Full text of Monthly Labor Review : August 1950, Vol. 71, No. 2

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KALAfwAZOO
AUG

Monthly Labor Review
U N ITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR

L a w r e n c e R. K l e in ,

•

PUBLIC

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Chief, Office of Publications


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CONTENTS
Special Articles
193
196

Measurement of Work-Life Expectancy
Employment Trends During the Past Two Decades

Summaries of Reports and Studies
202
203
207
210
213
214
218
218
224
228
229
230
234
238
239
241
241
242

Employment Attributable to U. S. Exports, 1949
Injury Rates in Manufacturing: First Quarter, 1950
President’s Industrial Safety Conference, 1950
Thirty-third Conference of International Labor Organization
Eastern Seaboard Apprenticeship Conference, 1950
Terms of State Labor Relations Acts
Extension of Federal Rent Control, 1950
Major Settlements in Automobile Industry, 1949-50
Union-Security Provisions in Agreements, 1950
Mediation and Conciliation Service Report, 1949
Collective-Bargaining Gains in New York State, 1949
Histadrut: Labor Federation of Israel
Salaries of Office Workers: New York City, February 1950
The CED Report on Real Wage Trends
1950 Survey of Consumer Finances
Age Certificates for Minors in Agriculture and Industry
Training and Employment of Prison Inmates
Summary of Industrial Relations Activities

Departments
hi

245
250
252
260

The Labor Month in Review
Recent Decisions of Interest to Labor
Chronology of Recent Labor Events
Publications of Labor Interest
Current Labor Statistics (list of tables)

August 1950

•

Voi. 71

No. 2

This Issue in Brief...

M easurem ent oe W ork -L if e E xpectancy (p.

193) initiates a series of five articles dealing with
the Tables of Working Life for Men. In it the
Tables are described and some of the facts they
disclose are summarized. Development of these
data make possible, for the first time, a comparison
of work-life and life expectancy. Such a com­
parison measures the gap between retirement
(voluntary or compulsory) from the labor force
and normal life expectancy. Generally, the Tables
indicate that the 20-year-old worker in 1940 could
expect a retirement period twice as long as he
could have anticipated in 1900. Present trends, if
continued, will result in tripling the average length
of retirement between 1900 and 1975. Lengthened
retirement combined with the increased porportion
of older workers in the labor force make an early
application of the Tables to a study of retirement
systems particularly pertinent.
Severity of the fluctuations in employment
through depression, recession, war, and postwar
years is measured and analyzed in E mployment
T rends D uring the P ast T wo D ecades (p. 196).
Following the decline during the depression of the
early 1930’s employment climbed gradually,
receded in the latter 30’s, and rose again until
1940. Only then did it regain its 1929 level. War­
time peaks in employment, followed by a postwar
high of approximately 62 million employed
workers, marked the 1940’s. That decade repre­
sents the longest sustained approach to full
employment recorded during the twentieth cen­
tury. Predictions of an extended downturn in
employment failed to materialize in 1949. The
mild recession in that year was arrested, and early
1950 reports show that it has been followed by a
gradual but continuing rise in employment.
A contributing factor to sustained high employ­
ment in recent years has been the American export
trade. Its importance is estimated in E mploy­
m ent A ttributable to U. S. E xports (p. 202).
In 1949, for example, more than a million and a
half American workers were directly or indirectly
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engaged in the production of nonagricultural goods
and services for export.
Effective provisions of State labor relations
statutes are analyzed in T erms of S tate L abor
R elations A cts (p. 214). Generally, these acts
affirm the employee’s right to union membership
for collective bargaining, establish enforcement
agencies, and prescribe methods for selecting
bargaining representatives. Pioneer State legis­
lation on this subject was patterned after the
Federal “ Wagner” Act. Four States retain their
“little Wagner” acts, but Colorado, Kansas, Mich­
igan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin,
Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have added union re­
strictions similar to those in the Taft-Hartley Act.
In all, 13 States and Territories specifically ac­
knowledge the rights of employees (1) to organize,
and (2) to bargain collectively; but their statutes
vary as to what are unfair labor practices. They
were more uniform in defining and prohibiting
employers’ unfair practices than employees’.
A labor organization which differs radically
from those in the United States and Western
Europe is described in H ista d r u t : L abor F ed ­
eration of I srael (p. 230).
While the article
focuses attention on Histadrut’s labor activities
some of its social and political goals and accom­
plishments are also described. Membership in
Histadrut is individual and direct. A member
must join a local union in his occupational field.
About 40 percent of the total estimated Jewish
population of Israel are affiliated with Histadrut.
The organization is novel in another way—non­
workers may be members. Histadrut’s ranks
are comprised of (1) employed or self-employed
men and women, (2) nonworking wives of members,
and (3) employed boys and girls under age 18.
More effective means of reducing accidents were
considered by nearly 1,000 delegates representing
labor, management, insurance carriers, and State
agencies in Washington during June. Their
progress meeting is reported in P r e sid e n t ’s
I ndustrial S afety C o n fe r e n c e , 1950 (p. 207).
Referring to the 7-percent reduction in the number
of accidents during 1949, the President of the
United States described progress as “ good” but
“ not good enough.” Conference committees spe­
cifically recommended the use of standard methods
of compiling industrial-injury rates and accident
causes.

The Labor Month
in Review

S u d d en military action in Korea posed new
problems and recalled those of World War II.
A wave of buying in anticipation of price increases
or shortages continued throughout the month.
The result was sharp increases in prices of many
commodities and artificial shortages of some things
which shortly before had been plentiful.
The inflationary situation which the country
faced following our involvement in the Korean war
was imposed on an economy already utilizing
many of its resources at very high levels. Such
important basic industries as steel, automobile,
and construction had been operating near capacity
for many months and others which had been
lagging started to expand before the fighting
began on June 25. Production of goods and
services during the second quarter of the year
was at an annual rate of $268 billion—the highest
in history. Employment reached a near-record
level for the season, and unemployment was
decreasing. Consumer incomes and expenditures
were also at record levels, and prices of many
important commodities were beginning to rise.

Price Spurt

Prices on the organized commodity markets,
which are extremely sensitive and frequently in­
volve large speculative elements, reacted immedi­
ately after the Korean war started. By the end
of July prices of spot commodities on the organized
exchanges had risen an average of 15 percent.
Imported commodities especially showed large
price increases.
Commodity prices in the primary markets, both
industrial and agricultural, which had likewise
started upward in the spring of 1950, rose more
steeply after the outbreak of war in Korea. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics index of wholesale
prices was 5 percent above the pre-Korea level on
August 1. The increase in livestock and meat at
wholesale was more than 9 percent during the
month.

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Retail prices had also started upward after
April and by June 15 the consumers’ price index of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics had increased nearly
2 percent. The increases in May and June wiped
out about half the previous decline from the post­
war peak. The increase was largely due to higher
food prices, particularly meats. Retail food
prices advanced an estimated 2.7 percent from
June 15 to July 31.
While rents have been continuing their slow but
steady upward climb, other items in the cost of liv­
ing have not yet changed to any significant extent.
Most retailers had not increased the prices of mer­
chandise in stock and many of the usual summer
clearance sales of apparel and housefurnishings
have been held (although with mark-downs and
bargains less than those of last year). Prices of,
these commodities will be affected, it is expected,
as the higher costs of raw materials are passed on,
in the manufacturing and distributive process.
Economic Controls

It was apparent as soon as our Armed Forces
were committed to the Korean fighting that in­
creased expenditures for national defense would
have a serious impact on the economy. The
psychological impact which led to panic buying
was already evident in July, long before new war
orders could curtail production of commodities for
civilian use.
President Truman, in a special message to Con­
gress on July 19, asked for about $10 billion
to increase and equip the Armed Forces. In addi­
tion, the President requested certain powers “to
establish priorities and allocate materials as neces­
sary to promote the national security; to limit
the use of materials for nonessential purposes; to
prevent inventory hoarding; and to requisition
supplies and materials needed for the national
defense, particularly excessive and unnecessary
inventories.”
Should prices continue to rise, the President
indicated that he would “not hesitate to recom­
mend the more drastic measures of price control
and rationing.” The continuing price increases
throughout the month produced strong sentiment
throughout the country and in Congress for such
measures. In early August, the House of Repre­
sentatives passed a measure giving the President
discretionary power to impose wage, price, and
rationing controls.
iii

IV

THE LABOR MONTH IN REVIEW

To reduce the inflationary effect of defense
spending, President Truman asked Congress to
raise $5 billion in new taxes, on an annual basis,
on individuals and corporations. The President
also took administrative steps to reduce the volume
of construction by reducing housing credit and
public building.
Labor and Defense

A plan for labor participation in defense policy
and planning was agreed to during July by repre­
sentatives of the American Federation of Labor,
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the
United Mine Workers, the International Associa­
tion of Machinists, and W. Stuart Symington,
chairman of the National Security Resources
Board. The labor representatives had indicated
that labor desired to play an integral part in
planning and policy making for defense. Sub­
sequently, Mr. Symington appointed a top ad­
visory committee to the NSRB consisting of
representatives of labor, management, and agri­
culture. Two representatives of organized labor
were appointed to serve as assistants to the
chairman of the NSRB.
Labor Unity

Meeting for the first time on July 25, the new
unity committees of the AFL and CIO agreed to
organize as a permanent “AFL-CIO Unity Com­
mittee” and to work together in the field of legis­
lation and political action. Meetings have been
arranged to consider specific proposals for organic
unity in the American labor movement and to
establish machinery to handle problems of juris­
dictional disputes and raiding affecting unions of
the two organizations. The two groups also
decided to continue working together in the field
of international relations through the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions. These
actions appear to offer the best hopes of labor
unity since the major schism in the labor move­
ment.
The willingness of unions to work together was
evidenced in the meat-packing industry where a
mutual-aid pact was concluded by the Packing­
house Workers (CIO) and the Amalgamated Meat
Cutters (AFL). These two unions agreed to work
together in collective-bargaining negotiations

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“against common employers for contract improve­
ments on an industry-wide or Nation-wide basis.”
Other Labor Bargaining Developments

At the request of President Truman, the strike
of the Switchmen’s Union (AFL) against five
western railroads was halted on July 6. The
union contended that the recommendations of the
President’s fact-finding board on July 15 did not
apply, since separate hearings were not held on
their case. The strike against the Rock Island
Railroad was continued, however, until the road
was seized by the Army and a temporary injunc­
tion was issued against the union. President
Truman issued the order for seizure on the basis
of the present emergency situation.
Threat of a strike by the Brotherhood of Rail­
road Trainmen and the Order of Railway Conduc­
tors on July 15 was lifted when the unions agreed
to use the services of the National Mediation
Board to reach a settlement with the railroads.
Strike orders had previously been issued in protest
of the emergency board’s recommendations. These
would reduce hours of work from 48 to 40 per
week, and allow an 18-cent an hour increase in
wages for yard-service employees but would deny
any general wage increase to road-service em­
ployees. The unions contended that a 31-cent
increase was necessary to maintain take-home pay
at its former level. The Railroad Yardmasters
(AFL), who had also threatened a strike on July
15 for similar reasons, likewise agreed to the
services of the Mediation Board in an effort to
settle their dispute.
Additional war bonuses to crew members sailing
in the Far East were negotiated by the Seafarers
International Union (AFL) and the National
Maritime Union (CIO), reflecting the disturbed
international situation. A 3-year “no-strike”
agreement was signed by the International Union
of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (CIO)
and the Sperry Gyroscope Co.
Among other agreements was the settlement of
a 10-week strike against the Weyerhauser Timber
Co., the largest lumber operators in the world.
Additional pay and company-financed health and
welfare benefits were negotiated by the union,
the International Woodworkers of America (CIO),
affecting about 8,500 timber workers in Wash­
ington and Oregon.

Measurement of Work-Life Expectancy
Development of Tables of Working Life for Men:
Total Males, Urban and Rural Residents,
White and Non white Groups

The Tables of Working Life for the
first time afford a basis for comparing work-life
and life expectancy of men in the United States.
In this issue, the first in a series of five articles
is presented, describing the Tables and summariz­
ing some of the facts on working life that they
disclose. Future articles in this series will
expand and supplement this general discussion of
the work expectancy of men and the significance of
the technique of measuring work-life expectancy.
They will elaborate on the pattern of working life
in 1940; the expected trend between 1900 and 1975;
the application of such Tables; and the statistical
methods employed in the preparation of this basic
information.

E ditor ’s N ote :

T a bles of W orking L ife have been developed in
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, utilizing statistics
on labor-force participation available for each age
group in the population, together with the relevant
information on life expectancy.1 Currently avail­
able, these Tables represent one of the major
applications of actuarial techniques to the problems
of the American wage earner, since the life tables
were introduced. The Tables of Working Life
have application to a host of problems, ranging
from calculations of labor-force growth to the
money value of a working man.
For the first time, these Tables permit measure­
ment of the gap between the life and the workinglife span. They show, for example, that between
1900 and 1940 the average retirement period which
a 20-year-old white male worker could expect had
doubled—from 2.8 to 5.7 years.


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The length of working life for men is system­
atically presented and analyzed, using the same
general concepts as those employed in the standard
life table—the yardstick of the insurance com­
panies as well as others interested in the social,
medical, and economic implications of changes in
the expectation of life.
One of the most far-reaching changes which has
occurred so far in the twentieth century is the
extraordinary increase in the expectation of life
of the American man and woman. The average
white baby boy born in 1900 could look forward
to about 48 years of life; his counterpart in 1947
could look forward to about 65 years of life. Thus,
in the past half-century the average life expectancy
of a white man has increased by about 17 years.
If this trend continues—and there seems to be
nothing in the offing to change it—the increase
since 1900 will have reached a full 20 years by
1960.
Next to the life span, the factor of greatest
importance to the American wage earner or selfemployed man is the use he makes of the added
years. How is his length of working life affected—
and the ages at which he begins and ends his work
career? Here, too, major changes have occurred
during the past 50 years. Increased life expec­
tancy in itself has served to add many years of
working life.
On the other hand, many social and economic
factors influencing those at both ends of the age
scale have tended to reduce the length of working
life. Legal restrictions on employment of young
people in many industrial occupations and the
trend toward a longer period of education have
193

194

MEASUREMENT OF WORK-LIFE EXPECTANCY

caused youth to delay their first full-time entry
into the job market. At the same time, the estab­
lishment of a public social-security system, the
extensive development of private pension plans,
and the decline in job opportunities for older
people, especially in self-employment, all have
reduced the age at which workers leave the labor
force.
Forthcoming articles in the Monthly Labor
Review will analyze many of the facts and trends
shown by the Tables, and will explain their organi­
zation and construction. In brief, it may be
pointed out that the standard life table begins
with an initial group of 100,000 persons at birth.
This group is then reduced m successive ages on
the basis of prevailing mortality until the last
individual has been accounted for.
Similarly, the Tables of Working Life begin
with an initial group of 100,000 at birth. In
addition to showing the reduction in this group
because of mortality, the Tables show the number
and proportion of persons who may be expected
to work or seek work over their life span and the
extent to which they leave the labor force, again
until the last worker is accounted for. Thus, just
as the standard life table yields the significant
function called the “ average life expectancy/’ so
does a table of working life show the “ average
work-life expectancy.”
Application to Old-Age Dependency Problem

Analysis of the differences between these two
measures—life expectancy and work-life expect­
ancy—yields some of the most significant facts
concerning the current problem of old-age de­
pendency, and exemplifies one major application
of the Tables of Working Life. As has already
been indicated, the average life expectancy of the
American wage earner has advanced impressively,
with gains in medical science, public health
services, and generally higher living standards.
But the process of industrialization and related
social and economic trends have limited the
chance for gainful employment for older workers.
Thus, the gap has grown between working-life
and total life expectancy for the average worker.
Under 1940 conditions, the Tables indicate
that a white man beginning his work career on
his 20th birthday could expect to live for an
additional 47){ years, or to age 6 7 Before being

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MONTHLY LABOR

separated from the labor force, however, he could
expect to continue working for 42 years, or to
age 62. He could expect, therefore, to spend
about 5}£ years in retirement, willingly or un­
willingly.2 This was about double the number of
years his counterpart in 1900 could have expected
to live outside the labor force. If this trend
continues, the gap between total life expectancy
and work-life expectancy will have tripled be­
tween 1900 and 1975. Here in a few figures is
the nub of the problem of old-age dependency.
Application to Occupational Outlook

The Tables of Working Life have their appli­
cations to the young as well. Thus, an exami­
nation of date on labor-force entries and exits
shows that as many as 2 out of every 3 of the
11 million young men who started their work
careers during the past decade (1940-50) were
replacing older men dropping out because of
death and retirement. This emphasizes the im­
portance, for vocational guidance purposes, of
determining the prospective replacement needs in
various fields of employment as one major factor
affecting job prospects.
Even without direct statistical evidence, it is
apparent that replacement needs are significantly
different among various occupations. Thus, the
work-life span of professional athletes is compara­
tively short: A baseball player in his thirties is
considered old. In other fields the work-life
span is comparatively long: The physician in
good health tends to taper off his patient load
rather than to retire. Individual work-life tables
for specific occupations, industries, or socio­
economic groups must await information on
differential mortality and the differential im­
portance of occupational transfers, as well as
data on differences in retirement patterns. In
the absence of this information, however, the
application of the Tables of Working Life devel­
oped thus far yields a number of significant clues
as to where replacement demand will be important
in the total job picture.
Given the age-specific rates of labor-force
separation provided by the Tables, and an age
distribution of men by occupation (from the
Census or any other source) it is possible to esti­
mate the probable number of men who will leave
these occupations due to death or retirement over

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

MEASUREMENT OF WORK-LIFE EXPECTANCY

a period of years. For example, one article in
this series will show that separation rates from
the labor force were as high as 30 percent during
the past 10 years among tailors and furriers—
occupations in which there were high proportions
of older men in 1940. Much lower rates are shown
for occupations with a predominantly young
labor force (e. g., welder, mechanic, or chemist).
Application to Population Groups

So far, Tables of Working Life have been
developed for urban and rural men and for white
and nonwhite men workers, in addition to total
male workers. The urban-rural comparisons give
a good deal of insight into differences in the length
and pattern of working life between farm and
city workers. Similarly, the comparisons between
whites and non whites (mostly Negroes) are related
to differences in occupational and industrial dis­
tribution, income level, and other social and
economic factors.
It is clearly indicated that, on the average, men
m rural areas begin their working lives at a much
earlier age than do those in urban areas. In 1940,
almost 10 percent of the 14-year-old rural youth
were already in the labor force, as compared with
only 2 percent of the urban youth. At the same
time, men in rural areas retire at an older age
than do urban men. All this adds up to a longer
working life among men residing in rural areas,
especially those on farms. Under 1940 condi­
tions, the average work-life expectancy of the
rural worker at age 20 was almost 3 years greater
than of the urban worker.
. Nonwhite youth also typically begin working
at an earlier age than do whites. At age 14, al­
most 15 percent of the nonwhite males were al­
ready in the labor force in 1940, as compared with
5 percent for whites. However, nonwhites leave
the labor force at much younger ages. Under
1940 conditions, the median age at separation
from the labor force was a little under 58 years
for nonwhites according to the Tables—almost 6
years below that of white men. This was largely
due to the much higher mortality of nonwhites
during working age. At age 30, for example, the
death rate among nonwhite men was about three
times as high as among whites.


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195

Changes in Working-Life Patterns

The length and pattern of working life is con­
stantly changing. Trends in mortality and long­
term social and economic factors are well recog­
nized forces in these changes. At the same time,
experience has shown that marked changes also
occur in a period of transition from peace to war
or when employment levels are particularly high,
as m the postwar period.
Some striking shifts are shown by an abridged
Table of Working Life for men covering 1947,
which permits comparisons with 1940 patterns.
The pronounced increase in the labor-force po­
tential of the male population between these two
dates will be discussed in a future article in this
series. However, a significant fact is that both
the total longevity and the work-life span of the
American male worker increased materially be­
tween 1940 and 1947. In 1947, a 20-year-old
worker could expect to live another 48 years—a
gain of 1.2 years over 1940. He could even look
forward to an additional 42.8 years of working
life—a gain of 1.5 years over 1940.
Further Development of Tables

Tables of Working Life are now available for
men only. However, the Bureau of Labor Sta­
tistics is developing similar tables for women
workers. Construction of work-life tables for
women is, of course, complicated by the fact that
a woman’s working life is affected by changes in
her marital status and the presence of children in
the household. Upon completion of the tables for
women, however, there will be available a statis­
tical and analytical tool for studying the many
problems involved in the changing length and
pattern of working life of American workers, both
men and women.
— S eymour L. W o lfbein
Chief, Division of Manpower and Productivity, BLS
1 A detailed description of these Tables and an analysis of the pattern of
working life derived from them is presented in Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bulletin No. 1001, Tables of Working Life: Length of Working Life for Men.
a It should be noted that these figures are averages. Some 20-year-olds die
before attaining age 21; others survive into advanced age. Similarly, one
20-year-old may be separated from the labor force because of disability before
attaining age 21; another will reach the conventional retirement age. For
those who do survive to retirement, the number of years spent outside the
labor force is much higher than the average.

Employment Trends
During the
Past Two Decades
one of the most sensitive business
barometers, fluctuated violently during 1929-49.
It is doubtful that the severity of the decline—
approximately 9,000,000 or 20 percent—between
1929 and 1933 had ever before been equaled.
Moreover, employment of 38,800,000 in 1933 was
several millions lower than at the close of World
War I, despite the substantial growth in population
and labor force in the interim. It was not until
1940, when the economy was partially bolstered by
military needs, that employment regained the 1929
level of 47,600,000.
Contrasted with the severe depression of the
1930’s, the succeeding 10-year interval was one of
unparalleled expansion. Between 1940 and 1949
civilian employment increased by 11,000,000
workers.
The magnitude and rapidity of the movements
as well as the contrast in total change during the
20-year period attest to the resiliency of the
American economy. Employment at one time in
the second half of the period approximated
62,000,000, a goal considered impractical only a
few years earlier. The entire period of the 1940’s
was probably the longest sustained approach to full
employment since the turn of the century.
In comparison with preceding decades, the
growth is even more impressive. Between both
1920 and 1930, and 1930 and 1940, the employ­
ment increase totaled only about 2,000,000. In
the 1940’s, as well as in previous intervals, the net
upward movement was primarily in commercial
and industrial employment. Agricultural em­
ployment, a relatively small fraction, either held
steady or actually declined.
Unemployment, which had been a major problem
in the 1930’s, then declined to frictional levels
E mployment ,

196

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during World War II. One in every four persons
was unemployed in the depth of the depression,
and the total number never dropped below
million until 1941. From 1942 through 1949,
however, on an annual basis, the number of jobless
barely exceeded 1 in 20, and was considerably
lower during most of the time.
Upward employment trends in early 1950 appear
to indicate that the previous 20 years do not
constitute a complete economic cycle. The brief
recession in the first half of 1949 never gathered
enough momentum to constitute an extended
downturn. Instead, the previous uptrend in
employment was resumed and a substantial portion
of the employment loss was regained. In the
light of the Korean situation, the employment
trend is most likely to move consistently upward.
Trends in the working population and in the
number of unemployed between 1929 and 1949
illustrate the dynamic nature of the labor force.
Many persons can be attracted into the labor
market when job openings expand, and many are
likely to drop out when conditions become less
favorable. During the war, for example, patriotic
motives, economic necessity, ready job opportu­
nities, and natural growth brought 10,000,000
civilian workers into the labor force. After VJday, the incentives of continued employment at
high wages and favorable working conditions in­
duced a large number of war workers to continue
in gainful employment, but other millions of
emergency workers withdrew. Every year a net
addition takes place of hundreds of thousands of
new workers for whom job opportunities should
ideally become available. Thus, the production
and employment goals of the Nation must be
continually raised to accommodate this natural
growth.
The national economy has expanded employ­
ment opportunities to unprecedented levels and at
the same time raised total and per capita output,
earnings, and real wages, and lowered working
time. For example, in 1932-33, when employment
was at its lowest ebb, goods and services produced
declined to a low of approximately $56 billion or
half of the 1929 level. By 1949, with employment
at 58.7 million, gross national product had risen
to $257 billion. These figures indicate an annual
average of $4,400 of goods and services for every
employed person in the labor force in 1949, com­
pared with $1,500 in 1933. Part of this expansion

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS DURING 1929-49

includes a substantial increase in prices, but much
of it is reflected in a marked improvement in the
standard of living. Moreover, the great majority
of workers in the labor force today are sharing the
achievement.
Postwar Period

Employment trends in the postwar period are
important in themselves and also because the
unsatisfied demands of that period are still
influencing current needs. The paramount question after the cessation of hostilities was the ability
of the Nation’s economy to bridge the transition
between war and peace and to provide full em­
ployment and adequate living standards for
millions of additional job seekers. Experience
proved the economy’s ability to absorb virtually
all the returning veterans, most of the war workers
who decided to stay on the job, as well as the
cumulative annual increment of millions of new
workers entering the labor force for the first time.
Reconversion. The sharp dip in employment
anticipated by many economists during reconver­
sion failed to materialize. Nonfarm employment
totaled 40.7 million on VE-day, but 4 months later
(immediately after VJ-day) it dropped to 38.4
million, a decline of 2.3 million or 6 percent.
However, unemployment increased by only 1.1
million in the same period, revealing the retire­
ment of many war workers from the labor market.1
At no time did unemployment reach serious
proportions in the reconversion period. Among
the factors responsible for the smooth transition
and the rapid expansion in the number of jobs
were the following. Many plants were allowed to
reconvert in the 4-month interval between VE-day
and VJ-day, forming a powerful nucleus for imme­
diate postwar expansion. Also, many industries
produced the same products or performed identical
services in peace as in war—for example, steel
mills, tire factories, and railroads. Competitive
pressures and the desire to capture postwar mar­
kets provided the incentive to other plants to
convert as quickly as possible. Another favorable
factor was that in industries most seriously affected
by cancellation of contracts many employees were
women who took their lay-off notices as the occa­
sion to retire from the labor market.
895483— 50--------2


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197

Reconversion affected manufacturing industries
more than others. Although employment had
begun to taper off as early as 1944, the decline was
accelerated after hostilities in Europe had ended.
In 6 months, over 3.2 million were temporarily
displaced, chiefly in aircraft, shipbuilding, explo­
sives, and bag and shell loading facilities. Other
metalworking ordnance plants were able to con­
vert quickly to peacetime production.
Government employment had declined by a half
million to 5.5 million by mid-1946. The continued
high employment level was due to caretaking func­
tions of the huge wartime military establishment,
and expansion of postwar regulatory agencies and
State and municipal governments.
All other industries with the exception of mining
increased their employment in varying degrees
immediately after the war.
Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments

1919

1929

1939

1949

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Postwar Boom. Pent-up demand for goods and
services culminated in record employment in 1948
of 44.2 million nonfarm workers—some 4.1
million more workers than in 1945 and 2.2 million
more than at the crest of the war effort.
Employment in transportation and public
utilities, trade, finance, and service reached alltime highs. Construction employment equaled the
previous record. However, manufacturing de­
clined by almost 4.0 million at one point in the

198

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS DURING 1929-49

1945-48 interval and then regained most of the
loss. Government employment dropped by 6
percent from its inordinately high wartime level.
Industry gains were impressive. The greatest
relative increase was for construction, in which
employment almost doubled. Other increases
ranged from 23 percent each in trade, finance, and
service to 19 percent in mining and 7 percent in
transportation and public utilities in this period.
Many industries made successive adjustments
to a rapidly increasing volume of goods and
services. At one time or another during 1947,
in the midst of generally high economic levels of
activity, various industry segments sharply re­
duced production and employment because of
market gluts.
Among the first industries affected by declining
demand were those dealing in luxury items, such as
entertainment, furs, jewelry, and liquor. In
several consumer goods industries, prewar season­
al patterns in production and employment also
reappeared. Textiles, apparel, shoes, radios,
furniture, and rubber tires were among the in­
dustries in this category. Necessary readjust­
ments were made piecemeal and never attained
serious proportions in the economy as a whole.
They undoubtedly discouraged speculative excesses
which might have characterized 1948.
Recent Developments. Beginning in late 1948 and
extending through the first half of 1949, the
employment trend was sharply reversed. From
an all-time high of 45.3 million in December 1948,
nonfarm employment had fallen to 42.6 million
by July 1949, the lowest point in 2% years.
The first half of 1949 was a period of adjustment
characterized by inventory liquidation in whole­
sale and retail trade. In less than a year, as
manufacturers’ backlogs of goods accumulated,
factory employment dropped by 1.9 million to
13.8 million. This development was dominant in
the over-all trend. The decline in manufacturing
comprised four-fifths of the total reduction in nonagricultural employment over the period. Most
of the decline occurred in the hard-goods in­
dustries although nondurable goods also had a
substantial drop.
In general, the 1949 downward adjustment had
ended by mid-year. Nonfarm employment then
started upward and reached 43.5 million in
September. Virtually all manufacturing indus­

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MONTHLY LABOR

tries showed a rise; it was most conspicuous in
textiles, apparel, and electrical machinery.
The last quarter of the year was one of con­
siderable labor-management strife, particularly in
the coal and steel industries. Despite the return
to their jobs of some half million strikers by midNovember, an estimated 400,000 workers were
still unemployed due to the primary and second­
ary effects of the work stoppages. All the gains
achieved after July were largely dissipated and
employment once again approximated the year’s
low. Although December employment reached
43.7 million, the year’s high, total nonfarm em­
ployment, nevertheless, was 1.6 million lower
than in December 1948.
Nonmanufacturing industries contributed very
heavily to the relatively favorable year-end
record for nonfarm employment as a whole. Con­
struction showed considerable late-season strength
and was a major factor in maintaining economic
activity at its high level. Trade also maintained
an unusually good pace, supported by a near
record-breaking national income. Government
employment in 1949 was about 200,000 higher
than in 1948.
Developments in the first 6 months of 1950
reflected a continuation of the underlying strength
which had first appeared in mid-1949. Beginning
with February 1950, an uninterrupted climb in
nonfarm employment added 2.2 million workers
to the Nation’s payrolls. In part, this upturn
was obscured by major coal and automobile in­
dustry strikes, but the upward movement was
unmistakable. The June employment figure of
43.9 million was more than a million over that in
June 1949. June was also the second month in
1950 in which employment was higher than in
the corresponding month of the previous year.
Construction and manufacturing increased em­
ployment by 478,000 and 665,000, respectively,
between January and June 1950. The recordbreaking pace in residential construction was
creating enormous secondary demand in furniture,
household appliance, television, building material,
and many other related industries. In fact, al­
most the entire gain in manufacturing was attrib­
uted to the spurt in the durable-goods industries
which had expanded steadily following the steel
strike settlement in November 1949. Employ­
ment in the nondurable-goods industries had de­
clined after the start of the year, but the June

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS DURING 1929-1,9

1950 level was still 192,000 above that of a year
earlier.
Unusually significant was the accompanying
sharp increase in the length of the workweek in
manufacturing establishments. Between June
1949 and June 1950, the average number of hours
worked per week in the hard-goods industries
rose by more than 2 hours, and in soft-goods indus­
tries by nearly 1 hour. The lengthened working
time indicates that much of the increased produc­
tion was achieved by means of overtime rather
than by hiring additional workers. If the work­
week in June 1950 had been the same as in June
1949, the employment of approximately 400,000
additional workers in manufacturing alone would
have been necessary to sustain the existing rate
of production.

that affect a single group are likely to disturb the
local balance unduly.
Chief among the industrial maladjustments are
those resulting from technological change, mineral
exhaustion, change in consumer habits and pref­
erences, and inefficient plant and equipment. As
such, the plight of industries so affected must be
differentiated from that in other industries, such
as shipbuilding and ordnance, in which expansion
and contraction are geared to war- and peace­
time needs.
T able

1.—Employees in nonagr{cultural establishments, by

industry division, 1919-1,9 1
[In thousands]

Year

Industry Trends

The two decades—the 1930’s and 1940’s—were
periods of extraordinary short-term changes, dur­
ing which the population of working age was
called upon to make a series of economic shifts
and adjustments of unequaled magnitude and
rapidity.
In addition, certain long-term trends were at
work which basically affect the industrial struc­
ture of the country. Government employment,
which made the largest gains over the 20-year
period, is unlikely to decline, in view of the
present trend. The service industries should
continue to make rapid strides. While the long­
term downtrend for the mining industries will
probably continue, the international situation
may cause a temporary trend reversal. Recent
activity in construction employment has again
confirmed the fact that this industry is extremely
sensitive to the economic cycle (tables 1 and 2).
Upward movements in industrial employment,
particularly in the last 10 years, obscure the
decline in numerous segments of the broad divi­
sions. Some of these industries or portions of
them are chronically depressed and the problems
created by their decline are frequently out of
proportion to their size. Industries like textiles,
bituminous coal, and metal mining are concen­
trated in a few regions of the country and others
like cigar and hat manufacturing in a small num­
ber of areas. Therefore, employment declines


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199

1919_______
1920_______
1921_______
1922_______
1923_______
1924_______

Con­ Man- Trans­
porta­
Gov­
tract
tion Trade2 Fi­ Serv­ ern­
M
in­
Total ing con­ ufacnance ice 2 ment
and
turstruc­ ing public
tion
utilities
26,829
27,088
24,125
25,569
28,128
27,770

1,124
1, 230
953
920
1,203
1,092

1925_______ 28,505 1,080
1926_______ 29,539 1,176
1927_______ 29,691 1,105
1928_______ 29, 710 1,041
1929_______ 31,041 1,078
1930_______ 29,143 1, 000

1,021 10,534
848 10, 534
1, 012 8,132
1,185 8, 986
1, 229 10,155
1,321 9,523

3,711
a , 998
3,459
3,505
3,882
3,806

4,664
4, 623
4, 754
5,084
5,494
5,626

1, 050
1,110
1,097
1,079
1,123
1,163

2,054
2,142
2,187
2,268
2,431
2,516

2,671
2,603
2,531
2,542
2,611
2,723

9,786
9,997
9,839
9,786
10, 534
9,401

3,824
3,940
3,891
3, 822
3,907
3,675

5,810
6,033
6,165
6,137
6,401
6,064

1,166
1, 235
1, 295
1,360
1,431
1,398

2,591
2,755
2,871
2,962
3,127
3,084

2,802
2,848
2,917
2,996
3,066
3,149

1,446
1, 555
1,608
1,606
1, 497
1,372

1931_______
1932_______
1933_______
1934_______
1935_______
1936_______

26,383
23,377
23,466
25. 699
26,792
28,802

864 1, 214 8,021
970 6,797
722
735
809 7, 258
874
862 8,346
912 8,907
888
937 1,145 9, 653

3,243
2,804
2,659
2, 736
2,771
2,956

5,531
4,907
4, 999
5,552
5,692
6,076

1,333
1, 270
1, 225
1, 247
1,262
1,313

2,913
2,682
2,614
2,784
2,883
3,060

3,264
3,225
3,167
3,298
3, 477
3,662

1937______
1938______
1939______
1940_______
1941_______
1942_______

30, 718 1, 006 1,112 10, 606
28,902
882 1,055 9,253
845 1, 150 10, 078
30,287
32,031
916 1, 294 10, 780
36,164
947 1,790 12, 974
983 2,170 15, 051
39, 697

3,114
2,840
2,912
3, 013
3,248
3,433

6,543
6,453
6,705
7,055
7,567
7,481

1,355
1,347
1,382
1,419
1,462
1, 440

3,233
3,196
3, 228
3,362
3, 554
3,708

3,749
3,876
3,987
4,192
4,622
5,431

17,381
17, 111
15, 302
14,461
15, 247
15,286
14,146

3, 619
3, 798
3,872
4,023
4,122
4, 151
3, 977

7,322
7,399
7,685
8,815
9,196
9,491
9,438

1, 401
1,374
1,394
1, 586
1, 641
1, 716
1,763

3,786
3,795
3,891
4,408
4,786
4, 799
4,781

6,049
6,026
5,967
5,607
5,454
5,613
5,813

1943_______ 42,042
1944______ 41, 480
1945_______ 40, 069
1946_______ 41,412
1947_______ 43,371
1948_______ 44, 201
1949_______ 43,006

917
883
826
852
943
981
932

1,567
1,094
1,132
1, 661
1,982
2,165
2,156

1 Annual averages only are available for the years 1919-38. M onthly data
beginning with January 1939 may be obtained upon request.
2 Data for the trade and service divisions, beginning with January 1947, are
not comparable with data shown for earlier years because of the shift of the
automotive repair service industry from the trade to the service division.
In January 1947, this industry amounted to approximately 230,000 employees.

Construction. The construction boom of the early
1920’s began to ebb a year in advance of the
general downtrend in nonagricultural employment.
The collapse of numerous speculative ventures,
overfinancing, and the general decline in con­
sumer income caused a precipitous drop of a fifth
in employment between 1931 and 1932 and

200

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS DURING 1929-49

another of the same relative magnitude by 1933.
Thereafter the rise was slow, and by 1940 con­
struction employment was still substantially below
the previous high recorded in 1927.
The extensive building program required to
provide additional plant capacity, military instal­
lations, and homes for war workers furnished the
impetus to a sharp rise in construction employ­
ment which reached a peak in 1942—nearly twice
the 1939 level. Government restrictions were then
imposed on building activities for the remaining
war period, because manpower and materials were
more urgently needed for direct war production.
Employment consequently declined and through
1944 and 1945 remained relatively low. In 1948,
an acute housing shortage and an active period of
industrial expansion again raised employment to
almost the 1942 peak. Despite somewhat heavier
expenditures in 1949, greater productivity kept
construction employment slightly below the 1948
level.

returned to the mines. Intense industrial demand
further buoyed employment in the postwar
period, again bringing the total number of
workers in 1948 almost to the million mark.
Government. By far the most phenomenal and
consistent gains were reported in governmental
activities. The depression of the 1930’s had caused
Government employment to expand. Enormous
public works programs were undertaken and the
Government administrative machinery itself ex­
panded to oversee and enforce the many new social
and economic reforms. After a steady increase,
employment in 1939 was a third higher than in
1929.
Expanding Government activity, particularly in
arsenals and navy yards, in construction, and in
transportation and public-utility fields resulted in
further large employment increases until 1943.
Steady declines then followed owing to liquidation
of defense establishments which substantially re­
duced the number on Government payrolls.
However, starting in 1947, State and local govern­
ments began to take up the slack as thousands of
school employees were added to public [payrolls.

Mining. The only industry division in which
employment actually dropped between 1929 and
1949 is mining. Employment in this industry
never regained its pre-1929 level even under the
unparalleled demands of wartime. Moreover, the
decline is spread through most segments of the
industry. Depletion and technological advances
in methods are the chief long-term factors in
declining employment.
At the wartime crest in 1942, such employment
approached a million, but the mines were unable
to attract and to hold an adequate labor supply
because of relatively low wage rates, unpleasant
working conditions, and general inaccessibility.
Employment decreased through 1944 and 1945,
although the need for miners remained critical.
The situation was eased somewhat in the next
2 years as veterans and displaced war workers
T a ble 2. — Employment,

MONTHLY LABOR

Manufacturing. Employment in manufacturing
industries has proved to be one of the most volatile
in the nonagricultural group (table 2). The rela­
tive decline between 1929 and 1932 was equal to
that in construction and numerically greater than
in any other division. Similarly, in the recovery
between the depth of the depression and 1939, and
between 1939 and the peak of the war effort,
manufacturing employment rose more quickly
than in other industries, except construction in
the early war years. At its peak, in 1943, manufac­
turing employed 17,400,000 workers, about two
and a half times as many as in 1932. Thereafter,
employment declined steadily to the then postwar

by industry division, selected’1y ears, 1929-49
Indexes

Percentage distribution

Industry division
1929

1932

1939

1943

1947

1949

1929

1932

1939

1943

1947

1949

Nonagricultural total_________

100

75

98

135

140

139

100

100

100

100

100

100

Manufacturing_____________
M ining____
Contract construction___
_____
Transportation and public utilities_______
Trade____ ________
Finance and service_______
Government__________

100
100
100
100
100
100
100

65
67
65
72
77
87
105

96
78
77
75
105
101
130

165
85
105
93
114
114
197

145
87
132
106
144
141
178

134
86
144
102
147
144
190

33.9
3.5
4.8
12.6
20.6
14.7
9.9

29.1
3.1
4.1
12.0
21.0
16.9
13.8

33.3
2.8
3.8
9.6
22.1
15.2
13.2

41.4
2.2
3.7
8.6
17.4
12.3
14.4

35.1
2.2
4. 6
9.5
21.2
14.8
12.6

32.9
2. 2
5.0
9.2
22.0
15.2
13.5


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS DURING 1929-49

low in early 1946. With reconversion completed,
manufacturing production and employment began
a general rise which continued until the last
quarter of 1948.
In many industries, production after the war
was geared to a market in which there were
accumulated shortages as well as continuing,
normal demand. In the last half of 1948, with
more normal supply-demand relationships, pro­
duction adjustments were required in some indus­
tries, especially those producing nondurable goods.
Thus, employment at 14.1 million in 1949 was
1.1 million under the previous year.
Trade. Next to manufacturing, wholesale and
retail trade provide the greatest number of job
opportunities. Approximately 9,400,000 were
employed in these activities in 1949, half again
as many as were employed 20 years earlier.
Although employment in trade generally responds
to the level of economic activity, employment in
this group of industries fluctuated less than in
some others.
Rising business activity during the years im­
mediately preceding the war was reflected in
increasing employment in trade establishments
through 1941. As the labor supply dwindled and
workers shifted into more critical activities, trade
employment dropped to a wartime low of 7,300,000
in 1943, which was still well above the 1939 level.
Through the use of older workers and school youth
(many of them on a part-time basis), these indus­
tries increased their employment somewhat during


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

201

the remaining war years. The record volume of
postwar expenditures resulted in 2,800,000 more
jobs in 1948 than in 1939.
Transportation and Public Utilities. Employment
in transportation, particularly on steam railroads,
dropped considerably in the 1930’s and by 1939
was still 1,000,000 lower than in 1929. However,
the war increased employment in order to handle
the heavier traffic carried by steam railroads.
With the cessation of hostilities, this type of trans­
portation employment again declined but the
slack was more than taken up by the telephone
and public-utility industries. Employment since
1946 has been about 4,000,000, slightly above the
peak levels of the 1920’s.
Finance and Service. Employment in finance
showed the least variation of all the industry divi­
sions between 1929 and 1949. Current employ­
ment averages 1,800,000, only 23 percent above the
pre-depression level.
Service, in contrast, increased nearly 50 percent
in the same period. This gain was closely com­
parable with the relative advances reported by
other nonagricultural divisions.
— N orman M ed v in
Division of Employment Statistics, BLS
1 According to the Bureau of the Census, unemployed persons'are those
who at a given time are not at work and who are looking for work. Also
included as unemployed are persons who would have been looking for work
except that (a) they were temporarily ill, (b) they expected to return to a job
from which they had been laid off for an indefinite period, or (c) they believed
no work was available in their line of work or in the community.

Summaries of Studies and Reports

Employment Attributable to
U. S. Exports, 1949
1.7 million persons in 1949 were directly
and indirectly employed in nonagricultural indus­
tries in the production of goods and services
destined for foreign markets, according to findings
of the U. S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics. This total includes the employment
opportunities furnished to workers in industries
selling products directly to foreign countries or to
other industries producing, transporting, and dis­
tributing raw materials, components, and services
purchased for incorporation in exported goods.
Nonagricultural job opportunities provided by
exports declined by more than 600,000 between
the first half of 1947 and the year 1949, reflecting
a drop of more than a quarter in the exports of
nonagricultural products. Individual industries
were unevenly affected, depending on changes in
the export pattern and on differential movements
in productivity and working hours.
Relative declines were greatest in the transporta­
tion equipment, lumber and furniture, and textile,
apparel, and leather groups. The largest absolute
reduction occurred in the metals and metal­
working industries. For this segment (the first
four groups in the accompanying table), employ­
ment opportunities dropped 230,000. Next in
absolute importance was the decline of 125,000
job opportunities for the textile, leather, and
apparel group.
The estimates cited properly refer to job op­
portunities rather than to employment levels.
For example, a decline in export demand which
would tend to reduce job opportunities might be
offset completely by increases in domestic demand
N early

202


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

for the same industry’s products. Nevertheless,
for many industries export demand is important
in determining production and employment levels.
Nonagricultural employment attributable directly and in­
directly to exports from Continental United States, JanuaryJune 1947 and annual 1949

Index
of 1949
volume
of ex­
ports 2
(Jan.June
1947=
100)

Industry group 1

All industry groups _ ________

Employees in nonagri­
cultural establishments
dependent upon
exports 3

Jan.June
1947

Index
Annual in
1949
1949
(Jan.June
1947=
100)
In thousands

_____

71

2,360

1,695

72

Primary metal industries 4_. . . . . . . . . .
Fabricated metal products.
__
Machinery (including electrical) . . .
Transportation equipment
Stone, clay, and glass products 5 ___ _.
Fuel and power A _ .
Chemicals.
.
..................... . . . ___ _
Lumber and furniture __ ____ _
Wood, pulp, paper, printing and publishing _ _ __
______ ___ ________
Textiles, apparel, and leather.. .
All other manufacturing 7. . . . . . . .
Transportation 8
______ _ . ______
Trade and services 9 __ ___________

68
86
84
52
69
57
113
56

220
85
350
195
45
150
85
75

155
70
290
95
35
125
85
40

71
79
82
49
72
85
98
51

67
53
66

65
260
160
265
405

40
135
100
225
305

60
52
61
85
76

1 With minor exceptions, the industry classifications shown correspond
with those used by the Division of Employment Statistics, Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
2 Annual rate indexes based on data furnished by Foreign Trade Division,
Bureau of the Census, and deflated by Bureau of Labor Statistics to 1939
dollar values. Shipments from continental United States to noncontiguous
territories (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, M idway, and the Virgin
Islands) are classified as exports.
The total given for exports excludes agricultural products. Agricultural
exports increased 60 percent during the period considered, and the index for
total exports including agricultural products would be 77.
s Employment rounded to nearest 5 thousand; index based upon unrounded
figures. Totals may not add due to rounding.
* Includes metal mining.
5 Includes nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying.
« includes coal mining; crude-petroleum production and refining; coke and
manufactured solid fuel; natural and manufactured gas production and
distribution; and electric power.
7 Includes food processing and kindred products; rubber; and the miscel­
laneous manufacturing industries.
»Includes steam railroads; water transportation; local and interurban
transportation; and the miscellaneous transportation industries.
9 Includes wholesale and retail trade; communication; and business and
personal services.

INJURY RATES IN MANUFACTURING

Agriculture was omitted from the estimates
because short-run changes in demand may affect
farm income more immediately than farm employ­
ment. In nonagricultural industries a closer rela­
tionship is likely to exist between job and pro­
duction levels. However, the estimates include
the nonagricultural commodities and services
(hence the employment) required to produce, dis­
tribute, and transport the farm products exported.
Between the first half of 1947 and the year 1949,
exports of agricultural products increased by 60
percent in contrast with the 29-percent decline for
nonagricultural commodities. The decline in total
exports, including farm products, was 23 percent
over this period.
Technical Note

The relationship between exports of goods from
the United States and domestic levels is complex
and difficult to place in a quantitative framework.
The approach used herein is to determine the
changes in domestic production levels which would
occur if all exports were terminated, if all deliveries
to domestic purchasers were unchanged, and if
adjustments were made in production schedules
throughout the economy so that inventories re­
mained unaltered. The derived changes in pro­
duction levels are expressed in terms of job oppor­
tunities by assuming that output per worker would
remain the same. Further readjustments in
domestic production and purchasing patterns or in
imports which might follow changes in exports are
not taken into account.
The mechanism for carrying through the analysis
presented here is provided by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics study of interindustry relations, which
makes it possible to account for the production of
raw materials and intermediate products required
to maintain the exports of finished goods. A more
detailed analysis for 1939 and for the first 6 months
of 1947, including additional methodological notes,
was published in the Monthly Labor Review for
December 1947 (p. 675).
— M a r v in H offenberg
Division of Interindustry Economics, BLS


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

203

Injury Rates in Manufacturing:
First Quarter, 1950
W ork - in ju r y rates in manufacturing industries
increased slightly in the first quarter of 1950, com­
pared with the fourth quarter of 1949, but contin­
ued well below the rates for the first quarter of
1949.
The average injury-frequency rate 1for all estab­
lishments reporting for the first quarter of 1950
was about 2 percent higher than for the fourth
quarter of 1949. A moderate upswing in injury
rates from the lows recorded in the last quarter of
the year to the first quarter of the following year
is not unusual, having been noted in 3 of the
previous 6 years for which comparable data are
available. In spite of this seasonal rise, rates for
the first quarter of 1950 were about 11 percent
under those for the corresponding period of 1949,
indicating a continuing favorable trend in safety
work.
An estimated 80,000 workers in manufacturing
establishments were disabled for 1 or more days
because of work injuries experienced during the
first quarter of 1950. This was an increase of
2,000 over the fourth-quarter estimate, but a de­
crease of 13,000 from the first-quarter estimate,
for 1949. Fatalities in the first quarter of 1950
numbered about 300—a drop of 100 from the 1949
fourth-quarter estimate. Permanent impairments
also showed a decrease during this period, from
4,700 to 4,300. Some of those injuries classified
as temporary disabilities at the time of the report
may later become more serious, requiring a slight
increase in these estimates.
Working time lost during the quarter by these
mjured persons was estimated at about 1,600,000
man-days. At current wage levels, this represents
an estimated value of about $16 million. It is,
however, only a portion of the total cost which
will accrue, since no allowance is made for the
continuing economic losses arising from the many
deaths and permanent impairments, or for hos­
pital, medical, and other costs incidental to treat­
ment of these injuries.

204

INJURY RATES IN MANUFACTURING

MONTHLY LABOR

Industrial injury frequency rates 1 for selected manufacturing industries, first quarter, 1950, with cumulative rates for 1949
First quarter, 1950
Industry

Apparel:
Clothing, men’s and boys’ ________________________________________________________
ninth in g; women's and children’s ____ _ ____________________________ ______ _____
Apparel and accessories, not elsewhere classified ______________________ __________ ____
Trimmirifs and fabricated textile products, not elsewhere classified
. _ _____________
Chemicals:
Compressed and liquefied gases________ _______________________ ___________________
Drugs, toiletries, and insecticides___________________________ ______________________
Explosives
___________________________________________________________________
Fertilizers ____________ __________________________________________________________
Industrial chemicals
- ____________ - _______________________________ __________
Paints, varnishes, and colors- ______ ____________ _____________________________ ____
Plastics materials, except rubber. ________________ __________ - _______________
_____________________________________ ___________ _______ ____
Soap and glycerin
Synthetic rubber
_______- _________________________________________ ________
Synthetic textile fibers_________________________________ ___________ ______________
Chemical products, not elsewhere classified___ _ ________ ______ ____ ______________
Electrical equipment:
Automotive electrical equipment. _________________ ___ ______________________ _____
B atteries__________
__ _____ ___ _________________________________ - ______
flnmmunination and signaling equipment, except radio _ _ _ ___ _________________
Electrical appliances
_____
_ _____ ____________________________________ _______
Electrical equipment for industrial use______________ _____ - ________ ______________
Electric lamps (bulbs) ___________________________________________________________
Insulated wire and cable______ ____________________________ -- ___________________
Radios and phonographs__________________________________________________________
Eleetrieal equipment, not elsewhere classified
_
____
______________
Food:
Baking
__ __ _ ____________________________________________________________
Bottling, soft drinks 4______ . - ________________________________________ ______
Breweries
___________________________________________________________________
Canning and preserving_____ ______________________________________________ - __ _
Confectionery __________________________________________________________________
Dairy products __________________________________________________________________
______
__________________________ - __ ________________________
Distilleries__
Flour, feed, and grain-mill products_________________________________________________
Slaughtering and meat packing_____________________________________________________
Sugar, b e e t5_________________ __________________________________________ _______ Sugar, cane 5______________________________________________________________________
Wineries 4
______ ___ - ___ ___________________________________________________
Food products, not elsewhere classified___________________________________________
Furniture* and lumber products:
Furniture, metal - __________ - _________________________________________________
Furniture, wood___________________________________________________________________
Mattresses and bedsprings_ _ _______________________ ______ _________________________
Office, store, and restaurant fixtures_________________________________________________
Wooden containers_____ . ______________________ ________________________________
Miscellaneous wood products, not elsewhere classified_________________________________
Iron and steel:
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets_____________________________________________________
Cold-finished steel___ ___________________________________________________________
Cutlery and edge tools_._ _________________________________________________________
Fabricated structural steel__________________________________________________________
Forgings, iron and steel. .
___________________________________________________
Foundries, iron____________ __________________________________________________ ___
Foundries, steel____________________________________________ _____________________
Hardware_____ ________ . . _______ _. __________________ ____________________
Heating equipment, not elsewhere classified__________________________________________
Iron and steel.
_________________________________________________________
M etal coating and engraving_________________________ ____________________________
Ornamental metal w ork.__ . _________ ___________________________________________
Plate fabrication and boiler-shop products__________________________________ ____ ____
Plumbers’ supplies__ ___ ____________________________ _ __
_______ _______
Screw-machine products_______________________________ :________ ________
Sheet-metal work________ ___ ___ _________ _______________________________________
Stamped and pressed metal products..___________ ___________________________________
Steam fittings and apparatus___ ________________________________________________
Steel barrels, kegs, drums, and packages_____________________________________________
Steel springs______________________________________________________________________
T in cans and other tinware____________________________________________ ___________
Tools, except edge tools____ ________________________________________________________
Wire and wire products__________ _____ ____________________________________________
Wrought pipes^ welded and heavy-riveted. _
. . ______ _____ ________________ ______
Iron and steel products, not elsewhere classified______________________________________
Leather:
Boots and shoes, not rubber_______________________________________________ _____ ___
Leather_______ . .
. ___________ . ________ _______________________ .
__
Leather products, not elsewhere classified___________ _____ ___________________________

See footnotes at end of table.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Frequency rate for—
Number
of estab­
lishments January February

First
quarter

7.1
3.6
5.4
7.1

6.1
4.9
7.0
11.0

6.6
3.0
(2)
10.0

8.2
4.7
(2)
4.8

6.5
3.3
(2)
6.3

72
36
73
210
77
27
38
14
17
62

(3)
8.1
2.5
(2)
7.6
8.0
6.3
4.1
(2)
1.4
9.3

(3)

7.9
5.9
(2)
8.6
6.1
5.4
6.3
(2)
1.7
6.9

(3)
10.6
2.3
(2)
7.3
9.9
5.6
4.3
(2)
1.6
10.6

29
25
24
33
258
19
29
103
17

4.0
15.5
4.9
10.1
5.9
4.8
12.7
4.6
(2)

7.1
16.5
4.3
6.0
5.8
2.6
10.6
4.4
(2)

7.2
14.6
3.1
13.0
5.9
4.0
10.6
6.0
(2)

6.0
15.5
4.1
9.9
5.9
3.8
11.3
5.0
7.4

13.4
17.8
4.2
10.2
6.0
3.3
10.4
4.3
6.7

81
92
35
79
32
132
53
125
322
12
10
7
71

10.8
21.0
25.0
9.9
9.7
18.0
6.7
10.8
15.6
(2)
13.4
(2)
10.0

11.1
13.8
26.1
8.1
11.7
14.7
6.4
11.1
13.0
(2)
17.3
(2)
11.0

11.7
23.9
22.1
9.2
9.8
23.6
3.6
10.3
14.4
(2)
26.7
(2)
9.7

11.2
4 19.8
24.3
9.1
10.4
18.9
5.5
10.7
14.5
(2) (*)
5 19. 4
(2) (4)
10.3

12.8
(4)
25.4
13.9
10.2
20.4
7.5
11.5
16.2
({)
(*)
(4)
11.3

32
115
104
51
195
134

20.3
19.4
14.9
(2)
27.7
18.5

23.2
19.8
17.5
(2)
29.8
21.0

22.8
19.1
8.9
(2)
32.9
20.7

22.1
19.4
13.6
17.9
30.2
20.1

16.2
21.6
16.7
19.5
34.4
22.9

49
34
28
202
116
345
108
54
80
150
65
46
117
48
96
78
219
45
18
14
15
56
145
18
25

10.7
16.9
10.7
15.7
13.8
27.9
16.8
10.0
16.9
5.2
28.6
6.5
19.8
13.8
14.6
9.6
11.3
8.7
(2)
10.1
9.9
15.9
16.7
10.3
(2)

15.4
18.7
19.0
17.1
15.2
27.7
16.2
10.9
17.4
5.5
16.3
16.2
17.8
15.4
17.1
10.7
14.2
9.8
(2)
10.8
13.0
12.8
16.6
18.0
(2)

13.9
19.6
14.3
19.6
15.1
25.5
17.6
10.0
18.9
5.3
21.6
16.2
15.8
14.0
14.3
22.8
11.6
11.5
(2)
13.1
12.4
12.1
16.2
16.1
(2)

13.3
18.5
14.7
17.5
14.7
26.9
17.0
10.3
17.8
5.3
22.3
12.9
17.7
14.4
15.3
14.7
12.3
10.1
(2)
11.4
11.8
13.6
16.5
14.7
(2)

14.5
16.1
11.6
18.1
15.5
28.6
22.4
12.5
19.6
6.1
20.3
21.0
21.2
14.8
13.9
20.2
14.9
14.8
10.2
14.0
11.9
15.1
16.5
17.1
15.6

259
40
37

8.6
13.0
(2)

7.2
12.7
(2)

8.3
12.9
(2)

8.0
12.9
(2)

8.7
19.1
4.9

346
296
43
92
(3)

March

1949:
Annual
frequency
rate
(prelim­
inary)

(3)

8.9
3.5
23.4
7.8
8.1
5.8
4.9
2.5
1.6
9.0

(3)

9.7
1.6
24.4
7.6
7.2
4.2
5.8
2.3
2.8
9.4

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

INJURY RATES IN MANUFACTURING

205

Industrial injury frequency rates 1for selected manufacturing industries, first quarter, 1950, with cumulative rates for 194-9— Con.
First quarter, 1950
Frequency rate for—

Industry

Number
of estab­
lishments January February

Lumber:
Logging __
- __ ________________________
______
_ _ ________________
Millwork, structural_______ ____________________________ . . . __ ___ ___________
Planing m ills__ _ ____ _____ ____________________________________________________
Plywood m ills.. . . . . . . . . ___ ________________________________________________
____ ________________________ ____________________ _____ _
Sawmills___ _____ ...
Saw and planing mills, integrated..
..........
. . . .
________________________
Veneer m il ls _________________________________________ ____ _______________________
Machinery, except electric:
Agricultural machinery and tractors_____
_
_
__ _______ _____________
Bearings, ball and roller
___
__________________________________________________
Commercial and household m a ch in ery _______ _________________________________ ____
Construction and mining machinery________________________________________________
Elevators, escalators, and conveyors___ ___ _______ _ _______________________________
Engines and turbines________________________________ __________ ___ _____ _________
_________ ______ _______________ _________ _______
Food-products machinery.. .
General industrial machinery and equipment, not elsewhere classified__________________
General machine shops (jobbing and repair)
. ___________ ________________________
Mechanical measuring and controlling instruments__ __
__________________
Mechanical power-transmission equipment, except ball and roller bearings____
__. .
Metalworking machinery____________ _______ ______________________ _____________
Pumps and compressors ____. ______________
__________ ____ _______________ ___
Special-industry machinery, not elsewhere classified__________
. . _________ _______
Textile machinery_______ _ ___________________ __
__________________________
Nonferrous metals:
Aluminum and magnesium products________________ . . . . _________________________
Foundries, nonferrous ____________________________
___
_______ _____ _________
Nonferrous basic shapes and forms____________________________ . __________________
Watches, clocks, jewelry, and silverware . .
. _______ ________________ _ __
Nonferrous metal products, not elsewhere classified__
___ . __________________ .
Ordnance:
Ordnance and accessories ___________________________________________ _________ ___
Paper:
Paper boxes and containers___________ __________ . . _ .
__ ____ ________________
..
___ _
___________________________________ ____ _____
Paper and pulp__
Paper products, not elsewhere classified___________ . _______ _____________________
Printing and publishing:
Book and job printing________________________________ ___ . ______ ___________
Bookbinding .
____________________ ________ _____________________ ___ _ News and periodical_________________________________________ . .
...
..
____
Rubber:
Rubber boots and shoes .. ______________
_______ ______ _____ ___ _______ . .
Rubber tires and tubes
..
__ ______
_________________ ____
Rubber products, not elsewhere classified____________________ ____________ _______
Stone, clay, and glass:
Olay products, structural___ ____
______________________________________________
Concrete, gypsum, and plaster products___ _________________ _____ ___________________
Glass__ _
. ___ _ _______ __________________ _________ __________ ________
Pottery and related products________________ _____
______________________________
Stone, clay, and glass products, not elsewhere classified____ ___________________________
Textiles:
Cotton yarn and textiles
..
________ _______ __________
Dyeing and finishing textiles____________________________ . . ______________________
K nit goods_____
______________________________________________________________
Rayon, other synthetic, and silk textiles. ______ . _ _ ____ __________ ________
Woolen and worsted textiles..
.
_ _ _
_____ . _________________ ______
Miscellaneous textile goods, not elsewhere classified
.
_ _______ . ................. .
Transportation equipment:
Aircraft___
_ _ ________________ _______ ___________________ ___________________
_______________________________ __________________________
Aircraft parts_______
Boatbuilding and repairing . . . . . . _____________________________________________
Motor vehicles _______ ___ _
_______ _______ ____ ______________________________
Motor-vehicle p a r ts ___________ _________________________________________ _______
Railroad equipment _ ___ ___
. . . ____________________________ _______
____
Shipbuilding and repairing... _____ __ _ _________ . ___________________________
Miscellaneous manufacturing:
Fabricated plastics products___________________________ ____________________________
Optical and ophthalmic goods
___________________________________________________
Photographic apparatus and materials______________________________ ____ ___________
Professional and scientific instruments and supplies. _________ ___ ___ ________________
Miscellaneous manufacturing, not elsewhere classified . _________ . . ________________
1 The average number of disabling work injuries for each million employeehours worked.
J Insufficient data.
* Sample being revised; data not available.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

March

First
quarter

1949:
Annual
frequency
rate
(prelim­
inary)

95
211
59
55
90
90
34

0
21.7
0
35.6
65.1
44.5
0

0
22.8
0
33.9
66.4
45.8
0

0
20.6
0
36.6
60.0
32.3
0

87.8
21.6
35.1
35.4
63.7
40.5
0

85.8
23.1
34.2
30.8
56.1
44.7
33.2

91
33
133
117
28
47
59
189
121
56
72
437
82
139
26

13.8
13.3
7.8
15.8
7.5
10.2
16.1
11.6
12.2
7.9
11.2
10.2
12.2
12.0
12.3

14.2
10.7
8.8
17.3
8.8
11.2
16.1
12.8
20.2
7.1
10.8
8.6
12.6
16.3
10.5

13.2
12.6
9.1
14.3
7.1
10.0
15.5
11.9
11.9
6.9
13.9
11.3
15.0
15.5
9.1

13.7
12.2
8.6
15.7
7.8
10.4
15.9
12.1
14.7
7.3
12.1
10.1
13.3
14.6
10.6

15.3
11.7
7.4
16.5
15.0
10.2
13.8
14.0
20.2
9.1
17.8
11.4
14.9
17.3
10.5

24
238
31
41
91

18.6
18.6
13.4
6.7
14.1

19.7
19.9
12.7
5.1
15.5

13.0
21.0
13.9
5.6
12.4

16.9
19.9
13.4
5.8
13.9

16.1
21.5
11.7
6.7
13.5

12

4.4

5.5

4.0

4.6

5.3

285
363
49

14.6
15.3
11.8

13.9
15.8
14.9

17.0
15.0
8.4

15.3
15.3
11.6

15.2
16.0
12.2

8.1
7.4

9.2
15.6
10.5

186
30
62

6.6
0

8.1

8.6
0

6.5

9.0
0

7.4

0

13
31
88

4.8
6.3
13.9

4.8
5.3
14.1

4.8
4.2
14.9

4.8
5.3
14.3

4.8
5.5
13.8

155
157
80
30
56

29.5
0
8.2
13.4
11.8

24.7
0
9.2
12.8
15.9

27.7
0
9.3
8.6
15.6

27.3
27.2
8.9
11.5
14.5

32.5
28.4
12.3
17.0
13.5

185
52
73
62
145
42

7.9
13.9
5.9
8.0
12.6
17.1

8.2
12.2
7.3
8.9
12.4
24.7

7.9
13.2
6.8
7.6
9.6
14.2

8.0
13.1
6.6
8.1
11.4
18.6

8.3
11.4
6.2
6.9
11.3
16.8

4.2
5.1
5.7
9.2
13.0
21.2

4.2
5.8
41.9
6.9
14.3
15.2
22.8

10.9
3.0
4.5
6.9
10.7

10.3
3.2
4.7
4.8
9.7

17
41
53
131
127
43
56
35
19
32
64
167

4.1
5.5

4.1
5.3
0

5.6
9.2
12.1
19.3
11.1
1.5
3.9
6.0
11.9

0

5.7
9.6
13.7
26.3
13.0
4.6
5.2
5.1
8.3

4.4
4.7
0

5.8
8.7
13.3
19.5

9.0
2.9
4.5
9.3
11.6

0

4 Formerly included in “ Beverages, not elsewhere classified” ; separate
data for 1949 not available; first quarter, 1950, rate for industries combined
was 18.2.
s Formerly included in “ Sugar refining” ; separate data for 1949 not avail­
able; first quarter, 1950, rate for industries combined was 20.6.

IN JU R Y RATES IN MANUFACTURING

206

Increases in injury-frequency rates from the
fourth quarter 1949 to the first quarter 1950 were
recorded in 41 of the 120 separate manufacturing
classifications for which comparable data were
available. In 28 industries, rates were lower; in
51 others, they varied, upward or downward, by
less than one frequency-rate point.
In the logging industry, injuries per million
man-hours increased from 77.9 in the fourth
quarter of 1949 to 87.8 in the first quarter of 1950;
metal furniture, from 15.2 to 22.1; and fertilizers,
from 17.5 to 23.4. In contrast, the injuryfrequency rate for pottery and related products
dropped from 20.3 to 11.5; for ornamental metal
work, from 20.3 to 12.9; for batteries, from 22.7
to 15.5; for elevators, escalators, and conveyors,
from 13.4 to 7.8; and for leather tanning, from
18.1 to 12.9.
Some of these changes in injury-frequency rates
for individual industries reflected seasonal factors;
others were only chance variations. A comparison
of rates over a year’s period—from the first quarter
of 1949 to the first quarter of 1950—shows a some­
what different trend. Although the loggingInjury-Frequency Rates in Manufacturing,
F irs t Q u a rte r, 1 9 5 0


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

UNWEIGHTED

MONTHLY LABOR

industry rate in the first quarter of 1950 was 13
percent above that for the fourth quarter of 1949,
it was about 9 percent below the 95.9 rate
reported for the first quarter of 1949. On the
other hand, the favorable showing presented by
the battery-manufacturing industry in the quarterto-quarter comparison was reversed when the 15.5
rate for the first quarter of 1950 was compared
with the 8.4 average for the first quarter of 1949.
Firms manufacturing elevators, escalators, and
conveyors showed a consistent improvement in
their safety record throughout the year’s interval;
the injury-frequency rate decreased 57 percent—
from 18.1 in the first quarter of 1949 to 7.8 in the
first quarter of 1950. The rate for the mechanical
power-transmission equipment industry (excluding
ball and roller bearings) decreased 45 percent—
from 21.9 to 12.1. The ornamental metal work
industry showed a substantial increase in injury
rates in the third quarter of 1949, but recorded a
42 percent drop—from 22.4 to 12.9—between the
two first-quarter reports. A high rate of 17.3 was
reported for the automotive electrical-equipment
industry in the third quarter of 1949, but between
the first quarters of 1949 and 1950 this group
achieved a 59-percent drop—from 14.7 to 6.0.
Other industries showing outstanding improve­
ment in their injury rates are steel foundries (with
a decrease from 26.2 injuries per million man­
hours in the first quarter of 1949 to 17.0 in the
corresponding quarter of 1950); wooden containers
(39.1 to 30.2); general machine shops (23.1 to 14.7);
and leather tanning (21.1 to 12.9).
The highest injury-frequency rates for the first
quarter of 1950 were found in the lumbering group
of industries: logging, 87.8; sawmills, 63.7; inte­
grated saw and planing mills, 40.5; plywood mills,
35.4; and planing mills operated separately from
sawmills, 35.1. Outstandingly low rates were
recorded for the following: Synthetic textile fibers,
1.6; synthetic rubber 2.4; optical and ophthalmic
goods, 3.0; explosives, 3.5; women’s and children’s
clothing, 3.6; electric lamps (bulbs), 3.8.
1 The injury-frequency rate is the average number of disabling work injuries
for each million employee-hours worked.
A disabling work injury is an injury arising out of and in the course of em­
ployment, which results in death or any degree of permanent impairment, or
makes the injured person unable to perform any regularly established job
open and available to him, throughout the hours corresponding to his regular
shift, on any 1 or more days (including Sundays, days off, or plant shut­
downs) after the day of injury.
These data are compiled in conformity with the American Standard
Method of Compiling Industrial Injury Rates, approved by the American
Standards Association, 1945.

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

in d u s t r ia l

SAFETY CONFERENCE, 1950

President’s Industrial Safety
Conference, 19501
number of work injuries in
1949 by 7 percent was stated, to be good—but
not good enough—by the President of the United
States in opening his Conference on Industrial
Safety at Washington, D. C., June 5-7, 1950.
Some 1,000 delegates represented labor, industry,
Federal and State governments—including the
48 States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—and organ­
izations interested in and contributing to the
safety movement.
“ The great tragedy of accidents,” Mr. Truman
added, “ is that most of them need never have
happened. I have heard it said that ‘accident’ is
just another word for ‘carelessness’. There is
much truth in that. I become impatient—and
I ’m sure you do, too—when I think of all the
misery and hardship that result from just plain
carelessness or indifference on the part of em­
ployers and employees. . . . What is called for is a
program that will create the greatest possible
national strength—civilian and military com­
bined—over a period of years.
“ This Nation’s voice in the world can never
be any stronger than our national economy and
the will of our people to defend their way of life.
That is why it is so important that we press
forward with programs to increase our productive
capacity and improve our standard of living.
That is why it is more important than ever for us
to prevent the losses that result from industrial
accidents. We cannot afford wasted resources or
wasted lives. . . . The work you are doing here . . .
represents the finest kind of voluntary cooperation
between private and public groups. . . . To the
extent that you succeed in your efforts, the rich­
ness and dignity of human life will be increased
and the cause of peace and freedom will be
strengthened.”
Secretary of Labor Maurice J. Tobin, in the
closing address of the conference, called attention
to the advance made “ not only last year, but
over the long haul,” in industrial safety. A
general safety movement was begun in 1913 by
“ a small group of inspired men,” he said. The
National Safety Council pioneered, and other
national organizations gave their unstinted support.
R eduction of the


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From statistics available since 1933, he stated,
it appeared that safety measures had spared 16,000
workers since that year from having their lives
needlessly snuffed out. “ That is not enough, but
it is progress.” Industry has consistently shown
a sense of responsibility, he said, and organized
labor has worked long and hard to bring about
safety and health legislation.
Statistics remain merely figures to many of us,
Mr. Tobin stated, and warned: “ We must guard
against becoming academic. These figures of
dead and disabled represent human beings,
human bereavement and suffering, physical and
economic disaster. . . . It is to eliminate such
suffering, such needless wrecking of homes and
families, that you . . . are gathered here. . . . Our
objective constitutes the Highest form of public
service.”
Organization and accomplishments of State
Governors’ conferences (10 had been held during
the year) were discussed by a panel composed of
officials from six State governments.
Governor Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois, ad­
dressing the conference on the second day, said
that his State’s record was “ by no means below
the average,” but he had been “shocked by the
cost of industrial accidents . . . as well as the
infinitely more deplorable personal tragedy and
suffering.”
We have the know-how to reduce industrial ac­
cidents. The President’s Conference has given us
the goal and the direction. We in our States must
evolve more effective programs . . . certain general
policies . . . apply to all of us, but it is our task to
study our own situations and map our own courses
of action.

The need for indexes and bibliographies of all
available safety material, and for continued
research, was brought out in various committee
reports.
Committee Reports

Accident Records, Analysis, and Use. The 1949
record showing the reduction which the President
referred to—7 percent in total number of dis­
abling work injuries—was reported by Ewan
Clague, Commissioner of Labor Statistics and
chairman of the Committee on Accident Records,
Analysis, and Use. In manufacturing industries,
Mr. Clague stated, the total number of injuries
declined by 19 percent—a much greater drop

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INDUSTRIAL SAFETY CONFERENCE, 1950

than could be accounted for by a slight decline in
employment. He reported increased provision
of services by State statistical agencies, extensive
research by the National Safety Council, and
compilation of new data by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
The committee asked for the use of specific
standard methods of compiling industrial-injury
rates and accident causes. It recommended
expansion of inj ury-frequency and severity analyses
to show differences between rates for establish­
ments of different sizes; and that outlines be given
of the hazards to be brought under control, in
terms of the causes of accidents that have occurred.
Engineering. The Committee on Engineering re­
ported that an analysis of State safety laws and codes
with regard to the adequacy of their coverage and
their technical details was in progress under gen­
eral supervision of the Director of the Bureau of
Labor Standards. The American Standards As­
sociation, which had been asked to review engineer­
ing standards and formulate a program for their
extension, had appointed a special committee to
study its whole safety-standards program. This
group was considering what subjects should be
added and also the possibility of indexing or
otherwise making more readily available material
already included in American safety standards.
Laws and Regulations. Reaffirming its 1949
recommendations, the Committee on Laws and
Regulations reported progress toward achieve­
ment of those goals. State safety laws, codes,
rules, and regulations had been indexed by State
and by subject. The report summarized health
and safety legislation enacted during the year.
Introduction of some 70 bills in over half of the
legislatures, it was stated, indicated keen interest
in workers’ safety. A suggested draft for a State
safety and health bill was presented with the
report.
Cooperation by States through the holding of
Governors’ conferences during the year was noted.
The committee believed that recommendations
of the State committees on laws and regulations
would contribute to improvement in basic safety
legislation and administration and could help to
center public attention on principles of a safety
program.


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Labor-Management Cooperation for Safety. The
principles presented to the 1949 conference were
reiterated by the Committee on Labor-lVIanagement Cooperation for Safety: (1) that “ safety
primarily is the legal and moral obligation of the
employer ; (2) that “ cooperation in the safetv
program is the moral obligation of each individual
employee”; (3) that “ in unionized plants, the
welfare of the employee places upon the labor union
a moral obligation to cooperate in accident pre­
vention, within the framework of its agreed-upon
participation.” The committee recommended
that the Secretary of Labor request the assistance
of Governors of the States in disseminating these
principles as accepted at the previous conference.
Education. Last year’s recommendations of the
Committee on Education as to safety instruction
by educational institutions, employers, labor, and
public and private agencies were reviewed. Training, it was shown, should include development in
each student of understanding and a sense of
responsibility with regard to safety; preparation
of teachers to give safety instruction; integration
of pertinent safety material in engineering cur­
ricula; development of safety training courses;
inclusion of pertinent safety material in textbooks.
The 1950 report recommended methods for use
by unions and by public and private agencies.
With regard to safety instruction in colleges and
universities, the committee had obtained the aid
of the Bureau of Labor Standards of the U. S.
Department of Labor.
Deans of engineering in 30 colleges and univer­
sities and an equal number of outstanding safety
engineers were polled concerning plans for college
training of professional safety engineers. They
were asked: (1) Should safety material be inte­
grated in each subject in the engineering curricula,
with a major in safety in the senior year or in both
junior and senior years? Or (2) should a post­
graduate course in safety engineering be provided?
Forty-six out of 49 respondents favored the inte­
gration method, despite immediate practical diffi­
culties. The Dean of the College of Engineering
of the University of Maryland offered use of the
college to explore the development of a practical
method of integrating safety subjects. He sug­
gested that the Bureau of Labor Standards
cooperate, to which the Bureau agreed.

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY CONFERENCE, 1950

Essentials of a practical safety training program
for industrial operations were outlined. Special
provision for teacher education for industrial-arts
safety instruction was urged, and a bibliography
of safety material for a program in a school shop
was provided.
Programs and Services. The report of the Com­
mittee on Programs and Services included a dis­
cussion of the importance of, and a plan to pro­
mote, eye protection; and safety programs for
trade associations and governmental agencies. It
described useful services provided by casualty
insurance companies and their associations, which
are available for use in instituting safety programs.
To stimulate the program directed to small busi­
ness, the committee recommended adoption of a
pledge of cooperation at the local level, with a
certificate for display in the establishment.
Research. The Committee on Research suggested
ways by which the objectives presented in its 1949
report could be implemented, stating that it
wished to integrate its efforts with the expressed
needs of the States. Immediate needs of the State
Labor Departments were enumerated by a sub­
committee which had been exploring the desires
of State agencies administering labor laws. Among
the needs listed were a bibliography of industrial
safety material, compilation of data on environ­
mental agents, and procedure to provide for
standardization and uniformity of machine-guard­
ing requirements.
The National Safety Council had been urged, in
the 1949 report of this committee, to lead the way
in making available a “ critical compilation of the
best knowledge relating to safety.” The current
year’s report stated that industry sections of the
council were developing a new medium to give
minimum requirements for safety in individual
industries—a long-term project which would in­
volve the preparation of perhaps two or three
hundred publications. A new recommendation
proposed immediate development of a “ perma­
nent, well-planned and administered facility for
making available currently, critical abstracts of
the safety knowledge that appears in the literature.
These should be organized into a systematic, in­
dexed form for ease of reading, compilation, and
future reference.’’

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The recommended facility will . . . do much to
correct the present situation owing to the continual
reference and discussion of past knowledge that al­
ways takes place in current publications. If created
and properly administered, it will not only meet a wide
area of expressed need for reference, but it will also
constitute an effective tool for determining the need
of new knowledge and developing plans for research.
In its final working form, this endeavor will embody
the interest and contribution from all concerned with
industrial safety.

Coordinating Committee. In a recapitulation of
the foregoing reports, the chairman of the Coor­
dinating Committee, William L. Connolly, Director
of the Bureau of Labor Standards, presented addi­
tional information concerning activities immedi­
ately under that bureau. The analysis of existing
State safety laws and codes with regard to their
adequacy, which the Committee on Engineering
had requested, had started with woodworking
machinery; metalworking machinery was to be
taken up next. The Bureau of Labor Standards
was reprinting for distribution the statement of
principles of the Committee on Labor-Manage­
ment Cooperation for Safety, hoping that the
organizations and agencies represented at the con­
ference would spread the material further. Re­
porting on the development of the Education
Committee’s proposal, Mr. Connolly stated that
the integrated safety program devised jointly by
the Bureau of Labor Standards and the University
of Maryland would be introduced in that Univer­
sity’s School of Engineering in the fall of 1950.
“ Getting legislation passed is a slow business,”
Mr. Connolly stated; but he expressed satisfaction
with the State safety legislation record of the past
year. “ As a Federal official . . . I never miss
an opportunity to repeat my conviction that only
the States with their legal responsibility for safety
and their closeness to industrial problems can
carry the safety message to the plant level. Man­
agement has primary responsibility for safety at
the job site. Labor has a vital interest because
workers get killed and maimed. Insurance com­
panies, educators, and private safety organizations
have a real interest and can offer real help. The
Federal Government’s role is to gather facts and
offer whatever technical assistance the States
request to help them do their job.
1
U . S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Standards. [Program:]
The President’s Conference on Industrial Safety, Progress Meeting, June 5,
6, 7, 1950; releases and committee reports.

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ILO THIRTY-THIRD CONFERENCE

Thirty-third Conference of
International Labor Organization
R esolutions concerning action on unem­
ployment and workers’ education and a Recom­
mendation concerning the vocational training of
adults, including disabled persons, were adopted
by the thirty-third session of the International
Labor Conference in Geneva, June 7-July 1 , 1950.1
Most of the rest of the work of the Conference this
year was preparatory to the development of labor
standards which will come up for final action at
the thirty-fourth session in 1951.
First discussions were held and preliminary con­
clusions reached on a proposed Convention and
Recommendation concerning minimum-wage fixing
in agriculture; proposed Recommendations con­
cerning collective agreements and voluntary
conciliation and voluntary arbitration; and a
Convention and/or Recommendation regarding
equal remuneration for men and women for work
of equal value. If they are adopted, the Conven­
tion and Recommendation concerning minimumwage fixing in agriculture and the Recommenda­
tions concerning collective agreements, voluntary
conciliation, and voluntary arbitration will set
standards for the use of Governments deciding to
set up such machinery. The Committee on inter­
national standards in regard to equal remuneration
for men and women workers for work of equal
value postponed its decision on the form of the
international standard (i. e., Convention or a
Recommendation) until the final discussion of the
standards at the 1951 session. The 1950 conclu­
sions will be forwarded to Governments for com­
ment; and new drafts will be prepared on the
basis of these comments for consideration at the
1951 session, when final agreement will be reached
as to the form of the international standards.

Representation at the Conference

Of the 62 member Governments (including all
major nations except the U. S. S. R.) of the Inter­
national Labor Organization, delegates from 52 2
were present at the beginning of this year’s Con­
ference. Included were delegates from the
Republic of the United States of Indonesia and of
Viet-Nam, both of which countries were elected to
membership early in the proceedings. Mr. Jagjivan

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MONTHLY LABOR

Ram, Minister for Labor of India, was voted
President of the Conference.
The nomination of Mr. Ram was followed by the
withdrawal of the delegations of Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, and Poland in protest at the presence of
the delegation from the Chinese Republic. In
seconding Mr. Ram’s nomination as President of
the Conference, Philip M. Kaiser, United StatesGovernment delegate, said of this withdrawal:
It is the evident intention of these Governments to
prevent this Conference and the ILO from doing their
normal work—work intimately concerned with the
betterment of the conditions of labor of the masses of
mankind. This flagrant action obviously contradicts
the claim of these Governments that they are inter­
ested in solving the grave economic and social prob­
lems, of primary concern to working men and women,
which beset the world today. If these Governments
were genuinely concerned with the many important
problems which are before us, they would have ac­
cepted the normal parliamentary procedure of the
Conference and assisted in the constructive work
that is before us.

The protest of the three Governments was re­
ferred to the Credentials Committee of the Confer­
ence. Later the Committee proposed that the
Conference should take note that, under the cir­
cumstances, with two governments contending for
authority in China, the only possible solution was
to recognize that the Government of the Chinese
Republic had validly nominated representatives
of that country to the Conference, and to reem­
phasize the importance which the ILO attaches to
effective tripartite participation in its work by all
peoples. The report of the Credentials Committee
on this subject was noted by the Conference
without discussion.
The Senior Assistant Director-General of the
Office reported that, of the 52 Governments repre­
sented at the 1950 session, 10 delegations were
incomplete, that is, lacking either a worker or
both an employer and a worker representative.
With the exception of Iceland, the countries not
having been able to comply with the constitutional
requirement for tripartite delegations are all
located either in Asia or Latin America.
A number of observers were present at the Con­
ference for the Allied High Commission for Ger­
many, and the Supreme Command for the Allied
Powers in Japan, as well as Government, employer,
and worker representatives from the Western
German Federal Republic and from Japan. The

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

ILO THIRTY-THIRD CONFERENCE

United Nations was represented by observers as
were the FAO, UNESCO, WHO, IRO, and the
Interim Commission for the ITO. Observers from
nongovernmental organizations included those
from the International Federation of Christian
Trade Unions, the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (created in November 1949),
the International Cooperative Alliance, and the
International Federation of Agricultural Pro­
ducers. Representatives of the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and the Inter­
national Federation of Agricultural Producers, with
which the Governing Body had recently decided to
establish a consultative relationship, were espe­
cially greeted by the Conference chairman.
Action of the Conference

It is the responsibility of the International Labor
Conference to adopt international labor standards,
to discuss and make recommendations to the
Governing Body regarding the work program of
the ILO (the Secretariat of the Organization), and
to pass upon the budget of that Office.
Following established practice, much of the time
at the Conference was devoted to a discussion of
the report of the Director-General of the ILO on
the work of the Office and on the economic and
social factors affecting workers during the preced­
ing year, and of his recommendations for the work
of the Office during the coming year. At the 1950
session 87 speakers, representing Governments,
employers, and workers in 50 countries and 5
continents discussed this report. The overwhelm­
ing majority of the speakers expressed satisfaction
with the report, and many of them complimented
the Office staff on one phase or another of its work.
At the Director-General’s request, most of them
devoted a large part of their remarks to employ­
ment and productivity.
Senator Herbert R. O’Conor, United States
Government delegate, congratulated the DirectorGeneral on his report and on the progress made by
the Office during 1949-50 in the establishment of
manpower field offices in Asia and Latin America
at the request of Governments wishing assistance
in vocational training and labor-market organiza­
tion programs. In discussing the rise in produc­
tivity in the United States, Senator O’Conor cited
the benefits to workers in terms of higher real
wages, increased leisure, better working conditions,


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and decline in accident rates. In conclusion, he
said in part:
As we move forward into a more integrated world of
lowering trade barriers and widening markets, it be­
comes more and more important that we proceed with
the greatest dispatch to the raising of labor standards
throughout the world. From many points of view,
expansion of world trade is a necessity, but we must
safeguard both workers and employers from the unfair
situation which results when goods produced by
underpaid workers compete with goods produced by
workers paid fair wages and working under satisfactory
conditions. . . . In spite of the advances that have
been made in increasing productivity, a large propor­
tion of the world’s population still lives very near the
subsistence level. We in the United States look for­
ward to the increasing use of the scientific knowledge
of all nations for the purpose of alleviating and ulti­
mately abolishing such poverty.

Secretary of Labor Maurice J. Tobin, who was
attending the Conference, emphasized especially
the measures used in the United States to prevent
the recession in employment, caused by inventory
adjustments in 1949, from developing into mass
unemployment. He said, in part:
The United States has demonstrated the great
strength of the private enterprise system buttressed by
sound economic programs. The combination of a free
enterprise economy and liberal social and economic
legislation has permitted us to maintain a high level of
economic activity during the postwar period. We have
avoided a collapse of prices, credit contraction, bank
failures, any large number of business bankruptcies, or
lack of confidence on the part of business and on the
part of the consuming public. One of the major
explanations lies in the confidence that wage earners
have had that their wages would not be cut. Collec­
tive bargaining on minimum wage rates has served as
an effective safeguard. The significant fact about the
decline in economic activity and the rise in unemploy­
ment in 1949 is this: it did not spiral in a cumulative
fashion throughout the whole economy.

The Resolution on unemployment was adopted
following the publication of a report on unem­
ployment problems and related policy questions
by the Director-General. It draws the attention
of the UN and its specialized agencies, Govern­
ments, and employers’ and workers’ organizations
to the types of action which the Conference con­
siders should be vigorously pursued in order to
eliminate unemployment. The Resolution follows
the report of the experts appointed by the Secre­
tary-General of the UN in defining full employ­
ment as “ a situation in which unemployment does
not exceed the minimum allowances that must be

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ILO THIRTY-THIRD CONFERENCE

made for the effects of frictional and seasonal
factors.” It urges Governments (1) to maintain,
or to establish as rapidly as national conditions
allow, unemployment benefits and allowances;
(2) to provide themselves with full information
about employment, underemployment, and un­
employment in their countries; and (3) to take
action to produce economic and social conditions
conducive to full employment through employ­
ment services, measures to promote mobility of
labor and to train and retain workers, and to
improve recruitment policies, and to encourage
investments in depressed areas from which it
might be undesirable to move workers.
Other measures which Governments may need
to consider for action are also listed. The
Resolution concludes by reaffirming the intention
of the members of the ILO to maintain full em­
ployment in their respective countries.
The Recommendation on vocational training
of adults covers principles of training, the scope of
training covered by its terms, and training
methods in considerable detail, with a special
section on the training of disabled persons. It
also provides standards for the organization and
administration of such training programs.
Commission on Freedom of Association

The Fact-Finding Commission on Freedom of
Association was discussed at length. This Com­
mission was established by the Governing Body
in January 1950, in response to a Resolution
adopted at the thirty-first session of the Conference
in San Francisco in 1948 and supported by action
of the Economic and Social Council of the UN,
and of the Fourth Conference of the American
States members of the ILO in the spring of 1949.
The Governing Body, the ILO Conference, and
the General Assembly of the Economic and Social
Council of the UN may refer allegations of in­
fringement of trade-union rights to the Com­
mission for impartial examination. No com­
plaint is to be referred to the Commission without
the consent of the Government concerned.3 The
Commission is to report to the Governing Body
on the results of its work, and the Governing
Body is to decide whether further action should
be taken on the basis of the report.
At this year’s Conference, the Government of


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MONTHLY LABOR

South Africa questioned whether the Governing
Body had exceeded its powers in appointing this
Commission and asked for a reexamination of its
decision. The Government members from Ar­
gentina and Australia associated themselves with
the questions raised by the South African Govern­
ment. A committee of the Conference studied
the problem, and “ recommended that the Con­
ference take note of the report of the Governing
Body on the establishment of the Fact-Finding
and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of
Association and of the decisions taken on this
question by the Governing Body and the Eco­
nomic and Social Council of the United Nations,
and that it express its satisfaction that agreement
has been reached on the subject with the United
Nations and approve and confirm the decisions
taken by the Governing Body.” The Committee’s
report was approved by the Conference.
Technical Assistance Program of the ILO

The technical assistance program of the ILO was
not specifically listed on the 1950 Conference
agenda, but was much discussed at this session,
namely, the work which the ILO had done during
the preceding year to assist the Governments
in their manpower and social legislation programs
and the needs for ILO aid in the coming year.
In addition, the Resolution on action against un­
employment recommended ILO assistance in
establishing fact-finding programs on the extent
of employment, under-employment, and unem­
ployment to governments, which do not have such
statistics. The ILO should also play its full part
in planning and carrying out action along the lines
specified in the 1950 Resolution and in further
considering policies and machinery for the main­
tenance of full employment and the improvement
of living standards.
The Resolution on workers’ education recom­
mends that the ILO should provide technical
assistance to governments wishing to promote
workers’ education in methods of trade-union
organization and related fields.
In the Recommendation adopted on vocational
training of adults, important contributions from
the ILO’s technical assistance program are
anticipated. The last section of that Recom­
mendation reads as follows:

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

APPRENTICESHIP CONFERENCE, 1950

(1) The States Members should cooperate, where
necessary and practicable, and where desired with the
help of the International Labor Office, in measures to
promote the training of adults.
(2) Such cooperation should include, for example,
action on terms to be mutually agreed between the
countries concerned, to promote training by such methods
as—
(a) the provision in one country of training facilities
for selected personnel from another country to enable
them to acquire skill and experience not available in
their own country;
(b) the loan of experienced personnel from one country
to another to help organize training;
(c) the preparation and provision of handbooks and
other materials for training;
(d) the exchange of qualified personnel; and
(e) the systematic exchange of information on train­
ing questions.

— F aith

M. W illiams

Division of Foreign Labor Conditions, BLS
1 For a summary of the 32d session of the ILO Conference, see Monthly
Labor Review, September 1949 (p. 272).
2 The United States Delegation to the Conference was composed as follows:
Government delegates: Philip M . Kaiser, Assistant Secretary of Labor,
Department of Labor; Hon. Herbert R. O’Conor, United States Senator
from Maryland. Government substitute delegates: Hon. Augustine B.
Kelley, United States Representative from Pennsylvania; Arnold Zempel,
Executive Director, Office of International Labor Affairs, Department of
Labor. Advisers: John J. Bab6, B. Harper Barnes, Robert Barnett, Clara
M . Beyer, Ansel R. Cleary, Louis J. Ducoff, L. Wendell Hayes, Paul M.
Herzog, Frieda Miller, Edward B. Persons, Alvin Roseman, Cleon 0 .
Swayzee, and Faith M . Williams.
Employers’ delegate: Charles P. McCormick, president of McCormick &
Co. Advisers: William B. Barton, Richard P. Doherty, L. E. Ebeling, L.
Roy Hawes, William L. McGrath, Paul W. Orvis, and Charles E. Shaw.
Workers’ delegate: George Philip Delaney, International Representative
of American Federation of Labor. Advisers: John J. Brennan, Leo E.
George, William E. Maloney, Louis Paul Marciante, John J. Moreschi,
and L. R. Raftery.
3 If such consent is not forthcoming, the Governing Body will give con­
sideration to such refusal with a view to taking any alternative action de­
signed to safeguard the rights relating to freedom of association involved in
the case, including measures to give full publicity to the charges made, to­
gether w ith any comments hy the Government concerned, and to that
Government’s refusal to cooperate in ascertaining the facts and in measures
of conciliation.

Eastern Seaboard
Apprenticeship Conference, 1950
“ P ublicizing a ppr e n t ic e sh ip ” was the theme of
the Sixth Annual Eastern Seaboard Apprentice­
ship Conference held at Poland Spring, Maine,
June 7-10, 1950. More than 500 conferees and
guests from 14 States, the District of Columbia,
and 4 Canadian Provinces attended. Federal,


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State, and local apprenticeship and vocational
education agencies as well as national and inter­
national associations were represented.
These conferences have provided effective means
for closer cooperative effort by the various groups
concerned with and responsible for apprentice
training. Because of this, extension of similar
conferences in other sections of the country was
endorsed, and support of the First International
Conference to be held in Quebec, Canada, in 1951
was urged.
Future craftsmen and their instructors were
honored at the conference, as a result of a contest
sponsored by the Maine Apprenticeship Council
and the State Chamber of Commerce. Each of
the organizations which “are the life blood of
apprenticeship” were also honored by designating
three days of the conference as NAM-day, AFLday, and ClO-day.
Section meetings were devoted to the various
aspects of apprentice training in the machine tool,
graphic arts, and textiles industries, railroads,
foundries, and building trades.
Training of Craftsmen

Responsibility of both management and labor
groups in training skilled craftsmen was empha­
sized by Wesley J. Angle, speaking for the National
Association of Manufacturers. He summarized
his viewpoint and that of the NAM thus: “The
National Government may very well point the way,
but must not seek to control the path we follow.
You . . . are doing much to advance the welfare
of our young people and for that the NAM honors
you.”
Training of skilled craftsmen carried out through
voluntary agreements between labor and manage­
ment and de-centralization of the apprenticeship
system, so that the fullest cognizance might be
taken of local conditions, was emphasized by
Lewis G. Hines, AFL representative.
The importance of apprenticeship in building
an adequate skilled labor force for peacetime pro­
duction and national emergencies was stressed by
J. E. Poulton of the International Association of
Machinists. Labor and management cooperation
in the field of apprenticeship, Mr. Poulton de­
clared, contributed to a better relationship
throughout industry.

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STATE LABOR RELATIONS ACTS

Aptitude testing as a valuable aid in selecting
apprentices was discussed at the section meeting of
the training directors and apprentice supervisors.
One company’s experience indicated that the
quality of apprentice applicants had been im­
proved through the use of aptitude tests in its
program.
The Canadian program of apprentice training
for skilled craftsmen, Ernest Guenette, secretarymanager of the Printing Industry Parity Com­
mittee stated, was similar to that of the United
States in that it emphasizes the cooperative rela­
tionship of management and labor. Apprentice­
ship regulations “have been prepared by the
industry, for the industry, and are enforced by the
industry,” Mr. Guenette pointed out; “ they can
at any time be changed or rescinded” if the in­
dustry feels “ they are undesirable.” He indi­
cated, however, that they were “ here to stay, as
they have proven to be both adequate and useful.”
An unusual feature of the Canadian program is
that joint apprenticeship committees in Quebec are
able to provide effective supervision of apprentice
training since they are financed by a payroll levy
of one-half of 1 percent on all employers partici­
pating in the program.
Related Responsibilities

A message from Claude A. Putnam, president of
NAM, cautioned against narrowly limiting work
and efforts to apprenticeship training. “ All of our
work and all of our efforts will go for naught unless
we dedicate ourselves to the salvation of the
system in which today’s apprentices expect to
take their places tomorrow.”
Canadian apprentices are given related instruc­
tion in the social sciences. In reviewing the
development of this program, Father Ovila
Belanger (Director of Social Science Courses,
Apprenticeship Branch of the Quebec Depart­
ment of Labor) said: “It is not sufficient to create
mechanics, or to give good technical training.
We must also teach how to live as human beings
in society. . . . It is a social problem to make the
work attractive, but it is a moral problem to
develop pride in our work.”
Publicizing apprenticeship—the conference ob­
jective cannot be accomplished through highlevel conferences, and discussions, necessary as
they are, Mr. Poulton, I AM representative,

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MONTHLY LABOR

stated. Their usefulness results only from getting
“ the job publicized where it must be accomplished,
at the local area and industry level.” This must
be done through local joint apprenticeship com­
mittees composed of managers and craftsmen
directly concerned with the problem.
Connecticut was reported to have over 100
joint labor committees embracing approximately
600 persons who voluntarily devote time and effort
to the improvement and supervision of apprentice­
training programs in that State. But in Maine
(and other States) there was a need for overcoming
the problems of small-plant apprenticeship.

Terms of State
Labor Relations Acts
N in e S tates —Colorado, Connecticut, Massachu­
setts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Utah, and Wisconsin—as well as Hawaii
and Puerto Rico, currently have labor relations
acts.1 Acts falling in this category are those that
affirm the rights of employees to have unions of
their own choosing and to bargain collectively;
that set up agencies to enforce this right and to
prevent and remedy unfair labor practices; and
that provide a method for determining collective­
bargaining representatives.
In addition to these 11 jurisdictions, Kansas and
Michigan each have State labor relations acts, but
neither of these two laws sets up an administrative
agency for the prevention of unfair labor practices,
or for determining employee representatives for
collective-bargaining purposes. However, they
do contain provisions listing certain employee
rights and prohibiting unfair labor practices and
are therefore included in the following analysis of
the major provisions of State labor relations acts.
Aside from these 13 State labor relations acts
to which the article is limited, separate laws
dealing with certain aspects of labor relations are
in force in almost all of the States. These laws
include a great many that place restrictions on
union activities; provide for conciliation and
mediation; regulate industrial relations in public
utilities; and that have anti-injunction provisions.

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

STATE LABOR RELATIONS ACTS

Types of Legislation

The earliest State labor relations acts were
adopted by Massachusetts, New York, Pennsyl­
vania, Utah, and Wisconsin in 1937 shortly after
the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act of
1935 was declared constitutional by the United
States Supreme Court. While none of these five
laws were identical with the Federal act, they were
all modeled on it, safeguarding the rights of
workers to organize and bargain collectively and
forbidding employers from engaging in certain
unfair labor practices.
Shortly afterward, however, emphasis was
shifted in fixing the terms of labor relations acts.
In 1939, the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin laws
and, in 1947, the Utah act were amended to place
restrictions on employees and unions as well as
upon employers. This trend was also followed in
the enactment of labor relations acts in Minnesota
and Michigan in 1939, Colorado and Kansas in
1943, and Hawaii and Puerto Rico in 1945.
But the original trend was followed by Rhode
Island in 1941 and Connecticut in 1945, when they
adopted Wagner-type laws.
Currently the State acts fall into two general
classifications. The first group—those of Con­
necticut, Massachusetts,2 New York, and Rhode
Island—may be designated as “little Wagner”
acts. The second group are those that contain
certain restrictions on unions—i. e., the laws of
Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn­
sylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Puerto
Rico. The latter laws contain restrictions on
labor unions similar to those in the Labor Man­
agement Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act of 1947.
Three of the four Wagner-type laws—those of
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York—
are prefaced by statements of “ Findings and
Policy” similar to that in the Wagner Act itself.
They refer to the inequality of bargaining power
between the employers and the employees who do
not possess full freedom of association and con­
tracting. They state that it is in the public
interest that “ equality of bargaining power be
established and maintained” ; that denial of such
rights to employees leads to depressed wage rates
and purchasing power of wage earners, thus
aggravating business depressions, creating unem­
ployment, and leading to increased public and
private expenditures for relief.

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215

Pennsylvania’s law, one of the restrictive type,
contains a similar statement of policy. However,
the declaration of policy in the other restrictive
acts mentions neither inequality of bargaining
power nor its consequences. Colorado, Wisconsin,
and Utah specify three major interests that it is the
policy of the State to protect and promote: the
public, the employer, and the employee. Michi­
gan, too, specifies that the interests and rights of
the “ consumers and the people” should always be
protected.
All of the 13 acts recognize two specific rights
of employees: (1) the right to organize and (2) the
right to bargain collectively. The Wagner-type
acts usually not only declare these as rights, but
“encourage” workers to carry them out. For
instance, the Rhode Island act declares it to be the
public policy of the State—
to encourage the practice and procedure of collective
bargaining, and to protect employees in the exercise
of full freedom of association, self-organization and
designation of representatives of their own choosing
for the purposes of collective bargaining, or other
mutual aid and protection, free from the interference,
restraint or coercion of their employers.

Almost identical with the Rhode Island publicpolicy statement are those in the Massachusetts
and New York laws. A similar declaration is still
carried in the Pennsylvania act, even after the
addition of a number of union-restrictive provisions
to its original law.
The restrictive acts also declare that the em­
ployees have these same two rights, but, except for
Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, do not expressly
set forth as their public policy the encouragement
of such activities, which is indicative of the differ­
ences between the two types of acts. Laws of
Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah, Wisconsin,
and Hawaii, in addition to affirming the rights of
employees to organize and bargain collectively,
provide (like the Taft-Hartley Act) that em­
ployees have the right to refrain from such activities.
Workers are authorized under all the laws to
select a union to represent them for collective­
bargaining purposes. Machinery has been estab­
lished under most of the laws to enable the enforc­
ing agency to determine such representatives by
election. Elections under most of the acts are
held at the request of either the union or the em­
ployer. The representative designated by a ma­
jority of the employees in an “appropriate bargain-

MONTHLY LABOR

STATE LABOR RELATIONS ACTS

216

ing” unit becomes the exclusive representative of
all employees in that unit. However, except in
Michigan, the laws also specifically permit indi­
vidual employees to present grievances to their
employer.
Before a collective-bargaining representative
can be selected as the employee representative, it
is necessary to determine the “appropriate bargain­
ing” unit. This may be one entire plant, several
plants, a craft, or some other subdivision of an
industry. Usually, the State board is authorized
to make this decision. Under most of the laws, a
craft unit must be designated as the appropriate
bargaining unit on request of a majority of the
employees in the craft.

Unfair Labor Practices

Lists of the most commonly prohibited unfair
labor practices for employers, and for employees
and unions, appear in the accompanying table.
As the table indicates, all the acts, even those of
the restrictive type, prohibit employers from en­
gaging in certain unfair labor practices. The four
“little Wagner” acts are unanimous in forbidding
the same five types of activities that were prohib­
ited by the original Federal Wagner Act, namely:
interfering with or coercing employees in the ex­
ercise of their rights to organize and bargain col­
lectively; dominating or contributing to a union;
encouraging or discouraging membership in a union

Unfair labor 'practices most commonly prohibited in State labor relations acts 1
Prohibited practice

F

o r

E

o r

E

Massa­
chu­
setts

N ew
York

Rhode
Island

Colo­
rado

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X
X

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

ichi­ Minne­ Penn­
syl­
Kansas Mgan
sota
vania

Utah

Puerto
Wis­
consin Hawaii Rico

m plo y ers

To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees
in the exercise of their rights to organize and
bargain collectively__
________
To dominate or interfere with the formation
or administration of a union or to contribute
financial or other support . . . _____ ____
To encourage or discourage union member­
ship by discriminating in the terms or con­
ditions of em ploym ent2
....... To discharge or discriminate against an em­
ployee because he has filed charges or given
testimony under the act..
_______
To refuse to bargain collectively with the em­
ployees’ representatives__________________
__
To spy upon employees
.
To prepare or distribute blacklists of indi­
viduals. ..
To collect or deduct from employees’ wages
without their authority, dues or fees pay­
able to a union
...
________
To violate the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement _
____
To bargain collectively with the representa­
tives of less than a majority of employees
in a unit___ _____________ _____ _ ______
F

Con­
necti­
cut

m plo y ees

o r

U

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
1

X

X

n io n s

To engage in a secondary boycott__
To engage in or to induce picketing, boycot­
ting, or other overt concomitant of a strike
unless a strike has been voted by a majority
of employees in the bargaining unit .
To coerce or intimidate any employee in the
exercise of his legal rights, including those
to organize and to bargain collectively or to
refrain from such activities_________ _
To coerce, intimidate, or induce any employer
to interfere with any of his employees in
the enjoyment of their legal rights.
. . . __
To refuse or fail to recognize or accept as con­
clusive the final determination of any tri­
bunal having competent jurisdiction in any
controversy.. _
To violate the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement..
______ _____
_______
To seize or occupy property unlawfully
To engage in mass picketing or to use force
and violence__ _________ ____ __________
To intimidate an employee’s family or to in­
jure his property (“employer’s” family in
Pennsylvania)............
..................

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

1 In addition to the unfair practices listed in this table, others are prohibited under some of the laws. These prohibitions include, for the employer,
engaging in a lock-out contrary to agreement, refusing to accept final determination of a controversy; and for the union or employee, picketing beyond
the area of industry, requiring that stand-in employees be employed, acting


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X

X

X
X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

as a business agent without valid license, forcing any person to become or
remain a member of a labor union, engaging in a jurisdictional dispute,
2 A proviso added to this clause authorizes a union-security agreement
under varying conditions,

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

STATE LABOR RELATIONS ACTS

by discriminating in terms or conditions of em­
ployment; discrimination against an employee
because he has filed charges or given testimony
under the act; and refusing to bargain collectively.
In addition to these prohibited practices, spying
upon employees, blacklisting employees, and re­
fusing to discuss grievances with employees are
also forbidden in three of the four “little Wagner”
acts—those of Connecticut, New York, and Rhode
Island. In general, the practices specified above
are also prohibited by most of the union-restrictive
acts. The most extensive list of employer unfair
practices is found in three of these acts—those of
Colorado, Wisconsin, and Hawaii.
State labor relations acts are not as uniform in
prohibiting unfair labor practices for unions and
employees as for employers. Seven of the laws—
those of Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Pennsyl­
vania, Utah, Wisconsin, and Hawaii—place certain
restrictions on picketing or boycotting. Nine of
the laws prohibit the coercion or intimidation of
any employee in the exercise of his legal rights.
Other provisions that restrict union activities
are also written into the laws. Five States regu­
late some phase of the internal operation of unions.
For instance, Kansas requires every union to file
a copy of its constitution with the Secretary of
State, and, if it has more than 25 members, to make
a comprehensive annual report to the Secretary
of State. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, unions
acting as collective-bargaining agents must sup­
ply annual financial reports to its members, and
in Minnesota, certain regulations relating to
union elections must be followed.
One of the most far-reaching limitations in the
acts covers the use of union-security safeguards,
such as the closed shop and use of the check-off.
None of the State labor relations acts go as far as
the Taft-Hartley Act in outlawing the closed shop,
but four restrict closed-shop agreements. Under
the Colorado and Hawaii acts, an all-union agree­
ment may be entered into when at least threefourths of the employees have voted by secret
ballot in favor of such agreement. In Kansas a
majority vote is required. The Wisconsin law
specifies that at least two-thirds of the employees
voting must approve, and the two-thirds must
represent a majority of employees in the unit.
As to the check-off, Colorado, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin, and Hawaii make its use an unfair
labor practice on the part of the employer. An

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217

exception is made when an employee has given an
individual personally signed order requesting such
a deduction.
Prevention of Unfair Labor Practices

All of the acts except those of Minnesota,
Kansas, and Michigan provide special boards or
commissions to prevent unfair labor practices.
These agencies are usually composed of three mem­
bers appointed by the Governor for a fixed term.
In most cases, the agency is placed in the State
labor department, but under several of the laws,
the administrative agency determines the policy
independently.
The procedure established by the laws for the
prevention of the unfair labor practices is fairly
uniform. Generally a complaint is filed with the
board, and, after investigation, the board provides
for a hearing. If the board finds that the employer,
employee, or union against whom the complaint
has been filed has engaged in an unfair labor
practice, it may issue an order requiring such per­
son or union to cease and desist from that practice.
The board may also require affirmative action on
the part of the person who has been guilty of the
unfair practice. For instance, it may require
reinstatement of an employee, or the awarding of
back pay. The board has the authority to petition
the court for enforcement of an order, if necessary.
In Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota, which
have no special agency dealing with the prevention
of unfair labor practices, violation of the respective
acts is a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and
imprisonment. Prosecution in these States is the
responsibility of the regular law-enforcement
officers. Minnesota provides for suits in equity
to enjoin the unfair labor practice. Under court
enforcement, penalties are provided for the person
committing the unlawful practice, but no remedies
are available for the person injured. One of the
most important features of administration by a
board or commission is, as previously explained,
that the wrong can be remedied by affirmative
action of the board.
— N orene

M.

D ia m o n d

Bureau of Labor Standards, U. S. Department of Labor
1 Alabama also has such an act, passed in 1949, but it applies only to Wilcox
County, which is small and nonindustrial, and is not covered in the present
article.
3 The Massachusetts law as amended in 1947 includes a few restrictive pro­
visions such as the prohibition of unlawful seizure of public property.

218

FEDERAL RENT CONTROL EXTENSION

Extension of
Federal Rent Control, 1950
F ederal ren t controls were extended for 6
months (to December 31) on June 23, when Presi­
dent Truman signed the Housing and Rent Act
of 1950. This law also authorizes an additional
6-month period of regulated rents for those com­
munities seeking it.
Decontrol provisions in the Housing and Rent
Act of 1949 (which expired June 30) are continued
in the new law. Under its terms, the States and
local communities may decontrol, or the Federal
Housing Expediter may do so, either upon his own
initiative or upon the recommendation of local
rent boards.
Opportunities for decontrol of rents are actually
strengthened by the 1950 law. Communities
seeking to end rent control may now act without

Major Settlements in
Automobile Industry, 1949-50
T he F ord , C h r ysler , and G eneral M otors

contracts with the United Automobile Workers
(CIO), the former signed in September 1949 and
the latter two in May 1950, introduced new con­
cepts and patterns into the industry’s labormanagement relations. They brought substantial
benefits to the workers covered, and opened what
is expected to be an era of prolonged industrial
peace in the Nation’s largest automobile produc­
tion centers. Although the agreements were
reached under widely varying circumstances, they
were somewhat uniform in establishing pensions
and social-insurance programs in the major seg­
ments of the industry. This article presents
briefly the developments leading up to the signing
of these contracts and a comparison of the princi­
pal terms of the agreements.
Background of Industry Bargaining

Although mass production of automobiles is a
development of the last four decades, the history


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MONTHLY LABOR

the consent of their State governors, and counties
may lift controls in unincorporated areas. Pri­
mary responsibility for the decontrol of Federal
rental areas remains with the State and municipal
rent councils.
The bill signed by the President was a compro­
mise measure. A straight 1-year extension of rent
control had been sought by the President. The
House had passed a bill extending straight con­
trols for 7 months and offering an option to local
communities for an additional 6 months of pro­
tection. The Senate’s bill had provided the “ sixand-six” formula, which was adopted.
Eight million home units still remain under
Federal regulation, but more and more States and
local communities are taking advantage of the
opportunity to decontrol rents.1
1 For a discussion on changes in residential rents in large cities after decon­
trol actions, see M onthly Labor Review, March 1950 (pp. 253-256) and
M onthly Labor Review, April 1950 (p. 401).

of union organization and collective bargaining in
this comparatively young industry is confined
largely to only the last decade and a half.
Production in the industry is centered in (1)
plants of three major corporations—General
Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—(2) a few smaller
companies producing completed vehicles inde­
pendently, and (3) a large number of parts manu­
facturers supplying parts for most of the industry.
Geographically the industry is centered in Michi­
gan, especially in and around Detroit, although
large manufacturing and assembly plants employ­
ing thousands of workers are located in several
other States, particularly in Ohio, Indiana, New
York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.
Prior to 1933 there was very little union organi­
zation in the industry. Within a very few years,
this condition was transformed, however. In
1950, employees of nearly all of the major plants
were organized and dealing with their employers
through union channels.
Early attempts of craft unions to organize the
industry before World War I were largely unsuc­
cessful. The Union of Carriage, Wagon, and
Automobile Workers was suspended from the
American Federation of Labor in 1918 because of

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: MAJOR SETTLEMENTS

its insistence on jurisdiction over the entire indus­
try. This union, with its name changed to the
Automobile, Aircraft, and Vehicle Workers, in­
creased its strength to about 40,000 members in
1920 but never recovered from membership losses
in the 1920-21 depression. AFL unions tried
again to organize the automobile industry in the
mid-1920’s but made little progress.
From 1933 to 1937 organization went forward
at a rapid pace. The United Automobile Workers
of America was organized in August 1935, from
numerous federal locals into which workers at
individual plants had been organized by the AFL.
This union joined the Committee for Industrial
Organization in 1936 and by mid-1937 its member­
ship approached 400,000. The business recession
of 1938 brought a decline in membership, and
factionalism within the union resulted in a with­
drawal of one segment which reaffiliated with the
AFL in June 1940. This group has continued as
the International Union of United Automobile
Workers of America (AFL) and has remained com­
paratively small. A few independent unions, such
as the Mechanics Educational Society of America
have made headway at times in organizing some
segments of the industry but their total member­
ships have remained relatively small.
The first agreement with General Motors was
reached in February 1937 following a 6 weeks’
strike. The corporation recognized the UAW as
collective-bargaining agent for its members and
agreed that there should be no discrimination
against any employees because of union member­
ship. To assure the union that its position would
not be undermined the corporation agreed with the
Governor of Michigan, in a separate document, not
to bargain with or enter into a contract with any
other union for a period of 6 months.
An agreement with Chrysler followed in April,
after a strike of 1 month, which was patterned
largely after the General Motors contract. The
union was granted recognition for its members and,
while it did not obtain bargaining rights for all
employees, the company agreed to refrain from
recognizing any dual organization. Many smaller
companies and parts manufacturers signed con­
tracts with the UAW during this period.
The third major segment of the industry—the
Ford Motor Co.—did not sign a union contract
until June 1941, following an 11-day strike in April
and an NLRB election in May 1941. This con­

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219

tract went further than any other existing major
agreement in the industry, providing for a union
shop, check-off of union dues, wage rates at least
equal to the highest in the industry, and a shopsteward system for handling grievances with a top
joint appeal board to settle grievances not disposed
of at earlier stages.
Each of the three major companies was involved
in one major stoppage between 1939 and 1941. A
55-day stoppage of nearly 50,000 Chrysler workers,
in October-November 1939 brought the union
exclusive bargaining rights for the plants covered
as well as a wage increase of 3 cents an hour and
the establishment of grievance machinery for
settling disputes under the contract. A 2-day
strike of some 40,000 General Motors employees
in May 1941 was terminated by a new contract
providing a wage increase of 10 cents an hour.
The Ford stoppage and settlement in 1941 have
been previously described.
During the war years the three large automo­
bile producers converted largely to production of
war materials and operated through the period
with no major disruptions over collective-bargain­
ing difficulties. Operations were often interrupted,
however, with small and unauthorized strikes over
local problems or wartime pressures.
The postwar period has been one of high
production and high employment. Output has set
new records despite the fact that each of the three
large automobile companies had one major strike
during the period. Probably the most disruptive
strike in the industry’s history occurred at General
Motors plants from November 1945 to March
1946. The settlement provided for a wage increase
of 18% cents an hour for the 200,000 workers,
involved—in line with other current postwar
increases. In May 1948, approximately 75,000
Chrysler workers were idle for 17 days after which
a 2-year contract was signed. It provided a wage
increase of 13 cents an hour and a wage reopening
after June 15, 1949. A 25-day strike of some
62,000 Ford workers in May 1949 resulted in an
agreement to arbitrate difficulties over alleged
speed-up of operations. There were also several
smaller strikes over local problems.
The 1949-50 Disputes

The Ford contract was due to expire July 15,
1949; the Chrysler agreement did not expire until

220

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: MAJOR SETTLEMENTS

August 1, 1950, but provided for a wage reopening
after June 15, 1949; and the General Motors
agreement ran to May 29, 1950.
Negotiations with Ford began in early June
1949, Chrysler talks began in July, and actual
negotiations with General Motors began in March
1950, although exploratory discussions on pensions,
etc., began as early as November 1949. In all three
cases the union’s objectives were a pension plan, a
social insurance program, and increased wages.
Other major disputes during the last half of 1949
also followed this general pattern, particularly in
the bituminous-coal and basic steel industries, as
the unions sought to establish or improve their
programs for pensions and social insurance. The
report of the President’s Steel Industry Board 1on
September 10 had its effect on all major negotia­
tions then under way and those soon to follow.2
Bargaining and Settlements

Ford. The beginning of negotiations with the
Ford Motor Co. on June 2, 1949, marked the open­
ing of the union’s campaign for pensions, social
insurance, and wage increases from all major
automobile companies. Mid-1949 was a period of
business uncertainty and the company had raised
the question whether workers would be willing to
take a wage cut in order to finance a pension
program 3—the only alternative, it was claimed,
to an increase in prices. The union, however,
stressed the company’s ability to pay and insisted
that the demands could be met without increasing
prices.
When no settlement was reached by July 1,
1949, it was agreed to extend the old contract
on a day-to-day basis if no new agreement was
concluded by the July 15 expiration date. After
almost 4 months of negotiations a settlement was
reached on September 29, practically on the eve
of the industry-wide steel strike.
The new agreement provided for monthly
pensions of $100, including social-security benefits,
to employees aged 65 with 30 years of service.
Some social-insurance benefits were included also.
Cost of the program to the company was esti­
mated at 8% cents an hour which, with l}i cents
paid previously on an insurance plan, made the
total estimated company cost 10 cents an hour.


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MONTHLY LABOR

Chrysler. The union notified the company in late
June 1949 of its desire to reopen the contract, as
provided for, and presented its demands for a
program of pensions, social insurance, and a livingcost pay adjustment. The company contended
that negotiations should be limited to wages and
that the existing contract precluded consideration
of pensions and insurance plans during 1949.
Intermittent negotiations between the UAW and
Chrysler followed for more than 6 months and,
although pensions and insurance were discussed,
the parties failed to reconcile their conflicting
views as to the amounts of the benefits and the
manner in which the program should be funded
and administered. Strike votes, conducted by
the union under its constitutional provisions and
under requirements of Michigan State law indi­
cated that a large majority of the workers favored
strike action if that became necessary. A strike
date was finally set for January 25, 1950. As this
date approached the company offered a new 5-year
contract providing for monthly pensions of $100
to workers retiring at age 65 with 25 years’ service,
the payments to be guaranteed by its solvency and
good name. The offer also included some improved
insurance benefits. The contract would be reopenable once each year on wages only. This was
found unacceptable by the union, which proposed
that the company set aside 10 cents an hour in a
specific trust fund to finance the program, with
joint administration. As an alternative, the
union offered to accept a flat wage increase of
10 cents an hour.
Long weeks of negotiations accompanied the
stoppage. The company held fast to its position
that its solvency and good faith were sufficient
guaranty for pension payments. Equally firm,
the union contended that the entire program
should be jointly administered, and financed by
the company, in specific terms of cents per hour,
to be placed in a trust fund. After several weeks,
the company offered to set up a $30,000,000 fund
from which pensions should be financed. The
union regarded this amount as inadequate to make
the plan actuarily sound and countered with a
proposal that an additional $16,200,000 be put
into the fund within a 5-year period. This point
was finally settled when the union agreed to drop
its “cents-per-hour” demand and the company

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: MAJOR SETTLEMENTS

221

Comparison of Significant Provisions in the Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors Settlements
Provision

Ford

Chrysler

General Motors

General Contract Provisions
Effective date of con­
tract.
Length of contract___

Reopening

Union security

Upon ratification by the union
on or before Oct. 29, 1949.
Until Apr. 1, 1952; from year
to year thereafter unless
either party gives notice of
desire to terminate or
modify.
Once by each party on eco­
nomic matters, other than
pensions, after Jan. 1, 1951.

_ _ Union shop retained

Wage changes.

No general wage changes

May 4, 1950

____ __

May 29, 1950.

3 years; from year to year
thereafter unless either
party gives notice of desire
to terminate.

5 years; from year to year
thereafter unless either party
gives notice to terminate or
modify.

By each party on wage rates
and insurance (but not pen­
sions) after July 1, 1951,
and again after July 1 of
any subsequent year. No
reopening on pension plan
for 5 years.
Exclusive bargaining clause
retained; voluntary check­
off of union dues added.

None; to “continue in full force
and effect without change
until May 29, 1955.” Right
or obligation to bargain
further on any matters
waived during life of agree­
ment.
Modified union shop— new em­
ployees required to join the
union within 90 days, with
option of withdrawing after
1 year; present employees,
not union members, not re­
quired to join.
Annual wage improvement fac­
tor increased from 3 to 4
cents an hour. Cost-of-liv­
ing escalator clause con­
tinued.

No general wage changes, but
some adjustments in 45
wage classifications and area
wage differentials between
Detroit and Indiana plants
reduced 3 cents an hour
by increasing rates of Indi­
ana workers.

Pension Plan Provisions
Effective date of pen­
sion plan.

Mar. 1, 1950

Duration of pension
plan.

5 years, with automatic renewal for 1-year periods
thereafter unless either
party shall give written
notice of desire to amend or
modify at least 60 days
prior to expiration date.
Joint board of 6, 3 appointed
by company and 3 by union,
with impartial chairman,
establishes procedures, rules
on questions of eligibility,
etc.
By company exclusively_____
$100 including primary socialsecurity benefits.

Administration

Financing___________
Amount of normal
monthly pension.

8 95 483— 50------ - 3


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“The first day of the third
calendar month following
the calendar month in which
the union notifies the cor­
poration in writing, that
this agreement has been
duly ratified * *
provided that plan has been
cleared by Commissioner
of Internal Revenue,
5 years, with automatic re­
newal for 1-year periods
thereafter unless either
party shall give written
notice of desire to amend or
modify at least 60 days
prior to expiration date.
Same as Ford_______________

By company exclusively_____
$100 including primary socialsecurity benefits.

Not later than October 1, 1950.

For length of collective-bar­
gaining agreement.

Same as Ford.

By company exclusively.
$i00 including primary socialsecurity benefits, subject to
increase if social-security
benefits rise, as company
continues to pay $1.50 a
month for each year of
service from 10 up to 30.

222

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: MAJOR SETTLEMENTS

MONTHLY LABOR

Comparison of Significant Provisions in the Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors Settlements— Continued
Provision

Ford

Chrysler

General Motors

Pension Plan Provisions— Continued
Age and service re­
q u ir e m e n t s fo r
above pension.
Age of automatic re­
tirement.

Age 65 and 30 years’ credited
service.

Age 65 and 25 years’ credited
service.

Age 65 and 25 years’ credited
service.

68 _____________________

68 although employee may
continue working thereafter
at company’s option.
Credited for service up to
age 68.

68 although employee may
continue working thereafter
at company’s option.
Credited for service up to age
68 but subject to 30 years’
service limitation.
Upon retirement at age 65,
with 10 but less than 25
years’ service, monthly pen­
sion, including primary socialsecurity benefits, $4 for each
year of service.
Monthly pension of $3 for each
year of credited service
up to 30, with $50 mini­
mum, upon retirement for
total and permanent dis­
ability between ages 50 and
65 with 15 or more years’
service. Pension subject to
deductions for statutory dis­
ability benefits available to
employee.
Between ages 60 and 65, with
10 or more years’ service;
retirement at employee or
corporation option, with re­
duced benefits.

Credit for service after
age 65.

None

Provision for retire­
ment with less than
required service for
normal pension.

Upon retirement at age 65
with less than 30 years’
service, monthly pension,
including primary socialsecurity benefits, is pro­
rated.
Monthly pension of $50, in­
cluding any statutory dis­
ability benefits, upon re­
tirement for total and per­
manent disability after age
55 with 30 years’ service.

Upon retirement at age 65
with 10 but less than 25
years’ service, monthly pen­
sion, including social-secu­
rity benefits, is prorated.

Employee may retire between
age 60 and 65, after 30
years’ service, with reduced
benefits.

Employee may retire between
age 60 and 65, with 25
years’ service, with reduced
benefits.

Disability retirement
provisions.

Provision for retire­
ment before age 65.

Monthly pension of $50, in­
cluding any statutory dis­
ability benefits, upon re­
tirement for total and per­
manent disability between
age 55 and 65 with 25 years’
service.

Insurance, Hospitalization, and Medical Provisions
[Most items paid for on contributory basis]

Life insurance before
retirement.
Continuing free life
insurance upon re­
tirement or upon
reaching age 65.
W eek ly d is a b ilit y
benefits.

Hospitalization, surgi­
cal benefits and inh o sp ita l m ed ical
benefits.


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$2,000 to $4,000, depending on
earnings.
N one______________________

$3,600_____________________

$18 to $36, depending on earn­
ings, for 26 weeks, per
disability, beginning 1st
day of accident and 8th day
of sickness; including 6
weeks’ maternity.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
protection, at employee ex­
pense, for hospitalization
and surgical benefits. Inhospital medical benefits of
$4 a day up to 70 days, paid
by company.

$28 for 26 weeks, per disabil­
ity, beginning 1st day of
accident and 4th day of
sickness, including 6 weeks’
maternity.

$500 to $1,000 upon retire­
ment, depending on length
of service.

$1.05 a month for Blue Cross
and 45 cents a month for
Blue Shield protection for
employee, paid by company.
Balance (approxim ately
half) of premiums for his
own protection and all
costs of coverage for his
dependents, paid by em­
ployee.

$2,500 to $5,000, depending on
earnings.
$500 to $1,350, depending on
earnings and length of serv­
ice, after reaching age 65.
$28 to $45.50, depending on
earnings, for 26 weeks, per
disability, beginning on 1st
day of accident and 8th day
of sickness, including 6 weeks’
maternity.
Half of cost, Blue Cross and
Blue Shield hospitalization
and surgical benefits for em­
ployee and his family, paid
by com pany. In-hospital
medical benefits up to $5 a
day not to exceed 70 days,
also paid by company.

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: MAJOR SETTLEMENTS

agreed to set up a trust fund which would make the
plan actuarily sound.
The Chrysler agreement was reached on May 4,
1950, the hundredth day of a strike involving
95,000 workers, and ratified May 6. It provides
for pensions of $100 per month, including socialsecurity payments, to workers retiring at age 65
with 25 years of service; insurance benefits;
check-off of union dues; and improvements in
provisions relating to seniority, promotions, griev­
ance procedures, and vacation pay. No general
wage increase was agreed to, but many workers
received increases as a result of adjustments in
certain wage classifications and from the narrow­
ing of area wage differentials between Detroit and
Indiana plants.
General Motors. Negotiations with General
Motors began on March 29, 1950, 60 days prior to
the expiration of the contract. The union’s
principal proposals included pensions of $125 per
month, insurance benefits, and a 9-cent hourly
increase in wages, the equivalent of a 31-cent
package. There were other demands also, includ­
ing a union shop, changes in provisions relating to
transfers and promotions, and elimination of the
cost-of-living wage adjustment clause.
The agreement came as a surprise soon after
settlement of the Chrysler strike. It was an­
nounced on May 23, a few days before the old
contract was scheduled to expire. Principal
provisions of the 5-year agreement included:
(1) monthly pensions of $100, including social
security benefits, to employees retiring at age
65 with 25 years of service; (2) improved social
insurance benefits; (3) an increase in the annual
improvement factor from 3 cents to 4 cents per
hour in each of the five contract years; and (4) a
modified union shop in which new employees will
be required to join the union within 90 days but
will have the option of withdrawing after 1 year.
Basic agreement on the principle that employees,
through technological progress, might expect an
improved standard of living, was evident from the
contract paragraph which states:
The annual improvement factor provided herein
recognizes that a continuing improvement in the
standard of living of employees depends upon
technological progress, better tools, methods, proc­
esses and equipment, and a cooperative attitude on
the part of all parties in such progress. It further


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223

recognizes the principle that to produce more with
the same amount of human effort is a sound economic
and social objective. Accordingly, all employees
covered by this agreement shall receive an increase
of 4 cents per hour, effective May 29, 1950, and an ad­
ditional increase of 4 cents per hour annually on May
29, 1951, May 29, 1952, May 29, 1953, and May
29, 1954, which shall be added to the base rate of
each wage classification.

The cost-of-living escalator clause, agreed to in
1948, was continued so that wage rates can be
adjusted in accordance with trends in the BLS
index of consumers’ prices. This clause provides
for an adjustment each 3 months of 1 cent an
hour for each 1.14 point change in the index.
Wage rates cannot be reduced below basic levels
in case of drastic reductions in prices.
Import of Agreements

Union spokesmen claimed that the Ford agree­
ment, reached 2 days before the steel strike began,
represented “ an important milestone in welfare
and security in the industry,” which will “ not only
serve for stability of the auto workers but should
point the way in the steel industry.” A high
company official characterized the contract as “ a
fresh and significant approach to increasingly
better industrial relations in Ford Motor Co.
plants,” which “ opens the door on a long period
of sustained labor peace and productivity.”
Conflicting claims were made as to the measure
of gains and losses resulting from the Chrysler
stoppage. The union characterized the strike
settlement as a victory and claimed that the
monetary costs of the benefits obtained equaled
the 10-cent economic package demanded before
the strike began. In announcing the settlement to
the membership the union stated: “ It is most
unfortunate that the Chrysler Corp. forced its
workers and their families to undergo the hardships
of a long and costly strike before the Chrysler Corp.
was willing to give the Chrysler workers the eco­
nomic and contract concessions that other com­
panies granted their workers without forcing them
to strike.” The company did not announce any
estimates of the costs of benefits granted but
pointed out: “ As regards pension and other benefits
that the individual employee gets under the new
contract, he could have got substantially these at
the conference table without losing a single day’s
pay.”

UNION-SECURITY AGREEMENT PROVISIONS

224

Top union officials termed the General Motors
agreement “ the most significant development in
labor relations since the mass production indus­
tries were organized in 1936-37.” The president
of the General Motors Corp. regarded the agree­
ment as based upon “ experience, logic and
principles rather than on pressure, propaganda
and force.” He further stated: “ The 5-year
agreement could not have been reached except for
the progress made 2 years ago in adopting a
formula for fair wage determination, and if the
UAW-CIO had not demonstrated during this
2-year period its sincerity and responsibility in
carrying out agreements.”
— D on Q. C row ther

and L oretto R . N olan

Division of Industrial Relations, BLS
1 This board was appointed by President Truman in July 1949 to investi­
gate the facts and make recommendations for settlement of the steel dispute.
For an analysis of the Board’s report see M onthly Labor Review, November
1949, p. 507.
2 Especially significant was the Board’s statement that “social insurance
and pensions should be considered a part of normal business costs to take
care of temporary and permanent depreciation in the human ‘machinery’
in much the same way as provision is made for depreciation and insurance
of plant machinery. This obligation should be among the first charges
on revenues.”
> In 1947 Ford workers had rejected a pension plan in favor of a wage
increase. The company had offered the choice between a straight wage
increase of 15 cents per hour or a 7-cent wage increase and a jointly financed
pension plan.

MONTHLY LABOR

ing groups. Forty-seven percent of the agree­
ments were negotiated by unions affiliated with
the AFL; 40 percent by unions affiliated with the
CIO;1 and 13 percent by unaffiliated or independ­
ent unions.2
Every collective-bargaining agreement in itself
implies a certain degree of union status or security.
However, most contracts include specific clauses
defining the extent or type of union security in
the plant or establishment. The particular type
of security clause included frequently depends on
such factors as the relative economic strength of
the union and employer, conditions peculiar to
particular industries, the legpl framework within
which the contract is consummated, and patterns
established in the history of bargaining in the
industry and between the particular employer and
the union involved.
Union-security clauses maybe classified, broadly,
into three major categories: union shop and its
variations; membership maintenance; and sole
bargaining.3 Of these three types, the union shop
was most prevalent among the agreements ana­
lyzed (table 1). “Union-shop” agreements require
that all or nearly all employees in the collective
T a b l e 1.— Types

of union-security provisions established by
collective-bargaining agreements
All agree­
ments in
sample 1

Types of union security

Union-Security Provisions
in Agreements, 1949-50
2,159 collective-bargaining agree­
ments analyzed for union-security clauses, provi­
sions required that workers covered by the contract
either must be union members at the time of
hiring or become members within a specified
period after starting work. In addition, almost
two-thirds (64 percent) of the agreements examined
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics called for some
type of check-off of dues alone, or of dues and
other union assessments.
All the agreements studied were in effect during
all or some part of 1949. Many remained effective
in 1950. They covered an estimated 4,000,000
workers employed throughout the United States
in 20 major manufacturing and 8 nonmanufactur­

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Agreements

N um ­ Per­ N um ­ Per­
ber cent ber cent
Total

I n half of the

Agreements with employ­
ment data

_______ ____

__ 2,159

Union shop__________________ 1,080
Membership maintenance_____ 444
Sole bargaining____________ __ 635

Workers
covered
Number

Per­
cent

100 1,622

100 3,154,000

100

802
334
486

49 1, 259,000
21
752,000
30 1,143,000

40
24
36

50
21
29

1 N ot included in the final sample of 2,159 agreements were 16 contracts
which had no union-security provision and 143 in which union-security
provisions could not be definitely classified. Most of these agreements
made the type of union security contingent on developments and interpre­
tations of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, or various State
laws. The most significant of these are the national anthracite and bitum i­
nous-coal mining agreements, covering approximately 450,000 workers, which
provide for a union shop “to the extent ana in the manner permitted by law.”
Also excluded is the company-wide contract between the Ford Motor Co.
and the United Automobile Workers (CIO), covering 115,000 workers, which
provides for a union shop except for plants in States where the union shop is
banned by law. The contract between the General Motors Corp. and the
Auto Workers (CIO), covering about 250,000 workers, is here classified in
the sole-bargaining category; since the survey date, a new contract incorpo­
rating a modified union-shop provision has been signed. The incorporation
of the above contracts in the union-shop category would bring the total
number of workers covered to over 2,000,000.
Another group of 87 agreements were eliminated from the sample because
their check-off provisions could not be definitely classified and thus corre­
lated with the union-security clauses of the same agreements. Of this group,
63 percent called for a union shop, 16 percent for maintenance of member­
ship, and 21 percent for sole bargaining.
Finally, because of lack of an adequate sample, agreements in the con­
struction industry (traditionally union shop) and in the railroad industry
(where the union shop is prohibited by law) were not included in the study.

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

UNION-SECURITY AGREEMENT PROVISIONS

bargaining unit be members of the union. “Main­
tenance of union membership” agreements stipu­
late that all employees who were union members
when the contract became effective, or join the
union while the contract is in effect, must remain
union members in good standing during the life of
the agreement. “Sole bargaining” contracts are
those in which the union is recognized only to the
extent that it is accorded the right to bargain for
all employees in the unit, irrespective of whether
the workers are or are not members of the union.
Union Shop

The frequency of union-shop clauses in contracts
in major industry groups is shown in table 2.
In 8 of the 20 manufacturing industry groups and
in 5 of the 8 nonmanufacturing groups, more than
half of the agreements surveyed provided for
union-shop clauses.
T a b l e 2. — Type

of union security by industry

Major industry group

T otal_____ _____________
M a n u fa c tu r in g

_ ______

Apparel and other finished textile products_________________________ _____
Printing and publishing______
_____
Paper and allied p r o d u cts._____
___
Food and kindred products____________
Lumber and timber basic products
Professional and scientific instrum ents...
Textile mill products. . . . . . . _____
Stone, clay, and glass products_________
Transportation equipment.
................
Furniture and finished wood products. _.
Fabricated metal products, except ord­
nance, machinery, and transportation
equipment. . . . _______ __ . .
Rubber products. _ ______________
Primary metal industries____ _____
Leather and leather products______ _
Chemicals and allied"products. . . .
Machinery, except electrical... ______
Tobacco___ ______ _
____ . ______
Electrical machinery___ ____ . . . . . _
Petroleum and coal products.. . _______
Miscellaneous 1______________________
N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g

____________ ____

Hotels and restaurants_____ _____
Wholesale and retail trade_______ ___
Services2_____
_______ . _ . . .
Transportation. . . . . .
___
Utilities, electric and gas ______ _______
Mining, crude-petroleum and natural-gas
production________________________
Communications________ ______ ___
M iscellaneous3_______ ___________

Percent of agreements
N um ­
providing—
ber of
agree­
ments
M em­
Sole
in
Union bership
bar­
sample shop mainte­ gaining
nance
2,159

50.0

21.0

29.0

1 ,6 8 1

4 7 .0

2 3 .0

3 0 .0

86
53
58
172
47
25
150
154
73
60

88. 0
75.0
72.0
71.0
64.0
52.0
51.0
48.0
45.0
37.0

10.0
14.0
8.0
2.0
24.0
12.0
12.0
33.0
20.0

12.0
15.0
14.0
21.0
34.0
24.0
37.0
40.0
22.0
43.0

158
48
103
103
70
155
16
58
49
43

37.0
36.0
35.0
34.0
33.0
32.0
31.0
31.0
10.0
53.0

38.0
8.0
40.0
54.0
30.0
30.0
19.0
33.0
29.0
21.0

25.0
56.0
25.0
12.0
37.0
38.0
50.0
36.0
61.0
26.0

478

6 9 .0

1 3 .0

2 8 .0

42
104
81
73
115

90.0
71.0
68.0
59.0
49.0

5.0
2.0
11.0
12.0
23.0

5.0
27.0
21.0
29.0
28.0

25
26
12

24.0
12.0
58.0

28.0
19.0
17.0

48.0
69.0
25.0

1 Includes jewelry and silverware, buttons, musical instruments, toys,
athletic goods, ordnance, and ammunition.
2 Includes financial, insurance, and other business services, personal serv­
ices, automobile repair shops, amusement and recreation establishments, and
medical and other health services.
3 Includes farming, fishing, educational institutions, nonprofit membership
organizations, and governmental establishments.


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225

Union-shop agreements are of two general
types, with the following requirements:
(1) Employees must be members of the union
before beginning work. Less than a tenth, or 93
of the 1,080 union-shop agreements, were in this
category. Although some of these agreements did
not state specifically that an employee must be a
union member before starting work, the stipulated
conditions of employment were such that the
great majority of workers hired would be union
members.
(2) New employees, not union members at time
of hiring, must join within a specified time after
starting work. The greatest number (987) of the
union-shop agreements contained this stipulation.
Of these 987 contracts, 120 provided a modified
union shop in that certain groups of employees
were specifically excluded from the requirement
that they become union members within a given
time after hiring. Preference to union members
in filling vacancies was also provided in 163 of
the union-shop agreements.
T a b l e 3. — Union-security and

check-off provisions in agree­
ments, 1949—50, by region

Region

TotaL_

_____

N ew England____ _ _ ___
Middle Atlantic
East North Central . . .
West North Central
___ .
South Atlantic ___________
East South Central___ _____
West South Central________
M ountain_______ ______ _
Pacific. . . . . . .
____
Interstate 1. . . ______ _____

Percent of agreements
Percent
N um ­
providing—
of agree­
ber of
ments
agree­
with
ments
M em­
Sole
check-off
in
Union bership bargain­
provi­
sample shop mainte­
ing
sions
nance
2,159

50.0

21.0

29.0

64.0

190
448
546
181
156
102
94
42
248
152

58.0
58.0
49.0
46.0
22.0
31. 0
13.0
48.0
71.0
54.0

14.0
21.0
25.0
34.0
13.0
20.0
19.0
28.0
11.0
18.0

28.0
21.0
26.0
20.0
65.0
49.0
68.0
24.0
18.0
28.0

72.0
67.0
67.0
60.0
81.0
79.0
72.0
55.0
32.0
62.0

1 Each of these agreements covers two or more plants located in different
States, and, in some cases, in different regions.

Highest proportion of union-shop contracts
occurred in the Pacific region, consisting of Cali­
fornia, Oregon, and Washington (table 3 and chart
1). In this area about 7 out of every 10 agree­
ments analyzed called for a union shop. By con­
trast, the proportion of such clauses was lowest
(13 percent) in the West South Central States
(Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.)
Two-thirds of the 1,012 agreements negotiated
by unions affiliated with the AFL called for a
union shop (table 4). Of the agreements negoti-

UNION-SECURITY AGREEMENT PROVISIONS

226

ated by CIO affiliated unions and by the un­
affiliated or independent unions, slightly more
than a third provided for a union shop.
Tables 2, 3, and 4 also contain data for unionsecurity clauses providing membership mainte­
nance and sole bargaining by industry, region, and
union affiliation.
T a ble 4. — Union-security

and check-off provisions in agree­
ments, 1949-50, by union affiliation
Percent of agreements
Percent
providing—
N um ­
of agree­
ber of
ments
agree­
with
M em­
ments
Sole
check-ofl
in
Union bership bargain­ provi­
shop
mainte­
sample
ing
sions
nance

Union affiliation

64

T otal__________________ ---

2,159

50.0

21.0

29.0

American Federation of Labor.
Congress of Industrial Organ­
izations. .
________
Independent uions L -----. . .

1,012

67.0

13.0

20.0

41

856
291

35.0
36.0

27.0
26.0

38.0
38.0

91
65

1 Includes 14 agreements jointly negotiated by the International Association
of Machinists (Ind.) and various A FL affiliates.


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MONTHLY LABOR

Check-off Provisions

About two-thirds of the 2,159 agreements
included in the survey contained some “ check-off”
arrangement; i. e., the employer deducts from the
worker’s pay envelope and remits to the union at
regular intervals a sufficient amount of money to
cover the worker’s union dues and possibly such
other items as initiation fees, assessments, and
lines. The check-off is not necessarily a part of
any one type or characteristic of union security,
but may be agreed upon in connection with the
union-shop, maintenance-of-membership, or sole­
bargaining types of clauses.
In manufacturing industries, the proportion of
agreements with check-off provisions ranged from
a low of 19 percent (10 of 53 agreements) in print­
ing and publishing to a high of 95 percent (143 out
of 150 agreements) in textile-mill products (table
5). Of the 1,681 agreements covering manufac­
turing firms, 266 provided for check-off of dues,

Chart 1. Union-Security Provisions in Collective Bargaining Agreements

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

UNION-SECURITY AGREEMENT PROVISIONS

initiation fees, and assessments; 312 provided for
check-off of dues and initiation fees; and 586
provided for check-off of dues only (chart 2).
In the nonmanufacturing group, the proportion
of agreements with check-off provisions ranged
from a low of 30 percent in the transportation
industry (22 of 73 agreements) to a high of 92
percent in mining and crude petroleum production
(23 of the 25 agreements). The communications
industry had the second highest rate in this group
(85 percent). Of the 478 agreements covering
nonmanufacturing workers, 37 provided for
check-off of dues, initiation fees, and assessments.
An equal number stipulated check-off of dues and
initiation fees; and 145 provided for the check-off
of dues only.
Distribution of check-off clauses on a regional
and union affiliation basis appears in tables 3 and
4, respectively. These data, as well as those
shown for the major industry groups, reflect a
rather definite correlation between the type of
Charf 2. Distribution of Agreements,
by Type of Check-off Arrangements

MANUF ACTURI NG
_

I NDUSTRI ES

1681 AGREEMENTS

227
g r o u p

Industry group

Total.
M a n u fa c tu r in g

_

Textile mill products______ ______ ________________
Tobacco_________________________________________
Rubber products_________________________________
Chemicals and allied products_____________________
Primary metal industries_________________ ________
Petroleum and coal products______________________
Leather and leather products_________ ____________
Professional and scientific instrum en ts-.___________
Transportation equipment________________________
Furniture and finished wood products_____________
Machinery, except electrical................................ .............
Electrical machinery_____________________________
Fabricated metal products, except ordnance, ma­
chinery, and transportation equipment___________
Stone, clay, and glass products___________ _________
Food and kindred products_______ _____ ___________
Lumber and timber basic products_________________
Apparel and other finished textile mill products_____
Paper and allied products_________________________
Printing and publishing___________________________
Miscellaneous 1________________________
N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g

.

Mining, crude-petroleumand natural-gas production..
Communications________________________
Utilities, electric and gas___________________
Services 2_____________________________
Wholesale and retail trade__________________
Hotels and restaurants____________________
Transportation_________________________
Miscellaneous 2_________________________

Percent­
Total
age of
number
agree­
of agree­
ments
ments in
with
sample check-off
provisions
2,159

64

1 ,6 8 1

69

150
16
48
70
103
49
103
25
73
60
155
58

95
94
94
89
85
84
81
76
75
72
70
69

158
154
172
47
86
58
53
43

68
63
54
53
43
43
19
67

478

46

25
26
115
81
104
42
73
12

92
85
56
42
34
33
30
42

See footnotes to table 2.

Dues only
Dues & initiation fees
Dues initiation fees,
8t-assessm ents
No provision

NONMANUF ACTURI NG

I NDUSTRI ES

478 AGREEMENTS

Dues only
Dues & initiation fees

high but union-shop clauses are less frequent.
On the whole, the survey discloses that about 50
percent of the union-shop agreements also had
check-off clauses, but about 80 percent of the
membership-maintenance and sole-bargaining
agreements called for the check-off of union
dues or assessments.
— I rving R u b e n s t e in , J ames
and W illiam

C. N ix ,
S. G ary

Division of Industrial Relations, BLS

union-security clause and existence of check-off
provisions. Generally, it appears that most agree­
ments which provide for some form of union shop
are least likely to contain the union dues check-off.
Thus, for example, in the apparel and printing
trades, the relatively high frequency of unionshop provisions is accompanied with a substan­
tially smaller proportion of check-off clauses.
By contrast, in such industries as tobacco,
rubber, and chemicals the proportion of agree­
ments providing for the check-off is relatively

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1 Includes agreements of unions which, at the time of the survey, were
affiliated with the CIO but which have since been expelled.
2 Includes 14 signed jointly by the International Association of Machinists
and various AFL affiliates.
3 For examples of these various types of clauses, see U . S. Dept, of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 908: Union Security Provisions in Col­
lective Bargaining.
4 A sample of a “modified” union shop is the latest General Motors con­
tract with the United Automobile Workers (CIO) concluded M ay 29, 1950.
The contract provides:
“ (4a) A ny employee who is a member of the Union in good standing
on the effective date of this agreement shall, as a condition of employ­
ment, maintain his membership in the Union to the extent of paying
membership dues and International and local Union general assessments
uniformly levied against all Union members. Such employee may have
(Continued on p. 228.)

228

MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION REPORT

Mediation and Conciliation
Service Report, 19491
T he F ederal M ediation and C onciliation
S ervice reported a large increase in conciliation

activity during the year ending June 30, 1949—its
first full fiscal year of operations since it was estab­
lished on August 22, 1947, under provisions of the
Labor Management Relations Act, 1947.
A total of 20,841 dispute notices involving
82,162 industrial establishments were filed with
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,
as required by the Labor Management Relations
Act, compared with 16,769 dispute notices involv­
ing 51,650 establishments in fiscal year 1948. The
receipt of a dispute notice does not in itself require
participation by the Service in a dispute. The
facilities of the Service in fiscal year 1949 were
authorized in only 16,829 disputes brought to its
attention by this method; in 1,937 cases, a volun­
tary request for assistance was received; and in
56, the Service interceded directly, because the
disputes threatened to do considerable damage to
the public interest.
The 18,822 disputes investigated affected di­
rectly about 6,363,000 employees. Jurisdiction
was later declined in 3,775 of these disputes, pri­
marily because they had little or no effect on inter­
state commerce. The outcome, degree of partici­
pation by the Service, and the issues involved in
cases in which jurisdiction was accepted are shown
in the following tabulation:
(Continued from p. 227.)
his membership dues and such assessments deducted from his earnings
by signing the form for ‘Authorization for Check-off of D ues,’ or if no
such authorization is in effect, he must pay his membership dues and
such assessments directly to the Union.
“ (4b) A ny employee who on the effective date of this agreement is
not a member of the Union shall not be required to become a member
of the Union as a condition of continued employment. Any such em­
ployee, however, who during the life of this agreement joins the Union
must maintain his membership thereafter as provided in paragraph (4a).
“ (4c) A ny employee hired on or after the effective date of this agree­
ment shall become a member of the Union upon acquiring seniority,
and he shall, as a condition of employment, maintain his Union mem­
bership for one year to the extent of paying membership dues and Inter­
national and local Union general assessments uniformly levied against
all members, subject to the following:
“ (1) If not more than twenty days and not less than ten days imme­
diately preceding the first anniversary date of his acquisition of seniority
such employee notifies the Corporation and the Union in writing that
he has resigned from Union membership, such action shall automati­
cally cancel his ‘Authorization for Check-off of Dues,’ and such employee
shall not be obliged thereafter to maintain his membership in the Union,
nor pay any dues or assessments as a condition of employment during
the remaining life of this agreement.”


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MONTHLY LABOR
N u m b e r
o f cases

Disputes in which jurisdiction was ac­
cepted_____________________________ 15, 047
Degree of participation:
Active___________________________ 7, 046
Consultative_____________________ 1, 187
Stand-by________________________ 6, 814
Basis for closing cases:
Agreement between parties________ 13, 388
Called off by parties______________
375
National Labor Relations Board
accepted jurisdiction____________
263
211
Referred to arbitration____________
Conciliator withdrew_____________
810
Issues involved in active cases:
Work stoppages__________________ 1, 102
Threatened work stoppages________ 1, 094
Other disputes___________________
4, 850

AFL unions were involved in 52.7 percent of the
18,822 disputes assigned to theService’s conciliators
in fiscal year 1949; CIO unions in 30.6 percent; and
unaffiliated unions in 16.7 percent. Manufactur­
ing industries accounted for 67.6 percent of the
disputes referred to the agency; wholesale and
retail trade, 11.9 percent; and transportation,
10.4 percent. The largest number of assignments
were in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan,
Illinois, and California. Although more than half
the Service’s cases concerned establishments with
less than 100 employees, the number of employees
involved represented but 6 percent of the total
employees in all cases. The largest establishments
represented only 5 percent of the total cases, but
their employees comprised 60 percent of the em­
ployees involved in all cases.
General Policy Considerations

The Labor Management Relations Act requires
that a party to a collective-bargaining contract
desiring to terminate or modify it must give
written notice of such intention to the other party
60 days before the effective date of such termina­
tion or modification. If no satisfactory settlement
has been reached within 30 days, the parties must
file a notice of dispute with the Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service. The Service assumes
its conciliatory role when it decides that the dis­
pute has more than a “minor effect on interstate
commerce.” The agency also intercedes in a
labor dispute that, in its judgment, threatens to
“do considerable damage to the public interest.”

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

C O L L E C T IV E

B A R G A IN IN G

The Service explained that its efforts are “di­
rected toward the peaceful settlement of differences
through collective-bargaining conferences between
the parties themselves and the achievement of
agreement as a result of such negotiations/’
The primary duty of mediating labor-manage­
ment disputes and promoting a favorable climate
for labor-management relations makes it necessary,
according to Director of the Service, Cyrus S.
Ching, for his agency to undertake such comple­
mentary functions as assisting employers and
unions to select arbitrators for their controversies.
Arbitration was found desirable when bargaining,
aided by mediation, failed to bring about agreement.
In order to avoid direct appointment of arbi­
trators whenever possible, the Service usually
submits lists of prospective arbitrators to both
parties. It nominates an individual who “appears
to satisfy its standards of experience, integrity,
capacity, and acceptability to the parties.” Me­
diators on the Service’s staff are not permitted to
accept arbitral ion assignments.
The agency
considers its effectiveness as a mediating body
impaired if it assumes the responsibility for an
award rendered by one of its own personnel. It
therefore assigns to the mediator the role of confi­
dential adviser and counselor of the disputants,
and to the arbitrator that of granting a quasi­
judicial award in favor of one party. Accordingly,
the arbitrators nominated by the Service are pri­
vate individuals who bear a relationship to the
disputing parties rather than to the Service itself.
During fiscal year 1949, the agency continued
its policy of minimizing the costs of arbitration
borne by the parties. A scale of suggested arbi­
tration fees was established which ranged from
$50 to $100 a day for time spent in travel, hearing,
and preparation of the award. Exceptions were
allowed in difficult contract arbitrations, in which
the parties agreed to higher compensation.
The Service’s Arbitration Unit received 805
requests for assistance in fiscal year 1949;
suggested names of arbitrators in 713 cases and
actually designated them in 620. Many cases
were resolved before arbitration hearings began,
either by the disputing parties themselves, or
through the efforts of the Service’s conciliators.
Cyrus S. Ching, the Service’s director, reported
that confidence in and acceptance of his agency
had become widespread. He said:
895 483-

50-

-4


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IN

NEW

YORK

229

The merits of Government mediation of labor disputes
are quite generally conceded and acknowledged. Govern­
ment mediators do not, and should not, possess authority
or powers other than those which flow from the respect
with which the parties regard them and the persuasiveness
of their logic. They are aids to collective bargaining. . . .
They are counselors and advisers. There are relatively
few union or employer officials who look upon the Federal
mediators as representative of Government acting in its
sovereign lawr-enforcing capacity, or Government as the
partisan of one side or the other.

Concluding his report, the Service’s director
commented:
Contrary to an impression held by many, industrial
relations in this Nation, generally, are not governed by
existing statutory regulations or by board or court orders
. . . rather [they] are carried on . . . by representatives
of the parties who have learned to respect each other’s
good faith.
1 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service: Second Annual R eport’
Fiscal Year 1949, Washington, D . C., 1950.

Collective-Bargaining Gains in
New York State, 1949
W age - rates w ere increased an average of 4
cents an hour in nearly 1,500 collective-bargain­
ing settlements negotiated in New York State in
1949. The survey,1made by the New York State
Department of Labor, covered some 900,000
workers—about 30 percent of the unionized em­
ployees and 15 percent of all nonagricultural
workers in the State. A similar survey in 1948
covering about 1,520 collective-bargaining settle­
ments indicated that hourly wage rates had
increased 11 cents.
The survey was confined to settlements involv­
ing 75 or more workers and its findings are not
typical of agreements in smaller establishments.
About two out of every three agreements pro­
vided for direct wage increases. The median
raise was 7 cents an hour in 1949 compared to the
1948 average of 12 cents. These wage increases,
which were given to 56 percent of the 900,000
employees, ranged from 5 cents an hour in apparel,
textile, and paper manufacturing to 17 cents in
the printing industry.
Fringe benefits were granted to about 57 percent
of the workers covered by the survey compared

230

LABOR

F E D E R A T IO N

to 50 percent in 1948. There was no indication
that these benefits were generally in lieu of wage
increases since they appeared as often in agree­
ments granting wage increases as in those which
did not.
Social-insurance programs (medical, surgical,
disability, hospitalization, and life insurance) were
a prominent feature of fringe benefits in 1949,
covering 28 percent of employees compared to 18
percent in 1948. About 89 percent of the 1949
insurance plans were employer-financed. Workers
included in new or modified pension programs
increased from 10 percent in 1948 to 14 percent
in 1949. Six out of every seven pension plans
negotiated in 1949 were employer-financed. The
average number of workers covered by each pen­
sion settlement was 1,718, indicating that they
were usually implemented only by large employers
or by groups of employers. Vacation and holiday
benefits affected 11 and 13 percent of employees,
respectively, in 1949, compared to 18 and 13
percent in 1948.
1 Collective-Bargaining Settlements in New York State, 1949, State of
New York, Department of Labor, Division of Research and Statistics,
New York, M ay 1, 1950.

Histadrut :
Labor Federation of Israel
its inceptio n in December 1920, the
objectives, functions, and structure of the General
Federation of Jewish Labor in Israel, more com­
monly known as Histadrut, differed radically from
those of the organized labor movement in the
United States and in Western Europe. Member­
ship in Histadrut currently comprises about 40
percent of the Jewish population—slightly over a
million—in Israel. The organization had its
origin in the early agricultural settlements and
drew its strength from the cooperatives and casual
labor. Lack of industrial development in the
country and strong competition from the lowerpaid Arab workers impelled Histadrut to look for
ways and means of providing employment, through
the establishment of industry and trade, for the
increasing flow of Jewish immigrants into Pales­
tine. For the same reasons, Histadrut also found

F rom


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OF IS R A E L

MONTHLY LABOR

it necessary to build a large variety of social
institutions, such as clinics and hospitals, insurance
systems, and schools for adults and children.
The combination of trade-union activity with the
operation of industrial and financial enterprises
and social institutions makes Histadrut unique.
Over-All Activities

Strictly trade-union functions, as they are under­
stood in the United States, are thus only a part of
Histadrut’s activities. Through its chains of
producer and consumer cooperatives in agriculture,
industry, construction, transportation, trade, and
finance, and through its social insurance, medical,
and educational institutions, it has for years
occupied a specialized place in the Jewish life of
Palestine. Histadrut is the largest agricultural
producer and the greatest factor in both export
and import trade. It operates the largest building
and construction agency and manufactures most
of its own building materials and supplies. Its
banks and insurance agencies provide saving
facilities for the members and loans for its agri­
cultural, industrial, and commercial enterprises.
It has established a comprehensive system of
social insurance, with hospitals, dispensaries, and
convalescent homes available both to city dwellers
and to agricultural communes. It operates schools
for children and vocational and cultural training
classes for adults, giving particular emphasis to
classes for adult immigrants.
In fact, there is hardly a phase in the economic,
social, and cultural life of Israel in which Histadrut
is not important. This article is concerned
primarily with its structure and functions as a
labor organization, but Histadrut’s trade-union
activities are not separate and apart from its other
activities and functions.1 This complex structure
doubtless resulted from the problems of Jewish
colonization of Palestine. Colonization could be
accomplished only by the integration of the immi­
grants as manual and skilled workers on the land
and in the cities ; it also required the establishment
of industries and trades in which these workers
could be employed; and because of the varied
backgrounds of those immigrants, social and
cultural institutions and a common language
(Hebrew) became necessary.
In summary, the functions and activities of
Histadrut are outlined in its constitution as: 2

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

LABOR

F E D E R A T IO N

(a) to organize workers according to their trades
into respective unions;
(b) to establish and develop enterprises in all
branches of agriculture and industry in city and
village; to set up credit societies and raise funds for
colonization and other economic activities; to foster
the organization of collectives and labor-groups; to
supply workers through the Labor Exchange; to
contract and execute efficiently various works; to
further the establishment of labor consumers’ and
producers’ cooperatives with the object of extensive
reciprocal exchange of supplies;
(c) to persist in conducting the struggle of hired
workers for improved labor conditions until the
complete liberation of the working class;
(d) to provide for the revival of the Hebrew
language; to publish newspapers and literature on
professional, technical, and general subjects; to set
up cultural, educational, and technical institutions;
(e) to care for the organization and expansion of
labor immigration; to maintain contact with the
“Hechalutz” ; to receive immigrants and care for
their employment and organization;
(f) to promote comradely relations with Arab
workers in Palestine and foster the link between the
Jewish labor movement and the International labor
movements all over the world;
(g) to establish and develop mutual aid institutions
(sick fund, life insurance, credit societies, unemploy­
ment insurance, etc.).

Historical Background

Prior to 1920, a few small craft unions existed
in Palestine among printers, quarry workers, car­
penters, and mechanics; the printers’ union dates
from 1897. However, the backbone of Histadrut
came from Jewish agricultural workers. These
organized workers included persons who worked
and lived in the cooperative agricultural com­
munes, and casual laborers who worked by the
day or the season in the scattered, privately owned,
Jewish farms, vineyards, and orange groves.
Although the wages and working and livingconditions of these casual agricultural workers
were extremely low, if measured by any European
standard, they were substantially higher than
those of the large masses of Arab workers. Arab
competition for jobs on privately owned Jewish
farms had proved so severe that a major objective
of the agricultural unions, and later also of
Histadrut, was that of “ providing an opportunity
for work” (kibush avodah) for Jewish immigrants
to Palestine, both on the land and in the cities.


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OF IS R A E L

231

The 87 delegates, representing approximately
4,500 Jewish agricultural workers, who met in
Haifa in December 1920 to launch Histadrut, were
first and foremost Zionist pioneers. They had
come to Palestine to build a homeland for the
Jewish people suffering from oppression in Czarist
Russia, Poland, and other eastern European
countries. They were also intent on building the
economic and social structure of the Jewish home­
land on cooperative principles, with no exploita­
tion of the labor of one for the benefit of another.
Some of these pioneers in Jewish colonization and
development of the Palestinian labor movement
are still at the helm of Histadrut or are active in
the Government of the new independent State of
Israel.
Structure and Membership

The General Federation of Jewish Workers in
Israel is not a federation of unions similar to the
American Federation of Labor or to the Congress
of Industrial Organizations. An individual work­
er can become a member of the AFL or CIO only
indirectly by joining a member union. In
Histadrut, the membership is individual and
direct. Any person aged 18 years or over who
works for an employer, or is self-employed and
has no one working for him, can become a mem­
ber. By joining Histadrut, the individual auto­
matically also becomes a member of certain agen­
cies and organizations through which Histadrut
carries out its numerous functions and activities.
The highest legislative and policy-making body
of Histadrut is the General Convention, which
meets, on the average, every 3 years. Seven such
conventions have been held since the organization
of Histadrut in 1920—the latest in Tel-Aviv during
the week May 24-30, 1949.
Delegates to the convention are elected by the
membership from local political party slates.
Balloting is secret, and the delegates are elected
on the principle of proportional representation.
They participate in the work of the convention
not primarily as representatives of the trade-union
to which they happen to belong, but as representa­
tives of all the workers in the locality from which
they were elected.
Approximately 143,000 out of a total of 179,000
members participated in the elections of delegates

232

L A B O R F E D E R A T IO N

to the 1949 convention. Among the 501 delegates
elected were 276 members of the Israel Labor
Party (Mapai, the largest political party in Israel),
172 members of the United Workers Party
(Mapam, the left-wing opposition), 19 from the
Zionist Workers, 11 from religious organizations,
and 13 from the Communist Party.
Between conventions, policy-making and ad­
ministrative functions are vested in the council of
Histadrut. The council elects annually an execu­
tive committee of 51 members, which is responsi­
ble for implementation of the program adopted
by the conventions or council and for day-to-day
administration of Histadrut affairs. The execu­
tive committee, in its turn, elects an executive
bureau of 9 members, which in 1949 was composed
as follows: 5 members from the Israel Labor Party
(Mapai), 3 from the United Workers Party
(Mapam), and 1 from the Zionist Workers Party.
The total active paid-up membership of the
General Federation of Jewish Workers in Israel is
composed of (1) working men and women who are
employed by others or are self-employed; (2) nonworking wives of members; and (3) employed boys
and girls under 18. At the beginning of 1948, the
membership totaled 180,600 and consisted of
128,200 working men and women, 47,460 house­
wives, and 4,940 members of the Federation of
Working Youth. Including the members’ chil­
dren, parents, and other near relatives who are
entitled to receive benefits from Histadrut’s social,
medical, and educational institutions, Histadrut
covered about 276,000 persons—nearly 43.1 per­
cent of the total Jewish population in Israel in
1948.
H i s t a d r u t m e m b e r s h ip , 1 9 2 1 to 1 9 5 0 1

Year

1921_________________________
1925_________________________
1935_________________________
1938_________________________
1939_________________________
1940_________________________
1941_________________________
1942_________________________
1943_________________________
1944_________________________
1945_________________________
1946_________________________
1947_________________________
1948_________________________
1949_________________________
1950_________________________

Wives of
Men, women,
not
and youth members
gainfully
workers
employed

62, 764
73, 660
79,828
81, 733
86,353
90, 601
96, 718
107, 615
117, 094
124, 969
133,140
144,176
191, 006

25,475
27, 955
29, 355
29,846
32,149
34, 614
36, 048
39, 597
41, 997
44, 474
47, 460
50,883
73, 941

Total mem­
bership

4, 400
10, 085
67, 000
88, 239
101, 615
109,183
111,579
118, 502
125, 215
132, 766
147, 212
159, 091
169,443
180, 600
195,059
264,947

i Membership is for the beginning of each year. It includes wives of mem­
bers not gainfully employed and, since 1944, also the working boys and girls
under 18 who are members of the Working Youth Federation.


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OF IS R A E L

M ONTHLY LABOR

At the time of the sixth Histadrut convention
(in 1945), there were only three Jewish tradeunions in Palestine organized nationally: the
Union of Clerks and Officials; the Union of Engi­
neers; and the Union of Railroad Telephone and
Telegraph Workers. In 1950, Histadrut reported
15 unions organized on a nation-wide basis. The
more important of these were:
I960
m e m b e r s h ip

Agricultural workers_________________
Clerks and officials___________________
Metal workers_______________________
Construction workers________________
Food workers_______________________
Textile workers______________________
Wood workers_______________________
Teachers____________________________
Engineers, architects, and surveyors__
Printers_____________________________

42, 200
24, 400
12, 150
7, 300
4, 300
3, 350
3, 250
2, 900
1, 900
1, 500

Every member of Histadrut is required to join
a union if one is available in his trade or industry.
The local craft or plant unions are concerned pri­
marily with working conditions in the plants or
establishments in which the members are em­
ployed. Through the local plant union, the
worker automatically becomes a member also of
the city or community craft or industry union,
which is concerned with collective bargaining and
industrial-relations problems of the craft or indus­
try within the bounds of that city or community.3
Significant Recent Action

The primary concern of the latest Histadrut
convention (1949) was to develop ways and means
of facilitating a continuous flow of Jewish immi­
grants into Israel and their absorption into the
economic and social life of the new State. Hista­
drut pledged itself to assist the Government in
carrying out the national “austerity program”
recently put into effect to bring about a more
equitable sharing of the country’s food supply
and other necessities of life.
At the same time, Histadrut resolved that it
would strive to raise the real value of wages
through increased industrial production and lower
prices. The need for higher productivity was
also stressed in the emphasis placed on increased
export as the main tool in achieving Israel’s
economic independence. Establishment of ad­
visory labor production committees was urged,
to assist industry and the Government in the

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

LABOR

F E D E R A T IO N

planning and introduction of more efficient
methods of operation.
Wages, as hitherto, were to be determined
through voluntary and free collective bargaining
between employers and employees. Histadrut,
the convention declared, would welcome and
would even take the initiative in promoting the
introduction of labor-saving devices and other
changes in methods, including piecework and
special premium rates, to foster increased output
by individual workers.
The convention also adopted the following policy
intended to facilitate absorption of the new immi­
grants into the social and economic life of Israel:
(1) The trade-unions of Histadrut wdl remain open
organizations. Demobilized soldiers and new immi­
grants will be admitted to Histadrut at sma 1er or no
membership fees for a period up to 6 months, or until
such time when they become adjusted and can assume
the full financial obligations on par with the other
members of Histadrut.
(2) No overtime work will be permitted unless ab­
solutely essential to the economic or social welfare of
the country.
(3) No worker will be permitted to hold more than
one job.
(4) The Government of Israel will be requested to
impose a special “absorption” tax on every citizen in
the country. The proceeds are to be used in the
settlement and housing of immigrants and in provid­
ing for their vocational and cultural needs.

However, the policy of close working relations
with the Government of Israel was supplemented
by a declaration on the independence of the tradeunion movement and its objectives. Histadrut
went on record as strongly opposed to compulsory
arbitration, and stated it would protect the right
and freedom of unions to strike when such action
becomes necessary. It would accept Government
mediation in labor disputes without making any
commitments, only if such mediation were re­
stricted to a limited period of time. It pledged
itself to work for labor legislation to insure the
independence and legal protection of trade-unions,
to provide legal standing for collective-bargaining
agreements, to establish minimum wages, to limit
working hours, and to protect women and minors


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OF IS R A E L

233

under 18. It called for equal wages to women
for equal work, maternity leave with full pay,
prohibition of child labor, abolition of night work,
and protection of the worker’s health at his place
of employment. It stated it would promote
legislation for the establishment of a comprehen­
sive social-insurance system to provide protection
for workers against unemployment, accidents,
and sickness and old age. At the same time, and
while such legislation was still pending, Histadrut
said it would urge its local and national unions to
obtain these benefits through collective bargaining
with employers.
International Affiliations

On May 11, 1950, the Histadrut Executive Com­
mittee decided by a majority vote to withdraw
from membership in the World Federation of
Trade Unions on the ground that “the status and
structure of the WFTU had fundamentally
changed since the Histadrut first affiliated to it
in 1945,” and it no longer constituted a unified
international serving the interests “of all workers
the world over.”
After entering the United Nations, Israel be­
came the sixtieth member to join the International
Labor Organization. Histadrut was designated
as the official labor organization of Israel, and its
delegates participated in the ILO convention held
in Geneva in June 1949 and in June 1950.
— B oris S tern
Chief, Division of Industrial Relations, BLS
1 A considerable amount of information on Histadrut’s economic and cu l­
tural activities has recently become available in the United States, such as
for instance, P a l e s t i n e , P r o b l e m a n d P r o m i s e , by Robert Roy Nathan, Oscar
Gass, and Daniel Creamer (1946); C o o p e r a t i v e P a l e s t i n e , T h e S t o r y o f H i s t a d r u t ,
by Samuel Kurland, (1947); and L a b o r E n t e r p r i s e i n P a l e s t i n e by Gerhard
Muenzner (1947).
C o o p e r a t i v e P a l e s t i n e : T h e S t o r y o f H i s t a d r u t , by Samuel Kurland, 1947
(Appendix, p. 265-266).
2 These strictly occupational unions in the city or community should not
be confused with the “workers council” in the city, which represents all the
members of Histadrut in that area. The members of the “workers council”
are elected annually by a secret vote of all Histadrut members in the city,
from political party slates, and on the principle of proportional representation.
The functions of the workers council are considerably wider than those of the
occupational unions; its work in the city corresponds to that of the Histadrut
council for the country as a whole.

2

234

¡S A L A R IE S O F O F F IC E

Salaries of Office Workers:
New York City, February 19501
W omen general stenographers employed in
New York City offices—the largest of the 24
occupational groups studied—averaged $47 a
week in February 1950. Average weekly salaries
of women in 13 of the occupational categories
differed by $2 or less from this pay level. Clerktypists and clerks doing routine filing work, the
second and third largest job groups, averaged
$40 and $35.50, respectively. Office girls were
at the bottom of the office salary scale with average
pay of $33.50. In 4 women’s jobs, average weekly
salaries were above $50, hand bookkeepers having
the highest average ($65.50).2
Although men outnumbered women in a few
jobs, including the bookkeeper and order clerk
categories, comparatively few men were engaged
in the office equipment operating jobs that pro­
vide employment to large numbers of women in
New York City. Among the 17 men’s classificaWeekly Salaries in Selected Office Jobs,
New York City, February 1950


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

W ORKERS

MONTHLY LABOR

tions for which data could be reported, average
salaries ranged from $70.50 for hand bookkeepers
to $34 for office boys. Accounting clerks, second
to office boys in numbers of men employed,
averaged $56 a week; order clerks’ salaries were
$1.50 higher.
Salary levels were about the same for men and
women employed in routine office jobs; but men’s
pay generally averaged higher than women’s
when pay comparisons were made in jobs involv­
ing a substantial period of training and thorough
knowledge of office procedures or of employer
policy. Men payroll clerks and accounting clerks,
for example, averaged $10 more a week than did
women in these jobs.
Average salaries in New York City offices were
slightly higher in February 1950 than in the same
month of 1949, when a similar Bureau study was
made. Although pay levels for nearly all of the
survey jobs rose during the year, most of the
increases in city-wide job averages amounted to
$1.50 or less a week.3 The amount of increase
was well below that found in the previous year
(February 1948-February 1949) during which
average pay levels rose about $2.50 or $3.
Office workers in wholesale trade, in the trans­
portation, communication, and other public utili­
ties group, and in central and administrative offices
of firms with multilocation operations held an
earnings advantage over workers in other industry
divisions studied. Higher-than-average salaries
were also paid in most of the women’s jobs in the
service industries and in offices of manufacturing
establishments producing durable goods. Lower
weekly salaries in the finance, insurance, and real
estate group were at least partly offset by average
weekly hours of work that were below the general
level for the community as a whole.
Salary levels tended to be higher in larger
establishments within each industry division, for
which comparisons on a size of establishment
basis could be made. The difference in pay levels
between large and small establishments was great­
est in manufacturing; half the job averages in large
establishments (more than 500 employees) ex­
ceeded those in smaller establishments (101-500
employees) by more than $3 a week.
Among all industries as a group, the highest
and lowest salaries recorded in individual jobs
usually differed widely. Salaries paid to most
of the workers were, nevertheless, grouped about

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

S A L A R IE S

O F O F F IC E

the average. As shown in the accompanying
table, the salary range of the middle 50 percent
of the workers in an earnings array exceeded $10
in only a few of the women’s jobs, with a somewhat
greater dispersion of rates indicated in men’s jobs.
About 1 in 7 office workers falling within the
survey’s scope was employed in an establishment
that operated under terms of a union agreement
covering office workers. More than half of the
office workers in retail trade and in the transpor­
tation, communication, and other public utilities
division, and approximately a fourth in manu­
facturing, were covered by union agreements.
A 35-hour, 5-day week was the most common
work schedule in all industry divisions, except
retail trade in which a 40-hour week was predomi­
nant. More than a fourth of the women office
workers in manufacturing, wholesale trade, and

235

WORKERS

the service industries, however, worked on a 37}£hour schedule. In all industries combined, fully
three-fourths of the women were scheduled to
work 37% hours a week or less during February
1950.
Supplementary Wage Practices

Vacations with pay, typically 2 weeks after a
year of service, were provided by nearly all of the
544 establishments studied in New York City.
The major exception to this community pattern
was found in retail trade, in which a majority of
workers were in offices providing 1 week after 1
year of service and 2 weeks after 2 years. Nearly
a fourth of the office workers in the city qualified
for more than 2 weeks of vacation leave upon
completion of 5 years of employment.

S a l a r i e s 1 a n d w e e k ly s c h e d u le d h o u r s o f w o r k , f o r s e le c te d office o c c u p a tio n s i n N e w Y o r k , N . Y ., b y i n d u s t r y d iv is io n , F e b r u a r y
1950

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 2

M EN
Billers, machine (billing
machine) 4
. . - _
1VTami faetur in g
Wholesale trade
Finance, insurance, and
real estate
Bookkeepers, hand ______

Wholesale trade
Retail trade
Finance, insurance, and
real estate
T ra n sp o rta tio n , communication, and other
public utilities_______
Services
Central offices________
Bookkeeping-machine operators, class A 4
Finance, insurance, and
real estate
Bookkeeping-machine operators, class B 4
Finance, insurance, and
real estate
Calculating-machine operators (Comptometer
type) 4_______________
M an 11 facti lr in g
Clerks, accounting_______
Manufacturing_________
Durable goods
Nondurable goods____
W holesale trade _. , __ .
Retail trade______ _
Finance, insurance, and
real estate. _________
T ran sp orta tio n , communication, and other
Services.. __________ .
Central offices
Clerks, file, class A 4_ . _
Manufacturing_____ . . .
Finance, insurance, and
real estate____ _______

Average—
E sti­
Memated
dian Salary range
num­
W eek ­
of middle
w
ber of W eek ­ ly
Hour­ eek­ 50 percent
ly
work­
sched­ ly salary
of workers
ly
salary uled rate
ers
hours

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 2

Average—
Esti­
Memated
dian Salary range
num­
W eek
of middle
week
ber of W eek
Hour
ly
50 percent
ly
work­
sched­ ly salarj
ly
of workers
ers
salary uled
rate
hours

M E N —Continued
464 $50. 50
54. 50
68
51. 00

258

38.5 $1.31 $52. 50 $42. 00-$55.00
38 C 1 43 52 50 52 50- 55 00
38. 5 1. 32 52. 00 40. 00- 60 00

96
2,485
421
189
232
625
141

52. 50
70. 50
75 00
75 00
75 00
72 00
61.50

38. 5
37.0
38 0
38 5
38 0
38 5
39. 0

1. 36
1.91
1 97
1 95
1 97
1 87
1. 58

706

67. 50

36. 5

1.85 69. 00 53. 50- 79.00

152
211
229

66.50
75. 00
70.00

37.5
36.5
37.0

1.77 65.50 60. 50- 75. 00
2 05 73 00 69. 00- 80 50
1.89 68. 00 57.50- 80.50

265

55. 00

37. 5

1. 47 51. 00 42.50- 60.50

225

53. 50

37. 5

1. 43 50. 00 39.50- 60 00

53 50
71.00
73 00
75 00
71 00
71 50
57. 00

52 5057.5066 5070 0065 0059 5045. 00-

55 00
80. 00
85 00
76 50
85 00
80 00
75. 00

734

47 00

36.5

1. 29 46. 00 42. 00- 52 00

532

44. 50

36. 5

1. 22 45. 00 39.00- 50. 00

89
60
8,288
1,203
527
676
1,573
267

42. 00
40. 00
56. 00
57.00
54.00
59.00
56. 00
50. 00

37.0
37.5
37.0
37.5
38.5
37.0
37.5
38.5

1.14
1. 07
1.51
1.52
1. 40
1.59
1.49
1.30

2, 279

55. 50

36.0

1.54 53. 00 45. 00- 67. 50

956
662
1, 348
297
51

59. 50
52.50
56. 50
51.50
47. 00

37 5
37.0
36.5
37.0
36.0

1. 59
1.42
1.55
1.39
1.31

86

48. 00

35.0

1.37 47. 501 44.00- 54.00

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

41.00
35. 00
55.00
56. 00
55. 00
58.00
55.00
49.50

60. 50
50. 50
55. 50
48. 00
45. 00

35. 0035.0045. 0048. 0045. 0052. 0046. 0040. 00-

50.5040.5046. 0045. 5035. 00-

48.00
45. 00
65. 00
64. 00
60. 00
66. 00
65. 00
60. 00

65. 50
60. 00
63. 50
59. 50
56. 00

Clerks, file, class A—Con.
Services,, ___
Clerks, file, class B A
_
M anufacturing________
Wholesale trade, ,
Finance, insurance, and
______
real estate
Services . ______ _____
Central offices______ _
Clerks, general_________
M anufacturing______
Durable goods______
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade________
Retail trade________ . . .
Finance, insurance, and
real e s t a t e , ,
Transportation, communication, and other
public utilities___ ____
Services ___________ . . .
Central offices_________
Clerks, order 4___ ____ . . .
Manufacturing_____ . . .
Durable goods______.
Nondurable goods _. __
Wholesale trade______ _
Central offices_________
Clerks, payroll ,
___
Manufacturing, ,
Durable goods____ _
Nondurable goods.
Wholesale trade__ _____
Retail tr a d e _______
Finance, insurance, and
real estate____ _
___
Transportation, communication, and other
public u tilitie s ______
Services, , . . . . . .
Central offices. . .
Clerk-typists 4___________
Manufacturing________
Wholesale trade___
Finance, insurance, and
real estate_____ . . .
Central offices_________

67 $61. 0C
863 36. 00
75 44. 00
54 40. 00

39. C $1. 56 $60. OC $54. 50-$65 00
38.0
.95 34. 00 30. 00- 40. 00
38.5 1.14 43.00 39. 50- 52.00
37.5 1.07 40. 50 38. 00- 42. 50

232
191
96
2,977
389
128
261
511
105

36. 50
33.50
39. 00
58. 00
53.50
54.50
53.00
61.50
53.00

35.5 1.03
39.0
.86
37.5 1.04
36.5 1. 59
37.5 1.43
38.5 1.42
37.0 1.43
36.5 1.68
38.0 1.39

1,157

57.00

35.5

1.61 56. 50 47.00- 66.00

166
79
570
3,896
641
156
485
2,145
388
1,076
340
101
239
119
77

57. 50
50. 50
63.00
57.50
53.50
58. 50
51.50
59. 00
57.50
61.00
57.50
51.50
60.00
59. 00
54.00

37.5
37.5
35.5
38.0
37.5
37.5
37.5
38.5
36.5
37.5
38.0
38.5
38.0
37.0
39.0

1.53
1.35
1.77
1.51
1.43
1.56
1.37
1.53
1.58
1.63
1. 51
1.34
1.58
1.59
1.38

210

73. 00

36.5

2. 00 76.00 69.00- 76. 00

163
52
115
756
139
122

58.00
59. 50
62. 00
42. 50
40.00
41.50

38.0
37.0
36.5
37.5
36.5
38.5

1.53
1.61
1.70
1.13
1.10
1.08

105
96

41.00
45.00

39.0
36.5

1.05 45. 00 35. 00- 45.00
1.23 43. 50 40. 00- 50. 00

33.00
31.00
39.00
55. 50
53. 00
54.00
51.00
57. 50
52. 50

54. 00
43.00
59. 50
56.50
55. 00
60.00
51.00
59.50
53.00
60. 00
52. 50
52. 00
55. 00
64. 00
53.00

60.00
64. 50
62.00
41. 50
40. 00
40. 50

30. 00- 40 00
29.50- 35 00
35.00- 44 00
48.00- 67.00
48. 00- 60. 00
45. 00- 60. 00
49.00- 58.00
49.50- 75. 00
46.00- 59.50

48.0034.5051. 0046.0045. 0055. 0043. 0048.0042. 5049. 5046. 0047. 5046. 0050. 0050. 00-

46. 0049. 5053. 0038. 0035.0038. 00-

69 00
59. 00
73. 50
66.00
60. 00
62. 00
58.00
68.00
70. 00
73. 00
70. 00
52.50
73. 00
68. 00
55.00

65.00
75.00
71.00
45. 50
45.50
44. 50

236

S A L A R IE S

O F O F F IC E

MONTHLY LABOR

W ORKERS

S a l a r i e s 1 a n d w e e k ly s c h e d u le d h o u r s o f w o r k , f o r s e le c te d office o c c u p a tio n s i n N e w Y o r k , N . Y ., b y i n d u s t r y d iv is io n , F e b r u a r y
1 9 5 0 — C o n tin u e d

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 2

AverageEstimated
num­
W eek­
ber of W eek­ ly
Hour­
work­
sched­ ly
ly
ers
salary uled rate
hours

M e­
range
dian 3 Salary
of middle
week» 50
percent
ly
salary of workers

W O M E N —Continued

M E N —Continued
Key-punch operators-------91 $44.00
9,601 34.00
Office b o y s... _________
M anufacturing.. --------- 1, 728 34.00
Durable goods------. . .
235 34. 50
Nondurable goods-----1,493 33. 50
2,176 34.00
Wholesale tr a d e --.
141 33. 50
Retail trade__ ______
Finance, insurance, and
2,313 33.00
real estate___________
Transportation, communication, and other
384 35.00
public utilities_______
S ervices______ ______
1,402 32. 50
Central offices______. .
1,457 35. 50
336 54. 50
Stenographers, general4---Manufacturing------------28 58.00
Finance, insurance, and
38 54.00
real estate___________
124 46.00
Typists, class A 4-_ -----42 47. 00
Wholesale trade_______
Typists, class B 4_ _ . _ _
178 40. 00
Finance, insurance, and
97 40.50
real estate___________

38.5 $1.14 $44. 00 $40. 00-$50. 00
.92 32.00 30. 00- 36. 00
37.0
37.0
.92 33. 00 30. 00- 36. 00
.93 34. 00 32. 00- 38. 00
37.0
.91 32.00 30. 00- 36. 00
37.0
.92 33.00 30.00- 37. 00
37.0
38.5
.87 32.00 30. 00- 36. 00
37.0

.89 32.00 30.00- 35. 00

36.5
37.0
36.0
37.0
37.5

.96
.88
.99
1.47
1.55

33.00
30.00
33. 50
52. 50
55.00

30. 5030. 0030. 0048. 5055.00-

37. 00
35.00
38. 00
60.00
64. 50

38.0
36.5
36.0
36.5

1.42
1.26
1.31
1.10

52. 50
45. 50
45. 50
40.00

44. 0042. 0044. 5037. 00-

60. 00
49. 00
45. 50
42. 50

35.5

1.14 40.00 39. 50- 43. 00

W O M EN
Billers, machine (billing
machine) 4---------------Manufacturing______ -Durable goods______
Nondurable goods----Wholesale trade________
Retail trade____ _____ _
Finance, insurance, and
real estate___________
Transportation, communication, and other
public utilities----------Central offices_________
Billers, machine (bookkeeping m achine)4___
Manufacturing_______
Wholesale tr a d e ______
______
Retail trade
Central offices________Bookkeepers, hand____
Manufacturing_____ _
Durable g o o d s .- - -----Nondurable goods__
Wholesale trade_____ Retail trade________ . .
Finance, insurance, and
real estate-----------Transportation, communication, and other
public utilities_______
Services______________
Central offices___ _
Bookkeeping-machine operators, class A 4_____
Manufacturing_________
Durable goods___ _
Nondurable goods___
Wholesale tr a d e ___
Finance, insurance, and
real e sta te ___________
Central offices_________
Bookkeeping-machine operators, class B
Manufacturing______
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade________
Retail trade___ ______
Finance, insurance, and
real estate____________
Transportation, communication, and other
public utilities_______
Services__________ Central offices_________

2,901
887
102
785
898
127

44.00
42. 00
46. 50
41.00
46.00
42. 50

37.0
37. 5
38.5
37.5
37.5
39.0

1.19 43. 50 39. 001.12 40. 00 38.001 .2 1
4 5 .0 0
42. 501.09 40.00 38. 001.23 45.00 40. 001.09 44. 50 39.00-

490

42.00

36.0

1.17 41.00 38. 50- 46. 00

142
337

48. 50
46. 50

38.0
36.0

1.28 46. 5C 44. 00- 53. 00
1. % 46. 0C 43. 00- 51. 00

1,473
163
86
385
9S
1,390
448
55
392
154
55

49.00
52. 00
48.00
42. 50
49. 50
65. 50
69. 50
68.0C
70 00
68.00
52. 5C

37.0
39 0
37.5
39.5
36.5
37.5
39.0
39. C
39 0
38.0
37. C

1.32
1.33
1.28
1.08
1.36
1.75
1.78
1.74
1 7f
1.79
1.42

211

61. 5C

36.5

1.68 61.50 48.00- 75.00

108
242
172

67.00
68. 0(
57.50

36.0
37.5
37.0

1.86 66. 00 55. 00- 70. 00
1.81 67. Of 60. 00- 75.00
1.55 55.00 48. 50- 67.00

1,008
25(
lOf
142
12*

52. 0(
57.50
57. 5(
57.50
58. 5(

37. (
37.5
38. (
37.5
37.0

1.41
1.53
1. 51
1.53
1. 58

42S
14C

47.00
53.00

37.0
36.0

1.27 47. on 43 50- 50 00
1 47 52 50 47 00- 57.00

6,312
834
215
625
1,018
38C

45. Of
48.50
50.50
48.0(
48. 5(
44.00

36. 5
37.5
37.5
37.5
37.0
39.0

1 Z
1.2S
1.35
1.28
1.3:
1 . 1:

3, 215

42. 50

36.0

1 1

10:
168
60C

45.0(
48. 5(
50.00

37.5
37.5
37.0

1 2
1 2

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 2

Average—
Esti­
M e­
range
mated
dian 3 Salary
W eek­
of middle
num­
w
ber of W eek­ ly
Hour­ eek­ 50 percent
ly
of workers
sched­ ly
work­
ly
ers
salary uled rate salary
hours

48. 00
45.00
50.00
45. 00
50. 00
46. 00

48. 50 45.00- 53.00
50 5C 47. 00- 60. 00
46. 00- 53. 00
4 7 .0 0
4 3 .0 0
38.00- 49. 50
46.00 45.00- 54. 00
65.00 55.00- 73. 50
70.0C 61.00- 70.00
70. OC 65.00- 70.00
70 00 61 00- 70 00
68. 50 64.50- 75. 00
50.00 45.00- 60. 00

50. Of
55.00
58. Of
54.00
55.00

46. 0050. 0054. 0046. 5050. 00-

44. 5( 40.004 3 . 0050. Of 4 5 . 0 0 49.00 40. 5048.00 44. 5043. 00 37.004 9 .0 0

. s 40. 50

08

55.00
62.00
60. 00
70. 00
62. 50

50.00
5 5 .0 0
5 5 .0 0

53.00
52.00
50.00

. 50- 46. 00

. c 48.00 42. 50- 48.00
. c 48. 5C 45.00- 50. 00
1.35 48.0C 43. 50- 54. 00

Calculating-machine oper­
ators (C om ptom eter
type)................................ 5, 522
M anufacturing............. .
940
215
Durable goods...... .........
725
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade................
985
694
Retail trade____ _______
Finance, insurance, and
real estate____________ 1,264
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
279
public utilities_______
Services_______________
190
Central offices__________ 1,17
Calculating-machine oper­
a to r s (o th e r th a n
925
Comptometer type) 4_.
Manufacturing_________
70
132
Wholesale trade________
130
Retail trade____________
Finance, insurance, and
415
real estate____________
109
Central offices_________
Clerks, accounting_______ 10, 571
Manufacturing_________ 2, 211
293
Durable goods_______
1,918
Nondurable goods____
1,458
Wholesale trade________
Retail trade____________ 1,190
Finance, insurance, and
real estate_____ ______ 2,252
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
510
public utilities_______
Services....... .............. ......... 1,517
1,433
Central offices_________
Clerks, file, class A _______ 3,514
362
Manufacturing_________
76
Durable goods_______
286
Nondurable goods____
555
Wholesale trade________
32
Retail trade-......................
Finance, insurance, and
real estate,...................... 1,351
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
171
public utilities...............
332
Services_________ ______
711
Central offices_________
Clerks, file, class B _______ 11,115
Manufacturing_________ 1,416
Durable goods_______
250
1,166
Nondurable goods____
1,297
Wholesale trade...........
570
Retail trade____________
Finance, insurance, and
real estate____________ 5,009
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
521
public utilities_______
1,063
Services______ _______
1,239
Central offices_________
5, 243
Clerks, general4.................
968
M anufacturing-.............. .
220
Durable goods_______
748
Nondurable goods____
598
Wholesale trade...............
973
Retail trade___ ____ ___
Finance, insurance, and
real estate................ ....... 1,728
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
144
public utilities_______
663
Central offices_________
Clerks, order 4_____ ______ 3,108
936
Manufacturing_________
167
Durable g o o d s ........... .
769
Nondurable goods____
792
Wholesale trade................
572
Retail trade____________
252
Centra] offices...................

$46. 50
46. 00
48.00
45.00
47.50
46. 50

37.0 $1.26 $46.00 $42.00-$51.00
38.0 1.21 46.00 42.00- 51.00
37.5 1.28 50.00 43.00- 53.00
38.0 1.18 45.00 42.00- 49.00
38.0 1.25 47. 00 43.00- 53.00
38.0 1.22 45.50 41.00- 50. 50

44. 00

36.0

1.22 43.00 40. 00- 48.50

46. 50
47. 50
49. 00

36.5
36.5
36.5

1.27 48.00 43.00- 50.00
1.30 45.00 42.50- 52.50
1.34 48.00 44.00- 53. 50

42.50
48.00
44. 00
40.50

36.5
38.0
36.0
38.0

1.16 43.00 38.501.26 48. 00 43.501 .22 43.00 43.001.07 40. 00 38.00-

47.50
53.00
45. 50
40.50

40.50
41.50
46.00
47. 00
52.00
46. 50
47. 00
42. 00

35.5
36.0
37.0
37.0
38.5
37.0
37.5
38.5

1.14
1.15
1.24
1.27
1.35
1.26
1.25
1.09

45.50
49.50
52.00
54.00
60.00
52. 00
53. 50
46.00

43.50

35.5

1.23 42. 00 38.00- 48.00

51.00
47. 00
49. 50
46. 50
44. 00
44.50
43.50
47. 50
40. 50

36.5
36.5
36.5
36.5
37.0
37.5
36.5
36.5
38.0

1.40
1.29
1.36
1.27
1.19
1.19
1.19
1.30
1.07

45.00

36.0

1.25 43.50 40.00- 49.00

50.50
46.50
50. 00
35. 50
36. 50
39.00
36.00
38.00
34.50

38.0
38.0
36.0
37.0
37.0
37.5
36.5
37.5
39.5

1.33 50.00
1.22 44.00
1.39 48.00
.96 34.50
.99 35.00
1.04 36.00
.99 35.00
1.01 37.00
.87 33.50

33. 50

36.0

39.50
35.50
40.00
48.50
52.00
51.00
52.50
46.50
46.00

37.5
38.5
36.0
37.0
36.5
37.5
36.5
37.5
39.0

1.05 39.00 36. 50.92 35.00 32.001.11 39.00 34. 501.31 47. 00 42.001.42 53.00 45.001.36 50.00 46.001.44 53.00 45.001.24 44.00 37.001.18 45. 00 40. 50-

46.00

36.0

1.28 45.00 41. 50- 51.00

50.00
54.50
45. 50
43.50
49. 50
42.00
50.00
40.00
48.00

37.5
35.5
37.5
38.5
38.0
38.5
37.0
39.5
35.5

1.33
1.54
1.21
1.13
1.30
1.09
1. 35
1.01
1.35

39.50
42. 00
45. 00
45. 00
54. 00
44.50
47. 00
41.00

49.50
45. 00
49. 00
45.00
40.00
43.50
40. 00
46. 00
40.50

37.0033.0039.0039.0043.0038. 0040. 0037.00-

44. 5040.0043. 0040.5039. 0039. 5039.0042.0035.00-

44.0038.0044.0032.0032.0033.0032.0034.0030.00-

57. 00
50.00
55.00
50. 50
46.00
46.50
44.00
52.00
42.00

58.50
50.00
55.00
38.00
39. 50
41.00
38.00
42.00
38.00

.93 33.00 30.00- 35.00

49. 50
53.00
45.00
40.00
50.00
40.00
48. 50
39.50
47.00

42. 5047.0039.0037. 0039.0037.0043.0036. 5042.50-

42.00
37.00
44. 00
53.50
56. 50
55.00
58.00
51.00
50.50

55.00
58.00
50.00
46.00
59.00
45.00
59.00
44.00
51.50

237

SALARIES OF OFFICE WORKERS

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

Salaries 1 and weekly scheduled hours of work, for selected office occupations in New York, N. Y., by industry division, February
1950— Continued

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 3

Average—
E sti­
M e­
range
mated
dian 3 Salary
W eek ­
of middle
num­
w
ber of W eek ­ ly
Hour­ eek­ 50 percent
ly
of workers
sched­ ly
work­
ly
salary uled rate salary
ers
hours

W O M E N —Continued

W OM EN —Continued
Clerks, payroll___________ 3,784
1,469
M anufacturing____ ____
Durable goods____ ___
490
979
Nondurable goods........
319
Wholesale trade________
371
Retail trade____________
Finance, insurance, and
612
real esta te..___ ______
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
355
public utilities...............
301
Services........... .................. .
357
Central offices_________
Clerk-typists------------------- 12,474
Manufacturing------------2, 505
745
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods____
1,760
Wholesale trade__________ 2,273
748
Retail trade___________
Finance, insurance, and
real estate___________
3,992
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
587
public utilities...............
Services______ _________ 1,144
1,225
Central offices-------------Key-punch operators-------- 3, 862
432
Manufacturing_________
353
Wholesale trade-----------354
Retail trade-----------------Finance, insurance, and
real estate........................ 1,478
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
311
public utilities...............
296
Services--------- ------------638
Central offices_________
Office girls C -................. ....... 2,475
Manufacturing.............. .
282
Durable goods........ .......
36
Nondurable goods........
246
Wholesale trade-----------250
Retail trade....... ...........
157
Finance, insurance, and
989
real estate___________
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
314
public utilities........ .......
417
Central offices................
Stenographers, general------ 26, 206
Manufacturing.................. 4, 850
1, 277
Durable goods----------3, 573
Nondurable goods____
4, 604
Wholesale trade............
620
Retail trade----------------Finance, insurance, and
7,058
real estate----------------Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
1, 463
public utilities_______
2,730
Services..............................
4, 881
Central offices_________
2,632
Stenographers, technical
136
Manufacturing-----------36
Durable goods_______
100
Nondurable goods____
411
Wholesale trade...........
Finance, insurance, and
725
real estate.................... .
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
159
public utilities_______
304
Services............. .............

$42.00-$57. 50
40.00- 57.00
43.00- 55.00
40.00- 58.00
47.00- 63.00
42.00- 53.00

51.00
50. 00
50. 50
50.00
55.50
47.00

37.5 $1.36 $50.00
38.0 1.32 48.00
38.5 1.31 52.00
38.0 1.32 46. 00
37.5 1.48 55.00
38.5 1.22 46.00

50.00

36.0

1.39 47.50 39.00- 59.00

47.00
53.50
55. 50
40.00
40. 50
40. 50
40. 50
41.00
37. 50

36.0
37.5
36.0
36.5
37.0
38.0
37.0
37.0
39.0

1.31
1.43
1. 54
1. 10
1.09
1.07
1.09
1.11
.96

38.00

36.0

1.06 37.00 34. 50- 42.00

43. 50
41.50
42.00
43. 50
41.50
48.50
43. 50

37.5
37.0
36.0
37.0
37.5
37.5
39.0

1.16
1. 12
1.17
1.18
1.11
1.29
1.12

42.00

36.0

1.17 42.50 38.00- 46. 00

43. 50
44.00
46.00
33.50
33.50
33. 50
33.50
37.50
35.00

37.0
37.0
36.5
37.0
37.0
38.5
37.0
37.0
39.0

1.18
1.19
1.26
.91
.91
.87
.91
1.01
.90

43.00
52. 50
54.00
39. 50
40. 00
40.00
40. 00
40.00
37.00

43.00
40.00
41.00
43. 50
40.00
48. 00
43.00

43. 00
45. 00
45.00
33.00
32.00
33.00
32.00
36.00
35.00

40.0045. 5049. 5035. 0037.0038.0035. 5036. 0035.00-

39.0035.0037. 5040.0037. 0044. 0040.00-

40. 5040.0040. 5030.0029. 5030. 0029. 5034. 5030.00-

53.00
60.00
61.00
44.00
45.00
44. 00
45.00
45.00
40.00

48.00
45.00
45. 00
47.00
45. 50
52. 00
47.00

46.00
45. 00
49. 50
36.00
35. 50
35.00
35. 50
41. 50
37.00

.85 32.00 30.00- 33.00

31. 50

37.0

34. 50
34.00
47.00
46. 50
48. 00
46. 00
47.00
45.00

36.5
36.0
36.5
37.0
38.5
36.5
37.0
38.5

.95
.94
1.29
1.26
1.25
1.26
1.27
1.17

46.00

36.5

1.26 45.00 40. 50- 50. 00

36. 00
34.00
46.00
46.00
48.00
45. 00
46. 0C
45.00

43. 50
45.0C
48. 5C
52. 5C
49. 0C
50. 0C
49. 0C
50. 00

33.0032. 0041.5042. 0045. 0040. 5042. 0040.00-

40.0042. 5043. 5047. 5045. 0045. 0045. 0045. 00-

37.00
36.00
50. 50
50. 00
50.00
50.00
52.00
50. 00

49. 50
50.00
55.00
57.00
54.00
64.00
54. 00
55. 00

44.50
47. 00
49.50
53.0C
50. 0C
53.00
49. 00
50. 50

37.0
37.0
36.0
37.0
38. C
39.0
37.5
37.0

1.20
1.27
1. 38
1.43
1.32
1.36
1.31
1.36

52.50

36.5

1.44 53. 50 48. 50- 56.00

55. 00
54.00

38.0
38.0

1.45 57.00 47. 00- 63.00
1.42 50.00 46.00- 58.00

Excludes pay for overtime.
The study covered representative manufacturing and retail trade estab­
lishments and transportation (except railroads), communication, heat, light
and power companies with over 100 workers; establishments with more than
50 workers in wholesale trade, finance, real estate, insurance, and selected
service industries (business service; such professional services as engineering,
architectural, accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping firms; motion pictures;
and nonprofit membership organizations); and central offices (central admin­
istrative offices or general offices of all industries except finance, insurance,
and real estate) with more than 50 workers.
1
2


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Sex, occupation, and
industry division 2

AverageE sti­
Me­
range
mated
dian 3 Salary
W eek ­
of middle
numw eek­ 50
W
eek
­
Hour­
percent
ber of
ly
ly
sched­ ly
of workers
work­
ly
salary uled rate salary
ers
hours

Stenographers, technical—
Continued
Central offices__________
Switchboard operators____
Manufacturing...............
Durable goods________
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade............. .
Retail trade.______ _____
Finance, insurance, and
real estate __________
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
public utilities...... .........
Services_______________
Central offices__________
Switchboard operator-re­
ceptionists.....................
Manufacturing........ .........
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods.........
Wholesale trade..... ...........
Retail trade____________
Finance, insurance, and
real estate___________
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
public utilities_______
Services____ ___________
Central offices_________
Transcribing-machine op­
erators, g en eral............
M anufact uring_________
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade________
Retail trade______ _____
Finance, insurance, and
real estate......................
T ransportation, com ­
m u n ic a t io n , a n d
other public utili­
ties_____ _____ _______
Services_______________
Central offices__________
Transcribing-machine op­
erators, technical_____
Typists, class A ..... ............
M anufact u r in g ...............
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade_____ __
Retail trade____________
Finance, insurance, and
real estate.....................
T ran sp ortation , com ­
munication, and other
public utilities_______
Services....... .....................
Central offices....................
Typists, class B ..... ..............
Manufacturing..................
Durable goods_______
Nondurable goods____
Wholesale trade..... ...........
Retail trade_____ ______
Finance, insurance, and
real estate..... ............ .
Transportation, commu­
nication, and other
public u tilitie s.......... ..
Services________ _____ _
Central offices...................

875 $54.00
6.368 47. 00
811 51.00
171 49. 00
640 51.50
977 49. 50
461 44.00

37.0 $1.46 $53.00 $49.00-5>58.00
37.5 1.25 46. 00 41.00- 52. 00
37.5 1.36 49. 50 43. 50- 56. 50
38.5 1.27 47. 50 43. 00- 55. 50
37.0 1.39 49. 50 44. 00- 57.00
37.0 1.34 48.00 43. 00- 53. 00
39.0 1.13 43.00 40. 00- 49. 50

1,740

46.00

37.0

1.24 45.00 42.00- 50.00

586
1,179
614

49.00
41.00
50.50

38.0
38.5
36.5

1.29 49.00 44. 00- 53.50
1.06 40.00 33. 50- 47.50
1.38 49. 50 45. 00- 54. 00

2,683
1,169
355
814
537
168

45. 50
45. 00
45.50
45.00
48. 00
39.50

37.5
38.0
38.5
38.0
38.0
38.0

1.21
1.18
1.18
1.18
1.26
1.04

342

43. 00

35.5

1.21 42.00 38. 50- 48.00

127
252
88

46. 50
46. 50
46. 00

37.0
38.0
36.5

1.26 45. 00 40.00- 55. 00
1.22 45.50 41. 00- 50.00
1.26 45.00 42.00- 49. 00

2,681
251
128
123
665
48

46. 50
50. 50
53. 50
47. 50
47. 00
39. 00

36.5
36.0
36.0
36.5
37.0
37.5

1.27
1.40
1.49
1.30
1.27
1.04

879

43. 50

36.0

1.21 42. 50 39. 00- 46.00

60
208
570

46. 50
52.00
48.00

36.0
39. 5
36.5

1. 29 43.00 42.00- 53. 00
1.32 50. 00 41.00- 61.00
1.32 47.00 43. 50- 51.50

69
5,840
459
128
331
1,036
49

46. 50
45. 00
45. 50
47.50
44.50
46. 50
44.00

38.0
36.5
36.5
37. 5
36.0
37.0
38.5

1. 22
1.23
1.25
1.27
1.24
1.26
1.14

1,875

42. 00

36.0

1.17 41.50 37. 50- 46.00

577

243

46.00
46.00
46. 50
38. 50
36.00
39. 00
35.00
42. 50
36. 50

36.5 1.26 41.00 39.00- 54. 50
37.0 1.24 44. 50 40.00- 50. 00
36.0 1.29 45. 50 41.50- 50.50
36.5 1.05 38. 00 34. 50- 42.00
.99 35.00 32.00- 40.00
36.5
38.5 1.01 40. 00 37.00- 42.00
.99 35.00 31. 00- 37. 00
35.5
37. C 1.15 41.50 38.00- 46. 00
.94 36.00 32.00- 40.00
39.0

4,203

37.50

36.0

1.04 36.50 34. 00- 40.00

471
1,115
994

40.50
40. 50
41.50

38.0
38.0
36.0

1.07 41.00 34. 50- 44.00
1.07 40. 00 35. 00- 45.00
1.15 40. 50 37.00- 46.00

886

958
8,932
1,038
223
815
868

45. 00
45. 00
45. 00
45. 00
47. 00
40. 00

45.00
52. 50
53.00
49. 00
47. 00
40. 00

47. 00
43. 50
43. 50
47. 00
42. 00
44. 50
43. 00

40. 0040. 0040.0040. OO42. 5037. 50-

40. 5044. 5047. 00
39.5044. 5035.00-

42. 5040. 0040. 0042. 0040. 0041.0040. 00-

49. 00
48. 00
48. 00
48. 00
51.00
40.00

50.00
55. 00
63.00
52.50
49. 50
40. 50

49. 50
48. 50
47. 00
48. 00
45. 00
52.00
48. 00

The durable goods group includes: metalworking; lumber, furniture, and
other wood products; stone, clay, and glass products; professional, scientific
and controlling instruments; optical goods; watches and clocks; and miscel­
laneous manufacturing. The nondurable goods group includes: food and
kindred products; tobacco; textiles; apparel and other finished products
made from fabrics; paper and paper products; printing and publishing;
chemicals; products of petroleum and coal; rubber products; and leather and
leather products.
3 Value above and below which half of workers’ salaries fell.
« Includes data for industry divisions not shown separately.

238

CED

REPORT: REAL

Paid holidays, ranging from less than 5 to more
than 13 annually, were provided in all establish­
ments. Fully three-fourths of the office workers
received 9 or more holidays. Public utilities and
finance, insurance, and real estate offices generally
observed 11 or more holidays, whereas a majority
of the office workers in retail trade received 7
holidays annually with pay.
Formal provisions for granting paid sick leave
applied to about a fourth of the office workers.
They were allowed leave with full pay, ranging in
length from less than 5 to over 20 days annually,
subject to a minimum qualifying service period of
6 months. Nearly a third of the workers were
employed in establishments that had a policy of
granting paid sick leave to workers who had
completed 5 years of service. These estimates do
not include sick leave granted on an informal basis
as reported by many employers.
Information obtained on insurance and retire­
ment pension plans in which the employers paid
at least part of the premiums, revealed that retire­
ment pension plans were in effect in establish­
ments having three-fifths of the office workers.
Among the industry divisions, the proportion of
workers in establishments with such plans ranged
from about a fourth in manufacturing to more
than four-fifths in the central office group and in
the transportation, communication, and other
public utilities division. The potential employee
coverage of existing life-insurance plans ranged
from somewhat more than half of the office staff
in retail trade to four-fifths or more in manufac­
turing, central offices, and in the finance, insur­
ance, and real estate group.
Nonproduction bonus payments, usually at
Christmas or at the year-end, supplemented basic
pay of nearly half the New York City office
workers. Profit-sharing plans were also reported
by a few establishments in most of the industry
divisions studied.
—Toivo P. K a n n in e n
Division of Wage Statistics, BLS
1
Information for this study was collected from 544 establishments; workers
were classified on the basis of uniform job descriptions. The industrial cover­
age and minimum size of establishment included in the survey are sum­
marized in footnote 2 to the accompanying table.
The 1950 program of office clerical studies also included surveys in Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, Milwaukee,
Oklahoma City, and Providence. Moreover, salary information for clerical
workers will be incorporated in community wage reports covering Buffalo,
San Francis co-Oakland, and Philadelphia. See June and July 1950 issues for
previous reports.


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WAGE

TRENDS

MONTHLY LABOR

The CED Report
on Real Wage Trends
T he prospect that real hourly wages in the
United States will double in the next 30 years was
held out by the Committee for Economic Develop­
ment in a recent Statement on National Policy.1
This is predicated on the belief that production per
man-hour will continue to rise as rapidly as in the
last 50 years. The underlying factors contributing
toward the tremendous rise of productivity be­
tween 1900 and 1950 will continue to be as
favorable in the future, according to the CED
forecast.
The increase in real income during this period,
the CED policy statement pointed out, has been
greater than the figures on real wages indicate.
The extra-wage gains of higher output per man­
hour have been taken in the form of a reduction in
hours of labor, greater longevity, and in a better
quality and variety of goods.
Although the major factors responsible for
increasing productivity continue to be favorable,
the CED urged that special steps be taken to
encourage more production of goods and services.
This is necessary to fulfill the huge unsatisfied
demand for more goods, to support those unable
to work, and to meet the demands of national
defense and military aid to other countries.
The following recommendations were made: (1)
Stabilize the growth of industry and avoid serious
business recessions; (2) reduce seasonal unemploy­
ment; (3) improve the quality of business births
and reduce the infant mortality among business
concerns; (4) reform the tax system to make risk­
taking more attractive; (5) stimulate more rapid
replacement of equipment; (6) increase the im­
ports of the United States relative to its exports;
(7) provide more employment opportunities for
older people; (8) improve the incentive for effi­
ciency among the rank and file of employees; (9)
develop regular methods of drawing upon the
Further detail on salaries, work schedules, and supplementary benefits
will be available in individual bulletins for each of the listed cities.
2 Salary data refer to salaries for the normal workweek, excluding overtime
pay and nonproduction bonuses, but including any incentive earnings and
cost-of-living adjustments. Hours refer to scheduled workweeks in effect
for office workers. The employment in each occupation in the accompanying
table refers to estimated total employment in all establishments within
scope of the study.
3 For a report on the 1949 study in New York, see M onthly Labor Review,
August 1949.

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

1950

SURVEY

OF

CO N SU M ER

knowledge and training of the labor force; and (10)
abolish make-work rules and featherbedding.
Causes of Productivity Rise

The rise in real hourly wages during 1900-1950
from 43 cents to $1.33 (in terms of 1949 prices), as
estimated by the CED, represents an annual
increase in output per man-hour of 2.5 percent.
This was attributed by the CED to (1) better
production methods; (2) more capital per worker;
(3) better training and health of the labor force;
and (4) better management. The possibility of
maintaining this rate of increase in the future will
depend upon these same factors, plus a fifth
element, “more interested workers,” the report
said.
Expenditures on technological research, which,
in the past, have been responsible for the introduc­
tion of many revolutionary changes in production
methods, have increased rapidly. In 1950, the
CED estimates that they were twice the 1940
figure—when they exceeded 1920 expenditures nine
times. The increasing expenditures of the Federal
Government, particularly in atomic energy, the
natural sciences, and military research, are cited
as important recent developments.
Savings to finance capital investment will
remain adequate, the CED believes. But it noted
that the willingness of investors to assume the
risks in introducing new products and new proc­
esses is less reassuring and presents a more
serious problem for public policy than the total
supply of savings. The CED therefore recom­
mended that the tax system be reformed to induce
more investment in new products and new proc­
esses and to permit greater depreciation allow­
ances in writing off new equipment.
The quality of the labor force is likely to
continue to get better, the CED believes, because
of the expansion in college and high-school enroll­
ments, the spread of apprenticeship and industry
training courses, and the improvement in the
health of the workers.
Production can be further increased, the CED
said, by continuing to improve managerial organ­
ization and methods. The complex structure of
modern industry, it noted, requires a managerial
organization which will insure that the flow of
production continues smoothly and in proper
balance. The competition of Federal, State, and

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F IN A N C E S

239

local governments with private industry for the
goods and services of the community is em­
phasized by the CED as offering opportunity for
considerable improvement of managerial methods
in government no less than in private industry.
The importance of interesting workers in their
jobs, the report stated, lies in the contributions
such workers can make to improvements in produc­
tion methods. Although the routine nature of
many jobs makes the problem of arousing interest
difficult, the CED believes that recent progress in
management methods supports the belief that
such interest can be increased.
1

How to Raise Real Wages—A Statement on National Policy by the
Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Develop­
ment, June 1950. The C E D statements on national policy are issued by the
businessmen of the Research and Policy Committee and do not necessarily
represent the views of the trustees or the businessmen affiliated with the
CED.

1950 Survey
of Consumer Finances
T he financial status of United States con­
sumers, while still considered “strong,” was
slightly weaker in early 1950 than the year before.
Consumers were optimistic about their own in­
come prospects and the general economic outlook
for the year, but they displayed a little more cau­
tion than in early 1949. These are the major
findings of the fifth annual Survey of Consumer
Finances sponsored by the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, as reported in its
June 1950 Bulletin.1
Consumer spending plans for 1950 indicate
record sales of new homes, automobiles, and tele­
vision sets, according to the survey. Intentions
to buy furniture, washing machines, and refriger­
ators were at least as numerous as in 1949. But,
the Board cautioned: “The extent to which these
[buying] plans will be carried out will depend con­
siderably on what happens to jobs, incomes, and
prices, the availability of goods and credit, and
the general domestic and international situation.”

Financial Condition of Consumers

About 20 million of the Nation’s estimated 52
million “consumer spending units” received higher

240

1950 S U R V E Y

OF CO N SU M ER

money incomes in 1949 than in 1948. Lower in­
comes were received by about 13 million units,
and there was an increase in the proportion with
incomes of less than $2,000.
Higher incomes were most frequently reported
by consumer spending units whose 1948 incomes
had been less than $1,000 and least frequently by
those with 1948 incomes of $4,000 or more. When
income changes were related to income levels after
the changes, it was found for 1949, as it had been
found for former years, that higher income groups
had more increases in income and fewer decreases
than did lower income groups.
In contrast with previous annual surveys of
consumer finances, all major nonfarm occupa­
tional groups did not report higher current in­
comes. Only families headed by persons in pro­
fessional, clerical, sales, skilled, or semiskilled jobs
provided more reports of larger than of smaller
current earnings. Among businessmen and un­
skilled workers, there were more declines in the
rate of current earnings than increases, as com­
pared with 12 months earlier.
Liquid assets continued to be widely held by
members of all income and occupational groups.
Seven out of 10 families reported having Gov­
ernment bonds, savings and checking accounts, or
saving and loan shares. There was an indication
that frequency of large liquid asset holdings by
families with incomes of $5,000 or more was
reduced.
Spending in excess of current income increased
to its highest level in the postwar period, especially
among consumers with incomes of less than $3,000.
Slightly more than 3 in every 10 families were
estimated to have spent more than they earned in
1949. Additions to consumer indebtedness were
substantial.
Consumer Views on Economic Conditions

According to the survey, consumers believed
that general economic conditions were somewhat
worse than a year earlier, but that the deteriora­
tion had not been serious. About 2 in every 10
spending units believed that times were better
than in early 1949, while 5 in 10 thought they
were worse. Almost none believed that condi­
tions had become seriously worse, however. This
indicated that consumers were taking a somewhat
brighter view than in midsummer of 1949, when

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F IN A N C E S

MONTHLY LABOR

6 in 10 thought that times were worse than at the
beginning of the year, and a substantial number
thought that the deterioration was serious.
Chief causal factors mentioned by those who
thought conditions were worse in early 1950 as
compared to early 1949 were ‘‘employment’’ and
“labor-management relations.” (Widely publi­
cized strikes in the coal and automobile industries
were under way during the period in which the
interviews were made.) Those who held that
1950 conditions were favorable put chief stress on
“high purchasing power” and “employment.”
Somewhat more than half of all employees in­
terviewed thought it would be difficult, if not im­
possible, to get other jobs paying about the same
salary, if for any reason they were to lose their
present jobs. Less than 2 in every 10 felt ab­
solutely certain that they could get jobs with
equal pay, but a slightly larger proportion were
equally certain that it would be impossible to get
other jobs without some sacrifice in current income.
A third of those interviewed were looking for
consumer prices in general to decline, and more
than half were of the opinion that reductions
would take place in the hard goods line.
In previous years, when both prices and incomes
were rising, consumers tended to associate a future
decline in general prices with good times, and a
rise in prices with bad times. In early 1950, the
association between good times and falling prices,
and the converse, had almost disappeared. It is
possible, the Federal Reserve Board observed,
that the absence of inflationary price rises during
1949 led people to be less acutely conscious of the
effects of price changes on their budgets. It is
also possible that events in 1949 led some con­
sumers to see a relationship between falling
prices, bad times, and falling incomes. The
Board noted that the great majority of people
who expect prices to fall also expect their own
incomes to be maintained or increased.
One of the basic ingredients of consumer opti­
mism in early 1950 was the belief, on the part of
more than 4 in every 5 spending units with definite
price and income expectations, that their own
incomes would stay the same or rise during 1950
while prices would remain stable or go down.
1

1950 Survey of Consumer Finances (Part I: General Financial Position
and Economic Outlook of Consumers), Federal Reserve Bulletin for June
1950.
The survey was conducted for the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System during the first 2 months of this year by the Survey Re-

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

AGE

C E R T IF IC A T E S FO R

Age Certificates for Minors in
Agriculture and Industry
44 States, Puerto Rico, the Terri­
tory of Hawaii, and the District of Columbia are
given the right to accept State employment or age
certificates that, under the Fair Labor Standards
Act, have the force of Federal certificates in the em­
ployment of young workers. An order issued by
the Acting Secretary of Labor gives the foregoing
information, and adds that in the four remaining
States—Idaho, Mississippi, South Carolina, and
Texas—Federal certificates are issued through the
Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions.1
The acceptance of State certificates as proof of
age under the Federal law continues a policy
established by the Department of Labor in 1938
with the passage of the act. Arrangements for this
Federal-State cooperation are worked out with
State officials by the Department’s Bureau of
Labor Standards.
“Employers in both industry and agriculture,
whose products go into interstate commerce, will
want to protect themselves from unintentional
violation of the minimum-age standards of the
child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards
Act,” the Acting Secretary stated. “They can do
this by obtaining an age certificate for every
young person claiming to be under 18 years of age
before employing him in any occupation, and for
every young person claiming to be 18 or 19 years
of age before employing him in any of the occupa­
tions declared hazardous.”
The minimum age for general employment,
under the Fair Labor Standards Act, is 16, and the
minimum age in occupations found to be hazard­
ous is 18. In certain limited occupations and
under specified conditions of work, a minimum age
of 14 years is set for employment in school vaca­
tion time or outside of school hours.
An age certificate is a statement showing a
minor’s age. It is issued by a public official on
the basis of the best available evidence of age,
such as birth certificate or other reliable docu­
mentary evidence. The certificate usually carries
E mployers in

search Center, University of Michigan. About 3,500 interviews were taken
in 66 sampling areas distributed throughout the country. The interview
unit was the “consumer spending unit,” ordinarily a family in which income
was pooled for living expenses.
See M onthly Labor Review, August 1949 (p. 154), for summary of 1949
Survey of Consumer Finances (Parts I and II).


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241

M IN O R S

the signatures of the minor and the issuing officer.
In most States, age certificates are issued by school
officials. If a teen-ager wants to apply for an age
certificate for employment, school officials can
direct him to the proper place.
Age certificates, often called work permits, have
a twofold purpose. They protect minors from
harmful employment; they protect employers by
furnishing reliable proof of the age of minors
whom they employ.
Agricultural employers will be especially inter­
ested in the amendment by Congress in 1949 of
the child-labor section of the Fair Labor Standards
Act. The new provisions make illegal the employ­
ment, during school hours, of children under 16
years of age in agriculture from which the crops
go directly or indirectly into interstate or foreign
commerce.
The foregoing restrictions do not apply to a
farmer’s own children working on their parent’s
farm. No minimum age is set for employment in
agriculture before or after school hours on any
school day, or at any time on school holidays or
during school vacations. The purpose of these
new regulations is to give the same protection and
opportunity for education to rural children that
urban children receive.
i U . S. Department of Labor.
dated July 5, 1950.

Bureau of Labor Standards.

Release

Training and Employment
of Prison Inmates1
F ederal P rison I n d u st r ie s , I n c .—A

Govern­
ment-owned corporation providing training and
employment for prisoners in Federal penal and
correctional institutions—reported that about
5,500 prisoners completed vocational or on-the-job
training courses during the fiscal year ending June
30, 1949. In addition, full-time employment in
prison industries was provided for 3,440 inmates
at an average annual wage of $233. The purpose
of such training and employment, the report
pointed out, is to prepare the inmates for skilled
and semiskilled jobs in private industry after
release from prison. During the fiscal year 1949,
1,120 released prisoners were placed in jobs.

242

T R A IN IN G

O F P R IS O N

The training program, with an enrollment of
9,220 out of an average Federal prison popula­
tion of 16,679, consisted of 474 courses in agricul­
ture, industry, maintenance, trade, and other
special fields. The Board of Directors of the
Corporation believe that its training and place­
ment program is “responsible in some degree for
the decrease in prison population.” The wages
paid these inmates, the report stated, help to
reduce the number who return to prison following
release by giving the discharged prisoners an
amount to tide them over until they are able to
earn their livelihood through private employment.
Approximately 75 percent of a prisoner’s earnings
are either sent to his dependents or retained and
paid to him upon release. The Corporation
employs five employment and placement officers to
assist inmates in getting jobs upon their release.
Federal Prison Industries, Inc., was established
in 1935. It is administered by a board of six
members, representing agriculture, industry, labor,
retailers and consumers, the Secretary of Defense,
and the Attorney General. They are appointed
by the President and serve without compensation.
The Corporation is also authorized to extend its
operations to some extent to military disciplinary
barracks where general courts martial prisoners are
confined.
Articles produced by the prison industries are
sold only to departments and agencies of the
United States Government. They include such
items as clothing, textiles, bedding, furniture,
brooms, brushes, metal castings, lumber, canned
fruits and vegetables, milk, and mail bags. Shoe
repair shops, laundries, and print shops are also
operated. The Corporation is entirely selfsupporting; as of June 30, 1949, it had purchased
out of its earnings plant, equipment, and other
assets with a net value of approximately $17,000,000. Since its inception, $7,395,053 has been paid
in inmate wages, and $13,500,000 has been turned
in to the United States Treasury. In the fiscal year
1948-49, wages totaled $760,331; net earnings,
$3,051,473; and sales, $18,031,637. The sales
value per inmate employed in prison industries
averaged $5,527.
Although the operations of Federal Prison
Industries, Inc., have been profitable, the directors
believe that “the greatest success of the Corpora­
tion is not so much in the profitable production of
goods for the Government as in the training of

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IN M A T E S

MONTHLY LABOR

inmates so that when they are released they will
have a better opportunity to obtain and hold
competitive paying jobs in private industry. . . .
The effectiveness of the training is demonstrated
by the number who are able to do this.”
1

Annual Report, Board of Trustees, Federal Prison Industries, Inc.,
Year 1949. Washington, 1950. 12 pp., processed.

Fiscal

Summary of
Industrial Relations Activities
T he outstanding stoppage during late June and
July 1950 was the strike of railway switchmen.
The predominance of harmoniously concluded
agreements in the automobile and related indus­
tries demonstrated the continuing effect of the
General Motors agreement signed in May.

Railroads

The emergency board appointed by President
Truman in February to investigate disputes in­
volving railroad operators and the Brotherhood
of Railway Trainmen (Ind.), the Order of Railway
Conductors (Ind.), the Railroad Yardmasters of
America (AFL), the Switchmen’s Union of North
America (AFL), recommended on June 15 a re­
duction in the workweek of yard-service employees
represented by these unions from 48 to 40 hours,
with a partially compensating wage increase of
18 cents an hour. The unions had requested main­
tenance of 48 hours’ pay for the reduced workweek.
In addition, the Board recommended against gen­
eral wage increases for road-service employees.
The unions rejected, while the railroads accepted,
the Board’s recommendations.
Contending that the Board’s recommendations
should not apply to its membership, the Switch­
men’s Union resorted to strike action against four
railroads serving Midwestern and Western areas
on June 25. Basis of the union’s contention was
that the Board did not hear the union’s dispute
separately but extended the application of its
findings in the cases of the other unions to cover
the switchmen. Operations were suspended on the
Chicago and Great Western; the Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific; the Denver and Rio Grande

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

IN D U S T R IA L

R E L A T IO N S

Western; and the Western Pacific roads; oper­
ations of a fifth road, the Great Northern, were
also curtailed. More than 50,000 employees of
these carriers became idle when 4,000 switchmen
stopped work.
The strike continued until July 7 when the
union ordered its members to return to their jobs
on 4 of the railroads. This partially complied
with governmental requests for immediate termi­
nation of the work stoppage. When union officials
refused to order union members back to work on
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad,
President Truman, on July 8, ordered the U. S.
Army to seize and operate this road. In taking
this action the President stated: “ It is essential
to the national defense and to the security of the
Nation, to the public health and to the public
welfare generally, that every possible step be
taken by the Government for the operation of
this railroad/’ The same day a Federal District
Court in Buffalo, N. Y., issued a temporary order
for the workers to return to their jobs. The union
complied with the court order.
The other unions, with over 200,000 members,
would have been free to strike on or after July 15,
having exhausted the procedures of the Railway
Labor Act. They announced on July 12, however,
their decision to resume negotiations with the
railroads. The National Mediation Board re­
sumed conferences with officials of the railroads,
the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the
Order of Railway Conductors in separate sessions
on July 17. Conferences with representatives of
the Switchmen’s and Yardmaster’s unions were to
be resumed at later dates.
Construction

A new contract, covering more than 100,000
building-trades workers in 24 crafts and 1,000 con­
tractors, was signed in New York City on June 30
by the Building Trades Employers Association and
the Building and Construction Trades Council
(AFL). Under this 3-year stabilization agree­
ment, employees secured wage increases ranging
from 10 to 25 cents an hour. Other provisions
permitted employees to enjoy two of the following
three benefits: 6 holidays with pay; a pension plan
financed by each employer’s contribution of 3
percent of his payroll; a welfare plan financed in
the same manner.


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243

Features of the previous contract, retained in
the new agreement, were an all-employer panel to
rule on jurisdictional disputes, a cost-of-living
escalator clause, and a no-strike, no-lockout
clause.1
Approximately 40,000 construction workers
became idle in 12 Southern California counties
when members of the AFL carpenters’ union
stopped work. The stoppage continued despite a
temporary court order issued upon the contrac­
tors’ petition, restraining the carpenters from
resorting to strike action. The AFL Building
Trades Council had negotiated an 8-cents an hour
wage increase for 6 basic building crafts, including
the carpenters, before the stoppage occurred.
The carpenters, however, voted to reject the
agreement and to insist on a separate wage agree­
ment for a larger increase.
Automobiles

Agreements peacefully concluded between sev­
eral automobile and parts manufacturers and the
United Automobile Workers (CIO), in June and
July, overshadowed the disputes which brought
strike action. The agreements covering a total
of approximately 85,000 workers employed by the
Briggs Manufacturing Co., Kaiser-Frazer Corp.,
Studebaker Corp. and the Hudson Motor Car
Company were harmoniously concluded. All con­
tained pension plans providing for payments of
at least $100 a month, including social security
benefits, for 65-year-old workers retiring with 25
years of service.
The Briggs Mfg. Co. and the union signed a
3-year contract, which may be reopened on eco­
nomic issues in July 1951 and 1952. Approximately
30,000 employees will be covered by the new
agreement, which provides for pensions, a 5-cents
an hour wage increase, and a union shop.
The new Hudson contract provides for a wage
increase of 3 cents per hour and a pension plan
with payments of as much as $117.50 a month,
including social security benefits, for employees
retiring at age 65.
Pension agreements negotiated with KaiserFrazer Corp. and Studebaker Corp. permit workers
to retire or continue working after they reach age
65. Kaiser-Frazer employees will not be required
to retire at any age if they are physically capable
of satisfying their job requirements. The 5-year

244

IN D U S T R IA L

R E L A T IO N S A C T IV IT IE S

pension plan at Studebaker Corp. permits em­
ployees who are eligible to retire when they reach
age 65 to stay at their jobs for 3 additional years.
Three work stoppages idled approximately
16,000 workers during late June and July at
plants of 3 automobile parts manufacturers—
Motor Products Corp. in Detroit, Borg-Warner
Corp. in Muncie, Ind., and the Budd Co. in
Philadelphia. In each case the work stoppage
ended when the parties agreed on a new contract
providing for wage increases. Pension plans
were included in the Motor Products Corp. and
the Borg-Warner Corp. contracts.
Other Developments

The Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. and the UAW
(CIO) agreed on a new 5-year contract covering
about 10,000 workers at the West Allis, Wis.,
plant. The contract is subject to wage reopening
after 2 years. Its terms include a union-shop
clause similar to that in the recent General Motors
agreement, annual wage increases of 3 cents an
hour, a cost-of-living escalator clause, and pen­
sions and insurance benefits. The company
agreed to pay workers their regular rates for time
spent during regular working hours in voting in
local union elections held on company premises.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Strikes must be authorized by such voting
procedure.
Division 10, Communications Workers of Amer­
ica (CIO), representing Bell System long-lines
employees signed a new contract, in the latter
half of June. Following the pattern set in agree­
ments signed by the union and other Bell affil­
iates in the preceding 2 months, this contract
provides for compression of wage progression
schedules into a period of 6 years instead of the
former 8 years. Severance pay for workers re­
placed by mechanical improvements such as dial
systems is also provided.
Representatives of bituminous coal mine oper­
ators, in northern commercial fields and captive
mines, organized the Bituminous Coal Operators
Association in July. The operators released the
following statement regarding the new organiza­
tion:
The purposes of the new association are to promote
stable and harmonious industrial relations between
its members and their employees, and to negotiate
for its members basic agreements covering wages,
hours and conditions of employment with represen­
tatives of their employees.

1

Building construction in N ew York City was interrupted in July when
strikes were called by two unions which were not parties to the agreement.
The stoppages involved 2,600 members of the Plumbers and Steamfitters
Union (APL) and 1,100 A FL truck drivers.

Recent Decisions
Of Interest to Labor1

Wages and Hours2
The
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed3 per
curiam a district court decision holding a surety on a
Government contract to be liable under the Public Con­
tracts Act for wages due to employees from a bankrupt
contractor.
In the district court, the surety, while admitting that
the contractor owed the wages, claimed that the purpose
of the act was to compel those having contracts with the
Government to set up an approved wage scale, but not to
compel them to conform to it, as employees could resort
to their ordinary remedies. The Court pointed out,
however, that the surety was being sued on a bond in
which both surety and contractor had agreed to per­
formance of all the conditions in the contract. The
contract provided for “Payment” of not less than the
minimum wages determined by the Secretary of Labor.
The court held that the act should be construed accord­
ing to its plain language, which provided that employees
working on Government contracts should be paid not less
than such minimum wages. Otherwise the legislation
would have been futile.
The fact that the Government could not specify the
amount of damages accruing from each breach of the
contract was held to be no defense. While there were two
contracts involved in this case, the court stated, there
was only one party to whom the contractor’s obligation
was due, namely, the United States. The total amount of
damages arising from breaches of both contracts was
definitely ascertained. The court held that no injustice
could arise from failure to allocate damages separately,
to each bond.
P u b l i c C o n tr a c ts A c t— L ia b i l i t y o f S u r e ty f o r W a g e s .

C o n te m p t.
A Federal district
court found4 two partner-employers guilty of criminal
contempt of an injunction the terms of which forbade
noncompliance with the overtime-compensation, “hot
goods,” and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor
Standards Act. The employers were fined $5,000, and
in addition, they were ordered to reimburse their employees
for back wages due under the act and to pay the costs of
the contempt action brought by the Government.
The court found that the employers had violated the
act by employing workers for more than 40 hours a week
without paying overtime compensation (a straight daily
E n f o r c e m e n t— C r i m i n a l


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

wage was paid for a 9-hour day), by shipping goods made
by such employees in interstate commerce, and by keeping
false records as to employee working hours and rates of
pay.
P o r ta l A c t — C o n tr a c t o r C u s to m .
The Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit held 5 that guards employed by a
Government contractor in a war munitions plant, while
within the coverage of the Fair Labor Standards Act,
could not recover overtime compensation for work which
was not compensable under the Portal-to-Portal Act of
1947. The case was the first to be decided concerning
liability of war plant contractors under the Fair Labor
Standards Act, since recent United States Supreme Court
decisions.8
The guards sued for overtime compensation for 1 halfhour each day covering time before and after they punched
time clocks on starting and leaving. They alleged that
this half hour was spent in changing uniforms and per­
forming miscellaneous tasks.
The court of appeals, affirming a district court’s decision,
held that the guard employees were engaged in production
of goods for interstate commerce within the meaning of
the FLSA, although the goods produced were munitions
for the Government. The court also held that the
employer’s liability under the Walsh-Healey Public
Contracts Act did not preclude liability under the FLSA.
However, the court held that the employees for whom
overtime compensation was sought were not engaged in
activity for which overtime was compensable either by
contract or by a custom at the place of employment.
While the changing of uniforms and marching to and from
posts of duty was customary, the court denied that such
activities had been made compensable by custom or
contract within the meaning of Section 2 of the Portal
Act. Under this section, which applies to the period
prior to May 14, 1947, an employee may recover only by
showing such compensability. The court pointed out that
the guards had never previously been paid for such extra
time and that they never claimed compensation for it
until after the war’s end.
P o r t a l A c t— P r i n c i p a l A c ti v i t i e s .
Employees sued their
employer for overtime compensation for activities allegedly
engaged in before the beginning and after the end of their
scheduled work day, which included the obtaining and
maintenance of equipment and materials. The court
suggested7 that these activities may be an integral part of
the employees’ principal activities and that the Portal
Act did not require the employee to prove that such work
was compensable by a contract or custom within the
meaning of the Portal Act. The significance of this
comment is that the claims arose prior to the passage of
the Portal Act and therefore were governed by Section 2 of
that Act. Unlike Section 4, which applies to present
and future claims, the language of Section 2 does not dis­
tinguish the employees “principal activity” from his
other activities in requiring that he prove his activities
were compensable by contract or custom. The employee’s
claims, however, were not allowed in this case because of
their failure to show that they obtained and maintained
245

246

DECISIONS OF INTEREST TO LABOR

the materials and equipment outside their scheduled
workshift without receiving any pay for such duties.
As to the time worked before 8:15 a. m. by those em­
ployees arriving after 8:04, the court held that it was too
trifling to be the subject of a suit for overtime compensa­
tion, especially in view of the fact that employees arriving
any time prior to 8:04 were paid as if they had arrived at
8 sharp. Therefore the de minimis rule was held to
govern.

Labor Relations
The United
States Supreme Court held 8 that an employer’s current
compliance with an order of the National Labor Relations
Board to bargain with a union was no ground for refusal
to enforce the Board’s order. Neither, said the Court,
could the fact that the employer doubted that the union,
previously certified as bargaining agent for his employees,
still represented a majority of the employees, be used as a
defense to the Board’s action for enforcement of its order.
The union, in January 1947, prior to the enactment of
the Labor-Management Relations Act, brought charges of
refusal to bargain against the employer. At a hearing
before an NLRB trial examiner, the employer defended
on the ground that the union did not represent a majority
of the employees, but produced no evidence to support
this contention. The trial examiner found that the
employer had refused to bargain, and since no exceptions
to the trial examiner’s report were filed, the Board ordered
the employer to bargain in good faith. When the Board
petitioned the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for
enforcement of its order, the employer requested the court
to permit the introduction of evidence showing compliance
with the order. The court of appeals ordered that the
case be referred back to the Board to find the extent of
compliance with its order, and if the order had been
complied with, whether the case had become moot, and
what other recommendations the Board had to make.
The Board appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the order of the court of
appeals was in error, since compliance by the employer
with the Board’s order did not render the case moot. The
Court pointed out that the Board’s order imposed a
continuing obligation and that the Board was entitled to
have the resumption of the unfair labor practice barred
by a court decree. As to the claim that the union did not
represent a majority, the Court pointed out that section
9 (c) of the Labor-Management Relations Act permitted
the questioning of a certified union’s majority status only
by an employee or employee group or organization, and
not by the employer. Therefore, the additional evidence
which the employer had moved to adduce was held
irrelevant. The Court held that a court of appeals could
not enlarge the scope of its review over Board orders by
requiring the Board to receive such evidence.
In another case with similar facts, the United States
Supreme Court held 9 that a delay by the NLRB of
years in the enforcement of its order did not justify
a court of appeals in sending the case back to the Board to
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hear additional evidence offered by the employer to show
compliance with the order.
The Court pointed out that often the Board might
attempt to negotiate with an employer for compliance with
its order, and that such negotiations might take up a
considerable period of time.
Justice Frankfurter dissented on the ground that the
cases should have been left to the discretion of the court of
appeals.
“ C om m erce”— N L R B

J u r is d ic tio n

in

B u ild in g

I n d u s tr y .

The NLRB in two decisions further set forth its policy in
assuming jurisdiction over unfair labor practices in the
building construction industry.
(1) The Board ruled 10 that the policies of the NLRA
would be effectuated by asserting jurisdiction over a
building contractor’s association and three of its employer
members when the association’s members performed
90 percent of the construction work in a county and did
construction work amounting to over $20,000,000 each
year, of which over $2,000,000 represented materials
purchased outside the State. Because of the common
labor policy of the employers in the association, who were
accused of discharging employees pursuant to an illegal
closed-shop agreement, the Board considered these em­
ployers as engaged in a single enterprise with a substantial
effect on commerce. The fact that jurisdiction would not
be asserted over each employer individually was held
immaterial.
(2) The Board refused11 to take jurisdiction over
complaint cases brought by several small building con­
tractors, although a substantial portion of their purchases
of materials were from outside the State. An illegal
secondary boycott was alleged. The contractors were
engaged in constructing small residences. The Board
held that the fact that Congress was concerned with
certain unfair labor practices in the building industry did
not mean that the Board was required to assume juris­
diction no matter what the scope and size of the operation.
Board Member Reynolds dissented on the ground that
the ruling was inconsistent with previous decisions of the
Board under the amended NLRA. He thought Congress
had given the Board a clear mandate to take jurisdiction
of unfair labor practices in the building industry, and that
in determining the effect upon commerce, the industry
should be considered as a whole.
b o y c o tts .
The NLRB again considered the
problem presented by picketing of the warehouse of a
secondary employer by a truck drivers’ union. Trucks
of an employer with whom the union had a primary
dispute were loaded and unloaded, at the warehouse.
Sterling, the primary employer, who had no office in
New York City, was a Massachusetts distributor for
Ruppert’s brewery, the secondary employer, whose office
was in New York City. Sterling had refused the union’s
offer that his terminal operations in the New York area
be handled by its members. Thereupon, when Sterling’s
trucks appeared at Ruppert’s warehouse, a picket appeared
with a sign stating that Sterling was “unfair.” Ruppert’s
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DECISIONS OF INTEREST TO LABOR

employees refused to unload Sterling trucks, but loaded
other trucks. A picket remained on Ruppert’s premises
15 minutes after the Sterling drivers had left—but while
Sterling’s treasurer was still there.
The NLRB, reversing its trial examiner, held 12 that the
picketing of the warehouse after the Sterling drivers had
left was in violation of section 8 (b) (4) (A) of the amended
NLRA prohibiting secondary boycotts. The Board dis­
tinguished a previous ruling 13 on the ground that in the
former case the picketing had been concentrated in both
time and area around the trucks rather than on the ware­
house, and that it therefore was chiefly directed against
the primary employer. The Board pointed out that in
the instant case the pickets were at the entrance to the
secondary employer’s warehouse both before and after the
appearance of the primary employer’s trucks. On the
basis of these facts the Board held that this picketing was
chiefly directed against the secondary employer and thus
violated the act.
Member Houston dissented, on the grounds that the
picketing substantially coincided in time with the appear­
ance of the trucks and that the placards mentioned only
the primary employer.
A Federal
court of appeals held 14 that an employing company was
not guilty of refusal to bargain in violation of the original
NLRA merely because it refused to negotiate with a
union representative who had previously shown that he
had a grudge against the company and wished to ruin it
financially.
It was pointed out that the company was willing to
bargain with the union and that the union had orally
agreed that the representative in question would not be
made a negotiator. He had never been selected by the
union members to perform this duty.
The court held that it would have been futile to negotiate
with this representative in view of his attitude, and that
an employer was not compelled to negotiate when condi­
tions made negotiations useless.
R e f u s a l to B a r g a i n w ith “ E n e m y ” N e g o tia to r .

to
B a r g a i n — U n ila te r a l
IP a g e I n c r e a s e . The
NLRB ruled 13 that an employing company was guilty of
refusal to bargain because it had made three unilateral
wage increases (including provisions for paid vacations),
although it had previously made the same offers to the
union. The Board held that, although the union had
rejected these particular offers, an impasse in negotiations
had not been reached. The unilateral increases had
together fulfilled most of the union’s demands and had
indicated an intention on the part of the employer to
undermine the influence of the union. Therefore the case
was held to be governed by a recent decision 16 of the United
States Supreme Court holding that such unilateral in­
creases were unlawful.
R e fu sa l

I n te r fe r e n c e — I n s t r u c t i o n to S p y .
The Board ruled 17 that
an employer’s attempts, at meetings of supervisors, to
pool information which supervisors might obtain by
questioning or spying on employees relative to opinion
of such employees about a union amounted to an instruc­
tion to spy. The Board held that such an instruction to


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247

spy was an unfair labor practice, whether or not spying
was actually performed.
Board member Reynolds dissented.
F re e S p e e c h — C itiz e n s ' C o m m itte e .
A Federal court of
appeals refused to enforce an NLRB order prohibiting a
citizens’ committee, sponsored by an employer, from hold­
ing or sponsoring union rallies, or from conducting cam­
paigns urging employees not to join, or to withdraw from,
a union. The court held 18 that the Board could not for­
bid such conduct because it was covered by section 8 (c)
of the amended NLRA, protecting the expression of views
or opinion not containing threat of reprisal or force or
promise of benefit. However, the Board’s order that the
employer cease interference with union activities was
upheld.
B ack P a y.
The NLRB made a number of rulings concern­
ing the right of a discriminatorily discharged employee
to back pay.
(1) The Board ruled19 that an employee discharged
pursuant to an illegal union-security agreement was en­
titled to back pay for the period prior to his reinstatement,
whether or not the employer discharged him in good faith.
It stated that the loss caused by the discharge should be
borne by the employer who committed the illegal act,
rather than by the employee who was discharged through
no fault of his own. Cases in which, because of the em­
ployer’s good faith, the Board had not ordered reimburse­
ment of back pay, were distinguished because of their
special circumstances. These were a contrary interpreta­
tion of a contract by a district court, and a desire not to
discourage the making of truce agreements.
(2) The Board ruled 20 that back pay due an illegally
discharged employee should be computed on the basis of
each separate calendar quarter of a year. This ruling
represented a change of Board policy. The policy had
formerly been to compute back pay by deducting the dis­
charged employee’s other earnings during the period be­
tween his discharge and his reinstatement from the amount
he would have earned during such period in his old job.
The Board stated that the rule formerly followed often
resulted in the employee receiving little or no back pay,
because, while he might remain unemployed for a while,
he subsequently often received higher pay than that in
his former position. Such a result was held to interfere
with the public interest in discouraging obstacles to indus­
trial peace, which was held best accomplished by restoring
the situation which would have obtained if it had not been
for the discharge. The Board pointed out that the new
basis of computing back pay—by calendar quarters—
accorded with the rules for eligibility for Social Security
benefits and prevented any prejudice to an employee’s
rights under that act.
(3) The Board, in accordance with previous decisions,
ruled 21 that to be entitled to back pay, a discharged em­
ployee must have made reasonable efforts to obtain de­
sirable new employment. Registration with the U. S.
Employment Service or a State employment office was
held to fulfill these requirements unless the employee was
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DECISIONS OF INTEREST TO LABOR

desirable new employment, without good cause. Other
reasonable efforts to obtain employment, such as applying
for work at a number of places, were also held to fulfill
these requirements. However, an employee who worked
on his father’s farm without remuneration was not en­
titled to back pay during this period, since he was biding
his time until the school term resumed. On the other
hand, an employee who did not register with the USES
was held entitled to back pay, since he was an unskilled
worker who would naturally expect lapses in employment
and he resorted to self-help in getting jobs and was selfemployed some of the time.
The NLRB held 22 that a
closed-shop agreement between a union and a building
contractor was illegal when the union could not be con­
sidered the representative of employees in the unit.
The contract was made just prior to the effective date
of the LMRA with its anti-closed-shop provisions. With­
in the next few months the number of employees in the unit
increased from 125 to 5,400. This increase was anticipated
at the time the contract was made.
The Board ruled that the agreement was not justified by
the fact that the closed shop was customary in the building
trades. It stated it could not give effect to a custom which
was contrary to the statute. It pointed out that neither
section 8 (3) of the original NLRA nor the anti-closed-shop
provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947,
contained any exception based upon custom in any in­
dustry.
C lo s e d S h o p — B u i l d i n g T r a d e s .

D a m a g e S u its .
A number of recent decisions involve an
interpretation of section 301 of the LMRA, giving Federal
courts jurisdiction of damage suits between employers and
labor organizations for breach of contract affecting inter­
state commerce.
(1) The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held 23
that section 301 applied to the violation by a union of a
no-strike clause in a contract with a building contractor.
The work stoppage interfered with installation of a
sprinkler system at a radiator plant. The strike was held
to affect commerce, since the radiators to be manufactured
would be shipped out of State.
Section 301 was held to grant a substantive remedy for
breach of collective bargaining agreements and not merely
to provide a forum for the adjudication of suits for dam­
ages. Therefore, the liability of the union was not gov­
erned by local law, which the union claimed made a union
liable only if bad faith were shown. The contract to
arbitrate was held valid, as was the no-strike clause.
(2) The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held 24
that section 301 of the LMRA did not apply to a breach of
contract occurring prior to its passage. Section 301 was
not merely jurisdictional in nature, the court held, but
created a new substantive right and, therefore, could not
be interpreted to apply retroactively.
The suit was brought by members of a carpenters’ union
against a theatrical union for damages from the alleged
breach of a contract assigning certain carpentry work in
studios to the carpenters. The carpenters also alleged
that, since the passage of the LMRA, the theatrical union


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MONTHLY LABOR

had threatened to induce their members to stop work for
the employers if carpenters were hired on these jobs. The
court held that a mere threat of a jurisdictional strike,
without any actual strike, was not a ground for the
award of damages under section 303 (a) (4) of the LMRA.
The court held that the carpenter’s union had no remedy
in damages for the theatrical union’s interference with the
right of carpenters to organize under section 7 of the
NLRA, the only remedy being unfair labor practice
charges with the NLRB. It also held that there was no
violation of the civil rights laws or antitrust laws.

Decisions of State Courts
C o n n e c tic u t— V a l i d i t y o f W i t h d r a w a l o f L o c a l F r o m P a r e n t
U n io n .
In a number of recent cases, the Supreme Court
of Errors of Connecticut considered the legality of with­
drawal by a local union from its international affiliate
and the question of right to the property and to dues
checked-off after the secession under a union contract.

(1) The court held 25 that a local union had a right to
withdraw from its parent international affiliate by a vote of
a majority of members of the local union, when the union
constitution permitted withdrawal; it was silent, however,
on the method of achieving withdrawal.
Two locals had been affiliated with the International
Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, but about 1946
there was much dissatisfaction with the operation of the
international, especially with the allegedly fraudulent
election of its officers in that year. A minority report on
the election was submitted. The executive boards of the
locals called special meetings in January 1947, at which the
minority report was considered. Each local voted to
withdraw from the international and to affiliate with the
Provisional Metal Workers Committee. Subsequently,
they both voted to join the Industrial Union of Marine
and Shipbuilding Workers of America. After the Jan­
uary meetings, the locals surrendered their charters to the
international, but did not change their purposes and
continued to operate as before. The international’s
constitution required withdrawing locals to turn over their
charters and pay any indebtedness to the international, but
stated that the moneys and resources of the union remained
the property of its members.
In holding the withdrawal valid, the State Supreme
Court, affirming a lower court decision in injunctive pro­
ceedings brought by the international, held that the inter­
national’s constitution clearly contemplated the right of
locals to withdraw. Reasonable notice of the time, place,
and object of the special local meetings was held to have
been given, although this did not include personal notice to
all members. Since the union constitution made no
requirement to the contrary, a majority vote was held
sufficient to authorize withdrawal. The court held
unions to be different types of organizations from fraternal
insurance organizations, the funds of which have been held
to be nontransferable except by unanimous consent.
(2) For similar reasons the locals were held 26 entitled to
continue to receive dues checked-off by the employer,
pursuant to a contract with the international.

(3)
The same court h eld 27 that another local’s with­
drawal from the same international was invalid, because
the notice of the special meeting at which the withdrawal
was voted did not clearly indicate the purpose of such meet­
ing. The notice stated that the minority report on the
1946 election would be considered, but did not mention
the topic of secession.
N ew

Y o r k — U n i o n ’s

E x p u ls io n

of

C o m m u n is t

M em b ers.

The New York Supreme Court for New York County held28
that a union’s constitution making membership in the
Communist Party a ground for expulsion was valid and
part of the union’s inherent power of self-preservation. A
member expelled on this ground sought an injunction to
compel his reinstatement. The fact that this provision of
the union constitution was added after this member had
joined the union and without his consent was held to make
no difference.
The court pointed out that a union, like other unin­
corporated associations, had the right to make rules govern­
ing right to membership. In view of the activities of
communists in attempting to control unions for their own
political purposes, the provision was held not to violate
free speech. The court pointed out that the expelled
member was not deprived of any right to speak in a public
forum.
W is c o n s in — P u b l i c

U tility

S tr ik e

Law

C o n s titu tio n a l.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin h eld 29 the State law
prohibiting strikes in public utilities constitutional.
A union representing street railway employees appealed
from an injunction by a lower court against a strike which
the employees had authorized the union to call. The court
held that the law applied to a strike by street-railway em­
ployees, despite the exception of railroads from the defini­
tion of public-utility employers whose employees were
subject to the law. The court pointed out that the term
“ railroad” was defined in the dictionary as covering
“ heavy steam transportation” while the term “ railway”
usually referred to lighter electric streetcar lines. The
statute included public passenger transportation as a
public utility.
The court held that the statute was not in conflict with
the National Labor Relations Act. The United States
Supreme Court, it was pointed out, did not consider the
NLRA as guaranteeing the right to strike in all cases.30
The court pointed to the special public interest in the
operation of public utility companies. The law did not
violate the constitutional provision against involuntary
servitude, it held, since individual employees were per­
mitted to quit work. Nor was the right of free speech held
impaired, in view of the facts that such rights were not
absolute when the public interest was involved and that
the prohibitions of the statute were against the actions of
more than one individual acting in concert.
In a companion case, the court held 31 that this statute
did not violate article VII, section 16, of the Wisconsin
Constitution, providing that tribunals for arbitration might
be established with power to render binding judgments when


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REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

the parties voluntarily submitted their dispute to such
tribunal. The court pointed out that this provision applied
only to courts, and not to administrative agencies such as
the boards that were set up by the public utility antistrike
law.
1 Prepared in the U . S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor.
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 all recent judicial and administrative developments in the field of labor
law or 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 This section is intended merely as a digest of some recent decisions in­
volving the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Portal-to-Portal Act. It is
not to be construed and may not be relied upon as interpretation of these
acts by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division or any agency of
the Department of Labor.
3 U n i t e d S t a t e s v. . C o n t i n e n t a l C a s u a l t y C o . (U. S. C. A. (3d), June 2, 1950).
4 I n r e P i e l e t (U. S. D. C., N . D. 111., M ay 10, 1950).
* E a u l e r v. P r e s s e d S t e e l C a r C o . , I n c . (U. S. C. A. (7th), M ay 22, 1950).
8 P o w e l l v. U . S . C a r t r i d g e C o . , etc. (U. S. Sup. Ct., M ay 8, 1950; see
M onthly Labor Review, July 1950, pp. 133,138.)
7 A b e l v. M o r e y M a c h i n e r y C o . , Inc. (U. S. D . C., S. D . N . Y ., M ay 11,
1950).
s N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. M e x i a T e x t i l e M i l l s , I n c . (U. S. Sup.
Ct., M ay 15, 1950).
N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. P o o l M a n u f a c t u r i n g C o . (U. S. Sup. Ct.,
M ay 15, 1950).
10 In re C a r p e n t e r & S k a e r , I n c . and G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t i n g E m p l o y e r s ’ A s s o c i a ­
t i o n (90 N L R B No. 78, June 19, 1950).
11 In re D e n v e r B u i l d i n g & C o n s t r u c t i o n T r a d e s C o u n c i l (90 N L R B No. 66,
June 16, 1950).
12 In re I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f T e a m s t e r s , C h a u f f e u r s , W a r e h o u s e m e n ,
a n d H e lp e r s o f A m e r ic a , D r iv e r s ’ L o c a l U n io n
N o . 8 0 7 (90 N L R B No. 75,
June 16,1950.)
13 in re I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f T e a m s t e r s , C h a u f f e u r s , W a r e h o u s e m e n
a n d H e l p e r s o f A m e r i c a , T r u c k D r i v e r s a n d C h a u f f e u r s L o c a l N o . 8 0 7 (AFL).
(See M onthly Labor Review, February 1950, p. 189.)
14 N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. K e n t u c k y U t i l i t i e s C o . (U. S. C. A.
(6th), June 7, 1950).
n In re B r a d l e y W a s h f o u n t a i n C o . (89 N L R B No. 215, M ay 31, 1950).
>« N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. C r o m p t o n - H i g h l a n d M i l l s (337 U. S.
217).
u In re E a s t m a n C o t t o n M i l l s (90 N L R B No. 3, June 2, 1950).
is N a t i o n a l L a b o r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. S a l a n t & S a l a n t , I n c . (U. S. C. A.
(6th), June 2, 1950).
m In re D o n J u a n C o . , I n c . (89 N L R B No. 191, M ay 18, 1950).
28 In re F . W . W o o l w o r t h C o . (90 N L R B No. 41, June 12, 1950).
21 In re H a r v e s t Q u e e n M i l l & E l e v a t o r C o . (90 N L R B No. 32, June 12,1950).
22 In re G u y F . A t k i n s o n C o . (90 N L R B No. 27, June 8,1950).
23 S h i r l e y - H e r m a n C o . v. I n t e r n a t i o n a l H o d C a r r i e r s , B u i l d i n g a n d C o m m o n
L a b o r e r s o f A m e r . , L o c a l U n i o n N o . 2 1 0 (U. S. C. A. (2d), M ay 29, 1950).
24 S c h a t t e v. I n t e r n a t i o n a l A l l i a n c e o f T h e a t r i c a l S t a g e E m p l o y e e s a n d M o v i n g
P i c t u r e M a c h i n e O p e r a t o r s o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d C a n a d a (CJ. S. C. A. (9th),
M ay 1, 1950).
25 V i l e l l a v. M c G r a t h ; D a r n v. M c E v o y (Conn. Sup. Ct. of Err., M ay 23,
1950).
2» C h a s e B r a s s a n d C o p p e r W o r k e r s U n i o n , L o c a l 5 6 5 v. C h a s e B r a s s &
C o p p e r C o . , I n c . (Conn. Sup. Ct. Err., May 23, 1950).
27 B r i d g e p o r t B r a s s W o r k e r s U n i o n , L o c a l 3 2 0 , v. S m i t h (Conn. Sup. Ct.
Err., M ay 23, 1950).
28 W e i n s t o c k v. L a d i s k y (N. Y. Sup. Ct., N . Y . Co., M ay 18, 1950).
28 W i s c o n s i n E m p l o y m e n t R e l a t i o n s B o a r d v. A m a l g a m a t e d A s s o c i a t i o n o f

8

S tr e e t, E le c tr ic

R a ilw a y , a n d

M o to r

(Wis., Sup. Ct., May 2, 1950).
38 I n t e r n a t i o n a l U n i o n U n i t e d
W is . E m p lo y m e n t R e la tio n s B d .,

C oach

E m p lo y e e s

o f A m e r ic a ,

D iv is io n

998

W o r k e r s o f A m e r i c a , L o c a l 2 3 2 v.
336 U. S. 245. (See M onthly Labor Review,

A u to m o b ile

April 1949, p. 438.)

31

A m a lg a m a te d

v.

W is . E R B

A s s n , o f S tr e e t, E le c tr ic

R a ilw a y , &

(Wis. Sup. Ct., M ay 2, 1950).

M o to r

C oach

E m p lo y e e s

T h e S ix t h A n n u a l A pp r e n t ic e s h ip C o n f e r e n c e of the

Chronology of
Recent Labor Events

Eastern Seaboard was convened at Poland Spring, Maine.
(Source: Report of the Sixth Annual Apprenticeship Con­
ference, June 30, 1950; for discussion, see p. 213 of this
issue.)

June 8
T h e NLRB, in the case of G u y F . A t k i n s o n C o . et a l and

May 31, 1950
T he I n t e r n a t io n a l Hodcarriers and Laborers Union

(AFL) ended a week-long “ wildcat” strike which stopped
construction on an atomic energy project at Oak Ridge,
Tenn. The union had walked out to protest a delay in an
arbitration ruling on its wage demands. (Source: New
York Times, June 1, 1950.)
On June 10, an arbitration board, appointed by the
Atomic Energy Labor Relations Panel, awarded a 13cent hourly wage increase to construction workers and
related job classifications on the atomic energy project.
(Source: New York Times, June 11, 1950.)

June 5
T he P r e s id e n t ’s Conference on Industrial Safety was
convened in Washington, D. C. (Source: Department of
Labor release, June 5, 1950; for discussion, see p. 207 of
this issue.)
T he N a tio na l L a bor R e l a t io n s B oard , in the case of
M o y n a h a n and P a r i - M u t u e l E m p lo y e e s G u ild { A F L ) et a l.,
refused to take jurisdiction over a case involving two
California horse-racing tracks because they were “ essen­
tially local enterprises.” (Source: NLRB Release R-325,
June 5, 1950.)

June 6
T he NLRB announced in a policy statement its refusal
to waive Labor Management Relations Act requirements
in the building and construction industry. (Source:
NLRB Release R-326, June 6, 1950; for discussion, see
p. 105, MLR, July 1950.)
On June 27, the General Counsel of the NLRB an­
nounced that he would not prosecute any charges of unfair
labor practices in the building-trades industries based on
complaints that no representation election had been
held, provided the collective-bargaining agreement met
all other LMRA requirements. (Source: Journal of Com­
merce, June 28, 1950.)

June 7
T h e T h ir ty - third G e n e r a l C o n f e r e n c e of the Inter­

national Labor Organization opened at Geneva, Switzer­
land. (Source: ILO News Service, vol. I ll, No. 5, June
1950, p. 4; for discussion, see p. 210 of this issue.)

250

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C h e s te r R . H e w e s , ruled that a discharge under a lawful
closed-shop contract in the construction industry was
illegal because the work force was not representative at
the time the contract was signed. (Source: Labor Rela­
tions Reporter, vol. 26, No. 13, June 12, 1950, 26 LRRM,
p. 1164.)
On June 22, the NLRB unanimously asserted jurisdic­
tion over an association of building contractors who per­
form 90 percent of all industrial and commercial construc­
tion in the Buffalo, N. Y., area. (Source: NLRB Release
R-331, June 22, 1950.)

June 12
I t w as a n n o u n c e d that the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers (AFL) and Stewart Warner Corp.
had recently signed a contract under which the company
may require employees to take a non-Communist oath
denying their participation in or support of the Commu­
nist Party, or any of its “branches, subsidiary, or spon­
sored organizations.” (Source: Labor Relations Reporter,
vol. 26, No. 13, June 12, 1950, 26 LRR, p. 129.)
On July 9, the general council of Local 600 of the United
Automobile Workers (CIO) resolved to require all of its
550 officers and representatives to sign a non-Communist
affidavit or face dismissal. (Source: CIO News, July
17, 1950.)

June 13
N a tio na l M a ritim e U n io n (CIO) agreed with
Atlantic and Gulf Coast steamship owners to accept sole
responsibility for the legal operation of its “ employment
offices,” which the steamship owners promised to use in the
procurement of unlicensed shipboard personnel. (Source:
CIO News, June 19, 1950; for discussion, see p. 104, MLR,
July 1950.)
On June 28, the General Counsel of the NLRB an­
nounced that a hiring-hall agreement between the Nampa
Building and Construction Trades Council and the Brother­
hood of Carpenters and Joiners (AFL), under which both
nonunion and union men are registered for employment,
does not violate the LMRA. It requires nonunion men to
become members after 30 days. (Source: NLRB Release
RGC-1, June 28, 1950.)
T he

June 14
T h e NLRB announced adoption of two major policies
governing the method of calculation and payment of back
wages for employees illegally discharged because of union
membership or lack of it. (Source: NLRB Release R-328,
June 14, 1950.)

CHRONOLOGY OF LABOR EVENTS

June 15
A P r e sid e n t ia l fact - fin d in g bo a r d , appointed under
provisions of the Railway Labor Act, recommended a 40hour week and an 18-cent hourly wage increase for 75,000
railroad yard-service employees and 4,000 yardmasters.
It denied a demand for revision of basic wage scales affect­
ing 180,000 conductors and trainmen. (Source: Labor
Relations Reporter, vol. 26, No. 18, June 28, 1950, 14 LA
p. 688; for discussion, see p. 104, MLR, July 1950.)
On June 25, the Switchmen’s Union of North America
(AFL) struck against five midwestern and western rail­
roads for a 40-hour week without any reduction in pay.
(Source: Labor, July 1, 1950, p. 3.)
On July 6, the Switchmen’s Union ended its strike
against four of these railroads under “ threat of direct
Government action.” (Source: Labor, July 15, 1950.)
On July 9, the strike against the Chicago, Rock Island,
and Pacific Railroad Co. ended, following United States
Army seizure of the road by Presidential authority and
issuance of a temporary restraining order directing the
strikers back to work. (Source: Washington Post, July
10, 1950 and Federal Register, vol. 15, No. 132, July 11,
1950, p. 4367.)

of the American Communications Associa­
tion and the Fur and Leather Workers Union from the
Congress of Industrial Organizations brought to eight the
total of unions expelled since November 1949 on grounds
of Communist domination. Similar charges against the
United Furniture Workers were dropped. (Source: CIO
News, June 19, 1950; for discussion, see p. 105, MLR,
July 1950.)

T he

e x p u l s io n

June 21
T h e NLRB ruled that New York City drivers’ Local No.

807 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (AFL)
engaged in an illegal secondary boycott by picketing the
premises of a secondary employer when the trucks of the
employer with whom the union had its dispute were not
present. (Source: NLRB Release R—330, June 21, 1950.)

June 23
A ppro va l of the Housing and Rent Act of 1950 extended


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251

rent controls until December 31, 1950, and voluntarily
thereafter until June 30, 1951. (Source: U. S. Law Week,
vol. 18, No. 50, June 27, 1950,18 LW, p. 73; for discussion,
see p. 218 of this issue.)

June 24
T h e I n t e r n a t io n a l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

(AFL) placed the business agent of its Local 3 on probation
for 3 years for excluding from New York City electrical
products made by IBEW locals elsewhere, and for using a
special union label to achieve this end. (Source: Labor
Relations Reporter, vol. 26, No. 19, July 3, 1950, 26 LRR,
p. 179.)

June 25
W a sh in g t o n n e w s p a p e r p u b l ish e r s and the
Typographical Union No. 101 (AFL) agreed to
mental program involving possible introduction,
and use of teletypesetting equipment. (Source:
Times, June 26, 1950.)

Columbia
an experi­
operation,
New York

June 30
T h e B u il d in g T r a d e s E m ployers A sso cia tion and 24
building crafts of the American Federation of Labor in
New York City signed a 3-year stabilization agreement that
includes a pension plan financed by a 3-percent payroll
levy. (Source: New York Times, July 1, 1950.)
T he S e l e c t iv e S er v ic e E x t e n s io n A ct of 1950 was
approved by the President, extending until July 9, 1951,
the registration, classification, and drafting for military
service of men from age 18 through 25. (Source: Labor
Relations Reporter, vol. 26, No. 21, July 10, 1950, 26
LRRM, p. 3042.)

July 8
A m i n i m u m w a g e of $1.05 an hour (formerly 50 cents) in
aircraft industries with Federal Government contracts of
more than $10,000 became effective by order of the
Secretary of Labor under provisions of the Walsh-Healy
Public Contracts Act. (Source: Federal Register, vol. 15,
No. 115, June 15, 1950, p. 3809.)

Publications
of Labor Interest
E d i t o r ’ s N o t e . —Correspondence regarding publications
referred to in this list should be addressed to the respective
publishing agencies mentioned. Data on prices, if readily
available, are included with the title entries.

Special Review
S te e lto w n : A n I n d u s t r i a l C a s e H i s t o r y o f th e C o n flic t B e tw e e n
P ro g re ss a n d S e c u r ity .
By Charles R. Walker. New
York, Harper & Brothers, 1950. 284 pp., maps,
illus. (Yale University’s Labor and Management
Center Series.) $4.50.
“The rate of progress is such that an individual human
being of ordinary length of life, will be called upon to face
novel situations which find no parallel in his past. The
fixed person for the fixed duties who in older societies was
such a godsend, in the future will be a public danger.”
This challenging quotation from Alfred North Whitehead
is the prelude to a study of what happened in Ellwood City,
Pa., following the announcement on August 1, 1946, by
the National Tube Co., a subsidiary of the United States
Steel Corp., that its Ellwood City plant would be moved to
Gary, Ind. The study exemplifies the problems of adapta­
bility to technological change and the urgency of individual
and group action to meet those problems.
The company’s decision was announced as part of a
company-wide program of modernizing its equipment and
adapting its operations to changes in market conditions and
transportation costs. When the decision was made, the
Ellwood City plant employed about 4,000 workers,
comprising two-thirds of the industrial wage earners of the
city, which had a total population of about 14,000. The
immediate effects of the announcement on the company’s
employees and on the city were summed up by the president
of the local steelworkers’ union: “It was a blow right be­
tween the eyes. The whole community was stunned, not
just the union and the workers, but the merchants, the
townspeople, the Chamber of Commerce. We all felt the
same way.”
The book was written before the company’s decision was
carried into effect. The closing of the plant was deferred,
apparently because the demand for tubing made possible
the continued operation of the old plant as well as newer
plants at a profit. “For a time the community of E lwood
City has received a reprieve from the consumer.” The
report is described, therefore, as an interim study; later
reports are designed to deal with “the problems of human
and social adjustment” to the new mills and to appraise
“the over-all social and economic effects of the technical
and managerial changes which have occurred.”
The present volume is the result of a case study by
members of the staff of Yale University’s Labor and Manage­

252

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ment Center. The study was undertaken immediately
after the announcement of the company’s decision, and
was planned as “an objective study in the public interest of
all aspects of the company’s decision and its effects. All
interested parties, it was suggested, would furnish such
information as they wished and their points of view would
be fully represented. The purpose of the study would be
both scientific and practical: to throw light on basic
principles of human behavior under the impact of techno­
logical change, and to discover solutions to practical
questions which might be of use to other companies, other
unions, and other communities faced with similar problems.
This suggestion was welcomed by all parties affected who
offered their assistance, and during the making of this
study have given the writer and his staff the fullest possible
cooperation.”
Background and introductory sections of more than a
hundred pages describe the historical setting, characteris­
tics of the community, and life inside and outside the mill.
These are followed by a “narrative of the critical months”
after the company’s announcement was made. The prob­
lem is then analyzed from the points of view of manage­
ment, the union, the workers, and the community. A final
chapter deals with “practical lessons” and “the problem in
perspective.” A supplementary section is largely docu­
mentary and statistical.
The volume is described by the author, and presented by
the director of the Labor and Management Center, as a
study of an important episode in technological change, but
emphasis is placed on the fact that it is a case study. It is
thus reviewed as in a sense symbolical or typical and as
having significant implications for other communities and
situations. It is described as indicating a “pattern of
description and analysis which suggests factors in the
determination of human behavior as well as alternative
paths of action.” As a case study, a “pattern of description
and analysis,” it has implications for both public and
private research. It suggests the value of a humanizing
of research both as to the subjects chosen for study and as
to the implications of the facts presented.
— W. B.
By Lionel
B. Michael. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.,
1950. 330 pp., bibliography, charts.
(Industrial
Organization and Management Series.) $4.50.
The growth of collective bargaining and labor legislation
during the past two decades has added greatly to the
complexities of managing the payroll. The payroll today
is not only a record of wage disbursements but an account­
ing procedure for social security payments, tax deductions,
minimum wage enforcements, union dues collections,
private insurance and pension credits, and a variety of other
wage and related benefits. In addition to these purely
technical problems, the wage administrator is concerned
with maintaining an appropriate level of wages and
equitable differentials between various skills. It is no
wonder that wage administration has become an increas­
ingly specialized professional occupation.
In his book on Tka g e a n d S a l a r y F u n d a m e n ta ls a n d
P r o c e d u r e s , the author has attempted to provide an inte­
grated outline of all phases of wage administration. The
W a g e a n d S a l a r y F u n d a m e n ta ls a n d P r o c e d u r e s .

PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST
purpose of the book is to enable the reader to understand
and appreciate this area of management. He is introduced
to a wide variety of labor matters, including labor legis­
lation, collective bargaining agreements, management
policies, job classification, setting of differentials between
jobs, determination of prevailing area rates, indirect
payment practices, incentive systems, and selection of
employees.
Books on wage administration have recently taken into
account the fact that managing workers’ pay cannot be a
purely" logical and unilateral procedure. This book is no
exception to this trend; it recognizes that collective bar­
gaining has a place in the settling of questions that relate
to wages and worker welfare.
There are to be found in the book no ready-made solu­
tions to some of the conflicts between desirable practices
and the realities of day-to-day wage administration. One
of these is the role of traditional practices in the labor
market. This involves such factors as union practice of
occupational classification, particularly in the skilled
trades, as well as attitudes of labor toward skill differen­
tials and rate setting. Some unions have definite policies
toward job titles, especially in grades within occupations,
and job definitions. They are concerned not only with the
product of a certain procedure but desire participation
in the development of the procedures. The realities of
day-to-day problems frequently make it difficult to apply
any internally consistent system of wage administration.
Lack of coordination within the management of an
establishment is also recognized by the author as a deterrent
to coherent procedures in wage administration. If, for
example, wage relationships among occupations in a plant
should remain consistent, it is important that negotiations
for wage changes take this factor into account. This pre­
supposes that the wage and salary administration should
have authority over both. But the wage level is frequently
influenced by general modes in bargaining that are shaped
outside of the particular plant, and in some cases different
persons in a plant determine wage level policy and occupa­
tional differentials.
— H.O.

Cooperative Movement
P ro g ra m s in A id o f

F a m ily

H o u s e b u ild in g :

“ A id e d

S e lf -

By Jacob L. Crane and Robert E.
McCabe. { I n International Labour Review, Geneva,
April 1950, pp. 367-384. 50 cents. Distributed in
United States by Washington Branch of ILO.)
Brief accounts of housing obtained through “self-help”
by would-be home owners, aided in certain ways by
Government or private agencies. Covers a number of
foreign countries, with a few examples from the United
States.
H e lp H o u s i n g .”

By L. Kaufmann.
Review of International Cooperation, London,
May 1950, pp. 128-134, illus.)

253

Report on operations and activities of the General
Society of Consumers Cooperatives—the cooperative
wholesale— of France for 1949. One table gives compara­
tive data back to 1907.
Buenos Aires, Feder­
ación Argentina de Cooperativas de Consumo, 1949.
200 pp.
Contains data for individual cooperatives affiliated to
the Argentine Federation of Consumers’ Cooperatives, as
of July 1, 1949, and comparative statistics beginning with
1932; also a table showing the development of the cooper­
ative movement in relation to population in various
countries of the world.
A l m a n a q u e d e la C o o p e r a c ió n , 1 9 5 0 .

By Sergio Corvallo Hederra.
Washington, Unión Panamericana, División de
Asuntos Sociales y de Trabajo, Sección de Coopera­
tivas, 1950. 62 pp., bibliography; processed.
Deals with the structure and operations of various types
of cooperatives (agricultural, housing, electricity, etc.)
and with legislation concerning cooperatives.
E l C o o p e r a tiv is m o e n C h ile .

O r g a n iz a c ió n

y

A d m in is tr a c ió n

de

la s

C o o p e r a tiv a s

de

By Fernando Chaves. Washington, Un­
ión Panamericana, División de Asuntos Sociales y de
Trabajo, Sección de Cooperativas, 1950. 60 pp.,
bibliography, illus.; processed.
Manual on how to organize and run a consumers’ co­
operative. Appendixes give model bylaws for a local
(retail) cooperative, and the bylaws of the Argentine Con­
sumers’ Cooperative Federation.
C on su m o.

Education and Training
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p — P a s t a n d P r e s e n t: A
T r a i n i n g i n th e S k i l l e d

S to r y o f A p p r e n tic e

T r a d e s S in c e C o lo n ia l D a y s .

Washington, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Apprenticeship, 1950. 22 pp. 15 cents, Superin­
tendent of Documents, Washington.
f o r P r o v i d i n g G u id a n c e S e r v ic e s .
Springfield.
Illinois Board for Vocational Education, 1949. 153
pp., bibliographies, forms, illus. (Series A, Bull. No.
107.)
Prepared as an aid to schools in improving guidance
services, the handbook outlines the basic structure of a
program and offers practical suggestions.
H andbook

B u ild in g T ra d e s I n s tr u c tio n

M a te r ia l: P a r t I , C a r p e n tr y .

Springfield, Illinois Board for Vocational Education,
1949. 167 pp., forms; processed. (Series A, Bull.
No. 115.)
The instruction material in this manual was developed
at a teachers’ workshop held at the University of Illinois,
August 15-26, 1949.

C o o p e r a tiv e W o r k e r s ’ H o u s in g i n I s r a e l.
{In

E x e r c is e 1 9 4 9 d e la S o c ié té G é n é r a le d e s C o o p é r a tiv e s de
C o n s o m m a tio n , [F r a n c e ] . . . .
Paris, Société Génér­

ale des Coopératives de Consommation, [1950?].
28 pp.
895483— 50------ 5


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

E d u c a tio n a n d T r a i n i n g i n th e [ B r itis h ] S te e l I n d u s t r y —
S e c o n d T r a i n i n g C o n fe re n c e .
London, British Iron

and Steel Federation, 1949.

52 pp.

2s. 6d.

[New
Delhi?], India, Ministry of Labor, Directorate Gen­
eral of Resettlement and Employment, 1949. 70 pp.

V o c a tio n a l T r a i n i n g S c h e m e — S y lla b u s e s o f T r a i n i n g .

254

PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST

Employment and Unemployment
E m p lo y m e n t a n d W a g e s o f W o r k e r s C o v e re d b y S ta te U n e m ­
In su ra n ce
L a w s,
[ 1 9 4 7 ].
Washington,
U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Employment
Security, 1950. 76 pp.; processed.

p lo y m e n t

I n d u s t r i a l a n d O c c u p a tio n a l T r e n d s i n

N a tio n a l E m p lo y ­

By Gladys L. Palmer
and Ann Ratner. Philadelphia, University of Penn­
sylvania, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce,
Industrial Research Department, 1949. 68 pp.,
charts. (Research Report No. 11.) $1.
The occupational classification is that of the major
groups of the Bureau of the Census. The 1910 data on
the gainfully occupied population are adjusted for estimates
of employment in terms roughly comparable to the 1940
labor force data. The industry groups are also given in
terms of the 1940 classification.

MONTHLY LABOR

Tenure and Academic Freedom, 1950. 40 pp.,
bibliography. 25 cents.
Designed as a guide for both teachers and school
officials in solving tenure problems. Provisions of tenure
laws and principles of legal practice are emphasized.

Handicapped Workers

m e n t, 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 4 0 , 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 4 8 .

New York, National Associa­
tion of Manufacturers, 1949. 17 pp.; processed.
(Economic Policy Division Series, No. 16.)
Discussion of the unemployment estimates made by the
Bureau of the Census. The estimates are described as
providing “a valuable guide to the over-all economic
situation,” but the enumeration processes are criticized
and it is stated that much more information is needed on
unemployment.
U n e m p lo y m e n t E s tim a te s .

A g a i n s t U n e m p lo y m e n t.
Geneva, International
Labor Office, 1950. 260 pp. (Studies and Reports,
New Series, No. 20.) $1.50. Distributed in United
States by Washington Branch of ILO.
Report prepared for the 33d Session of the International
Labor Conference in 1950. The survey deals with the
unemployment problem as it has emerged since the war in
various countries. The measures taken against unem­
ployment, as described in the report, include both national
and international programs. General measures, such as
unemployment insurance, are described and also special
programs for depressed areas and for underdeveloped areas.
The final chapter summarizes the conclusions and the
policy recommendations of the report.
A c ti o n

P r o c e e d in g s o f th e G o v e r n o r’s - C o n fe re n c e o n E m p lo y m e n t,
S a c r a m e n to , D e c e m b e r 5 - 6 , 1 9 4 9 .
Sacramento, Cali­
fornia Department of Employment, [1950]. 346 pp.,
charts.
The conference dealt with four main subjects: special
problem groups in the labor market; the contribution of
labor and management to the creation and maintenance
of jobs; community action on local and State levels; and
the role of government in the creation of new jobs.
A

S t u d y o f P e r s o n s W h o E x h a u s te d

U n e m p lo y m e n t C o m ­

Hart­
ford, Connecticut Department of Labor, Employment
Security Division, 1950. 65 pp., charts; processed.

C o u n s e lin g th e H a n d i c a p p e d i n th e R e h a b ilita tio n P r o c e s s .

By Kenneth W. Hamilton. New York, Ronald Press
Co., 1950. 296 pp., bibliography, illus. $3.50.
Effective rehabilitation of a handicapped person, Profes­
sor Hamilton emphasizes, requires i n d i v i d u a li z e d and co­
o r d in a te d professional services.
Community organization
and the counselor’s functions in this connection are
treated at some length, because among the counselor’s
most valuable assets are knowledge of the local community
and ability to organize its resources. Since satisfactory
employment of the handicapped individual is the crowning
achievement of the rehabilitation process, available infor­
mation on the experience of impaired workers in industry
is analyzed as an aid to employment counselors. The
book aims to point out the possibility of converting the
increasing numbers of handicapped persons from a na­
tional problem into a national asset. Thus, practical
problems, such as employer attitudes, employee records,
types of jobs, and workmen’s compensation are considered
and the rehabilitation process is described in detail.
Annual

R ep o rt

F ed era l

of

S e c u r ity

O ffice

of

A gency,

V o c a tio n a l
[ fo r

F is c a l

R e h a b ilita tio n ,
Y ear

E nded

Washington, 1950. 42 pp., map.
15 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington.
Report on operation of the Federal-State program for
vocational rehabilitation of disabled civilians, with a
description of the program.
June

8 0 ],

1949.

Wash­
ington, U. S. Department of Labor, President’s Com­
mittee on National Employ the Physically Handi­
capped Week, 1950. Chart. Free.

P h a s e s o f th e F e d e r a l P r o g r a m f o r H a n d i c a p p e d .

( I n Employment Security
Review, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Em­
ployment Security, U. S. Employment Service,
Washington, June 1950, pp. 26-28. 15 cents, Super­
intendent of Documents, Washington.)

J o b G o a ls f o r th e H a n d i c a p p e d .

o f th e T u b e r c u lo u s .
By H. A.
de Boer. ( I n International Labour Review, Geneva,
January 1950, pp. 21-48, bibliography. 50 cents.
Distributed in United States by Washington Branch
of ILO.)

V o c a tio n a l R e h a b ilita tio n

Health Insurance and Medical Care

p e n s a tio n B e n e fits i n C o n n e c tic u t D u r in g 1 9 4 9 .

T en u re M a n u a l.
Washington, National Educa­
tion Association of the United States, Committee on

T eacher


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

A S y m p o s i u m o n L a w s R e la tin g to H e a lth I n s u r a n c e P la n s
P u b l i c H e a lth .
( I n Iowa Law Review, Iowa
City, Winter 1950, pp. 164-250. $1.75.)
Consists of four articles on various phases of health
insurance plans and proposals in the United States, and
and

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

P U B L IC A T IO N S

OF LABO R

a fifth on the British national health, insurance, and
assistance services.
E x p e r ie n c e o f S e le c te d U n io n - M a n a g e m e n t D i s a b i l i t y I n s u r ­
a n c e P l a n s i n N e w Y o r k S ta te .
New York, State
Department of Labor, Division of Research and
Statistics, 1950. 86 pp., charts; processed. (Publi­
cation No. B-35.)
P r e p a y m e n t o f P h y s ic ia n s '1 S e r v ic e s f o r R e c ip ie n ts o f P u b lic
A s s i s t a n c e i n th e S ta te o f W a s h in g to n ; P r o b le m s a n d

By Odin W. Anderson. Ann Arbor, Uni­
versity of Michigan, Bureau of Public Health Eco­
nomics, 1949. 62 pp. (Research Series, No. 4.)
Issu es.

H e a lth I n s u r a n c e i n J a p a n .
By George F.
Rohrlich. (I n International Labor Review, Geneva,
April 1950, pp. 337-366. 50 cents. Distributed in
United States by Washington Branch of ILO.)

N a tio n a l

255

IN T E R E S T

Canada, 1949.
( I n Labor
Gazette, Department of Labor, Ottawa, April 1950,
pp. 557, 558.)

F a ta l I n d u s t r i a l A c c i d e n ts i n

Industrial Relations
C o lle c tiv e B a r g a i n i n g

P r o v i s i o n s : H e a lth ,

In su ra n ce,

and

Washington, U. S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1950. 251 pp. (Bull.
No. 908-17.) 55 cents, Superintendent of Documents,
Washington.
P e n s io n s .

C o lle c tiv e B a r g a i n i n g S e ttle m e n ts i n N e w

Y o r k S ta te , 1 9 4 9 .

New York, State Department of Labor, Division of
Research and Statistics, 1950. 15 pp.; processed.
(Special Labor News Memorandum No. 23.)
Summarized in this issue of the Monthly Labor Review
(p. 229).
By
Robert D. Denham.
San Francisco, California
Personnel Management Association, 1949. 14 pp.;
processed. (Management Report No. 54.) $1.

T h e H u m a n R e la tio n s S i d e o f C o lle c tiv e B a r g a in in g .

Industrial Accidents and Accident Prevention
By Ewan Clague.
Washington, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1950. 9 pp., charts; processed.
Free.
Address by U. S. Commissioner of Labor Statistics
before Governor’s Conference on Industrial Safety, Provi­
dence, R. I., May 16, 1950.
I n j u r y F r e q u e n c y R a te s a n d P l a n t S i z e .

T h e L a w a n d P r a c tic e R e la tin g to S a f e ty i n F a c to r ie s : P a r t I ,

M a in ta in in g

T w o - W a y C o m m u n ic a tio n : C o m p a n y E x p e r i ­

New York, American Manage­
ment Association, 1950. 42 pp. (Personnel Series,
No. 134.)
Includes a panel discussion on “ Is Management Losing
the American Worker?” and a selected list of films on
various phases of industrial relations.
e n c e s a n d T e c h n iq u e s .

N a t i o n a l a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l O r g a n iz a tio n ; P a r t I I , L e g ­

Montreal, International Labor Office, 1949.
1,701 pp., bibliography. $8.50. Distributed in
United States by Washington Branch of ILO.
Deals with the industrial safety movement in 14 coun­
tries, including the United States. Activities of both
governmental and private agencies are covered. Special
attention is given to safety work of the United States Gov­
ernment during World War II. The part of the volume
on legislation (analyzed topically) includes safety codes in
a variety of fields.
is la tio n .

By Lois S.
Gray. Ithaca, N. Y., Cornell University, New York
State School of Industrial and Labor Relations,
March 1950. 28 pp. (Extension Bull. No. 3.)
Single copies free to residents of New York State, 10
cents to others.

O u r S ta te S a f e t y a n d H e a lth L a w s , [ N e w Y o r k ] .

R e c e n t R o c k - D u s ti n g E x p e r im e n ts f o r A r r e s t i n g C o a l- M in e
E x p lo s io n s .
By Irving Hartmann and others. Wash­

ington, U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Mines, 1950. 16 pp., illus.; processed. (Report of
Investigations, No. 4688.)
S a fe ty

in

P e tr o le u m

R e f in in g

and

R e la te d

I n d u s tr ie s .

By George Armistead, Jr. New York, John G.
Simmonds & Co., Inc., 1950. 416 pp., bibliographies,
diagrams, forms, illus. $10.
M a t e r i a l s i n S a f e t y E d u c a tio n .
Washington,
National Education Association, National Commis­
sion on Safety Education, 1950. 44 pp. 30 cents.

V is u a l


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M anagem ent

B e h a v io r

and

F orem an

A ttitu d e — A

C ase

By David N. Ulrich, Donald R. Booz, Paul
R. Lawrence. Boston, Mass., Harvard University,
Gradute School of Business Administration, Division
of Research, 1950. 56 pp. 75 cents.
Based on 8 months’ observation of people at work in an
eastern factory, the authors have attempted to “ trace some
of the effects of management action throughout the
organization and to show how management itself was in
turn affected.”
S tu d y .

In ju n c tio n s .
By William H. Chartener. Wash­
ington (1205 19th Street NW .), Editorial Research
Reports, 1950. 17 pp. (Vol. I, 1950, No. 12.) $1.

Labor

P s y c h o lo g ic a l A s p e c ts o f I n d u s t r i a l C o n f lic t: I I , M o tiv a tio n .

By Ross Stagner. ( I n Personnel Psychology, Wash­
ington, Spring 1950, pp. 1-15, bibliography. $2.)
Part I, Perception, was published in the summer 1948
issue of Personnel Psychology.
U n f a ir L a b o r P r a c tic e P r e v e n tio n U n d e r th e R a i l w a y L a b o r

By Herbert R. Northrup. ( I n Industrial and
Labor Relations Review, Ithaca, N. Y., April 1950,
pp. 323-340. $1.25.)
A c t.

S t r i k e s a n d L o c k o u ts i n C a n a d a D u r i n g 1 9 4 9 , W i t h I n j o r m a t i o n f o r C e r ta in O th e r C o u n tr ie s .
Ottawa, Department
of Labor, 1950. 51 pp., charts. (Supplement to
Labor Gazette, April 1950.)
C o lle c tiv e A g r e e m e n ts a n d I n d u s t r i a l D i s p u t e s P r o c e d u r e i n
F ran ce.

(In

Industry and Labor, International Labor

256

PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST

Office, Geneva, April 15, 1950, pp. 290-298. 25 cents.
Distributed in United States by Washington Branch
of ILO.)
A law of February 11, 1950, sets up a new system of
collective bargaining in France and provides for compulsory
conciliation and voluntary arbitration of labor-manage­
ment disputes. The article listed summarizes the law and
compares the procedures established with those followed
under previous legislation.
A brief article on the new law was published by the U. S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics in Notes on Labor Abroad,
March 1950 (p. 8).

Labor and Employer Organizations
R e p o r t , C o n fe r e n c e o n

“ C e n tr a l L a b o r

U n io n

A c tiv itie s ,”

Champaign, University of
Illinois, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations,
[1950?]. 38 pp.; processed. $1.
Summary of proceedings of an educational conference
sponsored by the Illinois State Federation of Labor (AFL).
N ovem ber

2 9 -8 0 ,

1949.

By Raymond R.
Farrell. (I n Yale Law Journal, New Haven, Conn.,
February 1950, pp. 55A-561.)

Labor and Social Legislation
By Edwin E. Witte. [Madison,
University of Wisconsin, Department of Economics?],
1950. 22 pp., bibliography; processed.
Sketches briefly the history of State labor legislation
and discusses provisions effective in 1950 on specific sub­
jects.
S ta te L a b o r L e g is la tio n .

H ig h

By
Adolf Sturmthal. { I n Industrial and Labor Relations
Review, Ithaca, N. Y., April 1950, pp. 375-382. $1.25.)

D i e Ö s te r r e ic h is c h e G e w e r k s c h a fts b e w e g u n g : R ü c k b lic k u n d
V orsch au .
By Hans Feblinger and Fritz Klenner.
Vienna, Österreichischen Gewerkschaftsbundes, 1948.
272 pp., bibliography, charts,
Reviews the history of the Austrian trade-union move­
ment from its beginning in the middle of the 19th century
to the spring of 1948.
T h e D e v e lo p m e n t o f M a n a g e m e n t A s s o c i a t i o n s i n G e r m a n y .

By Dillard E. Bird. Frankfort, Office of Military
Government for Germany (U, S.), Manpower Division,
1949. 35 pp.; processed. (Visiting Expert Series,
No. 12.)
I n d u s t r i a l R e la tio n s i n G e r m a n y , 1 9 4 5 - 1 9 4 -9 : A n A c c o u n t
o f th e P o s t w a r

G r o w th

o f E m p lo y e r s ’ a n d

W o rk ers’

Lon­
don, Foreign Office, 1950. 26 pp. (Cmd. 7923.)
9d. net, H. M. Stationery Office, London.

O r g a n i z a t i o n s i n th e B r i t i s h Z o n e o f G e r m a n y .

By Irving Brown. { I n Indian
Journal of Social Work, Andheri, Bombay, December
1949, pp. 205-217. $1.)

T ra d e U n io n is m in I n d ia .

[Tokyo?],
Ministry of Labor, Labor Statistics and Research
Division, [1949?]. 143 pp., map, charts.
The text of the statistical tables is in both Japanese and
English.
L a b o r U n io n s i n J a p a n — S u r v e y o f J u n e 1 9 4 9 .

S p o ts in

S ta le S c h o o l L e g is la tio n E n a c te d i n

By J. Cope­
land Gray. San Francisco, California Personnel
Management Association, 1949. 11 pp.; processed.
(Management Report No. 50.) $1.

A d m in is tr a tio n o f O u r F ed era l L a b o r L a w s.

By
Tighe E. Woods. { I n Notre Dame Lawyer, Notre
Dame, Ind., Spring 1950, pp. 411-437. $1.)

T h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f a L a w : F e d e r a l R e n t C o n tr o l.

B u ite n g e w o o n A r b e id s r e c h t, A a n te k e n in g e n e n V e r k la r in g e n

By W. C. L. Van Der Grinten and
A. J. Haakman. Alphen on the Rhine, N. Samson
N. V., 1949. 132 pp.
A study of labor legislation and working conditions in
the Netherlands in recent years.
voor d e P r a d i j k .

C o n s titu tio n s i n th e S o v ie t S p h e r e .
By Samuel L.
Sharp. Washington, Foundation For Foreign Affairs,
1950. 114 pp. $1.
Comparative analysis of constitutional developments in
postwar Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland,
Rumania, and Yugoslavia. Appendixes include texts of
the new constitutions of all these countries except Poland,
which has not as yet adopted a new constitution.
N ew

Migration and Migrants
A nnual

R ep o rt

S e r v ic e ,

of

th e

U n d e r F e rn A r tio n d e n , 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 4 7 .


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I m m i g r a t io n

and

N a tu r a liz a tio n

U . S . D e p a r tm e n t o f J u s t i c e , F o r th e F is c a l

Y ear E n ded Ju n e 30, 1949.
Washington, [1950?]
152 pp., charts; processed.
Data on aliens admitted to and departing from the
United States during the year were published in the
Monthly Labor Review for February 1950 (p. 165).
P e r s o n s i n th e A m e r i c a n L a b o r F o r c e .
By
Anita Kury. { I n Labor Market and Employment
Security, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Employment Security, Washington, January 1950,
pp. 23-27, illus. 15 cents, Superintendent of Docu­
ments, Washington.)

D is p la c e d

By R. K. McNickle. Washington
(1205 19th Street NW .), Editorial Research Reports,
1950. 16 pp. (Vol. 1, 1950, No. 15.) $1.
Summary of information on the extent, composition,
geographical disposition, economic status, etc., of the
migratory farm labor force.
M ig r a n t F a rm L a b o r.

By Ragnar Casparsson. Stockholm, Tryckeri Ab Tiden, 1947, 1948.
2 vols., 681 and 739 pp., illus.
History of the Swedish trade-union federation (Lands­
organisationen) from its founding in 1898 to 1947.
LO

1949.

Washington, National Education Association of the
United States, Research Division, 1950. 98 pp.;
processed.
The section on teachers includes legislation, by State,
on employment, tenure, salaries, retirement, leave, group
insurance, and other matters.

R e g u la tio n o f U n io n S e c u r i t y C o n tr a c ts .

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e d e r a tio n o f F r e e T r a d e U n io n s .

MONTHLY LABOR

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

P U B L IC A T IO N S

OF L A B O R

IN T E R E S T

257

B r a c e r o s M e x ic a n o s e n W i s c o n s in .
By Edmundo
Flores. (I n El Trimestre Económico, México, D. F.,
January-March 1950, pp. 23-80, map.)
A study of Mexican agricultural laborers in Wisconsin
in 1945, with discussion of the arrangements made between
the United States and Mexican Governments for recruit­
ment of such labor for work in the United States.

B a c k g r o u n d D e v e lo p m e n ts i n th e F ie ld o f P r i v a t e P e n s i o n s .

Occupations and Occupational Adjustment

th e P e n s i o n P la n .
New York, Commerce
Clearing House, Inc., 1950. 127 pp. $1.
Concerns primarily the effects on pension planning of a
wide variety of laws (labor, social security, taxation, etc.);
also outlines what the worker needs to know about a
pension plan.

Los

Washing­
ton, U. S. Goverment Printing Office, April 1950.
12 pp. (Price List No. 33A.)

O c c u p a tio n s : P r o f e s s io n s a n d J o b D e s c r i p t i o n s .

By Thomas
E. Christensen. Washington, National Association
of Secondary-School Principals, 1950. 19 pp. (Pre­
print from Bulletin of the Association, Vol. 34, No.
171.) 50 cents.

S e le c te d S o u r c e s o f O c c u p a tio n a l I n f o r m a tio n .

H o w to G e t th e J o b Y o u W a n t.

Research Associates, 1950.
“ M e e t M r . B u s in e s s ”— A

Bethel, Conn., Personnel
39 pp. $1.

D is c u s s io n o f P la c e m e n t I n te r ­

By James Allen Cunningham, Jr. Providence,
R. I., Brown University, 1949. 21 pp.
Contains interview suggestions for job applicants,
particularly those looking for their first jobs.
v ie w s .

By James C. Worthy. Chicago,
Science Research Associates, Inc., 1950. 48 pp.,
illus. (Life Adjustment Series.) 60 cents.

W h a t E m p lo y e r s W a n t.

New York, New York Univer­
sity, School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance,
1949. 51 pp.

Y o u r J o b a n d Y o u r F u tu r e .

P r e p a r i n g f o r a C a r e e r i n th e F o r e ig n S e r v ic e o f th e U n ite d

Washington, U. S. Department of State, 1950.
88 pp., map, charts. (Publication No. 3668; Depart­
ment and Foreign Service Series, No. 9.) 25 cents.
S ta te s .

By Anthony P. Alfino.

W h a t A r e O r g a n iz e d L a b o r ’s

By John W. Whittlesey.
Washington, Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, Employer-Employee Relations Division, 1950.
5 and 6 pp., respectively; processed. Free.
Excerpts of remarks made at Chamber of Commerce
Distribution Roundtable Luncheon, February 15, 1950.
P e n s io n P ro g ra m D e m a n d s?

B l u e p r i n ti n g

C o m p u ls o r y R e tir e m e n t o f S u p e r a n n u a te d

W orkers

U n der

Illinois Law
Review, Chicago, March-April 1950, pp. 88-98.)
C o lle c tiv e

B a r g a in in g

A g r e e m e n ts .

{In

{ I n Yale Law
Journal, New Haven, Conn., March 1950, pp. 678714.)
Analyzes development of the movement for negotiated
pensions in industry, considers key problems in presentday bargaining, and evaluates the place of private pensions
in an over-all social security plan.
E m p lo y e e P e n s i o n s i n C o lle c tiv e B a r g a in in g .

T r a n s c r i p t o f P r o c e e d in g s ,

C e n tr a l a n d S o u th e r n

I llin o is

P e n s i o n C lin ic , P e o r i a , III., J a n u a r y 2 7 , 1 9 5 0 , S p o n ­
so red b y P e o r ia A s s o c ia tio n o f C om m erce a n d I llin o is

[Peoria, Associ­
77 pp.; processed.

S ta le C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e { C h ic a g o ) .

ation of Commerce?],
$1.50.

1950.

T r a n s c r i p t i o n o f P r o c e e d in g s , C o lle c tiv e B a r g a i n i n g a n d
P e n s i o n s C o n fe re n c e , C in c i n n a t i , O h io , M a r c h 2 9 , 1 9 5 0 .

Columbus, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Industrial
Relations Department, 1950. 62 pp. and tables;
processed.

M i n n e s o t a M a n p o w e r M a n a g e r s i n 194-9.

S u r v e y o f P e n s i o n a n d W e lf a r e P la n s i n I n d u s t r y , [C a n a d a ],
1947.
Ottawa, Dominion Bureau of Statistics,

Pensions

Health and Welfare Division, 1950. 101 pp.; proc­
essed. (D. B. S. Reference Papers, No. 4.)
Later information on Canadian industrial pensions is
given in an article in the April 1950 Labor Gazette (pp.
443-453) of the Department of Labor, in which the main
features of existing plans are analyzed. The article also
reviews the growth of such plans in Canada over the past
50 years.

By Dale Yoder
and Lenore P. Nelson. [Minneapolis], University of
Minnesota, Industrial Relations Center, 1949. 7 pp.
(Research and Technical Report No. 5.)
Summary data on job titles used; average number, age,
experience, duties, and salaries of employees having stated
titles; and other points.

o n P e n s io n s .
By F. Beatrice Brower. New
York, National Industrial Conference Board, Inc.,
1950. 164 pp. (Studies in Personnel Policy, No.
103.)
Consists largely of material on pensions published by
the Conference Board in recent years, with some revision.
Includes union agreement provisions and a brief glossary
of pension terms.
More recent pension developments are surveyed in four
articles in the Conference Board Management Record for
June 1950. One of the articles summarizes plans of 14
companies.
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Population
1949.
Washington,
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,
1950. 29 pp., chart; processed. (Current Popula­
tion Reports, Labor Force, Series P-50, No. 19.)

A n n u a l R e p o r t o n th e L a b o r F o r c e ,

S t u d y o f th e L if e T a b le .
By Louis I.
Dublin, Alfred J. Lotka, Mortimer Spiegelman. New
York, Ronald Press Co., 1949. 379 pp., bibliography,
charts. Rev. ed. $7.
A comprehensive exposition of the trends in human
longevity and of the biological and social factors underlying
L e n g th o f L if e : A

258

MONTHLY LABOR

PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST

these trends is presented in this volume, a revised edition
of a work originally published in 1936. Among the new
materials included is a discussion of recent trends in mor­
tality and of forecasts of life expectancy to 1975. Differ­
ences in mortality among social-economic classes and
occupations are also discussed.
Lake Success, N.Y.,
United Nations, Department of Social Affairs, 1949.
16 pp. 15 cents, Columbia University Press, Inter­
national Documents Service, New York.
Includes estimates of birth and death rates, length of
life, and age structure of the population in major areas.
W o r ld P o p u l a t i o n T r e n d s , 1 9 2 0 - 1 9 4 7 .

Social Security (General)
P u b l i c S o c ia l S e c u r i t y P r o g r a m s i n th e U n ite d S ta te s , 1 9 4 9 -

Washington, U. S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1950. 26 pp., charts.
(Bull. No. 982; reprinted from Monthly Labor Re­
view, January-March 1950.) 15 cents, Superintend­
ent of Documents, Washington.
1950.

V o lu n ta r y P r o g r a m s f o r S e c u r ity .
By
J. W. Myers. (I n Harvard Business Review, Boston,
March 1950, pp. 29-44; also reprinted.)
Examines and evaluates proposals for amending the
current Federal old-age social security legislation and sug­
gests principles for supplementary private pension plans.
G o v e r n m e n ta l a n d

A g r ic u ltu r e .
{ I n International Labor
Review, Geneva, February 1950, pp. 153-178; March
1950, pp. 274-300. 50 cents each. Distributed in
United States by Washington Branch of ILO.)

S o c ia l S e c u r i t y i n

By Alton A. Linford.
Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1949. 418 pp.,
bibliography; processed. (Social Service Monograph.)
$5.

O ld A g e A s s i s t a n c e i n M a s s a c h u s e tts .

Ottawa, De­
partment of National Health and Welfare, May 1,
1949. 69 pp.; processed. (Memorandum No. 1,
Social Security Series.)
A summary of major features of present legislation, in­
cluding some provisions later than those of the above
report, is given in special supplement No. 17 to the
Canadian department’s periodical, Canada’s Health and
Welfare, January 1950.
M o th e r s ’ A llo w a n c e s L e g is la tio n i n C a n a d a .

By Manohar R. Idgunji.
Bombay, Thacker & Co., Ltd., 1948. 352 pp., illus.
Rs. 12/8.

S o c ia l I n s u r a n c e

and

I n d ia .

D e K l e i n e G id s vo o r d e N e d e r la n d s e S o c ia le

V e r z e k e r in g .

Amsterdam, Vereeniging van Raden van Arbeid, 1949.
48 pp.
Handbook on social insurance in the Netherlands.
In su ra n ce in N o rw a y .
Oslo, Norwegian Joint
Committee on International Social Policy, 1950.
74 pp., illus. 2d ed.

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Wages, Salaries, and Hours of Labor
U n io n W a g e s a n d H o u r s , L o c a l T r a n s it O p e r a tin g E m p lo y e e s ,
O c to b e r 1 , 1 9 4 9 .
Washington, U. S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1950. 8 pp.
(Bull. No. 981.) 15 cents, Superintendent of Docu­
ments, Washington.
Printed bulletins are also available on 1949 union wages
in the baking, building, and printing industries and for
motortruck drivers and helpers.

By James J.
Bambrick, Jr., and Doris K. Lippman. New York,
National Industrial Conference Board, Inc., 1950. 16
pp., charts. (Studies in Personnel Policy, No. 105.)
Analysis of 576 contracts negotiated from January 1 to
December 31, 1949, covering 1,266,948 workers.
W h a t H a p p e n e d i n 1 9 4 9 W a g e N e g o tia tio n s .

T h e N e w Y o r k S ta te T e a c h e r s ’ S a l a r y L a w o f 1 9 4 7 — a R e p o r t

By Dwight E. Beecher.
Albany, University of the State of New York, 1949.
69 pp., charts, forms. (Bull. No. 1373.)
The university’s bulletin No. 1381 (35 pp., 1949), by
Wayne W. Soper, gives data on salaries of public school
teachers in New York State, 1948-49.
o n th e F i r s t Y e a r o f O p e r a tio n .

Washington, Committee for
Economic Development, Research and Policy Com­
mittee, 1950. 26 pp.; processed.
Summarized in this issue of the Review (p. 238).

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Report on wages in the iron and metal-working, textile,
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REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

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25 cents.
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and English.
Includes chapters on labor, population, housing and
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Contains brief sections on labor and cost of living.

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policy, organized labor, and employment.
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Current Labor Statistics
A.—Employment and Payrolls
262

T able A - l :

263

T able

266
268

T able
T able

269
270
271

T able
T able
T able

271
272
273
274

T able
T able
T able
T able

E stim ated total labor force classified by em ploym ent statu s, hours
worked, and sex
A -2 : E m p loyees in nonagricultural establishm ents, by industry division
and group
A -3 : P rod u ction workers in m ining and m anufacturing industries
A -4 : In dexes of production-worker em ploym ent and w eekly payrolls in
m anufacturing industries
A -5 : Federal civilian em ploym ent by branch and agency group
A —6: Federal civilian payrolls by branch and agency group
A -7 : C ivilian G overnm ent em ploym ent and payrolls in W ashington, D . C.,
b y br nch and agency group
A -8 : Personnel and p ay of the m ilitary branch of the Federal Go vernm ent
A -9 : E m p loyees in nonagricultural establishm en ts for selected S t a t e s 1
A -1 0 E m p loyees in m anufacturing industries, b y S t a t e s 1
A - l 1 : Insured u nem ploym ent under S tate unem ploym ent insurance pro­
gram s, b y geographic division and State

B.—Labor Turn-Over
275

T able B - l :

276

T able B -2 :

M o n th ly labor turn-over rates (per 100 em ployees) in m anufacturing
industries, b y class of turn-over
M o n th ly labor turn-over rates (per 100 em ployees) in selected groups
and industries

C.—Earnings and Hours
278

T able C - l

292

T able C -2

293

T able C -3

293

T able C - 4

294

T able C -5

H ours and gross earnings of production workers or nonsupervisory
em ployees
G ross average w eekly earnings of production workers in selected
industries, in current and 1939 dollars
G ross and n et spendable average w eekly earnings of production
workers in m anufacturing industries, in current and 1939 dollars
A verage hourly earnings, gross and exclusive of overtim e, of produc­
tion workers in m anufacturing industries
H ours and gross earnings of production workers in m anufacturing
industries for selected S tates and a r e a s1

1 This table is included quarterly in the February, May, August, and November issues of the Review.
260


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261

CURRENT LABOR STATISTICS

D.—Prices and Cost of Living
299

T able D - l :

300

T able D -2 :

301

T able D -3 :

302
303
304
305

T able
T able
T able
T able

306

T able D -8 :

D -4 :
D -5 :
D -6 :
D -7 :

C onsum ers’ price index for m oderate-incom e fam ilies in large cities, by
group of com m odities
C onsum ers’ price index for m oderate-incom e fam ilies, b y city , for
selected periods
C onsum ers’ price index for m oderate-incom e fam ilies, by city and
group of com m odities
In dexes of retail prices of foods, by group, for selected periods
Indexes of retail prices of foods, b y city
A verage retail prices and indexes of selected foods
In dexes of w holesale prices, b y group of com m odities, for selected
periods
Indexes of w holesale prices, b y group and subgroup of com m odities

E.—Work Stoppages
307

T able E - l :

W ork stoppages resulting from labor-m anagem ent disputes

F.—Building and Construction

N

308
309

T able F - l :
T able F -2 :

310

T able F -3 :

311

T able F -4 :

312

T able F -5 :

E xpenditures for new construction
V alue of contracts awarded and force account work started on federally
financed new construction, b y typ e of construction
U rban building authorized, b y principal class of construction and by
ty p e of building
N e w nonresidential building authorized in all urban places, b y general
ty p e and b y geographic division
N u m b er and construction cost of new perm anent nonfarm dw elling
u n its started, by urban or rural location, and b y source of funds

o t e .— Earlier

figures in many of the series appearing in the following tables are shown in the Handbook of
Labor Statistics, 1947 Edition (BLS Bulletin 916). The Handbook also contains descriptions of the
techniques used in compiling these data and information on the coverage of the different series. For
convenience in referring to the historical statistics, the tables in this issue of the Monthly Labor Review
are keyed to tables in the Handbook.
Handbook M L R
table
table

M LR
table

Handbook M L R
table
table

Handbook M L R
table
table

r—
1
i
Q

D -2 E - l ________________
A - l ________________ A-12 A -8________ ________ A-9 D -2 ________________
A -2------------------------0) B - l ________ ________ B - l D -3 ________________ D -2 F - l ________________
D -4 F -2 _______
0 ) D -4 ________________
0) C - l _________ _________
A -3________________
F -3 ________________
0 ) D -5 ________ D -2 and D -3
A-4_........................ —
0) C -2________ -------------F -4 ........
D
-6
________________
D
-4
________
C-10
C
-3.........
—
A -5......... —...................
A-8
D -6 F -5 _____________ —
0) D -7 ______
A -6----------------(») C -4________ -------------________
D - l D -8 ________________ D -6
A -7________
A-7
>Not included in 1047 edition of Handbook.

895483— 50-

-6


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Handbook
table

E-3
H -l
H -2
H -4
0)
1-3

262

A: E M PLO YM E N T AN D

MONTHLY LABOR

PAYROLLS

A: Employment and Payrolls
T able A - l : E stim ated T o ta l Labor Force Classified by E m p loym en t S tatu s, H ours W orked, and Sex
Estimated number of persons 14 years of age and o v e r 1 (in thousands)
1950

Labor force
June

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

1949
Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

Nov.J

Oct.

Sept.4

Aug.

July 1

June

Total, both sexes
Total labor force 1................................................... 66,177

64,108

63,513

63, 021

63,003

62,835

63,475

64,363

64,021

64,222

65,105

65, 278

64,866

Civilian labor fo rce..............................................
U nemployment______________ ___ _____
Unemployed 4 weeks or less________
Unemployed 5-10 weeks____________
Unemployed 11-14 weeks___________
Unemployed 15-26 weeks ________
Unemployed over 26 weeks_________
Employm ent_________________________
N onagricultural... ________________
Worked 35 hours or m ore.......... _Worked 15-34 hours...... ... ............ .
Worked 1-14 hours 4____________
W ith a job but not at work 4____
Agricultural_______________________
Worked 35 hours or more— ..........
Worked 15-34 hours____________
Worked 1-14 hours 4____________
With a job but not at work > ___

62,788
3,057
1,130
634
252
559
481
59,731
51, 669
43,033
5,149
1,949
1,537
8.062
5,970
1,613
292
187

62,183
3,515
1,130
686
521
705
475
58,668
51,473
41,143
6, 552
2,183
1,597
7,195
5,125
1,503
318
250

61, 675
4, 123
1, 229
1.143
580
722
449
57, 551
50,877
41,334
5, 715
2,102
1,725
6. 675
4, 551
1, 575
255
295

81,637
4,684
1,583
1, 456
547
650
448
56,953
50, 730
41,433
5,271
2,085
1,941
6,223
4,334
1, 271
300
317

61, 427
4,480
1,956
1,171
418
542
396
56,947
50, 749
40,839
6,251
1,974
1,686
6,198
3,979
1,459
329
431

62, 045
3, 489
1,399
971
302
456
361
58,556
51, 783
42, 260
6,126
2,049
1,349
6, 773
4,778
1,511
297
189

62,927
3,409
1,586
771
257
460
335
59,518
51,640
36, 766
11,383
1,991
1,501
7,878
6,205
1,256
238
179

62,576
3, 576
1,736
719
300
471
349
59,001
51,290
41,354
6,056
2,027
1,855
7,710
5, 462
1,604
365
279

62. 763
3, 351
1,327
757
395
507
368
59, 411
51, 254
27, 366
19,683
1,887
2,339
8,158
6, 294
1,455
269
140

63, 637
3,689
1,484
1,020
384
473
329
59, 947
51, 441
40, 407
5,231
1,509
4, 294
8, 507
6, 724
1,290
264
228

63, 815
4,095
1, 865
1,104
361
439
327
59, 720
50,073
27, 686
14, 701
1,438
6, 247
9, 647
7,326
1, 871
262
189

63,398
3, 778
1,925
808
299
483
261
59, 619
49, 924
40, 924
5, 425
1,525
2,051
9,696
7, 400
1,952
228
116

64,866
3, 384
1,629
664
181
474
439
61,482
52, 436
43,117
5,153
1,843
2,323
9, 046
6,975
1, 739
246
88

Males
Total labor force • ............ ...................................... 46,718

45,614

45,429

45, 204

45,115

45,102

45,174

45,515

45,413

45, 759

46,613

46, 712

46,282

Civilian labor force.................................... ..........
U nemployment..............................................
E m ploym en t..................................................
N onagricultural----------- ------ ------- Worked 35 hours or more...............
Worked 15-34 hours____________
Worked 1-14 hours 4____________
W ith a job but not at work 4____
Agricultural_________________ _____
Worked 35 hours or m ore............
Worked 15-34 hours._______ _____
Worked 1-14 hours 4 ___________
W ith a job but not at work 4........

44,316
2,130
42,186
35,597
30,860
2,829
874
1, 034
6,589
5,339
895
186
170

44,120
2,628
41, 492
35, 220
29, 722
3,483
999
1,017
6,272
4,891
925
251
205

43,879
3, 002
40, 877
34, 890
29. 562
3,156
958
1,214
5,987
4,380
1,146
188
274

43, 769
3,426
40,343
34, 698
29,336
2,909
922
1,531
5,645
4,176
942
228
298

43, 715
3,262
40,453
34,880
29,108
3,711
904
1,157
5, 573
3,817
1,094
262
399

43, 765
2,472
41, 293
35,369
30, 077
3, 424
884
984
5,924
4,497
1, 017
234
177

44,099
2,316
41,783
35, 484
26, 629
6,922
870
1,064
6, 299
5,335
638
152
173

43,988
2,563
41,426
35,123
29,631
3,234
901
1,359
6, 302
4,896
910
247
249

44,319
2, 233
42, 085
35,521
20, 498
12,663
810
1,551
6, 565
5,465
792
179
128

45,163
2,519
42,644
35, 549
29, 277
3,080
593
2,599
7,095
6,019
705
161
209

45, 267
2,845
42,422
34,799
20, 820
9,604
651
3, 723
7, 623
6,356
916
185
168

44, 832
2,598
42,233
34,796
29,889
3, 004
629
1, 274
7,438
6,453
731
148
105

45,429
2,200
43, 229
36, 216
31, 523
2,605
756
1,332
7,013
6,031
743
162
78

Females
Total labor force *__________ ______________

19,459

18,494

18,084

17, 817

17,888

17,733

18, 301

18,848

18,608

18, 463

18, 492

18, 566

18, 584

Civilian labor force_______________________
Unem ploym ent_______________________
Em ploym ent__________________ _______
N onagricultural________ ______ ____
Worked 35 hours or more_______
Worked 15-34 hours____________
Worked 1-14 hours 4___________
With a job but not at work »____
Agricultural---------------------- -----------Worked 35 hours or more_______
Worked 15-34 hours____________
Worked 1-14 hours 4___________
W ith a job but not at work
.

19,437
1,184
18, 253
16, 220
11, 594
2, 548
1,087
991
2,033
944
996
84
10

18,472
927
17,545
16,072
12,173
2,320
1,075
503
1,473
631
718
106
17

18,063
887
17,176
16, 253
11,421
3,069
1,184
580
923
234
578
67
45

17, 796
1,121
16,674
15, 987
11, 772
2, 559
1,144
511
688
171
429
67
21

17,868
1, 258
16.610
16,032
12,097
2,362
1,163
410
578
158
329
72
19

17, 712
1,218
16,494
15,869
11, 731
2, 540
1,070
529
625
162
365
67
32

18,280
1,017
17,263
16,414
12,183
2,702
1,165
365
849
281
494
63
12

18, 828
1,093
17, 735
16,156
10,137
4, 461
1.121
437
1,579
870
618
86
6

18, 588
1,013
17,575
16,167
11,723
2,822
1,127
496
1,408
566
694
118
30

18,444
1,118
17, 326
15, 733
6,868
7,020
1,057
788
1,593
829
663
90
12

18, 474
1,170
17, 303
15, 892
11,130
2,151
916
1,695
1,412
705
585
103
19

18, 548
1,250
17, 298
15, 274
6,866
5,097
787
2,524
2,024
970
955
77
21

18, 566
1,180
17,386
15,128
11, 035
2,421
896
777
2,258
947
1, 221
80
11

1 Estimates are subject to sampling variation which may be large in cases
where the quantities shown are relatively small. Therefore, the smaller
estimates should be used with caution. Ail data exclude persons in institu­
tions. Because of rounding, the individual figures do not necessarily add
to group totals.
1 Census survey week contains legal holiday.
* Total labor force consists of the civilian labor force and the Armed Forces.


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4 Excludes persons engaged only in incidental unpaid family work (less than
15 hours); these persons are classified as not in the labor force.
* Includes persons who had a job or business, but who did not work during
the census week because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor dispute or
because of temporary lay-off with definite instructions to return to work
within 30 days of lay-off. Does not include unpaid family workers.
Source: U S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

A: EM PLO YM EN T AND

263

PAYROLLS

T able A-2: E m p loyees in N onagricultural E stablishm ents, b y In du stry D iv isio n and G rou p 1
[In thousands]
Annual
average

1949

1950
Industry group and Industry
June
Total employees________________________
Mining_____________________ ___________
M etal________________________________
Iron __________________
Copper____________ ______ _ _
Lead and zinc................. ............

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

1948

1949

43,865 43,312 42.913 42,295 41,661 42,125 43,694 42, 784 42,601 43,466 42,994 42,573 42,835 43,006 44,201
938
91.9
32.8
22.4
19.1

938
91.8
32.9
22.2
19.0

595
91.4
32.6
22.2
18.8

593
64.7
9.2
21.2
17.1

917
83.1
27.9
21.2
17.3

948
91.7
35.5
21.1
18.0

956
93.8
36.0
21.1
19.0

943
94.5
36.4
21.2
18.7

968
100.3
36.8
22.2
21.7

932
93.8
32.8
21.8
20.6

981
98.5
35.5
22.3
21.7

938
93.8
34.8
22.4
19.2
76.2

75.3

76.9

75.9

75.6

76.3

76.7

76.2

75.6

75.7

75.5

77.1

77.3

80.0

417.1

419.3

424.6

429.5

89.1

354.2

424.7

407.1

99.8

421.1

424.7

410.1

431.2

405.3

444.9
257.5

Crude petroleum and natural gas pro­
duction___________ ________

861
91.4
33.2
22.1
18.4

940
91.6
33.5
21.7
18.4

941
94.7

Anthracite______________ _____________
B ituminous-coal.......................................... _

M ay

251.9

251.6

249.2

249.8

251.1

253.4

254.8

256.2

260.7

262.9

263.5

261.9

259.0

Nonmetallic mining and quarrying.........

99.5

97.2

94.7

90.2

88.6

88.9

93.6

95.7

95.9

98.7

99.1

99.1

97.8

06.3

100.1

Contract construction_______ ____________

2,397

2,234

2,068

1,907

1,861

1,919

2,088

2,244

2,313

2,341

2,340

2,277

2,205

2, 156

2,185

Manufacturing_____ _____ ___ _____ ______

14,645 14,416 14,167 14,103 13.997 13,980 14, 031 13, 807 13,892 14,312 14,114 13, 757 13, 884 14, 148 15,286

Durable goods 1_________________ 7,961
6,684
Nondurable goods *______. . . . .
Ordnance and accessories______________

23.9

Food and kindred products___________ 1,510
Meat products.. 1_______ ____
Dairy products_____________________
Canning and preserving________ _____
Grain-mill products_______
Bakery products____ _______ ________
Sugar______________________________
Confectionerv and related products___
Beverages___
____ _________ .
Miscellaneous food products.. . . . .
Tobacco manufactures_________________
Cigarettes____________________ . .
Cigars________
_________
Tobacco and snuff________ _____ _
Tobacco stemming and redrying______

82

Textile-mill products____ _____ ________ 1,262
Yarn and thread mills ______________
Broad-woven fabric mills.......................
Knitting mills . .
______________
Dveing and finishing textiles_________
Carpets, rugs, other floor coverings . . .
Other textile-mill products...................

7,811
6,605
23.2

7,554
6,613
22.8

7,418
6,685
22.4

7,324
6,673
21.8

7,342
6,638
21.3

7,303
6,728
21.6

7,050
6,757

6,986
6,906

21.8

22.6

7,409
6,903
22.7

1,461 1,432 1,420 1,409 1,432 1,491 1,539 1,631 1,703
286.8 282.6 285.3 288.7 301.3 307.6 298.3 292.8 287.7
147.0 140.3 136.6 134.1 132.4 133.7 136.3 142.2 149.9
152.0 145.3 133.9 133.6 141.0 161.2 185.2 258.2 351.0
121.4 120.1 120.1 119.3 119.8 120.9 122.9 125.4 123.6
287.4 285.3 282.4 277.9 277.3 280.0 286.0 292.4 289.7
48.0
30.7
26.9
42.5
28.9
49.3
28.9
26.9
27.1
96.7
94.5
99.5 104.7 109.4 113.6 105.6
88.6
90.7
214.6 206.5 205.1 198.2 199.2 205. 4 211.3 215.0 222.4
134.7 133.8 135.3 133.2 132.3 135.4 139.9 142.9 142.5
83
25.5
39.7
12.1
5.7

83
25.5
39.3
12.4
5.5

85
25.4
40.9
12.6
5.9

88
25.5
42.3
12.7
7.4

92
26.3
42.4
12.8
10.8

94
26.8
43.2
12.9
10.7

96
26.9
45.5
12.9
10.2

99
26.9
45.7
13.1
12.9

101
27.0
45.2
13.1
16.0

7,302
6,812
22.6

7,255
6,502
23.8

7,392
6,492

7,465
6, 681

25.3

8,315
6,970

24.8

28.1

1, 718 1, 585 1,501 1,523 1,536
285.9 284.7 282.7 288.6 271.2
156.5 162.3 161.6 146.2 147.7
369.8 247.3 194.5 207.1 222.0
122.5 121.8 119.4 120.6 117.7
288.0 281.9 282.3 281.7 282.9
29.9
27.8
26.8
32.7
34.5
92.5
84.9
83.7
96.9 100.2
232.6 235.7 210.5 211. 4 218.6
140.2 140.0 138.6 137.6 141.3
98
26.9
44.3
13.1
14.1

89
27.0
42.9
12.5
6.7

91
26.9
44.4
13.0
6.7

94
26.6
44.5
13.0
10.1

100
26.6
48.3
13.7
11.2

1,252 1,261 1,272 1,273 1,265 1,274 1,272 1,256 1, 220 1,179 1,145 1,170 1,224 1,362
153.2 154.7 158.5 159.4 157.8 157.7 156.1 153.3 148.5 141.4 135.3 140.7 149.3 177.6
603.3 603.5 604.2 600.6 597.8 604.1 601.9 594.8 577.0 559.8 548.1 555.2 581.9 645.7
231.9 236.6 239.8 241.1 241.7 244.7 247.8 244.8 237.0 228.7 218.1 220.8 231.4 249.0
82.6
83.4
86.4
89.8
87.3
85.4
81.3
89.9
90.0
89.5
86.1
88.2
89.5
89.3
55.3
56.9
58.9
64.8
57.5
55.9
50.9
60.3
58.8
60.0
60.9
60.5
59.3
58.1
117.8 117.4 119.6 121.2 119.3 119.1 118.6 118.4 115.8 111.0 111.1 113.4 116.0 135.2

Apparel and other finished textile prod­
ucts____________________________ _ 1,093 1,092 1,117 1,174 1,180 1,146 1,156 1.144 1,199 1,198 1,155 1,055 1,073 1,136 1,162
143.4 146.2 149.2 148.9 143.5 140.7 130.6 141.5 146.5 143.5 128.8 134.7 141.5 154.4
M en’s and boys’ suits and coats
M en’s and boys’ furnishings and work
255.4 257.9 262.2 260.8 258.5 264.5 269.6 270.5 264.5 253.1 239.3 253.8 257.8 269.1
cloth in g _____ __________ _________
285.6 303.5 338.9 348.2 334.9 330.1 313.7 342.2 353.1 341.1 296.5 292.1 328.6 342.4
Women’s outerwear______________ . .
98.2
92.5
98.9
90.8
97.4
102.2 105.4 107.1 106.3 102.3 104.4 108.5 107.2 104.0
Women’s, children’s undergarments
23.1
20.4
17.3
22.3
23.8
24.0
22.9
24.2
22.3
20.9
26.5
18.5
19.0
26.5
M illinery_______________T........ ............
62.3
67.3
63.4
63.4
68.2
67.9
59.5
64.5
68.4
65.6
63.3
65.8
62.7
68.5
Children’s outerwear . . .
91.1
86.4
88.2
98.4
84.7
90.1
95.5
90.0
83.6
80.0
85.5
82.9
95.9
82.8
Fur goods and miscellaneous apparel... ............
138.3 136.8 138.4 137.9 137.3 139.1 141.7 146.8 142.2 137.9 131.0 133.7 135.8 125.6
Other fabricated textile products
Lumber and wood products (except fur­
814
niture) __________________________
Logging camps and contractors_______
Sawmills and planing m ills. .
Millwork, plywood, and prefabricated
structural wood products_____ _____ ............
Wooden containers___ ____________
Miscellaneous wood products________

785
67.0
461.9

755
58.6
441.9

738
59.3
429.8

713
49.2
416.1

702
45.0
411.2

744
61.5
433.9

753
63.7
442.7

750
64.0
444.0

743
59.5
445.4

747
62.3
444.8

736
62.7
436.8

747
63.8
442.1

736
61.4
431.7

812
72.8
472.9

121.2
75.3
59.6

120.2
74.4
59.7

117.2
73.2
58.8

116.8
73.0
57.7

116.7
72.6
56.8

117.4
73.7
57.1

116.3
73.0
56.9

113.4
72.2
56.7

110.1
71.7
66.7

109.4
72.0
58.1

106.6
71.7
58.0

108.4
73.7
58.8

110.5
73.3
59.0

119.5
81.8
65.2

327
232.6
94.1

327
231.2
95.7

319
223.9
95.1

305
212.3
92.5

295
204.0
90.9

298
205.5
92.8

315
220.0
94.6

348
247.6
100.9

456
228.1
124.2
103.8

448
225.6
119.4
102.9

436
219.5
114.9
101.2

429
217.8
110.6
100.9

434
221.7
111.4
1UU. 8

447
226.9
J17.1
103.1

470
240.7
121.4
107.6

Furniture and fixtures____ _ __________
Household furniture_________________
Other furniture and fixtures. ........ .....

345

348
248.6
98.9

347
249.0
98.0

344
247.3
97.1

341
244.9
96.1

333
238.1
95.1

332
236.8
95.5

Paper and allied products______________
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills____
Paperboard containers and boxes_____
Other paper and allied products______

464

459
231.7
121.4
105.7

458
231.6
121.4
105.3

455
230.2
120.5
104.7

453
229.3
120.0
103.7

451
228.4
119.8
102.5

458
455
229. C 229.3
123.1 125.6
102.7 102.8 1

See footnotes a t end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

264

A : EM PLOYM ENT AND PAYROLLS

MONTHLY LABOR

T able A -2 : E m p loyees in N onagricultural E stab lish m en ts, b y In du stry D ivision and G rou p 1— Con.
[In thousands]

1950

Annual
average

1949

Industry group and industry
June
Manufacturing—Continued
Printing, publishing, and allied indus­
tries...........................................................
Newspapers................................................
Periodicals..................................................
Books...........................................................
Commercial printing...............................
Lithographing............................................
Other printing and publishing..............

739

Chemicals and allied products_________
Industrial inorganic chemicals_______
Industrial organic chemicals_________
Drugs and medicines...............................
Paints, pigments, and fillers..................
Fertilizers..... .................................... .........
Vegetable and animal oils and fats___
Other chemicals and allied products—

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

739
288.6
53.0
45.2

737
295.
51.
45.
197.
40.0
106.8

735
293.1
51.
45.
199.1
39.
105.8

734
291.6
52.0
45.2
199.2
40.1
106.3

732
289.5
52.1
44.8
198.5
40.1
106.7

730
285.7
52.3
45.0
200.4
40.1
106.8

670
71.8
196.0
93.4
69.3
35.9
50.0
153.9

675
70.5
194.1
93.4
69.
41.6
53.2
153.3

671
69.4
191.9
91.1
68.9
40.9
55.3
153.0

665

236
186.9
20.7
28.5

234
186.2
20.5
27.7

241
194.8
19.7
26.9

241
108.4
23.9
108.9

238
106.6
24.1
107.3

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

1949

1948

42.2
108.1

736
288.8
52.9
45.7
198.0
42.2
108.1

735
288.2
53.2
45.5
199.2
41.6
107.7

728
286.4
53.3
45.1
195.0
40.8
107.3

719
285.2
52.7
41.5
193.1
40.2
106.3

716
283.5
52.2
41.4
195.5
39.7
103.8

725
283.8
51.9
44.8
196.4
40.2
107.9

727
282.5
53.4
44.6
197.1
41.1
108.0

725
267.5
54.7
46.6
197.5
45.1
113.3

658
65.8
187.9
94.6
67.6
32.5
59.2
150.3

660
66.6
187.8
94.6
67.1
30.7
62.1
151.5

662
66.3
187.0
94.1
67.6
30.3
63.4
153.5

665
67.1
185.6
93.7
67.9
31.8
64.9
153.6

654
65.7
184.7
92.7
66.3
32.3
58.8
153.7

636
65.7
180.3
92.0
65.8
30.4
48.7
153.0

630
66.6
181
90.7
64.9
29.6
46,
150.1

642
68. 6
185.0
91.6
66.7
30.6
48.5
150.5

664
68.4
192.1
92.3
67.3
34
56 1
153.0

70.9
210.3
89.5
70.7
35.9
56.2
165.0

242
195.1
19.6
26.8

242
195.4

245
197.3
18.7
28.7

241
197.6
13.5
30.1

247
199.2
19.3
28.4

247

26.3

243
195.6
20.4
27.0

19.5
27.7

246
199.9
19.8
26.3

246
198.9
20.5
26.6

245
198. 7
19.5
27.1

250
199.1
20.0
30.8

237
106.3
24.2
106.1

236
105.8
23.6
106.2

234
105.0
24.9
104.1

234
104.3
27.0
102.7

233
103.5
27.0
102.4

234
103.5
26.4
104.1

209
82.5
25.9
100.9

227
103.5
25.2
98.3

224
104.9
24.9
94.0

230

234
106.6
26.4
100.5

259

24.6
95.0

68.

189.
91.4
68.

38.5
56.
152.4

201

Products of petroleum and coal................
Petroleum refining_________________
Coke and byproducts................. .............
Other petroleum and coal products___

241

Rubber products.........................................
Tires and inner tubes..............................
Rubber footwear___________________
Other rubber products______________

245

Leather and leather products__________
Leather........................................................
Footwear (except rubber).......................
Other leather products............................

382

374
49.4
240.6
84.2

380
49.5
244.6
85.8

396
50.0
257.4
88.4

395
50.1
257.4
87.9

388
49.4
254.9
83.2

382
49.4
247.2
85.5

372
49.7
232.4
90.2

390
49.4
249.2
91.2

395
49.1
255.5
90.1

397
48.3
259.4

383
47.4
250.9
84.3

380
49.0
247.7
83.4

388
49.7
251.0
87.2

410
54.2
260.1
95.4

Stone, clay, and glass products_________
Glass and glass products____________
Cement, hydraulic................................... .
Structural clay products_____________
Pottery and related products................ .
Concrete, gypsum, and plaster products.
Other stone, clay, and glass products...

513

502
131.8
42.1
80.4
58.1
89.7
99.8

488
128.9
41.4
76.4
58.1
86.5
97.1

478
124.8
40.6
75.5
58.0
84.0
94.7

475
123.9
41.0
75.2
57.6
83.6
94.1

469
121.7
41.7
75.2
56.1
81.4
93.2

479
122.7
42.2
77.4
57.0
85.1
94.3

477
123.2
40.6
76.6
57.6
86.1
93.1

478
123.2
40.5
78.2
57.2
86.5
92.0

482
122.7
42.4
79.3
55.8
87.1
94.6

480

469
116.5
42.7
79.6
51.5
83.7
94.6

478
121.1
42.5
80.0
55.3
83.3
95.4

484

614
135.9
40.9
83.4
60.6
87.8
105.9

Primary metal industries........................... .
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling
mills...........................................................
Iron and steel foundries........ ................ .
Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous m etals........................................ .
Rolling, drawing, and alloying of nonferrous m etals.........................................
Nonferrous foundries____ ___________
Other primary metal industries......... ..
Fabricated metal products (except ord­
nance machinery and transportation
e q u ip m en t)...........................................
T in cans and other tinware_______ HI.
Cutlery, hand tools, and hardware.. .
Heating apparatus (except electric) and
plumbers’ supplies.................................
Fabricated structural metal products...
M etal stamping, coating, and engraving.
Other fabricated metal products______
Machinery (except electrical).................
Engines and turbines_____________ _
Agricultural machinery and tractors...
Construction and mining m achinery...
Metalworking machinery.....................
Special-industry machinery "(except
metalworking machinery)................
General industrial machinery________
Office and store machines and devices
Service-industry and household ma­
chines.....................................................
Miscellaneous machinery parts_______
Electrical machinery...................................
Electrical generating, transmission,
distribution, and industrial appa­
ratus...........................................................
Electrical equipment for vehicles..........
Communication equipment....................
Electrical appliances, lamps, and
miscellaneous products........ ...............

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1,205 1,189
606.5
220.2

1,171
599.3
215.7

54.6

923

1,144

1,137

583.3
208.6

587.5
203.6

54.4

54.1

92.4
83.3

20.2

1,121

1,112

200.2

122.2

42.5
79.5
54.9
85.8
94.9

110.2

122.6

41.8
79.8
57.5
84.6
97.1

121.1

29.6
107.9

891

703

580.4
198.8

392.3
195.8

191.3
198.5

572.5
200.5

572.0
205.5

51.1

49.6

46.2

47.9

51.0

50.3

51.5

54.0

52.3

55.6

89.0
79.0
119.0

88.1
78.4
117.1

76.9
74.4
105.4

85.5
76.3
103.5

83.0
74.0
116.1

79.9
71.1
113.1

78.4
70.5
109.3

81.1
71.9
116.3

87 0
75.8
118.4

103.8
85.2
130.7

843
49.4
135.2

826
47.7
133.1

836
47.1
138.0

859
45.8
142.3

976
48.7
154.4

132.0
198.5
147.9
192.4

165.8
215.9
172.2
219.0

584.8
198.3

1,097

1,092

94.9
87.4
125.6

93.2
84.2
123.9

121.6

90.6
80.8
120.8

898
45.6
155.1

876
44.6
153.3

863
43.5
151.2

851
41.8
147.3

846
41.2
145.2

841
42.1
142.9

820
43.8
139.1

829
46.4
140.2

863
48.9
137.4

145.8
193.1
162.4
195.6

144.2
190.5
156.2
187.6

140.4
187.6
152.9
187.7

137.8
185.1
152.1
187.0

133.0
186.2
151.2
188.9

136.8
186.2
147.0
186.1

138.3
178.9
141.6
178.2

141.3
173.0
148.4
179.4

134.6

124.5

202.1

201.8

151.6
188.2

146.6
185.1

1,095
581.3
204.4

1,135
599.1
212.3

117.4

118.6

201.1

202.6

142.9
184.2

142.5
187.3

1,101

550.4
217.0

1,247
612.0
259.3

1,338 1,327 1,306 1,283 1,261
,238 1,229
,209 1,223 1,236 1,229 1,241 1,285 1,311 1, 533
70.9
73.6
68.7
66.5
66.7
65.9
66.4
64.5
66.9
67.6
69.0
71.8
72.5
83.8
179.9 179.8 177.5 175.2 171.0 168.3 162.7 166.0 178.9 179.4 178.7 183.7 181.3
191.3
95.9
95.4
95.2
93.4
91.3
90; 6
89.2
90.5
91.1
88.8
95.6 101.9 101.3 122.6
207.3 204.9 201.6 198.4 196.7 196.0 195.6 197.9 199.1 197.4 198.2 205 8 208.7
239.5
162.4 160.7 158.7 157.1 155.9 156.6 157.0 158.8 161.5 161.8 163.8 169.3
171.8
201.9
181.3 178.8 175.7 174.0 172.8 173.1 173.2 175.9 177.6 177.9 179.7 184.0 186.4
209.8
88.3
88.0
87.0
85.4
84.7
86.2
87.5
88.8
88.5
86.8
87.8
89.7
90.6 109.1
181.8 175.0 169.3 163.9 155.2 149.3 139.0 136.4 130.2 126.0 126.4 133.2 145.4
156.3 152.4 149.3 147.0 143 9 142.9 138.5 143.7 143.5 141.3 142.2 145.3 153.2 191.3
183.4
820 803
779
793
772
762
762
750
753
734
712
712
725
759
869
308.2
67.9
289.4

302.9
66.7
288.5

300.0
65.1
283.2

298.1
65.5
279.7

294. 4
65.1
276.7

294.5
64.9
275.5

289.2
59.1
275.7

289.7
65.9
270.1

286.8
65.4
257.9

281.9
63.4
250.2

280.6
62.1
253.7

284.2
62.0
261.0

137.5

134.7

130.5

128.8

126.0

126.91 125. 7

127.0

124. O' 116.5

115.4

117.9

295.2
64.5
271.1

332.9
69.0
312.2
154.8

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

265

T able A-2: E m p loyees in N onagricultural E stab lish m en ts, b y Industry D iv ision and G roup1— Con.
[In thousands]

1950

Annual
average

1949

Industry group and industry
June

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

1949

1948

Manufacturing— Continued
Transportation equipment------- ------------ 1,301 1,264 1,124 1,100 1,091 1,197 1,112 1,112 1,208 1,240 1,224 1,242 1,224 1,212 1,263
856.5 720.4 698.9 689.0 797.4 703.2 697.1 789.2 810.2 807.0 799.0 775.6 769.0 792.8
A utom obiles______________________
254.8 254.0 252.4 251.7 251.9 252.5 252.3 255.4 258.3 252. 2 259.6 253.7 255. 6 228.1
Aircraft and parts____ _____ ________ _____
169.3 168.1 166.5 166.1 166.8 167.0 166.8 168.8 171.2 171.7 172.8 169.3 169.7 151.7
Aircraft _______________________
50.6
50.5
51.1
51.0
50.1
52.1
52.4
46. 2
52.3
53.1
50.2
51.2
51.8
46.7
Aircraft engines and parts ________
7.9
7.9
8.0
8.0
8.2
8.2
8.1
8.2
8.0
8.1
8.1
8.1
7.9
Aircraft propellers and parts
7. 4
26.5
27.3
26.9
27.0
26.3
27.0
26.2
26.5
26.3
26.3
23.2
27.3
26.2
22.4
Other aircraft parts and equipment
80.4
80.3
80.2
79.4
82.8
88.6
94.6 100.6 103.7 100.3 140.7
81.2
85.3
82.7
Ship and boat building and repairing
72.3
91.3
66.5
67.2
68.3
68.9
72.4
77.9
88.8
83.3
74.8
70.0
88.2 124.2
Ship building and repairing8 ______
64.2
81.2
58.5
61.8
59.2
60.6
68.2
71.2
59.3
73.3
65.3
76.1
60.1
Railroad equipment
___ _
84.8
10.8
10.2
9.6
9.6
10.5
9.6
7.7
11.6
12.0
11.4
9.3
9.1
10.9
Other transportation equipment............ —
16.6
241

239
25.0
49.1
28.0
137.0

236
25.1
48.5
28.4
133.6

234
25.1
48.2
28.9
131.5

232
25.1
48.1
29.3
129.7

233
25.1
48.3
30.3
129.2

234
25.2
48.8
31.4
128.1

234
25. 6
49.1
31.9
127.7

235
25.8
49.7
32.2
126.9

233
26.0
49.5
31.7
125.8

230
26 2
50.1
30.6
123.3

231
26.2
51.2
29.4
123.7

236
27.0
53.0
30.6
125.8

238
26.8
52.6
31.4
127.1

260
28.2
60. 3
40.8
130.5

437

433
52.7
69.6
51.5

435
52.8
69.6
53.1

433
53.2
67.2
56.5

429
54.4
63.8
59.4

420
54.2
61.7
56.7

436
56.2
66.8
58.4

455
57.5
76.4
63.5

457
57.2
76.9
64.5

439
54.9
72.3
62.9

417
52.5
70.3
58.1

384
49.0
63.8
52.8

403
53.4
65.3
51.6

426
55. 4
68.7
57.7

466
60.3
80. 8
62.3

259.5

259.5

256.5

251.3

246.9

254.6

257.9

258.1

248.5

136.4

218.0

232.6

243.8

262.8

Transportation and public utilities________ 4,000
Transportation_______ ____ ________ ___ 2,794
Interstate railroads..................
Class I railroads____________
Local railways and bus lines .
Trucking and warehousing_______
Other transportation and services
660
Communication____________________
Telephone
Telegraph.. _ _________ _
546
Other public utilities__________________
Gas and electric utilities_____________
Local utilities_____________ _________

3, 887
2,688
1,299
1,135
149
562
678
659
610.7
46.9
540
515.4
24.9

3,927
2,733
1,356
1,188
150
554
673
657
609.2
46.9
537
512.1
25.2

3, 873
3,841 3, 869 3, 930 3, 892 3,871 3,959 8,992 4,007 4,031 3, 977 4,151
2,682 2,651 2,676 2, 732 2,689 2,664 2,739 2,760 2, 771 2,800 2, 754 2, 934
1,315 1,290 1,316 1,333 1,281 1,257 1,339 1,375 1,381 1,410 1,366 1, 517
1,148 1,123 1,148 1,149 1,114 1,090 1,166 1, 202 1,208 1,230 1,191 1,327
154
157
159
151
153
156
157
158
152
155
158
163
566
539
540
568
555
537
540
550
545
571
547
566
679
689
691
682
683
695
666
664
667
688
683
687
685
691
691
654
660
669
676
654
657
665
686
696
607.0 606.7 609.1 611.7 615. 5 618. 5 624.7 632.9 638.2 636.6 632.2 634.2
47.7
49.4
51.6
52.3
53.1
47.1
48.2
45.7
46.2
50.1
52.5
60.8
547
538
538
540
537
536
544
545
537
536
538
521
511.5 510.6 511.5 513.0 513. 5 513.7 518.7 521.4 520.0 515.2 512.0 497.0
24.6
25.3
24.8
24.8
24.7
24.9
25.0
25.0
25.1
24.6
24.6
23.7

9,333
2,474
6, 859
1,428
1,203
715
532
2,981

9,338
2,474
6,864
1,462
1,198
706
546
2,952

9, 206
2,484
6, 722
1,392
1,192
699
519
2,920

Instruments and related products............
Photographic apparatus
__ .
Watches and clocks............... .
Professional and scientific Instruments.
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries,.
Jewelry, silverware, and plated ware
Toys and sporting g o o d s ___
Costume Jewelry, buttons, notions __
Other miscellaneous manufacturing in­
dustries__________________________

Trade____ _ . ___________ ______ _____
Wholesale trad e..._________ __________
Retail trade_______________ _______ ___
General merchandise stores.____ _____
Food and liquor stores. ________ ____
Automotive and accessories dealers___
Apparel and accessories stores.................
Other retail trade___________ ______

9, 396
2, 495
6,901
1,424
1,199
732
533
3,013

9,152
2,495
6,657
1,360
1,185
700
496
2,916

9,246
2,511
6,735
1,392
1,187
701
513
2,942

10,156 9, 607 9, 505 9,409
2, 542 2, 538 2,554 2, 538
7, 614 7,069 6,951 6, 871
1,987 1,590 1,489 1,432
1,217 1,208 1,200 1,192
717
696
692
704
632
557
542
560
3,061 3,007 3,009 3, 013

9,213
2, 515
6,698
1,337
1,181
688
486
3,006

9. 220 9, 336 9. 438 9,491
2,472 2,491 2, 522 2,533
6,748 6,845 6, 916 6, 958
1, 356 1,401 1,480 1, 470
1,201 1, 208 1, 198 1,195
670
679
676
634
553
507
554
577
3,005 3, 013 3,008 3,081

Finance________ ____ _____ ____________ 1, 825
Banks and trust companies________ _
Security dealers and exchanges. ...............
Insurance carriers and agents....................
Other finance agencies and real estate. . .

1,812 1, 803 1, 791
419
421
420
58.2
57.7
59.2
639
637
640
686
677
692

1,777
416
57.2
634
670

1, 772
415
56.1
630
671

1,770
416
55.4
630
669

1, 768
415
55.1
627
669

1,767
415
55.0
626
671

1,771
417
55.0
627
672

1,780
422
55.4
628
675

1.780
422
55. 7
624
678

1,774
417
55.3
616
686

1, 763
416
55.5
619
672

1,716
403
57.9
589
665

Service__________________ ______________ 4,829
Hotels and lodging places______________
Laundries___________________ _______
Cleaning and dyeing plants__________
Motion pictures________ _______ _______

4,792 4, 757 4, 708
454
442
431
352.8 347.0 345.5
150.0 145.9 141.3
236
236
236

4,696
430
345.0
139.7
236

4, 701
428
346.9
141.1
235

4, 738
443
346.7
142.7
238

4, 768
444
347.7
144.7
238

4, 794
451
350.6
147.4
238

4, 833
475
355.8
146.9
236

4,836
504
358.0
144.2
238

4,851
511
364.0
150.6
239

4, 834
487
361.0
154.1
240

4, 781
464
352.2
146.9
237

4,799
478
356.1
149.0
241

Government.______ ____________________ 5, 832
F ederal............................................... ............ 1,851
State and local______________________ 3,981

5, 900
1,890
4,010

5, 915
1,939
3, 976

5, 769
1,802
3,967

5,742 6,777 6, 041 5, 783 5,866 5, 893 5,763 5, 738 5, 803 5,813 5,613
1,800 1,804 2,101 1,823 1,863 1, 892 1,900 1,905 1,909 1,902 1,827
3,942 3,973 3,940 3,960 4,003 4,001 3,863 3,833 3,894 3, 911 3,786

> The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ series of employment in nonagricultural
establishments are based upon reports submitted by cooperating establish­
ments and, therefore, differ from employment information obtained by house­
hold interviews, such as the M onthly Report on the Labor Force (table A -l),
in several important respects. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data cover
all full- and part-time employees in private nonagricultural establishments
who worked during, or received pay for, the pay period ending nearest the
15th of the month; in Federal establishments during the pay period ending
Just before the first of the month; and in State and local government during
the pay period ending on or Just before the last of the month, while the
M onthly Report on the Labor Force data relate to the calendar week which
contains the 8th day of the month. Proprietors, self-employed persons,
domestic servants, and personnel of the Armed Forces are excluded from the
BLS but not the M R L F series. These employment series have been ad­
justed to levels indicated by Unemployment Insurance Agencies and the
Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance data through 1947, and have been


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

carried forward from 1947 bench-mark levels, thereby providing consistent
series. Revised data in all except the first f o u r columns will be identified by
an asterisk (*) for the first month’s publication of such data.
1 Includes ordnance and accessories; lumber and wood products (except
furniture); furniture and fixtures; stone, clay, and glass products; primary
metal industries; fabricated metal products (except ordnance, machinery,
and transportation equipment); machinery (except electrical); electrical
machinery; transportation equipment; instruments and related products;
and miscellaneous manufacturing industries.
8 Includes food and kindred products; tobacco manufactures; textile-mill
products; apparel and other finished textile products; paper and allied prod­
ucts; printing, publishing, and allied industries; chemicals and allied prod­
ucts; products of petroleum and coal; rubber products; and leather and
leather products.
* Data by region, from January 1940, are available upon request to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

266

MONTHLY LABOR

Table A -3 : P rod u ction W orkers in M ining and M anufacturing Industries 1
[In thousands]
1950

Annual
average

1949

Industry group and industry
June
Mining:
Metal
________________________
Iron - _____ ______________________
Copper __ ________________________
TiP.jul and zinc
...
____

M ay

82.8
31.3
19.8
16.6

Apr.

81.4
29.4
19.9
16.6

Mar.

81.5
29.6
19.8
16.6

Feb.

81.1
29.3
19.8
16.5

Jan.

80.7
29.8
19.6
16.0

Dec.

80.9
30.2
19.2
16.1

N ov.

72.6
24.7
18.8
15.0

Oct.

Sept.

54.1
6.0
18.8
14.7

80.9
32.2
18.6
15.6

Aug.

82.8
32.6
18.6
16.5

July

83.3
32.8
18.8
16.1

June

89.5
33.4
19.8
19.1

1940

83.3
29.5
19.4
18.1

1948

88.6
32.6
20.0
19.2

71.6

70.7

72.3

71.4

71.1

71.8

72.1

71.6

71.1

71.2

71.0

72.7

72.8

75.8

___ _________

393.7

399.5

404.2

65.8

328.3

397.9

380.7

77.0

395.0

399.7

383.1

404.5

379.1

419.1

Crude petroleum and natural gas pro­
duction:
Petroleum and natural gas production..

123.9

123.3

123.3

123.3

122.9

123.9

124.7

126.1

128.7

131.6

131.1

130.0

127.1

127.1

84.8

82.3

78.3

77.3

76.7

80.1

82.8

83.2

85.8

86.0

85.8

85.9

83.7

87.6

Anthracite

______________________

Bitwninoos-ooal ,

Nonmetallic mining and quarrying........... ............

Manufacturing............................................... — 12,089 11, 837 11, 596 11, 549 11,460 11,449 11,504 11, 289 11,368 11,775 11,561 11,211 11, 337 11,597 12,717
Durable goods.. ----------------------- 6,585
Nondurable goods----------------------- 5,454
19.2

Ordnance and accessories______________

Food and kindred products----------------- 1,132
Meat products. _____________ ___
Dairy products__ _ _ _____________
Canning and preserving_______ ____
Drain-mill products
____ ___
"Rakery products. ________________
Sugar
_____________________
Confectionery and related products----Beverages .
__ ___ ___ ________
Miscellaneous food products— ............. —
75

Tobacco manufactures_________________
Cigarettes _
_ ____________ ___
Cigars _.
________________ - - ___
Tobacco and snuff---------------------------Tobacco stemming and redrying---------

Textile-mill products__________________ 1,172
Y am and thread m ills----------------------Broad-woven fabric m ills_________ _
_____ ___________
Knitting m ills__
Dyeing and finishing textiles_________
Carpets, rugs, other floor coverings___
Other textile-mill products......................
Apparel and other finished textile produ c ts... __________________________
M en’s and boys’ suits and coats--------M en’s and boys’ furnishings and work
clothing —ç— _______________________
Women’s outerwear_________________
Women’s, children’s undergarments__
M illinery. _________________________
Children’s outerwear________________
Fur goods and miscellaneous apparel__
Other fabricated textile products..........
Lumber and wood products (except furniture)----------------------------------------Logging camps and contractors__ . . .
Sawmills and planing mills---------------Millwork, plywood, and prefabricated
structural wood products _________
Wooden containers.. . . . ___________
Miscellaneous wood products________
Furniture and fixtures.................... ............
Household furniture ______________
Other furniture and fixtures__________

See footnote at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

978

—

751

300

6,450
5,387
18.6

6,196
5,400
18.3

6,070
5,479
17.9

5,982
5,478
17.4

1,090 1,065 1,060 1,055
227.1 223.2 228.3 231.5
99.1
108.4 102.8
96.7
126.8 120.3 109.3 109.8
91.4
92.4
92.1
92.0
192.8 191.2 190.0 187.6
22.9
24.4
22.6
22.7
78.4
72.7
74.6
80.9
146.4 140.6 139.4 134.4
99.4
98.5 100.7
99.4
76
22.8
37.6
10.6
4.9

76
22.9
37.2
11.0
4.7

78
22.7
38.7
11.0
5.1

81
22.8
40.2
11.1
6.4

6.000
5,449
16.9

5,961
5,543
17.1

5,719
5,570
17.3

5,651
5, 717

6,060
5, 715

18.1

18.2

5,947
5,614
18.2

5,894
5,317
19.3

6, 022
5,315
20.7

6,096
5, 501
20.2

6,909
5,868
23.9

1,078 1,139 1,185 1,273 1,340 1,350 1, 224 1,153 1,172 1,197
243.7 251.0 242.2 236.0 230.4 228.5 227.2 225.6 231.3 215.8
95.1
98.9 104.0 110.4 116.3 122.1 122.1 107.9 111.0
96.1
116.5 135.6 159.8 232.2 321.5 339.1 220.1 169.0 180.8 195.3
93.2
96.9 100.3
96.9
96.8
94.3
95.3
93.6
98.0
95.0
186.1 189.8 194.7 199.4 196.4 194.1 190.5 191.7 191.2 195.5
24.9
23.7
25.7
22.8
28.5
44.7
43.5
26.7
30.0
38.1
84.6
69.9
95.3
99.2
91. 5
78.7
71.1
83.0
85.9
90.5
135.3 141.3 146.2 149.2 157.3 164.7 168.5 152.4 150.6 161.4
98.1 101.3 106.1 108.9 107.8 105.8 105.2 104.0 103.8 108.1
85
23.8
40.3
11.3
9.7

87
24.3
41.2
11.5
9.5

89
24.4
43.6
11.4
9.2

92
24.4
43.6
11.7
11.9

94
24.5
43.1
11.6
14.9

91
24.4
42.3
11.7
12.9

82
24.4
40.9
11.0
5.7

84
24.3
42.4
11.4
5.6

87
24.1
42.4
11.5
9.0

93
24.3
46.2
12.2
10.2

1,163 1,172 1,183 1,183 1,177 1,187 1,184 1,168 1,132 1,092 1,058 1,083 1,136 1,275
143.0 144.5 148.7 149.4 148.5 148.5 147.0 144.4 139.5 133.0 126.6 131.9 140.3 168.5
573.1 572. 7 574.0 570.5 567.9 573. 9 571.8 564.5 547.0 530.1 518.0 524.7 551.4 615.3
212.8 218.1 221. 4 222.5 222.8 226. 6 229.7 226.7 219.2 210.8 199.7 202.9 213.4 231.4
73.2
80.4
79.9
78.0
71.9
74.0
76.9
80.0
76.0
80.0
80.3
80.5
76. 5
78. 7
47.5
43.5
49.2
51.2
51.8
50.4
57.2
49. 7
48.1
53.4
53.0
51.3
52.6
52.8
97.7
97.9 100.5 102.8 121.7
104.6 104.5 106.3 107.8 105.8 105.7 105.2 105.1 102.6
977 1,003 1,058 1,065 1,032 1,040 1,028 1,083 1,082 1,040
129.2 132.0 135.5 135.2 130.3 127.3 117.6 128.6 133.4 130.6

942
115.9

959 1,022 1,049
121.5 128.1 140.1

237. 8
253.6
92.0
16. 5
57.1
74. 4
116.3

240. £
271.1
95.4
18.3
57.9
72.1
115.2

244. £
305.4
97.0
23.8
62.6
72. 6
116.6

243.6
315.2
96.5
23.4
62.7
72.1
116.2

240. £
302.4
92.5
21.4
59.7
69.1
115.9

246. 8
296.1
94.5
19. 4
58.7
78. 7
118.3

251.3
279.5
98.2
15.6
60.1
84.2
121.6

252.4
308.3
97.5
20. £
62.8
86.4
126.1

246.2
318.5
94.1
21.2
62.3
83.8
122.0

235.4
306.3
88.6
20.3
61.9
79.3
117.8

221.4
263.3
81.7
17.7
58.4
72.9
110.8

236.3
257.6
83.5
14.7
57.3
74.5
113.9

239.8
294.3
89.4
19.5
58.0
76.5
115.8

250.7
308.7
88.7
20.2
54.7
78.5
107.5

724
62. A
431.9

693
54.4
411.4

677
54. £
399.3

652
45.0
385.7

642
40. £
381.1

682
57.2
403.5

692
59.6
412.6

689
59. £
413.8

684
55. S
416.0

686
58.6
414.5

676
58.7
407.1

686
60.1
410.3

676
57.6
401.3

752
69.5
442.0

106.1
69.6
54.0

104. 5
69.0
54.0

101. 7
67.9
53.5

101.5
67.6
52.4

101.6
67.2
51.2

101. £
68.1
51.6

100.7
67.4
51.4

98.1
66.8
50.9

95.4
66.4
51.0

94.6
66.6
52.1

91. £
66.3
51.9

93.7
68.5
53.0

95.7
67.9
53.1

105.0
76.0
59.2

303
221. 5
81.1

303
222.1
80.8

301
220. 9
79.9

297
218.2
78.7

289
211.7
77.6

289
211.0
78.1

283
206.5
76.6

284
205.6
78.3

277
198.5
77.7

263
187. (
75.8

253
179. i
74.1

257
181.1
75.9

272
194. f
77.6

306
221 6
84.1

267

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

T able A-3: Production Workers in Mining and Manufacturing Industries1—Continued
[In thousands]
4-

Annual
average

1949

1950

►

Industry group and Industry
June

4

May

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

Nov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

1949

1948

Manufacturing—Continued
Paper and allied products............................ 397
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills........
Paperboard containers and boxes.......... ..
Other paper and allied products....... —

392
201.5
103.3
86.8

391
200.6
103.4
86.5

389
200.2
102.6
86.2

386
199.5
101.4
85.4

385
199.2
101.4
84.2

390
200. 2
105 3
84.8

393
200.6
107.7
84.8

392
199.6
106.4
85.8

384
197.0
101.9
84.8

371
190.5
97.4
83.4

365
188.2
93.3
83.1

369
191.7
94.2
83.3

382
197.6
99.6
85.2

405
210.8
104.6
89.4

Printing, publishing, and allied indus­
tries_______ ______________ ________ 499
Newspapers— ..........................................Periodicals_________________________
Books------------- ------- -------- --------------Commercial printing........................ .........
Lithographing...... ......................................
Other printing and publishing-----------

497
149.1
34.5
34.7
164.0
31.0
84.0

496
147.4
35.0
34.9
164.9
30.9
83.2

496
146.4
35.2
35.2
165.3
31.0
83.3

495
145.3
35.1
34.9
164.6
30.8
84.1

493
142.0
34.5
35 0
167.2
30.7
83.9

501
145.2
34.8
35 8
167.8
32 7
85.1

500
145.0
35.0
36.5
165.1
32.8
85.3

500
144.4
35.7
36.5
166.1
32.5
85.0

495
143.8
35.8
36.3
162.4
31.8
84.5

486
141.4
35.6
33.9
160.7
31.2
83.5

485
140.9
35.2
33.8
162.4
30.8
82.1

494
141.9
35.0
37.1
163.8
31.1
85.4

495
141.2
36.0
36.4
164.4
31.9
85.3

501
133. 5
37.3
38.6
165.5
35.1
91.0

Chemicals and allied products-------------Industrial inorganic c h e m ic a ls..............
Industrial organic chemicals....................
Drugs and m edicines..............................
Paints, pigments, and fillers-------------Fertilizers..... ..................- ............ .............
Vegetable and animal oils and fats----Other chemicals and allied products.

480

485
53.6
147.8
61.0
45.5
29.8
39.8
107.3

490
52.8
146.0
60.6
45.1
35.6
42.7
106.9

487
52.3
144.9
58.1
44.9
34.9
44.9
106.8

485
52.2
144.0
58.7
44.7
32.5
45.8
106.7

480
50.2
143.7
61.7
43.7
26.5
49.0
104.9

484
51.3
143. 7
61.9
43.6
24.9
51.9
106.2

485
51.2
142.9
61.5
43.8
24.6
53.1
108.2

488
51.5
141.4
61.6
43.9
26.1
54.6
109.2

478
49.9
139.8
60.7
42.3
26.6
49.1
109.1

458
49.8
135. 2
60 1
41.8
24.7
38.5
108.0

453
50.7
135.8
59.2
41.0
24.0
36.3
105.7

464
52.3
139.1
59.9
42.6
24.9
38.7
106.3

485
52.3
145.8
60.8
43.3
28.6
46.1
108.4

520
54.7
164.4
59.9
46.9
30.2
46.6
117.6

Products of petroleum and c o a l...............
Petroleum refining.....................................
Coke and byproducts.................. ...........
Other petroleum and coal products----

182

177
136.1
18.1
23.2

176
135. 5
17.9
22.3

182
142.8
17.0
21.8

183
144.0
16.8
21.8

184
145.4
17.4
21.3

185
145.7
17.6
22.1

188
147.6
15.9
24.1

185
148.4
10.9
25.3

189
149.2
16.7
23.5

190
149.9
17.0
22 9

189
150.3
17.3
21. 4

189
149.6
18. 0
21. 6

188
148.8
16.9
22.0

192
148.9
17.5
25.3

Rubber products....................... ...................
Tires and inner tubes..............................
Rubber footwear...................................... .
Other rubber products..............................

197

194
85.7
19.1
88.7

190
84.0
19.3
86.8

189
83.4
19.4
86.2

188
83.1
18.8
86.3

187
82.6
20.1
84.5

187
82.1
22.1
83.1

186
81.3
22.2
32.8

187
81.1
21.5
84.4

167
64.3
21.1
81.4

180
80.9
20.3
78.6

177
82.0
20.2
74.5

181
86.3
19.8
75.3

186
83.6
21.6
80.9

209
96.2
24.6
88. 1

Leather and leather products.....................
Leather------------------------------------------Footwear (except rubber)........ ...............
Other leather products..............................

342

336
44.9
217.8
72.8

341
45.0
221.6
74.5

357
45.5
234.5
77.3

357
45.5
234.5
76.7

348
45 0
231 4
71.9

343
44.9
223.7
74.2

332
45.2
208.0
78.5

349
44.9
224.3
79.4

354
44.6
230.2
78.8

356
43 8
234 2
77.5

342
43.1
226. 3
73.0

339
44. 5
222.5
72.1

347
45.1
226.2
75.8

368
49.5
234.8
83.5

433
116.1
36.0
73.5
52.7
76.1
78.2

419
112.8
35.4
69.1
52.8
73.5
75.8

410
108.9
34.5
68.5
52.7
71.3
73.9

408
108.2
35.0
68.3
52.2
71.3
73.2

403
106.2
35-8
68.6
50.7
69.5
72.6

412
107. 1
36.4
70. 5
51.6
73. 1
73.7

411
107.7
34.8
69.7
52.2
73.9
72.5

411
107.5
34.8
71.0
51.7
74.6
71.1

414
106. 9
36. 5
72.1
50.4
74.9
72.8

412
106. 6
36.7
72.1
49.7
73.5
72.9

400
101.1
36.9
72.1
46.3
71.5
72.1

409
105.4
36.6
72.8
50.2
71.2
73.2

416
106.8
36.0
72.5
52.2
72.4
75.6

448
119.6
35. 5
76.5
55.5
76.4
84.6

Stone, clay, and glass products.................
Glass and glass products.........................
Cement, hydraulic____ _____________
Structural clay products....................... .
Pottery and related products_________
Concrete, gypsum, and plaster products.
Other stone, clay, and glass products.

_____
443

Primary metal industries........................... 1,039
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling
mills_______ _______ ________ ______
Iron and steel foundries............................
Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals----------- ------------------Rolling, drawing, and alloying of nonferrous metals_______________ _____
Nonferrous foundries------------------------Other primary metal industries______
Fabricated metal products (except ord­
nance, machinery, and transporta­
tion equipment)--------------------- -----Tin cans and other tinware__________
Cutlery, hand tools, and hardware____
Heating apparatus (except electric)
and plumbers’ s u p p lies..____ ______
Fabricated structural metal products..
Metal stamping, coating, and en­
graving......................................................
Other fabricated metal products..........


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

978

963

955

743

559

938

932

934

971

940

529.5
192.9

506.9
182.1

512.3
177.1

510.5
172.0

506.6
172.2

324.8
169.4

130.3
171.9

498.7
173.4

497.6
177.3

505.8
175.9

523.0
184.0

476.7
188.9

536.8
230.9

45.5

45.2

45.4

45.3

42.5

41.2

38.3

39.4

41.8

41.4

42.3

44.9

43.3

46.8

63.8
59.5
92.4

62.4
58.7
88.4

64.4
59. 5
95.2

70.6
63.3
97.1

86.0
73.2
109.1

1,007

1,083

78.9
73.5
105.1

77.1
70.7
103.4

76.5
69.8
101.2

75.0
67.8
100.0

73.7
66.0
97.9

72.8
65.9
95.8

62.6
62.4
85.0

70.0
64.1
83.5

67.2
62.0
95.1

764

741
39.8
130.8

721
39.0
129.2

709
38.0
127.6

698
36.3
123.7

693
35.9
121.2

688
36.6
119.3

666
38.2
115.6

677
40.6
116.3

708
43.2
113.7

688
43.6
111.4

671
41.8
109.2

679
41.0
113.8

701
39.9
118.4

812
42.2
131.6

_____

119.0
148.1

117.6
145.6

114.0
142.7

112.3
140.6

107.4
141.5

111 1
142.2

113.0
133.6

116.2
129.0

109.6
155.8

99.7
155.4

91.8
155. 0

93.6
156.0

106.0
152.3

137.1
168.7

140.3
163.2

134.5
154.9

131.2
155.8

130.4
155.1

129.6
157.0

124.8
153.7

119.8
145. S

127.2
148.0

129.8
156.1

124.9
152.5

121.5
151. 5

120.7
154. 3

125.8
159.0

148.6
183.8

1,021 1,003
53.4
56.0
140.9 141.9
68.3
68.4
158.2 155.5

981
51.1
139.5
68.1
152.0

960
48.9
137.4
66.5
149.2

937
48.8
133.2
64. A
146.5

929
48. (
130.6
63.7
146.4

922
908
46.7
48.4
125. C 127.8
63.7
62.3
145.9 148.0

935
49.3
139.9
62.3
149.1

927
49.0
140.4
64. 2
146.9

939
50.7
139.8
67.7
149.5

977 1,001 1,203
63.9
53.2
53. 9
145.2 142 4 151.7
72.
4
91.1
72.5
155.8 157.9 186.6

122.5
128.7
73.5

120.9
125.9
73.2

119.0
123.3
72.0

117.7
121.6
70.

116.8
120. ‘
69.9

117.3
121.2
71.1

117.4
121.2
72.2

119.3
123.3
73.5

121.8
124.8
73.3

122.6
124.
71.7

124.0
125. 3
72.5

129.2
129.3
74.7

131.1 1 158.6
132. 31 154.3
75.4
93.0

148. £
124.

143.3
120.4

137.8
118.2

132.
115.

124.0
112.5

118.7
111.5

109.1
106.8

107.9
112.2

98.5
98.3
101.9
112. 1 iuy. o¡ nú. o

104.
112. !

115.4

Machinery (except electrical).................... 1,032
Engines and tu rb in e s_____ _____ ____
Agricultural machinery and tractors...
Construction and mining m achinery...
Metalworking m achin ery........... .........
Special-industry machinery (except
metalworking machinery)--------------General industrial m achinery...............
Office and store machines and devices.
Service-industry and household ma­
chines.......... ............ ...............................
Miscellaneous machinery parts..............
See fo o tn o te a t end o f tab le.

982

522.6
188.1

1,025

156. 3

268

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

MONTHLY LABOR

T a b l e A -3 : P rod u ction W orkers in M in ing and M anufacturing In d u strie s1— C ontinued
fin thousands]
1950
Industry group and industry

Annual
average

1949

____
June

Manufacturing—Continued
Electrical machinery.....................................
622
Electrical generating, transmission,
distribution, and industrial appara­
tus...........................................................................
Electrical equipment for vehicles_____ _____
Communication equipment______ _______
Electrical appliances, lamps, and
miscellaneous products_____ _____________
Transportation equipment..........................1,073
Automobiles.........................................................
Aircraft and parts....................................... ...........

Aircraft...............................................

Aircraft engines and parts................................
Aircraft propellers and p a r ts........................
Other aircraft parts and equipment_______
Ship and boat building and repairing........... .
Ship building and repairing............................

Railroad equipment...................... ...........
Other transportation equipment............ .......... !
Instruments and related products.............

179

Ophthalmic goods...................................

Photographic apparatus..................................... I
Watches and clocks____________ _______ ___
Professional and scientific in stru m en ts._____
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries..
Jewelry, silverware, and plated w are...
Toys and sporting goods.....................
Costume jewelry, buttons, notions........
Other miscellaneous manufacturing
industries..............................................

363

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

Nov.

Oct.

606

596

580

573

561

559

546

548

221.9
53.8
219.7

217.2
52.5
217.5

213.0
50.9
211.6

211.4
50.7
207.3

207.8
50.4
202.5

207.6
49.8
200.6

202.4
43.8
200.4

202.8
50.5
193.4

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

1949

1948

505

518

552

656

200.1
46.3
181.4

210.7
49.0
191.8

251.4
54.6
224.4

100.8

125.5

531

507

200.8
49.6
182.4

196.5
47.0
173.4

195.6
45.8
175.5

90.1

110.8

108.4

104.8

103.3

100.6

100.8

99.3

101.0

97.9

88.4

90.6

1,041
730.7
185.8
124. 4
36.3
5.3
19.8
67.3
55.3
47.6
9.1

900
595.5
185.1
123.4
36.2
5.3
20.2
67.1
55. 8
43.5
8.6

879
575.6
184.0
122.2
36.0
5.4
20.4
66.9
56.9
44.2
8.0

872
567.1
184.0
122.4
35.7
5.4
20.5
67.6
58.5
45.4
7.5

978
675.4
184.3
122.9
35.8
5.4
20.2
66.1
57.5
46.1
6.1

896
585.1
184.0
122.7
36.0
5.4
19.9
69.0
60.5
49.9
8.1

898
582.1
183.7
122.3
36.7
5.4
19.3
71.3
62.8
50.6
10.1

986
666.1
187.9
125.4
37.6
5.5
19.4
68.5
60.2
53.2
10.5

1,017
686.3
190.7
127.6
37.9
5.5
19.7
74.0
65.4
56.2
9.9

998 1,014
678.0 669.5
185.3 192.4
128.6 129.5
31.9
37.9
5.2
6.5
19.6
19.5
79.5
85.5
70.4
75.7
46.5
68.5
8.8
7.7

995
646.1
187.1
127.2
38.5
6.4
16.0
88.2
77.8
65.6
7.8

987 1,031
643.5 ’ 657.6
188.5 166.6
126.6 111.5
37.4
33.6
5.3
4.9
19.2
16.6
85.0 123.2
75.0 109.3
61.0
69.6
9.2
14.5

176
20.2
35.4
23.6
97.0

174
20.2
34.8
24.1
94. 7

172
20.2
34.6
24.4
93.2

171
20.3
34.5
24.7
91.8

172
20.2
34.7
25.6
91.4

173
20.3
35.3
26.8
91.0

174
20.8
35.3
27.2
90.3

174
20.8
35.8
27.6
89.4

172
21.0
35.3
27.1
88.3

169
21.1
36.0
26.0
86.3

170
21.2
37.5
25.0
86.7

176
22.1
38.7
26.0
88.7

177
21.9
38.4
26.6
90.1

200
23.8
45.4
35.0
95.4

361
42.1
60.7
42.9

362
42.0
60.5
44.7

361
42.3
58.0
48.0

356
43.7
54.5
50.0

345
43.8
52.3
46.9

361
45.4
57.4
48.2

381
46.8
67.3
53.1

383
46.8
67.8
53.8

366
44.6
63.4
52.2

347
42.2
61.3
48.5

313
39.1
54.9
43.8

333
43.1
56.6
42.3

354
45.0
59.8
48.3

394
49.6
71.5
53.9

215.4

215.1

212.9

207.5

202.2

209.5

213.8

214.5

205.5

194.5

175.2

190.5

200.5

219.4

i Data are based upon reports from cooperating establishments covering
both full- and part-time production and related workers who worked dur­
ing, or received pay for, the pay period ending nearest the 16th of the month.
Data have been adjusted to levels Indicated by Unemployment Insurance
Agencies and the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance data through
1947 and have been carried forward from 1947 bench-mark levels, thereby

providing consistent series. Comparable data from January 1947 are avail­
able upon request to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such requests should
specify the series for which data are desired. Revised data in all except the
first f o u r columns will be identified by an asterisk (*) for the first month’s publi­
cation of such data.

T able A -4 : Indexes of Production-W orker E m p loym en t and W eekly P ayrolls in M anufacturing
In d u stries1
[1939 average=100]
Period
1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:
1943:
1944:
1945:
1946:

Average....... ................
Average.................... .......
Average........... ................
Average______ ____ _
Average_______ ____
Average___ __________
A v era g e..___________
Average____ ____ ____

1 See footnote 1, table A-3.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Employ­
ment

100.0

107.5
132.8
156.9
183.3
178.3
157.0
147.8

Weekly
payroll

100.0

113.6
164.9
241.5
331.1
343.7
293.5
271.1

Period
1947:
1948:
1949:
1949:

Average..........................
Average.................... .
Average............. ..............
J u n e............ ...................
July........
August............................
September....................
October______________

Employ­
ment
156.2
155.2
141.6
138.4
136.9
141.1
143.7
138.8

Weekly
payroll
326.9
351.4
325.3
315.7
312.8
323.0
335.1
320.9

Period
1949: N ovem ber......................
December......................
1950: January............ ..............
February.......................
April________________
M ay.................................

Em ploy­
ment
137.8
140.4
139.8
139.9
141.0
141.6
144.5
147.0

Weekly
payroll!
313.9
329.3
329.2
330.0
333.5
337.2
349.0

y

A

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

26$

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

T able A -5 : Federal C ivilian E m ploym ent by Branch and A gency Group
E xecutive1
Year and month

Legislative

All branches

Defense
agencies »

Total

Post Office
Department

Judicial

All other
agencies

Total (Including areas outside continental United States)
..................
..................

2,066,152
2,100, 407

2,055,397
2,089,151

916,358
899,186

470,975
511,083

668,064
678,882

7,273
7,661

3,482
3, 595.

1949: June...........
July............
A ugust----September.
O ctober...
November
December.

2,114,767
2,106,242
2,094,877
2, 081, 793
2,047,312
1,999,681
2, 288,367

2,103, 698
2,095,156
2,083, 448
2,070, 269
2,035, 748
1,988,079
2, 276,635

934, 661
917,001
902,401
886, 890
860,286
814,848
799,888

482,447
485,196
491,408
494, 087
496,038
497,814
804,038

686, 590
692,959
689,639
689, 292
679, 424
675, 417
672,709

7,498
7,507
7,842
7,924
7,937
7,992
7,954

3, 571
3 ,579>
3, 587
3,600'
3,627
3. 610
3, 778

1950: Jan u ary...
February..
March___
April..........
M a y _____
June...........

1, 976, 093
1,970,815
1,970,603
2,110, 903
2,061, 939
2,022,117

1, 964,246
1,959,063
1,958,806
2, 099, 036
2,050,132
2,010,286

791,048
782, 788
776, 324
773.711
775,769
780,614

503,106
503,815
504, 420
503,916
501, 911
497,394

670,092
672,460
678,062
821, 409
772, 452
732,278

8,063
7, 986
8,048
8,102
8,048
8,063

3, 784
3,766
3,740
3,765
3, 7593,768

1948
1949

Continental United States
1 9 4 8 -........................................... - ....................
1949............- ................ - .............. - ................ -

1,846,840
1,921,903

1,836.158
1,910, 724

734,484
761,362

469, 279
509,184

632,395
640,178

7, 273
7,661

3,409'
3,51»

1949: June____________________________
July_____________ ________ _______
A u g u st..................... .............. ..............
September......... ............ ........................
October_________________________
November_______ _____ __________
December__ ____ ___________ ____

1,929, 461
1,925,251
1,920,248
1,912, 227
1, 882,859
1,843, 246
2,134, 592

1,918,469
1,914,242
1,908,896
1,900, 780
1,871,372
1,831, 721
2,122,937

790,087
777, 454
770,034
760, 059
738,195
700, 374
688, 599

480,651
483,390
489, 562
492, 227
494,178
495,963
801, 008

647,731
653,398
649,300
648,494
638, 999
635,384
633, 330

7,498
7,507
7,842
7,924
7,937
7,992
7,954

3,494
3,502
3, 510
3, 523
3, 5503,533
3, 701

1950: January...................................................
February________________________
March__________________________
April_____________ ____ _____ ____
M ay_______ _______ ________ _____
June............. .............. .......................—-

1,825, 245
1,820, 625
1,821,470
1,959, 746
1,910, 210
1,871,293

1,813,475
1,808,950
1,809, 750
1,947,956
1, 898,480
1,859, 539

683,018
675,316
670, 546
668,180
670,049
674,597

501, 257
501,969
502, 571
502,025
500,017
495,505

629,200
631, 665
636,633
777, 751
728, 414
689,437

8,063
7, 986
8,048
8,102
8, 048
8,063

3,707
3,689
3, 672:
3,688
3, 682
3,691

i Includes Government corporations (including Federal Reserve Banks
and mixed-ownership banks of the Farm Credit Administration) and other
activities performed by Government personnel in establishments such as
navy yards, arsenals, hospitals, and force-acoount construction. Data,
which are based mainly on reports to the Civil Service Commission, are
adjusted to maintain continuity of coverage and definition with information
for former periods.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

5 Covers civilian employees of the Department of Defense (Secretary of
Defense, Army, Air Force, and N avy), National Advisory Committee'
for Aeronautics, the Panama Canal, Philippine AlieD Property Administra­
tion, Philippine War Damage Commission, Selective Service System»
National Security Resources Board, National Security Council, War
Claims Commission.

270

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able A -6 : Federal C ivilian Payrolls by Branch and A gency Group
[In thonsands]
Executive •
Year and month

All branches
Defense
agenciess

Total

Post Office
Department

All other
agencies

Legislative

Judicial

Total (Including areas outside continental United States)
1948
1949

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

$6, 223, 486
6, 699, 270

$6,176, 414
6, 647, 671

$2, 660, 770
2,782, 266

$1,399,072
1, 558, 741

$2,116, 572
2, 306, 664

$30,891
34,437

$16,181
17,162

1949 June_____
July—........
August___
September.
October__
November.
December.

574, 990
540, 440
574, 046
557, 436
539, 248
567, 296
610,344

570, 757
536, 210
569, 536
553,011
534, 992
662, 539
605,564

247,993
223, 458
239,178
230, 016
222, 221
230, 206
218,404

124, 673
124,914
125, 794
125, 064
125, 164
131, 577
186,462

198,091
187, 838
204, 564
197, 931
187, 607
200, 756
200,698

2,792
2,884
3,005
2,968
2,936
3,137
3,160

1,441
1,346
1,505
1, 457
1,320
1,620
1,620

1950: J an u ary...
February..
March___
April..........
M ay_____
June_____

553,090
521,041
583,186
539,430
577,915
551, 574

548,372
516, 525
578,339
534,757
573,026
546,748

214,670
198, 064
225,091
192,199
220, 044
210,416

132,177
131,085
133, 461
131,117
130,361
129, 051

201,525
187,376
219,787
211,441
222,621
207,281

3,148
3.083
3,222
3, 232
3,246
3,270

1,570
1,433
L625
1,441
X , 643
1,556

Continental United States
1948.......................
1949......................

$5, 731,115
6, 234,345

$5, 684, 494
6,183, 230

$2, 272, 001
2, 442,580

$1, 394,037
1,552,992

$2. 018, 456
2,187, 658

$30, 891
34, 437

$15,730
16,678

1949: June_____
J u ly ..........
August___
September.
O ctober...
November.
December.

533, 002
500, 642
532, 977
518, 493
501, 648
523, 694
573, 588

528, 810
496, 451
528, 509
514, 109
497, 431
518, 979
668,849

216, 532
194, 463
209, 583
202, 222
195, 446
196, 868
193,321

124, 210
124, 446
125, 321
124, 596
124, 700
131, 088
185,796

188, 068
177, 542
193, 605
187, 291
177, 285
191, 023
189, 732

2.792
2,884
3,005
2,968
2,936
3,137
3,160

1,400
1,307
1,463
1,416
1, 281
1, 578
1,579

1950: J an u ary...
February..
March___
April..........
M ay...........
June_____

516, 707
488,138
546,866
506, 707
541,195
517,089

512,032
483,662
542,061
502,074
536,351
512,306

189,825
176, 371
201.071
171,555
196, 249
188,569

131, 669
130,599
132, 969
130,629
129,841
128, 528

190, 538
176,692
208,021
199,890
210,261
195, 209

3,148
3,083
3, 222
3,232
3,246
3,270

1,527
1,393
1,583
1,401
1,598
1, 513

1 See footnote 1, table A-5.
s See footnote 2, table A-5.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Y

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

271

T able A -7 : C ivilian G overnm ent E m p loym ent and P ayrolls in W ashington, D . C .,1 b y Branch and
A gency Group

♦-

Federal
District of
Total
Columbia
government government

Year and month

Executive 1
Total
All agencies

Legislative

Post Office
Depart­
ment

Defense
agencies *

Judicial

All other
agencies

Employment

►
1948................................. ........................
1949.._________ ___________ _____

231,239
241,812

18,774
19,511

212,465
222, 301

204,601
214,026

68, 509
70, 461

7.826
8,164

128, 266
135,401

7,273
7,661

591
614

1949: June.............................................
July............. .................................
August--..................... ................
September_________ ______
October___________________
November ________________
December................... ...............

243, 896
245, 067
244, 743
242, 426
240, 886
240, 095
244,467

19, 767
19, 708
19, 736
19, 416
19, 504
20, 420
20,031

224,129
225,359
225,007
223, 010
221, 382
219,675
224,436

216,019
217, 237
216,546
214, 470
212, 828
211,064
215,840

72,440
72, 521
71, 246
69, 448
68, 069
66,121
65,860

7,749
7, 770
7,784
7. 773
7,749
7, 891
12,888

135,830
136, 946
137, 516
137, 249
137, 010
137,052
137, 092

7,498
7,507
7,842
7. 924
7,937
7,992
7, 954

612
615
619
616
617
619
642

1950: January.......................................
February__________________
March___ ______ __________
April______________________
M ay______________________
June______ ______ __________

238, 935
238, 713
238,933
239,754
240,066
238,710

20,110
20,245
20.168
20, 011
20, 227
20,038

218, 825
218, 468
218,765
219, 743
219,839
218,672

210,106
209, 817
210,056
210, 980
211,130
209,947

65,699
65,456
65,445
65,380
65, 603
64,766

7,859
7, 643
7,786
7,853
7, 826
7,742

136, 548
136, 718
136,825
137,747
137, 701
137,439

8,063
7,986
8,048
8,102
8, 048
8,063

656
665
661
661
661
662

Payrolls (in thousands)
1948............... ......................................
1949____________________________

$817, 554
906, 842

$54, 248
60,602

$763,306
846, 240

$729,791
808,918

$233,589
253,433

$31, 298
33,488

$464,904
521,997

$30,891
34, 437

$2,624
2,885

1949: June______________________
July_______________________
August____________________
September______ _________
October.__________________
November__________ ____
December_________________

74, 475
72,686
80,173
77, 040
73, 815
79, 552
80,004

4,748
3, 775
4,185
5,379
5,187
5,526
5, 503

69,727
68, 911
75,988
71, 661
68, 628
74, 026
74,501

66,695
65, 793
72, 733
68, 457
65,458
70, 621
71, 068

20,080
21,238
23,851
20, 921
20,137
21, 561
21, 274

2,678
2.691
2, 760
2, 737
2,685
2,809
3,829

43, 937
41, 864
46, 122
44, 799
42,636
46,251
45,965

2,792
2,884
3,005
2,968
2,936
3,137
3,160

240
234
250
236
234
268
273

1950: January ................................ .
February_____________ ____
March_____________ . . .
April___________ __________
M ay______________________
June______ ______ _________

80, 747
73,142
83,331
74,469
84.018
81,026

5,531
5,218
5,699
5,029
5,705
5, 566

75, 216
67,924
77,632
69,440
78,313
75,460

71, 787
64,586
74,132
65,944
74, 785
71,917

22, 673
19,387
22,744
20,416
22,607
21,775

2,868
2,787
2, 926
2,786
2,872
2,829

46, 246
42,412
48,462
42,742
49,306
47,313

3,148
3,083
3,222
3,232
3,246
3,270

281
255
278
264
282
273

1 Data for the executive branch cover, in addition to the area inside the
District of Columbia, the adjacent sections of Maryland and Virginia which
are defined by the Bureau of the Census as in the metropolitan area.

1 See footnote 1, table A-5.
* See footnote 2, table A-5.

Table A-8: Personnel and Pay of the Military Branch of the Federal Government
[In thousands]
Personnel (average for year or as of first of
m o n th )1

*

Pay (all types—for entire month)

Wear and month
Army

Air
Force

$3,442,962
3, 648, 239

s $2,136,384
J 2, 343, 312

(’)
0

23
24
24
24
24
23
24

291, 583
302,994
298,893
304, 426
331,472
328,637
334,301

* 186,302
113,244
112,192
116,312
123,001
123,380
124,985

24
24
23
23
23
23

327, 527
317, 939
314, 824
318,397
310,300

120,331
118, 530
117,266
117,495
115,734

Total

Army

Air
Force

N avy

1948__________ ______ _______
1949________________________

1,492
1,642

» 964
672

(>)
418

424
443

84
86

20
23

1949: June__________________
July................................... .
August.................... ...........
September____________
O ctober............................
November_________. . .
December______ _____

1,639
1,638
1,638
1,630
1,614
1,605
1,600

664
659
655
656
656
657
658

418
419
423
420
418
417
416

447
450
451
444
432
425
420

87
86
86
86
84
83
82

1950: January..............................
February_____________
M a rc h ..______________
April.______ __________
M ay____________ _____

1, 573
1,534
1,510
1,496
1, 487
1,480

639
613
605
601
597
594

413
415
415
412
410
409

416
402
389
383
381
380

81
80
78
77
76
74

Marine Coast
Corps Guard

Total

N avy

Marine
Corps

Coast
Guard

$1,077,694
1,067,697

$173,368
177,102

$55,516
60,128

(’)
$77,176
78,881
78,679
89,342
88,346
92,455 (

86,706
92,881
87,722
88,911
98,199
96, 381
94,673

13,655
14,860
15, Oil
15,221
15,575
15,192
16,652

4,920
4.833
5,087
5,303
5,355
5,338
5,536

87,414
87, 344
87,500
85, 839
85,026

99,169
90,802
89,426
92,771
89,713

14,997
15, 585
15,300
16, 711
14, 552

5,616
5,678
5,332
5. 581
5,275
-

• Represents persons on active duty as of the first of the month. Reserve
personnel are excluded if on inactive duty or if on active duty for only a brief
training or emergency period. Persons on terminal leave were included
through October, 1947. Data for Army include Philippine Scouts.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1 Separate figures for Army and Air Force not available.
shown under Army,

Combined data

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

272

MONTHLY LABOR

T a b l e A -9 : E m p loyees in N on agricultural E stab lish m en ts for Selected S ta te s 1
[In thousands]
1950

1949

State

Annual
average
1947

June

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

Arizona_______________ _________
Arkansas_________________________
California________________________
Colorado--- ----------------------------- --Connecticut___________ ________

153
288
3,078
338
742

153
286
3.043
328
734

154
283
3,019
332
726

153
279
*2,978
326
715

*152
272
2,952
318
710

150
273
2,960
323
712

155
289
3,062
340
729

152
285
3,015
337
720

151
283
3,052
332
717

149
277
3,068
344

147
282
3,054
344

147
275
3,008
342

150
278
3,008
336

148
283
3,035
331
773

Georgia,------- -------------------------- Idaho_________________________ -

764
129

763
123

760
121

751
119

745
116

746
119

Indiana2________- --- ---------Kansas------- --------------- ----------------

1,231
459

1,206
452

1,182
445

1,156
*436

1,140
430

1,150
435

766
127
3,080
1,181
454

763
128
3,031
1,119
454

764
129
3,017
i; ii3
452

762
132
3,070
1 ,192
451

750
134
3,052
1,166
455

741
131
3,040
1,157
453

742
129
3,065
1,156
452

742
122
3,127
1 , 196
425

M a in e ______________________ -,
Maryland ----------------- ------------- Massachusetts—
----------------------M innesota----- ------------- ------- --M issouri2 ________ ______ __

258
700
1,639
783

249
686
1,615
774
1,114

239
682
1,606
764
1,103

237
*669
1,597
755
1,092

239
662
1,589
752
1,084

239
665
1,611
758
1,085

249
681
1,668
778
1,127

248
678
1,639
779
1,110

257
662
1,642
770
1,109

260
690
1,642
786
1,118

262
687
1,622
787
1,119

257
680
*1,610
775
1,116

257
681
*1,632
779
1,121

262
671
1,709
771
1,116

M ontana.------ ---------------------------Nebraska_________ , ,
Nevada_____ , ------------------------ N ew Hampshire
_____________
N ew Jersey---------------------------------

155
309
56
167
1,586

152
303
52
163
1,561

147
299
51
162
1,549 *1

141
294
49
161
,526

140
293
49
161
1,518

141
296
49
160
1,523

148
309
50
164
1,574

149
309
50
163
1,554

150
313
51
164
1,563

153
313
53
167
1,563

152
312
53
170
1,562

151
312
53
167
1,542

151
311
54
163
1,559

136
296
53
1,614

N ew Mexico___________________ -,
N ew York------------------ -North Dakota__________
______
Oklahoma-----------------------------------Oregon--------- -- -------------- , -,

148
5, 522
113
464
438

146
5,496
109
459
422

144
5,472
106
457
409

142
5,442
104
450
*401

140
5,415
102
446
385

139
5,424
104
450
383

142
5,621
111
464
418

143
5,535
111
461
421

143
5,553
112
462
432

143
5,568
112
463
443

142
5,490
111
460
442

142
5,416
111
459
429

143
5,479
111
461
430

122
5,558
99
432
416

Pennsylvania_____________________
Rhode Island. ______________ ____
Tennessee_______________________
U tah_____________________________
V erm ont2. . . ---------- . . . --------- --

3,550
280
708
186
96

3,470
275
702
180
94

3,474
276
704
178
93

*3,418
276
695
*173
91

3,296
276
684
*166
91

3,376
274
692
*170
91

3, 502
284
714
183
95

3, 354
281
701
182
94

3,190
*283
703
183
96

3,488
278
708
193
96

3,442
267
699
188
96

3,437
264
692
188
95

3,490
265
694
185
95

3,628
294
701
178
99

Washington______________________
Wisconsin________________________
W yom ing. ______________________

668
998
89

661
986
84

648
967
80

635
958
*78

615
950
71

609
953
73

654
972
77

657
967
79

676
976
80

690
982
83

676
981
86

671
975
85

680
974
82

660
985
73

i Revised data in all except the first 3 columns will be identified by an
asterisk (*) for the first month’s publication of such data. Additional data,
January 1943 to date, are available upon request to the Bureau of Labor


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Statistics or the cooperating State agency. See table A-10 for addresses of
cooperating State agencies.
2 Revised series; not comparable to data previously published.

273

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T a b l e A -1 0 :

E m p loyees in M anufacturing Industries, b y S t a t e s 1
[In thousands]
1949

1950
State
Alabam a3 ___ - _______________
Arizona__________________________
Arkansas_________________________
California 2_______ _____ ______
Colorado________________________
Cormecti cut
Delaware 2_______________________
Florida___________________________
Georgia_________________________
Idaho________________ __________
Illinois 2
Indiana 3_______ _____ _ _ ______
Iowa_________ _________________ Kansas _________________________
K entu ck y3
Louisiana’__
___ _ __________
M aine.-- ______________________
M aryland2_______________________
Massachusetts
M ichigan.____________ ________ M innesota.___ ____ ______________
M ississippi_______________________
M issouri3, . _______ _
_______
M ontana________ ____ ___________
N ebraska3. _____________________
Nevada- . . ____________________
N ew Hampshire
N ew Jersey_______________________
N ew Mexico______________________
N ew York_____ _________________
North Carolina3__
-- --North Dakota_______________
Ohio_____________________________
Oklahoma__________________ _____
Oregon__________________________
Pennsylvania_____________________
R hode Island_____________________
South Carolina__________ _____ ___
South Dakota____________________
Tennessee________________ _____ _
Texas____________________________
U tah_______________ ____ _________
V erm ont3_______________________
Virginia_________ ____ ___________
Washington___________________ _ .
W est Virginia 3________________ - Wisconsin________________________
W yoming________________________

June

M ay

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

208.8
15.7
72.3
734.8
54.3
362.6
46.5
16.4
86.5
265.3
20.8

206.2
15.6
71.1
722.0
53.4
359.5
44.8
16.3
88.7
266.0
17.9

205.0
15.5
68.9
712.7
53.4
356.9
45.0
16.1
91.2
267.1
16.3

205.0
14.8
67.7
*697. 4
o2.5
354.4
*44.0
16.1
93.5
266.1
*16.2

204.3
14.5
65.6
684.0
51.9
350.5
43.5
16.0
95.6
264.0
16.2

207.2
14.5
66.1
683.0
52.2
348.2
42.9
16.1
94.9
263.8
17.2

523.2
527.2
524.8
557.1
538. 7
569.9
147.0
146.1
147.5
147.1
147.7
148.9
86.2
86.0
86.0
88.3
86.6
90.0
130.4
135.6
136. 7
131.3
130.3
135.0
133.4
132.4
129.1
132.4
128.8
128.7
98.3
95.9
98.4
99.3
101.6
108.3
203.9
203.0
209.3
207.7 *204. 2
213.5
639.2
636.2
642.4
639.8
644. 5
632.8
999.1
909.4
905.0
932.7
1,103.4 1,069.1
187.2
184.4
183.2
181.7
181.6
190.5
80.2
79.6
78.9
78.7
80.8
83.7
333.0
330.5
328.1
334.6
330.8
*17.3
*16.4
17.0
17.4
18.5
18.7
45.9
45.4
45.6
46.6
46.1
48.3
2.9
2.9
3.1
3.0
3.0
3.1
76.9
75.3
74.9
76.8
75.7
74.5
695.2
687.5
709.3
696.6
696.6 *698. 8
11.1
11.0
10.6
11.3
11.7
11.8
1,744.3 1, 739.0 1,742.1 1,775.0 1,773.6 1,753.8
4Q0.6
398.2
395.5
391.2
393.1
392.0
5.6
5.3
5.4
*5.3
5.5
5.8
1,150. 6 1,131.2 1,120.1 1,104. 6 *1,096.2 1,079. 4
62.1
62.8
63.0
65.0
63.7
66.0
106.7
120.9 *119. 2
110.6
129.0
137.6
1,379.2 1,362.1 1, 350.2 *1,340.3 1,343. 8 1, 333.1
133.4
136.7
133.4
135.8
131.6
134.5
199.4
200.5
199.6
200.6
200.6
200.8
10.9
11.0
10.8
10.8
11.4
10.9
235.8
236.7
237.4
238.9 *239.7
242.1
332. 5
330.0
331.9
337.4
337.0
330.7
*25.3
*25.0
26.0
*25.1
26.2
27.1
32.7
32.7
34.4
33.9
34.0
33.8
214.8
211.4 *212. 2
212.7
211.4
213.3
149.7
155.1
169.4
163.2
162.3
169.6
125.8
126.7
131.4
128.6
126.1
129.6
393.5
397.6
405.1
404.5
418.4
411.0
5.9
5.7
5.6
5.3
5.5
5.7

1 Revised data in all except the first 3 columns w ill be identified by an
asterisk (*) for the first month’s publication of such data. Additional data,
January 1943 to date, are available upon request to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics or the cooperating State agency listed below.
2 The manufacturing series for these States are based on the 1942 Social
Security Board Classification (others are on the 1945 Standard Industrial
Classification).
3 Revised series; not comparable to data previously published.
C o o p e r a tin g

S ta te A g e n c ie s :

Alabama—Department of Industrial Relations, Montgomery 5.
Arizona—Unemployment Compensation D ivision, Employment Secu­
rity Commission, Phoenix.
Arkansas—Employment Security Division, Department of Labor,
Little Rock.
California—Division of Labor Statistics and Research, Department of
Industrial Relations, San Francisco 1.
Colorado—Department of Employment Security, Denver 2.
Connecticut—Employment Security Division, Department of Labor
and Factory Inspection, Hartford 5.
Delaware—Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia 1, Pa
District of Columbia—U SES for the District of Columbia, Washington,
D . C.
Florida—Unemployment Compensation Division, Industrial Commis­
sion, Tallahassee.
Georgia—Employment Security Agency, Department of Labor,
Atlanta 3.
Idaho—Employment Security Agency, Boise.
Illinois—Division of Placement and Unemployment Compensation,
►Department of Labor, Chicago 54.
Indiana—Employment Security Division, Indianapolis 9.
Iowa—Employment Security Commission, Des Moines 9.
Kansas—Employment Security Division, State Labor Department,
1 Topeka.
Kentucky—Bureau of Employment Security, Department of Economic
Security, Frankfort.
Louisiana—Division of Employment Security, Department of Labor,
Baton Rouge 4.
Maine—Employment Security Commission, Augusta.
Maryland—Employment Security Board, Department of Employment
Security, Baltimore 1.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Dec.
209.8
15.1
68.1
703.2
56.4
349.3
42.8
16.4
93.1
267.3
19.5
1,119.5
519.5
146.7
86.4
138.7
139.1
99.1
202.0
644.3
*931.7
184.5
78.9
328.2
18.3
47.7
3.0
74.9
693.7
11.0
1,781.0
401.0
5.8
1,078.3
63.9
123.1
1, 340. 7
135.1
200.8
11.1
236.4
335.6
27.7
34.5
218.5
163.3
126.0
388.0
6.7

Nov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

206.9
203.0
185.0
193.5
14.1
14.3
15.2
14.7
68.9
68.5
69.6
69.7
758.4
754.9
711.7
737.6
56.9
55.1
51.9
56.6
344.0
347.5
46.6
45.6
41.7
42.8
16.1
16.3
16.4
16.3
81.1
82.9
88.0
83.9
264.3
258.1
267.6
268.9
24.1
23.3
22.1
21.7
1,107.5 1,095.9 1,125.3 1,116.2
519.0
538.3
474.9
476.7
143 6
143 6
145 8
144.7
88.8
87.5
87.0
87.7
128.3
130.4
127.5
127.1
136.3
137.1
140.6
136.7
108.7
106.3
107.7
99.9
215.0
214.6
207.5
192.0
634.2
645.2
642.6
647.3
986.9 1,009. 4 1,002.2
*906. 3
194.4
189.7
185.0
185.7
72.2
76.4
77.9
78.5
336.9
330.1
338.1
323.5
19.1
20.1
19.1
19.8
48.5
48.6
48.6
49.6
3.1
3.0
3.1
3.0
75.0
75.1
74.4
74.6
688.6
700. 2
693.7
693.7
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
1, 780.0 1,801.3 1,809.1 1,751.9
396.2
382.6
399.9
399.7
6.0
5.9
6.1
6.0
990.0 1,082. 4 1,079. 5
1,010.4
62.3
63.5
64.4
63.9
143.1
136.5
142.8
129.9
1, 249.3 1,176. 5 1, 340.6 1,319.0
123.9
131.8
136.3
135.9
199.9
199.0
201. 8
200.5
11.4
11.4
11.4
11.5
235.9
237.9
240.8
233.5
331.5
332.1
333.9
334.6
29.4
32.4
*27.0
27.7
33.6
34.0
35.0
34.7
218.9
213.5
219.4
220.9
175.5
183.6
176.9
168.1
127.2
125.3
121.1
120.5
404.2
410.5
398.2
392.0
7.0
7.4
6.9
7.2

July

June

197.4
14.6
67.9
711.8
54.1

200.9
15.4
68.4
699.6
53.0

45.3
16.2
79.8
249.6
23.4
1,105.3
511.9
138 8
89.2
126.9
132.1
104.6
209.4
617.3
982.0
188.1
72.2
336.4
18.9
49.1
3.1
73.4
666.6
11.1
1, 670.7
361.1
6.0
1,063.0
64.0
135.3
1,315.1
122.5
194.8
11.5
233.0
327.4
30.0
32.8
208.0
171.8
120.5
405.8
6.9

44.6
16.3
81.9
250.6
22.6
1,117.0
509.2
140.7
88.0
126.6
133.2
106.4
211.1
629.3
976.6
184.8
75» 0
333.9
18.4
48.8
3.1
72.9
686.3
11.3
1,702.1
366.5
6.0
1,090. 7
64.4
137.1
1, 350.3
123.2
196.6
*11.4
232.2
328.7
27.1
33.4
211.9
180.5
125.9
402.9
6. 5

Annual
average
1947
224.1
14.2
75.1
712.0
57.5
415.6
45.9
92.7
273.7
20.5
1,248.0
562.4
149.6
81.5
151.0
114.5
230.3
1,041.7
199.5
91.9
348.8
18.4
49.3
3.3
775.3
9.1
1,903.7
412.1
6.1
1,245.1
62.4
132.8
1, 524.5
153.5
202.1
11.3
253.6
*321.6
26.5
39.8
234.5
173.5
137.6
*433.1
6.3

Massachusetts—Division of Statistics, Department of Labor and In­
dustries, Boston 10.
Michigan—Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission,
Detroit 2.
Minnesota—D ivision of Employment and Security, Department of
Social Security, St. Paul 1.
Mississippi—Employment Security Commission, Jackson.
Missouri—D ivision of Employment Security, Department of Labor and
Industrial Relations, Jeflerson City.
Montana—Unemployment Compensation Commission, Helena.
Nebraska—Division of Employment Security, Department of Labor,
Lincoln 1.
Nevada—Employment Security Department, Carson City.
N ew Hampshire—Employment Service and Unemployment Compen­
sation Division, Bureau of Labor, Concord.
N ew Jersey—Department of Labor and Industry, Trenton 8.
N ew Mexico—Employment Security Commission, Albuquerque.
N ew York—Research and Statistics, D ivision of Placement and Unem­
ployment Insurance Department of Labor, N ew York 17.
North Carolina—Department of Labor, Raleigh.
North Dakota—Unemployment Compensation Division, Bismarck.
Ohio—Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, Columbus 16.
Oklahoma—Employment Security Commission, Oklahoma City 2.
Oregon—Unemployment Compensation Commission, Salem.
Pennsylvania—Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia 1
(mfg.) ; Bureau of Research and Information, Department of Labor
and Industry, Harrisburg (nonmfg.).
Rhode Island—Department of Labor, Providence 2.
South Carolina—Employment Security Commission, Columbia 10.
South Dakota—Employment Security Department, Aberdeen.
Tennessee—Department of Employm ent Security, Nashville 3.
Texas—Texas Employment Commission, Austin 19.
Utah—Department of Employment Security, Industrial Commission,
Salt Lake City 13.
Vermont—Unemployment Compensation Commission, Montpelier.
Virginia—D ivision of Research and Statistics, Department of Labor
and Industry, Richmond.
Washington—Employment Security Department, Olympia.
West Virginia—Department of Employment Security, Charleston.
Wisconsin—Industrial Commission, Madison 3.
Wyoming—Employment Security Commission, Casper.

274

A: EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS

MONTHLY LABOR

T a b l e A - l 1 : Insured U n em p loym ent U nder S tate U nem ploym ent Insurance Program s,1 b y G eographic

D ivision and State
[In thousands]
1950
Geographic division and
State
M ay

April

Mar.

1948

1949
Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

May

M ay

Continental United States................... 1,700. 3 1,908.8 2,112.1 2,325.9 2,380. 9 2, 200.0 2,019.9 1,855.7 1,885.6 2,140.4 2,111.2 2,062.1 2,035.1 1,058.4
New E ngland........................................
M aine_______________________ _
New Hampshire..................... .........
Vermont................... .........................
M assachusetts...................... ..........
Rhode Island....................................
Connecticut........ .............................

224.6
19.6
15.6
4.0
124.8
33.6
27.0

225.1
22.7
16.3
4.6
123.6
25.9
32.0

162.5
17.5
13.1
4.5
78.0
15.4
34.0

181.5
19.5
12.3
5.5
89.6
16.3
38.3

202.8
21.8
13.1
6.1
101.4
19.2
41.2

191.2
20.9
12.9
5.5
99.2
17.1
35.6

180.9
16.9
12.2
4.0
95.1
17.4
35.3

174.9
11.2
10.9
3.4
89.6
20.2
39.6

207.9
12.0
12.2
3.9
106.1
27.5
46.2

269.9
16.7
15.4
5.6
137.3
33.2
61.7

281.4
16.6
15.2
5.3
146.8
37.7
59.8

303.4
19.0
16.2
5.2
155.8
48. 4
58.8

306.3
21.8
17. 7
5. 5
154 7
51 7
54.9

130.7
13.3
7.2
2.1
70.5
18.8
18.8

Middle Atlantic__________________
New York____________________
New Jersey........................................
Pennsylvania_________________

481.5
269.2
79.6
132.7

526.0
292.2
84.9
148.9

594.2
319.3
88.3
186.6

622.2
343.1
92.1
187.0

685.5
379.1
101.5
204.9

678.3
385.9
91.4
201.0

663.7
378.3
84.4
201.0

637.4
361.3
78.5
197.6

631.8
355.5
82.1
194.2

692.9
386.4
94.5
212.0

680.4
413.7
96.7
170.0

614.1
361.0
98.2
154.9

558. 5
320 0
96 6
141.9

317.0
196.4
56.0
64.6

East North Central...............................
Ohio........... ........................ ..............
Indiana______________ ______
Illinois ______________________
Michigan_____________________
W iscon sin ... _________________

304.0
81.6
19.2
147.6
42.7
12.9

373.4
103.5
26.7
148.1
75.9
19.2

417.6
130.9
34.6
133.2
94.6
24.3

462.3
146.9
38.6
148.4
98.6
29.8

477.9
157.4
38.8
158.4
89.3
34.0

510.9
141.6
40.3
141.1
150.7
37.2

462 0
144.9
37 1
133.4
114.5
32.1

384.6
135.2
30.9
134.3
62.0
22.2

371.4
112.9
29.7
149.0
58.7
21.1

409.1
113.5
37.3
166.2
67.4
24.7

390.0
100.8
37.9
160.7
68.8
21.8

393.1
93.4
37.9
159.4
80. 8
21.6

396.0
91.4
38.1
148.5
95 6
22.4

188.8
32.7
15.6
85.2
48.7
6.6

West North Central_______________
Minnesota....... ..................... ...........
Iowa_________________________
Missouri______________________
North Dakota_______________
South Dakota_________________
Nebraska_____________________
K an sas.._______ ______ _______

77.7
23.2
6.2
34.6
2.2
1.0
3.3
7.2

101.7
32.8
8.9
39.3
3.7
1.9
5.4
9.7

124.9
37.8
13.5
44.5
4.6
2.9
8.4
13.2

140.6
40.1
15.8
50.2
4.8
3.5
9.5
16.7

130.8
34.7
15.2
50.2
3.8
3.0
7.9
16.0

93.6
24.0
10.0
41.1
1.9
1.8
4.5
10.3

73.3
16.8
6.6
39.0
.6
.7
2.2
7.4

58.7
13.8
5.0
31.5
.2
.4
1.7
6.1

58.0
15.8
5.5
29.1
.2
.4
1.7
5.3

64.6
17.3
7.3
31.9
.3
.5
1.9
5.4

64.4
16.4
7.5
32.5
.3
.4
1.9
5.4

68.2
17.3
7.5
35.5
.3
.4
1.8
5.4

76 4
23.2
7.9
36. 2
5
2 1
6.0

48.0
10.6
4.0
27.4
.3
.3
1.4
4.0

South Atlantic___________________
D elaw are_________ __________
M aryland_____________ ____ _
District of Columbia__________
Virginia____ ______ ___________
West Virginia_________________
North Carolina____ ___________
South Carolina._________ ____
Georgia_________ ____ _________
F lorida.........................................

167.7
2.3
29.1
4.6
18.9
23.4
36.7
14.8
23.2
14.7

164.0
2.7
29.3
5.9
15.7
21.8
37.3
14.4
22.8
14.1

172.2
3.5
25.1
6. 5
20.9
26.2
34.1
15.5
25.0
15.4

181.1
3.8
29.6
6.6
21.6
27.6
32.5
15.9
26.5
17.0

180.3
3.8
31.8
5.0
20.6
28.7
30.3
15.8
24.7
19.6

168.3
3.8
30.8
4.4
18.2
25.4
27.7
16.5
22.2
19.3

161.4
3.2
28.6
4.3
15.8
28.2
26.7
15.1
19.5
20.0

163.3
3.4
27.2
4.3
15.9
27.9
26.2
14.8
19.0
24.6

181.5
3.1
28.8
4.7
17.8
26.6
31.2
17.0
23.5
28.8

220.0
3.4
36.3
4.4
26.5
30.9
38.2
20.8
28.1
31.4

219.7
2.6
38.6
4.4
28.2
28.7
39.8
20.5
28.4
28.5

206.4
2.3
36.3
4.2
29.3
22.7
41.0
20.5
28.2
21.9

192. 5
2. 5
37.3
4. 4
21.1
21.3
39. 7
20. 2
26. 8
19.2

82.3
1.3
15.1
3.6
9.0
8.5
16.2
5.3
11.6
11.7

East South Central...............................
K e n tu c k y ....................................
Tennessee................. .......................
Alabama________________
Mississippi.......................................

99.5
24.8
36.8
25.4
12.5

105.4
25.2
40.1
25.9
14.2

116.8
29.7
41.9
28.3
16.9

122.9
30.7
45.0
28.6
18.6

113.2
26.7
42.5
27.1
16.9

100.2
25.2
37.5
25.6
11.9

101.1
26.6
35.4
30.1
9.0

97.4
25.8
31.2
31.5
8.9

98.4
25.2
33.6
29.6
10.0

114.1
27.6
39.4
34.5
12.6

113.3
27.4
40.3
33.5
12.1

114.4
28.0
45.0
30.3
11.1

111. 7
26. 4
45. 7
27. 7
11.9

47.2
10.2
21.1
11.4
4.5

West South Central........ ......................
Arkansas........ ................ ..............
Louisiana____________ ____ ___
O klahom a......................................
Texas____ ___________________

83.4
14.0
25.8
14.8
28.8

95.0
17.6
29.9
16.9
30.6

107.6
19.9
33.4
19.2
35.1

116.4
23.2
36.4
21.7
35.1

100.4
20.4
30.0
20.1
29.9

73.3
13.3
23.5
14.8
21.7

63.7
10.8
21.6
12.7
18.6

64.2
10.3
22.5
12.2
19.2

67.8
10.1
23.1
13.0
21.6

73.8
11.0
24.3
14.5
24.0

68.2
10.3
22.3
13.2
22.4

67.0
10.5
20.6
12.9
23.0

73.4
12. 4
21.9
13.0
26.1

36.9
6.5
11.3
7.4
11.7

M ountain..............................................
M ontana___________________
Idaho............................. ............
W yom ing.__________________
Colorado__________________ .
New Mexico___ _______ _____
Arizona______ ______________
U tah................. ................ .............
N e v a d a ...________ __________

27.8
4.6
3.0
1.4
5.6
2.7
4.2
4.3
2.0

37.9
8.2
5.6
2.0
5.6
3.4
4.7
5.9
2.5

53.9
11.8
9.8
3.2
7.0
4.4
5.8
8.6
3.3

65.7
13.3
12.8
3.9
8.6
5.0
7.1
11.1
3.9

60.1
11.3
11.7
3.1
8.5
4.3
7.0
10.3
3.9

39.2
6.0
7.2
1.6
6.1
3.2
5.8
6.5
2.8

29.4
3.0
3.5
.9
6.7
2.2
5.5
5.2
2.4

27.9
2.1
2.6
.7
7.4
2.0
5.6
5.5
2.0

23.5
2.0
2.3
.5
4.0
2.3
6.1
4.3
2.0

25.2
2.1
1.9
.6
4.9
2.7
6.7
4.4
1.9

22.2
2.2
1.6
.6
4.6
2.3
5.3
3.9
1.7

19.7
2.2
1.3
.7
4. 8
1.8
4.9
2.5
1.5

22.1
2.8
2. 0
.7
5.3
2.1
4.8
2.7
1.7

13.5
2.0
1.5
.4
2.7
1.0
2.7
1.9
1.3

Pacific_______ ____ _____ ______ ___
W ashington__________________
Oregon .........................................
California.............. ................... .

234.2
23.9
12.3
198.0

280.4
36.0
20.6
223.8

362.7
54.3
35.0
273.4

432.9
82.6
57.1
293.2

430.1
87.4
56.8
285.9

345.3
62.9
36.3
246.1

284.3
48.0
27.7
208.6

246.8
36.4
21.1
189.3

245.1
30.6
17.7
196.8

270.9
31.4
18.1
221.4

271.3
25.5
15.2
230.6

275.3
22.4
10.2
242.7

298.3
26.7
13.4
258.2

194.3
21.8
8.9
163.6

1 Average of weeks ended In specified months. Figures may not add to exact column totals because of rounding.
For a technical description of this series, see the April 1950 M onthly Labor Review (p. 382)
Soubce: IT. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Employment Security


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

F>

B: LABOR TURN-OVER

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

275

B: Labor Turn-Over
T able

B - l: Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Manufacturing Industries, by
Class of Turn-Over 1

Class of turn-over and year

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Total accession:
1950
1949_________________ ____ _____
1948___________________ ________
1947___ _____ __________________
1946_______ _______ ______ ______
1945,......... .............................. ............
1939 »__________________________

3 6
3.2
4.6
6.0
8 5
7.0
4.1

3 2
2.9
3.9
5.0
6.8
5 0
3.1

3.6
3.0
4.0
5.1
7.1
4.9
3.3

3.5
2.9
4.0
5.1
6.7
4.7
2.9

2 4.2
3.5
4.1
4.8
6 1
5.0
3.3

4.4
6 7
5.5
6 7
5.9
3.9

3.5
4.7
4.9
7 4
5.8
4.2

4.4
5.0
5.3
70
5.9
5.1

4.1
5.1
5.9
7.1
7.4
6.2

3.7
4.5
5.5
6.8
8.6
5.9

3.3
3.9
4.8
5.7
8.7
4.1

3.2
2.7
3.6
4.3
6.9
2.8

Total separation:
1950 ___
. ___
1949___________________ ________
1948___________________________
1947___________________________
1946___________________________
1945______________________ _____
1939 * ________________________

3.1
4.6
4.3
4.9
6.8
6.2
3.2

3.0
4.1
4.2
4.5
6.3
6.0
2.6

2. 9
4.8
4.5
4.9
6.6
6.8
3.1

2.8
4.8
4.7
5.2
6.3
6.6
3.5

2 3.1
5 2
4.3
5.4
6.3
7.0
3.5

4.3
4.6
4.7
5.7
7.9
3.3

3.8
4.4
4.6
5.8
7.7
3.3

4.0
5.1
5.3
6.6
17.9
3.0

4. 2
5.4
5.9
6.9
12.0
2.8

4. Ì
4.5
5.0
6.3
8.6
2.9

4.0
4.1
4.0
4.9
7.1
3.0

3.2
4.3
3.7
4.5
5.9
3.5

Quit: «
1950
1949_______ ____________________
1948___________________________
1947___________________________
1946_________ ____ _____________
1945___________________________
1939»__________________________

1.1
1.7
2.6
3.5
4.3
4.6
.9

1.0
1.4
2.5
3.2
3.9
4.3
.6

1.2
1.6
2.8
3.5
4.2
5.0
.8

1.3
1.7
3.0
3.7
4.3
4.8
.8

2 1.6
1.6
2.8
3.5
4.2
4.8
.7

1.5
2.9
3.1
4.0
5. 1
.7

1.4
2.9
3.1
4.6
5.2
.7

1.8
3.4
4.0
5.3
6.2
.8

2.1
3.9
4.5
5.3
6.7
1.1

1.5
2.8
3.6
4.7
5.6
.9

1. 2
2.2
2.7
3.7
4.7
.8

.9
1.7
2.3
3.0
4.0
.7

Discharge:
1950
1949______ _____________________
1948___________________________
1947_______________________ ____
1946___________________________
1945............. ................................... .
1939 s__________________________

.2
.3
.4
.4
.5
.7
.1

.2
.3
.4
.4
.5
.7
.1

.2
.3
.4
.4
.4
.7
.1

.2
.2
.4
.4
.4
.6
.1

2 .3
.2
.3
.4
.4
.6
.1

.2
.4
.4
.3
.7
.1

.2
.4
.4
.4
.6
.1

.3
.4
.4
.4
.7
.1

.2
.4
.4
.4
.6
.1

.2
.4
.4
.4
.5
.2

.2
.4
.4
.4
.5
2

.2
.3
.4
.4
.4
.1

Lay-off: *
1950
1949______ ____ ________________
1948_______ _______ ____________
1947____ _______________________
1946___________________________
1945..
_____________________
1939 *_____________ ____ ________

17
2.5
1.2
.9
1.8
.6
2.2

17
2.3
1.2
.8
1.7
.7
1.9

1. 4
2.8
1.2
.9
1.8
.7
2.2

1.2
2.8
1.2
1.0
1.4
.8
2.6

2 1. 1
3.3
1. 1
1.4
1.5
1. 2
2.9

2.5
1. 1
1.1
1.2
1.7
2.5

2.1
1.0
1.0
.6
1.5
2.5

1.8
1.2
.8
.7
10.7
2.1

1.8
1.0
.9
1.0
4.5
1.6

2.3
1.2
.9
1.0
2.3
1.8

2.5
1.4
.8
.7
1.7
2.0

2.0
2.2
.9
1.0
1.3

] Month-to-month changes in total employment in manufacturing Indus­
tries as indicated by labor turn-over rates are not precisely comparable to
those shown by the Bureau’s employment and payroll reports, as the
former are based on data for the entire month, while the latter, for the
most part, refer to a 1-week period ending nearest the 15th of the month.
The turn-over sample is not so extensive as that of the employment and
payroll survey—proportionately fewer small plants are included. The
major industries excluded are: printing and publishing; canning and pre­
serving; women’s, misses’ and children’s outerwear; and fertilizers. Plants
on strike are also excluded.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2.7

1 Preliminary figures.
* Prior to 1943, rates relate to wage earners only.
1 Prior to September 1940, miscellaneous separations were Included with
quits.
1 Including temporary, indeterminate ( o f more than 7 days’ duration)
and permanent lay-offs.

276

B: LABOR TURN-OVER

T able

MONTHLY LABOR

B-2: Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and Industries 1
Separation
Total accession
Total

Industry group and industry
M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Quit

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Discharge

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

M ise., incl.
military

Lay-off

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

M ay
195Ö

Apr.
1950

M a n u fa c tu r in g

Durable goods8. . . ..................................... .
Nondurable goods8...........................................

4.9
3.2

4.0
2.6

3.0
3.1

2.7
3.0

1.6
1.5

1.3
1.4

0.3
.2

0.2
.2

1.0
1.3

1.1
1.3

Ordnance and accessories__________ ____
Food and kindred products_____________
Meat products..........................................
Grain-mill products..... ...........................
Bakery products.......................................
Beverages:
Malt liquors_______ ___________
Tobacco manufactures...................................
Cigarettes________________ _________
Cigars..........................................................
Tobacco and snuff__________ _____ _
Textile-mill products___________________
Y am and thread mills............................
Broad-woven fabric mills____________
Cotton, silk, synthetic fiber_____
Woolen and worsted____________
Knitting m ills_____________________
Full-fashioned hosiery___________
Seamless hosiery_______________
K nit underwear................................
Dyeing and finishing textiles________
Carpets, rugs, other floor coverin gs...
Apparel and other finished textile prod­
ucts........................................ ..........................
M en’s and boys’ suits and coats_____
M en’s and boys’ furnishings and
work clothing______________ ______
Lumber and wood products (except fur­
niture)____ ______ ___________________
Logging camps and contractors.............
Sawmills and planing mills....................
Millwork, plywood, and prefabri­
cated structural wood products____
Furniture and fixtures____________ ____ _
Household fu rn iture............ .............
Other furniture and fixtures________
Paper and allied products........................ .
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills___
Paperboard containers and boxes____
Chemicals and allied products___________
Industrial inorganic chemicals_______
Industrial organic chemicals_________
Synthetic fibers________________
Drugs and medicines_______________
Paints, pigments, and fillers..................
Products of petroleum and coal_________
Petroleum refining_________________
Rubber products................... .........................
Tires and inner tubes______________
Rubber footwear___________________
Other rubber products...........................
Leather and leather products___________
Leather_________ ______ ___________
Footwear (except rubber)___________
Stone, clay, and glass products__________
Glass and glass products____________
Cement, hydraulic_________________
Structural clay products.......................
Pottery and related products_______
Primary metal industries............. ................
Blast furnaces, steel works, and roll­
ing mills....................... .............. ..........
Iron and steel foundries..........................
Gray-iron foundries............. ............
Malleable-iron foundries_________
Steel foundries...................................
Primary smelting and refining of
nonferrous metals:
Primary smelting and refining of
copper, lead, and zinc...................
Rolling, drawing, and alloying of nonferrous metals:
Rolling, drawing, and alloying of
copper................. .............................
Nonferrous foundries.............................
Other primary metal industries:
Iron and steel forgings___________

3.0
4.6
6.0
2.1

1.3
3.8
5.0
1.1
2.9

.8
3.5
4.4
2.7

.6
4.0
6.1
1.6
2.6

.3
1.6
1.5
1.4

.4
1.4
1.8
.7
1.4

.1
.3
.3
.4

.1
.2
.3
.1
.3

.4
1.5
2.5
.9

.1
2.3
3.9
.7
.8

5.5
2.1
1.0
3.1
1.4
2.8
3.2
3.3
3.0
5.0
1.9
1.8
2.3
1.2
1. 5
2.0

5.4
1.6
1.2
2.0
1.1
2.5
3.0
2.9
2.8
4.0
2.0
1.4
1.8
2.9
1.4
1.6

2.4
2.0
1.4
2.0
3.2
3.8
3.7
3.5
3.4
4.8
3.6
2.8
5.6
4.2
3.5
1.8

2.5
3.0
1.9
3.7
2.8
3.5
3.3
3.5
3.1
6.7
3.7
1.8
7.3
3.1
3.3
1.3

1.0
1.2
.7
1.5
1.2
1.6
1.8
1.8
1.9
.9
1.7
1.7
1.9
1.8
1.1
.9

1.0
1.4
.5
2.0
1.0
1.5
1.5
1.7
1.8
.8
1.6
1.4
1.5
1.9
.9
.8

.3
.1

.2
.1
.1
.1
.1
.2
.2
.3
.3
.2
.2
.1
.1
.2
.2
.1

1.1
.6
.5
.4
1.6
1.9
1.6
1.3
1.1
3.4
1.8
.9
3.6
2.4
2.0
.8

1.2
1.4
1.2
1.6
1.4
1.7
1.4
1.4
1.0
5.4
1.9
.3
5.7
1.0
2.1
.4

3.6
3.5

3.0
2.6

4.2
3.9

3.6
3.9

2.4
1.2

2.2
1.7

.2
.1

.3
.1

1.6
2.6

1.0
2.0

0
0

3.7

3.3

4.1

3.4

2.6

2.5

.2

.2

1.3

.7

0

5.3
9.9
4.9

5.1
10.6
4.3

3.7
4.4
3.2

3.5
6.3
3.2

2.4
4.0
2.0

2.3
3.6
2.0

.3
.2
.1

.3
.5
.2

.9
.2
1.1

.9
2.0
1.0

3.5
3.9
3.8
4.2
2.9
2.3
3.4
2.1
2,9
2.0
1.3
1.4
2.9
1.3
.8
4.4
3.6
3.0
5.6
2.6
2.7
2.8
3.1
3.2
2.2
4.0
2.1
3.4

4.9
4.8
5.2
3.9
2.0
1.6
2.5
1.7
1.6
1.8
1.2
1.2
2.4
1.1
.7
3.3
2.5
2.9
4.2
2.0
1.5
2.0
3.6
3.6
2.5
4.6
2.0
3.3

4.0
4.3
4.7
3.2
2.1
1.3
3.1
1.5
1.5
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.3
.8
.6
3.1
1.8
3.7
4.3
3.8
4.0
3.7
2.4
3.7
1.3
2.3
2.5
2.0

3.2
4.2
4.8
2.7
2.1
1.4
2.5
1.2
1.0
1.0
1.0
.9
1.3
.7
.4
2.6
1.4
4.5
3.6
3.5
3.5
3.8
2.0
2.5
1.2
2.1
2.1
2.0

2.7
2.7
2.9
2.2
1.2
.8
1.8
.7
1.0
.6
.3
.7
.9
.4
.2
1.9
1.0
2.1
2.7
1.7
1.1
1.7
1.2
1.3
1.0
1.6
1.2
1.1

2.4
2.8
3.3
1.6
1.1
.7
1.5
.6
.6
.5
.4
.6
.7
.3
.2
1.5
.7
2.0
2.2
1.6
.9
1.7
1.0
1.0
.7
1.4
1.2
.9

.4
.5
.6
.3
.2
.1
.3
.1
.2
.2

.3
.5
.6
.3
.2
.1
.3
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.1
.2
.2
.1
.3
.2
.1
.2
.2
.2
#2

.8
1.0
1.1
.6
.6
.3
.9
.6
.2
.4
.8
.3
.2
.2
.2
.9
.5
1.4
1.2
1.6
2.7
1.4
.9
1.9
.2
.2
.8
.5

.5
.8
.8
.7
.7
.5
.6
.4
.2
.3
.5
.2
.3
.2
.1
.9
.4
2.3
1.2
1.5
2.4
1.5
.7
1.3
.2
.5
.7
.7

2.6
5.2
4. 5
6.0
5.6

2.3
5.0
4.8
5.7
5.2

1.4
3.2
3.5
3.5
2.9

1.3
3.1
3.1
4.2
2.2

.8
1.9
1.8
2.6
1.7

.6
1.4
1.4
2.1
1.1

.1
.4
.4
.6
.4

.1
.3
.3
.5
.2

.3
.8
1.2
.2
.7

.4
1.3
1.2
1.5
.8

.2
.1
.1
.1
.1

.2
.1
.2
.1
.1

1.8

2.5

1.0

2.0

.6

1.0

.2

.2

.1

.7

.1

.1

3.3
6.0

2.6
6.1

1.1
3.0

1.3
4.1

.6
1.6

.8
1.8

.1
.4

.1
.4

.3
.9

.3
1.7

.1
.1

.1
.2

3.5

3.6

3.1

1.8

1.5

1.0

.4

.3

1.1

’.5

.1

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

0

0

0

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.2
.1
.1
.1
.2
.2
.2
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0

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950
T able

-

277

B: LABOR TURN-OVER

B-2: Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and Industries 1—Continued

*

Separation
Total accession
Total

Industry group and Industry
M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Quit

Ar>r.
1950

M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Mise., incl.
military

Lay-ofl

Discharge
Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

M ay
1950

Apr.
1950

r

iV

M a n u f a c t u r i n g —Continued
Fabricated metal products (except ord­
nance, machinery, and transportation
equipment)__________________________
'Cutlery, hand tools, and hardware___
Cutlery and edge tools________ -

Hand tools

<•

Hardware______________________
Heating apparatus (except electric)
and plumbers’ supplies___________
Sanitary ware" "and plumbers’
supplies_____________________
Oil burners, nonelectric heating
and cooking apparatus, not else­
where classified__ ______ ___
Fabricated structural metal products_____________________________
Metal stamping, coating, and engraving______ ____________________
M achinery (except electrical)

■
►

Engines and turbines_______________
Agricultural machinery and tractors..
Construction and mining machinery..
Metalworking machinery___________
Machine tools__________________
Metalworking machinery (except
machine tools)________________
Machine-tool accessories_______ _
Special-industry machinery (except
metalworking machinery)_________
General industrial machinery_______
Office and store machines and devices.
Service-industry and household machines _____________ ____________
Miscellaneous machinery parts______
Electrical machinery___________________
Electrical generating, transmission,
distribution, and industrial apparatus____________________________
Communication equipment_________
Radios, phonographs, television
sets, and equipment__________
Telephone and telegraph equipm ent________________________
Electrical appliances, lamps, and

m l seel Ian eons products
T ransportation equipm ent.

Automobiles_______________________
Aircraft, and parts

Aircraft________________________
Aircraft engines and p arts

’

Aircraft propellers arid parts____
Other aircraft parts and equipm ent________________________
Ship and boat building and repairing..
Railroad equipment _______________
Locomotives and parts__________
Railroad and streetcars_________
Other transportation equipment____
In stru m en ts and related products
Photographic apparatus

Watches and clocks_________________
Professional and scientific instrum ents. ______________________ _
Miscellaneous manufacturing in d u stries..
Jewelry, silverware, and plated ware..

5. 5
3.8
2.3
3.0
4.7

4.4
4.0
2.2
3.5
4.6

3.2
2.6
2.2
2.3
2.8

2.9
2.7
2.3
2.0
3.1

1.7
1.5
1.0
1.1
1.8

1.4
1.6
.8
1.0
2.1

.4
.3
.1
.2
.5

.3
.3
.1
.2
.4

1.0
.7
1.0
.9

1.1
.7
1.4
.7

.5

.5

5.2

4.9

3.8

3.0

2.2

1.6

.6

.4

.9

.9

4.5

3.4

3.7

2.6

2.5

1.5

.7

.5

.5

.5

5.7

6.5

3.8

3.3

2.0

1.6

.5

.3

1.2

1.3

2.9

2.8

1.4

1.1

.3

.2

1.2

1.4

2.8
1.2
1.6

1.7
1.0
1.2

.6
.3
.4

.3
.2

1.9
.7

1.1

.2
.3
.3

.2
.2
.3
.2
.1

1.6

1.5

4.5

3.9

10.0
3.5
5.5

5.6
3. 5
5.2

5.5
2.3
4.0

3.2
2.1
2.8

3. 2
4.1
4.1
3. 5

3.3
3. 7
3. 7
2.6

2.9
1.8
1.8
1.0

2.5
2.6
2.0
1.5

1.6
1.2
1.1
.6

3. 6
6.6

2.9
6.7

1.8

4.0

1.7
3. 5

1.2
2.4

3.3
3.1
1.6

3.1
3.3
2.2

2.1
1.9
2.0

2.2
1.8
1.5

1.0
.9

.9
.7

.7

.7

3.3
3. 8
4.2

4.1
3. 6
3. 6

2.7
2.1
2.5

2.0
1.7
2.2

1.5
1.1
1.2

3. 2
4.3

2.4
4.4

2.0
2.9

1.5
2.8

5.6

6.1

3.8

3. 7

1. 1
1.2

.1

1.0
.1
.3
j2

.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
(4)

(4)
.1

.1
.1
.1
.1

(4)
.1

.1

.1

.7
1.2
.7
1.1
.5
.6

.2
.1
.4
.1
.2
.1
.1

.2
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.2

.1
.2
.1
.3
.1
.1

.1

(4)

.2

.1

.2

.7

.2
.6

.8

.7

.3
.2
.1

.2
.2
.2

.7

1.0

.6
1.2

.7
.5

1.1

.2
.4
.2

.2
.3
.2

.9
.5
.9

.4
.5
.8

.1
.1
.2

.9
1.4

.9
1.5

.1
.2

.1
.3

.8
1.1

.4
.9

.2
.2

1.6

1.9

.3

.4

1.7

1.3

.2

.1

1.2
2.1

.4

1.1
.8

(4)

.1
.1
.1

.7

.5

1.2

1.2

.5

.4

.1

.1

.4

.5

.2

.2

5.0
9.1
10.2
2.7
2. 8
2.3
1.1

4.1

2.8
4.3
3.6
2.1
2.3
1.3
1.4

2.0
3. 5
2.1
2.3
2.5
2.3
1.7

1.6
1.9
2.2
1.2
1.3
.8
.6

1.1
1.0
.8
1.1
1.3

.3
.6
.8
.1
.1
.1
.1

.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2

.8
1.7
.5
.8
.9
.3
.6

.6
2.1
.9
.9
.9
1.3
.7

.1
.1
.1

.1
.2
.2
.1
.1
.1
.1

2.6

2.1

2.0
17.7
5.3
2.1
8.7

1.0

.2

.3
.5
.1

.8

3. 9
5.5
5.8
2.6
1.7
2.1

1.7
15.4
5.6
4.0
6.7
6.3
2.2
1.3
2.8

3. 5
1.8
5.9
.3
.4
.2
.4

.9
15.6
3. 8
1.1
6.7
.2
.4
.3
.5

3. 2
4.5
2.6

2.7
3.6
1.4

.2
1.6
.8

.4
1.9
1.7

.1
.2
.1

.1
.1
.1

3.2
2.7
1.9
4.6
2.5
1.7

3.9
2. 8
4.9
4.0
1.4

.4
.4
.2
.8
.5
1.5

.8
1.8
.2
.3
.4
2.1

.3
.1
.1
.2
.1

.2
.3
.1
.1
.1
.1

0)4.8

5.1
4.6
2.7
3.1
1.6
1.5

.7

.7

1.3
.9
2.1
1.2

1.4
.7
1.9

.8
.5
.8

.7
1.5
.9
.6
1.1
.5
.8
.3
.9

1.4
4.1
2.0

1.6
3. 8
3.0

1.0
2.0
1.0

1.0
1.6
1.1

.1
.3
.1

.2
.1

2.4
1.6
1.8
3. 2
1.5
2.8

3.6
2.9
3.3
3. 5
1.7
3. 4

1.6
.7
1.3
2.1

2.2
.7
2.9
2.9
1.2

.2
.2
.2
.2

.4
.1
.1
.2

(5)

5.5
3.2
8.9
1.6
1.4
.8
1.4

(5)

0) .1
(4)

.3

(4)

(')

.3

(4)

(4)

.1

.1

(4)
.1

(4)

.4

.1

(4)
(4)

.1
.1
.1

(5)

.6
.5
.6
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.5
.4
6

(4)
.1
.1
.1

N o n m a n u f a c tu r in g

M etal m ining

Iron_______________________________
Copper.. _________________________
Lead and zinc

Anthracite mining_____________________
P ltiim lnons-coal m ining
. .
Communication:
Telephone.

Telegraph

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

(«)
(5)

1.7
1.3
1.4

«
(«)

1 See footnote 1, table B -l. Data for the current month are subject to
revision w ithout notation: revised figures for earlier months will be indicated by footnotes.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1.3
1.3

.8
1.1

(5)
(«)

(4)

1.0
.6

(4)
.1

.1

1.1

(5)

(0

(4)
(4)

«

* See footnote 2, table A - 2.
* See footnote 3, table A - 2. Printing, publishing,
and allied industries are excluded.

.2
.5

0)

(s)

‘ Less than 0.05.
1 N ot available.

.1
.2

278

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

MONTHLY LABOR

C: Earnings and Hours
T able

C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Employees 1
Mining
Metal

Year and month

Total: Metal
Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

1848: Average............ $60.80
1949: Average............ 61.55

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Iron
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

42.4 SI. 434 $58.32
40.9 1.505 59.06

Coal
Copper

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

41.3 $1,412 $65.81
39.8 1.484 63.96

Lead and zinc
Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
ings
ings hours

Anthracite

Avg. Avg.
Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Bituminous
Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

45.2 $1.456 $61.37
42.3 1.512 64.79

41.3 $1. 486 $66. 57
41.4 1.565 56.78

36.8 $1.809 $72.12
30.2 1.880 63.28

38.0
32.6

$1. 898
1.941

1949: M ay..................
June.............. __
July...................
August.............
September___
O ctober..........
November___
December........

63.72
60.53
58. 75
58.18
58.96
59.63
52. 73
*62.32

42.2 1.510 61.64
40.6 1.491 60.26
39.4 1.491 56.97
39.5 1. 473 57. 32
39.6 1.489 59.15
40.1 1.487 54. 46
35.7 1.477 38. 78
*41.6 *1.498 *58. 85

41.4 1.489
40.8 1.477
38.7 1.472
39.1 1.466
39.3 1.505
35.5 1. 534
26.6 1.458
*40.2 *1. 464

67.37
59.02
59. 43
56.20
58.27
59.20
59. 70
64.26

44.5
39.8
39. 7
38.0
39.4
40.3
40. 2
42.5

1.514
1.483
1.497
1.479
1.479
1.469
1.485
1. 512

66.03
63.27
61.41
59.87
60.34
61.95
61.99
67.68

41.9
40.9
39.9
40.1
40.2
40.7
40.7
43.3

1.576
1. 547
1.539
1.493
1.501
1.522
1.523
1.563

63.63
45.28
66.08
42.80
59.24
75.81
67.94
42.22

34.1
23.4
35.0
23.4
31.8
39.2
35.7
22.0

1.866
1.935
1.888
1.829
1.863
1.934
1.903
1.919

72. 98
59. 90
47.94
49.51
52. 46
63.10
68.17
48.74

37.5
30.7
25.1
26.1
27.0
31.9
34.1
25.4

1.946
1.951
1.910
1.897
1.943
1.978
1.999
1.919

1950: January_____
February____
M arch_______
April.................
M ay........ .........

*63. 71
62. 81
61.81
63.29
62. 38

*42.0 *1.517 *58.68
41.9 1.499 59. 62
41.1 1.504 57. 57
41.5 1. 525 59. 81
41.2 1.514 58.11

*39.7 *1. 478
40.5 1.472
38.9 1.480
40.3 1.484
39.0 1.490

71.96
68.49
68. 58
69. 67
69.58

45.4
44.3
44.3
43.9
44.6

1.585
1.546
1.548
1.587
1.560

65.18
63.38
63. 45
64.17
63.79

42.3
41.7
41.8
41.4
41.5

1.541
1. 520
1.518
1. 550
1.537

44. 60
40.23
80.01
57. 25
68. 48

23.9
20.6
41.5
29.0
34.5

1.866
1.953
1.928
1.974
1.985

47. 36
49.83
78. 75
72.86
70. 01

24.5
25.4
39.2
36.0
34.9

1.933
1. 962
2.009
2.024
2.006

Mining—Continued

Nonbuilding construction
Nonmetallic mining
and quarrying

«

Total: Contract construction
Total: Nonbuilding
construction

Highway and street

Other nonbuilding
construction

1948: A verage.......... $66. 68
1949: Average........... 71.48

40.0 $1.667 $55.31
40.2 1.778 56.38

44.5 $1. 243 $68. 25
43.3 1.302 70.81

38.1 $1,790 $66.61
37.8 1.874 70.44

40.6 $1. 639 $62.41
40.9 1.723 65.65

41.6 $1.500 $68.67
41.5 1.583 73.66

40.0
40.5

$1. 716
1.820

1949: M ay..................
June..................
July...................
August.............
September___
October............
November___
December___

71.78
70.59
72. 54
70.74
72.40
73.87
71.20
71.52

40.6
39.7
40.3
40.1
40.4
41.2
40.0
40.0

1.768
1.778
1.800
1.764
1.792
1. 793
1.780
1.788

58.17
57.82
56.77
57.86
56.68
57. 77
55. 77
55.08

44.3
43.8
43.4
44.3
43.2
44.2
42.7
42.4

1.313
1.320
1.308
1.306
1.312
1.307
1.306
1.299

71.70
71.41
71. 55
72.13
70.73
72.06
70. 12
69. 75

38.5
38.5
38.6
38.7
37.7
38.3
37.1
36.4

1.864
1.856
1.8.56
1.862
1.874
1.881
1.891
1.917

71.42
71.34
72.20
72.56
70.82
72.71
69.90
68.15

41.7
41.9
42.2
42.4
40.9
41.8
39.9
38.3

1. 712
1.704
1.712
1.712
1. 730
1.741
1.754
1.777

67.17
66.52
68.17
68. 55
66. 75
68. 37
65. 30
60.75

42.9
42.3
43.3
43.4
41.6
42.3
40.6
37.0

1.567
1.574
1.575
1.578
1.607
1.617
1.610
1.644

74.43
75.05
75.21
75.69
73. 81
75.83
72. 96
72.76

40.9
41.5
41.4
41.5
40.5
41.4
39.4
39.2

1.820
1.807
1.818
1.822
1.823
1.831
1.852
1.855

1950: January............
February........
M arch_______
A pril................
M a y ________

76.24
71.88
70. 88
76.36
72. 84

41.8
40.0
39.8
42.4
41.2

1 824
1.797
1.781
1.801
1.768

53.36
54. 36
55.37
57.94
59.18

41.4
41.4
41.6
43.5
44.1

1. 289
1.313
1.331
1.332
1.342

68. 01
66. 89
68. 59
70. 70
73.13

35.2
34.3
35.1
36.5
37.5

1.932
1. 950
1.954
1.937
1.950

65.56
66.94
68. 34
70. 75
71.09

37.4
37.8
38.7
40.8
40.6

1.753
1.771
1.766
1.734
1.751

58. 43
61.96
63. 68
66.18
67.98

35.5
37.3
38.2
40.6
41.1

1.646
1.661
1.667
1.630
1.654

69. 57
69. 50
70. 76
73. 54
73.12

38.5
38.0
38.9
40.9
40.2

1.807
1.829
1.819
1.798
1.819

Contract construction *—Continued
Building construction
Special-trade contractors
Total: Building
construction

1948: Average.
1949: Average.

$68.85
70. 95

1949: M ay___
June___
July___
August.

General contractors
Total: Special-trade
contractors

Plumbing and
heating

Painting and
decorating

Electrical work

37.3 $1.848 $64. 64
36.7 1.935 67.16

36.6 $1. 766 $73.87
36.2 1.855 75.70

38.0 $1.946 $76. 83
37.2 2.034 78.60

39.2 $1. 960 $69. 77
38.6 2.037 70.75

36.3 $1.925 $83.01
35.7 1.982 86. 57

39.8
39.2

$2.084
2.211

December.

71.81
71.44
71.28
71.95
70.69
71.80
70. 21
70.26

37.2
37.1
37.1
37.2
36.5
36.9
36.1
35.8

1.930
1.924
1.922
1. 932
1.938
1.944
1.947
1.964

68. 34
67.70
67.33
68. 02
66.64
67.89
66.34
65.99

36.8
36.7
36.6
36.8
36.0
36.5
35.7
35.1

1.858
1.846
1.838
1.848
1.854
1.861
1.856
1.880

76.29
76.43
76. 59
76.99
75.80
76. 51
74.81
75.15

37.7
37.7
37.7
37.8
37.2
37.5
36.4
36.5

2.023
2.026
2.032
2. 036
2.040
2. 041
2. 053
2.057

77.75
77.95
78.08
79.13
79.15
80.32
78.12
80.19

38.5
38.6
38.8
38.9
38.6
38.9
37.5
38.7

2.018
2.022
2. 013
2.033
2. 052
2.064
2.085
2.071

71.93
72.18
72.18
72.51
71.59
71.41
68.88
69.40

36.6
36.8
36.7
36.4
35.7
35.7
34.5
34.8

1.963
1.961
1.968
1.992
2.006
2.001
1.996
1. 997

87.01
87. 02
86.41
87.80
85.80
86. 49
85.28
86.85

39.2
39.3
39.2
39.7
38.8
39.0
38.2
39.2

2.220
2.215
2. 202
2. 210
2. 210
2. 215
2. 233
2.217

February..
M arch___
April____
M a y _____

68. 76
67.00
68. 83
70. 70
73.60

34.8
33.7
34.5
35.6
36.8

1.976
1.988
1.995
1.986
2.000

63. 58
61.60
63. 80
65. 83
69. 41

34.0
32.8
33.9
35.3
36.9

1.870
1.878
1.882
1.865
1.881

73.49
71.00
72. 59
74. 43
77.13

35.5
34.3
34.9
35.8
36.8

2. 070
2.070
2. 080
2. 079
2.096

78.32
75.65
78. 02
78. 49
80. 64

38.0
36.9
37.6
37.7
38.4

2.061
2.050
2.075
2.082
2.100

67.49
67.16
66. 30
66. 70
69.25

33.9
33.8
33.5
34.4
35.1

1.991
1.987
1.979
1.939
1.973

86.88
87.58
83. 62
84.79
86. 33

38.7
38.7
37.0
36.8
37.7

2.245
2.263
2. 260
2. 304
2. 290

October .

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

*

Contract construction *

Crude petroleum and
natural gas production
Petroleum and na­
tural gas production

Hi

279

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Em ployees1— Con.
Contract construction *—Continued
Building construction—Continued
Special-trade contractors—Continued
Year and month

Other special-trade
contractors
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

1948: Average____. $09. 65
1949: Average............ 71.39

Plastering and
lathing

Masonry

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings hours
ings

36.9 $1.888 $69.61
36.1 1.979 68. 72

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

35.4 $1.969 $78. 52
33.8 2.033 80.39

Roofing and sheetmetal work

Carpentry

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

36.1 $2.175 $67.98
34.9 2.301 67.14

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ w kly.
ings
ings hours

37.9 $1.792 $62.47
36.6 1.837 62.86

Excavation and
foundation work

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

36.5 $1. 710 $66.44
35.7 1.759 69.66

38.9
37.8

$1.709
1.844

1949: M ay________
June_________
July
______
August - ____
September___
October______
November___
December.......

72.77
73.02
73.46
73.36
71.58
72.26
70.77
69.18

37.0
36.9
36.8
36.9
36.1
36.5
35.7
34.6

1.968
1.977
1.998
1.988
1.982
1.978
1.984
2.001

70.97
71.23
71.47
71.36
66.31
70.60
71.68
60. 92

35.2
35.0
35.1
35.3
32.9
34.7
35.0
29.8

2.018
2.034
2.037
2.021
2.015
2.035
2.047
2.044

79.88
83.73
84.59
83.13
84.39
81.11
74. 76
77. 50

34.7
35.8
36.0
35.7
36.3
35.0
32.5
33.5

2.303
2.338
2.352
2.330
2.322
2.316
2.302
2.311

67.09
67.00
66.40
66.45
67.22
68. 46
69. 57
67. 89

38.1
38.0
37.0
36.3
35.8
36.1
36.3
35.9

1.763
1.763
1.795
1.831
1.876
1.896
1.915
1.889

63.99
64.20
64. 50
64.53
62.95
65.96
63.73
61.30

36.9
36.9
36.8
36.7
36.0
37.1
35.9
34.1

1.735
1.739
1.753
1.759
1.750
1.777
1.775
1. 799

70.28
71.67
71.93
72.51
70. 58
72. 22
69.46
66.80

39.0
38.9
38.6
38.9
37.6
38.4
37.3
35.4

1.803
1.842
1.863
1.863
1.878
1.882
1.864
1.890

1950: January______
February____
M arch____ _
A p ril,.. . . . .
M ay ________

67.87
64.12
67.76
71.41
74. 80

33.4
31.6
33.1
34.9
36.1

2.032
2.029
2. 047
2. 046
2.072

61.68
54. 29
58. 00
67. 70
71.50

30.0
26.1
28.1
32.3
33.9

2.056
2.080
2. 064
2. 096
2.109

75.57
75. 44
81.09
83. 35
87.19

32.6
32.2
33.9
34.5
35.2

2. 318
2. 343
2. 392
2. 416
2. 477

66. 51
58.66
63. 49
64. 82
66.17

35.7
32.0
34.3
36.5
36.8

1.863
1. 833
1.851
1.776
1.798

58.50
53.64
57. 99
61.64
65. 84

32.3
30.0
31.9
34.0
35.9

1.811
1.788
1.818
1.813
1.834

65.57
62.62
67. 69
72.23
74.04

34.4
33.2
35.7
38.5
38.5

1.908
1.886
1.896
1.876
1.923

Manufacturing
Food and kindred products
îo ia i: ivlanuiacturing

1948: Average_____ $54.14
1949: Average_____ 64.92

Durable goods *

Nondurable goods ‘

40.1 $1.350 $57.11
39.2 1.401 58.03

40.5 $1. 410 $50.61
39.5 1.469 51.41

l utai. VAiuuauw
and accessories

Total: Food and
kindred products

39.6 $1.278 $57.20
38.8 1.325 58. 76

41.6 $1.375 $51.87
40.0 1.469 53. 58

Meat products

42.0 $1.235 $58.37
41.5 1.291 57.44

43.3
41.5

$1.348
1.384

1949: M ay________
J u n e _______
J u ly ________
August______
September___
October______
November___
December___

54.08
54. 51
54.63
54.70
55.72
55.26
54.43
56.04

38.6
38.8
38.8
39.1
39.6
39.7
39.1
39.8

1.401
1.405
1.408
1.399
1.407
1.392
1.392
1.408

57.21
57.82
57.31
57.89
58.69
58.17
56.82
59.19

39.0
39.2
38.8
39.3
39.6
39.9
39.0
40.1

1.467
1.475
1.477
1.473
1.482
1. 458
1.457
1.476

50.41
50.97
51. 55
51.31
52.59
52.47
52.07
52. 69

38.1
38.5
38.7
38.9
39.6
39.6
39.3
39.5

1.323
1.324
1.332
1.319
1.328
1.325
1.325
1.334

59.32
58.72
59.64
58. 44
59.76
59.97
59. 82
60.85

40.3
39.7
40.3
39.7
40.3
40.3
40.2
40.7

1.472
1.479
1. 480
1.472
1.483
1.488
1. 488
1.495

53. 44
53.62
54.69
53.00
53.63
53.83
54.16
54. 57

41.3
41.6
42.2
41.7
41.8
41.7
41.6
41.4

1.294
1.289
1.296
1.271
1.283
1.291
1.302
1.318

56.17
55.87
58.02
56.87
57.78
56.51
60.23
60.98

40.7
40.4
41.8
41.0
41.6
41.1
42.9
43.4

1.380
1.383
1.388
1.387
1.389
1.375
1.404
1.405

1950: January______
February____
M arch___ _
April________
M ay ________

56.29
56.37
56.53
56. 93
57. 72

39.7
39.7
39.7
39.7
40.0

1.418
1.420
1.424
1.434
1.443

59. 40
59. 47
59. 74
60. 97
61.72

40.0
40.1
40.2
40.7
40.9

1.485
1.483
1.486
1.498
1.509

52. 91
53.06
53. 04
52. 21
52.87

39.4
39.3
39.2
38.5
38.9

1.343
1.350
1.353
1.356
1.359

60.70
60.88
61.31
61.43
61.54

40.2
40.4
40.6
40.6
40.7

1.510
1.507
1.510
1.513
1.512

54.94
54. 05
54. 42
54.18
55.02

41.4
40.7
40.7
40.4
41.0

1.327
1.328
1.337
1.341
1.342

60.19
55. 99
56.14
55. 68
57.10

42.9
40.4
40.3
39.8
40.7

1.403
1.386
1.393
1.399
1.403

M anufacturing—Continue d
Food and kindred products —Continued
Meat packing
1948: A verage.......... $59.15
1949: Average........... 58.02

Dairy products

43.4 $1.363 $52.26
41.5 1.398 54.61

Canning and
preserving

Grain-mill products

45.4 $1.151 $42.63
44.8 1. 219 43. 77

38.2 $1.116 $54. 53
38.8 1.128 56.94

Flour and other
grain-mill products

Prepared feeds

44.3 $1.231 $57.23
43.8 1.300 58.91

46.3 $1,236 $51.01
44.7 1.318 54.98

45.3
46.2

$1.126
1.190

1949: M ay________
June_________
July________
A u g u s t._____
September___
October......... .
November___
December____

56.64
56.44
58. 55
57.34
58.31
56.89
61.03
61. 99

40.6
40.4
41.7
40.9
41.5
40.9
42.8
43.5

1.395
1.397
1.404
1.402
1.405
1.391
1.426
1.425

54.47
55.23
55.71
54.72
55.28
54. 76
53.95
54.29

45.2
45.8
45.7
45.0
44.4
44.2
43.9
44.1

1.205
1.206
1.219
1.216
1. 245
1.239
1.229
1.231

43. 65
42.63
43. 59
44.27
44. 79
45.92
41.29
43.26

37.4
38.3
39.7
40.8
40.1
40.0
37.1
36.6

1.167
1.113
1.098
1.085
1.117
1.148
1.113
1.182

55.81
57.84
59.75
57.46
58.92
58.56
55.81
56. 76

43.6
44.7
45.4
44.0
44.3
44.4
42.8
43.1

1.280
1.294
1.316
1.306
1.330
1.319
1.304
1.317

55.90
58.10
61.13
58.70
62. 70
62.88
57. 77
59.54

43.6
45.0
46.1
44.3
45.8
46.0
43.4
44.1

1.282
1.291
1.326
1.325
1.369
1.367
1.331
1.350

55.88
57.36
57.14
55.75
56.57
55.67
54.49
54.10

47.2
47.6
47.7
46.3
47.1
46.7
45.6
45.2

1.184
1.205
1.198
1.204
1.201
1.192
1.195
1.197

1950: January........ .
February____
M arch_______
April________
M ay..................

61.16
56.50
56.92
56.32
57.55

43.1
40.3
40.4
39.8
40.5

1.419
1.402
1.409
1.415
1.421

55.67
54. 88
54. 63
54. 87
54. 98

44.5
43.8
43.7
44.0
44.3

1.251
1. 253
1.250
1.247
1.241

45.15
44.94
44.79
44.29
45.06

38.2
37.7
36.8
36.3
37.3

1.182
1.192
1.217
1.220
1.208

56.46
55. 48
56. 83
55.82
56. 26

42.9
42.0
42.6
42.1
42.3

1.316
1.321
1.334
1.326
1.330

60.03
58.02
58.28
56. 21
57.23

44.3
43.2
43.3
42.2
42.9

1.355
1. 343
1.346
1.332
1.334

53.22
51.37
54. 86
55. 93
55.76

44.5
42.7
44.6
45.4
45.0

1.196
1.203
1.230
1.232
1.239

See footnote* at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

280

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory E m p l o y e e s C o m
Manufacturing—Continued
Food and kindred products—Continued
Year and month

Bakery products
Avg. Avg.
wkly.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

1948: Average___
1949: Average___

. $49.35
51.67

1949: M ay............
June______
July.............
August........
September..
October___
November.
December..
1950: January___
February...
M arch.........
April...........
M ay______

Confectionery and
related products

Sugar

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Confectionery

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Beverages

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Bottled soft drinks
Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

42.4 $1.164 $52.04
41.7 1.239 56.01

41.8 $1.245 $44.00
42.4 1.321 45.12

40.0 $1.100 $41.46
40.0 1.128 42.63

39.6 $1,047 $61.43
39.8 1.071 64.21

41.9 $1,466 5S46.26
41.0 1.566 48.40

44.1
43.8

$1 049
1.105

51.61
52.29
52.62
61.83
52.88
52.29
62. 1 2
52.16

42.1
42. 2
42.2
41. 5
42.1
41.6
41.4
41.3

1. 226
1.239
1.247
1.249
1. 256
1.257
1.259
1.263

55.08
57.93
57.72
66. 63
59.17
63. 71
60.82
54.91

40.5
42.5
42.5
41.2
43.6
42.9
48.0
42.4

1.360
1.363
1.358
1.372
1.357
1.252
1.267
1. 295

42.86
44.76
43.69
45.39
47. 70
48. 52
45.86
45.35

38.1
39.3
38.8
40.2
42.1
42.6
40.8
40.6

1.125
1.139
1.126
1.129
1.133
1.139
1.124
1.117

40.60
42.38
41.39
42.80
44.03
44.83
43.44
42.98

37.8 1.074
39.2 1.081
38.9 1.064
40. C 1.070
41.3 1.066
41.7 1.075
40.9 1.062
40.7 1.056

64.54
65.59
68.79
66.24
64.92
64.40
63.60
63.12

41.8
42.1
42.7
41.4
40.7
40.5
40.1
39.7

1.544
1.558
1.611
1.600
1.595
1. 590
1.586
1.590

48.58
50.20
50.69
49. 88
48. 32
49.37
48.24
46.07

44.0
44 9
44.9
44.1
43 3
4 5 !0
43.7
42.0

1 104
111?
1 129
1 121
1110
1 097

52.07
52. 96
52.75
52. 44
53. 50

41.1
41.6
41. 5
41.1
41. 6

1.267
1.273
1. 271
1. 276
1.286

55.78
55.44
55. 92
55. 70
58.10

39.9
39.8
40.2
39.5
41.5

1.398
1.393
1.391
1.410
1.400

45.59
45. 26
45.19
43. 93
45.40

40.2
39.7
39.4
38.0
39.1

1.134
1.140
1.147
1.156
1.161

42.75
42.60
42.92
41. 59
43. 49

39.8
39.3
39.2
37.6
38.9

63. 52
64. 52
65.16
66. 71
67. 36

39.7
40.0
40.1
40. 7
41.2

1.600
1.613
1.625
1.639
1.635

46. 67
46. 98
46. 72
47. 78
48.40

42 5
42.4
41. 9
42. 4

1.074
1.084
1.095
1.106
1.118

4 3 .1

1 104

l! 097
1 098
1 108
1 115
1 127
1.123

Man ufacturing—Continued
*

Food and kindred products—Continued
M alt liquors
1948: Average__
1949: Average__

$66.40
69.46

1949: M ay.......... .
June_____
July...........
August___
September.
October__
November.
December.
1950: January....
February..
M arch____
April..........
M ay............

D isti led, rectified,
and b ended liquors

Tobacco manufactures

Miscellaneous food
products

Total: Tobacco
manufactures

Cigarettes

Cigars

42.0 $1.581 $54.92
41.1 1.690 57.00

40.5 $1.356 $49.74
39.2 1.454 52.17

42.3 $1.176 $36.50
41.9 1.245 37.25

38.1 $0.958 $44.51
37.1 1.004 46.33

38.6 $1.153 $32.71
37.7 1.229 32.41

37.6
36.7

$0.870
.884

70.85
71.74
75.60
72.02
69.46
69.33
67.52
68.14

42.5
42. 5
43.3
41.7
40.5
40.1
39.3
39.8

1.667
1.688
1.746
1. 727
1. 715
1.729
1.718
1.712

55.39
55.11
56.42
57.14
60.18
58.30
62.28
56. 77

38.9
38.7
39.1
38.9
40.2
39.5
41.3
38.0

1.424
1.424
1.443
1.469
1.497
1.476
1.608
1.494

51.71
51.41
52.33
53.04
52.50
53.38
53.13
53.00

41.7
41.8
42.3
42.5
42.2
42.5
42.1
42.0

1.240
1.230
1.237
1.248
1.244
1.256
1.262
1.262

36. 27
38.57
38.19
38. 58
38.39
37.86
38.46
38.76

35.7
38.0
37.4
38.7
38.9
38.2
38.0
38.0

1.016
1.015
1.021
.997
.987
.991
1.012
1.020

43.98
47.78
48.13
48.90
47.92
46.73
47.81
48.53

35.9
39.1
39.1
39.6
38.9
37.9
38.9
38.7

1.225
1.222
1.231
1.238
1.232
1.233
1.229
1.254

31.63
32.99
32.13
32.81
33. 71
33.45
34.16
32.60

35.7
37.4
36. 6
37.2
38 0
37.8
38.0
36.8

.878
.882
887
.88ñ
8QQ
.886

68.52
69.32
70. 42
72. 72
73. 80

39.7
40.0
40.1
40. 9
41. 6

1.726
1.733
1. 756
1.778
1.774

59.70
58.67
58. 45
57. 59
57. 51

39.8
38.5
39.2
38.7
38.7

1.500
1.524
1.491
1.488
1.486

53. 21
52.65
53. 71
53.32
53. 25

41.8
41.1
41.6
41.4
41.6

1. 273
1.281
1.291
1.288
1.280

39.25
38. 48
39. 49
38. 59
39. 56

38.0
36.2
36.7
35.5
36.6

1.033
1.063
1.076
1.087
1.081

49.15
46.96
48. 65
48. 41
47.99

39.1
37.3
38.7
38.0
37.7

1.257
1.259
1.257
1.274
1.273

33.25
33. 87
33. 71
31.38
34.39

36. 5
35. 8
35.3
33. 0
36.2

.911
.946
. Qññ
. 951
.950

Manufacturing—Continued
Tobacco manufactures—Continued
Tobacco and snuff
1948: Average__
1949: Average__

$37.21
39.10

1949: M ay_____
June_____
July...........
August___

Tobacco stemming
and redrying

Textile-mill products
Total: Textile-mill
products

Yarn and thread
mills

Yarn mills

Broad-woven fabric
mills

37.7 $0.987 $34.24
37.2 1.051 34.20

40.0 $0. 856 $45.59
38.3
.893 44.83

39.2 $1.163 $41. 49
37.7 1.189 40.51

38.1 $1.089 $41. 42
36.4 1.113 40. 55

37.9 $1.093 $46.13
36.3 1.117 44.48

39.6
37.5

$1.165
1.186

November.
December-

37.35
40.30
40.02
40.35
40. 92
39.81
39. 76
41.46

35.5
38.2
37.4
38.1
38.1
37.7
37.4
38.6

1.052
1.055
1.070
1.059
1.074
1.056
1.063
1.074

34.55
38.14
36.22
36.59
34.47
33.82
32.24
36.80

35.0
38.1
36.4
42.9
42.3
40.5
36.1
40.4

.987
1.001
.995
.853
.815
.835
.893
.911

41.91
42.98
43.26
44.37
45. 82
47.04
47.20
47.64

35.4
36.3
36.6
37.6
38.6
39.4
39.5
39.8

1.184
1.184
1.182
1.180
1.187
1.194
1.195
1.197

37. 56
39.10
39.73
40.33
42.07
43.00
43.46
44.08

33.9
35.1
35.6
36.5
37.9
38.5
38.8
39.5

1.108
1.114
1.116
1.105
1.110
1.117
1.120
1.116

37.66
39.32
39.84
40.33
41.88
42.97
43.46
43.98

33.9
35.2
35.6
36.4
37.7
38.4
38.7
39.3

1.111
1.117
1.119
1.108
1.111
1.119
1.123
1.119

40.52
42.09
42.87
44,41
45.74
47.52
47. 76
48.40

34.6
35.7
36.3
37.6
38.5
39.6
39.8
40.3

1.171
1.179
1.181
1.181
1.188
1.200
1.200
1.201

1950: January...
February..
M arch___
A pril..........
M a y_____

40.69
40.04
40.92
41.96
40.98

37.4
36.3
36.8
37.4
35.7

1.088
1.103
1.112
1.122
1.148

37.58
35.34
39. 58
39.14
37.19

41.8
35.3
38.5
38.0
36.5

.899
1.001
1.028
1.030
1.019

47.36
47.88
47. 39
45. 51
45. 63

39.4
39.6
39.2
37.8
37.9

1.202
1.209
1.209
1.204
1.204

43.67
43.84
42. 67
40. 80
41.66

39.2
39.0
38.0
36.4
36.9

1.114
1.124
1.123
1.121
1.129

43.60
43. 88
42.60
40. 65
41.80

39.0
38.9
37.8
36.1
36.8

1.118
1.128
1.127
1.126
1.136

48.16
48.16
47. 72
45. 81
45.85

40.0
40.1
39.8
38.4
38.5

1.204
1.201
1.199
1.193
1.191

September.
October__

S ee fo o tn o te s a t end o f tab le.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

281

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Em ployees1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Textile-mill products—Continued
Year and month

Cotton, silk, syn­
thetic fiber *
Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Woolen and worsted
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Knitting mills
Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly.
earn­ hours earn­
ings
ings

1948: Average........... $44.36
1949: Average......... . 42.89

39.4 $1,126 $52.45
37.2 1.153 51.19

1949: M ay...............
June________
J u ly ................
August______
September___
October.........
N ovem ber___
December.......

39.02
39.78
40.46
42.71
44.24
46.09
46.56
47.19

34.2
34.8
36.4
37.2
38.3
39.6
39.9
40.4

1.141
1.143
1.143
1.148
1.155
1.164
1.167
1.168

47.88
51.64
52.25
51.16
51.94
53. 25
52.51
53.37

36.8
39.3
39.7
39.2
39.5
39.8
39.6
40.1

1.301
1.314
1.316
1.305
1. 315
1 33S
1.326
1.331

40.07
40.73
40.44
41.11
42. 22
43. 68
43.28
42.34

35.3
36.2
36.3
37.0
37.8
389
38.4
37.6

1.135
1.125
1.114
1.111
1.117
1.123
1.127
1.126

1950: January_____
February........
March_______
April________
M ay________

47. 04
47. 07
46. 88
44.70
44.39

40.1
40.2
40.0
38.4
38.3

1.173
1.171
1.172
1.164
1.159

52. 92
52.51
51.00
50. 94
51.85

39.7
39.6
38.9
38.8
39.4

1.333
1.326
1.311
1.313
1.316

41.73
43.38
43. 55
40.60
40. 60

36.8
37.2
37.0
35.0
35.0

1.134
1.166
1.177
1.160
1.160

40.1 $1,308 $41.14
38.9 1.316 41.47

Full-fashioned
hosiery •
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

37.5 $1,097 $52.85
36.8 1.127 52.09

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Seamless hosiery »
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Knit outerwear
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

38.8 $1,362 $30.27
37.5 1.389 31.45

35.2 $0 860 $39.75
35.5
.886 40.96

38.0
38.1

$1,046
1.075

50.87
51.11
50.26
51.56
52.72
55.02
54.86
53.15

36.6
36.9
36.5
37.5
38.2
39.5
39.1
37.8

1.390
1.385
1.377
1.375
1.380
1.393
1.403
1.406

29. 57
30.50
30.61
31.40
31.86
33. 76
33.68
33. 42

33.6
34.7
35.3
35.8
36.0
37.8
37.5
37.3

.880
.879
.867
.877
.885
.893
.898
.896

40.80
40.46
39.93
39. 61
40.69
42. 51
42.34
41.16

37.4
37.6
38.1
37.8
38. E
39.8
39.5
38.4

1.091
1.076
1.048
1.048
1.057
1.068
1.072
1.072

51.53
53.16
54. 25
48.99
49.69

36.6
37.2
38.1
35.6
36.4

1.408
1.429
1.424
1.376
1.365

32.92
34.50
33.29
31.75
31.10

36.3
36.2
34.5
32.8
32.1

.907
.953
.965
.968
.969

41.47
42.74
43.80
43.13
42. 71

37.8
38.3
38.9
38.2
37.9

1.097
1.116
1.126
1.129
1.127

Manufacturing—Continued
Textile-mill products—Continued
Knit underwear

Dyeing and finishing
textiles

Carpets, rugs, other
floor coverings

Wool carpets, rugs,
and carpet yam

1948: Average........... $37. 40
1949: Average............ 36.34

37.7 $0.992 $51.00
36.2 1.004 51.50

41.0 $1,244 $58.13
40.3 1.278 56.80

42.0 $1,384 $58.09
39.5 1.438 56.23

1949: M ay..................
June..................
Ju ly _________
A ugust______
September___
October______
N ovem ber___
December.......

34.04
35.80
36 00
36. 85
38.85
38. 78
37. 71
37.07

33.8
35.8
36.0
37.0
38.7
38.7
37.6
37.0

1.007
1.000
1.000
.996
1.004
1.002
1.003
1.002

49. 49
49.92
48.76
50. 59
52. 31
52. 69
52.91
53.84

38.6
39.4
38.7
39.9
40.8
41.2
41.3
41.9

1. 282
1.267
1.260
1.268
1.282
1.279
1.281
1.285

55.29
51.98
53.78
54.14
56.10
57. 26
58. 57
59.99

38.5
36.5
37.9
38.1
39.2
39.9
40.7
41.4

1.436
1.424
1.419
1.421
1.431
1. 435
1.439
1.449

1950: January...........
February____
M arch_______
April________
M ay________

37. 29
38. 42
38.40
35. 71
35.29

36.7
37.3
37.1
34.5
34.0

1.016
1.030
1.035
1.035
1.038

52.03
53.37
52. 42
50. 93
49. 25

40.3
41.5
40.7
39.6
38.3

1.291
1.286
1.288
1.286
1.286

60.44
60.80
60.99
59.15
60. 61

41.4
41.5
41.6
40.4
41.2

1.460
1.465
1.466
1.464
1.471

Other textile-mill
products

Fur-felt hats and
hat bodies

41.7 $1.393 $47.96
38.7 1.453 47.89

39.7 $1,208 $49.17
38.9 1.231 49.21

36.5
35.3

$1.347
1.394

54.58
49.69
51.98
53. 24
55.40
57.31
68. 67
60.58

37.8
34.7
36.4
37.1
38.1
39.2
40.1
41.1

1.444
1.432
1.428
1.435
1.454
1. 462
1.463
1.474

46.24
47.39
47.66
47.48
49. 56
48. 87
48.18
49.64

37.9
38.4
38.5
38.6
39.9
39. 6
39.2
40.1

1.220
1.234
1.238
1. 230
1.242
1.234
1.229
1.250

47.81
52.67
52. 58
50.41
49. 49
45. 55
45.86
50.55

34.3
37.3
37.4
36.4
35.5
33.3
32.9
35.7

1.394
1.412
1.412
1.385
1.394
1.368
1.394
1.416

61.41
61.62
61.81
60. 48
61.68

41.3
41.3
41.4
40.4
41.2

1.487
1.492
1.493
1.497
1.497

49.80
50.91
49. 75
49. 37
49. 96

40.0
40.6
39.8
39.4
40.1

1.245
1.254
1.250
1.253
1.246

53.44
53.03
44.84
40. 02
48. 72

37.5
37.4
32.9
29.0
34.6

1.425
1. 418
1.363
1.380
1.408

Manufacturing—Continued
Apparel and other finished textile products
Total: Apparel and
other finished tex­
tile products

M en’s and boys’
suits and coats

M en’s and boys’ fur­
nishings and work
clothing

Shirts, collars, and
nightwear

Separate trousers

Work shirts

1948: Average_____ $42.79
1949: Average_____ 41.89

36.2 $1.182 $50.11
35.8 1.170 46.67

36.6 $1.369 $33.20
34.7 1.345 33.30

36.2 $0.917 $33.50
36.2
.920 33.37

36.1 $0.928 $35.31
36.0
.927 34.91

35.7 $0.989 $26.49
35.7
.978 27.44

35.7
35.5

$0,742
.773

1949: M ay..................
June..................
J u ly .................
August______
September___
October_____
November___
December___

39.94
40.11
41.03
41.95
44.01
42.63
40.38
41.82

35.5
35.4
35.4
35.7
36.8
36.5
35.7
35.9

1.125
1.133
1.159
1.175
1.196
1.168
1.131
1.165

46.00
43.86
44.93
44.96
47.90
46.20
44.48
46.64

34.2
33.3
34.4
S3.5
35.4
34.3
32.9
34.7

1.345
1.317
1.306
1. 342
1.353
1.347
1.352
1.344

33.36
32.76
33.03
32.80
33.87
34.35
33.82
33.82

36.1
35.8
36.1
36.4
36.9
37.5
36.8
36.8

.924
.915
.915
.901
.918
.916
.919
.919

34.09
33.19
32.68
32.02
33.21
34.30
34.78
34.52

36.5
35.8
34.8
35.7
36.3
37.4
37.6
37.2

.934
.927
.939
.897
.915
.917
.925
.928

36.37
34.56
33.56
34.63
35. 79
34.13
33.60
34.14

37.0
35.3
35.4
35.7
36.6
35.4
34.6
35.3

.983
.979
.948
.970
.978
.964
.971
.967

25.91
26.80
27.60
27.33
28.19
28.27
28.22
27.58

33.3
34.9
35.7
36.1
36.7
27.1
36.7
35.4

.778
.768
.773
.757
.768
.762
.769
.779

1950: January-.........
February........
March______
A p r il......... .
M ay_________

42.70
44. 48
43. 50
40. 87
41.30

36.0
36.7
36.4
35.2
35.7

1.186
1. 212
1.195
1.161
1.157

47.72
49.88
50.81
47. 06
48.67

35.4
37.0
37.5
35.2
36.4

1.348
1.348
1.355
1.337
1.337

33.63
35.64
35.62
34.94
35.33

36.2
36.4
36.2
35.4
35.9

.929
.979
.984
.987
.984

33.43
35.19
35. 40
34.92
34.81

35.6
36.2
36.2
35.6
35.7

.939
.972
.978
.981
.975

36.47
39.26
39.77
39.41
39.85

36.8
37.9
38.2
38.0
38.1

.991
1.036
1.041
1.037
1.046

27.80
30. 55
30. 43
29. 58
31.15

35.6
35.4
35.3
33.8
35.8

.781
.863
.862
.875
.870

See footnotes a t end o f table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

282

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Em ployees1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Apparel and other finished textile products—Continued
Year and month

Women’s outerwear
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Women’s dresses

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Household apparel

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

34.8 $1. 400 $31. 59
34.4 1. 372 32.23

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Women’s suits, coats, Women’sand chfidren’s Underwear and night*
wear, except corsets
and skirts
undergarments
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

36.1 $0.875 $70. 60
36.5
.883 66. 38

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

35.0 $2.017 $35.32
33.8 1.964 35. 79

1948: Average........... $51. 49
1949: Average.......... 49.69

35.1 $1. 46 7 $48.72
34.7 1.432 47.20

1949: M ay..................
June..................
July...............—
August..........
September___
October...........
November___
December___

45.61
46.33
48. 51
50. 40
53.13
49. 49
45.80
49.13

35.0
34.6
33.9
34.4
35.8
34.2
33.6
34.5

1.303
1.339
1.431
1. 465
1.484
1.447
1.363
1. 424

48. 65
46.06
42.66
46. 21
50.20
46. 98
44.99
47.40

35.2
34.3
33.2
34.1
35.4
33.7
33.3
34.5

1.382
1.343
1.285
1.355
1.418
1.394
1. 351
1.374

34.56
33.03
30.71
30.85
33.08
31.45
31.90
31.23

38.1
37.2
35.1
35.3
37.8
35.9
36.5
35.9

.907
.888
.875
.874
.875
.876
.874
.870

52. 42
59. 91
66.05
67. 61
69. 73
64. 88
58. 38
63.67

30.6
33. 3
34. 1
34. 3
35.2
33.0
30.6
33.3

1.713
1.799
1.937
1.971
1.981
1.966
1.908
1.912

34.57
35.32
34. 52
35. 48
37.24
38.10
37.45
36.36

1950: January......... .
February.........
March---------April________
M ay________

50. 86
52. 63
49. 67
46.20
45.61

35.0
35.9
35.4
34.5
34.5

1.453
1. 466
1.403
1.339
1.322

48. 30
48. 89
49. 37
49. 62
48. 54

34.9
35.4
35.8
35.7
35.1

1.384
1.381
1.379
1.390
1.383

31.38
34. 95
35. 53
35.12
35. 51

35.1
. 37.1
37.4
36.7
36.5

.894
.942
.950
.957
.973

66. 97
69. 83
60. 70
50. 92
50. 36

34.7
35. 5
32.6
28.9
29.8

1.930
1.967
1.862
1.762
1.690

36. 58
37. 52
37. 87
36. 47
36. 39

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings hours
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

36.6 $0. 965 $34.12
36.6
.978 34.08

36.3
36.1

$0.940
.944

35.6
36.3
36.0
36 8
38.0
38. 6
38.1
36.8

.971
.973
.959
.964
.980
.987
.983
.988

32.67
33.10
32. 25
33. 54
35.82
36. 25
36. 27
34. 45

34.9
35.4
34.9
36. 1
37.7
38.2
38.1
36.0

.936
.935
.924
.929
. 950
.949
.952
.957

36.8
37.0
36.8
35.2
35.4

.994
1. 014
1.029
1.036
1.028

34.78
36.03
35. 68
34.10
33. 99

36.5
36. 5
36.0
34.1
34.4

.953
.987
.991
1.000
.988

Manufacturing—Continued
Lumber and wood products (except
furniture)

Apparel and other finished textile products—Continued

Children’s outerwear

M illinery

1948:
1949:

Average........
Average........

$50.22
53. 55

34.8 $1. 443 $36. 72
35.3 1.517 37.06

Fur goods and mis­
cellaneous apparel

36.5 $1.006 $42. 21
36.3 1.021 42.05

Other fabricated
textile products

Total: Lumber and
wood products (ex­
cept furniture)

36.7 $1.150 $38. 49
36.0 1.168 39. 74

38.0 $1. 013 $51.38
38.1 1.043 51.72

Logging camps and
contractors

41.5 $1. 238 $60. 26
40.6 1. 274 61.31

38.7
39.1

$1,557
1.568

46. 48
46.06
51.35
August............ 54.40
September__ 64.40
October........ 53. 68
November___ 43.81
December..... 50. 35

31.9
31.7
34.6
36.1
39.8
35.6
29.5
34.7

1.467
1.453
1.484
1. 507
1.618
1. 508
1.485
1. 451

35.14
36.04
37.09
37. 38
38.18
37.75
36.89
37.07

36.0
35.9
36.8
36.9
37.1
36.9
36.6
36.2

.976
1.004
1.008
1.013
1.029
1.023
1.008
1.024

40.14
42.28
42.18
42.54
44.35
45. 31
43.85
43.57

34.1
35.2
35.0
36.3
37.3
38. 4
37.7
36.8

1.177
1.201
1.205
1.172
1.189
1.180
1.163
1.184

39.97
40 52
39. 61
39. 77
40 86
40.62
38. 73
39. 36

38.1
38.3
37.8
38. 2
38.8
39. 1
37.9
37.7

1.049
1.058
1.048
1.041
1.053
1.039
1.022
1.044

52.94
52.91
50.75
52. 87
52.83
54. 17
52.48
52.66

41.1
40.7
39.4
40. 7
40.7
41.7
41.0
41.3

1.288
1. 300
1.288
1.299
1.298
1.299
1.280
1.275

64.76
64 96
60.20
67. 16
64.08
65.00
61.58
62.13

40.5
40.0
37.6
41.1
40.0
40.6
39.2
39.8

1.599
1.624
1.601
1.634
1.602
1.601
1.571
1. 561

55.11
64. 36
62. 56
44. 55
45.79

36.4
40.2
39.2
30.6
31.8

1.514
1.601
1.596
1.456
1.440

38. 25
40.28
38. 76
35.94
37.73

36.5
37.3
36.5
35.3
36.7

1.048
1.080
1.062
1.018
1.028

40.23
40. 50
40. 76
39. 32
41.66

35.6
36.1
36.1
34.8
35.7

1.130
1. 122
1.129
1.130
1.167

40. 99
40. 84
40. 32
39. 73
40.69

38.2
38.1
37.4
37.1
37.4

1.073
1.072
1.078
1.071
1.088

48.02
50. 55
52. 24
53.36
54. 51

39.2
39.8
40. 4
40.7
40.8

1.225
1.270
1.293
1.311
1.336

50.23
54. 86
62.94
64. 51
67.18

37.4
37.6
38.4
39.0
39.8

1.343
1.459
1.639
1.654
1.688

1949: M a y.................

June_______
July.............

1950: January-..........
February.........
M arch_______
A p r il...............
M ay________

Manufacturing—Continued
Lumber and wood products (except furniture)—Continued

Sawmills and planing Sawmills and planing
mills, general •
mills

1948: Average_____ $51.83
1949: Average........... 52. 37

Millwork, plywood,
and prefabricated
structural wood
products

41.5 $1.249 $51. 87
40.6 1. 290 53.06

41.4 $1.253 $54. 95
40.6 1.307 55.06

Millwork

43.3 $1. 269 $53.40
41.9 1.314 54. 23

Wooden containers

Wooden boxes, other
than cigar

43.2 $1. 236 $41. 57
42.2 1.285 41.90

41.4 $1. 004 $42. 39
40.6 1.032 42.48

42.1
41.0

$1,007
1,036

1949: M a y ................
June.................
July........... —
A ugust______
September___
October_____
November___
December........

53.76
53.56
51.25
53. 53
53.35
54. 54
62.89
52.31

41.1
40.7
39.3
40.8
40.6
41.6
41.0
40.8

1.308
1.316
1.304
1.312
1.314
1.311
1.290
1.282

54.42
54. 21
51.88
54.14
54.04
55. 29
53.63
53. 04

41.1
40.7
39.3
40.8
40.6
41.6
41.0
40.8

1.324
1.332
1.320
1.327
1.331
1.329
1.308
1.300

55.09
55.22
52. 74
54.19
55.66
57.68
56.18
58. 87

41.8
41.8
40.2
41.3
42.1
43.3
42.4
44.2

1.318
1.321
1.312
1.312
1.322
1.332
1.325
1.332

53.29
54.06
53.19
53. 71
54. 91
56. 51
55.94
57.82

41.7
42.1
41.2
41.7
42.4
43. 4
42.9
44.1

1.278
1.284
1.291
1.288
1.295
1.302
1.304
1. 311

41.66
42.19
42.40
42.03
43.04
43.38
42.02
43.37

40-8
403
40.3
39.8
40.6
41.2
40.4
41.3

1.021
1.047
1.052
1. 056
1.060
1. 053
1.040
1.050

42.11
42.82
43.31
42.91
43.89
44. 73
42. 92
43. 95

41.0
40.7
40.9
40.1
41.1
41.8
40.8
41.7

1.027
1.052
1.059
1.070
1.068
1.070
1.049
1.054

1950: January______
February____
M arch_______
April ______
M a y .. _____

47.38
50. 59
51.85
53. 00
54.44

38.3
39.4
40.1
40.4
40.6

1.237
1.284
1.293
1.312
1.341

47. 77
51.17
52. 31
53. 72
55.16

38.0
39.3
39.9
40.3
40.5

1.257
1.302
1.311
1.333
1.362

56.14
57. 04
57. 74
59. 00
59. 36

42.4
42.5
42.9
43.0
43.2

1.324
1.342
1.346
1.372
1.374

56.07
55. 76
56. 49
57.51
57.84

42.9
42.4
42.7
42.6
43.0

1.307
1.315
1.323
1.350
1.345

41.27
42.82
42. 85
43. 66
44.16

39.8
39.5
39.6
39.8
40.0

1.037
1.084
1.082
1.097
1.104

41.94
43.05
43.30
45. 08
45. 21

40.4
39.9
40.2
41.4
41.4

1.038
1.079
1.077
1.089
1.092

See footnotes a t end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

283

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Employees 1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Lumber and wood
products (except
furniture)—Con.
Year and month

Miscellaneous wood
products
Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Furniture and fixtures

Total: Furniture and
fixtures

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Household furniture

Wood household fur­
niture, except up­
holstered

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

41.1 $1.192 $46. 76
40.1 1.234 47.04

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

42.0 $1.049 $48.99
40.7 1.085 49.48

1949: May...................
June_________
July_________
A ugust______
September___
October______
November___
December.........

44.08
43.68
43.02
43.52
43.96
45. 14
44.96
44. 54

40.7
40.0
39.4
40.0
40.0
41.0
40.8
40.9

1.083
1.092
1.092
1.088
1.099
1. 101
1.102
1.089

47. 59
48. 36
47.86
49.69
50.72
51. 42
50. 72
52. 50

38.5
39.0
38.6
40.4
41.0
41 7
41.2
42.2

1.236
1.240
1.240
1.230
1.237
1.233
1.231
1.244

44.92
45.70
44.80
47.23
48. 74
49.74
48. 86
50.88

38.0
38.6
38.0
40.3
41.1
41.9
41.3
42.4

1.182
1.184
1.179
1.172
1.186
1. 187
1.183
1.200

1950: January_____
February____
March_______
April..............
M ay________

43.85
44.69
44.91
45. 37
44.89

40.3
40.3
40.5
40.8
40.3

1.088
1.109
1.109
1.112
1.114

51.13
52.29
52.17
51.67
51.42

41.1
41.7
41.7
41.3
41.2

1.244
1. 254
1. 251
1.251
1.248

49.36
50. 87
50. 70
49.89
50.09

41.2
41.9
41.9
41.2
41.4

1.198
1.214
1. 210
1.211
1.210

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
ings
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Mattresses and bedsprings
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

41.2 $1.064 $50. 33
40.0 1.092 50.18

40.1 $1. 255 $50.85
38.9 1.290 51.69

40.1
39.7

$1. 268
1.302

41.54
42.09
41.06
43.17
44.17
46.15
46.60
47.10

37.9
38.4
37.7
40.2
40.9
42.3
42.4
42.7

1.096
1.096
1.089
1.074
1.080
1.091
1.099
1.103

46.54
47.39
46.87
49. 82
52. 07
53. 83
55. 53
57.68

36.5
37.2
36.7
39.2
40.3
41. 5
42.1
43.3

1.275
1.274
1.277
1.271
1.292
1.297
1.319
1.332

49. 43
52.00
51.21
53.94
57.13
54.18
45.97
53. 85

38.2
40.0
39.7
41.4
42.6
41.2
36.4
40.7

1.294
1.300
1.290
1.303
1.341
1.315
1.263
1.323

46.08
46.70
47. 21
46. 40
47. 07

41.7
42.0
42.3
41.5
42.1

1.105
1.112
1.116
1.118
1.118

52.78
54. 95
54.60
54. 59
54.81

40.2
41.5
40.9
40.8
40.9

1.313
1.324
1.335
1.338
1.340

54. 54
57. 43
57. 03
54. 32
53.95

40.7
41.8
41.6
40.0
39.7

1.340
1.374
1.371
1.358
1.359

40.8 $1.146 $43. 84
39.8 1.182 43.68

1948: Average_____ $44.06
1949: Average......... - 44.16

Wood household fur­
niture, upholstered

Manufacturing—Continued
Furniture and fix­
tures—Continued

Other furniture and
fixtures

Printing, publishing,
and allied indus­
tries

Paper and allied products

Total: Paper and al­
lied products

Pulp, paper, and
paperboard mills

Paperboard contain­
ers and boxes

Other paper and al­
lied products

41.7 $1. 222 $49. 48
41.2 1.273 51.07

42.8 $1,291 $59. 88
41.7 1.342 59.83

44.0 $1. 361 $50.96
42.4 1.411 52.45

53.73
54.54
55.57
56.26
57.64
58.36
58.31
58.09

40.4
40. 7
41.1
41.8
42 6
43.1
43.0
42.9

1.330
1 340
1.352
1.346
1.353
1.354
1.356
1.354

57.58
67.95
59.65
60.32
61.06
62.10
62.09
62.09

41.1
41.1
41.8
42.6
43.0
43.7
43.6
43.6

1.401
1.410
1.427
1.416
1.420
1.421
1.424
1.424

49. 49
51.38
51.63
53.00
55.30
56.20
56. 20
55. 21

39.4
40.3
40.4
41.5
42.9
43.5
43.5
42.9

1.256
1.275
1.278
1.277
1.289
1 292
1.292
1.287

49. 51
50.13
50.90
50.82
52. 49
52. 54
52.11
51.99

57.56
57.80
58.06
58. 25
58.08

42.2
42.5
42.6
42.3
42.3

1.364
1.360
1.363
1.377
1.373

61.62
61.71
61.89
62. 51
61.86

43.0
43.4
43.4
43.2
43.2

1.433
1.422
1.426
1.447
1.432

53.57
54.17
54. 77
54.16
54.87

41.4
41.7
42.0
41.5
41.6

1.294
1.299
1.304
1.305
1.319

52.69
53. 03
53.20
53. 36
53. 22

1948: A verage.......... $54. 59
1949: Average_____ 55.47

41.7 $1.309 $55. 25
40.7 1.363 55. 96

1949: M ay________
Jun e_________
J u l y ............. .
August______
September___
O cto b er..........
November___
December____

54.13
54 86
55.44
55.94
55.91
55 91
55.90
56. 65

39.8
40 1
40.2
40.8
40.9
41.2
41.1
41.5

1.360
1.368
1.379
1.371
1.367
1. 357
1.360
1.365

1950: January_____
February____
March_______
April _______
M ay____ . . .

56.13
56.28
56.14
56.39
55.05

41.0
41.2
41.1
41.4
40.6

1.369
1.366
1.366
1.362
1.356

Total: Printing, pub­
lishing, and allied
industries

41.3 $1.198 $66.73
40.6 1.258 70.28

39.3
38.7

$1.698
1.816

39.8
40.2
40.4
40.3
41.3
41.4
41.0
41.1

1.244
1.247
1.260
1.261
1.271
1. 269
1.271
1.265

70. 40
70.47
70.45
70.69
72.02
71. 22
70. 91
72.27

38.7
38.7
38.6
38.5
39.1
38.6
38.6
39.3

1.819
1.821
1.825
1.836
1.842
1. 845
1.837
1.839

41.2
41.4
41.5
41.3
41.1

1.279
1.281
1.282
1.292
1.295

70.49
70. 75
72.14
72.18
72.68

38.5
38.2
38.6
38.6
38.7

1.831
1. 852
1.869
1.870
1.878

Manufacturing—Continued
Printing, publishing, and allied industries—Continued
Newspapers

Books

Periodicals
40.6 $1. 713 $57.43
38.9 1.805 61.07

Commercial printing

38.7 $1. 484 $66. 33
38.6 1.582 69.44

40.3 $1.646 $64.15
39.7 1.749 69.17

1948: Average_____ $74.00
1949: Average_____ 78. 37

37.6 $1. 968 $69. 55
37.3 2.101 70. 21

1949: M ay___ _____
June________
July............
August______
September___
O ctober_____
November___
December.......

80.02
78.73
78.02
77.80
80.14
80.06
79.05
81. 50

37.8
37.4
37.1
36.8
37.5
37.5
37.2
38.1

2.117
2.105
2.103
2.114
2.137
2.135
2.125
2.139

68.62
68.91
70.21
70.90
74. 20
71.00
70. 21
70.67

38.4
38.8
38.6
39.0
40.0
38.8
38.6
38.7

1.787
1.776
1.819
1.818
1. 855
1.830
1.819
1.826

60.53
59.50
60.87
63.30
65.17
62. 48
61.05
61.83

38.7
37.8
38.5
39.1
40.3
39.0
37.8
38.5

1.564
1.574
1.581
1.619
1.617
1.502
1.615
1.606

69.51
70.80
70.05
69. 66
70.22
69. 84
69.36
71.17

39.7
40.0
39.8
39.6
39.9
39.5
39.3
40.3

1.751
1.770
1.760
1.759
1.760
1.768
1.765
1.766

1950: January_____
February____
March_______
A p r il___ _
M ay_______

76.43
76.38
78. 42
79. 77
81.02

36.5
36.3
36.8
37.1
37.3

2.094
2.104
2.131
2.150
2.172

69.94
72.15
74.12
72. 65
72.06

38.6
39.3
39.7
39.1
38.7

1.812
1.836
1.867
1. 858
1.862

61.76
60. 50
62. 79
64.05
64. 25

38.1
37.3
38.5
39.2
39.2

1.621
1.622
1.631
1.634
1.639

70.80
70.70
71.56
70.84
71.72

40.0
39.3
39.6
39.4
39.8

1.770
1.799
1.807
1.798
1.802

See footnotes a t end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Lithographing

Other printing and
publishing

39.5 $1. 624 $59. 93
39.3 1.760 62.66

39.3
38.7

$1. 525
1.619

67.86
68. 87
67.75
71.22
73.71
73. 12
72.36
70.89

38.6
39.0
38.3
39.5
40.7
40.6
40.7
40.6

1.758
1.766
1.769
1.803
1.811
1.801
1.778
1.746

61.62
61.75
62.89
63.24
63.09
62. 05
63. 73
64. 59

38.2
38.4
38.7
38.4
38.8
37.7
39.0
39.6

1.613
1.608
1.625
1.647
1.626
1 646
1.634
1.631

69.03
70.07
71.34
71.62
71.91

38.5
38.8
39.2
39.2
39.6

1.793
1.806
1.820
1.827
1.816

64.48
64.77
65.16
64.41
63.46

39.2
38.9
38.9
38.8
38.3

1.645
1.665
1.675
1.660
1.657

284

G: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Employees 1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Chemicals and allied products
Year and month

Total: Chemicals
and allied products
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Industrial inorganic
chemicals

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Industrial organic
chemicals

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Plastics, except syn­
thetic rubber
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Synthetic rubber
Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

Synthetic fibers

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

1948: Average.......... $56. 23
1949: Average........... 58.63

41.5 $1.355 $62.13
41.0 1.430 63.90

40.9 $1.519 $57.69
40.6 1.574 60.83

40.4 $1. 428 $58. 75
39.5 1.540 60. 36

41.4 $1. 419 $62. 88
40.4 1.494 66.74

39.9 $1. 576 $53.05
39.8 1.677 55.20

39.5
38.6

$1. 343
1.430

1949: M ay.................
June________
July..................
A ugust.......... .
September___
October______
November___
December___

58.20
59.08
59.44
58. 77
59. 66
59.51
59. 43
59. 78

40.7
40.8
40.6
40.5
41.4
41.7
41.5
41.6

1.430
1.448
1.464
1.451
1.441
1.427
1.432
1.437

62.59
65. 41
64.00
63.20
64.96
64.55
64.68
64. 99

40.2
41.4
40.3
40.1
40.7
40.8
40.6
40.8

1. 557
1. 580
1.588
1. 576
1.596
1.582
1.593
1. 593

60.09
60.56
61.50
60.68
62.33
62.20
62.44
62.75

39.2
39.2
39.3
39.2
39.8
39.9
40.0
40.2

1.533
1.545
1.565
1.548
1.566
1.559
1.561
1.561

58.21
59.68
59. 78
59.56
62.45
62.13
61.80
61. 55

39.2
39.6
39.8
40.0
41.3
41.2
40.9
40.9

1.485
1. 507
1.502
1.489
1.512
1.508
1.511
1.505

67.02
67.07
68. 21
67. 62
67.97
68.99
67. 78
68.27

39.8
39.9
39.0
39.8
39.7
40.7
40.2
40.3

1.684
1.681
1.749
1.699
1.712
1.695
1.686
1.694

55. 32
54.63
55.13
54. 02
55.96
55.63
56.20
56.37

38.5
38.2
38.1
37.7
38.7
38.9
39.3
39.5

1.437
1. 430
1.447
1. 433
1.446
1.430
1.430
1.427

1950: January............
February____
M arch........ .
April________
M a y .. ______

60.05
59. 96
60.09
60. 52
61.22

41.3
41.1
41.1
41.2
41.2

1.454
1.459
1.462
1.469
1.486

64.64
65.12
65.48
65. 77
65. 81

40.2
40.7
40.8
40.9
40.7

1.608
1.600
1.605
1.608
1.617

63. 63
62.64
62. 56
63.12
63.95

40.3
40.0
40.0
40.1
40.5

1.579
1.566
1.564
1. 574
1.579

63. 84
61.96
62.36
62.53
63.28

42.0
40.9
41.0
41.0
41.2

1.520
1. 515
1.521
1.525
1. 536

68. 48
68. 22
68. 93
70.96
70.48

39.7
40.2
40.5
41.4
41.0

1.725
1.697
1.702
1.714
1.719

56.45
55. 99
55. 97
56. 52
57.35

39.2
39.1
39.0
38.9
39.5

1.440
1. 432
1.435
1.453
1.452

M anufacturing—0 on tinued
Chemicals and allied products—Continued
and
Drugs and medicines Paints, pigments,
fillers
1948: Average__
1949: A verage....

$53.71
56.60

1949: M ay............
June............
J u ly .......... .
August___
September.
October__
November.
December.
1950: January__
February...
March____
April.........
M a y ...........

Vegetable and animal Other chemicals and
oils and fats
allied products

Fertilizers

40.6 $1.323 $58. 40
40.4 1.401 59.78

42.2 $1.384 $42.33
41.0 1.458 44. 72

56.68
56.28
56.40
56. 32
56.96
57.16
57.51
57. 21

40.4
40.2
40.0
40.0
40.4
40.6
40.7
40.6

1.403
1.400
1.410
1.408
1.410
1.408
1.413
1.409

59.22
59.90
59.31
59.51
60.88
60.90
60. 43
60.80

40.7
41.2
40.9
41.1
41.5
41.4
41.0
41.0

1.455
1.454
1.450
1.448
1.467
1.471
1.474
1.483

46.67
46.58
46.87
45.21
44.99
43.66
43.20
44.76

42.7
42.5
42.3
41.1
40.9
40.8
40.3
41.1

1.093
1.096
1.108
1.100
1.100
1.070
1.072
1.089

57.37
58.04
58.53
58.67
58.87

40.6
40.7
40.9
40.8
40.8

1.413
1.426
1.431
1.438
1.443

61.21
61.98
62.38
62.83
63.51

41.0
41.4
41.7
41.8
42.2

1.493
1.497
1.496
1.503
1.505

44.80
44.40
44. 84
46.31
47.96

40.8
40.7
41.1
41.8
41.7

1.098
1.091
1.091
1.108
1.150

41.5 $1.020 $50. 39
41.6 1.075 51.12

Soap and glycerin

47.4 $1.063 $57. 90
47.2 1.083 60.67

41.3 $1.402 $65. 90
40.8 1.487 66.54

42.0
40.9

$1. 569
1.627

51.30
52.12
52.69
52.30
51. 02
51.08
51.24
50.86

45.8
45.2
44.5
44.7
48.0
49.5
49.7
49.0

1.120
1.153
1.184
1.170
1.063
1.032
1.031
1.038

59.89
60.94
61.32
61. 02
62.12
62.57
61.58
62.02

40.6
40.9
40.8
40.9
41.3
41.6
41.0
41.1

1.475
1.490
1.503
1. 492
1.504
1.504
1.502
1.509

65.37
66.34
67.56
66. 79
68.30
68.97
67.20
67. 56

40.5
40.9
40.8
41.1
41.7
41.9
41.0
40.7

1.614
1.622
1.656
1. 625
1.638
1.646
1.639
1.660

49.89
50. 71
50. 82
51. 57
52.82

47.2
45.2
44.5
44.3
44.2

1.057
1.122
1.142
1.164
1.195

62.79
62.62
62.87
62.69
62.47

41.2
41.2
41.2
41.3
41.1

1.524
1.520
1.526
1.518
1.520

68.14
68.51
69. 50
68. 88
68.86

40.9
41.1
41.2
40.9
40.7

1.666
1.667
1.687
1. 684
1.692

Manufacturing—Continued
Products of petroleum and coal
Total: Products of
petroleum and coal

Petroleum refining

1948: Average_____ $69. 23
1949: Average_____ 72.36

40.7 $1.701 $72.06
40.4 1.791 75.33

1949: M ay_________
J u n e ................
July..................
August.............
September___
October______
November___
December.......

72.12
71.84
73.59
72.38
74.47
74.09
72.12
71.74

40.7
40.2
40.7
40.3
41.1
41.0
40.0
39.9

1.772
1.787
1.808
1. 796
1.812
1.807
1.803
1.798

1950: January_____
February____
M arch__ ____
April________
M ay.......... .......

73.79
71.64
71.54
73.73
73.32

40.7
39.8
39.7
40.8
40.6

1.813
1.800
1.802
1.807
1.806

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Rubber products

petroleum and
Coke and byproducts Other
coal products

Total: Rubber
products

Tires and inner tubes

40.3 $1.788 $58.56
40.2 1.874 61.07

39.7 $1. 475 $60. 59
39.3 1. 554 61.18

44.1 $1. 374 $56. 78
42.9 1.426 57.79

39.0 $1. 456 $62.16
38.3 1.509 63.26

37.2
36.4

$1.671
1.738

75.21
74.73
76.60
75.10
77.11
76.13
75.44
74.83

40.5
39.9
40.4
39.8
40.5
40.3
40.0
39.7

1.857
1.873
1.896
1.887
1.904
1.889
1.886
1.885

60.83
61.00
61.47
60.79
61.43
61.50
57.09
61.11

39.6
39.2
39.2
39.4
39.1
39.5
36.2
39.4

1.536
1.566
1.568
1. 543
1.571
1.557
1.577
1.551

60.09
60. 54
62.03
63. 26
67.43
67.36
62.36
59.14

42.8
43.0
43.9
44.3
46.6
45.7
42.8
41.3

1.404
1.408
1. 413
1.428
1.447
1.474
1.457
1.432

57.08
58. 29
58.37
57. 72
61.01
59. 57
57.91
59.04

37.7
38.2
38.4
38.3
40.3
39.4
38.4
39.2

1.514
1.526
1.520
1. 507
1.514
1.512
1.508
1.506

63.20
64.09
64.45
62. 32
69.95
64.83
63.91
64.79

36.3
36.6
36.6
36.0
39.1
37.3
36.9
37.3

1.741
1.751
1.761
1.731
1.789
1.738
1.732
1.737

77.41
74.84
74.88
76.99
75.77

40.7
39.6
39.6
40.5
39.9

1.902
1.890
1.891
1.901
1.899

61.93
61.17
58.90
62.60
61.89

39.8
39.8
38.1
40.0
39.8

1.556
1.537
1.546
1. 565
1.555

58.56
58.94
60.00
63.29
67.83

41.3
41.3
41.9
43.5
45.4

1.418
1.427
1.432
1.455
1.494

60.52
59.90
59.70
61.80
64.40

39.4
39.2
39.3
40.0
41.1

1.536
1.528
1.519
1.545
1.567

67. 70
67.22
65.26
69.23
74.68

38.4
38.3
37.4
39.0
41.1

1.763
1,755
1.745
1.775
1.817

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

285

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Em ployees1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued

Rubber products—Continued
Year and month

Rubber footwear

Leather and leather products

Leather and
Otherrubberproducts Total:
leather products

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly. wkly.
hrly.
earn­ hours earn­ earn­ wkly.
earn­
ings
ings ings hours ings

1948: Average........... $51.75
1949: Average........... 48.94
1949: May............ 48.39
June.................. 60.36
July............. 48. 84
August______ 48. 78
September___ 51. 71
October______ 49.81
November___ 50.51
December____ 50. 23
1950: January............ 45.87
February____ 43. 06
M arch_______ 51.04
April________ 50.36
M ay ------ ------ 50. 20

41.8 $1,238
38.6 1.268
38.5 1.257
39.4 1.278
38.7 1.262
38.9 1. 254
40.4 1.280
39.1 1.274
39.9 1.266
39.8 1.262
35.7 1. 285
34.2 1.259
40.0 1.276
39. 5 1.275
39.4 1.274

$52.47

54.38
52.51
53.85
54.11
55.46
56. 50
57.06
54.04
55.66
57.04
56.43
56.16
57. 21
57.60

40.3
40.1
39.1
39.8
40.2
40.6
41.3
41.5
39.5
40.9
41.3
41.1
40.9
41.1
41.5

Otherleatherproducts

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly. wkly.
hrly. wkly.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ hours earn­ earn­ wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly. earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings ings hours ings ings hours ings ings hours

$1. 302 $41.66

1.356
1.343
1.353
1.346
1.366
1.368
1.375
1.368
1.361
1.381
1.373
1.373
1.392
1.388

Footwear (except
rubber)

Leather

41.61
40.05
41.46
41.74
42.00
41.99
41.72
40.08
42.03
42.90
44.08
44.15
42.07
41.68

37.2
36.6
35.1
36.5
37.0
37.2
36.8
36.5
35.1
37.1
37.7
38.1
37.9
35.9
35.5

$1.120 $53. 26 39.6 $1. 345 $39. 71
1.137 54.11 38.9 1.391 39. 35

1.141
1.136
1.128
1.129
1.141
1.143
1.142
1.133
1.138
1.157
1.165
1.172
1.174

53.03
54.39
53. 19
54.34
54.76
55.09
54. 50
55.50
55.34
55. 29
54. 89
54.48
54.98

38.4
39.1
38.1
38.9
39.0
39.1
38.9
39.5
39.0
39.1
38.9
38.5
38.8

1.381
1.391
1.396
1.397
1.404
1.409
1. 401
1.405
1.419
1.414
1.411
1.415
1.417

37.37
39.24
39.93
40.04
39. 74
38.61
36. 40
39.20
40.77
42.22
42.15
39.32
38. 62

36.6
35.9
34.0
36.0
36.8
36.7
36.0
35.1
33.3
36.2
37.4
37.8
37.4
34.8
34.3

$1.085 $40.49

1.096
1.099
1.090
1.085
1.091
1.104
1.100
1.093
1.083
1.090
1.117
1.127
1.130
1.126

41.10
40.11
40.55
40.70
40.83
41. 46
42.72
41.66
42.29
42. 21
42.90
43.73
42.49
42.51

37.7
37.5
36.4
36.6
37.1
37.6
38.0
38.8
37.8
38.2
38.1
38.2
38.7
37.4
37.0

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings
$1,074

1.096
1.102
1.108
1.097
1.086
1.091
1.101
1.102
1.107
1.108
1.123
1.130
1.136
1.149

Manufacturing—Continued

Stone, clay, and glass products .
Total: Stone, clay,
and glass products

1948: Average_____ $53. 46
1949: Average_____ 54. 45
1949: May______ 53.90
June.................. 53. 58
July............. 52. 94
August______ 54.17
September___ 54.73
October______ 55.51
November___ 55. 28
December....... 55. 65
1950: January........ . 55.32
February____ 55. 56
March_______ 55. 70
April............... . 56. 56
M ay ________ 57.32

40.9
39.8
39.6
38.4
38.7
39.6
39.6
40.4
40.0
40.3
39.8
40.0
40.1
40.4
40.8

Glass and glass
products

Glass containers

$1. 307 $54. 06 39.2 $1,379 $52.05

1.368
1.361
1.360
1.368
1.368
1.382
1.374
1.382
1.381
1.390
1.389
1.389
1.400
1.405

56.71
56.81
55. 98
55.22
56.08
55.89
57.04
57.19
58.16
59. 31
59.36
59.35
59.66
59. 79

39.0
39.1
38.9
37.9
39.0
38.2
39.5
39.2
39.7
39.7
40.0
40.1
40.2
40.4

1.454
1.453
1.439
1.457
1. 438
1.463
1.444
1.459
1.465
1.494
1.484
1.480
1.484
1.480

53.80
54.53
54.30
54.12
53.58
51.59
54.81
54.62
54.23
55.28
54.93
54. 79
55.38
54.98

39.7
39.3
39.8
39.9
39.3
39.6
37.3
40.3
39.9
39.5
39.6
39.6
39.7
40.1
40.4

Pressed and blown
glass

$1,311 $47.61

1.369
1.370
1.361
1.377
1.353
1.383
1.360
1.369
1.373
1.396
1.387
1.380
1.381
1.361

50.30
50.25
49. 08
47.80
49.15
50.53
50. 62
51.28
51.63
51.39
50.90
51.29
50.00
50. 96

38.8
38.6
38.3
37.9
36.6
38.1
38.9
39.0
38.7
39.5
38.9
39.0
39.3
38.7
39.2

Cement, hydraulic

$1,227 $54.76

1.303
1.312
1.295
1.306
1.290
1.299
1.298
1.325
1. 307
1.321
1.305
1.305
1.292
1.300

57.49
57.68
58.80
58.07
58 36
59.16
59.40
57.66
57.81
57. 55
57.73
57.47
58.84
58. 99

41.9
41.6
41.8
42.0
41.1
41.6
41.6
42.1
41.1
41.5
40.9
41.5
41.2
41.7
41.6

Structural clay
products

$1. 307 $49. 57 40. 4 $1. 227

1.382
1.380
1.400
1.413
1.403
1.422
1.411
1.403
1.393
1.407
1.391
1.395
1.411
1.418

49.73
49.94
49.43
48.86
49. 51
50.04
49.83
49.59
49.92
49.52
49.37
49.90
52.33
53.36

39.0 1. 275
39.2 1. 274
38.8 1. 274
38. 5 1. 269
38. 8 1. 276
39.0 1. 283
38.9 1. 281
38.5 1. 288
39.0 1. 280
38.6 1. 283
38.6 1. 279
38.8 1. 286
40.1 1. 305
40.3 1. 324

Manufacturing—Continued
Primary metal indus­
tries

Stone, clay, and glass products—Continued
Brick and hollow
tile

1948: Average_____ $49. 05
1949: Average........... 49. 57
1949: May............ 49.66
June________ 50.01
July.................. 48.93
August______ 50. 40
September___ 50.68
October............ 51.36
November___ 50.53
December....... 49.39
1950: January............ 47.81
February......... 47.14
M arch_______ 48. 26
April________ 50.98
M ay_________ 53.40

42.5
41.8
41.7
42.2
41. 6
42.6
42.3
42.8
42.0
41.4
41.0
40.5
41.0
42.2
43.1

See footnotes a t end of table.
8954,83-

50-

-7


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Pottery and related Concrete, gypsum,
products
and plaster products

stone, clay, and Total: Primary metal
Concrete products Other
glass products
industries

$1.154 $49. 46 38.7 $1. 278 $56. 49 44.8 $1. 261 $56. 92 44.4 $1. 282 $55.10
1.186 48.85 36.4 1. 342 57.77 43.8 1.319 59. 31 43.8 1.354 54. 72
1.191 48.30 36.1 1.338 55.30 42.8 1.292 59.36 44.8 1.325 54. 05
1.185 46.59 34.9 1.335 56. 20 43.1 1.304 59.98 44.3 1.354 53.72
1.179 42.55 31.9 1.334 57.77 43.8 1.319 60.60
44.3 1.368 52.76
1.183 46.84 34.9 1.342 59.50 44.6 1.334 61
. 39 44.2 1.389 53.69
1.198 46.82 35.1 1.334 60. 30 44.8 1.346 62.62 44.7 1.401
1.200 50. 71 37.7 1.345 60.26 44.9 1.342 61.51 44.8 1.373 555.37
5. 34
1.203 50.97 37.7 1.352 59.85 44.5 1.345
57. 98 42.6 1.361 55.01
1.193 51.16 37.7 1.357 60.12 44.7 1.345 58.11 42.7 1.361
55. 36
1.166 48.99 36.1 1.357 58.16 43.6 1.334 56.80 42.2 1. 346 55.33
1.164 50.00 36.9 1.355 58.55 43.6 1.343 55. 71 41.3 1.349 55.69
1.177 50.37 37.2 1.354 59.13 43.9 1.347 57.48 42.2 1.362 55. 75
1.208 50. 57 37.1 1.363 59.40 44.0 1.350 59.10 43.3 1.365 56.38
1.239 50.43 37.0 1.363 60. 61 44.7 1.356 60.29 44.2 1.364 57. 82

41.0
39.2
38.8
38.7
37.9
38.6
39.1
39.5
39.1
39.4
39.3
39.3
39.4
39.4
40.1

$1. 344 $61.03
1.396 60. 78

1.393
1.388
1.392
1.391
1.416
1.401
1.407
1.405
1.408
1.417
1.415
1.431
1.442

60.08
59.82
58.63
59 45
60.42
58.35
57.48
62.92
63.79
63. 48
62.40
65.04
65. 61

40.1
38.3
38.0
37.6
36.9
37.6
37.6
37.5
36.4
39.4
39.5
39.6
38.9
40.4
40.5

$1. 522

1.587
1.581
1.591
1.589
1.581
1.607
1.556
1.579
1. 597
1.615
1.603
1.604
1.610
1.620

G: EARNINGS AND HOURS

286

MONTHLY LABOR

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Em ployees1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Primary metal industries—Continued

Year and month

Blast furnaces, steel
works, and rolling
mills
Avg. Avg.
wkiy. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

1948: Average_____ $62. 41
1949: Average_____ 63.04

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Iron and steel
foundries
Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

39.5 $1. 580 $58.45
38.3 1.646 55.09

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Malleable-iron
foundries

Gray-iron foundries

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

40.7 $1. 436 $57. 46
37.2 1. 481 54. 38

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Steel foundries

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

P rim ary sm e ltin g
and refining of nonferrous metals
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

40.9 $1. 405 $59.19
37.5 1.450 54. 30

40.4 $1.465 $59. 93
35.7 1.521 56.73

40.6 $1. 476 $58. 22
37.3 1. 521 60.36

41.0
40.4

$1. 420
1.494

1949: M a y ..- ............
June____ ____
J u l y . .. ............
August— ........
Beptember___
October...........
November___
December___

63.24
62.21
59.88
61.33
62.07
55.90
56.48
64.65

38.7
37.7
36.4
37.6
37.1
34.0
34.4
39.3

1.634
1.650
1.645
1.631
1.673
1.644
1.642
1.645

52.26
53.47
53. 62
53. 50
54. 39
54. 80
53.83
57. 22

35.5
36.2
36.3
36.2
36.6
36.9
36.3
38.3

1.472
1.477
1.477
1.478
1.486
1. 485
1.483
1.494

50.47
52. 67
52. 63
53.00
55.04
55.96
54. 31
57.25

35.1
36.4
36.4
36.6
37.8
38.3
37.3
39.0

1.438
1.447
1.446
1. 448
1. 456
1.461
1.456
1.468

51.60
53.70
53. 49
53.50
54.01
52.32
51.14
57.41

34.4
35.4
35.1
35.2
35.0
34.4
33.6
37.4

1.500
1.517
1.524
1.520
1.543
1. 521
1.522
1. 535

55.72
54.73
55. 57
54.50
53.41
53.99
54. 66
56. 61

36.8
36.2
36.8
35 9
35.0
35.4
35.7
37.0

1.514
1.512
1.510
1.518
1.526
1.525
1. 531
1.530

61.05
60.71
59.00
58. 39
59. 24
59.87
58.43
59.60

40.7
40.5
39.1
39.4
39.6
40.7
39.4
40.3

1.500
1.499
1.509
1.482
1.496
1.471
1.483
1.479

1950: January_____
February____
M a r c h ____
April________
M a y ________

65.83
64. 81
61.84
65. 95
65. 86

39.3
39.3
37.5
39.9
39.7

1.675
1.649
1.649
1.653
1.659

58.17
59.11
60.33
62.37
63.38

38.7
39.2
39.9
40.9
41.4

1. 503
1.508
1.512
1.525
1.531

57.74
58. 91
59. 81
61.96
63.44

39.2
39.7
40.3
41.2
41.9

1.473
1.484
1.484
1.504
1. 514

59.25
59.25
61.70
63.49
63.40

38.3
38.6
39.6
40.7
40.8

1. 547
1.535
1.558
1.560
1.554

57. 75
59.83
60. 61
62.83
63.49

37.6
38.7
39.1
40.3
40.7

1.536
1. 546
1.550
1.559
1. 560

62.07
60. 24
61.13
61.65
61.98

41.3
40.4
40.7
40.8
40.8

1. 503
1.491
1.502
1.511
1.519

Manufacturing—Continued
Primary metal industries—Continued
Prim ary sm elting
and refining of
copper, lead, and
line
1948: Average_____ $57.14
1949: Average........... 58.99

Primary refining of
aluminum

R olling, drawing,
and alloying of
nonferrous metals

R olling, drawing,
and alloying of
copper

R olling, drawing,
and alloying of
aluminum

Nonferrous foundries

40.9 $1.397 $58.95
40.1 1.471 61.95

41.4 $1.424 $57. 81
41.3 1. 500 58.05

40.2 $1.438 $60. 42
38.7 1.500 59. 29

40.8 $1. 481 $53.88
38.5 1.540 56. 21

39.1 $1.378 $59.96
38.9 1.445 60. 92

40.0
39.0

$1.499
1. 562

1949: M a y .. . ..........June................
July...................
August_____
September___
October .........
November___
December........

60.22
59. 85
57.77
56.76
57.51
57. 47
56.12
57.82

40.5
40.3
38.8
39.2
39.2
40.3
39.0
40.1

1.487
1.485
1.489
1.448
1.467
1.426
1.439
1.442

61.07
60.91
61.10
61.92
62.23
64.45
64. 83
61.87

41.1
41.1
41.2
40.9
41.1
42.4
40.8
40.6

1.486
1.482
1.483
1. 514
1.514
1.520
1.589
1. 524

53. 62
55.17
56.36
58.89
59.65
61.84
63. 57
62.28

36.5
37.3
37.9
39.0
39.5
40.5
41.2
40.6

1.469
1.479
1.487
1. 510
1.510
1.527
1. 543
1. 534

51.92
55.18
57.42
61.26
61.96
64.69
65.44
66.32

34.5
36.4
37.8
39.6
40.0
41.1
41.6
42.0

1.505
1.516
1.519
1.547
1.549
1.574
1.573
1.579

55.30
54.89
55.02
55. 48
55.83
57.41
58. 55
54.67

38.7
38.2
38.0
38.0
38.4
39.4
39.8
37.7

1.429
1.437
1.448
1.460
1. 454
1.457
1.471
1.450

59.01
59.94
60. 57
60 14
61.50
62.33
61.93
63.20

37.9
38.5
38.8
38.6
39.3
39.5
39.1
39.9

1.557
1. 557
1.561
1. 558
1.565
1.578
1.584
1. 584

1950: January_____
February___
M arch______
April________
M a y ________

61.35
59. 00
59. 79
60.42
60.29

41.4
40.3
40.7
40.8
40.6

1.482
1.464
1.469
1.481
1.485

61.16
61. 66
62.25
62.03
62.73

40.8
41.0
40.9
40.7
41.0

1.499
1.504
1.522
1.524
1.530

61.97
63. 29
64. 29
64. 58
67.13

40.5
41.1
41.4
41.4
42.3

1.530
1.540
1.553
1.560
1.587

64.53
66.30
. 96
67. 87
71.32

41.1
41.7
41.9
42.1
43.3

1.570
1.590
1. 598
1.612
1.647

57.37
57. 91
59.54
58. 65
58.97

39.4
39.8
40.5
40.2
40.2

1.456
1.455
1.470
1.459
1.467

62.73
62. 29
63.04
64.03
65.36

39.0
39.5
40.1
40.5
40.9

1.584
1.577
1.572
1.581
1. 598

66

Manufacturing—Continued
Fabricated metal products (except ordnance, machinery, and
transportation equipment)

Primary metal industries—Continued

Other primary metal
industries

1948: Average_____ $63.08
1949: Average......... . 63.34

Iron and steel forg­
ings

40.8 $1. 546 $65.16
39.1 1.620 63.18

Wire drawing

40.6 $1.396 $54.07
39.6 1.460 56.24

40.9 $1.322 $54. 22
40.4 1. 392 54. 82

40.8
39.3

$1. 329
1.395

38.3
38.5
38. 2
38 1
38.4
38.8
37.8
40.5

1.612
1.625
1.620
1.618
1.628
1.622
1.613
1.629

61.96
62. 93
61.28
60.37
60.13
60.06
59. 42
64. 01

37.6
38.0
37.5
36.9
36.4
36.4
36.1
38.4

1.648
1.656
1.634
1.636
1. 652
1.650
1.646
1. 667

60.34
61.44
61.26
61.26
63.34
66.67
64. 55
69. 34

37.5
37.9
38.0
38.0
39.0
41.0
39.6
42.0

1950: January_____
February....... .
M arch_______
April________
M ay. ----------

65.44
67. 28
67.23
67. 61
69. 76

40.0
40.8
40.4
40.8
41.6

1.636
1.649
1.664
1.657
1.677

64. 89
. 94
. 75
. 97
72. 89

38.6
39.4
39.9
40.1
41.7

1.681
1.699
1.723
1.720
1.748

68. 05
71.06
68. 82

40.6
42.2
40.7
41.6
41.7


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cutlery, hand tools,
and hardware

40.5 $1. 535 $56.68
39.2 1.624 57.82

61.74
62.56
61.88
61.65
62.52
62.93
60. 97
65.97

See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.

Tin cans and other
tinware

40.8 $1. 597 $62.17
38.2 1.654 63.66

1949: M a y ________
June..................
July_________
August__ ..
September___
October_____
November____
December____

66
68
68

Total: Fabricated met­
al products (except
ordnance, machin­
ery and transporta­
tion equipment)

69. 85
70. 51

1.609
1.621
1.612
1.612
1.624
1.626
. 630
1.651

56.67
57.39
57. 61
58.13
59.25
58. 51
56. 88
59.66

39.0
39.2
39.3
39.6
40.2
40.1
39.2
40.5

1.453
1.464
1,466
1.46S
1. 474
1.459
1.451
1.473

54.06
55.68
59. 34
61.13
59.00
55.58
53.19
57.16

39.4
40.7
42.6
42.6
41.2
39.5
38.1
40.8

1.372
1.368
1.393
1.435
1.432
1.407
1.396
1.401

54. 51
53. 92
54.33
53.37
55.18
53.40
54.41
56.84

39.1
38.6
38.7
38 2
39.3
38.5
39.2
40.4

1.394
1.397
1.404
1 397
1. 404
1.387
1.388
1. 407

1.676
1.684
1.691
1.679
1.691

59.93
59. 68
59.64
60.52
60.77

40.3
40.3
40.3
40.7
40.7

1.487
1.481
1.480
1.487
1.493

56. 76
56.80
56.98
59.00
59. 60

40.4
40.2
40.3
40.8
41.1

1.405
1.413
1.414
1.446
1.450

57.55
58. 20
58.83
58.83
57.61

40.5
40.7
41.2
41.2
40.6

1.421
1.430
1.428
1.428
1.419

1

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

287

G: EARNING,S AND HOURS

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Employees 1— Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Fabricated metal products (except ordnance, machinery, and transportation equipment)—Continued

Cutlery and edge tools

Hand tools

Year and month

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Heating apparatus
(except electric)
and plumbers’ sup­
plies

Hardware

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings hours
ings

Sanitary ware and
plumbers’ supplies

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

1948: Average_____ $51. 13
1949: Average............ 50. 84

41.3 $1. 238 $56. 07
40.0 1. 271 54.54

40.9 $1.371
38.6 1. 413

54.26
56. 28

40.4 $1.343 $57.53
39.3 1.432 57.04

40.2 $1.431 $60. 40
38.7 1.474 59.79

1949: M a y ________
June________
July_________
August______
September___
October______
November___
December........

49.99
49.88
49. 68
49.87
52. 26
52. 51
53. 12
50.89

39.8
39.4
39.3
39.3
40.8
40.8
41.5
40.1

1.256
1.266
1.264
1.269
1.281
1.287
1.280
1.269

53.95
52.23
52. 25
51. 78
52.82
54. 03
53. 44
55. 04

38.4
37.2
37.4
36.8
37.3
38.4
37.9
38.9

1.405
1.404
1. 397
1.407
1.416
1.407
1.410
1.415

56. 43
56.04
56.67
55. 22
56.88
53. 35
54. 89
59.20

39.3
39.0
39.0
38.4
39.5
37.6
38.6
40.8

1.436
1.437
1.453
1.438
1.440
1.419
1.422
1.451

54.61
54. 72
54.85
57.63
59. 56
61.23
59.32
60.39

37.1
37.3
37.7
39.5
40.3
41.4
40.0
40.5

1.472
1.467
1.455
1.459
1.478
1.479
1.483
1.491

1950: January_____
February____
M arch .-. _
April-M ay________

50. 79
51. 22
53. 07
53.49
52.16

39.9
40.3
41. 2
41.4
40.5

1.273
1.271
1.288
1.292
1.288

55. 92
55. 87
56. 77
57. 36
58.28

39.3
39.1
39.7
40.0
40.5

1.423
1.429
1.430
1.434
1.439

60.19
61.04
61.15
60.71
58.91

41.0
41.3
41.6
41.5
40.6

1.468
1.478
1. 470
1.463
1.451

59. 23
59.59
60.20
60. 33
60. 78

39.7
39.7
40.0
39.9
40.2

1.492
1.501
1. 505
1.512
1.512

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Oil burners, nonelec­
tric heating and
cooking apparatus,
not elsewhere clas­
sified
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

40.4 $1. 495 $55. 80
38.5 1.553 55.45

40.0
38.8

$1.395
1.429

57.55
55.94
58. 64
59. 25
60.14
63. 73
64. 56
65.20

37.2
36.3
38.3
38.5
38.6
40.8
41.2
41.5

1. 547
1. 541
1. 531
1.539
1. 558
1.562
1.567
1.571

52. 76
54. 26
53. 05
56. 82
59. 45
60.01
56.24
57.15

37.0
38.0
37.6
40. 1
41.2
41.7
39.3
39.8

1.426
1.428
1.411
1.417
1.443
1.439
1.431
1.436

62.24
63.54
63.86
63. 91
63.91

40.0
40.5
40.6
40.4
40.4

1.556
1.569
1.573
1. 582
1.582

57.14
56. 76
57. 62
58.56
59.23

39.6
39.2
39.6
40.0
40.4

1.443
1.448
1.455
1.464
1.466

Manufacturing—Continued
Fabricated metal products (except ordnance machinery, and transportation equipment)—Continued
Fabricated structural
metal products

Structural steel and
ornamental metal­
work

Boiler-shop products

1948: Average_____ $58.17
1949: Average_____ 59. 90

41.2 $1.412 $57. 68
40.5 1.479 60. 91

1949: M ay........ .........
June_________
July...................
August______
September___
October______
November___
December____

59. 90
59. 95
59 32
59. 83
60. 59
59. 45
57. 89
60.85

40.5
40.4
40.0
40.4
40.8
40.5
39.3
40.7

1.479
1.484
1.483
1.481
1.485
1.468
1.473
1. 495

60.75
61.13
60.13
62. 32
62.31
60. 97
57.95
63.34

40. S
41.0
40.3
41.8
41.9
41.7
39.5
42.2

1.489
1.491
1.492
1. 491
1.487
1.462
1.467
1.501

59.68
59.00
59. 75
59. 10
60.71
59.82
58. 97
59.18

40.3
39.6
40. 1
39.8
40.5
40.2
39.5
39.4

1.481
1.490
1.490
1.485
1.499
1.488
1. 493
1.502

1950: January.. . . .
February____
March
_ _.
April________
M ay________

60. 30
59. 81
60. 38
61.27
61.58

40.2
39.9
40.2
40.6
40.7

1.500
1.499
1.502
1.509
1.513

61.51
61.01
61. 43
62.24
62.35

41. 2
40.7
40.9
41.3
41.4

1.493
1.499
1.502
1.507
1.506

58. 62
58.45
58. 79
59. 54
59.80

38.9
39.1
39.3
39.8
40.0

1.507
1.495
1.496
1. 496
1.495

41.2 $1.400 $58. 79
41.1 1. 482 59. 78

Sheet-metal work

Metal stamping, coat­ Stamped and pressed
ing, and engraving
metal products

40.6 $1.395 $56. 66
39.7 1.451 58.54

40.1 $1.413 $58.39
39.5 1.482 60.30

40.3
39.7

$1.449
1.519

57.93
57.63
58. 25
57.70
58.32
55.41
57. 98
58.28

39.9
39.8
39.9
39.6
40.0
38.8
40.1
40.0

1.452
1.448
1.460
1. 457
1.458
1.428
1.446
1. 457

57.11
59.35
58.08
60.06
60.78
58. 97
56.38
60.18

38.8
39.7
38.8
39.8
40.2
39.9
38.8
40.2

1.472
1.495
1.497
1.509
1.512
1.478
1.453
1.496

58.69
61.16
59. 59
61.88
63.02
60. 61
57.82
62.18

39.1
40.0
38.9
40.0
40.5
39.9
38.7
40.4

1.501
1.529
1.532
1.547
1.556
1.519
1.494
1.539

58.93
58. 89
58. 39
58. 77
60.26

39.9
40.2
39.8
39.9
40.5

1.477
1.465
1. 467
1.473
1.488

61.02
60. 67
60. 63
61. 23
61.39

40.2
40.5
40.5
40.9
40.6

1. 518
1.498
1.497
1.497
1.512

63.37
62. 35
62.59
62. 97
63.47

40.7
40.7
40.8
41.1
41.0

1.557
1.532
1.534
1.532
1.548

41. 2 $1.427 $56. 64
40.2 1.487 57.60

M anufacturing—Continued
Fabricated
metal
products (except
ordnance, machin­
ery, and transportation e q u i p ­
ment)—Con.
Other fabricated
metal products

Machinery (except electrical)

Total: Machinery
(except electrical)

Engines and turbines

Agricultural machin­
ery and tractors
40.5 $1.496 $62. 05
39.3 1. 555 61.86

1948: Average_____ $56. 88
1949: Average_____ 58. 38

40.4 $1.468 $60. 52
39.5 1. 478 60. 44

41.2 $1. 469 $63. 50
39.5 1.530 63.13

40.5 $1. 568 $60. 59
38.9 1.623 61.11

1949: M s y .................
June____ ____
July...................
A u g u s t...........
September___
October______
November___
December____

56. 44
58.15
59. 05
57. 92
59.15
59. 85
57.51
60.56

38.5
39.0
39.5
39.0
39.7
40.3
39.2
40.7

1.466
1.491
1.495
1.485
1.490
1.485
1.467
1.488

59.70
59. 94
59. 67
59.86
60.44
60. 21
59. 21
61.30

39.2
39.2
39.0
39.1
39.3
39.2
38.5
39.7

1.523
1.529
1.530
1.531
1.538
1.536
1.538
1.544

63.10
63. 58
61.72
62.93
62. 56
62.15
61.81
63. 84

39.0
39.2
38.1
38.8
38.5
38.2
37.9
39.0

1.618
1.622
1.620
1.622
1.625
1.627
1.631
1.637

60.26
61. 78
62.09
61.00
61.39
61.23
57. 61
60.96

39.0
39.5
39.7
39.1
39.1
39.4
37.0
38.9

1.545
1. 564
1.564
1.560
1.570
1. 554
1.557
1. 567

1950: January_____
February____
M arch___
April________
M ay.................

61. 51
60. 47
59.14
61. 23
62.23

40.6
40.5
39.8
40.9
41.1

1. 515
1.493
1.486
1. 497
1.514

61. 57
62. 55
63. 34
64. 33
65.13

39.8
40.3
40.6
41.0
41.3

1. 547
1.552
1.560
1.569
1.577

63.88
63.69
63.96
68. 72
68. 95

39.0
39.0
39.0
41.0
40.8

1.638
1.633
1.640
1.676
1. 690

61.58
63. 24
62. 92
63. 44
63. 92

39.1
40.0
39.6
39.9
40.0

1.575
1.581
1.589
1.590
1.598

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Agricultural machin­
ery (except tractors)

Tractors

40.5 $1. 532 $58. 62
39.2 1.578 59.93

40.4
39.3

$1.451
1.525

60.80
62.57
63.68
62.25
61.69
61.39
58.02
61. 22

38.8
39.6
40.1
39.3
38.8
39.0
39.7
38.6

1. 567
1.580
1.588
1.584
1. 590
1.574
1.581
1.586

59. 51
60. 83
60.13
59. 48
61.03
60.70
57.00
60.48

39.2
39.4
39.2
38.9
39.5
39.7
37.4
39.3

1. 518
1.544
1.534
1 529
1.545
1.529
1. 524
1.539

61.92
64.28
63.92
65.12
65. 97

38.8
40.2
39.7
40.4
40.7

1.596
1.599
1. 610
1.612
1.621

60.91
61.93
61.66
61.00
61.74

39.4
39.8
39.5
39.2
39.5

1.546
1.556
1.561
1.556
1.563

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

288

MONTHLY LABOR

T able C -l: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers or Nonsupervisory Employees 1—Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Machinery (except electrical)—Continued

Year and month

Construction and
mining machinery

Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

Metalworking
machinery

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

42.1 $1,433 $62.94
39.8 1.476 61.11

Machine tools

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

42.1 $1,495 $61. 57
39.5 1.547 59.15

Metalworking ma­
chinery (except
machine tools)

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
ings
ings

42.2 $1.459 $62.98
39.3 1.505 61.85

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Machine-tool acces­
sories

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

42.1 $1. 496 $65. 21
39.8 1.554 64.16

1948: Average____
1949: Average____

$60.33
58.74

1949: M ay.......... .
J u n e ............
July_______
August____
Septem ber..
October........
N ovem ber..
D ecem ber...

58. 67
58.61
56.97
57.00
57.11
57.07
55.90
59.34

39.8
39.9
38.6
38.8
38.8
38.8
37.9
40.2

1.474
1.469
1.476
1.469
1.472
1.471
1.475
1.476

60.72
59.79
59.10
59.87
60.37
60. 41
59.44
61.73

39.4
38.8
38.3
38.6
38.9
38.8
38.4
39.7

1.541
1.541
1.543
1.551
1.552
1.557
1.548
1.555

59.04
57.90
57.00
58.32
58.06
57.64
57.34
59.92

39.2
38.5
37.9
38.6
38.4
38.2
38.1
39.5

1.506
1.504
1. 504
1.511
1.512
1.509
1.505
1. 517

61.61
60.68
59.64
60.22
60.26
61.50
59.48
62.53

39.9
39.3
38.7
39.0
39.0
39.5
38.2
39.8

1.544
1. 544
1.541
1.544
1.545
1.557
1.557
1.571

1950: January___
February___
M arch_____
April______
M a y............ .

60.28
61.36
62.36
63.16
63.94

40.4
40.8
41.3
41.5
41.9

1.492
1.504
1.510
1.522
1.526

61.42
63.86
65.10
67. 41
68. 27

39.4
40.6
41.1
42.0
42.3

1.559
1.573
1.584
1.605
1.614

59.66
61.86
63. 00
64. 56
65. 25

39.2
40.3
40.8
41.6
41.8

1.522
1.535
1.544
1.552
1.561

61.94
66.17
67.10
70.11
69.48

39.3
41.2
41.6
42.8
42.6

1. 576
1.606
1.613
1.638
1.631

Special-industry ma­
c h in e r y (e x c e p t
metalworking ma­
chinery)

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

41.8 $1. 560 $60.62
39.7 1.616 60.57

42.3
40.3

$1. 433
1.503

62.80
62.52
62.38
62.09
65.27
64.85
63. 38
64.08

39.2
39.0
38.7
38.0
39.8
39.3
39.1
39.9

1.602
1.603
1.612
1.634
1.640
1.650
1.621
1.606

60. 57
59.98
60.02
59. 67
60.30
59.88
59.97
61. 72

40.3
39.8
39.8
39.7
39.8
39.5
39.4
40.5

1.503
1.507
1. 508
1.503
1.515
1.516
1.522
1.524

63.64
65.37
66. 95
70.39
72.12

39.6
40.6
41.1
42.2
42.7

1.607
1.610
1.629
1.668
1.689

61.45
61.80
62.26
62. 73
63.51

40.4
40.5
40.8
41.0
41.4

1.521
1.526
1.526
1.530
1.534

Manufacturing—Continued
Machinery (except electrical)—Continued
General industrial
machinery

Office and store ma­ Computing machines
and cash registers
chines and devices

41.2 $1.451 $61.49
39.5 1.507 62. 53

41.1 $1. 496 $66.54
39.5 1.583 67.87

Typewriters

41.1 $1,354 $58.98
39.0 1.437 60.66

40.4 $1.460 $58.29
39.7 1.528 59. 98

39.9
39.0

$1.461
1.538

56.55
56. 76
56.23
54.08
56.74
56.85
56.41
56.44

39.3
39.2
39.1
37.9
39.4
39.7
39.2
38.9

1.439
1.448
1.438
1.427
1.440
1.432
1.439
1.451

59.03
59.66
62. 58
62.48
63.71
60.99
60.49
62.61

39.3
39.3
40.9
40.6
41.1
39.5
39.2
40.5

1.502
1.518
1.530
1.539
1.550
1.544
1.543
1.546

58.86
59.02
62.78
62.91
64.14
59.32
58.01
61.76

38.8
38.5
40.4
40.2
40.7
38.2
37.5
40.0

1.517
1.533
1.554
1.565
1.576
1.553
1.547
1.544

55.77
56.41
56. 47
57.41
58.19

38.7
39.2
39.3
39.7
40.1

1.441
1.439
1.437
1.446
1.451

63.24
63.87
66.14
65. 32
67. 32

40.8
41.1
42.1
41.5
42.5

1.550
1. 554
1. 571
1. 574
1.584

62.16
63.65
66.12
65.18
67.46

40.1
40.7
41.9
41.1
42.4

1.550
1.564
1.578
1.586
1.591

41.2 $1.615 $55.65
39.9 1.701 56. 04

1948: Average........
1949: Average------

$59.78
59.53

1949: M ay..............
June_______
July...............
August..........
Septem ber..
October-----N ovem ber..
D ecember.. .

58.95
59.26
58.16
58.39
59.00
59.72
58.29
59. 96

39.3
39.3
38.8
38.9
39.1
39.5
38.5
39.5

1.500
1.508
1.499
1.501
1.509
1. 512
1.514
1. 518

62.21
62.73
62.45
60.87
62.69
62.53
62.77
64.32

39.3
39.6
39.3
38.6
39.5
39.5
39.5
40.0

1.583
1.584
1.589
1.577
1.587
1.583
1.589
1.608

66.70
67.28
67.86
67.15
67.93
67.89
67.91
69.97

39.4
39.6
39.5
39.5
39.7
39.7
39.6
40.4

1.693
1.699
1.718
1.700
1.711
1.710
1.715
1.732

1950: January-----February—
M arch.........
April______
M a y ............ -

60.04
59.93
60. 93
62.05
63.89

39.5
39.4
39.9
40.4
41.3

1.520
1.521
1.527
1. 536
1.547

63.84
63.64
63.16
63.64
63. 96

39.8
39.9
39.8
40.1
40.1

1.604
1.595
1.587
1. 587
1.595

69. 60
68.84
68.05
68. 56
69.20

40.3
40.0
39.7
40.0
40.3

1.727
1.721
1.714
1.714
1.717

Service-industry and Refrigerators and airhousehold machines
conditioning units

Manufacturing—Continued
Electrical machinery

Machinery (except electrical)—Continued

Miscellaneous ma­
chinery parts

1948: Average-------- $57.62
1949: Average_____ 57.59

Machine shops ()ob
and repair)

40.1 $1.437 $58.77
38.6 1.492 58.70

Total: Electrical
machinery

40.2 $1.462 $55.66
39.0 1.505 56.96

Electrical generat­
ing, transmission,
distribution, and
industrial appara­
tus

Motors, generators,
transformers, and
industrial controls

40.1 $1.388 $58.34
39.5 1.442 59. 61

40.4 $1.444 $59. 55
39.5 1.509 61.30

Electrical equipment
for vehicles

40.4 $1.474 $56.77
39.7 1. 544 59.16

39.7
39.1

$1.430
1.513

1949: M ay________
June________
July_________
A ugust..........
September___
October............
November___
December___

55.35
55.87
55.20
57.29
57.37
58.08
58.50
59. 45

37.3
37.7
37.2
38.5
38.4
38.9
39.0
39.4

1.484
1.482
1.484
1.488
1.494
1.493
1. 500
1.509

57.45
58.72
58.36
58.31
56.44
56.81
55.39
59.67

38.1
39.2
38.8
39.0
37.7
38.1
37.1
39.7

1.508
1.498
1.504
1.495
1.497
1.491
1.493
1.503

55.99
56.16
56.00
56.73
57.88
57.97
57.36
58.63

38.8
39.0
38.7
39.1
40.0
40.4
40.0
40.6

1.443
1.440
1.447
1.451
1.447
1.435
1.434
1.444

58.36
58.55
59.24
59.74
60.22
59.89
59.67
61.67

38.6
38.8
39.0
39.3
39.8
39.9
39.7
40.6

1.512
1.509
1.519
1.520
1. 513
1.501
1.503
1.519

60.06
60.21
61.23
61.62
62.16
61.51
61.06
63. 57

38.9
39.1
39.4
39.6
40.1
40.1
39.7
40.8

1. 544
1.540
1.554
1.556
1.550
1.534
1. 538
1.558

59.80
59.69
60.97
62.79
62.90
59.95
52. 65
57. 90

39.5
39.4
39.9
40.8
40.9
39.7
35.1
38.5

1.514
1.515
1.528
1.539
1.538
1.510
1.500
1.504

1950: January_____
February____
M arch___ __
April________
M ay________

59.64
61.18
62. 01
63.13
62.59

39.6
40.3
40.5
41. 1
40.8

1.506
1.518
1.531
1. 536
1.534

59.86
60.79
60. 42
61.88
63.09

39.8
40.1
39.8
40.5
41.1

1.504
1.516
1.518
1.528
1.535

58.44
58.26
58.44
58.85
59.43

40.5
40.4
40.5
40.7
40.9

1.443
1.442
1.443
1.446
1.453

60.46
60.04
60.51
60. 81
61.50

40.2
40.0
40.1
40.3
40.7

1.504
1.501
1.509
1.509
1.511

62.02
61.16
61.79
62.18
63.00

40.3
40.0
40.1
40.3
40.8

1.539
1.529
1. 541
1.543
1.544

60.19
61.38
63. 73
64. 86
69.12

39.7
40.3
41.3
41.9
43.8

1.516
1.523
1.543
1.548
1.578

See footnotes at end of table,


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

289

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T able C -l: H ours and Gross E arnings of Production Workers or N onsupervisory E m ployees 1— Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Transportation equipment

Electrical machinery—Continued

Year and month

Communication
equipment
Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

1948: Average_____ $52.10
1949: Average_____ 53.56

Radios, phonographs, Telephone and tele­ Electrical appliances,
lamps, and miscel­
television sets, and
graph equipment
laneous products
equipment

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
kly.
earn­ earn­ w
ings hours
ings

39.8 $1,309 $48. 53
39.5 1. 356 50. 68

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

39.2 $1. 238 $59. 54
39.5 1.283 61.43

40.7 $1. 463 $56. 08
39.3 1.563 56. 52

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Total: Transporta­
tion equipment

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings hours
ings

40.2 $1. 395 $61. 58
39.5 1.431 64. 95

Automobiles

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

39.0 $1,579 $61.86
39.2 1.657 65.97

38.4
38.9

$1.611
1.696

1949: M ay________
J u n e .,..............
J u ly ________
August.............
September___
October______
November___
December........

52. 85
53. 35
51.54
52. 20
54.44
55. 66
55.69
55.69

38.8
39.2
37.9
38.3
40.0
41.2
41.1
41.1

1.362
1.361
1.360
1.363
1.361
1.351
1.355
1.355

49. 41
50. 42
47. 78
48.60
52.12
53. 46
53. 52
53. 52

38.6
39.3
37.5
38.0
40.5
41.6
41.3
41.3

1.280
1.283
1. 274
1.279
1.287
1.285
1. 296
1. 296

61.04
61.50
60.68
61.54
61.90
62. 33
62.92
63.12

39.1
39.4
38.8
39.2
39.1
39.4
39.5
39.5

1. 561
1.561
1. 564
1. 570
1.583
1.582
1.593
1.598

54. 58
54. 49
55.13
55. 77
56. 79
57.67
57. 71
58. 26

38.6
38.7
39.1
39.3
39.8
40.3
40.3
40.4

1.414
1.408
1.410
1.419
1.427
1.431
1.432
1.442

63.03
65.49
66.27
65.90
67.13
64.75
61.92
65.31

38.2
39.5
39.9
39.7
40.1
39.1
37.3
38.9

1. 650
1.658
1.661
1.660
1.674
1.656
1.660
1.679

63.22
66.94
68.67
67. 78
69.33
65.87
61.03
65. 44

37.3
39.4
40.3
39.8
40.4
39.0
36.2
38.2

1.695
1.699
1.704
1.703
1.716
1.689
1.686
1.713

1950: January______
Februarv____
March_______
April________
M ay________

55.56
55.32
54.82
54. 27
53.93

41.0
40.8
40.7
40.5
40.1

1.355
1.356
1. 347
1.340
1.345

53.05
52.62
52.54
52.21
51.86

41.0
40.6
40.6
40.6
40.2

1.294
1.296
1.294
1.286
1.290

63. 68
63.63
62. 92
63.83
64.23

39.7
39.5
39.2
39.4
39.6

1. 604
1.611
1. 605
1. 620
1. 622

59.09
58.78
58.68
61.38
61.67

40.5
40.4
40.3
41.5
41.7

1.459
1.455
1.456
1.479
1.479

68.12
66.58
67.46
70. 38
69. 79

40.5
39.7
40.2
41.3
41. 1

1.682
1.677
1.678
1.704
1.698

70.14
67.64
69. 08
73. 64
71.84

40.9
39.6
40.4
42.2
41.5

1.715
1.708
1. 710
1.745
1.731

Manufacturing—Continued
Transportation equipment--C ontinued
Aircraft engines and
parts

Aircraii ana parts
1948: Average______ $61. 21
1949: A verage_____ 63. 62

41.0 $1,493 $60. 21
40.6 1.567 62.69

Aircraft propellers
and parts

41.1 $1.465 $63. 40
40.5 1.548 65.24

40.9 $1. 550 $62.13
40.7 1.603 66. 83

Other aircraft parts
and equipment

Ship and boat buildin g and repairing

39.7 $1. 565 $63. 59
41.0 1.630 65.08

41.0 $1,551 $60. 68
40.4 1.611 61.67

38.7
38.0

$1.568
1.623

1949: M ay________
June............ .....
July_________
A u g u s t._____
September.
October______
N ovember. . .
December____

62.98
62.94
62.08
62.07
63. 58
63. 67
66. 69
66. 41

40.5
40.5
39.9
40.2
40.6
40.5
41.5
41.2

1.555
1. 554
1.556
1.544
1.566
1.572
1. 607
1.612

62.26
61.90
60. 78
61.46
62. 26
62.42
66.15
66.16

40.4
40.3
39.7
40.3
40.4
40.3
41.5
41.3

1.541
1.536
1.531
1.525
1. 541
1.549
1.594
1.602

64.08
65. 52
63.80
61.66
65.72
64.64
68. 62
67.16

40.3
41.0
39.7
39.4
41.0
40.2
42.1
41.0

1.590
1. 598
1.607
1.565
1.603
1.608
1.630
1.638

68.14
67. 89
69. 88
66. 42
68.60
65. 73
64 27
67. 53

41.6
41.5
42.2
40.9
41.4
40.5
39.6
41.3

1.638
1.636
1.656
1.624
1. 657
1.623
1 623
1.635

63.53
63.52
65. 37
65. 98
66.83
69.17
67. 90
67.16

40.7
40.2
40.3
40.6
40.8
42.1
41.2
41.2

1.561
1.580
1.622
1.625
1.638
1.643
1.648
1.630

61.61
62. 82
61.94
60.05
61.00
59. 11
56.97
62. 86

38.1
38.4
38.4
37.3
37.7
36.4
34.8
38.4

1.617
1.636
1.613
1.61C
1.618
1.624
1.637
1.637

1950: January______
February____
March ______
April.
...
M a y _______

65. 20
65.69
65. 29
64.80
65. 77

40.7
40.7
40.5
40.2
40.8

1.602
1.614
1.612
1.612
1. 612

64. 63
65.00
64. 36
64. 24
64.88

40.7
40.6
40.3
40.2
40.6

1.588
1.601
1.597
1.598
1.598

65.00
66.34
66. 99
66.10
68.35

40.1
40.7
41.1
40.7
41.6

1.621
1.630
1. 630
1.624
1.643

68.88
70.18
66.65
67.06
63. 85

42.0
41.6
40.2
40.3
39.1

1. 640
1.687
1.658
1.664
1.633

67.40
67.81
67. 97
67.14
68 22

40.9
41.0
40.8
40.4
41.0

1.648
1.654
1.666
1. 662
1.664

61.46
61.16
62. 53
61. 66
63. 00

37.8
37.5
38.2
37.6
38.3

1.626
1.631
1.637
1.640
1.645

M anufacturing—Con tinued
Instruments and re­
lated products

Transportation equipment—Continued
Shipbuilding and re
pairing
1948: Average_____ $61.22
61.88

1949: A v e ra g e

Railroad equipment

38.7 $1. 582 $62.24
37.8 1.637 63. 54

Locomotives and
parts

Railroad and street­
cars

40.0 $1,556 $63.80
39.2 1.621 65. 47

39.6 $1. 611 $60. 82
39.3 1.666 61.70

Other transportation
equipment

40.2 $1. 513 $58.14
38.9 1.586 57.60

Total: Instruments
and related products

40.8 $1.425 $53. 45
39.7 1. 451 55.28

40.1
39.6

$1.333
1.396

1949: M ay ________
J u n e ________
July_________
August -..........
September___
October______
November___
December.. . .

61.98
63.18
62.16
60.14
61.24
59.33
57.06
63.31

38.0
38.2
38.3
37.1
37.5
36.2
34.5
38.3

1.631
1.651
1.623
1.621
1.633
1.639
1.654
1.653

63. 39
62.71
60.32
62.05
61.84
62.49
63.16
63.39

39.2
39.0
37.7
38.4
38.1
38.5
38.3
38.7

1.617
1.608
1.600
1.616
1.623
1.623
1.649
1.638

66.21
64. 48
63. 65
66.62
64. 44
65.07
66.48
65.56

39.6
39.2
39.0
38.8
38.7
39.2
39.2
39.4

1.672
1.645
1.632
1.717
1.665
1.660
1.696
1.664

61.38
61.34
58.23
59. 93
59. 87
60.06
59.75
61.18

38.9
38.8
36.9
38.1
37.7
37.8
37.3
38.0

1. 578
1. 581
1.578
1.573
1. 588
1.589
1.602
1.610

56.83
56.87
54. 94
58.46
62. 85
63.11
59. 99
55.43

39.6
39.3
39.3
40.4
41.9
42.1
40.1
38.2

1.435
1.447
1.398
1.447
1.500
1.499
1. 496
1.451

54.83
54.61
54.37
54. 25
55. 26
56.08
56. 52
56. 84

39.5
39.2
39.0
39.0
39.5
39.8
40.0
40.0

1.388
1.393
1.394
1.391
1.399
1.409
1.413
1. 421

1950: January_____
February____
March _ ____
April
M a y .................

61.74
61.55
63. 30
62. 60
63. 54

37.6
37.3
38.2
37.6
38.0

1.642
1.650
1.657
1.665
1.672

61.60
64.89
64. 21
64. 52
64.87

38.0
39.4
39.2
39.2
39.7

1.621
1.647
1.638
1.646
1.634

63.29
67.48
67.42
67. 50
68.71

38.9
40.0
40.2
40.2
40.9

1.627
1.687
1.677
1.679
1.680

59. 77
62.07
60. 93
61.19
61.02

37.1
38.7
38.2
38.1
38.5

1.611
1.604
1.595
1.606
1.585

58. 67
60.03
58.13
58. 35
59.81

41.0
40.4
39.2
39.4
39.9

1.431
1.486
1.483
1.481
1.499

56.49
56.86
57.40
57.26
57.99

39.7
39.9
40.0
39.9
40.3

1.423
1.425
1.435
1.435
1.439

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

290

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

Table C - l : H ours and Gross E arnings of Production W orkers or N onsupervisory E m p lo y e e s1— Con.
Manufacturing—Continued
Instruments and related products—Continued

Year and month

Ophthalmic goods

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings
1948: Average........
1949: Average........

$45. 54
47.04

1949: M ay_______
June..............
J u ly .............
August..........
Septem ber..
October........
N ovem ber..
D ecem ber...
1950: January____
February___
March______
A pril............
M a y ............. .

Photographic appa­
ratus

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Watches and clocks

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
kly.
earn­ earn­ w
ings
ings hours

Miscellaneous manufacturing industries
Total: Miscellaneous Jewelry, silverware,
Professional and
indus­
scientific instruments manufacturing
and plated ware
tries

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
ings
ings hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

39.7 $1.147 $58.64
39.6 1.188 59.91

40.5 $1.448 $48. 84
39.7 1.509 49.53

40.1 $1.218 $54.78
39.0 1.270 57.01

40.1 $1. 366 $50.06
39.7 1.436 50.23

40.9 $1. 224 $57. 25
39.9 1.259 55.06

43.6
41.4

$1.313
1.330

47. 24
46.29
46. 57
45. 47
47.64
47.60
47.80
48.20

39.7
38.9
39.1
38.6
39.9
40.0
40.1
40.2

1.190
1.190
1.191
1.178
1.194
1.190
1.192
1.199

58.78
58.24
58.84
58. 73
59.72
60.26
62.27
62.40

39.4
38.8
39.2
39.1
39.6
39.8
40.7
40.6

1.492
1.501
1.501
1.502
1.508
1. 514
1. 530
1.537

48.91
48. 91
48.15
48.43
49. 75
50.69
51.18
50.23

38.6
38.6
38.0
38.5
39.3
39.6
39.8
39.0

1.267
1.267
1. 267
1. 258
1.266
1.280
1.286
1.288

56.61
56. 85
56.13
56.43
56. 97
58. 17
57. 99
58.67

39.7
39.7
39.2
39.3
39.4
39.9
39.8
40.1

1.426
1.432
1.432
1.436
1.446
1.458
1. 457
1.463

48.83
49. 72
48. 75
48.51
50.57
51. 44
51. 70
52.23

39.0
39.4
39.0
38.9
40.2
40.7
40.9
40.9

1.252
1.262
1.250
1.247
1.258
1.264
1.264
1.277

51.52
51.10
50.00
50.13
54. 79
60.29
61.28
59.69

39.6
39.8
38.2
38.5
41.6
44.2
44.6
43.6

1.301
1.284
1.309
1.302
1.317
1.364
1. 374
1.369

46.88
47.60
47.15
47. 71
49.69

39.2
39.6
39.0
39.2
40.7

1.196
1.202
1.209
1.217
1.221

61.60
61.95
62.23
62.93
63.25

40.0
40.1
40.2
40.6
40.7

1.540
1.545
1.548
1.550
1.554

49.86
50.18
50. 57
49. 97
49.81

38.8
38.9
38.9
38.5
38.2

1.285
1.290
1.300
1.298
1.304

58.64
58.71
59. 55
59.03
59.70

40.0
40.1
40.4
40.1
40.5

1.466
1.464
1.474
1. 472
1.474

51.78
51.62
51.82
51.86
52.64

40.2
40.2
40.2
40.2
40.4

1.288
1.284
1.289
1.290
1.303

55.52
55.93
57. 25
56. 20
56.44

41.9
41.4
42.0
41.2
41.5

1.325
1.351
1.363
1.364
1.360

Manufacturing—Continued
Transportation and
public utilities

Miscellaneous manufacturing industries—Continued
Jewelry and find­
ings

Silverware and
plated ware

Toys and sporting
goods

Costume jewelry,
buttons, notions

Other miscellaneous
manufacturing in­
dustries

Class I railroadsr

41.2 $1. 225 $62. 38
40.8 1.258 58.30

45.4 $1.374 $47. 24
42.0 1.388 47.00

40.1 $1.178 $45.36
39.1 1.202 46.06

40.0 $1.134 $50.39
39.3 1.172 51.20

40.7 $1. 238 $59.14
40.0 1.280 60.53

46.1
43.1

$1,284
1.414

49.76
49.92
48.56
48.11
51.09
54.19
54. 44
64.44

39.9
40.1
37.8
38.8
41.1
42.7
42.7
42.1

1.247
1.245
1.289
1.240
1.243
1.269
1. 275
1.293

52.99
52.02
50.94
51.88
57.53
65.85
67.23
64.13

39.4
39.5
38.5
38.2
41.6
45.6
46.3
45.0

1.345
1.317
1.323
1.358
1.383
1.444
1.452
1.425

45.96
46.25
44.76
45.67
47.60
48.36
49. 45
47.08

38.3
38.8
37.8
38.8
39.7
40.3
40.8
39.1

x. 200
1.192
1.184
1.177
1.199
1.200
1.212
1.204

44. 54
46. 93
46. 49
43.88
45.90
47. 48
46.18
46.93

38.6
39.4
39.4
37.5
39.2
39.5
39.3
39.5

1.154
1.191
1.180
1.170
1.171
1.202
1.175
1.188

50.06
51.07
50.24
50.11
51.75
51.55
51.77
53.35

39.2
39.5
39.4
39.3
40.3
40.4
40.6
41.2

1.277
1.293
1.275
1.275
1.284
1.276
1. 275
1.295

60.69
57. 27
60.37
62.64
60. 98
58.98
61.60
61.45

44.4
42.3
44.1
46.4
39.6
38.3
40.0
39.9

1.367
1.354
1.369
1.354
1.540
1.537
1.543
1.547

51.91
51.31
52.09
52.02
52.50

41.0
40.4
40.6
40.2
40.7

1.266
1.270
1.283
1.294
1.290

58.40
60. 21
61.42
59. 74
59.71

42.6
42.4
43.1
42.1
42.2

1.371
1.420
1.425
1. 419
1.415

48.06
48.47
49. 24
49.91
50.20

39.3
39.6
39.9
39.9
40.0

1.223
1.224
1.234
1.251
1.255

47.24
47.24
47. 63
47. 54
48. 06

39.4
39.3
39.2
38.9
39.2

1.199
1.202
1. 215
1.222
1.226

52.83
52. 59
52. 46
52.35
53. 42

40.3
40.3
40.2
40.3
40.5

1.311
1.305
1.305
1.299
1.319

61.69
62.37
63. 73
61.69

39.8
39.8
41.6
39.9

1.550
1.567
1.532
1.546

1948: Average____
1949: Average____

$50. 47
51.33

1949: M ay_______
June...............
July................
August...........
Septem ber...
October____
N ovem ber...
D ecem b er....
1950: January____
February___
March______
A pril..............
M ay_______

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

G: EARNWGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

291

T able C -l: H ours and Gross E arnings of Production W orkers or N onsupervisory E m ployees 1— Con.
Transportation and public utilities—Continued
Communication
Local railways and
bus lines'
Telephone •

Year and month

Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
earn­ hours
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Switchboard oper­
ating employees 10

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
kly.
earn­ earn­ w
ings hours
ings

46.1 $1.339 $48. 92
44.9 1.439 51.78

39.2 $1.248
38.5 1.345

64. 48
66. 01
65. 21
64. 46
64. 55
64.31
64.17
65.10

44. 9
46.0
45.1
44.7
44.3
44.2
44.1
44.5

1.436
1.435
1.446
1.442
1.457
1. 455
1. 455
1.463

51.84
51.49
51. 90
51. 57
52.61
53.29
54.40
52.49

38.6
38.4
38.5
38.4
38.6
38.7
38.8
38.4

1.343
1.341 $44.30
1.348 44.81
1.343 44.23
1.363 45.37
1. 377 46.35
1.402 48.04
1.367 44.42

65.11
65.22
65.53
66.11
66.63

44.2
44.4
44.4
44.7
44.9

1.473
1.469
1.476
1.479
1.484

53.13
53.69
52.98
53.44
53. 76

38.5
38.6
38.5
38.7
38.9

1.380
1.391
1.376
1.381
1.382

1948: A verage...
1949: A verage...

$61. 73
64.61

1949: M ay..........
June..........
July...........
A ugust__
September
October. _.
November.
December.
1950: January...
February.
March___
April_____
M ay...........

44.58
45.82
45.03
46.19
46.20

Line construction.
installation, and
maintenance employees n

36.3
36.8
36.7
37.4
37.5

Transportation and
public utilities—
Continued

1.228
1.245
1.227
1.235
1.232

72.46
72.33
70. 55
70. 76
71. 48

Gas and electric
utilities

Retail trade (except
eating and drink­
ing places)

40.3 $1.088 $33.31
40.4 1.137 34.87

40.9 $1.359 $43.85
40.7 1.414 45.93

63.40
63.64
64. 02
63. 92
64. 75
65. 72
65.03
66.04

41.3
41.3
41.3
41.4
41.4
41.7
41.5
41.8

1. 535
1. 541
1.550
1.544
1.564
1.576
1.567
1.580

57.83
57. 49
58.18
57.10
67.35
68.36
57.86
58.20

40.7
40.6
40.8
40.7
40.7
40.9
40.6
40.9

1.421
1. 416
1.426
1.403
1.409
1.427
1. 425
1.423

45.98
46. 45
46. 95
46.87
46.58
46.06
45. 63
45.83

40.3
40.5
40.9
40.9
40.5
40.4
40.1
40.7

1.141
1.147
1.148
1.146
1.150
1.140
1.138
1.126

34.85
35.62
35.86
35. 75
35.17
34.65
34.30
36.12

66.09
65.08
64. 81
65. 09
65.01

41.7
41.4
41.2
41.3
41.3

1.585
1.572
1. 573
1.576
1.574

58.14
58.27
58. 56
58. 69
58. 74

40.6
40.3
40.3
40.2
40.4

1.432
1.446
1.453
1.460
1. 454

46.58
46.26
46.26
46.47
46.86

40.4
40.4
40.3
40.3
40.4

1.153
1.145
1.148
1.153
1.160

35.68
35.44
35.04
34. 56
35.24

1950: January...
February..
M arch___
April........ .
M ay_____

44.7
44.7

$1.348
1.406

41.6 $1.647
41.6 1.660
41.6 1.664
41.7 1.681
41.6 1.691
41.7 1.711
41.8 1.696

63.69
62.96
63.97
63.64
62.83
62.97
62.05
62.23

45.2
45.0
45.4
45.1
44. 5
44.5
43.7
43.7

1.409
1.399
1.409
1.411
1.412
1.415
1.420
1.424

1.713
1.714
1. 696
1.701
1.710

62.84
62.97
62. 93
64.13
65. 38

44.1
44.1
44.1
44.6
45.4

1.425
1.428
1.427
1.438
1.440

42.3
42.2
41.6
41.6
41.8

General merchandise
stores

41.8 $1.453 $55.58
41.5 1.542 57.55

1949: M a y ..........
June..........
J u ly ...........
August___
September
O ctober...
November.
December-

$60.26
62.85

Retail trade
Wholesale trade

$60. 74
63.99

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Trade

Other public utilities

1948: Average__
1949: A verage...

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
hours
ings
ings

36.7 $1.207 $68. 52
37.0 1.211 69.06
36.8 1.202 69.22
37.1 1.223 70.10
37.2 1.246 70.35
37.3 1.288 71.35
36.5 1.217 70.89

Telegraph l*

D epartm ent stores
and general mail­
order houses

36.6 $0. 910 $37.36
36.7
.950 39.31

37.7
37.8

$0.991
1.040

36.3
36.8
37.2
37.2
36.6
36.4
36.3
38.1

.960
.968
.964
.961
.961
.952
.945
.948

39.33
39. 95
39. 79
39. 58
39.48
38.90
38.75
42.12

37.6
37.8
38.0
37.8
37.6
37.4
37.4
39.7

1.046
1.057
1.047
1.047
1.050
1 040
1.036
1.061

36.9
36.8
36.5
36.3
36.4

.967
.963
.960
.952
.968

40.21
39.85
39. 57
39. 67
40.30

37.9
37.7
37.4
37.6
37.7

1.061
1. 057
1. 058
1.055
1.069

Trade—Continued
Other retail trade

Retail trade—Continued
Food and liquor
stores
$47.15
49.93

1949: M ay...............................
June.............. ................
July...............................
August______ ______
September....................
October____________
November____ _____
December__________

48.99
50.26
51.13
51.00
50.57
50.25
50.37
50.54

39.7
40.4
41.1
41.0
40.2
40.3
40.1
40.3

1.234
1.244
1.244
1.244
1.258
1.247
1. 256
1.254

1950: January.........................
February......................
March............................
A p r il.............................
M ay...........................

50.68
50.85
50.76
50.85
50.80

40.0
40.1
40.0
40.1
40.0

1.267
1.268
1.269
1.268
1.270


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Apparel and accèssories stores

Furniture and appliance stores

Lumber and hardware supply stores

42.7 $1.198 $49.37
43.4 1.228 51.84

43.5
43.6

$1.135
1.189

53.29
53.16
52.78
52. 82
53.37
53. 38
54. 32
56.70

43.5
43.5
43.3
43.4
43.6
43.4
43.7
44.4

1.225
1.222
1. 219
1. 217
1.224
1.230
1. 243
1.277

52.48
51.96
52.34
52.40
52.18
52.96
51.79
52.16

44.1
43.7
43.8
44.0
43.7
44.1
43.3
43.5

1.190
1.189
1.195
1.191
1.194
1.201
1.196
1.199

54.81
53.25
53.30
54. 24
55.10

43.6
43.4
43.3
43.5
43.8

1.257
1.227
1.231
1.247
1.258

51.58
51.72
51.89
53.05
53.91

43.2
43.1
43.1
43.7
43.9

1.194
1.200
1.204
1.214
1.228

45.4 $1. 235 $39.60
45.6 1.292 40.66

36.5 $1. 085 $51.15
36.7 1.108 53.30

60.00
59.70
59.83
59. 55
59. 51
59. 39
58. 78
58.26

45.8
45.5
45.6
45.6
45.5
45.9
45.6
45.8

1.310
1. 312
1. 312
1. 306
1.308
1.294
1.289
1.272

40. 92
40. 85
40. 37
40. 52
41.66
40.15
40.26
41.22

36.8
36.7
36.5
36.8
37.1
36.6
36.5
36.8

1.112
1.113
1.106
1.101
1.123
1.097
1.103
1.120

58.72
57.76
59. 22
60. 50
60.94

45.8
45.3
45.8
45.8
46.2

1.282
1.275
1.293
1.321
1.319

41.07
40.07
39.64
40.14
40.19

36.7
36.9
36.5
35.9
36.4

1.119
1.086
1.086
1.118
1.104

40.3 $1.170 $56. 07
40.2 1.242 58.92

1948: Average____________
1949: A verage....................... .

See footnotes at end of table.

Automotive and accessories dealers

292

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able C 1: H ours and Gross E arnings of Production W orkers or N on sup ervisory E m ployees 1— Con.
Finance11

Service

Banks Secu­
and
rity
Insur­
trust dealers ance
com­ and ex­ carriers
panies changes

Year and month

Average....... _.......... .....
Average___ ___ _____
1949: May__________ .
June.............................
July____ __________
August_________ ___
September__________
October__ ___ ___
November____ _____
December___________
1950: January____________
February________
March__________
April ___ __
.
May ...
... . ___
1948;
1949:

Hotels, year-round u

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg,
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

$41.51
43.64

$66. 83
68. 32

$54.93
56.47

$31.41
32.84

44.05
43.10
43.80
43.10
43.62
43.94
43.96
43.95

67.82
66.12
65.70
65.30
67.29
71.25
72.54
74.12

57.26
56.59
56.70
65. 54
55.33
56.04
55.89
56.52

45.29
45.52
45. 37
45. 81
45. 66

75.78
77.61
80. 08
82.80
82. 72

57. 78
57.68
57.19
57. 93
57. 98

Cleaning and dyeing
plants

Laundries

Motion
picture
produc­
tion and
distribu­
tion 13

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

44.3
44.2

$0. 709
.743

$34.23
34.98

41.9
41.5

$0.817
.843

$39.50
40. 71

41.1
41.2

$0. 961
.988

$92.27
92.17

32.99
32.85
32.90
32.93
32.90
32. 84
33.13
33. 24

44.7
44.1
44.1
44.2
44.1
44.2
44.0
43.8

.738
.745
.746
.745
.746
.743
.753
.759

36.04
35.32
35.03
34. 27
34.69
34.57
34. 23
34. 77

42.4
41.6
41.5
40.8
41.2
41.1
40.9
41.2

.850
.849
.844
.840
.842
.841
.837
.844

43.17
42.17
40.43
38.63
41.28
40.15
39.96
40. 47

42.7
42.3
41.0
39.5
41.7
41.1
40.9
41.0

1.011
.997
.986
.978
.990
.977
.977
.987

90.96
94.73
95.52
92. 65
92.26
94.38
91.54
93. 39

33.06
33. 51
33.07
33.12
33.29

43.9
43.8
43.8
43.7
43.8

.753
.765
.755
.758
.760

35.15
34.39
34. 56
35. 55
36.32

41.5
40.8
41.0
41.1
41.8

.847
.843
.843
.865
.869

40.75
39. 26
40.40
40.16
43.43

41.2
39.9
40.6
40.2
43.0

.989
.984
.995
.999
1.010

87.82
88.94
91.01
91.23
94.37

1These figures are based on reports from cooperating establishments
covering both full- and part-time employees who worked during, or received
pay for, the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. For mining,
manufacturing, laundries, and cleaning and dyeing plants industries, the
data relate to production and related workers only. For the remaining
industries, unless otherwise noted, the data relate to nonsupervisory em­
ployees and working supervisors. All series, beginning with January 1947,
are available upon request to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such requests
should specify the series desired. Data for the two current months are
subject to revision without notation; revised figures for earlier months will be
identified by an asterisk (*) for the first month’s publication of such data.
* Data relate to all construction workers, both on-site and off-site, engaged
In actual construction work including pre-assembly and precutting opera­
tions. Both privately and publicly financed construction are included.
Data are based on comparable but not necessarily identical samples.
1 Includes ordnance and accessories; lumber and wood products (except
furniture); furniture and fixtures; stone, clay, and glass products; primary
metal industries; fabricated metal products (except ordnance, machinery,
and transportation equipment); machinery (except electrical); electrical
machinery; transportation equipment; instruments and related products;
and miscellaneous manufacturing industries.

4 Includes food and kindred products; tobacco manufactures; textile-mill
products; apparel and other finished textile products; paper and allied prod­
ucts; printing, publishing, and allied industries; chemicals and allied prod­
ucts; products of petroleum and coal; rubber products; and leather and
leather products.
*Databyregion, North andSouth,fromJanuary1949,are ivailableuponrequest.
4Databyregion, SouthandWest, fromJanuary 1949, areavailableuponrequest.

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

7 These averages are based on reports summarized in the M-300 report
prepared by the Interstate Commerce Commission, and relate to all hourly
rated employees who received pay during the month. M ost executive,
professional, and supervisory personnel are excluded. Switching and ter­
minal companies are excluded. The annual average data include retro­
active pay when such payments are made. M onthly data do not include
retroactive payments. Beginning with September 1, 1949, data reflect the
following changes for nonoperative employees (about, two-thirds of the total):
(1) scheduled weekly hours were reduced from 48 to 40; (2) hourly rates were
adjusted to maintain the former weekly earn tags for 48 hours; (3) an additional
wage mcrease of $0.07 an hour was granted.
8 Data Include privately and municipally operated local railways and bus­
lines.
I Through M ay 1949 the averages relate mainly to the hours and earnings
of employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Beginning with
June 1949 the averages relate to the hours and earnings of nonsupervisory
employees. Data for June comparable with the earlier series are $51 47
38.5 hours, and $1,337.

10Data include employees such as switchboard operators, service assistants,
operating-roominstructors, and pay-station attendants.
II Data include employees such as central office craftsmen; installation and
exchange repair craftsmen; line, cable, and conduit craftsmen; and laborers.
11 Data relate mainly to land-line employees, excluding employees com­
pensated on a commission basis, general and divisional headquarters per­
sonnel, trainees in school, and messengers.
“ Data on average weekly hours and average hourly earnings are not
available.
14 M oney payments only; additional value of board, room, uniforms, and
tips, not included.

T able C -2 : Gross A verage W eekly E arnings of Production W orkers in Selected Industries, in Current
and 1939 D ollars 1
Manufacturing Bituminous-coal
mining

Manufacturing Bituminous-coal
mining

Laundries

Year and month

Laundries

Year and month
Current 1939 Current 1939 Current
dollars dollars dollars dollars dollars

1939
dollars

1948: Average__________
1949: Average....................

$54.14
54.92

$31.43
32. 28

$72.12
63.28

$41.87
37.20

$34.23
34. 98

$19. 87
20. 56

1949: M ay...........................
June...........................
Ju ly ...........................

54.08
54. 51
54.63
54. 70
55. 72

31. 77
31.95
32.23
32. 21
32. 66

72.98
59.90
47.94
49. 51
52. 46

42.87
35.11
28.28
29.15
30.75

36.04
35.32
35.03
34.27
34.69

21.17
20.70
20.66
20.18
20.33

August _ ______

September_______

1 These series indicate changes in the level of weekly earnings prior to and
wter adjustment for changes in purchasing power as determined from the
Bureau’s consumers’ price index, the year 1939 having been selected for the
base period. Estimates of World War II and postwar understatement by the


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Current 1939 Current 1939 Current 1939
dollars dollars dollars dollars dollars dollars
1949: October__________ $55.26
N ovem ber........... ... 54. 43
December________
56.04
1950: January__________
February..................
March_______
April.
_________
M ay 2_ . ___ ______

56. 29
56. 37
56. 53
56.93
57.72

$32.60
32.09
33. 26

$63.10
68.17
48.74

$37. 22
40.19
28.92

$34.57
34.23
34. 77

$20.39
20.18
20.63

33. 52
33. 65
33. 65
33.82
34.03

47.36
49. 83
78.75
72.86
70.01

28. 21
29. 75
46.87
43.29
41.28

35.15
34. 39
34. 56
35. 55
36.32

20.93
20.53
20. 57
21.12
21.41

consumers’ price index were not included. See the M onthly Labor Review,
March 1947, p. 498. Comparable data from January 1947 are available
upon request to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prelim inary.

293

G: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T able C -3 : Gross and N e t Spendable A verage W eekly Earnings of Production W orkers in M anufactur­
ing Industries, in Current and 1939 D ollars 1
N et spendable average weekly
earnings

N et spendable average weekly
earnings
Gross average
weekly earnings
Period

100)

Cur­
Cur­
1939
1939
rent
rent
dollars
dollars dollars dollars

$26.64
47.50
45.45
43.31

111.7
199.1
190.5
181.5

$25.41
39.40
37.80
37.30

$25.06
30.81
29.04
27.81

$26.37
45.17
43.57
42.78

$26.00
35.33
33.47
31.90

23.86
25.20
29.58
36.65
43.14
46.08
44.39
43.74
49.97
54.14
54.92

100.0

105.6
124.0
153.6
180.8
193.1
186.0
183.3
209.4
226.9
230.2

23.58
24.69
28.05
31.77
36.01
38.29
36.97
37.65
42.76
47.43
48.09

23.58
24.49
26.51
27.11
28.97
30.32
28.61
26.87
26.70
27.54
28.27

23.62
24.95
29.28
36.28
41.39
44.06
42.74
43.13
48.24
53.17
53.83

23.62
24.75
27.67
30.96
33.30
34.89
33.08
30.78
30.12
30.87
31.64

Index
Amount (1939=

1941: January.
1945: January.
July___
1946: June___
1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:
1943:
1944:
1945:
1946:
1947:
1948:
19491

Worker with
3 dependents

Worker with
no dependents

Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.
Average.

i Net spendable average weekly earnings are obtained by deducting from
gross average weekly earnings, social security and income taxes for which
the specified type of worker is liable. The amount of income tax liability
depends, of course, on the number of dependents supported by the worker
as well as on the level of his gross income. Net spendable earnings have,
therefore, been computed for 2 types of income-receivers: (1) A worker with
no dependents: (2) A worker with 3 dependents.
The computation of net spendable earnings for both the factory worker with
no dependents and the factory worker with 3 dependents are based upon the

Gross average
weekly earnings
Period

Worker with
no dependents

Worker with
3 dependents

100)

Cur­
Cur­
1939
1939
rent
rent
dollars
dollars
dollars
dollars

1949: M a y ........................ $54.08
54.51
June_____________
July_......................... 54.63
A ugust..................... 54. 70
55.72
September_______
55.26
October....................
54. 43
November_______
December................ 56.04

226.7
228.5
229.0
229.3
233.5
231.6
228.1
234.9

$47.38
47.74
47.84
47. 90
48. 75
48.37
47.67
49.02

$27.83
27.98
28.22
28. 21
28. 57
28. 53
28.10
29.09

$53.12
53.48
53.58
53. 64
54. 50
54.11
53.41
54.77

$30.97
31.34
31.61
31. 59
31.94
31.92
31. 49
32.50

56.29
56.37
56.53
56.93
57.72

235.9
236.3
236.9
238.6
241.9

48.94
49.00
49.13
49.46
50.09

29.15
29. 25
29.24
29.39
29.53

54.70
54. 76
54.90
55.23
55.90

32. 58
32. 69
32.68
32.81
32.96

Index
Amount (1939=

1950: January..
February.
March___
A pril2___
M ay 2___

gross average weekly earnings for all production workers in manufacturing
industries without direct regard to marital status and family composition.
The primary value of the spendable series is that of measuring relative
changes in disposable earnings for 2 types of income-receivers. That series
does not, therefore, reflect actual differences in levels of earnings for worker s
of varying age, occupation, skill, family composition, etc. Comparable
data from January 1947 are available upon request to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
2 Preliminary.

T able C -4 : A verage H ourly E arnings, Gross and E xclu sive of O vertim e, of Production W orkers in
M anufacturing Industries 1
Durable
goods

Manufacturing
Exclu ding
overt ime

Period
Gross
amount

$1. 350
1.401

$1.310
1.367

1949: M a y_______
June_______
July...............
August____
Septem ber..
October —

1.401
1.405
1.408
1.399
1.407
1.392

1.371
1.373
1.376
1. 366
1.369
1.353

Gross

207.0 $1. 410 $1.366 $1. 278
216.0 1.469 1.434 1.325

$1.241
1.292

1949: November_
December__

$1. 392
1.408

$1.357
1.368

1.294
1.293
1.298
1. 286
1. 290
1.287

1950: January___
February___
March______
April 2-_ __
M ay 2______

1.418
1.420
1.424
1.434
1.443

1.380
1.382
1.385
1.392
1.399

216.6
216.9
217.4
215.8
216.3
213.7

Gross

1.467
1.475
1.477
1.473
1.482
1.458

1.437
1.443
1.447
1. 440
1. 444
1.419

1.323
1.324
1.332
1.319
1.328
1.325

• Overtime is defined as work in excess of 40 hours per week and paid for at
time and one-half. The computation of average hourly earnings exclusive of
overtime makes no allowance for special rates of pay for work done on holi-


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Exclu ding
overt ime

Period

Ex­
clud­
ing
over­
time

Durable
goods

Manufacturing

Ex­
clud­
ing
over­
time

Index
A m ount (1939=
100)

1948: Average____
1949: Average........

Nondurable
goods

Gros?
am ount

Gross
Index
A m ount (1939=
100)

Ex­
clud­
ing
over­
time

Nondurable
goods

Gross

Ex­
clud­
ing
over­
time

214.4 $1.457 $1.425 $1. 325
216.1 1.476 1.435 1. 334

$1.289
1.296

1.343
1.350
1.353
1.356
1.359

1.307
1.316
1.319
1.323
1.325

218.0
218.3
218.8
219.9
221.0

1.485
1.483
1.486
1.498
1.509

1.445
1.442
1.443
1.448
1.458

days. Comparable data from January 1947 are available upon request to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2 Preliminary.

294
T

a ble

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

C -5 : H ours and Gross E arnings of P roduction W orkers in M anufacturing Industries for Selected
S tates and Areas 1
Alabama

Arizona

State

State

Year and month

Phoenix

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly. wkly.
hrly.
earn­ hours earn­ earn­ wkly.
earn­
ings
ings ings hours ings
June_____
July---------August____
September__
October........
November__
December......
1950: January____
February.....
March____
April______
May...........
June.............
1949:

$42.29
43.08
42.88
44.43
43.15
43.09
45.49

38.1 $1.110 $57.83
38.5 1.119 57.49
39.3 1.091 57.72
40.5 1.097 58.49
40.9 1.055 58.61
40.5 1.064 57. 75
40.8 1.115 55.73

44. 61
44.85
*44.47
45.90
44.85
46.21

39.9 1.118 56.08
38.9 1.153 57.46
*38.6 *1.152 *59.10
39.6 1.159 59.82
38.8 1.156 59.60
39.7 1.164 60.50

42.4
42.0
*41.8
41.6
42.3
42.8

Los Ange es
June______
July---------August____
September__
October____
November__
December......
1950: January____
February___
March_...
April...........
May............
June______

$60.95
61.69
61.58
62.25
62.80
61.53
62.24
63.06
62.20
62.88
62.92
63.39
64.11

State

1.324 52.64
1.368 54.02
*1.42 *54.70
1.44 56.30
1.41 54.30
1.41 54.50

$38.82
38.35
39.7 $1.384 38.60
39.6 1.430 *38.32
40.2 1.419 40.04
40.1 1.403 39.90
39.3 1.364 39.33
38.7
38.3
37.6
38.3
38.3
37.8

1.360 38.88
1.404 39.70
1.45 *40. 60
1.47 41.65
1.43 41.01
1.46 45.52

San Francisco

State

$0.94 $40. 57
0.94 41.32
0.93 41.65
0.93 42.14
0.94 41.28
0.95 42.10
0.95 41.71

42.7
42.6
42.5
43.9
43.0
43.4
43.0

40.5
40.1
*40.6
42.5
40.6
42.1

0.96 39.81
0.99 41.28
1.00 *42.00
0.98 43.58
1.01 42.63
1.01 44.00

41.9
41.7
*42.0
41.9
40.6
41.9

37.8
38.2
38.2
39.9
40.3
40.4
40.6

$1.37 $48.55
1.37 48.50
1.37 47.63
1.36 48.53
1.37 45.88
1.38 48.10
1.38 49.53

39.0
38.9
39.3
39.3
39.4
39.6

38.2
38.6
38.7
38.4
38.6
39.3

40.0
40.4
40.6
40.6
40.8
41.1

1.38 52.10
1.38 50.14
1.39 *50. 54
1.40 49. 81
1.40 51.14
1.40 51.31

1.675
1.683
1.681
1.681
1.681
1,691

55.29
55.92
56.56
56.69
57.07
57.74

June...........
July---------August.........
September__
October____
November__
December__
1950: January____
February___
March_____
April______
May___ ...
June______
1949:

37.5
37.9
38.9
39.9
39.9
39.8
40.2

$1.00 $4 .18
1.00 47.24
1.00 48.39
1.00 48.31
1.00 46.10
1.01 44.45
1.02 46.12

39.8
40.1
41.1
41.1
40.4
38.6
39.5

41.17
41.88
*41.99
42.93
41.85
42. 87

40.1
39.6
*39.2
40.1
39.4
39.8

1.03 46.84
1.06 46.87
1.07 *48. 71
1.07 49.12
1.06 47. 33
1.08 50.46

39.9
39.5
*40.1
40.2
39.1
40.9

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

$0.95 $61.91
0.97 61.84
0.98 61.58
0.96 62.73
0.96 63.12
0.97 61.12
0. 97 62.33
0.95
0.99
1.00
1.04
1.05
1.05

62.31
62.89
63.06
62.94
63.53
65.10

Wilmington

39.3
38.6
*38.7
37.7
38.8
39.1

Savannah

State

$1.19 $37. 51
1.18 46.22
1.18 49.04
1.18 49.00
1.14 48. 66
1.15 47.65
1.17 48.09

35.5
41.1
42.6
42.0
42.9
42.4
43.0

39.4
39.4
39.9
39.8
39.9
39.2
40.1

47.39
47.69
46.83
47.36
49.61
50.73

42.5
41.9
41.3
40.9
41.7
41.5

1.17
1.19
*1.22
1.22
1.21
1.24

$1.06 $58. 58
1.12 58.65
1.15 58.80
1.17 59. 53
1.13 59.16
1.12 58.46
1.12 60.09
1.11
1.14
1.14
1.16
1.19
1.22

38.6
38.7
39.1
39.5
39.6
38.2
38.5

$1. 604
1.598
1.575
1.588
1.594
1.600
1.619

38.3
38.8
39.0
38.9
39.0
39.6

1.627
1.621
1.617
1.618
1.629
1.644

1.327 61.84
1.301 *59. 58
1.308 *59.93
1.320 59.66
1.319 60.34
1.313 62. 44

State

39.6 $1.461 $41.38
39.8 1.488 41.03
40.5 1.471 41.16
39.6 1.501 41.59
37.8 1.456 41.93
39.3 1.467 43.40
40.0 1.470 43.74
41.1 1.505
*40.5 *1.470
40.7 *1.471
40.1 1.488
40.7 1.483
41.3 1.513

44.35
43.90
44.16
44.74
44.89
45. 62

Illinois

Atlanta

$37.66
37.84
38.92
39.89
40.06
40.16
40.97

Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly.
earn­ hours earn­
ings
ings

Florida

38.5 $1.261 $57.93
38.4 1.264 59.32
41.5 1.147 59.70
40.7 1.193 59.28
39.0 1.177 54.96
38.3 1.255 57.45
38.6 1.283 58.87

Georgia
State

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

State

Delaware
State

38.1 $1.656 $51.72
38.2 1.646 52.21
39.1 1.609 52.32
39.9 1.625 54.77
39.2 1.645 55.15
37.0 1.667 55.78
38.5 1.676 56.07

63.99
64.96
65.05
64.55
64.89
66.46

Little Rock

41.3
40.8
41.5
41.2
42.6
42.0
41.4

Connecticut

38.5 $1.583 $63.09
38.8 1.590 62.88
38.9 1.583 62.91
39.1 1.592 64.84
39.4 1.594 64.48
38.7 1.590 61.68
38.8 1.604 64.53
1.617
1.599
1.600
1.601
1.609
1.619

California

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
wkly. wkly.
hrly. wkly.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ hours earn­ earn­ wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings ings hours ings ings hours

40.6 $1.423
40.6 1.416
41.2 1.400 $55.00
41.2 1.420 56.63
42.8 1.368 56.63
42.6 1.355 56.26
42.3 1.319 53.61

California—Continued

1949:

Arkansas

$0.990
1.018
0.999
1.007
0.989

44.4
42.1
41.5
41.4
42.0
41.8

0.999
1.043
1.064
1.080
1.070
1.091

1.000
1.001

Indiana
Chicago

$1.48 $59. 70
1.49 59.94
1.47 60.29
1.49 60.87
1.48 60.45
1.49 60.20
1.50 61.54

41.8
40.3
41.2
41.3
42.4
43.4
43.7

39.3
39.4
40.0
40.0
40.1
39.6
40.5

State
$1.52 $59.89
1.52 59.99
1.51 59. 78
1.52 60.88
1.51 59.62
1.52 58.01
1.52 60.51

39.6
39.3
39.7
40.6
40.3
39.4
40.1

$1.51
1.53
1.51
1.50
1.48
1.48
1.51

61.52
61.38
61.71
62.91
63.94
64.94

40.3
40.2
40.4
40.9
41.2
41.4

1.53
1.53
1.53
1.54
1.55
1.57

G: EARNING8 AND HOURS

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

295

T able C -5 : H ours and Gross E arnings of P roduction W orkers in M anufacturing Industries for Selected
S tates and Areas 1— C ontinued
Kansas

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

State

State

State

State

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
hours
ings
ings

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
hours
ings ings

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. w kly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings
ings

Iowa
Des Moines

State
Year and month

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­ hours
ings ings

$54.67
57.89
57.24
57.00
55. 32
55.95
58. 57

194Q- Jim p.

Julv
A n g n st.
S e p te m b e r
O p.t.oher
N o y p rn h p r
T)pppTrihpr

February___
M a rc h ____ _
April________
M ay________
June. _______

$.57 Kfi

42 1

55.93
55.86
55. 88
55.76
57.68

40.6
40.4
40.3
40.4
41.4

81 37
1 28 $5Q 17
l! 38 58. 48

1.38
1.39
1.38
1.40

58. 87
59.95
59.32
60.26

39 9

$1 48

39.7
39.8
40.6
40.3
41.0

1.47
1.48
1.48
1.47
1.47

59 73
56.62
56.80
56.93
56.68
58.05

41.1 $1.332 $44.52
42.4 1.364 43. 56
41.9 1.365 44.85
41.8 1.365 45.36
40.7 1.359 47. 53
40.6 1.376 44.92
42.3 1.385 46.82
42.1
40.6
40.8
40.9
40.9
41.5

1. 418
1.395
1.392
1.392
1.385
1.399

47.39
48. 80
48.76
47. 55
47.13
47.44

39.0 $1.140 $50. 86
38.3 1.138 51. 48
39.7 1.129 50. 59
39.3 1.153 52.31
41.0 1.158 51.51
38.8 1.159 51.64
40.5 1.157 53.07
40.9
42.1
41.4

40.2
40.2
40.4

1.158 52.90
1.158 53.55
1.177 *53.68
1.182 53.13
1.173 53. 56
1.174 54.40

Minnesota

1949: June________ $54. 37
J u ly ________ 54. 70
55.39
August_____
55.28
Septem ber,..
56. 21
October------55.49
November__
December___ 57. 34

39.8
40.4
41.7
40.3
40.9
40.3
41.0

57. 09
57. 36
56.60
56. 74
57. 50
58.56

40.3
40.6
40.1
40.0
40.4
41.2

1950: January_____
February___
March______
April_______
M a y ,.............
J u n e - ............

$1.37 $55. 72
1.35 55. 48
1.33 56.11
1.37 55. 21
1.37 53.66
1.38 52.91
1.40 54.97
1.42
1.41
1.41
1.42
1.42
1. 42

58. 58
59. 24
58. 36
60. 07
59. 54
60.18

38.4
38.0
39.4
39.1
39.4
37.9
38.9
39.5
40.0
39.3
40.4
39.8
40.0

St. Paul

Minneapolis

Duluth

State

$1.45 $55. 22
1.46 55. 24
1.42 55. 44
1.41 57. 28
1.36 57. 04
1.40 55. 38
1.41 56.65

39.7
39.6
39.6
40.8
40.6
39.5
40.2

56.69
56. 36
57.14
57. 41
58. 67
59.50

39.7
39.3
39.8
39.9
40.7
41.3

1. 48
1.48
1.49
1.49
1.50
1.50

$1.39 $55.69
1.40 56.85
1.40 56.63
1.40 58.34
1.41 57.64
1.40 58. 62
1.41 59.19
1.43
1.43
1.44
1.44
1.44
1.44

58. 89
60. 49
60. 74
60. 77
59.99
62. 05

39.3
39.7
39.6
40.4
40.0
40.4
40.8

$1.42
1.43 $52.64
1.43 52.43
1.44 52. 25
1.44 51.67
1.45 50. 41
1.45 51.06

40.0
40.9
40.8
41.0
40.7
41.6

1. 47 52. 44
1.48 52. 24
1.49 *52. 51
1.48 53. 87
1.47 53. 67
1.49 56. 05

1949: June_______
July________
August—.......
September-. .
October------N ovem b er...
December__

$58. 70
58.63
57.82
59.32
59. 00
59.13
60.64

1950: January____
February___
March_____
April_______
M ay_______
J u n e ............

61.01
60. 80
61. 06
60.84
61.35
62.80

39.6
39.2
38.9
39.9
39.7
38.8
40.1

$1.44 $55. 73
1.44 56. 60
1.44 56.61
1.44 58. 24
1. 43 57.60
1.44 56. 74
1.44 57.98

38.0
38.1
37.9
38.7
38.7
38.4
38.6

1.505
1. 499
1. 503
1.509
1.508
1. 530

40.6
39.4
40.0
40.1
37.8
40.9

1.47 57. 64
1.46 57.92
1.46 *57.83
1.47 57. 24
1.48 57. 93
1.49 58.57

38.5
38.7
38.7
38.6
38.8
39.1

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

59. 56
57. 52
58.28
59. 07
55.79
61.02

Albany- SchenectadyTroy

State

rrenum

39.7 $1.467 $56.87
39.6 1.478 56. 41
39.3 1.469 55.82
40.1 1.477 57.50
39.8 1.483 56.89
39.9 1.481 55. 72
40.6 1. 494 57.62
40.5
40.5
40.6
40.3
40.6
41.0

$63.99
64. 54
64.03
65.03
64.03
59.90
61.50

39.6
39.3
39.7
39.9
39.7
37.4
37.8

$1.615
1.626
1.617
1.631
1.618
1.607
1,634

65.13
65. 04
66.19
68. 47
68. 04
70.13

40.0
40.1
40. 5
41. 4
41.1
42. 0

1.627
1.630
1.634
1. b53
1.652
1.666

Missouri

New Hampshire

State

State
$44. 79
45. 75
45.63
46. 57
45. 02
44. 71
46. 08

38.3
38.5
38.6
39.3
37.9
37.7
39.1

$1.17
1.19
1.18
1.18
1.19
1.19
1.18

39.3 1.334 46.76
39.2 1. 332 47. 48
*39.1 *1.343 *47.88
39.4 1. 367 46. 58
39.4 1. 362 45.09
40.6 1. 381 46. 92

39.9
39.9
*40.1
39.1
38.1
39.4

1.17
1.19
1.19
1.19
1.18
1.19

39. 5 $1.334
39.6 1.326
39.3 1.330
35.1 1.323
37.9 1. 330
38.7 1.318

N ew York

N ew Jersey
State

___ .......
___ ___
___ ___

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

$1.47 $56. 71
1.49 57.15
1.49 57.13
1.50 57.66
1.49 57.18
1.48 57. 56
1.50 58. S3

38.5
38.9
38.5
39.1
39.0
38.9
39.5

57.40
59. 60
59.11
59. 42
60.27
59. 76

39.2
39.7
39.3
39.4
39.9
39.3

1.50
1. 50
1.49
1.48
1.49
1.50

B inghamton-E ndicott-Johnson City

$1. 47 $52.77
1.47 53.19
1.48 52.75
1. 48 53.24
1.47 54. 78
1.48 54.48
1.49 56. 08

37.4
36.9
36.9
37.1
38.2
37.6
38.2

53. 99
53.92
54. 62
54.90
55. 66
55.98

37.4
37.1
37.5
37.4
37. 8
38.2

1.47
1.50
1.50
1.51
1. 51
1.52

Buffalo

$1.41 $61.35
1. 44 60.76
1.43 61.15
1.43 61.36
1.43 60. 62
1. 45 61.16
1.47 63.03

39.8
39.5
40.1
40.0
39.9
39.5
40.4

$1.54
1.54
1.53
1.53
1.52
1.55
1.56

62.92
63.15
63.60
64. 22
65.13
66.19

40.4
40.4
40.7
40.6
41.1
41.3

1.56
1.56
1.56
1.58
1.59
1.60

1.45
1. 45
1. 45
1. 47
1. 47
1. 47

296

G: EARNINGS AND HOURS

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able C -5 : H onrs and Gross E arnings of P roduction W orkers in M anufacturing Industries for Selected
S ta tes and Areas 1— C ontinued
New York—Continued
KingstonNewburghPoughkeepsie

Elmira
Year and month
Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours
1949: June____
Ju ly________
A ugust__
September___
October______
N ovem ber___
December____

$58.46
58. 75
55. 74
57.43
56.07
56.19
57.01

41.0
41.2
39.8
40.1
39.5
39.4
39.7

1950: January.
February____
March__
April
M ay.
June . . .

56.10
55.05
55. 51
57.13
56. 52
58.36

39.3
38.8
39.0
39. 7
39.2
40.1

N ew York City

Avg. Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
hours
ings
ings

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

$1.43 $51. 29
1.43 51.99
1.40 51.02
1.43 52.99
1.42 52.58
1.42 52.48
1.44 53.09

38.3
38.9
38.4
39.6
39.2
38.8
39.2

$1.34 $56.96
1.34 58.24
1.33 57.63
1.34 60.01
1.34 58.83
1.35 57.46
1.36 58.51

38.7
38.8
38.8
38.5
39.9
39.5

1.35 58. 50
1.34 58.73
1.35 *58.38
1.36 56.74
1.36 57.21
1.37 57.94

1.43
1.42
1.42
1.44
1.44
1.46

52.24
52.15
52. 47
52. 41
54.23
53.96

Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

North Carolina
State
35.9 $1.089 $52.16
3 36.6 31.045 53.53
38.6 1.033 53.61
39.5 1.035 53.85
40.1 1.045 53.96
39.9 1.050 54.67
40.0 1.056 54.17

1950: January_____
February_____
March „_ . _
April____
M a y ________
Ju n e __________

39.5
39.2
*39.0
36.8
37.8
38.8

41.66
42.33
*42.11
39. 82
40. 78
41.91

1.056 54.94
1.079 54.02
1.081 *54.35
1.082 54.68
1.079 55.23
1.080 55.54

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly.
earn­ earn­
ings
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

37.1
37.1
36.7
38.0
37.7
37.5
37.4

$1.54 $56.36
1.57 57.10
1.57 56.64
1.58 57. 51
1.56 57.63
1.53 58.20
1.56 59.19

38.3
39.1
38.8
39.4
39.4
39.6
39.8

37.3
37.5
37.5
37.2
37.3
37. 7

1.57
1.57
*1.56
1.53
1.53
1.54

39.8
39.5
39.9
39.9
39.9
40.2

59.20
58. 55
59.07
59. 59
59. 89
60. 51

Oklahoma City

Utiea-R om eHerkimerLittle Falls 2

Syracuse

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly. Avg.
earn­ wkly.
ings hours

$1.47 $53.92
1.46 52.64
1.46 54.89
1.46 55.94
1.46 56.15
1.47 54.73
1.49 56.32
1.49
1.48
1.48
1.49
1.50
1.50

55.92
57.10
57. 58
58.06
59.32
58.22

Oklahoma
State

1949: June__
$39.09
July_________ 3 38. 21
A u gu st.._____ 39.89
September___ 40.85
October.
41.86
N ovem ber___ 41.89
December.
42.25

Rochester

Tulsa

41.2 $1. 267
41.6 1.288
41.7 1.287
41.2 1.307
42.2 1.279
42.4 1.289
42.1 1.286

39.3
38.3
39.7
40.1
40.8
40.2
40.4
39.9
40.4
40.6
40.8
41.5
40.6

Avg. Avg.
hrly. wkly. Avg.
earn­ earn­ wkly.
ings
ings hours
$1.37 $50.89
1.37 51.12
1.38 51.09
1.39 51.91
1.37 56.30
1.36 55.48
1.39 55.43
1.40
1.41
1.42
1.42
1.43
1.43

55.13
55.82
55.99
56.04
56.38
56.94

42.4 $1. 242 $54. 57
41.4 1.239 54.20
42.6 1.239 55. 22
42.5 1.247 56.41
42.3 1.240 56.02
41.5 1.265 55.28

41.2 $1.326
40.8 1.328
40.7 1.356
41.9 1.347
41.1 1.363
40.5 1.365

60.72
64.15
66.53
68.79
69.47

$1.36
1.36
1.36
1.37
1.39
1.38
1.39

39. 7
40.3
40.0
40.2
39.7
40.0

1.39
1.38
1. 40
1. 40
1.42
1.42

Pennylvania

State

State

50 99

41.9 1.311 $52.65
41.6 1.300 51.31
*41.8 *1.301 52. 76
41.6 1.314 52.93
41.8 1.321 52.41
41.9 1.324 52.51

37.5
37.7
37.6
37.9
40.4
40.1
39.9

Oregon

$50 94

$65 18
65. 00
67. 57

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

50
51
3 9 n $1 671
49
38 2 1 700 49
39 5 1 711 *58
37.1
38.0
38.6
39.2
39.1

1.64
1.69
1.72
1.75
1.78

74
81
71
78
08

52.85
53.09
*51.91
*52.72
54.01
54.45

88 0 $1 340
87 5
1 338
87 Q 1 337
88 8
1 339
38 7
1 285
88 0
1 311
*3Q d *1 347
39.1
39.3
*38.5
38.6
39.4
39.6

1.353
1.352
*1.350
1.366
1.370
1.376

Pennsylvania—C ontinued
AllentownBethlehem
1949: June________
J u ly -------------A ugust______
September___
October______
November___
December____

Erie

Harrisburg

Johnstown

Lancaster

Philadelphia

$50. 58
49.28
Ö0. Ü3
51.92
49. 90
*52.04
54.53

36.6 $1.386 $54.76
35. 6 1.389 56.97
36.7 1.367 56.46
37.6 1.381 59.78
38.9 1.275 57.18
37.3 1.390 56. 51
38.8 1.404 *58. 77

38.2 $1.432 $49. 57
40.0 1.424 46.16
39.4 1.432 47.07
41.8 1.429 48.63
40.1 1.425 48.37
*40.3 1.403 46. 66
*40.8 1.441 47.90

38.3 $1.303 $53.72
35.9 1.293 52.05
37.2 1.286 51.49
38.0 1.284 53.23
40.9 1.187 39.79
36.8 1.269 53. 76
37.9 1.265 57.38

35.6 $1.513 $48.41
34.3 1.522 48.67
34.0 1.515 47.96
35.0 1.519 48.31
35.6 1.117 48.90
35.7 1.507 48.35
37.7 1.521 50.45

39.7 $1.220 $56.90
40.1 1.212 56.58
39.7 1.203 56.81
40.0 1.205 57.98
40.4 1. 209 57.56
39.7 1.216 57.13
40.8 1.229 *57.71

38.9
38. 6
38.7
39.3
39.4
39.3
39.8

$1, 463
1.468
1.470
1. 474
1 462
*1 456
*1.451

54. 65
53.1 2
*53. 51
54. 66
55.48
J n n 6 - _________ 55. 75

39.0 1.405 58.76
38.1 1.391 59.67
*38.4 *1.394 *64.35
38. 6 1. 416 58.79
38.4 1.442 63.12
38.5 1.447 64.89

40.3 1.459 50.16
40.9 1.460 51.14
*43.6 *1.476 *50.05
40.1 1.467 50.39
43.1 1.466 50.90
44.3 1.465 52.49

38.9 1.288 57.50
39.3 1.302 53.57
*38.5 *1. 299 *54.41
38.5 1.312 58.86
38.7 1.318 58. 58
39.2 1. 339 55.77

37.2 1.545 49.10
35.5 1.508 49.63
35.7 *1. 525 '50. 50
38.2 1.539 50.04
37.8 1. 549 51.52
35.8 1.557 52.90

39.7 1.230 58.13
40.0 1. 235 58. 44
40.2 *1. 250 *58.40
39.6 1.257 57.27
40.6 1.261 58.82
41.4 1.274 58. 99

39.6
39 7
*39.7
38. 7
39. 7
40.1

*1. 473
1. 477
1. 483
1.473

1950: January.. . . .
February____
M arch_______
April . ______
M ay________

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1 468

1 471

297

C: EARNINGS AND HOURS

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

Table C-5: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers in Manufacturing Industries for Selected
States and Areas 1—Continued
Pennsylvania—Continued
Pittsburgh

Rhode Island

Scranton

Reading-Lebanon

State

York-A dams

Year and month
Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
earn­
ings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

1949: June. . . ------------ - $59. 70
58.02
July________________
August_______ --- - 59.48
58.52
Septem ber,.- ____ .
October_____________ 56.19
55.27
November. _ ______
December___------ 62.18

37.8
36.8
37.8
36.9
36.2
35.3
39.1

$1. 578
1.577
1.569
1.587
1.551
1.568
1.589

$51. 48
50. 79
52. 07
51.76
53.15
53.39
53. 76

37.9
37.7
38.4
38.2
39.3
38.9
38.8

$1.364
1.351
1.358
1.360
1.356
1.375
1.389

$42. 00
42.06
41.99
42.94
43.22
42.91
43. 57

37.7
37.7
37.8
38.5
38.7
38.7
38.7

$1,112
1.117
1.118
1.117
1.109
1.126

$43. 40
42.65
43.81
42. 72
44.96
44. 73
46.57

39.1
39.2
40.1
39.5
41.5
41.3
41.4

$1.127
1.113
1.116
1.106

$47.65
47.65
46.01
48.34
47. 27
48.96
50. 27

38.8
38.7
37.5
39.1
38.0
39.3
40.2

$1. 227
1.232
1.228
1.236
1.245
1.247
1.251

1950: Janu ary__________ . 62.43
February------------------ 62. 87
M a r c h ..___ _______ *57. 80
62. 70
April--. ___________
M ay________________ 64.10
June_____________ -_ 63.65

38.9
*39.5
*36.5
39.2
40.0
39.9

1.604
*1.589
*1.591
1.599
1.601
1. 595

52.29
54.44
*54.95
53.14
55.52
56. 73

37.7
39.0
39.2
38.3
39.6
40.4

1.388
1.397
*1. 406
1.390
1.405
1.403

43.79
*44. 71
*45. 24
43.34
44. 22
45.58

38.9
38.9
*38.8
37.2
38.5
38.9

1.125
1.149
*1.165
1.166
1.150
1.173

47. 02
47.18
47. 77
47.76
48.67
49.19

41.5
40.8
40.4
40.3
40.9
41.1

1.149
1.170
*1.197
1.203
1.204

50.33
50.37
*50.81
49.08
49. 34
50. 81

40.5
40.3
*40.6
39.4
39.4
40.5

1.243
1.249
*1.251
1.247
1.254
1.255

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

State

State

State

State

State

57.50
54.94
54. 45
52. 21
53. 22
54. 54

44.4
43.2
42.6
41.5
42.3
43.1

1.128

39.2
37.8
39.2
38.8
39.1
38.8
39.1

1.142
1.153
*1.163
1.168
1.163
1.158

59.88
62. 20
65.49
66.56
66.93
67.68

35.9
37.2
38.8
39.2
39.3
39.6

$44.67
45.33
45.91

40.1
40.4
40.7

$1,114

1950: January____________
February_____ ______
March____________ *.
April........ .....................
M ay________________
June________________

46.02
45.89
*46.40
44. 97
45.36
46.55

40.3
39.8
*39.9
38.5
39.6
40.2

1.122

1.126
1.146
*1.156
1.155
1.17
1.16

55.60
55.15
*55.19
55.59
54.88
26.08

42.7
41.5
*41.4
41.8
41.7
42.2

1.302
1.329
*1.333
1.330
1.316
1.329

56.91
55.91
55. 95
57. 74
58.90
60.47

*39.6
39.1
39.4
40.1
40.9
41.7

1.43
1.43
1.42
1.44
1.44
1.45

39.8
39.4
*39.5
39.3
39.6
39.9

1.068
1.090
*1. 084
1.084
1.084
1.093

$64.29
61.84
64.25
62.78
63.97
64. 41
65.14

$1.42
1.35
1.39
1.30
1.37
1.36
1.41

44.81
45.15
*45.66
45. 39
46. 33
46.28

40.1
39.8
*39.5
38.8
38.5
39.6

1949* June
July.
August
September _. ______
October_____________
November___ .
December______ ____

40.2
40.3
39.4
40.4
37.2
40.4
40.2

1.295
1.272
1.277
1.258
1.258
1.265

42.83
43.38
*42.82
42.06
41.73
43.28

State

$57. 08
54. 41
54. 77
52. 52
50. 96
54. 94
56.68

1.216
1.205
1.216
1.285

$1. 200

State

$1.263
1.291
1.275
1.283
1.273
1.286
1.287

$1.105
1.108
1.113
1.124
1.113

43.6
43.7
43.8
42.9
45.2
45.1

Washington

42.1
41.6
41.9
42.8
42.6
42.7
42.2

39.5
39.5
39.5
40.6
40.4
39.8
40.2

$52. 24
53.32
53.30
51.72
55.04
57.98

Virginia

1.108

$53.17
53.71
53.42
54.91
54. 23
54. 91
54.31

$43.65
43.77
43.96
45.63
44.97
44.18
44. 54

$1,031
1.035
1.031
1.044
1.046
1.058
1.061


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1.210

South Dakota

36.8
37.2
38.2
38.8
40.3
40.1
40.5

See footnotes at end of table.

1.102

1.096
1.140

South Carolina

$37.94
1949: June
38.50
July________________
August______________ 39.38
Septem ber.-.
___ 40.51
42.15
October...... .............
42.43
November. ______
D ece m b er ._____
- 42.97
1950: January_____ - ____
February_________ . .
M arch____ _ ______
April_________ _____
M ay________________
June____________ -- .

1.112

1.220

Avg.
hrly.
earn­
ings

1.110

Wisconsin

1.640
1.636
1.639
1.618
1.636
1.660

1.666
1.668
1.672
1.688

1.698
1.703
1.709

La Crosse

Kenosha

State
$56.69
55.24
54.57
56.47
57.31
56.10
57.94

40.3
40.3
40.0
40.5
41.0
40.2
41.1

$1. 407
1.372
1.363
1.395
1.397
1.395
1.410

$66. 97
62.17
59.40
63.91
62. IS
58. 71
65.30

41.6
39.6
38.2
40.8
39.9
37.7
41.7

$1,610
1.570
1.553
1.568
1.560
1.559
1.567

$58.86
58.12
59.37
61.16
60.13
55.60
61.68

40.0
40.6
40.8
41.5
40.8
39.2
41.8

$1.470
1.431
1.454
1.473
1.475
1.417
1.474

58.18
58.75
59. 42
60.59
61.35
61.04

40.7
41.2
41.5
41.8
42.1
41.9

1.429
1.426
1.432
1.449
1.459
1.458

63.50
67.09
67. 53
73.06
73.85
63.50

40.5
42.1
42.4
44.4
44.9
40.4

1. 568
1.594
1.591
1.644
1.645
1.570

63.12
58. 29
57.67
56.53
57.02
58.61

41.3
39.6
39.3
40.0
39.4
40.3

1.528
1.470
1.467
1.414
1.449
1.456

I

MONTHLY LABOR

G: EARNINGS AND HOURS

298

T able C-5: Hours and Gross Earnings of Production Workers in Manufacturing Industries for Selected
States and Areas 1—Continued
Wyoming

W isconsin—Continued

State

Racine

Milwaukee

Madison
Year and month
Avg.
wkly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
earnings

Avg.
wkly.
hours

Avg.
hrly.
earnings

July
August__________ ___
September________ --O cto b er______________
November____________
December------ -----------

$54.22
56.88
54.79
52.22
55.04
58.20
60.44

37.6
39.0
38.2
36.3
38.9
40.8
41.4

$1.443
1.457
1.435
1.437
1.417
1.427
1.460

$61.15
60.00
58. 96
60.79
60. 97
59.43
61.50

40.0
39.4
38.8
39.7
40.0
39.2
40.3

$1. 529
1.524
1. 521
1.530
1.524
1.515
1.525

$63.03
63.10
61.06
61.63
60. 95
57. 75
60.93

40.0
40.1
39.0
39.4
39.0
37.3
39.1

$1. 576
1.575
1.567
1.565
1.564
1.547
1.559

$64.99
64.71
61.60
68.82
67.99

39.2
37.3
37.4
42.5
40.9

$1.658
1.732
1.647
1.620
1.664

1950: January_______________
February_____________
March _____ . _ ____
April_________________
M ay_________ ______
June___ - ____________

58.42
56.66
55.97
55.35
57.34
57. 90

40.5
39.4
39.1
38.7
39.4
39.6

1.441
1.437
1.431
1.431
1. 456
1.461

62.14
61.94
63.75
65.22
66. 28
65. 41

40.1
40.1
40.9
41.2
41.5
41.1

1.550
1.544
1.557
1.582
1. 596
1. 590

62.15
62.14
63.75
64.37
63. 64
64.71

39.4
39.4
39.8
40.3
40.0
40.6

1.578
1.578
1.601
*1.582
1.592
1. 595

67.08
68.38
65. 95
67.47
67. 98
66. 64

38.1
39.3
38.0
38.9
39.9
39.1

1.759
1.742
1.737
1.734
1.703
1. 706

1 State and area hours and gross earnings are prepared by various cooperat­
ing State agencies. Owing to differences in methodology the data may not
be strictly comparable among the States or with the national averages.
Variations in earnings among the States and areas reflect, to some extent,
differences with respect to industrial composition. Revised data for all
except the two most recent months will be identified by an asterisk (*) for


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

the first month’s publication of such data. A number of States also make
available more detailed industry data as well as information for earlier periods
which may be secured directly upon request to the appropriate State agency
as listed in footnote 1, table A-10.
2 Revised series; not comparable with data previously published.
3 Revised series; not comparable with preceding data shown.

299

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

D : Prices and Cost of Living
T able D - l : C onsum ers’ Price I n d e x 1 for M oderate-Incom e Fam ilies in Large C ities, b y Group of
C om m odities
[1935-39=100]
Fuel, electricity, and refrigeration *
Year and month

All Items

Food

Apparel

Rent
Total

Gas and
electricity

Other
fuels

Housefurnishings

Miscella­
neous •

Ice

70.7
71.7

79.9
81.7

69.3
69.8

92.2
92.2

61.9
62.3

(‘)
(4)

0

«

(‘)
(<)

59.1
60.8

50.9
52.0

December.............................
J u n e .-_________________
Average________________
Average------------------------

118.0
149. 4
122.5
97.6

149.6
185.0
132.5
86.5

147.9
209.7
115.3
90.8

97.1
119.1
141.4
116.9

90.4
104.8
112.5
103.4

0
(4)
(*)
(*)

(‘)
(*)
(4)

(‘)
(4)
(‘)
(‘)

121.2
169.7
111.7
85.4

83.1
100.7
104.6
101.7

1939: Average________________
August 15_____ _________
1940: A verage._______ ________
1941: Average______________
January 1______________
December 15_______ ____

99.4
98.6
100.2
105.2
100.8
110.6

95.2
93.5
96.6
105.5
97.6
113.1

100.5
100.3
101.7
106.3
101.2
114.8

104.3
104.3
104.6
106.2
105.0
108.2

99.0
97.5
99.7
102.2
100.8
104.1

98.9
99.0
98.0
97.1
97.5
96.7

99.1
95.2
101.9
108.3
105.4
113.1

100.2
100.0
100.4
104.1
100.3
105.1

101.3
100.6
100.5
107.3
100.2
116.8

100.7
100.4
101.1
104.0
101.8
107.7

1942:
1943:
1944:
1945:

Average_____________ _
Average________________
Average__________ _____
Average.......... .................. .
August 15................ .............

116.5
123.6
125.5
128.4
129.3

123.9
138.0
136.1
139.1
140.9

124.2
129.7
138.8
145.9
146.4

108.5
108.0
108.2
108.3
(»)

105.4
107.7
109.8
110.3
111.4

96.7
96.1
95.8
95.0
95.2

115.1
120.7
126.0
128.3
131.0

110.0
114.2
115.8
115.9
115.8

122.2
125.6
136.4
145.8
146.0

110.9
115.8
121.3
124.1
124.5

1946: Average._______________
June 15.............................. .
November 15..................

139.3
133.3
152.2

159.6
145.6
187.7

160.2
157.2
171.0

108.6
108.5
(')

112.4
110.5
114.8

92.4
92.1
91.8

136.9
133.0
142.6

115.9
115.1
117.9

159.2
156.1
171.0

128.8
127.9
132.5

1947: Average.......... ..... ................
December 15........... .............

159.2
167.0

193.8
206.9

185.8
191.2

111.2
115.4

121.1
127.8

92.0
92.6

156.1
171.1

125.9
129.8

184.4
191.4

139.9
144.4

1948: Average.......... ......................
December 15.......................

171.2
171.4

210.2
205.0

198.0
200.4

117.4
119.5

133.9
137.8

94.3
95.3

183.4
191.3

135.2
138.4

195.8
198.6

149.9
154.0

1949: Average...............................
June 15........ .........................
July 15_________________
August 16______________
September 15............. .........
October 15 . __________
November 15. ....................
December 15........................

169.1
169.6
168.5
168.8
169.6
168.5
168. 6
167.5

201.9
204.3
201.7
202.6
204.2
200.6
200.8
197.3

190.1
190.3
188.5
187.4
187.2
186.8
186.3
185.8

120.8
120.6
120.7
120.8
121.2
121.5
122.0
122.2

137.5
135.6
135.6
135.8
137.0
138.4
139.1
139.7

96.7
96.9
96.9
97.1
97.1
97.0
97.0
97.2

187.7
183.0
183.1
183.1
185.9
188.3
190.0
191.6

141.7
140.0
139.9
141.1
141.5
145.6
146. 6
145.5

189.0
187.3
186.8
184.8
185.6
185.2
185.4
185.4

154.6
154.2
154.3
154.8
155.2
155.2
154.9
155.5

1950: January 15________ _____
February 15.........................
March 15_______________
April 1 5 . ________ ______
M ay 15_.
________ __
June 15------- -----------------

166.9
166.5
167.0
167.3
168.6
170.2

196.0
194.8
196.0
196.6
200.3
204.6

185.0
184.8
185.0
185.1
185.1
185.0

122.6
122.8
122.9
123.1
123.5
123.9

140.0
140.3
140.9
141.4
138.8
138.9

96.7
97.1
97.1
97.2
97.1
97.0

193.1
193.2
194.4
195.6
189.1
189. 4

145.5
145.5
146. 6
146.6
146.6
146.6

184.7
185.3
185.4
185.6
185. 4
185.2

155.1
155.1
155.0
154.8
155.3
155.3

1913: Average____________ ___
1914: Ju ly ---- -----------------------1918:
1920:
1929:
1932:

i The “ Consumers’ price Index for moderate-income families in large cities,”
formerly known as the “ Cost of living index” measures average changes in
retail prices of selected goods, rents, and services weighted by quantities
bought in 1934-36 by families of wage earners and moderate-income workers
in large cities whose incomes averaged $1,524 in 1934-36.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin 699, Changes in Cost of Living in Large
Cities in the United States, 1913-41, contains detailed description of methods
used in constructing this index. Additional information on the consumers’
price index is given in a compilation of reports published by the Office of
Economic Stabilization, Report of the President’s Committee on the Cost
of Living.
Mimeographed tables are available upon request showing indexes for each
of the cities regularly surveyed by the Bureau and for each of the major
groups of living essentials. Indexes for all large cities combined are available
since 1913. The beginning date for series of indexes for individual cities


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(* )

varies from city to city but indexes are available for most of the 34 cities since
World War I.
* The group index formerly entitled “ Fuel, electricity, and ice” is now des­
ignated "Fuel, electricity, and refrigeration” . Indexes are comparable with
those previously published for “ Fuel, electricity, and ice.” The subgroup
“ Other fuels and ice” has been discontinued; separate indexes are presented
for “ Other fuels” and “Ice.”
•
1 The miscellaneous group covers transportation (such as automobiles
and their upkeep and public transportation fares); medical care (including
professional care and medicines); household operation (covering supplies and
different kinds of paid services); recreation (that is, newspapers, motion
pictures and tobacco products); personal care (barber- and beauty-shop
service and toilet articles); etc.
4 Data not available.
4Rents not surveyed this month

300

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able D -2 : C onsum ers’ Price Index for M oderate-Incom e F am ilies, by C ity ,1 for Selected Periods
[1935-39=100]
City

June 15, M ay 15 Apr. 15, Mar. 15 Feb. 15, Jan. 15, Dec. 15, Nov.15, Oct. 15, Sept. 15, Aug. 15, July 15, June 15, June 15 Aug. 15,
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1949
1949
1949
1949
1949
1949
1949
1946
1939

Average.................................

170.2

168.6

167.3

167.0

166.5

166.9

167.5

168.6

168.5

169.6

168.8

168.5

169.6

133.3

98.6

Atlanta, Qa______________
Baltimore, M d....... ................
Birmingham, Ala...................
Boston, M ass_____________
Buffalo, N. Y _______ _____
Chicago, 111_______________
Cincinnati, Ohio__________
Cleveland, Ohio__________
Denver, Colo_____________
Detroit, M ich____ ______
Houston, Tex................... .......

0
174.3
171.1
166.2
0
176.4
171.2
0
0
174.2
173.1

169.3
(2)
169.0
163.3
(2)
175.3
169.7
170.1
(2)
171.4
172.4

0
(2)
167.7
162.3
166.3
172.9
167.3
(2)
165.7
169.5
171.9

(2)
170.1
168.4
162.0
(2)
172.9
167.9
(2)
(J)
168.3
172.9

168.3
0
166.4
160.7
0
172.0
167.2
168.7
0
168.1
172.0

0
0
166.9
161.5
164.8
172.3
167.7
0
164.5
168.5
172.8

0
170.9
168.4
162.7
0
173.2
167.8
0
0
169 1
173.2

170.5
0
170.5
164.0
0
175.3
168.3
170.3
0
169.8
173.3

0
0
170.3
164.1
167.4
174.4
168.7
0
164.6
168.7
172.0

(J)
174.0
171.8
165.4
0
175.8
170.8
0
0
170.4
171.4

172.3
0
171.1
163.8
0
174.4
168.8
171.6
0
169.9
170.4

0
0
171.0
162.6
169.4
173.9
168.7
0
167.8
170.4
170.4

0
174.2
172.1
163.3
(i)
175.9
170. 5
0
0
172.0
170.5

133 8
135 6
136.6
127. 9
132 6
130 9
132 2
135 7
131 7
136 4
130.5

98 0
98 7
98 6
97 1
98 5
98 7
97* 3
100 0
98* ft
98 ft
m 7

Indianapolis, Ind_________
Jacksonville, Fla__________
Kansas City, M o_________
Los Angeles, Calif _______
Manchester, N . H ............ ........
Memphis. T e n n .____ _____
Milwaukee, W is_______ . .
Minneapolis, M inn_______
Mobile, A la ................... .......
New Orleans, La_____ ____
New York, N . Y ............ .......

(2)
176.7
(2)
166.7
0
169.9
(2)
169.2
167.4
(2)
167.0

(2)
(2)
0
166.7
(2)
(2)
170.9
(2)
(2)
171.5
165.4

170.9
(2)
161.1
166.9
167.1
(2)

(J)
174.8
(2)
165.9
(2)
169.4
(2)
167.1
166.2
(2)
164.0

0
0
0
166.1
0
0
167.6
0
0
170.6
163.7

170.6
0
160.6
166.9
167.1
0

0
175.5
0
165.4
0
170.8
0
167.4
167.4
0
164.9

0
0
0
166.6
0
0
168.4
0
0
173.3
165.8

172.1
0
161.1
166.5
169.3
0

0
176.5
0
167.1
0
172.7
0
168.3
169.2
0
167.5

(l)
0
(J)
166.8
0
0
166.9
0
0
173.8
166.8

171.0
0
162.1
167. 2
170.0
0

167.1

0
174. 9
0
168. 7
0
173.5
0
169.1
170.3
(J)
167.0

131 p
138 4
129 4
1.3ft 1
134 7
134.5
131.2
129 4
132.9
138 0
135.8

98 0
98 ft
9R* ft
100 5
97 8
9L 8
97.0
QO 7
98! 6
99 7

Norfolk. Va........... ............... .
Philadelphia. P a ...................
Pittsburgh, P a .......................
Portland, M aine_____ ____
Portland, Oreg........................
Richmond, V a .......................
St. Louis, M o________ ____
San Francisco, Calif_______
Savannah, Q a ................ . .
Scranton, Pa____ _____ ___
Seattle, Wash_____________
Washington, D . O ............ .

(2)
169.7
173.4
164.5
(2)
0
169.7
173.1
(2)

170.9
167.1
172.0
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(l)
0
167.3
171.8
165.2

0
167.3
170.3
162.8
0
0
167. 8
171.5
0
0
0
0

168.2
168.6
171.3
0
0
0
0
0
0
166.3
171.6
166.2

170.2
168.7
172.4
0
0
0
0
0
0
169.5
170.8
166.0

0
167.5
171.9
0
»175.1
164.4
0
0
173.3
0
0
0

0
169. 2
173 1
165.8
0
0
169.8
173. 7
0
0
0

135.2
132 5
134 7
128. 7
140 3
128 2
131.2
137. 8
140 6
132 2
137.0
133.8

97.8
97 8
98 4
97 1
100* 1
98 0
98.1
99 3

(2)
(2)
(2)

0

(2)
(2)
(2)
164.5
0

166.0
170.1
(2)
174.8
161.9
(2)
(2)
170.9
(2)
(2)

0

167.1
0
166.0
165.1
169.5
169.5
163.7
0
0
0
0
0
167.4
0
172.3
0
0
0
163.7
0
171.6
0
* 163.7
0

0

0
0

0
163.7
0

165.9
169.9
0
173.8
161.8
0
0
169.1
0
0
0

1 The indexes are based on time-to-time changes in the cost of goods and
services purchased by moderate-income families in large cities. They do not
Indicate whether it costs more to live in one city than in another.
1 Through June 1947, consumers’ price indexes were computed monthly for


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

0

0
0
0
165.9
0

168.9
171.1
0
173.6
164.9
0
0
173. 4
0
0
0

0

169.6
172.3
164. 9
0
0
168.9
173.0
0
0
0
0

0

0
0
0

j

0

9 9 .0

99 3
9fi ft
10o' 3

98.’ 6

21 cities and in March, June, September, and December for 13 additional
cities; beginning July 1947 indexes were computed monthly for 10 cities and
once every 3 months for 24 additional cities according to a staggered schedule
* Corrected.

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

301

T able D -3 : C onsum ers7 Price Index for M oderate-Incom e F am ilies, b y C ity and Group of
C om m odities 1
[1935-39=100]
Fuel, electricity, and refrigeration
Food

Apparel

Housefumishings

Rent
Total

City

Miscellaneous

Gas and electricity

June 15, M ay 15, Juno 15, M ay 15, June 15, M ay 15, June 15, M ay 15, June 15, M ay 15, June 15, M ay 15, June 15, M ay 15,
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
1950
A verage.. __________

204.6

200.3

185.0

185.1

123.9

123.5

138.9

138.8

97.0

97.1

Atlanta, Oa____ _____
Baltimore, M d _______
Birmingham, Ala_____
Boston, M ass................
Buffalo, N . Y ................
Chicago, 111-........... .
Cincinnati, Ohio_____
Cleveland, Ohio______
Denver, Colo.................
Detroit, M ich................
Houston, Tex....... .........

197.5
218.7
195.0
198.4
203.2
211.1
206.9
213.7
207.0
205.2
207.3

194.7
211.0
193.1
191.7
195.9
208.2
202.9
206.3
203.8
198.7
205.5

0)

191.4

(9

127.8

146.9
149.2
131.9
151.4
148.6
133.0
146.7
147.0
112.9
149.4
98.4

146.9
149.2
131.6
149.9
148.1
133.0
146.7
147.0
112.9
149.5
98.4

83.4
125.3
79.6
117.i
110.0
83.5
101.9
105.6
69.2
89.3
81.8

83.4
126.2
79.6
117.2
110.0
83.5
101.9
105.6
69.2
89.7
81.8

Indianapolis, Ind_____
Jacksonville, F la...........
Kansas City, M o_____
Los Angeles, Calif........
Manchester, N . H ... .
Memphis, T enn______
Milwaukee, W is_____
Minneapolis, M inn___
Mobile, Ala....................
N ew Orleans, La_____
N ew York, N . Y ..........

199.5
207.0
190.1
200.3
200.9
206.4
207.6
194.9
201.1
211.6
204.3

197.1
202.7
187.3
199.8
197.5
204.3
203.9
192.2
199.5
209.3
200.1

157.2
147.6
127.2
100.1
151.4
140.3
142.7
139.1
129.3
113.1
140.2

157.6
149.4
127.2
100.1
8 149. 7
140.3
142.7
142.7
129.2
113.1
140.4

86.6
100.5
67.4
95.5
96.0
77.0
99.0
79.6
84.5
75.1
101.9

86.6
100.5
67.3
95.5
3 97.3
77.0
99.0
79.6
84.3
75.1
102.0

Norfolk, Va__________
Philadelphia, P a_____
Pittsburgh, P a_______
Portland, M aine....... ..
Portland, Oreg_______
Richmond, Va_______
St. Louis, M o________
San Francisco, C a lif...
Savannah, Ga...... .........
Scranton, P a..................
Seattle, W ash ...........
Washington, D . C ____

207.0
201.5
209.1
193.5
219.4
197.0
212.4
214.3
209.6
205.1
208.6
204.1

202.2
194.6
205.9
189.7
217.2
192.0
208.4
213.2
205.5
199.6
206.8
198.4

159.5
141.5
137.1
147.2
131.5
145.3
135.2
86.8
152.3
148.0
130.9
143.3

159.5
141.5
137.1
145.2
131.5
145.3
135.2
86.8
151.9
147.2
130.9
142.4

106.4
104.2
103.3
105.7
92.0
109.4
88.4
76.5
108.6
98.3
91.7
105.5

106.4
104.2
103.3
105.8
91.9
109.4
88.4
76.5
108.6
98.3
91.7
105.5

(9

194.2
174.7

190.1
183.9

190.1
184.2
182.5

142.4
116.2

181.5
194.9

181.6
195.2

129.9
145.8

129.9
144.5

(9

(9
(9
(9

143.9

(9

(9
(9
(9
131.4
(9
(9

0)

0)
0)

184.5

(9

181.5

(9
(9

203.1
190.6
186.9

(9

183.2

(9

181.6
214.6
187.9

(9
(9

188.6
181.2

(9
(9
(9
(9

(9

(9

181.8

(9
(9
183.9
(9
(9

197.1
183.7

178.9
181.8
213.4

(9
(9
(9
(9
(9
(9

193.5
182.3
209.4

120.1
154.0
119.6

(9

180.0
193.2
175.7

(9

(9
(9

(9

131.6

(9
(9

132.8
135.8
128.7

143.8
119.3

(9

142.3
115.9
129.4

(9

135.7

(9
(9

(9

115.9
108.9

(9

121.7
121.7
122.6

109.0
121.7
122.9
115.5

(9
(9

123.0
118.0

(9
(9
(9
(9

(9
(9
(9
(9
(9
(9

113.0
126.7
106.8

i Prices of apparel, housefumishings, and miscellaneous goods and services
are obtained monthly in 10 cities and once every 3 months in 24 additional
cities according to a staggered schedule.

"*•
I

%

895483— 50

.p


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

185.2

185.4

155.3

155.3

(0

187.2

0
152.8
150.4
153.9
0
158.2
156.3
0
0
170.8
158.6

159.6
0
150.3
153.8
0
158.3
156.0
151.2

186.9
177.1
177.6
0
168.9
177.3
0
0
197.5
183.6
0
183.1

0)

182.2

0)
(>)

172.0
176.2
167.2

0

173.8

0

192.0
187.6
178.6

0
0

167.0
158.3

0
0
0
0

0

178.0
178.2

0)

169.8
177.9
167.6

0

197.0
184.0

0)
0
0
183.2
0)
0
187.6
0
0

190.1
173.2

186.9
191.2
186.9

0)
0
0
0
0
0

168.0
189.7
196.0

0
163.0

0
151.8
0)
141.0
0

159.6
145.3

0

157.7

0)

152.4
149.9
152.6

0
0

144.5
165.7

0
0
0
0

0

168.1
158.4

0
0
0
151.9
0)
0
150.4
0
0

145.4
157.5
156.1
152.3
149.9

0
0
0
0
0
0

144.2
159.8
158.0

2 Rents are surveyed every 3 months in 34 large cities according to a staggered schedule,
8Corrected.

302

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able D -4 : Indexes of R eta il Prices of F ood s,1 b y Group, for Selected Periods
[1935-39 = 100]

Year and month

Cere­
als Meats,
All
and
poul­
foods bakery try.
prod­ and Total
ucts
fish

Meats
Beef
and
veal

Pork

Fruits and vegetables

Lamb

Chick­
Fish
ens

Dairy
prod­
ucts

Eggs

136.1
141 7
143 ft
82 3
91.0
90.7
93.8

Total Fresh

Can­
ned

Dried

Bever­ Fats
and
ages
oils

Sugar
and
sweets

169 5
210 8

173 6
226 2

124 ft

17A 4
162* 4

145.0

120.0

103 fi
94.5
92.4
96.5

lOn 9
95.1
92.8
97.3

91 1
92.3
91.6
92.4

91 9
9 3 !3
90.3
100.6

92.5

87.7
84. 5
82.2

100.6
95.6
96.8

Average______ 124.0
Average_____ 137.4
Average_____ 132.5
A v e ra g e .____ 86.5
95.2
A verage... . . .
August. _____ 93.5
96.6
1940: Average_____

105.5
115.7
107.6
82.6
94.5
93.4
96.8

101.2
117.8
127.1
79.3
96.6
95.7
95.8

96.6
95.4
94.4

101.1
99.6
102.8

88.9
88.0
81.1

99.5
98.8
99.7

93.8
94.6
94.8

101.0
99 6
110.6

129.4
127.4
131 0
84.9
95.9
93.1
101.4

1941: Average..........
December____
Average_____
Average_____
Average. ___
Average_____
August____

105.5
113.1
123.9
138.0
136.1
139.1
140.9

97.9
102.5
105.1
107.6
108.4
109.0
109.1

107.5
111.1
126.0
133.8
129.9
131.2
131.8

106. 5
109.7
122.5
124.2
117.9
118.0
118.1

110.8
114.4
123.6
124.7
118.7
118.4
118.5

100.1
103.2
120.4
119. 9
112.2
112.6
112.6

106.6
108.1
124.1
136.9
134. 5
136.0
136.4

102.1
100.5
122.6
146.1
151.0
154.4
157.3

124.5
138.9
163.0
206.5
207.6
217.1
217.8

112.0
120.5
125.4
134.6
133.6
133.9
133. 4

112.2
138.1
136. 5
161.9
153.9
164.4
171.4

103. 2
110.5
130.8
168.8
168.2
177.1
183.5

104.2
111.0
132.8
178.0
177.2
188.2
196.2

97.9
106.3
121.6
130.6
129.5
130.2
130.3

106.7
118.3
136.3
158.9
164.5
168.2
168.6

101.5
114.1
122.1
124.8
124.3
124.7
124.7

94.0
108.6
119.6
126.1
123.3
124.0
124.0

106. 4
114 4
126 5
127.1
126 6
126. 5
126.6

1946: Average______ 159.6
•Tune_________ 145.6
November___ 187.7

125.0
122.1
140.6

161.3
134.0
203.6

150.8
120.4
197.9

150.5
121.2
191.0

148.2
114.3
207.1

163.9
139.0
205.4

174.0
162.8
188.9

236.2
219.7
265.0

165.1
147.8
198.5

168.8
147.1
201.6

182.4
183.5
184.5

190.7
196.7
182.3

140.8
127.5
167.7

190.4
172.5
251.6

139.6
125.4
167.8

152.1
126. 4
244.4

143.9
136.2
170.5

1923:
1926:
1929:
1932:
1939:

1942:
1943:
1944:
1945:

9 5 .5
9 4 .9

1947: Average______ 193.8

155.4

217.1

214.7

213.6

215.9

220.1

183.2

271.4

186.2

200.8

199.4

201.5

166.2

263. 5

186.8

197.5

180.0

1948: Average______ 210.2

170.9

246.5

243.9

258.5

222.5

246.8

203.2

312.8

204.8

208.7

205.2

212.4

158.0

246.8

205.0

195.5

174.0

1949: Average______
June____ ..
J u ly ..................
August______
September___
O ctober... ...
November .
December____

201.9
204.3
201.7
202.6
204. 2
200.6
200 8
197.3

169.7
169.7
169.5
169.4
169.7
169.1
169.2
169.2

233.4
240.6
236.0
239.5
243.6
235.1
229.1
223.2

229.3
239.3
234.4
237.3
242.0
233.1
226.4
220.0

241.3
247.8
245.3
246.3
249.9
248.2
248.5
245.2

205.9
216.0
209.8
221.9
227.6
207.7
189.7
178.3

251.7
278.4
265.5
247.8
254. 7
246.1
242.0
236.1

191.5
184.4
182.8
191.5
192.5
184.6
184.5
179.5

314.1
312.6
307.7
308.9
311.9
306.8
300.6
299.0

186.7
182.0
182.2
184.9
185.3
186.7
186. 4
186.2

201.2
198.0
204.1
222.2
232.6
227.8
207 8
178.0

208.1
217.9
210.2
201.9
199.8
194.5
202 0
198.2

218.8
231.1
221.2
211.4
209.0
202.3
212 7
208.0

152.9
155.3
154.2
149.7
148.0
147.0
146.2
145.1

227.4
227.3
228.1
229.6
230.1
228.5
224.7
224.3

220.7
207.6
208.2
208.8
211.0
213.8
265.3
292.5

148.4
142.9
141.0
144.0
148.3
144.5
139. 7
136.7

176.4
176. 5
176. 2
176. 5
176.8
177. 5
178.9
178.8

1950: Jan u a ry ____
February..........
M arch...........
A pril.................
M ay............ .....
J u n e . . ______

196.0
194.8
196.0
196.6
200.3
204.6

169.0
169.0
169.0
169.3
169.6
169.6

219.4
221.6
227.3
227.9
239. 5
246.7

217.9
220.5
224.5
224.8
239.9
248.4

242.3
241.9
244.5
245.8
260.0
270.5

177.3
184.0
188.9
185.9
204.2
210.4

234. 3
238.6
246.7
252.1
262.7
268.6

158.9
165.1
180.4
187.5
183.8
184.6

301.9
293.7
302.5
297.4
293.2
295.3

184.2
183.6
182.4
179. 3
177.8
177.1

152.3
141.1
150.2
150.5
144.4
149.1

204.8
199.1
195.2
200. 5
206. 5
217.2

217.2
210.0
204.8
211.8
219.6
233.4

143.3
142.6
142.8
142.6
142.6
143.2

223.9
222.4
222.5
223.4
224.7
225.1

299.5
304.5
311.6
307.6
299.2
295.6

135.2
133.5
134.2
135. 2
137.3
139.6

178. 9
178.0
176.9
175. 2
174.6
174.3

1 The Bureau of Labor Statistics retail food prices are obtained monthly
during the first three days of the week containing the fifteenth of the month,
through voluntary reports from chain and independent retail food dealers.
Articles included are selected to represent food sales to moderate-income
families.
The indexes, based on the retail prices of 50 foods, are computed by the
fixed-base-weighted-aggregate method, using weights representing (1) rela­
tive importance of chain and independent store sales, in computing city aver­
age prices; (2) food purchases by families of wage earners and moderate-


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

income workers, in computing city indexes; and (3) population weights, in
combining city aggregates in order to derive average prices and indexes for all
cities combined.
Indexes of retail food prices in 56 large cities combined, by commodity
groups, for the years 1923 through 1948 (1935-39=100), may be found in Bulle­
tin No. 965, "Retail Prices of Pood, 1948,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S.
Department of Labor, table 3, p. 7. Mimeographed tables of the same
data, by months, January 1935 to date, are available upon request.

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

303

T a b l e D -5: Indexes of Retail Prices of Foods, by City

[1935-39=100]
Nov.
1949

Oct.
1949

197.3

200.8

200.6

194.7
208.1
190.5
189.5
197.0

197.7
211.9
197.2
193.2
200.3

199.9
211.5
197.2
193.7
198.2

189.8
194.1
200.3
185.3
199.9

189.3
194.1
200.3
187.9
202.2

193.2
199.8
203.4
189.2
208.3

195.1
200.2
201.2
190.5
206.5

196.8
201.8
177.7
197.6
196.2

197.4
202.6
177.2
198.4
196.8

197. 3
203. 2
179.3
201.9
196.2

198.7
206.0
180.8
205.0
200.2

190.8
192.3
208.3
193.0
196. 7

190.4
190.7
205.6
191.2
196.1

191.8
191.9
207.7
192.3
199.9

193.4
193. 8
210.5
194. 5
204.5

200.0
184.0
217.5
194.6
200.6

201.2
183.2
217.3
194.5
197.7

198.7
182.7
216 1
194.5
198.3

200.7
183.6
216. 7
196.4
201.4

188.9
197.5
204.3
203.9
192.2

183.4
192.1
201.3
197.6
187.9

184.2
193.1
202.7
198.2
188.1

183.1
189.9
202.2
196.6
188.3

201.1
203.2
201.3
211.6
204.3

199.5
197.2
195.7
209.3
200.1

199.1
193.4
191.5
209.3
197.1

198.6
192.0
191.1
207.9
195.7

Norfolk, V a . _____________
Omaha, N e b r __________
Peoria, 111___ ___________
Philadelphia, P a-------------Pittsburgh, P a .„ ------ --------

207.0
199.1
220.4
201.5
209.1

202.2
197.3
214.3
194.6
205.9

197.0
190. 8
208.8
191.5
200.5

Portland, M a in e ________
Portland, Oreg ________
Providence, R . I. . . . . . ..
Richmond, Va____________
Rochester, N . Y ----------------

193.5
219.4
210.6
197.0
198.8

189.7
217.2
204.9
192.0
195.1

St. Louis, M o ......................
St. Paul, M inn___ _______
Salt Lake City, U tah--------San Francisco, Calif --------Savannah, Qa-------------------

212.4
192.7
201.8
214.3
209.6

Scranton, Pa...................... .
Seattle, W ash_____________
Springfield, 111------- ---------Washington, D . C -------------

205.1
208.6
214.3
204.1
210 4
197.5

Aug.
1939

204.2

202.6

201.7

204.3

145.6

93.5

206.9
216.4
201.9
197.1
204.8

203.9
215.4
199.8
194.6
201.1

198.3
211.5
198.6
194.2
200.3

200.5
216.2
201.4
195.9
205.0

141.0
152.4
147.7
138.0
139.1

92.5
94.7
90.7
93.5
93.2

198.2
201.4
205.2
193.0
212.1

199.5
200.8
203.9
193.9
209.2

200.2
202.1
205.1
190.3
207.4

199.6
206.7
211.2
195.4
211.6

140.2
139.7
148.2
140.8
142.8

94.5
94.1

199.7
209.2
183.6
204.8
196.0

205.4
211.1
187.9
207.0
200.2

201.6
210.4
186.2
205.3
199.1

200.5
208.9
182.9
204.8
204.5

204.2
211.2
185.4
204.9
208.2

141.4
149.3
136.4
142.4
145.3

90.4
93.6
88.1
91.7
92.7

195.5
198.1
212.7
196.9
206.5

192.4
198.7
212.4
198.9
204.4

197.4
201.7
212.2
200.5
206.0

197.2
201.2
211.6
199.3
205.5

197.9
199.3
211.0
195.7
207.8

201.5
201.1
211.8
200.5
205.5

145.4
138.1
144.0
141.5
150.6

90.6
95.4
97.8
90.7

202.8
184.5
220.0
197.0
197.2

206.9
186.9
223.3
198.8
200.5

205.9
186.0
223.6
198.2
200.6

208.5
190.7
227.3
201.4
202.8

206.0
187.2
226.5
201.6
201.7

207.0
188.5
222.3
196.8
202.3

208.3
190. 5
226.0
204.2
206.6

150.8
134.8
165. 6
139.1
154. 8

95.8
91.5

183.7
191.6
203.1
196.3
189.1

185.0
192.9
206.9
196.1
188.7

188.3
195.5
210.2
199.3
192.0

189.7
197.2
209. 7
199.4
191.1

194.3
203.3
213.0
203.7
192.8

192.4
202.1
214.3
200.0
190.1

189.4
200.3
217.1
201.6
190.6

194.1
205.2
215.3
205.6
194.3

135.6
144.4
153.6
144.3
137.5

92.1
94.9
89.7
91.1
95.0

194.8
190.3
189.6
206.9
195.3

196.4
192.4
190.6
209.6
195.9

201.3
196.1
193.1
211.7
198.8

203.6
198.6
2 198. 4
213.2
201.5

204.8
198.2
197.9
210.0
201.0

207.0
201.2
198.3
215.5
205.8

206.6
198.5
194.2
214.4
204.1

205.8
198.5
194.7
214.0
204.1

207.9
199.6
198-5
215.2
203.4

149.8
147.9
140.4
157.6
149.2

95.5
95.6
93.7
97.6
95.8

197.9
190.4
208.2
191.9
198.7

195.0
188.9
206.9
189.5
198.8

194.8
189.8
205.9
191.3
199.7

198.0
190.9
206.5
193.5
200.8

200.8
194. 7
210.0
196.8
205.4

203.5
195.7
211.9
197.9
204.8

208.9
197.9
214.4
199.9
208.0

206.1
196.4
214.9
198.3
207.9

202.0
196.2
214.6
195.2
205.3

206.9
201.1
218.9
198.7
208.8

146.0
139.5
151.3
143.5
147.1

93.6
92.3
93.4
93.0
92.5

187.8
213.0
200.2
188.2
189.6

190.8
211.1
199.4
190. 5
191.0

186.7
211.8
197.4
188.5
190.0

187.3
210.4
198.3
188.3
190.7

187.2
206.3
201.3
191.3
192.0

188.4
207.8
205.2
195.0
193.5

189.7
209.7
207.0
197.4
193.7

193.8
211.1
210.9
202.4
198.1

194.8
211.6
209.0
200.7
198.6

194.7
213.6
209.7
195.8
197.5

197.2
219.4
208.9
197.5
199.3

138.4
158.4
144.9
138. 4
142.5

95.9
96.1
93.7
92.2
92.3

208.4
190.4
198.4
213.2
205.5

202.5
186.9
195.1
212.9
200.5

204.5
187.5
196.5
211.6
200.9

202.9
186.8
199.4
212.2
197.1

204.6
186.4
198. 7
214.3
197.0

206. 2
186.0
196.6
210.1
201.8

208.6
187.9
202.0
212.9
207.1

207.5
187. 5
202.6
213.1
208.2

211.6
190.3
203.1
213.7
218.3

210.6
188.8
201.0
209.9
212.5

206.8
189.1
204.9
212.6
210.2

212.8
192.3
207.5
215.5
217.1

147.4
137.3
151.7
155_5
158.5

93.8
94.3
94.6
93.8
96.7

199.6
206.8
209.0
198.4
207 6
192.9

192.6
205.2
202.0
193.3
204. 2
191.5

193.5
204.2
201.5
193.6
206, 8
191.8

191.0
205.6
201.4
193.6
205.1
188.6

192.4
205.8
200.9
194.4
205.9
191.0

193.2
203.1
201.6
196.1
207.8
196.3

198.1
207.4
204.4
202.6
210.9
197.8

200.9
205.0
204.7
200.1
211.2
197. 5

208.3
208.0
209.6
203.8
211.8
200.6

206.1
205. 5
210.1
203.5
211.9
200.6

202.7
205.8
208.4
200. 4
210.7
198.9

204.1
208.5
214.0
202.2
216.4
200.6

144.0
151.6
150.1
145. 5
154. 4
145.3

92.1
94.5
94.1
94.1

M ay
195Ö

United States------- ------------

204.6

200.3

196.6

196.0

Atlanta. Qa______________
Baltimore, Md_ ............... Birmingham, Ala____ ____ Boston, Mass ____________
Bridgeport, C o n n ............ .

197.5
218.7
195.0
198.4
206.8

194.7
211.0
193.1
191.7
201.8

192.6
206.1
189.6
188.4
197.8

193.8
206.5
189.8
187.7
197.0

Buffalo, N . Y _____________
Butte, M ont . . __ _______
Charleston, S. C __________
Chicago, 111..............................

203.2
206.9
212.1
189.4
211.1

195.9
201.3
208.6
186.7
208.2

193.3
198.5
202.3
185.2
201.5

193.0
195.9
201.9
186.1
201.5

Cincinnati, Ohio__________
Cleveland, Ohio - ..................
Columbus, Ohio_________
Dallas, T e x ___________
Denver, Colo--------------------

206.9
213.7
186.3
202.0
207.0

202, 9
206.3
183.3
199.8
203. S

196.7
203.1
179.1
196.3
198.6

Detroit, M ich____________
Fall River, M ass____ ____ _
Houston, Tex __________
Indianapolis, Ind............ .......

205.2
203.4
207.3
199.5
200.0

198.7
197.2
205.5
197.1
199.7

Jacksonville, Fla_-.......... .......
Kansas City, M o -------------Little Rock, Ark -----------Los Angeles, Calif. ----------

207.0
190.1
223.7
201.0
200.3

Louisville, K y .......................
Manchester, N . H ________
_______
Memphis, Tenn
M il wäukee, W is - ________
Minneapolis, M in n -----------

Jan.
1950

Dec.
1949

194.8

196.0

190.0
205.0
184.5
184.8
192.5

192.5
206.6
186.4
186.6
195.5

189.6
194.8
201.0
183.3
198.6

197.9
201.6
179.0
196.3
198.9

194.2
193.7
205.1
192.6
198.0

202.7
187.3
220.5
197.4
199.8

194.1
200.9
206.4
207.6
194.9

Mobile, Ala ____________
Newark, N . J ____________
New Haven, Conn-----------New Orleans, L a .. ..............
New York, N . Y ---------------

* Estimated index based on hall the usual sample of reports.
prices for N ew Haven.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

June
1946

July
1949

June
1950

Winston-Salem, N . C .i-------

June
1949

Aug.
1949

Apr.
1950

Mar.
1950

City

Feb.
1950

Sept.
1949

95.1
92.3

94.0
94.6

Remaining reports lost in the mails. Index for December 15 reflects the correct level of food

304

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

MONTHLY LABOR

T able D -6: Average Retail Prices and Indexes of Selected Foods
Commodity

Average
price
June
1950

Indexes 1935-39=100
June

1950

C ereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
C e n ts
Flour, w heat____ _____ 5 pounds.. 49.1 190.4
Corn flakes........... ...........11 ounces.. 16.6 176.3
Corn m eal.......................
pound..
8.7 180.6
Rice 1........... ............................. .d o ___
16.5
92.8
Rolled oats *_________ 20 ounces..
16.0 145.5
Bakery products:
. Bread, w hite..........................pound.. 14.0 163.9
Vanilla co o k ies............ ...........do___ 44.7 191.1
M eats, poultry, and fish:
Meats:
Beef:
Round steak___________ d o ...: 97.5 288.7
do___ 76.1 264.4
Rib roast...................
Chuck roast____________ do__ 63.0 281.1
Hamburger 3___________ do__
56.1 181.5
Veal:
C u tlets._____ _________do___ 108.3 271.3
Pork:
Chops....................................do__ 80.7 244.8
Bacon, sliced_____ _____ do___ 61.7 162.1
Ham, whole____________ do__ 63.5 216.0
Salt pork____ __________do___ 33.4 160.3
Lamb:
Leg....................................... .d o __ 77.3 272.9
Poultry, ........................................ .d o ___
184.6
Frying chickens: *
New York dressed 8____ do___ 46.7
Dressed and drawn 7___ do___
59.3
Fish:
Fish (fresh, frozen)*...............d o___
274.1
m
Salmon, pink *____ 16-ounce ca n ..
42.6 325.3
Dairy products:
Butter............................................pound.. 71.1 195.4
Cheese_______
do___
51.1 226.2
Milk, fresh (delivered)________quart..
19.6 160.1
Milk, fresh (grocery).....................d o ___
18.2 161.6
Milk, evaporated____ 14^-ounce can..
12.4 174.1
Eggs: Eggs, fresh-............................... dozen.. 51.6 149.1
Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh fruits:
Apples..................................... pound.. 16.1 307.5
Bananas__________________ do___ 16.4 272.2
Oranges, size 200_________ dozen.. 48.9 172.6
Fresh vegetables:
Beans, green_____________ pound.. 16.8 153.9
Cabbage....... ............................. do___
6.6 173.0
Carrots__________________bunch..
9.8 181.5
Lettuce___________________ head.. 13.9 167.5
Onions------------------.p o u n d ..
7.7 186.3
Potatoes_____________ 15 pounds.. 79.6 220.6
(10)
Spinach......................
pound.. (“>)
Sweetpotatoes_____________ do___ 10.8 207.4
Tomatoes 11. ____
do___
32.4 212.8
Canned fruits:
Peaches.......................N o. V A can..
27.0 140.0
Pineapple.......... ......................d o ___ 37.3 171.9
Canned vegetables:
C orn.................................N o. 2 ca n ..
17.2 138.4
Peas13. _____________ N o. 303 ca n .. 20.9 114.3
Tomatoes.........................N o. 2 ca n ..
14.5 161.7
Dried fruits: Prunes...................p ou nd.. 24.2 237. 5
Dried vegetables: N avy beans..do___ 14.9 202.4
Beverages: Coffee................................... do___ 74.2 295.1
Fats and oils:
Lard................
do___
17.3 115.9
Hydrogenated veg. shortening « .d o ___ 32.1 155.2
Salad dressing_________________ p in t.. 34.4 142.2
Margarine________
pound.. 29.4 161.3
Sugar and sweets:
Sugar.........................................5 pounds.. 47.1 175.2

May
1950

Apr.

1950

Mar.
1950

Feb.

Jan.

1950

Dec. Nov.
1949 1949

Oct. Sept. Aug.
1949 1949 1949

July

June

190.1
176.7
178.7
92.6
145.8
164.1
191.1

189.2
176.6
175.9
92.5
145.8
164.1
189.6

188.2
176.7
175.8
92.2
146.2
163.9
189.6

187. 7
177.3
175.8
92.4
146.2
J63. 9
190.0

187.3
177.8
177.7
92.2
146.4
163.8
189.9

186.6
177.9
178.2
93.5
146.7
164.0
190.6

186.3
177.7
178.2
94.1
147.4
164.1
190.4

184. 8
177.3
179.8
98.4
148.0
164.1
190.1

184.2
177.8
182.2
103.3
148.1
164.2
193.2

183.6
178.0
182.4
106.1
148.4
164.1
191.3

183.9
179.0
181.7
104.9
149.0
164.2
190.8

184.9
178.7
181.7
104.6
149.2
164.3
190.9

275.3
255.2
265.1
176.1
264.8
239.4
157.5
206.9
152.5
266.9
183.8

256.1
241.4
249.9
167.4
258.4
207.3
154.2
193.5
148.3
256.2
187.5

252.9
239.4
248.9
166.2
262.1
210.6
155.0
198.0
152.2
250.6
180.4

249.2
237.0
245.7
164.6
261. 4
201.4
154.6
195.2
149.9
242.4
165.1

252.1
238.5
245.1
164.6
255.8
186.9
154.7
192.5
153.2
238.1
158.9

257.5
242.1
254. 5
165.7
248.3
182. 7
160. 8
194. 2
169.0
239. 9
179.5

262.2
244.2
260.3
166.8
250.8
201.6
170.7
195.1
181.8
245. 8
184.5

260.8
243.7
261.3
166.8
252.1
228.3
183.9
208.5
176.1
250.1
184.6

269.2
241.7
253.8
168.0
254.6
264.0
177.6
233.0
171.3
258.7
192.5

264.7
237.8
248.1
167.2
252.6
253.6
173.5
232.7
169.5
251.7
191.5

263.1
237.0
249.6
167.2
249.7
234.6
169.4
222.5
163.1
269.7
182.8

264.6
239.6
252.0
168.4
254.7
252.4
168.4
218.6
161.9
282.8
184.4

1949

1949

Aug.

1939
82.1
92.7
90.7
(J)
(3)

93.2
(‘)

102.7
97.4
97.1
(0

101.1
90.8
80.9
92.7
69.0
95.7
94.6
( 4)

(4 )

270.6
327.8
196.0
227.7
160.5
162.5
174.1
144.4

276.0
328.2
197.5
228.9
161.7
165.0
174.4
150.5

281.2
332.1
200.6
230.1
165.4
168.4
174.9
150.2

265.1
345.6
201.5
230.7
166.9
169.7
174.8
141.1

272.2
355.9
201.8
231.1
167.9
170.2
175.1
152.3

267.1
359.8
201.9
232.2
171.1
173.4
175. 7
178.0

266. 4
367.9
201.3
232.4
171.3
174.2
178.1
207.8

268.4
385.7
200.4
232.2
172.3
175.6
176.3
227.8

260.1
428.8
200.1
230.2
169.8
174.1
177.3
232.6

254.4
434.1
198.5
228.6
169.8
174.6
177.5
222.2

251.1
439.0
192.9
225.8
168.4
172.2
179.2
204.1

252.2
454.4
193.2
226.4
167.9
171.6
180.5
198.0

98.8
97.4
84.0
92.3
97.1
96.3
93.9
90.7

260.0
274.8
167.9
211.4
172.4
178.3
189.5
161.2
208.9
(i°)
218.5
153.8
138.4
171.9
137.3
113.6
161.7
236.6
202.7
298.6
112.6
151.7
140.5
160.8
175.4

221.9
274.8
173.2
201.8
167.4
175.5
158.8
143.8
199.5
(10)
210.2
177.2
138.6
173.1
138.8
114.7
159.9
234.9
201.9
307.0
109.5
148.6
139.1
160.2
176.1

206.0
278.5
177.1
180.4
178.2
177.0
155.8
155.5
195.4
(10)
209.5
141.4
139.4
173.9
139.7
114.8
159.3
232.9
202.9
311.0
110.6
147.4
137.7
156.6
177.8

187.7
278.3
176.3
219.2
169. 6
184.3
170.9
184.8
195.6
(10)
205.5
157.4
140.1
173.6
142.1
114.0
157.7
231.7
204.3
303.9
110.0
146.3
138.0
154.4
178.8

178.6
273.1
156.5
274.9
173.9
202.6
220.1
216.9
196.5
(10)
205.6
165.3
141.8
174.2
144.1
113.1
158.2
232.5
206.9
298.9
113.1
148.8
138.3
155.3
179.8

174.9
273.9
146.8
245.9
164.0
206.8
158.3
220.9
195.3
(l0)
195.8
175.4
148.2
175.2
149.8
112.5
157.8
231.8
209.0
291.9
114.2
154.3
138.6
156.1
179.7

165.8
277.9
167.3
198.1
143.0
219.9
222.9
204.9
194.1
(to)
182.6
168.8
149.8
177.0
152.4
112.6
158.4
230.7
211.7
264.8
119.3
158.5
139.3
157.9
179.8

165.0
273.9
195.3
137.4
147.9
202.0
199.7
191.9
196.0
(10)
183.0
13100.0
152.4
179.4
153.1
112.8
158.4
232.0
219.2
213.4
130.4
159.1
140.9
161.0
178.4

184.7
271.4
183.4
156.4
168.1
197.0
254.7
179.3
208.4
206.8
206.1

192.1
275.0
200.1
154.1
176.3
191.3
209.3
160.3
222.1
193.0
270.8

248.1
280.7
215.5
168.5
164.2
187.2
156.5
186.6
233.5
177.2
322.6

309.9
284.3
209.0
175.0
170.0
188.9
131.8
204.3
259.7
143.8
330.4

81.6
97.3
96.9
61.7
103.2
84.9
97.6
86.8
91.9
118.4
115.7

1 July 1947=100.
8Index not computed.
1 February 1943=100.
* N ot priced in earlier period.
* New specifications introduced in April 1949, in place of roasting chickens.
* Priced in 29 cities.
7Priced in 27 cities.
* 1938-39=100.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1950

«

155.5
180.9
155.1
112.3
158.8
231.3
224.4
210.6
133.9
159.3
142.6
171.8
177.7

(*)

(‘)

(<)

158.3
183.0
155.3
112.9
161.4
230.2
224.7
208.4
129.4
158.9
139.3
163.0
177.4

161.6
183.7
155.7
113. 5
171.8
228.9
223.1
207.8
120.1
163.7
140.2
157.7
177.1

163.5
182.5
155. 7
113.8
174.5
226.9
223.9
207.2
121.4
165.4
143.0
159.0
177.4

«

92.3
96.0
88.6

89.8
92.5
94.7
83.0

93.3

65.2
93.9
93.6
95.6

(*)

8 Average price not computed.
18 Discontinued October 1949.
11 October 1949=100.
12 First inclusion in retail food price index.
13 No. 303 can fancy grade peas introduced in April 1950, in place of No.
can standard grade peas.
11 Formerly published as shortening in othercontainera.

305

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

T able D -7: Indexes of Wholesale Prices,1 by Group of Commodities, for Selected Periods
[1926=100]

Fuel Metals
and
and
light­ metal
ing
prod­
mate­ ucts
1
rials

Chem­ Houseicals
furand
nishallied
ing
prod­ goods
ucts

M is­
cella­
neous
com­
modi­
ties

All
com­
Semi- Manu­ modi­
fac­
Raw
manuextured ties
mate­
faccept
prod­
rials
tured
farm
articles ucts 1 prod­
ucts *

All
com­
modi­
ties
ex­
cept
farm
prod­
ucts
and
foods 1

Foods

Hides
and
leather
prod­
ucts

Tex­
tile
prod­
ucts

71.5
71.4
150.3
169.8
104.9

64.2
62.9
128.6
147.3
99.9

68.1
69.7
131.6
193.2
109.1

57.3
55.3
142.6
188.3
90.4

61.3
55.7
114.3
159. 8
83.0

90.8
79.1
143.5
155.5
100.5

56.7
52.9
101.8
164.4
95.4

80.2
77.9
178.0
173.7
94.0

56.1
56.7
99.2
143.3
94.3

93.1
88.1
142.3
176.5
82.6

68.8
67.3
138.8
163. 4
97.5

74.9
67.8
162.7
253.0
93.9

69.4
66.9
130.4
157.8
94.5

69.0
65.7
131.0
165.4
93.3

70.0
65.7
129.9
170.6
91.6

64.8
77.1
75.0
78.6

48.2
65.3
61.0
67.7

61.0
70.4
67.2
71.3

72.9
95.6
92.7
100.8

54.9
69.7
67.8
73.8

70.3
73.1
72.6
71.7

80.2
94.4
93.2
95.8

71.4
90.5
89.6
94.8

73.9
76.0
74.2
77,0

75.1
86.3
85.6
88.5

64.4
74.8
73.3
77.3

55.1
70.2
66.5
71.9

59.3
77.0
74.5
79.1

70.3
80.4
79.1
81.6

68.3
79.5
77.9
80.8

70.2
81.3
80.1
83.0

1941: Average_____
December___
1942: Average_____
1943: Average_____
1944: Average_____

87.3
93.6
98.8
103.1
104.0

82.4
94.7
105.9
122.6
123.3

82.7
90.5
99.6
106.6
104.9

108.3
114.8
117.7
117. 5
116.7

84.8
91.8
96.9
97.4
98.4

76.2
78.4
78.5
80.8
83.0

99.4
103.3
103.8
103.8
103.8

103.2
107.8
110.2
111.4
115.5

84.4
90.4
95.5
94.9
95.2

94.3
101.1
102.4
102.7
104.3

82.0
87.6
89.7
92.2
93.6

83.5
92.3
100.6
112.1
113.2

86.9
90.1
92.6
92.9
94.1

89.1
94.6
98.6
100.1
100.8

88.3
93.3
97.0
98.7
99.6

89.0
93.7
95.5
96.9
98. 5

1948: Average------A ugust_____

105.8
105.7

128.2
126.9

106.2
106.4

118.1
118.0

100.1
99.6

84.0
84.8

104.7
104.7

117.8
117.8

95.2
95.3

104.5
104.5

94.7
94.8

116.8
116.3

95.9
95.5

101.8
101.8

100.8
100.9

99.7
99.9

1946: Average_____
June____ . . .
November___
1947: Average..........

121.1
112.9
139. 7
152.1

148.9
140.1
169.8
181.2

130.7
112.9
165.4
168.7

137.2
122.4
172.5
182.4

116.3
109.2
131.6
141.7

90.1
87.8
94.5
108.7

115.5
112.2
130.2
145.0

132.6
129.9
145.5
179.7

101.4
96.4
118.9
127.3

111.6
110.4
118.2
131.1

100.3
98.5
106.5
115. 5

134.7
126.3
153.4
165.6

110.8
105.7
129.1
148.5

116.1
107.3
134.7
146.0

114.9
106.7
132.9
145.5

109.5
105.6
120.7
135.2

1948: Average_____

165.1

188.3

179.1

188.8

149.8

134.2

163.6

199.1

135.7

144.5

120.5

178.4

158.0

159.4

159.8

151.0

163.9
164.6
163.2
161.3
162.0
160.4
160.4
159.5

150.2
146.5
146.0
147.9
147.8
145.3
145.1
144.7

151.2
150.6
149.8
149.4
150.1
149.1
148.2
147.9

152.4
151.1
150.6
150.6
151.2
150.3
150.3
150.1

147.3
145.5
145.1
145.0
145.3
145.0
145.0
145.4

159.8
162.4
162.8
162.5
166.3
167.7

144.8
144.3
144.1
143.9
145.6
148.1

148.2
149.1
148.9
149.4
152.2
153.5

150.5
151.1
151.0
151.2
153.7
155.2

145.8
145.9
146.1
146.4
147.6
148.8

All
com­
modi­
ties 1

Farm
prod­
ucts

Average..........
July________
November__
M ay________
Average_____

69.8
67.3
136.3
167.2
95.3

1932: A v e r a g e .,..-.
1939: Average_____
August______
1940: A verage.........

Year and month

1913:
1914:
1918:
1920:
1929:

Build­
ing
mate­
rials

1949: Average..........
Ju n e.............
July________
August........ —
September__
O ctober.........
November___
December___

155.0
154.5
153.6
152.9
153.5
152.2
151.6
151.2

165.5
168.8
166.2
162.3
163.1
159.6
156.8
154.9

161.4
162.4
161.3
160.6
162.0
159.6
158.9
155.7

180.4
178.8
177.8
178.9
181.1
181.3
180.8
179.9

140.4
139.1
138.0
138.1
139.0
138.0
138.0
138.4

131.7
130.0
130.1
129.6
129.9
130.6
130.2
130.4

170.2
167.1
167.9
168.2
168.2
167.3
167.3
167.8

193.4
191.4
189.0
188.3
189.4
189.3
189.6
190.4

118. 6
116.7
118.0
119.6
117.6
115.9
115.8
115.2

145.3
145.3
143.0
142.9
142.9
143. 0
143.4
144.2

112.3
111.0
110.3
109.8
109.6
109.0
109.7
110.7

1950: January____
February___
March______
April_______
M av ________
June....... .
.

151. 5
152. 7
152. 7
152.9
155.9
157.3

154.7
159.1
159.4
159.3
164.7
165.9

154.8
156. 7
155.5
155.3
159.9
162.1

179.3
179.0
179.6
179.4
181.0
182.6

138.5
138. 2
137.3
136.4
136.1
136.8

168.4
131.4
131.3
168.6
168.5
131. 5
131.2
168.7
132.1 « 169.8
132.7
171.8

191.6
192.8
194.2
194.8
198.1
202.2

115. 7
115. 2
116.3
117.1
116.4
114.5

144.7
145.2
145.5
145.8
146.6
147.0

110.0
110.0
110.7
112.6
114.7
114.8

1 BLS wholesale price data, for the most part, represent prices in primary
markets. They are prices charged by manufacturers or producers or are
prices prevailing on organized exchanges. The weekly index is calculated
from 1-day-a-week prices; the monthly index from an average of these prices.
M onthly indexes for the last 2 months are preliminary.
The indexes currently are computed by the fixed base aggregate method,
with weights representing quantities produced for sale in 1929-31. (For a
detailed description of the method of calculation see “ Revised Method of
Calculation of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wholesale Price Index,’’ in
the Journal of the American Statistical Association, December 1937.)
Mimeographed tables are available, upon request to the Bureau, giving
monthly indexes for major groups of commodities since 1890 and for subgroups
and economic groups since 1913. The weekly wholesale price indexes are


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

available in summary form since 1947 for all commodities; all commodities
less farm products and foods; farm products; foods; textile products; fuel and
lighting materials; metals and metal products; building materials, and
chemicals and allied products. Weekly indexes are also available for the
subgroups of grains, livestock, and meats.
5
Includes current motor vehicle prices beginning with October 1946. The
rate of production of motor vehicles in October 1946 exceeded the monthly
average rate of civilian production in 1941, and in accordance with the an­
nouncement made in September 1946, the Bureau introduced current prices
for motor vehicles in the October calculations. During the war, motor
vehicles were not produced for general civilian sale and the Bureau carried
April 1942 prices toward in each computation through September 1946.
0 Corrected.

306

D: PRICES AND COST OF LIVING

MONTHLY LABOR

T able D -8: Indexes of Wholesale Prices,1 by Group and Subgroup of Commodities
[1926=100]
1950

1949

1946

1939
Aug

Group and subgroup
June

M ay

All commodities A

157.3

Farm products,.....................
Grains________ ____ .
Livestock and poultry.
Livestock......... .......
Poultry__________
Other farm p rodu cts...
Eggs ».........................
Foods___________________
Dairy products..............
Cereal products...........
Fruits and vegetables...
M eats, poultry, and
fish________ _______
M eats.......................
Poultry.....................
Other foods___________
Hides and leather products.
Shoes_______________
Hides and skins..............
Leather _____________
Other leather products.
Textile products__________
Clothing_____________
Cotton g o o d s ............
Hosiery and underwear.
Rayon and nylon .
Silk__________

165.9
169.3
197.5
222.4
77.2
145.0
91.3
162.1
135.9
145.6
140. 5

Other textile products..
Anthracite....... ..............
Bituminous coal...........
Coke................................ .
Electricity___________ _
Gas______ ____ _______
Petroleum and products
Agricultural machinery
and equipment.......... .
Iron and steel___
Motor veh icles...
Passenger ears_____
Trucks.......................
Nonferrous m etals____
Plumbing and heating..
Building materials...............
Brick and tile..................
C e m e n ti____________
Lumber____________ ’ ’
Paint and paint mate­
rials___ _____
Prepared paint__ I.
Paint materials____
Plumbing and heating.
Structural steel_______
Other building mate­
rials..............................
Chemicals and allied prod­
ucts___________________
C h em ica ls........ .......
Drug and pharma­
ceutical materials........
Fertilizer materials____
Mixed fertilizers_______
Oils and fats.............
Housefurnishing goods____
Furnishings__________
Furniture______ ____ I]
Miscellaneous.........................
Tires and tu bes.” .” ! ” ]
Cattle f e e d ......................
Paper and pulp...............
Paperboard_______
Paper_______ _____
Wood p u lp ...............
Rubber, c ru d e...............
Other miscellaneous...
Soap and synthetic
detergents..............

Apr.

Mar.

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

155.9

152.9

152.7

152. 7

151.5

151.2

151.6

152.2

164.7
172.3
194.6
218.5
79.6
143.7
85.4
159.9
138.0
146.0
139.2

159.3
169.6
178.0
197.9
84.0
144.2
90.7
155.3
141.1
145.9
137.6

159.4
165.4
180.3
199.7
89.7
144.2
94.6
155.5
144.8
145.6
134.9

159.1
161.3
179.9
200.6
81.4
144.9
87.3
156.7
147.5
144.8
138.2

154.7
160.2
170.5
192.0
66.7
142.6
86.0
154.8
148.8
144.3
134.3

154. 9
160.9
167.0
187.0
71.1
145.0
99.1
155.7
154.4
144.6
132.4

156. 8
156.4
169.6
188.3
(4)
148.2
132.5
158.9
154. 7
144.6
130.7

159.6
155.3
177.7
197.6
(4)
148.8
147.5
159.6
154.6
144.6
128.0

223.7
217.1
241.4
234.0
91.5
90.0
133.1
130.9
182.6
181.0
184.8
185.0
202.1 « 194. 4
180.6
179.3
143.1
143.1
136.8
136.1
143.8
143.8
173.8
172.0
97.7
97.7
39.9
39.9
49.3
49.3
148.3
146.2
164.5
164.6
132.7
132.1
140.1
139.2
192.1
192.6
225.6
225.6
(3)
(3)
87.2
(3)
113.9
112.6
171.8 » 169. 8

200.6
214.7
89.9
129.3
179.4
184.3
187.2
179.1
143.1
136.4
144.2
» 172. 8
97.7
39.9
49.1
146.1
165.8
131.2
142.6
193.4
225.6
67.8
86.8
109.5
168.7

200.0
213.6
92.7
129.8
179.6
184.3
190.4
177.9
143.1
137.3
143.5
176.5
98.0
39.9
49.1
146.3
166.9
131.5
141.9
198.5
224.7
67.9
88.3
108. 6
168.5

201.6
216.3
86.8
129.6
179.0
184.3
188.2
176.6
143.1
138. 2
143.1
178.4
98.6
39.9
50.1
147.2
170.3
131.3
139.3
196.7
223. 7
69.6
87.4
109.4
168.6

194.5
208.3
83.1
131.0
179.3
184.3
189.0
177.6
143.1
138.5
143.9
178.7
98.5
39.6
50.1
147.0
171.7
131.4
139.3
196.2
222.2
68.9
85.0
109.4
168.4

193.5
206.5
88.6
132.6
179.9
184.3
192.8
178.1
141.1
138.4
144.0
178.4
r98.4
39.6
49.9
146.9
171.5
130.4
139.3
194.1
222.2
69.6
87.2
108.5
167.8

198.9
212.9
(*)
139.6
180.8
184.3
199.5
177.0
141.1
138.0
144.2
177.9
98.4
39.6
49.5
146.0
169.0
130.2
139.3
192.4
222.2
70.3
88.3
108.5
167.3

205.0
219.6
(4)
137.4
181.3
183.4
205.6
176.5
141.1
138.0
144.6
176 5
98.4
39.6
49.2
145.1
175.6
130.6
139.1
191.2
222.2
70.1
87.8
109.9
167.3

143.6
145.9
169.2
175.1
185.2
133.0
148.4
156.3
202.2
164.3
134.9
322.7

143.5
145.8
168.6
” 175.1
185.2
» 133. 0
136.3
156.4
198.1
c 163.9
134.9
310.8

143.4
145.8
168.9
175.1
185.2
» 132. 7
128.9
154.7
194.8
163.4
134.9
299.4

143.1
145.6
169.0
175.1
185.2
132.8
127.2
151.9
194.2
163.3
134.9
295.9

143.1
145.7
168.8
175.6
185.7
133.0
128.1
148.7
192.8
163.2
134. 9
292.1

143.0
145.7
167.3
176.5
186.7
133.8
128.6
151.7
191.6
163. 5
134.8
287.5

143.0
145.6
165.4
176.7
186. 7
134.7
129.2
154.6
190.4
161.9
134.5
285. 2

143.1
145.7
163.4
176.7
186.7
134.9
131.7
154.6
189.6
161.9
134. 5
283.5

137.7
138. 5
139. 5
156.3
191.6

136.8
138.5
137.6
156.4
191.6

136.7
138.5
137.3
154.7
191.6

138.2
138.5
140.5
151.9
191.6

139.0
138. 5
142.2
148.7
191.6

139.0
138.5
142.2
151.7
191.6

139.6
138.5
143.4
154.6
185.2

140.1
138.5
144.6
154. 6
178.8

175.1

172.7

172.0

172.2

171.1

170.5

169.2

168.6

168.1

114.5
117. 3

116.4
116.5

117.1
116.4

116.3
115.4

115.2
114.7

115.7
114.7

115.2
114.3

115.8
115.0

115.9
115.3

122.7
108.4
103. 5
111.9
147.0
154.4
139.3
114.8
67.0
213. 2
155.4
146. 6
150. 3
184. 7
63. 4
121.0

122.3
116.8
103.5
122.2
146.6
154.1
138.9
114.7
65.8
235.5
155.4
146.5
150.3
184.8
58.4
120.5

122.0
117.4
103.5
127.5
145.8
152.6
138.8
112.6
65.0
215.6
155.4
146.5
150.3
185.0
48.7
120.3

121.9
117.3
103.5
125.6
145.5
152. 2
138.6
110.7
64.3
193.7
155. 5
147.3
150.3
184.3
41.3
120.4

121.4
116.9
103.5
120.9
145.2
151.8
138.4
110.0
64.3
177.3
155. 6
147.3
150.5
183.8
41.1
120.4

121.5
117.4
104.6
122.7
144.7
151.5
137.8
64.3
179.3
155.9
147.3
151.0
183.8
39.1
120.5

121.6
117.9
106.5
118.2
144.2
151.2
137.0
110.7
64.3
192.3
156.0
147.5
151. 0
183.8
37.8
121.1

123.0
118. 3
107.0
118.3
143. 4
149.9
136.8
109.7
62.5
184.9
156.5
147.1
151.0
189. 7
35.4
121.2

123.1
120.2
107.1
115.6
143.0
149.2
136.7
109.0
60.7
182.1
156.5
146.4
151.0
190.5
34.8
121.2

122.1

122.8

122.9

122.9

123.0

123.1

126. 5

126.6

127.0

1 1 0 .0

in De^ember!10to Comx^ed'^' * ^ R e v ise d ^ 2’ tabie D ’ 7, 3 N'ot avallable>
t Revised indexes for dates prior to August 1949 available upon request.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

*

Nov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

June

153.5

152.9

o 153.6

154.5

112.9

76.0

163.1
156.4
186.6
207.5
m
149.8
158.3
162.0
153.5
143.7
126.9

162.3
150. 4
186.3
206.6
(4)
150.1
146.4
160.6
152. 7
142.8
130.3

166.2
154.1
188.5
209.4
(4)
155.0
138.7
161.3
149.2
146.1
145.4

168.*8
154.9
193.3
212.6
(4)
156.7
126.9
162.4
145.5
145.6
157.5

140.1
151.8
137.4
143.4
(3)
137. 5
97.3
112.9
127.3
101.7
136.1

61.0

215.1
230.4
(4)
137.8
181.1
183.8
204.8
175.5
141.1
139.0
144.8
174.8
98.4
39.6
49.2
150.4
181.5
129.9
138.6
190.5
222.2
68.9
89.3
109.1
168.2

210.7
224.4
Í4)
136.5
178.9
183.8
194.5
173.7
141.1
138.1
144.8
170.2
98.4
39.6
49.2
152.6
180.9
129.6
135.9
188.8
222.0
68.5
88.9
109.7
168.2

212.2
227.3
(4)
130.5
177.8
183. 8
184.7
175.4
142.4
138.0
144.8
167.3
98.4
39.6
49.2
157.6
178.8
130.1
135.4
188.9
222.0
70.0
89.5
110.2
167.9

215.5
230.3
(4)
127.8
178.8
184.1
186.0
177.1
144.4
139.1
145.6
169.3
99.5
39.6
49.2
159. 7
177.7
130.0
134.2
188.6
222.4
68.9
90.1
110.4
167.1

110.1
116 6
(3)
98.1
122.4
129.5
121.5
110.7
116.2
109. 2
120. 3
139. 4
75. 8
30.2
(3)
112. 7
112.3
10fi 1
139 8
133 fi
87 9
79 ß
64.0
112.2

77.2
84.0
97.1
67.8
81.5
65.6
61.6
28.5
44.3
75.5
63.7
72.6
72.1
96.0
104.2
75.8
86.7
51.7
93.2

143.6
146.3
163.3
177.0
187.0
135.0
131.5
154.6
189.3
161.8
134.5
282.0

143.8
146.4
164.0
177.1
187.0
135.3
135. 7
154.6
189.4
161.8
133.0
279.8

143.9
146.4
163.8
177.2
187.0
135. 7
135.9
154.7
188.3
161.5
133.0
277.4

144.0
146. 5
164.2
177.2
187.0
135.7
132.1
154.7
189.0
161.5
133.1
277.4

144.1
146.6
164.6
175.8
185.3
135.7
128.8
154.7
191.4
160.8
133.7
280.7

104 fi
104 9
110 1
135 5
142 8
104 3
99 2
106.0
129. 9
121. 3
102. 6
176.0

93.5
94.7
95.1
92.5
95.6
77.4
74.6
79.3
89.6
90.6
91.3
90.1

141.4
138.5
147.2
154.6
178.8

144.1
138.5
153.0
154.6
178.8

144.0
138.5
152.8
154.7
178.8

145.4
138.5
155.8
154.7
178.8

153.8
151.3
159.5
154.7
178.8

108. 6
99. 3
120.9
106.0
120.1

82.1
92.9
71.8
79.3
107.3

168.9

167.3

168.8

168.5

118.4

89.5

117. 6
117.2

119.6
117.8

118.0
117.9

116.7
116.7

96. 4
98.0

74.2
83.8

125.0
120. 4
108.2
118.4
142.9
149.1
136.6
109.6
60.6
190.3
156.5
146.4
151.1
190.5
37.2
121.2

125.0
121.8
107.9
130.3
142.9
149.1
136.6
109.8
60.6
197.9
156.8
146.2
151.4
190.5
35.6
121.1

124.7
120.7
108.3
118.5
143.0
149.1
136.8
110.3
60.6
204.7
156.8
146.4
151. 5
190.5
35.1
121.6

124.3
117.5
108.3
116.9
145.3
151.1
139.3
62.1
199.3
159.6
146.9
152.9
205.4
34. 5
121.9

109. 4
82. 7
86.6
102.1
HO. 4
114. 5
108.5
98.5
65.7
197.8
115. 6
115.6
107.3
154.1
46.2

77.1
65.5
73.1
40.6
85.6
90.0
81.1
73.3
59.5
68.4

127.0

126.3

129.0

131.3

Index based on old series not available.

1 1 1 .0

87 8

51.5
66.0
67.7
(3)
60.1
47.5
67.2
67.9
71.9
58.5
73.7
78.1
(3)
60.3
92.7
100.8

SO 0
66,2

1 0 1 .0

83.9
69.6
34.9
81.3

101.3

78.9

Revised series first used in index

307

E : W O R K STOPPAGES

REVIEW, AUGUST 1950

E: Work Stoppages
T able

E -l: Work Stoppages Resulting From Labor-Management Disputes1
Workers involved in stoppages

Number of stoppages
M onth and year

jJMJS
JQ4fi
1947
1948
1949

Beginning
in month or
year

...............
________

In effect dur­
ing month

Beginning
in month or
year

In effect dur­
ing month

1,130, 000
3, 470,000
4, 600.000
2,170. 000
1, 960, 000
3,030. 000

2,862
4, 750
4,985
3,693
3, 419
3,606

M an-days idle during month
or year

Number

Percent of
estimated
working tim®

16,900,000
38,000,000
116,000,000
34, 600,000
34,100,000
50, 500,000

0.27
.47
1.43
.41
.37
.59

___________________
1949' June
July
. _________________________
August
_______________________________
September
_ _______________________________
__ ________________________________
October
November
___________ _______________
D ecem ber______________________________________

377
343
365
287
256
197
170

632
603
643
536
475
388
323

572,000
110, 000
134,000
507, 000
570, 000
56,600
45, 500

673,000
249, 000
232, 000
603,000
977, 000
914, 000
417, 000

4,470,000
2,350, 000
2,140,000
6,270,000
17, 500,000
6, 270,000
1, 350,000

.61
. 35
.27
.87
2. 49
.93
.19

1950: January 3
February2
M arch5
A p ril2
M ay 2
June2

225
210
260
400
450
425

340
325
400
550
650
650

185,000
75,000
80,000
160, 000
325,000
260,000

300,000
515,000
530,000
300,000
500,000
400,000

2,600,000
7,850,000
3,750,000
3,150,000
3,000,000
2,750,000

.38
1.27
.49
.47
.40
.36

__ _______ _________________ _ __________________________
___________________________
_
____________________________
- ___________________________
_ ________________________

_

1 All known work stoppages, arising out of labor-management disputes,
involving six or more workers and continuing as long as a full day or shift
are included in reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures on “ work­
ers involved” and “man-days idle” cover all workers made idle for one or


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

more shifts in establishments directly involved in a stoppage. They do not
measure the indirect or secondary effects on other establishments or indus­
tries whose employees are made idle as a result of material or service shortages.
1 Preliminary estimates.

308

F: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

MONTHLY LABOR

F: Building and Construction
T able

F -l: Expenditures for New Construction 1
[Value of work put In place]
Expenditures (in millions)

Type of construction

1950
July 2 June8 M a y 3 Apr.

Total new construction 4__________ ____

1949
Mar.

Dec,

N ov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

Total

Total

82
118
33
23
21
30
11
108
285
28
42
215
13
654
28

66
110
31
21
19
29
10
100
267
27
41
199
13
585
28

52
103
28
20
17
28
10
88
253
26
40
187
11
506
28

52
103
28
21
17
27
10
79
235
21
38
176
9
437
28

50
105
29
22
18
26
10
75
209
16
32
161
9
356
26

51
109
31
23
20
25
10
74
216
22
30
164
9
414
35

58
113
32
24
21
24
12
75
246
23
37
186
7
451
34

61
114
34
24
21
23
12
87
283
29
40
214
7
560
36

60
112
33
24
22
22
11
104
299
29
40
230
7
671
41

60
110
33
23
23
20
11
127
308
30
40
238
7
701
40

62
111
33
23
24
19
12
140
313
32
43
238
8
681
37

67
108
31
23
24
17
13
138
305
33
43
229
8
638
32

706
1,229
360
269
262
202
136
1,292
3,316
352
533
2,431
78
6,390
359

901
971
251
253
224
126
117
1.397
3,002
379
713
1,910
65
4,907
156

193
16
92
44
41
10
250
53

187
17
88
42
40
9
200
52

178
13
87
40
38
9
145
51

170
11
84
40
35
8
100
49

154
7
79
38
30
9
55
46

155
7
80
37
31
9
90
49

158
9
80
40
29
12
117
49

179
11
82
44
42
14
184
51

215
11
85
48
71
16
233
56

218
11
90
48
69
15
255
57

187
11
87
47
42
15
275
55

176
12
83
44
37
12
256
54

2,056
177
934
477
468
137
2,129
619

1,301
196
618
223
264
158
1,856
535

17
94
9

15
85
9

13
74
8

11
62
9

10
49
7

12
56
8

13
60
8

16
71
9

22
80
8

25
81
10

23
80
9

22
78
8

203
792
95

185
629
87

1 Joint estimates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of
Labor, and the Office of Industry and Commerce, U. S. Department of Com­
merce. Estimated construction expenditures represent the monetary value
of the volume of work accomplished during the given period of time. These
figures should be differentiated from permit valuation data reported in the
tabulations for building authorized (tables P-3 and F-4) and the data on
value of contract awards reported in table F-2.
The estimates shown in this table represent extensive revisions in the
series as published prior to July 1950, primarily to include segments of ex­
penditures formerly omitted because of inadequate source data. The
entire revised series (showing data annually from 1915, and monthly from
1939) is available on request.
Preliminary.
3 Revised.
Includes major additions and alterations.
Includes hotels, dormitories, and tourist courts and cabins


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Jan.

1948

$2, 653 $2, 500 $2, 250 $1,959 $1,750 $1,618 $1,712 $1,852 $2, 044 $2,177 $2,214 $2,195 $2,119 $22, 594 $21,572
1,846 1,665 1,453 1,313 1,262 1.298 1,401 1, 484 1,506 1,513 1,514 1,481 16, 204 16,665
1,134 1,010
852
741
742
717
806
837
832
809
782
757
8,290
8,580
1,030
915
770
655
675
680
730
750
740
715
689
659
7,500
7,280
90
82
70
55
51
51
61
72
76
78
77
81
825
925
14
13
12
11
11
11
15
15
16
16
16
17
155
185
306
249
275
252
249
257
270
267
264
262
271
273
3,621
3, 228
78
73
70
69
70
69
68
68
68
69
71
72
972
1.397
110
76
92
77
77
79
86
88
84
83
89
93
1,253
1,027
28
26
24
25
27
28
28
27
24
23
27
26
321
352

Private construction__________ ______ _
1,960
Residential building (nonfarm)_____
1,215
New dwelling units ___________ 1,110
Additions and alterations_______
90
Nonhousekeeping 8___ _______
15
Nonresidential building (nonfarm)8. . .
325
Industrial__________ _____ _____
83
Commercial_______ _____ _______
118
Warehouses, office and loft
buildings_________________
32
Stores,
restaurants,
and
garages___ ___________ __
86
Other nonresidential building. . . .
124
R eligious.. ________________
35
Educational_____ __________
24
Social and recreational___ . . .
23
Hospital and institutional 7___
30
Miscellaneous__ ____ _____
12
Farm construction___________ _____
113
Public utilities. _ _______ _______
296
Railroad___ ______
_______
29
Telephone and telegraph________
45
Other public utilities____________
222
All other private 8_____ ____________
11
Public construction__________ _____ ____
693
Residential building 9______________
30
Nonresidential building (other than
military or naval facilities)________
198
Industrial10__ ______ __________
16
E d u cation al_________ ________
95
Hospital and institutional_______
45
Other nonresidential___________
42
Military and naval facilities_________
12
Highways______________ _______ _
275
Sewer and w ater.. . ________
54
Miscellaneous public service enter­
prises 11_________ ___________ .
20
Conservation and development
96
All other public 12_____ _______
8

2
4
8

Feb.

1949

6 Expenditures by privately owned public utilities for nonresidential
building are included under “ Public utilities.”
7 Includes Federal contributions toward construction of private nonprofit
hospital facilities under the National Hospital Program.
8 Includes privately owned sewer and water systems, roads and bridges,
and miscellaneous nonbuilding items such as parks and playgrounds.
9 Includes nonhousekeeping public residential construction as well as
housekeeping units.
10 Represents primarily expenditures to construct facilities under the atomic
energy program.
11 Covers primarily airports and publicly owned electric light and power
systems and local transit facilities.
12 Includes publicly owned parks and playgrounds, memorials, etc.

F: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

309

T able F -2 : V alue of C ontracts A w arded and Force A ccou n t W ork Started on F ederally Financed
N e w C onstruction, b y T yp e of C o n stru ctio n 1
Value (in thousands)
Conservation and
development

Building

Period

1935...... ..........................
1936..........„ ...............__
1937__________ . ____
1938_______________
1939,_______________
1940________________
1941______ _______ 1942................................
1943________________
1944_________ _____ _
1945...............................
1946__________ _____
1947.......... ................ —
1948____________
1949________________

Total
new
con­
struc­
tion *

Nonresidential
Air­
ports 3
Total

$442, 782
$1,478,073
(7)
56i; 394
i; 5 3 3 ; 4 3 9
w
344,567
990,410
(7)
1, 609, 208
676, 542
(7)
1, 586, 604 $4 , 7 5 3 669, 222
2, 316, 467 137,112 1, 537, 910
5,931,536 499,427 4,422,131
7, 775,497 579,176 6,130,389
2, 506, 786 243, 443 1, 698,079
1, 297,602 110,872 875,002
902, 265 41, 219 617,001
1,450, 312 15,068 564, 743
1, 298,015 25, 075 278,698
1, 722,157 55, 577 358,809
1,937,110 49,317 638,628

Resi­
den­
tial

Hospital and
institutional
Total

Total

Ad­
minis­
trative
and
Veter­ Other gen­
ans
eral 8

(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(*)
(8)
(8)
$14, 281
101,992
263, 296
353,671

(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(*)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
$9,032 $5, 249
96,140 5,852
168,616 94,680
123,967 229, 704

Educa­
tional *

$7,833 $434, 949
(8)
63, 465 497, 929 (8)
17,239 327,328
(8)
31,809 644, 733 (8)
231,071 438,151
(8)
244, 671 1, 293, 239
(8)
322, 248 4,099,883
(*)
549,472 5, 580,917
(8)
375, 471 1,322,608
(8)
101,491 773,511
(8)
53,133 563,868
(8)
445,647 119,096 $14,664
51,309 227,389 47,750
8,355 350,454 1, 424
30,317 608,311 1,041

1948: January______
February____
March_______
April........ .........
M ay____ ____
J u n e ________
Ju ly-.- ............
August______
September___
October______
November___
December____

119,951
165, 435
149,480
161,316
120, 771
146,665
147, 509
136, 447
134, 778
146, 999
118, 263
174, 543

892
1,586
5,675
3,850
5, 634
4,930
5, 251
6, 616
8,142
3,678
3, 792
5,531

14,684
47,132
66, 262
10, 245
26,538
43,918
17,405
13,770
27, 699
44,369
21, 751
25,036

149
860
60
562
463
790
272
119
66
785
2,374
1,855

14, 535
46, 272
66, 202
9, 683
26,075
43,128
17,133
13,651
27, 633
43, 584
19,377
23,181

306
164
257
12
468
92
6
4
31
0
84
0

8,945
41,781
59,417
5,773
21, 783
19, 201
11,887
10,453
18, 711
36,316
11,830
17,199

8,626
41, 557
56. 214
5,049
20,044
13,876
1,697
872
13, 287
6,498
436
460

319
224
3, 203
724
1,739
5,325
10,190
9,581
5,424
29, 818
11,394
16, 739

1949: January______
February____
March_______
A p r il................
M ay_________
J u n e ________
Ju ly ..................
A u g u s t...........
September___
O ctober...
November___
D ecem b er... .

94,454 5, 520
242
98, 637
176, 245 4,288
131,007 4, 212
238,444 7, 233
296,661 12, 262
140, 007 4,818
233, 211 3, 385
173, 519 1,902
102,474 3, 413
116,346
790
136,105 1,252

37,817
42, 397
38, 304
31,620
51,993
114, 534
35, 218
95,088
79, 526
35,576
25,964
50,591

101
1,970
1, 773
2,899
6,245
14, 955
821
49
446
672
9
377

37, 716
40,427
36, 531
28, 721
45, 748
99, 579
34, 397
95,039
79,080
34, 904
25, 955
50, 214

148
635
0
18
30
0
10
140
0
0
60
0

8,192
12,651
26,663
21,352
23,649
64,985
22, 756
43, 544
56,125
15,004
16, 600
42,150

428
5, 477
9, 612
1, 204
1,045
14, 814
202
25,492
26, 500
8, 737
7.387
23,069

7,764
7,174
17,051
20,148
22,604
50,171
22, 554
18,052
29, 625
6,267
9, 213
19.081

1950: January______
February___
March______
A piil- - ..........
M ay 9_______
June 10______

122, 600
111. 613
203,333
135,352
201, 404
217, 221

42,805
34,865
26, 584
43, 31C
43; 407
49, 447

86
127
1,036
717
1,109
1,453

42, 719
34,738
25,548
42, 593
42, 298
47, 994

144
138
20
70
0
1,368

27,477
30, 676
19, 901
35, 797
27, 558
29,670

19,328
17,302
14,391
21, 459
13, 299
7,263

4,383
2,899
7, 997
5, 556
3,258
(8)

’ Excludes projects classified as “ secret” by the military, and all con­
struction for the Atomic Energy Commission. Data for Federal-aid pro­
grams cover amounts contributed by both the owner and the Federal
Government. Force-account work is done, not through a contractor, but
directly by a government agency, using a separate work force to perform
nonmaintenance construction on the agency’s own properties.
2 Includes major additions and alterations.
s Excludes hangars and other buildings, which are included under
“ Other nonresidential” building construction.
9 Includes educational facilities under the Federal temporary re-use
educational facilities program.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Other
nonresidential

(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(9)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
$9, 713 $80,438
32, 550 45,097
29, 926 55,808
88, 856 164,743
1,974 3,310
1, 735 2,592
1,229 5,299
1,871 2,027
1,869 1,955
9,735 14,100
1.413 3,827
1,054 2,140
3,184 5, 707
3,312 3,956
891 6,572
1,659 4,323

Total

Rec­
lama­
tion

River,
har­
bor,
and
flood
control

High­
ways

All
other6

$438, 725 $158,027 $280.698 $381,037 $215,529
189, 710 73, 797 115,913 511, 685 270,650
133,010 59,051 73, 959 360, 865 151, 968
303,874 175,382 128, 492 372, 238 256, 554
225,423 115,612 109,811 355,701 331, 505
197, 589 69,028 128,561 364,048 79,808
199,684 41,880 157,804 446,903 363,391
217,795 150, 708 67,087 347, 988 500,149
155,737 101, 270 54,467 161, 852 247, 675
112, 415 66. 679 45, 736 111,805 87,508
72,150 30, 765 41, 385 100,969 70, 926
290,163 149,870 140,293 534, 653 45,685
307, 695 75,483 232, 212 659, 645 26,902
494,871 147,732 347,139 767,460 45,440
501,937 189,183 312, 754 690,469 56,759
54,115
65,119
22, 439
84,888
10, 495
24, 564
41,947
22,505
29,191
37,158
35,409
67,041

4,876
1,229
6,639
56,984
4, 738
8,887
1,327
4, 269
2,959
19, 371
13, 895
22, 558

49, 239
63,890
15.800
27, 904
5,757
15,677
40,620
18, 236
26, 232
17,787
21,514
44,483

47,696
50,194
51, 582
58, 247
75, 645
68, 569
76,428
91,310
65, 975
65, 747
51,972
74,095

2,564
1,404
3, 522
4,086
2,459
4,684
6, 478
2, 246
3, 771
6,047
5,339
2,840

15,141
24,032
84,342
39,899
89, 536
80, 530
22,115
52, 304
25,059
12,914
42,186
13,879

7, 596
3,083
22, 546
18, 778
61, 537
26,603
6, 822
12, 375
14, 559
1,091
5,677
8, 516

7, 545
20,949
61, 796
21,121
27, 999
53, 927
15, 293
39, 929
10, 500
11,823
36, 509
5,363

34, 465
29,000
41, 646
52,099
83, 769
80, 348
75,448
79,020
63,035
49,910
38,100
63,629

1,511
2,966
7,665
3,177
5,913
8,987
2,408
3,414
3, 997
661
9,306
6, 754

8,149 12,805 2,293 25, 578
13,374 1,052 2,872 25, 537
5, 510 3, 457 2 ,17C 101, 266
14,338 2, 364 4, 362 19, 063
14, 259 2, 474 12, 266 67, 473
22, 407 8,520 8,436 47,131

17, 933
7,087
69, 797
2, 763
7,726
22, 298

7,645 40, 998
18, 450 42,357
31, 469 61,026
16,300 63, 453
59, 747 80,618
24, 833 110,372

8,836
5,955
6, 460
3, 970
6,648
10, 271

25, 008
22, 719
1,747
949
13,658
10, 564
2.018
969
538
4,333
5,308
1,045

4,368
4, 422
8,121
6, 402
8,411
24,030
9, 613
50, 386
22,417
15, 567
3,987
7,019

! Includes post offices, armories, offices, and customhouses. Includes con­
tract awards for construction at U nited Nations Headquarters in New
York City, the principal awards having been for the Secretariat Building
(January 1949: $23,810,000), and for the Meeting Hall (January 1950:
$11, 238,000).
6 Includes electrification projects, water-supply and sewage-disposal
system s, forestry projects, railroad construction, and other types of
projects not elsewhere classified,
7 Included in “ All other.”
9 Unavailable.
8 Revised.
19 Preliminary.

F: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

310

M ONTHLY LABOR

T able F -3 : U rban B uilding A uthorized, b y Principal Class of C onstruction and b y T yp e of B u ild in g 1
Number of new dwelling units—House­
keeping only

Valuation (in thousands)
New residential building

Privately financed

Housekeeping

Period
Total all
classes *

Privately financed dwelling units
Total

1-family

2-fam­
ily*

Multifamily 4

Publicly Nonfinanced housedwell­
keeping
ing »
units

New nonresidential
building

Addi­
tions,
altera­
tions,
and
repairs

Total

1-fam­
ily

1942-....................
1946 ._ ..................
1947
.......
1948
.......
1949 «...................

$2,707,573
4, 743,414
5, 561,754
6,971, 576
7,379,899

$598, 570
2,114,833
2,892,003
3,422,937
3,717,215

$478,658
1,830, 260
2.362,600
2, 745,219
2,839,222

$42,629
103,042
156,757
181,493
132,332

1949: May........
June_____
July...........
August___
September
October__
November
December.

665,644
748,048
598,943
683,898
722,056
678.540
619,910
559.540

359,364
356,816
307,631
368,133
401,433
376,556
353,262
276,820

254, 546
256, 544
231,617
278,286
302,265
297,200
292,227
218,851

13,446
10,547
8,711
11,004
12,119
13,893
10, 626
9,838

91,372
89, 725
67,303
78, 843
87,049
65,463
50,409
48,131

30,497
28,782
22,342
12,889
17,826
18, 987
18,482
10,350

3,084
3,850
3,937
3,074
3,144
3,635
2,662
4,669

186,151
259, 474
181,367
207,335
215,605
196, 076
181,081
212, 214

86,548
Ô9,124
83,666
92,467
84,049
83,286
64,423
55,487

54,199
55,331
48.425
57,051
63,316
57,320
52,357
43,363

36,563
36,947
34,324
40,340
43,982
41, 794
41, 562
31.349

1950: January....
February.
March___
April ^ ___
M ay 8____

558,374
572,464
855, 618
920,983
1, 054, 932

315,529
352, 248
545,665
577, 757:
643,358

243,446
283,164
442, 035
482, 238
534, 507

11,354
21,040
17, 778
19, 965

60,729
57,196
82. 590
77, 741

8,564
1, 506
9,197
13, 591
27,995

2,421
2,971
9,011
4,725
31,184

166, 233
156,049
205, 704
237,412
252, 229

65,627
59,690
86,041
87,498
100,166

49,128
52,818
79,408
81, 207
88, 567

36,041
40,200
59, 785
63,478
69.350

11,888

$77,283 $296,933 $22,910 $1, 510,688 $278, 472 184,892
181, 531 355,587 43,369 1,458,602 771,023 430,195
372,646
35,177 29,831 1, 712,817 891,926 503,094
496,225 139,326 38.034 2.366, 730 1,094,549 516,179
745,661 285,419 39,727 2, 400,693 936,845 574,190

88,886

1 Building for which building permits were issued and Federal contracts
awarded in all urban places, including an estimate of building undertaken
in some smaller urban places that do not issue permits.
The data cover federally and nonfederally financed building construction
combined. Estimates of non-Federal (private and State and local govern­
ment) urban building construction are based primarily on building-permit
reports received from places containing about 85 percent of the urban popula­
tion of the country; estimates of federally financed projects are compiled from
notifications of construction contracts awarded, which are obtained from other
Federal agencies. Data from building permits are not adjusted to allow for
lapsed permits or for lag between permit issuance and the start of construc­
tion. Thus, the estimates do not represent eonstruction actually started
during the month.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

138,908
358,151
393,720
392,632
412,656

2-fam­
ily »

Pub­
licly fi­
Multi- nanced
fam­
ily 4

15,747 30,237
24,326 47, 718
34,105 75,269
36,306 87,341
26, 415 135,119

95, 946
98, 310
5,100
15,113
32,140

2,580
2,131
1,765
2,282
2,316
2, 747
2,095
1,984

15,056
16, 253
12,336
14,429
17,018
12,779
8,700
10,030

3,110
3, 373
2,791
1,507
2,116
2,254
2,037
1,287

2,287
2,377
4,209
3,203
.3,853

10,800
10, 241
15,414
14, 526
15,364

868
177
1,135
1,626
3,268

Urban, as defined by the Bureau of the Census, covers all incorporated
laces of 2,500 population or more in 1940, and, by special rule, a small numer of unincorporated civil divisions.
* Covers additions, alterations, and repairs, as well as new residential and
nonresidentia. building.
* Includes units in 1-family and 2-family structures with stores.
4 Includes units in multifamily structures with stores.
! Covers hotels, dormitories, tourist cabins, and other nonhousekeeping
residential buildings.
1 Totals for 1949 include revisions which do not appear in data shown
for January through December. Revised monthly data will appear in a
subsequent issue of the M onthly Labor Review.
7 Revised.
8 Preliminary.

F: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

REVIEW , AUGUST 1950

T able F~4:

311

N e w N on resid en tial B uilding A uthorized in A ll U rban P laces,1 b y General T y p e and by
G eographic D ivision 2
Valuation (In thousands)

Geographic division and
type of new nonresi­
dential building

1950
M ay 4

A pr.5

Mar.

1949
Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

Nov.

Oct.

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

M ay

19498

1948

Total

Total

All types......... ................. $252, 229 $237,412 $205,704 $156,049 $166, 233 $212,214 $181,081 $196,076 $215,605 $207,335 $181, 367 $259, 474 $186,151 $2, 400,693 $2, 366, 730
16,817 j 15, 648
New England ____
41,116 32,117
Middle Atlantic . . .
59, 074 68, 708
East North Central
23, 635 22,186
West North Central
South A tlantic......... 33, 275 28,515
8,198 10,483
East South Central.
25,874 22,864
West South Central
7,310
6, 971
M ountain.................
Pacific____________ 36,931 29, 921
20,893 18,962
Industrial buildings A
1,225
1,415
New England____
5, 219
2, 734
Middle A tlan tic..
6,955
6, 217
East North Central
2,200
1,329
West North Centra!
778
1,201
South Atlantic __
234
1,708
East South Central
691
1, 664
West South Central.
288
330
Mountain__
___
3,302
2,363
Pacific_____ ____
90, 609 83,198
Commercial buildings 7
6,327
6,241
New England...........
12,540 13, 228
Middle Atlantic .
18,857 15, 242
East North Central
10, 780 10,371
West North Central
11,678 10, 904
South Atlantic____
4,060
3,512
East South Central
11,236 10,431
West South Central
3,662
3,639
Mountain_________
11,469
9,631
Pacific. __________
Community buildings 8 106, 554 107, 270
8,040
5,757
New England_____
19,158 12, 297
Middle A tlan tic..
24,028 42, 280
East North Central
7,556
7,627
West North Central
18, 647 13,369
South Atlantic____
3,749
3,037
East South Central
8, 679
7,273
West 8outh Central.
2,387
1,564
Mountain_________
15,024 13,356
Pacific . . . . . . . .
4,607
5,556
Public buildings * _____
542
90
New England....... .
415
734
Middle Atlantic___
663
33
East North Central
15
425
West North Central.
90
1
,
337
South Atlantic____
92
331
East South Central.
145
954
West South Central.
235
70
M ountain..............
2,862
1,130
Pacific . . . ______
Public works and utility
5,404
6,681
buildings >°...... ...........
49
569
New England ___
1,385
1,334
Middle Atlantic___
2,348
424
East North Central.
318
760
West North Central.
592
540
South A tla n tic.......
221
80
East South Central
1,239
812
West South Central
41
406
M ountain________
488
480
Pacific____________
All other buildings » ___ 22,885 17,022
1,086
1,724
New England_____
1,792
2,400
Middle Atlantic. ..
6,223
4, 512
East North Central.
2,765
1,674
West North Central.
1,489
1,164
South A tlantic...
1,102
554
East South Centra!
3,884
1,730
West South Central
962
697
M ountain______
2,962
3,786
Pacific___________

10,377
25,617
47, 228
15,939
26,591
10, 637
22, 513
16,307
30, 496
15,353
431
3,000
5, 457
844
1,019
1,264
851
349
2,139
85, 507
4,348
11,071
16,952
8,209
11, 642
3, 395
10,144
5, 560
14,187
85, 294
4, 977
9, 544
20,053
5,101
12,586
5,155
8,798
9,787
9, 293
1,542
0
234
58
68
0
477
15
581

17, 552
20,195
28,422
10, 674
22,332
10, 506
16,080
5, 740
24, 548
11, 856
328
1. 406
4, 706
984
482
885
783
90
2,191
55, 559
1,379
10,059
9, 930
3, 454
10, 331
2, 893
6,290
4, 070
7,154
70, 844
15, 335
7,370
9,967
4,458
8,320
6,352
6, 728
1,142
11,173
4,159
0
52
177
300
1,823
0
71
56
1,682

5,558
236
532
2,287
319
366
308
663
2
845
12,450
385
1,360
2,245
1,408
910
516
1, 580
594
3,451

5,153
187
307
2,112
977
765
0
292
73
440
8,478
324
1, 002
1, 531
501
611
375
1,916
309
1, 909

no

17,361 13,095
32, 357 57,807
23, 663 39,623
6, 977 15,094
23, 464 21,362
12,586
9,124
23.529 16,894
3,078 10,478
23,219 28,737
14.008 14,852
190
321
3, 522
1,804
4, 455
8, 442
709
785
864
1.149
416
753
1,262
308
135
113
2, 454
1,178
61, 799 52,095
1,785
2,094
22, 522 10,388
7, 558 10,119
3,185
5, 818
5,411
6, 365
2, 747
2, 457
10,006
5,207
1,483
1,214
7,103
8,433
68. 718 105, 286
14,515
4,622
3, 744 44,000
10,150 15,451
2,503
4,438
15, 470
7,344
5,392
5, 613
7,061
8,613
746
7,692
9,137
7, 512
2,490 16, 223
158
2,040
552
264
268
2,792
192
1, 571
369
1,748
0
18
126
146
54
799
771
6,845

6,467
35,105
29,005
15,327
24,630
11,748
18,419
13, 789
26, 591
10,896
209
2,250
3,909
792
841
170
406
320
1,999
59,305
1,849
9,618
9,991
5,014
9,434
2, 756
9,399
1,446
9,800
74, 737
3,110
20, 452
10,110
7, 201
6, 942
5,609
6, 451
8,852
6,011
12, 790
185
747
332
284
5, 567
0
243
2.059
3, 372

7,178
35,337
50, 274
14,153
25,963
8,027
24,130
5,344
25,670
18, 792
202
5, 111
5,462
956
2,529
180
1,117
242
2,994
67,403
2, 953
9,125
16,635
4,170
8,420
2,879
11,680
1,393
10,148
73, 706
586
14,109
21,923
6, 609
7, 464
4,116
7, 499
2,940
8, 461
9,689
154
3,851
1,816
441
1,377
0
774
28
1,249

12,194
33,335
46,910
34, 351
23, 330
13,155
19, 598
10,256
22,476
17,160
706
2,201
8,275
2,328
942
796
249
345
1,319
73, 899
5, 513
14, 596
15,951
4, 604
9,291
1,976
10, 522
2,167
9,278
98,681
4, 783
13,731
16, 015
23,380
10,224
9, 422
7,074
5, 452
8,600
3,904
128
107
175
178
937
500
229
1,371
280

10,192
37,961
41,852
17,666
19, 614
15,638
29,701
7,676
27,033
15,617
352
2,743
5, 674
1,150
1,389
1,145
495
100
2,569
70,047
3,041
13,905
14, 542
4,732
9,502
3,231
9,022
3,059
9,013
96,164
5,385
15,845
15,428
7,823
7,050
10,887
18,432
3,722
11, 592
2,761
18
409
534
440
538
0
292

8,968
430
823
361
150
204
638
3,982
333
2,049
10,249
283
1,195
871
238
1,146
3,393
1,092
327
1,704

11,724
345
599
2,031
922
1,108
2,326
1,034
126
3,232
11,629
768
1,438
2,632
1,115
738
888
887
985
2,177

11,424
2,135
513
390
329
5,484
491
1, 357
138
586
15,061
1,147
2,628
4,050
1,647
689
362
1,703
604
2, 233

6, 527
53
319
1,828
1,994
1,031
112
700
219
270
15,435
1,010
2,382
4,665
1,867
906
349
825
703
2, 728

10,045
702
3, 467
1,839
2,004
459
70
499
164
840
12, 701
694
1,592
3,836
1,517
677
304
961
627
2,492

15, 474
3,615
544
920
1.735
4,070
41
1,663
121
2,765
8,284
404
808
1,899
747
685
241
957
538
2,004

1 Building for which permits were issued and Federal contracts awarded
in all urban places, including an estimate of building undertaken in some
smaller urban places that do not issue permits. Sums of components do not
always equal totals exactly because of rounding.
7 For scope and source of urban estimates, see table F-3, footnote 1.
* Totals for 1949 include revisions which do not appear in data shown for
January through December. Revised monthly data will appear in a sub­
sequent issue of the M onthly Labor Review.
4 Preliminary.
1 Revised.
# Includes factories, navy yards, army ordinance plants, bakeries, ice plants,
industrial warehouses, and other buildings at the site of these and similar
production plants.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

5

526

6,683 13, 859
28,468 35, 246
38, 795 55, 772
17,824 19, 736
19, 536 28, 257
8,279 16,128
30,554 33, 808
6,847 17,729
24,381 38, 938
15, 645 16, 473
367
350
2,281
5,650
6,959
3,826
1, 995
780
910
715
612
775
533
645
329
142
2,489
2, 764
57,349 65, 896
3,195
2,137
8,333
7, 720
11,229 13,037
4,240
5,139
5,844 12,883
3, 268
2, 833
9,705
11, 453
2,436
1,467
8,798
9,529
83, 691 138,831
8,203
3,129
11,236 19, 215
19,317 30, 333
9,451 11, 976
8, 783 12,159
6,748
4,371
16,192 18,617
4,350 14, 205
6,860 17, 374
5, 270 12, 643
702
282
991
620
211
381
283
1,105
803
1,418
5,120
28
1, 731
361
55
121
2,746
954
8,508
129
1,986
1,309
442
1,039
0
1,234
243
2,128
10,903
657
1,256
2,733
907
1,737
271
670
525
2,146

13, 928
778
2, 743
1,813
208
799
20
2,431
177
4,960
11, 704
613
1, 683
3,420
1 , 035
703
360
793
526
2, 571

8,485
113,834
26, 378
434,807
38,941
491, 550
12, 255
203, 495
31, 298
306,418
8,897
129,686
14,088
269,915
7, 360
102, 208
38, 450
348,780
14, 358
202, 440
623
6, 357
2,410
40,367
4,889
77,037
1,122
15, 689
1,241
18,132
570
8,736
703
6,859
994
4, 264
1, 806
24,999
65, 862
751, 264
2, 956
36, 564
9,315
127,033
12, 616
147,620
4, 541
52, 907
10,092
105,106
3, 207
36, 020
5,594
101,025
2,688
25,094
14,853
119,895
88, 573 1,005,376
3, 445
42, 343
10, 360
176,009
14, 273
200,974
4, 649
100,396
8,007
101,126
4, 488
67, 423
6,706
135,128
2, 351
58,773
14, 296
123, 204
13, 277
150,075
55
4,803
575
33,568
1,149
8.156
55
9,532
10, 712
50, 094
0
6,257
42
5,041
39
5,327
649
27,297

148,039
393,374
511,794
173,152
2691 427
100,715
274,663
83, 458
412,108
299, 286
19,839
65,911
100,035
15, 993
27, 776
9, 054
15, 864
2, 770
42,044
926,551
55, 560
1331 219
177, 322
72, 808
121, 552
39l 391
126,064
35, 274
165, 361
788, 601
47,255
153, 423
154,846
54, 207
80,384
36,344
106,205
34, 577
121,360
74, 414
5,966
8, 680
11,352
5, 438
8, 875
8,936
6,132
3,965
15,070

10, 635
790
2,127
1,158
569
645
402
257
838
3, 850
13, 446
616
1, 591
4, 857
1,319
601
230
787
450
2,996

148,681
111 438
16,651
35,809
13,015
21,450
3,750
12,792
2,055
31,721
129,197
7l 981
15,490
32' 430
111 691
9,390
3,240
7,606
4,817
36,652

159,642
16,010
39, 494
22,303
11,337
22, 706
7,223
11,944
2,566
26,059
131,896
7,757
18,336
35,460
13,634
9,254
4,027
9,918
6,184
27,326

7 Includes amusement and recreation buildings, stores and other mercantile
buildings, commercial garages, gasoline and service stations, etc.
8 Includes churches, hospitals, and other institutional buildings, schools,
libraries, etc.
* Includes Federal, State, county, and municipal buildings, such as post
offices, courthouses, city halls, fire and police stations, jails, prisons, arsenals,
armories, army barracks, etc.
10 Includes railroad, bus and airport buildings, roundhouses, radio stations,
gas and electric plants, public comfort stations, etc.
11 Includes private garages, sheds, stables and bams, and other buildings
not elsewhere classified.

F: BUILD IF G AND CONSTRUCTION

312

T able F -5 : N u m b er and C onstruction C ost of N ew Perm anent N onfarm D w elling U n its Started, b y
U rban or R ural L ocation, and b y Source of F unds 1
Number of new dwelling units started
Estimated construction cost
(in thousands)5
All units

Privately financed

Publicly financed

Period
Urban

Rural
non­
farm

Total
non­
farm

Urban

Rural
non­
farm

Total
non­
farm

Urban

Rural
non­
farm

937,000
1925»............ ........................... ............
93,000
1933 *__________________________
1941 »_ ________________________ 706,100
141,800
1944 «__________________________
1946.______________ ____ ________ 670,500
1947_________ __________________ 849,000
1948.................................. - .............. - 931,600
1949
............................................... 1,025,100

752,000
45,000
434,300
96,200
403,700
479,800
524,900
588,800

185,000
48,000
271,800
45, 600
266,800
369, 200
406,700
436,300

937,000
93,000
619,500
138, 700
662, 500
845, 600
913, 500
988,800

752,000
45,000
369,500
93,200
395,700
476,400
510,000
556,600

185,000
48,000
250,000
45, 500
266,800
369,200
403,500
432,200

0
0
86,600
3,100
8,000
3,400
18,100
36,300

0
0
64,800
3,000
8,000
3,400
14,900
32,200

0 $4,475,000 $4,475,000
0
285, 446
285,446
21,800 2,825,895 2,530,765
100
495,054
483, 231
0 3, 769, 767 3,713,776
0 5, 642,798 5,617,425
3, 200 7,203,119 7,028,980
4,100 7, 702,971 7,374,269

1948: First quarter--------- ------ —
January__________
February ........ .......
March.......................
Second quarter___________
April_________ . . .
May...........................
June...........................
Third quarter........................
July.......................... .
August......................
September................
Fourth quarter...________
October__________
November................
December________

180,000
53,500
50,100
76,400
297,600
99, 500
100,300
97,800
264,000
95,000
86,700
82,300
190,000
73,400
63,700
52,900

103,000
30,800
29,100
43,100
166,100
55,000
56,700
54,400
144, 200
52,200
47, 700
44,300
111,600
41,300
38,100
32,200

77,000
22,700
21,000
33,300
131,500
44, 500
43,600
43,400
119,800
42,800
39,000
38,000
78,400
32,100
25,600
20,700

177,700
52, 500
48,900
76,300
293,900
98,100
99,200
96,600
259,300
93, 700
85,100
80, 500
182, 600
71,900
61,300
49,400

100,800
29,800
28,000
43,000
164,600
54,600
56,100
53,900
140,100
51,000
46,600
42, 500
104, 500
39,800
35,800
28,900

76,900
22, 700
20,900
33,300
129,300
43,500
43,100
42, 700
119, 200
42,700
38,500
38,000
78,100
32,100
25, 500
20,500

2,300
1,000
1,200
100
3, 700
1,400
1,100
1,200
4,700
1,300
1,600
1,800
7,400
1,500
2,400
3,500

2,200
1,000
1,100
100
1,500
400
600
500
4,100
1,200
1,100
1,800
7,100
1,500
2,300
3,300

100
0
100
0
2,200
1, 000
500
700
600
100
500
0
300
0
100
200

1,315, 287
383,634
368, 985
562, 668
2, 287,624
748, 976
769,369
769, 279
2,113, 496
750, 977
720, 523
641,996
1,486. 712
573,950
498, 296
414,466

1,296,612
374,984
359,420
562, 208
2, 252,961
736,186
758,635
758,140
2,065,770
738, 659
703,066
624,045
1,413,637
560,347
471,336
381,954

18, 675
8,650
9,565
460
34,663
12,790
10,734
11,139
47, 726
12,318
17,457
17,951
73, 075
13, 603
26,960
32,512

1949: F irst quarter.........................
January_______ . .
February _______
March __________
Second quarter......................
April..........................
M ay..........................
June..........................
Third quarter........................
July............. ..............
August___________
Septem ber..............
Fourth quarter......................
October...... ..............
November................
December............. ...

169,800
50,000
50,400
69,400
279,200
88,300
95,400
95, 500
298,000
96,100
99,000
102,900
278,100
104,300
95,500
78,300

94, 200
29,500
28,000
36,700
157,300
49,500
53,900
53,900
171,600
53,300
55,900
62,400
165,700
60,000
56, 700
49,000

75,600
20,500
22, 400
32,700
121, 900
38,800
41, 500
41,600
126,400
42,800
43,100
40, 500
112,400
44,300
38,800
29,300

159,400
46,300
47,800
65, 300
267,200
85,000
91,200
91,000
289,900
92, 700
96,600
100,600
272,300
101,900
93,400
77,000

84,100
25,800
25,500
32,800
147,800
46,700
50,600
50, 500
164,500
50,100
54,300
60,100
160, 200
57, 700
54,700
47,800

75,300
20, 500
22,300
32, 500
119,400
38,300
40,600
40,500
125, 400
42,600
42,300
40,500
112,100
44,200
38,700
29,200

10, 400
3,700
2,600
4,100
12,000
3,300
4,200
4,500
8,100
3,400
2,400
2,300
5,800
2, 400
2,100
1,300

10,100
3,700
2, 500
3,900
9,500
2,800
3,300
3,400
7,100
3,200
1,600
2,300
5, 500
2,300
2,000
1,200

300
0
100
200
2,500
500
900
1,100
1,000
200
800
0
300
100
100
100

1, 287, 228
374,020
382, 778
530,430
2,120, 637
666,969
733,967
719, 701
2,222,103
710, 341
743,389
768,373
2,073,003
776,674
723,097
573, 232

1,189,640
340,973
357, 270
491,397
2,007, 563
637,170
692,063
678,330
2,153,937
682,863
722,208
748,866
2,023,129
756,712
704,220
562,197

97, 588
33,047
25,508
39,033
113,074
29,799
41,904
41,371
68,166
27,478
21,181
19, 507
49,874
19,962
18,877
11,035

1950: First quarter 8.........................
January___________
February_________
March 8___ _____
Second quarter_____
A pril. ___________
M ay 10________ . . .

278, 900
78,700
82,900
117,300

167,800
48 200
51,000
68,600

111, 100
30, 500
31,900
48, 700

276,100
77,800
82, 300
116, 000

165, 600
47,300
50,800
67, 500

110,500
30, 500
31, 500
48, 500

2,800
900
600
1,300

2,200
900
200
1,100

600
0
400
200

2,162,636
589,997
637,753
934, 886

2,138, 565
581,497
632,690
924,378

24, 071
8, 500
5,063
10, 508

1,012, 505
1,167,869

995,315
1,139, 269

17,190
28,600

Total
non­
farm

126,000
140,000

0

0

0
0

124,100
136,700

1The estimates shown here do not include temporary units, conversions,
dormitory accommodations, trailers, or military barracks. They do in­
clude prefabricated housing units.
These estimates are based on building-permit records, which, beginning
with 1945, have been adjusted for lapsed permits and for lag between permit
Issuance and start of construction. They are based also on reports of
Federal construction contract awards and beginning in 1946 on field surveys
in nonpermit-issuing places. The data in this table refer to nonfarm
dwelling units started, and not to urban dwelling units authorized, as shown
in table F-3.
All of these estimates contain some error. For example, if the estimate
of nonfarm starts is 50,000, the chances are about 19 out of 20 that an
actual enumeration would produce a figure between 48,000 and 52,000.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

0
0

0
0

1,900
3,300

0
0

0
0

Total

Privately
financed

Publicly
financed
0
0
$295,130
11,823
55,991
25,373
174,139
328,702

* Private construction costs are based on permit valuation, adjusted for
understatement of costs shown on permit applications. Public construc­
tion costs are based on contract values or estimated construction costs for
individual projects.
s Housing peak year.
4 Depression, low year.
* Recovery peak year prior to wartime limitations.
8 Last full year under wartime control.
7 Less than 50 units.
8 Revised.
8 Not available,
10 Preliminary.

tt . 5 . GOVERNMENT P R IN TI NG O F F I C l i U N O