Full text of Monthly Labor Review : April 1941, Vol. 52, No. 4
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Tapping the Slag at a Blast Furnace
P h o to b y c o u r te s y of F a r m S e c u r ity A d m in is tr a tio
n this issue
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
Cooperatives in Latin America • Salaries an
Working Conditions in Police Departments
Overtime Provisions in Union Agreements
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins, Secretary
+
B U R E A U OF LA B O R S T A T IS T IC S
4
Isador Lubin, Commissioner
A. F. Hinrichs, Assistant Commissioner
D onald D av en p o rt, Chief, E m
plo y m en t a n d O ccupational
O utlook B ran ch
H enry J. F itzg erald , Chief,
B u s in e s s M a n a g e m e n t
B ranch
H ugh S. H an n a, Chief, E d i
to rial an d R esearch
CHIEFS OF
A ryness Joy, Chief, Prices an d
C ost of L iving B ranch
N . A rnold Tolies, Chief, W ork
ing C onditions an d In d u stria l
R elations B ranch
Sidney W. Wilcox, Chief S ta t
istician
r
*
d iv isio n s
H erm an B. Byer, C on stru ctio n
and Public E m p lo y m en t
Charles F. S harkey, L abor Law
In fo rm atio n
J. M. C u tts, W holesale Prices
Boris S tern, L abor In fo rm a
tio n B ulletin
Swen K jaer, In d u s tria l Acci
dents
S tella S tew art, R etail Prices
Jo h n J. M ahaney,
T ab u latio n
M achine
Lewis E. T alb e rt, E m p lo y m en t
S tatistics
R o b ert J. M yers, W age an d
H o u r S tatistics
E m m e tt H. Welch, O ccupa
tio n al O utlook
Florence P eterson, In d u s tria l
R elations
F a ith M.
Living
V,
Ü
W illiams, C ost of
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under authority of
Public Resolution No. 57, approved M ay 11, 1922 (42 Siat. 541) as
amended by section SO/, Public Act 212, 72d Congress, approved
June 80, 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, $8.50; other countries, $4.75.
This publication approved by the Director, Bureau of the Budget.
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b
*
♦
MONTHLY
;
v:
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR • BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
+
HUGH
S. H A N N A , E D I T O R
C O N T E N T S
+
zw w w w
APRIL 1941 Vol. 52, No. 4
Special articles:
page
Living conditions of workers in Puerto Rico_____________________
Development of cooperatives in Latin America___________________
Salaries and working conditions in police departments_____________
785
810
817
Foreign wartime policies and labor conditions:
Wartime arbitration machinery in Australia, _____________________
827
Changes in working conditions of British labor in 1940__________ ...
829
British wartime nutrition policies________________________________
833
Economic developments in Canada in 1940______________________
835
Joint control in Canadian construction industry____________________
837
Industrial relations:
Overtime provisions in union agreements in certain defense industries,
Activities of National Labor Relations Board, 1939-40____________
841
851
Employment and labor conditions:
Economic and social conditions in the Virgin Islands______________
Improvements in labor conditions of Finnish seamen______________
853
858
Women in industry:
Women’s wages and hours in Nebraska, 1938____________________
859
Child labor and child welfare:
Child workers on farms in Erie County, N. Y____________________
Children in the theater_______________________________________
Home saving through housekeeper service in Colorado____________
864
865
869
Indian workers:
Employment conditions among Indians_________________________
Progress of Indian arts and crafts______________________________
872
874
Social security:
Placement work of public employment services, January 1941______
Unemployment-compensation operations, January 1941___________
Wisconsin unemployment-insurance law and employment stabilization.
877
882
890
Cooperation:
Electricity cooperatives in 1940______________ __________________
European cooperatives and the war_____________________________
896
901
Housing conditions:
National Resources Planning Board report on the housing problem. _
916
Health and industrial hygiene:
Health of industrial policyholders, 1940_________________________
Medical care in British factories_______________ ________________
Health of war workers in Great Britain__________________________
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i
920
922
924
Contents
II
Labor laws and court decisions:
Court decisions of interest to labor:
Court holds Labor Board orders must relate to specific issues__.
State labor relations act applicable in absence of Federal juris
diction _______________________________________________
State labor relations act not applicable to hospitals___________
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act of 1937 held constitutional._
Page
928
929
929
930
Population problems:
Decline in family size from 1930 to 1940_________________________
932
Cost and standards of living:
Changes in cost of living from January to February 1941__________
Expenditures of British industrial workers, 1937-38_______________
Diving costs and labor conditions in Spain, 1940_________________
935
937
942
Industrial disputes:
Trend of strikes______________________________________________
Strikes in defense industries during 1940________________________
Activities of the United States Conciliation Service, February 1941. _
944
945
949
Labor turn-over:
Labor turn-over in manufacturing, January 1941_________________
Labor turn-over in the rubber industry, 1939 and 1940____________
952
956
Minimum wages and maximum hours:
Wage order for carpet and rug industry_________________________
Wage determination for die-casting manufacture__________________
Extension of determinations for cotton-garment and raincoat indus
tries______________________________________________________
Activities of Wage and Hour Division, 1939-40__________________
Wage order for glove industry in Puerto Rico____________________
Minimum-wage rates in’Mexico, 1940’and 1941__________________
967
967
968
969
970
971
National income:
Monthly income payments in the United States, 1929 to 1940______
974
Wages and hours of labor:
Average weekly hours in manufacturing, October-November 1940__
Hourly earnings in drug, medicine, and toilet preparations industry,
May 1940____________ ____________________________________
Norway—Wages in 1934 to 1939-40____________________________
Peru—Increased wages for woolen and rayon workers, 1940 and 1941..
Sweden—Wage increase under general collective agreement________
981
988
999
1000
1001
Building operations:
Summary of building construction in principal cities, February 1941.
New dwelling units in nonfarm areas during 1940___________ ______
1002
1006
Retail prices:
Food prices in February 1941___________________ _____________
1015
Wholesale prices:
Wholesale prices inFebruary 1941______________________________
Wholesale price trends of carpets and rugs______________________
1021
1027
Trend of employment and p a y rolls:
Summary of reports for February 1941__________________________
Detailed reports for business and industrial employment, January
1941___________________________________
Labor conditions in Latin America _______________________ 810, 971,
Recent publications of laborinterest________________________________
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1028
1033
1000
1048
This Issue in B rief
'***+ + + ******+ *+ *****+*********+****+**+ ++*#*++ *»+ +*++ t+*+**tm m 4.4.ti
Living Conditions of Puerto
Workers.
Rican
Various studies bearing upon living
and health conditions of Puerto Rican
workers point to widespread malnu
trition and poor health among the
population.
The studies already
made, however, have dealt with par
ticular aspects of the problems or
with limited groups of families. In
order to secure a more reliable picture
of the existing living conditions among
the workers, a carefully planned sur
vey has been undertaken as a WPA
project sponsored by insular agencies
and having the cooperation of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
development of technical plans for
the investigation. Field work started
in January 1941. The survey is to
cover a total of 5,000 families, repre
senting all major lines of employment
and all parts of the Island. Page 785.
Cooperatives in Latin America.
As the Latin American countries are
predominantly agricultural, it is natu
ral that farmers’ cooperatives have
tended to grow faster than the con
sumers’ cooperatives. Exceptions to
this are Colombia and Mexico. In
Colombia consumers’ cooperatives lead
in number of associations but as
regards business done the credit
cooperatives are first. In Argentina
electrical associations are well devel
oped and, contrary to the situation in
most countries of the world, are in
urban instead of rural areas. In
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico,
cooperatives tend to be formed in
definite occupational groups (as rail
road employees and soldiers), although
there are also open-membership asso
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ciations. Cooperatives formed by stu
dents and teachers in the schools are
found in Brazil and Mexico where they
are an important feature of the co
operative movement. Page 810.
Salaries and Working Conditions in
Police Departments.
With 19 police-department em
ployees for each 10,000 of population
the annual per capita cost in 1938 was
$4.39 in a large group of American
cities. The average annual salary
of the employees was $2,345. Exclud
ing the New York City department,
the number of employees is reduced
to 17 for each 10,000 of population, the
cost to $3.74 per capita, and the
average salary to $2,181. Occupation
or rank accounted for the greatest
variation in salaries. For example,
the commissioner heading the New
York City department received $12,500 annually and cleaners in the main
tenance department received $960 a
year. Average annual earnings de
creased directly with the size of city
from $2,355 in cities of 500,000 popula
tion and over (excluding New York)
to $1,907 in cities of 25,000 to 50,000.
The majority of the employees worked
8 hours a day with a fraction of a day
or a full day off each week. Page 817.
Hourly Earnings in the Drug Industry.
Male employees in the drug, medi
cine, and toilet preparations industry
in May 1940 earned an average of 65.9
cents an hour, female employees, 46.3
cents, and both sexes combined, 54.6
cents. Hourly earnings were highest
in the midwestern region (57.4 cents)
and lowest in the southern region (44.2
cents). Page 988.
IV
This Issue in Brief
Overtime Provisions in Union Agree
ments.
Protection of hours standards by the
requirement of a higher than regular
rate of pay for overtime and holiday
work has been a traditional policy
with organized labor. The most com
mon overtime rate is time and a half
the regular rate. Outside of contin
uous process and maintenance work,
time and a half rates^are usually pro
vided for Sunday and holiday work,
as well as for Saturday work. Over
time and holiday wage provisions in
the union agreements for the indus
tries closely related to defense activi
ties are not unlike those in other
agreements. A detailed description of
such overtime and holiday wage
provisions in these defense industries
appears on page 841.
Child Labor on New York Farms.
Last summer 472 children 10 years
of age or under—30 of them under
5—were found working up to 10 hours
a day, picking beans and berries on
100 commercial farms in Erie County,
N. Y. The survey which disclosed
this fact and other undesirable con
ditions in connection with these
undertakings was made by the New
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York State Department of Labor.
The investigation covered 3,670 work
ers of whom nearly three-fifths were
under 18 years of age. According to
one inspector, children were preferred
to adults because the former were in
many cases more successful pickers
than the older workers, as the older
folk get fatigued in the sun. Page 864.
Improved Health Conditions.
An uninterrupted series of mortality
records maintained by the Metro
politan Life Insurance Co. for 30
years, covering its many millions of
industrial policyholders, shows that in
1940 the death rate equaled the lowest
figure ever registered for this group—
7.60 per 1,000 insured lives recorded
in 1939. An all-time high of almost
63 years in the average length of life,
or expectation of life at birth, has now
been reached. One of the most
important public-health developments
during the year was the sharp decline
in the mortality from pneumonia
which has resulted from the introduc
tion of highly effective serums and
drugs. Increases in mortality among
the policyholders last year were almost
entirely due to the chronic diseases of
middle and later life. Page 920.
MONTHLY LABOR
KUiM AZuO P
FOR APRIL 1941
MAY 9
1941
LIVING CONDITIONS OF WORKERS IN PUERTO RICO
By Alice C. H anson, Bureau of Labor Statistics
PUERTO RICO is a tropical island 100 miles long by 35 miles wide,
located 1,150 miles northeast of the Panama Canal, 1,050 miles south
east of Miami, Fla., and 550 miles north of South America. It was
under Spanish control from 1493 until 1898, when it became terri
tory of the United States.
Its location has acquired new strategic importance with the accelera
tion of the national defense program. The Island is now the site of
a rapidly developing naval air base designed to serve as an outpost
for the protection of the Panama Canal and the southeast portions of
the mainland.
Characteristics of the Island
Climate.—Though Puerto Rico is situated in the torrid zone, its
climate is not extremely tropical. The mean annual temperature of
76.5° for the entire Island is slightly higher than the corresponding
figure for Hawaii, but 4° lower than that for the Philippines. The
range between average January and July temperatures is only 6°.
Annual average temperatures for coastal stations range from 75 to
80°; those in the interior, at altitudes above 1,000 feet, from 68 to 74°.
Day temperatures on the coast, generally between 80 and 90°, are
conducive to profuse perspiration with physical exertion. As the
relative humidity throughout the 24 hours is generally above 75 per
cent, evaporation is rather slow unless the surrounding air is in
motion. Consequently, locations protected from the prevailing
breezes seem uncomfortably hot, while those open to the trade winds
of this latitude are cool and pleasant. There are generally sea
breezes by day and land breezes at night. As the interior of the
Island is composed of mountains reaching elevations as high as 4,000
feet, the air drainage from high altitudes to the coasts results in
refreshing night temperatures, especially during the winter months.
The principal difference between periods of the year lies in the
rains, which descend in frequent sudden downpours during the sum-
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785
786
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
mer and fall months. The winter rains are relatively much lighter.
Puerto Rico is in the storm belt of the Caribbean region and has been
visited from time to time by devastating hurricanes, the most severe
of recent date being in 1928 and 1932. At such times, crops are
ruined, animals killed, trees destroyed, huts and flimsily constructed
buildings carried away or demolished, and great damage done to the
buildings left standing.
Density of population.—In 1935 the total population was 1,700,000,
and there were 507 inhabitants per square mile—a population denser
than that of Java, Great Britain, Belgium, or the Netherlands. By
1940 the population had increased to almost 1,900,000 and the
density to 544. Population increased 19 percent from 1920 to 1930
and 21 percent from 1930 to 1940, practically all of the increase
coming from the excess of the birth rate over the death rate. Ob
servations in Puerto Rico, and all studies of its condition, show that
it now has a larger population than can be adequately supported
with present resources.
Custom and tradition.—In Puerto Rico, Spanish customs and tra
ditions still predominate in daily living. Geographically and in
many of its cultural ties, the Island is closer to South America than
to North America. Although schools have been established, roads
built, and public health measures taken under United States ad
ministration, Spanish remains the native language of the people and
Latin standards of hospitality, family relationships, and social pro
cedure prevail.
There has been a consistent effort to teach English in the public
schools, not always with satisfactory results. Considerable doubt
prevails among informed persons as to the efficacy of forcing bi
lingualism upon children at an early age. At present the public
schools follow the policy of presenting the same subject matter in
English for half the day and in Spanish for the other half of the day.
Holidays are observed not only for legal United States holidays
but also for Discovery Day, Abolition Day, and other special occasions
rooted in the Island’s tradition.
The tropical climate calls for a totally different way of living from
that found in the continental United States. The main meal is eaten
at home at noon and in some cases is followed by a siesta during the
hottest part of the day. Houses customarily have no windows or
screens and everyone who can afford it sleeps under a mosquito net.
Much of the living is done out of doors, and porches and balconies
are always occupied.
Principal Lines of Employment
The economy of the Island is essentially agricultural and is based on
the exchange of goods with other areas, principally the United States
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Cojidilions of Workers in Puerto Rico
787
mainland. Puerto Rico sells sugar, tobacco, grapefruit, pineapples,
coffee, winter vegetables, and services (in the form of needlework).
It buys food, clothing, and manufactured goods.1 Approximately
two-thirds of the population is rural and one-third lives in cities and
towns. In 1935, greatest employment was offered by sugar growing
and processing, the principal cash crop of the Island. Another princi
pal source of employment was needlework, much of which was done
by women in their homes through a system of agents and subcontract
ing. Materials to be embroidered or sewed were shipped in from New
York, processed on the Island, and returned to the States for market
ing. Needlework had grown to its commanding position in the Island’s
economy during the interval since World War days. By the time that
European migrants had practically ceased to come to the United
States, the needlework industry had found in Puerto Rico a new source
of labor willing to accept low wages. The Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1938, setting hourly wage rates of 25 and later 30 cents, had the
temporary effect of drastically curtailing employment in needlework.
Following the action in 1940 of a special industry committee in reduc
ing the minimum to 12 cents for homework and 20 cents for factory
work in needlework, some revival in employment is now taking place.
Besides sugar and needlework, tobacco growing and stripping
formed in 1935 another large source of employment for Island workers.
Other important industries or lines of employment were in coffee, fruit
growing, building construction in San Juan and other cities, work on
the wharves, and liquor distilling (the latter principally rum, a by
product of sugar).
Originally embodied in a congressional resolution of 1900, and re
affirmed in the Organic Act of Puerto Rico of 1917, was a provision
limiting corporations authorized to engage in agriculture to a maxi
mum land ownership of 500 acres. This requirement has not been
effectively enforced, however,2 and much of the arable land of Puerto
Rico is in great sugar plantations, some locally owned, but many held
by stockholders in the States. In recent years the question of en
forcing the legal requirement has been revived 3 and efforts are now
under way to raise funds to buy back the lands held by large corpora
tions, as well as to solve other questions connected with enforcement.
i “The reason for the existence of an exchange economy is that generally more goods are available for the
population than under a strict self-sufficiency. Puerto Rico can produce sugar cheaper than the United
States. The United States produces rice cheaper than Puerto Rico. Both areas benefit from the trade.
The same situation is true of nearly all oi the other products exchanged.” (Puerto Rico Agricultural Experi
ment Station, Bull. No. 51: An Economic Background for Agricultural Research, by E. B. Hill and S. L.
Descartes, San Juan, December 1939, p. 37.)
* Work Projects Administration and Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration. Puerto Rico, a guide
to the Island of Boriquen, New York, 1940, p. 57. See also press release, U. S. Department of Interior, dated
January 14,1941.
* In March 1940, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the law. R. G. Tugwell was appointed
by Secretary of the Interior Ickes in January 1941 to investigate methods of putting the law into effect.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
788
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Coffee and minor crops such as vegetables are known as “ small
men’s crops” and are raised on units of ground much less extensive
than are required for sugar. Individual peasants sometimes own or
rent an acre or less of ground on which they raise a few chickens,
perhaps a pig and a goat, and a few starchy vegetables such as plantain,
yautia, and breadfruit.
Level of Income and W ages
FA M ILY INC O M E
No comprehensive data are available for a comparison of income
and wages in the United States proper and on the Island. Detailed
studies have, however, been made for certain sections.
The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration in surveys made in
1936 and 1937,4 found annual family incomes among agricultural
families in four areas of the Island averaging $171. These figures
include the value of home-produced food consumed by the families
but not the value of housing occupied rent free.5
T able
1.—Annual Income of 5,743 Agricultural Families in Puerto Rico, 1936-37
Area
All areas com bined..,
...
___. . . . . . _____ _
Tobacco area______________ _______ .
Coffee area.. ____ _______ ______ _________ _
Fruit area.. ______ _____________________ .
Sugarcane area________________ _ _______ .
Annual income from
wages, products sold
or consumed and
other sources of in
come
Per family
Per capita
$171.29
$28. 71
176.98
155.88
205. 77
254. 63
28.96
27.31
32. 36
48. 59
A survey conducted in 1933 by social workers and rural home eco
nomics teachers of the Insular Department of Education 6 covered
150 rural families in 10 localities. The families surveyed were selected
by the investigators, on the basis of their knowledge of the com
munities, to represent a high level, a medium level, and a low level
within the community. Knowing the general standards of living
4 Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration. Health Division. Health and Socio-Economic Studies
in Puerto Rico, I: Health and Socio-Economic Conditions on a Sugarcane Plantation, by P. Morales Otero,
Manuel A. Perez, and others. (Reprinted from Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical M edi
cine, June 1937.) Health and Socio-Economic Studies in Puerto Rico, II: Health and Socio-Economic
Conditions in the Tobacco, Coffee and Fruit Regions, by P. Morales Otero, Manuel A. Perez, and others.
(Reprinted from Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, March 1939.)
5 All but 3.6 percent of the houses in the sugar area were owned by the occupants or were furnished rent
free by the sugar “central.” In the other areas combined houses were owned or furnished by employers in
all but 2 percent of the cases. The percentage of owned homes is higher in the tobacco (52 percent) and in
the citrus fruit (56 percent) areas. The percentage of houses furnished rent free by employers is highest in
the coffee area (73 percent) and lowest in the citrus fruit area (42 percent).
6 Puerto Rico, Department of Education. Bulletin No. 1, Whole No. 125: Rural Life in Puerto Rico, by
Dorothy D . Bourne and Luz M . Ramos. Study 1: Standards of Living in Puerto Rico. San Juan, 1932.
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789
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
prevailing in the communities and knowing the individual families
and their positions in the communities, these investigators were
assumed to be in a position to choose the families which, regardless of
the actual amounts of their incomes, lived at planes which might be
designated as high, medium, and low for their communities. The
following statement shows the average weekly income which was
ascertained for each of these three groups of families.
Average weekly
income
_______
_______
_______
50 families at high level__
50 families at medium level
50 families at low level _
$18. 06
6. 39
2. 32
Average
persons
per family
8. 1
7. 7
5. 9
Many city families fared no better on the whole than rural ones.
Of 8,159 families living in the slums of San Juan,7 more than threefifths (62 percent) had incomes of less than $7.88 during the week of
the survey in 1938. This figure includes wages, income from business,
gifts, relief, and “odd jobs,” but not the value of home-produced food
or income in kind from owned home. The families covered in the
study constituted 30 percent of all families in San Juan and 27 percent
of the entire San Juan population.
W AGES
Data on wage rates paid do not, of course, indicate total family
incomes, because of the uncertainty as to length of time worked and
number of earners contributing to the family purse. Nevertheless,
information on wage rates paid suggests possible resulting family
incomes. Average earnings paid to adult workers (largely unskilled
workers) on farms and in industrial establishments for which the
Insular Commissioner of Labor obtained data in 1938-39 are shown
in table 2. They are compared with corresponding figures for adults
(largely white collar workers) in commercial establishments. It is
seen that hourly rates are not so different in the two types of employ
ment, but that the clerical workers customarily work a full 48-hour
week. Hence their actual weekly earnings are notably higher than
those of wage earners.
7
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, Rural Rehabilitation Division. Estudio Preliminar de
las Condiciones de Vida en los Arrabales de San Juan, Por Manuel A. Perez. San Juan, 1939. (For trans
lated condensation of this study on living conditions in San Juan slums by Manuel A. Perez, see Puerto
Rico Labor News, Vol. II, No. 3, M ay-June 1939.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
790
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Table 2 —Average Earnings of Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Puerto Rico,
1938-391
Type and number of establishments, and
sex of workers
Farms and industrial establishments (961) 2
Men (938 establishments)
Women (315 establishments) __ _
Commercial establishments (853)3
Men (842 establishments)
Women (231 establishments). . _
Number
of
workers
Percent of
full-time
actually
worked
in week
62, 398
47, 752
14. 617
62.0
60. 4
67.9
19.3
21.0
13.8
$9 55
10 59
6.46
$5. 92
6,641
5, 490
1,147
97.8
97.9
97.2
20.7
22.1
13.9
9. 93
10 57
6.74
9. 70
Average
hourly
earnings
(cents)
Full-time
weeklj
earnings
Actual
weekly
earnings
4. 40
6. 56
1 Data are from Annual Report of Commissioner of Labor of Puerto Rico, 1938-39
2 Total figures include 29 boys and girls.
3 Total figures include 4 boys and girls.
For 62,398 wage earners in the 961 farms and industrial establish
ments shown in table 2, the modal wage was 14 cents per hour and the
median wage 17 cents. The distribution by hourly rates (not includ
ing home work) is indicated in the accompanying statement.
Percent
of workers
4.99 cents or less_______________ 0. 7
5 to 9.99 cents_________________ 6. 1
10 to 14.99 cents______________ 35 . 5
15 to 19.99 cents______________ 17. 7
20 to 24.99 cents______________ 4 . 8
25 to 29.99 cents_______________ 20. 4
Percent
of workers
30 to 34.99cents______________
35 to 39.99cents______________
40 to 44.99cents______________
45 to 49.99cents______________
50 to 54.99cents______________
55 cents and over______________
2. 6
1. 6
2. 3
3. 5
1. 0
3. 8
The concentration at 25 to 30 cents per hour is probably explained
by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which set a 25-cent hourly
minimum for nonagricultural employment in lines affected by inter
state trade.
The customary length of the workweek for a person fully employed
was 48 hours, but actual hours worked by wage earners rarely reached
that number, as indicated in table 2.
There was, of course, considerable difference in the wages paid in
different lines of work and as between men and women. Data ob
tained by the Commissioner of Labor for 1938-39, indicate that the
highest average earnings per hour for men employed in industrial
enterprises and in agriculture, were found to be 49.8 cents paid to
workers on wharves and the lowest, 6.1 cents received by men working
in tobacco-growing fields. The average for 47,752 men in 938 farms
and establishments of all kinds was 27 cents and the median hourly
wage was 20 cents. These figures do not include earnings from
home work, regarding which the Commissioner reported it virtually
impossible to obtain accurate information.
Wages for 14,617 women (exclusive of home work) ranged from 4.4
cents (the average in truck gardening) to 27.3 cents (the average in
hat factories). The average for women in 315 establishments and
farms regardless of line of employment was 13 cents per hour.
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791
Following are average actual weekly earnings as reported by the
Insular Commissioner of Labor for the fiscal year 1938-39 for selected
lines of employment:
Men
Building trades___—
Cigar factories---------Coffee growing---------Coffee roasting______
Fruit planting_______
H at factories________
Sugarcane planting---Sugar factories---------Sugar refineries______
Tobacco-growing fields
Tobacco stripping___
Truck gardening_____
Wharves___________
$10. 78
6. 49
2. 17
7. 40
2. 73
9. 81
3. 67
9. 41
8. 46
2. 57
4. 93
2. 91
3. 87
Women
___
$4. 56
3. 00
1. 26
7. 22
3. 90
3. 46
2. 28
4. 39
2. 10
In 78 needlework establishments (factories) engaged in interstate
commerce in 1939-40, average hourly earnings of 4 percent of the
workers were below 12 cents; earnings of 14 percent were 12 cents (the
figure set by the minimum wage law of the Island) ; earnings of 43
percent averaged from 13 to under 25 cents; 14 percent were paid 25
cents (the figure established by the Fair Labor Standards Act) ; and
25 percent earned more than that amount.8
The most extensive study of earnings of home workers in needle
work 9 showed that in 1933-34, 84 percent of the women surveyed
received less than 3 cents per hour and 97 percent less than 5 cents per
hour. Total family earnings from all sources of these home workers
amounted to less than $3 per week in 78 percent of the cases surveyed.
There is some evidence that Puerto Rican wages are increasing.10
The general impact of Federal aid and defense programs in the Island,
8 Data obtained by Insular Department of Labor. (Quoted by U. S. Department of Labor, Wage and
Hour Division in its report, Puerto Rico: The Needlework Industry. Washington, 1940.)
« U . S. Department of Labor. Women’s Bureau. Bulletin No. 118: The Employment of Women in
Puerto Rico, by Caroline Manning. Washington, 1934. See also National Recovery Administration,
Survey of Home Workers in the Needlework Industry, by Julio B. Ortiz and Mildred Hayes, San
Juan, 1935 (mimeographed).
io Thus, the Annual report of the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Labor, 1938-39, states (pp. 48, 49):
The number of wage earners receiving the lowest rates of pay has been decreasing steadily in Puerto Rico.
In the fiscal year 1937-38, about 64.8 percent of the total number of workers in industry taken into consider
ation, received wages under $1.20 a day and $7.20 a week. This was already an improvement on the year
1936-37 when 73 5 percent of the total number of workers received such wages. But in 1938-39, 26,432 out
of 62 398 under consideration, or only about 42.4 percent, received average wages under 15 cents per hour.
The same thing holds true with reference to employees in commercial establishments. While in 1937-38,
about 51 percent of such employees received wages under $1.20 a day or $7.20 a week, in 1938-39, about 46
percent only received such low wages.
.
,
In 1937-38, the general average wage for industrial workers, including agriculture, was 15.7 cents per hour.
In 1938-39, said average wage was 19.3 cents per hour.
.
__ ,
For workers in commercial establishments the general average wage m 1937-38 was 19.6 cents per hour,
while in 1938-39 it was 20.7 cents per hour.
* * *
.
In general there has been an improvement in the conditions of workers, as evidenced by higher wages for
shorter hours of work. Wages, however, remain low, compared with continental scales, the highest average
in industry being 49.8 cents per hour, and in commerce 65.3 cents, while the lowest rates were 5.7 cents per
hour in industry, and 6.4 cents in commercial establishments.
For some discussion of wages paid prior to 1930, see Brookings Institution report: Porto Rico and its
Problems, Washington, 1934.
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together with improved economic conditions in the States (with which
the Island’s economy is closely tied), have shown some effect. So,
likewise, has the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which was made
specifically applicable to the Island.
The trend toward increasing wages appears to be confirmed by
data from claims for workmen’s compensation. An analysis of 200,000
claims over a period of 4 years from 1935 to 1939, yields information
on wage payments which were checked both with employees making
the claim and their employers. Table 3 shows the median daily
wage paid in the principal lines of employment.
T able 3.— Median Daily Wage in 200,000 Claims for Workmen’s Compensation in
Puerto Rico, 1935-36 to 1938-39 1
Line of employment
General farming . ___
Sugarcane plantations, _______ ,
Sugar mills_________ ____ ___ . .
Tobacco stripping and warehousing.. . . .
Needlework and clothing manufacturers (factory)
Concrete construction. .
Railroad employment
Stevedoring and warehousing
M anual labor. _ .
_ .
1935-36
$0. 60
.90
1.00
. 75
1.00
1.23
1.16
2.40
1.00
1936-37
1937-38
$0. 65
1.00
1.00
.80
1.00
1. 20
1.00
2. 56
1.00
$0. 70
1.00
1.08
1.00
1.00
1 20
l. h
3.05
1.10
1938-39
$1
1
1
1
0(1
2]'
50
00
1 10
3 00
1.21
1 Data are from Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund, Bulletin No. 2: Analysis of D aily Waee Wage Loss
Compensation and Other Related Factors for the Policy Years 1935-39, by I. W. Jacobs, San Juan, 1940
The figures cited in table 3, and the data reported by the Insular
Commissioner of Labor for work on sugarcane plantations, tobacco
growing, and fruit planting may be tentatively compared with figures
on farm wage rates for Southern States on the mainland. Releases
of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Market
ing Service, show the wage rates (without board) for hired farm labor,
given in table 4.
T able 4 — Wage Rates ( Without Board) for Hired Farm Labor in Southern Portion of
the United States in Specified Months of 1938 and 1939
South Atlantic
East South Central
Date
Per month
1938: J a n u a r y .._____
April________ .
July__________________________
October. _. .
1939: January_________ .
April_____ . . . _
July________________________
October_____________ .
$25.06
24.43
25.11
24. 40
24.93
24.32
25.17
24.80
Per day
$1.19
1.15
1.19
1.16
1.18
1.14
1. 20
1.19
Per month
$22.43
22.73
23.05
22. 66
22.47
22. 95
23. 57
22.81
Per day
$1.02
1.00
1.03
1.03
1.03
1.02
1.04
1.03
The daily rates for Puerto Rico compare favorably with those for
hired farm laborers in Southern States. However, actual earnings are
low in Puerto Rico because of the high degree of seasonality; for
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
793
example, 6 months of the year are characteristically the slow or dead
season in sugarcane growing and processing. In view of the scarcity
of data on annual earnings of farm laborers in Puerto Rico and in the
United States, no precise comparison can be made.
Prices and Cost of Living
COST OF R E C O M M E N D E D B U D G E T S
Several attempts have been made to work out lists of foods which
can be recommended from a nutritional standpoint and which would
correspond, in part at least, with Puerto Rican dietary habits. The
most recent food budget for persons in various age and activity
groups, was prepared in terms of 12 groups of food with some sug
gestions of probable choices within each group, by Dr. Hazel K.
Stiebeling, of the United States Bureau of Home Economics.11 This
food budget provides a diet which can be interpreted in terms of
Puerto Rican foodstuffs, which would be relatively low in cost and
yet meet all now-known nutritional requirements.12
In evolving the proposed food budget, consideration was given to
information on customary food consumption of urban families in
Puerto Rico with average incomes of $734 per year. The average
food consumption of these families is shown in table 12 of this article.
The details of the recommended food budget are indicated in table 5.
The quantities of foods required, according to the Stiebeling diet
plan, were computed by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
for a family of 5 persons.13 These were then expressed in terms of
actual foodstuffs for which prices are reported by the Commissioner
of Labor of Puerto Rico. Included in the potato and sweetpotato
food group were yams and tanias. In the cereal and grain group,
three-fourths of the weight was assigned to rice. In the meat, poultry,
and fish group, 40 percent was assigned to beef, and 30 percent to
codfish and other fish.
The cost at 1939-40 prices (table 7) of this adequate food budget
for a family of five persons comes to a total of $353.86 per year or
11 This food budget was submitted on September 7, 1940, for use by the Wage and Hour Division, U. S.
Department of Labor, in connection with hearings before the Special Industry Committee for Puerto Rico.
(See U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, A Preliminary Memorandum on Cost of Living in Puerto Rico,
prepared by Alice C. Hanson, Washington, September 1940 (mimeographed).)
i* In commenting on the diet, Dr. Stiebeling said, “ This food budget includes more dairy products than
Puerto Ricans customarily use. Their customary diets are extremely low in calcium as well as in many
other nutrients. The quantities suggested for the various age and activity groups are sufficient to support
with a fairly wide margin of safety persons of the average weight and stature found in the United States.
Puerto Ricans tend to be much smaller in stature. This may be due in part to generations of existence on
diets that are inadequate for optimal development. Somewhat less food than is indicated in the budgets
would support adults of smaller stature. Children, however, should have the opportunity for diets as
generous as these if they are to obtain the full measure of health and stature which their heredity would
make possible.”
w Husband, over 20 years of age, moderately active; wife, over 20 years of age, moderately active; a boy 13
to 15 years of age; a girl 8 to 10 years of age; and a boy 4 to 6 years of age.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
794
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
$6.80 per week. Details of the cost of this diet are indicated, in table
6, published here for the first time.
T able 5.—A Low-Cost Adequate Diet for Puerto Rico—Food Required for Persons of
Varying Age, Sex, and A ctivity 1
Kinds and quantities of foods for a year
Family member
Children under 2 years.
Children 2 to 3 years___
Boys:
4 to 6 years ..........__
7 to 8 years. ______
9 to 10 years- _____
11 to 12 years _____
13 to 15 years- -- . .
16 to 19 years______
Girls:
4 to 7 years. ______
8 to 10 years ______
11 to 13 years______
14 to 19 years- . . . _
Men 20 years and over:
Very active_______
Moderately a c tiv e ..
Sedentary . . __
Women 20 years and
over:
Very active_______
Moderately a c tiv e ..
Sedentary ______
In pregnancy........ .
In lactation_______
Pota Toma Leafy, M a
green, ture Other
toes,
vege
M ilk2 sweet- toes, yellow dry
citrus vege beans, tables, Eggs
pota fruits4
peas,
fruits8
toes 3
tables nuts
Qt.
260
260
Lb.
80
100
Lb.
50
50
Lb.
15
25
180
180
180
180
180
180
120
130
140
140
160
220
50
50
50
50
50
50
25
30
30
30
25
20
15
30
40
40
40
40
70
130
170
200
260
260
180
180
180
180
120
130
140
140
50
50
50
50
25
30
30
30
15
30
40
40
90
90
180
300
160
140
50
50
50
20
25
30
180
180
180
365
365
160
140
100
140
180
50
50
50
50
50
30
30
30
40
40
Lb.
Lb. Dm.
30
18
50
18
Lean
meat,
poul
try,
fish 8
Lb.
Lb.
40
80
Lb.
7
10
Lb.
10
15
15
15
13
13
11
25
50
60
80
80
100
90
140
160
170
200
270
15
15
15
15
15
15
3
15
25
25
40
50
20
30
40
50
65
65
70
130
170
200
15
15
15
13
25
50
60
80
90
140
160
170
15
15
15
15
3
15
25
25
20
30
40
50
80
70
40
260
240
200
11
11
13
120
100
80
320
200
160
15
15
15
65
30
25
80
65
40
40
40
25
25
25
260
240
200
280
300
13
13
13
15
15
100
80
80
80
80
200
170
120
140
180
15
15
15
15
15
30
25
25
25
30
65
50
40
40
50
3
6
Lb.
Rice,
flour, But Other Sug
cere ter fats ars
als 7
3
10
Yearly total for fam ily..
M onthly total (divide
by 12)______________
Weekly total (divide by
50)8________________
* Prepared by Dr. Hazel K. Stiebeling, Senior Food Economist, U . S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau
of Home Economics.
2 Including fluid whole milk or its equivalent in evaporated milk, dried milk or cheese. (17 ounces of
evaporated milk is equivalent to approximately 1 quart whole milk; 5 ounces of cheese is equivalent to
approximately 1 quart whole milk.
3 Including white potatoes, names, yucca, sweetpotatoes, and yautia.
4 Including tomatoes and citrus fruit (grapefruit).
8 Including bananas and plantains.
6 Including beef, pork, poultry and fish.
7 Including flour equivalent of bread and other baked goods.
8 This rounded figure is used, instead of 52, because the recommended quantities are given in rounded
numbers.
An earlier estimate was made in 1933 by the Insular Department of
Labor, based on a list of foods submitted by Dr. Joseph Axtmayer
of the School of Tropical Medicine.14
The only place in which a standard budget is set forth covering all
items of family expenditure is in a pamphlet prepared by Mrs. Kita K.
14 Puerto Rico. Department of Labor. Bulletin No. 5; A Report on Wages and Working Hours in
Various Industries and on the Cost of Living, in the Island of Puerto Rico, During the Year 1933, by Artemio
P. Rodriguez. San Juan, 1934. See also Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor, 1933-34 (pp. 84, 85).
The foods in that list represented a diet for a farmer which meets all the physiological requirements of
his body. This diet was prepared on the basis of menus used at the University Hospital in San Juan and
unquestionably represents a standard considerably higher than that generally attained by the population.
According to calculations of tho Insular Department of Labor, the weekly cost of this diet in 1933 was $3.19
per adult or $11.17 for a family of man, wife, and three children.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
J able 6.
795
Cost (at 1939-40 Prices) of a Low-cost Adequate Diet for Puerto Rican Family
of Husband, Wife, and 3 Children 1
Food group
M ilk______________
Fluid________ _____
Evaporated______________
Potatoes, sweetpotatoes
Potatoes__________
Yams________ ____ _
Tanias______________
Sweetpotatoes __________
Tomatoes, citrus fruit______ ____
Tomatoes__________
Oranges, _ ________ .
Leafy, green, yellow vegetables________
Cabbage_______________
Carrots________ _____
Garlic________________
Okra...... ..................
Onions_______ _______
String beans____________
Pigeon peas, fresh_____ ______
Mature dry beans, peas, and nuts____
Beans, white (American)_____
Beans, white (Puerto Rican)____
Blackeyed peas__________
Chickpeas_____ _____
Kidney beans (red American)
Kidney beans (red Puerto Rican)
Pigeon peas, dry________ _____
Other vegetables, fruits__________
B an an a s_______________
Coconuts_____________
Plantains_______________
Eggs------------------------------------------------Lean meat, poultry, fish.....................
Beef, boneless_________ _____
Beef, dried_______________
Pork chops______________
Pork, other_________ .
Chicken_______
Fish___ _____________
Codfish, salt______________
Rice, flour, cereals___________
R ice... _______________
Cornmeal ____ _____
Flour_______________________
Butter, tub______________
Other fats, lard (mixed)___ ______
Sugar (second grade)____________ ____
Unit
Quart.._
Q uart...
Q uart...
P ou nd..
Pound
P ou nd..
P o u n d ..
Pound _.
P ou n d ..
P ou n d ..
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
Pound.
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P o u n d ._
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P o u n d ._
P ou nd..
P ou n d ..
P o u n d ._
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P ou nd..
P o u n d ..
P ou n d ..
P ound..
D o z e n ..
Pound.
P ou n d ..
Pound. .
Pound __
Pound__
Pound._
P o u n d ._
P ou nd..
Pound. .
P ou n d ..
P o u n d ..
P ound..
P ound..
P ou n d ..
P o u n d ..
Relative
weight
100.0
90.0
10.0
100.0
16.7
16.7
16.6
50.0
100.0
50.0
50.0
100.0
25.0
8.4
8.3
8.3
25.0
12.5
12.5
100.0
14.3
14.3
14.3
14.3
14.3
14.3
14.2
100.0
33.4
33.3
33.3
100.0
100.0
20.0
20.0
5.0
5.0
20.0
15.0
15.0
100.0
75.0
12.5
12.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
Price
(cents)
10.3
2 9. 6
17. 0
2.1
2.8
2.0
2.3
1.9
4.0
6.2
3 1.8
6.2
5.5
6.6
< 16.0
6.5
4.3
4.4
6. 3
6.9
6.4
7.6
5.7
9.8
7. 1
7.7
4.2
6.9
8 1.0
8 16.0
7 3. 6
33.6
20.9
21.9
18.9
21.8
19.2
37.5
12.3
9.2
4.2
4.4
3.2
4.0
16.7
8.9
4.4
Total cost, per year________ _____ _ . . . . .
Total cost, per week. ______________________
Quan
tity for
1 year
Annual
cost, at
1939-40
prices
810
$83. 43
710
14.91
250
10.00
135
8. 37
195
13. 46
940
64. 86
67
335
22. 51
70. 02
800
33.60
75
113
230
12. 52
10. 06
10.12
353. 86
6. 80
1 This diet is based upon the low-cost adequate food budget shown in table 5.
2 1 liter =1.0567 quarts.
5 1 dozen oranges=4 pounds.
1 1 head garlic=1 ounce.
5 1 dozen bananas=4 pounds.
8 1 coconut (dry) =3 ounces.
7 1 plantain=V6 pound.
Lang, issued in 1935 by the Social Service Department, Nutritional
Division, of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.15 A
>8 Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Social Service Department. Recopilación de datos sobre
Nutrición adaptada a Puerto Rico. Recommendaciones para la preparación de los alimentos que reparten
las Comisarias y Jardines Comunales, by Mrs. Rita R. Lang. San Juan, 1935.
The pamphlet also presents menus for 1 week for a family of five persons, costing from 2.7 to 5.7 cents per
person per meal. These menus were designed for guidance in utilization of food distributed by Commodity
Distribution Centers and Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration community gardens to families on
relief. The menus represent a nutritionally wiser allocation of limited money for food than is customarily
found among Puerto Ricans. Following is a sample of 1 day’s menus for five persons. As the trend in
food prices has been upward since 1935, the current cost of these menus would be somewhat higher. (Con
tinued on p. 796.)
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
budget which was regarded as sufficient to meet the needs of a family
of five persons of the lowest economic group for 1 week without
incurring debts was calculated as follows:
Food___________________________ $3. 45
Rent____________________________ 1. 05
Clothing________________________
.89
H ealth__________________________
. 58
Light, water, etc_________________
. 72
Miscellaneous____________________
. 45
Total_____________________
7. 14
The budget was based upon a study of actual expenditures of 215
families of urban laborers,16 and upon socio-economic analyses con
ducted at the University of Puerto Rico.
R E T A IL P R IC E S
An important factor in the cost of living in Puerto Rico is the fact
that many of the items which families buy are imported from the
United States. Of the three most important constituents of the diet—
salt codfish, rice, and beans—the first two are wholly imported, as are
about 60 percent of the beans. Other items which are entirely im
ported are wheat and wheat preparations, canned vegetables, proc
essed milk, cheese and butter, fats and oils.17 Clothing, most types of
furniture, and most manufactured articles are likewise imported.
Seventy-four items of household goods were priced at retail in
various towns by the Insular Department of Labor for the fiscal year,
1939-40. During that year increases occurred in the prices of a
number of the most important foodstuffs constituting the Puerto
Rican diet. Of the 74 items priced, 42 showed increases over the
corresponding figures for 1936-37 and 25 articles decreased in price.
Many of the items which showed a decrease in price were articles not
Breakfast
3 grapefruit_____________________________ $0.03
94 liter evaporated m ilk__________________
. 04
^ pound bread____. _____________________
.03
Coffee___ __________________________ ___
.015
Su gar____________
.005
Oleomargarine__________________________
. 01
Total cost _______________________
Cost per person...____ ______ _______
Noon meal
J-i pound codfish________________________
2 eggs______________________________ ____ _
H pound string beans____________ ________
2 pounds sweetpotatoes___________________
14 pound cornmeal_______________________
Oil_______________________________________
Vinegar___________________________
.13
. 026
. 05
. 02
. 02
. 01
.005
M ilk____________________________________ $0.01
Sugar___________________________________ . 01
Salt_________________________________________ .0025
Total cost___ _____ _________________
Cost per person_____________________
.17
. 034
Evening meal
Canned meat____________________________
94 pound rice____________________________
54 pound beans___________________________
Tomatoes________________________ ____ _
04Lard and annato (achiote)________________
Salt_____________________________________
94 liter evaporated m ilk___________________
J4 pound bread__________ _•_______________
. 10
. 03
. 02
.02
. 01
. 0025
. 04
. 03
Total cost__________________________
.0025Cost per person................................... .......
. 2525
.0505
i6 Puerto Rico. Department of Education. Study on the Distribution of the Weekly Expenditures
of Laborers in the Urban Zone of Puerto Rico, by Luz M. Ramos. San Juan, 1933.
See P. R. Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 55: The Food Supply of Puerto Rico, by E. B.
Hill and J. R. Noguera, Rio Piedras, 1940; and Bulletin 51: An Economic Background for Agricultural
Research in Puerto'Rico,rby E. B. Hill and S. L. Descartes, Rio Piedras, 1939.
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Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
usually within the financial reach of the majority of Puerto Rican
consumers. Although the price of codfish was lower than in 1936—37,
it was 2.1 cents higher than in 1938-39. The Insular Department of
Labor estimates, on the basis of comparable figures, that in 1939—40
Puerto Rican consumers had to pay about $1,395,318 more than in
1938-39 for the rice they consumed, $583,961 more for the beans, and
$542,747 more for the codfish.
Actual prices reported are shown in table 7.
T able 7.—Average Retail Prices of Food and Household Articles in Puerto Rico, Fiscal
Year, 1939-40 1
Commodity
Changes
with referonce to 193637 prices
Price
Commodity
In
D e
crease crease
DeIncrease crease
Cents Cents Cents
9.2
0.3
0.6
1.1
4. 6
5.1
.7
3.1
1.9
Beans, white, American. . . l b . . 6.4
Beans, white, Puerto Rican
1.6
lb .. 7.6
1.8
Beef, bon eless_______ - . .. l b .. 21.9
. .. l b .. 18.9
1.8
Blackeyed peas_______ ... l b - . 5.7
.2
7. 1
7.7
Butter, Brookfield------- ...lb__ 41.9
Butter, tu b___________ . .. l b .. 16.7 10.6
1.4
. . . l b . . 5.5
.5
. . . lb .. 6. 6
15.0
1.8
2.3
Cheese, A m erican____ . .. l b .. 27.4
3.3
Cheese, Puerto R ican.__ . .. l b .. 33.3
Chicken______________ . .. l b .. 37.5
(2)
(2)
.7
. . lb — 9.8
.6
3.0
1.5
Codfish, salted________ . . . l b . . 9.2
Coffee:
7.2
First grade, unroasted lb __ 22.5
Second grade, unroasted
6.8
lb — 20.8
Roasted and ground . . . l b . . 33.3
(2)
(2)
12.2
2.3
Corn, dry hulled, Puerto Rican
.1
lb._ 2.7
.2
Corn meal, yellow_____ —.lb — 3.2
each _ 2.8
.4
. . . l b . . 12.3
(2)
(2)
.1
4.0
Flour, w hite__________ . . l b . .
1.0
1.0
Guava paste__________ . .. l b .. 10.0
1.2
. lb .. 25.0
.1
6.0
Kidney beans, red American
2.3
lb .. 7.1
Annato (Achiote)_____ . .lb ..
Arum (M alanga)______ ...lb ..
Price
Changes
with refer
ence to 193637 prices
Cents Cents Cents
Kidney beans, red Puerto
_____ lb._
Lard, m ix e d ______ _____ lb_.
Lard, pure________ _____ lb ..
M ilk, condensed..-lG-oz. can..
__ liter..
Milki evaporated... 4-oz. can..
.. . lb ..
Oil, mixed, cooking. ._ . . liter..
_____ lb ..
Oleomargarine____ _____ lb —
__ ..liter.
_____ lb ..
___each..
Pigeon peas, dry___ _____ lb ..
Pigeon peas, fresh.. _____ lb_.
each..
_____ lb ..
_____ lb ..
. . . . lb ..
Rice, first grade___ _____ lb__
Rice, second grade.. _____lb ..
. lb ..
Salt, common_____ _____ lb ..
_____ lb._
_ __ bag
4-oz. can..
_____ lb ..
_____lb ..
___lb —
Sugar, best grade.. . _____ lb_.
Sugar, second grade. _____ lb__
lb
_____ lb —
Tenderloin steak__ _____ lb ..
. .. _]b__
____lb ..
...lb ..
7.7
1.5
1.3
8.9
5.2 _____
10.8
2.2
15.9 _____
.8
10.1
.4
4.0
10.4
1.3
3.8
17.6
3.2
57.5
1.6
6.5
16.8
(2)
(2)
13.8
88.1
.1
4.3
.2
.6
.2
.6
4.2
.8
6.1
6.3
.3
1.8
19.2
1.0
2.1
21.8
.1
2.8
.3
4.7
.3
4.0
1.8
8.4
2.4
(2)
(2)
3.2
10.3
1.7
3.0
.6
5.8
.3
5.3
1. 2
5.2
4.4
2.9
.3
5.3
4.4
.3
.1
1.9
.4
2.3
.6
30.5
.1
6.2
.6
7.3
.9
2.0
1 Data are from report of Puerto Rico Department of Labor (cited in a Preliminary Memorandum on Cost
of Living in Puerto Rico, by Alice C. Hanson, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington 1940).
2 Data not available.
3011 7 8 — 41-------li
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
798
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
For comparable items of food for which it is possible to obtain price
quotations (table 8), both in the States and in Puerto Rico, prices are
about the same with a few notable exceptions. For a number of
foodstuffs, the prices in Puerto Rico are higher, including, among
other items, oatmeal, chicken, packaged butter, evaporated milk,
cabbage, carrots, canned corn, and coffee when roasted and ground.
The prices in the United States proper were higher in 1939-40 for the
following items among others: Rice, pork chops, salt pork, bananas,
oranges, string beans, and sweetpotatoes.
T able 8.
Comparison of Food Prices for Comparable Food Items in United States and
Puerto Rico, 1939-40
United States proper 1
Item
Flour, w h e a t,,- . .
Corn meal________
Rice______________
Rolled oats
______
Bread, w h ite-.- . . .
Beef, chuck roast __ .
Pork chops_______
Salt pork_________
Ham, w hole.. ____
Roasting chickens. __
Butter___ _____
Unit
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound
20-oz_______
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
P o u n d .,
Pound_____
Pound___ _
Puerto Rico proper 3
Price
Cents
4.2
4. 1
7.9
8.9
8.0
22.7
28.2
15.1
25. 5
29.8
34.6
Item
Unit
20-oz. can__
16-oz. loaf__
Chicken. __
Butter, tub_______ .
Cheese_______ ________ .
M ilk, fresh. ____ . . .
M ilk, evaporated- - Eggs. ----------------------------
Pound_____
Liter_____
14H-oz. can.
Dozen_____
Bananas____
Pound____
Oranges________
Cabbage________
Green beans______ . _
Carrots_____________
Onions___________
Potatoes.-- _________
Sweetpotatoes______ .
Beans, navy______
Coffee______
Corn, canned--- .
Lard___ ____ . . .
Oleomargarine__________
D ozen___ _
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound_____
Pound .
16-oz. can _
Pound_____
Pound_____
30.2
3.7
11.9
5.3
4.2
2.6
4.5
6.6
21.9
8.4
10.3
16.3
Sugar____ _____
Pound_____
5.5
25.7
3 11.9
6.9
32.3
6.3
Bananas:
Small_____ -_- _
Coffee, roasted and ground..
--16-oz.^can___
Sugar:
Second grade_________
Price
Cents
4.0
3.2
4.7
17.6
7.1
21.9
21.8
10.3
25.0
37.5
41.9
16.7
27.4
10.1
4 14.5
33.6
4.6
3.1
7.2
5.5
4.4
6.6
4.3
2.8
1.9
6.4
33.3
12.2
10.8
16.8
5.3
4.4
’ Prices for 51 cities collected by the Retail Price Division, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
_ Prices collected by Division of Accounts, Property, and Statistics, Insular Department of Labor.
3 Quart=12.6 cents.
4 4-oz. can= 4 cents.
The movement of wholesale food prices in Puerto Rico follows in
general that of wholesale food prices in the United States. This is
true at least for the period, 1926 to 1934, for which data are available.
Despite the differing component items in the indexes for the two
countries, an index number of wholesale prices in San Juan for 39
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
799
articles of food 18follows the same general pattern of movement as the
Bureau of Labor Statistics index number of wholesale food prices in
continental United States.19
The recent influx of military and civil officials and their families as
a result of accelerated national defense activities in Puerto Rico is
reflected in a scarcity of housing, and increases in rents, although no
official figures are available on this point.
The general impression of residents and visitors to the Island is that
clothing costs are somewhat higher than in the States, for comparable
items, though here again official figures are lacking.
G E N E R A L D IS T R IB U T IO N OF FA M ILY E X P E N D IT U R E S
Despite the limited groups covered and the differing techniques used
in the various studies, practically all of the surveys of actual family
expenditures in Puerto Rico showed 60 percent or more of the outlay
going to food. Clothing takes about 10 cents of every dollar and the
small residue is used for medicines, occasional bus fares, bets on cock
fights or races, dues to mutual-aid and funeral societies, and other
miscellaneous purchases. Expenditures for housing are very small,
as many employers provide housing for their workers, and other fam
ilies live on the land without legal right or obligation.
Table 9 summarizes the findings of a study by the Insular Depart
ment of Education.
T able 9.—Average Wreekly Distribution of Expenditures of Rural Families in Puerto
Rico, 1933 1
Item
Percent of expenditures for—
Low level
Medium level
High level
50
5.9
$2.32
2.68
50
7.7
$6.39
6.65
50
8.1
$18.06
14.88
100.0
74.9
.7
3.4
9.9
5.0
1.8
4.3
100.0
67.1
2.9
4.1
11.0
4.9
4.0
6.0
100.0
57.4
5.2
8.4
11.8
5.8
5.1
6.3
1 Data are from Puerto Rico Department of Education, Bulletin No. 1, Whole No. 125: Rural Life in
Puerto Rico, by Dorothy D . Bourne and Luz M . Ramos. Study 1: Standards of Living in Puerto Rico.
San Juan, 1932.
2 Includes value of home-produced food consumed by the family.
is Universidad de Puerto Rico, Facultad de Administración, Comercial Boletín No. 5: Indice de Precios
al por mayor de productos alimenticios en el Mercado de San Juan, por Esteban A. Bird. San Juan, 1935.
(This publication presents an index number covering 39 articles of food important in the Puerto Rican diet.
Rice receives a weight of 28 percent in the total index. The index has not been carried forward since 1934.)
1« W ith average prices in 1926 as 100, the index of wholesale food prices in the United States fluctuated
between 94 and 106 from 1926 to 1929, then started a sharp downward movement which continued until
1933 when a low of 54 was reached. In the ensuing year a substantial upturn was noted, with the index
reaching 76 in September 1934. The index for San Juan, Puerto Rico, also computed on a 1926 base, showed a
slight downward tendency even in 1927 and 1928. but registered the same relative upswing in the latter parts
of the years of 1928 and 1929 as did the United States index. From 1930 to 1933 the movement was generally
sharply downward, with the low point of 50 in February 1933 being reached at about the same time as in the
States. B y April 1934 the Puerto Rico index had returned to 68, approximately the same point as the United
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
noo
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Studies made by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration in
1936 and 1937 20 disclosed the following average weekly distribution of
expenditures among agricultural families:
Families on
sugarcane
'plantation
19S6
Number of families________________ _________________
745
Average number of persons in family___________________
5. 2
Average weekly income______________________________ $6. 27
Average weekly expenditure__________________________ 6. 51
Percent of average weekly expenditure for—All items__________
100. 0
Food----------------------------------------------------------------- 65. 7
Rent__________________________________________
i. 3
Clothing------------------------------------------------------------ 12. 2
Health-------------------------------------------------------------5. 8
Recreation_____________________________________
5. 7
Transportation__________________________________
3. 2
Other---------------------------------------------------------------7. 1
Families in
tobacco, coffee,
and fruit areas
1987
5 743
6.0
$4. 24
4. 64
100.0
73.3
14
9.5
4.0
35
3.0
6.3
1 Most of the houses were owned by the occupants or were furnished rent-free by the sugar “central ”
the term used for a corporation which owns a sugar mill and the adjacent sugar lands.
A C TU A L D IE T , A N D FOOD E X P E N D IT U R E S
Rice, beans, and salt codfish, all imported, together with native
vegetables, such as sweetpotatoes, plantain, yautia, and breadfruit,
constitute the diet of the vast majority of the population. There is
some use of tropical fruits such as mangoes, bananas, coconuts,
and citrus fruits, but not so much as would be desirable from a nutri
tional standpoint.
Families living in the country may own a pig or chickens, but less
often a cow, and the available evidence is that milk consumption is
far below nutritionally desirable levels. Of the 860 families on a
sugar cane plantation covered in the survey already noted, 40 percent
used no milk at all in their daily diet, 17 percent used milk from their
own cows, 37 percent purchased cow’s milk, 4 percent used goat’s
milk and 1 percent used canned milk. The highest milk consumption,
found among the 17 percent owning their own cows, was three-quarters
of a pint per capita per day.
Another study was made in 1937 of the diets of 800 families of
laborers of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration distributed
in 4 agricultural areas of the Island.21 The purpose of this survey was
to determine the adequacy and deficiencies in the diet of these la
borers, so that the findings might serve as the basis for nutritional eduStates index. Figures for Puerto Rico since 1934 are not available but for continental United States the
upward movement continued until 1937 when a high of 88 was reached. There followed a recession to a low
of 67 in 1939 and a slight upturn to 74 in 1941.
20 See footnote 4, p. 788.
2« Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration. Health Division. Health and Socio-Economic Studies
in Puerto Rico (III): Nutritional Studies in the Rural Region of Puerto Rico, by Mrs. Rita R. Lang and
staff of the dietetic unit, with the cooperation of Dr. Pablo Morales Otero. San Juan, 1939.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
801
cation and for selection of foods to be grown in community gardens
developed as a part of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration
program.
In this survey, it was found that the men do most of the family
food buying, once a week, in a nearby store where the prices are
usually higher than in the stores in town. Practically the same
purchases are made each week. The women are seldom informed
about the quantity of foods purchased and the price paid. As the
housewives do not use accurate measurements, it was necessary to
compute the weekly food intake and divide by seven to estimate the
daily intake. Many friends, not living in the house, were found to be
taking three meals a day with the family and were counted as persons
fed from the family food supply. In each of the four areas, typical
weekly food consumption was found to be below suggested dietary
allowances in the intake of calories, protein, fat, calcium, carbohy
drate, phosphorus and iron, vitamins A and B-G; in fact, in every
food element except vitamin C.22 Even the families living in the
fruit zone used relatively small amounts of fruits, and the visiting
nutritionists received a general complaint against the use of fruits and
fruit juices because they cause “cold in the stomach.” The investiga
tors reported that the families had practically no notion of a balanced
diet and aimed principally to fill their stomachs with the most inexpen
sive foods they could buy or vegetables which they raised. Those in the
areas which had been longest in the P. R. R. A. program showed a
better knowledge of balanced diets and greater consumption of pro
teins and vitamins, though their actual diets still fell below suggested
allowances.
The diet most commonly reported in each of the four regions is
shown in table 10.
22 The following tabulation gives a comparison of food intake of 800 agricultural families in four areas with
suggested allowances, 1937:
Actual food intake
Item
Suggested
allowances
Coffee area
C alories..
Protein grams_____ _______
Fat grams_________________
Carbohydrate grams___ ____
Calcium grams___________ .
Phosphorus grams. _______
Iron grams_________________
Vitamin A u n its___________
Vitamin B-G u n its ._____ . . .
Vitamin C units__ _ _____
3, 000.00
75. 00-112. 00
83.30-100.00
487. 50-525. 00
. 62-, 68
1.28-1.32
. 012-, 015
2, 000. 00
900. 00
15. 00
2,190.40
54. 53
32.34
451. 30
0.213
0.874
0. 0099
i 895.87
i 87.49
140. 33
Tobacco
area
2,112.89
50. 27
37.48
339.90
0. 3057
0. 8346
0. 0105
i 528.49
i 63. 02
i 23.16
Fruit area
1,951. 59
45.24
32.89
367. 04
0. 2091
0. 7044
0. 00844
i 912. 53
1 30. 55
1 14. 03
Sugarcane
area
2,442.42
62.04
59.79
415.67
0.3617
0. 9845
0. 01127
1 365. 58
i 52. 50
1 10.24
iN ot all vitamins A, B-G and 0 have been determined in all foods, so the intake shown may be
lower than actual intake.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
B02
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 10.— Most Common Diet Reported in 4 Areas of Puerto Rico, 1937
Meal
Coffee area
C o ffe e w it h
milk.
Lunch______ R i c e a n d
beans.
Breakfast___
Tobacco area
Eruit area
Sugarcane area
Coffee with milk__ Coffee with milk _ __
Co d f i s h and
s ta r c h y v e g e
tables.
Rice and beans__
Coffee with milk; bread or
crackers; butter.
Codfish and starchy Codfish or fresh fish; rice and
vegetables.
beans; starchy vegetables.
Rice and beans.
Except in the sugarcane area, the incomes of these families averaged
about $5 per week and ranged as high as $21. In the sugarcane area,
the range in income was wider, up to $30 per week, but the average
income was only $6.76. Their food expenditures ranged from $1 to
$16 per week, as indicated in table 11.
T able 11.—Economic Characteristics of 800 Puerto Rican Laborers’’ Families Under
P. R. R. A . Program, 1937
Item
Coffee
area
Tobacco
area
Eruit area
Number of families_________________________________
200
200
200
Average number of persons per family________ _ ____
5.88
6.79
6.33
Range of members per family_______________________
2-13
1-13
1-15
Average weekly income per fam ily___ _______________
$4.84
$4.84
$5. 23
Range of weekly income per family__________________ $2. 40-20. 00 $0.06-15. 75 $1.05-21. 64
Range of weekly food expenditures per fam ily________ $1.15-12. 27 $1.03-15. 60 $1. 88-14.12
Percent of families—
Owning cows________ _________________________
8.0
15.0
35.5
Owning goats___ _____________ _____ ___________
14.0
24.0
21.0
Owning pigs______________________ _________ .
22. 5
19.5
45.0
Using milk__ . . . . . . . . .
50.0
86.5
83.5
Quantity of milk per person per day, ounces__________
2. 93
3. 80
1.85
Sugarcane
area
200
5. 64
2-12
$6. 76
$0. 25-30.10
$1.68-14.00
10.5
19.0
45.5
96.5
4.15
The diet of 150 rural families surveyed by the Department of
Education was also found to consist largely of rice and beans, with
small use of animal foods and dairy products. Annato (achiote)
sauce, rich in vitamin A, was reported frequently, used as a dressing
with rice.
The number of meals served a day and the time at which they are eaten vary
in a striking manner, according to the differences in income. Take for instance,
the low [level] family in Juncos. The first day of the week they ate breakfast at
7:30 a. m., coffee with goat’s milk and bread; at 11:30 a. m., luncheon, “Serenata
de bacalao” and boiled rice; at 3 p. m., “merienda,” coffee and milk; at 5 p. m.,
dinner, vermicelli, sausage, and cabbage soup. The second day at seven they
had coffee with goat’s milk and at 11 a. m., vermicelli, rice and vegetable soup.
At 4 p. m. a neighbor sent them something but they cooked nothing for themselves.
The third day they had coffee with goat’s milk at 7 a. m., and rice and codfish and
salt pork for luncheon; at 4 p. m. the neighbors sent something for the children.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth days there was no food in the house. The seventh
day all they had was the breakfast at 7 a. m. and it consisted of coffee with goat’s
milk. The home economics teacher and social worker added a comment: “This
is a typical poor family.” 23
53 Puerto Rico. Department of Education, Bulletin No. 1, Whole No. 125: Rural Life in Puerto Rico,
by Dorothy D . Bourne and Luz M. Ramos. Study 1: Standards of Living in Puerto Rico, San Juan, 1932
(pp. 31. 32).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
803
Living Conditions of Workers in Puerto Rico
That food consumption of urban families is also confined largely
to starchy foods is shown also by studies of the Agricultural Experi
ment Station. In table 12 are shown estimated per capita yearly
consumption of certain foods, based on data from 1,901 families in 22
cities and towns of the Island. Rice, beans, potatoes, plantains (a
banana-like food used as a vegetable), and bananas show heavy
consumption though there is less use of codfish than by rural families.
T able 12.—Estimated Yearly Per Capita Consumption of Different Foods, 1,901 Fam ilies
in 22 Cities of Puerto Rico, 1938 1
Item
Rice______________
Beans____________
Potatoes__________
Sugar_____________
Coffee (ground)___
Bread____________
Beef_____________ _
Pork_____________
Hens and chickens. Eggs--------------------F ish______________
Codfish___________
Fresh m ilk________
Evaporated m ilk__.
Condensed m ilk___
Cheese_____ ____
Unit
Price
per
unit
Pound____
Pound___
Pound____
Pound . _.
Pound___
Pound. . _
Pound . . .
Pound____
Pound____
Dozen____
Pound____
Pound____
Quart____
Cents
4.6
7.0
2.9
4.4
31.9
10. 0
19.2
20.0
25.0
31.0
10.9
8.5
11.2
Pound__ _
34.5
Yearly
per
capita
con
sump
tion
152.3
45.2
54.2
58.7
12.8
42.9
35.0
10.0
15.2
12.2
f 8.2
16.3
89.2
4.4
.1
1.8
Item
Unit
Butter:
30 cents or less..
31 cents or more.
Sweetpotatoes.Yautia___ —- _ —
Names____________
Pound____
Pound____
Pound___
Pound____
Pound____
Yucca__________ .
Lettuce___________
Fresh tomatoes____
Tomato sauce. . . .
Cabbage. . . . . . .
Peppers__________
Price
per
unit
Yearly
per
capita
con
sump
tion
Cents
Pound____
Bundle___
Pound____
Pound____
Pound____
21.5
49.4
1.8
2.7
3.1
2. 2
1.6
2.7
5.4
4.6
5.5
3 7
2.9
1.7
38.7
39.0
10.5
94. 6
2.6
19.7
23.6
6. 7
11.4
8.7
8.8
218.3
1 Data are from Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, transmitted by U. S. Bureau of Home
Economics. Data for the 22 cities (exclusive of San Juan) are presented in greater detail in Puerto Rico
Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 52: Consumo de Alimentos en la Zona Urbana de Puerto
Rico, by S. Diaz Pacheco, April 1940. The average annual income of the 1,901 families was $734. Compara
ble data for 2,645 families in San Juan in 1937 are presented in Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station
Circular No. 107: E l Consumo de Alimentos en la Ciudad de San Juan, by S. L. Descartes and S. Diaz
Pacheco, June 1938.
Comparison of these figures with those for 2,645 families in San
Juan in 1937 shows that milk consumption was about the same in
San Juan and the 22 cities and towns. Higher consumption was
reported in San Juan for beef and chicken, fish (other than codfish),
potatoes and tomato sauce. San Juan families, on the other hand,
consumed less codfish, sweetpotatoes, yams, yautias, cabbage, and
rice.
An estimate has been made of per capita consumption of foods in
Puerto Rico, in 1938 based on production reported by the 1035
census and import figures. These data have been compared 24 with
findings for families of wage earners and clerical workers in the
United States from whom records of food consumption for 1 week
were obtained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analyzed by the
Bureau of Home Economics.25 These show the per capita Puerto
24 Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station. Bulletin 55: The Food Supply of Puerto Rico, by E. B.
Bill and J. R. Naguera, Rio Piedras, 1940, p. 15.
2i Stiebeling, HazelK., and Phipard, Esther F.: Diets of Families of Employed Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers in Cities. (U. S. Dept. Agr., Cir. 507, table 64, pp. 122-125,1939.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
804
Monthly Lahor Review—A pril 1911
Rican consumption to be above that of 222 Negro families in Southern
cities for rice, beans and other legumes, starchy vegetables, fruits
and nuts, sugar, coffee, fresh milk, pork (other than fresh pork),
and codfish. Their consumption was lower for wheat and its prepara
tions, green and leafy vegetables, processed milk, cheese, butter, fats,
meats and poultry, fish (except codfish), eggs, and miscellaneous foods.
Housing Conditions
The population pressure is reflected in crowded housing conditions.
Family relationships are more flexible than on the mainland and
relatives, or persons with even more remote claims, are frequently
sheltered by the family. It is not uncommon to find as many as 10
or 12 persons living in a 1- or 2-room hut having no more than 2 or 3
beds. Averages of 4, 5, or 6 persons per sleeping room have been
reported in a number of studies.26 Sometimes the only beds are
hammocks, or board platforms, and the only seats wooden boxes or
the floor.
Even in the country areas the houses are often grouped so closely
together that there is no room for gardens. On the edges of the cities
have developed slums—squatters’ shacks built on stilts to raise them
above the mud flats.
In the survey of 860 families on a sugarcane plantation in 1936,
it was found that the houses were frequently built in places where
the soil is poor or swampy, to avoid encroaching on the sugarcane land.
The most usual house was built of wood, with a galvanized-iron roof.
About 10 percent were merely huts, built with sugarcane leaves.
Houses of minor officials of the sugar “central” had 3 or 4 rooms,
but those of the workers consisted of only 1 or 2 rooms and a kitchen
in a small lean-to-shed. There was an average of 3.5 persons per sleep
ing room, and among 65 percent of the total population surveyed in
this study, one room was shared for sleeping by an average of 4.6
persons.
The report states:
The furniture used by the families is scanty and of the cheapest quality. A
large proportion of the houses have only a few benches, some empty boxes, a
small table, one or two cots, and a home-made wooden bed and some of them
have even less. However, in many of the houses there are at least one imported
iron bed and some chairs.
Of the 860 sugarcane families, 43 percent had no sanitary conven
iences of any kind in their homes, 52 percent used latrines, and 5
percent had water-closet installations. Two-fifths of the families
having latrines shared their use with one or more other families. Flies
were reported in 95 percent of the dwellings, rats in 87 percent, and
MSee Health and Socio-Economic Studies in Puerto Rico; Puerto Rico Department of Education Bulletin
No. 1, Whole No. 125; U. S. Women’s Bureau Bulletin No. 118; and U. S. Public Health Bulletin No. 237.
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mosquitoes in 68 percent; in 52 percent of the families all three of
these nuisances were found.
Electricity is commonly found in urban homes in Puerto Rico, and
gas is used as a cooking fuel in the largest cities. In villages and rural
areas, fuel used for cooking is largely charcoal or wood picked up free.
In the cities the poorer families live in squatters’ shacks on mud
flats. Those able to afford better quarters live in what might be called
row apartments (one- and two-room dwellings with only two-way
ventilation), with all the activities in the front room visible from the
street.
The Insular Department of Labor sponsors housing improvements
under a homestead law, but such low-cost houses meet only a small
fraction of the need. A $10,000,000 low-cost housing program, spon
sored by the United States Housing Authority is now under way in
Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration has
developed a number of model urban apartments and detached urban
single family houses, as well as single family houses in semiurban com
munities and detached rural houses. The number of such urban dwell
ings is about 1,050, while thermal and semiurban dwellings approximate
5,350. Rental collections on these houses have been 85 to 96 percent
and on many of the projects there are waiting lists of applicants.
Often, however, these houses rent at a level which the average worker’s
family in Puerto Rico cannot afford. All of these developments help,
but do not fully meet the actual need in Puerto Rico.
Health Conditions
In view of the income, food, and housing situation of the mass of
Puerto Rican families, it is hardly surprising that health conditions
are distressing on the Island. The death rate per 1,000 population is
almost twice as great in Puerto Rico as in the Continental United
States and the birth rate is more than twice as great.
Table 13 shows the comparative death rates for certain age groups.
T able 13.— Death Rates for Certain Age Groups in Puerto Rico and in Continental
United States, 1934 1
Ratio of Puerto
Rican death
rate to that of
continental
Continental
United States United States
Deaths per 1,000 population
Age group
Puerto Rico
19.3
11.0
1.8 to 1.0
158.9
28.8
5.2
9.8
12.6
23.7
99.6
57.7
4.5
1.5
3. 1
5.6
17.3
80.0
2.8
6.4
3.5
3.2
2.2
1.4
1.2
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
1.0
1. 0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1. 0
1.0
1 Data are from U. S. Treasury Department, Public Health Service, Bulletin No. 237: Illness and Medical
Care in Puerto Rico, by Joseph W. Mountin, Elliott H. Pennell, and Evelyn Flook, Washington 1937, p. 4.
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Included among the chief causes of death in Puerto Rico are diseases
which play a much smaller role in the continental United States.
Tuberculosis heads the list, with a death rate per 100,000 population
of 296 for 1930-34. This is nearly 5 times the rate in the United
States for the same period.27 The second main cause of death is the
group of intestinal disorders known as diarrhea and enteritis, with a
death rate of 256 for children under 2 years and of 155 for persons 2
years and over. Also included among the 13 principal causes of death
for 1932-36 are malaria, syphilis, hookworm disease, dysentery, and
typhoid fever.
In a survey in 1935 by the U. S. Public Health Service in coopera
tion wuth the Insular Department of Health, 31,756 individuals repre
senting 5,891 families in different parts of the Island were canvassed.
The number of bed illnesses found per 1,000 of these persons 28 for
respiratory diseases was 3 times as great as that reported for 5
rural counties on the mainland. This high figure is attributed to an
epidemic of influenza. There were 75 times as many malaria bed
illnesses, and twice as many puerperal cases including normal labor.
The report states that the failure of the data to provide a count of
the cases of tuberculosis is due to the fact that tuberculosis was re
ported under symptomatic diagnoses such as fever, hemoptysis,
anemia, pain in the chest, lung trouble, cough and fever, weakness,
and fatigue.
The survey found that illness rates are considerably influenced by
the economic status of the population.
When annual family money income was used as the criterion for determining
the economic status, total illness rates were noted to decline steadily as the family
income increased. Considering the entire sample population, the total illness
rate was 444 cases per 1,000 persons in families whose annual income was less
than $100; 436, when the income was between $100 and $249; 363, for those
families earning between $250 and $749; while a rate of 297 cases per 1,000
individuals was reported in families having an annual income of $750 or more.
Since one-half of the entire population of the Island falls in the income category
of less than $100, it will be appreciated th at the higher illness rate prevails much
more generally than the lower. The effect of family income upon illness rates
would seem to be more important among the urban population than the rural,
since in the urban group a greater difference was noted in the amount of illness
reported when the lowest income class was compared with the highest.
Among the 860 sugarcane families surveyed in 1936, the tuberculin
test was made for 1,425 persons; of these 60 percent reacted positively.
Altogether 3,835 samples of blood from the surveyed area were
examined for malaria and 11 percent gave a positive result.
87 Source: Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Health, quoted in Health and Socio-Economic Studies
in Puerto Rico, II (p. 233).
58 U. S. Public Health Bulletin No. 237, p. 24. (The median family income of this group was $100 per
annum and the average income was estimated to be about $230, p. 5.)
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Hookworm and other intestinal parasites were estimated to be
harbored by a large percent of the population and to account for much
of the diarrhea and gastrointestinal disorders. Seventy-nine percent
of the persons on the sugarcane plantations whose stools were ex
amined harbored parasites of one kind or another in their intestines.
Puerperal septicemia was found to be an important problem among
families in the tobacco, coffee, and fruit regions.
Attempts have been made, not very successfully thus far, to furnish
pure water supplies to the towns. Rural supplies come from wells
and rivers, and in the country persons may frequently be seen walking
along the roadside carrying home water in square kerosene cans.
Despite important medical contributions by the public health au
thorities, the School of Tropical Medicine, and the Puerto Rico
Reconstruction Administration, as well as private physicians, the
health problems of Puerto Rico are so closely connected with problems
of income, nutrition, and housing that only fundamental economic
improvements can bring permanently better health conditions.29
Limitations of Existing Studies
Although as has been shown, a number of studies bearing upon
living and health conditions of Puerto Rico have been made, they deal
with particular aspects of the problem, or with a limited group of
families. It is difficult to pool the results of these surveys, since they
were usually limited as to purpose and method and were conducted
at different times. The results are not presented in any standard
form and it is frequently difficult or impossible to determine the
actual procedures used, the basis upon which samples were chosen,
the location of families interviewed, the period of time covered, the
definitions used for income, expenditures, deficits, and other crucial
items. The studies cited30 all throw light on the problems of Puerto
2» For further discussion of health situation in Puerto Rico see: Health Work in the Rural Areas of Puerto
Rico, hy P. Morales Otero and Manuel A. Perez; Health and Socio-Economic Studies III: Physical Meas
urements of Agricultural Workers; and IV : Physical Impairments of Adult Life Among Agricultural Work
ers; also U . S. Department of Labor, Children’s Bureau, Publication No. 217.
30 The historical background of present-day Puerto Rico is summarized in the W PA guidebook (see foot
note 2, p. 787), which also includes a readable account of the government, agriculture, industry, commerce,
and labor of the Island, as well as a description of the people, architecture, education, religion, and cultural
life of the Island.
Two other studies must be mentioned in listing contributions to an understanding of living conditions
of Puerto Ricans:
(1) The Porto Rican Peasant and His Historical Antecedents, by Jose C. Rosario (published as an
appendix in the Brookings Institution report on Porto Rico and Its Problems). This work traces the con
dition of the common man on the Island from the arrival of Ponce de Leon in 1509 up to the mid-1920’s.
Some data are presented on population, housing, health, economic conditions, education, cultural oppor
tunities, marriage and illegitimacy, and politics. Recommendations include mobilizing thought in favor
of the peasant (jibaro), finding a means to lim it the birth rate and to check consensual marriages, teaching
better methods of farming, improving education and health, establishment of industries, teaching cooper
ative selling of produce, improving roads, and stimulating a system of villages.
(2) Comerio, A Study of a Puerto Rican Town, by Charles C. Rogler (University of Kansas Publications
Social Science Studies, Lawrence, Kans., 1940.)
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Rico, however, and they all point to widespread malnutrition and
poor health among the population and to levels of living substantially
below those of most workers in the continental United States.
New Survey of Incomes and Expenditures
Field work was commenced in January 1941 on a survey of incomes
and expenditures of a cross-section sample of 5,000 families of wage
earners in Puerto Rico. This will be the first survey to be based on
a carefully chosen random sample of families of wage earners in all
major lines of employment and all parts of the Island. It will also
be the first family-living survey to be developed along lines com
parable to recent similar official investigations in the States.
The survey is being conducted as a project of the Federal Work
Projects Administration, sponsored by the Insular Department of
Labor and the Insular Department of Education. The Insular
Department of Health and the School of Tropical Medicine are also
cooperating.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has cooperated in the
development of technical plans for the investigation and will assume
joint responsibility for the final report. An advisory committee
comprising representatives from the three insular government depart
ments named, as well as from the Insular Department of Agriculture
the School of Tropical Medicine, the University of Puerto Rico, the
Agricultural Extension Service, the Agricultural Experiment Station
and individual economists, statisticians, nutritionists, and social
workers is also cooperating in the survey. Field work will be done
by trained social workers of the Department of Education and the
Department of Health and by vocational agriculture teachers and
vocational home economics teachers of the Department of Education.
Other field workers will be drawn from the WPA rolls and given a
period of intensive training.
The survey will provide data on a cross-section sample of family
incomes which are urgently needed in the determination of social
policy in the Island. It will also provide basic figures which can be
utilized later in the development of weights for an index of the cost
of living of wage earners. Information on housing, health, and food
consumption will serve as a basis for testing plans for adapting the
Island’s economy to the demands of the emergency defense situation.
Data on food consumption, including both purchased and homeproduced foods, will be analyzed in cooperation with the School of
Tropica] Medicine and the University of Puerto Rico, to ascertain the
nutritional adequacy of the diet of Puerto Rican wage earners, and
will be studied in relation to the physical fitness of the population.
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In addition to the purposes mentioned, the study will yield data
bearing upon conditions of crucial importance in determining policy
with respect to such problems as—
1. The availability of a surplus labor supply with indication of the
extent of training of individuals unemployed or partially employed.
2. The extent to which present income levels and food supply
require to be supplemented in order to bring the diet of the majority
of the population to a level of adequate nutrition.
3. The extent to which native foods already enter the customary
diet of the Puerto Ricans, and the nutritive value of a possible war
time emergency diet restricted to those foods alone.
4. Determination of the rental levels for which low-cost housing
projects should be developed.
5. The extent to which wages should be subsidized by relief.
6. The extent to which women and children must supplement the
principal earner’s wages to maintain the family.
7. Factors to be taken into consideration in a wage negotiation or
arbitration.
8. The extent to which public agencies are carrying the burden of
furnishing medical attention to low-income families, and the propor
tion of families receiving no medical care.
9. Income levels at which manufacturers and merchants can sell
certain commodities in Puerto Rico.
10. Distribution of expenditures by a representative cross section
of wage earners’ families in Puerto Rico.
11. Comparison of apportionment of actual family expenditures
for food, rent, clothing, etc., with those found in standard budgets
adapted to Puerto Rico.
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DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATIVES IN LATIN
AMERICA
ALTHOUGH cooperative effort appeared in Latin America as early
as 1884, development has on the whole been rather slow. In recent
years the pace has been accelerated considerably in several countries
(such as Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela) by acts or decrees
defining cooperatives and designed to encourage their formation. In
Colombia, Mexico, and Nicaragua cooperatives are also given certain
special privileges or exemptions.
As all of these countries are predominantly agricultural, it is
natural that agricultural cooperation has developed farther in most
of these countries than have consumers’ cooperatives. Exceptions
are Colombia and Mexico. In Argentina, consumers’ distributive
associations, although second only to agricultural cooperatives as
regards both number and amount of business, are far outstripped by
the electricity associations in point of membership. In Colombia
consumers’ cooperatives lead in number of associations, but as
regards business done the credit cooperatives come first.
Some extremely large individual associations are found in Latin
America: Argentina has two associations having 9,700 and 17,600
members, respectively; Brazil has one with 10,000 members; and Chile
one with 24,400. It is of interest that in certain countries (Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, and Mexico) the cooperatives have drawn their mem
bership from specific occupational groups. In both Argentina and
Brazil, the association of railroad employees is the largest single
cooperative organization. In Chile the soldiers’ cooperatives together
account for the largest aggregate membership, and railroad workers’
cooperatives hold second place.
Cooperatives among students and teachers are an important feature
of the cooperative movement in both Brazil and Mexico.
Argentina
The cooperative movement of Argentina has grown rapidly during
the past decade. From 1930-31 to 1938-39 the number of associations
more than doubled, the membership more than tripled, and the
amount of business nearly tripled.
The agricultural cooperatives hold first rank among the cooperatives
as regards amount of business done, and also form the largest group
of associations, numbering 315 in June 1939. About half (152) of
these are marketing associations specializing in particular crops.
The other 163 are general-purpose associations which have a number
of departments performing various services. Thus, they not only
810
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Cooperatives in Latin America
market their members’ crops but also provide them with credit,
insurance, all kinds of household and farm supplies, and drugs.
Table 1 shows the status of the Argentine cooperative movement.
T able 1.— Status of Cooperatives in Argentina, 1938-39
Number of
associations
Type of association
Number of
members
80, 651
114, 635
27, 600
47,950
48, 245
15,425
77
70
51
37
315
68
Consumers’ distributive associations____________ ___
Electricity associations-- ------. - ------- _
Credit associations.................- - _ ------------------Insurance associations .
.
-------- -----Agricultural processing and marketing associations____
Other-------- ---------------------------------------- ----------------
Amount of
business,
1938-39
Pesos i
18,581,868
1,490, 514
17,004, 963
6,154,387
90,445, 739
16,015, 706
i Exchange rate of Argentine peso in 1938-39 = 31.7 cents.
The development of cooperatives of all types combined is shown in
table 2 for the years 1930-31 to 1938-39.
T able 2.—Development of Cooperatives in Argentina, A ll Types Combined, 1930-31
to 1938-39
Year
1930-31
1932-33
1933-34
1934-35________
Number Number
of
of asso
ciations members
257
416
381
445
95, 734
129, 400
136,400
178,430
Amount of
business
(in pesos 0
53, 506, 000
53,900, 000
64, 500, 000
80,470, 040
Year
1935-36________
1936-37________
1937-38________
1938-39________
Number Number
of asso
of
ciations members
496
517
550
618
216, 600
243,295
293,908
334, 506
Amount of
business
(in pesos 0
100,600, 000
107, 517, 614
131, 313, 220
149, 693,177
i Exchange rate of Argentine peso in 1938-39=31.7 cents.
The consumers’ associations, though numbering only 77 in 1939,
had over 80,000 members. These associations include two unusually
large organizations. One of these, El Hogar Obrero, in Buenos Aires,
combines the functions of a consumers’ cooperative, credit association,
and housing association. In 1939 it had 9,701 members, paid-in
capital of 2,398,327 pesos, and savings deposits in its credit depart
ment amounting to 951,724 pesos. Over a period of 8 years it built
for its members a series of 160 small houses. It has recently com
pleted four large blocks of apartments; ownership of the buildings is
retained by the cooperative, which rents them to its members. An
other large association is the State Railroad Employees’ Cooperative,
with 17,643 members and capital amounting to 1,536,146 pesos; its
annual business in 1937-38 amounted to 7,338,515 pesos, on which it
made a patronage refund amounting to 261,101 pesos.
Unlike the situation in most countries in which there are electricity
associations, these associations in Argentina are in urban, not rural,
areas. They had a difficult time, being opposed by the great utilities
which are owned for the most part by foreign capital. Nevertheless,
they have been growing steadily, largely because of the fact that
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municipalities have become members of the electricity cooperatives.
The first of these associations was formed in 1926-27. By June 1939
there were 70 of these societies with a membership of 114,635.
There are four cooperative federations in Argentina—one for con
sumers’ associations, one for agricultural associations, and two for
electricity associations. About half of the consumers’ cooperative
associations in Argentina are affiliated to the Federation of Argentine
Consumers’ Societies. The federation became a member of the Inter
national Cooperative Alliance in 1940.
The Land Settlement Act, passed in August 1940, established a
National Agricultural Council of five members, one of whom is to be
chosen by the agricultural cooperative associations. One of the func
tions of this council is to further the development of cooperatives.
Brazil
In 1935 there were in Brazil 179 cooperative associations with
50,584 members, distributed by type as follows:
Associations
School cooperatives_____________________
Consumers’ associations_________________
Building associations____________________
Productive, credit, and mixed associations-Agricultural associations_________________
94
22
1
36
26
Members
14, 960
26, 214
2, 682
5, 691
1, 037
Until 1938, the freedom of action of cooperative associations was
considerably hampered by the restrictions imposed by a law of 1932
and several later amendments, and the cooperative movement de
veloped very slowly. In 1938 a special decree restored their “ com
plete liberty of action,” and led to a rapid expansion. In 1939 a
decree established a special cooperative section in the Ministry of
Agriculture, Transport, and Public Works.
By 1940 there were 1,016 associations with 131,169 members.
Most of the cooperatives are agricultural, but there are also 256 con
sumers’ cooperatives (of these more than 100 are school cooperative
associations), and 251 credit cooperatives.
The greatest development of cooperatives has taken place in the
State of Sào Paulo.
The largest consumers’ cooperative is the Railway Workers’ Coop
erative of Rio Grande do Sul, with 10,000 members. Included among
the consumers’ cooperatives is one telephone association.
Chile
In Chile, the cooperative movement is encouraged by the Govern
ment under the Cooperative Act of October 17, 1925, and later
amendments.
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Consumers’ cooperatives have had the greatest development, and
tend to follow occupational lines. The largest membership is that of
the soldiers’ cooperatives, which at the end of 1938 had 24,421 mem
bers. Societies of railway employees had an aggregate membership
of 14,201.
In 1938 there were, altogether, 57 consumers’ cooperatives, with a
total of 63,739 members. Agricultural cooperatives—a more recent
development—numbered 38 and had 1,941 members. The business of
the consumers’ cooperatives during 1937 (the latest year for which
there is information) amounted to 83,245,581 pesos.1
Colombia
Recent legislation giving cooperative associations the status of
public utilities has given impetus to the cooperative movement in
Colombia. The law recognizes 8 types of associations: Consumers’,
marketing, building, credit, insurance, house-owning, workers’ productives, and associations of private industries. It confers upon them
certain privileges, among them (1) priority of transport, on the rail
roads, for their perishable goods, and reduced charges therefor, and
(2) the right to be consulted and represented on all organizations hav
ing to do with the provision of foodstuffs (credit cooperatives have
the same right as regards credit organizations).
The statement below shows the development of cooperatives, all
types combined, since 1933:
Associations
1933
_____________________________4
1934__________________________________ 16
1935_____ _____________________________ 25
1936
________ - ____________________ 48
1937
______________________
84
1938
______________________________ 120
1939
170
Members
1,087
3, 380
5, 519
13,182
19,886
27,498
36, 808
Credit and consumers’ cooperatives form the leading types of asso
ciations. The number and business of each type during 1939 is shown
below:
Business
Associations
....
Consumers’ cooperatives
Housing associations
Credit associations.
Workers’ productives
Agricultural marketing associations .. . . .
Dealers’ cooperatives---Other____________________________
(pesos °)
2, 583, 932
68
4
56
23
9
7
3
409, 233
16, 495, 090
468, 436
5, 123, 322
1, 351, 670
45, 922
Total______________________ . ___ 170
26, 477, 605
«Exchange rate of Colombian peso in 1939=57.1 cents.
i Exchange rate of Chilean peso in 1937=5.17 cents.
30 1 1 7 8 — 41-------3
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Ecuador
Cooperatives in Ecuador are regulated by a cooperative act issued
November 19, 1937. That act directs the Department of Cooperatives
in the Ministry of Social Welfare to supervise and encourage coopera
tives. It sets up certain standards for associations, such as the return
of patronage refunds, the creation of reserves, and the allocation of
a proportion of earnings for educational purposes.
Credit cooperatives are required to form federations. Other types
of associations are given permission to do so.
No statistics are available for cooperatives in this country.
Honduras
Decree No. 116 of February 28, 1936, authorizes the establishment
of cooperative societies for the sale of goods in installments, under
the club plan. Members are to make weekly payments, and the order
in which they are to receive goods is fixed in the bylaws of the society
in each case. The quality of goods is to be specified for the protection
of the purchasers. The law lays down certain conditions which must
be met in the purchase of furniture, clothing, shoes, etc.
Mexico
Cooperatives in Mexico are governed by a general law signed on
January 11 , 1938, superseding earlier legislation. This law covers all
types of cooperatives, and is administered by the Ministry of National
Economy. Under it only members of the working classes are per
mitted to form cooperatives; aliens are forbidden to hold positions of
direction or general administration in them; and cooperatives cannot
join chambers of commerce or associations of producers. The act
formulates standards of cooperative procedure to which associations
must adhere. In the case of consumers’ cooperatives, these organiza
tions are required to admit into membership all persons who comply
with the membership requirements, and net earnings on their patron
age must be applied toward the purchase of qualifying “certificates
of contribution” or (if the patron fails to become a member) must
be turned over to the National Fund of Cooperative Credit. The
Minister of National Economy is specifically empowered to utilize
cooperatives for the distribution of goods to the public when he deems
it advisable, to combat the high cost of living.
Workers’ productives may undertake any labor or productive enter
prise, and may even establish a consumers’ cooperative section within
the productive association. In order to insure the continuance of the
cooperative character of the enterprise, workers’ productives must
take in new persons only as full members or associates; they are for
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bidden to hire wage workers except in certain extreme conditions and
then the net earnings from their labor must be applied toward the
purchase of a membership or (if they do not join the association) be
paid to the National Fund of Cooperative Credit.
Every cooperative association is required to become a member of
the regional federation and every such federation must join the
National Confederation of Cooperatives.
Cooperatives are exempted from certain taxes, and there are other
regulations which encourage their growth.
The Cooperative Bureau of the Ministry of National Economy has
an educational section, an organization and audit section, and a
correspondence school.
In 1935 there were 698 consumers’ cooperatives with 36,042 mem
bers, 462 agricultural and productive cooperatives with 16,681 mem
bers, and 279 associations of various types with 12,547 members.
By the middle of 1938 the number of consumers’ associations had
risen to about 1,000. Some of these, formed by trade-union members,
admit only unionists to membership. The other associations operate
on the open-membership principle. The cooperative associations
have a national league—an educational body. There is as yet no
wholesale association, but the need for one is recognized.
Since 1936 a system of cooperative farms has developed in the
Laguna region in the States of Coahuila and Durango. It is reported
that some 30,000 families (consisting of about 165,000 persons) are
taking part in these 308 cooperative farms. With the assistance of
the State offices, these families have formed 57 cooperative stores, and
a wholesale association is planned. Cooperative cotton gins, electricpower plants, irrigation systems, several cooperative hospitals and
clinics, and even 3 small railway systems, have been started to serve
the cooperative farms. The children in 177 of the 284 rural schools
have their own cooperatives.
School cooperatives are also numerous elsewhere. In Mexico City
alone, according to a report by the Minister of Public Education in
September 1939, there were 434 student-teacher cooperatives with
79,261 members.
A number of Spanish refugees, including former officials and mem
bers of an old-established cooperative housing association in Madrid,
founded a similar association in Mexico City in 1939.
Nicaragua
According to a decree of January 31, 1935, cooperative societies of
workers’ unions which have for their purpose mutual aid and com
pulsory saving (ahorro obligado) among their members are exempt
from certain specified registration fees, from direct tax on property, and
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certain other specified fees. Such societies are also given the privilege
of franking strictly official mail and are allowed 3 free telephone calls
per day as well as telegraph messages up to 15 words per day on
strictly official business.
Peru
In the spring of 1940 the Institute of Cooperation of Peru was
started by a group of persons interested in cooperatives. The purpose
of the Institute is to promote the formation of cooperatives and en
courage their development. One of the first acts of the Institute was
to draw up and submit to the Peruvian Congress a bill authorizing
the formation of cooperatives.
A publishing association has been formed by the Institute and is
issuing a periodical.
Uruguay
No statistics are available as to the number of cooperative associa
tions in Uruguay, but it was reported in 1939 that more than 18,000
persons were members of cooperatives.
There is a national league to which about one-third of the cooper
ators belong. This league has organized a cooperative school, a
social club, and a theatrical association.
Venezuela
On July 22, 1939, a decree was issued authorizing the formation of
consumers’, housing, and producer cooperatives. Associations formed
under it must divide their net earnings as follows: 25 percent to
reserves, 25 percent to social institutions, and 50 percent to the mem
bers in proportion to their business with the association. Associations
are authorized to accept savings deposits from members and others,
provided they pay a small rate of interest.
The Bolivar Society of Venezuela was directed by the decree to
promote the development of the cooperative movement in the country.
This work, it is reported, is being carried on vigorously.
Souhces: This article is based upon data from the following sources: Colombia, Contraloria generale de
la República, Dirección Nacional de Estadística, Anuario generale de estadística, Colombia, 1939 (Bogotá,
1940), and Anales de Economía y Estadística, Tomo III, No. 5 (Bogotá, 1940); Honduras, La Gaceta (Tegu
cigalpa), March 9, 1936, pp. 1-2; Nicaragua, La Graeeta (Managua), March 22, 1935, p. 537; report from
Willard Galbraith, United States consul at Mexico City; Pan American Union, Division of Agricultural
Cooperation, Bulletin No. 16: The Cooperative Movement in Chile (Washington, 1940); International
Labor Office, Cooperative Information, No. 6, 1938, Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 9, 1940, and No. 1, 1941; Cooperative
Builder (Superior, W is.), November 2, 1940; People’s Yearbooks for 1938, 1939, 1940, and 1941; Review of
International Cooperation (London), October 1940; and Brazil, Economía (Sáo Paulo), February 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SALARIES AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN POLICE
DEPARTM ENTS1
Summary
SALARY scales for police departments are affected by a variety of
factors. Civil service and other legal requirements for minimum
rates of pay, size of city, and geographic location, together with the
related consideration of cost of living in different localities, the financial
condition of the city, the proportions of employees in various ranks or
occupations, hours worked per week, and items supplied free of charge,
all have a bearing on the salaries paid to employees of police depart
ments. In this article salaries are correlated with three of these
factors—occupation or rank, size of city, and geographic location.
Certain additional information is presented on hours and other con
ditions of work in police departments.
There were 90,703 employees of police departments engaged in
protecting the lives and property of more than 48,400,000 persons in
362 cities throughout the country, on July 1, 1938. At the rates of
pay in effect at that time, the annual salaries of these municipal
employees totaled approximately $212,700,000. Thus, in these cities
there were 19 police-department employees per 10,000 of population
and the annual pay-roll expenditure was $4.39 per capita. The
average annual salary per employee was $2,345. When the New
York City department is excluded, these averages are reduced to 17
employees per 10,000 of population, $3.74 per capita, and $2,181 per
employee, respectively.
The greatest variation in salaries resulted from differences in occupa
tion or rank within a department. For example, the highest salary
reported was $12,500 paid to the commissioner who headed the New
York City department; yet in the same city, salaries of $960 were
reported for cleaners in the maintenance division. The lowest salary
paid to a head of a department was $1,440, received by the chief in
Enid, Okla.
Average annual earnings decreased directly with the size of city.
Thus, in New York City the average was $2,940, and in the 12 other
cities with a population of 500,000 or more, the average was $2,355,
as contrasted with $1,907 in the 175 cities with a population of 25,000
to 50,000.
The geographic comparison indicates that in the Middle Atlantic
(exclusive of New York City), East North Central, and Pacific cities,
annual salaries averaged about $2,300, whereas in the East and West
South Central cities the averages were $1,711 and $1,746, respectively.
1
Prepared in the Bureau’s Division of Construction and Public Employment, under the supervision of
Herman B. Byer, chief. For a more detailed report see Serial No. B . 1253.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
817
818
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Scope of Study
This article summarizes the findings of a comprehensive survey of
salaries, hours, and working conditions in municipal police depart
ments, conducted by the Division of Construction and Public Employ
ment of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with the Work
Projects Administration.
The present analysis is based on reports received from 362 cities
with a population of 25,000 or more. Because of the size of the New
York City department, together with its unusually high salary scale,
figures for this city are shown separately in the tables and chart.
A separate study has already been published for New York City 2 and
more detailed information will be available for each of the other 361
cities.
Salaries in Relation to Occupation
Approximately three-fourths of all employees of police departments
were patrolmen, and their salaries consequently dominated the dis
tribution of salaries for all employees shown in table 1. Although
annual rates of pay of patrolmen ranged from about $580 to $3,000,
less than 1 percent of all patrolmen received less than $100 a month.
The highest salaries reported for patrolmen were $3,000 in New York
City and also in a few medium-sized cities near New York City. The
wide variation in patrolmen’s salaries is due not only to differences in
size of city and location but also to the fact that in some departments
patrolmen are divided into as many as 5 grades (in New York City
into 7), the lowest frequently consisting of rookie or probationary
policemen. Nine out of ten patrolmen throughout the country, how
ever, were in the first grade, and over a fourth of these received from
$2,050 to $2,250 in 1938. About a fifth had annual salaries between
$2,350 and $2,550, and a slightly higher proportion received $3,000 a
year. Most of the latter were in New York City.
The salaries of 512 policewomen, which are also shown in table 1,
compare very favorably with those of patrolmen.
Chiefs, as might be expected, were the best paid of the policedepartment employees. The top salary outside New York City
(where there was no chief reported and a commissioner headed the
department) was $9,000 for the chief in Jersey City. In Chicago and
Detroit, officials with the title of commissioner were paid $10,000 a
year, but these salaries were excluded from the tables because the
departments also reported chiefs. This conforms with the practice
followed in this survey of excluding all commissioners (whether they
received a nominal fee of $100 or a salary of $10,000), unless they were
designated as department chiefs. If other officers were acting as
* This is incorporated in Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 685, Vol. II.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Salaries in Police Departments
819
chiefs, they were reported under their official title—usually captain.
More than one-fifth of the chiefs shown in table 1 received at least
$4,050 per year. About one-seventh of the departments (the majority
of these being in the smallest cities) paid their chiefs from $2,350 to
$2,550 a year, while an equal number paid between $3,450 and $3,650.
There were 156 executive assistants to chiefs, classified as assistant
or deputy chiefs, or assistant deputy chiefs. In New York City the
corresponding work was done by 6 deputy commissioners. The sal
aries of these high ranking officers, though naturally somewhat lower
than those of chiefs, were in the upper salary brackets. About onefourth of the assistants, most of whom were in the largest cities, re
ceived $4,050 a year or more, the maximum outside of New York City
being $7,000 a year. In that city, however, 1 deputy commissioner
was paid $9,000.
The other ranking officers whose duties were directly related to the
actual supervision of personnel were 179 inspectors, 983 captains,
2,149 lieutenants, and 5,060 sergeants. Inspectors were the highest
paid of these, almost three-fifths receiving $4,050 or more. Without
exception, the inspectors in this salary class were in the departments of
New York City and of other cities with a population of 100,000 or
more. Although less than 3 percent of the captains outside New York
City had salaries of $4,050 or more, 10 percent received between
$3,950 and $4,050. In the New York department the rank of captain
carried a salary of $5,000. Outside this city fewer than 2 percent
of the lieutenants were paid as much as $3,750, and all but 3 percent
of the sergeants earned less than $3,050. The corresponding salary
scales for these ranks in the New York City department were $4,000
and $3,500, respectively, while lieutenants who were acting captains
in this department received $4,500.
Although a few of the 7,068 employees in the detective bureaus had
salaries of $4,050 or more, practically five-sixths of them were in the
range from $1,250 to $3,050. If the detective bureau of New York
City (which handles the fingerprint work of that department) were
eliminated from the comparison, the percentage of detectives in the
other 361 cities receiving less than $3,050 a year would be 95. The
greatest concentration of detectives outside New York City, as was
the case with patrolmen, was in the $100 interval beginning at $2,150.
The fingerprint sections in practically all cities were closely related
to the detective bureaus. In some cities (e. g., New York) which had
no separate fingerprint sections, the detective bureaus did the neces
sary fingerprinting. In 176 of the 362 reporting cities there were
separate fingerprint sections, which had a total of 422 employees.
The salaries of these workers covered a wide range, as the duties varied
from those of a file clerk to those of a highly trained technician.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
820
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
The salary distribution for all occupations shown in table 1 also in
cludes 1,133 radio and telephone operators, 246 mechanics, and a group
of 7,512 other police-department employees who were primarily
nonuniformed employees engaged in maintenance and clerical work.
T a b l e 1 .—Municipal
Police-Department Employees in the United States in Selected
Occupations, by Salary, July 1, 1938
All occupations 1
Salary class
All
cities
Cities reporting
specified occup ations.. . __
362
Size of city 2
Size of city 1
New
All New
York 500, 000 100,000
York
50.000 25.000 cities City 500,000 100, 000 50,000 25,000
City
and
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
over 500, 000 100.000 50.000
over 500, 000 100, 000 50, 000
1
12
79
All salaries_____ 90, 703 19, 556 31, 247 23, 646
Under $950___
265
3 53 4 103
$950-$l, 049___
164
23
13
58
$1, 050-$l, 149—
222
2
74
102
$1,150—
$1, 249. 749
222
91
108
$1, 250-$l, 349—
456
52
102
95
$1, 350—
$1, 449—
$1,450—
$1, 549—
$1, 550-$l, 649—
$1,650-$l, 749—
$1,750-$l, 849—
Chiefs
175
359
1
12
79
94
173
8,613 7.641
«64
«45
37
33
24
20
240
88
72
135
95
359
1
12
79
94
173
960
1,633
3,032
4,440
3,924
65
185
35
148
38
109
106
248
497
395
206
659
1, 217
1, 833
1, 390
260
320
302
381
621
911
948 1,014
994 1,107
1
1
2
3
2
3
$1,850-.$l, 949... 5, 581
$1,950-$2, 049— 6,139
$2,050-$2,149— 6,613
$2,150-$2, 249... 11,950
$2, 250-$2,349... 3,195
7
1,813
86
399
394
485
3,469
7,466
1,189
3,791
2, 561
1,884
3, 041
1,068
725
603
807
759
383
664
677
453
598
156
3
6
7
5
6
3
6
7
r;
6
40
22
9
3
75
4, 326
5,856
3,646
505
513
1,764
1,288
262
181
205
447
591
108
119
81
196
406
63
58
153
35
17
9
17
11
$2,850-$2,949—
843
6
$2, 950-$3, 049— 15, 238 13, 744
$3, 050-$3,149—
281
7
$3,150-$3, 249...
821
566
$3, 250-$3, 349...
66
3
$3, 350-$3, 449—
82
647
260
170
177
11
24
45
1,030
73
45
29
37
127
156
18
7
15
14
18
48
13
26
8
7
6
33
7
6
14
7
2
1
2
49
57
20
22
5
91
8 139
158
47
138
4
4
38
»89
28
14
2
5
1
16
10 25
10
14
1
2
1
5
n 10
16
36
2
7
4
19
80
3
10
2
2
2
10
41
$2,350-$2, 449...
$2, 450-$2, 549...
$2,550-$2,649...
$2,650-$2,749—
$2,750-$2,849...
$3, 450-$3,549—
$3,550-$3, 649—
$3,650-$3,749—
$3,750-$3, 849—
$3,850-.$3, 949...
$3,950-$4, 049—
$4,050 and over.
6,773
8,163
4, 088
866
1,027
1, 295
135
161
34
11
989
507
1,050
3
1
839
7 244
1
1
1
1
1
12
1 Includes 24,914 employees for whom salaries by occupation are not shown separately.
tail see Serial N o. R. 1253.
2 Based on U . S. Census of Population for 1930.
3 Includes employees whose salaries range from $720 to $900.
4 Includes employees whose salaries range from $313 to $945.
5 Includes employees whose salaries range from $240 to $948.
8 Includes employees whose salaries range from $468 to $945.
7 Includes employees whose salaries range from $4,200 to $12,500.
8 Includes employees whose salaries range from $4,050 to $7,920.
9 Includes employees whose salaries range from $4,050 to $9,000.
10 Includes employees whose salaries range from $4,095 to $6,000.
11 Includes employees whose salaries range from $4,100 to $5,000.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
5
5
4
3
2
29
11
5
14
8
3
11
3
6
3
3
20
3
4
8
3
9
13
4
13
3
1
4
19
2
l
5
7
For greater de
821
Salaries in Police Departments
T able
1.— Municipal Police-Department Employees in the United States in Selected
Occupations, by Salary, July 1, 1938—Continued
Policewomen
Patrolmen
Salary class
All
cities
Cities reporting
specified occupations_______
Size of city
Size of city
New
New
All
York
York
City 500, 000 100,000 50,000 25, 000 cities City 500, 000 100,000 50.000 25, 000
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
and
over 500, 000 100.000 50,000
over 500,000 100, 000 50, 000
302
1
12
79
All salaries____ 1264,918 14,684 23, 526 15,895
4
Under $950 .
15
$950-$!, 049
$1 050-$l, 149
27
202
$1,150—
$1, 249
113
$1, 250-$l, 349
175
123
1
10
48
31
33
5, 723 5,090
1
3
14
1
127
194
125
32
34
1
95
147
14
28
98
512
1
2
1
7
4
2
532
939
2,121
3,181
2,582
45
119
154
86
457
877
1,602
892
191
230
490
707
730
255
252
709
753
806
1
20
10
19
42
$1,850-$l, 949__
$1,950-$2,049__
$2, 050-$2,149...
$2, 150-$2, 249...
$2, 250-$2, 349...
$2,350-$2,449...
4,012
4,885
5, 374
10,171
2,069
5, 255
168
406
3, 117
6,864
916
3,508
2,994
1,848
1,311
2,251
481
1, 382
454
354
615
605
272
265
396
496
331
451
17
100
12
35
66
23
8
72
5,375
2,795
58
871
2
2
449
12
4
308
9
20
39
2
1
1
1
20
791
87
80
127
126
$2,450-$2, 549...
$2,550-$2, 649...
383
7,011
8
2,818
$ 2 6 5 0 - $ 2 749
64
116
37
$2, 750-$2, 849
$ 2 85 0 — $ 2 949
107
$2,950-$3, 049... 13, 347 12, 475
79
6
3
1
$1 350-$l, 949
$1,450-$l, 549
$1, 550-$l, 649...
$1,650-$l, 749...
$1,750-$l, 849—.
1,781
1
1
1
4
18
14
50
2
51
16
39
12
2
10
16
1
3
4
8
18
13
15
5
18
3
1
3
6
3
3
3
1
4
7
6
4
1
2
2
1
I2
Includes officers on motorcycles, in cruiser and safety cars, and assigned to traffic du ty (either foot
or mounted); and special agents.
Although the above discussion has been confined primarily to interoccupational differences in salaries for the country as a whole, figures
are available3 for similar comparisons of interoccupational differences
for each of the four population groups as well as for New York City.
In general, these salary distributions show that for a given occupational
rank, the larger cities paid higher salaries than the smaller ones.
Salary in Relation to Size and Location of City
The general tendency for police departments in the large cities to
pay higher salaries than those in smaller cities is illustrated in the
upper section of the chart on page 823. The percentage of employees
receiving less than $1,550 per year decreased consistently from 13
percent in cities having 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants to only 2 percent
in New York City and in the 12 other cities of 500,000 or more. In
all except these 13 cities, the largest concentration was in the $500
interval from $1,550 up to $2,050. This salary range covered 57
percent of the employees in the smallest cities and about 45 percent
of those in the 2 groups of cities with 50,000 but less than 500,000
3 See Serial N o. R. 1253.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
822
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
inhabitants. On the other hand, 71 percent of the employees in
the 12 largest cities other than New York City received from $2,050
to $2,550. At the upper levels of the salary distribution—salaries
of $2,550 and over—the proportions ranged from only 6 percent in
the smallest cities to 20 percent in the group with a population of
500,000 or more. The contrast between New York City and other
cities throughout the United States is most marked in this com
parison. Nearly 85 percent of the New York police-department
employees received at least $2,550 a year.
In section B of the chart the 9 geographic regions have been
arranged, with the region paying the lowest salaries at the top.
The first 4 geographic divisions had the greatest concentration of
salaries in the interval from $1,550 to $2,050. The percentages were
71 in the West South Central, 61 in the East South Central, 66 in the
Mountain, and 48 in the West North Central States. St. Louis was
the only city in any of these 4 regions which had as many as 500,000
inhabitants. The most frequently reported salaries in the remaining
5 regions were in the $500 interval beginning at $2,050. The propor
tions in this salary range were 46 percent in the South Atlantic region,
which included Washington and Baltimore; 46 percent in the East
North Central, including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee;
63 percent in the Middle Atlantic, which excluded New York City
but included Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo; 65 percent in
New England, including Boston; and 69 percent in the Pacific States,
where San Francisco and Los Angeles were the largest cities.
A better indication of the influence of more strictly regional factors
on salaries is obtained when the comparison is restricted to the cities
with a population of 25,000 and under 50,000 in each of the 9 regions.
When the cities of this size in each division are ranked on the same
basis as all cities in the chart, the divisions appear in the following
order: West South Central; East South Central; South Atlantic;
West North Central; East North Central; Pacific; Mountain; New
England; and Middle Atlantic.
Thus, when the effects of differences in populations have been elimi
nated insofar as the form of the data permit, the geographic pattern
of salaries in police departments appears more clearly. In general
it may be stated that cities in the South paid the lowest salaries in
1938 and those in the Northeastern section, the highest. Between
these extremes were the Western States and the North Central
States, salaries in the former being somewhat higher than in the
latter area.
Police Protection Related to Concentration of Population
The problems of concentrated populations result in relatively larger
police forces and considerably higher salaries in large cities than in
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
823
Salaries in Police Departments
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF
MUNICIPAL POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
BY SALARY* SIZE OF CITY, AND GEOGRAPHIC REGION
JU L Y
I, 1938
A - S IZ E OF CITY
POPULATION
OF CITIES
0
PERCENT OF EMPLOYEES
40
60
20
80
100
2 5 .0 0 0
AND UNDER
5 0 .0 0 0
5 0 .0 0 0
ANO UNDER
100 ,00 0
10 0 ,0 0 0
AND UNDER
5 0 0 .0 0 0
5 0 0 .0 0 0
AND
O VER*
NEW YORK CITY
B -G E O G R A P H IC
REGION
PERCENT OF EMPLOYEES
UNDER
$1550
u n d er
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
$ 1 550
$2050
$2050
und er
$2550
and
$2550
OVER
»EXCLUSIVE OF NEW YORK ,CITY
824
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
small cities. It will be noted from table 2 that the number of em
ployees of police departments per 10,000 inhabitants was considerably
greater in the larger cities than in the smaller ones: 28 in New York
City and 22 in the other cities with a population of 500,000 or more
as against 15, 14, and 13, respectively, in the 3 groups of smaller
cities. Similarly, the salary expenditure per capita declined from
$8.30 in New York City and $5.29 in other cities of 500,000 or more
to $2.41 in the smallest cities.
T able 2.
Municipal Police-Department Employees and Pay-Roll Expenditures in 362
Cities in Relation to Population, July 1, 1938
Item
Population
(Census of
1930)
Number of em
ployees
Total
Annual pay-roll expenditures
Per 10,000
of pop
ulation
Total
Per em
ployee
Per
capita
SIZE OF CITY
All citiesi.
41, 500,416
71,147
17
$155, 203,334
$2,181
$3.74
500.000 population and over_______
13,898,096
100.000 and under 500,000 population
15,296, 212
50.000 and under 100,000 population... 6, 249,317
25.000 and under 50,000 population__
6,056,791
31, 247
23,646
8,613
7,641
22
15
14
13
73,583,046
49, 795,034
17,243, 916
14,581,338
2,355
2,106
2,002
1,908
5.29
3.26
2. 76
2.41
$2,940
2,530
2,188
2,633
2,374
$8.30
5.12
5. 49
6.72
5.31
FIVE LARGEST CITIES
N ew York C ity.
Chicago_______
Philadelphia___
D etroit________
Los Angeles____
6,930,446
3, 376,438
1, 950,961
1, 568,662
1,238,048
19, 556
6,833
4,898
4,007
2,771
28
20
25
26
22
$57,495,119
17, 284, 901
10, 718,237
10, 548, 944
6, 577, 308
REGION
All regions1________
41, 500,416
71,147
17
$155,203,334
$2,181
$3.74
M iddle A tlantic1___
N ew England...........
Pacific_____________
East North Central..
South Atlantic_____
West North Central.
M ountain_________
W est South Central.
East South Central..
8,333,840
4, 363. 297
4,155, 503
12, 570,072
3, 712,225
3,482, 012
727,281
2, 513,210
1, 642,976
16,037
8, 519
7,202
20,976
6, 998
5,265
919
3,183
2,048
19
20
17
17
19
15
13
13
12
36, 743,208
18,004,129
16, 732, 624
48, 506, 833
14,037,223
10, 314,707
1,803, 208
5, 556,622
3,504, 780
2,291
2,113
2,323
2,312
2,006
1,959
1,962
1,746
1,711
4.41
4.13
4.03
3.86
3. 78
2.96
2.48
2.21
2.13
1 Figures for N ew York City not included.
Per capita salary costs in the various regions, shown in the third
section of table 2, reveal interesting relationships when compared
with average earnings per employee. For example, the East North
Central region, which ranked second in average annual earnings per
employee, ranked fourth in per capita salary costs, because there
were relatively fewer police-department employees per inhabitant
in this region than in the Middle Atlantic,4 New England, or South
Atlantic States. The two South Central divisions had the fewest
4 Exclusive of N ew York City,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Salaries in Police Departments
825
employees per 10,000 inhabitants as well as the lowest salary scales
of any of the nine geographic divisions.
The number of police employees in relation to population does
not by itself measure the adequacy of police protection. The stream
of traffic, as well as the frequency of such unusual events as parades,
fairs, and conventions, are among the other factors affecting the size
of the police departments.
The control of automobile and pedestrian traffic is an important
function of public safety, about a seventh of the patrolmen in New
York City and a fifth of all those in the other 361 cities covered by
the study being permanently assigned to traffic duty. However, this
nucleus of full-time traffic officers was supplemented during periods
of peak flow of traffic by patrolmen not normally assigned to the
traffic squad.
Working Conditions
Closely related to salaries or pay-roll expenditures is the subject
of working conditions. Hours per week on duty, vacations with pay,
opportunity for promotion, and uniforms or equipment supplied the
policemen, not only are of vital interest to members of the police force,
but also affect the quality and the cost of service given to the public.
Hours of duty for policemen throughout the United States varied
from continuous duty to as low as 40 hours per week. However,
the majority of the force worked 8 hours a day and had a fraction of
a day or a full day off each week. Continuous duty is a term used
to describe the time on duty required of chiefs who are on call at all
hours of the day and night in some of the small- and medium-sized
cities. There were only 36 employees on continuous duty in the 362
cities covered by this report. Similarly, there was only a small num
ber who worked as little as 40 hours per week.
More than one-half (56 percent) of all employees in 1938, excluding
those in New York City, worked on 8-hour tours, with 1 day off each
week. The majority of employees having this 48-hour workweek
were in the largest cities, but there were also considerable numbers
in the medium- and small-sized cities with the same workweek.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, San
Francisco, and Washington, D. C., all had the 8-hour day with 1 day
off each week. The New York City police force also worked an 8hour day with approximately 1 day off each week. Nine percent of
all employees were on duty 8 hours a day, but had only 2 days off
per month, and 7 percent worked the same number of hours per day,
but received no days off except their regular annual vacation. A
very small proportion had longer hours.
The majority of police-department employees were given 2 weeks’
vacation with pay. The regions in which longer vacations were given
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were the South Atlantic and the East North Central. In the South
Atlantic region slightly more than a fifth of the police-department
employees had 26-day vacation periods; most of the remaining em
ployees received from 14 to 20 days. Approximately one-half of the
employees in the East North Central police departments received
about 3 weeks’ vacation, and fully four-fifths of the members of the
New York City department had 19 days’ vacation. In only one
region, East South Central, were the vacation periods appreciably
shorter than 2 weeks. Here, one-half of the employees received 10
days or less.
Practically all of the 362 cities reported definite policies regarding
the promotion of patrolmen. In 193 cities patrolmen were advanced
automatically from the lowest grade to the next higher grade after 1
year of service. Promotion by civil-service examination was reported
by 45 cities. Of the remaining cities, 44 reported automatic promo
tion after some specified period of service, and an equal number
indicated that promotion was by appointment. Thirty-six cities re
ported that they had only one grade of patrolmen, but in many of
these cities promotion took the form of salary increases without an
increase in official status.
In many cities, members of the uniformed force were furnished with
uniforms and other items of equipment without charge. Full uniforms
were supplied by 54 cities and raincoats or capes by 43. The majority
of cities furnished some items such as revolvers, handcuffs, and badges.
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Foreign Wartime Policies and Labor
Conditions
WARTIME ARBITRATION MACHINERY IN
AUSTRALIA
UNDER the terms of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitra
tion Act, 1904-34, the Government of Australia established the Court
of Conciliation and Arbitration to prevent and settle industrial
disputes.1 The Court’s jurisdiction was limited to handling of cases
affecting more than one State in the Commonwealth, the individual
States having authority over working conditions within their bound
aries. For many years the Court has made awards, in industries
coming under its jurisdiction, which are binding upon all parties
subject to their terms.
Only registered unions may benefit from an award. Workers,
covered by an award of the Court, forfeit their right to strike during
the life of an award, and in test cases, unions have been stricken
from the register because their members participated in strikes
illegally. Although the Court may summon parties to a dispute, who
are not covered by an award, in order to conciliate their differences
informally, arbitration proceedings may be initiated only upon request
of an organization, a registrar, a State industrial authority, or a
judge who has negotiated in an effort to conciliate in a case. However,
when disputes arise in industries already covered by an award, any
party to the award may request the Court to make a decision.
Emergency Regulations
Owing to the war emergency, special regulations have been adopted
in Australia, conferring additional powers on the Commonwealth
Government in settling industrial disputes.2 This action was taken
on December 16, 1940, under the National Security Act 1939-1940.
The regulations, known as the National Security (Industrial Peace)
Regulations (Statutory Rules, 1940, No. 290), are designed to facili
tate the settlement of disputes as well as to prevent them from arising.
As long as the regulations are effective they are construed as if their
provisions were incorporated (as amendments) in the Commonwealth
Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904-34.
1 For details see the M onthly Labor Review, November 1939 (p. 1065).
» Data are from report from Henry B. D ay, United States consul at Sydney.
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Under the regulations it is expected to eliminate delays arising from
differences of opinion as to the particular court or commission having
jurisdiction in a case. The loss of time in filing papers and serving
notices to persons or organizations involved is also reduced.
An important new provision is that the Commonwealth Conciliation
and Arbitration Court has jurisdiction in industrial disputes that do
not extend beyond the limits of any one State. Such cases were
formerly subject to settlement within the several States. The Com
monwealth Government was confined to handling disputes of an
interstate character.
In addition to settling disputes that were formerly subject to the
Court’s action under the arbitration law, the Court is empowered
under the regulations to take cognizance of all disputes which, in the
opinion of the Court, involve the interests of industrial peace and
national security or which are so certified by the Minister for Labor
and National Service. The Court also is empowered to consider
cases referred to it by conciliation commissioners.
Extended powers are granted to the Court to declare a “ common
rule.” In every case of which it has cognizance it may declare, by
any award or order, that any particular regulation, rule, custom,
term of agreement, condition of employment or dealing, whatsoever,
determined by an award in relation to any industrial matter, shall be
a common rule of any industry in connection with which the dispute
arises, or of such portion of that industry as the Court thinks fit, or
of any group of industries of which that industry is one. The Court
is not limited to making a decision on the particular matters in dispute
and may make an award regulating the whole or such portion of the
conditions of employment in relation to the industry in which the
dispute exists as the Court thinks fit. However, before declaring a
common rule or making an industry award, the Court is obliged to
take into account the competitive effects of the decision and give due
notice in the Gazette, or such other publications as may be specified
by the Court, of the action contemplated.
The Court may make an order interpreting or implementing the
application in any industry of any existing law affecting wages, terms,
or conditions of employment of any employee or class of employees.
However, action may not be inconsistent with that law.
Powers of the Minister for Labor are broadened to allow him to
refer matters to the Court that, in his opinion, have led or are likely
to lead to industrial unrest. Notwithstanding that an industrial
dispute does not exist affecting that matter, the Court may proceed
to hear and determine the question in the same manner as if it were
an industrial dispute. Organizations and employees are to notify
the proper authorities forthwith, if they are aware of any industrial
matter that may lead to any interruption of work. The Common
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wealth is obligated to hear and determine the matter in the same
manner as though an industrial dispute existed.
In its discretion the Court may exercise any jurisdiction under the
act or the regulations in the interest of industrial peace or national
security. The Court or a conciliation commissioner may make an
order dispensing with the service or filing of any process required by
or under the act to be served or filed.
Provision is made for the appointment of additional conciliation
commissioners and their powers are enlarged. Where the Minister
for Labor is of the opinion that delay may result from handling cases
in the prescribed manner, either by the Court or by a conciliation
commission, he may direct a conciliation commissioner to hear and
determine the industrial dispute at once.
Boards of reference of one or more persons may be appointed by
the Court in connection with any industry or part of any industry.
This may be done even though no order or award has been made in
relation to an industrial dispute. Their powers of investigation and
report are subject to the Court’s discretion and their decisions have
the same validity as an award or order of a conciliation commissioner.
CHANGES IN WORKING CONDITIONS OF BRITISH
LABOR IN 1940
UNEMPLOYMENT and strike activity of British workers declined
during 1940, and cost of living and wage rates rose, according to a
survey for the year made by the Ministry of Labor.1
Unemployment
In the first few weeks of 1940 unemployment increased sharply,
owing to exceptionally bad weather which hindered outdoor work
and caused transport difficulties. With the return of normal weather
substantial reductions in unemployment occurred. By the middle of
June the number of registered unemployed in Great Britain and
Northern Ireland was approximately 834,000—a reduction of over
600,000 compared with December 11, 1939. After some fluctuation
in the next 4 months, with a peak of over 900,000 unemployed on
October 14, 1940, the total registered declined sharply. On December
9, the number unemployed was approximately 775,000, showing a fall
of more than 660,000 from the same month in 1939.
The unemployed registered are shown in table 1, by months from
December 1939 to December 1940, inclusive. The tabulation covers
unemployment in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The registrai M inistry of Labor Gazette (London), January 1941.
30 1178— 41-------4
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tion includes three distinct categories, as follows: (1) Persons regis
tered as wholly unemployed or out of work; (2) persons on short time,
or otherwise temporarily suspended from work on the understanding
that they are to return shortly; and (3) unemployed casual workers,
who normally seek a livelihood by means of jobs of short duration.
1 a b l e 1.—Number of Registered Unemployed in Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
December 1939 to December 1940
Number of registered unem
ployed
Date
Date
W holly
unem
ployed
Tempo
rarily
stopped
Casual
workers
1,244,555
146,318
50,050
1,296, 233
1,216, 759
1,032,570
902,295
253,992
318,930
112,323
93, 301
52,326
50,195
48,366
44, 748
1939
Dec. 11.. .
Wholly
unem
ployed
Tempo
rarily
stopped
Casual
workers
1940
1940
Jan. 15_____ . .
F e b .12________
Mar. 1 1 . ___ . .
Apr. 15________
Number of registered unem
ployed
M ay 20____ . __
June 17________
July 15_ ______
Aug. 12___ ____
Sept. 16________
Oct. 14_. ___
N ov. 11 _
Dec. 9 ______
790,956
708,069
696,658
670.488
675, 642
695, 864
665,471
602,495
107, 224
86, 918
162,659
163,362
194,401
178,472
171,210
148, 753
49,572
39,227
39,359
33, 889
33,394
30,144
26,132
23,674
The reductions among those registered occurred in the groups of
wholly unemployed and casual workers, for which registration de
creased by more than one-half over the year. For men and boys
wholly unemployed the decline in registration was considerably
greater than for women and girls in the same category. Temporary
stoppages numbered slightly higher in December 1940 than a year
earlier. A reduction of 5,000 in the number of men and boys in this
group was more than offset by an increase of over 7,000 in the number
of women and girls. Few women are included among the unemployed
casual workers and the marked decrease for the year in this category
affected men almost exclusively.
Long-term unemployment among men was reduced markedly over
the year. From a total of 137,000 on January 1, 1939, the number of
unemployed men aged 18 to 64 in Great Britain, who had been regis
tered for 12 months or more, fell to about 105,000 on May 20 and
54,000 on November 25.
If ages and Hou rs
Increases in rates of wages, which began soon after the outbreak
of war, continued throughout 1940. They were granted mainly to
offset the increase in the cost of living. For persons covered by the
Ministry of Labor’s statistics it is estimated that the 1940 changes
resulted in an aggregate net increase of £2,000,000 in weekly full-time
rates of wages of nearly 8,000,000 workers. Of this total 4,750,000
had been granted some increase in wage rates in the last 4 months of
1939. Over the entire war period to the close of 1940, the number
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Foreign Wartime Policies and Labor Conditions
831
affected is estimated to be 8,000,000 and the full-time weekly increase
in rates about £3,000,000. Nearly all the industries for which infor
mation is available were affected by the increases in rates of pay.2
Similar statistics covering normal weekly hours of labor show that
about 145,600 persons had their working time changed. Of this
number 144,400 had their weekly hours reduced by 4}i a week, on
the average; 1,200 had theirs increased by about one-half hour
weekly. The largest group affected consisted of juvenile workers
under 16 years of age. Their hours were shortened to a maximum of
44 a week as of January 1, 1940, under the provisions of the Young
Persons (Employment) Act of 1938. No information is given on the
extent of overtime work.
Cost of Living
The cost-of-living index, based upon July 1914 as 100, was 174
on January 1, 1940, as compared with 155 on September 1, 1939. A
further gain occurred from January 1 to March 1, 1940, the index for
the latter date being 179. The index declined from 187 on July 1 to
185 on August 1, but rose steadily in the succeeding months to 196 on
January 1, 1941. The rise of 22 points during the year was equivalent
to nearly 13 percent. Index numbers for the five groups of items and
for all items included in the series are shown in table 2, for September
1939, the 12 months of 1940, and January 1941. About 2% points
in the 22-point rise in cost of living resulted from the sales tax that
became effective on October 21.
Prices of beef, mutton, bacon, margarine, and tea changed little in
1940 and the prices of bread and butter were practically stationary.
Milk, eggs, and potatoes varied seasonally and rose considerably over
the year. Flour showed a slight decline. Fish showed a marked
rise, with some exceptions. Maximum retail prices fixed by order of
the Minister of Food were in force at the beginning of 1940 on im
ported meat, tea, sugar, butter, imported eggs, potatoes, herrings,
bloaters, and kippers. Orders controlling prices went into effect in
1940 on bacon, meat, home-produced and imported milk, homeproduced eggs, cheese, and imported cod fillets. Prices of tea were
decontrolled and again restricted in the course of the year.
Rents of working-class dwellings were subject to control, under the
Rent Restrictions Acts, during 1940. They showed an average in
crease during the year of only about 1 percent, wholly due to rises in
local taxes in some districts.
Workers’ clothing prices increased considerably over the year. Re
tail prices of coal averaged about 10 percent higher at the beginning of
1941 than a year earlier. Lamp oil rose 15 percent; candles (cheap
wax), 26 percent; and matches, 60 percent. Tobacco and cigarettes
averaged 32 percent higher. The increase for railway fares was about
a For changes in earnings see the M onthly Labor Review for February and March 1941.
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
10 percent. For domestic ironmongery, brushware, and pottery the
rise averaged about 21 percent. Soap advanced 12 percent.
T able 2.— Index Numbers of Cost of Living, September 1939, 1940, and January 1, 1941
[July 1914=100]
Date
Sept. 1_________
Food
Rent
(includ Clothing
ing taxes)
Fuel
and
light
Other
All
items
items
included included
19S9
138
162
208
182
179
155
157
161
161
158
159
158
168
164
166
169
172
173
162
162
162
162
164
164
164
164
164
164
164
164
250
260
265-270
270-275
280
285
290
290
295
300
305-310
320
201
202
205
205
208
212
212
212
212
214
215
219
190
190
193
193
210
210
210
219
219
219
220
221
174
177
179
178
180
181
187
185
187
189
192
195
172
164
330
213
222
196
1940
J a n .1__________
Feb. 1___________
Mar. 1 _ ...
Apr. 1________
M ay 1_______ __
June 1___
July 1 ___________________
Aug. 1------------------------------------------Aug. 31_________________
Oct. 1 _
...
Nov. 1__ _ _ . .
Nov. 30_____
Jan. 1...... ..................
1941
Industrial Disputes
Disputes involving stoppages of work that were reported as begun
in 1940 in Great Britain and Northern Ireland numbered 914, as com
pared with 940 in the preceding year. The number of workers di
rectly involved was 226,700 and indirectly, 73,500; in 3 disputes
beginning in 1939 and continuing into 1940, about 300 additional
workers were involved both directly and indirectly. Thus, the total
was about 300,500 in 1940, compared with 337,300 in 1939. In the
establishments where disputes were reported the aggregate time lost
in 1940, owing to disputes, was 941,000 working days. This is the
smallest total recorded in any year for which comparable statistics are
available—that is, for nearly a half century. The figure of 960,000
for 1934 was slightly greater. Disputes in the coal-mining industry
accounted for more than two-fifths of the total number of strikes and
over three-fifths of the workers involved in both 1939 and 1940. Most
of these stoppages involved individual mines. Only two disputes
beginning in 1940 involved more than 5,000 workers. Both were
coal-mine stoppages, one of which involved 26,000 workers and the
other 20,000 workers, with a total loss of about 130,000 working days.
Statistics of labor disputes are shown in table 3, by years, from 1930 to
1940. Workers are counted in the totals as many times as they were
involved in a dispute in any year, resulting duplications being confined
mainly to the coal industry.
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833
T able 3.— Trend of Labor Disputes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1930 to 1940
Year
1930___________________________________
1931___________________________________
1932___________________________________
1933___________________________________
1934___________________________________
1935___________________________________
1936___________________________________
1937___________________________________
1938___________________________________
1939_______________________________ _
1940___________________________________
Number of
disputes
beginning
in year
422
420
389
357
471
553
818
1,129
875
940
914
Number of workers involved
Directly
286,000
424,000
337,000
114,000
109,000
230,000
241,000
388,000
211,000
246,000
227,000
Indirectly
21,000
66,000
42,000
22,000
25,000
41,000
75,000
209,000
63,000
91,000
73,000
Total
Approxi
mate
duration
in working
days 1
307,000
490,000
379,000
136,000
134,000
271,000
316,000
597,000
274,000
337,000
300,000
4,400,000
6, 980,000
6, 490,000
1,070,000
960,000
1,960,000
1,830,000
3,410,000
1, 330,000
1,360,000
940,000
i To nearest 10,000.
BRITISH WARTIME NUTRITION POLICIES
THE British social services are an integral part of the national
wartime effort of that country. As the war proceeds, these services
are being improved and extended and new ones are being developed.
One phase of the work is the development of a national nutrition
policy.1
Prior to the war the most important step in this direction was the
“milk in schools” scheme under which almost three million children
were receiving milk daily at a half-penny for a third of a pint. Children
of necessitous parents were being provided with specially nourishing
food, and under this scheme about 600,000 children were receiving
free milk and another 180,000, free meals. Other meals were pro
vided for those who could pay. In some instances school authorities
were providing children with cod-liver oil and other additions to their
diet, free or at cost price or less. Most of the maternity and childwelfare clinics were providing milk (dry or fresh), free or at reduced
prices, to expectant or nursing mothers and to children who were not
in school. In England alone, 7,800,000 gallons of milk were dis
tributed in this way in 1938. Many other similar experiments were
being carried out by voluntary bodies and local authorities throughout
the country.
The problem became more urgent when war broke out, since sup
plies had to be conserved, and as a result a scientific food policy for the
whole population is being evolved. The equitable distribution and
prevention of waste of important foodstuffs, such as butter, sugar, and
meat, is obtained through rationing. The Government is incurring
a loss of about £80,000,000 annually in keeping down the prices of
important foods such as bread, flour, bacon, ham, milk, and cheese,
and a subsidy is being paid amounting to %d. on a 4-pound loaf of
J Britain’s Social Services in Wartime.
[1941?].
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
bread selling for 8d. or less. These figures do not include the cost of
the national milk scheme, under which all expectant and nursing
mothers and children under 5 years of age can obtain 1 pint per day
at 2d. per pint—or free if the combined incomes of father and mother
do not exceed 40s. per week plus 6s. for each dependent. The regular
price of milk has been increased to 4%d. a pint. About 2,500,000
persons are benefiting under this plan, which is additional to the
“milk in schools” scheme. About 30 percent of these persons
are receiving milk free. The cost, it is calculated, will amount to
about £14,000,000 a year.
“Marcon,” a new manufacturing and wholesale organization, has
been formed for the marketing of margarine. It has reduced dis
tributive costs by confining production of margarine to two grades,
each containing vitamins A and D up to the standard of butter.
White flour is fortified also with vitamin ih and calcium salt. A
scientific adviser has been appointed to the Ministry of Food, and a
scientific food committee advises the Food Policy Committee of the
Cabinet.
Communal Feeding
Increased Government grants, up to 90 percent of the cost of the
school-meals schemes, have been offered to the local authorities by
the Board of Education and the Department of Education for Scot
land. Local education authorities, the Women’s Volunteer Services,
and other bodies have been cooperating to provide communal meals
in reception areas to take the strain off households with evacuated
children; and local authorities are also providing canteens and com
munal meals for A. R. P. workers and for the Auxiliary Fire Service.
There are 150 community feeding centers in the London County
Council area, many of which, known as the Londoners’ Meals Service
Restaurants, have been established by the Ministry of Food in collab
oration with the London County Council; and there are others out
side the London area. The meals in London generally cost 4d. to
6d. for a meat dish, 2d. to 3d. for a second course, and Id. for a cup
of tea; children’s portions sell for half price. Hot meals obtained
from these centers can be taken home to eat. These eating places, in
addition to furnishing a useful community service, are of great value
in cases where enemy action has damaged gas, water, or electricity
supplies.
Rest centers, which provide food, shelter, and other assistance, have
been provided for persons who have been bombed out of their homes.
Food is provided in air-raid shelters through the Ministry of Food
with the assistance of the local authorities. Of 1,700 large shelters in
58 London boroughs, over 1,000 now have regular arrangements
enabling them to feed over 200,000 persons each night, while in the 71
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tube stations which have been equipped as shelters, the London
Passenger Transport Board is feeding 12,000 nightly. In order that
workers shall not have to go to work without breakfast, the Ministry
of Food is collaborating with retailers and voluntary societies,
especially coffee-stall holders, to provide them with food.
Provisions for communal feeding in factories are being extended
by the Minister of Labor in cooperation with the Minister of Food.
The ability to secure food in the factory canteens relieves the strain
of long shifts and night shifts and takes from the housewife some of the
burden of providing meals at all times of the day and night for those
on different shifts.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA IN 19401
ECONOMIC activities have continued to expand with the greater
utilization of Canada’s resources in the production of essential war
materials. The emphasis on such production up to the present time
has been placed for the most part on nonagricultural products, such as
the direct implements and munitions of war. As a consequence, the
war stimulus has been reflected most strikingly in the nonagricultural
industries. At the same time, however, the widespread increase in
business activity and employment has brought about an improved
domestic demand for farm products, and these products which are
produced for the home market have reflected this greater demand by
an expanded volume of sales and some advance in prices.
Increases are shown in all important branches of industry, but the
most notable advances are reported for the iron and steel industries.
Construction also made very important gains in 1940, mainly because
of the construction of military camps and other buildings for war
purposes. Much activity is reported in forestry operations, especially
in the production of newsprint.
Employment has risen to levels never before attained, and shortages,
especially of skilled laborers, were shown in certain lines at the end of
1940. With a continuing rise in the volume of employment, as well
as a further increase in the armed forces, a definite labor shortage in
1941 seems probable.
Some advances in wage rates, combined with increased employment,
have had the effect of increasing the purchasing power of city workers
and also of enlarging the consumption of certain agricultural products,
particularly meats, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits.
In 1940, prices in general in Canada showed comparatively little
increase. The wholesale index of all commodities was approximately
83 (1936 = 100) at the beginning of the year and was only about 2
i
Data are from Canada, Department of Agriculture, Economics Division, The Economic Annalist
(Ottawa), February 1941.
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points higher at the end of 1940. The cost-of-living index also showed
only a minor advance over the year period.
The following table gives the annual indexes for wholesale and
retail prices and wage rates from 1913 to 1940, and for production
from 1919 to 1940. Monthly index numbers in 1940 for most of these
items are also included.
Annual and Monthly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices, Living Costs, Production,
and Wages in Canada
Wholesale prices (3926==100)
Year
Retail prices
Urban
living
costs
(19351939=
100)
Farm
living
costs
(1926=
100)
Production and wages
(1926 = 100)
All
com
modi
ties
Farm
prod
ucts i
Field
prod
ucts 2
Animal
prod
ucts 3
1913____________
1914____________
1915____________
1916_____________
1917_____________
1918____________
1919____________
64.0
65.5
70.4
84.3
114.3
127.4
134.0
62.6
69.2
77.7
89.7
130.0
132.9
145.5
56.4
64.9
76.9
88.4
134.3
132.0
142.4
77.0
79.0
79.2
92.3
119.6
134.7
152.5
79.7
80.0
81.6
88.3
104.5
118.3
130.0
66.0
68.2
72.1
78.0
94.3
111.1
120.3
71.3
65.5
53. 7
54 4
54 8
58 8
67 4
78 0
93.1
1920____________
1921_____________
1922_____________
1923_____________
1924_____________
1925_____________
1926_____________
155.9
110.0
97.3
98.0
99.4
102.6
100.0
161.6
102.8
86.7
79.8
87.0
100.4
100.0
166.5
100.3
81.3
73.3
82.6
98.1
100.0
149.9
108.5
99.1
95.1
97.2
105.7
100.0
150.5
132.5
121.3
121.7
119.5
120.6
121.8
144.5
116.2
104.6
105.2
103.0
102.2
100.0
75.0
66.5
79.1
85.5
84.6
90.9
100.0
69.9
60.4
76.9
83.8
82.4
89.7
100.0
111.5
101.9
96.7
98.9
100.1
99.4
100.0
1927_____________
1928_____________
1929_____________
1930_____________
1931_____________
1932_____________
1933_____________
97.7
96.4
95.6
86.6
72.2
66.7
67.1
102.1
100.7
100.8
82.3
56.3
48.4
51.0
99.9
92.6
93.8
70.0
43.6
41.1
45.8
105.7
114.3
112.5
102.9
77.6
60.7
59.7
119.9
120.5
121.7
120.8
109.1
99.0
94.4
99.2
98.1
97.5
94.3
86.4
81.0
79.4
106.1
117.3
125.5
109.5
93.5
78.7
79.7
105.6
117.8
127.4
108.0
90.4
74.0
76.8
102.2
103.2
105.2
105.8
101.5
95.4
90.3
1934_____________
1935_____________
1936_____________
1937_______ _____
1938____________
1939_____________
1940____________
71.6
72.1
74.6
84.5
78.6
75.4
82.9
59.0
63.5
69.4
84.5
73.6
64.3
67.1
53.8
57.3
65.8
85.7
69.0
54.2
55.9
67.7
74.0
75.3
84.9
81.3
81.2
85.8
95.7
96.2
98.1
101.2
102.2
101.5
105.6
80.9
81.2
81.4
84.5
84.0
81.5
88.2
94.2
102.4
112.3
122.8
112.9
122.4
145.4
93.6
103.3
114.4
120.8
114.6
125.6
156.1
91.5
94.1
95.9
102.9
106.0
106.4
109.6
January_________
February_______
March__________
April __________
M ay____________
June. _________
82.6
82.8
83.2
83.1
82.1
81.6
70.0
70.3
71.3
72.1
68.0
64.3
60.8
61.5
63.1
64.9
58.2
52.9
85.5
85.0
84.9
84.1
84.3
83.5
103.8
103.8
104.6
104.6
104.9
104.9
87.2
138.6
131.2
123.0
151.0
140.6
141.3
145.2
136.2
127.0
159.8
146.9
147.6
July____________
August_________
Septem ber____
October___ _____
N o v em b er______
December_______
82.4
82.7
83.1
83.3
84.0
84.2
64.6
62.7
63.8
64.6
66.9
67.1
53.0
50.4
50.7
51.1
52.5
52.5
83.9
83.3
85.8
87.3
91.0
91.6
105.6
105.9
106.4
107.0
107.8
108.0
144.5
152.5
155.4
156.7
157.4
152.5
151.1
161.6
167.0
168.2
168.8
159.5
Physical Indus Indus
volume
trial
trial
of busi produc wage
ness 4
tion 4
rates
mo
1Wholesale prices of Canadian products of farm origin only.
2Wholesale prices of grain, fruits, and vegetables.
3Wholesale prices of animals and animal products.
4 Yearly index numbers for 1940, subject to revision.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
89.2
Foreign War Time Policies and Labor Conditions
837
New Records in Mineral O u tp u t2
In 1940 the value of Canada’s mineral production exceeded $500,000,000, the Department of Mines and Resources reports. This
amount breaks all previous records, even the peak values of 1939
and 1937, which were, respectively, $474,602,000 and $457,359,000.
In 1915, the second year of the World War, the total value of the
mineral production was only $137,000,000.
The 1940 estimated value of the gold output reached an all-time
high considerably above $200,000,000, which was $16,000,000 more
than the 1939 figure. By far the largest part of the Canadian gold
output is exported, mainly to the United States, and the expansion in
production “largely reflects the policy of the mines to produce the
metal at a rate as high as sound mining practices will allow in order to
provide foreign exchange for the purchase of war materials.”
The copper, nickel, lead, and zinc output in 1940 was above that of
the preceding year. As a producer of copper, nickel, lead, and zinc,
Canada holds a highly advantageous world position, ranking first in
the output of nickel, second in zinc, third in copper, and fourth in lead.
Besides meeting the growing demands of wartime industries within its
own borders, enormous tonnages of the Dominion’s base metals are
being shipped to the United Kingdom.
Among other minerals the Dominion produces in great quantities
are silver, platinum, asbestos, gypsum, coal, salt, and petroleum.
JOINT CONTROL IN CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY 3
AS AN outcome of the second national joint conference of employers
and employees in the Canadian building and construction industry,
held at Ottawa, February 10-12, 1941, under the auspices of the
National Labor Supply Council, the National Joint Conference Board
of the Building and Construction Industry has been organized. This
body, composed of nine representatives each of employers and em
ployees, will carry forward the work of the conference and function
as a consultation medium in matters relating to the participation of
the construction industry in national war activities.
Among the measures of control decided upon are the following:
The “National Board shall proceed immediately to establish zones
throughout the Dominion, and assist local organizations to set up zone
committees, composed of two representatives for each group.”
When, for speedier war production, it may be necessary to suspend
for a time working conditions provided by law or agreement or estab2 Industrial Canada (Toronto), February 1941.
a Canadian Labor Gazette (Ottawa), February 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
lished by usage as clause 10, P. C. 2685 contemplates, “ Government
departments, contractors, owners, or architects shall submit a request
for such suspension to these zone committees.” On receipt of such a
request the zone committee shall at once examine the necessity for the
extension of hours, also the question of extra shifts or calls to other
localities for additional workers, and such other measures as may seem
advisable, and shall report their findings without delay to the parties
interested with a view to their mutual agreement.
Since wage levels in effect throughout the industry at the outbreak of war were
generally accepted as fair and equitable—it is agreed that adjustments in wage
rates from that time forward, and until the conclusion of the war, shall be based
upon increases in the cost of living; provided, however, that where it can be
established that wage rates in any locality were unduly low, provision shall first
be made for an appropriate adjustment of rates by negotiation.
To avert stoppages of work, the conference recommends wider use
of collective agreements in organized districts and the inclusion of a
provision for arbitration in all of these agreements.
Jurisdictional disputes are to be adjusted by machinery already
established for this purpose by the interested organizations, but no
cessation of work shall occur on war projects during such disputes.
Labor Supply on War Projects
It is recommended by the Joint Conference that the last two
paragraphs of Order-in-Council 2685 of June 20, 1940, as follows, be
used as a basis for hiring construction labor.
The [coordinating] committee further advise that the attention of employers
in meeting their requirements as to labor supply be drawn to the available facilities
of the local offices of the Employment Service of Canada in all of the Provinces,
where thousands of skilled and semiskilled workers whose training and experience
qualify them for war work and employment in industry generally have already
been registered, and that advantage be taken of this service to the fullest possible
extent.
Many employers have established contacts with trade-unions in meeting their
requirements as to labor supply, and the Minister of Labor is of opinion that the
more general adoption of this practice would assist in the avoidance of unnecessary
labor shortage.
The Joint Conference suggests that the Canadian Employment
Service should not only exercise care in classifying skilled tradesmen
but also check their qualifications for the trade.
Post-War Planning and Rehabilitation
One of the pressing and principal problems is to formulate an
adequate plan for dealing with conditions which must develop in the
building industry upon the completion of the great wartime construc
tion program, when jobs will have to be found for building-trades
workers.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Foreign Wartime Policies and Labor Conditions
839
Provisions will have to be made not only for demobilized men
from the armed forces but also for those who have been engaged in
the war industries.
In the judgment of the Conference, a definite and well-prepared
scheme for post-war social and economic adjustment should be at
once undertaken. As means of approach to meet the responsibilities
which will arise at the close of the war, the Joint Conference submits
the following:
1. Extension of the present Federal Housing Act and the broadening of its
provisions to include opportunities for those in business to secure the same measures
of assistance as other citizens.
2. Reinauguration of the Home Improvement Plan and the broadening of this
measure to include opportunities for small business men to secure assistance for
necessary extensions.
3. A slum-clearance program and development of modern housing and townplanning schemes, landscaping, and garden home plans, with playground and
park improvements.
4. Large-scale development for the utilization of water power for the creation
of electrical energy compatible with increased demands and modern de\ elopment.
5. Reforestation.
6. Continuation and extension of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Scheme.
7. Highway development, to be progressively continued, that access may be
provided to the national scenic beauties of Canada with the object of encouraging
tourist traffic now recognized to be an important national asset.
8. Diversion and conservation of waters for a greater use of our lakes and
rivers as a means of pure water supply.
9. Construction of sewage-disposal plants for preventing the contamination of
our lakes and rivers.
10. In the interests of health and sanitation, provisions should be made to
meet the requirements of numerous municipalities in Canada which lack the
facilities of procuring a fresh water supply and proper disposal of sewage.
11. Extension to farmers of the advantages of science by the installation of
modern methods of sanitation and electrical energy.
12. Grade-crossing elimination.
13. In cooperation with provincial and municipal authorities, undertake a
survey of possible requirements of public buildings and schools and the establish
ment of a system of modernization.
14t * * * the extensive development of a system of public baths and
swimming pools and other recreation facilities.
The Joint Conference also recommends that the Federal Govern
ment establish the requisite machinery for carrying out this plan and
suggests in this connection the creation of a new department of the
Government, which should consult with the National Joint Confeience
Board of the Building and Construction Industry in the development
of any plan.
Apprenticeship and Training
Referring to the present strong realization of “the mistake of not
making more definite efforts to carry on any established method of
the training of youth to meet the requirements of industry/’ the Joint
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Conference declares that the intensified training by brief mechanical
courses for a few months is undesirable, as such forced measures do
not permit of basic instruction in the building trades and will lead to
grave economic problems. Quick training of this kind will not make
competent craftsmen.
A new consciousness is apparent among the leaders of industry of the desirability
of intensifying our efforts to overcome the present emergent methods by again
attempting to have properly qualified systems of apprenticeship put into operation.
The Conference requests the Dominion Government to promote
technical education and endorses the principles of the Apprenticeship
Act of the Province of Ontario, which, if properly enforced and extended
to other Provinces, “would provide a sound foundation for meeting
the future requirements of trained, skilled workers in our industry.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
OVERTIME PROVISIONS IN UNION AGREEMENTS IN
CERTAIN DEFENSE INDUSTRIES 1
PROTECTION of hours standards by the requirement of a higherthan-regular rate of pay for overtime and holiday work has been a
traditional policy with organized labor. Overtime rates are included
in virtually all of the union agreements now in effect. In industries
where work is not regularly scheduled on a 7-day basis, most agree
ments also provide penalty rates for Saturday and Sunday work as
well as for holidays. Overtime provisions in the union agreements
for the industries closely related to defense activities are not unlike
those in other agreements.
The most common overtime rate is time and a half the regular rate,
although some agreements require double time. In some instances a
graduated scale is provided; for example, time and a half for a specified
number of hours of overtime and double time thereafter. In some
cases certain groups of employees, such as maintenance workers, are
excluded from overtime payments. In a few, overtime rates are
waived for a given number of weeks during busy seasons.
Outside of continuous-process and maintenance work, higher rates
of pay are usually provided for Sunday and holiday work. The
most common is time and a half, although a substantial number
provide double time, and a few triple time, for certain holidays.
In order to protect the 5-day week, a majority of all agreements
call for time and a half for work done on Saturday, even though such
Saturday work may not involve working beyond the full-time weekly
hours. A few agreements, however, permit Saturday work at regular
pay when time has been lost during the week because of holidays,
weather conditions, machine break-downs, etc. Continuous-process
and maintenance workers are usually excluded from Saturday penalty
rates.
This article presents an analysis of the overtime provisions in the
union agreements in the files of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for
the following industries: Aircraft, aluminum, automobile, electrical
equipment, iron and steel, machine tools, metal mining, rubber, and
shipbuilding. All of these are current agreements, although some of
them were negotiated before October 24, 1940, when the 40-hour
i Prepared in the Bureau’s Industrial Relations Division, under the direction of Florence Peterson, chief.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
841
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
week provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act went into effect.
This legal maximum, of course, supersedes any of the union-agreement
provisions in interstate industries which allow more than 40 hours
at regular rates, or overtime rates of less than time and a half. Such
cases, however, are few.
Aircraft Manufacture
Nearly one-third of the employees engaged in the manufacture of
aircraft and parts are covered by union agreements. The principal
unions in the industry are the International Association of Machinists,
A. F. of L., and the United Automobile Workers of America, C. I. O.
Among the agreements negotiated by locals of the International
Association of Machinists are those with the Beech Aircraft Corpo-r
ration, Wichita, Kans.; the Boeing Aircraft Co., Seattle, Wash.; the
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, San Diego, Calif.; and the Lock
heed Aircraft Corporation and the Vega Airplane Co., both in Bur
bank, Calif. Among the agreements negotiated by locals of the
United Automobile Workers, C. I. 0., are those negotiated with the
following companies: the Bell Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y .;
the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y.;
the Bendix Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corporation,
South Bend, Ind. ; and Vultee Aircraft, Downey, Calif.
Under all of the agreements on file with the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, time and a half is paid for woik in excess of 8 hours a day
and 40 hours per week.
Most of the workers under agreement are paid time and a half for
work on Saturday, unless such work is part of the regular working
schedule. According to specific provisions in agreements covering
about half of the workers under agreement, the maintenance em
ployees, watchmen, firemen, and janitors, do not receive the penalty
rate for Saturday work. For example, one agreement, which covers
more than 5,000 employees, provides that there may be a mainte
nance crew whose régulai workweek shall run from Wednesday
through Sunday. A small proportion of the workers may work
Saturday at regular rates if a holiday occurs in the same week, or
if the workers concerned were absent during the week voluntarily or
because of sickness.
More than two-fifths of the workers covered by agreement receive
double time for work on Sunday, if such work is not included in their
regular schedule. Continuous 7-day operations are necessarily
excepted.
Nearly three-fourths of the workers under agreement are paid
double time for work on recognized holidays. Powerhouse and
boiler-room employees and maintenance workers are excepted in some
of the agreements.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
843
Aluminum Industry
Approximately two-thirds of the workers in the aluminum industry
are covered by union agreements. The principal unions are the
Aluminum Workers of America, C. I. O., and the Aluminum Workers
Council, coordinating the directly affiliated federal labor unions of
the A. F. of L. Other unions, covering a smaller proportion of
workers, are the National Association of Die Casting Workers, C. I. O.,
and several A. F. of L. craft unions. The Aluminum Co. of America,
the predominant company in this field, has signed a joint agreement
with the Aluminum Workers of America and the Die Casting Workers,
which includes six plants of the company, and an agreement with
federal labor unions covering two additional plants. The Reynolds
Metals Co., another important company, has negotiated with federal
labor unions and locals of skilled craftsmen an agreement covering
all its plants.
All but one agreement on file in the Bureau of Labor Statistics
provide for an 8-hour day and a 40-hour week. One specifies a 42hour week, but states that work over 40 hours is optional with the
employees.
In all the agreements time and a half is paid for all work in excess
of the regular working hours. The Aluminum Co. agreements
exempt from the overtime rate persons engaged in continuous-process
and other specialized operations. A Die Casting agreement exempts
employees in plant maintenance, mold work, and heat treating, from
the overtime payment. One small plant limits the amount of over
time which may be worked to 2 hours per day and 8 hours per week.
In the Reynolds agreement, double time is paid to printing pressmen
and machinists for overtime work in excess of 4 hours, while elec
tricians receive double time for overtime work after midnight.
On the whole, time and a half is paid for all Saturday work, except
to workers on continuous-process, maintenance, or shipping jobs.
One agreement permits employees to work at regular rates on Saturday
to make up time lost during the week from illness, slack work, and
holidays, and another permits make-up work on Saturday if the
plant is shut down on a weekday, owing to causes beyond the com
pany’s control. The Reynolds agreement stipulates time and a half
for the first 4 hours on Saturday, and double time thereafter, for
printing pressmen, electricians, and machinists. For printing press
men, if the amount of work performed during the week is less than
40 hours, for causes other than the occurrence of a holiday during the
week, straight time must be paid for the first 4 hours on Saturday,
time and a half for the next 4 hours, and thereafter double time.
About 15 percent of the workers covered by agreements, including
Reynolds employees, receive double rates for work on Sunday and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
844
Monthly Labor Review—A p jil 1941
holidays. Printing pressmen at the Reynolds plants receive triple
pay for overtime on Sunday. Time and a half is provided in the
other agreements, including those of the Aluminum Co. Exemption
from the penalty rates for Sunday and holiday work is usually pro
vided for workers engaged in continuous operations, heat treating,
manufacturing new molds, and maintenance work.
Automobile Industry
About three-fourths of the workers engaged in the manufacture of
automobiles, including bodies and parts, are working under the terms
of union agreements. The principal union in the industry is the
United Automobile Workers of America, C. I. O. The United Auto
mobile Workers of America, A. F. of L., has negotiated some agree
ments. Nine agreements on file with the Bureau of Labor Statistics
cover the General Motors, Chrysler, Briggs, Hudson, Nash, Packard,
Reo, Studebaker, and White companies.
An 8-hour day and 40-hour week is established by each of the
agreements, with time and a half for overtime. A few exceptions are
permitted in some. The Briggs agreement provides that all hourly
rated employees, such as tool crib men and truck drivers, whose duties
are such that they are required to work at hours when production is
not going on, shall be paid time and a half for all work over 9 hours
in any one day and 40 in any week. Under the Nash agreement,
the overtime provisions do not apply for the first 15 working days
at the beginning of a new model.
Work on Saturday which is not regularly scheduled is compensated
for at time and a half under all the agreements. Under the Chrysler
and General Motors agreements, time and a half is also paid for
scheduled Saturday work in a week in which a holiday occurs. Most
of the agreements do not specify the operations which may be regularly
scheduled on Saturday. The Hudson agreement, however, specifically
permits Saturday work for the powerhouse, maintenance emergency
shifts, heat treaters, oven cleaners, and oven tenders. The Briggs
agreement provides that powerhouse employees and helpers and
first-aid employees shall not be paid overtime for Saturday work.
The Nash agreement similarly excepts powerhouse employees and
watchmen.
The General Motors agreement prohibits the practice of laying off
an employee after his working week starts and then calling him back
to work on Saturday, for the purpose of avoiding penalty payment on
Saturday. However, if a plant operates on Saturday because of a
break-down, shortage of material, or other interruptions beyond the
control of the management, during the week, the penalty rate does not
apply unless a holiday occurred in the week. The Packard agreement
also provides that regular rates shall apply if a majority of the plant
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
845
is operated on Saturday because of lost time during the week, beyond
the control of the company.
The Reo agreement provides that the Saturday penalty “ may be
waived from time to time in whole or in part, in which case the regular
rate of pay shall prevail.”
Double time is generally paid only for Sunday work not regularly
scheduled. Thus, powerhouse employees and watchmen, as well as
those employed on continuous operations, are excepted from the
double-time provision for Sunday. Under the Reo agreement penalty
rates for Sunday work may be waived in the same manner as for work
on Saturday.
All of the agreements except that of Studebaker require that double
time be paid for work on recognized holidays. The Studebaker agree
ment provides for time and a half. Exceptions to the holiday rate are
common for continuous-operation and maintenance workers. Under
the Packard agreement, for example, maintenance employees receive
time and a half for holiday work. Likewise, the Reo agreement pro
vides that the holiday penalty rate may be waived in the same manner
as for work on Saturday and Sunday.
Electrical-Equipment Industry
Nearly three-fourths of the workers in the electrical-equipment
industry are under union agreement. The majority of the covered
employees, including those in General Electric, R. C. A. Manufactur
ing, and Philco, are represented by the United Electrical Radio and
Machine Workers Union of the C. I. O. A smaller proportion, dis
tributed among more than 300 companies (mainly in the New York
lighting-equipment industry), are represented by the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of the A. F. of L. Some skilled
craftsmen are also represented by the International Association of
Machinists, the Patternmakers League of North America, and other
A. F. of L. craft unions.
The 8-liour day and 40-hour week are practically universal in the
industry. Among the agreements examined, only one provides for a
standard workweek shorter than 40 hours and that is for alternate
weeks. One agreement provides for a 9-hour day, with a 40-hour
weekly maximum. Over 90 percent of the agreements specify that the
work week shall run from Monday through Friday. In the remainder,
the regular work schedules may include all or part of Saturday. One
agreement contains a clause allowing Saturday work to be regularly
scheduled when the normal force is increased by approximately 10
percent. • Another establishes Saturday as a regular workday only
when two or three shifts are working. In about one-tenth of the con3 0 1 1 7 8 -4 1 -
-5
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
846
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
tracts, certain classes of employees, such as watchmen, janitors, office
employees, maintenance men, firemen, and men on continuous opera
tions, are excepted from the regular hour schedules. In a few cases, a
workweek longer than 40 hours is established for these employees,
but generally the provision is either that they may work longer hours
in any one day or that they may work any 5 days in the week.
Time and a half is the customary rate for overtime and for work
outside of the regular shift hours. In a small number of cases, double
time must be paid after the first 3 or 4 hours of overtime. A few
agreements also provide for the double rate when more than 10 hours’
overtime is worked in a week. In one minor agreement the workweek
may be lengthened to 45 hours without the payment of overtime until
2,000 hours per employee have been worked during the year.
Time and a half is the usual rate for Saturday when that day is not
part of the regular schedule. There are some exceptions, however.
In several cases, if a holiday falls during the week, it may be made up
on Saturday at straight time. In a few other cases, work on Saturday
necessitated by an emergency is permitted at the straight rate. In one
agreement, maintenance men and electricians are granted 5 hours’
pay for 4 hours’ work on Saturday morning, and time and a half for
Saturday afternoon. In a few instances, double time is provided for
work on Saturday afternoon or after 8 hours of work on Saturday.
Work on Sundays and holidays is prohibited in only a few instances
but more than three-fourths of the agreements require the payment of
double time if work is necessary on these days. Most of the others
require time and a half. In one agreement, two and a half times the
regular rate is paid for holiday work, while in a few cases work on
certain holidays is compensated at time and a half and on other holi
days at double time. In general, maintenance men, engineers, firemen,
and watchmen receive a straight rate if they are regularly assigned to
Sunday and holiday work. Under a few agreements they receive time
and a half when the production workers receive the double rate.
Iron and Steel Industry
In the basic iron and steel industry more than two-thirds of the
workers are covered by agreements of the Steel Workers Organizing
Committee, C. I. O. Only about half of the fabricating employees are
under agreement, mainly with the S. W. O. C., but also with the
International Association of Machinists, A. F. of L., the International
Moldeis Union of North America, A. F. of L., the United Automobile
Workers, C. I. O., and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers Union, C. I. O. Among the companies organized by the
S. W. O. C. are the subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation,
the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, the Crucible Steel Co. of
America, the American Can Co., the Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corpora
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
847
tion, the Timken Roller Bearing Co., the Wheeling Steel Corporation,
and others.
Most of the agreements call for the 8-hour day and the 40-hour
week, with the payment of time and a half for all overtime work.
Variations, confined chiefly to smaller plants, include some providing
for slightly longer workweeks and a few for shorter weeks. In a few
agreements, maintenance workers have a weekly schedule i above
40 hours, although production workers are on a 40-hour schedule.
Although only a few agreements require the payment of double time
for all overtime, a considerable number require double time after 2
or 4 hours of overtime in any one day. In one the company is allowed
5 hours’ leeway in any week without the payment of overtime.
Penalty payments for Saturday, Sunday, and holiday work are
common in the fabricating branch of the industry but rare in basic
iron and steel. The difference is due chiefly to the fact that the man
ufacture of iron and steel requires a great deal of continuous operation,
while the fabrication of steel products is not continuous, and week
end and holiday operations are therefore not essential for normal
production. More than a third of the fabricating agreements require
time and a half pay for Saturday work. In a few, Saturday work may
be paid for at straight time, if scheduled in order to make up a holiday
occurring during 1 week. In some agreements, straight time is also
permitted on Saturday for necessary shipping and maintenance work.
For work on Sundays and holidays, nearly half of the fabricating
agreements establish the double-time rate, while the others provide
time and a half. In about one-third of these cases, regularly assigned
employees such as firemen and watchmen are specifically excluded
from these provisions.
Machine-Tool Industry
About one-third of the wage earners in the machine-tool industry
are under union agreement. Among the unions which have negotiated
agreements in this industry are the International Association of
Machinists, the Pattern Makers’ League of North America, and the
United Automobile Workers of the A. F. of L. ; the Steel Workers’
Organizing Committee, the United Electrical, Radio & Machine
Workers’ Union, and the United Automobile Workers of the C. I. O.;
and the Mechanics Educational Society of America and the Society
of Tool and Die Craftsmen, which are not affiliated with either the
A. F. of L. or the C. I. O.
The 8-hour day and the 40-hour week prevail under these agree
ments. Generally, however, certain classes of workers, such as main
tenance men, firemen, truck drivers, and watchmen, are either ex
cluded from the jurisdiction of the agreement or specifically excepted
from the regular hour provisions. For example, one agreement sets a
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
848
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
9-hour day and 42-hour week for truck drivers, and another a 42-hour
week for maintenance men and truck drivers; a third provides a
40-hour week for truck drivers, but no daily maximum.
More than two-thirds of the agreements establish a regular work
week from Monday through Friday. A few others prohibit the start
ing of the workweek on Sunday. In one case, it is specified that the
schedule for watchmen, firemen, engineers, chauffeurs, truckers, and
maintenance men may include any of the 7 days of the week.
Time and a half is the customary rate for all overtime work. One
agreement allows work on Sunday or holidays only after discussion
between management and the union shop committee, while another
prohibits work entirely for 1 day out of 7. In still another, the com
pany promises to keep overtime to a minimum and to explain the
reasons to the employees affected when it is necessary. A few agree
ments apply the double-time rate after from 2 to 4 hours of overtime
work in any one day.
Time and a half is also the usual penalty rate for Saturday work in
those agreements which define the workweek as Monday through
Friday. A third of the agreements make no specific mention of Satur
day work. One agreement requires double pay for any work on Satur
day afternoon except certain cleaning, servicing, and repair work,
which is paid for at time and a half. Several agreements specify
double pay after 8 hours of overtime work on Saturday.
The usual rate for work on Sundays and holidays is double time,
although a few provide the time and a half rate. Maintenance em
ployees customarily work on Sundays and holidays at regular pay;
although one agreement establishes a penalty rate of time and a half
for maintenance workers, the other employees receiving double pay.
In one instance, if an employee is required to work more than 10
hours on Sunday, his rate for the excessive hours is determined by
the shop committee and the employer.
Metal Min ing
About one-fourth of the workers engaged in metal mining are under
union agreements. The predominant union is the International Union
of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (C. I. O.). There is also some
organization by A. F. of L. craft and federal labor unions, as well as
several locals of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (C. I. O.).
The largest company under agreement is the Anaconda Copper
Mining Co.
With a few exceptions, an 8-hour day and 5-day week is worked in
metal mining. A 7%-hour day, 6 days a week, is provided in one
agreement; a 7-hour day is specified in another. A 48-hour week is
specified in three agreements covering smaller mines.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
849
Time and a half is the prevailing overtime rate in this industry.
Exceptions to the regular overtime provisions are specified in a few
cases when the overtime is due to shift changes or delays in hoisting
workers from the mine as result from accidents or other causes beyond
the control of the company.
There are no special provisions covering work on Saturday and
Sunday.
More than half the workers covered by these agreements, including
the Anaconda agreement, receive double pay for holiday work. In
one agreement, affecting a very small proportion of workers, time and
a half is paid for work on 4 holidays but double time is paid for work
on Christmas. Maintenance, repair, and emergency work, however,
is usually excepted from these penalty rates.
Rubber Industry
About two-thirds of the workers in the rubber industry are covered
by union agreements. The United Rubber Workers of America,
C. I. O., is the predominant union in the industry, but directly affiliated
A. F. of L. federal labor unions account for about 10 percent of the
union coverage, including the Hood Rubber Co. plant at Watertown,
Mass., and the United States Rubber Co. plant at Providence, R. I.
The Patternmakers League of North America, the Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, and a few other A. F. of L. craft unions have also
organized particular groups of skilled workmen. Among the estab
lishments organized by the United Rubber Workers are the Goodrich,
Firestone, General, and Seiberling plants in the Akron area and the
United States Rubber Co. plants at Detroit, Indianapolis, and Chico
pee Falls, Mass.
Most of the agreements covering workers in tire and tube plants
and departments establish a 6-hour day, 36-hour week. The 8-hour
day, 40-hour week prevails in most of the agreements covering the
manufacture of other rubber products. One agreement, covering a
smaller company, permits the work to be spread over 6 days, rather
than 5, during any 6-month period when orders require production
of a specified amount.
Overtime pay, however, generally begins after 8 and 40 hours, even
for plants operating on a 6-hour day, 36-hour week basis. The extra
hours of work are permitted in the Akron plant of Goodrich only in
cases of “ extreme emergency” or when “ necessary for the preservation
of the company's business.” In no case, however, may a production
worker be employed more than 1,800 hours in a calendar year. In
the General Tire & Rubber Co. agreement, the extra hours are limited
to 4 a week and confined to emergencies. Most of the other agree
ments also restrict in some way the extension of hours from 6 to 8.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Mojithly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Only a few of the smaller plants pay overtime rates after 6 hours in a
day and 36 in a week and most of these do so only for certain depart
ments. In some of these, which pay for overtime after 6 and 36
hours, the rate is time and a third instead of the customary time and a
half. Practically all of the other workers receive time and a half for
overtime.
Time and a half is paid for all work on Saturday which is not a part
of the employee’s regular schedule, except in a few small plants which
pay time and a third. The agreements do not specify the work which
can be regularly scheduled for Saturday, but tire and tube production
customarily includes the Saturday schedule. In general, if a holiday
or a major breakdown occurs during a week, Saturday work is not
compensated for at the penalty rate.
About a third of the rubber agreements provide double time for
Sunday work, and a slightly larger proportion provide double time for
work on holidays. Most of the others pay time and a half for holidays
and Sundays, although a few provide for only time and a third.
Double time is not paid by any of the large companies. Regularly
assigned maintenance men, boilerhouse men, and watchmen usually
receive straight time for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays,
but in the few cases when the other workers receive double rates, they
receive time and a half.
Shipbuilding Industry
About one-half of the workers in the private shipbuilding industry,
the greater part of which is concentrated on the Atlantic coast, are
working under union agreements. The unions which have signed
agreements covering shipyards are the A. F. of L. craft unions, gen
erally affiliated with local metal-trades councils, and the International
Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers (C. I. O.).
All of the agreements provide for an 8-hour day, 40-hour week.
One company, which is regularly on an 8-hour day, 40-hour week
schedule, requires only 7 hours per day and 39 hours per week for
repair workers.
About a third of the workers under agreement receive double pay
for all overtime work. These agreements include Todd-Johnson Dry
Docks, Inc., Todd-Galveston, Western Pipe & Steel Co. of California,
Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding
Co., and the general Seattle agreement. In a few others double time
is paid for some types of work, while time and a half applies to the
other work.
Approximately two-thirds of the shipyard workers are covered by
the time and a half overtime rate, including New York Shipbuilding
Corporation, Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Maryland Dry
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
851
Dock Co., Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co., Ingalls Shipbuild
ing Co., Los Angeles Dry Dock, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
at San Pedro, and the American Shipbuilding Co. Three agreements
increase the time and a half rate to double time after 8 hours’ continu
ous overtime.
Under these agreements the penalty rates for Saturday work are the
same as the overtime rates. In one agreement, having a time and a
half overtime rate, however, any work after noon on Saturday is paid
for at double time. Two other agreements having a time and a half
overtime rate provide for double time for repair work on Saturday.
Work on Sundays and holidays is compensated for at twice the
regular rate for virtually all of the shipbuilding employees, although a
small proportion receive time and a half. Pay at two and a half times
the regular rate for work over 8 hours on holidays is provided for in
one agreement covering over 10,000 employees.
ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
BOARD, 1939-40 1
THE duties of the National Labor Relations Board are of two general
types: (a) To prevent employers engaged in interstate commerce
from engaging in any of the unfair labor practices listed under the
National Labor Relations Act, and (6) to settle controversies with
respect to representation of employees and to certify the name of the
employee organization which shall represent the workers.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, the National Labor
Relations Board disposed of 7,354 cases involving 1,488,020 workers.
In about 38 percent of the cases closed, settlements were obtained
informally through the cooperation of the employer, the union, and
agents of the Board; about 17 percent of the cases were dismissed by
regional directors after investigation revealed that further proceedings
were unwarranted; and in about 28 percent of the cases the parties
withdrew their petitions. In only about 17 percent of the cases
closed were formal proceedings before the Board necessary.
Cases Involving Unfair Labor Practices
Altogether, 4,664 cases, involving 870,000 workers, pertaining to
unfair labor practices, were handled by the Board. Hearings were
necessary in only 255 of these cases. Approximately 31,000 workers
were reinstated during the year after discrimination because of union
membership or after strikes in protest against alleged violation of the
act. Approximately 4,800 workers received back-pay awards amounti Data are from National Labor Relations Board, Fifth Annual Report, for fiscal year ended June 30,
1940, Washington, D . C., 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
ing to a total of $650,000. Other forms of remedy included the post
ing of 1,000 notices by employers agreeing to cease interfering with
labor organization, the disestablishment of 220 company-dominated
unions, the agreement to bargain collectively in 880 cases, and the
signing of written agreements in 600 cases.
Representation Cases
Representation cases closed during the year totaled 2,690. Of these,
1,264 were A. F. of L., and 1,004 were C. I. O. cases, 366 were
cases of unaffiliated unions, and 56 were employer petitions.
Of the total number of representation cases, 73 percent were closed
before the initiation of formal proceedings, these through consent
elections, voluntary recognition of representatives on the part of
employers, or pay-roll checks to establish bargaining representation.
The Board conducted a total of 1,192 elections during the year;
676 of these were with the consent of both unions and employers and
516 upon Board direction. More than 90 percent of the 590,000
workers eligible to vote in these elections cast their ballots. Of the
valid votes cast, 70 percent were cast for A. F. of L. or C. I. O. affiliates,
3 percent were cast for national unaffiliated unions, 9 percent for local
unaffiliated unions, and 18 percent against any or all unions appearing
on the ballot.
A. F. of L. unions appeared in 734 elections in which 340,000 valid
votes were cast for the Federation affiliates. C. I. O. unions appeared
in 692 elections in which they secured 447,000 votes. Unaffiliated
national unions appeared in 115 elections in which they secured 37,000
votes. Unaffiliated local unions appeared in 134 elections in which
93,000 valid votes were cast in their favor.
Number of Elections Participated In, Won, and Lost During the Fiscal Year by Different
Types of Labor Organizations 1
Elections in
which union
participated
Type of union
N um
ber
A. F. of L. affiliates
O. I. O. affiliates- . . ..
U n a ffilia te d n a tio n a l
unions .- ____ ___ ___
Unaffiliated local unions,.
Valid
votes
cast
Elections won
Per
cent of
total in
N um which
ber union
par
tici
pated
Elections lost
Valid votes
cast
N um
ber
Per
Valid votes
cent of
cast
total in
N um which
Per
Per
ber union
cent of
N um cent of
par
total
tici
total
ber
cast
pated
cast
734
692
343,439
447, 236
386
407
52.59
58.82
70, 700
313, 852
20. 59
70.18
348
285
47.41
41.18
272, 739
133, 384
79.41
29.82
115
134
37,043
93,170
45
83
39.13
61.94
9,499
63,697
25. 64
68. 37
70
51
60. 87
38.06
27, 544
29,473
74. 36
31.63
>Includes only those elections which were won by some form of labor oganization.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment and Labor Conditions
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE
VIRGIN ISLANDS
THE year 1940 marked the end of the first decade during which the
United States Department of the Interior had administrative juris
diction over the Virgin Islands. The annual report by the Governor
of the Islands 1 states that the present situation when compared with
former conditions and with conditions in other West Indian areas
reveals much progress. Advances are recorded in the field of public
health, particularly by a great reduction in infant mortality; in edu
cation; and in the institution of public works and the building of
highways, although prolonged droughts in the last 4 years have
seriously affected the Islands’ finances. New industrial enterprises
and fortification of the Islands under the defense program are of great
importance to the local economy, having for the present practically
eliminated unemployment, with the expectation that even after the
present defense construction is completed, conditions will be greatly
improved.
The 1940 census shows that the population, which had been steadily
declining since 1860, increased from the low point of 22,012 in 1930,
to 24,889, an increase of 13.1 percent in the 10 years. This increase
is an indication of economic improvement, as is also the reversal of
the historical tendency of emigration from the Islands for the purpose
of economic improvement, and there is now an excess of immigration
over emigration. This immigration has brought with it certain
problems, since much of it is from Puerto Rico and neighboring
Islands, where the racial, social, and language origins are different
from those of the Virgin Islands.
Economic Conditions
Adverse economic conditions in the Virgin Islands are shown by the
fact that in the past 20 years the value of exports has in only 1 year
been greater than the value of imports. This continued adverse
balance has been offset in recent years, however, by the expenditure
of Federal funds, by ship-servicing charges, and by tourist expendi1 Annual report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands, for the fiscal year ended June 30,1940. Washing
ton, 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
853
854
Monthly Lahor Review—A pril 1941
tures. Sugar, rum, bitters, and cattle are the chief export articles,
while coal and oil are imported for resale.
The Sugar Industry
Sugarcane is the principal crop in the Islands, but after about the
middle of the last century its cultivation was discontinued in the
Islands of St. Thomas and St. John, and only St. Croix has continued
to depend on sugar cultivation as its basic industry. In spite of
competition from the beet-sugar industry, and from better cane-pro
ducing areas throughout the world, which have made survival difficult,
the industry is still the largest single employer of labor in the Islands,
and for lack of any other suitable cash crop, the most important
economic factor in St. Croix. The estate system of sugarcane culti
vation has practically disappeared, and sugar-cultivation units are
now in the hands of corporate owners, who operate sugar-processing
mills or factories. The size and organization of these agencies render
impossible the direct relationship between owner and workers which
characterized the plantation system.
Experience in other West Indian islands has shown that small
holdings offer at least a partial solution to the social and economic
problems of these areas. Various administrative policies have been
directed in the last few years toward making land available and
financing small holders’ operations, and a program of farm loans which
should be sufficient to meet the needs of small farmers is being estab
lished by the Farm Security Administration. Removal of the present
restrictive tax on sugar exports is said to be necessary, as are also
regulation and supervision of sugar-mill laboratories and the licensing
of sugar-mill chemists and of weighers and checkers. The Governor
expresses the opinion that unless the United States Government
enacts legislation which will return to the local treasury the taxes now
collected under the provisions of the Sugar Act of 1937, which would
enable the local authorities to establish a system of benefit payments,
there is little hope that the sugar industry will survive.
Homestead Policy
Preliminary figures of the 1940 census record an increase in the
number of farms in the Virgin Islands from 329 in 1930 to 828 in
1940—a result of the homestead program inaugurated in 1931 and
later considerably expanded. In 1931, Congress appropriated funds
to purchase large estates for subdivision and resale to small farmers
or homesteaders, and subsequent additional allocations have resulted
in the purchase of 3,552 acres in the Islands of St. Croix and St.
Thomas, which are now being sold under rental-purchase contracts
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment and Labor Conditions
855
to 328 small holders. In addition 77 families have been established
on small holdings by the municipality of St. Croix.
Ninety-one modern houses of two to four rooms have been either
constructed or remodeled on the above areas, and are being sold to
the purchasers of the holdings, but many more houses are needed.
The acreage allotted to homesteaders—originally 6.37 acres—was
recognized as being too small to provide adequate family income as
well as amortization, and a policy was therefore adopted of dividing
among adjacent homesteaders the plots reverting to the government
in case of death or cancelation of contracts; this procedure had re
sulted at the time of the report, it is stated, in increasing the average
size of homesteads to 7.75 acres. Although the program gave promise
of rehabilitating a large number of families, discriminations against
the sugar business and the prolonged drought have imperiled its
successful operation.
Virgin Islands Co.
The Virgin Islands Co., established by the Colonial Council of the
Municipality of St. Thomas and St. John, in 1934, and chartered to
engage in a wide variety of activities for the economic rehabilitation
of the Islands, has been financed entirely by Federal emergency
relief funds. The company produces 40 percent of the crop of sugar
cane, processes 60 to 70 percent of the raw sugar, and produces 80
percent of the rum manufactured in the Island of St. Croix.
Endeavoring to evaluate the effect of this company’s operation,
the Governor notes that the present wage rates of 80 cents and $1 per
day are higher than when the company began to operate, and housing
conditions have been improved for the company workers. While
some of the workers are employed on a yearly basis, most of them
are still in the category of casual laborers. Independent cane pro
ducers, of whom 600 or more sell their crop to the company, have
secured no appreciable benefit from its operation. The crop yield is
much below that of Puerto Rico and nearby British West Indian
Islands, and under the severe drought conditions of recent years, the
average yield has been below 10 tons per acre, as compared with
average yields ranging from 30 to 70 tons in Puerto Rico and the
neighboring islands.
Examining the results of the 6 years’ operations of the company,
the report recommends its reorganization, the subdivision into small
farms of the 5,000 acres of Government-owned land which it now uses
rent free, and their sale to homesteaders. Although it would appear
that legal discriminations against the sugar business in the Virgin
Islands, drought, the distance from markets, and other natural dis
advantages would make it impossible for small farmers to make a
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
856
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
living on their farms, the Governor feels that those laborers who secure
homesteads will be better off even in periods of severe drought and
low farm income, than are company laborers who may be dismissed
in such periods, since they can secure a large part of their subsistence
from their farms.
The direct nature of Farm Security Administration assistance will make such
a program less costly to the Government than is any involving the continuation
of large-scale entrepreneurial sugar cultivation in the face of high cost of pro
duction, low price of sugar, and recurring drought. The 90-percent repayment
record in normal years of present homesteaders promises well for the eventual
recovery by the Government of its investment in land and houses if this plan is
adopted.
Other Industries
The chief economic asset of St. Thomas Island is its harbor, and
shipping and the servicing of ships have historically been the prin
cipal business. With changing world conditions, this business has
fluctuated, but in recent years there has been a shipping revival
resulting from the tourist trade and also from the considerable use of
the port of St. Thomas by ships of the United States Navy.
During 1940 the number of cruise ships visiting the port was greatly
curtailed as a result of the war, and this has affected the handcraft
cooperative market which had been developed through the use of
Government funds and with Government support. This cooperative
organization has been the means of bringing in a small additional
cash income to the families of approximately 700 workers. Profits
of the cooperative have been distributed among workers in annual
bonuses, which have ranged from 2 to 7 percent of the value of goods
produced. The tourist and winter-resident trade, if given sufficient
Government assistance, it is said, can make a substantial contribution
to the economic revival of the Islands.
Efforts by various Government agencies to promote the production
and consumption of vegetables have begun to show results. The
establishment of the St. Thomas Agricultural station and the open
ing and improvement of many miles of farm-to-market roads, devel
oped as WPA and CCC projects, are recent aids to farm economy.
Education
Educational facilities have been expanded in the past 20 years.
Between 1921 and 1940 enrollment in all schools increased by 24
percent, the number of teachers increased by 53 percent, and appro
priations for maintaining the public-school system, by 54 percent.
The courses have been changed to provide vocational training both
in elementary and high schools, and health instruction, physical
training, and athletic programs are maintained. The educational
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment and Labor Conditions
857
status of teachers, who are almost all natives, has been improved
through cash grants or loans to students or teachers who wish to
continue their education on the mainland, and a number of tuition
scholarships have been made available in certain colleges here and
in Puerto Rico. The Virgin Islands are not eligible to receive bene
fits under the various vocational-educational grants-in-aid in effect
in the United States, although there is special need for the develop
ment and continuation of this type of educational activity in the
Islands.
Public Health and Welfare
Public health and medical services, which were characterized as
deplorable when the Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917,
have improved in recent years, at first under a staff of Navy doctors
and later with a staff of Navy nurses. In 1931, when the adminis
tration of the Islands was transferred to the Interior Department,
civilian doctors were appointed for this work, and the excellent record
of the Navy Department in the medical field has been maintained
under the civil administration. The death rate has been leveled off
at an annual average figure in the last 10 years of 21.34 per thousand.
This decline, and the increase in the birth rate from an annual average
of 24.57 in the 10-year period 1920-29 to an annual average of 29.05
m the period 1930-39 (resulting from prenatal and child care), were
due to the improved economic and social conditions.
Relief allocations have been made available for sanitation needs
such as mosquito control, construction of sewers, and provision for a
public water supply, although lack of funds has prevented provision
of adequate common water supplies for the towns. Lacking also
are control of the processing and distribution of perishable foodstuffs,
and additional funds are needed for the care and control of leprosy
and certain other communicable diseases, as well as for care of the
insane.
In general, in spite of the improvements registered, the social
problem in the Virgin Islands is said to be that of a community in
economic decline, with slender natural resources and with inadequate
governmental revenues. “ The economic decline is not a condition
of recent origin but has been characteristic for several generations.
Underemployment or unemployment, malnutrition, wretched housing,
and low wages, have all contributed to the development of social
problems that are now chronic.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
858
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
IMPROVEMENTS IN LABOR CONDITIONS OF
FINNISH SEAMEN
SEAMEN are to receive larger rations of sugar, butter, bread, and
other provisions than workers ashore, according to an agreement
resulting from a recent conference between the Minister of Food and
the Seamen’s Union of Finland. In addition seamen are to get special
cards enabling them to buy bread in restaurants when ashore.1
The collective agreement in force for Finnish seamen was due to
expire at the end of September 1940. A new agreement was con
cluded, effective from October 1, 1940, which provides for an average
increase of about 15 percent in wages and for the right of the repre
sentatives of the union to visit ships for the purpose of settling ques
tions affecting the crews. Both the new and old monthly rates for
Finnish seamen are shown in the following table.
New and Old Monthly Wage Rates for Finnish Seamen
Group of workers
M onthly wage rates (in
marks i)
Group of workers
Old
Deck and engine room
personnel:
Carpenters,,
Boatswains. . ______
Able seamen________
Ordinary seamen____
B o y s ... _______ . . .
Donkey men________
Greasers________
Firemen,
____
Trimmers__________
Motormen__________
1,430
1,350
1,150
900
560
1,350
1,200
1,150
900
1,200
New
1,600
1,600
1,350
1,050
650
1,600
1,400
1,350
1,050
1,400
M onthly wage rates (in
marks 0
Old
Male catering personnel:
Stewards, _ , ____ . . 1,900-2,400
1,350-1, 550
Assistant cooks . . _
850
Cook stewards__
1,700
Female catering person
nel:
Stewardesses (cargo),. 1,100-1,200
900-1, 000
Assistant cooks,
550
New
2,100-2, 700
1,400-1,750
975
1,950
1,275-1,400
1,050-1,150
650
1 Average exchange rate of Finnish mark in November 1940=1.95 cents.
A supplement to the agreement provides for war-risk bonuses,
ranging from 580 to 1,730 marks for able seamen, according to the
danger zone and a proportional amount for other ratings.
i International Transport Workers’ Federation, Press report (Kempston Beds, England), January 27,
1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Women in Industry
WOMEN’S WAGES AND HOURS IN NEBRASKA, 1938
HOURLY earnings of woman workers in Nebraska in 1938 were
highest in the meat-packing industry and lowest in laundries and drycleaning plants. With the exception of certain office employees,
women in the meat-packing industry also had the highest weekly
earnings. Woman workers in Omaha generally had higher earnings
than those in other places. These and other facts were ascertained in
a survey by the United States Women’s Bureau of the important
woman-employing industries in the State.1 The survey was made in
the last 3 months of 1938 and covered 232 establishments employing
a total of 7,336 women. The study included the manufacturing
industries, retail stores, laundries, dry cleaners, beauty shops, hotels,
restaurants, and insurance and wholesale distributing offices, and
is considered as representative of women’s employment in the State.
Week's Earnings
For the State as a whole, earnings of women in factories for the week
reported averaged $14.90. The average for Omaha was $15.55, which
was $5.25 higher than the average for other places and 65 cents above
the general average. One-fifth of all the women in the factories
studied earned less than $10 in the week reported.
Average earnings of women in retail stores for the week reported
were less than $15, regardless of the type of store. Women working in
laundries and dry-cleaning establishments earned, on an average, $10.65
in the week, and those in hotels and restaurants averaged even less—
$8.80 in hotels, $9.55 in store restaurants, and $8.90 in other restau
rants. However, employees in hotels and restaurants generally
received meals and sometimes lodging in addition to cash wages,
though the practice varied. The average earnings reported did not
include such supplements, the cash equivalent not being reported, nor
tips, as the amount was not of record.
Women’s earnings in beauty shops for the week reported ranged from
less than $5 to $32, with an average of $15.45. In addition to cash
wages, beauty-shop workers frequently receive tips, though 18 of the
1 U . S. Department of Labor.
Nebraska. Washington, 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Women’s Bureau.
Bulletin No. 178: Woman’s Wages and Hours in
859
860
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
22 shops covered reported that the tips received amounted to little or
nothing. In one shop, however, tips averaged $1.25 a day for beauty
operators, ranging from nothing to $14.
In office employment women had relatively high earnings in the
week recorded, though earnings in the different types of offices varied
from $15.75 in stores to $29.20 in miscellaneous offices.
In table 1 are presented average week’s earnings in the industries
covered, not only for the State but also for Omaha and other places.
T a b l e 1.—Average Week's Earnings of Women in Nebraska Industries, 1938
Industry
Manufacturing
State___ _____ _________ ..
Meat packing.. _ ___
Eggs, poultry, creameries___
Bakeries. _____
Crackers and biscuits_______
Other food_________________
M en’s clothing. __ _________
Paper products __ _________
Miscellaneous___
Omaha. . . .
Other places____ _____
Retail stores 1
State:
Department_____
Limited-price____ . .
Ready-to-wear________ _ . .
Omaha:
D epartment.. ______ ____ _
Limited-price____ _____ _ .
Ready-to-wear...............
Other places:
Department.. ___ . .
Limited-price______ _
Ready-to-wear___ _____ . ..
N um Median
ber of week’s
women earnings
1,695
554
286
95
93
94
228
88
257
1,524
171
$14. 90
19. 30
8.20
15. 10
13. 45
14.00
12.20
14.50
13.00
15. 55
10. 30
1,046
355
215
14.80
13. 85
14.90
722
210
152
14. 95
14. 00
15. 45
324
145
63
14.15
12.30
12. 65
Laundries and dry cleaners
State_____ . . _. _.
Omaha_____ _
Other places . . .
560
348
212
10. 65
11.45
9. 35
Hotels and restaurants 2
State:
Hotels___. . . . . . . .
Store restaurants_________
Other restaurants___________
474
323
228
8.80
9.55
8.90
N um Median
ber of week’s
women earnings
Industry
Hotels and restaurants—Con.
State—Continued:
W ith wage additions:3
Store restaurants_______
Other restaurants. __ . __
W ith no wage additions:
Hotels
.
. . .
Omaha:
With wage additions:3
Hotels_________________
Store restaurants_______
Other restaurants. _.
W ith no wage additions:
Hotels. _ _______ . _
Store restaurants.
Other places:
With wage additions:3
Other restaurants_______
With no wage additions:
Hotels_________________
Store restaurants_______
Beauty parlors
State.. .
Omaha_______________
Office employment
Stores_________
Factories..
Laundries and dry cleaners.
Banks.
Miscellaneous offices______
. .
234
83
203
$6 80
9. 65
8. 40
240
240
9.50
9. 55
87
49
128
9.30
11.65
10.60
150
140
9. 65
10.15
147
75
6 45
7. 45
90
100
9.05
5. 85
110
67
43
15.45
15.80
14.50
290
426
40
112
29fi
532
15. 75
20.05
15. 85
23. 05
29. 20
1 Data shown are for regular employees; data for part-time workers are also presented in the Women’s
Bureau report.
2 Tips are not included in averages given.
3 Meals, lodging, or both; cash equivalent was not reported.
Hours Worked
A week of 40 or more hours was worked by the majority of the
women covered in the survey. In meat packing, eggs and poultry
plants, and laundries and dry-cleaning establishments, large propor
tions of the women had shorter hours. In many establishments the
shorter hours worked by the women were due to short time or irregu
lar work, rather than to a short scheduled week.
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Women in Industry
Beauty shops had long working hours, the weekly hours ranging
from 43 to 54. Limited-price and ready-to-wear stores also had long
hours. Table 2 shows the hours worked by women in the various
industries where records were available.
T a b l e 2 . —Hours Worked by Women in Nebraska Industries, 1938
Percent of women who worked—
Industry
Manufacturing
N um
ber of
women Under
hours
32 and
under
40
hours
40 and
under
44
hours
44 and
under
48
hours
48 and
under
54
hours
1, 460
554
135
92
93
92
193
85
216
1,377
83
8.9
9.7
23.0
7.6
17.2
6.5
4. 7
3.5
1.9
9.0
7.2
34.2
61.9
33.3
22.8
21.5
9.8
8.3
29.4
9.7
35.5
13.3
35.0
14.1
23.0
59.8
18.3
10.8
72.6
35.3
69.4
35.4
27.7
11.1
5.7
6.7
8.6
21.5
18.5
14.6
12.9
17.2
11.3
8.4
10.1
8.5
14.1
1.1
21.5
53.3
0.6
10.6
1.4
8.3
42.1
8.3
.5
.6
1.2
1,025
355
188
3.3
5.1
1.6
3.9
3.4
10.1
i 61.3
23.4
2 52.7
22.1
31.0
4.3
8.9
36.1
27.7
.5
i.i
3.7
701
210
128
4.3
5.2
1.6
5.3
4.8
13.3
3 89.3
36.7
4 77.3
1.1
37.1
3.1
16.2
324
145
60
1.2
4.8
1.7
.9
1.4
3.3
.6
4.1
5 67.6
22.1
6.7
28.1
64.8
«86.7
1.5
2.8
1.7
557
346
211
17.4
12.1
26.1
30.0
31.5
27.5
15.8
11.5
22. 7
25.1
31.8
14.2
10.1
11.6
7.6
1.7
1.4
1.8
434
275
130
337
192
125
97
83
3.2
3.6
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.4
6.2
6.0
1.8
2.2
1.6
2.4
3.1
1.6
53.2
51.7
66.2
68.2
73.4
68.8
1.0
1.2
23.8
21.5
27.7
17.5
11.0
24.8
45.3
45.8
14.7
17.1
2.3
5.7
4.7
2.4
46.4
45.8
3.2
4.0
54
hours
and
over
1.1
Retail stores
State:
Omaha:
Other places:
Laundries and dry cleaners
Office employment
1 59.6 percent worked 43J^ hours.
2 39.4 percent worked 43^6 hours.
1 87.2 percent worked 43fi hours.
4.6
3.9
5.2
1.0
1.2
4 57.8 percent worked 43J^ hours.
2 60.5 percent worked 46 hours.
6 55.0 percent worked 49 hours.
Hourly Earnings
Hourly earnings were computed for those industries where records
of hours actually worked were available. The average was highest
in the meat-packing industry. Hourly earnings followed somewhat
the same trends as week’s earnings. Table 3 indicates the hourly
earnings in various industries.
30 1 1 7 8 — 41-------6
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862
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T a b l e 3 . —Hourly Earnings of Women in Nebraska Industries, 1938
N um Median
ber
hourly
of
women earnings
Industry
Manufacturing
State__________ _____________
Meat packing____________
Eggs, poultry, creameries.
Bakeries_________________
Crackers and biscuits_____
Other food_______________
M en’s clothing___________
Paper products___________
Miscellaneous____________
Omaha______________________
Other places_________________
1,460
554
135
92
93
92
193
85
216
1,377
83
Cents
39.0
49.9
27.9
37.6
33.7
34.5
30.3
36.4
32.8
40.9
27.4
Ret aiVstores
State:
Department stores________
Limited-price stores______
Ready-to-wear stores______
Omaha:
Department stores........ .......
Limited-price stores______
Ready-to-wear stores______
1,025
355
188
33.0
30.5
33.3
701
210
128
34.1
31. 1
35.8
Industry
N um
Median
ber
hourly
of
women earnings
Retail stores—Continued
Other places:
Department stores___
Limited-price stores _
Ready-to-wear stores
Laundries and dry cleaners
State__________ . _____
Omaha_________ ____
Other places-. . . . _ . _
Office employment]
State_____ _______
Stores___________ _ .
Manufacturing _ _
Omaha___ ___
Stores-^
Manufacturing
Other places-- - __ . . . Stores______
,
324
145
60
Cents
30.7
26.0
26.1
557
346
211
25.0
27.0
25.0
434
275
130
337
192
125
97
83
37.2
34.8
47.7
38.0
34.9
48.2
34.2
34.3
Yearns Employment and Earnings
Data as to the earnings of all women who had been employed in
1937, whether for few or many weeks, were collected from the firms
which had such records. This information covered 7,201 women.
Short-time employment was considerable, 22 percent of the women
having been with the firm less than 4 weeks and 19 percent 4 but under
12 weeks. Only in office work did so many as one-half of the women
engaged, work 48 weeks or more. Meat-packing plants and a storerestaurant group were the only other two classes which provided work
for as many as two-fifths of the women employed for 48 or more weeks.
In fact, office work and meat packing were the only groups in which
half of the women had employment with the firm reporting for as many
as 36 weeks in the year.
The total earnings in the year reported for individual women on the
firms’ books in 1937, regardless of time worked, ranged from less than
$25 to more than $2,500, with an average of $176.50 for all industries.
Office workers had the highest average, $792, and three-tenths earned
$1,000 or more. Average year’s earnings of women in the various
industries are given in table 4.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Women in Industry
863
T a b l e 4 . —Average Year's Earnings of Women in Nebraska in 1937, by Industry
Percent of women who earned —
Numwomen
Me
with
dian
year’s year’s
earn
earn
ings
ings
re
ported1
Industry
$200
Un $100
and
der and under
$100 under
$200 $400
$400
and
under
$600
$600
and
under
$800
$800
and
under
$1,000
$1,000 $1,200
and and
under over
$1, 200
7,201 $176. 50
42.0
9.8
11.4
10.6
12.0
7.6
3.7
2.8
M anufacturing.._____ _ _____ ..
Food products.. . ______ .
Meat packing_____
___
Other food_______________
2,329
1,604
417
1,187
336
244.00
183.50
747.00
128.00
246. 50
33.5
37.6
20.1
43.7
34.2
12.7
14.2
6.0
17.0
11.9
16.5
15.0
11.0
16.5
19.6
16.1
10.5
7.2
11.8
26.8
9.2
8.0
7.9
7.9
4.8
7.4
8.4
25.6
2.4
2.1
3.7
5.0
18.3
.4
.6
.9
1.3
3.8
.4
Stores________
____________ . .
Department______________ ..
94.00
91.50
92.00
115. 50
51.1
51.5
53.0
47.8
8.5
8.1
11.0
9.7
7.8
7.2
16.5
7.2
6.0
5.6
7.8
7.7
16.1
17.0
5.0
16.3
6.3
6.6
6. 1
5.1
2.2
2.3
.6
3.0
1.8
1.7
Ready-to-wear_______________
2,831
2,259
181
391
3.1
Beauty shops___________________
114
109
212. 50
469.00
33.3
19.3
15.8
14.7
12.2
13.8
34.2
14.7
2.7
13.8
1.8
10.1
4.6
9.2
.6
.4
.9
.6
5.1
8.3
1.4
2.3
.9
1.4
20.2
13.6
15.7
All industries__________
--
Hotels____________ _______ ____
Restaurant departm ent2
_ .
522
188
309
Office work. __________
_____
64.0
68.1
63.4
7.1
9.0
5.8
12.6
13. 3
11.7
7.1
7.4
7.1
6.5
1.6
7.8
1.7
.5
2.6
1.0
1.7
201
121
104. 00
51.00
49. 8
63.6
8.5
6.6
8.0
4.9
16.9
5.0
15.9
18.1
80
375. 00
28.8
11.3
12.5
35.0
12.5
352
217
138. 50
197.00
44.3
37.8
11.4
12.4
15.1
15.3
10.2
9.7
11.6
12.9
Value of meals not included, or
Value of meals not included, or
39. 50
17. 50
46.00
135
67. 50
54.8
9.6
14. 8
11.1
9.6
743
792.00
20.5
5.7
7.4
7.4
9.6
1 Some totals exceed details because of the inclusion of groups too small to be shown separately.
2 Value of meals is included in earnings.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Child Labor and Child Welfare
CHILD WORKERS ON FARMS IN ERIE COUNTY, N. Y.
IN THE summer of 1940, 472 children 10 years old or less—30 of them
under 5—were found working up to 10 hours per day, picking berries
and beans on 100 commercial farms in Erie County, N. Y. In making
a special report on this survey, which included 3,670 workers, 59 per
cent of whom were under 18 years of age, the New York State Indus
trial Commissioner said: 1
It may appall citizens of a good labor standards State like New York to know
that there is still as much child labor here as this spot study would indicate.
Commercial agriculture, with the exception of street trades, is the last serious
child labor problem in the State.
Most New York citizens have felt th at the industrial exploitation of children
is pretty well controlled, but we have to reconstruct an entirely new picture of
life to understand how these agricultural child workers help earn the family
living. Commercial-farm proprietors hire whole families who go out during
picking season and harvest the crops. Families with many children are preferred
because there are more hands to pick the fruit and garden truck. These young
hands are economic assets—they represent the difference between profit and loss
to the family. Babies go along because mother has no one to leave them with.
Children 3 and 4 years old were tied to trees all day long in the
summer heat to prevent them from wandering away while their
mothers worked in the fields. One inspector reported that children
were preferred to adults, because in numerous cases the former “do
better at picking than the older folks—the older people become fa
tigued in the sun.”
The industrial commissioner, commenting on these conditions,
points out that “a summer on the farm sounds fine” and that under
proper circumstances older children might dig in the dirt and earn a
little money themselves probably without any harmful effects. She
added, however, that a 10-hour day for children 8 years of age in
unsanitary and demoralizing camps undoubtedly does not make for
the conservation of manpower for industry in the years to come.
Although this special survey was confined to Erie County, it was
requested not only by the Buffalo social agencies but also by the State
1 New York State Department of Labor. The Industrial Bulletin, N ew York, January 1941. (For
article based on Report of the New York Child Labor Committee, on Child labor on truck farms in New
York State (mimeographed), see M onthly Labor Review, February 1941 (pp. 391-392).)
864
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865
Committee on Summer Farm Problems, which has long endeavored to
regulate child labor on the commercial farms in New York State.
The investigation was made by the division of inspection of the
State Department of Labor. The findings will be used by various
interested groups as a basis for discussion of methods to improve
standards in the operation of commercial agricultural undertakings.
Farm Labor Camps
The great majority of the workers on the commercial farms covered
in the survey have homes in Buffalo or in the neighborhood of that
city and in the picking season are taken to the labor camps established
in connection with the farms. Eighty-eight of the camps with 3,296
residents were inspected, and many were reported to be in poor
condition.
The workers were taken from camp to farm and back, daily, in the
proprietor’s truck, ordinarily an open one and often very old. In
many instances the owner of the truck carried no insurance on it,
although transportation probably constitutes the major hazard to the
workers.
In a few cases the proprietor did not operate a labor camp but
hired workers living in the community in which the farm was situated
or in a town in the vicinity. The transportation of the workers was
cared for by the proprietor.
Although New York State has provided no regulations for the safety
and sanitation of labor camps, it has issued rules applicable to labor
camps operated in connection with factories. These rules make pro
vision “for decent quarters and sanitary facilities for housing intended
for temporary use during the most favorable season of the year.”
If the code for factory camps had been applied, inspectors would have
issued orders for the correction of 1,117 violations.
The objectionable conditions reported centered in “inadequate or
nonexistent provision for washing and bathing, unsanitary toilet
facilities without proper provision for privacy or hygienic disposal of
waste materials.”
######«
CHILDREN IN THE THEATER
NEARLY all of the States have legislation concerning the employ
ment of children as entertainers, but the laws vary greatly as to the
kinds of work covered, the age and circumstances under which em
ployment is allowed, and the status of these young wage earners with
road companies. Furthermore, new bills are being introduced in
State legislatures to raise or lower present requirements.
So little seemed to be known regarding the working conditions of
children in the entertainment industry that the National Child Labor
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Committee, after consultation with representatives of both child
welfare and theatrical interests, conducted a study of children on the
legitimate stage in the hope that studies of children in the allied fields
of entertainment might follow. The facts presented in its report,
recently published,1 are based on—
1. Intensive study of 65 children who have recently engaged in professional
employment.
Interviews were held with parents of these children; two-thirds of the children
were interviewed following the talk with their parents; detailed school records of
42 of the children (those enrolled in the Professional Children’s School) were ob
tained; group intelligence and achievement tests were given to 34 children.
2. Interviews with 16 adults who had been child actors.
3. Consultation with producers, stage managers, and playwrights.
4. Interviews as to permit procedure with the directors of three of the societies
for the prevention of cruelty to children in New York State.
5. Examination of permits issued at the mayor’s office for children’s theatrical
appearances in New York City between September 1925 and June 1940.
Special Problems
It is noted in the introduction to the report that children on the
legitimate stage do not take the places of older workers. They are
used only when a play calls for a child’s part; and in some cases, where
a play has a long run, another child has to be substituted for one who
has outgrown the part. Again, the term “ cheap child labor” does not
apply to the type of employment under discussion, for every child on
the legitimate stage is paid a fixed salary rate under a contract of the
Actors’ Equity Union.
The one problem to be considered is whether theater employment
is advantageous or disadvantageous to the child. The significant
aspects would seem to be the results of such employment upon school
ing and health, the psychological effects, whether the work interferes
with normal childhood activities, and to what extent it is of vocational
value.
Findings of Study
The home backgrounds of the children included in the study varied
widely, some of their fathers being laborers and others professional
men. Less than one-third of these children belonged to families with
any experience on the legitimate stage or in other fields of the enter
tainment industry.
A G E OF C H IL D R E N IN T H E T H E A T E R
Ihe age at which the child starts work on the legitimate stage is
subject to great variation. Among the 63 child actors covered by
1 National Child Labor Committee. Children in the Theatre.
Folks Zimand. N ew York, 419 Fourth Ave., 1941.
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B y A w e Hood Harken and. Gertrude
Child Labor and Child Welfare
867
the report, who had appeared in Broadway productions, only 7 had
had their first part before they were 7 years of age. It is probable
this was due to the fact that for a long period 7 years has been the
minimum age in New York City, although there are exceptions to this
provision. For the whole group the median age at their first appear
ance in the legitimate theater was 9 years.
Of the 1,138 child appearances for which permits were granted in
the decade and a half from 1925 to 1940, over one-third were for
children who were under 10 years of age at the time they appeared.
The median age was between 10 and 11 years, being approximately a
year older for boys than for girls.
H O U R S A N D W O R K IN G C O N D IT IO N S
Work on the stage is irregular and intermittent. The hours per
day and per week are not excessive, and most of these child actors are
employed in the theater for only a small portion of the year. Such
employment, however, is wholly dependent upon the number of plays
in which a child is to appear during the year and also upon the length
of the runs, which cannot be predicted.
Many of the children spent a good deal of time in the search for
theatrical employment. About one-third called regularly on agents.
Most of the children did not like this phase of their theatrical activities.
The earnings of the majority of the child actors studied were used
entirely for their own expenses and benefit and many had savings ac
counts. About one-third contributed to the general family expenses.
In three exceptional cases the children were the sole wage earners in
the family.
The investigators found that few of the children in the theater con
fine their professional activities to the stage. They seek or are “ on
call” for other kinds of work in the entertainment field—motion pic
tures, commercial photography, and radio. Even while cast for a
play, some will do other work. Some children have many engage
ments. Others, either from choice or because they do not so readily
find opportunities, have relatively little employment during the year.
P H Y S IC A L , E D U C A T IO N A L , A N D SOCIAL E F F E C T S U P O N T H E C H IL D R E N
Although there are individual cases of long (in some instances exces
sively long) rehearsal periods, and also instances in which even young
children have had schedules which were too heavy, “ it appears that
on the whole work in the legitimate theater is an occupation for a small
number of children in which proper safeguards are not too difficult to
achieve. A regimen is possible which allows for education, recreation,
and adequate time for sleep.”
In the opinion of the investigators, if the abuses are controlled, and
if the child actor has periodic medical supervision, the work cannot
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Mojithly Labor Review—April 1941
reasonably be considered disadvantageous to the child’s physical
well-being.
Most of the children studied had superior mental ability, which was
reflected in their school grades. Thirty-eight percent were being
accelerated in their school work, 58 percent were normal, and only 3
percent were found to be retarded. Although employment in the
theater interferes somewhat with the school routine children ordinarily
follow, the young actors apparently had overcome this handicap.
Most of them were pupils in the Professional Children’s School, which
offers special facilities for the education of theater children.
Although it was not possible in one or two interviews to measure the
social adjustment of the stage children covered by the study, it was
noted that certain aspects of their professional employment might be
mimical to a normal emotional development, while other features
would seem to have an actual psychological value. From the 65
children interviewed, however, “no clear-cut pattern emerged that
would justify any conclusions as to the relative advantages or disad
vantages of theater work from a mental hygiene viewpoint for the
group as a whole or even for individual children.”
According to a psychiatrist consulted in connection with the sur
vey, “ determination of the psychological effects of early theater em
ployment would necessitate study of child actors over a long period
of years, both during the time they were in professional employment
and subsequently.”
The extent to which theater children are “ talented” and the value
of their experience as training for a future theatrical career are debat
able subjects. Few of these young folks start their professional work
in the legitimate theater and many of them find opportunities in the
entertainment industry only by chance.
Opinions of the theater children, of their parents, of adults who had
been stage children, and of producers, directors, and other persons
connected with theatrical life, differ as to the particular advantages of
childhood experience in acting with reference to future success in the
profession. All, however, agree in the belief that such experience
“ has definite cultural, educational, and disciplinary values.”
PR O B L E M S C O N N E C T E D W IT H ST A T E L E G ISL A T IO N
The great diversity in State legislation regarding child actors
in traveling companies and the lack of a uniform enforcement policy
in various cities result in serious difficulties not only for theatrical
productions which open out of town or make tours but also for the
stage children themselves. Frequent attempts are made to evade
these statutes.
Regulation of children’s work in the theater must be on a different basis than
regulation of other forms of child employment. The child actor is not to be
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Child Labor and Child Welfare
869
regarded solely as a working child, but as a participant in an artistic production.
The objective of regulation of work by theater children should be to protect the
child from undue strain without depriving him of the opportunities and advantages
which such employment may bring. I t is a field in which supervision is desirable
but in which legal regulation should be kept to the minimum necessary to insure
such supervision and to prevent individual instances of overwork.
EMPLOYMENT IN OTHER BRANCHES OF ENTERTAINMENT
Although the study here presented was confined to children on the
legitimate stage, considerable data were secured with reference to the
work of these young people in other fields of entertainment. Of the
65 children included in the survey, 44 had earned money as models in
commercial photography, 37 had taken part in radio programs, and
37 had been in motion pictures—mainly feature shorts. Only 17 of
the children had appeared in summer stock companies, 6 in television
productions, 2 in opera, 1 in vaudeville acts with his father, and several
in benefit performances.
Recommendations
In addition to special recommendations of the advisory committee
relating to the employment of theater children, it is suggested in the
report that a central service for professional children in all branches
of the entertainment industry should be established which might (1)
serve as an employment exchange, (2) carry on health examinations
as a prerequisite for employment permits, (3) make possible the en
forcement of regulations for the employment of children, and (4)
serve as a consultation and advisory agency for parents and children.
HOME SAYING THROUGH HOUSEKEEPER SERVICE
IN COLORADO
THE child welfare services in Colorado include in their activités a
housekeeper service, the purpose of which is to supply a competent
person to take the place of the woman head of the household when the
mother is temporarily or permanently incapacitated for carrying her
responsibility in the home.
The four classifications listed below constitute the kinds of situations
in which the housekeeper service has seemed to prove most helpful.1
Group 1.—Families in which the mother is dead or permanently in
an institution. If the father is much attached to his children and the
family is of average stability, the housekeeper service is reported as
highly satisfactory.
i U. S. Children’s Bureau. The Child (Washington), October 1940: Home-Saving Through Housekeeper
S ervice, by Juanita Venrick Perkins.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
870
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Group 2.—Families in which the mother is away indefinitely—for
example, in a tuberculosis sanatorium—but is expected to return. In
such a case not only must the family unit be maintained but provision
must be made for the mother’s coming back to the home.
Group 3.—Families in which the mother remains in the home but
is a permanent invalid. In such a situation the mother’s attitude is a
vital and deciding factor.
Group 4.—Families in which the mother is temporarily out of the
household or if at home is not able for the time being to assume
responsibility. Such families represent the least urgent need for
housekeeper service and in some cases maid service has been used with
success.
For these 4 groups the Colorado Division of Child Welfare has in
the last 2 years employed 17 housekeepers in 18 families. The period
of employment in any 1 family is from temporary service of 1 month to
permanent placement of up to 2 years, the service being continued
until the eldest girl can take over the responsibility of the home or
until some other change in family relationships makes the housekeeper
service superfluous. Housekeepers who are found to be satisfactory
after their first probationary placements are assigned wherever they
are needed. By selecting women who are free to go into new localities,
tlm welfare service is able to furnish permanent employment to a
limited number of women and to make up a register of efficient
housekeepers.
Although this service has been utilized in seven rural counties of
Colorado, by far the largest part of the housekeeper-service program
is conducted in counties which have a full-time, professionally trained,
child-welfare worker. To some extent the role of the case worker
in housekeeper service is the most difficult in this three-cornered
scheme, for she must cooperate with both the father and the house
keeper. Knowing more about the operation of the plan, and not being
involved emotionally in the arrangement, she is responsible for helping
the others to see their particular problems.
The recruiting of housekeepers in rural communities has been found
no easy task, for it is the exceptional person who has any idea of a
housekeeper, other than a “ hired woman,” upon whom one can
depend.
As a consequence, this means that in every county a careful differ
entiation mast be made between the kinds of responsibility involved
in being a homemaker as compared to those involved in being merely
a maid. Furthermore, child-welfare workers have been overwhelmed
with referrals and applications of women who have been “laid off of
work programs periodically and see this housekeeper program of
child-welfare services as another work project.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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871
It has been helpful to report to county and welfare advisory boards
and service groups some of the problems the child-wellare workers
meet in selecting women competent to be homemakers in a motherless
household. Many persons in quest of a position as housekeeper may
need a job and have a natural love for children without any recognition
of “ the emotional factors involved in the acceptance by any family
of someone to take the mother’s place in the home.”
Housekeepers for day service rather than for living in the home are
sometimes needed, but in the rural regions of Colorado, the long dis
tances and inadequate transportation facilities make it difficult to
supply such day service.
In the 18 families which have had housekeeper service in the home,
family ties have been maintained for 65 children. According to the
author of the report here given, housekeeper service has been useful in
helping to preserve for children a home and that security and love
provided by a home.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Indian Workers
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AMONG INDIANS
THE Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which gives preference to
Indians for employment in the Indian Service staff, has brought about
an increase in permanent Indian employees from a few hundred in
1933 to 4,682 in 1940. On June 30, 1940, Indian superintendents
numbered 8, while 251 Indians had professional positions, 935 had
clerical jobs, and about 3,475 held other skilled jobs. These figures
and the following data are taken from the annual report of the
Secretary of the Interior for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1940.
The Indians in regular and temporary positions constitute more than
50 percent of the Indian Service personnel. Furthermore, thousands
of Indians have been working intermittently, building roads, dams,
wells, hospitals, schools, community buildings, and homes on thenreservations. Through the Indian division of the Civilian Conserva
tion Corps and the extension of the PWA and the WPA funds and
other emergency relief, various requisite physical improvements were
made on 200 reservations while at the same time thousands of Indians
have been provided with jobs and training opportunities in skills
which had never before been available to them.
When the report under review was being prepared there were more
mechanics, painters, carpenters, machinists, radio operators, surveyors,
draftsmen, and engineers among the Indian population than in any
preceding year.
Only 10 years ago difficult trails and bypaths on the Indian reserva
tions restricted travel and consequently retarded social and economic
progress. Day schools were almost impossible; doctors and nurses
were able to reach the sick in their homes only after protracted delays
and hindrances and sometimes not at all; large tracts of land remained
inaccessible; and home and farm services were only partially effective.
During the past year 263 miles of new roads were completed, 184 miles of road
were regraded to adequate standards, 278 miles of road were gravel surfaced, and
118 miles resurfaced; 87 major bridges were built. There are now 5,232 miles of
serviceable graded roads on 200 reservations in 24 States. There still remain,
however, numbers of Indians in inaccessible locations reached only occasionally
by the Federal Government’s services. Improvements must be made on 6,150
miles of old and nearly impassable roads and trails before urgent requirements
are met.
872
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Indian Workers
873
Many of the reservation roads constructed during the past 7 years are
connecting links between important Federal and State highways. They form
part of the major network of roads available for military transport and provide
access to material defensive resources.
Indians are coming to be recognized as competent road builders and
a substantial number have recently secured skilled jobs with private
contractors and other road-building agencies. The Indian Service
road and bridge construction alone has afforded work for as many as
14,000 Indians in the course of a single season. As a consequence, at
the present time in this field alone, well-trained Indian mechanics
number over 1,300. Numerous road projects are manned entirely by
Indian laborers.
In constructing buildings on Indian reservations from 1933 to 1939,
about 80 percent of the funds expended for labor was paid to Indians.
During these years the earnings of Indians for constructing schools,
hospitals, and agency quarters carried on by the Indian Service, are
estimated at $7,926,000.
During the past fiscal year, 21 schools, 42 cottages, 12 dormitories, 7 barns, and
4 office buildings were among the 107 Federal structures constructed on reserva
tions. This brought the number of modernized Federal buildings, sponsored by
the Construction Division during the past 7 years, to a total of approximately 500.
On the basis of estimates submitted by various superintendents, about 570
more administrative buildings will be needed during the next 6 years, including
62 schools, 35 employees’ buildings, 13 hospitals, 224 cottages, and 129 dormi
tories.
Rehabilitation Measures
The Rehabilitation Division’s projects provided under the Emer
gency Relief Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1937, 1938, and 1939 have
been of first importance to the Indians. Although the funds have
provided not over an average of 6 months’ employment for 2,000
Indians annually, the use of the funds in connection with the coordi
nated activities of other divisions of the Indian Service has been far
reaching.
In aiding the Indians to support themselves, in certain regions the
Federal Government faces the problem of complete resettlement of
Indian families.
In illustration, numerous Blackfeet Indians moved to Browning,
Mont., as there were no job opportunities for them on their outlying
reservation lands. Under the rehabilitation program 50 families were
settled on irrigated tracts on reservations where they constructed
houses and barns, engaged in gardening, and acquired livestock.
Additional land for grazing was allotted to them. Some of the
families, who had been established for 2 years at the time the report
was prepared, had been unusually successful. They had kept their
homes in good condition, added to their herds, and fulfilled their credit
obligations.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
During the last fiscal year, 449 new houses for Indians were built,
making a total of 2,482 in the period the rehabilitation program has
been in operation. Old houses repaired during the fiscal year covered
numbered 872, making a total of 4,540 such houses. Twenty-four
community self-help buildings were being constructed and 21 others
were being repaired, bringing the total number of Indian self-help
buildings aided through emergency funds to 241. During the same
year work was undertaken on 65 canning and sewing centers and
many other community projects were in operation.
PROGRESS OF IN D IA N ARTS AND CRAFTS
IN ORDER to promote a more profitable development of native skills,
by an act of Congress the Indian Arts and Crafts Board was created
m the United States Department of the Interior in 1936 to educate
Indian craftsmen in modern commercial methods, to expand the mar
ket for Indian goods, and to protect both the consumer and the
Indian craftsmen fiom cheap imitated articles. The following account
of activities under this legislation is taken from the annual report of
the Secretary of the Interior, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1940.
Although the Indian craftsman’s individualism has been his chief
asset in production, it has been his liability in selling his wares.
Original design and execution constitute the charm of Indian arts
and handicraft. In marketing his products, however, the lone crafts
man has great difficulty in competing with the well-organized sales
associations throughout the United States.
One of the main functions of the Arts and Crafts Board has been to
instruct the Indians in the methods of modern commercial distri
bution without commercializing their work.
Preparatory to making specific recommendations to the different
tribes as to the best utilization of their handicraft talents, it was
necessary for the Board to survey every kind of craft work being done
among the Indian tribes in the States and by the natives of Alaska.
It was necessary to ascertain whether or not Indian handiwork could
be sold in its traditional form or whether it would have to be modified
to meet the demands of buyers.
A summary of the data secured in these investigations, published
in 1940,1 reviews North American Indian art from pre-Columbian
days and also surveys recent accomplishments.
The next consideration was the commercial market. In the spring
of 1940, efforts were made to get the reaction of manufacturers and
merchandising experts concerning possible demand for high-class
Indian products as practical merchandise.
1 Vaillant, George C.: Indian Arts in North America.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
New York, Harper & Brothers, 1940.
Indian Workers
875
Articles shown included Choctaw and Cherokee fabrics, Navajo silver, moc
casins, and belts from the Plains Indians, ribbonwork from the Oklahoma tribes,
and braided sashes from the Eastern Woodlands. The reactions of the merchan
dising experts were highly favorable and brought immediate orders, in spite of
the fact th at such orders were not solicited.
Since the volume of quality Indian products in all regions is still too small and
too unstable to meet the large demands of most organized business houses, the
Board could only carry back to the tribes the results of this inquiry as concrete
proof of the existence of a demand and as a means of encouraging local agencies
in their efforts to organize quality production.
Plans were laid during the fiscal year under review for the formation
of marketing organizations among the Navajo, Pueblo, and Seminole
Indians. The Board also assisted in the establishment of a Com
munity Arts and Crafts Center at Sells, Ariz., for the Papagos in
southwestern Arizona. By the utilization of tribal moneys and re
habilitation funds of the Indian Service, a building was erected for
displaying and marketing art products and handicrafts. A field
worker has been assigned to the Papago region, and handicraft pro
duction has been undertaken, according to standards which the
Board has approved.
The Board has also promoted the demand for Indian goods. Not
only through the sponsorship of publications on Indian arts but also
through the exhibition of authentic Indian articles and the demon
strations of Indian techniques by the Indians themselves, the Board
has opened up a rapidly growing market for the products of Indian
talents.
At the Golden Gate International Exposition the largest exhibit of
Indian arts and crafts ever assembled was presented by the Board.
This exhibit was made practicable through the aid of the United States
Commission of the Fair, foundations, and private individuals. In
cluded in the exhibit were the products of Alaskan culture areas and
of the seven major Indian cultures of the United States (the Eastern
Woodsmen, the tribes of the Plains, the fishermen of the Northwest,
the California seed gatherers, the Navajo shepherds, the Pueblo
farmers, and the tribes of the Arizona desert).
“ The simplicity of line, strength of form, and absence of all ex
traneous matter in the two model Indian-decorated rooms at the San
Francisco Exposition blended so naturally as an effective interior
motif for modern homes that the Board was asked to prepare a similar
exhibit for the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Files of
specimens and photographs have already been assembled and work
undertaken on many reservations.” The exhibit was opened in 1941.
Furthermore, the Board has conducted its program of protecting
buyers from spurious products by issuing die-stamps or certificates of
genuineness for all articles made under conditions which that agency
approves. The Governments seal of protection can be used only for
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
876
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Indian products made under conditions unlike those of a factory
system or workshop. In illustration, a Navajo rug has a label on a
loose wire sealed against tampering. This label states that the rug
was woven on hand looms from hand carded wool. Silver jewelry
from the Navajo and Pueblo region is die-stamped to indicate the
name of the tribe responsible for hammering and making the handwrought article from slug silver.
During 1939-40 the Arts and Crafts Board had in preparation a
trade-mark system for quality products in the other less-advanced
branches of Indian crafts.
The sale of craft products provides an additional source of income
for Indians, which, according to a rough estimate, amounts to approxi
mately $1,000,000 per annum. As the program progresses, it is
anticipated that the remuneration of Indians from these arts and
crafts will increase greatly within the next few years.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
PLACEMENT WORK OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
SERVICES, JANUARY 1941 1
FOLLOWING the usual seasonal pattern, the total volume of com
plete placements declined 3.8 percent to 363,000 in January.2 This
reduction, however, was far less than the declines between December
and January of recent years. Moreover, more than two-thirds of
January placements were expected to last longer than 1 month, the
highest monthly proportion of regular jobs filled in recent years.
As applications for work from claimants for benefits increased sharply,
registrants in active files of public employment offices rose to 5,100,000.
Despite the increase, this represented the smallest active file of job
seekers for any January in the history of the United States Employ
ment Service.
The 363,000 jobs filled in January 1941 was 64 percent higher than
in January 1940 and 82 percent higher than in January 1939. The
sharp increases over December placements in North and South
Carolina were due to jobs filled in connection with construction of
cantonments at Fort Bragg, Holly Ridge, and Camp Croft. Decreases
from December were reported by 31 States, with practically every
State west of the Mississippi showing declines in January. The
largest reductions occurred in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Only 8 States showed a smaller volume of jobs filled in January
1941 than in the same month of 1940, but on the other hand, many
States filled appreciably more jobs. Exceptionally large gains were
shown for South Carolina and Wyoming, where placements were
respectively 6 times and 4 times as great as those made in January
1940. At least a doubling of the January 1940 volume was also shown
for 8 other States. Supplementary placements, numbering approxi
mately 93,000, registered the first increase since October 1940, a gain
of 3.8 percent over December. The increase chiefly reflected the
widespread gain in agricultural employment during January.
Applications for work received during January totaled 1,800,000,
an increase of more than 22 percent over December. This was the
1 Prepared by Research and Statistics Division, Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security
Board.
2 Effective with reports for January 1, 1941, public and private placements are not separetely reported
because clear distinctions cannot be made.
877
3 0 1 1 7 8 -4 1 -
-7
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
878
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
largest number of applications for work received in any month since
March 1934. In addition to increased use of public employment
offices for recruiting labor in connection with the defense program,
the rise largely reflects applications for work received from claimants
for unemployment-compensation benefits. As a result, the number
of job seekers registered for work at the end of January increased 7
percent to approximately 5,100,000. Despite this seasonal increase,
the number of registrants in State active files was 16 percent lower
than on January 31, 1940, and represented the smallest number of
January registrants since the establishment of the United States
Employment Service.
The number of job seekers registered in January was lower than in
the same month of 1940 in all but 10 States. The decreases were
pronounced not only in many industrial States but also in a number
of States in which agriculture predominates. In Oklahoma and
South Carolina, the number of job seekers was half the previous
January’s volume and only slightly smaller reductions were shown
in Alabama, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Washington. Of the
States having greater numbers of registrants this January than last,
Kansas showed the largest increase of 33 percent. Here, as in other
States, the increases probably result from an intensification of the
recruitment programs, which accompanied efforts to meet the labor
needs of the defense program.
During January, 223,000 of the 363,000 compete placements made
by the public employment offices were filled by men and 140,146 by
women. Placements of men practically doubled those made in
January of 1940, while placements of women showed an increase of
about one-third. The sharper increase noted in male placements
was largely due to the large-scale expansion in construction placements
resulting from the needs of the defense program. Placements of men
were higher than in January 1940 in all but 7 States and for women in
all but 3. Job placements of men were from 2 to 8 times as numerous
as in January 1940 in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Florida,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. In only
5 States were increases less than 20 percent. The volume of place
ments of women doubled in Rhode Island, and increases of more than
50 percent over January 1940 were shown for Arkansas, Montana,
and South Carolina. About three-fourths of the jobs filled by men
and more than half of the jobs filled by women were expected to last
longer than a month.
The number of applications filed by men increased 16 percent over
January 1940 to more than 1,300,000 while those filed by women
increased 13 percent to 492,000. At the end of January, the active
file of men decreased 18 percent from January 1940 to 3,700,000,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
879
while the numberof woman job seekers declined 11 percent to 1,300,000.
The number of male job seekers registered this January was lower in
all except 10 States and in all except 15 for woman registrants.
T able 1.— Summary of Placement Activities of Public Employment Services, January 1941
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 21,1941]
Percent of change from—
Activity
Number
December
1940
Total complete placements_________________________
Supplemental placements . . - ___ __ __________ ____
363,162
243,398
119,764
92,523
1,826,414
5, 093,050
- 3 .8
+15.9
-2 8 .6
+ 3 .8
+22.2
+ 7.0
January
1940
January
1939
+64.4
+105.6
+16.8
+171.0
+14.1
-1 6 .2
+82.1
+95.7
+59.5
+197. 7
+30.3
-3 1 .5
Placement activities for veterans in January 1941 totaled 11,558,
an increase of 41.4 percent over the previous year and a rise of 11.1
percent from January 1939.
T able 2.—Summary of Placement Activities for Veterans, January 1941
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 25,1941]
Percent of change from—
Activity
Total complete placements___________
Number
____________
11, 558
6,989
4,569
72,834
235,281
i Total veteran placements by duration not reported prior to 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
December
1940
- 0 .1
(>)
0)
+14.9
+ 9 .9
January
1940
+41.4
(0
(>)
+21.4
- 9 .7
January
1939
+11.1
(')
(0
+36.9
-3 5 .5
880
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 3.—Activities of Public Employment Services, A ll Registrants, by States,
January 1941
IData reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 21,1941]
Complete placements 1
Total applica
tions received
January 1941
Social Security
Board region and
State
Percent of
Supple
change from—
mental
Perplace
As of
cent of Jan.
31,
Regular ments
change
N um
1941
(over 1
Number from
ber
Dec.
Jan.
Janu month)
D e
D e
31.1940 31,1940
cember ary
cember
1940
1940
1940
Percent of
change from—
Total ___________ 363,162
Region I:
C onnecticut-.. __
M aine____
Massachusetts. _ _
N ew Hampshire.
Rhode Island___
Vermont_____
Region II:
N ew York
Region IIT:
Delaware _ _ _
New Jersey_____
Pennsylvania___
Region IV:
D ist.of Columbia.
Maryland. ____
North Carolina
Virginia____ ..
West Virginia.
Region V :
Kentucky___ ..
M ichigan___ _
Ohio______ ...
Region VI:
Illinois. . . . .
Indiana._ . . . .
Wisconsin____
Region VII:
A la b a m a ._____
Florida________
Georgia..
Mississippi . _.
South Carolina _
Tennessee__ _.
Region VIII:
Iowa_______ .
Minnesota______
N ebraska...
North Dakota__
South D akota__
Region IX:
Arkansas...
Kansas.
Missouri. __
Oklahoma
egion XLouisiana. ____
N ew Mexico
Texas____
egion XI:
Arizona. __
C olorado._____
Idaho . .
Montana___
U tah______
W yoming______
egion XII:
California. ______
N evada______
Oregon___ _.
Washington.
erritories:
A la s k a .______
H aw aii... _
Active file
-3 .8
+64.4 243,398
6,996 + 6 .6 +74.1
1,805 - 7 .6 +37.7
6,109 -1 0 .4 +64.0
1,663 + 8 .4
-5 .4
1, 704 +10.9 +142.4
883 -2 2 .9 +49.4
33,875
92, 523 1,826,414 +22.2 5, 093,050
4,979
1,264
4,350
1, 226
1,410
547
26
15
45
276
7
48
-8 .8
+74.1
19,164
1,185
1,205 +20.6
12,466 - 3 . 2
15,117 + 2.1
+49.9
+47.9
+56.9
531
8,038
10,497
15
98
969
4,971 + 9 .0 +54. 8
4, 684 -1 2 .2 +63.4
19, 404 +39.7 +282. 0
7, 259 + 3 .5 +91.9
2, 672 -1 7 .6 +36.6
2,175
3.187
17,515
5, 352
1,677
0
4
3, 204
211
159
3,475 -1 5 .2 +120.5
9,957 -1 1 .8 +35.8
16, 957 + 3 .3 +63.4
2, 737
6,761
10, 052
17, 032
9, 571
6, 809
+38. 8
+63.9
+38.8
+26.2 +23.4
-2 2 . 2 +184.4
+20.4 +44. 7
-4 2 .7 -1 4 . 9
+90.7 +483. 4
+ 1 .9 +130. 4
3,773
11,091
8, 216
2,272
12, 258
8, 345
4, 874
4,019
1. 572
1,418
894
6,359
5,831
11, 599
2,897
23,997
821
5, 523
4, 923
55, 269 +45.8
33,126 +10.9
201, 297 +23.0
19,164 - 2 .1
25, 819 - 4 .6
12,442 + 1 .5
-4 1 .4
-6 .2
+ 3 .2
-1 1 .3
-4 2 .2
-3 0 .8
+ 2 .8
-1 5 .5
-2 2 .9
-2 7 .0
-9 .5
+63.4
+32.4
+104.7
+19. 0
+30.4
28,775 +20.7
52, 092 +10.1
112.094 +18.3
47,154
63,465 + 3 .7
-2 4 .9
-2 5 .9
+14.5
-2 3 .1
-1 7 .6
132
280
561
26,749 +79.0
79,675 +24.1
81, 743 +21.7
88, 934 + 5 .8
135, 814 -1 2 .0
306, 099
-.8
+ 3 .9
-3 8 .2
+13.9
10,929
6,935
4,200
1,072
527
349
91, 067 +20.6
46, 815 +21.5
36, 534 +37.0
220, 223 +17.6
158,445 + 7 .8
110,689 + 9 .7
+ 9 .2
-1 5 .0
-2 8 .5
2,942
9, 880
6,131
1,796
11,528
6, 705
209
614
117
66
232
23,987
25, 204
28, 298
31.693
19, 799
23,387
24,914
+13.8
+ 6 .7
+ 8 .8
+39.4
+57.0
+60.8
88,459
74,977
142, 546
60,894
50,144
116,435
- 5 .7
+ 4 .8
+ 1 .3
+3.1
+ 4 .2
+ 3 .0
-4 1 .9
+ 3 .4
-2 5 .1
-2 0 .0
-4 9 .6
-1 4 .4
- 8 .7
+19.0
+ 1.6
+44.1
+21.5
2,733
2,417
842
634
343
582
98
22
20
25
26,146
32, 906
12,154
6, 587
4,499
+32. 2
+20.5
+26.0
+56.5
-2 .7
79,126
112, 503
45,900
26,944
23,038
+ 2.1
+ 9 .2
+9.1
+ 6 .0
-2 1 .8
-2 1 .4
—10. 0
- 2 .1
-2 7 .1
-2 6 .5 +176. 5
-1 0 .1 +139. 6
+18.4 +115.5
-2 1 .2
- 3 .3
3, 420
3, 894
9,126
1,386
11,075
595
521
214
15, 773 +16.0
23, 034 - 3 . 2
66, 350 + 6.3
23, 738 +51.6
40,128
61,414
202,414
43, 007
- 1 .9
- 2 .5
+ 7 .2
+ 8 .3
-3 5 . 6
+32.5
+ 8 .0
-5 3 .4
+40.1
-2 .1
+51.8
4,269
690
24,189
638
152
25, 640
32, 669 +39.4
8, 584 +41.4
104,185 +36.7
121, 493 +15.1
28, 599 +12.6
257, 292 +10.5
+15.6
-2 4 .0
-1 0 .8
+11.8 -2 2 .6
-2 0 .4 -(-14. 2
-2 2 .2 + 19.0
-2 9 .4
+ 7 .5
-8 .1
+34. 5
-1 9 .7 +326.1
1,623
1.231
625
426
494
1,575
9, 104
65
18
144
16
19
7, 370
18, 330
10, 592
6,637
9,201
5,870
+34.8
+24.6
+33.6
+49.1
+37.2
+30.2
141,625
3,112
23, 307
34, 947
+• 8
- 9 .0
- 4 .4
-1 7 .7
-1 4 .4
-2 6 .3
-3 2 .7
-1 8 .3
- 7 .4
- 8 .3
+ .3
+ .3
+58. 8
- 3 .9
+42.8
+ 9 .3
13, 495
442
3,040
2,984
5, 907
161
737
2,315
421 +14.4
1, 268 +18.1
- 8 .1
+57.1
208
804
27
20
201, 946
-1 6 .2
11,153 +23.7
209, 335 +11.1
391,611 +16.6
5,194 -3 7 .8
1,012 -2 8 .2
39, 937 -1 0 .6
2,516
2,533
1,103
684
1,451
1,747
28,475 +52.4
11, 032 - 1 .6
59, 960 +25.7
8,249 + 5 .9
9,846 +13.2
3,059 - 6 .1
+ 7 .0
+ 2 .0
5,173 +67.0
67.917 + 3 .0
142,157 +16.2
17,132
23, 283
67,181
21, 748
22, 722
520, 208
19, 263
58, 295
20,156
22,980
23, 540
7, 808
-
1.0
+ 9 .4
+13.2
+25. 0
+20.0
- 7 .3
+19.3
-23. 7
-1 1 . 2
+18. 3
-2 9 .8
- 5 .1
-2 8 .9
+20.9
+31.4
+22.1
+12.9
433, 857 +9.1
6,062 +3. 1
42, 515 + 1 .2
70, 680 -1 3 .0
-2 5 . 7
-2 0 .7
-1 4 .3
-4 4 .5
924 +14.8
2,116 +57.8
1,927 +13.3
7. 446
+ .5
-3 3 .4
-2 4 .4
Hereafter separate reports of private and public placements will not be presented, as clear distinctions
cannot be made.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
881
T able 4.—Activities of Public Employment Services, Veterans, by States, January 1941
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 25,1941]
Active file
Complete placements 1
Social Security Board region and
State
Total _____________________________
Region I:
Connecticut----- ---------- ---------Maine - ...----------- ------------- ---M assachusetts______ _________
N ew Ham pshire.. ___ ________
Region II:
N ew York__ ________________
Region III:
N ew Jersey_____ _ _ - ________
Pennsylvania. ______ ______ ___
Region IV :
District of Columbia____________
Maryland______________________
North Carolina_________________
Virginia____________ _______
Region V :
Kentucky__________________ ___
Michigan. ___________________
Ohio_______________________ ___
Region VI:
- Illinois______ . . _ _ ___ .
Indiana_____________________ -Wisconsin______________________
Region VII:
Alabama____ __________ - -----Florida________ _______________
Georgia.......... . - ____________
South Carolina_________________
Tennessee________ _______ ____
Region VIII:
Iowa____ __ _ . . . .
------M innesota.- __________________
Nebraska______________________
Region IX:
Arkansas______ _____________
Kansas___________ _________ .
Missouri___ _ ________________
Oklahoma___ _________ ______ Region X:
Louisiana______________________
Texas_____
________________
Region XI:
Arizona--------- ------------- --------Colorado---- -- ------------------------Idaho. ______ ____ __________
Utah
______
Region XII:
California______________________
Oregon___________ _____ ______
W ashington... ______ ____ ___
Territories:
Percent of change
Percent of change2 Total
from—
from—
applica
As
of
tions re
ceived Jan. 31,
Number
1941
Decem Janu
Dec. 31, Jan. 31,
ary
ber
1940
1940
1940
1940
- 0 .1
+41.4
72, 834
235, 281
+ 9 .9
- 9 .7
330
71
119
77
72
24
+55. 7
-2 5 .3
-1 7 .9
+ 5 .5
+22.2
-6 .6
+ 9 .2
-2 4 .5
+33. 3
1,326
520
3,860
472
359
102
2.809
1, 895
10, 227
1,024
941
569
+53.2
+12.8
+47. 5
+26. 4
+ 4 .8
-L.2
-3 7 .6
+20.4
+40.2
+ 6 .0
-1 3 .0
-3 4 .2
647
+ 1.1
4-62.2
3, 726
16,091
+ 4 .6
—5. à
470
7, 584'
18, 746
+32.4
+17.7
+23. 3
- 29. 0
- 7 .8
+ 8 .8
11, 558
31
215
351
+18.1
+29.0
+36.9
+24.9
194
2,185
6, 847
264
183
321
175
47
+85.9
-2 2 .8
-4 . 5
-2 1 .9
+210. 6
+67.9
+154.8
+103. 5
1,122
793
1, 773
469
784
1,895
1,846
3. 278
1, 248
3, 273
+29. 5
+ 2 .4
+27.9
-1 1 .9
- 2 .0
—13.7
-4 1 .8
+34.9
—26. 5
-1 4 .7
114
391
417
-1 4 .3
-9 .5
-1 2 .4
+119.2
+38.2
+19.5
1.062
3. 910
3,204
3,777
8,164
16, 561
+ 3.7
+19.5
-3 .0
+ 6 .5
-2 9 .6
+37.1
501
280
211
+18.7
+27.8
-2 2 .4
-3 5 . 5
+118.8
+35.2
3, 761
1,898
1,602
11,248
7,481
8,096
+21.4
+10.4
+15.2
+91.6
-2 8 .8
- 9 .3
96
240
148
21
399
154
+74. 5
- 7 .7
-4 5 .4
+9.1
+215.8
-4 .5
+26. 3
+ 7 .7
+576. 3
+55.6
846
1,058
944
445
693
741
3,732
3,119
3, 947
1,626
1,416
4,365
- 6 .7
+18.0
+ 5 .6
- 2 .6
+ 1 .6
+ 4 .0
-3 0 .0
—5. 5
-3 1 .3
- 7 .1
-5 8 .8
-2 6 .6
331
135
52
22
23
-1 4 .9
-2 1 .5
-4 9 .0
-18. 5
+10.6
-3 8 .1
1,423
1,310
659
176
213
5, 059
6, 969
2,798
1,149
1,298
+ 2 .3
+ .3
+10. 5
+ 7.1
+ 5 .7
-1 5 .2
-2 8 .9
+17. 3
- 9 .5
-2 8 .3
257
303
580
103
-1 5 . 7
+ 6 .7
+22.9
- 3 .7
+267.1
+150.4
+167.3
-4 3 .1
747
923
3, 259
1,308
1,880
3, 722
10,444
2,680
- 3 .6
-3 .8
+ 4 .6
+11.5
-3 7 .1
+47.9
+11.0
-5 7 .6
109
37
1,409
-3 5 .9
+60.3
+ 8 .2
+72.2
857
387
3, 256
3, 788
1, 691
8,629
+11.6
+ 8 .2
+ 9 .3
+15.7
-1 5 .2
- 5 .4
116
79
75
60
39
145
+19.6
-1 6 .8
-1 6 .7
+10.0
-1 3 .4
+ 5 .3
-1 4 .8
416
917
765
428
324
372
1,267
2, 734
< 1,237
1,430
1,201
465
+ 4 .6
+ 9.8
+25. 2
+17.3
+ 6 .2
+ 6 .2
—5. 2
-2 2 .6
+69. 7
-2 3 .4
-1 3 .0
-2 8 .0
1,071
49
385
226
- 6 .2
+50.2
+66.7
-.4
+ 6 .4
+14.7
6,874
190
1,203
2,029
23, 454
328
3,002
4,152
+ 7 .8
+ 6 .5
+ 8 .6
-1 0 .6
—28.1
-2 7 .6
+ 7 .4
-4 1 .1
55
47
130
346
+ 7.4
- 2 .8
-3 3 .7
- 6 .0
IS
29
-1 8 .5
1 Hereafter separate reports for public and private placements will not be presented as clear distinctions
cannot be made.
2 Where less than 50 veteran placements were involved in either period the percentage change was not
computed.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
882
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
UNEMPLOYMENT-COMPENSATION OPERATIONS,
JANUARY 19411
ALTHOUGH many more workers were employed in January 1941
than in the same period of 1940, curtailment of activity in seasonal
industries and the effects of certain administrative procedures con
tributed to a sharp increase in claims and unemployment benefits in
January from December 1940. Benefits to unemployed workers in
creased 27 percent to $39,300,000, and claims increased 24 percent to
more than 4,900,000. These pronounced increases raised the amount
of payments in January to within 4 percent of the amount paid in
January 1940, but claim receipts were still 19 percent lower than the
number received in January 1940. A minimum of 988,000 unem
ployed workers received at least one benefit payment and the average
number of benefit recipients totaled 826,000 in January as compared
with 761,000 and 667,000, respectively, in December. This repre
sented the first increase in the number of beneficiaries since June 1940.
Claims Received
Special reports from State agencies indicated that employment
changes in a number of industries contributed significantly
to increased claim loads during January. Connecticut reported
seasonal lay-offs in construction, textiles, and retail trade. New
Jersey reported construction employment curtailed with the com
pletion of many defense projects, as well as lay-offs in textiles
and in retail trade. Pennsylvania reported seasonal lay-offs in ap
parel, textiles, glass, leather goods, fruit-canning, and retail trade.
Customary year-end lay-offs occurred in Illinois in retail trade, can
ning, distilling, meat packing, clothing, auto accessories, radios, and
roofing materials, as well as a labor dispute, which resulted in an in
creased filing of claims. Indiana reported lay-offs in construction,
furniture, lumber, and retail trade and the shut-down of a large auto
mobile plant for inventory purposes. Michigan reported temporary
lay-offs, largely seasonal in character, in some plants in automobile
and related manufacturing, refrigerator and other consumer types of
machinery manufacturing, canning, and retail trade. The increase
in Ohio was attributable to lay-offs in construction, transportation,
and communication, and utilities, retail trade, apparel, food manu
facturing, and iron and steel. Alabama reported usual seasonal lay
offs in trade; Florida, curtailed employment in cigar manufacturing;
North Carolina and South Carolina, lay-offs in tobacco manufacturing;
Iowa, decreased employment in the construction, meat-packing, and
produce industries; and Minnesota, in iron-ore mining, water trans
portation, telephone and other public utilities, and construction.
1 Prepared by Research and Statistics Division, Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security Board.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
883
Wisconsin reported a large-scale lay-off by one manufacturing estab
lishment for inventory purposes plus seasonal lay-offs of construction
workers, stevedores, and retail-trade employees. Oklahoma reported
curtailed employment in coal mining, cotton processing, and retail
trade. Construction employment was also reduced as a result of in
clement weather and the completion of an army cantonment proj ect at
Fort Sill. Wyoming reported continuing seasonal lay-offs in indus
tries affected by tourist trade, lumbering, construction, and sugar and
cement manufacturing.
Sharply reduced claim loads, on the other hand, were reported by
Maine and New Hampshire, where employment in the shoe industry
approached its seasonal peak; New Hampshire also reported increasing
employment in logging and textile activities.
Increases in the receipts of continued claims (i. e., claims certified
for benefit) were widespread, with 46 States handling increased vol
umes during the month. January claim receipts in Oregon more than
tripled those for December, primarily because of the initiation of the
uniform benefit-year. Increases of more than 50 percent occurred in
Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Vermont, and Wisconsin, and 4 other States reported rises of more
than 40 percent in continued-claim receipts. Reduced claim receipts
were reported by Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, and New
Hampshire. Continued claims filed to meet waiting-period require
ments of State laws increased more sharply than did compensable
claims, because of the beginning of new benefit-years by many claim
ants in certain States.
Seasonal unemployment and the initiation of new benefit-years in
certain States resulted in a 24-percent expansion in the January weekly
average of continued claims for all types of unemployment. The
weekly average of more than 1,000,000 claims filed this month repre
sented the highest volume since August 1940. Forty-seven States
reported increases in the weekly average of claim receipts during
January. The peak for January occurred in the week ended January
11, when claim receipts reached 1,100,000. This total, incidentally,
represented the largest weekly volume since August 31, 1940. In the
next 2 weeks of the month, claim receipts dropped off slightly from
the midweek high.
For total unemployment, average weekly continued-claim receipts
in January approximated 974,000, an increase of 25 percent over the
previous month. As with claim receipts for all types of unemploy
ment, this represented the largest weekly average since August 1940.
Although weekly changes in claims filed for total unemployment were
relatively smaller, the trend of such claims followed the pattern of
claim receipts for all types of unemployment. During the week ended
January 11, more than 1,000,000 workers filed claims for total un
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
884
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
employment, the highest number since the week ended August 31,
1940.
Benefit Payments
Most of the States experiencing claim increases had corresponding
increases in payments, but in several States benefit payments in
creased more sharply as claims from December were disposed of.
Increased payments were reported in 45 States, and in only 3 were
they for less than 10 percent. The sharpest increase—80 percent—
occurred in Idaho, and in Oregon and Vermont benefits were more
than 60 percent higher than in December. The increase in Idaho
was largely attributable to seasonal curtailment of employment in
retail trade and lumbering and construction, and in Oregon the in
crease reflected the initiation of the new uniform benefit-year on
January 1. Other sizable increases, ranging from 50 to 60 percent,
occurred in Michigan, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Lay-offs
in retail trade were common to each and in the Dakotas, seasonal
curtailment in meat packing was a contributing factor. Increases
exceeded 40 percent in Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New
Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. Among the States
in which declines in benefit payments occurred, New Hampshire re
ported a reduction of 25 percent and Maine and Missouri each showed
decreases of more than 10 percent.
Of the 23 States with at least 3 years of full benefit-payment expe
rience, 8 jurisdictions—California, the District of Columbia, Louisiana,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Utah, and Vermont—paid
more benefits in January 1941 than in any previous January. Legis
lative amendments and changes in administrative procedure which
have tended to increase benefit payments, were largely responsible for
these peaks.
Although total benefits were only 4.2 percent lower than in January
1940, 32 jurisdictions reported smaller disbursements in January 1941.
lo r the most part, this group included the leading industrial States
and those which have been heavily influenced by the defense program,
especially in the Southeast, Gulf States, and Southwest. Increases,
on the other hand, were concentrated principally among States in the
West North Central and Pacific Coast areas where, except for Cali
fornia, defense contracts have been relatively few and seasonal unem
ployment has been especially pronounced. The sharpest reduction
from last year—66 percent—was reported by Hawaii, and reductions
between 30 and 50 percent occurred in Alaska, Connecticut, Mary
land, Michigan, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wyoming. Declines in
excess of 20 percent were also shown in Arizona, New Hampshire,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The sharpest increase in benefit payments over January 1940 was
shown for the District of Columbia, where payments rose 61 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
885
North Dakota and Oregon reported increases of 48 and 41 percent,
respectively, and lesser increases occurred in 16 other States. Although
payments for total unemployment decreased 5 percent from January
a year ago, the amount disbursed for partial and part-total unemploy
ment increased 15 percent, based on 45 States having comparable data
for both periods. To some extent, this increase reflects the practice
by certain employers, anticipating a growing labor shortage, of reduc
ing hours instead of laying off workers and running the risk of losing
their services.
It is apparent that several important factors contribute to the rela
tively high volume of payments, notwithstanding the current high
level of employment:
1. Regular seasonal curtailment of certain activities, as in beetsugar processing, lumbering, road and other construction, and retail
trade.
2. The initiation of benefit payments by 40 States in January of
previous years. This resulted in the establishment of benefit-years in
that month for many claimants. Consequently, the 12-month inter
val—January to December—represents one of the most common
benefit-year periods. Year after year thousands of unemployed
workers, having exhausted their benefit rights, prior to the ending of
their benefit-year, are required to wait until January to file a claim
initiating a new benefit-year instead of filing one immediately upon
separation from employment. As a result, this month tends to ap
proach or actually is the peak of each year. For example, in 1940
initial claims filed in January were higher than those received in any
month except April.
3. Distortion, by defense activities, of the customary seasonal
pattern of employment in many lines of industry. Construction, for
example, was maintained at an exceptionally high level during the
late fall and early winter months because of military construction
and new plant additions. Slackening in employment of construction
workers occurred later than usual, so that some claims that would
ordinarily be filed in October and November were being filed in
January.
4. The fact that, although the lay-off rate has decreased in recent
months, the actual number of workers affected has remained relatively
high. Upon separation from employment, many of these workers
have probably filed claims for benefits.
Unemployed workers received compensation for more than 3,700,000
weeks of unemployment during January, of which 3,300,000, or 90
percent, represented weeks of total unemployment. The number of
weeks of partial and part-total unemployment compensated in
January totaled 394,000, an increase of 14 percent over December
1940. Increases were shown in 38 of the 47 States which issue such
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
886
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
payments. At least a fourth of all weeks of unemployment compen
sated in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, and New Hampshire
were for partial and part-total unemployment.
Beneficiaries
Marking the first rise since June 1940, the average number of
claimants receiving benefits increased sharply in January to 826,000,
an increase of 24 percent over December. Of the 43 States reporting
expansions, the largest—84 and 60 percent—occurred in Idaho and
South Dakota. Increases ranging from 40 to 60 percent were re
ported by Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Tennessee,
and between 30 and 40 percent by 11 other States. Of the remaining
States, only 4 showed increases of less than 10 percent. Fewer
recipients were reported in only 8 States, with the sharpest reduction
(28 percent) shown for New Hampshire. Declines ranging to as
much as 18 percent were shown for Alabama, the District of Co
lumbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, and Missouri. Increased
industrial activity because of defense contracts was partly responsible
for the decreased number of beneficiaries in most of these States.
Statistics of Operation
Table 1 shows the continued claims, the weeks compensated, and
the benefits paid, by States, for the month of January 1941. Table 2
shows the weekly trend of continued claims, by States, from December
21, 1940, to January 25, 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
T able
887
1.— Continued Unemployment Compensation Claims 1 Received, Weeks Com
pensated, and Benefits Paid, by States, January 1941
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 21,1941]
Weeks compensated
Continued claims 1
Type of unemployment
Type
Social Security Board
region and State
Number
Number
Waiting
period
Compen
sable
Total
T otal__________ ______ -- 4,930,669 1, 208,300 3,722, 369 3,737,483 3,343,126
----------Region I:
25,005
28,948
31, 522
16,935
48,457
Connecticut_____ ____
24, 337
33,448
32, 073
3,946
36,019
Maine __________ . .
204,726
175,467
179,969
39,082
219,051
M assachusetts_______
10,682
14,649
4,734
14,400
19,134
N ew Hampshire_____
25, 259
31,305
31, 305
36,465
5,160
Rhode Island_________
8,528
9,233
9,784
6,119
15,903
Verm ont.. __________
691,664
649,884
691, 664
160,945
810,829
Region II: New York____
Region III:
5,206
7,910
7,961
2,959
10,920
Delaware- __________
133,355
133,355
136, 650
73,144
209,794
N ew Jersey_________
273,998
273,998
271,166
402,002
130,836
Pennsylvania________
Region IV:
18,470
19,616
21,181
4,997
26,178
District of Columbia.__
42, 209
33,577
45, 295
5,693
50,988
M aryland.-. _ ____ . .
58,466
62,782
60,385
78,442
18,057
North Carolina ____
37,832
42,996
40,810
46,465
5, 655
Virginia___ _________
29,661
27,809
30,792
10,716
41, 508
West Virginia________
Region V:
34, 612
42,922
23,710
4, 260
27,970
K entu ck y... _____
97, 361
103,666
34, 478
91, 654
126,132
Michigan____________
157,921
191,813
186,857
78,466
265, 323
Ohio_________________
Region VI:
194,481
283, 531
281,925
46, 725
330, 256
Illinois_______________
49,533
65,856
26,988
66,051
93,039
Indiana______ - ____
33,335
36,116
32, 265
36,056
68,321
Wisconsin__________ _
Region VII:
43,530
46,659
16, 309
48, 202
64,511
Alabama___________ _
30,472
35,905
34,939
12,466
47,405
Florida______ --_
34,352
36,681
36,786
51, 502
14,716
Georgia.. _________ _
22,
218
24,
284
25,917
6,478
32,395
M ississippi___ ___ _
22,486
26,004
25, 745
35, 440
9,436
South Carolina_______
59,377
66,640
71,412
17, 714
89,126
Tennessee_____ _____
Region VIII:
40,134
35,403
40,678
32,846
73, 524
87,354
94,416
106,097
139,810
33, 713
M innesota________
20,026
21,845
8,882
22,250
31,132
Nebraska____________
7,016
7, 541
8,442
12,059
3, 617
North Dakota________
6,263
6,517
6.923
8,891
1,968
South Dakota________
Region IX:
28,981
31,040
31,040
44,483
13, 443
Arkansas_____________
18,037
20,624
21,093
16,812
37,905
Kansas.. ___________
62,319
51,657
69,078
116,024
46,946
M issouri________ ____
26,114
32,058
31,270
13,929
45,987
Oklahoma___________
Region X:
59,137
65,247
66,178
83,193
17,015
Louisiana................... .
10, 210
10,854
12,344
2,904
15, 248
N ew Mexico_______ ._
66,886
81,192
111, 069
129,862
18, 793
Texas _______ _________
Region XI:
8,872
8,346
9,070
12,408
3, 338
Arizona_______ ._. .
27,744
30,319
30,707
8,315
39,022
Colorado_____________
20,583
21,507
24,518
35,087
10,569
Idaho_______ . ____
28,902
28,902
32,189
11,590
43,779
Montana_____________
16,534
18,380
3,742
18,474
22,216
U tah_______________
5,367
6,162
7,056
3,331
10,387
W yoming____________
Region XII:
389,817
453,937
455,050
554,921
99,871
California____________
9, 350
10,166
2,969
10, 608
13, 577
N e v a d a .. . _____ . . . .
23,463
26,333
34,816
31,463
66, 279
Oregon______________
63, 266
71,416
73,726
31,211
104,937
Washington_______ .
Territories:
1,901
2,034
2,531
3,434
903
1,436
1,744
2,078
851
2,929
Hawaii______________
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Partial
and part- Partial
total com only 3
bined 3
394,357
3,943
9, 111
29,259
3,967
6,046
705
(2)
(5)
7,048
27,764
(5)
(s)
543
(2)
2,704
(3)
(3)
2, 571
(2)
(2)
1,146
8,632
4,316
5,164
6 1,852
«
8,470
3,869
3,979
(s)
8,310
6,305
33,892
«
(5)
(5)
87,444
16, 323
2,781
69, 045
(5)
1,279
3,129
5,433
2,329
2,066
3,259
7,263
1,691
(5)
1,326
1, 361
1,804
3,767
4,731
7,062
1,819
525
254
1,211
(5)
1,072
292
(5)
2,059
2,587
10,662
5,156
124
1,636
5,638
1,011
6,110
644
14,306
(5)
264
(5)
526
2,575
924
(J)
1,846
795
28
1,414
(5)
(2)
348
439
64,120
816
2,870
8,150
47, 604
379
2,128
(5)
133
308
0
300
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
888
T able
1.— Continued Unemployment Compensation Claims 1 Received, Weeks Com
pensated, and Benefits Paid, by States, January 1941—Continued
Benefits paid
Type of unemployment
Social Security Board
region and State
A m oun t3
Total
T otal___________ ______
$39, 270,163 $36. 637, 515
Region I:
C onnecticut.. - ____
278, 262
254,159
M aine_______ _____
215, 286
162, 527
Massachusetts______
2,012, 117
1,850, 464
N ew Hampshire. ___
117, 809
98,036
Rhode Island- _____
315, 799
286, 250
Vermont--- ________
89, 670
85, 743
Region II: N ew Y o r k ___ 8,174, 792
8,174, 792
Region III:
Delaware___________
61, 303
46, 053
New Jersey_________
1, 259, 862
1, 259,862
Pennsylvania_______
2, 958,812
2,958, 812
Region IV:
District of Columbia..
236, 265
222,933
M aryland__________
352, 536
305, 313
North Carolina_____
295,156
281. 714
Virginia _________
340, 482
311,482
West Virginia__ ___
254, 978
235, 009
Region V :
K entucky. ________
303, 998
265, 304
Michigan__________
1, 202, 392
1,167, 811
Ohio_______________
1, 795,918
1, 613, 298
Region VI:
Illinois_____ ____ _ 3, 227, 045
2, 589, 004
Indiana_____________
626,902
538, 917
Wisconsin______
379,411
359, 714
Region VII:
Alabama _________
308, 710
292,447
Florida_______ _____
351, 250
314, 220
Georgia_____________
244, 667
235, 305
M ississippi________
157, 988
147,004
South Carolina . . . . .
168, 696
153, 382
Tennessee
_______
471,115
436, 933
Region VIII:
Iowa___ - . . .
366, 590
339,196
Minnesota. _______
982, 409
926, 411
Nebraska ..
200, 852
187, 551
North Dakota _
74, 290
70,180
South Dakota _
48, 813
47,195
Region IX:
Arkansas . _ .
187,487
179, 530
Kansas__________ .
183,104
166,165
Missouri____________
533, 936
481, 636
Oklahoma________
286,908
255, 202
Louisiana ___ _____.
New M exico..
__ .
Texas____ _ .
Region XI:
Arizona. . . ____ _ .
Colorado________ . . .
Idaho____ _______ .
M ontana___________
Utah _______ ___
W yoming________ . .
Region XII:
California... . . . . . .
Nevada_____ . . . .
Oregon. ___________
Washington _ _____
Territories:
Alaska___ ___ ____
Hawaii___ . _ .
Partial
and parttotal com
bined 2
M onth and
year benefits
first payable
Partial
o n ly 2
$2, 594, 848
Amount of
since first
payable4
$1, 383, 200, 875
23, 723
52, 758
160, 615
19, 746
29, 549
3,815
(2)
(2)
$40, 547
151,397
(4)
(4)
2, 705
«
15,202
(2)
(2)
14, 409
(2)
(2)
12,646
47,154
13, 389
28, 984
19, 969
(5)
46,103
11,408
21, 354
(5)
____do ______
____do_ ______
____do ______
5,439, 625
22, 905; 433
17, 469. 519
16, 326, 839
20,462, 696
37, 095
34, 581
167, 374
(5)
(5)
(5)
January 1939...
July 1928
January 1939...
9, 928, 002
105,410, 640
50,044, 795
632, 239
87, 600
19, 697
465,383
(5)
8,295
15, 784
37, 030
9, 362
10, 964
15, 213
34,182
7,822
(5)
5,666
7,166
8,096
17, 590
January 1938..
___ do________
______
22, 832, 696
11,244,365
79, 911,902
6, 703, 320
23, 234j 424
2, 399,096
274, 322, 740
January 1939. __
___do- ______
January 1938..
1, 615,123
32,131,106
173,367, 318
___ do ______
____do.. ______
____do
____do
______
April 1928
.Tnlv 192fi
January 1938. __
January 1939.
63, 574,933
36, 589, 363
19, 984, 620
April 1938_____
July 1938. . . . .
January 1938.
17,489, 061
10, 215, 836
7, 918, 711
5,216,825
5, 381, 715
17, 390,693
27,028
55,998
13, 281
4,063
1, 618
6,094
January 1938. __
(5)
7,586 ____do ______
2,286 ____do __ ___
___ do ______
(5)
12,163, 309
26, 486, 953
3, 344,101
1, 238| 119
' 816; 631
7, 955
16,939
52,246
31, 706
503
10,076
23,894 ____do ___ ___
4,434 December 1938-
4, 977, 741
4, 497, 940
13, 253, 925
8i 306i 460
January 1938--.
December 1938.
January 1938.._
17,250, 233
2, 545, 568
30, 606,195
178 ____d o .........
10,076 January 1939.-.
September 1938(5)
July 1939_____
(2)
2,707 January 1938.._
3,379 January 1939...
4, 828, 514
7,937,428
4, 819, 859
4, 234, 350
6, 020. 544
2,449, 664
579, 271
96, 250
633, 911
533,834
91,351
560,187
44, 515
4, 899
73,407
94,445
303, 309
247,033
322, 215
199,913
76, 995
90, 651
283, 940
239, 605
322,215
187, 008
70,076
3, 794
19, 305
7,418
(2)
12, 905
6,919
6, 256, 550
134,150
330, 207
887,194
5, 675,443
125, 690
301, 643
816,405
576, 722
8, 460
23,013
70, 789
29, 208
13, 902
27, 843
12, 070
1,365
1,832
(5)
1.939
(5)
415, 994
3, 778
16, 583
(5)
January
January
January
January
1938 . _
1939.3938_
1939...
133,487. 767
2,066, 857
14, 388, 596
16,485, 788
0 ____do ____ _
906,093
1,765 ____do_ ______
57fi 844
1 I. e., certification that the claimant has completed a waiting-period week or a compensable period
(usually a calendar week or 7-day period).
2 Benefits for partial and part-total unemployment are not provided by State law in Montana, New
York, and Pennsylvania. In New Jersey provision for such payments is not effective until Apr 1,1941
3 Includes supplemental payments, not classified by type of unemployment
4 Adjusted to exclude returned and voided benefit checks except for January.
5 Data for partial unemployment included with data for part-total unemployment.
6 Payments for part-total and partial unemployment are made for benefit periods of 1 quarter. The
number of weeks represented by each such payment is determined by dividing the amount paid by the
claimant’s benefit rate for total unemployment.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
889
Social Security
T able 2.— Trend of Weekly Continued Claims 1 Received for A ll Types of Unemploy
ment,2 by States, for Weeks Ending in January 1941
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Feb. 20,1941]
Weekly average 3
Claimants (in thousands) for benefits,1week ending—
January
Social Security Board
region and State
Total. _____ ________
D e
cem
ber
Jan. 4
Jan. 11
Jan. 18 Jan. 25
1,093.1
+23.7
878.9
852.9
1,023. 7
1,132.6
1,124.1
1,091.9
8.1
10.3
48.8
6.2
7.8
2.2
10.2
8.4
52.9
4.6
8.0
3.5
+25.4
-1 8 .5
+ 8 .5
-2 6 .3
+ 3 .4
+57.8
8.0
9.3
45.2
5.2
9.0
2.1
7.5
8.5
51.3
5.4
7.5
2.5
8.7
8.9
57.7
4.8
8.6
3.2
10.4
9.5
54.4
5.3
7.9
3.6
10.6
8.0
51.1
4.1
8.0
3.7
11.0
7.1
48.5
4.1
7.7
3.3
+15.4
155.3
156.2
169.7
183.9
180.8
177.3
2.3
45.1
92.1
+30.3
+39.5
+35.4
2.0
32.0
61.8
1.4
35.8
65.9
1.6
40.9
95.2
2.2
44.6
102.2
2.4
47.2
86.4
2.8
47.6
84.3
4.7
10.4
14.6
9.7
8.5
5.1
11.4
18.9
11.0
9.2
+ 8 .6
+10.0
+29.3
+13.2
+ 7 .9
4.7
10.1
15.0
10.7
8.5
4.4
9.6
10.4
8.6
8.5
3.1
11.7
22.1
11.5
9.4
5.4
11.9
19.4
13.2
9.5
5.8
11.4
17.0
9.9
8.8
6.1
10.7
17.2
9.5
8.9
6.2
21.4
47.7
5.8
28.1
58.6
- 6 .5
+31.4
+22.9
6.6
22.5
46.4
4.3
21.0
47.5
7.0
23.6
51.4
5.2
25.0
65.3
5.7
31.4
60.4
5.2
32.6
57.4
58.2
13.4
9.6
73.0
21.2
15.1
+25.4
+58.6
+57.0
57.6
14.5
9.7
52.3
11.8
10.0
65.1
16.1
11.7
82.4
24.4
14.2
76.0
23.8
18.6
68.5
20. 5
15.8
12.9
8.2
10.5
5.8
6.1
14.6
14.6
11.2
11.2
6.9
8.2
21.0
+ 4 .9
4 37.1
+ 6 .2
+19.9
+34.1
+43.7
13.4
7.8
10.4
5.8
6.4
15.1
10.6
9.2
8.7
5.9
3.2
9.1
15.4
12.0
10.2
6.5
8.8
22.9
15.1
12.9
11.6
7.0
8.6
22.2
14.4
10.4
10.5
7.0
6.9
20.5
13.2
9.7
12.3
7.2
8.5
18.5
9.2
20.8
4.1
1.6
1.4
15.7
27.6
6.6
2.5
1.9
+69.9
+32.5
+59.8
+59.9
+37.2
9.5
23.8
4.4
1.6
1.5
9.9
21.5
4.6
1.8
1.5
12.0
22.4
5.3
1.9
1.7
15.8
25.5
6.6
2.4
2.0
17.2
31.5
7.2
3.1
2.0
17.9
31.1
7.5
2.9
2.1
7.4
6.5
24.4
7.9
9.9
7.9
25.0
10.0
+34.6
+20.7
+ 2 .5
+26.5
8.3
6.7
23.2
7.9
5.1
6.3
21.0
7.3
9.2
7.2
21.6
8.8
10.4
7.1
26.4
9.9
9.7
8.8
26.4
10.4
10.3
8.3
25.4
11.1
15.9
2.8
27.6
18.7
3.3
28.7
+17.9
+16.7
+ 3 .9
16.6
2.8
27.4
15.5
2.7
26.5
17.3
3.1
26.9
19.6
3.3
28.5
19.9
3.3
29.7
18.0
3.5
29.5
2.6
6.6
4.6
6.4
4.0
1.7
2.8
8.5
7.4
9.2
4.9
2.2
+ 7 .0
+29.0
+59.6
+44.1
+20.7
+32.8
2.5
6.6
5.0
6.5
4.0
1.7
2.6
6.5
4.8
6.9
4.0
1.7
2.5
7.4
6.2
7.2
4.4
1.8
2.9
8.0
7.1
8.8
5.1
2.3
2.8
9.2
8.1
10.2
5.2
2.3
2.8
9.3
8.3
10.7
4.9
2.7
101.1
2.2
_ ___
5.0
15.0
122.6
2.8
14.4
23.7
+21.6
4-29.2
+191.6
+57.4
101.2
2.0
4.8
14.3
100.9
2.4
4.4
16.7
111.8
2.4
12.9
20.4
122.9
2.8
11.6
25.0
129.4
3.0
17.1
25.5
126.1
3.0
16.1
23.9
New Jersey 4__ _ .
Region IV :
Dist. of Columbia.
North Carolina____
West Virginia_____
Region V:
Kentucky
Michigan . . .
Region VI:
Illinois .
Region VII:
Florida . .
Mississippi.
South Carolina____
Tennessee.
Region VIII:
I o w a ______ .
North Dakota __
South Dakota_____
Region IX:
A rk an sa s___ _ .
Missouri__________
Oklahoma. _
Region X :
Region XI:
____
U ta h .. _ ____
.
154.2
Region XII:
Oregon..
Dec.
28
1.7
32.3
68.0
Region III:
Colorado.. .
Dec.
21
882.3
Region I:
Massachusetts____
N ew Hampshire. _
Rhode Isla n d ... . .
Vermont . . . . .
.
Region II:
Percent
Number of
change
in thou from
D e
sands
cember
Territories:
177.9
.4
.9
.7
.8
.6
+ 5 .4
.8
.7
.7
.4
.6
.6
.7
.6
.7
-1 7 .6
.6
.7
Hawaii. _________
11. e., certification that the claimant has completed a waiting-period week or a compensable period (usually
a calendar week or 7-day period).
3 Includes claims for total, part-total, and partial unemployment.
3 Computations based on whole numbers.
T
.
4 Benefits for partial and part-total unemployment are not provided by State law in Montana, N ew York,
an d Pennsylvania. In New Jersey provision for such payments is not effective until Apr. 1,1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
890
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
WISCONSIN UNEMPLOYMENT-INSURANCE LAW
AND EMPLOYMENT STABILIZATION
THE theory on which the Wisconsin unemployment-insurance law—
the first State law to be passed—was based, was that the prospect of
securing a reduced contribution rate through the establishment of
individual employer’s reserves would be an incentive to employers to
regularize employment. The debate between the proponents of the
pooled-fund and the individual-employer reserves types of systems
is no longer so important, but there is still a considerable difference of
opinion as to whether or not employment stabilization may be pro
moted through the variation of contribution rates under the experi
ence- or merit-rating provisions of State unemployment-insurance
laws. A recent report1 published by the F ederal Bureau of Employ
ment Security presents the first independent analysis of the results of
experience rating.
Present discussion of the subject revolves largely around the ques
tion of experience rating in pooled, or partially pooled, fund laws.
As late as January 1940, 39 State and Territorial unemploymentcompensation laws (in addition to Wisconsin), including 32 of the
pooled-fund laws, had provision for some form of experience rating.
In most of these States rate reductions will not be possible before
1941 or 1942, whereas in Wisconsin employers qualified for lower
rates in January 1938.
Provisions of Wisconsin Law
Under the Wisconsin law which was passed in 1932 and made
effective in 1934, benefit liability began (for a majority of the em
ployers covered by the act) on July 1, 1936, or 2 years after contribu
tions became payable. The standard rate of contributions was 2
percent of pay rolls from July 1, 1934, to January 1, 1938, when the
rate was raised to 2.7 percent. The law provided originally that rate
reductions for individual employers should depend upon the amount
of the employer’s reserve per employee, but it was amended to provide
that rate reductions should depend upon the size of the employer’s
“reserve percentage,” which was defined as the percentage that an
employer’s net reserve balance (excess of contributions over benefits)
at the end of a calendar year formed of his “ defined” pay roll for that
year. If this reserve percentage amounted to 7.5 percent but was
less than 10 percent, the rate to which an employer would be entitled
for the next calendar year was 1 percent of his pay roll; and if the
figure was 10 percent or more, no contributions would be required of
him in the following year. Amendments to the law, made in the
I Federal Security Agency. Bureau of Employment Security. Memorandum No. 10: Employment
Stabilization and the Wisconsin Act, by Charles A. Myers. Washington, 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
891
years 1937 to 1939, provided for an increase from $130 to $195 in the
maximum amount of benefits that could be drawn by a worker in a
52-week period, and extended the coverage of the law from employers
of 8 or more, to 7 or more in 1938, and 6 or more in 1939. Other
amendments provided for denial of partial benefits to employees with a
benefit rate of $5 or less; for increase in the waiting period for partialunemployment benefits from 1 to 3 weeks per employee; and for exemp
tion of the canning industry from the payment of partial-unemploy
ment benefits during the active canning season.
Another important change made in 1937 was the establishment of a
“balancing account” from which benefits would be paid to laid-off
employees of employers whose reserve accounts were exhausted. This
fund, the establishment of which was a partial concession to the pooledfund principle, was to be built up from all net interest earnings on the
total fund, from the balance remaining in accounts no longer subject
to the act, and from other minor sources.
The provisions affecting employee eligibility for benefits are of im
portance in connection with employer practices, as an employee can
not be considered eligible for benefits from an employer’s account until
he has been employed by that employer for 4 weeks or more (on at
least 12 working days) or on a monthly salary basis for more than a
month. Among the excluded employments are students regularly
attending established educational institutions if they had been em
ployed only during vacations or outside of school hours for not more
than 4 hours of any full school day, as well as persons who have been
self-employed for at least 30 of the 52 weeks preceding their lay-off
by an employer.
Scope of the Study
The field work for the study was carried out between July 1, 1937,
and July 1, 1938, and involved interviews with 247 Wisconsin em
ployers representing all important lines of business and every signifi
cant industrial area in the State. Data published by the State
Unemployment Compensation Department, which showed employer
contributions as compared with benefit payments, were used for the
purpose of selecting the firms to be visited; in each major subclassifica
tion employer account numbers were chosen which had very high or
very low benefit-contribution ratios, as it was thought that differences
in stabilization efforts might account for the differences in benefit
experience between firms in the same line of business. The account
numbers thus chosen were then traced to the particular firms and
formed the largest part of the number interviewed. To this list was
added a group of about 30 firms which had stated in letters to the
Wisconsin Manufacturers’ Association that they had attempted some
measure of stabilization as a result of the stimulus given by the act.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
892
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Later in the year 1937-38, special attention was paid to those firms
which had qualified for reduced contribution rates at the beginning of
1938, and those which had overdrawn their reserve accounts by March
31, 1938. The greatest emphasis was placed on manufacturing
industries in the study, as there is in general more opportunity for
stabilization in these industries. Of the 247 firms interviewed, 214
(88.6 percent) were in manufacturing, while the remaining 33 (13.4
percent) were in retail or wholesale trade, service industries, and the
construction industries. The findings of the study were limited to a
certain extent by the comparatively small number of firms studied;
by the difficulty of assessing accurately all stabilization claims, chiefly
because of inadequate data; and by the fact that the experience in
Wisconsin was still too limited to draw any long-run conclusions.
Business conditions had changed rapidly during the period covered,
from greatly increased business activity in the early summer of 1937
to an acute depression in the late fall and winter of 1937-38. How
ever, these changing conditions afforded an opportunity to observe
the reaction of employers toward stabilization in two contrasting
phases of the business cycle.
Meaning and Tests of Stabilization
No precise definition of the term “employment stabilization” was
attempted in the study. It has been considered by some writers to
mean continuous employment of the same work force for the same
number of man-hours per pay-roll period over a year or longer, while
others interpret the term to mean the same-sized work force over a
period of time without regard to whether the same or different workers
were employed.
The only measure of stabilization provided by the Wisconsin law
is the reserve percentage—that is, the percentage that the balance in
the employer’s reserve account at the end of a calendar year is of
that year’s total defined pay roll (in 1939 the law was amended to
substitute a 2-year, and after 1940, a 3-year average pay roll for the
single year’s pay roll). The theory underlying this provision is that
the condition of the individual employer’s account accurately reflects
his benefit experience, and, by implication, the regularity or stability
of his employment. The employer’s contribution rate varies, within
certain limits, in proportion to his reserve, and since the amount of
benefits drawn by his workers directly affects the size of the reserve, if
an employer can so manage his work force as to reduce benefits, even
though this does not result in more stable employment, this will be
given equal weight under the law with a real attempt to regularize
employment. The reserve percentage may be increased by extreme
work spreading which avoids lay-offs and the payment of benefits;
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
893
this, however, should not be considered as genuine stabilization, but
rather as a stabilization of underemployment. Insofar as work
spreading was used merely to keep workers at such a level as to make
them ineligible for benefits, it was not regarded as a measure of stabiliz
ation in the study.
Because of objections to the different definitions or tests of stabiliza
tion, the evaluation of stabilization efforts was put on a relative basis
and, wherever possible, statistics of employment, and in some cases
man-hours and labor turn-over, were secured and examined graphically
for any significance. If the trend of these curves was more regular
after July 1, 1936, when benefit liability began, than before that date,
it was assumed that employment had been stabilized to some degree,
although this tentative conclusion was later discarded if it was shown
that the regularity was due solely to extreme work spreading rather
than manufacturing for stock, transfer between departments, and
other stabilization measures. The statistical data were supplement
ed, therefore, by the field investigation which weighed the employer’s
initial statement as to measures he had or had not taken in the light
of the firm’s employment and benefit experience.
In classifying employer stabilization efforts, four general groups were adopted to
indicate the degree of stabilization achieved as a result of the act by each of the
firms interviewed. These were "appreciable,” "some,” "negligible,” and "none.”
The last three were then subdivided again to take account of differences between
individual employer activity within each of these groups.
Summary and Conclusions
It was found that, although the individual employer in many lines
of business can do something to stabilize his employment, his ability
to do so is often limited. The type of unemployment which can be
reduced by the individual employer is mainly the intermittent or
seasonal type. Among the employers who attempted to stabilize
employment as a result of the law, employment was usually centralized
and the working force selected with greater care. Employees were
transferred between departments to avoid lay-offs and there was some
retraining, and in some cases employees for whom there was not
enough work were put on maintenance and repair work. Where
possible, some firms manufactured for stock during slack seasons, thus
reducing lay-offs and the hiring of many extras at peak periods.
Other stabilization devices, less frequently used, were diversification
of products and markets, and booking business in advance of the
season.
The prospect of a financial saving through a reduced contribution
rate was an incentive with all the firms which had attempted some
measure of stabilization and it appeared evident that this reduction
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41------- 8
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
C91
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
in charges had assumed a psychological importance out of proportion
to its relative financial significance. However, “ the incentive pro
vided under the reserve-percentage formula of the present law may
be considerably weakened after a time because firms in naturally
stable industries are able to qualify for the lower rates with very
little effort on their part, whereas firms in relatively unstable industries
may never be able to reach the necessary levels even though they
make a more genuine effort to stabilize than do their competitors in
the same industry.” This is regarded by the author as a real objection
to the reserve-percentage type of experience rating, both in the Wis
consin law and in most other State laws which provide for contributionrate variations.
In addition to work spreading, which about half of the firms had
practiced in varying degrees, in some cases other means of benefit
avoidance, such as probationary-period hiring and the hiring of inéli
gibles, had been practiced. These practices indicate that a law which
rewarded the employer who had a low-benefit record would encourage
attempts such as these within the framework of the statute.
In 1938, 114 firms received reduced rates either because their 1937
pay rolls were smaller than in previous years, thus automatically
increasing their reserve percentages, or because they made a voluntary
contribution before the end of the year in order to bring their reserves
up to the necessary percentage of pay roll. During this first year
stabilization efforts were unimportant in qualifying for lower rates.
The study showed that only 27, or about 11 percent, of the firms
interviewed had achieved what was regarded as appreciable stabiliza
tion; however, 104, or 43 percent, of these firms obtained rate reduc
tions in 1939. Of the firms found to have accomplished “appreci
able” or “some” stabilization as a result of the act, 47 percent obtained
rate reductions in 1939; whereas 57 percent of those who had done
little or nothing to stabilize, because they had done so before or be
cause their businesses were naturally stable, obtained rate reductions.
In contrast to these, 36, or 38 percent, of the firms which reported that
they could do little to stabilize because of difficulties inherent in their
business were assigned increased rates, while 24, or 27 percent, of the
firms in this group obtained rate reductions. This limited analysis
indicates that the first extensive application of experience rating in
Wisconsin rewarded firms which had done little or nothing to stabilize
under the act, as well as many of the firms which had accomplished
some stabilization as a result of the act.
Although some stabilization has been achieved under the influence
of experience rating in Wisconsin, against this must be placed the fact
that it has tended to stabilize underemployment and has added some
what to the volume of total unemployment. To the extent that sta
bilization efforts have meant that fewer workers were needed at peak
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
895
periods and the hiring of casual labor has been discouraged, the total
number of unemployed has tended to increase. Underemployment
in Wisconsin has been the result of increased work spreading, and
had occurred in about half of the firms studied. The report states
that “to the extent that its use is widespread, extreme work spreading
may enable employers to qualify for lower contribution rates just as
much as if they had accomplished genuine stabilization, which ap
proaches full-time employment. This is not an inherent defect in the
Wisconsin law, however, since an amendment raising the level at which
partial benefits are payable would set a higher limit on work spread
ing, and at the same time allow some sharing of the work which may
be desirable to prevent temporary cessation in employment and
income.”
In conclusion it is stated that although many of the claims made
when the law was passed have not been realized, there has been
greater concern shown by employers with employment problems and
many have made genuine efforts to reduce or eliminate intermittent
and seasonal irregularity of employment. Since some degree of
stabilization has been secured and no workers have yet been denied
benefits because of exhaustion of their former employer’s accounts,
the Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Act, it is said, should be
accepted as a significant contribution to social legislation. “ It may
not be better than or even as good as experience rating under pooledfund laws in encouraging employer efforts to stabilize employment,
but the final answer must await further experience under the pooledfund laws and under the Wisconsin act.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cooperation
ELECTRICITY COOPERATIVES IN 1940
Summary
THE rural-electrification program dates from 1935 when Congress
authorized the disbursement of $100,000,000 for extending electrifi
cation in rural areas. It was specified that, although loans might be
made to private power companies, preference should be given to
cooperatives and to municipal or other public systems. Some 45 to
50 cooperative electricity associations had been in existence before the
REA program was started, but under the impetus of public encourage
ment and funds, the number expanded rapidly.
A report recently issued by the Rural Electrification Administration1
reveals that by September 1940, some 672 cooperatives in 42 States
had been granted loans. On these authorizations, funds had been
paid to 640 associations in an amount aggregating $217,327,546.
Altogether, the 672 associations for which loans had been earmarked
had contracted for an estimated 286,535 miles of line. The miles of
line put into operation by 585 associations numbered 232,749, and 579
of these were serving a total of 571,077 patrons.
The greatest amount of funds advanced had gone to the cooperatives
in the States of Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, in the
order named. These States also led as regards mileage under loan
contract.
Naturally, the miles of line in operation and number of consumers
served are directly related to the length of time the program has been
under way in the various parts of the country. For this reason, when
the States are ranked on these two factors, a considerable change is
seen in the group of the five leading States. For mileage energized,
the leaders are Texas, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and Georgia; and
for number of consumers served, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee,
and Ohio.
The 525 cooperatives for which income data were received had a
combined gross revenue during the year 1939-40 amounting to
$16,620,607. Net income of $5,917,099 was reported by 517 of these.
At the end of June 1940, only 291 owed payments on the interest and
1 U. S. Department of Agriculture. Rural Electrification Administration. Financial and operating
statistics of all systems to which REA had made allotments as of September 30, 1940. Washington, [1941],
896
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
897
Cooperation
principal of the REA loans; these amounted to $2,504,353—a sum
well within the net earnings figure.
An indication of the extent to which these associations are furnishing
employment is given by the fact that, for the year 1939-40, the pay
roll of the 492 associations for which data on this point were obtained
amounted to $2,740,451.
Funds Advanced on REA Loans
The amount of loans that had been advanced to 640 cooperative
associations by the end of September 1940 is shown in table 1, by
States. All but 6 States are represented in this table. Of the States
not shown, no loans had been authorized for cooperatives in Connecti
cut, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island. Loans had been made for
Nebraska, Nevada, and New York, but in the first two States these
had gone to public power districts and in New York, to a private
power company.
T able
1.—Number of REA Associations in Receipt of Loans and Amount Advanced,
September 30, 1940
State
N um
ber of
associ
ations
Funds ad
vanced
All States--------------------------
640
$217, 327, 546
Alabama ----------------------Arizona - - -----------------Arkansas-.
-----------------California- ---------------------Colorado..
-------------------Delaware------------ ------------Florida-. ---------- ------------Georgia ----------------- ---------- ------ ------Idaho
Illinois__ ----- --------Indiana
- - - -------------
17
1
13
3
12
1
6
37
6
26
43
47
19
23
12
2
2
13
41
21
4,984,102
395, 794
4,279,147
1,053,816
2,869,757
775,608
1,385,457
11, 781,524
2,089, 455
13,020, 244
14,931, 354
15,322, 513
4, 501,608
7,429,199
2, 450,482
172,680
673,548
10,293,974
16,004,724
6,831,120
Kansas
--------------Kentucky_________________
Louisiana
- --- ----M aine..
- - --------Maryland. ---------------------Michigan . -------------------Minnesota ---- -------------M ississippi------------------------
State
Utah
__________________
N um
ber of
associ
ations
32
12
1
2
4
21
5
25
18
9
12
13
5
12
60
1
2
13
10
2
27
9
Funds ad
vanced
$9,325,397
2,060,641
371, 569
414,900
711,801
5,355,077
1,655,016
12,233,809
5,675, 519
1,035,615
6,634,322
1,813, 739
1,018,483
6,955, 651
17,793,344
289,541
319,635
5,787,034
2, 515,758
530,034
12,081,005
1,503,550
Expansion of Services
Table 2 gives, by States, the estimated number of miles of line
covered by loan contract, the mileage constructed and energized
(i. e., put into operation), and the number of consumers served.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
898
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 2.—Miles of Line Under Contract and Energized, and Consumers Served by REA
Cooperatives, September 30, 1940
Mileage under loan
contract
State
Associations re
porting
Miles
(esti
mated)
Line energized
Associations re
porting
Miles
Consumers served
Associations re
porting
Number
of cus
tomers
All States______
672
286,535
585
232,749
579
571,077
Alabama.......... . .
Arizona________
Arkansas---------California__ - . . .
Colorado_______
Delaware______
17
1
13
3
14
1
7,733
269
6,089
743
4, 470
972
17
1
13
3
9
1
6,914
i 98
5,523
745
2, 797
837
17
1
13
3
9
1
17,479
i 196
11,451
1.661
5,811
2,007
Florida________
Georgia------------Idaho_____ ____
Illinois_________
Indiana________
Iowa.....................
8
40
7
26
43
46
2,247
16, 547
2,358
16,830
18,806
19, 734
5
36
5
26
41
44
1,695
15,453
1,906
14,197
16, 604
16,208
5
35
5
26
41
44
3, 282
42, 530
4,009
31,989
46, 529
32, 002
Kansas .......... . .
Kentucky______
Louisiana______
M aine______.----M aryland______
M ich ig a n ...........
21
23
12
4
2
13
7,973
8,379
3,683
635
811
9,065
18
23
11
2
2
13
5, 452
8, 535
3,096
158
628
8,374
18
23
11
2
2
13
8,882
22,413
7, 530
334
1,695
22,410
M innesota...........
M ississippi____
M issouri_______
M o n ta n a ..____
N ew Hampshire
N ew Jersey-------
41
22
32
13
i
2
20, 214
10,518
12, 820
2,649
957
426
34
21
30
11
1
2
16, 786
9,020
11,350
2,082
127
352
34
21
26
11
1
2
33,427
29,446
19, 610
4,740
239
1,163
N ew Mexico___
North Carolina..
North D ak ota...
Ohio....................
Oklahoma_____
Oregon___ _____
4
25
5
25
19
13
733
9, 915
2, 354
13, 767
8,605
2,004
3
17
5
25
18
5
626
5, 248
1, 514
12, 980
6,981
444
3
16
5
25
18
5
1,073
14, 294
2,865
36, 413
12,164
1, 570
Pennsylvania...
South CarolinaSouth D a k o ta ..
Tennessee___ _
Texas_________
U ta h _________
12
17
6
12
63
1
7,613
5,083
2,010
6,932
27, 294
433
12
7
4
9
53
1
5, 946
2,286
715
5,830
20,406
277
12
7
4
10
53
1
21, 986
6,051
1,347
37, 484
42,142
777
Vermont______
Virginia_______
W ashington___
West Virginia._.
Wisconsin_____
W yom ing..........
3
13
12
2
25
10
714
6,381
3,816
505
11, 879
1,573
2
12
7
2
25
9
205
5,821
2, 255
427
10, 557
1,294
2
12
6
2
25
9
539
14,066
1,421
1,021
22,156
2, 867
i Estimated.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
899
Cooperation
The REA report, from which the data here were taken, points out
in connection with the expansion of electrical service:
New mileage is being energized at a rapid rate. This new mileage materially
affects operating and income relationships. Seasoned mileage will show consum
ers, consumption, and revenue per mile several times [as large as the] comparable
data for newly energized mileage. * * * As the weighted average age of all
REA-financed systems is only 1.2 years, the systems are all subject to the qualifi
cation th at age will bring marked increases in consumers, consumption, and
revenues, as well as in other operating income, and expense items.
The following statement shows the number of consumers served by
REA cooperatives at the end of each fiscal year since the rural elec
trification program went into effect: 2
Consumers connected
1935-36___________________________________
693
1936-37___________________________________ 19,611
1937- 38_________________________________ 104, 528
1938- 39_________________________________ 268, 242
1939- 40_________________________________ 567, 998
Whereas only 10.9 percent of the farms in the United States were
electrified on December 31, 1934, by the end of June 1940 the
percentage had risen to 27.1, an increase of 151.6 percent.2
,
Income and Pay Roll 1939-40
Income and pay roll are shown, by States, in table 3. Of the 517
associations for which data were obtained as to net income, only 22
sustained a loss for the year and, of these, 13 had been in operation
only part of that period. For the whole group of associations, net
earnings amounted to more than twice the amount due in loan interest
and principal. In only five States (Maine, New Jersey, South Dakota,
Washington, and West Virginia) were the net earnings insufficient to
meet these payments.
a Data are from U. S. Department of Agriculture.
for year ending June 30, 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Rural Electrification Administration. Annual report
900
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 3.-—Income and P ay Roll of REA Cooperatives, Year Ending June 30, 1940
Total income
State
All States. __________ ____
N um
ber of
associ
ations
Amount
525 $16, 620, 607
A labam a.-. ______________
Arkansas____ _______ ____
California________ _ . . ..
Colorado......... ......... . . . ._ _
Delaware_________________
Florida______ . . . ...............
12
10
2
8
1
N et income
Interest and prin
cipal due
Pay roll
N um
ber of
associ Amount
ations
N um
ber of
associ Amount
ations
N um
ber of
associ Amount
ations
517 $5, 917, 099
291 $2, 504, 353
12
4
305,910
178,610
76, 019
180,317
57, 810
73, 408
4
83, 238
32,893
18,031
39, 091
24,118
18, 917
Georgia. . . . _____________
Idaho . . . ____________ . . .
Illinois____
. ................. .
Indiana_____ . . . ________
1owa ____ ______________
Kansas_____ ____ _______
33
5
24
39
45
16
997,396
141,931
754,455
1,175, 257
1, 230, 542
191, 740
33
5
24
36
45
16
369, 375
30,483
290,621
436, 632
501,475
39,053
22
2
Kentucky________ ______
Louisiana . . . ___ ___ .
M aine. . . .
M aryland___ _____ . . . . .
M ichigan... ____________ .
M in n eso ta .___ ___________
22
10
1
2
13
33
676, 024
212, 800
7,115
50, 722
644, 226
1,452,150
22
10
1
1
13
33
M ississippi_____ ________
Missouri ________________
M ontana_____________. _.
New Hampshire ________
New Jersey. _____________
N ew Mexico .......... ............
21
15
10
1
2
3
695,191
388, 623
175, 765
787
38, 717
76, 720
North Carolina______ ... _
North D a k o ta ____
Ohio_____________________
Oklahoma____ _ _ „ _____
Oregon___________________
P enn sylvan ia._____ _______
14
4
24
17
4
11
South Carolina____________
South Dakota_____ ______
Tennessee_____________ . . .
T ex a s.. ________ . . . . . .
U tah________ _. _ ...........
Vermont____ _____________
V ir g in ia ____
_ _ . . . . ___
Washington_______________
West Virginia_____________
Wisconsin________________
W yom ing.____ ___________
1 Loss.
2 No data.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
492 $2, 740, 451
52, 652
25, 022
15.616
14. I ll
11, 249
10
26
5
140, 700
22,923
73, 567
257,150
198, 726
24,132
31
5
24
37
45
16
160, 541
43, 267
141,218
201,266
200, 521
4 4 ; Oil
276,109
65,316
i 236
21, 571
174, 805
620, 083
12
4
1
1
8
26
67,965
26, 375
382
8, 568
92,148
258,651
21
10
1
Î
13
33
119,852
41,853
2,805
9,138
174, 495
185; 103
21
13
10
1
2
3
247, 084
86,316
46,122
i 168
8,139
14,175
9
11
8
39, 754
48, 553
36, 397
12
2
1
14,081
3,081
2
3
64,895
75,169
37, 662
(2)
10,184
18, 632
268, 867
95, 479
1.168, 219
370,192
50, 234
482, 375
13
4
24
17
4
11
82,942
32, 322
383, 407
98, 623
14,883
205, 264
5
2
18
7
3
7
32,713
23, 274
190, 735
70,872
5,744
111,475
13
4
24
17
4
11
54, 555
16, 568
218, 442
78; 827
11, 709
83, 260
3
3
10
50
1
2
36, 856
43, 207
1, 495,457
1,129; 582
15, 706
12, 369
3
3
10
50
1
2
11, 363
646, 776
364, 566
S, 664
2, 111
2
3
10
18
9, 914
18, 324
3
3
7,313
10, 558
103! 965
50
1
2
229,612
2, 275
10
4
2
26
8
460, 325
137,163
15, 768
956, 603
99,970
10
4
2
26
8
189,163
30, 417
i 6,144
359. 666
33, 599
115, 262
32, 068
2,995
243, 086
24,048
10
4
2
80, 658
33,831
7,899
164,164
16; 004
9
2
8
1
9, 686
5
7
2
3
1
6
20
6
3
1
18
6
9
2
8
1
4
13
10
55,325
46, 649
26, 606
36, 633
8,968
88 0 7 5
26
7
Cooperation
901
EUROPEAN COOPERATIVES AND THE WAR
Summary
THE totalitarian State is by its very nature antagonistic to the co
operative movement, as cooperation means democratic organization
and freedom of choice and action. Therefore, as the continent of
Europe has been more and more dominated by the totalitarian gov
ernments, cooperatives in the conquered countries have been con
fronted by increasing difficulties—in some cases by virtual extinction,
and in almost, all by an unfriendly atmosphere. As a result, it appears
that, although full information is still lacking, the cooperative move
ment in many of the conquered countries is now in serious straits.
In every country of Europe the cooperative movement continued to
obtain new members and even expand its business, up to the moment
of invasion or outbreak of war. However, the years 1939 and 1940
were disastrous for European cooperatives, for those years witnessed
the absorption of Czechoslovakia into Germany, and of Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania into the U. S. S. R.; the dismemberment of
Poland; the occupation of Belgium, Denmark, part of France, Nether
lands, and Norway; and the tearing away of large parts of Finland
and Rumania. In those countries the cooperative movement was
either destroyed or lost a large part of its membership, property, and
resources.
In the three European aggressor countries—Italy, Germany, and the
Soviet Union—cooperatives either have been suppressed or have been
absorbed into the State. The natural tendency of these countries, in
taking over neighboring territories, has been to mete out to the coop
eratives there the same treatment given to associations in their
own country.
In Germany the consumers’ cooperatives have had the hostile atten
tion of the Nazis since before the latter came into power. The Nazi
Government, while sparing to a great degree the agricultural coopera
tives, has pursued a policy of repression toward consumers’ coopera
tives. This has been carried on by three general steps: (1) By forbidding
the formation of new associations or opening of new branches, (2) by
amalgamating all associations in a locality into one, and (3) by carry
ing out a systematic policy of dissolution as fast as the cooperatives’
assets could be realized upon.
The first two of these measures have been invoked also against the
consumers’ cooperatives in the countries which have been absorbed
into the Reich (Austria and Czechoslovakia) and in occupied France.
In the Soviet Union, where the whole network of urban cooperatives
was dissolved and the stores taken over as State enterprises in 1935,
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the same procedure was followed for coo peratives in the Polish terri
tory taken by Russia. It is not known whether the same treatment
has been accorded to the cooperatives in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithu
ania^—countries absorbed into the U. S. S. R. in July 1940.
For the occupied countries (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, and
Norway) little or no information regarding the present status of the
cooperative movement is available. However, because of the large
part played by the cooperative movement in the distribution of sup
plies to the people there, it is believed that the cooperatives have been
allowed to continue, at least temporarily.
The Finnish cooperatives in the territory ceded to the Soviet Union
simply abandoned their property and followed the Finnish population
in its migration into what remained of Finland. The cooperatives in
Finland, as well as those in France, Poland, and Great Britain, have
suffered enormous losses through destruction of their property in the
war; and in Finland and France there was also the added burden of
caring for refugees from occupied zones.
Officials and prominent members of cooperatives have in many cases
been forced to flee for their lives. Among them have been cooperators
from Spain, France, Czechoslovakia, Finland, and Poland. The
International Cooperative Alliance established a fund, to which affili
ates all over the world contributed, and from this fund relief payments
were made as long as the money lasted. The cooperatives of Great
Britain accepted numbers of these refugees—especially the Czecho
slovaks into their employment, as have also to a less extent the
Canadian cooperatives.
International cooperative trade, which had been growing slowly for
several decades and was assuming substantial proportions, was cut off
entirely after the invasion of Belgium and Holland and the capitula
tion of France. The head of the International Cooperative Trading
Agency, Inc., is now in the United States, in the service of one of the
cooperative wholesales.
Even in countries still functioning under independent governments,
war conditions have made operation more difficult for cooperatives
as well as for all other business enterprises. Difficulties of export of
products and of importation of raw materials and finished goods, and
government regulation of supplies, have been encountered. In
countries a large part of whose commerce was in foreign trade—such as
the Scandinavian countries and Finland—the agricultural coopera
tives carrying on an export business and the productive departments
of consumers’ cooperatives have suffered from the diminution or ces
sation of shipping.
Alone, of all the European countries, the cooperative movement in
Hungary has benefited from the war, by the additional cooperatives
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and the natural resources in the new territory added to the Hungarian
State.
In all of the countries where the cooperative movement is still
allowed to function it is playing an important part in supplying the
needs of the people and in helping to regulate prices. In Hungary the
central cooperative organization has been given the task of enforcing
the Government regulations for export and import trade, and in
Norway and Sweden the central cooperative organizations have been
given representation on Government bodies formed to deal with wai
problems.
It is of interest to note that in the midst of war conditions and the
great physical difficulties resulting from the destruction of property,
the dislocation of public services, and the personal danger, the British
cooperators have found time and energy to establish a National Wages
Council for the cooperative movement and to subsidize new coopera
tive courses and study groups.
Belgium
Precise information regarding the Belgian cooperative movement is
lacking, since the occupation of the country by the Germans. The
People’s Year Book for 1941 states, however, that “there is good reason
to believe that the organizations at Brussels continue to function.”
This is the second time that the Belgian cooperators have seen their
country occupied by invading Germans. During the intervening
quarter century smce the World War, the Belgian cooperative move
ment has been greatly consolidated and strengthened. In many
localities cooperators represent one-fourth or more of the population.
The insurance association of the cooperative and labor movements,
“La Prévoyance Sociale,” is the leading insurance institution in the
country. For many years a large proportion of its earnings has been
devoted to the establishment and maintenance of sanitariums and of
homes for aged and children.
The whole cooperative movement, which has a membership of about
580,000 (out of a population of some 8,250,000) has accounted for
about 10 percent of the entire retail trade of the country.
Czechoslovakia
Prior to the seizure of the Sudeten area in October 1938 there were
two groups of associations in the consumers’ cooperative movement in
Czechoslovakia—those composed of Czechoslovaks and those com
posed of Germans. Each of these groups of cooperatives had its own
wholesale association and there was a good deal of rivalry between
them, although they worked together when the movement was
threatened, as by harmful legislation. Altogether, there were in
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Czechoslovakia some 816 consumers’ cooperatives (with a combined
membership of 805,544), of which 654 were affiliated with one or the
other of the central organizations. Their combined business in 193738 amounted to 203,798,000 Swiss francs.1
When the Germans occupied Sudetenland, all the German associa
tions were seized and their assets sold by the German authorities.
The cooperative officials there were obliged to flee and many went into
exile abroad. The wholesale association was liquidated on July 24,1939.
The Czech associations continued to operate until March 1939,
when a protectorate was established in Bohemia and Moravia. At
that time the whole cooperative movement, as well as the entire Czech
economy, was incorporated into the German system. A process of
amalgamation of associations took place by which all local associations
in any town or district were merged into one large association, and a
great many associations were closed down altogether. It is reported
that the premises of about 300 were handed over to private dealers.
The associations which remained were, at last reports, managing to
carry on in some fashion.
Denmark
All phases of the cooperative movement have been well developed in
Denmark, and about one-third of the population are members of a
cooperative association. The consumers’ movement, composed of
about 1,900 small associations, forms a countrywide network which
accounted for about 11.5 percent of the total retail trade of the nation
in 1938. The agricultural movement handled from 30 to 95 percent
of the various farm products and the export and import trade handled
by cooperatives was as high as 91 percent of some commodities. As
the business of the agricultural cooperatives was so intimately con
cerned with import and export trade, this branch of the cooperative
movement early in the war began to be adversely affected by the
British and other restrictions, Great Britain having taken the bulk of
Denmark’s exports. Notwithstanding, the cooperatives managed to
hold their own. The distributive movement, which had been growing
rapidly, was affected by the quotas on imports of goods handled by
them, as these quotas (based on earlier years’ business) failed to allow
for later increases. The cooperative wholesale, to which 1,850 con
sumers’ cooperatives were affiliated, operated more than 20 productive
plants of various kinds. Its margarine factory, which produced about
a fifth of the whole supply of the country, had to cease operations in
April 1940, owing to inability to obtain raw materials.
The Nazi invasion, in the same month, completed the destruction
of Denmark’s principal foreign market besides demoralizing the
domestic market and sources of supply. No statistics are available
1 Exchange rate of Swiss franc in 1938=22.9 cents.
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as to the effect of all these events upon the business of the coopera
tive movement. The People’s Year Book, 1941, expresses the opinion
that “in view of the important part which cooperation played in the
general economic life of the country, it would seem safe to assume
that * * * much of its machinery and many of its services will
have been maintained as vital to the well-being of the country.”
, ,
Estonia Latvia Lithuania
No data are available, for the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania, as to what modifications of cooperative structure have
taken place since their incorporation into the Soviet Union. The
cooperative movement of Estonia—a small and almost entirely agri
cultural country—had attained a powerful influence in the national
economic life. The sales of the consumers’ associations alone amounted
to nearly half of the amount of the entire Government budget, and
represented some 24 percent of the total trade in Estonia. In Latvia,
however, as a result of the change from a parliamentary to a totali
tarian form of government in 1934, the cooperative movement had
to a great extent lost its voluntary character and become Statecontrolled. The two former cooperative unions were dissolved and
their place was taken by a central organization (membership in which
was compulsory) which was largely a State enterprise. The Lithuanian
cooperative movement had flourished, but the consumers’ coopera
tives were of only secondary importance, as the country was pre
dominantly agricultural.
Finland
In Finland, which has been termed “the land of cooperation,” the
consumers’ cooperative movement handles one-third of the total retail
trade and well over a third of the wholesale trade of the country—a
proportion unsurpassed in any other country.
There are two branches of the consumers’ cooperatives in Finland.
One, the “neutral” movement, is composed largely of village and rural
associations; the other, the “progressive” movement, is mainly in the
big towns and industrial centers. Both are neutral politically, but
the “neutral” section interprets this very strictly, whereas the “pro
gressive” section collaborates with those parties (particularly the
Labor Party) which are friendly toward the cooperative movement.
Both sections of the movement had been progressing rapidly, and
the year 1939 showed considerable gains over 1938, even though
during the last 3 months of the year the country was on the defensive
against threatened Soviet invasion. At the end of 1939, the 127
cooperatives affiliated to K. K. (so called from the initials of its name),
the “progressive” league of associations, had a combined membership
of 323,100 and total sales for the year amounting to 2,256,900,000
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Finnish marks.2 During the year 222 new stores and restaurants
had been opened, bringing the total to 2,534. The 418 associations
affiliated to Y. O. L., the central “neutral” organization, had 317,700
members, 3,612 shops, and a year’s business aggregating 3,208,000,000
Finnish marks.
This development was interrupted by the outbreak of war in Sep
tember 1939. The threat of Russian invasion in October 1939 re
sulted in a large proportion of the cooperative employees, as well as
almost all cars and horses, being drafted into the army. Enemy
bombing raids disturbed the operations of associations in the war zone
and by the end of the year 156 cooperative stores and 14 restaurants
had had to be closed.
The war continued for 3 months in 1940 and ended with terms
requiring the cession to the Soviet Union of about 11 to 12 percent
of the entire land area of the country. In the ceded area the plants
of 9 “progressive” associations were abandoned altogether and part of
those of 7 other associations, as were also 250 stores and 20 restau
rants. In addition, 21 productive plants belonging to retail associa
tions, as well as several factories and a new warehouse and office
building belonging to the wholesale, were also abandoned. The
“ neutral” branch of the movement lost more than 450 distributive
and productive enterprises serving some 43,000 members and having
a business amounting to 395,000,000 Finnish marks annually.
Over 500,000 persons, formerly living in the ceded area, migrated
into the remaining portion of Finland, necessitating heroic efforts in
order to provide for their needs and their absorption into employment.
Among them were a great many industrial workers who had been
members of “progressive” cooperatives and who immediately joined
the cooperative association in the town of their new residence. Thus,
the progressive movement did not fare so badly as the neutral move
ment. Both are reported as considering themselves “capable of
handling the situation with the resources at their disposal.”
The cooperative movement as a whole, however, suffers from the ills
that beset the whole country. A great many commodities are hard
to get and certain articles (such as are imported) have disappeared
from the market entirely. Summer droughts in many places burned
up the harvest, and the fruit crop of 1940 was a failure. Lack of
petroleum and coal has caused some hardship, but Finland has great
forests which can supply a substitute for coal, and the automobiles
have been equipped with wood-gas generators.
War conditions in the surrounding countries have cut Finland off
almost entirely from the rest of the world. As about 40 percent of the
national revenue came from the export trade, this is a great hardship.
The only port left to her is the Arctic port of Petsamo, which is about
> Exchange rate of Finnish mark for 1939 ” 1.99 cents.
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300 miles from the nearest railroad station and is connected with the
rest of Finland by “only a wilderness road.”
Because of these conditions a rationing system was adopted and the
Government has imposed maximum prices on a number of articles.
Quality has been lowered. The cost of living has gone up 25 to 30
percent, whereas wages have increased only about 10 percent. Be
cause of the scarcity of goods the cooperatives have changed their
price policy and, instead of selling at current prices, have inaugurated
a “supply price policy”—i. e., the association’s normal gross margin is
added to the amount the goods cost the association, to make the retail
selling price. In this way these associations have exercised to a con
siderable degree a restraining influence on the retail price level. New
shops are being built in the frontier area to replace those burned or
bombed during the war.
The cooperative movement has to a great extent been able to go
back to its normal activities, resuming the regular membership meet
ings, educational work, etc. Because of the scarcity of housing
accommodations, the “progressive” section has started cooperative
construction of dwellings in various parts of the country.
France
The cooperative movement in France was very highly developed.
The consumers’ cooperatives numbered some 1,000 in 1938 and had a
membership of about 2,500,000 members and annual sales of about
3,500,000,000 francs.3 The greatest part of the business was ac
counted for by 39 large regional associations, known as “development
societies,” each serving an entire district. Most of these were in
northern France.
Although the consumers’ cooperatives and their wholesale at Paris
suffered a great deal in 1939 from the effects of wartime regulations
and scarcity of certain essential commodities, the movement was
holding its own and even increasing its productive output. Even as
late as the beginning of May 1940, the managing director of the whole
sale told the annual meeting of delegates that the wholesale’s turn
over since the beginning of the year had been increasing at the rate
of about 20 percent over 1939, partly as a result of rising prices and
partly as a result of intensive cooperative efforts. He stated that he
“faced the future with great confidence” for the development of the
cooperative movement.
Less than a month later the German armies had cut off the whole
northern section of France from the rest of the country. All of the
regional cooperatives in that section had to close, and they and
other associations had their premises destroyed by bombardment.
The wholesale association lost its footwear factories at Amiens and
* Exchange rate of franc in 1938 = 2.88 cents.
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Lillers. Many of the directors and members became refugees, aban
doning all their belongings. Aid of various kinds was extended by
the National Cooperative Federation to them, as well as to the Bel
gian refugee cooperators, but shortly thereafter Federation officials
were obliged to flee from Paris to Tours, since which time no direct
word has been heard from them. According to a Swiss journal, La
Cooperation, the cooperative movement is being subjected to what
is described as “a great work of regrouping, unification, and purifica
tion,” in the course of which all associations in a single town are
being consolidated and at least some of the veteran cooperative leaders
are being “permitted to retire.”
Germany
Prior to the Nazi regime the German consumers’ cooperative move
ment was one of the most successful in Europe. In 1932, just before
seizure of power by the National Socialist Party, there were in affilia
tion with the two principal cooperative federations about 1,200 local
associations with 3,650,000 members and an annual business of over
1,095,000,000 Reichsmarks.4 Although the movement, like other
economic enterprises in Germany, had passed through revolution,
collapse of the currency, and a long-continued depression, followed by
social and political strife, it had nevertheless been able not only to
hold its own but even to expand.
Even before the Nazis came into full power they showed their
antagonism in many ways, fomenting attacks by private traders in
which considerable damage was done to the cooperatives’ business
premises and bringing pressure upon members to withdraw from the
association. Such attacks were later made officially by storm troop
ers, to such an extent that the resulting loss of business and demands
for withdrawal of capital endangered the financial safety of the coop
eratives. On May 15, 1933, an order was issued by which the whole
network of consumers’ associations was taken over by the leader of
the German Labor Front.
The agricultural, traders’, and artisans’ cooperatives were not at
tacked, for they were for the most part composed of the middle-class
people from whom the Nazis drew their support.
By a series of orders over the next 2 years many associations were
dissolved altogether, the two central federations were amalgamated
and lost their cooperative character, and what remained of the former
cooperative distributive system lost its voluntary and democratic
aspects. Elected cooperative leaders were replaced by Nazi
“Commissars” whom the associations were forced to “elect.” Finally,
on May 21, 1935, a decree was issued providing for the dissolution of
the movement and its funds as rapidly as possible. Since that time
* Exchange rate of Reichsmark in 1933=30.52 cents.
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the establishment of new consumers’ cooperatives has ceased alto
gether. Statistics on number of associations also show a decline in
credit, handicraft, housing, and agricultural associations. From 1935
through 1938 the number of members of cooperative associations fell
from 3,255,000 to 1,954,000. No later data are available.
Great Biitain
According to a report by the International Labor Office, “the war
has hampered the British cooperative movement in every sphere.”
Not only have Government rationing and price regulations, as well as
the increasing problems connected with the import of commodities,
made the work of the cooperatives more difficult, but these difficulties
have been accentuated by the loss of employees called to the colors
and by the physical problems of carrying on the production and dis
tribution of goods in spite of the disorganization caused by the war
time destruction of plant and transportation facilities.
However, the cooperative movement is automatically granted
representation on all Government committees in which its interests
are involved. Through its participation in the work of committees
dealing with supplies and prices, the movement is in a position to
exert an influence in favor of the interests of the general body of
consumers.
By working out a system of mutual aid among the cooperative
associations, those in relatively quiet areas have come to the aid of
those in the bombed regions. When the headquarters building of the
Coventry association—the largest retailer of food in the city—was
destroyed, as well as a bakery, drug warehouse, and a garage, its 39
branches were open as usual (“some without windows, some without
roofs”); and the cooperative’s deliverymen made their deliveries as
usual, even though in some cases they had to climb piles of debris 10
feet high to get through to their customers, and though more than a
score of the association’s trucks were destroyed. Neighboring asso
ciations rushed in supplies of bread, and the Cooperative Wholesale
Society sent in canned stuff and other necessaries such as candies.
Describing the manner in which cooperators carried on during the
terrible bombing raids over London, in September 1940, the president
of the London Cooperative Society noted that the clerical staff con
tinued “ in full swing,” doing the work incident to the distribution of
£450,000 5 in patronage refunds (“ everybody seems to realize that
this cooperative distribution of the trading surplus is twice blessed
in these hazardous and necessitous times”). “ Miracles of organiza
tion” were performed, although the telephone exchange was out of
commission. In the cooperative laundry, whose packing room had
* Exchange rate of pound sterling in September 1940=$4.03.
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41------- 9
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been bombed during the night, the machinery was “ in full motion and
no one appeared to be perturbed.” The ovens in the bakery not only
carried on the baking for the cafe, but also cooked the meat for the
families in the neighborhood.
Identity cards are accepted as evidence of cooperative rights, in the
case of members (bombed out or evacuated to other sections of the
country) who have lost their share books. These are honored by
associations in the new place of residence.
Notwithstanding the increased difficulty of operation, the coopera
tive movement had been able at the end of the first year of war to
increase its membership to 8,643,238 persons. It was estimated that
between a fourth and a third of the whole population obtained their
food from the cooperative stores. A further increase in membership
took place in 1940. Total retail cooperative sales for 1939 amounted
to £272,293,748, or about 2>}{ percent over those of the previous year.
Nearly 243,750 persons were employed in the movement at the end of
1939. A National Wages Council, for the cooperative movement,
was established shortly after the outbreak of the war. All matters
relating to labor conditions in cooperative employment are taken up
through this council. Two war bonuses were given to employees, in
February and September 1940. Other matters handled by the
council during 1940 were the payment for time during air raids, and
establishing the conditions governing the replacement of men by
women in cooperative service.
Although the war “ has inevitably led to a severe diminution in the
amount of educational activities,” wartime home-study courses were
started at the Cooperative College at Manchester, and the Cooper
ative Wholesale Society made grants to aid employees’ classes and
groups wishing to pursue studies in cooperative subjects.
Cooperative associations have subscribed generously to Government
securities. Altogether, almost £80,000,000 of these have been taken
by cooperatives, without interest.
Hungary
The cooperative movement of Hungary is the only one, in all the
countries of Europe, of which it can be said that the political and
social upheavals resulting from the war have actually worked for its
benefit.
In Hungary the cooperative movement centers in the Union of
Hungarian Cooperative Societies. Its cooperative wholesale, “ Hangya” (meaning “ The Ant”) not only supplies the affiliated retail
societies but, with its subsidiary marketing and export associations,
plays an important part in the country’s exports. A large part of
the exports organized by the Government is carried on by either
“ Hangya” or its exporting association, “ Futura.”
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As a result of war conditions the Hungarian Government imposed
stringent restrictions on exports and on profits from export operations.
“ Hangya,” whose network of affiliated associations covers the entire
country, was made supervisor to see that the regulations were carried
out and was given an export monopoly on certain agricultural
products. Its services were also utilized in regulating retail prices.
During 1939 the number of affiliated associations rose from 1,490
to 1,783, largely as a result of the annexation of former Czechoslovak
territories, north of Hungary, where there were many cooperatives.
Seven branch warehouses were opened by the wholesale to serve these
associations. In the Carpatho-Ruthenia region a new retail cooper
ative with 50 stores was started for the benefit of the population there.
According to a report from the wholesale,6“ apart from the increase
in membership, great advantages have been derived from the fact
that the forests and mines of these territories are again supplying
Hungarian consumers with timber and minerals, especially salt, all of
which had to be obtained by import for the previous 20 years.”
When the large consumers’ cooperative in Budapest, founded by
industrial workers, was on the point of failure as a result of longcontinued depression conditions, “ Hangya” took it over. Under its
guidance the assets were saved and the business operations main
tained during liquidation. A new association, formed to take its
place, is operating under the wholesale’s supervision. “ In this way
the union has considerably increased its membership among the
industrial working classes, and is now in a position to bring about
very close economic collaboration between the different classes of the
population.”
From 1938 to 1939 the business of the wholesale rose 29.6 percent
to a total of 127,569,299 pengò.7 This did not include sales of agri
cultural produce for cooperatives in the Provinces, amounting to
84,489,000 pengò. The output of its productive departments rose
53.4 percent, to 11,352,734 pengò.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands there are two main branches of the cooperative
movement. One of these centers is the Central Union of Consumers’
Societies, an open-membership organization, and the other is the
Federation of Diocesan Unions of Catholic Cooperative Societies
which, as its name implies, is limited to Catholics. The first of these
has some 130 affiliated associations with about 216,000 members, and
the Catholic federation has about 120 affiliates with 40,000 members.
The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics reported that in Janu# Quoted in Review of International Cooperation (London), June 1940.
i Exchange rate of pengo in 1939=19.24 cents.
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ary 1939 there were 351 consumers’ cooperatives in Holland, with a
total membership of 297,445.
Because of the depression and of legislation tending to restrict the
formation of new cooperatives, the distributive cooperative movement
has expanded only slowly in recent years. Significant developments,
however, took place in the field of medical care. Thus, in July 1939
the consumers’ cooperative association “ De Volharding” (meaning
“ perseverance”) opened a hospital for the care of its members; the
sick fund department of this association at that time had 82,000
members. At the beginning of 1940 the cooperative wholesale “ De
Handelskamer” and the cooperative sick funds throughout Holland
(having an estimated membership of 4,000,000) collaborated in the
formation of a cooperative wholesale to supply the fund’s hospitals
and dispensaries with drugs. Record sales, aggregating over
30,000,000 florins,8 were achieved by “ De Handelskamer” in 1939.
No direct word has been received by the International Cooperative
Alliance as to the effect of the German invasion in May 1940, upon
the cooperative movement.
Norivay
The greater part of the consumers’ cooperatives in Norway are
members of the Cooperative Union and Wholesale of the Norwegian
Consumer’s Societies (termed “ N. K. L.” from the initials of its name
in Norwegian). This union has been in existence about 30 years and,
especially during the past 10 years, has made remarkable progress.
In 1939 it gained 11,800 new family members—the greatest increase
in 20 years. Altogether 608 associations were affiliated with it, their
annual business aggregating about 196,200,000 kroner,9 an increase of
7 percent over the previous year.
In 1939, also, the wholesale department of N. K. L. attained a new
high—62,600,000 kroner—of which 24,400,000 kroner represented
goods produced in its own factories. The outbreak of war found the
wholesale well prepared, carrying about five times its usual stocks,
and it was therefore able to carry on its usual services. Its local
member associations, because of the topography of the country and
resulting difficulties of transportation, have always had to rely greatly
upon local products in some lines and the larger ones have bakeries,
slaughterhouses, and other productive works of their own.
Soon after the hostilities began, N. K. L. pointed out in a communi
cation to its members that the cooperative movement, because of its
growth, could exert a decisive influence on prices. From the begin
ning N. K. L. was given representation on a large number of central
8 Exchange rate of florin in 1939=53.34 cents.
* Exchange rate of krone in 1939 = 23.23 cents.
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price-control committees and similar representation was given on
local price committees to its affiliated local associations.
Latest reports indicate that the cooperatives continue to function
in all parts of the country.
Poland
The Polish cooperative movement has always been characterized
by a multiplicity of small associations. Under a law passed in 1934
there was a considerable amount of amalgamation by which the
movement was decidedly strengthened, and the Polish Government
was given powers of interference “ which, on the whole, it appeared
to have exercised wisely.”
Both the agricultural and consumers’ branches made rapid progress
in the years preceding the war. At the beginning of 1939, about
3){ million members—or (with their families) nearly 40 percent of the
population—belonged to cooperative associations. “ Spolem,” the
central union of consumers’ associations, included 1,776 local associa
tions with over 400,000 members and an annual business of 170,000,000
zloty.10 The union’s wholesale department was the largest commercial
enterprise in Poland.
It is reported that after the invasion of the country in September
1939, “ notwithstanding the cruelty of the war and the terrible destruc
tion of the country, the majority of the directors of the cooperative
organizations remained at their posts.”
In the subsequent division of Poland among Germany, Poland, and
the Soviet Union, the cooperatives which had headquarters in Warsaw
lost the greater part of their members and resumed their activities
only with the greatest difficulty. Cooperatives may be said to have
ceased to exist in the western Provinces which were incorporated in the
Reich; in the other German-occupied Provinces (including Cracow
and Warsaw) a certain measure of autonomy was allowed and there
the cooperatives have continued to operate, under the close supervi
sion of the occupation authorities. In the Soviet-occupied territory
the urban societies were dissolved (as they were elsewhere in the
Soviet Union some years ago), but a certain amount of freedom was
left to the agricultural cooperatives. In Vilna, which was ceded to
Lithuania, the Polish cooperatives were “ forced to liquidate in favor
of Lithuanian organizations.”
Rumania
Since 1903 the Rumanian cooperative movement has been subject
to various kinds and degrees of governmental control and interference
under a series of laws.
10 Exchange rate of zloty in 1938=18.86 cents.
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The movement has consisted of a great number of associations,
largely on a nationality basis. Thus of 1,144 consumers’ cooperatives
reporting for 1938, 774 were composed of Rumanians and the other
370 were of minority nationalities. The position of the consumers’
associations had steadily improved since 1936, but the number of
supply and sale associations, forestry associations, and land purchase
and renting associations (long a characteristic type of Rumanian
cooperation) was decreasing.
The Rumanian cooperative movement also lost a very active part
of its membership with the loss of Bessarabia, South Bukovina, North
Transylvania, and South Dobrudja to the Soviet Union.
Sweden
The Swedish consumers’ cooperative movement is perhaps best
known for its services to consumers by successfully combating the
trusts which had maintained high prices for a number of necessaries.
Since the onset of war, through its central organizations it has con
tinued to act as price regulator. Early in 1939, before the stringent
blockade, the cooperative wholesale foresaw difficulties in obtaining
supplies from abroad, and imported goods in such quantities that
special ships had to be chartered for their transport. The Swedish
Government created a number of committees to deal with special
problems arising from war conditions—export and import regulation,
rationing, transportation, industrial reorganization, etc.—and the
cooperative movement has been given representation on all.
The year 1939—the latest year for which data are available—
showed an increase in cooperative membership of 34,740. This was
the greatest increase in any year since the World War year of 1916.
It is expected that 1940 will show an equally large increase. The
business of the retail associations and the retail subsidiaries of K. F.,
the wholesale, amounted to 618,000,000 kronor in 1939.11 The whole
sale’s business increased by more than 17 percent, to 269,400,000
kronor.
Switzerland
It is estimated that one of every eight persons in Switzerland is a
member of a cooperative association. At the end of 1939 there were
11,629 registered associations. These included 1,190 consumers’
cooperatives, 246 housing associations, 408 sick and death benefit
funds, 436 water-supply associations, 297 electricity and gas co
operatives, 685 Raiffeisen credit associations, and 71 workers’ productives, in addition to some 5,000 agricultural associations.
11 Exchange rate of krona in 1939=23.99 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cooperation
915
In 1939 the Swiss Union of Consumers’ Societies (V. S. K.) had in
affiliation 545 associations with 427,000 members and annual sales of
326,440,000 francs.12 The Catholic union, “Konkordia,” had 44 asso
ciations with about 5,000 members.
Surrounded by war operations as Switzerland has been, the country’s
economy (including that of the cooperatives) has naturally been far
from normal. The cooperatives have been able to function success
fully, however, and have acted to insure greater efficiency of opera
tion and strict reliance upon the principal of cash trading.
Yugoslavia
The greater part of the cooperative movement in Yugoslavia is
among the peasants, who form some 80 percent of the total population.
A large part of the cooperation among the farmers has been promoted
by the Croatian Peasants’ Party; its cooperative program has been
along two lines—cultural and economic. In the attempt to combat
the very widespread illiteracy, each member of the cultural branch,
“Peasant Concord,” who can read and write is pledged to teach a
certain number of persons each year. The economic branch, “Eco
nomic Concord,” has carried out a number of projects to improve the
peasants’ economic status. Among these have been the electrification
of a number of villages and the establishment of several schools and
a library.
The work of peasant cooperatives in rural health work has been
outstanding. The Union of Health Cooperative Societies in 1938-39
had 134 affiliated societies with 65,586 members. The 69 cooperative
drug stores had a total business during the year amounting to 2,626,000
dinars.13 A traveling dental clinic was organized during the year.
Altogether, 10,832 cooperative associations with a combined mem
bership of 1,414,876 14 were affiliated to the General Federation of
Cooperative Unions in 1938. The largest groups were the 4,909
credit associations and the 2,521 consumers’ associations.
Reports indicate that in spite of war conditions, up to late in 1940
the cooperatives had not only been able to function but even to
expand their educational work.
'2 Exchange rate of Swiss franc in 1939=22.53 cents.
12 Exchange rate of dinar in 1939=2.27 cents.
h Estimated population of Yugoslavia in 1939 was 15,630,000.
Sources: This article is based upon data from International Cooperative Alliance, Consumers’ Coopera
tion under the Nazi Régime (London, July 1940); International Labor Office, Cooperative Information No.
4,1939, No. 9, 1940, Nos. 1 and 3, 1941; Review of International Cooperation (London), issues of April, Sep
tember, October, November-December 1940 and February 1941; Annals of Collective Economy (Geneva),
January-April 1940; People’s Year Books for 1940 and 1941; Canadian Cooperator (Brantford, Ont.), issues
of October 1940 and January 1941; Cooperative Consumer (North Kansas City, M o.), July 16,1940; Cooper
ative Builder (Superior, Wis.), issues of November 9, 1940 (article by Antero Rinne, editor for K. K., Hel
sinki, Finland) and February 8,1941; and Free America, October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Housing Conditions
NATIONAL RESOURCES PLANNING BOARD REPORT
ON THE HOUSING PROBLEM
IN A report on the housing problem, the National Resources Board
has summarized the various housing studies made at the request of
the National Resources Committee by several Federal agencies.1
Certain definite points of agreement and of disagreement appeared in
the various reports, but agreement on basic points was marked. All
the housing agencies of the Federal Government believed that (1)
many more dwelling units are needed, particularly for families of low
income; (2) some sort of governmental aid is necessary for housing
people in the lower income groups; (3) control of land use and the cost
of acquiring and developing sites require new techniques and fresh
points of view; (4) zoning or other control of neighborhoods and com
munities is essential; and (5) methods must be found to enforce
certain minimum standards of safety, sanitation, and decency.
Continued careful study of housing design and more flexibility in
building codes were advocated. Minor and technical differences of
opinion were expressed as to the details of design and its regulation.
Differences also arose as to the method of handling legal problems
arising out of residential construction. Building materials and labor
costs are important not only to the housing group but to the con
struction industry as a whole. Because of the importance of housing
in the construction industry, any report that fails to recognize the
significance of housing in the larger economic picture would be incom
plete, the Board states.
Findings and Conclusions
Two tasks are recognized in meeting the housing need—to build a
sufficient supply of good dwellings, and to set the stage for efficient
functioning on the part of the construction industry. The housing
problem is composed of a combination of interrelated problems, in
cluding land values, building codes, tax rates, material and labor
costs, legal questions, adequate financing, zoning and site planning,
management, and effective administration of the necessary private
1 United States.
ington, 1940.
National Resources Planning Board.
916
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Housing:
The Continuing Problem.
Wash
Housing Conditions
917
and public agencies. The solution cannot be found in any single or
simple formula, and joint action by industry, the community, and
State and Federal Governments is required.
Failure of the construction industry to supply sufficient housing is
often attributed to high labor and tax costs, but this is only part of
the problem. A paradox exists in the fact that there have been times
when a large volume of dwelling construction took place in spite of
high costs, as in the 1920’s. But in recent years the lag has been
pronounced. The demand for governmental action to stimulate
business has focused attention on the demand for more housing and,
“to a certain extent, it has also prevented attention being directed to
the specialized problems which are characteristic of residential con
struction.” Nevertheless, general business activity and house build
ing are inseparable questions, since residential construction makes up
a considerable share of economic life.
Factors of long-time significance facing the industry are population,
national income, the demand for services that compete with housing,
the organization of the construction industry, and the physical and
economic setting established by the building of our cities in their
present form.
Building costs have remained high, while the costs of many other
commodities have been lowered. It is not enough to state that better
buildings are now erected for the same amount of outlay—if this is
true. For an owner-built house, 15 to 35 percent of the total cost is
for land ready to use, and 65 to 85 percent is for building construction.
In practice, the problem for the owner is in meeting monthly charges,
and if he has bought his house ready-built, the sums paid for financial
charges, interest, and amortization may have little or no relation to the
original cost of the dwelling.
A large proportion of the population occupies rented dwellings.
Here again, the rent bears little relation to the original cost. The
renter may pay more or less than is required to cover the landlord’s
costs. The renter takes advantage of periods of decline in rents
and the landlord takes advantage of rises.
The foregoing examples show that “low-cost housing” does not
necessarily mean low capital outlay.
Two other elements—taxes and transportation charges—must be
calculated for. Since the average worker must get to and from his
job, savings in the cost of his dwelling may be more than made up
for by high transportation charges. Land costs are likely to be
higher after transportation charges are lowered, and transportation
facilities may alter the character of neighborhoods. Costs reflected
in taxes are even more significant. Residential real-estate revenue
pays for a large share of police and fire protection, streets, schools,
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
etc. Neither owners, renters, nor landlords should overlook the tax
item in owning or occupying dwellings.
Reduced housing costs and improved quality are important, in
the long run. To this end, coordination of the building process is
desirable. New methods such as préfabrication and the use of new
materials and equipment can contribute to improved living accommo
dations. However, “ the combination of old skills and well-known
materials will probably continue to supply most of the shelter” for
some time to come.
Every tenant, whether an owner or a renter, is buying a share in
his community. The way in which the individual uses his land
affects the neighborhood. Local tax policies can both hinder and aid
any governmental program to encourage house construction. Costs
can be lowered by unifying machinery for collection of taxes and
special assessments. As the demand for community facilities in
creases, tax revenues must be raised. This is a problem that must
be laced in extending the public housing program for low-income
families. The report here reviewed states that the implications of
major tax modifications and exemptions are so far reaching that no
suggestions are being made at this time. The need for further analysis
and study is emphasized.
Simplified procedures relating to the transfer of property are
recommended and also legislation of a type that will enable munici
palities, housing authorities, and State authorities to work together
and with the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has been placed in a position of leader
ship in the development of public housing for families of low income,
owing to the widespread nature and persistence of the problem. Its
work has been valuable, but new methods of dealing with the situation
are necessary. Relationships must be revised in the light of develop
ments. In the field of private finance, the need for Federal super
vision and control has been demonstrated. Where the Government
subsidizes, improved conditions should be brought about. The art
of administering subsidies is said to consist in moving “ toward new
goals of public policy as fast as present goals become generally
acceptable.”
The report here reviewed urges an extension of research activities
in the field of housing by Federal agencies and points out that progress
can be achieved only by the constant review of public policies toward
supplying housing needs. Public initiative is called for when private
activity fails to produce the required shelter. There are several lines
of approach. We should move for lower costs, while at the same
time maintaining certain minimum standards; strive to develop public
controls, to protect neighborhoods; and build with public funds under
public initiative for those who otherwise cannot have decent housing.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Housing Conditions
919
In spite of the existence of such a program, costs will be a problem
for years to come, the Board believes. The habits of industries must
be changed. Zoning and city planning are still in their infancy.
Public building is only begun. Nevertheless, frank acceptance of
housing problems and methods of meeting them will hasten their
solution.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Health and Industrial Hygiene
HEALTH OF INDUSTRIAL POLICYHOLDERS, 1940
THE mortality rate among the millions of industrial policyholders in
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., who live in every section of the
United States and Canada, did not set a new low record in 1940, but
the rate for the year was equal to the lowest figure ever registered for
this group—7.60 per 1,000 insured lives recorded for 1939.1 The
crude mortality in the United States in 1940 was slightly higher than
that for the previous year, in line with the experience for the general
population as shown by provisional figures. However, the death rate
shows a moderate decrease when allowance is made for changes in the
composition of this group with regard to color, sex, and age. As com
pared with 1939, the rate for Canadian policyholders showed a decline
of 4.1 percent in both the crude and the adjusted rates. The mor
tality for this group has been decreasing quite steadily and is now as
low as among those living in the Pacific Coast areas of the United
States.
The year 1940 completes an uninterrupted series of mortality
records which began 30 years ago. During this period the death rate
among these insured persons has fallen 40 percent. If the same ratio
of death had prevailed in 1940 as in 1911, there would have been
113,295 more deaths among the policyholders, 1 year of age and
over, than the number that actually occurred.
The average length of life, or expectation of life at birth, has now
reached an all-time high of almost 63 years, a gain of 16% years in the
past three decades. This gain in life expectation has been much
more rapid among the industrial policyholders than in the population
as a whole. In 1911, the life expectancy of these policyholders was
6.41 years less than that of the general population, but at present,
although final figures are not yet available for the country, the
indications aie that it is on a par with that of the general population.
This improvement has been evident at virtually every period of life
among the policyholders; but at certain ages the drop in mortality
since 1911 has been little short of remarkable. In the group of chil
dren aged 1 to 4 years the present rate is only about one-seventh
that of 1911, while even in the age group 65 to 74 years the decline
amounts to over 25 percent.
J Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
920
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Statistical Bulletin, January 1941: Excellent Health Record for 1940.
Health and Industrial Hygiene
921
Diseases With New Low Rates
Lower mortality rates 2 than in any previous year were recorded
in 1940 for 10 diseases or conditions—measles, scarlet fever, whooping
cough, diphtheria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea and enteritis,
appendicitis, diseases of the puerperal state, and homicides. The
mortality rate for suicides was the lowest in a decade, and the rate
for influenza, although lower than in the preceding year, was slightly
higher than in 1938.
Of the greatest importance in public-health developments in 1940
is the sharp decline in the mortality from pneumonia. The rate was
35.5 per 100,000 in 1940, as compared with 42.8 in 1939, 50.6 in 1938,
and 66.9 in 1937. Prior to 1937, the mortality had fluctuated for a
number of years around a level of 70 per 100,000, so that the decline
of the last few years, it is stated, may be regarded as a definite fall
from an established level to a new one at about a halfway point.
The recent introduction of highly effective serums and drugs, which
have revolutionized the clinical treatment of pneumonia, are respon
sible for the increasing control over the disease. This development
promises to be epochal in medical history, it is said, and “illustrates
once again what can be done in the conservation of human life when
specific weapons are forged for the campaign against individual dis
eases.” The prospects for the further control of pneumonia are so
encouraging that it may be expected the disease will be reduced,
before long, to a minor cause of death.
Deaths from influenza were 20 percent lower in 1940 than in 1939,
in spite of an epidemic which prevailed in large sections of the country
near the close of the year. This was due in part to the comparatively
mild character of the disease as compared with the disastrous epidemic
of 1918 and 1919.
The mortality rate for tuberculosis declined from 45.2 per 100,000
in 1939 to 44.3 in 1940. The success of the campaign against tubercu
losis during the past 30 years is shown by the fact that in 1911 the
rate was 224.6 per 100,000 and was 80.9 only 10 years ago, as against
the present rate of 44.3.
Measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, and diphtheria—the princi
pal communicable diseases of childhood—declined 31 percent in the
year, or from 4.2 per 100,000 in 1939 to 2.9 in 1940. Each of these
diseases reached a new minimum in 1940, and all except whooping
cough had a mortality rate of less than 1 per 100,000. Only a com
paratively few years ago the death toll from this group of diseases was
serious, but it has now been reduced to a point where their complete
suppression may be expected.
a The 1940 rates are subject to slight correction,
exposed to risk.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
since t h e y
are based on provisional estimates of lives
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
The public-health movement is said to be responsible for the re
duction in mortality from diarrhea and enteritis, which in 1930 had a
rate of 20.4 per 100,000 and in 1940 had dropped to a rate of 4.6.
Advances in sanitary science, including the pasteurization of milk,
the better refrigeration of foods, and the purification of water supplies,
as well as the general rise in the standard of living, are the main
reasons for this improvement.
A new low death rate was established for diseases of pregnancy and
childbirth, the 1940 rate of 4.9 per 100,000 being almost 10 percent
lower than the rate for the preceding year. It is said that these
figures are an understatement of the degree of improvement, since
preliminary figures indicate that a larger number of women bore
children in 1940 than in the year before. A reduction of 12 percent
from the previous year occurred in the mortality from appendicitis,
which reached a new low rate of 9.1 per 100,000.
Diseases With Higher Rates
The accident rate of 46.7 per 100,000 was only slightly higher than
the 1939 rate, which established a minimum record, and there was no
marked change in the leading causes of accidental death. However,
in view of the general speeding up of industrial production and the
introduction of large numbers of inexperienced workers into defense
industries, the danger of a higher death rate for accidents is pointed
out.
The chronic diseases of middle and later life were almost entirely
responsible for the increases in mortality which occurred among
industrial policyholders last year. The crude death rates from
diabetes, cancer, and the cardiovascular renal diseases were at higher
levels in 1940 than ever before. These increases reflect the increasing
proportion of policyholders at the older ages, and it may be expected,
therefore, that these causes of death will increase in relative im
portance in the next few decades.
>+++*++**
MEDICAL CARE IN BRITISH FACTORIES
THE objects of medical supervision in factories and the duties of
medical men in charge were set forth in a memorandum issued by the
Factory Department of the British Ministry of Labor and National
Service, in November 1940.1 Provision for the organization of medical
services was made in an order 2issued by the Ministry on July 16, 1940,
which provided that the occupiers of certain factories may be required,
by a factory inspector expressly authorized by the Minister, to make
1 M inistry of Labor Gazette (London), December 1940.
s Idem, August 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Health and Industrial Hygiene
923
arrangements for the supervision of the health and welfare of the
workers employed. It was specified that the arrangements must
provide for the whole-time or part-time employment of such numbers
of medical practitioners, nurses, and supervisory officers as the in
spector may determine. It is stated that, although the principal pur
pose of medical supervision is the maintenance of the workers’ health
at full efficiency, the aim is also, in conjunction with medical services
outside the factory, to prevent sickness and alleviate its consequences
as well as to minimize the effects of injury caused by accident, thus
benefiting both industry and the individual workers.
The memorandum emphasizes the important status of the factory
medical officer and suggests that he should have direct personal
contact with the management regarding specific or general conditions
of employment, or, preferably, that he should be an integral part of
the personnel management of the enterprise.
The principal duties of the medical officer are to be responsible
for the organization and supervision of first-aid services (but not in
cluding home treatment nor continued treatment at the works, except
with the consent of the patient’s panel practitioner); to give medical
examinations and advice to persons referred to him by the labor
manager, or to individual employees who consult him; to give physical
examinations to persons who are to be employed in processes involving
a specific health hazard; and to determine whether or not persons
returning to work after illness are able to work. Other duties of the
medical officer are to advise the management on matters of general
hygiene within the factory; to cooperate with the management and
with outside welfare authorities on all matters affecting the health of
the workpeople; to create and maintain an effective liaison with out
side health services, namely, medical practitioners, hospital services,
and local authorities; to maintain adequate records, in confidential
form; to promote education of the workpeople in matters of general
and personal hygiene; and to assist, in his professional capacity, in the
Air Raid Precautions Services of the factory and in the training of
A. R. P. personnel.
Medical Examination
A physical examination of new employees under 16 years of age is
required in all cases, and there are also certain requirements as to the
examination of workers who are to be employed on special processes.
The memorandum points out the advisability of physical examination
of all persons entering employment—irrespective of age or type of
employment—as a means to proper placement, and of periodic ex
aminations to determine the relationship between the physical con
dition of workers and their jobs. The value of interviewing and, if
necessary, examining workers who have been absent on account of
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
illness is stressed, together with the necessity in such cases of main
taining close collaboration between the medical officer and the worker’s
private medical attendant. It is regarded as important that the
medical officer should be familiar with all the work processes through
out the establishment in order to be able to assess the potential
hazards.
HEALTH OF WAR WORKERS IN GREAT BRITAIN
MODERN methods of waging war depend almost as much on the
economic resources of a country as on the size and skill of its fighting
services. An article 1pointing out this fact and discussing the economic
factors important in the war effort, by H. M. Vernon, formerly investi
gator for the British Industrial Health Research Board, states that the
full development of the economic resources of the country depends
upon three main factors. These are, first, a large body of skilled and
unskilled workers and second, an adequate supply of machinery and
material, but a third factor, the health of the workers, it is stated, is
sometimes neglected or forgotten. Since the workers cannot achieve
their highest production if they are not physically fit, it is of great
importance that their hours of work should not be so excessive as to
cause overfatigue and factory conditions such as ventilation, heating,
and lighting should be maintained at a high standard. In order to
reach even a partial solution of the problem, it is said, the combined
wisdom of medical men experienced in industrial work, of industrial
psychologists, and of welfare workers, as well as of factory managers,
is required.
Information regarding the effects of working conditions was largely
lacking during the first part of the last war and, as a result of the extent
of sickness and loss of efficiency among the munition workers, a special
Health of Munitions Workers Committee was appointed “ to consider
and advise on questions of industrial fatigue, hours of labor, and other
matters affecting the physical health and physical efficiency of workers
in munition factories and workshops.” The committee carried out its
studies between September 1915 and the end of 1917, and its recom
mendations received a wide measure of acceptance. The work of
the committee has been continued and extended in the past 20 years
by the work of the Industrial Fatigue (now Health) Research Board,
the Industrial Welfare Society, and the National Institute of In
dustrial Psychology.
It appears that the chief error in the first years of the last war was
the imposition of excessive hours of work. Many men were required
to work more than 80 hours a week, over long periods; and women,
taking into consideration their weaker physique, were treated even
more severely, as some of them had to work 77 hours a week. Al1 In Britain Today, New York, The British Library of Information, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, December 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Health and Industrial Hygiene
925
though it was well known that in peacetime output did not improve,
except for short periods, if the hours exceeded 48 to 54 a week, it was
argued that under the incentive of wartime patriotism the workers
could work efficiently for far longer hours than in times of peace. In
order to settle the controversy on this point, studies were made of the
output of suitable groups of munition workers under various working
periods. It was found that women reached their highest output in a
working week of about 54 hours, and that after that time the effects
of overfatigue were shown in their output, especially if no week-end
rest was allowed. Men could stand a working week of 60 hours or
more on ordinary jobs, but for heavy muscular labor their optimum
hours were similar to those of women.
During the first months of the present war, hours of women seldom
exceeded 54 a week, although some of the men worked excessive
hours. In May 1940, however, the national situation became so
serious that Government-controlled factories were ordered to work
12-hour shifts for 7 days a week. This order affected both men and
women and, although output improved for a few weeks, it soon fell
back to about its previous level, and the adverse effect on the health
of the workers became evident. The following month, however, the
powers of the Home Secretary under the Factory Acts were trans
ferred to Mr. Bevin, the Minister of Labor and National Service, who
at once created a Factory and Welfare Advisory Board to assist him
in developing safety, health, and welfare measures in the factories.
It was soon decided to restore the provisions of the Factory Acts,
which limit the hours of work for women to 48 per week. For very
exceptional causes these hours may be extended to 54 for 25 weeks
in the year. The hours of work of men have never been fixed by the
Factory Acts, but the writer of the article under review states that,
as far as could be ascertained, the majority of men now work from
54 to 60 hours a week.
Wartime working conditions differ considerably from those of peace
time. Ventilation and lighting are affected by the “black-out” regu
lations, and require special attention. A particularly high standard
of lighting is necessary in those factories which are kept in a permanent
black-out condition by day as well as by night, if mental depression of
the workers is to be avoided.
Regulations were issued 2 by the Minister of Labor and National
Service on January 14, 1941, fixing the minimum lighting standards
at workplaces and for the interior parts of factories in which persons
are employed more than 48 hours per week and providing that, where
necessary, protection should be afforded the workers against glare
and conditions which produce eyestrain. The order provided for
exemptions from these regulations in workrooms or processes where
t London.
Statutory Rules and Orders, 1941, No. 94.
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41— —10
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Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
the requirements were considered inappropriate.
became effective February 1, 1941.
The regulations
Special Health Measures
It has been more aud more realized in recent years that health is
closely dependent on nutrition. It is necessary that food should be
adequate, not only in quantity but in quality as regards the content
of protective foods, minerals, and vitamins. Consequently, it is said,
all war factories of any size should provide canteens where the workers
can get satisfactory hot meals at a reasonable price. Because of the
long distances which many workers must travel between home and
factory, it is also desirable that they should be able to obtain light
meals before starting work, while night-shift workers should be able
to obtain hot meals at night.
In addition to the creation of the Factory and Welfare Advisory
Board, the Minister of Labor and National Service has taken many
other steps to promote the health of the war workers. These meas
ures include the requirement that factories employing more than 250
workers shall provide medical service3 and the institution of a special
course of instruction in industrial hygiene for factory physicians. The
need for these services is shown by experience in the last war. Medi
cal examinations of large numbers of woman munition workers in
1916 and 191/ showed that a third of the workers examined evidenced
“some fatigue or ill health,” while 7 percent showed “marked fatigue
or ill health.” These figures apply to the women who were actually
working, but many of them became so sick that they had to give up
war work altogether. In each 3-montli period, more than a quarter
of the women gave up work, largely because of ill health, and had to
be replaced. It was not possible to trace their subsequent history,
but the mortality records of the Registrar-General showed an alarming
increase in deaths from phthisis. In 1918 the deaths from this disease
among young women aged 15 to 24 was half again as great as in the
years 1911 to 1914, but the rate for women aged 35 and over was very
little affected. It was considered that, since these older women were
for the most part married and with families and so were seldom em
ployed in munition factories, the excess of deaths among young
women was due largely to the war work under war conditions. The
rise in phthisis cases was particularly marked in the large industrial
cities where there was a marked influx of war workers. The health of
men in the last war was not so greatly affected as was that of woman
workers, partly because of their better physique and partly because,
when required to work very long hours, they either consciously or un
consciously slowed up their work in order to conserve their energies,
8 See p. 922 of this issue.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Health and Industrial Hygiene
927
while on the other hand the less-experienced women seldom spared
themselves.
Factory Canteens
An order relating to factory canteens was issued on November 11,
1940, by the Minister of Labor and National Service, in accordance
with the powers conferred by the Defense (General) Regulations,
1939.4 The order provides that the occupier of any factory in which
more than 250 persons are employed and in which is carried on the
manufacture or repair of any munitions of war or of any materials,
parts, or tools required for such manufacture or repair, or any work on
behalf of the Crown, may be required to provide a canteen where hot
meals can be purchased by the workers. The factory-inspection serv
ice, acting on behalf of the Minister, has authority to order the es
tablishment of such canteens.
« Ministry of Labor Gazette (London), December 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
COURT DECISIONS OF INTEREST TO LABOR
Court Holds Labor Board Orders Must Relate to Specific Issues
THE United States Supreme Court, in a 5 to 3 decision, has held that
the orders of the National Labor Relations Board must be confined to
unfair labor practices actually found to have been carried on by an
employer.1
The Board, in this case, ruled that the Express Publishing Co. of
San Antonio, Tex., had violated the National Labor Relations Act by
refusing to bargain collectively with the San Antonio Newspaper
Guild. In addition to ordering the employer to cease interfering with
the efforts of the union to bargain, the Board broadly ordered the em
ployer to refrain from violating the act in any manner whatsoever.
This latter, a so-called “ blanket order,” was held by the majority
court to be improper. Air. Justice Stone, who delivered the opinion,
declared that the Board should have directed its order simply against
the specific violations of which the employer had been found guilty
and not against other unlawful practices which are unrelated.
The effect of the ruling is that the Board may not issue a blanket
order requiring an employer to desist from committing any act in
violation of the statute, but must be reasonably specific in stating the
acts which the employer is to do or refrain from doing. The
National Labor Relations Act, the Court stated, did not contemplate
that an employer who had unlawfully refused to bargain with his em
ployees shall, for the indefinite future, conduct his labor relations at
the peril of a summons for contempt on the Board’s allegation, for
example, that the employer had discriminated against a labor union
in discharging an employee, or because his supervisory employees had
advised other employees not to join a union.
In a dissenting opinion Mr. Justice Douglas, joined by Mr. Justices
Black and Reed, contended that the order of the Board should have
been enforced in full. Mr. Justice Douglas further said that Congress
had invested the Board with discretion to choose and select the rem
edies necessary or appropriate for the evils at hand. It is not for the
Court to say what language is adequate to safeguard the rights of
labor which are in issue. The minority group thought that to cut
1N ation al Labor Relations B oard v. Express Publishing
928
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Co. (61 Sup. Ct. 693).
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
929
down the language of the order not only substituted the judgment of
the Court for that of the Board, but would also result “ in the creation
of a host of uncertainties.”
State Labor Relations Act Applicable in Absence of
Federal Jurisdiction
The Wisconsin Employment Peace Act was held by the State
Supreme Court to apply to an employer engaged in interstate com
merce, where jurisdiction had not been assumed by the National Labor
Relations Board.2 The court ruled also, as against the contention of
the union involved, that the Wisconsin Act as applied to such an em
ployer was not unconstitutional on the theory that the Federal and
State acts so differed in their terms and definitions as to result in a
fatal conflict.
In this case the State Employment Relations Board had held a
union to be guilty of unfair labor practices under the State act, because
it had engaged in a number of practices such as mass picketing, the
threatening of employees, obstructing and interfering with employees
entering the factory, and the picketing of employees’ homes. Four
teen individual employees were found guilty also of unfair labor
practices by reason of threats, assaults, and other misdemeanors.
The order of the Board, among other things, required the union to stop
mass picketing and desist from obstructing factory entrances.
In holding that the State act was applicable in this case, the court
declared that there can be no conflict between the Federal and State
acts until they are applied to the same labor dispute, because the acts
operate in two different spheres. The National Labor Relations Act
deals with labor relations only as a means of protecting interstate
commerce, while the Wisconsin act deals with the subject as an
exercise of the police power of the State. However, to the extent that
orders of the National Labor Relations Board apply in a particular
controversy, the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin board would be super
seded. In the case under consideration, the court pointed out that
the employer had never been charged with an unfair labor practice
and that the National Labor Relations Board had never been requested
to determine the proper bargaining representative. Consequently,
the National Labor Relations Act had never actually been called
into play in the case of this labor dispute.
State Labor Relations Act Not Applicable to Hospitals
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act was held not to apply to
charitable hospitals which were partially supported by a State approi Allen-Bradley Local No. 1111 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Board (295 N . W. 791).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
930
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
priation, according to a recent decision of the supreme court of that
State.3 The court also ruled that the State anti-injunction act does
not apply in such cases, since a “ labor dispute” would not be involved.
The decision upheld a ruling of a lower court restraining the Pennsyl
vania Labor Relations Board from conducting an employee election,
and also restraining a union from asserting any rights in organizing
hospital employees. In effect, this decision prohibits all union activity
in hospitals, including demands for wage increases, etc.
The court based its decision on the ground that hospitals are not
considered “ employers” within the meaning of the Labor Relations Act.
The term “ employer,” as defined by the act, excludes the Common
wealth or any of its subdivisions. While hospitals are not subdivisions
of a State, the court pointed out that they are agencies selected by the
State as a means of assisting in some degree indigent and disabled
persons and are therefore impressed with a public interest which re
moves them from the act.
The State Supreme Court approved also the holding of the lower
court that the controversy between the hospitals and their employees
did not involve a labor dispute within the Pennsylvania Anti-Injunc
tion Act. The court based its opinion on the ground that hospitals
were not classed as an “ industry” and their employees were not con
sidered as engaged in a single trade, craft, or occupation. Therefore, a
preliminary injunction could be granted to restrain any proceedings
or assertions of rights against the hospitals with respect to a contro
versy with the employees, before a hearing was held.
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act of 1937 Held Constitutional
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held constitutional4 the
State Labor Relations Act as enacted in 1937.5 The employer in this
case had contended that the act was unconstitutional as an unreason
able interference with rights of property and freedom of contract. It
was urged also, on the part of the employer, that he would be deprived
of the right of trial by jury, and further that the act was invalid be
cause it was special legislation regulating labor. In addition to
holding that the act was a proper exercise of the police power of the
State, the court ruled that the right of trial by jury had not been
violated and further that the act was general rather than special
legislation, and therefore valid.
The court, however, modified the scope of the Board’s order in this
case. It argued that if the discharged employee had been offered
suitable employment but declined it or became disqualified from per3 Western Pennsylvania Hospital v. Lichliter (17 Atl. (2d) 206).
4 In re W. T. Grant Co., Inc. (17 Atl. (2d) 614).
* The State Labor Relations Act of Pennsylvania was materially modified in 1939, chiefly by proscribing
certain “unfair labor practices” of labor organizations and employees. This decision does not relate to such
sections in the 1939 law.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
931
forming the work, these facts should be considered in determining the
sum necessary to reimburse the employee. The court quoted from a
United States Supreme Court case (Republic Steel Corporation v. Na
tional Labor Relations Board, 61 Sup. Ct. 77), and noted that the
opinion in that case concerning the National Labor Relations Act
was applicable to the Pennsylvania act. In that case, the Supreme
Court determined that “ the act is essentially remedial. It does not
carry a penal program declaring the described unfair labor practices
to be crimes. The act does not prescribe penalties or fines in vindica
tion of public rights or provide indemnity against community losses
as distinguished from the protection and compensation of employees.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Population Problems
DECLINE IN FAMILY SIZE FROM 1930 TO 1940
IN THE United States the average number of persons in the family
is becoming smaller. The average population per occupied dwelling
unit in 1940 was 3.8, whereas the 1930 average population per private
family was 4.1, according to preliminary figures from the Sixteenth
Census.1 The average numbers of members per family in 1920, 1910,
1900, and 1890 were, respectively, 4.3, 4.5, 4.7, and 4.9. The shrink
age in family size from 1890 is attributed by the United States Bureau
of the Census to increased urbanization and the decline of the birth
rate.
In 1940, in the Pacific division, the average population per occupied
dwelling unit was only 3.2. The South Atlantic division had the
highest average—4.2. In only 2 of the 9 geographic divisions was
the average as high as 4 or more persons in 1940, whereas in 1930 all
but one division were found to have averages of 4 or more persons
per private family. By States, in 1940 the average number of per
sons per occupied dwelling unit ranged from 3.2 in Washington, Ore
gon, and California, respectively, to 4.5 in North Carolina. None of
the States outside the Far West averaged less than 3.5.
In every State the number of families was greater in 1940 than in
1930. In this connection it should be noted that in 6 States the pop.
ulation declined. It is obvious, therefore, that the number of fam
ilies may increase without an expansion of the population.
The decrease in the size of families in the United States, even though it has
been persistent and fairly rapid, has for some reason not received as much atten
tion in the interpretation of population changes as it deserves. For many users
of population statistics, the number of families is more directly significant than
the total population, since each new family is, for example, a potential purchaser
or renter of a home or dwelling unit. Under favorable economic conditions a
large proportion of this potential demand will result in the purchase or rental of
additional homes—perhaps representing, in some cases, the undoubling into sep
arate dwelling units of two or more families previously living in one unit. It is
evident that the increase in the number of families is of paramount importance
as an indication of prospective demand, not only to the construction and build
ing-material industries and to banks and other institutions interested in home
financing, but also to many other lines of business concerned with supplying
household needs.
'U nited States Bureau of the Census.
932
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Press release series PH-3, No. 1, Washington. December 20, 1940.
933
Population Problems
Average Population per Occupied Dwelling Unit in 1940 and Average Population per
Private Family in 1930
[Preliminary figures for occupied dwelling units; final figures for population]
1930
1940
Population
Average
popula
Occupied tion
per Population
dwelling occupied
units
dwelling
unit
131, 669, 275
8,437,290
27, 539,487
26, 626.342
13, 516,990
17,823,151
10, 778,225
13,064, 525
4,150,003
9,733,262
34,772,673
2,187,358
7,276,393
7,250, 350
3, 681,714
4, 268,471
2, 622.215
3, 369, 360
1,115,634
3, 001,178
847,226
491,524
359,231
4,316,721
713,346
1,709,242
209, 664
132,849
92,414
1,118,104
187, 610
446,717
4.0
3. 7
3. 9
3.9
3. 8
3. 8
13,479,142
4,160,165
9, 900,180
3, 663, 373
1,098, 284
2, 514,736
6, 907, 612
3.427.796
7,897,241
5,256,106
3,137, 587
Division and State
United States________________
New England division-------Middle Atlantic division____
East North Central division .
West North Central division..
South Atlantic division_____
East South Central division..
West South Central division.
Mountain division________
Pacific division.......................
New England division:
Maine__________
New Hampshire__
Vermont________
Massachusetts____
Rhode Island____
Connecticut_____
Middle Atlantic division:
New York____________
New Jersey.._________
Pennsylvania-------------East North Central division:
Ohio.___ ____________
Indiana........ ............ .......
Illinois______ ________
Michigan_____________
Wisconsin------------------West North Central division:
Minnesota____________
Iowa________ ________
Missouri...___ _______
North Dakota_________
South Dakota.... ....... ......
Nebraska____ ___ ____
Kansas________ ____ _
South Atlant’c division:
Delaware_____________
Maryland________ ___
District of Columbia____
Virginia______________
West Virginia_________
North Carolina________
South Carolina________
Georgia...____________
Florida______________
East South Central division:
Kentucky____ ____ —
Tennessee.... ....................
Alabama_____________
Mississippi___________
West South Central division:
Arkansas._____ _______
Louisiana.—- .. ___ ____
Oklahoma____________
Texas_______________
Mountain division:
Montana____________
Idaho_______________
Wyoming____________
Colorado____________
New Mexico_________
Arizona________ _____
Utah_______________
Nevada__ _____ ____ _
Pacific division:
Washington .
Oregon....... .
California__
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Private
families
Average
popula
tion per
private
family
29, 904, 663
1,981, 499
6,374, 380
6,362,823
3,317,881
3,511,860
2,273,359
2,868,262
914,408
2,300,191
4.1
4. 1
4. 1
4. 0
4.0
4.5
4.3
4.2
4. 0
3.6
797,423
465,293
359,61.1
4, 249, 614
687,497
1, 606,903
197,826
119.337
89,188
1,021,160
165,343
388,645
4. 0
3. 9
4. 0
4.2
4. 2
4.1
3.7
3.8
3.9
12,588,066
4.041,334
9,631,350
3,153,124
985, 636
2,235, 620
4. 0
4.1
4. 3
1,894,897
959,563
2,189,223
1, 382,738
823, 929
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.8
3.8
6,646, 697
3,238. 503
7,630,654
4,842, 325
2,939,006
1,697, 918
843,066
1, 929,396
1,180, 554
711,889
3. 9
3.8
4. 0
4.1
4.1
2,792, 300
2,538,268
3,784, 664
641,935
642,961
1,315,834
1,801,028
726,391
700,173
1,065, 653
152,039
165,113
360, 255
512,090
3.8
3.6
3.6
4.2
3.9
3.7
3.5
2, 563,953
2, 470,939
3, 629, 367
680,845
692,849
1. 377, 963
1,880,999
606,496
635.704
939, 476
145,005
161,013
342,999
487,188
4.2
3.9
3.9
4. 7
4. 3
4.0
3. 9
266, 505
1,821,244
663,091
2,677, 773
1, 901, 974
3, 571,623
1,899,804
3,123,723
1,897,414
70,549
462, 591
171,023
627, 550
445,686
786,446
434, 557
750,633
519,436
3.8
3.9
3.9
4.3
4.3
4.5
4.4
4.2
3.7
238.380
1,631,526
486,869
2,421,851
1,729,205
3,170, 276
1,738,765
2, 908,506
1,468,211
59,092
385,179
125, 554
529,089
373,941
644, 033
365,680
652,793
376,499
4.0
4.2
3.9
4.6
4.6
4.9
4.8
4.5
3.9
2,845,627
2, 915,841
2,832,961
2.183.796
700,892
713,853
670,111
537,359
4.1
4.1
4.2
4.1
2,614,589
2, 616, 556
2,646,248
2,009,821
609, 405
600.625
591.625
471.704
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.3
1,949, 387
2,363,880
2,336,434
6, 414,824
494,716
590,722
609,094
1,674,828
3.9
4.0
3.8
3.8
1,854, 482
2,101, 593
2,396,040
5,824,715
438,639
485,363
564,164
1,380,096
4. 2
4. 3
4.2
4.2
559,456
524,873
250,742
1,123,296
531,818
499,261
550,310
110, 247
159,398
140,742
69,227
314, 952
128, 389
130,020
139, 580
33,326
3.5
3.7
3.6
3.6
4.1
3.8
3.9
3.3
537, 606
445, 032
225, 565
1,035. 791
423,317
435, 573
507,847
91,058
136. 210
108.044
56, 8S7
267,324
98,546
105, 992
115,936
25,469
3.9
4.1
4. 0
3.9
4. 3
4. 1
4. 4
3.6
1, 736,191
1,089,684
6. 907,387
534,237
335, 944
2,130,997
3.2
3.2
3.2
1, 563,396
953, 7S6
5,677, 251
423,833
266,328
1,610,030
3. 7
3.6
3.5
3.8 122,775,046
3.9
8,166,341
3. 8 26,260,750
3. 7 25,297,185
3. 7 13,296, 915
4.2 15,793,589
4.1
9,887,214
3.9 12,176,830
3.7
3,701,789
3. 2
8,194,433
934
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
In the foregoing table the average number of persons per family has
been arrived at by dividing the population by the number of occupied
dwelling units in 1940. Although the number of occupied dwelling
units does not correspond exactly with the number of private families,
the Census statisticians hold that the difference is so slight that it
need not be considered in relation to the present purposes of these
figures.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards o f Living
CHANGES IN COST OF LIV IN G FROM JANUARY TO
FEBRU A RY 1941
LIVING costs were affected by a variety of price movements between
mid-January and mid-February, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
cost-of-living index rose by one-tenth of 1 percent to 100.8 percent of
average costs in 1935-39, 2.2 percent above the August 1939 level.
The cost of pork, fresh vegetables, and certain food staples rose
during the month and men’s clothing, sheets, blankets, and some other
housefurnishings were also higher. In the budgets of average largecity families, however, these increases were offset by lower prices for
other foods such as eggs, beef, and fish; declines in coal and fuel oil
prices from their seasonal peak in December and January; and February-sale prices of women’s coats. Rents advanced in a few of the
cities where industrial activity has increased in connection with the
defense program, although there was not much change for the whole
country because few tenants move in mid-winter.
The family food budget cost a little more in February than in Jan
uary, about 2 percent more than in November 1940, and 4.7 percent
more than in August 1939 (just before the outbreak of war, when
food prices were generally quite low). Prices of coffee, sugar, and lard
were moderately higher and those of some fresh vegetables rose because
of rainy weather in winter vegetable-producing areas. Pork prices
again went up sharply. After declining last fall, they have been
rising steadily since December. The recent increase brings the
average pork price in large cities to a point 1.3 percent above the
August 1939 level. These advances in the food bill were largely offset
by the very large seasonal decline in egg prices, which fell from an
average of 34.9 cents on January 14 to 30 cents on February 18.
Beef and fish prices also declined substantially.
In the last 2 weeks of February, preliminary reports from 18
cities indicate declines in prices of beef, still lower quotations for
eggs and butter, and scattered reductions in flour and milk. Higher
prices are again reported for the staples—coffee and sugar—and for
chickens and oranges.
The prices of men’s overalls and work shirts, affected by large
Army orders and the needs of newly employed industrial workers,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
35
936
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
continued during January and early February the rise which began
last fall. Advances were general in the price of men’s hats and
women’s shoes. In a number of cities, prices of men’s wool suits were
higher in February than during the January sales, but women’s coats
were still reported at sale prices in February. In the calculation of
total clothing costs to wage earners and lower-salaried workers, sale
prices for women’s coats more than counterbalanced increases in
prices for these other articles of clothing.
Rent increases occurred in 9 of the 20 cities for which monthly data
are obtained. The largest advances were for dwellings renting for
less than $30 a month. In Seattle where defense activity, particularly
in the shipbuilding and aircraft industries, has been increasing rapidly,
and where employment has risen approximately 30 percent over the
last year, an advance of 1.3 percent occurred in average rents. In
most of the cities the average increases were slight, as there are
usually few rent changes at this time of year.
Average fuel costs declined slightly, as usual at this season of
the year. Fuel oil showed a substantial drop in 7 of the 10 cities where
oil is commonly used.
T able 1.—Percent of Change From January 15 to February 15, 1941, in Cost of Goods
Purchased by Wage Earners and Lower-Salaried Workers
City
All
items
Food
Cloth
ing
Rent
Fuel, House
elec
fur
tricity nish
and ice ings
Average, large cities____
+ 0.1
i + 0.1
- 0 .3
+ 0.1
2 - 0 .2
+ .3
+ 1 .1
(s)
+ .3
-.1
- .3
0
+ .9
-.1
-.5
0
- 1 .1
-.4
-1 .5
(3)
+ .1
+ .1
+ .1
- .3
0
0
+ .2
+ .4
+ .1
_ 0
+ .1
0
+ .3
+• 4
(3)
+ 1 .3
+ 1 .5
+ .1
+ .2
- .5
1
(3)
- .2
New England: Boston
Middle Atlantic:
Buffalo________ .
N ew York ____
Philadelphia _. . .
P ittsb u r g h ____
East North Central:
Chicago______
Cincinnati____
Cleveland____
Detroit_________ .
West North Central:
Kansas City _ _____
Minneapolis___ . . .
St. Louis.. .
South Atlantic:
B altim ore_______ . .
Savannah . . . .
East South Central: B irm ingham ___
West South Central: Houston
Mountain: Denver
Pacific:
Los Angeles__________
San Francisco________
Seattle___________ _
..
- 1 .0
(3)
+ .3
+ 0 .3
T
0
-.6
0
0
0
0
0
-. 1
0
0
- .1
+ .2
+• 2
+ 1 .0
+. 2
+ .3
+ .2
0
0
0
+ .4
1
+■ 7
+ 1 .2
0
-.4
-.3
+ .2
“K 1
0
0
0
0
0
+ .2
-.6
+ .9
+ .4
-.4
-.4
-.5
-.4
+• 3
- 2 .0
0
+ 2 .0
0
0
0
+ .3
0
+ .1
0
0
0
0
0
+ .3
. -.5
+ .2
-. 1
+ .6
- 2 .8
0
+ .1
-.6
0
+ .1
+ .4
+. 2
+ 1 .3
0 ~~
-1 .4
0
0
+
+ .6
+ .3
+ .3
M is
cella
neous
0
0
+ 0.1
+• 1
0
-. 1
0
-. 1
+■ 1
0
+ .1
+ .1
-.4
0
- .3
0
-.2
-.3
-. 1
+ .1
+ .1
1 Includes 51 cities.
2 Includes 33 cities.
3 No change.
Prices for housefurnishings purchased by wage earners and lowersalaried workers went up between mid-January and mid-February.
With the end of the January sales, prices of sheets rose, in most cases
to a point above December levels. Furniture and blanket prices
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
937
Cost and Standards of Living
continued the advances of earlier months. After declining last year,
prices of electric refrigerators went up, between mid-January and
mid-February, in some cities and down in others, but recent reports
from trade sources indicate that there was a rather general rise in
refrigerator prices in the latter half of February.
Estimated percentage changes for the period, January 15 to Febru
ary 15, 1941, in the cost of goods purchased by wage earners and
lower-salaried workers in 20 large cities of the United States, and for
the large cities combined are presented by groups of items in table 1.
Table 2 presents estimated indexes of these costs, as of February 15,
1941, based on average costs in the years 1935-39 as 100.
T able 2.— Indexes of Cost of Goods Purchased by Wage Earners and Lower‘Salaried
Workers, February 15, 1941, by Groups of Items
[Average
All
items
City
Middle Atlantic:
East North Central:
Cleveland.____ _ ________________
West North Central:
South Atlantic:
Savannah---------- ----------Pacific:
1935- 39= 100]
-----------
100.8
99.2
102.0
101.3
99.2
100.8
101.2
99.6
102.1
101.1
98.5
101.8
100.8
101.1
100.8
100.9
101.9
99.4
101.8
102.1
102.4
Food
i 97.9
96.2
100.2
100.4
94.9
97.5
97.9
96.5
99.2
97.2
93.6
100.5
99.3
98.3
100.1
95. 1
102.1
94.4
. 99.0
99.6
101.1
Cloth
ing
299.9
98.0
99.2
99.3
100.0
100.3
98.4
101.0
101.4
100.1
100.2
98.8
100.6
101.5
97.5
98.9
100.0
98.6
102.8
103.0
102.5
Rent
2105.1
100.5
107.1
102.7
103.6
105.7
109.1
102.3
108.4
108.7
103. 0
108. 0
101.6
105.7
105.0
117.7
107.6
106.8
106.9
104.1
108. 4
Fuel, House
fur
elec
tricity nish
and ice ings
3100.9
106.7
99.8
100.7
99.7
103.8
100.5
99.4
108.9
98.3
100.7
96.8
103.1
100.8
96.9
94.0
93.2
97.4
94.2
91.5
94.9
Mis
cella
neous
2100.1 2101. 9
96.9 100.9
99.8 103.0
95.9 103.0
101.7 101.8
102.5 100.8
101.9 101.0
100.6 101.0
101.4 100.6
99.2 101.8
99.0 100.0
100.6 102.2
96.4 102.2
102.5 101.4
104.2 101.1
99.3 101.2
104. 6 100.4
101. 9 101.3
100.8 102.8
100.6 105.0
97.8 103.2
1Based on average of 51cities.
2Based on average of 20cities.
3Based on average of 33cities.
E X P E N D IT U R E S OF B R IT IS H IN D U STR IA L
W ORKERS, 1937-38
WEEKLY expenditures in 8,905 industrial workers’ households in
Great Britain and Northern Ireland averaged 86s. 3d.1 in 1937-38,
according to an inquiry undertaken by the British Ministry of Labor,
the results of which are here summarized.2 Among the items entering
into the family budget, food accounted for 34s. Id. weekly (39.5 per1 Under normal conditions the rate of exchange is 4s. to the United States dollar.
* G reat Britain, Ministry of Labor Gazette, December 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
938
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
cent of total expenditures); rent or house purchase, ground rent, and
taxes, 10s. lOd. (12.6 percent); clothing, 9s. 4d. (10.8 percent); fue]
and light, 6s. 5d. (7.4 percent); and “ other items,” the remaining 25s.
7d. per week (29.7 percent). Important in the “ other items” group are
national and other insurance, 4s. 5%d. (5.1 percent of total expendi
tures); tobacco and cigarettes, 2s. 6}£d. (2.9 percent);and transporta
tion, 2s. 3d. (2.6 percent).
This investigation was made to provide information for a revision
of the cost-of-living index issued monthly by the British Government
and also to show the kinds and amount of food bought by workingclass households.
In planning for the new study the Minister of Labor sought to
obtain a base for the compilation of monthly indexes of cost of living
that would represent buying habits of the present rather than those
of 1914, the base year for the existing index numbers. This is regarded
in Great Britain as of great importance, as the cost-of-living index is
the determining factor in the level of wage rates in many industries.
The original proposal for such a study was made by the Minister of
Labor in April 1936. A special committee was later established to
prepare the necessary plans and careful consideration was given to the
scope and methods of the survey.
Scope and Methods
As the object was to collect information on budgets from at least
10,000 households, a selection of over 30,000 representative house
holds was originally made. Adult wage earners and small-salaried
households were included from all districts of Great Britain. The
Northern Ireland Ministry of Labor collected budgets in Northern
Ireland. The majority, but not all of the households, were those of
persons insured against unemployment with wages or salaries not
exceeding £250 a year. Agricultural workers, as well as industrial,
commercial, and clerical workers, were included in the sample.3
Personal visits were made to the households selected for inclusion.
These visits were organized by the Ministry of Labor Employment
Exchanges in the various districts. Informal local advisory commit
tees and groups of voluntary helpers assisted. Households to be in
cluded were visited during the first half of October 1937. The in
quiry was explained at that time and households were asked to make
their first reports on expenditures during the week beginning October
17. They were again visited in the course of the week covered by the
study and given any assistance they required in filling out the forms.
3 A summary of the report on cost of living of agricultural households will be published in a later issue
of the M onthly Labor Review.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards of Living
939
In addition to the budgets obtained for the initial week in October
1937, data were collected at quarterly intervals—in January, April,
and July 1938. By this means it was possible to secure expenditures
on many articles the purchase of which varies at different periods of
the year.
Households having lodgers were excluded, and persons who had
been listed for coverage were also omitted if they were found to be
lodgers. Single adults who were living alone were included, when
making their own arrangements for food, as it was desired to have
returns for a representative group in the population. Persons were
paid for each completed budget supplied, with a bonus to those
furnishing budgets in all 4 weeks.
Summary of Findings
Industrial households supplying data for all 4 weeks averaged
3% persons, of whom nearly 2%were 18 years of age or over and one
was a child under 14. The average number of wage or salary earners
was 1% per household. The average workweek was 5 days.
Eighty percent of the households were renting dwellings, the aver
age rental amounting to 10s. 8d. weekly. The number of rooms
rented, exclusive of those sublet, averaged 3.9. Nearly 18 percent
of the households either owned or were buying their dwellings, at a
cost of 12s. 9d. weekly on the average for installments, purchase
price, taxes, etc. The remaining 2 percent were supplied with shelter
rent free. A large proportion of these were coal miners.
Expenditures for food varied little with the change of seasons.
For the 4 weeks the average amounted to 34s. Id.; it was 33s. 9d.
in the lowest (April) and 34s. 6Kd. for the highest week (July).
Expenditures for different items of food varied only slightly on the
average. However, the effect of seasonal variations in supplies or
consumption is reflected in the expenditure for some articles, includ
ing mutton and lamb, pork, fruit, and vegetables. Expenditures for
eggs varied little, but there were considerable changes in the quantity
bought.
The average quantity of certain important foods bought weekly
per household is shown in the following statement.
Q uantity
Bread____
Flour__________
Meats _______
Bacon, ham ____
B utter.
Margarine
Lard__________
Cheese_________
Tea___________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Q uantity
pounds._ 4. 8
pounds _ 13. 5 Sugar
1. 2
do .
_ 4. 4 Apples____________
do
1
.0
___
do___
Jam
and
marmalade.
_
4.
7
do
13. 8
1. 4 Potatoes__________
do
11. 2
pints
1. 8 Milk, fresh, whole
. 7 Eggs-------------------- number _ 14. 1
do
do _ _ 3. 8
. 5 Oranges----------------do
2. 9
.d o . __
. 7 Bananas__________
.7
940
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Few families grew any of tlieir food. The home produce, if appor
tioned to all the households included in the inquiry, would have
yielded about 1){ pounds of potatoes and }£ pound of cabbage weekly,
with smaller quantities of other vegetables and about 1 egg every
2 weeks. Some employees received free food from employers, but the
amount would be insignificant if distributed over all the households
covered.
In the 4 weeks for which reports were obtained the average weekly
expenditure for clothing was 9s. 4d. Owing to the wide variations
in clothing expenditures at different seasons, a supplementary study
was carried out as to clothing expenditures of a representative group
over 12 months. It showed a somewhat lower average weekly expend
iture—8s. 2d.—distributed as follows: 28 percent weekly for men’s
clothing; 32 percent for women’s clothing; 12 percent for children’s
clothing; 2 percent for repairs, dyeing, and cleaning; and 26 percent
for boots and shoes and shoe repairs.
Nearly one-half of the 6s. 5d. weekly expenditure for fuel and light
was used for coal.
Expenditures for miscellaneous items averaged 25s. 7d., or nearly
30 percent of the total weekly outlay. The largest items in this group
were household equipment (2s. ll^d.), tobacco and cigarettes (2s.
6Kd.), traveling (2s. 3d.), and insurance (national 2s. 0%d. and other
2s. 4%d.). Trade-union subscriptions amounted to Is. 4%d. weekly.
A summary of the reports supplied by households of industrial
workers is given in the following table.
Summary of Budgets Supplied by Households of Industrial, etc., Workers in 1937-38
[Households of agricultural workers excluded]
Item
C o m p o s i t i o n , etc., of h o u s e h o l d s :
N u m b e r of h o u s e h o l d s s u p p l y i n g b u d g e t s _____________________________
Average number of persons per household_________________
C h i l d r e n , u n d e r 14 y e a r s __________________________________________________ "
M a l e s , 14 a n d u n d e r 18 y e a r s ____ __________________________________ZZ I Z Z _ Z _ Z _I
F e m a l e s , 1 4 a n d u n d e r 18 y e a r s _____ ______________________________________ ~~
M a l e s , 18 y e a r s a n d o v e r ______________ _____________________________________ Z Z
Z
F e m a l e s , 18 y e a r s a n d o v e r __________________________________________________ Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z I Z Z Z
A v e r a g e n u m b e r of w a g e o r s a i a r y e a r n e r s p e r h o u s e h o l d _______________________________ "
A v e r a g e n u m b e r of d a y s w o r k e d , i n p r e v i o u s w e e k , 2 b y H e a d of h o u s e h o l d ___________ _____________________________________ __________________________
All wage or salary earners in household__________________
Housing:
P e r c e n t , of total h o u s e h o l d s , r e n t i n g their d w e l l i n g s ________________________ __________
A v e r a g e w e e k l y p a y m e n t s , for rent, taxes, a n d w a t e r c h a r g e s (after d e d u c t i n g a n y r e n t
r e c e i v e d for r o o m s s u b l e t ) ________________________________________________________
A v e r a g e n u m b e r of r o o m s 3 r e n t e d p e r h o u s e h o l d ( e x c l u d i n g a n y r o o m s s u b l e t ) i Z k Z I Z
P e r c e n t , of total h o u s e h o l d s , o w n i n g o r b u y i n g their d w e l l i n g s _________________________
A v e r a g e w e e k l y p a y m e n t s for p u r c h a s e i n s t a l l m e n t s , etc., g r o u n d rent, taxes, a n d w a t e r
c h a r g e s (after d e d u c t i n g a n y r e n t r e c e i v e d for r o o m s s u b l e t ) ________________
General aver
age—house
holds sup
plying budg
ets for 4
weeks >
8,905
3. 77
.99
. 15
.16
1.22
1.25
1.75
5.0
5.0
80.0
10s. 8d.
3.9
17.8
12s. 9d.
1 In cases in which, owing to holidays or other special circumstances, it was found impracticable to obtain
satisfactory budgets for the week specified, the nearest week of a normal character was substituted.
2 iy y e April budgets, the particulars related to the week ended April 30, as the previous week included
Faster Monday. It should also be remembered that households the head of which had been unemployed
for a long period were excluded from the scope of the inquiry.
3 Kitchens are included in the number of rooms shown, but sculleries, bathrooms, etc., are excluded.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
941
Cost and Standards of Living
Summary oj Budgets Supplied by Households of Industrial, etc., Workers in 1937-38—Continued
Item
Housing—Continued.
Percent of total households provided by employers with dwellings rent-free-------------Average weekly expenditure per household on rent or purchase of dwelling, ground
rent, taxes, and water charges---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Food—Total weekly expenditure_____________________________________________________
Bread------------------------------------ ------ -------------------------------------------------------------------Flour___ - ------------- -------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------Cakes, buns, pastries, currant bread, etc________________________________________ -Biscuits________________________________________________________________________
Oatmeal, oatcakes, oats, and proprietary cereals___________________________________
Rice, sago, tapioca, semolina, barley, macaroni, and vermicelli---------------------------------Beef and veal (joints, cuts, and mince)_______________________ ____________________
M utton and lamb (joints, cuts, and m ince)________________________________________
Pork___________________________________________________________________________
Canned and potted meat___________ _____ _______________________________ ____ ___
Sausages and meat pies___________________________________________ ____ __________
Other meat (kidney, liver, fry, heart, head, sweetbreads, tripe, brawn, cow-heels, etc.) _
Rabbits, poultry, game, e tc ______________________________________________________
Bacon, ham (cooked or uncooked) and gammon___________________________________
Fish, fresh (including shell fish)__________________________________________________
Fish, dried or cured------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------Fish, canned, and paste------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fish, fried, and chips------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------M ilk, fresh, whole (including milk at school)______________________________________
M ilk, skimmed (liquid) and buttermilk___________________________________________
M ilk, condensed------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M ilk, dried, and milk preparations_______________________________________________
Cream______________________________________________________ _____ _____________
B utter________________________________ ____ ______________ ______________________
Margarine-------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lard, including compound lard-------------------- -------------------------------------------------------Suet, dripping, and other cooking fats____________________________________________
Cheese_________________________________________________________________________
E ggs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T ea____________________________________________________________________________
Cocoa and cocoa essence_________________________________________________________
Coffee and coffee essence------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------Sugar-------------------- ------ ------------ --------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------ Jam, marmalade, etc---------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------Syrup, treacle, and honey_______________________________________________ ________
Potatoes---------------- ------ ------------ ---------------- ------ ------------------------------------------------Green vegetables and legumes (fresh)4-----------------------------------------------------------------Dried legumes---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Root vegetables, etc.5----------------- -------------------,----------------------------------------------------Onions, leeks, and shallots------- ------- ---------------------------- ------ ---------------- ---------------Canned and bottled vegetables_____________________________________ _____________
Apples_________________________________________________________________________
Oranges--------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bananas_______________________________________________________________________
Other fresh fruit, and nu ts_______________________________________________________
Dried fruits---------------------- ------ --------------------------------------------------------------------Canned and bottled fruits____________________________________ _________________ -Meals, etc., away from hom e6-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Other food (excluding food for animals, poultry, birds, e tc .)----------------------------------- Clothing—T otal weekly expenditure------------------------------------------------------ ------ ------------M en’s clothing and materials____________________________________________________
W omen’s clothing and materials-------------- ---------------------------------- ------ ------------------Children’s clothing and materials-------------------------------------------------------------- ------ --Clothing repairs, dyeing, and cleaning------------------------------------------------------------------Boots and shoes-------- --------- --------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------Repairs to boots and shoes-------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------Fuel and light—Total weekly expenditure____________________________________________
Coal______________________________________________ ____________________________
General aver
age—house*
holds sup
plying budg
ets for 4
weeks
2.2
10s. lOd.
s. d.
1
34
2
8M
0 10
1 2M
0 4
0
0
2
2M
IX
8
1 5'A
0 6M
0 2X
0 m
0 5X
0 VÂ
1 11
0 7X
0 2
0 3M
0 4M
3
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
9
2
2
0
0
1
1
6
3
0
0
0
0
OX
m
3M
IX
l
5M
4M
3M
2M
8M
10M
7X
1X
1
0M
6x
1
ix
7M
1
5M
ix
IX
4M
4M
2M
3M
4
3
ix
9M
4
10
5M
11
2X
10M
0M
5
2
1
5M
Gas (including payment for meter rent and fittings)7- -----DM
Electricity (including payment for meter rent and fittings)7
8M
Oil, firewood, candles and matches___________________
4 Including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, greens, spinach, kale, parsley, lettuce, celery, cress,
and fresh beans and peas.
5Including carrots, swedes, turnips, artichokes, beetroot, radishes, cucumber, marrows, and tomatoes.
6 Including meals, etc., in restaurants, and meals or food (other than milk) bought at school. Milk
bought at school is included in, “Milk, fresh, whole (including milk at school).”
7Where a slot meter was used, the budgets showed the expenditure on gas and electricity during the budg
et week. In other cases they showed the expenditure during the period covered by the last account, and
the average weekly expenditure during that period has been taken for the purpose of the figures given in
this table.
301178— 41------ 11
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
942
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Summary of Budgets Supplied by Households of Industrial, etc., Workers in 1937-38—
Continued
Item
“ Other item s”—Total weekly expenditure_____________________________
Soap (including soap flakes)____ _______ ___________________________
Soda, polishes, and cleaning materials______________________________
Ironmongery, hollow-ware, cutlery, tools, etc_______________________
Household brushes and brooms____________________________________
Pottery and glass ware____________________________________________
Drapery and haberdashery________ ______ _________________________
Furniture________________ ____ ____________ _____________________
Carpets, linoleum, mats, e t c - - ____________________________________
Other household utensils and equipment___________________________
Tobacco and cigarettes_____________________ ______________________
Travel—Total____________________________________________________
Railway fares, to and from work_______________________________
Bus, tram, and coach fares, to and from work___________________
Other rail, bus, tram, and coach fares___________________________
Newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals_______________________
Books, stationery, pens, pencils, etc________________________________
Postage, telephones, and telegrams________________________________
Entertainments:
Cinemas_____________________________________________________
Theaters, music halls, concerts, dances, etc______________________
Sports, games, etc.—admission charges__________________________
Education, music lessons, e tc ________ ______ _______________________
Hairdressing, shaving, etc_________________________ ________________
Laundry charges_________________________________________________
Doctor, dentist, optician, midwife, nursing fees, etc___________ ______
Medicines, drugs, medical and surgical appliances, etc_______________
Paym ents to hospital funds_______________________________________
National health, pensions, and unemployment insurance contributions.
Insurance premiums, payments to pension funds, etc_._______________
Trade-union subscriptions_________________________________________
Licenses (dog, wireless, motorcycle, e tc.)___________________________
Wages paid for domestic help___________ __________________________
Holiday expenditure______________________________________________
Food for animals, poultry, birds, etc_______________________________
Drink (beer, mineral waters, etc.)__________________________________
Other exp en d itu re..____ ____________ _____ _______________________
General aver
age—house
holds sup
plying budg
ets for 4
weeks
».
d.
25 7
0 9)4
0 4)4
0 2)4
0 1
0 1JÎ
0 654
1 1)4
0 7
0 354
2 6)4
2 3
0 7)4
0 11
0 sm
1 0
0 2)4
0 5
0 1054
0 3
0 254
0 354
0 654
0 6)4
0 1054
0 6
0 3)4
2 054
2 4M
1 4)4
0 6
0 254
0 754
0 154
0 9)4
2 7
LIVING COSTS AND LABOR CONDITIONS IN SPAIN,
1940 1
AT THE end of 1940, the economic condition of labor in Spain seemed
to be less favorable than at the beginning of the year, although there
were some conditions that showed improvement. Thus it is believed
that increased activities in some manufacturing industries, in con
struction, and in civil government employment, together with addi
tions to the armed forces, more than offset the decline in employment
which occurred in other directions and that there was less unemploy
ment at the end of the year than at its beginning.
No strikes or labor disturbances occurred during the year.
The upward trend in wages which began in 1939 was extended
during 1940, so that some 70 percent of the wage earners were affected.
During the year the Government and many municipalities granted
wage increases of from 15 to 25 percent to their civil employees;
1Data are from report of R. H. Ackerman, United States commercial attaché at Madrid.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards of Living
943
legislation was enacted which required employers to pay wages for
the weekly day of rest; and other laws became effective which made
mandatory salary increases for employees of certain specific groups of
occupations. Voluntary increases were granted by some employers
and others were accorded at the demand of labor unions. However,
these wage increases were based on the schedules in effect during 1936
and had little relation to the changes in living conditions which have
occurred since that year.
The several unfavorable factors were continued widespread unem
ployment, the fact that many heads of families were still in prison or
in concentration camps, the serious shortages of food, and the sharp
rise in living costs which by far outstripped wage increases.
Cost of Living
The wholesale price index, using May 1913 as the base, or 100,
stood at 177.3 for the second half of 1936 and at 236.7 as the average
for 1939. This index increased each month during 1940 and by
September had attained the figure of 288.5, or 70 percent higher than
during 1936.
No figures are available showing a countrywide index of the cost of
living, as the statistical compilation of the Ministry of Labor shows this
only by Provinces and capitals of Provinces. Using July 1939 as the
base, at the end of September 1940 the index for the Province of Madrid
(including the capital), was 121.5 and that for the Province of Barce
lona was 131.6. As the indexes for these two Provinces for the month
of July 1936, were 70.2 and 70.5, respectively, it is evident that living
costs had approximately doubled.
Even these indexes do not fully present the actual increase in living
costs, as they are based on the official prices established for foodstuffs
and other commodities. As the rations made available at official
prices are insufficient to permit regular and periodic distribution to
ration-card holders, many wage earners must resort, to an extent
determined by their pecuniary circumstances, to the purchase of
foodstuffs and other controlled commodities at extra-official or
clandestine prices, which range from 50 to 200 percent above official
prices.
To the distress arising from the declining purchasing power of
income must be added the disorganization of the Government’s
rationing system, resulting in irregular and insufficient distribution of
practically all rationed products. As a consequence, a condition of
widespread undernourishment and unbalanced diets exists in many
parts of the country.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Disputes
TREND OF STRIKES
THERE was a substantial increase in strike activity during January
1941 as compared with December 1940. The number of new strikes
increased from 147 in December to 213 in January; the number of
workers involved in new strikes increased from 42,600 to 89,800; and
the number of man-days of idleness during all strikes increased from
458.000 in December to nearly 660,000 in January.
Comparing January 1941 with the same month in the 5 years prior
to the beginning of the defense program (1935-39) there were 43 more
new strikes and several thousand more workers involved this year than
previously. However, the number of man-days of idleness was
353.000 below the average for January of the 5 years, 1935-39. In 4
of these 5 years, the man-days of idleness during January strikes was
about the same as in January 1941. In January 1937 the number of
man-days of idleness was four times as great as in January of this
year.
Strikes in December 1940 and January 1941, Compared with Averages Over Preceding
5 -year Period
Recent strikes
Averages for 5-year
period
Item
Number of strikes beginning in m onth.
Number of workers involved in strikes beginning in m onth..
Number of man-days’ idleness in all strikes in progress dur
ing month ..
January
1941
Decem
ber 1940
213
89,841
147
42, 615
170
61, 742
126
34,430
659,821
458,314
1,012,665
859, 552
1935-39
January
1934-38
December
In order to expedite the compilation of the annual report on strikes
in 1940, the analyses of strikes occurring in November and December
1940, which normally would appear in the March and April issues of
the Monthly Labor Review, have not been prepared. The report
for the year 1940 is scheduled to appear as usual in the May 1941
issue of the Review. The monthly trend of 1940 strikes is shown in
the table following.
944
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
945
Industrial Disputes
Trend of Strikes, 1933 through 1940
Workers involved
in strikes
Number of strikes
Year and month
Con Begin
In
ning
tinued
prog Ended
in
from
in
ress
preced month during
month
or
ing
month
year
month
1939
January..
.......
February__________ ____ _
August. . . . . . . . . . .
September_____ ________
October
N ovem ber... ___
D ecem ber.. __ ________
1940
January____
.
___
February________________
_________________
December___
_____
Begin
ning in
month
or year
In
prog
ress
during
month
Man-days
idle
during
month
or year
16,872,128
19, 591,949
15,456,337
13,901,956
28,424, 857
9,148, 273
17,812,219
6, 700.872
1,168, 272
1,466,695
1,117,213
788,648
1,860, 621
688,376
1,170,962
576,988
1, 695
1,856
2,014
2,172
4,740
2,772
2,613
2,508
1924
1Q3S
193fi
1937
1938
1939
1940
July
In
effect
at
end
of
month
120
139
139
150
176
162
138
173
176
151
139
116
203
204
210
281
258
245
251
275
197
205
178
106
323
343
349
431
434
407
389
448
373
356
317
222
184
204
199
255
272
269
216
272
222
217
201
128
139
139
150
176
162
138
173
176
151
139
116
94
51,159
68, 252
43, 337
396,166
95, 239
62, 534
175,542
79,670
36,846
106,628
43,239
12,350
72,427
88, 267
64, 660
425,748
457,407
127,474
211,548
118, 772
103, 538
139,608
130, 341
37,122
513,460
553,138
618,147
4, 902, 238
3, 547,868
958,127
1,168,382
1,101,419
892,485
1, 508,120
1,664, 574
384,261
94
98
117
108
122
122
146
163
141
152
166
130
128
172
178
228
239
214
244
231
253
267
207
147
222
270
295
336
361
336
390
394
394
419
373
277
124
153
187
214
239
190
227
253
242
253
243
168
98
117
108
122
122
146
163
141
152
166
130
109
26,937
29,509
22,433
39,481
53, 231
38, 542
63,126
61,356
65,362
71,997
62,399
42,615
41,284
38, 050
43, 231
53,119
77,124
56,403
82,970
90,226
108, 389
107, 863
101, 532
61, 576
246,074
289,992
386,981
441,806
665, 688
484, 007
585,651
706, 308
780, 570
915, 014
739, 807
458,314
STRIKES IN DEFENSE INDUSTRIES DURING 19401
ALL modern industrial processes are so closely interwoven and inter
dependent as to make almost impossible any sharp distinction between
defense and nondefense activities. An intensification of effort along
any line automatically affects many other industries. An expansion
of airplane production involves increased effort not only in the mak
ing of additional airplanes at the factory site but also in the materials
and labor which go into building the required additional plant facil
ities, machine tooling and other capital equipment, power and other
utility services. Additional transportation facilities for the many new
workers and for the increased shipments to and from the factory
must be provided; and living quarters and consumers’ goods and serv
ices must be made available for the newly hired workers.
1 Prepared by Bureau’s Division of Industrial Relations.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
946
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Any interruption in the production of any of these goods or services
anywhere in the country may affect defense production, although there
may be no defense contract with the Government in the plant affected.
A strike of bus or truck drivers transporting workers or materials
to an airplane manufacturing plant, for instance, may interfere with
airplane production as much as a strike of the company’s own employ
ees. A stoppage of production in a sawmill thousands of miles dis
tant may delay the construction of cantonments or the hiring of needed
workers at a powder plant, because no housing can be made readv for
them.
On the other hand, the occurrence of a strike in a plant engaged in
defense work does not always mean that there has been an interrup
tion in filling a defense order; at least not to the full extent of the time
lost during the strike. The defense order may include only a portion
of the work in process in the plant; when the strike is settled, work
may be intensified on the defense order at the expense of other regular
work, or deliveries may be maintained during a short strike from stocks
accumulated prior to the interruption. Occasionally, even a strike
that interrupts deliveries may not impede the defense program, if the
production of that particular item is running ahead of the immediate
capacities to assemble the final product or if there are easily available
alternative sources of supply at the moment.
For an accurate measure of the incidence of strike activity on the
defense program, it would be necessary to know how an interruption
on work connected, directly or indirectly, with the defense program,
actually affects it; what proportion of the workers on strike in a plant
having defense orders would have been engaged on such defense orders;
and whether the delay in getting out those orders actually held up the
completion of the finished product. This type of problem is essen
tially operational rather than statistical. A small strike that affects
a “bottleneck” in the flow of production may be much more serious
than a strike involving a larger number of workers which affects a
product that may be secured with relative ease. Such problems must
be considered case by case as is done, for example, by the Conciliation
Service and the Labor Division of the Office of Production Manage
ment, which are chiefly responsible for dealing with industrial disputes
which affect the defense program.
It should also be noted that even the most adequate strike statis
tics may not give a complete measure of delays in defense production
caused by employer-employee maladjustments. Disputes between
employers and workers may not develop into an open strike or walk
out. Pent-up grievances and bad morale may result in a prolonged
slowing down of work which might affect production more seriously
than a complete but short stoppage of work where a settlement of
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Disputes
947
grievances has been made which workers accept as reasonable. Such
a slowing down may not even be deliberate on the part of the workers
but simply an unconscious reaction to what they feel are unsatisfac
tory working conditions.
Even though strike statistics do not provide an adequate measure of
the incidence of industrial disputes on defense activity, they do show,
for individual industries, the relationship between the idle time caused
by strikes and the total time worked. While a small strike may have
a special significance to particular operations at a given time, the
strike statistics for an industry as a whole indicate whether the aggre
gate interruptions of production are of large or small significance.
The extent of strike activity in certain particular industries closely
related to the defense program is presented below as a general back
ground against which the current strike news may be interpreted.
Eleven industries are covered in this selection from the strike statis
tics of 1940 as follows: aircraft, aluminum, automobiles, steel (blast
furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills), electrical machinery, engines
and turbines, explosives, foundries and machine shops, machine tools,
sawmills and logging, and shipbuilding.
In making comparisons of the amount of strike activity among these
several industries, it must be borne in mind that the relation of de
fense work to total work performed varies greatly. For example,
most of the time worked in the airplane and shipbuilding industries
was spent on defense orders, whereas only a portion of the employ
ment in the automobile, lumber, or electrical manufacturing industries
was devoted to defense purposes during the year 1940. The compari
son of strike activity in these latter industries with that in the air
plane and shipbuilding industries, therefore, is no accurate measure
of their relative seriousness on the defense program.
Statistics of Strikes in 11 Industries, 1940
During 1940 about 2% million workers were employed in these 11
industries. These employees worked a total of 569 million man-days.
There were 252 strikes in these industries, which involved almost 140,000 workers and about \}{ million man-days of idleness (table l).1 On
the average, 1 person in every 17 employed in these industries was
involved in a strike sometime during the year.
i Preliminary strike statistics for the 11 industries covered by this report were submitted by Mr. Sidney
Hillman to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives on February 20, 1941. Minor revi
sions have been made since that time, based on the receipt of more complete information. These revisions
do not alter any of the broad conclusions that may be obtained from the figures submitted by Mr. Hillman.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
948
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 1.—Strikes in Industries Closely Related to National Defense, 1940
Number of
strikes
Industry
All industries__________
Aircraft-.. . . __
A lum inum ,- ___
A utom obiles.___. .
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies___
Engines, turbines, tractors, and water wheels.
Explosives______
Foundries and machine shops .
Machine tools. ____
Sawmills, logging camps, and millwork.
Shipbuilding.. ______
Number of
workers in
volved
Number of
man-days of
idleness
252
139,434
1,460, 331
4
29
25
34
1
9,064
25,579
20, 580
8,906
531
213
17, 595
677
35,488
14, 531
36,402
30,866
104,377
134,769
393,572
7,434
3,033
257,971
11,736
431,930
48, 241
51
6
84
13
The proportion of workers involved in strikes varied greatly
among the 11 different industries (table 2). In the important
machine-tool industry only 1 person in every 97 workers engaged in
the industry was involved in any strike during the year. In the
aluminum industry, on the other hand, every third worker partici
pated in a strike. Practically all of these were involved in either the
1-day strike at the Arnold, Pa., plant of the Aluminum Company of
America in August, or the week’s strike at the New Kensington, Pa.,
plant of the same company in November. One shipbuilding worker
out of every 6 was involved in a strike; and two-thirds of the total were
involved in two strikes—a 1-day strike at the Federal Shipbuilding &
Dry Dock Co. at Kearney, N. J., at the end of May, and a 2-week
strike at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Sparrows Point,
Md., in September and October.
T able 2.—Number of Workers Involved in Strikes in 11 Industries Closely Related to
National Defense, Compared with Total Employees 1
Industry
All industries..
Aircraft. . . . . . .
Aluminum
.. .
Automobiles___
Blast furnaces, steel works,
and rolling mills.
Electrical machinery .
Engine manufacturing...
Total
number
of em
ployees
2,371,700
90,100
28, 300
447, 600
483, 700
240,100
52,200
Proportion
involved in
strikes
1 out
1 out
1 out
1 out
1 out
of 17.
of 14.
of 3.
of 17.
of 24.
1 out of 27.
1 out of 98.
Industry
Explosives_____
Foundries and machine
shops.
Machine tools_________
Sawmills, logging camps,
and millwork.
Shipbuilding_________
Total
number
of em
ployees
Proportion
involved in
strikes
7,600
402, 600
1 out of 36.
1 out of 23.
66,000
2 459,800
1 out of 97.
1 out of 13.
93, 700
1 out of 6.
1 Employment figures are averages for the year 1940.
2 With allowance for independent logging camps which are included in the strike data but are excluded
from the regularly published employment figures.
The number of man-days of idleness during strikes in these 11
industries amounted to about one-quarter of 1 percent of the total
days worked. In other words, for every 390 days worked, 1 day was
lost during strikes. In 7 of these industries (aircraft, automobiles,
engines, explosives, machine tools, shipbuilding, and steel) the amount
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
949
Industrial Disputes
of idleness during strikes was less than one-quarter of 1 percent of
time worked. The greatest proportion of idleness during strikes was
in electrical machinery manufacturing—almost seven-tenths of 1
percent. Almost one-third of the man-days of idleness in this industry
was due to a strike at the Leviton Manufacturing Co., in Brooklyn,
N. Y., which is not engaged in defense work.
Over 96 percent of the man-days of idleness in the aircraft industry
took place during the strike at the Yultee Aircraft Corporation in
Downey, Calif., in November. In this strike about 5,000 workers
were idle for 7 working days. Almost one-fourtli of the total days of
idleness during strikes in the lumber industry was due to the stoppage
of work during December, in sawmill and logging camps in western
Washington and Oregon, which lasted about 2 weeks.
T a b l e 3 . —Man-Days of Idleness During Strikes in 11 Industries Closely Related to
National Defense, Compared with Man-Days Worked, 1940 1
Industry
M inimum
number of
man-days
worked
Man-days of
idleness as a
percent of
man-days
worked
Number of
man-days
worked per
man-day of
idleness
569,208,000
0.26
390
21, 624,000
6, 792,000
107.424.000
116.088.000
57, 624,000
12, 528,000
1,824,000
96,624,000
15, 840,000
2 110, 352,000
22,488,000
. 17
.45
. 10
.12
.68
.06
. 16
.27
.07
.39
.21
594
220
1,029
861
146
1,685
601
375
1,350
255
466
1 Days worked estimated as average employment times 240 days per year.
2 W ith allowance for independent logging camps which are included in the strike data but are excluded
from the regularly published employment figures.
ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES CONCILIATION
SERVICE, FEBRUARY 1941
THE United States Conciliation Service, in February, disposed of
418 situations, involving 171,711 workers. The services of this
agency were requested by the employers, employees, and other
interested parties. Of these situations, 266 were strikes, threatened
strikes, lock-outs, and controversies, involving 157,808 workers. The
remaining situations, involving 13,903 workers, included such services
as filling requests for information, adjusting complaints, consulting
with labor and management, etc.
The facilities of the Service were used in 28 major industrial fields,
such as building trades, and the manufacture of foods, iron and steel,
textiles, etc. (table 1), and were utilized by employees and employers
in 42 States and the District of Columbia (table 2).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
950
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Table 1.— Situations Disposed of by U. S. Conciliation Service, February 1941, by
Industries
Disputes
Other situations
Total
Industry
N um
ber
All industries
_
___
...
Workers
involved
________
266
157,808
Agriculture.. ________ ____ ______ ___
Automobile__ ______ ____ __________ .
Building trades________ . _ .
_____
Chemicals . . . ._ _. ._ ______. . . _ . .
Communications _ . . . ______ ____
Domestic and personal_________________
3
10
43
4
2
7
4,706
15,093
39, 609
437
406
465
Electrical equipment__________ ______
Food ______. . . ____ _ ________ _____
Furniture_____ . . . . . .
_____
Iron and steel.._ __ _ _ ______ ____ _
Leather___
_____ . . . . _____ . . .
Lumber__ _____________________
6
24
14
30
2
13
Machinery. _______________ . . . ____
Maritime _ _ _
_ ___________
M in in g.__ _ . . . ______ __________ __
Nonferrous m e ta ls ____________________
Paper _____ _______ _______ . . .
Petroleum_____________________
...
21
3
3
12
3
2
152
Workers
involved
13,903
N um
ber
Workers
involved
418
171, 711
4, 706
15,100
40,397
437
407
514
1
30
7
788
1
4
1
49
3
11
73
4
3
11
1,858
3,246
3, 909
14, 583
391
4, 302
1
12
5
10
2
1
5
1,022
876
1,315
701
1
7
36
19
40
4
14
1, 863
4, 268
4, 785
15,898
1,092
4,303
11,022
220
4, 950
4,879
1, 570
234
12
3
3
758
1,054
242
1
1
1
52
33
6
6
12
4
3
11, 780
1,274
5,192
4,879
1, 571
286
3
1
3
5
17
1
3
1
141
506
2, 358
600
4
1
6
13
31
3
17
1
2,982
2,823
9,452
2,428
7
10
3
120
735
203
15
2,364
16
19
10
5
21
460
3,732
26, 614
819
3,631
Printing_________________________ _____
1
14
Rubber________________________ ___ _
Stone, clay, and glass__________ _______
Textile. __
_______ _______
Tobacco__________ ____________________
3
8
14
2
2,841
2,317
7, 094
1,828
Trade______ ____________
. . ..
Transportation___ ______
_____. . .
Transportation equipment______ ___
Utilities . . . . . . ._
...
... .
Unclassified__________________________
9
9
7
5
6
340
2,997
26, 411
819
1,267
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
N um
ber
Industrial Disputes
951
T able 2.— Situations Disposed of by U. S. Conciliation Service, February 1941, by States
Other situations
Disputes
State
N um
ber
Workers
involved
N um
ber
Workers
involved
Total
N um
ber
Workers
involved
Ail States_____________ ________ ______
266
157,808
152
13,903
418
171,711
Alabama------------- ------- ---------------- --
9
4,432
1
4
2
259
_____. . . ______
California_______
Colorado_____ _____
___ _____
C onnecticut.. _ ------- -- ---------- -----
2
20
1
3
251
28,165
100
1,582
24
2
2
519
2
5
10
4
2
44
3
5
4,434
259
251
28, 684
102
1,587
District of Columbia______
------------_ ------------- Florida_________
Georgia... . _______ . . . . --------------I llin o is ___ ______-------------------------------------- --------------------Indiana----
1
4
10
11
7
13
75
246
187
4,166
1,729
13, 627
5
9
3
2
4
55
818
582
227
131
1
9
19
14
9
17
75
301
1,005
4,748
1,956
13,758
3
5
1
1
4
241
15,636
750
22
1,331
2
2
2
2
251
425
4
6
209
258
2
5
7
1
5
10
2
492
16,061
750
231
1,589
19
3
2
12
1
9,839
629
3, 522
610
50
7
1,396
M ississippi___ _ __________ _________
Missouri--------------- --------------------------M ontana_________ . . . ---------------------
Ï
6
1
1
2
760
2
10
26
3
3
18
2
i
11,235
629
3,524
1,370
52
10
N ew Jersey------ ---------------------------.
__________
N ew M ex ico _______
New York_______________
__________
North C arolina... _ _ _ . . . ________
Ohio__ _________________ . . . . ------Oklahoma __________ _
----------------
6
2
13
9
27
1
3,134
2,304
4,756
3,980
16,960
549
5
2
12
4
7
2
1,047
5
2,509
15
1,227
27
h
4
25
13
34
3
4,181
2,309
7,265
3,995
18,187
576
Oregon______ ________________ . . . ___ .
Pennsylvania. _____________________ .
Rhode Island.
. . . ________ - - - - - -
5
15
1
2,195
10,312
3,000
2
2
173
134
4
6
1
1
2
6
803
69
300
800
295
263
9
21
2
1
4
8
2,998
10,381
3, 300
800
468
397
1
1
15
9
10
14
1
45
120
7, 545
3,000
4,444
5, 567
2,400
2
7
2
1
402
10
16
200
1
1
17
16
12
15
1
45
120
7,947
3, 010
4,460
5, 767
2,400
Kentucky _ _
Louisiana----
__ ------------
--------...
----------- -
Maryland ________
____
_______
Massachusetts___________________ ___
Michigan________________ ______
.. ..
_________
Tennessee _
Texas________________________
_____ .
Utah
______
.
Virginia ________________ . _______ _
W ash in gton ..______ _________________
West Virginia_______ . . . ___________
Wisconsin_____________________________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Turn-Over
LABOR TURN-OVER IN MANUFACTURING,
JANUARY 1941
REFLECTING the intensified demand for workers resulting from the
defense program, the accession rate in manufacturing industries in
January 1941 reached the highest level for any January since 1935.
Returns from some 7,000 manufacturing establishments with nearly
2,900,000 wage earners showed an average accession rate of 5.54,
indicating the hiring of nearly 6 workers per 100 employees on the pay
roll. In January 1940, the accession rate for all manufacturing was 3.74.
The separation rate in January 1941 was 3.41 as compared with 3.43
in the corresponding month of 1940. Quit rates have risen sharply
since January 1940, lay-offs have declined, and employers have taken
on new workers in increasing numbers.
4 able 1.
Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates in Representative Factories in 135 Industries 1
Sep Oc No De Aver
Class of turn-over Jan Feb March April
Au tem
May June July gust
vem cem
and year
uary ruary
ber tober ber ber age
Separations:
Quits:
1941______ 1.31
1940___
.63
0. 62
0. 67
0.74
0. 77
0. 78
0.85
1.10
1.37
1.31
1.10
0.99
0.91
.18
.14
.16
.15
.13
. 13
. 14
.14
. 16
. 16
. 19
. 18
.16
.15
1941........... 1.61
1940_____ 2. 55
2. 67
2. 53
2.69
2.78
2. 32
2. 25
1.63
1.48
1.53
1.60
1.86
2.16
.31
.11
.11
. 11
.10
.10
.12
.11
.11
3. 21
3.20
3. 18
3.15
3. 13
1941____ 3.41
1940____ 3.43
3.56
3. 46
3.66
3.78
3.36
3.35
3.00
3.22
3.23
3.06
3.16
3.35
1941______ 1.45
1940____
1.96
1.26
1.38
1.42
1.49
2.06
1.94
3.04
2.20
1.22
1.18
1.13
1.69
19 4 1 ...___ 4.09
1940______ 1.78
1.72
1.56
1.63
1.87
2.70
2.83
3.59
4.01
4.30
3.47
2. 98
2. 70
2. 98
2.94
3.05
3.36
4. 76
4. 77
6.63
6. 21
5. 52
4. 65
4.11
4.39
Discharges:
1941______
1940______
Lay-offs:2
Miscellaneous
separations:
1941______
1940_____
Total:
Accessions:
Rehirings:
New hirings:
Total:
1941____ 5.54
1940____ 3.74
1The various turn-over rates represent the number of quits, discharges, lay-offs, total separations, and
accessions per 100 employees.
I Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
Beginning with September 1940, workers leaving to enter the Army or Navy are included in “misceL
laneous separations.”
y -
952
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
a
er©
?
vCaO
to
954
Monthly Labor Review—April\1941
Labor Turn-Over, by Industries
High accession rates continued in most of the defense industries.
In January, shipbuilding reached 18.21; aircraft, 12.17; foundries and
machine shops, 8.18; electrical machinery, 7.75; machine tools, 6.68;
brass, bronze, and copper products, 6.58; aluminum, 4.72; iron and
steel, 3.29. Improvement in building activity during the year was
indicated by increased accessions and decreased separations in the
cement and brick, tile, and terra cotta industries. Slaughtering and
meat packing showed the highest lay-off rate among the industries
covered, coincident with a sharp reduction in hog receipts.
T able 2.—Monthly Turn-Over Rates (per 100 employees) in 39 Manufacturing
Industries 1
Separation rates
Industry
Date
Agricultural implements______
Aircraft... _.
Alum inum ___
Automobiles and bodies. _. .
Automobile parts and equipment ___
Boots and shoes__
Brass, bronze, and
products. ._ . . .
copper
Brick, tile, and terra cotta
Cast-iron pipe
Cement___
Cigars and cigarettes
Cotton manufacturing
Miscel
D is Lay laneous Total
Re
New Total
Q u it3 charge
off separa separa hiring hiring acces
tion
sion
tion 2
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
0.81
.56
.23
2.44
1.98
1.38
1.28
.85
.52
1.00
1.07
.75
0.16
. 13
.08
.45
.38
.73
.32
.24
.21
.09
.05
.06
0.42
.45
.68
.33
.37
1.89
.42
.74
3. 48
2.24
1.54
1. 26
0.18
. 13
.06
.43
. 19
.03
1.17
.38
.35
.32
.23
.05
1.57
1. 27
1.05
3. 65
2. 92
4.03
3.19
2. 21
4. 56
3.65
2.89
2.12
1.30
1.20
1. 40
.68
1.01
.27
.82
.77
2. 61
1.67
.77
1.01
4.19
3.01
1. 28
11.49
7. 62
8. 39
3.90
2. 39
05
1.40
1.32
.86
5.49
4. 21
2.68
12.17
8.63
8.66
4. 72
3.16
3 56
3.07
2. 09
1.87
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1.41
1.23
.77
.93
.75
.63
.33
.27
.25
. 17
. 10
. 12
2. 51
2.18
4. 59
.84
2. 40
1.19
.36
. 15
.09
.15
. 15
.05
4.61
3. 83
5. 70
2.09
3. 40
1.99
1. 64
.76
1.41
1. 71
2. 59
2.12
5. 37
4. 34
3. 22
3.58
2.83
2. 30
7.01
5.10
4. 63
5. 29
5. 42
4.42
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1.45
1.08
.37
1.71
1.26
.45
.73
.82
.38
.56
.29
.20
2. 92
1.10
1. 77
.20
. 19
. 12
. 19
.20
.14
.33
.27
.07
.06
.08
.06
. 11
.28
. 19
.81
.48
2.42
2.56
4. 26
8. 95
.52
.45
1.69
9. 38
4. 96
13.76
2. 75
3. 54
3. 35
.45
.06
.05
.27
. 12
. 05
.21
.14
.26
.27
. 11
.34
.25
.04
2.91
1.81
2. 96
4. 73
5. 84
9.59
1.69
1. 75
2.28
10.26
5.60
14.13
6.12
5.17
5. 35
.67
. 18
4. 38
1. 09
2. 39
1.87
.33
.29
.52
1.24
.07
1. 57
3. 86
.37
.94
5. 91
5. 02
3. 61
3.83
1.54
.65
1.85
2.16
. 72
1.32
.87
. 28
1.85
1.91
2.21
6. 58
5. 20
7 99
4. 92
3. 93
2. 52
2.18
2. 45
1. 24
2. 56
.94
1. 85
5.71
2.28
3.15
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940 1
2. 35
1. 68
1. 14
2.19
1.54
. 71
1. 14
.77
.54
1.47
1. 13
.52
1.67
1.06
.63
.72
.55
.27
.26
. 19
.20
.16
. 17
. 11
. 18
. 11
. 10
.38
.33
. 15
.23
.23
.21
. 19
. 11
.05
1.12
1.04
2. 02
1.77
1.23
2.52
.80
.60
2.10
.75
.94
1.46
2.80
3. 23
2.82
1.65
1.18
2.97 1
.34
.21
.21
.45
. 14
.08
.59
.26
.22
.39
. 19
. 10
.38
. 11
.08
.48
.20
.08
4.07
3.12
3. 57
4. 57
3.08
3. 42
2. 71
1. 74
2. 96
2. 99
2.59
2.23
5. 08
4. 63
3.74
3. 04
2.04
3.37
1.31
1.10
1.64
1.08
.94
1. 64
.89
.67
1.03
4. 74
2.98
2.02
3.63
3. 38
1.30
6. 86
5. 21
2. 33
7. 22
4. 77
2. 63
3.41
2.64
1. 72
2.66
2.02
.59
6. 05
4. 08
3.66
4. 71
4. 32
2.94
7. 75
5.88
3. 36
8.18
5. 82
3. 38
5.51
3.04
3. 94
3.47
2.81
1.58
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
D yeing and finishing textiles___ Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Electrical machinery__
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Foundries and machine shops... Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Furniture..
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
G la ss... . . . . .
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Accession rates
.u
.96
1. 05
. 75
2.10
.40
2. 22
.81
.79
.99
955
Labor Turn-Over
T able 2.—Monthly Turn-Over Rates (per 100 employees) in 39 Manufacturing
Industries1—Continued
Accession rates
Separation rates
Industry
Hardware_____
Iron and steel.-.
K nit goods____
Machine tools..
M en’s clothing.
Paints and varnishes---Paper and pulp________
Petroleum refining------Planing m ills____ ____ Printing: Book and job.
Printing: Newspapers and peri
odicals_______ ____________
Radios and phonographs...
Rayon and allied products.
Rubber boots and shoes—
Rubber tires________ ____
Sawmills.
Shipbuilding.
Silk and rayon goods.
Steam and hot water heating
apparatus.......................- ...........
metal work.
Woolen and worsted goods.
Date
Miscel Total
Total
New acces
D is Lay laneous separa Re
Q uit3 charge
off separa tion hiring hiring sion
tion 3
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
2. 86
1.85
.86
.69
.60
.42
1.30
1.06
.67
1.77
.98
.91
1.21
.98
.60
0.23
.21
.19
.09
.09
.07
.08
.09
. 10
.31
.23
.45
.24
.22
.08
1.20
.51
1.65
.30
.23
1.56
1.70
1. 28
2.00
.09
.19
.35
1.37
3.01
1.60
0.18
.10
. 14
.39
.21
. 12
. 18
.07
.06
.27
.12
.14
.10
.06
.11
4.47
2. 67
2.84
1.47
1.13
2.17
3.26
2. 50
2. 83
2.44
1.52
1.85
2. 92
4. 27
2. 39
0.40
.50
.59
.51
.60
.55
.69
.64
1.77
.37
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
.86
.88
.44
.77
.53
.40
.42
.37
.24
1.44
1.14
.92
1.48
.88
.39
.27
.17
. 12
. 13
. 10
.12
.05
.04
.05
.20
.23
. 16
.32
. 11
.24
.49
.83
1.45
.55
.86
1.29
1.26
.59
1.87
3. 51
2. 36
5. 37
3.58
4.58
4. 27
.26
.19
.08
.27
. 17
.13
.19
.17
.09
.25
. 13
.20
.25
. 12
.05
1.88
2.07
2.09
1.72
1.66
1.94
1.92
1.17
2. 25
5.40
3. 86
6. 65
5. 63
5.69
4. 95
1.39
.58
.53
.49
.55
.34
.48
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
.32
.37
.37
1.57
1. 50
1.49
.79
.55
.44
1.97
1.03
.71
.77
.63
.25
.07
.05
.06
. 16
. 10
.18
.15
.08
.06
.17
.18
.24
.05
.06
.06
2. 37
1.73
2.03
4. 22
2.25
7. 27
.19
.38
.81
2.29
.04
3.63
.84
.39
2. 55
.18
.08
. 17
. 19
.04
.02
. 19
. 14
.03
.22
.38
.28
.29
.17
.02
2.94
2. 23
2.63
6.14
3.89
8. 96
1.32
1.15
1.34
4. 65
1.63
4. 86
1.95
1.25
2.88
.94
1.53
.95
1.58
2. 08
.91
1.64
.31
.62
.52
.98
4. 25
.60
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
1.33
1.12
.80
1.93
1.89
.73
1.94
1.19
.87
.98
.95
.60
.17
.19
.22
.41
.31
.07
. 13
.04
.07
.25
.25
.16
2. 94
4. 63
4. 90
4. 78
4. 53
3. 12
1. 58
3. 25
4. 68
10. 89
7. 72
4. 39
.22
.21
. 15
.79
.72
.10
. 18
.07
.03
.31
.23
.25
4.66
6.15
6. 07
7.91
7.45
4. 02
3.83
4. 55
5. 65
12. 43
9.15
5. 40
Jan. 1941
Dec. 1940
Jan. 1940
1.57
1.11
.49
.28
.17
.12
.38
1.01
1.14
.33
. 10
. 10
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
1.30
1.38
.77
2. 43
1.81
1.52
.22
.19
.05
.15
.12
.10
1.73
2. 75
10.66
.88
1.96
3. 64
.23
.22
.24
.35
. 15
. 13
1941
1940
1940
1941
1940
1940
. 11
.10
3.98
4. 26
3.08
. 12
.92
.80
.85
.99
1.60
1.79
2. 74
6. 52
5.14
2. 38
2. 78
2.18
.60
2. 42
1. 55
1.31
6. 31
4. 37
5.56
3. 34
2.14
2. 06
6. 92
5.64
2. 97
3.29
2. 78
1.15
3.11
2.19
3.08
1.93
1.47
2. 42
3.32
2. 05
2.95
2.51
1.85
1.38
.93
.57
2.23
3.80
4. 02
2. 57
4.79
4. 30
4. 61
2.02
1.30
1.04
.45
.45
1.31
3. 00
3.17
1.58
3.19
2.51
1.87
6.68
4.48
5. 66
7.32
6.40
5.14
.91
.75
.83
2. 06
2. 34
.77
1.38
1.71
2.31
2.15
7.00
.34
3.87
3. 74
.37
1.85
2.28
1.78
3.64
4.42
1.85
1.37
1.79
5. 71
3. 83
2.50
2.08
2. 30
1.31
5. 87
3.74
4.62
2.53
2. 52
1.50
12.50
8.50
3. 53
4. 38
3. 89
3.29
18.21
12. 33
6. 03
4. 30
3.44
2.60
7. 21
7.76
8. 54
2.56
2. 39
1.85
.44
.28
.76
4.14
2.60
1.39
4.58
3.48
4.54
11. 72
3.81
4.04
5. 39
.64
1.34
7.01
1.60
1.75
4. 22
5. 71
4. 83
5.73
3.70
2. 58
1. 79
6.35
6.17
12.74
5. 30
4. 33
1.00
.58
2. 22
1.14
1.29
1.34
4. 02
3.92
1.68
3. 02
2.02
2. 93
2.67
7.98
4. 59
4.47
4.74
.95
2.88
2.15
6. 01
1 No individual industry data shown unless reports cover at least 25 percent of industrial employment
2 Beginning with September 1940, workers leaving to enter the Army or N avy are included in ‘ miscel
laneous separations.”
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
956
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Defense industries showed exceptionally high new-hiring rates as well.
An increase in the quit rate over the year interval occurred in 38 of the
39 industries for which separate rates were computed. This increase
in the number of voluntary separations indicates that many workers
are shifting jobs because of opportunities for reemployment under
more favorable conditions.
LABOR TU RN -O V ER IN T H E R U BBER IN D U STR Y ,
1939 AND 1940
THIS analysis of labor turn-over in the rubber industry is based on
reports received from 47 identical establishments that reported turn
over each month during the years 1939 and 1940. These companies
employed nearly 59,000 workers in 1939 and 61,000 in 1940, represent
ing approximately 50 percent of the total employment in the rubber
industry, based on the 1939 Census of Manufactures.
The rubber industry is divided into 3 distinct branches, manufac
turing (a) tires and inner tubes, (b) rubber boots and shoes, and (c)
miscellaneous rubber products. Of these the tire branch is the most
important, employing the largest group of workers and having the
greatest pay roll. It is highly centralized, geographically, the largest
plants being in Ohio.
Rubber Industry Compared With A ll Manufacturing
Turn-over rates in the rubber industry as a whole moved in the same
direction as those for all manufacturing from 1939 to 1940. The slight
decrease shown in the lay-off rate was more than offset by increases in
the quit and discharge rates. As a result the total separation rate in
1940 was above that in 1939. Although the increases in the accession
rates were virtually of the same magnitude for both the rubber industry
and for the entire manufacturing group, in both years the hiring rates
for the rubber industry were considerably lower than the rates for all
industries combined. The comparatively low turn-over rates in the
rubber industry may be attributed principally to those in the tire
branch. In the rubber industry as a whole the total separation rates
for 1939 and 1940 were more than 25 percent higher than those in the
tire industry, and the accession rates were more than a third higher.
In 1939 the total separation rate for plants manufacturing rubber
boots and shoes was almost identical with the rate for all manufactur
ing. In 1940, however, when the rate for all manufacturing declined
to 40.27, the rate for the rubber footwear industry dropped to 33.61
per 100 employees. The accession rate showed a much greater in
crease for rubber footwear (i. e., from 34.99 in 1939 to 50.42 in 1940)
than for manufacturing as a whole (48.85 to 52.72). The total separa
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
957
Labor Turn-Over
lion rates for plants manufacturing miscellaneous rubber products
were higher in both years than those for any other group. The com
paratively high separation rates were accompanied by high accession
rates. In 1939 workers were hired at the rate of 57.11 and in 1940,
58.97 per 100 employees.
T able 1.—Labor Turn-Over in A ll Manufacturing and in the Three Branches of the
Rubber Industry, 1939 and 1940 1
Separations
Accessions
Industry
All manufacturing _ _____ _
Rubber industry------------- . .
Tires and inner tubes _ .
Rubber boots and shoes..
Rubber products, not
otherwise classified. ..
Quits
Discharges
Lay-offs 2
Total
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
12.54
10.23
6.70
13.12
9. 52
7.61
5.90
9.08
1.84
1.04
.63
1.62
1.52
.80
.72
.84
25.89
21.61
17.75
18. 87
26. 67
21.78
13.44
28.05
40. 27
32.88
25. 08
33.61
37.71
30.25
20.06
37.97
52. 72
42.02
30. 73
50.42
48. 85
38. 75
32. 62
34. 99
15. 22
9.88
1.37
1.21
33.18
33.93
49.77
45.02
58. 97
57.11
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.
,
Turn-Over Rates in the Rubber Industry by Size of Plant
More stabilized employment conditions were indicated in the larger
plants in 1939 and 1940. Establishments with fewer than 1,000 workers
on the pay roll registered a total separation rate of 61.43 in 1939 and
58.54 per 100 employees in 1940 (table 2). Companies with 1,000 or
more employees reported separations at the rate of 20.57 in 1939 and
22.82 in 1940. The high separation rates in the smaller plants were
accompanied by correspondingly high accession rates, indicating
partial suspension of operations at various times during the two years.
The rates for accessions were more than twice as great for the small
plants in both years; in 1939 they hired workers at the rate of 64.66,
and in 1940, at 71.14 per 100 employees, as compared with 30.69 and
33.06, respectively, in the larger plants. Further indication of irregular
production schedules in the smaller establishments appears in the fact
that approximately 50 workers out of every 100 in 1939 and 41 in
1940 were laid off by them some time during each of the two years.
In the larger plants only about 13 in 1939, and 16 in 1940, of every 100
workers were reported as lay-offs. For persons rehired and persons
newly hired, no data are available prior to January 1940; the same
workers may have figured several times in the rates as lay-offs and
new employees. Turn-over reports received in 1940, however, indi
cate a ratio of approximately 2 workers rehired to 3 newly hired.
30 1 1 7 8 — 41 ---- 12
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
958
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 2.—Labor Turn-Over Rates in the Rubber Industry, by Product and Size of Plant,1
1939 and 1940
Rate per 100 employees in—
1940
Branch of industry and class of turn-over
Small
plants
Rubber industry:
Separations______________
Quits________________
Discharges___________
Lay-offs______________
Accessions_______________
Tires and inner tubes:
Separations..____________
Q u its._________ ______
Discharges___________
Lay-offs______________
Accessions_______________
Rubber boots and shoes:
Separations_____ _________
Quits________________
Discharges___________
Lay-offs____________ _
Accessions_______________
Miscellaneous rubber products:
Separations______________
Quits________________
Discharges__________ _
Lay-offs______________
Accessions_______________
1939
Large
plants
Small
plants
Large
plants
58. 54
15.69
1.88
40. 97
71.14
22. 82
6. 38
.78
15.66
33.06
61.43
9.78
1.18
50. 47
64.66
20. 57
6.94
.77
12.86
30.69
37. 08
10.31
1.25
25. 52
29.71
22.17
5.83
.48
15.86
30.98
29.28
8.69
.75
19. 84
31.05
18. 21
5.34
.72
12. 15
32. 93
42. 03
12. 35
2. 68
27. 00
70. 59
31.04
13.36
1.30
16. 38
44.24
70.74
5.23
.53
64.98
59.67
28.31
10.22
.93
17.16
27. 72
76. 89
19. 05
2. 32
55. 52
80. 26
40.82
13. 95
1.06
25.81
51.94
62. 21
13.92
1.38
46.91
81.88
38.69
8. 39
1.15
29.15
47. 99
Large plants include those haying 1,000 or more employees, in the rubber industry as a whole and in
footwear manufacture, 1,500 or over in tire manufacture, and 400 or over in the manufacture of miscellaneous
products. Plants having less than these numbers of employees were classified as “small.”
TP l he/ ' i bber in,dustry as a whole the 32 smaller plants employed 14,234 workers in 1940 and 13,859 in 1939,
and the 15 larger plants 46,244 in 1940 and 44,560 in 1939. In the tire branch of the industry the 6 smaller plants
employed 6,257 m 1940 and 5,085 in 1939, and the 6 larger plants 25,646 in 1940 and 25,265 in 1939. In the rubber
¡°°twear branch the 6 smaller plants employed 3,400 in 1940 and 3,387 in 1939, and the 3 larger plants 11,093
r u 1940 and 11,496 in 1939. In the manufacture of miscellaneous products the 15 smaller plants employed
3,496 m 1940 and 3,549 in 1939, and the 10 larger plants 10,586 in 1940 and 9,637 in 1939.
Manufacture of tires and inner tubes.—The variations in turn-over
rates by size of plants were not so great in the manufacture of tires as
in the industry as a whole (table 3). Some similarity in the turn-over
experience, however, was shown by the fact that separation rates were
higher in both years in plants with fewer than 1,500 employees. The
accession rates were nearly identical in both groups. It is of particular
interest that the rate for voluntary separations was much lower in the
larger plants in both years. The reason for this cannot be determined
from the data at hand. The smaller establishments reported a lay-off
rate of 19.84 in 1939 and 25.52 in 1940 as compared with 12.15 and
15.86, respectively, for the larger plants. The discharge rates were also
lower in the larger establishments.
Manufacture of rubber boots and shoes.—Contrary to the experience
for the tire companies, the quit rate in plants manufacturing rubber
boots and shoes was lower in both years in the smaller establishments.
In 1939 the voluntary separation rate was 10.22 in the larger firms and
5.23 in the smaller ones, as against 13.36 and 12.35, respectively, in
1940. The discharge rate was lower in the smaller plants in 1939 but
in 1940 the reverse was true. An outstanding feature was the decline
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Turn-Over
959
in the lay-off rate in the smaller plants from 64.98 in 1939 to 27.00 per
100 employees in 1940, while the rate for lay-offs in the larger establish
ments remained virtually on the same level, 17.16 in 1938 and 16.38
in 1940. The hiring rate was much higher for the smaller firms in
both years.
Manufacture of miscellaneous rubber 'products—A nominal decrease
was indicated in the lay-off rate in 1940, compared with the preceding
year, in miscellaneous-products plants with more than 400 workers on
the pay roll. In the smaller plants, however, the rate for lay-offs
increased from 46.91 in 1939 to 55.52 in 1940. Total separations were
higher in 1940 than in 1939 in both groups. Partly responsible for the
increase were the higher quit rates. In the smaller plants this type of
separations increased from 13.92 in 1939 to 19.05 in 1940. The in
crease for the corresponding period in the larger plants was from 8.39
to 13.95 per 100 employees. As a rule higher quit rates indicate an
improved labor market with greater employment opportunities. The
discharge rate for the smaller firms increased from 1.38 in 1939 to
2.32 in 1940. A slight decrease from 1.15 to 1.06 was shown for the
larger plants.
Turn-Over Rates in Identical Plants
In 1939 three-fourths of the employees were in plants with quit
rates of less than 10 percent; in 1940 the proportion decreased to about
three-fifths (table 3). Those in plants with quit rates of 10 and under
20 increased from one-fifth in 1939 to nearly one-third in 1940. A
substantial increase was indicated also in the firms having a quit rate
of more than 20 per 100 employees; 9 percent of the firms with less
than 3 percent of the employees in 1939 increased to 21 percent with
7 percent of the workers in 1940.
Plants having a discharge rate of less than 1 percent decreased from
64 percent in 1939 to 55 percent in 1940, but the number of their
employees remained virtually unchanged. In the higher brackets,
firms with a discharge rate of more than 3 for every 100 workers in
creased from 11 to 15 percent.
Approximately two-thirds of the workers were employed in plants
having fewer than 20 lay-offs for every 100 employees in both years.
In the groups reporting lay-offs of from 40 to 90, however, there was a
marked increase in the number of firms in 1940 compared with 1939.
The number of establishments having a lay-off rate of 90 or more
decreased from 13 to 9 percent.
About 25 percent of the plants with 50 percent of the employees
registered a total separation rate of less than 20 per 100 workers in
both years. In the groups with 40 to 90 the number of firms increased
from 21 to 40 percent and the employees increased from 7 percent
to 38 percent.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
960
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 3.—Distribution of Identical Plants in the Rubber Industry by Turn-Over Rates,
1939 and 1940 1
INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE (47 PLANTS)
Establishments
Class and rate of
turn-over
1940
Quits:
Under 2 .5 ____ ____
2. 5 and under 5.0__
5.0 and under 7.5__
7. 5 and under 10______
10 and under 15____ .
15 and under 20__
20 and under 25____
25 and under 30
30 and under 35
35 and over.. __
T o ta l............... .
Employees
Cumu
Cumu
Simple Cumu
lative Simple
lative Simple lative Simple
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
age
age
age
age
age
age
age
12.8
8.5
14.8
8.5
14.9
19.1
6.4
4.3
4.3
6.4
_
100.0
Discharges:
Under 0.2_______ _
0. 2 and under 0. 4 0. 4 and under 0. 5
0. 5 and under 0.8_______
0. 8 and under 1.0 ____
1.0 and under 1.5 ____
3.5 and under 2.0__ 2.0 and under 3.0 - _
3. 0 and under 5.0
5.0 and o v e r .,...........
17.0
12.8
4.3
17.0
4.3
10.6
8.5
10.6
6.4
8.5
T otal____________ .
_
1939
12.8
21.3
36.1
44.6
59.5
78.6
85.0
89.3
93.6
100.0
10.6
19.1
12.8
8.5
6.4
21.3
12.8
6.4
2.1
0
Total__________
100.0
Total separations:
Under 10_. ____
10 and under 20______
20 and under 30_____
30 and under 40 . . .
40 and under 60 .
60 and under 90 .
90 and under 120 ..
120 and under 150
150 and under 180
.. _
180 and over. _ . _
Total_______________ .
100.0
Accessions:
Under 5___________ _
5 and under 1 0 ______
10 and under 20_________
20 and under 30__ _ ___
30 and under 40__________
40 and under 50____ _ . .
50 and under 70___ ______
70 and under 110___ _____
110 and under 150_ _______
150 and over____________
Total___________
0
2.1
8.5
17.0
10.6
6.4
23.4
21.3
6.4
4.3
100.0
2.1
21.3
12.8
8.5
17.0
23.4
8.5
4.3
2.1
12.8
27.7
40.5
59.6
78.7
91.5
9.5.8
97.9
100.0
100.0
17.0
29.8
34.1
51.1
55.4
66.0
74.5
85.1
91.5
100.0
100.0
Lay-offs:2
Under 5_. _____ ____
5 and under 1 0 ____ .
10 and under 20____ .
20 and under 30__
30 and under 40 . .
40 and under 6 0 ___
60 and under 90
90 and under 120
120 and under 150
150 and over, . . .
12.8
14.9
12.8
19.1
19.1
12.8
4.3
2.1
2.1
0
1940
23.4
8.5
8.5
21.3
2.1
12.8
8.5
4.3
8.5
2.1
14.8
17.0
12.8
21.3
2.1
12.8
6.4
4.3
2.1
6.4
23.4
31.9
40.4
61.7
63.8
76.6
85.1
89.4
97.9
100.0
0
2.1
10.6
27.6
38.2
44.6
68.0
89.3
95.7
100.0
4.1
24.6
49.2
61.5
77.2
92.6
95.4
96.2
97.0
100.0
14.8
31.8
44.6
65.9
68.0
80.8
87.2
91.5
93.6
100.0
4.4
22.7
19.6
18.6
5.6
4.5
9.8
8.9
3.7
2. 2
4.4
27.1
46.7
65.3
70.9
75.4
85.2
94.1
97.8
100.0
6.4
27.7
44.7
63.8
72.3
85. 1
91.5
0
97.6
100.0
2.1
2.1
10.6
10.6
17.0
8.5
25.6
14.9
4.3
4.3
100.0
2.1
4.2
14.8
25.4
42.4
50.9
76.5
91.4
95.7
100.0
18.6
36.3
12.5
9.9
2.1
15.3
2.0
2.8
.5
0
18.6
54.9
67.4
77.3
79.4
94.7
96.7
99.5
100.0
6.3
20.8
20.9
19.9
1.9
10.1
12.7
.7
6.2
.5
6.3
27.1
48.0
67.9
69.8
79.9
92.6
93.3
99.5
100.0
10.8
42.1
10.0
25.6
.3
4.8
1.7
.9
1.4
2.4
10.8
52.9
62.9
88.5
88.8
93.6
95.3
96.2
97.6
100.0
100.0
1.3
49.4
8.1
9.3
15.3
12.5
1.5
2.0
.6
1.3
50.7
58.8
68.1
83.4
95.9
97.4
99i 4
100. 0
6.0
43.2
13.8
24.8
3.5
3.9
1.1
0
2.7
1.0
100.0
6.0
49.2
63.0
87.8
91.3
95.2
96.3
0
99.0
100.0
0
1.4
5.9
52.1
65.0
68.0
89.4
96.4
98.5
100.0
.2
.3
9.7
24.6
35.9
10.0
11.1
5.3
2.1
.8
100.0
.2
.5
10.2
34.8
70.7
80.7
91.8
97.1
99.2
100. 0
100.0
0
1.4
4.5
46.2
12.9
3.0
21.4
7.0
2.1
1.5
100.0
5.0
30.5
55.1
75.9
92.5
97.5
99. 5
99. 7
100.0
100.0
100.0
6.4
21.3
17.0
19.1
8.5
12.8
6.4
0
6.4
2.1
100.0
5.0
25.5
24.6
20.8
16.6
5.0
2.0
.2
.3
0
100.0
100.0
100.0
2.1
23.4
36.2
44. 7
61.7
85.1
93.6
97.9
100.0
1939
100.0
100.0
10.6
29.7
42.5
51.0
57.4
78.7
91.5
97.9
100.0
4.1
20.5
24.6
12.3
15.7
15.4
2.8
.8
.8
3.0
Cumu
lative
per
cent
age
—
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.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
961
Labor Turn-Over
T
able
3. —Distribution of Identical Plants in the Rubber Industry by Turn-Over Rates
1930 and 1940—Continued
TIRES AND IN N ER TUBES (12 PLANTS)
Employees
Establishments
Class and rate of
turn-over
Cumu Simple Cumu Simple Cumu
Simple Cumu
lative
lative
lative
lative Simple
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
age
age
age
age
age
age
age
age
Quits:
8.3
16.7
33.3
8.3
16.7
16.7
0
0
0
0
8.3
25.0
58.3
66.6
83.3
100.0
100.0
Discharges:
Under 0. 2____________________
8.3
25.0
16.7
8.3
8.3
0
0
33.4
0
0
8.3
16.7
25. 0
8.3
0
41.7
0
0
0
0
8.3
33.3
50. 0
58.3
66.6
0
0
100.0
0
25.0
25.0
8.3
16.7
25.0
0
0
0
0
0
16.7
50.0
83.3
100.0
8.3
8.3
25.1
16.7
8.3
16. 7
8.3
0
8.3
0
8.3
25.0
50.0
58.3
0
100.0
0
25.0
41.7
25.0
0
8.3
0
0
0
0
1.0
37.1
42.0
3.7
10.7
5.5
0
0
0
0
1939
1.0
38.1
80.1
83.8
94.5
100.0
100.0
8.3
16.6
41.7
58.4
66.7
83.4
91. 7
0
100.0
1.0
39.0
37.1
2.9
3.9
0
0
16.1
0
0
0
25.0
66.7
91.7
100.0
100.0
30.7
34.5
11.2
3.9
0
19.7
0
0
0
0
0
35.1
39.4
14.1
11.4
0
0
0
0
0
0
35.1
74.5
88.6
100.0
100.0
1.0
40.0
77.1
80.0
83.9
0
0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total separations:
0
16.7
33.3
33.3
16.7
0
0
0
0
0
100.0
100.0
L ay-offs2:
1940
1939
1940
1. 2
28.5
38.5
9.7
3.7
5.6
7.7
0
5.1
0
1.2
29.7
68. 2
77.9
81.6
87.2
94.9
0
100.0
100.0
30.7
65.2
76.4
80.3
0
100.0
0
62.2
18.4
17.8
0
1.6
0
0
0
0
0
62.2
80.6
98.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
0
25.0
50.0
58.3
75.0
100.0
0
25.0
41.7
25.0
0
8.3
0
0
0
100.0
0
25.0
66.7
91.7
0
100.0
0
65.2
11.2
3.9
4.8
14.9
0
0
0
100.0
0
65.2
76.4
80.3
85.1
100.0
0
61.0
19.5
17.9
0
1.6
0
0
0
100.0
0
61.0
80.5
98.4
0
100.0
0
8.3
25.0
50.0
0
66.7
91.7
100.0
0
0
16.7
16.6
25.0
25.0
16.7
0
0
0
0
0
16.7
33.3
58.3
83.3
100.0
0
2.6
7.5
64.5
0
4.9
18.9
1.6
0
0
0
2.6
10.1
74.6
0
79.5
98.4
100.0
0
0
5.2
35.1
34.8
18.2
6.7
0
0
0
0
0
5.2
40.3
75.1
93.3
100.0
100.0
Accessions:
0
8.3
16.7
25.0
0
16.7
25.0
8.3
0
0
100.0
100.0
3 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
100.0
100.0
962
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T a b l e 3. — Distribution of Identical Plants in the Rubber Industry by Turn-Over Rates,
1939 and 1940—Continued
RUBBER BOOTS AND SHOES (10 PLANTS)
Establishments
Class and rate of
turn-over
Cumu Simple Cumu
Simple Cumu
lative Simple
lative
lative Simple
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
age
age
age
age
age
age
age
1940
Quits:
Under 2. 5________
2. 5 and under 5. 0___
5. 0 and under 7. 5 ...
7.5 and under 10. 0__
10.0 and under 15. 0
15.0 and under 20.0
20.0 and under 25. 0
25.0 and under 30.0.
30. 0 and under 35. 0.
35. 0 and over_____
T otal___________
Discharges:
Under 0. 2_______
0. 2 and under 0.4
0.4 and under 0. 5
0. 5 and under 0.8
0. 8 and under 1. 0
1.0 and under 1. 5.
1. 5 and under 2.0.
2. 0 and under 3.0
3. 0 and under 5.0
5.0 and over_____
Total_________
Lay-offs: a
Under 5________
5 and under 10___
10 and under 20...
20 and under 30...
30 and under 40...
40 and under 60...
60 and under 90...
90 and under 120__
120 and under 150.
150 and over____
Employees
20.0
0
10.0
10.0
20.0
20.0
10.0
0
0
10.0
1939
20.0
0
30.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
90.0
0
0
100.0
100.0
10.0
10.0
0
30.0
0
10.0
20.0
0
10.0
10.0
20.0
10.0
10.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0
0
0
0
20.0
30.0
40.0
70.0
90.0
100.0
100.0
10.0
20.0
0
50.0
0
60.0
80.0
0
90.0
100.0
100.0
20.0
10.0
10.0
30.0
0
10.0
20.0
0
0
0
10.0
10.0
20.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
0
30.0
0
30.0
20.0
100.0
20.0
0
0
10.0
0
0
10.0
10.1
0
3.5
21.0
22.9
31.5
7.2
0
0
3.8
1939
10.1
0
13.6
34.6
57.5
89.0
96.2
0
0
100.0
100.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
70.0
0
80.0
100.0
100.0
30.0
0
0
0
0
0
1940
6.3
3.8
0
43.9
0
3.5
31.5
0
7.2
3.8
0
100.0
1.1
32.0
25.3
30.3
0
11.3
0
10.4
3.5
3.3
43.9
32.0
6.9
0
0
0
0
10.4
13.9
17.2
61.1
93.1
100.0
100.0
6.3
10.1
0
54.0
0
57.5
89.0
0
96.2
100.0
100.0
0
30.0
0
60.0
0
80.0
90.0
0
Cumu
lative
per
cent
age
9.7
4.1
3.5
43.9
0
6.9
31.9
0
0
0
9.7
13.8
17.3
61.2
0
68.1
100.0
100.0
1.1
0
0
33.1
58.4
88.7
32.7
32.7
51.3
84.0
100.0
10.9
1.0
94.9
95.9
4.1
100.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total_____ . . . .
Total separations:
Under 10________
10 and under 20...
20 and under 30. __
30 and under 40...
40 and under 60...
60 and under 90...
90 and under 120..
120 and under 150.
150 and under 180.
180 and over_____
Total_________
0
0
0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
22.1
10.0
20.0
100.0
30.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
22.1
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
7.3
29.1
32.7
29.4
58.5
91.2
20.0
0
0
0
0
Total................. .
100.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
100.0
100.0
0
0
0
0
10.0
0
10.0
20.0
10.0
0
20.0
30.0
0
30.0
10.0
10.0
30.0
0
0
50.0
0
80.0
90.0
0
10.0
100. 0
20.0
20.0
0
0
100.0
2 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8.8
10.0
100.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100.0
Accessions:
Under 5________
5 and under 10___
10 and under 20...
20 and under 30...
30 and under 40...
40 and under 50...
50 and under 70...
70 and under 110..
110 and under 150.
150 and over_____
30.0
0
30.0
60.0
0
80.0
100.0
0
0
1.1
21.0
0
100.0
0
0
1.1
22.1
59.2
91.2
96.2
3.8
100.0
100.0
1.0
4.1
100.0
0
0
100.0
32.0
5.0
0
0
25.8
32.7
83.9
90.3
94.9
95.9
0
0
37.1
0
0
25.8
6.9
51.2
6.4
4.6
0
0
1.0
0
22.4
3.5
54.8
0
10.4
7.9
0
0
100.0
1.0
0
23.4
26.9
81.7
0
92.1
100.0
963
Labor Turn-Over
T able 3.— Distribution of Identical Plants in the Rubber Industry by Turn-Over Rates,
1939 and 1940—Continued
MISCELLANEOUS RUBBER PRODUCTS (25 PLANTS)
Employees
Establishments
Cumu Simple Cumu Simple
Simple Cumu
lative
lative Simple
per
per
per lative
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
age
age
age
age
age
age
age
Class and rate of
turn-over
30.0 and under 35.0__ _
--- --
12.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
12.0
20.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
0
12.0
20.0
28.0
36.0
48.0
68.0
76.0
84.0
92.0
100.0
0.4 and under 0.5 . .
24.0
8.0
0
16.0
4.0
16.0
8.0
4.0
12.0
8.0
24.0
32.0
0
48.0
52.0
68.0
76.0
80.0
92.0
100.0
12.0
16.0
4.0
4.0
16.0
8.0
24.0
12.0
4.0
0
12.0
28.0
32.0
36.0
52.0
60.0
84.0
96.0
100.0
4.0
20.0
4.0
4.0
16.0
24.0
16.0
8.0
4.0
0
4.0
24.0
28.0
32.0
48.0
72.0
88.0
96.0
100.0
0
0
4.0
16.0
8.0
4.0
20.0
32.0
12.0
4.0
100.0
32.0
8.0
0
20.0
0
12.0
4.0
8.0
12.0
4.0
28.0
8.0
4.0
16.0
4.0
12.0
8.0
8.0
4.0
8.0
12.0
20.0
8.0
12.0
12.0
16.0
8.0
0
12.0
0
0
0
4.0
20.0
28.0
32.0
52.0
84.0
96.0
100.0
0
0
1.1
31.2
17.1
2.0
15.9
21.0
9.1
2.6
100.0
3 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
32.0
40.0
0
60.0
0
72.0
76.0
84.0
96.0
100.0
10.3
5.0
0
27.8
15.0
15.7
9.9
2.0
11.4
2.9
10.3
15.3
0
43.1
58.1
73.8
83.7
85.7
97.1
100.0
12.0
10.4
27.9
14.6
10.2
11.4
14.6
8.9
0.8
1.2
0
12.0
10.4
38.3
52.9
63.1
74.5
89.1
98.0
98.8
100.0
28.0
36.0
40.0
56.0
60.0
72.0
80.0
88.0
92.0
100.0
9.0
44.7
2.2
2.4
15.5
3.4
8.6
12.1
2.1
100.0
14.0
21.9
0
16. 4
0
24.3
2.4
2.9
15.7
2.4
14.0
35.9
0
52.3
0
76.6
79.0
81.9
97.6
100-0
100.0
100.0
9.0
53.7
55.9
58.3
73.8
77.2
85.8
97.9
100.0
48.0
6.5
2.2
14.3
1.2
5.3
6.5
3.8
6.3
5.9
48.0
54.5
56.7
71.0
72.2
77.5
84.0
87.8
94.1
100.0
100.0
12.0
32.0
40.0
52.0
64.0
80.0
88.0
0
100.0
5.8
41.5
2.1
1.2
20.7
10.8
6.6
8.7
2.6
0
5.8
47.3
49.4
50.6
71.3
82.1
88.7
97.4
100.0
0
0
1.1
32.3
49.4
51.4
67.3
88.3
97.4
100.0
0
4.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
4.0
32.0
20.0
8.0
8.0
100.0
26.8
21.5
8.4
10.3
8.4
8.6
3.8
0
12.2
0
26.8
48.3
56.7
67.0
75.4
84.0
87.8
0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Accessions:
5.2
9.2
16.2
38.9
58.3
79.6
84.4
87.8
91.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total separations:
5.2
4.0
7.0
22.7
19.4
21.3
4.8
3.4
3.3
8.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Lay-offs:3
12.0
16.0
32.0
36.0
44.0
64.0
84.0
92.0
96.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Discharges:
12.0
16.0
16.0
4.0
8.0
20.0
20.0
8.0
4.0
4.0
0
1939
1940
1939
1940
Cumu
lative
per
cent
age
0
4.0
12.0
20.0
28.0
32.0
64.0
84.0
92.0
100.0
0
1.2
5.8
24.5
16.5
2.4
22.3
14.7
9.1
3.5
100.0
0
1.2
7.0
31.5
48.0
50.4
72.7
87.4
96.5
100-0
964
Monthly Lahor Review—A pril 1941
Plants registering an accession rate of less than 30 per 100 workers
showed a slight increase in 1940 compared with the preceding year, but
the number of employees rose from 35 to 52 percent. In the rate
groups of 70 or more the number of plants increased from 24 to 32
percent, and the number of employees increased from 8 to 11 percent.
Manufacture of tires and inner tubes.—In 1939, 17 percent of the
firms with 35 percent of the employees and in 1940, 25 percent of the
firms with 38 percent of the workers registered fewer than 5 quits
per 100 workers. Plants with a quit rate of more than 10 per 100
employees increased from 17 to 33 percent, and the employees in these
plants increased from 11 percent to 16 percent.
The distribution of plants having a discharge rate of less than 1 for
every 100 employees remained at the same level in 1940 as in 1939,
and only a slight change was indicated in the number of employees.
In 1939, two-thirds and in 1940, one-half of the plants reported a
lay-off of fewer than 20 per 100 workers; during the same period their
employees decreased from 81 to 76 percent.
More than 60 percent of the workers were employed in firms having
a lay-off* rate of less than 20 for every 100 workers in both years. The
number of establishments in which total separations were 60 and
fewer than 90 per 100 employees increased from 8 percent in 1939 to
25 percent in 1940. These plants employed only 2 percent of the total
number of workers in 1939 and 15 percent in 1940.
In 1939, more than 40 accessions per 100 employees were reported
in approximately 42 percent of the plants and in 1939, 50 percent.
These establishments employed 25 percent of the total number of
employees in both years. One-third of the plants in 1939 and onehalf in 1940 reported fewer than 30 accessions for every 100 workers.
The number of employees in these plants increased from 40 percent in
1939 to 65 percent in 1940.
Manufacture of rubber boots and shoes.—A substantial decrease was
indicated in 1940 compared with 1939 in the number of plants with
fewer than 10 quits for every 100 employees. In 1939, 70 percent,
and in 1940, 40 percent of all plants were in this group, while the
number of their employees declined from 61 to 35 percent. A notable
increase was shown in the plants with more than 15 and fewer than 25
for every 100 workers; the plants increased from 10 percent to 30
percent and their employees from 7 percent to 39 percent.
Nearly three-fourths of the plants, employing 61 percent of the total
number of workers, reported discharges at the rate of less than 1 per
100 in 1939; as compared with half of the establishments employing
54 percent of the total number of employees in 1940.
In 1939, 60 percent of the plants with 84 percent of the employees,
and in 1940, 80 percent with 89 percent of the workers reported lay-off
rates of less than 30 for every 100 employees. In the same period
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Turn-Over
965
the number of establishments with lay-off rates of 40 or more per 100
workers decreased from 40 to 20 percent.
In 1939, 84 percent, and in 1940, 59 percent of the employees were
with plants reporting fewer than 40 separations per 100 workers.
The percentage of the total number of firms in this group remained
unchanged.
The number of firms with fewer than 30 accessions for every 100
workers decreased from 30 percent in 1939 to 20 percent of the total in
1940. Twenty-seven percent of the employees were employed in
these plants in 1939 and 22 percent in 1940.
Manufacture of miscellaneous rubber products.—A tendency toward
slightly higher quit rates was indicated by reports received from
manufacturers of miscellaneous rubber products during 1939 and
1940. Establishments registering more than 20 quits per 100 em
ployees increased from 16 percent of the total in 1939 to 24 percent
in 1940, and the number of their employees increased from 11 to 16
percent. In the lower brackets the number of workers in plants
reporting fewer than 5 quits for every 100 workers decreased from 38
to 16 percent.
In 1939, three-fifths of the plants with 52 percent of the workers had
a discharge rate of less than 1 for every 100 workers. In 1940 slightly
more than one-half of the plants and 58 percent of the employees
were in the same group.
More than one-half of the total number of workers were employed in
plants having a lay-off rate of fewer than 20 for every 100 employees
in both years. The number of workers in plants with a lay-off rate
of more than 60 per 100 workers remained virtually unchanged.
Plants having a total separation rate of fewer than 30 for every
100 workers decreased from 40 to 28 percent, and their employees
declined from 57 to 49 percent.
A marked decrease was shown in the number of plants reporting
accessions of fewer than 30 per 100 employees, i. e., from about onethird of the plants with 32 percent of the workers to one-fifth of the
plants with 20 percent of the employees. In the higher brackets
concerns having accessions of more than 50 per 100 workers increased
from 49 percent of the total in 1939 to 68 percent in 1940, and workers
employed in these plants increased from 50 to 68 percent.
Turn-Over Rates in Selected Plants
Turn-over rates in individual plants in the rubber industry followed
an irregular pattern in 1939 and 1940. Certain firms that reported
comparatively low total separation rates in 1939 had unusually high
rates in 1940; others with high rates in 1939 showed sharp decreases
in the following year. The same was true of accessions.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
966
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Since lay-offs constituted the largest part of all classes of separations
in firms with high turn-over rates, it may be assumed that the principal
cause for the large number of changes in personnel was a partial
suspension of operations at various times, usually the result of lack of
orders or material.
That all of the new workers hired were not satisfactory was in
dicated by the high discharge rates in some of the plants. In 1939
one plant reported an accession rate of 52.25 per 100 employees; of
those hired more than 4 of every 100 were discharged. Another com
pany with an accession rate of 96.66 in 1939 and 82.77 in 1940 reported
discharges at the rate of 3.34 and 4.96 per 100 employees. As evidence
that careful selection of new employees reduces the number of un
necessary hirings, some other plants with high accession rates reported
very low discharge rates.
The ratio of quits to accessions is important. A high quit rate
accompanied by a high rate for accessions indicates a favorable labor
market; it may also signify that the workers are shifting from one
plant to another in the same industry and in the same locality. The
quit rates for the individual plants were, with a few exceptions, higher
in 1940 than in 1939. Two plants, both in a highly industrialized
area, reported outstanding increases in the quit rate in 1940 compared
with 1939. In other plants the percentage of increase was not so
great. There was a trend toward higher voluntary separation rates
in the industry as a whole.
T able 4.—Annual Labor Turn-Over Rates in 20 Selected Plants Manufacturing Rubber
Products, 1939 and 1940 1
Separations
Plant
Tires and inner tubes:
Plant No. 1Plant No. 2___ ____
Plant No. 3 ..
__
Plant No. 4
_
Plant No. 5____________ .
Plant No. 6___________
Plant N o. 7______ . . .
lubber boots and shoes:
Plant No. 8_______________
Plant N o. 9_.
.. ..
Plant No. 10.__ __ . . . _
Plant No. 11
Plant No. 1 2 .. __ _______
Miscellaneous rubber products:
Plant No. 13. _ _____
Plant No. 14 .
Plant No. 15____ ____
Plant No. 1 6 ...
Plant No. 1 7 . . . . . . .
Plant No. 18. . . . . . ___
Plant N o. 19
Plant No. 20______________
Quits
Discharges
Accessions
Lay-offs 2
Total
1940
1939
21.99
20.18
19.81
28.06
12. 30
34.23
34. 27
50.36
13. 79
9. 80
18. 03
24. 21
22.17
56. 61
24. 69
12. 96
30.13
52. 25
31.73
32. 98
44.61
16.10
22.16
32.15
29.98
42. 26
17.44
12.23
30.70
28. 77
35. 30
29. 05
32. 73
67.92
39. 75
37. 95
13. 34
21.17
32. 23
34.44
34.42
18.79
53.05
82.18
76.24
63.91
55.91
52.84
9.45
11.55
33. 60
79.05
45.68
25.88
83. 73
38. 75
7. 80
23.94
59. 78
67. 82
82. 77
93.49
97.16
40. 43
25. 03
14.16
59. 44
97.91
96.66
54. 55
86. 87
48.13
26.04
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
6. 09
9. 92
5. 85
10. 26
7. 07
5. 97
3. 25
2. 88
9.19
6.37
9.91
5.58
8. 56
5.17
0. 33
2. 02
.24
2.07
.30
.64
.39
0. 36
1.23
.46
4. 25
.22
.38
.68
18. 73
5. 21
15. 89
46.98
4.46
17.91
56.90
18. 75
9. 76
12.98
13.90
6. 50
25.29
28.42
25.15
17.15
21.98
59.31
11.83
24. 52
60.54
8. 25
5. 39
12. 54
21.36
15. 92
7.94
4.66
7. 71
19. 67
11.60
.69
1.20
.66
2. 97
1.85
.57
.39
.46
1.37
1.47
7.16
15. 57
18. 95
5. 65
24. 49
8. 93
7.18
22. 53
7. 73
22. 23
10.80
42. 83
6. 32
21.93
40.24
16. 90
16. 67
7.24
8. 71
9. 33
10. 99
17. 55
13. 99
17.91
16. 56
3.06
1.94
.98
0
4.96
1.18
1.18
2.13
.61
1.31
3.82
.52
3.34
0
.60
1.88
.70
6. 05
9. 24
75. 86
49.35
22.49
37. 83
34. 04
1.60
1.53
20.45
67. 54
24. 79
11.89
65.22
20.31
4.04
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.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Minimum Wages and Maximian Hours
t*»*+#****44*+**4*»4*4***4*+4******+4**+*4+4***+**4******++4++4+444+**
WAGE O R D ER FOR C A RPET AND RUG IN D U STR Y 1
EMPLOYEES in the wool division of the carpet and rug industry are
entitled to a 40-cent minimum hourly wage, and those engaged in
other than the wool division are to be paid 35 cents hourly, according
to an order issued by the Administrator of the Fair Labor Standards
Act. These minimum rates came into effect on March 17, 1941. It
is estimated that of the 31,000 workers employed in the industry,
1,100 were receiving less than the minimum wages established.
The 40-cent minimum applies to employees engaged in (a) the
spinning, dyeing, finishing, or processing of carpet yarns which contain
any carpet wool; or (6) the manufacturing, dyeing, finishing, or proc
essing of rugs or carpets containing any wool of any kind, under the
definition of the carpet and rug industry. Included in the other than
wool division, for which the minimum hourly rate is 35 cents, are all
employees excluded from the wool division.
As defined in the Administrator’s order, the carpet and rug industry
embraces: (a) The spinning, dyeing, finishing, or processing of carpet
yarns which contain any carpet wool; and (b) the manufacturing,
dyeing, finishing, or processing of rugs or carpets from any yarns or
fibers or from grass or paper, but not including bath mats or the
manufacture by hand of rugs or carpets.
WAGE D E T E R M IN A T IO N FOR D IE-C A STIN G
M ANUFACTURE 2
THE minimum wage in the die-casting-manufacturing industry for
employees engaged in the performance of Government contracts under
the Walsh-Healey Act, was fixed by the Secretary of Labor at 50
cents an hour or $20 per week of 40 hours, arrived at on either a timeor piece-work basis. Effective on bids let on or after April 5, 1941,
this wage applies in the industry which manufactures die castings
for sale, and does not include the manufacture of die castings when
i u . S. Department of Labor. Wage and Hour Division. Press releases Nos. 1285 and 1294, dated
February 20, and March 17,1941.
a Idem, Division of Public Contracts. Press release No. 1819.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
967
968
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
incorporated into another product by the manufacturer of such other
products. The term die casting as used in the determination de
scribes a casting made by forcing molten metal under pressure into a
metallic mold or die.
Apprentices may be employed at lower rates of pay, if their em
ployment conforms to the standards of the Federal Committee on
Apprenticeship. Learners may be employed at the rate of 40 cents
an hour or $16 per week of 40 hours, for not to exceed 60 days, if the
total number of employees so classified does not exceed 5 percent of
the total number of employees in any one establishment.
E X T E N SIO N OF D ET ER M IN A T IO N S FOR COTTONG A RM EN T AND RAINCOAT IN D U ST R IE S 1
THE determinations of the Secretary of Labor covering the cottongarment and men’s raincoat industries were extended to cover wages
in additional manufacturing processes on February 8, 1941. The
extended coverage became effective on all bids solicited on or after
March 6, 1941, under the Walsh-Healey law.
The determination for the cotton-garment and allied industries
was amended to include the manufacture and supply of ammunition
and cartridge belts made of textiles; canvas leggings; cot covers;
fabric pouches and carriers for first-aid equipment, such as kit cantle
ring straps, kit inserts, kit laces, kit couches, and kit suspenders;
mattress covers; mosquito bars; and wardrobe bags with strings,
made of textiles. The minimum hourly wage to be paid was fixed
at 37.5 cents an hour or $15 for a week of 40 hours, arrived at either
on a time- or piece-work basis. Learners and handicapped and
superannuated workers may be employed in accordance with the
provisions of the determination previously made for the industry.2
Coverage of the men’s raincoat determination was extended to
employees engaged in the manufacture of oiled, waterproof cotton
outer garments and all other types of rain wear not previously cov
ered. For this industry the minimum prevailing wage is 40 cents
an hour or $16 a week of 40 hours, arrived at either on a time- or
piece-work basis.2 Learners and handicapped and superannuated
workers may be employed in accordance with the provisions of the
determination previously made for the industry.
1 U. S. Department of Labor. Division of Public Contracts. Press releases Nos. 1780 and 1781.
2 For terms of the determination, see M onthly Labor Review, issue of October 1940: Four Years of Public
Contracts Act.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours
969
A C TIV IT IES OF WAGE AND HOUR D IV ISIO N , 1939-401
STRESS is placed on the need for good labor relations to facilitate the
defense effort, in the second annual report of the Administrator of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. This report, covering the fiscal year end
ing June 30, 1940, draws on the experience in the United States and
other belligerent countries in the war period of 1914—18, to point out
eventualities that should be guarded against, and also shows how cer
tain of the warring countries have been handling labor problems in the
recent period of their war preparation and activity. The Adminis
trator pointed out that employment indexes would soon reach new
peaks under the stimulus of the defense program and of the 40-hour
week established by the terms of the wage and hour law which his
division enforces.
Employers, the report states, are hastening to comply with the
terms of the law. Realization is spreading that time and one-half
the regular hourly rate of pay for work in excess of 40 hours weekly
must be paid to maintenance workers and office workers in most
commercial establishments, as well as to production workers in fac
tories.
At the close of the year 1940, wage restitutions had been made to
200.000 employees, amounting to more than $5,000,000. Payment
of over $1,000,000 more had been arranged. Six months earlier
(i. e., on June 30, 1940) the total in restitutions had amounted to
$2,161,707. Thus, enforcement of the law gained considerable im
petus in the second half of the year. The total number of inspections
was 28,795 in the calendar year 1940, of which 24,691 (or nearly 87
percent) were made from July to December, inclusive.
Pay rolls in low-wage industries have been increased by more than
$100,000,000 annually, as a result of operations under the wage and
hour law. In addition to establishment of the general 30-cent
minimum wage, 16 wage orders have been promulgated fixing wages
between 32}i and 40 cents an hour. The 16 industries covered employ
3.185.000 workers, of whom 601,600 were previously being paid at
lower rates than the rates established for their industries; conse
quently, these persons received wage increases.
No specific recommendations are offered by the Administrator for
further wage and hour legislation. The report states that many
fundamental changes in the regulations have been provided. Pending
further experience in administration and further study of the law’s
effects, it is not possible to foretell whether amendments will be
necessary.
Conditions have undergone significant change in the period covered
by the report. Business improved considerably in the first half of
i Data are from U. S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Annual Report for Fiscal Year
Ended June 30,1940, Washington, 1941; and press release No. 1273.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
970
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
1940, and many unemployed workers were called back to jobs.
The act has not adversely affected agriculture, in the opinion of the
Administrator. It has not resulted in a general rise in the price level
to the disadvantage of farmers, and farmers’ and city workers’ in
comes are interdependent. Insofar as the Fair Labor Standards Act
helps to maintain employment and pay rolls, it provides a support for
consumer demand for food and other farm products. The law has
also aided farm families directly, since their members work in a
great many rural factories and in other nonfarming occupations,
which are subject to the labor provisions.
wmw
WAGE O RD ER FOR GLOVE IN D U ST R Y IN PU ERTO
RICO
UNDER an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which
allowed an exception to the statutory minimum of 30 cents per hour
for workers in Puerto Rico, the Administrator of the Wage and Hour
Division was empowered to fix piece rates which are computed to
yield the minimum hourly rates fixed for the different industries.
Recommendations of a special industry committee, for minimumwage rates in the woven or knitted fabric glove and the leather glove
divisions of the needlework industries in Puerto Rico, were approved
by the Administrator to be effective February 19, 1941.1 Wage rates
in other divisions of the needlework industry were made effective
December 2, 1940.2
In the woven or knitted glove division the minimum rate for hand
sewing, including (but not by way of limitation) hand drawing, hand
rolling, and embroidering and embellishing by hand, is 15 cents an
hour, and for the same operations in the leather glove division, 18
cents an hour. For other operations, including (but not by way of
limitation) cutting, machine operating, stamping, sorting, washing,
finishing, pressing, examining, and packing the minimum rate for
both fabric and leather gloves is 20 cents an hour.
An order issued February 15, 1941, effective February 19, 1941,
fixed the piece rates for hand-sewing operations for both fabric and
leather gloves which will yield at least the above hourly rates.
1 TJ. S. Department of Labor. Wage and Hour Division.
* See M onthly Labor Review, December 1940, p. 1333.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Press release, January 18,1941.
Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours
971
M IN IM U M -W A G E RATES IN M EX ICO , 1940 AND 1941 1
MINIMUM-WAGE rates in Mexico, fixed by special commissions in
the various municipalities, for the years 1940 and 1941, and approved
by the Central Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration in the early
part of 1940, vary from 0.75 peso 2 per day in Chiapas to 5 pesos
in the northern district of Lower California. For 1938 and 1939,
the lowest rate had been 0.75 peso in Jalisco and the highest 4.50
pesos in the northern district of Lower California; for 1936 and 1937,
the lowest was 0.75 peso in 5 States, and the highest 4.50 pesos in the
northern district of Lower California. In 1940 and 1941, only one
wage was established for all types of work, in the State of Jalisco
and in the Territory of Quintana Roo, although this wage varied
from one municipality to another in Jalisco. In three municipalities
of Colima the minimum wage in the salt works consisted of a specified
amount of money and a share in the salt. In all the municipalities
of Tlaxcala, the minimum-wage rates fixed for 1940 and 1941 were
to be augmented by 16% percent; in 1938 and 1939, the minimum
wage in 13 municipalities of this State consisted of a specified amount
of money and a specified quantity of maize. The minimum wage
fixed for field workers in the Federal District, for 1940 and 1941, is
applicable to persons to whom the employer furnishes dwelling, a
truck patch, firewood, and similar payments in kind which reduce
their cost of living. The greatest number of minimum-wage rates
fixed according to type of work for 1940 and 1941 was 11 in Oaxaca,
as compared with 9 in Sinaloa for 1938 and 1939, and 11 in Sinaloa
and the southern district of Lower California for 1936 and 1937.
The accompanying table shows for the various geographical divi
sions of Mexico the number of types of work for which wages were
fixed for 1940 and 1941, with the lowest and highest minimum-wage
rates for each division.
These rates represent an increase over those for 1938 and 1939 in
the lowest minimum wage in 9 governmental divisions, varying from
10 centavos in San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz to 1 peso
in the northern district of Lower California; and an increase in the
highest rate in 14 divisions, varying from 15 centavos in Jalisco and
Tamaulipas to 1 peso in Campeche. Decreases shown in the lowest
wages were 5 centavos in Chiapas and Tlaxcala (in the latter instance
not a real decrease, because of the supplement of 16% percent estab
lished for all rates) and 25 centavos in México and Yucatán; in the
highest rate, a decrease of 75 centavos is shown in Mexico. Both
1 Data are from Revista del Trabajo, (Departamento Federal del Trabajo, Mexico, D . F.), April, May,
and June 1940. For background and analysis of rates for 1938 and 1939, see Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Serial No. R. 897: Wages in Mexico, 1937 and 1938; for description of the Mexican plan for fixing minimum
wages, and the rates for 1936 and 1937, see Bulletin of the Pan American Union (Washington), July 1938.
2 Average exchange rate of peso (100 centavos) in 1940=18.5 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
972
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
lowest and highest minimum-wage rates remained at the same level
in 14 governmental divisions for 1940 and 1941 as for 1938 and 1939;
in addition to these, the lowest rates remained the same in the southern
district of Lower California, Durango, Ganajuato, Michoacán,
Oaxaca, and Zacatecas, and the highest rates remained the same in
Chiapas, Sinaloa, and Yucatán. In a total of 10 governmental
divisions, some change was shown in both the lowest and the highest
rates.
Minimum D aily Wage Rates Fixed in Mexico for 1938 and 1939, and for 1940 and 1941
[Average exchange rate of peso: 1938, 22.1 cents; 1939, 19.3 cents; 1940, 18.5 cents]
1938-39
Geographical division
Aguascalientes___________
_ _ _
Baja California, D . N__ __
_____
Baja California, I). S _____ _ _ _ _
Campeche _ _ __
Chiapas _ _________ ___
Chihuahua. _
Ooshuila___ _
Colima
__ _
Durango__ ___
____ ___ ____
Federal District
Guanajuato. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Guerrero___ _
Hidelgo___ ___ _ _____ ____________ _
Jalisco ___ ______ _ __ _
M éxico__
___ _ _ _ _ _
Michoacán __________
Morelos_____________
___
___
Nayarit. ___ __ ___
Nuevo León_________
Oaxaca ___
_ _ _
Puebla___ ________________
Querétaro___ ___ __ _ ___ _
Quintana Roo_____ _ _
San Luis Potosí________________
Sinaloa. __ ______ ___
Sonora_____________
Tabasco______ ___
Tamaulipas____________________
Tlaxcala. __
__ _
Veracruz___ ______ _
Yucatán____ ___ ______ _ _ _
Zacatecas______
_____ ____
1940-41
Number
Number
Minimum wage
of types
of types
of work
of work
for which
for which
rates were
rates
were
Lowest Highest
fixed
fixed
7
2
8
1
4
3
3
3
4
2
4
3
3
1
2
1
2
5
2
8
2
4
1
1.15
3.00
1.50
1.50
.80
1.50
1.20
1.15
1.00
1.65
1.00
1.00
1.00
.75
1. 25
1.00
1.00
1.10
1.00
1.00
1.30
1.00
3.00
5
1.75
4.50
2.50
2.00
2.50
3.50
2.50
2.00
2. 50
2.50
1.85
2.00
2.25
1.70
2.50
1.00
2.00
2.00
2.50
2.00
2.10
1.50
3.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.50
1.00
.90
1.55
1.75
1.00
2.00
3.00
3. 25
2.50
3.60
1.25
2.85
3.50
1.75
9
3
2
3
43
3
1
2
5
2
8
3
4
3
2
i3
4
22
4
3
3
31
4
3
3
6
2
11
2
4
1
4
8
3
‘
2
3
7
3
3
3
Minimum wage
Lowest
Highest
1.50
4.00
1.50
2.00
.75
1.50
1.20
1.15
1.00
1.65
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.10
1.00
1.00
1.30
1.00
3.00
2 00
5.00
3.20
3.00
2. 50
3. 50
2.50
2.00
3.00
2. 50
1.85
2.00
2.25
1.85
1.75
1.25
2.00
2.00
2. 50
2. 50
2.10
1. 50
3.00
1.10
1.25
1. 50
1.50
1.10
. 85
1.65
1.50
1.00
2. 25
3.00
4.00
2 50
3. 75
2.00
3. 55
3. 50
2.00
1 For laborers in the salt works in 3 municipalities, a share of the salt is added.
2 The minimum wage fixed for field workers in the Federal District is applicable to persons to whom the
employer furnishes certain payments in kind.
3 Incomplete; lacking reports from 2 municipalities.
4In 13 municipalities a specified amount of maize is added.
*All rates given are to be increased by 16% percent.
In 29 of the 32 geographical divisions of Mexico, special minimum
wages were fixed for field work, ranging from 75 centavos in Chiapas
to 3 pesos in Sonora and 4.50 pesos in the northern district of Lower
California. In 23 geographical divisions, special wage rates were
designated for city workers as such, ranging from 1 peso in Chiapas
and Tlaxcala (but subject, in the latter State, to supplement of 16%
percent) to 4 pesos in Sonora and 5 pesos in the northern district of
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours
973
Lower California. In 8 divisions, separate wages were established
in mining, varying from 1.25 pesos in Querétaro to 3.20 pesos for
workers inside the mine in the southern district of Lower California.
Workers designated as unskilled or unclassified in 4 States were as
signed wages ranging from 1 peso in Morelos to 1.75 pesos, also in
Morelos, and skilled or classified workers from 1.20 pesos in Guana
juato to 2 pesos in Aguascalientes and Morelos. Four States fixed
rates of 1.25 to 3.55 pesos for industry; 2 States, 1.25 to 2.70 pesos for
commerce; and 2 States (Nayarit and Sinaloa), 1.75 and 2 pesos,
respectively, for fishing. In the southern district of Lower Cali
fornia, the minimum wages fixed for seamen amounted to 2 pesos
and for laborers in salt works, 2.75 pesos; other special rates were
set for specified groups of workers. In Oaxaca the rate for servants
in public and commercial establishments was 1.75 pesos, and other
special groups, as sugarcane and banana workers, were protected by
special rates. In addition to the southern district of Lower Cali
fornia and Oaxaca, special rates other than those indicated above
were fixed for certain industrial or agricultural groups in Chiapas,
Colima, Durango, Sinaloa, and Tlaxcala.
301178— 41---- 13
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
National Income
M ON TH LY IN CO M E PA Y M EN TS IN
STATES, 1929 TO 1940
T H E U N IT E D
THE national income has been defined as a measure of the net value of
the Nation’s economic output; but it may also be viewed in the light
of its function of affording purchasing power and command of goods
and services. The increased interest in recent years in business fluc
tuations has led to emphasis on the second or functional aspect of the
national income, for it has been recognized that the volume of produc
tion and employment is significantly dependent on the ability of con
sumers to buy the currently produced new goods and services. This
increasing emphasis on the national income as a process or as a flow
of means of payment gives special interest to the recently revised
monthly series of income payments for the period from 1929 to 1940.1
The monthly flow of income payments has been broken down into
five main classifications, as follows: Salaries and wages; special pay
ments, such as social-security benefits; direct and other relief; divi
dends and interest; and entrepreneurial income, which is combined
with net rents and royalties. (See table 1.)
Salaries and wages combined formed a comparatively stable part of
the flow of income payments during most of the years from 1929 to
1940 (table 2). Changes in wages are much more extreme than in
salaries, but it is not possible to separate the two in many important
branches of employment, especially during the earlier years of the
period covered. Wages and salaries combined formed 63.7 percent
of aggregate income payments in 1929, fell to 61.1 percent in 1936,
and rose to 63.3 percent in 1940. If the items described as “socialsecurity benefits and other labor income” are combined with wages
and salaries, the trend is somewhat different, and the year 1940 marks
a slight increase over 1929 in the proportion of income going to labor.
1 U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Monthly Income Payments in the United States,
1929-40, by Frederick M. Cone. The series of monthly income payments is published currently in the
Survey of Current Business. The present series is not identical with similar data published earlier, a num
ber of revisions having been made:
974
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
975
National Income
T able
1.— Income Payments in the United States, by Types of Payment and by Months,
1929 to 1940 1
[Millions of dollars]
Year and month
Total in Salaries
come pay
and
ments 2 wages 3
Socialsecurity
benefits
and other
labor in
come 4
Entre
Total
Direct
preneurial nonagriD ivi
and
income
dends
and
cultural
other
and net
income
relief 4 interest rents and payments
royalties
1929.________ ___________
82,064
6,937
6,342
6, 553
6,759
6,681
6,891
7,180
6, 739
6,988
7,400
6,810
6,784
52,299
4,146
4,176
4,276
4, 341
4,426
4, 453
4,355
4, 396
4,494
4, 561
4, 371
4,304
935
77
76
77
77
78
78
78
78
78
80
79
79
60
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
6
11, 851
1,347
795
898
1,038
857
1,007
1,306
738
856
1, 084
904
1,021
16, 919
1,362
1,290
1,297
1, 298
1,315
1, 349
1,436
1,522
1,555
1,670
1,451
1, 374
73,817
6,320
5,807
6,000
6,189
6,076
6,236
6,443
5, 939
6,156
6, 432
6,078
6,141
1930____________________
74, 524
6,999
6, 211
6, 296
6,416
6,309
6, 418
6,408
5,828
5,975
6,178
5, 766
5,720
47, 426
4,087
4,060
4,082
4, 099
4,124
4,102
3,888
3,811
3, 886
3,893
3,734
3, 660
989
80
79
81
81
81
75
87
83
83
85
86
88
94
7
7
8
8
7
6
7
7
7
9
9
12
11, 715
1,536
851
937
1,034
889
1,043
1,242
742
772
968
803
898
14,300
1, 289
1, 214
1,188
1,194
1,208
1,192
1,184
1,185
1, 227
1,223
1,134
1,062
68,188
6,456
5, 730
5,823
5,915
5,767
5, 872
5, 857
5,277
5,377
5,568
5, 253
5,293
1931____________________
January. . ____________
February______________
M arch____ _ _ ______
April__________________
M ay ___ ______________
June __________ . . . ..
July___________________
August________________
September_____________
October________ . . . ...
N ovem ber____ _ ______
December______________
63,452
5,873
5,271
5, 673
5,813
5,389
5,431
5,436
4,897
4, 935
5,133
4,819
4,782
39,865
3, 480
3,472
3,506
3,494
3,486
3,443
3, 272
3,190
3, 211
3,202
3,090
3,019
1,991
88
92
395
442
182
124
121
110
107
110
106
114
158
14
14
14
13
12
11
11
12
12
13
14
18
10, 270
1,283
733
793
909
754
914
1,087
680
706
886
724
801
11,168
1,008
960
965
955
955
939
945
905
899
922
885
830
59, 324
5,507
4, 952
5, 332
5,471
5,030
5, 073
5,062
4, 564
4,597
4, 755
4, 476
4, 505
1932____________________
49,319
31, 030
1,248
326
8,393
8,322
46,518
January_______________
February.............. ............
M arch.. ______________
April__________________
M ay __________________
June ____ _____________
July ________________
A u g u st ____ ____ _ . . .
September_____________
O ctober______ _______
N ovem ber_____________
December___ ____ ____
January.. _____________
February______________
M arch_________________
April_________ ___ ____
M ay_______ ________
June__________________
July___________________
August_______________
September_____________
October.. _____________
November. ___________
December_____________
2,868
110
17
4, 620
January_______________
4,865
1,084
786
4,076
21
753
February______________
4,297
2,818
103
602
4,080
730
2,792
102
25
646
M a rc h ________ ______
4,295
4, 095
102
24
765
700
April__________________
4,307
2,716
3,907
2,677
101
25
643
686
4,132
M ay_____ ____________
3,947
790
658
2,591
97
26
4,162
June_____ ____________
3,844
4,070
2,392
115
23
888
652
July ------------------------531
3,462
2,356
119
26
661
August___ ___________
3, 693
103
27
3, 567
3,828
2,457
555
686
September___________ .
100
30
3,771
706
695
October________________
4,048
2,517
3,547
37
553
673
November_________ ...
2,443
98
3,804
642
3,602
2,403
98
45
630
December.._ . ____ .
3,818
1 U . S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. M onthly Income Paym ents in the United States,
1929-40, by Frederick M . Cone. The figures for 1940 are revised and extended to the end of the year from the
records of the U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
2 The concept of income payments here adopted, which is concerned essentially with the flow of funds from
industry and Government to the consumer, differs somewhat from the concept of “income paid out” in
earlier income studies.
3 Contributions to social-security funds are not included.
4 Relief payments have been shared by farmers, independent professional classes, and businessmen, as
well as employed workers; and the items described as “social-security benefits and other labor income” are
not wholly labor income. It should be noted also that social-security benefits are, in part, payments of
wages previously deducted for transfer to social-security funds.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
976
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 1. —Income Payments in the United States, by Types of Payment and by Months,
1929 to 1940—Continued
Year and month
Total in Salaries
come pay
and
ments
wages
Socialsecurity
benefits
and other
labor in
come
Entre
Total
Direct
preneurial nonagriD ivi
and
income
dends
and
eultural
other
and net
interest rents
income
relief
and
royalties payments
1933_______________________
January______ _______
February____ . . .
M arch_________________
A p r il- .._________ _____
M‘ay.
_____________
June__________________
July----------------------------August .. . .
.
...
September
October_______________
November .
December________ ____
46, 830
4, 044
3, 535
3, 513
3, 611
3, 656
3,885
4, 016
3,759
4,036
4, 385
4,096
4,294
29,124
2, 319
2, 285
2,230
2, 240
2,310
2, 386
2, 336
2, 434
2,565
2,645
2, 623
2, 751
1,042
98
96
97
95
93
109
77
77
77
75
74
74
580
48
50
57
52
49
47
42
42
41
44
53
55
7, 351
938
501
527
613
532
625
798
452
483
723
516
643
8,733
641
603
602
611
672
718
763
754
870
898
830
771
43,032
3,839
3, 357
3,319
3, 395
3, 373
3, 556
3, 643
3,414
3, 578
3,897
3, 691
3,970
1934_______________________
January___ ________ __
February____________ .
M arch_____ . . . ______
April____________ _____
M a y .. . _____________
June_____ ____________
July___________________
A ugust... _ . _______
September . . . . . . ___
October. _ _
_____
N ovem ber_____________
December____ . . . . . . . .
54,006
4,685
4,199
4,274
4,382
4,244
4,471
4, 627
4, 361
4, 585
4,963
4, 475
4,740
33, 710
2, 752
2,760
2,816
2,781
2,844
2,849
2, 735
2,750
2,781
2,886
2,866
2,890
961
74
72
75
76
85
82
82
82
82
84
84
83
828
56
58
69
69
68
64
62
68
67
76
81
90
7,937
1,003
547
547
705
451
639
857
494
629
825
463
777
10, 570
800
762
767
751
796
837
891
967
1,026
1,092
981
900
48,983
4,338
3,895
3,972
4, 084
3,904
4,084
4,189
3,862
4,020
4, 332
3,970
4,333
1935_______________________
January_________ _____
February____ _ _____
M arch___ ___ . . . ______
April. .
_ . . . ______
M ay_____ . . _ _______
June__________________
July----------------------------Auerust__ . . . . ______
____
September . . . .
October_____________. . .
November
December..
. .
58,809
4,824
4,495
4,676
4,929
4,615
4,821
4,774
4,705
5,127
5,459
5, 014
5, 370
36, 649
2,889
2,928
2, 977
3, 013
3, 031
3,044
2,936
2,981
3,117
3,221
3,208
3,304
1, 040
83
84
85
86
86
87
87
86
90
89
89
88
1,099
98
94
102
102
97
89
88
91
89
94
84
71
8,055
879
520
623
810
476
674
717
501
706
832
482
835
11,966
875
869
889
918
925
927
946
1,046
1,125
1,223
1,151
1,072
52,914
4,455
4,137
4,294
4,514
4,184
4,381
4, 318
4,159
4, 509
4, 745
4,381
4,837
1936 ................. ...........
January_______ ____ . . .
February___ ___________
M a rc h ... . .
. _____
April________________ _
M a y ...
. . . ________
June____ ____ _______
July___________________
August________________
Septem ber.._ _________
October________________
November___ _
___
December_____________
67, 846
5, 226
4,902
5,188
5,335
5,140
6,306
5,965
5,270
5,842
6,092
5,625
6,955
41,449
3,229
3,254
3,327
3,370
3,430
3,462
3,371
3,407
3, 531
3,665
3,670
3,733
2,472
88
88
88
87
87
887
500
164
135
122
672
62
62
61
56
51
50
49
50
53
55
58
65
9,721
876
568
733
812
523
875
472
852
895
507
1,809
13,532
971
930
979
1,010
1,049
1,108
1,170
1,177
1,271
1,355
1,278
1,234
61,195
4,813
4,532
4,772
4,884
4,646
5,763
5,357
4,665
5,148
5,320
4,946
6,349
1937_______________________
January.. . ______ _ _
February_______
_
M arch. . .
____ . .
April__________________
M ay ______
______
June_________ . . . . . .
July___________________
August___ _____ . . . .
September___________ _
October_____________ .
N o v em b er... _ _. . . . . .
December. .................
71, 783
5,810
5,417
5,944
6,015
5,699
6,274
6,133
5,863
6,127
6,291
5, 657
6,553
45,297
3, 578
3,647
3,764
3,822
3,884
3,900
3,772
3,800
3,849
3,904
3,737
3,640
1,216
104
100
101
98
95
106
103
101
102
102
101
103
837
71
72
75
71
9, 794
901
488
788
866
504
1,015
932
622
785
852
480
1,561
14,639
1,156
1,110
1,216
1,158
1,150
1,190
1,263
1,275
1,324
1,365
1,266
1,166
64,609
5,281
4,938
5,363
5,488
5,174
5,703
5,487
5,216
5,422
5,535
5,000
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
112
114
66
63
63
65
67
68
73
83
799
6,002
977
National Income
T able 1.—Income Payments in the United States, by Types of Payment and by Months,
1929 to 1940—Continued
Year and month
Total in Salaries
and
come pay
wages
ments
Socialsecurity
benefits
and other
labor in
come
Entre
Total
preneurial nonagriDirect
D ivi
income
and
dends
and
cultural
and net
other
income
interest rents and
relief
royalties payments
1938_______________________
January.. _ . ____ . . .
February. _ ______ _
M arch_________________
April__ ______________
M ay. _________________
J u n e ... _ _____________
July--------- ------------------August____ . ____ _ .
September____ ______ .
October____________ . . .
November . . .
_ _
December_____________
66,242
5,602
5,104
5,348
5,478
5,168
5,543
5,475
5,183
5,674
5,952
5,554
6,161
42,008
3,420
3,407
3,440
3,446
3,444
3,443
3,340
3,418
3,570
3,684
3,677
3,719
1,633
103
120
146
139
140
146
143
152
145
139
131
129
1,008
89
90
91
85
81
80
80
80
80
80
83
89
8,258
878
456
600
760
458
814
814
434
712
760
473
1,099
13,335
1,112
1,031
1,071
1,048
1,045
1,060
1,098
1,099
1,167
1,289
1,190
1,125
60,166
5,106
4,683
4,888
5,029
4,710
5,069
4,956
4,683
5,109
5,267
4,987
5,679
1939_______________________
January. _ __________
February______________
M arch_________ . . . . . .
A pril...
....
M ay______ ____ . . . _ .
J u n e ... _________ ____
July___________________
August_______ . . . _____
Septem ber.._ _ . _____
October . . . ____ _
N ovem b er... . . . .
December.. . . . . . .
70,096
5,720
5,298
5,771
5,674
5,449
5,956
5,736
5,439
6,025
6,259
5,865
6,904
44,412
3,585
3,589
3,644
3,611
3,655
3,723
3,565
3,604
3, 738
3,911
3, 879
3,908
1,686
132
137
153
137
143
149
141
150
140
133
134
137
1,067
92
94
95
90
87
85
85
87
87
88
88
89
8,983
810
425
762
750
462
915
839
443
799
775
486
1,517
13,948
1,101
1,053
1,117
1,086
1,102
1,084
1,106
1,155
1,261
1,352
1,278
1,253
63,721
5,243
4,888
5,295
5,214
4,962
5,485
5,239
4,908
5,386
5,541
5,239
6,321
1940_______________________
January.
.
February.
_ ._
M arch_________ _ ____
A pril.. _______________
M ay. _________________
____ .
____
June
July___________________
A ugust_____ . . . . ---Septem ber..
_ ...
October_________ _.
November. _ _ . .
December._ . _
. ..
74,294
6,093
5,604
5,987
5,965
5,689
6,288
6.103
5,791
6,467
6,681
6,240
7,386
47,058
3, 767
3, 742
3, 784
3,784
3,838
3,871
3,766
3,841
4,030
4,178
4,169
4,288
1,853
148
151
155
152
166
166
167
164
150
145
144
145
1,067
95
95
94
92
89
86
87
87
84
86
86
86
9, 623
840
447
820
799
472
1,050
901
485
897
845
494
1,573
14,693
1,243
1,169
1,134
1,138
1,124
1,115
1,182
1,214
1,306
1,427
1, 347
1,294
67, 555
5,533
5,108
5, 519
5,479
5,211
5,821
5,562
5,232
5, 818
5,909
5, 570
6,793
T able 2.-—Types of Income Payments as Percentages of Total Income Payments, 1929
to 1940 1
Percent of total income payments
Entrepre
Total
neurial
nonagriincome
cultural
and net
income
rents and payments
royalties
Total
income
pay
ments
Salaries
and
wages 2
Social
security
benefits
and other
labor in
come 3
Direct
and
other
relief3
D ivi
dends
and
interest
1929_______________________
1930_______________________
1931_______________________
1932_______________________
1933_______________________
1934_______________________
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
63.7
63.6
62.8
62.9
62.2
62.4
1.1
1.3
3.1
2.5
2.2
1.8
0.1
.1
.2
.7
1.2
1.5
14.4
15.7
16.2
17.0
15.7
14.7
20.6
19.2
17.6
16.9
18.6
19.6
90.0
91.5
93.5
94.3
91.9
90.7
1935_______________________
1936_______________________
1937_______________________
1938_______________________
1939_______________________
1940_______________________
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
62.3
61.1
63.1
63.4
63.4
63.3
1.8
3.6
1.7
2.5
2.4
2.5
1.9
1.0
1.2
1.5
1.5
1.4
13.7
14.3
13.6
12.5
12.8
13.0
20.3
19.9
20.4
20.1
19.9
19.8
90.0
90.2
90.0
90.8
90.9
90.9
Year
1 Calculated from data in table 1.
2 Contributions to social-security funds are not included.
3 N ot wholly to be classed as labor income, but no satisfactory break-down is practicable.
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Monthly Lahor Review—April 1941
The fluctuations in the amount of “social-security benefits and other
labor income” were caused in part by the fact that the item thus
described includes Federal payments to veterans in the form of the socalled soldiers’ bonus. The main cause of the increase in the pay
ments, however, over the period as a whole, was the expansion of the
social-security program to include unemployment compensation and
old-age insurance benefits, to which workers themselves contribute
by deductions from their wages or salaries.
The proportion of “social-security benefits and other labor income”
that went to persons ordinarily dependent on wages or salaries was
probably greater than the proportion of payments described as “direct
and other relief” that went to these groups. Expenditures by govern
mental agencies for relief included, especially in depression years,
considerable sums paid to farmers and certain classes of businessmen
and to persons ordinarily belonging to the independent professions.
Salaries and wages include, as one of the items, “work relief wages,”
and a part of these payments went to persons other than those nor
mally dependent upon wages and salaries.
The proportion of the flow of income that went to dividends and
interest was somewhat stabilized by the fact that interest payments
were comparatively well maintained during depression years, when
dividend payments declined sharply. Nonagricultural income as a
whole remained, through most of the period, a remarkably constant
proportion of total income payments, the proportion ranging (except
for the years 1930 to 1933) from 90.0 to 90.9 percent.
T a b l e 3 . — Salaries and Wages by Main Types of Enterprise, 1929-40 1
| Millions of dollars]
Salaries and wages
Year
Total
Commodity- Distribu
producing
tive indus
industries
tries
Service
industries
Govern
ment
Workrelief
wages
1929_________________ ____ _
1930_________________________
1931_________________________
1932____ ____ ________________
1933_________________________
1934_________________________
52,299
47; 426
39,865
31,030
29,124
33, 710
21,717
18; 434
14,059
9, 549
9,234
11,459
13,902
12,860
11,070
8,556
7,762
8,546
11 780
11,105
9, 670
7,943
7,144
7,827
4 Q00
5 ; 023
5,007
4,850
4,328
4,491
4
59
132
656
1,387
1935...___________ ______ _____
1936_________________________
1937_________________________
1938_________________________
1939_________________________
1940_________________________
36, 649
41, 449
45,297
42, 008
44, 412
47,058
12,923
14,993
17, 383
14, 377
15, 980
17, 520
9,154
9,986
10,867
10, 224
10,611
11,112
8,361
9,131
9, 953
9,528
9,897
10,346
4,909
5,329
5, 558
5,865
6, 111
6,549
1,302
2,010
1, 536
2,014
1,813
1, 531
i U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. M onthly Income Payments in the United States,
1929-40 (pp. 22-26). The figures for 1940 are revised and extended to the end of the year from the records of
the U . S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Contributions to social-security funds are not in
cluded.
Wages and salaries are grouped under four main types of enterprise,
namely, commodity-producing industries, distributive industries,
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National Income
979
service industries, and Government. Compensation for relief work
is separately classified. Annual figures for these classifications of
salaries and wages are given in table 3.2
The most extreme of the fluctuations in wage and salary payments
between 1929 and 1940 were in the commodity-producing industries.
This is accounted for largely by the comparative variability of capitalgoods and durable-goods industries. Wage and salary payments in
the commodity-producing industries and also in the distributive
industries in 1940 were about four-fifths of the 1929 figure. In pri
vate service industries, these payments were a much larger proportion
(88 percent) of the 1929 payments. In Government services, there
was a significant increase over 1929.
The two concepts of income previously mentioned, namely, the net
value of the Nation’s economic output, and the command over that
output as measured by effective demand or purchasing power, are
embodied in the data of table 4. This table gives estimates of the
national income by years from 1929 to 1939, the figures including
business savings. When business savings, either positive or negative,
are subtracted from the national income, the “ distributive shares”
remain; but in estimating income payments, certain deductions are
made from the “distributive shares.” These deductions include, for
example, the social-security contributions, because these do not enter
immediately into the flow of income to consumers. To the “ distribu
tive shares” certain additions are made, however, as for example,
social-security benefits and direct relief, because these payments,
from whatever sources, enter the flow of income currently available to
consumers.
The study of monthly income payments here summarized discusses
in some detail the interpretation and uses of the data and also the
limitations imposed by certain deficiencies in the available sources of
information. The monthly series is primarily a measure of changes in
the extent and distribution of means of payment or of the purchasing
power of consumers. It is held, also, that the series affords “the most
comprehensive measure of general economic activity now available.”
The proper use of the data requires consideration of price changes,
but there is no single index, either of prices or of cost of living, that
makes possible an adequate adjustment of the aggregates for measur
ing either the changes in purchasing power or the fluctuations in
economic activity. When the major item, namely, the sum of salaries
and wages and social-security benefits, is adjusted by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics’ index of cost of living, this adjusted aggregate in
dicates that employee groups could buy about 12.5 percent more goods
and services in 1940 than in 1929. The December 1940 aggregate of
wages and salaries and social-security benefits adjusted to cost of
2 M onthly figures are given in the source here used (see footnote 1, p. 974).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
980
Monthly Lahor Review—April 1941
living indicates a rise in purchasing power of about 21.5 percent over
the 1929 average—an increase substantially larger than the growth of
employee groups, indicating a rise in per capita real income.
T able 4.—National Income and Income Payments by Years, 1929, 1932, and 1937-39
[Millions of dollars]
Item
National income L _________________ ____ . . . ____
Less business savings 2. . . .. . _________ _____
1929
1932
82,885 40,074
1, 339 -8,157
1937
1938
1939
70,925 63,459
-803 -2 , 284
69,308
-294
Distributive shares.. . _________
. .
81, 546 48, 231 71, 728 65,743
Other deductions:
Social Security contributions of employers______ ...
950 1,119
Social Security contributions of employees____ » . . _
295
329
Contributions to Railroad Retirement Fund. . ..
122
108
Contributions to retirement systems for governmental
employees________ . __ ___________ __ ... .
131
160
215
223
Additions:
Direct relief___ . .. ___________ ______ . . _
326
60
837 1,008
Federal pensions to veterans________ ______
421
548
398
409
Adjusted service benefits__ . ... __
____ ...
147
128
57
Other governmental retirement allowances_____ __
168
227
269
268
Unemployment compensation._ ________________
1
396
Railroad retirement benefits.. .. . ... _ _______ ..
35
96
Old-age insurance benefits. ... ________________
3
10
Income payments 3____________ __ _________ ...
82,064 49,319 71, 783 66, 242
69, 602
1,196
319
112
234
1,067
422
34
279
429
109
15
70,096
1 National-income figures differ slightly from those published in the June 1940 Survey of Current Business
and summarized in the M onthly Labor Review of August 1940. The national income totals for the years
1933 to 1939 have been significantly revised owing to important revisions in estimated work-relief wages
which were made subsequent to the publication of the national-income estimates for 1939. Several addi
tional changes of a minor character have also been effected for the years 1938 and 1939.
2 Exclusive of business savings in agriculture.
3 The figures of income payments differ from formerly published figures of “national income paid out,’’
partly because of revisions made in the light of new data and partly because of changes in the concept.
These changes were made for the purpose of showing more adequately the current flow of means of payment
to consumers as a measure of purchasing power or of command over the output of goods and services.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
AVERAGE W EEK LY HOURS IN M AN U FACTURIN G ,
OCTOBER-NOVEM BER 1940 1
IN ORDER to obtain information on variations in working hours
among individual plants, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has made
a special tabulation of the reports of more than 26,000 factories em
ploying 5/i million wage earners. Data on weekly hours supplied by
cooperating employers are regularly published by the Bureau only in
the form of industry averages; the purpose of this tabulation, therefore,
is to shed light on the nature of the dispersion of the various plants
about the industry average. For example, although average hours
per week in all manufacturing industries were 38.6 in November 1940,
one out of every four plants for which reports were received in the
latter part of 1940 was working an average of 42 hours or more weekly.
Average weekly hours were computed for each plant which supplied
man-hour information to the Bureau in October or November 1940.
These plants employ over 60 percent of the estimated number of
wage earners in all manufacturing industries. As mid-November
reports were not available for nearly half of the firms at the time of
the survey, it was necessary to include many reports for the middle
of October.2
The inclusion of both October and November reports in the tabula
tions is not believed to affect materially the general character of the
distributions. However,' two circumstances should be referred to
as probably occasioning some changes in plant averages between Octo
ber and November: (1) the occurrence of Armistice Day in the Novem
ber period, and (2) the change in maximum working hours from 42 to
40 under the Fair Labor Standards Act, effective October 24.3
Average working hours were computed for each plant by dividing
the total number of man-hours worked during the given week by the
total number of wage earners on the pay roll in that week. As some
employees may not have worked a full week, the resulting average is
somewhat less than full-time hours. The computed weekly hours
1 Prepared by R. B. Steffes, of the Bureau’s Employment Statistics Division, under the direction of
Lewis E. Talbert, chief; T. F. Mosimann was in charge of the tabulations.
2 This was true in those cases where employers report directly to cooperating State agencies, which in turn
tabulate the information for the Bureau.
s For a discussion of the general effects of these factors on average working hours, see M onthly Labor
Review, March 1941 (p. 521); Employment and Earnings in 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
981
982
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
are employee-hours, and give no clue either as to the distribution of
employees within plants or to the number of shifts the plants were
operating. Many plants were working two or three shifts per day.4
The results of the special tabulation of plants according to average
working hours per week are shown in the table on page 985. The first
column gives the number of wage earners employed by those plants
for which reports were received; while the remaining columns present
a percentage distribution of these wage earners according to plant aver
ages of hours worked per week. The totals for industry groups, for
durable and nondurable goods, and for all manufacturing are un
weighted totals of all reports received from firms in the various indus
tries. A summary for all manufacturing is shown in chart 1.
Long working hours were common among employees of those
industries most directly affected by the Defense Program. About
half of the wage earners in all manufacturing were in plants reporting
average employee-hours of 40 or more per week in the latter part of
1940. Plants in the nondurable goods industries, which for the most
part have not been the recipients of large orders for war materials,
predominate in the intervals below 40 hours. Almost three-fourths of
the workers reported in the nondurable goods industries were in plants
having average employee hours of less than 40 per week; while in con
trast, only two-fifths of the workers in durable goods industries were
in such plants.
There were 4 durable goods industries in October-November 1940
in which more than one-fourth of the reported wage earners were
* See M onthly Labor Review, March 1941 (p. 539); Extent of Week-end Shut-downs in Selected
Defense Industries.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
983
in plants averaging 48 or more hours per worker. These industries
were firearms, machine tools, machine tool accessories, and type
writers and parts. In 22 others, one-fourth of the wage earners were
in plants averaging 44 or more hours per worker: bolts, nuts, washers,
and rivets; iron and steel forgings; steam and hot-water heating ap
paratus and steam fittings; tools; screw machine products; engines
(including aircraft engines); foundry and machine-shop products;
aircraft; shipbuilding; brass, bronze, and copper products; silverware
and plated ware; electroplating; sheet metal; chemical fire extin
guishers; millwork; wood synthetics; asbestos products; gypsum;
roofing materials; buttons; instruments; and pianos, organs and parts.
Charts 2 and 3 show distributions of plants and wage earners accord
ing to average hours per week, by plant, for a few of these industries
in which overtime operations were general.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
984
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
DISTRIBUTION OF WAGE EARNERS
ACCORDI NG TO A V E R A G E WEEKLY HOURS BY P L A N T S
OCTOBER THOUSANDS OF
WASE EARNERS
NOVEMBER
1940
B R A S S , B R O N Z E AND C O P P E R
16
NO.OF PLANTS 3 0
31
52
59
THOUSANDS OF
WAGE EARNERS
6
30
30
20
-----------INCLUDES 1 PLANT WITH HIGHER AVERAGE HOURS PER WEEK
U .S . BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
985
Usages and Hours of Labor
Percentage Distribution of Wage Earners in Manufacturing, by Average Hours Worked
per Week in Each Plant, October-November 1940 °
Percent of wage earners in plants reporting
N um Number
average hours per week—
ber of
plants earners
36.0
38.0 40.0 42.0 44.0 48.0 54.0
Less
•eport- in reto
to and
to
to
to
porting han to
Ing
39.9 41.9 43.9 47.9 53.9 over
37.9
36.0
plants
Industry
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products, not inBlast furnaces, steel works, and rolling
Cutlery
(not including silver and
Steam and hot-water heating apparaStructural and ornamental metal work.
Tools (not including edge tools, ma-
Machinery, not including transportation
Agricultural
implements
(including
Cash registers, adding machines, and
Electrical machinery, apparatus and
Engines, turbines, water wheels and
windmills (including aircraft enFoundry and machine-shop products ..
Refrigerators and refrigerating equip-
Transportation equipm ent...... .......................
Nonferrous metals and their products------Brass, bronze, and copper products----Clocks, watches, and time-recording
Smelting and refining—copper, lead.
Smelting and refining other than gold,
Fire extinguishers (chemical)________
S e e f o o t n o t e s a t e n d o f table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
26,447 5,584, 202 17.9 14.6 24.1 20.7 8.7 9.2
10,803 5,009.374 9.8 9.7 23.3 26.1 11.6 13.2
15, 644 2,574,828 27.5 20.4 24.9 14.4 5.3 4.5
3.9
5.3
2.2
0.9
1.0
.8
8.8
3.4
1.0
2,317
867,373
7.6 15.6 36.7 17.8
324
62
65
470,117
13,867
17,098
5.9 21.2 48.6 12.0 7.7 2.3 2.3
2.4 10.6 25.8 18.1 6.5 23.1 13.5 ____
6.3 11.4 22.0 28.0 11.7 11.6 7.0 2.0
110
92
155
106
209
14,485 4.8 8.1
13, 390 3.4 4.7
49,514 8.3 6.7
25,940 12.2 11.5
38, 328 18.5 10.5
88
220
298
127
31,714 1.7 4.9 16.3
35.592 10.5 8.4 25.3
28, 788 17.4 12.6 22.7
26,108 22.5 19.2 25.7
126
156
16
11
75
41
25
11
15,340 4.3
29,980 5.5
2,282 7.0
15,461
11,005 6.0
17, 275 9.6
8. 270 6.3
2,819 20.5
3,510
857,387
105
55, 851
30
553
63
2,169
194
67
79
12
77
98
37
8
18
675
68
371
70
10
140
16
902
40
280
21.9
17.6
16.5
27.1
27.2
9.1
43.5 8.3 10.1
16.8 22.2 26.8
46.3 8.7 12.8
25.9 8.2 8.7
18.5 9.6 12.3
2.4
9.1
8.6
.5
46.9 1 30.9
46.3 14.0
9.5 14.3
4.0
2.7 16.7 22.7 15.0
11.8 30.6 20.1 18.6
13.4 9.1 33.0 2 37.5
7.7
14.5
1.6 1.1 20.8 6.2
3.4 33.3 24.7 15.2
15.8 45.4 25.0 2 7.5
14.3 39.6 15.3
27.6
3.8
1 10.3
6.8 59.8 26.0
.7 3 1.1
32.6 58.6
3.5 3 3.4
18,813 «1.9
4.0 17.4 30.7 23.6 11.9
7.0
53, 543 1.4 2.8 3.7 13.4 10.6 53.0
287, 672 7.3 6.2 20.5 25.3 13.5 17.5
. 1 3.8 14.0 3.4 25.0
72, 260 1.4
45, 622 7.8 12.3 20.2 45.0 5.1 5.0
9.4 37.8 3.3 16.0
8.4
23.5
14,034
9.9
24.6
4 10.9
15,557
2.2 3.4 20.8 19.5
5
3.1
11,445
12,919 18.2 4.5 21.9 22.4 10.2 14.2
1 15.1
233,055
5.0
23,004 57.6
8,263
5,349 5 33.0
689,472 6.5
82,621 15. C
472,472 2.0
28, 562 35.4
8,019 2.7
92,058 13.9
5,740 5.0
184, 612 5 6.6
17,161 1 .:
65,084 4.2
3.8
5.4
3.2
5.0
9.7
8.2
14.6
4 6.
12.
3.
23.7
7.
19.
4.,
37.1 20.
31.8 13.
30.1 14.1
s 11.C __
51
31
12
29,386 9.
2,135 11.
5,988 6.
57.
25.
23.
818.1
17.1
24.
3, 43, 42.
1, 526
9.
....
4
9
2.0
.4
8.3 "i~A
40. 2 12.1
4.6
1 1.6
54.6
26.7 24.3
1 8.6
1.2
8.1 24.4 2.6 3 2.3
3 16.1
79.2 4.7
36.5 230.5
13.4 2 42.3 a 14.9 15.2 2.3 (6)
4.7 27.1 4.1 34.8 11. 1
11.2 51.7 19.1 9.9 1. 1 (6)
20.0 12.4
.2 21.1 1 l . i
41.6 50.3 3 5.1
27.3 15.1 9.2 25.1 1 1 . 2
17.8 2 62.6
.3
20.9 23.8 13.5 23.5 4.6
.4
32.2 26.7 18.6 5. 1 3.z
.1
7.2 23.0 14.9 41.0 6.
21.06( »1. f
15, 524 17. 12.
13,115 6. 15.
4.
10,19C 3.
11.
6.
6.
2.4
.1
1.7
3.3
1.8
7.3 <4.9 19.7 2 26.5 12.8 15.9 10.9
5.6
.8
2.5
30.7 5.9 36.4 2.5
20.5 10.4 16.0 5.6
14.9 11.8 14.0 4.8
19.6 7.7 1.4 1 3.9
3;
182
81
4C
2
2.5
6.0
1.7
4.0
3.3
20.
11.
_
4.
5.
18.
57.
3 16.5
13.! 2.1
11. 1 2.
53.8 23.,
3.
.1
25. ! 1 9. (
23.9 6,i
7.
3 30/
.6
..
3.6
1 1. ( I ____
....
—
986
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Percentage Distribution of Wage Earners in Manufacturing, by Average Hours Worked
per Week in Each Plant, October-November 1940 a—Continued
P e rc e n t of w age ea rn e rs in p la n ts rep o rtin g
N u m - N u m b er
average h o u rs per' w eek —
b er of of w age
p la n ts earners
re p o rt
in reLess 36.0 38.0 40.0 42.0 44.0 48.0 54.0
mg
p o rtin g th a n to
to
to
to
to
to
an d
p la n ts
36.0 37.9 39.9 41.9 43.9 47.9 53.9 over
In d u s tr y
Durable goods—C o n tin u e d
L u m b e r a n d allied p ro d u c ts __
F u r n itu r e .. . . . _____
L u m b e r:
M illw o rk _ . .
S aw m ills.
C ask ets a n d m o rtic ia n s ’ goods_____ _
W ood p r e s e r v in g .._____
W ood tu rn e d a n d s h a p e d . .
W ooden boxes (o th e r th a n c ig a r)___
S y n th e tic s , w o o d ___________ ___
2,148
581
S to n e, clay, a n d glass p ro d u c ts __________
B ric k , tile, a n d te rra c o tta _________
C e m e n t.______ _
G la ss____ _____
_______
M a rb le , g ran ite, slate, a n d o th e r produ c ts . .
P o t t e r y ..
A sbestos p ro d u c ts .. .
C oncrete p ro d u c ts ___
L im e ...
G y p s u m .. ___ _
M irro rs __
W a llb o a rd a n d p la ste r (except gy p su m )
1,251
458
129
42
478
73f
93
35
81
107
34
232
116
22
73
78
29
49
13
273,060 25.7 13.5 20.0 16.7 2 8. 7 3 10.E
76, 827 13.6 8.9 26.6 21.9 10.0 14. £
30, 655
130, 23i
4, 877
4,163
6,970
9, 624
9, 705
13.5 5.8
34.9 18.5
25.3 18.8
71.9 5. 5
14.7 9.2
43.4 7.6
5.0 16 8
16.9
16.6
34. 5
7.3
34.3
9.8
22 2
18.0
14.1
15. 7
8.0
22.5
11.0
11 9
3.8
4.
0.7
.3
11.0 22.8 10. t
7.0 5.5 2.6
3. 7 3 2 0
27 3
15.3 1.8 2.2
9.7 11.7 6.8
n 1 3 33 0
2 .0
137, 470 5 27.6 4 19.4 22.1 15.3 7.1
37,031 29.4 19.3 22.6 12.7 8.1
21,048 7.3 14 9 87 2 19 8 11.4
23, 523 61. 7 23.7 8.9 *5.5
5, 991
24, 641
5,870
lj 752
5, 581
3 248
2, 552
4,681
43. f
22.7
9.6
33.2
16 3
68 8
10.8
2.6
11.5
21.0
12.2
18.6
27 5
23.1
30.2
10.2
3.3
20 8
11J2
13.8 13.9
4 51.3
11.2
11.6
840.9
14.6
5.2
5.4
.8
6.7
6.0
1.4
1.1
.4
.8
1.6
1.5
.3
2.0
5.2
5.2
2.5
8.8
327 1
8.3 11.6
7 9
44 1 0 8 10 Q
25.7 23. 7 9 . 9
41.4 2 4. 7
2. 2
N ondurable goods
T ex tiles a n d th e ir p ro d u c ts . .
F a b ric s _____
C a rp e ts a n d ru g s________
C o tto n g oods. _____
C o tto n sm all w ares____
D y e in g a n d finish ing textiles .
H a ts , f u r - f e l t _______
K n it goods____ _ .
H o s ie ry .. _
_____
K n itte d o u te rw e a r_____
K n itte d u n d e r w e a r .___
K n itte d c lo th _____ _
S ilk a n d ra y o n g o o d s ...
W oolen a n d w o rsted goods
B ag, o th e r th a n p a p e r_____ .
C ordage a n d tw in e
C u rta in s , d rap eries, e tc .
H o u seh o ld fu rn ish in g s _____
J u te goods (except fe lt)______
H a n d k e rc h ie fs___
W e arin g a p p a re l.. . .
C lo th in g , m e n ’s ___
C lo th in g , w o m en ’s ___
C orsets a n d allied g a rm e n ts .
M e n ’s fu rn ish in g s.
M illin e ry ___ .
S h irts a n d collars____
G loves a n d m itte n s, clo th or cloth
a n d l e a t h e r ___
L e a th e r a n d its m a n u factu re s
B oots a n d s h o e s..
L e a th e r.
B o o t a n d shoe, c u t sto ck a n d findings
G loves, le a th e r
H a n d b a g s a n d p urses, w o m en ’s .
T r u n k s , suitcases, e t c . .
F o o d a n d k in d re d p ro d u c ts
B a k in g ... . .
B everages_____
B u tte r...
C an n in g a n d p reserv in g
C o n fe c tio n e ry ...
F lo u r ______
.
S e e f o o t n o t e s a t e n d o f table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4,946 1,096,404 36.5 27.2 22.8 2 9.3 2.3 1.3
.5
2, 864 852,604 30.5 29.7 25.4 10.4 2.4 1.1
1.5
29
23, 982 35.3 16.0 34.1 12. 2 3 2.4
771 369,070 28.1 40.6 21.3 7.8 1.1 1.0
i.l
126
12, 541 12.1 15.5 43.2 9.1 14.5 3 . 9
1. 7
209
52, 662 20.7 22.3 27.6 19.6 5.2 1.5 3.0
38
7,059 90.2
.3 4.7 4.8
686 147, 879 35.5 25.3 23.6 12.9 1.6
«.7
.4
279
90,975 37.4 25.5 23.6 11.6 1.2
.4
.3
206
16,811 35.5 13.7 25.1 18.7 3.7 2 .5
.7
134
33,999 34.6 33.6 20.6 9.8
.6
.8
67
6,094 14.0 7.9 35.3 32.5 8.9 « 6 .7
381
64,092 37.8 28.3 24.7 7.0 1. 7 3 5
400 146,360 33.2 15.4 34.9 10.4 3.6 1.9
.4
50
5, 573 18.6 10.5 34.1 26.3 3.4 3 7.1
55
9,209 6.9 28.5 34.9 19.9 7.3 3 2 .5
27
2,943 33.2 19.3 8.3 28.9 10.3
61
5, 816 8.0 41.7 10.1 21.1 14. 5 3 4. 6
11
2,543 3.2 15.3 29.9 51.6
20
2,875 10.8 29.3 45.3 10. 5 10 4.1
2,082 243,800 57.4 18.7 13.5 2 5.3 2 2.3
1.7
1.7
865 102,432 64.5 19.1 8.9 3.4 2.3
.6
.8
698
64,152 56.0 16.8 15.8 4.8 2.3 3.6
.4
10, 660 37.6 14.3 22.3 13.8 7.5 4.5
48
118
12,606 40.9 22.1 17.5 4.2 6.9 6.4 1 2.0
101
4, 384 72.6 4.7 4.4 13.3 2 5 0
230
46,378 51.1 21.8 18.0 7.7
.1 (8)
.7
22
.1
.1
.8
.2
.4
.4
.3
.6
3,188 57.9 19.6 17.3 2 5.2
685
367
149
82
47
17
23
167,094
120,402
29j 190
6,985
5, 617
3,199
1,701
44.7
51.8
22.6
39.2
23.8
38.5
18.0
3, 854
875
513
258
835
247
335
428, 599
76,859
35,060
4,741
93, 880
39,469
15, 215
20.0 10.2 21.0 17.4
9.6 11.8 1 7.2
9.2 7.2 22.6 16.2 17.0 18.6 8.4
25.3 24.9 17.4 20.4 4.7 4.0 2.5
12.5 3.1 10.2 5.5 10.9 31.8 18.0
44.3 8.4 9.6 7.0 6.6 11.0 8.1
15.4 10.2 27.5 14.5 19.6 11.8 1 1.0
18.5 7.8 10.3 23.4 15. 21 11.4 9.1
23.6
25.8
16.9
25.1
22.9
19.3
14. 9
30.8
22.1
26.9
49.6
31.4 34.6
8.1 2 2.4 1.6
5.3 1 1 3 9
19.7 5.0 4 . 9
5.3 2 8.3
13.3 10. 5 2. 6
11.9
810.9
3 5.1
1.2
.1
i.l
2.8
.8
.8
8.0
5.0
4.3
987
Wages and Hours of Labor
Percentage Distribution of Wage Earners in Manufacturing, by Average Hours Worked
per Week in Each Plant, October-November 1940 °—Continued
N u m plants
reporting
Industry
Nondurable goods—
C o n d e n s e d a n d e v a p o r a t e d m i l k ........
F e e d s , p r e p a r e d ___________________________
and
smoking
tobacco
re
Less
than
36.9
36.0
to
37.9
38.0
to
39.9
40.0
to
41.9
5.1
11.3
19.1
31. 8
7.5
32.2
42.0
to
43.9
44.0
to
47.9
48.0
to
53.9
54.0
and
over
227
308
60
20
14
82
73
4.2
7,128
109, 759 11.5
19,249 4 3.0
13; 09 2 16.9
4,994 47.4
5; 538
7.1
2 , 777
9. 4
14.7
20. 2
4.1
13.3
10.3
.2
10.2
5.6
1.5
26. 6
5.3
38.0
1.9
17.0
2.1
43.1
6.6
14.4
3. 8
18.4
12.4
9. 5
5.6
5.3
2.4
44. 9
28.7
7.9
21.7
11. 2
3 3. 7
10.8
28.1
36.9
7.1
2.2
2.6
.1
2.7
.1
■ 2.0
3.7
2.6
.4
1.8
.1
20 9
6 6 ,345
18.3
26.4 M 9 . 2
3. 2
32
177
7,380
58,965
60.1
13.1
13.8 7 26.1
28.0 52.1
3. 5
2.5
3 , 548
612
42 5
334, 2 0 5
50.900
124,950
18.7
10.0
7.8
14.0
9.1
13.3
23. 6 « 2 2.2
25.8 25. 6
24. 9 25.3
12.0
16.1
15.8
7.1
7.9
10.2
1 ,469
665
24
45
104
77
75
52
70,131
4 6,400
4, 340
4,106
15; 800
7 ,798
7 ,335
2, 445
21.4
53.6
26.3
8. 4
18.5
19.0
9. 7
40.9
16.6
16.9
6. 6
13.6
14.5
30. 7
3.5
10.5
25.0 20. 5
11.5 12.5
28.7 8 38.4
31. 5 31. 8
26.9 26. 8
35.1
7.1
23.5 18.4
29.3 10.5
9. 2
2.5
5. 5
1.6
.2
.3
13.4
1.1
1.5
1,680
141
237
139
67
33
332
471
26
78
12
42
29
43
16
277, 591
62, 606
63,391
7,718
7, 740
6, 569
11,517
2 1 ,613
49, 518
16i 109
14, 859
3,270
i; 295
6 , 154
3 , 819
13.5
40. 4
.9
18.4
.9
4.2
51.3
4. 6
17.4
48.1
2.4
1.4
14.8
6.1
16.4
9.0
15.9
5.6
>2 9 . 6
3.0
22.5
.7
19.9
23. 6
4.1
4.6
8 3.1
.2
3.7
43. 6
7.6
3.0
8.9 23.6
35.4
■ 3.9
.9
43. 5
1.1 ■ 4.1
1.5
1.5
6.7
30. 9 14.0
7.6
11.9
24.0
4.2
1.8
64.8 2 25. 6
31.3
1.4 59.6
4.7
3.4
5.2
9.5
22. 5 15. 8
8 1 2.9
2.4
.1
4.0
26.8
11.9
1.4
4.2
2.3
.7
231
12
36
183
112,038
16,091
53; 789
42 , 1 5 8
23.3
and
P a p e r a n d p r i n t i n g _____________________________
B o x e s , p a p e r ________________________________
P a p e r a n d p u l p . - ------------------------Printing a n d publishing:
B o o k a n d job,
-------------------N e w s p a p e r s a n d p e r i o d i c a l s -------
C h e m i c a l , p e t r o l e u m a n d coal p r o d u c t s ---C h e m i c a l s ___
. ----- ------- -----------C o t t o n s e e d — oil, c a k e , a n d m e a l ---------
Fertilizers___________________________________
P a i n t s a n d v a r n i s h e s ----- ----------------
G r e a s e a n d t a l l o w __________________________
R u b b e r p r o d u c t s -------
m
plaiitb
P e r c e n t of w a g e e a r n e r s in p l a n t s r e p o r t i n g
average hours per w e e k -
Continued
F o o d a n d kindred products— Continued.
I c e c r e a m ___ ________________ ____________
S l a u g h t e r i n g a n d m e a t p a c k i n g ---------
Chewing
of w a g e
----------------------
R u b b e r tires a n d i n n e r t u b e s -----------R u b b e r g o o d s , o t h e r . ----- ---------------
8. 2
46.4
6.5
13. 5
41. 2
9.5
33. 8
8.1
37. 8
6.0
44.1
41.0
12.9
29.0
72. 2
55.4
2.3
9. 8
45.0
53. 7
19.5 ■127.5
» 51.7
18.1
30. 3
27. 8
16.2
M i s c e l l a n e o u s i n d u s t r i e s ----------------------
M a t t r e s s e s a n d b e d s p r i n g s . . .......... .
T o y s (no t i n c l u d i n g w h e e l g o o d s ) .......
22
46
49
168
26
19
41
3S
33
38
3,501
5.£
5 , 448 27. 2
1 8 ,299 M . 3
9 , 8 3 7 13.1
8, 34i
6.1
18,365
6,081 10.5
6; 194 26.8
4,180 21.1
11,318 11.7
7.6
26. 8
44. 7
10.0
17.6
6.7
33. i
23.9
12.6
34.7
12.2
«85.8
22.6
26.0
34.6
29.6
7.5
7.1
8.1
30.0
7.7
18. 6 2 5.2
6.6
41. 7
4.0 2 2.0
28. 4
8.8
2.0 .7
7.2
4.5 ■ 1.7
1.5
_
4.1
.6
3.8
2.4
■ 8.0
■ 4.4
■ 6.9
2.7
5.8 3 47.7
7.S
11.1
3. 8 22.0 ■ 4
2. 6 25.4 21.1
34. C
5.9
.3
10. 6
7.7
21.2 2 15.8
4.7
.7
8.8
24.9 11.7 3 30.3
9.6 ■ 2.3
25.3
24.1
2.0
22.6 24.6
__
.4
.9
22.6
3 2.8
a D i s t r i b u t i o n s n o t s h o w n for a f e w i n d ustries b e c a u s e o n l y a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of r e p o r t s w e r e available.
T h e s e r e p o r t s h a v e , h o w e v e r , b e e n i n c l u d e d i n t h e g r o u p totals.
■ I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s of 54.0 a n d over.
I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 44.0 a n d 47.9.
3 I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 48.0 a n d 53.9.
4 I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 38.0 a n d 39.9.
5 I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 36.0 a n d 37.9.
8 L e s s t h a n 0.5 pe r c e n t .
7 I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 40.0 a n d 41.9.
3 I n c l u d e s 1 p l a n t w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 42.0 a n d 43.9.
» I n c l u d e s 2 s m a l l p l a n t s w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 48.0 a n d 53.9.
40 I n c l u d e s 2 s m a l l p l a n t s w i t h a v e r a g e w e e k l y h o u r s b e t w e e n 44.0 a n d 47.9.
2
■■Includes 1 plant with average weekly hours under 36.0.
„„ „
n Includes 1 plant with average weekly hours under 36.0 hours and 1 plant between 38.0 and 39.9.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
988
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
HOURLY EA R N IN G S IN DRUG, M E D IC IN E , AND
T O IL E T PR EPA RA TIO N S IN D U STR Y , MAY 1940 1
Summary
AVERAGE hourly earnings in the drug, medicine, and toilet prepara
tions industry in May 1940 were 54.6 cents. Males earned an average
of 65.9 cents an hour and females, 46.3 cents an hour. In all, it was
estimated that 44,604 workers, employed in 1,441 plants, were in
cluded in the industry covered by the study. The basic data for the
survey were secured through mail questionnaires.
In the drug and medicine branch of the industry, male workers
averaged 67.0 cents an hour and females, 47.4 cents. The average
earnings of all workers were 56.6 cents.
Hourly wages in the toilet preparations branch amounted to 49.7
cents, males averaging 62.2 cents and females, 44.2 cents.
Definition of the Industry
As defined by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division
the drug, medicine, and toilet preparations industry includes:
The manufacture or packaging of any one or more of the following products
(except shaving cream, shampoo, glycerine, or soap): (a) Drugs or medicinal
preparations, other than food, intended for internal or external use in the diagnosis,
treatment, or prevention of disease in, or to affect the structure or any function of
the body of man or other animals, or (b) dentifrices, cosmetics, perfume or other
preparations designed or intended for external application to the person for the
purpose of cleansing, improving the appearance of, or refreshing the person.
In recognition of differences in the characteristics of the branches
of the industry, however, and to facilitate the analysis of the material
reported, it was considered desirable in the present study to distinguish
the following classes of plants or departments of plants:
1. Manufacturers of drugs and medicines.—Plants reporting 50 percent or more
of their 1939 sales revenues derived from drugs and medicines of their own manu
facture.2
2. Manufacturers of toilet preparations.—Plants reporting 50 percent or more
of their 1939 sales revenues derived from toilet preparations of their own manu
facture.
3. Combined product manufacturers.—Plants reporting 50 percent or more of
their 1939 sales revenues derived from drugs, medicines, and toilet preparations
combined, of their own manufacture, but not eligible for inclusion in groups 1
or 2 above.
4. Manufacturers of drugs, medicines, and toilet preparations as a minor product.—
Manufacturing plants engaged in the industry but reporting less than 50 percent
of their 1939 sales revenues derived from drugs, medicines, and toilet preparations
of their own manufacture.
i Prepared by Sidney C. Sufrin, assisted by Donald L. Helm, of the Bureau’s Division of Wage and Hour
Statistics. For a more detailed report, see Serial No. R. 1252 of this Bureau.
8 The term “manufacturing” includes packaging as well as processing.
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Wages and Hours of Labor
989
5. Manufacturing departments of distributors— Departments carrying on the
manufacture of drugs, medicines, or toilet preparations as an incidental activity
of plants primarily engaged in distribution.
6. Central administrative offices of firms engaged in the industry.
In view of the fact that a very large proportion of the workers in
the industry are employed by the first two groups of producers, the
present study is devoted primarily to them.
Coverage and Method of Study
The Census of Manufactures has classified the drug and medicine
industry separately from the manufacture of perfumes, cosmetics,
and other toilet preparations. The former of these two industries
consisted in 1937 of 1,013 establishments, which employed an average
of 6,895 clerical employees and 24,095 wage earners.
The perfume, cosmetics, and other toilet preparations industry is
appreciably smaller than the drug and medicine industry. According
to the Census of Manufactures there were 478 establishments with
10,158 wage earners in 1937.
Both branches of the industry tend to be concentrated in the
Northeastern and Midwestern regions of the country,3 and are
heavily concentrated in and about large cities.4
The present study of hourly earnings in the drug, medicine, and
toilet preparations industry is based on data obtained by question
naire from 1,028 members of the industry, who recorded certain
pay-roll information for 45,250 employees. The information per
tained to the pay-roll period ending nearest May 15, 1940. Hourly
earnings at this time of year are believed to be fairly representative
of normal conditions in the industry. It is true that employment and
production show some seasonal fluctuations, but early May does not
appear to be an extremely busy nor an extremely slack period.
s For the purposes of this report, the Northwestern region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, M ichi
gan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Northeastern region
includes Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, N ew Hampshire,
N ew Jersey, N ew York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Southern region includes
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Western region includes California,
Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
4 A tally of the unweighted reports received from the drug and medicine branch reveals that slightly over
one-half of the plants and nearly two-thirds of the workers are located in metropolitan areas with a popula
tion of 1,000,000 and over. Urban concentration is even more pronounced in the toilet preparations branch.
The unweighted returns from this branch show that more than seven-tenths of the plants and eight-tenths
of the workers are in population centers of 1,000,000 and over. Roughly eight-tenths of the plants and seveneighths of the workers in the drug and medicine branch, and over nine-tenths of both plants and workers in
the toilet preparations branch, are found in metropolitan areas of 100,000 and over.
Especially well-marked is the concentration of plants and employment of both branches of the industry
in the New York metropolitan area. No less than 25 percent of the drug and medicine establishments,
employing about 30 percent of all the workers in that branch, and approximately 44 percent of the toilet
preparations plants, employing nearly two-thirds of the workers in that branch, were in the N ew York
metropolitan area.
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41------- 14
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
990
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Since the data were collected by mail, instead of by field agents, it
was not possible to secure the detailed information which appears
in other wage and hour studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The present study, therefore, throws no light on the earnings in the
several occupations of the industry, on the composition of the laboring
force by occupational or skill groups, nor on methods of payment,
overtime rates, or prevalence of union agreements. It is known from
other sources, however, that payment on a time basis was typical in
the industry at the time of this study, and that union agreements were
relatively uncommon.
The extent to which the usable questionnaires returned represent the
various geographic regions and the sizes of establishments is roughly
indicated in table 1, in which the establishments reporting are ex
pressed as a percentage of the corresponding census figures. It will
be noted that the representation is less than 40 percent for only 3
classes of establishments. In a few instances, presumably because
of changes in the composition of the industry since 1937, the establish
ments reported by questionnaire actually exceeded the number reported
by the census.
Although conclusions might have been drawn directly from the pay
roll data secured by questionnaire, it was deemed advisable, before
preparing the final tabulations, to make correction for differences in
the completeness of representation of the various geographic areas
and sizes of establishments. In arriving at properly “ weighted”
figures, use was made of unpublished census information regarding
the size composition of plants in the various States.
T able
1.—Plants Returning Usable Questionnaires, as Percentage of Establishments
Reported by 1937 Census of Manufactures, by Region and Size Class
Region
Total
percent
age cov
erage
Percent of coverage in plants employing—
1 to 20
workers
21 to 100 101 to 250 251 workworkers workers ers and
over
Drug and medicine branch—total.
Northeastern region........ .........
Midwestern region____ _____
Southern region____________
Western region_____________
61.8
75.6
50.4
55.9
47.9
56.5
69.7
45.0
55.2
45.5
68.0
81.5
55.1
50.0
1 80.0
105.3
100.0
114.3
1 83.3
(2)
125.0
160.0
88.9
(2)
Toilet preparations branch—total.
Northeastern region________
Midwestern region_________
Southern region____________
Western region........................
42.1
50.2
38.6
28.8
34.1
32.2
40.4
26.5
23.9
24.4
79.2
68.2
95.0
66.7
1 166. 7
78.9
71.4
• 57.1
91.7
111. 1
(2)
(2)
: Percentage combined with next larger class.
2 Less than 3 plants reporting. Data have been combined with data of preceding interval.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
991
Wages and Hours of Labor
Earnings in Major Branches of the Industry
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNING S, BY REGION
The average hourly earnings of all workers6 in the industry
amounted to 54.6 cents in May 1940.6 Regionally, the highest
average hourly earnings (57.4 cents) were received by workers in the
Midwest. The lowest average hourly remuneration (44.2 cents)
was earned by workers in the South. This was fully 13 cents less
than average earnings in the Midwest and almost 10.5 cents less*
than the average for all workers in the industry. The average hourly
earnings of 55.7 cents paid workers in the Western region were slightly
higher (1.1 cents) than the average for the industry, while the average
wage of 53.8 cents an hour paid workers in the Northeastern region
was less than 1 cent below the average earnings of workers in the
industry as a whole.
T able 2.-—Average Hourly Earnings and Percentage Distribution of Estimated Number
of Workers, M ay 1940, by Branch of Industry, Region, and Sex
Average hourly earnings
Branch of industry and region
All
workers
Males
Percent of workers
Females
All
workers
Males
Females
Total industry------- ------------- ----- ---Northeastern region _____ — --------Midwestern region----------------- ------Southern region _______ . -----------Western region, ______ - . . . ---
$0.546
.538
.574
.442
.557
$0. 659
.654
.691
.499
.636
$0. 463
.452
.487
.408
.509
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
42.1
42.6
42.3
37.4
37.4
57.9
57.4
5777
Drug and medicine branch ------- ------Northeastern region, --------------------Midwestern region ----------- ------ -Southern region_____________ _____
Western region . . . . . . -----------------
.566
.562
.588
.452
.573
.670
.664
.700
.503
.667
.474
.460
.497
.420
.514
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
46.9
50. 0
44. 7
37.8
38.6
53.1
50. 0
55. 3
62. 2
61.4
Toilet preparations b ra n ch ------ --------Northeastern region__________ _____
Midwestern r eg io n ___________ ___
Southern region.., . ------------- . . . . .
Western region ------------- ------- --
.497
.497
.508
.395
.535
.622
.626
.634
.481
.592
.442
.441
.450
.348
.503
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
30.7
30.1
31.6
35. 4
35. 7
68.4
64. 6
64.3
62.6
69.3
Drug and medicine branch.—The workers in the drug and medicine
branch received average earnings of 56.6 cents an hour, which was 2
cents higher than the average for the industry as a whole. Average
hourly earnings in this branch in the 4 regions ranged from 1.0 to 2.4
cents an hour higher than those in the entire industry in the same areas.
s The term “workers” as used throughout this study includes production, clerical, maintenance, and
shipping, as well as inside selling employees. B y and large the average hourly earnings reported in the
survey do not reflect additional earnings for overtime.
e All the hourly wage rates in this study were computed from “hours paid for” rather than from “hours
worked.”
In filling out the questionnaires, the companies were requested to report total hours paid for rather than
total hours actually worked. Total hours actually worked are a measure of the time an employee is on duty.
Total hours paid for are a measure of the total labor time for which an employee would be required to work
for his actual pay, were all his hours of work paid for at normal rates. The two will differ if an employee
performs overtime work at extra rates. For example, an employee who actually worked 42 hours at regular
rates and 2 hours at extra rates of time and one-half is credited not with 44 hours actually worked but with
45 hours for which payment was received (42 hours+2 hoursX1.5=45 hours).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
As in the case for the industry as a whole, the highest average hourly
wages in the drug and medicine branch (58.8 cents) were paid to
workers in the Midwest and the lowest average earnings (45.2 cents)
were paid to workers in the South.
Toilet preparations branch.—The average hourly earnings of the
workers in the toilet preparations branch were only 49.7 cents an hour,
6.9 cents less than the earnings received by workers in the drug and
medicine branch, and 4.9 cents an hour less than the average for the
total industry. It should be noted that the proportion of female
workers found in the toilet preparations branch was higher than in the
drug and medicine branch (69.3 percent as compared with 53.1 per
cent) . Since female workers in the industry tended to earn less than
male workers, part of the difference in hourly earnings in the two
branches can be accounted for on that score.
A difference of fully 14 cents an hour was found to exist between the
average hourly wages in the West, the highest wage region (53.5 cents),
and the South, the lowest wage region (39.5 cents). In comparing the
average hourly wages by regions for the two branches,-it was found that
the differences ranged from 3.8 cents in the Western region to 8.0 cents
an hour in the Alidwest. In each region, the average hourly earnings
of workers in the drug and medicine branch exceeded the corresponding
averages of workers in the toilet preparations branch.
VARIATIONS IN AVERAGE HOURLY EAR NING S, BY SEX
A difference of nearly 20 cents obtained between the average hourly
earnings of male and female workers in the total industry. Male
workers averaged 65.9 cents per hour and females only 46.3 cents.
Differences of similar magnitude in favor of the male workers were
found in both the Northeastern and Midwestern regions. The differ
ence was not so marked in the Western region, where the male workers
received 12.7 cents an hour more than the female workers. The
South, which was the lowest wage region in the industry, showed the
smallest difference (9.1 cents) between the earnings of male and female
workers.
Drug and medicine branch.—Male workers in the drug and medicine
branch earned an average wage of 67.0 cents an hour, while females
averaged only 47.4 cents an hour. Both of these averages were about
1 cent higher than those computed for the total industry. The
difference in the average earnings of males and females (about 20
cents) was equal to the difference in the earnings of males and females
in the entire industry. A similar difference in the hourly earnings of
male and female workers also was found in both the Northeastern and
Midwestern regions. The difference in favor of male workers was 15.3
cents an hour in the West and only 8.3 cents an hour in the South.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
993
Toilet 'preparations branch.—Male and female workers in the toilet
preparations branch received average hourly earnings of 62.2 and 44.2
cents, respectively. The difference between the average hourly
earnings of men and women was thus only slightly lower in the toilet
preparations branch than in the drug and medicine branch of the
industry. In the Northeastern and Midwestern regions the difference
between the average hourly earnings of males and females amounted
to 18.5 and 18.4 cents, respectively. The smallest difference between
average earnings of males and females in the toilet preparations
branch (8.9 cents an hour) was found in the Western rather than in
the Southern region. The differential in the South was 13.3 cents.
DISTRIBUTION OF WORKERS BY CLASSIFIED HOURLY EARNINGS
Table 3 presents a simple percentage distribution of the estimated
44,604 workers in the major branches of the industry in May 1940,
according to average hourly earnings, by branch of industry and by
sex. Individual workers earned from less than 30 cents to over
$1.32 an hour. Fully one-half of the workers (50.6 percent) were
found within the 20-cent range of 32.5 to 52.5 cents. A negligible
number of workers (0.3 percent) earned less than 30 cents, the mini
mum in effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The legal mini
mum, exactly 30 cents, was earned by 3.8 percent of the workers,
while as many as 7.5 percent received exactly 40 cents an hour, the
ultimate floor to wages prescribed under the act.
Two characteristics predominated the distribution of hourly earn
ings of male workers in the total industry: (1) The great range of
individual hourly earnings, extending from under 30 cents to over
$1,325 an hour; and (2) the bimodal nature of the distribution when
classified in 5-cent intervals.
More than one-ninth of the males were in the class of 62.5 and
under 67.5 cents. The average hourly earnings of all male workers
(65.9 cents) fell within this 5-cent class. Nearly one-tenth (9.7
percent) of the male employees were found in the next largest group—
47.5 and under 52.5 cents. There were no marked concentrations
of male workers in any of the class intervals under 47.5 cents an hour.
The lower average hourly earnings of all female workers was re
flected in the distribution of individual hourly earnings of these
employees. The 5-cent wage interval with the greatest concentra
tion of female workers occurred in the wage bracket of 37.5 to 42.5
cents, slightly more than one-fourth of the total female labor force
being concentrated in this class. There was a considerable propor
tion of females (17.6 percent) in the wage class 42.5 and under 47.5
cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
994
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 3.—Percentage Distribution of Estimated Number of Workers According to Average
Hourly Earnings, M ay 1940, by Branch of Industry, and Sex
Total industry
Average hourly earnings
(in cents)
All
workers Males
Drug and medicine
branch
Fe
All
males workers Males
Toilet preparations
branch
Fe
All
males workers Males
Under 30.0_____ _ ___ . _
0.3
0.3
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
4.1
1.6
5.6
2.5
Exactly 30.0____ _ _____
5.3
3.6
1.4
3.8
30.1 and under 32.5______ _ 1.4
.6
1.9
1.8
1.0
2.0
1.3
.5
3.2
.9
32.5and under 35.0_____ _
.9
3.3
1.9
.9
2.9
2.3
2.7
35.0and under 37.5_______
1.9 11.6
7.6 13.8
7.5
1.7
4.8
2.6
37.5and under 40.0_______
5.4
1.5
8.8
6.8
1.8
8.7
5.8
2.4 11.2
2. 1 12.2
3.4
7.4
7.6
Exactly 40.0___________
7.5
2.3
1.5
5.6
40.1 and under 42.5_______
4.0
5.8
3.3
1.3
5.0
2.6
3.6
42.5and under 45.0___ ____
6.6
2.8
9.4
6.3
9.5
7.3
4.8
4.2
8.2
6.2
8.2
7.1
45.0and under 47.5_______
6.5
4.0
47.5and under 52.5____ . . . 10.4
9.7 11.0 10.0
9.0 11.0 11.4 12.8
8.6
7.4
6.1
9.3
52.5and under 57.5_______
7.4
8.8
6.4
8.0
9.2
9.2
9.3
57.5and under 62.5_______
7.1
5.5
7.9
6.6
5.3
5.4 11.6
62.5and under 67.5_ _ .__ _ 6.9 11.5
7.6 11.2
4.3
3.7
67.5and under 72.5_______
9.6
3.5
7.9
5.3
9.3
2.4
2.8
6.0
6.6
8.6
3.0
72.5and under 77.5_______
4.4
8.1
1.8
1.7
5.0
1.2
4.6
77.5and under 82.5__ _____ 3.3
6.5
.9
7.0
1.8
3.9
2.3
82.5and under 87.5_______
4.7
5.4
1.1
1.1
2.5
.9
3.1
4.2
.4
1.4
3.3
87.5and under 92.5______
.5
2.3
4.5
2.0
.4
1.4
92.5and under 97.5___ ____
2.6
.4
1.6
3.0
.7
1.3
.2
.2
.7
1.7
97.5and under 102.5_______
1.1
2.3
1.3
2.5
2.2
.2
1.1
2.0
.3
.8
102.5and under 112.5______
2.0
1.0
.2
.2
1.2
112.5and under 122.5___ ..
1.5
.8
1.5
.5
.7
.4
1.1
.9
.2
122.5and under 132.5___
.5
.9
.1
.5
.8
.3
.4
.1
.4
.7
.1
132.5and over____________
.7
Total______________ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number of workers....... ...... 44,604 18,780 25,824 31,448 14,737 16, 711 13,156 4,043
Average hourly earnings___ $0,546 $0. 659 $0.463 $0. 566 $0. 670 $0.474 $0.497 $0.622
1,441
994
447
Fe
males
0.3
4.8
2.1
4.2
18.7
8.7
9.5
7.1
9.1
8.1
10.9
4.6
3.5
2.8
1.6
1.4
.5
.5
.4
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1
0)
100.0
9,113
$0.442
1Less than a tenth'of 1percent.
A relatively large proportion (11.2 percent) of woman workers
earned exactly 40 cents an hour. It is significant that the relative
number of females earning less than 40 cents an hour was more than
four times as great as the relative number of males in this category
(31.2 percent as compared with 7.1).
Drug and medicine branch.—The distribution of workers according
to individual hourly earnings in the drug and medicine branch showed
a slightly greater proportion of the workers in each of the wage-class
intervals above 52.5 cents than was shown in these intervals for the in
dustry as a whole. This was to be expected since the average hourly
earnings (56.6 cents) in this branch were 2 cents higher than the average
for the industry as a whole. Of the total labor force in the drug and
medicine branch, 46.6 percent had earnings falling within the 20cent range of 37.5 and under 57.5 cents, while roughly one-fourth
(26.5 percent) averaged between 57.5 and 77.5 cents per hour. The
proportion of workers averaging exactly 30 cents an hour—the
effective minimum rate of the Fair Labor Standards Act—was not
large (3.6 percent), while roughly twice as many workers (7.4 percent)
earned exactly 40 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
995
ff ages and Hours of Labor
Toilet 'preparations branch.—Few workers in the toilet preparations
branch received less than 30 cents an hour (0.3 percent), while just
over 4 percent received exactly that wage.
In marked contrast to the drug and medicine branch, the distribu
tion of workers according to individual hourly earnings in this branch
shows a greater proportion of workers in each of the wage classes
falling under 52.5 cents, as compared with the relative distributions
in these classes for the industry as a whole. It will be noted that over
7 percent of the workers were reported as receiving exactly 40 cents
an hour, and nearly 14 percent of the workers received average hourly
earnings in the range of 35 and under 37.5 cents. It is very probable
that a substantial majority of the workers reported in this latter
class were receiving exactly 35 cents.
SIZE OF PLANT AND AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
In addition to being scattered over most of the United States,
establishments in the drug, medicine, and toilet preparations industry
varied in size from plants employing only 1 worker to those employing
in excess of 1,500 workers. Table 4, which presents the average hourly
earnings of workers in the combined industry and in each branch,
according to size of plant, groups the plants into 8 size classes.
T able 4.—Average Hourly Earnings, by Size of Plant, Branch of Industry, and Sex,
M ay 1940
Drug and medicine
branch
Total industry
Size of plant
United States------
-------
Toilet preparations
branch
All
work
ers
Males
Fe
males
All
work
ers
Males
Fe
males
All
work
ers
Males
$0. 546
$0. 659
$0.463
$0.566
$0. 670
$0.474
$0.497
$0.622
$0.442
.492
.508
.499
.497
.541
.525
.573
.661
.549
.607
.583
.603
.661
.659
.680
.764
.451
.449
.440
.433
.462
.447
.461
.557
.507
.525
.513
.509
.556
.553
.575
.661
.561
.630
.593
.603
.662
.673
.677
.764
.465
.460
.446
.438
.467
.456
.452
.557
.463
.461
.466
.470
.515
.505
.561
.522
.538
.550
.601
.660
.644
.713
.426
.421
.430
.423
.454
.441
.497
Fe
males
With the presentation of this added detail there appears to be
a tendency for the larger plants, i. e., those employing more than 250
workers, to pay higher wages than the smaller plants, and for the
plants with greatest employment to pay the highest average hourly
wages. For the entire United States, the difference in hourly wages
between the smallest plants and the largest plants amounted to 16.9
cents. The difference in hourly earnings of male employees in these
two plant groups was large (21.5 cents). The plants which paid the
lowest average hourly wages to women employed between 51 and 100
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
996
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
workers. The difference in average hourly earnings of women in
these plants and those in the largest plant group was 12.4 cents.
The difference in average hourly earnings between the smallest plants
and the largest was 10.6 cents.
It is interesting to note that in both the drug and medicine and
toilet preparations branches, plants employing between 51 and 100
workers paid their female employees less, on the average, than plants
employing only 1 to 5 workers. The differences were not large, vary
ing from less than 3 cents to only 3 mills. Male workers tended to
average from 4 to 8 cents more in plants employing 51 to 100 workers
than in plants employing 1 to 5 workers.
In the drug and medicine branch of the industry, the over-all dif
ference in the average hourly earnings of workers employed in the
smallest and largest plant groups was 15.4 cents. The difference
for male employees was 20.3 cents and for female employees, 9.2 cents.
In the toilet preparations branch of the industry, the difference
in hourly wages between the smallest plants and largest plants was
9.8 cents. For males the difference was 19.1 cents and for females
it was 7.1 cents.
T able 5.—Average Hourly Earnings by Size of Plant, Region, Branch of Industry
and Sex, M ay 1940
Drug and medicine
branch
Total industry
Toilet preparations
branch
Size of plant
All
work
ers
Males
Fe
males
All
work
ers
Males
Fe
males
All
work
ers
Males
United States_____________ $0.546
1 to 20 workers________
.503
21 to 100 workers..
. _
.498
101 to 250 workers_____
.541
251 to 2,500 w o rk ers___
.582
$0. 659
.589
.593
.661
.702
$0. 463
.450
.436
.462
.482
$0. 566
.520
.511
.556
.606
$0. 670
.610
.598
.662
.713
$0. 474
.461
.442
.467
.498
$0. 497
. 462
.468
.515
1.513
$0. 622
.532
.576
. 660
1.654
$0. 442
.423
.426
. 454
1.450
Fe
males
Northeastern region__ _ __
1 to 20 workers_____ __
21 to 100 workers______
101 to 250 workers ____
251 to 2,500 workers____
.538
.524
.506
.548
.551
.654
.624
.609
.681
.668
.452
.453
.440
.459
.455
.562
.536
.519
.586
.580
.664
.654
.613
.689
.679
.460
.465
.444
.480
.463
.497
.475
.479
. 508
i. 501
. 626
.551
.595
. 668
1.634
.441
.430
.434
. 443
i. 445
Midwestern region____
1 to 20 w orkers____
21 to 100 workers .
101 to 250 workers ..
251 to 2,500 workers____
.574
.491
.493
.534
.645
.691
.565
.591
.642
.772
.487
.449
.426
.463
.538
.588
.507
.507
.534
.651
.700
.585
.595
.640
.774
.497
.463
.431
.454
.544
.508
.442
.454
.534
1.587
.634
.503
.570
. 649
h 746
. 450
.409
.416
.486
1.486
Southern region_____
1 to 20 workers.. ______
21 to 100 workers__
101 to 1,000 workers.. _.
.442
.417
.429
.468
.499
.455
.471
.547
.408
.393
.405
.419
.452
.415
.453
.468
.503
.435
.477
.547
.420
.402
.438
.419
.395
.424
.378
.481
.516
. 456
.348
.362
.340
Western region . . ______
1 to 20 workers____ . .
21 to 250 workers______
.557
.563
.552
.636
.662
.619
.509
.508
.510
.573
.600
.548
.667
.697
.633
.514
.527
.503
.535
.495
.555
.592
.540
.607
.503
.481
.518
1 There is no plant employing over 1,000 workers for the toilet preparations branch.
To study further the relationship between size of plant and average
hourly earnings, the plants in each region were combined into 4 size
classes, i. e., those employing 1 to 20 workers; those employing 21 to
100 workers; those employing 101 to 250 workers; and those employ
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
JFages and Hours of Labor
997
ing 251 to 2,500 workers (table 5). The greatest difference in average
hourly earnings among the several plant size groups was in the
Midwest where the largest size plants (251 to 2,500 workers) paid an
average wage which was 15 cents an hour more than plants employing
1 to 20 workers (64.5 cents as against 49.1 cents). The differences in
average hourly earnings in the other regions were smaller, ranging
roughly from 1 to 5 cents. Although a number of exceptions may be
noted, workers in the larger plants tended to earn more than workers
in small plants. Regardless of plant size, males earned more on the
average than females.
Average Hourly Earnings in Subsidiary Branches of the Industry
In the introduction to this study, it was pointed out that certain
of the questionnaire returns could not be grouped with the majority
of returns. Although the plants represented by these returns manu
factured products of the industry as defined by the Administrator,
they did not fall within either of the major branches which have
been discussed. It was not possible to weight the returns of these
establishments. The information that was supplied, however, was
segregated and analyzed separately in its unweighted form. The
unweighted data were divided into four classifications.7 The per
centage distribution according to average hourly earnings is shown,
by sex, in table 6 for each of the four classifications.
Combined 'product manufacturers.—Usable questionnaires were re
ceived from 10 combined product manufacturers. These 10 estab
lishments employed 407 workers of whom about 30 percent (125)
were males and about 70 percent (282) females. Average employ
ment, therefore, was about 40. In the plants employing between
21 and 50 workers in the major branches of the industry, about 40
percent of the employees were males and 60 percent females.
The average hourly earnings in the plants of combined product
manufacturers were 46.4 cents an hour, male workers averaging 58.3
cents and females 41.1 cents. These hourly earnings were slightly
below the earnings of employees in plants which employed between
21 and 50 employees in the major branches of the industry.
No less than 13 percent of the employees of combined product
manufacturers received exactly 30 cents. Fully 44.1 percent received
under 40 cents per hour.
Manufacturers of drugs, medicines, and toilet preparations as a
minor product.—Questionnaires were received from 103 plants which
produced products of the industry as less than 50 percent of their
1939 sales. The employment in these plants was 5,381, the average
plant employing about 50 workers. About 55 percent of the employ
ees were males and 45 percent females. Average earnings in these
i
For definitions of these classifications, see paragraphs 3 to 6, pp. 988-989.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
998
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
plants were 62.7 cents per hour. Only 15 percent of the workers
earned less than 40 cents.
Manufaduring departments of distributors.-—In all, 73 manufacturing
departments of plants engaged in distributing the products of the
industry returned usable questionnaires. These firms employed 893
workers, of whom 430 were males and 463 females.
Male employees engaged in manufacturing divisions of these
distributing firms earned an average of 60.2 cents, while female workers
averaged only 38.2 cents, and the average hourly earnings of all
employees amounted to 48.8 cents an hour.
Central administrative offices.—Questionnaires were received from
26 central administrative offices of firms engaged in the manufacture
of products of the industry. These 26 establishments employed
2,250 workers, of whom 630 were males and 1,620 females. The
central offices, therefore, employed on the average more than 85
workers. The average hourly earnings of these workers tended to
be about 10 cents an hour higher than the average earnings of workers
in the major branches of the industry. The average hourly earnings
of males were 78.9 cents an hour and for females, 61.6 cents an hour.
T able
6.
Percentage Distribution of Workers in Subsidiary Branches of the Industry,
M ay 1940, by A verage Hourly Earnings and Sex
Average hourly earnings
(in cents)
Combined prod
ucts manufac
turers
Manufacturing
drugs, medicines,
and toilet prepara
tions as minor
products
Manufacturing
departments of
distributors
Central adminis
trative offices
Total Males Fe Total Males Fe Total Males Fe Total Males Fe
males
males
males
males
Under 30.0.-................. ......
Exactly 30.0____________
30.1 and under 32.5______
32.5 and under 35.0______
35.0 and under 37.5______
37.5 and under 40.0______
Exactly 4 0 .0 .___________
40.1 and under 42.5______
42.5 and under 45.0______
45.0 and under 47.5.........
13.0
0.8 18.4
1.0 —
1.4
3.7 _____ 5.3
16.7
4.0 22.2
0.4
3.0
.9
2.1
3.7
0.3
1.0
.2
.8
.8
0 5
5.6
1.8
3.8
7.5
7.8
6.5
7.1
8.6
3.0
1.9
.9
3.5
12.4
10.8
12.7
13.5
0.1
0.2
0.1
.1
.1
2.5
.3
.3
1.3
.1
3.0
1.6
9.8
5. 2
3.9
3.7
8.1
1.6
4.0
2.4
3.2
7.2
13.5
5.7
4.6
3.9
8.5
4.9
3.0
2.4
4.3
3.5
.8
2.1
.7
2.5
2.2
10.3
4.0
4.6
6.7
5.3
7.4
.8
5.8
6.5
7.2
1.4
2.8
4.0
12.7
.6
9.9
9.9
10.2
2.6
4.2
2.0
3.4
6.7
1.4
.6
.8
2.5
4.4
3.0
5. 6
2. 5
3. 8
7.5
10.1
5. 7
3.9
2.9
3.2
19.2
14.4
8.0
7.2
8.8
6.0
1.8
2.1
1.1
6.8
11.8
8.9
6.9
10.8
15.1
8.4
6.4
6.6
5.9
6.3
9.1
6.8
6.5
4.7
8.4
18. 1
12.8
12.8
9.5
4.3
.9
1.3
.6
.2
12.0
10.1
9.1
9.2
8.0
8.8
6.8
.7
10.2
10.3
7.8
6.8
8.7
13. 2
11.4
9.1
9.8
8.3
77.5______
82.5______
87.5______
92.5______
97.5______
2.7
1. 5
1. 7
8.0
.8
3. 2
3. 2
.8
.4
1.8
1.1
.4
.4
5.5
4.9
3.3
3.0
1.9
7.6
7.9
4.9
4.7
3.0
2.7
1.0
1.0
.8
.4
1.6
1.1
4.1
.7
.7
3.3
2.3
8.6
1.4
1.4
4.5
4.2
4.5
2.6
2.7
4.9
3.8
6.0
4.1
4.0
2.2
97.5 and under 102.5..........
102.5 and under 112.5____
112.5 and under 122.5____
122.5 and under 132.5____
132.5 and over____ ______
1.0
1.6
8 1. 6
.7
1.9
3.5
1.6
1. 2
1.2
3.2
5.8
2.6
1.8
1.9
.2
1.6
i 1.2
2.1
3.8
1.4
47.5 and
52.5 and
57.5 and
62.5 and
67.5 and
under 52.5______
under 57.5______
under 62.5______
under 67.5______
under 72.5______
72.5 and
77.5 and
82.5 and
87.5 and
92.5 and
under
under
under
under
under
1. 2
.5
2. 5
.5
.9
2 8
9.0
7.6
7.1
4.4
4. 4
4. 0
2.0
.3
.3
.3
1.9
4.6
.9
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number of workers______
407
125
282 5,381 3,059 2,322
893
430
463 2. 250
630 1, 620
Average hourly earnings $0.464 $0. 583 $0. 411 $0. 627 $0.723 $0,501 $0. 488 $0.602 $0. 382 $0. 664 $0. 789 $o:
616
Number of plants____
10
103
73
26
T o ta l__________ _
1 97.5 cents and over.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8 102. 5 cents and over.
999
Wages and Hours of Labor
WAGES IN NORWAY, 1934 TO 1939-40
THERE is in Norway a well-developed and unified system of labor
unions and employers’ associations,1 with a record of peaceful negotia
tions, especially during recent years. As a result of their collective
bargaining, money wages of the industrial and trade workers
showed a steady increase from 1934 to 1939. Hourly wages rose by
about 30 0re,2 daily wages by about 2.50 kroner, and monthly wages
by about 12 kroner during this period.3
Official figures showing the wage rates, hourly, daily, and weekly,
in Norwegian industries and trades, in the period 1934-39, inclusive,4
are shown in table 1.
T able
1.— Wages in Industries and Trades in Norway, 1934, 1937, and 1939
Average wages (in
kroner)
Industry and occupation
1934
1937
Average wages (in
kroner)
Industry and occupation
1934
1939
Publicworks:
Highway workers:
Telegraph workers:
Road construction:
Port construction:
All workers:
1.38
1.14
1.11
1.63
1.31
1.32
1.79
1.44
1.46
1.51
1.20
1.77
1.40
1. 86
1.48
1.05
1.03
1.28
1.17
1.39
1.31
1.00
.87
1.12
.97
1.30
1.10
1.18
.90
Skilled workers:
1939
Weekly rates
Hourly rates
Metal industry:
1937
1.24
1.10
1.42
1.17
1.43
1.38
1.70
1.47
68.00
73.00
66.00
70.00
69.00
55. 00
62.00
65.00
54.00
28.00
76.00
81.00
75.00
78.00
72.00
59.00
67.00
73.00
70.00
36.00
83.00
86.00
81.00
84.00
79.00
62.00
71.00
80.00
71.00
38.00
M onthly rates
Domestic servants, female,2
aged—
26.00
33. 00
40.00
35.00
43.00
49.00
D aily rates
Workers, export industries— 10.83
11.20
13. 50
4. 70
11.79
12.46
15. 57
5.00
12.95
13.91
17.65
5. 60
1 W ith board.
2 W ith board and lodging.
Table 2 shows the wages paid to agricultural workers in Norway
in 1934 and 1939-40. On an average, the seasonal wages approxi
mately increased by 96 kroner in summer, and 82 kroner in winter,
i The membership of the unified labor unions rose to 352,479 in 1939 as compared with 172,513 in 1934. The
employers’ association covered 3,246 establishments with 129,800 workers in 1940, as compared with 2,902
establishments with 113,160 workers in 1938.
! Average exchange rate of krone (100 fire) in 1939 = 23.2 cents.
3
For an approximation of the movement of real wages during the years under review, see M onthly Labor
Review for August 1940 (p. 405): Trendy of Cost of Living in Norway, 1938-40.
< Statistiske Sentralbyra. Statistisk Arbok for Norge. Oslo, 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1000
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
in 1939-40 over those in 1934; the daily wages in summer increased
by about 1 krone, and in winter by about 1.50 kroner in 1939-40
over those in 1934.
T a b l e 2 .— Wages in Agriculture in Norway in 1934 and 1939-40
Summer
Winter
Group of workers
Laborers receiving board:
Males________________________________________
Sowing season_____________________ Per day
Haymaking season___________________ do__I
Harvesting season____________________do
Others_________________________
’ "do"
Females:
Sowing season_______________________ do__
Haymaking season___________________ do
Harvesting season____________________do
Others______________________________ do__"
Laborers not receiving board:
Males:
do
Sowing season____ _____ ___________
Haymaking season___________________ do___
Harvesting season_______________
do_ _
Others________________________
do
Females:
Sowing sea so n ..__________________ ___ d o ..
Haymaking season___________________ do
Harvesting season___ _________________ do
Others___________________ _______ ___ do.
Excavators receiving board___________________ d o .i
Excavators not receiving board_______________ do
Carpenters receiving board___________________do
Carpenters not receiving board_______________ do I”
Domestic servants receiving board and lodging:
M ales-------------------------------------- 6-month periodFemales_____ ____________________________ do___
1934
1939
1934-35
1939-40
Kroner
2.70
3.07
2.69
2.48
Kroner
4.01
4. 61
4.12
3.80
Kroner
Kroner
2.10
3. 33
1.74
1.95
1.85
1.61
2.53
2. 79
2.70
2.39
1.42
2.16
3.92
4. 27
3.95
3.70
5. 55
6.05
5.65
5.32
3.28
4. 87
2.68
2.89
2. 79
2.56
4.14
5.44
4. 39
5.79
3.68
3.89
3.82
3. 56
5. 89
7.59
6.14
7.92
2. 32
3.61
4.84
3.72
5.06
3. 27
5. 36
7.02
5. 64
7.35
240.00
161.00
358.00
226.00
176.00
134.00
279.00
195.00
* * * * * * * *
IN C R EA SED WAGES FOR WOOLEN AND RAYON
W ORKERS IN PE R U , 1940 AND 1941 1
FOLLOWING an investigation by the Bureau of Labor and Social
Welfare of Peru, the Government granted temporary wage increases
lor workers in the woolen- and rayon-textile industries in the Province
of Lima, by decrees of December 19, 1940, and January 13, 1941,
pending a final adjustment by a commission to be appointed for the
purpose.
In the woolen-textile industry, the pay of job or piece workers was
increased 10 percent. Certain exceptions were made in the case of
job workers whose income had been increased by the arbitration
award of June 1, 1939. Wages of persons receiving less than 2.00
soles 2 a day were increased by 40 percent; from 2.00 to 2.99 soles,
by 30 percent; from 3.00 to 3.99 soles, by 20 percent; from 4.00 to
5.99 soles, by 10 percent; and from 6.00 to 9.99 soles, by 5 percent.
If, because of these increases, the wages of one group should be less
1 Data are from reports of Julian Greenup, United States commercial attaché at Lima, Peru.
2 The Peruvian sol (100 centavos) has recently been maintained at a value equal to about 15.4 cents in
U. S. currency.
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Wages and Hours of Labor
1001
than those of a lower wage class, the wages of the former are increased
to a figure 10 centavos above the lower wage class.
In the rayon branch of the textile industry, the increase for job
workers was 8 percent, while the advances in the wage schedule up
to 3.99 soles were the same as for the workers in the woolen mills.
A 10-percent increase was allowed for the wage groups from 4.00
to 4.99 soles. The increases were made retroactive to August 1, 1940.
*******4
WAGE IN C R EA SE U N D ER G EN ERA L COLLECTIVE
A G R E EM EN T IN SW ED EN 1
THE Swedish Federation of Labor on January 9, 1941, concluded a
new agreement with the Swedish Employers’ Association.
The agreement provides for a sliding scale of wage increases during
1941, along lines similar to those contained in the agreement which
expired at the end of 1940. The main difference is that instead of
an increase equal to 75 percent of the rise in the cost-of-living index
each quarter, the increase for 1941 will be only half of the rise in the
cost of living, and it will be calculated only every half year. One
condition made in the agreement stipulated that no increase in wages
would be paid unless the cost-of-living index exceeded 200 for the
fourth quarter of 1940.
As the cost-of-living index, computed by the Social Board and
published on January 10, 1941, stood at 204 (as against 197 for the
third quarter of 1940), some 600,000 workers and employees covered
by the new agreement will obtain an increase equal to 4 percent of
their wages in addition to the increases paid in 1940. The increase, in
the case of wage earners, will be paid as from February 1, 1941, and
in the case of salaried employees, from January 1, 1941. Salaried
employees will receive no increase on that part of salaries in excess
of 900 kronor 2 a month.
Another provision in the new agreement states that if the cost-ofliving index as of July 1, 1941, reaches 212, another increase of 4
percent will become payable.
1 Report of F. A. M . Alisei), United States commercial attaché, Stockholm, Sweden.
2 Average exchange rate of krona in November 1940=24 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Building Operations
SUM MARY OF B U IL D IN G CO NSTRU CTIO N IN
PR IN C IP A L C ITIES, FEBRU A RY 19411
FEBRUARY building activity as measured by the value of permits
issued declined 4.6 percent from the January level. New residential
construction showed a decrease of only 0.5 percent from the preceding
month. The sharpest decline occurred in nonresidential construc
tion where February permit valuations were 11.1 percent below the
January figure. Additions, alterations, and repairs to existing struc
tures, however, increased 0.3 percent from January to February.
As compared with February 1940, however, permit valuations for
all classes of building construction combined showed a gain of 21.6
percent. New residential construction registered a gain of 9.2 per
cent over the year period and new nonresidential construction in
creased 62.3 percent. Additions, alterations, and repairs to existing
structures declined 3.1 percent.
Comparison of February 1941 with January 1941 and
February 1940
A summary of building construction in 2,185 identical cities in
February 1941, with percentage changes from January 1941 and
February 1940, is given in table 1.
T a b l e 1 .—Summary
of Building Construction for Which Permits Were Issued in 2,185
Identical Cities, February 1941
Number of buildings
Percentage
change from—
Class of Construction
1941
January
1941
All construction _ _
N ew residential
___
_ ____
_ _ _______
Permit valuation
___
___
Additions, alterations, and repairs............ .
Febru
ary
1940
Percentage
change from—
February
1941
January
1941
Febru
ary
1940
44,982
-1 .7
+ 0 .5
$173,747, 745
-4 .6
+21.6
15, 738
6,501
22,743
- 1 .7
-9 .8
+ .9
-1 .4
+• 4
+ 2 .0
86,830, 315
63,211,761
23,705,669
-.5
-1 1 .1
+ .3
+ 9 .2
+62.3
- 3 .1
1 More detailed information by geographic division and individual cities is given in a separate pamphlet
entitled “Building Construction, February 1941,” copies of which will be furnished upon request.
1002
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Building Operations
1003
A summary of permit valuations and the number of family-dwelling
units provided in new dwellings in 2,185 identical cities, having a pop
ulation of 500 and over, is shown in table 2 for February 1941 with
percentage changes from January 1941 and February 1940.
T able 2.—Number and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units in 2,185 Identical
Cities, by Type of Dwelling, February 1941
Number of dwelling units
Permit valuation
Type of dwelling
All types______________________________
Percentage change
from—
Percentage change
from—
February
1941
$86,137,118
55, 685,046
3,390,682
27,061, 390
January
1941
- 0 .8
- 4 .5
+15.3
+ 5 .8
Febru
ary
1940
+ 8 .9
+ 2 .7
-1 3 .8
+29.3
1941
January
1941
Febru
ary
1940
24,193
- 0 .5
+ 6 .6
13,977
1, 358
8,858
-4 .6
+11.3
+ 4 .9
- 4 .2
-1 9 .4
+37.7
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
Construction During First 2 Months, 1940 and 1941
Cumulative totals for the first 2 months of 1941 compared with
the same months of the preceding year are shown in table 3. The
data are based on reports received from cities having a population of
500 and over.
T a b l e 3. —Permit Valuation of Building Construction, by Class of Construction, Reporting
Cities of 500 Population and Over, First 2 Months, 1940 and 1941
Permit valuation of building
construction, first 2 months of—
Class of construction
1941
All construction. __________________________________
Percentage
change
1940
$351,960,371
$263, 243, 497
179,421, 542
125,267,093
47, 271,736
141,982,171
76,185, 594
45,075,732
•
+33.7
+26.4
+64.4
+ 4 .9
Table 4 presents the permit valuation and number of familydwelling units provided in cities with a population of 500 and over,
for the first 2 months of 1940 and 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1004
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 4-.—Number and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units, by Type of Dwelling,
First 2 Months of 1940 and 1941 1
Type of dwelling
All t y p e s ___
....
_
1-family
_ _
2-family 2___
Multifamily 3__
Permit valuation, first 2
months of—
Percent
age
change
Number of dwell
ing units, first 2
Percent
months of—
age
change
1941
1940
1941
1940
$178, 246,445
$140, 743, 924
+26.6
50, 306
40, 090
+25. 5
114, 250,128
6, 977, 747
57, 018, 570
93, 612, 208
6, 456,429
40, 675, 287
+22.0
+ 8.1
+40.2
28, 701
2,847
18, 758
24, 955
2, 756
12, 379
+15. Ö
+3.^
+ 5!. 5
1 Based on reports from cities with a population of 500 and over, the cities being identical for any given
lonth of both years.
* b
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
3 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
A nalysis by Size of City, February 1941
Table 5 shows the value of permits issued for building construction
in February 1941 with percentage changes from January 1941 and
February 1940, by size of city and by class of construction.
T a b l e 5. —Permit Valuation of Various Classes of Building Construction in 2,185
Identical Cities, by Size of City, February 1941
Total construction
Size of city
Number
of cities
reporting
Permit
valuation,
February
1941
Total, all reporting cities.
2,185 $173, 747, 745
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____
14
78
103
192
472
435
457
1 434
44, 493,440
48, 327, 943
24, 207,158
25, 837, 540
17, 255, 526
6, 728, 951
5, 547,020
1,350,167
Percentage
change from—
Janu
ary
1941
- 4 .6
-1 6 .4
+ 4 .1
+43.9
+45.7
-5 0 .4
-1 1 .5
+31.8
+10.2
N ew nonresidential buildings
Size of city
Permit
valuation,
February
1941
Percentage
change from—
Janu
ary
1941
Total, all reporting cities
$63, 211, 761
-n . 1
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____
8, 515, 862
18, 490, 792
14, 096, 755
13, 603, 396
4, 364,197
1, 437, 061
2, 400,407
303, 291
-3 6 .6
-9 .5
+103. 0
+124. 3
-7 9 .5
-2 2 .7
+192. 5
+17.8
Febru
ary
1940
-4 0 .5
+73.4
+138.1
+593. 4
+28.0
- 0 .1
+194. 3
-2 8 .2
Permit
valuation,
February
1941
Percentage
change from—
Janu
ary
1941
Febru
ary
1940
-0 .5
+ 9 .2
-1 2 .3
+20.2
- 2 .4
+10.2
- 7 .1
- 8 .2
- 8 .3
-2 .9
- 9 .6
439.0
-2 4 .2
+48.2
+14.0
+. 9
+42.9
+25.2
+21.6 $86, 830, 315
-1 7 .8
+45.9
+39.1
+ 114.9
+14.2
- 1 .7
+77.2
+14.0
27, 162, 060
24,181,939
6, 881,165
10, 075, 549
10, 559,147
4, 555, 950
2, 624, 234
790, 271
Additions, alterations, and
repairs
Permit
valuation,
February
1941
+62.3 $23, 705, 669
1 Includes 6 cities having a population of less than 1,000.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Febru
ary
1940
N ew residential buildings
8, 815, 518
5,655, 212
3, 229, 238
2,158, 595
2, 332,182
735, 940
522, 379
256,605
Percentage
change from—
Janu
ary
1941
Population
(census of
1940)
Febru
ary
1940
+ 0 .3
- 3 .1
64, 612, 739
- .3
-3 .6
+14.0
-1 4 .6
+10.3
- 5 .6
- 1 .1
+67.0
- 9 .9
+ 11.9
+34.6
-3 3 .9
- 4 .6
-1 7 .8
+ 9 .4
+95.7
22, 367,825
15,620,164
7,112,357
6, 733,985
7,319,669
3, 080,205
1, 647,176
731,358
1005
Building Operations
The permit valuation and number of new dwelling units provided,
by type of dwelling and size of city, in the 2,185 identical cities
reporting for January and February 1941, are given in table 6.
T able 6.~N um ber and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units in 2,185 Identical
Cities, by Size of City and Type of Dwelling, February 1941
Permit valuation of house
keeping dwellings
Number of families provided for in—
All types
Size of city
February
1911
January
1941
Total, all reporting ci ties - $86,137,118 $86,802,187
100.000 and under 500,00050.000 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 3. . .
27,119,060 30,700,528
24,155,539 20,106,946
6,826,240 6,996,768
9, 584,649 9,135, 253
10, 530, 797 11, 258,383
4, 514,878 4,950,439
2,615, 684 2,840,775
813,095
790,271
Per
cent
age
change
1-family
dwellings
M ulti
2-family
family
dwellings 1 dwellings2
Feb
Feb
Feb Jan Feb Jan ru Jan ru Jan
uary ary uary
ruary uary ruary uary ary
1941 1941 1941 1941 1941 1941 1941 1941
- 0 .8 24,193 24,309 13,977 14,696 1,358 1,220 8,858 8,443
-1 1 .7
+20.1
- 2 .4
+ 4 .9
- 6 .5
- 8 .8
- 7 .9
- 2 .8
7,137
7,269
2,116
2,686
2,862
1,214
711
198
8, 368
5,874
2,092
2,587
3,156
1, 274
735
223
3,309
3,451
1,465
1,612
2,184
1,111
656
189
3, 369
3.536
1.536
1,876
2,277
1,206
628
218
478
355
243
94
118
35
29
6
337 3, 350 4,662
465 3,463 1,873
182 408 374
69 980 642
90 560 789
43
25
68
29
78
26
0
3
5
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
s Includes 6 cities having a population of less than 1,000.
The information on building permits issued is based on reports
received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2,185 identical cities
having a population of 500 and over.
The information is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
from local building officials, except in the States of Illinois, Massa
chusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where the State departments
of labor collect and forward the information to the Bureau. In New
York and North Carolina the information from the smaller cities is
collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from local building officials
and the information from the larger cities is collected and forwarded
to the Bureau by the State departments of labor. The permit valua
tions shown in this report are estimates made by prospective builders
on applying for permits to 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 1941 the value of these buildings amounted to
$42,573,000, for January 1941 to $37,933,000, and for February 1940
to $23,337,000.
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41-------15
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1006
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Construction From Public Funds
The value of contracts awarded and force-account work started
during February 1941, January 1941, and February 1940 on con
struction 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 Construction
Projects Financed From Federal Funds, January and February 1941 and February
1940 1
Contracts awarded and force-account work
started
Federal agency
February 1941
$173,466,185
January 1941 2 February 19402
$185,404, 596
$67, 363,863
Public Works Administration:
Non-Federal:
N . I. R. A __________________________
E. R. A. A _____________________
P. W. A. A .. 1938___________________________
Federal agency projects under the WPA__ ___________
Regular Federal appropriations . . . _ ________ __
United States Housing A uth ority... _________________
3,900
47, 430
115, 634
0
0
0
28, 523
160, 366,471
13,067, 291
773,806
0
1,333, 515
82,110
172,997, 257
10,170, 478
108,320
458,997
7,805,159
244, 242
46,196,305
12,435, 206
1 Preliminary, subject to revision.
2 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 1941, January 1941, and
February 1940, is shown in the following statement:
Public
buildings
February 1941_________ $954, 165
January 1941---------------- 1, 813, 247
February 1940_________ 3, 545, 740
Highway
construction
$2, 984, 882
7, 049, 354
7, 877, 956
N EW D W ELL IN G U N ITS IN N O NFARM AREAS
D U R IN G 1940
Summary
BUILDINGS upon which construction was started in nonfarm areas
during 1940 were designed to accommodate approximately 540,000
families. This estimate, based upon building-permit reports, repre
sents an increase of 16 percent over 1939. The last previous year
with more new dwelling units was 1928, when an estimated total of
753,000 family accommodations were provided.
Both privately and publicly financed dwellings showed gains over
1939, privately financed units increasing 14 percent, and publicly
financed units 30 percent. Projects designed for defense housing pur
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Building Operations
1007
poses contributed 23,785 units to the 73,533 family aggregate of 1940
public projects. United States Housing Authority projects for which
construction contracts were awarded in 1940 contained facilities for
51,345 families as compared with 56,302 units in 1939 projects.
The 540,000 new units provided in nonfarm areas during 1940 are
estimated to have a permit valuation of $1,847,000,000. Included in
this total are $225,000,000 public funds allocated for construction of
low-rent and defense housing projects.
Scope of Report
The “nonfarm area” of the United States can, in general, be defined
as consisting of all urban and rural nonfarm places. The urban
group includes all incorporated places with a population of 2,500 or
more and also a small group of towns specially classified as urban.
Incorporated places of less than 2,500 population, as well as unincor
porated areas excluding farms, are designated as “rural nonfarm.”
The classifications used here and also the groupings by size of city are
based upon the 1930 census. Beginning with the first quarter of 1941,
these data will be classified in accord with the census of 1940.
The estimates of new dwelling units presented are derived from a
large sample of building-permit reports. The Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics began collecting such data as early as 1920, at first including
only the larger cities. Since then the coverage of the sample has been
steadily expanded until it now includes more than 2,300 cities of 1,000
population or over. In addition to this sample of cities, a small
number of counties has since 1939 been submitting reports of building
permits issued on their unincorporated areas. An attempt is being
made to add to the reporting sample incorporated places as small as
500 population and also a larger number of counties. Lack of informa
tion regarding construction of dwelling facilities on farms is the reason
for restriction of the present estimates to nonfarm areas.
The estimates for 1940 and 1939 include revisions of data presented
in previous issues of the Monthly Labor Review.1 Annual estimates
for years from 1936 on are a continuation by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the series established by the National Bureau of Eco
nomic Research,2which also based its work on building-permit data. It
is of importance to note that building permits are issued when con
struction work is about to start. Therefore, estimates derived from
permits represent future dwelling-unit capacity of buildings upon
which construction was started in the period specified.
1 August and October 1940, January 1941.
2 National Bureau of Economic Research, Bulletin N o. 65: Nonfarm Residential Construction, 1920-36,
Washington, 1937.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1008
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
New Dwellings, 1920-40
With 540,000 new dwelling units provided for nonfarm families,
residential construction during 1940 continued its upward climb of the
last 5 years. The 1940 total is more than twice the annual average
of 220,000 units for the preceding decade, but falls short of the
703.000 average for the decade of the 1920’s. The last year of greater
activity was 1928, when new family accommodations totaled 753,000
units. From that point it dropped to 509,000 in 1929 and then fell to
a depression low of 54,000 units in 1933.
The recovery in residential construction is even more marked when
1-family dwellings alone are considered. Of the units provided in 1940,
425.000 were of the 1-family type, a number which compares favorably
with the 436,000 1-family units built in 1928. Trends in 2-family
and multifamily units do not follow closely movements in volume of
new 1-family houses. Thus although recovery in construction of 1family dwellings has proceeded so well, 1940 totals for 2-family and
apartment units are still less than half the comparable 1928 figures.
The great fluctuations from year to year in number of new dwelling
units provided in nonfarm areas since 1920 are shown in table 1.
T able 1.—Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1920 to 1940 1
Area
Total
nonfarm
Type of dwelling
Urban
Rural
nonfarm
1-family 2-family 2
M ulti
family *
1920.
1921.
1922
1923.
1924.
247,000
449,000
716,000
871,000
893,000
196,000
359, 000
574,000
698,000
716,000
51,000
90, 000
142, 000
173,000
177,000
202,000
316,000
437,000
513,000
534,000
24,000
70,000
146,000
175,000
173,000
21,000
63,000
133,000
183,000
186,000
1925.
1926.
1927.
1928.
1929.
937,000
849,000
810,000
753,000
509,000
752,000
681, 000
643,000
594,000
400,000
185,000
168, 000
167, 000
159,000
109,000
572,000
491,000
454,000
436, 000
316,000
157,000
117,000
99,000
78, 000
51, 000
208,000
241,000
257,000
239, 000
142,000
1930.
1931.
1932.
1933.
1934.
286,000
212,000
74,000
54,000
55,000
224,000
164, 000
56,000
40, 000
41,000
62,000
48,000
18,000
14,000
14, 000
185,000
147,000
61,000
39,000
42,000
28,000
21,000
6,000
4,000
3,000
73,000
44,000
7,000
11,000
10,000
1935.
1936.
1937.
1938.
1939.
1940.
144, 000
276,000
286,000
347, 000
465,000
540,000
106,000
199,000
205,000
246,000
342,000
386,000
38,000
77,000
81,000
101,000
123, 000
154,000
110, 000
203, 000
219,000
261,000
351,000
425,000
6,000
13,000
15,000
17,000
28,000
37,000
28,000
60, 000
52,000
69,000
86,000
78,000
1 Data for 1920-35 are from National Bureau of Economic Research, data for 1936-40 from Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
2 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
3 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
New Dwelling Units, 1940
The 540,000 new units provided during 1940 represent an increase
of 16 percent over the 465,000 provided during 1939. The year
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1009
started rather slowly, first quarter totals showing only a 4-percent
increase over the corresponding quarter of 1939, whereas privately
financed units alone showed a small decrease. However, second,
third, and fourth quarters showed increases of 12, 21, and 25 percent,
respectively, over the corresponding periods of 1939.
The 1940 peak was reached in the third quarter with a total of
151,000 new units. Publicly financed projects for more than 34,000
families forced the fourth quarter total up to 147,000 units, only
slightly smaller than the total for the preceding quarter. According
to normal seasonal patterns, more residential construction is expected
to be started in the second quarter of the year than in any other period,
with the third quarter next in activity. During 1940, the second
quarter ranked behind the last two periods. New dwelling units
provided in nonfarm areas during each quarter of 1940 and 1939 are
shown in table 2.
T able 2.—Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1939 and 1940, by
Quarters and Source of Funds
Number of units financed from specified sources
Private funds
Total
Period
Public funds
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
540,000
+16.1
465,000
466,467
+14.2
408,458
73, 533
+30.1
56,542
Percent of change, 1940 as compared with 1939...
First quarter....... . . . . . __________________
Second quarter___________________ _________
Third quarter .............. _................... . _ _________
Fourth quarter______ __________________ . . .
99,322
143,427
150,634
146,617
95,354
128,157
124,265
117,224
88,907
132,426
132,896
112,238
90,538
113,436
106,339
98,145
10,415
11,001
17,738
34,379
4,816
14, 721
17,926
19,079
Although 1- and 2-family dwellings made great gains during 1940 as
compared with 1939, units in new apartments in the nonfarm area
showed a decrease of nearly 8,000 units, or 9 percent. The 1-family
type, with 73,000 more new units, increased 21 percent, and the
2-family type, 33 percent. For privately financed units alone, the 1and 2-family types were 19 and 38 percent greater, respectively;
the multifamily type, 14 percent smaller.
Except for cities of over 500,000 population, all urban population
groups, and the rural nonfarm group as well, shared in the increase from
1939 to 1940. Of the urban groups, the most important gains were
made in cities of population between 100,000 and 500,000 and between
10,000 and 25,000. In cities of 500,000 and over, the upward trends
in 1- and 2-family units were overweighted by the 11,000 drop in
apartment units. A contributing cause of this drop was the fact that
applications filed by private persons for permits in New York City
during 1940 provided for 19,835 apartment units, 9,478 fewer than in
1939. In table 3 are presented the estimates for 1939 and 1940 by
population group and type of dwelling.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
1010
T a b l e 3 .— Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1939 and 1940, by
Population Group and Type of Dwelling
All types
1-family
2-family 1
M ultifamily 2
Population group
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
Total nonfarm______________ _ 540,000
Percent of change, 1940 as com
pared with 1939_______ __
+16.1
465,000
425,103
351,641
36,865
27,655
78,032
Total urban____________ _____ 385,878
500,000 population and over.. 100,016
100.000500,000 population_____
85,931
50.000- 100,000 population__
31,088
25.00050,000 population _____
38,442
10.000- 25,000 population__ _
60,329
5.000- 10,000 population,
. 39,084
2,500-5,000 population. ___ 30,988
Rural nonfarm _____ _______ 154,122
342,107
104,676
72,239
28,067
31,221
48, 252
32,018
25,634
122,893
+20.9
+33.3
284,564
51,231
61,338
24,939
32,123
53,015
33,409
28, 509
140,539
237,268
47,900
49,690
21,849
25,440
41,363
27,600
23,426
114,373
30,925
7,639
9,863
3,141
3,744
3,644
1,691
1,203
5,940
1939
85, 704
- 9 .0
23,737
4,509
8,614
3,211
2,572
2,577
1,216
1,038
3, 918
70,389
41,146
14, 730
3,008
2, 575
3,670
3,984
1,276
7,643
81,102
52,267
13, 935
3,007
3,209
4,312
3,202
1,170
4,602
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
The Pacific, South Atlantic, and East North Central States with
102,000, 101,000, and 93,000 new homes, respectively, exceeded the
totals for other divisions, and also made the most important gains
over the preceding year. An estimate of 10,000 fewer new homes in
1940 than in 1939 dropped the Middle Atlantic States from first rank
in 1939 to fourth in 1940. All other geographic divisions showed gains
in 1940 as compared with 1939,
Of the 540,000 new units in nonfarm areas during 1940, 79 percent
were 1-family; 7 percent, 2-family; and 14 percent, multifamily. For
the decade of the 1930’s as a whole, the corresponding percentages
were 74, 6, and 20, respectively. These percentages represent an
important shift in emphasis since the 1920’s, when 2-family and multi
family units combined comprised 39 percent of all new units.
Table 4.—Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1939 and 1940, by Geo
graphic Division and Type of Dwelling
All types
1-family
2-family 1
M ultifamily 2
Geographic division
1940
1939
All d iv isio n s_______ . . . .
Percent of change, 1940 as
compared with 1939______
540,000
465,000
New England_____________
Middle Atlantic___________
East North Central. _____
W est North Central____ . . .
South A tlan tic.. . ____. . .
East South Central________
West South Central___ ____
M ountain______________
Pacific_____________ __ . . .
25,867
82,823
93,474
34,197
101,468
28, 793
51,190
19,937
102,251
+16.1
425.103
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
351,641
36,865
27,655
78,032
85,704
+20.9
20,110
92,908
73,366
30, 579
77,481
25,923
46, 550
16,454
81,629
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
1940
20,186
44,680
82,602
31,627
75,739
23,834
41,803
17,913
86, 719
+33.3
13,405
44,040
63, 577
27,317
60,869
20,355
39,342
14,482
68,254
1,695
4,121
7,200
1,158
7,490
3,716
5,988
706
4,791
- 9 .0
853
3,905
3,938
1,191
6,089
3,781
3,178
704
4,016
3,986
34,022
3,672
1,412
18,239
1,243
3,399
1,318
10,741
5,852
44,963
5,851
2,071
10, 523
1,787
4,030
1,268
9,359
Building Operations
1011
Importance of the various types of units is not uniform in the
several geographic divisions. Apartment-type units are of greatest
importance in the Middle Atlantic States, where in 1940 they comprised
41 percent of all new units. This type was also important in the South
Atlantic, New England, and Pacific States, contributing 18, 15, and
11 percent, respectively, of the new 1940 dwelling facilities. The
2-family type home was of greatest importance in 1940 in the East and
West South Central States, comprising more than 11 percent of each
total. In contrast are the East and West North Central and East
South Central States where apartments were 4 percent of new units.
In the West North Central and Mountain States 2-family units were
less than 4 percent of each total. Table 4 contains the 1939 and 1940
estimates for each geographic division shown by type of unit.
New Housing, by Source of Funds
In the past 2 years residential developments financed with public
funds have been an important part of the new housing supply. Proj ects
of this kind which got under way in 1940 were designed to accommo
date 73,533 families, an increase of 30 percent over the 56,542 family
capacity of 1939 projects. These totals represent 14 percent of all
new units in 1940 and 12 percent in 1939.
Most important in the public housing field has been the role of the
United States Housing Authority. The USHA itself builds no homes,
but lends money to local housing authorities and aids with subsidies.
The primary purpose of the program has been to supply low-rent
housing for families previously able to afford only substandard homes.
However, as a measure of national defense, Congress late in June 1940
authorized the USHA to use its regular funds for provision of homes
in areas where defense needs were urgent.3 For the duration of the
emergency, subsidies and low-income requirements for occupants are
suspended on such projects. With a return to normal conditions they
will revert to regular USHA status. During 1939 USHA projects for
56,302 low-income families were started in nonfarm areas of the
United States. Projects in 1940, including 5,110 dwelling units al
located for defense purposes, had a potential capacity of 51,345 fam
ilies, a decrease of 9 percent from the 1939 number.
Threats of delay in the national defense program arising from hous
ing shortages in vital areas led Congress in August and October to
make further provision for emergency housing.4 A total of $250,000,000 was made available for defense housing, $100,000,000 to the
War and Navy Departments and Maritime Commission, $140,000,000
to the Federal Works Agency, and $10,000,000 to the RFC Mortgage
Co. The latter added $40,000,000 of its own funds and formed the
subsidiary Defense Homes Corporation.
3 Public Act No. 671.
* Public Acts Nos. 781 and 849, and Public Resolution No. 106.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
1012
The Navy Department was the first to use the new funds for con
struction of defense housing projects. Contracts were awarded by
the Navy Department in October to provide for 7,290 families; by the
end of 1940 the total increased to 12,165. The War Department and
Maritime Commission assigned their funds to the Federal Works
Agency which in turn has allotted most of the work to a subordinate
unit, the Public Buildings Administration. The PBA, by the end of
1940, had 6,510 dwelling units under construction contract. No
projects of the Defense Homes Corporation reached the contract
stage during 1940. The total capacity of all projects for defense
housing put under contract during 1940 was 23,785 families.
Smaller cities, and also the rural nonfarm area, benefited by greatly
increased public funds in 1940. In urban places under 25,000 popu
lation projects were started in 1940 for 7,716 families, as compared
with only 2,545 in 1939. Defense housing projects situated short
distances outside of city limits brought the 1940 total for publicly
financed projects in rural nonfarm areas up to 8,583 units, the cor
responding total for 1939 being only 1,089.
Despite these trends, publicly financed projects in the large cities
still account for a greater proportionate part of the new dwelling-unit
total than they do in smaller places. Thus, in cities over 100,000
population, publicly financed projects in 1940 included 23 percent of
all new units. For cities smaller than 100,000 population the corre
sponding proportion was 10 percent; for the rural nonfarm area, 6
percent. During 1939, 24 percent of all new units in cities over
100.000 were publicly financed, 8 percent in urban places of less than
100.000 population, and 1 percent in rural nonfarm areas. The dis
tribution of new dwelling units by source of funds is shown in table 5
for each population group.
T able 5.—Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1939 and 1940, by Source
of Funds and Population Group
Total
Private funds
Public funds
Population group
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
540,000
+16.1
465,000
466,467
+14.2
408,458
73, 533
+30.1
56, 542
Total urban_______ ______ . ____________ . 385,878
500.000 population and over. _ ____________ 100,016
100.000 to 500,000 population
85, 931
50.000 to 100,000 population_______________
31,088
25.000 to 50,000 population - ____
38,442
10.000 to 25,000 population^
_
60, 329
5.000 to 10,000 population______ ________
39,084
2,500 to 5,000 population
_______________ 30, 988
Rural nonfarm__________ _______________ . . . 154,122
3-12,107
104, 676
72, 239
28,067
31, 221
48, 252
32,018
25,634
122,893
321, 528
84,476
57,875
25, 390
31,102
55,136
38,042
29, 507
144, 939
286,654
87, 278
47,650
22,035
26, 332
45,857
31,868
25,634
121, 804
64,350
15, 540
28,056
5,698
7,340
5,193
1,042
1,481
9,183
55,453
17, 398
24, 589
6,032
4,889
2,395
150
0
1,089
Total nonfarm____________ ______ _____ _____
Percent of change, 1940 as compared with 1939-
By far the largest concentration of publicly financed projects in
1940 was in the South Atlantic States with 19,233 USHA and defense
units. Military and shipbuilding needs caused 4,444 of these units
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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1013
to be concentrated in the Norfolk-Newport News-Portsmouth district.
The East North Central and Middle Atlantic States were next in
rank for publicly financed projects, each having approximately 11,000
units. The smallest volumes of publicly financed homes in terms
both of number and contribution to total new units in 1939 and 1940
were in the West North Central and Mountain States.
Announcement by the Federal Housing Administration that ap
proximately 31 percent more homes were started under FHA inspec
tion in 1940 than in 1939 reflects the general increases shown in the
estimates for privately financed dwelling units. With but one minor
exception, all geographic areas showed more privately financed units
in both the 1- and 2-family types during 1940 than in the preceding
year. In the case of the Middle Atlantic States, a decrease in privately
financed apartments caused the total of new units to drop below 1939
levels. Geographic division totals for publicly and privately financed
units are shown in table 6.
T able 6.—Number of New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, 1939 and 1940, by Source
of Funds and Geographic Division
Total
Private funds
Public funds
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
All divisions________
______ ____ _______ 540,000
Percent of change, 1940 as compared with 1939—. +16.1
465,000
466,467
+14.2
408,458
73, 533
+30.1
56, 542
N ew England____________ __________ ______ - 25, 867
82, 823
M iddle Atlantic. ---------------------------------------East North Central___ _______ . . ----------93,474
West North Central__________________ _____ 34,197
South Atlantic_______ ________ _____ ____ . 101,468
East South Central__________________________ 28,793
West South Central_________________________
51,190
19,937
102, 251
20,110
92,908
73,366
30, 579
77,481
25, 923
46, 550
16,454
81,629
19, 506
71, 793
82,179
33, 800
82,235
22, 504
41, 541
18, 558
94, 351
14,620
78,684
66,163
30,057
64,565
18,115
41,357
16, 298
78,599
6,361
11,030
11,295
397
19,233
6,289
9,649
1, 379
7, 900
5,490
14,224
7, 203
522
12,916
7,808
5,193
156
3,030
Geographic division
1940
Estimated Permit Valuations
The permit valuation of the 540,000 new nonfarm dwelling units
provided in 1940 is estimated at approximately $1,847,000,000. Of
this total $1,622,000,000 was for privately financed units and $225,000,000 for publicly financed. During 1939, the estimated permit
valuation corresponding to the 465,000 new units was $1,591,000,000,
including $1,406,000,000 private funds and $185,000,000 public.
Although building permits require an estimate of costs of construc
tion to be included, it has been found that permit valuations com
monly understate actual costs. Studies of the degree of this under
statement are being made at present by the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics. Incomplete results indicate that construction costs of pri
vately financed 1-family homes are, on the average, 15.5 percent
greater than the corresponding permit valuations. In the absence
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1014
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
of a better adjustment factor, permit valuations of privately financed
residential construction should be increased by 15.5 percent to yield
estimated construction costs. Since construction contract awards
for publicly financed projects are reported directly to the Bureau, no
adjustment of public totals is necessary. Adjusting total permit
valuations as described, the 540,000 new dwelling units provided
during 1940 are found to involve total expenditures of approxi
mately $2,100,000,000.
The 1940 totals of estimated permit valuations of new privately
financed dwellings and of contract costs for construction of public
housing projects are given in table 7.
T able 7.-—Permit Valuation of New Dwellings in Nonfarm Areas During 1940, by
Source of Funds and Geographic Division
Estimated permit valuation
Geographic division
Total
N ew England- ____ _
Middle Atlantic____ _____________________
East North Central_____________ . . . . . . .
West North Central______________ . .
South Atlantic_________________ _ .
East South Central. _____ _ ____ . . .
West South Central.
______
M ountain________________ . . .
i Contract values.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Private funds
Public funds »
$1,847,229,000
$1,622,029,000
$225,200,000
106. 351,000
331.086.000
399.495.000
112.900.000
319.041.000
65.587.000
136.710.000
55.497.000
320, 562,000
84, 850,000
297, 917,000
360.428.000
111, 583,000
263.061.000
47,943,000
108, 761,000
51, 675,000
295, 811,000
21.501.000
33.169.000
39.067.000
1, 317,000
55.980.000
17.644.000
27.949.000
3, 822,000
24.751.000
Retail Prices
FOOD PR IC E S IN FEBR U A R Y 1941
RETAIL costs of food bought by wage earners and lower-salaried
workers advanced 0.1 percent between January 14 and February 18
following previous increases of 1.4 percent in December and 0.5 percent
in January. There were sharp advances in pork prices, moderate
increases for staples like coffee, sugar, and lard, and somewhat higher
prices for some fresh vegetables, particularly green beans and cabbage.
These advances were almost wholly offset in the wage earners’ budget
by the 12.7-percent seasonal reduction in egg prices and by lower prices
for beef and fish.
Food costs were 1.3 percent higher on February 18, 1941, than in
February 1940, because of about 14 percent higher meat prices and
slight advances in prices of dairy products. Costs of other groups of
foods were from 1 to 3.5 percent lower than last year, except eggs,
which were 13 percent lower. The food-cost index was 97.9 on
February 18, 1941, or 2.1 percent below the 1935-39 average.
Details by Commodity Groups
Retail prices of flour declined slightly in February after a steady
rise for the previous 4 months and are now 3 percent higher than in
September 1940, but 7.4 percent lower than in February a year ago.
The average price of white bread remained unchanged for 4 consecu
tive months, following the 3.5-percent drop between mid-September
and mid-October of last year. Bread prices are 3.7 percent below the
level of a year ago. Prices of corn flakes, vanilla cookies, and soda
crackers rose from 1 to 2 percent in February.
The cost of meats as a whole rose 1.4 percent between mid-January
and mid-February as a result of the second successive increase in
prices of pork and moderate advances for chickens, veal, and lamb,
which were offset to some extent by slightly lower prices for beef and
fish. The continued advance in pork prices following smaller market
ings of hogs was contrary to the usual seasonal trend for the JanuaryFebruary period. Fresh pork was selling 27 percent higher than
during last February, and cured pork 15 percent higher, although
pork prices in general were lower both this year and last than in any
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1015
1016
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
February in the previous 6 years. Retail prices of beef were still 13
percent higher than for the same period last year, although they de
clined slightly between January 14 and February 18. Prices of
canned pink salmon advanced for the first time since August 1940,
while fresh and frozen fish declined approximately 3 percent.
The cost of dairy products again declined slightly in February as
the result of a decrease of 1.6 percent in butter prices and a reduction
of 1 cent per quart for milk in Buffalo and Los Angeles. In Min
neapolis the average price of milk in 1-quart deliveries advanced 1
cent. Retail prices of butter were about 1 percent lower than a year
ago. Cheese prices remained unchanged at a level 2.7 percent higher
than in February 1940.
The seasonal drop in egg prices amounted to 12.7 percent between
January 14 and February 18. Because of larger supplies this year
due to milder weather, prices were 13 percent lower than a year ago
and about the same as in February 1938 and 1939.
Costs of fresh vegetables rose more than 4.5 percent in widespread
advances between mid-January and mid-February because of un
favorable weather conditions in growing areas. Market prices of
cabbage, green beans, and spinach advanced with temporary reduc
tions in supplies resulting from heavy rains which interfered with
harvesting and marketing operations in the vegetable-producing
areas from Florida to California. Prices of potatoes also advanced
seasonally, while carrots and lettuce, on the other hand, declined.
There was little change in prices of fresh fruits and of canned and
dried fruits and vegetables.
The family budget for fruits and vegetables cost 4 percent less
than a year ago, largely because potatoes, green beans, and spinach
were selling from 13 to 24 percent lower due to larger supplies. Apple
prices continued to be high because of the short crop last fall.
Apples were selling 13 percent higher, sweetpotatoes 19 percent, and
bananas, oranges, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce 1 to 5 percent higher
than in February 1940.
Coffee prices advanced slightly between January 14 and February
18, reflecting the new quota agreement and higher shipping costs,
but they were still 5 percent lower than in February of last year.
Prices of tea and cocoa remained unchanged for the month at a level
1 percent higher than a year ago.
Retail prices of lard advanced 3 percent in February to a level only
1 percent lower than in February 1940. Prices of other s h o r t e n i n g s
also advanced for the month but were about 6 percent below last
February’s prices. Oleomargarine prices moved upward slightly,
salad dressing remained unchanged, and peanut butter declined about
1 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1017
Retail Prices
The average retail price of sugar rose 0.7 percent during the month
but it was still 3 percent lower than in February of last year.
Indexes of retail costs of food for February 1941, January 1941,
and February 1940, are shown in table 1. The accompanying chart
shows the trend in costs of all foods (1935-39 = 100) and of each major
commodity group for the period January 1929 to February 1941,
inclusive.
T able
1.— Indexes of Retail Costs of Food in 51 Large Cities Combined,1 by Commodity
Groups, February and January 1941 and February 1940
[1935-39=100]
1941
Commodity group
Commodity group
Feb.
18 2
Jan.
14
Feb.
13
97.9
97.8
96.6
Cereals and bakery products. 95.0
M eats____________________ 102.5
Dairy products____________ 104.4
85.0
Eggs---------------------------------
94.9
101.1
105.1
97.4
97.8
90.0
103.9
98.0
All fo o d s________
1941
1940
____
Fruits and v eg eta b les______
Fresh_________________
Canned___________ ____
-----Dried--------------Beverages_____________ . . .
Fats and oils___________ . . .
Sugar------- ------ ------------------
1940
Feb.
18 2
Jan.
Feb.
14
13
95.6
96.3
91.9
99.6
91.5
81.1
96.0
93.3
93.4
91.4
99.6
90.9
80.3
95.3
99.5
101.1
92.7
101.1
94.5
84.0
99.2
1 Aggregate costs of 54 foods in each city, weighted to represent total purchases of families of wage earners
and lower-salaried workers, have been combined with the use of population weights.
2 Preliminary.
Prices of 23 of 54 foods included in the index were higher in February
1941 than in January, 11 were lower, and for 20 there was no change.
Compared with February of last year, 29 foods were quoted at higher
prices in February 1941, 22 at lower prices, and for 3 there was no
change. Average prices of each of 63 foods for 51 cities combined
are shown in table 2 for February and January 1941, and February
1940.
T able 2.—Average Retail Prices of 63 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, February and
January 1941 and February 1940
1941
1940
Article
Feb. 18 i
Cereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
Flour, wheat - . _ ________ _ _____ _._10 pounds..
---------- _____ _ _____pound..
Macaroni-. ----Wheat cereal2___ . _____ . ____28-ounce package..
.8-ounce package..
Corn flakes_________ ____ _ .
Corn meal______ _ .
----- ____ _______ pound _
Rice 2 _____________________ ______________ do___
Rolled oats 2____ __________ _______________do___
Bakery products:
____________ _do___
Bread, w h ite.. . . ---- -- .
Bread, whole-wheat------------- _______ _____ do___
Bread, rye___ . . . . -- ------ _____________ _do___
Vanilla wafers . . ___
____ ________ ______ do___
Soda crackers----------------------- _______________do___
Meats:
Beef:
Round steak_____________ -- _______________do___
Rib roast___________________
Chuck roast................................ - ...... .............. .........do___
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
J a n .14
F e b .13
Cents
Cents
41.3
13.8
23.5
7.2
4.2
8.0
7.1
Cents
41.4
13.8
23.5
7.1
4.2
7.9
7.1
7.8
8.7
9.0
25.6
15.1
7.8
8.7
9.0
25.1
15.0
8.1
9.0
9. 5
25. 4
15.1
38.4
31.3
25.1
38.6
31.5
25.2
33.8
28.0
22.1
44.6
14. 2
23.7
7.0
4. 2
7.9
7.1
1018
T a ble 2.
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Average Retail Prices of 63 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, February and
January 1941 and February 1940—Continued
1941
1940
Article
Feb. 18 1
Meats—Continued.
Veal: Cutlets_________
Pork:
Chops__________________
Bacon, sliced_____________
Ham, sliced 2_____________
Ham, whole_____________
Salt pork________________
Lamb:
Leg------------------------------Rib chops_______________
Poultry: Roasting chickens. __ .
Fish:
Fresh, frozen_____________
Salmon, pink_____________
Salmon, red 2_____________
Dairy products:
Butter_____________________
Cheese_________________ ___
Milk, fresh (delivered)________
Milk, fresh (store)____________
Milk, fresh (delivered and store) 2
Milk, evaporated____________
Eggs---------------------------------------Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh:
Apples__________________
Bananas_________________
Oranges_________________
Beans, green_____________
Cabbage_______________...
Carrots_________________
Lettuce_________________
Onions__ ___ ___________
Potatoes________ ___ ____
Spinach_________________
Sweetpotatoes____________
Canned:
Peaches_______ __________
Pineapple___ ____________
Beans, green 2_____________
Corn____________________
Peas____________________
Tomatoes________________
Dried:
Prunes__________________
Navy beans______________
Beverages:
Coffee______________________
Tea________________________
Cocoa2_____________________
Fats and oils:
Lard_______________________
Shortening, other than lard:
In cartons________________
In other containers_______ __
Salad dressing________________
Oleomargarine_______________
Peanut butter________________
Sugar and sweets:
Sugar_______________________
Corn sirup 2_________________
Molasses 2_______ ___________
J a n .14
Feb. 13
_______pound.
Cents
46.7
Cents
45.2
_________ d o ..
. . . . . _____ d o ..
-------------.d o ..
-------------- d o ..
-------------- d o ..
29.5
31.9
46.4
27.3
17.8
29.1
30.1
45.1
26.2
16.7
23.3
27.6
43.7
24.3
14.3
-------------- d o ..
-------------- do._
------- -------d o ..
27.7
35.4
31.9
27.8
35.0
31.1
25.7
32.3
28.0
-------------- d o ..
.. _16-ounce can
-------------- d o ..
(3)
16.0
26.7
(3)
15.7
26.4
Cents
42.7
(3)
15.2
25.3
----------- pound
-------------- d o ..
-------------quart
-------------- d o ..
-------------- d o ..
14)^-ounce can
______dozen...
37.4
27.0
13.0
11.9
12.6
7. 1
30.0
38.0
27.0
13.0
11.9
12.7
7.1
34.9
37.7
26.3
12.9
11.8
12.6
7.0
34.5
----------- pound
-------------- d o ...
------------dozen.
----------- pound.
-------------- d o ...
----------- bunch.
------------- head.
----------- pound.
------15 pounds.
----------- pound.
------------- d o ...
5.2
6. 7
27.4
17.6
4. 5
5.4
8. 1
3.6
30.0
7.6
5.0
5.2
6.6
27.3
14.0
3.4
6.0
8.4
3.6
29.2
7.3
5.0
4.6
6.4
26.8
20.2
4.4
5.3
8.0
3.6
39.4
9.7
4.2
...N o , 2}4 can.
------------- d o ...
------ No. 2 can.
------------- d o ...
------------- d o ...
------------- d o ...
16.5
21.0
10. 1
10.7
13.2
8.4
16.5
20.9
10.0
10. 7
13.2
8.4
17.1
20.9
10.0
10.5
13.7
8.5
---------- pound.
------------- d o ...
9.6
6.5
9.6
6. 5
9.5
6.6
------------- d o ...
-------Vi pound .
-..8-ounce can.
20.8
17.6
9.1
20.7
17.6
9.1
21.9
17.4
9.0
---------- pound.
9.6
9.3
9.7
------------- d o ...
------------- d o ...
------------ .p in t.
---------- pound_
------------- d o ...
11.4
18.3
20. 1
15.7
17.7
11.3
18.3
20.1
15.6
17.9
12.1
19.6
21.0
16.2
17.9
----- 10 pounds.
._24-ounce can.
..18-ounce can.
51.6
13.6
13.4
51. 2
13.6
13.4
53.4
13.5
13.5
' Preliminary.
2 N ot included in index.
3 Composite prices not computed.
Details by Regions and Cities
Retail costs of food, advanced in 27 cities, declined in 18, and for 6
there was no change between January 14 and February 18, 1941.
Increases of 1 percent or more were reported from 10 cities, the largest
advances being in Norfolk (3.9 percent), Atlanta (1.6 percent), and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
RETAIL COST OF FOOD
1 9 3 5 - 3 9 - I OO
INDEX
220
200
180
^FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
160 - J
160
140
120
100
80
^ A L L FOODS
60
140
120
ALL FOODS
100
80
CEREALS AND/"’
BAKERY PRODUCTS
60
140
120
ALL FOODS.
100
80
MEATS
60
140
-ALL FOODS
120
100
DAIRY PRODUCTS
80
60
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
U.S .DEPT. OF LA B O R -B U R E A U OF LABOR STATISTICS
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1020
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Minneapolis (1.5 percent). Higher costs in these cities were due to
greater than average advances for meats and sugar in addition to
increases for dairy products in Minneapolis and for fresh fruits and
vegetables in Norfolk and Atlanta. Decreases of one-half of 1 percent
or more were reported from 6 cities, the greatest declines being in Los
Angeles (2.8 percent), Omaha (0.6 percent), and Milwaukee (0.6 per
cent). Lower costs in these cities were due to greater than average
declines for dairy products and eggs together with reduced prices for
fresh fruits and vegetables in Los Angeles and lower prices for meats
and less than average increases in prices of fresh fruits and vegetables
in Omaha and Milwaukee.
Indexes of food costs by cities are presented in table 3 for February
and January 1941 and February 1940.
T a b l e 3 .—Indexes
of the Average Retail Cost of A ll Foods, by Cities,' February ana
January 1941 and February 1940
[1935-39=100]
1941
1940
Region and city
1941
Feb. 182 Jan. 14 Feb. 13
United States____ .
N ew England:
Boston_______ .
Bridgeport______
Fall River________
M anchester..
N ew Haven ,
Portland, M aine___
Providence____
Middle Atlantic:
Buffalo__________
Newark______
N ew York_____
Philadelphia___
Pittsburgh____
Rochester____
Scranton__
_
East North Central:
Chicago. _ .
Cincinnati_________
C leveland.. ___
Columbus, Ohio. . .
D e tr o it.. . . . . .
I n d ia n a p o lis ...___
M ilw a u k ee... _ .
Peoria____________
Springfield, 111__
West North Central:
Kansas C ity_______
Minneapolis_______
Omaha____ . _____
1940
Region and city
97.9
97.8
96.6
96.2
96.4
98.4
96.8
96.1
94.7
97.3
95.2
96.5
97.5
96.6
95.7
93.8
96.3
96.9
96.7
96.9
98.6
96.1
93.9
96.3
100.2
100.2
100.4
94.9
97.5
99.8
97.7
100.2
98.8
99.5
95.0
98.0
99.9
97.5
97.9
98.2
99.2
93.8
96.3
98.0
96.9
97.9
96.5
99.2
93.2
97.2
97.9
95.3
99.3
96.6
98.2
96.5
99.2
93.4
97.0
98.2
95.9
99.0
96.2
95.9
94.0
97.1
94.9
95.1
95.9
94.6
97.1
96.6
93.6
100.5
97.3
92.4
99.0
97.9
93.9
98.8
96.5
Feb. 182 Jan. 14 Feb. 13
West North Central—
Continued.
St. Louis___ _
St. Paul______
South Atlantic:
A tlanta.._ . . .
Baltimore .
Charleston, S. C___
Jacksonville. _ .
Norfolk_____ _ .
Richmond.
Savannah__ _
Washington, D . C
East South Central:
Birmingham..
Louisville_____ . . .
M em phis.. . .
M obile_______
West South Central:
D a lla s.. . . . _____
Houston__________
Little Rock.
N ew Orleans____
Mountain:
B utte. _ ____
Denver
___. . . .
Salt Lake C ity_____
Pacific:
Los Angeles____
Portland, Oreg__
San Francisco______
S e a ttle ___
_____
99.3
98.6
99.2
98.6
98.1
97.3
95.8
98.3
95.9
99.2
99.5
94.7
100.1
98.8
94.3
97.9
95.9
98.8
95.8
93.7
100.5
97.7
97.7
97.0
97.5
97.9
95.4
94.4
99.1
96.4
95.1
95.8
94.8
97.7
95.5
95.5
94.2
97.4
95.1
93.6
95.0
95.2
92.1
102.1
95.6
102.0
92.6
102.6
95.6
101.9
93.4
100.1
97.9
101.3
98.4
94.4
97.8
98.7
94.8
97.5
97.0
95.5
95.7
99.0
101.6
99.6
101.1
101.8
101.7
99.6
101.0
96.4
98.6
95.6
99.9
1 Aggregate costs of 54 foods in each city, weighted to represent total purchases of families of wage earners
and lower-salaned workers, have been combined for the United States with the use of population weights
2 Preliminary.
&
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wholesale Prices
WHOLESALE PRICES IN FEBRUARY 19411
A SHARP decline in prices for grains followed by weakening prices
for cereal products and cattle feed largely accounted for a decrease
of 0.2 percent in the Bureau of Labor Statistics index of wholesale
commodity prices for February. The decrease brought the all-com
modity index to 80.6 percent of the 1926 average. Notwithstanding
the recent recession, the general level of wholesale commodity prices
is approximately 2.5 percent above a year ago, mainly the result of
marked increases in prices for livestock, meats, and lumber during the
year period.
From January to February the farm products group index declined
1.8 percent; hides and leather products, 0.8 percent; foods, building
materials, and miscellaneous commodities, 0.3 percent; and metals and
metal products and chemicals and allied products, 0.1 percent. Tex
tile products, on the contrary, advanced 1.6 percent and housefurnish
ing goods rose 0.1 percent. The fuel and lighting materials group
index remained unchanged at the January level.
Building material prices show the greatest gain over a year ago,
6.5 percent. Foods increased 3.4 percent from last February; metals,
2.4 percent; farm products, 2.3 percent; and textile products, chem
icals and allied products, and housefurnishing goods, 1.3 percent.
Hides and leather products were 0.8 percent lower than they were a
year ago. Miscellaneous commodities dropped 0.5 percent and fuel
and lighting materials, 0.4 percent.
Weakening prices for domestic agricultural commodities, and for
bananas, hemp, hides, skins, and scrap steel caused the raw materials
group index to drop 0.8 percent during the month. Semimanufactured
commodities, on the other hand, rose approximately one-half of 1 per
cent to the highest point reached in the past year. Marked advances
in prices for vegetable oils, raw sugar, nonferrous metals, rosin, print
cloth, and yarns were mainly responsible for the advance. Average
wholesale prices of manufactured products were unchanged from the
January level.
1 More detailed information on wholesale prices is given in the Wholesale Prices pamphlet and w ill be
furnished upon request.
1021
3 0 1 1 7 8 — 41-------10
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1022
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
The decline of 1.8 percent in the farm products group index during
February was largely the result of a decrease of 4.6 percent for grains.
Rye dropped over 9 percent; wheat and barley, more than 5.5 percent;
oats, approximately 3.5 percent; and corn, nearly 3 percent. Live
stock prices decreased 0.7 percent. Quotations were lower for cows,
steers, and hogs. Calves, sheep, and live poultry, on the other hand,
advanced. Seasonal decreases occurred in prices for eggs and citrus
fruits. Prices were also lower for fresh milk, seeds, dried beans,
tobacco, and domestic wool. Higher prices were reported for cotton,
foreign wool, apples, onions, potatoes, and hops. The February farm
products group index, 70.3, was 2.3 percent above a year ago, pri
marily due to an increase of over 25.5 percent in prices for livestock
and poultry. Grains were nearly 11.5 percent lower than they were
a year ago.
The slight decline in the foods group index reflected a sharp drop
in prices for cereal products including flour, oatmeal, and corn meal.
In addition, prices were lower for butter, cheese, cured and fresh beef,
and lamb. Certain canned and dried fruits were below the January
level and glucose, edible tallow, and certain vegetable oils also declined.
Important advances in food prices were nearly 9 percent for lard,
about 6 percent for coffee, 5 percent for rice, and higher prices for
canned apples, peaches, corn, and string beans, and for fresh pork,
veal, dressed poultry, mutton, bacon, ham, cocoa beans, canned
salmon, oleomargarine, sugar, tea, and coconut, corn, and peanut oils.
Average wholesale prices of foods were 3.4 percent higher than a year
ago largely because of an advance of over 22 percent in meats. Cereal
products, on the contrary, were nearly 10.5 percent lower than for
February a year ago.
Weakening prices for hides and skins caused the hides and leather
products group index to drop 0.8 percent. Average wholesale prices
for shoes and other leather manufactures were firm.
Heavy buying by the trade forced prices for cotton goods up 2.2
percent in February bringing the textile products group index to the
highest level since January 1940. Practically all types of materials
shared in the advance, the most important of which were broadcloth,
denim, drills, duck, osnaburg, print cloth, sheeting, toweling, and
tire fabrics. Woolen and worsted goods also advanced 2.2 percent
and prices were higher for men’s and boys’ dress and work clothing.
Raw silk, burlap, jute, and sisal continued to advance because of
shipping difficulties and higher ocean freight rates.
A slight decline in prices for bituminous coal and lower prices for
fuel oil, kerosene, and gasoline was offset by higher prices for Pennsyl
vania crude petroleum, and the index for the fuel and lighting materials
group remained unchanged at 72.1 percent of the 1926 level. Average
prices for anthracite and coke were steady.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1023
Wholesale Prices
The nonferrous metal market continued to be active, particularly
for scrap materials. In addition prices were higher for pig tin, pig
lead, quicksilver, babbitt metal, solder, and for certain farm machinery
items and heating equipment. Scrap steel in the Chicago market
declined nearly 4 percent in February.
Following the pronounced rise in lumber late in 1940 and early in
1941, prices weakened in February and declined 1 percent. Quota
tions were lower for Douglas fir, most types of pine, red oak and
maple flooring. Higher prices were quoted for gum and poplar and
for millwork. Shellac, rosin, and tung oil rose sharply while linseed
oil and turpentine declined.
Industrial fats and oils advanced 1.3 percent and prices were also
higher for fatty acids, menthol, cream of tartar, tartaric acid, and tin
tetrachloride. Fertilizer materials, except ground bones, declined.
Lower prices were reported for lead arsenate and ergot.
Prices for housefurnishings such as carpets, rugs, pillow cases, and
sheets averaged higher.
Crude rubber advanced 2.9 percent during February. Paper and
pulp rose 0.2 percent as a result of higher prices for boxboard.
Ground wood declined 5% percent. Prices for soap and soap products
were higher probably because of the marked advance in prices for
fats and oils.
Index numbers for the groups and subgroups of commodities for
January and February 1941 and February 1940 and the percentage
changes from a month ago and a year ago are shown in table 1.
T able
1.—Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commodities,
February 1941, With Comparisons for January 1941 and February 1940
[1926=100]
Group and subgroup
All commodities _______________________________
Other leather produ cts..- -
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
...
----
---------
Change
from a
year
ago
February January
1941
1941
Change
from a
month
ago
80.6
80.8
Percent
- 0 .2
78.7
Percent
+ 2 .4
70.3
64.5
82.4
64.2
71.6
67.6
83.0
65.3
-1 .8
-4 .6
-.7
-1 .7
68.7
72.8
65.6
68.9
+ 2.3
-1 1 .4
+25.6
-6 .8
73.5
79.7
73.8
59.4
83.6
64.2
73.7
80.2
74.8
59.6
83.2
64.5
- .3
-.6
- 1 .3
-.3
+ .5
- .5
71.1
80.0
82.4
58.7
68.4
66.3
+ 3 .4
-.4
-1 0 .4
+ 1 .2
+ 22.2
-3 .2
101.6
107.4
94.8
94.5
99.7
102.4
107.4
99.1
94.4
99.7
-.8
0
- 4 .3
+ .1
0
102.4
108.2
97.0
94. 2
100.0
- .8
-.7
- 2 .3
+ .3
-.3
February
1940
1024
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 1.-—Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commodities,
February 1941, With Comparisons for January 1941 and February 1940—Con.
Group and subgroup
February January
1941
1941
Change
from a
month
ago
Percent
+ 1 .6
+. 7
+ 2 .2
+ .7
0
+ 1 .9
+ 2 .2
+ 2 .7
Textile products___ ____________ ______
Clothing________ _____________ ___
Cotton goods_____________________
Hosiery and underwear____________
K ayon............
silk ________________
Woolen and worsted goods_________
Other textile products_____________
76.4
87.2
77.5
60.3
29.5
43.3
91.2
76.8
75.2
86.6
75.8
59.9
29.5
42.5
89.2
74.8
Fuel and lighting materials____________
Anthracite____ ______ ____________
Bituminous coal..________________
Coke...... ...................................................
Electricity....... .................... ....................
Gas______________________________
Petroleum and products___________
72.1
81.1
100.3
113.8
0)
(O
50.0
72.1
81.1
100.4
113.8
0)
77.5
50.0
0
0
-.1
0
Metals and metal products_____________
Agricultural implements___________
Farm machinery______________
Iron and ste e l._______ ____________
Motor vehicles____________________
Nonferrous metals________________
Plumbing and heating_____________
97.6
92.8
94.0
95.5
99.8
84.0
82.2
97.7
92.7
94.0
95.7
100.3
83.6
80.5
Building materials........................ ...............
Brick and tile......................... ................
Cement______ ____________________
Lumber________ _____ ___________
Paint and paint materials_________
Plumbing and heating_____________
Structural steel.______ _____ _______
Other building materials___________
99.3
91.4
90.8
117.2
86.6
82.2
107.3
94.9
Chemicals and allied products__________
Chemicals_________ ____ ;__________
Drugs and pharmaceuticals_________
Fertilizer materials________________
Mixed fertilizers___________________
Oils and fats.............................................
February
1940
75.4
84.9
73.6
64.5
29.5
51.6
87.2
76.8
Change
from a
year
ago
Percent
+ 1.3
+ 2 .7
+ 5 .3
- 6 .5
0
-1 6 .1
+ 4 .6
0
-.4
+ 2 .4
+ 2 .1
+ 3 .7
0
72.4
79.2
98.2
109.7
78.2
81.6
50.9
-. 1
+ .1
0
-.2
-.5
+. 5
+ 2.1
95.3
93.4
94.6
96.3
94. 7
79.2
79.1
+ 2 .4
-.6
-.6
-.8
+ 5 .4
+ 6.1
+ 3.9
99.6
91.3
90.8
118.4
86.7
80.5
107.3
94.9
-.3
+ .1
0
-1 .0
-. 1
+ 2.1
0
0
93.2
91.2
91.4
97.7
86.8
79.1
107.3
92.9
+ 6 .5
+ .2
-.7
+20.0
-.2
+ 3 .9
0
+ 2 .2
78.5
85.7
96.9
70.4
73.8
46.8
78.6
85.6
96.5
70.7
75.2
46.2
-.1
+ .1
+ .4
-.4
-1 .9
+ 1 .3
77.5
85.3
81.3
71.0
74.2
51.0
+19.2
-.8
-.5
-8 .2
Housefurnishing goods_________________
Furnishings_______________________
Furniture.................................................
89.1
95.3
82.6
89.0
95.2
82.6
+ .1
+ .1
0
88.0
94.2
81.5
+ 1.3
+ 1 .2
+ 1 .3
Miscellaneous................. ............. .................
Automobile tires and tubes_________
Cattle feed__________ _____________
Paper and pulp__ ____ ____________
Rubber, crude____ ____ ___________
Other miscellaneous_______________
76.9
58.2
81.2
93.3
42.2
82.9
77.1
58.2
89.1
93.1
41.0
82.8
-.3
0
- 8 .9
+. 2
+ 2 .9
+ .1
77.3
55.6
93.7
89.5
38.7
86.6
-.5
+ 4 .7
-1 3 .3
+ 4 .2
+ 9 .0
-4 .3
Raw materials. ............................ ...................
Semimanufactured articles_____________
Manufactured products..___ _____ ______
All commodities other than farm products_________
All commodities other than farm products and foods.
74.0
81.6
83.5
82.7
84.4
74.6
81.3
83.5
82.7
84.3
-.8
+ .4
0
0
+ .1
72.7
79.9
81.4
80.8
83.2
+ 1.8
+ 2.1
+ 2 .6
+ 2.4
+ 1.4
1 Data not yet available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
-1 .8
+ 1.3
1025
Wholesale Prices
Index Numbers by Commodity Groups, 1926 to February 1941
Index numbers of wholesale prices by commodity groups for selected
years from 1926 to 1940, inclusive, and by months from February
1940 to February 1941, inclusive, are shown in table 2.
T able 2.— Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]
Year and month
B y years:
_______
1926
1929
________
1932
______
1933____________
1936
_____
1937
_____
1938
____
1939
1940____________
B y months:
1940:
June________
September __
December___
1941:
February___
Chem
Hides Tex Fuel Metals Build icals HouseAll
furM is com
and
Farm
and
and
ing
and metal
tile
nish- cella modi
prod Foods leather prod light
allied
mate
neous ties
ing
prod rials prod
prod ucts
ucts
ing
ucts
ucts
ucts goods
100.0
104.9
48.2
51.4
100.0
99.9
61.0
60.5
100.0
109.1
72.9
80.9
100.0
90.4
54.9
64.8
100.0
83.0
70.3
66.3
100.0
100.5
80.2
79.8
100.0
95.4
71.4
77.0
100.0
94.0
73.9
72.1
100.0
94.3
75.1
75.8
100.0
82.6
64.4
62. 5
100.0
95.3
64.8
65. 9
80.9
86.4
68.5
65.3
67.7
82.1
85.5
73.6
70.4
71.3
95.4
104.6
92.8
95.6
100.8
71.5
76.3
66.7
69.7
73.8
76.2
77.6
76.5
73.1
71.7
87.0
95.7
95.7
94.4
95.8
86.7
95.2
90.3
90.5
94.8
78.7
82.6
77.0
76.0
77.0
81.7
89.7
86.8
86.3
88.5
70.5
77.8
73.3
74.8
77.3
80.8
86.3
78.6
77.1
78.6
68.7
67.9
69.4
67.9
66.2
71.1
70.2
71.6
71.4
70.3
102.4
101.8
101.8
101.3
99.2
75.4
74.0
72.9
72.9
72.6
72.4
72.2
71.8
71.7
71.4
95.3
95.5
94.5
94.5
94.7
93.2
93.3
92.5
92.5
92.4
77.5
77.0
76.8
76.7
76.1
88.0
88.0
88.4
88.5
88.5
77.3
76.9
77.7
77.7
77.3
78.7
78.4
78.6
78.4
77.5
66. 5
65.6
66.2
66.4
68.2
69.7
70.3
70.1
71.5
71.1
72.5
73.5
99.0
96.9
98.3
100.4
102.3
102.3
72.4
72.3
72.5
73.6
74.5
74.8
71.1
71.1
71.0
71.6
71.9
71.7
95.1
94.9
95.4
97.3
97.6
97.6
1 92. 5
i 93.3
i 95.6
97.8
98.9
99.3
77.0
76.7
76.8
76.9
77.5
77.7
88.5
88.5
88.5
88.6
88.6
88.9
77.7
76.7
76.5
76.9
77.5
77.3
77.7
77.4
78.0
78.7
79. 6
80.0
71.6
70.3
73.7
73.5
102.4
101.6
75.2
76.4
72.1
72.1
97.7
97.6
99.6
99.3
78.6
78.5
89.0
89.1
77.1
76.9
80.8
80. 6
1 Revised.
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, manufactured 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 “ Manufactured
products” was given in Serial No. R 1251—Wholesale Prices, Decem
ber and Year 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1026
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Table 3.
Index N umbers of Wholesale Prices by Special Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]
SemiRaw manYear and month mate ufacrials tured
arti
cles
M an
ufac
tured
prod
ucts
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
B y years:
1926__________ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1929.____ _____ 97.6 93.9 94. 5 93. 3
1932__________ 55.1 59.3 70.3 68. 3
1933__________ 56.5 65.4 70.5 69.0
1936__________
1937__________
1938__________
1939................ _
1940________
B y months:
1940:
February____
March______
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods
100.0
91 6
70 2
71.2
79.9
84.8
72.0
70.2
71.9
75.9
85.3
75.4
77.0
79.1
82.0
87. 2
82.2
80.4
81.6
80. 7
86. 2
80.6
79.5
80.8
79 6
8b 3
81.7
81.3
83.0
72.7
72.0
79.9
79.7
81.4
81.1
80.8
80.5
83.2
82.9
Year and month
SemiRaw manmate ufacrials tured
arti
cles
M an
ufac
tured
prod
ucts
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods
B y months—Con.
1940—Con.
79.8
.Tnly
September__
October____
November___
December___
1941:
January_____
February____
70.5
71.4
72.6
73.6
77.6
79.4
80.7
80.7
81.5
82.1
82.6
82.8
80.4
81. 3
81.9
82.1
82. 3
82. 0
82 3
83 b
84 1
84.1
74.6
74.0
81.3
81.6
83.5
83.5
82.7
82.7
84 3
84.4
Weekly Fluctuations
Weekly fluctuations in the major commodity group classifications
during January and February are shown by the index numbers in
table 4.
T able 4. -Weekly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Commodity Groups, January
and February 1941
[1926=100]
Commodity group
All commodities____________________________ ___
Farm products_________________
Foods_______________________________
Hides and leather products_______
Textile products______ ________________
Fuel and lighting materials______
Metals and metal products.......... .......
Building materials____________
Chemicals and allied products________
Housefurnishing g o o d s .._____________
Miscellaneous_____ ____ ____
’ ""
Raw materials______________
Semimanufactured articles___
Manufacture d pro ducts_______________
All commodities other than farm products________
All commodities other than farm products and foods
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Feb.
22
Feb.
15
Feb.
8
Feb.
1
Jan.
25
Jan.
18
Jan.
11
4
80.4
80.5
80.5
80.6
80.8
80.6
80.2
80.2
70.2 70.5 70.7 71.7 72.6 71.4 71.0
73.2 73.3 73.2 73.7 74.1 73.7 73.0
101.9 101.9 102.2 102.6 102.6 102.9 102.8
75.6 75.6 75.4 75.2 74.6 74.6 74.2
72.7 72.7 72.9 72.6 72.6 72.6 72.6
71. 2
73. 2
102. 5
74.3
72.6
97.9
99.3
78. 5
90.2
76.7
97.9
99.4
78.7
90.2
76.7
97.8
99.4
78.6
90.5
76.8
97.8
99.5
78.8
90.4
76.8
97.8
99.5
78.8
90. 5
76.8
97.8
99.7
78.6
90.4
76.9
97.8
99.6
78.2
90.4
77.1
97.8
99.4
78.0
90. 2
77.1
73.7
81. 4
83. 7
82.6
84.5
73.8
81.2
83.8
82.7
84.6
73.8
81.2
83.8
82.6
84.6
74.4
81.3
83.8
82.6
84.5
74.9
81. 1
83.9
82.7
84.4
74.3
81.1
83.8
82.6
84.5
74.1
80.8
83.4
82.3
84.4
74. 2
80.7
83. 2
82.1
84.4
Wholesale Prices
1027
W HOLESALE P R IC E TR E N D S OF CARPETS AND RUGS
THE results of a survey covering wholesale price trends of Axminster,
plain velvet, and Wilton types of carpets and rugs were incorporated
in the Bureau’s indexes of wholesale prices beginning with January
1941. Composite average prices and index numbers for each of the
types of carpets and rugs for all periods for which sufficient information
is available from January 1933 to date are given in the February 1941
issue of the pamphlet, “Wholesale Prices.” Copies of this pamphlet
may be obtained upon request.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend o f Employment and Pay Rolls
SUM MARY OF REPO RTS FOR FEBRU A RY 1941
Total Nonagricultural Employment
EMPLOYMENT in nonagricultural industries increased by approxi
mately 273,000 workers from January to February, raising the esti
mated total to 36,592,000. This figure does not include CCC enrollees,
workers on WPA or NYA projects, nor the armed forces. The
February total was above all preceding February levels and was
2.226.000 greater than a year ago. Each of the major groups reported
employment gains over the month, the largest being in manufacturing
which showed a slightly greater-than-seasonal gain of 184,000 wage
earners, due primarily to steadily expanding employment in defense
industries. Increased activity in Federal construction accounted for
a contraseasonal employment gain of 34,000 on construction projects,
and wholesale and retail trade establishments reported a contra
seasonal rise of 5,000 workers. All groups showed increased employ
ment over February 1940, the largest gains being in manufacturing
(980,000) and in construction (718,000).
Emergency employment showed an increase of 261,000 as a result of
the following changes: A decrease of 4,000 on projects operated by
the Works Projects Administration and increases of 64,000 on the
out-of-school work program of the National Youth Administration,
187.000 in the military service, and 14,000 in the Civilian Conservation
Corps.
Industrial and Business Employment
Of the 157 manufacturing industries surveyed, 128 reported more
workers in February than in January and 137 reported larger pay
rolls, most of the gains being either larger than seasonal or contra
seasonal. Of the 16 nonmanufacturing industries regularly covered,
10 reported employment increases and a like number reported pay
roll gains.
The increase of 2.1 percent or 184,000 in the number of factory
wage earners was somewhat larger than seasonal (1.6 percent), while
the gain of 5.1 percent or $11,763,000 in weekly wages was about equal
to the expected seasonal rise of 4.8 percent. These gains brought the
1028
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
1029
levels of factory employment and pay rolls to the highest points on
record. The expansion in employment and pay rolls was much more
pronounced in the durable-goods group than in the nondurable-goods
group of manufacturing industries.
Key defense industries showing substantial employment gains
from January to February were aircraft, shipbuilding, machine tools,
engines, machine-tool accessories, screw-machine products, firearms,
ammunition, abrasives, and explosives. Other manufacturing indus
tries affected by war-material orders and showing large employment
gains were automobiles, electrical machinery, steel, foundries and
machine shops, brass, bronze, and copper products, and chemicals.
Among the few industries showing reductions in employment were
meat packing, canning and preserving, beet sugar, typewriters, and
agricultural implements.
Retail trade employment showed a slight contraseasonal increase
in contrast to an average February decrease of 1.3 percent shown for
the past 12 years. The largest gains were reported by variety stores,
farmers’ supply stores, groceries, automobile dealers, and shoe stores.
Wholesale trade firms also reported a slight contraseasonal employ
ment gain, primarily because of expansion by assemblers and country
buyers and increases in stores selling dry goods and apparel, machinery
equipment and supplies, lumber and building materials, hardware,
furniture and housefurnishings, iron and steel scrap, and farm supplies.
General building contractors engaged in private construction re
ported an employment decrease of 3.0 percent, while special-trades
contractors reduced employment only 0.7 percent. Five of the 15
special building trades surveyed reported increased employment,
namely, excavating, painting and decorating, structural and steel
erection, carpentering, and tile and terrazzo contracting. The reports
on which these building construction figures are based do not cover
construction projects financed by the Work Projects Administration,
the Public Works Administration, and the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation, or by regular appropriations of the federal, State, or
local governments.
A preliminary report of the Interstate Commerce Commission for
class I steam railroads showed an employment gain of 1.1 percent
between January and February, the total number employed in
February being 1,029,710. Corresponding pay-roll figures for Feb
ruary were not available when this report was prepared. For Janu
ary they were $169,732,636, an increase of $2,444,471 since December.
Hours and earnings.—The average hours worked per week by manu
facturing wage earners were 40.0 in February, an increase of 2.6 per
cent from January. The corresponding average hourly earnings were
69.2 cents, a gain of 0.4 percent from the preceding month. The
average weekly earnings of factory workers (both full- and part-time
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1030
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
combined) were $28.56 an increase of 3.0 percent since January. Of
the 16 nonmanufacturing industries regularly surveyed, 14 reported
increases in average weekly earnings. Of the 14 nonmanufacturing
industries for which man-hours are available, 9 showed gains in aver
age hours worked per week and 13 reported increases in average
hourly earnings.
1. Employment, P ay Rolls, and Earnings in A ll Manufacturing Industries
Combined and in Nonmanufacturing Industries, February 1941 (Preliminary Figures')
T able
Employment
Industry
All manufacturing industries
combined 1________________
Class I steam railroads 2—.........
Coal mining:
Anthracite 4____ _________
Bituminous 4____________
Metalliferous mining_________
Quarrying and nonmetallic
mining____________________
Crude-petroleum production.._
Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph «.
Electric light and power
Street railways and busses «L
Trade:
Wholesale 9______________
R e ta il9__________________
Hotels (year-round) 410_______
Laundries 4__________________
Dyeing and cleaning 4________
Brokerage___________________
Insurance___________ ________
Building construction............. .
Water transportation » _______
Index,
Febru
ary 1941
C1923-25
=100)
117.8
100.9
(1929=
100)
50.6
90.8
73.0
42.3
60.0
80.5
89.6
68.0
91.3
90.6
93.7
101.0
101.2
(3)
(3)
0
77.4
Pay rolls
Percentage
change from—
Janu Feb
ary
ruary
1941
1940
+ 2 .1 +12.2
+ 1.1 + 3 .5
+ .5 - 2 .0
+ .7
-. 9
+ .7 +10.1
Index,
Febru
ary 1941
Average weekly earn
ings
Percentage
Percentage
change from— Aver change from—
age in
Feb
Janu Feb ruary Janu Feb
ary
ruary 1941
ary
ruary
1941
1940
1941
1940
(1923-25
=100)
126.9
+ 5.1 +27.8 $28. 56 + 3.0
(3)
0
0
0
0
(1929=
100)
45.2 +17.4 +37.3 29.35 +16.8
91.0 + 3 .7 + 4 .6 26. 77 + 3.0
72.7 +3.1 +13.2 31.29 + 2 .4
+ 1 .4 +10.6
—.8 - 4 .8
37.9
56.3
+13.8
0
+40.2
+ 5 .5
+ 2 .8
+6.1
+ •5
- 1 .0
102.9
104.9
70.6
+ 2 .9 +23.1 22.38
+ •1 - 4 .7 33.56
Ï
- 1 .0
+ 6 .2 «31.30
-.2
+ 2 .7 « 35. 72
—8
- 1 .3 « 33.77
- 1 .2
+ .7
+ •4
+• 1
+2. 1
-.2
+ .1 + 1 .2
+ • i + 4.1
+■8 + 1 .8
—.4 + 5 .4
+ .2 + 8 .0
—2.1 -1 2 .9
+• 7 + 2 .0
- 2 . 0 +37.5
+■7
(8)
80.8
84.0
86.0
89.6
74.3
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
+ .4 + 4 .8 «30.69 —+ . 3
+• 4 + 6 .2 « 21.59
+ .2
+ 2 .2 + 3 .9 « 15.87 + 1 .4
-.2
+ 7 .8 18.41
+■2
+1-4 +15.4 20.16 + 1 .2
- 2 .6 -1 2 .7 « 37.71
- .6
+ 1 .3 + 5 .2
37. 76
+ .6
- . 4 +52.6 32.67 + 1.6
0
0
0
0
+ 3 .5
+ 2 .0
+ 2.1
+ 2 .3
+ 6 .8
+ .2
+ 3.1
+11.0
0
+■2
—.9
—. 4
i o ' R^ ised, indexe,s- Adjusted to preliminary 1939 Census of Manufactures.
l9f0 Employment and Pay Rolls for comparable series back to January 1919.
Preliminary. Source—Interstate Commerce Commission.
s N ot available.
+ 1 .5
+ .9
+11.3
+ .1
See table 9 in December
baCk t0 JanUary 1929 PreSented iD JaDUary 1938
« Retail-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 Census and public-utility indexes to 1937 Census N ot comnarable
5ÏÏ
K S
19,0»
“» ««■*“* i.abo?ET v i.^ S T S «
othe^m nlnvpK w h n ï ï f f ' o he Ma.rch issue), as they now exclude corporation officers, executives, and
orner employees whose duties are mainly supervisory.
m ' S vers street railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated, and successor comP a lllc S .
8 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
JJpdexes adjusted to 1933 Census. Comparable series in November 1934 and subsequent issues of pamp ilet orFebruary 1 935 and subsequent issues of M onthly Labor Review.
,, Cash payments only; the additional value of board, room, and tips cannot be computed.
Based on estimates prepared by the United States Maritime Commission.
General wage-rate increases between January 16 and February 15
were reported by 304 of the 33,721 manufacturing establishments
which supplied employment information in February. These in
creases averaged 6.1 percent and affected|74,598 of the 6,633,704
wage earners covered. Among the industries in which the largest
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
1031
numbers of workers received pay raises were automobiles (10,067),
glass (7,279), foundries (2,775), shipbuilding (4,034), steel (2,673),
electrical machinery (2,737), sawmills (1,956), and dyeing and finishing
textiles (1,668). The wage-rate changes reported for nonmanufactur
ing industries were negligible. As the Bureau’s survey does not cover
all manufacturing establishments in an industry, and furthermore, as
some firms may have failed to report wage changes, these figures should
not be construed as representing the total number of wage changes
occurring in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries.
Employment and pay-roll indexes and average weekly earnings for
February 1941 are given in table 1 for all manufacturing industries
combined, for selected nonmanufacturing industries, for water trans
portation, and for class I railroads. Percentage changes over the
month and year intervals are also given.
Public Employment
The extent to which defense activities are being given precedence
over non-defense activities is shown by February employment figures
on construction projects financed from appropriations to regular
Federal agencies. Employment on defense projects increased by
99.000 to 730,000, while the number of men at work on non-defense
construction fell to 141,000, a loss of 14,000 from the preceding
month. Sizable gains were reported on defense building, naval
vessel, and airport construction projects. The number of men at
work on all types of projects, both defense and non-defense, rose to
871.000 in the month ending February 15, a gain of 85,000 over
January. Pay-roll disbursements of $111,933,000 on all types of
projects were $10,969,000 greater than in January.
Employment on low-rent projects of the United States Housing
Authority fell off slightly from January. Approximately 41,000 men
were working on housing projects during the month ending Feb
ruary 15. Of these, 6,000 were employed on defense housing projects.
Pay-roll disbursements amounted to $4,000,000, a decrease of $99,000
from January.
Construction projects financed by the Public Works Administra
tion gave employment to 15,000 men in the month ending February
15. This was 2,000 less than the number employed in the preceding
month and a decline of 94,000 from February 1940. Pay rolls were
$1,756,000, $128,000 lower than January payments.
Employment on construction projects financed by the Reconstruc
tion Finance Corporation rose from 3,000 to approximately 3,600 in
the month ending February 15. The number of men at work on
defense projects showed a 50 percent gain from January to February,
while the number on non-defense work decreased slightly. Pay-roll
disbursements of $413,000 were $118,000 more than January payments.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
1032
Reaching a winter peak in January, the relief load lightened slightly
in February with a decrease of 4,000 in the number of persons em
ployed on work-relief projects of the Work Projects Administration.
Of the 1,837,000 persons employed on work relief, 463,000 were
working on defense projects and 1,374,000 were engaged in non
defense activities. Wage payments of $92,445,000 were $9,197,000
less than in January. Employment on Federal Agency projects
financed by the Work Projects Administration showed little change
from January to February, but there was a shift of approximately 1,500
workers from non-defense activities to defense work. Wage pay
ments to the 65,000 persons employed totaled $3,582,000.
A summary of employment and pay-roll data in the regular Federal
services and on projects financed wholly or partially from Federal
funds is given in table 2.
Table 2.— Summary of Employment and P ay Rolls in Regular Federal Services and on
Projects Financed Wholly or Partially from Federal Funds, February 1941 (Preliminary
Figures)
Employment
Class
Feb
ruary
1941
January
1941
Federal services:
E xecutive1 _ ______ ______ ____ 1,173, 663 1.151,148
2,498
2,507
Judicial_________________________
5,985
5, 921
Legislative____________ _____ _ __
M ilitary__________ _ _
_ _ ___ 1,144,674
957, 624
Construction projects:
Financed by regular Federal appro785, 679
priations............................. ...........
870,697
630, 876
Defense___________________ __ 730, 084
154, 803
Other________________________ 140,613
USHA low-rent housing ___ __ __
41, 856
41,448
5,184
Defense______ ____ __________
6,103
Other________________________
35, 345
36,672
Financed by PW A 2______ ______
16,889
14, 683
Financed by R FC 3______________
3,010
3, 570
1,808
1,200
Defense______________________
Other________________________
1,810
1, 762
Federal agency projects financed by
Work Projects Administration____ __
65,323
65,020
26, 651
28,364
Defense......... ........................... ............
Other___________________________
36, 959
38,369
Projects operated by W P A ____________ 1, 836, 995 1,841, 302
463,151
453, 730
1, 373,844 1,387, 572
National Youth Administration:
Student work program __ _ _ ___
460, 587
443, 900
424.812
Out-of-school work program _ _ _ _ 488,398
298,159
312,082
Civilian Conservation Corps___ ______
Pay rolls
Per
centage
change
February
1941
January
1941
+ 2 .0 $175, 644, 562 $178,218,064
641,218
- .4
673,822
- 1 .1
1,312, 368
1, 313, 550
69,324,619
59,513, 595
+19.5
Per
centage
change
- 1 .4
+ 5.1
-. 1
+16.5
+10.8
+15.7
- 9 .2
- 1 .0
+17.7
- 3 .6
-1 3 .1
+18.6
+50.7
- 2 .7
111,932,852
97,105, 709
14,827,143
3, 999,687
592, 354
3,407, 333
1,756, 205
413, 258
202, 672
210, 586
100,963,826
85,009,616
15, 954, 210
4,099,175
464,105
3,635,070
1,884,319
295, 380
109,874
185,506
+10.9
+14.2
-7 .1
- 2 .4
+27.6
- 6 .3
-7 .8
+39.9
+84.5
+13.5
+ .5
+ 6 .4
- 4 .7
-.2
+2.1
- 1 .0
3, 581, 772
1,700,239
1, 881, 533
92,445,040
(4)
(<)
3,184, 808
1,284,695
1,900,113
101, 641, 783
+12.5
+32.3
- 1 .0
- 9 .1
+ 3 .8
+15.0
+ 4 .7
3,175, 708
9, 289,872
13, 730,562
2. 767,868
7,965,225
13,327, 945
+14.7
+16.6
+ 3.0
1 Includes force-account and supervisory and technical employees shown under other classifications to th e
extent of 166,029 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $23,385,412 for February 1941, and 164,182 employees
and pay-roll disbursements of $23,109,193 for January 1941.
2 Data covering PW A projects financed from National Industrial Recovery Act funds, Emergency Relief
Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936, 1937 funds, and Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of 1938
funds are included. These data are not shown under projects financed by the Work Projects Adminis
tration. Includes 2,875 wage earners and $326,396 pay roll for February 1941; 3,122 wage earners and $339,456
pay roll for January 1941, covering Public Works Administration Projects Financed from Emergency Relief
Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 funds. Includes 11,323 wage earners and $1,387,837 pay roll for
February 1941; 12.955 wage earners and $1,484,674 pay roll for January 1941, covering Public Works Admin
istration projects financed from funds provided by the Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of
1938.
3 Includes 697 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $94,289 for February 1941; 586 employees and
pay-roll disbursements of $62,106 for January 1941 on projects financed by the R F C Mortgage Co.
4 Pay-roll data not available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
1033
Increased employment was reported on both programs financed by
the National Youth Administration. The student-work program
showed an increase of 17,000 and the out-of-school work program a
gain of 64,000. Pay rolls on the student-work program were $3,176,000 and on the out-of-school work program $9,290,000.
Approximately 14,000 additional persons were given employment
in camps of the Civilian Conservation Corps in February. Of the
312,100 persons on the pay roll, 277,950 were enrollees; 1,500, educa
tional advisers; 150, nurses; and 32,500, supervisory and technical
employees. Pay rolls of $13,731,000 were $403,000 greater than in
January.
In the regular services of the Federal Government, employment
increases were reported in the executive and military branches while
decreases were reported in the judicial and legislative branches. Of
the 1,174,000 employees in the executive service 162,000 were working
in the District of Columbia and 1,012,000 outside the District. Forceaccount employees (employees on the pay roll of the U. S. Government
who are engaged on construction projects, and whose period of employ
ment terminates as the project is completed) were 11 percent of the
total number of employees in the executive service.
A slight seasonal decline in employment occurred on State-financed
road projects. Of the 121,000 on the pay roll, 22,000 were engaged
in the construction of new roads and 99,000 on maintenance. Wage
payments of $9,473,000 were $1,099,000 less than in January.
www-
D E T A IL E D R EPO R TS FOR JANUARY 1941
A MONTHLY report on employment 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 pam
phlet is distributed free upon request. Its principal contents for the
month of January 1941, insofar as industrial and business employment
is concerned, are reproduced in this section of the Monthly Labor
Review.
Estimates of Nonagricultural Employment
The estimates of “ Total nonagricultural employment,” given on the
first line of table 1, represent the total number of persons engaged in
gainful work in the United States in nonagricultural industries, exclud
ing military and naval personnel, persons employed on WPA or
NYA projects, and enrollees in CCC camps. The series described as
“ Employees in nonagricultural establishments” also excludes proprie
tors and firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers, and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1034
Monthly Labor Review—-April 1941
persons in domestic service. The estimates for “ Employees in
nonagricultural establishments” are shown separately for each of
seven major industry groups. Tables giving figures for each group,
by months, for the period from January 1929 to date are available on
request.
T a b l e 1 . —Estimates
of Total Nonagricultural Employment, by Major Groups
[In thousands]
Industry
Total civil nonagricultural em ploym ent1___
Employees in nonagricultural establishments 2__
Manufacturing...............
M ining___ _______________
Construction _______ ____ _
Transportation and public u tilities..
Trade. ._ ______________
Finance, service, and miscellaneous...
Federal, State, and local government:
Civil em p lo y ees________ _______
Military and naval forces 3
Change
January
1941
December December January
1940 to
(prelim
1940
1940
January
inary)
1941
Change
January
1940 to
January
1941
36,359
30, 216
10,495
845
1,618
3,010
6,187
4,140
37. 299
31,156
10, 553
855
1,714
3,039
6, 884
4,180
-940
-940
-5 8
-1 0
-9 6
-2 9
-697
-4 0
34.475
28,332
9, 698
853
1,012
2,935
6,062
4,078
+1, 884
+1,884
+797
-8
+606
+75
+125
+62
3,921
958
3,931
884
-1 0
+74
3,694
435
+227
+523
1 Revised series—Excludes military and naval forces. Also excludes employees on W PA and N Y A
projects, as well as enrollees in CCC camps. Includes proprietors, firm members, self-employed persons
casual workers, and domestic servants.
’
2 Excludes all of the groups omitted from “total nonagricultural employment” as well as proprietors firm
members, self-employed persons, casual workers, and domestic servants.
3 N ot included in totals shown above. Includes members of the National Guard inducted into the Fed
eral service by act of Congress.
The figures represent the number of persons working at any time
during the week ending nearest the middle of each month. The totals
for the United States have been adjusted to conform to the figures
shown by the 1930 Census of Occupations for the number of non
agricultural “ gainful workers” less the number shown to have been
unemployed for 1 week or more at the time of the census. Separate
estimates for “ Employees in nonagricultural establishments” are shown
in table 2 for each of the 48 States and the District of Columbia for
December 1940 and January 1941 and January 1940. Tables showing
monthly figures for each State from January 1938 to date are available
on request. Because the State figures do not include employees on
merchant vessels, and because of certain adjustments in the United
States estimates which have not been made on a State basis, the total
of the State estimates will not agree exactly with the figure for the
United States as a whole.
These estimates are based in large part on industrial censuses and
on regular reports of employers to the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics and to other Government agencies, such as the Interstate
Commerce Commission. Data derived from employers’ quarterly
reports in connection with “ old age and survivors’ insurance,” and
employers’ monthly reports in connection with unemployment com
pensation have been used extensively as a check on estimates derived
from other sources, and in some industries they have provided the
most reliable information available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1035
Trend of Emplyoment and P ay Rolls
T able 2.—Estimated Number of Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments, by
States
[Excludes proprietors, firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers, domestic workers, the armed
forces of the United States, and employees on merchant vessels]
[In thousands]
Change December
1940 to January
1941
January
1941
(prelim
inary)
Decernher 1940
Massachusetts___ - ...........Rhode I s la n d __ - - - Connecticut______ _______
2, 660
185
130
71
1,406
242
626
2,725
188
133
73
1,445
250
636
-6 5
-3
-3
-2
-3 9
-8
-1 0
- 2 .4
-1 .4
-2 .8
- 3 .1
- 2 .7
- 3 .0
- 1 .5
N ew Jersey......... ..................
Pennsylvania____________
7, 833
3,895
1,189
2,749
8,057
4,011
.1, 216
2,830
-224
-116
-2 7
-8 1
7,038
1,835
803
2,285
1,467
648
7,249
1,878
836
2,361
1,508
666
2,326
509
396
767
73
81
192
308
Geographic divisions
and State
January
1940
Change January
1940 to January
1941
Number
Percent
age
2,439
182
123
70
1,284
223
557
+221
+3
+7
+1
+122
+19
+69
+ 9.1
+ 1 .7
+• 9
+ 9 .5
+ 8 .8
+12.3
- 2 .8
- 2 .9
- 2 .2
-2 .8
7,466
3,780
1,098
2,588
+367
+115
+91
+161
+ 4 .9
+ 3 .0
+ 8 .2
+ 6 .2
-211
-4 3
-3 3
-7 6
-4 1
-1 8
- 2 .9
- 2 .3
- 3 .9
-3 .2
- 2 .7
- 2 .6
6, 539
1,706
739
2,153
1,335
606
+499
+129
+64
+132
+132
+42
+ 7 .7
+ 7 .6
+ 8.7
+ 6 .2
+ 9.9
+7.1
2,419
537
409
795
75
83
201
319
-9 3
-2 8
-1 3
-2 8
-2
-2
-9
-1 1
- 3 .9
- 5 .4
- 3 .3
-3 .6
- 2 .3
-2 .4
- 4 .6
- 3 .4
2,238
496
386
743
71
78
189
275
+88
+13
+10
+24
+2
+3
+3
+33
+ 3.9
+ 2 .6
+ 2 .5
+ 3 .2
+ 3.2
+ 4.8
+1. 2
+11.9
3, 732
71
544
386
519
375
617
296
500
424
3, 802
73
553
374
534
382
638
305
514
429
-7 0
-2
-9
+12
-1 5
-7
-2 1
-9
-1 4
-5
- 1 .9
- 3 .6
-1 .7
+ 3 .3
-2 .8
- 1 .8
- 3 .4
- 3 .0
-2 .8
- 1 .3
3,391
66
479
321
470
365
580
276
460
374
+341
+5
+65
+65
+49
+10
+37
+20
+40
+50
+10.0
+ /. 1
+13.6
+20.1
+10.5
+ 2 .9
+ 6 .4
+ /. 1
+ 8 .6
+13.3
Mississippi______________
1,416
370
455
392
199
1, 449
377
468
400
204
-3 3
-7
-1 3
-8
-5
- 2 .3
- 2 .0
- 2 .9
- 1 .9
- 2 .1
1,296
354
420
351
171
+120
+16
-j-35
+41
+28
+ 9.3
+ 4.3
-j-8. 4
+11.8
+16.6
Texas___________ ______
1, 942
189
425
288
1,040
2,011
194
442
298
1, 077
-6 9
-5
-1 7
-1 0
-3 7
- 3 .4
- 2 .4
-3 .8
- 3 .1
- 3 .5
1,754
173
359
278
944
+ 188
+16
+66
+10
+96
+10.8
+ 9.6
+18.4
+ 3 .7
+10.2
Utah
N evada__________________
754
110
81
52
212
69
91
107
32
784
113
86
53
223
72
91
113
33
-3 0
-3
-5
-1
-1 1
-3
0
-6
-1
-4 . 1
- 3 .3
- 6 .6
- 1 .8
-5 .2
- 3 .7
(0
-5 .7
- 3 .2
723
105
78
47
207
68
88
100
30
+31
+5
+3
+5
+5
+1
+3
+7
+2
+ 4.1
+ 4.6
+ 2.9
+ 9 .6
+ 2.1
+2. 1
+ 3.3
+ 6 .7
+ 9.2
Washington________ _____
Oregon ------- ---------------California.. _____________
2, 455
427
236
1,792
2, 527
440
243
1,844
-7 2
-1 3
-7
-5 2
- 2 .8
- 2 .8
-2 .6
-2 .8
2,248
390
218
1,640
+207
+37
+18
+152
+ 9 .2
+ 9.5
+ 8.2
+ 9.2
New England______ _________
N ew Hampshire....................
East North Central ...
.
Michigan________________
Wisconsin_______________
West North Central.
________
Missouri. _________ . . -.
North Dakota____________
Kansas____ ____ _______ _
South Atlantic______ _________
District of Columbia______
West Virginia____________
North Carolina____ _ ___
South Carolina_______ ..
Florida__________________
K entucky...........................
1 Less than Ho of 1 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Number
Percent
age
1036
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Industrial and Business Employment
Monthly reports on employment and pay rolls are available for 157
manufacturing industries; 16 nonmanufacturing industries, including
private building construction; water transportation; and class I steam
railroads. The reports for the first 2 of these groups—manufacturing
and nonmanufacturing—are based on sample surveys by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. The figures on water transportation are based
on estimates prepared by the Maritime Commission and those on
class I steam railroads are compiled by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. They are presented in the foregoing summary.
The indexes of factory employment and pay rolls are based on the
3-year average 1923-25 as 100 and are adjusted to 1937 census data,
except for the aircraft industry and the transportation equipment
group, which have been adjusted on the basis of a complete employ
ment survey of the aircraft industry made by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for August 1940, and for all manufacturing industries com
bined, the durable-goods group, and the nondurable-goods group, which
have been adjusted to preliminary 1939 census figures. They relate
to wage earners only and are computed from reports supplied by
representative manufacturing establishments in 90 of the 157 manu
facturing industries surveyed. 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 90
industries covered.
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 production they cover
wage earners and clerical field force. The coverage of the reporting
samples for the various nonmanufacturing industries ranges from
approximately 25 percent for wholesale and retail trade, dyeing and
cleaning, and insurance, to approximately 80 percent for quarrying
and nonmetallic mining, anthracite mining, and public utilities.
The indexes for retail trade have been adjusted to conform in general
with the 1935 Census of Retail Distribution and are weighted by lines
of trade. For the public utilities they hav^been adjusted to the 1937
Census of Electrical Industries, for wholesale trade to the 1933 census,
and for coal mining, year-round hotels, laundries, and dyeing and
cleaning to the 1935 censuses.
Data for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries are
based on reports of the number of employees and the amount of pay
rolls for the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
1037
The average weekly earnings shown in table 3 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
not all reporting establishments supply man-hours, average hours
worked per week and average hourly earnings are necessarily based
on data furnished by a smaller number of reporting firms. The size
and composition of the reporting sample vary slightly from month
to month. Therefore, the average hours per week, average hourly
earnings, and average weekly earnings shown may not be strictly
comparable from month to month. The sample, however, is believed
to be sufficiently adequate in virtually all instances to indicate the
general movement 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 1940 are computed from chain indexes based on the
month-to-month percentage changes.
EM PLOYM ENT AN D
P A Y -R O L L I N D E X E S , A V E R A G E
H O U R S, AN D
AVERAGE
E A R N IN G S
The indexes of employment and pay rolls as well as average hours
worked per week, average hourly earnings, and average weekly
earnings in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries for
November and December 1940, and January 1941, where available,
are presented in table 3. The Novembei and December figures,
where given, may differ in some instances from those previously
published because of revisions necessitated primarily by the inclusion
of late reports.
In table 4 indexes of employment and pay rolls are given for all
manufacturing industries combined, for the durable- and nondurablegoods groups of manufacturing industries, and for each of 13 non
manufacturing industries, by months, from January 1940 to January
1941, inclusive. The indexes for all manufacturing industries com
bined, the durable-goods group, and the nondurable-goods group have
been adjusted to preliminary 1939 census figures. Comparable
indexes for all available months and years back to January 1919 are
given in tables 9, 10, and 11 of the December 1940 issue of the
pamphlet, “Employment and Pay Rolls.” The accompanying chart
indicates the trend of factory employment and pay rolls from January
1919 to January 1941.
3 0 1 1 7 8 -4 1 -
-17
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1038
T able 3.—Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manujacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries
MANUFACTURING
[Indexes are based on 3-year average, 1923-25=100. For “all manufacturing,” “durable goods,” and “nondurable goods,” they have been adjusted to preliminary 1939 census figures.*
The indexes for all other manufacturing groups and industries except “automobiles” h<>ve been adjusted to 1937 census figures and are not comparable to indexes published in
pamphlets prior to August 1939. Comparable series available upon request.]
Employment index
Pay-roll index
Average weekly earn
ings 1
Average hours worked
per week 2
Average hourly earn
ings 1
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Industry
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products, not including
m achinery... . . . _______ ___ _____ ____
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling m ills..
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets . . . ___ . .
Cast-iron pipe___ ____ _ _ _____ _ . . . .
Cutlery (not including silver and plated cut
lery) and edge tools______________________
Forgings, iron and steel_____ ______ _______
Hardware________________________ . ______
Plumbers’ supplies___ _____ ______________
Stamped and enameled w are.. _________ . . .
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and
steam fittings.. . ________ __________ . .
Stoves____ _ _____________________ . . . . _
Structural and ornamental metalwork_______
Tin cans and other tinware______ _. __ . ._
Tools (not including edge tools, machine tools,
files, and saws)__________________________
W ¡rework_________________________________
Machinery, not including transportation equip
ment_________ _________________________
Agricultural implements (including tractors)..
Cash registers, adding machines, and calcu
lating machines_______ ____________ ___
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and sup
plies_____________ ____ ____ ___________
Engines, turbines, water wheels, and wind
m ills2___ ________ ______________ . . . . .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
115.5
118. 3
112. 7
116.2
117.6
114.9
114.7
115.5
113.9
120.7
131.9
108.0
122.4
131.6
112. 1
116.4
125. 1
106.6
$27. 69
31. 90
22.61
$27. 89
31.96
23. 09
$26. 93
31. 11
22. 08
39.0
40.6
37.3
39.8
41.2
38.4
38.6
40.2
37. 1
Cents
68.9
75.8
62.0
Cents
68.3
74.9
61.7
Cents
67.8
74.4
61.3
122.1
131.3
138.9
87.6
121.5
129.5
134.7
87.4
119.3
127.3
128. 1
86.3
130.7
139.9
170.5
93. 2
133.0
142.1
178.0
97. 1
125.8
134.6
161.5
89.2
31.49
33.66
29.58
25. 42
32.18
34.65
31.82
26.29
31.4)1
33.43
30.30
24. 57
39.8
39.1
41.9
40.1
41.0
40.4
44.4
42.8
39.6
39.1
42.4
40.6
78.6
86.2
70.6
62.6
78.0
85.8
71. 7
61.2
78.1
85.7
71.5
60.3
107.7
91.1
112.8
98.0
188.6
109.8
88.4
112.5
96.5
196.1
112.2
83.3
109.0
94.1
190.2
106.9
123.6
130.4
90.8
213.4
113.7
118.8
128.4
93. 1
225. 7
107.5
106.2
122.3
88.2
209.3
25.90
36.61
28. 30
26.91
26.59
27.11
36.28
28.03
28.04
26.94
25.13
34. 39
27. 56
27.18
25. 76
40.5
44.6
40.8
38.0
39.5
42.2
44.7
41.2
39.8
40.9
40.4
42.4
40.4
38.8
38.9
65.2
82.5
69.5
70.3
66.8
65.3
81.7
68.1
70.4
66. 1
63.5
81.7
68.3
70.0
66.2
102.7
94.5
93.4
99.8
102.6
103.9
90.4
98.9
102.2
105.5
86.5
100.2
105.3
87.1
89.0
112.4
105.0
100.3
86.0
113.2
103.4
100.7
78.7
104. 1
30.98
26.07
30. 75
25.29
31.04
27. 37
30. 80
25. 59
30. 65
27.14
29.26
23.47
42.5
38.7
41.7
39.8
43.0
40.4
41.6
40.5
42.2
40.1
40.0
37.0
73.2
67.8
74.2
63.2
72.3
68.2
74.3
63.5
72.8
68.2
73.2
63. 5
120.9
205.5
116.5
206.8
111.6
203.5
140.1
237.7
136.1
242.0
124.0
235.1
29.01
28. 27
29.24
28.68
27.82
28.45
44.8
39.7
45.4
41.1
43.4
40.7
65.6
71.2
65.0
69.8
64.3
69.9
139.9
149.6
136.0
143.2
131.2
136.6
167.5
180.9
162.9
171.3
149.3
160.4
33. 34
32. 22
33.13
31.87
31.65
31.29
43.2
39.7
43.6
39.5
42.0
39.0
76.8
81.3
76. 1
81.0
75.2
80. 6
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
135.6
134.7
133.6
151.3
147.8
144.0
34.78
34.15
33. 77
41.4
41.1
40.6
84.9
84.1
83.9
130.1
125.6
120.6
163.0
157.5
145.0
33.00
32.93
31.61
42.8
43.0
41.9
77.3
76.6
75. 7
223.2
211.8
201.0
331.4
305.5
275.0
39.12
38.17
36. 21
45.3
45.4
43.2
86.6
84.2
84.0
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
All manufacturing 2____ _______________________
_
.....................
Durable goods 2_____ . . .
Nondurable goods 2________________________
Jan.
1941
32. 51
40.08
24.08
30.13
26.40
32.85
39.56
25. 49
28.94
27.31
30.95
36. 85
23. 97
26. 56
31.13
42.9
50.4
38.2
44.6
39.1
43.6
50.6
40.5
42.8
41.7
41.6
48.0
39.2
39.9
45.5
75.7
79.6
63. 7
67.7
67.5
75.5
78.1
63.0
67.8
65.4
74.5
76.8
61.3
66.7
68.4
166. 1
169.2
146.0
176.1
149.2
152.6
Transportation equipment 4........................... ............
A ircraft4_________________________________ 5,031. 2 4,684.1 4,402. 3 5,912. 2 5,356. 3 5,012. 9
150.5
144.8
147.5
129.5
129.3
128.3
Automobiles_____________ _________________
53.7
62.3
63.5
61.6
66.0
69.3
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad*........... ...........
43.6
42.2
50.1
49.4
55.0
45.7Locomotives____ __________________________
204.2
238.7
307.6
288.0
221.0
240.0
Shipbuilding*_____________________________
36. 56
34.13
37.61
29. 21
34.13
37.81
35. 96
33.17
36.54
30.08
33. 55
38.50
36. 39
32.93
38.11
27. 73
31. 61
34.63
40.4
44.7
* 39.0
38.1
42.5
42.1
40.2
44.6
38.5
39.8
41.9
42.7
40.4
44.3'
39.9
37.9
40.0
38.6
91. 1
77.6
96.6
76.8
80.3
89.4
90.0
75.6
95.0
75.6
80.0
89.7
90.2
75.5
95.5
73.5
79.0
88.5
149.8
264.0
219.3
141.7
259.0
201.6
30.62
30.40
35.18
31.63
30.90
35.74
30. 02
30. 01
33.98
41.4
40.9
44.0
42.7
42.0
44.5
41.4
41.3
42.6
74.1
74.3
80.4
73.8
73.5
80.5
72.7
72.7
79.9
23.90
22.92
28.19
27.37
29.30
24.88
25.00
28. 59
31.62
29. 92
25.20
22.97
28.18
29.91
28.46
38.9
38.5
39.3
41.4
38.6
40.8
41.5
40.7
46.8
40.1
41.6
39.6
41.1
44.7
38.4
61.4
58.9
71.7
66.6
75.2
61.0
59.6
70.2
68.0
74.6
60.6
57.4
68.6
67.4
74.0
117.4
286.2
147.0
89.3
130.8
114.1
276.0
158.0
86.1
132.2
110.1
265.9
159.4
82.7
130.7
128.7
414.0
144.3
97.9
141.0
126.6
394.2
162.9
90.6
147.3
129.9
209.6
162.4
146.2
265.5
106.3
96.6
108.0
74.7
97.8
106.2
104.6
115.0
82.4
98.6
70.8
101.4
119.6
97.4
78.9
96.6
106.7
110.5
109.8
79.8
94.8
102.6
121.7
94.4
100.0
82.6
95.8
lum ber and allied products.................................... ..
Furniture_________________________________
Lumber:
M illw o r k ......................... ...............................
Sawmills______________________________
71.3
93.7
73.7
97.4
74.4
97.0
68. 1
84.2
71.5
92.6
70.9
90.4
20.72
21.42
21.06
22.64
20.75
22.23
38.9
39.0
39.5
41.0
38.9
40.2
52.9
55.2
52.8
55.2
52.6
55.5
70.4
62.5
71.6
64.7
71.3
57.7
59.2
59.7
60.4
58.2
60.9
22.51
19.59
23.01
19.29
22.58
19.06
40.5
38.4
41.7
38.0
41.2
37.7
55.4
51.0
55.0
50.7
54.7
50.5
Stone, clay, and glass products.....................................
Brick, tile, and terra cotta--------------------------Cement__________________________________
Glass_____________________________________
Marble, granite, slate, and other products.......
Pottery__________________ ____ ___________
85.8
64.8
64.8
114.3
38.8
104.6
88.7
65.2
71.7
116.8
45.1
105.6
64.8
73.9
117.0
46.3
102.4
79.4
54.6
61.1
131.2
26.8
94.4
85.6
56.8
72.4
137.6
33.3
101.3
82.0
54.0
72.9
130.8
31.9
96.3
25.12
21.74
26.82
28.00
23.99
23.03
26. 25
22. 52
28.70
28.77
25.72
24.47
25. 17
21.47
27.96
27.26
23.96
24.00
36. 5
36.9
37.9
36.4
34.5
35.7
38.2
38.5
40.5
37.7
36.5
38.1
37. 1
37.4
39.5
36.6
34.0
37.6
68.4
58.7
70.9
77.0
70.3
64.9
68.0
58.2
70.9
76.4
71.1
63.8
67.1
57.2
70.7
74.6
70.8
63.6
106.4
99.7
82.1
100.7
91.6
134.9
82.3
142.9
107.0
100.4
82.4
100.5
89.6
134.3
83.9
146.2
71.4
77.4
147.5
65.3
100.9
105.5
98.7
81.6
98.1
87.3
132.0
81.9
144.9
73.2
76.5
150.0
65.2
98.7
95.1
93.1
74.7
96.9
92.7
97.6
95.6
76.2
98.0
91.5
120.2
121.0
80.0
148.9
56.0
73.4
125.0
52.6
93.6
81.5
160.4
61.5
74.2
129.8
54.4
96.3
92.3
90.9
73.1
92.3
87.1
113.5
72.6
160.4
63.5
72.5
129.5
52.2
88.9
18.12
17. 93
25.18
15.60
19. 74
21.65
26.93
18.44
17. 65
16.06
19. 90
16.53
21.78
18. 46
18. 28
25.64
15.70
19. 87
21.94
26.78
19. 57
17.89
16.14
19. 64
17.13
22.15
17.80
17.71
24.80
15.23
19.39
21.07
24.49
19.67
18.15
16.02
19.24
16.43
20. 92
35.7
36.9
37.4
37.2
39.3
39.3
35.9
33.7
35.8
36.0
37.9
35.7
37.9
36.7
37.9
37.9
38.0
39.9
40.2
35.6
35.7
36.4
36.6
39.3
37.3
38.9
35.5
36.8
36.6
36.9
39.1
?8.6
33.6
36.0
36.9
36.3
38.7
36.0
36.8
51.2
49.2
67.4
41.9
50.3
55.1
74.9
55.0
48.9
44.6
50.3
46.1
57.6
50.7
48.8
67.6
41.3
49.8
54.6
74.7
54.9
48.2
44.1
50.0
45.8
56.9
50.4
48.7
67.9
41.2
49.7
54.3
72.8
54.7
48.4
44.2
49.5
45.4
56.9
131.2
212.6
171.5
110.2
66.1
88.6
220.6
102.0
86.5
Nondurable goods
Textiles and their products...........................................
Fabrics_______________ ____ _______________
Carpets and rugs______________________
Cotton goods______ ___________________
Cotton small w ares..___________________
Dyeing and finishing textiles____________
Hats, fur-felt.......................... ................. .......
Hosiery______________ ________ ________
Knitted outerwear_____________________
Knitted underwear____________________
Knitted cloth__________________________
Silk and rayon goods___________________
Woolen and worsted goods_____________
See
footnotes a t end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
66.2
76.9
139.7
65.0
99.9
1039
131.2
208.6
168.1
Nonferrous metals and their products........................
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..
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
114.6
355.4
155.7
80.1
166.0
Foundry and machine-shop products________
Machine tools_____________________________
Radios and phonographs------- --------------------Textile machinery and parts________________
Typewriters and p a r ts ..------- ------------- ------ -
Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—Continued
MANUFACTURING—Continued
[indexes are based on 3-year average, 1923-25=100. For “all manufacturing,” “durable goods,” and “nondurable goods,” they have been adjusted to preliminary 1939 census figures.*
The indexes for all other manufacturing groups and industries except “automobiles” have been adjusted to 1937 census figures and are not comparable to indexes published in
pamphlets prior to August 1939. Comparable series available upon request.]
Employment index
Pay-roll index
Average weekly earn
ings 1
Average hours worked
per w e ek 1
Average hourly earn
ings 1
Jan.
1941
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
1040
T able 3.
Industry
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
116.8
109.5
161.5
112.0
107.5
74.9
118.7
117.2
108. 1
164.2
112.8
123.3
60.8
122.1
116.2
104.8
165.3
113.2
127.8
60.9
120.6
93.2
87.3
119.5
115.8
103.2
55.2
103.9
95.6
86.4
125.5
122.6
133.2
41.5
115.0
89.5
76.4
119.6
121.1
139.6
40.9
112.8
$18. 70
20.36
19.47
17.24
14.33
22.04
13.71
$18.98
20.42
20.09
18. 23
16.17
20.39
14. 75
$18.05
18. 70
18. 98
17. 95
16. 43
20.07
14.77
33.3
33.5
33.2
35.6
33.3
30.5
33.1
34.3
33.7
34. 7
37.3
36.5
29.7
35.0
33.0
31.1
33. 7
36.1
37.2
28. 6
34.8
Cents
55.2
60. 5
55. 3
48. 2
42.2
64. 6
42.1
Cents
54.4
60 4
54 2
48 5
43 0
63. 6
41.9
Cents
53 9
60 1
53 4
48 5
43.1
66 1
41.7
leather and its manufactures*______________
Boots and shoes*...............
Leather____________ .
93.4
91.4
85.8
90.6
88.0
85.8
87.0
84.1
83.9
83.3
80.1
86.7
78. 5
73.2
89.5
68.5
62.5
82.8
20.67
19. 58
25.27
20. 05
18. 54
26.16
18. 19
16. 65
24.57
37.3
37.0
38.3
36. 5
35.7
39.9
33. 0
31.8
37.9
55.5
53.0
66.2
55. 2
52.6
65.9
55. 5
52.9
65.8
Food and kindred products_____________
Baking__________
Beverages_______ _____
Butter_________ .
Canning and preserving___________
Confectionery_____ . . .
Flour. _________
Ice cream_________
Slaughtering and meat packing____ _____
Sugar, beet__________
Sugar refining, cane___
121.2
140.5
255.8
91.6
90.5
86.7
76.9
67.9
116.3
95.9
87.6
130.5
144.1
260.2
96.4
103.3
100.5
77.8
69.3
125.0
235.8
94.3
132.5
145.5
263.0
99.4
123.2
102.4
79.0
70.9
116.2
277.0
93.5
120.0
134.5
288.5
80. 1
78.9
86.7
72.2
59.1
119.7
84.7
70.3
132.4
137.7
299.4
84.1
92.7
103.0
72.8
60.9
137.3
265.1
85.0
128.8
138.3
302.3
82.3
100.6
100.1
72.3
61.0
118.9
288.0
83.7
24.91
26. 44
32.96
22. 84
16. 73
19.27
25. 27
29.85
26.84
22.85
22.73
25. 78
26.39
33.60
22.89
17.09
19.86
25.12
30.15
28.77
29.07
25. 53
24.43
26.31
33. 61
21.77
15.54
19.05
24.59
29.61
26.82
26.81
25. 36
39.0
41.1
37.2
44.6
32.9
37.6
41.0
44.1
39.3
36.7
35.0
40.6
41.0
38.0
45.5
34.4
40.2
40.7
44.7
42.3
53.2
38.9
39. 3
41.0
38.0
44.3
33.4
38.7.
40.2
43.7
39.0
49.3
39.5
64.9
64.3
89.1
50.9
51.3
52.1
60.8
66.6
68.1
64.0
65.0
64. 1
64.4
88.7
49.7
51.0
49.8
60.8
65. 8
68.0
56. 2
65.6
63.2
64.0
89.3
48. 7
48 0
49. 5
60.9
65 8
68 6
55.1
64.1
Tobacco manufactures _ _ ___ ____ _ . . .
Chewing and smoking tobacco, and snuff____
Cigars and cigarettes. ______ ____
60.8
57.7
61.1
65.6
57.4
66.6
66.8
55.8
68.1
59.3
66.5
58.3
67.4
69.8
67.0
66.4
66.5
66.3
17.76
18. 60
17. 57
18. 70
19. 60
18. 53
18. 14
19.21
17.95
35.7
34.9
35.8
38. 1
37.0
38.2
37. 2
35.0
37.4
49. 8
53. 7
49.3
49 0
53. 5
48.5
48 6
54. 9
47.9
_______
Paper and printing _____
Boxes, paper_________ . . . . . . .
Paper and pulp. __ _______
Printing and publishing:
Book and job_________________ _ .
Newspapers and periodicals*.___________
117.0
118.4
115.7
119.9
125.2
115.9
118.5
126.1
115.7
115.5
131.8
127.5
120.8
145.4
128.5
115.4
144.0
123.8
29. 64
22.32
26.99
30.37
23.19
27.30
29. 35
22.79
26.35
38.6
38.8
40.8
39.3
41.2
41.3
38.4
40.4
40.2
79.6
57.8
66.2
79. 9
56.6
66.0
79. 3
56. 5
65.6
103.6
115.4
105.3
119.8
102.5
118.1
95.1
108.2
97.9
116.1
90.1
112.4
31.87
38.09
32.28
39. 36
30.62
38. 57
39.8
35.7
39.9
36.4
38.2
35.7
81.2
104.9
81. 3
106. 0
81. 2
104.9
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Nondurable goods—Continued
Textiles and their products—Continued.
Wearing apparel_________________
Clothing, men’s ..........................
Clothing, women’s _ . .
Corsets and allied garments____
M en’s furnishings**.___ .
M illinery _ ___
Shirts arid collars____
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
_
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Jan.
1941
126. 1
119.1
127.8
152.0
115.6
116.4
150.7
104.2
126.3
313.5
85.9
125.8
119.8
127. 2
149.9
129.1
115.8
148.9
95.0
126.0
315.1
84.8
125.6
120.7
126.7
148.0
132.8
116.2
147.2
92.2
125.9
314.5
84.5
142. 1
132.2
145.2
188.2
113.7
131.1
198.8
85.9
137.4
335.9
107.7
144.3
139.0
145.9
187.9
131.1
130.7
199.1
80.9
138. 7
334.4
106.3
139.7
133.3
141.7
181.7
128.8
131.1
186.5
77.1
135.7
331.4
100.2
30. 39
34. 46
28.88
33.10
15. 79
25.35
35.97
14.94
29.86
27.40
29. 58
30.90
36.00
28.92
33.33
16.31
25.42
36.49
15.47
30.15
27.15
29. 54
29. 87
34.32
28.23
32. 72
15.50
25.44
34.56
15.31
29. 39
26. 95
27.93
38.9
35.7
39.9
40.3
45.3
39.7
40.5
34.7
40.3
39.2
40.0
39.6
37.3
40.4
40.8
47.5
39.5
41.4
35.4
40.8
39.1
40.3
38.8
35.7
39.8
40.4
45.1
39.5
39.8
33.9
40.2
39.1
38.9
76.9
97.0
70.4
82.2
33.9
61.1
88.9
42.9
74.1
69.9
74.0
76.6
96.8
70.1
81.6
33.5
61.2
88.1
43.7
74.1
69.4
73.3
76. 5
96.6
69.6
81.1
33.3
61.3
86.8
45.2
73.3
69.0
71.8
Rubber products______
__________________
Rubber boots and shoes______ _________ _
Rubber tires and inner tubes . . . . .
___
Rubber goods, other_______________________
98.8
68.0
77.9
168.9
97.5
66.9
76.9
166.6
94.4
61.0
75.2
162.9
111.0
79.2
96.9
173.5
111. 1
81.3
96.4
173.9
102.0
65.7
89.7
162.7
30.68
26. 76
36.32
24.97
31. 13
27. 92
36. 59
25.39
29.45
24. 76
34.92
24.29
39.2
41.9
38.1
39.4
39.7
43.9
37.8
40.4
37.9
40.1
36.1
39.0
78.0
63.9
95.7
63.9
78.4
63.6
97.1
63.4
78. 1
61.7
97.1
62.7
Cents
Cents
92.5
91.9
87.7
88.7
74.7
74.6
57.8 ' 58.7
88.9
89.4
Cents
92.6
88.9
74.3
58.5
88.1
NONMANUFACTURING
[Indexes are based on 12-month average, 1929=100]
Coal mining:
Anthracite 67_______ _____________________
Bituminous 6__ ______________ Metalliferous mining. . ________ _________
Quarrying and nonmetallic m ining.-----------------Crude-petroleum produ ction_____ __________
Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph 8 9------ ---------------- .
Electric light and power 8 ®._ _____________ .
Street railways and busses 8 810_____________
Trade:
Wholesale 8 » ______________________________
R eta il8 9. . . __________________
F o o d 9..
.
_____ . . . . . . . . . .
General merchandising 89_____ _____ A pparel9______________________ . ____
Furniture 9__ . . ------------------- -- . . .
Automotive 9_____ _____________ ____ __
Lumber 9. _____ _______________________
50.3
89.9
72.4
41.3
60.2
50.8
90.1
72.2
45.4
60.7
50.4
89.8
72.5
47.2
61.3
38.5
86.7
70.4
36.2
56.5
42.7
91.4
72.9
42.4
55.9
37.6
84.5
69.8
42.3
56.8
$25.13
25.78
30.20
21.95
34. 61
$27.60
27.12
31.41
23.42
33.96
$24.56
25.21
30.10
22.64
34.11
27.0
29.8
40.6
38.0
37.9
29.7
31.0
42.2
40.0
36.9
26.2
28.6
40.7
38.9
37.8
80.0
90.7
68.2
79.7
91.3
68.4
79.2
91.8
68.7
103.6
105.5
71.0
103.5
106.0
73.1
103.2
106.9
70.3
31.80
35.46
33.98
31.88
35. 37
34.91
32.01
35.53
33.40
40.0
39.1
45.6
39.5
39.1
47.4
39.9
39.8
45.4
79.7
90.5
73.2
81.1
90.4
73.0
80.7
89.3
72.6
90.9
91.2
103.6
95.9
79.2
75.9
87.5
73.1
92.5
108.1
106.4
152.2
103.4
81.9
88.0
76.1
91.8
96.3
104.6
111.4
91.5
77.8
85.9
77.4
80.3
84.5
96.8
87.8
75.4
67.8
82.5
68.4
83.4
97.3
98.8
132.9
93.4
76.3
85.2
72.5
80.7
87.1
96.7
97.5
83.0
70.1
82.3
72.0
30.60
21.28
24.57
17.97
21.94
28.14
28.47
25.85
31.25
20.37
24.45
17.35
20.81
29.22
29.29
26.34
30. 43
20. 70
23. 76
17.34
20.98
28.26
28.94
25.94
40.4
42.7
43.4
38.7
39.0
43.2
46.4
41.4
41.5
42.9
43.4
40.0
38.7
44.8
47.4
42.3
40.8
42.3
43.1
38.1
38.1
44.0
46.7
41.5
76.1
54.4
52.9
46.2
56.5
67.5
61.7
63.9
75.6
52.2
52.4
42.8
54.0
68.3
62.2
63.2
74.7
53.7
52.8
45.2
55.4
68.7
62.4
63.3
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
Chemicals, petroleum, and coal products___ ___
Petroleum refining______ _____ _ ______ __
Other than petroleum refining_________
Chemicals___________ ________________
Cottonseed—oil, cake, and meal_ - ______
Druggists’ preparations________________
Explosives A ------ -- - _______ - ______
Fertilizers______________ _________ ____
Paints and varnishes__________ _ .
Rayon and allied products______________
Soap________________________ ____ _____
See fo o tn o tes a t end of table.
1041
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1042
T able 3.—Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—Continued
NONMANUFACTURING—Continued
[Indexes are based on 12-month average, 1929=100]
Employment index
Pay-roll index
Average weekly earn
ings 1
Average hours worked
per week 1
Jan.
1941
Average hourly earn
ings 1
Industry
Dec.
1940
N ov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
Nov.
1940
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
N ov.
1940
93.2
101.3
101.2
- 0 .7
+ .2
-8 .5
92.6
100.3
103.3
+ 0 .7
-.1
- 1 .9
92.3
99.7
106.0
+ 0.1
-.1
-4 .2
84.0
89.8
73.5
- 2 .8
+ 1 .2
-1 0 .3
84.1
89.2
75.8
+ 3.1
+ 1 .4
+ 5 .6
83.6
87.2
77.8
+ 0 .8
+ .4
-1 3 .7
$15. 66
18.30
19.88
36.91
37.30
32.10
$15.78
18.36
20.09
37.71
36.95
32. 63
$15.75
18.13
20.13
37.14
36.42
30.44
1 Revised series. Mimeographed sheets giving averages by years, 1932 to 1939, inclusive,
and by months, January 1938 to August 1940, inclusive, available on request. Average
hours and average hourly earnings are computed from data supplied by a smaller number
of establishments than average weekly earnings, as not all reporting firms furnish man
hours. The figures are not strictly comparable from month to month because of changes
in the size and composition of the reporting sample.
2 See tables 9,10, and 11 of December 1940 Employment and Pay Rolls for comparable
series back to January 1919 for all manufacturing and back to January 1923 for the durableand nondurable-goods groups.
3 Engines—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours, and average hourly earnings
revised as follows: July $35.04 and August $36.00; July 43.5 hours and August 44.0; July
80.7 cents, August 81.9, September 81.2, October 83.0.
4 Revised series. Adjusted on basis of a complete employment survey made for the
aircraft industry by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for August 1940. N ot comparable
with previously published indexes from January 1939 to August 1940, inclusive. Com
parable figures for this period given in table 9 of the September 1940 issue of Employ
ment and Pay Rolls.
6 Because of change in class of employees covered by reporting sample, figures for ex
plosives not comparable with those previously published for average weekly earnings
and average hourly earnings (comparable October figures $34.06; 85.0 cents).
8 Indexes adjusted to 1935 census. Comparable series back to January 1929 presented in
January 1938 issue of the pamphlet.
7 See table 7 of October 1340 Employment and Pay Rolls for revised employment
and pay-roll indexes, average hours worked per week, average hourly earnings, and
average weekly earnings in anthracite mining, February 1940 to September 1940, inclusive.
8 Average weekly earnings, hourly earnings, and hours not 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.
9 Retail-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 census and public-utility indexes to 1937 census.
N ot comparable to indexes published in pamphlets prior to January 1940 or in issues of
FRASER
M onthly Labor Review prior to April 1940, with but one exception, retail furniture,
Digitized for
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
45.5
43.0
42.1
Dec.
1940
45.7
43.2
42.4
(14)
(14)
(14)
(14)
33.8
32.6
Nov.
1940
46.1
42.3
41.9
0 0
(14)
31.6
Jan.
1941
Dec.
1940
N ov.
1940
Cents
33.9
42.6
48.5
Cents
33.9
42.6
48.6
Cents
33.6
43.1
49.4
0 0
(14)
98.6
(14)
0 0
96.7
(14)
(14)
96.5
which has been revised since publication of July 1940 pamphlet back to January 1936.
Comparable series for earlier months available upon request.
» Covers street railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated,
and successor companies; formerly “electric-railroad and motorbus operation and
maintenance.”
u Indexes adjusted to 1933 census. Comparable series in November 1934 and sub
sequent issues of the pamphlet.
72 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and tips not included.
i* Indexes of employment and pay rolls are not available; percentage changes from
preceding month substituted.
h N ot available.
♦Because of expansion in reporting sample, figures are not comparable with those
previously published as indicated:
Car building.—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours, average hourly
earnings (comparable October figures $28.46; 38.2 hours, 74.8 cents).
Shipbuilding.—Average weekly earnings, average hourly earnings (comparable
October figures $36.63; 87.2 cents. August hourly earnings comparable to pre
viously published figures revised to 86.4 cents).
Jewelry.—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours, average hourly earn
ings (comparable September and October figures $23.84 and $23.78; 41.8 and 41.8
hours, 56.3 and 56.2 cents).
Lighting equipment.—Average weekly earnings, average hourly earnings (com
parable October figures $27.83 and 68.4 cents).
Leather group.—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours, average hourly
earnings (comparable October figures $18.87; 34.3 hours and 55.3 cents).
Boots and shoes.—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours, average hourly
earnings (comparable October figures $17.53; 33.3 hours, 52.8 cents).
Newspapers and periodicals.—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours,
and average hourly earnings (comparable October figures $38.41; 35.8 hours,
104.5 cents).
“ M en’s furnishings—October 1940—Average weekly earnings, average weekly hours,
average hourly earnings revised to $15.84,36.7,40.3.
Monthly Labor Review—A pril 1941
Hotels (year-round) 8 812__________________ ____
Laundries 8_____ ________________________ ___
Dyeing and cleaning 8_____________________ ____
Brokerage 813____ _
_____________________
Insurance 813 . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................. .
Building construction 73_______ _ ____________
Jan.
1941
EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
INDEX
1923-23 =100
INDEX
40
120
120
ÜJ
100
f
— “l i —
M PLC YM EN T
>
n
1—
I
100
80
80
f
PA Y
R O .L S
60
60
40
40
20
20
ADJUSTED TO 1939 CENSUS OF MANUFACTURES
1043
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942
Trend of Employment and P ay Rolls
140
1044
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
T able 4. —Indexes of Employment and P a y Rolls in Selected Manufacturing1and Nonmanufacturing2 Industries, January 1940 to January 1941, Inclusive
1940
1941
Industry
Av. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. M ay June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dee. Jan.
Employment
Manufacturing
All industries______ ____ 107.5 105.0 105.0 104.4 103.2 102.5 103.1 103.2 107.4 111.4 113.8 114.7 116.2 115.5
Durable goods 3______ 104.3 100.1 99.2 99.1 98.7 99.2 99.8 98.4 102. 4 108.2 112.8 115. 5 117.6 118.3
Nondurable goods 4__ 110.6 109.7 110.5 109.5 107.5 105.6 106.2 107.8 112.2 114.4 114.8 113.9 114.9 112.7
Nonmanufacturing
Anthracite mining 3______ 50.7
Bituminous-coal mining A_ 88.0
Metalliferous mining____ 69.9
Quarrying and nonmetallie mining_____________ 45.3
Crude-petroleum production______________
62.9
Telephone and telegraph A 77.9
Electric light and power A _ 91.1
S tr e e t r a ilw a y s a n d
busses 87______________ 68.5
Wholesale trade_________ 90.4
Retail trade A. . . . . . . _ 92.3
Year-round hotels 5______ 92.0
Laundries A. _ _________ 99.5
Dyeing and cleaning 3____ 104.7
51.5 51.6 52. 2 51.2 51.8 49.7 50. 5 49.9 49.8 49.4 50.4 50.8 50.3
91.8 91.7 89.7 86.2 85.1 83.8 84.9 86.6 87.7 89.2 89.8 90.1 89.9
66.4 66.3 66.2 67.7 69.2 70.3 71.0 71.5 72.5 72.6 72.5 72.2 72.4
37.8 38.3 41.0 44.5 46.9 47.9 48.1 48.5 48.9 48.8 47.2 45.4 41.3
63.2 63.0 63.2 63. 1 63.3 63.8 63.7 63.6 63.0 62.4 61.3 60.7 60.2
76.1 75.9 76.0 76.7 77.3 77.8 78.8 79.0 78.9 79.1 79.2 79.7 80.0
89.1 89.2 89.3 90.0 90.6 91.2 92.2 93.0 92.7 92.3 91.8 91.3 90.7
68.8
90.6
87.7
91.3
96.0
94.0
68.7
90.2
87.0
92. 1
95.8
93.7
68.2
90.5
91.1
92.0
96.2
99.5
68.3
89.3
89.8
92.7
97.2
104.5
68.4 68.5
88.9 89.6
91. 2 91.9
93.4 92.0
99.1 102.1
108.7 112.6
68.4
89.2
89.1
90.3
102.5
108.2
68.4 68.5
90. 1 90.9
88.7 92.8
90.3 91.6
102.8 101.9
106.7 110.0
68.7
91.0
94.3
93.4
100.2
109.4
68.7
91.8
96.3
92.3
99.7
106.0
68.4
92.5
108.1
92.6
100.3
103.3
68.2
90.9
91.2
93.2
101.3
101.2
Pay rolls
Manufacturing
All industries__ __ _
105.4 99.8 99.3 99.8 97.9 97.8 99.5 98.2 105.5 111.6 116.2 116.4 122.4 120.7
Durable goods 3........... 107.8 99.3 97.8 98.7 98.4 98.7 101.4 97.4 106.5 115.1 123.4 125.1 131.6 131.9
Nondurable goods 4__ 102.7 100.4 101.0 101.0 97.3 96.8 97.4 99.1 104.4 107.7 108.1 106.6 112.1 108.0
Nonmanufacturing
Anthracite mining 3
38.5
Bituminous-coal mining A_ 81.2
Metalliferous mining___
66.8
Quarrying and nonmetallie mining_____
40.5
Crude-petroleum production________ _.
58.2
Telephone and telegraph A 100.2
Electric light and pow er6 104.8
S t r e e t r a ilw a y s a n d
busses 67_________
70.4
Wholesale trade________ 79.0
Retail trade 6_____
84.2
Year-round hotels A .. .
82.4
Laundries A.
87.7
Dyeing and cleaning 3____ 78.2
52.5 32.9 38.4 36.3 40.0 40.6 36.5 33.1 39.3 32.3 37.6 42.7 38.5
87.0 87.0 78.3 72.2 75.3 73.9 75.2 82.5 83.2 83.6 84.5 91.4 86.7
63.6 64.2 63.2 63.5 65.7 65.4 63.7 68.5 69.5 71.4 69.8 72.9 70. 4
29.6 30.8 34.1 38.1 42.7 43.9 43.5 45.2 46.2 46.7 42.3 42.4 36.2
58.4 59.0 58.4 59.0 58.7 58.8 59. 1 59.0 58.2 57.6 56.8 55.9 56.5
97.4 96.9 98.1 98.7 98.8 100.0 101.3 100.4 101.8 102.2 103.2 103.5 103.6
101.6 102.2 102.3 103.3 104.2 104.8 105.8 108.1 105.8 107.0 106.9 106.0 105.5
69.0
77.1
79.9
81.1
83.4
65.5
71.5
77.1
79.1
82.7
83.1
64.4
69.5
77.8
82.0
81.8
84.1
72.7
69.2
77.4
82.3
83.2
85.6
79.6
69.2
77.4
83.4
83.0
88.5
85.4
70.5
78.4
84.8
82.0
92.4
89.6
70.0
78.3
82.6
80.5
90.0
80.0
70.4
78.7
81.5
80.7
90.5
78.9
71.5
81.1
85.1
81.8
89.9
85.6
70.7
80.2
85.8
84.2
88.0
82.4
70.3
80.7
87.1
83.6
87.2
77.8
73.1
83.4
97.3
84.1
89.2
75.8
71.0
80.3
84. 5
84.0
89.8
73.5
1 3-year average 1923-25=100—adjusted to Preliminary 1939 Census of Manufactures. See tables 9, 10,
and 11 of December 1940 Employment and Pay Rolls for comparable figures back to January 1919 where
available.
2 12-month average for 1929=100. Comparable indexes for wholesale trade, quarrying, metal mining,
and crude-petroleum production are in November 1934 and subsequent issues of Employment and Pay
Rolls, or in February 1935 and subsequent issues of M onthly Labor Review. For other nonmanufac
turing indexes see notes 5 and 6.
3 Includes: Iron and steel, machinery, transportation equipment, 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.
5 Indexes have been adjusted to the 1935 census. Comparable series from January 1929 forward are
presented in January 1938 and subsequent issues of the pamphlet.
6 Retail-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 census and public-utility indexes to 1937 census. Not comparable
with indexes published in Employment and Pay Rolls pamphlets prior to January 1940 or in M onthly
Labor Review prior to April 1940. Comparable series January 1929 to December 1939 available in mimeo
graphed form.
7 Covers street railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated, and successor
companies.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1045
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
IN DUSTRIAL AND B U SIN E SS
EMPLOYMENT
AREAS
IN PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN
A comparison of employment and pay rolls in December 1940 and
January 1941 is made in table 5 for 13 metropolitan areas, each of
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.
Footnotes to the table specify which cities are excluded. Data con
cerning them have been prepared in a supplementary tabulation
which is available on request. The figures represent reports from
cooperating establishments and cover both full- and part-time workers
in the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries presented in
table 3, with the exception of building 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
according to the 1930 Census of Population.
T
able
5. — Comparison oj Employment and P ay Rolls in Identical Establishments in
December 1940 and January 1941, by Principal Metropolitan Areas
Percentage
Number of Number on
change from
establish
pay roll,
ments, Janu January 1941 December
1940
ary 1941
Metropolitan area
Chicago 2____ _____ _ ---------Philadelphia 3___ - _________ . . .
Los Angeles
______________
Baltimore___ . . ____ -
--
Pittsburgh------ ----------------------San Francisco ®. - . .
---------
M ilwaukee______ _____ _______
Percentage
Amount of
pay roll,
change from
December
' (1 week),
1940
January 1941
13,489
4, 307
2,401
1,562
2,704
739,462
500, 723
257, 796
376, 829
209, 063
- 6 .0
-3 .5
- 5 .1
- 2 .3
- 3 .1
$21,879,820
14, 699,343
7,453,456
13,875, 554
6,429, 336
- 4 .7
-3 .9
—5. 9
+ .9
—1.8
1, 275
1,323
1, 106
2,708
1,265
144, 247
144, 590
131,176
188, 349
227,175
- 2 .5
- 2 .2
- 3 .5
- 3 .6
- 3 .0
4, 540, 773
3, 722, 782
3, 704. 722
5, 001. 480
7. 208, 766
- 2 .4
—3. 5
—2. 2
-4 . 0
—5. 5
1,638
750
974
98,291
100,416
119, 561
- 4 .8
-1 .2
-2 .1
3,132, 654
3, 094, 618
3,691, 578
-4 .8
+ .8
-.9
1 Does not include Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, or Paterson, N . J ., or Yonkers, N . Y.
2 Does not include Gary, Ind.
2 Does not include Camden, N . J.
4 Does not include Long Beach, Calif.
s Does not include Cambridge, Lynn, or Somerville, Mass.
6 Does not include Oakland, Calif.
W AGE-RATE CHANGES IN AMERICAN IN DUSTRIES
The following table gives information concerning wage-rate adjust
ments occurring during the month ending January 15, 1941, as shown
by reports received from manufacturing and nonmanufacturing
establishments which supply employment data to this Bureau.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1046
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
As the Bureau’s survey does not cover all establishments in an
industry, and furthermore, as some firms may have failed to report
wage-rate changes, these figures should not be construed as represent
ing the total number of wage changes occurring in manufacturing and
nonmanufacturing industries.
T a b l e 6 . —Wage-Rate
Changes Reported by Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Establishments During Month Ending January 15, 1941 1
Establishments
Group and industry
All manufacturing_______
Total
number
report
ing
Number re
porting—
DeIn
creases creases
Employees
Total
number
covered
Number
having—
In
D e
creases creases
Average percent
a g e in
wage ra es of employees having—
In
D e
creases creases 2
33,257
453
Iron and steel group
Cast-iron pipe.
Hardware.. ___ _
Stamped and enameled w a re..
Steam fittings
Stoves______ ____
Structural and ornamental
metalwork____
Wire work_____ ____
Screw-machine products...
W ire.. .
2,540
71
157
218
109
243
54
3
3
8
5
5
936, 639
18^210
48' 451
37,320
36,681
34j866
15, 724
833
3,118
'579
3,449
1,035
308
156
77
41
5
11
3
3
32,342
30j 262
l l | 356
15,450
1,505
2,006
101
690
Q0
5 2
8. 0
Machinery group..
Agricultural implements . .
Electrical machinery
E n g in es... ______
Foundries and machine shops
Machine to o ls ...
3,751
106
579
65
2,199
188
90
4
7
3
56
11
964,209
62i 943
263,001
63,489
311, 752
78,878
41,160
906
1,162
12, 273
8; 299
9,163
7 5
4. 6
50
a 5
Transportation group...
Automobiles___
Cars, electric and steam railroad___
Shipbuilding_____
735
392
21
13
733,591
435,446
81,056
71,674
2 9
2.2
75
139
3
4
36,660
113,561
2,415
3,128
Lumber group...
F u rn iture...
M ill work..
Sawmills___
Forest products____
Wood preserving .
2,651
724
572
772
189
42
97
8
9
69
3
3
324,251
10i; 365
39,774
125,078
21,097
4,464
21,761
1, 332
1, 532
17,070
649
379
Nonferrous group__
A lu m in u m ... .
Brass, bronze, and copper
products______
Smelting and refining
Sheet metal___ _
1,113
46
20
3
231,495
19; 240
3, 711
646
332
50
127
8
3
5
83, 402
30,699
5,985
562
2, 255
226
Stone gro u p ...
Brick_____ . .
1,591
537
11
4
200,907
41,176
2, 534
511
Fabrics group. . .
Cotton goods.........
Dyeing and finishing textiles..
Woolen and worsted goods___
3,567
833
218
411
25
3
4
13
986,311
411,680
56; 002
152,968
9,013
Wearing apparel group.
6,387,101 193,296
2,544
1,084
5,245
4 .9
00
fi 3
9 !6
4 fi
7.9
6 .2
7 Q
0 7
6 .1
6 6
1 4
6. 7
5.2
2,983
5 !
315,879 1
458
6.1
! T',?lires a!"e not given for some industries to avoid disclosure of information concerning individual
establishments. They are, however, included where practicable in “all manufacturing,” in “all nonmanufacturing, and in the various industry groups.
3 No decreases reported.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1047
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
T able
6 . —Wage-Rate Changes Reported by Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Establishments During Month Ending January 15, 1941—Continued
Establishments
Group and industry
Total
number
report
ing
D e
In
creases creases
Total
number
covered
Number
having—
In
crease
Average percent
age change in
wage rates of em
ployees having—
D e
In
D e
creases creases creases
1060
10
7
229,384
38,454
1,455
1,232
4.7
4.9
5,394
1,038
632
1,008
28
3
3
5
438,094
78,002
37,898
55,104
2,247
171
272
236
7.5
5.1
3.8
10.7
182
Slaughtering and meat pack-
Number re
porting—
Employees
221
9.6
1,863
889
4.4
5.9
2,686
4.9
5.1
5.8
4.3
3.0
6
4
119, 762
38,535
224
42
4
3
66,764
11,924
3 951
' 665
436
1 574
'715
35
364, 594
43', 858
127,637
80,058
57,302
2,223
' 246
518
259
34
11
10
6
325,339
71,251
22,346
16, 714
5, 577
3,480
489
856
254
7
7
125,316
46,278
1,979
1,979
3.9
3.9
1220
12
7
154,328
59,042
2,072
467
5.2
5.2
86,860
55
2,809, 500
924
13,760
Retail trade_________________ --- 48,360
28
17
315,100
926,800
245
238
324
747
201
’680
All nonmanufacturing (except
building construction)--------------
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8
89
7
421
598
1,096
167
555
6.2
6.1
5.7
5.5
8.1
7.5
10.0
Recent Publications o f Labor Interest
A PR IL 1941
Agriculture
Gross farm income and indices of farm production and prices in the United States
TicT^-rP^'
F rederick S trauss an d Louis H. B ean. W ashington,
No 703 )P a rtm e n t ° f A g ricu ltu re’ 1940- 153 Pp -’ c h arts- (Technical bull.
By William C. Holley, Ella Winston, T. J.
Woofter, Jr. Washington, U. S. Work Projects Administration, 1940.
xxn, 124 pp., charts, illus. (Research monograph XXII.)
Seeking an explanation of some of the causes of economic insecurity and labor
m P]antation areas in the southeastern part of the United States,
the WPA repeated, for the year 1937 and for the same 246 plantations, a survey
covering the crop year 1934, which was analyzed in its report on “Landlord and
tenant on the cotton plantation.” The present report reviews the changes between
• i
. ln plantation organization and operation, in labor and power, and
m labor requirements for cotton production (to 1938); the credit situation; and
plantation, operator, and tenant income. Living conditions, relief nfee'ds, and
programs and policies are also considered.
From 1934 to 1937 the average size of the plantations and the proportion of cropland m cotton per plantation increased. Although there was improvement in
the financial status of both tenants and landlords, cropper and share-tenant net
l?co»ie» including home-use production, averaged only about $400 per family.
Wlnie croppers operated nearly half the acreage in both 1934 and 1937, there was
a+S! f nticant mcrease between these years in the acreage operated by wage labor
at the expense of share-tenant and renter labor, and the use of mechanized power
was expanded.
Rural America lights up. By Harry Slattery. Washington, D. C., National
Home Library Foundation, 1940. xiv, 142 pp.
Story of the rural electrification program—conditions that led to it, legal
basis tor it, long struggle with the private utilities, development of cooperatives
under the system, and the program from the social and defense standpoints.
They live on the land! Life in an open-country Southern community. By Paul
W. Terry and Verner M. Sims. University, Ala., University of Alabama,
Bureau of Educational Research, 1940. 313 pp., illus.
AlabamaUdy describes the economic and social life of a rural community in
The plantation South 1934-1937.
By
Clarence Senior. Mexico, D. F., Centro de Estudios Pedagógicos e Hispano
americanos, 1940. 56pp., illus.
This account of the communal system of land tenure in operation in the Leguna
cotton-growing region of Mexico includes information about compensation of
members for their work and on cooperative stores.
Democracy comes ^to a cotton kingdom: The story of Mexico’s La Leguna.
Cooperative Movement
Annals of Collective Economy, M a y-Ju ly 1940.
-1 a u
Geneva, Switzerland.
Pp.
OOt ,
. Collection of articles on various phases of the cooperative movement. These
include: Cooperatives versus cartels and trusts—the experience of Sweden;
. E ditor’s note : The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not distribute the publications to which reference
publ^Wng agendas mentioned86 1SSUe<^
^ 0 Bureau itself. For all others, please write to the respective
1048
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor- Interest
1049
Educational work of the British Cooperative Union; The commandite—coopera
tive work in the French printing industry; The farmers’ retail petroleum cooperative
societies and the first cooperative oil refinery in the USA; Agricultural cooperation
in the Eastern States of the USA; Education and the success of the cooperative
movement in Nova Scotia and the neighboring regions; and Cost of living in the
cooperative villages of Palestine.
The cooperative movement in Bengal. By J. P. Niyogi. London, Macmillan &
Co., Ltd., 1940. 267 pp.
Most of this study deals with cooperative credit associations, but there are also
sectibns on agricultural cooperative marketing and purchasing associations and
on consumers’ associations, as well as on various types of workers’ productive
and other producer cooperatives.
El cooperativismo. By Luis Thorin Casas. (In Anales de Economía y Estadística,
Contraloría General, Dirección Nacional de Estadística, Bogotá, Colombia,
September 25, 1940, pp. 40-48.)
Discusses the origin of the cooperative movement, its underlying theory, and
classification of cooperatives, and gives a brief history and description of each
class. An appendix contains some statistics of cooperatives in Colombia through
December 31, 1939, a statement of national policy in regard to cooperatives, and
a bibliography.
The people’s year book, 1941. Manchester, England, Cooperative Wholesale
Society Ltd., [1941?]. 268 pp., illus.
Contains detailed data on the various phases of the consumers’ cooperative
movement of Great Britain and summary material on cooperation in various
other countries of the world. A considerable portion of this yearbook is given
over to discussion of war matters and the effects of the war on cooperative busi
ness. There is the usual section on labor, social, and economic conditions.
Wages and hours in consumers’ cooperatives in Great Britain and the United States.
By Glenn W. Miller. (In Quarterly Journal of Economics, Cambridge,
Mass., February 1941, pp. 294-305.)
Data on working conditions in consumers’ cooperatives in the countries named,
compiled from various sources.
Report of Cooperative Division, Department of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction,
Newfoundland. By Gerald Richardson. St. John’s, 1940. 28 pp.
Describes the development of cooperatives in the Province of Newfoundland
and shows what they have meant in improved economic conditions. The organi
zations include credit unions, fishermen’s marketing associations, and consumers’
associations.
Cost and Standards of Living
Family income and expenditure in nine cities of East Central Region, 1985-36:
Volume I I , Family expenditure. By A. D. H. Kaplan, Faith M. Williams,
Marjorie S. Weber. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941.
390 pp., charts. (Bull. No. 644, Vol. II: Study of consumer purchases,
Urban series.)
Family income and expenditure in selected New England cities, 1935-36: Volume
I I , Family expenditure.
By A. D. H. Kaplan, Faith M. Williams, Ruth E.
Clem. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 251 pp.,
charts. (Bull. No. 645, Vol. I I : Study of consumer purchases, Urban
series.)
Family income and expenditure in four urban communities in Pacific Northwest,
1985-36: Volume I I , Family expenditure. By A. D. H. Kaplan, Faith M.
Williams, Walter Durham. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1940. 201 pp., map, charts. (Bull. No. 649, Vol. II: Study of consumer
purchases, Urban series.)
Food and cotton stamp plans-—a selected list of references. Compiled by Mamie
I. Herb. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, November
1940. 26 pp.; mimeographed. (Economic library list No. 18.)
An article on the effect of the stamp plan on living levels was published in the
November 1940 Monthly Labor Review (p. 1060) and reprinted as Bureau of
Labor Statistics Serial No. R. 1210.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1050
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Report of Chief of Bureau of Home Economics, 1940. Washington, U. S. Department
of Agriculture, 1940. 21 pp.
The report gives brief outlines of studies carried out during the year dealing
with family economics, foods and nutrition, textiles and clothing, and housing
and household equipment. A list of recent publications on these subjects is
included.
Economic and Social Problems
By Thurman W. Arnold. New York, Reynal &
Hitchcock, 1940. 335 pp.
Discussion of restraints of trade in relation to prices and standards of living.
The author’s views of the relationship of jthe antitrust legislation to labor
organizations is set forth in some detail.
The bottlenecks of business.
The control of business cycles: A study of methods for achieving and maintaining
prosperity. By John Philip Wernette. New York, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.,
1940. 197 pp.
Concise analysis of the problem of controlling business cycles, with tentative
suggestions. The author refutes the traditional or classical theories of employ
ment and money associated with business cycles but retains the basic assumption
of private enterprise.
The pattern of competition. By Walton H. Hamilton. New York, Columbia
University Press, 1940. 106 pp.
The author contrasts the complexities of the Nation’s economic problems with
the actual and possible remedial actions under the antitrust laws. The limita
tions of the existing laws, or “ramparts of restraint,” are set forth in some detail.
It is stated th at antitrust procedure may not be best suited to handling the
economic problems of certain industries and the author suggests the establish
ment of “an industrial court,” whose members should be “as competent in the
usages of business as they are learned in the law,” for handling cases under the
antitrust laws and for combining with antitrust procedure a different type of
economic remedy, namely, governmental regulation.
Public ownership of Government. Collected papers of Edward P. Costigan. New
York, Vanguard Press, 1940. xvi, 347 pp.
These papers afford a record of the outstanding views and public services of
Senator Costigan, ranging from his part as champion of the coal and iron workers
of Colorado in the early part of the present century to his part in the legislative
drive for public-works programs, public responsibility for unemployment, the
Social Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations
Act, and various other laws of the past decade. The papers have more than a
personal or temporary interest because of their clarity in giving expression to
basic conceptions commonly associated with liberalism.
Public policy: A yearbook of the Graduate School of Public Administration,
Harvard University, 1940. Edited by C. J. Friedrich and Edward S. Mason.
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1940. 391 pp.
Chapters are devoted to price policies and full employment; pricing of bitu
minous coal—some international comparisons; industrial markets and public
policy; public policy of industrial control; and labor-market control.
The landscape of rural poverty: Corn bread and creek water. By Charles Morrow
Wilson. New York, Henry Holt and Co., 1940. 309 pp., illus.
In this study the writer sought “to group, to view, and in some measure to
evaluate outstanding symptoms of rural poverty and some of the more notable
forces of its remedy.”
Some aspects of German social policy under the national socialist regime. By P.
Waelbroeck and I. Bessling. (In International Labor Review, Montreal,
Canada, February 1941, pp. 127-152.)
Covers employment policy, including control of labor distribution, mobiliza
tion of labor reserves, and vocational training; organization of industrial relations;
and regulation of wages and hours of labor.
Employment and Unemployment
Survey of employment and wages in Kentucky during 1939. Frankfort, Kentucky
Unemployment Compensation Commission, 1940.
graphed. (Research report No. 23.)
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62 pp., charts; mimeo
1051
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
N e w Y o r k S ta te f a c to r ie s f r o m 1 9 1 4 to 1 9 3 9 .
Albany,
New York State Department of Labor, 1940. 198 pp., charts. (Special
bull. No. 206.)
The data are presented by industry and by industrial district. Index numbers
of pay rolls and average weekly earnings are included.
U n e m p lo y m e n t i n 1941■
(In American Federationist, Washington, D. C., Febru
ary 1941, pp. 28, 29.)
The article includes a tabulation of American Federation of Labor estimates of
unemployment by year from 1929 to 1940, inclusive, and by month for 1939 and
1940. A preliminary estimate for the year 1940 is set at 9,388,000, as compared
with 10,220,000 for 1939. The figure for December 1940 is placed at 7,906,000,
against 9,248,000 at the end of 1939.
T h e e n d o f u n e m p lo y m e n t: A b a la n c e w h e e l f o r i n d u s t r y , th e n a tio n 's g r e a te s t a s s e t.
By George H. Maxwell. Phoenix, Ariz., [the author], 602 North First Avenue,
1940. 134 pp.
Plan for settlement on the land for the workers of the country through flood
control and reclamation of waste land.
T r e n d o f e m p lo y m e n t i n
Health and Industrial Hygiene
T h e p r e v a le n c e o f d i s a b i l i t y i n th e U n ite d S ta te s , w ith s p e c ia l r e fe r e n c e to d i s a b i l i t y
in su r a n c e .
By I. S. Falk and B. S. Sanders. (In Social Security Bulletin,
TJ. S. Social Security Board, Washington, January 1941, pp. 2-8; charts.)
a b s e n te e is m i n n o n -f e r r o u s m i n i n g i n d u s t r y .
By Andrew Fletcher. (In
Mining Congress Journal, Washington, D. C., December 1940, pp. 39-41;
illus.)
This paper, presented at the American Metal Mining Convention at Colorado
Springs in September 1940, discusses the reduction in costs in the mining industry
through safety programs which have greatly reduced time lost from accidents,
and the need for better reporting on absenteeism on account of sickness in the
effort to secure a similar reduction.
S ic k
F if th a n n u a l m e e tin g o f m e m b e r s o f A i r H y g ie n e F o u n d a tio n o f A m e r ic a , I n c .,
P itts b u r g h , N o v e m b e r 1 2 a n d 1 3 , 1 9 4 0 .
Pittsburgh, Pa., Air Hygiene Founda
tion of America, Inc., [1941?]. 106 pp.
In addition to the annual reports, there are papers on industrial diseases and
various health problems connected with the national defense.
The
c o n tr o l o f tu b e r c u lo s is : I I I , M a n a g e m e n t o f th e
tu b e r c u lo s is .
By Ada Chree Reid. (In Journal
e m p lo y e e
w ith
p u lm o n a r y
of Industrial Hygiene and
Toxicology, Baltimore, Md., January 1941, pp. 35-44.)
Third of a series of articles describing methods used by Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company, at the home office in New York, for the control of tuberculosis
among its employees. Through these methods the incidence of tuberculosis was
reduced from 40 per 10,000 in 1930 to 10 per 10,000 in 1939. Among applicants
for employment, however, the incidence of clinically significant cases was 80 per
10,000 persons in 1939, there having been no decrease in rate similar to that among
the persons already in the employ of the Company. These findings, the author
states, warrant the conclusion th at pulmonary tuberculosis can be profitably
controlled by methods which are simple and economical.
[ P a m p h le ts o n i n d u s t r i a l p o is o n s , N o s . 1 to 3 2 .]
Columbus, Ohio, Department of
Health, 1940. Various paging.
These brochures on various poisons contain general information on their uses,
industries and occupations in which they are hazards, industrial health aspects,
and selected abstracts and selected references.
L i s t o f r e s p i r a t o r y p r o te c tiv e d e v ic e s a p p r o v e d b y B u r e a u o f M i n e s .
By H. H.
Schrenk. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Mines, 1941. 11 pp., illus.; mimeo
graphed. (Information circular 7030 R.)
Housing
By Hazel Kyrk, Day Monroe, Mary
land Y. Pennell, Edith D. Rainboth. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Home
Economics, 1940. 223 pp., charts. (Consumer purchases study, Urban,
village, and farm series; U. S. Department of Agriculture miscellaneous
publication No. 399.)
F a m i l y h o u s in g a n d f a c i l i t i e s , fiv e r e g io n s .
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
H o u s in g le g is la tio n i n th e
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor
(Serial No. It. 1198, reprint from October 1940
U n ite d S ta te s .
Statistics, 1941. 14 pp.
Monthly Labor Review.)
By Herman Kobb 6. New York, E. P. Dutton
& Co., Inc., 1941. 233 pp., diagrams, plans, illus.
Advocates regional authority and outlines a plan for extensive housing opera
tions, without increasing taxes, by means of good planning and public adminis
tration.
P o s t - w a r h o u s in g p r o b le m s .
By O. E. W. Olsen. Geneva, Geneva Research
Centre, 1940. 69 pp., bibliography. (Geneva studies, Vol. XI, No. 6.)
Reviews the history of low-cost housing from 1941 to 1939 and outlines the
problems that will arise after the present war.
B r o w n s v ille m u s t h a ve p u b l i c h o u s in g .
By Milton J. Goell. Brooklyn, N. Y.,
Brooklyn Committee for Better Housing and Brownsville Neighborhood
Council, 1940. 30 pp.
Drawing upon statistical evidence, the author makes a case for public housing
in this location.
H o u s in g a n d r e g io n a l p l a n n i n g .
R e a l p r o p e r t y a n d lo w in c o m e h o u s in g s u r v e y s o f P h i l a d e l p h i a , P e n n s y l v a n i a , 1 9 3 9 .
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Housing Authority and Work Projects Adminis
tration of Pennsylvania, 1940. 151 pp., maps, charts, illus.
F i r s t T e x a s c o n fe re n c e o n h o u s in g , A p r i l 1 2 a n d I S , 1 9 4 0 — t r a n s c r i p t o f p r o c e e d in g s .
Austin, University of Texas, Department of Architecture, 1940.
mimeographed.
70 pp.;
Industrial Accidents and Safety
By Max D. Kossoris. Washington, U. 8.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 16 pp. (Serial No. R. 1191, reprint from
October 1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
C a u s e s a n d p r e v e n tio n o f a c c id e n ts i n c o n s tr u c tio n i n d u s t r y , 1 9 3 9 .
By Swen Kjaer
and Max D. Kossoris. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941.
12 pp. (Serial No. R. 1199, reprint from October 1940 Monthly Labor
Review.)
R e la tio n o f a g e to i n d u s t r i a l i n j u r i e s .
S u m m a r y a n d a n a l y s i s o f a c c id e n ts o n s te a m r a i l w a y s i n th e U n ite d S ta te s s u b je c t
to I n te r s ta te C o m m e r c e A c t, c a le n d a r y e a r 1 9 3 9 .
Washington, U. S. Interstate
Commerce Commission, 1940. 122 pp., charts. (Accident bull. No. 108.)
D ata on railway accidents in the United States, 1930 to 1939, based on Inter
state Commerce Commission statistics, were published in the November 1940
Monthly Labor Review (p. 1171).
A r e n e w h a z a r d s b e in g in tr o d u c e d i n c o a l m in e s f a s t e r th a n e x is tin g h a z a r d s a r e
e l i m i n a te d ? By D. Harrington and W. J. Fene.
Washington, U. S. Bureau
of Mines, 1940. 11 pp.; mimeographed. (Information circular 7140.)
During the past 25 or 30 years, according to this report, the only real progress
in preventing fatal accidents in coal mines has been made in connection with
explosions and accidents due to use of explosives, and as regards explosions,
“there are good reasons to fear th at the lull is only temporary.” While changes
in mining practices have reduced accidents due to certain causes, these changes
in some cases have presented new hazards. The report discusses the changes in
mining methods, old and new accident hazards, and preventive measures.
S o m e i n f o r m a tio n o n q u a r r y s a f e ty .
By Frank E. Cash and W. H. Tomlinson.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Mines, 1941. 23 pp.; mimeographed. (In
formation circular 7144.)
S a f e t y i n h a n d lin g a n d u s e o f e x p lo s iv e s .
New York, Institute of Makers of
Explosives, 1940. 67 pp., diagrams, illus. (Pamphlet No. 17.)
P r o c e e d in g s o f i n d u s t r i a l s a f e ty c o n fe re n c e h e ld a t V i r g i n i a P o ly te c h n ic I n s t i t u t e ,
N ovem ber 8, 1 9 j0 .
Blacksburg, Va., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1941.
53 pp., illus. (Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 4.)
Papers were presented on the industrial safety work of the Virginia Department
of Industry and Labor, dust hazards in industry, protection from industrial toxic
gases and vapors, and protection of the eyes in industry.
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Recent Publications of Labor Interest
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T r a n s a c tio n s , 2 9 th N a t i o n a l S a f e t y C o n g r e s s , g e n e r a l a n d i n d u s t r i a l s e s s io n s , C h ic a g o ,
O c to b e r 7—1 1 , 1 9 4 0 . Chicago, National Safety Council, Inc., 1940. 756 pp.
The general subject sessions of the Congress included sessions on governmental
safety service in industry, industrial health service, industrial nursing, occupational
diseases, and various phases of safety work in industry. The various industrial
sessions dealt with safety problems in different industries.
Industrial Relations
By Louis Kirshbaum. New York, Industrial Forum
158 pp.
U n io n p o lic ie s a n d i n d u s t r i a l m a n a g e m e n t. By Sumner H. Slichter. Washington,
Brookings Institution, 1941. 597 pp.
This book contains a thorough analysis of the policies and practices developed
in the relations between trade-unions and management as a result of the recent
growth in collective bargaining in the United States. The author refers to the
development of these relations as the emergence of a system of industrial juris
prudence, sufficiently integrated to serve as a future guide for organized labor and
management. Specifically, the book deals with such problems as apprenticeship,
the control of hiring, the attitude of unions toward technological changes, basic
systems of wage payment, etc., and their immediate and long-run effects on
production and employment.
S e n i o r i t y p o lic ie s a n d p r o c e d u r e s a s d e v e lo p e d th r o u g h c o lle c tiv e b a r g a in in g .
By
Frederic H. Harbison. Princeton, N. J., Princeton University, Industrial
Relations Section, 1941. 63 pp.
Discusses the acquisition and retention of seniority rights, the application of
seniority provisions, seniority and ability, administration of seniority systems, and
seniority and work-sharing.
S h i f t o p e r a tio n s u n d e r u n io n a g r e e m e n ts .
By Roy M. Patterson. Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 12 pp. (Serial No. R. 1196, reprint
from October 1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
A m e r i c a ’s la b o r d ic ta to r s .
Publications, 1940.
A n n u a l r e p o r t o f C o m m itte e o n E m p l o y m e n t R e la tio n s , N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f
M a n u f a c t u r e r s , p r e s e n te d a t f o r t y - f i f t h C o n g r e s s o f A m e r i c a n I n d u s t r y , N e w
Y o rk C ity , D ecem ber 1 9 4 0 .
New York, National Association of Manu
facturers, [1941?]. 40 pp.
The various problems in the field of industrial relations are considered with
particular reference to the questions of the closed and open shop, Government
action in the field of employment relations, the Federal wage-hour law, and the
National Labor Relations Act, and recommendations are made regarding practical
methods and procedures to improve the employer-employee relationship in
American industry.
F o u r y e a r s o f th e P u b l i c C o n tr a c ts A c t.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1941. 18 pp. (Serial No. R. 1192, reprint from October 1940
Monthly Labor Review.)
S tr ik e s .
By Joseph J. Senturia. Chicago, 111., University of Chicago Press,
1940. 59 pp. Rev. ed.
Designed for schools and adult-education courses, this pamphlet discusses the
reasons for strikes and the process for collective bargaining.
Labor Legislation
L a b o r l a w s , F e d e r a l, i n c l u d i n g N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e la tio n s A c t, F a i r L a b o r S t a n d a r d s
A c t, e x p la n a to r y c o m m e n ta r ie s , s e le c te d r u le s , r e g u la tio n s , a n d i n t e r p r e ta tiv e
b u lle tin s o f g e n e r a l a p p l i c a t i o n .
New York, Chicago, etc., Commerce Clear
ing House, Inc., 1940.
137 pp.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of
(Serial No. R. 1233, reprint from December
F e d e r a l le g is la tio n c o n c e r n in g r a i l r o a d e m p lo y e e s .
Labor Statistics, 1941, 9 pp.
1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
301178— 41
-IS
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
R e p o r ts o f c o m m itte e s a n d r e s o lu tio n s a d o p te d b y S e v e n th N a t i o n a l C o n fe r e n c e on
L a b o r L e g i s l a t i o n , W a s h in g to n , D . C ., D e c e m b e r 9 - 1 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
Washington,
U. S. Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, 1941. 26 pp.
(Bull. No. 45-A.)
A short account of the proceedings of this conference was published in the
January 1941 Monthly Labor Review (p. 136).
R e c e n t L a t i n A m e r i c a n la b o r c o d e s .
By Eugene D. Owen. (In Inter-American
Quarterly, Washington, D. C., January 1941, pp. 68-79.)
Brief history of the movement for codification of labor laws in Latin America,
with some analysis of the eight labor codes now in effect (Guatemala, Chile,
Mexico, Haiti, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Cuba). Information is also
given on 24 labor codes which have been presented to national legislative bodies
but not adopted.
B r a z i l 1 9 3 9 - 4 0 , a n e c o n o m ic , s o c ia l, a n d g e o g r a p h ic s u r v e y .
Rio de Janeiro,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1940. 383 pp. (In English.)
One chapter summarizes social and labor legislation enacted in Brazil to Febru
ary 1940.
Occupations
A survey of the opportunities in business
and the professions, and a key to the Britannica Fellowship Guidebooks.
By Robert K. Burns. Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1940.
36 pp.
O c c u p a tio n a l o u tlin e s o n A m e r i c a ’s m a jo r o c c u p a tio n s .
Chicago, Science Research
Associates, 1940. 400 pp.
These outlines consist of 100 separate folders dealing, respectively, with the
100 fields in which, according to the introductory statement, “three-fourths of all
American workers earn their livings.”
O c c u p a tio n a l d i s t r i b u ti o n o f a p p l i c a n t s f o r e m p lo y m e n t, A p r i l 1 9 4 0 .
Prepared
in Bureau of Employment Security, U. S. Social Security Board. Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 15 pp. (Serial No. R. 1194, reprint
from October 1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
B la c k s m ith in g a n d h a r n e s s m a k in g .
Indianapolis, National Youth Administration
for Indiana, [1940?]. 20 pp., bibliography. (Forgotten fields series.)
The little publicity given to the employment opportunities offered by these old
occupations has resulted in an actual shortage of workers in the trades described ^
T h e c it r u s i n d u s t r y a n d o c c u p a tio n s i n F lo r id a .
Jacksonville, National Youth
Administration for Florida, [1940?]. 182 pp., bibliography, charts, illus.;
mimeographed.
Includes some data on wages.
O p p o r tu n i t i e s i n f a r m i n g .
By Paul W. Chapman. Chicago, Science Research
Associates, 1941. 48 pp., bibliography, illus. (American job series; Occupa
tional monograph No. 18.)
R a d io a s a ca reer.
By J. L. Hornung. New York, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1940.
212 pp. (Kitson careers series.)
Radio represents not only a new job activity but also a subject for research.
Both of these aspects of opportunity in radio are given careful consideration in
this volume.
H o w to g e t th e jo b .
By Mitchell Dreese. Chicago, Science Research Associates,
1941. 48 pp. (American job series; Occupational monograph No. 19.)
Among the subjects dealt with are the approach to the job market, planning the
job campaign, and making your own job.
T h e e m p lo y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f t o d a y .
Old-Age Assistance
p l a n s f o r r e tir e m e n t in c o m e .
By Rainard B. Robbins. New York
Columbia University Press, 1940. 253 pp.
The study covers colleges in the United States and Canada and deals with
college contributory pension plans using retirement annuity contracts of the
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, and contributory and noncontribu
tory plans using contracts of other life insurance companies. The second part of
the volume discusses the evolution of college plans for retirement income.
C o lle g e
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Recent Publications of Labor Interest
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Washington, National Education Association of the
United States, Research Division, January 1941. 62 pp., diagrams. (Re
search bull., Vol. 19, No. 1.)
The bulletin was prepared as a result of the bill introduced in Congress in 1940
by Senator Wagner, proposing to extend to local and State employees the benefits
of the old-age and survivors’ section of the Federal social-security law. I t shows
the financial structure of State joint-contributory teacher-retirement systems,
the fiscal status of the systems, statistics of membership, and the effects of pos
sible extension of Federal social security to teachers.
S t a t u s o f te a c h e r r e tir e m e n t.
T h ir ty - f o u r th a n n u a l r e p o r t o f C a r n e g ie F o u n d a tio n f o r A d v a n c e m e n t o f T e a c h in g ,
1 9 3 9 -^ 0 .
New York, 1940. 170 pp.
The statistics show th at on June 30, 1940, through grants from the Foundation,
a total of 1,542 professors, officers, and widows of professors and officers, were
receiving pensions or allowances from the institutions with which they had been
connected. The general average amount received was $1,229.10.
H a n d b o o k o f o ld -a g e a n d s u r v iv o r s ’ in s u r a n c e s t a tis tic s : E m p l o y m e n t a n d w a g e s o f
covered w o rk ers, 1 9 3 8 .
Washington, U. S. Social Security Board, Bureau of
Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance, 1940. xxm , 268 pp.
This handbook presents statistical information for 1937 and 1938 regarding
employment and wages covered by the old-age and survivors’ insurance provisions
of the Social Security Act. The statistics of earnings include only those earnings
which were taxable for old-age insurance before the 1939 amendments to the Act
were passed, and therefore exclude wages of persons 65 years of age and over,
wages earned in excess of $3,000 in the service of any one employer in any one
year, and wages in industries not covered by the old-age and survivors’ insurance
program.
Personnel Management
T h e h u m a n e le m e n t i n p e r s o n n e l m a n a g e m e n t a n d th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f th e a d m i n
is t r a t o r .
By Lawrence A. Appley. Washington, Society for Personnel
Administration, 1941. 34 pp. (Pamphlet No. 4.)
The writer points out th at the basic principles of sound management and the
basic philosophies of good personnel administration are identical, and states that
good morale in an organization is an indication of sound human relationships.
S e le c tio n a n d d e v e lo p m e n t o f f o r e m e n a n d w o r k e r s .
By Stewart M. Lowry and
others. New York, American Management Association, 1940. 43 pp.
(Production series No. 127.)
Subjects covered in the pamphlet include the qualities which make for a good
foreman, methods of developing effective supervision, and new developments in
the selection of factory workers.
F o r e m a n c o m p e n s a tio n .
By E. S. Horning. New York, National Industrial
Conference Board, Inc., 1941. 16 pp. (Studies in personnel policy, No. 30.)
Based on information obtained from 52 companies, the report discusses the
duties of a foreman, his status under the Fair Labor Standards Act, differentials
in supervisory pay, methods of paying foremen, and present trends relating to
foremen.
R e c o g n iz in g lo n g se r v ic e .
New York, National Industrial Conference Board,
Inc., 1941. 8 pp. (Studies in personnel policy, No. 29.)
The data in the report cover the policies of 114 companies in giving recognition
to employees for long service, including types of insignia or gifts awarded; methods
of distinguishing periods of service; and special privileges granted, such as vaca
tion in excess of the regular allowance and additional compensation.
E m p lo y e e p u b lic a tio n s . New York, National Industrial Conference Board, Inc.,
1941. 48 pp., illus. (Studies in personnel policy, No. 31.)
The study covered 203 representative establishments which issue a company
publication or “house magazine.” The report deals with the current methods and
policies of management and editors and what they are doing to make their pub
lications achieve their purposes.
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Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
Small Loans
By Charles E. Noyes. Washington,
Editorial Research Reports, 1013 Thirteenth Street NW., 1941. 17 pp.
(Vol. 1, 1941, No. 4.)
A discussion of the revision of small-loan legislation, growth of small-loan
business since 1910, cost of extending personal cash credit, and increasing compe
tition for cash-loan business.
C o n s u m e r lo a n s b y c o m m e r c ia l b a n k s .
By William Trufant Foster. Newton,
Mass., Poliak Foundation for Economic Research, 1940. 43 pp., charts.
(Poliak pamphlet No. 40.)
Shows the advantages and disadvantages of the commercial banks in the con
sumer-loan field, the abuses in the money-lending business, etc. A brief reading
list is appended.
T h e s m a ll lo a n p r o b le m i n S o u th C a r o lin a . By William Hays Simpson. (Study
made for Women’s Council for the Common Good.) Columbia, S. C.,
University of South Carolina, Extension Division, 1940. 59 pp.
Some of the findings of this study were used by the Committee appointed by
the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials to investigate the
question of wage earners and the loan shark. The latter report was reviewed in
an article in the November 1940 issue of the Monthly Labor Review (p. 1051),
reprinted in Bureau of Labor Statistics Serial No. R. 1209.
T h e b ig b u s in e s s o f m a k in g s m a l l lo a n s .
Wages and Hours of Labor
1940.
By Willis C. Quant and
Edward K. Frazier. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941.
24 pp. (Serial No. R. 1242, reprint from January 1941 Monthly Labor
Review.)
U n io n w a g e s a n d h o u r s i n b a k e r y i n d u s t r y , J u n e 1 , 1 9 4 0 . By Frank S. McElroy.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 8 pp., chart. (Serial
No. R. 1248, reprint from January 1941 Monthly Labor Review.)
U n io n w a g e s a n d h o u r s i n th e b u i l d i n g tr a d e s , J u n e 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
By Frank S. McElroy.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 30 pp., charts. (Serial
No. R. 1220, reprint from November 1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
E a r n in g s a n d h o u r s i n i r o n a n d s te e l i n d u s t r y , A p r i l 1 9 3 8 .
Washington, U. S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 51 pp. (Serial No. R. 1168, reprints
from Monthly Labor Review for August, September, October 1940.)
W a g e s a n d h o u rs in je w e lr y in d u s tr y , F e b ru a ry 1 9 4 0 .
By H. E. Riley. Wash
ington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 17 pp. (Serial No. R. 1203,
reprint from January 1941 Monthly Labor Review.)
E n tr a n c e w a g e r a te s o f c o m m o n la b o r e r s , J u l y
S a l a r i e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r i n m u n i c i p a l f ir e d e p a r tm e n ts , J u l y 1 , 1 9 3 8 : V o lu m e
V I I I , M o u n t a i n D i v i s io n c itie s .
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics, 1940.
22 pp., chart.
(Bull. No. 684, Vol. VIII.)
S a l a r i e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r i n m u n i c i p a l p o lic e d e p a r tm e n ts , J u l y 1 , 1 9 3 8 : V o lu m e
V I I I , M o u n t a i n D i v i s io n c itie s .
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics, 1941.
17 pp.
(Bull. No. 685, Vol. VIII.)
By Frank S. McElroy.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 32 pp., charts. (Serial
No. R. 1236, reprint from December 1940 Monthly Labor Review.)
U n io n w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f s tr e e t - r a i l w a y e m p lo y e e s , J u n e 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
By Frank S.
McElroy. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1941. 12 pp.,
chart. (Serial No. R. 1249, reprint from January 1941 Monthly Labor
Review.)
U n io n w a g e s a n d h o u r s i n p r i n t i n g tr a d e s , J u n e 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
Wartime Conditions and Emergency Control Measures
n a tio n a l n eed.
By Willard D. Arant. New York, Na
tional Economy League, 1940. 34 pp. (Defense series No. 4.)
The need for the coordination of defense efforts under a qualified planning
board, if waste of both time and money are to be avoided, is stressed by the writer.
D efen se p la n n in g — a
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Recent Publications of Labor Interest
Washington, U. S. National Defense
Advisory Commission, Labor Division, 1941. 40 pp.
Report of progress made by the National Defense Advisory Commission’s
labor division, since its establishment in June 1940, in connection with mobiliza
tion of manpower, training of workers, settlement of labor disputes, employment
of the unemployed, and other matters.
L a b o r s p e e d s d e fe n s e — r e p o r t o f p r o g r e s s .
O r g a n iz e d la b o r a n d m a n a g e m e n t: H o w to m a k e e ffe c tiv e n a tio n a l u n i t y i n d e fe n s e .
Pittsburgh, Pa., Steel Workers Organizing Committee, [1941?].
lication No. 5.)
21 pp.
(Pub
I n d u s t r i a l tr a i n i n g : A p p r e n t i c e , v o c a tio n a l, a n d i n d u s t r i a l t r a i n i n g i n r e la tio n to
N a tio n a l D efen se P ro g ra m .
Pittsburgh, Pa., Steel Workers Organizing Com
mittee, [1941?].
18 pp.
(Publication No. 4.)
Wash
ington, U. S. Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, 1940.
27 pp. (Bull. No. 43.)
O u t o f c r i s i s , o p p o r t u n i t y ! A p p r e n t i c e s h i p i n a lo n g -r a n g e d e fe n s e p r o g r a m .
S e le c te d o c c u p a tio n s w h ic h h a v e s ig n if ic a n c e i n n a tio n a l d e fe n s e p r o g r a m , g r a d e d a s
to a d e q u a c y o f la b o r s u p p l y a n d a s to tr a i n i n g - ti m e r e q u ir e m e n ts .
Prepared
for Army and Navy Munitions Board by Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S.
Department of Labor. Washington, 1940. 42 pp.; processed.
P r i c e s a n d th e w a r . By Saul Nelson and Aryness Joy. Washington, U. S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 1941. 17 pp., charts. (Serial No. R. 1244, reprint from
January 1941 Monthly Labor Review.)
W a r t i m e p r ic e c o n tr o l a n d th e r e ta il tr a d e .
By Jules Backman. New York,
National Retail Dry Goods Association, 1940. 48 pp., charts.
Reviews experience with price control in Canada, Great Britain, France, Ger
many, and the United States (during World War), and impact of the present
war on prices in the United States.
B r i t i s h la b o r a n d th e w a r .
By Frieda Wunderlich. New York, New School for
Social Research, 1941. 67 pp. (Graduate Faculty of Political and Social
Science, Studies on war and peace, No. 8.)
Traces the evolution in the handling of labor problems in Great Britain since
the outbreak of the war in 1939.
L a b o r ’s n e x t s te p — a w a r tim e s tr a te g y .
London, Fabian Society, 1940. 20 pp.
(Tract series No. 252.)
Accepting the challenge to British labor in the present war, the author calls on
labor to lead the whole people.
T h e la b o r s i t u a t i o n i n G r e a t B r i t a i n .
Montreal, International Labor Office, 1941.
56 pp. (Studies and reports, series B, No. 34.)
This survey reviews labor conditions and labor control in the period from May
to October 1940.
A p la n f o r B r ita in .
Washington, National Economic and Social Planning
Association, 1941. 56 pp.
(Planning pamphlet No. 3.)
Collection of short articles on Britain’s war aims, written by British specialists
on agriculture, health, housing, social insurance, etc.
Women in Industry
Chicago,
Illinois State Department of Labor, Division of Women’s and Children’s
Employment, [1940?]. xiii, 86 pp. (loose-leaf), charts; mimeographed.
This study of wages, hours, employment variations, and other conditions in
the restaurant industry was made as a basis for the setting up of minimum-wage
standards for women and minors in the industry.
T h e n o n w o r k in g tim e o f i n d u s t r i a l w o m e n w o r k e r s .
Study by students of Hudson
Shore Labor School. Washington, U. S. Women’s Bureau, 1940. 10 pp.
(Bull. No. 181.)
The report deals with the leisure-time activities of the 43 woman workers who
comprised the entire student body of the labor school. The report shows the
number of hours involved in the work program and the hours of nonworking time,
also the types and extent of recreation in which they indulged.
A s t u d y o f w a g e s o f w o m e n a n d m in o r s i n r e s ta u r a n t o c c u p a tio n s i n I l l i n o i s .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1058
Monthly Labor Review—April 1941
M a r i t a l sta ,tu s a n d e m p lo y m e n t o f w o m e n , w ith s p e c ia l re fe r e n c e to N e g r o w o m e n .
By Oliver C. Cox. (In Sociology and Social Research, Los Angeles, November-December 1940, pp. 157-165.)
According to the author’s findings, based on the Fifteenth Census, about 33.2
percent of the Negro married women were gainful workers in 1930 compared with
9.8 and 8.5 percent, respectively, of the native white and foreign-born white
married women.
S h o u ld m a r r ie d w o m e n w o r k ? By Ruth Shallcross, for National Federation of
Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. New York, Public Affairs Com
mittee, Inc., 1940. 31 pp., bibliography, charts. (Public affairs pamphlet
No. 49.)
Analyzes the economic and social position of married and professional women
on the basis of a study of this subject made under the auspices of the National
Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. Data on earnings and
dependents of married woman workers, taken from the study by the Federation,
are given in the December 1940 issue of the Monthly Labor Review (p. 1371).
General Reports
A n n u a l r e p o r t o f T e n n e s s e e V a lle y A u t h o r i t y f o r f is c a l y e a r e n d e d J u n e SO, 1 9 4 0 .
Washington, 1940. 414 pp., charts, illus.
Most of this report naturally deals with the power-conservation work of the
Authority, but there are also sections on relations between the Authority and its
employees, the employee-retirement scheme, safety record, etc., and summary
data on the progress of the cooperatives supplying electric power and electrical
appliances.
A n n u a l r e p o r t o f G o v e r n o r o f A l a s k a , f o r f is c a l y e a r e n d e d J u n e SO, 1 9 4 0 .
Washing
ton, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1940. 64 pp.
In addition to data on business and industrial conditions, reports are included
on education, health services, social welfare, and unemployment compensation in
the Territory during the year.
A r s b e r e tn in g e r f r a a r b e id s r a d e t o g a r b e id s tils y n e t, 1 9 S 9 .
Oslo, Arbeidstilsynet,
1940. 134 pp., diagrams, illus.
Annual report on activities of the Labor Council and labor inspectors in Norway
in 1939, including information on legislation, measures for prevention of industrial
accidents and diseases, wages, and working hours.
S t a t i s t i c a i n d u s t r i e i e x tr a c tiv e [ R u m a n ia ] , 1 9 8 8 .
Bucharest, Ministerul Economie
Nafionale, Institutul Central de Statistic^, 1940. 102 pp., charts.
This statistical report for the Rumanian extractive industry for 1938 includes
data on production, employment, and industrial accidents.
W o r k e r s b e fo re a n d a f te r L e n in .
By Manya Gordon. New York, E. P. Dutton &
^ Co., Inc., 1941. 524 pp.
The volume deals with the situation of workers in the former Russian empire and
in the present-day Soviet Union, comparing wages, prices, food, housing, clothing,
social security, freedom, etc., in these two periods of Russian history. While the
working and living conditions of workers were hard in the Empire, the author claims
that these conditions are still harder in the Soviet Union, in which even the
semblances of freedom, such as forming their unions independently, advancing
their demands, electing their representatives, conducting strikes, etc., are taken
away from the workers.
C e n s o s i n d u s t r i a l , c o m e r c ia l y e m p r e s a s q u e p r e s t a n s e r v ic io s , 1 9 3 6 , E s ta d o A p u r e
[ V e n e z u e la ]. Caracas, Ministerio de Fomento, Dirección de Estadística.
1940. 174 pp.
One of a series of reports, for individual States of Venezuela, on the national
census of industrial, commercial, and service enterprises, taken in 1936. Figures
are presented, for each of these groups separately, on employment of both salaried
and wage-earning employees, by sex and whether nationals or aliens, and on
average daily and monthly wages.
I n d i a n la b o r i n th e [ B r itis h ] W e s t I n d i e s . (In International Labor Review, Mon
treal, Canada, February 1941, pp. 174-180.)
This article summarizes a more detailed official report dealing with matters
affecting Indians in the colonies of Jamaica, Trinidad, and British Guiana.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
1059
By John Alvin Decker. London and
New York, Oxford University Press, 1940. xiii, 246 pp., bibliography.
The author describes the conditions of life and labor in the Pacific mandates
created by the Versailles Treaty. Workers in these islands, both indigenous and
imported, whether recruited as individuals or in gangs, indentured or simply kept
under control by low wages and indebtedness, it is shown, have failed to reap the
advantages of the rise in standards in working conditions which protective labor
legislation has procured for workers in other areas.
L a b o r p r o b le m s i n th e P a c i f i c m a n d a te s .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRI NT ING O FF IC E: 1941
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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