Full text of Monthly Labor Review : April 1945, Vol. 60, No. 4
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APRIL 1945
IN THIS ISSUE
A DD
War—How Can We Prevent It?
Employment Guaranties in Union Agreements
Probable Post-War Demand for Public Construction
Post-War Outlook in Air-Line Employment
Trend of Child Labor, 1940-44
Extent of Collective Bargaining and Union Status, 1945
Earnings in Ammunition Loading, 1944
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR • BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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UNITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR
F rances P erkins , Secretary
+
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
I sadob L u b in , Commissioner (on leave)
A. F. H inrich s , Acting Commissioner
H e n r t J. F itzg e ra l d , Chief, Business
Management Branch
Editorial and Research (vacancy)
W al ter G. K e i m , Director of Field
Operations
H ugh B. K i l l ou gh , Chief, Em
ployment and Occupational Outlook
Branch
N. A rnold T ol lé s , Chief, Working
Conditions and Industrial Relations
Branch
A ry nes s J oy W i c k e n s , Chief, Prices
and Cost of Living Branch
J ohn H. S m it h , Acting Chief Statisti
cian
J ohn H. G. T i e r s o n , Consultant on Post-War Employment Policy
F aith M. W illiams , Consultant on Costs and Standards of Living
H er ma n B. B y e r , Assistant Chief, Employment and Occupational Outlook Branch
L e s t e r K el l og g , Assistant Chief, Prices and Cost of Living Branch
divisions
Construction and Public Employment*
Hersey E. Riley
Consumer’s Prices, Ethel D. Hoover
Cost of Living, Dorothy S. Brady
Employment Statistics, Alexander
Sturges
General Price Research (vacancy)
Industrial Hazards, Max D. Kossoris
Industrial Prices, Jesse M. Cutts
Industrial Relations, Florence Peter
son, assistant chief, Working Condi
tions and I ndustrial RelationsBranch
Labor Information Service, Boris Stern
Machine Tabulation, Joseph Diager
Occupational Outlook, Charles Stewart
Productivity and Technological De
velopment, W. Duane Evans
Wage Analysis, Robert J. Myers
Copies of Bureau of Labor Statistics publications and further information may
be obtained from the several field offices, a list of which appears on the inside
back cover of this issue. The services of the Bureau’s Regional Directors and
their technical staff« are available to labor organizations, management, and the
general public for consultation on matters with which the Bureau deals, as, for
example, employment, prices, wages, absenteeism, labor turnover, and industrial
accidents.
The M onthly L abor R e v ie w is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents,
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price, SO cents a copy.
Subscription price per year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, $8.60, other
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR • BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
> # # *w ***# *< N
+
+
C O N T E N T S
APR 28
JL
Special articles:
Ip / : -
A P R IL 1945, Vol. 60, No. 4
LIBRA
Building the peace______________________________________________
War—How can we prevent it?___________________________________
Guaranteed-employment and annual-wage provisions in union agree
ments_______________________________________________________
Probable volume of post-war construction: Part 3.— Demand for
public construction___________________________________________
P age
701
702
707
728
Occupational outlook:
Post-war employment outlook in aviation occupations: Part 1.— Job
prospects with air lines________________________________________
739
Child labor:
Trend of child labor, 1940-44____________________________________
756
Employment conditions:
Labor conditions in the Philippines______________________________
Working conditions and cost of living in Chile, 1937-44____________
Working conditions in the United Kingdom in 1944________________
776
789
794
Wartime policies:
Ruling on “fringe” wage adjustments_____________________________
Wartime salary control in Canada________________________________
797
798
Post-war reconstruction:
Reconstruction planning in India_________________________________
800
Industrial injuries:
Industrial injuries in the fourth quarter of 1944___________________
805
Social security:
Increase in unemployment benefits in Great Britain________________
Social insurance in Panama, 1943-44_____________________________
809
811
Industrial relations:
Extent of collective bargaining and union status, January 1945_____
Guaranteed-employment and annual-wage provisions in union agree
ments________________________________________________________
816
707
Industrial disputes:
Strikes and lockouts in February 1945____________________________
Activities of U. S. Conciliation Service, January 1945______________
63 6 3 7 2 -
45 -
1
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823
825
CONTENTS
IX
Labor laws and decisions:
Recent decisions of interest to labor------------------------------------------------
P age
826
Wage and hour statistics:
Hourly earnings in the ammunition-loading industry, 1944---------------Trend of factory earnings, 1939 to January 1945------------------------------Canada— Increased efficiency and reduced hours in a Canadian
enterprise____________________________________________________
Ireland—Employment, earnings, and hours, October 1943---------------
837
852
853
853
Wage and hour regulation:
New minimum rate for cotton-textile industry-------------------------------Wage order for sugar industry in Puerto Rico----------Minimum wage rates in Costa Rica, August 1944-June 1945-----------Minimum wage rates in New Zealand, 1944----------------------------------
856
857
857
859
Cost of living and retail prices:
Living costs in large cities, February 1945------------------------------------Retail prices of food in January 1945--------------------------------------------Retail prices of coal in 1944----------------------------------------------------------
862
865
871
Wholesale prices:
Wholesale prices in February 1945-----------------------------------------------
874
Labor turnover:
Labor turnover in manufacturing, mining, and public utilities, January
1945__________
880
Building operations:
Probable volume of post-war construction, Part 3--------------------------Building construction in urban areas, February 1945--------------- -------
728
886
Trend of employment, earnings, and hours:
Summary of reports for February 1945-----------------------------------------Industrial and business employment--------------------------------------Public employment_________
Employment on shipbuilding and repair---------------------------------Construction employment___________________________________
Detailed reports for industrial and business employment, January
1945:
Estimates of nonagricultural employment-------------------------------Industrial and business employment__________________________
Indexes of employment and pay roll--------------------------------Average earnings and hours_____________________________
Civilian labor force, February 1945-----------------------------------------
889
889
890
891
892
894
894
895
904
908
Labor chronology:
Chronology of labor events, October-December 1944----------------------
909
Labor conditions in Latin America __________________________ 789,811,857
Recent publications of labor interest_________________________________
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917
This Issue in Brief
War—How can we prevent it?
The Dumbarton Oaks conference agreed upon the advisability of an interna
tional association of nations and made certain proposals by which it was thought
such an organization could endeavor to prevent wars. These fall into two cate
gories: Firm measures to deal with each dispute as it arises, and measures to
, promote the well-being of all peoples. Six specific proposals for insuring peace are
p discussed in an article on page 702.
Employment and annual-wage guaranties in union agreements.
Guaranteed employment or annual wages are assured to about 42,500 workers
out of 8 million workers covered by employer-union agreements analyzed by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over 70 percent of the workers enjoying such guaran
ties are employed by relatively small companies in the service and distributive
industries. Although there are a few outstanding examples in manufacturing
companies of considerable size, the total number of employees in manufacturing
industries covered by guaranties in agreements totals only about 12,500. Most
of the guaranty plans in effect are limited in scope; some restrict the guaranty
to particular groups of workers; some provide less than a year’s guaranteed em
ployment; and some permit the employer to cancel or reduce the guaranties
under specified circumstances. A discussion of the types of plans provided in
union agreements and a description of such plans in manufacturing and non
manufacturing agreements are given in the article on page 707.
Probable post-war demand for public construction.
Although preparation for public construction is still unsatisfactory, it has im
proved substantially during the past year and is likely to improve further. An
average volume of about 3 billion dollars per year at 1940 price levels is expected
on the basis of the assumptions made. The largest element of public construction
will be highway work, estimated at 1.3 billion dollars per year, plus 600 million
dollars in maintenance. A fairly extensive program of reclamation, conservation,
and development is likely. Schools will be the largest item of building construc
tion, slightly larger than all other types of public buildings combined. Sewer and
water projects seem to be the most strongly felt need of local government units.
Page 728.
Post-war outlook for air-line employment.
To provide information needed in vocational guidance of veterans and others,
estimates have been made of the numbers of workers likely to be employed in
different air-line jobs 5 years after the war, on the basis of conservative and also of
relatively optimistic assumptions as to future air traffic. For pilots, the post-war
employment figures arrived at would mean about 2,000 to 10,000 more jobs than
at present. For mechanics and related personnel, the expansion in employment
envisaged was from 6,000 to 26,000 above current levels. Comparable gains
were found to be in sight for some but not all other occupational groups studied.
Page 739.
,
Trend of child labor 1940-44.
The years from 1940 to 1944 have radically changed the picture of child labor
and youth employment in the United States. Employment and age certificate
records as reported to the Children’s Bureau, which show the trend from year to
year rather than a cross section of the actual number of young persons employed
at any given moment, indicate that more than 7 times as many boys and girls
14 through 17 years of age entered the labor market in 1943 as in 1940 and went
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hi
IV
THIS ISSUE IN BRIEF
into work generally subject to Federal or State child-labor regulation. In States
and cities reporting for each of these years, the number of minors 14 through 17 years
of age obtaining certificates for full-time or part-time work increased from roughly
175,000 in 1940 to more than 1,320,000 in 1943. Preliminary data for 1944 in
dicate that in general the high level of 1943 is being maintained. Page 756.
Labor conditions in the Philippines.
The great majority of the Filipinos, in 1939, lived under a primitive agricul
tural system. Only 601,335 were employed in manufacturing and mechanical
industries. The average daily wage for all occupations was about 30 cents in
United States currency. Wages of more than 85 percent of the workers were
fixed by customary contracts. Labor organizations, in 1938, had a membership
of 46,456, and were under State control. Cooperatives, encouraged and super
vised by the Government, had about 120,000 members. Social insurance was
limited to accident compensation and a pension system for certain classes of
civil servants.
The Philippine economy was disrupted by the Japanese, with resulting unem
ployment, inflation, and a lower standard of living. Page 776.
,
Extent of collective bargaining and union status January 1945.
Altogether, 14^ million workers, or about 47 percent of all wage earners, were
employed under the terms of union agreements at the beginning of 1945. Agree
ment coverage included approximately 65 percent of the manufacturing and
33 percent of the nonmanufacturing wage earners. About 6% million workers
were covered by closed- or union-shop agreements, and approximately 3% million
by agreements requiring maintenance of membership; the remainder had no union
membership requirements as a condition of employment. Almost 6 million work
ers were covered by some form of check-off. Page 816.
,
Hourly earnings in the ammunition-loading industry 1944.
Straight-time average hourly earnings of workers in representative key jobs
amounted to 77 cents in shell- and bomb-loading plants and to 71 cents in bagloading plants. Women comprised nearly three-fifths of the entire labor force
in the ammunition-loading industry and nearly two-thirds of the employees in
bag loading. In contrast to other manufacturing industries, employment op
portunities for women in ammunition loading are not limited to a few specialized
jobs. A description of the industry and detailed wage data are given in an
article on page 837. Earnings data for the explosives-manufacturing industries
were published in the March 1945 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.
,
,
,
Employment earnings and hours in Ireland October 1943.
Average hourly earnings of males in Ireland ranged from Is. O.ld. to 2s. 2.8d.
in October 1943. Earnings of females were slightly over half those of males in
the same industries. The range of hours worked during the week was 36.2 to
50.6 for males and 22.4 to 46.6 for females at that time. Figures are for indus
tries employing a total of 142,855 persons. For further details on earnings,
hours worked, and employment in those industries, see page 853.
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V
CURRENT LABOR STATISTICS
Current Statistics of Labor Interest in Selected Periods 1
____________________ [Available in reprint form]_________________
1945
Item
Unit
1944
Febru January Decern
ary
ber
1939:
average
Febru for year
ary
Employment
Civilian labor force: Total (B C )____________
M ale_________________________________
Female_______________________________
Employed 3___________________________
M ale_____________________________
Female________ _____ _____________
Nonagricultural___________________
Agricultural_______________________
Unemployed, total________________ ____
Civilian employment in nonagricultural es
tablishments: T otal3____________________
M anufacturing________1_______ _______
M ining_______________________________
Construction *_________________________
Transportation and public utilities______
Trade__________________________ ______
Finance, service, and miscellaneous______
Federal, State, and local government, ex
cluding Federal force-account construc
tio n ..____________ ______ ____________
M ilitary personnel____________ ____ _______
Wage-earner employment:
Manufacturing________________________
Bituminous-coal mining________________
Class I steam railroads, including salaried
employees (IC C )____________ ______ _
Hired farm workers (B A E )_____________
51,430
33, 660
17, 770
50, 550
33,170
17, 380
43,760
6,790
880
50.960
33, 650
17, 310
50,120
33,160
16.960
43,430
6,690
840
51,250
33,720
17,530
50, 570
33, 320
17, 250
43, 480
7,090
680
51,150
34, 520
16,630
50,260
34, 010
16,250
43, 610
6,650
890
3 54, 230
2 40,950
2 13,280
2 46, 930
2 35, 600
2 11,330
2 37, 430
2 9,500
2 7, 300
_do.
_do.
.do.
do.
_do.
-do.
_do.
38,000
15, 537
802
564
3,764
7,044
4,356
37,997
15, 557
804
564
3,735
7,088
4, 356
38,888
15, 630
806
594
3, 771
7, 611
4, 304
38, 840
16, 735
858
715
3,704
6,867
4,131
30,353
10,078
845
1,753
2,912
6, 618
4,160
_do.
_do.
5,938
12, 000
5,894
11,900
6,172
11,900
5,830
10, 600
3,988
362
.do.
-do.
13,095
-338
13,112
338
13,190
338
14,254
370
8,192
371
do.
.do.
1,413
1,494
1, 391
1,434
1,400
2,048
1,387
1,681
« 1,784
45.4
45.4
39.5
38.8
45.6
43.1
39.8
39.4
3 45.2
«44.0
« 40.0
37.6
37.7
27.1
43.0
32.4
$52.90
$47. 52
$54.25
$26.99
$52.98
$47.45
$50.39
$26.41
$53.48
$45.29
$52. 50
$25. 66
$48.77
$23.86
$23.88
$21.17
$30. 24
$1. 040
$1.187
$0. 728
$1. 359
$1.195
$0. 707
$1.297
0.886
$1. 359
$1.047
$1. 205
$0. 751
$1. 364
$0. 971
$0. 963
.931
$0. 622
$0. 894
$ 0.
T housands...
___ d o ............
___ do______
___ do______
___ do______
___ do______
___ do______
___ do______
___ do______
Hours of labor
Average hours per week of wage earners:
Manufacturing___________________
Bituminous-coal mining__________
Retail trade_____________________
Building construction (private)____
Hours.
___ do.
___ do.
___ do.
Weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings of wage earners:
M anufacturing____________________
Bituminous-coal mining____________
Retail trade______________________
Building construction (private)_____
Hourly or daily earnings
Average hourly earnings of wage earners:
Manufacturing________________________
Bituminous-coal mining________________
Retail trade___________________________
Building construction (private) .............
Average straight-time hourly earnings in
manufacturing, using—
Current employment by industry___
Employment by industry as of Janu
ary 1939_________________________
Quarterly farm wage rate, per day without
board (B A E )______ ____________________
$ 1.
002
886 3$0. 850
$3. 50
$4. 15
0.633
0. 536
0.933
$0. 622
1$1. 53
Industrial injuries and labor turnover
Industrial injuries in manufacturing, per mil
lion man-hours worked__________________
Labor turnover in manufacturing:
Total separations, per 100 employees____
Quits, per 100 employees____________
Lay-offs, per 100 employees_________
Total accessions, per 100 em p lo y ees...^ ...
i 18.8
6.2
4.6
0.6
15.4
«6.7
«4.6
7.0
5.7
4.3
0.5
5.1
310
109
240
44
280
85
340
146
218
98
412
0.06
228
0. 03
380
0.05
459
0.06
1,484
0.28
« 0.8
« 6.5
(8)
( 8)
( 8)
( 8)
-
Strikes and lockouts >
Strikes and lockouts beginning in month:
Number______________________________
Number of workers involved____________ Thousands___
All strikes and lockouts during month—mandays idle:
Number_______________________ _____ _
_do.
Percent of available working tim e_______
See footnotes at end of table.
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CURRENT LABOR STATISTICS
VI
Current Statistics of Labor Interest in Selected Periods 1—Continued
[Available in reprint form]
1945
Item
Unit
1944
1939:
average
Febru January D ecem Febru for year
ary
ber
ary
Cost of living
Cost-of-living index (wage earners in large
cities): All items 10______ ______ . . . ____
Food______ _ ______ _ . __________ _
Clothing..
_ . . . _ _ _____
... ... .
Rent
.
.
.
___
. ...
Fuel, electricity, and ice________
Housefurnishings_______________ _____
Miscellaneous__ . . . ____ __________
1935-39=100.._
1935-39=100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100
1935-39= 100. __
1935-39= 100. __
1935-39=100—
126.8
136.5
143.3
127.1
137.3
143.0
110.0
143.8
123.2
1935-39=100...
1935-39= 100.
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100. __
1935-39=100...
1935-39= 100.
1935-39=100. __
1935-39=100—
1935-39=100—
109.7
143.6
123.1
127.0
137.4
142.8
108 3
109.4
143.0
123. 1
123.8
134.5
135.2
108 1
110.3
128.7
118.7
99.4
95.2
100.5
104 3
99.0
101.3
100.7
136.5
108.7
130.7
133.5
153.1
168.9
124.5
123.5
126.3
137.3
108.7
130.2
133.5
169.6
168.9
124.4
123.4
126.4
137.4
108.6
129.9
133.5
188.5
164.2
124.3
123.3
126.4
134.5
108. 1
130.5
133.5
142.5
163.0
124.3
123.8
126.6
95.2
94.5
96.6
95.9
91.0
94.5
95.5
87.7
100.6
1926-100
1926=100_____
105.2
100.2
104. 9
100.1
104.7
100.0
103.6
99.3
77.1
79.5
1926=100 .
1926=100_____
1926-100
99. 2
127.0
104.7
99.1
126.2
104.7
98 9
125. 5
105.5
98. 0
122.5
104.5
81. 3
65.3
70.4
12, 739
13, 357
14,405
12,206
55,319
Retail food, prices (large cities)
Retail price index: All fo o d s_______________
Cereals and bakery products___________
M eats____ . . .
.
____ ___ . . . _____
Dairy products________________________
E ggs--------------------------------------------------Fruits and vegetables___________ . . . . . .
Beverages ____ ______________________
Fats and o ils.. __________________ . .
Sugar and sweets___ . . . _____ _ ._ ___
Wholesale prices
Wholesale price index: All commodities . .
All commodities other than farm products.
All commodities other than farm products
and foods__________________
.
Farm products.. ____________________
Foods. ____ _
_________ __________
National income and expenditures
National income payments, total (B F D C )__
Millions
of
dollars__ _
Consumer expenditures for goods and services,
total (B F D C )___________________________ __ _do_______
Retail sales, total (B F D C ). _ ______ ______ ____do_ _____
5,168
n 26,646
5,462
7,445
» 16, 651
4, 753
«2,749
Production
Industrial production index, unadjusted
(FR): T otal___ ____ . . . ________________
Manufacturing. _ __________ . . . _____
Minerals. .
. . . . . . . . __________
Bituminous coal (BM ) . _________ _ . . . ._
1935-39= 100...
231
1935-39=100...
249
1935-39=100...
135
Thousands of
short to n s... 46, 900
52, 760
344
77
7,700
130
345
67
7,400
132
Construction expenditures, ail types (exclud
ing maintenance, except in farm construc
tion). _______ _
__ _________ _ _____ Millions of
dollars__ _
Building construction started in urban areas.. ____do_ _ ___
N ew family-dwelling units in nonfarm areas..
Carloadings index, unadjusted (F R )________ 1935-39=100—
230
247
134
230
248
131
240
259
136
109
109
106
45, 774 52,817
32, 905
346
70
10, 800
128
350
73
13, 500
133
«408
(8)
30, 700
101
I Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics unless otherwise indicated. Abbreviations used: BC (Bureau of
the Census); ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission); BAE (Bureau of Agricultural Economics); B FD C
(Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce); FR (Federal Reserve); BM (Bureau of Mines). M ost of
the current figures are preliminary.
2 10-month average—March to December 1940.
3 Excludes employees on public emergency work, these being included in unemployed civilian labor force.
Civilian employment in nonagricultural establishments differs from employment in civilian labor force
mainly because of exclusion of such groups as self-employed and domestic and casual workers.
4 Includes workers employed by construction contractors and Federal force-account workers (nonmainte
nance construction workers employed directly by the Federal Government). Other force-account non
maintenance construction employment is included under manufacturing and the other groups.
5 February.
6 January.
7 Cumulative frequency rate, January to December 1944.
3 N ot available.
9 The same series as those formerly published in this table as “ Strikes.”
10 For the coverage of this index, see p. 863.
II Data for fourth quarter.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
APRIL 1945
B uilding the Peace
By F r a n c e s
P e r k in s , Secretary of Labor
IN THE following pages appears the first of a series of State Depart
ment documents to be republished in the Monthly Labor Review.
They are concerned with the issues of the forthcoming Conference of
the United Nations and are being printed here because it is felt that
every available medium should be used to place before the American
people as much information as possible about the vast aims of the
April Conference in San Francisco.
One aspect of international organization concerns the Department
of Labor and all persons having an interest in labor questions. The
United States belongs to the International Labor Organization. Last
September it was suggested that the ILO become a member of the
large family of international institutions envisaged in the Dumbarton
Oaks proposals. Recently, in London, the Governing Body of the
ILO declared that the Organization welcomed the opportunity to be
associated with the Dumbarton Oaks family on terms that would
permit the ILO to make its best contribution toward a peaceful and
prosperous world.
The incorporation of the ILO into a general international organ
ization for the maintenance of peace will strengthen both. Without
peace there can be no genuine and permanent improvement in work
ing conditions. Among nations constantly in dread of war, liberty
and expanding standards of living for the worker or the employer
will not long endure.
The tripartite ILO has for more than a quarter of a century voiced
the hopes of the working man. The hopes and aspirations of working
people will always tend toward the establishment and maintenance of
a fair and honorable peace. The ILO is the appropriate channel
through which those hopes and aspirations not only can be voiced, but
also can be translated into feasible programs of international and
national action. Thus, a sound, developing, world-wide program of
improved living standards and high employment levels may be both a
cause and a result of stable international relations. Viewed thus,
the ILO is a valuable tool in the making of the peace. The ILO,
however, is no tool or cog in a huge international machine. It is a
leaven of the whole, a great moral force, a benign social phenomenon,
like conscience, shaping the whole toward social justice.
The documents here reprinted seek to give our people full oppor
tunity to study the issues of the San Francisco Conference. When
they have read, pondered, and discussed “Dumbarton Oaks,” they
will be ready to decide; and on their decision and on that of their
elected representatives rests the fate of the world.
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701
W ar— How Can We P revent I t ? 1
Peace is everybody’s business.
In the coming months the foundations of peace will be laid.
We want to make the best possible start. This means that the
peoples of the United Nations must understand what is at stake
and what is proposed.
The Foreign Affairs Outlines prepared by the Department of
State set forth in simple terms what this Government is doing or
proposing. These Outlines give factual information for American
groups interested in studying and discussing these vital public
policies in their own way.
I hope every American will participate in discussion of these
subjects during the coming months and will attempt to make up
his mind about them. The State Department will be glad to
receive individual and group expression' of opinions on these
crucial problems.
E d w a r d R. S t e t t i n i u s , Jr.,
Secretary of State.
A Plan for Peace
At Dumbarton Oaks—an estate in Washington, D. C.—experts
from the United States, Russia, Great Britain, and China considered
from every angle the problems of peace and security. They studied
previous attempts to build and keep the peace. After long prepara
tion and weeks of discussion they submitted proposals for an inter
national organization which they believed would constitute a sound
basis for a charter to be drawn up by a conference of all United
Nations.
These proposals, though not complete on all points or stated in
final legal terms, were put before the peoples of the United Nations
for their careful consideration.
The experts, including our own, agreed that an international organ
ization could try to prevent wars in two ways:
1. By dealing firmly and quickly with each dispute as it arises,
using united force, if necessary, to prevent or stop armed conflict.
(This is the subject of the present article.)
2. By promoting the well-being of all nations and peoples. (This
part is dealt with in articles that will appear in succeeding issues of
the Monthly Labor Review.)
Secretary of State Stettinius has stated the following principles
underlying the proposals for keeping the peace:
1. Peace can be maintained only if the peace-loving nations of the world band
together for that purpose. In doing so, they have to recognize that each State
has a right to a voice in the affairs of the family of nations; but also that nations
are not equal in their power to prevent war.
2. War can be prevented only if the great powers employ their dominant
physical power justly and in unity of purpose to that end. Hence the prominence
given to the Security Council, in which the United States, Great Britain, and the
Soviet Union, China, and France would hold permanent seats.
i The first of a series of four Foreign Affairs Outlines on “Building the Peace,” prepared by the Depart
ment of State, which w ill appear in the M onthly Labor Review. Thè other three Outlines deal with the
following subjects: Prosperity—How Can We Achieve It?; Social Progress—How Can We Work For It?;
and Freedom—How Can We Achieve It? Reprints of these Outlines may be obtained from the Department
of State or from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D . C.
702
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3. To prevent and suppress wars is not enough. If we are to have lasting
peace, we have to build peace. Hence the need for a General Assembly which,
as the highest representative body in the wmrld, will extend the rule of law in
international relations, and advance the material and cultural welfare of all men.
4. As peace becomes more secure, armaments can and should be reduced pro
gressively on a world-wide basis.
What is Proposed?
Six main points are made in the proposals on the problem of keep
ing the peace:
1. Renounce Use of Force
We, and every other nation joining the United Nations Organiza
tion, would obligate ourselves to settle our disputes only by peaceful
means, and not by force or the threat of force.
2. Investigate Disputes
Disputes between nations that might cause friction or lead to war
would be thoroughly studied by the United Nations Organization.
Any country, whether it is a member of the Organization or not,
could bring a dispute to the General Assembly of all Member Nations
or the Security Council of 11 Members (United States, Great Britain,
Russia, China, and France are permanent members, and 6 nations
are elected periodically by the Assembly). The Security Council
would be on the job all the time.
3. Seek Peaceful Settlements
Several ways of settling a dispute could be recommended by the
Security Council or by the General Assembly:
Urge the nations involved to get together and work out the prob
lems to their mutual satisfaction. Propose some solution to them.
Ask them to submit their differences to a third party for mediation,
conciliation, or arbitration.
Recommend that they take a dispute involving legal questions
to the International Court of Justice.
4. Take Political and Economic Action
Should the Security Council consider the above methods inadequate;
the proposals further provide for the enforcement of peace by non
military measures—diplomatic and economic.
Diplomatic action might be taken, cutting off relations with nations
threatening war.
Communications might be broken—stopping trains, ships, letters,
cables, or telegrams from going in or out of the nation threatening to
break the peace.
Economic boycott might be used to withhold certain important
supplies or materials, or trade with an offending nation might be
completely stopped.
Conditions Necessary to Success of These Actions
For such economic and political measures to be successful, the
member nations, particularly the great powers, would have to cooper
ate fully in applying them without delay.
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Force to back them up would have to be organized and ready for
immediate use in case the economic measures prove insufficient to
stop an aggressor.
5. Take Military Action
The Security Council would decide when and if united force should
be employed. Force is considered the last resort, but in a crisis it
might have to be used before other methods could be employed. This
would depend on the nature of the threat to peace.
A Military Staff Committee composed of the Chiefs of Staff of
the five permanent members of the Security Council or their represent
atives would advise the Council on military matters. This Com
mittee would plan for effective use of the united forces pledged by the
member nations.
Why not an international police force? The military experts at
Dumbarton Oaks felt that national contingents of land, sea, and air
forces would be more practical than an international police force, for
these reasons:
Standing forces of member nations would be available at all times,
near any place where they might be needed, to quell a disturbance
of the peace.
The United Nations have among them good military bases in all
parts of the world. Effective action would depend on forces trained
at widely distributed bases, ready for speedy movement.
Effective military force requires national support—munitions,
equipment, training, discipline, tactics, and the like.
6. Advise on Regulation of Armaments
The organization would make plans for the reduction and regula
tion of armaments to submit to the member nations. The General
Assembly of all Member Nations, the Security Council, and the
Military Staff Committee would work on this problem. A sense of
security is probably necessary before nations will be willing to reduce
armaments. It is assumed that peace-loving nations do not want
to divert any more of their resources to arms than may be necessary.
Successful cooperation in keeping the peace could pave the way for
a general reduction of the burden of armaments.
How the Security Council Votes
1. Each member of the Security Council, consisting of five perma
nent and six elected members, would have one vote.
2. Decisions on matters of procedure would be made by an affirma
tive vote of any seven members.
3. Other decisions would be made by an affirmative vote of seven
members including all of the permanent members, except that in all
matters regarding the investigation of disputes and their peaceful
settlement, no party to a dispute would be entitled to vote.
This means that where the Council is engaged in performing its
function in the peaceful settlement of disputes, no nation, large or
small, would be above the law. Where the Council is engaged in
performing its political functions of action for maintaining or restoring
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peace, a unanimous agreement among the permanent members
(United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, and France) would be
required.
Secretary of State Stettinius said regarding these proposals:
Where the Council is engaged in performing its political functions of action
for maintenance of peace and security, a difference is made between the permanent
members of the Council and other nations for the practical reason that the per
manent members of the Council must, as a matter of necessity, bear the principal
responsibility for action. Unanimous agreement among the permanent members
of the Council is therefore requisite.
Will This Work?
Because the previous attempt to keep the peace through the League
of Nations did not prevent this war, people wonder whether the
proposed Organization could succeed. This is a matter of opinion,
but there are certain facts which should be considered in discussing it.
How Does It Differ From the League?
The United States was not a member of the League. It is proposed
that we shall be a member of the new Organization.
In contrast to the League Covenant, unanimity of all the members
of the General Assembly and of the Security Council would not be
required.
We and all other nations would make special arrangement to supply
certain types and quantities of armed forces to back up the decisions
of the Security Council, whereas the League had neither armed force
nor a Military Staff Committee..
The Security Council would be in continuous session.
These are the main differences that bear on the problem of prevent
ing the outbreak of war.
Could It Prevent All Wars?
No one can predict the future, but certain questions at this point
may help clarify the discussion.
Do you think the Security Council could enforce its decisions in
cases where small nations may be involved?
Would the Security Council be able to prevent a major power from
going to war?
Do you think that cooperation in an international organization and
the force of world opinion would help to preserve peace among the
major powers?
What Is Needed To Make It Work?
The President in his address to Congress on March 1, 1945, said:
No plan is perfect. Whatever is adopted at San Francisco will doubtless
have to be amended time and again over the years, just as our Constitution has
been.
No one can say exactly how long any plan will last. Peace can endure only
so long as humanity really insists upon it, and is willing to work for it— and
sacrifice for it.
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The Choice Before Us
The proposals put on paper at Dumbarton Oaks show a large area
of agreement among the principal United Nations, and will form the
basis of the discussion between all the United Nations at San Francisco.
The Charter drafted at San Francisco will be presented to the nations
for their decision. Each nation will decide for itself whether to
adopt and support that Charter, or rej ect it, and seek its security and
welfare in other ways.
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G uaranteed-E m ploym ent and A nnual-W age Provisions
in U nion A greem ents 1
IN RECENT years there has been great interest in various methods
of increasing the job security of American wage earners. The unem
ployment-compensation laws, public-works programs, and sections of
the Fair Labor Standards Act represent governmental attempts to
provide full employment or measures for alleviating unemployment.
The various State unemployment-compensation laws not only provide
a limited income, after a waiting period and for a maximum number of
weeks, but some of them seek to encourage regularization by including
merit-rating provisions under which the employer’s unemployment
tax decreases in proportion to the increase in employment stabilization.
The Fair Labor Standards Act grants a partial exemption from the
overtime-pay requirements to those companies entering into agree
ments with unions which guarantee continuous employment for 52
weeks and limit hours to 2,080 per year.
Although a number of employers have made efforts toward regular
izing employment within their plants, only a few have gone so far as
to guarantee annual wages or employment to all or substantial por
tions of their employees. The explanation of the infrequency of an
nual-wage and guaranteed-employment plans in American industry
today lies in the very problem which such plans are designed to cor
rect. As a rule, the only companies which feel they can guarantee
full-time employment or annual wages are those which have sub
stantially solved the problem of regularizing employment. Some
guaranty plans, after being in operation for a year or two, have been
abandoned when the companies found they were unable to finance
them during a prolonged decrease in production.
Labor unions, of course, have always been keenly interested in all
efforts, governmental and private, to secure regular and full employ
ment. On occasion, they have cooperated with employers in plans for
reducing seasonal fluctuations as well as programs for expanding the
business of a particular industry or company. Faced with the stark
fact of insufficient jobs for all, unions have sought to mitigate some
of the effects of job insecurity through share-the-work plans, seniority
rules, and dismissal pay for lay-offs. None of these measures, how
ever, provides security of income or employment: Sharing work also
means sharing unemployment; seniority rules merely decide who is to
be laid off; dismissal pay only softens the blow from loss of job.
To an increasing extent unions are seeking job security for their
members through the inclusion of employment or wage guaranties in
their contracts with employers. The present report is confined to a
discussion of such guaranties in employer-union agreements.2 As
will be seen in the following pages, very few of the agreements cur
rently in force contain a guaranty of employment, and most of those
which are in effect are limited in scope. Some restrict the guaranties
to particular groups of workers; some provide less than a year’s
guaranteed employment; some permit the employer to cancel or reduce
1 Prepared in the Bureau’s Industrial Relations Division by Abraham Weiss under the direction of
Florence Peterson.
2 See M onthly Labor Review, August 1940, p. 283, for report similar to this one.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
the guaranty under specified circumstances. None of them provides
guaranties of employment for prolonged periods of time, since they
are necessarily limited to the duration of the contracts, most of which
are in effect for only 1 year.
Limited as they are, the existing employment-guaranty provisions
in union agreements represent a partial fulfillment of workers’ quest
for job security; they may also indicate the beginning of a more
general adoption of plans which will provide some measure of security
to an increasing number of workers.
Extent and Characteristics of Guaranteed Plans
Extent of plans.-—Guaranteed employment or annual wages are
assured to approximately 42,500 workers out of 8 million workers
covered by employer-union agreements analyzed (table 1). Most of
these workers (approximately 30,000) are employed in the service and
distributive industries, the agreements for which were negotiated
with companies employing relatively small numbers of workers.
Although there are a few outstanding examples in manufacturing
companies of considerable size, the total number of employees in
manufacturing industries who are covered by agreements providing
guaranteed employment is very small—about 12,500.
of Employment and Annual-Wage Guaranty Provisions in Union
Agreements
Agreements examined:
N um ber. _______ ___ ___________________ __ _
Workers employed___ ______ . . .
____
Agreements providing guaranties:
Number. ______ . . . . . . .
Companies covered... .
. . . ..
Workers covered____ _________ _________ ____ _
All industries
(>)
8,000,000
(9
0)
42, 500
Manufacturing Nonmanufac
turing indus
industries
tries
6, 500
6, 000,000
O
oo
oo
o
Item
131
142
12, 500
oCO
oo
o
T a b l e 1.—Extent
1 The exact number of agreements and companies covered cannot be estimated since many of the agree
ments are uniform and are separately signed by an unknown number of individual employers, and some
■were negotiated through employers’ associations whose membership is not available. In such instances,
available employment data for industries and areas are used for estimating the number of workers covered
by the agreements.
Types of plans.—Broadly, the plans provided in current employerunion agreements are of two kinds—those guaranteeing employment
and those guaranteeing annual wages. The employment-guaranty
plans specify the number of weeks or hours of work to be provided to
employees each year, without specifying the amount of earnings to be
received. In other words, what is guaranteed is a year’s job (or in
some cases, a fraction of a year) with the total annual earnings left a
variable. Under annual-wage plans, the employee is guaranteed a
weekly income throughout the year, regardless of daily or seasonal
fluctuations in employment. Actually, the distinction between
guaranteed employment and annual-wage plans is one of emphasis
only, for if the employer cannot furnish sufficient work to fulfill the
contract, wages must be paid for the remainder of the time guaranteed.
The significant differences among the several plans have to do with
the relative completeness of the guaranty, that is, how closely the
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709
guaranty, whether expressed in wages or in work, comes to providing
the equivalent of full employment at normal wages.
Existing guaranty plans represent various arrangements and degrees
of regularizing employment or income. In some instances the regular
weekly wage is assured for a given number of weeks and a proportion
of wages (half pay) is guaranteed during all or a specified number of
the remaining weeks. Certain plans guarantee a specified number
of hours’ or weeks’ work a year. Under the hour guaranty, weekly
earnings fluctuate according to the actual hours worked in any week;
under either plan, if less than 52 weeks or 2,080 hours are guaranteed,
the worker has no assurance of a full year’s employment or earnings.
Under some plans, full pay during weeks of less than full employ
ment is compensated to the employer by extra work during peak
seasons with no increase in the weekly pay during these overtime
weeks; under others, the guaranteed wage represents a minimum to
which overtime is added when worked. Somewhat similar to a
guaranteed-wage plan is the wage-advance arrangement whereby an
employer makes a cash loan to eligible workers in “short” weeks to
bring their wages up to specified amounts, these advances being sub
sequently repaid by automatic deductions from wages earned during
full-time or overtime weeks. One well-known plan guarantees each
eligible employee 52 pay checks per year regardless of business con
ditions or regularity of employment, but the total annual wage
fluctuates since the fund from which the pay checks are'drawn is a
specified percentage of the company’s gross income.
Restrictive and qualifying 'provisions.—The plans differ not only with
respect to the proportion of a year’s normal income or work which is
guaranteed, but also as to the inclusiveness of the labor force that
benefits from the guaranties and as to the conditions, if any, which
relieve the employer of fulfilling the guaranty obligations. For ex
ample, if the guaranty applies to only a small number of key employ
ees, the plan may involve no major effort toward plant-wide stabiliza
tion but represent merely a contractual arrangement for employees
who would in any case be fairly regularly employed. Even when the
plan covers most of the employees within the plant, benefits are neg
ligible if there are reservations attached which tend to reduce the
guaranty as the hazards of unemployment increase.
The contractual obligation under any plan included in a general
employer-union agreement is necessarily limited to the effective period
of such agreement. Although a few agreements, particularly in the
trade industries, are in effect for 2 or 3 years, most of them are nego
tiated for 1-year terms and the contractual guaranties therefore are
automatically limited to seasonal or intermittent situations rather than
to prolonged periods of business depression.
The most extended coverage in existing guaranty plans includes all
“regular” or “permanent” employees or all those who have completed
a probationary period, usually designated as 6 months. Other agree
ments specify “basic crew,” sometimes designated by name, or a fixed
total number, with provision for new persons to become eligible if
vacancies occur within the original group. The most restricted plans
limit the coverage to a relatively few highly skilled craftsmen and
foremen or particular groups, such as truck drivers.
Some of the plans covering the greatest number of employees have
no qualifying clauses; in other words, the employer is obligated to
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 19 45
fulfill the terms of the guaranty as long as the agreement is in effect,
no matter what circumstances may develop. Several specifically re
voke the guaranties in case of bankruptcy or sale of the business and
reserve the right to suspend them in emergencies such as fire, flood,
strikes, and other situations beyond the management’s control. Some
plans go much farther and allow the employer to reduce or cancel his
obligations in case of “serious decline of business” ; in most such cases,
however, this cannot be done without permission of the union or after
arbitration, and frequently dismissal wages are provided in lieu of
payment of the guaranteed annual wage.
Guaranty Plans in Manufacturing Agreements
NUM BER AND
C O V E R A G E OF P L A N S
Out of a total of about 6,500 agreements analyzed in manufacturing
industries, covering over 6 million workers, 131 provide some form of
guaranteed-employment or annual-wage plan. These cover approxi
mately 12,500 workers in 142 manufacturing companies.4 Eightyeight of these companies, employing about 5,850 workers, guarantee a
full year’s employment or wages; the other 54 companies, employing
about 6,500 workers, provide guaranties of less than 1 year. Unquali
fied year-round guaranties to all or most workers in the plant are
provided in only a few agreements, but these cover some of the largest
companies having guaranty provisions. Most of the guaranties, both
for the year and for shorter periods, have qualifying provisos which
allow cancellation or modification under specified circumstances and
limit the coverage to certain employees—to those on specified occu
pations, to those in the company’s employ at the time the agreement
was signed, to a specified number, or to employees with a specified
period of service (table 2).
Most of the employment or wage guaranties in manufacturing in
dustries are incorporated in 1-year agreements, although one plan
assures minimum annual wages for 5 years, subject to certain condi
tions based on the employer’s financial ability. One plan, included in
uniform agreements signed separately by 58 companies in the textile
dyeing and finishing industry, is effective for approximately 2% years.
In the agreements analyzed, annual wage guaranties for all or
virtually all the company’s employees are provided by companies
engaged in the meat-packing, shoe, dairy, and leather-products in
dustries. Limited groups of workers are covered by wage guaranties
signed by companies in the textile printing, finishing, and dyeing,
ladies’ apparel, grain-milling, and ice industries. Employment
guaranties, for both yearly and shorter periods, are provided by a
varying number of agreements in the grain- and cereal-milling, dairy,
syrups and preserves, electroplating, dress manufacturing, soap, tex
tile refinishing and bleaching, fur designing, and millinery industries.
Although the majority of these agreements containing employment
or wage guaranties were signed by individual employers, most of them
are of a standard or uniform type. Fifty-eight textile dyeing and
finishing companies in the New York metropolitan area, and about
40 textile printing establishments are signatory to standard agree
ments negotiated by unions with jurisdiction over skilled employees
4 Plans covering truck drivers only are considered under nonmanufacturing, even though the agreement
may be signed by an employer in a manufacturing industry.
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EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
and foremen only. One of the standard agreements included in this
study was with a local association of employers in the syrups and
preserves industry.
T a b l e 2 . —Characteristics
of Guaranty Provisions in Collective Agreements in Manu
facturing Industries
Number of
agreements
Guaranty
Number of
companies
covered
Number of
employees
covered
Total agreements analyzed, having guaranty provisions.
131
142
12, 500
Annual guaranty__ ______
_ ___ _
Covering all or most em p lo y ees......................
Unconditional____________________
Conditional____________________________ . . .
Covering particular occupational groups _________
Unconditional__________________ . . . .
C on d ition al_____ _
...
76
7
5
2
69
10
59
88
6
4
2
82
23
59
5,850
5, 350
5,100
' 250
500
75
425
Less than full-year guaranty. . . _______ ______ .
Covering all or most employees___
_________
Unconditional______________________ „
Conditional__________
_ _______ _
Covering particular occupational groups__________
Unconditional. _________ _
Conditional_________ ________
55
18
1
17
37
20
17
54
17
12
5
37
20
17
6,500
6, 300
50
6, 250
200
100
100
P L A N S PR O V ID IN G A N N U A L G U A R A N T IE S TO A LL E M P L O Y E E S
Unconditional Guaranties
Five of the seven agreements which extend annual wage or employ
ment guaranties to virtually all plant employees have no qualify
ing clauses permitting modification or cancellation during the life of
the agreements. Two of these cover approximately 4,000 workers
employed by a meat-packing company, one covers about 1,000 shoe
workers, and two cover about 100 workers employed by dairy and
hardware companies. One of the latter, an agreement with a small
dairy in Wisconsin, pledges the employer to “maintain such weekly
hours as will best serve its regular personnel maximum and continuous
employment; such hours to average 50 per week over a 1-year period,”
with time and a half for work over 40 hours in any 1 week.5 “Regular
personnel” includes workers who have completed the 300-hour pro
bationary period.
A 1-year agreement with a southern hardware company6 assures
each employee a guaranteed minimum weekly wage, equal to 40
times his straight-time average hourly earnings for the preceding year,
each week during the life of the agreement. Time and a half is paid
for all hours over 8 worked in any 1 day or over 40 worked in any 1
week.
George A. Hormel & Co.—The Hormel annual-wage plan for all
plant personnel, as incorporated in its agreements covering its Austin
(Minn.) and East St. Louis (111.) plants,7 amounts to advances on
wages during periods of unemployment and repayment of such ad
vances through the working of extra hours, during peak periods, up
to 53 hours. The hours of work fluctuate, but the weekly pay re
mains unchanged.
8 The union involved is the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers (C. I. O.).
6 Agreement negotiated by the United Steelworkers of America (C. I. O.).
7 The union at the Austin plant is the United Packinghouse Workers (C. I. O.) and that at the Easr
St. Louis plant is the Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen (A. F. of L.).
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45 ---------- 2
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Under the Hormel “straight time” plan each worker is employed on
an annual basis and is assigned a regular weekly rate which is deter
mined by budgeting over a 52-week period the estimated annual labor
cost of the department.8 The total annual labor expenses for a
department are estimated and one fifty-second part of this cost is
allocated as a weekly wage cost, which is divided into equal weekly
payments graduated according to occupation among the workers
estimated as necessary to do the work, regardless of the number of
hours worked in any particular week. In return, employees regularly
attached to a department work as many hours as are required to
turn out the production scheduled, without extra pay, up to a maxi
mum of 53 hours during peak periods; however, when they are
required to work more than 10 hours in any 1 day, overtime is paid
for hours worked in excess of 48 in that week.9
The yearly wage is calculated on the basis of a 40-hour week in
most departments, with an allowance for vacation and sick- leave.
In other departments, in which the budget is insufficient to guarantee
40 hours’ pay or for which it is most difficult to forecast yearly pro
duction accurately, the yearly wage is based on 38 or 36 hours’ pay
as a safety margin. If at the end of the year employees in these
departments have worked more than the hours paid for, they receive
a year-end check for extra hours actually worked.
Bonuses are paid to all plant employees (except a small group of
engineers, maintenance men, and elevator operators) if actual produc
tion exceeds the estimated volume. In general, the scheduled annual
total of unit production divided by 2,000 constitutes one productionhour for the department. Each department is reimbursed for the
excess of production-hours over total man-hours actually worked,
and this money is thereupon allocated to the individual workers on
the basis of their “hourly” rates.10 When members of a gang are
absent, their wages are credited to the gang, and are divided among
the employees in the gang at the end of the year.
Nunn-Bush Shoe Co.—The Nunn-Bush plan, which was evolved as
a part of the management-worker partnership ideal, guarantees 52
pay checks a year to practically all employees with at least 2 years’
service.11 A specified percentage of wholesale value of shoes sold,
representing the ratio of labor costs to wholesale value of shoes as
determined from past years’ experience, is put into a Share Production
Fund from which all wage payments except those for overtime are
made.
Individual weekly drawing accounts are established for each eligible
employee from this fund on the basis of one fifty-second of the indi
vidual’s “yearly differential rate,” obtained by multiplying the
worker’s present average hourly drawing by 2,080 (40 hours X 52).
8
Data are from union agreement on file in Bureau of Labor Statistics and report entitled “The Hormel
Annual Wage, Wage Incentive and Joint Earnings Plans,” published by George A. Hormel & Co., Febru
ary 1944.
8 Extra gang employees receive time and a half for work in excess of 12 hours a day or 56 per week,
maximum straight-time hours permissible under Section 7(b)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. At the
East St. Louis plant, time and a half is paid to all employees for work over 10 hours per day or 53 per week.
1° The Hormel East St. Louis agreement provides that if at the end of the fiscal year production is less than
the budgeted volume of work “the members of the group individually and collectively become indebted
to the company for producing that much extra work at the first opportunity, without extra pay.” If pro
duction has exceeded the yearly schedule, each member of the group receives a bonus on the basis of onefortieth of a week’s pay for each specified unit of production in excess of quota.
1* The plan now covers the company’s Milwaukee plant only. A somewhat similar plan for the com
pany’s Edgerton, Wis., plant was discontinued at the outbreak of the war when most of the plant’s regular
employees went into the armed services.
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Individual “differential rates” vary according to occupation. A
reserve fund of 12H percent of the yearly differential rate is maintained
to insure regularity of income. Full weekly drawings [(one fiftysecond of the individual's yearly differential rate) are issued unless
the individual employee’s reserve falls below 5 percent of the annual
estimated income. When an individual’s reserve account exceeds
12% percent of the annual estimated income, the excess is paid as a
monthly (or adjusted compensation) check. The company pays the
prevailing rate of interest on savings-deposit accounts on the reserve.
Changes in the weekly drawing are made by increasing or decreasing
the yearly differential rate; a downward revision in weekly draw
ing may be made if continued payment of the regular weekly drawing
would reduce the reserve below 5 percent of the annual estimated
income.
The plan covers all employees with 2 years’ service except handi
capped workers. Eligible workers are classified into A, B, and DB
members. Class A members, limited to 595, may not be laid off; the
others may be laid off if work for the first group falls below 40 hours
a week, but as long as employed they participate in the Share Pro
duction Fund. Each month, the company furnishes the union with
an estimate of the status of the Share Production Fund and at the
end of the year union accountants are given access to the company’s
records to check the wholesale value of the shoes packed during the
life of the agreement and the wages paid out of the fund.
m
Conditional Guaranties
Two of the 7 agreements which assure employment or wages on an
annual basis, to all the plant’s employees, include certain limitations
on the employer’s responsibility. These conditional guaranties cover
about 250 workers.
Under one of these, effective for 1 year with a grain mill,12the work
guaranty is 48 hours for millers, machine tenders, and one millwright,
and 40 hours each week for all other “regular employees” (i. e., those
with at least 60 days’ service). Time and a half is paid for work over
8 hours per day or 40 per week. However, employees may be laid off
regardless of the guaranty during any prolonged shut-down caused
by an “act of God, lightning, fire, or explosion.”
The other agreement, in effect for 5 years with a southern textile
dyeing company 13 employing about 200 workers, provides minimum
weekly wages ($18 for men and $15 for women)14to employees with 6
months’ service, but limits the company’s obligation to $8,000 per
year. In the case of employees who fail to report for work when
notified, the equivalent of the amount earned by workers in their
department is deducted from their weekly minimum, but such deduc
tions are applied only during slack periods when application for the
weekly minimum is made.
A N N U A L G U A R A N T IE S TO PA R T IC U L A R O C C U PA T IO N A L G R O U PS
In 69 of the 131 manufacturing agreements providing continuous
annual employment or a minimum annual wage, the guaranties are
12 Agreement negotiated by the American Federation of Grain Processors Council (A. F. of L.).
13 Agreement negotiated by the Federation of Dyers, Finishers, Printers, & Bleachers (C. I. O.).
14 During employment, the minimum hourly scale is 80 cents for men and 62 cents for women, or weekly
mlnimums, on a full 40-hour basis, of $32 and $24.80, respectively.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
limited to a specified number of the plants’ employees or to those
engaged in particular occupations. About 500 workers, employed
by 82*different firms, are covered by these guaranties. In 10 of these
agreements the guaranty is unqualified, but in the remaining 59 is
subject to cancellation or modification in emergencies.
Unconditional Guaranties to Limited Groups
Seven of the 10 agreements which guarantee a minimum annual
wage to a limited number of workers are subject to the provisions of
section 7 (b) (2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.15 Four of these,
with individual textile printing firms, were negotiated with a union
representing highly skilled printers only; the fifth, with 5 ice-manu
facturing companies, was signed with a union consisting of only
engineers-in-charge and operating engineers; the sixth, with a midwestern millinery firm employing about 300 workers, limits the guar
anty to foremen and 1 head machinist; and the seventh, with a grain
firm, is limited to maintenance employees and watchmen.16
Each of these seven plans restricts the annual hours to be worked—
2,000 hours under the textile-printing, ice-manufacturing, and grain
milling agreements, and 2,080 hours under the millinery agreement.
The millinery and the four textile-printing agreements specify time
and a half for work over 40 hours per week, although the textile plans
permit the workweek to be extended by mutual consent to a maximum
of 48 hours. The ice-manufacturing and grain-milling agreements, in
accordance with the exemption under the act, require overtime pay
only after 12 hours per day or 56 hours per week. Under the textile
printing agreements, employers unable to work as a result of physical
disabilities arising outside the course of their employment receive pay
for not over 2 weeks, with the understanding that the hours paid for
shall be made up if possible. A discharged employee receives 1 full
week’s pay. Vacancies caused by discharge must be filled im
mediately, for the remaining period of the contract.
The annual guaranties in 3 of the 10 agreements which limit the
guaranty to particular employees, but carry no other qualifications,
are not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act. A Chicago dress
manufacturer guarantees cutters, representing about 10 percent of
the work force, a specified annual salary, exclusive of overtime.17 An
association of 10 employers engaged in the manufacture of syrups and
preserves, guarantees “permanent routemen [driver-salesmen] and
cooks” 52 weeks of steady employment in each of the 2 years of the
agreement.18 One company, engaged in electroplating and employing
about 60 workers, guarantees 5 designated maintenance men 48
hours of work “or the monetary equivalent thereof” in every week
during the 52-week period of the contract. The agreement does not
mention overtime pay.19
1S
Under section 7 (b) (2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, employers may obtain partial exemption
from the overtime requirements of the act by entering into agreements (with unions certified as bona fide by
the National Labor Relations Board) that provide for employment on an annual basis and limit hours of
work to 2,080 in any 52 consecutive weeks. F.mployees must be paid time and a half for hours over 12 per
day or 56 per week.
i» The unions signing these agreements are, respectively: Machine Printers Beneficial Association (Ind.);
International Union of Operating Engineers (A. F. of L.); United Hatters, Cap & Millinery Workers
(A. F. ofL .); and Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers (C.I.O.). While this last agreement
does not specify annual employment or an annual wage, the guaranty is implied by virtue of the overtime
tolerance.
Agreement negotiated by International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (A. F. of L.).
i* Agreement negotiated by United Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Employees (C.I.O.).
i9 Agreement negotiated by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers (C.I.O.).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
715
Conditional Guaranties to Limited Groups
Of the 59 agreements providing conditional guaranties to limited
numbers of employees, one is a 1-year grain-milling agreement
coveringfewer than 15 employees.20 It guarantees annual employment
to all those in the bargaining unit at the time the agreement was
negotiated, but not to employees thereafter hired; the guaranty is
void in the event of sale or liquidation. If it becomes necessary to
lay off more than 2 employees on the_seniority list in order to maintain
the 52-week guaranty to the senior employees, and no agreement on
the lay-off is reached, the issue may be arbitrated. The guaranty
provides a minimum weekly wage equivalent to 40 times an em
ployee’s hourly rate for 52 consecutive weeks, with time and a half
for all work in excess of 40 hours per week.
Fifty-eight agreements in the textile dyeing and finishing industry
in the Paterson (N. J.) and New York areas, negotiated by local
unions of foremen, skilled employees, semiskilled employees, and
assistant colorists, guarantee annual wages to these particular groups
of employees; the guaranty is cancelled in the event any plant or
department is shut down by “Government directive order.”21 An
employee whose services are ended because of “job or department
elimination” receives severance pay equal to 2 percent of his annual
earnings for each year of service up to a maximum of 5 years, and any
discharged worker is entitled to 2 weeks’ severance pay (discharges
are not arbitrable).
Pay on the basis of 52 weeks per year is provided for all skilled em
ployees who have passed a 30-day probationary period and to all
semiskilled employees and assistant colorists previously paid on a
basis of 52 weeks per year, “provided, however, that this condition
shall not be construed to mean that if the employee’s relations with
the company are severed voluntarily or involuntarily, that such em
ployee shall be entitled to the weekly wage based on the 52-week
principle.” For semiskilled employees and assistant colorists not
previously paid on the basis of 52 weeks per year, the agreement
provides half pay up to 14 weeks if the plant or department shuts
down for more than 6 weeks for lack of work. New employees, who
replace those on the 52-week basis leaving the company’s services
either because of discharge or by resignation, must be placed on the
full-year basis.
G U A R A N T IE S FOR PE R IO D S OF L E SS T H A N A Y E A R
Employment or wage guaranties for periods of less than a full year
are provided in 55 of the 131 manufacturing agreements studied
which include guaranties. These cover about 6,500 workers and,
with a few exceptions, the guaranties are limited to particular groups
of employees and may be suspended by the employer either when
specific contingencies occur or “at any time.”
Fur-clothing industry.—Under 1 agreement, negotiated for a 3-year
period with 12 employers employing a total of fewer than 50 fur de
signers, patternmakers, and fitters,22 the annual guaranty amounts to
20 Agreement negotiated by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers (A. F. of L.).
s* These local unions aré affiliates of the Federation of Dyers, Finishers, Printers & Bleachers (C.I.O.).
Agreement negotiated by International Fur and Leather Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
716
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
46 full weeks of work (except for fitters, who are guaranteed 47
weeks), exclusive of vacation with pay or overtime.
Dress manufacturing.—Under 2 dress-manufacturing agreements
in Wisconsin, negotiated for 3-year terms, a specified number of
permanent employees (about two-thirds of total plant employment)
are guaranteed 45 weeks or 1,800 hours of work for each contract
year.23 The employer, however, has the right to cancel the guaranty
if present wages are increased by 5 percent or if he is “not * * *
able to comply with the guaranty of the equivalent of 45 weeks of
employment.” In the latter case the 5-percent increase in wages is
automatically effective.
The guaranty is exclusive of overtime but includes paid vacation
time, the latter being credited on the guaranty on a pro-rata basis in
case of cancellation. Vacancies among the permanent staff are auto
matically filled by temporary workers “whose efficiency averages 87%
percent of the base rate for three previous pay periods.” Permanent
workers absent “for a legitimate reason or sickness for 2 months, or
less,” are entitled to return to the permanent list, if vacancies are
available at the time of the return. Employees absent from work
without legitimate excuse and without notification to the company
lose their permanent status, but determination of such status must
be mutually agreed upon by the company and union.
In the event the employer has been unable to furnish 1,800 hours’
work to the permanent employees during any contract year, he may
either pay a refund (minimum rate for piece workers and hourly rate
for time workers) for such hour deficit, or pay back 5 percent of the
earnings of such permanent employees from the beginning of the
yearly contract period. If the employer cancels the guaranty during
the contract year, the refund is based on the proportion of hours
worked to the prorated guaranty.
In the event the employer complies with the conditions and penal
ties established for cancellation or nonfulfillment of the guaranty, he
is credited with State unemployment benefits received by the em
ployees affected; but if employees find temporary employment else
where, he is credited with such earnings against any hour or week
deficit resulting from such cancellation or nonfulfillment. If, how
ever, he elects to pay to the employees 5 percent of earnings from the
date of any yearly contract period, in lieu of making up the hour
deficit, he .is not credited with such unemployment benefits or earnings.
Time lost as a result of plant shut-downs caused by “fire, tornado,
explosion, or any other catastrophe beyond the control of the em
ployer” or by voluntary absence from work or through sickness, is
deducted from the guaranty. The employer is also relieved of obli
gation in the event he discontinues business. All the terms and
conditions affecting the guaranty are subject to arbitration.
Cereal and grain companies.—The work-guaranty plan in a com
pany making cereals24 includes a wage “loan” when less than 30
hours’ work is provided in any week. This company, operating on a
normal 40-hour-week basis, guarantees a minimum of 1,704 working
hours annually, including vacation time, to employees with 3 years’
seniority, provided such workers have reported and worked whenever
work was available. The guaranty is subject to a deduction for time
23 Agreements negotiated by International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ U nion'(W F; of L.;). 24 Agreement negotiated by the American Federation of Grain Processors (A^ Ft of !..)■ •
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
717
lost through sickness or accident or shut-down of the mill, caused
directly or indirectly by fires, strikes, floods, and other causes beyond
the company’s control.
An employee with 3 or more years’ service who in any week earns
wages for less than 30 hours, owing to lack of work, is paid for the
actual hours worked plus (if he so requests) the difference between
actual earnings and 30 hours’ pay. The money advanced is deducted,
interest free, from the first week’s or weeks’ wages amounting to
more than 30 hours’ work. When employment is terminated for any
reason, all excess payments become immediately due and payable in
full.
Five agreements, covering separate plants of another company
making cereals and other grain-mill products,25 with about 2,000
workers, contain a reference to the existing “guaranteed work plan.”
Although the plan grants the company the right to modify or termi
nate it at any time, 2 of these agreements provide that the plan shall
continue during their term; 1 restates the company’s right, “in the
event of changed conditions,” to change or terminate the plan; and
the remaining 2 make no reference to this point.
This “guaranteed work plan” assures 140 hours of work per month
and provides a system of lay-off pay to hourly and piece workers with
6 months’ accumulated service within a continuous 12-month period.
New employees are eligible to participate, after completing similar
service requirements, upon approval of the plant management.
Guaranteed time is calculated once a month and is included in the
pay for the latter half of each month. Vacation time is included in the
guaranty but time lost for personal reasons, sickness, and accident
is deducted.
In case of lay-off, a qualified employee is entitled to 70 hours’ pay
per month at his regular rate for from 2 to 6 months, depending on his
length of service, with a maximum of 6 months’ lay-off pay for 3 years’
service. Payments are discontinued, however, if full-time employ
ment is obtained elsewhere or if an employee fails to return upon
request, or if he quits, is discharged, or is laid off because of destruc
tion of property or because of the permanent closing of a plant or
department. An employee returning to work after a lay-off auto
matically comes under the 140-hour guaranty for the calendar
month in which he returns, unless he was off for more than 6 months,
in which event he is considered as a new employee and not eligible
for guaranteed employment for another 6 months.
Procter & Gamble.-—Nine agreements covering plants of the Procter
& Gamble Co.26refer to the company’s guaranteed-employment plan,
reaffirming the company’s right to terminate or modify it at any
time. The plan covers all hourly paid employees who have been in
the company’s service for a period of 2 years, except workers hired to
replace those in military service, who are considered temporary
employees. Eligible employees are guaranteed work for 48 weeks
per year, less time lost for holiday closings, disability because of
sickness or accident, voluntary absence, and certain emergencies such
as floods, fires, and strikes.
The plan has certain protective clauses which permit the company
to transfer employees to other work (even to that paid at a lower
28 Agreements negotiated by locals of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers Union (C. I. O.).
26 Agreements are signed by local unaffiliated plant unions. The guaranty applies at another plant of
this company, but is not referred to in the agreement for this plant.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
rate), to change the number of hours constituting the established
workweek to which the guaranty applies, and to reduce the hours of
guaranteed work to 75 percent of the standard workweek in effect at
each plant.
Textile printing.—Wage guaranties amounting to less than a full
year’s earnings are provided in 37 agreements negotiated by a union27
which includes only highly skilled textile printers. In 17 of these,
covering silk-textile printing firms, printers and apprentices are
guaranteed full pay from January 1 to July 15, and half pay for any
period in the rest of the year during which they may be out of work,
with the stipulation that if hostilities should terminate prior to a
specified date or if Government orders or directives issued
prior to that date “confront the industry with a curtailment of
business which reduces operations,” either party may, on 15 days’
notice, request negotiations on the advisability of “maintaining or
modifying the full-work guaranty.” 28
The other 20 agreements covering cotton-textile printing firms,
provide no guaranty of full pay during specified periods but specify
without any qualifications “one-half pay for any 17 weeks during
which, at any time throughout the terms of this contract, a printer is
not employed.” Under these agreements, employees receive a full
week’s wages, whether or not they work a full 40 hours, if they report
without previous lay-off notice from the company or if they work at
any time during any calendar week; under the silk-textile printing
agreements, they receive full pay if they report for work or if they
work at any time during any 3 days of any calendar week. Under
both plans, a printer who leaves a company’s employ, or who has
been discharged, must be replaced by another journeyman printer for
the remaining period of the agreement.
Guaranty Plans in Nonmanufacturing Agreements
N U M B E R A N D C O V ERAGE OF P L A N S
Approximately 30,000 workers in nonmanufacturing industries, out
of an estimated 2 million workers under the nonmanufacturing
agreements included in this study, are covered by some form of employ
ment or wage guaranty.29 Over 90 percent of these workers receive
year-round guaranties, while the others are assured employment or
wages for periods of less than a year.
Most of these plans cover persons employed in retail and whole
sale trade, chiefly in New York City. Others cover workers in service
industries, such as cleaning and dyeing establishments, and in main
tenance work in hotels, office buildings, and railroads, as well as publicutility employees, press wireless operators, and employees in social
services, cemeteries, and custom tailoring. In several branches of
retail and wholesale trade, the agreements examined were negotiated
with employers’ associations and cover numbers of employers, while
elsewhere identical agreements have been signed separately by
individual employers.
Owing to the nature and type of the industries involved, the normal
size of establishment which these agreements cover is very small.
J? Machine Printers Beneficial Association (Independent).
28 Foremen, under these agreements, “must be hired on an annual basis and shall receive an annual salary
payable in equal weekly installments.”
22 See footnote to table 1, page 708.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
719
Iii addition, the guaranty most frequently covers only a portion of
the working staff—a “basic crew” agreed upon at the time the agree
ment was negotiated. According to some of the retail-trade agree
ments—for example, those covering department or specialty stores-—only such skilled employees as custom tailors or furriers benefit from
the guaranties. However, with few exceptions, replacements of
covered employees are included in the plans, and there is no reduc
tion, therefore, in the number of full-time guaranteed jobs.
The majority of the agreements which contain guaranties are in
effect for 2 years, and in one instance for 3 years. Most of them are
voidable under certain specified conditions, among which are liqui
dation or discontinuance of business, withdrawal of capital, “mate
rial decrease in revenue,” “unforeseen catastrophe,” “conditions
arising out of the national emergency,” situations “seriously affect
ing either party,” etc. In the event of disagreement between the
parties on the necessity for the modification or termination of the
guaranty, arbitration is usually specified. Under a few plans, chiefly
in trade but including a telegraph agreement covering press wireless
operators, dismissal pay is granted to employees laid off.
A N N U A L G U A R A N T IE S TO ALL E M P L O Y E E S
Unconditional Guaranties
Some of the nonmanufacturing plans guarantee year-round work
to all employees without restrictions of any kind. Between 10,000
and 13,000 workers in over 2,400 retail establishments in New York
City are covered by such guaranties in 2-year agreements negotiated
with grocers, fur dealers, and men’s and boy’s clothing merchants and
in 1-year agreements covering retail liquor dealers.30
The food and grocery store 2-year agreements, negotiated with
several employers’ associations as well as with individual employers,
specify that all employees “now or hereafter employed * * * are
to be continued in such employ during the life of the agreement,”
and no worker “employed * * * continuously for a period of one
week or longer shall be discharged except with the written consent
of the * * * union.” The entry of a new partner into the firm
is not deemed cause for discharge. The fur and liquor agreements
guarantee 52 consecutive weeks of work, exclusive of overtime, and
the men’s and boys’ clothing agreements assure continuous employ
ment to every “steady” salesman and stock clerk throughout the life
of the 2-year agreement and thereafter, unless his employer gives him
and the union at least 2 weeks’ notice of discharge prior to the expira
tion of the agreement. Both the food and clothing agreements
require that vacancies be filled immediately.
Conditional Guaranties
>
A number of the other agreements in retail trade, both with em
ployers’ associations and with individual employers, guarantee yearround employment to all employees but permit the guaranty to be
cancelled under certain specified circumstances. About 375 firms,
employing over 1,800 workers in men’s hats and furnishings and cigar
3° These agreements were negotiated by the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Employees
(C. I. O.), Fur & Leather Workers Union (C. I. O.), Amalgamated Clothing Workers (C. I. O.), and
Retail Clerks International Protective Association (A. F. of L .), respectively.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
and luncheonette stores, subway newsstands, and alteration and tailor
ing of fur garments, provide such conditional guaranties.31 Except
for the fur and retail cigar and luncheonette store agreements which
run for 2 years, these are 1-year agreements and the guaranties assure
a minimum coverage through a provision that vacancies must be
filled immediately or within a few weeks.
The retail men’s wear agreements guarantee to each employee,
after a 2-week trial period, “52 consecutive weeks of employment”
but the employer retains the right to discharge employees, subject
to arbitration, under the following specified circumstances: For good
cause, such as insubordination or dishonesty; upon 2 weeks’ written
notice to the union and with its written consent; in the event a store
is discontinued; or when the employer is in need of “relief.” The
last mentioned refers to a situation in which an employer’s business
has changed permanently for the worse, so that it is financially im
possible for him to continue to employ his full staff of regular em
ployees. “Slack season” is expressly ruled out as a basis for discharge.
The employer has the right at the expiration of the agreement to
make changes in the labor force, provided the union is given 6 weeks’
prior notice, but no personnel changes may be made unless the union
accepts the change within a week after notice. In disputed cases,
however, the employer may seek arbitration.
The agreements with retail cigar and luncheonette stores likewise
guarantee 52 consecutive weeks of employment, including limited
sick leave, for all employees retained after a 2-week trial period.
Three weeks’ dismissal pay is provided for employees affected by
“a lay-off or a store closing * * * where less than 4 employees
are employed and where unemployment insurance is not being paid.”
No employee may be discharged, suspended, or laid off pending an
application to the union and a decision by the arbitrator, and the
entry of a new or additional partner or stockholder is specifically
mentioned as not being a sufficient cause for discharge.
A 2-year agreement with an association of fur merchants in Atlantic
City guarantees all employees 1,750 hours of work a year, which is
the equivalent of 50 weeks based on the standard 35-hour workweek.
Paid vacations of 1 or 2 weeks, depending upon length of service, are
also provided. The guaranty may be invalidated only in the event
of “ an unforeseen catastrophe which makes it phj^sically impossible”
for the employer to furnish 1,750 hours of work and if the employer
“actually does not have 1,750 hours of work for the particular year
except that an employer who violates this agreement by sending
work to outside contractors shall be deemed to guarantee 1,750 hours
of work in any event.”
Another agreement guarantees agents currently employed on sub
way newsstands not less than 1 year’s employment, except for certain
stands which are closed during the summer months, in which case
the guaranty is for 9 months’ employment. However, the company
reserves the right to discontinue the operation of any newsstand as
a result of conditions beyond its control and arising out of the national
emergency. In the event that the subways discontinue any present
services, the company may lay off men in proportion to the number
31
Agreements for the men’s furnishings and luncheonette stores were negotiated by the Retail, Whole
sale & Department Store Employees (C. I. O.); for newsstands, by the United Office and Professional Work
ers (C. I. O.); and for fur shops, by the International Fur & Leather Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
721
of stands discontinued. Relief^from the guaranty clause in the event
of any unusual conditions—■
“ including material decreases in the rev
enue from the stand”—is also granted.
A N N U A L G U A R A N T IE S TO PA R T IC U L A R O C C U PA T IO N A L G R O U PS
About half (13,000) of the total workers in nonmanufacturing
industries, covered by year-round guaranties, include special groups
of employees who comprise only a part of the working force of about
2,000 employers. These workers include cemetery employees, truck
drivers, railroad maintenance and repair workers, public-utility
employees, social-service employees, inside cleaning and dyeing
workers, retail and wholesale clerks, bushelmen, and fur workers in
fur shops and department stores. The majority of these agreements
permit the employer to modify or cancel the guaranty under speci
fied circumstances.
Two agreements for cemetery employees guarantee specified
amounts of employment to their “regular” employees.32 One estab
lishes 3 classifications of workers: “Casual employees” ; a basic
crew of “regular employees Class A” who are paid regularly irrespec
tive of weather conditions and may not be laid off; and a basic crew
of “regular employees Class B” who are guaranteed a minimum of
33 weeks of employment during the 9 months between April and
December. Basic Crews A and B have approximately the same
number of employees and vacancies must be filled within 2 weeks ex
cept vacancies in the Class B quota after November 15. Any season’s
quota of Class B employees must include those in that classification
during the previous season and any necessary replacements to main
tain the minimum crew. The other cemetery agreement provides
that no “regular” employee shall be laid off during its 2-year term.
It establishes 6 days as the normal workweek but permits the
employer to limit the workweek to 5 days every alternate week and
specifies 3 months during which the workweek consists of 5 days only.
Another type of guaranty is found in standard agreements signed
by 448 companies in the retail and wholesale paper and paper-box
industry in New York City, under which each employer agrees to
employ “not less than one chauffeur or driver for the full time of
52 weeks per year.” 33 Drivers may be discharged only for justified
cause, such as incompetence or failure to report an accident. Under
2-year agreements with an association of 23 employers and 3 inde
pendent firms engaged in textile refinishing and clothing inanufacture,
90 drivers are guaranteed regular employment through a provision
that each of the signatory employers is to employ a specified minimum
number of drivers each working day.33
Bushelmen are guaranteed 40 hours of work per week, 52 weeks
per year, under a 1-year agreement signed by an association of retail
clothing merchants in New Haven, Conn.34 Five agreements, with
Chicago fur and department stores, guarantee 52 weeks’ work,
exclusive of overtime, to fur workers.35 In 3 of these cases, the
guaranty includes 1 week’s vacation; in the other two, 2 weeks’
vacation.
32 Both agreements negotiated by the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers (C. I. O.).
33 Agreements negotiated by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, etc. (A. F. of L.).
34 Agreement negotiated by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (C. I. O.).
33 Agreements negotiated by the International Fur & Leather Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
Under a ‘‘continuity of employment” agreement between the Sea
board Air Line Railway and various A. F. of L. shop-craft unions,
the parties negotiate in December of each year the size of a minimum
force (currently 2,300 employees) of “mechanics, apprentices, helpers
and coach cleaners” who are guaranteed employment for 6 days per
week during the ensuing 12-month period. In the event it is found
necessary to close permanently any shop or engine terminal during
the year, the company is not required to transfer the employees
affected to some other terminal on the system, but the established
minimum number of positions on the system must be maintained at
all times. Reductions in the size of the minimum force are permissible
under 2 conditions: (a) if the established minimum of coach cleaners
is found excessive, and (b) if “any situation arises during the life of the
agreement which would seriously affect either party.” Joint con
ferences must be held before reductions are made and if no solution is
reached either party may terminate the agreement on 10 days’ written
notice.
An agreement covering a public-utility company contains a “guar
anteed annual income” plan for certain listed monthly and hourly paid
employees.37 Those who are paid on a monthly basis are guaranteed
against deductions from their regular monthly wage during the 1-year
period of the contract “because of lack of work or inability on the part
of the company to supply work.” Furthermore, no deduction is
made for time off, not to exceed 1 week, for necessary personal
reasons such as serious sickness or death in the immediate family,
provided such time off is made up by working two-thirds of the hours
lost. Listed employees who are on an hourly basis are given the
opportunity to work a minimum of 2,080 hours during the year,
including vacations and holidays. The guaranty is unconditional
except for men released in the event that the company is required by
the Government to institute a workweek in excess of 40 hours.
Under a 1-year agreement with a social-service agency, visitinghousekeepers who had at least 1% years’ service when the agreement
was signed are guaranteed an annual wage equal to 52 times their
regular rates.38 However, all earnings, including regular, overtime,
vacation, and sick-leave pay, are credited toward fulfillment of the
annual guaranty. Each visit is to be paid for at the time made at
the specified rate, and any balance due on the annual guaranty must
be paid in a lump sum within 2 weeks after the end of the year. The
wage guaranty is forfeited in the event of resignation or dismissal,
except when dismissal is caused by retrenchment or reorganization,
in which event the employee is entitled to payment of the proportion
ate part of the guaranteed wage from the start of the 1-year period to
the date of dismissal, plus dismissal pay amounting to 1 week’s pay
for every year of service after 2 years’ service, up to a maximum of 6
weeks’ pay. Housekeepers on the guaranteed list are entitled to 2
weeks’ paid sick leave per year; other absences are deducted from the
guaranty unless they total less than one-half day in any 1 day or an
aggregate of 2 days in any 1 year.
An agreement with a press wireless company guarantees “at least
one-half pay of the full weekly wage in every week throughout the
year” to a total of 43 Morse operators highest on the seniority list,
87 Agreement negotiated by International Union of Operating Engineers (A. F. of L.).
88 Agreement negotiated by United Office & Professional Workers (C. I. O.),
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
723
and to all “printer operators, maintenance men and radio operators
of at least 1 year’s seniority standing.” 39 The company reserves
the right to furlough the junior Morse operators on the guaranty list
and to hire or use other operators if those on the list refuse a job pro
viding 30 hours’ work per week after posting by the company. When
the need for a particular job ends, the furloughed employee is restored
to the list. In case of “jobs of local nature which are not required to
be bulletined,” employees on half-pay basis must be available for duty
should their services be required. The employer may elect to pay
dismissal pay in lieu of half-time pay at the rate of 1 full week’s wages
for every 6 months of service, up to a maximum of 26 weeks’ full pay.
Retail and wholesale trade agreements in New York City.—Over 1,500
employers in New York operating wholesale, jobbing, textile convert
ing, warehouse, and retail establishments (excluding department
stores) have negotiated agreements which guarantee full-time employ
ment to a “basic crew” or to “regular full-time workers” or to “per
manent employees.” 40 It is estimated that 10,000 workers are
covered by these guaranties, most of which are in effect for 2 years,
although one with about 450 proprietors of retail furnishing and drygoods stores runs for 3 years. Under one of the plans covering about
400 shoe stores, regular part-time workers are guaranteed employ
ment for at least 3 full days (or 3 nights and a Saturday) weekly for
52 consecutive weeks.
The size of the basic crew is negotiated for each individual establish
ment, and in most cases is frozen for the duration of the agreement.
One association agreement provides for determination of the number
to be included through the grievance and arbitration machinery;
another stipulates that the size of the basic crew must equal the num
ber of workers which the employer has continuously employed all
year round for the 12 months preceding the signing of the agreement.
Members of the basic crew are not subject to lay-off at any time
during the life of the agreement and, in most cases, vacancies in the
basic crew must be filled immediately. An exception is made in the
dry-goods agreements if the employee leaving enters business within
a 5-block radius of the employer’s store. According to this agreement,
extra employees may be hired for not over 6 weeks, but if retained for
periods in excess of a total of 12 weeks they become permanent em
ployees. The number of extra employees is jointly determined by
the employer and the union, with resort to arbitration if there is a
difference of opinion.
According to about four-fifths of these agreements the employer
has recourse to arbitration, “should conditions arise during the term
of the agreement which necessitate a reduction of [basic crew] staff.”
Several, including an agreement covering retail shoe stores, state that
the basic-crew guaranty shall not be subject to arbitration. A few
of the agreements which permit arbitration specify the circumstances
which warrant a request by the employer for a reduction or lay-off
in the number of employees, e. g., permanent or substantial decline in
business other than seasonal slack time, permanent withdrawal of
capital, store closing, or “some unavoidable cause which will make it
a« Agreement negotiated by Commercial Telegraphers’ Union (A. F. of L.). #
« Some of these employers are covered by association agreements; some were signed individually. Since
the latter contain virtually the same terms as the association agreements, the analysis is restricted to the
association agreements. Likewise, if the union has a form contract which is separately signed by^individual
employers, only one representative agreement is discussed. These agreements were negotiated by the
United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Employees (O. I. O.).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
impossible for the employer to continue employing all the workers of
the basic crew.” Three agreements provide for termination of the
guaranty on dissolution, liquidation, consolidation, sale, bankruptcy,
or assignment for creditors, and one other specifies that no wages
shall be paid when the place of business is closed because of fire.
Employees who are affected by staff reduction are granted dismissal
pay under 4 agreements, and preferential rehiring rights under one of
these. In 3 cases the dismissal pay amounts to 2 weeks’ wages but
in one instance applies only to lay-offs in stores where fewer than 4
workers are employed and which are not covered by unemployment
insurance. In the fourth agreement the amount of dismissal pay
varies with the length of service and depends on whether the dismissal
was a result of sale or entry of a partner, or because of adverse business.
The amounts range from the equivalent of 1 week’s pay for less than
1 year’s service to 6 weeks’ pay after 3 years’ service.
G U A R A N T IE S FO R P E R IO D S OF L E SS T H A N A Y E A R
Of the approximately 30,000 workers in nonmanufacturing industries
protected by employment-guaranty provisions, 2,000 were covered by
provisions guaranteeing less than a year’s employment or wages.
Such guaranties were found in agreements with over 200 firms em
ploying workers in custom tailoring of women’s garments and fur
coats, maintenance painting in hotels and office buildings, selling
and jobbing materials for the fur-manufacturing industry, cemetery
work, and retail salesmen in women’s and children’s wearing apparel
stores, truck drivers and chauffeurs, warehousemen, and polishers
employed by furniture stores. Some of these guaranties, although
applicable to only a fraction of the total force, are unconditional,
while others permit cancellation of the plan, generally in the event
of liquidation of the business.
Unconditional Guaranties
Two agreements negotiated with women’s specialty stores in Chi
cago guarantee $1,900 per year to about 60 custom tailors; in one,
tailors receive $55 per week for a 40-liour week and the guaranty
therefore amounts to 34% weeks’ pay; in the other, the regular weekly
wage is $52.50 for a 35-hour week and the guaranty amounts to
slightly more than 36 weeks’ pay.41
Twelve agreements guarantee employment to approximately 200
workers engaged in fur repairing and custom tailoring in both fur and
department stores in Cleveland and Chicago.42 In 8 of the agree
ments, the minimum guaranty, exclusive of overtime, ranges from
38 to 44 weeks; in three agreements, in which the standard workweek
is 35 hours, it is 1,650 hours; in the twelfth it runs from the start of
the season on May 1 until February 1 (9 months) for cutters, operators,
and nailers, and until the end of February (10 months) for finishers.
In addition to the specified guaranty, 3 agreements provide 1 week’s
paid vacation, and 1 agreement 2 weeks’ paid vacation. One agree
ment includes the vacation week in the 38-week guaranty.
A standard agreement, covering about 250 maintenance painters in
a number of hotels and office buildings in Cleveland, provides a
41 Agreements negotiated by International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (A. F. of L.).
42 Agreements negotiated by International Fur <fc Leather Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
725
guaranty of not less than 42 weeks’ work, at 40 hours per week, in
cluding 10 days’ annual sick leave and 14 days’ vacation with full
pay.43 The hourly rate for these workers is $1.25, whereas painters
on general construction work, employed on a day-to-day basis, receive
$1.55 per hour.
An agreement covering cemetery workers in Milwaukee defines
regular employees as “those employed regularly for 9 months, and
* * * on call during the balance of the year” and contains the follow
ing guaranty: “Regular employees shall be given an amount of employ
ment between December 1 and April 1 that compares with the
average amount of employment during the same period of the 3 pre
vious years.” 44
Conditional Guaranties
A plant-wide agreement covering a textile-bleaching firm guarantees
weekly paid truck drivers and helpers 48 weeks of work, but the
company reserves the right to lay off drivers “in the event of an
unusual slack period or in a period of emergency where production
materially decreases.” 45
Three 2-year association agreements covering 44 employers and
150 employees dealing in materials used in the fur-manufacturing
industry guarantee full employment for 10 months each year, includ
ing 7 days’ paid sick leave.46 During July and August, equal division
of available work is practiced. An employer who finds himself
overmanned during the guaranteed period of employment may
submit his case to arbitration, and the arbitrator, after examining
the employer’s records, may reduce the guaranteed period of em
ployment, in which case the additional lay-off period is to be shared
among the employees affected. In the event of a general strike or
lockout among the wholesale fur manufacturers in New York City,
the arbitrator is to rule whether a division of work shall be instituted.
The agreement is automatically terminated when an employer liqui
dates or discontinues his business.
Under an association agreement covering 8 retail furniture mer
chants in New York City, about 40 chauffeurs, warehousemen, and
polishers are guaranteed work for a minimum of not less than 5 days
per week during 21 weeks of the year, a minimum of 4 days during
1 week, and a minimum of 3 days per week during the remaining 30
weeks, at a wage scale proportionate to the minimum weekly wage
scale.47 The agreement also provides 18 paid holidays and a minimum
of 10 paid Saturdays during the summer months, even though no
work is performed, but such holidays and Saturdays are not included
in the computation of the annual guaranty. No lay-offs may be made
“because of insufficiency of business” during the term of the contract,
but the agreement is voided if the employer goes out of business.
New York women’s apparel stores.—Under 2-year agreements with an
employers’ association and a number of independent employers, both
“steady” and “steady-extra” sales clerks in retail ladies’ and children’s
apparel stores in New York City are guaranteed employment for
specified periods each year.48 The association contract, covering
43 Agreements negotiated by International Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators & Paperliangers (A.F.ofL.).
44 Agreement negotiated by Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers (O. I. O.).
43 Agreement negotiated by Textile Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
46 Agreements negotiated by International Fur & Leather Workers’ Union (C. I. O.).
47 Agreement negotiated by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, etc. (A. F. of L.).
48 Agreements negotiated by United Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Employees (C. I. O.).
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
about 800 workers, insures “steady sales clerks” a minimum employ
ment of 10% months in each year and “steady-extra sales clerks” 19
consecutive weeks starting October 1, and 12 consecutive weeks
starting March 15.49 The standard agreement with nonassociation
members provides the same guaranty to “steady employees''’ but 4
more weeks to “steady-extra employees.” Under both plans, “steady
sales clerks” receive 2 weeks’ paid vacation and “steady-extra sales
clerks” 1 week’s paid vacation in addition to the employment guaranty.
In all these stores not more than 1 “steady-extra sales clerk” may be
employed for every 2 “steady sales clerks,” except that 1 “steadyextra sales clerk” is permitted where only 1 “steady sales clerk” is
presently employed.
Vacancies among “steady” or “steady-extra” sales clerks, no matter
what the cause, must be filled immediately. For new employees a
2-week trial period, which may be increased to 3 weeks at the employ
er’s request, is specified in the association agreement while the inde
pendent employer agreement provides for 1 week. Should any em
ployee prove to be unsatisfactory during the trial period, a successor
must be hired “so that there shall be no lapse of time between the
termination of the trial period of the unsatisfactory employee and
the employment of his successor.”
Under the association agreement, the employer reserves the right
to change his sales force either 2 weeks prior to the expiration of the
first year of the agreement, or 2 weeks prior to the expiration of the
agreement. Employees affected are to receive 2 weeks’ notice; if
the change is desired after the first year of the agreement, the employer
must also submit a written statement of the reason for such change to
the union and the association.
The association contract (but not the independent standard con
tract) frees the employer of his obligations to furnish minimum em
ployment in the event of a bona fide liquidation or if the employer
discontinues his business. Should the employer reenter business
prior to the expiration of the agreement, either individually or by
entering into a partnership, he resumes his obligations from the date
of reentry into business until the expiration of the agreement.
Licensed officers on Great Lakes and inland waterways vessels.—
Licensed deck and engine officers on Great Lakes and inland river
vessels receive employment or wage guaranties under 22 agreements
examined. Fourteen of these cover licensed engine officers and 8
cover licensed deck officers, although 2 of the latter cover pursers and
stewards only.50
Under several agreements, a company may modify its guaranty
and lay off affected personnel after a period of 7 days if vessel service
is discontinued because of marine disaster, condemnation by the
Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, or sale, commandeering,
or taking over by Government authority. In contrast, one agree
ment provides that “suspension of operations—shall not relieve [the
company] from its guaranty of the said 6 months’ continuous employ
ment.”
Guaranties for engine officers run from 6 months to a full year.
Two plans guarantee employment for 12 months; six for 10 months;
49
In certain specified sections of the city “steady-sales clerks” must be employed for a minimum period
of 10 months each year and “steady-extra sales clerks” for 18 consecutive weeks in the fall season and for
11 consecutive weeks in the spring season.
i0 Agreements covering engine officers were negotiated by the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
(C. I. O.); those for deck officers, by the Masters, Mates & Pilots (A. E. of L .).
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EMPLOYMENT AND ANNUAL-WAGE GUARANTIES
727
two for 9y2 months ;"and|three for 9 months. The fourteenth guaran
tees 6 months’ pay when boats operate from 4 to 6 months in a year,
8 months’ pay when boats operate from 6 to 8 months, 10 months’
pay for from 8 to 10 months, and 12 months’ pay when boats operate
more than 10 months. In 6 of the 14 agreements, junior officers on
Class A vessels, and all officers on other than Class A vessels receive
lesser guaranties, usually 1 month less, but amounting to 3 months
less in one agreement.
Under one agreement all engine officers on Class A vessels receive
their regular monthly salary each month for the full period of the
agreement, including 4 weeks’ vacation. On other vessels, the chief
and first assistant engineer, though guaranteed 12 months’ work in
each year, receive less pay during the lay-up season, which includes
6 weeks’ paid vacation at lay-up wages. Second assistant engineers
on these vessels, who work a major portion of the operating season
and who are still in service at the end of the season, are guaranteed
3 months’ work additional, including 4 weeks’ vacation at lay-up pay.
Guaranties in the agreements analyzed covering deck officers run from
5 to 12 months. One provides 12 months, two provide 10 months,
two provide 8 months, one provides 7 months, one provides 6 months,
and the eighth, covering two groups of pursers, 5 and 7 months,
respectively.
636372— 45-
3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
P robable Volum e of Post-W ar C o n stru c tio n 1
P a r t 3.— D e m a n d for P u b lic C o n stru c tio n
Summary
THE average annual volume of construction started (exclusive of
maintenance and minor repairs) during the first 5 years following
defeat of Japan is expected to be 10.9 billion dollars at 1940 cost
levels, with a maximum of 12.1 billion dollars in the fifth year. Pub
licly financed construction will make up about 3 billion dollars of this
average figure, increasing from about 2.1 billion dollars in the first
post-war year to almost 3.5 billion dollars in the fifth. The largest
single item will be private residential building, which with alterations
and modernization will comprise more than a third of total construc
tion, and which will consist primarily of detached houses built for sale.
Apartment construction will be active, but will not approach its pre
depression rate until a number of developments occur at a later time.
The volume of commercial construction will be close to that of the
1920’s, but will consist more of modernization than of new buildings.
Preparation for public construction varies extensively among the
different government bodies. Although still unsatisfactory, it has
improved substantially during the past year and is likely to improve
further. On the whole, non-Federal bodies are basing their programs
on expectation of Federal aid or new sources of tax revenue. The
largest element of public construction will be highway work, estimated
at 1.3 billion dollars per year plus $600,000,000 in maintenance. A
fairly extensive program of reclamation, conservation, and develop
ment is likely, for which both the U. S. Corps of Engineers and the
Interior Department have working plans ready. Schools will be the
largest item of building construction, slightly larger than all other
types of public buildings combined. Sewer and water projects seem
to be the most strongly felt need of local government units, as indi
cated by the advanced state of preparation of working plans.
Public Construction Situation
The types and extent of public construction at any time are a
reflection of current public policy. This construction is carried out by
or for thousands of different bodies—the Federal Government, the
State governments, counties, townships, municipalities, boards of
education and park boards, sanitary and water districts, government
corporations, and various others.
Although traditionally a project is financed by the body by which
it is to be maintained or operated, there have been exceptions. The
earliest of these were the national roads constructed by the Federal
Government, well over a century ago, because they were regarded as
having national rather than merely local value. The recent grants to
States and local bodies made under the Federal Works program, in
1 Prepared in the Division of Construction and Public Employment by Alexander C. Findlay. This is
the final part of this article, of which the previous two appeared in the M onthly Labor Review for Feb
ruary and March 1945. The first presented the general forecast, the basic conditions which will be present,
and the assumptions made; the second discussed effective demand for privately financed construction.
A later article will present an estimate of the site employment accompanying the predicted construction
operations.
728
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PROBABLE VOLUME OF POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION
729
large part to stimulate employment and raise the level of business
activity, were intended also to improve the national welfare through
providing improved facilities for public services. This latter considera
tion was one influence in the choice of activities for employmentproducing expenditures.
What any State or local government unit spends for construction
will be governed in part by its financial condition, but unquestionably
will be influenced by the extent to which grants or nonlocal tax rev
enues are available. The current financial condition of local govern
ment units on the whole is very good, but this is principally the result
of wartime conditions—unusually good tax collections because of
wartime business and employment levels, combined with suspension
of all but the most urgent capital expenditures. With few new bond
issues to offset retirement of maturing bonds, a substantial margin of
borrowing power has been built up, and in many cases liquid assets
have been accumulated as well. This condition will permit an active
start on post-war construction, but is regarded as merely temporary
by numerous authorities on public administration and municipal
finances. Preliminary schedules of post-war improvement programs
presented by States and municipalities have in a large number of cases
included the direct or implied statement that execution of the proposed
work was dependent on some form of Federal grant. This viewpoint
was expressed with the greatest frankness by Robert Moses in a
memorandum, dated February 1, 1944, which he issued as chairman
of the Triborough Bridge Authority of the City of New York.2
Obviously the volume of public construction which will actually take
place will be governed by broad decisions on public policy which have
not yet been made. If projects are to be constructed because of a
recognized immediate need for the physical facilities to be provided,
the volume during this period will be less than if projects which would
otherwise have been postponed to a later date are advanced in order to
provide employment. It has been assumed for the purpose of the
estimate that the former of these policies will be adopted, but this as
sumption may be incorrect. As a result, the estimates of specific
types of public construction may be regarded as conservative and in
most cases are below the potential programs of public bodies.
Similarly it has been assumed that Federal grants will be provided
for those State and local projects recognized as valuable to the Nation
as a whole. This assumption would include grants for projects such
as highways, schools or hospitals, and other institutions, but not for
projects of primarily local benefit such as construction of public ad
ministration buildings or paving of purely local streets. If this as
sumption is not met and there are no grants other than those for the
Federal-aid highway system, the local construction program will be
delayed and the volume during the early post-war years will be sub
stantially below that estimated. Conversely, appropriations to
stimulate employment will bring an increase.
It has also been assumed that some effective procedure of Federal
loans will be established for revenue-producing local improvements,
consisting largely of municipally owned utilities. These loans would
be in the form of revenue bonds, secured by the operating revenue from
3
Function and Degree of Participation of the Federal Government in the Construction of Postwar
Federal, State and Local Public Works (published by City of N ew York with a transmittal letter addressed
to Hon. Fritz G. Lanham, Chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the House of
Representatives).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
730
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
the improvements. This procedure will be important for those gov
ernment units whose bonds are not yet reapproved for fiduciary in
vestment, because of defaults which occurred during the depression.
It may be even more important for other government units in permit
ting them to segregate the financing of these improvements in bonds
secured only by operating revenue, which are distinct from the general
bonds secured by the full faith and credit of the municipality and are
exempt from the debt limit existing for these general bonds.
Starting of public work is dependent not only on accessibility of
funds and of land but also on availability of detailed working drawings
with specifications. Obtaining needed land can be a time-consuming
process, but in most cases need not be. If there is definite decision
on the property needed, and if the purpose of the project is accepted as
unquestionably a public use, in most States possession can be obtained
with slight delay by condemnation, even though legal determination
of the price to be paid may be in process and may, indeed, continue
over a long period. Acquisition in this manner is likely to be more
expensive than by negotiation in advance, because there is no oppor
tunity to choose among a number of suitable sites on the basis of
negotiations with their respective owners. It is, however,.an alter
native to prolonged delay when site purchase has not been undertaken
sufficiently in advance. Furthermore, information from a consider
able number of government bodies indicates that a rather substantial
part of the total land needed for contemplated public construction is
already publicly owned.
For preparation of drawings and specifications there are few short
cuts, except for certain kinds of work. The time required varies with
the type, size, and complexity of the project, but for a project of any
magnitude is likely to be at least several months. Basic designs for
some types of work are fairly well standardized, but other types require
preliminary surveys and careful study of alternative designs before
work on the final drawings can be started.
Design preparation is somewhat meager, but has advanced during
the past year and shows signs of further acceleration. Prepara
tion has gone farthest for State highway work. For other work, it is
improved but still spotty. Early in 1944, architectural sources re
ported that little public work had reached the design stage, except that
in and near New York City and Los Angeles. Since then, architects
have been engaged for projects in many other parts of the country, but
still there are some extensive areas and a great number of local political
bodies for which this step has not yet been taken. The report on the
subject,3 published jointly by the Federal Works Agency and the
Bureau of the Census in September 1944, notes that there were 29,270
projects (other than Federal-aid and State highways) having a total
estimated cost exclusive of land of $5,969,000,000, which were in at
least a preliminary stage of preparation on July 1, 1944.4 Of these,
plans were completed for not quite a fourth, having about a sixth of
total cost; design was in progress for somewhat over a fourth, both in
3 Report of Proposed Post-War Public Works: Volume and Status of the Plan Preparation of Post-War
Public Works Proposed by State and Local Governments, prepared at the request of the Special Committee
on Post-War Economic Policy and Planning, House of Representatives, by the Federal Works Agency in
collaboration with the Bureau of the Census.
4 That report summarizes data obtained from 1,480 government units—44 States, 731 counties, 593 cities,
and 112 special districts. All information given is for those 1,480 units exclusively, rather than an estimate
for all State and local government units in continental United States. Estimated expenditures are, in
general, at the cost levels expected by the various units when the work is carried out.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PROBABLE VOLUME OF POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION
731
number and in cost; and the remainder were in a preliminary stage
only. In addition, 27,513 projects with estimated cost excluding land
of $5,665,000,000 were in what was termed the “idea stage” (i. e., being
contemplated as possibilities).
The seriousness of this situation is indicated by the concentration
of plans in limited areas. New York City alone reported 29 percent
of all completed plans, in terms of value, while the other 4 cities
having populations over 1,000,000—Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit,
and Los Angeles—reported 9 percent of the total. These 5 cities
reported almost 42 percent of all work currently in the design stage.
Furthermore, almost a sixth of ’the 1,480 public bodies reporting—
237—had no plans in any stage of preparation. Of the remaining
1,243, only 600 had completed plans for any of their projects at the
time of submitting their reports. Reports on ability to complete
plans for their projects in the design, preliminary, and idea stage
showed that 535 units would be able to carry plans to completion,
while 689 would not. For this latter group there were two principal
reasons—lack of funds, and legal restrictions which prevent numerous
government bodies from spending money on plans for any project
until its construction is officially authorized.
With respect to construction funds, the current state of prepara
tion is likewise incomplete. According to the same report, for the
projects having completed plans, 31.4 percent of necessary funds were
on hand or arranged for; for those on which design was in progress,
.14.8 percent; for those in preliminary stages, 7.2 percent; and for
those in the “idea stage,” 5.5 percent. Negotiations were currently
under way for about 5 percent of necessary funds for the first 3 of
these groups, and for about 3 percent of funds for the projects in the
“idea stage.” Even for those projects for which plans were complete,
little more than a third of the necessary funds was on hand, arranged
for, or under negotiation.
It is apparent that, with respect to both planning and financing,
much remains to be done if public construction is to be started as
early as needed. There are indications that this situation is being
increasingly recognized.
Public-Construction Situation
H IG H W A Y S, R O A D S, A N D ST R E E T S
The most important single element of public construction will be
highway, road, and street work. It will be necessary ultimately to
bring the entire street and highway system into conformity with
traffic requirements, including, of course, the provision of access to
new localities. This will mean work to improve the traffic flow and
reduce the accident hazard on primary highways, extension of the
all-weather mileage of minor roads, and relief for urban traffic con
gestion. In many cases work will consist of improvements to exist
ing highways, such as construction of additional lanes or replacement
of sharp curves, excessive grades, and other localized defects. In
other cases it will be necessary to replace outworn pavement, while
in some cases it will be more satisfactory to construct new highway
on new right of way, for the heaviest concentrations of traffic. Work
on structures will also be important—new bridges and culverts, re
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
732
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
placement of bridges and culverts not meeting^modern traffic require
ments, and grade separations.
Work withinfpities is likely to emphasize|tlre arterial-street system
and access portion of(intercity jhighways to a greater extent than
formerly. In some cases satisfactory treatment will require widening
or relocation of right-of-way, which may necessitate demolition of
buildings. This procedure involves large expenditures for purposes
other than construction, and thus will take place over a fairly long
period. Other city paving is likely to be fairly small in volume,
except for repairs and replacement and for work in new areas actually
undergoing development. Difhcul tiesJin collecting special assess
ments during the last 15 years have made city officials cautious about
provision of improvements in undeveloped areas.
The Federal Works Agency and Census Bureau report above cited
shows that of Federal aid and State highway projects to cost almost
$2,200,000,000, plans had been completed for 10 percent by July 1,
1944, and were in preparation for another 43% percent. It com
mented on the rapid progress mrpreparation of plans, and expressed
the opinion that plans would probably be available for at least the
volume of work that could be financed for the first 3 post-war years.
State highway revenues, balances in the various State highway funds,
and probable Federal aid would permit expenditures of approximately
$1,000,000,000 per year during this period, for construction plus en
gineering and land acquisition.
Highway, street, and road projects not in the State and Federalaid systems, which were in the preliminary planning stage or be
yond, reported somewhat over $1,500,000,000 in estimated cost ex
clusive of land, of which plans had been completed for about 15
percent and were in progress for another 25 percent. These figures
include bridges, viaducts, and grade separations, as well as grading
and paving.
The total of all new highway and related construction may be
estimated at an average of $1,300,000,000 per year, at 1940 price
levels.
In addition, there will be a large volume of maintenance. Defi
nitions of maintenance vary somewhat between State highway de
partments and other bodies carrying on road work, but in general it
is regarded as meaning prevention and correction of deterioration by
repairs, patching, and routine operations such as periodical scraping
of gravel surfaces. Even during the curtailments of war years such
maintenance has been above $400,000,000 in value per year. It is
likely that an average annual expenditure will be $600,000,000 in the
first 5 post-war years, in part for current needs and in part to over
come the deterioration resulting from past curtailments and from
heavy concentration of wartime traffic.
PUBLIC H O U SIN G
The construction rate for wartime public housing has been falling
rapidly for almost 2 years, and it seems unlikely that any substantial
number of dwelling units will be started during the final year before
defeat of Japan. The number during that year is estimated at about
4,000, although this may be increased somewhat by unforeseen re
quirements of war production.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PROBABLE VOLUME OF POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION
733
When the war is over, a fairly rapid increase may be expected in
construction of permanent slum-clearance projects by local housing
authorities, with an average of 50,000 dwelling units started annually
during the first 5 years. It is estimated that about 30,000 units will
be started during .the first year, most of these during the latter part
of the year when difficulties of material supply are alleviated, and
that the annual construction rate will increase to about 60,000 during
the fourth and fifth years. Average construction cost during the
period is estimated at about $160,000,000, at 1940 cost levels.
It is recognized that public housing has been subjected to detailed
criticism, and to some degree of attack. There is a widespread desire
to give every opportunity, and in fact every reasonable assistance, to
private operators to meet as much of the housing need as is possible.
Nevertheless there is fairly general recognition that an acute need
exists for housing of families unable to meet full commercial charges
for decent accommodations, whether new or used. There is accom
panying recognition that slum-clearance housing projects provided
for such families have been civic assets, both in the physical facilities
provided and in the accompanying removal of what was often the
worst of the slum buildings. It is therefore believed that public
housing will be constructed on a moderate scale, but with close
observation of the results being achieved.
In New York State approximately 18,000 public dwelling units are
scheduled for construction within the early post-war period, most of
these within New York City. Drawings and specifications are com
pleted for many of these and well advanced for others, and numerous
sites have been acquired. Because of State legislation, financing is
not dependent on actions or available funds of the National Housing
Agency. Elsewhere, preparations have been made through the stage
of signed loan contracts between local housing authorities -and Na
tional Housing Agency or its predecessors for some 25,500 dwelling
units in slum-clearance projects still postponed because of the war.
It seems likely that many of these will be built, although the increase
in building costs since 1941 introduces financial and legal problems.
It is also possible that a few local housing authorities having suffi
ciently high credit will construct additional projects even without
grants from other bodies. Apart from these, it is thought, from
proposed legislation and published but unofficial expressions of legis
lative opinion, that sufficient Federal financing will be provided to
permit a total program of the size estimated.
SCHOOL B U IL D IN G S
Schools are the public buildings most urgently needed. One
educational authority has estimated that there is extremely urgent
need for capital expenditure of at least $3,000,000,000 within the
first 5 years after the war for public schools and colleges, and that
additional capital expenditure of $4,000,000,000 during this period
would be highly desirable. About two-thirds of each figure is for
construction proper, the remainder being for equipment, architectural
services, and in some cases, land. The estimate includes rural schools,
urban schools below college level, and public colleges and universities.
Plans to date are not commensurate with such a program, but the
situation in this respect is likely to be improved materially. Al
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 19 45
though school design has been undergoing fairly extensive develop
ment for more than a decade, this is an architectural field in which
requirements are rather widely understood, and in which certain basic
designs are applicable with minor modification to different localities
of similar composition and similar climate. In fact, a-few cases are
known in which architects specializing in school work have retained
their staffs during dull periods to prepare tentative drawings for
schools of common types and sizes in order to have plans ready, when
needed, for modification and completion to fit individual requirements.
An average volume of $400,000,000 per year is estimated for new
work, additions, alterations, and improvements. This is expected to
begin with $250,000,000 in work started during the 'first post-war
year, and to amount to $450,000,000 annually during the third,
fourth, and fifth years. Annual expenditure was above $400,000,000
at 1940 cost levels for 6 successive years ending with 1929, and was
somewhat above $450,000,000 in 1925 and 1926, but this pre-depression
period was marked by a combination of stimulating factors—spread
of the junior-high-school system with its need for new buildings,
movement of urban population from older residential areas to out
lying and suburban areas, widespread realization that nonfireproof
urban schools needed replacement, and of course the viewpoint of
the period favorable to physical improvements of almost all kinds.
H O S P IT A L S A N D IN S T IT U T IO N S
Hospitals and institutional buildings, including sanitoria and mental
hospitals, will probably be built to the extent of about $75,000,000
per year. The Veterans Administration plans an annual expenditure
of $20,000,000 per year for veterans’ hospitals alone—probably
replacement of temporary hospitals built during the war, for the
most part. This figure includes equipment and other nonconstruc
tion costs, and the remainder must be deflated to about $12,000,000
annually at 1940 price levels. In addition, States and local govern
ment units have projects in various stages of preparation for general
hospitals, mental and other specialized hospitals, sanitoria, training
and custodial institutions for the handicapped, institutions for the
aged,5 and establishments of numerous minor types. In part this
proposed work will provide increased capacity in accordance with
greater public recognition of the need present, and in part will replace
existing buildings which—in some classifications especially—are badly
suited to their purposes.
Because of the greatly increased recognition of the value of hospitals
especially, and of other public institutions to a lesser degree, it is
expected that funds will be available for the volume of construction
estimated. The present state of plan preparation indicates readiness
for this volume.
P U B L IC A D M IN IST R A T IO N B U IL D IN G S
The Federal building program is directed by the Public Buildings
Administration, which submits to Congress the building programs
proposed. After Congressional approval and accompanying authori5
W hile old-age assistance and social-security benefits are supplanting institutional care for the ablebodied aged, they do not affect the need for such care for the infirm, chronically sick, or handicapped.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PROBABLE VOLUME OF POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION
735
zation of funds, a committee representing PBA and the executive
agencies selects specific projects from the approved list, after which
land is purchased, drawings are prepared, and contracts are awarded.
This activity is divided between work in the District of Columbia
and work elsewhere. For the former, a study of space requirements
has been made by PBA on the basis of expected reductions in personnel,
return of some agencies transferred from Washington, release and
demolition of unsuitable buildings, and restoration of the space per
employee to the figure found from experience to permit best efficiency.
The proposed program based on this study calls for demolition of
temporary and obsolete buildings with about 6,000,000 square .feet
of space, release of about 3,400,000 square feet of rented space, and
construction of new permanent buildings with about 6,000,000 square
feet. Construction cost of this program would be about $15,000,000
per year for 5 years at 1940 levels of prices.
For buildings outside of Washington, a tentative program consisting
of 3,000 buildings throughout the country has been prepared by
PBA for submission to Congress. In accordance with established
procedure, this list will be approved with or without modification,
and then annual or biennial appropriations will be made establishing
the construction rate. Past appropriations suggest a rate somewhat
over $50,000,000 per yearfcat 1940j3osplevels.
These buildings will be of all types and sizes. Some will be simple,
single-purpose buildings such as border-patrol stations or small post
offices, while a few will be comparable to metropolitan office buildings.
For a number of years it has been the policy, in designing custom
houses, post-office buildings, and other specialized buildings, to provide
space for those other Federal offices in the same cities which could
use this space advantageously. This policy has been followed in
preparation of the tentative program.
If land is not already owned it can be obtained within 30 days if
necessary, by a declaration of seizure. For smaller buildings needed
in quantity, mainly small post offices, numerous standard designs
have been in use for some years, which can be modified within 30
to 45 days to fit individual requirements. This could not be done,
of course, in the case of larger buildings or those for less-standardized
uses, for which preparation of drawings ordinarily requires 6 months
to a year or more, depending on the size and characteristics of the
building wanted.
State and local government units are planning for buildings of
many types. No comprehensive tabulation by type is available, but
reports from individual government bodies indicate that most proj
ects will be for operating departments—fire stations, shops for publicwork activities, and other strictly utilitarian structures. There will
also, however, be both additions and new buildings for city halls,
courthouses, and public offices, to overcome crowding and to replace
obsolete buildings.
Publicly financed industrial buildings have been important only
under war conditions or when war was imminent, and commercial
buildings have been minor at all times. It is expected that these
will be few in number and small, limited to those built in conjunction
with other types of work.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
M IL IT A R Y A N D N A V A L C O N ST R U C TIO N
Military and naval construction in continental United States will
probably be fairly small—about $60,000,000 per year—since cur
tailment rather than expansion of the total military and naval estab
lishment is expected. This work is likely to consist largely of
improvement to existing establishments to make them better suited
for post-war operation.
A IR P O R T C O N ST R U C TIO N
There will certainly be a large public construction program for
aviation facilities, for which a tentative estimate is $75,000,000 per
year. Large expansion of commercial aviation over pre-war levels
may be expected, as well as some expansion of private flying. The
wartime construction has been enormous, but with some exceptions
military requirements meant location of new fields where they will
have but limited value for post-war civilian use.
The principal agency in this field is the Civil Aeronautics Adminis
tration, but numerous States, counties, and municipalities have also
carried out varying degrees of planning. Although no formal pro
gram will exist until Congressional authority is given, the subject is
being studied carefully and rather detailed programs have been pre
pared for submission to Congress.
Whatever the extent of the program authorized, it seems likely to
consist of two principal types of facilities: (1) Metropolitan airports
capable of accommodating the largest planes and the heaviest traffic
volume, to be built close to the center of the city. Average construc
tion cost will be about $20,000,000 each. Because of the area re
quired, these can be built only in cities located on suitable bodies of
water where land can be created by filling in. The cost of buying a
sufficient area of improved property near the downtown section, on
which it would be necessary to demolish all buildings, would obviously
be prohibitive. (2) Smaller airports on natural land, in several size
groups intended for corresponding classes of expected traffic volume.
Preliminary estimate of construction cost for these is from $80,000
to $360,000 each, depending on size.
It is expected that land will be provided and supplementary ex
penses (such as those for legal services) will be paid by local sponsors,
ordinarily municipalities. This preparation has lagged thus far and
start of work will in many cases by delayed unless planning is accel
erated. The preparation time required, including that for design,
ranges from 9 months for the smallest airports up to 2 years for the
metropolitan airports to be built on filled-in land.
R E C L A M A T IO N , C O N SE R V A T IO N , A N D D E V E L O P M E N T
Comprehensive plans for reclamation, conservation, and develop
ment work have been prepared by the Corps of Engineers and by the
Interior Department, and construction can therefore be started on
short notice. Proposals affecting the contemplated programs of
both of these agencies have been made for unified development, of the
TVA type, for six major river systems. Other proposed projects
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PROBABLE VOLUME OF POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION
737
include the St. Lawrence Seaway, for which a large part of the construc
tion would be performed in Canada.
The purposes to be served include improvement of navigation;
flood control, erosion control, and soil improvement; irrigation; the
generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power; and the
provision of recreational areas. Some projects will serve a single
purpose, particularly improvement of navigation, while others will
contribute to most if not all of those listed. All this work is heavy
engineering, but includes a variety of types of construction, of which
dredging, rock removal, moving of earth, and construction of dams,
locks, piers, and facilities for generation and distribution of elec
tricity will be the most important.
Public policy on expenditures will affect the volume of work on
projects within this general classification more than that on most
others. There is seldom the immediate urgency that there is, for
example, for relief of overcrowded schools or hospitals. Results of
earlier development work, and particularly the value of many of
the completed projects to the war production program, have been
an effective demonstration that these undertakings augment the
Nation’s resources and productive capacity. Hence there seems to
be little chance that they will be regarded merely as means of creat
ing employment and stimulating business. An average volume of
$350,000,000 annually during the first 5 post-war years is estimated,
with a range from $275,000,000 in the first year to $400,000,000 in
the fourth and also in the fifth year.
S E W E R A N D W A T E R F A C IL IT IE S
Sewer, sanitation, and water-supply projects are local undertakings,
except that in metropolitan areas they are not uncommonly con
structed and operated by special districts for several municipalities
and the intervening unincorporated territory. Their importance, par
ticularly as regards sewage-treatment facilities, is considerably more
than local because of the effect on other localities.
After the war there will be extension of service to growing neighbor
hoods, both those formerly dormant and those entirely new, and
provision of public facilities—especially for sewage—in smaller
municipalities formerly lacking such improvement. In cities already
providing water and sewage service there will be development of new
sources of water supply, increase of capacity for pumping stations
and primary distribution mains, construction of water-treatment
plants, and construction or enlargement of sewage-treatment plants.
Considerably greater attention than in the past is likely to be given
treatment of industrial wastes, with provision made in part through
public plants and in part through private facilities at industrial estab
lishments producing objectionable liquids.
As might be surmised, sustained level for sewer and water construc
tion was greatest during the pre-depression period when residential
and other building was at its height and when urban subdivisions were
being marketed in greatest number. From 1925 through 1929, aver
age annual volume was about $180,000,000 for sewer construction
and about $155,000,000 for water.
The estimated averages during the first 5 years after the war are,
respectively, $200,000,000 for sewage facilities and $150,000,000 for
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
water. Widespread public recognition of the importance of such
projects is indicated by the fact that they lead all other types of work
reported to the Federal Works Agency by local government units, as
regards estimated cost of work for which plans were completed on
July 1, 1944, and also for which plans were in preparation on that date.
There will of course be caution about proceeding in vacant new sub
divisions and other vacant areas, but the influence of this factor is
reflected in the estimate.
Financing should present no difficulties for any justified project.
Watei service is a revenue-producing utility, the rates for which in
clude debt service as well as operating costs. A considerable part of
the cost of sewer work will be paid from special assessments. Collec
tion risks will commonly be avoided by requiring the property owners
to pay the assessments prior to start of the work, when they desire
construction in vacant areas or areas where property values are spec
ulative. The several forms of “sewer rental” by which property
owners or occupants are charged separately for sewage service have
been adopted in relatively few cities, but in the course of time may
become inportant as a source of funds for debt service.
PA R K S A N D R E C R E A T IO N A L F A C IL IT IE S
This work consists in part of buildings such as auditoriums, field
houses, and shelters, and in part of grading, landscaping, construction
of swimming pools and beaches, and other outdoor work. The ex
penditure level for buildings alone rose rather consistently during the
1920’s to a peak of $56,000,000 in 1928 and then, after depression
curtailment, increased again with somewhat less regularity through
1939. Recent newspaper accounts show strong public support for
some proposed projects. Nevertheless, this is one of the smaller
classes of public construction and one likely to be subordinated to
schools, hospitals, and other types of work which are generally re
garded as more urgent. Volume is estimated at $70,000,000 per year.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Occupational Outlook
Post-W ar Em ploym ent O utlook in A viation
O ccupations 1
P a rt 1.—Job Prospects W ith Air Lines
Summary
TO MANY thousands of men in the military and naval air forces
who will be looking for civilian jobs after the war, the post-war em
ployment outlook in aviation is a matter of immediate and urgent
concern. It is also of importance to young people leaving school, for
whom the attraction of aviation jobs has no doubt been enhanced by
the war. A study of air transportation and related fields was there
fore undertaken by the Bureau to provide information needed in
vocational guidance of both these groups. The present article,
which is the first of a series, deals with employment prospects in the
major branch of commercial aviation—the air lines.
Gains in air-line traffic and employment after the war are widely
and confidently predicted. Most carriers are already planning to
make major additions to routes and schedules as soon as needed
authorizations, aircraft, and personnel can be obtained. There is,
however, great difference of opinion as to how large the increases
will be. In studying post-war employment prospects, two forecasts
of air traffic, one conservative and the other relatively optimistic,
were therefore selected from among many different predictions by
persons well acquainted with the industry. Rough estimates were
then made of the numbers' of workers who would be needed 5 years
after the war if these traific forecasts were realized.
For pilots, the lowest post-war employment figure arrived at was
little over 6,000, the highest not quite 15,000. This would be a
gain of roughly 2,000 to 10,000 above present employment in com
mercial and military-contract activities. For mechanics and related
personnel, the range of employment possibilities envisaged was 20,000
to 40,000—6,000 to 26,000 more jobs than at present. Comparable
gains were found to be in sight for stewards and stewardesses and for
ground communications operators. In the other occupations
studied—flight engineers, flight radio operators, navigators, dis
patchers and meteorologists, and stock and stores employees—
present employment is so large relative to probable post-war needs
that a sizable gain in job openings may be expected only if the more
optimistic forecasts of air-line traffic prove to be correct.
1
Prepared in the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Division by Helen Wood, with the assistance of Hilda
L. Pearlman. The Bureau wishes to acknowledge the generous assistance received in the preparation of
this article from many members of the staff of the Civil Aeronautics Administration^ Civil Aeronautics
Board, National Mediation Board, and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and from
officials of the Air Transport Association and of a number of companies and trade-unions.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
To measure tlie chances of finding work in these occupations after
the war, it is of course necessary to combine the figures on future air
line jobs with estimates of job opportunities in other aviation fields
and to relate both to figures on post-war labor supply. This will be
done in a later article.
Background and Scope of Study
Three years of war, during which the airplane has been not only a
major weapon of combat but a mainstay of supply lines to every conti
nent of the world, have aroused hopes of a tremendous post-war
expansion in commercial aviation. Before the war, the comparatively
new and small air-line industry was growing much faster than any
other branch of transportation. Wartime conditions have brought
shortages of planes and other operating difficulties but have increased
optimism as to the future. Because of their experience in transoceanic
flying under the Air Transport Command and the Naval Air Trans
port Service, the airlines are aiming higher than ever before in their
plans for international operations. Both inside and outside this
country, unprecedented volumes of cargo have been carried, and this
has led to a new emphasis on the peacetime potentialities of air express
and freight, as well as of passenger traffic. The strides made in the
field of radar and in military aircraft and engine construction are
also expected to benefit post-war flying. When applied to civilian
planes after victory, these developments should mean even greater
speed, safety, regularity, and economy of operations.
Hand in hand with these technical advances has gone a rapid increase
in public acceptance of air transportation. There can be no doubt that
many people who regarded a trip by plane as a hazardous adventure
only a few years ago now travel by air line as casually as by railroad.
Persons with knowledge of the industry predict that this trend will
continue after the war, though they emphasize that air transporta
tion is likely to remain small relative to land and water transportation
during the foreseeable future. It is generally agreed that, as fares
and cargo rates are reduced, equipment improved, routes extended,
and flying speed further increased, there will be a marked rise in the
volume of both passenger and cargo traffic moving by air. Great
increases in nonsclieduled flight services, in the use and ownership of
airplanes by business establishments, and in recreational flying and
the services necessary to maintain private aircraft have also been
prophesied.
What this expansion in commercial aviation is likely to mean in
terms of employment, and how employment opportunities will com
pare with the numbers of skilled workers seeking jobs as pilots and in
other aviation occupations, are questions of obvious importance to
hundreds of thousands of men in Army, Navy, and Marine Corps avi
ation who will be entering the civilian labor market at the end of the
war. They are also of concern to young people graduating from
school, who may be expected to feel the lure of jobs in aviation more
strongly after the war than in the past.
To provide at least rough answers to these questions the Bureau
undertook a study of the prospects for employment both with the air
lines and in the other fields—fixed-base operations, airports, corporate
and executive users of aircraft, and the Civil Aeronautics Authority.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
741
One important aviation industry—the manufacture of aircraft and
aircraft engines and parts-—was excluded from the study. Because of
the reduction in orders for military planes which victory will bring,
drastic cuts in output and employment are known to be ahead for this
industry. Many men and women now on the pay roll will have to be
laid off, despite the efforts that will be made to convert plants to other
types of production. It is evident that veterans with specific reem
ployment rights and perhaps a few other individual ex-servicemen are
the only ones not on the wartime staff for whom airplane factories
hold hope of employment after the war.
This article deals with post-war employment prospects in the largest
branch of commercial aviation—the air lines or, as they are sometimes
termed, scheduled air transportation. All members of flight crews—
pilots, flight engineers, navigators, radio operators, and stewards and
stewardesses—are considered separately. Certain technical ground
occupations are also covered, among them dispatchers and meteorol
ogists, communications operators, and mechanics and helpers.
Later articles will discuss future employment opportunities in other
fields and will also suggest what the chances of finding a job in each
occupation are likely to be, by comparing the probable number of job
openings with the air lines and elsewhere to the numbers of men in
the armed forces having the specified types of skill. Data on duties,
qualifications, training, licensing requirements, wages, and working
conditions in aviation jobs will also be presented.
The A ir Lines and Their Routes
Domestic operations.—There are at present 16 air lines that act as
interstate common carriers of passengers or property on regular
schedules within the continental United States.2 As required under
the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, all these companies hold certificates
of public convenience and necessity from the Civil Aeronautics Board
specifying the routes over which they may operate and the com
munities they may serve. Four lines, known as the “ Big Four,”
bulk large in the domestic industry. These are American Airlines,
Transcontinental and Western Air, and United Air Lines, all of which
offer transcontinental service over different routes, and Eastern Air
Lines, which, as its name implies, operates mainly on north-south
routes in the eastern part of the country. The Big Four have in
recent years transported about four-fifths of the total volume of
domestic traffic and employed two-thirds to three-fourths of the
workers engaged in commercial operations. Three other carriers
(Northwest, Pennsylvania Central, and Braniff) have accounted for
over half of the remaining traffic and employment. One of the medi
um-sized carriers (Northwest) was recently granted an extension of
its routes which makes it the fourth transcontinental line.
These companies’ routes, together with those of the smaller carriers,
form an integrated transportation system reaching all States. There
are now some 61,000 airport-to-airport miles of permanently certifi
cated domestic routes, with authorized stops for passenger, mail,
and cargo service at about 370 cities in the United States. Not all
these cities and routes are served at present, because of wartime
restrictions, but all will be served after the war. Moreover, applica3 Fifteen of these lines carry passengers, mail, and property. There is, however, one small company
(All American Aviation) which is authorized to carry mail and property only.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
tions for new or extended routes which the domestic carriers have on
file with the Civil Aeronautics Board will, if approved, provide service
to many additional cities. Whether great numbers of small com
munities will be reached directly will depend, however, on the future
of local feeder services, still in an early and experimental stage of
development. There are already a few small intrastate carriers, and
some of the major air lines have routes of feeder type. No specialized
interstate feeder line transporting both passengers and cargo has yet
been authorized, however. The CAB has received many applica
tions for certificates to operate such lines but has announced that
only those which show “ a justifiable expectation of success at a
reasonable cost to the Government” will be authorized and that, as a
safeguard, only temporary certificates will be issued.3
International and territorial operations.—Before the war, by far the
greatest part of this country’s international and territorial air traffic
was handled by the Pan American Airways System, including PanAmerican-Grace Airways.4 Pan American was the only United States
carrier authorized to operate routes to Latin America, across the
Atlantic and Pacific, and to and from Hawaii, the Philippine Islands,
Alaska, and Puerto Rico. In addition, its foreign subsidiaries fur
nished service within a number of foreign countries. Service by
other companies outside continental United States was limited to a
few short routes to Canada, operated by domestic air lines, and a
minor intraterritorial service in the Hawaiian Islands.5
The greatest wartime change in this picture has been the spectacular
and extensive transocean flying done by several domestic lines under
contract with the War and Navy Departments. Other changes in
clude temporary authorizations from the CAB, permitting American
Airlines to serve Mexico City and Braniff Airways to cross the border
to Nuevo Laredo. In addition, a small new company (American
Export Airlines) inaugurated a trans-Atlantic route in 1942, but thus
far has been granted a temporary certificate only.
What the post-war situation will be is still uncertain. Stimulated
by their experience in international flying with the Air Transport
Command and Naval Air Transport Service, many domestic air lines
have applied to the CAB for authorization to undertake international
services. At least one carrier has proposed a round-the-world route.
Several steamship companies have also asked permission to operate
transoceanic air lines. At the time this report was written, no de
cision had been rendered on the applications' for permanent interna
tional routes.6 It may well be that the number of carriers offering
3 IT. S. Civil Aeronautics Board, Docket No. 857, Investigation of Local Feeder and Pick-up Air Service,
Opinion by the Board, July 11, 1944, p. 4. The question of expense to the Government arises from the fact
that, und er the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, the rates paid for air mail must be sufficient, together with all
other reve nues, to enable air carriers “under honest, economical, and efficient management, to maintain
and contin ue a development of air transportation to the extent and of the character and quality required
for the commerce, of the United States, the Postal Service, and the national defense.”
4 Fifty percent of tile stock of Pan-American-Grace is owned by Pan American and the other 50 percent
by th e W. R. Grace Co., which also owns the Grace steamship line. Pan-American-Grace connects at
Cristo bal with the Pan American route between the United States and the Canal Zone, furnishing service
along t he west coast of South America to Chile and thence across the Andes to Buenos Aires.
3 In addition, Caribbean-Atlantic Airlines, a Puerto Rican company operates an inter-island service in
the Caribbean. There is also a network of local air services within Alaska, but these have thus far been
classified as nonscheduled operations by the Civil Aeronautics Board.
o
Although no decisions on this subject have yet been announced by the Board, reports by the Board’s
examiners with regard to the applications for North Atlantic and Latin American routes were recently
issued. The first of these recommended that Pan-American Airways and American Export Airlines be
authorized to operate North Atlantic routes and that applications for such routes from other air lines be
denied. The report on Latin American routes recommends that certificates be granted to Pan American,
Eastern, Braniff, American, and Western Air Lines, authorizing service between the United States and
various points in Central and South America and the West Indies. Applications for South Atlantic and
Pacific routes are also under consideration.
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OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
743
service outside the Americas will eventually be decided by Congress
rather than the CAB, because of the major questions of international
policy involved.
A ir-Line Traffic and Employment Before and During the War
T R E N D S IN T R A F FIC A N D
E M PL O Y M E N T
The air lines of the United States had a total of only 22,100 em
ployees at the end of 1940, the last “ normal” pre-war year. Of these
workers 15,800 were employed by the domestic carriers and the re
mainder by those engaged in international or territorial operations
(table 1). With this comparatively small staff, the air lines handled
1,152 million passenger-miles of revenue traffic during 1940, of which
1,041 million passenger-miles was in domestic operations and 111 mil
lion in operations wholly or partly outside the limits of continental
United States. They also moved 14 million ton-miles of mail, express
and freight over domestic routes and a smaller tonnage outside the
United States. The railroads, on the other hand, accounted for
23,762 million passenger-miles of transportation and 373,253 million
ton-miles of freight during 1940,7 and in December of that year had
more than a million employees.8
T able
1.—Employment and Traffic in Domestic and in International and Territorial
Air-Line Operations, 1936—43 1
Item
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
Domestic operations
Number of employees (as of Dec. 31 of
each year) . _____________ ______ _ 7,045 7,529 8,955 10, 509 15,800 18,984 26, 447 30,349
Revenue passengers carried (in thou
sands)___ _ _ _______ ______ _____ 911.1 958.5 1,176. 9 1, 717.1 2, 727.8 3, 768. 9 3, 349.1 3,351. 5
Revenue passenger-miles (in millions) - _ 388.2 407.3 476.4
677.7 1, 041. 2 1,369.6 1,398.0 1,606.1
5.7
6.7
7.4
8.6
10.0
12.9
21.1
35.9
Mail ton-miles (in millions)__________
2.2
2.2
5.2
Express ton-miles (in m illions)________
1.9
2.7
3.5
15.1
11.7
International and territorial operations
Number of employees (as of Dec. 31 of
each year)______________
_
5,414
6, 256
7,474 13, 214
2,950 4,063 4,354
Revenue passengers carried (in thou
161.2
216.8
311.1
383.9
sands) _______________ ___________
(2)
(2)
(2)
78.2
111.2
Revenue passenger-miles (in millions) __ (2)
179.0
264.0
(2)
(2)
675.4 1,045. 4 1,637. 4 3,355. 5
M ail pounds (in thousands) 3___ _ _ _ 328.3 426.3 484.7
Express pounds (in thousands)3_______ 873.2 1,114.0 1,270.0 1,398.0 1,682.0 3,105.4 8, 509.4
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
«
1 Figures for domestic operations obtained from Statistical Handbook of Civil Aviation (Civil Aeronau
tics Administration, Oct. 15, 1944); statistics for international and territorial operations, from Civil Aero
nautics Journal (U. S. Department of Commerce), Jan. 15, 1944.
2 N ot available.
£
2 Ton-mile figures not available for international and territorial operations.
”
Considered in the light of its brief history, the 1940 position of the
air transport industry was very favorable. At that time the industry
was only about a decade and a half old 9 and had been growing much
2 Statistics of Railways of Class I (Interstate Commerce Commission), 1929-42, sheet 3. Figures refer to
revenue traffic only.
8 Wage Statistics of Class I Steam railways in the United States (ICC, Bureau of Transport Economics
and Statistics), Statement No. M-300, 1940.
2 For all practical purposes, the transportation of passengers and property by air on a regular schedule
and a commercial scale began in 1926. A number of private carriers opened contract mail routes during that
year, under the provisions of the Air Mail (Kelly) Act of 1925. Before then the only extensive air service in
this country was the Government-operated mail route between N ew York and San Francisco, initiated in
1919-20.
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45—
4
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744
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
faster than any other form of transportation. In the 4 years from
1936 to 1940, air-line employment more than doubled in both branches
of the industry. Large gains were registered also by all classes of
traffic during this period, although, as table 1 shows, the rate of
increase was greater for passengers than for mail or other cargo.
During 1941, the rise in business activity incident to the national
defense program further accelerated the growth in air-line traffic and
employment, but since then expansion has been restricted by shortages
of planes. The domestic carriers had 359, the international and terri
torial carriers 94 planes in service or reserve at the end of 1941.
Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, the armed forces
took over many of these aircraft by purchase or lease. At the end
of 1942, the domestic commercial fleet was left with 179 planes, only
half its pre-war strength. A few urgently needed planes were re
turned to the airlines for commercial operations in 1943, but the num
bers released were small until mid-1944 and raised the domestic fleet
to only 347 planes by the end of that year.
The record of the air lines in maintaining traffic at high levels
despite the shortage of equipment is a major achievement. Though
there has been a drop in number of passengers carried, from the 1941
peak, passengers have averaged so many more miles per trip than
before the war that total revenue passenger-miles have shown an
increase. There has also been a substantial rise above 1941 levels in
tonnage of mail and other cargo handled by both domestic and inter
national carriers (table 1).
The seeming paradox of increased service with decreased equipment
has been made possible partly by higher pay-load factors and partly
by an extraordinary increase in plane utilization. During 1943, the
domestic carriers used, on the average, 88 percent of their passenger
capacity per flight for revenue traffic, compared with only 59 percent
in 1941. Whereas before the war average plane utilization in domestic
operations was about 6 or 7 hours a day and in 1941 was 8% hours,
since 1943 it has been 10 to 12 hours.10
A rise in labor requirements per plane has of course accompanied
the intensified plane utilization. It has been estimated that about
4% crews are required for each aircraft in service under present operat
ing conditions,11 although at the end of 1940 the domestic lines aver
aged less than 3 crews per plane. In addition, an expanded ground
and office force has been necessary to service the heavily taxed equip
ment and handle the continued increase in traffic.
The result has been a gain in personnel employed in domestic com
mercial operations from the previously cited figure of 15,800 at the
end of 1940 to 30,300 at the end of 1943 (table 1). In the inter
national and territorial segment of the industry, employment more
than doubled in an even shorter period, rising from 6,300 at the end
of 1940 to 13,200 on December 31, 1942, the last date for which con
siderations of military security have permitted release of employment
figures.
These statistics exclude, as far as possible, personnel employed full
time in the special wartime activities undertaken by all air lines
1(1 The Airlines of the United States at War (Office of War Information); Statement by Colonel Edgar S.
Gorrell, President, Air Transport Association, before the ninth Annual Meeting of the Association, Novem
ber 29, 1944.
11
Air Facts (N ew York), August 1944 (p. 26): Air Line Flying for Post-War Military Pilots, by F. A.
Spencer.
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OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
745
under contract with the War and Navy Departments. Most carriers
have participated in transport operations for the ATC and the NATS,
within this country and to all the major theaters of war. Some have
conducted training programs for Army and Navy personnel, providing
instruction in the operation and maintenance of multi-engined trans
port craft. A number of lines have also had contracts for the main
tenance and repair of military aircraft, engines, and instruments or have
operated modification centers at which armed-force planes undergo
changes needed to fit them for a specific task.
The exact numbers of workers employed in these different activities’
are a military secret. Total air-line employment exclusive of per
sonnel in modification centers was, however, about 45,000 or 50,000
at the end of 1944, according to information supplied by the Air
Transport Association.
E M P L O Y M E N T , B Y O C C U PA T IO N
Though the total employment figures for air transportation pre
sented above are important as a measure of the industry’s growth,
they include many diverse occupational groups—-pilots, stewards and
stewardesses, mechanics and helpers, and communications, adminis
trative, and clerical employees—which may have quite different em
ployment trends. Estimates of the numbers of employees in each of
these fields of work and in some other occupations of special interest
in this study are shown in table 2, for 1940 and later years.
It is seen that pilots and other members of flight crews make up
only a minor fraction of the industry’s work force. At the end of
1940, only 1,900 pilots and copilots were employed in domestic op
erations, 12 percent of total personnel in all types of work. In
international and territorial»- operations, there were then fewer than
400 pilots, 6 percent of all employees in that segment of the industry.
The numbers of stewards and stewardesses employed were still
smaller, and there was no appreciable employment of other flight
personnel. By far the largest occupational groups were mechanics
and helpers, office employees, and, in international operations, other
hangar and field personnel; taken together, these three groups rep
resented over two-thirds of the work force in each branch of the in
dustry.
According to the statistics for 1941-43, wartime developments have
not greatly changée! this relative picture, although there has been a
marked increase in employment for all occupational groups except
stewards and stewardesses. Caution is necessary, however, in inter
preting the figures for 1942 and 1943. As already mentioned, the
statistics compiled by the CAA and CAB are, in general, limited to
the air lines’ commercial activities, but it has not been possible to
exclude workers engaged part time in commercial and part time in
military-contract operations. For some occupational groups, there
fore, the 1942 and 1943 figures in table 2 exaggerate the increase in
employment in commercial activities during the period covered, but
they no doubt understate present employment in all instances if all
types of air-line activities are considered.
In the case of pilots, for example, the most recent statistics show a
total of 3,500 employed-—2,500 with the domestic lines at the close of
1943 and 1,000 with the international and territorial carriers as of
December 31, 1942 (table 1). In comparison, a rough but apparently
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746
M ONTHLY
L A B O R R E V I E W — A P R IL
19 45
reasonable forecast made in the summer of 1944 placed the number
of pilots likely to be flying in domestic commercial activities at the end
of the year at 2,700 and estimated those engaged in military-contract
T a b l e 2 . —Employment
in Domestic and in International and Territorial Operations of
Air Lines, by Occupational Group, 1940-43 1
Number of employees as of December 31
Occupational group 2
1940
1941
1942
1943
Domestic operations
-------------
15, 800
18, 984
26,447
30, 349
P i l o t s . , _______
. ____________ ____
___
Captains and senior pilots___ . . . ----------------- .
First pilots and copilots_____ ___ . . . . . . . - . . .
Other flight officers and mechanics 3__________ ____ Stewards and stewardesses ._
. _________ . .
Dispatchers and meteorologists 3________
____. . .
Mechanics and assistants------- --------- ------- . . .
Stock and stores employees 3__ . . _______ _ ----------Communications operators, ground 3. . . . . . . ------- .
Other hangar and field personnel.__ . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Office emplovees
......
................... . .
All other employees- ______ _ . . . _______ ____. . .
1,894
893
1,001
16
910
237
3, 99,5
371
798
1,063
5,815
701
2,137
1,065
1,072
47
1,024
266
4, 333
503
892
1,293
7, 759
730
2, 277
974
1,303
112
788
383
7, 770
752
1,179
2,178
9,883
1,125
2, 516
1,005
1, 511
284
835
394
8,084
929
1,374
3,349
10, 800
1, 784
All groups_______________ . . .
-----------
International and territorial operations
All groups----------------------- ------------------------------------
6, 256
7, 474
13,214
0)
Pilots_______ .
. . . . . . ______________ _______ - .
Captains and senior pilots---------------------------------First pilots, copilots, and other flight officers.. ---Stewards and stewardesses 5. _______ . . . . -------------Mechanics and assistants 5 ._
.
. . . . . . . -----Other hangar and field personnel 5_.------------ ------------Office em ployeess.
.
.
. . .
All other employees 5____ __________ _______ . . .
368
153
215
130
1,414
2,388
1,922
34
480
217
263
186
2,056
2,746
1,951
55
1,010
377
633
386
3, 649
4,477
3,473
219
0)
G)
G)
G)
G)
G)
G)
G)
1 Except as indicated in footnotes, figures for domestic operations were obtained from Statistical Hand
book of Civil Aviation (Civil Aeronautics Administration, October 15, 1944); statistics for international
and territorial operations, from Civil Aeronautics Journal (U. S. Department of Commerce), January 15,
1944.
2 The figures for groups other than flight crews do not cover strictly comparable personnel for all carriers
because of differences in reporting methods.
3 Figures for these occupations are estimates based upon data from the Civil Aeronautics Board’s Annual
Airline Statistics. The estimates for “other flight officers’’ were subtracted from the C. A. A. figures for
copilots; those for dispatchers and meteorologists and stock and stores employees from the C. A. A. figures
for “other employees” (including dispatchers); those for communications operators from the figures for
“other hangar and field personnel.”
4 Information not available.
3
Foreign personnel employed abroad are included, as well as personnel from the working population of
the United States.
operations at 1,300.1:1 If allowance had been made also for the com
mercial activities of international and territorial carriers, the total of
4,000 thus arrived at would have been raised to at least 4,600 pilots
and copilots.10
12 Spencer, op. cit., p. 27. The estimate of 2,700 for commercial operations was based on the assumption
that about 300 planes would be in service at the end of 1944 and that 414 crews of 2 pilots each would be re
quired per plane. Since somewhat more planes than this were actually in service by that time, the estimate
may be slightly low.
13 At the end of 1943, about 590 pilots and copilots were employed by Hawaiian and Colonial Airlines and
by Pan-American Grace and the Latin-Ameriean divisions of Pan-American Airways, all of which bavehad
uninterrupted commercial operations though the system’s other divisions for a time operated exclusively on
a naval contract basis. The Alaskan Division was returned to commercial operation in the summer of 1944,
and the same change was made in the Atlantic Division at the beginning of 1945. The Pacific Division is
still operating entirely on contract.
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747
Post-W ar Employment Prospects
Unquestionably there will be marked gains in air-line traffic and
employment after the war. As already mentioned, such increases are
generally expected, and many signs point in that direction—the strong
pre-war upward trend in the industry, the continued rise in traffic and
employment during the war, despite the shortage of equipment, and the
plans for major expansions in routes and schedules announced by most
lines. There is, however, great disagreement as to the probable size of
the impending increases. Forecasts of the volume of domestic pas
senger traffic in the fifth year after the war, for example, range from
less than 5 billion to more than 16 billion passenger-miles.
Among the most careful and reasoned analyses of post-war air-line
traffic and equipment are those given in an article by Dr. Edward P.
Warner, Vice Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board,14 and a more
elaborate study by the Business Research Department of the CurtissWright Corporation.15 The first study reaches considerably more
optimistic conclusions than the second with respect to domestic
traffic, but the results of both lie well within the range of expert
opinion. Dr. Warner forecasts a yearly total of 12 billion and the
Curtiss-Wright study one of 7 billion passenger-miles for about 5
years after the war.16
These estimates cover not only air-line operations of the conven
tional type but also scheduled local feeder services. In both studies,
the point of departure is a calculation of the lowest passenger fares
and cargo rates that will be economically feasible for different classes
of traffic a few years after the war. Forecasts are then made of the
volume of traffic that will be newly created or diverted from other
forms of transportation at the specified fares and of the numbers of
planes of different sizes that will be needed to handle the estimated
traffic. The conclusions reached thus rest in both instances primarily
upon economic factors. Underlying them is, however, the assumption
that the expansion in this country’s airport and airways system will
keep pace with the need, and that, in the international field, post-war
political arrangements will allow a free development of air transport.
It is also implicitly assumed that the total volume of traffic will be
relatively little affected by possible alternative decisions by the CAB
on air-line routes, important as these decisions are to the individual
companies involved.
In considering how many flight personnel, mechanics, and other
skilled workers are likely to be employed in post-war air transporta
tion, the Bureau has relied heavily upon the Warrier and CurtissWright studies. By estimates of labor requirements per plane or per
unit of traffic handled, the two sets of traffic and equipment forecasts
shown in table 3 have been translated into numbers of workers. The
resulting employment figures are of course subject to wide uncer
tainties and possibilities of error, but they do illustrate, in broad terms,
about how many air-line jobs may reasonably be expected under the
given widely different assumptions regarding traffic and equipment.
h Air Transport (N ew York), September 1944 (pp. 33-37) and October 1944 (pp. 79-89): Where Next?, by
Edward P. Warner.
is Air Transportation in the Immediate Post-War Period, by B. A. M cDonald and J. L. Drew. Buffalo,
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, 1944.
is The Curtiss-Wright forecasts cited in this report are for 1960, but were made on the assumption that
the war would be over in all theaters in 1945. Dr. Wamer’s estimates are stated to be for 5 or 6 years after the
war.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW-— APRIL 194 5
748
T a b l e 3 . —Forecasts
of Air-Line Traffic and Planes for Fifth Post-War Year, Compared
With 1940 1
Yearly traffic (in millions
of ton-miles)2
Number of planes 3
Item
Mail Cargo
Total Passen
ger
Domestic operations:
1940
___ Forecast, for 5th year after
war, by—
Curtiss-Wright
Warner
International and territorial:
___________
1940 ..
.
Forecast for 5th year after
war, by—
Curtiss-Wright_________
Warner________________
117.5
104.0
897.0
700.0
1, 200. 0
(9
Total
3.5
338
87.0 110.0
571
1, 200-1, 700
10.0
(9
(9
1.0
1.2
13.7
11.5
188.6
(4)
155.0
8.6
25.0
(9
(9
(9
124
158
(9
Feed
er
Small
trunk
232
101
91
(9
Inter
mediate Large
trunk trunk
5
216
264
6600-900 600-800
39
70
60
(9
15
7
55
36
(9
(9
0)
i Data are from Curtiss-Wright Corporation, op. cit. (pp. 14, 16, 22, and 23), and Warner, op. cit. in Air
Transport, September 1944 (p. 37) and October 1944 (p. 83).
2 1 ton-mile is considered as equivalent to 10 passenger-miles. This assumes an average weight (including
baggage) of 200 pounds per passenger.
Statistics for 1940 are those given in the Curtiss-Wright report. It will be noted that the estimate of
international passenger traffic is slightly higher than the CAA figure in table 1, reflecting differences in
the definition of international operations. Figures on mail and cargo tonnage in such operations, for which
no exact statistics have been compiled, are estimates by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.
3 The classifications of planes given here are those used in the Curtiss-Wright report. The range in pas
senger-seating capacity for each class of aircraft is as follows: Feeder, 10-15 seats; small trunk, 20-25; inter
mediate trunk, 40-60; large trunk, 80-125. In both the Curtiss-Wright and Warner studies the aircraft
estimates are in terms of combined passenger-cargo planes. Since it was expected that specialized cargo
planes would be a very small part of the total fleet for at least 5 years after the war, no allowance was made
for them in the above forecasts or in the Bureau’s employment estimates.
4 Information not available. Dr. Warner’s article includes an extensive analysis of air-cargo potentials
but no definite forecasts of cargo traffic. Since he concluded that cargo operations would be, for the most
part, incidental to carriage of passengers during the first post-war years, his estimates of future aircraft
requirements in domestic operations are based on forecasts of passenger traffic only. In the case of inter
national operations, his article gives a traffic estimate only for the United States and foreign-flag carriers
combined.
5 Included with small trunk planes.
6 Includes feeder planes, also. An allowance of 300-600 planes of feeder or small-trunk sizes was made
for local feeder operations and of 300 small planes for regular air-line use.
FL IG H T C R EW S IN DOM ESTIC O P E R A T IO N S
If the forecast of 1,200 to 1,700 planes in domestic operations made
by Dr. Warner should be realized by 1950, this would mean a 250-400
percent increase within one decade in the numerical strength of the
domestic fleet. The increase in its passenger- and cargo-carrying
capacity would be much greater still, owing to the anticipated
use of larger and faster planes, at least for long-distance and main
trunk-line service. Similarly, the expansion in flight personnel
would exceed that in numbers of planes. To man the Lockheed
Constellations and Douglas DC-4’s and DC-6’s already ordered by
the air lines, and future planes in the same ‘‘intermediate trunk line”
class, a flight engineer will sometimes be necessary in addition to the
two pilots carried on all domestic flights.17 At least two stewardesses
(or a steward and a stewardess) will also be needed for the 40 to 60
passengers carried on these planes, though one is sufficient on “small
trunk line” planes such as the present 21-passenger DC-3’s. On the
even smaller feeder-type planes, where the copilot generally handles
17 The Civil Air Regulations require in effect that there shall be at least two pilots on all planes used in
scheduled transportation of passengers or in any transport flying by instrument. In local feeder pick-up
services handling mail and other cargo only and flying by contact, only one pilot need be carried, together
with a crew member to operate the pick-up device; no allowance could be made for this deviation from
usual air-line personnel practice, but it will probably not be widespread enough to have an appreciable effect
upon the post-war employment situation.
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749
♦
the duties assigned to a stewardess on larger^craft, no one in this
occupation will be required.
In addition, the number of crews needed per plane will be larger
after than before the war, though probably less than at present.
Other things being equal, the number of crews required varies with
the number of hours the planes are used per day. With the return to
peacetime conditions, aircraft utilization is likely to decline somewhat
frofti its present great intensity. More planes will then be available
to the air lines, and since people will tend to be less willing than now
to travel at any time they can get transportation, there will be pres
sure to concentrate flights at convenient hours of the day and also to
schedule additional flights at week ends and other periods of peak
loads. It is, however, assumed in the Warner and Curtiss-Wright
studies, as by others familiar with the industry, that the carriers will
be successful in holding utilization above pre-war levels, which would
be desirable in view of the relation to operating expenses. This line of
reasoning obviously implies that the average number of crews em
ployed after the war will be somewhere between the pre-war and the
wartime figures, perhaps 3.5 or 4 per plane.
Taking these various factors into consideration, it seems likely that
the use in domestic operations 5 years after the war of 1,200 to 1,700
planes of the types indicated in table 3 would mean the employment
of about the following numbers of flight personnel.
Number of employees
Total_____________ _______ 16,300-19,500
Pilots and copilots________
Flight engineers1_________
Stewards and stewardesses.
9, 500-12, 000
800900
6, 000- 6, 600
i In deriving these figures, one flight engineer was allowed for every 3 crews. This assumption tends if
anything to overstate their probable future employment, since intermediate planes are not expected to
require such personnel in domestic operations, except on long flights.
These figures, which are illustrations rather than forecasts, of
course take no account of factors now immeasurable or unforeseen that
may nevertheless affect personnel requirements by 1950. The figures
are approximately in line with confidential forecasts of total employ
ment in domestic operations made by one major air line and low in
comparison with rough estimates by another company. Nevertheless,
they are believed to be an optimistic picture of post-war employment
opportunities. If the estimates of numbers of planes in the CurtissWright study should prove to be correct, only about 5,000 pilots,
400 flight engineers, and 3,300 stewards and stewardesses are likely to
have jobs in domestic operations in 1950.18
FL IG H T C R EW S IN
IN T E R N A T IO N A L A N D T ER R IT O R IA L O P E R A T IO N S
In the smaller international and territorial branch of the air
transport industry, a marked expansion in traffic is also expected
after the war, with a lesser increase in equipment and flight personnel.
The Curtiss-Wright study predicts that United States carriers will
move 189 million ton-miles of passenger and cargo traffic outside
this country in 1950—13 times as much as in 1940. It is estimated,
is To allow for the especially high assumption as to utilization of equipment made in the Curtiss-Wright
study, a somewhat greater number of crews per plane (4^) was allowed in deriving these employment
figures than in deriving those based on Dr. Warner’s equipment forecasts.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
however, that 158 planes, only about one-fourth more than at the
end of 1940, are all that will be needed to handle this volume of
traffic, owing to the increased size and speed of the aircraft, much
higher pay-load factors, and more intensive utilization of equipment.
These traffic and equipment estimates are the foundation of the
illustrative figures on post-war employment in international opera
tions presented below.19 In the Warner study, estimates for operations
outside the continental United States are limited to a forecast of
passenger-mileage for United States and foreign-flag carriers com
bined, and this is of the same general magnitude as the comparable
figure from the Curtiss-Wright report (2 billion compared with 2.4 .
billion passenger-miles).
The planes needed to handle post-war traffic outside this country
are expected to include small feeder-type aircraft, for use in internal
operations in foreign countries by American flag subsidiaries, small
trunk-line types for short runs to Central American and Caribbean
points and other short-haul operations, intermediate planes for inter
continental, transocean, and trunk-line use, and a few giant planes
such as the projected Lockheed Constitutions and Douglas DC-7’s
for long-range transocean flights. Even among planes in the same
size class, the composition and size of the crew are likely to vary with
the nature of the route, the company involved, and the model of
plane in use. In international flying, small and intermediate trunk
line planes will often need radio operators and sometimes also navi
gators, besides the crew members carried in domestic operations,
though the need for these types of personnel will diminish as world
wide radio direction-finding systems are established route by route.
Some but not all lines plan to employ a captain in addition to two
other pilots on intermediate-sized planes, and to carry relief crews
on long flights. On the largest aircraft, which will accommodate
80 to 100 or more passengers, there is likely always to be a captain,
besides the senior pilot, and other additional crew members such as
a second flight engineer and a number of stewards and stewardesses.
These prospective variations in the make-up of flight crews are one
reason why assumptions as to personnel requirements are more un
certain and difficult to make for the international than for the domestic
carriers. Another reason is that, in the case of international opera
tions, pre-war relationships are of little use as a guide in analyzing
post-war labor requirements. Before the war, flights were made
largely by day in services outside this country, but after victory, as
during the war, flying will go on “around the clock” on many inter
national routes. In consequence, utilization of equipment and crew
requirements per plane will no doubt continue to be much above the
low pre-war figures. In the Curtiss-Wright study, the conclusion is
reached that the international carriers are likely to achieve in 1950
a level of aircraft utilization little below the high figure predicted
for post-war domestic operations.
In translating the Curtiss-Wright forecasts of numbers of planes
into figures on flight personnel, nearly as many crews per plane (4)
have therefore been assumed for international as for domestic opera
tions, though the international and territorial carriers averaged only
19 Because of differences in the definition of international operations between the Curtiss-Wright study
and other sources, post-war employment figures based on the Curtiss-Wright forecasts for such operations
tend to have some upward bias in comparison with the available statistics on pre-war and wartime employ
ment. No quantitative allowance could be made for the bias, but it is too small to affect substantially the
conclusions as to employment opportunities and trends.
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OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
751
about 2 crews per aircraft in 1940. Differences in crew composition
have also been allowed for, roughly. The results are the lower figures
in the tabulation on flight personnel given below.
Despite the comparatively large number of crews assumed, these
minimum figures are far below the emplojunent levels which are
suggested by relating the Curtiss-Wright traffic forecasts to pre-war
labor requirements per unit of international traffic, or even to the
lower pre-war labor requirements of the domestic carriers. This is
due to the great rise in volume of traffic carried per plane which the
study postulates. Some idea of the number of employees that
might be needed to handle the predicted traffic if there should be
only a moderate decrease in equipment and personnel ratios compared
with the past experience of international and territorial operators is
provided, however, by the higher figures in the accompanying tabula
tion. To derive these figures, actual 1940 statistics on numbers of
pilots and of stewards and stewardesses employed per revenue pas
senger-mile in domestic operations were related to the Curtiss-Wright
forecasts of international passenger traffic (from table 3). Since the
domestic carriers employed few if any flight engineers, navigators, or
radio operators in 1940, comparable figures for these groups were
approximated by means of ratios to numbers of pilots, based on
recent data on the international operations of a major air line.
The ranges of figures on flight crews in international and territorial
operations 5 years after the war, thus obtained, are as follows:
Number of employees
Total___________________________________ 2, 950-7, 200
Pilots (including captains)________________ 1, 300-2,
Flight engineers andmechanics____________
300Navigators_______________________ ______
250Radio operators_________________________
400-1,
Stewards and stewardesses________________
700-1,
800
900
700
400
400
M E C H A N IC S A N D R E L A T E D O C C U PA T IO N S
Skilled mechanics and mechanics’ helpers are employed by the air
lines both at their main overhaul bases and in “line maintenance”
or “servicing” of aircraft at stations along their routes. The greatest
concentrations of both skilled and semiskilled men are of course at
the maintenance bases, to which planes are taken for overhaul at
regular intervals and where all major repairs and modifications in
planes and engines are carried out. The total number of mechanics
needed at air-line stations to inspect aircraft and make necessary
adjustments and minor repairs is, however, considerable also.
Future employment in this occupation will be influenced not oidy
by the number, size, and complexity of the planes to be serviced at
the major overhaul bases, but also by such unpredictable factors as
the number of stations at which service mechanics will be needed, the
frequency of plane arrivals at these stations, and the degree to which
the mechanics’ working time is utilized. On lightly traveled routes,
skilled maintenance men may have little to do in the intervals when
there are no planes to be serviced, and they may thus be able to handle
an increased number of aircraft and volume of traffic without a corre
sponding increase in the working force. Under these circumstances,
refined;estimates of future labor requirements are obviously impossible.
A study of past trends in ratios of mechanics employed to volume of
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
traffic, supplemented by data from a large air line as to workers
needed at the repair base for each engine in service, has, however,
provided a basis for rough illustrative figures on post-war employment
opportunities in the occupation.
For at least 7 years before the war, there was a steady decrease in
the number of mechanics employed per million ton-miles of traffic
handled by the domestic lines, as a result of increased traffic, improved
equipment, and many other factors. The decrease was interrupted
in 1942, owing to wartime equipment shortages and special militarycontract activities, but it was resumed in 1943 and there is reason to
believe that it will be evident to some degree after the war. If so,
the likelihood is that about 30,000 mechanics will be employed in
domestic operations if Dr. Warner’s predictions as to passenger traffic
come to pass, but only about 15,000 if the more conservative forecasts
of the Curtiss-Wright study prove correct. For international and
territorial operations, the most probable level of employment in the
occupation would be 5,000 to 10,000, depending on the efficiency of
operations, assuming a realization of the Curtiss-Wright forecasts
with regard to international traffic in 1950. By no means all the jobs
included in the latter figures would go to American workers, however,
since carriers with stations in foreign countries will employ consider
able numbers of foreign personnel.
These figures cover not only all-round engine mechanics but also
aircraft structural mechanics, specialists such as radio and instrument
repairmen, and semiskilled helpers and line maintenance men. No
figures on anticipated job opportunities for these different occupational
groups can be given. The only available information on this subject
is a percentage distribution of maintenance personnel by occupational
specialties, based on estimates of personnel requirements by the Air
lines War Training Institute, which is presented in the tabulation
below. Since these estimates were made for very large wartime oper
ations where there would naturally be more specialization of function
than in many repair bases, they probably overstate employment
opportunities for propeller,' instrument, and other specialists in the
air transport industry as a whole. They do, however, set a useful
upper limit on the proportion of mechanics’ and related jobs likely to
be available to men with any of the specified types of specialized
skills.
Percent1
Airplane overhaul___
Metal workers_______
Welders_____________
Machine-shop workers
Paint and interiors__
Hydraulic overhaul__
Engine overhaul___
Accessory overhaul__
Carburetor______
Magneto________
Generator______
21. 5
8. 8
2. 3
3. 4
2. 3
0. 8
9. 2
8. 5
4. 6
.4
.4
Percent1
Accessory overhaul— Continued.
Starter
Control box. _
General _
Propeller overhaul
._
_ _
Radio maintenance.
Instrument maintenance
Riggers and cable splicers
Line maintenance
Total
_
„ .
0. 4
.4
2. 3
1. 1
4.
4.
2.
30.
6
6
3
6
_ _ 100. 0
1 Based on unpublished estimates of the Airlines War Training Institute.
OTHER GROUND PER SO N N EL
Employment of stock and stores employees varies directly with the
number of mechanics on the pay roll, to whom tools and other equip
ment and supplies must be issued About one stock clerk or supply
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OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
753
man is needed for every 10 mechanics employed, according to the
1940-43 employment statistics for domestic operations as a whole
(table 2). On the basis o'f this ratio, the numbers of stock and stores
jobs implied by the figures on mechanics given in the preceding section
would be 1,500 to 3,000 for domestic air transport and 500 to 1,000 for
the international and territorial branch of the industry.
The volume of work for dispatchers and meteorologists, on the other
hand, is governed to a considerable extent by the number of flights
through air-line stations. In the absence of forecasts with regard to
such flights, the best available clue to post-war employment in this
occupational gtoup is apparently the prospective increase in flight
crews, which will also be related, though perhaps less directly, to the
numbers of plane arrivals and departures. The same proportionate
gains in employment above 1940 levels as had been arrived at for
pilots were therefore assumed for dispatchers and meteorologists in
domestic operations, yielding an estimate of from 650 to 1,500 jobs
for such personnel with the domestic carriers 5 years after the war.
Roughly comparable figures on post-war employment of dispatchers
and meteorologists in international operations would be about 250
to 500.
For communications operators, the expected volume of air traffic
is probably the best guide to post-war labor requirements. Handling
reservations and other messages with regard to traffic is a sizable part
of air-line communications work, although employees in this group
also transmit weather information and operations and general messages
from station to station and ground to plane. It must be borne in
mind, however, that sharp increases in traffic may not necessitate equal
gains in indirect operating personnel such as communications em
ployees. Also, because of the keen competition which the air lines
will face both within the industry and from other branches of trans
portation, they will be under continual pressure to reduce staff and
thus cut operating expenses. In all probability, therefore, the number
of communications operators employed per million ton-miles of traffic
will be much lower by the fifth post-war year than in 1940—perhaps
about one-half as great. Should this be correct, roughly 4,500 such
employees would be required to handle the volume of domestic traffic
forecast by Dr. Warner and only about 3,000 to handle that indicated
by the Curtiss-Wright study, while 800 to 1,000 more might be em
ployed in international and territorial services in view of the CurtissWright forecasts for this segment of the industry.
In addition to the occupational groups so far discussed, there is of
course a wide variety of other air-line employees—administrative and
supervisory personnel, professional engineers, clerical workers (a very
large group), ticket and passenger agents, cargo handlers, and many
others. These workers have comprised about half of total domestic
air-line personnel since 1940. In the international branch of the
industry, they have bulked even larger, although no exact ratio to
total personnel can be given because of the lack of separate employ
ment data for certain occupations.
As air-line traffic rises after the war, so will the numbers of em
ployees in these different groups, but whether the rate of gain will be
faster or slower than in the occupations for which post-war employ
ment figures were arrived at is uncertain. Many of the workers not
covered by post-war estimates are of course indirect employees, and
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754
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
experience in many industries has shown that the proportion of per
sonnel in this category tends to fall as business rises. In air transpor
tation, however, this tendency will be tempered by a sharp drop from
pre-war levels in the numbers of direct operating personnel employed
per unit of traffic.
P R O S P E C T IV E IN C R E A S E S IN E M P L O Y M E N T A B O V E P R E -W A R A N D W A R TIM E
LEVELS
What do all these figures mean in terms of expansion in air-line
employment? Compared with pre-war employment levels, the pros
pective gain is obviously great. The lowest post-war figure arrived
at for pilots was nearly 3 times, the highest figure more than 6 times,
the number employed at the end of 1940, considering both branches of
the industry together. For mechanics and related personnel, the
range of employment possibilities envisaged was from 3% to 6% times
the 1940 employment figure. In the other occupations covered, equal
or greater relative gains were found to be in sight. As already in
dicated, no definite statement can be made as to future prospects for
the remaining large group of workers not studied in detail. For
purposes of illustration let us assume, however, that these workers will
continue to represent the same proportion of air-line personnel as in
1940. If this should be the case, the most probable minimum and
maximum figures for total air-line employment 5 years after the war
would be about 80,000 and 160,000, compared with 22,000 at the end
of 1940 and more than twice that figure at the beginning of 1945.
Iiow post-war employment is likely to compare with present per
sonnel strength, occupation by occupation, is a still more important
question to men who may be seeking aviation jobs. To provide
some approximate answers, the most recent available employment
estimates for commercial operations were adjusted as far as possible
for personnel now engaged in military-contract activities, who will
no doubt have a prior claim on the commercial jobs that will gradually
be created after the war. The adjusted estimates were then sub
tracted from the highest and lowest post-war employment figures for
each occupation presented in preceding sections. (See table 4.)
The variations in the range of employment opportunities indicated
for different occupational groups of course result both from the
differing total figures on post-war employment and from the varying
numbers of workers estimated as employed in these occupations at
present. In the case of navigators and flight radio operators, for
example, employment especially in contract activities is now so large
relative to probable post-war needs that there would be little gain, or
an actual decrease in jobs, should the more conservative forecasts for
international operations prove to be correct. Because of the incom
pleteness of the available data on current employment, these figures
tend to give an optimistic picture of the impending expansion in air
line jobs.20 Moreover, many of the new employment opportunities
in international operations, particularly for mechanics and other
ground personnel, will go of necessity to foreign workers.
On the other hand, the figures make no allowance for job openings
created by deaths, retirements, quits, and dismissals. Some addi
tional employment opportunities with the air lines will arise from such
20 See table 4, note 1.
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OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
755
T a b l e 4 . —Estimates of Air-Line Employment for Fifth Year After the War, Assuming
Realization of Curtiss-Wright or Warner Traffic Forecasts
Post-war employment
Occupational group
Domestic
operations
International
operations
All air-line
operations
Prospective
increase
above present
employment
in all air-line
operations 1
M ini
mum
Maxi
mum
M ini
mum
M axi
mum
Minimum
Maximum
58, 500
9,500
19, 700
38,350
78, 200
13, 250
53,100
12,000
1,300
300
250
400
700
5,000
500
2,800
900
700
1.400
1.400
6,300
700
250
400
4.000
14,800
1,800
700
1,400
1.700
10, 200
1,200
10,000
1,000
8,000
20,000
2.000
40,000
4,000
2.700
6,400
300
500
900
6, 700
26, 400
2,300
2,000
5,500
300
1,800
1,400
3, 500
Minimum
Maxi
mum
Total, selected occupations__________
28,850
Pilots_____________ ______ __________
Flight engineers____________________
Navigators___________________■_____
Plight radio operators.-.....................
Stewards and stewardesses__________
Mechanics and assistants................... .
Stock and stores em ployees..................
Dispatchers, meteorologists, and assistants__________________________
Communications operators, ground__
5,000
400
900
3,300
15,000
1,500
6,600
30,000
3,000
650
3,000
1,500
4, 500
250
800
500
1,000
9003,800
100
50
( 2)
1 In the case of pilots, the current employment estimate subtracted from the post-war employment
figures was the previously cited estimate of 4,600 for the end of 1944, which is probably a little too low. For
other occupations the figures deducted understate present employment somewhat more greatly, since
only a partial adjustment could be made for military-contract activities and no adjustment was possible
for employment trends since 1943 nor for certain other discrepancies. To the extent of this understatement,
the prospective increase in employment above present employment levels is of course exaggerated.
2 A net decrease of 100 is indicated.
causes, though the number of vacancies will tend to be smaller relative
to total employment than in many other industries. Turnover is
now said to be high—at least among ground personnel—but is prob
ably not greater than in many factories, and the impending oversupply
of trained personnel will tend to discourage quits after the return
to peacetime conditions. Moreover, since most air-line employees
are young, like the industry itself, death and superannuation rates are
low and are expected to remain so during the immediate post-war
period. Whether substantial numbers of veterans and other skilled
workers now outside the industry will be able to find jobs there after
the war, in the occupations for which they have been trained, clearly
depends upon the fulfillment of the more optimistic predictions as to
future air-line traffic.
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Child Labor
T rend of C hild Labor, 1 9 4 0 -4 4
B y E lla
Arvil l a
M e r rit t and F loy H e n d r ic k s , U. S. Children’s Bureau
Summary
THE war years from 1940 to 1944 have radically changed the picture
of child labor and youth employment in the United States. In the
two decades preceding 1940, the employment of boys and girls had
been steadily decreasing. The number of working minors 14 through
17 years of age, as counted by the Census, fell from nearly 2%millions
in 1920 to about 1 million in 1940.1 During the 4 years since 1940,
urgent demands for workers of all ages, especially in war production
centers, the opening up of new job opportunities for children and young
persons, high wartime wages, patriotic pressures, and social restless
ness have pushed the numbers of employed boys and girls of this age
group up to unprecedented levels. This upward swing in the number
of teen-age workers has been clearly reflected in the three major
sources of data on national trends in child labor and youth employ
ment—the reports sent to the Children’s Bureau on age or employment
certificates2required for children going to work, the records of young
persons under 18 applying for social security account numbers, and
United States Census figures.
Employment and age certificate reports, which show the trend in
child labor from year to year rather than a cross section of the actual
number of young persons employed at any given moment, indicate that
more than seven times as many boys and girls aged 14 through 17
years entered the labor market in 1943 as in 1940 and went into work
generally subject to Federal or State child-labor regulation. In
States and cities reporting for each of these years, the number of
minors 14 through 17 years of age who obtained certificates for full
time or part-time work increased from roughly 175,000 in 1940 to
more than 1,320,000 in 1943. Preliminary data for 1944 indicate
that in general the high level of 1943 is being maintained.
The record of applicants under 18 years of age for social security
account numbers tells a similar story. From 1940 through 1943 the
number of minors under 18 years of age applying for account numbers
more than trebled, climbing from roughly 950,000 to 2,900,000. In
1944 there was a drop from 1943 to slightly over 2 millions; but
1 T he 1940 Census showed 872,314 minors 14 through 17 years of age employed in the last week of March,
1940—209,347 aged 14 and 15, and 662,967, aged 16 or 17. In addition it showed 132,214 minors of these ages
classed as “experienced unemployed persons seeking work” . The total of these two groups—1,004,528—is
roughly comparable to the total number of young persons 14 through 17 years of age (2,395,443) classed as
“gainfully employed” in 1920.
2 Because both employment and age certificates are “employment papers,” differing only in certain
requirements for issuance or return of the certificate to the issuing office, the term “employment” certificates
will be used generally throughout this report to refer to both.
756
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CHILD LABOR
757
despite this decrease the 1944 figure was more than twice as high as
that for 1940.3
Census figures for 1940 and estimates based on Census sample
surveys since that date show an increase from about r,000,000 in
1940 to nearly 3,000,000 in April 1944 in the number of young workers
14 through 17 years of age. During the summer months of 1943 and
1944 the number approached 5,000,000.
This wartime increase in child labor has meant a loss of education
for children and an increase in illegal employment. According to the
U. S. Office of Education figures, high-school enrollment had reached
a total of 7,244,000 in the school year 1940-41 (an increase of nearly
5.000. 000 since the school year 1919-20) whereas in 1943-44, three
years later, the number of children enrolled had dropped by nearly
1.000. 0Q0.4
Large increases in the extent of illegal employment have been noted
by both State and Federal labor inspectors. For instance, in one
State (North Carolina) there were 14 times as many child-labor law
violations found by State inspectors in 1943 as in 1940 and 22 times
as many in the first half of 1944 as in the first half of 1940; in another
(Illinois), more than 500 establishments were found to be in violation
in the first 6 months of 1944 as compared with fewer than 40 in the
corresponding period of 1941; in a third (New York), there was a rise
of nearly 400 percent between 1940 and 1943 in the number of boys
and girls under 18 found to be illegally employed. The figures for
violations of the child-labor provisions of the Federal Fair Labor
Standards Act, which are administered by the Children’s Bureau, tell
the same story as the record of violations of State laws. Nearly five
times as many children (8,436) were found by inspectors to be illegally
employed in the year ended June 30, 1944, as in the year ended June
30, 1941 (1,761), and these violations occurred in more than five times
as many establishments (2,938) in the latter as in the former year
(579).
These facts emphasize the need to reestablish and improve the
legislative standards that help to give to the country’s youth oppor
tunity for education and for normal physical and social development,
and to strengthen the machinery for their enforcement.
Extent of Child Labor and Youth Employment
Y O U N G W O R K E R S O B T A IN IN G C E R T IFIC A T E S
More than 2 million boys and girls 14 through 17 years of age
obtained employment certificates in 1943 for full-time or part-time
jobs, according to reports on certificate issuance received by the
Children’s Bureau from nearly all the States. Of these young workers
nearly a fourth were 14 or 15 years of age. The largest proportion
of the boys and girls of 14 and 15 years—91 percent—entered vacation
employment or employment outside school hours (table 1). Among
3 These numbers of applicants for social security account numbers give only a rough indication of the rate
at which young persons have joined the labor force; they do not in all cases represent actual employment,
since persons may obtain account numbers without having a job or even a prospect of one. On the other
hand, they do not reflect employment in agriculture, domestic service or other occupations not covered by
the Social Security Act.
4 This reduction is mainly due not to entrance into the armed forces nor to a decrease in population of
school age—though these reasons account for some of the loss—but to the great increase in the number who
left school for work, many cutting short their courses in mid-term.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
the 1% millions who were 16 and 17 years of age, however, a large
majority obtained regular certificates allowing full-time jobs.5
For 1942 the reports received by the Bureau show roughly a million
young persons 14 through 17 years of age as obtaining certificates for
full-time or part-time work during the year. The areas for the 2
years are not strictly comparable and cannot be made the basis of
numerical comparison, but it is significant that whereas in 1942 only
17 percent of the total number of young workers were 14 and 15
years of age, in 1943 there were 23 percent in this younger age group.
T a b l e 1. —Minors Aged 14 Through 17 Years, Receiving Regular and Vacation and
Outside-School-Hours Certificates, 1942 and 1943 1
[Areas reporting in 1942 and in 1943 not comparable]
Year and kind of certificate
Total
Minors 14 and
15 years of age
Minors 16 and
17 years of age
____________________ _____ _ _
_____ - _____________________
Regular 2
Vacation and outside school hours 2------- ---------- -
2,040,206
1,186, 987
853,219
466, 798
42, 518
424,280
1, 573,408
1,144,469
428, 939
________________________________________
Rp,gnlar 2
a ________________________
Vacation and outside school hours 2----------------------
1, 053, 041
620, 241
432, 800
178, 951
19, 830
159,121
874,090
600,411
273, 679
1943
1942
1 Numbers estimated for a few areas from which reports were not received or which were incomplete.
2 B y the term “regular certificate” is meant a certificate that permits a minor to leave school and go to
work. A “vacation or outside-school-hours certificate” is one that permits a minor to work only during
vacation or outside school hours during the school term. In a few States, for children 14 and 15, and in a
larger number of States, for minors 16 and 17, a regular certificate is issued whether the minor leaves school
for employment or continues to attend school. For this reason, figures for minors receiving regular certifi
cates, especially in the 16- and 17-year-old group, include some minors who do not leave school for work.
Preliminary and incomplete figures for 1944 give a total of 1,222,914
young workers 14 through 17 years of age entering full- or part-time
employment, as compared with 1,238,078 in comparable areas in
1943, indicating that approximately as large a number of boys and
girls of these ages went to work in 1944 as in 1943.
These figures show not the total number actually at work at any
given time, but only the minimum number of young persons of these
ages in the country entering employment during the given year in
work under the regulation of Federal and State child-labor laws.
Certificate laws in many States still fall far short of covering the
entire field of youth employment, even though much has been accom
plished since the first such law was passed in Massachusetts in 1878.
At the present time, in most States, certificates are not usually re
quired, even for children as young as 14 and 15, for work in domestic
service and agriculture, in which large numbers of children are em
ployed, and in some States most nonfactory work outside school
hours and during vacation is outside the scope of the certificate law.
For young workers 16 and 17 years of age, about half of the States do
not legally require certificates for any employment, although adminis
tratively they are issued on request and are accepted as proof of age
under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Furthermore, these reports
obviously do not include the many thousands of young workers who,
even though they may be old enough to be employed legally, go to
s B y the term “regular certificate” is meant a certificate that permits a minor to leave school and go to
work. A “vacation or outside-school-hours certificate” is one that permits a minor to work only during
vacation or outside school hours during the school term. In a few States, for children 14 and 15, and in a
larger number of States, for minors 16 and 17, a regular certificate is issued whether the minor leaves school for
employment or continues to attend school. For this reason, figures for minors receiving regular certificates,
especially in the 16- and 17-year old group, include some minors who do not leave school for work.
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CHILD LABOR
759
work without getting a certificate. Also, they do not include boys
and girls who are below the legal age for employment and who are
working in violation of State or Federal child labor laws—a situation
which has been found increasingly during the war period. Never
theless these certificate figures, corroborated as they are by other
sources of information (see page 756), give a representative picture of
the minimum extent of the flow of boys and girls 14 through 17 years
of age into the labor market in the United States.6
C E N S U S C O U N TS O F Y O U N G W O R K E R S
Federal Census figures provide two benchmarks for gauging the
total numbers of young workers in the nation before and during the
war. One was established by the decennial census taken in 1940.7
The second was fixed in April 1944, when, at the request of the Chil
dren’s Bureau, the U. S. Office of Education, and other interested
Federal agencies, the Census Bureau included supplementary ques
tions on school attendance of boys and girls 14 through 19 years of
age, in its sample survey for that month.*
These Census data show an increase, in round figures, in the num
ber of boys and girls 14 through 17 years of age in the labor force 9
from 1,000,000 in 1940 to 2,900,000 in 1944, a rise of nearly 200 per
cent. This peak 1944 figure of youth employment amounted to
roughly 30 percent of the estimated 9,200,000 young people in that
age group in 1944, as compared with about 10 percent of that age
group who were at work in April 1940.
Like the employment-certificate reports, the Census figures show
a much higher rate of increase in the number of 14- and 15-yeai-old
boys and girls at work than in the number of 16- and 17-year-old
workers. In the younger group the increase during the 4-year period
in the numbers at work was nearly 300 percent, as compared with
about 150 percent in the older group (table 2). The upward swing
was marked among 14- and 15-year-old girls, of whom nearly 5 times
as many were at work in 1944 as in 1940. However, the increase
was proportionately greater among girls of all ages than among boys—
243 percent and 170 percent, respectively.
In July of both 1943 and 1944, at the summer peak of seasonal
employment, when youth employment was also at its peak, 5 million,
or over half of the more than 9 million boys and girls between 14 and
18 years of age in the population, were at work.
« Some duplications occur, but these are far outweighed by the large number going to work without cer
tificates. (Duplications may occur because the reports received combine first and reissued vacation
certificates, and because, at the end of the school term, a child may exchange a vacation certificate for a
regular certificate permitting work during school hours.)
7 The information on employment status obtained in the 1940 Census was as of the last week in March
1940.
8 These sample surveys of labor supply and employment have been made monthly since April 1940.
The population sample on which the Census estimates have been based consists of 30,000 scientifically se
lected households in 68 sample areas, each area containing one or more counties (123 counties in all). These
sample areas are in 42 States and the District of Columbia. See Teen Age Youth in the Wartime Labor
Force, in M onthly Labor Review, January 1945 (p. 6), and Young Workers in the Wartime Labor Market,
in The Child, November 1944 (p. 72).
9 As a basis for comparison of the young persons in the labor force in 1940 and 1944, it seemed desirable to
use the total of two groups—(1) those at work during the census week, including those with jobs but not
actually working during the census week, and (2) experienced workers seeking work. In 1940 the number
of young persons 14 through 17 years of age actually employed, including those having jobs but not in fact
working during the census week, was 872,314. In addition there were 132,214 classed as experienced unem
ployed persons seeking work. In 1944 the labor force of this age group consisted of 2,900,000 young persons,
of whom 2,800,000 were actually at work or had jobs during the census week. Only 100,000 (practically all
16 or 17 years of age) were experienced workers seeking work.
63 6 3 7 2 — 45 ---------- 5
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760
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW-— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 2 . — Minors Aged 14 Through 17 Years, in Labor Force in the United States,
1940 and 1944 1
Age and sex
_____ __________ ___
14 through 17 years of ago
■Roys
_____ _____________________
Girls_____________________ ___________ _____ ____
14 and 1b years of ago
Boys
Girls
_____ _________________
___ __
____
-- -----—
__________________________
16 and 17 years of ago
_______________ ______
Boys
_______________ ___________
Girls
______ _ _____________________
1940 2
1944 3
Percent of in
crease in 1944
over 19*0
1,004, 528
733, 506
271,022
2,900,000
1,950,000
950,000
189.7
169.9
243.1
225,116
179, 594
45, 522
850,000
650, 000
2C0,000
295.4
278.6
361.3
779,412
553,912
225, 500
2,050,000
1,300,000
750,000
159.2
134.7
219.3
i Those at work during the census week, those with jobs but not actually working during the census
weeK, ana experienceu worK.ers sccKiug wui»-.
T ,
„
2 Compiled from Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940, Population, Third Series, The Labor Force.
3 Compiled from data collected in the April 1944 monthly sample survey made by the Census Bureau.
Neither the July nor the April estimates include working children
under 14. Official reports from both State and Federal labor officials
and from other sources show, however, that many children under
14 are employed.
Y O U N G W O R K E R S IN A B O V E -N O R M A L LA BO R FO RCE
Another illustration of the fact that children and young persons 14
through 17 years of age have made up a very large proportion of new
workers in the labor force is found in estimates made by the U. S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the excess of labor force over normal, as
of April 1944. Of the 6,700,000 persons in the labor force and mili
tary service over what would have been expected on the basis of
proportions found in 1940, 1,730,000, or over a fourth, were boys and
girls aged 14 through 17 years.
Trends in Youth Employment
The reports of employment certificates obtained by the Children’s
Bureau may serve roughly as a barometer of the rise or fall from year
to year in the numbers of young workers entering the labor market.
When the Bureau began in 1920 to collect and analyze information
on the numbers of “employment certificates”, “age or schooling cer
tificates,” or “work permits,” as they have been variously called,
reports were available only from certain cities. The area covered has
steadily widened and in recent years information has been obtained
from all 48 States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto
Rico, although in some cases it is incomplete, or is not available for
every year.
The first Children’s Bureau report on numbers of employment
certificates, covering the period from 1913 to 1920, reveals parallels
to the present wartime period and the immediate past. Then also,
child labor declined during pre-war years of low employment and
rose as wartime needs for workers drew increasing numbers of children
into the labor market. According to the incomplete reports then
collected, a marked rise in employment of children 14 and 15 years of
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CHILD LABOR
761
age began in the fall of 1915 and reached a peak in 1918,10 when
125,974 children of 14 and 15 obtained regular certificates for work
in 23 cities in 11 States and the District of Columbia.1’ No data for
that period are available for young workers 16 and 17 years of age.
In general, child labor during the nineteen-twenties rose or fell along
with general business conditions, though there was a total decrease
particularly for the 14- and 15-year-old group as a result of improve
ment of child-labor and school-attendance standards. In the years
between 1929 and 1943 new and more decisive factors entered into
the situation. The period began with the onset of one of the worst
depressions in this country’s history. It ended with a new peak of
employment and production induced by the war. The 15-year record
of the numbers of employment certificates issued to young workers
14 through 17 years of age shows that the trend of youth employment
followed the trend of general employment with two important excep
tions when, twice in the decade and a half, Nation-wide legislation
was enacted drastically affecting the employment of children under
16 years of age. In 1933 and 1934 the NRA codes, practically all of
which included a 16-year minimum age requirement, reduced very
materially the employment of young workers 14 and 15 years of age
during the 2 years they were in effect. The removal of the code
restrictions in 1935 was followed by an upward swing for employment
of this younger group, which continued until it was checked by the
slight economic recession beginning in 1937 and continuing into the
first part of 1938. In October 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act
established a basic 16-year minimum age in industries producing goods
for shipment in interstate commerce, with the result that in spite of
rising employment the number of 14- and 15-year old children going
to work continued to drop. The permanent decrease which this legal
standard might have been expected to bring about, however, was
almost immediately reversed by the heavy wartime demands for
workers, although the law has been an effective barrier against whole
sale employment of children under 16 in manufacturing industries.
(See page 773.)
Table 3 and the accompanying chart, comparing for the years 1939
through 1943 the increase in employment of minors 14 through 17
years of age, as shown by certificates issued, with the increase in esti
mated nonagricultural employment in the United States 12 show how
much sharper the rise has been in the employment of young persons
14 through 17 years of age during the war than in the employment
of persons of all ages. Using the year 1939 as a base, the index for
total estimated nonagricultural employment rose from 100 to 131,
whereas for minors 16 and 17 years of age obtaining employment cer
tificates the index rose from 100 to 592 and that for children 14 and
15 years of age soared from 100 to 1,184.
»» These figures are for the calendar year 1918 in case of 13 cities (Buffalo, Cincinnati. Jersey City, M ilwau
kee, Newark, New York City, Paterson, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rochester, Toledo, and
Yonkers), and for the fiscal year 1918— ending June 30, July 31, or August 31—in case of 10cities (Akron,
Chicago, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Britain, Reading, Springfield, Mass., Washington, D . C.,
and Youngstown).
i' Reports on employment certificates issued to young workers have been published periodically in the
M onthly Labor Review since April 1921.
12 Estimated nonagricultural employment in the United States is used as a basis of comparison with
employment certificate statistics because the latter are on the whole representative of nonagricultural
employment only.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
3 - 10- 4 5
CHILD LABOR
763
T a b l e 3 . —Minors Aged 14 Through 17 for W horn First Regular Employment Certificates
W ere Issued, and Persons of A ll Ages in Nonagricultural Employment, 1939—43
Children 14 and 15
years of age for whom
employment certifi
cates were issued 1
Year
1939_______________________
1940_______________________
1941_______________________
1942_______________________
1943_______________________
Number 2
Indexes
(1939=100)
556
738
1,474
3,432
6,580
100.0
132.7
265.1
617.3
1,183.5
Minors 16 and 17 years
of age for whom em
p l o y m e n t certifi
cates were issued 3
Number
Indexes
(1939=100)
52, 745
60, 894
131,381
214, 832
312,222
100.0
115.4
249.1
407.3
591.9
Estimated nonagricul
tural employment in
United States (all
ages)4
Indexes
(1939=100)
Number
30, 353,000
31,784,000
35,668, 000
38,447, 000
39, 728,000
100.0
104.7
117.5
126.7
130.9
1 Figures based upon reports from 17 selected cities with 100,000 or more population (1940 Census) in
which minimum age standards were not changed during the period 1939-43. Cities included are Atlanta,
Baltimore, Birmingham, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City (Mo.), Knoxville
Nashville, Oklahoma City, Portland (Oreg.), South Bend, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington (D. C.), and
W ilm ington.
2 Figures for Detroit and Grand Rapids are for 15-year-old children; law does not permit issuance of cer
tificates for 14-year-old children.
3 Figures based upon reports from 44 cities with 100,000 or more population (1940 Census). Cities included
are Albany, ‘Atlanta, ‘Baltimore, ‘Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, ‘Denver, ‘ Detroit, Erie,
Fall River, ‘ Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, ‘Kansas City (M o.), Knoxville, ‘Louisville, Lowell,
Nashville, New Bedford, New York City, Oklahoma City, ‘ Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland
(Oreg.), Providence, Reading, Richmond, Rochester (N. Y.), Salt Lake City, Scranton, Somerville, ‘ South
Bend, Springfield, St. Louis, ‘ Syracuse, Tulsa, ‘Utica, ‘Washington (D. C.), ‘Wichita, Wilmington,
‘ Worcester, and ‘Yonkers. For the cities with asterisk, “regular” certificates include certificates issued
for vacation and outside-school-hours employment.
4 Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U . S. Department of Labor. The estimates presented here
exclude officials, proprietors, and self-employed persons.
Y O U T H E M P L O Y M E N T , 1 9 4 0 -4 3
The number of children 14 and 15 years of age obtaining certificates
for full-time or part-time work in the 4-year period 1940-43, for the
comparable areas from which yearly reports were received, rose from
T a b l e 4 . —Minors Aged 14 Through 17 Years, Receiving Employment and Age Certifi
cates for Full-Time or Part-Time Work, 1940-43
Age of minor and type of certificate
1940
1941
14 through 17 years of age __ ____________ 174,739
R egular1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
108, 694
Vacation and outside school hours 1___ 66, 045
385,465
252,320
133,145
14 and 15 years of age____________________
Regular____________________________
Vacation and outside school hours1___
35,309
5, 205
30,104
60,955
8,306
52, 649
16 and 17 years of age_________________ . .
Regular____________________________
Vacation and outside school hours >.
139,430
103,490
35, 940
324, 510
244,014
80,496
1942
1943
Percent of increase in
1943 over
1940
1941
706, 882 1,322,331
452,967
810,134
253,915
512,197
656.7
645.3
675.5
243.0
221.1
284.7
87.1
78.9
101.7
304, 458
34,311
270,147
762.3
559.2
797.4
399.5
313.1
413.1
155. 8
112.0
162.7
587,871 1,017,873
775,823
436,783
151,088
242,050
630.0
649.7
573.5
213.7
217.9
200.7
73.1
77.6
60.2
119,011
16,184
102,827
1942
1 A “regular certificate” is a certificate permitting a minor to leave school and go to work. A “vacation
and outside-school-hours certificate” is one permitting a minor to work only during vacation and outside
school hours during the school term. In a few States for children 14 and 15, and in a larger number of States
for minors 16 and 17, a regular certificate is issued whether the minor leaves school for employment or con
tinues to attend school. For this reason, figures for minors receiving regular certificates, particularly for
the 16- and 17-year-old group, include some minors who do not leave school for work.
35,309 in 1940 to 304,458 in 1943, and the corresponding number of
16- and 17-year old entrants into the labor market rose from 139,430
to 1,017,873.13 (See table 4.) This was an increase of more than
13 These numbers are smaller than those previously quoted, because not all States and cities reported for
each year.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
764
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
700 percent for 14- and 15-year old workers and more than 600
percent for those 16 and 17 years of age. Children 14 and 15 years
of age obtaining vacation and outside-school-hours certificates showed
the largest proportionate increase of any one group—nearly 800
percent.
The upward trend in employment of boys and girls of these ages
is shown also in tables 5 and 6, which give for the individual States
and cities reporting the number of first regular employment certifi
cates issued for children 14 and 15 years of age and for those 16 and
17 years of age, respectively.
T a b l e 5. —Number of First Regular Employment Certificates Issued for Children Aged
14 and 15 Years, 1940-43
State or city
Alabama
____ _______________________ ____
Birmingham
...... .....................
.... ............ .
Arizona
____________ -__ _______
Arkansas
_ ________ _____ __________
California
_____ -- ______ ___ _____
Los Angeles
____ _ _____________ ______
San Diego
__ _____________________
San Francisco
_ _ - - ________ _____
Colorado
________ - - _____________
Denver
_ _ __ _ ______________ ________
________ _____________________
Connecticut
Delaware
______ - _______ -- _____
W ilmington _
_______ __________ ______
District of Columbia
__
-- __ ___
_____
Florida3
_ _ _ _ _ _ __
___ __
Georgia
______ -- -- _______ -Atlanta
- - ___________ __ ____
H a w a ii3
- ______
_______ ____ __
Illinois
______ - -- ___ ________
Indiana
..............
_ .............
Fort Wayne
. _ _ _ ___ ___
Indianapolis
. _ _ _ __ ______ ____
South B end-. ________ ____ _ _ . .
___ . .
Iowa
_ __ .
.
. ____
- Kansas
______. . . .
Wichita
...............
_____
__
........................
Kentucky
_____
.
____- ____ Louisville
Louisiana3.
. . . . .
. . . _______ .
New Orleans
. . .
_ .
__ .
M a in e6
....
................................
Maryland
______ ____ ______________
Baltimore____ _______
..
.
. __
Massachusetts
. __
. . . . . . . __
Boston
______ .
........ ............ ......
Brockton ..
_____
..
___
Cambridge
____ .
.
.
...
Fall River
............. ............ ........
Holyoke .
_____
______________ ___ .
Lawrence___
____. . ______ . . ___________ _
Low ell..
. . .
______ ______
Lynn
___________________
Malden . .
..
_ . _______
.. _
Medford .
_____ ____
_. _____ ._ . . . .
New Bedford . . . __________________________
Newton...... ......................... ....... ........................ . ..
Q uincy.. . .
_____ . . . . ________ ___ ___
Somerville
.
___
______
. . _____
Springfield
..
________ . . .
Worcester
_ __. ________ _
M ichigan6. __ ____ _ _________ ____ ____ _ ___
Detroit__
____ . ............................ . _
Grand Rapids
. ________ _______________
Minnesota .
_____________
...
M isso u r i___ .
______
___
Kansas C ity.
______________ ________
St. Louis..
. _______________
________
M ontana____
___ _ . __ _
. . _______
Nebraska. . . .
___
___________________
Omaha.. _________________________________ ____
See fo o tn o te s a t end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1940
124
57
3
419
128
11
1
3 51
3 41
236
36
35
28
37
0
0
i 128
32
28
0
14
0
3 1,639
8
0
3 157
3 124
3 193
1
371
339
581
36
7
11
7
5
29
12
8
8
3
87
2
9
7
25
15
514
132
19
85
51
4
32
0
3 117
3 81
1941
242
41
i8
19
573
281
6
2
3 164
3 152
278
45
45
69
3 110
3 27
2 12
235
145
23
1
7
0
3 1, 555
17
1
3 359
3 271
6 190
3 161
8
914
873
1,162
151
22
8
18
73
26
34
12
1
139
4
12
22
76
44
1, 266
211
28
77
62
0
38
0
3 270
3 205
1942
347
113
20
104
i 1,166
i 539
76
i7
3 508
3416
305
48
45
262
3 674
3 230
3 120
4 694
620
8
0
4
0
3 1, 771
164
46
3 715
3 466
3 1, 524
3 1,215
70
1,813
1,676
1, 752
330
14
i 10
7
9
109
42
65
30
9
101
4
33
46
258
54
1,467
362
18
398
483
89
295
0
3 952
2 575
1943
955
512
116
208
3 1,675
3 1,173
377
105
80
433
3 3, 293
3 478
3 172
295
1852
0
0
0
0
3 3, 245
685
253
3 1, 760
3 1,043
0
0
141
2,880
2,648
3,090
650
22
9
1
191
80
149
59
18
136
28
52
128
365
108
3,975
911
98
603
1,119
268
478
0
3 2, 226
3 1,139
CHILD LABOR
765
T a b l e 5. —Number of First Regular Employment Certificates Issued for Children Aged
14 and 15 Years, 1940—43—Continued
State or city
N evada_____ ___________ _
New Hampshire. ______ ______________
M anchester.. ______ .
N ew Jersey3. _____________ . .
Newark 3_____________
N ew Mexico________ ______
New York____ ____ ___
Albany. ________________
Binghamton. ______
Buffalo____________________ ___ .
M ount Vernon_________ _______
_
N ew R ochelle.. ____
New York. . . . . .
Niagara F alls.. ._ _____
R ochester..:_________
Schenectady- ___. . . . . __________ .
Syracuse. . _____________
Troy________________
Utica ____________
Yonkers____
North Carolina. _____
Charlotte. ______ _______
North Dakota__ .. _
Ohio_______________ ._
Cincinnati_______ ________
Cleveland ____________________
Oklahoma__ ___
Oklahoma C it y ... „ .
Tulsa____ __________
Oregon.. ____________
Portland_____________
Pennsylvania:
Altoona ________ .
Bethlehem . . .
C hester.. ___ _____ .
Erie____________________________
____
Harrisburg_____________
Johnstown___________
Lancaster__________
McKeesport ________ .
Philadelphia___________
Pittsburgh___________
Reading_____________ .
Scranton______________ ..
Wilkes-Barre__________
York______________
Puerto Rico 3 ___________
Rhode Island. ______
Providence_________ _______ ______
South Dakota______________
Tennessee_________ __ __ _ _
Knoxville______________ ________ . .
. . .
..
N ashville-. ________ __________
_ . _. .
U tah_______
.
. . . .
Salt Lake C ity___
V erm ont.. ___________ ...
Virginia. __________ __ _ _ _.
Richmond. . . . . . . .
Washington.. ________________ .
____
__ . . .
Seattle_____________________ .. . . . ___
West Virginia_______________
_
Wisconsin_________________
Milwaukee ___ . _ .
Wyoming___ ____ .
1941
1940
118
35
1,360
147
36
33
0
0
0
0
1
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
i 16
1
36
4
0
0
5
27
2
0
15
16
8
322
49
0
36
30
79
1942
i 155
i 32
3
0
22
88
2
0
0
0
0
37
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
94
8
3
56
5
44
22
12
0
0
0
67
37
4
44
0
0
2 561
2 90
0
4
30
6
0
22
28
5
327
92
0
23
49
77
153
0
0
0
151
82
6
30
1
0
2 913
3 179
14
1
0
0
51
0
0
0
1943
551
1 13
877
3
0
241
94
0
0
0
0
0
50
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
109
4
3
120
11
70
211
176
0
0
2 77
134
1
0
0
1
0
38
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
1
12
38
5
1
27
31
7
510
71
0
26
64
129
84
0
0
0
328
172
19
214
19
2
3 1, 967
3 444
7 736
7 215
39
30
0
27
46
32
4
53
65
24
601
123
0
30
51
136
o
0
0
0
848
238
48
212
41
38
2 3,147
3 767
7 3, 214
7 916
39
30
0
0
267
42
154
613
498
1 Data not complete for entire year.
5 Includes certificates issued for work outside school hours or during vacation.
* 16-year minimum-age law went into effect in Hawaii in January 1940, in New Jersey in September 1940,
in Florida in July 1941, in Louisiana in July 1942, and in Puerto Rico in August 1942.
4 Following Pearl Harbor, schools were closed until February 1942, and for some months thereafter school
attendance in case of employed children was not enforced. Therefore, many children under 16 who
would otherwise have stayed in school went to work.
5 Includes certificates issued for work outside school hours or during vacation. Data not complete for
entire year.
9 In Maine and Michigan 15 years is the minimum age for issuance of regular certificates.
7 Includes reissued certificates.
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766
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
T a b l e 6. —Number of First Regular Employment Certificates Issued for Minors Aged
16 and 17 Years, 1940-43 1
Percent of change in 1943 as
compared with—
Number of certificates issued
State and city
1940
Alabama 2___ _____________
Birmingham 2____________
Arizona2
________
Arkansas___
___ .
------California
Los Angolas
San Diego
San Francisco.
Colorado 2__________ _______
D enver2 __ . .
. ___
Connecticut___ ________ . .
D elaw are2
_ ______
W ilm ington2, ._
_____
District of Columbia 2________
Florida 2_______ ____ . -----Georgia 2_____ _______ ___ —
Atlanta 2____ . ________
H aw a ii2 . . __ ___________
Idaho 2____ _________ _____
Illinois 2_______
. . -Indiana 2________ __________
Fort Wayne 2__ _________
Indianapolis 2____________
South Bend 2 __ . . . .
Iowa 2_____________
- __
Kansas 2_____ ________ . . . . . .
Wichita 2________________
Kentucky 2___ ______________
Louisville 2______________
Louisiana 2.
N ew Orleans 2___________
Maine 2_________________ ._.
Maryland 2__________________
Baltimore 2--------- --------Massachusetts
Boston___________ _______
Brockton______
______
Cambridge...
_ ..
Fall River_____________ _
H olyoke_________________
Lawrence . . .
......
L o w ell... ________ ____
L ynn_______________ ____
M alden2____ . . . _ _ .
Medford_____ ______ . . .
N ew Bedford____________
N ew ton_____ _______ _
Quincy 2________________
Somerville_______________
Springfield_______________
Worcester 2___ ____
Michigan
D e tr o it8. .
. ____ . .
Grand Rapids________ . .
------ . . . -------M innesota2. .
M ississippi2______________ . .
M issouri2__________ _ _____
Kansas City 2____________
St. Louis 2_________ _____
M ontana_______ _____ _____
Nebraska 2__________________
Omaha 2___ ____ _______
New Hampshire 2_ . . . . . .
N ew Jersey 5. _ _ ____. . ______
Newark *___
__
__
N ew Mexico 2__. . . . . _____
N ew Y ork. _______ . . . . . .
A lb a n y .. _______________
Binghamton_____________
Buffalo______________ . . .
M ount Vernon___________
N ew R ochelle.. . ______
N ew York _____
_____
Niagara Falls____ _
Rochester________________
1942
439
878
4, 516
3,527
2, 636
332
22
193
* 1, 153
t 4, 054
681
< 1, 644
590
529
21, 634
1,360
644
6,317
8 1, 284
3,182
337
« 5, 635
114
9,286
11,911
975
1,922
469
499
158
79
1,240
954
4 1, 502
'861
3, 458
12, 585
10, 767
5,058
622
67
573
4 19,989
4 5,637
1,401
4 2, 564
837
527
30, 220
2, 753
1, 519
11, 753
3, 325
7, 834
663
6,487
752
16, 568
26, 403
1,829
4, 354
1, 226
993
800
264
2,009
1,387
8 4, 734
s 3, 316
5,944
20, 239
17, 059
3. 024
135
572
1,178
228
313
517
226
329
139
718
113
434
387
360
1,491
5, 328
2.071
656
344
264
651
70
304
0
11
2
1,180
6, 473
960
6
36, 837
370
119
1,970
128
59
24, 884
110
865
7,069
402
1,325
2,416
709
891
1,724
501
948
502
1, 541
291
1,063
894
1, 233
3, 502
19, 692
7, 505
1.348
1,391
392
3, 366
204
1,969
37
29
12
4, 048
20, 116
3 597
8
68, 782
633
366
3, 772
194
111
40, 077
402
2,407
9,964
570
4 2,127
2, 273
792
1,145
2, 837
739
1, 472
694
1,850
499
1,513
1,926
1,366
4, 575
44.045
23, 526
1,594
2, 711
659
7, 734
938
4,499
235
1,190
1,107
5,591
34,173
4 3, 303
30
106, 374
975
619
5, 594
334
168
55, 299
1, 477
5,180
1,625
178
89
5, 853
2, 241
312
664
233
214
7,202
715
237
2, 371
222
1,989
125
* 3,949
22
3,031
4, 615
281
1, 050
76
363
33
17
533
414
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1941
1943
19, 855
1,849
398
1,142
2, 467
1, 864
34, 203
4,171
2,801
10, 050
11, 359
24, 241
2,290
5, 218
974
4 48, 643
68,129
3, 434
11.401
2, 250
4,681
7, 438
2,682
3,273
1,791
11,745
7, 718
8, 377
23,932
19, 944
10,247
488
1,232
542
1,058
1, 903
786
1, 593
1,219
877
529
1, 264
2, 322
806
3,682
78, 375
32, 751
3, 153
9,421
2, 480
25, 515
6, 584
12,343
1,653
4,298
3, 916
5,601
42,625
76
167, 525
1,113
904
8,620
625
372
84,912
3, 027
8, 377
1942
1940
1941
+1121.8
+938.8
+1658.1
+854.1
+429.9
+465. 5
+653. 2
+456. 9
0
+491. 7
0
0
0
0
+318.1
+252. 4
+58.1
+206. 7
+334. 9
+59.1
+784. 7
+661.8
+579. 5
-7 .4
+754.4
0
+472. 0
+252. 2
+493. 2
+379. 7
+838.1
+4607. 6
+3294. 9
+164. 0
+87.7
+682.0
+796.4
+142. 2
+90.2
+85.2
+292. 5
+197. 3
+494. 0
+99.3
0
0 .
0
0
4-194.7
+253. 7
+13.2
+51.5
+84.4
-1 4 .5
+241. 6
+209.4
+ 245.4
-1 9 .6
+29.5
0
+158.0
+87.8
+161.9
+83.5
+371.4
+829. 8
+915.9
+ 62.9
+29.1
+148.1
+132. 8
+40.9
+18.2
+16.9
+238.9
+261. 5
(3)
+ 4 .6
+137. 7
+238. 0
+268.1
+247. 8
+ 384. 2
+ 777. 0
+22.1
+368.1
+191. 2
+500. 0
+ 123.9
+146.9
0
0
+380. 6
+2638. 7
+839. 4
+3819. 4
+9305.7
+3960. 2
0
0
0
+374. 7
+558. 5
0
0
+354. 8
+200. 8
+659.7
+337. 6
+388. 3
+530. 5
+241. 2
+2651.8
+868. 4
+45.0
+21.4
0
-4 9 .0
-2 3 .6
+18.7
+10.4
+56.9
+68.0
+142. 8
-4 3 .1
+81.8
+18.9
+159. 7
-3 4 .6
+5.1
0
0
+133.9
+577.3
+532. 7
+658. 0
+3127. 5
+526.9
0
0
0
+38.4
+111.9
0
0
+143. 6
+75.8
+147.0
+128.5
+222. 2
+235.1
+111.9
+653.0
+248.0
+ 2 .8
-1 4 .4
0
-4 5 .8
-3 1 .6
-7 .6
-3 2 .9
+ 6 .4
+ 8.2
+75. 6
-5 2 .6
+ 6 .0
-1 6 .5
+20.6
-4 1 .0
-1 9 .5
+77.9
+39.2
+97.8
+247. 5
+276.3
+229.9
+601.9
+174. 3
+603. 4
+261. 2
+253. 7
+ 0 .2
+24.7
0
0
+57.5
+14.2
+46.0
+54.1
+87.1
+121.4
+53.6
+104.9
+61.7
+1183. Í
(3)
(3)
0
(3)
+958.8
+771. 0
+374. 9
+483. 4
+1081.9
+323.9
+5016. 7
+1118.8
+1732. 0
+32.1
(3)
(3)
+1376. 3
+1122.1
+985.8
+2860. 5
+1189. 5
(3)
(3)
+514.1
+332.6
CHILD LABOR
767
T a b l e 6 . —Number of First Regular Employment Certificates Issued for Minors Aged
16 arid 17 Years, 1940—43 1—Continued
Percent of change in 1943 as
compared with—
Number of certificates issued
State and city
1940
New York—Continued.
Schenectady..-_______ . .
Syracuse2. --------- . . . .
Troy 2_______________ ___
U tica2. . . . . . ___________
Yonkers_______ _____. . .
North Carolina______________
Charlotte________________
Ohio___________ ______ _____
Cincinnati. . . . . _______
Cleveland_______________
Oklahoma---- ---------- ---------Oklahoma C ity________ _
Tulsa_______ _
. _____
Oregon____. . . . . . . . . . . .
Portland________________
Pennsylvania:
Altoona___________ _____
Bethlehem-------------- -------C hester... ------. . . . . . .
Erie------------ ------------------Harrisburg-------- -- ------ .
Johnstown________ .
Lancaster-. . . . . . . . ___
M cK eesport------------- - . .
Philadelphia_____________
Pittsburgh---------------------Reading___________ _____
Scranton---------- --------. . .
Wilkes-Barre.. . . . ______
York____________________
Puerto Rico 2. . . . . . . .
Rhode Island__________ _ . .
Providence.. . . . . .
...
South Carolina 2-------------------Tennessee.. ------------------Knoxville____ . . . ______
N ashville_____ . . . ______
Texas 2________ . _ ----------Utah______ ----- --------------Salt Lake C ity____ ______
V erm ont 2 ___________________
V irginia 2 ---------------- _ .
Richmond 2__. . . . . . . . .
Washington ________________
Seattle
.... .............. ........
West Virginia 2 ----- . . . ______
Wisconsin ---.
Milwaukee___ __________
Wyoming 2---------- ---------- --
238
746
212
276
268
6,028
213
1, 630
4,222
4 167
62
169
405
241
85
246
285
104
148
79
186
76
6,170
953
414
296
174
147
1, 524
740
1, 768
311
29
120
4 399
434
63
281
1,361
86
141
3, 358
1,057
4
1941
1942
1943
414
2,187
623
470
531
10, 776
376
22,499
3, 086
7, 223
419
126
169
1, 105
602
771
2,439
1,154
1, 281
1, 352
17, 484
597
30, 347
3j 703
8, 355
722
158
247
10,120
7,830
1,400
4, 048
1,167
1,708
1,846
27, 999
842
202
557
422
311
406
121
413
142
14, 074
2,188
968
437
296
344
734
5,467
2, 340
3, 574
562
100
129
1, 362
594
217
746
2, 859
225
7 543
7 125
648
8, 198
2, 750
3
1940
1941
+488.2
+442.6
+450. 5
+518.8
+588. 8
+364. 5
+295.3
+238. 2
+85.1
+87.3
+263. 4
+247. 6
+159. 8
+123.9
(3)
1942
+81.6
+66.0
+1.1
+33.3
+36.5
+60.1
+41.0
(3 )
(3 )
( 3)
(3 )
(3 )
(3 )
(3 )
2,668
498
1,096
14,940
11,061
+1497. 6
+703. 2
+548. 5
+3588. 9
+4489.6
+536. 8
+295. 2
+548.5
+1252.0
+1737. 4
+269. 5
+215. 2
+343. 7
+47.6
+41.3
305
610
551
859
951
200
644
357
22, 693
5,605
1,596
911
456
501
4 709
8,176
2,585
6,247
2,061
348
349
3, 599
2,199
860
911
5, 753
432
7 12, 078
7 3,646
1 , 959
18,171
1, 113
702
1, 736
2,091
801
563
779
883
26, 455
7,412
1, 319
2,529
725
778
1.022
IO] 115
4,217
10,016
10, 435
906
1,160
15, 640
3,479
1,131
3, 564
9,724
771
7 28, 096
7 10, 248
6Ì798
27, 965
+1209. 4
+185. 4
+509.1
+1910. 6
+441. 2
+612. 7
+318.8
+1061. 8
+328. 8
+677. 8
+218. 6
+754. 4
+316.7
+429.3
+451.0
+26.0
+311.4
+572. 3
+97.3
+365.3
+88.6
+521. 8
+88.0
+238.8
+36.3
+478.7
+144.9
+126. 2
-fm 2
+85.0
+80.2
+180. 2
+1756. 8
+806.0
+799. 2
+1048. 3
+485.7
+421. 2
+377. 7
+240.1
+242. 7
+5074. 2
+8098. 4
+949. 1
+241.1
+264. 9
+15.1
+215.1
+143. 4
-1 5 .8
+181. 5
+21.0
+147. 3
+16.6
+32.2
-1 7 .4
+177. 6
+59.0
+55.3
- f 44 1
+23. 7
+63.1
+60.3
+406. 3
+160. 3
+232.4
+334. 6
+58. 2
+31.5
+291. 2
+69.0
+78.5
+132. 6
+181 1
+247. 0
+53.9
241
458
(3)
+563.7
+469.9
+466. 5
+3255. 3
( 3)
+866.7
+3819. 8
+701. 6
+1695. 2
+1168.3
+614.5
+796. 5
(3)
(3 )
+4721. 3
+732. 8
(3)
(3)
(3 )
(3 )
(3 )
(3)
+90.0
1 This table includes all States reporting and selected cities with 50,000 or more population (1940 Census)
reporting 50 or more certificates in 1940, 1941, 1942, or 1943.
2 Regular certificates include certificates issued for work during vacation and outside school hours.
2 Percent not shown when number of minors was less than 50 in 1940, 1941, or 1942 or when figures were not
available or not comparable.
4 Data not complete for entire year.
5 Employment or age certificates were required for minors 16 and 17 years of age during at least part of
this year and in the following years. Previously they were required only for minors under 16 years of age
and were issued only on request to minors 16 and 17. This change in the law became effective in New
Jersey in 1940, in Florida and Hawaii in 1941, in Louisiana and Puerto Rico in 1942, and would naturally
result in an increase in the number of certificates issued.
f
6 Beginning in December 1941, regular certificates in Detroit include certificates issued for work during
vacation and outside school hours.
7 Includes reissued certificates.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
768
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW--- APRIL 1945
Y O U T H E M P L O Y M E N T , 1 9 2 4 -4 4
All certificates.—Tlie all-time highs of war production and general
employment that have been reached during the past 2 years have
been accompanied by peaks in the number of young workers entering
the labor market. Though the total of certificates issued for boys and
girls 14 through 17 years of age going to work had already reached a
high point in 1942, it climbed even farther during 1943. For 1944,
preliminary and incomplete reports indicate for the country as a
whole a leveling off in the number of these young workers similar to
that which has taken place in general employment, with compara
tively little change in the total numbers of employment certificates
issued for young persons of this age group. Table 7 compares the
situation in the 3 years 1942, 1943, and 1944, in the areas for which
1944 reports have been received, showing that the total of certificates
for both full-time and part-time work was nearly twice as large
in 1943 as in 1942 (1,238,078 as compared with 655,851) and, on the
evidence of these preliminary reports, remained at approximately
the 1943 level in 1944 (1,222,914). The rate of increase for 14- and
15- year-old workers, however, was much larger than for those of 16
and 17. Nearly three times as many of the younger group went to
work in 1944 as in 1942 (322,391 as compared with 108,660). This
group showed a 16-percent increase in 1944 over 1943; the number of
16- and 17-year-olds, on the other hand, showed a slight decrease of
6 percent for this period.
T a b l e 7. —Employment Certificates Issued to Minors Aged 14 Through 17 Years, During
1942, 1943, and 1944 1
[Covers all areas for which reports for 1944 have been received by the Children’s Bureau]
Age of minor and type of certificate
1942
1943
1944
Percent of
change in 1944
as compared
with—
1942
Total minors 14 through 17 years........._ - --------Regular and vacation and outside school hoursR e g u l a r . ---- -- ------ _
___ . .
Vacation and outside school hou rs... ---Reissued_______ . ------------- . . . . —
796,314
655,851
414,127
241,724
140,463
1,580,874
1,238,078
742,384
495,694
342,790
14 and 15 y ears.. .
______ _____ ____ . --------Regular and vacation and outside school hours.
R eg u la r...
. ___. . . . . -- --------- -Vacation and outside school hours___ ____
Reissued---------- --------------------------------
110,059
108,660
11,653
97,007
1,399
282,237
278,118
25,028
253,090
4,119
16 and 17 years-------- ------ --------. ------- Regular and vacation and outside school hours.
R e g u la r _____ ________
... ..
.. ...
Vacation and outside school hours_______
Reissued____________________ ____ _________
686,255
547,191
402,474
144,717
139,064
1,298,637
959,960
717,356
242,604
338,677
1943
1,583,591 +98.9
1,222,914 +86.5
679,959 +64.2
542,955 +124.6
360,677 +156.8
+ 0 .2
- 1 .2
- 8 .4
+ 9 .5
+ 5 .2
+197.4
+196. 7
+150.9
+202. 2
+254.0
+16.0
+15.9
+16.8
+15.8
+20.2
1, 256,247 +83.1
900,523 +64.6
650,726 +61.7
249,797 +72.6
355,724 +155. 8
- 3 .3
-6 .2
- 9 .3
+ 3.0
+ 5 .0
327,344
322,391
29,233
293,158
4,953
1 Figures for 1944 are provisional and incomplete.
In many States and cities, however, there was an increase in 1944
over 1943 (as well as over 1942) in the number of these teen-age
children who went to work, as evidenced by the number of certificates
issued for full-time or part-time employment during the 3 years
(table 8).
Although later reports will of course change the total figures, it is
believed that the preliminary reports are representative and give a
reliable picture of the situation in the country as a whole.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
769
CHILD LABOR
T
able
8 . —Minors
Aged 14 Through 17 Years Receiving Employment Certificates in
Selected States and Cities During 1942, 1943, and 1944
Regular and vacation and outside-sebool-hours certificates
14-17 years of age
State or city
16-17 years of age
14-15 years of age
Percent of in
Percent of in
Percent of in
crease, 1944 over— crease, 1944 over— crease, 1944 over—
1942
1943
1942
1943
1942
1943
States
Alabama......... ............ ...........
Colorado.____ __________
Florida (11 months)______
Iowa (11 m onths)________
K a n sa s..________________
Kentucky_______________
M innesota_______________
Missouri_________ _______
Nebraska................... ............
N ew York (8 months). _ . .
North Carolina................
Oklahoma_______________
Tennessee_______________
U tah______ _____________
Virginia___ _____________
West Virginia— _________
292.2
400.6
472.2
392.4
956.5
136.0
328.9
254.0
313.1
124.7
59.4
152.7
504.1
90.3
89.9
480.8
20.5
62.6
41.3
78.0
33.5
27.7
34.9
7.1
35.6
4.5
8.7
3.2
27.6
9.4
13.9
70.3
349.1
414.2
408.4
910.9
1,129.0
83.4
373.8
233.7
367.6
95.3
41.9
172.3
561.5
85.3
85.0
501.8
14.4
74.5
32.4
121.1
32.2
12.6
36.4
1.2
29.5
1 2.9
2.5
4.1
31.0
9.4
9.5
73.4
138.4
378.1
788.0
102.4
400.0
283.8
71.5
387.9
245.0
223.9
131.5
104.5
311.1
107.5
104.3
365.6
65.0
45.0
17.0
15.2
44.9
55.9
15.5
46.2
47.5
23.7
28.1
.5
11.7
9.5
27.7
51.1
Cities
Atlanta, Ga_______________
Birmingham, Ala__________
Kansas City, M o .____ _____
Lawrence, M ass...................
Louisville, K y ................. .........
N ew York, N . Y . (8 months)
Philadelphia, Pa___________
Salt Lake City, U tah........ .
497.1
441.2
623.3
43.0
92.3
166.9
64.4
53.6
89.9
123.5
11.9
26.6
25.8
9.6
8.0
2.5
526.8
652. 3
597.5
8.5
46.1
120.4
41.6
39.7
81.5
153.1
1.6
18.5
13.2
2.3
5.7
1 1.2
332.5
164.8
705.8
322.8
229.8
360.2
282.6
95.0
201.7
55.9
72.6
47.9
47.4
27.7
16.9
11.3
1 Decrease.
Shifiting among jobs.—Under some State laws, an employment
certificate is valid only for work for one employer, and must be re
turned to the issuing office when the child leaves his employ. Subse
quent certificates for the same child for other jobs are called “reissued
certificates.” The certificates reported to the Children’s Bureau as
“reissued” therefore indicate shifting from job to job by these young
workers. In the areas for which reports for 1944 have been received
the number of reissued certificates increased 157 percent between
1942 and 1944—from 140.463 in 1942 to 360,677 in 1944, or from 18
percent of the total number of certificates issued in 1942 to 23 percent
of the total number issued in 1944. These figures however cannot be
regarded as reflecting the total amount of turnover among young
workers, because in many States the certificate, once obtained, is
good for any employer, and because the reports as to whether the
certificate is a “reissued” or a “first” certificate are not always reliable.
Even the amount of shifting from job to job that is indicated by these
figures, however, is significant, and is corroborated by other studies
of teen-age workers. For instance, a report on employed minors in
Pennsylvania covering the years 1939-43, stated that in many areas
in 1943 more certificates were being issued to minors changing jobs
than to those being employed for the first time.
Employment and school attendance.—The trends in the number of
regular and vacation and outside-school-hours certificates issued for
children of the two age groups represent to some degree, though
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
770
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
more nearly for the 14- and 15-year-olds than for the 16- and 17-yearolds,14 the extent to which these young people are leaving school for
work and the extent to which they are taking part-time or vacation
jobs. In both age groups, though the number obtaining regular
certificates rose rapidly, the rate of increase was greater for those
obtaining certificates for work outside school hours and during
vacation. The difference, as would be expected, was more marked
for the 14- and 15-year-olds than for the 16- and 17-year-olds. Accord
ing to the April 1944 Census sample survey (see page 759), of the
2,900,000 young persons 14 through 17 years of age in the labor force
at that time, 1,400,000 were both attending school and working; of
these, 14- and 15-year-olds accounted for about 600,000, and 16- and
17-year-olds for about 800,000. Many of these student workers,
who comprised one-fifth of the total number in the age group 14
through 17 who were attending school, were carrying heavy loads.
Forty percent of the 14- and 15-year-olds and 49 percent of the 16and 17-year-olds had carried more than 48 hours of combined school
and work per week.
Sex of Young Workers Receiving Certificates
As has been the case in former years, .more boys than girls in the
age groups 14 through 17 years obtained employment certificates,
though the number of boys and girls of these ages in the population
is approximately equal. In 1943, boys constituted 62 percent of
all the young persons of these ages obtaining certificates for work.
Among the younger group of 1.4- and 15-year-olds the proportion of
boys was slightly higher, being 67 percent, as compared with 61 per
cent among the 16- and 17-year-old workers. Several factors might
account for this difference, one of which is that much of the employ
ment open to 14- and 15-year-olds is in street trades, errand work,
or other jobs traditionally held by boys.
Nevertheless, between 1940 and 1943, the percentage of girls in
the group obtaining certificates rose from 34 to 38 percent. This
upward swing was marked among the 14- and 15-year olds who took
jobs during vacation and outside school hours; in 1940 only 7 percent
of this group were girls, as compared with 33 percent in 1943.
School Grade Completed
Sixty years ago the educational standards for working children
had not advanced beyond the requirement of a few months of school
ing in the year the child was employed. Photostatic copies of some
old certificates issued in Connecticut in the 1880’s recently lent to
the Children’s Bureau, show that boys and girls under 14 could be
legally employed if they had attended school for 60 days out of the
year, and of this period only 6 weeks had to be consecutive. Even
such a standard was an advanced one at that time.
Changes in public opinion and a realization of the need for more
education have brought about a more widespread educational oppor
tunity for teen-age children, and higher child-labor and schoolattendance standards. More than half of the States permitting
employment of children 14 or 15 during school hours now require that
14 See footnote to table 4, p. 763.
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771
children under 16 obtaining certificates for work must meet certain
educational requirements, usually completion of the eighth grade,
before they may legally be employed.
In 1943, three-fourths of the children 14 and 15 years of age obtain
ing first regular certificates, for whom data on grade completed are
available, had finished the eighth or a higher grade (table 9). Roughly
37 percent, however, had gone no farther than the eighth grade,
though 38 percent had continued through the first, second, or third
years of high school. Although there has been a serious drop in school
enrollment at the high-school level during the war, these reports
indicate an increase in the proportion staying in school at least
through the eighth grade, as between 1940 and 1943 the proportion
of 14- and 15-year-olds who had failed to complete the eighth grade
before getting their regular employment certificates fell from 30 to
25 percent. Nevertheless a fourth of the 14- and 15-year-olds who
had obtained such certificates had less than an eighth-grade education
and 11 percent had completed only the sixth grade or less. As
already pointed out, not all children obtaining regular certificates
actually leave school, but the picture is approximately the same for
the States where regular certificates are issued only to children of
these ages who do in fact leave school as for all the States from which
this information on grade completed is available.
Information on the schooling of 16- and 17-year-old minors receiving
regular certificates is not available for 1943, but in the three previous
years about 15 percent had completed high school before entering
employment.
T a b l e 9 . —Highest School Grade Completed by Minors Aged 14 Through 17 Years
Receiving First Regular Employment Certificates, 1940-43
Number of minors
Percent of minors
Age and highest grade completed
1940
1941
1942
1943
1940
1941
1942
1943
5, 205
4,108
635
600
2,873
1,297
1,555
21
1,097
8,306
6,609
978
945
4,686
2,002
2,620
64
1,697
16,184
34,311
24', 545
2, 686
3,528
18, 331
8,954
9,238
139
9, 766
100.0
15.5
14.6
69.9
31.6
37.8
.5
100.0
14.8
14.3
70.9
30.3
39.6
1.0
100.0
12.5
14.5
73.0
31.5
40.4
1.1
100.0
10.9
14.4
74.7
36.5
37.6
.6
Minors Ifi and 17 vears of age
103, 490
Grade completed reported. ------85', 371
6,182
Grade 6 or lower 1___
5,809
Grade 7___________________
73,
380
Grade 8 or higher__________
14, 641
Grade 8________ _ -----46, 333
Grade 9, 10, or 11______
12,406
Grade 12 or higher_____
Grade completed not reported. __ 18,119
244,014
198; 641
11,511
11,851
175, 279
29,132
113,893
32, 254
45,373
436,783
330; 363
16,196
17,602
296, 565
46,128
201,106
49, 331
106,420
100.0
7.2
6.8
86.0
17.2
54.3
14.5
100.0
5.8
6.0
88.2
14.7
57.3
16.2
100.0
4.9
5.3
89.8
14.0
■60.9
14.9
(2)
Minors 14 and 15 years of age
Grade completed reported-------Grade 6 or lower L . . --------Grade 7____________ ______
Grade 8 or higher__________
Grade 8_______________
Grade 9, 10, or 11______
Grade 12 or higher_____
Grade completed not reported
n; 69i
1,444
1,687
8,460
3,649
4,684
127
4,593
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1 Includes ungraded classes.
2 Data not available.
Industry and Occupation Entered
War demands for labor and new types of job openings have brought
about a great change in the industries and occupations entered by
young workers obtaining certificates. In general the trend for 14and 15-year-olds has been away from the typical “children’s occupa
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
tions,” such as errand work, street trades, and housework as the
major type of work, into employment in retail stores and wholesale
establishments, and for the 16- and 17-year-olds away from the trade
and miscellaneous service industries into various types of employment
in manufacturing and mechanical establishments.
A LL C E R T IFIC A T E S
Information on the industries and occupations in which these boys
and girls were working is not available for so many States and cities
as furnish information on the total number of certificates issued.
Many State and city offices have been unable to report on this point,
either because the information was not called for on the certificate
form used or because of added wartime pressure of work on issuing
officers. The totals shown in tables 10 and 11, therefore, are lower
than those in previous tables, which cover certificates issued in all
States reporting. Also the totals for certain occupations, such as
domestic service in private homes, agricultural wrnrk, and (to some
extent) street trades, are not representative, because in many States
certificates are not required for these types of employment. On the
whole, however, the data available are believed to picture, for a large
proportion of the young nonagricultural workers of the country,
the kinds of work in which they have been engaged.
Children 14 and 15 years oj age.—In 1940 nearly 40 percent of the
14- and 15-year-olds for whom regular certificates were issued were
employed in domestic service in private homes, usually doing house
work or caring for children; in 1943, however, only 8 percent were so
employed (table 10). The proportion receiving regular certificates to
enter employment in wholesale and retail trade, however, increased
from nearly 30 to almost 50 percent, as more and more 14- and 15year-old boys and girls were hired for delivery or errand work, waiting
on customers, as stock boys, as “ soda jerkers,” or for other jobs in
stores and various trade establishments. This rise in employment in
wholesale and retail trade was even greater among children obtaining
vacation or outside-school-hours certificates.
Another kind of work that seems to have lost its attraction for boys
14 and 15 is that of newsboy. Though under many State laws, em
ployment certificates are not required for this work, 32 percent of the
14- and 15-year-old minors receiving certificates for employment in
vacation or outside school hours in 1940 were newsboys, whereas in
1943, when other and more desirable jobs were available, only 2
percent were in newsboy jobs. A similar though much smaller de
crease is noted for children 14 and 15 years of age obtaining regular
certificates for employment at this occupation.
Coincidently there has been an upward trend in the proportion of
these younger workers taking jobs, both full time and part time, in
other manufacturing industries—from less than 2 percent in 1940 to 7
percent in 1943. This increase has resulted from the great expansion
in manufacturing during the war, and has occurred in spite of both
Federal and State laws restricting such employment for young work
ers. As already pointed out, under the child-labor provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act, only work in establishments that do not
produce goods for shipment in interstate commerce and a small
amount of nonproductive work in interstate factories are legal for
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CHILD LABOR
children 14 and 15 years of age. In addition, in 15 States there is a
basic minimum age of 16 for work in factories, or for all work during
school hours. These legal provisions have stood as a bulwark against
any extensive employment of children under 16 in factories.
Although in many parts of the country there is much seasonal
employment of 14- and 15-year-old children for the harvesting of
fruits and vegetables, most States do not require certificates for this
type of work, and as a result the certificate figures give no adequate
evidence of the extent or trends of employment of young people in
agriculture.
T a b l e 10.— Industry Entered by Minors Aged 14 and 15 Years Receiving Regular and
Vacation and Outside-School-Hours Certificates in 1940 and 1943
1940
Industry
Total
1943
Vacation
Vacation
Regular and outsideRegular and outsideschoolschoolTotal certifi
certifi
cates 1 hours cer
cates 1 hours cer
tificates 2
tificates 2
31, 058
2,572
28, 486 263, 690
20, 416
243, 274
Industry reported................................................... 30, 812
Manufacturing ______________ . . . . . . 9, 561
Publishing (i. e. newsboys) ________
9,123
Other_______________________ ______
438
Wholesale and retail trade ____________
8, 557
Domestic service, private h o m e..________ 1,286
Personal, business, and recreational serv9, 036
ices 3____________________ ___________
Transportation, communication, and
411
other public utilities________ _______
O ther4_______________________________
1,961
2, 536
181
116
65
705
990
28, 276 261,138
9,380 22, 434
9, 007
4, 065
373 18, 369
7, 852 154, 280
296
2, 611
20, 360
1,943
56
1,887
9,507
1,544
240, 778
20, 491
4, Q09
16, 482
144, 773
1,067
All industries. ___________________________
216
8, 820
43, 604
2,064
41, 540
28
416
383
1,545
9,811
28, 398
1,642
3,660
8,169
24, 738
Percentage distribution
Industry reported_________________________
Manufacturing___________ ___________
Publishing (i. e. newsboys). _______
Other_______________ . . . ________
Wholesale and retail trade.. ______ _____
Domestic service, private home _______
Personal, business, and recreational services 3________________________________
Transportation, communication, and
other public utilities...................................
O ther4. _____________ ____ ___________
100.0
31.0
29.6
1.4
27.8
4.2
100.0
7.2
4.6
2.6
27.8
39.0
100.0
33. 2
31.9
1.3
27.8
1.0
100.0
8 6
1.6
7.0
59. 1
1.0
100.0
9.5
0.3
9.2
46.7
7.6
100.0
8.5
1.7
6.8
60.1
0.4
29.3
8.5
31. 2
16.7
10.1
17.3
1.3
6.4
1. 1
16.4
1.3
5.5
3.7
10.9
8.1
18.0
3.4
10.3
1 Includes 29 States, the District of Columbia, and 31 cities in 3 other States.
2 Includes 28 States, the District of Columbia, and 30 cities in 3 other States.
3 Excludes domestic service in private homes.
4 Includes agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, construction and industries specified as “other”
without detail.
Minors 16 and 17 years of age.—During the 4-year period, the 16and 17-year-old workers were leaving store jobs and the service in
dustries and were going into factories. Fifty-four percent of all the
boys and girls of these ages going to work either full time or part time
in 1943 went into manufacturing industries (table 11). Many went
into war industries-—as riveters, painters, assemblers, or sheet-metal
workers in aircraft factories, as shipfitters, pipefitters, boilermakers’
helpers, lay-out men, and special apprentice welders in shipyards,
and in various types of work in plants producing textiles, wearing
apparel, food products or other items for military uses. In the rail
road industry considerable numbers of certificates were issued for
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
crew callers, baggagemen, and brakemen. At the same time there
was a decrease in the number of 16- and 17-year olds going to work full
time or part time as messengers in business offices, as cashiers, bus
boys, waiters and waitresses in lunchrooms, as helpers and attendants
in filling stations or garages, as pin boys in bowling alleys, and in
miscellaneous work in service industries. The percentage in wholesale
and retail trade, for instance, dropped from 34 in 1940 to 25 in 1943,
and the percentage in the service industries dropped from 21 to 8.
Relatively few minors of these ages were engaged in delivery work or in
domestic service in private homes, which had been the occupations
of a third to a half of this group before the war.
T a b l e 11. — Industry Entered by Minors Aged 16 and 17 Years Receiving Regular and
Vacation and Outside-School-Hours Certificates in 1940 and 1943
[Includes only States and cities issuing 10 or more certificates in either year]
1940
Industry
1943
Vacation
Vacation
and out-.
outRegular and
sidesideTotal certifi
schoolschoolcates 1
hours
hours
certificates 2
certificates 2
Total
Regular
certifi
cates 1
All industries._________ ____________ ____
129, 289
94, 670
34, 619 901, 496 681, 321
220,175
Industry reported_____ _ ___________ . . . . .
___
Manufacturing______________ .
Wholesale and retail trade . . . _ . . . . ___
Personal, business, and recreational services 3_____________________ _________
Transportation, communications, and
other public utilities. . . _________ ____
Other 4 __________ _______ ________
127, 622
38, 600
43,931
93, 568
35, 598
26, 956
34,054 884,334 669,331
3,002 477, 227 432, 699
16, 975 222, 290 118, 569
215,003
44, 528
103,721
26, 643
19, 421
7,222
69, 083
38,924
30,159
8, 635
9, 813
5, 866
5,727
2,769
4, 086
48, 875
66, 859
34, 943
44,196
13, 932
22, 663
Percentage distribution
Industry reported_____ _____ ______________
Manufacturing___________________ ____
Wholesale and retail trade___ __________
Personal, business, and recreational services 3_____ ____ ______________________
Transportation, communications, and
other public utilities_________________
O ther4_______________ ________ . .
100.0
30.2
34.4
100.0
38.0
28.8
100.0
8.8
49.9
100.0
54.0
25.1
100.0
64.7
17.7
100.0
20.7
48.3
20.9
20.8
21.2
7.8
5.8
14.0
6.8
7.7
6.3
6.1
8.1
12.0
5.5
7.6
5.2
6.6
6.5
10.5
1 Includes 34 States, the District of Columbia, and 30 cities in 3 other States.
2 Includes 10 States, and 27 cities in 3 other States.
3 Includes domestic service in private homes, as information is not available separately for the age group
16 and 17.
4 Includes agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, construction, and industries specified as “other”
w ithout detail.
Among the 16- and 17-year-old workers who obtained certificates
for employment only in vacation and outside school hours there were
more who went into manufacturing in 1943 than in 1940; the propor
tion going into trade remained nearly constant; and there was a drop
in employment in personal, business, and recreational services.
Sex of minors as related to occupation.— In 1940 nearly 90 percent of
the girls 14 and 15 years of age who received regular certificates were
employed in domestic service in private homes. By 1943, this pro
portion had dropped to only 20 percent, showing the wider scope of work
opportunities open to girls. That many had shifted over to jobs in
ten-cent stores, drug stores, groceries, and other trade establishments
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CHILD LABOR
775
is shown by the fact that the proportion in wholesale and retail trade
rose from only 7 percent in 1940 to 54 percent in 1943. Among the
girls 16 and 17 years old the proportion in manufacturing increased
from 38 to 53 percent, while the percentages in trade stayed approx
imately the same—roughly 28 percent in both 1940 and 1943.
F E D E R A L C E R T IFIC A T E S
The Federal certificates issued by the Children’s Bureau in Idaho,
Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas are primarily for workers
covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, that is, in industries produc
ing goods for interstate commerce. Ak would be expected, therefore,
manufacturing bulked large in the figures showing the industries
entered by minors receiving Federal certificates. The proportion of
16- and 17-year-olds entering manufacturing during the years 1940
to 1943 was about 90 percent each year. The large percentage of all
workers of these ages obtaining certificates for manufacturing is,
however, not noticeably affected by this preponderance, since the
number of certificates issued in these 4 States is a relatively small
fraction of the total for the country.15
15 Data on evidence of age for all employment certificates issued will be published, together with the
aterial in this article, in a forthcoming report.
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45
6
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment Conditions
L abor C onditions in th e P hilippines 1
Summary
AGRICULTURE is the chief source of livelihood of more than 80
percent of the inhabitants of the Philippines. Thus, out of a total
population of about 16,000,000, according to the 1939 Census,
8,466,493 persons had gainful occupations and of these nearly 7,000,000
were in agriculture and in personal and domestic service. The
majority of the latter group were employed on farms. Manufactur
ing and mechanical industries, on the other hand, employed only
601,335 persons.
Because of the agricultural economy and the close-knit Filipino
family groups, their unemployment, in the occidental sense of the
word, was neither so acute nor so extensive as it was in Europe and
America. In 1939, only 215,246 persons with a gainful occupation
were reported as unemployed, and of those 129,335 were usually
engaged in agriculture.
In 1939, the 8-hour workday was made general for all workers
except farm laborers, employees on piece work, domestic servants,
and members of the employer’s family. Overtime was to be paid
for at the rate of time and a quarter. Wages were fixed largely by
contract. In 1936, the Court of Industrial Relations (created in
that year) was given control over the establishment of minimum
wages and maximum rents.
The average daily wage in 1939 was 0.61 peso (about 30 cents in
United States currency). Agricultural workers had the lowest
average wage, 44 centavos, and public-service employees the highest,
1.44 pesos. The lowest daily wage (0.12 peso) was paid to female
agricultural laborers in Capiz, and the highest to mechanics in
Davao, 9.50 pesos.
Labor organizations were patterned after those in the United
States, and from the year 1936 were closely regulated by the State.
Their total membership in 1938 was 46,456.
Collective bargaining was common in the unionized industries, but
the membership of labor ^organizations included only a small portion
of the working population. The settlement of industrial disputes
was in the hands of the Court of Industrial Relations, established
in 1936. Mediation, conciliation, and arbitration were provided for
by a law of 1938.
i Prepared in the Bureau’s Editorial and Research D ivision by James R. Mock.
776
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
777
Although the cooperative movement in the Philippines was not
large, it included associations of all the principal types—credit,
marketing, consumers’, and industrial. At the outbreak of the war,
the agricultural credit cooperatives numbered 570, were in some 43
Provinces, and had a total membership of about 105,000.
Social insurance provided consisted of accident compensation for
workers in industrial and agricultural establishments employing not
less than 30 workers, and old-age pensions for teachers, for officers
or enlisted men in the Philippine constabulary, and for certain officers
and employees of the Public Health Service.
Situation under Japanese occupation.—The Japanese occupation
severely disrupted the Philippine economy. The invader changed
the emphasis given to various branches of agriculture, mining, and
manufacturing. For example, sugar—previously one of the leading
products—was deemphasized, and the hitherto unimportant cotton
cultivation was stressed; and factory operation was brought to a
standstill. As a result of the industry stoppages and the change in
agricultural production, unemployment increased greatly.
Instead of continuing the use of minimum wage rates, the Japanese
provided a maximum wage. In July 1943 this wage was 1.30 pesos
per day, which dropped to approximately 0.91 peso if the employer
provided meals. Although there are no data regarding the specific
number of hours of work, it is known that the number of hours of labor
were increased substantially. For overtime, male workers in Manila
were to receive payments of 12.5 percent in addition to their regular
or basic wage rates.
Pre-invasion labor unions were outlawed, and an organization,
called the Central Labor Union, was established in Manila to cen
tralize control of the Filipino labor force.
To serve Japanese objectives, the cooperative framework, as it
was under the Commonwealth, was expanded by the invaders with
the addition of Japanese technical and financial assistance. With
Nippon interested mainly in Philippine agriculture, the farmers’ or
producers’ associations, by February 1944, had become the most
numerous of the cooperatives, totaling 206, with a membership of
some 87,000. In order to gain the support of the Filipinos, the
Japanese likewise encouraged cooperatives in retail businesses which
formerly had been controlled by the Chinese.
Labor Conditions Prior to Japanese Occupation
T H E LA BO R FO RC E
In a population of about 16,000,000 in 1939, the Philippine census
showed 8,466,493 persons as having gainful occupations, females
outnumbering males by 27,937. In terms of occupations, the two
largest groups were agriculture, which employed 3,456,370, and
domestic and personal service, with 3,478,084 persons, of whom the
majority were employed on farms. Of the domestic and personal
service group, 3,147,320 or 90.5 percent were housewives or house
keepers. Only 601,335 were employed in manufacturing and mechan
ical industries. The distribution of gainful workers is shown in table 1.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
T a b l e 1.—Gainful Workers 10 Years Old and Over, by General Occupation Group and
Sex, in the Philippines, 1939 1
Percentage distri
bution
Number
Percent of
total
Occupation group
Both
sexes
T otal______________________________
Male
Female
Both Male Fe
Fe
sexes
male Male male
49.8
50.2
40.8
41.1
1.2
.6
2. 1
.3
.6
70.7
2.9
1.6
1.2
4.2
.6
1.1
11.2
79.0
.9
0
. 1
(2)
0
86.3
3.6
63.3
98.7
97.4
92.9
99.2
13.7
96.4
36.7
1.3
2.6
7.1
.8
7.1
2.4
.6
3.2
7.9
4.8
1.1
4. 1
6.3
0
.1
2.3
55.5
99.4
91.8
63.2
44.5
.6
8.2
36.8
8,466, 493 4,219, 278 4, 247, 215 100.0 100.0 100.0
Agriculture________________________
3,456,370 2,981,551
474,819
Domestic and personal service___ -3, 478,084
123,508 3,354,576
Professional service_____ _____________
103,415
65,438
37,977
Public service (not elsewhere classified)-49,620
48,984
636
Fishing.
- -_
_ _ ___
180,569
175,841
4,728
Forestry and hunting--- - - - - - 24,903
26,820
1,917
Mining and quarrying_____ _____
47,019
394
46, 625
Manufacturing and mechanical indust r i e s - .- - __________ ____ _____
601,335
333,976
267,359
Transportation and communication203,596
202,449
1,147
44,904
Clerical___________
_
_
48,899
3,995
171,099
Trade___________ _________
_-270,766
99,667
1 D ata are from Census of the Philippines, 1939, Vol. I, Manila, 1940.
2 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
IN D U S T R IA L D IS T R IB U T IO N O F W O R K E R S
Among the 15 leading manufacturing and mechanical industries
and occupations—employing more than 490,000 of the 601,335 persons
in this category—embroidery and dressmaking (with 113,810), and
carpenters (numbering 76,465), head the list. The distribution of
Filipinos engaged in the leading manufacturing and mechanical
industries appears in table 2.
T a b l e 2 . —Gainful W orkers in the 15 Leading Manufacturing and Mechanical Industries
of the Philippines, by Industry or Occupation, and Sex, 1939
Number of gainful workers
Industry or occupation
Both sexes
Male
Female
__________ _______ ___
490, 039
241,337
248. 702
Embroidery and dressmaking_______ _________ .
Carpenters ______ ___ ___ _________
Native textile manufacture__ ___________ - _______
Laborers (industry not stated)_________ ______ ____ _
M at manufacture- ____ ___ _____ _______ ___
Tailor shops and necktie manufacture_____ __________
Hat manufacture
--_ -Sugar centrals and muscovado m ills, - ________ _
-Sawmills and planing mills______________ -- _ ------Shoe and slipper manufacture______________ -- _ --Miscellaneous manufactures__________________ ___ --Nipa manufacture- - ___________ _____
Cigar and cigarette manufacture________________ ____
Bakeries____
___ ____
____________________
Rice and corn m il ls ____________ ______________ ____
113, 810
76,465
55, 834
51, 504
27, 318
23, 723
23, 296
22. 044
21, 785
20, 271
12. 281
11,058
11, 027
10, 374
9, 249
2,630
76, 457
1. 047
48, 300
1, 120
15, 729
2.848
21, 762
21, 747
14, 523
7, 111
5,311
5, 272
9,509
7,971
111, 180
8
54, 787
3,204
26,198
7,994
20, 448
282
38
. 5,748
5, 170
5,747
5,755
865
1, 278
All groups___________ ____ -_
Source: Census of the Phillipines, 1939, Vol. II, Manila, 1941.
E M P L O Y M E N T C O N D IT IO N S
Unemployment.—In the Philippines, the unemployment problem
was neither so acute nor so extensive as it was in Europe and America.
This was due to the lack of widespread industrialization, and to the
traditional policy of the Filipino family (which includes all individ
uals related by blood or marriage), of taking care of its own relief
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problems. In the census of 1939, only 215,246 persons with a gainful
occupation were listed as unemployed. More than three-fifths
(129,335) of that number were usually engaged in agriculture, and in
the agricultural group 28,586, or 22.1 percent,'were farmers or farm
owners. Below is given a distribution of the “ unemployed persons 10
years old and over” in 1939, by general occupation group.
Number
All groups___________________________________________ 215, 246
Agriculture__________________________________________ 129, 335
Manufacturing and mechanical industries______________
36, 755
Transportation and communication_______________
13,885
Fishing____________________________
10,322
Trade_______
8,760
Domestic and personal service_________________________
8, 342
Professional service___________________________________
2, 604
Mining and quarrying___ _____________________________
2, 123
Forestry and hunting_________________________________
1, 745
Clerical_____________________________________________
851
524
Public service (not elsewhere classified)________________
In the years immediately preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor,
several factors complicated the unemployment situation. There
was an uneven distribution of land and people. Also, the unemployed
tended to migrate to the cities and especially to Manila. Such mi
gration, combined with the increasing desire among young persons
for higher education and white-collar jobs, contributed to the over
crowding of urban industry.
Employment agencies.—An act of 1917 authorized the establish
ment of .public employment agencies by the Bureau of Labor. It
also provided that the Director of Labor should have authority to
fix the amount of fees and to collect them from the employer, for
services performed by the agency in securing workers. By 1938, the
employment-service functions had been assigned to offices of public
defenders (who were representatives of the Philippine Department of
Labor) in 35 towns and Manila.
Private employment agencies were not regulated by the State
until 1932, when a law placed them under the supervision of the
Director of Labor. The measure also prohibited the establishment
of such agencies except under license from that official. Fees from
applicants were limited to 20 percent of the first year’s wages.
W A G E S , H O U R S , A N D W O R K IN G C O N D IT IO N S
Hours of Labor
An act of June 1939 made the 8-hour workday applicable to all
industrial or occupational employees except farm laborers, workers on
a piece-work basis, domestic servants, and members of the employer’s
family. The law also directed that workers should receive time and a
quarter for overtime and for work on Sundays and legal holidays.
Also, in the event of a national emergency, the Government was
authorized to establish rules and regulations for the operation of plants
and factories and to determine wage rates therein. A statute of
September 1939 authorized the President of the Philippines to suspend
the 8-hour law, but he did not make use of that authority.
Workers' Wages
Fixing oj wages.—Philippine labor was overwhelmingly rural, and
comparatively unacquainted with a money economy. Wages gen
erally were fixed by “customary contracts” or by “the Pakiao system.”
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The customary contract was a series of implied annual covenants,
which were inferred from (a) limited verbal agreements, and (6) rela
tions of one party to another which had existed for generations either
in the community or on the estate involved. The Pakiao system was,
in brief, a form of contract labor under which the employer agreed to
furnish the employee with land, shelter, subsistence, and materials;
the other party to the agreement contracted to obtain all the workers
the employer needed.
By 1926, the principle of wage fixing through collective bargaining
was in operation in those industries and occupations in which the
workers were organized.
In 1932, the State began to intervene in matters dealing with wages.
The employee was not to be compelled to purchase commodities from
the employer, nor was any part of his wages to be paid in other than
legal-tender currency of the Philippine Islands; in addition, the em
ployer was to pay his workers on the fifteenth and last day of every
month, or on every Saturday. (The principle of bimonthly payments
was reaffirmed by a law of 1938, which further stated that no employee
was to be compelled to purchase his commodities from his employer’s
store.) In 1936, the Court of Industrial Relations was created, with
power to determine the necessity and justice of fixing a minimum wage
or a maximum rental.
General level oj wages— In 1939, the latest period for which data are
available, the average daily wage, all gainful occupations combined,
was 0.61 peso (about 30 cents in United States currency), and the
average monthly salary was 29 pesos (roughly $14.50 in United States
currency). In the individual industries, average daily wages ranged
from 44 centavos in agriculture to 1.44 pesos in public service. In
domestic and personal service the average monthly salary was 9 pesos,
and in professional service 74 pesos per month. The average daily
wage and average monthly salary in 1939, of persons reporting from
the various industry groups, were as follows:
Average
Average
monthly
daily wage
salary J
(in pesos) (in pesos)
All in d u strie s_______________________________ 0. 61
29
A g ricu ltu re________________________________
.4 4
D om estic a n d personal service______________ .5 3
Professional service_________________________ _____
P ublic service (not elsewhere classified)_____ 1. 44
F ishing_____________________________________ .5 7
F o restry an d h u n tin g _______________________ .7 5
M ining a n d q u a rry in g ____________ ________ - 1. 22
M an u factu rin g an d m echanical in d u stries----- . 80
T ra n sp o rta tio n a n d com m u n icatio n_________ 1. 03
C lerical____________________________________ 1. 38
T ra d e ______________________________________ .6 6
14
9
74
50
16
24
56
30
36
58
37
Minimum daily wages in various Provinces of the Philippines, in
April 1939, were as low as 0.12 peso 2for female agricultural laborers in
Capiz and as high as 1.50 pesos for hemp classifiers and mechanics in
Davao. Maximum daily wages for the same month ranged from 0.20
peso for female agricultural workers and for industrial and commercial
workers in Capiz to 9.50 pesos for mechanics in Davao. The minimum,
maximum, and average wages per day in these and other designated
Provinces are shown’in table 3, which was compiled from data in the
Philippine Labor Bulletin (Manila), May 1939.
2 Peso= about 50 cents.
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T a b l e 3.—D aily Wages in the Philippines, by Province, Industry, and Occupation,
A pril 1939
Wages or earnings per day
Province, industry, and occupation
M inimum
Albay, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes:
Agriculture:
Pesos
Abaca strippers_____ _________________ ______ ________ _
0.15
Rice planters__________ __________ . .
Rice plowmen___________________
Industrial labor:
Abaca___________ _ __________ .
. 25
Abacâ classifiers___________________ _ _______
.80
Copra dryers__ ________________
.70
Copra load ers_______________ ________________________
Commercial workers..________________ ______
. ______ _
8 9.00
Bataan:
Agricultural laborers________ ___________________________
.50
Industrial laborers____________ ______ ___ _________
_ ...
1.00
Commercial workers_________________
.50
Batangas:
Agricultural workers. . . .
_____ . . .
.60
Sugar centrals, common la b o r e r s ...______ . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.70
Sugar centrals, skilled laborers________________
___ _ _ .
1.45
Cagayan:
Agricultural laborers. . . . _____ . . . ____________ _____ _____
.50
Industrial workers______________________________ _______
.72
Commercial laborers._____ _____ ______ _
________ ____
8 6.00
Camarines Norte (José Panganiban): Mining employees__________
1.00
Camarines Sur:
Agriculture:
Abacâ cleaners____
__________ ___________________
.30
Coconut planters_____________________ _____ ___________
4. 25
Rice-field common laborers:
W ithout implements and water buffalo______________
4. 25
With implements and water buffalo___ ______________
.50
Industrial workers:
Lumber industry:
Large enterprises, common labor_____ ___________
.80
Small enterprises __________________________________
.60
Mining industry:
_________ _ ___________________
Surface labor. ..
. 70
Underground labor.. . . _____________________________
1. 00
Rice-mill laborers.
_______________
_____________ _ . .
4. 50
Tobacco manufacture, laborers__________ _________________
.20
Capiz:
Agricultural laborers, female________________________________
». 12
____________________
Agricultural laborers, male__________
». 20
Industrial workers_________ _ ___________________ _________
. 15
Commercial laborers_____ ________________________________
6. 10
Cavite:
Agricultural workers______ ____________________ _____________________
.80
Industrial and commercial workers______________________________ ____
.70
Cotabato:
Agricultural laborers___ _________________________ ____________ ______ _
. 40
Industrial workers_____________ ______
. _ __
. __________________
8 12. 00
Commercial establishments, small, laborers________________ _______
8
8.
00
%
Davao:
Common laborers______________________ ______ ___________ _ _______ _______
. 40
Industrial workers, mechanics ___________ .
. ____________________
1. 50
Commercial workers, hemp classifiers.. . . . ____________________
1 . 50
Ilocos Norte:
Carpenters, skilled __________________________
..
...
_______________
4. 50
Construction workers (private)___ __ _____ ________________________
4. 25
Iloilo and Antique:
Agricultural workers . _ .
.
_
_.
.
_____________
. . .
.40
Industrial workers____________ ______________________________________ ______
1.00
Commercial workers___________________ __ . .
__ ___________
.70
Isabela:
Agriculture: Farm laborers .
. . . . _____. . . . .
7. 50
Public works: Laborers on “pakiao” 8 system......... . _____ __
Lumber industry: Sawyers
_____ _ _ _ _ _
_
. . . ___
.80
Lanaô: Industrial common laborers_________ _ _ .
_____ ____
.67
La Union, Abra and Southern Ilocos S u r..
____ __ . __________ ____
.40
Maximum
Average
Pesos
0.40
Pesos
0. 25
(l)
(2)
. 60
1.25
1.00
8 30. 00
40
1.00
.80
80
8 15.00
1.00
1.30
.90
.80
1. 10
.60
1.30
1. 20
3. 00
.80
1.00
2.00
8 45. 00
.70
1.00
8 15. 00
.80
4 .40
.50
4. 50
1. 00
1.70
4. 80
.70
1 20
.80
1 40
1. 40
.50
5. 20
5. 30
. 20
6 20
1.00
.80
.70
.75
. 80
8 30.00
8 35. 00
8 20. 00
8 15. 00
1. 00
9. 50
2. 50
4. 80
4. 35
.70
2.00
1. 50
.60
1.50
1.10
8 1. 00
. 80
1.00
1.23
1.00
.75
.60
1 Prevailing wage 0.15 peso per day with 2 meals.
2 Prevailing wage 0.50 peso per day with 0.25 peso additional if they use their own water buffalos (.carabaos).
8 Per month.
4 With 2 meals.
5 With freo board.
8 Per hour.
7 W ith subsistence.
8 Without subsistence.
2 Group contract.
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3.—D aily Wages in the Philippines , by Province, Industry, and Occupation,
A pril 1939—Continued
Wages or earnings per day
Province, industry, and occupation
Minimum
M aximum
Pesos
0. 30
.50
.50
Pesos
0.50
.70
.80
Pesos
0.40
.60
.65
.40
.50
.40
1.50
1.50
1.00
. 55
.70
.50
.35
.GO
1.00
.30
.75
1. 50
1.50
1.25
.65
1.00
1.20
1.00
.60
. 25
2. 00
2. 00
1.00
1.50
.20
.50
.50
io .85
.30
.70
.70
io 1. 20
.25
.60
.60
io 1.00
.30
.85
.80
.40
1.50
1. 00
.35
.85
.85
.40
.40
.50
1.00
1.20
1.00
.60
.80
.75
Leyte:
Agriculture, private, laborers
__
____
- Industrial workers
.
_____
- - -_
_ - ___Commercial workers (laborers)____
Negros Oriental:
Agricultural laborers .
__ _______
__ __
Industrial laborers
____
______
Commercial workers
N ueva Ecijâ:
Agricultural laborers __________ - ___
____ _
Industrial laborers
Government, project laborers
_ _ _ ______ _ __ __
Pampanga- Common laborers male, and female
Surigao and Agusan:
Agriculture: Coconut huskers_______ - ___
Industrial laborers
_____ ___
Commercial establishment small, laborers
Romblon:
_
__ _.
Agricultural common laborers _____ _
Industrial workers
_____ __ - _
_ _
Commercial workers
____ __
T ay abas: Laborers
_ _________ _ ______ __
_____
Zambales:
Agricultural common laborers____ _
_____ _
Industrial common laborers_____________
Commercial common laborers _
__
_ _
Zamboanga, City of:
Agricultural laborers
_______ _ _ _
_ _
Industrial laborers _
______ _
__
Commercial laborers
_ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ ________ ___
Average
io Those receiving under 1 peso usually are provided with free board.
VACATIONS WITH PAY
There was no uniform practice concerning vacations with pay.
Paid vacations were more commonly provided for salaried employees
than for the wage earners, as the latter were usually employed in
seasonal occupations in which regular vacations were not considered
necessary. Among minor office employees, also, there were so many
informal leaves of absence that regular vacations were not common.
The upper clerical group, however, generally had annual vacations
ranging from 15 days to a month, and usually with full pay, although
some received half pay only.
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
Prior to the Japanese invasion, labor unions in the Philippines were
patterned after similar organizations in the United States, with higher
wages and better working conditions as their objectives. In 1938, it
was reported that four organizations accounted for most of the
unionized workers. These were the Philippine Labor Federation, the
Federación Obrera de la Industria Tabaquera de Filipinas, the
National Labor Union, Inc., and the Philippine Labor Union. The
membership of these was drawn, respectively, from the employees of
the sugar centrals; the tobacco industry; the cordage, transportation,
communications, iron works, lumber, embroidery, and general mer-
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
chandising industries; and the sugar centrals, mining, coconut,
embroidery, transportation, and cigar and cigarette industries.
As of December 31, 1938, the membership and branches of the 80
registered labor organizations were as follows:
Number of
Total
branches membership
'Total, all organizations________________________________________
108
46, 456
C onfederated W orkers’ A lliance_______________________________
1
9
F ederación O brera de Filipinas K M P _____________^____________
F ederación O brera de la In d u s tria T a b a q u e ra de F ilip in a s______
6
K apisanan N g M ga M anggagaw a sa M anila R ailro ad C o_______ 14
N atio n al F ed eratio n of C hauffeurs_____________________________
1
N atio n al L abor U nion, In c ____________________________________
44
5
N atio n al W orkers’ B ro th e rh o o d _______________________________
Philippine L abor U n io n _____ __________________________________
28
O ther in dependent unions (72 o rg an izatio n s)_______________________
207
5; 626
2, 405
1, 104
320
8, 490
843
8 ,2 6 5
19, 196
Labor unions came under the supervision of the Philippine Govern
ment in 1936. A law of that year required them to register, and to
submit annually a list of their members and the minutes of their
meetings, but provided that no employee was to be prevented from
joining, or dismissed for having joined, any registered legitimate labor
organization. The law also recognized the unions’ right of collective
bargaining with employers to obtain better working and living condi
tions, fair wages, shorter working hours, and the promotion of the
material, social, and moral well-being of their members.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Collective Agreements
Up to the time of the Japanese invasion, although collective bar
gaining had developed at least moderately in the unionized industries,
the labor organizations included only a small portion of the working
population. Moreover, the collective agreements that were made did
not necessarily apply to an entire union. They often were negotiated
between an employer and a small group of workers in his plant, or
between an employer and certain members of a union. Although
there is no available record of the total number of collective agree
ments, those that resulted from the settlement of industrial disputes
in 1939 and 1940 were reported by the Philippines Department of
Labor. During those years, 214 such agreements, affecting 19,725
workers, were concluded.
Conciliation and Arbitration
A law of 1938 related to disputes between landlords and tenants as
well as to those between employers and employees. When no settle
ment could be reached by the parties, special Government mediators
were to invoke mediation and conciliation procedures. If this step
failed, arbitration was the next resort—if the disputants were agree
able to the idea. In that event, a board was created, which consisted
of one of the special mediators as chairman, one representative of the
landlords or employers, and one chosen by the tenants or employees.
Board findings were to be submitted to the Court of First Instance
of the Province in which the controversy arose, and the court was
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given 10 days in which to render its decision. Appeal could be made
to the Philippine Supreme Court.
State action in industrial disputes was also provided for by an act
of 1936, which created the Court of Industrial Relations. The presidentially appointed judges of this court were to be assisted by local
boards of inquiry composed of not more than 6 members each from
lists prepared by employer and employees, and not more than 3 ex
perts in sociology, welfare work, labor problems, or industrial and
agricultural economics and administration. Cases to be heard by the
court had to be certified to it by the Philippine Department of Labor
or by the party or parties concerned, and had to relate to such points
as wages, hours, or conditions of work, involving more than 30 persons.
Once a case had been submitted to the court—only after the failure
of all efforts to bring about an extrajudicial accord—the parties
involved were required to comply with all orders which the court
issued.
While a case was pending, the employer was not to hire substitute
workers without permission of the court, and in the event of a strike,
no strikebreakers were to be employed within 15 days after its incep
tion. On the other hand, if a strike had not already occurred at the
tune the case was taken by the court, employees were forbidden to
resort to such action. Appeal from the court’s decision could be made
to the Supreme Court.
Labor Disputes
From 1929 to 1940, strikes, threatened strikes, and lockouts that
were registered in the Philippines totaled 900. The greatest number,
222, occurred in 1939, and involved 28,104 workers. Among causes
for disputes, wages stood first, with 556 cases. Of the 900 industrial
differences, 543 were settled in favor of the workers, 203 in favor of
the employers, and 154 were referred to the Court of Industrial
Relations. Labor disputes were on the increase prior to 1940, but
in that year a noticeable drop occurred which may possibly be ex
plained, in part, by a ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court. The
Court held that workers did not have the right to strike; that the
provisions of the Constitution for compulsory arbitration of labor
disputes were for the purpose of avoiding strikes; and that the act
creating the Court of Industrial Relations was intended to supply
an “adequate instrumentality to forestall strikes.”
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
Cooperatives of the modern type have existed in the Philippines
since early in this century, and were introduced from the States. The
Philippine Government became interested and took the lead in pro
moting and encouraging such associations. The principal types now
found in the Commonwealth are, in order of the date of their intro
duction, agricultural credit, farmers’ marketing, consumers’, indus
trial, and credit. The Government has also encouraged the formation
of private dealers’ cooperatives.
In 1916, although the Bureau of Agriculture established agricul
tural credit cooperatives for farmers, to help them get out of debt to
their landlords and to the Chinese (who were the traders and who also
controlled the transportation system), these organizations gradually
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became inactive. The task of reviving the agricultural credit co
operatives was delegated to the Bureau of Commerce in 1933. At
the outbreak of World War II, the revitalized credit associations
numbered 570 and were found in some 43 Provinces. They had a
total membership of about 105,000 and a circulating capital of
3,300,000 pesos.
The cooperative marketing movement was started in 1923, by the
Bureau of Commerce and Industry. The Bureau’s efforts led to
enactment of the cooperative marketing law of 1927, one of the chief
purposes of which was to shorten the route of agricultural products
between producer and consumer insofar as it could be done efficiently.
The Bureau of Commerce and Industry was given supervision over
cooperative marketing associations. Under the Bureau’s leadership,
185 such associations were registered from 1928 to 1940.
Starting in January 1938, the Bureau of Commerce organized and
promoted consumers’ cooperative associations and organizations of
Filipino retailers for cooperative buying. Later, the Consumers
Cooperative League of the Philippine Islands was formed. In 1940,
consumers’ cooperative associations numbered 68, with a total mem
bership of some 7,000. These cooperatives were largely urban, and
were found especially in Manila and in Cavite.
Among the more recent types of cooperatives organized by the
Government were the Cooperative Association of Shoe Manufac
turers in Mariguina, Rizal ; the associations among the abacà planters
in the Bicol region; the Buena vista Cooperative Marketing Associa
tion, composed of farmers and tenants of the Buenavista estate in
the Province of Bulacan; and the various cooperatives organized by
the Land Settlement Administration in Mindanao. There is a co
operative college in the Philippines—Union College of Manila,
established under the auspices of the Evangelical churches of the
Philippines. The members of the college association elect the board of
directors of the college, and they in turn elect the administrative officers
of the institution. The Emmanuel Cooperative Hospital, the first
medical cooperative in the Islands, was opened in Manila in 1936.
Its primary object was to enable families of moderate means to obtain
the best available medical care at rates they could afford, and to have
access to medical advice at any time. The following reductions on
operations and treatments were allowed to members: 10 percent on
amounts less than 100 pesos, 15 percent on amounts from 100 to 150
pesos, and 20 percent on those of more than 150 pesos. Likewise, for
members, bed fees were 15 percent less than the average in other
hospitals of the same class. By 1940, the membership consisted of
644 families.
The first credit union in the Philippines was organized by a mis
sionary from the United States in 1938. By 1941, there were 23
parish credit unions with 1,800 members, 40,000 pesos in share capi
tal, and 60,000 pesos outstanding in loans to members. There were
also 2 educational credit unions, 2 Government employees’ credit
unions, and 2 which had been formed by the members of consumers’
cooperatives.
SOCIAL INSURANCE
The economic, political, and social situation in the Philippines has
not been conducive to the rapid growth of social insurance in many
of its occidental forms. Traditionally, each family group has per
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
formed those functions associated in western countries with pensions,
insurance, and care of the aged and the sick. Consequently, the
State confined itself to enacting laws governing accident compensa
tion in industrial and agricultural matters and to providing pensions
for certain classes of the population. Consideration of the possible
effects of Philippine independence upon the economy and upon the
Government revenue of the Islands has worked against the creation
of social-insurance organizations dependent upon State support.
According to reliable authority, the Government has preferred to
postpone the enactment of such legislation until the national income
has become adjusted to the post-independence influence of the world
market.
Workmen’s compensation.—By 1939, employers of 30 or more
workers in any industrial, commercial, or agricultural establishment
were required by law to provide free emergency medical and hospital
facilities for those employees whose monthly salary or wage did not
exceed 50 pesos. In the event of personal injury, illness, or death
arising out of performance of duty, the employer paid compensation
or death benefits, and provided the required medical, surgical, and
hospital services and supplies during disability.
Legislation required the employer, in event of the employee’s total
disability, to pay compensation—after the first 7 days—of from 4 to
18 pesos, for not more than 208 weeks. Partial disability called for
payment of up to 10 pesos weekly for not longer than 208 weeks.
In the event of death resulting from the occupational activity of the
employee, the employer was obligated to pay up to a maximum of
100 pesos for burial expenses, and pensions ranging from 25 to 50
percent of the average weekly wages of the deceased, to the latter’s
surviving dependents. These pension payments were to continue
for not more than 208 weeks.
Pensions for public employees.—During the period 1916-29, the
Philippine Government established pensions for certain classes of
persons. Thus, teachers after 20 years of service were entitled to
pensions ranging from 40 to 80 percent of their average compensation
for the 3 years preceding retirement, but not to exceed 6,000 pesos.
The fund from which these payments were made was supported by a
contribution of 3 percent of the teachers’ monthly basic salaries and
an annual State appropriation equal to 3 percent of the total annual
appropriation for teachers’ salaries.
Under the pension law of 1924, any officer or enlisted man of the
Philippine Constabulary, 55 years of age and with 20 or more years
of service, was entitled to an annual pension equal to 2.5 percent of
the total pay received by him during his period of service, but not
exceeding 75 percent of his annual salary at the time of his retirement.
In 1924, the Government also provided a contributory pension plan
for certain officers and employees of the Public Health Service, after
20 or more years of service and after completion of 10 full years’
contribution at the rate of 3 percent of salary. Such employees were
to receive an annual pension equal to 2.5 percent of their salary, at
time of retirement, for each year of active service, but not exceeding
75 percent of such salary.
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Labor Conditions Under Japanese Occupation
Because of Japanese control and censorship policies, very little
detailed information is available regarding labor conditions in the
Philippines since the Japanese occupation of the Islands early in
1942. However, a fairly good picture of the major trends in matters
affecting labor can be formed from certain confidential sources and
from a judicious interpretation of various Japanese-controlled
broadcasts.
GENERAL EFFECTS OF INVASION
The Japanese occupation disrupted the Philippine economy severely.
All Americans and nationals of other belligerent countries were in
terned. Practically all business houses were closed. In addition,
factory operation in the occupied areas was brought to a standstill
because the invaders either stripped the factories of their supply of
oils and basic m aterials or failed to grant perm its enabling the mill
owners to obtain necessary materials. F urther economic dislocation
resulted from the shift of emphasis, under the Japanese, among agri
culture, mining, and m anufacturing industries. Sugar production
(one of the leading industries of the Philippines) was relegated to the
background and its place was taken by the cultivation of cotton.
The mining of copper became more im portant than gold mining.
The soap, tobacco, and liquid-fuel industries were stim ulated.
Another unsettling factor of prime importance was the introduc
tion of paper money. Japanese military notes (which were placed in
circulation to an amount of 100,000,000 to 150,000,000 pesos) were
decreed to be the legal tender of the Philippines, although the Philip
pine peso was also allowed to circulate. The Japanese military peso
has had a greatly depreciated value in purchasing power, in terms of
the former Philippine peso (valued at 50 cents in United States money).
EMPLOYMENT
The invasion’s effects on labor were first evident in the field of
employment. The stoppage of industry and changes in agricultural
production resulted in throwing large numbers of persons out of work.
As a result, m any government agencies, and various projects, were
established by the Japanese to provide work. Relief projects, includ
ing work on m ilitary construction and such industries as toothbrush
m anufacture, were inaugurated. The authorities transferred from
Japan to the Philippines machinery for the textile industry, and this
action, according to the Japanese, provided considerable employment
in the cotton-raising areas. In addition, m any Filipino prisoners
of war were inducted into the Philippine Constabulary. In m any
instances, when urban employment could not be found, the unem
ployed were transported back to their original homes in the Provinces.
Some idea of the extent of the employment problem can be gained
from the fact th a t two agencies were said by the Japanese to have
placed more than 117,000 persons during the period from the middle
of 1942 to September 1943. There are many indications th a t these
figures included not only the persons who were seeking employment,
but also those who were forced to work. T h at the Japanese resorted
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW---APRIL 194 5
to forced labor is evident from various sources, among them an item
in the Manila Tribune of September 21, 1943, which stated that in the
previous month more than 200 ex-soldiers and an equal number of
war widows and orphans had been drafted into service in the relief
projects. If employment was available, the Filipino was compelled
to accept it. This practice was legalized in the constitution of the
puppet Republic of the Philippines, which declared it to be the duty
of every citizen to engage in a useful calling, occupation, or profession.
WAGES AND HOURS
It seems clear that it was a definite policy of Japan to reduce wage
standards in the Philippines to the general level prevailing on the
Continent of Asia. The Japanese reversed the wage and hour trend
that the Philippine Commonwealth had inaugurated. Under the
Commonwealth, a minimum daily wage of 1 peso in the Provinces and
1.25 pesos in Manila had been established, and the legal workday was
8 hours in length. The invaders repealed all laws which provided for
minimum daily wages and maximum hours of labor. A maximum
daily wage of 80 centavos for unskilled male workers was ordered for
the city of Manila. In the Provinces the maximum was set at 64
centavos. Later (in July 1943), as a result of greatly increased living
costs, the maximum wage for workers was raised to 1.30 pesos per day
unless the employer provided meals. In that case, the wage was to be
approximately 0.91 peso.
It is known that the length of the workday was increased substan
tially, both in private enterprise and in Government offices, but no
data are available as to the exact number of hours per workday. For
overtime, male workers in Manila were to receive time and an eighth.
COST OF LIVING
That the cost of living, by November 1943, was out of control, at
least in Mamila, was indicated by statements made at that time by
a radio commentator. Speaking from Manila, and alluding to the rise
in prices, he was quoted as having said “ the main problem today is not
how to live, but how to exist. This is what is happening to our middleclass people, and what the conditions of the poor people are is not
difficult to imagine.” The Manila radio was, of course, Japanese
controlled, and it is not clear how this statement escaped the usual
censorship. Similar comments were made by an authoritative source
late in 1943. It was stated that the position of workers and salaried
employees was extremely bad. Even with increases dictated by the
Government, the income of such persons was said to be insufficient to
cover the cost of absolute necessaries. In the flourishing black
market, by September 1943 the cost of living (measured in terms of the
Japanese military peso) had increased to at least 5 times its pre-war
level, while many commodities were priced at 10 times their pre-war
prices.
Attempts were made to control prices. The scale of rents in Manila
was reduced, and all rents there were frozen at the lower level. Com
modity after commodity was placed under “ control” at a fixed price;
usually, the result was that such products became difficult to obtain.
However, in the case of rice, which is the basis of the Philippine diet,
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
789
the Japanese established both price control and rationing, and its
distribution was placed under the control of the Filipino Rice Co.,
founded by the Military Administration. Later, the price of fish,
the other principal food, was controlled, but in the meantime price
increases of from 66% to 250 percent had already taken place.
CONTROL OF LABOR
As in other Axis-dominated countries, the Japanese placed all labor
under the direct surveillance of the Government. Pre-invasion labor
unions were outlawed, and all the activities generally associated with
such organizations either were taken over by the authorities or were
abolished. To take the place of the former unions and pave the way
for centralized control of the labor force, a-“labor front”—the Central
Labor Union— after the German model was created in Manila.
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
Im itating the Axis pattern employed in several other occupied lands,
the Japanese m aintained the outward semblance of the Philipine
cooperative movement. The cooperative framework, as it had existed
under the Commonwealth, was continued and expanded, with the ad
dition of Japanese technical and financial assistance b u t adapted to
serve Japanese objectives.
Cooperatives were encouraged in those lines in which increased
production was especially desired by the m ilitary authorities. Thus,
with the Japanese interested mainly in Philippine agriculture, by
F ebruary 1944, the m ost numerous types of these organizations were
the farm ers’ or producers’ cooperatives, of which there were 206,
with a membership of some 87,000 farmers.
Also, as a measure to gain the good will of the Filipinos, the Japanese
encouraged cooperatives in retail businesses which formerly had been
controlled by the Chinese.
♦
W orking C onditions and Cost of Living in Chile,
1 9 3 7 -4 4 1
ALTHOUGH employment conditions generally were satisfactory in
Chile to the end of 1944, the Chilean Congress of that year considered
a 6,600,000,000-peso public-works project to absorb post-war unem
ployment, and in the autumn the General Labor Office released a
study on possible unemployment after the war. Of 2,000 firms sur
veyed by the Office, 24 reported that they expected to close down
or decrease personnel when the war ends, the total of such estimated
reductions in employment amounting to 16,000. Employment in the
mining industry declined about 7 percent between July 1943 and July
1 D ata are from Chile, Dirección General de Estadística, Estadística Chilena (Santiago), vols 10, 12,14,
15, 16, and 17 (1937, 1939, 1941,.1942, 1943, and 1944); Censo industrial y comercial, año 1937, Santiago, 1939;
Minería e industria, año 1938 (Santiago, 1940); Minería e industria, año 1939 (Valparaiso, 1942); Anuario
de industria, año 1940, Valparaiso, 1943; Minería, años 1940 y 1941, Valparaiso (pp.68-70); Anuario de Comer
cio Exterior, 1942, Santiago, 1944 (pp. xx-xxi, 136); Diario Oficial (Santiago), M ay 22, 1943; Muestras de
Legislación Social Americana, Washington, Oficina de Información Obrera y Social, Unión Panamericana,
1943 (pp. 29-35); and report from Lee M . Hunsaker, United States vice consul at Concepción, December 6,
1944; and reports of the United States Embassy at Santiago, by Joel C. Hudson, April 24,1944, Sidney N .
Milliken and Joel C. Hudson, October 23,1944; and Daniel L. Horowitz, attaché and labor reporting officer
October 25, and December 5,19, 21, and 28,1944.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
790
1944, and discussion of the future of the copper and nitrate industries
was appearing in the press. The Government’s figures on unemploy
ment, which had reached an all-time low in 1942, increased in 1943 and
1944. Wages rose rapidly in the early 1940’s, as did also the cost of
living.
Employment and Wages 1937-43
Employment in the Chilean mining industry as a whole declined 13
percent from 1937 to 1943. The greatest increase (22.5 percent) was
shown in coal mining, and copper mining increased its labor force by
nearly 9 percent (table 1). Gold mining declined sharply and there
was some decline in nitrates. In manufacturing, in all but 2 of the 10
industries for which data are available, the number of persons em
ployed showed a rising trend, with some decreases in 1941 and 1942.
During the 6-year period State railroad employment increased by
19.8 percent.
Rapidly rising daily wages were shown in all of the 10 manufacturing
industries.
T able
1.— Workers and Wages in Certain Chilean Industries, 1937-43
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
Industry
Number of workers
68, 803
22, 390
18, 885
13, 518
405
13, 605
65, 487
20, 231
19, 395
13,909
432
11, 520
61, 837
19, 323
18, 674
14,416
485
8,939
62, 323
21, 383
18, 390
13, 758
417
8. 375
60, 506
19, 943
18, 327
14, 707
424
7,105
59,462
20, 672
19, 612
15, 634
296
3,248
59, 864
19, 949
20, 550
16,858
212
2,295
Selected manufacturing industries...
____ 17,914
Beer_______
. .. . .
. _________ . 2, 466
Cement
...
_ _.
_ _
1,484
Cotton goods_____________ ______ ____ 1, 664
Electricity________________
________
2,658
1,058
Gas, tar, and coke.
.........
M atches__
. .
_. . . . . . . . ____
564
1,385
Paper and cardboard___ . . . . . . . . . . . .
S u g a r ___ _
...
_____ . . .
_ 1,179
Tobacco__
. . . . . . _______ _ _______
1,572
Woolen goods_______ ________ . . . _ _ 3,884
19,456
2,412
1, 577
2, 762
2,656
1, 088
565
1, 655
1,228
1,815
3, 698
19, 645
2,417
1,664
2,900
2,646
970
560
1,554
1,369
1,441
4,124
22,093
2, 530
1,845
3, 043
3, 755
1, 238
655
1,710
1.664
1,340
4, 313
23, 606
2, 605
1,914
3, 373
4,623
1,339
600
1,784
1,588
1,329
4,451
22, 821
2, 457
1,850
3, 909
3, 578
1, 472
512
2, 051
1, 347
1, 086
4,559
22,814
2, 525
2, 000
4,423
3,281
1,425
508
1, 550
1,368
1,236
4, 498
16, 225
17,154
Mining industry______ ________ _ ------Nitrate mining_______ _ ___
Copper mining________ ______________
Coal mining______ ____ ____ _________
Iron mining.
...
_ _ _
Gold mining, placer___________________
Railroads, State___
.
...
___________ .
14,834
17, 770
Average daily wages (in pesos)
Selected manufacturing industries___ ____
Beer_____ ______ _____________________
Cement_______________ . ____ _____ _
Cotton goods______ _____ _ _ _______
Electricity___ _________________
...
. ____
Gas, tar, and coke__ . . . . .
M atches____ . _____________ ______
Paper and cardboard___. . . . . .
. ... .
Sugar_________ _______ ______________
Tobacco____ ____________ _
Woolen goods_____________ ____ _______
12. 60
11.40
18. 20
8.60
12. 90
16. 60
6. 90
18. 70
15. 40
8. 30
10.40
14. 35
12.80
22.00
11.08
14.18
17. 71
7. 62
21.78
16.51
8. 70
11.90
16. 61
14. 56
25.08
11. 34
16. 34
20.49
11.24
30. 25
17. 22
11.11
12.85
20. 20
17.46
28.95
13.83
19. 85
22.19
15.91
36. 63
20.86
11.88
17. 65
24. 98
19. 39
35. 85
17.65
25. 58
25. 08
15.80
39.13
30. 72
17. 64
23.02
32.67
25. 62
42.06
23.61
41.14
30.80
20. 00
46.70
36. 60
20.01
27.11
36. 35
30. 95
52.12
27.89
37.84
38. 23
25.47
54. 75
41.39
24. 53
32.09
The same rising trend that was evidenced in average daily wages
took place in annual earnings as revealed by the industrial censuses.
Average annual earnings for the various large industry groups are
shown for the years 1938-40 in table 2, which also gives for the year
1937, the aggregate weekly pay rolls and employment for the 18,328
establishments covered.
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
791
T a b l e 2.—Employment, Pay Rolls, and Average Annual Earnings in Chilean Industries
in Specified Years
Average annual earn
ings
1937
Industry
Number Number
of estab of wage
lish
earners
ments
Amount of Aver
age
wpekly
pay rolls weekly
pay
1938
1939
1940
Total ___________________________
18, 328
145,803
Pesos
12, 234, 226
Pesos
83.91
Pesos
3,933
Pesos
4,511
Pesos
5,192
Beverages________________ _____ .
Chemicals___ ____ . ___________ . .
Clothing__________________________
Food industries............................... .......
Glass_________ __________________
Hides and rubber.. . . . _____ . . .
Metallurgy and mechanics______ . .
Music and entertainm ent.. . . . ____
Paper and printing________________
Public utilities__________ : _________
Stone and earths. ________________
Textiles
__________________ ____
Tobacco___ _____ .
_
Woodworking________________ . . .
330
8G0
2, 657
4, 732
36
3,027
3, 427
31
700
453
393
372
23
1,287
3, 258
7,932
9, 474
24,126
2, 773
12,369
18,938
330
8,181
29,176
5,662
14, 410
1,757
7, 417
197, 554
438, 959
453, 718
1, 740,824
184, 546
750, 956
1, 708, 563
17, 731
778,026
4,025,136
478,339
895, 554
86,611
477, 709
60. 64
55. 34
47. 89
72. 16
66. 55
60. 71
90.22
53.73
95. 10
137. 96
84. 48
62.15
49.29
64. 41
3,661
3, 430
2, 742
4,286
3.131
3, 215
4,066
3, 946
5, 675
5,019
4, 566
3, 623
3,007
3,146
3,971
4, 018
3,299
4, 623
3, 407
3,992
4, 976
4, 984
6, 901
6,178
4,935
3,910
4, 372
3, 633
4, 587
4, 565
3, 790
5,302
4, 173
4, 982
5, 711
5, 397
8, 259
6, 975
5, 666
4, 322
5, 270
3,970
The nitrate industry.—A recent census of the Chilean nitrate in
dustry showed that it supported, as of December 31, 1943, a total of
64,714 persons, or slightly less than 1.3 percent of the Nation’s popula
tion, and that in 1942 it provided 12.8 percent of the total value of
Chilean exports. Average employment in the industry in 1943 was
19,949 persons. The average for the first half of 1944 was 16,872.
In the nitrate, as in the copper industry, however, the economic
importance of the industry is greater than the numbers employed
indicate. In 1942 exports of nitrate and of electrolytic copper in
bars constituted 50 percent of the value of all exports from Chile.
The number of establishments, operating and inactive, and total
numbers of salaried employees and wage earners and of their depend
ents supported by the nitrate industry of Chile, as of December 31,
1943, are shown by Provinces, in table 3.
The average monthly salary in the nitrate industry in 1941, accord
ing to one source, was 1,439.00 pesos, and the average daily wage 25.46
pesos—rates which represented increases of 5.0 and 17.2 percent over
the rates of 1939. By 1942 the increases above 1939 were 56.6 and
48.0 percent, respectively.
T a b l e 3 .— Total Numbers of Employees in Chilean Nitrate Plants, and Their Dependents
as of December 31, 1943, by Provinces
F mploymerIt
N um
ber of
estab
lish
ments
Total
popu
lation
reported
Total all establishments ____ . . . _
All operating establishments__________
All inactive establishments. ________
25
18
7
64, 714
62. 920
1, 794
Tarapaea___________________________ —
Operating__ _ . . __________ _____ Inactive_______________________ ____
Antofagasta------------ -------------------Operating________ . . . . . . . ________
Inactive_____ _______________________
17
12
5
8
6
2
29, 051
28, 124
927
35, 663
34, 796
867
Province
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45
-7
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Salaried
employ
ees
Wage
earners
Depend
ents of
employ
ees
20, 852
20, 131
721
2,181
2.117
64
18, 671
18, 014
657
43, 862
42, 789
1, 073
9, 538
9, 173
365
11, 314
10, 958
356
710
684
26
1, 471
1, 433
38
8,828
8, 489
339
9, 843
9,525
318
19, 513
18, 951
562
24, 349
23, 838
511
Total
792
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Coyper industry.—The copper industry of Chile employed about
27,000 persons in 1943, with a pay roll of 489,000,000 pesos. The
daily wage ranged from 20.00 to 68.00 pesos and averaged 49.50
pesos. In 1943 the copper industry employed 3.0 percent more wage
earners than the nitrate, the next largest employer in the extractive
industries. Table 4 shows the numbers of salaried employees and
workers employed in the Chilean copper industry from 1937 to 1943.
T a b l e 4 . —Employment in the Copper Industry in Chile, 1937-43
Y ear
Salaried employees
Total
number
Total
For
of
workers num Chile
ans eign
ber
ers
1937___________________________________ 22,020 3,135 3,010
1938___________________________________ 22,815 3, 421 3, 282
1939___________________________________ 22,196 3, 522 3, 391
1940___________________________________ 21, 943 3, 553 3,433
1941___________________________________ 21, 954 3, 627 3, 512
1942_________________ _____ ____________ 23, 502 3,890 3, 762
1943___________________________________ i 23,597 i 4, 047 3, 936
125
139
131
120
115
128
121
Wage earners
Total
num
ber
M etal
Trans
lurgical Mines porta
tion
plants
18,885
19, 394
18, 674
18, 390
18, 327
19, 612
20, 550
11, 315
11, 945
11,562
11,443
11,159
12, 284
12, 764
7,013
6,915
6,567
6, 438
6, 654
6, 738
7,147
557
534
545
509
514
590
639
i N ot the exact sum of items but as shown in source.
The total pay roll for wage earners in the copper industry in 1943,
according to one source (which places employment figures slightly
above those in table 4), was 343,079,355 pesos. In a few regions
the average daily wage was below 30 pesos, but elsewhere it ranged
from 31 to 68 pesos. Payments to salaried employees amounted to
146,169,341 pesos, or about one-third of the total pay roll; these
workers constituted about one-sixth of all persons employed in the
industry.
Unemployment in Chile
The annual average of unemployment in Chile, as recorded by the
General Labor Office, dropped from 9,416 in 1939 to 2,523 in 1942,
but rose to 3,620 in 1943, and to 4,060 by November 1944. In the
latter month, the percentage of applicants placed was 24.7, as com
pared with 26.9 in October and 28.2 in November 1943.
Unemployment statistics for Chile are compiled from records of
work applications and placements in the offices of the Employment
Department of the General Labor Office in Santiago and Valparaiso
and from records in the offices of the ]abor inspectors in the Depart
ments and Provinces. Although such records do not measure all
unemployment, especially short-term unemployment, they do indicate
trends over a period of time.
Table 5 shows the number of applicants for work registered at the
Government labor exchanges and the number of placements for the
years 1932-43 and the months of 1944, by employment groups.
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
793
T a b l e 5 . —Applications and Placements of Workers, Reported by Public Employment
Offices in Chile, 1932-44
Number of applications
Period
Total
1932______ _______________ 107, 296
1933______________________ 71, 805
1934______________________ 30. 055
1935______________________ 10, 673
1936______________________ 6, 474
1937______________________ 3, 203
1938_________ ____________
4,578
1939______________ ____
9.416
1940______________________ 8, 551
1941______________________ 4,117
1942______________________ 2,523
1943______________________ 3, 620
1944:
4,175
January ____________
February_____________
4,441
M arch... _ .
4,633
April. _______________ 4,662
M ay_________________
4,667
June_________________
4, 738
July------------------------ 4,480
August_______________
4,310
September____________ 4, 094
October______________
4, 194
November. __________
4,060
Number of placements
Wage
earn
ers
Sal
Do- aried mestic
Total
em
em
ployees ployees
86, 954
51, 957
20, 510
7, 181
4,836
2. 455
2, 233
4,951
4,876
2, 193
1, 011
1,462
15,162
14, 392
7,988
3, 058
1,374
520
1, 968
4, 246
3,289
1, 598
1.189
1,791
5,180
5,456
■1, 557
434
264
228
377
219
386
326
323
367
1, 214
1,565
1, 653
1, 703
1, 870
1, 807
1,499
1, 384
1, 288
1, 323
1,243
2, 624
2, 584
2.696
2,683
2,526
2, 693
2, 729
2.689
2,613
2, 659
2,614
337
292
284
276
271
238
252
237
193
212
203
Per
cent of
appli
cations
Wage
earn
ers
4,765
5,401
3,495
1, 200
1, 539
900
1, 100
1, 093
1,243
906
665
867
4.4
7.5
11.6
11.2
23.8
28. 1
24.0
11.6
14.5
22.0
26.4
24.0
4,572
5.001
3, 078
1, 014
1. 279
740
918
692
745
514
321
420
30
180
211
30
110
39
18
285
434
320
255
342
163
220
206
156
150
121
164
116
64
72
89
105
1,128
961
1. 103
1, 293
1, 092
1, 297
1, 085
1.155
1, 006
1,129
1, 002
27.0
21.6
23.8
27.7
23.4
27.4
24.2
26.8
24.6
26.9
24.7
398
330
428
409
481
654
423
475
439
542
424
598
523
■ 584
774
510
563
576
578
508
493
504
132
108
91
Sal
Do
aried mestic
em
em.
ployees ployees
no
101
80
86
102
59
94
74
After 1932 when the average number of applicants for work totaled
107,296, the average dropped annually by numbers ranging from
40,000 to 3,000 until in 1937 it was only 3,203. In 1942 registered
unemployed averaged 2,523, a decrease of 21.2 percent from the figures
of 1937. The average for 1943 was 3,620, and for the first 11 months
of 1944 it was 4,408. In November 1944, salaried employees made
64.4 percent of all applications at the Government offices and received
50.3 percent of all placements.
Cost of Living of Worker's Family in Santiago
The cost of living of a workers’ family of 4 in Santiago, as recorded
by the General Statistics Office, increased by 8.2 percent in the first 6
months of 1944 and by 12.3 percent in the following 4 months.
Though the general index for October 1944 was 18.6 percent higher
than that for October 1943, the greatest increase (25.4 percent)
from one October to the next since the outbreak of World War II
occurred from 1941 to 1942. The general index, which stood at
193.0 (1928=100) in October 1939, had reached 436.1 by October
1944. By December it had dropped to 412.7.
Indexes of cost of living from 1939 to October 1944 for a worker’s
family in Santiago, Chile, are shown in table 6.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 6.— Indexes of Cost of Living of Worker's Family in Santiago, 1939-September 1944
[1928 = 100]
All
items
Period
1939___________________________________
1940___________________________________
1941___ _______________________________
1942__________________________________
1943__________________________________
1944:
January_______
_________________
M a rc h ____________ _
_ ------- -J u n e _____ _____________________
S e p tem b e r..__ ______ . . . .
October_____ _
. . ______ _ . .
N ovem ber..
_ _ . . . ____ ______
December_______ _________ _______
Food
Housing
Heat and Clothing
light
Miscel
laneous
186.7
210.3
242.3
304.3
353.9
210.4
244.8
280.6
366.7
433.7
157.7
171.3
184. 1
224.8
246.7
162.6
181.9
218.1
252.3
292.1
199.9
218.3
277.5
350.4
395.6
146.1
155.8
170.0
182.6
225.4
364.5
367.9
388.2
419.9
436.1
435.5
412.7
438.7
441.7
442.3
504.1
538.8
524.4
470. 6
249.9
258.0
266.2
266.2
266.2
266.2
266.2
286.9
292.5
313.3
317.2
315.7
316.5
314,2
418.8
418.8
523.0
533.3
536.4
574.9
586.1
262.2
261.8
271.4
288.4
289.8
289.8
289.8
The index on which the above figures are based was constructed in
1928, to measure the expenditures of a workingman’s family of two
adults and two children under 10 years of age (or of three adults),
with an income of 600 pesos per month.
The Commissariat General of Subsistence and Prices raised ceiling
prices on certain living essentials in the autumn of 1944, an action
which was followed by popular protests and threatened strikes by the
butchers. The price-control authorities then established a National
Food Council in the Ministry of Economy, to operate as a planning
agency, and the Cabinet decided to place all departments dealing with
food prices under the control of the Minister of Economy.
W orking C onditions in the U nited K ingdom in 1944
CONTINUED need of industry for manpower in the United Kingdom
resulted in a further reduction in the number of unemployed persons
during 1944. Other notable developments in the labor situation
were the increases in wage rates, cost of living, and industrial disputes.
These facts are disclosed in a year-end survey by the Ministry of
Labor and National Service.1
Unemployment
The number of persons registered with employment offices as wholly
unemployed averaged 85,392 in 1944, those persons classified as un
suitable for ordinary employment being excluded. Persons tempo
rarily out of work totaled 2,332 and unemployed casual workers 1,865
for the year. Volume of unemployment in each of these three cate
gories was lower than in any previous war year, as shown in table 1,
and much lower than in any year for which similar statistics are
available.
1 Ministry of Labor Gazette (London), January 1945 (pp. 7-11).
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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
T a b l e 1.—Number
of Unemployed Persons Registered With Employment Offices in the
United Kingdom, 1939—44
Average number of—
Year
W holly unemployed
1939_______________________________________________
1940_______________________________________________
1941_________________________________________
.
1942_______________________________________________
1943 i ______________________________________________
19441______________________________________________
1, 308, 212
829, 458
314, 507
a 125,311
a 93,408
a 85, 392
Temporarily
out of work
Unemployed
casual workers
220,990
165,962
62,124
8,615
2, 825
2,332
60, 599
39, 252
14, 890
5, 346
2,842
1,865
1 For 1943 and 1944 the figures are averages for only 4 dates, at quarterly intervals, instead of for 12 dates
at monthly intervals.
aThe total excludes the number of persons classified as unsuitable for ordinary employment.
Level of W age Rates
In most industries for which data on wage rates are compiled by
the Ministry, the rates continued to rise during the year. For
example, agricultural labor in Scotland benefited from an advance in
the minimum weekly wage rate from 60s. to 65s., under the Agricul
tural Wages Regulation Act. Increases in pay were authorized for
other classes of farm labor in Scotland and for agricultural labor in
Northern Ireland. No change occurred in the statutory minimum
in England and Wales, the minimum weekly rate for men engaged as
ordinary agricultural workers having been raised to 65s. in December
1943. By an award issued in January 1944, minimum wages of men
in the coal industry were raised from 83s. to 100s. a week for under
ground workers, and from 78s. to 90s. for surface workers. In the
cotton-textile industry, a general advance of 4s. weekly for those
employed in adult occupations and 2s. a week for juvenile workers
was authorized in January.
For all industries and services concerning which statistics are col
lected by the Ministry of Labor, the estimated net weekly increase in
wages of workers averaged £1,870,000 in 1944, affecting 8,133,000
individuals. Certain large groups, notably agricultural workers, are
not covered by the series from which the foregoing statistics were
taken and therefore the totals may not be regarded as affording more
than a general indication of the movement in wage rates. However,
during the war period, 1939-44, the amounts of increase in weekly
rates of wages were much greater than in any previous year between
1925 and 1938.
Cost of Living
The general level of working-class costs of living rose in 1944 to an
index of 201 (based on July 1914 as 100) as compared with an average
of 199 in 1943. Rents (including local taxes) remained stable in the
2 years, clothing declined, and costs of food, fuel and light, and other
items advanced. The index numbers of living costs are shown by
items in table 2 for the years 1939 through 1944.
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MONTHLY
REVIEW— APRIL 1945
labor
T a b l e 2 . — Index of Working-Class Cost of Living in the United Kingdom, 1939-44
Indexes (July 1914=100) of cost of—
Year
All
items
1939______________________ ____ ____
1940_______
________ __
_________________ ________
1941__
1942___________________________________
1943_____
_________________________
1944___
158
184
199
200
199
201
Rent (in
cluding
local
taxes)
Food
141
164
168
161
166
168
162
163
164
164
164
164
Cloth
ing
Fuel
and
light
214
285
369
399
351
345
184
210
227
235
244
256
Other
items
179
208
227
255
282
291
Variation was slight in tlie composite cost-of-living index from 1941
through 1944, as rises in certain groups were counteracted by reduc
tions in others. In the course of the entire war period through 1944,
the advances in costs have been greatest for clothing. The downward
trend in clothing costs, reflected in the reduction of the index from 399
in 1942 to 351 in 1943, was caused chiefly by the replacement of “ nonutility” clothing by “ utility” clothing which is tax exempt. In 1944,
this process of substitution had ceased in.large part and the prices of
such nonutility clothing as was on sale did not change radically, and
the index dropped only 6 points during the year to 345.
Industrial Disputes
Industrial disputes in the United Kingdom in 1944 caused more
stoppages of work and involved a larger number of workers and days of
idleness than in any previous year of the war. Table 3 summarizes
the statistics for the years 1939 to 1944.
T a b l e 3. — Industrial Disputes in the United Kingdom, 1939-44
Stoppages beginning in year
Year
Number
1939_______________ : ___________ _______________ _
1940 _________________________
..
1941_______________________________
1942___________________________________
1943__________________ ____ _____
1944.___ ____ ___________________
940
922
1,251
1,303
1,785
2,185
Number of
workers
involved
337,000
299,000
360,000
457,000
557,000
J 820,000
Man-days of
idleness, all
stoppages
1,360,000
940,000
1,080,000
1, 530,000
1,810,000
3, 710,000
1 In addition, about 5,000 workers were involved in stoppages which began in 1943 and continued into 1944.
After reaching a low point in 1940, industrial disputes increased
in 1941 and continued upward through 1944, when the aggregate
number of days of idleness caused ,by disputes was greater than in
any year since 1932. The principal disputes in 1944 were in the coal
industry, which accounted for over half of the stoppages and twothirds of the aggregate number of days of idleness; and in the metal,
engineering, and shipbuilding industries which were responsible for
more than a fourth of the total number of stoppages and of the
man-days idle.
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\
Wartime Policies
R uling on " F rin g e ” Wage A djustm ents
THE Director of Economic Stabilization issued a directive to the
National War Labor Board placing tight ceilings on major ‘‘fringe”
adjustments,1or, in other words, on such matters as shift differentials,
reclassifications and job evaluations, merit and automatic progression
plans, and vacations. Previously, the Director had stated 2 that his
office was working with the National War Labor Board to fashion a
better means to attain the objective of the President’s “hold the line”
order (Executive Order No. 9328, April 8, 1943). That order had
established the policy of preventing inflation by stringent controls
on most wage and price adjustments. Moreover, according to the
Office of Economic Stabilization, in the particular matter of “fringe”
wage adjustment, it established an objective in regard to the relation
ship between wages and prices, by providing that reasonable “fringe”
wage adjustments could be made only if they did not result in increases
in prices.
In issuing this latest directive, the Director of Economic Stabiliza
tion stated that previously “there were no fixed ceilings on ‘fringe’
wage adjustments, but the price prohibition prevented or limited such
adjustments in certain cases.” In emphasizing the price consequences
in this type of case, the Executive order permitted some unevenness
and instability in wage adjustments and it was therefore possible for
some workers to receive wage adjustments that others could not
receive because of the circumstances of their respective employer’s
earnings. The present directive will accomplish the stabilization
objective of the President’s order “by setting definite, firm ceilings
on these fringe increases in all wage cases.”
* * * In doing th is, we are following th e policy w hich has been th e practice
in regard to basic w age-rate a d ju stm en ts. Basic w age-rate increases u n d er th e
su b sta n d a rd criterion, th e “ L ittle S teel” form ula, an d th e m inim um sound and
te ste d going ra te principle, are all controlled by definite stan d ard s. In regard
to m inor “ fringe” a d ju stm e n ts th ere has n o t been sufficient experience o r th e
problem s occur only in isolated an d special circum stances, so th a t a t p resen t it
is n o t proper or wise to establish fixed ceilings. A ccordingly, these “fringe”
a d ju stm en ts rem ain su b ject to th e price proh ib itio n in th e P re sid e n t’s E xecutive
order. T he m ajo r “fringe” wage a d ju stm en ts, how ever, are covered by th is
directive.
1 Office of Economic Stabilization, Press release (72120), March 8,1945.
2 idem , Press release'fOWI 4045), February 12,1945.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW--- APRIL 1945
W artim e Salary C ontrol in C an ad a1
UNDER an amendment of December 21, 1944 (P. C. 9505), the war
time control on salaries in Canada was eased to permit correction of
“gross inequities,” thereby making the restrictions more similar in
principle to wage control. The order stated that, because of the
greater difficulties in defining and classifying established salary posi
tions, wartime salary control proved more severe in its restriction
than were the various measures controlling wages. In addition,
persons subject to salary control were, in a number of cases, receiving
only as much as and, in some instances, less than the wage earners
whom they were supervising. The Minister of National Revenue
was therefore authorized to permit specified increases. Under the
amendment, all persons earning less than $250 per month were in
cluded under the wage-control order.
The December 1944 amendment provided for three major changes.
An adjustment may be authorized in the salaries paid to supervisors
of wage earners who have received a general increase in wage rates to
the extent that the wage-salary relationship resulting from such in
crease constitutes a gross inequity. Increases also may be authorized
by the Minister of National Revenue within established ranges of
salaries for the position which the official occupies. Finally, the
Minister may in exceptional circumstances permit increases in salaries
paid to individuals whose duties and responsibilities have changed
substantially but who have not received formal promotions.
P. C. 9505 amended an order of February 27, 1942 (P. C. 1549),
which consolidated and amended previous salary-control orders.2
Under the 1942 controls as amended prior to December 1944, salaries
(including those paid to directors) were frozen at the rates established
and payable before November 7, 1941. If an individual was not em
ployed before that date, the rate must be that of employees performing
comparable work in the establishment or (if no such persons were
employed) in a similar business; such new employees were to receive
no increase above the rate first paid to them. A gratuity or share in
profits which was provided for as a contractual right might be paid
at the same percentage fixed for the position prior to November 7,
1941. Coverage of the 1942 order as amended included persons
receiving $250 monthly or more. Before P. C. 9505 was issued,
however, the War Labor Board decided whether persons receiving
from $195 to $250 per month were under the jurisdiction of the
salary-control order or the wage-control order.
Before the December 1944 amendment, increases could be authorized
only for salaried officials receiving a promotion on or after January 1,
1941. However, a specified num ber of periodic increases might be
paid to persons newly appointed or promoted if the policy of the estab
lishment was not 'to pay the full salary immediately. To prevent
serious interference with and loss of production in war industries,
special exceptions were made for employers producing, repairing, or
servicing munitions of war or ships. Such employers might grant
1 Data are from Canada, Proclamations and Orders in Council Relating to the War, volumes 5, 6, and 7,
Ottawa, 1942; Canadian War Orders and Regulations, volume I of 1944 and IV of 1945, Ottawa, 1944 and
1945; and Montreal Gazette, December 23, 1944.
2 For details of the salary-control order of November 27, 1941 (P. C. 9298), see M onthly Labor Review for
January 1942 (p. 52).
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WARTIME POLICIES
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one increase to officials whose duties had increased owing to new or
additional production for war, to officials whose pay was unduly low
in relation to the prevailing rate for similar services, to officials en
gaged between January 1, 1940, and January 1, 1941, at a proba
tionary rate, and to foreigners in jobs requiring special qualifications.
Cost-of-living bonuses were eliminated by a March 1944 amendment
(P. C. 79/1385), although such a bonus established before February
15, 1944, was to be incorporated into the salary; persons whose salaries
were under $3,000 had been entitled to such bonuses, and, if an em
ployer paid a cost-of-living bonus to wage earners receiving over
$3,000 (exclusive of the bonus), he might also pay it to salaried workers
receiving from $3,000 to $4,200.
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FQR.VICTORY
BUY
UNITED
STATES
WAR
BONDS
AND
STAMPS
Post-War Reconstruction
R econstruction P lanning in India 1
CONSIDERATION of post-war reconstruction in India was ad
vanced in 1944 through the publication of plans by a group of indus
trialists and also by organized labor. Although the Government did
not outline a definite program, public bodies were making studies on
specified post-war problems and were publishing reports on progress
and urgent needs. All groups have been directing their efforts toward
raising agricultural output and extending industrialization as a means
of raising national income, standards of living, and social welfare.
The differences in the plans are in regard to the relative parts to be
played by the State and private enterprise; the proportions of labor
and capital that should be devoted to individual branches of produc
tion; and the length of time required to develop the program, taking
financing arrangements into account.
Administrative Organization
Problems connected with post-war development of India were first
dealt with by a reconstruction committee of the Executive Council
of the Government of India, assisted by a number of other committees
having strong nonofficial representation. Specially appointed devel
opment officers drew up plans for electrification, industries, roads,
irrigation, and agriculture. In the spring of 1944, a member was
appointed to the Executive Council tfp form a Department for Plan
ning and Development. Being free from responsibility for the ad
ministration of other governmental policies, he was in a position to
concentrate on post-war problems. Formation of the Department of
Planning and Development was announced on June 1, 1944, its func
tion being to coordinate the activities of various departments of the
Indian Government and of the Provinces regarding post-war planning
and reconstruction. Thu Department superseded the post-war recon
struction committee. Its work is carried out by expert committees
for agriculture, civil aviation, education, hydroelectric development,
public health, scientific research, telecommunications, and transport.
Progress of Governmental Planning
The findings in a general survey of reconstruction problems were
presented by the reconstruction committee (of the Executive
i Data are from Government of India, Reconstruction Committee of Council, First Report on the Program of
Reconstruction Planning, March 1, 1944; Great Britain, House of Commons, Debates, July 28, 1944; Inter
national Labor Review (International Labor Office, Montreal), September and November 1944; People’s
Plan for Economic Development of India (Indian Federation of Labor Post-War Reconstruction Com
mittee, N ew Delhi, 1944); report from Clayton Lane, secretary in charge, Office of the Personal Represent
ative of the President, N ew Delhi (No. 963); and Public Policy Digest (Washington), September 1944.
800
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POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION
801
Council) in its first report, issued March 1, 1944. The committee
stated that it was too early to estimate the exact form and magnitude
of India’s post-war problems and that world conditions (not only
those in India) complicate the task. Nevertheless, financial and other
implications of post-war planning should be assessed in advance as
far as possible. According to the committee, two sets of problems
will exist after the war, namely those directly arising from hostilities
and, more important, the long-term problem of raising living condi
tions which is not directly connected with hostilities.
Reference is made to the effect of the war in creating probably the
largest volume of employment ever attained in India. Even if em
ployment is not reduced, a shift of labor will be inevitable when peace
is restored. To furnish adequate statistical information for resettling
and reemploying ex-service and other personnel, data concerning skills,
etc., have already been collected regarding individual servicemen and
workers. A questionnaire has been issued to all industries to enable
the Government to estimate their labor force (by skills) which will
become surplus when war orders cease. From the situation these
industrial reports will disclose, it is expected that the Government will
be able to prepare plans for the suitable employment of as many of the
surplus industrial and technical workers as possible. A plan to es
tablish employment agencies in larger towns is under consideration;
some offices are already functioning and assisting in placement.
According to the reconstruction committee, governmental policy
in disposing of surplus war goods is to be directed, as far as possible,
toward insuring that such commodities will be used to make up
serious shortages in the civilian market. The success of the plan will
depend upon the closest cooperation between countries. Preparation
is being made to insure the termination of contracts and the change
over to peacetime production with maximum speed.
Consideration of public utilities and public works was still in the
general planning stage when the report was issued. For example,
study was being made of the coordination of road and rail transport ;
the development of national, provincial, and district highways;
irrigation; electric power; town planning; and slum clearance.
A questionnaire was sent to industrial and commercial associations
in India and to local governments to obtain information on the exist
ing structure of industrial organization. Meanwhile, to expedite the
development of industry and trade, estimates of post-wTar require
m ents of heavy plant and machinery have been requested for sub
mission as soon as possible. The importance of scientific and indus
trial research is fully appreciated, and plans for a broadened program
are under way.
Assistance to agriculture will require long-term planning and State
provision for conserving resources and securing greater efficiency.
India must provide adequate nutrition for a growing population. In
setting the target, technological possibilities of improved agricultural
production must be kept in view, the committee stated.
Several committees are making factual surveys of public education
and social services, and are to recommend reorganization and expan
sion in these fields. At the time the reconstruction com m ittee’s re
port was prepared it was believed th a t the broad policy regarding
the development of social services would be decided before the close
of hostilities. The problem of education was expected to be simpler
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
than those concerning the other social services. An educational plan
had been worked out, based on long study by the central advisory
board of education. In the field of health, special groups have been
formed to inquire into the general problem and certain of its phases.
Plan of Private Industry-
In January 1944, eight industrialists issued the Bombay plan
(also called Tata after the Tata Iron & Steel Co., one of whose officers
signed it). The plan calls for a 15-year program of economic de
velopment involving an estimated capital expenditure of Rs. 100,000
million.2
Proposals are based on the assumption that the plan would be
executed by a National Government and that the country would be
treated as a single economic unit. In the opinion of the authors, en
forcement should be gradual over three 5-year periods of increasing
intensity. Emphasis should be placed on mobilizing national re
sources, labor, capital goods, and managerial ability, giving priority
to certain types of development, and avoiding undue strain on the
national economy in the early stages. The stated aim of the plan is
to double the per capita income in India within the 15-year period.
Accomplishment of this, allowing for a 5-million increase in popula
tion annually, would require tripling the existing aggregate national
income. To obtain such a rise in national income, the industrialists
propose that net agricultural output should be a little more than doubled
and industrial output (in large and small industry) should be increased
by five times the existing amount.
During the initial stages of operation, primary attention should be
given to establishing industries for the production of power and capital
goods. However, the plan stresses that the manufacture of the most
essential consumers’ goods should not be neglected. Consolidation
of land holdings, dealing with rural indebtedness and soil erosion, and
extension of areas under cultivation are proposed to improve the yield
per acre and increase agricultural output. Development of electricity
is a prerequisite for industrial expansion and agricultural reorganiza
tion. The industrialists support a 50-percent rise in railway mileage
and a 100-percent increase in road mileage in British India.
Funds to meet total expenditures would be obtained from the
following sources: Rs. 3,000 million from the mobilization of privately
held wealth in India; Rs. 10,000 million from sterling securities
accumulated during wartime; Rs. 6,000 million from favorable trade
returns; Rs. 7,000 million from external loans; Rs. 40,000 million
from savings; and Rs. 34,000 million by tlie$ issue of currency.
Means of raising capital will be more clearly^ indicated when the
plan is ready for execution.
Early in 1945, the Bombay industrialists, with the exception of the
member who had become the planning and development member of
the Government of India, issued a second part of their plan in which it
was attempted to solve questions of the distribution of income and to
determine the role of the State in economic activity.
Conceding that the existing system of free enterprise had failed to
bring about satisfactory distribution, it was advocated that the system
2 Average exchange rate of the British Indian rupee in first 8 months of 1944=30.1 cents.
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POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION
803
should be changed to the extent necessary to insure a minimum income
essential for a reasonable standard of living for everyone and to correct
gross inequalities. Use of the price mechanism wate advocated as the
chief method for allocating productive resources, subject to the follow
ing limitations: Minimum wages; “cheap money” ; ceiling on profits
that will not remove the incentive to efficiency; and taxes that will
remedy gross inequalities in income. Lack of employment being the
major cause of poverty, measures were suggested for providing the
maximum employment volume, namely by a comparatively low rate
of capital intensification, the encouragement of small-scale industry,
and the organization of industrial cooperatives. As the idleness of
agricultural labor for from 3 to 6 months annually is a large source
of unemployment, the industrialists proposed mixed farming, cultiva
tion of more than one crop a year, and subsidiary employment such as
weaving, etc., for agriculturists. Emphasis was placed on the attain
ment of the desired ends gradually. This was particularly stressed
with respect to the institution of basic minimum wages, with wellestablished industries making a beginning and gradually revising the
rates until a reasonable standard is reached. The scheme presented
does not offer complete security of income and freedom from want,
even for industrial workers. Additional protection is therefore recom
mended under a comprehensive social-insurance program.
In the opinion of the industrialists, the gulf between capitalism and
socialism is steadily narrowing, and future organization will be a
combination of the two. To preserve the scope of individual enter
prise while at the same time adequately safeguarding community
interests, the State must take a positive stand in the administration of
controls. Temporary controls suggested were the control of (1)
production through the allocation of resources and the prevention of
overproduction, (2) distribution through priorities in the release of raw
materials, (3) consumption in the early stages by means of rationing,
(4) investment to prevent inflation, (5) foreign trade and exchange
with the idea of preventing the wastage of exchange and of protecting
domestic industries, and (6) wages and working conditions. After
full employment is achieved, the role of the State would be centered
around the nature and scope of its ownership, control, and manage
ment of economic enterprises. State control was considered more
important than ownership or management, as legal ownership would
lose some of its essential attributes under such control.
Plan of Federation of Labor
The plan advanced by the Indian Federation of Labor laid greater
stress on agricultural and social reform than does that of the Bombay
industrialists. The Federation proposes an expenditure of Rs. 150,000
million in 10 years. Progressive improvements in the standard of
living of the people during the operation of the plan would bring about
a rise in per capita income in agriculture from Rs. 29 during the first
year of operation to Rs. 121 during the tenth year; for the urban popu
lation the corresponding improvement is calculated at from Rs. 57 to
Rs. 172 a year. The net improvement would be over 300 percent for
the rural population and 200 percent for the urban. As the existing
level of per capita income is much lower for rural than for urban
dwellers, the gap between the two groups would be reduced by the
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
faster rate of increase in income for the rural than for 'the urban
population. Combining the two sets of figures, the Indian Federation
of Labor stated that the average per capita income would be Rs. 33 in
the first year and Rs. 128 in the tenth, representing a fourfold improve
ment as a result of the plan. The agricultural output, it was stated,
would be increased by 400 percent and industrial production by 600
percent. In combination with the development of social services for
health, housing, and education, the plan would be the foundation for
the cultural development of the people.
As agriculture is the main pursuit of the Indian people, on which
nearly 70 percent of the total depend for subsistence, it is expected to
provide employment for a major portion of the population, whatever
may be the industrial development in a 10-year period. Therefore,
the Federation’s report stated agriculture must be made more produc
tive. Suggested m easures are the nationalization of land to remove it
from the jurisdiction of noncultivators; payment of rural indebted
ness to free the people from usurers; extension of the area under
cultivation; introduction of modern machinery and soil conservation;
and provision of adequate fertilizers and improved seeds. The
authors believed that the success of their plans for increasing pro
ductivity could be aided materially by introducing a system of
collective farms, to replace the tiny holdings.
Special stress was placed on building up the consumer-goods indus
tries, among which are listed textiles, leather goods, sugar, paper,
drugs and chemicals, tobacco, oil, furniture, and glass. Enlargement
of such production would necessitate a substantial increase and de
velopment of the basic industries in the country. During the 10year plan, it was suggested th a t priority should be given to hydro
electric power, mining and m etallurgy, iron and steel, heavy chemi
cals, machinery and machine tools, cement, and railway engines and
vehicles. In every case the new industries would be financed by the
Government to insure the fullest return to the people; privately
owned industries would be under public control.
As the development of both agriculture and industry would lead
to a large increase in the m ovem ent of goods between urban and rural
areas, extended railway and other transportation facilities would be
needed. The plan includes educational, housing, and health facilities.
Total recommended expenditures spread over 10 years are:
Rupees (in millions)
T o ta l--------------------------------------------------------------- 150,000
A g ricu ltu re-----------------------------------------------------I n d u s try ---------------------------------------------------------C om m un icatio n s_______________________________
H e a lth ------------------------------------------------------------E d u c a tio n _____________________________________
H ousing-----------------------------------------------------------
29, 500
56, 000
15, 000
7 ’ 600
10, 400
3 l ’ 500
Those presenting the plan assumed that financing would be covered
in large part by reinvesting most of the surplus accumulation from
operations. Approximately 2 years, it was estimated, would be spent
in preparatory planning. For 3 years after commencement of the
10-year plan, the initial capital expenditure would total Rs. 16,000
million; thereafter the operations would be self-sustaining.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Injuries
In d u strial In ju ries in the F o u rth Q uarter of 1944
THE volume of work injuries in manufacturing declined sharply
during the last quarter of 1944. In comparison with an average
frequency of 19.4 disabling injuries per million employee-hours worked
during the first 9 months of the year, the all-manufacturing injuryfrequency rate for October was 17.8. For November the rate was
16.8 and for December it was 15.9. As a result of this sharp decline
at the end of the year, which appears to have some seasonal aspects,
the preliminary all-manufacturing injury-frequency rate for the year
1944 was 18.8,1 as compared with the final average of 20.0 for the
preceding year.
Injury reports for the last 3 months of 1944 were received from
over 11,400 manufacturing establishments. On the basis of these
reports it is estimated that 54,600 manufacturing workers were dis
abled by injuries experienced in the course of their employment
during October, 51,000 in November, and 47,800 in December. The
full cost of these injuries in terms of manpower cannot yet be com
puted because many of the disabilities will continue far into the
future. The immediate losses during the fourth quarter of 1944,
however, may be estimated conservatively as equivalent to 3,068,000
man-days of productive effort. This manpower loss is as great as
would arise from the withdrawal of 117,000 workers from productive
activity for a full month.
The fourth quarter decline in injury-frequency rates was quite
general among the individual manufacturing industries surveyed.
Practically all of the industry classifications showed some frequencyrate reduction, and 46 of the 89 listed groups recorded their lowest
monthly rates of the year during this period. Three industries had
their lowest rates of the year in October, 18 reached their lowest
point in November, and 28 were lower in December than during any
other month of the year. In contrast, however, there were seven
industries which had their highest monthly rates of the year during
the last quarter. Three of these industries—small-arms ammunition,
motor vehicles, and military tanks—were war industries in which
there had been some curtailment of production in the earlier part of
the year. The urgent demand for greater production in these indus
tries, as a result of changed military conditions in the latter part of
the year, may have had some bearing upon the rise in their frequency
rates. Two of the other industries which had higher rates in the last
quarter of the year—confectionery and canning and preserving—are
strongly affected by seasonal factors and their trend to higher frei
Subject to revision on the basis of the more comprehensive annual survey now in progress. The injuryfrequency rate represents the average number of disabling injuries for each million employee-hours worked.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
805
806
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
quency rates m ay also reflect expanded activities toward the end of
the year. There was no indication, however, th a t the industries
which achieved lower frequency rates in the last quarter had had
any curtailm ent in their activities.
Although the 12-month cumulative frequency rates for the various
industry classifications must be considered as preliminary rates for
the year, subject to revision on the basis of the more comprehensive
annual survey now in progress, they do serve as good indicators of
the general level of safety conditions prevailing in each industry dur
ing the period and permit a tentative evaluation of the 1944 accident
records of the different industry groups. The lowest of the 87 listed
12-month frequency rates was 5.7 for the women’s clothing industry.
The rates of the explosives industry (6.1) and the rayon and allied
products (chemical) industry (6.6), however, were only slightly
higher. Other industries with 12-month rates of less than 10 were
small-arms ammunition (7.7), sighting and fire-control equipment
(8.0), radios and phonographs (8.2), aircraft (8.9), iron and steel
(9.4), and soap and glycerin (9.4).
The highest of the recorded 12-month frequency rates for 1944 was
54.5 for the sawmill industry. The wooden-container industry also
had a rate of over 50 (51.6), while five other industries had rates of
over 40. These were plate fabrication and boiler-shop products
(48.2), planing mills (46.0), foundries (42.9), enameling and galva
nizing (41.3), and sheet-metal work (40.9).
Despite the fact that the 12-month cumulative frequency rate for
all-manufacturing industries in 1944 (18.8) was 6 percent lower than
the 1943 annual rate, comparison between the 1944 rates for the indi
vidual industries and their corresponding 1943 rates reveals no sig
nificant general trend. Nine of the individual industries had pre
liminary 1944 rates which were 5 or more frequency rate points lower
than their 1943 annual rates, while 9 others had 1944 rates which
were five or more points higher than their 1943 averages. Most
important among the reductions, from the standpoint of their effect
upon the total volume of injuries, were those achieved in the slaughter
ing and meat-packing and the shipbuilding industries. It is pertinent
to note, in this connection, that intensive safety campaigns were con
ducted in both of these industries during 1944. In the slaughtering
and meat-packing industry the safety drive was sponsored by the
division of Labor Standards of the LTnited States Department of
Labor and was conducted through the cooperation of the meat in
dustry, the National Committee for the Conservation of Manpower
in War Industries, various State agencies, and the insurance companies
which write workmen’s compensation insurance. In the shipbuilding
industry an average reduction of about 25 percent in the injuryfrequency rate, as compared with the preceding year, was achieved
through the continuing safety program, sponsored by the United
States Maritime Commission and the Navy Department.
In contrast to these industries which had pronounced frequencyrate reductions during 1944, it is significant that the group of indus
tries for which the more substantial frequency-rate increases were
recorded in 1944 included three of the ordnance industries, i. e.,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
807
INDUSTRIAL INJURIES
ammunition, 20-millimeters and over; small-arms; and miscellaneous
ordnance and accessories.
The almost even balance between increases and decreases in fre
quency rates was also maintained in the group of industries for which
less important changes were recorded. Twenty-two of the individual
industries had 1944 preliminary rates which were from 1 to 5 fre
quency-rate points lower than their 1943 averages and 21 industries
had similar increases in their 1944 rates. No significant groupings
were observed among the industries which registered these changes in
their frequency rates, except that 15 of the 22 which showed improve
ment during 1944 had 1943 rates of less than 20, while only 9 of the
21 which showed increases had 1943 rates of less than 20.
Industrial Injury-Frequency R ates 1 for Selected Manufacturing Industries, Fourth
Quarter of 1944, With Cumulative Rates for 1944
Industry »
Chemical products:
Chemicals, industrial- _ .
Drugs, toiletries, and insecticides__
Explosives________________
Paints and varnishes____
Rayon and allied products (chemical)
Soap and glycerin______ _____
Synthetic rubber____
N ot elsewhere classified..
Food products:
Canning and preserving... ___
Confectionery_________ _
Distilleries__________
Flour, feed, and grain-mill products
Slaughtering and meat packing_______ ____
N ot elsewhere classified______ .
Iron and steel and their products:
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets____________
Cutlery and edge tools________
________
Enameling, galvanizing, e tc .. _
Fabricated structural steel___ _____
Forgings, iron and ste el.. _______ ___ .
Foundries, iron and steel____ __________
Hardware.. _______
.
Heating equipment, not elsewhere classified...
Iron and s te e l... . . . . . ._
_. _
Plate fabrication and boiler-shop products___
Plumbers’ supplies_____________
Screws and screw-machine products........
Stamped and pressed metal products___
Steam fittings and apparatus_________
Tin cans and other tinware___ . . . .
Tools, except edge tools__________ ____
Wire and wire products___________ .
N ot elsewhere classified__________ . . .
Leather and its products:
Boots and shoes, other than rubber.......
Leather___________________________
Lumber, lumber products, and furniture:
Furniture, except metal___________________
Planing mills___ __________________
Sawmills__________________ . . . .
Wooden containers___________ ____ ________
Not elsewhere classified___ ____ ___________
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45 -----------8
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Fourth quarter of 1944
Frequency
rate
N um
Frequency rate for 3—
ber of
estab
lish
ments, Octo N o
D e Fourth.
vem cem quar
Decem ber
ber
ber
ber
ter
1944
Cumu
lative,
Janu1943:
aryAn
Decem- nual 4
ber
1944 s
288
69
62
73
22
11
11
67
14.5
20.4
5.7
14.9
7. 1
8. 1
3.1
14.5
11.8
16.4
4.9
14. 5
6.0
10.7
1.0
14.4
12.4
17.1
3.9
15. 2
5.4
10.2
2.1
13.7
12.9
18.0
4.8
14.9
6.2
9.6
2.0
14.2
14. 8
19. 5
6.1
18. 2
6.6
9.4
(!)
12.5
18. 3
18. 5
5.3
19.0
10. 5
11. 4
(«)
17.1
43
7
39
8
547
33
19.5
20.5
20.4
30.0
40.7
25.8
24.8
18.8
28.0
14. 6
33.2
21.3
35.0
17.0
16.0
16.9
36.6
28.8
25.4
18.8
21.3
20.8
36.8
25.3
25.7
17.1
(5)
22. 7
36.0
26.6
25.3
19.4
(!)
30. 2
47.6
31.2
35
32
12
97
138
521
33
48
192
96
15
70
230
51
18
60
143
268
23.3
28.4
37.7
29.1
36.6
44.2
16.9
32.8
8.6
35.4
16.1
24.0
21.5
27.5
14.3
26.4
21.9
21.8
22.1
23.8
35.5
27.1
36.8
39.1
13.9
30.9
8.3
30.9
16.4
18.4
22.6
20.1
12.8
23.1
21.4
20.9
17.7
24.5
38.9
26. 2
33.2
37.4
11.6
22.5
8.4
27.7
16.2
19.9
20.8
17.6
11.8
23.7
16.9
20.9
21.1
25.5
37.4
27.6
35.5
40.3
14.1
28.7
8.4
31.5
16. 2
20.8
21.6
21.7
13.0
24.4
20.1
21.2
27.5
26.6
41.3
33.5
35.4
42.9
18.2
30.8
9.4
48.2
17.8
24.3
32.4
24.2
17.7
25.7
22.6
26.8
21. 7
25.9
36.1
34.7
40.8
43.4
20.2
36.3
10.0
44.3
21.9
19.2
28.8
30.5
17.3
25.5
21.4
26.4
274
27
12.4
29.6
12.4
27.7
10.6
27.3
11.9
28.2
14.1
29.2
11.8
29.4
56
43
40
42
43
27.2
42.8
50. 6
46.9
34.5
35.1
36.8
54.7
35.6
36.1
21.2
33.8
50.2
43.2
37.6
27.9
37.9
51.8
41.9
36.0
27.7
46.0
54.5
51.6
39.3
27.0
44.2
58.4
48.8
37.1
808
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW--- APRIL 194 5
Industrial Injury-Frequency R ates 1 for Selected Manufacturing Industries, Fourth
Quarter of 1944, With Cumulative Rates for 1944—Continued
Industry 2
Machinery (not transportation):
Agricultural machinery and tractors— ..........
Commercial and household machines -------Construction and mining machinery. __ __ . .
Electrical equipment and supplies................ _.
Engines and turbines. _ ______
_____ ._
Food-products machinery_________________
General industrial machinery. ____ ______ _
Machine shops, general_____ . . . ______. . .
Metalworking machinery___ _ _____ ___
Special industry machinery, not elsewhere
classified.. ____
. . ___ . ................. .
Textile machinery___________ ___________
Paper and allied products:
Paper______ _______ ____ _______________
Paper boxes and containers__ ___ _
Paper and pulp (integrated)_____ ________
Pulp_____________________________________
N ot elsewhere classified.. ______ _____ ._
Printing and publishing:
Book and job_____________________________
Rubber and its products:
Rubber boots and shoes____
_ _____
Rubber tires___ _ _____ _______ _______
N ot elsewhere classified___________________
Stone, clay, and glass products:
Concrete, gypsum, and plaster products____
Glass_________________ ______________ . . .
Pottery__________________________________
N ot elsewhere classified_____ _______ _ . .
Textile and textile-mill products:
Clothing, men’s ________ _________________
Clothing, women’s _____ _________________
Cotton goods..
___ _____________
Dyeing and finishing.______ ______________
Knit goods_______ -._ __________ _______
Silk and rayon products, not elsewhere
classified. ____________ _ ____ ____ _
Woolen goods. __ _______________________
N o t elsewhere classified________ _ _
_
Transportation equipment:
Aircraft__________________________________
Aircraft parts . . ______________ __
Motor vehicles_____________ _____ _ _ .__
Motor-vehicle parts_________________
—_
Railroad equipment__________________ ____
Shipbuilding_____ _____________________
Ordnance and accessories:
Ammunition, small-arms__________________
Ammunition, 20-mm. and over____ _____ . .
Guns and relatedjequipment. .
_____ _
Sighting and fire-control equipment ___
Small arms. . . . . . . . . --------- __ . . .
_ _
Tank parts, m ilita r y ____________ _ _ ____
Tanks, military_____________________ ____
N ot elsewhere classified.. . _____ . . . _ _ ___
Miscellaneous manufacturing:
Nonferrous metal products__________ ____ _
Radios and phonographs _.------- ---------------Sheet-metal work_________________________
N o t elsewhere classified. _____ _ .__ -------
Fourth quarter of 1944
Frequency
rate
Frequency rate for «—
N um
ber of
estab
lish
|
Fourth
No
De
ments,
vem cem quar
Decem Octo
ter
ber
ber
ber
ber
1944
Cumu
lative,
Janu1943:
aryAn
Decem- nual
4
ber
1944 3
42
47
108
536
50
22
615
186
613
23.0
19.4
26.6
11.0
8.8
32.9
21.2
16.6
16.3
23.6
16.1
23.6
9.2
8.8
36.9
21.1
14.6
14.2
24.0
10.3
25.4
9.1
8.9
32.2
17.6
15.3
13.2
23.5
15.2
25.2
9.8
8.8
33.9
20.0
15.5
14.6
22.8
18.6
27.4
10.6
11.4
32.3
22.6
20.9
17.3
19.9
18.0
29.5
10.9
18.2
27.2
23.0
25.3
19.2
79
10
24.9
12.3
23.0
16.2
26.5
8.9
24.8
12.4
24.1
21.0
24.6
14.6
266
381
98
23
41
25.5
20.3
22.9
35.6
19.3
31.3
20.9
21.0
28.4
18.4
26.5
20.5
24.1
29.9
16.3
27.8
20.6
22.7
31.3
18.0
29.7
24.8
25.3
35.1
20.5
31.5
22.7
25.5
32.6
26.9
41
9.7
8.2
8.6
8.8
11.0
10.5
11
35
89
19.8
16.3
20.2
23.3
15.7
18.2
12.0
13.2
17.6
18.4
15.1
18.7
13.8
14.7
17.3
10.7
14.5
19.7
108
33
32
75
31.5
18. 7
16.7
15.9
25.0
12.2
15.0
15.4
34.0
15.2
15. 1
20.1
30.1
15.4
15.6
17.0
35. 2
17.5
17.9
15.8
40.8
20.2
19.5
19.3
474
349
196
44
71
10.1
4.9
15.3
14.0
9.9
9.5
4.8
13.4
13.4
7.2
8.4
6.1
10.8
16.4
9.1
9.4
5.3
13.1
14.6
8.8
10.7
5.7
14.7
22.8
11.0
7.6
4.6
16.7
23.6
8.3
50
152
151
12.7
19.3
17.1
13.5
18.3
14.4
15.4
15.7
16.2
13.9
17.8
15.9
14.3
18.9
18.3
13.9
19.8
20.6
40
249
84
73
47
228
7.4
11.2
22.8
22.6
19.2
20.6
7.7
11. 1
20.7
25.9
19.2
20.5
6.4
10.1
18.6
20.2
17.1
19.6
7.2
10.8
20.6
22.9
18.6
20.3
8.9
12.3
14.4
25.4
22.0
23.7
9.7
11.7
13.6
22.0
25.0
31. 5
14
320
89
32
56
38
14
35
20.7
23.1
18.0
7.7
14.5
25.0
18.0
22.9
12.1
22.6
17.9
5.8
13.4
23.6
15. 1
23.6
16.2
21.8
15.7
6.0
11.5
21.4
18.8
21.2
16.4
22.5
17.2
6.5
13. 1
23.3
17.3
22.5
7.7
24.3
17.1
8.0
14.1
21.0
14.5
22.7
5. 1
19. 0
15.5
9.3
8. 6
16.2
12.2
14.0
501
188
41
361
23.3
7.4
34.4
11.3
22.4
7.0
37.2
10.1
20.3
6.5
29.3
10.9
22.0
7.0
33.7
10.8
26.0
8.2
40.9
14.4
25.0
7.9
26.5
14.2
1 The frequency rate represents the average number of disabling industrial injuries for each million em
ployee-hours worked.
2 A few industries have been omitted from this table because the coverage for the month did not amount
to 1,000,000 or more employee-hours worked.
3 Computed from all reports received for the month; not based on identical plants in successive months.
4 Based on comprehensive annual survey.
‘ N ot available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
Increase in U nem ploym ent Benefits in G reat B rita in 1
INCREASES in unemployment-insurance benefits went into effect
in Great Britain on November 2, 1944, by the terms of the new
Unemployment Insurance (Increase of Benefit) Act. The new legis
lation, which was presented to Parliament by the Government on
September 27 and received Royal assent on October 26, 1944, was
immediately put into force by order of the Minister of Labor and
National Service.
This new act is designed merely as an interim measure to increase
benefits under the existing acts (1935-40) in the transition period
from war to peace. It is not a substitute for the unemploymentinsurance provisions contained in the Government’s comprehensive
proposals for an enlarged and unified system of social insurance
(outlined in its White Paper issued late in September 1944 and sub
sequently presented to Parliament).2 The latter plan was conditioned
upon a peacetime economy and was to be brought into operation
under a Minister of Social Insurance, who would be responsible for
the legislative and other preliminary work necessary for gradually
implementing so extensive a system. Shortly after the new Unem
ployment Insurance (Increase of Benefit) Act went into effect, the
Ministry of Social (“National”) Insurance3 was created, and Sir
William Jowitt became Minister to the post he had been holding
without portfolio.
During the debates on the bill, it was reported that the increased
rates of benefit provided for in the new measure could be met if
unemployment did not exceed 8 percent, and that an increase above
this average was not anticipated during the first 2 years of its opera
tion; also that employment conditions during the war had resulted
in a steady increase of the Unemployment Fund, which currently
stood about £290,000,000.4 The increased benefit rates were there
fore passed without increasing the existing rates of contribution,
“taking into account the short-term nature” of the legislation.
Increased Benefits Under the New Law
The new measure retains the categories of persons eligible for benefit
under existing Unemployment Insurance Acts (1935-40). The various
i Great Britain. Laws, statutes, etc. Unemployment Insurance (Increase of Benefit) Act, 7 and 8,
Geo. 6 (Session 1943-44), ch. 42; M inistry of Reconstruction, Social Insurance, Parts I and II, London,
1944 (Cmd. 6550 and 6551); Parliamentary Debates, September 27 to November 17,1944; M inistry of Labor
Gazette (London), November 1944; also, Economist (London), October 7,1944.
3 For a description of these provisions, see M onthly Labor Review, December 1944 (p. 1183).
* The title of the M inistry was changed from Ministry of Social Insurance to M inistry of National Insur
ance, during the passage of the bill creating the new office.
* Average exchange rate of pound (20 shillings) in 1944=$4.035.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
809
810
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW---APRIL 194 5
beneficiaries continue to qualify for insurance under one of two
plans—the general scheme or the agricultural scheme.
Under the general scheme, the weekly rates of benefit are increased
by 4s. for men and single women who are over 21, and for those
married women who are wholly or partly supporting invalid husbands,
or who are living apart and can obtain no financial assistance from
their husbands. In the case of other married women 21 and over, the
increase is 2s. Under the agricultural scheme, m en receive 4s. increase
and women 3s.
Under both systems an increase of 3s. is granted to young men and
young women from 18 to 20 years of age, and to boys and girls 17
years of age. An increase of Is. is granted to boys and girls aged 16.
For a wife or other adult dependent an increase of 6s. is granted
under the general scheme, and an increase of 5s. under the agricul
tural system. For each dependent child, an increase of Is. is allowed
under both systems.
Under the agricultural scheme the maximum weekly benefit is
raised 13s. (from 41s. to 54s.).
The revised rates are as shown in the accompanying table.
Unemployment Benefits in Great Britain Under Law of October 26, 1944
Weekly rate of benefit
Class of beneficiary and of benefits
Benefits:
Men (aged 21 and over)
__ __________ ___________ _J__
Single women (aged 21 and over) _ ___
__ ___
Married women (aged 21 and over, supporting invalid husband, or living
________________ _____________
apart without his support)__ __
Other married women (aged 21 and o v e r )_____________ _______ ______
Young persons:
________________ ________ Young men (aged 18-20)
Young women (aged 18-20)
_ _ ____
_________ - - -Juveniles:
______________________ ______ - - Boys (aged 17)___
Girls (aged 17)
___- __ ________ _____ _______ ____
Boys (aged 16)
_ _ _ ____
____ ___________
Girls (aged 16)
___ ___________________________
Dependents’ allowances:
For adult dependent
______
_______________________
For first or second dependent child
__
_ __
___
For each additional dependent child
__________
__
Maximum weekly benefit (including dependents’ allowances) payable under
the agricultural scheme
__ _______ ___ __
Agricultural
scheme
General
scheme
s. d. i
24 0
22 0
1
s. d.1
22 0
22 0 [
20 0
18 C
19 0
17 0
18 0
15 0
12
10
7
6
10
9
6
5
j
0
6
0
0
16 0
5 0
4 0
6
0
0
0
14 0
5 0
4 0
54 0
1 Average exchange rate of shilling (12 pence) in 1944=20.2 cents.
In accordance with the rates shown above, a married man with a
wife and two children will receive 50s. instead of 38s. a week, under the
general scheme, and 46s. instead of 35s., under the agricultural scheme.
In the case of adult dependents’ allowances and the rates for men
over 21 and “other married women,” the new rates, under the general
scheme, reach the full standard of the social security proposals. How
ever, those persons coming under the agricultural system have the
most to gain by the passage of the social security proposals.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SOCIAL SECURITY
811
Social Insurance in Panam a, 1 9 4 3 -4 4 1
A SYSTEM of compulsory social insurance providing sickness,
maternity, death, disability, and old-age benefits for all persons in
public employment and certain persons in private employment was
instituted in Panama by a law of March 21, 1941, and revised by a
law of April 27, 1943. The system is administered through the Social
Insurance Fund, under the direction of a manager and governing body,
and is financed by an 8-percent tax on the remuneration of employed
persons (payable 4 percent by the employed and 4 percent by the
employer) and certain State grants and taxes, and other resources.
During the first year of operations under the new act, receipts amounted
to 3,070,872 balboas; and expenditures, mainly on benefit payments,
to 610,964 balboas. The largest part (44.2 percent) of the payments
went for 13,141 cases of sickness and maternity benefits, and the
smallest part (1.6 percent) on 216 death benefits.
Coverage of Social-Insurance System
Insurance of the types named above is required for all persons
employed by the State, the Provinces, municipalities, and autonomous
and semi-autonomous public bodies, for persons employed by private
individuals or enterprises (applicable to the districts of Panama and
Colón), and for independent workers with annual income of less than
1,200 balboas. Wives, and children under 16 years of age, of com
pulsorily insured persons may be insured in the system voluntarily,
as may also persons working on their own account with an annual in
come above 1,200 balboas, provided they prove that they are not
suffering from any disease which may give rise to disability.
The actual number of workers covered under the act of 1943 has
been reported as 40,000 in May 1944. The number of public and
professional workers in Panama, according to the census of September
1940, however, was some 10,000, and employment in the various
commercial and industrial establishments in Panama and Colón was
given as about 45,000, exclusive of the 25,000 persons employed in the
Canal Zone who are not covered by the act.
Benefits for Various Risks
Sickness and maternity benefits.—Sickness and maternity benefits
are payable, under the act of 1943, to persons who have contributed to
the insurance fund for at least 39 weeks during the 12 calendar months
preceding the claim. If contributions have been suspended because
of involuntary unemployment for not more than a period of 2 months
following the end of employment, or for as much as 26 weeks because
of reasons of health, the insured person retains his eligibility for bene
fits. Sickness benefits include medical attendance, medicaments,
laboratory examinations, and surgical, dental, and hospital treatment,
within cost limits which may be fixed by the governing body of the
Fund in relation to the moneys available. In some cases, only part
of the expenses is paid. The maximum period of 26 weeks for attend1 Data are from Estadística Panameña (Contraloria General de la República, Dirección General de Esta
dística, Panama), M ay, August, and October 1944; and Social Insurance Act, No. 134, April 27, 1943, Re
public of Panama [Laws, statutes, etc.].
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
#
812
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
ance and treatm ent m ay be increased to 52 weeks in individual cases
with the consent of the governing body. In addition to the sickness
benefits described, m aternity insurance provides 50 percent of the
average weekly earnings for 6 weeks preceding and 6 weeks following
confinement.
Disability benefits.—An insured person is eligible for disability
benefits (1) if he has paid into the Fund at least 156 weekly con
tributions and has a contribution ratio of not less than half during
the 3 years preceding the beginning of disability, (2) if, in consequence
of sickness or accident, he is unable to earn by work suited to his
strength, capacity, and occupational training remuneration equal to
at least one-third of the remuneration habitually earned in the same
district by a physically sound employed person of the same sex and
similar capacity and training, and (3) if he has been declared disabled
by a board of 3 medical practitioners appointed by the Social Insurance
Fund. An applicant must be under 55 years of age when disability
begins, if a woman, and under 60, if a man. A disability pension
may not be paid to an insured person, even if he satisfies the con
ditions above, if compensation by his employer is payable under
statutory provisions relating to industrial accidents and occupational
disease.
The pension consists of 50 percent of the basic monthly wage, plus
2 percent of this amount for every 52 weekly contributions in excess
of 1,040, but may not exceed 200 balboas per month. After a pro
visional period of 5 years, the disability pension may become “defini
tive.”
This part of the plan is only beginning to go into effect, only 2
percent of the expenditures in 1943-44 having been for this purpose.
Old-age pensions.—Old-age pensions are payable to women over 55
years of age and men over 60, at rates fixed in the same way as dis
ability pensions, provided the recipient has made a t least 1,040 weekly
contributions and has made not less than half of his normal contri
butions during the 10 years preceding the beginning of the pension.
For persons who cannot meet these requirements, the Fund provides for
the granting of annuities based, with various restrictions, on total
contributions paid.
Death benefits.—Death benefits consist of a payment (fixed by the
governing body) for funeral expenses, if the insured has made 26 or
more weekly contributions in the year preceding death.
Administration of Fund
The Social Insurance Fund created by the act of 1941 and con
tinued by the act of 1943 is an autonomous institution responsible
for the m anagement of the insurance system under the guidance of
a m anager and a governing body. The latter consists of the M inister
of Finance and the Treasury, the Governor of the National Bank,
the Comptroller-General of the Republic (without right to vote),
and 3 other members representing respectively persons in public
employment, those in private employment, and employers of persons
in private employment. The members as well as the m anager are
appointed for 6-year terms by the President of Panam a, subject to
the approval of the National Assembly.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
«
SOCIAL SECURITY
813
The act of 1943 provides for substitutes for the members of the gov
erning body and for the remuneration of the manager, and specifies the
duties of the governing body and the manager. In addition to other
duties, the governing body is empowered to draw up and amend the
general regulations for the Fund and to fix the mortality and in
validity tables to be used for the assessment of annuities. The
manager’s duties include general administration, imposition of penal
ties, submission to the governing body annually of a detailed report
on the year’s activities and estimates of expenditures for the next
year, the management of investments, and the making of contracts
and agreements to insure economical and efficient administration of
sickness and maternity benefits.
Financing the Fund
The act of M arch 21, 1941, stipulated th a t the system of benefits
should be financed by (1) a premium of 5 percent on the rem uneration
of insured persons, (2) an initial contribution of 100,000 balboas from
the Nation, (3) certain production, advertisement, and other taxes,
fines and bequests, and (4) the assets and liabilities of the R etirem ent
Pensions Fund created by Act No. 7 of 1935. Income from these
sources proved to be insufficient to cover the benefits provided, as
the pensions carried over from legislation between 1924 and 1935,
alone, absorbed much of the total available. The Social Insurance
Act of April 27, 1943, consequently provided th a t the old-age pensions
granted under the act of 1941 and certain other pensions dating back
to 1924 were to be paid by the N ational Treasury through the Social
Insurance Fund.
The resources of the Fund established by the act of 1943 consist
of (1) contributions payable bj- employed insured persons and by
employers, each equal to 4 percent of the rem uneration of the employed
persons; (2) contributions payable by insured persons working on
their own account, amounting to 5 percent of their income or profits;
(3) a State subsidy equal to three-fifths of the contributions of persons
working on their own account, and a State grant amounting to 0.8
percent of the rem uneration of employed insured persons and of the
income or profits of persons working on their own account; (4) con
tributions for family insurance, equal to 5 percent of the rem uneration
of the head of the family; (5) a production tax on spirits, wines, and
beers, as defined in legislative decree No. 4 of September 3, 1941;
and (6) certain interest, bequests, and legacies, and the proceeds of
certain fines and taxes.
Disability and old-age pensions, under the act of 1943, are to be
paid from a Joint Pension Fund (Fundo Común de Pensiones) which
consists of a sum (allocated annually), equal to 7.6 percent of the
remuneration of employed insured persons and of the income or profits
of insured persons working on their own account, on which contribu
tions have been levied during the year. Sickness, death, and mater
nity and administrative expenses are paid from the resources of the
Social Insurance Fund not allotted to the Joint Pension Fund, with
certain exceptions.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
814
Operations Under the Fund
Table 1 shows the receipts of the Social Insurance Fund anti
expenditure on the various types of benefits and on administration
for the year July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1944.
T
able
1 .—Income
and Expenditures of Social Insurance Fund of Panama, July 1,
1943-June 30, 1944
Item
Item
Amount
Amount
B a lb o a s
B a lb o a s
Total receipts.................. ... .............. . __
3,070, 872
Total expenditures_____
Contributions.. ___________ _______
Private employm ent___ _ ______
Governmental employm ent. . . ___
Taxes___ ____
___
_ ... ...
State contribution _ _ ______ . .
Fines and refunds.. _ ______ .
Interest__________ ____ _____________
2, 696,829
1, 766,136
930, 693
227,056
103,401
10, 362
33, 224
General fu n d ... ___________________
Sickness. ______ . . ____ ______
Maternity ___________________
D eath_____
________ _
Administration . . .
_____
Joint Pension F u n d .. ________ ____
Invalidity_________ __________
Old age. .
. . . . ________
Organization fund______ ______ . . .
________
610,964
545, 571
269, 887
64, 778
9,920
200,986
51, 599
12, 729
38, 870
13,794
The table indicates that the newly established 8-percent quota on
remunerations of employed persons provided 87.8 percent of the
total income of the Social Insurance Fund, taxes levied under the
act 7.4 percent of the fund, and the State contribution 3.4 percent.
About two-thirds of the quota on remunerations came from persons
employed in private enterprises and their employers.
Sickness and maternity benefits.—The number of insured persons
who received various forms of sickness and maternity compensation
from the Social Insurance Fund during the year from July 1, 1943, to
June 30, 1944, is indicated in table 2. On the basis of an insured
coverage of 40,000, it appears that 1 of every 3 insured persons
received sickness or maternity benefit during the year.
T
able
2.- —Sickness
and Maternity Benefit Cases Under Social Insurance Fund, Panama,
July 1, 1943—June 30, 1944, by Sex and Monthly Earnings Group
Number of benefit cases
Average monthly earnings of benefit recipients
Total
All groups_________
Under 25.00 balboas.
25.00-49.99 balboas. _.
50.0074.99 balboas,.
75.00-99.99 balboas...
100.00124.99 balboas.
125.00149.99 balboas
150.00174.99 balboas.
175.00199.99 balboas.
Over 200.00 balboas..
Unclassified_______
Males
Females
13,141
8,035
• 5,106
861
3, 267
4,088
2,387
800
550
271
239
366
312
323
1,609
2,441
1, 512
657
479
240
218
332
224
538
1,658
1,647
875
143
71
31
21
34
88
Types of illness treated.—An analysis of the data on the 13,141 med
ical cases cared for during the first year of operations under the act
of 1943 shows that men accounted for almost two-thirds of all cases,
and in a distribution by class of illness accounted for similarly large
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SOCIAL SECURITY
815
proportions of all classes except three. According to the census of
1940, there are approximately 3 males to each female in the gainfully
occupied population in the cities of Panama and Colón.
Table 3 shows the number of cases treated in 1943-44, by sex of
patient and type of illness.
T a b l e 3 . —Number of Medical Cases Under Social Insurance Fund of Panama, July 1,
1943-June 30, 1944, by Sex and by Type of Illness
Number of cases
Class of illness i
Total
All classes of illness_________ _____________ ______
Infective and parasitic diseases.. ______ _
Cancer and other tumors _ __ . . . . _______
Rheumatism, diseases of nutrition, and of the endocrene
glands, other general diseases, etc________ _
Diseases of the blood and chronic poisoning and intoxications..... ................ . ■ _____ .
Diseases of the nervous system and organs of sense . . .
Diseases of the circulatory system __________ ____
Diseases of the respiratiory system . _______
Diseases of the digestive system _____ _
______
Diseases of the genito-urinary system, etc__________
Deliveries and complications of pregnancy, childbirth,
etc_________ ________ _________ ________
Diseases of the skin_________ . _______ .
Diseases of the bones and organs of m ovem en t... . . . .
Senility and old age ________
_ ______
Injuries and accidents_____ _ ______ _ _________
Ill-defined and unindicated diseases__________________
Male
Female
13,141
8,035
5,106
1,143
104
896
64
247
40
167
94
73
275
1,973
177
841
3, 310
560
119
1,343
137
552
1,959
239
156
630
40
289
1,351
321
537
252
148
6
22
3, 626
170
112
4
15
2,331
537
82
36
2
7
1,295
.
1 According to the International List of Causes of Death.
The largest group of cases of an identified disease listed in the table
(about one-fourth of all cases) consisted of those treated for diseases
of the digestive system, the second largest group (more than one-sixth
of all) diseases of the nervous system and organs of sense, and the
third largest group (about one-twelfth of all) infective and parasitic
diseases.
In examining data on these cases, it should be borne in mind that
the number of cases may be greater than the number of individuals
receiving benefits, because one insured person may appear twice or
more in the total of 13,141 cases. When an eligible, insured person
applies for benefit, the Social Insurance Fund Office approves the
case and provides payment on a scale already established for the
different types of illness. In addition to these records, the Fund has
issued details on the different types of orders granted in the care of the
13,141 cases. Of 25,787 such orders, more than one-quarter were for
medical attention, more than one-quarter for medicines, about onetenth were for dental attention, slightly less than one-tenth for hospi
talization, and the remainder for optical, surgical, laboratory, and other
treatment.
Death benefits.—During the year the Fund provided death benefits
for 216 insured persons. Diseases of the circulatory system accounted
for the death of 22.7 percent of the cases, and infective and parasitic
diseases for'18.7 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Relations
E x ten t of Collective B argaining and U nion Status,
January 1945 1
Union Agreement Coverage
SOME 14% million workers were employed under collective-bargaining
contracts in January 1945. An analysis by the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics indicates that these workers included approximately 47 per
cent of all workers employed in industries and occupations in which
unions are actively engaged in obtaining written agreements with
employers.2 During the year 1944 there was an increase in agree
ment coverage of over half a million workers, which was equivalent
to a 4.5-percent rise in the proportion of employed workers covered
by agreements.
Manufacturing.-—Approximately 65 percent (more than 8% million)
of all production wage earners 3 in manufacturing industries were
employed under the terms of union agreements at the beginning of
1945, representing an increase during the year of 8 percent in the pro
portion of employees working under union agreements.
The largest increases in the proportion of workers under agreement
were in the tobacco and chemical industries and, to a less extent, in the
canned and preserved foods industry. Agreements were negotiated
for the first time with several large aircraft and petroleum-refining
companies, as well as with a number of meat-packing, shoe, leather
tanning, and rubber companies.
The degree of union organization at the beginning of 1945 varied
considerably among the manufacturing industries, although not so
much as among nonmanufacturing industries and trades. Over 90
percent of the production wage earners were working under union
agreements in the aluminum, automobile, basic steel, brewery, fur,
glass, men’s clothing, rubber, and shipbuilding industries, in contrast
to only a little more than 10 percent in the dairy-products industry.
1 For similar data for previous years see M onthly Labor Review, April 1944, February 1943, M ay 1942,
and March 1939.
2 It is estimated that approximately 30M million workers were employed in occupations in which unions
are actively engaged in organizing and seeking to obtain written agreements. In most industries this in
cludes all wage and salary workers except those in executive, managerial, and certain types of professional
positions. It excludes all self-employed, domestic workers, agricultural wage workers on farms employing
fewer than 6 persons, all Federal and State government employees, teachers, and elected and appointed
officials in local governments.
It should be noted that the number of workers covered by union agreements is not the same as union mem
bership. Except under closed- or union-shop conditions, agreements cover nonmembers as well as members
employed within the given bargaining unit. On the other hand, some union members may be working in
unorganized plants and many civil-service employees and teachers are members of unions but are not em
ployed under the terms of bilateral written agreements.
3 Clerical, professional, service, and construction workers, foremen, and truck drivers connected with
manufacturing are treated as occupational groups under nonmanufacturing employees.
816
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Proportion of Wage Earners Under Union Agreements in January 1945
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
80-100 percent
40-60 percent
20-40 percent
Book and job printing and publishing.
Clocks and watches.
Coal products.
Electrical machinery, equipment, and
appliances.
Leather tanning.
Machinery and machine tools.
Millinery and hats.
Paper and pulp.
Petroleum refining.
Railroad equipment.
Rayon yarn.
Tobacco products.
Woolen and worsted textiles.
Baking.
Canning and preserving foods.
Dyeing and finishing textiles.
Flour and other grain products.
Furniture.
Gloves, leather and cloth.
Hosiery,
Jewelry and silverware.
Knit goods.
Leather luggage, handbags, novelties.
Lumber.
Pottery, including chinaware.
Shoes, cut stock and findings.
Steel products.
Stone and clay products.
Beverages, nonalcoholic.
Chemicals, excluding rayon yarn.
Confectionery products.
Cotton textiles.
Paper products.
Silk and rayon textiles.
Dairy products.
Barber shops.
Building servicing and maintenance.
Cleaning and dyeing.
Crude petroleum and natural gas.
Fishing.
Hotels and restaurants.
Laundries.
Nonmetallie mining and quarry
ing.
Taxicabs.
Agriculture.1
Beauty shops.
Clerical and profes
sional, excluding
t r a n s p o r t a t io n ,
c o m m u n ic a tio n ,
theaters, and news
papers.
Retail and wholesale
trade.
1-20 percent
NONMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Actors and musicians.
Airline pilots and mechanics.
Bus and street car, local.
Coal mining.
Construction.
Longshoring.
Maritime.
M etal mining.
Motion-picture production.
Railroads—freight
and
passenger,
shops and clerical.
Telegraph service and maintenance.
Trucking, local and intercity.
Radio technicians.
Theater—stage hands, motion-picture
operators.
Bus lines, intercity.
Light and power.
Newspaper offices.
Telephone service and maintenance.
in d u st r ia l relations
Agricultural equipment.
Aircraft and parts.
Aluminum.
Automobiles and parts.
Breweries.
Carpets and rugs, wool.
Cement.
Clothing, m en’s.
Clothing, women’s.
Furs and fur garments.
Glass and glassware.
M eat packing.
Newspaper printing and publishing.
Nonferrous metals and products.
Rubber products.
Shipbuilding.
Steel, basic.
Sugar, beet and cane.
60-80 percent
i Less than 1 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
00
I— 1
^1
818
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
Nonmanujacturing.—About 33 percent (slightly more than 5% mil
lion) of all nonmanufacturing workers were employed under the terms
of union agreements at the beginning of 1945, representing an in
crease during the year of 6 percent in the proportion of employees
working under agreement.
Over 95 percent of the coal-mining, maritime and longshoring, and
railroad employees, including clerical and supervisory personnel, and
over 90 percent of the employees in the iron-mining and telegraph
industries were employed under union agreements.
Nearly 25 percent of the employees in service occupations and
slightly less than 20 percent of the clerical and professional employees
were under union agreements. A major portion of the clerical and
professional workers in the transportation, communications, and pub
lic utilities industries and practically all actors and musicians were
employed under collective-bargaining agreements. In manufacturing,
financial, and business service establishments, and in wholesale and
retail trade, only about 13 percent of the clerical and professional
employees were under agreement.
Union Status
G E N E R A L T Y PE S
The union-status provisions in employer-imion agreements can be
classified into five general types according to their union-membership
requirements and privileges, as well as to the presence or absence of
check-off arrangements. The various degrees of union recognition or
union security are commonly referred to as closed shop, union shop
with or without preferential hiring of union members, maintenance of
membership, preferential hiring with no membership requirements,
and sole bargaining with no membership requirements. Check-off
arrangements are of two kinds, usually referred to as automatic check
off and check-off by individual authorization.
Under closed-shop agreements all employees are required to be
members of the appropriate union at the time of hiring, and they must
continue to be members in good standing throughout their period of
employment. Most of the closed-shop agreements require employers
to hire through the union unless the union is unable to furnish suitable
persons within a given period, in which case the persons hired else
where must join the union before starting to work.
In contrast to closed-shop agreements, a union-shop agreement
provides that employers have complete control over the hiring of new
employees and such persons need not be union members when hired.
They must, however, become members within a specified time, usually
30 to 60 days, as a condition of continued employment. When a
union-shop agreement, in addition to requiring that all employees
join the union within a specified probationary period, states that union
members shall be given preference in hiring, it differs very little in
effect from the closed-shop agreement In a few cases, employees
hired before a closed- or union-shop agreement is signed are exempt
from the union-membership requirement.
A maintenance-of-membership agreement requires all employees
who are members when the agreement is signed, and all who choose
later to join the union, to retain their membership for the duration of
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
819
the agreement. The maintenance-of-membership provisions estab
lished by order of the National War Labor Board allow 15 days during
which members may withdraw if they do not wish to remain members
for the duration of the agreement.
Some agreements provide for preferential hiring without unionmembership requirements. In other words, union members must be
hired if available, but otherwise the employer may hire nonmembers
and such persons need not join the union as a condition of continued
employment.
Some agreements include no membership requirements as a condi
tion of hiring or continued employment. The union is recognized as
the sole bargaining agent for all employees in the bargaining unit and
is thus responsible for negotiating the working conditions under
which all workers are employed, including those who do not belong to
the union. This type of agreement, unlike the others, does not enable
the union to rely on employment per se to maintain or increase its
membership.
Extent of various types of union-status provisions.—Although the
proportion of workers under closed- and union-shop clauses remained
about the same, the proportion under maintenance-of-membership
clauses continued to increase during 1944. By January 1945, approx
imately 27 percent (3% million) of all persons employed under union
agreements were employed under maintenance-of-membership clauses,
an increase during the year of almost 23 percent in the proportion of
workers under such agreements. About 28 percent (4 million) of
all workers under agreement were employed under closed-shop provi
sions and about 18 percent (2% million) under union-shop agreements.
(About 7 percent of the latter were covered by agreements which
also specified that union members should be given preference in hiring.)
Only 2 percent of all workers under agreement were covered by union
preferential clauses, whereas 25 percent were under agreements which
provided recognition only.
The proportion of workers under agreement covered by various
types of union status in January 1945 is shown by chart 1, for major
industry groups. All clerical, professional, and service workers are
included in the group “other workers.” All trucking and warehous
ing workers are included in “transportation, communication, and
public utilities.” Except for these occupational groups, workers have
been included in the industry in which they are employed.
Manufacturing.—In January 1945, closed-shop provisions covered
approximately 23 percent of all workers under manufacturing agree
ments, and union-shop agreements 20 percent—or together a total of
about 3% million workers. Of the union-shop agreements, about
10 percent also provided that union members should be given prefer
ence in hiring. Most of the wage earners under agreement in the
bakery, brewery, men’s and women’s clothing, and printing and pub
lishing industries were employed under closed- or union-shop clauses.
Substantial proportions of those under agreement in the hosiery and
canned and preserved foods industries, and a majority of those under
agreement in the paper, shoe, shipbuilding, and silk and rayon in
dustries, were working under closed- or union-shop provisions.
About 3% million workers in manufacturing industries were
employed at the beginning of 1945 under maintenance-of-membership
clauses. They included 40 percent of all workers under manufacturing
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
820
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
CHART I
PROPORTION OF WORKERS
UNION AGREEMENT
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
UNDER
BY UNION STATUS PROVIDED
MAJOR INDUSTRY GROUPS
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
821
agreements, representing an increase of about 14 percent during the
year in the proportion employed under such agreements. The
greatest increase over the previous year in the proportion working
under maintenance-of-membership clauses occurred in the nonferrous-metals alloying, rolling and drawing industry (from less than
15 percent to over 50 percent), but there were very substantial
increases in the machinery and machine-tool, nonferrous-metals
smelting and refining, tobacco, woolen and worsted textile, and
electrical-machinery industries.
At the beginning of 1945
maintenance-of-membership clauses covered most of the employees
under agreement in the basic steel industry, a substantial proportion
of those in the agricultural and railroad equipment and meat-packing
industries and a majority of those under agreement in the aluminum,
automobile, electrical-machinery, machinery and machine-tool, rub
ber, tobacco, woolen and worsted textile industries and in the non
ferrous-metals alloying, rolling, drawing, smelting and refining
industries.
• .
Only about 1 percent of all m anufacturing workers under agreement
were employed under preferential-hiring provisions with no unionmembership requirements. In only one m anufacturing industry,
pottery, were such clauses common.
About 16 percent of the workers under agreement in all manu
facturing industries were employed in plants which recognize the
union as sole bargaining agent but do not require union membership
as a condition of hiring or continued employment. In the rayonyarn industry slightly more than half of those under agreement were
covered by such clauses and between a third and a half of those in
the cotton textile, petroleum and coal products, nonferrous-metals
alloying, rolling, and drawing, aircraft, and glass industries.
Nonmanujacturing.—Approximately 36 percent of all workers
under agreements in nonm anufacturing industries and occupations
were covered by closed-shop provisions and about 16 percent bv
union-shop provisions—a total of more than 2% million workers.
Only a few of the union-shop agreements also provided th a t union
members should be given preference in hiring. The closed shop
was provided in almost all agreements in building construction and
trucking and in m any of the agreements covering service and trade
employees such as barbers and employees in building service, laundry,
dry cleaning, and food establishments. Coal miners and a m ajority
of the organized bus and street-railway employees were under unionshop agreements.
About 6 percent of the nonm anufacturing workers under agreement
were employed under membership-maintenance clauses. The greatest
increase over the previous year in the proportion working under
such clauses occurred in wholesale and retail trade, m etal mining,
and crude petroleum and natural gas; in the two last-nam ed indus
tries the m ajority of the employees were covered by such clauses.
Only 4 percent of all nonmanufacturing workers under agreement
were employed under agreements with preferential-hiring provisions
but no union-membership requirements. Only in maritime and
longshoring are such clauses common.
About 38 percent of the workers under agreement in all non
manufacturing industries and occupations were employed under
contracts which recognized the union as sole bargaining agent but
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
822
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
included no membership requirements. More than half of these
workers were employed in the railroad industry, where virtual unionshop conditions prevail, although the agreements do not provide
for union-shop arrangements.
Check-Off Arrangements
During 1944 there was an increase of about 28 percent in the
proportion of workers under agreements who were covered by some
form of check-off provisions. Almost 6 million workers, or more
than 40 percent of all employees under agreement, were covered
by check-off provisions in January 1945. About half were covered
by clauses providing for the automatic check-off of all members’
dues and the other half by clauses which provide for check-off only
for those employees who file individual written authorizations with
the employer. Under some of the latter agreements the authori
zations, once made, continue in effect for the duration of the agree
ment; under others they may be withdrawn whenever the employee
desires. (If working under a closed- or union-shop or maintenanceof-membership agreement, however, the employee must personally
pay his dues to the union if he cancels his check-off.) Although
most of the check-off clauses provide that all dues and assessments
levied by the union shall be collected, some specify “regular dues
only” or check-offs not to exceed a given amount.
Manufacturing.—Almost 4J4 million workers, or more than half of
all workers under agreement in manufacturing industries, were
employed at the beginning of the year under agreements which
provide for’ check-off. Slightly fewer manufacturing workers were
covered by automatic check-off arrangements than by provisions
for check-off upon individual authorization.
During 1944 the proportion of workers under check-off arrange
ments increased about 38 percent. Most of the increase in the
proportion under agreement with check-off arrangements took place
in shipbuilding, although there were considerable increases in the
railroad-equipment and nonferrous-metals alloying, rolling, and
drawing industries. Over 90 percent of the workers under agreement
in the basic steel, railroad-equipment, and hosiery industries were
covered by check-off provisions, and the great majority of those in
the cotton-textile, meat-packing, nonferrous-metals alloying, rolling,
and drawing, shipbuilding, silk and rayon textile, and woolen and
worsted textile industries.
Nonmanufacturing.—About 1% million, or 26 percent of the workers
employed under agreements in nonmanufacturing industries, were
covered by some form of check-off arrangement. Most of these
check-off clauses, including those covering coal miners, specify that
the employer is to deduct the union dues and assessments from the
wages of all members. The agreements for about a third of the
nonmanufacturing employees covered by check-off clauses provided
for check-off only upon authorization of individual employees.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
In d u strial D isputes
Strikes and Lockouts in F ebruary 1945
PRELIMINARY estimates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in
dicate 310 strikes and lockouts in February 1945, involving 109,000
workers and 412,000 man-days of idleness. Idleness was 0.06 per
cent of the available working time.
Strikes and Lockouts in February 1945, with Comparative Figures for Earlier Periods
Strikes and lockouts
beginning in month
Man-days idle in month
Month
Number
Workers
involved
Number
Percent of
available
working
time
February 19451___ _________
------------------------January 1945>-__ ___________ - - - - - - --------------
310
240
109, 000
44,000
412, 000
228, 000
0. 06
.03
February
February
February
February
340
200
181
257
146, 438
38, 841
58, 122
71,875
458,604
117. 279
357, 333
1,134, 531
.06
.02
.06
.20
1944_ _____________ _____ . . - ----------- 1943 _- - - ___ ___ - - - - - - ---1942 . .
. ------ - - ------- 1941____________________ _ ----------------- _
i Preliminary estimates.
Briggs and Chrysler strikes.—In the Detroit (Mich.) area two large
strikes involved more than 20,000 workers and accounted for over
85,000 man-days idle. The first, at the Briggs Manufacturing Co.,
Detroit, involved a question of job classifications for certain workers,
members of the U. A. W.-C. I. O. The second and largest strike in
February occurred at the Chrysler Corporation. Dissatisfaction with
increased production quotas was the underlying cause of the strike,
although the immediate cause was the discharge of a small number of
workers for alleged failure to meet these quotas.
On February 23 a strike began at the Dodge main plant, and on
March 2 workers at the DeSoto-Warren plant struck in sympathy.
Officers of the International Union, U. A. W.-C. I. O., immediately
took steps to get the men back to work. When these failed, as did
efforts of the Detroit War Labor Board, union and company officials
were summoned to a show-cause hearing on March 3 before the Nation
al War Labor Board in Washington. At the hearing, agreement was
reached to resume work—all striking employees to be returned to their
jobs without discrimination, the question of discharges to be handled
through the established grievance machinery, and that of production
quotas to be submitted to arbitration. On March 4 the local union
officially voted to return to work on March 5.
Todd Galveston, Todd Pacific, and Ingalls shivbuilding strikes.—
About 12,000 workers were involved in three strikes in the shipbuild63 6 3 7 2 — 45
-9
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
ing and ship-repair industry and caused almost 60,000 man-days of
idleness. A 6-day strike occurred at the Todd Galveston Dry Docks,
Inc., Galveston (Tex.), when 8 workers were given notices of disci
plinary action contemplated by the company. In addition, the unions
involved, members of the Metal Trades Council, A. F. of L., claimed an
accumulation of unsettled grievances. The men returned to work when
the company agreed to take all workers back—disciplinary action to
be taken up through regular grievance procedure—and when a joint
company-union meeting was scheduled to consider all pending griev
ances.
^ A strike involving 10 unions, members of the Pascagoula M etal
Trades Council, A. F. of L., occurred at the Ingalls Shipbuilding
Corporation in Pascagoula (Miss.) in late February. The under
lying causes of the strike were a renewed demand for' a closed shop,
which had been denied by the WLB Shipbuilding Commission several
m onths earlier, and alleged difficulty in settling grievances through
the established machinery. The workers returned on M arch 1, upon
orders of their international union, pending a WLB hearing on all
issues in dispute.
A 17-day strike at the Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., and Todd
Shipyards Corporation, Seattle (Wash.) Division, involved about
1,400 workers and caused nearly 12,000 man-days of idleness. The
strike was precipitated when the company, which has a closed-shop
contract with the Seattle Metal Trades Council, A. F. of L., covering
all local union affiliates, discharged 6 welders not in good standing
with the International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers, Iron Ship
builders and Helpers of America. Members of the United Brother
hood of Weldors, Cutters and Helpers of America, an independent
union which had several times petitioned the NLBB for elections to
determine jurisdiction over welders in the plants, went out in protest.
They returned to work with the understanding that the National
War Labor Board would make an investigation.
Textile workers strike.—About 14,000 man-days of idleness re
sulted from a strike of members of the United Textile Workers of
America, A. F. of L., at the American Enka Corporation (Enka, N. C.)
in protest against the company’s noncompliance with orders of the
War Labor Board. On February 5 the company had filed a petition
in the Federal Court in Asheville to restrain the union from taking any
steps to make the orders effective; the court issued an order to that
effect and the men struck. The NWLB assumed jurisdiction and when
the strike continued referred the case to the President. The plant
was taken over under Presidential order on February 18, and the men
returned to work.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
825
A ctivities of U. S. C onciliation Service, January 1945
DURING the month of January 1945, the U. S. Conciliation Service
disposed of 1,957 situations, as compared with 2,042 situations in
December 1944. During January 1944, 1,931 situations were closed.
Of the 204 strikes and lockouts handled, 182 were settled success
fully; 22 cases were certified to the National War Labor Board in
which strikes occurred during negotiations, but in 15 cases a Com
missioner of Conciliation had effected a return-to-work agreement
prior to certification of the case. The records indicate that 169 situa
tions were threatened strikes and 1,384 were controversies in which
the employer, employees, or other interested parties asked for the
assignment of a conciliator to assist in the adjustment of disputes.
During the month, 473 disputes were certified to the National War
Labor Board, and in no cases did agencies other than the National
War Labor Board assume jurisdiction. The remaining 200 situations
included 99 arbitrations, 10 technical services, 13 investigations, and
78 requests for information, consultations, and special services.
Cases Closed by U. S. Conciliation Service, January 1945, by Type of Situation and
Method of Handling
All situations- ______________________ __
__ _
Settled bv conciliation .. _
Certified to National War Labor Board _ _ _
Referred to State and local agencies . . . _ __
Decisions rendered in arbitration . _______
Technical services com p leted __________ ___ __ _
Investigation, special services_________ - _______
i Of these, 15 were settled prior to referral.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Strikes
and
lockouts
Threat
ened
strikes
Contro
versies
1,957
204
169
1, 384
1,284
473
182
l 22
145
24
957
427
2
Total
Method of handling
99
10
91
Other
situa
tions
200
99
10
91
Labor Laws and Decisions
R ecent Decisions of Interest to L a b o r1
Decisions on National Labor Relations Act
NLRB’s grievance rules changed by court.—The Hughes Tool Co.,
in a review obtained by it from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,
procured alteration of the order of the National Labor Relations Board
which had incidentally outlined the scope of a union’s duty and in
terest in regard to grievances and the employer’s obligation toward
the union in such m atters.2
The court drew a distinction as to a union’s right of exclusive
representation between bargaining as to rates of pay, wages, hours,
and other conditions of employment, which will fix for the future the
rules of employment for everyone in the unit, and “grievances” which
are usually claims of individuals or small groups for infringement of
their rights under the existing bargain or agreement. The court said
that while grievances are a part of the business of the union under
section II (5) of the act, section 9 (a) does not give the union the ex
clusive right to handle grievances. If the grievance involves only
some question of fact or conduct peculiar to the employee and not
affecting the unit, the union has no right of exclusive participation
unless the questions raised involve bargaining for the unit or an inter
pretation of the bargain.
In general, the court continued, section 9 (a), in giving the individual
employee or group of employees the right to present grievances,
intended full presentation, including the taking of evidence and making
argument. The court decided that an inexperienced worker may, as
to his grievance, ask a more experienced friend to assist in presenta
tion, but that such a worker may not present his grievance through
any union except his elected representative. The designated union,
when not asked to present the grievance but being on hand to safe
guard its contract, cannot exclude the complaining worker, withdraw
his complaint, or prevent consideration of his grievance.
Specifically, the agreement of the certified union provided for an
employee’s discussing trivial m atters directly with a foreman, with or
w ithout the presence of the representative of the certified union or
for his presenting his complaint to the grievance committee of the
union. T h at committee then investigates the m erits and, if judged
substantial, presents the grievance for adjustm ent. Appeals and
1 Prepared in the Office of theSolicitor, Department of Labor. The cases covered in this article represent
a selection of the significant decisions believed to be of special interest. No attempt has been made to reflect
ail recent judicial and administrative developments in the field of labor law nor to indicate the effect of
particular decisions in jurisdictions in which contrary results may be reached, based upon local statutory
provisions, the existence of local precedents, or a different approach by the courts to the issue presented.
2 For N . L. R. B. decision In re Hughes Tool Co. see M onthly Labor Review, October 1944, p. 800.
826
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS
827
further procedures as provided in the agreement were suitable whether
the individual or the grievance committee presented the grievance.
Under such an agreement there is no leeway for the employer to deal
with a rival union on grievances. The court, however, did not con
sider that this action of the employer in dealing with the rival union
constituted a refusal to bargain. The outcome of the case was modi
fication of the Board’s order so as to require the company in future
to cease adjusting grievances through noncertified unions and to
cease adjusting grievances not presented by the grievance representa
tive of the certified union without notice to that representative; this
will give the union opportunity to decide whether the grievance
requires bargaining as to interpretation or change of the agreement
and whether the union desires to participate. The special type of
purely individual case in which the agreement provided for summary
adjustment with the foreman was excepted from the requirement of
notice.
Order vacating representation election not appealable.—The United
States Supreme Court refused an employer’s petition for review of a
decision rendered in Onam v. National Labor Relations Board (145
Fed. (2d) 328), in which the Circuit Court of Appeals had decided
that it was without power to review an order of the National Labor
Relations Board, setting aside a representation election for unfair
labor practices preceding an election.
“Company union” properly excluded from ballot.—The Circuit
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Madden v. Brotherhood
of Transit Employees3 reversed a United States District C ourt4
and approved the position of the National Labor Relations Board.5
The Board had held that it has the power to investigate employer
domination in determining what unions may be on the ballot in a
representation election; and that it is not necessary for the Board
to delay an election to await a full-dress hearing and decision on a
charge of unfair labor practice, consisting of the employer’s sponsoring,
favoring, or dominating the objectionable union, or as an alternative
leave such a union on the ballot. The court said that the Wagner
Act gave the district court no authority to enjoin officers of the Board
from carrying out their official duties and no power of review. In the
field in which review is permitted, that of unfair labor practice,
Congress placed jurisdiction upon the circuit courts of appeals.
Anti-union letter to employees in the service called unfair.—An
intemperate attack on unions, written by an employer to employees
in the service, when considered with other improper efforts to influence
an election, was held to have constituted illegal interference with
the election. The men addressed remain employees, although in the
armed services. Such employees are often included among eligible
voters in representation elections; or certifications are made subject
to review on the return of a sufficient number of servicemen to the
employment. The principle of freedom of speech neither isolates
the letters from other expressions or actions of the employer nor
3
---------------- F e d .--------- January 29,1945.
4 For earlier decisions, analyzed under the name of the Baltimore Transit Co. see M onthly Labor Review,
January 1945, p. 125.
3 Cf. Employees Protective A ssn, of Norfolk v. National Labor Relations B oard,------ Fed. (2d )------ (C. C.
A. 4), January 29,1945, where the decision was that no court has power to review the proceedings conducted
under section 9 (c) of the act except where a final order, under section 10 (c) is based in whole or in part upon
facts certified following an investigation pursuant to section 9 (c).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
wipes out the essential bias and unfairness. (In re Shartle Brothers
Machine Co., 60 N. L. it. B.
, February —, 1945.)
Board refusal to prejudge employer's conduct.—The National Labor
Relations Board, during the period before an election, will not decide
for the employer the legality of proposed conduct, such as taking a
private poll as to the employees’ wishes on union representation.
Such polls have under certain circumstances been violations of the
act. The Board held that prejudgment would be useless, since the
Board cannot prevent a union from preferring charges of unfair
labor practies if the union thinks the charges warranted. (In re HiAlloy Castings Co., 60 N. L. R. B.
, February —, 1945.)
Election ordered to settle union affiliation.—When an existing union
contract with a closed-shop clause fails to state the union’s affiliation
and a dispute arising from an attempt to change affiliation has left
the affiliation in doubt, an employer’s refusal to negotiate without a
new certification raises a question as to the identity of the bargaining
agent which the National Labor Relations Board will solve through
an election.6 The Board said it was not disturbing or invalidating
the agreement but was instituting a necessary proceeding to learn who
should enforce it.
Persons who may be included in “cease and desist order.'”—The
Supreme C ourt of the United States, in Regal Knitwear Co. v. National
Labor Relations Board,1 decided th a t the N ational Labor Relations
Board in its “cease and desist order,” and a circuit court of appeals
in enforcing such an order, may properly include the successors or
assigns of an employer corporation. The result is not to enlarge the
scope of the order b u t to describe persons who may actively participate
in future violations.
A dissenting opinion took the view that just as injunctions are con
fined to prohibiting only violations of a type which occurred in the
past, so these injunctive orders should be confined to the persons
proved to have committed violations. This opinion further said that
it is not the function of the Board or of the courts to make unwarranted
threats against innocent third persons, i. e., the successors and assigns,
or to impose the penalty of reducing the salability of the business.
Economic strike becomes lockout.—The proved facts, in National
Labor Relations Board v. St. Mary's Sewer Pipe Co.,8 were that a union
had brought a charge of discrimination before the Labor Relations
Board against an employer in regard to five employees who had been
discharged. Before this could be heard, the union called a strike as
to wages, which had no relation to the five employees. A settlement
of the wage issue was reached, but after it was ratified by the union
the employer refused to carry it out by taking back the strikers, unless
the union withdrew its charge of discrimination. Imposing this con
dition was held an unfair labor practice by the National Labor Rela
tions Board. The court of appeals affirmed the Board’s order.
National W ar Labor Board Decisions
No escape clause in renewal contract if none in original.—A union had
successfully bargained for maintenance of membership without any
escape clause in its last prior agreement. An order of the Regional
6 In re Register de Tribune Co., —— X . L. R . B. —
i ----- U . S. ------, January 29, 1945.
8 146 Fed. (2d) 995 (C. O. A. 3), January 19, 1945.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
February 2, 1945.
LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS
829
War Labor Board, directing maintenance of membership with the
usual escape clause in a new contract, was revised by the National
War Labor Board by striking out the escape clause. The considera
tions involved included the fact that the union had been found to be
a responsible and democratic organization. (In re Conestoga Transp.
Co. and Amalgamated Assn., Case No. 111-5159-D, December 15,
1944.)
Preferential-hiring clause awarded.—In the seasonal fruit-packing
industry, the Tenth Regional War Labor Board awarded a preferentialhiring clause in a first union agreement, because it found that excep
tional circumstances made such a clause the equivalent of a maintenance-of-membership clause for an industrial union as to the protection
afforded (California Citrus Packers, Case No. 111-9580-D, November
10, 1944). In L. S. Klatscher Co. (Case No. 111-9922, December 22,
1944), the Board weighed the facts—that the union’s membership had
been dissipated by the employer’s unfair labor practices during the at
tempts of the National Labor Relations Board to obtain compliance—
and found the situation so exceptional as to justify a preferential-hiring
clause in addition to maintenance of membership.
Increases from substandard pay retroactive to expiration of prior
agreement .—The National War Labor Board approved the expiration
date of a prior agreement as the retroactive date for wage increases
in a dispute case involving substandard wages. In this case {In re
Pal Blade Co., Case No. 111-4208, December 21, 1944), the regional
board had previously been ordered to work out brackets for sound
and going wage rates for the area and to apply them to the individual
employees. When this had been done, the employer appealed as to
the retroactive date, arguing that the pay should go back no farther
than the regional board’s order applying the bracket rates. In decid
ing to the contrary, the Board distinguished this case from the mere
revision by the Board of brackets previously established, a situation
in which the date of revision is the proper starting date. Since the
correction of substandard wages has been part of the stabilization
program from the beginning, the increase here should be governed by
the general rule as to a new contract, that the retroactive date of any
adjustment directed by this Board should, in the absence of a differing
agreement, be the expiration date of the prior contract.
Certification of guard unit honored by War Labor Board in absence of
court action.— The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati set
aside the National Labor Relations Board certification of a union of
plant guards in the Otis works of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corpora
tion on the ground that such a union was against public policy and
violated the National Labor Relations Act. When a similar situation
was brought before the National War Labor Board, it refused to re
view the order of its regional board fixing employment conditions for
a similar union at the employer’s Pittsburgh plant. In the appeal
(In re Jones <&Laughlin Steel Corp., Case No. 111-6230-D, December
22, 1944), the War Labor Board distinguished between the union
locals, the plants, and the issues (the Sixth Circuit case involved unfair
labor practices) in justifying its refusal to disturb the action of the
regional board.
The W ar Labor Disputes Act requires th a t certification by the
N ational Labor Relations Board of an exclusive bargaining agent for
a specified bargaining unit m ust be accepted by the W ar Labor Board
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
830
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW--- APRIL 194 5
for the purpose of its work in a dispute case. Only a court decision
destroying the certification of the particular local as bargaining agent
at the particular plant, or equivalent action by the National Labor
Relations Board, could relieve the War Labor Board of its duty in
this regard. As to the matter of public policy, the court noted that
the War and Navy Departments have not officially opposed the organ
ization of plant-protection employees who are auxiliary police, if they
are represented by a bargaining union which does not include produc
tion and maintenance workers.
Decisions Relating to Fair Labor Standards Act
Homework lawfully prohibited in embroidery industry.—On February
26, 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion by
Mr. Justice Rutledge, upheld the power of the Administrator of the
Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit homework in a wage order for
the embroideries industry, on the basis of his finding that the prohibi
tion was a term and condition necessary to protect and safeguard the
40-cent minimum rate established by the wage order for that industry
( Gemsco, Inc. v. Walling).9
It was argued that the Administrator could not do this, as the
act nowhere gave him explicit power to regulate or prohibit industrial
homework, either generally or in connection with a wage order. The
Court reasoned that the employer’s argument amounted to a conten
tion that Congress intended the act to be a dead letter in any industry
where homework happens to exist. To the argument that the pro
hibition of homework was not a method of enforcement but a form of
experimental social legislation, the Court answered that the Adminis
trator’s duty to make the rate effective embraces all means found by
him to be necessary for the purpose and does not exclude any means
merely because they may have other social or economic consequences.
Air. Justice Roberts filed a dissenting opinion which was concurred
in by Mr. Chief Justice Stone. Mr. Justice Frankfurter filed a sepa
rate opinion concurring with the result reached by the majority.
Child labor no less illegal because unprofitable.—Violation of the
child-labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act by a bakery
corporation must be terminated, and entry of an injunction against
the employer is required as the only proper exercise of the court’s
discretion, when the employer, after a warning that there are viola
tions, continues or repeats the violation or fails to supply an assurance
that the violation will not be continued (Lenroot v. Interstate Bakery
Corp., 146 Fed. (2d) 325). The lower court had refused an injunction
because it considered the violations “not seriously and injuriously”
against the public interest and found the corporation gained no “ advan
tage or special profit” from employing the children who were hired
by agents in its branch plant, contrary to the “declared policy” of the
employer. The appellate court said the duty of a large corporation
does not end with issuing orders to its foremen; the management must
inquire into conditions and must carry out its responsibility for avoid
ing violation. The court’s discretion must be exercised in the light
of the public interest, which is seriously involved, in putting an end
to the evil of oppressive child labor.
9 65 Sup. Ct. 605, February 26, 1945.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS
831
Subpena power oj Wage-Hour Administrator, as applied to news
papers.—Two United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, the tenth in
Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling10 and the third in Walling
y . News Printing Co., Inc.,n recently held (1) that it is not a violation
of freedom of the press to require a newspaper publisher to produce his
records of hours worked by his employees and wages paid to them,
pursuant to an administrative subpena issued under the Fair Labor
Standards Act and (2) that such subpena should be enforced by the
court without requiring proof from the Administrator that the news
paper is covered by the act. Both courts noted that Congress sup
plied the Administrator with subpena power to aid him in the investi
gation of what the newspapers erroneously claimed must be proved as
a condition for use of the subpena.
Mechanics of automobile service company within Wage and Hour
Law.—Mechanics of a service company, who grease, repair, and main
tain equipment of another business which uses this equipment for the
interstate movement of automobiles and Army matériel, are within
the Fair Labor Standards Act and are not exempt, according to
the decision in Poutell v. Walling}2 They are not in an exempt service
establishment, because the greater part of their work is not done in
intrastate commerce. On the contrary, in servicing vehicles which
move in interstate commerce, they are part of that commerce. On
the other hand, in addition to being in interstate commerce, their
work affects safety of operation; but as their employer is neither a
common, contract, nor private carrier, the motor carrier exemption is
inapplicable.13 The Interstate Commerce Commission has jurisdiction
over workers doing such work only when they are emplojmes of carriers,
and its jurisdiction fixes limits for the exemption.
Effect of Wage and Hour Law on coal distributors.—A United States
District Court in Tennessee, in Walling v. West Kentucky Coal Co. , 14
resolved a number of dubious points as to coverage and exemption in
a complicated coal-distribution business. From coal mines in Ken
tucky owned by the employer, coal is transported, on a railroad owned
by it and barges operated by it, to other States, including a depot in
Tennessee. The employees of that depot were involved in this enforce
ment action of the Administrator of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Court decided that—
1. Employees ordering, receiving, unloading, and screening coal
coming from other States and doing equivalent work on coal before
its out-of-State shipm ent are within the coverage of the act because
they are engaged in interstate commerce.
2. Employees engaged in screening coal and in activities involved
in supplying coal to consumers (even within the State), where the
coal is consumed in producing goods for interstate commerce, are
within the act as engaged in activities necessary to the production of
goods for interstate commerce.
3. As to the retail establishment, the exemption of section 13(a) (2)
was held inapplicable. The court so held (a) because the establish
ment made a substantial amount of its domestic sales to nonretail
purchasers, such as peddlers, commercial and industrial consumers,
institutions, and Government agencies, and such sales were larger in
i° — Fed. (2 d )----- , February 15, 1945.
u ----- Fed. (2 d )------ , March 5, 1945.
12 _ Fed. (2d) — (C. C. A. 6), February 14, 1945.
» 29 U. S. C„ sec. 213 (b) (1).
----- Fed. S u p p .------ , December 1, 1944.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
832
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
quantity and less in price than the retail sale to a domestic consumer,
(b) because an establishment in which work is done on goods sold is
not a retail establishment regardless of the nature of the sales, if the
work is not merely incidental to such retail sales as are made there,
and (c) because the application of the exemption to an establishment
cannot be determined by the trade meaning given to “retail dealers’’
in the coal business or by Government agencies dealing with the coal
business, as such, when to do so would produce a result peculiar to
the coal industry, since retail establishments in all industries are
equally to be exempt or nonexempt on the basis of uniform tests.
4.
As to other exemptions, the court determined that during any
workweek, truck drivers, although crossing State lines, if they spend
the major portion of hours worked delivering coal intrastate to indus
trial consumers who need the coal to produce goods for commerce, were
engaged in “production” and not in “commerce” within the scope of
the motor carrier exemption, section 13 (b) (1). However, employees
of tugboats performing commercial tug service for boats and barge
fleets in interstate commerce were seamen, exempt under section
13(a) (3). Employees generally, who perform covered work and ex
empt or noncovered work during the same workweek, come within
the act on a workweek basis.
Refrigeration-truck mechanic within Fair Labor Standards Act.—An
employee, whose work consisted entirely of servicing equipment used
in the hauling and selling of ice cream and who did his work on the
trucks moving across State lines and while they were at depots from
which they would be sent across State lines, was engaged in inter
state commerce and entitled to the benefits of the Fair Labor Stand
ards Act. The exemption as to employees of motor carriers whose
work affects safety of operation was held inapplicable because the
connection between the refrigeration equipment and safety of opera
tion of trucks is remote. Further, the exemptions for the first
processing of milk or cream, the handling of agricultural commodities
in their raw or natural state, and the making of dairy products were
inapplicable. (Colbeck v. Fairyland Creamery Co., 17 N. W. (2d) 262.)
Class action open for other employees.—After service employees
brought suit for unpaid overtime for themselves “ and other em
ployees similarly situated,”15 a California court had refused to permit
an amendment by which 38 of their co-employees would be included
in the action. The reason for refusal was that these new claimants
might not be “ similarly situated” because the date of the original
suit might be within the time limit for such actions but not the date
at which the additional employees joined the proceedings. In revers
ing the lower court, the Circuit Court of Appeals, in Culver v. Bell &
Loffiand, Inc. (146 Fed. (2d) 29), decided that Congress intended to
avoid a multiplication of suits and for this purpose a liberal construc
tion of the law must be adopted. The new claims must be treated as
if they had been expressly made in the action as originally brought.
The same principle of liberal interpretation was applied in Distelhorst v. Day & Zimmerman (.58 Fed. Supp. 334) by the United States
District Court in Iowa, which said that courts in considering who is
“ similarly situated” should not be governed by how much or what
degree of similarity there may or may not be but should permit class
actions if there is any similarity. On this principle, the court per1» 29 U. S. C„ sec. 216 (b).
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mitted an action by a building foreman to be joined by his fellowemployees who did very different classes of work, but each of whom
was a foreman or the equivalent.
Bonuses included in regular rate of pay.—In the business under
consideration, in Walling v. Richmond Screw Anchor Co.,16the employer
had, since 1933, paid a bonus of 10 percent on the base salary of
employees, distributed monthly in accordance with a decision of its
board of directors. The bonus was subject to discontinuance if the
company’s finances became depleted. In the instant case the Ad
ministrator of the Fair Labor Standards Act succeeded in enjoining,
as a violation of law, the employer’s failure to include the bonus in
the base pay upon which overtime was paid under that act. In
granting the injunction, the court incidentally decided that the claims
that the bonus is a mere gift and that there is no binding obligation
on the employer to pay the bonus do not decide the case, because
the bonus was actual and legal compensation. Regardless of exist
ence of a legal right to claim the bonus, the test is whether the bonus
regularly and actually reaches the employee’s pocket. The purpose
of the act, to discourage overtime work by making it costly, is evaded
if employer and employee can agree on compensation at a rate satis
factory to both and then agree that overtime shall be based on a
smaller scale. The court also decided that an incentive bonus paid
in relation to production is part of the “ regular” rate of pay. Though
the employer and employee had not intended to evade the act in this
case, the court said that the situation was governed by the decision
of the Supreme Court in Walling v. Helmerich <&Payne (326 U. S. 37)17
and not by Walling v. Belo Corp. (316 U. S. 624).
New time limitation not applicable to employee suits.—In Iowa, an
act passed in 1943 provided that “ in all cases wherein a claim has
arisen pursuant to the provisions of any Federal statute, where no
period of limitation is prescribed, the holder of such claim * * *
may commence action within * * * 6 months after the accrual
of such claims.”18 In Keen v. Mid-Continent Petroleum Corp.,19 it
was decided that under Iowa decisions, contracts implied in law are re
garded as “ founded on written contract” as far as the period of limita
tion is concerned; that the action under the Wage and Hour Law is
essentially contractual; therefore, either the Iowa statute relating to
unwritten contracts or that relating to written contracts will control
and not the new statute.
Another district court in Iowa, in Kavlen v. Republic Pictures Corp.,29
dealt with this same 1943 statute of limitation,18 and held that it was
not a general statute of limitations but one directed to the provisions
of a Federal statute and therefore invalid. This court said that acts
of Congress within the sphere of delegated authority of the United
States are supreme and the Iowa Legislature has no right to add, to
a Federal statute, provisions limiting rights granted therein by Con
gress.21 This is true, said the court, though in the absence of a congressionally stated time limit, the general statute of the State guides
is----- Fed. Supp.------ (D . C. N . Y .), January 13,1945.
n For full discussion, see M onthly Labor Review, January L945, p. 121.
18 O. 267, 50 G. A. I. sec. 1.
19 _ _ Fed. S u pp.----- (U. S. D . C. Northern Iowa), January 11, 1945.
28----- Fed. S u p p .------ , February 8, 1945.
2i Compare decisions in Kurth v. Clarke Lumber Co. and Fullerton v. Lamm od the Oregon statute dis^
cussed in the M onthly Labor Review for March, 1945, p. 593.
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the court as to the period within which a litigant must commence
action.
Labor Decisions in State Courts
I
Union member's rights not hurt by union war fund against anti-closedshop amendment.—An injunction was asked by plaintiff in the Cali
fornia State C ourt in the case of DeMille v. American Federation of
Radio Artists,22 to prevent plaintiff’s suspension or expulsion by a
local and national union of artists for nonpaym ent of an assessment.
The suspension would prevent his fulfilling a radio contract because of
a union rule under which other artists would not work with him if he
were not in good standing with the union. The assessment which he
refused to pay was one legally voted by the board of the local to finance
opposition to a proposed constitutional amendm ent which would have
outlawed the closed shop. Plaintiff had received due notice and
explanation of the purpose of the assessment and he had refused to
pay.
In denying the injunction, the court applied the following reason
ing: (1) The California courts have recognized the closed shop as a
valued tenet of organized labor in furtherance of which it may law
fully strike or picket; (2) the amendment which would have made it
unlawful to “ abridge” the right to work by requiring the closed shop
or maintenance of membership was of vital interest to the union;
(3) it is well known that some persons who are union members under
closed-shop agreements are anti-closed shop and even anti-union and
pay dues merely to obtain work; (4) the union assessment did not
interfere with plaintiff’s freedom of speech or his right to vote according
to his individual views at the election; (5) the opposition to impair
ment of trade-unionism by a constitutional amendment is not a polit
ical activity like an attempt to elect or defeat a candidate for office;
(6) the use of the money was not a violation of the Federal Corrupt
Practices Act merely because the amendment was submitted in an
election in which Federal officials were also being elected; (7) it was not
beyond the power of the union to spend its ordinary funds in such
cases for the betterment of its members; (8) the constitution and
bylaws of the local union plus other fundamental documents constitute
a contract binding on its later acquired members, and in this case
they grant power to levy assessments and automatically operate to
suspend a member who fails to pay such assessment, without any
requirement of notice or hearing; and (9) this method of discipline,
being part of the contract, infringes no rights and affords no ground
for complaint.
State court acts when National Labor Relations Board has not acted.—
A candy m anufacturer who bought raw m aterials and sold his products
m interstate commerce asked the court, under the S tate’s Declaratory
Judgm ent Act, to determine whether he was bound by a closed-shop
agreement. The employer claimed th a t he signed the agreement under
threat of picketing, not only against him but against his customers for
dealing with him, during the period when he shipped his Christm as
stock. At the time the contract was signed, the union did not repre
sent a m ajority of the employees.
22----- Pac. (2 d )------ (Calif. Sup. C t.), January 24, 1945.
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835
The court of appeals reversed the action of the court below and
directed it to proceed to a hearing and decision of the case. (Pearson
Candy Co., Ltd., v. Waits.)2* In the absence of a paramount act of
the Federal Government depriving the State court of power, the power
exists under the State Declaratory Judgment Act to consider the bind
ing effect of the agreement. The union had itself applied to the Na
tional War Labor Board which, suggesting that the question of
representation was one for the National Labor Relations Board “ or
other tribunal of competent authority/’ directed that the contract
be carried out until its invalidation or normal end. The State court
considered itself a competent tribunal such as the Board mentioned.
Intra-union dispute decided under union-control law.—Members of
a union local and its international, for the benefit of their fellow mem
bers and the local, asked a Texas court for a receiver and audit for the
union local, claiming that the following had occurred in violation of
the union constitution and bylaws: (1) Local officials had committed
financial irregularities and refused audit. (2) After informal com
plaint the international president had made an informal inquiry and
then taken over the property of the local and appointed as manager
for it one of the suspected local officials. (3) The latter, acting as
manager and claiming to have been ousted as an official, usurped the
paid elective office of business agent, discharging the regularly chosen
business agent. (4) As business m anager, he coerced and threatened
to bar from employment union members, including the plaintiff,
compelling them to submit to his domination. (5) Meetings and
elections were prevented by the m anager, and the union had ceased to
function under its basic laws and as a union. (6) Formal appeal to
the international union had been rejected and, without court inter
vention, any resistance by members would cost them their union
standing and their jobs.
The lower court had acted on the principle of noninterference in
internal affairs of labor unions. However, the Texas Court of Civil
Appeals, in Lundine v. McKinney 2i reversed the decision, saying that
the noninterference doctrine has an exception when the members’
property rights or right to earn a living are involved; in that situation
a court will inquire whether the proceedings within the union followed
its laws and rules and whether they violated the laws of the land.
The court will protect rights from damage by appointing a receiver
if necessary, acting under the union-control law.
Declaratory judgment not proper in representation case under State
Labor Relations Act.—In regard to a representation election for chainstore employees, requested by a union which was challenged by a
rival, the Supreme Court of New York decided25 that sections 704
and 706 of the State Labor Relations Law deal with “unfair labor
practices,” an entirely different type of activity from the investiga
tion under section 705 to certify representatives for collective bar
gaining, and that the former but not the latter is subject to review
(section 707). Accordingly, a declaratory judgment will not be
rendered on a representation question.
23 154 Pac. (2d) 913 (Calif.), December 28,1944.
—— S. W. (2d) —— , September 22, 1944.
25----- N . Y . Supp. ——, January 1, 1945.
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Miscellaneous Decisions
Roadhouse entertainers held in peonage.—In reviewing a conviction
of peonage, which consists of holding a person in compulsory service
based on a real or pretended debt, the F ifth Circuit C ourt of Appeals,
in Pierce v. United States (146 Fed. (2d) 84), upheld the finding of
guilty. The testim ony was th a t defendant procured the release from
jail of young women convicted as “vagrants” by paying their fines,
in some instances with an express agreement th a t they would repay
him by working in his roadhouse. Shortly after their release and
while they were working in the roadhouse, defendant bought clothing
for the girls and thereafter refused to let them leave because they
were in debt to him, telling them th a t they had to stay until the debt
was paid. The girls tended bar, acted as waitresses and hostesses,
and engaged in other activities a t the roadhouse. These facts were
held to constitute the crime of peonage on the p art of the owner of
the roadhouse. A dissenting opinion was filed as to those girls who
had not actually agreed to work out debts but who remained because
of fear of physical violence. The m ajority of the court, however, did
not consider th a t the claim was related to the am ount of the debt or
•the method of coercion. The crime exists when a person is held
against his wTill and made to work to pay a debt.
Employer liable for neglect of helpless and stricken worker.—A trackmaintenance worker had heat prostration on the job. The foreman
told him to quit work and had part of the work gang take him home.
There was no one at home and the worker was in no condition to
summon help and died after he was left alone there. In Szabo v.
Pennsylvania R. R. Co. (40 Atl. (2d) 562), an action to recover for
the death caused by lack of due care, the Court of Errors and Appeals
in New Jersey reinstated a jury verdict allowing recovery for the
death, and rejected the defense that the employer had no duty toward
the worker and that the foreman was acting on his own responsibility,
so that the railroad was not responsible for what he did or left undone.
The court said that although in the absence of a contract or statute,
the employer has no duty to provide medical service or means of care
to an injured employee even if the employer’s carelessness caused
the injury, there is a recognized exception. When an employee at
work suffers sickness or injury, whether or not through the master’s
fault, to such an extent as to be helpless to provide for his own care,
the master must put in his reach such medical care and other assist
ance as the emergency requires. The duty arises out of strict neces
sity and expires with the emergency. Whether adequate provision
was made under all the facts is a jury question.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wage and Hour Statistics
H ourly E arnings in th e A m m unition-Loading Industry,
19441
Summary
A BUREAU of Labor Statistics wage survey in ammunition-]oading
plants reveals that the straight-time average earnings of workers in
representative key jobs amounted to 77 cents an hour in shell- and
bomb-loading plants and to 71 cents an hour in bag-loading plants.
Among occupations studied in shell- and bomb-loading plants,
average earnings ranged from 51 cents an hour for janitresses to $1.47
an hour for class A tool and die makers. Occupations with average
earnings ranging between 65 and 75 cents an hour accounted for well
over half of the workers, while slightly less than a third were in oc
cupations averaging between 75 and 90 cents an hour.
In bag-loading plants, occupational earnings ranged from 48 cents
for janitresses to $1.31 for class A pipe fitters. Nearly 87 percent of
all the workers studied in this branch of the industry were employed in
occupations in which the average hourly earnings ranged from 60
to 80 cents.
The ammunition-loading industry is outstanding for the large per
centage of women it employs. These workers accounted for nearly
three-fifths of the entire labor force of the plants covered by the survey.
The employment of women is somewhat greater in bag-loading plants
than in bomb- and shell-loading plants. Nearly two-thirds of the
employees in bag loading were women. In contrast to the situation
in many other manufacturing industries, the employment opportu
nities for women in ammunition loading are not limited to a few
specialized jobs. Aside from certain indirect jobs which involve either
very heavy work or long experience, women were found in nearly
every occupation selected for study.
Wartime Development of the Industry
To supply the facilities needed for loading bombs and artillery am
munition on a scale commensurate with other wartime operations has
required the building of an entire industry in a period of less than 5
years. In this branch of the ordnance industry, unlike many others,
private production facilities could not be converted from other in
dustries because of the highly specialized type of plant and equipment
needed. During peacetime, the few existing Government owned and
i Prepared in the Bureau’s Division of Wage Analysis by Edith M . Olsen, under the supervision of Victor
S. Baril. For comparison with earnings in the explosives manufacturing industries, see M onthly Labor
Review, March 1945 (p. 603).
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
operated manufacturing arsenals were able to load ammunition in
sufficient quantity to meet the relatively smad requirements of the
Army aud Navy. Although some expansion of these arsenals was
possible, their production has been completely overshadowed by the
large new plants built by the Goverument since September 1939.
All of these new loading plants, although owned by the Government,
are operated by private companies. Although many of these com
panies had had no experience in either the explosives or the ammu
nition industries prior to the war, they did have the managerial
experience needed for large-scale production of war materials.
The ammunition-loading industry is widely scattered geographically.
Only five States—Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Massachusetts, and
Pennsylvania—had more than two plants in operation at the time of
the present survey. The few plants in the Northeastern States are
relatively small. In line with the Government’s general policy of
decentralizing the war industries for strategic reasons, the loading
plants built during this war are scattered throughout the interior
States of the country. Other factors which entered into the selection
of plant sites for the new loading plants were reasonable proximity to
other plants in the munitions program, such as those manufacturing
the high explosives, gunpowder, and metal components of ammuni
tion; availability of natural resources, transportation and housing
facilities, and labor supply; and safety of surrounding communities.
Consequently, these plants are typically located at some distance
from already crowded industrial centers, and have normally been
built on large tracts of land in isolated rural areas.
Nature of the Industry
The information contained in this report is based on a Bureau of
Labor Statistics survey of privately operated plants loading aircraft
bombs and artillery ammunition. The study included the loading
into bags of propellent charges for large-caliber weapons, as well as
the loading of component shell and bomb parts, such as fuzes,
“boosters,” primers, and detonators. For the purposes of this study,
artillery ammunition is defined as ammunition used in cannon of all
calibers or, more specifically, in weapons of 20 mm. or more.
The two basic types of explosives used in military ammunition are
propellants and high explosives. The distinction between the two is
made largely on the basis of the speed with which explosion occurs
after the charge has been set off. Propellants are relatively mild
explosives whose rate of combustion is comparatively slow and which
build up pressure gradually. The principal function of the propellent
charge is to exert enough pressure on the projectile to propel it from
the gun at the required rate of speed. Smokeless powder is at present
used almost universally as a propellant.
High explosives burn with such extreme rapidity that they cause
almost instantaneous reaction. There are numerous types of high
explosives, and in military use they serve as bursting charges in shells
and bombs and as initiators. The function of the bursting charge,
which most have great shattering power and which is carried in
the cavity or body of shells and bombs, is to shatter the metal case
into fragments. Although several different kinds of high explosives
are used, the most commonly used bursting charge is TNT or a mix
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WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
839
tore of TNT and ammonium nitrate, which is called amatol. Very
sensitive high explosives, classified as initiators, are used in small
amounts for setting off less-sensitive explosives and are usually loaded
into the detonator, fuze, and booster. Since the bursting charge
in shells and bombs is relatively insensitive to shock, these initiating
explosives are loaded into a small detonator which is placed in the
fuze, and into the booster which is generally assembled to the loaded
fuze. Chief among the initiating explosives are mercury fulminate
and lead azide, which are contained in the detonator, and tetryl, the
typical booster explosive. The initial detonation, which is controlled
by the fuze, explodes the tetryl charge in the booster, which in turn
sets off the main or bursting charge of the shell or bomb.
Bombs are explosive missiles designed to be released over the tar
get from aircraft. There are many different types and models of
bombs, each serving a specific purpose. In general, however, they
consist of a metal casing filled with the main high-explosive charge,
a booster, one or more fuzes, a fin assembly for stabilizing the fliglit
, of the bomb through the air, and an arming-wire assembly to prevent
the bomb from exploding prematurely.
Artillery projectiles are in many respects similar to bombs. The
obvious differences are in size and in the method of projection from
the point of release to the target. Bombs, which are released from
aircraft, need no propellent charge to send them to their target.
Projectiles fired from guns, on the other hand, require a propellent
charge of slow-burning gunpowder to force them from the bore of the
gun. A complete round of artillery ammunition, which includes all
of the component parts necessary to fire the cannon once, includes,
ordinarily, the main bursting charge (which is enclosed in the body
of the projectile), a fuze and booster assembly, a propellent charge,
and a primer loaded with black powder which performs the function
of setting off or firing the propellent powder.
Depending upon the method of loading the propellent charge,
artillery ammunition is classified as fixed, semifixed, or separateloading ammunition. In fixed ammunition the propellent charge is
carried as loose powder in thé cartridge case, which is rigidly crimped
to the projectile. In semifixed ammunition, the propellent powder is
assembled in the cartridge case in bags or increments of varying
sizes, and the projectile is easily separated from the cartridge case to
allow removal of increments which may not be needed under certain
firing conditions. In both fixed and semifixed ammunition the
primer is rigidly pressed into the base of the cartridge case. Both
types of ammunition are also loaded into the cannon with the primed
cartridge case attached to the projectile. In separate-loading am
munition, which is used for large-caliber cannon, the projectile and
the propellent charge are loaded into the gun separately rather than
as a unit. The propellent charge for such ammunition is usually
contained in one or more cylindrical bags. Similarly, the primer, or
igniter charge (which consists of a small amount of black powder), is
contained in cloth bags and loaded into the gun separately.
PR O C E SS OF M A N U F A C T U R E
Both shell- and bag-loading plants require very extensive plant
facilities. A typical loading plant built during thé present war
covers many acres of ground, and the various operations are carried
(536 3 72— 45------ 10
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
on in widely separated buildings in order to minimize the hazard.
The processes involved in the loading of bombs and large-caliber
artillery shells are very similar and require the same general type of
plant equipment. Bombs are, therefore, generally loaded in plants
which also perform shell-loading operations.
Shell and bomb loading.—The m anufacturing process carried on in
a shell- or bomb-loading plant consists largely of the final assembly
of component m aterials into complete ammunition. The explosives,
shell or bomb casings, cartridge cases, fuzes, primers, boosters, and
detonators are received from outside m anufacturers. They are then
inspected and stored, until required, in the loading departm ents.
The loading and assembling of these materials is carried on as an
assembly-line process. Various departm ents or so-called “load
lines” are m aintained for the processing of each particular type of
ammunition. Thus, a plant m ay have, in addition to one or more
shell- or bomb-load lines, separate lines for loading such component
parts as detonators, fuzes, primers, and boosters. In some cases,
however, these smaller components are received from other plants,
already loaded w ith the explosive charge and ready for final assembly
into the completed projectile.
The main loading operation for shells and bombs is generally
performed by either the melt-load or the press-load process. On
the load line, the shell or bomb casings are cleaned, inspected, and
painted. Large-caliber shells and bombs are usually filled by the
melt-load process, the m ajor operations of which consist in screening,
melting, and pouring the main explosive or bursting charge into the
shell or bomb cavity. The most commonly used bursting charge is
T N T , which is readily melted either alone or with ammonium ni
trate. After the T N T has hardened, the booster and fuze are in
serted. Some large-caliber shells are shipped to combat zones unfuzed,
and the fuze is assembled in the field prior to firing the shell. In the
case of fixed and semifixed rounds of ammunition, the projectile is
assembled to the cartridge case, which contains the propellent charge
and artillery primer. The final operations involve labeling and pack
ing or crating for storage or shipment. Inspection is carried on
continuously a t each stage of the operation.
The operations performed on the lines loading shells by the press
load process differ somewhat from those where the melt-loading process
is used. The main explosive charge is loaded into the projectile in
a dry, rather than molten state, and consolidated into the shell by
means of a hydraulic press. Press loading is most generally applied
to smaller-caliber shells, such as those used in 20-mm. and 40-mm.
cannon.
The process of loading such component parts as fuzes, boosters,
detonators, and primers is largely confined to very simple assembly
work. Artillery primers, the bodies of which are metal tubes filled
with a specified am ount of black powder, are generally loaded on a
volumetric loading machine. The heads, containing a small percus
sion element which ignites upon friction from the firing pin, are
staked to the loaded bodies. M ost of the operations on the prim er
load lines are mechanized.
The m ethod of loading detonators, fuzes, and boosters varies
somewhat from plant to plant, b u t in general the operations involve
a large am ount of bench assembly work. On the booster-loading line,
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WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
841
for instance, each m inute task is performed a t long tables having
numerous stations. Although most of the operations are performed
by hand, small crimping and staking machines are used a t the tables
to assemble the various parts.
Bag loading.—The loading of propellent charges into ammunition
bags for semifixed and separate-loading amm unition is a far more
simple operation and requires equipment quite different from th a t
found in bomb- and shell-loading plants. The m ajor operations
involved in the bag-loading plants are the cutting and sewing
of cloth bags of various _sizes and the loading of these bags with
specific amounts of smokeless powder for propellent charges or black
powder for igniter charges.
In the hag-making department the cloth is spread and cut into
specified sizes and shapes, depending upon the type of charge which
is to be loaded. After identification of the charge has been printed
on these pieces of cloth, they are sent to the sewing room to be made
into bags by seaming on power sewing machines. An opening is
left in the bag for pouring in the powder charge.
The bag-loading lines are made up of the buildings for the actual
loading of the gunpowder and a number of widely separated and
barricaded storage magazines. The bag-loading buildings are divided
into small rooms with thick concrete walls between them for safety
of the operators. In these small rooms, each having only a limited
number of operators, the explosive powder is carefully weighed and
poured into the bags which have been transferred from the bag-making
department. The bag is then closed on a sewing machine and is
ready for final inspection and packing. For certain types of am
munition, several bags are tied together before packing, to form a
charge made up of several increments.
Scope andrMethod of Survey
This report is based on a survey of the earnings of workers in plants
loading bombs and artillery ammunition and includes virtually all of
the establishments which were engaged in the loading of these prod
ucts during the summer of 1944. Data were obtained for 38 plants;
35 of these were loading bombs and shells or their component parts
and employed a total of approximately 133,000 workers, and the 3
others were loading propellent powder bags for semifixed and sepa
rate-loading ammunition and employed about 13,000 workers.
Because of the many different types of shells, bombs, and com
ponent parts processed in these ammunition-loading plants, wide
variations existed from plant to plant in the scope of operations.
Eight plants, for instance, were loading only such components as
detonators, fuzes, boosters, or primers. A number of the plants were
loading large shells and bombs by the melt-loading process, while
others loaded smaller shells by pressing or consolidating the explosive
charge into the shell cavity. Some component parts were also loaded
in most of the shell- and bomb-loading plants. Operations in the
three bag-loading plants, however, were in each instance confined to
the making and filling of ammunition bags.
The wage data were collected from plant pay-roll records by trained
field representatives of the Bureau, who used written job descriptions
in classifying workers in each plant studied. The duties performed by
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
842
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
workers included within the individual occupational groups are,
therefore, closely comparable despite any interplant differences in
operations which m ay have existed at the time of the survey. Unusual
difficulty was encountered in ascertaining the exact numbers of workers
w ithin each occupational group because of the frequent shifting of
workers from one job to another as a result of changes in production
schedules. The distribution of workers by occupation shown in this
report, therefore, represents an averaging of different types of opera
tions in these plants rather than an exact occupational distribution
as of a particular time. The influence of this factor on the hourly
earnings presented in the report is negligible, as the change from one
job to another generally consists merely of a change of station within
the same departm ent or to some other job for which the same wage
rate obtains.
Detailed wage data were obtained for 98,022 workers employed in
the occupations selected for study. Somewhat more than two-thirds
of all the workers employed by the 38 plants covered were classified
in these selected occupations, which are believed to be representative
of the various levels of skill and earnings in the industry. In each
plant visited, the field representative also obtained such other items
of information as scope of operations, number of shifts worked, extent
of unionization, entrance rates paid to male common labor, methods
of wage payment, and the plant policy with regard to premium pay
ments for overtime and late-shift work. This general information
was found helpful for interpreting the earnings data which constitute
the chief objective of the study. The occupational wage data repre
sent straight-time average hourly earnings, excluding premium pay
ments for overtime work and for work on late shifts. In the main,
the data relate to typical pay-roll periods in June 1944.
The Labor Force
The recruitm ent and training of workers was one of the most
serious problems confronting the ammunition-loading industry in the
early m onths of the war. As the industry has no real counterpart in
peacetime, literally the entire labor force had to be trained by the
few people already familiar with the operations. For a large per
centage of the workers recruited by the loading plants, this employ
m ent involved moving from rural areas and represented their first
experience in a m anufacturing plant. Moreover, m any of the workers,
particularly the women, were entering the labor force for the first
time.
The ammunition-loading industry is outstanding for the large per
centage of women it employs. These workers accounted for nearly
three-fifths of the entire labor force of the plants covered by the sur
vey. The employment of women is somewhat greater in bag-loading
plants than in bomb- and shell-loading plants. Nearly two-thirds
of the employees in bag loading were women. In ammunition
loading, unlike m any other m anufacturing industries, the employ
m ent opportunities for women are not limited to a few specialized jobs.
Aside from some of the indirect jobs which involve either very heavy
work or long experience, women were found in nearly every occupation
selected for study.
Total plant employment varied widely in the plants studied. The
actual range was from fewer than 200 workers in the smallest plant
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
843
to more than 10,000 in the largest. All but 13 of the plants employed
over 2,000 workers.
Nearly all of the operations in the loading and assembling of am
munition involve unskilled or semiskilled work, and the training period
is relatively short. In fact, most of the jobs require as little as one
week of training. Undoubtedly, the most important feature in the
training of new workers is that of impressing them with the importance
of observing safety precautions and rules in the handling of explosives.
Many other steps are also taken to reduce the accident hazard. The
loading plants are so constructed as to provide every possible protec
tion for the workers. The plants are spread over large tracts of land,
and the individual buildings in which explosives are handled are widely
separated so as to confine any accidents to only a small part of the
plant and thus reduce to a minimum the possibility of endangering
large numbers of workers. Safety regulations are of the strictest
and apply to all persons entering the processing areas of the plants.
Typical safety regulations are the prohibition against carrying matches
or wearing shoes with exposed nails in the production areas. Only
a specified number of persons and a limited quantity of explosives are
allowed in any one building at a given time. Particularly hazardous
operations are performed behind shields or barricades. The result
of these and many other precautions is reflected in the low accidentfrequency record of the industry during the present war.
For the most part, the operations involved in the loading and as
sembling of ammunition have been divided into many small and simple
tasks, each of which is assigned to a different operator. In most
plants there is considerable shifting of workers from one job to another,
caused principally by (1) an attempt to offset the monotony of
routine and repetitive work and (2) the continual changes made in
production schedules and in the size and type of ammunition being
processed.
Some steps in the loading process require that large numbers of
workers be assigned to certain operations. Very considerable pro
portions of the workers on the lines loading bombs, shells, and com
ponent parts, for instance, are assigned to assembly work. Numerous
operators are also required for the packing and crating departments
on all load lines. On the melt-load line, the operators pouring the
molten TNT into shell and bomb cavities comprise sizable groups.
Relatively few workers, on the other hand, are employed as kettlemen
and draw-off operators, whose duties are to tend the large units where
the TNT is melted and to draw the molten TNT from these units
into large tubs. Only a small crew of kettlemen and draw-off oper
ators is needed to supply a large group of workers employed in the
pouring room.
Fifteen of the 38 plants studied, employing 34 percent of the work
ers, had union agreements covering a large percentage of their em
ployees. Nine additional plants, with 32 percent of the workers, had
union contracts which covered only certain groups of employees,
such as maintenance or other indirect workers, while the remaining
14 plants, which employed 34 percent of the wage earners, were not
unionized. Nearly all union contracts were with the unions affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor and with the United Mine
Workers of America.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
844
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Wage-Payment Practices
Because of tlie hazardous nature of the industry, workers employed
in ammunition-loading plants are typically paid straight hourly rates.
Only 3 of the 38 plants studied employed any workers under incentive
methods of wage payment, and most of these workers were in assembly
occupations. Incentive workers constituted only about 3 percent
of all the workers covered in the survey.
Multiple-shift operations were reported by 35 of the 38 plants.
Twenty-two of the plants were on a 3-shift schedule, while 12 were
operating two shifts. Of the total number of workers employed by
the establishments surveyed, approximately 54 percent were em
ployed on the first shift, 31 percent on the second, and 15 percent on
the third. Twenty-three plants reported periodic shift rotation of
production workers.
The payment of differentials for work of second and third shifts
was reported by 12 plants. Four of these plants were operating only
two shifts; and a differential of 5 cents an hour above the first-shift
rate was paid to second-shift workers in all 4 plants. Of the 8 plants
operating three shifts and paying shift differentials, 4 paid the same
premium to both late shifts; in 2 of these 4 plants the differential
amounted to 10 percent above the day-shift rate, in 1 plant to 5 per
cent, and in another to 5 cents an hour. Two plants paid shift differ
entials amounting to 5 percent more than the first-shift rate to secondshift workers, and 10 percent more to third-shift workers. One
plant paid a premium of 5 cents an hour to second-shift workers and
of 10 cents an hour to third-shift workers; the eighth plant paid no
second-shift differential, but gave a premium of 5 percent for work on
the third shift.
Nearly all the plants studied were operating on a scheduled 48-hour
workweek. All paid time and a half for work in excess of 40 hours a
week or 8 hours a day. Work on the 6 holidays recognized by Exec
utive order was paid for at the rate of time and a half in all but 3
plants. Special provisions were reported for work on the seventh
consecutive day by all but 1 of the 38 plants; 36 plants paid double
time, and one paid time and a half.
Established entrance rates for male common labor were reported
by 30 of the 38 plants. Starting rates for these workers ranged from
40 cents to 85 cents an hour, with 9 plants paying from 70 to 75
cents an hour and 12 plants paying less than 60 cents an hour.
Occupational Earnings
The basic wage data collected during the B ureau’s survey are
shown for shell- and bomb-loading plants in table 1 and for the
bag-loading plants in table 2. Straight-tim e average hourly earnings
are shown, by plant departm ent, for a comprehensive group of
occupations in each of these two branches of the ammunition-loading
industry.
SHELL AND BOMB LOADING
The wage data obtained for the 35 plants loading bombs, artillery
shells, and the related component parts cover 89,850 workers, classified
into 106 selected occupational groups. About 58 percent of these
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
845
workers were women. In June 1944, straight-time average earnings
amounted to about 77 cents an hour for all the workers for whom
data on earnings by occupation were obtained. The general average
for male workers employed in these plants was 88 cents an hour,
and the corresponding average for women amounted to 70 cents
an hour. This wide difference in average earnings for men and
women workers is accounted for mainly by the fact that women
were generally employed in large numbers in the lower-paid occu
pations. In the maintenance departments, where the wage rates
are relatively high, women were found in only two occupations—
journeymen’s helpers and class B maintenance mechanics.
T able
1.—Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings of Workers in Selected Occupations,
in Shell- and Bomb-Loading Plants, June 1944
United
States
Occupation
Maintenance
Blacksmiths____ _______
_______ ..... _______
Carpenters, class A ______
_ . ______________
Carpenters, class B ___
__
_____________ _
Electricians, class A ___ _ __
Electricians, class B.__ . . . ___ _ ...
...
.
....
_____
Helpers, journeymen_____
Helpers, journeymen, female___ _. . . . _________ . .
Instrument repairmen___ ____ _
Machinists, class A _________ _____ _ ______ .
M achinists, class B__ _ ._ ._ . . __________ _ .
Mechanics, automotive. . _________ _ . ____ _
Mechanics, maintenance, class A . .
.
.....
Mechanics, maintenance, class B . . . .
Mechanics, maintenance, class B, female . . ______
Millwrights, class A . . . . ________________
____
Millwrights, class B__
. _______________________
Oilers___________ _____________________________
Painters...
_____________ _________ ____ _____
Pipe fitters, class A . . _____ __ _ ______ _______
Pipe fitters, class B _______ _ _______
______
Scale repairmen . .
________
Sheet-metal workers, class A .. _ . . . .
Sheet-metal workers, class B _
Tool and die makers, class A ____ _ ________ . . .
Tool and die makers, class B _____ ____ . . . ._ _.
Welders, hand . . . ___ _
. . . . . . _ __
Northeast
Central
South
N um A ver N um A ver N um A ver N um A ver
age
age
age
age
ber hou
ber
ber
r ber
of
of h ou r of h ou r of h o u r
work ly work ly work ly work ly
ers earn ers earn ers earn ers earn
ings
ings
ings
ings
35 $1. 20
686 1. 19
439 1.06
489 1.31
115 1.11
702
.83
22
.78
34 1. 24
330 1.26
216 1.13
406 1.15
404 1.17
535 1.02
14
.83
345 1.24
76 1. 14
84
.89
216 1.15
409 1.30
88 1.15
79 1.10
118 1.29
18 1.15
136. 1. 47
11 1.26
130 1. 25
Supervision
Working foremen__________________ . . . . . . _____ 2,427
Working foreladies______ ______ _. ________ _ . . 1,490
.96
.83
6 $1.14
49 1. 20
20 1.04
14 1. 32
15 1.13
37
.87
1
0)
26
45
28
43
79
2
41
7
9
15
33
10
1
17
1. 18
1.16
1.16
1.11
1.06
(i)
1. 33
1.05
.91
1.04
1.23
1.16
(>)
1. 31
25
2
1
1. 46
(i)
(•)
31
124
16 $1.23
384 1.22
57 1.02
334 1. 31
18 1.10
197
.93
3
.90
15 1 24
169 1. 30
52 1.13
191 1. 14
192 1.22
187 1.02
13
253
362
141
82
468
18
19
135
119
187
169
269
12
98
45
42
90
143
49
47
40
10
32
$1.19
1.15
1.07
1.29
1.11
.78
.76
71
1.23
943
908
.91
.80
552
. 86
. 78 1 323
. 89
72
22
. 98
20
203
. 70
. 91
109
. 78
40
(i)
57
(i)
126
.89
83
.84
110
.86
577
. 79
970
.96
76
.93
19
.98
198
. 71
68
. 77
76
. 88
. 71
. 83
. 69
77
. 77
.83
.72
.73
.62
.84
.84
.89
206
24
33
111
233
29
31
61
8
79
9
58
1.26
1.06
1.01
1.16
1.34
1. 11
1.17
1. 31
1 10
1. 51
0)
1.29
1.04 1, 453
.84
458
1. 00
.89
1.22
1.12
1.15
1.14
1. 01
(l)
1.17
1.19
.79
1.15
1.24
1.17
1. 06
1. 25
1 18
1.37
Processing
Shell and bomb load lines:
M elt load:
1,034
Assemblers __. . .
4, 042
Assemblers, female. . . .
. . .
245
Booster-cavity drillers . . .
..
. . .
78
Booster-cavity drillers, female
20
Cartridge-case fillers .
. __
779
Cartridge-case fillers, fe m a le .__. . .
Cleaners, funnel and splash pan
263
291
Cleaners, funnel and splash pan, female
75
Cleaners, loaded bombs
___________
156
Cleaners, loaded bombs, female . . . .
203
Cooling-tub operators
____
Cooling-tub operators, female .. _
187
1,094
Craters _____________ .
1,796
Craters, female
_____ . . .
'252
Draw-off operators ________
. . .
51
Draw-off operators, fem ale... . . . . .
801
Insnectors.'______ ’_______________ _____
.78
.75
.86
.92
.88
. 71
.88
.77
.82
.78
.87
.77
. 79
.70
.92
.90
.96
482
2, 719
' 173
56
576
154
251
18
30
120
77
517
826
176
32
603
’Number of workers and/or plants too small to justify computation of an average.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
846
T able
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
1.—Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings of Workers in Selected Occupations,
in Shell- and Bomb-Loading Plants, June 1944—Continued
United
States
Occupation
Northeast
Central
South
ver N um A ver N um A ver
N um Aage
um A ver
age
age Nber
age
ber hou r ber hou
r ber
of
of
of hou r of h ou r
ly
ly
ly
work earn work earn work earn work ly
ers ings
ers
ers
ers earn
ings
ings
ings
Processing—Continued
Shell and bomb load lin es- Continued.
M elt load—Continued.
Inspectors, female-----. - ------------------------ 1,089 $0. 75 ____
293 $0. 79
796
_____
__
Kettlemen
_
435
. 91
297
. 94
138
Kettlemen, female _ _ _ ______ 130
.87
100
. 89
30
Packers
289
.78
114
. 89
175
Packers, female _____
_
_ _ __ _ _ 987
.72
731
.76
256
Pourers and puddlers__ ___ -------------------- 973
.88
.91
556
417
Pourers and puddlers, female _ _ _ ___ 2,066
. 82
680
1,386
. 87
Primer-press operators--- -------------------- _
20
.80
ii
.89
9
Primer-press operators, female__ __________
125
.74 ___
81
. 76
44
. 86
__
165
.81
Salvagers
_
88
77
Salvagers, female___
93
42
. 71
51
. 70
Screeners, powder
___ __ _
718
. 86
462
. 90
256
Screeners, powder, female _
. 82
336
267
. 81
69
Set-up operators
____
249
. 74
68
181
. 91
.83
Set-up operators, female___ _ _ __________
193
134
59
.89
Split operators- ______ . ---------------------73
.86
54
19
.86
(i)
10
Split operators, female
___ __
.77
5
5
Spray painters
__ - - _ _. __
79
. 76
34
45
. 77
.79
Spray painters, female __ _
100
24
. 80
Unpackers and cleaners. __ _ _ _ _ _
121
435
. 77
314
. 78
.74
Unpackers and cleaners, female____________ 1, 269
969
.76
300
1
X-ray operators
______
14
.84
13
. 86
X-ray operators, female
56
.77
33
. 88
23
Press load:
.84
404
69 $1. 03
264
Assemblers_______ _____________________
71
.83
.71 1,594
Assemblers, female
___
___ _____ 4,108
.77
651
.69 1,863
.81
45
.82
Cartridge-case fillers
35
10
Cartridge-case fillers, female
_ ___
947
.67
129
.75
185
633
.60
.91
107
Consolidating-press operators_____________
9
50
48
0)
(i)
Consolidating-press operators, female. _l____ 376
.82
247
.85
23
106
.77
.77
Craters______________________ __________
237
8
.85
128
101
0)
.62
9
Craters, female___ _ _ _______ _____ _ 219
36
. 72
174
0)
Crimping-machine operators-_. _ _ ___
126
.87
64
57
5
0)
0)
Crimping-machine operators, female ___ _
93
.83
93
.83
Facers and buffers
__ _
111
.88
65
.90
46
Facers and buffers, female________________
.65
289
36
.75
168
85
0)
Inspectors.- _ _ _
_____ ___________
.85
121
260
.88
2
137
01
.68
Inspectors, female___ __ ________________ 1,060
.74
305
265
. 65
490
____ ___
Loaders, projectile
_
349
.89
180
169
.90
Loaders, projectile, female
___________
.70
741
54
.81
180
507
0)
Packers _
____ _____
_ _
. 79
84
113
197
. 85
Packers, female____ __ _____________ 1___
643
.69
171
.79
175
.68
297
Paint-machine operators__________________
34
.86
17
.91
2
15
(*)
Paint-machine tenders, female_____________ 248
.64
64
157
27
.78
.61
(i)
Pellet-press operators
. 84
14
27
13
Pellet-press operators, female.
114
.73
6
.76
213
93
0)
Primer-press operators__ _
______
52
.76
16
16
.80
20
(i)
421
Primer-press operators, female_____________ 732
.65
75
236
.59
.78
Salvagers_______ _
_ ______________ 214
.86
96
.97
29
.82
89
Salvagers, female- ___ _ ________________ 426
.72
.74
247
173
6
(')
Screeners and blenders _
__ _ ___ ___ 185
.88
63
76
.92
46
.93
Screeners and blenders, female _ . ___ __
31
.71
31
Unpackers and cleaners__ __ ____________
159
.87
79
.93
.87
44
36
Unpackers and cleaners, female____________ 278
.66
.67
.84
204
8
66
Component parts:
Primer line:
Craters.
__
. . . _ _ ___
.70
43
47
2
2
0)
0)
(i)
1
Dipping-room attendants._
8
7
.87
Head-assemblv machine operators _
3
8
.85
5
.96
Head-assembly machine operators, fem ale.__
.66
57
57
Head-assembly machine tenders, female __ . 221
.66
.74
197
9
15
(Ö
Inspectors, female
_ _ _ __
687
.68
.64
.75
461
111
115
.92
Lacquering-machine operators. _ _
8
5
3
.81
Lacquering-machine operators, female _ __
.66
14
66
80
0)
Lacquering-machine tenders
13
13
. 61
Lacquering-machine tenders, female. _ „
.78
178
235
.68
38
19
0)
Liner inserters, hand, female.
41
63
.71
66
170
.67
(>)
.70
Liner inserters, machine, female___________
102
29
.82
73
Loaders, hand.
_ _ __________ _
__ _
.84
4
7
3
0)
1Number of workers and/or plants too small to justify computation of an average.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
$0. 73
84
. 78
. 71
.64
.83
73
.70
.70
. 75
72
79
. 83^
. 68
.70
.85
(i)
. 76
. 77
. 73
.68
(l)
0)
.79
.66
. 78
.67
.89
0)
.68
.59
0)
. 85
.62
.82
.67
.88
.71
. 74
.65
.81
.63
. 81
.69
.79
.66
.76
.70
.81
.71
.75
.67
.69
(i)
(i)
.66
.65
.67
(i)
.65
.61
.67
.64
.66
0)
847
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
T
able
1.—Straight-Time Average Hourly Earning of Workers in Selected Occupations,
in Shell- and Bomb-Loading Plants, June 1944—Continued
United
States
Occupation
N um
ber
of
work
ers
Processing—Continued
Component parts—Continued.
Primer line—Continued.
Oilers, female _
_. _.
__ __ _ _
5
Packers
.................
45
Packers, female . . .
..
. _ 131
Salvagers_____ _________________________
41
Salvagers, female. . . .
.
.
105
Screeners________________________________
18
Screeners, female_________________________
27
Tube-assembly machine operators, female. . 223
Volumetric-loading machine o p e r a t o r s ,
female. . . . . . . .
01
Fuze, booster, and detonator lines:
Assemblers___________ . .
1, 529
Assemblers, fe m a le ___ ____ . . _____ . . . 15,918
Craters______ ________. . . .
253
Craters, fem a le... . . . _ . . . ____ ______
52
Inspectors.. __ _______________ ____
199
Inspectors, fem ale._ ........ ................ ........... . . . 2, 233
Inspectors, powder pellet . . . .
. ____
19
Inspectors, powder pellet, female______ . . .
171
Packers_________ . . . _ _______ _ _____ 199
Packers, female__ ______ .
.. ...
483
Pellet-press operators____ _______ _.
167
410
Pellet-press operators, female .
Salvagers___________ . . _ _____ ______
159
310
Salvagers, fem ale.. _____ . . .
____
Screeners and blenders_____ . . . . . . ._
403
Screeners and blenders, female
____ . 101
Powerhouse
A s h m e n ............... . . .
25
Coal handlers . ..
39
Engineer, stationary______
178
Firemen, stationary boiler________________ . _
409
Pecording and control
Magazine keepers__ ___
163
Stock clerks.
415
Stock clerks, female____ . . . .
23
S tock m en ... . . . .
. . .
443
Timekeepers.
333
Timekeepers, female . . . . .
328
Tool clerks........... .......
127
Tool clerks, female________________ .
43
Material movement
Brakemen. . . . .
_____
319
Conductors, yard__ _____ ___
159
Conveyor tenders_____ _____ . . .
201
Convevor tenders, female_______ . .
100
Engineers, locomotive__________ .
206
Firemen, locomotive____ ______
58
Loaders and unloaders _ . _____
4, 538
Loaders and unloaders, female
413
Truck drivers_______
_ . . . .
2,013
Truck drivers, female____
134
Truckers, hand_____
_. .
1, 743
Truckers, hand, female. __
772
Truckers, power __ _____ . . . . ._
146
Truckers, power, female____ . . .
254
Custodial
Change-house attendants.. ______ _ . _________
165
244
Change-house attendants, fem ale.. _____
Firemen, plant protection_____________ . . . _____ 669
Guards____ _____________________ _____ _ _ __ 2,986
181
Guards, female.
___ . . . _____ . . . . . . . .
Janitors. . . ______ _ ___ . . .
1, 111
Janitresses_____ ______________________________ 1,771
Northeast
Aver N um
age
hour ber
of
ly
earn work
ers
ings
Central
Aver N um
age
hour ber
of
ly
earn work
ers
ings
$0.81
. 76
. 70
.70
.70
.93
.82
.69
1
(>)
26
36
3
(>)
(>)
(>)
.73
18
(O
29
.83
30
106
13
60
S
12
200
14
Aver
age
hour
ly
earn
ings
$0. 77
.69
.77
.71
.94
(i)
.67
(0
.81 1,176
.70 9, 930
185
.81
(i)
17
33
0)
.77 1, 351
2
0)
129
.81
.81
170
.72
333
115
.95
190
.88
106
.87
.81
148
175
.82
94
.84
.66
.64
.66
.62
.75
.65
(>)
.72
.64
.63
.90
. 74
.77
.61
.89
.87
.63
. 72
1.24
.95
5
18
5
63
(>)
0)
1. 17
.96
3
5
113
194
(>)
.77
1.29
.96
17
16
60
152
.54
.59
1. 14
.92
.90
.90
.75
.82
.91
.75
.89
.75
16
8
3
110
16
101
4
O)
.83
(i)
.87
0)
.78
.83
34
172
4
127
200
116
94
22
.90
.84
.76
.89
.95
.75
.89
.78
113
235
16
206
117
111
29
21
.92
.77
.77
.76
.83
.74
.92
.71
1. 09
1. 20
.80
. 71
1. 26
1. 10
.72
.62
.89
. 75
.74
. 75
.83
. 79
40
.94
40
.83
2
(0
165
99
95
50
136
45
2,650
141
939
41
416
271
121
215
114
1. 14
60
1. 22
.89
66
50
.85
68
1. 31
13
1. 13
.79 1, 633
.77
272
840
.91
93
.93
.89 1,163
484
.86
.85
23
. 78
39
1. 05
1.15
.65
.58
1.17
.99
.59
.55
.85
.66
.65
.69
.72
.82
34
.73
108
.66
269
.82
.84
996
.73
283
.73
.72 1,319
.62
.70
.79
.81
.71
.68
.81
.83
. 73
.69
.51
255
.80
234
.94
164
17
2
.93
.79
(0
5
17
24
389
13
166
55
126
.80
119
.65
.86
376
.84 1,601
.78
168
.75
662
.75
397
i Number of workers and/or plants too small to justify computation of an average.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Aver N um
age
hour ber
of
ly
earn work
ers
ings
4
(')
15 $0. 76
25
. 75
2
(O
9
.89
7
.99
(i)
15
23
.82
.69
73 $0. 80
280
.66 3, 145
.70 2, 843
44
.70
24
.81
. 74
35
.81
.81
4
162
.69
113
769
.74
.82
.80
2
15
.74
.79
6
36
29
.66
.65
.63
80
70
.91
34
18
.93
.82
106
.89
114
29
.80
24
(■)
.69
147
15
(>)
.86
.89
27
201
.87
7
South-
.57
.44
848
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
For all occupations studied, the average earnings ranged from 51
cents an hour for janitresses to $1.47 an hour for class A tool and die
makers. The average earnings of the majority of the workers, how
ever, fell within a much more limited range. Occupations with aver
age earnings ranging from 65 cents to $1.00 an hour accounted for 90
percent of the workers. Average earnings in the 10-cent interval
between 65 and 75 cents an hour accounted for well over half of the
workers, while slightly less than a third were in occupations averaging
between 75 and 90 cents an hour. The greatest concentration of
workers within any 5-cent interval occurred in the 21 occupational
groups with earnings between 65 and 70 cents, where fully threetenths of the workers were employed. Average earnings amounting
to less than 65 cents an hour were paid to only six occupational
groups and accounted for 3 percent of the workers studied. At the
other extreme, about 7 percent of the workers were classified in the
27 occupational groups whose earnings amounted to an average of
$1.00 or more an hour. These occupational groups were composed of
male workers in indirect rather than processsing jobs.
Workers employed in maintenance occupations were, in general,
receiving the highest average rates of pay. With only two exceptions
(oilers, earning 89 cents an hour, and journeymen’s helpers, earning
83 cents an hour), male workers in these occupations were paid well
over $1.00 an hour. Women workers, employed in two maintenance
occupations (journeymen’s helpers and class B maintenance mechanics)
earned respective average rates of 78 cents and 83 cents an hour.
Other numerically important groups of workers not employed in
processing occupations were male loaders and unloaders, truck drivers,
and hand truckers. The respective averages for these occupations
were 72 cents, 89 cents, and 74 cents an hour. The large group of
male guards averaged 83 cents an hour.
Approximately two-thirds of the workers whose occupational earn
ings were studied were employed in processing jobs on the various
load lines. Average earnings for these workers on all the load lines
combined amounted to 73 cents an hour. The average for male
load-line operatives was 82 cents an hour and for women 70 cents an
hour. The highest average rate earned by male workers was paid
to inspectors on the melt-load line, who earned 96 cents an hour; the
lowest rate for male workers (61 cents an hour) was paid to the small
group of lacquering-machine tenders on the primer-loading line.
Average hourly earnings for women on the load lines ranged from 62
cents an hour for shell craters on the press-load lines to 92 cents an
hour for booster-cavity drillers on the melt-load lines.
Somewhat more than nine-tenths of the women employed on the
load lines were classified in the 42 occupational groups having average
rates between 65 and 80 cents an hour. The largest concentration of
male workers occurred in the 18 occupational groups whose average
earnings ranged from 85 to 90 cents an hour. These occupations
accounted for one-third of the male workers.
On each line except the primer-loading lines, where most of the oper
ations are mechanized, assemblers constituted the largest occupational
group for women workers. This concentration is particularly great
on the lines loading fuzes, boosters, and detonators, most of the opera
tions of which involve the relatively simple assembly of small parts,
and on which women constitute about 85 percent of all workers em
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
849
ployed. About 8 of every 10 women employed on these component
loading lines were classified as assemblers and received an average
hourly rate of 66 cents an hour. The average earnings of women as
semblers on the melt-load line amounted to 75 cents an hour and on
the press-load line, to 71 cents an hour. Male assemblers on the
melt-load, press-load, and component lines earned average rates of 78
cents, 84 cents, and 69 cents an hour, respectively. Two other nu
merically important groups of male workers were shell and bomb
craters on the melt-load lines, who earned an average rate of 79 cents
an hour, and pourers and puddlers, whose earnings averaged 88 cents
an hour.
In most of the occupations in which both men and women were
employed, the averages shown appear to indicate a wage difference
in favor of the male workers. In many cases, however, this differ
ence actually reflects minor variations in duties. The male workers
are generally required to do any heavy lifting which may be connected
with the performance of a particular operation. The packing 4nd
crating occupations on the shell- and bomb-loading lines furnish good
examples of this difference in duties. Women are employed in these
jobs, but the lifting of heavy shells and crates is usually assigned to
male operators. Other differences in duties within the same general
occupational groups may occur if male operators are responsible for
the operation of equipment also used by women workers at the same
station on the line. On the primer-loading line, for instance, the
machine used for lacquering the primer bodies is usually started and
maintained by a male operator who may also be responsible for keep
ing the machine in good working order and supplied with the lacquer
solution.
In a few of the processing occupations the average hourly rate
shown for female operators is higher than the average earned by male
operators. This is generally a result of interplant differences in plants
that did not employ both men and women in these particular jobs.
Within individual plants, where both men and women were employed
in these occupations, the rates paid to male workers were consistently
as high as the rates earned by the women.
Regional comparisons.—The 38 plants included in this study are in
widely separated wage areas. Consequently there was a considerable
range between the highest and the lowest rate paid to workers in
many of the occupations. In order to reduce somewhat the effect of
extreme locality differences on average hourly earnings reflected in
the general averages discussed above, separate figures are shown for
three broad regional groups of plants. Because of the relatively small
number of plants studied in the survey, however, even these three
regions represent plants in widely separated wage areas. Thus,
figures shown for the Northeastern region represent plants located in
Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey;
the Central region includes plants in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana*
Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska; the Southern region includes plants
scattered from Virginia to Texas, including Tennessee, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Because of variations in products manufactured from plant to
plant, not all occupational groups are represented in all three regions.
For instance, in the Northeastern region none of the plants for which
figures are shown were loading large shells and bombs by the melt
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
850
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
load process. However, a comparison of the averages appearing in
all 3 regions reveals that plants in the Northeastern region paid, in
general, slightly higher average rates for most occupations than those
in either of the other two regions, and that plants in the Central and
Southern States ranked second and third respectively. For the occu
pations for which averages are shown in all three regigns, the averages
for the South are lowest in 33 occupational groups, and highest in only
5 occupational groups. The Northeastern region had the highest
averages in 25 occupations, and the lowest in 11, while the Central
region ranked first in 22 occupational groups and third in 9. On the
melt-load lines, where only the Central and Southern regions are
represented, the plant averages for the South are lowest in all but 3
of the occupational groups for which averages are shown.
A further attempt was made to measure and compare the general
level of wages in the industry existing in each broad region at the time
of the survey. The average hourly earnings of 73 occupations, all of
which occurred in each region, were weighted for each region by the
number of workers employed in the occupations for all regions com
bined, thus giving each occupation the same relative importance in
all regions. A general average for these occupations was then com
puted for each region. The resulting average for the Northeast was
83 cents an hour; for the Central region, 81 cents; and for the South,
73 cents. The corresponding average for all regions combined (that
is, for the same 73 occupations) amounted to 77 cents an hour, or the
same as that for all the 106 occupations selected for study and men
tioned earlier in the report.
Constant employment weights were also used to compute a general
average for the 102 occupational groups found in both the Central
and Southern regions. This average was computed in order to com
pare the two regions having plants loading large shells and bombs and
also having representation in most of the occupations studied. The
resulting average for the Central and Southern regions were 82 cents
and 73 cents, respectively. Again, the corresponding average for all
regions combined was 77 cents an hour.
BA G L O A D IN G
The wage data collected for the 3 bag-loading plants cover 8,172
workers, classified into 40 occupational groups. Slightly more than
two-thirds of all the workers studied were women. Straight-time
average earnings for all workers amounted to 71 cents an hour.
The average for all male workers studied was 81 cents an hour and
that for women workers 66 cents an hour.
No women were employed in the maintenance occupations studied.
With the exception of journeymen’s helpers, who earned 66 cents an
hour, the averages for male workers in these occupations ranged from
90 cents an hour for oilers and scale repairmen to $1.31 for class A
pipe fitters.
Occupational earnings for women employees ranged from 48 cents
an hour for janitresses to 78 cents for inspectors. Aside from main
tenance occupations, the range in average rates for male workers was
from 59 cents an hour for change-house attendants to $1.28 an hour
for locomotive engineers. The highest average for processing workers
was earned by the small number of male dyeing-machine tenders.
Nearly 87 percent of all the workers were employed in occupations
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
851
whose average hourly earnings ranged from 60 to 80 cents. Roughly
a third were concentrated in the four occupations with earnings from
60 to 65 cents an hour, and nearly a third were in five occupations
whose average earnings fell within the range of 65 to 70 cents.
The women sewing-machine operators making powder bags
accounted for the largest occupational group, and were paid 63 cents
an hour. The women performing the operation of closing the loaded
bags on sewing machines earned 68 cents an hour. Three other
numerically important groups of women operators were the powderbag loaders, the shadowgraph-scale operators, and the volumetric
weighers. The respective averages for these occupations amounted to
65 cents, 69 cents, and 68 cents.
Among male workers, the two largest groups were hand truckers
and loaders and unloaders, with average rates amounting to 79 cents
and 77 cents, respectively. The guards, constituting another impor
tant group of male workers, earned 85 cents an hour. In the proces
sing occupations, men were found in smaller numbers than women.
The male powder-bag loaders earned 64 cents an hour, on the average,
or 1 cent less than women in the same occupation. Within individual
plants, however, these workers were paid rates amounting to as much
as those paid women in the same occupation.
T a b l e 2 . —Straight-Time
Average Hourly Earnings of Workers in Selected Occupations
in Ammunition Bag-Loading Plants, June 1944
Occupation
N um A verage
ber of hourly
workers earnings
41
22
22
21
166
11
23
35
20
51
4
14
12
37
5
$1.16
1.12
1. 26
.98
.66
1.13
1.06
1.12
1.13
.98
.90
1.06
1.31
.90
1.15
Processing
Clnth spreaders _ ________ ____
n utters machine
P y ein £-m ach in e tenders. _
Inspectors
Inspectors, female
TiOaders, powder ba£T _ _____
Loaders, powder bag, female ----Packers --------------- ----- . -----Packers, female------------ --------Printers
_____ ___ ______
Printing-press feeders, female __
Sewing-machine operators (bag
Sewing-machine operators (bag
closers) female
Sewing-machine operators (bag
makers), female----- ------- -- .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
N um Average
ber of hourly
workers earnings
Processing—Continued
Maintenance
Oftrpp/ntexs, class A ___
Carpenters, class B .
Electricians, class A
Electricians, class P
Helpers, journeymen__________
Machinists, class A_. . ----------Machinists, class B . . . . . . -----Mechanics, automotive----------- _
Mechanics, maintenance, class A.
Mechanics, maintenance, class B_
Oilers ____________ _______ _ -Painters___________ _________
pipe fitters, class A
Scale repairmen
Welders, hand-------- . . . --- . . .
Occupation
5
31
6
63
321
217
791
141
283
8
199
.77
.89
1.06
.85
.78
.64
.65
.82
.75
.92
.63
75
.72
574
.68
2,170
.63
Shadowgraph-scale operators___
Shadowgraph-scale operators, female___ .
_____ _____ _
Volumetric weighers___ _ _
Volumetric weighers, female. . .
15
$0. 79
470
40
547
.69
. 70
.68
16
1.00
32
108
. 94
.79
8
5
6
400
81
25
546
.92
1.12
1. 28
.77
. 76
.73
.79
15
9
77
254
67
83
.59
.58
.81
.85
.62
.48
Powerhouse
Firemen, stationary boiler_____
Recording and control
Stock clerks____ _____ _ . . . . .
Stockmen_____________________
Material movement
Brakemen___________ _____ . . .
Conductors, yard. . _ . . . .
Engineers, locomotive_____ . .
Loaders and unloaders.. ________
Truck drivers
_______________
Truck drivers, female___ _____
Truckers, h a n d _______
.. .
Custodial
Change-house a tten d an ts____ .
Change-house attendants, female.
Firemen, plant protection. ........
G u a rd s.___ __________ _____
Janitors___________ __________
Janitresses_____________________
852
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 19 45
T ren d of Factory E arnings, 1939 to January 1945
THE published average earnings of factory workers are summarized
in the accompanying table for selected months from January 1939 to
January 1945.1 The earnings shown in this table are on a gross basis
(i. e., before deductions for social security, income and victory taxes,
bond purchases, etc.).
Weekly earnings in all manufacturing averaged $47.52 in January
1945—104.9 percent above the average in January 1939, 78.4 percent
above January 1941, and 22.2 percent above October 1942. Such
factors as longer hours of work, merit increases for individual workers,
premium pay for overtime worked, changing composition of the labor
force within plants, shifts in the distribution of workers among plants
and among industries, as well as wage-rate increases, account for the
rise in earnings.
Gross hourly earnings in all manufacturing averaged 104.7 cents in
January 1945—65.7 percent above the average in January 1939,
53.3 percent above January 1941, and 17.2 percent above October
1942.
Earnings of Factory Workers in Selected Months, 1939 to January 1945
Average weekly
earnings
Month and
year
Jan____
Jan____
Jan____
Jan____
July___
Oct____
1943: Jan. . . .
Apr____
J u ly ....
Oct____
D ec____
1944: Jan
A pr.. . .
July___
Oct____
N ov___
Dec.3__
1945: Jan.3___
Estimated straighttim e a v e r a g e
hourly earnings i
Estimated straighttime average hour
ly earnings weight
ed by January 1939
em ploym ent2
Non
All
Non
All
N on
All
All
Non
m an u Dura
dura m an u Dura
dura manu Dura
dura manu Dura dura
ble
ble
ble
ble factur goods
factur goods
ble factur goods
ble factur ble
ble
ing
goods
ing
goods
ing
goods
ing
goods goods
0)
1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:
Average hourly
earnings
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
$23.19 $25. 33 $21.57 $0. 632 $0. 696 $0.583 $0. 623 $0. 688 $0. 574 $0. 623 $0. 688
24. 56 27.39 22. 01
.655
.598
.717
.703
.644
.589
.635
.697
26.64 30. 48 22. 75
.683
.749
.610
. 664
.722
.601
.648
.711
33.40 38. 98 26. 97
.801
.890
.688
.762
.835
.670
.729
.810
36. 43 42.51 28. 94
.856
.949
.725
.809
.885
.846
.701
.759
38.89 45.31 30.66
.893
.751
.919
.990
.839
.723
.782
.869
40 62 46 68 32 10
919 1 017
.941
.768
.859
.733
.794
.886
42.48 48. 07 33. 58
.944 1.040
.957
.790
.878
751
.808
.897
42. 76 48. 76 34.01
.963 1. 060
.806
.981
.899
.766
.919
.823
44. 86 51.26 35. 18
.988 1.086
.824
.916
.997
.781
.929
.836
44. 58 50. 50 35.61
.995 1.093
.832
.927 1.011
.788
.942
.846
45.29 51. 21 36. 03 1.002 1.099
.838
.931 1.013
.793
.945
.850
45. 55 51. 67 36.16 1.013 1.110
.850
.942 1.023
.806
.862
.955
45. 43 51.07 37. 05 1.018 1.116
.862
.950 1.035
.815
.874
.973
46. 94 53.18 37. 97 1.031 1.129
.878
.956 1.038
.829
.881
.969
46.85 53.04 37. 87 1.035 1.136
.877
.961 1.046
.828
.971
.882
47. 45 53. 68 38.41 1.040 1.139
.883
.963 1.047
.832
.975
.886
47. 52 53. 55 38.65 1.047 1.146
.890
.840
.894
.985
.971 1.055
(12)
$0. 574
.589
.600
.667
.694
716
.724
.741
.750
.765
.773
.778
.792
.799
.815
.815
.818
.824
1 Average hourly earnings, excluding the effect of premium pay for overtime.
2 Average hourly earnings, excluding premium pay for overtime, weighted by man-hours of employment
in the major divisions of the manufacturing industry for January 1939.
3 Preliminary.
Straight-time average hourly earnings, as shown in columns 7 to 9,
are estimated to exclude premium pay at time and a half for work in
excess of 40 hours. The effect of extra pay for work on supplementary
shifts and on holidays is included. For all manufacturing, the straighttime average in January 1945 was 97.1 cents per hour; this was 55.9
i
Compare Trends in Factory Wages, 1939-43, in M onthly Labor Review, November 1943 (pp. 869-884),
especially table 4 (p. 879). For detailed data regarding weekly earnings, see Detailed Reports for Industrial
and Business Employment, January 1945, table 6 (p. 904), in this issue.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
853
percent higher than in January 1939, 46.2 percent above January 1941,
and 15.7 percent above October 1942.
The shift of workers from relatively low-wage to relatively highwage industries since 1939 would have raised the average earnings of
factory workers, even if no other influences had been present. The
effects of such interindustry shifts have been eliminated from the
averages shown in columns 10 to 12 of the table. If employment had
been distributed between industries as it was in January 1939, the
straight-tim e hourly earnings of factory workers would have averaged
89.4 cents in January 1945, or 43.5 percent above the corresponding
average in January 1939, 38.0 percent above January 1941, and 14.3
percent above October 1942. Between December 1944 and January
1945 the increase in straight-tim e hourly earnings, after eliminating the
influence of shifting employment, amounted to 0.9 percent. Even
this latte r series of averages exaggerates the rise in wage rates, because
it includes the influence of interplant shifts of employment, m erit
increases for individual workers, and premium rates for work on extra
shifts and on holidays.
Increased Efficiency and Reduced H ours in a Canadian
E n te rp ris e 1
INCREASED efficiency of labor has made possible the substitution
of a 40-hour week for the 48-hour week in the factories and offices of
Lever Brothers of Canada. In an experiment in a Toronto plant of
the company, measures suggested by the joint labor-management
committee resulted in an increased output per man-hour which
reduced labor costs 20 percent during the 6-month trial period.
This made it possible to reduce hours to 40 per week, with no loss in
production. The National War Labor Board approved the ‘‘shorter
hours” plan, authorizing incentive pay at the rate of 20 percent above
the basic hourly rate. Weekly earnings, therefore, remained what they
had been under the longer workweek. The decision of the Board is
subject to review at the end of the first 6 months of 1945, during
which time the increased worker productivity must be maintained.
In this program, employers and employees recognized as of mutual
interest the need for reducing hours of labor without raising produc
tion costs.
Em ploym ent, E arnings, and H ours in Ireland,
O ctober 1 9 4 3 2
ACCORDING to preliminary figures of the 1943 census of industrial
production in Ireland, average weekly earnings for males in October
of that year ranged from 49s. 2d. in the butter, cheese, etc., industry
to 100s. 5d. in the tobacco industry. Hourly earnings of males aver
aged from Is. O.ld. to 2s. 2.8d. in the same two industries. Earnings
1 Data are from the Trades and Labor Congress Journal (Montreal), January 1945.
8 Data are from Irish Trade Journal and Statistical Bulletin (Department of Industry and Commerce,
Dublin), June, September, and December 1944.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
854
T able
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
1.—Employment (Salaried Workers and Wage Earners) in Ireland, by Industry
and Sex, Mid-October 1943
E m ploym ent1
Salaried workers
Industry
Wage earners
Total
Male
Aerated and mineral waters------ ------ -------------------Bacon curing----------------------------------------------------Boots and shoes2_____ - _________________ ____ ___
Brewing----------- --------- ---------------- -------Brushes and brooms-------------------------------------------Chemicals, drugs, etc____________________________
Fellmongery and leather-------------------------------------Gas works establishments___________________.•------M alting2 ____________. __________________________
Oils, paints, and polishes---- ------ ------------ ------ -----Railways and tram w ays...— ........................................
Clothing:
M en’s and boys’ readymades3 __________ _____
Women’s and girls’ readymades3-------------------M iscellaneous
_________________________i...
Distilling_______________________________________
Engineering and implements-------------------------------Hosiery___ _____ _______________ ________________
Laundry, dyeing, and cleaning---------1------------------Linen, cotton, jute, and canvas----------------------------Metals (excluding engineering)_________ _________
Papermaking and stationery_____________________
Shirtmaking2------------- --------------------------------------Soap and candles________________________________
Sugar, sugar confectionery, preserved fruit and vege
tables, pickles, and sauces------- ------------------------Timber---------------------- --------- ----------------------------Tobacco____ _____ ___________________ ____ ______
Assembly, construction, and repair of vehicles-------Wood furniture and upholstery---------------------------Woolen and worsted------------ ----------------------- ------Bread, flour confectionery, and biscuits___________
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, and monumental
masonry__________________ ________________ —
Building and construction.______________________
Grain milling___________________________________
Butter, cheese, condensed milk, and margarine------Canals, docks, and harbors______________________
Electricity--------------------------------------------------------Local authorities and Government departments___
Mines and quarries______________________________
Printing, publishing, and bookbinding_____ ____ _
Waterworks____________________________________
Miscellaneous industries__________________ ___ ,—
Female
Male
Female
1,017
1,747
5,152
3, 822
426
858
1,660
2, 054
954
813
7,133
213
351
173
535
37
133
165
369
115
165
218
68
95
163
201
24
100
43
66
15
63
41
664
913
2,727
2, 942
179
257
3 1, 227
1, 590
818
396
6, 856
72
388
2,089
144
3 186
368
225
29
6
189
18
3,694
3, 980
1, 369
602
3,046
5,687
3,466
2,308
3,187
2, 203
1, 252
606
177
234
98
120
278
202
104
137
378
139
83
99
131
238
67
16
144
215
350
83
125
95
31
38
714
534
196
435
2, 047
778
3729
870
3 2, 272
870
80
210
2, 672
2, 974
4 1, 008
31
577
« 4,492
2, 283
3 1,218
412
1,093
« 1, 058
259
4,834
4, 355
2,161
1,898
1,976
3, 593
8,075
595
452
367
227
219
181
825
327
93
106
67
69
111
496
1, 501
3 3, 776
501
1, 570
3 1, 341
7 1, 580
5,105
2,411
34
1,187
3 34
3 347
3 1, 721
1,649
2, 306
10, 268
3, 421
3, 517
737
3,196
19, 201
3,204
6,019
945
6,113
296
987
657
826
51
836
736
207
1,167
140
696
82
197
169
94
2
167
111
26
380
10
276
3 1,720
9, 071
2,498
3 2, 213
682
2,123
18, 314
2, 962
3 3,100
794
3,506
208
13
3 97
384
2
70
40
9
1,372
1
8 1, 635
1 Including both workers under 18 years of age and those 18 and over.
2 Wholesale factories.
3 Including fewer than 15 outside piece workers.
4 Including 126 outside piece workers.
3 Including 1,537 outside piece workers.
6 Including 52 outside piece workers.
7 Including 35 outside piece workers.
8 Including 30 outside piece workers.
of females were from 21s. Od. weekly in building and construction to
51s. 6d. weekly in the tobacco industry, and from Os. 7.8d. hourly in
the bricks, pottery, etc., group to Is. 2.7d. per hour in the tobacco
industry. Such earnings included overtime, bonuses, and other
forms of payment in excess of normal weekly wage rates; National
Health and Unemployment Insurance contributions, deducted by the
employer; and income and other public taxes, also deducted by the
employer. The range of total hours worked during the week (includ
ing overtime) was, for males, 36.2 to 50.6 for boot and shoe workers
and employees of gas works, respectively; for females the range was
from 22.4 hours in gas works to 46.6 in the bacon-curing and butter,
cream, etc., industries. The 1943 census covered a selected group of
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
855
WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
41 industries employing a total of 142,855 persons. Of these groups,
local authorities and Government departments employed the largest
number of workers—19,201-—And the brushes and brooms industry
accounted for the fewest—426. All the figures given were for a single
week in October. Details of the census concerning employment are
presented in table 1, and earnings and hours in table 2.
T a b l e 2 . —Earnings
and Hours of Wage Earners in Ireland, by Industry and Sex,
October 1943
Average earnings of wage earners1
Industry
Male
Female
d.
9.5
9.5
0.4
1.3
0.3
9.0
8.5
11.9
d.
s.
59 7
69 8
64 5
84 9
91 7
63 3
63 5
82 3
59 10
65 11
68 8
s.
d.
34 1
37 0
35 9
27 11
44 7
30 0
31 0
22 2
(«)
31 6
30 7
45.7
47.3
36.2
43.2
45.0
43.0
46.5
50.6
48.5
44.0
48. 2
43.3
46.6
34.7
25.2
43.4
40. 1
43.9
22.4
(4)
42. 7
37.8
35 9
33 8
5 30 2
32 3
29 5
5 33 9
33 7
« 29 11
32 4
36 3
5 32 0
37 1
38.7
42.4
40.8
46. 1
46. 5
43.0
5 46.9
45. 4
5 45.9
46.1
38.1
40.1
37.1
38.4
5 40.4
42.9
38.9
5 41. 1
44.4
‘ 43.3
42.4
42. 7
5 37. 4
40. 5
5
34 1
31 8
6
5
51 6
4 5 34 2
3 5 40 10
1
37 11
2
39 4
46.1
5 45. 9
45.0
44.7
5 44. 4
48.0
47.4
42. 2
39.3
42. 1
« 38.0
5 43. 4
44. 5
44.2
27 7
21 0
30 11
38 0
(4)
30 1
5 45.1
43.9
47.9
48.8
43. 6
45.8
41. 9
5 44.5
42. 2
24. 5
41. 3
46. 6
C)
26.9
s.
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
51
1
■'1
1
1
1
10.5
9.5
6.7
5.7
5.4
6.6
6.4
3.0
5.5
8.1
7.7
8.5
0
0
50
0
0
30
0
50
0
0
30
0
11.6
72 5
10.5
75 10
9.0
63 8
68 3
9.0
67 5
9. 1
9.8
66 8
9. 1 5 72 0
56 10
8.3
9. 1 5 67 2
77 2
10. 2
62 6
10.3
68 7
11.0
1
51
2
1
51
1
1
6.1
3.5
2.8
8.5
6.7
3.3
7.6
0
0
1
50
50
0
0
9.7
9.7
2.7
10.8
11.3
10.5
10.7
51
1
1
1
1
1
1
Printing, publishing, and bookbinding--------------- 5 1
5. 5
7.5
4. 2
0.1
7.3
8.6
3.8
10.9
0
0
0
0
1 Aged 18 years and over.
2Wholesale factories.
s Figures are for October 1942.
1 Less than 10 persons engaged.
* Excluding outside piece workers.
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45
11
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
7.8
10.3
9.0
9.8
:<)
1 1.4
0 9.7
Female
Female
d.
3.7
5.7
9.4
11.5
0.4
5.7
4.4
7.5
2.8
6.0
5.1
0 8.8
0 9.7
Male
Male
s.
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
Aerated and mineral waters_____ _____ _____ ..
Bacon curing------ ----------- ------------------------------Boots and shoes 2__ ____ _ ___________________
Brewing--------------------- --------------------------------Brushes and brooms----------- ------------------------ .
Chemicals, drugs, etc-. _
_____ ____________
Fellmongery and leather-------------------------------Gas works establishments_____________________
Malting L .
---------- ----------------- ------------- Oils, paints, and polishes
______
Railways and tramways------------------------ -Clothing:
M en’s and boys’ readymades 2--------------------Women’s and girls’ readymades 2----------------Miscellaneous__ , ___ -------- - D istillin g.. ..........
-------- --------------. . .
Engineering and implements . . .
.
Hosiery. .
---------- ---- -Laundry, dyeing, and cleaning----------- ------------Linen, cotton, jute, and canvas..
. . -------- Metals (excluding engineering) — --- ---------------Papermaking and stationery----------------------------Shirtmaking 2-------- --------------------------------------Soap and candles. . . . . . ___
.
. ...
Sugar, sugar confectionery, preserved fruit and
vegetables, pickles, and sauces.. . . . ------------Timber .
.
.
.
Tobacco------------ ------------------------------------------Assembly, construction, and repair of vehicles----Wood furniture and upholstery.-. ._ ------- -----Woolen and worsted__________________________
Bread, flour confectionery, and biscuits------ . ..
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, and monumental
masonry_______________________ ___________
Building and construction. _____
___
Grain m illing________________ _______________
Butter, cheese, condensed milk, and margarine. __
Canals, docks, and harbors. ______ . ----------E lectricity.. ----------- . . . . . . . . --------------------
Weekly
Weekly
Hourly
Average hours
of wage earners 1
69
» 59
100
76
5 69
61
77
5 65 11
71 3
64 6
49 2
70 3
78 10
1
» 84 9
36
4
44.8
Wage and Hour Regulation
New M inim um Rate for Cotton-Textile In d u s try 1
T H E N ational W ar Labor Board has ordered a minimum rate of
55 cents an hour for 54 cotton-textile and rayon companies located in
New England, in New York and Pennsylvania, and in the Southern
States. This rate is to replace the former minimum of 50 cents per
hour. According to its chairman, “the Board in these three textile
orders is not only raising these substandard-of-living wage rates for
the sake of the workers involved b u t is striving to increase production
in a critical war industry.” To aid the parties (the companies and
the workers) in negotiation of the wage agreements, the Board has
set forth “guidepost” rates for certain key occupations, in order to
insure a proper alignment of the wage schedules. These key-rate
guides are not identical in all three cases, because they are based on
the area rates. Thus, the lowest guide rate for the Southern and
New York-Pennsyl vania areas is 55 cents an hour for common labor,
while the lowest in the New England area is 57 cents for scrubbers and
sweepers (a few employees in the New England mills receive a rate
below the scrubber-sweeper category and thus are affected by the
minimum rate). The top “guidepost” (for loom fixers) is $1.02 in
the New England and New York-Pennsyl vania areas, while it is
90 cents in the Southern area.
Having raised the minimum rate to 55 cents, the Board found it
necessary to increase all rates above the previous 50-cent rate by 5
cents an hour, in order “to keep the minimum differentials between
immediately interrelated job classifications necessary for the main
tenance of productive efficiency.” The Board stated that it had found
the wage-rate structure compressed close to the 50-cent minimum,
because of gradual increases in minimum rates over a period of years
and failure in the past to keep the proper differentials between jobs
above the minimum.
Three other provisions of the order should be noted. The Board
ordered a retroactive paym ent equal to 5 cents per hour dating from
October 1, 1944, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. A second
provision (applicable only in the Southern area) orders paym ent of a
prem ium of 5 cents an hour for work on the third shift, and effective
as of the date of the B oard’s order. The third item pertains to 11
southern companies in which the m atter of vacations was an issue.
The Board ordered 1 week’s vacation with pay for employees with
1 year of service unless a more liberal plan was contained in an expired
contract in the company involved. The vacation allowance is to be
computed as 2 percent of the individual employee’s total earnings
during the previous year, and the employees are to receive vacation
1 National War Labor Board, Press release (B-1963) February 21, 1945.
856
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE AND HOUR REGULATION
857
pay in lieu of vacation time, if the company “requires their services in
the interest of war production.”
Wage O rder for Sugar In d u stry in P u erto Rico
BY WAGE order effective on January 15, 1945, a wage rate of 35
cents an hour became effective in the Puerto Rican sugar industry
under the terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The order applies
to employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for
commerce in the production of raw sugar, cane juice, molasses and
refined sugar, and incidental by-products, provided that the indus
try shall not include transportation by common carriers or any activity
which is exempt under section 13 (a) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938.
M inim um Wage Rates in Costa Rica, August 1944 to
June, 1 9 4 5 1
MINIMUM wage rates for a large number of industries in Costa Rica
were established by decree of August 7, 1944, to be effective from Aug
ust 11, 1944, until June 30, 1945. Such rates were to supersede any
lower rates fixed by collective agreement, but were not to affect any
higher rate so fixed nor any provisions relating to housing, land for
cultivation by workers, the furnishing of implements for work, and
medical and other benefits. In cases in which rates were not fixed by
the decree, the rates being paid on the date of publication of the decree
were to be considered the minima until replaced by officially estab
lished rates.
Monthly wages set for various occupations ranged from 15 colones 2
(with living) for cooks to 300 colones for certain supervisory nurses;
weekly wages ranged from 6 colones for printers’ apprentices to 125
colones for newspaper editors; daily wages ranged from 2.50 colones
(with food) for agricultural workers to 12 colones for sea captains;
and hourly rates ranged from 25 céntimos for weavers’ helpers to
2.25 colones for master builders in the construction industry. Piece
work rates were set in the shoe and tailoring industries.
The table below shows the rates established for workers in agricul
ture, bakeries, commerce, construction, and other industries common
to different Provinces of Costa Rica.
1 La Gaceta—Diario Oficial (San José), August 11,1944, and October 6, 1944; and report of S. Walter Wash
ington, chargé d’affaires, United States Embassy at San José, October 11, 1944.
2 Average exchange rate of colon (100 centimos), August 1944=17.6 cents.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
858
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Minimum Wage Rates Established in Costa Rica, by Province and Occupation,
August 11, 1944-June 30, 1945
Industry and occupation
Unit
Agriculture:
Skilled workers (coffee,
banana, etc.)_________
Hour____
Unskilled workers______ ___do_____
Bakeries:
Foremen___________ . . . 8-hour day1
B akers________________
do
Weighers....
________
do
Commerce:
Salaried employees____.
M onth..
Cashiers____
_______
Clerks_____ __________
Messengers___ _______
Construction:
Master workmen (forem e n ) .____________ _
Cabinetmakers . . . . . .
Carpenters____
...
Masons______ . . . . . . .
Pipe layers... _________
Painters_______________
Helpers______ _____ . . .
Laborers... _. _____ __
Domestic service:
Cooks, laundresses, servants.. _____
Nursemaids______ ____
Metallurgy:
Skilled metal workers
Helpers........ ......................
Laborers____________
Sawmills:
Filers_____________
Sawyers______________
Saw carriage m en____
Planers_______________
Wood salesm en... __
Sawyers’ or
carters’
helpers_______________
L a b o r e r s .._____
Balsa workers______ . . .
Soap factories:
Soap makers________
Slabbers___
___
Kettle workers___
Frame workers, slatters
Helpers__________
Sugar mills:
Mechanics _______
Tractor m en_______
Sugar boilers____
Centrifugal tenders
Crusher operators
Tanneries:
F o r e m e n ...___
Scrapers. ..
Laborers___
Transportation:
Taxi d r i v e r s _____
Truck drivers__________
Bus drivers
..............
Bus conductors____
_do
do
do
San José
M a
juela
Cartago Heredia Puntarenas
Colones
Colones Colones Colones
0. 46 ^ - 0. 53
0. 531/4- 0. 531/40. 62 H
0. 62H 0. 66H
. 35- . 47
.40 . 40-, 47 . 40-, 50
.90
.75
Colones
0.75
Colones
0.62H-0. 70
.50
. 50
75
2 1.00
2 1.00
.95
.80
. 70
90
.75
.95
80
.70
96. 00
96.00
50. 00
96 00
96 00
50.00
96 00
96 00
50.00
100 on
100 00
5o! oo
50.00
75. 00150. 00
50. 00
Hour____
__ d o ._ ___
___do_____
__do_. ___
_-_do___ _
___do ___
do
do
2. 25
1.35
1. 35
1. 25
1.00
. 80
.70
1. 25
1.00
1.00
1.00
1. 00
. 60
. 50
1. 25
1.00
1. 00
1.00
1.00
60
.50
1 25
1. 00
1. 00
1. 00
1. 00
60
.50
3 1. 25
3 1. 25
75
'.50
75
.50
M onth___
do
4 20.00
4 15. 00
4 15.00
4 10. 00
4 15.00
4 10.00
4 15. 00
4 10.00
4 20. 00
4 15.00
4 20.00
4 15.00
Hour____
___do_ ___
___do ___
1.00-1. 50
.80
.60
1. 00-1. 50
. 75
.50
1 00-1 50
75
.50
___do ___
___do ___
___do ___
___do__ ___
__do_
1. 25-1. 75
1. 20-1. 50
. 70-, 85
. 90-1. 30
1.00
1 50
1.25
1 50
1.25
1.10
1.00
1 10
1.00
80
. 65
.65- 75
80
65
. 65-. 75
1 00
. 85
. 75
.60
1 00
85
. 75
.60
__do ___
___do_ ___
___do ____
__.do
___do
___do
___do
__ do
___
___
___
. _
___do_
___do_
___do_
___do_
___do_
___
___
___
___
___
1.10
. 70
.60
.50
.50
1.10
. 70
.60
.50
.50
1 10
. 70
.60
. 50
. 50
.do
___do___
__-do_____
3 7 50
3 6.60
5 5. 60
90
. 80
. 70
90
80
.70
1 25
90
.75
1 25
90
.75
___do_____
__do__
___do ___
__-do_____
1.00
.80
.90
.45
1.00
. 80
. 90
.45
1 00
80
. 90
.45
1 00
80
90
.45
1 00
80
90
.45
1.20-1.45
. 75-1.05
. 65- 75
1 Rates for 6-hour night shift range from 0.90 centimo to 1.75 colones per hour.
2 For cake and biscuit makers
3 For skilled workmen.
4 W ith room and board.
6 Per day.
6 W ith commission.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Limón
WAGE AND HOUR REGULATION
859
Province oj San José.—By far the greatest number of rates in any
one Province were listed for the Province of San José, which includes
about one-third of the population of Costa Rica. Among the indus
tries covered were the following: For the textile industry, 45 different
rates ranging from 25 centimos per hour for weavers’ helpers to 1.50
colones for mechanics and 1.80 colones for dyers; for carpentry and
woodwork, 27 rates ranging from 50 centimos per' hour for varnishers
to 1.50 colones for cabinetmakers, turners, and wood carvers; for
aviation workers, 23 rates with a low of 60 centimos per hour and a
high of 1.75 colones; for brewery workers, 8 rates ranging from 35 to
75 centimos per hour; and for nurses, 13 rates ranging from 50 colones
per month for practical and student nurses to 300 colones for head
nurses. The highest minima set in the Nation were also in this
Province—7 colones per hour for occasional work by orchestra directors
and pianists.
Province oj Guanacaste.—The smallest number of rates for any one
Province were set for the northwestern Province of Guanacaste, an
area in which the main occupation is grazing. Hourly rates for con
struction and wood workers were 50 centimos to 1.00 colon and for
sugar-mill workers from 45 to 75 centimos. Agricultural laborers
were to receive from 2.50 to 3.20 colones per day with food. Rates
for cattle ranch workers were established by the month, with a low
of 20.00 colones (food provided) and a high of 80.00 colones.
Piece-work rates.-—Throughout all the Provinces except Guanacaste,
piece-work rates were established for most processes in tailoring
and shoemaking and for some occupations in other industries. For
the sugar industry, some rates (not given in the table) were fixed
(per 100 bundles) for processes involying bundles of sugarcane.
M inim um Wage Rates in New Zealand, 1944
THE annual report of the New Zealand Department of Labor for
1944 included minimum wage rates in a number of principal industries.
Such rates were established by awards issued by the Court of Arbi
tration, and were in effect on March 31, 1944. With stated excep
tions, all the wage rates are subject to an increase of 5 percent as
from August 12, 1940, and an additional 5-percent increase from
April 7, 1942. In addition, as shown in the table, further rises in
specified rates have been authorized under the emergency regulations
of December 15, 1942, which permitted the Court of Arbitration to
increase rates in cases involving anomalies or in those already pending
at the date of the regulations, and to grant increases up to £5 5s. a
week for male workers or to £3 for females.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
860
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
Minimum-Wage Rates in New Zealand, as of March 31, 1944
[With exceptions noted, all rates shown are subject to 5-percent increase from Aug. 12, 1940, and an addi
tional 5-percent increase from Apr. 7, 1942]
Minimum rate
Per hour
Per 40-hour
week
Increase
from
Dec. 15,
1942
s. d.
£ s. d.
15 5 0
to
5 0
Occupational group
Bacon workers_______________,____
16
4 15 0
to
5 15 0
2 15 0
M ale_____ __________________
2
6M
1 105H
m
2
5
to
9
22 10 0
33 0 0
15 5 0
to
16 5 0
F em ale,......................
Butchers (retail)_______
2
2 15 0
64
8
to
35 0
32 h
to
3 2 15
Female______________ ____ _____
Clerical workers:
M a le .______ ______________ ____
F em ale.____________ ________ _
Clothing-trade employees:
M ale__________________________
Female________________________
Coach workers..___________________
Flour-mill employees.
0
7 4 16 6
to
76 0 6
4 16
to
5 8
«4 13
io 5 10
M otor.
Engineering-trade employees.
0
6
5 2 6
2 15 0
Drivers:
Engine drivers, firemen, and greasers:
Drivers, first-class certificate_____
Drivers, second-class certificate___
Firemen and greasers____________
4
85 10 0
63 5 0
Cheese- and butter-factory employees.
Linesmen.
1 10 0
7
M a le ..___________
Horse_____________
Passenger transport.
Electrical workers:
Tradesmen................
2 6
5 0
2
2
Canister workers:
M ale______________
Female__________
Carpenters and joiners...
Cleaners and caretakers:
10 0
1 5 15 0
Bakers__________________________
Biscuit and confectionery workers:
Female____________________ ..
Boot and shoe operatives:
M ale________________________
F em ale,..........................................
Bricklayers_____________________
Brick, tile, and pottery workers:
S. d.
2
2
to
8
0
0
0
0
a
2 4M
( 8)
( 8)
M
2
to
2 11
2 4
to
2 8
6 6
5 6 6
5 16
4 16 6
11M
1 44-hour week.
2 Dunedin.
3 N ew Zealand Insulators, Timaru.
4 Allowed.
5 40- to 44-hour week.
8 Establishment hours.
7 Butter, 40-, 44-, or 48-hour week, according to season; cheese, 38-, 44-, or 52-hour week, according to season.
* 5-percent increase for 42-hour week, 7M-percent increase for 43-hour week, and 10-percent increase for
44-hour week.
8 3s. increase per week for 2 horses, and 6d. per day extra for each additional horse.
i° 88 hours per fortnight; 80 for omnibus drivers.
h For storemen.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
861
WAGE AND HOUR REGULATION
Minimum-Wage Rates in New Zealand, as of March 31, 1944—Continued
W ith exceptions noted, ail rates shown are subject to 5-percent increase from Aug. 12, 1940, and an addit
tional 5-percent increase from Apr. 7, 1942]
Minimum rate
Occupational group
Per hour
s. d.
Fur workers:
M ale__ _
----Female --- _______________
______________
Gas-works employees_________________
..
_____
Glove workers:
___ _
- - - ---
£
- - - - - _______ - ___
. . . _________________
Furniture-trade employees, male___
Male
Per 40-hour
week
-_
2
to
2
2
to
2
4M
9
4M
9
________________ - .-
. . . . ...
1
J
.
-
(
•!
1
4 17
to
5 10
2 15
15 5
6
Male
_
- - - - -
Female_____ . . . _______ _ _
.
................. .
j
______
Painters and decorators.
.................
Plasterers________ _ _ _ . _ .
Plum bers... ___. .
_ ____
...
....
__
_____
...
Printers’ machinists, etc_______________ . ________________
Rubber workers:
___________
_
_
___
[
4
1
M ale____________ _____
is 2
is 2
is 2
is 2
Female
_
...
I
___
„
f
4
1
17
19
15
17
2 6
5 5 0
2 12 6
1 0
2 6
4
5 0
to
1_________
5 15 0
f
5 0
2 6
2 4
to
1___________
2 9 J
1 3M
1 44-hour week.
5 40- to 44-hour week.
u 44-hour week. N ot subject to the 5-percent increase from Aug. 12,1940.
13 N ot subject to the 5-percent increase from Aug. 12, 1940.
n 42-hour week.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
2
0
6
n5
H3
...................
.
4 10 0
to
1_________
6 0 0 J
2 15 0
9.575
6.950
7.475
9.575
. ..
. _____ . . .
4 10 0
1_________
to
5 7 6 1
2 4M
1 .......
to
3 0 1
1
Warehouse employees:
Male _________ __________
Female
Woolen-mill employees:
....
4
4
4
4
____1____
f
. . ______ \
1
_________ _
15 0
1_________
to
5 0 J
2 6
12 6
15 10 0
13 7 6
Tobacco workers:
M ale. __________ ______ - _ .
_______
Female.
_ _ _____ _ _
_
. . .
Tramway employees:
Motormen (after first y e a r ) __
_ .
____ _
Conductors (after first year) . . . _ .
. . .
Conductors (after fifth year)____________ ___ __________ _
Motor-bus drivers. ________________________ . ______
Typographers__ ____ - __________ . . _
2 5
1
to
2 11 f
2 9
2 10M
2 9M
f
■j
1
- _
Female_______ ___
._ .
______
Shop assistants:
M ale. ____ . .
. ____
_
._ ______
___
Female____ _ _________ _____
.
__ _______
Storemen and packers:
Wholesale ______________ _____ ___ - . .
- .
- .. .
Oil stores__
__
...
Wool, grain, etc., s to r e s _______
. ____
___
Fruit and produce_________ .
_________________
Timber-yard and sawmill em ployees.-,
1_________
0 I
2 6
0
0
1
1
f 34
4
[ « 6
«2
...............
...
M ale. __________
2 4
to
2 7
________
Motor-engineering-trade employees . .
M
12 5 13 0
13 17 6
f
4
l
......................
2 6
1
1
Female________
______ ___________ Grocers’ assistants_____ . . . ________ . _________ ..
Hairdressers:
- - - - - Male . _____ _ . - . ________
Female__
... . .
______
__________
Laborers____. . .
s. d.
s. d.
5 10 0
2 15 0
\
_ .. 4
1
f
4
1
Laundry workers:
Increase
from
Dec. 15,
1942
Cost o f Living and Retail Prices
L iving Co9ts in Large Cities, F ebruary 1945
ONLY minor changes occurred in retail prices of most staples pur
chased by moderate-income city families during the month ending
February 15, 1945. The continued seasonal decline in egg prices
was the chief cause of a decrease of 0.6 percent in average food prices
and 0.2 percent in prices of living essentials. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics cost-of-living index for February 1945 was 126.8 percent
of the 1935-39 average and 2.4 percent above the level of February
1944.
Prices of the family food budget, with the exception of eggs, were
comparatively stable. Prices were higher for onions, spinach,
potatoes, and sweetpotatoes, while those of oranges, green beans, and
cabbage were lower, as new crop shipments reached retail markets
and “disaster” ceilings were removed from some crops. On the
average, fresh fruit and vegetable prices declined slightly. Eggs,
which represent about 6% percent of the average family’s food costs,
dropped seasonally by 9.7 percent during the month.
Clothing prices rose 0.2 percent between mid-January and midFebruary, with scattered advances for many clothing articles, result
ing from continued short supplies of medium- and low-priced mer
chandise. Women’s percale housedresses and rayon underwear and
men’s cotton socks and woolen suits showed the largest cost increases
during the month.
Housefurnishings prices rose slightly (0.1 percent) as a result of
some increases in prices of bedroom furniture, gas stoves, wool rugs,
and sheets. February furniture sales were not so widespread as
usual. The housefurnishings index for February reflects in some
cities, in addition to the price movement of the month, a downward
adjustment of costs of some goods of pre-war quality, especially
spring-filled living-room furniture. These adjustments were based
on additional price information which has become available as these
goods have moved into retail stores in greater volume than at any
other time since their reappearance early in 1944.
Higher coal prices caused a 0.3-percent rise in average prices for
the fuel, electricity, and ice group. Ketail coal and coke dealers,
restricted to 1-ton deliveries by order of the Solid Fuels Administrator
for War, in February were permitted by OPA to raise their delivery
prices 25 cents a ton if this price increase had not already been
imposed.
862
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
863
COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES
Miscellaneous goods and services rose only 0.1 percent. Charges
for haircuts were raised in two cities, and cigarettes cost more in two
cities as customers could no longer buy more than one package at
a time. Rents were not surveyed in February.
In connection with the data shown in the following tables, it should
be borne in mind that the Bureau of Labor Statistics index indicates
average changes in retail prices of selected goods, rents, and services,
bought by families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers in
large cities. The items covered represented 70 percent of the ex
penditures of families which had incomes ranging from $1,250 to
$2,000 in 1934-36. The index does not show the full wartime effect
on the cost of living of such factors as lowered quality, disappearance
of low-priced goods, and forced changes in housing and eating away
from home. It does not measure changes in total 1'living costs”—
that is, in the total amount families spend jor living. Income taxes
and bond subscriptions are not included.1
T a b l e 1.— Indexes of Cost of Living in Large Cities, Feb. 15, 1945, and Earlier Dates
Indexes1 (1935-39=100) of cost of—
Date
1939:
1941:
1942:
1943:
1944:
1945:
Aug. 15__________________
Jan. 15. __ ______________
M ay 15__________________
M ay 15__________________
Feb. 15__________________
Jan. 1 5 __________________
Feb. 15_____ ____ ________
All
items
98.6
100.8
116.0
125.1
123.8
127.1
126.8
Food
93. 5
97.8
121.6
143. 0
134.5
137.3
136.5
Clothing
100.3
100.7
126.2
127.9
135.2
143.0
143.3
Fuel,
Houseelectricity, furnishings
and ice
Bent
104.3
105.0
109.9
108.0
108.1
(2)
(2)
97. 5
100.8
104.9
107. 6
110.3
109.7
110.0
100.6
100.1
122.2
125.1
128.7
143. 6
143.8
M is
cella
neous
100.4
101.9
110.9
115.3
118.7
123.1
123.2
1 Based on changes in cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
2 Bents not surveyed in this month.
T a b l e 2 . —Percent of Change 1 in Cost of Living in Large Cities in Specified Periods
Date
All
items
Food
Cloth
ing
B e n t2
Jan. 15, 1945, to Feb. 15, 1945___________
Feb. 15, 1944, to Feb. 15, 1945___________
M ay 15, 1943, to Feb. 15, 1945__________
M ay 15, 1942, to Feb. 15, 1945... ___
Jan. 15, 1941, to Feb. 15, 1945___________
Aug. 15, 1939, to Feb. 15, 1945_.._..........
- 0 .2
+ 2 .4
+ 1 .4
+ 9.3
+25.8
+28.6
- 0 .6
+ 1 .5
- 4 .5
+12.3
+39.6
+46.0
+ 0 .2
+ 6 .0
+12.0
+13.5
+42.3
+42.9
(3)
+ 0 .2
+ .3
- 1 .5
+3.1
+ 3 .8
Fuel, elec House- Miscel
furnish laneous
tricity,
and ice
ings
+ 0.3
-.3
+ 2 .2
+ 4.9
+9. 1
+12.8
+0.1
+11.7
+14.9
+17.7
+43.7
+42.9
+0.1
+ 3 .8
+ 6 .9
+11.1
+20.9
+22.7
1 Based oh changes in cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
2 Changes through December 15, 1944.
3 Bents not surveyed in January and February.
1 For a description of the methods used in computing the index, see Description of the Cost of Living
Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For an appraisal of the factors enumerated above, see the report
of the President’s Committee on the Cost of Living, November 17,1944.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
864
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 3 . —Percent of Change
1 in Cost of Living in Specified Periods, by Cities
‘Feb. 15,
Aug. 15,
Jan. 1,
M ay 15,
M ay 15,
1944,
1939,
1941,
1942,
1943,
to Feb. 15, to Feb. 15, to Feb. 15, to Feb. 15, to Feb. 15,
1945
1945
1945
1945
1945
City
Average: Large cities________. . . . _____
+ 2 .4
+28.6
+25.8
+ 9 .3
+ 1 .4
N ew England: Boston. _ _______
M iddle Atlantic:
Buffalo_________________________
N ew York___
_____ _ __________
Philadelphia... . . . .
_____ . . .
Pittsburgh________
_ ____________
East North Central:
Chicago. . .
.
. . . _____
Cincinnati______ __________
Cleveland. . . . .
____ _ . . .
D etroit____________ ._ _ ________ _
West North Central:
Kansas C ity_______________ . . . _ _
Minneapolis . . . . ______________ __
St. Louis___________________________
South Atlantic:
B a ltim o re... _____ _ ______ ____ _
Savannah___ _ . . . ______
__
Washington, D . C___________ ______
East South Central: B irm in gh am ............
W est South Central: Houston___________
Mountain: D enver_______ . . . . . . . _
Pacific:
Los Angeles___________________ .
San Francisco______________ ______
Seattle ___________
__ _ ________
+ 2 .4
+27.0
+24.4
+ 8 .7
+. 8
+2.1
+ 2 .6
+ 2 .8
+ 3 .2
+29.5
+28.7
+29. 2
+30.1
+25.2
+26.1
+27.4
+26.5
+ 5 .9
+12.4
+10. 2
+10.5
- .9
+ 2 .6
+ 1 .3
+ 2 .5
+ 2 .7
+ 2 .6
+ 1 .4
+ 2 .5
+27.3
+30.1
+29.6
+29.4
+24.1
+27.1
+27.1
+26.2
+ 7.8
+ 9 .2
+9.1
+ 7.3
+ .9
+ 2 .3
+ 1 .2
+ .2
+ 2 .5
+ 1 .7
+ 2 .3
+26.8
+23.6
+27.5
+27.0
+21.0
+23.9
+ 9 .6
+ 6.3
+ 8 .2
+ 2 .0
+1.1
+ .9
+ 3 .5
+ 2 .2
+ 2 .5
+ 2 .7
+ 1 .5
+ 2 .7
+31.6
+36.1
+27.8
+32.5
+23.9
+27.7
+29.0
+33.2
+26.1
+28.4
+22.4
+25.9
+ 9.9
+11.7
+ 9 .9
+ 9 .9
+ 7 .4
+ 8 .9
+ 1.3
+ 2 .4
+ 1 .9
+ 3 .7
+ 2 .2
+ 3 .3
+ 2 .3
+28.0
+32.1
+30.2
+25.5
+28.9
+27.9
+ 8 .9
+11.6
+ 7 .8
+ 2 .2
+ 2 .4
+ .8
+ 1 .2
1 Based on indexes of cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
T a b l e 4 . —Percent of Change 1in Cost of Living, Jan. 15, to Feb. 15, 1945, by Cities
City
Average: Large cities__________ _ . .
N ew England: Boston_____ _
M iddle Atlantic:
Buffalo_______ __ _____ _
N ew York____________ .
Philadelphia __________
Pittsburgh___ . .
East North Central:
Chicago__________
Cincinnati- _______ _
Cleveland,
_ ...
.
D etroit. - _____
West North Central:
Kansas C ity___________ ____ . . .
Minneapolis___ _ _ . _______
St. L o u is __ __________
South Atlantic:
Baltimore_____ . . . ________
Savan nah___ .
.
______
"Washington, D . C ________ . . .
East South Central: Birmingham . .
W est South Central: H o u s t o n - ..___
Mountain: D enver_________________
Pacific:
Los A n g eles_____ _____________
San Francisco______________
Seattle_______ ____
All
items
Food
Clothing
Fuel, elec
tricity,
and ice
Housefurnish
ings
Miscella
neous
2- 0 .2
3 -0 .6
4+0. 2
s+0.3
<+0.1
-.2
-.5
+ .2
+ .3
-. 2
0
+ .2
-. 4
+ .4
-.1
+ .6
- 1 .0
+ .6
-.6
+ .4
+ .1
+ .4
+ .5
+ .2
+ .3
+1.1
0
6 -3 .2
+ .1
+ .9
+ 2 .4
0
0
0
0
-.2
- .3
- .2
+ .1
-.6
- .7
-. 5
- .5
+ .1
+ .8
+ .2
+ .1
0
0
+ .2
+ .4
6 -2 .3
8 -3 .3
+ 1.1
+ 5 .4
o
o
0
0
-.1
0
7—.3
- .8
- .8
7—.6
+ .6
+ 1 .4
0
0
0
+. 1
0
+ 1 .9
6 -1 .3
+ .4
0
0
+• 2
8+.2
-.1
-.6
-.2
-.2
0
8+ . l
-.4
- 1 .5
-.8
-.7
+ .1
+.2
0
+ .2
0
+ .4
+ .4
0
+ .6
+ .1
0
0
0
+.6
+ .3
« - .6
6 -, 1
+ .4
+ .4
+.5
+ -1
-. 1
o
0
- .4
- .6
-.3
- 1 .1
- 1 .1
- .8
+ .1
0
+ .4
0
0
+ .1
+ 2 .6
6-6. 5
5
6+0.1
0
0
0
1 Based on indexes of cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
2 Rents not surveyed in February.
3 Based on prices for 56 cities collected on the Tuesday nearest the 15th of the month.
4 Based on data for 21 cities.
1 Based on data for 34 cities.
e Revised, owing to downward adjustment for some housefurnishings of pre-war quality, based on addi
tional information obtained after reappearance of these goods in retail markets in 1044.
7 Indexes for Jan. 15, 1945, revised: All items 125.5; Food 140.0.
8 Indexes for Jan. 15, 1945, revised: All items 134.8; Food 150.7.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
865
COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES
T able 5.-—Indexes of Cost of Living in Large Cities, 1935 to February 1945
Indexes 1 (1935-39=100) of cost of—
Year and month
All
items
1935
__ _________________
1936_________________________
1937 _______________________
1938 - -- -- ____________
1939
_____________________
1940
___________________
1 9 4 1 ___
______________
1942_____ _________________
1943 . . ______ ____________
1944 . . ___________________
Jan. 15___________ _______
Feb. 1 5 ________________
Mar. 15________________
4pr. 15______ ________
M ay 15______ _________
June 15________ _ ____
July 1 5 _________________
Aug. 15 ____ _ __ _ .
Sept. 15________________
Oct. 1 5 _______ _________
N ov. 15_____ __________
Dec. 1 5 _______ _ _ ____
1945:
J a n .15_________________
Feb. 15________________
Food
Clothing
Rent
98.1
99.1
102.7
100.8
99.4
100.2
105.2
116.5
123.6
125.5
124.2
123.8
123.8
124.6
125.1
125.4
126.1
126.4
126.5
126.5
126.6
127.0
100.4
101.3
105.3
97.8
95.2
96.6
105.5
123.9
138.0
136.1
136.1
134. 5
134.1
134.6
135.5
135.7
137.4
137.7
137.0
136.4
136.5
137.4
96.8
97.6
102.8
102.2
100.5
101.7
106.3
124.2
129.7
138.8
134.7
135.2
136.7
137.1
137.4
138.0
138.3
139.4
141.4
141.9
142.1
142.8
94.2
96.4
100.9
104.1
104.3
104.6
106.2
108.5
108.0
108.2
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.2
108.2
108.2
(2)
(2)
108.3
127.1
126.8
137.3
136.5
143.0
143.3
(2)
(2)
Fuel,
electric
ity, and
ice
Housefurnish
ings
100.7
100.2
100.2
99.9
99.0
99.7
102.2
105.4
107.7
109.8
109.5
110.3
109.9
109.9
109.8
109.6
109.7
109.8
109.8
109.8
109.9
109.4
94.8
96.3
104.3
103.3
101.3
100.5
107.3
122.2
125.6
136.4
128.3
128.7
129.0
132.9
135.0
138.4
138.7
139.3
140.7
141.4
141.7
143.0
98.1
98.7
101.0
101.5
100.7
101.1
104.0
110.9
115.8
121.3
118.4
118.7
119.1
120.9
121.3
121.7
122.0
122.3
122.4
122.8
122.9
123.1
109.7
• 110.0
143.6
143.8
123.1
123.2
Miscel
laneous
1 Based on changes in cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
2 Rents not surveyed in this month.
R etail Prices of Food in January 1945
PERCENTAGE changes in retail food costs on January 16, 1945,
as compared with costs in the previous month and in January 1944,
are shown in table 1.
T
able
1.—Percent of Change in Retail Costs of Food in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 by
Commodity Groups, in Specified Periods
Commodity group
All foods
___
_____
Cereals and bakery products_________ _______ ____
Meats
__ __ _
____ __ ________
Beef and veal
__ _
_____
Pork__
.
___________
__ _
Lamb
______
_ . .
Chickens
__ . . ___________ __________
Fish, fresh and canned______ _
_ _ ________
Dairy products____________ ______ _ _ ____________
___ _______
Eggs".".. ___________ _________
Fruits and vegetables ______________________
F r e s h .____ ___ __________________
_ ..
C a n n e d __
..
____ -_ . . - ___ ____
Dried______ ______ ____ ___ _____
.
Beverages
. . _________ -. _ _ .
______•
Fats and oils___________________________ _______
Sugar and sweets . -- . ___________ _ .
__
Jan. 18,
1944, to
Jan. 16,
1945
- 0 .1
+ 0 .9
+ 8 .5
+40.4
+46.8
- .6
- .8
-.3
+ 1 .3
+ 1 .5
- 6 .0
0
+10.1
+ 1 .3
+ 1 .5
0
+ 2 .5
0
-.5
-.2
+ 3.1
-.3
- 6 .0
- 9 .3
+ 1 .3
+13.8
+24.9
+ 4 .5
+ 9 .3
+30.2
+36.5
+ 4 .8
+16.4
+ .5
+ 2 .2
- .6
+14.5
+ 28.8
+ 8 .2
+30.7
+37.3
+56.6
+77.0
+27.0
+74.1
+81.0
+90.5
+41.9
+67.6
+36.9
+53.7
+32.5
+16.4
+36.1
+18.9
+27.8
+37.1
+60.9
+110.9
+43.4
+87.0
+82.8
+91.7
+41.6
+84.8
+31.1
+46.0
+32.1
+ .1
+ .2
+. 1
+ .2
-. I
+ 1 .1
-.4
0
-1 0 .0
+ 2 .9
+ 3 .5
-.2
+ .3
+ .1
+ .1
- .1
Sept. 15,
1942, to
Jan. 16,
1945
Jan. 14,
1941, to
Jan. 16,
1945
Aug. 15,
1939, to
Jan. 16,
1945
Dec. 12,
1944,to
Jan. 16,
1945
1 The number of cities included in the index was changed from 51 to 56 in March 1943, with the necessary
adjustments for maintaining comparability. A t the same time the number of foods in the index was in
creased from 54 to 61.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
00
O
05
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD TO CITY WORKERS
AVERAGE FOR LARGE CITIES
,NDEX
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1 9 3 5 -3 9 = 100
867
COST OF LIVING AND DETAIL PRICES
R ETA IL PRICES FOR GROUPS OF FOOD
AVERAGE FOR LARGE CITIES
>
____TO
Y
P ROD J C T Î
A
LL F 30DS
J-
1929
19 3 0
1931
1932
1933
1934
UNITED ST A T E S DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S _____________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1935
1936
19 3 7
19 3 8
1939
1940
1941
1942
19 4 3
1944
1945
1946
868
m on th ly labor review — April
T a b l e 2 . —Indexes
1945
of Retail Costs of Food in 56 1 Large Cities Combined,2 by Commodity
Groups, on Specified Dates
[1935-39=100]
1945
1944
1942
1941
1939
Aug. 15
Commodity group
J a n .16
Dec. 12
J a n .18
Sept. 15
Jan. 14
All foods____ ____________ __________
137.3
137.4
136.1
126.6
97.8
93.5
Cereals and bakery products______
M ea ts..
___________________________
Beef and veal-. ________ _
_____
Pork_________ _ _____________
L a m b ____________________ ______
C hickens,-. ____
__ ___ ____
Fish, fresh and canned____ - - . . .
Dairy products________ . _______ ____
Eggs--------------------------------------------------Fruits and vegetables________ _______ _
Fresh_____________________________
Canned__________ ______ __________
Dried- ____ ______ ____ ______ -Beverages______ _____ ____ . . - - ---- --Fats and oils........ ........ ............
Sugar and sw eets-, _______________ _
108.7
130.2
118.4
112.5
135.5
152.2
210.1
133.5
169.6
168.9
177.9
129. 7
166.9
124.4
123.4
126.3
108.6
129.9
118.3
112.3
135.6
150.6
211.0
133.5
188.5
164.2
171.9
129.9
166.4
124.3
123.3
126.4
108.5
131.0
119.3
112.8
133.8
149.9
223.5
133.5
154.0
166.7
175.3
129.7
162.8
124.4
124.0
126.6
105.4
130.6
126.0
124.0
133.7
133.7
168.2
127.7
155.2
129.7
130.3
123.8
143.4
123.8
120.7
127.0
94.9
101.1
109.4
86.1
98.7
97.2
118.7
105.1
97.4
93.3
93.4
91.4
99.6
90.9
80.3
95.3
93.4
95.7
99.6
88.0
98.8
94.6
99.6
93.1
90.7
92.4
92.8
91.6
90.3
94.9
84.5
95.6
1 Indexes based on 51 cities combined prior to March 1943.
2 Aggregate costs of 61 foods (54 foods prior to March 1943) in each'city, weighted to represent total pur
chases of families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers, have been combined w ith the use of popula
tion weights.
T a b l e 3 . —Average
Retail Prices of 78 Foods in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 January
1945 Compared With Earlier Months
1945
1944
1941
1939
Aug. 15
Article
Cereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
Flour, w heat______________ ___10 pounds.
Macaroni_________________ . . . --.p o u n d ..
Wheat cereal2____ ________ ____28 ounces..
Corn flakes___ ________ . _____8 ounces. _
Corn m eal........ ... .................. - _____ pound..
R ic e 2- - _______________ . . . ______ do____
Rolled oats___ _________ _____ do____
Flour, pancake2..................... ____20 ounces..
Bakery products:
Bread, w hite____ _______ _____pound..
Bread, whole-wheat_______ _____ _do____
______ do____
Bread, rye________ ____ Vanilla cookies____________ ______ d o ___
Soda cra c k e r s---_________ ______ do____
Meats:
Beef:
Round steak___________
______ do____
Rib roast_____ ______ _____ _ __ ___do_
Chuck roast_______ . . . __ ______ do_ ___
Stew m e a t2_______________ ______ do__ __
Liver__________________ __ _____ do____
Hamburger_______________ ______do____
Veal:
C utlets___________________ ______ do____
Roast, boned and rolled 2___ ______ do____
Pork:
Chops_______ ____________ ___ __do____
Bacon, sliced__ __________ _ __ __do____
Ham, sliced_______________ ______ do.........
Ham, whole______________ ______ do........
Salt pork__________________ ______ do____
Liver 2____________________ ______ do____
Sausage2 ________________ ______ do____
Bologna, big 2______________ ______ do____
Lamb:
Leg...... .................. ............. ....... ______ do____
Rib chops____ ____________ ______ do____
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Jan. 16
Dec. 12
Jan. 18
Jan. 14
Cents
64.2
15.7
23.2
6.5
6.4
12.8
10.2
12.3
Cents
64.1
15.7
23.1
6.5
6.4
12.8
10.2
12.3
Cents
64.6
15.5
23.3
6.5
5.9
12.8
8.7
11.9
Cents
41.4
13.8
23.5
7.1
4.2
7.9
7.1
0
Cents
35.8
14.0
24.2
7.0
4.0
7.5
7.1
(3)
8.8
9.6
9.9
28.8
18.9
8.8
9.6
9.9
28.9
18.9
8.9
9.8
10.0
28.8
18.7
7.8
8.7
9.0
25.1
15.0
7.8
8.8
9.2
40.5
32.8
28.1
30.1
37.3
27.4
40.6
32.9
28.2
30.4
37.3
27.5
42.0
34.0
29.2
31.7
37.2
28.7
38.6
31.5
25.2
(3)
0
0
36.4
28.9
22.5
(3)
0
(3)
44.5
35.5
44.8
35.9
46.0
35.4
45.2
(s)
0
37.3
40.9
50.0
35.3
22.2
22.1
38.2
33.6
37.3
40.9
50.0
35.2
21.9
22.0
38.5
33.9
37.6
41.4
51.6
35.6
22.6
22.2
38.4
34.4
29.1
30.1
45.1
26.2
16.7
(3)
0
(3)
39.9
45.4
40.1
45.7
40.1
45.3
27.8
35.0
0
14.8
42.5
30.9
30.4
46.4
27.4
15.4
0
0
0
27.6
36.7
869
COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES
T a b l e 3 . —Average
Retail Prices of 78 Foods in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 January
1945 Compared With Earlier Months—Continued
1945
1944
1941
1939
Aug. 15
Article
M eats—Continued.
Poultry: Roasting chickens____________ pound..
Fish:
do____
Fish (fresh, frozen)__________
Salmon, pink_______________ 16-ounce can..
Salmon, r ed 2. _____
do____
Dairy products:
Butter................
.pound ..
Cheese_______
do___ ..
M ilk, fresh (d elivered)........................... .quart..
M ilk, fresh (store)____________________ do.........
M ilk, evaporated_____________ 14}^-ounce can..
Eggs: Eggs, fresh_________________________ dozen..
Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh fruits:
Apples___________________________pound..
B a n a n a s............. ................
.do____
Oranges----------------------- ---------------- dozen._
Grapefruit2____
each..
Fresh vegetables:
Beans, green___ _____
pound..
Cabbage________________
Carrots_________________
...b u n c h ..
Lettuce________
.h ead ..
O nions....................................... ............ pound..
Potatoes___ ______ ___________ 15 pounds..
Spinach ........ .......•_............................pound..
Sweetpotatoes__ ___________
...d o ____
Beets 2_...........
.b u n ch ..
Canned fruits:
Peaches.......................................... N o. 2Y can..
Pineapple_________________________ do___
Grapefruit juice...................... .........No. 2 can..
Canned vegetables:
Beans, green.....................
do____
C om ____________________
do____
P e a s .................................
do____
Tomatoes___ _____
do____
Soup, vegetable 2—............. ....... 11-ounce can ..
Dried fruits: Prunes__________________pound..
Dried vegetables:
N a v y beans______________________ pound..
Soup, dehydrated, chicken noodle2 .ounce. _
Beverages:
Coffee__ ______ _____________________ pound. .
Tea-------------pound..
Cocoa 2___ _____ ___________________Yt pound..
Fats and oils:
Lard________________________________ pound..
Shortening other than lard—
In cartons_______
do____
In other containers___________
do____
Salad dressing.____ _______
pint—
Oleomargarine_______________________ pound..
Peanut butter________________
do____
Oil, cooking or salad2___________________ p in t..
Sugar and sweets:
Sugar.____________ _______________ ...p o u n d ..
Corn sirup____________________ ___ 24 ounces..
Molasses 2________ _____ ______ ____ 18 ounces..
Apple butter 2_____________ _____ ..16 ounces..
Jan. 16
Dec. 12
Jan. 18
Jan. 14
Cents
45.5
Cents
45.0
Cents
44.9
Cents
31.1
22.5
40.4
(5)
23.2
41.8
(5)
15.7
26.4
49.8
35.7
15.6
14.5
10.0
60.2
50.0
36.0
15.6
14.5
10.0
66.9
50.2
36.1
15.6
14.4
10.0
54.3
38.0
27.0
13.0
11.9
7.1
34.9
30.7
24.7
12.0
11.0
6.7
32.0
11.1
10.4
44.5
8.8
10.7
11.1
43.7
8.8
10.8
11.7
40.5
7.4
5.2
6.6
27.3
(9)
4.4
6.1
31.5
(9)
20.5
5.8
9.2
12.5
5.0
67.6
11.9
8.0
9.7
25.9
6.0
10.4
12.2
7.7
64.1
11.6
10.6
9.6
14.0
3.4
6.0
8.4
3.6
29.2
7.3
5.0
(3)
7.2
3.9
4.6
8.4
3.6
34.4
7.8
5.5
(3)
27.6
26.6
14.3
27.8
26.7
14.4
27.0
27.7
14.4
«
13.1
14.7
13.3
12.0
13.4
17.2
13.1
14.7
13.2
12.1
13.3
17.0
14.0
14.5
14.2
12.2
13.2
17.0
10.0
10.7
13.2
8.4
(?)
9.6
11.2
3.7
11.1
3.7
10.5
3.7
6.5
30.3
24.1
10.3
30.3
24.0
10.4
29.8
23.5
9.7
(!)
23.0
40.3
23.2
7.4
do_________
8.7
11.8
5.3
72.0
11.6
8.8
9.7
(')
12.8
23.1
17.1
21.0
16.5
20.9
(9)
(3)
10.0
10.4
13.6
8.6
(3)
8.8
5.8
(3)
22.3
17.2
8.6
20.7
17.6
9.1
18.8
18.8
18.8
9.3
9.9
20.1
24.7
25.7
24.1
28.4
30.7
20.2
24.8
25.8
24.2
28.3
30.7
20.0
24.8
25.5
24.0
28.9
30.7
11.3
18.3
20.1
15.6
17.9
(4)
11.7
20.2
(4)
16.5
17.9
(4)
6.7
15.8
15.8
13.5
6.7
15.8
15.9
13.5
6.8
15.9
15.9
13.2
5.1
13.6
13.4
(3)
5.2
13.7
13.6
1 Data are based on 51 cities combined prior to January 1943.
2 N ot included in index.
3 First priced, February 1943.
* N ot priced.
5 Composite price not computed.
• First priced, October 1941.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
«
Cents
30.9
(3)
870
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 19 45
T a b l e 4 . — Indexes of Average Retail Costs of A ll Foods, by Cities,1 on Specified Dates
[1935-39 = 100]
1945
1944
1941
1939
Aug. 15
City
United States_______
N ew England:
Boston_________
Bridgeport______
Pall River______
Manchester_____
N ew H aven_____
Portland, MaineProvidence_____
Middle Atlantic:
Buffalo_________
Newark________
New York______
Philadelphia____
Pittsburgh______
Rochester_______
Scranton________
East North Central:
Chicago_________
Cincinnati______
Cleveland_______
Columbus, Ohio.D etroit_________
Indianapolis_____
M ilwaukee______
Peoria_________
Springfield, 111
West North Central:
Cedar Rapids A
Kansas C ity____
Minneapolis_____
Omaha__________
St. Louis____ St. Paul_________
Wichita 2_______
South Atlantic:
A tlanta__________
Baltimore___
Charleston, S. C_.
Jacksonville...... .
Norfolk 3_.......... .
Richmond_______
Savannah______
Washington, D. C
Winston-Salem 2
East South Central:
Birm ingham .........
Jackson 2________
Knoxville 2______
Louisville_______
M em phis________
M obile__________
West South Central:
Dallas___________
Houston_________
Little R ock______
New Orleans_____
Mountain:
B utte___________
Denver__________
Salt Lake C ity___
Pacific:
Los Angeles______
Portland, Oreg___
San Francisco____
Seattle___________
J a n .16
Dec. 12
J a n .18
Jan. 14
137.3
137.4
136.1
97.8
93.5
132.8
134.2
132.5
134.0
135.1
132.4
135.6
132.7
134.6
132.2
133.6
135.3
133.1
135.7
130.9
135.1
131.2
132.5
136.3
132.3
132.0
95.2
96.5
97.5
96.6
95.7
95.3
96.3
93.5
93.2
95.4
94.9
93.7
95.9
93.7
135.5
140.0
138.7
135.1
136.4
134.3
137.2
134.1
140.2
138.7
135.0
136.1
134.0
137.2
135.0
140.7
138.0
135.0
134.6
131.5
134.7
100.2
98.8
99.5
95.0
98.0
99.9
97.5
94.5
95.6
95.8
93.0
92.5
92.3
92.1
135.3
135.5
140.8
129.5
132.4
134.0
135.2
140.0
142.7
136.5
134.7
140.6
129.4
132. 7
133.8
135.2
140.5
142.0
132.5
135.1
140.8
128.1
132.8
133.3
130.5
138.4
138.7
98.2
96.5
99.2
93.4
97.0
98.2
95.9
99.0
96.2
92.3
90.4
93.6
88.1
90.6
90.7
91. 1
93.4
94.1
140.7
131.6
130.7
130.6
140.0
129.6
148.0
139.9
131.0
130.4
130.0
139.5
129.1
147.3
137.6
130.3
128.3
131.1
137.9
127.1
146.1
95.9
92.4
99.0
97.9
99.2
98.6
97.2
91.5
95.0
92.3
93.8
94.3
139.7
145.2
134.3
146.3
145.0
136. 5
150. 7
138.0
139.7
138.8
143.9
135.0
146.8
143.2
137.1
150.5
137. 1
138.7
138.0
142.5
134.2
145.8
145.1
134.7
151.1
136.4
136.9
94.3
97.9
95.9
98.8
95.8
93.7
100.5
97.7
93.7
92.5
94.7
95.1
95.8
93.6
92.2
96.7
94.1
142.8
152.9
160.2
131.9
147.1
143.8
142.3
151.3
158.3
132.0
145.6
144.6
140.6
142.9
154.3
132.6
146.0
145.5
96.0
105.3
97.1
95.5
94.2
97.9
90.7
92.1
89.7
95.5
133.7
136.5
137.3
150.6
133.4
135.9
137.0
150.3
134.5
137.5
134.7
149.9
92.6
102.6
95.6
101.9
91.7
97.8
94.0
97.6
134.8
137.8
140.4
134.3
137.9
141.9
135.3
136.0
138.6
98.7
94.8
97.5
94.1
92.7
94.6
143.4
147.0
146.9
143.4
143.9
148.1
149. 1
143.9
142.0
142.5
143.6
142.5
101.8
101.7
99.6
101.0
94.6
96.1
93.8
94.5
1 Aggregate costs o f 61 foods in each city (54 foods prior to March 1943), weighted to represent total pur
chases of wage earners and lower-salaried workers, have been combined for the United States with the use
of population weights. Primary use is for time-to-time comparisons, rather than place-to-place com
parisons.
2 June 1940=100.
3 Includes Portsmouth and Newport News.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES
T a b l e 5.- —Indexes
871
of Retail Food Costs in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 1913 to January
1945
[1935-39 = 100]
Year
All-foods
index
1913 ____________
1914____________
1915____________
1916_____________
1917_____________
1918_____________
1919_____________
1920_____________
1921 __________
1922_____________
1923_____________
1924________ ____
1925_____________
1926_____________
1927____ _________
1 9 2 8 . __________
79.9
81.8
80.9
90.8
116. 9
134.4
149.8
168.8
128.3
119.9
124.0
122.8
132.9
137.4
132.3
130.8
Year
1929 .
1930 . . .
1931
1932 .
1933 .
1934 . . .
1935
1936____________
1937
1938
1939____________
1940 . . .
1941 .
1942
1943____________
1944
All-foods
index
132. 5
126. 0
103. 9
86. 5
84.1
93.7
100.4
101.3
105. 3
97. 8
95.2
96. 6
105. 5
123.9
138.0
136.1
Year and month
All-foods
index
19U
__
January
February __
March
April
M ay _
June
July____________
August
September
October_____
November
December
136.1
134. 5
134 1
134. 6
135. 5
135. 7
137.4
137. 7
137. 0
136. 4
136. 5
137.4
1945
January
137. 3
1 Indexes based on 51 cities combined prior to March 1943.
R etail Prices of Coal in 1944
RETAIL prices for coal to domestic consumers averaged between
3 and 5 percent higher in 1944 than in 1943. The extension by the
Office of Price Administration of “area” retail ceilings to more cities,
replacing individual retailer price ceilings, caused some small local
adjustments in prices. Another type of local price adjustment was
a uniform price increase of 10 cents per ton for all types of coal in
Milwaukee, allowed by OPA in December to cover increased distri
bution costs.
Near the end of the 1943-44 heating season, the Solid Fuels Admin
istration attempted to spread available supplies of coal by directing
mines and mine representatives to supply retailers in an emergency.
Local committees adapted this procedure to local needs. The de
velopment in the industry which was most important to domestic
consumers during 1944 was the extension of formal controls directly
to them, stringently limiting the anthracite, Eastern byproduct coke,
and bituminous coal available to consumers for the winter of 1944-45.
Consumer problems were further complicated when, by mid-December
1944, production figures were considerably below those for correspond
ing weeks in 1943, and an extensive period of inclement weather began.
6 3 6 3 7 2 — 45 -
12
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
872
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Prices of Anthracite
Anthracite prices, which had increased in November and December
1943, were at approximately the same levels in January 1944. For
the month of February only, the OPA allowed special price increases
at all levels of sale to cover the additional costs of the 7-day week
production which the Solid Fuels Administration for War requested
for that month. The general increase was 45 cents per ton. Prices
in March reverted to about the January levels.
Composite average prices in April and May were not affected by
price increases by retailers in the Upper Lakes area, who for the first
time received, by water, anthracite purchased at the higher f. o. b.
mine prices initiated at the end of 1943.
The higher anthracite prices allowed by OPA late in 1943, were
sufficient to permit mine owners to recover, by the end of May 1944,
back wage adjustments allowed the miners by the National War
Labor Board. Ceiling prices were lowered in June. Following this
decrease, which amounted to about 15 cents per net ton in all markets,
prices remained practically unchanged to the end of the year.
During the year higher price ceilings were allowed for the anthracite
mines having exceptionally high production costs, and retailers han
dling these coals were allowed to pass this increase on to consumers.
The decline in anthracite prices from December 1943 to December
1944 averaged 7 cents a ton for stove and 3 cents a ton for chestnut.
In the accompanying table average retail prices and indexes for these
two sizes are shown by years from 1929 through 1944 and by month
for 1943 and 1944.
Bituminous-Coal Prices
Between December 1943 and December 1944, the unweighted aver
age retail price for bituminous coal in 35 cities rose 16 cents per net
ton or about 1.5 percent. In the table following, average retail
prices and indexes for all sizes of bituminous coal combined are shown
by years from 1929 through 1944, and by month for 1943 and 1944.
The advance was gradual and was caused principally by actions of
OPA. Small increases were allowed in April in prices both at the mine
and at retail for coal from certain high-volatile mines. In Minnesota
and Wisconsin retail prices were advanced in the spring to cover the
higher mine prices of late 1943. Local price adjustments also were
made as area ceilings replaced individual dealer ceilings, or as local
retailers were allowed to match increased costs with increased prices.
The Petroleum Administration for War again allocated supplies of
oil to the industry for dust treatment, in the second quarter of the
year, and the majority of the dealers exercised their right to raise
prices 10 cents per net ton for coal so treated.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES
873
Average Retail Prices and Indexes for Coal in Large Cities, 1929-44
Average price per ton of 2,000 lbs.
Year and month
Bituminous
(unweight
ed average,
35 cities) 1
Indexes (October 1922-September
1925=100) of—
Pennsylvania anthra
Pennsylvania anthra
cite (weighted aver Bituminous
cite (weighted aver
age, 24 cities)2
(unweight
age, 24 cities)2
ed average,
35 cities)1
Stove
Chestnut
Chestnut
Stove
1929_______________________
1930________________________
1931_______________________
1932________________________
1933_______________________
1934_______________________
1935________________________
1936_______________________
$8.85
8.83
8. 33
7.71
7. 65
8.26
8.29
8.42
$14.14
14.03
13.68
12. 55
12.12
12.18
11.38
11.74
$13. 70
13. 66
13.65
12.45
11. 93
11. 92
11.14
11.61
91.5
91.3
86.2
79.7
79.1
85.4
85.7
87.1
100.5
99.7
97.1
89.2
86.2
86.6
80.9
83.5
97. 7
97.3
97.3
88.7
85.0
85.0
79.4
82.7
1937________________________
1938________________________
1939________________________
1940________________________
1941_______________________
1942________________________
1943________________________
1944________________________
8. 58
8.61
8.52
8.60
9.10
9.51
9. 94
10.27
11. 05
10. 96
10. 79
11. 33
11.92
12. 41
13.15
13.89
11.19
11.11
10.84
11.35
11. 97
12.47
13. 20
13.94
88.4
88.7
87.7
87.9
92.6
96.7
100.9
104.3
78.5
77.9
76.7
80.5
84.7
88.1
93.4
98.7
79.6
79.1
77.2
80.8
85.2
88.7
93.9
99.2
1943: January_______________
February____ _________
M arch________________
April—. _____________
M ay_________ ________
June__________________
July__________________
A u g u st__________ ____
September
..
.
October______ ______
November______ _ . .
December__________ __
9.63
9.68
9.82
9.86
9.99
9. 98
10. 01
10.02
10.02
10.03
10. 03
10.17
13.10
13. 10
13. 08
13.08
]3. 09
13. 08
13.05
13.05
13. 05
13.06
13. 20
13.88
13.13
13.14
13.13
13.14
13.15
13.14
13.11
13.11
13.11
13.12
13.22
13.89
97.9
98.4
99.8
100. 1
101.4
101.4
101.5
101. 6
101.6
101. 7
101.8
103.2
93.0
93.0
92.9
92.9
93.0
92.9
92.7
92.7
92.7
92.8
93.8
98.6
93.4
93.5
93.4
93.5
93.6
93.5
93.3
93.3
93.3
93.4
94.1
98.9
1944: January__________ ____
February __ . . . _____
March________________
April___________ _ .
M ay_________________
June_______________ _
July__________________
August_______________
September____________
October. ___________ .
N o v e m b e r ____ _____
December____________
10.19
10.22
10.22
10.24
10.27
10.28
10.29
10. 31
10.31
10. 31
10.32
10. 33
13. 90
14. 36
13.97
13.97
13. 93
13.80
13.80
13.80
13.80
13.80
13. 80
13.81
13.92
14. 37
14.04
14.04
13. 96
13. 85
13.84
13.84
13.84
13.85
13.86
13.86
103.5
103.8
103.8
104.0
104.3
104.4
104.5
104.6
104.6
104.7
104.7
104.8
98.7
102.0
99.2
99.2
99.0
98.0
98.0
98.0
98.0
98.1
98.1
98.1
99.1
102.3
99.9
99.9
99.3
98.6
98.5
98.5
98.5
98.6
98.6
98.7
1 38 cities prior to December 1940.
225 cities prior to July 1944.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wholesale Prices
W holesale Prices in F eb ru ary 1945
LED by higher prices for agricultural products—particularly live
stock and poultry and fresh fruits and vegetables—the Bureau of
Labor Statistics index of commodity prices at the primary market1
level rose to a 24-year peak in February. The increase brought the
all-commodity index up 0.3 percent during the month to the highest
point reached since the inflationary period which followed World
War I. At 105.2 percent of the 1926 average the combined level of
prices for the nearly 900 series included in the index was 1.5 percent
higher than in February of last year and more than 40 percent over
the average for August 1939.
Although prices have been edging gradually upward during the
past 6 months the increases in all instances have been very moderate.
In addition to a rise of 0.6 percent in farm product prices during
February, average prices for miscellaneous commodities rose 0.4
percent; metals and metal products and building materials, 0.2
percent; and hides and leather products and textile products, 0.1
percent. The indexes for the foods, fuel and lighting materials,
chemicals and allied products, and housefurnishing goods groups
remained unchanged at the January level.
Largely because of the increase in prices for agricultural commodi
ties, raw materials rose 0.4 percent during the month, manufactured
products advanced 0.2 percent, and semimanufactured products 0.1
percent.
The rise of 0.6 percent in average prices for farm products in Feb
ruary was similar to that in 1944. The increase was the result of an
upward seasonal movement in the fruits and vegetables and livestock
and poultry markets. Among the more important fruits and vege
tables for which higher prices were reported were apples, oranges,
onions, and sweetpotatoes. Lemons and white potatoes declined.
Prices for all livestock items were higher, ranging from less than a
half of 1 percent for hogs and steers to about 8 percent for cows and
sheep. Live poultry in both the Chicago and New York markets rose
approximately 2 percent. Led by slightly higher prices for wheat and
No. 3 yellow corn at Chicago, average prices for grains advanced 0.4
percent in February. Quotations for most types of hay were higher
than in January. Rye on the contrary declined 1.3 percent and No. 2
yellow corn quotations were 0.8 percent below the January level.
Cotton also declined fractionally. A seasonal decrease of nearly 10
percent occurred in prices for eggs.
1 The Bureau of Labor Statistics wholesale price data for the most part represent prices prevailing in the
“ first commercial transaction.” They are prices quoted in primary markets, at principal distribution
points.
874
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHOLESALE PRICES
875
Food prices in primary markets were unchanged during the month.
Higher prices for fresh fruits, vegetables, flour, and dressed poultry
were offset by lower prices for eggs.
An increase of 2.5 percent in quotations for sheepskins brought the
index for the hides and leather products group up 0.1 percent. No
changes were reported in prices for leather and leather products, such
as shoes, belting, and luggage.
OPA action in granting an interim increase of 1 cent per pound to
manufacturers of cotton rope together with higher producers’ ceilings
on cotton flannel, in order to conform to the Stabilization Extension
Act of 1944, accounted for the advance of 0.1 percent in the textile
products group index.
During February prices for coal, coke, and petroleum products
remained steady, although a temporary increase in ceiling was granted
for coal mined by Southern Appalachian producers on two Sundays in
February. Sales realizations on gas were 1.5 percent higher while on
electricity they were 0.3 percent lower.
The index for metals and metalfproducts rose 0.2 percent to the
highest level in nearly 20 years. The increase at the mill level in five
basic steel products allowed by OPA in January and subsequently
passed on to warehousemen and jobbers, together with a $1 per
gross ton increase in basing point ceilings on pig iron, effective Febru
ary 14, accounted for the rise. The mercury market continued strong
with an increase of 4.7 percent recorded in February. Prices of
mercury have risen about 69 percent or to about $170 a flask from the
low point reached last July when the market dropped below $100.
Increased ceilings early in the year on brick and cement in certain
areas continued to be reflected in prices reported to the Bureau on
these building materials. Slight increases were also reported in prices
for western pine boards and shop lumber. In addition, prices were
higher for turpentine and for lime. Quotations for butyl acetate, an
important varnish material, were reduced nearly 2 percent in February.
Average prices for chemicals and allied products remained steady in
February. The index for this group at 94.9 is about 5 percent below
the 1926 level.
No changes were reported in prices for furniture and furnishings
during the month. Average prices for housefurnishing goods have
fluctuated between 4 and 5 percent over the 1926 average since early
last year when higher ceilings were allowed by OPA on furniture.
The increase of 0.4 percent in the miscellaneous commodity group
index resulted from higher prices for paper and pulp products, which
advanced 0.4 percent during the month, and for soap and certain
tobacco products. Manufacturers ceilings on bleached and un
bleached soda woodpulp were increased $4 per ton at the end of
January. The result of this action by OPA and higher ceilings, effec
tive January 20, on paperboard made from waste paper or straw and
sold East of the Pocky Mountains were reflected in the February
index.
Prices for most commodities fluctuated within a very narrow range
between February 1944 and February 1945. The largest increases
were 8.5 percent for livestock and poultry, 5.8 percent for cement, 5.7
percent for cotton goods, 4 percent for hides and skins, 3.7 percent for
lumber, 2.4 percent for paint and paint materials, 1.4 percent for
hosiery and underwear, and 1.3 percent for paper and pulp. A few
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
876
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
commodities declined during the 12-month period ending in February.
The most important decrease was 2.6 percent for anthracite. In
February 1944 temporary price increases were granted to producers in
order to cover the additional cost of Sunday production necessary to
meet widespread fuel shortages. Fruits and vegetables declined 2.2
percent and cereal products, shoes, rayon, and chemicals declined less
than 1 percent.
In the past 5% years of hostilities, prices for most commodities
have risen substantially over their levels in the late summer of 1939.
The most outstanding increases have been for agricultural commodities
and their products. Since August 1939 farm product prices have
advanced 108 percent, led by increases of 152 percent for grains and
nearly 103 percent for livestock and poultry. In February 1945
prices for fruits and vegetables were about 102 percent higher than
before the war. Prices for dairy products rose 63 percent; for meats,
more than 44 percent; and for cereal products, 32 percent. Of the
commodity groups, fats and oils show the greatest increase, 151
percent. Cattle feed prices have advanced 133 percent; cotton
goods, 83 percent; lumber, about 71 percent; hides and skins and
woolen and worsted goods, over 49 percent; drugs and pharmaceu
ticals, about 39 percent; paper and pulp, 35 percent; and clothing
and anthracite, approximately 32 percent. Increases of from 20 to
30 percent have been recorded for shoes, leather, bituminous coal,
coke, petroleum products, motor vehicles, brick and tile, paint and
paint materials, fertilizer materials, furniture, and automobile tires
and tubes. Prices for the following groups of commodities have
advanced from 10 to 20 percent since the summer of 1939—hosiery
and underwear, other leather products (including gloves, belting,
harness, and luggage), nonferrous metals, plumbing and heating
equipment, “other building materials’’ (including millwork items,
wallboard, glass, and prepared roofing), chemicals, mixed fertilizers,
and furnishings. During the war, prices for raw materials have
advanced almost 3 times more rapidly than fully and partially pro
cessed commodities, or 74 percent as compared to about 28 percent
for semimanufactured articles and finished products.
Percentage comparisons of the February 1945^'level of wholesale
prices with January 1945, February 1944, and August 1939, with
corresponding index numbers, are given in table 1.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHOLESALE PRICES
T
877
1.—Indexes of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commodities,
February 1945, Compared with January 1945, February 1944, and August 1939
able
[1926=100]
Group and subgroup
Febru
ary
1945
Janu Percent Febru Percent
August Percent
ary
of
ary
of
of
1939
1945 change
1944 change
change
All commodities__________________________
105. 2
104.9
+ 0 .3
103.6
+ 1.5
75.0
+40.3
Farm products___;__________ _____________
Grains_______________________ ________
Livestock and poultry_________________
Other farm products.....................................
127.0
129.8
133.8
121.4
126.2
129.3
131.1
121.5
+ .6
+ •4
+ 2.1
-.1
122.5
129.3
123.3
119.3
+ 3.7
~K 4
+ 8 .5
+ 1 .8
61.0
51.5
66.0
60.1
+108.2
+152.0
+102. 7
+102.0
Foods..................................... ....................... ..........
Dairy products______ _______ ____ _
Cereal products_______________________
Fruits and vegetables_________________
M eats_____ ______ ___________________
Other foods____ _____________ ______ . . .
104.7
110.8
94.9
118.1
106.5
95.1
104.7
110.8
94.7
114.4
106.4
97.3
0
0
+• 2
+ 3 .2
4". 1
- 2 .3
104.5
110.7
95.1
120.7
106.0
93.5
+ .2
+ .1
-.2
-2.2
+ .5
+ 1.7
67.2
67.9
71.9
58.5
73.7
60.3
+55.8
+63.2
+32.0
+101.9
+44.5
+57.7
Hides and leather products________________
Shoes________________________________
Hides and skins_______________________
L eather..____________________________
Other leather products___ _____ ______ _
117.6
126.3
115.4
101.3
115.2
117.5
126.3
114.8
101.3
115.2
+ .1
0
+ .5
0
0
116.9
126. 4
111.0
101.3
115.2
+ .6
-.1
+ 4.0
0
0
92.7
100.8
77.2
84.0
97.1
+26.9
+25.3
+49.5
+20.6
+18.6
Textile products._____ ____________________
Clothing_____________________________
Cotton goods................ ..................................
Hosiery and underwear________________
R a y o n ...___________ _________________
Silk__________________________________
Woolen and worsted goods..........................
Other textile products.._______________
99.7
107.4
119.9
71.5
30.2
+ .1
0
+ .2
0
0
97.7
107.0
113.4
70.5
30.3
(i)
112.5
100.5
+ 2.0
+ .4
+ 5.7
+ 1.4
-.3
67.8
81.5
65.5
61. 5
28.5
44. 3
75.5
63.7
+47.1
+31.8
+83.1
+16.3
+ 6 .0
112.7
100.9
99.6
107.4
119.7
71.5
30.2
(0
112.7
100.9
Fuel and lighting materials________________
Anthracite___________________________
Bituminous coal______________________
Coke_____ ____ _______ _____ _____ ____
Electricity____________________________
Gas_______ __________________________
Petroleum and products_______________
83.3
95.3
120.5
130.7
(')
0)
64.3
83.3
95.3
120.5
130.7
(0
75.7
64.3
0
0
0
0
“K 2
- 2 .6
+ .5
0
0
83.1
97.8
119.9
130.7
60.1
77.2
64.0
Metals and metal products________________
Agricultural implements_______________
Farm machinery__________________
Iron and steel_________________________
Motor vehicles________________________
Nonferrous metals_________________. . .
Plumbing and heating_________________
104.2
97.5
98. 7
98.0
112.8
85.9
92.4
104.0
97.5
98.7
97.7
112.8
85.9
92.4
+ .2
0
0
+ .3
0
0
0
103.7
97.0
98.1
97.1
112.8
85.8
91.8
Building materials________________________
Brick and tile_________________________
Cement____________ ____ ____ ______ _
Lumber______________________________
Paint and paint materials______________
Plumbing and heating_________________
Structural steel_______________ ________
Other building materials___________. . . .
117.0
110.5
99.0
153.9
106.4
92.4
107.3
103.6
116.8
110.4
97.4
153.8
106.3
92.4
107.3
103.5
+ .2
4". i
+ 1 .6
+ .1
+ .1
0
0
+ .1
113. 6
100.1
93.6
148.4
103.9
91.8
107.3
102.8
Chemicals and allied products_____________
Chemicals____________________________
Drugs and pharmaceuticals____________
Fertilizer materials______________ ____ _
Mixed fertilizers______________________
Oils and fats__________________________
94.9
95.8
106.9
81.9
86.6
102.0
94.9
95.8
106.9
81.9
86.6
102.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Housefurnishing goods_______ ____ ________
Furnishings__________________________
Furniture____________________________
104.5
107.5
101. 5
104.5
107.5
101.5
Miscellaneous____________________________
Automobile tires and tubes____________
Cattle feed___________________________
Paper and pulp_______________________
Rubber, crude_______________ _________
Other miscellaneous___________________
94.6
73.0
159.6
108.0
46.2
98.9
Raw materials____________________ ____ _
Semimanufactured articles_____ _____ ______
Manufactured products_________ __________
All commodities other than farm products__
All commodities other than farm products
and foods_______________________ _____ _
1
D a ta n o t available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
0
0
+ .2
+ .4
+49.3
+58.4
+ .5
72.6
72.1
96.0
104.2
75 8
86.7
51.7
+24.4
+ .5
+ .5
+ .6
+ .9
0
+ .1
+ .7
93.2
93.5
94.7
95.1
92.5
74.6
79.3
+11.8
+ 4.3
+ 4 .2
+ 3 .0
+21.9
+15.1
+16.5
+ 3.0
+ 5.8
+ 3 .7
+ 2.4
+ .7
0
+ .8
89.6
90.5
91.3
90.1
82.1
79.3
107.3
89.5
+30.6
+22.1
+ 8.4
+70.8
+29.6
+16.5
0
+15.8
95.0
96.3
106.4
81.4
86.3
102.0
-.1
- .5
+ .5
+ .6
+ .3
0
74.2
83.8
77.1
65.5
73.1
40.6
+27.9
+14.3
+38.7
+25.0
+18.5
+151. 2
0
0
0
104.2
107.1
101. 4
+ .3
+ .4
+ .1
85.6
90.0
81.1
+22.1
+19.4
+25.2
94.2
73.0
159.6
107.6
46.2
98.2
+ .4
0
0
+ .4
0
+ .7
93.4
73.0
159.6
106.6
46.2
96.7
+ 1 .3
0
0
+ 1.3
0
+ 2.3
73.3
60.5
68.4
80.0
34.9
81.3
+29.1
+20.7
+133.3
+35.0
+32.4
+21. 6
115.6
95.0
101.5
100.2
115.1
94.9
101.3
100.1
+ .4
+ .1
+ .2
+ .1
112.8
93.4
100.4
99.3
+ 2.5
+ 1.7
+1.1
+ .9
66.5
74.5
79.1
77.9
+73.8
+27.5
+28.3
+28.6
99.2
99.1
+ .1
98.0
+ 1 .2
80.1
+23.8
+14.7
+32.2
+25.5
+25.4
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
878
,
Index Numbers by Commodity Groups 1926 to February 1945
Index numbers of wholesale prices by commodity groups for
selected years from 1926 to 1944, and by months from February 1944
to February 1945, are shown in table 2.
T a b l e 2 . — Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups of Commodities
[1926 = 100]
Year and month
Chem HouseHides Tex Fuel
and Metals
icals
MisFarm
and
and Build
furing
light metal
and
celtile
nishprod Foods leather prod
ing
mate
allied
laneing
prod ucts mate prod rials prod
ucts
ous
ucts
ucts
goods
rials
ucts
All
com
modi
ties
1926________________
1929________________
1932________________
1933__________ _____
1936________________
1937________________
100.0
104.9
48.2
51.4
80.9
86.4
100.0
99.9
61.0
60.5
82.1
85.5
100.0
109.1
72.9
80.9
95.4
104.6
100.0
90.4
54.9
64.8
71.5
76.3
100.0
83.0
70.3
66.3
76.2
77.6
100.0
100.5
80.2
79.8
87.0
95.7
100.0
95.4
71.4
77.0
86.7
95.2
100.0
94.0
73.9
72.1
78.7
82.6
100.0
94.3
75.1
75.8
81.7
89.7
100.0
82.6
64.4
62.5
70.5
77.8
100.0
95.3
64.8
65.9
80.8
86.3
1938________________
1939_______________
1940_______________
1941_______ _______
1942________________
1943________________
1944________________
68.5
65. 3
67. 7
82.4
105.9
122.6
123.3
73.6
70.4
71.3
82. 7
99.6
106.6
104.9
92.8
95.6
100.8
108.3
117.7
117.5
116.7
66.7
69. 7
73.8
84.8
96.9
97.4
98.4
76.5
73.1
71.7
76.2
78.5
80.8
83.0
95.7
94.4
95.8
99.4
103.8
103.8
103.8
90.3
90.5
94.8
103.2
110.2
111.4
115.5
77.0
76.0
77.0
84.4
95.5
94.9
95.2
86.8
86.3
88.5
94.3
102.4
102.7
104.3
73.3
74.8
77.3
82.0
89.7
92.2
93.6
78.6
77.1
78.6
87.3
98.8
103.1
104.0
19U
February___. . . . . .
March__ ___ _
April______________
M ay_______________
June_______________
July_______________
122.5
123.6
123.2
122.9
125.0
124. 1
104.5
104.6
104.9
105.0
106.5
105.8
116.9
116.9
116.9
117.0
116.4
116.2
97.7
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
98.0
83.1
83.0
83.0
83.2
83.3
83.2
103.7
103.7
103.7
103.7
103.7
103.7
113.6
114.2
115.2
115.7
115.9
115.9
95.0
95.0
95.5
95.5
95.3
95.5
104.2
104.3
104.3
104.3
104. 3
104.3
93.4
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.6
103.6
103.8
103.9
104.0
104.3
104.1
August _______ ___
September__ __ ____
October____________
November__________
December__________
122.6
122.7
123.4
124.4
125.5
104.8
104.2
104.2
105.1
105.5
116.0
116.0
116.2
116.2
117.4
98.4
99.2
99.4
99.4
99.5
83.2
83.0
82.9
83.1
83.1
103.8
103.8
103.7
103.7
103.8
116.0
116.0
116.3
116.4
116.4
95.5
94.9
95.0
94.8
94.8
104.4
104.4
104. 4
104.4
104.4
93.6
93.6
93.6
94.0
94.2
103.9
104.0
104.1
104.4
104.7
1945
January____________
February_______ .
126. 2
127.0
104.7
104.7
117.5
117.6
99.6
99.7
83.3
83.3
104.0
104.2
116.8
117.0
94.9
94.9
104.5
104.5
94.2
94.6
104.9
105.2
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 shown on pages 10 and 11 of Wholesale Prices, July to
December and Year 1943 (Bulletin No. 785).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHOLESALE PRICES
879
T a b l e 3 . — Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Special Groups of Commodities
[1926 = 100]
SemiRaw manufacmate tured
rials
arti
cles
Year and
month
1926_________ 100.0
1929_________
97.5
1 9 3 2 ................ 55.1
56.5
1933_________
79.9
1936_________
All
All
com
com modi
Man modi ties
ufac
ties
other
tured other than
prod than farm
ucts
farm prod
prod ucts
ucts
and
foods
100.0
93.9
59.3
65.4
75.9
100.0
94.5
70.3
70.5
82.0
100.0
93.3
68.3
69.0
80.7
100.0
91.6
70.2
71.2
79.6
1937........ ...........
1938_________
1939_________
1940_________
84.8
72.0
70.2
71.9
85.3
75.4
77.0
79.1
87.2
82.2
80.4
81.6
86.2
80.6
79. 5
80.8
85.3
81.7
81.3
83.0
1941_________
1942_________
1943________
1944_________
83.5
100.6
112.1
113.2
86.9
92.6
92.9
94.1
89.1
98.6
100.1
100.8
88.3
97.0
98.7
99.6
89.0
95.5
96.9
98.5
SemiRaw manufacmate tured
rials
arti
cles
All
All
com
com modi
Man modi ties
ufac
ties
other
tured other than
prod than farm
farm prod
ucts
prod ucts
ucts
and
foods
112.8
113.4
113.2
113.0
114.2
113.6
112.7
112.8
113.2
113.8
114.6
93.4
93.7
93.6
93.7
93.8
93.9
94.1
94.7
94.8
94.8
94.8
100.4
100.5
100.8
100.9
100.9
100.9
100.9
100.9
101.0
101.1
101.1
99.3
99.3
99.6
99.7
99.6
99.6
99.7
99.7
99.8
99.9
100.0
98.0
98.1
98.4
98.5
98.5
98.5
98.6
98.6
98. 7
98.8
98.9
ms
January___ 115.1
February... 115.6
94.9
95.0
101.3
101.5
100.2
100. 1
99. 1
99.2
Year and
month
19U
February..March.
April______
M ay______
June______
July______
August____
September..
October___
November.Decem ber..
Weekly Fluctuations
Weekly changes in wholesale prices by groups of commodities
during January and February 1945 are shown by the index numbers
in table 4. These indexes are not averaged to obtain an index for
the month but are computed only to indicate the fluctuations from
week to week.
T a b l e 4 . —Weekly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Commodity Groups, January
and February 1945
[1926 = 100]
Commodity group
Feb.
24
Feb.
17
Feb.
10
Feb.
3
Jan.
27
Jan.
20
Jan.
13
Jan.
6
All commodities________ ________________ 104.8
105.0 104.. 9
104.7
104.7
104.8
104.7
104.6
Farm products_____ ______ ____ _____ _____
Foods___________________________________
Hides and leather products--........_________
Textile products_____ _________ _______
Fuel and lighting materials
126.4
104.1
118.0
99.1
83.8
127.2
104.8
118.0
99.1
83.8
126.8
104.9
118.0
99.1
84.0
125.7
104.3
117.9
99.1
84.0
125.8
104.4
117.9
99.0
83.9
126.6
105.0
117.9
99.0
83.9
126.3
104.7
117.9
99.0
83.9
125.9
104.6
117.9
99.0
83.6
M etals and metal products. __________ ___
Building materials__________ ____________
Chemicals and allied products........... ..............
Housefumishing goods____________________
M iscellaneous--- _ __ _ ____________ ____ -
104.3
116.9
94.9
106.2
94.1
104.3
116.9
94.9
106.2
94.1
104.2
116.7
94.9
106. 2
94.1
104.2
116.7
94.9
106.2
94.1
104.3
116.7
94.9
106.1
94.0
104.2
116.7
94.9
106.1
94.0
104.0
116.4
94.9
106.1
94.0
103.9
116.4
94.9
106.1
93.9
Raw materials- . ___ _______ . ___
115.7
Semimanufactured articles________________
94.8
Manufactured products____ _____ _________ 101.6
All commodities other than farm products ,- 100.1
All commodities other than farm products
and foods______________________________
99.3
116.2
94.8
101. 6
100.1
116.0
94.8
101.6
100.1
115.3
94.8
101.6
100.1
115.3
94.8
101.6
100.0
115.8
94.8
101.6
100.0
115.6
94.7
101.4
99.9
115.4
94.7
101.3
99.9
99.3
99.3
99.3
99.3
99.3
99.2
99.1
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Turnover
L abor T urnover in M anufacturing, M ining, and
P ublic U tilities, January 1945
FOR every 1,000 workers on factory pay rolls in January, 61 either
changed jobs or left manufacturing work. The rate of accession, 69
per 1,000, was considerably above the December low of 51 and slightly
higher than in January 1944.
The increased accession rate between December and January may
be explained, in part, by the use of furloughed soldiers in the critical
war industries. However, interindustry shifting of workers accounted
for many of the additions. The machinery group profited most
from these shifts, receiving workers from plants in the transporta
tion-equipment, nonferrous-metals, ordnance, electrical-machinery,
iron and steel, and automobile groups. Of these, only the ordnance
and automobile groups received enough workers from other major
groups to more than make up their losses. The greatest amount of
shifting took place in the ordnance group.
The lay-off rate for all manufacturing rose slightly, from 5 to 6 per
1,000, between December and January. The rate of lay-offs in the
munitions group was almost double that in the nonmunitions, re
flecting revised schedules in the production of war equipment. The
highest group lay-off rate, 13 per 1,000 workers, was reported by the
transportation-equipment group. An equipment shortage in ship
building accounted, in part, for the doubling of the lay-off rate in that
industry. The ordnance and nonferrous-metals groups each laid off
7 per 1,000 workers. The tanks industry of the ordnance group
reported a lay-off rate of 26 per 1,000, occasioned by cut-backs in
heavy tank production in some plants. Continued curtailment of
production in aluminum and magnesium plants accounted for the
high lay-off rate in the nonferrous-metals group.
Of the 20 major manufacturing groups, 14 reported a higher dis
charge rate in January than in December, which is reflected in the
slight rise to 7 per 1,000 for all manufacturing. Discharges were
higher in the munitions group. Reporting firms indicated that
absenteeism was the main reason for discharges, while incompetence
and infraction of rules were secondary causes.
In manufacturing as a whole, 45 out of every 1,000 workers volun
tarily left their jobs in January. The quit rate in three-fourths of
the major groups was above the December level. A shifting of workers
from food establishments to essential war industries to avoid being
drafted accounted for the highest quit rate, 82 per 1,000. Dissatis
faction with wages in the tobacco industry is reflected in the second
880
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
881
LABOR TURNOVER
highest quit rate, 72 per'1,000 workers. At the same time, the greenleaf season, which opened in December, necessitated the hiring of a
considerable number of workers in the tobacco group, raising the
accession rate from 4.9 to 8.0 over the month.
Accessions in all mining were above the December level. However,
both total accession and separation rates for metal mining as a whole
and for each of the coal-mining industries were lower than those for
all manufacturing, in January.
The total separation rate for women in manufacturing work was
73 per 1,000 as against 55 for men. The accession rate for both men
ancl women more than offset their separation rates.
T
able
1.—Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Manufacturing
Industries 1
Class of turnover and
year
Janu Feb March A pril May June
ary ruary
Total separation:
1945____________ 2 6.1
1944____________ 6.7
1943____________ 7.1
1939____________ 3.2
Quit:
1945____________ 2 4. 5
1944-............. ......... 4.6
4.5
1943...................
1939____________
.9
Discharge:
1945____________
2.7
1944______ ____ _
.7
1943____________
.5
1939___________
.1
Lay-off:3
1945____________
2.6
1944____________
.8
1943— . .............
.7
1939____________ 2.2
M ilitary and miscellaneous:4
1945____________ 2.3
1944____________
.6
1943____________ 1.4
Accession:
1945____________ 2 6.9
1944____________ 6. 5
1943____________ 8.3
1939...................
4.1
July
Au
gust
Sep
No- D e
tem Octo
cem
ber vember
.ber
ber
6.6
7.1
2.6
7.4
7.7
3.1
6.8
7.5
3.5
7.1
6.7
3.5
7.1
7.1
3.3
6.6
7.6
3.3
7.8
8.3
3.0
7.6
8.1
2.8
6.4
7.0
2.9
6.0
6.4
3.0
5.7
6.6
3.5
4.6
4.7
.6
5.0
5.4
.8
4.9
5.4
.8
5.3
4.8
.7
5.4
5.2
.7
5.5
5.6
.7
6.2
6.3
.8
6.1
6.3
1.1
5.0
5.2
.9
4.6
4.5
.8
4.3
4.4
.7
.6
.5
.1
.7
.6
.1
.6
.5
.1
.6
.6
.1
.7
.6
.1
.7
.7
.1
.7
.7
.1
.6
.6
.1
.6
.6
.2
.6
.6
.2
.6
.6
.1
.8
.5
1.9
.9
.5
2.2
.6
.6
2.6
.5
.5
2.7
.5
.5
2.5
.5
.5
2.5
.5
.5
2.1
.6
.5
1.6
.5
.5
1.8
.5
.7
2.0
.5
1.0
2.7
.6
1.4
.8
1.2
.7
1.0
.7
.8
.5
.8
.4
.8
.4
.8
.3
.7
.3
.7
.3
.6
.3
.6
5.5
7.9
3.1
5.8
8.3
3.3
5.5
7.4
2.9
6.4
7.2
3.3
7.6
8.4
3.9
6.3
7.8
4.2
6.3
7.6
5.1
6.1
7.7
6.2
6.0
7.2
5.9
6.1
6.6
4.1
4.9
5.2
2.8
1 Month-to-montb employment changes as indicated by labor-turnover rates are not precisely com
parable to those shown by the Bureau’s employment and pay-roll reports, as the former are based on data
for the entire month while the latter refer, for the most part, to a 1-week period ending nearest the middle
of the month. In addition, labor-turnover data, beginning in January 1943, refer to all employees,
whereas the employment and pay-roll reports relate only to wage earners. The labor-turnover
sample is not so extensive as that of the employment and pay-roll survey, proportionately fewer small
plants are included; printing and publishing and certain seasonal industries, such as canning and
preserving, are not covered.
2 Preliminary.
3 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
4 Miscellaneous separations comprise not more than 0.1 in these figures. In 1939 these data were included
with quits.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
882
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 2 . — Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and
Industries,1 January 1945 2
Total
separation
Quit
Discharge
Lay-off
Military
Total
and mis
cellaneous accession
Group and industry
Jan
uary
1945
D e
D e Jan- D e Jan D e Jan D e
cem uarv
cem
cem Jan
cem
cem Jan
ber 1945 ber uary
ber uary
ber uary
ber uary
1945
1945
1945
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944 1945
D e
cem
ber
1944
Manufacturing
M unitions 3 ________________ ______
Nonmunitions 3_________ _____ __ . . .
5.6
6.8
5.2
6.4
Ordnance____ _____________ _____
Guns, howitzers, mortars and re
lated eq u ip m en t..____________
Ammunition, except for small arms..
T anks_________________________
Sighting and fire-control equip
m e n t.____ ___________________
7.6
6.4
5.7
8.4
8.6
5.1
7.6
5.6
3.7
2.3
2.2
Iron and steel and their products_____
Blast furnaces, steel works, and
rolling mills__________________
Gray-iron castings______________
Malleable-iron castings___ . . .
Steel castings___________ _______
Cast-iron pipe and fittings_______
Tin cans and other tinw are...........
Wire products__________________
Cutlery and edge tools______ . .
Tools (except edge tools, machine
tools, files, and saws)__________
Hardware______________________
Stoves, oil burners, and heating
equipment___________________
Steam and hot-water heating ap
paratus and steam fittings______
Stamped and enameled ware and
galvanizing________________ __
Fabricated structural-metal prod
ucts___________ _______ ____
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets__
Forgings, iron and steel_________
Firearms (60 caliber and under)__
4.1
4.0
3.0
2.8
7.0
5.3
5.7
4.6
8.9
2.7
4.1
2.7
7.4
5.3
5.4
2.5
8.5
2.7
4.5
2.1
5.4
4. 1
4. 2
3.7
6.8
2. 1
2.9
4.7
3.9
4.1
3.5
3.4
3.2
7.3
8.5
4.6
4.6
7.1
3.7
5.7
0.7
.4
0.9
.4
0.7
.4
5.4
4.8
1.2
.9
.7
3.6
6.3
4.6
3.1
5.9
3.7
.8
1.4
1.1
.6
1.1
.9
1.0
.4
2.6
1.6
.5
.4
.8
.1
.2
.2
4.4
2.4
2.9
.4
.4
.3
.4
.4
.3
5.1
3.6
2.2
5.9
4.5
4.0
1.9
6.2
2.0
3.9
.2
1.1
.7
.8
.5
1.5
.3
1.0
.1
.9
.5
.8
.3
1.3
.3
.4
.2
.1
.2
.2
0)
.3
w
.1
.3
.1
.3
.1
.7
.2
(4)
.3
.4
.3
.5
.4
.3
.3
.2
.3 3.6
.3 9.8
.2 7.4
.3 7.2
.2 4.2
.3 12.6
. 2 4.6
.2 7. 1
2.7
7.7
6.2
4.7
2.9
6.2
3.5
6. 1
3.2
2.4
.7
.3
.5
.4
.1
.1
.1
.5
.5
.3
.3
.2
7.6
4. 1
4.3
2.9
3.8
6.4
1.4
1.2
1.6
.6
.5
.3
9.0
8.2
3.7
3.2
.3
.3
.1
.8
.5
.3
4.7
2.9
5.6
5.3
4.4
.7
.6
.6
.3
.5
.3
8.1
5. 1
9.3
5.2
3.8
4.2
8.0
3.6
3.8
6.0
4.8
3.4
2.8
2.9
4.7
2. 1
2.8
3.0
.8
.7
.4
.5
.7
.4
.4
.8
3.2
.8
.3
.6
2.2
.8
.3
2.0
.5
.3
.3
.2
.4
.3
.3
.2
7.9
4.0
4.6
5.7
5.2
2.4
3.6
3.9
Fdectrical m achinery..._____________
Electrical equipment for indus
trial use_______________ ______
Radios, radio equipment, and
phonographs_____ ____ ______ _
Communication equipment, ex
cept radios........... ..........................
4.4
4.3
3.2
3.0
.6
.5
.3
.5
.3
.3
4.9
3.1
3.4
3.3
2.7
2.5
.3
.3
.1
.3
.3
.2
3.8
2.6
5.5
4.8
4.0
3.2
.8
.7
.4
.6
.3
.3
7.1
3.6
2.8
3.8
2.2
2.7
.3
.3
.1
.5
.2
.3
2.5
2.4
Machinery, except electrical________
Engines and turbines_______ . . .
Agricultural machinery and trac
tors____ . . . _________________
Machine tools__________________
Machine-tool accessories____ ____
Metalworking machinery and
equipment, not elsewhere classi
fied_____________ _______ _____
General industrial machinery, ex
cept pumps__________________
Pumps and pumping equipment _
3.9
4.6
3.6
3.7
2.7
3.0
2.5
2.5
.6
.7
.5
.5
.3
.5
.3
.4
.3
.4
.3
.3
4.9
5.3
3.4
4.0
4.4
2.7
4.1
4.0
2.6
3.0
3.4
1.8
2.4
3.2
1. 7
2.0
.5
.5
.7
.4
.5
.6
.1
.2
.7
.1
.2
.1
.4
.2
.3
.3
.2
.3
5.2
4.5
4.1
4.4
2.6
2.8
(4.)
0.6
.5
0.3
.3
0.3
.2
6.5
7.6
.5
.3
.2
10.2
1.2
.4
.7
.3
.3
.3
.2 7.1
.2 11.8
.3 8.1
4.6
5.7
3.6
5.3
7.4
5.0
8.9
5.6
3.2
3.0
2.1
2.1
.6
.5
.1
.1
.4
.3
4.8
3.1
3.9
3.7
3.5
3.6
2.8
2.7
2.4
2.8
.6
.6
.5
.6
.2
«
.3
(*)
.3
.4
.3
.2
5.1
4.7
3.0
3.2
Transportation equipment, except
automobiles_________ _________ _
7.3
Aircraft____ _______ ___________ 4.9
Aircraft parts__________________ 4.7
Shipbuilding and repairs________ 10.4
6.6
4.5
4.7
9.0
4.3
3.7
2.6
5.7
4.3
3.5
2.5
5.9
1.4
.6
.7
2.3
1.1
.5
.5
1.8
1.3
.3
1.2
2.0
.9
.3
1.5
1.0
.3
.3
.2
.4
.3
.2
.2
.3
7.0
6.7
5.4
8.2
5.1
4.5
3.7
6.4
Automobiles_______________________ 5.7
Motor vehicles, bodies, and trailers 5.1
Motor-vehicle parts and accessories. 6.2
5.2
4.9
5.5
3.9
2.9
4.4
3.8
3.2
4.2
1.3
1.4
1.3
.8
.7
.9
.3
.5
.3
.3
.7
.1
.2
.3
.2
.3
.3
.3
7.3
6.5
7.7
5.3
5.0
5.5
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR TURNOVER
883
T a b l e 2 . —Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and
Industries,1 January 1945 2—Continued
Total
separation
Quit
Discharge
Lay-off
Military
Total
and mis
cellaneous accession
Group and industry
Januarv
1945
De Jan •De Jan D e
D e
D e
Jan cem
Jan D e
cem uary
cem
cem Jan
uary cem
uary
uary cem
ber
ber 1945 ber uary
ber
ber
ber
1944
1944 1945 1944 1945 1944 1945 1944 1945 1944
Manufacturing—Continued
Nonferrous metals and their products __
Primary smelting and refining,
except aluminum and magne
sium________________ ________
Aluminum and magnesium smelt
ing and refining______________
Rolling and drawing of copper
and copper alloys_____________
Aluminum and magnesium prod
ucts_________________________
Lighting equip m ent,...
Nonferrous-metal foundries, ex
cept aluminum and magnesium-
5.5
4.9
3.8
3.3
3.4
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.4
0.3
7.6
5.0
3.0
3.5
2.7
2.7
.2
.2
.1
.1
.4
.5
3.7
7.8 11.7
5.8
5.8
.4
.5
1.0
4.9
.6
.5
7.8
6. 7
4.3
3.7
3.5
3.0
.4
.4
.2
.1
.2
.2
7.7
4.0
6.0
6.6
4.9
3.8
3.8
4.7
3.3
2.7
.7
1.0
.6
.7
1.0
.3
.7
.2
.5
.6
.3
.2
9.3
8.1
5.6
7.3
5.1
5.0
4.0
3.7
,6
.6
.1
.3
.4
.4
6.1
5.1
Lumber and timber basic products.-. 8.6 10.3
Sawmills____________________ __ 8.5 10.0
Planing and plywood mills______ 6.6 9.3
6.8
6.9
4.6
7.6
7.2
6.9
.4
.3
.5
.4
.3
.5
1.0
.9
1. 2
2.0
2.2
1.5
.4
.4
.3
.3
.3
.4
9.6
9. 1
7.5
8.0
7.6
7.5
Furniture and finished lumber pro
ducts
__
Furniture, including mattresses
and bedsprings......................... .
7.9
8.3
6.5
6.8
.6
.5
.4
.8
.4
2
9 fi
7.0
8.0
8.4
6.8
7.1
.6
.6
.2
.5
.4
.2
9.7
7.0
Stone, clay, and glass products______
Glass and glass products________
Cement____________________ . . .
Brick, tile, and terra cotta______
Pottery and related products____
5.2
5.5
5.1
6.2
5.9
4.9
4.7
7.3
6.0
4.6
3.9
3.9
3.5
4.8
4.6
3.6
3.4
2.9
4.8
4.0
.4
.5
.2
.7
.4
.3
.5
.3
.4
.2
.5
.5
1.1
.3
.5
.7
.5
3.8
.5
.1
.4
.6
.3
.4
.4
.3
.3
.3
.3
.3
5.3
5.9
3.7
6.7
5.2
4.1
4.3
2.5
5.6
4.5
Textile-mill products______________ _
Cotton ____ _______ ________
Silk and rayon goods___________
Woolen and worsted, except dye
ing and finishing_________ ____
Hosiery, full-fashioned__________
Hosiery, seamless_______ _______
Knitted underwear.. _________
Dyeing and finishing textiles, in
cluding woolen and worsted___
6.0
7.2
6. 1
5.4
6.4
5.2
5.0
6.1
5.0
4.5
5. o
4.3
.4
.5
.6
.4
.4
.5
.3
.3
.1
.3
.2
.1
.3
.3
.4
.2
.3
.3
7.0
8.4
7.0
4.5
5.7
4.1
3.5
4.7
5.0
5.1
3.3
4.1
4.6
4.6
2.6
4.1
4.4
4. 7
2.2
3.4
4.0
4.3
.3
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1
.3
.2
.4
.2
.2
.1
.7
.5
.2
0)
.2
.2
.2
.1
.2
.1
.1
.1
4.1
5.0
6.4
6.5
2.4
1.7
3.2
3.8
2.8
2.7
.3
.5
.1
.2
.4
.3
4.4
2.7
3.6
3.7
Apparel and other finished textile
products______ _____ ______ _. 5.5
M en’s and boys’ suits, coats, and
overcoats_____________ ___ . . .
4.2
M en’s and boys’ furnishings, work
clothing, and allied garments__ 5.6
5. 1
5.0
4.2
.2
.2
.2
.6
.1
.1
6.0
3.2
4.3
3.8
3.4
.1
.1
.2
.8
.1
0)
4.8
2.3
4.7
5.1
4.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1
.1
5.7
2.7
Leather and leather products____. .
5.4
Leather... _____ . . . . . . _____ _ 3.6
Boots and shoes________________ 5.7
4.6
3.3
4.9
4.7
2.9
5.0
4.0
2.6
4.3
.3
.2
.3
.2
.2
.2
.1
.2
.1
.2
.2
.2
.3
.3
.3
.2
.3
.2
5.8
4.4
6.0
4.3
3.2
4.4
Food and kindred products_________ 9.7
10.6
Meat products_____
Grain-mill products________ ____ 8.4
8.5
8.6
7.7
8.2
8.8
6.9
7.5
7.5
6.7
.6
.6
.7
.5
.6
.5
.5
.7
.4
.2
.2
.3
.4
.5
.4
.3 9.7
.3 10.1
.2 9.9
8.9
11.2
7.1
Tobacco manufactures.
7.9
6.1
7.2
5.7
.3
.2
.3
.1
.1
.1
8.0
4.9
Paper and allied products________ . . 5.7
Paper and pulp_________
. 4.9
Paper boxes...I..................... ............ 8.1
........ .............
6.2
6.4
7.0
4.6
3.8
6.9
5.3
5.3
5.8
.5
.4
.7
.4
.4
.7
.2
.2
.1
.2
.3
.2
.4
.5
.4
.3
.4
.3
6.7
5.8
9.0
6.0
6.1
5.7
Chemicals and allied products_______
Paints, varnishes, and colors____
Rayon and allied products______
Industrial chemicals, except ex
plosives. ........... . ................... .
Explosives_____________________
Small-arms ammunition........ .........
4.6
3.2
4.2
4.1
3.1
3.7
3.5
2.3
3.5
3.1
2.4
3.1
.7
.5
.3
.5
.5
.2
.1
.1
.1
.2
.1
.2
.3
.3
.3
.3
.1
.2
7.8
3.3
5.5
5.9
2.7
3.2
3.8
6.2
5.0
3.7
5.7
3.7
2.7
4.7
3.8
2.6
4.5
3.0
.6
1.1
.9
.5
.7
.5
.2
0)
.1
.3
.1
.1
.3
.4
.2
.3 4.3
.4 10.0
. 1 12.7
3.2
7.8
11.3
Products of petroleum and coal______ 2.7
Petroleum refining____ _________ 2.7
2.8
2.9
1.9
1.9
2.0
2.1
.2
.2
.3
.3
.3
.3
.2
.2
.3
.3
.3
.3
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
3.8
3.8
2.5
2.5
884
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 2 . — Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and
Industries,1 January 1945 2—Continued
Total
separation
Group and industry
Jan.
uary
1945
Quit
Discharge
Lay-off
De. Jan. D e Jan. D e Jan.
cem- uary
cem uary cem uary
ber
ber
ber
1944 1945 1944 1945 1944 1945
Military
Total
and mis
cellaneous accessioD
D e Jan.
cem uary
ber
1944 1945
De Jan.
cem uary
ber
1944 1945
D e
cem
ber
1944
Manufacturing—Continued
5.5
5.2
4.9
4.8
4.4
4.0
4.1
3.9
0.6
.7
0.4
.5
0.2
.2
0.1
.1
0.3
.3
0.3
.3
7.3
7.6
5.3
5.7
6.4
5.8
5.6
4.9
5.9
4.8
5.0
4.2
.3
.4
.2
.3
(*)
.3
.1
.1
.2
.3
.3
.3
8.1
6.7
5.2
4.8
Miscellaneous industries------ ------------ 4.3
3.3
3.0
2.4
.6
.3
.4
.4
.3
.2
5.9
3.0
4.5
2.8
5.2
4.5
4.4
3.4
4.7
5.0
3.1
1.9
3.9
3.3
3.1
2.0
3.7
3.8
.4
.2
.5
.5
.4
.1
.3
.5
.5
.4
.2
.2
.5
.9
.3
.4
.5
.3
.6
.5
.4
.4
.4
.3
4.5
2.1
5.7
6.6
3.5
1.4
4.7
5.1
6.7
5.5
3.6
3.8
.8
1.2
1.7
.2
.6
.3
4.9
4.2
Coal mining:
Anthracite mining--------------- ----- 1.6
Bituminous-coal mining_________ 3.3
1.6
3.6
1.2
2.7
1.1
3.0
(4)
.2
0)
.1
.2
.1
.3
.3
.2
.3
.2
.2
1.3
3.5
1.1
2.8
Public utilities:
Telephone_____________________
Telegraph__ _________________
2.7
3.1
2.6
3.0
2.4
2.8
.2
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
3.2
2.9
1.9
2.5
Rubber products___________________
Rubber tires and inner tubes____
Rubber footwear and related products________________________
Miscellaneous rubber industries _.
Nonmanufacturing
Metal mining_____________________
Iron ore----------- ------------Copper ore_____________________
Lead and zinc ore. _ --------------M etal mining, not elsewhere
classified, including aluminum
ore______ ____ _______
____
3.0
3.3
1 Since January 1943 manufacturing firms reporting labor turnover have been assigned industry codes on
the basis of current products. M ost plants in the employment and pay-roll sample, comprising those
which were in operation in 1939, are classified according to their major activity at that time, regardless of
any subsequent change in major products.
2 Preliminary figures.
s The munitions division which replaces the Selected War Industries group, includes the following major
industry groups: Ordnance; iron and steel; electrical machinery; machinery, except electrical; automobiles;
transportation equipment, except automobiles; nonferrous metals; chemicals; products of petroleum and
coal; rubber. The nonmunitions division includes lumber; furniture and finished lumber products;
stone; clay, and glass; textile-mill products; apparel and finished textile products; leather; food and kin
dred products; tobacco; paper and pulp; miscellaneous industries. Comparable data for 1943 and 1944
w ill appear in a forthcoming issue of the M onthly Labor Review.
* Less than 0.05.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR TURNOVER
885
T a b l e 3 . —Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) 1for Men and Women
in Selected Industries Engaged in War Production, January 1945 2
Total separa
tion
Industry group and industry
Men
A ll manufacturing, .
________ _______
_
W omen
Quit
Men
Total accession
Women
Men
Women
5.5
7.3
3.8
6.0
6.5
7.9
Ordnance, . . . ______ _ ______
Guns, howitzers, mortars, and related equipment
Ammunition, except for small arms____________
T anks__________ ___ .
Sighting and fire-control equipm ent,,.
____ ..
6.4
4.7
7.3
7.6
2.3
9.5
9.0
9.9
9.1
6.2
4.0
2.7
4.8
3.5
1.4
7.7
6.6
8.3
6.9
3.7
9.7
6.3
11.8
7.9
3.3
11.1
9.9
11.8
9.9
6.3
Iron and steel and their products______
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills___
Gray-iron castings____________________
Malleable-iron castings________ .
Steel castings_______
____ _____
Cast-iron pipe and fittings_________
Firearms (60 caliber and under), . .
3.8
2.6
6.8
5.2
5.6
4.4
3.5
7. 1
5.4
8. 1
6.2
6.7
6.0
7.1
2.6
1.9
5.1
3.9
4.2
3.6
2.2
5.4
4.6
6.0
5.7
4.7
4.8
5.0
4.9
3.4
9.5
7.6
7.2
3.5
4.8
8. 2
7.5
9.1
5.8
6.7
10. 7
8.2
___ _
Electrical machinery _____
Electrical equipment for industrial use___
Radios, radio equipment, and p h o n o g r a p h s ,. . .
Communication equipment, except radios___
3.1
2.4
3.8
2.0
5.8
5.2
6.8
3.5
2.0
1.7
2.6
1.2
4.6
4.5
5.0
3.0
3.8
2. 6
5.5
2.4
6.1
5. 3
8.3
2.5
Machinery, except electrical,. __________________
_____ . . .
Engines and tu rb in e s______
Machine to o ls.. . _______
Machine-tool accessories_________
Metal-working machinery and equipment, not
elsewhere classified________________________
General industrial machinery, except pumps
Pumps and pumping equipment__________ ._ .
3.3
3.9
2.5
3.4
6.0
6.7
4.9
6.1
2.2
2.3
1.6
1.8
4. 6
5.0
3.8
4.1
4.5
4. 5
4.1
3.8
6 6
7. 5
7.1
5.0
2.7
3.4
2.9
5.4
5.5
6.9
1.8
2.3
1.9
3.6
4.4
5.6
4.3
4.5
4.4
7.0
6.9
6.0
6.8
3.7
3.8
10.3
8.7
6.7
6.6
15.3
3.7
2.5
2.0
5.3
6.0
4.0
9.3
6.9
6.2
4.8
8.5
7.6
7. 5
6.7
8.8
4.6
6.6
3.4
5.4
7.3
9.0
3.3
7.5
3.6
5.8
5.3
10.3
7.0
6.7
2.6
5.6
2.8
3.5
3.9
7.7
6.3
5.2
3.6
7.8
7.2
8.9
4. 5
7. 5
9.8
11.2
Transportation equipment, except automobiles
Aircraft-..
_________________ _
Aircraft parts _ _______________
Shipbuilding and repairs___________
Nonferrous metals and their products.. _
Primary smelting and refining, except aluminum
and magnesium._____ . . . .
Aluminum and magnesium smelting and refining.
Rolling and drawing of copper and copper alloys..
Aluminum and magnesium products
Nonferrous-metal foundries, except aluminum and
m a g n e s i u m . . . . __ _
____
4.8
5.6
3.5
5.0
5.7
7.0
Chemicals and allied products
Industrial chemicals, except explosives___. . . _
E xplosives... ______
___
Small-arms am m unition...
4.1
3.6
5.7
4.6
5.8
4.6
7.9
5.7
2.8
2.4
4.0
2.9
5.0
3.7
6.7
4.9
7.0
4.3
9.2
12.6
9.4
4.7
12.0
12.8
1 These figures are presented to show comparative turnover rates and should not be used to estimate
employment.
3 Data are preliminary.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Building Operations
B uilding C onstruction in U rban Areas, F ebruary 1945
BUILDING construction started in urban areas of the United States
rose nearly 15 percent from January. The total value of all urban
building construction started during February was approximately
77 million dollars, over three-fifths of which was for non-Federally
financed work.
New nonresidential building, two-thirds of it Federally financed,
made up over half the building construction started this month.
Practically all of the new residential building was non-Federal,
which rose in value 18 percent from the previous month as compared
with a 37-percent increase in new nonresidential building. Total
valuations for additions, alterations, and repairs in the month de
clined 13 percent from January.
To meet a demand for additional industrial capacity, new non
residential construction increased by one-half over February 1944,
in both Federal and non-Federal work. On the other hand, new
residential work declined almost two-fifths over the year because of
the virtual completion of Federal war housing programs and because
of wartime ceilings on nonessential building. Federal new residential
building declined by 2.7 million dollars from a year ago, as compared
with a drop of 8.3 million dollars in non-Federal residential construc
tion. While new residential building decreased, additions, alterations,
and repair work increased 7 percent over February 1944, with Feder
ally financed work accounting for the largest proportion of the gain.
T
able
1.— Summary of Building Construction in all Urban Areas, February 1944 and
January and February 1945
Number of buildings
Class of construction
February
1945
Value
Percent of change
from—
Percent of change
February
from—
1945 (thou
sands of
January February dollars)
January February
1945
1944
1945
1944
All building construction___________
34, 342
- 0 .1
- 4 .8
76,932
+14.8
+ 5 .0
New resid en tial____
_______ - N ew nonresidential. . . .
_____
Additions, alterations, and repairs___
4,623
4, 676
25,043
+7.1
- 3 .6
-.6
-4 0 .5
+28.0
+ 1.6
17, 232
38, 547
21,153
+17.6
+36.9
-1 2 .7
-3 8 .9
+52.1
+ 7 .2
There was a 6-percent rise over January in the number of new
dwelling units begun during the month. The total of 5,324 units
started in February 1945 and the 5,046 started in January were all
privately financed. In February 1944, however, Federal contracts
were let for nearly 1,200 units out of a total of about 9,000.
886
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
887
BUILDING OPERATIONS
T a b l e 2 . —Number and Value of New Dwelling Units in all Urban Areas, by Source of
Funds and Type of Dwelling, February 1945
Value
Number of dwelling units
Source of funds and type of dwelling
Percent of change
from—
February
1945
(thousands
January February of dollars) January February
1945
1944
1945
1944
Percent of change
from—
February
1945
All dwellings.................................... _
Privately financed___________ _____
1fam ily______________
2family 1_____________
Multifamily 2__________________
Federally financed.. ...... ................. .
5,324
+ 5 .5
-4 1 .2
16,861
+18.9
-3 9 .9
5,324
4,326
366
632
0
+ 5 .5
+ 5 .6
+71.8
-1 4 .4
(3)
-3 2 .3
-2 9 .8
-1 0 .5
-5 1 .0
(3)
16,861
13, 593
996
2,272
0
+18.9
+17.6
+71.7
+11.2
(3)
-3 2 .9
-3 0 .4
-2 2 .4
-4 7 .2
«
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
3 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
3 Percent of change not computed since no contract award notifications were received during January and
February 1945.
Comparison of First 2 Months of 1944 and 1945
At the close of the first 2 months of 1945, the cumulative value of
building construction started in all urban areas was approximately
144 million dollars, 10 percent below the aggregate for the same
period in 1944. Non-Federal work was 9 percent and Federal work
about 12 percent below the point where it was at the end of February
a year ago. On the other hand, the new nonresidential building
started was 11 percent higher in value by the end of February 1945
than in 1944, entirely because of greater non-Federal activity. Fur
thermore, the values of additions, alterations, andjTepairs were 14
percent higher.
T a b l e 3 .— Value of Building Construction in all Urban Areas, by Class of Construction,
First 2 Months of 1944 and 1945
Value (in thousands of dollars)
Federal construction
Total construction
Class of construction
All construction_______________ ______
New residential------- ---------- --------------New nonresidential__________________
Additions, alterations, and repairs-------
First 2 months of—
1945
1944
143, 968
160,401
31,889
66, 696
45, 383
60,480
60,125
39,796
Percent
of
change
-1 0 .2
-4 7 .3
+10.9
+14.0
First 2 months of—
Percent
of
change
1945
1944
47,131
53, 500
-1 1 .9
305
40,570
6,256
9,172
41,092
3,236
-9 6 .7
- 1 .3
+93.3
T a b l e 4 . —Number and Value of New Dwelling Units in all Urban Areas, by Source of
Funds and Type of Dwelling, First 2 Months of 1944 and 1945
Number of dwelling units
Source of funds and type of dwelling
First 2 months of—
1945
All dwellings......................... .......................
Privately financed- ------- --------- --------1-fam ily------ ------------------------------2-family i___________________ _____
M ultifam ily3-----------------------------Federal______________________ ____
1944
Percent
of
change
10, 370
20,066
-4 8 .3
10, 370
8,421
579
1, 370
0
16,082
12,418
1,386
2,278
3,984
-3 5 .5
-3 2 .3
-5 8 .2
-3 9 .9
(3)
Value (in thousands of dollars)
First 2 months of—
1945
1944
Percent
of
change
31.046
60,151
-4 8 .4
31.046
25,155
1, 576
4,315
0
51,150
39, 606
4,358
7,186
9,001
-3 9 .3
-3 6 .5
-6 3 .8
-4 0 .0
(?)
i Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
3 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
,
.
.
.
3 Percent of change not computed since no contract award notifications were received during January ana
February 1945.
630372— 45----- 13
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
888
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
,
Construction From Public Funds February 1945
The value of contracts awarded and force-account work started
during January and February 1945 and February 1944 on all con
struction proj ects, excluding shipbuilding, financed wholly or partially
from Federal funds and reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is
shown in table 5. This table includes construction both inside and
outside the corporate limits of cities.
T a b l e 5. — Value of Contracts Awarded and Force-Account Work Started on Construction
Projects 1 Financed From Federal Funds, February 1945
Value (in thousands of dollars) of contracts awarded
and force-account work started
Source of funds
February 19452 January 1945 3 February 19443
_____________
44,953
51, 743
94,114
War public works 4__ ______ _ ______ __ _________
___ _
Regular Federal appropriations • _ _ _ _ _ ___
Federal Public Housing Authority. ________________
2,113
42, 535
305
6,343
45,048
352
4,664
84, 645
4, 805
All Federal sources
_______ _
i Excludes the following amounts (in thousands of dollars) for ship construction: February 1945, 893,191;
January 1945, 333,661; February 1944, 109,764.
3 Preliminary; subject to revision.
3 Revised.
4 Public works financed under the Lanham Act, to provide facilities in crowded war districts.
Coverage and Method
Figures on building construction in this report cover the entire
urban area of the United States which by Census definition includes
all incorporated places with a 1940 population of 2,500 or more and,
by special rule, a small number of unincorporated civil divisions.
Valuation figures, the basis for statements concerning value, are
derived from estimates of construction cost made by prospective
private builders when applying for permits to build, and the value
of contracts awarded by Federal and State governments. No land
costs are included. Unless otherwise indicated, only building con
struction within the corporate limits of cities in urban areas is in
cluded in the tabulations.
Reports of building permits which were received in February 1945
for cities containing between 80 and 85 percent of the urban population
of the country, provide the basis for estimating the total number of
buildings and dwelling units and the valuation of private urban
building construction. Similar data for Federally financed urban
building construction are compiled directly from notifications of
construction contracts awarded, as furnished by Federal agencies.
The contracts awarded and force-account work started on Federally
financed building construction inside the corporate limits of cities in
urban areas were valued at $27,518,000 in February 1945, $19,613,000
in January 1945, and $21,531,000 in February 1944.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend o f Employment9 Earnings, and Hours
Sum m ary of R eports for February 1945
E M PL O Y M E N T in nonagricultural establishments declined 840,000
between F ebruary 1944 and February 1945, during which period there
was a net increase of 1% million in the armed forces. Nonagricultural
employment stood at 38 million in February, about 3,000 more than
in January.
Industrial and Business Employment
Wage-earner employment in all manufacturing industries combined
declined 17,000 between January and February. There was no change
in munitions employment. The falling off in munitions employment
which started in December 1943 came to a halt in November 1944,
since which time there has been a gain of about 40,000.
The largest increase over the month, 12,000, was reported by the
iron and steel group and was concentrated in the bag and shell load
ing, heavy ammunition, and blast furnace industries. The chemicals
group reported an increase of 10,000. Most of this gain may be
attributed to plants manufacturing small-arms ammunition and
explosives.
Despite increases in employment in the aircraft and aircraft-engine
industries, the transportation equipment group reported a decline
of 32,000. The shipbuilding industry, in which the decline was
localized, reported completion of some contracts, and cut-backs in
production schedules as a result of cancellation of other contracts.
The decline in nonmunitions employment reflected drops in the food
and textile-mill products groups. The m ajor share' of the drop of
12.000 in the food group was brought about by a decrease in receipts
of livestock, necessitating the laying off of employees in the slaughter
ing and meat-packing industry. To a lesser degree, the decline in
employment in the food industries may be attributed to seasonal lay
offs in canning. The decline of 8,000 in the textile-mill products
group was shared by almost all of the industries in that group. How
ever, the only significant decrease was in cotton goods.
The number of bituminous-coal miners remained at 338,000. With
but three exceptions, employment in this industry has been declining
each month since the last quarter of 1941 and is at present over
100.000 below the peak.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
889
890
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Ta b l e 1.—Estimated Number of Wage Earners and Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment
in Manufacturing Industries , by Major Industry Group 1
Estimated number of wage earners
(in thousands)
Wage earner indexes
(1939=100)
Industry group
February January December February February January
1945 2
1944
1944
1945 2
1945
1945
All manufacturing______________ ______
_ _________
Durable goods____
Nondurable goods_____ __________
13, 095
7, 785
5, 310
13,112
7, 796
5,316
13,190
7, 804
5,386
14, 254
8, 698
5, 556
159.9
215.6
115.9
160.1
215.9
116.0
Iron and steel and their products . _
Electrical machinery___
____________
Machinery, except electrical_____ ____ __
Transportation equipment, except auto
mobiles_____ _______________ _______
. . ______
Automobiles, . ________
Nonferrous metals and their products____
Lumber and timber basic products____ _
Furniture and finished lumber products __
Stone, clay, and glass products__________
1, 669
697
1,167
1,657
698
1,163
1,651
702
1,159
1,730
769
1, 272
168.3
268.8
220.8
167.1
269.2
220.0
2, 050
683
404
451
339
325
2,082
682
398
450
338
328
2,096
677
397
452
340
330
2, 533
753
453
484
358
346
1291. 7
169.7
176.3
107.3
103.2
110.7
1311. 7
169.4
173.6
107.1
103.0
111.6
1,075
1, 083
1,092
1,163
94.0
94.7
835
310
1, 001
82
310
837
311
1, 013
82
309
851
312
1,054
85
312
909
317
1,013
87
320
105.8
89.3
117.1
88.0
.116.7
106.0
89.5
118.6
88.1
116.5
329
638
133
196
401
328
628
133
196
396
335
621
133
194
397
338
655
127
204
423
100.2
221.4
126.1
161.9
163.8
100.1
217.8
126.0
161.8
161.8
Textile-mill products and other fiber man
ufactures___
_
_____
Apparel and other finished textile prod
ucts__ _______ ______ _ ____ ____
Leather and leather products______ __ . .
Food ____ ____ _ _______ ________
Tobacco m anufactures_______
Paper and allied products______________
Printing, publishing, and allied indus
tries__ .
. ______ _ .
Chemicals and allied p r o d u cts.________
Products of petroleum and coal . . . .
...
_
Rubber products. _ ___
Miscellaneous industries. _____________
1 The estimates and indexes presented in this table have been adjusted to levels indicated by final data
for 1942 and preliminary data for 1943 made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal
Security Agency. These data are not comparable with data published in mimeographed releases dated
prior to February 1945 or in issues of the M onthly Labor Review prior to March 1945. Comparable
data from Januáry 1939 are available upon request.
2 Preliminary.
Public Employment
A 27,000 increase in employment in war agencies within continental
United States in February 1945 represented the first sizable expansion
since the summer of 1944. The N avy D epartm ent accounted for
19,000 of the rise, the W ar D epartm ent for 7,000, and the W ar Ship
ping Adm inistration for 1,000. Other agencies showed a rise of 2,000
in February, which was mostly in the Treasury D epartm ent and Vet
erans Adm inistration. The Tennessee Valley A uthority showed a
decrease of 1,300 employees.
War-agency employment outside continental United States is now
over the half-million mark (552,000) and since April 1944 has been
increasing at an average rate of almost 20,000 a month.
In February 1945, Federal employment (including employment in
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and in Government
corporations) totaled 3% million, with war agencies constituting 75
percent. This represented an increase during the preceding year of
238,000, with a slight increase in the proportion of employees in war
agencies.
Source oj data .—D ata for the Federal executive service are reported
through the Civil Service Commission, whereas data for the legislative
and judicial services and Government corporations are reported to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Force-account employment is also in
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
891
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
eluded in construction employment (table 5), and navy yard employ
ment is also included in employment on shipbuilding and repair
projects (table 4). Data for pay rolls are now being revised and the
revised series will be available shortly.
T a b l e 2 . —Employment in Regular Federal Services and in Government Corporations,
in Selected Months
Year and month
February
February
February
February
February
February
Total
1939... .............
....
1940. ________________________
1941. _ _
_ ____________
1942..
. . . .........................
1943______________________ .
1944_________________________
November 1944 _ _ . _______
December 1944______ .
. . . . . . ...
January 1945___
_______ _
___
February 1945 3________________________
E xecutive1 Legislative
Judicial
Govern
ment cor
porations 2
917, 213
992, 856
1,232, 956
1,813,014
3,031,830
3, 263,016
885,021
958,319
1,196,876
1,773, 533
2,988, 636
3,217,941
5,234
5, 889
5,985
6,354
6,284
6,115
2,228
2,360
2, 507
2,584
2, 597
2, 668
24, 730
26,288
27, 58-!
30, 543
34,313
36, 292
3,400, 220
3,702, 940
3, 449, 802
3, 500, 573
3,356, 254
3, 659,220
3,406,672
3,457, 249
6,253
6,203
6,160
6, 561
2,646
2, 646
2, 638
2,643
35,067
34, 871
34,332
34,120
1 Includes employees in United States N avy yards who are also included under shipbuilding (table 4) and
employees on force-account construction who are also included under construction projects (table 5). In
cludes employees stationed outside continental United States.
2 Data are for employees of the Panama Railroad Co., the Federal Reserve Banks, and banks of the Farm
Credit Administration, who are paid out of operating revenues and not out of Federal appropriations. Data
for other Government corporations are included under the executive service.
2 Preliminary.
T
able
3 . —Employment
in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government by War and
Other Agencies, in Selected Months 1
War agencies2
Other agencies
Outside
conti
nental
United
States 3
Total
Total,
war
agencies
Conti
nental
United
States
Outside
conti
nental
United
States 3
Total,
other
agencies
Conti
nental
United
States
1939 . . _ . ______
1 9 4 0 ._____ _____
1941_______ ____
1942.. __ ______
1943... _________
1944_____________
885,021
958,319
1,196,876
1, 773, 533
2, 988,636
3, 217,941
187,430
241, 249
433,197
930,853
2,173,311
2, 401, 552
161,092
204,848
368,860
793,172
1,929,862
2, 019, 816
26, 338
36, 401
64, 337
137, 681
243, 449
381,736
697, 591
717,070
763, 679
842, 680
815, 325
816, 389
689, 406
706,042
751,031
828,813
800, 510
800,157
8,185
11,028
12, 648
13,867
14,815
16, 232
November 1944 ‘____
December 1944 4 .
January 1945 4___________ .
February 1945 8 __________
3,356, 254
3, 659, 220
3, 406, 672
3,457,249
2, 507,804
2, 541,176
2, 561,118
2,609, 505
2, 045, 720
2,046, 206
2,030, 351
2,057,409
462,084
494,970
530, 767
552,096
848, 450
832,492
118,044 1,101,161
845, 554
829, 327
831,432
847, 744
15, 958
16,883
16, 227
16, 312
Year and month
February
February
February
February
February
February
1 Includes employees in United States navy yards who are also included under shipbuilding (table 4) and
employees on force-account construction who are also included under construction projects (table 5).
2 Covers War and N avy Departments, Maritime Commission, National Advisory Committee for Aero
nautics, The Panama Canal, and the emergency war agencies.
3 Includes Alaska and the Panama Canal Zone.
4 Data incorporate revisions in War Department employment outside continental United States.
8Preliminary.
Employment on Shipbuilding and Repair
Employment on the Government’s shipbuilding program (including
repair) decreased 46,000 in February 1945. All regions were affected,
but the Pacific region was affected to the greatest extent (15,600) and
the Great Lakes region to the smallest (600). In relative terms, the
Inland region was affected most (13.2 percent) and the North Atlantic
region least (0.7 percent).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
892
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Employment in private shipyards” declined^270,600 in the year,
February 1944 to February 1945, and 325,000 since the peak in
November 1943. The steady decline in employment in private ship
yards since the peak has been due to the gradual completion of
contracts and to the fact that few new contracts have been let.
The increase in repair work at the navy yards has tended to offset
declines on new construction and has been responsible for the relative
stability in navy yard employment since mid-1943.
Data on employment and pay rolls on shipbuilding and repair
projects are received monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
directly from all shipyards within continental United States. Em
ployees in the navy yards are also included in data for the Federal
executive service (tables 2 and 3).
T a b l e 4 .— Total Employment and P ay Bolls in United States N avy Yards and Private
Shipyards Within Continental United States, by Shipbuilding Region, February 1945
Employment (in thousands)
Pay rolls (in thousands of
dollars)
Shipbuilding region
February January February February January
1945 i
1945
1944
1945 i
1945
All regions, _____________
_____ ___
United States navy yards 2______ . _
Private shipyards__________________
1,400. 0
327.3
1, 072. 7
1,446. 0
326.6
1,119.4
1, 673.4
330.1
1,343.3
398,932
94, 237
304,695
425,809
94,065
331,744
North Atlantic _____________ . . . . _
South A tla n tic ,_______ ______ _
Gulf__________________________________
P acific,, ___________________________
Great Lakes___
_ __ .
Inland _ ______ ______________ _ ,
512.6
123.8
177.5
490.7
50.1
45.3
516.1
128.8
191.9
506.3
50.7
52.2
608.5
151.7
228.7
562.0
64.0
58.5
155,183
32,907
50, 593
134, 604
13, 860
11,785
156,157
33, 769
55,893
151, 808
14, 023
14,159
February
1944
454,069
87,348
366,721
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
1 Preliminary.
2 Includes all navy yards constructing or repairing ships, including the Curtis Bay (Md.) Coast Guard
yard.
3 Break-down not available.
Construction Employment
Although site employment on construction projects financed wholly
or partially from Federal funds showed no change in level between
January and February 1945, increases occurred on the construction
of additional facilities to existing plants for rocket and other ordnance
manufacture and on electrification projects servicing these facilities.
These increases were offset by decreases on other types of projects,
resulting from seasonal factors and completion of war facilities.
For non-Federal projects site employment showed a 20,000 increase
on nonresidential building construction and a 2,200 increase on
public utility construction. All other types of projects, except the
miscellaneous group, showed declines during February 1945.
Source oj data.—For construction projects financed wholly or
partially from Federal funds, the Bureau of Labor Statistics receives
monthly reports on employment and pay rolls at the construction
site, directly from the contractors or from the Federal agency spon
soring the project. Force-account employees hired directly by the
Federal Government are also included in tables 2 and 3 under Federal
executive service.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
893
Estimates of employment on non-Federal construction projects
(except State roads) are obtained by converting the value of work
started (compiled from reports on building permits issued, priorities
granted, and from certain special reports) into monthly expenditures
and employment by means of factors which have been developed
from special studies and adjusted to current conditions. For State
roads projects, data represent estimates of the Public Roads Adminis
tration.
T a b l e 5 . —Estimated Employment and P ay Rolls on Construction Within Continental
United States, February 1945
Employment (in thou
sands)
Pay rolls (in thousands
of dollars)
Type of project
Febru
ary
1945 i
N ew construction, to ta l2 ___________________
At the construction s i t e _____ _ ... ______
Federal projects 4________ __________
Airports_________________________
Buildings____ ________
______
Residential________ ________
Nonresidontial8 _ _______ .
Electrification____________________
R eclam ation______ ____________
River, harbor, and flood control___
Streets and highways __________
Water and sewer systems_________
Miscellaneous____________________
Non-Federal projects. . . . ___________
Buildings________________________
Residential__________________
Nonresidential_____________ .
Farm__________________ _______
_____ _____
Public utilities____
Streets and highw ays. _ . . . . . . . . .
State. ________ . _________
County and m unicipal... . . ._
Miscellaneous____ . ___ _ . . . . .
Other A _________ ________ _________
Maintenance of State roads 7_________________
662.3
550.9
165.9
7.0
111.5
10.8
100.7
.4
6.8
15.1
7.4
3.8
13.9
385.0
228.4
71.9
155.5
43 2
87.8
11.9
4.2
7.7
13.7
111.4
85.0
January Febru
ary
1945
1944
Febru
ary
1945 i
779. J
618.4
295.6
23.1
201.8
' 35.8
166.0
.3
15.3
21.6
11.0
7.5
15.0
322.8
182. 5
116.4
66.1
38.8
74.6
15.6
6.6
9.0
11.3
160.7
79.7
(3)
(3)
37,385
1.215
26, 541
2, 524
24,017
84
1,580
2.997
1,337
577
3,054
(*>
48, 878
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3-,
(3)
(3)
651.8
537.6
165.9
7.9
107.4
11.2
96.2
.3
7.3
16.3
7.9
3.7
15.1
371.7
210.2
73.7
136.5
47.0
85.6
15.2
5.5
9.7
• 13.7
114.2
85.0
January Febru
ary
1945
1944
(3)
(3)
35,828
1,471
24, 231
2, 581
21,650
36
1,760
3,184
1, 379
574
3,193
(3)
48, 346
(3)
(3)
(3>
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
58, 250
3, 688
41,548
7,163
34, 385
44
3,148
4,176
1,718
1,127
2, 801
(3)
35,953
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
1 Preliminary.
2 Data are for all construction workers (contract and force-account) engaged on new construction, addi
tions, and alterations, and on repair work of the type usually covered by building permits. (Force-account
employees are workers hired directly by the owner and utilized as a separate work force to perform construc
tion work of the type usually chargeable to capital account.) The construction figure included in the Bu
reau’s nonagricultural employment series covers only employees of construction contractors and on Federal
force-account, and excludes force-account workers of State and local governments, public utilities, and
private firms.
3 Data not available.
< Includes the following force-account employees, hired directly by the Federal Government, and their
pay rolls: February 1944, 32,727, $6,308,242; January 1945,19,817, $3,964,793; February 1945,19,355, $3,729,396.
These employees are also included under the Federal executive service (tables 2 and 3); all other workers
were employed by contractors and subcontractors.
5 Includes the following employees and pay rolls for Defense Plant Corporation (RFC) projects: February
1944, 72,974, $17,234,891; January 1945, 12,368, $2,787,114; February 1945,10,064, $2,668,598.
6 Includes central office force of construction contractors, shop employees of special trades contractors,
such as bench sheet-metal workers, etc., and site employees engaged on projects which, for security reasons,
cannot be shown above.
’Data for other types of maintenance not available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
894
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
D etailed R eports for In d u strial and Business
Em ploym ent, January 1945
Nonagricultural Employment
ESTIMATES of employment in nonagricultural establishments are
shown in table 1. The estimates are based on reports of employers
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on unemployment-compensation
data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the
Federal Security Agency, and on information supplied by other
Government agencies, such as the Interstate Commerce Commission,
Civil Service Commission, Bureau of the Census, and the Bureau of
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance. The estimates include all wage
and salaried workers in nonagricultural establishments but exclude
military personnel, proprietors, self-employed persons, and domestic
servants.
Estimates of employees in nonagricultural establishments, by
States, are published each month in a detailed report on employment
and pay rolls.
T
able
1 . —Estimated
Number of Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments, by
Industry Division
Estimated number of employees
(in thousands)
Industry division
January
1945
Decem
ber 1944
Novem
ber 1944
Total estimated em ploym ent1_____ _____ _________________
38,104
38,888
38,347
38,965
Manufacturing .
____ ________________ ______________
M in in g __ ___ _
Contract construction and Federal force-account construction...
Transportation and public utilities_________________________
Trade_______________________ _____ ______________________
Finance, service, and miscellaneous______ ______________ ____
Federal, State and local government, excluding Federal forceaccount construction.. . . . ______ ______
_______________
15, 557
804
563
3,735
7,088
4,463
15,630
806
594
3, 771
7,611
4,304
15,607
812
629
3, 771
7,299
4,315
16,825
858
764
3,664
6,919
4,128
5,894
6,172
5,914
5,807
January
1944
1 Estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonagricultural establishments
who are employed during the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. Proprietors, self-employed
persons, domestic servants, and personnel of the armed forces are excluded.
Industrial and Business Employment
Monthly reports on employment and pay rolls are available for 154
manufacturing industries and for 27 nonmanufacturing industries,
including water transportation *and class I steam railroads. The
reports for the first 2 of these groups—manufacturing and nonmanu
facturing are based on sample surveys by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The figures on water transportation are based on esti-
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
895
m ates prepared by the M aritim e Commission, and those on Class I
steam railroads are compiled by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The employment, pay-roll, hours, and earnings figures for manu
facturing, mining, laundries, and cleaning and dyeing, cover wage
earners only; but the figures for public utilities, brokerage, insurance,
and hotels relate to all employees except corporation officers and execu
tives, while for trade they relate to all employees except corporation
officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are mainly
supervisory. For crude-petroleum production they cover wage earn
ers and clerical field force. The coverage of the reporting samples for
the various nonmanufacturing industries ranges from about 25 percent
for wholesale and retail trade, cleaning and dyeing, and insurance, to
about 80 percent for public utilities and 90 percent for mining.
The general manufacturing indexes are computed from reports sup
plied by representative establishments in the 154 manufacturing in
dustries surveyed. These reports cover more than 65 percent of the
total wage earners in all manufacturing industries of the country and
about 80 percent of the wage earners in the 154 industries covered.
Data for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries are
based on reports of the number of employees and the amount of pay
rolls for the period ending nearest the 15th of the month.
INDEXES OF EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
Employment and pay-roll indexes, for both manufacturing and non
manufacturing industries, for November and December 1944 and
January 1945 and foi January 1944, are presented in tables 3 and 5.
The figures relating to all manufacturing industries combined, to
the durable- and nondurable-goods divisions, and to the major in
dustry groups, have been adjusted to levels indicated by final data for
1942 and preliminary data for 1943 made available by the Bureau
of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency. The Bureau
of Employment Security data referred to are (a) employment totals
reported by employers under State unemployment-compensation
programs, and (6) estimates of the number of employees not reported
under the programs of some of these States, which do not cover small
establishments. The latter estimates were obtained from tabulations
prepared by the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, which
obtains reports from all employers, regardless of size of establishment.
N ot all industries in each m ajor industry group are represented in
the tables since minor industries are not canvassed by the Bureau.
Furtherm ore, no attem pt has been made to allocate among the sepa
rate industries the adjustm ents to unemployment-compensation
data. Hence, the estimates for individual industries within a group
do not in general add to the total for th a t group.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
00
CO
Oi
EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
in d e x
1 9 3 9 = 1 0 0
in d e x
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
UNITED STA TE S DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATI ST ICS______________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WAGE EARNERS AND WAGE EARNER PAY ROLL
897
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T a b l e 2 . —Estimated
Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries
Estimated number of wage earners
(in thousands)
Industry
January
1945
All manufacturing 1---------- -------. ---------- — -------- 13,112
Durable goods1____ _______ _ . ------- ----- ------- -- 7, 796
5,316
Nondurable goods A
- ------------------- --------------------
Decem
ber 1944
Novem
ber 1944
13,190
7,804
5,386
13,161
7,789
5,372
January
1944
14,338
8,765
5,573
Durable goods
___________
Iron and steel and their products 1----------- . .
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills______ _____
Gray-iron and semisteel castings___ ______ _ _________
Malleable-iron castings... ______________ ____________
Steel castings------------- ------ ----------------------- -------Oast-iron pipe and fittings-------------- . . . . . . -------- . . . .
Tin cans and other tinware__ _______________ ______
Wire drawn from purchased rods... _____
.
------ . .
Wire work.
. .'. ______ ___ ________________ ______
Cutlery and edge to o ls.. . . . ____ __________ . _____
Tools (except edge tools, machine tools, files, and saws)___
H ardware... .
------------------------ -------------- ---------Plumbers’ supplies... ______ __________ ___________
Stoves, oil burners, and heating equipment, not elsewhere
c la ss ifie d ..____
..
..............................
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and steam fittings.
Stamped and enameled ware and galvanizing.. . ________
Fabricated structural and ornamental metalwork.
...
Metal doors, sash, frames, molding, and trim------------------Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets_________________________
Forgings, iron and steel.
. . . .
. . ______ ___
Wrought pipe, welded and heavy riveted___ .
_________
Screw-machine products and wood screws___ . . . --------Steel barrels, kegs, and drums____ _ _. _
. ______
Firearms______ . . . . . . . _____ ____ ___ . . . .
____
1,657
474.8
75.6
25.9
72.1
15.7
39.8
32.8
34.6
24.3
28.0
46.2
22.5
1,651
474.7
74.6
25.6
71.6
15.7
39.4
32.4
34.6
24.3
27.5
46.4
22.1
1,637
473.8
73.2
25.1
71.7
15.4
38.9
32.1
34.7
23.7
26.9
45.9
21.8
1,736
497.8
77.2
25.8
80.3
15.6
33.6
35.2
34.0
22.7
28.7
47.5
23.5
63.1
55.2
87.3
73.2
10.7
24.1
35.6
23.8
42.7
8.2
34.5
63.9
55.3
87.0
72.8
10.8
24.1
35.3
24.4
42.9
8.0
36.8
62.5
54.8
86.2
72.5
10.8
24.6
35.0
24.4
42.4
7.7
38.0
62.8
59.7
91.3
75.5
13.7
29.4
40.7
26.7
48.4
8.2
62.2
Electrical machinery 1___
_____________
______________
Electrical equipment_______
.. ... ...
. _____
Radios and phonographs. .
________________ ____
Communication equipment______________ _______ . ____
698
429.3
118.1
104.9
702
431.8
119.2
105.8
707
433.0
121.4
107.2
765
465.2
131.2
118.8
Machinery, except electrical i ------------- ---------- ---------- -------Machinery and machine-shop products . _ . . . _____ ___
Engines and turbines__________________________________
Tractors______ _____________________ _______________
Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors
.
. . . .
Machine tools____ . . . . . . . ---------------------- ---------Machine-tool accessories________________________ . . .
Textile machinery______ _ . _ _ ______ . . . ______ _
Pumps and pumping equipment_______________________
Typewriters__ . . . ________________
....
. . . _____
Cash registers, adding and calculating machines. . . . _ . . . .
Washington machines, wringers and driers, domestic_____
Sewing machines, domestic and industrial___ ____ _______
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipment______________
1,163
451.8
68.1
57.5
44.6
74.3
65.0
26.7
73.8
12.8
30.6
12.0
11.0
52.6
1,159
449.6
67.8
57.3
44.6
74.3
65.0
27.3
73.9
12.6
30.8
11.7
10.7
52.6
1,149
445.5
67.5
56.6
44.0
74.0
64.5
27.3
73.6
12.3
31.1
11.4
10.5
51.8
1,284
498.6
70.7
59.1
44.1
88.9
78.3
28.5
83.6
12.4
35.6
14.8
10.0
59.0
Transportation equipment, except automobiles 1_____________
Locomotives. . .
. . .
_____________ . . . . . . .
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad _. _________ ._ ___
Shipbuilding and boatbuilding. _____ ______ _____ __
Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts------------- . ____________
2,082
34.0
58.0
1,020.6
9.4
2,096
35.5
57.6
1,034. 5
9.4
2,108
35.5
56.5
1,045. 7
9.2
2,560
36.4
60.5
1,249. 6
10.3
Automobiles 1______________________________________ ______
682
677
669
766
Nonferrous metals and their products '. ___ _____________
Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous m etals..
Alloying and rolling and drawing of nonferrous metals,
except aluminum------------------------------ -------- . . ____
Clocks and watches
... . ...
_____ _____
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’ findings__________
Silverware and plated ware
.
.
. . .
Lighting equipment___ . _ _______ _______________ _
Aluminum manufactures.._ ___________________________
Sheet-metal work, not elsewhere classified______ ________
398
39.5
397
39.8
395
40.4
458
58.8
70.6
25.6
13.3
11.0
26.0
66.8
31.8
69.6
26.0
13.5
11.1
26.5
64. 5
32.4
69.0
25.9
13.4
11.1
26.3
64. 2
32.7
74.6
25.5
14.7
11. 5
26. 2
86.0
30.4
Lumber and timber basic products 1___
__________ : ______
Sawmills and logging camps__ _________________________
Planing and plywood m ills.. __________ . . . . . . _____
450
219.1
70.4
452
220.5
70.5
459
226.1
69.4
487
235. 6
77.8
See footnote at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
898
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T a b l e 2 . —Estimated
Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries—Con.
Estimated number of wage earners
(in thousands)
Industry
January
1945
Decem
ber 1944
Novem
ber 1944
Furniture and finished lumber products 1...... ................................
Mattresses and bedsprings_______________ ____________
Furniture________________________ . ________________
Wooden boxes, other than cigar_______ ________________
Caskets and other morticians’ goods_______
_________
Wood preservings ______ . . . ___ _____ _______ _ ____
Wood, turned and shaped____ ________________________
338
17.7
152.2
27.5
11.9
9.9
21.6
340
17.9
153.3
27.5
11.8
9.9
21.6
338
18.0
152.7
27.2
12.0
9.7
21.4
361
17.7
167.0
28.0
12.2
9.9
22.1
Stone, clay, and glass products 1__________ _ ______________
Glass and glassware____________________________________
Glass products made from purchased glass. _______ _____
Cement
...
.
. . . . . . . ___
Brick, tile, and terra cotta. ._ . . .
_________ ____
Pottery and related products_____________________ ______
Gypsum ____ . . . ._
______ . . .
___ ____ _____
Wallboard, plaster (except gypsum), and mineral wool___
L im e... . . . .
.
. . . . .
Marble, granite, slate, and other products.. _________ . . .
Abrasives ._ . _______ . . . . . . . . . .
_____ ____
Asbestos produ cts_________________________________ . .
328
88.0
10.7
16.5
41.4
39.5
4.0
9.6
7. 7
13.8
21.3
20.3
330
87.8
10.7
17.2
41.8
40.0
3.9
9.7
7. 6
14.0
21.2
20.4
327
87.2
10.6
17.1
41.4
39.9
4.0
9.6
7. 7
13.9
21.1
19.9
348
91.9
10.8
18.9
45.8
40.9
4.6
10.7
8. 8
11.7
23.3
22.0
1,083
432. 7
13.5
88.8
1,092
433.7
13.6
89.8
1,081
428.8
13.5
89.2
1,162
459.3
14.7
93.4
146.6
100.7
10.3
28.5
34.4
148.3
102.4
10.4
29.4
34.6
146.8
102.0
10.2
29.2
34.4
158.2
110.9
11.4
30.7
38.7
59.9
20.3
9.4
3.2
15.1
60.3
20.4
9.5
3.3
15.4
59.3
20.3
9.4
3.3
15.1
65.3
20.8
9.8
3.5
16.6
Apparel and other finished textile products 1___________ _____
M en’s clothing, not elsewrhere classified _ ______ _____
Shirts, collars, and nightwear. _____________
___ ____
Underwear and neckwear, men’s .. ________ 1 ___ ____
Work shirts ____
.
___ . . .
Women’s clothing, not elsewhere classified____ __________
Corsets and allied g a rm en ts_________________ . ______
M illinery . .
Handkerchiefs ____ __ _____ ______________ ______
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads____________ _______
Housefurnishings, other than curtains, e tc ... ___________
Textile bags________________ . . . ___________________
837
201.2
49.6
11.9
14.1
214.6
14.6
19.4
2.6
10.9
11.5
14.0
851
204.5
51.0
12.1
14.3
216.7
15.1
19.0
2.8
12.8
11.9
14.0
854
205.7
51.1
12.2
14.5
217.5
15.0
18.4
2.8
13.0
11.8
13.9
906
216.5
54.8
12.3
16.9
228.7
16.1
19.3
3.4
15.0
12.7
15.4
Leather and leather products 1_____ . ______ ____ . . . . . . _
___ ______ ____________
L eather.. . . . . . .
.
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings_________ . . . ____
Boots and shoes_____ __ ____ ___________ . . .
Leather gloves and m ittens. . . . _ . _______ _ . . . . _
Trunks and suitcases___________________ _______________
311
39.5
16.0
173.1
12.3
12.9
312
39.6
16.2
173.4
12.6
12.9
310
39.2
16.2
172.3
12.8
13.0
315
40.8
16.4
175. 0
13.4
11.8
Food 1__ _ _________
...
_______________
___
Slaughtering and meat packing_____________ . . . ______
Butter_________________ __ . . . _______ _______ ___
Condensed and evaporated m ilk. ____ _ _______ _____
Icecream ____ __________
_ __ _____. . . ______ ____
Flour_______ . .
. . __________
Feeds, prepared. _ _________ _
_____ _______________
Cereal preparations____________________________________
Baking_____ __
....
._ __________________
Sugar refining, cane___________________________________
Sugar, beet_____ _____________________________________
Confectionery_______ ________________________________
Beverages, nonalcoholic___________________ _________ _
Malt liquors____ ____
. . __________ _________
Canning and preserving____ _____ ______________________
1,013
154.7
20.7
13.0
13.3
29.5
21.3
8.9
257.0
15.3
5.2
59.1
25.8
49.6
105.3
1,054
155.4
20.8
12.8
13.7
29.3
20.6
8.6
264.8
15.2
15.6
62.4
26.1
51.1
113.8
1,074
149.1
21.1
13.0
13.9
28.9
20.4
8.4
264.8
15.0
21.8
60.7
26.5
51.3
134.3
1,021
172.3
19.6
12.1
13.0
30.0
21.8
9.6
258.6
14.2
5.4
59.0
25.9
47.1
94.8
January
1944
Durable goods—Continued
Nondurable goods
Textile-mill products and other fiber manufactures 1__________
Cotton manufactures except small wares_________________
___
Cotton smallwares____________ _______ ______
Silk and rayon goods..
.
_____ _______ ______
___
Woolen and worsted manufactures, except dyeing and
finishing.......... .
_ __
__ ___ ._ ___ . .
H o siery ... . . . ________________________________ _____
Knitted cloth_____ _________ __ _____________ . . . __
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves____________ _____
Knitted underwear______ ______
_____
Dyeing and finishing textiles, including woolen and
worsted________ . . . ________ _ __________ . __
Carpets and rugs, wool_________________________________
Hats, fur-felt_______________
________________ _____
Jute goods, except felts___ __________ . . . ______________
Cordage and tw in e.. . . . . . . . __________ _____ . . . . . . . .
See footnote at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T a b l e 2 . —Estimated
899
Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries—Con.
Estimated number of wage earners
(in thousands)
inuusiry
January
1945
Decem
ber 1944
Novem
ber 1944
Tobacco manufactures 1----------------------------- -----------------------Cigarettes._____ _____________________________
______
Cigars__________________ __________________ _________
Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snuff------ . . . ______
82
35.2
33.3
8.6
85
36.4
34.4
8.6
84
35.8
34.6
8.4
88
35.7
37.9
8.7
Paper and allied products 1_______________________________
Paper and pulp_____________________________
______
Paper goods, other____________________ _____ _____ _____
Envelopes____________________ ____________
_____
Paper bags--------------- ------------------------ --------- ------------Paper boxes___________________________________________
309
147.4
44.7
9.5
13. 2
77.7
312
147.2
45.6
9.7
13.3
79.1
308
145.0
44.8
9.7
13.2
78.8
321
149.4
47.4
10.2
13.2
84.0
Printing, publishing, and allied industries >_ ____ _________
Newspapers and periodicals...
---------- . . . -------------Printing, book and job. ______ . -------------------------------L ithographing________ __________________ . . . . . . . . .
Bookbinding. . . . ______ . . . --------------- ---------- --------
328
109.6
131.6
24.3
27.9
335
111.3
135.5
24.7
28.3
333
110.7
134.5
24.4
27.8
338
110.5
137.0
24.9
30.1
Chemicals and allied products 1____________________________
Paints, varnishes, and colors. _ ______ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides----------- -------------------Perfumes and cosmetics. . ---------. . . ------ -- . . . ---Soap
__
__________ __________
Rayon and allied p r o d u c t s .._________________ . . . . . . .
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified____________ _______
Explosives and safety fuses_____________________________
Compressed and liquefied gases--------- ----------------- ---------. _________
Ammunition, small-arms... ________ . . .
Fireworks_______ . _______ . . . ---------- -------------------Cottonseed oil . . _______ ____ ________ _______ . .
Fertilizers---- ----------------------- . . . ----------. .
628
29.7
49.2
12.3
13.6
54.1
115.2
95.1
5.9
61.0
25.9
19.7
23.1
621
30.1
49.8
12.7
13. 6
54.2
115.5
93.5
5.9
55.1
26.9
20.4
21.5
607
29.8
49.6
12.8
13. 5
53.7
115.2
90.3
5.6
50.4
26.6
21. 1
20.0
665
29.6
50.2
11.7
13 Ft
52.1
122.3
79.8
' 6.1
96.3
28.6
20.4
23.5
Products of petroleum and c oa l1--------- --------------------------Petroleum refining. . . _. _______ ______ _______ _____
Coke and byproducts__________________________________
Paving materials________________________ . . . ---------- . .
Roofing materials_____________________________ ______
133
91.5
22.2
1.6
9.5
133
90.8
22.0
1.6
9.6
132
90.3
22.2
1.7
9.6
125
82.8
23.3
1.4
9.8
Rubber products >. ____________________ — -------------------Rubber tires and inner tubes
. . .
...
....
Rubber boots and shoes. _ ____________________________
Rubber goods, other------ ------------------------------------- -------
196
95.3
17.8
71.3
194
93.0
18.3
71.4
192
92.8
18.3
70.3
204
94.2
21.3
76.7
Miscellaneous industries 1________________________________ .
Instruments (professional and scientific), and fire-control
equipment____________________ _________ . ----------Photographic apparatus---------- ----------- -----------------------Optical instruments and ophthalmic goods. . ----------------Pianos, organs, and p a r ts --------------------------------- . . . .
Games, toys, and dolls_________________ ____ __________
B uttons--------------------- ---------------------------- ------------Fire extinguishers.. ___________
________ .
------
396
397
397
January
1944
Nondurable goods—Continued
58.8
28.0
23.6
7.3
16.5
9.2
4.9
59.0
28.0
23.5
7.1
16.8
8.8
5.0
59.2
27.9
23.4
7. 1
16.9
9.4
5.1
428
68.1
30.0
26.6
10.0
15.9
10.3
7.4
i
Estimates for the major industry groups have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1942 and prelim
inary 1943 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency.
These data are not comparable with data published in mimeographed releases dated prior to February 1945
or the March 1945 issue of the M onthly Labor Review. Comparable data from January 1939 are available
upon request. Estimates for individual industries have been adjusted to levels indicated by the 1939 Census
of Manufactures, but not to Federal Security Agency data. For this reason, together with the fact that
this Bureau has not prepared estimates for certain industries, the sum of the individual industry esti
mates will not agree with totals shown for the major industry groups.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
900
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
T a b l e 3 . —Indexes"of
Wage-Earner Employment and of Wage-Earner Pay Roll in
Manufacturing Industries
[1939 average=100J
Wage-earner employ
ment
Wage-earner pay roll
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. N ov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
All manufacturing 1___ _____________________
160. 161. 0 160./ 175. 330.3 331.8 327.8 345.1
Durable goods 1____ _________________ _____ 215. 216.] 215.7 242.'- 454.2 455.8 450.3 489.4
Nondurable goods 1___________
...
116. t 117.6 117.3 121.7 209.2 210.5 207. 204.0
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products 1_____________ .
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills _ ...
Gray-iron and semisteel castings____
Malleable-iron castings._ •_____ . .
Steel castings___
_______
______
Cast-iron pipe and fittings___
Tin cans and other tinware_______ . . . .
W ire drawn from purchased rods_________
Wirework____ _____ __________ _. . .
Cutlery and edge tools____________ _____ ___
Tools (except edge tools, machine tools, files, and
saws)______________ ________
Hardware____ __________________
Plumbers’ supplies___
... _
Stoves, oil burners, and heating equipment, not
elsewhere classified.
_____
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and
steam fittin g s___. . . . . . ____
Stamped and enameled ware and galvanizing
Fabricated structural and ornamental metal
work __________ . . .
Metal doors, sash, frames, molding, and trim
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets
Forgings, iron and steel.. . .
Wrought pipe, welded and heavy riveted _
Screw-machine products and wood screws
Steel barrels, kegs, and drum s._____
Firearms___________ ____
206.1
138.2
168. 7
231.5
284.5
252.2
135.5
689.1
205.0
139.2
168.5
229.5
292.1
253.5
132.5
736.2
204.2
140.0
171.6
227.7
291.4
250.8
126.4
760.2
212.6
176.5
205.6
264.6
318.8
286.3
135.3
1244. 2
Electrical machinery 1______
Electrical equipment___
Radios and phonographs______
Communication equipment..
269.2
237.5
271.3
326.5
271.1
238.9
274.1
329.5
272.9
239.5
278.9
333.7
295.2
257.3
301.5
370.0
504.8 504.3
454.4 452.0
534.4 537.3
541.3 ■548.1
498.7
443.8
541.7
549.5
521.1
464.8
569.7
562.9
Machinery, except electrical1__
Machinery and machine-shop products..
Engines and turbines _____
Tractors___________ ._
Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors
Machine tools.
Machine-tool accessories.. .
Textile machinery. ._
Pumps and pumping equipment_________
Typewriters.. ____ _.
Cash registers, adding and calculating machines
Washing machines, wringers and driers, domestic______ . . .
Sewing machines, domestic and industrial
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipment
220.0
223. 3
365.0
183.7
160.4
202.8
258.3
122.0
304.5
79.1
155.6
219.2
222.2
363.2
183.3
160.4
202.8
258.3
124.8
304.7
77.9
156.3
217.5
220.2
362.1
180.9
158.1
202.2
256.3
124.4
303.8
75.8
158.2
243.1
246.4
378.9
188.8
158.5
242.8
311.3
130.2
345.0
76. 2
180.8
421.9
421.3
790.2
295.0
322.1
378.6
458.3
235.1
648.7
162.0
305.1
409.0
408.4
766.4
289.7
311.2
363.2
441.3
233.3
626.5
154.7
305.8
456.5
454.6
820.1
297,7
309.4
419.8
535.1
235.8
744.4
155.9
371.0
Transportation equipment, except automobiles i
Locomotives___ _
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad
Shipbuilding and boatbuilding .
Motorcycles, bicyles and parts...
167.1
122.
129.
143.
239.7
95.:
125.2
149.'
113.!
157. ‘
166.5
122.2
127.6
142.1
238. ]
95.:
123.!
147.6
113.7
157.3
165.2
122. C
125.3
138.9
238.:
93.2
122.4
145.9
114.3
153.8
175.
128.2
132.
142.8
266.7
94.3
105.8
160. 4
111.9
147.3
316.3
224.4
265.
305.5
457.3
193.5
219.3
260.8
236.4
336.6
316.7
225.5
261.7
305.6
454.9
192.1
215.6
257.1
235.8
333.0
308.8
221.9
251.7
291.9
448.6
187.9
205.4
251.2
229.7
320.4
320.9
223.6
257.8
291.2
488.1
173.4
179.5
267.2
226.6
301.9
180.5 177.2 175.4 187.2 353. 7 347. 1 332.0 351.1
129.5 130.3 128.9 133.2 273.6 275.! 266.4 270.3
91.4 89.8 88.4 95.4 173.4 168.0 161. 7 164.8
136.8 138.6 135. 5 136.1 267.2 269.4 260.9 252.8
182.3 182.6 180.8 197.0 356.1 353.6 351.0 350.3
157.2 156.6 155.2 164.3 336.7 332.3 313.4 322.0
395.1
266.0
329.2
477.0
571. 7
509.2
261.6
1509.2
401.7
274.5
333.4
467.3
583.4
498.7
270.4
1659.2
422.0
419.4
807.6
294.4
322.4
381.0
452.3
240.9
650.2
153.8
298.4
397.4 411.1
266.7 325.8
335.1 395.0
459.2 531.6
568.4 607.4
488.9 563.9
247.8 264.8
1758. 4 2896. 5
160.9 156.3 153.0 197.8 290. 7 298.0 268.3 343.2
139.8 136.7 134. 0 127. 7 300.3 289.4 282.3 274.0
149.7 149.6 147.3 167.9 267.2 287.3 265.6 306.6
1311.7
525.0
236.6
1473. 9
135.4
1320. 7 1327.8
548.7 549.0
234.7 230.2
1494.0 1510. 2
134.7 131.7
1613.1 2852. 5 2893. 7 2905. 9 3221.2
562 8 1169.0 1321.8 1256. 4 1289.2
246.5 486.1 510.7 467.7 480.2
1804.6 3311.9 3435.6 3497. 8 3599.4
148.2 258.2 254.7 241.7 273.3
Automobiles 1..........
169.4 168.3 166.3 190.4 319.3 312.6 307.6 358.0
Nonferrous metals and their products i___
Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous
metals_________
Alloying and roiling and drawing of nonferrous
metals, except alum inum ...
Clocks and watches..
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’ findings
Silverware and plated ware
Lighting equipment
Aluminum manufactures
Sheet-metal work, not elsewhere classified"
173.6 173.1 172.1 199.6 337.7 336.2 326.9 373. 3
See footnote at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
142.9 143.9 146.3 212.8 264.2 263.5 266.8 377.8
181.9
126.4
92. 1
90.8
127.2
283.9
169.5
179.2
128.1
93.5
91.7
129.6
274.1
172.8
177.8
127.8
92.8
91.4
128.3
272.5
174.2
192.1
125.5
102.0
94.5
128.0
365.1
162.1
354.5
270.3
160.5
163.0
235.9
529.6
334.0
347.8
276. 9
168.7
168.9
238.6
512.4
341.0
333. 7
272.8
159.5
164.6
229.4
497.0
337.8
359.1
249. 6
160.2
169.0
226.3
657.0
308.6
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
901
T able 3.—Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment and of Wage-Earner Pay Roll in
Manufacturing Industries—Continued
Wage-earner employ
ment
Wage-earner pay roll
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
Durable poods-—Continued
Lumber and timber basic products 1 _____________ 107.1 107.6 109.2 115.8 192.9 193.7 199.3 196.2
76.1 76.6 78.5 81.8 137.7 138.3 143.8 139.0
- Sawmills and logging camps___________ ______
Planing and plywood m ills,.
_ . . _ ------------- 96.9 97.0 95.6 107.0 167.4 167.9 167.3 174.0
193.6
178.0
179.9
211.3
172.0
187.5
178.9
194.0
180.2
179.8
219.6
169.6
185.6
178.2
190.7
174.0
177.2
215.0
163.1
185.7
176.4
189.1
158.0
181.3
197.6
162.5
157.6
171.2
188.6
201.8
185.3
107.3
118.0
184.5
142.6
192.2
203.8
186.5
114.1
118.9
193.6
140.4
189.5
200.8
179.6
116.2
119.8
190.9
143.0
189.8
207.4
170.2
110.2
119.7
176.7
160.5
118.5 119.3 118.5 132.0 218.6
81.0 80.9 81.4 93.4 153. 4
74.4 75.4 75.1 63.1 109.0
275.2 273.6 272. 5 301.5 482.8
127.7 128.4 125.6 138.2 264.9
217.8
156.0
114.2
490.6
266.0
217.2
157.7
113.9
473.6
255.0
233.0
168.9
87.1
492. 2
267.7
Textile-mill products and other fiber manufactures L
Cotton manufactures, except smallwares_______
______
Cotton smallwares ____ _____ . .
Silk and rayon goods___ _ . . . . --------------Woolen and worsted manufactures, except dyeing and finishing_________ _ ______________
Hosiery___ ___________ . . . . . ---------------Knitted c lo t h ____ .
.
.
______
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves_________
Knitted underwear. ___________ ___________
- Dyeing and finishing textiles, including woolen
and w orsted... . . ---------------------- ---------Carpets and rugs, w ool.. . ._
______________
Hats, fur-felt________ _________
... .
Jute goods, except felts_________________ _____
Cordage and tw ine___
.
. . . ___________
94.7 95.5 94.5 101.6 173.9
109. 3 109. 5 108.3 116.0 210.3
101.1 102.4 101.4 110.2 193.7
74.1 75.0 74.4 78.0 138.4
176.6
212.3
190.4
142.3
172.2
206.8
180.0
139.4
171.7
199.1
190.6
135.6
98.3 99.4 98.4
63.3 64.4 64.1
94.2 95.0 93.6
101. 2 104.4 103. 7
89.2 89.9 89.3
Apparel and other finished textile products 1_______
M en’s clothing, not elsewhere classified____ .
Shirts, collars, and nightwear-------------------------Underwear and neckwear, men’s ______________
Work shirts
....
. . ____ ____
Women’s clothing, not elsewhere classified-------Corsets and allied garments-------- M illinery__ . .
. . ____________ . .
Handkerchiefs-------__
. . ------------ . . .
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads___________
Housefurnishings, other than curtains, etc______
Textile bags____ _
__________ . . ------- --
106.0
92.0
70.4
73.8
104.6
79.0
77.8
79.6
54.5
64.5
108.7
116.5
Leather and leather products L . . . . . .
-------------Leather. ______________________________ ____
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings__________
Boots and shoes.. . _________ _. --------------Leather gloves and mittens________ _________
Trunks and suitcases________________________
Furniture and finished lumber products 1__________
Mattresses and bedsprings-----------------------------Furniture____________________ ______ _____
Wooden boxes, other than cigar____
_______
Caskets and other morticians’ goods. _________
Wood preserving_________ _
. . . . ----Wood, turned and shaped____ ___________ . .
103.0 103.6 103.1 109.9
96.4 97.8 98.0 96.6
95.6 96.3 95.9 104.9
108.3 108.4 107.3 110.3
95.6 94.7 96.0 98.3
87.9 87.8 85.9 87.7
98.1 98.4 97.5 100.5
Stone, clay, and glass products L . . .
______ _____
Glass and glassware.. . .
______________ .
Glass products made from purchased glass____
Cement_________________ __________________
Brick, tile, and terra cotta . . . . .
_________
Pottery and related products___ . _________
Gypsum ____________________________________
Wallboard, plaster (except gypsum), and minera lw o o l.. .
___________ . . . . _________
Lim e______________ . -. . . . .
____ ___
Marble, granite, slate, and other products______
Abrasives_______ . . .
Asbestos products________ . . .
-----------------
111.6
126.1
106.7
69.1
73.0
119.3
81.2
112.3
125.8
106.9
72.1
73.6
120.9
80.0
111.4
124.9
106.3
71.7
72.9
120.5
80.6
118.6
131.6
108.0
79.2
80.7
123.5
92.5
Nondurable goods
See fo o tn o te a t end o f tab le.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
106.0
69.7
104.5
109.2
100.3
193.5
102. 9
169.4
184.9
164.7
194.9
105.9
170.6
193.0
166.8
189.4
104.7
163.8
193.2
165.6
197.2
106.6
174.7
189.6
174.8
89.6 90. 1 88.7 97.7
79.4 79.7 79.4 81.3
64.4 65. 1 64.5 67.2
90.4 92.5 92.4 98.5
125.1 127.4 124.9 136.9
152.2
138.6
125.3
179.3
235.3
156.5
140.6
127.6
184.2
244.1
150.6
136.6
124.9
182.6
235.2
154. 8
135.3
122. 2
182.0
240.0
114.8
99.0
77.7
76.3
125.4
84.2
85.5
79.5
70.5
88.4
119.9
128.2
195.2
165.3
126.1
147.6
204. 1
149.1
135.5
131.0
100. 6
129. 2
204.0
204.2
191.8
164.5
128.0
150.6
204.4
143. 5"
138.9
113.2
107.0
150;7
215. 2
202.0
192.3
169.2
128.7
152.4
210.5
141.1
141.4
104.6
110.6
154.3
212.8
198.9
187.9
156. 5
129.1
140.0
223.1
141.4
139.9
113.8
115.1
163.8
219. 8
202. 2
89.5 89.8 89.4 90.8 162. 5
83.7 83.8 82.9 86.4 147.0
84.8 85.8 85.7 87.1 146.8
79.4 79.5 79.0 80.3 147. 9
123.1 125.6 127.7 134.0 208.9
154.8 154.7 156.1 141.9 252.5
160.8
145.5
146. 1
145.7
209.0
261.8
157.4
143.3
141.6
141.9
222.6
249.7
149.9
139.9
136.8
134.0
222.5
221.0
107.8
93.5
72.3
75.0
106.3
79.8
80.4
78.0
57.7
75.7
111.9
116.6
108.1
94.1
72.5
75.6
107.8
80.1
80.1
75.5
58.2
76.7
111.2
116.1
902
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
T able 3.—Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment and of Wage-Earner Pay Roll in
Manufacturing Industries—Continued
Wage-earner employ
ment
Wage-earner pay roll
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1944
Food L_______ _______ _______ ___________________
Slaughtering and meat packing_______________
Butter___________ __________ _____ ________
Condensed and evaporated milk___
Ice cream______ ___________________________
Flour______ . _____________ ____________
Feeds, prepared_____________________ . _ Cereal preparations______________ . . _____. __
Baking________ __ _____ _ ________________
Sugar refining, c a n e ___ . _________ __ _ __
Sugar, beet_. . _____________________________
Confectionery.. _ ___________ ______ ____
Beverages, nonalcoholic. _______ __________
M alt liquors
. . .
. . _ ________________
Canning and preserving________ ____________
118.6
128.4
115.2
134.2
84.5
119. 2
138.1
119.6
111.4
108.1
49.6
118.7
121.2
137.4
78.3
123.3
129.0
116.0
132.1
87.1
118.3
133.7
115.9
114.8
107.4
149.5
125.5
122.7
141.5
84.6
119.5
143.0
109.3
124.5
82.8
120.9
141.2
128.9
112.1
100.3
51.5
118.7
122.0
130.5
70.5
195.8
221.9
180.8
219.7
122.0
206.0
231.3
215.9
168.2
179.3
66.6
198.6
157.3
194.0
153.9
205.0
227.6
181.4
213.1
125.8
198.8
229.4
210.3
176.5
184.0
189.4
210.8
162.7
204.8
162.9
203.8
211.4
180.1
211.4
126.5
195.1
219.3
197.3
174.5
164.4
298.6
205.1
166.2
204.1
188.7
191.5
243.2
162.9
188.7
111.5
200.0
230.2
224.5
160.6
156.4
75.9
187.9
151.9
178.2
131.8
Tobacco manufactures 1___________________ ____
Cigarettes__________ ____ ___________________
C ig a r s ..______ _____________ ____________
Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snufl_____
88.1 90.7 90.1 94.1 166.4 177.8
128.3 132.7 130.6 130.1 211.1 222.8
65.3 67.5 68.0 74.5 134.2 147.2
93.9 94.1 91.9 94.9 159.0 162.7
172.7
215.6
144.0
155.9
158.1
190.1
138.1
138.4
Paper and allied products1___ ___________________
Paper and pulp_______________________ ______
Paper goods, other ______ ___________________
Envelopes___________________________________
Paper bags_________ ___________________ _ _
Paper boxes__________ __________________
116.5
107.2
118.9
109.7
118.8
112.4
194.0
182.0
195.1
171.9
205.8
183.3
188.6
173.2
193.6
175.1
196.6
184.6
Nondurable goods—Continued
117.4
107.1
121.1
111.4
120.3
114.3
125.7
123.7
117.6
134.3
88.8
116.8
132.3
113.3
114.8
106.2
209.3
122.0
124.7
142.2
99.9
116.0
105.5
119.0
111.4
119.1
113.9
121.2
108.7
126.0
117.7
119.5
121.4
195.6
184.4
197.6
175.5
206.3
181.9
197.6
186.0
197.8
178.0
211.6
185.0
Printing, publishing, and allied industries 1__
100.1 102.3 101.4 103.2 141.2 144.1 142.2 134.6
Newspapers and periodicals___________________ 92.3 93.8 93.3 93.1 118.4 121.5 120.8 112.3
Printing, book and job________ _____________ 104.2 107.2 106.4 108.4 156.8 159.6 156.8 147.6
Lithographing____ _ ________ ____________
93.6 95.1 93.7 95.7 133.5 136.2 136.5 130.3
Bookbinding____ _______________________ ____ 108.1 109.7 107.7 116.7 187.7 189.0 182.3 190.1
Chemicals and allied products1____
Paints, varnishes, and colors_________________
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides_____________
Perfumes and cosmetics_________________ .
Soap. ________________ _ ____
Rayon and allied products ____ _______ _
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified__
Explosives and safety fuses___________ ____ _
Compressed and liquefied g a s e s ..._____
Ammunition, small-arms________________ .
Fireworks_____ ______ _
Cottonseed oil____________
_____ _ .
Fertilizers...... .......................... .............
217.8 215.4
105.4 106.8
179.6 181.6
118.5 122.2
99.9 100.3
112.1 112.3
165.5 166.0
1311.3 1288.5
149.1 149.4
1431. 4 1291.8
2234. 6 2319.0
129.6 134.0
122.9 114.4
210.6 230.7
106.0 105.3
181.0 183.0
123.2 112.6
99.4 99.6
111.3 108.0
165.5 175.8
1244.3 1100.0
142.6 153.7
1182. 6 2257.9
2294.0 2468.3
139.1 134.4
106.5 125.1
384.2 377.8 366.2
169.4 170.7 167.0
271.8 272.1 269.7
163.8 172.3 182.6
169.4 172.9 168.2
182.0 180.1 179.0
293.2 291.1 289.2
1999.1 1969. 5 1865.1
269.6 267.8 254.2
2914.7 2632.5 2370.7
6280.7 6444.3 6231.8
274.9 289.3 300.3
269.1 249.8 233.6
395.7
159.5
267.6
150.3
159.8
168.6
297.7
1683.7
264.1
4509.2
6771.1
251.5
248.3
Products of petroleum and coal l___
Petroleum refining __________ .
Coke and-byproducts________
Paving materials___ _____________ _
Roofing materials______________________
126.0
125.6
102.4
63.8
117.8
125.3
124.7
101.2
66.8
119.5
125.1
124.0
102.1
69.5
119.7
118.3
113.6
107.6
55.5
121.5
220.1
213.4
189.0
131.6
211.5
220.4
214.9
182.0
141.5
217.5
219.2
214.2
179.0
137.6
217.6
196.7
185.0
185.8
95.0
210.3
Rubber products 1_______________
Rubber tires and inner tubes...... ............
Rubber boots and shoes________ .
Rubber goods, other___________________
161.8
176.1
320.2
137.8
160.3
171.7
123.8
137.9
159.1
171.4
123.3
135.9
168.6
174.1
143.6
148.1
318.1
338.8
220.1
262.2
303.6
316.1
228.5
256.7
289.9
298.2
219.6
250.6
291.0
288.9
248.9
260.1
Miscellaneous industries1____________
Instruments (professional and scientific), and
fire-control equipment____
Photographic apparatus________________
Optical instruments and ophthalmic goods_____
Pianos, organs, and parts__________________
Games, toys, and dolls. _______________
B uttons_________ .
Fire extinguishers____________ .
531.6
162.1
203.2
95.5
88.4
84.3
496.8
161.8 162.2 162.4 175.0 322.4 319.7 314.5 325.5
533.5
161.9
202.5
92.7
90.1
79.9
503.6
535.1
161.5
201.1
93.1
90.6
85.5
516.3
616.2
173.6
229.3
131.1
85.3
94.3
741.6
1057.1
277.5
353.5
187.3
182.7
178.0
1028.5
1058.2
258.9
346.0
170.1
188.6
163.4
1045.9
1013.9
271.2
346.6
177.4
186.7
166.5
1047.1
1138.4
277.3
373.3
246.2
156.9
178.0
1431.1
'Indexes for the major industry groups have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1942 and preliminary
1943 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency. These
indexes are not comparable with those published in mimeographed releases dated prior to February 1945
or the March 1945 issue of the M onthly Labor Review. Comparable indexes from January 1939 are avail
able upon request. Indexes for individual industries have been adjusted to levels indicated by the 1939
Census of Manufactures, but not to Federal Security Agency data.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
903
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T able 4.—Estimated Number of Wage Earners in Selected Nonmanufacturing Industries
Estimated number of wage earners (in thousands)
Industry
January
1945
Mining:
Anthracite____________________________________
Bituminous coal_________
______ _____ _____
M etal____ . . . _______ ____________________
Iron____________ ___________ _____________
_______________
Copper__________________
Lead and zinc________ ______________ ___
Gold and silver____________________________
Miscellaneous____________________
- ___
T elephone1.- __________________________ __ ______
Telegraph 2__________ . . . ____
______ __
Electric light and pow er3______________ ____ ________
Street railways and busses3____
___
Hotels (year-round)3. .
__ .
______________
Power laundries__ . . . ___________________ _____
Cleaning and dyeing. . . . . . . _______________ ____
Class I steam railroads 4____ ___ _ . . . - ________
Water transportation 4________ _ . ------------------------
December
1944
November
1944
65.6
338
69.2
23.8
22.2
14.8
5.5
2.9
403
45.8
200
228
356
243
77.3
1,400
144 /
66.1
340
69.9
24.7
22.2
14.6
5.5
2.9
404
45.8
201
228
356
243
79.0
1,408
140
65.4
338
69.0
23.3
22.3
15.0
5.5
2.9
401
45.2
200
228
355
240
75.6
1,391
143
January
1944
69.1
370
89.4
28.9
30.6
18.7
6.4
4.8
406
46.3
205
230
350
248
75.1
1,357
104
1 Data from January 1937 are available upon request. Salaried personnel are included.
2 Data from January 1937 are available upon request. Excludes messengers, and approximately 6,000
employees of general and divisional headquarters, and of cable companies. Salaried personnel are included.
3 Data include salaried personnel.
4 Source: Interstate Commerce Commission. Data include salaried personnel.
4 Based on estimates prepared by the U. S. Maritime Commission covering employment on active deepsea American-flag steam and motor merchant vessels of 1,000 gross tons and over. Excludes vessels under
bareboat charter to, or owned by, the Army or N avy.
T able 5 .—Indexes of Employment and Pay Rolls in Selected Nonmanufacturing
Industries
[1939 average =100]
Employment indexes
Industry
Mining:
Anthracite___ ____________
- ___
Bituminous coal ____
.
....
Metal
_ *
_ _______
Iron_________ _________ _ _ ____
Copper............... ..................
Lead and zinc. - .
- . . _____
Gold and silver________ __________
M iscellaneous . _______________
Quarrying and nonmetallic________ _____
Crude-petroleum production >_
. - _____
Public utilities:
T elep hone2. . ____. . . . . . . . _______
Telegraph2. _____ .
___
______
Electric light and power_____ ____ ____
Street railways and busses_____________
Wholesale trade___ _
. . . . . . _______
Retail trade ________ __________ _
Food
.
_ ------General merchandise___ . . . ______
Apparel. . .
____ __
__
Furniture and housefurnishings ..
__
Automotive
__ ____
Lumber and building material_________
Hotels (year-round)3. . . _______ _____ ____
Power laun dries_______ ___________ ____
Cleaning and dyeing
. ____ ___
Class I steam railroads 4_ ________ _______
Water transportation 8 . . . . . _____ . .
Pay-roll indexes
Jan.
1945
Dec.
1944
Nov.
1944
Jan.
1944
Jan.
1945
Dec.
1944
Nov.
1944
Jan.
1944
79.0
91.3
78.2
115.6
93.4
96.6
22.3
73.2
75.6
82.1
79.2
91.3
78.5
118.3
93.2
95.2
22.4
73.5
79.6
82.1
79.9
91.8
79.2
123.2
92.9
94.1
22.0
72.5
82.2
82.1
33.4
99.8
101.4
143.5
128.6
120.3
26.0
121.9
83.7
81.1
137.7
215.5
125.1
177.1
156.6
183.3
30.3
122.8
135.8
132.2
148.8
199.8
127.7
183.4
163.8
179.7
29.9
122.1
144.3
131.7
137.7
197.7
125.0
192.5
152.7
174.3
28.0
119.3
153.8
130.9
146.0
228.9
157.4
218.9
209.9
214.4
33.8
187.1
139.6
126.2
126.1
120.2
82.0
117.7
95.7
98.3
107.2
114.2
106.1
62.4
67.7
88.9
110.2
106.3
112.0
140.8
272.6
126.7
121.7
82.0
117.7
97.1
111.9
110.2
152.2
131.3
67.5
68.9
91.4
110.5
107.8
114.5
141.8
274.5
127.1
121.7
82.1
117.7
96.8
103.2
109.0
127.4
118.4
64.4
67.2
91.2
110.3
107.6
117.1
142.5
267.7
127.9
123.1
83.8
118.8
95.1
97.5
106.8
110.4
105.7
64.6
65.9
89.1
108.6
109.9
111.2
137.4
198.9
157.8
172.3
115.2
175.0
139.1
130.7
141.4
144.3
145.5
87.4
100.9
129.9
166.8
161.5
175.2
158.6
174.0
114.6
173.5
142.3
146.8
145.0
190.7
178.9
97.0
102.8
132.4
169.5
162.3
176.6
156.9
172.1
114.2
170.1
140.0
134.2
141.9
155.9
159.5
90.1
99.3
130.5
164.6
160.7
181.9
150.2
171.9
112.9
161.4
131.2
122.2
132.7
132.1
134.9
84.9
91.7
123.4
148.9
155.0
163.5
( 5)
685.2
( 4)
672.9
( s)
651.9
( 5)
448.7
1 Does not include well drilling or rig building.
2 Data from January 1937 are available upon request.
3 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, tips, not included.
4 Source: Interstate Commerce Commission.
4 N ot available.
6 Based on estimates prepared by the U. S. Maritime Commission covering employment on active deepsea
Digitized for American-flag
FRASER steam and motor merchant vessels of 1,000 gross tons and over. Excludes vessels under
bareboat charter to, or owned by, the Army or N avy.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve636372—
Bank of 45
St. Louis
-14
904
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
AVERAGE EARNINGS AND HOURS
Average weekly earnings and hours and average hourly earnings for
November and December 1944, and January 1945, where available, are
given in table 6 for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing indus
tries. The average weekly earnings for individual industries are com
puted by dividing the weekly pay rolls in the reporting establishments
by the total number of full- and part-time employees reported. As not
all reporting establishments supply information on man-hours, the aver
age hours worked per week and average hourly earnings shown in that
table are necessarily based on data furnished by a slightly smaller
number of reporting firms. Because of variation in the size and com
position of the reporting sample, 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 average weekly hours and hourly earnings for the manufacturing
groups are weighted arithmetic means of the averages for the individ
ual industries, estimated employment being used as weights for weekly
hours and estimated aggregate hours as weights for hourly earnings.
The average weekly earnings for these groups are computed by multi
plying the average weekly hours by the average hourly earnings.
T a b l e 6 . —Earnings
and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries
MANUFACTURING
Average weekly
earnings ‘
Average weekly
hours 1
Average hourly
earnings i
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
All manufacturing, _______
____ ________ $47.a52 $47.45 $46.85
Durable goods_________________________ 53. 55 53.68 53.04
Nondurable goods_____________________ 38.65 38.41 37. 87
45.4
46.8
43.4
45.6
47. 1
43.5
51.65 51.85 50.98
46.9
47.4
46.8 110.1 109.5 108.9
55. 04
52.63
52. 76
53. 25
42. 80
41. 50
52.07
45.69
54. 55
51.72
51.88
52. 60
42. 64
39. 61
50.31
44. 31
46.2
47.7
48.8
46.6
47.4
45.2
48.4
46.6
47.0
47.7
48.9
46.9
47.2
45.3
48.5
46.4
46.6
47.2
48.5
46.3
47.4
44.3
47.3
46.1
47. 67 47. 42 45 93
47. 22 47. 24 46.15
49. 55 48.87 47. 72
47.8
47.6
46.9
47.8
47.6
46.6
46.7 99.8 99.3 98.6
47.0 99.1 99.3 98.1
46.2 105.7 104.8 103.3
48.78 48.67 48.05
46.6
47.2
46.9 104.3 103.1 102.5
50.69 50.06 50.05
47.8
48.1
48.1 105.6 104.1 104.0
49.12 48.98 46.66
46.8
46.8
45.1 105.7 104.6 103.5
53.47 54.63 54.19
47.1
48.1
48.2 113.6 113.6 112.5
52.20
49.95
61.69
52. 20
41.96
57.46
48.1
46.7
48.2
49.0
42.6
45.1
48.6
47.3
47.8
48.0
45.1
46.6
47.0
46.9
47.5
48.0
44.2
46.8
Dec. N ov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Cents Cents Cents
45.3 104.7 104.0 103.5
46.7 114.6 113.9 113.6
43.2 89.0 88.3 87.7
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products............
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling
mills_______ _ _____________ ______
Gray-iron and semisteel castings________
Malleable-iron castings_________________
Steel castings__________________________
Cast-iron pipe and fittings______________
Tin cans and other tinware_____________
Wirework____ __________________ ____
Cutlery, and edge tools____________ _
Tools (except edge tools, machine tools,
files, and saws)_____ _______ _________
Hardware______________________
..
Plumbers’ supplies__ _______ ___
,,
Stoves, oil burners, and heating equip
ment, not elsewhere classified_________
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus
and steam fittings____________________
Stamped and enameled ware and galvan
izing________________________________
Fabricated structural and ornamental
metalwork________ . ___ . . .
Metal doors, sash, frames, molding, and
trim ___________ ___________ . ______
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets_________
Forgings, iron and steel
________ ____
Screw-machine products and wood screws.
Steel barrels, kegs, and drums___________
Firearms_________________ ____ ________
See footnotes at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
55. 33
52.65
53.31
53. 33
42. 48
41.03
51.82
44. 92
53.47
49.57
61.16
50.74
44,23
59.14
51.67
48.88
60.61
50. 25
42. 51
60.70
119.1
110.6
108.2
114.7
89.7
91.4
107.7
97.5
108.5
106.9
129.1
106.6
98.2
127.2
117.9
110.6
109.3
113.8
89.4
90.5
107.0
96.7
110 0
104.8
128.0
105.7
98.0
126.8
117.0
109.5
107.9
113.5
89.6
89.4
106.5
96.1
109.9
104.2
127.5
104.6
96.1
129.6
905
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T a b l e 6 . —Earnings
and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Industries—Continued
M ANUFACTURING-Continued
Average weekly
earnings 1
Average weekly
hours 1
Average hourly
earnings 1
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
$48. 54
50. 99
42.38
45.92
46.6
47.1
45.9
45.2
46.7
47.0
46.1
45.9
Cents
46.3 106. 8
46.6 111.8
46.0 93.2
45.5 101.2
Cents
105.9
110.7
92.7
100.7
Cents
104.9
109.5
92.0
100.3
54.72
53. 84
59. 81
54. 09
51.98
58.05
59.51
48.77
49.14
48.5
48.5
48.5
47.1
46.9
51.6
49.5
49.6
49.3
48.9
48.7
49.7
47.3
47.1
51.8
49.4
49.6
48.0
48.2
48.2
48.5
47.3
46.0
50.5
49.2
48.3
49.5
114.6
112.4
126.4
114. 7
113.2
117.3
122.3
101.3
99.1
113.4
111.6
123.5
114.4
113.0
115.0
121.2
101.0
99.2
Durable goods—Continued
Electrical m a ch in ery ._____________________
Electrical eq u ip m en t__________________
Radios and phonographs. . . . . . _____
Communication equipment_____________
Machinery, except electrical___ . . . . . ____
Machinery and machine-shop products. _.
. . . . . . ..
Engines and turbines______
Tractors------ ----------- -------------------- . . .
Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors.
Machine tools_____________ _ _ ______
Machine-tool accessories________________
Textile machinery_____ ________________
Typewriters. ___ _ _____ _ _ ______
Cash registers, adding and calculating
m achines._____________ ____ ______
Washing machines, wringers, and driers,
d o m e s tic ..--------------. ---------- . . .
Sewing machines, domestic and industrial.
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipmentTransportation equipment, except automo
biles_____ __________________________ —.
Locomotives________________ . . . ______
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad. ____
Aircraft and parts, excluding aircraft
engines__________ _____ _____________
Aircraft engines___________________ ____
Shipbuilding and boatbuilding__________
Mortorcycles, bicycles, and parts_______
$49. 76 $49. 43
52.45 52 06
43.27 42. 79
45. 90 46.35
55. 88
54. 92
61.18
54.23
53.40
60. 21
61.14
50. 33
49.27
56.05
54.76
62.82
54.24
53.35
60.81
60. 35
50.20
47. 53
Jan.
1945
115.1
113. 2
126.3
115.1
113. 7
117.2
123.5
101.6
100.0
Dec. N ov.
1944 1944
59.32 57. 77 58.48
48.7
47.8
48.2 123.1 121. 6 122.2
47.94 50.58 46.38
58.01 57.10 56.88
50. 57 54.42 51.21
46.3
51.7
45.4
47.2
51.5
48.0
44.8 103.4 107.2 103.5
51.4 113.3 112.2 111.7
46.0 111.6 113.4 111.2
62.73 63.29 63.04
63.44 68. 36 64. 94
54. 44 57.37 53. 57
47.9
47.1
45.6
48.4
49.6
47.7
47.8 130.8 130.9 131.8
48.3 134.7 137.7 134.4
45.9 119.4 120.2 116.7
55.64
59.90
68. 68
50. 79
47.7
46.4
48.6
49.0
47.6
46.0
49.3
48.5
47.2
45.2
48.8
47.7
45.5 131.4 127.9 128.0
57. 35
62. 63
66. 25
52. 83
56.45
61.23
68.17
52.31
120.3
134.8
137.1
107.9
118.7
132.9
138.4
107.9
117.8
132. 6
140.7
106.4
Automobiles_____________ ____ ______ ______ 59.38 58.41 58. 23
45.2
45.7
Nonferrous metals and their products_______
Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous metals_________________ . . . . .
Alloying and rolling and drawing of nonferrous metals, except aluminum______
Clocks and watches____________________
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’
findings . . . _________________________
Silverware and plated ware____________
Lighting equipment_____________ ______
Aluminum manufactures. ______ _____
50. 80 50.83 49. 66
47,2
47.5
46.9 107.7 106.9 105.8
49.20 48.74 48. 52
45.8
46.0
45.9 107.4 105.9 105.8
56.14 55.92 54.11
44.64 45.05 44.49
48.7
46.3
49.0
47.1
47.9 115.0 114.1 113.0
47.0 96.3 95.6 94.7
45. 36
47.42
48.41
51.37
44.72
47.49
46.65
50.25
45.4
46.4
44.7
47.5
46.4
47.4
45.6
47.4
45.5 98.3 99.7 96.8
46.6 102.4 102.5 101.8
44.7 107.8 104.9 104.4
46.9 108.2 108.7 107.2
Lumber and timber basic products______ . . .
Sawmills and logging camps____________
Planing and plywood mills_____________
33.65 33.62 34. 00
32. 34 32. 26 32. 66
37.91 37.99 38.39
42.5
41.8
44.7
42.3
41.4
45.3
43.0
42.1
45.9
79.1
77.3
84.3
79.4
77.9
83.7
79.1
77.6
83.6
Furniture and finished lumber products_____
Furniture____ . _____________________
Caskets and other morticians’ goods___
Wood preserving_________ . . . ._ _______
37. 57
38. 34
41.65
33.94
37.48
38.00
41.38
33. 60
36.97
37.51
39.27
34.52
44.4
44.3
46.5
43.8
44.5
44. 3
46.4
42.5
44.4
44.2
44.5
43.8
84.6
86.8
89.9
77.5
84.2
86.2
89.6
79.0
83.3
85.3
88.4
78.9
Stone, clay, and glass products_____________
Glass and glassware _________ _ _____
Glass products made from purchased glass.
Cement________
. . . . . . ___ _______
Brick, tile, and terra cotta. ___________
Pottery and related products_________. . .
Gypsum_________ ________
______
Lim e____________ ___________ ______ _
Marble, granite, slate, and other products.
Abrasives______ _______ ______________ _
Asbestos products_______ ________ ______
39.80 40.35
40.32 40. 73
36.20 36. 38
41.61 42.66
33. 3£ 33.42
35.92 37. 27
45.47 45.53
37.17 37.87
38. 53 39.81
49.15 50.32
49.50 1 49.43
40.10
40.36
35. 23
43. 6C
34.04
36.88
46.03
38.01
39.92
48.76
48.49
43.4
42. C
44.0
44.6
41.1
40.7
48.5
47. C
42.7
48.2
49.7
44.2
42.8
44.4
45.9
41.4
42.2
49.1
47.2
44.1
49. C
49.2
44.1 91.7 91.4 91.0
42.6 96.3 95.5 95.0
43.7 82.3 82.1 80.4
46.6 93.4 92.9 93.6
42.1 80.9 80.4 80.3
42.1 89.5 89.5 88.9
49.6 93.8 92.7 92.8
48.6 79.5 80.6 78.4
43.7 88.3 88.8 90.9
47.7 102.1 102.7 102.2
48.5 99.7 100.4 99.9
See footnotes at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
46. 94
48. 56
47.83
51.47
906
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
T a b l e 6 . —Earnings
and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Industries—Continued
MANUFACTURING—Continued
Average weekly
earnings 1
Average weekly
hours 1
Average hourly
earnings 1
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Nondurable goods
Textile-mill products and other fiber manufactu res________________
- ---------------Cotton manufactures, except smallwares___
Cotton smallwares____________ _______
Silk and rayon goods___________________
Woolen and worsted manufactures, except
dyeing and finishing----------------- -----H o s i e r y ___________________________
Knitted cloth__________ ______________
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves-----Knitted underwear. __ __ _ ______ ___
Dyeing and finishing textiles, including
woolen and worsted__________________
Carpets and rugs, wool- .... .
Hats, fur-felt-------- ------- ---------------- . . .
Jute goods, except felts - . . . . ________
Cordage and tw in e____ . . . ----------------
Cents Cents Cents
72.8 72.5 72.2
65.3 64.8 64.6
80.7 79.5 77.5
71.0 70.8 70.7
$30.80
27. 81
35. 74
29.81
$30. 98
27.91
34 73
30.41
$30. 54
27.49
33.14
30.04
42.3
42.6
44.4
41.9
42.8
43.1
43.8
42.9
42.3
42.5
42.7
42.5
36.81
29. 78
33.38
30. 68
27.20
36.63
30.12
33. 32
31.05
27.42
36.00
29.90
32. 57
31.23
27.32
43.1
38.5
44.6
39.4
40.4
43.1
39 0
44.7
40.0
41.0
42.4
38.9
44.5
40.5
40.9
35. 38
40. 26
45.06
35. 33
33. 34
35.95
40.66
45.38
35.48
33. 97
35. 29
39.67
44.85
35.20
33.49
45.3
43.7
41.7
45.7
45.1
46.2
44.3
42.0
45.4
45.6
45.5 77.4 77.7 77.6
43.6 92.3 92.0 91.4
41.7 108.3 108.1 108.4
45.4 77.6 78.1 77.5
45.4 73.8 74.4 73.6
Apparel and other finished textile products___
M en’s clothing, not elsewhere classified-...
Shirts, collars, and nightwear_______ . . . .
Underwear and neckwear, men’s________
Work shirts________ _ ________________
Women’s clothing, not elsewhere classified.
Corsets and allied garments_____________
M illinery___________________________ .
Handkerchiefs______ ________________
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads.----Housefurnishings, other than curtains, etc.
Textile bags_____________ _____________
32.43
34.08
24. 94
26. 77
21.17
40. 35
30.40
40.01
24.10
26.94
32.91
30. 81
31.35
33.25
24.68
26. 84
21.21
38.45
29.99
35. 29
24.19
26.83
33.47
30.26
31.34
33.95
24.61
26.96
21.58
37. 67
30.68
33.69
24.83
27.11
33.38
29. 95
38.2
39.0
36.6
36.8
36.8
37.0
40.2
34.0
37.6
36.7
41.1
42.4
37.7
38.3
36.4
37.4
36.6
36.7
40.5
31.2
38.3
37.0
42.2
42.2
38.0 84.9 83.1 82.4
39. 1 86.5 86. 1 86.4
36.7 67.9 67.3 67.0
37.1 72.8 72.0 73.0
37.4 56.3 56.8 55.8
36.4 105.4 101.7 100.1
41.3 75.3 74.2 74.4
30.3 97.5 92.9 92.4
38.1 64. 5 63.3 65.2
37.7 73.3 71.5 71.2
42.0 79.2 79.2 79.6
42.5 72.5 71.7 70 8
Leather and leather products............ ............ .
Leather
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings_____
Boots and shoes___________ . ____ ____
Leather gloves and m ittens_____________
Trunks and suitcases___________________
34.75
43.93
35.16
33.12
29. 72
34.15
34.27
43.42
34. 59
32. 55
28. 98
35.28
33.70
43.07
33.57
31.87
30. 34
33.36
41.9
45.5
42.8
41.3
37.8
41.6
41.6
45. 3
42.9
40.9
37.1
42.6
41.2
45. 4
41.9
40.4
37.9
40.6
Food______ ____ _______________________ . .
Slaughtering and meat packing_____ ___
Butter______________ _________ ____ _
Condensed and evaporated milk__ _____
Ice cream__________ ____ _ ___________
F lo u r... _____ _________________ ____
Cereal preparations____________________
Baking_________________________ _____
Sugar refining, cane. . . . . ____
. ...
Sugar, beet____ _ . . . _____________
Confectionery_________________________
Beverages, nonalcoholic________________
Malt liq uors... . . . __________________
Canning and preserving. _____ _________
39. 50
46.99
35.09
37.37
39. 71
43.37
45. 85
38. 51
39.58
33.70
30.81
34. 12
49. 96
31.73
39. 79
48.16
34.96
36. 83
39.70
42.18
46.07
39.24
40. 89
31.83
31.03
34.75
51.21
31.10
38.86
46.81
34.20
35. 93
38.94
41.88
44.22
38.86
36. 94
35. 84
31.03
35.00
50.86
30.49
45.6
51.2
46.9
49.0
46.2
50.0
47.5
45.2
46.1
34.5
41.3
42.2
44.2
40.3
46.0
51.9
47.1
48.9
46.4
49.1
47.2
46.0
47.8
37.6
41.9
43.3
45.2
40.0
45.2 86.6 86.6 85.9
50.3 92.5 93.3 93.3
46.8 74.0 73.5 72.5
47.9 76.4 75.3 75.0
45.8 82.2 81.8 81.2
48.7 86.9 85.9 86.1
46.3 96.6 97.6 95.5
45.4 84.8 85.4 85.5
44.2 86.2 85.9 84.0
45.2 97.7 84.7 79.3
42.0 75.1 74.1 74.0
43.0 80.5 80.4 80.6
44.9 113.4 113.2 113.3
39.7 79.5 78.6 77.3
Tobacco manufactures . . . . . . ____________
Cigarettes_____________________ _______
C igars.._ _ . . . _ . . . ______________ _
Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snuff.
31.96
35.07
29.33
29.89
33. 20
35.77
31.13
30.41
32.49
35.18
30.29
29. 97
43.4
44.8
41.9
43.1
45.0
46.0
44.1
44.3
44.2
45.3
43.2
43.5
73.7
78.2
69.7
69.4
73.8
77.8
70.7
68.6
73.5
77.6
70. 2
68.9
Paper and allied products........................... ...........
Paper and pulp________________________
Envelopes__________ _ _______________
Paper bags_____ . . . _________________
Paper boxes___________________________
40.25
43. 55
38.23
35. 30
35.74
40.40
43.96
38.18
35. 76
35. 72
40.11
43.73
36. 85
35.13
35.57
46.3
48.1
45.3
44.4
43.9
46.6
48.8
45.5
45.5
44.0
46.5
48.6
44.6
45.2
44.0
87.0
90.5
84.3
79.7
81.6
86.7
90.4
83.8
79.3
81.4
86.3
89.9
82.5
78.3
81.0
Printing, publishing, and allied industries____
Newspapers and periodicals_____________
Printing, book and job___ ______ _____
Lithographing_________________________
46.03
49.42
45.14
46.53
45.84
49. 85
44. 75
46.74
45. 56
49. 63
44. 52
47. 53
41.4
38.4
43.2
43.9
41.4
38.6
42.8
44.3
41.3
38.5
42.5
45.2
111. 1
126.5
104.9
106.5
110.8
126.8
104.2
106.0
110.4
126.8
103.7
105.6
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
85.7
77.6
74.4
77.1
67.0
82.9
96. 5
83.2
79.9
78.4
81.4
85.2
77.1
73.8
77.0
66.8
82.4
95. 7
81.8
79.4
78.2
82.3
84.9
76.9
72.6
76.4
66.5
81.9
95.1
81.0
78.7
80.5
81.1
907
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T a b l e 6 . —Earnings
and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Industries—Continued
MANUFACTURING—Continued
Average weekly
earnings 1
Average wetkly
hours 1
Average hourly
earnings 1
Industry
Jan.
1945
Dec. Nov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. N ov.
1944 1944
Jan.
1945
Dec. N ov.
1944 1944
Nondurable goods—Continued
Chemicals and allied products____________ __
Paints, varnishes, and colors_______ . . .
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides______
Soap______________ _________________
Rayon and allied products_______ ____ __
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified_____
Explosives and safety fuses_____________
Ammunition, small-arms_______________
Cottonseed o i l . . _ ___ . . . _____________
Fertilizers_______ _____ _____ __________
$44.33 $44.06 $43.70
46.86 46.59 46.03
36. 23 35.72 35.45
48. 63 49.11 48.19
39. 55 39. 08 39.20
53.31 52.64 52.48
47. 25 46. 79 45. 87
46.01 46.04 45.29
28.94 29.40 29.41
30.57 30.48 30. 83
45.6
47.4
43. 1
48.0
43.1
46.9
44.9
46.8
53.7
44.8
45.7
47.4
43.6
48.7
42.7
46.8
45.0
46.6
54.8
44.2
Cents Cents Cents
45.7 97.1 96.4 95.6
47.2 99.2 98.6 97.8
43.6 83.6 82.1 81.6
48.2 101.3 100.9 100.0
43.1 91.8 91.6 91.0
46.8 113.3 112.5 112.1
45.0 104.7 104.0 101.9
46.3 98.2 98.8 97.8
54.8 53.9 53.7 53.7
43.7 68.3 69.0 70.5
Products of petroleum and coal_____________
Petroleum refining_____ _______ ________
Coke and byproducts__________________
Roofing materials-_____________________
55. 59
57. 70
50.59
46.19
55.95
58.50
49.31
46.87
55.61
58.66
48. 08
46. 75
46.3
45.8
47.7
48.5
46.9
46.4
47.5
49.5
46.9 120.0 119.4 118.6
46.7 126.4 126. 2 125.3
46.6 106.4 104.0 103. 1
48.9 95.2 94.7 95.7
Rubber products__________________________
Rubber tires and inner tubes___ ________
Rubber boots and shoes.___ ___________
Rubber goods, other___________________
54. 51
64.29
41.22
44.68
52.63
61.71
41.57
43.68
50.59
58.30
40. 09
43.29
47.3
49.0
44.3
45.8
46.6
47.9
44.9
45.4
45.7 115.2 112.9 110.7
46.4 132.0 129.3 125.8
44.0 92.8 92.5 91.1
45.3 96.6 95.5 95.1
Miscellaneous industries____ ______________ 45. 54 45. 04 44. 40
Instruments (professional and scientific),
and fire-control equipment____________ 57. 56 57.42 55. 03
Pianos, organs, and parts_______ ________ 47. 53 44.47 46.22
45.8
45.7
45.5
50.0
46.4
49.8
44.0
48.5 115.5 115.3 113.6
45.7 103.0 101.6 101.5
$44.81 $48. 39 $44.39
54. 25 50. 39 49.66
45. 07 45.89 44. 53
38.78 39. 39 40.65
54. 34 53. 97 53. 90
38.9
45.4
44.2
44.6
45.5
41.5
43.1
44.8
44.9
45.4
38.6
42.6
43.7
46.8
45.9
39.74
37. 02
48.84
49. 71
39.19
36. 63
48.89
48.68
42.4
45.0
43.4
51.5
42.7
45.4
43.3
51.8
42.3 93.4 93.5 93.0
45.3 82.6 81.5 80.9
43.4 112.2 111.9 111.6
50.8 96.0 95.5 94.6
43.15 43. 55
26.99 26.41
31. 49 31.50
22. 31 22. 07
29.07 28. 78
38.20 39.11
42.05 42.31
37.86 37. 40
23. 71 24. 04
28.10 27.83
31.68 31. 22
58. 52 58. 58
48.04 46. 23
52.98 • 53.48
42.91
26.20
31.13
21.32
28.44
38. 39
41. 49
37.07
23. 37
27.62
31.75
55. 76
45.45
53. 50
42.8
39.5
39.9
35.1
36.2
44.0
46.3
42.8
44.2
43.9
43.7
(4)
(4)
38.8
43.3
39.8
40.3
36.3
36.7
43.9
46.8
42.9
44.4
43.5
43.4
(4)
(4)
39.4
43.0 101.0 100.2 99.6
39.4 75.1 72.8 73.6
40.1 74.6 73.9 73.7
35.2 63.2 59.2 60.5
36.1 79.7 78.4 79.0
44.0 87.7 88.5 88.1
46.3 92.6 92.3 91.5
42.6 89.4 89.1 88.2
44.4 53.2 53.5 52.8
43.4 64.9 64.4 64.1
43.5 74.9 74.3 74.7
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
39.7 136.4 135.9 134.9
99.4
98.6
97.5
NONMANUFACTURING
Coal mining:
Anthracite____________________________
Bituminous___ ______ _________________
Metal mining________ ___________________
Quarrying and nonmetallic mining_________
Crude-petroleum production______ _________
Public utilities:
Telephone____________________________
Telegraph2- _____
Electric light and power_______
__ . .
Street railways and busses______________
Trade:
Wholesale_____________ . . . __________
Retail
_____________________
Food_______ ______________ _____ ._
General merchandise. ____ _______
Apparel- ____ ______
________
Furniture and housefurnishings_____
Autom otive. _____________________
Lumber and building materials_____
Hotels (year-round) 3______________________
Power laundries________________________
Cleaning and dyeing______________________
Brokerage _______________________ ______
Insurance. _ ____________________________
Private building construction.............. ..............
39.49
37.14
48.90
50.15
Cents
115.4
120.5
101.8
87.3
116.6
Cents
117.6
118.7
102.0
88.4
116.2
Cents
115.6
117.3
101.5
87.1
114.6
1 These figures are based on reports from cooperating establishments covering both full- and part-time
employees who worked during any part of 1 pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. As not
all reporting firms furnish man-hour data, average hours and average hourly earnings for individual indus
tries are based on a slightly smaller sample than are weekly earnings. Data for the current and immediately
preceding months are subject to revision.
2 Excludes messengers and approximately 6,000 employees of general and divisional headquarters and of
cable companies.
3 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and tips, not included.
* N ot available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
908
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
C ivilian Labor Force, F ebruary 1945
THE civilian labor force increased by 470,000 persons between
January and February 1945 to a total of 51,430,000, according to
the Bureau of the Census sample Monthly Report on the Labor Force.
During the month interval, gains of 100,000 in agricultural employ
ment and 330,000 in nonagricultural, combined to increase the em
ployment total by 430,000. The volume of unemployment increased
by 40,000 to a total of 880,000.
Employment in February 1945—50,550,000—was 290,000 above
the February 1944 total. The increase was about evenly divided
between agricultural and nonagricultural industry. The number of
women employed in February 1945 exceeded the total for February a
year ago by 1,130,000—760,000 in nonagricultural employment and
370,000 in agriculture. On the other hand, employment of men in
civilian activities, reflecting the growth in the armed forces during
the year, was 840,000 lower than the level in the same month a year
previous.
The level of unemployment this February closely approximated
that in February 1944. For the most part, the unemployment is
that of persons between jobs who find work within a relatively short
period of time.
Civilian Labor Force in the United States, Classified by Employment Status and by Sex
January and February, 1941-45 1
[Source: U . S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census]
Estimated number (in thousands) of persons 14 years of age and over2
Item
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
Febru Janu Febru Janu Febru Janu Febru Janu Febru Janu
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
ary
Total civilian labor fo r c e ___
U nem ploym ent3_______
E m ploym ent, ________
N onagricultural____
Agricultural------------
51,430 50, 960 51,150 51, 430 52, 540 52,720 53, 210 52, 970 52, 200 52,350
880
840
890 1,080 1,330 1,370 3, 650 3, 890 6, 370 6,800
50, 550 50,120 50, 260 50, 350 51,210 51,350 49, 560 49. 080 45, 830 45, 550
43, 760 43, 430 43, 610 43, 750 44,130 44, 240 42,060 41,750 38,360 38,000
6, 790 6,690 6, 650 6,600 7, 080 7,110 7, 500 7,330 7,470 7, 550
Males
Civilian labor force_________ 33, 660 33,650 34, 520 34, 640 36,410 36, 850 39, 860 39, 720 39, 840 40,010
U nem ploym ent3„ ............
490
490
510
650
770
810 2, 680 2, 810 4, 790 5,190
Employm ent___________ 33,170 33,160 34,010 33, 990 35, 640 36,040 37,180 36, 910 35,050 34, 820
N onagricultural_____ 27, 270 27, 230 27, 880 27, 970 29, 240 29,610 30,140 29, 990 27, 850 27, 550
Agricultural___ ____
5,900 5, 930 6,130 6,020 6,400 6,430 7,040 6,920 7,200 7,270
Females
Civilian labor force_________ 17,770 17,310 16, 630 16, 790 16,130 15, 870 13,350 13, 250 12,360 12,340
U nem ploym ent3_______
390
350
380
430
560
560
970 1,080 1. 5S0 1,610
Em ploym ent__________ 17,380 16, 960 16, 250 16, 360 15,570 15, 310 12,380 12, 170 10, 780 10,730
Nonagricultural_____ 16, 490 16, 200 15, 730 15, 780 14, 890 14, 630 11, 920 11, 760 10, 510 10,450
Agricultural________
520
280
890
760
580
680
680
460
410
270
1 Estimates for period prior to November 1943 revised April 24, 1944.
2 All data exclude persons in institutions.
3 Includes persons on public emergency projects prior to July 1943.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Chronology
Chronology of Labor Events, O ctober-D ecem ber 1944
O C TO BER
19U
O ct. 1. T h e W ar P rodu ctio n B oard an nounced th a t its special T ask C om m ittee,
ap p o in ted to w ork o u t th e details of th e W PB V -E D ay p lan for
th e rem oval of controls over th e d istrib u tio n of m aterials, h ad
already developed an d d istrib u te d a p relim in ary d ra ft w ith seven
proposals for com m ent an d suggestions from v arious G overn m en t
agencies. T h e proposals were in conform ity w ith th e following
basic principles of th e V -E D ay policy unanim ously ad o p te d by
th e W PB on S eptem ber 5, 1944: (1) im m e d ia te rem oval of con
trols over m aterials im m ediately upon th e d efeat of G erm any,
except those "necessary to assure w ar pro d u ctio n to d efeat J a p a n ;
(2) assistance and encouragem ent to in d u stry in resum ing civilian
p ro d u ctio n a n d m ain tain in g em plo y m en t; a n d (3) m ain ten an ce
of W PB organization a n d pow ers "u n til it is certain th a t th e
w ar p ro d u ctio n p rogram is a d e q u a te for v icto ry over J a p a n .”
(Source: W ar P ro d u ctio n B oard, W P B -6588.)
O ct. 2. T he N atio n al W ar L ab o r B oard announced th a t it h ad issued in stru c
tions to its R egional B oards an d In d u s try Com m issions a u th o r
izing th e m to approve a t req u est a new p lan of a u to m a tic w ageprogression schedules, as an a lte rn a tiv e to an y pro p erly existing
plans. U n d er th e instructions, a u to m a tic progressions from th e
m inim um to th e m axim um of each pro p erly established ra te
range are ap p ro v ab le if “ th e speeds for such progressions are no
fa ste r th a n 12 m o n th s for unskilled labor, 18 m o n th s fo r sem i
skilled jobs, a n d 24 m o n th s for skilled jo b s.” In cases in w hich
an em ployer an d a union agree on a u to m a tic progressions to th e
m idpoin ts of established ra te ranges, such progressions will be
ap proved if th e m idpoints are n o t reached in few er th a n 4 m o n th s
for unskilled jobs, 6 m o n th s for sem iskilled jobs, a n d 8 m o n th s
for skilled jobs. T he N W L B sta te d th a t, in general, th e low est
th ird of an esta b lish m e n t’s jobs are to be considered to be u n
skilled jobs, th e m iddle th ird to be sem iskilled, an d th e to p th ird
to be skilled jobs. (Source: N atio n al W ar L abor B oard, B -1773.)
On O ctober 5 th e B oard announced th a t it “has n o t fo rm u lated
an y general policy of ordering eith er a u to m a tic length-of-service
progressions or m e rit increases w ith in occupational ra te ranges
irrespective of th e facts of a p a rtic u la r case.” (Source: B -1779.)
O ct. 3. T he P resid en t a p p ro v ed an a c t establishing th e Office of W ar M obiliza
tio n an d R econversion. (F or sum m ary of provisions, see M. L. R.
Ja n . 1945, p. 120.)
O ct. 3. T he P resid en t ap p ro v ed th e Surplus P ro p e rty A ct of 1944, providing
for th e d istrib u tio n of G o v ern m en t surplus p ro p e rty in a m an n er
th a t w ould aid th e reconversion from a w ar to a peace econom y.
A surplus P ro p e rty B o ard of th ree m em bers was estab lish ed in
th e Office of W ar M obilization, to supervise th e disposition of
surplus p ro p e rty an d th e tra n sfe r of surplus p ro p e rty betw een
G overn m en t agencies. (Source: P ublic Law 457.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
909
910
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Oct. 6. The NWLB denied approval of a proposed voluntary plan of deferred
wage payments for the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport
Co., calling it a hidden wage increase. The proposed plan pro
vided that for the year 1944 a fund amounting to 6 percent of
the employees’ earnings, including monthly fixed bonuses and
overtime, but not special cash payments such as year-end bonuses,
“would be set aside by the employer in an irrevocable trust fund
to be controlled and administered by an impartial trustee.”
(Source: B-1780.)
Oct. 13. The NWLB, in a case affecting Southwest lumber companies in Arizona
and New Mexico, rejected as contrary to the principles of wage
stabilization the demand of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers
of America, A. F. of L., for an increase of 40 cents an hour in
the basic rate, to eliminate interregional wage differences between
the Pacific Northwest and Southwest lumber industries. How
ever, the Board stated that the union had the right to renew its
requests for wage increases “upon a certification by interested
government agencies that these are ‘rare and unusual’ cases in
which the critical needs of war production require the setting of
wage rates above the minimum of the sound and tested area
.
rates.” (Source: B-1788.)
Oct. 21. The NWLB announced the approval of the substitution of an equivalent
basic wage increase for the full-workweek attendance-bonus plan
in effect in the Corning Glass Work's, Wellsboro, Pa. The com
pany stated that the bonus plan was difficult to administer and
that it had not materially reduced absenteeism or increased
production. (Source: B-1795.)
Oct. 27. The WPB and the National Housing Agency jointly announced an
expansion of the H -2 housing program (see Chron. item for July
19, M. L. R. Dec. 1944), to provide for the construction of larger
and better-quality housing in congested areas through the estab
lishment of higher sales and rental ceilings. The expanded
program provides for top sales prices of $8,000 and rental ceilings
of $65 a month, and extends occupancy (formerly restricted to
resident war workers) to families of military personnel and return
ing veterans. It was stated that new ceiling prices, together
with the relaxation on the use of materials, will make it possible
for builders to construct 3-bedroom houses approximating pre-war
standards. (See also Chron. item for Dec. 2, this issue.) (Source:
WPB-6743.)
Oct. 29. The Federal Security Administrator, in emphasizing the economic impor
tance of the rehabilitation program, announced that more than
75,000 persons previously unable to hold a job because of physical
disability were placed in employment in 1944 as a result of assist
ance provided under the Federal-State program for vocational
training. This was a new annual record. (Source: Office of War
Information, Federal Security Agency, OWI-3698.)
NOVEMBER
Nov. 1. The WPB announced an order outlining the organization and functions
of the Office of Civilian Requirements. The OCR will (1)
participate in the review of plans for cut-backs in the war pro
grams and recommend the “facilities most suitable to release in
order to resume or expand the production of goods and services
* * * which are of the greatest benefit to the civilian econ
omy,” and (2) continue to exercise the following functions-^ (a)
See to it that sufficient supplies are available for essential civilian
requirements; (b) assure the fair distribution of scarce consumer
goods throughout the country; (c) certify to the OPA, after
consultation with the industry divisions, those cases in which
production is held up because of price ceilings; and (d) protect
American consumers by watching claims for the export of goods
ini short supply. (Source: WPB-6772.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR CHRONOLOGY
911
Nov. 1. The NWLB, with industry members dissenting, in a case concerning the
Paul & Beekman Co., Philadelphia, upheld the denial of a 15-day
escape period in a renewal of a union-security clause which had
not contained an escape period. The Board stated that it would
not reduce the degree of union security which had been agreed
to voluntarily in collective bargaining. (Source: B-1808.)
Nov. 2. The NWLB announced the adoption of General Order No. 38, specifying
the kinds of new incentive-wage or piece rates, as well as changes
or modifications in established rates, that might be made without
approval of the Board. Thus a rate may be changed “to reflect
a change in method, product, tools, material, design, or produc
tion conditions,” provided the established relationship between
earnings and effort is maintained. Under the same proviso,
an incentive-wage or piece-rate plan in operation in a plan may
be extended to a new production item introduced into the plant.
(Source: B-1813.)
Nov. 5. The NWLB denied the application of the Hunt Oil Co. (Dallas) for per
mission to extend its workweek for trucking-department
employees to 60 hours at straight-time pay, to replace the current
48-hour week with time and a half after 40 hours. The workers
concerned had agreed to the longer week as it would increase
their total weekly earnings. The Board, however, stated that
the resultant reduction in overtime hourly earnings is not approvable under the wage-stabilization program. The Board declared
that its ruling did not conflict with the Interstate Commerce
Commission regulations which make the payment of straight
time up to 60 hours permissive, but not mandatory. (Source:
B-1817.)
Nov. 6. The Chairman of the WMC announced the composition of an advisory
committee to the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized
Personnel, “to advise on the utilization of technically trained
men and women in the war effort.” It was announced that this
committee would be asked to contribute also to plans for a post
war program, involving reconversion. (Source: OWI, WMC,
PM-4705.)
On December 5 the WMC announced that the National Roster
of Scientific and Specialized Personnel had placed approximately
50,000 persons since its establishment in June 1940. (Source:
PM-4723.)
Nov. 11. The NWLB, with the industry members dissenting, upheld the order of
its regional board in Boston which had directed the HoltzerCabot Electric Co. (Boston) to lay off or rehire workers accord
ing to length of continuous service, “provided the employee has
the skill and ability to do the work.” The Board stated that it
was discretionary with regional boards whether the qualification
of the rule of seniority shall be “skill and ability to do the work,”
or “equal skill and ability.” (Source: B-1826.)
On December 7, 1944, the Board directed that “promotion of
operators within a district in the traffic department of the
American Telephone & Telegraph Co.’s Long Lines Depart
ment shall be made on the basis of seniority if other qualifications
are substantially equal.” The Board also specified that the
seniority status of employees of the Long Lines Department “is
to be determined on the basis of their service with the Bell
System and not exclusively on their service with the Long Lines
Department.” (Source: B-1861.)
Nov. 12. The WPB, in announcing that more than 5,000 labor-management
production committees were operating throughout the country,
an increase of 500 in the last 4 months, stated that it had asked
all of these committees to redouble their efforts on safety pro
grams. Subcommittees of these bodies encourage safety ideas as
a part of their employee-suggestion systems, promote nutrition
education, and provide in-plant feeding facilities. (Source:
WPB-6792.)
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912
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Nov. 13. The WMC in making public a report of its Apprentice-Training Service,
announced that “wages earned by veterans who qualify for
apprentice training will be supplemented by the monthly allow
ances provided by the ‘G. I. Bill of R ights/ ” to the extent of
$50 to $75, depending on whether the trainee has dependents.
There are more than 100 skilled occupations for which men are
trained through apprenticeship agencies in the 26 States where
such agencies have been established. The training usually
requires 4 years. Apprenticeship programs have been established
in more than 30,000 manufacturing plants, construction, and mis
cellaneous industries. Standards for apprenticeship programs
have been developed by the Federal Committee on Apprentice
ship. (Source: PM-4708.) (See Employment Aids for Vet
erans, M. L. R., Mar. 1945, p. 546.)
To date about 600 veterans have entered apprentice training,
but fewer than 100 have applied for and are receiving monthly
allowances. It is expected that eventually as many as 200,000
will apply for apprentice training. (Source: PM-4708.)
Nov. 15. The WMC announced reports from the U. S. Office of Education, that
approximately 9,300 veterans of this war have taken advantage
of war production training coordinated by the WMC’s Bureau
of Training. Of the veterans, 7,346 enrolled during the first 8
months of 1944, in war production training courses in public
vocational schools, and 1,453 enrolled in short courses in colleges
and universities under the Engineering, Science, and Management
War Training program, also administered by the Office of Educa
tion. (See Chron. item for Nov. 13, this issue; see also M. L. R.
Oct. 1944, p. 818.) (Source: PM-4711.)
On December 23, 1944, the Veterans Placement Service Board
announced the creation of an interagency committee to coordinate
governmental activities in behalf of veterans. (Source: OWI-3872.)
Nov. 16. The Maritime Commission ordered all Maritime Commission shipyards,
despite their extremely high turnover, not to give employment
to any experienced seagoing personnel applying for shore jobs.
(Source: OWI-3772; WMC, PM-4699.) On November 20 the
War Shipping Administration announced that the granting of a
Nation-wide priority by the WMC for the recruitment of inex
perienced men for merchant seamen training by the U. S. Mari
time Service emphasized the urgent need for 8,000 trainees a
month. Because of the long distances, there are required in the
Pacific about three times the number of merchant ships used in
trans-Atlantic shipping. (Source: OWI-3772.)
On November 19 the WMC announced that officers and seamen
released by the closing of the Great Lakes navigation season
would be placed in Merchant Marine jobs for the duration of the
Lakes off-season. (Source: PM-4712.)
Nov. 16. The War Labor Board announced that by its interpretation of the Se
lective Training and Service Act of 1940, a veteran returning to his
job must be “reemployed at the level to which he would have
been entitled if there had been no break in his service with the
company.” This involves only automatic in-grade increases
dependent solely upon length of service. (Source: B-1834 and
B-1834a.)
On December 8, 1944, the President approved an act extending
the time in which veterans may make application for reinstate
ment in their former jobs from 40 days after discharge from the
armed forces to a period of 90 days. (Source: Public Law 548.)
Nov. 17. The President’s Committee on the Cost of Living (see Chron. item for
Nov. 5, 1943, M. L. R. Feb. 1944) transmitted its report to the
President. (For summary, see M. L. R. Jan., 1945 p. 168.)
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LABOR CHRONOLOGY
913
I\ov. 17. The NWLB announced a revision of its General Order 30, providing
that voluntary wage and salary increases which do not bring
rates above 50 cents an hour may be granted by employers with
out prior approval by the Board. (Source: B-1836.)
On December 23, 1944, the labor members of the Board submitted
to the full Board tor adoption a resolution which declared that “a
straight-time hourly rate of 72 cents per hour is the minimum
below which the National War Labor .Board shall consider any
wage rate substandard,” and that “voluntary applications to
^crease wage rates to 72 cents per hour shall be approved.”
(Source: B-1893.)
v
Nov. 19. The WPB announced the completion of plans for the creation of 12 new
labor advisory committees (in addition to the 19 already functionmg whose membership was given in detail) in order to assure
labor a greater voice in advising on the expansion of war produc
tion and on post-war reconversion proposals. These labor committees cover major industries as a whole, and thus differ from the
761 industry advisory committees of the WPB which deal with
the various specialized segments of industry. (See also Chron
Îooo
5838.)sfor June 17> 1944’ M- L- R - Sept- 1944.) (Source: W PBOn November 29, the WPB announced the establishment of the
Production Readjustment Committee under the Production
Executive Committee, to '‘develop policies designed to make
certain that productive facilities and manpower released by
readjustments in the war programs are used in essential war
production.” (Source: WPB-6911.)
N o \. ¿,0. The \\ MC announced that interviewers would be assigned from the
U. b. Employment Service to assist Army-camp commanders
)n j u sel®cl 1<yi °1 1)000 soldiers whose release had been author
ized by the War Department for work in “must” forge and
foundry shops. (Source: PM 4714.) On November 28 the Com
mission issued a list of 18 “must” or critical industries, with a table
showing the number of workers urgently needed in each of these
industries. Altogether 90,000 critical workers were needed
nnmediately in the 18 industries. (Source: PM-4719 and P M On December 9, the Director of War Mobilization and Reconver
sion announced that the Army and Navy had already released
several thousand men for critical war plants, that the demands
or such releases were increasing, and that he had requested the
belective Service to induct additional men in the higher age
groups to replace men released by the Army and Navy. (SourceWhite House release of Dec. 9, 1944.) (See also M. L. R. Feb!
1945, p. 296.)
Nov. 20-30. The American Federation of Labor held its sixty-fourth annual
convention m Nevy Orleans. (For summary of proceedings, see
M. L. R. Feb. 194o, p. 318.)
Nov. 20-25. The Congress of Industrial Organizations held its seventh annual
convenEon^-m ^dncagm ^ (F or summary of proceedings, see
Nov. 21. The Social Security Board announced that upon request it will recalcu
late the amount of old-age and survivors insurance benefits
payable to once-retired workers who have returned to work and
as a result have credit for wages received since the benefits were
first claimed. Approximately 66,000 such once-retired workers
were in war jobs. By law, benefits are suspended for any month
m which the worker earns more than $14.99 in covered emplovment (Source: OWI-3774.) (See M. L. R. Mar. 1945, p. 561,
for data on benefits under Social Security Act.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
914
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Nov. 24. The War Labor Board authorized its regional board at Cleveland to
appoint a tripartite panel to hear the dispute between the Ohio
Bell Telephone Co. at Dayton and the Ohio Federation of Tele
phone Workers (independent). (Source: B-1846 and B-1846a.)
(See M. L. R. Jan. 1945, p. 116, for discussion of strike.)
On December 22, 1944, the NWLB announced that a national
telephone panel would be established to make recommendations
to it on ail voluntary and dispute cases involving the telephone
industry. (Source: B-1888.)
Nov. 25. The NWLB announced its decision in the dispute involving 86 “Basic
Steel” companies. (For summary, see M. L. R. Jan. 1945, p. 41.)
Nov. 30. The War Manpower Commission announced that approximately 800
women were employed as apprentices in 18 skilled trades under
procedures and methods developed by the Commission’s Ap
prentice-Training Service. The trades include airline mechan
ics, cabinetmakers, carpenters, coremakers, machinists, drafts
men, instrument makers, radio technicians, dental mechanics,
jewelers, printers, watchmakers, bookbinders, and meatcutters.
Training methods suggested for women were like those for men
except that additional practice and explanation is recommended
to compensate for lack of industrial experience. (See Chron.
item for Nov. 13, this issue.) (Source: PM-4720.)
On December 3, the WMC announced that the enrollment of
women in all «types of Federal-State war production training
programs totaled 3,103,600 from July 1, 1940 to October 1, 1944.
(Source: PM-4722.)
DECEMBER
Dec. 1. The WPB, the Army, the Navy, and the WMC issued a joint message
to their field“representatives, reemphasizing the urgency of war
production and that reconversion must not interfere with war
production. This was essentially a restatement of the original
policy underlying Priorities Regulation No. 25 (see Chron. item
for Aug. 15, 1944, M. L. R. Dec. 1944); however, the issuance of
“spot” authorizations was forbidden, except in unusual cases,
for a period of 90 days in group I labor areas (see Chron. item
for May 20 1944, M. L. R. Sept. 1944) and in certain other areas.
(Source: WPB-6922.)
On December 16 the WPB took further action to prevent recon
version from interfering with war production, by announcing that
WPB programs for the quantities of civilian items to be manu
factured would continue, in general, to be on the same level as
during the fourth quarter of 1944. Increases in civilian produc
tion would be authorized only through the “spot authorization”
procedure under Priorities Regulation No. 25. (Source: W PB7007.)
Dec. 2. The National Housing Agency announced that more than 1,730,000
units of housing for the exclusive use of war workers had been
completed since the start of the emergency, that 81,800 were
under construction, and that an urgent need for an additional
50,000 accommodations had developed to permit recruitment of
necessary workers and the keeping of workers on the job. The
107 war housing centers of the NHA reported that, “on the
average, there are three applications for housing for every exist
ing unit that is listed for war workers’ use,” and urged that
citizens in scores of communities open their homes to war workers.
(See also Chron. item for Oct. 27, this issue.) (Source: OWI-3793.)
Dec. 3. The WMC announced that the total enrollment in all types of FederalState war production training for the period July 1, 1940, to
October 1, 1944, was 14,034,666, divided among the following
programs: Vocational Training for War Production Workers,
6,859,708; Engineering, Science, and Management War Training,
1,609,001; Food Production War Training, 3,315,944; National
Youth Administration, 772,756; and Training Within Industry
Service, 1,477,257. (Source: PM-4722.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR CHRONOLOGY
915
Dec. 5. The Department of Labor issued a “Reconversion Blueprint For Women”
adopted at a conference (Dec. 5, 1944) of the Women’s Bureau
with officials of 30 national organizations. The Blueprint
presented a program to promote full employment and equal
treatment of women workers in the post-war period. (Source:
U. S. Dept, of Labor, Women’s Bureau, release of Dec. 5, 1944.)
Dec. 8. The Director of the Committee for Congested Production Areas an
nounced that, with the exhaustion of Congressional appropri
ations, the remaining 7 area offices of the original 18 offices of the
committee, as well as the Washington office, would close on
December 31, 1944. The committee, in existence since April 7,
1943, had no operating functions but directed its attention to the
coordination and expedition of the work of Federal, State, and
local agencies in the improvement of community facilities and
services so as to reduce absenteeism and labor turnover. (Source:
OWI-3807.)
Dec. 8. The President, by Executive order, authorized the Secretary of War to
take possession of and operate the plants and facilities of Cudahy
Brothers Co. of Cudahy, Wis., processors of meat products re
quired for the war effort. The company had refused to comply
with the terms of a directive order of the National War Labor
Board, and a strike was impending as a consequence of a strike
vote conducted on November 22, 1944, by the National Labor
Relations Board. (Source: White House release of Dec. 8, 1944.)
Dec. 10. The WMC announced plans for an expanded employment-counseling
service in local offices of the U. S. Employment Service. (See
M. L. R. Mar. 1945, p. 546, for summary.)
Dec. 11. The Supreme Court of the United States in the case Steele v. Louisville
& N. R. Co., held that stipulations for racial discrimination in
promotion in collective-bargaining agreements by railroad unions
were a violation of the Railway Labor Act. (For discussion, see
M. L. R., Feb. 1945, p. 339.)
Dec. 12-14. The Eleventh National Conference on Labor Legislation took place
in Washington. (For summary of proceedings, see M. L. R.
Feb. 1945, p. 330.)
Dec. 15. The WMC announced that a uniform Nation-wide system had been
placed in effect for classifying manpower orders or requests of
employers into five priority categories, ranging in importance
from orders of exceptional national importance (Priority Cate
gory 1) to orders from essential and locally needed establish
ments (Priority Category 5). (Source: PM-4727.) (For details,
see M. L. R. Feb. 1945, p. 295.)
Dec. 16. The President approved an act continuing for the calendar year of 1945
the 1-percent tax, under the Federal Insurance Contributions
Act, on employer and employees. The act provided that for
the years 1946, 1947, and 1948 the rate shall be 2% percent, and
after December 31, 1948, 3 percent. (Source: Public Law 495.)
Dec. 17. The WMC announced more than 5,000 manpower-utilization sur
veys had been made in the last year and a half and that about
500 were being made currently every month. As a result of
such studies, conducted with the cooperation of both management
and labor, many millions of man-hours per month were gained
for the war effort. It was stated that “present production prob
lems in many tight labor areas could be partly, if not wholly,
solved by proper use of available labor.” Since the WMC
could not conduct surveys in all war production factories, it has
developed available procedures for self-analysis by managements.
(Source: PM-4728.)
On January 1, 1945, the Social Security Board announced that
about 530,000 unemployed workers had collected unemployment
benefits at some time during 1944. (Source: OWI-3885.)
Dec. 20. The NWLB announced that it had, by a vote of 7 to 5, directed the
Standard Fruit & Steamship Co., an American corporation which
operated five merchant ships under the Honduran flag between
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
916
Dec. 21.
Dec. 23.
Dec. 26.
Dec. 27.
Dec. 27.
Dec. 27.
Dec. 30.
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
the ports of the United States on the Gulf of Mexico and Central
America, to pay unlicensed seamen on these five vessels the same pay
that unlicensed seamen receive on ships flying the American flag.
The seamen concerned were members of the National Maritime
Union, C. I. O., but were receiving on the average about 17
percent less in pay than fellow unionists on ships flying the
American flag. (Source: B-1883.)
The National War Labor Board, in a case involving the Corn Products
Refining Co., Argo, 111., ruled that its regional Board at Chicago
could only recommend rather than order the company to negotiate
with a union whose certification by the National Labor Relations
Board the company had refused to recognize. The National
War Labor Board stated that its policy is “not to direct employers
and unions to negotiate terms of employment, which is a function
of the National Labor Relations Board.” (Source: B-188G.)
The WMC announced that “as a result of proposals of labor members
of the Management-Labor Policy Committee of the "War Man
power Commission, wider use of the facilities of organized labor
will be made in order more effectively to approach critical inplant war production problems and to recruit workers for war
industries.” The Committee, in stating that recruitment alone
would not solve production problems, issued a 10-point program,
and stressed the fullest use of workers already within a plant as
the best solution in many cases. (Source: PM-4734) (For
details of 10-point program, see M. L. R. Feb. 1945, p. 296.)
The OPA, in explaining that civilian supplies of sugar, butter, and
commercially canned fruits and vegetables were at the lowest
point since the war began, cancelled all unused blue and red
ration stamps (about 2% months’ supply) that had become
good before December 1944, and tightened the rationing program.
Five canned vegetables (peas, corn, green and wax beans, aspara
gus, and spinach) were added to the ration list, and the rationpoint value of butter was increased. On December 28, the OPA
announced that beginning December 31, 1944, about 85 percent
of the civilian meat supply would require red points, as compared
with 37 percent before that date. (Source: OPA-5126, OPA—
5129, and OPA-5135.) (See Chron. item for Sept. 6, 1944,
M. L. R. Dec. 1944.)
The NWLB announced the adoption of a resolution providing for treat
ing as “rare and unusual” the case of any foundry or forge shop
whose name appears on a “blanket certification list” of critical
foundries and shops to be supplied to the NWLB Committee on
Regional Instructions jointly by the WPB and the WMC. In
such cases the NWLB stated it would approve or grant average
wage increases up to 10 cents above the established approvable
rate. (Source: B-1896.)
The President, by Executive order, authorized and directed the Secre
tary of War to take possession of and operate the plants and
facilities of Montgomery Ward & Co. in Chicago, Detroit, St.
Paul, Portland (Oreg.), and certain other cities. The company
had “refused to put into effect the terms and conditions in the
directive orders of the NWLB settling labor disputes.” (Source:
Federal Register, Vol. 9, p. 15079.) (See Chron. item for April
25, 1944, M. L. R. Sept. 1944.)
The WPB announced the issuance of a new regulation authorizing “the
withdrawal or modification of material priorities or allocations
when the War Production Board determines that materials or
facilities are not being used most effectively as a result of failure
to comply with war manpower programs.” (Source: PM-4735.)
The WMC, at the request of the Director of War Mobilization and Re
conversion, announced the withdrawal of all employment ceiling
authorizations for race-track operators. All such operators were
ordered to cease operations by January 3, 1945, and not to resume
operations until war conditions permit. (Source: PM-4738,
and PM-4740.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications o f Labor Interest
A pril 1945
Cooperative Movement
Annual report of operations \of] Federal credit unions, December 81, 1943. Washing
ton 25, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 1945. 21 pp., charts. 10
cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Balance sheet and details of operation of credit unions chartered under the
Federal Credit Union Act. Data are given by States and by type of membership.
Report of the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration, 1944• St.
Louis, Mo., 1944. 20 pp.
Gives operating statistics of REA-finaneed systems and of the loan record of
borrowers, and reviews court decisions relative to REA organizations and develop
ments regarding taxation. Besides making loans for the installation of power
lines and generating plants, REA has made loans for the financing of 21 cold-stor
age locker plants. The Administrator estimates that some 5J4 million farm and
nonfarm rural establishments can be electrified after the war; as of July 1, 1944,
the total number of electrified farms was 2,557,000.
Cooperative contracting in New 'Zealand. By Anthony E. C. Hare. (In Interna
tional Labor Review, Montreal, February 1945, pp. 167-190. 50 cents.
Distributed in United States by Washington branch of International Labor
Office.)
Describes the workers’ cooperative associations which take contracts for jobs
on construction of public works and in mining, sawmilling, and various other in
dustries in New Zealand. “The employer provides the necessary tools and equip
ment and a detailed plan or specification of the work to be done, but does not
supervise the workmen apart from seeing that the work is carried out according
to the specification.” The article describes the method of work in certain of the
industries in which the cooperative contracting is found, and gives statistics of
number of men engaged on cooperative contracts in public works.
Cooperative living in Palestine. By Henrik F. Infield.
New York, Dryden
Press, 1944. .192 pp., bibliography, illus. $3.
Account of the cooperative communities (Kvutza) of Palestine, in which there
is no private property (everything belonging to the group as a whole) and in
which all participate in all the tasks, however menial. The author, who lived in
various of these colonies for many months, describes how the work is divided;
the methods of social control in the group; the effect of communal living on the
family; the psychological, practical, and social problems; and the remarkable
accomplishments of these communities in the reconstruction of some of the most
barren parts of the country.
La organ!zación cooperativa en la República de El Salvador en 1948: El sistema del
crédito rural. By Alfonso Rochac. (In Boletín del Instituto de Investiga
ciones Sociales y Económicas, Panamá, July 1944, pp. 289-349.)
Deals with the development of rural credit unions in El Salvador from 1938, '
including information on the variety of their functions as consumer, production,
and sale cooperatives, etc., and on the laws of 1942 and 1943, with statistics of
membership and funds as of June 30, 1943.
E d i t o r ’ s N o t e .—Correspondence regarding the publications to which reference is made in this list should
be addressed to the respective publishing agencies mentioned. Where data cn prices were readily avail
able, they have been shown with the title entries.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
917
918
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Cost and Standards of Living
The American standard of living: Earning and spending our money. By Faith M.
Williams and Mary P. Keohane. Washington 6, National Education
Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals and National
Council for the Social Studies, 1944. 60 pp., bibliography. (Problems in
American life, Unit No. 19.) 30 cents.
Contains convenient summaries of information relating to meaning of terms,
family budget studies, national income, distribution of families by income,
occupational and regional differences in income, and intercity differences in
living costs. There is a section on wartime conditions as affecting cost and
standards of living. Since the study was designed primarily for use in schools,
the second part consists of teaching aids.
Classification of consumer expenditures by income-elasticity. By Louis J. Paradiso.
(In Survey of Current Business, U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of
Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington 25, January 1945, pp. 7-10;
chart. 20 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.)
The study is an attempt to classify expenditures on the basis of their relation
ship to changes in income during the period 1929-42. Under "household opera
tion,” for example, various items, such as fuel and utilities, are classified as
"insensitive” to changes in income; certain other items, such as refrigerators
and washing and sewing machines, are described as "somewhat sensitive” ; and
still other items, such as furniture and domestic service, are classified as
"sensitive.”
Family food consumption in the United States, spring 194%. Washington 25, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, 1944. 157 pp. (Miscellaneous publication No.
550.) 20 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Published as part of the study of family spending and saving in wartime con
ducted by the U. S. Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics in co
operation with the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Family income in wartime: Third survey of consumer requirements, conducted April
17-22, 1944. Washington 25, U. S. War Production Board, Office of Civilian
Requirements, Civilian Surveys Division, 1944. 46 pp.; mimeographed.
Brazil overhauls her diet. By Allen Haden. (In Inter-American, Washington,
February 1945, pp. 26-28; illus.)
Account of the operation by the Brazilian Government of low-cost restaurants
in Rio de Janeiro.
Employment and Rehabilitation of Veterans
Post-war migration plans of soldiers; Soldiers’ plans to own businesses after they
leave the Army; Soldiers’ plans for farming after they leave the Army;
Soldiers’ plans for Government jobs after they leave the Army. Washington
25, U. S. War Department, Army Service Forces, Information and Education
Division, 1944 and 1945. Four pamphlets, 14, 16, 52, and 14 pp., respectively.
(Post-war plans of the soldier series, reports Nos. B-128, B-130, B-131, and
B -i32.)
Four reports based on replies to inquiries addressed to officers and enlisted
men regarding the section of the country to which they intend to return, and
plans for owning a business, farming, or entering Government service, after their
release from the Army.
Reemployment of veterans (developing a company program). Washington 6,
L
Petroleum Industry War Council, 1944. 35 pp.
* Designed, the preface states, "to stimulate thinking and to present practical
suggestions regarding the development of policies which will insure sound and
equitable treatment of returning veterans.”
What industry wants to know about veterans: 3, The plant’s obligation. (In Factory
Management and Maintenance, New York 18, February 1945, pp. 82-88;
illus.)
This article, the last of three reports concerning the reemployment of veterans
by private industry, reviews plant procedures and makes recommendations with
respect to fitting the discharged serviceman into civilian employment.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST
919
You and. Joe and his job. San Diego 12, Calif., Pacific Coast Electrical Association,
1944. 61 pp. $1.
Compilation of information concerning the rights and problems of returning
servicemen and the obligations of employers.
Jobs for G. I. Joe in America's hotels. New York 19, American Hotel Association,
Public Relations Committee, 1944. 26 pp.
Presents a program to help discharged servicemen jand servicewomen obtain
employment in hotels, with special emphasis on job description and job require
ments. Also outlines basic provisions of the legislation protecting the veteran
and the official machinery for veteran placement.
Veteran employment program, RCA Victor Division, [Radio Corporation of America],
Camden, N. J ., plant: In the interest of veterans of World War II. Camden,
N. J., Radio Corporation of America, RCA Victor Division, [1944?]. 25 pp.
and forms; processed.
Sets forth policies and procedures for the reemployment of former servicemen
and servicewomen and gives a brief interpretation of the Selective Service Act
and a brief analysis of the G. I. Bill of Rights.
Apprentice training for veterans. Washington 25, U. S. War Manpower Com
mission, Bureau of Training, Apprentice-Training Service, [1945]. 10 pp.;
processed.
Explanation of apprentice training as it applies to returning veterans, with
lists of the Apprentice-Training Service publications and State apprenticeship
agencies.
Adjustment and reemployment guide and directory (of facilities and program for the
training, education, adjustment, and reemployment of war veterans and dis
placed war workers in Connecticut). Hartford, Connecticut Reemployment
Commission, 1944. 80 pp.
While this pamphlet emphasizes facilities available in Connecticut, it describes
the programs and functions of various Government and private agencies of
national scope.
Suggestions for organization and activities of local reemployment and veterans'
advisory committees. Hartford, Connecticut Reemployment Commission,
1944. 46 pp.
The [British\ Army education scheme (release period). By C. H. Philips. (In
Adult Education, Quarterly Journal of the British Institute of Adult Educa
tion, London, W. C. 1, December 1944, pp. 68-74. Is. 6d.)
Discusses the methods to be used in continuing the education scheme in the
British Army during the period when men are being released. Administration
is to be by units, under a full-time education officer in each case. Training is to
range from basic education to independent work by those who already have a
high standard of education.
Report of the New Zealand Rehabilitation Board for year ended March 31, 1944.
Wellington, 1944. 43 pp. Is.
Describes New Zealand’s administrative machinery and program for returning
former servicemen and servicewomen to civilian status. The program covers
education, training for employment in industry and agriculture, settlement on
farms, financial assistance, housing, and special provision for the disabled.
Family Allowances
Mid-war developments in civilian family allowances. By Mary T. Waggaman.
Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1944. 16 pp. (Bull.
No. 803, reprinted from Monthly Labor Review, November 1944; supple
ment to Bull. No. 754.) 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Wash
ington 25.
The fam ily allowances controversy in Canada. By Charlotte Whitton. (In Social
Service Review, Chicago 37, December 1944, pp. 413-432. $1.25.)
Critical analysis of the Canadian Family Allowances Act, 1944.
636372— 45-
-15
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 194 5
Health and Industrial Hygiene
Health research in industry. London, Medical Research Council, Industrial
Health Research Board, 1945. 27 pp. 6d. net.
Proceedings of a conference on industrial health research held at London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in September 1944.
The improvement in nutrition as protection against industrial toxicity. By W. E.
Crutchfield, Jr. (In Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, New York 5,
January 1945, pp. 97-108.)
Shows the importance of diet in the prevention and treatment of certain types
of industrial poisoning.
Protecting the health of the industrial worker: Nutrition. By Robert S. Goodhart,
M.D. (In Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, New York 5, January 194A
pp. 77-88.)
Deals with the organization, accomplishments, and major tasks ahead in the
Government’s industrial feeding program.
Dermatitis in the fish industry. By Louis Schwartz, M.D., and Irving R. Tabershaw, M. D. (In Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, Baltimore 2,
Md., January 1945, pp. 27-30. 75 cents.)
The article describes various dermatological, conditions and their causes as
well as methods of treatment and prevention of dermatitis, said to be the chief
occupational hazard in the fish industry.
Lead poisoning. By Abraham Cantarow and Max Trumper. Baltimore,
Williams & Wilkins Co., 1944. 264 pp. $3.
Covers both medical and industrial aspects of lead poisoning, preventive
measures, and treatment.
Report on the quartz crystal industry. By Harry F. Schulte. (In Industrial
Medicine, Chicago, January 1945, pp. 68-71. 50 cents.)
Describes health hazards (and their control) in the manufacture of quartz
crystals for radio oscillators, an industry which has expanded greatly due to the
requirements of the armed forces for communications equipment.
Industrial Accidents and Workmen’s Compensation
Coke-oven accidents in the United States, calendar year 1943. By W. W. Adams
and V. E. Wrenn. Washington 25, U. S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Mines, 1945. 20 pp., chart. (Technical paper 675.) 10 cents,
Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Developing safe employees. New York 10, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.,
Safety Bureau, Welfare Division, [1945?]. 46 pp., illus.
Based on a study of accident-prevention activities in various industrial plants.
Industrial safety and health—a bibliography, 1945 edition. Chicago 6, National
Safety Council, Inc., 1945. 54 pp.; processed.
Twenty-eighth annual report of United States Employees’ Compensation Commission,
July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1944■ Washington 25, 1945. 56 pp. 15 cents,
Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Report of operations under the several laws providing workmen’s compensation
for injury or death of persons engaged in employments coming under Federal
jurisdiction. An appendix gives brief excerpts from the unpublished twentyseventh annual report.
Industrial Relations
Guide to \U. £.] National War Labor Board policy. By Sidney D. Podolsky.
Washington 2, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1944. 79 pp.
Compendium and analysis of the Board’s decisions which, in the opinion of
the author, indicate the essence of Board policies.
Report and findings of a panel of the National War Labor Board in certain disputes
involving supervisors. Washington 25, U. S. National War Labor Board,
1945. 175 pp.'; mimeographed. Free.
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Utilization of foremen and supervisors—bibliography. Compiled by Amy R.
Jennings. Washington 25, ü . S. National Labor Relations Board, Library,
February 1945. 7 pp.; mimeographed.
R here we stand on collective bargaining for engineers. By V. T. Boughton. (In
Engineering News-Record, Albany 1, N. Y., February 8, 1945,-pp. 142-144.
25 cents.)
Industry Reports
Program for regional development of industry. Washington 25, U. S. War Pro
duction Board, Office of Production Research and Development, 1944. 27
pp.; mimeographed.
One of the purposes for initiating the program was to render technical collabo
ration to labor unions for improving working conditions and earning powrer of
State industries. Contracts and proposed contracts are listed by State.
Statistical handbook of civil aviation. Washington 25, U. S. Department of Com
merce, Civil Aeronautics Administration, 1944. 86 pp., .loose-leaf, maps,
charts. Limited free distribution.
Includes statistics of operations by years an d m onths, th e personnel em ployed,
accidents, certification of a irc ra ft an d airm en, etc., wdth some te x t discussion.
Economic problems of préfabrication. By S. Moos. (In Bulletin of Institute of
Statistics, Oxford, England, September 2, 1944, pp. 202-208. 2s. 6d.)
Deals with the technical and economic sides and methods of coordinating
prefabricated and other construction.
Stabilizing the construction industry. By Miles L. Colean. Washington 6,
National Planning Association, 1945. 38 pp., charts. (Planning pamphlet
No. 41.) 25 cents.
One of a series of reports on policy problems related to the attainment of full
employment. A proposed policy in the general field of construction is outlined.
There is a section on the problem of annual wages in the construction industry.
Lumber and labor. By Vernon H. Jensen. New York, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.,
1945. 314 pp., bibliographies. $3.
Story of the lumbering industry in the United States and of the efforts to
unionize it. Describes the interunion conflicts, industrial struggles, and impact
of the war upon this migratory, frontier industry. Fifth in the series on “Labor
in Twentieth Century America” by the same publishers.
Labor and Social Legislation
Kentucky labor laws, revised 1944- Frankfort, Department of Industrial Relations,
[1944?]. 35 pp.
Compilation of Kentucky labor laws on emplo 3mr-employee relationships but
not including legislation concerning unemployment or workmen’s compensation.
Laws affecting veterans and their dependents, [Connecticut], Rocky Hill, Conn.,
Veterans’ Home Commission, 1944. 126 pp.
[Addendum and second addendum to the code of Canadian labor laws of 1943. Edited
by Gustave Francq.] Montreal, Mercantile Printing Co., Ltd., [1944?]. 78
and 28 pp. (In French and English.)
Includes the Canadian National Selective Service Civilian Regulations as
consolidated with amendments to December 2, 1943; the Wartime Wages Control
Order of December 9, 1943; the Wartime Labor Regulations of February 17, 1944;
and the Quebec Labor Relations Act of February 3, 1944.
Ley del trabajo a domicilio {No. 12,713), [Argentina], By Carlos R. Desmar&s.
Buenos Aires, Editorial Guillermo Kraft Ltda., 1942. 2 vols., 336 and 371 pp.
Presents an analysis, article by article, of the Argentine law governing home
work, parliamentary discussion and judicial interpretation of the measure, and
pertinent regulatory decrees for its implementation.
Direito Brasileiro do trabalho. By Arnaldo Sussekind, Dorval de Lacerda, and
J. de Segadas Viana. Rio de Janeiro, Empresa “A Noite,” Livraria Jacinto,
1943. 2 vols., 627 and 743 pp.
This treatise on Brazilian labor legislation, by the authors of the bill for the
consolidation of laws for protection of labor, contains the text of the consolidation
adopted in May 1943, with an annotated account of the legal background of each
of its major topics and explanation of its provisions.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Aspectos teóricos y prácticos de los riesgos profesionales. By Oscar Barahona Streber
and Harry Zurcher Acuña. San José, Costa Rica, [Banco Nacional de
Seguros?], 1943. 152 pp.
Commentary upon that section of the labor legislation of Costa Rica that deals
with workmen’s compensation for industrial accidents and diseases..
A gvide to the law and legal literature of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
By Crawford M. Bishop and Anyda Marchant. Washington 25, U. S.
Library of Congress, 1944. 276 pp. (Latin American series No. 3.) $1.75.
First in a series of guides to the law and legal literature of the Latin American
republics to be issued by the Law Library of the Library of Congress. Includes
references to compilations of labor legislation and cites important labor laws
of the three countries.
Labor Organizations and Their Activities
Democracy and the free labor movement. Washington 1, American Federation of
Labor, [1944?]. 20 pp.
Labor in America. By Harold U. Faulkner and Mark Starr. New York, Harper
& Bros., 1944. 305 pp., bibliography, illus. $1.60.
The aims, methods, and problems of American trade-unions are set forth in non
technical language. The book is primarily intended for use as a high-school
textbook.
Report of proceedings at the 76th annual [British] Trades Union Congress, held at
Blackpool, October 16-20, 1944- London, Trades Union Congress, [1944?].
548 pp.
In addition to the proceedings of the conference, the general council’s report
is given. Appendixes contain reports on trade-union structure and closer unity,
the Government’s White Papers on social insurance and a national health service,
the Anglo-Soviet trade-union committee, and the Trades Union Congress’ interim
report on post-war reconstruction.
Report of the 17th national delegate conference of the Amalgamated Union of Building
Trade Workers of Great Britain and Ireland, held at Morecambe, September
19-22, 1944- London, Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers,
[1944?]. 263 pp.
The unionization of foremen. New York 18, American Management Association,
1945. 36 pp., bibliography. (Research report No. 6.) $1.25.
Part 1 of a study of the foreman’s role in industry.
Occupations and Occupational Adjustment
Classification of jobs in small companies. By Robert D. Gray. Pasadena 4,
California Institute of Technology, Industrial Relations Section, 1944. 43 pp.
(Bull. No. 5.) $1.
How you can get a better job. By Willard K. Lasher and Edward A. Richards.
Chicago, American Technical Society, 1945. 206 pp. $1.50.
This popularly written volume is in four parts entitled, respectively, The human
element, Self-management, Selling yourself, and Getting ahead.
Vocational interests and job orientation— a ten-year review. By Harold D. Carter
Stanford University, Calif., Stanford University Press, 1944. 85 pp.
(Applied psychology monographs of American Association for Applied
Psychology, No. 2.) $1.50.
/
Survey of the major psychological studies of the last 10 years dealing with
problems of vocational orientation. A list of the 262 studies referred to in the
report is appended.
Industrial and occupational trends in New York State. By Edmund H. Crane.
Albany, University of the State of New York, 1944. 45 pp., charts. (Bull.
No. 1271.)
Post-War Reconstruction
Post-war planning. Washington 25, IT. S. Treasury Department, Library,
November 30, 1944. 75 pp.; mimeographed.
Bibliography of materials on economic, labor, social, and other topics relating
to post-war reconstruction in the United States and foreign countries.
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Post-war problems and policies. By E. A. Goldenweiser. (In Federal Reserve
Bulletin, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington 25,
February 1945, pp. 112-121. 20 cents.)
Among the policies included in a proposed comprehensive program is the
maintenance of the income of wage earners by wage adjustments to take account
of increases in cost of living, with further increases as productivity rises. It is
proposed also that the Government should guarantee to every American a mini
mum standard by expanding the social-security program and by affording jobs
to workers who are otherwise unable to obtain work.
Post-war public works programs. Chicago 37, Council of State Governments, 1944.
31 pp.; mimeographed. (BX-243.) 50 cents.
Summary of the accomplishments of the States in the preparing of advance
plans, including financial plans, for a public-works reserve. Some legislation
bearing on the subject is included.
Reconversion policies and problems. New York 18, American Management
Association, 1945. 31 pp. (Production series, No. 155.)
Includes a discussion of the post-war labor outlook.
Reconversion problems in the Buffalo industrial area. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 1945. 20 pp. (Bull. No. 804; reprinted from Monthly
Labor Review, December 1944.) 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents,
Washington 25.
Reviews the wartime manpower and production situations as well as reconversion
plans and prospects of industrial plants in the area.
Report and recommendations, for the period ending December 31, 1944> of the Cali
fornia State Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission. Sacramento 14,
1945. 122 pp.
Describes the effects of the war on California, discusses economic problems and
opportunities, including post-war employment and the raising of the standard of
living, and outlines briefly the Commission’s pending studies and reports.
Post-war reconstruction in New Zealand. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1945. 9 pp. (Serial No. R. 1720; reprinted from Monthly
Labor Review, January 1945.) Free.
( )
Social Security General
Ninth annual report of the Social Security Board, fiscal year 1943-44. Washington
25, 1944. 82 pp., charts. (Section 5 of annual report of Federal Security
Agency.) 15 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
In presenting an analysis of the year’s work and of unmet needs in present
systems of old-age and survivors insurance and unemployment insurance in the
United States, the Social Security Board also recommended the adoption of
disability and sickness insurance (including medical care), and of a single, com
prehensive national system of social insurance (with decentralization of adminis
tration at local levels) supported by contributions from employers, employees,
and the Federal Government.
Climbing tovjard security. By Rachel Rowe Swiger and Olaf F. Larson. Wash
ington 25, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Eco
nomics, 1944. 65 pp.; mimeographed.
A study of experience, over a period of 4 years, in efforts to rehabilitate a
group of needy rural families, who are described as having been too poor even to
qualify for help under the regular program of the Farm Security Administration.
Problems of labor health security in a tax-maintained system of health insurance—a
workbook for the classroom and for discussion groups. By Alfred J. Asgis.
New York 17, Health Council Institute, 1944. 54 pp., bibliographies;
processed.
The medical-care provisions of the Wagner-Murray-Dingell social security bill: An
analysis of the report of the American Bar Association. (In Lawyers Guild
Review, New York and Washington, November-December 1944, pp. 24-33.
50 cents.)
Documented defense of the medical-care provisions of the bill, under the heads
of need, constitutionality, the private practice of medicine and the authority of
the Surgeon General under the bill, and other related subjects.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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m o n th ly labor review — april
1945
Sickness indemnification. A panel discussion by R. A. Hohaus and others.
Pittsburgh 13, Industrial Hygiene Foundation, 1945. 55 pp., charts.
(Transaction series, Bull. N o.’ l; Part II of proceedings of ninth annual
meeting of Industrial Hygiene Foundation, November 1944.) 50 cents.
Régimen jurídico de las jubilaciones, retiros y pensiones de la República Argentina.
By Juan D. Ramírez Gronda. Buenos Aires, Editorial Ideas, 1943. 574 pp.
Annotated text of Argentine legislation, through March 17, 1943, governing
eight social-insurance schemes for the country as a whole and one each for the
Province and the city of Buenos Aires, with pertinent court decisions and explana
tions and comparisons of the various schemes.
Legislagao Brasileira de previdencia social. (In Boletim do Ministério do Trabalho,
Industria, e Comércio, Rio de Janeiro, September 1944, pp. 335-344.)
List of the Brazilian law's and decrees through February 29, 1944, providing
social insurance for workers in 9 industrial groups, chronologically arranged by
industry, with the text of the first such Brazilian decree, that of January 24, 1923,
for workers on privately owned railways.
Income tax in relation to social security. By A. T. Haynes and R. J. Kirton. (In
Journal of the Institute of Actuaries, Vol. LXXII, Part 1, No. 333, London,
1944, pp. 79-103; abstract of discussion, pp. 104-118. 6s. net.)
Proposals for reform of the British personal-income-tax system and correlation
of income taxes and social-security payments.
Wages and Hours of Labor
Clerical salary rales paid in October 1944- (In" Conference Board Management
Record, National Industrial Conference Board, Inc., New York 17, Januarv
1945, p. 8.)
Data by occupation for 20 cities of the United States.
Wages and production costs. New York 18, American Management Association,
1945. 44 pp. (Production series, No. 159.)
Discussions by representatives of management, wdth a union view of cost
reduction presented by a representative of the International Ladies’ Garment
Workers’ Union.
Wage incentive practices. New York* 17, National Industrial Conference Board,
Inc., 1945. 44 pp., charts. (Studies in personnel policy, No. 68.)
Summary of developments in this field, including a discussion of U. S. National
War Labor Board principles and decisions. The study is devoted mainly to a
survey of the plans of selected companies. There is a section on union-contract
provisions.
Payment by results, essential work (building and civil engineering) order, 1942:
Notes for guidance on the application of the system. London, Ministry of
Works, 1944. 6 pp. Id. net.
Written in question and answrer form, this pamphlet show's how the piece-rate
system operates in the building and civil engineering industry of Great Britain.
Women in Industry
Changes in women’s employment during the war. By Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon.
Washington 25, U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 1944. 29 pp.
10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Employment opportunities in characteristic industrial occupations of women. By
Elisabeth D. Benham. Washington 25, U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s
Bureau, 1944. 50 pp. (Bull. No. 201.) 10 cents, Superintendent of
Documents, Washington 25.
Employment of women in Army supply depots in 1943. Washington 25, U. S.
Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 1945. 33 pp. (Bull. No. 192-8.)
10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
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The outlook for women in occupations in the medical services: Physical therapists.
Washington 25, U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 1945. 14 pp.
(Bull. No. 203, No. 1.) 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington
25.
Other reports in this series already published or in course of publication deal
with the following occupations: Medical laboratory technician; medical record
librarian; occupational therapist; practical nurse; and professional nurse.
War and post-war employment and its demands for educational adjustments. New
London, Conn., Institute of Women’s Professional Relations, 1944. 226
pp.; processed. $2.
Proceedings of a conference, arranged by the Institute of Women’s Professional
Relations, held in Washington, D. C., in May 1944.
Women’s wages in wartime. Washington 25, U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s
Bureau, November 1944. 10 pp. Supplement, February 1945, 10 pp.
Mimeographed. Free.
The job of the industrial counselor for women. By Frances W. Trigg. Washington
25, Federal Security Agency, Office of Education, 1944. 34 pp.; processed.
Prepared to meet the need for a simple and orderly presentation of information
for women’s counselors who are obliged to assume new responsibilities for which
they have had little preliminary training.
General Reports
Improvement of labor-utilization procedures. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1945. 44 pp. (Bull. No. 807.) 10 cents, Superintendent
of Documents, Washington 25.
Subjects discussed include absenteeism, labor turnover, employment of women,
wage structure, supervision, employee morale, etc.
Normal production, income, and employment, 19j5 to 1965. By Clark Warburton.
(In Southern Economic Journal, Chapel Hill, N. C., January 1945, pp. 219245; charts. $1.)
The author’s estimates of production, value of finished commodities, and the
value of delivered final products, extending from 1879 to 1943, make use of the
period from 1923 to 1928 as to production and prices, and the data for that period
are projected backward, and also forward to 1965, by the use of average annual
percentage increases. Estimates of “normal” employment are also given for the
years 1945 to 1950 and for 1955, 1960, and 1965. The estimates are not predic
tions but are based on certain assumptions, and it is argued that the actual
achievement of “full employment” depends basically on monetary,policy, and the
encouragement of investment and business venturesomeness.
Index to publications and articles on Latin America issued by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1902-jS. Prepared by Eugene D. Owen. Wash
ington 6, Pan American Union, 1945. vi, 39 pp.; mimeographed. (Biblio
graphic series No. 31.)
Latin America in the future world. By George Soule, David Efron, and Norman T.
Ness. New York, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1945. 372 pp., charts. _ $3.50.
The writers examine Latin America’s basic economy and changes during the
present war, and recommend policies and specific measures for the post-war
period. Subjects given special emphasis include living levels, nutrition, health,
and housing. There is a chapter on the social and political status of labor and one
on labor and social-security legislation.
Argentine riddle. By Felix J. Weil. New Aork, John Day Co., 1944. 297 pp.
$3.50.
Topics of labor interest include the standard of living of industrial and agri
cultural workers, labor unions, and industrialization.
Mensaje del Excelentísimo Señor Presidente de la Nación [Argentina], General
Edelmiro J. Farrell, y memoria del primer año de labor. Buenos Aires, 1944.
252 pp.
,
.
Report on operation of the Argentine Government in the year following the
revolution of June 1943. The account of the Secretariat of Labor and Melfare
cites activities and contemplated action in regard to workers’ housing, social_ wel
fare, and legislation, with statistics of strikes and index numbers of cost of living
and employment.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— APRIL 1945
Report to the Congress of Industrial Organizations on labor conditions in Bolivia
By Martin I\yne. (In Bolivia, Vol. X, No. 21, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, New
York, autumn-winter 1944, pp. 14-20; illus. 25 cents.)
Summarizes findings of the commission of experts sent from the United States
to Bolivia, at the request of the Bolivian ambassador, to study working conditions
in that country and to work out jointly with Bolivian authorities methods of
improving the situation of the workers.
Informe a la nación, Junio y Julio de 1944, [del Ministro de Previsión Social y
Trabajo, Ecuador], Quito, 1944. 75 pp.
This report of the Ecuadoran Minister of Welfare and Labor for June and
July 1944 (the first two months after the revolution of May 1944) includes a
brief account of each of the principal labor disputes, with Government measures
taken for their settlement, and information on workers’ organizations and the
National Workers’ Congress.
Axis rule in occupied Europe. By Raphaël Lemkin. Washington 6, Carnegie En
dowment for International Peace, 1944. xxxviii, 674 pp. $7.50.
Considerable space has been given to labor, including such aspects as control,
procurement, and vrages.
Administration report of the Controller of Labor, Ceylon, for 1943. Colombo, 1944.
46 pp. 95 cents, Ceylon currency.
Contains information on labor organizations, industrial disputes, employment,
wages, and related labor matters.
Statistical report on prices, wage rates and hours of labor, unemployment, industrial
accidents, etc., [in New Zealand], for the year 1941. Wellington, Census and
Statistics Department, 1944. xiv, 137 pp. 5s.
Report of the commission appointed to inquire into the administration and finances
of native locations in urban areas of Northern Rhodesia. Lusaka, Government
Printer, 1944. 53 pp. 2s.
Summarizes census statistics of population and surveys the housing situation,
as a basis for the concrete proposals offered respecting the future location and
housing of natives.
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U. S. GOVERNMENT PR IN T IN G O F F IC E : 1945
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