Labor upon
the request of the committee of labor and published in the official
gazette. The corporation must be a separate occupational unit, con
fined to one district. Legal recognition is given to only one corpora
tion for each class of occupation in each district, but sections of a
corporation may be formed in the chief centers of the district.
The application for recognition, together with all the documents
required, must be addressed to the Ministry of Labor, which will
submit it to the committee of labor for its opinion. After full investi
gation the committee of labor may require the rules of the corporation
to be amended to conform to the conditions established in this decree,
and give its opinion as to whether the corporation should be recognized,
in view of the stated aim of the corporate system to investigate, defend,
and promote occupational interests, whether industrial, commercial,
agricultural, technical, economic, cultural, or social.
Essential conditions with which the corporation must comply in
order to be recognized are: (1) Corporations of wage earners or crafts
men must include at least 10 percent of the wage earners employed in
their particular occupation in the district or of the total number of
craftsmen belonging to the same class of occupation; in no case may the
number of founder members be less than 30 persons, but if the requisite
number of workers cannot be found in the district, persons wishing to
do so may unite with the corporation which most nearly corresponds
to their occupations; (2) corporations must give their members occu
pational, moral, and patriotic training; (3) the heads of corporations

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892

Monthly Lahor Review—April 1939

must be Rumanian citizens in full enjoyment of all civil and political
rights, whose character, capabilities, and patriotism will constitute a
guaranty for the character and work of the corporation.
Exclusive rights of recognized corporations include the following:
To plead in a legal action; to conclude collective labor agreements; to
appoint representatives from among their members to chambers of
labor, insurance funds and offices, advisory or deliberative committees,
courts of law, and all other public or private institutions where occu
pational interests should be represented; and to take action for the
benefit of their members in matters involving collective or individual
labor agreements. Other rights are: To appoint delegates on concilia
tion and arbitration committees in collective labor disputes when not
less than half of their members are wage earners in the enterprises of
the occupational group to which the corporation belongs; to appoint
delegates to accompany the inspectors of the Ministry of Labor (under
specified conditions) on visits to industrial establishments to enforce
laws and regulations for labor protection or organization, collective
agreements, or workshop rules; and to set up institutions for the
management, training, and occupational improvement and defense of
labor, either on their own account, or in cooperation with other cor
porations, with occupational chambers, or with the Ministry of Labor.
They may also, if their rules allow and on the explicit condition that
their individual members are not to receive profits, establish and
maintain for the interests of the members businesses and cooperative
societies, or social institutions and mutual benefit funds, and may
issue publications to further the cultural and technical development
of members and the defense of occupational interests.
The rules for the corporation must provide for the registration of
information as to the name and location of the corporation, its objects,
its initial assets and subscriptions, and the rules for giving assistance
to its members, conditions governing membership, rules for forming
sections, the stipulation that none of them are to pay more than 70
percent of their receipts for the expenses of the corporation, a state
ment of respect for the constitution and laws of the country and an
explicit renunciation of any form of internal or external activity
contrary to the interests of the State, the recognition of the place of
the corporation in the economic structure of the country, and rules
for the establishment and functioning of the managerial and super
visory bodies of the corporation.
A corporation may lose its legal personality by withdrawal of
recognition, by a decision of its own general assembly carried by a
two-thirds vote of all its members, or automatically under certain
conditions specified in the decree. The withdrawal of recognition is
decided upon by the Council of Ministers, after consideration of a
report by the Minister of Labor upon the suggestion of the committee

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Labor Organizations

893

of labor, if it is established that the corporation is not functioning in
accordance with the purpose for which it was constituted or the condi
tions governing its recognition no longer prevail. Withdrawal of
recognition is announced by royal decree.
Management and Supervision
The groups responsible for the management of the corporation are
the general assembly and the committee of management. The general
assembly consists of all contributing members, and acts on matters not
reserved by statute to the committee of management. The com
mittee of management must be composed of at least seven members,
Rumanians over 30 years of age, who are or have been actively em
ployed in the trade belonging to the occupational category of the
corporation for at least 3 years, are in full possession of civil and politi
cal rights, and have never been convicted of a criminal offense or any
of the misdemeanors mentioned in the decree. The Ministry of
Labor has general and permanent right of supervision and control
over the activities of the corporation, to be exercised through certain
of its sections which will be empowered to attend the meetings of the
committee of management and of the general assembly. Certain
rights of supervision are exercised also by a committee of censor
ship, consisting of from three to five members, one of whom must
be an expert accountant.
Associations of Corporations
Two or more corporations with legal personality may form associa
tions by class of occupations. A single association may be recognized
for the whole country for each class of occupation or related occu
pations, the headquarters of the association to be in the national
capital. When these associations have legal personality, they have
the right to plead in a legal action, at the request of the Ministry of
Labor or other authority, to appoint representatives upon any official
commissions or organizations and delegates to all kinds of inter
national gatherings and demonstrations, and to issue publications in
the interest of the occupational concerns of their members.
Penalties
The officers or authorized agents of a corporation or association are
subject to penalties for .violation of the prohibitive provisions of this
decree or for making false statement. Persons found guilty of hinder
ing the exercise of the right of free association by preventing a person
from joining a corporation or forcing a person to join a corporation by
any means are liable to fine or imprisonment or both. Fines are pay
able to the special “labor fund.”

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Disputes

TR EN D OF STRIKES
PRELIMINARY estimates indicate a 10-percent increase in strike
activity in February 1939 as compared with January. The estimates
for each of these months are shown in the table below. The largest
strikes during February were one in the New York dress industry
early in the month and a short stoppage at the Plymouth plant of the
Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, February 22 and 23.
Trend of Strikes, 1933 to February 1939 1
Workers involved in
strikes

Number of strikes

Year and month

Con
tinued
from pre
ceding
month

Begin
ning in
month
or year

In
progress
during
month

Man-days
idle during
month or
Ended In effect Beginning In progress
year
during
at end in month
in
month
month of month or year

16,872,128
19,591,949
15, 456, 337
13, 901,956
28,424, 857

1,168,272
1,466, 695
1,117,213
' 788, 648
1,860, 621

1,695
1,856
2, 014
2^172
L 740

1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1937
January_____________
February____________
March______________
April________________
M ay_____ __________
June________ _ _____
July_________
____
August ____________
September___ . . . . . .
October_______ _____
N ovem ber_________
December___________

100
139
146
250
273
330
358
297
295
263
205
202

171
211
614
535
604
610
472
449
361
320
262
131

271
350
760
785
877
940
830
746
656
583
467
333

132
204
510
512
547
582
533
451
393
378
265
213

139
146
250
273
330
358
297
295
263
205
202
120

108, 621
99,335
290,324
221, 572
325,499
281,478
143, 678
143, 033
88, 967
67,242
68,929
21,943

214,268
226,329
358,155
394,178
445,170
474, 954
353, 682
238,828
160,241
127,109
118, 632
60, 518

2,720,281
1,491,268
3,288,979
3,377, 223
2,982, 735
4,998,408
3,007,819
2,270, 380
1,449,948
1,181, 914
981, 697
674,205

1938
January_____________
February_____ ______
March______________
April________________
M ay________________
June____ . . . ___ . . .
July________________
August______________
September___________
October_____________
November________ . .
December___________

120
123
132
163
182
179
153
150
150
128
142
110

159
189
251
257
266
197
182
224
187
216
169
136

279
312
383
420
448
376
335
374
337
344
311
246

156
180
220
238
269
223
185
224
209
202
201
162

123
132
163
182
179
153
150
150
128
142
110
84

35,033
52, 847
55, 766
77,478
81,150
52,027
48,464
45,867
95, 463
51, 736
38,034
33, 673

55, 554
77,098
104,690
109,629
122, 633
94,186
83, 097
77,829
131, 668
110,982
69, 914
53, 558

471,746
509, 747
758,760
830, 284
1,157,916
849, 544
756,257
809,155
979,957
831,335
518,954
424,708

1939
*
100
84
171
255
50,000
65,000
525,000
155
January 1 . . . _______
70,000
600,000
185
285
170
115
55,000
February >__________
100
i Strikes involving fewer than 6 workers or lasting less than 1 day are not included in this table nor in the
following tables. Notices or leads regarding strikes are obtained by the Bureau from more than 650 daily
papers, labor papers, and trade journals, as well as from all Government labor boards. Letters are written
to representatives of parties in the disputes asking for detailed and authentic information. Since answers to
some of these letters have not yet been received, the figures given for the late months are not final. This is
particularly true with regard to figures for the last 2 months, and these should be considered as preliminary
estimates.

894

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Disputes

895

The number of strikes and workers involved in February were
about the same as in February of last year but there was an increase
of about 17 percent in man-days of idleness because of strikes.
The estimates for January and February are based on newspaper
reports and other information available as this goes to press. An
analysis of strikes in each of these months, based on detailed and
verified information, will appear in subsequent issues of the Monthly
Labor Review.
ANALYSIS OF STRIKES IN DECEM BER 19381
THE Bureau of Labor Statistics has received detailed information on
136 strikes which began in December 1938, involving more than
33,000 workers. The following analysis is based on these strikes, plus
110 which continued into December from preceding months, making a
total of 246 strikes in progress in December, involving more than 53,000
workers and causing about 425,000 man-days of idleness during the
month.
Slightly more than half of the strikes beginning in December were
in 4 industry groups: Trade 20 (retail 16 and wholesale 4), building
and construction 19, transportation and communication 18, and
textiles 14. Of the 33,673 workers involved in the strikes beginning
in December, nearly 12,000 (36 percent) were in the automobile manu
facturing industry. Two short strikes accounted for most of these
workers. One was the strike from December 2 to 6 at the Fisher
Body plant in Flint, Mich., and the other was from December 1 to 5
at the Chrysler Corporation plant in Newcastle, Ind. The industry
groups affected by the greatest number of man-days of idleness were:
Lumber and allied products (81,000), due largely to the dispute which
began last July at the Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills in Bellingham,
Wash.; textiles (52,000); trade (46,000); automobiles (37,500); and
transportation and communication (34,000).
1 Detailed information on a few strikes has not yet been received.
Data on missing strikes will be included in the annual report.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(See footnote to preceding table.)

896

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
T able 1.— Strikes in December 1938, by Industry
Beginning in
December

In progress dur
ing December

Industry
N um Workers N um Workers
ber involved
ber involved

Mandays
idle
during
Decem
ber

All industries_________________________________________

136

33, 673

246

53, 558

424, 708

Iron and steel and their products, not including machinery.
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills-------------Cutlery (not including silver and plated cutlery), and
edge tools— ....................... .................................. ..............
Hardware.. ---------- --------------------------------------------Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and steam fit-

3
1

2, 573
2,150

10
1

3,011
2,150

17,953
8,600

1
1

346
77

1
1

346
77

2,076
1,386

1
1
2
1
2

89
30
81
105
133

267
360
1,841
2,205
1,218

Machinery, not including transportation equipment_______
Agricultural implements___ _____________ ______ -Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies-----------

2
1
1

557
535
22

7
1
2
1
3

2,122
535
68
37
1,482

18, 071
1,605
296
592
15,578

Transportation equipment______________________ _____
Automobiles, bodies and parts----- ------- -------------------

4
4

11,987
11,987

5
5

13, 276
13,276

37, 571
37,571

Nonferrous metals and their products______
________
Aluminum manufactures______________ . . ----------Brass, bronze, and copper products----------- ------------Lighting equipment_______________________________
Silverware and plated ware-------------- ------------------

4
1
1
1
1

110
34
26
35
15

5
1
1
1
1
1

530
34
26
35
15
420

3, 770
68
312
420
30
2,940

Lumber and allied products____________________________
Furniture____________ _____ __________ __________
Sawmills and logging camps________________________
Other _______________________________ __________

5
1
2
2

297
36
91
170

12
6
3
3

4,107
1,790
2,091
226

80, 842
35,257
42,919
2,666

Stone, clay, and glass products__________________________
Brick, tile, and terra cotta__________________________

1
1

313
313

3
3

478
478

7,403
7,403

Textiles and their products---------------- ---------- -------------Fabrics:
Carpets and rugs.......... .................................. ..............
Cotton goods.................................. .................. ................

1,058

4, 002

51,958

1
1

311
12

Dyeing and finishing textiles__ ____ ____________
Woolen and worsted g o o d s ..........................................
Other_____________________________ ____ _____
Wearing apparel:
Clothing, men’s______ _________________________
Clothing, women’s. _____ _____ ______ _________
Hats, caps, and millinery________ ______________
Shirts and collars______________________________
Knit goods____________________________________

1
1
1

26
60
146

1
2
1
2
1
1

311
512
9
45
60
146

933
10,512
189
841
120
584

1
6
1

15
356
102

2
15
2
2
1
1

59
726
493
1,011
30
600

1,264
9,341
4, 658
10,886
30
12,600

Leather and its manufactures_____________ _____ ________
Boots and shoes__________________________________

1
1

301
301

2
2

343
343

7,203
7,203

Food and kindred products___ _____________ _______ .
Baking___________________________________________

9
2

1, 769
122

.
____________________
Confectionery________
Slaughtering and meat packing_____________________

2
5

72
1, 575

15
3
1
2
7
2

2, 729
135
16
72
2,393
113

20, 930
587
416
801
16,563
2,563

1
1

13
13

273
273

Tobacco manufactures____ ______ _________ _
.. ..
Cigars____________________________________________
Paper and printing. ____. . . ____ _____________________
Boxes, paper_______________ ____ __________________
Printing and publishing: Newspapers and periodicals.
O th er ..____________________________ ____ _________

4
1
2
1

500
17
423
60

7
2
4
1

1,024
32
932
60

21, 723
332
20, 371
1,020

Chemicals and allied products__________________ . . ..
Petroleum refining________ __________________
___
Other__________________________________ _________

3
1
2

910
800
110

5
1
4

992
800
192

6, 721
4,800
1,921

2
2

320
320

5,792
5.792

Other rubber goods................................................. ..............

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Industrial Disputes
T ari e

897

1.—Strikes in December 1938, by Industry—Continued
Beginning in
December

In progress during December

Industry
Num- Workers Num- Workers
ber involved
ber involved

Mandays
during
Decernber

Miscellaneous manufacturing_______________________
O ther..................................... ................... ........................*"

2
2

31
31

7
7

230
230

1,577
1, 577

Extraction of m inerals..................... ...................
Coal mining, anthracite.............. .............................
Coal mining, bituminous__________ _______________
Metalliferous mining______ __________________
O th er ........................................ ..................................” 1111

3
1
2

391
30
361

6
2
2
1

1,459
845
361

10, 958
1,935
4,562
840

Transportation and communication___ ____ ____________
Water transportation______________ ____ _______
Motortruck transportation_________________ ____
Motorbus transportation......................... ................. ..........
Taxicabs and miscellaneous.............................. .................
Radio broadcasting and transmitting_______________

18
7
6
1
3
1

2,958
477
2,256
43
167
15

23
7
11
1
3
1

4,810
477
4,108
43
167
15

34, 263
3,152
28,312
172
2,357
270

Trade................................................... ........................................
Wholesale______________________
Retail........ ...........................................

20
’!
4
16

3, 967
1,923
2,044

40
9
31

6, 437
2,789
3, 648

46,034
17,732
28,302

Domestic and personal service________________________
Hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses..11.............""
Laundries.......................................................................
Dyeing, cleaning, and pressing..........................111111111’
Elevator and maintenance workers (when not attached
to specific industry)_____________________________

8
5
1
1

122
84
12
19

15
6
5
3

363
97
172
87

4,019
1,150
1,047
1,801

I.IIIII!

Professional service____________ ______ _____________
Recreation and amusement______________ 11111111111!
Building and construction____ ____________________
Buildings, exclusive of P. W. A ______________ ”
All other construction (bridges, docks, etc., and P. W.
A. buildings)_____________________ ______ ________

19
8

1,255
627

26
11

1,447
669

9, 891
1,724

628

778

8,167

Agriculture and fishing____________ _____ ___________
Agriculture..............................................................
........
Fishing.....................................................

2
1
1

282
27
255

5
3
2

904
499
405

7,510
3,850
3,660

W. P. A., relief, and resettlement projects...............................

3, 963

4,023

15,327

Other nonmanufacturing industries____ _________________

329

814

11, 800

..."I
.."I"!"”!!

New York with 31 strikes, Pennsylvania with 20, and Illinois with
11, had more new strikes in December than any other States. There
were 8 each in California and Ohio and 7 each in Indiana and Iowa.
There were more workers involved in new strikes in Michigan (8,271)
than in any other State, due principally to the Fisher Body strike at
Flint. Next in order were New York (7,482,) Indiana (4,472), and
Ohio (3,096). The most man-days of idleness because of strikes were
in New York (84,000), Washington (42,500), and Pennsylvania
(36,000). (See table 2.)
An average of 248 workers were involved in the 136 strikes begin
ning in December. About 68 percent of the strikes involved fewer
than 100 workers each, 25 percent of them involved from 100 to 1,000
workers each, and 7 percent involved 1,000 or more workers each.
Only one strike in the latter group—the Fisher Body dispute at
Flint, Mich.—involved as many as 5,000 workers. (See table 3.)

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

898

T able 2. — Strikes in December 1938, by State
In progress during
December

Beginning in
December
State
Workers
involved

Number

136

33,673

1
1
8

34
57
464

1
1

26
27

1
11
7
7
1
1
1
5
6
1
2
1
5
31
8
1

56
1,349
4, 472
284
55
110
255
1,062
8,271
535
381
35
468
7,482
3,096
800

20
4
1

2,696
533
12

1
2
4

8
83
260

2
1

753
9

Workers
involved

Number

246
5
1
18
1
2
2
2
1
14
10
8
2
2
2
6
7
2
4
2
14
69
14
1
1
32
5
1
1
3
2
5
1
3
3

Man-days
idle during
December

53, 558

424, 708

894
57
1,326
75
417
37
472
56
2,067
5,171
659
178
182
301
1,071
9, 560
591
518
81
1,316
11, 359
3,430
800
1,509
5,053
568
12
150
63
83
2,260
13
1,403
1,826

19,883
171
21,062
750
3, 570
496
3,364
896
23,907
27, 503
9, 751
3, 308
1,160
786
9,952
31,904
3,061
5,748
1,686
12,445
83,760
15,812
4,800
30,021
36,482
943
12
3,900
1,317
1,471
42, 520
52
2,893
19, 322

T able 3. — Strikes Beginningin December 1938, Classifiedby Number of Workers Involved
N um i er of sti*ikes in which 1he num ber of
worl rers inv olved w as—
Industry group

All industries........ ................................ ..............................
Manufacturing
Iron and steel and their products, not including ma-

Total

136

3
2
4
4
5
1
14
1
9
4
3
2

1,000 5.000
500
100
6 and 20 and and
and
and
and
under under under under under under
20
ICO
1,000 5.000 10.000
500
37

1
1

3
3

1
1
1
2

5
2
1

1
1
5
1
2
1

1
1

Ncnmanufacturing

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

3
18
20
8
19
2
9
5

4
4
7
9
1
1

2
11
11
1
6
1
1
2

1
2
2
3
1
5
2

1
1

1
2

Industrial Disputes

899

Recognition, closed shop, discrimination, or other union-organiza
tion matters were the major issues in about half of the strikes begin
ning in December. These strikes included approximately one-third of
the total workers involved. Wages and hours were the major issues in
about one-fourth of the strikes, involving a similar proportion of the
total workers. In the remaining fourth of the strikes, including 40
percent of the workers involved, the major causes were rivalry
between unions, questions of jurisdiction, sympathy strikes, and
various specific grievances over such questions as seniority, methods
of wage payment, delayed pay, and lay-offs (on W. P. A. projects).
The large proportion of workers in this group is accounted for to a
large extent by the strike referred to before in the automobile indus
try at Flint, Mich., where the workers sought a change from piece
rates to day rates in one department.
T able 4. —Major Issues Involved in Strikes Beginning in December 1938
Strikes
Major issues
Number

Workers involved

Percent of
total

Number

Percent of
total

All issues..... ................................................................ - ............

136

100.0

33,673

100.0

Wages and hours-------- ------------------------------------------Wage increase..................................- ...............................
Wage decrease---------------- ------------- ----------------Wage increase, hour decrease_______________ ____
Wage decrease, hour increase------------------------- —-

33
19
8
5
1

24.3
14.0
5.9
3.7
.7

8, 893
4,090
2,557
2, 216
30

26.4
12.1
7.6
6.6
.1

Union organization........................ ..........................................
Recognition------- ------ ---------- --------------------- -----Recognition and wages................................... ................
Recognition and hours___________ ______ _____
Recognition, wages and hours----------------------------Closed s h o p ...------- --------- —---------- --------- - ..........
Discrimination_____________________ — ------Other...................................................................................

69
15
10
1
16
20
5
2

50.7
11.0
7.4
.7
11.8
14.6
3.7
1.5

11,239
1,695
829
7
2,071
2,263
797
3,577

33.4
o. 0
2.5

Miscellaneous------------------ -------------------------------------Sym pathy-------------- ---------- ---------------------- -Rival unions or factions---------- --------------------------Jurisdiction...... .............. ............................. - ..................
Other__________________________________ ______

34
4
6
2
22

25.0
2.9
4.4
1.5
16.2

13, 541
82
1,304
60
12,095

(>)

6.2
6.7
2.4
10.6
40.2
.2
3.9
.2
35.9

i Less than Mo of 1 percent.

Of the 246 strikes in progress during December, 162 were terminated
during the month. The average duration of these strikes was 24%
calendar days. About 43 percent of them were terminated in less
than a week after they began, 37 percent lasted from a week to a
month and 20 percent lasted for a month or more. Eleven strikes in
the last group (7 percent of the total) had been in progress for 3
months or more. The largest of these were a strike of auto mechanics
at garages in Milwaukee, Wis., which had been in progress since May,
and a dispute at the Phillips-Jones Corporation (shirt factory) at
Pottsville, Pa., which began in August.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

900

Monthly Labr Review—April 1939
T able 5.— Duration of Strikes Ending in December 1938
Number of strikes with duration of—
Industry group

Total

All industries..................... ................ ........................

162

5
5
6
5
2
n
8
4
3
1
5

1
4
2

Less
than 1
week

1 week H and 1 and
2 and
3
and less less
less
less
than
than
than 2 than 3 months
month 1 month months months or more
33

Manufacturing
Iron and steel and their products, not including
machinery____________________ _______ ___
Machinery, not including transportation equip
ment_________________ __________________
Transportation equipment_______ _____ _____
Nonferrous metals and their products________
Lumber and allied products________ _________
Stone, clay, and glass products.______________
Textiles and their products__________________
Food and kindred products__________________
Paper and printing____ __________________
Chemicals and allied products_______________
Rubber products______ _______________ ____
Miscellaneous manufacturing___________ ____

4
5
2
1

3
20
31
12
1
18
3
9

1
11
14
6

1
1
3
1
1
2

1
1
1
2

i
2

1
2

3
3
3

i
1
3

Nonmanufacturing
Extraction of minerals..............................................
Transportation and communication__________
Trade_____ _______________________________
Domestic and personal service_______________
Professional service.. __________ ___________
Building and construction___________________
Agriculture and fishing___ __________________
W . P. A., relief, and resettlement projects_____
Other nonmanufacturing industries..................

7
1
6

1
3
1

5
i

1
6
1

In about 43 percent of the strikes ending in December, government
officials or boards assisted in negotiating settlements. Approximately
70 percent of the total workers involved were in these strikes. In
38 percent of the strikes, including 19 percent of the total workers
involved, settlements were negotiated directly between employers and
representatives of organized workers. About 18 percent of the strikes,
including 9 percent of the total workers involved, were terminated
without formal settlements. In practically all of these cases the
strikers returned to work without settlements of the disputed issues,
or they lost their jobs entirely when employers replaced them with
new workers, moved, or went out of business.
T able 6. —Methods of Negotiating Settlements of Strikes Ending in December 1938
Strikes

Workers involved

Negotiations toward settlements carried on by—
Number
Total ____ _ ______ . _______

____

Employers and workers directly_________________ ___
Employers and representatives of organized workers
directly_______________________ _________
Government officials or boards.______ ________
Terminated without formal settlement . . . . _______

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Percent of
total

Number

Percent of
total

162

100.0

38,547

1.9

599

1. 6

61
69
29

37.7
42. 5
17.9

7, 254
27,161
3,533

18.8
70.4
9.2

100.0

Industrial Disputes

901

The results of strikes ending in December 1938 are indicated in
tables 7 and 8, the latter showing results in relation to the major issues
involved. In 40 percent of the strikes, as shown in table 7, the workers
obtained substantially all that they expected. This group of strikes
included about 29 percent of the total workers involved. About 26
percent of the strikes, including 51 percent of the workers, resulted in
partial gains or compromises, while 26 percent of the strikes, including
13.5 percent of the workers involved, resulted in little or no gains to the
workers.
In terms of number of strikes, the data in table 8 indicate that the
strikes over union-organization matters were a little more successful
from the workers’ point of view than the wage-and-hour disputes.
Of the strikes over union-organization matters, the workers substan
tially won 44 percent, compromised 28 percent, and lost 28 percent.
Of the wage-and-hour strikes, they won 36 percent, compromised the
same proportion, and lost 28 percent.
About 76 percent of the workers in the wage-and-hour strikes
obtained compromise settlements, while 10 percent won their demands
and 14 percent gained little or nothing. In the strikes over unionorganization matters, 37.5 percent of the workers obtained compromise
settlements, while 50 percent won their demands and 12.5 percent
gained little or nothing.
T able 7.—Results of Strikes Ending in December 1938
Strikes
Results
Number

Workers involved

Percent of
total

Number

Percent of
total

T o ta l--........................................................................................

162

100.0

38, 547

100.0

Substantial gains to workers. --------------------------------Partial gains or compromises,.......... ...................................
Little or no gains to workers. ----------------- --------- ----Jurisdiction, rival union, or faction settlements_______

64
42
42
8
5
1

39.6
25.9
25.9
4.9
3.1
.6

11,165
19, 683
5,222
2,205
172
100

29.0
51.1
13.5
5.7
.4
.3

N ot reported.............................. ......................... ............ .........

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

902

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 8. —Results of Strikes Ending in December 1938 in Relation to Major Issues

Involved
Strikes resulting in—

Major issues

Total

Substan Partial
tial gains gains or
to work compro
ers
mises

Jurisdic
Little or tion, rival Inde
ot re
no gains to union, or termi N
ported
workers faction set nate
tlements

Number of strikes
All issues.................. .........................

162

Wages and hours-- ______ ____
Wage increase______________

39
23
13
2
1

14
10
3
1

14
7
6
1

11
6
4

Union organization_____________
Recognition.. . .
_____
Recognition and wages_____
Recognition and hours______
Recognition, wages, and

90
16
19
1

40
7
9
1

25
3
7

25
6
3

Discrimination_____________

23
23
5
3

12
7
2
2

7
5
2
1

4
11
1

33
4
6
2
21

Wage increase, hour decreaseWage decrease, hour increase.

Miscellaneous_____________
.
Sym pathy_________________
Rival unions or fa ctio n s____

5
4

2,205

172

100

2,205

172
82

100

6
2
10

Number of workers involved
All issues_____________________

38, 547

11,165

19,683

5, 222

Wages and hours______________
Wage increase______________
Wage decrease ___________
Wage increase, hour decrease.
Wage decrease, hour increase.

11, 305
4,012
5,103
2,160
30

1,098
306
427
365

8,578
2,453
4,330
1,795

1, 629
1,253
346

Union organization_____________
R ecognition.............
_ ...
Recognition and wages_____
Recognition and hours______
Recognition, wages, and
hours___________________
Closed shop_______________
Discrimination_____________
Other_______ _________. . .

12, 367
1,009
2, 659
7

6,207
695
442
7

4,632
132
1, 753

1,528
182
464

2,919
1,946
228
3, 599

602
784
100
3,577

1,903
'703
119
22

414
459
9

Miscellaneous____ ____________
Sym pathy____ _________ . . .
Rival unions or fa ctio n s____
Jurisdiction________________
Other____________
______

14,875
82
1,995
210
12,588

3, 860

6,473

2,065

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

3,860

6,473

2,065

1,995
210

Industrial Disputes

903

ACTIVITIES OF UNITED STATES CONCILIATION
SERVICE, FEBRUARY 1939
THE United States Conciliation Service in February 1939 disposed
of 281 situations involving 94,478 workers. This agency entered these
situations at the request of employees, employers, and other interested
parties.
Of the situations handled, 103 were labor disputes of various kinds—
strikes, threatened strikes, lock-outs, and controversies. These in
volved 80,626 workers. The remaining 178 situations, involving
13,852 workers, consisted of services rendered, such as supplying
information requested, adjusting complaints, holding conferences re
garding labor conditions, etc.
The facilities of the Service were used in 24 major industrial fields,
such as the building trades, manufacture of automobiles, food, iron
and steel, textiles, etc. (table 1).
The employees and employers utilizing the good offices of the Service
were in 41 States and the District of Columbia (table 2).
T able 1.—Situations Disposed of by United States Conciliation Service, February 1939,

by Industries
Disputes

Other situations

Total

Industry
N um
ber
All industries................................................—

103

Workers
involved
80, 626

Automobile_____ ____________________
Building trades........... . ....................... .........Chemicals........ ............ - ...................................

6
7
2

28, 291
5,201
1,086

Domestic and personal......... ................ .........
Food _________________________ _____
Iron and steel___ _________________ ____
Leather_______________________________
Lumber ____________________ ________
Machinery____________________________
Maritime_____________________________

6
11
7
1
6
8
3

982
3,824
5,709
5
540
2, 737
1,366

M otion picture________________________
Nonferrôus m etals_____________________
Paper and printing____ ________________

3
10

11,395
2,616

Professional_____ _____________________

6,001

Stone, clay, and g la ss............................... .
Textile:
Cotton________ ____________________
Other...................... .....................................
Trade.......................................... ...................
Transportation.......... ....................................

151

2
13
5
8

1,000
7,091
98
1,933

U nclassified........................................ ............

600

135055— SQ-

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

N um
ber

W orkers
involved

N um
ber

178

13,852

281

1
13
2
1
3
6
8
3
6
7
5
6
1
2
10
7
2
1
5

1
302
6,012
2
1
3
1,005
146
4
6
12
134
9
5
66
1,335
566
2
1
5

1
9
20
4
1
9
17
15
4
12
15
8
o
1
5
20
7
4
1
7

5
25
5
11
2
38

39
3,589
10
91
2
504

7
38
10
19
2
39

W orkers
involved
94,478
28,593
11,213
1,088
985
4,829
5,855
9
546
2,749
1,500
5
11,461
3,951
6,003
156
1,039
10, 680
108
2,024
1,104

904

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 2. —Situations Disposed of by United States Conciliation Service, February 1939,

by State
Disputes
State

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

N um
ber

Total

Other situations

W orkers
involved

N um
ber

Workers
involved

N um
ber

Workers
involved

103

80,626

178

13,852

281

94, 478

264

521

1
1
1
3
4
2
1
1

6
825
6
632
131
28
500
130

2
1
14
1
3
18
1
3
3

26
3
319
1
13
63
35
3
10

4
4
1
6
1
1
1

2,770
30, 630
62
696
11,000
2
1,152

11
3
4
2
2
1
3
7
5
2
8

124
3
7
3
131
1
919
1,655
5
2
520

7
1
9
1
8

2,693
240
8,127
600
1,359

1
5

12
4

5,353
3,272

5
1
5
6
2
2

1,270
8
459
7, 511
245
115

10
5
16
3
5
7
4
1
1
3
5
1
8
7
2

1,421
1,203
34
4
104
306
485
1
1
12
92
24
6,306
8
2

5
1
17
1
3
20
1
4
4
1
14
7
6
3
3
1
3
11
9
3
14
1
1
1
1
12
1
19
6
24
3
5
19
8
1
1
8
6
6
14
9
4

840
1
13
82
35
9
835
6
756
134
35
503
261
1
919
4, 425
30, 635
64
1, 216
11,000
2
1,152
1
2, 698
240
9, 548
1,803
1,393
4
104
5, 659
3,757
1
1
1,282
100
483
13,817
253
117

290

Cost and Standards o f Living

EFFECT OF RURAL ELECTRIFICATION UPON FARM
LIFE
BETWEEN the creation in May 1935, of the Rural Electrification
Administration, and June 30, 1938, that agency made loans to 370
organizations to enable them to extend electric power to farm areas.
For this purpose more than 87% millions of dollars were granted in
loans, facilitating the construction of nearly 80,000 miles of power
line to serve some 270,000 families.
From the beginning, cooperative associations have been the largest
borrowers. In the approximate 3-year period covered by the report
of the Rural Electrification Administration 1 cooperative associations
formed 86.5 percent of the borrowers, received 88.6 percent of the
loans made, and constructed 88.4 percent of the high lines erected.
The loans made to cooperative and public projects accounted for
about 95 percent of all loans made.
The report points out in this connection that the Administration
has been “glad to encourage the cooperative form for two reasons.
Rural electrification on an area basis can be extended much more
quickly as a nonprofit undertaking than under auspices where a
quick and substantial return on the investment is the prime considera
tion. Furthermore, the cooperative form tends to increase the
user’s awareness of his part in the undertaking. He becomes not
merely a customer but a member.”
Most of the loans made have been for the purpose of building rural
lines, but 18 associations unable to obtain power at all or at what
the Administration considered reasonable rates were given assistance
in the building of their own generators. One of these—in Wyoming—
was in a section 55 miles from the nearest railroad and so isolated
that there was no other feasible source of power.
Loans to cover the cost of farmstead wiring and plumbing have
also been made.
The program has had a great influence on the policies of private
utility companies, arousing their interest in the business possibilities
inherent in the electrification of rural areas, causing the lowering of
rates, and the modification of the guaranties and charges previously
i U. S. Kural Electrification Administration.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Eeport, 1938. Washington, 1939.

905

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

906

demanded from farmers. In one case a power company reduced its
general rate, resulting in an estimated saving of $838,000 annually to
consumers in the State.
T able

1 .—REA

Loans for Electrification, up to June 30, 1938, by Type of Borrower
Organizations
receiving loans

Loans granted

Miles of line

Customers

Type of organization
N um
ber

Other 1.................................................

320
20
30

Total-—..........- .......................

370

Per
cent

Number

Per
cent

Number

86.5 $77,687,858
2,083, 767
5.4
7,947,586
8.1

88.6
2.4
9.1

70,643.4
2,108.8
7,134.9

88.4
2.6
8.9

247,996
9,054
21,680

89.0
3.3
7.8

87,719,211

100.0

79,887.1

100.0

278, 730

100.0

Per
cent

100.0

Amount

1 Mainly municipalities and public power districts.

Except for a few flagrant instances, these utilities are reported to
have generally abandoned their earlier obstructive and “spite-line”
tactics. “Nevertheless, selective or ‘cream-skimming’ practices are
still prevalent in many areas, a factor that may seriously handicap
some existing projects and the electrification of many farms in the
future.”
Effect Upon Farm Living Standards
The installation of electric power has revolutionized life on farms in
the areas supplied. Celebrations in honor of the energizing of the
power lines have dramatized this fact by ceremonies including the
burial of a kerosene lamp—as a symbol of the drudgery being abol
ished by the installation of electricity.
Water-pumping plants making possible a modern bathroom and
plenty of running water for the stock, kitchen, and laundry; and
electric lights for house, barns, and farmyard, electric refrigeration for
both food and farm products, labor-saving electrical appliances for
both home and farm—all of these contribute immeasurably to the
enjoyment and comfort of life on the farm.
Vivid and touching are some of the statements of the farm families
testifying to this fact. The housewife who formerly did her ironing
over a hot range or unsatisfactory gasoline or kerosene stove can now,
on a hot day, move her electric iron onto a shady porch and do her
work in comfort. One farmer wrote: “Thanks for the only good lights
we ever had.”
In one section of South Carolina, where the farms are small and
relatively nonproductive, it has been impossible thus far to extend the
power system on a self-sustaining basis. The community church,
however, is served by an REA line, and there the housewives gather
every Tuesday for an ironing bee.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cost and Standards of Living

907

The report points out that “while their wives are finding electricity
the ideal household helper, farmers on REA-financed lines are learn
ing that it is the cheapest and most tireless hired man they ever had.”
Fruit farmers in Virginia and California are using power-driven
sprayers, washers, and graders. In the latter State electric dryer
fans are being used to hasten the drying or evaporation of fruit. In
California also an electric X-ray machine is being used which detects
immature or frozen oranges or those low in sugar content; with this
machine four persons can inspect “without guesswork” at least
one and one-half carloads of fruit a day. In sheep-raising States
such as Nevada and Oregon the farmers are using electric shearers.
Maryland farmers are experimenting with fans to speed the tobacco
drying and curing process. Dairying is being made possible in new
areas and is being made more efficient in older dairy districts through
the use of electrical milkers and the quick cooling of milk that is
possible with electricity. Production of eggs on poultry farms is
being speeded by scientific lighting systems. Electrically warmed
hotbeds make possible better production of foodstuffs for out-of
season markets.
In the Cotton Belt the farmers are using electricity to achieve a
much needed diversification of cash crops, “crops which in turn are
helping to pay the electric bill for the whole farm.” Farmers in the
Spring Wheat Belt are using electricity as a means of extending their
operations into the dairying field—“a type of farming which is
peculiarly in need of and able to use electric power.”
The irrigation made possible through the water pumped by electric
systems is extending farm operations in arid regions and preventing
crop losses elsewhere in dry seasons. Such irrigation is reported as
an important gain in such areas as Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon,
and the Panhandle of Texas.
These are only a few of the wide variety of the labor-saving and
income-producing operations made possible through the program.
Among the incidental benefits of the program are the lessened
fire hazard resulting from the elimination of the kerosene lamp and
lantern; the lowered insurance premiums because of this lessened risk
and the availability of water; the market information so easily
obtainable over the radio; the improvement in rural sanitation and
consequently in rural health; the greater attractiveness of farm life
to the young people (resulting in greater stability of population)
because of the new conveniences; increased farm values; better light
ing and equipment of rural schools, churches, and halls; and, altogether,
an increased sense of community of interest within the area served.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Effect Upon Private Business
Incidentally the program has had a stimulating effect on private
business in many lines. From the forests and pole-treating plants in
such widely separated States as Florida, Minnesota, Idaho, Georgia,
and Tennessee have come the poles used to carry the wires. The
wires, hardware, plastics, etc., used in erection of the line have meant
additional business for the copper mines of Arizona, Michigan, Mon
tana, and Tennessee, the iron mines of Minnesota, the steel plants of
Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the wire plants of New Jersey, and
the aluminum smelters of Tennessee. Manufacturers of electric
meters, water pumps, electric-light bulbs, plumbing, lighting fixtures,
bathroom equipment, washing machines, refrigerators, radios, house
hold appliances (such as toasters, irons, vacuum cleaners, fans, ranges,
etc.), innumerable articles of equipment for the farm, office furniture
and equipment for the new cooperative associations, and the auto
mobiles, maintenance trucks, tools, gasoline and oil used by them—
all have benefited by increased business arising from the program,
and will continue to do so.
An Ohio company manufacturing electrical pumps found itself so
prosperous as a result of this new demand that it paid all of its 500
employees a bonus from the “plus” business.
The retail dealers in appliances and the electrical contractors have
likewise enjoyed boom conditions. It is estimated that for every
dollar invested in rural power lines the farmer spends an equal amount
for wiring, plumbing, and appliances. In one county in Wisconsin,
it is reported, 600 farms “had been wired at an average cost of $200
before the project had completed 8 months of operation. The wiring
was paid for almost entirely in cash. Every electrician and electrical
dealer in the area was busy for months.” Also illustrative is the case
of 8 dealers in an Oklahoma town who added new lines of merchandise
and employed new salesmen to handle their expanding rural business.
The largest check ever written on the local bank in a Minnesota
town was one for $53,700, drawn by the Fillmore County Cooperative
Electrical Association to the contractor who built the lines; and the
largest deposit, $90,000, was also made by this same association.
Other local businesses are also benefiting by the use of power in
their own operations. Electric lights are of course a definite advantage
in the display of the merchants’ goods. Creameries, filling stations,
garages, and machine shops also are electrifying their plants and
machinery. A Missouri fish hatchery is using electric lights under
water to attract insects upon which the fish feed. The electrification
program in Arkansas is reported to have proved a stimulus to “many
small plants in northern Arkansas where native raw materials are
being turned into a great variety of manufactured products.”

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cost and Standards of Living

909

Geographic Distribution of Rural Electrification
The following table shows, by States, the number of organizations
to which loans had been granted, the amount of loan, miles of line,
and customers to be served, as of June 30, 1938.
T able

2.—Development of Rural Electrification, at End of June 1938, by State
Organization

State

Iowa___________

Coop Pri
Coop Pri
Private
Other era vate
Other Coopera
era
tive
tive vate
tive
5
2
8
2
4

1
1
3
24
2

8
20
26
7
12
3
1
10
26
9
12
7

2
2
7
3
22
8
3
7
1
3
6
24
Utah

1
1
1
1

320

520

92
385
386
3,311
888

244

2,556
5, 773
1 4', 824
1,400
2,247

165
3,918
5,492

1
1
1

1 1,525
2,388
675
15
1
254
283

1
3

1
1

1
2

92,000
427,037
471 ; 000
3, 542,615
' 970,750
2,971,130
6,009,695
5, 626,712
1,511,651
2,364,600

98
3
35
39

(>)

1,209
' 583
6, 788
2,396
301
2,269
2 ' 148

927,000
69

60 1,585,700
127 2,520,000
133
727,600
4, 535
84

Other

$65,000
700,000

81,500
5,617
35,000
7L 700

99
109

14
190

830
359
1 5,015
'561

1,410,100
691,972
7,292,525
2,288,000
356,000
2,509,500
134,000
1,044
537,000
171 1,786,400
249 4,423,985
2,045, 800
147

969,200
533,000
53 6,085,800
700,500

Coop Pri
erative vate Other

6,159
270
583
5,381 1,736
1,452
1,800
2,304
230
1.200
1,847
15,140
2,994

213,000

8,421
20, 076
95,000 14, 651
3,954
9,381

696

300
50
100
291

3,639
91,000

600
13,446
16,388

110,000
71,000
112,000
152,700

5,656
7,983
2, 381

386
300
615
403

5,168, 200
168,000

270
12,454
102

892
597

257,500
360,000
210
247

501
4 1,552
1 4,302
1,870

225,000
4,655,000
5,955, 236

100

66 $1,499,350
178,000
1,486,000 $336,000
810,500
600
750,000

961

5
2
19
6
T otal........-

1 1,643
' 149
1,357
1
574
716

Customers

Loans

Miles of line

1,000
5,979 1,371
2,231

250,000
224,250

85,000
100,000

5,000
211,000

24,261
6,298
1,318
8,108
1,023,328
'558
1,449
182,058 7,524
256,000 15,609
7.372
2,518
1,316
60,000 16,014
2,086

159,000

365
572
4,287

38
831

899
845

582
171

30 70, 643 2,109 7,135 77,687,858 2,083, 767 7,947,586 247,996 9,054 21,680

1 Loan made for construction of generating plant.

At the end of the fiscal year no cooperative electric associations had
been formed in New York and little or nothing had been done in the
New England States. In New York the private utilities, alive to the
possibilities of the new program, had provided farm electrical facili
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

910

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

ties without waiting for the formation of cooperatives. New Hampshire
farms had already been fairly well electrified before the inauguration
of the REA program. In ¡Massachusetts and Connecticut, State
laws and regulations “have effectively blocked efforts of farmers to
construct and operate cooperative power lines. Unserved Maine and
Vermont rural areas are so cut up, either by nonagricultural land or
by existing power lines, as largely to preclude the establishment of
self-supporting independent power systems.”
In some cases, the report states, the formation of cooperatives has
been blocked or seriously hampered by the building of so-called “spite
lines” into the most thickly settled parts of the territory planned to
be served. In this way the “cream” of the area is skimmed off, leaving
an area too sparsely settled to make possible a self-liquidating project.
At the end of 1937-38 “approximately 20 percent of the REA-financed
projects had experienced utility interference at some time, in some
degree.”
NUTRITIVE VALUE OF DIETS OF CITY WORKERS
THE evaluation of the adequacy of diets of different population
groups, which has been a subject commanding widespread interest
for some years, was the subject of a recent extensive investigation 1
based on dietary records, each of which covered 1 week during the
period December 1934 to February 1937. It was found that in spite of
the country’s abundant food supplies, large numbers of Americans are
not well fed. This condition is found not only among persons too poor
to purchase suitable food but also among many who do not buy foods
providing the necessary elements to provide good nutrition.
The families of wage earners and clerical workers participating in
the special food study were selected from among those cooperating in
the study of income and disbursements made by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics in 1934-36. A family, for the purposes of the study, in
cluded two or more persons living together and sharing a common
table. The study covered wage earners, and clerical workers as well,
who did not earn over $2,000 a year or $200 in any month. Families
that had received relief or that had not earned more than $500 in the
preceding 12 months were not included. This exclusion of persons
receiving relief or who had very low incomes raised the group studied
to a higher economic level than characterizes city workers as a whole.
Most of the records were obtained from white families, but some were
obtained from Negro families in Middle Atlantic and southern cities.
Budgetary studies show almost invariably that food expenditures
form the largest single item and that the average expenditure for food
i U. S. Department of Agriculture. D iets of Families of Employed Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
in Cities, by Hazel K . Stiebeling and Esther F. Phipard. Washington, 1939.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cost and Standards of Living

911

tends to increase as family earnings increase. However, there is a
wide variation in the amounts spent for food by individual families
having the same income, even when the influence of family size is
ruled out. The expenditure for food, rather than the family income,
was used, therefore, as the major basis for classification in the present
study. Also, as a base, a food-expenditure unit is considered more
satisfactory than a per capita figure, since families must spend more
to feed adults than young children and more to feed adolescent children
than moderately active adults. A scale of relative figures was worked
out in which the expenditures for food of a moderately active man
were taken as a unit, and the expenditures for persons of different age,
sex, and activity were expressed as fractions of this value.
The records secured covered the kind, quantity, and cost of the
food purchased by a family during a week, the number of persons,
the number of meals which each received from the family food supply,
and data on the weight, height, and activity of each family member.
The consumption of food during the week was determined by taking
an inventory by weight of the food on hand at the beginning and end
of the week and a day-by-day record of the food purchased or obtained
from gardens, cellars, or other sources of supply. An attempt was
made to record the amount of inedible waste or edible food thrown
away, but this was found to be impracticable; the data presented on
quantities of food therefore represent what was brought into the
kitchen rather than the physiological intake. In computing the
nutritive value, allowance was made for inedible refuse, according to
accepted standards, but no deductions were made for waste of edible
food.
Expenditures for Food
About 4,000 records were analyzed, classified by region, race of
family, and season of the year. In addition they were grouped in 10
categories according to level of expenditure for food on both a perperson and a food-expenditure-unit basis. Between 25 and 40 percent
of their income was spent for food by the majority of the families.
Increase in income was accompanied by an increase in the money
expended for food, but the number of dollars spent for food usually did
not increase proportionately with the increase in income, and the
percentage spent for food therefore tended to fall somewhat. Families
having average per capita incomes of $5 to $6 per week had average
weekly food expenditures of $1.25 to $1.87 per person, while with per
capita incomes of $8 to $10 the average expenditure was $2.50 to $3.12
per person. An analysis of the food expenditures by regions shows
that of the white families included in the study, those living in the
East, North, and far West spent more for food than those in southern
cities. In the New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central,

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

912

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

West North Central, and Pacific regions, from 16 to 21 percent of the
families were spending $3.75 or more for food per person per week, as
compared with 11 to 12 percent in South Atlantic, West South Cen
tral, and Mountain cities, and only 6 percent in the East South Central
cities. Less than 3 percent of the Negro families in southern cities
were spending as much as $3.75 a person in a week, whereas almost 25
percent of such families in Middle Atlantic cities were spending this
much or more. From 11 to 17 percent of the families in the North
Atlantic, North Central, and Mountain regions had a per capita
weekly expenditure of $1.87 or less for food; 20 to 39 percent of the
white families in the South; and 9 percent of Pacific coast families.
Among Negro families in the Middle Atlantic region 29 percent were
spending $1.87 or less per person per week for food, while 68 percent
in southern cities were in this group.
Purchases of nearly all kinds of food increased with increased
expenditures, but the increase was most pronounced in the case of
milk, butter, cream, eggs, meat, fruits, and succulent vegetables; and
least for grain products, sugar, and fats other than butter and
cream. In every region families with small food expenditures used
only a small amount of milk. Little seasonal difference in the
purchase of different foods was found in three of the regions for which
a comparison was made, except that the figures for meat, poultry,
and fish were slightly higher in winter and those for fruit and vege
tables in summer.
Nutritive Value of Diets
In determining the nutritive value of the food the average content
of diets was computed in calories, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron,
and the different vitamins. When the per capita weekly food expen
ditures were from $1.25 to $1.87, the diets were rather restricted in
many families, while in the higher expenditure groups the diets had a
higher average nutritive value. It was found that the quantity of pro
tein in the diets generally reached the required standard, so that there
was little likelihood of a deficiency in this respect. Less than half of
the families purchased food giving the average daily suggested allow
ance of calcium, while about half of the families received a plenti
ful amount of iron and the diets of less than 5 percent were plainly
short in this essential mineral. Only about one-third of the fami
lies obtained diets high enough in vitamin A value to insure good
visual adaptation in semidarkness, and the diets of nearly four
families out of five failed to supply the liberal allowance of this vita
min which is now recommended. The diets of about half of the fami
lies failed to furnish the daily allowance of vitamin B (thiamin) and
of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) recommended by nutritionists. The latter

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cost and Standards of Living

913

vitamin cannot be stored in the body and must be supplied daily.
The pellagra preventive factor appeared to be ample except in cities
in the Southeast where the deficiency among low income groups was
serious.
Classification of the diets of families in different regions, as good,
fair, or poor, according to their nutritive content, showed that all
grades of diet were found in most expenditure groups but the percent
age that fell in the higher grades increased with rising expenditures for
food. Measured by present-day standards, the diets of fully half of
these families (40 to 60 percent) were found to be in need of improve
ment. Over 60 percent of the diets of Negro families in the South
were in this class. Diets of white families were found to be poor when
the weekly food expenditure was less than $1.60 per person in North
Atlantic and Pacific Coast cities; $1.55 in East North Central cities;
or $1 in East South Central cities; and for Negro families in the South
when they spent less than 95 cents per person. The quality of the
food supply selected by the families was not, however, solely a question
of the money expended, as at every expenditure level above a certain
minimum some families obtained good diets while others procured
diets only fair or poor from the standpoint of nutritive value.
Adequacy of Diets
The amount for which an adequate diet could be purchased at the
retail price levels of 1935, taking into account the dietary habits of
the different sections, was $2.75 per person a week for white families in
North Atlantic cities; $2.70 in East North Central; $2.15 in East South
Central; and $2.60 in Pacific coast cities. For Negro families in the
South $1.90 was necessary. However, good diets were selected by
only from 2 to 4 white families in every 10 expending these amounts
or more, and a little over 3 families in every 10 of the Negro families
in the South. As compared with a standard plan for economical
adequate diets, the diets as a whole for all regions and all levels of
food expenditure tended to be relatively high in fats, sugar, meat,
poultry, and fish, and low in milk products, fruits, and vegetables
other than potatoes. Average diets in the study included fewer eggs,
from one-half to two-thirds as much milk, and less than two-thirds as
much of vegetables and fruits as the diets which were classed as good,
but even the good diets did not provide the quantities of these protec
tive foods believed by many authorities to be optimal. “Modification
of present-day diets,” it is stated, “so as to improve their nutritive
qualities without adding much to the outlay for food, is chiefly a
matter of putting considerably more emphasis upon leafy and greencolored vegetables and upon milk. Many of the inexpensive varieties
and forms of these foods yield excellent returns in nutritive value for
their cost.”

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M inimum W ages and M aximum Hours

GUARANTEED ANNUAL WAGE ENCOURAGED BY
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
INTERPRETATION of the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards
Act, 1938, governing the regulation of working time of workers who
are employed on an annual basis by the terms of a collective-bargain
ing agreement between a certified union and an employer, has opened
the way for growth of the policy of guaranteed annual wages in
industry. According to Interpretative Bulletin No. 8 of the Wage
and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor,1 the
Administrator of the law interprets sections 7(b) (1) and 7(b) (2)2 of
this act to permit employees fulfilling the requirements of those sec
tions to work up to 12 hours a day and 56 hours a week without
payment of overtime, provided they do not work more than 1,000
hours in 26 consecutive weeks or over 2,000 hours within a 12-month
period. Employment on an annual basis means that the employee is
guaranteed a fixed annual wage or continuous employment for a
year. In common with other interpretations of the Administrator,
this one is subject to change upon direction by the authoritative
rulings of the courts or if the Administrator himself subsequently
decides that the prior interpretation is incorrect.
The general requirement under the wage and hour law is that
overtime pay at one and one-half the regular hourly rate of the
employee must be paid to workers for all hours in excess of 44 per
week during the first year of operation under the law, for hours in
excess of 42 per week beginning on October 24, 1939, and lor hours in
excess of 40 per week beginning with October 24,1940, and thereafter.
The law also requires that minimum wages must be paid at the rate
of 25 cents an hour, increasing at the end of 7 years to 40 cents an
hour or such sum not less than 30 cents an hour as the Administrator
may prescribe.3
The mere existence of a collective labor agreement does not exempt
employers or employees from the wage and hour provisions of the law.
Exceptions may be made only if the act provides a specific exemption.
If the terms of a collective labor agreement do not meet the require1 Press releases Nos. R. 189 and 190.
* For a summary of the law see M onthly Labor Review for July 1938.
* See M onthly Labor Review, January 1939.

914

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours

915

ments of the law they must yield to the legal standards. This is
not interpreted as destroying the collective contract, and neither
employer nor employee is relieved of any obligations he or they may
have assumed by contract. Moreover, the law does not in any
way restrict the processes of collective bargaining to secure higher
standards.
Employment of workers in excess of 44 hours per week without
extra payment for overtime is permissible under sections 7 (b) (1)
and 7 (b) (2) if (1) the employee is covered by a collective-bargaining
agreement which meets the requirements of either of these sections;
(2) the representatives of employees who made the agreement in
accordance with either section are certified as bona fide by the Na
tional Labor Relations Board; and (3) certain substantive provisions
prescribed in either section 7 (b) (1) or 7 (b) (2) are included in the
collective-bargaining agreement.
The Administrator will consider as bona fide only those representa
tives of employees who have been certified by the National Labor
Relations Board in accordance with a procedure announced by the
Board. A union, desiring to enter into agreements with employers
under either section 7 (b) (1) or 7 (b) (2), need not secure a separate
certification with respect to each employer with whom it wishes to
contract. One certification is sufficient to satisfy the requirement on
all agreements that a particular union may enter.
It appears to the Administrator that, in enacting section 7 (b) (1),
Congress intended to meet the exceptional employment situation in
mining and lumber camps, where work in excess of 44 hours per week
is carried on continuously for many months, followed by protracted
periods of inactivity. This section does not guarantee continuous
employment or a fixed wage to workers in such employment, but
requires that they be paid in accordance with the minimum-wage
standards set in the act. Contracts entered may be yearly agree
ments, but they provide only that no employee shall be worked more
than 1,000 hours in 26 consecutive weeks. The limitation is on
number of hours worked. Thus an employer who pays his employees
for 1,040 hours in a 26-week consecutive period but who gives them a
week’s vacation with pay and allows them to work only 1,000 hours
satisfies the 1,000-hour limitation.
Under section 7 (b) (2) employment is guaranteed on an annual
basis. The intent of Congress in making this provision is interpreted
by the Administrator to have been to guarantee the employee employ
ment on an annual basis or at a fixed annual wage. In this way the
regularization and stabilization of employment and income are
encouraged. The limitation of 2,000 hours is upon the number of
hours worked and not upon the hours paid for. If an employer pays

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

916

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

his employees for 2,080 hours during the year, giving them 2 weeks’
vacation with pay, the actual working year is 2,000 hours and the
2,000-hour limitation is satisfied.
The Administrator states further that if an employer works his
employees in excess of the prescribed limits as to hours and months
under either of the two sections of the law here dealt with, he must
pay them one and one-half their regular hourly rate of pay for all
hours worked in excess of 44 hours in any workweek. Even when
sections 7 (b) (1) and 7 (b) (2) are properly invoked as the basis for
exceptions from the overtime provisions of the act, it is required that
an employee hired pursuant to a collective labor agreement which
meets the requirements must receive the overtime rate of pay (one
and one-half times the regular hourly rate) for time worked in excess
of 12 hours in any workday or 56 hours in any workweek. Cases
under sections 7 (b) (1) and 7 (b) (2) and seasonal exemptions under
section 7 (b) (3) are the only instances where the law fixes a limit to
the workday over which overtime payment is required.
*######*

APPLICATION OF FEDERAL 8-HOUR LAW
AS EARLY as 1830 the hours of labor of certain employees of the
United States Government were limited to 10 a day, and in 1868 a
law was enacted limiting the hours of specified groups to 8. It was
not until 1892 that an 8-hour law 1was enacted applying to all laborers
and mechanics employed in the construction of public works. That
law was amended in 1913 to provide that the service and employment
of all laborers and mechanics employed by the United States or the
District of Columbia, or by any contractor or subcontractor, upon a
public work of the United States, should not exceed 8 hours a day.
Congress in 1912 enlarged the scope of the 8-hour law so that it
would apply to Government contracts in general.2 This legislation, still
in effect, limits the hours of employment of certain persons engaged on
any work for the Federal Government, and provides penalties in the
case of contractors permitting or requiring their employees to work
more than 8 hours. In more detail the statute provides that every
contract made to which the United States, any territory, or the District
of Columbia, is a party, which may require or involve the employment
of laborers or mechanics, shall contain a provision that no laborer or
mechanic in the employ of the contractor or any subcontractor, shall
be required or permitted to work more than 8 hours in any one calendar
day upon such work. The law does not apply to contracts for the
purchase of supplies by the Government or for such materials or
articles as may usually be bought in the open market.
1 U . S. Code 1934, Title 40, sec. 321.
1 U . S. Code 1934, Title 40, secs. 324-326.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours

917

From an opinion by the Acting Comptroller General of the United
States, on October 14, 1938 (Comptroller General Opinion A-97726),
it would appear that the enforcement of the statute has not always
been strictly observed by the departments of the Government.3
The opinion was rendered in connection with an inquiry from the
Veterans’ Administration. That Governmental agency had entered
into many contracts for the furnishing of miscellaneous orthopedic
supplies, and other services, without regard to the provisions of the
8-hour law.
The Acting Comptroller General, in his opinion, declared that the
act applies to contracts of this type. It was pointed out that the act
is mandatory and, within its own limitations, applies to every con
tract of whatever kind or description to which the Government is a
party and which may require or involve the employment of laborers
or mechanics to do “any part of the work contemplated by the con
tract.” Furthermore, the Comptroller observed, the act reposes no
discretion in the heads of departments or independent agencies, or
contracting officers or representatives of the Government, to omit from
any contract requirements for compliance with its provisions.
The sole question for determination, it was said, was whether a con
tract is within the statutory exceptions, and if not, whether it may
require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics. A
further question may arise, upon occasion, as to whether certain em
ployees are laborers or mechanics within the meaning of the statute.
It was observed, in this connection, that generally the term “laborer” is
defined as one who performs manual labor or works at a toilsome occu
pation requiring physical strength, as distinguished from mental
training and equipment, while a “mechanic” is any skilled worker
with tools, who has learned a trade. Hence the statute is applicable
to every public contract, otherwise within its terms, which may require
the employment of labor by hand or tools.
In a subsequent case, the Soil Conservation Service of the Depart
ment of Agriculture advanced a question as to whether the 8-hour
law related “to farm hands or laborers engaged in agricultural pur
suits.” The Acting Comptroller General, in his opinion,4 stated that
farm employees have been classed almost universally by the courts as
laborers and therefore “would appear to come squarely within the
generally accepted definition of the term.” However, the opinion dis
tinguished a specific point advanced by the Soil Conservation Service.
In those cases where the agency purchases a standing crop at a stipu
lated price per acre, a separate contract should be entered into for the
harvesting of the crop, and should contain the statutory stipulations.
On the other hand, if the seller should undertake delivery of the crop
> Copy of law may be obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
* Comptroller General Opinion A-99718 (January 3, 1939).

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

918

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

to the Government when harvested as a part of the contract of sale,
there would appear to be no necessity for the incorporation of the
statutory requirements, since the contract would be merely a contract
of purchase of the harvested crop.
In stressing the importance of incorporating the 8-hour provision in
contracts even though it would result in some excess cost or loss to the
Government, the Comptroller’s decision stated that no doubt “such a
possibility was considered and discounted by the Congress when the
statute was enacted and would not appear to be a matter for adminis
trative concern, so long as there is proper adherence to the law as it is
written. The act is remedial in character and should be given a
broad application to the end that its manifest purposes may be
served.”

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours o f Labor

MUNICIPAL SALARIES IN STATE OF WASHINGTON,
1938
SALARIES in various municipalities in the State of Washington in
1938 varied considerably from city to city, some of the variation being
due at least in part to the size of the respective populations served.
The salaries of specified employees in 18 municipalities with a
population of over 6,000 are given in the following table:1
Municipal Salaries in the State of Washington, 1938

Popu
lation

Clerk

Treas
urer

Seattle______________
Spokane-. _____
___
T acom a ______________
Bellingham__________

365, 583
115,514
106,817
30,823

$4, 200
3, 060
2,940
2 2,400

$4,200
3,120
i 4,000
2 2,400

E verett_______________ 30, £67

2,400

Yakim a______________
Walla Walla___ _______

22,101
15,976

2,400
2,040

Vancouver________

15, 766

2,100

Hoquiam__ _ . . ___
Olympia___ ________
Wenatchee______ ___
Longview_________
Port Angeles______ _
Bremerton. __________
Centralia . . . . . . . . . . .
P u y a llu p _____
_
Anacortes..
______
K elso._____ __________

12, 766
11, 733
11, 627
10, 642
10,188
10,170
8,058
7,094
6, £64
6,260

1,800
2 3,000
1,980
1,620
2, 220
2,700
2,100
1,980
600
1.800

Engi
neer

$5,000
3,600
4,200
2,400
f 1,800
2,400 { to
I 2,400
2,250
3,000
2,040
2,220
( 1,500
1,800 < to
[ 1, 800
1, 500
4 3, 300
(2)
1,980 5 3,000
1,620 6 1,600
2,220
2,700
2,400
3,600
2,280
1,800 4 2, 580
600 8 3,000
1,800

Water Street Park
super super- super- Police
ininintend- tendtend- chief
dent
ent
ent

Fire
chief

Librarian

$5,000
$5,000 $5,000
3, 600 $2,280 $3.600 3,180 3,180
4, 500 3, 600 2,820 3, 600 3, 600
2,400 2,400 2,100 2,400 2,400

$5,500
3.000
3, 600
2,190

2.700

1,980

2.700
2.520

1,890
1,440

2.520
3,867
4 1,650
2,100

: 3, Ì80
2,100

2, 280

(4)
( 9)

1,980

1, 500

2,750

3,000

2,400

1, 260

2, 500
2,040

2, 750
2,040

2,000

2,520

1,920

1,980

1,500

H, 500
1,320 2 160
2,190
(5)

2,613

O
OO
O
o o

City

1,500

2,400

2,100

(9)
1,920

1,320

1.980
1,782
1.980

1,830
1,782
1, 980

1,518
1,800
2,040
1,680
1,740
1, 500
1,620
1, 380
990

2,277
1,980
(5)
(8)

2,000
2,220

2,100

2,130
2,820
2,220

1,200

1 Comptroller.
2 Acts both as clerk and as treasurer.
3 Also receives $900 as deputy health officer.
4 Acts both as engineer and as water superintendent.
5 Acts not only as engineer but also as street and park superintendent.
6 Acts both as engineer and as street superintendent.
* 1937.
8 Water and light superintendent.
9 Acts not only as engineer but also as street and water superintendent.

The Association of Washington Cities, which collected the above
statistics, also reported on salaries for a number of other municipal
employees, among them police captains, police sergeants, firemen,
assistant librarians, and skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled laborers.
i D ata are from The American C ity (New York), January 1939 (p. 58).
135055— 39-------11

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

919

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

920

WAGES IN GERMANY IN 1938
WAGE scales and regulations as to working conditions in the various
industries in Germany are, as a rule, issued as decrees of the “labor
trustees” in the main industrial districts of the country. In most
cases they are based on former collective agreements. The wage
scales are in most cases extremely detailed, there being differentiation
by age, sex, skill, occupation, locality, cost of living, years of service, etc.
The wage scales here presented are those in effect in one or more of the
districts in which the industry is important, and the wage rates given
are for adult time workers.1 Little change was reported in wage rates
in 1938, but in a number of the production industries the actual earn
ings, especially of skilled workers, were higher than indicated by the
basic wage rates, because of such factors as higher rates for efficiency,
family allowances, overtime work, etc. There were improvements in
working conditions in 1938, such as longer vacations in many indus
tries, special compensation in some industries for illness, to supple
ment the benefits from sickness insurance, etc.
Deductions fro m Images

There are three general classes of deductions from wages in Ger
many—so-called “legal deductions,” regularly recurring though tech
nically voluntary contributions, and miscellaneous donations to
various party organizations.
T able

1.—Percentages of Gross Earnings of German Workers Deducted for Taxes and
Insurance
Percent of gross earnings of—
Industrial group
Total

Males

Females

All groups (average)________

13.2

12.9

Metal working____________ Chem icals.. ----------------------

13.9
12.4
13.1
11.7
13.2
11.7
14.2
14.3
14.3
12.5
13.5
13.1
12.7
13.9

13.9
12.4
13.1
11.7
13.2
11.7
14.7
14.3
14.7
12.1
13.6
13.1
14.2
13.9

13.6
12.7

Woodworking and furniture. .
Paper manufacturing_______
Paper processing.. ----------Printing.. ------------------------Lithography____________
T ex tile s________________ Clothing_________________
Shoes______________________
Confections and baking_____

-11.9
13.8
13.7
13.0
12.5
13.4
13.2
12.1

i Data in this article are from a report by A. Dana Hodgdon, American consul at Berlin, prepared with
the collaboration of the following consular officers; Edwin C. Kemp, Bremen; Stephen B. Vaughan, Breslau;
Franklin B. Atwood, Cologne; J. F. Huddleston, Dresden; C. M . Qerrity, Frankfort on the Main; Allan
Dawson, Hamburg; D avid H. Buffum, Leipzig; Roy E. B. Bower, Munich; and A. John Cope, Jr.,
Stuttgart.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours of Labor

921

The legal deductions consist of taxes and insurance payments and
vary in different industries and localities. The main taxes are a
municipal head tax (similar to a poll tax) and a wage or income tax.
Insurance payments cover health, invalidity and old-age, and unem
ployment insurance.
The preceding table, based on official information, shows the average
percentage deductions for taxes and insurance from gross earnings in
the main industrial groups.
The regularly recurring contributions are mainly dues paid to the
German Labor Front, of which virtually all wage earners and em
ployers are members, and contributions to the “Winter help.” Dues
in the German Labor Front vary according to earnings, and range
from 30 pfennige to 4.40 marks2a month. Contributions to the winter
help fund are expected of workers and are supposed to be an amount
equal to 10 percent of the wage tax for the 6 months from October 1
to March 31. A minimum of 25 pfennige a month is requested of
those not earning sufficient to be liable to the wage tax.
Miscellaneous donations include those made in response to special
drives for money to which the worker is expected to contribute, such
as street collections, house-to-house canvasses, and solicitations by
such organizations as the Hitler Youth. The amounts of such con
tributions vary, but constitute, it is said, a not insignificant item in
the working man’s budget.
Wages in Manufacturing Industries
A IR P L A N E M A N U F A C T U R E

Airplane workers are paid according to the wage scales of the metal
industry, especially those referring to automobiles. The wage scale
in effect in Saxony is as follows:
Hourly rate
(pfennige)

Skilled workers_____________________________________ 38.
Semiskilled workers__________________________________ 29.
Unskilled workers________________________________ 21.
Female workers______________________________________19.

0-80. 0
0-71. 0
5-68. 0
0-47. 5

Earnings on a piece-rate basis are from 30 to 40 percent above the
basic wage rates.
A 48-hour week prevails in the airplane industry. Time and a
quarter is paid for overtime up to a 60-hour week and time and a half
for overtime in excess thereof and for Sunday and holiday work, ex
cept that for four specified holidays double time is paid. An addi
tional 7 pfennige is paid for night work.
Annual vacations with pay are granted to workers after 6 months’
service, and range from 6 to 12 working days according to length of
service.
2 Exchange value of mark (100 pfennige) in November 1938=40.04 cents.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

922

A U T O M O B IL E IN D U S T R Y

Working conditions and wage scales in the automobile industry in
Germany are regulated by the act of January 20, 1934. The wage
scales in Saxony and the Stuttgart district have been in effect since
the spring of 1936 and in the Frankfort district since April 1938.
The hourly wage rates for adult workers in the highest locality groups
in Saxony and the Stuttgart district, and also their average actual
hourly earnings in June 1938, are as follows:
Saxony
(pfennige)

Wage rates:
Skilled workers-----------------------------------------Semiskilled workers_______________________
Unskilled workers--------- ---------------------------Female workers----------------------------------------Average actual earnings:
Skilled workers___________________________
Semiskilled workers----------------------------------Unskilled workers-------------------------------------Female workers___________________________

80
71
68
47.5
88
78
75
52

Stuttgart
(pfennige)

74
67
61
48
107
98
78
58

In Frankfort adult skilled workers are paid rates ranging from 61
to 72 pfennige per hour. In Saxony earnings of piece workers average
about 25 percent higher and in the Stuttgart district from 60 to 100
percent higher than the basic wage rates. In Frankfort from 18 to
20 percent above the hourly rates is paid for piece work.
A 48-hour week is the regular working time in the industry. Night
work is paid 50 percent additional in Frankfort and Stuttgart, and
in Saxony 10 percent extra between 8 and 12 p. m. and 15 percent
between 12 p. m. and 6 a. m. Overtime in Saxony is paid at the rate
of 25 percent extra the first hour and 30 percent extra thereafter; in
Frankfort, 50 percent extra is paid; and in Stuttgart, 15 percent extra
is paid for the first 3 hours per week, 25 percent thereafter up to 60
hours per week, and 50 percent for over 60 hours. For work on Sun
days and holidays time and a half is paid in Stuttgart; time and a half
to double time in Frankfort; and 30 to 60 percent extra in Saxony.
Vacations with pay are granted to workers in the industry. Adult
workers in Saxony receive a minimum of 6 days annually after
6 months’ service, with pay at 10 percent above the minimum basic
rates. In Frankfort and Stuttgart vacations range from 6 to 12 days
according to length of service.
B O O T A N D S H O E IN D U S T R Y

The present wage scales in the boot and shoe industry have been in
effect since April 1, 1936, and consist of five regional wage scales. In
Frankfort male workers are paid a rate of 76% pfennige an hour and
female workers 57 pfennige. In the summer of 1938, actual hourly
earnings of adult skilled workers averaged 90 to 112 pfennige; actual

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours of Labor

923

weekly earnings of male workers averaged 36.72 marks and of female
workers 27.54 marks.
The normal workweek is 48 hours. Time and a quarter is paid for
overtime and double time for night work. Regular rates are paid for
legal holidays. Paid vacations of 9 working days annually are
customary. Family allowances are arranged by company regulations.
C E R A M IC I N D U S T R Y

The German ceramic industry is located principally in Bavaria,
Thuringia, Saxony, and Silesia. Household goods form three-fourths
of the total production and technical ceramics the other fourth. The
present wage scale in the industry was established in 1931 and revised
in 1932 and 1936. The hourly wage-scale rates, and also the average
actual weekly earnings in the middle of 1938, are reported as follows:
Hourly rates
{Pfennige)

Skilled workers, male______________________
Skilled workers, female______________________
Other workers, male_______________________
Other workers, female_______________________

74.
44.
60.
37.

0
0
5
5

Actual weekly
earnings (marks)

35-37
21-22

30-32
18-19

Specialized workers receive a minimum of 25 percent above the
wage rates for skilled workers. Basic piece-work rates are computed
on average output and hourly rates plus 25 percent.
The regular working time in the industry is an 8-hour day and
48-hour week. Overtime work is paid for at the rate of time and
a quarter, and Sunday and holiday work at time and a half. Nightshift workers receive 5 percent above the regular rates.
Annual vacations with pay are granted after 1 year’s service and
range from 6 to 9 days, depending on length of service.
C H E M IC A L IN D U S T R Y

The chemical industry (including, in addition to chemical plants
proper, plants in the mineral oil, rubber, and synthetic-liber branches)
is one of the ranking industries of Germany, owing in large measure
to the large-scale manufacture of synthetic raw materials as substitutes
for imported raw materials. The wage scale for the industry was
established in 1928, and in the Frankfort district became effective in
1931. The hourly wage rates, and the average actual weekly earnings
in the industry in the summer of 1938, follow:
Skilled workers____
Semiskilled workers
Unskilled workers.,_

Rate per hour
(pfennigs)

Actual weekly
earnings (marks)

72
70
68

34. 56
33. 60
32. 64

A payment of 15 percent above the hourly wage is made for piece
work. Additional compensation is provided for dangerous and
unhealthful work.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

924

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Houses at nominal rents are provided by some large firms for their
workers.
A 48-hour week prevails in the industry. Night work is paid for at
25 percent above the regular rate. Overtime work is paid for at the
rate of time and a quarter. Holiday work is generally prohibited.
Under a Government decree of December 3, 1937, workers receive
regular pay for six specified legal holidays.
Annual vacations with pay, of from 8 to 12 working days, are
provided for in the wage scale, but most plants, it is reported, extend
the vacation period to 18 days. Special provision is made for longer
vacations in certain exposed occupations.
F U R N IT U R E M A N U F A C T U R E

The wage scale in the Rhenish-Westphalian furniture industry
has been in effect since October 1, 1936. It provides for basic hourly
wage rates as follows:
Rate per hour
(pfennige)

Skilled workers__________________________________________ 68-80
Semiskilled workers______________________________________ 61-72
Unskilled workers________________________________________54-64

Piece-work earnings, on an average efficiency basis, must be 15
percent above time-work rates. Additional compensation is given
for work done at a distance from the plant.
An 8-hour day and 48-hour week are usual in the industry. Over
time work is paid for at time and a quarter for the first 2 hours, and
night-shift and Sunday work are paid for at time and a half. Double
time is paid for work on three specified holidays.
In case of dismissal, notice of from 2 to 4 weeks, depending on length
of service, must be given workers.
Vacations of from 1 to 11 days are granted to workers with service
of from 300 working hours to 10 years.
G L A SS IN D U S T R Y

Plate glass.—A new wage agreement, covering the entire plate-glass
industry in Germany, became effective in July 1937. Maximum
wage rates for adult workers in districts with the highest cost of living
are as follows:
Rate per hour
(pfennige)

Special workers________________________________________
115
Machinists, journeymen________________________________
115
Foremen_______________________________________________ 90-105
Drawing-machine attendants___________________________
85
Sorters_______________________________________________
95
Sorters, assistant__________________________________ - —
75

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours of Labor

925

Skilled workers:
Cutters, thick glass________________________________
Cutters, glass_____________________________________
Mixers___________________________________________
Other skilled workers______________________________
Semiskilled workers____________________________________
Unskilled workers_____________________________________

Rate per hour
(pfennige)

90
76
80
81-90
74r-80
72

Twenty-five percent additional is paid for very dirty work under
high temperatures (except regular repair work). Piece-work rates
must be at least 15 percent in excess of the basic time rates. Actual
earnings, it is understood, exceed the above wage rates only in excep
tional cases.
The agreement provides for a normal 8-hour day and a rest of 16
hours between shifts in plants with continuous operation. Time
and a half is paid for Sunday work and double time for five specified
holidays.
Vacations of from 6 to 12 working days a year, according to length
of service, are granted. In case of sickness a special allowance is
given, equal to the difference between the amount received from the
sickness insurance fund and 90 percent of the gross wages.
Two weeks’ notice of termination of employment by both employer
and employee is provided.
Hollow glass.—A general working agreement for the hollow-glass in
dustry for the whole of Germany has been in effect since February 24,
1936. In Silesia there are two distinct groups of factories, one group
engaged in mass production of table glassware, lighting glassware,
bottles, and tumblers, and the other producing decorated and orna
mental blown glassware, fancy cut-glass products, and stem glass
ware. The wage scales in Silesia are not entirely uniform, because of
the two distinct groups and the difference in cost of living in the dif
ferent localities. The following table is illustrative of the weekly
wages of an adult married worker in both branches of the hollow-glass
industry in the different manufacturing centers of Silesia.
T able 2. — Weekly Wages in the Silesian Hollow-Glass Industry, 1938
Ordinary hollow glassware

Fancy hollow glassware

Occupation
Weiss wasser

Penzig

Smelter forem en...--------------------------------------Smelter mates. ____________________________
Mold makers, foremen______________________
Mold makers, mates___________ . . ________
Jar makers, forem en-------- --------------------------Jar makers, mates---------------------------------------Glassmakers, m ates.................... .............................

Marks
38.97-39.95
26.46-29.40
37.92
31.20
37.82
24.80
26.76-30.84
20.64

Skilled workers_____________________________
Unskilled workers, male_____________________
Unskilled workers, fem ale.._________________

Marks
35.75-40.15
26.04-27.60
36.48
31.20
38. 55
24.96
28.80
21.60

23.52-26. 40
12.00-16.80

24.00-26.88
13.92-14. 88

1Rates established by individual agreements.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Glatz
Marks

40. 20-48.20
40.40-48.45
19. 55-28.30

(9
«

40.80
14.88
25. 44-26.40
20.16-22. 56
13.44-14.40

Hirschberg
Marks
0)
38.88

(9
(9

28.32
24.00
40.80

32.64
21. 60-25.92
14.40

926

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Piece-rate earnings of skilled workers and especially of foremen, it is
stated, are about 15 percent higher than time wage rates.
An 8-hour day and 48-hour week are provided for by the agree
ment. For overtime work an increase of 15 percent is given for the
first 5 hours and 25 percent thereafter. Time and one-half is paid for
Sunday and holiday work and for night work between 8 p. m. and 6
a. m.
Annual vacations are granted after 9 months’ service, the minimum
being 6 working days a year.
IR O N A N D S T E E L IN D U S T R Y

There were no changes in 1938 of the basic wage rates and general
working conditions in the Rhenish-Westphalian iron and steel indus
try. The hourly wage rates for certain classes of workers are as fol
lows:
Hourly rate
(pfennige)

Blast-furnace, coke and ore transportation workers, etc__
79.3
Martin-steelworkers_________________
85.3
Rolling-mill workers_________________________________ 79.5-90.5

In addition a family allowance is paid to married workers, amounting
to 1 pfennig per hour, and 2 pfennige per hour for each dependent
child. Actual earnings of such skilled workers as rollers, blast-fur
nace workers, and skilled steel workers are considerably in excess of
the minimum rates fixed.
In the Siegerland iron and steel industry, which produces chiefly
sheet steel and tin plate, the hourly rates are as follows:
Rate per hour
(pfennige)

Skilled workers___________________________________________
Semiskilled workers_______________________________________
Unskilled workers________
Female workers__________________________________________

59
55
50
35

All workers also receive a family allowance of 1 pfennig per hour for
the wife and for each dependent child.
Actual earnings of skilled workers are considerably above the basic
wage rates.
The normal workweek in the German iron and steel industry is 48
hours, except that blast furnaces and repair departments, Martin-steel
plants, and rolling mills producing thick plates, have a 57-hour week.
Workers in rolling mills and hammer and drop-forge plants have an
8-hour day but work 1 hour overtime when required.
Annual vacations with pay are granted after 1 year’s employment
and range from 6 to 12 days according to length of service.
M E T A L IN D U S T R Y

The metal industry in Germany covers the following branches: Iron
and steel production; smelteries and rolling mills; fabrication of prod
ucts from iron, steel, and other metals; manufacture of machinery,

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Wages and Hours of Labor

927

apparatus, and vehicles; electro-technical industry; and optical and pre
cision instruments. Because of the great number of classes of workers
included, only the general conditions in the industry are presented.
The wage scales in effect in the Berlin-Brandenburg district, which
may be considered typical, were fixed in 1936. The minimum hourly
rates for adult male workers are as follows:
Rate per hour
(:Pfennige)

Highly skilled workers____________________________________
Skilled workers___________
Semiskilled workers_______________________________________
Unskilled workers_________________________________________

93
82
72
66

Women receive 70 percent of the established rates for men. Piece
work must be paid on a scale at least 15 percent higher than the ordi
nary hourly wage rate, but actual piece-work earnings are reported
to be 40 to 60 percent higher.
There is considerable overtime work in this industry and in conse
quence, it is said, workers are probably earning more than at any time
since 1929.
The regular workweek in the industry is 48 hours, including time
spent in changing clothes, washing, and meals.
Overtime work is paid for at 15 percent above regular rates. Fifty
percent extra is paid for overtime work between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m.,
however, and for Sunday and holiday work. Night work, other than
shift work, is paid for at 50 percent extra.
Annual vacations range from 6 to 25 days, depending on length of
service.
In case of dismissal of workers, 1 week’s notice must be given those
who have worked 8 weeks or more, and 2 weeks’ notice after 6 months’
work.
In Silesia the wage scales fixed by an agreement of December 1932
were still in force in 1938. Provisions as to vacations, however, have
been modified. Hourly wage rates prevailing in the different districts
are as follows:
T able 3. —Hourly Wage Rates in the Metallurgical Industries of Silesia, 1938

Wage district

Industry

Upper Silesia______

High blast furnaces, steel and iron mills, rolling

Breslau__ __ _____
Grunberg__

_____

Lower Silesia______

Semi
Skilled skilled
work work
ers
ers

Pfennige
55.0
Allied power plants . . . .
__ ___________
63.0
59.0
Construction of machinery, railway oars, motors— 66.5
63.0
64.0
Construction of machinery, railway cars, bridge,
iron and steel material.
60.0
64.0
67.0
66.5
Construction of machines and railway cars_____

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Pfennige

Un
ale
skilled Fem
work work
ers
ers

53.0
59.5
53.0
57.0

Pfennige
39.0
43.0
46.0
53.0
47.0
51.5

Pfennige
27.0
29.0
33.0
37.5
33.0
35.5

53.5
55. 5
59.0
60.0

47.0
47.5
49.0
53.0

29.0
37.0
36.5

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

928

Piece-work earnings are generally 25 to 30 percent higher than the
time rates, and specially skilled workers may earn as much as 50 to
60 percent above the minimum time rate. No extra compensation is
provided for night work.
A 48-hour week and an 8-hour day are customary. Fifteen percent
additional is paid for the first 2% hours of overtime and 50 percent
additional thereafter. Time and a half is paid for Sunday and holiday
work.
Vacations with pay are granted after 1 year’s service, and range from
6 to 12 days per year according to length of service.
P R IN T IN G IN D U S T R Y

Wage scales in the printing industry in 1938 were the same as those
established in a wage agreement made in June 1932, with a few
amendments.
Book printing .—Minimum hourly and weekly wage rates for adult
workers are here given. Piece work is unusual, except occasionally
for machine compositors.
Rate per hour

Skilled workers:
(Pfennige)
Hand compositors, printers, stereo
typers, and electrotypers________ 80-100
Machine compositors_______________ 96-120
Proofreaders_______________________86-108
Unskilled workers:
62-85
Male workers_______
41-59
Feeders, female_____
34-48
Other female workers

Rate per week
(marks)

38. 40-48. 00
46. 08-57. 60
41. 28-51. 60
29. 57-41. 00
19. 68-28. 39
16. 13-23. 25

For efficiency, up to 20 percent additional is paid to hand com
positors, printers, stereotypers, and electro typers; up to 25 percent
additional to machine compositors; and 20 percent additional to
proofreaders.
An 8-hour day and a 48-hour week are the regular working hours
in the industry. Overtime rates for skilled workers are 15 percent
higher than regular wage rates from 8 to 9 p. m.; 25 percent higher
from 9 to 11 p. m.; 35 percent higher from 11 p. m. to 2 a. m.; and
60 percent higher from 2 to 6 a. m. Time and a half is paid for work
on three specified holidays and time and three-quarters for irregular
work on Sundays. The overtime rates for unskilled workers differ
slightly. Regular Sunday work is paid for at 60 percent more than
regular rates.
In addition to seven national holidays, workers are entitled to
vacations of from 3 to 12 working days a year.
Bookbinding.—Wage rates in the bookbinding branch of the
industry are essentially the same as for book printing. During the
first year after apprenticeship, bookbinders under 23 years of age

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours of Labor

929

receive from 44 to 55 pfennige an hour, and after reaching 23 years
from 73.5 to 92 pfennige. Female workers, if under 16 years of age,
receive during the first 4 years from 19 to 53 pfennige per hour, and if
over 16 years, receive during the first 3 years from 24.5 to 53 pfennige.
Piece rates are not common in bookbinding.
The standard working time is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
For the first hour of overtime 25 percent over the regular rate is
paid, and for each additional hour thereafter, 30 percent. Regular
Sunday work is paid 75 percent over the regular rates and occasional
Sunday work 60 percent more. Time and a half is paid for work on
three specified holidays.
Annual vacations of from 3 to 12 working days are granted to
workers, in addition to nine national holidays.
Lithographic, offset, and music-printing and music-engraving trades —

Skilled workers in this branch of the printing industry are paid wage
rates from 28.90 to 34.00 marks a week, but higher rates for efficiency
enable adult workers to earn as much as 65 marks or more. Unskilled
male workers are paid from 38.50 to 42.00 marks a week and female
workers from 21.25 to 27.50 marks a week. Piece-work earnings of
music engravers average 1.35 marks an hour, it is stated, and those of
music copiers 1.10 marks an hour.
The normal working time is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
Time and a quarter is paid for overtime and time and three-quarters
for Sunday and holiday work.
Annual paid vacations of from 5 to 12 wprking days are granted, in
addition to seven national holidays.
S H IP B U IL D IN G

The basic wage scale in the shipbuilding industry in Germany has
been in effect since October 1, 1934, the only amendments covering
vacations and holidays and commercial and technical employees.
Hourly wage rates and average actual weekly earnings in the spring
of 1938 of adult male workers in Hamburg, the most important ship
building center, are here shown. The only women employed in the
industry are canteen workers and charwomen.
Rate per
hour
(pfennige)

Skilled workers__
Trained workers. _
Unskilled workers

72
66
58

Actual weekly
earnings
(marks)

42.00
36.00
30.50

In Bremen, other North Sea ports, and western Baltic ports, the
hourly rates are from 5 to 7 pfennige less than in Hamburg. A
special wage scale is provided for commercial and technical employees.
For especially unhealthful or dangerous work, such as working on
tankers, workers are paid 1.50 marks extra the first day, 1 mark the
second day, and 50 pfennige for additional days.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Lahor Review—April 1939

930

The average earnings of piece workers are about 22 percent above
the regular time rates. About 72 percent of the work in the industry
is piece work. A special efficiency bonus (not provided in the agree
ment but given voluntarily) is paid to piece workers, according to
work done, skill, and length of employment, as follows: Skilled workers,
10 to 16 pfennige per hour; trained workers, 8 to 10 pfennige; and
unskilled workers, 2 to 8 pfennige.
Married workers receive 2 pfennige extra per hour and an additional
3 pfennige per hour for each child until he finishes school.
The regular working hours are 48 a week. Overtime work is paid
for at 25 percent above the regular rate for the first 2 hours and 40
percent thereafter. The agreement specifies that overtime should be
avoided as far as possible and should not exceed 2 hours a day. Time
and a half is paid for Sunday and holiday work. Night shifts and
Sunday and holiday shift work are paid for at 10 percent more than
the regular rate.
All workers, after 6 months’ employment, are entitled to paid
vacations ranging from 6 to 12 working days annually, depending on
length of employment. Commercial and technical employees receive
vacations ranging from 6 to 18 days.
S O A P M A N U F A C T U R IN G

In May 1938 the wage scale of September 15, 1936, was still effective
in the soap industry. The basic wage rates in western Germany for
adult workers under this scale, which vary according to locality, were
as follows:
Rate per hovr
{pfennige)

Skilled workers_________________________________________ 72-80
Semiskilled workers_____________________________________ 64r-72
Unskilled workers_______
60-68
Female workers__________________________________________ 44-50

The agreement makes no provision for piece work. For very dusty
work 2 pfennige per hour extra are paid. A family allowance of 1
mark per week is paid for the wife and each dependent child up to 14
years of age.
The usual working time is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
Time and a quarter is paid for overtime and time and a half for night
and Sunday work. Double time is paid for specified holidays.
Workers in the soap industry are granted annual paid vacations
of from 4 to 12 days according to length of service.
T E X T I L E IN D U S T R Y

Wage scales in effect in all branches of the German textile industry
vary in the different industrial centers according to the living costs in
those districts.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

931

Wages and Hours of Labor

The wage scale in the principal branches of the industry in Saxony,
one of the leading centers of the industry, has been in effect since 1932.
The hourly wage rates and the average actual weekly earnings in the
middle of 1938 in the four important branches of the industry in
Saxony—cotton spinning, worsted- and knitting-yarn spinning and
wool combing, hosiery and knit goods, and fabric gloves—are shown
in the following table, by occupations:
T able

4 .- —Basic

Hourly Wage Rates and Average Actual Weekly Earnings in Saxon
Textile Industry in 1938, by Occupations
Average
Wage rates actual earn
ings per
per hour
week 1

Industry and occupation

Cotton spinning

Cotton shakers, machine oilers, moisteners, and yarn sorters, male--------------- Head grinders, male...... .......... . . ........................... - .............- ...................... ...................
Card grinders, male--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------Assistant grinders, male................................ .........—............................- ......................
Tearing-machine tenders, male-------------------- ------ --------- ------------- ------ ---------Tearing-machine tenders, female------------------------------------- ------ --------------------■
Mixers, carders, spoolers, reelers, warpers, layers, packers, ring spinners, and
needle setters fpm fllft__ ___ _ ______________________ ______ ______ _______
Bobbin carriers,’warehousemen, washers, ironers, combers, preparatory workers,
steamers, willowers, dyers, needle setters, and spindle-band workers, male-----Other female workers.................. - ------------ ------------------------------------------ ---------

Pfennige

58.7
65.6
62.0
60.1
55.9
41.1

Marks
27.37
30. 58
28.91
28.03
26. 09
19.18

41.2

19. 23

56.8
36.5

26.49
17. 03

41.6

19.40

41.6

19.40

40.2
41.6

18. 74
19.40

40.2

18.74

Worsted- and knitting-yarn spinning and wool combing
Worsted-yarn spinning:
.
Ring spinners, spoolers, twisters, reelers, fiber layers, and preparatory spin
ners, female____________________________________________ ____ — ...........
Knitting-yarn spinning:
Preparatory, ring, and fly-frame stunners, doublers, twiners, and reelers,
female_________________ ______ ______ _________- ..........................................
Wool combing:
. ,
.
. ,
,
,
Washers, carders, willowers, waste hands, rag washers, bale packers, and
dryer hands, fem ale..----- ---------------- ------ ---------------- --------------------- ----Combers, ironers, drawers, and cutting-silk workers, female-------------- --------Wool sorting:
Sorters, female, skilled.------------------------------------------------------------------------Other departments:
Packers, stitchers, and other female workers-------------------------------------------Warehousemen, washers, ironers, combers, preparatory workers, steamers,
willowers, dyers, needle setters, and spindle-band workers, male.................

38.3

17.86

56.8

26.49

55.9
53.2
50.8
44.3
35.1
33.7
31.9

26. 44
25.17
24.02
20.94
16.59
15.93
15.09

31.9

15.09

65.1
55.3
60.6
41.1
39.1

30.80
26.14
28. 64
19.45
18. 44

37.2

17.60

Hosiery and knit goods
Cotton, circular, and warp loom workers, knitters on cotton-glove, Jacquard,
narrowing, and 8-lock machines, warpers, workers on double-rib warp looms---Hand-loom workers, and machine k n itters.-..---------- -----------------------------------Circular-machine and circular rib-top machine workers----------------------------------Circular-loom workers and"knitters on hand-operated machines, female...... ..........
Knitters, machine, automatic and Gallon, female--------------- ——------ -------------Circular-machine and circular rib-top machine workers, fe m a le ...----------- - - ----Runner-on workers, trimming-machine workers, linkers, stitchers, menders,
spoolers, embroiderers, cutters, tambour-machine workers, warpers, edge cut
ters, female---------- ------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------Fabric gloves
Knitters, warp, circular, and double-rib warp looms, warpers, cutters, setters,
needle setters, and winding-room hands, m ale......................................................
Spoolers, m a le8--------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- - ...................
Trimmers, finishers, tenters, male--------------------------------------------------------- -----Trimmers, female------ ------------------------------------ ------- ------ ------ - - ---------- -----Stitchers, buttonhole makers, spoolers, cutters, and menders, female >.. ----------Layers, examiners, finishers, patent-fastener workers, tackers, and storeroom
keepers, fem ale.................................................................. ......................... - ------ -------

i Computed on the basis of the average working week in the industry, which was about 44 hours in the
8 10 percent additional over basic time and piece-work rates is paid for spooling of silk and rayon.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

932

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

The majority of the textile workers in Saxony are time workers. On
piece work, the basic hourly rates are increased on the average by
20 percent. Piece-work earnings in cotton spinning, worsted- and
knitting yarn spinning, and wool combing are reported to be at least
10 to 12 percent higher than the basic rates; for female workers on
hosiery, knit goods, and fabric gloves, 10 to 12 percent higher, and
for male workers, from 20 to 25 percent higher. Efficient workers,
it is understood, earn from 30 to 35 percent more than the basic
standard rate of their class.
The regular working time in the industry is 48 hours a week—8%
hours from Monday to Friday and 5% hours on Saturday. The
average actual working time in the spring of 1938 was 7.38 hours a
day and 44.3 hours weekly.
Time and a quarter is paid for overtime and time and a half for
night, Sunday, and holiday work. Regular night-shift work is paid
15 percent additional.
Workers are entitled, after 6 months’ employment, to from 6 to 10
days’ vacation each year with pay, according to length of employment.
Wages in Building Construction
The Berlin building industry is regulated by two wage orders:
The Reich wage order of November 26, 1936, making general regula
tions regarding working conditions and, to a limited extent, wages for
the entire country; and the district wage order of April 1, 1937,
regulating wages on building projects in Greater Berlin.
The minimum hourly wage rates for workers in the construction
industry in Greater Berlin are shown below. In towns in Brandenb urg an d P o m e ra n ia th e ra te s are s lig h tly low er.
M arks
per hour

Masons__________________________________________________ 1. 08
Carpenters______________________________________________ 1. 08
Concrete workers, skilled__________________________________ 1. 08
Stone and mortar carriers_________________________________ 1. 08
Concrete molders_____________________________________ ;__ 1. 08
Scaffold workers_________________________________________ . 96
. 96
Mortar mixers, concrete and water carriers________________
Concrete workers, unskilled_______________________________ .9 6
Elevator and hoikt operators______________________________ . 96
Unclassified workers_________________ ____________________ .9 0
Foundation and subsurface foremen_______________________ . 90
Foundation and subsurface workers_______________________
. 72
Machinists, first class__________________________________ _ 1.13
Machinists, second class___________
1. 08
Machinists, third class___________________________________
. 95
Locksmiths, fitters, smiths, welders, and acetylene torch
cutters________________________________________________ 1. 08
Assistant fitters, painters, plaster workers, pipe fitters______ . 90
Pipe layers______________________________________________ 1. 01
Pile-driver operators_____________________________________ . 90

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

933

Wages and Hours of Labor

For dangerous and dirty work, an average of 15 percent above the
regular rate is paid, and for work at dangerous heights (10 meters
above ground), 15 percent above, plus 5 percent for every 10 meters
higher.
The Berlin wage scale makes no provision for piece-work rates.
The Reich wage order, however, gives a so-called piece-work wage
(Akkordrichtsatz), which is equivalent to the regular hourly wage plus
20 percent.
The normal workweek in the industry is 48 hours for regular
workers, 72 hours for watchmen, and 60 hours for teamsters and
cooks on building lots. The customary time for “second” breakfast,
lunch, and afternoon coffee is considered working time.
Overtime is paid for at 20 percent above the normal rates; on
official settlement projects this may be reduced to 10 percent. Night
work is paid for at 10 percent extra and overtime at night at 40
percent extra. Time and a half is paid for Sunday and ordinary
holiday work and double time for four specified holidays.
Workers are entitled to 4 days off after 32 weeks’ employment and
8 days after 48 weeks’ employment.
Wages in Mining and Oil Industries
B IT U M IN O U S -C O A L M IN IN G

The basic wage scales in the bituminous-coal industry in Silesia,
one of the important coal districts in Germany, have remained un
changed since the wage agreement of July 1, 1932. These basic
wage rates are as follows:
U n d e r g r o u n d w o r k (7 ^ -h o u r s h ift):

M arks per shift

Coal cutters___________________________________
5. 80
4. 46
Loaders_______________________________________
Carpenters___________________
5. 80
Other workers__________________________________4. 73-5. 04
Surface work (8-hour shift):
Skilled workers_________________________________4. 00-5. 02
Unskilled workers______________________________
4. 00
Female workers________________________________
2. 67

Piece-work rates, under the agreement, must provide earnings at
least 10 percent above the time rates. In practice, piece work is the
exception rather than the rule.
The basic wage rates, it is stated, do not, in general, reflect the
actual higher earnings of miners. In the middle of 1938 the current
average wages of miners in Silesia were reported to approximate 7.18
marks per 7%-hour shift for underground work. For the preceding
year, average gross earnings per shift of all mine workers (including
miners and other mine workers) ranged from 6.05 to 7.91 marks per
shift (7% hours underground to 10 hours above ground). In the

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

934

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Ruhr district, because of the higher standard of living, miners’ wages
were generally from 5 to 10 percent higher than in Silesia.
The agreement provides for an additional payment of 10 pfennige
per shift to each married male miner and another 10 pfennige for each
dependent child under 16 years. Mine workers are also given free coal
(from 1,250 to 7,000 kilograms3 annually, the amount depending on
occupation and family dependents). It is stated that this payment
in kind was equivalent in the middle of 1938, at the current retail
price, to from 39 to 218.40 marks.
The basic working agreement of 1928, which is still in force, pre
scribes a 7%-hour shift for underground workers, calculated from the
time the miner enters until he leaves the mine. In mines where the
temperature is 28° C. (82.4° F.) or over, the shift is 6 hours. Surface
workers have a normal 8-hour day and a 48-hour week. In continu
ous-operation plants, such as power plants, cokeries, etc., the work
week is fixed at 56 hours.
Overtime work is paid for at time and a quarter, and holiday work
at time and a half, except that for three specified holidays double
time is paid.
Vacations with pay are granted to mine workers in the RhenishWestphalian coal-mining industry, ranging from 6 to 10 working days
according to length of employment. Pit workers are entitled to 12
days’ leave after 15 years of work.
L IG N IT E M IN IN G

The lignite (brown coal) mining industry, which is important in
Germany, as the quantity mined exceeds that of any other kind of
coal, includes underground mining, surface mining, briquet factories
and wet presses, smoldering plants, oil, paraffin, candle, and bitumen
factories, and power plants. Wage scales for workers in the central
German lignite industry, which became effective in April 1938, are
as follows:
Pfennige per hour

Underground miners_____________________________________ 59-73
Surface miners and other surface workers__________________ 55-68
Female workers in candle factories________________________ 33-37

Piece work is rare in this industry. The regulations governing
piece-work wages provide, however, that at piece work a miner must
normally earn at least 10 percent over the time wage scale.
Work in places with a temperature of over 40° C. (104° F.) is paid
25 percent above the regular rate. Particularly wet underground
work or particularly dirty surface or underground work must be paid
for at a higher rate, to be agreed upon from time to time.
3 Kilogram =2.2 pouuds.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Wages and Hours of Labor

935

Married workers receive an additional 60 pfennige per week and,
for each dependent child up to 18 years of age, from 60 to 150 pfennige
additional per week.
Workers are also given free fuel, the amounts ranging from 25 to
80 hundredweight, depending on the size of the family.
The daily working time for surface mining is 8 hours and for under
ground mining 7% hours, excluding intervals. Overtime is paid for
at 25 percent over regular rates, Sunday work at 50 percent addi
tional, and work on holidays at 100 percent additional. Night work
is performed only in emergencies; the rate therefor is time and a
quarter.
Paid vacations are granted after 6 months’ continuous employment.
For surface workers the length of the vacation ranges from 7 to 12
working days and for underground workers, from 8 to 14 days, de
pending on length of employment.
P E T R O L E U M IN D U S T R Y

Wages in the German mineral-oil industry are fixed under a wage
schedule which became effective January 1, 1936. Because of the
shortage of workers, however, drilling and oil-producing companies
were reported to be paying approximately 10 percent above the rates
fixed in the wage schedule. The schedule wage rates per shift are
as follows:
Underground workers:
Marks per shift
Miners (pickmen)__________________________________ 5. 82
Miners (bottom of mine)____ _______________________
5. 13
Semiskilled miners________
5. 51
Skilled workers____________________________________
5. 82
Timbermen________________________________________ 5. 59
Timbermen, assistants, winchoperators, and oil ladlers. 4. 87
Surface workers:
Conveyer operators________________________________
5. 80
Skilled workers_____________________________________ 5. 38
Carpenters________________________________________
5. 22
Stokers____________________________________________ 5. 41
Semiskilled workers________________________________
4. 56
Locomotive drivers_________________ ._______________ 4. 74
Compressor attendants_____________________________
4. 69
Drill attendants____________________________________ 4. 56
Sand washers and chain-cable car operators, yard
workers, supply workers, teamsters, unskilled work
ers, pump and filter attendants, and watchmen_____
4. 50
Drilling:
Shift foremen, and skilled workers___________________ 5. 38
Semiskilled workers, drillers, cable operators, stokers,
motor attendants, and drillattendants_____________ 4. 56
Pumping crew, oil filterers, pump watchmen, telephone
operators, messengers, teamsters, and other workers. 4. 50
135055— 39-------12

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

936

In addition a family allowance is paid to married workers, amount
ing to 20 pfennige a shift and 10 pfennige for each dependent child
under 15 years. Unmarried workers who are the principal support
of their families receive the same allowances.
Workers on piece work are guaranteed a minimum of 15 percent
above the schedule rates, plus a small amount for each unit in excess
of set quotas.
The regular prescribed working hours in underground work are
8 per day, including 1 trip down the shaft and one 20-minute recess.
There is no weekly limit on hours. In surface work there is an 8-hour
working day, exclusive of the lunch period. Time and a quarter is
paid for overtime, Sunday, and holiday work, except that for work
on four specified holidays double time must be paid.
Annual vacations with pay, which are granted after 1 year’s con
tinuous employment, range from 6 to 14 days, depending on length
of service. Workers are not permitted to work for remuneration
during their vacations.
P O T A SH IN D U S T R Y

The potash industry is the most important chemical-resource in
dustry in Germany. Wage scales for the industry in effect since
April 1, 1935, have been supplemented by a decree effective April 1,
1938. These regulations apply to all potash and rock-salt pits and to
all factories and auxiliary plants manufacturing related products.
Hourly rates under the schedule are as follows:
Underground work:
Group 1____ ____
Group 2________
Surface work:
Group 1________
Group 2________
Mills and factories:
Group 1________
Group 2________
Group 3________
Subsidiary workshops:
Group 1________
Group 2________
Group 3________
Group 4________

Pfennige per hour

80
70
. 80-85
. 62-68
62
60
58
70
62
60
58

Female workers are paid 37 pfenninge per hour. An average of
10 percent above the minimum wage scales is paid for efficiency.
All underground workers receive such extra wages. Increases in
the basic wage rates, ranging from 5 to 25 percent, are allowed for
especially hazardous or arduous work. Married workers receive a
family allowance of 30 pfennige a day and 10 pfennige additional for
each dependent child.

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¡Pages and Hours of Labor

937

Ordinary working hours in underground mining are 8 per day,
calculated from the time of entering the pit to the time of leaving it
and including a half-hour interval. All other miners and surface
workers have an 8%-hour day, including a half-hour interval. When
boring a pit, the working time is limited to 6 hours. State publichygiene regulations govern hours in especially hot conditions. Time
and a quarter is paid for overtime work, and time and a half for Sun
day and holiday work, except that double time is paid for four specified
holidays.
After 1 year of employment annual vacations with pay, ranging
from 6 to 14 working days in surface work and from 7 to 15 days in
underground work, depending on length of employment, are granted.
Average H ourly Wage Rates in December 1938

Average hourly wage-scale rates in the main industries in Germany
as of December 1938, as published by the German Statistical Office,
are given in table 5.
T able 5. —Average Hourly Wage Rates in Germany, December 1938 1
[Exchange rate of German mark (100 pfennige) in December 1938=40.08 cents]
Average hourly wage rate
Male workers

Industry group
Skilled

AU industries________________ ___________ _______
Production-goods industries.......... .............. ............
Building construction____________________
Chemicals............................................................
Coal mining:
Bituminous coal_________ ____________
L ignite.________ ____________________
M etal working_____ ______ _____________
Paper production_________________________
Paper products........ ......................... ....................
Printing_____ _____ ____ _____ _____ ______
Woodworking________ ______ ____________
Consumption-goods industries__________ ______
Breweries................................ .................. ............
Ceramics........................ ............. .........................
Clothing................................. .................. ..............
Confectionery........................................................
Shoes________ ______ _____________ _______
Textiles.......................................................... .........
Cloth weaving_______ ________________
Cotton goods..................... ..................... .......
Knitted goods._______________________
Lace weaving_____________ __________
Linen goods........ ............. ............................
Ribbon weax ing___________________ _
Silk weaving...................................................
Velvet w eaving..________ ____________
Worsted spinning____ _____ __________
Transportation and communication................ .............
State railways__________ _______ _____________
Post office..................................................... .

Semi
skilled

Female workers
Un
skilled

Pfennige
78.7
83.4
81.7
87.1

Pfennige Pfennige
62.2
68.6
63.5
65. 6
70.1

95.5
75.8
79.0
75. 9
92.9
96.1
79.4
73.0
105.2
70.9
74.1
80. 7
79.2
63.6
61.3
63.3
64.2
75.4
59.6
65.3
58.2
71.9
69.8
82.0
82.7
77.7

59.9
67.4
62.4
57. 3
69.0
79. 7
61. 0
60.7
93.2
58.9

71.0
71. 7
83.8
66. 7

68.9
79. 2
63.6
61.3
63.3
64.2
75.4
59.6
65.3
58.2
71.9
69.8
71.5
71.5
71. 3

53.1
54.2
52.2
53.1
55.9
49.6
54.4
54.4
61.6
54.4
67.7
68. 4
63.9

Skilled

U n
skilled

Pfennige Pfennige
51.5
44.0
46. a

52.7

43. 4
47.9
59. 9
50.0
51.9
51.8
44.3
45.6
51.1
51.3
53.7
45.0

46 5
38 fi
43.0
48.8
59.6
36. 1
46. 4
39.5
41.3
39.4
38.4
39. 3
36.8
42.0
41.9
40.9
39.2

‘ Data are from Germany, Statistiches Reichsamt, Wirtschaft und Statistik (Berlin), 1 Januar-Heft,
1939,p. 24.

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Labor Turn-Over

LABOR TURN-OYER IN MANUFACTURING,
JANUARY 1939
A DEFINITE trend toward improved employment conditions was
indicated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly survey of labor
turn-over in manufacturing industries for January 1939. Although
certain seasonal industries reported a greater number of lay-offs than
in the preceding month, the combined lay-off rate in manufacturing
establishments in 144 industries declined from 3.21 in December 1938
to 2.24 per 100 employees in January 1939. During the same period,
the total separation rate decreased from 3.88 to 3.19. Both rates
were much lower than in January 1938. The quit rate showed a sub
stantial increase compared with the preceding month and with January
1938. The discharge rate was slightly higher than in December but
lower than in January 1938. The number of accessions per 100
employees increased from 3.22 in December 1938 and 3.78 in January
1938 to 4.09 in January 1939.
Of the 28 industries for which separate rates are published, 19 had
lower total separation rates than in December 1938 and 25 had lower
total separation rates than in January 1938. The January 1939
accession rate was above that for the preceding month in 17 industries.
Compared with January 1938, there were 14 industries showing higher
accession rates.
All Manufacturing
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ survey of labor turn-over covers
more than 5,500 representative manufacturing establishments, which
in January employed more than 2,400,000 workers. The rates repre
sent the number of changes in personnel per 100 employees on the pay
rolls during the month.
The rates shown in table 1 are compiled from reports received from
representative plants in 144 industries. In the 28 industries for which
separate rates are shown (see table 2), reports were received from
representative plants employing at least 25 percent of the workers in
each industry. These data include for the first time turn-over rates
for plants manufacturing paper and pulp.
Table 1 shows the total separation rate classified into quit, dis
charge, and lay-off rates, and the accession rate for each month of 1937
and 1938 and January 1939, for manufacturing as a whole. The
averages of the monthly rates for 1937 and 1938 are also presented.
938

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Labor Turn-Over

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

940

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 1.— Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates in Representative Factories in 144 Industries
Class of turnover Janu Feb March April May June July
ary ruary
and year

Separations:
Quits:
1939_________
1938..................
1937_________
Discharges:
1939........ ...........
1938...... ..........
1937.................
Lay-ofEs:1
1939 .............
1938_________
1937...................
Total:
1939 .................
1938____ _____
1937...................
Accessions:
1939
. ...
1938 ________
1937...............

Sep Octo N o D e Aver
Aug tem
cem age
ust
ber vem
ber
ber
ber

0.85
.52
1.27

0.49
1.19

0. 61
1.43

0. 59
1.38

0. 62
1.37

0.61
1.89

0. 59
1.25

0. 65
1. 23

0.82
1.59

0. 78
1.05

0.60
.72

0.58
.60

0.62
1.25

. 10
. 11
.21

.11
.22

. 11
.24

.10
.23

.13
.21

.11
.19

.09
.21

. 10
.19

.12
.19

.10
.16

.09
.14

.11
.20

2. 24
5. 45
1.90

3.79
1.44

3. 74
1.53

3. 85
1.48

3.82
1. 79

3. 69
1.94

3.13
2.06

2. 33
2. 57

2. 62
2. 84

2. 40
4.45

2. 44
5.99

3. 21
7.77

3.37
2.98

3.19
6.08
3.38

4. 39
2.85

4. 46
3.20

4. 54
3. 09

4. 57
3.37

4.41
4.02

3. 81
3.52

3.08
3.99

3.56
4.62

3. 30
5.69

3.14
6.87

3. 88
8.51

4.10
4.43

4. 09
3. 78
4.60

3.13
4. 71

3.13
4. 74

2. 58
4. 04

2.84
3. 56

3.44
3. 69

4.81
3. 36

5.29
3. 36

4. 51
3.78

5.19
2.84

4.24
1. 79

3. 22
2.12

3.85
3. 55

1 The various turn-over rates represent the number of quits, discharges, lay-offs, total separations, and
accessions per 100 employees.
2 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.

Detailed turn-over rates for 28 selected manufacturing industries
are shown in table 2, which gives the number of quits, discharges, and
lay-offs, total separations, and total accessions, per 100 employees, in
reporting firms in January 1939 and December and January 1938.
T able 2 .—Monthly Turn-Over Rates (per 100 Employees) in Specified Manufacturing

Industries

Class of rates

Quit...........................................
Discharge.................................
L a y -o ff...................................
Accession.................................

Janu Decem Janu
ary
ber
ary
1939
1938
1938

Janu Decem Janu
ber
ary
ary
1939
1938
1938

Automobiles and bodies

Automobile parts

Boots and shoes

2.58
. 04
2.52
5.14
2.15

0. 41
.07
2.03
2. 51
3.12

0.37
.07
13. 50
13.94
2. 34

0. 58
.10
6.03
6. 71
4.18

Brick, tile, and terra
cotta

Lay-off.”_____________ ____
Total separation__________
Accession.................................

0.41
. 13
6.18
6. 72
3.90

0.40
. 12
5. 74
6. 26
3. 43

0. 51
.13
11.05
11.69
6. 79

Cotton manufacturing

Accession..................................

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1.10
.21
1. 57
2.88
4.09

0.97
.24
2. 29
3. 50
3.43

0. 85
.16
4.93
5. 94
3. 92

0.61
. 15
4.41
5.17
4.88

0.43
. 17
16.71
17. 31
4.82

Cement

0.35
.01
13.02
13.38
9.27

0.21
. 11
15.81
16.13
1. 05

0.48
.03
2. 38
2.89
3.43

0. 58
. 13
2.41
3.12
6.92

0.66
. 11
1.48
2.25
7.04

Cigars and cigarettes

0.66
.62
4.69
5.97
9. 37

Electrical machinery

0. 50
.04
1. 97
2. 51
3.21

0.73
. 13
.87
1.73
7.82

0.58
.09
7.17
7.84
1.32

1.74
. 12
2.43
4.29
5.19

0.82
.07
7.08
7. 97
1.85

1.13
. 14
6.81
8.08
5.15

Foundries and machine
shops
0. 35
.06
1. 47
1.88
3.31

0.31
.06
1.87
2.24
3.52

0.30
.13
6.04
6.47
1.53

941

Labor Turn-Over

T able 2. — Monthly Turn-Over Rates (per 100 Employees) in Specified Manufacturing

Industries— Continued

Class of rates

Decem- January
her
1938
1938

January
1939

Decern- January
ber
1938
1938

January
1939

0. 57
.16
3. 92
4. 65
5. 57

0. 41
.15
8.98
9. 54
6.43

0. 51
.14
7.29
7.94
3. 09

0. 35
.04
1.42
1.81
1. 28

0. 39

0.32
.04
1.12
1.48
1.62

4.81
5.31
1.15

0.71
.13
1.77
2.61
6.15

0. 68
.04
6. 73
7. 45
5.08

0.82

.10

1.50
2. 42
3.10

0. 86
. 10
1.66

2. 62
2.46

0.60
.05
2.61
3.26
10.83

0.42
.09
1.09
1. 60
1.73

.12

1. 27
1.87
1.96

ary
1938

0. 40
.07
.73
1. 20

2.17

0. 51
.07
1.18
1.76
2.33

0.47
.07
9.13
9.67
1.78

Machine tools
0.71

.10

4. 31
5.12
2. 75

0. 44
.03
.55
1. 02

2. 41

0.41

.02

.89
1.32
2.27

0. 41
.14
2.57
3.12
.54

Petroleum refining

Paper and pulp

M en’s clothing
Q uit....................
Discharge-..........
Lay-off............
Total separation
Accession---------

2.21

0.40
.07
4.93
5.40
1.16

Knit goods

Iron and steel
Q uit....................
Discharge...........
Lay-off............
Total separation.
Accession...........

0. 36
.07
1.74
2.17

0.23
.07
3. 26
3.56
1.43

Janu-

Hardware

Glass

Furniture
Q u it........... ........
Discharge-..........
L ay-off................
Total separation.
Accession.............

.Tanu- December
ary
1938
1939

0 . 48
. 16
1. 47
2.07
2.27

0.2044

.04

.86
1.10
1. 77

0.44
.03
1.91
2. 38
1.33

0. 23
.06
3.42
3.71
2.05

Printing and publishing
Radios and phonographs
Newspapers

Book and job
Quit__________
Discharge--------Lay-off.................
Total separation.
Accession---------

0. 40
. 13
3.99
4. 52
5.35

0. 30
.18
7.49
7.97
3.73

0. 34
.17
3.63
4.14
3.43

0.52
.30
.30
1.12

1.98

0.
.09
1. 53
2.03
1.94

0.5841
.14
6.90
7.62
11.99

0.87
.11
3. 54
4. 52
5.75

0.86
.26
5. 50
6. 62
4.41

0.88
.14
5. 76
6. 78
6. 72

Woolen and worsted
goods
Quit___________
Discharge............
Lay-off.................
Total separation.
Accession______

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

0.90
.12
2.60
3.62
4.93

1. 51
.09
2.11
3.71
6. 67

0. 55
.08
2.23
2.86
1.88

0. 77
.05
3. 25
4. 07
1.71

0.52
.06
7. 47
8. 05
7.99

0. 50
.15
5.85
6.50
6. 76

1.42
• 41.
5.95
7. 78
6. 66

0.57
.03

0. 50
.06

1.29

10.11

1.20

.01

1.86

1.35

10.71
.97

0.53
. 16
10. 05
10.74
7.62

0.53
.16
5.69
6.38
10. 84

1.05
. 14
3.61
4.80
4.22

0. 75
.15
9. 02
9.92
5.41

Rubber tires

0. 56

Slaughtering and meat
packing

Sawmills

Q u it-.--_______
Discharge—.........
Lay-off..............Total separation.
Accession........ .

0.29
.06
1.90
2. 25
1.17

Rubber boots and shoes

Rayon
Q uit....................
Discharge--------Lay-off.................
Total separation.
Accession.............

0.49
.03
1.78
2. 30
1.51

1.76
1.87

0.
.04
.82
1. 32
2.51

46
0. 53
.04
6.44
7.01
1.19

Steam and hot-water
heating apparatus
Ö. 51
.03
.80
1. 34
2.25

0. 39
.03
1.28
1.70
1.05

0.64
.

3. 38
4.14
2.85

Em ploym ent Offices

OPERATIONS OF UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT
SERVICE, FEBRUARY 1939
A ONE-THIRD gain in placements above the level of a year ago was
reported by the United States Employment Service for February.
Altogether 181,054 complete placements of all types were made, of
which 126,408 were in private jobs. At the same time a decline in
the number of job seekers registering with the offices was reported.
The betterment in placements during February marks the fourth
successive month during which placements have exceeded the volume
a year earlier. Widest improvement was shown in private jobs of
regular duration, which numbered 49 percent more than in February
1938. Men were placed in 61,415 private jobs, of which 27,987 were
of regular duration—the latter figure being 54.2 percent higher than
in February 1938. Women were placed in 64,993 private jobs. In
addition to the jobs with private employers, 54,646 placements in
public employment were made, 35.3 percent more than 1 year earlier.
Improvement in the number of jobs filled accompanied an intensifi
cation of placement activity in offices throughout the country. Field
visits to the number of 130,781 were made—51.7 percent more than in
February 1938, and an increase in daily rate of 11.9 percent over Janu
ary 1939. Widening of job opportunities for Employment Service
registrants was general throughout the country, gains in private place
ments being reported in 36 States.
Moderate lessening in the demand for employment was also re
ported. Total current applications for jobs received during the month
numbered 1,049,266, almost 10 percent lower than a year ago and a
decrease in daily rate of nearly 20 percent from January. Unlike the
situation last year, when large numbers of new applications were
being received from previously unregistered persons making applica
tions in connection with the filing of claims for unemployment com
pensation benefits, less than half of the registrations represented new
applications. New applications numbered 489,335, a drop of 34.7
percent from last year, while renewals numbered 559,931, a gain of
34.9 percent from February 1938. The number of applications re
ceived from men showed a marked decline, 763,380 applications being
received, 14.1 percent less than a year ago. Applications from
942

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943

Employment Offices

women, by contrast, increased, 285,886 current applications being
received, a rise of 3.4 percent from 12 months earlier.
At the end of February, 7,198,803 active applications were in the files
of employment offices throughout the country. Of these, 5,672,188
represented men and 1,526,615 women.
During February the 1,667 operating offices and 2,420 itinerant
points of the United States Employment Service received 10,341,577
personal visits in connection with their operations, over 20 percent
more than a year ago. In addition to the complete placements dis
cussed above, the employment offices assisted in making 30,649 supple
mental placements.
A summary of the principal operating totals for February is con
tained in table 1.
T able 1 .— Summary of Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939
Percent of change from—
Activity

Number

1,049, 266
489,335
559,931
181,054
126,408
54, 646
7,198, 803

January
1939 i
-1 9 .3
-1 6 .8
-2 1 .4
-.6
+6. 5
-1 3 .9
-3 .2

February
1938
- 9 .9
-3 4 .7
+34.9
+37.3
+38.2
+35.3
+ 6 .4

February
1937
+87.5
+86.6
+88.4
-2 7 .6
-1 9 .9
-4 0 .9
+17.7

1 Adjusted for number of working days in month.

Registration and placement activity for veterans paralleled in
general the trends reported for applicants as a whole. A summary
of the national totals for veterans is contained in table 2.
T able 2. — Summary of Veterans’’ Activities, February 1939
Percent of change from—
Activity

Number

43. 737
13, 355
30,382
8, 251
4,185
4, 066
355, 876
i Adjusted for number of working days in month.

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January
1939 i

February
1938

-1 3 .0
-1 7 .7
-1 0 .7
-1 2 .9
+ 7.1
-2 6 .9
-2 .4

-1 0 .7
-4 6 .7
+27.1
+23.1
+27. 5
+18.8
+ 2 .6

February
1937
+41.2
+27.0
+48.5
-4 6 .5
-4 4 .9
-4 8 .0
+ 5 .3

944

Monthly Labor Review-—April 1939
T able 3. —Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939
TOTAL
Applications

Placements
Private
Division and
State

Field
Percent
Pub visits
of
Total
lic
N um change Regular
(over 1
ber
from month)
Jan
uary 1

United States. 181,054 126,408
N ew Eng___
M a in e ......
N . H _____
Vermont__
M ass_____
R. I .............
Conn_____
M id. A tl____
New Y ork..
New Jersey.
Penn______
E. N . C _____
Ohio______
Indiana___
Illinois.........
M ichigan...
W isconsin..
W. N . C ____
M innesota.
I o w a ____
Missouri__
North D ak.
South D ak .
N ebraska...
Kansas____
South A tl___
D elaw are...
M aryland. _
D ist. of Col.
Virginia___
West V a .. .
N . C ______

s. c ______

Georgia___
Florida 3__
E. S. C_____
K entucky..
Tennessee..
A labam a...
Mississippi.
W. S. C _____
Arkansas. . .
Louisiana..
Oklahoma..
Texas ___
M ountain___
M ontan a...
Idaho_____
W yom ing..
Colorado.. .
New Mex__
Arizona___
U tah______
N evada___
Pacific______
W ash...........
Oregon____
California..
Alaska. ..........
Hawaii______

8, 816
1,035
1,619
702
2,064
691
2,705
24,059
14, 452
3, 407
6, 200
30,437
5,995
4, 924
9,119
6,119
4,280
15,921
3,073
4, 585
3, 237
948
1,019
1,314
1,745
28, 514
748
2, 640
2,431
4,165
2, 643
6,717
2,713
4,695
1, 762
12,030
1.406
3, 721
4,515
2,388
34,308
2,593
5,061
2,702
23,952
6, 583
750
787
382
1, 476
844
1,037
727
580
19, 390
1,284
2, 905
15, 201
622
374

6,877
796
1,310
468
1,594
564
2,145
19, 210
10,716
3,077
5, 417
25, 097
4,742
4, 610
8, 666
4,025
3,054
11,715
2,424
3, 576
2, 383
819
696
864
953
14,165
461
1, 559
2.233
1,737
1,890
3, 368
801
1,992
124
6, 414
826
2, 360
2,771
457
24,365
1,582
3,801
1,296
17, 686
4, 420
367
636
224
1,089
409
798
454
443
13,952
995
1,581
11,376
41
152

+6
-3
-1 6
-1 8
+4
+9
+2
+5
+10
+4
+9
+24
+10
+16
+16
+3
+7
+20
+14
-2
+22
+20
+2
+12
+41
+13
+10
+24
+12

-0

+2
+4
+7
+25
+24
+2
+17
+1
+21
-5 2

+47
+39
-3
-1
-1 1
-1 6
-4
+15
+12
-3 3
-3 3
+22
-2 1
+2
-7
+23
+0
-5
+17

Total

65,179 54, 646 130,781 1,049, 266 489,335 7,198, 803 10,341, 577 30, 649
4,791
595
1,032
275
1,176
363
1,350
10, 967
5, 572
1,715
3, 680
13, 223
2, 323
2,738
3,933
2,371
1,858
5,172
1,267
1.204
1, 382
307
247
389
376
8,166
224
922
986
1, 255
1,161
1, 848
465
1,240
65
4,804
459
1, 587
2, 437
321
8, 712
559
2, 297
539
5,317
2,023
187
327
58
477
282
379
84
229
7, 228
544
1,147
5,537
14
79

1,939
239
309
234
470
127
560
4. 849
3,736
330
783
5, 340
1,253
314
453
2,094
1,226
4,206
649
1,009
854
129
323
450
792
14, 349
287
1,081
198
2, 428
753
3,349
1,912
2,703
1,638
5, 616
580
1,361
1, 744
1,931
9,943
1,011
1,260
1,406
6, 266
2,163
383
151
158
387
435
239
273
137
5,438
289
1,324
3, 825
581
222

5,805
891
616
263
880
875
2,280
20, 254
8,826
2, 932
8,496
25, 289
4,157
6,177
4, 900
6, 563
3,492
17,128
6, 521
3,113
3, 271
673
610
1,403
1,537
12,658
242
1, 623
70
1,578
2,017
2, 364
928
3,698
138
6, 639
666
2, 889
2,007
1.077
23,183
1,319
3, 404
1,677
16, 783
5, 737
1,013
1,125
186
608
1,054
579
590
582
13, 849
1,818
1,618
10, 413
96
143

56,086
8,207
5,135
2,041
19,118
8,188
13,397
263, 687
109, 720
54,149
99, 818
181, 841
55,476
24,980
25, 209
52,603
23, 573
89,038
16,450
14,141
27,493
4,935
3, 372
7, 551
15,096
133, 659
2,890
17, 243
7, 535
19,683
15, 693
24,075
9,179
24, 777
12, 584
58, 275
17, 691
12,483
13, 901
14, 200
97, 500
8,359
18, 864
21,075
49,202
46, 253
3,158
4,403
2,938
17, 610
3, 236
5,433
7, 688
1,787
121, 259
12,486
10, 520
98, 253
456
1, 212

1 Adjusted for number of working days in month.
3 Includes N . It. S. activities for Feb. 1-18 only.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

New

Sup
Active
ple
file,
Personal mental
Feb. 28,
visits
place
1939
ments

23, 214 526, 800
697, 209
948
1,839
45, 310
71, 699
71
1,276
29, 610
31, 525
366
779
17,865
17, 542
18
11,463 316,242
350,082
172
3,705
31, 788
91, 794
133
4,152
85,985
134, 567
188
129, 631 1, 790, 750 2, 932,190 1,174
61,718 556, 707 »1, 691,565
473
34. 873 282, 801
400,445
162
33,040 951, 242
840,180
539
82, 863 1,477,081 1, 482,320 5,156
32, 223 458, 441
621,945 2, 479
11, 271 196, 555
272, 393 1,066
11, 892 299, 507
118, 923
178
20,191 354, 372
410,057
956
7,286 168,206
159,002
477
38, 690 697,430
897,481 1,333
6, 732 205, 760
289,405
243
6,040 103, 767
655
200, 502
15, 725 200, 724
193,739
50
1,031
32,972
26,476
57
36,199
948
18,819
13
45, 556
2,843
68, 684
63
72,452
5,371
252
99,856
65, 473 846,478 1,146,142 2,242
1,25],
18,927
30,153
20
5, 874
71,216
146, 241
126
3,705
51,036
72, 597
3
144,404
8,767
53,409
167
4, 527 114,882
157, 821
614
11,041 129, 629
354
267,511
4, 284 124,871
112, 706
111
14, 238 163, 884
125, 952
189
11, 786 118, 624
88,757
658
32, 291 472,187
521,434 2,669
11,932 114, 707
86, 816
521
7,153 141, 034
172,821
516
6, 384 142, 573
154, 654 1,027
6, 822
73,873
605
107,143
46,463 540, 787
994, 609 13,825
4,471
83, 260
90,984 1,187
8, 221 143, 830
909
154,913
10, 496
74,019
178,119
120
23, 275 239,678
570, 593 11,609
354, 200
847
15. 571 237, 564
35,063
983
41
23, 396
1,650
23,690
75,612
28
1,022
14,159
27, 679
6
74,788
5, 676
98,178
59
22
1,476
35,837
29, 653
25, 668
506
2,423
37,313
23, 428
46, 585
1,619
144
722
4,931
15, 784
41
53, 764 600,151 1, 302, 820 2,181
6, 054 150, 599
197, 844
447
74, 897
150,032
215
4,590
954,944 1,519
43,120 374, 655
2,642
‘1
336
8,115
273
1,039
6, 933
5,057
2 Estimated.
< Feb. 1-4 only.

945

Employment Offices

T able 3.—Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939— Continued
MEN
Applications

Placements

New

Private
Division and State
Total

Per
Public
cent of
N um change Regular
(over 1
from month)
ber
Janu
ary 1

United States____________ 115,013

61,415

+12

27,987

5,276
New England___________
625
M aine______________
1,244
New Hampshire_____
510
Vermont_____________
1,166
Massachusetts............. .
290
Rhode Island________
1,441
Connecticut_________
M iddle Atlantic.................... 11,938
7,906
New York___________
1,181
N ew Jersey__________
2, 851
Pennsylvania________
East North Central______ 15,375
2,945
Ohio_________ _____ Indiana______________ 1,927
4,294
Illinois___ __________
3, 860
Michigan............... . . . .
2,349
Wisconsin___________
9, 683
West North Central_____
Minnesota....................... 1,684
2,780
Iowa________________
Missouri_____________ 1,868
586
North Dakota_______
681
South Dakota________
890
N ebraska.................. .
1,194
Kansas______________
South Atlantic___ _______ 20,958
398
Delaware.......... ........ . .
1,957
Maryland _________
887
District of C olum bia...
Virginia. _________ _ 3,406
West Virginia................ 1,552
4,801
North Carolina______
South Carolina.. ____ 2,369
Georgia______________ 3,886
1, 702
9, 056
East South Central______
909
K entucky___________
2,425
Tennessee _________
3, 571
A labam a.. _________
2,151
M ississippi_____ _____
West South C e n tr a l.____ 25,028
1,982
Arkansas____________
Louisiana____________ 3,471
1,782
Oklahoma___________
Texas_______________ 17, 793
4,227
M ountain__________ _
583
Montana ___________
419
Idaho______ _________
293
Wyoming____________
931
Colorado............ . . .
589
N ew Mexico_________
583
Arizona............. ..............
413
U tah____ ____ _______
416
N evada______________
Pacific__________________ 12, 543
848
Washington__________
2,513
Oregon______________
California____________ 9,182
608
Alaska__________________
321
Hawaii__________________

3,415
387
947
277
711
198
895
7,215
4, 259
861
2,095
10, 258
1,700
1,692
3,913
1, 775
1,178
5, 582
1,069
1,794
1,017
469
365
459
409
6, 789
117
878
700
987
805
1,568
464
1,199
71
3,492
330
1,068
1,868
226
15, 206
993
2,267
387
11, 559
2,134
215
273
136
559
159
349
163
280
7,198
576
1,193
5, 429
27
99

-3
-2 7
-2 1
+18
+18
+14
+13
+13

2,422
278
769
136
501
135
603
4,038
2,143
582
1,313
4,889
754
854
1,547
1,090
644
1,892
416
502
504
130
99
139
102
3, 727
65
521
318
737
521
688
236
614
27
2, 573
140
662
1, 605
166
3,880
167
1,118
115
2,480
893
105
102
30
198
105
159
26
168
3,619
251
861
2,507
11
43

+33
+21
+10
+24
+15
+0
+3
+34
+38
+24
+56
+29
+29
+39
+106
+3
+26
+89
+17
+25
+47
-2
+22
+34
+34
+5
+20
-5
+24
-4 6
+13
+90
+62
-1 0
+5
-1 5
-4
-6
+79
+42
-5 5
-5 0
+35
-2 2
+4
+15
+25
-1
-7
+60

1 Adjusted for number of working days in month.
2 Includes N . R. S. activities for Feb. 1-18 only.
3 Partially estimated.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Total

Active
file,
Per Feb. 28,
1939
cent of
N um change
from
ber
Janu
ary 1

53, 598 763,380 331,194

-1 9 5,672,188

1, 861 37,179 13,605
1,194
238
6,401
786
3, 669
297
522
1,498
233
6,699
455 12,121
1,954
92
4, 755
2,450
546
8,735
4, 723 181, 842 81,488
3, 647 72, 697 39,161
320 35,198 21,464
756 73,947 20, 863
5,117 131, 700 57,216
1,245 40, 240 23,448
7,360
235 16,511
7, 625
381 16, 745
2,085 40,989 13, 867
4,916
1,171 17, 215
4,101 66,104 26, 506
4,185
615 11,216
3,787
986 10,070
851 20, 299 11,091
640
117
3,387
612, ,
316
2,672
1,930
431
5, 885
4, 261
785 12, 575
14,169 96,888 43, 763
731
1,776
281
3, 641
1,079 12, 869
2,163
187
4,291
6,094
2,419 14, 839
3,319
747 13,110
6,850
3, 233 16,081
2,992
1,905
7,201
8,056
2,687 16,037
1, 631 310, 684 3 9, 917
5, 564 46, 313 24,129
9,550
579 14, 573
4, 779
1,357
8, 922
4,506
1,703 10, 830
5,294
1,925 11,988
9, 822 76,137 35,102
989
6,813
3, 568
5,939
1,204 14, 427
8,560
1,395 17,350
6,234 37, 547 17, 035
2,093 37, 815 11, 372
760
368
2,749
1,229
146
3, 565
744
2,470
157
4,133
372 14,098
1,089
2, 628
430
1,849
234
4,439
999
6, 360
250
569
136
1, 506
5,345 87,944 36, 811
4, 576
272
9, 850
8,684
3,481
1,320
3, 753 69,410 28, 754
380
287
581
222
1,078
915

-2 2
377,323
36,577
-3 0
22,378
-1 6
14, 778
-2 0
224,026
-2 1
18, 804
-7
-2 9
60,760
-1 0 1,357, 514
386,805
-1 8
212, 691
+20
758,018
-1 8
- 2 8 1, 226, 792
385, 781
-3 6
160,432
-2 7
245, 786
+19
297,430
-3 0
137, 363
-1 8
565,102
-2 9
165,247
-3 1
82,001
-1 6
164,054
-3 0
26, 728
-4 8
28,922
-4 2
37, 735
-3 6
60,415
-2 6
644, 500
-7
14, 480
-4 6
55,664
-2 4
34, 752
-1 5
40,692
-1 8
99,844
-2 6
87, 531
-2 2
99,718
-2 5
122,434
-2 5
89,385
381,964
-2 3
92, 700
-1 6
-2 2
110,891
114,976
-3 1
63,397
-2 8
444,946
-3 0
72,036
-3 8
118,046
-3 0
63,495
-2 4
191,369
-3 0
201, 557
-2 7
-2 2
30,053
21,478
-3 4
12, 290
-4 5
61,418
-2 8
30, 296
-2 3
21, 745
-6
19,948
-3 8
4,329
-1 8
464,195
-6
132, 735
-2
61, 823
-1 5
269, 637
-5
2, 399
-4 2
5,896
-3 0

946

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 3. — Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939— Continued
WOMEN
Placements

Applications

Private
D ivision and State
Total

United States______ _______ . . . 66,041
N ew E ngland,. _ _
_____ ._
3,540
M aine... _ _____ ____ ______
410
N ew Hampshire. __________
375
Vermont____ . . . . .
..
192
M assachusetts... __________
898
Rhode Island_______________
401
Connecticut_______ _______
1,264
Middle Atlantic_________________ 12,121
New York ________________
6, 546
N ew Jersey . . . ______ _ __ 2, 226
Pennsylvania_______________
3, 349
East North Central___ . . . . . 15,062
Ohio__________ . . .
_____
3,050
Indian a.. .
.
.
___
2, 997
Illinois . . __________ ______ 4, 825
Michigan . _
. . . _____ 2, 259
Wisconsin . . .
. . . ____. . .
1,931
West North Central . . . . . . _. 6,238
Minnesota_________ ______
1,389
.
___ _ . . .
1,805
Iowa_____
Missouri____ _ . __ ______
1,369
North Dakota________ ______
362
South D akota. __________ ._
338
Nebraska___________________
424
Kansas_________ ________
551
South Atlantic___________ . . . . 7, 556
Delaware___. . .
350
Maryland. __ .
______
683
District of Columbia________
1,544
V irginia... _________________
759
West Virginia ______________
1,091
North C arolina_____ . . . _. 1, 916
South Carolina..
. _______
344
Georgia_____ _______________
809
Florida 2____
. . _________
60
East South Central_____________
2, 974
Kentucky . _______________
497
Tennessee______ . . . .
1,296
Alabama____ ____ ___ . . . .
944
M ississippi_________________
237
West South Central . .
______
9, 280
Arkansas____ .
...............
611
Louisiana_________ ________
1,590
Oklahoma__________________
920
Texas______________________
6,159
Mountain________ . . ________
2, 356
Montana_____ _________ ___
167
Idaho______________________
368
W y o m in g ... . . . _ _ _______
89
Colorado___ ________________
545
N ew Mexico____________ . .
255
Arizona____________________
454
U ta h .. ____________ ______
314
Nevada________________ •____
164
Pacific ___ . . . .
....
____
6,847
W ashington________________
436
Oregon___ ______
___
392
California__________ _____ _
6,019
Alaska____________
. ______
14
Hawaii_________________________
53

Percent
of
Total
N um change Regular
(over 1
from month)
ber
Janu
ary *
64. 993
3, 462
409
363
191
883
366
1,250
11, 995
6, 457
2, 216
3, 322
14, 839
3,042
2,918
4. 753
2,250
1,876
6,133
1,355
1,782
1,366
350
331
405
544
7,376
344
681
1, 533
750
1,085
1,800
337
793
53
2, 922
496
1, 292
903
231
9,159
589
1, 534
909
6,127
2,286
152
363
88
530
250
449
291
163
6, 754
419
388
5, 947
14
53

1 Adjusted for number of working days in month.
2 Includes N . R. S. activities for Feb. 1-18 only.
3 Partially estimated.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

New

4-2
-2
-1
-1 0
-1 0
+2
-3
-1
+8
+3
4-2
+ 25
+10
+12
+16
+5
+11
+12
-1
-1 6
+0
+14
-21
-7
+23
-2
+11
+7
-9
-2 8
+10
-4
+14
+11
-1
+15
+6
+15
-5 6
-5
+7
+15
0
-11
-8
-2 8
-3
-2 5
-8
-2
-9
+16
-1 9
+0
-2 6
+18
+2
0
-2 2

Active
file, Feb.
Percent 28, 1939
of
N um change
ber
from
Janu
ary 2

37.192 285, 886 158,141
2, 369 18, 907
9. 609
317
1,806
645
263
1,466
490
139
543
257
675
6, 997
4, 764
228
3, 433
1, 751
747
4, 662
1,702
6,929 81,845 48,143
3, 429 37,023 22, 557
1,133 18,951 13.409
2, 367 25, 871 12,177
8, 334 50,141 25, 647
1, 569 15,236
8, 775
1,884
8,469
3,911
2, 386
8, 464
4, 267
1,281 11,614
6,324
1,214
6, 358
2, 370
3, 280 22, 934 12,184
851
5, 234
2, 547
702
4,071
2, 253
878
7,194
4, 634
177
1,548
391
700
148
336
250
1, 666
913
274
2, 521
1,110
4,439 36, 771 21, 710
159
1,114
520
401
4,374
2, 233
668
3,244
1, 542
518
4,844
2, 673
640
2, 583
1,208
1, 160
7, 994
4,191
229
1,978
1,292
626
8, 740
6,182
38 3 1 900 3 1 869
2, 231 11, 962
8,162
319
3,118
2,382
925
3, 561
2, 374
832
3,071
1,878
155
2,212
1,528
4, 832 21, 363 11, 361
392
1,546
903
1,179
4,437
2, 282
424
3, 725
1,936
2, 837 11,655
6,240
1,130
4,199
8, 438
82
409
223
225
838
421
28
468
278
279
3, 512
1,543
177
608
387
220
994
574
58
1,328
620
61
281
153
3, 609 33,315 16, 953
293
2, 636
1,478
286
1,836
1, 109
3,030 28,843 14, 366
3
49
76
134
36
124

-1 1
-1 9
-3 5
-1 1
-8
-1 9
-1 2
-2 1
-8
-1 9
+24
-1 1
-1 2
-2 0
-1 4
+29
-1 4
-2 3
-2 3
-2 4
-2 4
-2 3
-2 1
-3 7
-2 4
-1 6
-7
-2 0
-1 4
-9
-4
-1 8
-2 5
-1 8
-6
-4
+12
-1 4
-2 3
-1 7
-8
-1 6
-1 6
-1 8
-8
-1 4
-1 2
-1 6
-5
-3
-1 3
-5
+1
-1 2
-3
-1 5
-1 3
-1 6
-2 2

1,526.615
149, 477
8, 733
7, 232
3,087
92,216
12, 984
25, 225
433, 236
169, 902
70,110
193, 224
250, 289
72, 660
36,123
53, 721
56, 942
30,843
132, 328
40, 513
21,766
36, 670
6,244
7,277
7,821
12,037
201, 978
4,447
15, 552
16,284
12, 717
15,038
42, 098
25,153
41,450
29 229
90, 223
22, 007
30, 143
27, 597
10, 476
95, 841
11, 224
25, 784
10, 524
48,309
36,007
5, 010
2,212
1,869
13, 370
5, 541
3,923
3,480
602
135, 956
17, 864
13, 074
105, 018
243
1,037

947

Employment Offices
T able 4. —Operations of United States Employment Service, February 1939
VETERANS
Applications

Placements

New

Private
Division and State
Total

Percent
Public
of
N um change Regular
(over 1
from month)
ber
January 1

Total

Active
file,
Feb.
28,
Percent
1939
of
N um change
ber
from
Janu
ary i

8, 251

4,185

1,493

4, 066

43, 737

13, 355

-1 8

355, 876

New England____________
Maine . . . __________
New H am pshire... . .
Vermont_____ . . . . M assachusetts.. ----Rhode Island
C onnecticut.. ----------

447
37
65
35
75
24
211

219
16
52
12
34
13
92

+4
-2 7
-2 6
-2 0
+13
-7
+53

154
12
40
4
27
6
65

228
21
13
23
41
11
119

2,458
537
251
77
747
249
597

613
58
50
29
340
41
95

-1 3
0
+25
-2 8
-9
-2 5
-3 3

25, 666
2,346
1,810
854
16, 253
604
3, 799

Middle Atlantic_________
New York_______
New Jersey__________
Pennsylvania_____. . .
East North Central _____
Ohio.-----------------------Indiana---- -- ---------Illinois______________
Michigan-----------------Wisconsin___________
West North Central. ____
M innesota.. _______
Iowa______________ . .
Missouri__________ . .
North Dakota_____ _
South Dakota________
Nebraska____________
Kansas------ ----------South A tla n tic __________
Delaware_________ . .
Maryland_________ . .
District of Columbia. .
Virginia_______ ____
West Virginia________
North Carolina.. . . . .
South Carolina_______
Georgia______________

484
286
78
120
1,174
227
141
355
267
184
916
138
411
103
34
49
65
116
1,299
27
'29
79
211
112
296
122
223
100
520
53
170
216
81
1,484
121
176
172
1,015
535
84
67
28
154
39
63
72
28
1.300
71
198
1,031
70
22

294
163
63
68
681
136
113
236
128
68
494
71
264
58
10
26
33
32
393
11
41
53
54
48
91
21
69
5
191
12
64
107
8
899
58
114
60
667
217
34
42
8
37
10
39
29
18
783
41
77
665
2
12

-1 0
-1 7
+54
-2 2
+5
+23
414
-1 9
+42
+24
+31
-1 6
+68
+7
-4 7
+4
+154
+28
+16
+267
-9
+8
+38
+17
+15
+31
+1

109
68
0
41
285
44
50
71
85
35
113
21
46
25
3
3
7
8
172
3
18
14
35
24
37
12
29
0
128
8
37
80
3
184
7
57
10
110
76
18
10
3
11
8
14
5
7
269
12
58
199
1
2

190
123
15
52
493
91
28
119
139
116
422
67
147
45
24
23
32
84
906
16
88
26
157
64
205
101
154
95
329
41
106
109
73
585
63
62
112
348
318
50
25
20
117
29
24
43
10
517
30
121
366
68
10

6, 543
1,530
1,042
3,971
8,442
2,022
953
904
3,344
1,219
4,327
704
650
1,234
163
251
341
984
5,388
100
881
381
680
585
812
376
729
3 844
2,312
775
547
657
333
4,691
426
851
1,768
1,646
2, 901
237
325
201
1,052
164
285
516
121
6,608
562
623
5, 423
33
34

2,083
849
446
788
2,502
1,000
401
276
569
256
1,276
215
191
530
25
24
82
209
1,958
29
139
177
130
112
225
92
255
3 799
870
365
206
160
139
1,281
175
177
467
462
608
42
86
46
206
54
99
39
36
2,114
178
108
1,828
21
29

-1 9
-1 4
-1 2
-2 6
-2 8
-3 8
-1 3
+3
-2 6
-2 7
-2 8
-1 9
-1 8
-2 9
-4 7
-5 3
-4 9
-2 2
-2 5
-2 2
-2 7
-2
-2 5
—35
-2 0
-3 9
-2 9

69, 243
16,154
11,631
41,458
86,789
27, 818
11,730
18,360
18, 538
10,343
42, 223
13, 473
6,080
12. 271
1,554
2,108
2, 291
4,446
36, 051
995
3,590
3,382
1,708
4,941
3,657
4,272
5, 653
7, 853
19, 662
5, 511
6,642
5, 700
1,809
24, 293
3,988
6,063
4, 654
9, 588
14, 210
2,198
1, 522
935
4, 050
1,944
1,746
1,468
347
37,173
10. 853
4.605
21,715
204
362

United States____ ______

East South Central . . .
Kentucky_____
Tennessee___________
Alabama____________
M ississippi.....................
West South Central____
Arkansas____________
Louisiana_____ _____
Oklahoma . . . . . . .
Texas_______________
M ountain_________ ____
Montana_________ . .
Idaho______ ______
W yoming___ ________
Colorado_________ . . .
N ew M exico... _
Arizona______ ______
U tah________________
Nevada__________ . . .
Pacific__________________
Washington....................
Oregon________ _____
Hawaii_________ ______

+5
-2 0
+12
+20
-6 2
+3
+5
+81
-1 0
-3
-1 4
-1 7
+27
-2 0
+3
+25
-3 2
+107
-6 6
+12
+41
-3
+13
+500

i Adjusted for number of working days in month.
J Partially estimated.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

-2 7
-2 1
-2 7
-3 7
-2 8
-3 2
-2 9
-3 9
-2 2
-3 8
-2 5
-4 4
-3 1
-51
-1 2
-7
-2 8
-3 0
+3
+1
+9
-2 5
+3
-5 1
-2 8

i Includes N . R. S. for Eeb. 1-18 only.

948

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

EMPLOYMENT SERVICE REGISTRANTS IN
AUGUST 1938
By J.

Jr., Division oj Standards and Research,
U. S. Employment Service

F letcher W ellem eyer,

IN August 1938 the Employment Service file of active registrants
reached its recession peak. According to popularly accepted esti
mates, unemployment had reached a peak in May or June.1 The
active file, however, with characteristic sluggishness, continued to
rise through August. Thus for a period of 2 or 3 months, the rise of
the file coincided with the decline of unemployment, increasing
sharply the proportion of unemployed who were registered. By Aug
ust, the file equalled some 75 percent of the estimated number of all
unemployed, which was the highest level of coverage in about two
years.2 It cannot be determined to what extent this increase improved
the file as a statistical sample of the unemployed, but the file did
provide specific data for three of every four unemployed.
At the end of August, the active files of eight States were inventoried,
to determine the characteristics of the active applicants registered.
The eight States were carefully selected to represent labor-market
conditions in the United States.3 The selected States all had begun
compensation payments in January 1938 or before.4 Thus, the sam
ple data probably provided a better cross section of the unemployed,
in August, than a Nation-wide inventory would have yielded at that
time, because expanded Employment Service coverage resulted from
the attraction of unemployment-compensation payments. A Nation
wide inventory would have provided figures from States that had been
paying compensation for some time, States that had not yet begun to
pay, and States that either had just assumed the load arising from the
introduction of compensation or were preparing for this change in the
immediate future.
Age and Sex of Registrants
The August sample inventory provides national data which may be
taken, in general terms, as indicative of the sex, color, occupation,
age, and industry of the unemployed. Of the registrants in sample
States, 77 percent were men and 87 percent were white. Twentyfour percent of the men registered with the Service were less than
25 years of age (table 1). The 25 to 44 age class accounted for 48
1 The unemployment estimates of the National Industrial Conference Board and of the American Federa
tion of Labor both reached a peak in M ay.
» In August, the total number of registrants in the active file reached 8,119,187. This number was *3.5 per
cent of the total unemployed as estimated by Robert Nathan, 76.6 percent of the estimate of the National
Industrial Conference Board, and 73.2 percent of the estimate of the American Federation of Labor.
3 The method of selecting this sample was identical to the one used in selecting previous samples of this
type. See Survey of Employment Service Information 1937 (pp. 103-104), and subsequent publications.
4 The States were Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, and Wisconsin.

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949

Employment Offices

percent, and 28 percent were 45 or over. Among women, 42 percent
were under 25 years of age, 42 percent were between 25 and 44, and
16 percent were 45 or over. The high proportion of the younger
group in the case of both men and women was due, in part, to the large
number of recent students on the labor market during the summer.
T able 1. — Age Groups of Active-File Registrants in August 1938 Sample Inventory,

by Sex
Men

Total men and women

Age group

N um
ber of
regis
trants

All ages.---------- -------------

785,353

24 years and under . . . .
25 to 34 years-----------------35 to 44 years______ _____
45 to 54 years--------------- .
55 to 64 years............ ...........
65 years and over______ _

222,988
210,329
151,142
119,799
65,468
15,429
198

Percent
of
Percent change
from
April
1938
100.0
28.4
26.8
19.2
15.3
8.3
2.0

- 2 .9
+ 7 .6
- 4 .4
- 7 .7
- 8 .1
- 7 .4
- 8 .2

N um
ber of
regis
trants

Women

Percent
Percent
N um
of
of
ber of Percent change
Percent change
from
regis
from
April
April trants
1938
1938

603,212

100.0

- 4 .2

182,141

100.0

+ 1 .3

146,964
165,162
119,719
99,974
57,079
14,161
153

24.4
27.4
19.8
16.6
9.5
2.3

+ 6 .0
- 4 .7
- 8 .3
- 8 .6
- 7 .9
- 8 .2

76,024
45,167
31,423
19,825
8,389
1,268
45

41.7
24.8
17.3
10.9
4.6
.7

+10.8
- 3 .4
- 5 .7
- 5 .5
- 3 .7
- 7 .6

Industrial Experience
The industrial backgrounds of active-file registrants in August 1938
indicate that the largest group (37 percent) of unemployed men in
the active file had had experience in manufacturing and mining in
dustries (table 2).
T able 2.— Industrial Groups of Active-File Registrants in August 1938 Sample

Inventory, by Sex

Sex, and industrial group

Number of
registrants

Percent

Percent of
change from
April 1938

All men__________________ _________________________
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing-------------------------Building and construction__________ __________
Manufacturing and mining------ ----------------- --------Professional, commercial, mechanical, governmental,
and personal service______________ _____ ______ Distribution-----------------------------------------------------Public utilities, transportation, and communication.
Miscellaneous and unspecified........................................

603,212
73,005
77,020
223,930

100.0
12.1
12.8
37.1

- 4 .2
+ 4 .4
-1 7 .1
- .9

75,337
53,931
40,494
59,495

12.5
8.9
6.7
9.9

- 5 .4
-4 . 5
- 4 .7
- 4 .2

All women...................................................................................
Manufacturing____________________ ____________
D istribution,________________________ . ----------Personal service-------- --------------------------- ----------Miscellaneous and unspecified----------------------------All other------------------- ---------------- -----------------------

182,141
67,661
17,568
41,812
39,214
15,886

100.0
37.2
9.6
23.0
21.5
8.7

+ 1.3
- 4 .3
+. 5
- 2 .2
+17.8
+2.1

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

950

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Occupational Distribution
The occupational distribution of active-file registrants reveals that
about 80 percent of all men registered had worked at manual trades
(table 3). More specifically, 30 percent recorded physical-labor
occupations; craftsmen and production workers each accounted for
about one-fourth of the total. Among women, the largest groups
were the manual (39 percent) and service workers (30 percent) and
clerks (19 percent).
T able

3 . —Occupational

Occupational group

All men_______ . . . _____ _
W hite collar workers___
Service workers_______
Craftsmen. __________
Production workers____
Physical-labor workers..
Unassigned___________

Groups of Active-File Registrants in August 1938, Sample
Inventory, by Sex
N um
ber of
regis
trants

Per
cent of
Per change
cent from
April
1938

603,212 100.0
70, 276 11.7
36,067
6.0
147, 529 24.5
154, 620 25.6
183,193 30.3
1.9
11, 527

- 4 .2
+ 1 .0
- 8 .4
- 3 .3
- 7 .2
- 3 .9
+ 7 .9

Occupational group

Professional and sales

Manual workers______
Unassigned___________

N um
ber of
regis
trants

Per
cent of
Per change
cent from
April
1938

182,141 100.0
16,040
33,995
55, 062
70, 794
6, 250

8 8
18.7
30 2
38.9
3.4

+ 1 .3
+. 9
+11.0
+ .9
- 3 .4
+14.5

Number of Registrants in Relation to Economic Conditions
Although these groups are nearly always the most important numer
ically, their proportions vary with changing economic conditions. In
the past, these variations in the active file have been somewhat ob
scured by the sluggishness with which the file as a whole responded to
cyclical changes. However, it has been found that the active file of
States paying unemployment-compensation benefits is considerably
more sensitive in its reaction to economic changes than file figures in
the non-benefit-paying States. This observation holds true for the
sample file here used. The total number of registrants in the sample
States declined in August, one month prior to the decline of the na
tional file 5 and only 1 month after industrial production began to
increase.6
Although the changes in the total number of registrants in the
sample were slight, between the April and August inventories, the
shifts in the characteristics of the work seekers reflect the beginnings
of a reemployment trend. The early phases of this movement were
s Both the National and sample active files, when corrected for influences due to administrative pro
cedures, were even more sensitive: The first declined in August, the second in July—the same month which
showed the first increase in industrial production. For a discussion of this adjustment to the file see
Survey of Employment Service Information, February 1938.
8 As reported by the Federal Reserve Board. The index of industrial production (unadjusted for seas
onal variation), after reaching a low point of 77 (1923-25=100) in M ay and June, recovered to 81 in July
and to 87 in August.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Employment Offices

951

eclipsed, as regards total numbers, by the registration of a large
number of recent students in search of employment, but a closer
examination of the sample data reveals an improvement in unemploy
ment conditions generally.
The total number of active-file registrants, in the sample States,
declined slightly (about 3 percent) from April to August 1938. This
decline was entirely accounted for by the decrease in the number of
men, as the number of women increased slightly. In both cases the
movements were so slight as to be nearly negligible. However, a
definite tendency toward reemployment is observed in the age dis
tribution of the sample.
In August 1938, each age group in the active file was smaller than it
had been in the preceding April, except the group aged 24 and under
(table 1). Although this increase in the youngest group was charac
teristic of both sexes, the change was more pronounced in the case of
women. Two factors doubtless contributed to these movements.
The summer closing of schools, as usual, threw large numbers of
young people on the labor market; at the same time, the recovery of
business activity had begun to draw workers from the older, more
experienced age levels back to work, which diminished the registra
tions of older workers. The latter movement is characteristic of the
age groups in the middle working years; during periods of increasing
economic activity they obtain jobs earliest and in greatest numbers,
whereas during economic depressions they are laid off as production
declines. Hence, their presence in large numbers on the labor market
generally accompanies a recession of any considerable severity. This
was the case during the early months of 1938, and the greater-thanaverage decline in the number of registrants in the middle working
ages between April and August 1938 may be taken as an indication
of a definitely improving employment trend.
A more complete definition of the groups leaving the file (presum
ably for employment) is furnished by the industrial distributions of the
two inventories (table 2). Among men, the sharpest decline in the
number of registrants between April and August occurred in the group
with backgrounds in the building and construction industry. Al
though this decrease might well be ascribed to seasonal factors, the
early rise of employment in this industry, indicated by these figures,
evidently presaged by only a short time the rapid increase of industrial
production which characterized the latter months of 1938.7
The number of male registrants in other industrial groups varied
but slightly between April and August. There was a small increase in
the number of registrants from agriculture, forestry, and fishing, while
7 The Federal Reserve Board index of industrial production (unadjusted for seasonal variation) rose from
77 (1923-25=100) in M ay and June to 104 in November, the most rapid increase in recent years. In
August the index stood at 87, the greater part of the rise occurring later.
135055— 39-------13

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

952

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

all other major groups declined slightly. The large group from the
manufacturing and mining industries remained nearly constant in size.
The changes in the industrial groups of women registered with the
Employment Service show a different pattern. The large manufac
turing and service groups declined somewhat, but the miscellaneous
and unclassifiable group increased sharply. These changes reflect the
beginning of the recovery in the lighter manufacturing industries
(where jobs for women are more numerous), which began somewhat
earlier than in heavy manufacturing. The large increase in the mis
cellaneous group (those without specific industrial background) was
doubtless the result of the increase in the number of younger workers
(24 and under), which was especially heavy in the case of women.
The inventory tabulations also reveal significant shifts in the
occupational classifications of active-file registrants (table 3). Among
men, the most significant changes were declines in the number of
registrants classified as service and production workers. This change
signaled the improving demand for these types of workers which
preceded a widespread demand for all categories.
The significant changes observed in the occupational groupings of
woman registrants were confined to a slight decline in the large group
of manual workers (which matches the decline of registrations in the
manufacturing group) and a large increase in the number of clerical
workers. The latter group probably increased for the same reason
as the unassigned, namely, because of the registrations of young
workers. The professional and sales group and the large service
group remained nearly constant in size.
Thus the beginnings of the recovery trend are clearly shown by the
changes in the characteristics of active-file registrants between April
and August. The large summer increase in the number of young
people coming from school to seek work made this movement a little
obscure at first, but the distributions indicate that the older, more
experienced and, ordinarily, more highly paid job seekers were already
returning to work in substantial numbers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Building Operations

SUMMARY OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN
PRINCIPAL CITIES, FEBRUARY 1939 1
PERM IT valuations for new residential construction were 21.1 per
cent higher during February than during January. Indicated expendi
tures for additions, alterations, and repairs were 6.4 percent greater.
There was a pronounced decline in the value of new nonresidential
buildings for which permits were issued. This decrease amounted to
38.6 percent and caused a decline of 3.9 percent in permit valuations
for total construction, comparing February with January.
For new residential construction in February 1939 there was an
increase of 164.4 percent from February 1938. All sections of the
country shared in this increase, the gains in the Middle Atlantic
States, East North Central States, East South Central States, and
the Mountain States amounting to more than 100 percent. There
was also a rise of 5.0 percent in the permit valuations for additions,
alterations, and repairs over the year period. However, there was a
decline of 16.2 percent in the value of new nonresidential buildings
for the country as a whole, although 6 of the 9 geographic divisions
showed increases for this class of construction. Total permit valua
tions were 47.9 percent higher than during February 1938.
Comparison of February 1939 With January 1939 and February
1938
A summary of building construction in 2,117 identical cities in
February 1939, and January 1939 and February 1938 is given in
table 1.
A summary of permit valuations of housekeeping dwellings and the
number of families provided for in new dwellings in 2,117 identical
cities, having a population of 1,000 and over, is shown in table 2 for
February 1939, compared with January 1939 and February 1938.
i More detailed information by geographic divisions and individual cities is given in a separate pamphlet
entitled “ Building Construction, February 1939,” copies of which w ill be furnished upon request.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

953

954

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 1.—Summary of Building Construction for Which Permits Were Issued in 2,117

Identical Cities, February 1938, January and February 1939
Number of buildings

Class of construction
February
1939

Permit valuation

Percentage change
from—
February
1939
Janu
Febru
ary 1939 ary 1938

Percentage change
from—
Janu
Febru
ary 1939 ary 1938

All construction_____ _____ ____________

37, 712

- 3 .1

+ 7 .0

$148, 530,865

-3 .9

+47.9

N ew residential. _ ______
_ . . . ____
N ew nonresidential______ _ . __
Additions, alterations, and repairs. _____

11,395
5, 736
20,581

-1 .5
-1 1 .8
-1 .2

+55.0
- .2
- 7 .1

86, 707,991
36,182,672
25, 640, 202

+21.1
-3 8 .6
+ 6 .4

+164.4
-1 6 .2
+ 5 .0

T able 2. —Permit Valuation of Housekeeping Dwellings and Number of Families Provided

for in 2,117 Identical Cities, February 1938, January and February 1939
Permit valuation of house
keeping dwellings

Number of families provided
for in new dwellings

Percentage change
from—

Type of dwelling
February
1939

Percentage change
from—
February
1939

Janu
ary
1939

Febru
ary
1938

All types _____________________________ $86, 244,141

+22.9

+163.3

24,581

+21.1

+158.3

1fam ily. ______
2family *_____
M ultifamily * „ ____________ _

+• 7
+ 7 .0
+56.4

+60.1
+14.4
+693. 6

10, 540
778
13,263

-.4
-7 .3
+49.6

+57.0
+ 7.8
+537.6

40, 734,043
2,116, 780
43,393,318

Janu
ary
1939

Febru
ary
1938

1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.

Analysis by Size of City February 1939
Table 3 shows the value of permits issued for building construction
in February 1939 compared with January 1939 and February 1938,
by size of city and by class of construction.
The permit valuation of housekeeping dwellings in the 2,117 identi
cal cities reporting for January and February 1939, together with the
number of family dwelling units provided in new dwellings, by size of
city, is given in table 4.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Building Operations

955

T a b l e 3 . —Permit

Valuation of Building Construction for Which Permits Were Issued,
by Size of City, February 1938, January and February 1939
Total construction

Size of city

Number
of cities

Total, all reporting cities.. .
500,000 and over____________
100,000 and under 500,000
50,000 and under 100,000.. .
25,000 and under 50,000 ..
10,000 and under 25,000.
5,000 and under 10,000 . . . . .
2,500 and under 5,000... . . .
1,000 and under 2,500______

Permit
valuation,
February
1939

Percentage
change from—
Janu Febru
ary 1939 ary 1938

Percentage
change from—

Permit
valuation,
February
1939

Janu Febru
ary 1939 ary 1938

2,117

$148, 530,865

- 3 .9

+47.9

$86,707,991

+21.1

+164.4

14
79
95
164
443
391
476
455

66,652,359
29,519, 680
12,195,099
11, 586, 389
15,878, 789
6, 567,922
4,461, 742
1, 668, 885

+24.7
-1 8 .4
-2 7 .5
+ 8 .5
- 3 .9
-4 0 .7
-3 9 .9
-3 2 .2

+78.9
+28.2
+31.4
+34.0
+36.2
+24.6
+31.7
-1 1 .4

50,693, 638
11,960, 684
5, 380,813
4, 604,251
7,331,193
3, 761, 946
2,072,595
902,871

+62.1
-2 4 .6
-.3
+10.5
+ 9.1
-1 1 .3
-2 3 .3
-2 8 .1

+494.1
+37.3
+85.3
+47.8
+67.5
+41.0
+18.0
+24.4

Additions, alterations, and re
pairs

New nonresidential buildings

Size of city

N ew residential buildings

Permit
valuation,
February
1939

Percentage
change from—
Janu- February 1939 ary 1938

Permit
valuation,
February
1939

Percentage
change from—

Population
(census of
1930)

Janu Febru
ary 1939 ary 1938

Total, all reporting cities.

$36,182,672

-3 8 .6

-1 6 .2

$25, 640, 202

+ 6 .4

+ 5 .0

60, 550,772

500.000 and over________
100.000 and under 500,000.
50.000 and under 100,000..
25.000 and under 50,000...
10.000 and under 25,000...
5.000 and under 10,000__
2,500 and under 5,000___
1.000 and under 2,500___

6, 847,055
11,124,130
3,874,294
5, 251,157
4,898,043
1, 973,997
1, 589, 981
624,015

-5 5 .9
-2 4 .7
-5 2 .6
+37.4
-2 3 .0
-6 5 .3
-5 7 .7
-2 2 .2

-6 3 .8
+42.2
+ 1 .8
+46.3
- 4 .3
+11.6
+31.8
-3 4 .6

9, 111, 666
6,434,866
2,939,992
1, 730,981
3,649, 553
831,979
' 799,166
141,999

+36.8
+15.9
- 9 .1
-3 5 . 6
+ 5 .9
-2 7 .4
-1 6 .8
-6 4 .6

- 7 .1
-.7
+14.3
-1 0 .9
+68.8
-.2
+88.1
-2 9 .9

21,449,853
15,017,880
6,335,822
5, 782,714
6, 793,748
2,756,976
1,685, 656
728,123

T a b l e 4 . —Permit

Valuation of Housekeeping Duellings and Number of Families
Provided for in 2,117 Identical Cities, by Size of City, January and February 1939
Permit valuation of house
keeping dwellings

Number of families provided for in -

All types

Size of city
February
1939

January
1939

Total, all reporting
cities_____ _________ $86, 244,141 $70,166,102
500,000 and over______ 50,462, 638 31,267, 238
100,000 and under
500,000____________ 11,960,684 15, 314,466
50,000 and underl00,000. 5,160, 713 5,196,124
25,000 and under 50,000. 4, 594,751 4,128,866
10,000 and under 25,000
7, 331,193 6,635,472
5,000 and under 10,000.. 3,760, 396 4, 226, 561
2,500 and under5,000-_. 2,071,895 2,141,691
1,000 and under 2,500...
901,871 1,255,684

2-family M ultifamily
dwellings1 dwellings 2

Per
centage Feb
Feb Jan Feb Janu
change ru Janu- Feb
ru Janu
ru uary ru
ary ary
ary
ary uary
ary
ary
1939 1939 1939 1939 1939 1939 1939 1939

+22.9 24, 581 20, 290 10, 540 10, 583

778

+61.4 14,350 8,739 2,814 2,859

198

186 11, 338 5,694

200
106
71
105
50
31
17

222
99
97
130
60
29
16

-2 1 .9
- .7
+11.3
+10.5
-1 1 .0
- 3 .3
-2 8 .2

1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1-family
dwellings

3,374
1,511
1,327
2,002
1,081
651
285

4, 514 2,266 2,296
1,508
945
931
1,249 1,020 1,040
1,977 1,714 1,644
1,291
894
946
689
615
586
323
249
304

839 13, 263 8,868

908 1,996
460
478
112
236
183
203
85
337
34
45
19
3

956

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Construction During First 2 Months 1938 and 1939
Cumulative totals for the first 2 months of 1939 compared with the
same months of the preceding year are shown in table 5. The data
are based on reports received from cities having a population of
1,000 and over.
T a b l e 5 . —Permit

Valuation of Building Construction in Reporting Cities of 1,000
Population and Over, First 2 Months of 1938 and of 1939
Estimated cost of building construction, first
2 months of—
Class of construction
1939

Percentage
change

1938

All construction, __________________________________

$304,414, 387

$279,635, 582

+ 8 .9

New residential___ ______ ________ __________________
New nonresidential_________________________________
Additions, alterations, and repairs___________________

158,966,026
95, 541,004
49,907,357

133,012,291
98,259,314
48,363,977

+19.5
- 2 .8
+ 3 .2

Table 6 presents the permit valuation of housekeeping dwellings
and number of family dwelling units provided in cities with a popula
tion of 1,000 and over for the first 2 months of 1938 and 1939.
T able 6.—Permit Valuation of Housekeeping Dwellings and Number of Family Dwelling

Units, First 2 Months of 1938 and of 1939, by Type of Dwelling
Permit valuation of housekeeping
dwellings
Type of dwelling

First 2 months of—

Number of families provided
for

Per First 2 months of— Per
centage
centage
change
change
1939
1938

1939

1938

All types_____ ________________ ____

$157,051,918

$132, 547,791

+18.5

45,610

39,918

+14.3

1fam ily____ _____________
2family 1___ ___ _______
M ultifamily >______________________

81,378,725
4,102,185
71,571,008

52, 200,248
4,728, 611
75, 618,932

+55.9
-1 3 .2
-5 .4

21,203
1,627
22,780

14,164
1,969
23,785

+49.7
-1 7 .4
-4 .2

1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
s Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.

The information on building permits issued is based on reports
received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2,117 identical cities
having a population of 1,000 and over.
The information is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from
local building officials, except in the States of Illinois, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, where
the State departments of labor collect and forward the information
to ‘»the Bureau. The permit valuations shown in this report are
estimates made by prospective builders on applying for permits to

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

957

Building Operations

build. No land costs are included. Only building projects within the
corporate limits of the cities enumerated are included in the Bureau’s
tabulation. The data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
show, in addition to private and municipal construction, the value of
buildings for which contracts were awarded by the Federal and State
Governments in the cities included in the report. For February 1939
the value of these buildings amounted to $16,668,000, for January
1939 to $25,906,000 and for February 1938 to $10,614,000.
Construction From Public Funds
The value of contracts awarded and force-account work started
during February 1939, January 1939, and February 1938 on construc
tion projects financed wholly or partially from various Federal funds
is shown in table 7.
T able 7.— Value of Contracts Awarded and Force-Account Work Started on Projects

Financed from Federal Funds, January and February 1939 and February 1938 1
Contracts awarded and force-account work
started—
Federal agency
February 1939
T otal........ ....................... ....................... ..............
Public Works Administration:
Federal.......... ................................................
Non-Federal:
N . I. R. A ...............................................
E. R. A. A ____ ______ ____ . ______
P. W. A. A ., 1938— . _____________
Federal projects under The Works Program.
Regular Federal appropriations......................
U. S. Housing A uthority...................................

January 1939 1 February 19381

$102,686, 321

$231,991,840

$96,850, 545

350,705

21,715,015

592,139

639,152
965,816
35,663,655

231,956
6, 648,040
91,381,115
9,094, 568
100,519,136
2,402,010

825,467
30,393,482

63,812,134
1,254,859

5,844,119
59,195,338

1 Preliminary, subject to revision.
J Revised.

The value of public-building and' highway construction awards
financed wholly from appropriations from State funds, as reported by
the various State governments for February 1939, January 1939, and
February 1938 is shown in table 8.
T able 8.— Value of Public-Building and Highway-Construction Awards^ Financed

Wholly From State Funds
Value of contracts
Type of project

Public building_____________________________________

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

February 1939

January 1939

$898,875
1,686,685

$246,322
7,038,663

February 1938
$3,022, 541
2,059,613

R etail Prices

FOOD PRICES IN FEBRUARY 1939
THE retail cost of food was 0.8 percent lower in February than in
January with reductions reported for all commodity groups except
meats. Beef and fresh pork products advanced slightly.
The February index for all foods was 76.8 percent of the 1923-25
average. It was 2.0 percent lower than in February 1938 when the
index stood at 78.4 Decreases for the year for six of the eight com
modity groups ranged from 1.3 percent for eggs to 8.1 percent for
cereals and bakery products. Meats advanced 3.1 percent. Higher
costs for fresh fruits and vegetables, amounting to 5.5 percent, ad
vanced the combined cost for fresh, canned, and dried items 3.7 percent.
The all foods index for February was 27.9 percent above the level
of the corresponding month of 1933 when the index was 60.1. It was
24.9 percent below the index for February 1929 which was 102.3
Details by Commodity Groups
A continuation of the decline in the cost of cereals and bakery
products which has been in progress for many months amounted to
0.6 percent between January and February. This downward trend
has been due principally to decreases in prices of wheat flour and
white bread which showed further reductions for the month of 0.1
and 1.0 percent, respectively. Decreases in prices of whole-wheat and
rye bread closely followed those for white bread. There were no
significant price changes for other items in the group.
The cost of meats rose 0.6 percent due to higher prices for beef,
veal, and fresh pork. All of the beef items except plate showed
increases which ranged from 0.1 percent for rib roast to 1.0 percent
for round steak and 1.3 percent for liver. Yeal cutlets advanced 2.5
percent. Increases of 2.9 percent for pork chops and 3.3 percent for
loin roast returned these items to the price level of December 1938.
The price movement for cured pork continued downward with an
average decline of 0.7 percent reported for the cost of these items.
Lamb declined 0.7 percent; roasting chickens decreased slightly and
were 13.3 percent lower than a year ago. The price of canned salmon
958

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Retail Prices

959

which declined 0.4 percent during the month maintained the down
ward movement which has been continuous for the past year.
Dairy products showed a decline of 1.1 percent. Prices were lower
for all items in the group. The cost for this group was 5.9 percent
below the level of February 1938. Butter showed a seasonal decrease
of 1.3 percent between January and February and fresh milk averaged
1.0 percent lower. Few cities reported changes in the price of milk.
The most significant decreases were 2.9 cents per quart in Cincinnati
and 2.0 cents per quart in Pittsburgh.
Eggs showed a seasonal decline of 10.9 percent and were 1.3 percent
lower than for the same period in 1938.
The cost of fruits and vegetables showed little change between
January and February. For the fresh items, price increases and
decreases offset each other. The price movements for most of the
fresh items were seasonal. Oranges, with a decrease of 4.7 percent,
showed the greatest change reported for fresh fruits. Green beans
advanced 12.1 percent; cabbage rose 3.9 percent; sweetpotatoes in
creased 3.1 percent; potato prices held steady. Decreases for fresh
vegetables ranged from 0.1 percent for onions to 10.4 percent for spin
ach. The price of canned peas decreased 1.1 percent; dried blackeyed peas advanced 1.3 percent. Minor price changes were reported
for other canned and dried items.
The cost of beverages and chocolate declined 0.2 percent. Slightly
lower prices were shown for all items in the group.
The decrease of 1.1 percent for fats and oils continued the downward
trend which was in evidence during the preceding 18 months. Lard
showed a further price decrease of 3.2 percent; shortening in cartons
was 1.1 percent lower. Price changes for other items in the group
were negligible.
The price of sugar decreased 0.7 percent. This change, together
with lesser decreases for other items in the group resulted in a decline
of 0.5 percent in the average cost for the group as a whole.
Indexes of retail costs of food for February and January 1939,
together with indexes for February 1938, 1933, and 1929 are shown
in table 1. The accompanying chart shows the trend in the cost of
all foods and of each major commodity group for the period from
January 1929 to February 1939, inclusive.
Prices of each of the 84 foods for 51 cities are combined with the use
of both consumption and population weights. Quantity weights for
each food include the average family consumption in each city, not
only of the food priced, but for groups of foods which are related in
kind and which seem to follow the same price trend. These weights are
based on the cost of living study of 1917-19. Population weights
are averages of the population in 1920 and 1930 for each city, including

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

960

RETAIL COST OF FOOD
1 9 2 3 -2 5 = 100
INDEX

INDEX

140

120

/ V-FR uiTs a /EGETAB .ES

CEREALS a BAKERY
JPRODUCTS
„

ALL

tn
o
o
o

40
140

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Retail Prices

961

adjacent metropolitan areas and cities of over 50,000 in the same
region.
T a b l e 1.—Indexes of Retail Food Costs in 51 Large Cities C o m b in ed b y Commodity

Groups
February and January 1939 and February 1938,1933, and 1929
[1923-25=100]
1939

1938

1933

1929

Feb. 15

Commodity group
Feb. 14 »

Jan. 17

All foods..........................................................

76.8

77.5

78.4

60.1

102.3

Cereals and bakery products.........................
M e a ts............................... .................
Dairy p r o d u cts............................ ....... ...........
Eggs____ _____________ _____ ____________________
Fruits and vegetables......................................
Fresh......................................................
Canned___________ ______ __________
D ried______________ ____ ________
Beverages and chocolate............ ..................
Fats and oils____________________________
Sugar and sweets........................................................

85.6
93.4
77.1
58.7
61.0
60.0
74.1
56.9
66.2
64.1
62.0

86.1
92.9
77.9
65.9
61.1
60.0
74.4
56.8
66.3
64.8
62.3

93.2
90.6
81.9
59.4
58.8
56.9
79.4
60.6
67.7
69.5
65.9

69.2
63.9
60.7
45.3
52.1
51.3
65.5
48.0
69.5
45.2
57.1

98.2
116.7
105.7
101.0
88.7
86.9
96.6
100.2
110.8
93.7
75.4

1 Aggregate costs of 42 foods in each city prior to Jan. 1,1935, and of 84 foods since that date, weighted to
represent total purchases, have been combined w ith the use of population weights.
s Preliminary.

Prices of 59 of the 84 foods included in the index were lower in
February than in January, 22 were higher, and 3 showed no change.
Compared with February 1938, prices of 62 foods were lower and 22
were higher.
Average prices for each of the 84 foods for 51 cities combined are
shown in table 2 for February and January 1939, and February 1938
T a b l e 2. —Average Retail Prices of 84 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, February and

January 1939 and February 1938
[♦Indicates the foods included in indexes prior to Jan. 1, 1935]
1939

1938

A rticle

Cereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
♦Flour, w h e a t....................................
♦M acaroni________ ______ ______
♦W heat cereal. ................................. -------- 28-oz. p ack age..
•C orn flakes.................... ................. ..
•C orn m eal.......... ............................. .
H o m in y grits.................................. .
♦B ice_______ __________________
•R o lled oats___ ____ ___________
B akery products:
♦Bread, w h ite __________________
Bread, w hole-w heat____ ______
Bread, rye_____ _______________
C ake............................ ............. .........
Soda crackers___________ ____ _ ............................ do----M eats:
Beef:
♦Sirloin s t e a k ....................................
•R o u n d steak ____ _______ ______
♦Rib roast..............................................

* Preliminary.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

F eb . 14 »

Jan. 17

F eb. 15

C ents

3.6
14.4
24.4
7.3
4.6
8.5
7.6
7.1

4.3
15.0
24.4
7.5
4.8
9.1
8.0
7.3

8.0
9.2
9.3
25.1
15.3

8.1
9.3
9.4
24.9
15.3

8.9
9.8
10.1
24.8
16.4

39.0
35.7
30.1

38.8
35.4
30.0

33.9
31.0
27.5

962

Monthly Lahor Review—April 1939

T a b le 2. —Average Retail Prices of 84 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, February and

January 1939 and February 1938—Continued
[‘ In d icates th e foods in clud ed in indexes prior to Jan. 1, 1935]
1939

1938

Article
F eb. 14

M eats—C ontinu ed .
Beef—C o n tin u ed .
‘ C huck roast................ .......................
‘ P late____________________________
L iver------------ ----------------------------Veal:
C u tlets____________ _____ _______
Pork:
‘ C hops___________________________
Loin roast.............................. ...............
•B acon , sliced -------- ------- -------------Bacon, strip_____________________
•H a m , sliced -------- -----------------------H am , w hole_____________________
Salt pork_________ _______ ______
Lamb:
B reast----------------------------------------C huck ---------------- -----------------------•L e g -------------------------------------------R ib chops.......................- .....................
Poultry:
•R oastin g ch ickens---------------------Fish:
Salm on, p in k ___________________ ________ 16-oz. c a n ..
•Salm on, red______ ______—...........
D airy products.
•B u tte r . ---------------------------------- ------•C h eese-------------------------------------------C ream _____________________ ______
M ilk , fresh (delivered and store)------•M ilk , fresh (d elivered )....... .....................
M ilk , fresh (store).... ............... ...............
•M ilk , e v a p o r a te d ......................... ......... ............1 4^ -oz. c a n ..
•E ggs.............................. .......................................
Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh:
A p p les..................................................
•B a n a n a s_______________________
L em ons-------- -----------------------------•O r a n g e s.................- ............— .........
B eans, green_______ ____ ______
•C ab b age............... ...............................
Carrots............ —..................... ...........
C e le r y ...----------------------------- -----______ ______ h e a d ..
•O n ion s_________________________
•P o ta to e s ........... ......... .........................
S pin ach ________________________ _____________ do___
Sw eetpotatoes-------------------------- Canned:
P eaches................................................
Pears— ..............................................
P in eap p le----------- ---------------------A sparagus......................... .................
Beans, green ................ .................
•B ean s w ith pork....... ............. ......... ________ 16-oz. c a n ..
•C o r n .---------------------------------------•P e a s . _________________________
•T om atoes __________________ -T om ato s ou p .................... ................
D ried:
P each es.............................. .................
•P ru n es........................................ .........
•R a isin s_________ ________ ______ ____ 15-oz. p a ck a g e..
B lack-eyed peas.............................. .
Lim a beans __________________ ______________ do-----•N a v y b ean s.......................... .............

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cents

J a n .17

Feb. 15

Cents

23.7
15.7
25.8

23.6
15.9
25.5

21.0
14.7
24.4

43.7

42.6

42.9

29.4
23.4
34.5
29.0
47.0
28.1
19.2

28.6
22.7
34.9
29.4
46.8
28.2
19.5

28.9
23.4
37.7
31.6
45.1
28.2
21.1

12.8
21.3
27.9
34.9

12.6
21.5
28.1
35.4

11.8
20.4
26.2
32.6

30.8

30.9

35.5

12.5
23.3

12.5
23.4

14.2
27.1

33.0
25.0
14.4
12.2
12.5
11.5
6.9
29.9

33.5
25.2
14.6
12.3
12.7
11.6
6.9
33.6

37.7
28.4
15.0
12.5
12.7
11.8
7.5
30.3

5.3
6.3
24.1
23.6
12.3
3.4
5.6
8.3
8.1
4.0
2.4
6.8
4.1

5.2
6.3
24.4
24.8
11.0
3.3
6.0
8.5
8.2
4.0
2.4
7.6
3.9

4.4
6.4
29.0
24.1
14.5
5.1
5.4
8.3
7.2
5.1
2.0
6.9
3 .9

16.9
20.5
21.3
27.9
10.6
7.3
10.9
13.9
8.6
7.4

16.9
20.5
21.4
28.0
10.6
7.3
10.9
14.1
8.6
7.4

19.4
21.7
23.2
30.5
11.4
7.6
11.8
15.9
9.0
7.5

14.8
9.1
9.4
7.8
8.9
5.9

14.8
9.1
9.4
7.7
8.9
5.6

15.8
9.4
10.1
8.0
9. 3
6.5

Retail Prices

963

T able 2. —Average Retail Prices of 84 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, February and

January 1939 and February 1938—Continued
[‘Indicates the foods included in indexes prior to Jan. 1, 1935]
1939

1938

A rticle

Feb. 14

Jan. 17

Feb. 15

Cents

B everages and chocolate:
‘ C oflee____ ____ _______ ____________
‘ T ea__________________ _____________
C ocoa._____________ _______________
C hocolate .................... ............... ...........
F ats and oils:
‘ L ard-----------------------------------------------Shortening other than lard:
In cartons.................................. ......... ............................ do----In other containers........................ - .......................... .d o -----Salad oil_______________________ ____
M ayon n aise_______ ____ ___ _____
----------------- Vi p in t-‘ Oleom argarine_____________________ -------------------p o u n d ..
P eanu t b utter_____________ ________ ............................ do—
Sugar and sweets:
‘ Sugar____ ____ _________ __________
Corn siru p _____ _________ _______ __
M o la s s e s ........................ ............. ............. -------------- 18-oz. can—
Straw berry preserves...................... .......

22.8
17.6
8.5
16.1

22.9
17.7
8.5
16.1

23.8
17.6
9.1
16.2

11.2

11.6

13.5

12.7
20.5
24.4
17.2
16.6
18.1

12.8
20.5
24.4
17.3
16.6
18.2

13.3
19.7
24. 9
17.5
17.4
18.8

5.1
13.8
13.6
20.9

5.2
13.8
13.6
20.9

14.1
14.0

5.5
22.2

Details by Cities
For the month ended February 14, food costs decreased in 36 of the
51 cities included in the index, with reductions of 1.0 percent or more
in 17 of these cities. Increases of less than 1.0 percent were reported
from 11 cities and of 1.0 percent or more from 3 cities. The greatest
decrease, 4.4 percent, was shown for Pittsburgh where bread prices
declined about 15 percent and the average price of fresh milk decreased
2.0 cents per quart. In Dallas, costs decreased 2.7 percent as the
result of a reduction of 9.4 percent for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Prices of beef and fresh pork declined in Dallas contrary to the general
movement for these items. Cincinnati showed an average decrease of
2.6 percent. A reduction of 2.9 cents per quart in the average price of
milk more than offset increases in the prices of meats. Food costs
increases were greatest for Denver where a 1.5 percent increase was
primarily due to a 6.7 percent rise in the price of white bread. A 1.4
percent rise in Minneapolis and a 1.0 percent advance in Columbus
resulted from increased fresh fruit prices and greater than average
advances for meats.
Indexes of retail food costs by regions and cities are given in table 3
for February and January 1939 and February 1938.

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964

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T a b l e 3. —Indexes of the Average Retail Cost of A ll Foods, by Regions and Cities,1

February and January 1939 and February 1938
[1923-25=100]
1939

1938

1939

Region and city

R egion and city
F eb.
14»

Jan.
17

Feb.
15

U n ited S tates........................ .

76.8

77.5

78.4

N ew E n glan d ............................
B o sto n ................... .............
B ridgeport_____________
Fall R iver_____________
M an ch ester____________
N ew H a v e n ..... ............. ..
Portland, M a in e_______
P rovid en ce____________
M id d le A tla n tic......................
B u flalo................................
N ew ark ________________
N ew Y ork _____ _______
P h iladelp h ia___________
P ittsb u rgh -----------------R ochester______________
Scranton_____________
E ast N orth C entral........ .......
C hicago_____________
C in cin n ati...................... ..
C levelan d _____________
C olum bus, O hio_______
D etro it......... ........... ...........
Ind ianap olis......................
M ilw a u k ee____________
P e o r ia ...............................
Springfield, 111________
W est N orth C entral_______
Kansas C it y ....................
M inn eap olis___________
O m ah a................................
St. L ou is_________ ____
St. P a u l......... .....................

74.8
73.4
79.0
77.9
78.5
77.6
76.0
73.1
77.8
77.1
79.7
79.8
77.8
72.9
77.4
73.6
77.1
77.2
75.9
79.2
76.4
75.9
76.4
80.2
77.9
75.9
79.8
78.1
83.5
73.9
82.2
79.2

75.7
74.2
79.8
79.0
79.0
79.0
76.7
74.8
78.6
76.8
80.8
80.3
78.0
76.3
77.4
73.7
77.6
78.3
77.9
79.3
75.7
75.7
77.2
79.8
78.3
75.6
79.7
78.1
82.4
73.7
82.8
78.8

76.5
74.6
81.4
79.7
79.0
80.7
77.1
75.2
79.0
77.2
80.6
79.9
79.8
77.2
78.5
74.2
79.2
79.3
79.7
78.6
77.8
80.3
77.8
82.4
79.4
75.3
80.9
79.7
83.7
76.4
82.7
80.5

South Atlantic............... .........
Atlanta_________ ____ _
Baltimore______ ______
Charleston, S. C______
Jacksonville__________
N orfolk.............................
Richmond____________
Savannah......... ................
Washington, D . C _____
East South Central_______
Birmingham__________
Louisville___ _________
Memphis_____________
M obile. ____________
West South Central_____ _
Dallas________________
Houston_________ ____
Little Rock___________
N ew Orleans__________
M o u n ta in ..............................
B utte________________
Denver...... .......................
Salt Lake C ity________
Pacific.......................................
Los Angeles____ ______
Portland, Oreg________
San Francisco_________
Seattle................................

1938

Feb.
14 1

Jan.
17

75.9
70.9
82.5
76.2
73.6
73.7
69.9
74.9
79.2
70.6
65.4
81.1
72.8
73.0
74.4
68.6
75.4
72.0
82.1
78.5
73.7
81.4
74.8
76.3
71.5
79.1
80.6
78.4

76.7
72.2
82.5
78.0
75.4
75.1
70.5
75.8
79.4
70.9
65.7
81.5
72.9
73.1
75.9
70.5
77.1
72.0
82.7
77.7
73.6
80.1
74.5
76.4
71.8
78.7
80.8
77.8

Feb.
15
77.5
72.5
82.8
79.1
76.5
76.3
72.6
77.9
79.8
73.6
69.3
82.5
75.6
73.7
77.1
72.9
77.8
75.2
82.4
80.6
76.6
83.1
77.3
76.5
71.4
79.9
80.9
78.5

* Aggregate costs of 42 foods in each city prior to Jan. 1, 1935, and of 84 foods since that date, weighted to
represent total purchases, have been combined for regions and for the United States with the use of popula
tion weights.
1 Preliminary.

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Wholesale Prices

WHOLESALE PRICES IN FEBRUARY 1939 1
FOLLOWING the downward movement of the preceding 4 months,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics index of wholesale commodity prices
for February rounded off at the January level, 76.9 percent of the 1926
average. The combined index of 813 price series was 3.6 percent
lower than February 1938.
Both the farm products and foods group indexes remained un
changed at the January average. Miscellaneous commodities in
creased 0.4 percent, textile products and fuel and lighting materials
advanced 0.3 percent, and building materials rose 0.1 percent. Hides
and leather products declined 1.3 percent; chemicals and drugs, 0.5
percent; housefurnishing goods, 0.2 percent; and metals and metal
products, 0.1 percent. In February each of the 10 major commodity
groups was below its year ago level. The decreases range from 1.6
percent for building materials to 7.0 percent for fuel and lighting
materials.
The index for the raw materials group remained unchanged at 70.9
percent of the 1926 average. It was 3.7 percent below a year ago.
Average prices for semimanufactured commodities declined 0.7 per
cent to the lowest point reached since August of last year. The group
index, 74.4, was 2.2 percent lower than it was for February 1938.
Wholesale prices of finished products rose 0.3 percent, reversing the
down-swing of the past 4 months. The February index, 80.2, was
however, 3.7 percent below a year ago.
The indexes for the large groups “All commodities other than farm
products” and “All commodities other than farm products and foods”
remained unchanged at the January level, 78.9 and 80.2 percent of the
1926 average. The former index was 3.7 percent below February of
last year and the latter was down 3.4 percent.
In the farm products group a decline of 2.8 percent in grains was
counterbalanced by increases of 1.5 percent for livestock and poultry
and 0.5 percent for “Other farm products,” with the result that the
group index remained unchanged at the January level. Lower prices
were reported for barley, corn, rye, poultry, eggs, peanuts, seeds, white
potatoes, fresh milk (Chicago), and wool. Quotations were higher for
calves, hogs, apples, lemons, oranges, hops, onions, and sweetpotatoes.
1 M ore d etailed inform ation on w holesale prices is given in th e W holesale Price p am ph let and w ill be
furnished upon request.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

965

966

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

The February farm products index, 67.2, was 3.7 percent below a year
ago.
Average wholesale prices of foods also remained unchanged at the
level of the preceding month. Increases of 2.0 percent for fruits and
vegetables and meats were offset by decreases of 3.0 percent for
“Other foods,” 0.7 percent for cereal products, and 0.3 percent for
dairy products. Prices were higher for most canned and dried fruits
and vegetables, fresh pork, veal, beef, and bacon. Quotations were
lower for butter, oatmeal, corn meal, hominy grits, bananas, prunes,
lamb, mutton, cocoa beans, molasses, oleo oil, pepper, tallow, and
vegetable oils. The food group index, 71.5, was 2.7 percent below a
year ago.
Sharp declines in prices of bides, skins, and leather, together with a
minor decrease in prices of shoes, caused the hides and leather products
group index to fall 1.3 percent. No changes were reported in prices
of gloves, harness, belting, and luggage.
The index for the textile products group advanced 0.3 percent during
the month largely because of sharp advances in prices of raw silk and
silk yarns, together with smaller increases for woolen and worsted
goods and other textile products such as burlap and raw jute. Cotton
goods, principally print cloth and sheeting, averaged lower. The
hosiery and underwear subgroup decreased fractionally and clothing
remained at the January level.
An advance of 0.1 percent was registered in the fuel and lighting
materials group index because of higher prices for Pennsylvania fuel
oil and gasoline, kerosene, and gas. Anthracite and bituminous-coal
prices declined fractionally while Oklahoma fuel oil and natural gaso
line fell sharply. Coke prices were steady.
Minor decreases in average prices for agricultural implements,
together with lower prices for ferromanganese, antimony, and babbitt
metal, caused the metals and metal products group index to decline
0.1 percent. A sharp advance was reported in prices of quicksilver,
and certain plumbing and heating items advanced fractionally.
Wholesale prices of building materials rose 0.1 percent as a result
of higher prices for yellow pine timbers, hemlock and Ponderosa pine
lumber, and turpentine. Lower prices were reported for spruce
lumber, tung oil, rosin, and tar. Average prices for structural steel
and brick and tile were steady.
Weakening prices for oils, chlorine, tankage, and mixed fertilizers
caused the chemicals and drugs group index to decline 0.5 percent
during the month.
The index for the housefurnishing goods group dropped 0.2 percent
to 85.2 percent of the 1926 average. Lower prices were reported for

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

967

Wholesale Prices

cutlery, pillowcases, and sheets. Wholesale prices of furniture were
steady.
Weakening prices for cottonseed and linseed meals caused the cattle
feed subgroup to decline 2.1 percent. Crude rubber advanced 0.9
percent and automobile tires and tubes rose 1.5 percent. Paper and
pulp increased 0.1 percent.
Index numbers for the groups and subgroups of commodities for
January and February 1939 and February 1938 are shown in table 1.
T

able

1.— Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commodities
[1926=100]

Group and subgroup

All commodities..........

..........

Feb Jan Feb
ruary uary ruary
1939 1939 1938
76.9

76.9

79.8

67.2
54.7
79.2
62.9

67.2
56.3
78.0
63.2

69.8
73.0
78.1
63.5

Foods__________ . . .
Dairy products____ ____ _
Cereal produ cts_________

71.5
71.6
72.7
62.1
M e a ts... _______________ 83.2
61.7
Other foods........................ .

71.5
71.8
73.2
60.9
81.6
63.6

73.5
78.3
83.2
56.8
78.4
66.7

Hides and leather products___
Shoes___________________
Hides and skins....... .............
Leather-------------------------Other leather products____

91.9 93.1
101.1 101.2
72.8 78.4
84.2 85.0
95.3 95.3

94.7
104.6
74.6
84.4
102.4

65.9
81.5
64.3
59.1
32.1
74.5
64.4

68.6
85.8
67.6
60.9
28.5
81.0
67.0

73.0 72.8
79.9 80.3
98.1 98.3
104.2 104.2
(>)
(»)
82.2
0)
50.7 50.4

78.5
79.8
103.2
105.5
89.6
82.9
58.0

Farm products________ . ___
Grains_________ ________
Livestock and poultry-----Other farm p r o d u cts.____

Textile products______________
Clothing.................................
Cotton goods_____ _______
Hosiery and underwear___
Silk and rayon___________
Woolen and worsted goods.
Other textile products____
Fuel and lighting material____
Anthracite_______________
Bituminous coal..............
Coke______________ _____
Electricity.................. ...........
G a s .. ...... ...............................
Petroleum products______
Metals and metal products____
Agricultural im plements.. .
Farm machinery_____

66.1
81.5
63.7
58.8
34.7
74.7
64.5

94.3
93.2
94.5

94.4
93.4
94.6

96.0
96.2
97.7

Group and subgroup

Metals—C ontinued.
Iron and steel_____________
M otor vehicles 2__________
Nonferrous m eta ls________
P lum b in g and h e a t in g ___
B uilding m aterials_____ ____
Brick and tile ___ ________
C em en t_________ ________
L u m ber____ _________ . . .
P aint and paint m aterials P lum b in g and h eatin g.........
Structural steel_____ _____
Other b uilding m a teria ls...
C hem icals and drugs__________
C hem icals________________
Drugs and pharmaceuticals.
Fertilizer m aterials........... ...
M ixed fertilizers__________

F eb Jan F eb
ruary uary ruary
1939 1939 1938

96.1
93.4
76.5
79.2

96.4
93.4
76.7
78.7

99.3
95.6
72.1
79.6

89.6 89. 5
92.4 92.4
95.5 95.5
92.6 91.7
80.5 81.0
79.2 78.7
107.3 107.3
89.3 89.6

91.1
91.5
95.5
91.0
79.2
79.6
114.9
95.3

76.3
79.4
72.7
69.3
73.7

76.7
79.7
73.0
70.2
74.8

79.1
83.6
73.9
72.3
72.3

Housefurnishing goods. _______ 85.2
Furnishings_______________ 89.8
Furniture_________________ 80.5

85.4
90.1
80.5

88.0
92.2
83.7

_____
M iscellan eou s... . . .
A utom obile tires and tubes
C attle feed________________
Paper and p u lp ___________
R ubber, crude____________
Other m is c e lla n e o u s ...........

73.5

73.2

74.8

59.7
78.2
81.1
33.7
81.2

58.8
79.9
81.0
33.4
81.1

57.4
86.7
89.7
30.2
82.2

70.9
74.4
80.2

70.9
74.9
80.0

73.6
76.1
83.3

78.9

81.9

80.2

83.0

Raw materials_______________
Semimanufactured articles____
Finished products_______ . . .
All commodities other than
farm products______
____
All commodities other than
farm products and foods___

1 Data not available.
2 Preliminary revision.

Index Numbers by Commodity Groups 1926 to February 1939
Index numbers of wholesale prices by commodity groups for selected
years from 1926 to 1938, inclusive, and by months from February
1938 to February 1939, inclusive, are shown in table 2.

135055— 39------- 14

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

968

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
T a b le 2. —Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices, by Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]
Hides Tex
Farm
and
tile
prod Foods leather prod
ucts
prod ucts
ucts

Year and month

B y years:
1926_____ _______ 100.0
1929____________ 104.9
1932____________
48.2
1933____________
61.4
1936......................... 80.9
86.4
1937____________
1938____________
68.5
B y months:
1938:
February___
69.8
March______
70.3
68.4
April_______
M ay________ 67.5
June................ 68.7
July________
August,
September__
October_____
November___
December___
1939:
January_____
February___

House- MisFuel Metals
and Build Chem furand
ing
icals nishcellight metal
mate
and
laneprod rials drugs
ing
ing
ous
ucts
goods

All
com
modi
ties

100.0
99.9
61.0
60.5
82.1
85.5
73.6

100.0
109.1
72.9
80.9
95.4
104.6
92.8

100.0
90.4
54.9
64.8
71.5
76.3
66.7

100.0
83.0
70.3
66.3
76.2
77.6
76.5

100.0
100.5
80.2
79.8
87.0
95.7
95.7

100.0
95.4
71.4
77.0
86.7
95.2
90.3

100.0
94.2
73.5
72.6
80.4
83.9
77.6

100.0
94.3
75.1
75.8
81.7
89.7
86.8

100.0
82.6
64.4
62.5
70.5
77.8
73.3

100.0
95.3
64.8
65.9
80.8
86.3
78.6

73.5
73.5
72.3
72.1
73.1

94.7
93.6
92.1
91.3
90.1

68.6
68.2
67.2
66.1
65.5

78.5
77.7
76.8
76.2
76.4

96.0
96.0
96.3
96.7
96.1

91.1
91.5
91.2
90.4
89.7

79.1
78.7
77.5
76.8
76.3

88.0
87.7
87.3
87.2
87.1

74.8
74.4
73.4
73.1
72.9

79.8
79.7
78.7
78.1
78.3

69.4
67.3
68.1
66.8
67.8
67.6

74.3
73.0
74.5
73.5
74.1
73.1

91.5
91.9
92.0
93.4
94.6
93.1

66.1
65.9
65.8
66.2
66.2
65.8

76.8
76.8
76.6
75.4
73.7
73.2

95.2
95.4
95.5
95.3
94.9
94.6

89.2
89.4
89.5
89.8
89.2
89.4

77.7
77.7
77.3
77.1
76.6
76.7

86.4
86.4
86.2
85.7
85.8
86.0

72.7
72.4
72.4
72.6
73.0
73.1

78.8
78.1
78.3
77.6
77.5
77.0

67.2
67.2

71.5
71.5

93.1
91.9

65.9
66.1

72.8
73.0

94.4
94.3

89.5
89.6

76.7
76.3

85.4
85.2

73.2
73.5

76.9
76.9

The price trend for specified years and months since 1926 is shown
in table 3 for the following groups of commodities: Raw materials,
semimanufactured articles, finished products, commodities other than
farm products, and commodities other than farm products and foods.
The list of commodities included under the classifications “Raw
materials,” “Semimanufactured articles,” and “Finished products”
was given in the December 1938 issue of the Wholesale Price pamphlet.
T a b le 3.— Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices, by Special Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]

Raw
Year and month mate
rials

B y years:
1926......................
1929.....................
1932.....................
1933.....................
1936______ ____
1937......................
1938.....................
B y months:
1938:
February____
March........... .
A pril...............

Semimanufactured
arti
cles

Fin
ished
prod
ucts

All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
97.5 93.9 94.5 93.3
55.1 59.3 70.3 68.3
56.5 65.4 70.5 69.0
79.9 75.9 82.0 80.7
84.8 85.3 87.2 86.2
72.0 75.4 82.2 80.6
73.6
73.2
71.3

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

76.1
75.6
75.3

83.3
83.4
82.7

81.9
81.6
80.8

All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods

100.0
91.6
70.2
71.2
79.6
85.3
81.7
83.0
82.6
82.0

All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods

Year and month

Raw
mate
rials

Semimanufactured
arti
cles

Fin
ished
prod
ucts

All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts

B y months—Con.
1938—Con.
M ay.............. .
June........... .
July________
August_____
September__
October_____
November___
December___
1939:
January_____
February____

70.7
71.4
72.3
71.4
72.0
70.9
71.5
70.9

75.4
74.1
74.3
74.4
74.7
75.9
76.2
75.2

82.1
82.2
82.5
81.8
81.8
81.1
80.5
80.2

80.3
80.3
80.8
80.3
80.4
79.9
79.5
79.0

81.6
81.3
81.4
81.4
81.3
81.1
80.6
80.3

70.9
70.9

74.9
74.4

80.0
80.2

78.9
78.9

80.2
80.2

Wholesale Prices

969

Weekly Fluctuations
Weekly fluctuations in the major commodity group classifications
during January and February are shown by the index numbers in
table 4.
T a b l e 4. — Weekly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Commodity Groups, January

and February 1939
[1926 = 100]

Commodity group

Feb.
25,
1939

Feb.
18,
1939

Feb.
11,
1939

Feb.
4,
1939

Jan.
28,
1939

Jan.
21,
1939

Jan.
14,
1939

Jan.
7,
1939

All commodities................................................... ..............

76.8

76.6

76.7

76.6

76.8

77.0

Farm products....................... „................................ ...........
Foods.......................... .........................- ------ ---------------Hides and leather products..............................................
Textile products____ ____ ______ ____ ____________
Fuel and lighting materials............................ - ............ .

67.7
71.4
92.4
65.6
73.4

66.9
71.3
92.5
65.5
73.6

66.7
71.1
92.7
65.6
73.7

67.1
71.0
92.9
65.5
73.5

67.3
71.2
93.3
65.6
73.4

66.9
71.3
93.8
65.4
73.6

67.3
71.3
94.1
65.3
73.7

67.6
72.6
93.9
65.3
73.8

Metals and metal products__________________ ____
Building materials......... - ................................................ Chemicals and drugs____________________________
Housefurnishing goods______ ____________________
Miscellaneous..................... ............................. ....................

94.5
90.0
76.0
86.6
73.0

94.5
89.4
76.0
86.6
72.9

94.5
89.1
76.1
86.7
72.8

94.5
89.3
76.2
87.2
72.9

94.5
89.4
76.1
87.2
73.0

94.5
89.1
76.3
87.2
73.0

94.6
89.7
76.4
87.2
73.1

94.6
90.0
76.3
87.5
73.1

Raw materials............. - ...................................... ................
Semimanufactured articles...................... .....................
Finished products___ ____ _______________ ______
All commodities other than farm products_________
All commodities other than farm products and foods.-

70.9
74.4
80.4
78.8
80.4

70.4
74.4
80.3
78.8
80.4

70.3
74.6
80.2
78.7
80.4

70.4
74.7
80.2
78.7
80.4

70.7
74.7
80.2
78.8
80.4

70.4
74.8
80.3
78.8
80.4

70.8
75.0
80.3
78.9
80.5

71.1
75.0
80.5
79.1
80.6

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Trend o f Em ploym ent and P ay Rolls

SUMMARY OF REPORTS FOR FEBRUARY 1939
Total Nonagricultural Employment
EMPLOYMENT in nonagricultural industries increased by approxi
mately 45,000 workers in February as compared with January, and by
about 100,000 as compared with a year ago. These figures do not
include employees on Works Progress and National Youth Adminis
tration projects, nor enrollees in the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Emergency employment increased approximately 70,000 in Febru
ary, distributed as follows: 60,000 on projects operated by the Works
Progress Administration, 7,000 in the Civilian Conservation Corps,
and 3,000 on work projects of the National Youth Administration.
Industrial and Business Employment
Gains in employment in February were shown in manufacturing, on
electric and steam railroads, in anthracite mines, in hotels, and in
brokerage and insurance offices. Reductions in employment, largely
due to seasonal influences, were shown in wholesale and retail trade,
metal mines, quarries, public utilities, laundries, dyeing and cleaning,
and private building construction.
Factory employment in February stood at 90.7 percent of the 192325 average, a gain of 1.3 percent, or 95,000 wage earners, since Janu
ary. This represents an increase of 2.8 percent, or 200,000 wage
earners, since February of last year. The index of factory pay rolls,
at 85.4 percent of the 1923-25 average, was 2.6 percent higher than
in January and 11.1 percent above February 1938. The gains in
weekly wage disbursements from January to February amounted to
more than $4,100,000 a week, and from a year ago to more than
$16,000,000 a week. With the exception of December 1938, employ
ment and pay rolls in manufacturing were at the highest levels since
the last 2 months of 1937. The typical seasonal gains from January
to February of 1.8 percent in employment and 4.8 percent in pay rolls
are somewhat larger than the increases reported this year.
Gains in manufacturing employment were quite general. Of the
87 manufacturing industries surveyed monthly by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 61 showed increases in number of workers and 63
970

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

971

had larger weekly pay rolls. The gains were about evenly divided
between the industries manufacturing durable and nondurable goods.
The durable-goods group, as a whole, showed increases of 1.2 percent
in employment and 2.6 percent in pay rolls. The nondurable-goods
group reported a somewhat smaller than seasonal gain of 1.3 percent
in employment and a 2.5 percent increase in pay rolls.
Among the manufacturing industries which added large numbers of
workers to their rolls were women’s clothing (17,000), men’s clothing
(14,900), shoes (9,300), knit goods (6,800), foundries and machine
shops (6,300), stoves (4,600), agricultural implements (4,500), cotton
goods (4,400), cigars and cigarettes (4,300), and furniture (4,300).
Industries in which the increases ranged from 2,500 to 3,500 were
shipbuilding, electrical machinery, shirts and collars, millinery, men’s
furnishings, electric- and steam-railroad car building, and iron and
steel. Employment in the manufacture of aircraft was at the highest
level since June 1937, and pay rolls reached an all-time high. In
shipbuilding, more men were employed than at any time since Decem
ber 1937, and the machine-tool industry reported the sixth consecutive
monthly gain, with the largest number of workers since April 1938.
The food-manufacturing industries reported the principal declines in
employment in February. There were relatively large seasonal
lay-offs in meat packing (6,900), canning (5,300), and beet sugar
(3,700). Woolen mills reported a contraseasonal drop in employment,
reducing their forces by 2,600. The automobile industry laid off
about 6,900 workers between mid-January and mid-February, but
had about 97,000 more men than a year ago.
Retail stores, as a group, continued to lay off employees in small
n um bers, as is usual in February. Their staffs were reduced by 0.6
percent, or 19,100. Stores selling general merchandise released about
9,800 employees, or 1.4 percent of their January forces. Apparel
stores laid off 1.9 percent of their workers, and jewelry stores 3.1
percent. There were small reductions by hardware and lumber and
building-materials dealers, and automobile distributors. Employ
ment in food stores increased 0.4 percent. Seasonal increases were
reported by firms handling farmers’ supplies and by dealers in coal,
wood, and ice. Drug stores also took on more workers.
Employment in wholesale trade was somewhat lower than in
January, largely because of seasonal reductions by dealers in food
products, groceries, farm products, hardware, and paper products.
Apparel and dry goods firms and firms selling building materials and
metals increased their staffs considerably.
Anthracite mines reported an employment pick-up of 4.3 percent,
accompanied by a pay-roll increase of 18.9 percent. Employment in
bituminous-coal mines showed little change, and pay rolls increased
3.9 percent. Metal mines lost 0.5 percent of their workers, which is

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

972

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

less than is usual at this time of year. The winter shut-down in many
quarries contributed to their loss of 2.4 percent in employment, and oil
wells cut their production forces by 0.6 percent. Slight employment
recessions were reported by the public utilities, reflecting the lay-off
of construction crews during the winter months. Telephone and
telegraph companies reduced their forces by 1.1 percent and electric
light and power companies by 0.5 percent. Electric railroads reported
a slight contraseasonal gain. Hotels added 2,300 employees to their
staffs, while laundries and dyeing and cleaning plants cut their
employment seasonally, laying off a total of 2,300 workers. Broker
age houses increased their personnel by 0.7 percent and employment
in insurance companies showed little change.
Employment in private building construction declined 2.5 percent
between January and February, and pay rolls were 6.1 percent smaller.
This was the smallest February employment decline during the last
7 years with the exception of February 1937. The reported decreases
in employment were in the northern groups of States, which were most
affected by adverse weather conditions, namely, the New England, the
East and West North Central, and the Mountain States. Practically
no change was reported in the Middle Atlantic, the South Atlantic, and
the East South Central States, while gains were shown in the West
South Central and the Pacific States. The reports on which these
figures are based do not cover public construction projects financed by
the Works Progress Administration, the Public Works Administration,
and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, or by regular appropria
tions of the Federal, State, and local Governments.
A preliminary report of the Interstate Commerce Commission indi
cated a gain between January and February of 1.3 percent, or 10,130
persons, in the number employed^by class I^railroads. The total
number reported for February was 941,979. Corresponding pay-roll
figures for February were not available when this report was prepared.
For January they were $148,350,333 as against $150,372,130 for De
cember, a decrease of 1.3 percent.
Hours and earnings.—The average hours worked per week by wage
earners in manufacturing industries were 36.9 in February, a gain of
1.3 percent since January. The corresponding average hourly earn
ings were 64.9 cents, a decrease of 0.2 percent as compared with the
preceding month. Average weekly earnings increased 1.3 percent
to $24.06.
Of the 14 nonmanufacturing industries for which man-hour data are
available, 6 showed increases in average hours worked per week and
6 showed gains in average hourly earnings. Average weekly earnings
were higher for 6 of the 16 nonmanufacturing industries surveyed.
Employment and pay-roll indexes and average weekly earnings in
February 1939 for all manufacturing industries combined, for selected

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

973

nonmanufacturing industries, and for class I railroads, with percent
age changes over the month and year intervals, are presented in
table 1.
T

1 . —Employment, P ay Rolls, and Earnings in A ll Manufacturing Industries
Combined and in Nonmanufacturing Industries, February 1939 (Preliminary
Figures)

able

Employment

Percentage
change from—

Industry
Index,
Febru
ary 1939

All manufacturing industries
combined 1________________
Class I steam railroads a- ____

Coal mining:
Anthracite 4_____________
Bituminous 4_________ Metalliferous mining_________
Quarrying and nonmetallic
mining_______ ____________
Crude-petroleum producing___
Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph...
Electric light and power
and manufactured g a s ...
Electric-railroad and motorbus operation and mainte
nance........................................ .
Trade:
Wholesale.............. ................
R etail___________________
General merchandising.
Other than general
merchandising______
Hotels (year-round)47_______
Laundries 4_________________
Dyeing and cleaning 4________
B rokerage.......... .........................
Insurance.._____ ____________
Building construction________

Janu Feb
ary
ruary
1939
1938

(.m s-25
= 100)
90.7
52.7

Average weekly
earnings

Pay rolls

Percentage
Percentage
change from— Aver change from—
Index,
age in
Febru
Feb
ary 1939 Janu Feb ruary Janu Feb
ruary
ary
ruary
1939
ary
1939
1938
1939
1938
(1925-25
=100)

+ 1 .3
+ 1 .3

+ 2 .8
+ .3

(1929=
100)

85.4
(3)

+ 2 .6 +11.1 $24.06
(3)
(3)
(3)

+ 1 .3
(3)

+ 8 .0
(3)

28.20 +14.0
24.35 + 4.1
27.19 - 2 .9

+12.7
+18.5
-.3

- 1 .4
+ 3 .3

+ 2 .7
+ .2

(1929 =
100)

52.2
88.5
61.1

+ 4 .3 -1 3 .0
- .2
- 7 .3
-.5
- 4 .0

45.2 +18.9
81.3 + 3 .9
53.4 - 3 .4

37.4
66.6

- 2 .4
- .6

- 1 .0
-1 0 .3

29.1
62.5

- 3 .7
+ 2 .7

-2 .0
+ 9 .8
-4 .2
+ 1 .7
-1 0 .1

19.69
35.01

73.3

- 1 .1

-3 .2

91.7

-.3

+ 2.1 331.09

+ .8

+ 5 .5

89.6

- .5

-3 .2

96.4

+ .6

- 2 .1

833.87

+ 1.1

69.3

+ .2

-2 .6

69.9

-1 .8

- .5

132.87

- 2 .0

+ 3.1

-2 .8
-.8
+ .8

74.6
68.5
81.3

- 1 .1
- 1 .7
- 3 .3

- . 9 829. 54
+ .1 321. 94
- . 3 318.61

-.7
- 1 .2
- 1 .9

+ 2 .0
+ 1 .0
- 1 .1

- .4
- 1 .3
+ .9 - 2 . 0
- .6
- 3 .1
- 2 .2
-3 .6
+ . 7 -4 .9
+ w
- 2 .5 -1 0 .8

65.8
82.8
78.6
63.2
(3)
(3)
(3)

-.9
+ 2 .4
-.7
- 1 .8
- 1 .5
- 1 .2
- 3 .7

+ 1 .4
+ 1 .0
+ 2 .5
+ .6
-3 .8
-.7
-1 .6

87.9
81.7
89.5
79.7
92.6
92.8
92.1
(3)
(3)
(3)

- .5
- .6
- 1 .4

- 1 .3
+ (8)
+ 3 .2 - 1 . 0
- 1 .2
-.6
- 3 .9
- 3 .1
-.7
- 8 .6
- 1 .1
- 6 .1 -1 1 .9

324.47
315. 29
17. 32
18.95
334.93
336.11
27. 38

1 Revised indexes—Adjusted to 1935 Census of Manufactures. Indexes for earlier months and years
given in table 3 of the November issue of the M onthly Labor Review.
2 Preliminary; source—Interstate Commerce Commission.
3 N ot available.
' 4 Indexes adjusted to 1935 Census. Comparable series back to January 1929 presented in January 1938
issue of the pamphlet, Employment and Pay Rolls.
• Average weekly earnings not strictly comparable with figures published in issues of the M onthly Labor
Review dated earlier than April 1938 (except for the January figures appearing in the March issue), as
they now exclude corporation officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are mainly super
visory.
4 Less than Ho of 1 percent.
7 Cash payments only; the additional value of board, room and tips cannot be computed.

Public Employment
For the month ending February 15, 1939, there was virtually no
change in the number working on projects of the Public Works
Administration. However, the 217,000 men working in February
were 119,000 more than were at work a year ago. Pay rolls for F ebruary 1939 were $16,497,000.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

974

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

During the month ending February 15 more than 3,300 men were
working on proj ects of the United States Housing Authority, and pay
rolls amounted to $353,000. These figures cover new construction
and demolition and pertain only to those projects started under the
United States Housing Authority; those formerly under the Public
Works Administration are shown with P. W. A. building construction
projects in this report.
The seasonal decline in employment and pay rolls on construction
projects financed from regular Federal appropriations continued
through the month ending February 15. During this period 172,000
men were working, a decrease of 10,000 from the preceding month.
Decreases in employment were reported for all types of projects with
the following exceptions: Electrification, heavy engineering, ship
construction, and miscellaneous projects. Pay rolls for the month
amounted to $16,859,000.
Nearly 2,600 men were working on construction projects financed
by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation during the month ending
February 15; pay rolls amounted to $299,000.
In the latter part of February workers were added to the pay rolls
of projects operated by the Works Progress Administration, following
a succession of reductions which began in November. The number
at work during the week ending February 25 was 2,955,000, as com
pared with 2,895,000 during the last week in January and 2,076,000
in a comparable period in February 1938. Pay-roll disbursements of
$152,261,000 for the month of February as a whole were $3,472,000
less than in January and $49,070,000 more than in February a year
ago. There was a slight decline in the number of persons working on
Federal projects under The Works Program. On work projects of
the National Youth Administration there was a small increase.
Data on employment and pay rolls for Student Aid in February will
not be available until next month.
There was an increase of 7,000 employees in camps of the Civilian
Conservation Corps in February. Of the 337,000 in camps during this
month 301,000 were enrollees, 5,000 reserve officers, 300 nurses, 1,600
educational advisers, and 29,000 supervisory and technical employees.
For all groups of workers pay-roll disbursements in February were
$14,789,000.
In the regular services of the Federal Government, increases in
employment were reported in the executive, judicial, and military
services; decreases occurred in the legislative service. Of the 870,000
employees in the executive service in February 120,000 were working
in the District of Columbia and 750,000 outside the District. Forceaccount employees (employees who are on the Federal pay roll and
are engaged on construction projects) were 9 percent of the total
number of employees in the executive service. Increases in employ*

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

975

ment were reported in the Navy Department and in the administra
tive offices of the Works Progress Administration.
Employment on State-financed road projects was affected by
adverse weather conditions. The 145,000 men working during the
month ending February 15 were 8,000 less than the number at work
during the preceding period. Of the total number at work 21,000 were
engaged on new road construction and 124,000 on maintenance.
Combined pay rolls for both types of road work were $10,113,000.
A summary of Federal employment and pay-roll data for February
1939 is given in table 2.
T a b le 2. —Summary of Federal Employment and P ay Rolls, February 1939 1

{Preliminary Figures)
Employment
Class

Percentage
February January change
1939
1939

Federal services:
Executive 2....................... .................. 870, 767 8 864,162
Judicial_________ ______ ______
5,284
5,234
Legislative_____________________
2,210
2,228
M ilitary________ ____ ___ ______ 340,852
339,680
Construction projects:
Financed by P. W. A .4__________ 216, 570
217,266
U. S. Housing Authority, lowcost housing__________________
3,317
2,774
Financed by R. F. C.5__________
2,593
2,546
Financed by regular Federal appropriations______________ .
172,264
181,976
Federal projects under The Works
Program_____________ ________ 117, 615
121,095
Projects operated by W . P. A ___ 2,955,040 2,895,214
National Youth Administration:
Work projects__________________
241, 623
238,862
Student A id________ _________
368, 735
(8)
Civilian Conservation Corps____ . . .
337,191
330,144

+ 0 .8
+ 1 .0
-.8
+ .3

Pay rolls
February
1939

January
1939

$130,015,491 8$131,405,792
1,212, 994
1,209, 738
537, 664
547,687
26,609,474
26,674,833

Percentage
change

- 1 .1
+ .3
-1 .8
-.2

- .3

16,496, 563

17,079,092

- 3 .4

+19.6
+ 1 .8

353,132
298, 699

319, 784
290,403

+10.4
+ 2 .9

- 5 .3

16,858, 526

18, 704,411

-9 .9

- 2 .9
+ 2.1

5, 684,498
152, 261,190

5,509, 841
155, 733,123

+ 3 .2
-2 .2

+ 1 .2

4,456, 772
(0)
14, 789,353

4, 376,868
2, 244,093
14, 709,313

+ 1 .8

+ 2.1

+ .5

1 Includes data on projects financed wholly or partially from Federal funds.
2 Includes force-account and supervisory and technical employees shown under other classifications to
the extent of 113,730 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $13,557,342 for February 1939, and 113,784
employees and pay-roll disbursements of $13,779,869 for January 1939.
8 Revised.
4 Data covering P. W. A. projects financed from Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936,
and 1937 funds, and Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of 1938 funds are included. These
data are not shown under The Works Program. Includes 30,709 wage earners and $2,823,988 pay roll for
February 1939; 36,993 wage earners and $3,325,884 pay roll for January 1939, covering Public Works Admin
istration projects financed from Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 funds. In
cludes 178,346 wage earners and $12,719,680 pay roll for February 1939; 170,942 wage earners and $12,626,438
pay roll for January 1939, covering Public Works Administration projects financed from funds provided
by the Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of 1938.
5 Includes 235 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $16,173 for February 1939; 256 employees and pay
roll disbursements of $18,321 for January 1939 on projects financed by the R. F. C. Mortgage Co.
6 February data not available.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

976

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

DETAILED REPORTS FOR JANUARY 1939
A MONTHLY report on unemployment and pay rolls is published
as a separate pamphlet by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This gives
detailed data regarding employment, pay rolls, working hours, and
earnings for the current month for industrial and business establish
ments and for the various forms of public employment. This
pamphlet is distributed free upon request. Its principal contents for
the month of January, insofar as industrial and business employment
is concerned, are reproduced in this section of the Monthly Labor
Review.
Industrial and Business Employment
Monthly reports on employment and pay rolls are available for
the following groups: 87 manufacturing industries; 16 nonmanufac
turing industries, including private building construction; and class
1 steam railroads. The reports for the first two of these groups—
manufacturing and nonmanufacturing—are based on sample surveys
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures on class I steam rail
roads are compiled by the Interstate Commerce Commission and are
presented in the foregoing summary.
EMPLOYMENT, PAY ROLLS, HOURS, AND EARNINGS

Employment and pay-roll indexes, as well as average hours worked
per week, average hourly earnings, and average weekly earnings for
November and December 1938, and January 1939, where available,
are presented in table 1. The November and December figures,
where given, may differ in some instances from those previously
published, because of revisions necessitated by the inclusion of late
reports and other causes.
The average weekly earnings shown in table 1 are computed by
dividing the total weekly pay rolls in the reporting establishments
by the total number of full- and part-time employees reported. As
all reporting establishments do not supply man-hour data, average
hours worked per week and average hourly earnings are necessarily
based on data supplied by a smaller number of reporting firms. The
size and composition of the reporting sample varies slightly from month
to month and therefore the average hours per week, average hourly
earnings, and average weekly earnings shown are not strictly com
parable from month to month. The sample, however, is believed to
be sufficiently adequate in virtually all instances to indicate the
general movements of earnings and hours over the period shown.
The changes from the preceding month, expressed as percentages,
are based on identical lists of firms for the 2 months, but the changes
from January 1938 are computed from chain indexes based on the
month-to-month percentage changes.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

T a b le 1.—Employment, Pay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries
MANUFACTURING
[indexes are based on 3-year average, 1923-25= 100, and are adjusted to 1935 Census of Manufactures. N ot comparable to indexes published in pamphlets prior to Aug. 1938.
able series available upon request]
Employment index
Industry

Decem Novem Janu
ary
ber
ber
1939
1938
1938

Average hours worked
per week »

Decem Novem Janu
ber
ber
ary
1938
1938
1939

Average hourly earn
ings »

Decem Novem Janu Decem Novem
ber
ary
ber
ber
ber
1938
1938
1939
1938
1938

89.5
81.6
97.0

91.2
83.1
98.8

90.5
82.1
98.4

83.2
76.4
90.9

86.5
80.3
93.4

84.1
78.3
90.6

$23.81
26.58
21.27

$24.30
27.34
21.53

$23.82
27.11
20.85

36.3
35.8
36.8

37.1
36.8
87.4

36.5
36.5
36.4

Cents
65.1
72.9
58.5

Cents
64.8
72.6
58.4

Cents
64.5
72.4
58.0

85.9
90.9
91. 1
65.7

87.4
91.1
91.6
66.1

86.5
89.8
90.0
65.7

77.7
82.1
89.8
52.7

80.8
83.2
94.4
55.7

79.1
81.9
90.6
54.5

26.90
28. 49
26.41
20.01

28.64
28.48
25.69
19.71

34.8
33.7
35.4
32.4

35.6
33.8
38.0
34.0

35.1
33.6
37.1
33.9

75.5
83.5
69.6
57.8

75.7
84.2
69.7
58.4

75.7
84.2
69.5
58.0

81.3
48.3
84.7
72.0
129.4

82.9
49.6
86.3
72.6
134.3

82.6
48.0
84.4
73.0
133.6

74.2
45.6
81.8
60.8
126.9

78.6
49.4
90.1
60.4
136.0

75.5
44.4
93.2
54.9
133.5

26.38
28.18
24. 62
18.95
23. 30
27. 74
23.42
24.00
23. 69

23.93
29. 25
25. 31
23. 55
24. 33

23.11
27.18
26.79
21.34
24.03

38.6
36.3
35.5
36.0
37.0

39.8
38.4
38.0
35.7
38.5

39.0
36.3
39.0
32.0
38.1

61.2
76.3
66.0
66.7
63.9

60.7
76.2
66.7
66.1
62.9

60.2
74.9
68.9
66.6
63.0

65.7
65.4
61.7
82. 8

67.9
74.7
61.9
84.1

69.1
78.9
60.7
84 6

53.9
50.0
51.8
86.8

56.4
61.4
53.2
87.9

53.3
62.7
50.1
87.5

24. 73
22. 87
26.59
22. 73

25. 05
24. 30
27.18
22 76

23. 27
23. 55
26.07
22 50

35.3
35.0
36.5
37.4

35.9
36.9
37.4
37.7

33.9
35.5
36.0
37.3

69.9
65.9
73.1
61.2

69.9
67.2
72.7
60.8

68.9
66.7
72.5
60.7

83.4
162.8

83.9
171.6

80.9
164.6

80.2
157.8

82.0
185.9

75.8
180.2

23. 75
23. 40

24.19
26.16

23.24
26.39

39.3
35.0

39.6
38.6

38.0
38.8

60.4
67.0

61.2
67.8

61.2
68.1

91.5
110.9

91.8
105.0

89.5
96.6

87.4
111.8

89.3
113.5

83.9
95.0

26. 50
27. 92

26. 98
29. 76

26.04
27.08

36.6
35.3

37.4
37.3

36.2
34.3

72.4
79.4

72.1
80.2

72.0
79.4

133.3
82.3

134.6
83.9

135.4
83.2

117.4
80.6

118.8
82.7

119.7
80.4

28. 47
26.99

28.51
27.26

28. 57
26.69

35.0
36.5

35. 1
37.1

35.0
36.7

82.2
74.0

82.1
73.6

82.3
73.0

87.1
81.8

85.3
81.7

83.5
78.9

98.4
74.8

98.0
75.9

91.6
70.6

29.21
26.11

29.73
26.48

28.35
25. 51

37.2
36.6

37.7
37.2

36.2
35.8

78.8
71.3

79.3
71.2

78.6
71.1

Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products, not including
machinery_______________________ __________
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling m ills ..
Bolts, nuts, washers and rivets______________
Cast-iron pipe______________ _____ _________
Cutlery (not including silver and plated cutlery) and edge tools.............................................
Forgings, iron and ste el.......................... ..............
Hardware_____________________ ______ _____
Plumbers’ supplies__________ ______________
Stamped and enameled ware________________
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and
steam fittings______________________ _____
Stoves___________ ______ _____ ____________
Structural and ornamental metalwork............. .
Tools (not including edge tools, machine tools,
files, and saws)__________________________
Wire work_________________________________
Machinery, not including transportation equipment_________ _______ ________ ________ ______
Agricultural implements (including tractors)..
Cash registers, adding machines, and calculating machines_______ ____________________
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies.
Engines, turbines, water wheels, and windm ills______ ________ ____________________
Foundry and machine-shop products________
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

All manufacturing......................... .................................
Durable goods.................................................. .......
Nondurable goods............................. ............. .......

Janu
ary
1939

Average weekly earn
ings 1

Pay-roll index

Compar

T a b l e 1.—Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—Continued

VO
-1

M AN U F A C T U R IN G —C o n tin u ed

Employment index
Industry
Janu
ary
1939

Average weekly earn
ings 1

Pay-roll index

Decem Novem Janu Decem Novem Janu
ary
ber
ber
ary
ber
ber
1939
1938
1938
1938
1939
1938

Average hours worked
per week 1

Decem Novem Janu
ary
ber
ber
1939
1938
1938

Average hourly earn
ings 1

Decem Novem Janu Decem Novem
ber
ber
ary
ber
ber
1938
1938
1938
1938
1939

Aluminum manufactures____ _____ _______
Brass, bronze, and copper products_____ . . .
Clocks and watches and time-recording de
vices__________ ____ _____________________
Jewelry___________ ____ _______ .
Lighting equipment___ ____ ______________
Silverware and plated ware....... .........
. . .
Smelting and refining—copper, lead and zinc.
Furniture____ ________ . . .
Lumber:
Millwork _____
_ _________________
Sawmills______ _______________ ____ _
Brick, tile, and terra c o tta ............. .....................
Cement_____________ _________
Glass______ ________ _
Marble, granite, slate, and other products____
P ottery......................................................................

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

121.1
108. 4
67. 5
125.9
95.8
876.4
106. 2
29. 4
18. 6
101. 1
92.4
138.7
98.3

119.9
118.0
66.9
127.9
96.1
845. 1
106.8
29.8
17.4
100.5
95.0
140. 4
100. 2

117. 6
118.8
64.2
128.9
91.6
814. 9
101.9
26.3
16.9
96.6
95.4
143. 2
100.5

120.0
96.8
64. 6
118. 6
91.9
907.8
100. 6
27.1
15. 3
106.7
84.7
142.8
93.0

120.0
107.6
66.9
130.3
97.9
879. 6
107.4
28.2
13.7
107. 3
90.3
144.0
98.9

110 8
106.9
61.3
130.9
95.9
799. 0
107. 6
23.1
12. 8
94. 2
90. 2
148.0
99. 8

$28.17
22. 15
24.97
22. 60
31.16
31. 61
31. 37
25. 21
26. 38
31. 56
24.74
26. 35
25. 79

$28.44
22. 62
25. 98
24. 46
32.72
31. 72
33. 22
25. 96
25. 34
31. 87
25. 81
26.33
26. 92

$26. 78
22. 40
24. 83
24. 39
33.64
29. 81
34. 89
24. 21
24. 30
29. 05
25.70
26. 44
27.14

38.1
' 37.7
38. 1
35. 4
34.8
41. 7
34.0
34. 5
33 9
37. 5
37.0
38.3
36. 9

38. 4
38.9
41.0
38.1
36.4
42. 0
36. 0
35. 5
32.9
37. 5
38.6
38.5
38. 2

36. 3
38. 5
36 6
37. 9
37.1
40 2
37. 5
32.7
31. 7
34. 5
38.7
40.4
38.3

Cents
74.0
59.1
65.5
63. 7
89.9
76. 8
92.3
73.0
77.7
83. 6
66.8
68.7
70.1

Cents
74.0
58.2
63. 5
64.1
89.8
76. 5
92.4
73.0
77.0
84.7
66.7
68.3
70.7

Cents
73. 8
58. 2
67.9
64.4
90.6
75.1
93. 2
74.0
76. 5
83.8
66.2
65. 5
71.0

82.9
87.4
89.8
63.3
72.0
61.9
76.3

82.9
96.9
94. 2
66.9
72.5
64.1
79.8

84.1
101.0
91.6
66. 5
71.1
65.2
79.5

80.0
71.9
78. 2
56. 6
67.9
52.0
60.3

83.2
84.9
84.7
68. 3
68.2
56.1
67.8

87.1
82. 7
83.4
66. 1
65.8
56.2
64.9

20.41
22.77
24. 47
24. 58
26. 72
19.81
19.13

21.23
24.11
25. 26
28.07
26.58
20.14
20. 60

21.88
22.81
25. 43
27. 39
26.03
19.91
19. 75

35.0
38. 7
35. 2
38.8
38.6
37.1
36.9

36.9
40.8
36.6
43.3
38.4
38.0
39. 5

38.1
39. 2
37.6
42.4
37.9
37.6
37.9

58.2
58.1
69.3
63.7
69.3
54.1
52.1

57.6
59. 2
69.1
65.0
69.2
53.2
52.6

57.4
57.6
67.7
64.9
68.8
53.3
52.4

53.0
49.1
66.4
48.9
53.4
89.6
36.6
78.6

54.0
50.9
70. 5
51.3
62.6
93.0
42.3
79.9

54.9
52.3
71.6
52.4
67.8
92.1
42.9
80.0

42. 7
42.4
56. 8
36.8
47.0
92. 0
25.6
66.3

44.6
44.9
63. 5
39.4
57. 2
99.4
31.4
75.5

44.5
46.4
63.8
39.0
63.7
98.6
30.7
74.5

21.33
19.86
22.98
19. 65
24. 54
24. 72
23. 62
21.83

21.71
19. 27
24.03
20. 06
25. 50
25. 76
' 25. 08
23. 56

21.40
19. 57
23.82
19. 46
26.15
25. 68
24.12
23.12

39.0
36.7
35.1
36.5
35. 7
34. 0
34.1
35.5

40. 2
36.7
36. 5
37. 2
37.1
35.7
35.9
38.0

39.7
37.0
36.3
36.5
38.0
35.7
34.9
36.8

54.8
55.0
65.1
54.0
69.0
72.8
69.8
62.8

54.1
53.3
65.1
53.7
68.8
72.3
69.8
61.9

54.0
53.7
64.5
53.1
68.8
72.2
68.8
62.4

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Durable goods—Continued
Machinery—Continued.
Machine tools________ . _
Radios and phonographs_____ ___ _________
Textile machinery and parts________________
Typewriters and parts/._____________ ______
Transportation eq u ip m en t_____________________
Aircraft_____
________
Automobile____________ ____________ . . . .
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad____________
Locom otives.. ________
Shipbuilding____
____ __________ ____

Nondurable goods
97.5
90.8
80.8
86.9
83.9
113.3
83.9
110.5
144.0
65.3
68.5
146.8
63.0
84.4
111.0
96.7
159.6
99.8
123.0
67.1
114.3
92.9
92.7
86.0
113.7
140.3
223.2
93.1
78.6
78.0
77.2
67.9
99.8
85.4
84.7
59.2
60.5
59.0
105.7
98.1
105.5

98.6
91.8
81.5
87.1
84.6
112.1
82.4
115.1
145.7
79.0
71.2
160.2
63.2
85.3
112.2
97.1
160.6
99.5
148.8
57.8
116.4
88.6
87.6
85.3
120.1
143.5
223.3
95.1
85.3
91.3
78.1
68.7
102.4
230.7
84.4
65.2
62.1
65.6
108.0
103.9
106.3

96.9
89.5
79.5
86.1
83.0
109.3
82.8
114.2
144.8
78.2
70.9
155.8
61.7
78.4
112.0
98.1
158.5
98.5
149.5
55.1
117.7
84.8
83.3
84.0
123.4
144.6
229.2
96.8
103.3
90.6
78.2
70.4
100.7
274.8
86.6
66.9
61.9
67.5
107.0
105.2
105.9

80.8
78.7
68.1
74.2
79.5
96.9
79.8
111.7
157.3
58.6
58.3
118.9
50.7
70.9
82.4
68.7
111.7
' 99.0
101.0
55.3
93.1
77.5
72.6
88.3
115.2
136.1
252.1
80.5
70.5
75.7
74.7
59.6
111. 1
73.2
74.7
49.7
66.4
47.5
102.2
99.5
102.6

83.3
81.1
71.1
75.7
81.6
97.2
75.3
119.5
164.1
73.3
62.4
126.8
51.8
72.8
84.6
68.3
114.8
103.1
142.5
43.2
105.3
70.0
63.3
87.6
120.9
138.2
257.2
80.4
77.4
91.5
73.0
60.0
112.5
221.9
72.9
59.6
73.0
57.9
107.3
109.4
103.4

78.4
77.3
66.9
73.6
77.3
92.7
70.1
118.5
165.0
68.6
61.4
119.6
48.6
63.7
78.0
63.1
101.7
99.8
149.9
40.4
104.1
62.4
54.4
84.7
122.4
139.7
264.7
82.4
86.0
84.9
73.8
60.7
110.0
275.3
75.4
59.8
69.1
58.5
103.3
110.0
102.9

16.73
16. 53
22.38
13.85
18.07
20. 85
24.58
17. 87
19. 21
16.89
14. 39
18. 03
15.45
19.48
17. 39
18. 54
18.70
16.54
13. 03
21.16
12.61
19.71
18. 54
24.76
24.93
25.47
31. 38
22. 37
16. 47
18. 02
25.18
29. 46
28. 05
22.08
23. 77
15.61
17.42
15.14
27. 80
20. 68
23.82

16. 99
16. 80
23. 03
14.13
18. 39
20. 87
23.84
18.15
19.51
17. 87
14. 75
17.93
15. 79
19. 80
17.61
18. 39
18.88
17. 35
15.08
19.12
14.00
18. 62
17.11
24. 77
24.75
25.26
32.02
22.10
16. 55
18. 65
24. 42
29. 21
27.69
24. 75
23.29
16. 92
18. 40
16.56
28.61
21.49
23.85

16.35
16.35
22.29
13.89
17.81
20. 47
21.77
18.18
19. 74
16.81
14.58
17. 45
15.15
18. 78
16.35
16. 73
17.10
16.96
15.87
18.99
13. 70
17.22
15.41
24.30
24.22
25. 21
32.11
22. 27
15.14
17. 40
24.67
28.89
27.54
25. 77
23.46
16. 55
17.47
16. 33
27. 58
21.34
23.78

34.9
36.4
35.7
36.2
38.8
38.3
34.5
35.6
35.7
35.4
34.5
38.3
36.4
37.0
32.3
31. 2
32.7
36.2
33.6
31.7
32.6
38.1
37.9
39.0
40.0
41.6
36.9
45.5
34.7
37.4
41.6
45.3
41.3
33.5
36.3
32.2
34.4
31.9
37.9
38.4
38.7

35.7
37.1
36.8
36.8
39.0
39.0
34.0
37.0
37.1
38.0
35.2
38.1
37.2
37.8
33.1
31.6
33.5
37.3
35.8
28.7
35.5
36.2
35.6
39.2
40.4
41.4
37.5
45.8
35.4
40.4
40.8
45.2
41.0
47.0
38.2
35.9
36.3
35.9
38.6
40.4
39.0

34.6
36.3
35.5
36.2
38.0
38.2
31.5
36.9
37.4
36.6
35.0
37.3
35.6
35.8
31.4
28.9
31.1
36.8
38.4
28.8
35.3
32.8
31.3
38.6
40.1
41.6
37.8
45.8
33.5
37.8
41.6
44.9
40.5
51.2
37.7
35.8
34.2
35.9
37.9
40.4
38.9

48.4
46.2
62.7
38.3
47.5
54.1
71.4
51.1
54.0
47.5
41.8
46.8
42.0
52.6
52.5
59.1
52.2
45.7
36.3
64.5
39.4
52.5
49.8
63.9
62.8
61.7
85.8
49.8
48.6
48.2
60.1
63.9
68.3
65.6
65.4
48.1
50.9
47.7
76.5
54.4
61.6

48.2
46.1
62.6
38.4
47.5
53.2
70.5
50.2
53.0
46.7
41.9
46.9
42.3
52.4
52.1
58.5
51.8
46.2
37.6
63.9
39.5
52.6
49.9
63.1
61.9
61.5
86.1
48.4
48.1
46.5
59.7
63.8
67.9
53.0
61.0
46.9
50.9
46.4
77.1
53.7
61.3

47.8
46.0
62.8
38.3
47.4
53.0
69.7
50.5
53.8
45.9
41.5
46.2
42.1
52.6
51.0
57.2
50.5
46.0
38.2
66.3
38.9
53.3
50.8
62.9
61.2
61.1
85.7
48.7
47.0
46.7
59.5
63.5
68.5
50.6
62.2
46.2
51.3
45.6
76.2
53.3
61.2

102.5
104.7

103.7
108.0

101.4
107.1

93.6
104.9

96.9
113.2

89.1
109.6

30. 37
36.85

31.10
38. 56

29. 22
37.11

38.6
36.0

39.3
36.8

37.1
36.3

79.9
98.2

79.8
100.7

79.8
99.8

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

Textiles and their products..................... ...........
Fabrics_____________________________
Carpets and rugs_________________
Cotton goods______________ ______
Cotton small wares..... .............. ..........
Dyeing and finishing tex tiles............
Hats, fur-felt_____________________
Knit goods..............................................
Hosiery______________________
Knitted outerwear____________
Knitted underwear......... ..............
Knitted clo th .................................
Silk and rayon goods............................
Woolen and worsted goods...... ...........
Wearing apparel...................................... .
Clothing, men’s......................................
Clothing, women’s__________ _____
Corsets and allied garments........ .......
M en’s furnishings..................................
M illinery________________________
Shirts and collars_________________
Leather and its manufactures..................... .
Boots and shoes_____ _____ __________
Leather_____________________________
Food and kindred products_______________
Baking___ _______ ___________________
Beverages.......................................................
B utter.............................................................
Canning and preserving.______________
Confectionery...............................................
Flour...............................................................
Ice cream.........................................................
Slaughtering and meat packing..... ...........
Sugar, beet......... ...........................................
Sugar refining, cane___________________
Tobacco manufactures.................................... .
Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff.
Cigars and cigarettes.....................................
Paper and printing_______________________
Boxes, paper_________________________
Paper and pulp........ ............................. ........
Printing and publishing:
Book and job_____ ____ _____ ______
Newspapers and periodicals........ ........
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

VO
•-4

T able 1.— Employment, P a y Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries— Continued

M A N U F A C T U R IN G —C o n tin u ed

Employm ent index

Average weekly earn
ings 1

Pay roll index

Average hours worked
per week 1

Average hourly earn
ings 1

Industry
Janu
ary
1939

Decem Novem Janu
ary
ber
ber
1939
1938
1938

Decem Novem Janu
ber
ber
ary
1938
1939
1938

Decem Novem Janu Decem Novem Janu
ber
ber
ary
ber
ber
ary
1938
1938
1939
1938
1938
1939

Decem Novem
ber
ber
1938
1938

Cents
74.4
98.0
65.8
78.0
28.8
60.3
81.3
41.9
69.9
63.7
74.6

Cents
74.3
97.4
65.8
78.1
29.0
59.3
80.1
44.4
69.9
64.1
74.5

Cents
74.4
97.9
65.7
77.6
28.8
59.2
80.2
45.4
69.5
64.1
74.6

111.9
117.1
110.6
115.5
94.7
107.6
81.4
94.4
111.8
313.2
88.8

112.7
118.1
111.4
116.9
113.9
109.2
82.7
82.3
112.4
311.3
88.6

113.0
118.9
111.6
117.2
116.3
109.7
82.8
78.5
112.4
312.8
88.9

119.7
134.5
115.2
127.9
78.9
118.5
89.9
77.2
113.1
309.5
i>91. 3

119.1
133.6
114.6
128.1
100.1
119.6
91.7
65.2
113.8
302.7
88.3

$28.63
35. 75
25.65
30. 63
12.61
24. 93
30. 63
15.05
27. 34
24. 22
29.10

81.1

120.1
134.1
115.8
129.8
95.5
120.2
95.1
70.0
115.4
302.4
89.7

$28. 52
35.30
25. 66
30. 72
12. 76
24.80
31.64
15. 75
27.80
23. 80
28.80

$28.26
34.86
25.41
30. 22
13.11
24. 54
30.45
15.38
27.34
23. 74
28.29

83.6

58.4
67.1
129.8

82.4

65.1
67.2
134.7

63.4
66.1
133.6

83.9

89.0

85.2

27.72

28.40

27. 58

35.9

37.4

36.7

65.9
79.0
133.7

60.6
75.3
130.7

21.78
32. 59
22. 75

23.17
33.80
23. 44

76.8

76.4

21.88
32. 77
23.09

36.5
34.2
37.9

38.8
35.2
39.4

36.6
34.5
39.2

59.7
95.7
60.5

75.6

59.7
96.3
60.1

59.7
95.2
59.5

$23.14
24.31
26.36
21.03
34.22

27.0
26.5
41.3
36.0
37.6

29.3
27.4
39.8
37.2
38.7

24.9
27.7
38.7
38.1
39.0

Cents
92.8
88.3
68.9
54.8
88.0

Cents
91.7
88.1
68.5
55.1
85.9

Cents
91.7
87.8
68.4
55.4
86.1

56.8
76.2
125.1

38.3
36.6
38.9
39.3
43.1
39.1
37.7
35.9
39.2
38.0
39.1

38.2
36.4
38.9
39.4
43.4
39.6
39.5
35.5
39.9
37.1
38.8

37.8
35.8
38.6
38.9
44.7
38.7
38.0
33.9
39.4
37.0
38.0

NONMANUFACTURING
[Indexes are based on 12-month average, 1929=100]
Coal mining:
Anthracite J_______________________________
Bituminous
___________________________
Metalliferous mining________________ ____ _____
Quarrying and nonmetallic mining_______ ______
Crude-petroleum producing.................................. .
Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph 3....... .............................
Electric light and power and manufactured
gas 3____________________________________
Electric-railroad and motor-bus operation and
maintenance
3___________________________
FRASER

Digitized for
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

50.0
88.7
61.4
38.5
67.0

51.3
89.3
62.3
41.4
67.8

51.0
88.6
61.9
44.4
68.3

38.0
78.1
55.3
30.3
61.0

42.5
80.9
54.1
33.7
62.5

36.2
81.4
52.3
37.2
63.3

$24. 74
23. 27
28. 27
19.76
33.08

$26.99
24.00
27.16
20.42
33.89

74.1

74.3

74.4

92.0

92.5

93.0

30.89

30.85

30.96

39.0

39.1

39.2

82.2

81.7

82.4

90.0

91.4

91.9

95.8

98.2

98.6

33. 52

33.56

33.61

38.6

40.0

39.8

87.0

84.1

84.7

69.2

69.4

69.5

71.1

69.7

68.8

33.53

32.86

32.35

46.3

45.8

44.9

71.5

70.9

71. J

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Nondurable goods—Continued
Chemicals and allied products, and petroleum re
fining ____________ ____ ________ ________ ___
Petroleum refining____________ ___________
Other than petroleum refining._____ ________
Chemicals_____________________________
Cottonseed—oil, cake, and meal_________
Druggists’ preparations_________________
Explosives.____________________ _______
Fertilizers............... ....................... ....................
Paints and varnishes___________ ________
Rayon and allied products______________
Soap__________________ _______________
Rubber products................ ..............................................
Rubber]|boots and shoes...... ...................... ...........
Rubber tires and inner tubes..................... ...........
Rubber goods other.................................. ..............

Trade:
W holesale3_________________________
R eta il 3........................................... .............
General merchandising3....................
Other than general merchandising3.
Hotels (year-round) 334....................................
Laundries 2...........................................................
Dyeing and cleaning 3...... .................................
Brokerage 31........................................................
Insurance35___ _____ ___________________
Building construction ».....................................

88.1
82.2
90.7
80.0
91.8
93.3
94.2
+0.1
+ .4
-1 1 .5

90.0
98.1
144.1
86.0
92.0
93.4
97.9
+ 0 .2
- ( 7)
- 6 .8

89.8
86.9
104.5
82.3
92.5
93.7
102.5
+ 0 .7
-.2
- 4 .2

75.5
69.7
84.0
66.7
80.2
79.6
65.8
- 0 .6
-.3
-1 4 .0

75.7
79.2
122.9
70.1
81.1
80.0
68.3
+ 0 .9
+ 1 .9
- 6 .6

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

29.62
21.71
18.38
24.46
15.01
17.43
19.15
36. 44
36.49
28.18

29.38
20.10
16.95
23.96
15.15
17.43
19.23
36. 59
36. 70
28.97

29.35
20.76
17.43
23.91
15.07
17.30
19.66
36. 22
36.00
28.95

41.7
42.9
40.0
43.8
46.4
42.1
40.4
(6)
(8)
30.3

41.6
42.7
40.9
43.5
46.2
42.2
40.7
(6)
(6)
31.7

41.8
42.3
39.1
43.4
47.2
41.8
41.4
(6)
(6)
31.9

70.7
55.1
48.4
57.1
31.9
41.4
48.9
(«)
(»)
93.2

70.7
52.7
44.4
56.3
32.5
41.4
48.7
(«)
(6)
91.4

70.1
54.0
47.9
56.1
31.8
41.6
38.5
(6)
(')
90.7

3 Average weekly earnings, hourly earnings, and hours not strictly comparable with
figures published in pamphlets prior to January 1938 as they now exclude corporation
officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are mainly supervisory.
4 Cash payments only; the additional value of board, room, and tips cannot be com
puted.
3 Indexes of employment and pay rolls are not available; percentage"changes from
preceding month substituted.
0 N ot available.
7 Less than Ho of 1 percent.

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls

W} Average weekly earnings are computed from figures furnished by all reporting estab
lishments. Average hours and average hourly earnings are computed from data supplied
by a smaller number of establishments, as all reporting firms do not furnish man-hours.
T he figures are not strictly comparable from month to month because of changes in the
size and composition of the reporting sample. Hours and earnings for all manufacturing
i ndustries now relate to 87 industries instead of 89 which were covered in the July and
prior issues of the pamphlet. The 2 industries excluded are electric- and steam-railroad
repair shops. The averages for the durable goods group have also been affected by this
exclusion.
•¿Indexes adjusted to 1935 census. Comparable series back to January 1929 presented
In'January 1938 issue of the pamphlet.

75.4
71.5
91.8
67.3
81.3
79.3
73.9
+ 1.5
+ 1.3
- 8 .4

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

982

IN D E X E S OF EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS

Indexes of employment and pay rolls are given in table 2 for all
manufacturing industries combined, for the durable- and nondurablegoods groups of manufacturing industries, and for each of 13 non
manufacturing industries, including 2 subgroups under retail trade,
by months from January 1938 to January 1939, inclusive. The
accompanying chart indicates the trend of factory employment and
pay rolls from January 1919 to January 1939.
The indexes of factory employment and pay rolls are based on the
3-year average 1923-25 as 100. They relate to wage earners only and
are computed from reports supplied by representative manufacturing
establishments in 87 manufacturing industries. These reports cover
more than 55 percent of the total wage earners in all manufacturing
industries of the country and more than 65 percent of the wage earners
in the 87 industries included in the monthly survey of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
The indexes for the nonmanufacturing industries are based on the
12-month average for 1929 as 100. Figures for mining, laundries,
and dyeing and cleaning cover wage earners only, but the figures for
public utilities, trade, and hotels relate to all employees except cor
poration officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are
mainly supervisory. For crude-petroleum producing they cover wage
earners and clerical field force. The coverage of the reporting samples
for the various nonmanufacturing industries ranges from 25 percent
for wholesale trade to 90 percent for quarrying and nonmetallic mining.
Data for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries
are based on reports of the number of employees and amount of pay
tolls for the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
INDEX

1923- 25=100

INDEX

140

120

100

3A*

a
3

to
©
40

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

VO
CO

984

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 2.— Indexes of Employment and P ay Rolls in Selected Manufacturing'and Non

manufacturing2 Industries, Inclusive
E m p lo y m en t

Industry

1938

1939

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
Manufacturing
All industries____________
Durable goods 3 ____
Nondurable goods 4___
Nonmanufacturing
Anthracite m in in g .............
Bituminous-coal m in in g ...
Metalliferous mining_____
Quarrying andnonmetallic
mining________________
Crude-petroleum produc
ing—
Telephone and telegraph..
Electric light and power,
and manufactured g a s ...
Electric-railroad and motorbus operation and
maintenance___________
Wholesale trade...................
Retail trade_____________
General merchandis
ing—
Other than general
merchandising___
Year-round hotels_______
Laundries_______________
D yeing and cleaning____

86.8 87.8 88.2 87.7 85.7 83.4 81.6 81.9 85.7 88.8 89.5 90.5 91.2 89.5
77.3 81.7 80.1 79.3 77. C 75. t 72.4 70.3 71.7 75.3 79.0 82.1 83.1 81. 6
95.9 93.7 95.9 95.8 94.0 91.5 90.3 92.9 99.0 101.6 99.4 98.4 98.8 97.0
52.3 59.6 60.0 59.3 57.0 52.8 56.0 44.6 37.6 46.4 52.4 51.0 51.3 50.0
86.7 96.9 95.5 93.2 85.8 82.2 80.2 78.5 80.1 83.4 87.2 88.6 89.3 88.7
59.0 67.4 63.6 62. a 61.6 58.8 56.0 49.7 51.4 55.2 57.9 61.9 62. 3 61. 4
42.3 38.2 37.8 38.9 41.7 43.7 43.6 44.1 44.6 44.6 44.4 44.4 41.4 38. 5
72.1 75.3 74.2 73.6 73.8 73.2 72.8 72.3 72.4 71.5 69.5 68.3 67.8 67.0
75.1 77.8 75.7 74.9 74.8 75.0 74.8 74.9 74.8 74.9 74.7 74.4 74.3 74.1
92.3 93.8 92.6 92.0 91.8 91.7 92.2 92.3 92.7 92.5 92.5 91.9 91.4 90.0
70.3 72.3 71.2 70.8 71.1 70.6 70.4 70.1 69.5 69.3 69.9 69.5 69.4 69.2
88.8 91.0 90.4 89.1 88.5 87.3 87.2 86.8 87.6 88.5 89.1 89.8 90.0 88.1
85.2 84.1 82.4 83.0 88.2 83.8 83.6 81.1 80.0 84.7 85.9 86.9 98.1 82. 2
98.0 91.5 88.8 90.5 101.0 92.4 91.9 87.9 86.4 97.0 99.4 104.5 144.1 90.7
81.8
92.7
95.7
104.3

82.1
94.3
96.8
96.8

80.7
94.5
95.7
95.6

81.0
93.4
94.8
98.5

84.9
93.5
95.4
111.8

81.5
93.7
96.2
109.9

81.4
92.2
96.6
110.8

79.3
90.7
97.8
108.6

78.3
90.4
97.5
105.0

81.5
91.8
96.5
107.8

82.3
92.9
94.4
106.8

82.3
92.5
93.7
102.5

86.0
92.0
93.4
97.9

80.0
91.8
93.3
94.2

P a y rolls

Manufacturing
All industries____________
Durable goods 3 _____
Nondurable goods 4___
Nonmanufacturing
Anthracite mining_______
Bituminous-coal m in in g ...
Metalliferous mining_____
Quarring and nonmetallic mining_____________
Crude-petroleum produc
ing—
Telephone and telegraph..
Electric light and power,
and manufactured g a s...
Electric-railroad and motorbus operation and
maintenance__________
Wholesale trade .................
Retail trade_____ ________
General merchandising-----------------------Other than general
merchandising... . .
Year-round hotels________
Laundries________ ______
Dyeing and cleaning_____

77.5 75.0 76.9 77.1 74.6 72.9 70.8 70.6 76.9 81.0 83.8 84.1 86.5 83.2
68.2 67.1 67.2 67.4 65.6 64.2 61.7 58.6 63.7 68.7 75.2 78.3 80.3 76.4
88.0 84.0 87.8 87.9 84.7 82.6 80.9 84.1 91.7 94.9 93.4 90.6 93.4 90.9
38.2 46.5 46.1 47.3 39.0 38.3 49.7 20.2 20.0 29.4 43.4 36.2 42.5 38.0
67.9 70.4 74.0 68.4 56.3 55.3 57.0 56.8 64.2 71.9 78.3 81.4 80.9 78. 1
50.4 59.1 55.8 56.3 53.3 51. 2 46.1 38.0 43.7 46.1 49.2 52.3 54.1 55. 3
35.1 27.7 28.6 30.2 33.9 38.3 37.3 37.0 39.2 38.4 39.2 37.2 33.7 30.3
66.5 68.2 69.6 68.0 68.0 66.7 67.6 66.7 66.8 66.5 63.7 63.3 62.5 61.0
92.1 93.7 89.9 92.6 91.6 91.3 90.9 90.9 91.3 92.6 95.3 93.0 92.5 92.0
98.5 98.9 98.5 98.6 97.6 97.4 98.6 98.3 98.9 98.4 99.9 98.6 98.2 95.8
69.7 70.6 70.2 69.9 70.0 71.2 69.7 69.0 69.5 68.4 68.9 68.8 69.7 71.1
74.7 75.4 75.3 74.7 74.6 75.1 73.8 73.6 73.7 74.3 75.1 75.4 75.7 75.5
70.4 70.1 68.4 68.6 72.2 70.0 69.5 68.1 66.8 69.4 70.8 71.5 79.2 69.7
87.8 84.6 81.5 82.2 89.4 84.4 84.3 80.4 78.8 85.3 88.3 91.8 122.9 84.0
66.8
80.3
80.6
75.3

67.1
81.6
80.1
65.5

65.7
83.6
79.1
65.2

65.8
80.9
78.6
68.2

68.6
80.5
80.6
87.2

67.0
80.5
80.9
80.7

66.4
79.6
81.8
83.3

65.6
77.4
83.0
77.5

64.3
77.4
83.1
74.3

66.1
78.9
81.4
81.7

67.2
80.8
79.5
78.0

67.3
81.3
79.3
73.9

70.1
81.1
80.0
68.3

66.7
80.2
79.6
65.8

1 3-year average, 1923-25=100—adjusted to 1935 Census of Manufactures. Comparable indexes for earlier
months are in the November 1938 issue of M onthly Labor Review.
2 12-month average for 1929=100. Comparable indexes are in the February 1935 and subsequent issues
of M onthly Labor Review, except for anthracite and bituminous-coal mining, year-round hotels, laundries,
and dyeing and cleaning. Indexes for these industries from January 1929 forward have been adjusted to
the 1935 census and are presented in the January 1938 and subsequent issues of Employment and Pav Rolls.
3 Includes: Iron and steel, machinery, transportation equipment, railroad repair shops, nonferrous metals,
lumber and allied products, and stone, clay, and glass products.
4 Includes: Textiles and their products, leather and its manufactures, food and kindred products, tobacco
manufactures, paper and printing, chemicals and allied products, products of petroleum and coal, rubber
products, and a number of miscellaneous industries not included in other groups

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

985

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
TREND OF INDUSTRIAL AND R U SIN ESS

EMPLOYMENT, BY STATES

A comparison of employment and pay rolls, by States and geo
graphic divisions, in December 1938 and January 1939 is shown in
table 3 for all groups combined and for all manufacturing industries
combined based on data supplied by reporting establishments. The
percentage changes shown, unless otherwise noted, are unweighted—
that is, the industries included in the manufacturing group and in the
grand total have not been weighted according to their relative im
portance.
The totals for all manufacturing industries combined include figures
for miscellaneous manufacturing industries in addition to the 87
manufacturing industries presented in table 1. The totals for all
groups combined include all manufacturing industries, each of the
nonmanufacturing industries presented in table 1 (except building
construction), and seasonal hotels.
Similar comparisons showing only percentage changes are available
in mimeographed form for “all groups combined,” for “all manufac
turing,'” for anthracite mining, bituminous-coal mining, metalliferous
mining, quarrying, and nonmetallic mining, crude-petroleum producing,
public utilities, wholesale trade, retail trade, hotels, laundries, dyeing
and cleaning, and brokerage and insurance.
T able 3. — Comparison of Employment and P ay Rolls in Identical Establishments in

January 1939, by Geographic Divisions and by States
[Figures in italics are not com piled b y the Bureau of Labor Statistics, b ut are taken from reports issued b y
cooperating State organizations]

Total—all groups

Manufacturing

Per
cent
Geographic division N um N um
age
Amount
and State
ber of ber on change of pay roll
estab pay roll from (1 week)
lish January D e January
ments
1939
cem
1939
ber
1938

Per
cent
age
change
from
D e
cem
ber
1938

837, 342
£0,080

Dollars
- 3 .4 19, 101, 880
- 1 .8 1,004,376

- 3 .5
- 1 .6

3, 566
272

42,634
15,472
455,528
92, 645
180,983

+ 2 .5
868,732
-4 .1
327,331
-4 - 5 10, 700,638
- 2 . 9 1,934, 544
- 2 .4 4,266, 259

+ 2 .7
- 4 .1
-3 .6
- 3 .6
- 4 .6

201
150
1,789
424
730

New England_____ 12, 467
M aine________
780
N e w Hamp
shire_______
616
Vermont^ _ . . .
455
M assachusetts. 1 7,692
Rhode Island.. 1,145
Connecticut___ 1,779

Per
cent
N um N um
age
Amount
ber of ber on change of pay roll
estab pay roll from (1 week)
lish January D e January
ments
1939
cem
1939
ber
1938

Per
cent
age
change
from
Decem. ber
1938

582, 832
42,266

Dollars
- 1 .0 12,658,166
- 1 .3
816, 925

-2 4
- 1 .0

35,780
9, 540
267,168
76,135
151,943

+ 4.4
705,695
- 4 .3
193, 961
- 1 .1 5,890', 277
- 1 .7 1,516' 425
- 1 .4 3j 534; 883

+ 3 .4
—5 2
—2.7
—3*2
- 4.4

Middle Atlantic....... 31,246 1, 949, 194
N ew York____ 19,824 875, 686
New Jersey___ 3, 866 322, 641
Pennsylvania.. 7, 556 750,867

- 5 .0
- 6 .9
- 2 .4
- 3 .9

50,620, 771 - 4 .8 6,468 1,154, 074 - 1 .7
23, 916, £11 - 5 .3 2 2,578 422,721 - 1 . 6
8, 209, 786 . - 3 .1
1.617 268,769 - 1 .7
IS, 494,474 - 4 .8 2,273 462,584 2 - 1 .8

29, 139,104 —2.5
11,338,924 —1 .9
6,731,796 —3 . 1
11, 068 , S84 3 - 2 .9

East North Central.. 24,137 2,020, 852
Ohio_________
6,610 496, 241
Indiana______
2,910 ¿?37,973
Illinois............... *6,838 572,732
Michigan_____ 3,460 491,768
Wisconsin____ >4,519 222,138

- 4 .0
- 3 .8
-5 .9
-4 .0
-2 .8
-5 .0

54,177,219
13,028,577
6,056,923
14,956,580
14,649,517
5,485,622

41, 472, 502 —4. 3
10,141,348 —5.2
4,971, $10 —5.2
9,627,158 - 2 .6
12,884,808 —4.3
3,847,298 3 - 5 . 0

See footnotes at end of table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

- 5 .3 8,456 1, 521, 670 - 1 .5
- 5 .9 2,381 380,886 - 1 .7
- 5 .9 1,061 191,595 - 3 .1
- 3 .8 2,429 371,989 - 1 .2
- 5 .8 1,064 422,227
-.6
- 5 .9 61,521 154,973 3 - 1 .9

986

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

T able 3. —Comparison of Employment and P ay Rolls in Identical Establishments in

January 1939, by Geographic Divisions and by States— Continued
Total—all groups
Per
cent
age
Amount
Geographic division N um N um
ber of ber on change of pay roll
and State
estab pay roll from (1 week)
lish January D e January
cem
ments
1939
1939
ber
1938

Manufacturing
Per
cent
age
change
from
D e
cem
ber
1938

Per
cent
age
change
from
D e
cem
ber
1938

2,441
629
356
775
28
34
133
. 486

Dollars
205,913 - 2 .3 4, 991,131 - 2 . 7
46,733 - 5 . 5 1,200,389 - 8 . 6
+ .3
825,602 + 2 .0
33, 203
90,152
+ .6 2,050,251 + 1.1
414 - 4 . 8
11,201 - 2 .5
2,496 - 9 . 2
66, 565 - 7 .4
8,986 -1 3 .3
229,923 -1 2 .0
607,200 - 4 .8
23,929 - 3 .9

- 3 .7
- 1 .7
- 5 .6

2, 870
83
622

- . 8 9, 981,345 - 3 .1
577, 866
249,873
10,694
+ .7
85,901 8 - 2 . 6 2,023,260 3 - 4 .3

859, 283
1, 911, 296
3,019,348
2, 596,208
1,254,372
1,601, 221
806,850

- 4 .8
- 3 .7
- 4 .0
- 3 .0
- 1 .4
- 3 .5
-.3

40
436
206
674
244
384
181

3,342
74, 945
48, 207
160,397
81, 259
89, 382
23,839

- 3 .1
-. 1
-2 .2
-.1
+ .2
- .8
- .7

111,550
1, 334,151
1,160, 218
2, 362,872
1,123, 513
1, 260, 597
355,311

-5 .9
- 2 .4
-5 .7
- 2 .4
- 1 .1
- 3 .5
- 3 .3

281,072
78, 234
93, 051
92,838
16,949

- 2 .4 5,105, 735
- 3 .7 1, 589, 503
- 3 .4 1, 620, 363
- . 8 1,652,971
-.3
242,898

- 3 .2
- 5 .7
-3 .1
- 1 .4
+ 1 .5

1,015
281
359
290
85

179, 046
32, 812
70,125
64, 208
11,901

- . 6 3,087,148
- 3 .5
691, 659
- 1 .3 1,198,127
+ 1.0 1,038,759
158,603
+ 3 .7

- 1 .6
-4 . 1
-2 .0
-. 1
+ 4 .2

West South Central. 4, 964
Arkansas_____ id 1,147
925
Louisiana_____
1,207
Oklahoma____
1,686
Texas________

191,292
S3,773
48,379
34,171
74,969

- 5 .1 4,155, 528
- 6 .8
678, 718
- 5 .0
950,025
- 5 .3
826,509
- 4 .7 1,800,276

- 4 .0
- 3 .6
- 6 .3
- 3 .0
- 8 .3

1,275
319
236
133
687

97, 481
21,432
28,850
8,794
38,406

- 2 .4 2, 003,120
-.8
360,161
- 4 .8
525,915
- 4 .6
196,831
- 1 .0
930,223

- 3 .5
-2 .9
-8 .9
- 3 .8
-.3

Mountain_________
M ontana..........
Idaho_______
W yoming_____
Colorado--------N ew M exico.- .
Arizona.............
U tah_________
N evada........ .

108, 833 - 8 .9 2, 807, 974 - 7 .8
15,825 -1 0 .7
472,808 - 5 .4
9, 522 -1 2 .7
222,192 -1 5 .2
7,809 - 6 .5
219, 584 -1 1 .3
891,490 - 9 .5
36,181 - 9 .7
-.5
5, 568 - 4 .2
124,063
14,152 - 1 .6
376, 995
+■ 4
17,436 -1 1 .8
427,468 -1 0 .3
2,340 - 3 .2
73, 374 - 2 .8

558
74
64
38
197
29
41
102
13

31, 722
4,573
3,212
1,319
13,100
883
2, 731
5,704
200

761, 374
119,955
64,707
40, 794
317, 720
16,058
63,483
133,023
5,634

-1 9 .2
-1 1 .4
-3 6 .7
-2 2 .8
-1 8 .8
+ 6 .5
- 1 .1
-2 3 .7
-1 7 .7

- 3 .4
- 3 .3
- 1 .4
- 3 .7

2, 542
540
287
1,716

210, 878
45,434
24,235
141,209

- 3 .6 5,855,207
- 4 .6 1,219,181
604,421
+ 1.5
- 4 .0 4,031,605

- 4 .1
- 1 .9
-.8
- 6 .2

West North Central- 11,433
M innesota____ 72,763
1,747
Iowa_________
M isso u r i-____ 2,514
North D akota.
540
431
South D akota..
1,158
Nebraska..........
Kansas_______ 8 2,380

405, 843

South Atlantic_____
Delaware_____
Maryland------District of Co
lumbia............
Virginia______
West Virginia..
North Carolina
South Carolina.
Georgia_______
Florida_______

9,917
230
1,661

815, 551
14, 288
124,435

- 2 .6 15,358,664
- 2 .0
330,907
- 6 .1 2,979,179

975
1,863
1,070
1,536
700
1, 099
883

30,849
104,623
125,056
173, 867
88,184
106, 464
47, 785

- 7 .6
- 3 .0
-2 .2
-1 .8
-.6
- 1 .7
+ 1 .7

East South Central..
K entucky-........
Tennessee____
Alabama_____
M ississippi___

4.289
1,249
1,175
1,379
486

3,606
537
460
274
1,037
266
399
471
162

9, 991
Pacific___________
Washington___ 2, 571
Oregon_______
1,146
California_____ 11 6,274

114,202

55,301
149,341
4,272
7, 632
24, 423
60,672

411,670
77,608
41. 291
292,771

- 4 .7
- 7 .4
- 2 .3
- 2 .5
-6 .6
- 4 .6
- 9 .4
»-8 .6

Dollars
9,911,241 - 3 .4
3,024,347 -6 .1
-.2
1,329, 228
3, 502, 764 - 1 .4
101,345 - 4 .8
206, 565 - 1 .2
565, 510 - 6 .5
1,181,482 8 - 4 .6

Per
cent
N um N um
Amount
age
ber of ber on change of pay roll
estab pay roll from (1 week)
lish January D e January
ments
1939
cem
1939
ber
1938

- 4 .9 11,973,909
- 6 .4 2,093,871
- 1 .6 1,078,183
- 4 .9 8,801,866

-1 6 .2
-1 0 .8
-2 5 .1
-2 1 .0
-1 6 .4
+ .9
- 1 .9
-2 0 .7
-1 3 .4

'Includes banks and trust companies; construction, municipal, agricultural, and office employment,
amusement and recreation; professional services; and trucking and dandling.
* Includes laundering and cleaning; and water, light, and power.
» Weighted percentage change.
* Includes automobile and miscellaneous services; restaurants; and building and contracting.
1 Includes construction but not public works.
8 Does not include logging.
7 Includes banks; real estate; pipe-line transportation; trucking and transfer; railroads (other than repair
shops); motor transportation (other than operation and maintenance); water transportation: hospitals and
clinics; personal, business, mechanical repair and miscellaneous services; and building construction.
8 Includes financial institutions, miscellaneous services, and restaurants.
9 Weighted percentage change includes hired farm labor.
Includes automobile dealers and garages; and sand, gravel, and building stone.
“ Includes banks, insurance, and office employment.

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987

Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
INDUSTRIAL AND BU SIN E SS EMPLOYMENT IN PRINCIPAL
M ETROPOLITAN AREAS

A comparison of employment and pay rolls in December 1938 and
January 1939 is made in table 4 for 13 metropolitan areas which had
a population of 500,000 or over in 1930. Cities within these areas,
but having a population of 100,000 or over, are not included. Data
concerning them are presented in a supplementary tabulation which
is available on request.
Footnotes to the table indicate which cities are excluded. The
figures represent‘reports from cooperating establishments and cover
both full- and part-time workers in the manufacturing and nonmanu
facturing industries presented in table 1, with the exception of build
ing construction, and include also miscellaneous industries.
Revisions made in the figures after they have gone to press, chiefly
because of late reports by cooperating firms, are incorporated in the
supplementary tabulation mentioned above. This supplementary
tabulation covers these 13 metropolitan areas as well as other metro
politan areas and cities having a population of 100,000 or more accord
ing to the 1930 Census of population.
T able 4. — Comparison of Employment and P ay Rolls in Identical Establishments in

December 1938 and January 1939 by Principal Metropolitan Areas

Metropolitan area

Number Percentage
Number of on
change
pay roll
establish
from
January
December
ments
1939
1938

Amount of
pay roll (1
week)
January
1939

Percentage
change
from
December
1938

New York, N . Y .'____________ ____ _
Chicago, 111.2_________________________
Philadelphia, Pa.8______ ____ ________ _
Detroit, M ich________________________
Los Angeles, Calif.4______ _____ ______

14,658
4,477
2,081
1,432
2,848

662,080
413,118
207, 542
322,921
147, 574

- 6 .7
- 3 .9
- 4 .5
- 1 .9
- 6 .5

17,444,13S
11,349,987
5, 576,312
10, 301,096
4,367,035

- 6 .1
-3 .4
- 3 .7
-5 .6
-5 .5

Cleveland, O hio..____________________
St. Louis, M o................................................
Baltimore, M d ....................... .....................
Boston, M ass.8________ . . . . . . . ___
Pittsburgh, P a.............................................

1,517
1,341
1,125
1,712
1,092

100,296
113,908
94,424
125, 747
160,474

- 3 .7
- 1 .4
- 7 .2
- 5 .7
- 4 .5

2,745,702
2, 753, 874
2, 251,836
3, 380, 850
4,236,454

- 4 .3
+ 1 .0
-7 .0
- 4 .6
- 3 .7

San Francisco, Calif.8_________________
Bullalo, N . Y _____ ___________________
Milwaukee, Wis___________ ____ _____ _

1,746
767
995

87,227
64, 227
92,898

- 5 .3
- 5 .9
-4 .8

2, 602, 514
1,675, 235
2, 487,278

- 5 .1
-6 .8
- 4 .3

* Does not include Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, or Paterson, N . J., nor Yonkers, N . Y.
2 Does not include Gary, Ind.
8 Does not include Camden, N . J.
4 Does not include Long Beach, Calif.
8 Figure relates to city of Boston only,
• Does not include Oakland, Calif.

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Labor Offices

NATIONAL LABOR AND WELFARE OFFICES IN LATIN
AMERICA
Argentina
Ministerio del Interior: Dr. Diogenes Taboada, Ministro.
Departamento Nacional del Trabajo: Dr. Alfredo J. Molinario, Presidente.
Address of Departamento: Victoria 618, Buenos Aires, República Argen
tina.

Bolivia
Ministerio del Trabajo y Previsión Social: Hon. Julio Zelada, Ministro.
Address of Ministerio: La Paz, Bolivia.

Brazil
Ministério do Traballio, Indùstria, e Comércio: Dr. Waldemar Cromwell do
Regó Falcáo, Ministro.
Departamento Nacional do Traballio: Dr. Affonso de Toledo Bandeira de
Mello. Diretor Geral.
Address of Departamento: Palácio do Ministério do Traballio (Fifth
floor), Avenida Apparicio Borges, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Chile
Ministerio del Trabajo: Hon. Antonio Poupín, Ministro.
Ministerio de Salubridad, Previsión, y Asistencia Social: Dr. Juan Etchebarne,
Ministro.
Address of Ministerios: Santiago, Chile.

Colombia
Ministerio de Trabajo, Higiene, y Previsión Social: Dr. Alberto Jaramillo
Sanchéz, Ministro.
Departamento Nacional del Trabajo: Dr. Francisco Posada Zarate, Jefe.
Address of Departamento: Bogotá, Colombia.

Costa Rica
Secretaría de Gobernación, Policía y Trabajo: Dr. Luis Fernández, Secretario.
Secretaría de Salubridad Pública y Protección Social: Dr. Antonio Peña Chavarria, Secretario.
Address of Secretarías: San José, Costa Rica.

Cuba
Secretaría del Trabajo: Dr. Juan Miguel Portuondo Domenech, Secretario.
Secretaría de Sanidad y Beneficencia: Dr. Manuel Costales Latatu, Secretario.
Address of Secretarías: Habana, Cuba.
988

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Labor Offices

989

Dominican Republic
Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura, Industria, y Trabajo: Dr. Juan Román,
Secretario.
Secretaría de Estado de Sanidad y Beneficencia: Dr. Francisco E. Venzo,
Secretario.
Address of Secretarías: Ciudad Trujillo, República Dominicana.

Ecuador
Ministerio de Previsión Social y Trabajo: Dr. Cesar Augusto Durango, Ministro.
Dirección del Trabajo: Hon. Luis Coloma Silva, Director.
Address of Dirección: Quito, Ecuador.

El Salvador
Secretaría de Trabajo, Beneficencia, y Sanidad: Gen. José Tomás Calderón,
Secretario.
Address of Secretaría: San Salvador, El Salvador.

Guatemala
Secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia: Dr. Guillermo Saenz de Tejada, Secretario.
Departamento Nacional del Trabajo: Hon. M. García y García, Director.
Address of Departamento: Guatemala, Guatemala.

Haití
Secretairerie d’Etat de l’Instruction Publique, de l’Agriculture, et du Travail:
Hon. Dumarsais Estime, Secretaire.
Address of Secretairerie: Port-au-Prince, Haití.

Honduras
Secretaría de Fomento, Agricultura, y Trabajo: Dr. Salvador Aguirre, Secretario.
Address of Secretaría: Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

México
Departamento Autónomo del Trabajo: Hon. Antonio Villalobos, Jefe.
Address of Departamento: México, D. F., México.

Nicaragua
Secretaría de Agricultura y Trabajo: Dr. Sofonias Salvatierra, Secretario.
Secretaría de Higiene y Beneficencia Pública: Dr. Roberto González, Secretario.
Address of Secretarías: Managua, Nicaragua.

Panama
Secretaría de Trabajo, Comercio e Industrias: Dr. Ernesto Méndez, Secretario.
Secretaría de Higiene, Beneficencia, y Fomento: Dr. Ernesto Jaén Guardia,
Secretario.
Address of Secretarías: Panama, Panama.

Paraguay
Ministerio del Interior: Col. Higinio Morigino, Ministro.
Departamento Nacional del Trabajo: Dr. Carlos Pastore, Director.
Address of Departamento: Asunción, Paraguay.

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990

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939
Perú

Ministerio de Salud Pública, Trabajo, y Previsión Social; Dr. Guillermo Almen
ara, Ministro.
Dirección de Trabajo; Dr. Jorge Fernández Stoll, Director.
Address of Dirección: Lima, Perú.

Uruguay
Ministerio de Industrias y Trabajo: Dr. Abalcazar García, Ministro.
Ministerio de Instrucción Pública y Previsión Social: Dr. Toribio Olaso, Ministro.
Address of Ministerios: Montevideo, Uruguay.

Venezuela
Ministerio del Trabajo y de Comunicaciones:
Dr. Héctor Cuenca, Ministro.
Dr. Julio Diez, Director del Trabajo.
Ministerio de Sanidad y Asistencia Social: Dr. Julio García Alvarez, Ministro.
Address of Ministerios: Caracas, Venezuela.

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Recent Publications o f Labor Interest

MARCH 1939
Agricultural Conditions
Barriers to internal trade in farm products. By George R. Taylor, Edgar L.
Burtis, and Frederick V. Waugh. Washington, U. S. Department of Agri
culture, 1939. 104 pp., charts.
The Secretary of Agriculture states in the foreword that this study describes
a situation that is becoming of critical importance to every economic group in the
United States. The study shows that practically every State has placed regula
tions and restrictions upon interstate trade in foods and other commodities. It
is stated that every farm product is affected. The report was sponsored by the
marketing committee of the National Association of Commissioners, Secretaries,
and Directors of Agriculture.
Rural poverty. Washington, [U. S. Works Progress Administration], 1938. 28 pp.
A series of maps and charts depicting the geographical distribution of rural
relief and resettlement, crop failure and drought areas, farm prices and credit, farm
tenancy and farm labor, farm income and plane of living, and rural population
growth and migration.
A social and cultural survey in the tobacco region of southern Maryland. By Maurice
Parmelee and Olen E. Leonard. (In Farm Population and Rural Life
Activities, U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Washington, January 15,
1939, pp. 1-17.)
Gives data on standards of living, mobility of farm population, education, labor
conditions, etc.
Social problems in agriculture: Record of Permanent Agricultural Committee of
I. L. O. (7-15 February 1938). Geneva, International Labor Office (American
branch, 734 Jackson Place NW., Washington), 1938. 162 pp. (Studies
and Reports, Series K, No. 14.)
The general reports prepared by the International Labor Office on hours of
work, holidays with pay, protection of child labor, wage regulation, etc., in agri
culture, are presented in section 1 of the volume, followed by the debates on
these subjects at the committee’s first session, and the report of the committee.

Civilian Conservation Corps
C. C. C. camp education: Guidance and recreational phases. By Howard W.
Oxley. Washington, U. S. Office of Education, 1938. 23 pp., map. (Bulle
tin, 1937, No. 19.)
The Civilian Conservation Corps (C. C. C.) and colored youth. Compiled by Edgar
G. Brown for Second National Conference on Problems of^the Negro and
Negro Youth, Washington, D. C., January 12-14, 1939. Washington, U. S.
Civilian Conservation Corps, 1939. 5 pp.; mimeographed.
Reviewed in this issue.

Cooperative Movement
Consumers’ cooperatives in 1937. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1939. 14 pp. (Serial No. R. 857, reprint from December 1938 Monthly
Labor Review.)
991

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

992

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Four decades of farmer cooperation. By R. H. Elsworth. (In Agricultural Situa
tion, U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Washington, December 1938,
pp. 12-14.)
A brief historical review of the major trends in cooperation among farmers.
A review of agricultural cooperation in Chile. By Hector Soza. Washington, Pan
American Union, 1939. 18 pp.; mimeographed. (Series on Cooperatives,
No. 12.)
The new history of the C. W. S. By Percy Redfern. London, J. M. Dent & Sons,
Ltd., 1938. 624 pp., maps, charts, illus.
Revision of the author’s earlier history of the British Cooperative Wholesale
Society, Ltd. The present study was issued on the seventy-fifth birthday of the
society.
College projects for aiding students. By Fred J. Kelly and Ella B. Ratcliffe.
Washington, U. S. Office of Education, 1938. 69 pp. (Bulletin, 1938, No. 9.)
An article in this issue of the Monthly Labor Review, based on this bulletin,
describes cooperative enterprises for the aid of students in colleges.

Cost and Standards of Living
Diets of families of employed wage earners and clerical workers in cities. By Hazel
K. Stiebeling and Esther F. Phipard. Washington, U. S. Department of
Agriculture, 1939. 140 pp., charts. (Circular No. 507.)
Reviewed in this issue.
A standard budget for women workers in Connecticut. Hartford, Consumers’ League
of Connecticut, 1938. 28 pp.
In this pamphlet the Consumers’ League of Connecticut gives a budget formu
lated on the basis of minimum adequate maintenance, rather than on a socially
desirable standard of living, for a worker, living in a furnished room and eating in
restaurants, who pays all her own living expenses.
1938 report of Rural Electrification Administration. Washington, 1939. 261 pp.,
charts (maps), illus.
The effect of the rural electrification program on farm life, as brought out in
this report, is discussed in this issue of the Monthly Labor Review.

Economic and Social Problems
Basic problems of the national economy. By Edwin M. Martin. Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1939. 15 pp., charts. (Serial No. R. 865,
reprint from January 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Government spending and economic recovery. By Charles F. Phillips and J. V.
Garland. New York, H. W. Wilson Co., 1938. 404 pp. (Contemporary
Social Problems, Discussion Series, No. 1.)
Various points of view are presented in the words of leading students and
authorities. Basic information is included, together with references to additional
sources of information. The general purpose of this discussion series of books
is defined as the presentation of basic material for current debate and discussion
topics.
The rise of a new federalism: Federal-State cooperation in the United States. By
Jane Perry Clark. New York, Columbia University Press, 1938. xviii,
347 pp., bibliography.
Descriptions' of methods of cooperation by Federal and State Governments,
both by informal arrangements and by means of agreements and compacts.
There are also accounts of the development of Federal grants-in-aid to the States
and of Federal credits for State taxation. These latter arrangements, which are
illustrated by the United States Employment Service and the administration of
parts of the Social Security Act, are described by the author as the most important
aspect of Federal-State cooperation.
Labor problems and the American scene. By Lois Macdonald. New York,
Harper & Bros., 1938. 878 pp., bibliography.
Designed to give to the student having some previous knowledge of economic
problems a more intimate insight into the role of the worker in modern economic

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Recent Publications of Labor Interest

993

society. The material is presented under the following general heads: Workers
a1nl their-C° mmunities; w?rkers on jobs (in steel, coal-mining, automobile, and
clothing industries, and in “white collar” occupations); cheap labor groups;
workers in machine industry; labor movement; approach of the employer; labor
and the State—protective legislation.
Social relationships and institutions in an established rurban community, South
Holland, III. By L. S. Dodson. Washington, U. S. Farm Security Admin
istration and U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1939. 56 pp., charts;
mimeographed. (Social Research Report No. XVI.)
A cross section of South Holland is contrasted with nearby cities and towns and
an attempt made to explain why the little farming village is so different.

Education and Guidance
Administration of vocational education. Washington, U. S. Office of Education,
1938. 59 pp. (Vocational Division Bulletin No. 113, revised.)
In this bulletin the Office of Education sets forth its interpretations of the pro
visions of the amended Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act and describes pro
cedures and policies adopted for its administration.
Vocational education. By John Dale Russell and associates. Washington, U. S.
Advisory Committee on Education, 1938. 325 pp. (Staff Study No. 8.)
A study of the organization, administration, and financing of the federally
aided program for vocational education, which also evaluates the program and
sets forth the needs for vocational education. A report on the experience of
labor with trade and industrial education is included.
I ocational education and guidance of Negroes. By Ambrose Caliver. Washington,
U. S. Office of Education, 1938. 137 pp., charts. (Bulletin, 1937, No. 38.)
Recommendations from this report are published in this issue of the Monthly
Labor Review.
Training Negroes for occupational opportunities. By Robert C. Weaver. (In
Journal of Negro Education, Washington, October 1938, pp. 486-497.)
The employer and the new education act [Great Britain]. By I. J. Pitman and
R. A. Miles. London, British Association for Commercial and Industrial
Education, 1938. 24 pp.
Guide to employers in adjusting their policies and practices under the new law
winch provides that young persons shall remain in school until age 15 unless
supplied with employment which local education authorities decide will be
beneficial to them.
Annotated list of labor .plays. Compiled by Jean Carter. New York, Affiliated
Schools for Workers, Inc., 1938. 37 pp.; mimeographed.

Employment and Unemployment
Jobs for all through industrial expansion. By Mordecai Ezekiel. New York,
Alfred A. Knopf, 1939. xviii, 299 pp.
1 he author proposes a method for attaining full employment by expanding
production by means of planned and allocated production in the basic industries.
Each concern in these industries would be given advance orders through contracts
with a special government agency, the contracts providing for public purchase at
a discount of any portion of the programmed production remaining unsold. The
author holds that the plan calls for the use of private enterprise and of our regular
political procedures. One of the seven divisions of the book discusses the labor
aspects of the plan.
Sixth graders twelve years later. A follow-up study of students who attended
sixth grade in Cincinnati public schools during 1923—24, after an interval of
twelve years. Cincinnati, Regional Department of Economic Security,
1938. 82 pp.; mimeographed. (Studies in Economic Security, III.)
An explanation of some of the factors which affected the employability of this
selected group of young people. As of March 1, 1936, 21 percent of the males
were unemployed and an additional 3 percent were in school. Of the females,
54 percent were unemployed and 1 percent in school. Approximately threefourths of the women who were reported unemployed were married.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

994

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Interpreting unemployment in terms of family units. By Don D. Humphrey.
(In Journal of Political Economy, Chicago, February 1939, pp. 82-99,
charts; also reprinted.)
The article, which is part of a more detailed study in progress, describes the
differences in trends of unemployment of individuals and of totally unemployed
families, and discusses the significance of these trends in relation to public policy.
Reemployment of Philadelphia hosiery workers after shut-downs in 1933-34• By
Gladys L. Palmer and Constance Williams. Washington, U. S. Works
Progress Administration, 1939. xiv, 100 pp., charts, illus. (Philadelphia
Labor Market Studies, Report No. P-6.)
The survey is confined to about 70 percent of the original group of 1,745 workers.
The 70 percent were still in Philadelphia at the time of the interviews in 1936.
The average worker was unemployed for less than 5 months before getting another
job. This was a relatively short period when compared with the average of more
than 2 years of unemployment of all unemployed men in the sample for the
Philadelphia survey of employment and unemployment in 1935 and the average
of almost 1]4 years of unemployment of all unemployed women. However, only
those hosiery workers who remained in the local hosiery labor market were
included in the survey here reviewed.
Labor requirements in manufacture and distribution of electrical products. By
Bernard H. Topkis. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1939.
26 pp. (Serial No. R. 883, reprint from March 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Le chômage en France de 1930 à 1936. By Gabrielle Letellier and others. Paris,
Librairie du Recueil Sirey, 1938. 330 pp. (Institut Scientifique de Re
cherches Économiques et Sociales, Enquête sur le chômage, Tome 1.)
The first volume of a study of unemployment in France, covering the years
1930 to 1936, made by the Scientific Institute of Economic and Social Research
(Paris). The report deals with the character and development of the unemploy
ment crises, the extent of unemployment in three principal industrial regions,
including Paris, and the organization of unemployment assistance.
A critical review, by Max Lazard, of this first volume of the report, was pub
lished in the Revue d’Économie Politique (Paris), November-December 1938
(pp. 1561-1579).
Modern trends in Britain’s occupational and industrial structure. By K. G. Fenelon. (In Journal of Careers and Monthly School Calendar, London, Decem
ber 1938, pp. 667-673.)
Changes in the economic, social, and industrial structure are examined to show
what fields of employment are expanding.

Health and Industrial Hygiene
Economic aspects of medical services, with special reference to conditions in Cali
fornia. By Paul A. Dodd and E. F. Penrose. Washington, Graphic Arts
Press, Inc., 1939. xxii, 499 pp.
This study was originally prepared as a final report of the California medicaleconomic survey and deals primarily with some economic aspects of the costs,
distribution, and organization of medical services in California. The factual data
are based on questionnaire and field studies covering representative family groups,
medical practitioners, and medical services throughout the State. As a result
of the study, it was concluded that a plan of compulsory health insurance is the
most effective immediate way of meeting the need for medical care in the State,
and the general features of a plan foi such a system are presented by the authors.
Annual report of Surgeon General of United States Public Health Service, for fiscal
year 1938. Washington, 1938. 184 pp.
The work of the Public Health Service in the field of industrial hygiene during
the year included studies of dusts in the pottery, granite, and asbestos industries;
hazards from insecticide sprays; and effects of organic compounds; a medical study
of workers in factories making lead storage batteries; and studies of fatigue, illu
mination, air contamination, etc.
Industrial hygiene program in a State health department. By Carl A. Nau, M. D.
(In American Journal of Public Health, New York, February 1939, pp.
151-157.)

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Dust concentration in New York State foundries. (In Industrial Bulletin, New
York Department of Labor, Albany, February 1939, pp. 89-95; charts.)
The investigation covered working conditions and the degree of dust exposure
in a group of 12 foundries, and dust concentrations in specific operations such as
molding, core making, etc. Although a quantitative relation between dust
exposure and lung damage is difficult to establish for the foundry industry because
of the many other complicating factors, some information on the silicosis hazard
is presented based on this and earlier studies.

Health Insurance
Economical administration of health insurance benefits. Geneva, International
Labor Office (American branch, 734 Jackson Place NW., Washington), 1938
332 pp. (Studies and Reports, Series M, No. 15.)
The first part of the report deals with the principle of economy in the admin
istration of health benefits, the second part with this principle as embodied in
national laws and regulations, and the third, with reports of international
organizations.
Health insurance plans: B, Group health insurance plans. New York, National
Industrial Conference Board, Inc., 1939. 31 pp. (Studies in Personnel
Policy, No. 10.)
The study covered 144 companies with active group health-insurance plans in
1938. The benefits provided are, in general, for incapacities arising out of sick
ness and nonoccupational accidents which require the services of a doctor. The
average benefit paid by 113 companies giving comparable statistics was $14.72
per week. No plan had been given up because of social-security taxes, but one
company reported it was considering giving up the plan for this reason. The
report gives the details of several representative plans.
Health insurance in the United States and foreign countries— a bibliographical list.
Compiled by Helen F. Conover. Washington, Library of Congress, 1938.
49 pp.; mimeographed.
Health insurance in foreign countries. By Bryant Putney. Washington, Editorial
Research Reports, 1013 Thirteenth Street NW., 1938. 14 no
(Vol 2
1938, No. 11.)
V ' ’
Gives the proposals of the National Health Conference, held in Washington in
July 1938, for health-insurance legislation in this country, and reviews briefly
the health-insurance systems of other countries.
Syketrygden, 1937. Oslo, Rikstrygdeverket, 1939. 100 pp.
Report of the Sickness Insurance Office in Norway for 1937, with financial
statements for the years 1915 to 1937, inclusive. Printed in Norwegian with
French translation of table of contents.

Income
National income in the United States, 1799-1938. By Robert F. Martin. New
York, National Industrial Conference Board, Inc., 1939. xv, 146 pp., charts.
(Study No. 241.)
Estimates of income by types and by industrial sources go back only to 1899.
Salaries and wages are not given separately. Entrepreneurial income includes
the income of such groups as farmers and small shopkeepers. Estimates of real
income are made for the entire period by using a cost-of-living index and also an
index of the general price level. There is a section on sources and methods and
some reference is made to the serious limitations of earlier estimates of income
when compared with current figures. It is apparent, for example, that in earlier
decades workers depended less on wages than at present when the production of
necessary goods and services has been so largely transferred from the home to
commercialized establishments.
Studies in income and wealth. By Conference on Research in National Income
and Wealth. New York, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.,
^ 1938. 342 pp. (Vol. 2.)
The first volume in this series of studies dealt mainly with problems of estimat
ing income. Some of the topics discussed in volume 2 are the measurement of
national wealth, the correction of wealth and income estimates for price changes,
and problems in estimating national income arising from production by Govern
ment.

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996

Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

The national income of Hungary, 1924-25 to 1936-37. By Matthias Matolcsy
and Stephen Varga. London, P. S. King and Son, Ltd., 1938. 116 pp.

Industrial Accidents and Workmen's Compensation
[Biennial report of Industrial Commission of Utah, July 1, 1936, to June 30, 1938].
Salt Lake City, 1938. (In 5 bulletins.)
Decisions of the Industrial Commission and the Supreme Court in regard to
compensation for accidents are given in volume 1, and in volume 2, the financial
report of the State insuiance fund and certain benefit funds; in volume 3, the
statistical report on industrial accidents; in volume 4, coal and metal mine re
ports and general inspection report; and in volume 5, data on various activities
of the commission and a summary of the work of the State labor relations board.
Los riesgos del trahajo industrial. By Mariano R. Tissembaum. Santa Fe,
Argentina, [Imprenta de la Universidad Nacional del Litoral?], 1938. 242
pp.
A study of industrial hazards, with particular reference to Argentina, covering
preventive measures, the employer’s responsibility, court decisions relating to
accidents, statistics of industrial accidents in Argentina, and legislation regarding
industrial accidents in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.
Wetenschappelijke balansen van het ongevallenfonds en van het landbouw-ongevallenfonds op 31 December 1937. Amsterdam, Rijksverzekeringsbank, 1938.
73 pp.
Annual report on activities of the accident-insurance funds in the Netherlands
in 1937.
Olycksfall i arbete, dr 1935. Stockholm, Riksforsakringsanstalten, 1938. 49 pp.
Report on industrial accidents and accident compensation in Sweden in 1935.
There is a French translation of the table of contents and also of a list of industries
and accident causes.
Medical aid under workmen’s compensation laws. Washington, U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1939. 22 pp. (Serial No. R. 867, reprint from January
1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Safety in the construction and use of lifts. Geneva, International Labor Office
(American branch, 734 Jackson Place NW., Washington), 1939. 197 pp.,
diagrams, illus. (Studies and Reports, Series F, second section, No. 8.)
Part 1 describes the dangers inherent in lifts and hoists and the safety devices
and precautions which practical experience has shown to be necessary or advisable.
Part 2 contains the relevant provisions of the regulations and specifications in
force in South Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Union of South
Africa, and, in the United States, in Pennsylvania. A bibliography of pertinent
material is appended.

Industrial Relations
National Labor Relations Board may not abrogate union contracts. Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1939. 6 pp. (Serial No. R. 873, reprint
from January 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Unions of their own choosing: An account of the National Labor Relations Board
and its work. By Robert R. R. Brooks. New Haven, Yale University Press,
1939. 296 pp.
This book, by the author of “When labor organizes,” contains a lucid and simple
exposition of the problems and activities of the National Labor Relations Board,
based largely upon cases decided by the Board. Because the largest majority of
cases before the Board had been accepted by employers and workers without
further litigation, thus preventing a good deal of industrial strife, the author places
emphasis on these cases rather than on the few decisions which were questioned
by employers and had to be decided upon by the courts. A complete list of the
cases referred to is given. The National Labor Relations Act is reproduced in
the appendix.
The worker, the foreman, and the Wagner Act. By Russell L. Greenman. New
York, Harper & Bros., 1939. xvi, 137 pp.
Th.e author’s preface states that his purpose was to show how the provisions of
the National Labor Relations Act of immediate concern to plant supervisors have
been applied and interpreted by the National Labor Relations Board in numerous
typical situations. An appendix lists the cases cited.

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Fourth annual report of National Mediation Board, including report of National
1QQR a Adi ustment B°ard, for fiscal year ended June SO, 1938. Washington,
The determination and administration of industrial relations policies. By Helen It.
Sfker. Princeton, N. J., Princeton Lniversity, Industrial Relations Section,
1939. 74 pp., bibliography.
Results of a survey of the experience of a selected group of companies in organiz
e s and directing the industrial relations aspects of their business. A discussion of
the formulation of industrial relations policies is followed by chapters on personnel
department organization; employment, training, and wage administration; group
relations and grievance procedures; and company plans for employee security
I he report concludes with a summary of the findings of the study.
Social problems in labor relations. By Paul Pigors, L. C. McKenney, T. O. Armstrong. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1939. xxiii, 325 pp.
Case studies of various problems arising in employer-worker relations, such as
lay-off policies, transfers, discharges, employee ratings, personality problems, etc.
1 he cases are presented, for the most part, in the form of verbatim accounts of
conversations and discussions between management representatives and workers.
Effective collective bargaining—outline and bibliography. By David J. Saposs and
Lyle Cooper. Washington, U. S. National Labor Relations Board, Division
of Economic Research, December 14, 1938. 7 pp.; mimeographed.
The new_collective bargaining in mass production: Methods, results, problems. By
1939^ Cla3r0k 6g")WI1' ^ ^ourna^ Political Economy, Chicago, February
The study was limited to certain plants of the largest companies engaged in the
manufacture of steel, automobiles, rubber, and electrical and farm equipment
which in the spring of 1938 were dealing with C. I. O. unions.
Settlement of disputes between labor unions. By Charles E. Noyes Washington
Editorial Research Reports, 1013 Thirteenth Street NW„ 1939 14 pp’
(Vol. 1, 1939, No. 3.)
’
This brief review of disputes between unions begins with the rivalry in the 1880’s
between the old Knights of Labor and the then newly formed American Federation
of Labor, and closes with the conflict between the A. F. of L. and the Committee
for Industrial Organization.
Union-employer responsibility. By Lyle Cooper. Washington, U. S. National
Labor Relations Board, Division of Economic Research, 1939 29 pp •
mimeographed. (Research Memorandum No. 4.)
Seniority in promotion and discharge—a list of references. Washington, U. S. De
partment of Labor, Library, February 15, 1939. 8 pp.; mimeographed.
IToihers attitudes on work sharing and lay-off policies in a manufacturing firm.
P/on
1RuPert Maclaurin. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1939. 14 pp. (Serial No. R. 868, reprint from January 1939 Monthly
Labor Review.)

Labor and Social Legislation
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. By Paul H. Douglas and Joseph Hackman.
(In Political Science Quarterly, New York, December 1938, pp. 491-515March 1939, pp. 29-55.)
An article analyzing the Fair Labor Standards Act, administrative develop
ments under it, and its legislative history prior to passage. The first installment
covers the background and history of the act; the second, and concluding, install
ment analyzes the act as finally passed and discusses various problems in con
nection with its administration.
How to operate under the wage-hour law. By Alexander Feller and Jacob E.
Hurwitz. New York, Alexander Publishing Co., Inc., 1938. 248 pp.
Account of the history, purposes, and administration of the Fair Labor Stand
ards Act of 1938.
Industry and labor under the wage-hour act. By Charles E. Noyes. Washington
Editorial Research Reports, 1013 Thirteenth Street NW„ 1938. 16 pp’
(Vol. 2, 1938, No. 17.)

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Critical analysis of teacher tenure legislation. Washington, National Education
Association of the United States, 1939. 31 pp.
Information from this report is published in this issue of the Monthly Labor
Review.
Derecho del trabajo en la República Argentina—doctrina, legislación, jurisprudencia.
Bv Juan D. Ramírez Gronda. Buenos Aires, Editorial Claridad, 1938.
302 pp.

Comprehensive digest of labor law in Argentina, covering labor organization,
wages, working hours, weekly rest, paid vacations, hygiene and safety, workmen’s
compensation, termination of labor contracts, work of women and minors, home
work, and settlement of industrial disputes.
Chilean social laws. By Thomas A. Pace. (In American Federationist, American
Federation of Labor, Washington, February 1939, pp. 173-177.)
The concluding chapter of an analysis of Chilean legislation, the first installment
of which appeared in the American Federationist for September 1938. The
several chapters have been brought together in pamphlet form by the American
Federation of Labor.
Code dv travail et de la prévoyance sociale. By Henry Bourdeaux. Paris, Juris
prudence Générale Dalloz, 1939. 2 vols.
Volume 1 of this codification of the labor and social legislation of France covers
the period from May 25, 1864, to May 31, 1936, and volume 2, from June 1, 1936,
to December 1, 1938.
A guide to the Factories Act (Northern Ireland), 1988. Belfast, Ministry of Labor,
1939. 50 pp.
A section is devoted to each of the major parts of the factories legislation.

Labor Organization
The hosiery workers’ union. By Emil Rieve. (In Labor Information Bulletin,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, February 1939, pp. 4-7, illus.)
British trade unionism to-day. By G. D. H. Cole. London, Victor Gollancz,
Ltd., 1939. 591 pp.
Divided into four parts, dealing with trade-union history, collective bargaining
and State action, trade unionism as a whole, and trade unionism in particular
industries and occupations.
Seventy years of trade unionism. London, Trades Union Congress, [1938?]. 263
pp., illus.
Includes historical sketches of important unions, and gives information on
wages in different industries in Great Britain.

Migratory Workers
Labor mobility and relief. By John N. Webb and Albert Westefeld. Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1939. 9 pp. (Serial No. R. 866, reprint
from January 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Migratory farm labor and the hop industry on the Pacific Coast, with special appli
cation to problems of the Yakima Valley, Washington. By Carl F. Reuss, Paul
H. Landis, and Richard Wakefield. Pullman, State College of Washington,
Agricultural Experiment Station, 1938. 64 pp., charts, illus. (Bulletin
No. 363.)
The problem of the non-resident and migrant. Ottawa, Canadian Welfare Council,
1939. 19 pp. (Publication No. 90.)
Discusses the social and legislative causes of the problem in Canada, control
mechanics, provisions for social care, and related matters.

Population
The problems of a changing population. Washington, U. S. National Resources
Committee, 1938. 306 pp., maps, charts.
One of a series of cooperative studies under the general direction of the National
Resources Committee. This volume is the work of a subcommittee of specialists
in the fields of population, public health, education, land use, and related subjects.

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There are discussions of the past trends of population and of anticipated future
trends; of regional population changes in relation to natural resources and eco
nomic opportunities; of changes in the age distribution of the population; and of
various topics dealing with the inter-relations of population changes and economic
and social problems.
Research memorandum on population redistribution within the United States. By
Rupert B. Vance. New York, Social Science Research Council, 1938. xiii,
134 pp. (Bulletin 42.)
The subjects outlined include the areas of population pressure and of compara
tive economic opportunity; the changing employment capacities of agriculture,
industry, and the service groups; and internal migration and mobility of the
population. The author arrives at no explicit conclusions but indicates the lines
of investigation previously pursued and attempts to stimulate further inquiry for
promoting both scientific knowledge and intelligent public policy.
Poverty and population; A factual study of contemporary social waste. By Richard
M. Titmuss. London, Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1938. xxviii, 320 pp.
The author examines the extent, the character, and the causes of social waste
in relation to the future in the face of the declining and aging population of Great
Britain. The effects of unemployment and poverty on the mortality rates of
different age groups are discussed as well as the results of the inter-regional migra
tion movement resulting from economic conditions. The conclusions of the author
are supported by much statistical data.

Relief Measures and Statistics
Inventory: An appraisal of results of the Works Progress Administration. Wash
ington, U. S. Works Progress Administration, 1938. 100 pp., charts, illus.
Detailed report of the public facilities and services built or performed by
W. P. A. workers up to October 1, 1937, in the 150,000 projects operated up to
that time.
Five years of rural relief. By Waller Wynne, Jr. Washington, U. S. Works
Progress Administration, Division of Social Research, 1938. xiii, 160 pp
charts.
’
How long are clients on relief? By Benjamin Glassberg and Alexander J. Gregory.
Chicago, American Public Welfare Association, 1938. 34 pp.
Reviewed in this issue.

Reports for Special Industries
The attempted stabilization of the bituminous coal industry. By Frank G. Smith.
(In Harvard Business Review, Vol. XVII, No. 2, New York, 1939 nn'
177-188.)
Shows the problems of an industry with a declining market, traces the history
of the bituminous-coal industry, and discusses the recent plans for control intro
duced by legislation—the N. R. A., the Guffey-Vinson Act, and finally the legis
lation adopted in 1937 establishing the National Bituminous Coal Commission.
Second annual report of National Bituminous Coal Commission, fiscal year ended
June 30, 1938, with additional activities to November 15, 1938. Washington
1939. 30 pp.
An appendix table indicates the relation of labor to total costs of producing
coal for District No. 11 in Indiana.
The clay products industry in Ohio. By Max Ratner. Columbus, National Youth
Administration in Ohio, 1938. 95 pp., maps, charts, illus. (Occupational
Study No. 2.)
Covers manufacturing processes, working conditions, general health conditions,
and trade unions in the industry, as well as opportunities for educational training
in this field. A selected bibliography is appended.
The glass industry in Ohio. Columbus, National Youth Administration in Ohio,
1938. 80 pp., illus.; mimeographed. (Occupational Study No. 3.)
A brief history of glass making from ancient times is followed by descriptions
of present methods of manufacturing various kinds of glass. There are sections
on occupations, employment opportunities, conditions of work and hazards, and
workers’ unions in the industry.
135055— 39-

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Monthly Labor Review—April 1939

Report of Royal Commission [of Canada] on the Textile Industry. Ottawa, 1938.
308 pp. .
This report reviews the development of the textile industry in Canada and
analyzes its position at the time of the Commission’s investigation. Chapters are
devoted to prices and production; salaries and bonuses; and wages, employment,
and labor relations.
The Indian cotton textile industry— 1938 annual. By M. P. Gandhi. Calcutta,
Gandhi & Co., 1938. Various paging.
Contains data on number of people employed, wages, labor conditions, indus
trial relations, strikes, paid holidays, sick leave, and reports of labor inquiries.
The tobacco industry: A selected list of references on economic aspects of the industry,
1932-June 1938. Compiled by Louise O. Bercaw. Washington, U. S.
Bureau of Agricultural Economics, September 1938. 337 pp.; mimeo
graphed.
The bibliography covers material for both the United States and foreign coun
tries. The references for the United States are classified by subjects, among which
are cooperative marketing, cost of production, prices, legislation, and labor and
technological changes.

(

)

Social Security General

Social security taxation and records. By Calvin E. Favinger and Daniel A. Wilcox.
New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1939. xxi, 649 pp.
Written with the purpose of assisting employers in devising adequate socialsecurity record-keeping systems, the book covers such subjects as records, reports,
principles and systems of social-security accounting, merit rating, employers’
reserve accounts, benefits, claims, wages, and penalties.
Folkpensioneringen, dr 1937. Stockholm, Pensionsstyrelsen, 1939. 27 pp.
Report of the national compulsory old age and invalidity insurance system es
tablished in Sweden by the law of June 30, 1913, amended June 28, 1935. The
report gives the 1935 amendments to the law and statistics of operation of the sys
tem for 1937. There is a summary of the report in French and also a French
translation of the table of contents.
Insurance: Facts and problems. Bv Alfred Manes. New Fork, Harper & Bros.,
1938. 182 pp.
The subject matter includes discussions of scope of insurance, prerequisites and
limits, practice and theory, economic and social importance, calculation and classi
fication of risks, prevention of risks, private and social insurance, hvper-inflation
(effect of inflation on insurance in Germany), observations on American life in
surance, and the progress of the insurance idea.
Stabilization of employment and income. By M. B. Folsom. (In Conference Board
Management Record, National Industrial Conference Board, Inc., New
York, February 1939, pp. 17-24; charts.)
The substance of an address on the principal plans developed for stabilizing em
ployment and income and on the general features, limitations, and possibilities of
such plans in private enterprise.

Technological Changes
Industrial instruments and changing technology. By George Perazich, Herbert
Schimmel, and Benjamin Rosenberg. Washington, U. S. Works Progress
Administration, 1938. 148 pp., charts, illus.; bibliography. (Studies in
Equipment Changes and Industrial Techniques, Report No. M -l.)
Reviewed in this issue.
Mechanization and the five-cent cigar. By Boris Stern. (In Labor Information
Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, January 1939, pp.
11-13, illus.)
Mechanizing the corn harvest. By Claude Iv. Shedd and Edgar V . Collins. Wash
ington, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1938. 12 pp., chart, illus. (Farm
ers’ Bulletin No. 1816.)
The purpose of the bulletin is to aid farmers in the choice of corn-harvesting
methods and equipment. It is stated that the harvesting of corn requires more
labor than the harvesting of all other grain crops. The area now mechanically
harvested is probably less than 10 percent of the total acreage of corn harvested for

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grain. The unloading of ear corn from wagons to cribs has been much more largelymechanized than the husking.
Changes in technology and labor requirements in crushed-stone industry. By Harry S.
Kantor and Geoffrey A. Saeger. Washington, U. S. Works Progress Adminis
tration, 1939. xvii, 169 pp., charts, illus. (Mineral Technology and Output
Per Man Studies, Report No. E-8.)
Reviewed in this issue.
Machines and tomorrow’s world. By William F. Ogburn. New York, Public
Affairs Committee, Inc., 1938. 31 pp., charts, illus. (Public Affairs Pamphlet
No. 25.)
Based on Technological Trends and National Policy, a report of the subcom
mittee on technology to the National Resources Committee. Outstanding tech
nological developments and their effects are described. The final section deals
with the relation of inventions to the development of planning.

it ages and Hours of Labor
Wages and hours in union bakeries, June 1, 1938. Washington, U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1939. 13 pp., chart. (Serial No. R. 878, reprint from
January 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Entrance wage rates of common laborers, July 1938. By Edward K. Frazier and
Jacob Perlman. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1939. 14 pp.
(Serial No. R. 877, reprint from January 1939 Monthly Labor Review.)
Wages and hours in fertilizer indxistry, 1938. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1939. 29 pp. (Serial No. R. 864, reprint from March 1939
Monthly Labor Review.)
Lonestatistisk drsbok for Sverige, 1937. Stockholm, Socialstyrelsen, 1938. 113 pp.,
charts.
Report on wages in Sweden in 1937, with some preliminary figures for 1938.
The data are shown by industry, occupation, and locality. There is a resume in
French and also a French translation of the table of contents.
Cyclical variations in wage structure. By John T. Dunlop. (In Review of
Economic Statistics, Cambridge, Mass., February 1939, pp. 30-39; also
reprinted.)
Use is made of Bureau of Labor Statistics figures of occupational and industry
earnings, 1928-37, for the purpose of comparing percentage changes in low-paid
and high-paid occupations and industries. There is also a discussion of the eco
nomic significance of comparative changes. The author emphasizes the need of
additional data showing variations in the wage structure as well as data showing
general averages of wages.
Rate tables for use in checking 'pay-roll records to determine compliance with the wage
and hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Washington,
U. S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1939. 87 pp.
Shows the yield of given hourlv wage rates for different numbers of hours.

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