Full text of Monthly Labor Review : January 1941, Vol. 52, No. 1
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\ [ n th is issue
Entrance Rates of Common Laborers • Prices and
the W a r • Occupations and Salaries In Federal
IANUARY 1941
Employment • W ages and Hours in the Jewelry
^Ol. 52 •
1
Industry
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
No.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins, Secretary
+
BUREAU OF LABOR STA TISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commissioner
A. F. Hinrichs, Assistant Commissioner
Donald D avenport,
Chief,
Em ploym ent and Occupa
tional Outlook Branch
H enry J. Fitzgerald, Chief,
B u s in e s s M a n a g e m e n t
Branch
Hugh S. H anna, Chief, Edi
torial and Research
C H IE F S
Aryness Joy, Chief, Prices and
Cost of Living Branch
N. Arnold Tolies, Chief, W ork
ing Conditions and Industrial
Relations Branch
Sidney W. Wilcox, Chief S tat
istician
O F D I V IS IO N S
Herman B. Byer, Construction
and Public Em ploym ent
Charles F. Sharkey, Labor Law
Inform ation
J. M. C utts, Wholesale Prices
Boris Stern, Labor Inform a
tion Bulletin
Swen K jaer, Industrial Acci
dents
John J. M ahaney, Machine
Tabulation
Robert J. Myers, Wage and
H our Statistics
Stella Stew art, Retail Prices
Lewis E. Talbert, Em ploym ent
Statistics
F aith M. Williams, Cost of
Living
Florence Peterson, Industrial
Relations
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under authority of
Public Resolution No. 57, approved May 11, 1922 {42 Stat. 541), as
amended by section 307, Public Act 212, 72d Congress, approved
June 30, 1932. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Wash
ington, D. C. Price, 30 cents a copy. Subscription price per year in
the United States, Canada, and Mexico, $3.50; other countries, $4-75.
This publication approved by the Director, Bureau of the Budget.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
ms
MONTHLY
U N IT E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T O F LABOR • BUREAU O F LABOR STATISTICS
fw w w w *
+
HUGH
S.
C O N T E
HANNA,
EDITOR
+
PUBLIC LIBRMW UARY1941 M *
No- 1
Page
1
24
49
66
National defense policies:
Activities of N ational Defense Advisory Commission^______
86
Foreign wartime policies:
Allowances to families of mobilized men in European countries..
M oratorium on rents and mortgages in A ustralia_____________
W artime conditions and activities in C anada________________
French decree on organization of industrial production_______
Increase of food rations in shop canteens in G erm any_________
Registration of unemployed evacuated persons in G reat Britain.
90
93
94
98
100
101
Employment and labor conditions:
Prelim inary census figures on employment and unemployment,
March 2-U30, 1940. ^ _________________________________________
Labor in the bituminous-coal industry, 1938-39____________________
The sugar industry in Puerto Rico_____ ___________________________
Wage decrease as punishm ent for inefficiency in the Soviet U nion___
102
103
105
109
Social security:
Placem ent work of public employment services, October 1940________
Unemployment-compensation operations, October 1940_____________
Voluntary pension insurance in Brazil, 1940________________________
Unemployment-assistance allowances in G reat B ritain______________
110
115
123
124
Housing conditions:
Building and loan associations, 1939
126
National income and population statistics:
Income paym ents, by States, 1929 to 1939_.
Population changes, by States, 1930 to 1940.
128
133
Labor laws and court decisions:
Seventh N ational Conference on Labor Legislation_________
C ourt decisions of interest to labor:
Recent decisions on National Labor Relations A ct_______
A nti-injunction act held to apply in certain an titru st cases
280398—41----- 1
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42
-
3409
136
137
139
Contents
II
Labor laws and court decisions—Continued.
C ourt decisions of interest to labor— Continued.
Rights of labor upheld by California Supreme C ourt____________
Oregon antipicketing law held unconstitutional_________________
Provision in Em ploym ent Peace Act of Wisconsin upheld_____
Application of Georgia unemployment-compensation law re
stricted__________________________________________________
Private bank employees’ law in Argentina, 1940____________________
Page
140
141
142
143
143
Cost and standards of living:
Changes in cost of living from September 15 to November 15, 1940____
N ew cost-of-living index for C anada_______________________________
146
149
Labor organizations:
British Trades-Union Congress, 1940______________________________
Trade-union membership in G reat Britain and N orthern Ireland_____
154
156
Industrial disputes:
T rend of strikes_________________________________________________
Strikes in September 1940________________________________________
Activities of the U nited States Conciliation Service, November 1940__
158
159
167
Labor turn-over:
Labor turn-over in m anufacturing, October 1940____________________
169
Minimum wages and maximum hours:
Wage order for luggage and leather in d u stry ________________________
Wage order for the embroideries industry________________________
Wage order for railroad workers__________________________________
173
173
173
Wages and hours of labor:
Earnings and hours in the portable-lam p and lamp-shade industries,
February and M arch 1940______________________________________
Wages and hours in the jewelry industry, February 1940_____________
Union wages and hours in the bakery industry, June 1, 1940__________
Union wages and hours of street-railw ay employees, June 1, 1940____
Denm ark—Preinvasion wages, 1938-39___________________________
175
184
194
201
212
Building operations:
Residential construction, first 9 months of 1940____________________
Summary of building construction in principal cities, November 1940__
214
219
Retail prices:
Food prices in November 1940___________________________________
Coal— M onthly collection of retail prices________________________
Hosiery prices in 1939 and 1940________________________________
Difficulties of price fixing in G erm any______________________________
224
229
230
232
Wholesale prices:
Wholesale prices in November 1940_______________________________
234
Trend of employment and pay rolls:
Summary of reports for November 1940___________________________
D etailed reports for business and industrial employment, October
1940_________________________________________________________
239
247
Labor conditions in Latin America_______________________________ 123, 143
Recent publications of labor interest_________________________________ 262
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This Issue in B rief
Wages of Common Laborers, 1940.
The average hourly entrance rate of
pay of adult male common laborers in
20 industries in the U nited States was
50.6 cents in July 1940. This repre
sented an increase of slightly less
th an 1 cent per hour as compared with
the previous July. There were wide
differences in the hourly rates between
industries, the highest (63.6 cents)
being for petroleum refining and the
lowest (36.8 cents) being for the
fertilizer industry. Page 1.
Wage Rates in Hawaiian Industries.
The situation of sugar workers in
Hawaii a t the present tim e compares
favorably w ith th a t of agricultural
workers on the mainland in respect to
both rate of earnings and regularity of
employment. The m onthly wage
rates of farm workers for the United
States as a whole averaged $27.72
w ith board and $35.63 w ithout board
in 1938. By comparison, in March
1939, the average m onthly earnings of
nonsalaried male workers on Hawaiian
sugar plantations am ounted to $48.88.
An article (p. 24) deals w ith the
wages and working conditions of
employees in the principal industries
in Hawaii.
Prices and the War.
Up to the end of 1940 the level of
commodity prices in the United States
had not shown any very sharp advance
as a result of the War and the defense
program. In December 1940, the
Bureau’s all-commodities index, based
upon the wholesale prices of nearly 900
products, was 6.8 percent higher than
it was in August 1939, ju st before the
European War started. Retail prices
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had risen even less and by November
15, 1940, the cost of living in American
cities—including rents and services, as
well as food, clothing and housefurnishings—was only 1.5 percent above
its August 1939 level. Page 49.
Earnings of Federal Employees.
Men constituted 82 percent of all
Government employees a t the end of
1938. Of the women employed in
Federal service, over half (56 percent)
were doing clerical work. The level
of average earnings was influenced
more by the type of work done than
by age of employee. Average earn
ings, exclusive of postm asters, ranged
from $1,192 per year for unskilled
trade and manual workers to $3,137
for persons in technical, scientific,
and professional occupations. These
facts were disclosed by a study made
jointly by the Bureau of Labor S tatis
tics and the Civil Service Commission.
Page 66.
Earnings in the Jewelry Industry.
Hourly earnings of workers in the
jewelry industry averaged 58 cents in
February 1940, 70 cents for males and
38 cents for females. In the precious
jewelry branch of the industry average
earnings per hour were 94.8 cents. A
marked feature of the wage structure
of the industry was the concentration
of earnings a t exactly 30 cents in the
plants making low-priced products.
Page 184.
Union Scales in Bakeries.
The average hourly wage rate of
union bakery workers in 62 cities was
75.3 cents on June 1, 1940. This was
2.7 percent higher th an on June 1,
III
IV
This Issue in Brief
1939. The average maximum hours
allowed a t straight tim e were 41.3 per
week, 0.5 percent less than the average
for June 1, 1939. Usually overtime
was required to be paid for a t the rate
of time and one-half. Page 194.
Union Wage Scales on Street Railways
and Busses.
The average hourly wage rate of
union motormen, conductors, and bus
operators in 55 cities was 76.1 cents
on June 1, 1940. The index of union
hourly wage rates was 110.4, an ad
vance of 1.1 percent since June 1, 1939,
and 10.4 percent higher than in 1929.
The basic working hours in a m ajority
of the cities were 8 per day, w ith 6
days generally constituting a week’s
work. Page 201.
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Unemployment, in March 1940.
There were 52,840,000 workers in
the labor force in the U nited States
during the week of March 24-30, 1940,
according to preliminary figures com
piled by the Bureau of the Census,
D epartm ent of Commerce. Of these
workers, 45,350,000 were reported as
employed on private or nonemergency
G overnment work; 5,110,000 were
reported as seeking work, w ithout any
form of public or private employment;
and 2,380,000 were reported as a t
work on public emergency projects
(WPA, NYA, or CCC). These fig
ures are based on a preliminary tab u
lation of a cross section of the 1940
Population Census returns and are
subject to correction when the final
statistics become available. Page 102.
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
FOR JANUARY 1941
EN T R A N C E WAGE RATES OF COMMON LABORERS,
JULY 1940 1
THE average hourly entrance rate of pay of adult male common
laborers in 20 industries in the United States was 50.6 cents in July
1940. This average was obtained from the data gathered by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics in its fifteenth annual survey of the hiring
rates for common labor. The study covered 202,929 common laborers
working at entrance rates in 6,571 establishments. Of these establish
ments, 4,736 were in the 16 manufacturing industries surveyed, 731
were in 3 public-utility services, and 1,104 were in the buildingconstruction industry.
As in 1939, the effect of the Fair Labor Standards Act is again
reflected in the distribution of the hourly entrance rates. Oneseventli of all workers covered by this survey were reported as receiv
ing exactly 30 cents an hour in July 1940, while less than 1 percent
were reported as receiving lower rates. On October 24, 1939, a mini
mum wage of 30 cents an hour became effective for all employees
engaged in interstate commerce, as defined by the Fair Labor Stand
ards Act. This minimum wage represented an increase of 5 cents an
hour over the 25-cent minimum rate in effect under the act during the
previous year. Of the number of workers (12.6 percent) receiving
less than 30 cents an hour in July 1939, three-fourths were previously
reported as receiving an hourly rate of exactly 25 cents, the minimum
prevailing at that time.2 Information supplied for the present study
indicates that only 1 out of every 100 common laborers had an en
trance rate of less than 30 cents an hour in 1940, but that 1 out of
every 7 had an entrance rate of exactly 30 cents.
Scope and Method of Study
As in the Bureau’s previous surveys of entrance rates, this study
was conducted by the mail-questionnaire method. The questionnaire
defined the term “ common laborer” as meaning one “ who performs
1 Prepared by Willis C. Quant and Edward K. Frazier of the Bureau’s Division of Wage and Hour
Statistics.
2 See Serial No. R. 1048: Entrance Rates of Common Laborers. July 1939.
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1
2
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
physical or manual labor of a general character and simple nature,
requiring no special training, judgment, or skill.” The definition
excluded machine operators or other workers performing specific
duties which are designated by distinct occupational titles, even
though they may be paid the same rate as common laborers. Neither
apprentices nor learners fall within the scope of “ common laborer”
as thus defined. The earnings of women have been omitted from the
study because very few of them perform common labor in the in
dustries surveyed.
The “ entrance rate of pay” was defined as being the lowest rate paid
to common laborers when newly hired. Previous studies revealed a
practice in some plants of varying the rate paid, on the basis of the
nature of the job and its surrounding environments, such as elements
of danger, obnoxious odors, and heavy burdens involved, and therefore
the questionnaire specified that each of these starting rates should be
reported.3
In furnishing the information called for in the questionnaire it is
quite possible that not all of the employers placed the same inter
pretation on the term “ common laborer.” Hence the figures in this
report may cover some unskilled workers other than common laborers.
This study is comparable with similar studies made during the
preceding four years in that the same industries were covered, the
data were obtained as of July 1, and reports were received from each
of the 48 States and the District of Columbia. The present survey
continues to distinguish three racial groups among the common
laborers, namely white (other than Mexican), Negro, and Mexican.
In the present study, as in the one for July 1939, it is believed that
almost all of the establishments were engaged in interstate commerce.
Thus, the data reported for common laborers receiving entrance rates
of less than 30 cents an hour, the present legal minimum provided by
the Fair Labor Standards Act for workers engaged in interstate com
merce, do not reflect the rates paid in intrastate establishments.
In the 1940 study, reports were received for a larger number of
establishments than in 1939. The 1939 reports were received from
6,448 establishments employing 192,648 common laborers working at
entrance rates, while the 1940 reports were received from 6,571
establishments employing 202,929 workers of this kind. The addi
tional reports in 1940 were largely from manufacturing establish
ments, which averaged approximately 3 times as many common
laborers at entrance rates as the average number reported by all the
establishments covered in 1939 (84 as compared with 30 per establish
ment). Nevertheless, the average number of common laborers per
* The questionnaire called for the number of common laborers at each entrance rate. These employment
figures were used as weights in computing average hourly rates and in compiling wage distributions shown
in this report.
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Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
3
establishment for all those which reported was almost the same in
1940 as in 1939.
The establishments which reported in both 1940 and 1939 had
lower average rates in 1939 than did all those which reported in that
year, as will be shown subsequently. However, the establishments
which reported in both years had a higher average in 1940 than did
all the establishments which reported in the latter year. The volume
of employment of common laborers in establishments which reported
in both years increased by 2.4 percent from 1939 to 1940. Those
which reported in 1938 and also in 1939 had shown an average increase
of 10.4 percent in the employment of common laborers between these
two earlier years.
Entrance Rates for the Country as a Whole
In July 1940, the hourly entrance rates paid to adult male common
laborers in the 20 industries covered in this study, while averaging
50.6 cents, ranged from less than 25 cents to more than $1.10. This
wide distribution suggests that the entrance wage rate for adult male
common laborers (as is true also of the rates for other workers) is
affected by such factors as geographical location, size of community,
race of worker, hazards of the job, and type of industry.
Study of the data in table 1 shows that relatively few common
laborers are paid less than 30 cents or more than 67% cents an hour.
More than nine-tenths (92.6 percent) of all the common laborers
surveyed in 1940 had rates which fell within this 37%-cent range. In
1939, 80.6 percent of the common laborers surveyed received rates
falling within this range. The heaviest concentrations appear at 30
cents and at various rates between 40 and 67% cents. The largest
massing within any 5-cent range is between 62.5 and 67.5 cents. The
common laborers in the iron and steel industry in the Great Lakes and
Pittsburgh areas, who received an entrance rate of 62.5 cents an hour,
formed a large portion of the 19.6 percent found in this group. The
second largest concentration is between 30 and 35 cents and of
these common laborers the overwhelming number were reported to
earn exactly 30 cents; in fact, one-seventh (14.7 percent) of all the
common laborers reported were earning the minimum of 30 cents an
hour established by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The outstanding change in the entrance rates reported during the
past two years has been the raising of rates which were formerly
below 30 cents an hour to a rate of exactly 30 cents. This change
reflects the results of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It may also
reflect a reluctance to report rates which appear to be in violation of
the 30-cent minimum under that act. In July 1938, prior to the
application of this national minimum, 8 percent of all common laborers
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
received less than 30 cents an hour and 3.3 percent received less than
25 cents. In July 1939, following the inauguration of the 25-cent
minimum, 12.6 percent of the common laborers still received less
than 30 cents an hour but rates of less than 25 cents had virtually
disappeared from the reports and 9.6 percent were reported to be
receiving exactly 25 cents. In the present survey, as of July 1940,
fewer than 1 percent of the common laborers were reported at rates
of less than 30 cents and 14.7 percent were reported at the statutory
minimum of exactly 30 cents. The fact that rates of 30 cents or less
were paid to 15.6 percent of the common laborers in 1940, as compared
with 15.3 percent in 1939, indicates that the chief movement was
from rates of less than 30 cents to the rate of exactly 30 cents.
As in 1939, only about 5 percent of the common laborers were paid
entrance rates of between 30 and 40 cents an hour and most of these
workers were to be found at the 35-cent rate. In the range from 40
cents to 62% cents, which includes the rates paid to more than half
the common laborers, the principal rates were to be found at each of
the multiples of 5 cents, the 50-cent rate being the most important.
The range from 62% to 67% cents included heavy concentrations at
both 62% and 65 cents an hour.
T a b l e 1.-—Distribution
of Adult Male Common Laborers, by Hourly Entrance Fates in
20 Industries, July 1940
Hourly entrance rate
Number of
laborers at
entrance rates
Simple per
cent
Cumulative
percent
All rates_____________________________ _____ ________
202,929
100.0
Under 25.0 cents___________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
25.0 and under 30.0 cents.-- _ _ _ _ ___ _
_________
Exactly 30.0 cents______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
Over 3Ó.0 and under 32.5 cents_______________________
32.5 and under 35.0 c e n t s .____ ______________ ______
617
1,167
29, 757
575
1,260
.3
.6
14.7
.3
.6
0. 3
.9
15.6
15.9
16.5
35.0 and under 37.5 cents_______ _____ ___________ __
37.5 and under 40.0 cents_____ __________
40.0 and under 42.5 cents________________ _________
42.5 and under 47.5 cents __ _ _
___________ .
47.5 and under 52.5 cents______________ ____________
5,853
2, 727
19, 562
18, 202
25,932
2.9
1.3
9.6
9.0
12.8
19.4
20.7
30.3
39.3
52.1
52.5 and
57.5 and
62.5 and
67.5 and
72.5 and
57.5 cents. _
_
.................
62.5 cen ts._ __________ __________ __.
67.5 cents____
__ __ ______________
72.5 cents____ _________ ______ ____
77.5 cents.. _ ________ ________ _____
22, 781
21,517
39, 776
4, 640
3,114
11.2
10.6
19.6
2.3
1.5
63.3
73.9
93.5
95.8
97.3
77.5 and under 82.5 cents________ __
. . . .................
82.5 and under 90.0 cents____________________________
90.0 and under 100.0 cents_____ _
__
_ __ __
100.0 and under 110.0 cents. ___ _________ __________
110.0 cents and over_________________________ ______
2,664
1, 527
886
235
137
1.3
.8
.4
.1
.1
98.6
99.4
99.8
99.9
under
under
under
under
under
State and Regional Variations
Geographical differences in average hourly entrance rates are shown
in table 2, which presents the data by States and by two broad regions,
one composed of the Northern and Western States, and the other of
the Southern and Southwestern States.
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Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
5
The State averages for the country as a whole ranged from a low
of 30.7 cents an hour in North Carolina to a high of 65.1 cents in the
District of Columbia. The average of 65.1 cents for the District of
Columbia is largely the result of the predominance of building con
struction in that area. Over 70 percent of the common laborers
reported from the District were in the building-construction industry
where they earned an average of more than 72 cents an hour. The
remaining laborers in the District averaged 45 cents an hour. The
District of Columbia thus presents an extreme case of the effect that
the type of industry may have on the average rate in any one area.
Following the District of Columbia is the State of Washington, with
an average starting rate for common labor of 63 cents an hour.
For the purpose of making a regional analysis of the data, the 33
States lying west and north of Arizona and north of New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia, together with the Dis
trict of Columbia, have been grouped into a “North and West”
region, while the remaining 15 States comprise the “South and South
west” area. In general, the higher average rates will be found in the
North and West region, but no single boundary line can furnish a
clear-cut division between States having relatively high or low aver
ages. Although the average hourly rate paid in the Northern and
Western States as a whole was 56.0 cents and that for the Southern
and Southwestern States in their entirety was but 35.5 cents, the
Southern State of Kentucky showed a higher average than did N orth
Dakota. Furthermore, the average for the southwestern State of
Oklahoma was above that for Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, or
Vermont. Some of the other differences among the State averages
within the two regional groups were also quite pronounced. The six
New England States present a good example of differences within a
definite area. Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, the three
northern States of this group, had the lower averages, ranging from
43.8 to 49.9 cents, while the three southern New England States of
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut had higher averages
in the narrow range from 53.2 to 54.4 cents an hour.
Moving south and westward into the Mid-Atlantic and the North
Central States one finds a narrower range of entrance rates than in
New England, i. e., among the States of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. New York had the
lowest average in this area, 53.2 cents an hour, while Illinois had
the highest average, 58.5 cents. Iowa and Wisconsin with New York
comprised the States with the lower averages, while Illinois, Ohio,
and Indiana had the higher averages in the Mid-Atlantic and North
Central area.
The agricultural States of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas,
although paying less than their eastern neighbor States, showed only a
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
3-cent difference between the top and bottom averages. Kansas was
relatively low, with an average of 46.7 cents an hour, and Nebraska
was high with 49.7 cents an hour. In the Mountain States of Utah,
Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada, average entrance
rates for common laborers ranged from 48.6 cents in Utah to 60 cents
in Nevada. The Pacific Coast States as a whole paid the highest
average rates in the country for common labor, the State averages
being 63 cents in Washington, 60.2 cents in Oregon, and 58.9 cents
in California.
Exclusive of the comparatively low averagesjn the northern tier of
the New England States, Delaware with 48.5 cents was the lowest on
the northern Atlantic coast. It was closely followed by Maryland,
with an average of 49 cents. Among all of the Northern and North
western States, North Dakota had the lowest average, 42.3 cents
an hour.
Turning to the SouthernandSouthwesteiur States, it can also be seen
that certain fairly localized areas do not present the same general
average rate per hour. Thus, the averages for the Gulf States of
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida ranged from 32.2 cents
in the last-named State to 39.2 cents in Alabama. In the Southwest,
Oklahoma’s 48.2-cent average was the highest, while that of 32.2
cents in Arkansas was the lowest. The States of Kentucky and
Virginia had"hourly entrance rates for common laborers which aver
aged 43.7 and 35.7 cents, respectively. On the southern Atlantic
coast are found the lowest averages in the country, ranging from the
extreme low of 30.7 cents in North Carolina to 31.7 cents in Georgia.
Comparisons between 1939 and 1940 on the basis of all reports
received in both years are influenced by changes in the distribution of
industries using common labor at entrance rates and by changes in the
firms that reported in each year. However, it is evident that the
apparent increase of 1.8 cents an hour in the South and Southwest
region reflects a much greater rise than occurred in the country as a
whole.
In studying these State comparisons and especially in making similar
comparisons with earlier years, it should be remembered that fluctua
tions in the coverage may greatly affect State averages from one period
to another. This is especially true in those States where the reportingsamples are relatively small, and where the addition or omission of one
or more important establishments may effect a radical change in the
average.4
4 Changes in coverage may account for the movements between 1939 and 1940 in the cases of Oklahoma,
Georgia, and Kentucky. The Oklahoma average for 1940 was 6.5 cents higher than it was in 1939. Closer
inspection of the data reveals that the 1939 coverage in Oklahoma consisted of 84 establishments employing
1,724 common laborers at entrance rates as compared with 72 establishments employing 1,247 such workers
in 1940. In the case of Georgia, where the apparent average rose by 5.5 cents, the 1939 data covered 92
establishments and 1,995 common laborers at entrance rates, while in 1940, reports from this State covered
113 establishments and 4,213 common laborers at entrance rates. Kentucky shows a decline of 2.6 cents an
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Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
7
The broad contrast between the entrance rates paid in the North
and West and those paid in the South and Southwest is shown in
further detail in table 3. In the North and West the 30-cent minimum
of the Fair Labor Standards Act had little effect; fewer than 1 percent
of the common laborers in that region had earned 30 cents or less per
hour in 1939 and only 1.2 percent were reported at the 30-cent rate
in 1940. In the South and Southwest nearly half of all the common
laborers were moved up to the 30-cent rate during the year 1939-40.
In the former year, one-third of the common laborers in the South and
Southwest had earned exactly 25 cents an hour and 54.8 percent had
earned 30 cents or less; by July 1940, 55.3 percent still earned 30 cents
or less but 52.2 percent were reported as earning exactly 30 cents.
The heavy concentrations of rates in the North and West were in the
range from 47}£ cents to 67% cents an hour, while in the South and
Southwest the largest massing, apart from that at 30 cents, was in the
range from 40 cents to 47% cents.
T a b l e 2 . —Average Hourly Entrance Bates of Adult Male Common Laborers in 20
Industries, by State and Region, July 1940
Region and State
Average
Estab Labor
ers at
hourly
lish
entrance
ments entrance
rates
rate
United States________
6, 571
202,929
$0. 506
North and West
5, 215
377
65
123
41
149, 275
9, 387
1,173
2, 000
711
.560
. 589
.557
.544
.485
63
24
366
247
100
105
78
109
244
316
122
163
31
42
7
46
229
363
15
616
1 911
’879
12 873
11,653
3,208
1,586
2,529
4,183
3,545
8,010
4 201
3, 544
711
976
164
1,029
5,518
9,581
171
15,342
.651
.577
. 585
.570
.539
.467
.469
.490
.533
.566
. 557
.552
. 590
.497
.600
.499
.554
.532
.423
.575
Colorado
_____
Connecticut___ __
Delaware________
District of Columbia____________
Idaho____________
Indiana ,
Iowa _ --_ . ___
Kansas_______
Maine
_ M aryland____ _ _
M assachusetts-- -_
M ichigan________
Missouri_________
Nebraska________
Nevada ..
.
New Hampshire--New Jersey______
New York- - _ _ _
Ohio____________
1 Because
Región and State
Average
Estab Labor
ers at
hourly
lish
entrance
ments entrance
rates
rate
North and West—Con.
Pennsylvania.
South D akota.-- U tah____________
Vermont________
Washington.
-West Virginia____
WisconsinSouth and Southwest-Alabama
_____
Arizona__________
Arkansas _. - _- _
Florida__________
Georgia_____ ____
K entucky................
Louisiana---- -----M ississippi______
New M éx ico ...__
North Carolina___
Oklahoma_______
South Carolina___
Tennessee-.- - --Virginia_________
548
39
16
33
25
199
88
225
11
21,735
395
427
756
389
6, 351
4,612
5,002
87
. 556
.532
.487
.486
.438
.630
.549
.537
(')
1,356
.104
26
68
90
113
75
107
31
14
104
72
55
107
237
153
53,654
4,818
650
4,440
5, 327
4, 213
1,421
7,651
2,513
326
3,309
1,247
2,624
3,638
7,698
3,779
.355
.392
.398
.322
.322
.317
.437
.360
.356
.360
.307
.482
.316
.337
.390
.357
of the small coverage, no average is presented.
Racial Di fferences in Wage Rates
The 202,929 common laborers at entrance rates, covered by the
1940 survey in the country as a whole, consisted of 151,866 whites
other than Mexicans, 47,651 Negroes, and 3,412 Mexicans (table 3).
hour in the average hourly entrance rate between 1939 and 1940. The 1940 coverage of 75 establishments
and 1,421 common laborers at entrance rates was 6 establishments and 360 such workers less than reported
in 1939.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
These figures represent an increase of 5,063 whites other than Mexi
cans and 5,646 Negroes, over those covered by the 1939 survey.
In the case of Mexicans, the number covered in 1940 was 428 less than
in 1939.
The common laborers working at entrance rates in the Northern
and Western States were predominantly whites other than Mexicans.
These whites constituted 88.5 percent of the total coverage in the
North and West, while Negroes represented 10.1 percent, and Mexi
cans only 1.4 percent. The average entrance rates of 57.4 cents
paid to Negroes and the 56.1 cents paid to Mexicans were slightly
higher than the average rate of 55.9 cents paid to whites other than
Mexicans. This was due to considerable concentration of the Negroes
and Mexicans in the iron and steel industry, where their average
hourly entrance rates amounted to 59.3 and 61.3 cents an hour,
respectively.
Wage distributions for the Northern and Western States indicate
that the earnings of common laborers of each of the three racial
groups were heavily concentrated in the range from 47.5 to 67.5
cents an hour. Whereas the entrance rates for whites other than
Mexicans, and for Negroes, extended to over $1.10, very few Mexicans
received more than 72% cents and none received as much as 90 cents
per hour.
The greatest relative number of each racial group in the South and
Southwest received the single entrance rate of exactly 30 cents an
hour. This was largely a result of the new 30-cent minimum of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. In the case of Negroes this effect was
especially striking. As a result of raising rates formerly below 30
cents, which had applied to half the Negroes in the industries surveyed,
nearly 61 percent of all the Negroes had the single entrance rate of
exactly 30 cents. Nearly 22 percent of the Negroes had rates in the
range from 40 up to 47.5 cents an hour.
Nearly 40 percent of the whites other than Mexicans in the South
and Southwest were reported as receiving the entrance rate of 30
cents. However, these southern whites were also found in relatively
large numbers at entrance rates of 35 and under 37% cents and from
40 up to 47% cents. Employment of white laborers in the higher paid
industries such as paper and pulp, iron and steel, and foundry and
machine shops was largely responsible for these higher entrance rates.
The highest entrance rates in the South and Southwest amounted to
approximately 77.5 cents for whites other than Mexicans and to 67.5
cents for Negroes and Mexicans. Apart from 26 percent of the
Mexicans who were reported at the 30-cent rate, the largest concen
tration of this group was in the range from 40 up to 42.5 cents where
24 percent were found.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
9
T a b l e 3 .— Percentage Distribution of Adult Male Common Laborers by Hourly Entrance
Rates in 20 Industries, by Race and Region, July 1940
North and West
Hourly entrance rate
All
White
other
than
Mexican
South and Southwest
Negro
Mexi
can
0.1
1.2
.1
.2
0.1
1.0
.1
.2
0.3
.1
.2
.1
Negro
1.1
2.0
52.2
.8
1.8
0. 5
.7
39.9
.7
1.3
1.3
2.6
60.9
.8
1.7
6.5
6.1
26.4
1.5
9.6
5.5
1.7
11.3
11.1
2.4
7.9
2.1
24.4
7.1
5.4
Under 25.0 cents_______________
25.0 and under 30.0 cents______
Exactly 30.0 cents_____________
Over 30.0 and under 32.5 c en ts.._
32.5 and under 35.0 cents_______
(!)
0.1
1.2
.1
.2
35.0 and under
37.5 and under
40.0 and under
42.5 and under
47.5 and under
37.5 c e n ts ______
40.0 cents_______
42.5 cents_______
47.5 cents_______
52.5 cents___ . . .
1.2
1.1
8.5
8.0
15.9
1.2
1.2
8.7
7.9
15.9
1.0
.3
7.6
9.2
14.6
1.8
2.0
3.4
6.2
19.8
7.7
2.1
12.7
11.7
4.2
11.2
2.6
14.4
13.0
7.1
52.5 and under 57.5 cents_______
62.5 and under 67.5 cents_______
67.5 and under 72.5 c e n ts ______
72.5 and under 77.5 cents_______
14.8
14. 3
26.1
2.9
1.9
14.3
14. 7
26.9
2.7
1.9
19.5
10 6
19.5
4. 5
1. 7
10.2
17 5
31.6
4.4
1.2
1.3
.3
.5
2.3
.8
2.8
1.3
1.4
77.5 and under 82.5 cents....... .......
82.5 and under 90.0 cents_______
90.0 and under 100.0 cents______
100.0 and under 110.0 cents__ _
110.0 cents and over___________
1.8
1.0
.6
.2
.1
1.1
1.0
.6
.2
.1
8.3
1.0
.7
.1
(')
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number of common laborers at
entrance rate. ____________ - 149, 275
Average hourly entrance rate___ $0. 560
132,145
$0. 559
15,020
$0.574
2,110
$0. 561
53, 654
$0.355
All rates____ ____ _______
(i)
White
other
than
Mexican
All
li
.5
Mexi
can
.6
2.5
.1
.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
19, 721
$0.386
32, 631
$0.336
1,302
$0. 353
(i)
.6
0
)
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Entrance Rate A verages by Race, Region, and Industry
The data in table 4 supplement the information previously given, by
presenting the average entrance rates received by whites other than
Mexicans, by Negroes, and by Mexicans in each of the industries sur
veyed as well as in the two regions which have been distinguished.
No one race had a consistently superior or inferior position in the
northern and western regions. For example, the whites other than
Mexicans received the lowest average entrance rate in northern manu
facturing industries taken as a whole (55.2 cents), while the much
smaller number of Mexicans received the highest average (57.6 cents).
This relationship, however, did not prevail throughout the list of
individual industries. In 9 of the 14 manufacturing industries for
which figures are shown Negroes were paid the lowest average rate,
while in 3 industries (automobile parts, paints and varnishes, and
petroleum refining) they were paid the highest average rates, 60.9,
54.1, and 68.6 cents, respectively.5 The Mexican group had a supe
rior average entrance rate in the case of 7 of the 8 manufacturing
industries which reported significant numbers of Mexicans, but the
5 Except for the insignificant number of Mexicans reported by the paints and varnishes and petroleum
refining industries.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
chemical industry paid its highest average rate of 62.1 cents to the
whites other than Mexicans. Moreover, the public-utility and
building-construction groups paid the highest average entrance rates
to these whites (51.2 cents and 68.4 cents, respectively).
In the South and Southwest as a whole, where the general level of
wage rates is lower than in the North, the whites other than Mexicans
had a fairly consistent advantage over the other two racial groups on
entrance into the manufacturing industries. For the manufacturing
group taken as a whole, the average entrance rate was 38.6 cents for
whites other than Mexicans and their rates were the highest in 8 of the
12 individual industries for which comparison is possible. However,
the Mexicans had a higher average in the public-utility group (40.7
cents) and virtually the same average as the other whites in building
construction (38.4 cents). Negroes and Mexicans were paid almost
identical average rates on entrance into the manufacturing industries
as a whole (Negroes 33.5 cents, Mexicans 33.4 cents), but Negroes
received lower rates than Mexicans in the public utilities and in build
ing construction.
T a b l e 4 . —Average Hourly Entrance Rates of Adult Male Common Laborers, by Industry,
Region, and Race, July 1940
North and West
Industry
South and Southwest
White
other
than
Mexican
Negro
Mexi
can
Manufacturing________ . . . ______________ ____
Automobile parts. ________________________
Brick, tile, and terra co tta ......... .................. .......
Cement______________ ____ ______
.
Chemicals______ ________ ____ _____
Fertilizer___ _______ ______ .
Foundry and machine-shop products____
_______ . . . _______
I G la s s ______
I ' Iron and steel______
._ _____ _____
• Leather_______________ ______
Lumber (sawmills)___________ _ ________
Meat packing. ________ _____________
Paints and varnishes___
__________ . . . .
Paper and pulp__________________________
Petroleum refining___ . _________ . . .
Rubber tires and inner tu b e s....................
Soap... ________ . .
$0. 552
. 556
.483
.568
.621
.482
.509
.538
.604
.528
.539
.580
.531
.514
.671
(2)
(3)
$0. 555
.609
.477
.536
.602
.485
.508
.499
.593
.473
.513
.593
.541
.503
.686
(2)
(3)
$0. 576
(0
.504
.613
.605
.543
.515
(>)
.613
(l)
.552
.601
(>)
(l)
(>)
Public utilities... . ______
Electric light and power____ ___________
Electric street-railway and city motorbus operation and maintenance._. . . . .
______
Manufactured and natural gas________ _ _ .
.512
.493
.483
.479
.420
0)
.387
.402
.318
.339
.532
.515
.486
.488
.401
(0
.347
.379
.303
.311
Building construction___ _____ . _________ . . .
.684
.671
.635
.386
.363
White
other
than
Mexican
Negro
$0. 386
$0. 335
$0. 334
.333
.444
.413
.303
.367
.482
.447
414
.302
.410
.357
. 419
.623
.293
.423
.359
.315
.326
.355
.433
.265
.454
0)
(i)
.302
0)
(1)
.300
.398
(0
. 388
.470
.321
.432
(>)
(i)
Mexi
can
(0
(i)
.407
.406
(')
(0
.384
1 Because of small coverage, no averages are given.
2 See footnote 6, p. 12.
3 Regional figures are omitted, in order not to disclose plant indentity.
The racial differences in wage rates just discussed are based on
averages drawn from broad regions. They do not reflect race dif
ferentials in individual plants, nor do they necessarily indicate any
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
11
uniform differences in rates throughout a region. For example, the
relatively high average for Negroes in northern automobile-parts
plants results from the fact that most of the Negroes in the industry
were employed in the relatively high-wage State of Ohio. A larger
number of whites were employed in States where automobile-parts
plants paid lower entrance rates, as well as in Ohio and Michigan.
As a result, the Negro average for the North and West was higher
than the average for whites, even though whites earned as much or
more than Negroes in every constituent State in this region. Finally,
these entrance rates must not be confused with the general average
rates paid to all workers. In several industries in which Mexicans
had higher entrance rates than other whites, the entrance rate may
apply to the majority of all the Mexican workers but to only a small
fraction of the other white workers.
Entrance-Rate Differences Between Industries
The industrial data presented in table 5 reveals that, for the country
as a whole, common laborers in the petroleum-refining industry had
the highest average hourly entrance rate of any of the 16 manufac
turing industries covered in the survey. The average for petroleum
refining was 63.6 cents an hour, which is 4.7 cents greater than the
next highest manufacturing average of 58.9 cents for common laborers
in the iron and steel industry. The lowest average, 36.8 cents an hour,
prevailed in the fertilizer industry. The average for the 16 manu
facturing industries combined was 49.8 cents an hour. Common
laborers in the public-utility group received an average of 47.7 cents
an hour, which was lower than the averages for manufacturing or
for building construction. Of the utility group, operation and main
tenance laborers of street-railway and city motorbus lines were paid
the highest average entrance wage, 49.1 cents an hour. Laborers in
the electric light and power industry averaged 46.6 cents an hour, or
1 cent less than that paid in the manufactured and natural gas industry.
The building-construction industry average of 60.1 cents an hour was
higher than that for either manufacturing or public utilities. Com
mon laborers in the petroleum-refining industry were the only ones
who fared better than those in building construction.
Marked differences are revealed between the two major regions,
not only for all industries combined but also for each of the three
major industrial groups. In each group the northern and western
region, with its larger urban areas, showed substantially higher
average entrance rates. The general average in the North and West
was 20.5 cents an hour above that which prevailed in the South and
Southwest. A difference of exactly 20 cents existed in the manu
facturing group, while the utilities showed a difference of 15.5 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
12
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
In the building-construction industry the greatest variance appeared,
as the average for the South and Southwest was 30.9 cents below
that in the North and West.
Variations in averages between individual industries by region
were also quite pronounced, ranging in the manufacturing group from
9.4 cents for glass to 24.1 cents for chemicals. Among the utilities,
the smallest difference (11.4 cents) appeared in the electric light and
power industry, while the greatest (20.4 cents) was found in the
operation and maintenance of electric street-railway and city motorbus
lines.
Within the northern and western region the average hourly entrance
rate for common laborers in all industries combined amounted to 56.0
cents. The petroleum-refining industry, with an average of 67.4 cents
per hour for common laborers, led in the manufacturing group. The
chemical industry, with an average of 61.9 cents, and the iron and
steel industry, with an average of 60.3 cents, occupied second and
third positions from the top.
The averages of 48.3 cents an hour in the brick, tile, and terra cotta
industry and the 48.6 cents in the fertilizer industry, were the lowest
in the manufacturing group. Such industries as foundry and
machine-shop products, glass, leather, lumber, paints and varnishes,
and paper and pulp had average entrance rates for common laborers
of from 50 to 55 cents an hour.6 The automobile-parts, cement, and
meat-packing industries paid average entrance rates of between 55 and
60 cents an hour to newly hired common laborers. The average
entrance wage for common laborers for the manufacturing industries
as a whole in the northern and western region was 55.3 cents an hour.
The public-utility services paid common laborers an average entrance
rate of 50.8 cents an hour in the North and West. This public-utility
average was made up of average hourly compensations of 52.1 cents
for common laborers in electric street-railway and city motorbus
operations, 51.4 cents in manufactured and natural gas establishments,
and 49.2 cents in the electric light and power industry. The average
entrance wage of 68.1 cents an hour for common laborers in building
construction was the highest for any one of the 20 industries.
In the South and Southwest the entrance rates of common laborers
averaged 35.5 cents an hour. The manufacturing and the utilities
groups, taken as a whole, each paid the same average, 35.3 cents an
hour. The average for the building-construction industry amounted
to 37.2 cents.
8 Twenty-one establishments in the rubber tire and tube industry, having a total employment of about
18,500 workers of all skills, reported 396 common laborers at entrance rates. These laborers had an average
entrance rate of 51.7 cents per hour. It is believed that this average does not reflect the true average rate
for the industry generally, as 14 plants employing about 27,000 reported no common laborers at entrance
rates. Of these plants, 7 with a total employment of about 21,000 had entrance rates for common laborers
well above the 51.7-cent average, the range of such rates being from 55 to 75 cents an hour.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
13
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
T a b l e 5 . —A verage Hourly Entrance Rates of Adult Male Common Laborers, by Industry
and Region, July 1940
Industry
All 20 industries..... ............
Common laborers
Average
hourly Establishments re Number of laborers at
Average hourly en
earn
porting
entrance rates
trance rate
ings
of all
wage
South
South
North South
earn Total North
and
and Total North and
and South
Total
and South
and South
ers 1
West
West
West west
west
west
1, 356 202,929 149, 275 53, 654 $0. 506 $0. 560
6,571
5, 215
Manufacturing____________
(2) 4,736
Automobile parts______
87
(2)
Brick, tile, terra co tta ... $0.553
378
Cement_______________ .715
131
Chemicals______ ____ _
.808
151
Fertilizer...........................
.449
318
Foundry and machineshop products_______
.730 1,329
Glass_________________
.742
127
Iron and steel_________
.849
251
Leather_______________ .646
144
Lumber (sawmills)____
.496
531
Meat packing_________
.689
240
Paints and varnishes___ .721
325
Paper and pu lp_______
.649
489
Petroleum refining_____ .986
149
Rubber tires and inner
tubes_______________
.971
21
Soap_______ ____ _
.712
65
3, 859
87
318
101
128
130
877 167, 204 121, 789 45, 415
2,270
2,270
60
9,888
7,904 1,984
4, 162
2, 937 1, 225
30
23
5, 198
3,980 1, 218
5,412
188
1,708 3, 704
.498
. 561
.446
.528
.563
.368
.553
. 561
.483
.568
.619
.486
.299
.432
.378
.314
1, 175
114
235
128
321
206
291
441
100
154
13
16
16
210
34
34
48
49
.490
.528
.589
.509
.400
.564
.515
.478
.636
.509
.536
.603
.524
.539
.582
.533
. 514
.674
.344
.442
.435
.411
.301
.409
.352
.403
.579
( 3)
Public utilities____________
Electric light and power.
Electric street-railway
and city m o to r b u s
operation and mainte
nance_______________
Manufactured and nat
ural gas_____________
Building construction______
(2)
21
(4)
(4)
19, 325
6,928
31, 501
3, 151
34, 423
12, 497
2,087
24, 247
4,935
17, 038 2,287
6, 330
598
28,882 2,619
2,740
411
14, 364 20, 059
11, 221 1,276
1, 884
203
16, 351 7, 896
3, 005 1,930
396
784
396
(4)
17, 318
6,741
13, 807
5, 182
$0. 355
.353
(4)
.533
(3)
(4)
(4)
3,511
1, 559
.477
.466
.508
.492
.353
.378
731
326
559
241
.725
201
156
45
5, 536
4,710
826
.491
.521
.317
(2)
204
162
42
5,041
3,915
1, 126
.476
.514
.344
.947 1, 104
797
307
18, 407
13, 679
4,728
.601
.681
.372
(4)
.891
172
85
1 These are United States totals, based on monthly reports on employment and pay rolls collected by the
Bureau.
2 N ot available.
2 Regional figures are omitted in order not to disclose plant identity.
4 See footnote 6, p. 12.
Of the manufacturing group in the South and Southwest, the brick,
tile, and terra cotta industry had the lowest average, 29.9 cents an
hour. This average, it will be noted, is slightly below the 30-cent
wage minimum specified by the Fair Labor Standards Act as appli
cable to workers engaged in interstate commerce. The explanation
appears to be that many of the plants in this industry are engaged
solely in intrastate business. Other industries in the South and
Southwest that had average hourly entrance rates for common
laborers of almost exactly 30 cents were lumber (30.1 cents) and
fertilizer manufacturing (31.4 cents). Petroleum refining led in the
manufacturing group in the South, as elsewhere, with an average of
57.9 cents an hour. This average was 13.7 cents above the second
highest of 44.2 cents, paid in the glass industry. Other industries
with entrance rates for common laborers averaging better than 40
cents an hour were cement, 43.2 cents; iron and steel, 43.5 cents;
2 8 0 3 9 8 — 41-------2
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
14
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
leather, 41.1 cents; meat packing, 40.9 cents; and paper and pulp,
40.3 cents. In the chemical, and paint and varnish industries
entrance rates averaged between 35 and 40 cents. The southern
average for foundry and machine-shop products amounted to 34.4
cents.
In the southern utilities field, the average entrance rate of pay for
common laborers was highest in the electric light and power industry—
37.8 cents per hour—followed by manufactured and natural gas with
34.4 cents. Common laborers engaged in the operation and main
tenance of electric street-railways and city motorbusses, largely an
intrastate operation , paid an average hourly entrance rate of 31.7 cents.
Entrance Rates Below Certain Minimum Levels, by Industry and
Region
At the time of the Bureau’s survey, the Fair Labor Standards Act
had been in effect for a year and 8 months. The act provided a 25cent minimum during the first year, which was followed by a 30-cent
minimum. The 30-cent minimum was in effect at the time of the
survey. Furthermore, industry committees appointed by the Wage
and Hour Administrator had recommended some minimum wage
rates of more than 30 cents, looking forward to the 40-cent minimum
which is the objective of this legislation. These developments serve
to increase the interest in the position of individual industries in rela
tion to various possible minimum-wage rates for common labor.
Table 6 shows the proportion of all common laborers employed by
19 of the 20 industries surveyed, in each of the two broad regions,
who earned less than certain specified rates per hour.
By July 1939, wage rates of less than 30 cents an hour had virtually
disappeared in the plants covered by this survey which were engaged
in interstate commerce. Eight of the 20 industries surveyed (auto
mobile parts, cement, chemicals, glass, iron and steel, paper and pulp,
petroleum refining, and soap manufacturing) reported that no com
mon laborers were employed at rates of less than 30 cents an hour. In
1939 only the petroleum-refining industry made such a report. The
remaining industries have at least some establishments which are
not engaged in interstate commerce. Of these, the fertilizer and the
brick industries had the highest proportion of common laborers re
ceiving less than 30 cents an hour, 9.4 and 3.0 percent, respectively.
Greater differences existed in the proportion of common laborers
at entrance rates of less than 40 cents an hour. At one extreme was
the lumber industry, with 63.8 percent of its common laborers at
entrance rates of less than 40 cents. At the other extreme was the
petroleum-refining industry, with fewer than 1 percent of its common
laborers earning less than 40 cents an hour.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
15
The sharp contrast in the minimum wage rates paid by various in
dustries in the North and South is illustrated strikingly by table 6.
In the chemical industry, for example, entrance rates of less than 40
cents were received by only 0.5 percent of the common laborers in the
North and West but by nearly half of all those in the South and South
west. Only the petroleum-refining industry, among the 20 industries
surveyed, paid virtually all of its common laborers 40 cents or more
in both regions.
In the North and West, only 6 of the industries surveyed (brick,
tile, and terra cotta, fertilizers, leather, meat packing, paints and
varnishes, and building construction) had any common laborers re
ceiving an entrance rate of less than 30 cents an hour. Of this group,
fertilizers had the greatest relative number, 2.3 percent. In the other
industries just mentioned, common laborers having entrance rates of
less than 30 cents an hour amounted to a tenth of 1 percent or less,
except for leather (1.0 percent). Only in the meat-packing industry
were any common laborers reported as receiving under 25 cents an
hour in the North and West.
Rates of less than 40 cents an hour in the northern region applied to
fewer than 1 percent of the common laborers of 5 industries—chem
icals, glass, iron and steel, petroleum refining, and building construc
tion. None of the common laborers reported by northern cement
plants received less than 40 cents an hour. Industries with a con
siderable proportion of common laborers receiving entrance rates of
less than 40 cents an hour in the North and West were: Brick, tile, and
terra cotta (11.3 percent), fertilizers (13.1 percent), lumber (14.2
percent), leather (8.3 percent), paints and varnishes (8.0 percent),
and electric street-railway and city motorbus operation and main
tenance (5.8 percent). In the automobile-parts, foundry and machineshop products, meat packing, paper and pulp, electric light and power,
and manufactured and natural gas industries, the number of com
mon laborers with entrance rates of less than 40 cents an hour ranged
from 1.0 to 4.3 percent.
In the Southern and Southwestern States, the effect of the Fair
Labor Standards Act is clearly reflected by the concentration of large
numbers of common laborers at the 30-cent level in many of the
individual industries. The lumber industry has the greatest relative
number at 30 cents or less, 95.8 percent. Almost all of these southern
lumber workers were reported as receiving exactly 30 cents. Other
industries with large concentrations at 30 cents or less are: Brick,
tile, and terra cotta, 84.4 percent; fertilizers, 70.3 percent; electric
street-railway and city motorbus operation and maintenance, 52.5
percent; paints and varnishes, 51.2 percent; foundry and machineshop products, 51.1 percent; manufactured and natural gas, 45.9
percent; meat packing, 41.0 percent; glass, 34.8 percent; building
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
16
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
construction, 34.2 percent; and electric light and power, 30.8 percent.
Among the remaining industries, the relative number of common
laborers with entrance rates of 30 cents per hour or less amounted to
19.7 percent for chemicals; 17.2 percent for leather; 8.6 percent for
paper; 4.0 percent for cement; 2.9 percent for iron and steel; and 0.6
percent for petroleum refining.
Although 99.4 percent of the common laborers in the southern
lumber industry had entrance rates of less than 40 cents an hour, the
petroleum industry had the highest concentration in the upper brackets
as more than 98 percent of these southern workers received 40 cents
or more per hour. Other industries in the South and Southwest with
an appreciable number of common laborers at entrance rates of 40 or
more cents an hour were chemicals (50.8 percent), iron and steel (88.9
percent), leather (62.6 percent), meat packing (52.8 percent), paper
and pulp (59.9 percent), building construction (58.8 percent), and
electric light and power (46.6 percent). It will be noted that the
meat-packing, building-construction, and electric light and power
industries, although having a large concentration of common laborers
at entrance rates of 40 cents or more, also had large groupings at 30
cents per hour or less.
The greatest contrasts as between the two regions at any level
of wages appear in the cement and lumber industries. In the cement
industry, 98 percent of the common laborers in the South and South
west had entrance rates of less than 52.5 cents an hour whereas in the
North and West nearly 81 percent received 52.5 cents or over. In
the lumber industry nearly 99 percent in the South and Southwest
received less than 37.5 cents, while in the North and West more than
91 percent were paid 37.5 cents per hour or better.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
T able 6 —
Cumulative Percentage Distribution of Adult Male Common Laborers, by
Hourly Entrance Rates, Industry, and Region, July 1940
Automobile parts
Hourly entrance
rate (in cents)
Under 25.0..........
Under 30.0_____
30.0 and un d er...
Under 32.5_____
Under 35.0_____
Under 37.5_____
Under 40.0_____
Under 42.5______
Under 47.5_____
Under 52.5—........
Under 57.5_____
Under 62.5_____
Under 67.5_____
Under 72.5............
Under 77.5_____
Under 82.5_____
Under 25.0_____
Under 30.0_____
30.0 and u n d er...
Under 32.5_____
Under 35.0_____
Under 37.5...........
Under 40.0_____
Under 42.5______
Under 47.5_____
Under 52.5_____
Under 57.5_____
Under 62.5_____
Under 67.5_.........
Under 72.5_____
Under 77.5_____
Under 82.5______
Brick, tile, and
terra cotta
Cement
Chemicals
T otal
South
North South
North South
North South
and Total North
and
and
and
and South
and South
Tota' and
South T otal and South
West west
West
West
West
west
west
west
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.5
1.5
10.4
17.3
43.6
46.9
75.0
87.3
90.2
99.9
100.0
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.5
1.5
10.4
17.3
43.6
46.9
75.0
87.3
90.2
99.9
100.0
1.5
3.0
19.2
20.4
22.0
25.2
28.4
44.0
57.2
69. 1
81.2
97.0
98.7
99.9
99.9
100.0
Fertilizers
2.5
9.4
50.9
50. 9
54. 2
59.4
59. 5
76.5
80.7
86. 5
93. 2
98.7
99.4
99. 7
99.9
100.0
3.6
2.3
12.6
9.2
70.3
9.2
70.3
9.2
75.1
12.7
81.1
13.1
81. 1
27.9
99. 1
39.3 100.0
57.6 _____
78.6
95.9
98.1
99.1
99.8
100.0
Leather
Under 25.0____
Under 30.0____
30.0 and under.
Under 32.5____
Under 35.0____
Under 37.5____
Under 40.0____
Under 42.5____
Under 47.5____
Under 52.5........
Under 57.5____
Under 62.5____
Under 67.5____
Under 72.5____
Under 77.5........
Under 82.5____
Under 90.0____
Under 100.0___
17
0)
0.9
3.7
3.7
3.7
1.0
28.6
40.9
57.6
66.3
79.1
87.0
1.7
1.7
1.7
3.9
8.3
23.2
36.2
52.0
61.3
76.0
85. 1
100.0
100.0
6.2
12.0
(0
2.8
3.3
4.0
7.7
11.3
30.8
47.1
61.9
76.4
96.1
98.3
99.9
99.9
100.0
7.5
14.6
84.4
88.5
93.4
94.6
96.2
96.3
97.1
97.4
100.0
.4
17.2
17.2
17.2
22.1
37.4
65.0
72.3
94.9
1 0 0 .0
Glass
0.2
1.3
7.4
1.5
51.1
3.2
7.5
1.6
51.8
3.2
8.2
1.8
56.6
3.2
10.8
4.0
62.6
3.3
12.7
4.3
76.9
3.3
24.8
16.0
91.9 11.1
37.4
29.5
97.3 23.1
65.9
61.4
99.0 49.5
80.5
77.8
99.7 59.8
91.2
90.0 100.0 82.8
98.2
98.0 _____ 99.3
99.0
98.9
100.0
99.8
99.8
100.0 2100.0
0.3
.3
.3
.3
.3
7.2
18.8
47.6
58.7
83.9
99.3
100.0
0.7
.8
58.0
58.4
59.3
61.1
63.8
67.1
68.3
72.0
76.4
85.9
99.5
1 0 0 .0
5.5
5.9
6.2
8.7
14.2
21.3
24.0
32.9
43.4
66.0
98.7
100.0
1.3
1.5
95.8
96.2
97.5
98.8
99.4
100.0
4.5
4.0
4.0
9.6
14.0
48.6
90.1
98.4
100.0
0.1 0)
.3
0.1
4.5
4.5
4.6
5.7
5.8
7.1
.4
.4
.4
1.1
1.2
37.9
78.9
99.8
2.4
4.9
13.3
30.9
76.5
99.8
1 0 0 .0
100.0
10.0
2 0 .1
4.8
7.8
7.9
9.2
11.9
19.4
27.6
34.0
37.4
52.0
83.1
91.6
100.0
0.2
.2
.3
.5
.5
3.7
5.9
13.8
18.2
37.3
77.8
89.0
100.0
19.7
32.6
32.6
37.6
49.2
70.5
98.4
100.0
Iron and steel
34.8
34.8
34.8
36.0
36.0
52.9
68.8
69.1
71.4
71.4
100.0
Meat packing
Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Includes less than a tenth of 1 percent receiving 82.5 cents and over.
Includes less than a tenth of 1 percent receiving 42.5 cents and over.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1.1
2.8
19.6
75.5
86.3
96.8
97.9
100.0
Foundry and ma
chine-shop products
Lumber (sawmills)
0.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
2.8
4.1
15.1
28.5
42.8
82.7
90.3
97.7
98.5
100.0
1.2
2.5
41.0
41.0
42.1
46.6
47.2
49.8
56.1
81.2
1 0 0 .0
0.4
.4
.7
.9
1.1
3.5
10.7
13.3
28.7
35.3
99.1
100.0
0.1
.1
.1
.1
.2
.4
3.4
6. 2
22.5
29.7
99.0
100.0
2.9
3.1
69
9. 9
11.1
38.0
91.9
91.9
96.7
96.7
100.0
Paints and varnishes
0)
8.2
8.4
8.7
12.2
12.9
26.6
33.4
48.7
55.6
82.4
96.6
99.9
99.9
99.9
99.9
100.0
0.1
3.7
3.9
4.2
7.2
8.0
20.3
26.4
43.2
50.9
80.4
96.2
99.9
100.0
51.2
51.2
51.7
60.1
60.1
86.2
99.5
100.0
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
18
T a b l e 6 . — Cumulative
Percentage Distribution of Adult Male Common Laborers, by
Hourly Entrance Rates, Industry, and Region, July 1940— Continued
Paper and pulp
Hourly entrance rate
(in cents)
Under 35.0
.................. .......
Under 37.5_________________
Under 40.0__
__ . . .
Under 42.5___ _______ .
Under 47.5_________________
Under 52.5________ __ . . .
Under 5 7 .5 ________________
Under 72.5 .
. . .
Under 77.5_____________
Under 110.0
______
Petroleum refining
Building construction
Total
Soap 4
North South
North South
North South
and
and
and Total
Total and South
and South
and South
West west
West west
West west
3.0
3.1
3.5
13.7
15.5
29.2
52.0
70.6
86.4
90.2
99.6
100.0
0.6
.6
.6
1.0
2.0
3.4
6.0
44.8
50.2
55.2
71.7
85.3
100.0
0.2
.2
.8
2.2
3.5
16.4
31.1
56.4
79.8
85. 5
99.4
100.0
8.6
8.9
8. 9
37.4
40.1
55.4
95.5
100.0
..
0. 2
.2
.2
.4
.8
1.5
2.9
19.9
26.1
32.6
52. 5
82.5
96.5
100. 0
0.1
.1
.4
.9
4.0
10.6
18.1
40.2
80.8
94.3
100.0
4.5
4.5
6.4
10.6
10.6
26.0
27.3
57.4
60.8
65.4
80.5
90.1
100.0
___
Electric light and
power
Electric street-railway and
city motorbus operation
and maintenance
Hourly entrance rate (in cents)
Total
North South
and
and
West South
west
0.2
.2
0.7
7.6
30.0 and under_______________
_ Under 32.5_____________
.7
7.6
.7
Under 35.0--. _____ _ - ___
8.1
Under 37.5__________________
1.3
12.0
1.6
Under 40.0_____ ___________
13.5
Under 42.5__________________
30.6
41.8
54.2
Under 47.5_________________
44.0
Under 52.5__________________
74.1
79.3
80.2
Under 57.5__.____ - - - - - - 84.0
Under 62.5 . . ................. - ........... 89.1
85.9
97.6
Under 67.5__________________
96.9
Under 72.5__________________ 7100.0 7100.0
Under 77.5_____ _____ _____
0.8
1.0
30.8
30.9
32.9
48.1
53.4
78.7
87.8
96.3
96.7
100.0
Total
0.1
2.1
9.0
10.2
13.4
17.2
18.7
31.4
46.9
58.9
72.8
76.0
99.6
99.8
99.8
99.9
100.0
North
and
"West
0.8
1.0
2.5
4.1
5.8
19.4
37.7
51.8
68.3
72.0
99.6
99.8
99.8
99.9
100.0
South
and
South
west
0.4
13.7
52.5
62.5
75.3
91.2
91.6
99.1
99.3
99.3
99.3
99.3
100.0
0.3
2.0
9.0
9.0
9.2
10.9
10.9
28.4
32.2
45.0
48.4
52.5
59.3
64.1
71.6
84.9
93.2
98.0
9 99.3
0.1
.3
.3
.3
.5
.5
9.0
12.6
26.9
30.8
36.2
45.2
51.6
61.8
79.7
90.8
97.3
9 99.0
1.0
7.3
34.2
34.2
35.0
41.1
41.2
85.0
89.3
97.6
99.6
99.7
100.0
Manufactured and
natural gas
Total
2.0
10.3
10.7
10.7
16.7
16.9
34.4
47.3
68.4
85.7
89.5
97.5
98.6
100.0
North South
and
and South
West west
0.8
1.1
17.9
33.5
59.3
81.4
86.3
96.6
98.1
100.0
8.8
45.9
47.7
47.7
71.5
71.5
91.7
95.2
100.0
Regional figures not shown, in order not to reveal plant identity,
s The remaining seven-tenths of 1 percent received $1.10 and over.
9 The remaining 1 percent received $1.10 and over.
7 Includes less than a tenth of 1 percent receiving 72.5 cents and over.
*
Entrance Rates in 1939 and 1940, as Reported by Identical
Establishments
The tables and analyses so far presented in this report are based on
the data furnished by all establishments reporting common laborers at
entrance rates in 1940. These figures do not provide the best measure
of the trend of entrance rates since the previous year. The increase
in the number of reporting establishments in 1940 over 1939, coupled
with the fact that for various reasons some of the firms which reported
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance H age Rates oj Common Laborers
19
in 1939 may not have reported in 1940, or having reported in both
years may not have had any common laborers at entrance rates in one
of these years, results in a somewhat different apparent trend between
the 2 years on the basis of total coverage than that which really existed.
Greater accuracy in determining the trend of entrance rates between
1939 and 1940 is obtained by presenting the data from those establish
ments which reported common laborers at entrance rates both years,
as is done in tables 7 and 8.
This part of the study covers 5,034 establishments that reported
common laborers at entrance rates in both 1939 and 1940. These
identical establishments reported employment of 174,566 common
laborers at entrance rates in 1940, or 4,123 more than the 170,443
reported in 1939. It will be seen from the figures that the increase in
employment within the identical plants was very small, averaging less
than 1 person per plant.
Study of the figures for plants reporting in both 1939 and 1940
shows that the average entrance rate paid to common laborers in the
20 industries combined for the country as a whole increased by 1.1
cents or by 2.2 percent. This represented twice as great a change
as that which occurred between 1938 and 1939. In 1940, the average
rate was 50.8 cents an hour as compared with 49.7 cents in 1939.
This increase can be attributed largely to the effect of the Fair Labor
Standards Act on establishments in the Southern and Southwestern
States, where the average entrance rate increased by 6.6 percent, from
33.5 cents to 35.7 cents an hour. Few other significant changes
occurred.
Comparing the 1940 averages with those for 1939 for identical
establishments on an industry basis, it will be observed that for the
country as a whole there were 13 increases as against 5 decreases. No
change occurred in the meat-packing industry; and data for rubber
tires and inner tubes were omitted from table 7 because of the un
representative nature of data for this industry.
All of the increases among individual industries occurred within the
manufacturing group which, as a whole, showed an average entrance
rate for common laborers of 50.3 cents or 1.8 cents higher than in 1939.
Considered on an individual industry basis, the greatest increase was
4.6 cents an hour—an increase which occurred in both the chemical and
in the brick, tile, and terra cotta industries. The average entrance
rate for the soap industry declined from 55.3 cents in 1939 to 53.0
cents in 1940. No other industry among the manufacturing group
showed a drop in average entrance rates.
The public-utilities industries, both individually and collectively,
had lower average entrance rates for common laborers in 1940 than
in 1939. The average decline amounted to 0.9 cent an hour. Within
this group the greatest change occurred in electric street-railway and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
20
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
city motorbus operation and maintenance, where the average dropped
from 50.5 cents in 1939 to 49.1 cents in 1940; and the smallest decline
occurred in the electric light and power industry, where the average
dropped by 0.4 cent from 47.9 cents in 1939 to 47.5 cents in 1940.
The average entrance rate of pay for common laborers in the build
ing-construction industry amounted to 59.7 cents in 1940, or 0.8 cent
less than the average of 60.5 cents in 1939.
In the northern and western region, reports from identical establish
ments in the 20 industries combined showed that the average hourly
entrance rate of pay for common laborers in 1940 increased by 0.4
cent over that paid in 1939, the respective averages being 56.1 and
55.7 cents. Of the 18 industries for which figures are presented
separately, 14 showed increases, 3 showed decreases, and 1 showed no
change between the 2 years. The greatest increases were 3.1 and 3.0
cents respectively in the automobile-parts and the chemicals indus
tries. None of the decreases amounted to as much as one cent an
hour. Meat packing was the only manufacturing industry that had
a lower average hourly entrance rate for common laborers in 1940
than in the preceding year. The northern average for the manu
facturing-industries group, by itself, was 55.6 cents in 1940; this
represented an increase of 0.8 cent over the average of 54.8 cents for
1939. The average of 50.9 cents for the utilities group in 1940
represents a decline of 0.6 cent from the 51.5-cent average in 1939.
A drop of 0.8 cent occurred in both the electric light and power and
electric street-railway and city motorbus operation and maintenance
industries.
In the South and Southwest the average for all industries combined
shows a substantial increase in 1940 over that in 1939. However,
6 of the 17 industries represented in that area had lower average
entrance rates in 1940 than in the preceding year. The manufacturing
industries as a whole showed an average increase of 2.7 cents an hour
between 1939 and 1940 Among the manufacturing industries, iron
and steel, meat packing, and paints and varnishes showed lower aver
ages in 1940 than in 1939. The drop of 2.8 cents in the 1940 average
for meat packing was greater than for any other industry. Common
laborers in the leather industry in this region enjoyed the greatest
actual increase in average hourly entrance rates, amounting to 5.5
cents an hour. The lumber industry reported the greatest relative
increase namely 16.7 percent. In the public-utility group, entrance
rates fell by an average of 0.5 cent per hour in the South and South
west. The decrease in the average rate between the 2 years was
caused by a drop of 0.3 cent in electric street-railway and city
motorbus operation and maintenance and a decrease of 1.2 cents for
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rates of Common Laborers
21
the manufactured and natural gas industry, offset in part by an
increase of 0.9 cent in the average covering electric light and power.7
T a b l e 7. —Average Hourly Entrance Rates of Adult Male Common Laborers, by Industry
and Region, July 1939 and July 1940
Total
Industry
North and West
South and Southwest
Identical establish
ments
1939
Identical establish
Identical establish
All
ments
All
ments
All
estab
estab
establish
lish
lisPer ments
Per ments
Per ments
1940 cent of 1940 1939 1940 cent of 1940 1939 1940 cent of 1940
change
change
change
All 20 industries___ $0. 497 $0. 508
+ 2 .2 $0. 506 $0. 557 $0. 561
+ 0 .7 $0. 560 $0.335 $0. 357
Manufacturing ___
Automobile p a rts...
Brick, tile, terra
cotta____________
Cement___________
Chemicals________
Fertilizers________
Foundry and machine-shop products____________
Glass_____________
Iron and steel_____
Leather____ _ . . .
Lumber (saw m ills).
M eatpacking__ _
Paints and varnishes____
___
Paper and pulp____
Petroleum refining..
Rubber tires and
inner tubes______
Soap---------------------
+ 6 .6 $0. 355
.485
.548
. 503
.579
+ 3 .7
+ 5 .7
.498
.561
.548
.548
.556
.579
+1. 5
+ 5 .7
.553
.561
.329
.356
+ 8.2
.353
.397
.515
.523
.360
.443 +11.6
.528 + 2 .5
.569 + 8 .8
.372 + 3.3
.446
.528
.563
.368
.478
.557
.590
.462
.483
.568
.620
.489
+ 1 .0
+ 2 .0
+5.1
+ 5 .8
.483
.568
.619
.486
.266
.404
.380
.299
.300 +12.8
.433 + 7.2
.393 + 3.4
.321 + 7.4
.299
.432
.378
.314
.494
.523
.585
.465
.377
.574
.495
.526
.590
.486
.404
. 574
+ .2
+ .6
+ .9
+ 4 .5
+ 7 .2
0
.490
.528
.589
.509
.400
.564
.508
.535
.601
.485
.533
.587
.512
.536
.604
.497
.541
.586
+ .8
+ .2
+ .5
+ 2 .5
+ 1 .5
-.2
.509
.536
.603
.524
.539
.582
.337
.408
.453
.372
.258
.437
.339
+ .6
.416 + 2 .0
.435 - 4 .0
.427 +14.8
.301 +16.7
.409 - 6 .4
.344
.442
.435
.411
.301
.409
.522
.474
.631
.530
.481
.633
+ 1 .5
+ 1 .5
+ .3
.515
.478
.636
.544
.509
.664
.548
.516
.673
+ .7
+ 1 .4
+ 1 .4
.533
.514
.674
.354
. 391
.579
.348
.405
.580
352
.403
. 579
0
.553
0
.530
0
- 4 .2
«
.533
(2)
(3)
(2)
0
(2)
«
(2)
0
0
0
0
0
.490
.481
- 1 .8
.477
.515
.509
- 1 .2
.508
.363
.358
- 1 .4
. 353
.479
.475
- .8
.466
.502
.494 . - 1 .6
.492
.387
.396
+ 2.3
.378
)
- 1 .7
+ 3 .6
+ .2
Public u tilitie s .___
Electric light and
power__ ________
Electric street-railway and city
motorbus operation and maintenance_______ ___
Manufactured and
natural gas____
.505
.491
- 2 .8
.491
.527
.519
- 1 .5
.521
.321
.318
.484
.476
- 1 .7
.476
.517
.517
0
.514
.357
.345
- 3 .4
.344
Building construetion. . . _. ____
.605
.597
- 1 .3
.801
.673
.675
+ .3
.681
.377
.372
- 1 .3
.372
-. 9
. 317
1 No change.
2 See footnote 6, p. 12.
3 Regional figures are omitted, to avoid disclosure of data from individual plants.
A study of the data in table 8 indicates that establishments which
reported in 1939 and in 1940 showed 13.6 percent of their common
laborers as receiving entrance rates of less than 30 cents an hour in
2 Some of the entrance-rate changes which occurred in identical plants within the separate regions do not
appear to be reflected in the change for the country as a whole, as shown in table 7. This is due to shifts
in the volume of employment of common laborers between 1939 and 1940. For example, while common
laborers in the meat-packing industry in the North and West had an average rate of 0.1 cent less in 1940
than in 1939, and those in the South and Southwest received 2.8 cents less, the average for the country as a
whole was not changed. This is due to the changing balance of employment in this industry. The number
of common laborers at entrance rates in the North and West increased 1,630 in 1940 over 1939, while in the
South and Southwest the number reported for 1940 was 113 less than for 1939. The increase in the number of
laborers in the higher paid North and West caused the average entrance rate for the country as a whole to
remain at the 1939 figure.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
22
the former year, as compared with 0.7 percent in the latter year.
Those having entrance rates of 30 cents or less in 1939 amounted to
15.9 percent. Only 2.3 percent of all workers reported in 1939, as
compared with 14.2 percent of those reported in 1940, were receiving
exactly 30 cents an hour. This raising of workers to the 30-cent
minimum of the Fair Labor Standards Act was the only major change
in the distribution of common laborers which appeared between the
2 years.
Considering the geographical regions separately, few changes as
between 1939 and 1940 occur in the North and West. On the other
hand, the reports from the South and Southwest reflect adjustment to
the 30-cent minimum in the most pronounced manner. The relative
number of common laborers receiving an entrance rate of less than 30
cents an hour in 1940 was only 2.9 percent, as compared with 49.1 per
cent in 1939.
T a b l e 8 . — Cumulative
Percentage Distribution of Adult Male Common Laborers in 20
Industries, by Hourly Entrance Rates and Region, Ju ly 1939 and July 1940
North and West
Total
Hourly entrance rate
Identical estab
lishments
1939
Under 25.0 cen ts.. . ____
Under 30.0 cents__________
30.0 cents and under.. ____
Under 32.5 cents__________
Under 35.0 cents__________
Under 37.5 cen ts.. . . . . _ . .
Under 40.0 cents. ________
Under 42.5 cents...... ..............
Under 47.5 cents__________
Under 52.5 cen ts.. . . . . . . .
Under 57.5 cents__________
Under 62.5 cents_____ . .
Under 67.5 cents__________
Under 72.5 cents__________
Under 77.5 cents______ . . .
0.1
13.6
15.9
16.1
16.7
19.6
21.0
31.2
39.5
52.8
64.1
74.0
93.4
96.4
98.0
98. 3
99. 5
99 9
1940
0.2
.7
14.9
15.2
15.8
18.3
19.6
28.8
37.8
50.4
62.3
73.4
94.3
96.4
97.8
98.8
99. 5
99.9
All
estab
lish
ments
1940
0.3
.9
15.6
15.9
16.5
19.4
20.7
30.3
39.3
52. 1
63.3
73.9
93.5
95.8
97.3
98. 6
99.4
99. 8
Identical estab
lishments
1939
0.6
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.6
4.0
12.5
20.8
37.5
52.0
65.3
91.6
95.4
97.3
97.7
99.3
99.9
1940
(i)
0)
1.0
1.1
1.3
2.2
3.4
11.4
19.1
34.7
50.3
65.2
92.8
95.4
97.1
98.4
99. 3
99.9
South and Southwest
All
Identical estab
estab
lishments
lish
ments
1939
1940
1940
(i)
0.1
1.3
1.4
1.6
2.8
3.9
12.4
20.4
36.3
51.1
65.4
91.5
94.4
96.3
98.1
99.1
99. 7
0.5
49.1
56.2
56.8
58.7
66.0
67.4
82.2
90.4
94.5
97.1
97.8
98.5
99.4
100.0
0.9
2.9
54.7
55.7
57.6
64.7
66.3
78.9
91.7
95.8
97.3
97.7
98.8
99.4
100.0
All
estab
lish
ments
1940
1.1
3.1
55.3
56.1
57.9
65.6
67.7
80.4
92.1
96.3
97.6
97.9
99.0
99.5
100.0
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Trends Reflected by Entrance Rates from 1926 to 1940
Table 9 shows the trends of average hourly entrance rates of com
mon laborers since 1926 for 13 industries combined and for each of
three groups, namely manufacturing industries, public utilities, and
building construction. The manufacturing group covered by this
table includes only 9 industries, because comparable data for a greater
number are not available for the earlier years. The manufacturing
industries included in this table are brick, tile, and terra cotta, cement,
foundry and machine-shop products, iron and steel, leather, lumber,
meat packing, paper and pulp, and petroleum refining.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Entrance Wage Rales of Common Laborers
23
The averages for the years 1926 to 1936, are those reflected by all
establishments reporting from year to year. Although not based on
data for identical establishments, these averages are probably adequate
to show the general trend for these years.8 The averages presented
for 1937 and 1938 were calculated on the basis of identical establish
ments. Both the 1939 and 1940 averages have been computed on the
basis of the entire coverage for each of those years.
The average hourly entrance rate for the 13 industries rose by
seven-tenths of a cent between 1939 and 1940. The 9 manufacturing
industries showed an average increase of 1.1 cents over the 1939 rate,
while the public utilities average dropped eight-tenths of a cent below
the 1939 figure. Building construction continued at the same level
as in 1939, its average being 60.1 cents for both years.
Although the 50.7 cents for all 13 industries and the 49.8 cents for
the manufacturing group for 1940 were the highest averages for any
of the years since 1937, the figure for public utilities was lower than
the average paid either in 1938 or 1939.
T a b l e 9 . —Average Hourly Entrance Rates of Adult Male Common Laborers in 13
Industries, by Industry Group, 1926 to 1940
All indus
tries cov
ered
Manufac
turing
industries
covered
1926______________________________________ _ .
1927__________________________________ _____
1928_______ _______ ____________________________
1929__________________________________________
1930______________________________________________
$0.426
.424
.428
.432
.429
$0,401
.399
.402
.407
.405
$0. 420
.398
.429
.428
.446
$0.471
.482
.474
.483
.470
1931________________________________
1932_____________________ ____ ____
1933__________________________________________
1934____________ __________________________
1935______________________________________________
.403
.355
.333
.420
.430
.383
.318
.305
.407
.415
.446
.415
.387
.418
.420
.426
.399
.383
.455
.481
1936-_______________________________________
1937 2____________________________________________
1938 3____ _______ ________________________________
1939______________________________________________
1940____________________________________________
.434
.493
.495
.500
.507
.425
.488
.486
.487
.498
.437
.463
.479
.485
.477
.509
.551
.578
.601
.601
July
Public
utilities
Building
construc
tion i
1 For the years 1926 to 1935, inclusive, the figures cover a small amount of construction outside of the
building industry.
2 Averages for the year were computed on the basis of identical establishments for both 1937 and 1938.
3 Averages for the year were computed on the basis of identical establishments for both 1938 and 1939.
8 See M onthly Labor Review, December 1937, p. 1508, footnote 6.
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LABOR CO N D ITIO N S IN HAW AII 1
P a rt 2 .— W o r k in g C o n d it io n s
in
L e a d in g I n d u s t r ie s
B y J ames H. S hoemaker , Department of Economics, Brown University
THERE are many mistaken notions among people on the American
mainland regarding present economic conditions in the Hawaiian
Islands. The popular conception of the conditions in any given area
tends to lag behind actuality, but this is especially true when condi
tions have been changing rapidly as is the case in the Territory.
Wages, hours, and working conditions in particular have shifted
markedly since the previous Hawaiian labor study by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1929.
Broadly' speaking, the depression of the early thirties did not
significantly impinge upon the Hawaiian economy until more than a
year after its effect had been clearly felt on the American mainland.
Its depressing effect on wages between 1930 and 1934 was distinctly
less marked. Moreover, there was an unmistakable upward trend
between 1934 and 1940. Thus, in a relative sense, Hawaiian wages
showed an improvement as compared with wage levels on the main
land. In the case of Hawaiian plantation workers, wages at the end
of the decade were well above the 1924-29 level, whereas in 1939 wages
of hired farm laborers on the mainland were distinctly below the
1924-29 level. Wage trends in the nonplantation industries of Hawaii
are less clear, but in general show an improvement for the decade as a
whole.
These generalizations are subject to exceptions and qualifications
and are not very useful when stated in such broad terms. They
become meaningful in their relations to the particular industries to
which they apply. It seems worth while, therefore, to indicate
specific recent changes and contemporary working conditions in some
of the more significant Hawaiian industries.
Sugar Industry
The annual world production of sugar, which was less than 20 million
short tons in 1920, ranged between 34 and 36 million tons yearly during
the period 1936-1939. Of this, roughly two-thirds was cane sugar and
one-third beet sugar. As a result of the International Sugar Agree
ment of May 7, 1937, only one-tenth of the world’s sugar is sold in an
open or so-called “world market.” The remainder is sold in closed or
partially closed markets under quota systems.
1 The second of two articles based on a recently published study made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Labor in the Territory of Hawaii. The first article, which appeared in the December issue of the M onthly
Labor Review, consisted of a general analysis of the position of labor in the Hawaiian economy as a whole.
24
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Conditions in Hawaii
.25
RELATIVE POSITION OF HAWAII
The American market absorbs over 6 million tons of sugar annually.
Under the domestic quota system Hawaiian producers have been
allotted approximately 14 percent of the American market. The
1940 quota for Hawaii, as announced by the Secretary of Agriculture,
December 29, 1939, was 943,967 tons. In addition to this, about
30,000 tons are annually consumed in the Territory itself.
The production of this sugar involves far more labor than does any
other industry in Hawaii. The sugar plantations alone require 31.1
percent of the total number of gainfully employed, and provide wage
payments amounting to over 28 millions annually.
In addition to this, there are many workers outside the plantations
who are engaged in occupations directly and solely dependent on
sugar production. Thus, the industry represents well over one-third
of the total employment of the Territory.
EXPANSION OF THE SUGAR INDUSTRY
As late as 1837 only two tons of sugar were produced during the
year. Since then the industry has passed through three stages: (1)
The period, 1837-1876, was one of gradual increase in production,
the plantations being largely under individual owner-managers, and
dependent upon native Hawaiian labor. During this time the
industry expanded to an annual output of 13,000 tons. (2) The
period, 1876 to 1933, witnessed a very rapid expansion, stimulated
first by the reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, signed
in 1876, and later by the formal annexation of the Territory by the
United States, in 1898. It was during this period that the planta
tions adopted the corporate form of organization and became thor
oughly integrated, by virtue of the agency system and various forms
of intercorporate control. By 1933 the industry had attained a high
of 1,035,548 short tons for the year. This marked expansion was
made possible by the importation of large numbers of Chinese, Portu
guese, Japanese, Koreans, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos, the Japanese
and Filipinos being predominant. (3) The period, 1933 to the
present, shows evidence of the beginning of stabilization in respect to
both production and labor supply. Japanese and Filipinos combined
represent over three-fourths of the total employment on the planta
tions today.
DEPENDENCE ON THE AMERICAN MARKET
From its inception, the Hawaiian sugar industry has been in
creasingly dependent upon the’American market. In 1876 it obtained
preferential treatment in a reciprocal trade agreement with the United
States. Upon annexation in 1898 it was given the protection of the
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. LouisS
26
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
American tariff system. The Jones-Costigan Act of 1934 brought
Hawaii within the framework of the American sugar-quota system.
Under these conditions the margins of cultivation have been pushed
out in respect to both the intensity of land use (in terms of labor,
fertilizer, irrigation, etc.) and the extension of cane cultivation into the
poorer areas of land. As a result, marginal costs are high in spite of a
high technical efficiency. The Hawaiian sugar industry is now com
pletely dependent on the American market. Without protection, the
industry and the labor engaged in it would suffer serious dislocations.
CONCENTRATION OF CONTROL
The industry is more highly integrated than that of any other sugarproducing area, because of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association,
and the five large sugar agencies, known as “ factors,” that formulate
its policies. As a result, the industry tends toward a greater stability
and uniformity of practice than would otherwise obtain. It has
adopted large-scale scientific procedures which are continually in
creasing the efficiency of production in all operations.
For these reasons, the plantations cannot be subdivided into small,
independent, sugar farms without abandoning present mass-produc
tion methods and lowering efficiency, with a resultant general lower
ing in standards of living.
The concentration of control over the Hawaiian sugar industry as
a whole on the part of the five Honolulu sugar agencies, and their
central organization, the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, ex
plains the extreme weakness of plantation labor organization. The
whole plantation community, including housing, recreation fields,
hospitals, and even stores, is in the hands of management. Although
in recent years this paternalism has been a benevolent paternalism
(in terms of the improvement in wages, hours, and working condi
tions) it has been highly antagonistic to labor organization as such.
COMPARATIVE POSITION OF HAWAIIAN LABOR
Because in the earlier days of the sugar industry in Hawaii, im
ported oriental labor received extremely low wages, it is frequently
assumed by writers on sugar production that the Hawaiian industry
is based upon a foundation of “ cheap oriental labor.” At present,
however, the situation of Hawaiian sugar workers compares favorably
with that of agricultural workers on the mainland in respect to both
rate of earnings and regularity of employment.
Seasonality of employment on Hawaiian plantations is far less than
that of the average of other American farm areas, where crops are
distinctly seasonal and producers depend upon migrant labor for
harvesting. Seasonal variation in farm employment for the United
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Conditions in Hawaii
21
States as a whole shows that the amount of employment in the high
month (June) averages 43 percent greater than that in the low month
(January). Variations in the employment of hired workers are much
more extreme. For the United States as a whole, the employment of
hired workers in January has been about 30 percent lower than the
monthly average, and in July about 20 percent higher.2
Workers in the Hawaiian sugar industry also enjoy a relatively
favorable position in comparison with specific mainland sugar-pro
ducing areas. The cane-producing areas on the mainland show dis
tinctly greater seasonality in respect to employment and earnings in
both field work and the< manufacture of raw sugar. In Louisiana
the period of least employment is estimated to be slightly less than
half of the peak. In the cane mills, employment at the peak is nearly
10 times that of the slack season. In Hawaii, however, there is only
a 7 to 10 percent increase in employment in the peak months of June,
July, and August, including both fields and mills.
The monthly wage rates of farm workers for the United States as
a whole averaged $27.72 with board, and $35.63 without board in
1938. For the quarter ending April 1, 1939, these figures were $27.08
and $35.42, respectively. By comparison, in March 1939, the aver
age monthly earnings of nonsalaried male workers on Hawaiian sug ar
plantations amounted to $48.88. This does not include perquisites,
which are equivalent to from $10 to $16, depending on the plantation,
the average being about $13.
Hawaii also compares favorably, in respect to wages, with main
land sugar-producing areas. The Sugar Division of the Agricultural
Adjustment Administration, in its wage determinations, provides
about the same requirements for Louisiana as for Hawaii in respect
to daily earnings, but, since employment is extremely seasonal in
Louisiana as compared to Hawaii, annual earnings average much
higher in Hawaii. There are no accurate studies of annual earnings
of field labor in Louisiana, but reports received by the Sugar Divi
sion indicate that they range between $200 and $250. Average an
nual earnings of nonsalaried male workers in the Hawaiian sugar
industry, including employees who worked on the plantations oidy
part of the year, amounted to $546, not including perquisites.
Beet-sugar workers receive considerably higher wages per day.
Estimates received from the Sugar Division indicate that daily earn
ings ranged from $4.13 for thinning, to $5.50 for topping, for a 10hour day. Daily earnings of beet-sugar workers are thus about twice
those of Hawaiian cane-sugar workers. The former average less than
60 days of employment per year, however, and to obtain it they must
remain in the beet-sugar area throughout the whole season. A study
• See M onthly Labor Review, June 1939 (p. 1251).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
28
prepared for the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates 3 that for beet
work in 1935 the annual earnings averaged $340 per family, and not
more than $130 annually per worker. The total annual supplemen
tary income per family, earned outside the beet-sugar industry,
averaged $51. Many of the families are on relief throughout the
winter.
Agricultural labor is one of the most poorly paid groups in the
United States as a whole, and Hawaiian plantations, being organized
on a mass-production basis, necessarily include a larger proportion
of technically trained workers than would appear in the general group
of hired laborers on American farms. Hence a comparison between
the earnings of agricultural labor on the mainland and the earnings
of workers in the Hawaiian sugar industry is subject to significant
qualifications. It is nevertheless true that, contrary to popular
opinion, Hawaiian plantation labor receives higher monthly wages
than the general average of farm labor or the average of the main
land cane-sugar workers. Because of the advantages of climate, ir
rigation, and a continuous cycle of growth, the stability of employ
ment and economic security of the average plantation worker in
Hawaii is far greater than that of the farm or plantation worker on
the mainland. For the same reasons, the average annual earnings
of Hawaiian plantation labor amount to more than the average
annual earnings of farm labor on the mainland.
There has been a gradual improvement in housing, hospitalization,
and recreational facilities; but there is still a wide variation in respect
to these perquisites in the various plantations, and even in various
parts of a single plantation. Housing bordering slum conditions is
still to be found, representing about 20 percent of the total.
RAPID CHANGE IN CHARACTER OF PLANTATION LAROR
The labor supply on the plantations is passing through a rapid
transition, from uneducated imported alien labor to native-born
citizen labor (children and grandchildren of the original immigrants)
taught in American schools. Citizen labor, which formed only 12
percent of the total on the plantations in 1930, already constitutes
45 percent (July 1939). Since citizens now comprise four-fifths of the
total population of the Islands, the percentage of citizen laborers on
the plantations may be expected to continue to rise rapidly.
Conditions that have been more or less acceptable to illiterate alien
labor are less acceptable to citizen labor with elementary, high-school,
and, in a few cases, university training. The shift from alien to
citizen labor cannot occur without serious difficulties, unless there is a
large degree of flexibility in the structural organization of the planta* M onthly Labor Review, February, 1938 (p. 322): Wages, Employment Conditions, and Welfare of
Sugar-Beet Laborers.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Conditions in Hawaii
29
tion which will make possible a gradual change in the character of
labor-management relationships in the industry during the next
decade.
The factors favoring a satisfactory transition of this sort are—
(a) Efforts being made by plantation managers to improve relations
between labor and management, and among racial groups on the
plantations ;
(b) Plans for the continued improvement of housing, recreation,
and hospitalization, involving a gradual change in the social atmos
phere, as well as in the living conditions, so as to make work on the
plantations an acceptable way of life to educated citizen laborers;
(c) Organized experimentation looking toward greater mechani
zation and specialization providing technical positions which are
more acceptable to educated workers; and
(d) The rise in the general wage level of sugar workers that has
occurred in recent years.
The factors unfavorable to a satisfactory transition to citizen
labor are—
(a) The difficulty of integrating the educational program of the
Territory with the general economic background of Hawaii;
(b) The continued use of low-grade housing which, although a small
proportion of the total, creates centers of discontent;
(c) The paternalistic attitude of management.
In addition to these factors, the high concentration of power in the
hands of management (in contrast to the unorganized position of
labor) makes it possible for the management to be arbitrary in its
labor policy.
By way of illustration, the practice of making wage payments by
piece rates and long-term cultivation agreements provides a situation
in which there are no prevailing standard rates, and in which man
agement may make arbitrary judgments in respect to wage payments
from which there is no effective appeal through organized representa
tion on the part of labor.
Pensions are arranged individually as each case arises, so that
workers are dependent upon the good will of management and the
outlook for the industry at the time they retire, rather than on a
standardized pension plan which defines their position in this respect.
The complete dependence of employees upon the plantation in
respect to every aspect of the life of the working community makes
them much less independent than farm laborers on the mainland.
The restricted size of the Island economy definitely limits occupa
tional opportunity, of which the plantations provide the greatest part.
Even if laborers seek nonplantation employment, their choice is small,
and on the whole their position is less secure than on the plantations.
2 8 0 3 9 8 — 41 -------3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
30
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
The foregoing should not be taken to imply that the Hawaiian sugar
industry is in a position to continue to increase plantation wages at the
rate at which they increased between 1934 and 1939. Sugar prices
during the period 1938-40 were extremely low. During the past
decade a number of developments have seriously affected the com
petitive position of Hawaii :
(а) There has been a marked technological advance in the pro
duction of beet sugar.4
(б) Hawaii has achieved significant technical advances and has
been a leader in the development of mechanization. These advances
improved the competitive position of the Hawaiian industry, and are
already reflected in Hawaiian sugar costs. But other sugar areas are
now rapidly taking over many of the techniques developed in the
Islands, which will lower their costs also. In other areas, both beetsugar and cane-sugar costs are declining.
(c) The Hawaiian producers pay higher taxes per ton (primarily
for local purposes), more freight (because of the great distance between
Hawaii and the market in which the sugar is sold), higher wages, and
more in the way of perquisites.
For these reasons, further rapid improvements in wages and working
conditions (unless they can be offset by new techniques which will
lower costs, or by a higher market price for sugar) are looked upon as
being incompatible with the maintenance of a competitive position.
They do not, however, preclude the possibility of a flexible adjustment
of employer-employee relationships which will conform to the rapidly
changing character of the labor on Hawaiian plantations.
Pineapple Industry
DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE INDUSTRY
The Hawaiian pineapple industry is considerably younger than the
sugar industry. The actual date of the introduction of pineapples to
Hawaii is unknown, although they were known to have grown wild on
the Kona coast very early in the nineteenth century. They did not be
come a significant Island product until the middle of the century. In
1851, 21,310 pineapples were exported, of which over 14,000 were from
Maui. The first pineapple plantation did not appear, however, until
1885. Even as late as 1909 only slightly over 5,000 acres were in pine
apples. In that year the Ginaca machine was developed for peeling
and coring the fruit, and in the following year, 1910, pineapple juice
was first publicized. By 1920 the land owned or leased by the pine
apple companies amounted to 46,845 acres.
4 There is also the prospective opening up of new areas, such as the Grand Coulee, Boulder, and other
regions excellently suited to the cultivation of sugar beets. These w ill not offer competition, however,
unless h e y are permitted to enter the quota system.
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During the twenties there was a marked shifting of the areas under
pineapple cultivation, together with a further rise in production. In
1930 the pineapple pack reached an all-time high of $50,055,569, but
as a result of the combined effects of the depression and a serious
pineapple-plant wilt, it sank to less than one-fifth of this amount
($9,570,569) in 1932.
Since 1932, there has been a marked but decidedly irregular recovery.
In 1937 canned pineapple shipments were valued at $42,705,114; and
by that time, also, pineapple-juice shipments had become important
and amounted to $16,689,976. Thus, in that year the total income of
the pineapple industry almost equaled that of the sugar industry,
which was $63,575,478.
ST R U C T U R A L O R G A N IZ A T IO N
The pineapple industry has tended toward large-scale plantation
organization in much the same way and for the same reasons as did
the sugar industry. Since the pineapple industry is younger, it lias
followed many of the plantation procedures of the sugar industry in
respect to housing and other perquisites, as well as general structural
organization of the plantation as a whole. There is an obvious ten
dency toward a further integration of the industry at the present tune.
In 1929, for example, there were 13 companies with 11 canneries: 10
years later, in 1939, there were only 9 companies with 8 canneries,
although production was much greater. One company produces
approximately 40 percent of the combined pineapple and juice output
of the Islands. Although there is some degree of coordination betw een
the various companies by virtue of (1) intercorporate and intrafamily
holdings, (2) interlocking directorates, and (3) relationships between
the pineapple concerns and the five large agencies that dominate the
sugar industry, the pineapple industry cannot be said to have achiisved
as high a degree of integration as has the sugar industry.
There are several reasons for this: (1) The sugar industry is
largely Island owned, whereas some of the important pineapple com
panies are only branches of large packing companies on the mainland;
(2) because the industry is younger, it has not had time to achieve full
coordination; (3) it has suffered, even in recent years, from violent
fluctuations in production and demand.
In 1909 the first organization of firms engaged in pineapple growing
was established. It was called the Pineapple Growers’ Association,
and was formed primarily for starting a mainland advertising cam
paign. Scientific experimentation in the growth of pineapples was
initiated on a large scale in 1920, and further expanded in 1922.
Between 1909 and 1932, the association passed through three reorgan
izations, finally emerging as the Pineapple Producers’ Cooperative
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Association. This association includes seven of the nine firms operat
ing in Hawaii.6 Under a cooperative arrangement these firms agree
to limit production to meet demand and the needs of the market, sell
the combined pineapple pack through a marketing committee, pool
their advertising, and standardize the pack. The association is a non
profit organization and charges one-fourth to one-half cent per case
for the association’s expenses. The agreement, which runs to May 31,
1942, covers canned pineapple only and not juice or byproducts.
It is commonly assumed in Hawaii and elsewhere, that the pine
apple industry has a quota system similar to that of the sugar industry.
Although it is true that both industries have established quotas, an
examination of the pineapple agreement indicates that they are dis
tinctly different in their nature and purpose. The sugar quota, as
previously indicated, is imposed by the Federal Government in the
interests of the country as a whole, and consists of a broad framework
of legal regulation for stabilizing the American market, Hawaii being
allotted 14 percent of the total.
The Hawaiian pineapple industry, on the other hand, controls 80
percent of the total world production of canned pineapple. Its quota
system covers only the Territory. It is not based on governmental
action but is self-imposed in the interest of earnings in the industry.
Because of its dominant position, by regulating production the in
dustry can affect price. In this respect, however, it can operate only
within the limitations set by competing substitute fruits. A lowering
of the price of canned peaches, for instance, will affect the sale of
canned pineapples.
The quota system should not be taken to mean that the associa
tion maintains a single marketing organization. Within the limits
of the system, which is carefully administered by a joint committee,
there is a high degree of competition. For these reasons, general
information on the industry as a whole is not so complete as in the
case of the sugar industry, and some specific details, considered
strictly confidential, are not available.
About half of the industry is Island owned. This half is much more
highly integrated within the pineapple industry itself, as well as in
relation to other Hawaiian enterprises, than that part of the industry
which is controlled from the mainland.
LABOR IN THE PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY
Since the pineapple industry was developed more recently than the
sugar industry, it played a minor role in the importation of labor.
It is only natural, however, that the racial groups on pineapple
plantations should be similar to those on sugar plantations. Filipinos
0 The 4 largest firms can 88 percent of the pack,
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constitute the largest single racial group, representing 57 percent of
all pineapple-plantation labor. Japanese are next, representing 29
percent. The plantations will be able to rely less on Filipinos in
the future, because of the high percentage of single men who will
have no sons to take their places, and because of the large numbers
of Filipinos returning to Manila. Present trends indicate that the
Japanese (and to a less marked degree the Portuguese) will increase
in importance as Filipino labor declines.
Only about one-tenth of the workers on the pineapple plantations
are skilled, since the greatest part of the work requires only semi
skilled and unskilled labor.
Because the pineapple industry is relatively young, the average
age of plantation workers is below that of those in the sugar industry.
Fifty-six percent of the pineapple plantation workers (and 71 percent
of the cannery workers) are below 35 years of age. It appears
inevitable, however, that just as the sugar industry is now facing the
problems of aged and dependent workers, so the pineapple plantations
will in the future have workers of a considerably higher average age.
The same problems occasioned by the rapid rise in the percentage of
citizen laborers must also be faced by the pineapple plantations.
Management has been traditionally opposed to labor organization,
as in the sugar industry. A large part of the pineapple industry is
closely associated with the sugar industry in respect to labor policy.
Frequent efforts have been made to organize both plantation and
cannery labor. Strikes involving about 1,800 pineapple plantation
workers occurred in June and August 1937. Since then, unionization
groups have been especially active. Under an agreement signed by
the management and officers of the union, on May 20, 1939, a vote
was taken at Kalaheo, Kauai. As a result, a C. I. O. organization,
the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of
America, Local 76, was voted the exclusive representative of the
workers for collective bargaining.7 This action was given wide
publicity in the press, and is considered by both plantation and
cannery workers to be a significant precedent.
EFFECT OF SEASONALITY ON EARNINGS ON PINEAPPLE PLANTATIONS
Pineapples tend to ripen during the summer months, particularly
in the latter half of July. A gassing process has been developed
which will accelerate the fruiting and thus reduce the peak at the
height of the summer season. In addition to this, recent experi
mentation has developed techniques for meeting the intense demands
of July with power-driven machines instead of relying upon sharp
7 The election was held under the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. Only nonagricultural
workers were eligible as voters, and some confusion arose as to who were agricultural and who non
agricultural workers.
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increases in the quantity of hired labor, and thus reducing the seasonal
changes in volume of employment.
In spite of these innovations, seasonality of employment remains a
fundamental problem of the industry. In 1939 the average employ
ment in the 9 off-season months was only two-thirds of the average
employment in the peak months of June, July, and August. The
peak month of July requires twice as many workers as the low month
of November.
Analyses of the records of three plantations for the year July 1,
1938, to July 1, 1939, indicated that of the additional laborers hired
during the summer, nearly one-half were students. Because of the
fact that the average number of hours per day increases during the
summer peak, seasonality measured in terms of man-hours and earn
ings per month is even greater than seasonality measured in terms of
numbers employed, the total pay roll for the peak month being three
times as great as that of the low month.
The average hourly earnings for the month of August 1938 were
33 cents, and the average monthly earnings were $58.62. Because
of the high degree of seasonality, average annual earnings were much
less than might be expected from these figures, being about $400 to
$450. By comparison, the average monthly earnings of hired labor
on American farms as a whole for the quarter ending July of the same
year were $37.28,5 and average annual earnings for the same year
were estimated to be $300.
SITUATION IN PINEAPPLE CANNERIES
Since all of the pineapple canneries in Hawaii are owned by the
same companies that operate the plantations, there is a very close
coordination between plantation and cannery operations. This is
essential in the production of canned pineapples, because of the high
concentration of the ripening period during the summer months.
The secret of turning out a good quality of canned pineapple lies in
harvesting the fruit at just the right point of ripeness and in canning
it as soon as possible after harvesting. Thus, the cannery schedules
are coordinated with and completely dependent upon the quantities
of the fruit which ripen day by day.
In contrast to the sugar plantations which maintain mills on the
plantation property, the pineapple canneries are located, not on planta
tions, but in the cities of the Territory. Approximately 80 percent
of the total output is produced by the three largest canneries located
in Honolulu. Because of the extremely variable demands for labor,
it is necessary for the canneries to be located where large numbers of
» TJ. S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Statistics. 1939 (pp. 503-504). Washington, 1940.
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
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part-time and seasonal workers may be hired. The peak months of
June, July, and August represent four times as much employment as
the average for the remainder of the year. The majority of cannery
employees are, therefore, persons who look upon the work as a tem
porary source of additional income each year.
Labor supply .—Men constitute slightly over half of the total em
ployment in canneries. Of this group 37 percent are Japanese, 19
percent Filipinos, and 15 percent Chinese. Of the woman employees,
representing slightly less than half of the total employment, 41 per
cent are Japanese, 19 percent Chinese, and 13 percent Hawaiian and
Part-Hawaiian. Many of the pineapple-cannery employees are
domestic servants who leave their regular positions for the higher
wages and shorter hours obtainable in the canneries. It is also true
that many housewives, particularly of Chinese and Japanese extrac
tion, look upon the canneries as a source of additional income during
the summer months.
In one cannery, nearly one-half of the increase in employment
during the 3 summer months consisted of students working dur
ing vacation. The canning industry derives a decided advantage
from the fact that the long vacation of the school year coincides with
the seasonal-labor requirements of the industry. Although both the
pineapple plantations and canneries make large additional demands
for labor in June, July, and August, the resultant dislocations in the
isolated labor market of Hawaii are not so great as might be expected.
Method of payment.—Only ¡about 1 percent8 of the employees in
the canneries work on salary. The reason for this is obviously the
irregularity in the number of hours worked per day or per week.
In the height of the season canneries often operate at full speed with
two or three shifts a day, and sometimes seven days a week. On
the other hand, it is also true that it frequently happens that the
supply of pineapples on hand is exhausted, and the plant shuts down
for the remainder of the day, or even for several days, until additional
supplies become available. All canneries operate on a 44-hour wee.k
of 8 hours a day for 5 days, and 4 hours on Saturday. Overtime is
paid for at time and a half.
Hourly earnings.9—Average hourly earnings in the summer of 1938
were 37.1 cents. This general average is not typical of the earnings
of any specific group, however. Males averaged 42.6 cents and
females, 31.2 cents.
There is a marked concentration of workers at basic minimum
rates of pay. In one cannery, whose rates were studied in detail,
8 This figure does not include salaried persons in executive positions, since executives are not covered In
this study.
" These figures refer to nonsalaried employees only; salaried employees, representing less than 1 percent
of total employment, are omitted.
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nearly half of the male workers were employed at a basic rate of
37.5 cents. Only 1 of every 20 male workers earned as much as
60 cents an hour. Among females there was an even more pronounced
concentration of earnings, three-fifths earning between 30 and 32.5
cents an hour. Only 1 of every 50 females earned as much as 40
cents an hour.
Weekly earnings.—Two-thirds of all male workers earned between
$15.00 and $22.50 per week; only one-fifth earned over $22.50. The
distribution of females’ earnings indicated that seven-eighths of all
nonsalaried women earned between $10.00 and $17.50 per week.
Over half (54.4 percent) earned between $12.50 and $15.00 per week.
There was little variation in weekly earnings by race.
Seasonality and earnings.—The general average of employment in
pineapple canneries was only 19.7 weeks for the year. Half of the
employees (50.9 percent) worked 13 weeks or less. It is not surpris
ing, therefore, that one-third of all the employees earned less than
$100, and two-thirds (65.5 percent) earned less than $200 during
the year.
Those whose work was spread over 52 weeks (only 10.7 percent
of the total force) earned an average of $819 during the year, whereas
those whose work was spread over 13 weeks or less averaged only $89
for the year. Although the pineapple-canning industry offers a
significant field of employment—in fact one of the largest fields of
employment for women in Hawaii—it is obvious that for the majority
of such workers it represents only a temporary, recurrent opportunity,
providing a rather uncertain and variable fraction of their total
income.
P R E S E N T P O SIT IO N OF P IN E A P P L E IN D U S T R Y
In addition to the sharp seasonal fluctuations in the pineapple
industry, there have also been marked fluctuations in annual produc
tion during the past decade, which have affected not only the number
of persons employed in the canning season, but also that smaller basic
group (primarily male) which is permanently employed. It was
hoped that after the plant wilt of the early thirties and the effects
of the world-wide depression of the same period had been overcome,
the industry could be stabilized at its former high level. Indeed,
in 1937, the export value of canned pineapple and pineapple juice
reached a high of $59,395,090, but in 1938 it dropped to $38,409,875
(a decline of $20,985,215) which was about one-third less than the
total value of shipments in 1937. This may be largely accounted for
by the general economic recession of that year and by the competition
of other canned fruits.
The reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and the
United Kingdom, in November 1938, reduced the duty on imports
of canned pineapples from all British sources, primarily the Federated
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
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Malay States, from 2 cents per pound (Tariff Act of 1930) to 1.5
cents per pound. Because of the most-favored-nation clause in the
treaty with Japan, this rate became applicable to pineapples from
Formosa also. Partly as a result of this, the total importation from
abroad during the first 6 months of 1939 was very nearly equal to
the total importation, into the United States, for the whole of 1938.
Foreign importations and the sharp competition of domestically
produced canned fruit may be expected to cause further fluctuations
in the yearly output of Hawaiian canned pineapple. For these
reasons the pineapple industry in the Territory as a whole possesses
much less stability from month to month, and from year to year, than
does the sugar industry.
Thus, in addition to the fundamental labor problems centering in
the rapidly changing outlook and character of the workers themselves,
the Hawaiian pineapple industry is faced with the problem of marked
seasonal and cyclical fluctuations in both canneries and plantations.
Present experimentation looks toward a widening of the harvesting
season and increased mechanization as partial solutions. If success
ful, these techniques will reduce the seasonality of employment, but
they will also reduce the total employment opportunity afforded by
the pineapple industry.
Public Utilities
Public utilities as a group rank next to sugar and pineapples in
importance, their total capitalization being slightly over 37 million
dollars and their annual gross revenue over 15 million dollars. The
average hourly earnings in 1939 for all workers in this group amounted
to 61.8 cents. For males the average was 62.3 cents, and for females
56.2 cents. Hawaiian public utilities maintain weekly hours ranging
from 40 to 48 or more. A 40-hour week is typical, however. Over
time is paid for at time and a half. The average weekly earning's of
all workers in 1939 were $26.67. Salaried workers received an aver
age of $30.36 per week.
Because of the very equable climate and the relative isolation of
Hawaii, the demand for the services of public utilities shows little
variation throughout the year. Such variations as do occur are due
to the fluctuations in the number of tourists, rather than seasonal
changes. Because of this and of the fact that the public utilities pay
higher wages than other large industries in Hawaii, they experience
relatively less seasonality and turn-over.
Printing and Publishing
In the city of Honolulu, in which the printing industry centers,
there are 4 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of about
75,000. Of these, 2 are English newspapers, and 2 are Japanese
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English. In addition to the dailies, there are 12 other newspapers,
3 of which are triweekly, the other 9 being weekly. Four of the weekly
papers are English, 3 are Filipino-English, 1 is Korean, and 1 Japanese.
Outside of Honolulu the chief publishing center is Hilo, Hawaii, in
which 1 English and several foreign-language newspapers are pub
lished.
All newspapers have departments for handling job printing. There
are also smaller, separate, job-printing shops. On May 1, 1938, an
agreement was signed with the Honolulu Typographical Union
(A. F. of L.) by 6 newspapers and publishing houses in Honolulu.
A year later, on March 15, an additional large newspaper signed a
similar contract. The contract provides a minimum for journeyman
printers of 70 cents per hour, beginning with the day of the agree
ment. This increases to 80 cents at the end of the first 6 months, to
90 cents at the end of 12 months, to $1 at the end of 18 months, and
to $1.15 at the end of the second year. The contract also provides
time and one-half for overtime, which is defined as more than 8 hours
in any one shift or more than 40 hours in a single week.
Nonunion printing shops have a somewhat lower scale, and the
oriental-language nonunion shops provide a still lower scale. The
marked contrast in wage structure between the union and nonunion
shops, and the extremely low wages in some of the nonunion orientallanguage shops constitutes one of the sore spots in present Hawaiian
labor conditions.
The average hourly earnings of all male workers in printing and
publishing were 63.3 cents. Caucasians earned an average of 84.4
cents an hour, whereas Japanese averaged 42.2 cents an hour. Only
23.6 percent of the Caucasians received less than 60 cents per hour,
but 86.8 percent of the Japanese, and 51.9 percent of all others, re
ceived less than 60 cents per hour.
Construction Industry
WORKING CONDITIONS AND METHODS OF PAYMENT
For the purposes of analysis, private and public construction in
Hawaii must be strictly separated.
Private construction, for all but very large projects, is under the
control of Japanese contractors. Many of the contractors for the
smaller jobs have no established offices and maintain very little in
the way of records.
The lowest paid carpenters in private construction are boy ap
prentices who receive $1 to $1.25 per day of 8% hours (7 to 4:30,
with 1 hour for lunch). With gradual improvement in skill they
earn $2 to $2.50 per day within 2 years, and up to $4.50 per day in
6 or 7 years. A skilled ‘‘finishing carpenter” or a foreman receives
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
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about $5.50 per day. Most of the Japanese contractors hire their
carpenters directly, but let all of the other work (plumbing, plaster
ing, electrical work, etc.) to subcontractors.
Subcontractors pay about the same wages as contractors. They
must estimate their bids very closely, however, and give this as their
reason for frequently requiring their men to work a half hour exi3ra
per day without extra pay. Both contractors and subcontractors
hire their men by the job or day with no guaranties as to number of
days of work. The usual pay-roll period is 2 weeks.
On ordinary days, overtime is paid for at the rate of time and
one-quarter, but Sunday or holiday work is paid for at the rate of
time and one-half. Work for less than 1 day is paid by the hour.
There are no minimum guaranties as to wages. A bonus is some
times paid as a special inducement for intensive work when a job
is being completed under pressure, or when there is special need for
particularly careful work, but such bonuses are rare.
The typical Japanese contractor keeps about 6 men in his regular
crew. These he tries to keep employed so as to hold a minimum
nucleus of workers. Whenever he is especially busy, outsiders or
extras are hired and as readily fired, since the contractor feels no
responsibility for them. There are in Oahu about 120 members of
the Japanese Contractors’ Association. These men have in their
employ approximately 900 to 1,100 workers.
P u b lic con stru ction , representing over two-thirds of all construction,
is in an entirely different category, since it is subject to government
supervision to enforce established regulations as to minimum wages
and maximum hours. These regulations vary as between the
different governmental agencies controlling the construction.
Standard practice required by the Public Works Administration
for Federal-aid projects in this category requires that contractors
pay a minimum of $1 per hour for skilled labor, 65 cents per horn' for
intermediate labor (such as truck drivers), and 55 cents per hour for
unskilled labor. This is for a 40-hour week (8 hours per day, with
Saturdays off). The city and county projects require a 55-cent
minimum and a 40-hour week, but make no further specification.
Territorial construction permits a 45-hour week and requires that a
minimum of $3 per day be observed (including $3 for a half day on
Saturday, or $18 per week).
Federal-aid highway construction requires the payment of a
minimum of 45 cents per hour for unskilled labor, 70 cents for inter
mediate labor, and $1 for skilled labor. Until October 1939 the
standard week was 44 hours; from then until October 1940 it was 42
hours; and thereafter, 40 hours.
All Federal work in the navy yard requires the use of citizen labor.
Civilian workers in the navy yard have a 45-hour week (7:45 a. m.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
to 4 :15 p. m., with a 30-minute lunch period, and 5 hours on Saturday).
They are allowed a 30-day vacation per year, with pay, and 15 days’
sick leave in addition. The number of men hired for new naval
construction will fluctuate sharply. There is, however, a large
civilian personnel for the maintenance of buildings and equipment
that remains fairly constant. With the increasing importance of
Pearl Harbor as a naval base, this personnel is gradually expanding.
DIFFERENCES IN LABOR STANDARDS IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION
The sharp distinction in the position of labor in public and private
construction is revealed in a distribution of average hourly earnings.
Over half of the workers (51.8 percent) in private construction received
less than 45 cents per hour, whereas no worker in public construction
received less than 45 cents. Only 8.6 percent of those in private
construction received 65 cents or more per hour, whereas 52.1 percent
of all employees in public construction received 65 cents or more per
hour.
The difference appears more clearly in the case of unskilled laborers,
among whom the highest hourly earnings in private construction were
less than the lowest hourly earnings in public construction.
Weekly earnings do not show so great a discrepancy as hourly earn
ings, because of the very pronounced difference in average hours
worked per week. In public construction these were 33.6 hours, and
in private construction 47.6 hours, or 14 hours per week more. Ob
servation and conferences with individual laborers in the construction
industry indicated that more careful supervision was needed on some
of the public construction projects to prevent infringement of estab
lished regulations, and that in private construction subcontractors
tend to demand unreasonably long hours.
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
Aside from the manufacture of raw sugar, the pineapple canneries,
and the printing industry, the principal manufactures are the pro
duction of cans, the canning of tuna fish, the fabrication of construction
boards from sugar-cane waste, and some relatively small iron foundries.
Each of these manufactures is represented by only one or two
enterprises. In view of the strictly confidential nature of the pay-roll
reports of any individual enterprise,^ it is the Bureau’s practice not
to present data for fewer than 3 companies, in order to prevent dis
closure of the identity of any single firm. It is therefore impossible
to report wages, hours, and working conditions in a given manu
facturing industry in Hawaii, since to do so would involve reports
on single companies.
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On the other hand, the wage structures of these various manu
facturing industries are far from homogeneous.
The data given here, therefore, are not typical of any one of the
fields covered, but they do present a picture of the employment con
ditions in the miscellaneous manufactures in Hawaii as a whole in
contrast with agricultural earning opportunities. The wage data
should be interpreted in these terms only.
H O U R L Y E A R N IN G S
Male workers averaged 52.6 cents per hour. Well over half of
them (56.8 percent) received between 35 and 50 cents per hour.
The range in hourly earnings by race was fairly large. Hawaiians
and Part-Hawaiians averaged 56.9 cents per hour, Caucasians 56.3
cents, Japanese 48.1 cents, Filipinos 41.7 cents, and all other races
54.5 cents.
Female workers in these industries received distinctly lower average
hourly payments—-24.4 cents. Japanese women, who constituted
over four-fifths of all female workers in these fields, averaged ordy
22 cents per hour. Caucasian women, representing slightly less than
one-tentli of total employment, averaged 37.7 cents per hour. All
other races combined averaged 30.2 cents.
A N N U A L E A R N IN G S
Racial variations in respect to both hours and earnings are large,
and differences in hours and earnings, by sex, are even greater. The
principal occupational opportunity for women in the group of manu
factures represented here is in tuna canning. The work is not only
seasonal but extremely variable as to hours of operation per week,
which depend upon the catch. This explains the low average of
20.8 hours of employment per week for the Japanese women, since
most of them are employed in this industry. It also explains the
very low average annual earnings of Japanese women ($98), since
for the great majority of them tuna canning represents only a tempo
rary source of income during a few weeks of irregular employment,
rather than a permanent position.
For a fairly large group of male workers, on the other hand, mis
cellaneous manufactures offer more regular employment. The dis
tribution of male workers, according to annual earnings by weeks
worked, indicates that only 9.3 percent received less than 13 weeks
of employment. Another 8.8 percent received between 13 and 28
weeks. But 81.9 percent worked over 28 weeks, and about half of
all male workers (49.7 percent) worked during 52 weeks of the year.
This latter group averaged $1,250 for the year, the average annual
earnings of all male workers, including those who worked any part
of the year, being $920.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Longshore Work
The Territory of Hawaii is over 2,000 miles from the American
mainland, yet it is as dependent upon and as completely integrated
with the American economy as any of the States. Because of this,
and because of the imperative necessity for frequent and large ship
ments to coordinate the production and exchange of goods between
the Islands longshore workers occupy a significant position.
It is characteristic of this work that it makes frequent intense
demands for relatively brief periods. In Honolulu, where such work
centers, regularly scheduled steamer arrivals and departures make it
possible to devise a program for reducing lay-offs and spreading peaks
by adjusting the less urgent jobs to fill in between the immediate ones.
In spite of careful planning, however, the occasional conjuncture
of several arrivals and departures at one time will require intense work
and overtime hours to meet the sudden peak in the demand for long
shoremen.
L A BO R
SUPPLY
Two races constitute over two-thirds of all workers included in the
industry, the Japanese representing 35.4 percent, and Hawaiians and
Part-Hawaiians 33.8 percent. Of the remaining races, Caucasians
comprise 13.6 percent, Filipinos 10.3 percent, and all others 6.9
percent. Among the salaried workers, exactly one-third were
Caucasians and one-quarter Japanese. Filipinos had an extremely
small representation in the salaried group.
Of the workers directly engaged in loading and unloading opera
tions over two-fifths were Japanese (42.5 percent). Hawaiian and
Part-Hawaiian workers constituted 34.3 percent of this group.
E A R N IN G S
Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of the nonsalaried workers received
between 65 and 75 cents per hour. It should be noted that nonsalaried
workers averaged higher weekly earnings ($29.65) than salaried ($28).
In May 1939, nonsalaried workers averaged 40.7 hours per week.
Nearly half (46 percent) of all workers received an average of between
$22.50 and $32.50 per week.
There is some degree of seasonality in the shipment of certain
products, particularly pineapple products. This seasonality differs
in respect to different goods, however, so that no exceptionally
pronounced seasonal problems are experienced in Honolulu and Hilo.
As previously explained, by carefully planning the work program
relative to steamer schedules, a fairly continuous employment is
provided for the “regular workers.”
The average annual earnings of all workers were $974. There was
a fairly sizable group, however (representing 10.4 percent of the
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
43
total force), which received less than $50 during the year. This group
distinctly lowered the average of the more fully employed. A distri
bution of all workers according to annual earnings reveals that, whereas
well over one-quarter of the total number of employees received less
than $500, 3.4 percent received between $500 and $750, and nearly
half (47.8 percent) received between $1,000 and $1,500. This con
centration of workers in one group with average annual earnings of
between $1,000 and $1,500 and another with very much lower annual
earnings, is due to the fact that the management attempts to give
fairly continuous employment to a large body of regular workers, and
increases this force when necessary by taking on outside workers for
periods of more than normal demand.
Trade and Service Industries 10
MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS
In nearly all of Hawaiian industry there is a significant difference
in the wage structures and working conditions in Honolulu and the
island of Oahu, as compared with those of the other islands. This is
especially noticeable in the case of mercantile establishments. In
Honolulu, women constituted three-fifths of the total employed.
Caucasian women were by far the largest single group, representing
54 percent of all woman employees. Japanese women constituted
27.6 percent, and Chinese women, 13.7 percent.
Japanese men comprised 13.4 percent, Caucasians 33.4 percent, and
Chinese 22 percent, of all male employees in Honolulu stores.
H o u rly earn in gs, H o n o lu lu .—Hourly earnings of saleswomen
ranged from a low of 11.5 cents for a Chinese, to $1.92 per hour for a
Caucasian saleswoman. None of the Caucasian women earned less
than 20 cents per hour, whereas approximately one-third of all Jap
anese and Chinese women received less than 20 cents per hour.
Seventy percent of all women earned less than 40 cents per hour.
The median earnings for all saleswomen were 34 cents per hour.
Hourly earnings of salesmen were considerably higher, the median
being 54.4 cents. There was a wide range in earnings by race, Cau
casian men averaging 72.3 cents, whereas Japanese men averaged
only 34.5 cents.
W eek ly hours a n d earn in gs, H o n o lu lu .—Hours ranged from 42 hours
per week (six 7-hour days) to over 60, many of the smallest orien
tal shops remaining open evenings and Sundays. Median weekly
earnings for Caucasian women were $18.05, whereas for Japanese
10
The Women’s Bureau assisted in this survey by sending a representative, Miss Ethel Erickson, who
made a special study of women in industry in Hawaii. Her study has been separately published as a 1miletin of the W omen’s Bureau, entitled “Earnings and Hours in Hawaiian Woman-Employing Industries.”
Although other members of the field staff aided in the survey of mercantile and service industries, Miss
Erickson is largely responsible for the collection of data and the findings in these fields.
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44
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
women they were only $10.85; for Caucasian men earnings were
$33.75, and for Japanese men, $18.75.
Annual earnings, Honolulu.—In spite of the fact that there is very
little seasonality in merchandising in Hawaii, mercantile establish
ments have a high turn-over. Of all the woman employees, 39.9
percent worked less than 13 weeks and received median earnings of
$45. Only 31.2 percent had employment in 52 weeks of the year;
the median earnings for this group were $770.
On the other hand, 70.6 percent of all men were employed every
week throughout the year, and received average annual earnings of
$1,059.10.
Earnings outside Honolulu.—Caucasians constitute a much smaller
percentage of the population of other parts of the Territory than in
Honolulu. Japanese represent over two-thirds of all employees in
stores on the other islands. Average earnings were distinctly lower
than in Honolulu, the weekly median earnings for women being only
$9.35, and for men only $16.30. Over half of the stores outside
Honolulu required over 55 hours of work per week.
H O T E LS
About 90 percent of the continuously changing tourist population
of Hawaii make their headquarters, while there, in Honolulu. In
habitants of the other islands are frequently in Honolulu for business
or shopping. For these reasons, hotels and restaurants play an even
greater part in the life of Honolulu than in a typical mainland city.
Approximately nine-tenths of all employment in hotels of the Terri
tory is in Honolulu and its environs. The hotels of Hawaii tend to
use oriental men and boys instead of chambermaids and waitresses.
Hence, women represent only one-ninth of the total labor force.
Forty-five percent of all male employees are Japanese, and 28.9 per
cent are Filipinos. Only about half of the male employees received
work during all the weeks of 1938. Their median earnings were
$701.55. Monthly earnings showed a very wide range in all types
of work. Room boys received from $30 to $52.50. Bellboys received
from $29 to $45 per month; waiters from $42 to $45 per month.
The median earnings for male dining-room employees were $52.20,
and the earnings of waitresses ranged from $30 to $40 per month.
Slightly less than half of all female employees received employment
during 52 weeks of the year. The median earnings of all female
workers, including those who worked only part of the year, were
$364.19 for 1938, not including perquisites.
O T H E R SE R V IC E IN D U S T R IE S
In service industries in which women play a very large part, such
as laundries, dressmaking establishments, beauty parlors and barber
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
45
shops,11 earnings tend to be low and hours long. The median hourly
earnings of women in Hawaiian laundries were 24.4 cents. Over 20
percent worked more than 48 hours per week. Conditions in tailoring
and dressmaking establishments were especially bad; 38.7 percent
of the women in tailoring received less than 8 weeks’ employment,
and an additional 25 percent received employment of over 24 and less
than 40 weeks in a year..
Dressmaking as a women’s home industry is a significant occupation
in the Territory. Three-quarters of the workers are Japanese. It is
not uncommon for “ dressmaking schools” to charge Japanese girls
fees for training in dressmaking at the same time they are being used
to do customer work. Wages, hours, and working conditions in
garment manufacturing and dressmaking are considerably below the
general standard for Hawaiian industry as a whole. This is also
true of oriental barber shops employing Japanese woman barbers.
White-Collar Workers 12
The problem of white-collar employment in the Territory is of
special importance because in recent years there has been an increas
ingly intense upward pressure into this field on the part of the second
and third generations of plantation laborers. It is not uncommon
for the plantation workers to make great sacrifices so that their sons
and daughters may receive the benefits of higher education. Large
numbers of them graduate from high school, special-training schools,
and even from college into the active life of an economy in which the
largest occupational opportunity is that of a field worker on a planta
tion. Such work does not offer scope for the exercise of their capacities
nor does the plantation community have much to offer in the way of
intellectual and cultural life.
Broadly speaking, it may be said that, among those firms included
in the study, the smaller establishments paid lower wages for longer
hours. In Hawaii most offices open at 8 a. m. and close at 4 p. m.,
with 30-45 minutes for lunch, and a half day off on Saturday. Seme
of the best offices have a half day off on Wednesdays and the whole
of Saturday, but this is exceptional. The range in regular hours per
week is, thus, from as low as 33 to over 50, but the overwhelming
11 With the exception of a very few unions shops, Hawaiian barber shops differ from those on the mainland
in that they depend largely on Japanese woman barbers, who work long hours at very low rates of pay.
12 The study of white-collar workers was drawn from practically every industry in the Territory. Since
the “factors” (large sugar agencies) and the public utilities maintain the largest office staffs, they have the
largest representation in the sample that was drawn. The sample was not representative in one respect,
however. There are numerous small retail establishments in which stenographic or other part-time office
work may be required. Often such stores (usually oriental) are managed by members of a family. Even
when this is not the case, records are usually lacking. Although there is little office work in any one estab
lishment of this sort, in the aggregate it constitutes a significant volume of white-collar work. Conferences
with the owners of such establishments indicate that they pay lower salaries and demand distinctly longer
hours than do the larger companies.
28 0 3 9 8 — 41------- 4
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42
™
3409
46
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
majority of office workers work between 40 and 45 hours per week.
Provisions for vacations with pay, sick ieave, group insurance, and
pensions vary wideiy, but the 2-week annuai vacation with pay is
fairfy typical.
MONTHLY EARNINGS
There are three times as many males as females in white-collar work
in Hawaii. Caucasians constitute nearly half of the total, although
as a racial group they represent only one-sixth of the population. On
the other hand, very few Filipinos are employed in white-collar jobs.
During the first half of 1939, Caucasians had the highest average
earnings per month—$139 for males and $120 for females. One-tenth
of the Caucasians received $195 or more per month, whereas only
slightly more than 1 in 30 of all other groups combined received as
much.
Japanese, constituting one-fourth of the total employed, received
the lowest average monthly wage ($98). Chinese represented a smaller
group than the Japanese (one-fifth of the total), but had distinctly
higher average monthly earnings ($124).
ANNUAL EARNINGS
There is relatively little seasonality in office work in Hawaii. Such
turn-over as does exist is due primarily to the fact that office workers
come from continental United States to work for a while, and then
return.
In 1938, 17 percent of all the employees were reported as working
less than 52 weeks. For those whose work was spread over 52 weeks,
average annual earnings were $1,527. Males averaged $1,610 and
females, $1,306.
Present Outlook for Hawaiian Labor
A general discussion of the position of labor in the Hawaiian econ
omy as a whole was presented in the first article in this series. In
conclusion a few comments on some of the broad fundamental factors
affecting the outlook of Hawaiian labor are indicated.
Among these are—
(1) The present and rapidly growing importance of Hawaii as an
outpost of national defense. This has immediate repercussions on
labor, because of vast outlays for new construction, not to mention
industries supplying the requirements of an increased defense
personnel.
It also has long-run implications. The changing relations between
naval authority and civilian government in the Territory inevitably
affect the status of labor. Moreover, as defense requirements increase
in importance, they may even impinge on the structural organization
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Labor Conditions in Hawaii
47
of the economy itself. There is, for example, an increasing desire on
the part of defense officials for a diversification of crops to provide
greater self-sufficiency, in case the Islands were temporarily cut off
from the mainland.
(2) The increasing popularity of Hawaii as a tourist and recreation
center, particularly since many other parts of the world are now
closed to travel. This brings with it obvious implications for labor
and industry.
(3) The present urgent “Statehood for Hawaii” movement.
Should this succeed, it would produce changes in the organization and
in the political position of labor in the Territory.
(4) The Territorial Department of Labor and Industrial Rela
tions13 which began to function in January 1940. As now consti
tuted, this is more of an organ of management than of labor. It
should provide the background of statistical and other information
for improvement in legislation and labor policy.
(5) Rapid technical advances in the sugar and pineapple industries.
Very recent developments include an improved type of cane, the
“grab harvester,” the gassing process, and the field fruit carrier, not to
mention numerous others in the experimental stage. The effect of
these is to increase the number of technical (and less back-breaking)
jobs which will be acceptable to trained citizen laborers. These
advances, however, will also decrease the total employment oppor
tunity on the plantations.
(6) The rapid change in the character of labor itself.
The imported plantation laborers (Chinese coolies, Japanese
peasants, Filipinos, Portuguese, and Puerto Ricans) had certain
characteristics in common. They were drawn from the lowest paid
ranks of the countries from which they came. Bad as were the
working conditions in Hawaii at the time they migrated, they were
better than those of the countries of their origin. Hence, the imported
workers accepted conditions which would not be tolerated today.
13
In April 1939, the Territorial Legislature adopted an act creating the Department of Labor and Indus
trial Relations. The functions of the department, as defined by the act, have to do with (1) unemployment
compensation and workmen’s compensation, (2) enforcement of labor laws, (3) the conduct of hearings on
labor and industrial relations, and (4) the maintenance of a bureau of research and statistics. The authority
of the department is vested in the commission of five members, “not all of whom shall belong to the same
political party.” Such commissioners serve without pay, but receive necessary expenses incurred in the
discharge of their duties. They are required to meet at least once a month, and are empowered “to make,
modify, and repeal reasonable rules and regulations of general application for the protection of life, health,
and safety of employees in every employment.” “ The rules and regulations, and any amendments thereto,
when approved by the Governor and published, shall have the force and effect of law.”
The director, who is appointed by the commission and responsible to it, is empowered, “subject to the
supervision and control of the commission * * * to supervise and direct the operations and functions
of the four bureaus, * * * to cause the enforcement of rules and regulations of the commission,
* * * to propose to the commission such rules and regulations or changes in the rules and regulations
as he may deem advisable, * * * to cooperate w ith any employee in the enforcement of a claim for
personal services, * * * to hold hearings.”
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
They were for the most part ignorant and childlike. Therefore,
they effected a ready adaptation to the paternalistic policies of man
agement. They had, prior to their arrival, little or no contact with
foreigners. Hence, each group looked upon the others with sus
picion (often with antagonism as racial competitors). In fact, in the
earlier days, plantation management quite frankly planned the
importation of new racial groups as a means of disuniting labor and
checking worker demands.
Most of these immigrants have come out of backgrounds in which
labor unions were unknown. Such organizations as they have (even
today) tend to be religious or social, and are rather strongly segre
gated along racial lines.
The descendants of these migrants, however, are decidedly differ
ent. They are accustomed to American standards. They are
educated in American schools. They intermingle freely on a demo
cratic basis on playgrounds and in the classroom. When they
become adults, their attitudes and outlook are similar to those of
other American citizens.
For the plantations, the shift from immigrant labor to citizen
(second and third generation) labor is a recent and a very rapid
development.
In 1930 the immigrant labor constituted 88 percent of the total
plantation employment. In January 1940 nearly half of this total
consisted of citizen laborers. In other fields of employment much
larger percentages are in this category. Today over four-fifths of the
total population of the Islands are citizens.
These facts carry significant implications in respect to labor atti
tudes, unionism, labor-management relations, and Territorial legis
lation. From this point forward, labor in Hawaii cannot be properly
described as oriental. The problems of labor are those of Americans—
largely of oriental origin, it is true—but trained from birth in American
standards and viewpoints.
This basic change permeates and is a part of all Hawaiian problems.
It will inevitably hold an important place in the future calculations
of labor, management, and government.
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PR IC ES AND T H E WAR
B y S aul N elson and A ryness J oy , Bureau of Labor Statistics
MAJOR wars of any considerable duration have always been asso
ciated with profound disturbances in commodity markets. The
terrific strain on raw-material resources, producing capacity, and
manpower, and the interruption of the normal flow of world commerce
have led almost inevitably to spectacular increases in the general level
of commodity prices, only to be followed, after the close of hostilities,
by a long and painful deflation. Although these effects have naturally
been most pronounced in the nations actually at war, they have also
extended to all countries buying or selling in world markets. The
extent of these disturbances is clearly depicted (see chart, p. 50) by
the trend of wholesale prices in the United States since the year 1800.
Each of the three major American wars—the War of 1812, the Civil
War, and the World War—brought a price boom and each was followed
by very extended periods of readjustment, lasting more than a decade.
Europe has now been at war for more than 16 months and the
United States is not only selling supplies to belligerents but is expend
ing huge sums in building up its defenses rapidly. It is inevitable
that this should have repercussions in American commodity markets
and upon the cost of living. The purpose of the present discussion is
to review the course of prices since the outbreak of the conflict in
Europe and to see where we stand at the close of 1940.
Thus far, the general level of commodity prices has not shown any
very sharp advance over the summer of 1939, when most prices had not
yet fully recovered from their declines in the industrial recession which
began in the autumn of 1937. At the end of 1940, the all-commodities
index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, based upon the wholesale
prices of nearly 900 products, was 6.8 percent higher than it was in
August 1939, just before war was declared. Retail prices had risen
even less and, by November 15, 1940, the cost of living in American
cities—including rents and services, as well as food, clothing, and
house furnishings—was only 1.5 percent above its August 1939
level1 (see table 3). On the other hand, the prices of many of the
essential raw materials and semimanufactured goods of industry had
risen much more sharply. On December 31, 1940, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics index of the spot prices of 28 basic commodities had
advanced 18.6 percent above its August 1939 average (see table 1).
Moreover, there has been a consistent uptrend of a very broad
character in wholesale markets from the middle of August 1940, to the
end of the year.
In comparing present conditions with those in the first World
War, it is well to point out that then, too, the first 16 months of
1 a sharp increase in food costs between November 15 and December 15,1940, was largley responsible
for an increase in the cost-of-living index on the latter date to 2.1 percent above the August 1939 level. These
data were released too late for inclusion in the body of the article.
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49
in
O
WHOLESALE PRICES
ALL COMMODITIES-YEARLY
IN D EX
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
1840
M E X IC A N
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
1850
WAR
I8 6 0
C IV IL
WAR
1880
1890
1900
SPAN ISH AMERICAN WAR
1910
1920
FIRST WORLD WAR
0
1950
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
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AVERAGE
1926 = 100
in d e x
Prices and the War
51
conflict in Europe did not bring any marked advance in the general
level of American commodity prices. Wholesale prices did not really
start to rise until the autumn of 1915 and, by December of 1915, they
were only 6 percent higher than they had been in 1913. Similarly,
the cost of living in 1915 had hardly started to advance. Consequently,
it should not be inferred, from the fact that price changes so far have
been generally moderate, that there is no possibility of a substantial
rise should hostilities abroad and the defense program at home put
greater demands upon the domestic economy.
At the same time, it should also be recognized that conditions today
are profoundly different in many ways from those in the World War
of 1914-18. Our raw-material resources are very much greater and
our dependence upon foreign sources of supply correspondingly less.
Our manufacturing facilities have been very greatly expanded and
some key industries which were in their infancy in 1914 seem now
fully able to supply not only our own defense needs but also some of
those of Great Britain. The most striking contrast in this respect is
probably the American chemical industry, particularly with regard to
coal-tar products. For example, average prices of many synthetic
dyes ordinarily made in Germany, were three to four times as high
in 1915 as they had been in 1914. The price of toluene, which is
an essential ingredient of modern explosives, was more than eight
times as high in 1915 as in 1914, and the price of caustic soda more
than twice as high. Today, in contrast, the prices of these commod
ities have changed scarcely at all from their pre-war levels.
The current situation, then, presents both parallels and contrasts
to that 25 years ago. Now, as then, our commodity markets are
really just beginning to feel the impact of war demand abroad and
rearmament needs at home. On the other hand, American industry
today is much better prepared to supply what is needed, with no
more than a limited amount of disturbance.
Commodity Prices Before the IFar
In order to appraise the significance of the price changes which have
occurred since the outbreak of war in Europe, it is first necessary to
review briefly the situation prevailing in the late summer of 1939.
The general level of wholesale commodity prices was low, judged by
almost any criterion. During the week ended August 19, 1939, the
all-commodities index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which repre
sents the whole range of markets and includes nearly 900 price series,
was at 74.6 percent of its average 1926 level. Except for minor inter
ruptions, it had been declining steadily since the autumn of 1937 and
was lower than at any time since 1934. The decline in the first part
of 1939 had been particularly pronounced for farm products and for
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52
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
foods. Thus, for the week ended August 19, the average wholesale
price of farm products was almost 40 percent lower than in 1926
and only 25 percent higher than the average for the year 1932.
In the case of foods, the index had fallen to 66.2, also a 5-year low.
Certain special classes of commodities, such as cereal products and
dairy products, had fallen even farther, and the Bureau’s indexes
representing their average prices were lower than they had been since
1933, when prices were still in their initial stages of recovery from
depression.
In retail markets, the level of prices was also relatively low. As of
June 15, 1939, the cost-of-living index, showing changes in the cost of
goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers in 33
large cities, was about 25 percent lower than it had been in 1926.
Moreover, wage earners’ costs of living were only 9 percent higher
than in the summer of 1933, the low point for the depression.
The most important single component of the cost of living—food—had experienced a particularly severe decline. In comparison with
1926, retail food prices were down by 32 percent. Of considerable
consequence was the fact that there had recently been a sharp drop of
12 percent in retail food prices from 1937 to the summer of 1939.
In the months immediately preceding the outbreak of the war,
therefore, it is not surprising that many analysts of the price situation
were primarily concerned with the attainment of price relations within
the United States which would hasten full economic recovery, rather
than with any fear of runaway prices. Prices in many sectors of the
economy appeared to be too low to be consistent with the full employ
ment of America’s resources of men and materials. This was particu
larly true with regard to farm products as they affected farmers’
income and purchasing power. These prices had in general gone down
farthest during the depression of the early 30’s and during the 1937-39
recession. Although prices for a few commodities may have appeared
too high, the problem was generally regarded as one of insuring a
moderate, but sustained, advance in the prices of these depressed
commodities.
When Poland was invaded on the night of August 31, and Britain
and France declared war 2 days later, the entire picture changed
abruptly. The immediate reaction is best shown by the frantic
behavior of the basic commodity markets. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics daily index of the spot prices of 28 basic commodities, which
is representative of the most important raw materials and semi
manufactured goods used in American industry, jumped abruptly
on Friday, September 1, by about 4 percent and fractionally the
following day as indicated on the chart (p. 53). By the close of the
markets on September 5, after the Labor Day holiday had intervened,
prices had risen 14 percent above their average levels in the month of
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WHOLESALE PRICES
28
BASIC COMMODITIES
AUGUST
1939=100
IN D E X
IN D E X
140
140
120
120
JANUARY
aa
a.
5
100
10 0
AUG.
UNITED STATES
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
SEP.
OCT.
!939
NOV.
DEC.
JAN.
1940
Cn
W
54
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
August. Within a single week after the outbreak of war, there had
been an advance of about 20 percent. The rise did not stop there, but
continued steadily, though at a slower pace, until September 22, when
it reached a peak at 27 percent above its August average. This level
has not since been equaled in basic commodity markets.
The sharpest advances occurred, as might be expected, in those
materials which are normally obtained from overseas. Five of the
commodities included in the Bureau’s daily index are normally im
ported, in whole or in part, from areas udder the control of the British
Empire or of British-dominated cartels: Burlap and shellac from In
dia, wool from Australia, and tin and rubber from Malaya and the
East Indies. As soon as war was declared, Great Britain purchased
the entire Australian wool clip and, as a result, the price of wool tops
rose almost 50 percent in less than 2 weeks. The price of burlap,
which was needed in huge quantities for sandbags, rose by about the
same amount in the first week of September and continued upward
until it had more than doubled by the beginning of November. Shellac,
which is obtained almost entirely from India, rose 74 percent by
September 22. The price of rubber advanced from 17 cents on
August 31 to 23 cents on September 22. The rise in tin, although
more moderate, amounted to 25 percent within a week (see table 1).
Imports from other parts of the world were also immediately
affected. Thus, about one-half of the normal consumption of quick
silver in the United States was supplied by domestic mines; the other
half came from an Italo-Spanish cartel. With the outbreak of war,
the cartel output was apparently diverted toward Germany, imports
were sharply curtailed, and the price rose spectacularly from about
$84 per flask in August 1939 to $140 in September.
With respect to the products of Central Europe, the position was
far better than at the outbreak of the last war. The United States
had become largely self-sufficient as regards such indispensable prod
ucts as fertilizer, synthetic dyes, and drugs. However, this was not
true of a considerable number of botanical drugs such as belladonna
leaves, ergot, henbane, and gum arabic, and a number of spices and
essential oils from Italy and other Mediterranean ports. As a result,
prices of some of these products doubled and some even tripled within
a few months.
Other imports were affected by shipping shortages or by the war at
sea. Thus, the price of Norwegian cod-liver oil also virtually doubled
within a week after the outbreak of war.
A less direct consequence was a shortage of shipping for the coastal
trade, resulting from the large Allied demand. This shortage, con
tinuing to the present, laid the groundwork for price advances which
extended well into 1940. For example, tanker rates for shipping
petroleum products from Texas to the northeastern States advanced
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Prices and the War
55
very sharply. Charter rates rose from about 15 cents a barrel to
as much as 65 cents a barrel by February 1940, and the price of fuel
oil and bunker oil in northern Atlantic ports rose correspondingly.
The price advance of those early weeks of the war was by no means
confined to imported products, however. It included many com
modities which come largely or wholly from domestic sources, such
as grains, livestock, lard, scrap steel, zinc, and copper. These prices
rose, not because of any immediate threat of scarcity, but largely
because businessmen and speculators, remembering the closing years
of the last war, anticipated a huge increase in demand for sale to the
belligerent nations. The advance in these products was undoubtedly
more pronounced because of the relatively low price levels which had
prevailed during the first part of 1939.
Factors in the Movement of Prices
There were, then, two threads running through the sharp price
upturn in the early weeks of the war. On the one hand, there was
the real and immediate diversion of certain imported raw materials
to the nations at war, and on the other, there was the effort to antici
pate price moves for commodities which it was believed would be
needed in large quantities by England, France, and their Allies.
Since the latter of these conditions was in its nature speculative, it is
not surprising that it was largely indiscriminate. Prices rose not
only for those articles for which an increased demand or a supply
shortage was highly probable, but extended also to many other goods
for which such developments were very unlikely. An outstanding
example was the case of sugar, the wholesale price of which rose about
35 percent in the first days of September. Remembering what hap
pened in the last war, and ignoring the tremendous increase in
sugar-producing capacity which had since been created, dealers,
grocers, and housewives rushed to lay in stocks and enthusiastically
bid up prices.
Another example of a move which was largely speculative in nature
occurred in the silk market. The price of silk had been rising steadily
since the beginning of 1939, from a low of $1.84 per pound in January,
to $2.63 at the end of August. The rise was accelerated in September
and October, to the accompaniment of rumors of crop shortage in
Japan. By December the market quotation for silk had reached
$4.40 per pound, representing an increase of almost 150 percent within
a year.
The Government was not entirely free of responsibility for excessive
increases in the prices of some products. For example, about the end
of September, the Government suddenly asked for bids for 20,000 tons
of manila hemp, which is about half of total normal annual imports.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
56
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
The price jumped, as a result, from 5 cents to 13 cents. According to
testimony presented in a hearing of the Temporary National Eco
nomic Committee: “Then the Government withdrew its inquiry,
apparently realizing it was having a too unstabilizing effect on the
market, and that market has settled back partially, but nowhere near
back to the point it was.” 2
By the end of September, the initial speculative impulse had about
run its course, and businessmen paused to appraise the situation
soberly. The sugar boom gave way, according to the Wall Street
Journal, to “utter discouragement over the near-term outlook for
sugar in both the world and the domestic picture.” The price of rub
ber lost more than half its gain. Livestock markets turned downward
and, by the end of November, hogs were selling for less than they had
been in August. Scrap steel, which had risen about 45 percent in
September, was less than 25 percent above its pre-war levels by the
beginning of December. The Bureau of Labor Statistics daily basic
commodity index reflected this change in sentiment by a slow but per
sistent decline throughout October and November, until on November
20, it was slightly less than 20 percent above its August 1939 average
(see chart, p. 53). Prices became somewhat firmer during December
but the index failed to equal its early high level.
The general level of wholesale prices during this entire period after
war was declared was, of course, affected far less than were the prices
of these sensitive raw materials and semimanufactured goods. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics index, based on the prices of nearly 900
products, rose from 74.8 (1926=100) for the week ended August 26
to 79.5 for the week ended September 23, an advance of about 6 per
cent (see table 2). This rise also was confined largely to raw materials
and semimanufactured goods; the prices of finished manufactured
goods were little affected.
The rise was also not reflected to any large extent in retail prices paid
by consumers, since some time is always required for changes in basic
markets to work through to retail stores. Between mid-August and
mid-September, the only change of consequence was in food prices.
The spectacular advances were in staple foods which are traded on
organized exchanges and which, in the long memories of many Amer
ican housewives, had cost so dearly in the last war—sugar, navy beans,
lard—all of which went up by 25 percent or more in many cities. Yet,
taken as a whole, the cost of principal foods bought by wage earners’
families during the first 3 weeks of September was only 5 percent
above its August level, and the entire cost of living went up by only 2
percent. By mid-December, much of this advance had disappeared,
and again the cost of living was below its level of December 1938.
2 Hearings before the Temporary National Economic Committee. Part 21, p. 11140.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Prices and the War
57
During the last quarter of 1939 price trends had been somewhat
mixed. A few commodities continued to rise, while speculative ex
cesses in others were being corrected. By the beginning of 1940, how
ever, forces making for lower prices had definitely gained the ascend
ancy and commodity-market movements entered their second broad
phase.
Price Reaction of Early 1940
The character of the continued price decline, which began in De
cember 1939, can be expressed best in terms of the behavior of the
sensitive basic-commodities index. On December 19 this index
stood at 25.5 percent above its average of the preceding August, or
slightly below its early speculative peak. From that day it declined
persistently for about 8 months, until on August 13, 1940, it was only
5}£ percent higher than in August 1939 (see chart, p. 53). This
aggregate decline of about 16 percent was interrupted only twice, and
then very briefly; first, when Denmark and Norway were invaded
and, second, when the major offensive started on the western front.
In both these cases, apparently, it was at first believed that the
conflict would increase in tempo and that as a result there would be
a large increase in allied demand for American goods. These expec
tations failed to materialize and, when France fell and the collapse
of Britain seemed imminent, American commodity markets broke
badly.
The price decline during most of this period was very broad. This
is shown by table 1, which compares the prices of each of the 28
basic commodities as of August 13, 1940, with their early high levels
on September 22, 1939, and also with their average prices during
the preceding August. Thus, between September 22, 1939, and
August 13, 1940, the price of tallow had fallen 50 percent, that of
lard and hides more than 35 percent, that of wool tops and wheat
more than 20 percent. The price of silk dropped from $4.40 at the
end of 1939 to $2.55 in the following July. While some products,
such as corn, shellac, zinc, and steel scrap, were still selling very sub
stantially above their pre-war prices, most of these products had
lost a large share of their early gains and 10 of the 28 were actually
being quoted at prices lower than during the month just before the
outbreak of the conflict.
During the same period, the general wholesale price level, as repre
sented by the all-commodity index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
lost fully half of its gains. For the week ended August 10, 1940, this
index was at 76.9 of its 1926 average, representing a net gain of 3
percent in the course of a year and a decline of more than 3 percent
since the beginning of 1940 (see table 2). The drop in textiles, farm
products, hide and leather products, and foods was particularly
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
58
pronounced, ranging from more than 8 percent in the case of textile
products to 3% percent in the case of foods.
T a b l e 1.— Prices of Basic Commodities 1
Percent of change
Prewar
(August
1939
average)
Commodity
D aily index of 28 basic commod
ities—------- -----------------------Wheat:
Kansas C i t y ___ ____bu._
Minneapolis_____ __-do___
Flaxseed—-................— ___do___
Barley . ___ — - — -_-do___
Corn_______________ -__do___
B utter--.............. .......... ____lb ..
Tallow__ ________ _-do___
Hogs____ - -- --- -100 lb s Steers______________ ___do_- _
____lb ..
Lard--. Sugar______________ ___do___
Coffee-- — - - - - -__do_- _
Cocoa beans------------- __-do___
Shellac----- ----------- —-_-do___
Rubber.-- ------- ---- -do___
Hides____ --- ------ ___do___
Rosin______________ -100 lb s..
Cottonseed oil____ - ____lb —
Print cloth_____ — ___do. _
Silk________________ __-do_- _
Wool tops_____ _____ __-do___
Burlap_____________ ___do
Steel scrap:
Chicago_________ .- -to n ..
Philadelphia____ ___do_ _
T in _________________ ____l b C opper..- _________ -_-do___
Lead_________ _
. _-_do--_
Z in c ... ____________ _ _do___
Cotton.................. ......... . ..d o ___
Early
post-war 1940 low
(Aug. 13,
high
1940)
(Sept. 22,
1939)
Dec. 31,
1940
August
1939
average
to Sept.
22, 1939
August
1939
average
to Aug.
13, 1940
August
1939
average
to Dec.
31, 1940
100.00
127.2
105.5
118.6
+27.2
+ 5 .5
+18.6
$0.636
.715
1.516
.457
.445
.235
.044
6.486
9.051
.060
.029
.076
.044
.098
.167
. 113
2.162
.055
.047
2. 672
.863
.055
$0.861
.899
1.895
.565
.576
.283
.070
7.875
10.000
.085
.037
.079
.063
.170
.225
.155
2.420
.074
.056
3.145
1.300
.083
$0. 685
.703
1.545
.440
.658
.273
.035
6. 675
10.625
.054
.027
.069
.042
.145
.200
. 100
1.650
.055
.048
2.545
.990
.072
$0.850
.883
1. 665
.510
.645
.333
.050
6. 950
12.125
.053
.029
.075
.053
.155
.208
.135
1.685
.061
.054
2.575
(2)
.081
+35. 4
+25.7
+25.0
+23.6
+29.4
+16.2
+59.1
+21.4
+10.5
+41.7
+27.6
+ 3.9
+43.2
+73. 5
+34.7
+37.2
+11.9
+34.5
+19.1
+17.7
+14.7
+50.9
+ 7 .7
- 1 .7
+ 1.9
- 3 .7
+47.9
+16.1
-2 0 .5
+ 2 .9
+17.4
-1 0 .0
- 6 .9
- 9 .2
- 4 .5
+48.0
+19.8
-1 1 .5
-2 3 .4
0.0
+2.1
- 4 .8
+14.7
+30.9
+33.6
+23.5
+ 9 .8
+11.6
+44.9
+41.7
+13.6
+ 7.2
+34.0
-1 1 .7
0.0
- 1 .3
+20.5
+58.2
+ 24.6
+19.5
-2 2 .1
+10.9
+14.9
- 3 .6
(2)
+47.3
13. 866
15. 653
.488
. 102
.050
.051
.092
18. 250
18. 750
.600
. 118
.055
.066
.090
17. 750
18. 500
.510
. 106
.048
.066
. 100
21.000
20.250
.501
.119
.055
.076
.101
+31.6
+19.8
+23.0
+15.7
+10.0
+29.4
- 2 .2
+28.0
+18.2
+ 4.5
+ 3.9
- 4 .0
+29.4
+11.1
+51.4
+29.4
+ 2.7
+16.7
+10.0
+49.0
+12.2
1 Source: IT. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics daily index of basic commodities (mimeographed).
2 Specification changed N ov. 15, 1940; no comparable data.
T a b l e 2 . — Wholesale-Price Indexes of Groups of Commodities 1
Indexes (1926=100.0)
Item
Percent of change—
Early
26, Jan. 6, Aug. 10, Aug. 26,
Prewar post-war 1940 low Dec. 28, Aug.
1939, to 1940, to 1940,to 1939,to
(Aug. 10,
(Aug. 26, high
Jan.
6, Aug. 10, N ov. 30, Dec. 28,
1940
(Jan. 6,
1940)
1939)
1940
1940
1940
1940
1940)
All item s__________ _______
74.8
79.5
76.9
79.9
+ 6 .3
- 3 .3
+ 3 .6
+ 6 .8
Farm products---------- -------Foods______- - ---------------Hides and leather products..
Textile products----------------Fuel and lighting materials..
Metals and metal products. .
Building materials.................
Chemicals and allied products____________________
Housefurnishings__________
Miscellaneous commodities..
61.1
66.7
92.6
67.4
73.2
93.5
89.7
69.6
71.8
104.0
78.3
73.3
96.0
92.9
65.2
69.3
97.9
71.8
71.6
94.9
92.8
69.9
73.1
102.7
74.2
72.9
97.8
99.6
+13.9
+ 7 .6
+12.3
+16.2
4"* 1
+ 2 .7
+ 3 .6
- 6 .3
-3 .5
- 5 .9
- 8 .3
- 2 .3
- 1 .1
- .1
+ 6 .0
+ 5 .8
+ 5.3
+ 3.3
+ 1 .7
+ 2 .8
+ 6 .8
+14.4
+ 9 .6
+10.9
+10.1
-.4
+ 4.6
+11.0
74.2
87.0
73.1
77.8
89.8
77.5
76.7
90.0
76.7
77.8
90.2
77.1
+ 4.9
+ 3 .2
+ 6 .0
-1 .4
+ .2
- 1 .0
+ 1 .3
+ .2
+ .9
+ 4 .9
+ 3 .7
+5. 5
1 Source: U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wholesale Prices.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Prices and the War
59
Although wholesale prices were moving lower during the first half
of 1940, retail prices, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
cost-of-living index, rose about 1 percent, largely because of higher
food prices and a narrower advance in the price of clothing (see table 3).
These changes in retail prices to a considerable extent reflected the
spurt in wholesale markets in the preceding autumn. For example,
retail prices of bread rose 1 cent a loaf in most northeastern cities
during January and February 1940, and leading bakers attributed this
increase to the fact that flour costs had gone up materially since the
outbreak of the war. The slightly higher costs for clothing similarly
seem to have been due to earlier advances in raw-material markets,
notably those of wool and silk. On the other hand, the increase in
retail prices was by no means general; thus, a sharp reduction in the
price of electric refrigerators was largely responsible for a decline of
percent in the index of housefurnishing goods between December
1939 and June 1940.
T a b l e 3.-—Changes in Cost of Living in Large Cities Since August 1939 1
Indexes (1935-39 average= 100.0)
Item
All items
Percent of change—
August Septem June
Aug. 15, Sept. 15, June 15, Nov. 15. to Sep ber 1939 1940 to
1939
1939
1940
1940
tember to June Novem
1939
1940
ber 1940
August
1939 to
Novem
ber 1940
________________
98.6
100.6
100.5
100.1
+ 2 .0
- 0 .1
- 0 .4
+ 1.5
F o o d ... . ___________ ____
Clothing. - . _ __ _ . . . .
R ent. . . _____ . . . _______
Fuel, electricity, ice________
Housefurnishings__________
Miscellaneous___ __________
93.5
100.3
104.3
97.5
100.6
100.4
98.4
100.3
104.4
98.6
101.1
101.1
98.3
101.7
104.6
98.6
100.1
100.6
95.9
101.6
104.7
100.3
100.6
101.7
+ 5 .2
0.0
+ .1
+1.1
+ .5
+ .7
- .1
+ 1 .4
+ .2
0.0
- 1 .0
- .5
- 2 .4
-.1
+ .1
+ 1 .7
+ .5
+ 1.1
+ 2.6
+ 1.3
+ 2.9
0.0
+ 1 .3
1 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Changes in Cost of Living.
In general, then, wholesale prices as a group moved consistently
downward during the first 8 months of 1940, while retail prices, which
had advanced little between August and December 1939, rose slightly.
Throughout this period, however, there were many cross currents
and these became more pronounced as the summer began.
In the first place, the successive extensions of the war zone meant
further curtailment in the supply of numerous imported commodities.
When Scandinavia was invaded, the flow of Swedish pulp and Nor
wegian cod-liver oil stopped entirely. When Italy entered the war
and the Mediterranean was closed to commercial traffic, imports from
the Balkans, Asia Minor, and southern Russia were stopped. Among
the most important of the commodities thus affected was manganese
ore from the Russian Caucasus, which is normally its leading source.
At the same time, Great Britain was forced to turn to North America
for some of the products which it had until then obtained from the
invaded countries, such as Swedish steel and pulp and Danish food
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
60
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
stuffs. For some of these products, she turned to the United States
directly; for others, to Canada and other parts of the Empire. But
even in the latter case, American markets were indirectly affected.
Consequently, while the supply of some commodities, such as
copper, became easier as a result of the withdrawal of France from the
market, that of others, such as manganese and pulp, became distinctly
tighter.
With the inauguration of the national defense program in June and
the sharp expansion in Army buying, underlying market conditions
underwent a fundamental change. For some weeks, the momentum
of the downtrend persisted, but by the middle of August, when defense
orders began to be placed in volume, most commodity prices turned
definitely upward and markets entered their third and current phase.
Rise in Prices Since August 1940
The advance since August has differed in a number of important
respects from that of the preceding autumn. One of the most striking
features of this recent move has been its persistence and its relatively
moderate rate, as compared with the much sharper but shorter up
turn in September 1939. The Bureau of Labor Statistics index for
28 basic commodities rose for 14 consecutive weeks, from the middle
of August until November 19, 1940 (see chart, p. 61). During
this period, these prices advanced, by 12 percent, to 118 percent of the
August 1939 average, a level about 8 percent below the highest peak
attained in September 1939. In the last days of 1940 the index rose
again, closing the year at 118.6.
The current price upturn has been both persistent and broad.
Where the 1939 rise was largely confined to raw materials and semi
manufactured goods, completely fabricated goods participated fully
in the upturn during the autumn of 1940.
One evidence of this difference in character is the behavior of the
Bureau’s comprehensive all-commodities index of wholesale prices as
compared with that of basic commodities. During the week ended
November 30, 1940, this index reached 79.7 percent of its 1926 aver
age, surpassing its 1939 peak for the first time. In other words, al
though the 28-commodities index, which depicts the behavior of a
few leading raw materials and semimanufactured goods, had regained
only part of the loss which occurred in the first half of the year 1940,
the general level of wholesale prices had risen more strongly and had
more than canceled its earlier decline.
This difference in the behavior of the two groups of commodity
prices has reflected a very real change in underlying market condi
tions. In the fall of 1939 the primary problem was to insure an ade
quate supply of raw materials, whereas, in the fall of 1940, capacity
for converting many of these raw materials into finished goods was
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
280398— 41
WHOLESALE PRICES
BASIC COMMODITIES
Prices and the War
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
28
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
¡940
1941
62
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
beginning to be taxed, as a result of the combined impact of the
national defense program and British purchasing. Although supplies
of some raw materials continued to be tight, there had been an im
portant shift in emphasis.
Raw-material shortages in the late months of 1940 were fairly
localized. The supply of steel scrap was being strained to maintain
the record output of the steel industry. A problem was being en
countered in the case of zinc, largely because of inadequate smelter
capacity. The prices of these two products, in consequence, equaled
or slightly surpassed the highest levels recorded in 1939. In the case
of lead, a shortage of stocks also occurred and prices began to rise,
but the availability of Mexican lead shortly caused a reversal of this
trend. One other commodity of outstanding importance for which
it temporarily appeared that demand might outrun supply is wool,
but the availability of South American imports has lessened the
stringency and recently has limited the extent of the price advance.
Limitations of capacity in relation to current demand have not as
yet (December 1940) affected prices in many industries, but there are
lines in which a strong sellers’ market exists because of limited sup
plies. An outstanding example is machine tools, in which both for
eign and, recently, domestic orders have far exceeded capacity. List
prices for certain standard types have been advanced by 10 to 20
percent since the beginning of the war, and deliveries are far behind
orders in spite of substantial increases in producing facilities.
There are other industries in which, although capacity appears
adequate to meet sustained demands, some temporary difficulty has
been experienced in meeting the sudden very large orders coming
out of the defense program.
One of the first striking illustrations occurred in the case of lumber.
Large Army orders for the construction of cantonments came into this
market in the late summer of 1940. Demand was particularly heavy
for southern pine and Douglas fir, centering in certain areas near
cantonments. While there was probably no shortage of capacity as
such, the impact of these heavy orders resulted in a sharp upswing
in prices which has persisted ever since. Between the beginning of
September and the end of November 1940, the price of yellow-pine
timbers rose 27 percent and that of yellow-pine boards about 25 per
cent. As late as the beginning of December each week brought reports
of new price advances for various types and grades of lumber.
Some of the lighter industries making consumer goods have also
been strained to meet the needs of the Quartermaster’s Service.
From the point of view of prices, the most important of these are
the cotton and wool textile industries.
In the wool industry, the shortage of raw materials which has
already been described was for some months aggravated by made
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Prices and the War
63
quate wool-combing capacity for converting raw wool into wool tops,
from which worsted fabrics are made. As a result, wool-top spot
prices rose much more rapidly than those of raw wool, and the effect
was also reflected in a relatively lower price level in the futures market
for tops. In recent weeks, the strain on wool-combing capacity seems
to have eased somewhat but has shifted to wool-top dyeing. This
suggests that the situation is by no means of a lasting character and
that it can readily be minimized by proper spacing of Government
orders.
Prices of worsted fabrics have moved more or less parallel with those
of wool tops. There seems to be little evidence of any serious shortage
of loom capacity for the production of most types of either woolen or
worsted goods, and price rises have been largely due to increases in
raw-material costs and possibly to somewhat higher wages. It is
noteworthy that when Army requirements for the remainder of the
fiscal year 1940-41 were definitely stipulated at the end of November,
the market quieted, showing clearly that much of the price disturbance
had been due to uncertainty on the part of the trade as to what was
expected of it.
In the cotton-textile industry, conditions were somewhat different.
Prices of raw cotton are, at present, at just about the same level as
they were in August 1940. At the end of December, cotton in 10 spot
markets was selling at 10.07 cents per pound, as compared with 9.91
cents in August. However, loom capacity for producing certain kinds
of fabrics has been strained somewhat to meet Army demands. For
some products, such as sheets and certain qualities of broadcloth used
in making underwear, total capacity seems to have been adequate,
but the orders placed required some temporary curtailment of produc
tion for the civilian public. For other products, such as the heavy
industrial fabrics and jean cloth, difficulties have been encountered in
obtaining bids adequate to cover the quantities asked by the Govern
ment. In the case of jean cloth, the announcement of Army require
ments was followed by a withdrawal of market quotations by most
producers. In general, prices of all kinds of cotton cloths have risen,
though not very sharply. At the end of December, price increases
for broadcloths in the gray ranged from 10 percent to 28 percent for
different constructions, while those for print cloth had advanced
about 13 percent.
These increases in the price of semimanufactured goods have quite
naturally been reflected to some extent at the next stage of fabrica
tion. Cotton garments such as overalls and work shirts have ad
vanced in price on wholesale markets substantially since August 1939.
Prices of men’s suits likewise have gone up 5 to 10 percent on the
average. Wholesale prices of sheets and wool blankets have also been
advanced during the past few months by many manufacturers,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
64
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Coinciding with these price increases, which have resulted directly
or indirectly from the European conflict and the domestic rearmament
program, have been rises in certain other markets as a result of purely
domestic conditions. For example, prices of livestock, particularly
steers, were considerably higher in December 1940 than they were at
the end of 1939; on December 31, 1940, the current quotation for steers
was $12.13 per 100 pounds as compared with $10.13 on the correspond
ing day in 1939. Prices of hogs are also higher, although not by as
wide a margin. These trends are apparently the result of reduced
slaughterings and it is anticipated by the Department of Agriculture
that about 10 percent fewer hogs will be brought to market in 1941
than in 1940.3
The Cost of Living
Despite all these changes in wholesale markets, the cost of living
of wage earners has not been affected to any significant extent.
From August of 1939 (when the cost of living was at 98.6 percent of
its 1935-39 average) to mid-November 1940, the advance amounted to
only l){ percent4 (see table 3).
It is, of course, evident that retail prices cannot long remain stable
in the face of the broad advance which has pervaded wholesale com
modity markets during the past 5 months. Some lag always occurs,
since time is required for goods to pass from the hands of manufac
turers to those of retailers. With regard to food, the situation is not
primarily affected by the war abroad or by the defense program; it is
largely a matter of the domestic supply situation.
As already indicated, prices received by farmers, as well as prices
charged in retail food stores have recently been at a low level com
pared with that of the past 5 years. After their initial sharp rise in
September 1939, retail food prices again declined in the winter to
about the same level as prevailed prior to the outbreak of war. An
advance in the summer of 1940, caused largely by higher meat prices,
was followed by a return to less than 96 percent of the 1935-39 average.
In the next few months some rise may occur in view of the domestic
agricultural situation.5 It may be enhanced, moreover, by increased
consumers’ buying power as industrial activity increases.
With regard to clothing, the largest price advances at retail have
been those of woolen garments, including men’s suits, overcoats,
sweaters, and women’s coats. In some cities these advances have
ranged between 5 and 15 percent over their levels in the summer
of 1939. Comment in the trade press indicates that manufacturers
and retailers are expecting some further increases on these products
3 U. S. Department of Agriculture. The Livestock Situation, July 1940.
< See footnote 1, p. 49.
5 For discussion of supplies of particular foodstuffs, see U. S. Department of Agriculture, The Agricultural
Situation, Annual Outlook issue, October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Prices and the War
65
in the spring. It should be remembered in this connection that about
one-third of the clothing budget of the wage earner’s family goes for
woolen clothing. There have also been some increases for certain
types of cotton clothing, particularly for work clothing, because
facilities for producing the fabrics which are used in these garments
have been ^partly diverted to defense orders. Silk prices, on the
other hand, are low and rayon quotations have been fairly stable, so
that there has been very little change in the prices of clothing made oi
these materials. For some types of clothing fixed price lines have
been maintained, while style, cut, or quality have been changed in
order to reduce cost enough to offset in part the rise of materials prices.
Among the principal housefurnishings, prices of carpets and rugs,
which are made almost entirely from imported wool, have gone up
by about 15 percent, the principal advances having occurred in the
winter of 1939. Prices of woolen blankets have also advanced by
about 10 percent. Furniture prices, too, have recently begun to rise
in some cities, partly because of higher costs of hardwoods, fabrics,
and other special upholstery materials. These advances so far have
been small.
The second most important item in the consumer’s budget—rent—
is almost wholly a local matter. The cost of housing to wage earners
will be affected by the extent to which there is pressure on the existing
supply of housing in any particular city or town. Taking the large
cities of the country as a whole, rents for all types of houses had
increased by less than three-tenths of 1 percent from June 1939 to
November 1940. However, in many areas where defense orders are
large there have been substantial advances ranging from $2.50 to
$5.00 a month for the lower priced houses renting for less than
$30.00 a month. The trend of city rents during the next few months
will depend to a large extent upon the speed with which special
housing now contemplated can be erected in areas where defense
orders are large and where there has been a marked influx of new
workers.
One important stable element in the cost of living is the price of
utilities and other services (e. g., medical care, transportation, laundry)
which as a rule change very slowly.
All in all, there has been a moderate upswing in wholesale prices
since the outbreak of war in Europe, and a much narrower rise in the
cost of living. At present businessmen and the Government are
actively cooperating to keep these price advances to a minimum.
As the year 1941 begins, it is anticipated that any increase in the
cost of living in the next few months will be very moderate.
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OCCUPATIONS AND SALARIES IN FED ER A L
EM PLO Y M EN T
By M alcolm L. S mith , Civil Service Commission, and K athryn K. W right ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics 1
Summary
NOT only is the Federal Government the largest single employer of
labor in the country, but the diversity of the services it renders to
the public requires the widest possible variety of occupational training
and experience on the part of its employees. Naval stations and
Army arsenals must have toolmakers, machinists, ordnance engineers,
instrument makers, tool and gauge designers, and draftsmen. The
Department of Interior employs teachers for Indians and Eskimos;
geologists, photographers, and map experts for the Geological Survey;
as well as highly specialized mining, reclamation, and hydraulic
engineers. Federal experimental farms require the services of farm
hands and stablemen, entomologists and husbandmen. The list coidd
be extended almost indefinitely, for the Civil Service Commission has
in its files some 25,000 different titles of positions in both the depart
mental and field services which have been officially reported to it by
the various Government departments and agencies.
Civilian employees in the Federal service numbering 808,715 at the
end of 1938 were included in this study. The Postal Service used
more of these employees than any other single department or agency.
Nearly a third of the 808,000 employees had positions as postmasters
and assistant postmasters or as postal clerks and carriers.
Men held 82 percent of all the jobs at the end of 1938. Nearly
56 percent of the positions held by women were of a clerical nature.
The average age for all employees was 40.8 years, but women em
ployees were 4.6 years younger than men, the average ages being
36.9 years for women and 41.5 for men.
Annual earnings of Government employees varied more with occupa
tion than with age. The averages for the major occupational groups,
exclusive of postmasters and assistants, ranged from $1,192 for un
skilled trade and manual workers to $3,137 for persons in technical,
scientific, and professional occupations. For the most part salaries
increased with the age of the employee, but the range was compara1 Prepared under the direction of Archie C. Edwards, chief of the Statistical Division, United States Civil
Service Commission, and Herman B. Byer, chief of the Division of Construction and Public Employment,
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
66
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Occupations in Federal Employment
67
lively narrow. Employees under 25 years of age liad average earnings
of $1,360 and those of 50 but under 60 years earned $2,053. The
average salary of civilian employees in the Federal Government,
regardless of occupation or age, was $1,871 at the end of 1938.
There are many phases of governmental employment which would
afford fruitful and interesting studies, but the content of accessible
records and the time available have limited the present study to three
major aspects—the occupation, compensation, and age of civilian
employees in the Federal service.
Scope and Method of Study
This article summarizes findings on the occupational and earnings
status of 808,715 civilian employees of the Federal Government as of
December 31, 1938.2 The survey was made jointly by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics and the Civil Service Commission. The information
was obtained from the service-record files maintained by the Civil
Service Commission. These files contain records not only for persons
employed under the Civil Service Act and Rules, but also for most of
the non-civil-service employees.3 The principal groups in the executive
branch not included in this survey are persons employed temporarily
under civil-service rules, and employees of the Tennessee Valley
Authority, the Work Projects Administration, and the National
Youth Administration. A few other agencies or establishments are
not included, but their employees are numerically insignificant in a
survey of this scope.
Unfortunately, either it was not feasible or sufficient information
was not available to make certain break-downs of the data which
would greatly enhance the value of the present tabulations. No
distinctions have been made between civil-service and non-civil-service
employees, although the former are employed under more standardized
conditions and enjoy many perquisites not accruing to the latter.
Roughly 572,000, or more than 70 percent, of the 808,715 persons
included in this survey were occupying classified civil-service posi
tions.4 Likewise, workers employed within the District of Columbia
have not been segregated from those situated in the States and Ter2 For the purpose of this study December 31,1938, was selected because it was the latest date for which
complete data were available at the time the sample was drawn. On June 30, 1940, there were 1,002,820
civilian employees in the executive branch of the Federal service, of whom 726,827, or 72.5 percent, were occu
pying classified civil service positions. It is believed that the occupational distribution of employees at
the present time would be proportionally about the same as at the time of this study except for a somewhat
larger concentration of men in trade and manual positions as a result of the national defense program.
2 In addition to personnel in the executive branch, this total includes employees in the judicial branch,
in the Library of Congress and Botanic Garden, and policemen and firemen in the District of Columbia
Government.
The service-record files do not contain records for all of the employees of non-civil-service agencies included
in this survey, but for sampling purposes they may be regarded as complete.
4
Classified positions are those which are filled in accordance with the competitive requirements of the
Civil Service Act and Rules.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
68
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
ritories. Approximately 116,300 persons, or slightly less than 15
percent of the total, were employed in the District.
The tabulations presented are based on a 25-percent random sample
of the service records maintained by the Civil Service Commission.
The sample data have been raised to represent 100 percent of the
employees in the departments and agencies included. Throughout,
the figures should be regarded as estimates, but it is believed that the
distributions and averages shown are entirely reliable.
The primary emphasis in this survey is on the occupational dis
tribution of Government workers. It is therefore essential to stress
the fact that there is no standardization of position titles in the service,
although progress is being made in the direction of greater uniformity.
The vast number of different titles of positions—some 25,000 in the
departmental and field services—necessitated grouping positions in
order to avoid an unwieldy and burdensome presentation. In the
majority of the tabulations eight broad occupational categories have
been used,5 as follows:
1. Technical, scientific, and professional.
2. Semitechnical, semiscientific, and semiprofessional.
3. Postm asters and assistants.
4. Mangerial and adm inistrative.
5. Postal clerks and carriers.
6. Clerical.
7. Service (building service, protective activities, and other service occupations)
8. Trade and manual.
(This group has been further subdivided by skill level
into skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled occupations.)
Major Occupational Groups
Postal clerks and carriers formed the largest occupational group
of civilian employees in the Federal Government. Almost 26 percent
of the total, or 209,000 jobs, were in this category. Postmasters and
assistant postmasters accounted for practically 6 percent more of the
total shown in table 1. In other words, these postal employees made
up nearly a third of all the workers under discussion. Most of them,
of course, were employed outside the District of Columbia.
5
It is important to emphasize that these occupational groupings are not identical with the groupings for
salary classification in the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. In the Classification Act various series
of positions are grouped for pay purposes, but this act is mandatory only for civil-service employees in the
District of Columbia, and several large groups of these employees do not come within the scope of the Classi
fication Act. The occupational code of the United States Employment Service has been used as the basis
for the present occupational grouping of Government positions. It will be noted that under this grouping
the technical, scientific, and professional category includes accountants, librarians, social and welfare work
ers, and certain other groups, most of whom are not placed at the professional level by the Classification Act.
The subprofessional service under the Classification Act is not synonymous with the semitechnical, semi
scientific, and semiprofessional grouping as used in the occupational analysis, although for the most part
the two groups are similar; there are certain other variations between the two groupings. M any of the posi
tion titles reported by Government departments and agencies cannot be placed in a specific occupational
group because of the absence of sufficient information relating to the duties of the positions. For this reason,
it will be noted that there are a number of “other” categories which consist primarily of these positions with
general titles; they also include other numerically insignificant categories of occupations. The occupational
grouping is shown in detail in table 8 (p. 83).
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Occupations in Federal Employment
69
The next largest group was that of trade and manual workers who
comprised nearly 23 percent of the total. More than half of this
group were skilled workers. Among them were plumbers, carpenters,
electricians, machinists, and welders, many of whom were employed
to keep Government property in repair, to construct ships, or to manu
facture munitions. A large number of the employees of the Govern
ment Printing Office were also included among these skilled workers.
Clerical workers, other than those in the postal service, were next
in importance, with 148,000 jobs. Secretaries, file clerks, statistical
clerks, and other office workers were in this group.
Technical, scientific, and professional positions accounted for
more than 9 percent of all the jobs. The work performed by these
employees is based upon the established principles of a profession or
science and requires training equivalent to that represented by
graduation from a college or university. Engineers were the largest
single profession included in this category in 1938. An additional 6
percent of the jobs were of a semi technical or semiprofessional char
acter. Persons in these occupations perform work incident or pre
paratory to work done at the professional or scientific level. A col
lege degree is not a prerequisite for such a job.
Service employees formed 7 percent of the total at the end of 1938.
Among these were hospital attendants, guards, policemen, firemen,
elevator operators, janitors, and charwomen. The smallest group
shown in table 1 consisted of managerial and administrative employ
ees. This category, which represented less than 5 percent of the total,
included a large group of miscellaneous positions predominantly
administrative and supervisory in character without specific reference
to occupational fields. Among the highest paid in this group were
cabinet officers and their assistants, and commissioners and admin
istrators of major governmental agencies.
T able 1.—Distribution of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, by Occupation
and Sex
Women
Men
Total
Occupational group
Number
All occupational groups-----------------------------
808, 715
Technical, scientific, and professional---------Semitechnieal, semiscientific, and semipro
fessional_____________ _____ ____________
Postmasters and assistants.-----------------Managerial and administrative------------------Postal clerks and carriers---------------------------
74, 705
Trade and manual-----------------------------------Skilled_______________________________
Unskilled—.......... - .........- ...............................
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51,990
47,000
36, 245
209.000
148.000
56, 720
185, 055
93,150
47,905
44, 000
Percent Number
100.0
9ÄT
6.4
5.8
4.5
25.9
18.3
7.0
22.9
11.6
5.9
5.4
Percent Number
Percent
663,180
100.0
145, 535
100.0
68, 540
10.3
6,165
4.2
40,465
31,400
30,890
202, 600
66,870
47,795
174, 620
92, 545
40,775
41,300
6.1
4.7
4.7
30.6
10.1
7.2
26.3
14.0
6.1
6.2
11, 525
15,600
5, 355
6,400
81,130
8,925
10,435
605
7,130
2,700
7.9
10.7
3.7
4.4
55.8
6.1
7.2
.4
4.9
1.9
70
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Men held 82 percent of all the jobs under discussion. The propor
tion of men was even higher for postal clerks and carriers and in the
professional, service, and trade and manual occupations. Outside
the Postal Service men held about 78 percent of the jobs. Two-thirds
of the women were in two occupational groups—clerical and post
mistresses. More than 45,000 of the women in clerical occupations
were secretaries, stenographers, or typists. The distribution among
various occupational groups is shown in greater detail in table 1.
Age of Employees
The average age of Federal employees at the end of 1938 was 40.8
years. Since more than 80 percent of the employees in 1938 were
men, they dominated the total age distribution shown in table 2.
There were marked differences between the age distributions of man
and woman employees, however. Tabulations according to length
of service, by sex (which are not available), would have been even
more interesting and meaningful for they could take into account
interruptions in work histories, which bear on the individual’s progress
in almost any line of work.
Women in the Government service were 36.9 years old, on the
average, or 4.6 years younger than the men. The differences in the
age distributions of man and woman workers are brought out more
clearly in the chart on page 71.6 The percentage of women under 25
was almost twice as high as that of men, and the greatest concentra
tion of women was in the 5-year age group, 25-29 years. Marriage
and resignation 7 undoubtedly account for the decline in the propor
tion of women from this peak. For some of these women, of course,
retirement is only temporary and they reenter Government service.
The age distribution for the women was almost level during the 15
years following the peak, there being between 14 and 15 percent in
each of the three age groups from 30 up to 45 years.
« This chart has been drawn for the age range from 18 to 70 years, but these limits are somewhat arbitrary.
The legal minimum age for entering the Federal service is 18, except in the case of apprentices for whom
the minimum is 16 years. The age at which an employee is eligible for retirement under the Civil Service
Retirement Act of 1920, as amended, varies with the type of position held. The maximum age for com
pulsory retirement stipulated in this act is 70 years. N ot all of the employees included in this survey,
however, were subject to the provisions of the Retirement Act.
7 M any married women were separated from the Government service while section 213 of the “ Economy
Act” of 1932 was in effect. This section, which was repealed by an amendment of July 26, 1937, gave
preference in appointment to the classified civil service, and in retention during reduction of force in any
branch or service of the United States Government or the District of Columbia, to persons other than
married persons whose husband or wife was also in the service of the United States or District of Columbia.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Occupations in Federal Employment
71
DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
BY AGE AND SEX
DECEMBER 31,1938
P ERCENT
AGE IN
PER C EN T
YEAR S
FIGURES FROM T A B LE 2 .
U S. BUREAU OF LABO R S T A T IS T IC S
T a b l e 2 . —Distribution of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, by Age and Sex
Women
Men
Total
Age
Number
All employees__________ _____ - --------Employees classified by age------------------Under 25 years....... . . . ----------------25-29 years.._______________________
30-34 years--------------- -------------------35-39 years--------------- -------------------40-44 years_________ - . ----------------45-49 years.. . -------------------------50-59 years---- --------------------------- --60 years and over___________________
Percent
Percent
100.0
7.3
12.0
13.6
14.1
17.8
14.0
16.1
5.1
651,925
40, 515
71, 290
86,200
91, 380
120, 590
96, 655
110,515
34, 780
11,255
Number
Percent
145, 535
663,180
808, 715
793,510
57,970
95,085
107, 770
111, 885
141,610
111,300
127, 395
40, 495
15, 205
Number
100.0
6.2
11.0
13.2
14.0
18.5
14.8
17.0
5.3
141,585
17,455
23, 795
21,570
20, 505
21,020
14, 645
16,880
5, 715
3,950
100.0
12.3
16.8
15.2
14.5
14.9
10.4
11.9
4.0
* Includes persons serving without compensation (largely agents and consultants), dollar-a-year em
ployees, and workers paid on a piece-work basis.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
72
For men the picture was entirely different. The percentages in
each age group increased steadily until the peak was reached in the
age group 40 but under 45 years.8 This was about 15 years later
than the peak for women. Not only was the peak later and higher
for men than for women, but there was an appreciably higher pro
portion of men than women 50 years and over—22.3 percent, as
compared with 15.9 percent for women.
The occupational differences in age were even more pronounced
than the sex differences. Clerical workers, on the average, were only
about 33 years old. At the other extreme, postmasters were nearly 48.
People in semitechnical and semiprofessional occupations were
comparatively young, with an average just under 37, but employees
in the remaining occupational groups shown in table 3 were, on the
average, about 40 to 42 years old. Very few of the technical, scientific,
and professional workers were less than 25 years old, which is un
doubtedly a reflection of the higher requirements in education and
experience for this type of work; only 2.6 percent of these employees
were under 25, while in all other occupational groups except post
masters there were from 4.2 to 17.5 percent of the workers less than
25 years old.
T able 3 .—Percentage Distribution of Federal Employees,1 December 31, 1938, by Age
and Occupation
Age
Trade and manual
Semi- Post M ana Post
al
Pro pro- masters gerial clerks
All
Cler
Serv
fes
fesand
and
groups sional
ical
ice
2 sion- assist admin and
Semi Un
car
Total Skilled skilled
a l3
ants istrative riers
skilled
Under 25 years__^
25-29 years.. . . . .
30-34 years_____
35-39 years_____
40-44 years____
7.3
12.0
13.6
14. 1
17.8
2.6
12.2
18.6
14.6
15.3
7.9
17.9
19. 1
13.3
14.9
0.9
4.6
8.3
11.2
15.9
5.4
9.2
12.9
13.6
17.8
5.5
8.4
11.7
15.4
20.8
17.5
21.9
16.0
12.5
12.6
4.9
9.9
12.8
15.1
22.5
5.5
9.6
12.3
14.5
19.4
4.2
8.0
11.4
14.8
20.2
6.5
11.7
13.9
14.9
18.5
7.2
10.7
12.5
13.7
18.6
45-49 years_____
50-59 years_____
60 years and over.
14.0
16. 1
5. 1
14.2
16.7
5.8
11.0
12. 4
3.5
16.5
26.0
16.6
15.5
18.2
7.4
15.7
18.7
3.8
8.0
8.2
3.3
15.4
14.5
4.9
16.3
17.6
4.8
17.8
18.8
4.8
15.0
15. 5
4.0
14.6
17.1
5.6
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
42.9
40.8
41.6
All ages___
Average4 age___
40.8
40.6
36.9
47.8
42.5
42.2
33.3
41.6
42.1
1 Does not include persons serving without compensation (largely agents and consultants), dollar-a-year
employees, or workers paid on a piece-work basis; these were distributed among the occupational groups
as follows: Professional, etc., 9,810; semiprofessional, etc., 110; managerial and administrative, 245; clerical,
3,500; service, 20; and trade and manual, 1,520 (skilled 520 and semiskilled 1,000.)
2 Includes technical and scientific employees also.
3 Includes semitechnical and semiscientific employees also.
* Median.
8 In this connection it is pertinent to note that almost 32 percent of the men in civilian positions in the
Federal Government in 1938 were in the age range from 21 through 35 years, the group subject to registration
in compliance with the Selective Service Act of 1940.
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Occupations in Federal Employment
73
Determination of Rates of Pay 9
Three factors have been discussed which have a bearing on the
earnings of workers in any industry—occupation, sex, and age. There
are some additional determinants, however, which are peculiar to
Federal salaries.
First of all, experts on personnel matters have suggested that a
fundamental difference in Government and non-Government policy
respecting pay scales “is that the Government pay scale is fixed in
advance and' each employee is fitted into his position with its corre
sponding pay, whereas in the commercial world the duties and respon
sibilities of every job are to a great extent created by the incumbent
and the pay fixed accordingly.” 10
The core of Federal salary determinations is the Classification Act of
1923, as amended, in which Congress has set the upper and lower
limits for each grade of work. The range thus established for full
time work is from $600 per year for custodial workers (tabulated under
“Service” in this study) to approximately $10,000 a year for the top
professional and administrative positions.11 These salary scales are
mandatory with respect to a majority of the employees in the District
of Columbia. Though no standard salary classification plan is applied
to the field service, departments and agencies with field services may
exercise administrative discretion in maintaining salaries roughly in
conformity with those set in the compensation schedules of the Classi
fication Act.
Large groups of those employed within the District in 1938 were
subject to a salary-classification scale established by Executive order.
Although this scale in general follows that set by the salary provisions
of the Classification Act, there are certain variations from that act.
Furthermore, positions so established are subject to no supervision
or review by the Personnel Classification Division of the Civil Service
Commission.
The salaries for approximately one-third of all civilian positions are
fixed by statutes applying to a particular department or agency. The
great majority of these positions are in the Postal Service. Other
such positions include those in the Government Printing Office, cer
tain positions in the Customs Service of the Treasury Department,
those of inspectors in the Immigration and Naturalization Service of
the Department of Justice, and those of officers and clerks in the
# All tabulations and discussion of compensation refer to nominal annual rates of pay. No account is taken
of additional amounts received as per diem or traveling expenses by employees away from their official sta
tion nor of the value of perquisites such as are provided workers in hospitals, etc. The rates are also before
deductions have been made for retirement of civil-service employees.
10 See United States Personnel Classification Board, Field Survey Division, Report of Wage and Person
nel Survey (H. Doc. No. 602, 70th Cong., 2d sess.), Washington, 1929, p. 86.
11 See listing of the salary grades and the steps within grades, issued as Civil Service Commission form 2910:
Classification Statutes.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
74
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Foreign Service of the State Department. In a relatively small
number of cases the salary for a particular position is set by statute.
For example, Congress has thus established the salaries of the Presi
dent, cabinet officers, members of various boards and commissions,
and heads of independent agencies and establishments.
In addition, there are some Government workers who are paid on a
per-diem or per-hour basis.12 Most of these employees are in the trade
and manual occupations. A few employees work on a piece-work or
fee basis, and still others receive no compensation13 or are “dollar-ayear” men.
This brief summary indicates the various ways in which the compen
sation of civilian employees is determined. The regulations are
numerous but they all operate toward confining Government salaries
to a narrower range than is found in industry in general.
Another point of difference is that Federal salaries, unlike those in
some private businesses, are not supplemented by bonuses, stock
ownership, or other forms of profit sharing.
Likewise, Federal salaries tend to be more stable and less influenced
by fluctuations in business conditions and changes in cost of living
than those in private industry. General salary readjustments can
come only through congressional action. For example, as a result of
the “ Economy Act” of 1932 there was a general reduction of 15
percent in all Federal salaries. Subsequent legislation provided for
the restoration of this decrease in three 5-percent intervals, the last
coming in April 1935. There has been no general salary readjust
ment since that time, although rates of pay for certain classes of
employees are subject to change without special legislation.14
In brief, though earnings of Federal employees are determined by a
variety of procedures and considerations, Congress for the most part
sets the upper and lower limits. Compensation, however, may also
take the form of intangibles, such as vacation and sick-leave allow
ances, relative security of tenure, and retirement privileges, the
prestige attaching to certain positions, or the opportunity to pursue
121 er-diem and per-hour rates have, in this study, been converted to annual rates on the basis of the
standard number of working days in the particular field of service. This is not always accurate, however,
since some of these employees do not work a full year.
13 This group is made up of persons who are empowered to exercise certain authority or enjoy certain
privileges as representatives of the Federal Government, although they receive no salary. The Department
of Agriculture, for example, has such arrangements with faculty members of State agricultural colleges in
connection with the agricultural extension service.
H For example, under the act of July 16, 1862 (34 U. S. Code 505) the Secretary of the N avy is charged
with the responsibility for fixing wages of certain groups of civilian employees in the field services of the
N avy Department and Marine Corps which “shall conform, as nearly as is consistent with the public
interest, with those of private establishments in the immediate vicinity of the respective yards, to be de
termined by the commandants of the navy yards, subject to the approval and revision of the Secretary of
the N avy.” To implement this procedure, wage boards are convened at the direction of the Secretary in
each navy yard and naval station to investigate wage conditions in private establishments and to recom
mend rates of wages. The recommendations of the local boards are considered by a wage board of review
appointed by the Secretary which recommends rates of pay to be approved by the Secretary.
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Occupations in Federal Employment
75
a career of scientific research. Such considerations represent a return
to the employee which cannot be measured in terms of salaries or
wages.
Salaries of Employees
OCCUPATIONAL GROUP AND SALARY
Federal Government workers had annual earnings ol $1,871, on
the average, at the end of 1938. The most common salary was in
the $200 interval beginning at $2,000.15 More than one-fifth of all
workers were paid from $2,000 up to $2,200. Salaries of postal
clerks and carriers are mainly responsible for such concentration.
Over 55 percent, or more than 115,000, of the postal clerks and carriers
shown in table 4 were in this salary group, as were also almost 13,000
employees in the skilled trades. Two thousand dollars is also the
entrance rate in the Classification Act for full-time work at the
technical and professional level.
Occupation is one of the major determinants of earnings throughout
our economic system. Its effect on Government rates of pay is clearly
shown in the cumulative chart on page 76. As a group, scientific and
professional workers had the best salaries, as is apparent from the
fact that the curve for these employees is at the extreme right of the
chart. Furthermore, a larger proportion of these workers than of
any other occupational group shown in the chart earned $5,600 or
more per year. Median earnings of this group were $3,137. In
other words, half of the scientific and professional people leceived less
than $3,137 in 1938, and half more than that amount.
At the other extreme were postmasters and assistants whose annual
rates of pay averaged only $1,021. Postal clerks and carriers, how
ever, had average annual earnings of $2,090. The low average for
postmasters is explained by the fact that a large proportion of them
are in charge of fourth-class post offices which do not require their full
time.16 Some have other business connections, and some are elderly
persons for whom the duties of postmaster or postmistress are suffi
cient. On the other hand, postmasters in large cities supervise great
forces of workers and are responsible for the smooth functioning of
important service enterprises. The postmasters in Chicago and New
18 The uneven frequency class intervals, e. g., $1,500-$1,799 and $1,800-$!,999, in the salary tabulations
were selected to conform as nearly as possible with the salary schedules stipulated in the various statutes
and by Executive order. Because of these definitely established rates, a distribution of Government
salaries does not show the fine grada tions that would be found in a similarly large sample of workers as a
whole. M ost of the changes in salaries below $2,200 are at $60 intervals. For higher salaries, the steps
come at hundreds of dollars. The class intervals in these tabulations have, therefore, been selected as far
as practicable so that the midpoint of each class would be representative of the greatest number of salaries
falling within the class limits.
i« Postmasters’ salaries are set by law on the basis of receipts in each office and are divided into 4 classes,
as follows: First class, $3,200 and over; second class, $2,400 through $3,100; third class, $1,100 through $2,300;
fourth class, less than $1,100.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
-4
O n
DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
BY SALARY AND OCCUPATION
DECEMBER 3 1 , 1 9 3 8
PERCENT OF EMPLOYEES
PERCENT OF EMPLOYEES
00
100
/¡ I
60
r
/i
y
!/!
¥
. s
'" V
U S. BUREAU OF LABO R S T A TIS TIC S
60
f
/
40
A L L OCCUPATIONS
T E C H N IC A L ,S C IE N T FIC 8 PR O FE S S IO N A L
—moomm S E M I-T E C H N IC A L , S C IE N T IF IC 6 PROFESSIONAL
<iuuum> POSTM ASTERS 8 A i ïS IS T A N T S
H N IS T R A T IV E
-
/
$ 2,00 0
20
oooooo P O STAL C LE R K S a C AR R IE R S
« ♦ w « C L E R IC A L
$3 ,000
ANNUAL
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
'
/
\
$ 1,000
80
/
V
{/J/yCy /
0
'
y
\
20
' " 0 *
* '
/
\
S2°°<*>°o<wv~
/
40
s
SALAR Y
j—
SER VIC E
«m w
TRADE 6
$ 4 ,000
M ANUAL
$5,000
$ 6 ,0 0 0
FIG U R E S FROM
TABLE 4.
Montïily Labor Review—January 1941
. s
80
Occupations in Federal Employment
77
York City each received $12,000—the highest salary in the Postal
Service in 1938. Postal clerks and carriers, however, appear for the
most part in the larger post offices. The concentration of their
salaries was more marked than in any other occupational group, as is
indicated by the steepness of the curve in the chart on page 76. The
salaries of 80 percent of all postal clerks and carriers in 1938 were
$1,800 but less than $2,600.
In brief, the curve for “ all occupations” divides the occupational
groups into two sections. If postmasters and postal clerks and
carriers are disregarded, it is apparent that the lowest salaries are
associated with the service, clerical, and trade and manual groups,
for they lie consistently to the left of the curve for “ all occupations.”
At the right of the chart (i. e., getting the higher salaries), are the
managerial or administrative personnel and those doing technical or
professional work.
T able 4. —Percentage Distribution of Federal Employeesf December 31, 1938, by
Salary and Occupation
Annual salary
Mana Post
Trade and manual
al
Pro Semi- Post gerial
All
masters
clerks Cler Serv
fes
profes
and
ad
groups sional 2
and as minis and ical
ice
sional 3 sistants
car
Semi Un
trative riers
Total Skilled skilled
skilled
1.0
Under $1,000___
$1,000-$1,199___
$1,200-$1,499___
$1,500-$1,799___
$1,800-$1,999___
6.8
6.5
18.7
14.1
10.8
.2
.9
1.4
2.7
2.7
3.4
12.8
16.1
20.8
49.3
6.6
5.6
6.0
4.1
1.2
.6
13.6
7.0
15.2
0.2
.7
10.8
4.2
9.4
5.2
4.4
33.4
29.3
13.4
7.5
29.9
36.2
6.1
6.8
8.7
12.0
23.2
23.3
12.5
4.1
4.4
13.1
21.5
21.9
7.0
9.0
40.6
28.2
5.1
20.0
31.2
26.0
21.8
.7
$2,000-$2,199___
$2,200-$2,599___
$2,600—$3,199___
$3,200-$3,799___
$3,800-$4,599___
20.6
9.1
6.9
3.1
1.7
15.2
6.0
25.2
20.9
12.6
11.4
7.1
13.6
6.6
3.0
3.0
12.1
9.1
3.1
.8
11.4
7.3
19.4
10.8
5.6
55.1
16.0
3.5
.1
(4)
5.6
4.4
3.2
9.1
7.2
3.5
.4
.1
14.0
13.2
6.6
.9
.3
7.5
1.7
.8
.1
.3
.2
3.9
5.7
2.6
.4
.7
$4,600-$5,599___
$5,600 and over..
1.0
.7
8.6
5.3
2.0
.5
.1
.2
3.8
4.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Average5salary. $1,871 $3,137 $1,944
$1,021
T otal____
(4)
(4)
$2, 248 $2,090 $1, 572 $1, 305 $1, 579 $1,862 $1,451 $1,192
1 Does not include persons serving without compensation (largely agents and consultants), dollar-a-year
employees, or workers paid on a piece-work basis; for occupational distribution of these persons, see footnote
1, table 3.
2 Includes technical and scientific employees also.
3 Includes semitechnical and semiscientifie employees also.
4 Less than 0.05 percent.
s Median.
A G E A N D SA L A R Y
To the worker or prospective worker in any field one very pertinent
consideration in appraising various types of work is the chance for
financial betterment with increased age and experience. For Govern
ment workers in general the figures in table 5 indicate that the older
the worker, the higher the average rate of pay. Average earnings
increased appreciably in each 5-year age group up to 40 years. For
the next 20 years the increases were more moderate. However,
280 3 9 8 — 41------- 6
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
78
beyond 60 years there was a slight decrease in average salaries, but
this was undoubtedly due to the disproportionate number of elderly
people among the postmasters.
Interesting contrasts are also brought out by the frequency dis
tributions in table 5. For instance, practically 95 percent of the
people under 25 years old were making less than $2,000 at the end of
1938. At the other extreme, not quite 45 percent of those from 50
to 59 received less than $2,000. Although workers who were 60
years or older had a slightly lower average salary than those from 45
to 59 years, the percentage of the 60-year group receiving $3,200 or
more was higher than in any other age group. More than 13 percent
of the oldest group were paid at least $3,200, as contrasted with less
than 10 percent for the group from 50 to 59 years.
T able 5. —Percentage Distribution by Salary and Age of Federal Employees,1
December 31, 1938
All
ages
Annual salary
Under
25
years
25-29
years
30-34
years
35-39
years
40-44
years
45-49
years
50-59
years
60
years
and
over
Under $1,000_____________
$1,000-$1,199______________
$1,200-$1,499______________
$1,500-SI,799______________
$1,800-$1,999______________
6.8
6.5
18.7
14.1
10.8
13.5
12.9
44.4
15.6
8.3
5.9
7.7
32.2
20.4
12.6
5.4
5.7
21.2
16.2
11.5
5.7
6.0
15.2
13.8
10.9
5.2
6.6
14.6
12.4
10.8
5.5
6.2
12.9
12.0
10.8
7.1
4.8
10.4
11.8
10.4
14.0
4.7
10.2
11.2
9.2
$2,000-$2,199______________
$2,200-$2,599________ , ____
$2,600-$3,199______________
$3,200-$3,799______________
$3,800-$4,599______________
20.6
9.1
6.9
3.1
1.7
4.2
.6
.4
.1
(2)
13.5
2.8
3.3
1.2
.3
22.1
6.5
6.2
3.1
1.4
26.2
9.3
6.5
3.3
1.8
26.0
10.8
6.6
3.4
1.9
23.1
12.3
8.5
3.9
2.2
20.8
13.9
11.1
4.1
2.4
14.6
12.1
10.7
5.3
3.0
$4,600-$5,599
_____
$5,600 and over___________
1.0
.7
.1
.5
.2
.8
.5
1.1
.6
1.5
1.1
1.9
1.3
2.8
2.2
T otal_______________
100.0
100.0
100.0
100. 0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
__ $1,871
$1, 360
$1, 562
$1, 826
$1,969
$2, 003
$2, 022
$2,053
$2, 010
Average 3 salary_______
(2)
1 Does not include 15,205 persons not classified by salary, i. e., persons serving without compensation
(largely agents and consultants), dollar-a-year employees, and workers paid on a piece-work basis.
2 Less than 0.05 percent.
3 Median.
Still another approach to the age and earnings relationship is the
average age of employees in each salary group. The following
averages reveal sharp variations among the 12 salary groups:
A v era g e
ag e
A v era g e
ag e
Under $1,000_._-______________40. 9
$1,000-$ 1,199__________________ 38. 7
$1,200-$1,499__________________ 33. 9
$1,500-$1,799___________ ______38.2
$1,800-$1,999__________________40. 5
$2,000-$2,199__________________41. 8
$2,200-$2,599__________________ 45. 1
$2,600-$3,199__________________45.3
$3,200-$3,799__________________44. 3
$3,800-$4,599__________________45. 4
$4,600-$5,599__________________ 48. 4
$5,600 and over________________ 49. 0
The youngest group was in the salary class of $1,200 but less than
$1,500, and the oldest was in the highest salary class, $5,600 and over.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Occupations in Federal Employment
79
It will be noted that the average ages for the two groups with salaries
under $1,200 were higher than the averages for employees receiving
from $1,200 up to $1,800. The two lowest-paid groups included over
50 percent of the unskilled manual workers, almost 40 percent of the
service employees, and all of the fourth-class postmasters. The low
average age of 33.9 years for employees receiving $1,200 to $1,500 is
probably explained by the fact that most clerical employees enter the
service at salaries within that range.
A G E , O C C U PA T IO N A L G R O U P , A N D SA L A R Y
The changes in earnings with advancing age are even more interest
ing when they can be related to different occupational groups. The
average earnings for each of the eight major occupational groups are
shown by age in the chart on page 80. The assignment of more
responsible duties to more mature persons, as reflected in higher
salaries, is very pronounced in the technical and professional and in
managerial and administrative occupations. The lines on the chart
for these two groups rise consistently and there were substantial
differences in the average earnings of the youngest and oldest groups.
Technical and professional workers 60 years or older earned on the
average $1,658 more than their associates who were under 25. For
managerial and administrative workers the difference was $1,510.
In other words, these are apparently the two groups in which the
greatest premium is put on experience and maturity of judgment.
These are the people who, to a large extent, have the more responsible
positions and direct the work of others.
T a b l e 6 . —Average1
Salaries of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, in Major
Occupational Groups, by Age
Occupational group
All
ages
Under 25-29
25
years years
30-34
years
35-39
years
40-44
years
45-49
years
50-59
years
All occupational groups____________ $1,871 $1,360 $1, 562 $1,826 $1,969 $2,003 $2,022 $2,053
Technical, scientific, and professional
Semitechnical, semiscientific, and
semiprofessional_________________
Postmasters and assistants________
Managerial and administrative_____
Postal clerks and carriers___ _______
Clerical . _ _____
____ _____
Service____ . ._ _ _______________
Trade and m a n u a l.._____ ________
Skilled_____________________ ._
Semiskilled_________________ .
Unskilled_____■________________
3,137
2,079
60
years
and
over
$2,010
2,182
2,890
3,217
3, 356
3,468
3,570
3,737
1,944 1,387 1,723
1,021
557
638
2,248 21,397 21,846
2,090 31,457 1,814
1,572 1,345 1,513
1,305 1,082 1,248
1,579 1,226 1,415
1,862 1,247 1,683
1,451 1,362 1,400
1,192 1,094 1,141
1,902
800
1,982
2,066
1,593
1,335
1,512
1,817
1,426
1,192
2,036
864
2,192
2,100
1,650
1,335
1,605
1,871
1,464
1,174
2,256
1,047
2,467
2,105
1,697
1,313
1,640
1,895
1,472
1,215
2, 264
1,138
2,779
2,121
1,763
1,300
1,664
1,901
1,475
1,260
2,204
1,269
2,781
2,147
1,813
1,343
1,669
1,919
1,491
1,252
2,639
1,023
2,907
2,134
1,870
1,385
1,573
1,866
1,472
1,230
1 Median.
2 Included in the “managerial and administrative” category were 3,915 women reported as revenue col
lectors or deputies, 80 percent of whom were receiving salaries from $1,200 to $1,499 and 48 percent of whom
were less than 30 years of age.
3 The postal clerks and carriers in the salary group $1,200 to $1,499 were predominantly substitutes whose
hourly earnings were converted to a full-time basis. In general, substitutes are considerably younger
than regular clerks and carriers.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Occupations in Federal Employment
81
It would be expected that the finer the occupational analysis
the more homogeneous would be the jobs included in each group.
Information on age and salary is, therefore, presented in table 7 for
a few of the occupations included in the major occupational groups
shown in table 6. Only occupations with at least 5,000 positions are
shown separately. One of the most interesting points brought out
in the analysis of the professional and scientific group is the sharper
rise in the average earnings of attorneys and judges as they grow
older than in the earnings of accountants, economists, or engineers.
Likewise, in the clerical group salaries of accounting and pay-roll
clerks rise more with age than do those of stenographers and typists.
Similar differences, though less extreme, are apparent in some of the
other occupations included in table 7.
T able
7 . —Average1 Salaries
of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, in Selected
Occupational Groups, by Age
Occupational group
Technical, scientific, and professional:
Accountants and auditors____ __________
Attorneys and ju d ges.._____ ___________
Economists_______________________ ____
Engineers_____________________________
Semitechnical, semiscientific, and semiprofcssional:
Draftsmen____________________________
Engineering, architectural, and physical
science occupations___________________
Legal examiners, adjudicators, and inves
tigators_____________________________
Nurses (graduate)_______________ ____
Clerical:
Accounting, fiscal, and pay-roll clerks___
File, mail, and record clerks____________
Statistical, coding, and research clerks___
Stenographers, typists, and secretaries___
Service:
Attendants, hospitals and other institu
tions________________________________
Janitors and charmen.....................................
Guards, policemen, and firemen_________
Trade and manual:
S k ille d Carpenters and other woodworkers...
Machinists________________________
Foremen not elsewhere classified_____
Electricians____ _______ ______ _____
Semiskilled—
Chauffeurs___ ____ ________________
Firemen (boiler)___________________
A ll
ages
Un
60
der 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-59 years
25
years years years years years years and
years
over
$2, 941 (2) $2,467 $2,808
3, 993 $2,133 2,980 3, 921
3,332 2,129 2,686 3,187
3,169 2,109 2,156 2,846
$2, 979 $3,168
4,475 4,354
3,425 3, 568
3,210 3,387
$3,238 $3,255
4j 508 5,062
3,535 3,784
3, 509 3, 570
$3,368
5,067
3,467
3, 611
1,959 1,518 1,811 1,978 2,084 2,133 2,188 2,355
(2)
1, 790 1,372 1, 684 1,829 1,911 1, 918 2,010 2,076 1,855
3, 316 (2)
2,823 3,034 3,116 3,366 3,473 3, 652 3,800
1,874 1,669 1,783 1,890 1,923 1,908 1,935 1,947 1,943
1,771
1,416
1,526
1,462
1,605
1,367
1,600
1,342
1,705
1,408
1,659
1,479
1,733
1,401
1,713
1,548
1,853
1,471
1, 657
1, 578
1,952
1,485
1,638
1, 597
2,311
1,500
1,700
1,637
2,658 2,714
1,613 1,650
1,757 (2)
1,655 1,732
1,164 1,081 1,171 1,205 1,159 1,161 1,151 1,165 1,229
1,200 1,100 1,198 1,208 1,215 1,255 1,233 1,225 1,170
1,844 1,680 1,890 1,975 2,034 1,921 1, 839 1,810 1, 545
1,705 1,260 1,482 1, 717 1,818
1,885 1,167 1,824 1,892 1,905
1,768 (2)
1,636 1,666 1. 724
1,938 1,300 1,667 1,863 1,923
1,861
1,904
1,857
1, 956
1,881
1,891
1,930
1,979
1, 828 1,673
1,898 1,864
2,064 1,945
1,978 (2)
1,453 1,318 1,352 1,343 1, 527 1, 576 1,612 1,600 (2)
1,369 1,275 1,378 1,393 1,397 1,369 1,376 1,378 1,401
1 Median.
2 Number of employees not sufficient to warrant computation of median.
Detailed Information for 117 Occupational Groups
Although it has not been practicable to analyze individual occu
pations in the Federal Government in the same detail as the eight
major categories, a summary for 117 smaller occupational groups is
shown in table 8, Since it will be recalled that more than 25,000
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
82
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
different positions have been reported to the Civil Service Com
mission by various Government departments and agencies, even this
detailed tabulation would have to be greatly extended if individual
occupations were to be shown in all instances. This tabulation,
however, brings out many interesting contrasts which have not been
apparent in the previous tables and charts.
For example, some types of work in the Government were done
exclusively by men, and in a few, women had a virtual monopoly.
The classification in table 8 shows that at the end of 1938 men held
all of the jobs in the following occupations:
Professional engineers.
Commodity inspectors and graders.
Marine officials and inspectors.
Chainmen and rodmen.
Chauffeurs.
Chippers and calkers.
Semiskilled construction occupations.
Firemen (boiler).
H unters, trappers, and guides.
Irrigation occupations.
Nurserymen, gardeners, and grounds keepers.
Oilers of machinery.
Sailors and deckhands.
Team sters and other transportation occupations.
Warehousemen and store handlers.
Men also held 99.4 percent of all the jobs in the skilled trade and
manual occupations. Since the total number of women in this
category was so small, however, it was felt that it might be misleading
to estimate the proportion of women in each of the skilled occupations.
There were no groups in table 8 in which women held all the jobs,
but women did have 85 percent or more of the jobs in the following
occupations:
P erc en t
Home economists___________________ 92.
Home m anagem ent advisers__________ 96.
Nurses (g ra d u ate )___________________96.
Stenographers, typists, and secretaries. 85.
Clothing machine operators___________ 88.
6
4
6
0
8
Of all the occupational groups shown in table 8, medical and dental
scientists had the highest average annual earnings. At the end of
1938 their earnings averaged $4,118. Average earnings for the other
116 occupations ranged from $749 for laundry workers to $3,993 for
attorneys and judges. Medical and dental scientists were unique in
being the only group in which 100 percent of the full-time workers
received at least $2,000 a year. In three other occupations more than
99 percent of the employees were paid $2,000 or more. They were
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
83
Occupations in Federal Employment
economists (other than agricultural), geologists and physical scien
tists, and legal examiners, adjudicators, and investigators. However,
it is interesting to note that although attorneys and judges were less
well off than medical and dental scientists, in terms of average earnings
and the percentage receiving $2,000 or more, a larger proportion of the
attorneys and judges were in the upper income brackets. This is
brought out by the figures on quartile 17 salaries. One-fourth of all
the attorneys and judges were paid more than $5,313 in 1938, while
the comparable figure for medical and dental scientists was only $4,924.
Medical and dental scientists were also older than employees in
most other occupations, their average age being 47.1 years. Carpen
ters and photoengravers were the only other groups who were older
than the scientists, their average ages at the end of 1938 being 47.2 and
48.6 years, respectively. The youngest group was messengers, for
whom the average was 25.1 years. Chainmen and rodmen in the semi
skilled trades were also comparatively young, with an average of
28.9 years.
Average
age 1
Third quar
tile
Women
J
C3 O'
a
Men
'O'Os
Salary
Average1
1 i
wo
Women
Occupational group
Percent
of em
ployees
First quartile
0
M
Percent with salaries
$2,000 and over
Sex, and Salary of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, in 117
Occupational Groups
Men
T a b l e 8.- —Age,
All occupational groups 2___
_____ _________ 808, 715 82.0 18.0 41.5 36.9 $1,387 $1,871 $2,175
Technical, scientific, and professional2_________ 74, 705 91.7 8.3 40.6 40.8 2,396 3,137
Accountants and auditors_________________
7,000 89.3 10.7 43.8 47.4 2,137 2,941
Agricultural extension agents 2 - - ___ 6,950 67.6 32.4 (3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
Agronomists, horticulturists, botanists, and
bacteriologists________________ _______ . 3,450 96.2 3.8 34.5 (3) 2,096 2,766
2,200 98.9 1. 1 40.6 (3) 2,710 3,086
Architects____________________ _ _______
5,300 94.8 5.2 38.4 35.7 3,080 3,993
Attorneys and judges_______ _ __________
1,455 96.6 3.4 41.0 (3) 2,175 3,061
Chemists and metallurgists 2______________
1,950 95.4 4.6 41.2 (3) 2,194 3,145
Economists, agricultural_____________ - Economists, business and other . _ _ _ _ _ _
3,100 95.5 4.5 41.9 (3) 2,752 3, 437
Editorial and informational occupations
600 88.3 11.7 40.6 (3) 2, 777 3,510
(professional)_______________________
41.0
Engineers (professional) 2_________________ 19,820 100.0
2,616 3,169
Entomologists and husbandmen_________ _ 1,150 95.7 4.3 39.0 (3) 2,122 2,827
3,900 99.2
Forestry and range science occupations____
.8 33.6 (3) 1,840 2,176
1,215 97.9 2. 1 38.1 (3) 2,179 3,019
Geologists and physical scientists, n. e. c.2--270 7.4 92.6 C) 38.8 1,933 2,129
Home eco n o m ists,____- ____ ___________
605 40.0 60.0 37.2 43.7 2,064 2, 663
Librarians 2______________________________
5, 220 96.9 3.1 47.1 (3) 3,414 4,118
Medical and dental scientists 2____________
755 37.7 62.3 39.3 38.1 1, 509 2,010
Social and welfare workers 2... ____________
2,025 90.1 9.9 41.6 (3) 2,416 3,412
Social scientists, n. e. c.2___ _ _ _____ - -Statisticians and mathematicians 2_________
855 90. 1 9.9 38.9 (3) 2,631 3, 250
.4 44.7 (3) 1,436 2,129
Veterinary scientists 2_____________ ___
2,805 99.6
65C 92.3 7.7 36.9 (3) 2,177 3,156
Zoologists and naturalists-- ___________ - 3,430 79.9 20.1 42.3 37.0 1,974 2, 758
Other 21_________________________________
See footnotes at end of table.
43.0
3,893
3,643
C3)
93.7
93.1
(3)
3,505
3,653
5,313
3,717
4,116
4,373
92.8
98. 0
97.5
94.5
93. 1
99.2
4, 388 91.7
3,691 96.9
3, 468 94.8
2, 899 89.0
3,825 99.2
3, 125 63.0
3, 139 86.7
4, 924 100.0
2,265 68.0
4,895 85.0
4, 213 94.0
2,797 90.5
3, 757 97.7
3, 836 78. 1
The quartiles divide the distribution into four equal parts. The first quartile is that value above
which 75 percent of the items appear. The second quartile. which is the median, is that value which divides
the distribution into two equal parts. The third quartile is that value above which 25 percent of the items
appear.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
84
Occupational group
Semitechnical, semiscientific, and semiprofessional 2.. _ - ------- --------- -------- 51,990
3, 910
' 400
Communications and photography tech1,900
nicians_______________________ -5,200
Draftsmen___________ ________
________
Engineering, architectural, and physical
science occupations_____________________ 10,900
Fact-finding and compliance investigators__
3,700
Home-management advisers. -------------------- 1,530
Legal examiners, adjudicators, and investi6,500
gators . .
- - ---- ---------- . .
_- --650
Medical and dental technicians____________
5, 850
Nurses (graduate)________________________
Rural-rehabilitation supervisors______
- 4,100
Social-science occupations..- ______ __ ------ 1,100
Teachers and instructors 6 _______________ 3, 400
600
Therapeutic occupations____ --- - -_ ........ Other4.------------- -- - -- ------------- 2,250
Percent
of em
ployees
Average
age 1
L*
flCD
g
S
s
0
£
Salary
g
§
77.8 22.2 37.2
84.1 15.9 34.5
43.3
100.0
g
a
0
£
c3
3
&
•Î3
O
»
b
c3
aS~1»
>
<
¿4
c3
3
O1®
rd +*
3
e
Percent with salaries
$2,000 and over
Sex, and Salary of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, in 117
Occupational Groups— Continued
Estimated number of
employees
T a b l e 8 . — Age,
3 5 .9
3 4 .4
$1, 614 $1,944 $2, 631
1,034 1,423 1,987
lj 664 2,150 3; 425
44.2
24.3
62.5
(3)
(3)
1,641 1,846 1,996
1,683 1,959 2,196
24.2
56.4
96.3 3.7 33.7 3 5 .0 1,425 1,790 2,034
97.3 2.7 43.0 (3) 2, 686 2, 992 3,452
3.6 96.4 (3) 32.0 1,320 1,441 1,615
28.9
98.2
2.6
99.7
96.9
97.7
69.2
3.4
97.6
55.9
52.9
49.2
87.8
.3 35.9
3.1 34.6
2.3
30.8
96.6
2.4
44.1
47.1
50.8
12.2
42.7
40.5
(3)
37.0
35.0
41.1
42.2
27.9
2,837
1, 511
1, 712
1,509
1,371
970
1,812
1,051
3,316
1,743
1,874
1,831
1,780
1,714
1,945
1,183
3, 877
2,117
1, 969
2,076
2,180
2,158
2,125
2,003
99.2
35.4
17.9
30.4
38.6
39.9
40.0
25.1
422 1,021 2,234
47, 000 66.8 33.2 48.9 45.2
Postmasters and assistants__________________
Postal clerks and carriers ------------------------- .. 209,000 96.9 3.1 42.1 43.7 1, 995 2,090 2,181
28.5
74.8
(3)
(3)
37.7
(3)
36.7
36.2
44.2
23.6
85.2 14.8 43.6 34.3 1,835 2, 248
98.9 1.1 46.3 C3) 2, 673 2,988
95.9 4.1 44.7 42.8 1,850 2,109
1,870 2,428
43.4
100.0
50.6 49.4 39.7 30.7 1,360 1, 616
92.0 8.0 43.0 36.8 1,894 2,616
3,181
3,469
2, 565
3,141
2,160
3, 612
62.5
97.0
67.8
68.8
33.8
67.0
Clerical2-------- -------------- ------ ------------- 148,000 45.2 54.8 32.8 33. 7 1,338 1,572 1,841
Accounting, fiscal, and pay-roll clerks____
6,500 76.5 23.5 C3) 37.9 1,513 1,771 2,206
Communications operators______ ______ -. 1,700 23.5 76.5 40.7 37.0 1,251 1,393 1,604
Editorial, informational, and personnel clerks. 2,000 71.0 29.0 37.4 36.9 1,577 1,958 2,815
File, mail, and record clerks. _____________
5,250 56.7 43.3 29.5 35.1 1,270 1,416 1,653
Messengers____ ..
---------- -------------- 4,900 95.9 4.1 25.1 (3) 1,018 1,176 1,357
Office-appliance operators, n. e. c_.
_____
5, 550 50.0 50.0 29.2 31.6 1,287 1,412 1, 585
Purchase and supply clerks._ ____ _______
3,500 80.0 20.0 40.4 45.4 1,478 1,766 2,160
Statistical, coding, and research clerks2_____ 5,800 75.9 24.1 30.1 35.4 1,225 1,526 1,756
Stenographers, typists, and secretaries______ 53, 200 15.0 85.0 29.0 30.7 1,275 1,462 1,700
Verifying and reviewing clerks, n. e. c______
1,600 89.1 10.9 39.1 (3) 1,228 1,513 1,746
O ther4____ - ------------ ------------------------------ 58,000 56.9 43.1 34.0 40.2 1,382 1,668 1,953
14.3
35.5
7.1
46.8
8.5
.1
1.5
31.0
8.3
5. 1
12.5
21.8
Managerial and administrative 2__________
Appraisers--------------------------------------Inspectional occupations, n. e. c.2__________
Tax collectors and deputies---------- ------------Other 2 4- ---------- -----------------------
36, 245
2,300
6,105
1,600
7,200
19, 040
Service2. . . --------------------------- ------------------- 56, 720
Attendants, hospitals and other institutions.. 19,100
Building services—janitors and charmen. . . . 12,100
Cooks _____ _____ .
-------------- -----2,850
2,000
1,550
Personal service occupations, n. e. c________
1,550
Protective services 24_________ __________ 17,570
84.3
78.0
73.6
84.2
88.8
91.9
74.2
98.2
Trade and m anual2______ . . . _______________ 185,055 94.4
Skilled 2_________________________________ 93,150 699.4
18, 585
650
8, 700
500
1,000
1.100
Painters
.
........
2 ,435
3; 700
Insulation and other construction
500
30,380
Blacksmiths and occupations in mechanical and heat treatment of
1,330
1.600
Boilermakers...................................... .
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
15.7
22.0
26.4
15.8
11.2
8.1
25.8
1.8
41.7
40.5
43.0
42.2
41. 7
30.9
35.9
42.5
40.9
37.5
45.1
46.3
36.6
(3)
37.2
46.1
1,117
1,051
1,077
1,235
1,212
675
707
1, 342
1,305
1,164
1,200
1,439
1,310
807
935
1, 844
1, 571
1,333
1,363
1, 716
1,409
946
1,318
2,316
5.6 42.1 41.7 1,256 1, 579 1,924
«.6 42.9 W 1, 546 1,862 2,141
1,325 1,751 2, 054
45.1
1,088 1,597 2,163
46.8
47.2
1,206 1,705 2,003
i; 246 1,685 2,124
45.6
1,411 1,596 1,731
42.9
Ï, 269 1,640 1, 897
38.1
1,543 1,841 2,055
45.6
1,424 1,880 2 ; 189
43.5
13.6
.3
.8
11.2
16.8
39.7
20.3
34.9
30.2
53.1
27.4
36. C
3.5
16.4
30.2
40.0
44.2
42.0
1,849 2,032 2,261
1, 570 b 874 2 ; 088
54.0
32.3
44.8
42.3
1,290 1, 571 1,910
1,274 1,810 2'. 082
19.5
31.6
85
Occupations in Federal Employment
Average
age 1
a©
a©
a
§
§
a0
g
§
0
Salary
(-4
c3
a
o1
u
*
<D
03
a
tuo
c3
©
>
<
'U
3
j
Occupational group
Percent
of em
ployees
Percent with salaries
$2,000 and over
8.—Age, Sex, and Salary of Federal Employees, December 31, 1938, in 117
Occupational Groups— Continued
Estimated number of
employees
T able
Trade and manual—Continued.
Skilled—Continued.
Metalworking occupations—Continued.
Toolmakers, die sinkers, and other
Photoengravers2 -!* . .
_________
Lithographers and other printing
Communications linemen and related
29.7
44.5
41.2
51.4
2,122
2,177
1,887
2,950
3, 022
P)
(3)
2,686 2,963
34.5
45.5
15.1
70.5
81.7
68.2
70.6
'3 5 0
1 300
2 350
1’ 425
3* 150
1 Q00
550
850
42.4
38.4
44.4
44.8
42.0
48.6
44.6
1, 556
1,832
1, 565
1,813
2, 648
(«)
1, 794
850
44.4
1,604 2,405 2,603
58.8
500
40.5
41.9
44.4
44.2
41.0
42.3
1,451
1, 575
L 791
1,559
L 601
1,855
1,863
1,830
2,048
1,768
1,938
2,068
2,390
2.189
2,332
2,043
2,231
2,267
37.0
36.7
56.8
33.8
43.5
60.0
45.1
41.6
41.2
43.7
41.0
44.1
46.3
44.2
40.9
28.9
40.0
45.5
44.5
42.5
44.6
44.4
42.1
39.6
41.3
40.7
35.6
1,650
1,622
1, 576
1,349
1,335
1,682
1,416
1, 364
1,267
1,160
1,220
1,843
1,086
1,133
1, 265
1,114
1,366
566
1,282
1,240
1,209
1,982
1,941
1,757
1,732
1,813
1,946
1,771
1,616
1,451
1,319
1,453
1,943
1,245
1,414
1,369
1,434
1,613
749
1,489
1,433
1,410
2,857
2,178
2,054
2,060
2,183
2, 335
2,004
1,963
1,696
1,454
1,770
2,131
1,419
1,933
1,473
1,988
1,853
1,036
1,777
1,701
1,617
48.6
43.2
30.6
28.2
36.0
44.4
25.3
23.2
10.1
.4
20.3
35.8
3.3
23.6
.5
24.0
11.3
.9
10.6
7.4
1.3
1, 520 2,005 2,106
1,252 1,375 1,497
42.5
70.4 34.7 41.1 1,549 1,641 1,733
730
903 1,085
30.7
3.8
1.8
9 500
500
Locomotive engineers, brakemen, and
$2,057
2,175
2,209
2,250
$1, 643 $1,885
1,184 1,852
1,328 L 863
1,702 2,015
42.4
44.0
38.5
45.3
17 300
1’ 04.5
3’ 500
’ 500
545
I* 800
2* 015
47500
4 050
7475
5 000
Semiskilled 2_________________ ______ ____ 47’ 905 85.1
2 000 100.0
ft7050 100.0
Chippers and calkers (shipbuilding)____
’ eoo 100.0
Clothing-machine operators 2-------------2,225 11.2
700 100.0
0 500 100.0
7250 100.0
400 100.0
Laundry workers_____________________
550 49.1
Machine-shop occupations_____________
3,195 89.2
Metalworking occupations, n. e. c______
1,560 86.5
Munitions and other chemical workers..
750 84.0
Nurserymen, gardeners, and grounds
800 100. 0
1 000 100.0
Printing and publishing occupations,
n. e. c_______________ ______ ________ 5,150 29.6
550 100.0
Teamsters and other transportation
900 100.0
occupations, n. e. c__________________
Warehousemen and stores handlers_____ 1, 950 100.0
9, 575 94.0
Other4--------- ------------------------- ------Unskilled laborers and operatives______ ... 44,000 93.9
14.9
88.8
50.9
10.8
13.5
16.0
40.5
37.0
36.9
45.7
37.8
(3)
42.9
34.8
36.9
42.3
6.0 41.9 4L Î
6.1 41.4 43.8
1,134
1,497
1,210
1,032
1,887
1,975
1,704
2, 663
2,835
1,539
2,043
1,377
1,192
1,837
2,158
1,588
1,475
5. (3
5 9 .0
3 .5
.3
1 Median.
2 Age and salary computations are exclusive of employees for whom complete information was not avail
able on age and salary. In this category are persons serving without compensation (largely agents and
consultants), dollar-a-year employees, and workers paid on a piece-work basis.
3 Insufficient number of employees for computation of an average.
< The “other” categories consist primarily of positions the titles of which w eretoo general for specific
classification in any of the detailed occupational groups. Included also are numerically insignificant cate
gories of occupations. In the “managerial and administrative” group the positions are predominantly
administrative and supervisory in character without specific reference to occupational fields.
6 College instructors and professors are counted in the profession which they teach, but instructors and
teachers in primary and secondary schools are included here.
6 Insufficient number of women for analysis of skilled trade and manual occupations by sex.
N . e. c.=n ot elsewhere classified.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
National Defense Policies
A C TIV IT IES OF NATIONAL D E FE N SE ADVISORY
COM M ISSION
THE National Defense Advisory Commission was appointed by
President Roosevelt, May 28, 1940, to coordinate and organize the
Nation’s resources of men and materials. The activities of the Com
mission during its first 6 months, briefly outlined, have been as follows: i
To meet defense needs the Commission has cleared contracts totaling more than
10 billion dollars. The Army and Navy have awarded approxim ately 9 billion
dollars of those contracts to industry, representing over three-fourths of the
program.
M ajor contract categories include 3.3 billion dollars for ships; 1.5 billion dollars
for construction of factory expansion and for housing; 1.5 billion dollars for planes
and parts; 600 million dollars for am m unition; 500 million dollars for guns; 400
million dollars for trucks and tanks.
These contracts, plus such British and other foreign m aterial orders as have
been placed a t the present time, call for 50,000 airplanes; 130,000 engines; 17,000
heavy guns; 25,000 light guns; 13,000 trench m ortars; 33 million shells loaded;
9,200 tanks; 300,000 machine guns and am m unition; 400,000 autom atic rifles and
am munition; 1,300,000 regular rifles and am m unition; 380 Navy ships; 200
mercantile ships; 210 camps and cantonm ents; 40 Government factories.
Clothing and equipm ent for 1,200,000; the first mass production tan k factory in
the world; 5 smokeless powder and high-explosive plants; 6 shell, bag, and am m u
nition-loading plants; 5 new machine-gun plants; 50,000 new trucks.
Deliveries on these contracts show approxim ately 2,400 airplane engines
m onthly; approxim ately 700 airplanes m onthly; over 100 light tanks monthly;
more than 10,000 Mi semiautomatic rifles m onthly; one fighting ship for the Navy
every 12 days.
C ontracts will call for about 18,000,000 man-hours of labor.
As the N ation’s factories go to wrork on defense, a system of priorities has been
set up to minimize the th rea t of bottlenecks with consequent price rises in m ate
rials for defense and civilian needs.
The Priorities Board has already approved a system of voluntary preference
ratings on national defense contracts.
A Commercial Aircraft Priority Com mittee is coordinating production and
m aintenance of commercial air transport equipm ent wuth defense requirem ents.
A M achine Tool Priority Com mittee is coordinating national defense, commer
cial, and export demands on machine-tool industries.
Closely integrated w ith the priority plan vras development of new purchasing
policies to prevent defense orders from dislocating our economic structure and
causing spiralling prices such as occurred during the last war.
1 The National Defense Advisory Commission.
ington, 1940.
86
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Functions and Activities of the Commission.
Wash
National Defense Policies
87
New f. o. b. and split-bid buying policies distribute defense orders geographi
cally and to smaller units. Under the f. o. b.-buying plan, the Government will
take delivery on its orders a t the factory door. Split bids enable small m anu
facturers to bid on as much of a contract as they can fulfill.
In a new type of contract the Government shares the risk of emergency p la n t
expansion for defense orders, thus bringing private capital into the defense pro
gram.
The Commission has also developed a policy of negotiated contracts to speed
defense work and make fullest possible use of the N ation’s resources.
The Small Business Activities Office m aintains close contacts w ith Army and
Navy procurem ent officers. Through district officers of the Federal Reserve
System, inform ation on defense needs is transm itted to small business throughout
the Nation. Local Federal Reserve officers are working w ith m anufacturers,
giving inform ation on Government requirements, and arranging financing through
local banks, the Federal Reserve System, or the Reconstruction Finance Corpora
tion. M anufacturers desiring further information should call on their local
Federal Reserve officials.
An intensive drive to revitalize the N ation’s “ghost tow ns” is going ahead,
along with the development of the Small Business Activities Office. The goal is
to utilize idle labor and plant capacities of shut-down areas in meeting defense
needs.
In order to have on hand detailed surveys of the requirem ents of the defense
program in term s of raw materials and production facilities, the Bureau of Research
and Statistics is working in close collaboration with the Army and Navy.
When the Commission receives estim ates of Army and Navy requirem ents for
a certain product, it breaks these down into raw materials such as iron, steel,
tungsten, leather, wool, etc. These figures are checked against the available pro
ductive facilities. Arrangements are made to augm ent supplies when and where
necessary.
Through surveys of available supplies of raw m aterials and of requirem ents of
the defense program, the Commission has prevented threatened price rises in
such key industries as wood pulp and lumber, steel, copper, and zinc. Repre
sentatives of these industries agreed th a t speculative rises were unjustifiable.
A contract has been signed for the delivery of Bolivian tin and negotiations
for the construction of domestic tin smelters are in the final stages. Reserve
stocks of tin, already in the country or en route to this country, are adequate to
m eet requirem ents for more than a year.
Stock piles of antim ony, rubber, manganese, tungsten, chrome ore, etc., are
growing.
Production of synthetic substitutes for vital m aterials which we do not produce
in this country, such as rubber, has been encouraged.
Satisfactory substitutes are now available for two of th e strategic m aterials—
coconut shell-char and silk.
Domestic o u tp u t of strategic m aterials, such as manganese and mercury is
being encouraged, and scientists are a t work on new processes for the fuller
utilization of domestic resources.
Supplem entary supplies of chrome ore will come from Cuba.
Congress has authorized a 25 million dollar increase to TVA to insure adequate
supplies of electricity for alum inum production. Large scale expansion in the
production of aluminum will provide a sufficient quan tity to m eet the m ilitary
requirem ents of the defense program as well as present civilian needs.
In the field of chemical and allied products, expansion in the o u tp u t of am
monia and ammonium n itrates for powder production has been arranged. A
program for underground storage of high-performance aviation gasoline is under
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
88
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
way. Steps have been taken tow ard protection of storage facilities against
attack and sabotage.
A rrangem ents have been made to develop adequate new sources of toluene
from petroleum to augm ent our present supplies of this basic ingredient of T N T,
and a new plant is already under way.
The Commission’s surveys of agricultural production have shown th a t sufficient
supplies are on hand and surpluses exist in many commodities. This has been a
factor in the Commission’s decision to develop a program of decentralizing industry
to make excess agricultural manpower available for defense production.
In the field of agricultural and forest materials, plans have been laid for ample
supplies of cotton linters for munitions purposes. Arrangements have been com
pleted for stock piles and storage of wool sufficient for all emergency needs.
Surveys have been made of lumber requirements, and plans arranged for utilizing
the New England hurricane lumber in defense construction. A survey has shown
domestic supplies of pulp and paper products sufficient for domestic needs and
export. Adequate supplies of leather are available.
Surveys in the field of transportation show an adequacy of transportation
facilities a t present.
Eighty thousand miles of roads are being improved to facilitate rapid movement
of troops and materials.
A coordinated warehousing program is being undertaken by the Commission
as an adjunct to making full use of transportation facilities. A survey of all
warehouses available is being made.
Providing manpower for the N ation's factories, mines, and transportation
systems is another function of the Commission. One million men and women
have gone back to work in the past 2 months. Several million more will be needed
by next November.
To provide manpower for industries, the Commission has set up a three-phase
labor supply program. Five and one-half million men and women registered
through the United States Employm ent Service have been classified as to availa
bility for defense jobs. These registers are available to m anufacturers throughout
the country.
A program has been developed for training men in industry and for advancing
present employees to positions of greater responsibility with the expansion of the
defense program.
In the vocational training program, over 100,000 enrollees are taking refresher
courses and learning new skills.
A training program designed to strengthen and expand managerial organiza
tions through increasing responsibility in junior executive and supervisory posi
tions is under way.
A detailed program of training skilled craftsmen for America’s defense industries
through apprenticeship has been formulated.
The A. F. of L. and the C. I. O. have informed the Commission th a t they will
be responsible for seeing th a t Negro workers are not discriminated against in
national defense employment.
Adequate housing is vital to the defense program so th a t not a single rivet in a
single ship is delayed, because workers cannot find decent housing a t reasonable
rentals.
The Commission has launched a coordinated housing program.
The first two projects of housing units are completed. Construction is under
way on housing projects in 75 additional vital defense centers. Private industry
is being encouraged to construct the m ajor portion of the 700 million dollar hous
ing program. Under the coordinated program various Federal agencies will aid
private enterprise in this task. The remaining portion, designed for tem porary
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needs during the period of emergency or for families whose income does not
perm it private enterprise to make a reasonable profit, will be constructed by
various Federal agencies.
The Commission has taken action to protect the consumer. For example,
evidence was found of speculation in No. 10 size canned foods. M ilitary sup
plies are usually purchased in a No. 10 size can. H ad this condition continued,
not only the Army, b u t institutional buyers of food in large size cans, such as
hospitals, schools, restaurants, etc., would have faced unjustifiable increases in
the cost of canned goods.
The Defense Commission recommended th a t the Q uarterm aster General
authorize the purchase of canned foods in smaller size cans as an alternate, tend
ing to bring about more normal relationships between the prices of different sizes.
A program to strengthen the N ation’s human defenses by making food m arket
inform ation available to household buyers through m arket news broadcasts is
under way. A price inform ation program, designed to assist consumers in m eet
ing some of their food purchasing problems and help them contribute to the
defense program by buying in w^ays which will tend to stabilize prices, has been
initiated.
Methods of cooperation between wholesale distributors of consumer goods and
the Commission have been discussed a t a conference of wholesaling trade repre
sentatives. M erchant and distributor leaders of about 100 wholesaling groups
participated
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ALLOWANCES TO FA M ILIES OF M OBILIZED M EN IN
EU RO PEAN CO UN TRIES
SEVERAL European countries have inaugurated systems of allow
ances for families of men in war service or have increased allowances
previously established. Thus, Sweden and Bulgaria have new sys
tems created in the spring of 1940 and Great Britain recently increased
the allowances payable to families of men called to the colors.1
Great Britain
As an outcome of appeals by labor members of Parliament for
higher family allowances for men in the fighting forces, an announce
ment was made in the House of Commons on October 9, 1940,2 that
beginning with the first payment in the following month these al
lowances would be increased. At the same time it was stated that
the existing scales of these benefits had been carefully reviewed,
especially in connection with the recent rise in the cost of living.
The increases per week are Is. for a wife, Is. 6d. for each of the first
2 children, 2s. for the third, and Is. for each of the other children in
the family. The allowance for dependents other than wives and
children has been increased Is. and the income limits governing the
awards of allowances for dependents have been raised.
The new rates per week are given below:
W i f e .— W arrant officer (class I), 24s. 6d.; w arrant officer (class II), 21s.; staff
sergeant, etc., 20s. 6d; sergeant or lower rank, 18s.
C h i l d r e n — One child, 7s. 6d.; two children, 13s.; each additional child, 4s.
D e p e n d e n t s .— (Based on average weekly contribution before joining up) be
tween 9s. and 15s., 13s.; between 15s. and 20s., 18s.; over 20s., 21s. 6d.; person
entirely dependent on serviceman, 25s.
The income limits for awards of allowances for ordinary dependents
other than wives and children will be extended from 15s. and 18s. 6d.
per week to 16s. and 20s., respectively, per household member and,
in the case of a dependent who lives alone, from 23s. 6d. to 25s.
1 For data on other countries which have acted regarding family allowances for service men, see M onthly
Labor Review, issues of February (p. 328), April (p. 843), M ay (p. 1165), and July 1940 (p. 32).
2 Labor Party Press and Publicity Department. Labor Press Service (London), October 16. 1940.
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Sweden
A new system of regulating allowances to families of men called to
the colors was inaugurated by a Swedish Royal Order of April 17,
1940. These grants are of four different types: For the maintenance
of the members of the mobilized man’s family; for the upkeep of his
home; for the carrying on of his business; and aid to members of his
family when they are ill.3
Family maintenance.—The allowance for maintaining the members
of the mobilized man’s family is paid for a wife if the man is living
with her, for his dependent children under 16 years of age, and for
his father and mother if he is obliged to support them and was ac
tually doing so when he was called to the colors. Under specified
circumstances the person in charge of the man’s household may also
receive allowances.
The grant for maintenance consists of a basic part which is paid in
all cases without proof of need, and another part which is granted
only if the proper authority judges that the need for it has been proven.
The basic part is granted only for a wife and children under 16 years
of age, and amounts to 1 crown per day for the former and 0.40 crown
per child. The order does not fix the rate of allowances, but does
provide a maximum which must not be exceeded under any condi
tions. This maximum varies according to the cost of living in the
locality in which the beneficiary resides. For a wife the range is
from 1.75 to 2.25 crowns per day; for other members of the family,
from 1.00 to 1.50 crowns for persons over 16 and from 0.70 to 0.90
crown for persons under that age.
Housing allowance.—If it is evident that, although receiving main
tenance allowances, one or more members of the mobilized man’s
family still need help to keep the home in which they are living when
the mobilized man was called up, the proper authority may take
action. Usually the rate of the allowance paid in this connection
may not be more than the rental and cost of heating of the dwelling.
A removal grant (no maximum specified) may also be allowed.
Allowance for maintenance of individual’s business enterprise.—A
grant is made when it is thought possible that an independent business
enterprise carried on by the mobilized man can be maintained by the
employment of wage-paid labor. This allowance is limited to mo
bilized men who were supporting the members of their families by the
product of their own work. When such grant is made, the mainte
nance allowance is not paid. The amount of the allowance for the
maintenance of a mobilized man’s business may not be more than
absolutely required to ensure the carrying on of such enterprise—in
general not over 200 crowns per month.
a International Labor Office.
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Sickness allowance.-—Where it is clearly established that a state of
need exists, the mobilized man will be granted an allowance to meet
the costs of medical and hospital treatment; in case of sickness in his
family, such payment shall cover only the expenses actually incurred
on account of the sickness.
Right to allowances.—The right to the four types of allowances dis
cussed above may, in accordance with provisions formulated by the
administrative authorities, be made on the condition that members of
families in receipt of allowances apply for work at a public employ
ment office.
The allowances are generally paid by the local authorities of the
place in which the families of mobilized men reside, but the order
provides for a refund from the State of the basic portion of the main
tenance allowance and of nine-tenths of the amount of the other
allowances. Each local authority must create a special body to
administer the allowances or assign this duty to an administrative
agency already in existence. Appeal may be made from the decisions
of the local bodies to the provincial council.
Bulgaria 3
Under the Civil Mobilization Act of May 4, 1940, “all Bulgarian
citizens of either sex between the ages of 16 and 70 are liable to civil
mobilization.” Alien enterprises and nationals may also be made
subject to this law. The Cabinet regulates the system, and the en
forcement of the law is entrusted to the Department of Civil Mobiliza
tion attached to the War Ministry and various local or other public
administrative services. A superior council of civil mobilization
functions as an advisory body to the Department.
Regulations dated May 17, 1940, concerning the application of the
Civil Mobilization Act include detailed rules on the methods of aiding
the families of mobilized men or of persons who are selected for military
retraining. A central service for family allowances to mobilized men
is provided for under the Ministry of the Interior, as are also certain
local aid services for the operation of which the mayors aided by local
committees are responsible.
The families of mobilized men whose total income per month is
not above a specified amount (varying according to the locality of
their residence and the composition of their families) are entitled to a
monthly allowance and, where necessary, to a housing allowance of an
amount fixed by the mayor and local committees.
* International Labor Office. International Labor Review (Geneva), August-September 1940.
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M ORATORIUM ON REN TS AND M ORTGAGES IN
AUSTRALIA
LIABILITY of members of the Commonwealth of Australia naval,
military, or air forces and certain of their dependents for debts, such
as mortgages, rents, and installment payments, is postponed under
the terms of regulations issued on September 10, 1940.1
A member of any one of the armed services, or his female depend
ent, who is liable for payment of a mortgage or any part due for the
purchase of land is entitled to an extension of time if the agreement
was entered into before the member joined the armed forces. The
postponement permitted is for 6 months from the date the payment
is due, 6 months from the date when war ceases, 6 months from the
date that the person’s war service ends, or 6 months after his death,
whichever occurs last. Extra time is not granted for payment of
interest. The postponement of principal payment does not apply
if the court determines this is unnecessary in the best interests of
the member concerned, or would cause serious loss or hardship to
the mortgagee or landholder.
Proceedings are forbidden whereby goods would be repossessed
which are used by a female dependent of a member of the forces to
assist in supporting herself or any of the member’s family. Action
may not be taken to recover any wearing apparel belonging to a
member or his female dependent, up to a maximum valuation of
£100. Exception is made if the installments were 3 months in
arrears before the beginning of military service, and have not since
been paid, or if the goods have been sold or otherwise disposed of
before completion of payments. The benefits may be withheld, if
the court finds that no hardship is worked.
An order for ejection from a dwelling may not be made against a
member of the service, a parent, or female dependent as long as the
rent is paid and other conditions of tenancy are fulfilled. The court
has the power to issue such an order if the tenant has failed to live
up to his obligations as regards waste, or nuisance, or if the landlord
needs the dwelling for his own use or that of an approved tenant.
In general, owners may not increase the rent for land leased to a
member of the armed forces, his parent, or female dependent, for use
in agriculture, fruit growing, beekeeping, poultry and stock raising,
or any kindred pursuit. To raise the rent, permission of the court
is required. Assistance from the court in recovering possession of
land may be invoked only if the occupier has failed to pay the rent.
i Employers’ Federation of New South Wales. The Employers Review (Sydney), September 1940.
28 0 3 9 8 — 41------- 7
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War service for the purpose of these regulations is defined as
follows:
(a) The service of a member of the citizen forces when called out for war
service under the Defense Act, 1903-39, or during continuous training under
th a t act or the N aval Defense Act, 1910-34, or the Air Force Act, 1923-39.
(b ) Continuous service under any of such acts of any person who volunteers
and is accepted for such service during the present war.
(c) The service during the war of such other members of the forces as the
Minister specifies by order published in the Commonwealth Gazette.
***+*4 *4
W A RTIM E C O ND ITIO N S AND A C TIV IT IES TIN
CANADA 1
Labor and Industrial Statistics
THE effects of war, as reflected in Dominion industrial and labor
statistics, are indicated in the following table recording various changes
in September and October 1940 as compared with the same months
in 1939. Among the more outstanding of these changes are the rise
of the employment index from 121.7 in October 1939 to 136.2 in
the same month in 1940; the reduction of unemployment among
trade-unions from 9.1 percent in October 1939 to 4.4 percent in October
1940; the increase in building permits from $4,114,451 in September
1939 to $10,014,340 in September 1940; and the advance of the
industrial-production index from 128.3 in September 1939 to 167.0 in
September 1940.
Monthly Statistics Reflecting Industrial Conditions in Canada
[Official statistics except where noted]
1940
1939
Item
October
Trade, external aggregate 2________
Imports, merchandise for consumption 2__
Exports, Canadian produce____ . . .
Customs duty collected 2__________
Bank debits to individual accou n ts___
Bank notes in circulation______ ____ .
Bank deposits, savings____ . . . . ____ .
_
Bank loans, commercial, etc_________ _.
Indexes (1926=100) 3 of—
Security prices:
Common stocks_____________ . .
Preferred stocks_________ ______
Bond yields, Dom inion____
Bond yields, Ontario * _________ . . . .
Prices, wholesale_____________
. .
Cost of livin g________ _____
Retail sales, unadjusted. ______ ____
Employment (employers’ pay-roll figures)___
Unemployment (trade-union members), percent
age o f6_______________________ ______ _
September
October
September
$189,0G5,024 $170,471, 796 $156,020,853
$86,286,828
$79,053,266
$73,564,271
$101,439, 603
$90, 432,856
$81,461,185
$11,090,139
$11, 406, 749
$11,069,926
$2, 571,235, 762 2,898,915,767 $2,831,650, 702
$92,558,303
$95,310,451 $100,184, 603
$1, 654, 968, 286 1, 709,156,774 $1, 692,112,655
$983,041, 761 $952, 296,669 $891, 421,126
83.2
5 83.6
107.0
71.3
72.2
82.7
106.4
136.2
131.6
106.0
89.0
76.5
75.8
79.3
103.5
92.1
121.7
4.4
5.2
9.1
71.0
88.6
100.1
10.9
83.3
78.3
84.1
78.2
100.8
91.1
119.6
See fo o tn o te s a t end o f tab le.
1 Unless otherwise noted the data in this article are from the Canadian Labor Gazette, November 1940.
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Monthly Statistics Reflecting Industrial Conditions in Canada—Continued
1940
1939
Item
October
Railway—
Carloadings, revenue freight cars........................
Canadian National Railways, gross earnings f_
Operating expenses________________________
Canadian Pacific Railway, gross earnings____
Canadian Pacific Railway, operating expenses,
all lines............ .............. .......................................
Building permits 8. ____________________________
Contracts awarded 8___________________________
Mineral production:
.to n s..
Pig iro n ....................
Steel ingots and castings...............
do___
Ferro-alloys.............................
do___
Gold...............
ounces..
Silver......................
do___
Coal.......... .............
ton s..
Timber scaled in British Columbia...... board feet..
Flour production..............................
barrels..
Sugar, manufactured 10............
pounds..
Footwear production_________ __________ pairs..
Output of central electric stations, daily average----------- ----------------- ---------kilowatt-hours
Sales of insurance......................... ................... ...........
Newsprint production____________________tons
Automobiles, passenger, production___________
Indexes (1926=100) of—
Physical volume of business 11_____________
Industrial production_____________ ____
Mineral production_______ ___________
M anufacturing...........................................
C onstruction..._______ _______________
Electric pow er._______________________
Distribution....................................................
Trade employment____________________
Carloadings_________ _________________
Imports______________________________
Exports, excluding gold________________
September
October
September
$16,891,000
$15,646, 000
250, 921
$21,943,155
$14,194,078
$16,667,801
$26, 360, 600
$12,661, 299
$10,014,340
$52, 260,000
$10,823, 636
$5,612,269
$14, 228,100
$13, 501,859
$4,114,451
$19,379,100
105, 020
164, 575
13,147
339, 400,901
1,635,849
71, 339,246
2,484, 668
85, 758
149,890
6,357
432, 678
1, 683,164
1,747,663
306,507, 577
2,089, 562
101,604,562
2,701,694
65,954
124,000
10,406
422,392
1,979, 640
1,344,972
229, 271, 670
1,927,102
71,827,680
2,368,374
79, 355,000
$25,681,000
282, 320
3, 410
83, 547,000
$34, 379,000
280,990
7,791
79,327,000
$36,814, 000
253, 230
3,494
155.4
167.0
228.0
159.7
127.0
248.0
133.1
139.7
194.2
143.7
43.3
245.6
114.3
138.3
80.0
99.3
106.9
125.8
128.3
223.2
121.3
48.6
245.9
118.4
138.0
95.6
251, 410
$22, 984,979
179,137
92,174, 302
241,904
$21,119, 220
122.2
146.2
81.9
109.8
134.3
272,885
$22,645,303
$14,203,451
$19,323,814
102.0
112.8
1 Most of the figures in this table with an analysis are included in the Monthly Review of Business Statis
tics issued by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.
9 Excluding gold.
3 Except for cost of living (1935-39=100) and retail sales (1930=100).
4 Calculated from yields of Ontario bonds.
5 For the week ended Nov. 1, 1940.
6 Figures for end of previous month.
7 Figures for 4 weeks ending Oct. 26,1940, and corresponding periods.
8 Now based on 203 municipalities instead of 58 as formerly.
9 MacLean’s Building Review.
10 Sugar production given in periods of 4 weeks ending Oct. 5 and Sept. 7, 1940; Oct. 7 and Sept. 9, 1939.
11 Index numbers are adjusted when necessary for seasonal variation.
Interdepartmental Committee on Labor Coordination
An Interdepartmental Committee on Labor Coordination was estab
lished by an order in council (P. C. 5922) of October 25, 1940.
The committee’s duties are—
(а) To promote coordination of the functions and activities of all government
agencies in relation to m atters affecting labor and to obtain the cooperation of
provincial governments;
(б) To anticipate, as far as possible, the labor and manpower requirements of
the war program as a whole, and to recommend to the various departm ents
having to do with these m atters the most effective ways and means of meeting
such requirements;
(c) To consider the needs of the war program with respect to training em
ployees in industry, in technical schools or otherwise, and to recommend such
further provision as may be deemed advisable;
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(d) To m aintain close and direct contact with industries engaged on war
contracts and, in cooperation w ith the D epartm ent of Munitions and Supply,
to assist them in meeting their labor requirements.
(e ) To refer questions to and consult w ith the N ational Labor Supply Council
in order to secure the considered judgm ent of employers and employees on
measures and practices proposed, w ith a view to obtaining their cooperation in
such measures and practices as may be adopted, and th a t the said Com mittee
be charged w ith the responsibility of insuring the carrying out of any approved
plans in respect of the foregoing m atters;
(/) To form ulate a plan whereby competition between employers engaged on
the war program may be eliminated;
(g ) To formulate a plan whereby employees and employers may be transferred
from nonessential to essential war industries w ith the least possible disruption;
and
(h ) To report from time to time as may be necessary to a Com mittee of the
Cabinet on Labor Supply, consisting of the Minister of Labor as chairman, the
Minister of Munitions and Supply, the M inister of National Defense, the Minister
of Finance, and the Minister of N ational W ar Services.
Amendment of Definition of "Essential Services”
In regulation 2 of the Defense of Canada Kegulations (Consoli
dation) 1940, “ essential services” were defined as meaning “ such
services as may for the time being be declared by the Governor in
Council to be essential for the prosecution of the war or to the life
of the community.”
On the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, the Governor
General in Council by an order (P. C. 6416) published in the Canada
Gazette, Extra, of November 13, 1940, revoked the subparagraph
quoted above from regulation 2 and substituted therefor the
following definition:
(■d ) “ Essential services” means any of the following undertakings: (i) any
undertaking for the supply of electricity, gas, or w ater; (ii) any telegraph or tele
phone service or undertaking; (iii) any railway, light railway, tram way, canal,
dock, harbor, pier, or lighthouse undertaking; (iv) any irrigation works; (v) any
mining or industrial undertaking engaged in the production of war m aterials or
supplies; and (vi) any undertaking which may have been heretofore or may
hereafter be declared by the Governor in Council to be essential for the prose
cution of the war or to the life of the community.
General Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation
Over a year ago, December 8, 1939, a special committee of the
Cabinet, to be presided over by the Minister of Pensions and National
Health, was constituted by order in council (P. C. 4068)0 to give
prompt and careful consideration to problems resulting from the
discharge and demobilization of members of the Dominion forces
and the rehabilitation of these men into civilian life. This committee
was authorized to appoint advisory committees drawn from Govern
ment personnel. In accordance with an order in council (P. C. 5421)
a General Advisory Committee was constituted on October 8, 1940.
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Exemptions Frotn Hours Limitations on Special Defense Work
For the purpose of providing accommodations and training facilities
for men called under the National Resources Mobilization Act, it was
imperative that a great number of buildings should be constructed
at the different training centers.
To meet this emergency an order in council (P. C. 3947) was issued
which provided that the hours of work of persons engaged on this
construction should not be subject to paragraph (6) given below from
“ subsection (1) of section 3 of the Fair Wages and Hours of Laboi
Act, 1935, chapter 39 of the Statutes of Canada 1935.”
(b ) The working hours of persons while so employed shall not exceed 8 hours
per day nor 44 hours per week except in such special cases as the Governor in
Council m ay otherwise provide, or except in cases of emergency as may be
approved by the Minister.
Regulations to Prevent Enticement of Labor in War Industries
The enticement of skilled labor is prohibited under a Dominion
order in council (P. C. 6286) issued November 7, 1940. The régula
tions to prevent such practice are quoted below:
1. No person, firm, corporation, or agent thereof shall (a) advertise in any
newspaper, periodical, or magazine, (5) write, send, or publish any letter, circular,
or notice, or, (c) display any poster, placard, or other writing or docum ent con
veying to the public any inform ation for the purpose of engaging or employing
anyone for service in any industrial or m anufacturing establishm ent, or having
reference to employment therein or designed or intended to induce any workei
or employed person to enter the employment of any such person, firm, or cor
poration, w ithout inserting in clear type in any such advertisem ent, letter, circular,
notice, poster, placard, or other w riting or docum ent words to the following
effect:
“ Applications will not be considered from persons in the employment of any
firm, corporation, or other employer engaged in the production of munitions,
war equipm ent, or supplies for the arm ed forces unless such employee is not
actually employed in his usual trade or occupation.”
2. No person, firm, corporation, or agent thereof shall directly or indirectly
solicit by word of m outh any person to enter his employ who is a t the tim e en
gaged in the m anufacture of munitions, war equipment, or supplies for the armed
forces, unless such employee is not actually employed in his usual trad e or
occupation.
3. Every person who contravenes or fails to comply w ith any provision of
these regulations shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable on summ ary
conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
Regulations Pertaining to Full Payment of Employees
The Canadian Minister of Labor has announced that investigation
of all claims for payment of wages in accordance with the “fair wage
schedules” of Government contracts is to be in charge of the Deputy
Labor Minister, who is also responsible for collecting from contractors
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and paying to employees any validated claims. The regulations are
designed to solve wartime problems growing out of the vast expansion
of public contracts, the adaptation of the limited inspection services
to the new needs, and the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor
as affected by the new wartime agencies connected with public con
tracts.
Discontinuance of Government Home-Improvement Loans
On October 23, 1940, the Minister of Finance stated that after
October 31, 1940, no further loans would be accepted under the Home
Improvement Loans Guaranty Act. The terms of this legislation
provided that the maximum amount of loans which the Minister of
Finance was empowered to guarantee was $50,000,000 and it was
thought that the loans made would closely approximate this figure.
The “home-improvement plan,” designed to relieve unemployment
especially in the building industries, was inaugurated in 1936. It
was a great success and is reported in the article under review as
“one of the most constructive measures taken to solve the unemploy
ment problem.” By September 30, 1940, the loans made had totaled
$48,181,525, the losses paid at that date aggregated under a fourth
of 1 percent and 62.14 percent of the money loaned had been returned
by borrowers.
The plan, however, has served its purpose, and w hat the country is now about
to face is not the need to create employment, but rather the necessity of mobiliz
ing all available supplies of labor, and particularly skilled labor, to meet the
imperative demands of the war program.
FR E N C H D E C R E E ON ORGANIZATION OF
IN D U ST R IA L PRO D U CTIO N
PROVISIONAL regulations for the control of industry and labor in
unoccupied France were issued in a decree of August 16, 1940.1 The
decree provided for a State-controlled economy through a system of
Government-appointed committees for individual industries under
Government supervision, and the dissolution, by decree, of all national
employer and labor organizations. A series of decrees published in
the Journal Officiel, November 9, 1940, provided for the dissolution of a
number of these organizations, including the employers’ organizations
in the steel and coal industries (Comité des Forges and Comité
Central des Houillères), the general employers’ association (Confédé
ration Générale du Patronat), and the principal labor organization
(Confédération Générale du Travail).
1 Data are from reports by H. Freeman Matthews, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, American Embassy,
Vichy, France.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Foreign Wartime Policies
99
The necessity of reorganizing the economy of the country so that
it could function under the conditions imposed by the armistice and the
division of the country into a free zone and an occupied zone was
pointed out in the report of the various ministries accompanying the
decree.
The provisions of the decree which were to have immediate effect
were as follows:
General associations which group employer and labor organizations
together on a national scale shall be dissolved by decree and the
Minister Secretary of State for Industrial Production and Labor shall
determine what disposition is to be made of the property of dissolved
associations or organizations.
Provisionally and until the establishment of a definitive plan for
professional organization, an organization committee shall be created
for each branch of industrial or commercial activity where conditions
are such as to require it. The duties of such a committee will be to
make a census of enterprises, their means of production, stocks, and
labor; fix the programs of production and manufacture; arrange for the
acquisition and distribution of raw materials and products required by
the branch of industry concerned; establish rules which are to be fol
lowed by enterprises as regards their general operation, quality of
product, employment of labor, methods of exchange of products and
services, and regulation of competition; recommend prices for products
and services to the proper authorities; and establish or promote meas
ures to establish organizations capable of providing a better function
ing of the particular branch of industrial activity in the common in
terests of the enterprise and of the wage earners.
The organization committee is to be appointed by the Minister
Secretary of State for Industrial Production and Labor and members
may be proposed by the industrial organizations concerned. A com
missioner appointed by the Minister will represent him on the com
mittee or, in default of a committee, will exercise its functions.
An assessment to cover administrative expenses may be levied on
the enterprises by the committee, upon authorization by the Minister
Secretary of State for Industrial Production and Labor and the
Minister Secretary of State for Finance.
Decisions of the committee must be approved by the Minister, or
for certain classes of questions, by the Government commissioner.
The committee may recommend to the Minister the requisitioning of
raw materials, products, personnel, services, and the enterprises
themselves in the branch of industrial activity concerned, as well as
the amount and method of payment of indemnities. Such requisi
tions are subject to the laws on military requisitions.
In case of violation of the regulations issued in regard to the opera
tions of the branch of industry concerned, the committee may recom
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
mend sanctions providing for the provisional or permanent removal
of the head of an enterprise or one or more of the directors, and the
imposition of a fine to be paid to the treasury amounting to not more
than 10 percent of the turn-over of the business.
Upon the appointment of the organization committee in any branch
of industry the syndicates, associations, or other groups which propose
to fill any role of representation, of defense, or any other field of
action are placed under the control of the committee, which may re
quire them to produce their files and documents, to be represented at
its meetings, and to submit any resolutions taken by them for the
approval of the committee.
The powers conferred upon the Minister Secretary of State for
Industrial Production and Labor devolve upon the various other
Ministers as regards the different branches of activity over which they
have jurisdiction.
The decisions taken in application of the law must be counter
signed by the Minister Secretary of State for Finance in each case in
which they apply to enterprises subsidized by the State.
IN CREA SE OF FOOD RATIONS IN SHOP CANTEENS IN
GERM ANY
FOR the armament industries in which physical labor is heavy and the
workday lasts at least 10 hours, the German Food Minister on August
14, 1940, increased by 250 grams (about 8% ounces) the monthly
rations of soy meal, oatmeal, legumes, and legume soup in shop
canteens, for the months of August, September, and October 1940.1
Under this order each worker would have about 2% pounds of food
more per month. In still heavier armament industries which build
fighting machines (such as guns, airplanes, ships, etc.), and in which
the work shift was longer than 12 hours, canned fish either in oil or in
tomato juice was to be served as an extra dish at each hearty meal,
in the amount of 250 grams per worker.
These increased rations were to be received from the local military
food stores at the request of the shop authorities, accompanied by a
statement of the nature of work, hours of work, number of workers,
etc., in their respective shops.
The foremen and other officials of these shops were to receive the
above supplementary rations only if their duties were strenuous, as
for example, if they involved ascending or descending the decks of
ships under construction.
1 Der Deutsche Volkswirt, Berlin, September 6,1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Foreign Wartime Policies
101
R EG ISTR A TIO N OF U N EM PLO Y ED EVACUATED
PERSONS IN GREAT B R IT A IN 1
BRITISH workers who are normally employed and who are evacuated
under an approved scheme must register at an employment exchange
or other local office of the Ministry of Labor and National Service
when and if they become unemployed. This order became effective
on September 18, 1940, and is known as the Evacuated Persons Regis
tration Order, 1940. The unemployed worker is required to register
in person unless he is living more than 6 miles from the nearest office,
in which case a written application may be sent by mail.
By this means the Ministry of Labor will be able to get in touch
with new workers in the various areas without delay. The system is
also advantageous to workers having no knowledge of employment
opportunities in the community to which transferred. Whether an
unfulfilled demand for labor exists or immediate opportunities are
lacking, the employment exchanges will be able to help the person
find work, either in the community to which he is evacuated or else
where.
Arrangements between the Ministry of Labor and National Service
and the Ministry of Health provide that persons likely to be affected
by the order will be notified by the local authorities. Although there
is to be close cooperation between the governmental agencies con
cerned, no person is to wait for a notice, as it is in the national interest
for persons normally employed to register in the event they are out
of work.
For the purposes of this order a local office means an employment
exchange and the persons affected are those who “ (a) are normally in
employment; and (6) are persons who move or have moved from one
area to another under or in pursuance of an approved evacuation
scheme; and (c) are persons for whom accommodation by way of
lodging or food or both is provided under the terms of a billeting
notice issued by virtue of the powers conferred by Regulation 22 of
the Defense (General) Regulations, 1939, which requires the occupier
of premises to furnish therein while the notice remains in force such
accommodation as aforesaid as may be specified in the notice.” The
reference to Regulation 22 is ordered construed to include any amend
ments. An approved evacuation scheme is a plan prepared or
approved by the Government for transference of members of the
civil population from one area to another in the event of war.
1 Great Britain. Ministry of Labor Gazette (London), October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment and Labor Conditions
PR E L IM IN A R Y CENSUS FIG U R ES ON EM PLO Y M EN T
AND U N EM PLO Y M EN T, M ARCH 24-30, 1940 1
THERE were 52,840,000 workers in the labor force in the United
States during the week of March 24-30, 1940, according to prelim
inary figures compiled by the Bureau of the Census, Department
of Commerce. Of these workers, 45,350,000 were reported as em
ployed on private or nonemergency Government work; 5,110,000
were reported as seeking work, without any form of public or private
employment; and 2,380,000 were reported as at work on public emer
gency projects (WPA, NYA, or CCC). These figures are based on
a preliminary tabulation of a cross section of the 1940 Population
Census returns and are subject to later correction.
The preliminary census tabulations indicate that there was a tend
ency to classify incorrectly considerable numbers of public emergency
workers. This probably resulted from such factors as the tendency
for public emergency workers to report themselves at private or
nonemergency Government work, and the frequent uncertainty in
the minds of workers and their families, or of the census enumerators,
concerning the proper classification of certain types of project work.
The total number of public emergency workers (WPA, CCC, and
NYA) at the time of the census was about 2,900,000, and a further
471,000 were on NYA student work projects.
It should be recognized that these figures are not entirely compara
ble with the 1930 census figures. The 1940 census of employment
includes in the labor force only those persons who, during the week of
March 24-30, were at work or had a job, were working on public
emergency projects, or were seeking work. It is to be emphasized
that this definition of workers in the labor force is based on the
activity of the person during a given week while the 1930 figure for
“ gainful workers” included all those persons usually following a
gainful occupation, regardless of whether they were working or seeking
work at the time of the census.
According to the preliminary 1940 census returns, the 52,840,000
workers in the labor force in the United States in the week of March
24-30 represented 52.3 percent of the 100,972,000 persons 14 years of
1 Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington.
102
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Press release, January 6, 1941.
Employment and Labor Conditions
103
age and over. Of the total labor force, 44,050,000 workers, or 83.4
percent, reported that they were at work in private or nonemergency
Government employment. An additional 1,300,000, or 2.5 percent,
reported that they were not actually at work but had jobs, businesses,
or professional enterprises from which they were temporarily absent
(because of vacation, illness, industrial dispute, bad weather, or lay-off
not exceeding 4 weeks with definite instructions to return to work on
a specific date). Both these groups include proprietors, farmers, and
other self-employed persons, as well as persons working for wages or
salaries.
Of the 5,110,000 persons reported as seeking work without any form
of public or private employment during the census week, 4,313,000
were persons with previous work experience and 797,000 were new
workers who had not previously had a full-time job lasting 1 month
or more.
The preliminary tabulation indicates that 79 percent of the male
population 14 years of age and over were in the labor force, as com
pared with 25.5 percent of the female population. Of the men in the
labor force, 85.5 percent were reported as employed, 9.6 percent as
seeking work, and 4.9 percent as on public emergency work. Of the
women in the labor force, 86.8 percent were reported as employed,
9.9 percent as seeking work, and 3.4 percent as on public emergency
work.
The remaining 48,131,000 persons, representing 47.7 percent of the
total population 14 years old and over, included 28,839,000 persons
engaged in home housework, 9,071,000 persons attending school,
5.220.000 persons unable to work, 1,226,000 inmates of institutions,
1.986.000 persons not working or seeking work for other reasons, and
1.789.000 persons whose employment status during the census week
could not be determined. It is believed that the majority of the
group whose status could not be determined were not in the labor
force. Tabulations of the final data will provide information on the
basis of which the employment status of most of the persons in this
group can be established with substantial accuracy.
LABOR IN T H E BITUM INOUS-COAL IN D U STRY ,
1938-39
MECHANIZATION of bituminous-coal mines continues to increase,
according to returns published by the Bituminous Coal Division of the
United States Department of the Interior.1 Preliminary figures show
that employment declined 1 percent in 1939 as compared with the
preceding year, although output rose 12.8 percent in the same period.
Production, the average number of men employed, average number of
1 U. S. Department of the Interior.
Washington, October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Bituminous Coal Division.
Bituminous Coal Tables, 1938-39.
104
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
days the mines operated, output of workers, and related factors for the
industry, in 1929, 1937, 1938, and 1939, are shown in the following
table.
Labor and Production Statistics of the Bituminous-Coal Industry, 1929, 1937, 1938
and 1939
Item
1929
_____________ _ _ _ ..n e t ton s.. 534, 988, 593
Production__
Total number of active mines—over 1,000 tons_____
6, 057
Average number of men employed. _. ____________
502, 993
Average number of days mines operated__ ____ . . .
219
Nominal length of established full-time w eek ., hours..
48.5
Output per man per day_______________ net to n s..
4.85
Output per man per year___________ ______do . . .
1,064
Underground output cut by machine_____percent..
78.4
Underground output mechanically loaded___ do___
7.4
Quantity mined by stripping____ _______ net tons . 20, 268,099
Quantity cleaned by wet or pneumatic process.do___ 32, 271,950
1937
1938
1939 (pre
liminary)
445, 531,449
6,548
491,864
193
35.1
4. 69
906
(0
20.2
31, 750,853
0)
348, 544, 764
5, 777
441, 333
162
35.1
4.89
790
87.5
26.7
30,406,855
57, 998,341
393,065,000
(>)
437,000
0)
(>)
0)
(■)
0)
0)
(')
(!)
1 Data not available.
The method used by the Bituminous Coal Division in calculating
employment gives an accurate measure of the working force, i. e., the
average number of men on the rolls on days of mine operation. It
does not furnish any information on working time lost through inter
mittent operations. A special problem in recording employment has
arisen in recent years as a result of introducing “ share-the-work”
agreements, by which employees of a mine are divided into two groups
working alternate days. Inquiries as to such agreements in one
State—Illinois—disclosed that the employment figures would have
been increased by about 8 percent if they had been based on the num
ber of men on the pay rolls rather than the average number of men
working. Therefore, the “ number of men employed,” as given in this
report, is somewhat less than the total of all men on the rolls of
bituminous-coal mines in States that followed the practice of spreading
employment by means of share-the-work programs.
Comparing conditions in 1937 and 1938, the number of active mines
declined from 6,548 to 5,777 and the average number of days of mine
operation dropped from 193 to 162. Output per man per day rose
from 4.69 to 4.89 tons. Certain increases in mechanization also
occurred. For example, the output mechanically loaded increased
from 20.2 percent of the underground product in 1937 to 26.7 percent
in 1938. Data available early in 1940, the report here reviewed
states, indicate continuation of the sharp advance in mechanical
loading in 1939. Sales of mechanical-loading equipment for use in
the mines (in terms of total capacity) increased 21.4 percent in 1939
over 1938. Of the 85,092,836 tons of bituminous coal mechanically
loaded in 1938, 23,363,426 tons were mined in Illinois, 20,530,906 tons
in West Virginia, and 12,090,021 tons in Pennsylvania. These three
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Employment and Labor Conditions
105
States accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total product mechani
cally loaded during the year.
Advance statistics show that there was an increase of approximately
20 percent in the bituminous-coal tonnage mined by stripping in 1939
as compared with 1938. Strip-mine production declined from
31,750,853 tons in 1937 to 30,406,855 in 1938, but the smaller volume
represented 8.7 percent of the total output in 1938 as compared with
7.1 percent of the total a year earlier.
Basing the conclusion on installations of new coal-cleaning plants in
1939, the report states that there was a substantial gain in mechani
cally cleaned coal in 1939 over the tonnage cleaned by mechanical
methods in 1938.
The Bituminous Coal Division estimates that as of 1938 the capacity
of the active mines with the then existing labor force would have been
663,000,000 tons per year of 308 days; and per year of 261 days (5-day
week basis) 562,000,000 tons. Thus, on the latter basis, capacity was
about 62 percent greater than actual production.
*# # # # # # # *
T H E SUGAR IN D U STRY IN PU ERTO RICO
SUGAR production is the principal industry in Puerto Rico and the
one industry, in fact, on which the economic life of the Island depends.
A report 1by the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of Puerto
Rico gives an account of the place which sugar production occupies in
the economy of the island and something of the social and working
conditions of those engaged in its production. It is said that twothirds of the food eaten, of the clothing worn, and of the island’s
homes—the greater share of everything Puerto Rico uses and pos
sesses—has been obtained from sugar and the other businesses that
owe their existence so largely to that crop.
In recent years, the reliance on sugar has increased in spite of the
vigorous and never-ending search for other crops and industries to add
to the income of the island. The increasing dependence on sugar is
the result, not of expansion of the sugar industry (since it has actually
declined as a result of crop restrictions) but of a still greater decline
of other crops and industries—coffee, tobacco, fruits, and needlework—
that has increased the relative importance of sugar although at the
same time the cash value of sugar has been declining.
Puerto Rico is one of the most densely populated areas in the
world. There are practically no raw materials which can be used in
manufacturing, with the exception of a few agricultural products, and
the expense of transportation and handling make it unlikely that bulky
1 Puerto Rico.
Juan. 1940.
Department of Agriculture and Commerce. W hat Sugar Means to Puerto Rico.
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San
106
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
raw materials will ever be imported in large quantities. Hence, the
country is forced to depend principally upon agriculture for its exist
ence, and sugarcane is the crop best suited for the land in most cases.
Further development in the island’s industries, therefore, depends
mainly on more (intensive use of agricultural lands and additional
processing of local agricultural products, and to a less extent upon
industries in which a large amount of labor is required on a small
bulk of goods.
As a result of technical improvements and the use of scientific
methods, the output of sugar increased from 81,526 short tons in 1900
to 1,113,697 tons in 1934. The inauguration of the sugar-control pro
gram in 1934, however, stopped the increase, and production from 1935
to 1939 was substantially lower than in 1934. The acreage devoted to
sugarcane was greatly increased after Puerto Rico was brought within
the United States tariff structure in 1901, being more than three times
as much in 1918 as in 1901, while the output had increased more than
eight times. Since that year, however, increases in production have
been due principally to technical improvements in factory and field
and improvements in varieties of sugarcane.
Employment and Pay Rolls
The number of persons employed in growing sugarcane or in sugar
mills in 1935, when production was reduced 350,000 tons, was 110,880,
and about 3,000 persons were employed by the sugar mills in trans
portation, altogether comprising 22 percent of the number of gain
fully employed on the Island. However, more than 50 percent of all
the gainfully occupied workers in the island depend, either directly or
indirectly, on the sugar industry.
During the last 8 years the pay rolls in the sugar industry have
averaged approximately 45 percent of the total wages paid in the
island. About 88 percent of the wages paid in the industry went to
workers in the fields and factories, and the remainder was paid to
clerical and supervisory workers and for legal services and admin
istrative salaries. As a result of restrictions under the sugar quota
system there was a decrease of $6,000,000 in pay rolls from 1933-34
to 1934-35, when sugar production fell to 780,741 short tons—a re
duction of 332,956 tons.
About 30 percent of the total income of the island is received by
the sugar industry which pays, in most years, approximately 40 per
cent of the entire revenue of the insular and municipal governments;
and an additional 15 to 25 percent of the revenues collected by these
agencies is paid by employees directly or indirectly dependent on
the sugar industry. The direct taxes paid by the industry amount
to between $6 and $7 per ton of sugar in most years, producing an
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Employment and Labor Conditions
107
amount more tlian sufficient to cover the total government expendi
tures for health and sanitation, education, agriculture, commerce, and
labor.
The sugar industry pays the highest agricultural wages in the Island.
A survey of 71 sugarcane plantations, covering 14,246 laborers, made
in 1939 by the Puerto Rican Department of Labor, showed an average
wage of 15.6 cents per hour. There was an increase of nearly 35 per
cent in wage rates on sugarcane farms between 1933 and 1937, and a
further increase of 10 percent in 1938. These increases occurred in
spite of the drastic reduction in sugar production in the 4 years
1935-38, and the fact that sugar prices in the first half of 1938 ap
proximated those prevailing prior to Federal control. In 1939 the
wage rates were approximately 50 percent higher than in 1933.
The industry has followed a share-tlie-work policy and the number
of workers was not reduced along with production, although there
was a reduction of the number of days worked per employee. As a
result, weekly or annual earnings of individual workers have not
increased in proportion to the increase in wage rates.
Rent-free houses are furnished to a large proportion of the sugar
cane laborers and, in many cases, light, water, and land for the growing
of vegetables are also provided. Thirty producers growing about
half of the sugarcane of the island provide approximately 12,000
houses for their workers, and it is reported that the various companies
provide about 15,000 acres of land for the growing of vegetables.
Working Conditions
There are various laws regulating working conditions in Puerto
Rico. Employers have been required, since 1908, to pay their work
men in full in cash, no deductions for accounts due being permitted.
The workmen therefore cannot be kept in debt for food and supplies
furnished at high prices, as is sometimes the case for agricultural and
certain other classes of labor in the States.
An 8-hour day is fixed by law for the employees, including agricul
tural workers, longer hours being permitted only in emergencies and
upon authorization by the Governor and the Commissioner of Labor.
If such overtime is allowed, the workers receive double pay for all
time over 8 hours. These hours are in contrast with hours of agri
cultural labor in the States, which are approximately 12 hours, and
even higher in various localities.
Other labor laws include a law of 1921 prohibiting child labor, and
one providing for workmen’s compensation which covers agricultural
labor as well as workers in mills and on the railroads. Insurance
against industrial accidents is compulsory for all employers of four
or more workers and provides for medical services, compensation for
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
108
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
temporary or permanent disability, and care of dependents in case of
death. The workmen’s compensation tax is based on pay rolls and
further increases the labor costs of producing sugar.
Wages paid on sugar farms are, in many cases, several times as high
as those paid for similar work on other farms, largely as a result of
the strong labor organization—the Free Federation of the Workingmen
of Puerto Rico, an affiliate of the A. F. of L.—which bargains annually
with the employers as to wage rates, and also because the industry
yields a sufficient return to permit higher payments to labor. The
island is the only domestic sugar-producing area, and, so far as is
known, the only sugar-producing area in the world where wages are
fixed each year by collective bargaining.
Women are not employed in the sugar industry. A study made by
the Insular Department of Labor in 1939 showed that of 26,705
employees of sugar plantations and mills, all except 20 were males.
General Agricultural Conditions
The yield of sugarcane per acre in Puerto Rico exceeds that of any
other important area in the Western Hemisphere and has an advantage
over other crops of the Island, such as coffee and tobacco, which have
lower relative yields than other areas producing these crops. The
returns from an acre of sugarcane will buy the production of from 4 to
12 acres of other crops produced on the island; and, in terms of six
important mainland food crops bought by the Island, the wages paid
for 1 acre of sugarcane would have bought about SV2 acres of such
produce.
Much of the farm land of the Island is not suited to the growing of
crops, part of it being semiarid and requiring irrigation to make it
productive. Sugarcane is the only crop which pays enough to meet
the expense of irrigation and without it large areas, instead of furnish
ing employment and income for the population, would still be used for
pasture.
Although the main crop is sugarcane, the area devoted to food crops
is more than 4}£ times as great per capita as in other tropical areas
under the American flag. While average yields for these crops are
lower than those in other areas, a substantially greater volume of food
products in relation to population is produced in Puerto Rico.
The Island has suffered by far the greatest reduction of any area,
under both the Jones-Costigan Act and the Sugar Act of 1937. Under
the latter act Puerto Rico was permitted to supply only nine-tenths as
large a proportion of the continental consumption as was proposed in
1933. Part of this reduction was due to insistence on increased
quotas for foreign countries.
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Employment and Labor Conditions
109
Improvement in the sugar situation would mean increased sales for
agricultural and other products of continental United States, as more
than 90 cents of every dollar received from sugar sold in the domestic
market is spent in the States.
The Government of Puerto Rico, the Federal Government, and other agencies
have been conducting research projects on a broad scale to find other crops which
might supplement the reduced income from sugar and provide some cash income
or other means of subsistence for the thousands of small farmers whose present
income is inadequate even under tropical standards of living. To date, those
experiments collectively hold no promise of relieving the acute economic situation
to any substantial degree.
Thus, Puerto Rico for m any years to come m ust continue to be dependent pri
marily on sugar to support its dense and fast-growing population. W ith unre
stricted sugar production, a t reasonable m arket prices for sugar, Puerto Rico
could expand its sugar production enough to provide income for a goodly number
of its unemployed. Under a quota system, the Island’s share of the to tal quota
m ust be sufficient to furnish employment for more workers th an were provided
for under the Sugar Act of 1937 or Puerto Rico will experience a gradual b ut sure
decline in its already low living standards.
********
WAGE D ECREA SE AS PU N IS H M E N T FOR IN E F F IC I
EN C Y IN T H E SOVIET U N IO N
AN ORDER issued by the Commissar of the Food Industry of the
Soviet Union on October 25, 1940, provided that certain sugar refineries
were to be punished for their failure to fulfill the production quotas
prescribed by the Government during the current season. The pun
ishment was in the form of a reduction in wages of all administrative
and technical workers, effective November 1940. The refineries were
to be transferred in classification to a lower-wage category, thus de
creasing the wages of all workers at the refineries in question. Wages
were to be restored to their former level as soon as plant production
should be up to planned requirements.
This order was published in “Food Industry,” the organ of the
Food Commissariat, Moscow, October 26, 1940.
The general punishment of all workers in these establishments
appears to be an additional punishment for inefficiency. The Soviet
wage policy, which requires a minimum output from each worker,
already provides that if his output is lower than that prescribed, he not
only gets lower wages but he may also be punished, for repeated failure,
by transfer to a lower-paid job.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
PLA CEM EN T W ORK OF PU BLIC EM PLO Y M EN T
SERVICES, OCTOBER 1940 1
MORE private jobs were filled by public employment offices in
October than in any other month in the history of the United States
Employment Service. Public employment offices made 339,000
placements in private employment during the month, an increase of
10 percent over October 1939, when the previous all-time high for
placements was established. Similarly, a new high of 366,000 supple
mentary placements was made during the month, as the demand for
agricultural labor in connection with harvesting operations reached
its peak. In addition, the employment offices also completed 68,000
public placements, most of them on construction projects, at canton
ments, airports, and other military areas. By the end of October,
employment offices had 4,600,000 job seekers registered as actively
seeking work, the lowest level since November 1937.
Public employment offices completed more than 407,000 placements,
including those in both public and private employment, a gain of 16
percent over September. In addition to increasing industrial activity,
some of theexpansion was attributable to the greater numberof workingdays in October. Total placements were 11 percent higher than in
October 1939 and 40 percent higher than in October 1938.
Placements with private employers showed a gain of 11 percent over
September 1940, as public employment offices in 43 States reported
increases. All-time highs for private placements were recorded in
15 States, the majority of which were industrial. Half the placements
in private employment were expected to last a month or longer, in
contrast to the preceding month when 53 percent of the placements
were in jobs of similar duration. Practically all important industrial
States reported increased placements and, in the majority of these, the
gains over September volumes exceeded 10 percent. The sharpest
gain in private placements—more than double those in September—
occurred in Louisiana, partly reflecting increased employment in the
sugar-processing and water-transportation industries. Increases rang
ing from 70 to 85 percent, reported by Arkansas, Idaho, and New
Mexico, were largely attributable to sharp rises in agricultural place1 Prepared by Research and Statistics Division, Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security Board.
110
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
ments in each of these States. In addition, placements increased at
least 50 percent in Delaware, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah, and
Wyoming. Only 2 of the 8 States reporting decreases showed sub
stantial declines from September. The sharp decrease in North
Dakota primarily reflects the reduction in agricultural placements
from September, while the decline in North Carolina is largely attribu
table to a slackening of private placements as the need for workers
on public construction projects at Army camps was being met.
Contrary to the usual seasonal trend, public placements in October
registered one of the sharpest monthly gains on record as a result of
large-scale placements in defense construction projects. More than
68,000 public placements were reported—44 percent above the Septem
ber volume. The most pronounced gains were reported by Arkansas—
where October placements represented more than a twelvefold in
crease over September—and also by Florida, Mississippi, North
Carolina, and Texas.
Supplementary placements increased 32 percent in October to
366.000, a new record for this type of placement and 78 percent
higher than the 1939 peak reached in September of last year. The
exceptionally high volume shown for Tennessee largely represents
placements for the entire Delta area, with the Memphis office acting
as order-holding office for the adjoining States. Supplementary
placements represent instances in which the employment offices are
of material assistance in bringing workers and jobs together, but in
which not all the steps of the placement process are handled through
the public employment offices.
Reflecting both general economic improvement and more intensive
efforts by the public employment offices, more than 2,600,000 jobs in
private employment were filled in the first 10 months of 1940, a
gain of 20 percent over the corresponding period of 1939. Higher
volumes of placements were made in all but 10 States and only 2 of
these—Louisiana and New Mexico—showed substantial declines.
Applications for work increased 15 percent, to approximately
1.400.000, during October. The rise in applications was offset, how
ever, by increases in placements and removal from the active files of
names of persons who failed to indicate that they were actively seek
ing work, so that the number of job seekers registered for work at
the end of October declined 6 percent from the September 30 volume.
Comparison with the number of job seekers registered at the end of
June reveals declines in 45 States. Reductions since June, ranging
from 30 to 45 percent, occurred in Maine, Massachusetts, Montana,
Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming,
and with the exception of Ohio, sizable declines were also noted in
all important industrial States. Louisiana and Mississippi were the
only States reporting substantial increases since June.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
112
T able
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
1.— Summary of Placement Activities of Public Employment Services, October 1940
Percent of change from—
A ctivity
Number
September
1940
Total complete placements- _________ _
Private
_ . . . _ ____
Regular________________ ._
Temporary________________ _
Public __ ______. . .
Supplemental placements________
Total applications________ _
Active file____________ __
407,484
339, 343
171,702
167, 641
68,141
365,679
1,391, 243
4, 620,862
+15.6
+11.2
+ 5 .7
+17.4
+44.0
+31.9
+15.3
-6 .0
October
1939
October
1938
+11.3
+10.0
+12.9
+ 7 .2
+17.9
+222. 5
+ 4 .6
-1 5 .4
+39.7
+63.3
+79.5
+49.5
-1 8 .6
+137.6
+17.6
-4 0 .3
Veteran placements during October numbered 14,700, an increase
of 31 percent over the previous month, and the greatest number of
placements this year. Approximately 11,000 of these were in private
employment, an increase of 25 percent over September and 6 percent
over October 1939. The number of private placements of veterans
in October was the highest since the record volume established in
April 1937 when the employment of veterans was singled out for
special emphasis. Placements of veterans in public jobs increased 51
percent from September to 3,700. Applications for work received
during the month increased 16 percent to 54,200. The number of
veterans actively seeking work through public employment offices at
the end of October totaled 202,700, or about 8,800 fewer than on
September 30, 1940.
T a b l e 2 . —Summary
of Placement Activities for Veterans, October 1940
Percent of change from—
A ctivity
Number
September
1940
Total complete placements.
Private _________ ____
Regular . . . _ _________
Tem porary.. _____________
Public________
Total applications___
Active file________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
.
14,682
10,982
4,276
6, 706
3,700
54,186
202,729
+30.6
+24.8
+26.5
+23.7
+51.4
+15.8
- 4 .1
October
1939
+ 7 .6
+ 'll 5
+1. 5
October
1938
+ 4 .2
+35.6
+51.7
+27.0
+13.6
113
Social Security
T able 3. —Activities of Public Employment Services, All Registrants, by States, October
1940
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to N ov. 23, 1940]
Applications received
Complete placements
Percent
of change
Supfrom—
Active
plePercent
menfile as of
of change
tal
Oct. 31,
Pub place
from—
1940
Total
Reg
lic ments Number Sep
ular
N um
tem Octo
(over
1
ber
ber
Sep
month)
ber
tem Octo
1940 1939
ber
ber 1939
1940
Private
Social Security Board
region and State
Total______________ 407,484 339,343 +11.2 +10.0 171,702 68,141 365,679 1,391, 243 +15.3 + 4.6 4,620,862
Region I:
Connecticut_____
M aine._________
Massachusetts___
New Hampshire.
Rhode Island___
Vermont________
Region II:
New York______
Region III:
Delaware_______
New Jersey_____
Pennsylvania.......
Region IV:
District of Colum
bia___________
Maryland______
North Carolina.._
Virginia________
West Virginia___
Region V:
K entucky______
Michigan_______
Ohio___________
Region VI:
Illinois_________
Indiana_________
Wisconsin______
Region VII:
Alabama_______
Florida_______ _
Georgia_________
Mississippi______
South Carolina.. .
Tennessee______
Region VIII:
Iowa___________
Minnesota______
Nebraska_______
North Dakota___
South Dakota___
Region IX:
Arkansas_______
Kansas_________
Missouri________
Oklahoma______
Region X:
Louisiana_______
New Mexico____
Texas__________
Region XI:
Arizona_________
Colorado_______
Idaho__________
Montana_______
U tah___________
W yom ing_______
Region XII:
California-______
N evada_________
Oregon_________
Washington.........
Territories:
Alaska_________
Hawaii_________
+ 4.5
+ 16.4
+18.5
+10.4
+ 4.8
+52.2
+14.2
+15. 1
+13.0
+10.1
+81.4
+24. 5
60, 503
26,398
133,610
16, 647
32, 401
12,209
490
165,950 + 8.4 + 4.0
477,43S
92
102
1,499
3,878 +16.2 - 2 .6
45,242 + 13.0 - 7 .6
113,123 + 8.7 +18.7
9,471
195,245
310,041
+28.8
-2 6 .4
+ 8.4
-2 0 .6
-1 9 .0
27, 209
53, 320
77,974
44,287
60,594
248
90
1,061
17, 289 +12.7 - 4 . 2
51,122 - . 9 -2 3 .4
65,186 - 3 .2 (2)
90,191
206,583
337,480
763
1,367
416
64,128 +18.1 +21.9
38,795 + 3.7 - 6 .2
37,023 +27.2 +28.3
173,366
137,084
97,144
+29.4
+19.8
+56.0
-2 5 .4
+24.6
+34.8
4,311 1,136
1,172
383
634
3,807
423
1,043
965
67
374
363
99
35
25
132
40
12
38,057 36, 294 + 6 .3 +66.0
17, 849 1,763
1,908 1,778 +51.7 -1 9 .4
12, 473 11,938 + 6.6 + 1.8
16,821 14,913 +27.3 +23.7
130
1,048
6,854
535
10,169 1,908
+33.8
+34.8
-2 0 .1
+45. 2
- 5 .6
1,955
596
2, 474
737
3,338 6, 430
4, 435 1,420
1,747
725
0
7
5,629
118
462
13,437 +13.7
17,818 -4 .1
31,652 +12.2
16,822 - 3 .0
17, 414 +11.0
3,388 2,865 +29.9 +14.4
14, 494 13,018 + 16.3 +11.9
18,687 17,203 (>) + 16.9
523
1,947
7, 762 1,476
9,239 1,484
16,367 15,814 +11.8 +17.9
11,064 10, 702 +21.7 +20.1
8,165 7,568 + 5 .5 + 8 .6
8,650
6,895
4,101
553
362
597
8,154
2,004
5,869
2,113
1, 345
1,409
5,177
5,280
12, 794
8, 479
3,838
7,018 +17.0
1,621 - 4 .8
5,235 +21.5
1,690 + 2.5
1,278 +29.2
1,035 + 5 .0
4,581
4,543
6, 364
7,059
3,113
+14.5
+23.4
-27.1
- 7 .8
+30.4
623
381
358
4,732
291
1,967
4,631
826
168
1,070
1, 167 122,228
25, 950
24, 859
23,961
22,146
10, 903
18,805
+22.5
+36.5
+16.9
+• 9
+23.6
+65.6
-1 0 .4
+68.4
+ 2.8
-2 5 .7
-3 3 .8
+23.0
94,154
74, 311
146,718
68,548
39, 899
105,182
713
660
74
198
43
21, 246
25, 713
9, 386
5,971
4,033
+46.8
+52.2
+ 6.2
-2 7 .9
+23.4
+26.9
+46.0
+14.7
-2 4 .8
- 7 .8
65,476
102,923
37,913
22,452
20,613
1,521 5,983 63,133
863
323
1,456
5,008 1,416 16,976
645 13,057
1,369
16, 754 +55.0
16,027 +11.5
44, 918 +33.1
17,081 +11.3
+109.8
+20.0
+ 2.7
-3 6 .3
38,158
52,368
141,418
52,348
871
840
6, 347
486 4, 521
876
8,960 8, 085 80,690
27,078 +17.0 +26.0
5, 004 +50. 4 -4 3 .7
67,519 +46.4 + 10.2
107,062
28,212
201,577
- 7 .0
-1 1 .6
+14.8
- 2 .8
+ . 6 -2 0 .6
+15.0 - 2 . 2
18,994
50,114
13.278
16,750
23. 297
5, 050
4,113
7,982
9, 109
8,705
4,009
6,779
3,490 - 4 .4
3,250 +20.6
7,142 +8.4
4.074 +58.2
2, 939 - . 3
5,612 +15.7
-1 2 .5
-4 3 .9
+11.1
+ 2 .4
+28.6
-3 3 .8
2,609
2,203
2,974
2, 379
1,416
3,632
8,046
7,743
4,535
4,456
2,002
5,904
6,782
3,233
4,048
1,371
+1.6
+ 5.0
+57.8
-3 7 .6
+ 9 .9
- 5 .4
+ 6 .9
+42.5
+40.4
+64.0
2,142 2, 142
961
3,295
964 1,302
408
986
502
631
12, 338
5,329
10,288
3,918
6, 355
4,466
8,872
3,273
+84.3
+ 6 .6
+14.7
+26.5
+91.2
+56.8
-3 0 .3
-3 0 .5
8,572 7,701 +141.8 +28.6
4,159 3,673 +70.8 -2 7 .9
34, 527 26,442 +13.5 + 4 .5
-5 .4
- 1 .4
+73.4
+17.2
+55.4
+61.0
-4 3 .2
+28.8
-2 7 .4
+60.9
-29.4
-5 .9
27,817 25,486 + 4 .4
878 + 7.3
1,005
6,587 5,170 +13.8
6, 150 5,151 + 8 .0
+ 9 .7
-1 1 .2
-9 .8
-1 7 .9
2,590
7,772
3,961
2, 281
1,988
1,375
528
934
2,189
7, 277
3,604
1,932
1,557
1,019
312 + 4.7 +58.4
511 + .8 +41.9
1 Increase of less than a tenth of 1 percent.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
19,036
10, 782
37,819
7, 560
9, 709
3, 410
6,455
859
3,942
774
90
28
6,911
14,073
7,772
4,174
6,691
3,095
+10.7
- 3 .8
+34.2
-.6
11,910 2,331 12,694
178
127
484
2,24S 1,417 19,622
999 2,822
2,198
114,394
2, 531
21,312
32,589
+25.8
- 4 .6
+26.9
+18.5
1,339
1,711
864
98C
67C
258
87
189
401
495
357
349
431
356
216
423
26
22
“f~3. £
+ 2.5
+33.6
+39.1
376,509
5,673
32, 277
90,323
1,002 - 1 .4 +7.2
2,150 + . 6 +12.0
1,277
8.793
2 Decrease of less than a tenth of 1 percent.
114
T
able
Monthly Labor- Review—January 1941
4 . —Activities of Public Employment Services, Veterans, by States, October 1940
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Nov. 23, 1940]
Complete placements
Applications received
Private
Social Security Board region
and State
Percent of
change from—
Total
N um
ber
T otal_____ _____ ______
Region I:
Connecticut--...........
Maine_____________
M assachusetts...........
New Hampshire____
Rhode I s la n d ...____
Vermont....................
Region IINew Y ork_________
Region III:
Delaware__________
N ew Jersey________
Pennsylvania______
Region IV :
District of Columbia.
M aryland_________
North Carolina_____
Virginia___________
West Virginia______
Region V:
Kentucky____ _____
Michigan__________
Ohio______________
Region VI:
Illinois_____________
Indiana____________
W isconsin,..............
Region VII:
Alabama......................
Florida____________
Georgia____________
M ississippi_________
South Carolina_____
Tennessee________
Region VIII:
Iowa__________ ____
Minnesota_________
Nebraska__________
North Dakota______
South Dakota______
Region IX:
Arkansas___________
Kansas____________
Missouri___________
Oklahoma____ _____
Region X:
Louisiana.....................
N ew Mexico_______
Texas...... ......................
Region XI:
Arizona........................
Colorado___________
Idaho........................
M ontana............... .
U tah..............................
Wyoming...... ............
Region XII:
California-_________
Nevada........ ............
Oregon...................... .
W ashington.,........ .
Territories:
Alaska_____________
Hawaii___ _____ ___
Percent of
change from—
Sep
tem
ber
19401
14, 682 10,982 +24.8
Pub. N um
Regular lie
ber
Sep
(over 1
tem
Octo month)
ber
ber
19401
1939*
+ 6 .2
Octo
ber
1939 i
Active
file as
of Oct.
31,1940
4,276 3,700 54,186 +15.8 +14.7 202.729
328
92
118
98
48
72
260 +16.6 +50.3
67
88 - 4 .3 -1 1 . 1
80 +15.9 -1 6 .7
41
27
136
46
62
64
31
8
68
25
30
18
7
45
805
43f
1,256
317
29£
133
802
737 +43.1 +55.8
257
65
3,095 +18.5 +25. 6 13.486
38
239
438
33
204 +21.4 - 6 .0
363 +48.8 +19.8
11
138
258
5
35
75
162 +90.6 +20. 9
1,013 - 8 .1 -2 0 . 5 6,482
4,448 + 2 .9 +29.9 12, 977
202
191
292
247
74
15f +25.0 +45.6
153 + 2.0 + 4 .8
128 - 5 .2 -1 6 . 9
172 +17.8 +30.3
45
58
86
36
9?
26
52
38
164
75
29
119
569
648
94 +64.9
463 +18.7
583 + 19.0
+ 2 .2
- 1 .7
+ 2 .8
65
233
261
25
106
65
418
419
310
381 +6.4 +11.7
399 +59.6 + 111.1
263 +49.4 +42.9
129
241
129
37
20
47
113
206
262
254
141
215
101
114
193
43
100
173
58
68
34
21
18
87
12
92
69
211
41
42
565
300
188
120
79
369
243
123
108
49
+24.2 -2 0 .6
+ 17.4
0
+51.8 +51.8
-3 4 .1 +63.0
78
81
22
20
13
592
223
460
198
223 +145.0 +81.3
176 +21.4 +74.2
389 + 9 .9 +20.8
142 -2 2 .4 -2 7 .6
250
104
1,317
l
+20.2 - 6 .5
+42. 5 - 5 . 0
+52.0 -1 0 . 2
713
626
896
465
736
+16.7
-f8 £
+33.2
+17.0
-fio 7
+30 4
+13.0
-1 9 .5
+14.7
+ 5 .0
+15.4
+26.2
+10 3
+19.7
+12.0
2.770
1 306
f 545
616
+9 9
+39.2
-50. 3
+22.9
-1 4 .7
-3 5 .3
1,579
2,120
2, 216
1. 143
3, 416
732 +21.8 +22.0 3, 960
2, 418
- . 1 -3 1 .0 8,245
2, 522 -17. 1 +3.0 18,434
2, 393 + 6.9 +57.2
1. 512 - 2 .4 +26.4
2, 366 +34. 7 +74.1
967
791
579
677
289
658
+25.4
+18.2
+21.9
-5 .2
+10.3
+58.6
7.786
6, 225
6,598
+18.1
+34.1
+ 2 .5
- 1 .4
+46.0
+17.7
4, 015
2, 997
3, 748
2,055
1,287
4,005
196
57
65
12
30
1,137 +72.8 +43.6
1,226 +62.4 +102. 6
399 +3.4 +13. 4
146 -3 4 .5 -46. 5
169 + 7.6 + 7.6
4,246
6.176
2.299
985
1,101
30
29
136
35
369
47
71
56
883
772
2, 247
877
+54.6 +229. 5
+24.1 + 8.3
+55.8 +25.5
+11.3 -4 0 .9
1,850
3,241
6. 760
3,324
182
+46.8
93
+ 14.8
801 +20.8 + 2.4
155
15
159
68
11
516
782 +12.8 +10.8
217 +79.3 -1 5 .6
2,407 +65.4 +44.0
3, 326
1. 551
6,366
128
273
313
183
60
56
90 + 9 .8 -3 0 .8
253 +24.6 +12.4
246 +95.2 -2 9 .1
144 +51.6 +176. 9
28
28
41
30
58
78
7
9
38
20
67
39
32
28
1,492
107
366
297
1,280 + 17.1 +10.2
90 +12.5 - 1 .1
256
+ .8 -1 8 .7
197 - 7 .9 +10.7
437
34
93
54
212
17
9
0
21
20
36
22
15
2
___ ___
+63.9 +63.9
+31.1 -6 7 .3
1
no
100
423
530
575
285
250
175
+30.2
+13.8
+74.8
- 7 .5
-.8
+21.5
+10.7
-4 0 .4
+45. 2
+17.3
-4 8 .2
- 4 .9
1,219
2,159
756
1,073
1,139
315
5,994 +13.0 +15.7 22,627
151 + 2 .0 +14.4
302
1,225 +29.6 +61.2 2,417
1,887 +27.5 +96.6 5,251
59 -1 5 .7 -1 1 .9
63
74
373
> Where less than 50 veteran placements or applications were involved in either period the percentage
change was not computed.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
115
U N EM PLO Y M EN T-CO M PEN SA TIO N OPERATIONS,
OCTOBER 1940 1
FURTHER seasonal improvement and the continuing impetus pro
vided by the national defense program were reflected in unemploy
ment-insurance claim receipts and payments which declined in October
to the lowest levels of the year. Claimants certified for benefit decreased
6 percent to 4 million, and benefit payments declined 12 percent from
September to $32,200,000 - $23,500,000 less than the record disburse
ment of July 1940. Decreases in claim receipts and payments were
reported by practically all important industrial States. On the other
hand, some increases were reported, particularly by the States in the
Pacific Coast area. A minimum of 757,000 unemployed workers
received at least one benefit payment in October, and the weekly
average of benefit recipients totaled approximately 700,000. This
marks the fourth successive monthly decline in the number of bene
ficiaries.
,
Claims Received
Employment fluctuations in a number of industries contributed to
variations in claim receipts, according to special reports from State
agencies. Maine reported slackening employment in the shoe and
canning industries, somewhat offset by improvement in the textile
industry, largely because of defense orders. In New Hampshire, em
ployment in the manufacture of men’s shoes increased because of
national defense orders, but there was a corresponding decline in wom
en’s shoe manufacturing; the agency also reported seasonal curtailment
in logging operations and increased employment in textiles and con
struction where orders were received in connection with the defense
program. New York reported employment gains in defense industries,
particularly in the airplane, electrical products, nonferrous metals,
sheet metal and hardware, shipbuilding, and instruments and appli
ances industries, as well as in textiles; the usual seasonal declines,
however, were reported in the fur, clothing, millinery, and canning
industries, and in the summer-resort areas, and the paper and pulp
industry showed a sharp decline attributable to water shortages in
certain areas.
In New Jersey, lay-offs occurred in the textile, clothing, cigar-making,
and canning industries. Illinois reported reduced employment in
clothing, radios, and railroad equipment, although employment was
expanding in the rubber-goods industry. In Minnesota, increased
claim receipts reflected seasonal declines in iron-ore mining, contract
construction, and service industries. Maryland reported some un
employment in steel manufacture, and seasonal curtailment in the
1 Prepared by Research and Statistics Division, Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security Board.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
116
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
manufacture of hats and clothing. Alabama reported employment
gains in the textile and lumber industries, although cottonseed- and
peanut-oil production experienced a contraseasonal decline. In Louisi
ana the decrease in claim receipts was partly attributable to increased
employment arising from defense activities. Wyoming reported sea
sonal lay-offs in the tourist, lumber, construction, and coal-mining
industries.
Although total claim receipts declined, waiting-period claims in
creased for the first time in 3 months. Decreases in number of claims
certified for benefit2in local offices were reported in 31 States, with the
sharpest declines of 57 and 40 percent in Alaska and Michigan, re
spectively, and decreases ranging from 20 to 35 percent in Arkansas,
Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Of the 20 States reporting in
creases in certified claims, 9 showed rises of less than 10 percent.
States with increased receipts of such claims were concentrated in the
Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast areas; only 4 States
east of the Mississippi reported increases over September.
The weekly average number of certified claims received in October
declined 14 percent from September to 876,000, the first time this
year that the weekly average has dropped below 1 million. Prac
tically every leading industrial State showed a decline in excess of 10
percent. The decline during the current month represents the fifth
successive decrease from the high level of average weekly claim receipts
in May, reflecting mainly the steady improvement in employment
conditions throughout the country over that period. To some extent,
however, the decline also reflects exhaustion of benefit rights by many
claimants. Weekly certified claim receipts declined successively from
979,000 and 930,000 in the last 2 weeks of September to a low of 864,000
in the week ending October 12, when many State offices were closed
for Columbus Day. Receipts in the last 2 weeks of the month were
slightly higher than for the week ended October 12. Substantial
declines in the weekly trend of receipts during the month were noted
in many jurisdictions, particularly in the leading industrial States.
The major reductions occurred in Michigan and Mississippi and sizable
declines were also shown inDelaware, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
and Virginia. In 15 States, however, particularly those in the Rocky
Mountain and Pacific areas, receipts tended to increase as seasonal
factors resulted in lay-offs.
Since the greater number of all claims filed represent total unemploy
ment, there was little variation noted in the trend of continued claims
for total unemployment as compared with claims for all unemploy
ment. The weekly average of receipts in October totaled 770,000,
2 The Bureau of Employment Security terms these “continued claims,” using this expression to indicate
certification that the claimant has completed a waiting-period week or a compensable period (.usually a
calendar week or 7-day period).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
117
almost 15 percent less than in September. From the week ending
September 21, when 863,000 workers filed claims for total unemploy
ment, there was an almost continuous decline to the last week of
October when only 758,000 claims for total unemployment were re
ceived. Claim receipts for partial and part-total unemployment,
however, remained at practically the same level throughout the period.
Disbursements
Although disbursements declined to $32,200,000 in October, the
lowest level this year, they were $5,500,000 higher than in the corre
sponding month of 1939. The increase is attributable in part to the
liberalization of benefit payments in several States and also to the
higher base-period earnings of many claimants, which results in larger
duration for receipt of benefits. Of the 39 States reporting smaller
disbursements than in September, declines in excess of 50 percent were
shown by Alaska and Michigan. In Alaska, the decrease was at
tributable to exhaustion of benefit rights and to termination of eligi
bility of unemployed seasonal workers with the close of the season in
salmon canning and other industries. In Michigan, the decrease of
56 percent resulted chiefly from the continued rehiring in the automo
bile industry. Reductions, ranging from 20 to 35 percent, also
occurred in Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Wis
consin. The sharp increases in Hawaii and New Hampshire, on the
other hand, were attributable respectively to curtailed activity in
canning operations and to seasonal unemployment in shoe manufactur
ing, logging operations, and the summer-resort activities. October
benefit disbursements in Michigan represented the lowest monthly
amount since the initiation of benefit payments, and (exclusive of the
first month of benefit operations) monthly disbursements were also the
lowest on record in Arizona, Illinois, and Wyoming. In addition, 23
other States issued smaller volumes of benefit payments than in any
other month of the current year.
Benefits paid to unemployed workers through the first 10 months
of 1940 amounted to nearly $460,000,000. Exclusive of Illinois and
Montana, which began benefit payments in July 1939, this represented
an increase of 17 percent over the amount disbursed in the correspond
ing period of 1939, despite the fact that benefits were paid to railroad
workers up to July of that year.
For corresponding 10-month periods, increased disbursements were
reported by 35 States. The sharpest expansion occurred in Florida
where payments doubled those in 1939. Increases ranging between
55 and 76 percent were reported by Alaska, Arkansas, California,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wash
ington, the majority of which enacted^liberalizing amendments to
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
their State laws. Of the 14 States reporting decreases, the major re
ductions, ranging from 18 to 26 percent, occurred in Iowa, Michigan,
and Pennsylvania. Increasing industrial activity in connection with
the national-defense program has been an important factor in declines
in the latter 2 States.
Disbursements to unemployed workers since benefits were first
payable have totaled $1,300,000,000. Of this amount, $2,000,000 was
paid prior to 1938 (Wisconsin only), $396,000,000 in 1938, and $430,000,000 in 1939.
Approximately 3,200,000 weeks of unemployment were compen
sated during the month, a decline of 12 percent from September.
Changes in the number of weeks compensated closely paralleled
changes in the amount of benefits paid. Weeks of total unemploy
ment compensated aggregated 2,800,000 in October in contrast to
5.000. 000 in July, the high for the year. Approximately 89 percent of
all weeks of unemployment compensated were for total unemploy
ment, a slightly lower proportion than in the preceding month. Weeks
of partial and part-total unemployment compensated numbered
360.000, a decrease of 8 percent from September.
Provisions for the issuance of partial payments became effective
this month in Massachusetts and Mississippi, although the latter
State had been paying part-total benefits prior to October. The
sharpest decline occurred in Michigan, but in Hawaii and West
Virginia, on the other hand, weeks of partial and part-total unemploy
ment expanded to more than 4 times and more than 5 times the Sep
tember volumes, respectively. The expansion in Hawaii was attribut
able to curtailment of canning operations and in West Virginia to
the computation of such benefits on a quarterly basis. More than
two-fifths of all weeks of unemployment compensated in Delaware
and more than one-tliird of such weeks in Illinois and New Hampshire
were for partial and part-total unemployment. In Indiana, Ken
tucky, Maine, Missouri, and Ohio, at least one-fifth of all weeks of un
employment compensated were for partial and part-total unemploy
ment.
Beneficiaries
The average number of claimants receiving benefits during October
reached a new low for the year of less than 700,000, as recipients de
clined for the fourth successive month. The decline of 20 percent
from September was almost as large as the previous month’s decrease,
the sharpest in 1940. Of the 48 States reporting fewer claimants than
in September, Alaska and Michigan had declines of 61 and 58 percent,
respectively, and Georgia, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin showed re
ductions of 31 percent. Every important industrial State reported
decreases, practically all of them in excess of 15 percent. In 33 States,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
119
Social Security
moreover, the average number of benefit recipients was the lowest this
year. Two States—Idaho and Wyoming—each reported about 80
percent fewer claimants in October than in their high months this
year, and decreases of more than 70 percent from monthly highs were
registered in Alaska, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, and
Rhode Island. In 24 other States, the average number of benefit
recipients in October was between 50 and 70 percent less than in the
high month of the year. The only jurisdiction, reporting increases
in the number of claimants receiving benefits in October were Hawaii,
Nevada, and New Hampshire.
Statistics of Operation
Table 1 shows the certified claims, weeks of compensation, and bene
fits paid, by States, during the month of October 1940. Table 2 shows
the weekly trend of claims certified for benefit, by weeks, from Septem
ber 21 through the week beginning October 26.
T able
1.—Continued Unemployment-Compensation Claims 1 Received, Weeks Com
pensated, and Benefits Paid, by States, October 1940
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to Nov. 20, 1940]
Weeks compensated
Claimants for benefits 1
Type of unemployment
Type
Social Security Board region
and State
Region I:
Connecticut,-. . . . _____
Maine
__________ _ M assachusetts___ _
N ew Hampshire ______
Rhode Island_________ _
Vermont_______________
Region II:
New York______________
Region III:
Delaware ___________ .
New Jersey_____________
Pennsylvania________
Region IV:
District of Columbia_____
Maryland______________
North Carolina__ _____
Virginia------- ---------------West Virginia_______
Region V :
Kentucky______________
M ichigan.. ____________
Ohio___________________
Region VI:
Illin o is -------- . . . . . . - Indiana________________
Wisconsin______________
Region VII:
Alabama_______________
Florida ____________ . . .
Georgia____________ ____
Mississippi__________ -South Carolina............. .......
Tennessee______________
See footnotes at end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Number
Number
Waiting Compen
sable
period
Total
Partial
and part- Par
tial
total com only
2
bined 2
4,005,716
805, 535
3, 200,181
3,175,103
2,815,311
359,792
36,343
40,022
247,238
28, 592
44, 726
7,601
8,642
6, 712
39,723
11,488
9,449
2,057
27, 701
33, 310
207, 515
17,104
35, 277
5, 544
25, 762
32, 437
199, 818
16,452
35, 277
5,329
22, 926
25, 480
183, 224
10, 882
28,311
4,780
2, 836
6,957
16, 594
5, 570
6,966
549
663, 890
131,029
532,861
538, 958
538,958
(2)
(2)
7,477
133,096
344,682
856
40, 936
95,295
6, 621
92,160
249,387
6, 582
89,898
249,405
3,880
89,898
249,405
2, 702
(2)
(2)
2,606
21,053
53,147
83,104
53, 214
42,447
3, 576
5,800
14,679
6,029
8,442
17,477
47,347
68,425
47,185
34, 005
16, 963
44, 700
71,271
46,309
32,744
15,857
37,137
66,367
37,250
31, 290
1,106
7,563
4,904
9, 059
e 1,454
(5)
7, 277
4, 249
7, 665
0)
32, 515
133,196
202,149
9,716
20,803
54, 658
22,799
112,393
147,491
37, 300
105, 644
9, 572
10,641
1 143, 576
^ 114,114
1 29,462
(5)
(5)
(5)
277,048
67, 525
33,332
33,410
15, 299
11,712
243, 638
52, 226
21,620
242,122
52,141
22,163
154,736
40,744
18,840
87,386
11,397
3,323
67, 546
0)
1,932
70, 384
80,905
57,858
28,102
35, 735
83,741
13, 750
10, 082
11, 539
4,162
5, 726
11,728
56, 634
70,823
46,319
23, 940
30,009
72,013
57,989
71,543
47,116
25,939
31,885
62,015
55,072
62, 533
43,651
24,473
27,160
55,450
2,917
9, 010
3,465
1,466
4,725
6,565
1,636
(5)
2, 377
25
2,050
2,506
46, 872
116,285
(5)
6, 254
1,317
«
(5)
457
0)
(2)
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
120
T able
1.— Continued Unemployment-Compensation Claims Received, Weeks Com
pensated, and Benefits Paid, by States, October 1940—Continued
Claimants for benefits 1
Weeks compensated
Type
Social Security Board region
and State
Type of unemployment
Number
Region VIII:
Iowa___________________
M innesota______ ______
Nebraska
__
____
NorthDakota___ _______
South Dakota___ _____
Region IX:
Arkansas____ . . . ______
Kansas
M issouri,,- _________ _
Oklahoma. _ _
.....
Region X:
Louisiana. _____________
N ew M exico.
Texas________ _________
Region XI:
A rizona...
. ___
Colorado_______________
Idaho. . . __ ___________
M ontan a_______________
U tah__ _______________
W yoming___________ ._
Region XII:
California____
_ ____
N e v a d a ... . . . _____ . . .
Oregon _.
. _ _______
W ashington___________
Territories:
A laska.. . . . .
Hawaii
...
Number
Partial
and part- Par
tial
total com only
2
bined 2
W aiting
period
Compen
sable
32, 017
60, 079
14, 550
3, 361
3,119
10,497
10,693
2,532
686
805
21, 520
49,386
12, 018
2,675
2,314
21, 532
48, 367
11,773
2,387
2,314
18,136
43, 753
10, 682
2,136
2,027
3, 396
4,614
1,091
251
287
865
(5)
451
90
(5)
34, 641
23,128
105,607
35, 936
6,795
9,517
42,901
9,354
27, 846
13, 611
62,706
26, 582
27, 846
13,420
57, 740
26,193
25,320
11, 589
43,483
22, 597
2, 526
1,831
14, 257
3,596
219
839
10,063
410
77,144
13,105
129, 289
12, 590
1,888
15, 528
64,554
11,217
113,761
65, 290
10, 582
85,992
60,241
9,472
73,463
5, 049
1,110
12,529
(5)
684
(5)
12, 719
26,949
9,843
17,194
16, 661
4, 780
3, 385
4,086
2, 406
3,892
2, 580
1, 284
9,334
22,863
7,437
13,302
14, 081
3,496
9, 253
22,309
7,042
12, 381
14, 026
3, 507
8,540
19,117
6,663
12, 381
12,810
2,905
713
3,192
379
(2)
1, 216
602
52
2,190
(5)
(2)
90
289
391, 776
6, 851
23,494
47,142
58,073
1,295
5, 530
9,591
333, 703
5, 556
17,964
37, 551
338, 750
4,907
16,999
36,873
291,414
4, 524
13,833
31, 281
47,336
383
3,166
5, 592
30, 224
229
2 ,3r0
0)
2,185
5,024
651
1,678
1,534
3,346
1,359
2, 710
1,294
2,288
65
422
0
407
Total
Benefits paid
Social Security Board
region and State
Type of unemployment
A m oun t3
Total
Total,
Region I:
Connecticut_________
M aine______________
Massachusetts______
New Hampshire_____
Rhode Island_______
Vermont____________
Region II:
N ew York__________
Region III:
Delaware___________
N ew Jersey________ _
Pennsylvania_______
Region IV:
District of Columbia..
M aryland__________
North Carolina______
Virginia________ . . . .
West Virginia_______
$32. 230, 658 $29,922, 296 $2, 285,839
$1,283,878,444
240, 656
213, 647
1,976,416
120, 377
352,123
43,147
224, 693
175,840
1,879,975
92, 315
317, 851
40, 350
6, 242, 206
6,242,206
(0
46, 664
874, 404
2,726, 744
35,212
874, 404
2,726, 744
11, 389
(>)
(0
10, 800 January 1939..
____do. ____ .
(2)
January 1938. __
(2)
1,464, 377
29,106,130
166,395,361
194,817
390, 250
340, 723
349, 647
282, 860
182,107
347, 737
326,995
304, 315
267, 478
11, 933
42, 452
13, 530
45,076
15, 382
<5)
40, 543
10, 842
36, 382
(5)
____do. _____
_ __.do.
_ ___
____do_ _____
_ ___do_ _ ___
___ _do_ _ ___
4,790,640
21,895,046
16,714, 687
15,422,337
19,794,930
See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Partial and Partial
part-total only 2
combined 2
M onth and year Amount of
benefits first
benefits since
payable
first payable 4
15, 614
37, 807
95, 341
28,062
34,272
2,757
(5)
$33. 791
9,015
(5)
(5)
2,161
(2)
January
____do.
__do_
____do_
_ __do_
____do.
1938. __
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
__ _.do___ ____
22,105, 222
10, 544,063
74,244,965
6, 269,340
22,453, 655
2,210,264
254, 587,928
Social Security
T able
121
1.— Continued Unemployment-Compensation Claims Received, Weeks Com
pensated, and Benefits Paid, by States, October 1940— Continued
Benefits paid
Type of unemployment
Social Security Board
region and State
A m oun t3
Total
Region Y :
Kentucky ________
$310,910
$357,382
Michigan____________
1, 274,967
1, 337,843
Ohio________________ 7 1, 261, 226 7 1,130, 099
Regon VI:
1,995, 253
2, 616,144
444,957
504,300
197, 768
Wisconsin .
218,961
Region VII:
354, 895
Alabama ___________
369,814
694, 641
623, 422
Florida______________
309,651
296, 722
150,113
157,315
186,996
208, 692
Tennessee_______ ____
419,213
449, 703
Region VIII:
194,006
175, 675
474, 211
439,404
Minnesota______ ____
95, 788
Nebraska____________
103, 632
19, 620
21,421
14, 661
16, 656
Region IX:
170, 202
160, 205
112,256
124,497
449, 783
386,172
226,828
Oklahoma___________
250' 269
Region X:
Louisiana________ __
531.276
567, 998
89,129
New Mexico_________
96,806
694, 389
T exas,. ____________
628, 283
Region XI:
98,896
93.464
193, 782
218, 593
Colorado __________
72, 701
69,660
Idaho_______________
135, 463
135,463
142,966
135,115
U tah______ ________
37,054
Wyoming____________
41,929
Region X II:
4, 284.012
California____________ 4, 727,828
59,945
63,470
N evada_____________
194,153
171,168
Oregon ___.
_____
402, 698
450, 674
Washington_____ _ ._
Territories:
18,471
18,974
20, 788
18,630
Partial
and
Partial
part-total on ly 2
combined2
Month and year Amount of
benefits first benefits since
payable
first payable4
January 1939__
July 1938_____
January 1939 ___
$8,950, 850
102, 576, 317
7 45, 756,968
July 1939_____
April 1938____
July 1936_____
55,297,160
35,049, 797
19,128, 297
January 1938
January 1939April 1938^. __
July 1938_____
January 1938- __
16, 563,268
9,168, 325
7,170, 746
4,812,802
4,912,867
16,190, 411
18,179
34, 807
7,844
1,801
1,979
3, 757 July 1938January 1938. ._
(5)
2, 990 January 1939-__
625 __ __do. _ _ __
(5)
11,387,921
24,253,850
2,906,180
1,088, 759
718,509
9, 995
12, 241
63,534
23,441
1,032 . . . _do_
5,072
41,920 ____do. - ___
1,690 December 1938-
4, 505, 677
4,040, 540
11, 611,454
7, 549,650
January 1938.-December 1938.
January 1938.
15,714,056
2, 270,480
28, 764,4IS
285 ___ do. . . .
16, 865 January 1939. -.
September 1938
Cl
July 1939_____
(2)
446 January 1938...
1, 834 January 1939.._
4, 560,861
7,176, 679
4,340,705
3, 528,413
5, 569, 536
2, 249,084
$43, 234
62, 876
7 131,127
(5)
(5)
(5)
614,451 $443,019
59,177
(6)
21,193
11, 201
14, 427
71, 219
12.929
7,126
21, 540
30,490
36,120
7,677
65,898
5,432
24, 737
3,013
0)
7,851
4,875
436,093
3, 525
22, 756
47,976
503
2,158
7, 513
(5)
8,942
156
8,463
10,973
(s)
4,319
(5)
270, 599
2,032
16,010
«
January
January
January
January
0 ____do_
2,055 ____do.
1938...
1939...
1938-..
1939...
117,022,766
1, 746, 364
13, 639,068
14, 298,057
___ __
_____
829, 279
529,385
1 I. e., certification that the claimant has completed a waiting-period week or a compensable period
(usually a calendar week or 7-day period).
2 Benefits for partial and part-total unemployment are not provided^ by State law in Montana, New
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In Massachusetts and Mississippi provision for these payments
became effective Oct. 1, 1940. Mississippi, however, provided for benefits for part-total unemployment
prior to this date.
3 Includes supplemental payments, not classified by type of unemployment.
4 Adjusted to exclude returned and voided benefit checks except for October.
5 Data for partial unemployment included with data for part-total unemployment.
6 Payments for part-total and partial unemployment are made for benefit periods of one quarter. The
number of weeks represented by each such payment is determined by dividing the amount paid by the
claimant’s benefit rate for total unemployment.
7 Figures for October exclude 4 payments amounting to $69 arising from recalculation of weekly benefit
amounts and 15 payments for 33 weeks amounting to $413 for payment of miners’ claims resulting from
labor dispute in 1939. Both amounts, however, are included in benefits since first payable.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
122
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 2. — Trend of Weekly Continued Claims 1 Received for all Types of Unemployment,'2
by States, for Weeks Ending in October 1940
[Data reported by State agencies, corrected to N ov. 26,1940]
Weekly average 3
Claimants (in thousands) for benefits,1
week ending—
October
Social Security Board region
and State
Percent
Sept.
Sep
N um
of
tember ber (in change
thou
from
sands) Septem
ber
T otal_________ _______________ 1, 014.9
Region I:
Connecticut_______________
8.4
M aine____________________
61.4
Massachusetts_____________
5.2
New Hampshire ___________
Rhode Island--------------------Vermont__________________
1.9
Region II:
New York 4__________ . . . .
161.6
Region III:
1.7
Delaware_________________
31.6
New Jersey 4______________
Pennsylvania 4____________
83.2
Region IV :
District of Columbia........... - 4.5
M aryland_________________
13.8
North C arolina..--------------24.6
14.2
Virginia___________________
West Virginia_____________
Region V:
Kentucky_________ ______ _
Michigan_________________
52.9
Ohio______________________
51.6
Region VI:
Illinois____________________
69.8
Indiana___________________
18.6
Wisconsin_________________
9.0
Region VII:
19.7
10.0
12.1
10.6
8.2
Georgia.._________________
M ississippi________________
South Carolina____________
Tennessee_________________
Region VIII:
Iowa________________ ____ _
Minnesota________________
Nebraska_____________ ____
North D akota_____________
South Dakota____ _________
Region IX:
Arkansas_________________
Kansas...... ................................
22.8
19.0
9.9
10.6
21.2
8.6
13.4
3.3
.8
.8
10.4
5.1
23. 3
8.4
21
Sept.
28
Oct. 5
Oct.
12
Oct.
19
Oct.
26
863.5
885.8
867.6
8.1
7.7
.1
52.3
876.2
-1 3 .7
978.8
930.0
887.9
7.9
9.0
50.7
6.4
10.3
1.7
-2 1 .4
+ 6 .6
-1 7 .4
+21.6
-1 5 .0
-1 0 .2
9.5
8.4
56.2
5.4
10.7
8.5
7.6
53.3
5.0
7.9
8.7
50.7
5. 8
12. 5
144.5
-1 0 .6
158.3
1.4
29.0
77.3
-1 3 .0
- 8 .3
- 7 .2
29.5
77.7
4.6
11.7
«. 6
11.7
9.4
+1. 0
-1 4 .6
-2 4 .4
-1 7 .7
-1 0 .6
4.2
13.3
23.5
15.4
10.4
1
6.6
152.4
140.9
150.3
143.4
143.4
1.5
29.9
72.5
1.5
28.9
73.7
28.7
87.8
1.4
28.3
72.7
1.3
29.9
74.8
4.5
12.3
21.4
12.0
20.1
12.8 13.7
10.0
9.8
4.4
4.5
11. 5
18.7
10.3
9. 7
11.6
12.0
4.6
9. 1
4.8
11.9
16. 0
10. 7
8.9
5.9
35. 2
45.7
7.6
29. 5
37.6
7.0
29. 8
51.1
7.6
26.8
43.1
63.4
15.8
7.1
55.5
14.1
62.9
15.1
7.3
60.7
15. 2
7.5
16.5
17.3
18.1
13.5
15.7
14.8
19.6
13.9
18.5
11.7
6.7
7.6
18.2
7.0
17. 2
17.2
7.0
12.5
3.2
.7
.7
7.2
13.0
3.1
.7
.7
7.0
12.9
3. 5
8.4
5.0
22.3
7.3
4.9
22.5
7.8
1.6
7.0
30.3
44.4
-1 4 . 2
-4 2 .7
-1 4 .1
48.6
50.5
9.2
40.7
49.1
60.6
15.1
7.2
-1 3 .1
-1 8 .8
-2 0 .7
68.9
.17.9
8.3
64.4
16.4
7.5
15. 9
18.2
12.9
6.5
7.8
18.0
-1 9 .5
-2 0 .1
-3 2 .3
-3 4 .0
-2 6 .6
-1 4 .9
19.5
22.7
18.1
9.5
9.9
18.6
1.6
21. 0 214.1
15. 1
7.8
8.6 8.4
7.0
-1 7 .8
-4 .6
- 4 .2
- 5 .1
-1 1 .4
7.9
13.2
3.4
.7
.7
12.5
3.4
.7
.7
-2 3 .6
- 1 .4
-6 .2
- 5 .4
10.4
5.0
'22.5
8.3
9.9
5.0
22.4
7.8
12.8
3.2
.7
.7
8.0
21.6
10
6.8
8.6
9.0
51. 1
/. 5
.4
1.7
2.0
2.0 11.8
2.1
7.9
8.2
48.8
5.4
9. 5
1.7
9.2
17.5
8.0
8.6
1.6
6.8
10
19.6
6.0
.8
.7
1.7
12.1
5.6
8.2
6.9
12.8
3.0
.8
.7
7.6
5.4
23.0
7.8
4.6
5.0
19.8
21.9
7.9
Oklahoma________________
7.9
Region X:
17.7
17.4
18.5
15.5
19.9
23.7
17.3
Louisiana_________________
-2 7 .3
3.3
3.1
13. 2
3.1
3.2
New Mexico______________
3.0
- 8 .8
28.2
27.9
29.1
29.6
32.1
31.0
33.2
Texas_____________________
28.7
-1 3 .4
Region XI:
3.0
2.5
2.9
2.9
3.0
Arizona___ . . . ................... .
-5 .7
.4
6.3
4.6
5.6
5.7
5.7
-8 .2
Colorado______________ ___
- 3 .5
Idaho______ ______________
4.0
4. 2
3.3
3.6
3.5
3.7
3.6
M ontana3___________ ____
3.7
+ 3 .5
3.4
3.5
3.9
3.8
4.1
3.9
4.1
3.7
-1 0 .4
U tah_____________________
W yoming__ ______________
.1
- 5 .1
Region XII:
87.9
82.2
85.8
82.9
83.5
86.7
84.9
84.7
California__ ______________
1. 7
1. 5
1.4
1.5
1.4
r i.3
1.4
1.5
+ 9.1
N evada___________________
5. 6
4.3
5. 7
4.6
15.0
4.5
4.8
5.0
+ 4 .7
Oregon____________________
11.4
.2
8.4
9.0
9.3
9.3
+ 7 .7
Washington_______________
Territories:
.7
.5
.5
.4
1.3
-5 8 .6
1.3
.5
Alaska______________ -----.9
.1
1. 5
.5
+66.0
.7
Hawaii .
.
.
------• I. e., certification that the claimant has completed a waiting-period week or a compensable period
(usually a calendar week or 7-day period).
2 Includes claims for total, part-total, and partial unemployment.
s Computations based on complete figure.
,
T
« Benefits for partial and part-total unemployment are not provided by State law in Montana, New Jersey,
N ew York, and Pennsylvania. In Massachusetts and Mississippi provision for these payments became
effective Oct. 1, 1940. Mississippi, however, provided for benefits for part-total unemployment prior to
this date.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8.2
22.2
6.2
2.2
2.8
2.1
1.1
1
2.6
2.8
6.2
2.2
2.1
2.8
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.8
6
2.1
1.0
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.2
-.2
1.1
11
8.6
10.0
1.0
1.1
1.0
1
Social Security
123
VOLUNTARY PEN SIO N INSURANCE IN BRAZIL, 1940 1
EMPLOYEES of any enterprise in Brazil who are dismissed may
continue membership in the social-insurance scheme in which they are
insured, provided their dismissal is not due to certain specified classes
of offenses, according to a decree law of February 7, 1940. For the
purpose of the present legislation, unemployment includes inactivity
because of dismissal or lack of work. The option to continue socialinsurance membership is open to a member who is suspended or given
leave without pay, as well as to one whose contribution to a retirement
and pension institute or fund ceases because he is engaged in employ
ment not covered by any social-insurance or retirement legislation.
An eligible member who wishes to continue his protection must
communicate his intention to the institute or fund, supporting his
communication with proof of unemployment or of employment not
covered by social insurance, which shall be renewed every 6 months.
In the communication shall be stated the pay on the basis of which
contributions are to be made, which cannot be greater than the last
pay received in the activity covered by his social insurance nor less
than half of that amount. Unless the notice of intention to continue
the protection is presented to the institute or fund within 12 months
after cessation of contributions for any reason allowed in this legisla
tion, the right to membership and the option of continuance of
insurance is lost.
The contributions shall include that of the member himself and
that of the employer, and are to be made monthly. The contribution
of the State shall be equal to half of the combined employer and em
ployee contribution. With the first such payment and those following
are to be included payments on arrearages, at the rate of a month’s
contribution with each payment. The member who is contributing
to an institute or fund as provided in this legislation, and who fails
for more than 12 months to pay his contributions, shall forfeit all
his rights as a member of the institute or fund. In case of a lapse in
payments less than 12 months in duration, the fund member and his
beneficiaries shall retain their right to the respective benefits, granting
of which shall be contingent upon furnishing proof as stated above,
and the payment, at the rate of the last contribution paid, of the
quotas due since contributions ceased. Quotas in arrears are charged
with interest at one-half percent per month. In institutes and funds
which grant benefits on the basis of the duration of service, months for
which voluntary contributions have been paid shall be considered as
time of active service. Contributions may not be based upon monthly
remuneration in excess of 2,000 milreis.
1
Revista do Traballio, Rio de Janeiro, M ay 1940. See M onthly Labor Review, September 1939, or Serial
No, R. 1004, for a tabular statement of the occupational pension-insurance schemes in Brazil.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
124
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Certain specified public-service employees, who engage in other
occupational activities but are contributing to the fund for publicservice employees, may choose to continue in that institute, being
exempted from contribution to the other welfare institutions to which
they belong or shall come to belong; but this" option shall be indicated
to the other institutions within 6 months from the date of coming
under their jurisdiction, under penalty of losing the right to the option.
This decree law replaces a similar one dated October 27, 1938, and
incorporates within its provisions insured persons covered by the
previous legislation.
UNEM PLO Y M EN T-A SSISTA N CE ALLOWANCES IN
GREAT B R IT A IN
THE unemployment-assistance allowances in Great Britain, provided
for by the Unemployment Assistance (Determination of Need and
Assessment of Needs) Regulations, 1936, were increased in December
1939 by regulations made by the Minister of Labor and National
Service. They were again increased by similar regulations which
received the approval of Parliament in October 1940.1 The increases
were to become effective November 4, 1940.
British Unemployment Assistance Allowance Rates Effective from December 18, 1939,
and from November 4, 1940
Rate per week
Household member covered
Dec. 18, 1939N ov. 4, 1940
Householder and householder’s wife or husband______________________
Householder (where above rate is not applicable):
M ale_______ _________________________________________________
F em a le...___________________________ _____ ___________________
Members of household to whom foregoing rates do not apply, aged:
21 years or o v e r M ale______________________________________________________
Female________ ___________________________________________
16 and under 21________________________________________________
14 and under 16________________________________________________
11 and under 14___ ____ _______________________________________
8 and under 1 1 . . . ________________ _____________________________
5 and under 8__________________________________________________
Under 6_______________________________________________________
For child in household consisting of only 1 child in addition to not more
than 2 adults—minimum am ou nt........................................ ............... ........
s.
d.
N ov. 4, 1940
s.
d.
26 0
28 0
17 0
16 0
18 0
17 0
11 0
10 0
12 0
11 0
10 0
9 0
6
6
5
4
4
3
0
6
0
6
4 6
6
5
4
4
3
9
3
9
3
9
4 9
The 1939 regulations provided for increases over the 1936 rates of
2s. per week for the householder and the householder’s wife or hus
band, by Is. per week for single persons above the age of 16, and 6d.
for young persons under that age. The same rate of increase applies
to the present allowances, with the exception of young persons under
16 years of age, whose allowances will be increased by 3d. instead
1 Ministry of Labor Gazette, London, issues of December 1939 and October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Social Security
125
of 6d. The original rate of 15s. for persons living otherwise than as
members of households was increased to 16s. 6cl. in 1939 and to 17s. 6d.
under the new regulations.
The rates in effect from December 18, 1939, to November 1940,
and the new allowances, are shown in the preceding table.
Persons entitled to an allowance from the Assistance Board by
regulations issued under the Unemployment Assistance (Emergency
Powers) Act, 1939, for the relief of distress caused by the war—which
extended the eligibility for allowances to include such persons—will
also be eligible for increased allowances.
It is estimated that the additional cost of the increased allowances
will be about £900,000 per annum.
28 0 3 9 8— 41—
9
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Housing Conditions
B U IL D IN G A N I) LOAN ASSOCIATIONS, 1939
INCREASES in total assets in amount of mortgage loans made
during the year, and in the surplus and undivided profits at the end
of 1939 as compared with 1938, were reported by the United States
Building and Loan League.“ The assets of the 8,328 associations at
tire end of 1939 totaled $5,674,262,030. The number of associations
and the membership both showed decreases from 1938 to 1939.
T able 1.— Status of Building and Loan Associations, End of 1939, by Slates
State
Number Number of
of asso
ciations members
Mortg ago loans
Total assets
Made in
1939
Outstanding,
end of year
Surplus and
undivided
profits
Alabama- . . ____ ____
Arizona____ ___________
Arkansas_______________
California___ ___________
Colorado. _____________
36
3
42
180
56
19,416
3,319
9,227
223, 820
27,909
$13,907,409
3,661,900
14, 584,417
276,904,146
32, 275,009
$2,469, 562
i 1,212,340
4,144,109
1 37,898,061
9,182,273
$8,624,876
3,212,958
12, 538,167
226,730,255
22, 812,091
$1,502,954
60,979
1,328,645
2 18,088,641
2,876, 355
Connecticut__________ .
Delaware.
Florida______________ .
Georgia_____ __________
Idaho__________________
50
44
82
67
13
47,072
16,131
39, 238
29,457
14,794
38,685,325
13,649,746
55,185,709
28,955,743
11,190,221
8,086,914
i 246,800
1 16,680,056
1 6, 334,717
1, 605,392
35,138,662
11, 584, 216
45, 661,098
26, 593,327
9,389,916
2,078,448
408,053
1,351,218
1,053,064
465;713
Illinois_________________
Indiana_______________ _
I o w a ..________________
Kansas . . . .
. ...
Kentucky . __________
649
254
93
140
173
373,934
175,133
53,295
85,257
120,072
346,856, 591
169,864,207
50, 519, 371
73,066,895
113,473,401
i 30,368,893
‘ 14,748,452
13,327,579
10,720,620
‘ 10,646,102
242,073,900
119,961,559
40, 529,243
46,494,734
86,656,851
20,673,716
13, 307,878
2,190,969
4,934; 225
6,671,206
Louisiana... _ _ ______
M aine___________ ______
Maryland- ________ _ .
Massachusetts. ________
Michigan_______________
73
41
684
210
82
109, 648
24,927
3 193,305
421,691
115, 690
93,818,249
23,918,322
188,894,704
492,254, 576
118,178,131
21,370,482
i 366,789
1 9,952,960
76, 527,627
15, 552,783
77,803,962
20,272,879
115,734,586
373,685,098
64,066,275
9,100,001
1,541,221
4 11,785,036
30,140', 561
7,682; 681
Minnesota______ ____ .
Mississippi. _________ .
Missouri___ _______ .
M ontana_______________
Nebraska. _ ______ ____
76
41
213
22
69
95,830
7,762
152,866
16,154
84,118
75,764,655
9,029,641
131,496,877
11, 539,377
66,186,169
24,466,793
1,677,692
7,876,655
2,828,865
10,025,753
65, 545,332
7,781, 518
98,523,410
9,066,161
47, 412,065
2, 547,398
746,698
9, 241', 588
884;919
6, 671', 188
Nevada____ ____
___
New Hampshire..
. .
N ew Jersey.. __________
New Mexico. ______ _____
New York______________
4
30
1,225
21
269
927
23,088
497,787
4, 269
591,791
875,887
19,385,008
543,713,964
5,869,655
422,334,142
i 99,460
2,105, 507
i 246,874
i 586,323
69,263, 712
624,980
17, 340,863
276,493,853
4,989, 555
325,381,112
62, 599
1,210; 524
150,890,236
481,852
29,046; 503
North Carolina_________
North D akota__________
Ohio.. . . . . . .
Oklahoma___ _ _
Oregon. _____________ .
181
23
696
69
32
135, 580
14,379
1,438, 559
42, 200
29,503
98,471,931
11, 545, 293
827,015,918
64,497, 218
30,477,081
25,930,190
1, 315,175
• 46, 555,926
16,277,183
8,046,434
87, 620,800
9,042, 676
590, 839,090
52,174, 288
23,730,195
7,431, 237
774; 678
63, 508,613
5,968; 619
777, 067
See footnotes at end of table.
° United States Savings and Loan League.
Cincinnati, 1940.
126
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part 1 of Secretary’s Annual Keport, by H. F. Cellarius.
127
Housing Conditions
T able 1.— Status of Building and Loan Associations, End of 1939, by States— Continued
Mortg ige loans
Number Number of
of asso
ciations members
State
Total assets
Made in
1939
Outstanding,
end of year
Surplus and
undivided
profits
Pennsylvania.. ________
Rhode Island___________
South Carolina_________
South Dakota ------------Tennessee _____
1,606
9
72
15
47
465,981
55,871
22, 519
5,867
22,969
$481,790, 597
40,304,438
27,299,839
4,636,665
26,948,211
$53,768,141
9, 542,208
8,355,524
413, 266
6,371,178
$351,151,791
34,438,410
24,503,377
3,793, 608
23,684,996
$59, 649,031
1,689,638
1,468, 642
246,945
935,566
Texas__________________
U tah___________________
Vermont____
... ...
Virginia . . . . ----------Washington
. .. .. ..
153
21
14
80
68
86,478
30, 427
6,852
51,795
152,283
95,194,076
27,580,964
6,228, 599
51,637,650
68,728,096
27,005,961
4 1,461, 565
1, 590,853
1 6, 482, 611
4 11,879,029
73,834, 514
15,706,452
5,406,076
45,219,565
50,924,662
5,920,684
4,024,995
472,995
4,256,128
4,515,722
West Virginia _
- Wisconsin .
_ _
Wyoming__________ . . .
District of Columbia. —
Alaska------ ------------- .
Hawaii____ ____________
61
186
14
29
1
9
25,918
162,538
4,906
152,287
216
14,456
27,975,138
171,792,195
6,014,730
152,759,857
214, 580
7,109, 507
4 3,864,043
20, 627, 381
1, 276,709
47, 742,163
4 259, 513
4 673,398
19,892,427
102,406,681
4, 476,884
143,191,176
195,095
6,110,480
2,717, 719
14,767,829
651, 515
15,093,046
4,477
439,886
Total:
1939___________
1938___________
8,328
8,951
6,499,511
6,829,167
5,674,262,030
5,629, 564,869
710,058,596
571,161,951
4,111,066,745
3,918,661,795
534,340,101
517,112,464
1 Federal associations only; no data for State-chartered associations.
2 N ot including (nonwithdrawable) guaranty capital stock of State-chartered associations.
3 Estimated.
4 Partly estimated.
The relative importance of the associations chartered under the
State and Federal acts is shown in table 2.
T able 2.-—Membership and Assets of Building and Loan Associations Under Stale and
Federal Laws, 1938 and 1939
1939
Type of association
State-chartered associations..
---Federal-chartered associations. . _ _
T otal_______________ ____ _
N um
ber of Member
ship
associa
tions
1938
Total assets
6, 918 5,051,978 $4,096,978, 221
1,410 1, 447, 533 1, 577,283,809
8, 328 6,499, 511
5, 674, 262, 030
N um
ber of Member
ship
associa
tions
Total
assets
7,583 5,167, 504 $4,318, 357,238
1,368 1,661, 663 1,311,207, 631
8,951 6,829,167
5, 629. 564,869
Table 3 reveals a continuous decline in number of associations
through 1939; and in total assets until 1939, when a slight increase
(less than 1 percent) occurred. Membership likewise fell except in
the 2 years 1937 and 1938.
T able 3.—Development of Building and Loan Associations, 1930 to 1939
Year
Number of
associations
Membership
Assets
1930_________________________________________
1931__________________________________________
1932_________________________________________
1933_________________________________________
1934____________
___________________ ___ _
11,777
11,442
10,997
10, 727
10, 920
12,350,928
11, 338,701
10,114,792
9, 224,105
8, 370, 210
$8,828,611, 925
8,417,375, 605
7, 750,491, 084
6,977, 531,676
6, 450,424,392
1935_________________________________________
1936_________________________________________
1937_________________________________________
1938_________________________________________
1939__________________________________________
10, 534
10, 256
9, 762
8,951
8, 328
7,059,567
6,125,971
6, 233, 019
6, 829,167
6,499, 511
5,888,710,326
5, 741,935,430
5, 711, 658, 410
5,629, 564,869
5,674, 262,030
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
National Income and Population Statistics
IN CO M E PA YM ENTS, BY STATES, 1929 TO 1939
TOTAL income payments in the United States were 6 percent larger
in 1939 than in 1938. Increases by States ranged from 1 percent in
Kansas to 11 percent in Michigan. Payments per capita were about
5 percent larger in 1939 than in the preceding year. In Arizona, per
capita payments were virtually unchanged; in other States the in
creases ranged up to 10 percent in North Dakota. The average
amount of income payments continued to range widely. The five
States with the highest averages had per capita incomes of $750 or
more, and the five States with the lowest averages had per capita in
comes of $300 or less.1 (See table 1.)
Per capita income payments by States are computed by dividing
total income payments by total population, the population estimates
being keyed to the census figures for 1930 and 1940. Interpolations
are made by use of estimates released each year by the Bureau of the
Census for July 1. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,
which makes the estimates of income, points out that salary and wage
payments and entrepreneurial withdrawals must he allocated, in the
light of the only available information, to the States in which the
income is earned. The population figures, on the other hand, are
based on residence. As a result, the necessity of assigning such income
to the State in which the payments are made causes some distortion of
per capita income figures. For example, large numbers of the persons
who work and receive their pay in Washington, D. C., reside in Mary
land and Virginia, and the per capita income attributed to the District
of Columbia is much too large. In smaller degree, the per capita
figure for New Jersey is distorted by the large numbers who work and
receive their pay in New York City but reside in New Jersey, the
per capita figure for New Jersey being too small. For these
reasons, no per capita figures are given in table 1 for New Jersey and
the District of Columbia. It is believed that the bias in the other
per capita figures is far less serious.
1 U . S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Survey of Current Business, October 1940, pp.
8-12: Income Payments to Individuals, by States, 1929-39, by John L. Martin. For a more detailed analysis
of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce’s previous figures of income payments by States, see
M onthly Labor Review, June 1940 (pp 1367-1372).
12?
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
129
National Income and Population Statistics
T able
1.—Per Capita Income Payments by States, 1929-391
Ratio to national
per capita payments
Per capita payments
State 2
1929
1932
1933
1938
1939
1929
1939
$326
586
305
978
596
$157
315
154
585
365
$145
307
144
546
355
$236
457
234
726
500
$243
456
244
753
522
0.482
.866
.451
1.445
.880
0. 453
. 851
. 455
1. 405
.974
Idaho________________________________
928
1,025
516
333
529
574
615
308
188
264
544
582
286
186
285
711
780
426
279
434
768
848
457
292
453
1.371
1. 514
.762
.492
.781
1.433
1. 582
. 853
.545
.845
K entucky____________________________
892
589
536
519
375
457
314
275
281
212
430
307
290
284
194
603
461
429
409
294
640
494
446
411
300
1.318
.870
.792
.767
.554
1.194
.922
.832
.767
. 560
M aryland____________________________
M assach u setts__
----------- ---M ichigan------- ---------------------------------
411
574
695
874
759
243
387
467
609
394
230
372
433
559
347
339
457
559
668
552
350
481
595
705
604
.607
.848
1.027
1.291
1.121
.053
.897
1. 110
1.315
1.127
570
274
608
645
538
341
131
358
315
279
329
126
337
337
312
485
194
455
510
403
505
203
472
552
421
.842
.405
.898
.953
.795
.942
.379
.881
1.030
.785
873
651
358
1,130
325
554
427
207
710
182
513
415
218
654
195
744
511
315
799
290
806
519
323
825
302
1.290
.962
. 529
1.669
.480
1.504
.968
.603
1. 539
. 563
441
747
453
664
756
182
403
217
367
436
217
390
226
347
408
328
562
336
519
541
362
608
343
545
575
.651
1.103
.669
.981
1. 117
.675
1.134
.640
1.017
1.073
844
274
446
359
462
552
565
155
194
194
260
299
524
166
225
186
258
299
630
249
348
286
388
446
666
268
373
296
401
449
1.247
. 405
.659
.530
.682
.815
1.243
. 500
.696
. 552
.748
.838
603
419
728
466
653
710
383
272
401
267
355
410
360
250
385
262
338
420
457
365
574
366
489
588
486
385
606
378
501
623
.891
.619
1.075
.688
. 965
1.049
.907
.718
1.131
. 705
. 935
1.162
Alabama
Colorado- -
. ..
- _____
_____
- ---- --
Connecticut--- _ _________ - ---------- 1
Minnesota - M ississippi___
N ebraska.. .
- ...
------ --
-----------------------------------
N ew Hampshire___________ _____
---
N ew Y ork.- _ . - - - - North Carolina------------- ----------------- North Dakota. .
..
------ -
Pennsylvania-------------------------------------Rhode Island, -South Carolina. .
---
.
- . . .
U tah-------------------------------------------------Virginia______________________________
Washington________ _______ ____ ____
W est Virginia________________________
W yom ing____________________________
1 For source, see footnote 1 of text.
2 Per capita income not computed for District of Columbia or for N ew Jersey.
See text.
Income, by Type of Payment
In addition to the figures of total income payments by States,
estimates have been made of income by types of payments—namely,
net salaries and wages, other labor income (which includes pension
payments and certain items not going exclusively to the employee
groups), entrepreneurial withdrawals (incomes of self-employed
persons available for personal use), and returns to capital (dividends,
interest, and net rents and royalties). These estimates are given for
the years 1929, 1932, 1933, 1938, and 1939 in table 2.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
130
Monthly Lahor Review—January 1941
T a b l e 2 . — Income Payments, by Type of Payment and b y States, 1929-39 1
[Millions of dollars]
Type of payment
1929
1932
1933
1938
1939
1929
1932
Alabama
T otal_________________ _______
N et salaries and wages_______
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawalsDividends, interest, etc______
856
510
13
249
84
425
263
21
101
40
396
252
30
77
37
662
380
56
170
56
563
288
14
204
57
297
152
30
93
22
277
144
27
82
24
686
402
58
167
59
251
172
5
45
29
613
390
11
110
102
383
242
16
60
65
374
218
23
77
56
450
199
45
169
37
472
208
49
176
39
5,390
3,236
65
911
1,178
134
92
7
21
14
243
116
2
23
102
151.
74
3
14
60
145
68
5
13
59
3,454
2,115
106
573
660
554
305
54
120
75
581
318
54
127
82
1,476
962
34
129
371
945
560
22
87
276
739
448
10
147
134
473
280
17
96
80
447
255
27
93
72
204
98
6
24
76
222
103
7
24
88
624
440
11
' 61
112
543
388
16
46
93
235
135
3
79
18
122
78
8
28
8
133
70
9
45
9
769
429
51
147
142
843
459
58
162
164
969
586
14
266
103
557
359
22
113
63
221
120
16
70
15
234
124
17
77
16
6,729
4, 569
71
842
1,247
3,523
2, 346
141
453
583
1,323
673
18
462
170
686
433
29
138
86
Kansas
527
330
24
112
61
531
294
29
151
57
1
1 For source, see footnote 1 of text.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4,856
2,840
307
885
824
5,122
2,965
333
934
890
902
542
30
83
247
1,208
758
67
120
263
1, 310
837
59
127
287
480
333
19
43
85
744
538
33
61
112
790
574
32
65
119
553
349
31
112
61
858
498
57
217
86
905
526
63
222
94
3,322
2,144
172
517
489
4, 724
3,008
312
686
718
5,027
3,195
327
722
783
1,084
513
63
405
103
1,128
543
66
409
110
826
445
61
229
91
847
469
66
217
95
Iowa
T o ta l._. _____________ .- .
1,894 1,037 1,022 1,565 1,684
N et salaries and wages. _.
649
1,308
681
961 1,070
Other labor income_____
33
52
57
136
126
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.. 331
202
176
308
316
Dividends, interest, etc.
222
114
128
160
172
971
526
18
292
135
3,294
1,925
133
617
619
Illinois
Indiana
T otal____ ______ _______________
N et salaries and wages______
Other labor income_____ . .
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, etc_____
225
134
20
46
25
Georgia
Idaho
T otal__________ . . .
N et salaries and w a g e s... _ . .
Other labor income_______ .
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, e tc .. . ..
221
131
21
47
22
District of Columbia
Florida
T otal___________________ ____ N et salaries and wages______
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals Dividends, interest, etc______
131
83
11
24
13
Connecticut
Delaware
T otal______ ______ ____________
N et salaries and wages___
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals-Dividends, interest, etc______
1939
California
Colorado
T otal____ _______ ____ ____ ____
N et salaries and wages____ _
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawalsDividends, interest, etc______
1938
Arizona
Arkansas
T otal___ _____
_. . . .
_
N et salaries and wages___ . . .
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals _
Dividends, interest, etc______
1933
725
375
34
245
71
Kentucky
733
395
50
196
92
739
396
51
195
97
975
566
18
257
134
568
322
31
135
80
524
310
36
104
74
L3J
National Income and Population Statistics
Table 2.— Income Payments, by Type of Payment and by States, 1929-39— Continued
[Millions of dollars]
Type of payment
1929
1932
1938
1933
1939
1929
1933
1932
855
518
12
199
126
784
457
55
172
100
491
302
35
92
62
515
321
25
93
76
820
471
60
181
108
457
278
9
83
87
1,124
709
13
137
265
996
614
53
128
201
733
431
28
92
182
782
464
23
89
206
1,893
1,313
76
246
258
1,667
1,158
93
244
172
546
255
9
227
55
2,806
1,868
239
370
329
3,123 1,454
856
2,160
20
211
377
395
201
357
417
177
37
167
36
893
573
34
159
127
347
214
5
96
32
168
118
8
25
17
79
52
1
.17
9
279
166
29
62
22
180
106
13
45
16
304
177
25
79
23
739
375
10
255
99
80
53
4
12
11
88
58
5
13
12
302
204
4
36
58
2,197
1,353
54
248
542
1,981
1,197
74
242
468
2, 557
1,618
157
323
459
2,674
1, 711
159
326
478
150
90
3
42
15
New York
T otal_______ ______ . -------- 14, 047
8,699
N et salaries and wages........ .
144
Other labor income________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals. 1,723
Dividends, interest, etc--------- 3,481
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
9,096
5,332
244
1,052
2,468
383
249
14
72
48
426
220
15
146
45
526
278
42
152
54
552
289
41
166
56
203
125
7
23
48
199
124
8
22
45
250
152
18
32
48
254
156
16
33
49
N ew Mexico
N ew Jersey
T otal____ _____________________ 3,228
N et salaries and wages---------- 2,137
34
Other labor income______ .
369
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
688
Dividends, interest, etc---------
1,782
1,070
126
331
255
New Hampshire
49
32
2
9
6
52
38
1
6
7
1,398
792
114
342
150
Nebraska
Nevada
T otal. . . . . . .
..
N et salaries and wages .
_ .
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, etc______
868 1,330
745
509
116
42
329
204
140
113
441 2,195 1,340 1,267 1,709
780 1,032
860
193 1,413
52
120
48
30
41
322
247
218
417
169
235
188
214
335
38
Montana
Total.
. . . ____ . .
___ . .
N et salaries and wages______
Other labor income___ ______
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, e t c .........
3,035
1,879
220
303
633
Missouri
258
127
21
90
20
267
141
17
87
22
404
244
25
67
68
Minnesota
Mississippi
T o ta l... _______ _____________
N et salaries and wages______
Other labor income_________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, etc. ____
383
229
27
63
64
1,070 3,690 2,589 2,376 2,873
677 2,398 1,535 1,417 1,751
235
112
97
50
48
290
219
238
346
133
597
628
719
896
212
Michigan
T otal____ ____
_______ ____ 3,608
N et salaries and wages____ _ 2, 502
39
Other labor income______ ..
435
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
632
Dividends, interest, e tc .. . . ..
306
181
15
50
60
315
187
13
47
68
Massachusetts
Maryland
T otal__________________________
N et salaries and wages.......... ..
Other labor income_________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.
Dividends, interest, etc______
1939
Maine
Louisiana
T otal____ ___________________
N et salaries and w ages.. ____
Other labor income__________
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, e tc .. . . .
1938
8,429 10,590 10,991 1,017
599
4,843 6,355 6,588
11
627
658
355
290
990 1,364 1,404
117
2,241 2, 213 2,372
90
61
5
15
9
97
57
6
26
8
163
87
15
46
15
170
88
16
50
10
North Carolina
596
372
20
132
72
647 1,013
576
380
56
29
161
278
77
103
1,068
617
58
282
111
132
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
1 a b l e 2.— Income Payments, by Type of Payment and by States, 1929-39— Continued
[Millions of dollars]
Type of payment
1929
1932
1933
1938
1939
1929
1932
North Dakota
T otal__________
__ __
N et salaries and wages
_ _.
Other labor income
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.
Dividends, interest, etc. . . .
299
136
3
142
18
126
87
6
22
11
149
75
8
56
10
1,072
601
14
298
159
531
322
36
108
65
209
97
26
74
12
231 4, 918 2, 706 2, 626 3,844
100 3,444 1,780 1, 729 2,445
21
70
98
144
304
97
613
353
355
559
13
791
475
398
536
782
398
72
204
108
797
396
75
210
116
625
401
9
149
66
360
237
15
70
38
4, 253
2,751
113
452
937
4,002
2,569
194
418
821
5, 347
3,352
483
613
899
5, 678
3, 636
445
636
961
575
387
8
49
131
391
229
18
33
111
475
280
7
152
36
277
180
11
63
23
299
185
23
68
23
932
572
16
234
110
522
324
28
112
58
507
326
29
96
56
278
183
3
59
33
155
103
5
26
21
155
94
11
32
18
1,013
654
14
230
115
676
438
22
128
88
630
411
26
111
82
797
586
10
114
87
471
336
16
68
51
465
332
33
55
45
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
158
104
2
39
13
94
64
4
18
8
97
57
5
26
9
445
278
36
38
93
473
303
31
40
99
239
110
24
92
13
820
487
57
194
82
856 2,651 1, 546 1, 552 2,455
517 1,481
934
856 1, 325
60
55
31
132
70
192
342
731
408
622
87
408
215
376
218
2, 558
1,362
140
649
407
307
133
4
146
24
134
93
7
21
13
155
78
13
53
11
Texas
Vermont
242
147
22
50
23
245
150
21
50
24
217
128
4
48
37
138
77
5
28
28
1,019 1,126
644
744
49
14
199
220
148
127
640
428
24
112
76
130
72
6
27
25
164
92
11
35
26
174
100
9
37
28
Washington
958
596
49
198
115
620
389
35
126
70
981
621
78
182
100
1,041
662
73
196
no
683
454
60
105
64
712 1,906 1,051 1,005 1,504
485 1,201
661
601
906
51
23
43
65
120
107
407
184
206
310
69
275
163
168
133
1, 555
955
113
307
180
142
82
8
39
13
152
85
8
46
13
Wisconsin
W yoming
Total .
____
N et salaries and wages . .
Other labor income__ ____
E ntrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, e tc ..
363
221
13
30
99
223
104
28
78
13
W est Virginia
T otal_________ ______
N et salaries and wages
Other labor income
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, etc
591
371
39
129
52
508
295
41
135
37
Virginia
T otal__________
N et salaries and wages _
Other labor income.
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
D ividends, interest, etc .
557
348
41
120
48
468
273
38
124
33
Utah
______ . . _
Total
N et salaries and wages_______
Other labor income
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.
Dividends, interest, etc___
343
217
20
70
36
South Dakota
Tennessee
T otal_____
N et salaries and wages_______
Other labor income
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
Dividends, interest, etc
4,181
2, 703
305
587
586
Rhode Island
South Carolina
T otal_________ .
N et salaries and wages
____
Other labor income
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.
Dividends, interest, etc
1939
Oregon
550
296
36
15?
66
Pennsylvania
T otal_______
7, 230
N et salaries and wages.
4, 941
Other labor income
81
Entrepreneurial withdrawals..
763
Dividends, interest, etc
1,445
1938
Ohio
Oklahoma
T otal_______ ___
N et salaries and wages. .
Other labor incom e..
Entrepreneurial withdrawals.
Dividends, interest, etc. ..
1933
133
National Income and Population Statistics
Regional shifts in income payments are affected primarily by shifts of
population and industry. It is pointed out, however, in the article
here reviewed, that variations by States are affected by such factors as
the prevailing types of industry. Michigan’s industries, for example,
are much more largely in the field of durable goods than are those of
Massachusetts, and durable-goods industries are much more susceptible
to industrial depressions than are nondurable-goods industries. This
situation is reflected in the comparatively large decline in the income
payments of Michigan during depression years.
All figures of income extending over a period of years are to be
interpreted in the light of price changes. Thus, the sharp reductions
of income payments between 1929 and 1932 were accompanied by
falling prices, and the decline of money payments was therefore greater
than the decline of purchasing power or real income. In 1939, prices
were still much lower than in 1929, and real income had regained the
approximate levels of 1929. In addition, a larger proportion of income
was used for consumption in 1939 than in 1929.1
POPULATION CHANGES, BY STATES, 1930 TO 1940
FINAL population figures by States, according to the Sixteenth
Census, 1940,2 show an increase of 7.2 percent for the country as a
whole between 1930 and 1940, as compared to 16.1 percent between
1920 and 1930. The slower rate of growth is attributed to the falling
birth rate and the fact that 1930-40 was the first intercensal period
in American history when emigration exceeded immigration. The
evolution of the population is shown in table 1.
T able 1 .—Population of the United States, 1790 to 1940
Increase over pre
ceding census
Increase over pre
ceding census
Census year
Census year
Population
Number
1940__________
1930__________
1920__________
1910__________
1900__________
1890__________
1880__________
1870__________
131,669, 275 . 8, 894, 229
122, 775, 046 17,064,426
105,710,620 13, 738,354
91,972, 266 15,977, 691
75,994, 575 13,046,861
62,947, 714 12, 791,931
50,155,783 110, 337, 334
i 39,818,449 i 8,375,128
Population
Per
cent
7.2
16.1
14.9
21.0
20.7
25.5
26.0
26.6
Number
1860__________
1850--.,______
1840________ 1830__________
1820__________
1810__________
1800__________
1790
31,443,321
23,191,876
17,069,453
12,866,020
9,638,453
7, 239,881
5, 308,483
3,929,214
8,251,445
6,122,423
4, 203,433
3, 227, 567
2, 398, 572
1,931, 398
1, 379, 269
Per
cent
35.6
35.9
32.7
33.5
33.1
36.4
35.1
1 Revised figure.
1 On this point, see the analysis of the Federal Reserve Board’s new index of production in the November
1910 M onthly Labor Review (pp. 1197-1201).
2 U. S. Bureau of the Census. Press Release, Series P-2: Final Population Figures for the United
States, by States, 1940. Washington, December 4, 1940.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
134
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 2. —Population Figures for the United States, 1940, by States
[A minus sign (—) denotes decrease]
Population
Division and State
1940
United States___ _____________
New England division_____
Middle Atlantic division___
East North Central division.
West North Central division
South Atlantic division____
East South Central division^
West South Central division.
Mountain division_________
Pacific division____________
N ew England division:
Maine____________________
N ew Hampshire____ ______
Vermont__________________
Massachusetts_____________
Rhode Island______________
Connecticut_______________
Middle Atlantic division:
New York_________________
New Jersey________________
Pennsylvania______________
East North Central division:
Ohio____ _________________
Indiana___________________
Illinois____________________
Michigan____ ____ ________
Wisconsin_________________
West North Central division:
Minnesota_________________
Iowa______________________
Missouri__________________
North Dakota_________ ____
South Dakota______________
Nebraska_______________
Kansas____________________
South Atlantic division:
Delaware__________________
Maryland_________________
District of Columbia_______
Virginia_________________
West Virginia______________
North Carolina____________
South Carolina_____________
Georgia..___ ______________
Florida____________________
East South Central division:
K en tu ck y ..______ _________
T en n essee...______________
Alabama__________________
M ississippi________________
West South Central division:
Arkansas__________________
Louisiana__________________
Oklahoma________________ _
Texas_____________________
Mountain division:
Montana____________ ______
Idaho_____________________
W yoming__________________
Colorado__________________
N ew Mexico_______________
Arizona................
U tah______________ ; ; ; ;;; ;;;
N evada___________________
Pacific division:
Washington________________
Oregon___ ____ ____________
California_____ ____________
1930
131,669, 275
8, 437,290
27, 539,487
26, 626, 342
13, 516,990
17,823,151
10, 778, 225
13, 064, 525
4,150, 003
9, 733,262
122,775,046
8,166, 341
26, 260, 750
25, 297,185
13,296,915
15, 793,589
9,887,214
12,176,830
3, 701,789
8,194, 433
847,226
491, 524
359, 231
4, 316, 721
713, 346
1, 709,242
797, 423
465, 293
359, 611
4, 249, 614
687,497
1, 606,903
13,479,142
4, 160,165
9,900,180
Ipopula
tion
rank
Percent of increase
1930-40
1920-30
7. 2
3.3
4.9
5. 3
1. 7
12. 9
9. 0
7.3
12.1
18.8
16.1
10.3
18. 0
17 8
6.0
12. 9
11. 2
18.9
11. 0
47.2
35
45
46
8
36
31
6.2
5.6
1
1.6
3.8
6.4
3.8
5.0
2.0
10.3
13.7
16.4
12, 588,066
4, 041,334
9,631,350
1
9
2
7.1
2.9
2.8
21.2
28. 1
10.5
6,907,612
3, 427,796
7,897, 241
5, 256,106
3,137, 587
6, 646, 697
3,238, 503
7, 630, 654
4, 842, 325
2,939,006
4
12
3
7
13
3.9
5.8
3.5
8.5
6.8
15.4
10.5
17.7
32.0
11.7
2, 792, 300
2, 538,268
3, 784, 664
641,935
642,961
1, 315, 834
1, 801,028
2, 563,953
2, 470,939
3, 629, 367
680, 845
692,849
1, 377,963
1,880, 999
18
20
10
39
38
32
29
8.9
2.7
4.3
- 5 .7
- 7 .2
- 4 .5
- 4 .3
7.4
2.8
6.6
5.3
8.8
6.3
6.3
266, 505
1, 821, 244
663, 091
2, 677, 773
1, 901, 974
3, 571, 623
1, 899, 804
3,123, 723
1, 897, 414
238, 380
1, 631, 526
486, 869
2, 421, 851
1, 729, 205
3,170,276
1, 738, 765
2,908, 506
1, 468, 211
47
28
37
19
25
11
26
14
27
11.8
11.6
36.2
10.6
10.0
12.7
9.3
7.4
29.2
6.9
12.5
11.3
4.9
18. 1
23.9
3.3
.4
51.6
2, 845, 627
2,915,841
2, 832,961
2,183,796
2, 614, 589
2, 616, 556
2, 646, 248
2, 009,821
16
15
17
23
8.8
11.4
7. 1
8.7
8.2
11.9
12.7
12.2
1,949, 387
2, 363,880
2, 336, 434
6, 414,824
1, 854, 482
2,101, 593
2, 396, 040
5,824, 715
24
21
22
6
5.1
12.5
-2 . 5
10. 1
5.8
16.9
18.1
24.9
559,456
524, 873
250, 742
1,123,296
531,818
499, 261
550,310
110, 247
537, 606
445, 032
225, 565
1, 035, 791
423, 317
435, 573
507, 847
91, 058
40
43
48
33
42
44
41
49
4.1
17.9
11. 2
8.4
25.6
14.6
8.4
21.1
- 2 .1
3.0
16.0
10. 2
17.5
30.3
13.0
17.6
1, 736,191
1,089,684
6, 907, 387
1, 563, 396
953, 786
5,677,251
30
34
5
11. 1
14.2
21.7
15.2
21.8
65. 7
The geographic divisions that experienced the largest increases
were the South Atlantic, Mountain, and Pacific Divisions. More
than average increases were recorded in the Pacific coast States
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
National Income and Population Statistics
135
(with heavy migration from the the Dust Bowl) and in all the South
ern States except Oklahoma (with a 2.5-percent decrease), Arkan
sas, and Alabama, the last-named State having, however, almost
exactly the same increase as the country as a whole. Florida had
the largest increase (29.2 percent) of any of the States. The only
Eastern State to show a decrease was Vermont, with a decline of
only a tenth of 1 percent. Five other States, all in the Dust Bowl
area, experienced declines, the decreases ranging from 7.2 percent in
South Dakota to 2.5 percent in Oklahoma.
The decline in the rate of growth of population affects the age
distribution, the habits of consumption, consumer demand, the
capital-goods market, and many other vital aspects of the national
economy. The marked regional shifts of population, radically
different from the earlier westward movement, also reflect profound
changes in the economic and cultural life of the country. The basic
figures now available are, however, merely the background or frame
work required for the analysis of forthcoming detailed Census data.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
SEV EN TH NATIONAL C O N FER EN C E ON LABOR
LEG ISLA TIO N 1
THE need for safeguarding the efficiency, health, and well-being of
labor in the defense effort was stressed at the Seventh National Con
ference on Labor Legislation, held in Washington, D. C., December 9
to 11, 1940. Representatives of the Governors of 41 States and
Puerto Rico, and of the District of Columbia, attended, at the invi
tation of the Secretary of Labor. Delegates included State labor-law
administrators and representatives of all groups of organized labor.
Small committees dealt with the following subjects: (1) Child
labor; (2) Federal-State cooperation; (3) industrial disputes; (4) indus
trial health, safety, and workmen’s compensation; (5) industrial home
work; (6) labor supply in defense; (7) migratory labor; and (8) wages
and hours. In addition to the reports submitted to the conference by
these committees, resolutions were presented by a specially appointed
resolutions committee and were adopted by the conference.
In the resolutions the conference expressed strong opposition to any
so-called “ antistrike” legislation, stating that such legislation would,
by the very element of compulsion, introduce ill will and suspicion
in the place of cooperation, and would weaken rather than strengthen
morale, and lessen rather than stimulate production for defense. It
was further concluded that harmonious relations are promoted by
collective bargaining, with agreements between unions and employers,
which, in addition to setting forth wages and hours and working condi
tions, also create joint machinery for handling grievances, and ma
chinery for the arbitration of disputes, if they arise.
Preservation of existing labor standards was endorsed as an essential
part of national well-being and national defense. Action was recom
mended to extend the scope of labor legislation and social-security
programs to those sections of the population which are still working
and living at substandard levels. The existing unemployment-com
pensation program was described as falling far short of the purpose for
which it was designed, in both the amount and the duration of benefits.
“ Merit rating” provisions in unemployment-compensation laws were
condemned.
1 U. S. Department of Labor. Office of the Secretary.
136
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Press release No. 6442.
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
137
It was urged that in drawing up national defense bills, such as those
to prevent sabotage and providing for the use of “ home guards” to
replace National Guard units, Federal and State agencies should con
sult with organized labor and labor departments to prevent any
attack on the rights of workers and their unions. The Secretary of
Labor was requested to appoint a committee to work for safeguards for
labor in such matters of defense legislation as might adversely affect
workers’ rights.
The conference directed attention to the dangers of widespread
unemployment and economic dislocation as various phases of defense
production are completed, and requested the Secretary of Labor “to
appoint a committee to plan for the reabsorption and retraining of
workers; to prevent a collapse of labor standards and social gains;
and to maintain the Nation’s economic stability during post-defense
periods of transition.”
Enactment of State wage and hour laws in the coming legislative
year, when 43 legislatures are meeting, was advocated. Operation of
existing wage and hour laws, the conference stated, has roused public
realization of the vast number of persons who are without protection.
Employers subject to the Federal law are protesting against competi
tion from firms which purposely operate within the limits of singleState boundaries to avoid the need for compliance with the Federal
law.
Special consideration was given to training labor and to dilution of
skills under the defense program. A plan was recommended including
four major points: (1) No dilution should be introduced unless accom
panied by an apprenticeship plan. (2) The Federal Committee on
Apprenticeship should be authorized by Executive order to set up
basic standards for training, when dilution is essential, to be developed
in cooperation between management and labor, using joint committees
at the State and local levels. (3) Programs for training workers in
plants should be limited to cover the number of workers actually
needed, and wage rates should be fixed so as to prevent use of the pro
gram as a pretext for breaking down wage standards. (4) Finally,
the conference went on record as endorsing responsibility by Federal
and State departments of labor for all defense training programs, with
educational aspects handled by the United States Office of Education
and State vocational training bodies.
COURT D ECISIO N S OF IN T E R E S T TO LABOR
Recent Decisions on National Labor Relations Act
THE United States Supreme Court recently rendered two significant
decisions affecting the National Labor Relations Act. One case
limited the authority of the National Labor Relations Board to issue
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
138
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
back-pay orders, while the other upheld an order of the Board invali
dating a closed-shop contract made by an employer with a nationally
affiliated union.
lire first case 1 arose out of an order of the Board requiring the
Republic Steel Corporation to reinstate, with back pay, certain dis
charged employees. The Board, in providing for back pay, directed
the company to deduct from the payments to the reinstated em
ployees the amounts they had received for work performed upon
“work relief projects,” and in turn to pay over such amounts to the
proper relief agency. The Court held that this order was invalid
because it imposed a penalty on the employer which was not author
ized by the act. The act was said to be essentially remedial and
accordingly the Board was not authorized to impose any penalty on
an employer, even though it might think that such an order would
effectuate the policies of the act.
With reference specifically to the power of the Board to require the
employer to reimburse governmental agencies providing relief jobs to
men out of work because of the employer’s unfair labor practices, the
court pointed out that men employed on relief projects are expected to
lender services commensurate with the pay they receive. The powers
granted to the Board were held to concern the relationship between
employers and employees, and not the relationship between em
ployers and the public. In attempting to enter this new field of
regulation, the Board, the Court said, exceeded its authority, as it has
no power to regulate the activity of employers, except as to correcting
unfair labor practices, safeguarding the right of employees to organize
and bargain collectively, and redressing certain employee grievances.
In the other case,2 the Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion,
ruled that the Board may invalidate a closed-shop contract with a
nationally affiliated union which the employer has assisted in organiz
ing. In this case the Board had found that the employer engaged in
unfair labor practices through acts of its employees. These em
ployees, who had men working under them, solicited members for an
A. F. of L. union on company time and property. They had pre
viously been identified with a company union, and made it known to
other employees that the A. F. of L. union was the employer’s choice.
1he facts of the case showed that the employer readily accepted a con
tract of the A. F. of L. for the tool-room employees and at the same
time rejected a contract of the C. I. O., although the majority of the
employees had joined the latter union. For these reasons, the
Board found that the employer had engaged in unfair labor practices.
1 R e p u b lic S teel C o rp o ra tio n v. N a t io n a l L a b o r R e la tio n s B o a r d (61 Sup. Ct. 77).
2 In te r n a tio n a l A s s o c ia tio n o f M a c h in ists , T o o l a n d D ie M a k e r s L o d g e N o . 35 v . N a tio n a l L a b o r R ela tio n s
B o a r d (61 Sup. Ct. 83).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
139
It therefore invalidated the closed-shop contract, and ordered the
employer to bargain exclusively with the C. I. O union.
Mr. Justice Douglas, who delivered the opinion of the Court,
declared that an employer may be held to have engaged in unfair
labor practices by assisting in the formation of a union through
agents, even though their acts were not expressly authorized, because
of the clear legislative policy to free the collective-bargaining process
of all taint of an employer’s compulsion, domination, or influence.
The presence of such unfair-labor practices in this case, the Court
said, justified the Board’s conclusion that the A. F. of L. union did not
represent an uncoerced majority of the toolroom employees. For
this reason, the Board was authorized to abrogate the contract with
the union.
The Supreme Court took notice also of two other cases involving
the National Labor Relations Act. The Court, however, refused to
review either case, and thus left in effect the rulings of two appeals
courts enforcing the orders of the National Labor Relations Board.
In one of these cases, 3 the Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia
had upheld the findings of the Labor Board and enforced its order
forbidding interference with union activity. The decision held that
a company may not declare, as a statement of policy, that it favors
an open shop and will deal only with individual employees. The
findings of the Board that the company had encouraged the organi
zation of an employee association, engaged in an antiunion campaign,
and discriminatorily discharged prominent union members, were also
upheld by the decision of the circuit court.
The second case 4 involved an election which was boycotted by a
majority of the employees of a handkerchief-manufacturing company.
In this case the Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago enforced an order
of the Board certifying a union as the collective-bargaining agent of
all the employees. This certification was made after an election in
which less than a majority of the employees participated. The total
number of employees eligible to vote was 225, but only 56 voted, with
53 in favor of the union and 3 against. The certification of the union
by the Board was sustained by the circuit court on the ground that
the company was responsible for the small number of employees
voting.
Anti-Injunction Act Held to A pply in Certain Antitrust Cases
In another recent decision the United States Supreme Court denied
a Federal court the power to grant injunctions in labor disputes solely
because supposed violations of the antitrust laws were involved.5 The
3N a t io n a l L a b o r R e la tio n s B e a r d v. E lk la n d L e a th e r C o. (114 Fed. (2d) 221; 61 Sup. Ct. 170).
4N ev ) Y o r k H a n d k e r c h ie f M fg . C o. v. N a tio n a l L a b o r R e la tio n s B o a r d (114 Fed. (2d) 144; 61 Sup. Ct. 170).
3 M ilk W a g on D rivers’ U n ion L o c a l N o . 75S v. L a k e V a lle y F a r m P r o d u c ts , I n c . (61 Sup. Ct. 122).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
140
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
issuance of such injunctions, according to this decision, is contrary
to the intent of the Norris-LaGuardia Anti-injunction Act. The Cir
cuit Court of Appeals in Chicago had held that a controversy between
two unions was not a labor dispute and hence the Norris-LaGuardia
Act was not applicable. This court also held that the union in
picketing had conducted a secondary boycott in violation of the
Sherman Antitrust Act and hence the anti-injunction act did not
apply. The Supreme Court, however, held this ruling erroneous and
reversed the decision.
The facts showed that an action had been brought by a dairy and
a C. I. O. union to restrain an A. F. of L. union from picketing socalled cut-rate” retail milk stores, in an effort to organize dealers
owning their own trucks, buying milk from a dairy, and selling it to
stores under a plan called the “ vendor system.” The A. F. of L.
began picketing the stores in 1934 and continued picketing after the
vendors had joined the C. I. O. union in 1938. The action brought
by the C. I. O. union and the dairy was based on the theory that the
officials of the A. F. of L. union had engaged in a conspiracy to violate
the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts by waging a secondary
boycott for the purpose of obtaining a milk monopoly for employers
of the milk-wagon drivers.
Mr. Justice Black, in a unanimous opinion, declared that the con
troversy did constitute a labor dispute and that the injunction had
been granted improperly. He also said that the Norris-LaGuardia
Act made no exceptions for violations of the Sherman Act but ap
plied wherever there was a labor dispute. In adopting the NorrisLaGuardia Act, the Court said, Congress clearly recognized that
Federal courts had worked hardships through “ objectionable” in
junctions based on charges of conspiracy to violate the antitrust laws.
The Clayton Act was adopted to correct such practices under the
Sherman Law, Mr. Justice Black said, but the courts in frequent
decisions had even nullified the effect of the Clayton Act. The
decision also pointed out that the legislative history of the NorrisLaGuardia Act shows that it was enacted for the express purpose of
remedying the application of the Sherman Act to labor unions,
despite the later passage of the Clayton Act.
Rights of Labor Upheld by California Supreme Court
Six important decisions6 of the Supreme Court of California have
upheld the right of labor unions to engage in peaceful picketing and
boycotting in order to obtain a closed shop. In the first of these cases
6 S h a fe r v. R eg istered P h a r m a c is ts U n ion L o c a l 1172 (106 Pac. (2d) 403); M c K a y v. R e t a il A u to m o b ile S a le s
m en s L o c a l U nion N o . 1067 (106 Pac. (2d) 373); E . LI. R e n z e l C o. v. W a re h o u s e m e n ’s U n ion I. L . A . 38~44
(106 Pac. (2d) 1); C . S . S m ith M e tr o p o lita n M a r k e t C o. v. L y o n s (106 Pac. (2d) 414); F o r te n b u r y v. S u p e r io r
C t. (106 Pac. (2d) 411); L u n d v. A u to M e c h a n ic s ’ U n ion N o . 1414 (106 Pac. (2d) 408).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
141
the closed shop was held valid and unaffected by the statute which
outlaws promises between employers and employees to join or not to
join a labor organization. The court ruled that this provision did not
prohibit a promise by an employee to join an independent labor
organization. Similar rulings were made in three other cases, the
court holding that picketing to obtain a closed shop is permissible.
According to the decisions of the California court in these four cases,
peaceful picketing is lawful for the purpose of compelling an employer
to sign a closed-shop contract or to hire union members, even though
none of the employees belong to the union and even though the labor
standards are better than those provided by the union scale.
The right to conduct a secondary boycott was upheld also by the
State supreme court in a case involving a dispute between a poultry
workers’ union and a poultry farmer. The union had picketed a
market which was selling the products of the poultry farm. The
picketing of the market in this case was held to be lawful, since its
object—a boycott of the product of the farm—was reasonably related
to working conditions. In this connection, the court said that there
was a unity of interest between the owner of the farm and the owner of
the market at which the products of the farm were sold, and that the
union had the right to follow the products from the farm to the market
and there ask the public not to buy them.
In addition to these rulings, the decisions of the California Supreme
Court held also that members of a so-called “ inside” union are not
entitled to an injunction against the picketing of their employer’s
place of business by an outside union, and that employee organizations
are unlawful whenever they are formed subservient to the employer’s
will. Again, the court held that employees have no absolute right
to remain unorganized, and that coercion by fellow employees to
compel a worker to join a union, when brought about entirely by
moral forces, is a proper exercise of the rights of labor.
Oregon Antipicketing Law Held Unconstitutional
The Oregon Antipicketing Act has been held unconstitutional by
the State Supreme Court on the ground that it violated the right of
free speech.7 The Oregon statute contained limitations on picketing
and boycotting, and prohibited picketing unless an employer and the
majority of his employees were engaged in a labor dispute. It also
permitted court supervision of union finances, but the constitutionality
of this provision was not decided by the court.
The court based its findings on two decisions of the United States
Supreme Court involving picketing.8 In this connection, the State
r A m e r ic a n F e d e r a tio n o f L a b o r v. B a i n ; C on g ress o f In d u s tr ia l O rg an ization s v. B a i n (106 Pac. (2d) 544).
8
T h o r n h ill v. A la b a m a (310 U. S. 88); C a rlso n v. C a lifo r n ia (310 U. S. 106). See also M onthly Labor
Review, August 1940 (pp. 359, 360).
2 ^ 0398— 41 ------10
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
142
court said that “ by the decisions in the Thornhill and Carlson cases
it is now established that picketing as an incident to a labor dispute is,
at least in some of its phases, an exercise of the right of freedom of
speech.” Furthermore, the court pointed out that the fundamental
constitutional right of free speech is secured to “ every person.”
Hence the court reached the conclusion that the denial of such a right
to the members of a minority group constitutes an unconstitutional
abridgment of the right, even though the rights of the majority are
not affected.
Provision in Employment Peace Act of Wisconsin Upheld
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin recently held constitutional a
provision of the “ Employment Peace Act” of the State, which restricts
the use of pickets in support of certain strikes.9 The provision in
question forbids picketing or boycotting (by declaring such to be an
“ unfair labor practice”) in support of a strike which has not been
voted by a majority of employees in a collective-bargaining unit. An
employee who is found guilty by the State Employment Relations
Board of such unfair labor practice forfeits any rights guaranteed under
the law, including the right to retain his status as an employee.
However, in a case of a strike which has been approved by a majority
of the employees, strikers retain their employment status pending the
settlement of the dispute. It should be noted, also, that the act does
not prevent a minority of employees from striking, but merely limits
the methods of coercion which they may use.
In upholding the validity of the provision in question, the court
pointed out that it did not prohibit picketing as it was prohibited
by those statutes which the United States Supreme Court lias held to
be a violation of the constitutional right of free speech. The Wiscon
sin statute, the court said, does not forbid picketing, but merely regu
lates it. The right of free speech guaranteed by the Constitution is
subject to limitations, as are other rights guaranteed by the Constitu
tion. In this connection, the Court observed that the Wisconsin Act
did not provide that a violation of its provisions constituted a mis
demeanor, but merely declared a violation to be an unfair labor
practice. The Court stated further that the act did not impair the
right of the individual. He may withdraw from his employment
individually, or in concert with others, and may make demands on the
employer. It is his act of engaging in, promoting or inducing
picketing, boycotting, or other overt acts in support of an unauthor
ized strike which is declared “to be an unfair labor practice.”
9
H o te l a n d R e s ta u r a n t E m p lo y e e s ’ I n te r n a tio n a l A llia n c e , L o c a l N o . 122 v . W is c o n s in E m p lo y m e n t R e la tio n s
B o a r d (294 N . W. 632).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
143
Application of Georgia Unemployment-Compensation Law
Restricted
By refusing to consider an appeal from a ruling of the Georgia
Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court sustained a decision
which held unconstitutional certain provisions of the State unemploy
ment-compensation act.10 The act provided that two or more com
panies under the same ownership or control could be assessed for
unemployment compensation, if together they employed eight or more
persons. Refusal of the Supreme Court to review this case is exceed
ingly important, as more than 30 States have similar provisions in
their unemployment-compensation laws.
The decision of the Georgia court held these provisions of the law
unconstitutional and void on the ground that they violate the equalprotection clauses of the State and Federal constitutions. The
defendant company employed only five persons, but the owner of a
majority of its stock also owned a majority of the stock in another
corporation. Together the two corporations employed more than
eight persons. In this connection the court said that if the company
involved in the case was required to pay the unemployment-compen
sation tax, it would be carrying a tax burden from which all others,
both individuals and corporations, similarly situated would be
exempt. The court also ruled that a corporation retains its separate
and independent character regardless of the ownership of its capital
stock.
+*+++++*
PR IV A TE BANK EM PLO Y EES’ LAW IN A R G EN TIN A 11
SUBSTANTIAL benefits are assured to employees of private banks in
Argentina by law No. 12637, of September 10, 1940. This law
establishes a scale of monthly salaries, with a schedule of required
increases based on length of service, and lists the admissible causes for
which employees may be dismissed.
In the future admission requirements include good health and the
attainment of the age of 18 years. The law lays down as a funda
mental requirement that banks have a scheme of hours and leave
which links efficiency with the employees’ health.
Other provisions of the law include settlement of disputes between
employers and employees by concilation and arbitration, and the
establishment of allowances of 5 pesos per month for each child under
16 dependent on a bank employee.
10 In d e p en d en t G asolin e C o. v. B u r e a u o f U n e m p lo y m e n t C o m p e n s a tio n (10 S. E. (2d) 58, 61 Sup. Ct. 175).
11 Data are from Boletín del Museo Social Argentino (Buenos Aires), September-October 1940: Ley de
Estabilidad y Escalafón del Personal Bancario; Texto Integro.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
144
Causes for Dismissal
Hereafter, employees of private banks may be dismissed only for the
following reasons: (1) Court judgment for offenses against either the
bank or a third party, or a prison sentence (but an employee absolved
or granted definite suspension shall be reinstated, unless the legal
pronouncement states to the contrary); (2) physical or mental in
capacity; (3) chronic contagious disease constituting a risk for the
personnel of the bank; (4) prolonged or repeated absences from work;
(5) grave or repeated disobedience to orders or instructions, or dis
orderly conduct; and (6) repeated attachments of salary.
Salary Scales
The remuneration of bank personnel, up to 500 pesos per month,
shall be subject to periodical increases based on the length of service
and competence of the employee, so that the salary in each service
period (shown in the following table) shall not be less than the mini
mum prescribed, and the average of salaries for each period shall not
be less than the average prescribed.
Minimum and Average Rates of Pay of Bank Employees in Argentina, Under Law of
September 1940, for Specified Service
[Average exchange rate of peso, September 1940=29.77 cents]
Salaried employees
Service class
Minimum
salary
Average
salary
Minimum
salary
Average
salary
P esos
P esos
P esos
P esos
140
Salary after service of—
2 years.
_____ _____________ _ ______________
5 years________________________________________
10 years_______________________________________
15 years. . . _ _____ ____ . . . ___ _ ______
20 years.
_ „ ___. . .
...
Service personnel
160
175
200
225
250
170
225
250
325
375
120
130
140
150
160
170
140
150
165
180
200
In no cases other than those specified in this legislation may the
minimum and average salaries be lower than the rates shown above
except that (1) for women, a reduction of 10 percent can be made from
the specified rates; (2) the minimum salaries and averages may be
reduced by amounts up to 15 percent, through executive authoriza
tion, in banks or branches in the interior of the country serving the
needs of the localities, and in banks whose capital is less than 1,000,000
pesos; and (3) the Executive Authority may temporarily suspend ap
plication of the scale of increases or authorize its partial and progres
sive application, when a bank proves a need for such action, or in times
of extraordinary economic depression.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Laws and Court Decisions
145
Administration
An honorary Advisory Commission is established, composed of the
following members: A representative of the Central Bank of the Re
public (who shall preside) ; two delegates from the private banks and
two from the personnel of these banks, named by the Executive Au
thority after consultation with them; one delegate from the Ministry
of Finance; and one from the National Labor Bureau. This commis
sion, which shall hold office for 3 years and be eligible for reappoint
ment, shall advise the Executive Authority upon the regulation of this
law and upon all questions relating to the interpretation of and com
pliance with it, upon which decisions are requested. Within 60 days
from the date of promulgation of this law, which may be extended for
an equal period by the Executive Authority, that authority after con
sultation with the advisory commission, shall issue the regulations
and create a bank tribunal (provided for in the law) to deal with com
plaints concerning the application of the present legislation.
Infractions of the law and its regulations are subject to fines, which
will be paid into the Bank Employees’ Retirement and Pension Fund.
Each bank must, either voluntarily or upon the request of the em
ployee concerned, produce a statement in writing, including reasons,
for any action taken concerning compliance with the bank-service
provisions created by this law or its regulation.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards o f Living
CHANGES IN COST OF LIV IN G FROM SE PT E M B E R 15
TO NOVEM BER 15, 1940
THE cost of living in large cities remained practically unchanged
between mid-September and mid-November. Reports to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics show that living costs of moderate-income families
in large cities were three-tenths of 1 percent lower on November 15
than on September 15, 1940. This decline brings the index of the
cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers
to only one-tenth of 1 percent above the average for the 5-year period
1935-39.
At the request of the National Defense Advisory Commission, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics is now calculating changes in the cost of
living in 20 large cities monthly. The goods and services priced are
those most important in the spending of the families of wage earners
and lower-salaried workers. In preparing these indexes, the same
procedure is followed as that used in preparing the quarterly indexes
for 33 large cities, but the indexes for groups other than food are
based on a more limited list of items than that priced quarterly, and
the resulting estimates of changes in living costs in large cities are
subject to revision after each quarterly pricing. An estimate of
changes in all large cities in the country has been computed by com
bining the cost figures for each city with population weights. The
weights used represent the 1930 population of the 20 metropolitan
areas from which prices are being collected monthly, and proportionate
shares of the population of other metropolitan areas and cities over
50,000 in each region. Monthly indexes have been prepared for
October 15 and November 15, 1940.
A decline in food costs 1 of 1.3 percent between September 15 and
November 15 was accompanied by slight increases during the 2 months
in all other groups of items included in the family budget.
Orders for the defense program, as well as increased civilian buying,
resulted in higher prices for sheets, wool blankets, cotton work shirts,
and other items of men’s clothing in certain cities. Retail prices of
men’s work clothes are reflecting the upswing in wholesale prices.
1 For details of changes in food costs see page 224 of this issue of the Monthly Labor Review and page 1544
of the December 1940 issue.
146
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards of Living
147
Between August 1939 and August 1940, work shirts at wholesale rose
about 10 percent on the average throughout the country, largely as a
result of advances in September and October of last year. Retail
prices have been mcreasing irregularly during the entire period.
Several cities reported higher prices for men’s suits, following the ad
vance in raw wool prices in the past months. Prices for women’s
silk hose declined in several cities because of the lowered raw-silk
prices and the decline in the demand for silk hose with the in
creased sale of nylon.
Rent changes were slight in both months. In each of the 2 months,
however, small increases in rents, particularly on dwellings renting
for less than $30, were reported in certain cities in which defense
orders have increased—Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco in
the month ending October 15, and Philadelphia, Los Angeles and
St. Louis in the month ending November 15.
Fuel costs were higher in mid-November than in mid-September,
as is usual at that time of year. Coal, coke, and fuel oil rose in a
number of cities.
Prices on wool blankets and sheets have risen generally throughout
the country, primarily as a result of Army orders. Other items of
housefurnishings have increased in price in a number of cities, par
ticularly living-room and dining-room furniture.
Changes in the cost of miscellaneous items were due largely to
higher prices for automobiles. In the lower-price ranges, 1941 models
were announced at levels from 3 to 4 percent higher than those for
1940 models. Higher prices of moving-picture admissions in several
cities also contributed to the advance in the cost of the miscellaneousitems index.
Estimated percent changes from September 15 to October 15, and
from October 15 to November 15, 1940, in the cost of goods purchased
by wage earners and lower-salaried workers in 20 large cities, and for
the large cities combined are presented, by groups of items in table 1.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
148
T able
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
1.— Changes in Cost of Goods Purchased by Wage Earners and Lower-Salaried
Wrorliers in Large Cities, by Groups of Items
SEPT. 15 TO OCT. 15, 1940
Geographical division and
city
Average, large cities____________
All
items
-
New England division:
Boston. _ _____ _ __
Middle Atlantic division:
Buffalo_______________ ...
New York________________
Philadelphia____________
Pittsburgh________________
East North Central division:
Chicago _ ______________ ..
Cincinnati. . . .
Cleveland_________
Detroit ___ . . .
West North Central division:
Kansas City
Minneapolis__________
St Louis____________
South Atlantic division:
Baltimore _
Savannah_________ .
East South Central division:
Birmingham. .
W est South Central division:
Houston______________ _ _
M ountain division:
D en v er..
Pacific division:
Los Aneeles . . . .
San Francisco.
_____
Seattle. ___ . . . . .
Food
Cloth
ing
Rent
Fuel, elec
Housetricity,
furnishings
and ice
i-
1.0
c2)
(2)
-.6
-
2.0
+ .2
(*)
+ .7
+ .3
- .4
-.9
-. 1
- 1 .4
- 2. 1
- .3
+ .1
0)
+ .3
+ .4
- .3
-.6
+ .1
+ .1
0
-.8
- .5
+ .2
0.2
1.0
-.2
+ .1
+ .2
(3)
0
+ .2
0
+ 2 .7
- .3
0
- . 1
-.3
+ .4
-
+ .5
+ 1 .3
+ .3
+ .3
(2)
- .3
+ .3
0
+ .2
+ .1
(3)
+ .2
+ .5
-
1.1
+ .3
(2)
+ .3
1
(3)
(3)
(2)
+ .3
-.2
-.
0
- . 1
0
+ .7
+ .2
0
0
+
+ 1.0
+ .3
+ .9
+ .2
-.2
+
2.1
+
1.6
0
- .3
+ .1
(2)
+ .2
- .3
+■4
+ .9
+ .1
- .4
+ .4
+ .2
0.2
0
+ .1
+ .4
+ .1
+ .1
+ .3
+ .3
(2)
+ .4
- 2.2
- 2 .7
-.5
-.2
+ .1
(3)
(2)
(3)
+ 0 .1
0.6
+ 0 .1
(3)
(3)
(3)
+ .2
- .7
- .4
+
Miscel
laneous
-.4
+ .4
+ .3
(2)
(5)
0
+ .7
+ .5
+ .8
+ .2
+ .3
+ .3
+ .3
-.4
+ .7
-.6
+ .7
+ 1.4
+ .3
+ -1
+ .5
0
(5)
-.7
-.1
-.4
+ .7
OCT. 15 TO NOV. 15, 1940
Average, large cities____ ____
N ew England division:
Boston.__ _ _
Middle Atlantic division:
Buffalo______
N ew York. __
Philadelphia. . . . . .
Pittsburgh. _.
East North Central division:
Chicago.__ _ . . .
Cincinnati
Cleveland.
D etroit_____
West North Central division:
Kansas C ity. . . . _
Minneapolis. . . .
St. Louis...
South Atlantic division:
Baltimore __ ____
Savannah
___
East South Central division:
Birmingham
West South Centra] division:
H o u sto n ... .
Mountain division:
Denver___ _____ _
Pacific division:
Los A ngeles... . . . .
San Francisco...
Seattle____ _
-
0 .1
i - 0 .3
-.3
-1 .5
0
+ .2
+ .1
+ .1
+ .2
0
0
+ 0 .4
+
0.2
0
0
0
0
+
+
1.0
- . 1
+ .3
+ .1
+ .1
+ .4
—0 1
+. 1
+ .1
(5)
—. 3
—.2
0
•0
0
0
-. 4
—1
- .3
—. 2
—i i
—.7
+ .3
—. 3
+ i.i
+ .3
—7
0
(5)
—. 3
—
—
1
8
0
-,i
—. 3
0
+ .i
+ .2
0
—
0
+ .1
+.5
+ .2
+ .1
0
2
2
+ 1 .3
-.4
+ .2
-. i
—5
- . 1
1
0
0
0
+ 0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.6
+ .3
+ .9
0
+ .2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
+H
+ .5
+ .1
+ .4
+ .3
0
0
+ .6
0
+ .1
+ .1
0
+ .4
+ .6
0
0
0
-.
+ .1
0
0
0
+ .6
- . 1
+ .2
1
1.0
+ .1
0
0
0 .1
+ .1
+
- . 1
.2
+ .2
+ .1
+ .1
+ .1
+
-. 1
+ .2
+ .4
+ .1
0
+ •1
+ 1.0
0
1 Includes 51 cities.
2 Increase of less than 0.05
3 Estimated as no change,
percent.
since leases ordinarily end in other months.
* Decrease of less than 0.05 percent.
5 No change.
Table 2 presents estimated indexes of the cost of living, as of No
vember 15, 1940, based on average costs in the years 1935-39 as 100.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
149
Cost und Standards of Living
T able 2. —Indexes of Cost of Goods Purchased by Wage Earners and Louer-Salaried
Workers in 20 Large Cities, by Groups of Items, Nov. 15, 1940
[Average 1935-39=100]
Geographical division and city
Average, large c itie s ___
New England division:
Boston----------- ----------------Middle Atlantic division:
Buffalo - ___ _ — _ N ew York_____
Philadelphia,-. . _ ____Pittsburgh.
__ ________ _
East North Central division:
Chicago .
_ _________
Cincinnati___ _____________
Cleveland-------------------------Detroit__ ___ __________
West North Central division:
Kansas C ity_______ ______
Minneapolis_______________
St. Louis.. ______________ South Atlantic division:
Baltimore._ - ______
Savannah___________ _ . . .
East South Central division:
B ir m in g h a m ._________ .
West South Central division:
Houston___________________
Mountain division:
D enver.. __ .
Pacific division:
Los Angeles—_ ------- -- . .
San Francisco---- ------ -----S e a t t l e . .. ______ . . . ------1
All
items
Food
Cloth
ing
Rent
Fuel, elec
tricity,
and ice
10 0 .1
1 95.9
101.6
104.7
100.3
Housefurnish
ings
Miscella
neous
10 0 .6
101.7
98.5
93.5
101.0
10 0 . 6
105.6
99.0
100.7
100.9
100.4
98.8
97.4
97.4
93.6
96.3
101.0
106.5
102. 7
103. 5
105.8
99.8
100. 7
98.6
100.1
1 0 2 .0
1 0 2 .8
97.3
102.5
102. 3
10 0 .8
100.3
99.0
108.9
99.2
102.4
100. 4
10 0 .3
99.6
100.7
96.8
103.0
98.5
102.7
96.4
10 0 .6
100. 5
99.1
10 1.2
100.4
95.9
94.5
96.7
94.8
100.7
10 1.2
102.4
99.6
103.7
10 2 .2
101.8
101.6
108.0
107.9
108.8
103.1
101.5
10 0 .8
10 1.1
100.4
101.6
91.6
97.5
96.3
102.7
1 0 2 .8
10 0 .8
102.3
108.0
101.7
95.3
98.5
101.4
101.9
104.6
104.7
10 0 .6
10 0 .8
100.5
93.8
102.5
114.8
93.5
99.7
10 1. 2
105.1
100.3
101.8
10 1.1
100.7
102.9
105.2
103.0
98.3
10 1.1
99.7
99.8
97.5
101.8
10 1.2
102.7
106.7
93.1
99.1
93.0
10 0 .1
106.4
98.4
101.9
101.6
101.6
98.8
97.8
99.2
103.5
102. 9
103.5
106.8
103.9
106.6
95.5
91.5
94.7
10 0 .6
10 2.1
101.6
1 0 2 .6
101.4
105.4
10 1.2
10 1.1
98.2
Includes 51 cities.
NEW COST-OF-LIVING IN D E X FOR CANADA
A NEW cost-of-living index based on a survey of average expenditures
in the year ended September 30, 1938, of families of wage earners and
low-salaried workers in Canada is now available. The survey in
cluded 1,439 families in the following urban centers: Charlottetown,
St. John, Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London,
Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Vancouver. This index was
constructed by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics with the cooperation
of the Canadian Department of Labor and the Wartime Prices and
Trade Board. The former official index of cost of living, based on
prices in 1913, will not be continued, according to the Canadian Labor
Gazette of October 1940, in which the following data are given.
The old index was based to some extent on the cost per week “of
a list of staple foods, fuel, etc., entering into a family budget for which
figures have been published since 1911,” and was designed to represent
the approximate changes in the family budget, pending a survey of the
cost of living from the findings of which a comprehensive system of
weighting could be worked out.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
150
Methods Used in Constructing Neiv Index
The new index number has been constructed by computing the cost,
in terms of the prices at the beginning of each month, of selected
commoditities and services, using quantities for each item in propor
tion to the average yearly consumption per family as determined in
the cost-of-living survey. For each class of commodities the list
contains a number of representative staple articles ordinarily used, for
which dependable and comparable prices can be secured each month
in the year.
It must be remembered that the new index shows fluctuations in the
cost of a fixed level of living. In this measurement no consideration
can be given to varying living planes resulting from changes caused by
economic conditions, namely, shifts in income or direct taxation or
changes in the ages and numbers of the persons constituting the family
group.
After a careful analysis of the 1931 urban census returns relating
to family composition, conjugal conditions of heads of families, earn
ings, racial origin, etc., it was decided to include in the cost-of-living
survey only such families as are defined below:
1. All families to have husband and wife living in the home as joint heads
w ith from one to five children.
2. All families to have been completely self-supporting during the survey
year, w ith family earnings ranging from $450 to $2,500 during th a t period.
3. All families to be living in self-contained dwelling units, not sharing either
kitchen or bathroom facilities w ith other families.
The 1,439 families for which records were collected averaged 4.6 persons, and
the m ajority had 2 or 3 children. Family earnings in m any cases were supple
mented by other small sources of income, and to tal family incomes between
$1,200 and $1,600 wrere the most common. There were approxim ately 2 ten an t
families to every home-owning family, and about 1 family in 3 operated a m otor
car.
In selecting 1935-39 as a base, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics
had to take into consideration many types of indexes other than
price indexes. Among them were the industrial-production, employ
ment, and car-loadings series. It was not easy to find a recent 12month period which would constitute a widely satisfactory reference
level. For both industrial production and prices 1935-39 provided a
period of fluctuation “which tended to minimize differences in the
base levels of various series relative to earlier periods.” Although
the last 4 months of 1939 were influenced by the war’s outbreak,
industrial activity and prices had not reacted sufficiently during
those months to affect materially a 5-year average. It was felt that
the 1935-39 base was representative not only of pre-war conditions
but also provided a reference level for the comparison of average
conditions prevailing after the upswing from 1933.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cost and Standards of Living
151
Acting upon a recommendation by the United States Central Statistical
Board, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has already adopted the
1935-39 base period for its cost-of-living index, and the Federal Reserve Board
and Federal D epartm ents concerned w ith statistical tim e series also have taken
this step or announced their intention of doing so. There are definite advan
tages in direct com parability between Canadian and U nited States index-number
data.
In constructing the new Canadian index, the average price of each
item in the cities included in the computation at the beginning of the
month was multiplied by the average quantity purchased per family
in 12 months, as disclosed by the survey. The cost of the items in
each group of the family budget was then found, and a group index
calculated by computing the percent of change from the average cost
of the group in the 1935-39 period. The group indexes were then
weighted in accordance with their importance in the average group
expenditure of the families included in the study, shown in table 1.
The groups in the following table are the same as those used in the
old index numbers, except that another group “ home furnishings” has
been added, and the other items in the old group “ sundries” have been
placed in the “ miscellaneous” group.
T able 1.— Urban Wage-Earner Family, Annual Living Expenditures in Canada, Year
Ending September 30, 1938
Budget groups
Average
expendi
ture
Percent
age dis
tribution
Total expenditure______________________ » $1,413.8
1 0 0 .0
443.0
269.5
90.5
165.8
125.7
319.4
60.8
23.9
79.3
82.1
73.3
31.3
19.1
6.4
11.7
8.9
Shelter________________________________
Fuel and light_________________________
Clothing ____________________________
Home furnishings- ____________________
Miscellaneous_______
---------------Health___ _ ______________________
Personal care_______________________
Transportation.. __________________
Kecreation___________________ _____
Life insurance-. ___________ _____1 Directly represented in the index.
to $1,453.80.
22.6
4.3
1.7
5.6
5.8
5.2
Other miscellaneous outlay brought total family living expenditure
New Indexes
The new index has been computed, by months, back to January 1935,
as shown in table 2.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
152
T able 2. —New Series of Canadian Bureau of Statistics Cost-of‘Living Index Numbers,
1935-40
-----. ------ --------- .---- J
Month and year
Food
Total
Index numbers (1935-39=100.0)
.
.
--- - —
Rent
Fuel and Clothing
lighting
Home
furnish Miscella
neous
ings
1935_________________________
1936_________________________
1937_________________________
1938_________________________
1939_________________________
96.2
98.1
101.2
102.2
101.5
94.6
97.8
103.2
103.8
100.6
94.0
96.1
99.7
103.1
103.8
100.9
101.5
98.9
97.7
101.2
97.6
99.3
101. 4
100.9
100.7
95.4
97.2
101.5
102.4
101.4
98.7
99.1
100.1
101.2
101.4
1939:
January-.________
- February _______________
M arch__________________
April__ _ _ ______
M ay____________________
June_____ _________ - _
101.1
100.7
100.6
100. 6
100.6
100.5
99.9
98.7
98.5
98.3
98.2
98.1
103.4
103.4
103.4
103.4
103.8
103.8
101.0
101.0
100.4
100.4
100.2
99.8
100.2
100.2
99.9
99.9
99.9
100.1
101. 7
101.7
101.2
101.1
101.1
101.0
101.1
101.1
101.1
101.4
101.4
101.3
July------------------------------August_________ ________
September.
___________
October.
. . . ____
November. .
December_______________
1940:
January______________ . .
February. ______________
March __
April____________________
M ay____________________
100.8
100.8
100.8
103.5
103.8
103.8
99.0
99.3
99.4
106.3
107.1
104.7
103.8
103.8
103.8
104.4
104.4
104.4
99.3
99.0
98.9
104.4
105.3
105.4
100.1
100.1
99.6
99.6
99.6
103.3
100.9
100.9
100.8
101.0
101.0
104.1
101.3
101.3
101.3
101. 7
101.9
102.0
103.8
103.8
104. 6
104.6
104.9
104. 5
104.5
104.8
104.8
104.4
104.4
104.4
104.4
104.4
106.9
105. 5
105.8
105.7
105.9
106.1
103.3
103.3
107.8
107.8
107.8
104.3
104.3
105.9
106.1
106. 2
101.8
101.9
101.9
101.8
101.8
June.
___ . ___ .
July_____________________
August .
September_______________
104.9
105.6
105.9
106.4
103.8
105.3
105.4
105.4
106.9
106.9
106.9
106.9
106.0
107.9
108.4
108. 5
109.1
109. 1
109. 1
112.4
106. 5
106.9
106.9
108.9
101.8
102.2
103.0
102.8
The items included in the index groups and the basis of price
reporting are given in table 3.
T able 3.—Price Reporting Basis of the Revised Dominion Bureau of Statistics Cost-of-
Living Index
Budget group and subgroup
Number Number
of cities of reports
repre
received
sented
Frequency of reports
Food__________________________________________
M onthly_________
69
1,600
Rentals-- . ___ _ -
M ay and October. . . . . . .
61
200
_ ___
58
26
16
109
330
200
16
109
Clothing and home furnishings___________________ ____do______________________
11
24
23
18
23
82
18
1
11
1
43
6
103
61
57
76
347
85
82
23
15
Fuel:
C oal.. .
Coke
___
Qas_
Electricity.
........
_
.
. ______________
. .
...
. .
. .
- .
..
_ _____
_.
_
_ . .
__ _do_ _
_ _
Miscellaneous:
Medicine
. .
_
. . .
Carfare_____________________________________
Insurance________________
____
_
Semiannually_____ ________
M onthly . _
. . .
_________________ Annually
_ _
.
Periodicals___ . . . _____________ . _ _ _ . . . A nnually__________ ______
Doctor__
___
. . . . -. - - - ___ do___ _ _ _
____do___
_ _ _ _ _ ______
DentistCleaning supplies.
. ____
.
_ _ __ M onthly. . . .
Toilet articles________________ _ _ _______
_ Q uarterly...
Motor operating costs_______ _______________
1 All Canada.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
.
.....
._
___do _"____________________
0)
(0
(>)
22
22
37
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
153
Cost and Standards of Living
Table 4 gives cost-of-living indexes from 1913 to 1934, calculated
on the new base. For these years home furnishings are included in the
miscellaneous group.
T able 4.— Canadian Bureau of Statistics Index Number of Cost of Living, 1913 to 1934
[Former series on base 1926=100 converted to base 1935-39=100]
Index numbers (1935-39=100.0)
Year
Total
1913
1914
1915
1916 1917
-
Rent
Fuel and
lighting
Clothing
Home fur
nishings
and mis
cellaneous
____________
____________
___________________
_____________________
___________
79.7
80.0
81.6
88.3
104.5
88.3
91.9
92.7
103.3
133.3
74.3
72.1
69.9
70.6
75.8
76.9
75.4
73.8
75.4
83.8
88.0
88.9
96.8
110.8
130.3
70.3
70.3
70.9
74.5
81.5
_________________
__________
____
__________
- ______
118.3
130.0
150. 5
121.8
121.7
152.8
163.3
188.1
133.3
134.7
80.2
87.6
100. 2
115.9
119.7
92.2
100.7
119.9
116.8
112.6
152.3
175.1
213.1
139.1
134.8
91.4
101.2
110.3
106.1
105.0
__________________
--- _ __________
- __________
________
______________
120.8
109.1
99.0
94.4
95.7
131.5
103.1
85.7
84.9
92.5
122.7
119.4
109.7
98.6
92.8
111.8
110.0
106.8
102.5
102.5
130.6
114.3
100.6
93.3
96.9
105.4
103. 3
100.4
98.2
97.7
1918
1919
1920
1926
1929
1930- 1931
1932
1933
1934
Food
-
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Organizations
B R IT IS H TRA D ES-U N IO N CONGRESS, 1940 1
AT THE seventy-second meeting of the British Trades-Union Con
gress in October 1940, much of the discussion dealt with matters
arising out of the European war. The organization had a membership
of approximately 4,867,000 at the end of 1939,2 and the total number
of delegates appointed to attend the 1940 sessions was 645. Mr. W.
Holmes, chairman of the general council, presided over the recent
meeting.
A special resolution was adopted reaffirming the resolve of the
congress to continue the struggle against the aggressor nations.
The measures taken by the general council to safeguard the interests
of trade-unionists, to enlist the active cooperation of the organized
workers through their unions, and to make the fullest use of the
country’s manpower and industrial equipment, were approved.
Appreciation was expressed of the council’s efforts to obtain greater
recognition of the trade-unions’ right to represent the working people
in all matters affecting industry and their conditions of life and labor.
Respect was paid to those who, in daily hazard of their lives, have
maintained the national defenses and communications against
incessant enemy attacks, and sympathy was expressed with the
victims of enemy attack. The congress called for the provision of
adequate shelters against air raids, for arrangement to meet the needs
of those left homeless and without resources in bombed areas, and for
the organization by the British Government of arrangements for the
safety and comfort of persons forced to seek shelter outside their
homes.
The congress called for the repeal of the Trades Disputes and
Trade-Unions Act of 1927,3 the consensus being that the unions could
best cooperate with and assist the Government if they were unfettered
in their methods of functioning. The “restrictive” character of this
law is regarded by organized labor as particularly undesirable at this
1Data are from Great Britain, M inistry of Labor Gazette, London, October 1940; The Land Worker,
London, November 1940; and report of Herschel V. Johnson, Chargé d’Affaires a. i., American Embassy,
London.
1 See p. 156 for total trade-union membership, i. e., number affiliated with the Trades-Union Congress
plus nonaffiliated members.
* For information on this law see the Monthly Labor Review, M ay and October, 1927.
154
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Organizations
155
time, as the unions are cooperating fully with the Government.
Therefore the general council was instructed to approach the Govern
ment with the object of securing the immediate introduction of legis
lation which would place the unions in a legal position no less favor
able than that existing before enactment of the law in 1927.
Several matters directly related to war service were dealt with,
such as the allowances to men in the armed forces and their depen
dents, treatment of conscientious objectors, and the substitution of
blinds for permanent black-out arrangements in workshops in order
to avoid the harmful effects on the health of workers. Resolutions
were adopted regarding liberalized social-insurance payments, reform
in the workmen’s compensation legislation, and protection of young
children in wartime. The congress also looked ahead to the prepara
tion of plans to deal with the effects of reduced armament production
after the war.
Mr. Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labor and National Service, a tradeunionist himself, appealed for every possible effort to expedite produc
tion of essential armaments and equipment, in order to shorten the
war.
Sir Walter Citrine, the general secretary of the congress, spoke in
defense of the policy of continuing work during air raids until the last
possible moment. Although he acknowledged criticism of the system
of maintaining, on factory roofs, spotters of enemy airplanes, inade
quate protection, and charges of exploitation of workers under this
system, he stated that production must be maintained. He added
that the present system does not preclude mishaps but is the best
which human ingenuity has been able to devise and urged a “cordial
but watchful” attitude toward the Government.
In his presidential address, Mr. Holmes endorsed further aid and
compensation to those made destitute and homeless by bombing, better
air-raid shelter, an organized system of mobile canteens, and proper
sanitation and hygiene. Ho referred to the establishment of a mini
mum wage for agricultural workers 4 as a symbol of the higher status
achieved by the unions for the working people, describing it as an act
of social justice and a recognition of the vitally important place of
farm workers in a balanced economy. In the role of rebuilding after
the war, Mr. Holmes believes the contribution of the trade-union
movement will be even greater than in the effective organization of the
nation’s war effort.
4 For a statement on the minimum wage in agriculture see M onthly Labor Review, August 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
156
TR A D E-U N IO N M E M B E R SH IP IN GREAT B R ITA IN
AND N O R T H ER N IR ELA N D 1
TRADE-UNION membership increased by 3 percent in Great
Britain and Northern Ireland from the end of 1938 to the end of 1939.
According to statistics compiled by the British Ministry of Labor
regarding registered and unregistered organizations, the total mem
bership—including members in branches overseas—was 6,234,000 on
December 31, 1939. The total excludes members of organizations
with headquarters outside of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Membership of Trade-Unions in Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the End of 1938
and 1939 1
Membership of all trade-unions at end of—
Number of
tradeIndustry group of trade- unions
unions 2
at end
of
1939
All groups____________
A griculture, horticul
ture, etc__ __ _____
Coal mining___ _____
Pottery and glass___ __
M etals, machines, con
veyances, etc___ ___
Cotton (preparing, spin
ning, and manufactur
ing)—
Other textile_________
Boot and shoe________
Tailoring and other
clothing________ . . .
Paper, printing, etc.
Building, woodworking,
and furniture manu
facture, public works
contracting, etc.3 __ _
Railway service^ _ _
Water transport .. _
Other transport (road,
dock, etc.) and general
labor________ ______
Commerce and distribu
tion
_ . __ __
Banking and insurance..
National Government _
Local governm ent3_ __
Teaching_____________
Entertainments
and
sport____ __ _______
All other groups__ _ __
1939
Males
Fe
males
1938
Total
Fe
males
Males
Total
Percent of increase
or decrease in
membership at end
of 1939 compared
with end of 1938
Fe Total
Males males
1,007 5,258,018 975, 538 6, 233, 556 5,127, 013 925,346 6,052,359 + 2 .6 + 5.4 + 3 .0
1
88
13
49, 234
835
704,590 2, 422
14, 277 17,841
50, 069
707,012
32,118
46, 208
735
702,053 2, 003
15,878 16, 987
46,943 + 6.5 +13.6 + 6 .7
704,056 +• 4 +20.9 +• 4
32, 865 -1 0 . 1 + 5.0 - 2 .3
87
927, 538
8, 587
936,125
844, 761
7, 705
852, 466 + 9.8 +11.4 + 9.8
162
97
6
86, 553 162,341
93.614 77,051
65, 796 35,146
248,894
170,665
100,942
94,819 161, 749
92,495 75, 217
64, 649 33,477
256, 568 - 8 .7 + . 4 - 3 .0
167, 712 + 1 .2 + 2.4 + 1 .8
98, 126 + 1.8 + 5 .0 + 2 .9
12
25
35, 521 86, 929
170,985 53, 203
122,450
224,188
32,905 72, 429
167,844 51, 363
105,334 + 8.0 +20.0 +16.2
219, 207 + 1.9 + 3.6 + 2.3
60
7
11
412,937
461,076
73, 416
420,105
470, 033
74, 277
400,588
478, 723
74, 242
5,742
8,356
927
406,330 +3.1 +24.8 + 3.4
487, 079 - 3 . 7 +7. 2 - 3 . 5
75, 169 - 1 .1 - 7 .1 - 1 . 2
7,168
8,957
861
18 1,134, 886 84, 025 1,218, 911 1,118, 709 73, 589 1,192, 298 + 1.4 +14.2 + 2 .2
11
20
246
32
25
14
72
85,871
11,422
87,413
49,694
160, 880
284, 787
92,233
427, 797
233,653
249, 431
196, 794
84,871
319,716
173,977
88,923
27,634 9,203
107, 340 25,689
36,837
133, 029
26, 371 8,255
102, 487 22,675
198, 916
80,811
340, 384
183, 959
88, 551
82, 415
10,971
81, 273
48, 079
161,399
279,209
95,842
400,989
222, 056
250, 322
+1.1
- 4 .8
+ 6.5
+ 5.7
- .4
+ 4.2
+4.1
+ 7.6
+ 3.4
-.3
+ 2 .0
-3 .8
+ 6 .7
+ 5 .2
-.4
34,626 + 4.8 +11.5 + 6 .4
125, 162 + 4.7 +13.3 + 6.3
1 All figures for 1939, given in this article, are provisional and subject to slight revision. The figures
previously published in respect of earlier years have been revised as necessary, in accordance with the latest
information. The subdivision of the total membership into male and female is not exact, as estimates
have been made for some trade-unions which are unable to state precisely the number of males and of fe
males among their membership.
2 In the case of certain large unions, the membership of which is spread over a variety of industries, the
whole membership has been included under “ Other transport and general labor” or “ Commerce and dis
tribution.”
2 The figures given for this group exclude considerable numbers of workpeople who are classified under
“ Other transport and general labor.” (See footnote 2.)
4 Including a union (with a membership of over 190,000 in 1939) which in addition to a large representation
in the distributive trades, has members in many other industries, including soap, paint and varnish, fine
chemical, seed crushing, clothing, food, tobacco, transport, etc.
1 Great Britain.
Ministry of Labor Gazette, London, October 1940.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Labor Organizations
157
The number of unions declined from 1,023 in 1938 to 1,007 in 1939.
In this 1 year, 21 unions with a membership of 2,100 were reported
dissolved; 6 with 4,600 members ceased to exist as separate units,
having amalgamated with other unions; and 11 new units having
4,800 members were formed. Of 1,007 unions, 21 had headquarters
in Northern Ireland at the end of 1939.
Female unionists increased by 5.4 percent from 1938 to 1939, as
compared with a 2.6-percent rise for males and a 3.0-percent gain for
all members.
Some persons included in the table are members of more than one
union and are therefore counted more than once. However the
Ministry of Labor states that the resulting duplication is relatively
small, being estimated at about 25,000 to 30,000. Many unions have
members in a number of industries, but they are included in the group
with which the majority is believed to be connected in each case.
The “other transport and general labor” group (including the members
of the Transport and General Workers’ Union and the National
Union of General and Municipal Workers, which have members in a
wide variety of industries) accounts for 1,200,000 members. Another
900,000 were in the “metals, machines, conveyances, etc.,” group and
there were 700,000 in coal mining. These three groups made up 45
percent of the trade-union membership in 1939.
The greatest proportionate increases in membership from 1938 to
1939 were in tailoring and other clothing and in metals, machines,
conveyances, etc. Slight decreases occurred in the railway service,
cotton, and banking and insurance groups.
Over the 10 years from 1929 to 1939, trade-unionists increased in
number from 4,858,000 to 6,234,000. Declines in membership were
shown in each year from 1930 through 1933. Beginning with 1934
membership increased annually, but the rate of annual expansion in
1938 and 1939—3 percent in each year—was considerably slower
than in the preceding 4 years. The greatest 1-year rise in this period—10 percent—occurred from 1936 to 1937. Membership in 1939 was
about three-fourths that in the peak year 1920.
28 0 3 9 8 — 41------- 11
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Disputes
T R E N D OF STRIK ES
THERE were fewer strikes in November 1940 than in the preceding
month of October. According to preliminary estimates the number of
strikes in November declined 15 percent to 200, the number of workers
involved declined about 3 percent to 63,000, and the number of mandays idle because of strikes declined 22 percent to 660,000.
Trend of Strikes, 1933 to November 1940 1
Workers involved in
strikes—
Number of strikes—
Year and month
Con
tinued
from
preced
ing
month
1933______________
1934______________
1935______________
1936______________
1937______________
1938........ ............ . . . .
1939______________
Begin
ning in
month
or year
In prog
ress dur Ended
in
ing
month month
In effect Beginning
at end of in month
month
or year
Man-days
idle during
or
In progress month
year
during
month
1,168, 272
L 466’ 695
1,117, 213
788, 648
1,860,621
688, 376
1,170,962
16, 872,128
19 691 949
1fi 466’ 887
18 901*966
28 424 867
9* 148’ 278
17 812 219
1,695
1,856
2,014
2, 172
4,740
2, 772
2,613
1939
January__________
February_________
March. ....................
April___________ _
M'ay_____________
June_____ ______
July______________
August___________
September________
October__________
November__
. .
December________
120
139
139
150
176
162
138
173
176
151
139
116
203
204
210
281
258
245
251
275
197
205
178
106
323
343
349
431
434
407
389
448
373
356
317
222
184
204
199
255
272
269
216
272
222
217
201
128
139
139
150
176
162
138
173
176
151
139
116
94
51,159
68,252
43,337
396,166
95,239
62, 534
175, 542
79,670
36, 846
106, 628
43,239
12,350
72, 427
88, 267
64, 660
425, 748
457,407
127,474
211, 548
118,772
103, 538
139, 608
130,341
37,122
513, 460
553,138
618,147
4,902,238
3, 547,868
958,127
1,168, 382
1,101,419
892,485
1, 508,120
1, 664, 574
384,261
94
92
111
99
112
105
115
122
112
124
140
118
153
161
209
218
182
199
193
210
235
200
212
245
272
308
330
287
314
315
322
359
340
120
134
173
196
225
172
192
203
198
219
205
92
111
99
112
105
115
122
112
124
140
135
25,189
28,613
22,104
39,114
51,725
35,690
60,997
59,016
66, 574
65,000
63,000
39,536
36,974
42,711
52,376
75, 724
52,946
78,678
85, 786
107,614
95,000
98,000
239, 217
284, 616
381,083
439,287
660,242
464,476
551, 523
679, 215
768,184
850,000
660,000
1940
January__________
February_________
March____________
April_____________
M ay_____________
June_____________
July______________
August__________ _
September________
October 1...................
N ovem ber«______
i Strikes involving fewer than 6 workers or lasting less than 1 day are not included in this table nor in the
following tables. Notices or leads regarding strikes are obtained by the Bureau from more than 650 daily
papers, labor papers, and trade journals, as well as from all Government labor boards. Letters are written
to representatives of parties in the disputes asking for detailed and authentic information. Since answers
to some of these letters have not yet been received, the figures given for the late months are not final. This
is particularly true with regard to figures for the last 2 months, and these should be considered as preliminary
estimates.
158
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Disputes
159
There were no extremely large strikes in November—the largest
being a day’s strike of about 8,500 workers at the Briggs Manufacturing
Co. in Detroit, Mich.
Compared with November a year ago the estimates for November
1940 indicate increases of 12 percent in number of strikes and 46 per
cent in number of workers involved, but a decrease of 60 percent in the
amount of idleness due to strikes. The amount of idleness in Novem
ber 1939 was comparatively great because of the Chrysler dispute in
Detroit which had continued from October.
The figures given in the foregoing table for October and November
1940 are preliminary estimates based principally on newspaper infor
mation. An analysis of strikes in each of these months, based on de
tailed and verified information, will appear in subsequent issues of the
Monthly Labor Review.
STR IK ES IN SE PT E M B E R 1940 1
STRIKE activity in September 1940 was at a higher level than in
any preceding month of the year, measured in terms of number of
workers involved and the amount of idleness resulting. The Bureau
has received detailed information on 210 strikes which began in
September, involving over 66,000 workers. These strikes, together
with 112 which continued into September from preceding months,
made a total of 322 strikes in progress during the month, which
resulted in 768,000 man-days of idleness. The largest strike in the
month was at the plant of the Celanese Corporation of America in
Cumberland, Md. This strike involved about 8,500 workers and
lasted from September 17 to September 30.
The industry groups having the largest number of strikes in Sep
tember were lumber and allied products (27) and textiles (26). There
were 14 each in 5 industry groups, namely, iron and steel, machinery
manufacturing, food, transportation and communication, and trade.
The largest number of workers involved (10,425) was in the trans
portation-equipment manufacturing industry. This was due prin
cipally to a strike of aboutr 6,300 workers at the Fisher Body plant
No. 1 in Flint, Mich., which began September 9 and was settled a
day later. Another large strike in this group involved about 3,000
workers at the Bethlehem Steel Co.’s shipbuilding plant at Sparrows
Point, Md., from September 19 to October 7. Other industry groups
having large numbers of workers involved were textiles (9,383),
chemicals and allied products (9,368), and lumber and allied products
(8,918). The largest amount of idleness because of strikes during
September, measured in terms of man-days, occurred in the following
1 Detailed information on a few strikes has not yet been received.
Data on missing strikes will be included In the annual report.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(See footnote to preceding table.)
160
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
industry groups: Building and construction (138,817), machinery
manufacturing (136,878), textiles (93,080), and chemicals and allied
products (92,465).
T able 1.— Strikes in September 1940, by Industry
Beginning in
September
Industry
N um W orkers
ber
involved
All industries____________ . . __________ _________
Iron and steel and their products, not including machinery . . . . .
.
. . . . . . ____
.. _ .
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills_______
Forgings, iron and steel_______________ . . . ____
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and steam
fittin g s .._ . . . _____________________
Wire and wire products_____ . . . _____ . . . . .
Other____ _______________________________
Machinery, not including transportation equipm ent... „.
Agricultural implements_____ _ _________
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies_____
Engines, turbines, tractors, and water wheels______
Foundry and machine-shop products___________ . .
__________
Machine tools (power driven)____
Radios and phonographs_________ ___ . .
Other__________________________
Transportation equipment_______
. _____ .
Automobiles, bodies and parts________
Shipbuilding.. ____ . ___________________
...
Nonferrous metals and their products. . . . . . . . _
Brass, bronze, and copper products . . . . ______ _.
Jewelry_____ _ _ _________ ____ ________
Lighting equipm ent.. .
. . . _______ . . . . . .
Silverware and plated ware____ . . . __
Smelting and refining—copper, lead, and zinc______
Stamped and enameled ware . . .
Other. _ .
lum ber and allied products________________________
Furniture________ . ..
Millwork and planing. . . ______ .
Sawmills and logging camps___________ .
Other____________________ _ . .
Stone, clay, and glass produ cts................ .............. . . .
Brick, tile, and terra cotta_____________ __________
Cem ent_________
Glass. __________ . . . . . . .
Pottery______________________________ ..
Other............................. _.
Textiles and their products...
Fabrics:
Carpets and rugs_________ __
Cotton goods____________
Dyeing and finishing textiles___
_____
Silk arid rayon goods_____ . . . . .
Woolen and worsted goods____ . . .
Other______________ __
Wearing apparel:
Clothing, women’s . _______ __________
Hosiery_______ _______ ____ _.
K nit goods___ __________________
O ther_______________ . . .
leather and its manufactures
Boots and shoes_____________ _
L eather.. ________________ .
Other leather goods_____________
Food and kindred products________ ____
B aking___ ____ _ .
Beverages____________ . . . ._
Canning and preserving_______
____
Flour and grain mills_______ .
Slaughtering and meat packing_____________
O ther.____ _____ _______ _____
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
In progress dur
ing September
Mandays idle
during
N um W orkers Septem
ber
ber
involved
210
66, 574
322
107, 614
768,184
14
6
3
6, 787
5,805
473
20
8
3
10,274
8, 514
473
39, 566
18,867
1,092
1
4
153
366
1
2
6
150
183
954
¿742
13,865
14
4,717
836
531
519
74
1, 296
1,461
31
1
9
1
11
1
2
6
10, 842
81
4,713
531
2, 328
74
1,296
1,819
136, 878
4
1
3
1
2
3
8
6
2
10,425
7,225
3, 200
10
8
2
10, 577
7,377
3, 200
31,998
18, 598
13, 400
8
1
613
109
32, 284
545
3
1
1
93
145
180
2,146
' 109
405
93
575
180
138
646
11! 536
75, 714
6,372
29,065
296
2,770
21,041
2
86
12
1
1
3
2
1
]
3
27
13
2
7
5
8.818
1,074
3,116
3, 875
853
43
19
4
12
8
11,080
1,439
3,311
4, 505
1,825
40, 979
12,168
1,801
14,068
12,942
6
2
1
2
1,067
98
60
866
1, 918
194
410
892
16, 536
1, 418
1,830
6,041
393
9, 470
’ 540
1
43
13
4
2
3
1
3
280
4,407
26
9, 383
36
11,973
93, 080
1
3
5
1
2
1, 200
2,186
2,056
50
661
1
3
5
3
2
4
1,200
2,186
2,056
974
661
814
2, 538
17,832
12, 572
13,305
2, 227
7
5
2
1,337
1,474
419
7
7
3
1
1,337
1,780
447
4, 990
16, 390
1,821
5
2
2
1
804
291
297
216
6
3
2
1
974
461
297
216
11, 810
5,066
6, 096
648
14
4
1
4
2
2
1
3, 578
164
22
2,844
124
409
15
17
5
1
5
2
3
1
3, 962
195
22
3,168
124
438
15
20, 537
1,318
22
13, 283
556
5, 298
60
Industrial Disputes
T able
161
1.—Strikes in September 1940, by Industry—Continued
Beginning in
September
In progress dur
ing September
Industry
N um Workers
ber
involved
N um
ber
Mandays idle
during
Workers Septem
ber
involved
1
1
2, 700
2, 700
13. 500
13, 500
Paper and printing__________________________________
Boxes, paper_________ _________________________
Paper and pulp__________ ______________________
Printing and publishing: Book and job...
___ .
4
3
1
310
202
108
8
5
1
1
1
528
363
108
15
42
5,712
4, 953
324
15
420
Chemicals and allied products________________________
Explosives_____ ___ _ _______
_____ ____ _
Fertilizers______________________________________
Paints and varnishes-.. _________________________
Rayon and allied produ cts__ _____ _____________
Other_________________ ________________________
8
1
1
3
1
2
9, 368
124
27
289
8, 500
428
9
1
1
3
1
3
9, 425
124
27
289
8, 500
485
92, 465
1, 240
27
2,887
85, 000
3,311
Rubber products_____ . . . --------------------------------------Other rubber goods______ ______________ ____ ___
2
2
60
60
6
6
1,000
1,000
3,047
3,047
Miscellaneous manufacturing------ --------- ---Broom and brush__ ___________________________
Furriers and fur f a c t o r i e s . ____ . . __________ _
Other________________________ . . ______________
7
1
2
4
964
271
103
590
14
1
4
9
2, 546
271
141
2,134
19, 370
1,355
799
17, 216
Extraction of minerals. _ .
...
Goal mining, anthracite______________________ . . .
3
2
2,488
2,482
3,478
2,482
945
51
13, 599
8,298
4,149
1,152
Other____ ______________________________________
1
6
5
2
1
2
Transportation and communication___
. ...
----Water transportation______________________ ____
Motortruck transportation___ .
.
.. . .
Motorbus transportation
.
. . . . .
Taxicabs and miscellaneous______________________
14
3
4
4
3
2,407
473
1,277
469
188
22
5
8
4
5
3,515
1,357
1,380
469
309
23, 732
9,479
8,104
2,845
3,304
Trade_________. . . . . ______________________________
W holesale.______ _____________
.
. ______
R etail_____ _ . . . _________________________ . . .
14
4
10
2, 094
515
1, 579
20
6
14
2, 571
547
2,024
13, 093
5, 172
7, 921
Domestic and personal service__ _ .
____________
Hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses______ _
Personal service, barbers, beauty parlors______
Laundries_________ _________
...
_______
9
5
2
1
311
124
61
26
13
8
2
1
1
449
248
61
26
14
3,172
2,275
61
156
280
Elevator and maintenance workers (when not
attached to specific industry).. ._ . . . ________
1
100
1
100
400
Professional service... ----------- ------- - --------------------Recreation and amusement___ ____ . _________
5
5
146
146
6
6
186
186
1,554
1,554
Building and construction. . . . . . . . ---- ------ . . . .
Buildings, exclusive of PW A . ________ . . . ___ .
All other construction (bridges, docks, etc., and
PW A buildings)____ ___________ . . . . . . . .
12
7
1,047
816
18
10
16.296
15,994
138,817
137, 515
5
231
8
302
1,302
Agriculture and fishing..... ..............
. ---. . -----Agriculture... . . ________________
_______
Fishing__________ _ ___________________________
3
1
2
859
84
775
3
1
2
859
84
775
14, 027
252
13,775
Other nonmanufacturing industries______ .
7
218
9
315
2, 428
-------------
There were 39 new strikes in New York in September, or more than
double the number in any other State. Pennsylvania had 18, New
Jersey 15, and California 14. Five strikes beginning in September
extended across State lines. All of these were small, none of them
involving as many as 200 workers. Maryland had the largest number
of workers (11,605) involved in strikes beginning in September,
principally because of the two disputes mentioned previously—the
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
162
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Celanese strike at Cumberland and the stoppage of shipyard workers
at Sparrows Point. Other States having large numbers of workers
involved were Michigan (8,165), Washington (6,803), and New York
(6,261). States with the most man-days of idleness because of local
strikes during September were Maryland (98,000), New York (75,000),
Pennsylvania (57,000), and California (52,000). There were about
130,000 man-days of idleness during September because of strikes
extending into two or more States. This was due principally to the
strike of about 15,000 painters (largely in New York), which began
August 26 and continued until September 26.
T able 2. — Strikes in September 1940, by States
Beginning in
September
State
N um W orkers
ber
involved
All States___
.
_
In progress dur
ing September Man-days
idle dur
ing Sep
N um Workers tember
ber
involved
210
66,574
322
107,614
768, 184
3
1
14
1
1
40
30
5,840
1,200
34
5
1
23
2
1
216
30
7,159
1,800
34
2,368
90
51,889
12,138
102
4
1
9
6
4
478
175
709
1,306
363
6
2
13
11
5
3,192
323
1,848
2,375
377
17,800
3.135
7,172
29, 282
2,426
Kentucky___
__ _
Louisiana.........................
M aine_____
M aryland.. _ _ ___
Massachusetts _ _ ...............
4
5
2
4
12
366
962
352
11,605
2,529
5
5
2
4
18
391
962
352
11, 605
3,618
1,667
10,847
' 743
97,773
26,413
Michigan___
Minnesota__
Missouri___
Montana_____
Nebraska___
13
3
5
8,165
1,483
488
8,827
1,982
2,308
25
6
38,839
27', 428
31, 751
Alabama___________ _
Arkansas_____ ____ _
California_____ _
Connecticut__________
Delaware_____ ______
_ _ _ _______
_ _ „ _______
__
___ ___ _____________
_ _ _ _ __ _ _
Florida___
Georgia..........
__ _ _ _ _ _ _
Illinois_____
Indiana_______ ____ _
_
Iowa______ _ _ _
_____
1
6
16
5
12
1
1
New Jersey__ _
N ew York _
North C arolina______ _ ___
North Dakota______ _
Ohio______
15
39
2
1
11
3,915
6, 261
215
21
3,063
24
57
2
2
19
5, 214
9,872
215
37
3,819
34,427
74. 803
1,865
390
22,471
Oklahoma.,
Oregon_____
Pennsylvania_____________________ ___
Rhode Island______________ ____ _ _ _
South Carolina___________ _____________ _ _
2
2
18
2
2
62
330
5,989
563
2,140
2
3
26
3
2
62
435
10,950
968
2,140
174
4, 500
57, 279
9,226
17,740
Tennessee________________
Texas______
Virginia_____
W ashington.. ___ _ _ _ _ _ _
West Virginia__________ _
1
1
1
10
3
28
100
92
6,803
301
2
4
2
15
5
76
193
133
8,164
469
304
1,508
976
21,388
4,717
2
5
88
472
8
8
1,200
16, 237
24,211
130, 111
_ ______ _
_ _
Wisconsin. __
Interstate_____ _____ _
_ _
6
Of the 210 strikes which began in September, 58 percent involved
fewer than 100 workers each, about 35 percent involved from 100 up
to 1,000 workers, and 7 percent involved over 1,000 workers each. In
two of the strikes in the latter group, over 5,000 workers were involved.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
163
Industrial Disputes
These were the Celanese Corporation stoppage at Cumberland, Md.,
and the strike in the Fisher Body plant at Flint, Mich. There were
no strikes during the month in which as many as 10,000 workers were
involved. The average number of workers in the 210 strikes beginning
in September was 317.
T able 3. —Strikes Beginning in September 1940, Classified by Number of Workers
Involved
Number of strikes in which the number
of workers involved was—
Industry group
All industries_____ ____________________ . . . _____
T otal
210
1,000
6
20
100
500
and
and
and and and
under under under under under
100
1,000 5,000
20
600
36
5,000
and
under
10,000
86
60
14
12
2
5
6
7
4
5
3
9
1
10
3
2
1
3
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
4
2
3
1
1
M a n u fa c tu r in g
Iron and steel and their products, not including machinMachinery, not including transportation equipment - . _
14
14
8
8
27
6
26
5
14
4
8
2
7
1
1
4
1
1
1
3
Ì
4
11
3
8
1
7
3
4
1
5
1
2
N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g
3
14
14
9
5
12
3
7
1
3
9
3
2
3
2
4
3
5
3
6
2
5
1
1
5
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
Nearly half of the strikes beginning in September were due to
disputes over union-organization matters, 34 percent to wage and hour
disputes, and about 17 percent to miscellaneous matters—sympathy,
jurisdiction, rival union or factional disputes, and various grievances
such as objection to certain foremen, increased work load, irregular
payment of wages, and transfer of operations to another city. About
46 percent of the workers involved in strikes beginning in the month
were in the disputes over union-organization matters. This group
included the employees of the Celanese Corporation plant in Cumber
land, Md., who struck following disagreement over the discharges and
lay-offs of several union members. Nearly 31 percent of the workers
involved were in the disputes over wage and hour issues, the majority
demanding wage increases. Among the latter were the workers in the
sawmills in Tacoma, Wash., and vicinity, who demanded a 7% centsper-hour wage increase and vacations with pay. (See table 4.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
164
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 4. —Major Issues Involved in Strikes Beginning in September 1940
Strikes
Workers involved
Major issue
Number
All issues__ ____ _________ .
Wages and hours____ . _ . .
Wage increase.-- . . .
Wage decrease- . . ___
Wage increase, hour decrease_______ _ . . .
Wage decrease, hour in crea se....... ............
Hour increase______
Union organization_______ .
Recognition.. . . . . .
Recognition and w a g e s ._____
Recognition, wages, and hours____
Closed or union shop...
Discrimination.. __
Strengthening bargaining position .
Other____________ . _
Miscellaneous_________
Sympathy . .
. ...
...
Rival unions or factions. .
Jurisdiction
___
Other________
N ot reported.________ . .
Percent of
total
Percent of
total
210
100.0
66,574
100.0
71
56
6
7
1
1
33.8
26.6
2.9
3.3
.5
.5
20,423
14,137
650
3, 775
1,800
61
30.7
21. 2
1. 0
5.7
2.7
.1
104
18
27
24
17
11
3
4
49.5
8.6
12.9
11.4
8.1
5.2
1.4
1.9
30,509
li 351
8,602
2, 000
3,114
13,574
'868
1.000
45.8
2. 0
12. 9
3.0
4. 7
20. 4
1. 3
1.5
35
3
6
3
22
1
16.7
1.4
2.9
1.4
10.5
.5
15,642
437
6, 724
' 548
7,870
63
23.5
.7
10.1
.8
11.8
.1
1 It is probable that the figures here given do not include all jurisdictional strikes.
of these disputes, it is difficult for the Bureau to find out about all of them.
T a b l e 5 . —Duration
Number
Due to the local nature
of Strikes Ending in September 1940
h umber of strik 3S with c uration )f—
Industry group
All industries. ..
Total Less
than
1
week
198
78
10
6
15
6
7
27
7
24
4
11
1
7
3
3
8
5
4
3
12
1
12
1
7
1 week Oneand
half
1 and
2 and
3
less
less
and
less
than
than
than months
less
or
2
onethan
3
half
1
months months more
month month
47
35
2
i
3
6
2
1
2
26
5
2
1
1
3
5
7
M a n u fa c t u r in g
Iron and steel and their products, not including
machinery . .
Machinery, not including transportation equipment ..
Transportation equipm ent___
Nonferrous metals and their products
Lumber and allied products
Stone, clay, and glass products.
Textiles and their products .
Leather and its manufactures
Food and kindred products
Tobacco manufactures
Paper and printing
Chemicals and allied products
Rubber products____
Miscellaneous manufacturing. .
1
1
1
4
i
3
1
1
i
3
3
6
1
3
i
i
2
2
2
2
2
i
1
1
1
5
N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g
Extraction of minerals .
Transportation and communication
Trade____________
Domestic and personal service
Professional service
Building and construction___ _
Agriculture and fishing__
___
Other nonmanufacturing industries.
2
17
13
7
4
13
2
7
1
7
6
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
4
2
1
2
1
4
1
2
i
1
2
i
The average duration of the 198 strikes ending in September was
nearly !9 calendar days. About 39 percent of these strikes ended
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Industrial Disputes
165
less than a week after they began, 41 percent lasted from a week to a
month, about 16 percent lasted from 1 to 3 months, and 4'percent
had been in progress for 3 months or more. All of the strikes in the
latter group were small, none of them involving as many as 150
workers. (See table 5.)
Government officials or boards assisted in the settlement of about
49 percent of the strikes ending in September. These strikes included
nearly 71 percent of the total workers involved. About 36 percent of
the strikes, which included 26 percent of the workers involved, were
settled directly by employers and representatives of organized workers.
In about 14 percent of the strikes ending in the month, there were
no formal settlements. These were small strikes which included only
about 2 percent of the total workers. These strikes were ended when
the workers returned to work on the employers’ terms or when the
employers hired new workers to fill their places, moved to another
locality, or went out of business. (See table 6.)
T able
6 . —Methods
of Negotiating Settlements of Strikes Ending in September 1940
Strikes
Workers involved
Negotiations toward settlements carried on by—
Percent of
total
Number
Total
_____ _____________ .
Number
Percent of
total
_ _ ___ _____
198
100.0
72,065
Employers and workers d irectly.. __ ..
_
Employers and representatives of organized workers
directly.. _______ _ ______ . . . . . .
Government officials or boards_______________ . _.
Private conciliators or arbitrators. . . .
Terminated without formal settlement. . . .
. .
3
1.5
792
1.1
71
35.9
48.5
.5
13.6
18, 781
50, 804
153
1, 535
26.1
70. 5
2
2.1
96
1
27
100.0
T able 1.—Results of Strikes Ending in September 1940
Strikes
Workers involved
Result
Number
Substantial gains to workers .
Partial gains or compromises. _ _ _____ _ __ _
Little or no gains to workers _ _ _
__
_ .
Jurisdiction, rival union, or faction settlements_______
Indeterminate. _ . . .
__ _____ ________
N ot reported..
. ______ _
Percent of
total
Number
Percent of
total
198
100.0
72,065
100.0
81
75
32
8
1
1
40.9
37 9
16 2
4. 0
5
5
18, 744
34,003
11,198
8,080
12
28
26.0
47.3
15.5
11. 2
(0
(0
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Of the 198 strikes ending in September, 41 percent resulted in sub
stantia] gains to the workers, 38 percent were compromised, and 16 per
cent resulted in little or no gains to the workers. Twenty-six percent
of the workers involved in strikes ending in the month substantially
won their demands, 47 percent obtained compromise settlements, and
about 16 percent gained little or nothing. (See table 7.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
166
T a b l e 8 .— Results
of Strikes Ending in September 1940, in Relation to Major Issues
Involved
Strikes resulting in—
Major issue
Total
Substantial
gains to
workers
Partial Little
gains or or no
compro- gains to
mises workers
Jurisdiction,
rival union,
or faction
settlem ents
Inde- N ot
terremi- portnate
ed
Number of strikes
All issues---------------------------------- ------ --------
Wage decrease, hour increase - _
Recognition, wages, and h o u r s . .
Strengthening bargaining position..
- ..
Miscellaneous-------------------------------------------
198
81
75
32
63
45
8
8
1
1
30
21
3
4
1
1
27
19
4
4
5
1
102
18
23
20
27
9
3
2
42
5
13
12
5
5
36
6
6
4
17
2
1
24
7
4
4
5
2
2
33
4
5
3
20
1
9
1
12
2
2
2
8
1
1
8
1
1
1
5
3
8
10
2
1
Number of workers involved
All issues------------------------------------------------- 72,065
18,744
34,003
11,198
30,497
9,104
473
19,059
1,800
61
8,251
3, 389
'351
2,650
1,800
61
21,686
5,161
116
16,409
560
554
6
28,256
1,281
2,804
Recognition, wages, and h o u r s ------1,190
8,056
Discrimination______________ _____ _ . 13,113
Strengthening bargaining position______
1,223
589
8,921
'655
2,000
976
299
4,402
8,773
'396
192
154
7,583
' 173
275
10,562
'230
612
60
174
8, 538
'948
13,312
532
7,514
566
4,672
N ot reported . ............................................
28
1,572
120
3,544
400
76
Miscellaneous____________________________
8,080
12
28
8,080
12
12
28
589
1, 452
3,144
7, 514
566
76
28
The strikes over wage and hour issues were a little more successful
from the workers’ point of view than the strikes over union-organiza
tion matters. Of the wage and hour strikes, about 48 percent were
won by the workers, 43 percent were compromised, and 9 percent
resulted in little or no gains. Of the union-organization strikes, 41
percent were substantially won, 35 percent were compromised, and
24 percent brought little or no gains.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
167
I ndustrial Disputes
Of the workers involved in the strikes ending in September, 27
percent of those in the wage and hour strikes substantially won their
demands, 71 percent obtained compromise settlements, and about 2
percent gained little or nothing. About 32 percent of the workers in
the union-organization disputes won their demands, 31 percent
obtained compromise settlements, and 37 percent gained little or
nothing.
A C TIV ITIES OF T H E U N IT E D STATES CO NCILIATION
SERVICE, NOVEM BER 1940
THE United States Conciliation Service, in November, disposed of
454 situations, involving 149,192 workers. The services of this agency
were requested by the employees, employers, and other interested
parties. Of these situations, 271 were strikes, threatened strikes,
lock-outs, and controversies, involving 122,615 workers. The re
maining situations, involving 26,577 workers, included such services
as filling requests for information, adjusting complaints, consulting
with labor and management, etc.
T a b l e 1 .—Situations
Disposed of by U. S. Conciliation Service, November 1940, by
Industries
Industry
Disputes
Other situations
Total
N um Workers
ber
involved
N um Workers
ber
involved
N um Workers
ber
involved
--------------------------------
271
122,615
A utom obile... _____________________________
Building trades.. .
_____ — --------- - --------C h e m ic a ls ..___ __________________ _____
Communications____________________________
4
7
22
5
2
116
2,835
6, 214
544
31
Domestic and personal________________ ______
Electrical equipment _______________________
Food______________________________________
Furniture__________________________________
Iron and steel------------------ --------------------------
6
3
35
7
31
Leather____________________________________
Lumber____________________________________
M achinery._____ ___________________________
Maritime___________________________________
Nonferrous metals. . . _______________________
Paper______________________________________
All industries____
..
Printing___________________________________
26,577
454
149,192
1
25
7
1
250
3,205
397
2
4
8
47
12
3
116
3,085
9,419
941
33
190
178
5,261
1,783
11,935
10
2
12
6
10
57
2
391
100
5,349
16
5
47
13
41
247
180
5,652
1,883
17, 284
1
10
20
7
3
101
2,650
10,124
10,364
743
1
1
11
8
1
4
528
2,010
2
11
31
15
3
102
2, 654
10,652
12,374
743
8
5
1
8
1,159
638
70
2,128
3
2
1
8
499
84
4
626
3
10
6
1
12
8
1,658
722
70
2,754
2
1
5
12
1
2
1,300
1,977
1,250
1
2
4
20
35
2
2
2, 254
3,485
13,246
1,101
16
8
8
926
19
7,238
25
351
35
22
12
1
31
13, 231
782
12,494
31,000
1,020
Rubber____________________________________
Stone, clay, and glass________________________
Textile_____________________________________
Tobacco____________________________________
3
15
23
1
954
1, 508
11,996
1,100
Trade______________________________________
Transportation______________________ ____ _
Transportation equipment___________________
19
14
4
12, 305
763
5,256
31,000
669
Unclassified______________________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
_______
1
6
183
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
168
The facilities of the Service were used in 29 major industrial fields,
such as building trades and the manufacture of foods, iron and steel,
textiles, etc. (table 1), and were utilized by employees and em
ployers in 40 States, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii (table 2).
T a b l e 2 . —Situations
Disposed of by U. S. Conciliation Service, November 1940, by States
Disputes
State
Num
ber
Other situations
Total
Workers N um
ber
involved
Workers Num
involved
ber
Workers
involved
271
122, 615
183
26, 577
454
149,192
Alabama___________________________________
7
1,319
Arkansas-. ______ ___ - - - - - - - California-_ _____________ __________
- -
1
21
2
9,101
7
1
3
10
1
730
1
264
2, 673
88
14
1
4
31
1
2,049
1
266
11,774
88
District of Columbia______ -_- _____ ___ - -Florida_____ _____________
- ---------- Georgia- ________________ ______________
2
10
12
8
1
175
1,737
865
1,875
225
13
8
1
372
155
25
2
23
20
9
1
175
2,109
1,020
1,900
225
Illinois_________________ __________________
Indiana-.___________ ____ ______ - -- I o w a .--’ _- _ ______ - - -- ------------Kansas . ___
14
7
1
4
7
8, 517
576
29
151
1,980
6
5
1
2
16
149
136
2
20
12
2
6
7
8, 533
725
165
153
1,980
Louisiana______________________________ -- M aine______________________________________
Maryland
___
Massachusetts_______ _______________ ____
M ichigan.-. . . . ____ ______________________
6
1
6
5
16
881
2,660
316
279
3, 636
5
1
2
9
10
13
122
2
39
192
11
2
8
14
26
894
2, 782
318
318
3,828
1
2
7
3
350
1,630
116
183
1
1
6
6
2
2
13
3
1
351
1,630
122
183
1
7
1
18
6
1
1,781
57
39,116
1,605
51
12
1
36
10
2
4,421
57
48, 686
1, 611
546
28
3
27
2
2
5
48
10
42
2
2
7
10,919
2,039
19, 217
275
3,300
'385
4
2
6
5
4
8
10
2
7
13
7
8
1,176
84
3,914
6, 821
2,538
1,613
All States.--
-
- --- ---
Minnesota. . ___...
M issouri..
--
------
______________
N ew Jersey.
---------
.....................
. ___ - -
------
- - -
-------
N ew York____________________________ _
North Carolina _
. . .
- . . __________
..
Oklahoma _____
Ohio_______________________________________
O regon..____ _______________________________
Pennsylvania.. _ _____ ______ ____________
Tennessee___
_ _______ __________
_—
Texas____________________________________ .
U ta h ________
...
______________________
Virginia_____________________ _____________
Washington. ____________ __________ ____ _
W est Virginia______ _____ _ _ _____________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
1
5
2,640
18
4
1
9,570
6
495
9, 057
179
17,435
275
3,300
' 147
20
7
15
1,862
1,860
1,782
2
238
122
84
3,913
6, 472
805
1,613
6
1, 054
1
8
3
1
349
1,733
Labor Turn-Over
LABOR TURN-OVER IN M AN U FACTURIN G ,
OCTOBER 1940
TURN-OVER rates in October showed only nominal changes as
compared with September, according to reports from approximately
6,700 manufacturing establishments employing 2,750,000 factory
workers. Total separations remained virtually unchanged, but
there were slight shifts among the several types of separations. The
quit rate, following the usual seasonal trend, declined from 1.37 per
100 factory employees in September to 1.31 in October, but this was
counteracted by an increase in lay-offs from 1.48 to 1.53 and a slight
rise in the discharge rate. The greatest change was in the total
accession rate, which fell from 6.21 to 5.52 per 100 employees. Pri
marily responsible for the drop were the radio industry in which the
rate declined from 6.40 to 4.89; shipbuilding, from 9.96 to 7.86; and
structural and ornamental metal work, from 10.14 to 7.61.
T able 1 .—Monthly Labor Turn-Over Rates in Representative Factories in 135 Industries 1
Class of turn-over Jan Feb March April May June
uary ruary
and year
Separations:
Quits:2
1940
1939_____
Discharges:
1940
1939........
Lay-offs:3
1940
1939_____
Miscellaneous
separations:2
1940
Total:
1940
1939_____
Accessions:5
N e w h ires,
1940
Total:
1940
1939___
July
Au
gust
N o De Aver
Sep
cem age
tem Octo
ber vem
ber
ber
ber
0.63
.85
0. 62
.64
0. 67
.82
0. 74
.76
0. 77
.68
0. 78
.73
0.85
.70
1.10
.82
1.37
1.02
1.31
.93
0.83
0.69
0.79
. 14
. 10
. 16
. 10
. 15
.13
. 13
.10
. 13
. 13
. 14
.12
. 14
. 12
. 16
. 14
. 16
.14
.19
. 17
. 15
.12
. 13
2. 55
2.24
2.67
1.87
2. 53
2.23
2.69
2.60
2.78
2.67
2.32
2. 46
2.25
2.54
1.63
2.05
1.48
1.58
1.53
1.81
1.97
2.65
2.22
2. 95
3. 46
3. 14
4.10
2.84
4. 07
. 11
. 11
. 11
. 10
. 10
. 12
.11
. 11
4 .21
. 20
3. 43
3.19
3. 56
2.61
3. 46
3.18
3.66
3.46
3. 78
3.48
3. 36
3.31
3.35
3.36
3.00
3.01
3. 22
2. 79
3.23
2.91
1. 96
1. 26
1 38
1.42
1. 49
2. 06
1.94
3.04
2. 20
1.22
1.78
1. 72
1 56
1. 63
1.87
2.70
2. 83
3.59
4.01
4.30
3 74
4.09
2 98
3. 06
2 94
3. 34
3. 05
2.93
3. 36
3.29
4. 76
3. 92
4. 77
4.16
6. 63
5. 06
6. 21
6.17
5.52
5.89
1 The various turn-over rates represent the number of quits, discharges, lay-offs, total separations, and
accessions, per 100 employees.
2 Beginning with January 1940, miscellaneous separations, caused by death, permanent disability, re
tirement on pension, etc., have been reported separately. Such separations were formerly reported under
the classification “quits and miscellaneous separations.”
2 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
4 Beginning with September 1940, workers leaving to enter the Army or N avy are included in “mis
cellaneous separations.”
5 Beginning with January 1940, accessions have been separated into two classifications: “ Rehirings, which
include workers hired after a separation of 3 months or less; and “New hirings.” other employees hired.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
169
170
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
There have been significant changes during 1940, however, in the
relative importance of the different types of labor turn-over. Voluntary separations constituted about 40 percent of total separations in
all manufacturing industries combined in September and October,
which was practically double the proportion in the first 5 months of
1940. Likewise, the rate for new hirings (i. e., workers hired by a
company for the first time or after a separation of 3 months or longer)
rose steadily from 1.56 per 100 employees in March to 4.30 in October,
while the rate for rehirings fluctuated and was lower in October than
in any previous month of 1940. The tendency for new hirings to exceed
rehirings was apparent in all types of manufacturing, although it
was more pronounced in industries producing for national defense.
In October, for the first time since the two types of hiring rates have
been available, new hirings exceeded rehirings in each of the 39 indus
tries for which separate turn-over rates are available.
A nalysis by Industries
In addition to the rates for all industries combined, detailed labor
turn-over data are available for 39 separate manufacturing industries.
The greatest excesses of new hirings over rehirings in October were
in the aircraft industry, with rates of 11.42 and 0.34 per 100 employ
ees, respectively; brass, bronze, and copper products with 8.30 and
0.48; machine tools, with 6.47 and 0.13; and steam and hot-water
heating apparatus with 8.03 and 0.51.
T able 2.—Monthly Turn-Over Rates (Per 100 Employees) in 39 Manufacturing
Industries 1
Separation rates
Industry
Date
D is Lay
Q uit3 charge
off
Agricultural implements_____
Aircraft______________________
A lum inum __________________
Automobiles and bodies. _. ___
Accession rates 2
MiscelTotal
laNew Total
Resepa hiring
neous ration
hiring acces
sions
sepa
ration 3
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
0.81
.77
.35
2.34
3. 09
.95
1.24
.96
1.03
0.12
. 11
.09
.36
.37
.20
. 15
.20
. 13
1.16
.78
1.47
1.72
.37
1.59
.66
1.93
. 15
0.18
. 10
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
19404
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1.35
1.04
.67
1.80
1.44
.99
.08
.07
. 15
.42
.32
.23
2. 34
1.64
1. 38
1.51
1.11
6. 75
. 18
.09
.23
.29
.52
.87
2.27
1. 76
1.91
4. 65
4.12
2.74
2.57
3. 96
1.31
0.83
.75
2.97
2.62
.34
.16
11. 42
9. 58
.95
.85
4. 13
4.21
3. 95
2.84
2.20
3.91
2.97
7. 97
2. 82
9. 05
6. 97
5.82
3. 80
3. 37
6.58
11.76
9.74
11.81
5. 08
5.06
4. 21
9. 79
14. 87
9. 93
Automobile parts and equip. 18
1.31
8.86
10.17
ment.
.10
14.23
3.42 10.81
9.56
1 No individual industry data shown unless reports cover at least 25 percent of industrial employment.
2 No break-down of accessions prior to January 1940.
2 Prior to January 1940, miscellaneous separations were included with “quits.” Beginning with Sep
tember 1940, workers leaving to enter the Army or N avy are included in “miscellaneous separations.”
4 Revised.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
f
171
Labor Turn-Over
T able 2. —Monthly Turn-Over Rates (Per 700 Employees) in 39 Manufacturing
Industries — Continued
Separation rates
Industry
Date
D is Lay
Quit charge
off
Boots and shoes__ ___
Brass, bronze, and copper products.
Brick, tile, and terra cotta
Cast-iron pipe__________
Cement____________
Cigars and cigarettes
Cotton manufacturing
Dyeing and finishing textiles
Electrical machinery__ __
Foundries and machine shops.
Furniture___
C lass._ _____
Hardware_____ _
Iron and steel ___
Knit goods________
Machine tools____
M en’s clothing__
Paints and varnishes
Paper and pulp____ . .
Petroleum refining
Planing m ills_____
Printing—Book and job_______
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
MiscelTotal
laNew Total
Re
sepa hiring
hiring acces
neous ration
sion
sepa
ration
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
0.93
.89
.70
1.41
1.70
.93
1.31
1.74
1.13
.69
.66
.77
0.10
.08
.08
.44
.22
. 12
.26
.24
. 18
.05
.28
. 14
2.57
1.91
2.79
.36
.37
.24
2.92
2.15
2.65
.38
.78
1.13
0.18
.14
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
.61
.98
.56
1.70
1.66
1. 71
2.16
1. 95
1.56
.13
.09
.06
.10
.08
. 20
.24
.23
.22
1.63
.76
1.59
.72
1.29
. 78
.86
1.18
1.08
.17
. 19
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
Oct. 1939
1.61
1.21
1.04
1.14
1.12
.74
1.20
1.16
.71
. 17
.17
.23
.17
.14
. 13
.22
.20
. 15
.70
.59
.77
.57
.55
.98
.79
1.02
1.09
.25
.27
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
1.44
1.53
.94
.73
.63
.46
2.10
1.73
.89
.33
.26
. 23
.08
.08
.08
.26
.17
.40
2.01
1.18
.98
1.05
.81
.66
.32
.44
.56
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
.72
1.07
.57
1.13
1.10
1.25
1.53
1.92
1.38
.08
.08
.09
. 13
.10
. 19
.35
.40
. 14
.36
.37
.23
1.08
1.44
.69
.08
.06
.32
.20
.16
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
.98
.87
.80
.97
1.31
.98
.83
1.45
.75
.15
.10
. 10
.23
.37
. 17
.15
.14
. 13
3.72
3.33
6.47
1.00
.82
. 63
1.23
1.18
.65
.07
.07
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
1939
Oct. 1940
Sept. 1940
Oct. 1939
.37
.78
.35
1.79
1.53
1.48
1.06
.96
.64
.08
.04
.04
.26
.17
. 15
.17
.13
.13
1.38
1.40
1. 79
1.92
1.70
1. 56
2.18
2.84
2.66
.21
.35
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Accession rates
.20
. 12
.21
. 13
.06
.08
.10
.23
.31
.46
.35
.38
.16
. 17
.26
.24
.30
.22
.13
.17
. 10
.15
.15
.23
.11
.16
.43
.39
.15
.49
.20
.21
1.08
1.38
1.42
1.12
.48
.74
8.30
6. 62
1.80
1.36
4. 23
2.62
.18
.51
3i 41
3.68
.49
.56
1.14
1.28
.76
.88
2. 54
3.04
2. 25
2. 46
4. 71
3.82
1. 33
1.56
4. 30
4. 20
1. 08
1.42
6. 26
4. 67
.75
.90
4. 52
3.48
.69
.99
4. 69
4. 73
2.20
2.52
4.38
1.50
.80
1.57
6. 71
4. 56
.58
.58
2.16
1.99
1.89
1.94
2.45
2. 22
.13
.15
6.47
4.82
4.92
4.37
7.37
2.31
2. 66
1. 78
2.64
3.16
1. 53
1.78
.88
2.20
1.66
.55
.74
2.34
3.07
.56
.57
1.88
1.30
2.04
2.57
2.18
4.12
3.89
3.19
3.61
4.14
3.43
.35
.40
1.33
1.08
.89
1.53
6.78
4.81
2. 46
2.08
3.73
2.48
3.78
3. 02
3. 57
2.41
2.41
1.29
4.70
4.26
3.96
1.18
1.80
2.04
2.54
2. 02
2.21
2. 62
3.26
2. 69
3. 57
3. 82
2.86
2.73
2.24
2. 04
2. 23
2.19
1.85
2. 37
2.55
1.95
4. 04
3.21
2.15
2.16
1.74
1. 20
2.81
2. 51
1.85
1.36
1.68
.89
2.44
2.79
2.13
2.11
2.61
1.84
2.50
2.50
1.60
8.78
7.36
9.29
6.03
3.98
8.10
3.59
4.19
3.84
1.63
1.84
1.52
3.30
3.92
4.66
6.96
6. 28
5. 66
5.63
5.76
5.97
7. 34
6. 09
7. 29
5. 27
4.38
7.85
5.38
5. 72
5.65
6.58
4.02
5.88
7.51
6.13
8.47
2.74
2.57
8.20
4.34
4.16
3.60
6.60
4.97
7.92
3.98
2.54
2.64
2.89
3.81
4. 58
2. 44
1.87
4.87
1.68
1.48
2.24
7.67
6.34
6.84
6.19
4.56
3.89
172
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 2.—Monthly Turn-Over Rates (Per 100 Employees) in 39 Manufacturing
Industries — Continued
Separation rates
Industry
Printing—Newspaper and periodicals.
Date
MiscelTotal
laD is Lay
New Total
ReQuit charge
sepa biring
off
hiring acces
neous ration
sion
sepa
ration
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
0.41
.54
.20
2. 42
2. 26
2. 27
1.13
1.07
.72
0.03
. 14
.20
. 23
.21
.29
.24
.16
. 15
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Rubber tires______ _______ _ Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Sawmills. . . . _. ..
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1. 25
1.04
.84
.57
.81
.53
1.70
2.28
1.37
. 14
.16
.07
.06
.06
.06
.22
.20
.26
.49
. 19
1.35
.90
1.73
.54
2. 54
1.89
1.93 —
.47
.28
Shipbuilding___________
__ _ Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Silk and rayon goods _. _____ Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Slaughtering and meat packing. Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1.38
1.53
.99
1.96
1.43
1.24
.84
1.18
.64
.37
.28
.30
.09
.07
. 11
.16
. 14
.15
2. 45
4.03
1.75
4.15
3. 72
1.85
4.34
5.32
6. 46
. 16
.24
Steam and hot-water heating
apparatus.
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
1939
1.44
1.58
.98
1.60
2.46
.66
2.40
2.00
1.17
.29
.29
. 18
. 12
.07
. 14
.16
.08
. 12
.25
.50
.49
2.51
3. 69
5. 26
1. 11
1.99
2.13
Radios and phonographs___
Rayon and allied products..___
Rubber boots and shoes. __ .
Structural and
metal work.
ornamental
Woolen and worsted goods___
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Sept.
Oct.
Accession rates
0. 75
1.31
1.81
2. 22
1.93
.80
.68
.47
.54
0.22
.22
. 16
. 16
.22
.04
.24
. 18
.29
.40
.08
.08
. 18
.22
. 14
. 11
.14
.21
.10
. 19
1.41
2. 21
2. 21
5.03
4. 56
3. 36
2.27
1.74
1.41
1.15
1.04
1.25
1.66
1.12
1.30
3. 77
5.10
.58
1.01
2.00
1.37
2. 35
1.96
1.67
2.02
2.26
1. 56
1.77
2.78
.77
1.13
4.75
1.14
4.77
1.87
3. 56 —
3.23
3.20
4. 36
6.08
3.04
6.28
5.30
3.20
5. 52
6. 86
7. 25
2.15
2. 58
5. 71
7.38
2. 40
3.15
2.87
3.40
5. 37
3. 71
4.32
2.19
.51
.57
8.03.
7.13
1.80
2.23
5. 81
7.91
2.21
2.13
5.41
5. 39
2.12
2.48
1.65
4. 37
6.43
6.06
3.77
4.26
3.42
2.04
2. 57
4.07
4. 04
2. 40
2.70
1.76
4.89
6.40
7. 74
2.58
2.38
3.65
5.19
5. 22
5. 67
3.60
3.34
4. 58
5. 21
5.91
6.39
7.86
9.96
4.82
5.27
6.55
4.87
9. 69
5.90
9.44
8.54
7. 70
6.03
7. 61
10.14
7.31
7.62
7.52
7. 92
Minimum W <ages and Maximum Hours
WAGE O RD ER FOR LUGGAGE AND LEA TH ER
IN D U STRY 1
THE issuance of a wage order for the luggage and leather industry
under the terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act brings the total
number of such orders to 13.2 Under the terms of the Administrator’s
decision, the 35-cent hourly wage was made the minimum in this
branch of industry, as of January 6, 1941, for all employees subject to
the terms of the wage and hour law. For the purposes of the order,
the luggage and leather industry means—
(a) The m anufacture from any m aterial of luggage including, but not by way
of lim itation, trunks, suitcases, traveling bags, bi’ief cases, sample cases; the
m anufacture of instrum ent cases covered with leather, im itation leather, or
fabric, including, but not by way of lim itation, portable radio cases; the m anu
facture of small leather goods and like articles made from fabric or imitation
leather, except im itation leather made from paper; but not the m anufacture of
bodies, panels, and frames from metal, wood, fiber, or paperboard for any of the
above articles.
(b) The m anufacture of leather, im itation leather or fabric or cut stock and
findings for any of the articles covered in section (a).
**+*+*++
WAGE O RD ER FOR T H E EM B R O ID E R IE S IN D U S T R Y 3
BY ORDER of the Administrator of the wage and hour law, effective
January 27, 1941, a minimum wage of 37^ cents an hour is provided
for employees in the embroideries industry. It is estimated that,
of a total of 14,250 embroidery workers in establishments doing
embroidery, binding, and trimming, 4,400 employees engaged in inter
state commerce or the production of goods for interstate commerce
were affected by this order.
WAGE O R D ER FOR RAILROAD W O R K E R S4
SOME 70,000 railroad track workers, redcaps, dining-car waiters,
and office and other employees of railways will receive wage increases
1 U. S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Press releases Nos. 814 (M ay 17,1940), and 1192
(December 6, 1940).
2 For earlier wage orders see M onthly Labor Review, issues of September and December 1940.
3 U . S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Press releases Nos. 1229 and 1230 (January 2,
1941).
< U. S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Press release No. 1214 (January 2, 1941).
173
280 3 9 8 — 41------- 12
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
174
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
on March 1, 1941, under an order issued by the Administrator of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. This order brings the total number of
orders issued to 15, and provides the third largest increase assured
thus far under the legislation, the largest having been in the apparel
industry and the next largest in the textile' industry.
From the effective date of the railroad wage order, about 65,000
of the million or more persons employed by the trunk-line railroads
and the Pullman Co., the Railway Express Agency, car-loan com
panies, and terminal companies will receive a wage increase under
the 36-cent minimum hourly rate established. The 33-cent minimum
fixed for the short lines will affect some 5,000 of the 21,000 employees.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours o f Labor
EA RN IN G S AND HOURS IN T H E PORTABLE-LAM P
AND LAM P-SHADE IN D U ST R IES, FEBRUARY AND
M ARCH 1940 1
Summary
IN February and March 1940, earnings in the portable-lamp industry
averaged 49 cents per hour, and in the lamp-shade industry slightly
less than 41 cents an hour.2 Within each industry, however, individ
ual hourly earnings varied widely from under 30 cents to more than
three times that amount. There were strong concentrations, in both
industries, in the range of 30 and under 40 cents, although the port
able-lamp industry, employing a preponderance of male workers,
showed higher wages throughout than the lamp-shade industry, with
its relatively large complement of female workers.
The present article covers working supervisors, factory clerks, and
manual workers, but not office workers. Data on the wages of home
workers in the lamp-shade industry appear at the end of this article.
Characteristics of the Industries
DEFINITION OF INDUSTRIES
The portable-lamp industry, as defined by the Wage and Hour
Administrator, includes “ the manufacture or assembling of any port
able lamp which may be plugged into electrical outlets, or an assembled
device that is made to receive a socket for lighting purposes and is
portable.” Some of the larger establishments engaged in the produc
tion of portable lamps manufacture their lamp bases, cut the pipe
for standards, stamp out or mold various parts, and then assemble
and wire these parts to form the complete lamp. Some of these firms
also cut the materials and make the shades for their own lamps.
Other firms, especially the smaller ones, buy all the parts and shades
from establishments which specialize in their manufacture and merely
assemble these parts to produce the complete lamp. The firms which
1 Prepared by Sidney O. Sufrin, assisted by P. L. Jones and John F. Laciskey, of the Bureau’s Division
of Wage and Hour Statistics. This article is a summary of a longer report under the same title, Serial No. R .
1204, copies of which may be obtained from the Bureau.
2 Earnings at overtime rates were excluded from these comparisons. Were they included the average
hourly earnings for each industry would have been raised by less than l cent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
175
176
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
are limited to assembly work account for a large proportion of the
smaller-sized plants included in the survey. Establishments specializ
ing in the manufacture of parts but not assembling the lamps were
excluded from the Bureau’s survey.
The lamp-shade industry as defined by the Administrator includes
“ the manufacturing of any complete device of any material which
can be attached to a portable lamp, or to an electric incandescent bulb
as a part of a portable electric lamp, or to an electric fixture and which
when so attached will either partially or completely surround the
electric incandescent bulb or bulbs; the purpose of such device being
primarily for shielding the light source from the normal field of vision,
and for decoration, except reflectors of metal, glass, or plastics.”
Silk, rayon, acetate, mica, and parchment (pure and paper) constitute
the principal materials used in making lamp shades. Plants making
these several types of shades were included in the Bureau’s study, but
the relatively few employees who make the wire frames for lamp
shades were not included.3
According to the Bureau’s estimates, the portable-lamp industry
employs some 5,300 workers and the lamp-shade industry about 5,000
workers. Of the 191 establishments covered by the Bureau’s study,
74 manufactured both lamps and lamp shades. In such cases, for
tabulation purposes, the workers making lamps were separated from
those making shades and the establishment was regarded as 2 plants.
Altogether some 4,959 workers (about evenly divided between the 2
types of products) were employed in these combination establish
ments, or about half the estimated employment in the 2 industries
together.
Except for the New York metropolitan area, very little progress had
been made toward regulating working conditions through trade-union
agreements. In that area 39 portable-lamp factories and 30 lamp
shade plants had workers covered by trade-union agreements.4 A
few Philadelphia plants in both industries were also unionized, but
elsewhere only 3 lamp plants and 2 lamp-shade plants were found
which had a union agreement.
Coverage of Study
The field survey was based upon a carefully selected sample of 137
representative lamp plants and 128 lamp-shade establishments.5 In
both industries less than 1 percent of the workers were found in the
entire South, being confined to Florida, Kentucky, and Maryland in
3
Most of the wire frames are purchased rather than made by firms in this industry. Information con
cerning home workers is also excluded from the detailed wage and hour data presented, but, as noted, the
earnings of a selected sample of home workers are given at the end of this article.
1 A union establishment, as defined in this survey, is one in which the majority of the employees are
covered by either a written or an oral agreement with a trade-union.
5 The survey was limited to establishments employing three or more wage earners.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
177
the case of the plants making portable lamps, and to Kentucky and
Maryland in the case of those making shades. For the southern
district all establishments were included; for the other districts all
of the plants with 100 or more employees but only about half of the
small- and medium-sized establishments. Since only one-half of the
small- and medium-sized establishments were covered, the data
secured for such establishments were weighted by 2. The final tabu
lations include all of the data obtained from the southern and large
sized plants, in addition to the weighted data from the small- and
medium-sized plants. Thus, the combined figures represent the
entire industry.
Portable-Lamp Industry
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
The overwhelming majority of wage earners in the portable-lamp
industry are paid on a straight time-rate basis.
Hourly Earnings of All Workers
Hourly earnings of the 5,302 wage earners covered in the portablelamp survey during February and March 1940 averaged 49.4 cents.
Earnings among individual establishments, however, varied consider
ably, with plant averages ranging from 27 to 80 cents an hour. De
spite the wide difference between these extremes, nearly two-thirds of
the plants (64.2 percent), employing approximately 68.8 percent of
the workers, showed averages that were within the range of 37.5 and
under 55 cents.
In table 1, which presents the percentage distribution of individual
workers according to average hourly earnings, the broad dispersion of
wages is further reflected. Omitting the most extreme classes, this
table shows that individual hourly earnings ranged from 25 cents to
$1.10. Within this range was found 98.7 percent of the entire labor
force.
Variations by Sex and Skill
Women constituted only a minor fraction (less than 10 percent) of
the entire labor force. Almost nine-tenths of these women were semi
skilled workers. Because of the extremely small number of female
workers classed as skilled and unskilled—33 of the former and 36 of the
latter—distributions by skill are not given for the female group.
The difference between the average hourly earnings of skilled and
semiskilled shows a much greater spread than the corresponding
difference between the averages for the semiskilled and unskilled.
The former difference is nearly 27 cents, while the latter figure is only
about 6 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
178
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able
1.—Percentage Distribution of Portable-Lamp Workers, by Average Hourly
Earnings, Sex, and Skill, February and March 1940
All workers
Average hourly earnings
27.5 and under 30.0 cents. _ ______
Exactly 30.0 cents_______________
30.1 and under 32.5 cents. _ _ ____
32.5 and under 35.0 cents_________
35.0 and under 37.5 cents______ _ _
37.5 and under 40.0 cents_________
40.0 and under 42.5 cents.
42.5 and under 45.0 c e n t s .. . _____
45.0 and under 47.5 cents____ ____
47.5 and under 52.5 cents.. ______
52.5 and under 57.5 cents____ . . .
67.5 and under 72.5 cents_________
72.5 and under 77.5 cents...................
T otal_____ __________ ____
Total
Male
(2)
0.1
.7
11.9
2.4
3.7
9.7
4.7
15.5
3.7
6.7
9.4
5.5
4.8
4.6
3.5
3.6
3.1
3.0
2.1
1.3
(2)
0.1
.6
9.9
2.3
3.2
9.0
4.4
15.7
3.5
7.1
10.0
5.6
5.3
5.1
3.8
3.9
3.5
3.3
2.3
1.4
100.0
100.0
Number of workers (weighted) . . . 5,302 4,779
Average hourly earnings_________ $0. 494 $0. 506
Skilled
Fe
male 1
Total
Male
.4
0.3
.5
.1
.8
1.3
1.5
4.2
2.6
3.6
8.6
7.4
8.5
9.7
9.2
9.7
9.5
10.0
7.6
4.9
0.3
.5
.1
.7
1.2
1.4
4.2
2.4
3.5
8.4
7.3
8. 7
9.8
9.3
9.7
9. 7
10.1
7.8
4.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
Semiskilled
Unskilled
Total
Male
Total
(2)
0.1
.8
14.2
2.9
4.4
11.9
5.1
20.4
4.2
7.9
10.9
5.5
3.8
3.2
1.6
1.5
.9
.6
.1
(!)
(2)
0.7
11.7
2.9
3.7
11.1
4.8
21.2
4.0
8.8
11.9
5.6
4.4
3.8
1.9
1.7
1.0
.7
.1
0.2
.5
1.4
25.7
5.0
6.7
17.8
10.1
14.6
3.8
7.0
3.4
1.0
1.2
0.2
.5
1.1
24.4
4.9
6.9
18.0
9.7
15.5
4.0
7.1
3. 7
1. 1
1. 3
.2
.7
.7
.2
.7
.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
3 523 1,417 1,384 3,302 2,848
583
$0. 377 $0.698 $0. 701 $0. 429 $0.439 $0.371
547
$0. 374
0.2
1.5
29.9
2.5
8.0
16.3
7.6
14.0
5.5
2.7
5.2
4.6
.4
.4
.8
Male
1 Number of females too small to warrant percentage distribution by skill.
2 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
3 Includes 33 skilled workers, 454 semiskilled workers, and 36 unskilled workers.
Variations in Earnings in Selected Metropolitan Areas
Although the plants of this industry were found in 13 States, nearly
three-fourths of the workers were employed in 3 metropolitan areas.
New York led with 1,729, or 32.6 percent of the total employed;
Chicago followed with 1,611, or 30.4 percent; and Philadelphia had
620, or 11.7 percent.
Among these 3 areas, Philadelphia had the highest average hourly
earnings, 55.2 cents, in contrast with 51.4 cents in New York and 46.8
cents in Chicago. The higher Philadelphia average was due in part
to the very small proportion of female workers there. Only 10 female
workers were found in Philadelphia out of a total of 620 workers in
that area. However, that city also showed higher average hourly
earnings for male workers alone—55.4 cents, as compared with aver
ages of 52.5 cents in New York and 48.8 cents in Chicago.
The average hourly earnings shown for the Philadelphia and New
York areas include wages in unionized as well as nonunionized plants.
In Chicago, none of the plants covered by the survey were reported as
having union agreements, and this may help to explain the lower
averages there. The average hourly earnings in nonunion plants in
Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago were 51.6 cents, 49.2 cents,
and 46.8 cents, respectively. The average hourly earnings in unionized
plants were 56.3 cents in Philadelphia and 52.3 cents in New York.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
179
The earnings for the 4,623 workers (4,171 males and 452 females)
in all metropolitan areas with populations of 1,000,000 or over aver
aged 50.1 cents an hour. In metropolitan areas of less than 1,000,000
average hourly earnings were 44.4 cents. Only 679 workers were
employed in these areas.
WEEKLY HOURS AND EARNINGS
Full-Time Weekly Hours
Of the 137 plants covered in the survey of the portable-lamp indus
try in February and March 1940, there were 79 that had full-time
hours of 40 per week, while 33 were on a 42-hour basis. The full
time hours of most of the remaining plants ranged from 40.5 to 48
hours per week. In 4 of the establishments which employed a total
of nearly 100 workers, full-time hours of less than 40 per week were
reported. The averages applied to the majority of the employees in
a plant. Maintenance, powerhouse, and service workers frequently
had different schedules of working hours from those of the main body
of wage earners.
Actual Weekly Hours
The actual weekly hours of all wage earners in the portable-lamp
industry averaged 39.4 during February and March 1940. The male
workers averaged 39.5 hours, as against an average of 37.8 hours for
female employees. Among the males, the figures were 39.1 hours for
skilled, 39.8 hours for semiskilled, and 39.4 hours for unskilled workers.
Weekly Earnings
Weekly earnings in February and March 1940 for all wage earners
covered in the portable-lamp industry averaged $19.45, exclusive of
earnings due to the extra rates for overtime.0 The average for males
was $20.02, as compared with $14.26 for females. Among the males,
the averages amounted to $27.38 for skilled, $17.46 for semiskilled,
and $14.74 for unskilled.
Nearly three-fifths (59.5 percent) of all wage earners covered in
the survey earned $12.50 and under $22.50 per week, while 13.4
percent earned less than $12.50 per week. Workers earning $22.50
and under $30 amounted to 15.2 percent of the total, while those
earning $30 per week and over constituted 11.9 percent of the total.
Lamp-Shade Industry
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
More than one-half (52.4 percent) of all the workers in the lamp
shade industry are paid on a time basis. The principal occupations
6
The inclusion of earnings due to the extra rates for overtime work increases the average weekly earnings
of all workers in the industry by 21 cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
180
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
paid at piece rates were hand sewers and gluers and pasters.
binders also were frequently employed on a piece-rate basis.
Hand
Hourly Earnings of A ll Workers
During February and March 1940 workers in the lamp-shade indus
try earned an average of 40.8 cents per hour. As in other industries,
average hourly wages in the lamp-shade industry varied considerably
among establishments, ranging from 30.0 to 89.1 cents per hour.
However, nearly three-fifths of the plants in the industry (58.6 per
cent) paid average hourly wages of 35 and under 45 cents. Fully
70 percent of the establishments in the industry paid average hourly
wages of 35 and under 50 cents. Such establishments employed over
85 percent of all the lamp-shade workers.
The dispersion in the earnings of individual workers is shown in
table 2, which presents the distribution of employees for the country as
a whole, according to their average hourly earnings.
T a b l e 2 .—
Percentage Distribution of Lamp-Shade Workers, by Average Hourly Earnings,
Sex, and Skill, February and March 1940
All workers
Average hourly earnings
(cents)
Under 25.0______________
25.0 and under 27.5____
27.5 and under 3 0 .0 _____
Exactly 30.0____________
30.1 and under 3 2 .5 _____
32.5 and under 35.0 _____
35.0 and under 3 7 .5 _____
37.5 and under 40,0. _
40.0 and under 42.5.............
42.5 and under 45.0 _
45.0 and under 47.5______
47.5 and under 52.5______
52.5 and under 57.5_____
57.5 and under 62.5____
02.5 and under 67.5____ _
67.5 and under 72.5____
‘ 2.5 and under 77.5_____
77.5 and under 87.5 . __
87 5 and under 100.0
100.0 and under 110.0
110.0 and o v e r _______
Skilled
Semiskilled
Unskilled
Total Male F e Total Male Fe Total Male F e Total Male F e
male
male
male
male
0.1
.6
.7
15.6
8.1
7.3
12.5
9. 0
14.8
6. 1
5.5
7.7
4.0
2. 1
1.7
1.3
1.0
.9
.4
.3
.3
0.2
1.0
17.6
1.9
2.6
12.5
6.9
13. 1
4.7
5.5
11.3
4.9
2.6
2.5
3. 7
3.2
2. 1
1.4
.6
1.7
0. I
.6
.0
15.4
0.4
8.2
12.6
9.5
15.3
6. 3
5.5
7.0
3.8
2.0
1.5
.8
.5
.6
.1
.2
0. 5
.5
2.5
2.0
2.0
5.5
5.8
10. 3
3.8
1. 5
13. 2
9.8
5.8
5.3
9.6
8. 1
5.0
4. 0
1.5
3.3
1. 2
1. 2
2.4
1. 2
1.2
1.8
7.2
3.6
2.4
1.2
9.0
7.2
2.4
4.2
15.8
13.4
7.2
7. 2
1.8
7.8
2.6
2.6
2.6
8.2
4.8
15.2
4.8
1.7
15.5
11.7
8. 2
6. 1
5.2
4.3
3.5
1.7
1.3
0 1
4
.7
14.2
8.9
7. 6
13.3
9.6
14.9
6. 7
6. 2
7.8
3.9
2. 1
1. 6
.7
.4
.6
1
.2
(')
0 1
0. 7
16.8
2. 2
1. 7
16.2
5.8
16.9
5. 6
6. 5
13. 6
4. 7
3. 4
2. 6
.9
.7
1.1
.4
.2
'7
14.0
9. 9
8. 5
12.8
10. 2
14.8
6. 9
6.1
6. 9
3. 8
18
1. 4
.6
1.9
31.4
8.8
12. 8
7. 6
17.0
3. 7
4. 0
3. 9
c
39. 3
15
8 1
11. 1
11.1
8. 9
3 7
6 7
4. 4
3 n
29 4
9 3
8 9
13 2
fi 7
19.0
3 7
3 4
3 7
jL
.5
.1
T otal_____________
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
N u m b e r of w o r k e r s
(weighted)__________
5,012
838 4,174
397
166
231 3.943
537 3. 406
672
m
537
Average hourly earnings,. $0. 408 $0. 461 $0. 396 $0. 578 $0. 665^0. 515 $0. 398 $0. 421 $0.393 $0. 355 $0. 364 $0. 353
1
1
I
i
1 Less than a tenth o il percent.
The group earning under 40 cents constitutes 53.9 percent of the
labor force; the higher-paid group (40 cents and over), 46.1 percent.
There was a substantial group (15.6 percent) of workers at exactly
30 cents per hour—the effective minimum hourly wage of the Fair
Labor Standards Act.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
181
Variations by Sex and Skill
The diversity of hourly earnings in the lamp-shade industry may be
illustrated by the sharply contrasting wage levels among various
groups of employees. Skilled male workers earned on the average
66.5 cents an hour, while semiskilled males earned 42.1 cents and un
skilled males 36.4 cents.
Variations in Earnings in Selected Metropolitan Areas
The establishments in the lamp-shade industry in New York City,
Chicago, and Philadelphia employed fully 81 percent of all the wage
earners covered in the survey. The New York establishments
employed 1,967 (1,573 women and 394 men) of the industry’s 5,012
workers. The Chicago plants employed a slightly smaller number—
1,407 (1,221 women, 186 men)—and Philadelphia accounted for 712
workers (648 women and 64 men).
As in the portable-lamp industry, workers in the two eastern cities,
where at least part of the plants were operating under trade-union
agreements, earned more per hour, on the average, than employees
in Chicago. Unlike the situation in the portable-lamp industry,
however, the lamp-shade industry showed higher average hourly
earnings in New York than in either Philadelphia or Chicago.
The general average hourly wage in the New York area was 44.2
cents, compared to 39.7 cents in the Philadelphia area and 39.0 cents
in the Chicago area.
WEEKLY HOURS AND EARNINGS
Full-Time Weekly Hours
Nearly tliree-fiftlis (58.6 percent) of the establishments visited in
February and March 1940 were operating on a 40-hour-week schedule.
A substantial number (22.0 percent) of the plants, however, had a
full-time workweek of 42 hours. Of the remaining plants, 7 had full
time hours of less than 40, while all others ranged from 41 to 48 hours
per week.
As in the lamp-manufacturing industry, many employees in the
maintenance, powerhouse, and service departments of the various
plants had scheduled hours of work that were different from those of
the majority of the wage earners.
Actual Weekly Hours
Actual weekly hours of all workers in the lamp-sliade industry
averaged 35.8, the figures being 40.2 for males and 35.0 for females.
Skilled males averaged 40.8 hours, semiskilled 40.1 hours per week,
and unskilled males 39.9 hours. Skilled females worked, on the
average, 39.9 hours per week, semiskilled 34.6 hours, and unskilled
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1911
women 34.9 hours. It should be borne in mind that the industry
predominantly employs semiskilled and unskilled women.
Weekly Earnings
Average weekly earnings of all workers in the lamp-shade industry,
exclusive of earnings from overtime, amounted to $14.62 in February
and March 1940.7 Like hourly earnings, however, weekly earnings
varied conspicuously among the different skill-sex groups. Skilled
males earned on the average $27.10 a week, semiskilled $16.86, and
unskilled $14.50 a week. The respective figures for females were
$20.56, $13.63, and $12.32 per week. The weekly earnings of all
male workers averaged $18.50, as compared with an average of $13.84
for female employees. Within each comparable skill group, men had
higher average weekly earnings than women.
Examination of individual weekly earnings for all wage earners
shows that nearly three-fifths of them (58.6 percent) received less than
$15 per week, and nine-tenths (87.8 percent) earned less than $20.
The most marked concentrations of skilled males were in the $17.50
and under $22.50 range (21.0 percent) and in the $30 and under $40
range (35.2 percent). The greater part of the semiskilled males (83.4
percent) earned $10 and under $22.50, with the greatest relative con
centration in the $12.50 and under $17.50 class. Nearly one-half of
the unskilled males earned $10 and under $15 per week.
Nearly one-half of the semiskilled female workers—who constitute
the numerically most important group of workers of the industry—
earned $10 and under $15 a week. In fact, slightly over one-sixth of
them earned less than $10 per week.
The distribution of the skilled female workers shows sizable numbers
with weekly earnings of $12.50 and under $27.50. In fact, a total of
81.8 percent of the unskilled females had weekly earnings that fell
within that range. Nine-tenths of the unskilled females earned
$5 and under $17.50. The range of $10 and under $15, however,
includes over one-half of all the unskilled women.
HOME-WORKERS
8
The importance of home workers to the lamp-shade industry cannot
be accurately estimated from the data secured in the field survey.
It seems clear, however, that home workers constitute a small propor
tion of the workers of the industry, and their use is limited almost
exclusively to small plants. Furthermore, it appears that the employ
ment of home workers is usually confined to the peak or rush periods
in production.
7
If the overtime earnings due to extra rates were included, it would increase the average weekly earnings
of all workers in the industry by only 14 cents.
1 Earnings and employment of home workers were not included in the foregoing presentation.
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\Vages and Hours of Labor
183
During the pay period covered in the field survey, only 79 home
workers in the plants actually visited received any income from the
industry. This figure is unweighted and represents, at best, only a
part of the home workers actually receiving income from the industry
during the period covered. Seventy-three of the 79 workers actually
found to be receiving pay for work in this industry were in New York
City. All home workers were women.
The number of home workers who received pay from the industry
gives no indication of the actual number of persons whose services
were remunerated from this pay. There is a probability that although
a single worker secured the raw materials and later returned the
finished shades, aid in making shades may have been given by other
members of the family. These considerations make impossible the
weighting of the raw data secured so as to estimate the number of
home workers in the industry. To this difficulty must be added the
fact that the sample of home workers found by the field survey was
limited almost exclusively to the New York area. Therefore, only the
actual number of workers found in the survey is reported.
Another important peculiarity of the data concerning home workers
is that thn earnings received during the pay-roll period surveyed do not
necessarily represent the earnings for a single week. Custom in the
industry does not prescribe that a fixed period elapse between the
securing of the raw materials from the shop and the delivery of the
shades to the shop. Consequently, earnings reported may not only
be for more than a single worker; they may also be for more than a
single week.
The earnings reported vary widely from under $2.50 to over $20.
However, 51 of the 79 home workers (64.5 percent) reported earned $2 50
and under $12.50. If this range is increased to under $15, it covers
59 of the 79 workers reported, or nearly 75 percent.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
WAGES AND HOURS IN T H E JEW ELR Y IN D U STRY ,
FEBRUARY 1940 1
Summary
HOURLY earnings of all factory workers in the jewelry industry
averaged 58 cents in February 1940. This was revealed by a survey
of the industry which was made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at
the request of the Wage and Hour Division. Hourly earnings were
found to vary widely according to the type of jewelry produced.
Workers in plants making precious jewelry averaged 94.8 cents, as
compared with 48.3 cents for employees of plants making mediumand low-priced jewelry. In the group of establishments producing
both precious and lower-priced articles, the wage earners averaged
63.1 cents an hour.
An outstanding feature of the wage structure was the marked con
centration of earnings at exactly 30 cents an hour, especially in the
plants making lower-priced products. For the industry as a whole,
one-tentli (10.7 percent) of the factory workers surveyed received
exactly 30 cents an hour. This wage class accounted for only 1.7
percent of the workers in precious-jewelry plants, however,- as com
pared with 14.7 percent in plants making medium- and low-priced
jewelry and 5.1 percent in plants making both types of products.
Scope and Method of Survey
The jewelry-manufacturing industry has been defined in general by
the Wage and Hour Administrator as the “ manufacturing, processing,
and assembling wholly or partially from any material” of articles
which are commonly or commercially known as jewelry. It covers
the manufacture and processing of precious, semiprecious, synthetic,
or imitation stones, as well as the manufacture, drilling, and stringing
of pearls, imitation pearls, and beads for use in the manufacture of
jewelry. It includes such products as “ religious, school, college, and
fraternal insignia; articles of ornament or adornment designed to be
worn on apparel or carried on or about the person; metal mesh bags
and metal watch bracelets; and chain, mesh, and parts for use in the
manufacture of any of the articles included in this definition.” The
following are included only if made from or embellished with precious
metal or precious, semiprecious, synthetic, or imitation stones: Cigar
and cigarette cases, cigar and cigarette holders, cigarette lighters,
pocket knives, cigar cutters, badges, emblems, military and naval
insignia, belt buckles, and handbag and pocketbook frames and
clasps.
1 Prepared by H. E. Riley, assisted by Edyth M. Bunn, of the Bureau’s Division of Wage and Hour
Statistics. This article is a summary of a more detailed report, Serial No. R. 1203, copies of which may be
obtained from the Bureau on request.
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Wages and Hours of Labor
185
The definition specifically excludes the manufacture of watch cases,
and the assaying, refining, and smelting of base or precious metals, and
the manufacture of compacts and vanity cases to be used for distribu
tion or advertisement of a cosmetic product. The term “parts” is
limited to materials employed exclusively for jewelry manufacture,
and does not include such articles as springs, blades, and nail files,
which are used largely in the manufacture of products not covered by
the definition.
In determining the scope of the survey, the Bureau followed the
general outlines of the above definition. However, the actual cover
age necessarily extends somewhat beyond these limits in certain cases.
Thus, a considerable proportion of the cigarette lighters and cigar and
cigarette cases produced in plants covered by the report were not made
of precious metals nor embellished with stones. The data obtained
from such plants relate to all of the wage earners employed, because
it was impossible to separate those who worked on the types of lighters
and cases specified in the definition from those who worked on other
types. On the other hand, tne survey did not cover lapidary work,2
except when carried on in jewelry factories. A preliminary investiga
tion of the specialized lapidary industry revealed that this group of
small establishments employs highly paid, skilled workers who work
irregularly on a piece-rate basis.3 For the most part, the lapidary
firms do not keep time records of a type which would yield the informa
tion needed for analysis of hourly earnings.
The study was based on a representative sample, including approxi
mately one-third of the employees in the industry. Data covering
wages and hours were obtained for all classes of employees in each
plant, with the exception of the supervisory and management officials.
Data on extra earnings for overtime work4 and on earnings of office
clerical employees 5 were also obtained, but are not included in the
tables in this article.
The products of the industry are usually classified, on the basis of
the type of raw materials used, into two groups, namely, precious
jewelry and medium- and low-priced jewelry. The precious-jewelry
group embraces products made of platinum or gold of 10-karat fine
ness or better, and articles containing precious stones such as dia
monds, pearls, etc. Medium- and low-priced jewelry includes
products made of silver, base metals, plastics, wood, leather, and
3
Lapidary work consists of the cutting, polishing, and setting of diamonds and other precious and semi
precious stones.
3 According to the United States Census of Manufactures, the lapidary industry in 1937 consisted of 51
establishments with 217 wage earners.
4 For the industry as a whole, the inclusion of extra overtime earnings would have increased the hourly
average by less than 1 cent.
5 Hourly earnings for office workers as a whole averaged 51.2 cents, ranging from less than 30 cents to more
than $1 an hour. In terms of 5-cent wage intervals, the largest concentration occurred in the class of 42.5
and under 47.5 cents an hour, 16.2 percent of the workers having average earnings within these limits; 32.9
percent averaged less than 42.5 cents, 50.9 percent received 47.5 cents and over, and only 7 percent received
as much as 77.5 cents or more.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
186
other materials, including gold of less than 10-karat fineness. These
latter articles may be decorated with semiprecious, synthetic, or imi
tation stones.
Although the establishments in the industry generally tend to spe
cialize in either precious or medium- and low-priced products, a con
siderable group of plants made articles in both of these categories.
As none of the plants scheduled maintained separate pay-roll records
for the two types of products, it has been necessary in analyzing the
wage data to create a third classification embracing plants making
both precious and medium- and low-priced jewelry.6
The distribution of the sample in terms of product and geograph
ical location is shown in tables 1 and 2.
T a b l e 1. — Coverage
of Survey in the Jewelry Industry, by Type of Product, 1940
Product
Number
of
plants
Number
of
workers
Percentage
of
workers
Average
hourly
earnings
All products_______________________________________
275
9,628
100.0
$0.580
Precious jewelry_______________ _______ ____________
Rings______ _______ _______ _____ _
__________
Miscellaneous precious jewelry__________________
94
53
41
1, 392
817
575
14.5
8.5
6.0
.948
.976
.910
Medium- and low-priced jewelry________ ____ _____
Cigarette lighters and compacts_________ ______
Costume jewelry__________________ ___________
Findings and gold stock_____ _________________
Fraternal and emblematic jewelry______________
M en’s jewelry_________________________________
Miscellaneous medium- and low-priced jew elry... _
123
9
72
16
6
10
10
6,104
813
2,749
695
343
901
603
63.5
8.4
28.6
7.2
3.6
9.4
6.3
.483
.501
.442
.522
.562
.500
.518
Precious and medium- and low-priced jew elry _______
Costume jewelry_______________________________
Findings and gold stock______________ ________
Fraternal and emblematic jewelry_______________
Miscellaneous precious and medium- and low-priced
jewelry____________________________ ______ _
58
10
10
19
2,132
331
446
591
22.0
3.4
4.6
6.1
.631
.599
.551
.753
19
764
7.9
.601
T a b l e 2 . — Coverage
of Survey in the Jewelry Industry, by Region and State, 1940
Region and State
Number of
plants
Number of
workers
Percent of
workers
T otal_________ _____ ______________________________
275
9,628
100.0
N ew York metropolitan region_______________ ____ ..
New J ersey .-.________ _________________________
N ew York C ity 1_______ ________ _______ ______
114
24
90
2,605
966
1,639
27.1
10.0
17.1
New England region_______________ _______ ________
Massachusetts_____________ _______ ________ _
Rhode Island 2_______________________ ________
97
36
61
5,421
2, 200
3,221
56.3
22.8
33.5
Regions other than N ew York metropolitan and New
England____________________________
California________________________________ _____
__
Illinois_______ ____ _____________ _______ _
Indiana____ ____ _____ ________________________
Michigan______ ____ _______ ____ _____________
New York (outside New York C ity)_____________
Ohio_____ ____________________________
Pennsylvania________________________
Other 3____________________
64
9
13
4
3
8
10
9
8
1,602
196
263
264
98
295
107
105
274
16.6
2.0
2.7
2.7
1.0
3.1
1.1
1.1
2.9
1 Includes 1 plant in Connecticut.
2 Includes 2 plants in Connecticut (outside of New York metropolitan region).
3 Includes 1 plant in Kentucky, 2 plants in Maryland, 2 plants in Minnesota, 2 plants in Missouri, and
1 plant in W/ isconsin.
8
An attempt to classify these establishments in one or the other of the above groups on the basis of chief
products proved to be impracticable because of the lack of adequate information as to the relative output
of the two classes of products.
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187
Wages and Hours of Labor
Average Hourly Earnings
Hourly earnings of the 9,628 factory wage earners covered in the
survey averaged 58 cents in February 1940. (See table 3.) The
spread of earnings, shown in table 4, covers a very wide range, ex
tending from under 30 cents to over $1,625 an hour.
T able 3 .—Average Hourly Earnings of Jewelry Workers, by Region, Type of Product,
Sex, and Skill, 1940
A l l p ro d u c ts
Female
§
03
03
a
<03
Male
<U
Total
Total
Female
Female
O
IS
S
Semiskilled work Unskilled workers
ers
$0. 702 $0. 380 $0.836 $0. 861 $0.499 $0. 462 $0. 551 $0. 382 $0. 368 $0. 399 SO. 349
T otal__________ _____
New York metropolitan
region. ______________
New England region____
Regions other than New
York metropolitan and
New England_________
Male
Total
Region
Total
Skilled workers
All workers
.666
.499
.791
.610
.424
.362
.980 1.028
.718 .736
.541
.458
.502
.423
.568
.502
.426
.366
.384
.359
.398
.402
.373
.338
.719
.803
.400
.903
.917
.515
.561
.669
.390
.389
.389
.390
.948
.989
.531 1.098 1.116
.664
.676
.725
.493
.415
.416
.411
1.020 1.070
.689 .728
.573 1.198 1.224
.801 .809
(•)
.718
(')
.723
.521
.783
0
.517
0
.436
0
.448
0)
0
0)
(')
.651
.684
(')
.381
0
0)
P r e c io u s je w e lr y
T otal__________________
New York metropolitan
region____ ___________
New England region____
Regions other than New
York metropolitan and
New England_______
M e d iu m - a n d low -p ric ed
je w e lr y
T otal__________________
New York metropolitan
region________________
New England region____
Regions other than New
York metropolitan and
New E n gla n d .......... .
.918
.947
.493 1.042 1.054
.483
.591
.366
.708
.736
.445
.421
.492
.371
.360
.395
.344
.506
.468
.597
.578
.401
.354
.763
.683
.823
.705
.466
.427
.453
.407
.500
.481
.410
.358
.367
.354
.377
.398
.362
.336
.541
.676
.382
.776
.799
(’)
.442
.562
.375
.401
.438
.379
.631
.707
.420
.803
.816
.553
.529
.612
.416
.392
.399
.382
.621
.595
.705
.682
.451
.405
.830
.786
.862
.794
0
0
.494
.486
.531
.576
.449
.404
.414
.388
(>)
.413
.421
.355
.706
.743
.421
.809
.818
.649
.713
.411
.375
.371
0)
P r e c io u s a n d m ed iu m - a n d
lo w -p r ic ed Jew elry
T otal______ ______ - .........
New York metropolitan
region. _ _____________
New England region____
Regions other than New
York metropolitan and
New E ngland ,. _____
<’»
1 Number of workers insufficient to warrant computation of an average.
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188
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 4. —Percentage Distribution of Jewelry Workers, by Average Hourly Earnings,
Sex, and Skill, 1940
Skilled workers
Semiskilled work Unskilled workers
ers
Total
Male
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
0.4
4.2
.8
2.2
4.7
1.7
5.8
0. 5
21.0
4.7
17.5
15.2
8.3
9.3
1.2
.1
.5
1.3
.7
2.9
1.0
(>)
.2
1.0
.4
2. 1
4.2
.8
4.2
6.3
5.5
13.9
0.2
12.2
3.2
11.3
11.4
6.1
9.5
0. 2
4.5
1.3
3.9
7.3
2.6
9.8
0.3
18.9
4.8
17.6
15.0
9.1
9.3
17
26.2
4.6
15.5
16.9
6.8
9.6
2 8
20.0
3.3
7.2
15.8
6.0
11.9
42.5 and
47.5 and
52.5 and
57.5 and
62.5 and
67.5 and
72.5 and
77.5 and
18.1
15.1
8.8
7.1
5.9
2 9
1.3
11.7
10.6
6.0
4.3
2.9
2.5
1.8
1. 1
12.3
14.6
8.6
7.9
5.3
4.9
3.6
2.4
11.1
7.2
3.7
1.2
.9
.5
.2
0)
8.3
5.6
2.1
1.7
.5
.1
.2
.1
1.8
1.6
.6
.4
.3
.2
.1
.1
.1
3.6
3. 4
1.2
.9
.6
.5
.3
.1
.2
.2
0)
.1
under
under
under
under
under
under
under
under
47.5 cents..
52.5 cents. _
57.5 cents _
62.5 cents _
67.5 cents..
72.5 cents..
77.5 cents..
82.5 cents..
8.5
8. 1
5.3
4.7
4. 1
3.5
2.8
2.4
7.2
9.3
6.6
6.7
6.1
5.3
4.5
4.0
10.5
6.4
3.1
1.3
1.0
.5
.2
(')
4.4
6.1
5.9
6.5
7.4
6.3
5.5
5.3
3.4
5.5
5.6
6.5
7.6
6.6
5.8
5.7
82.5 and under 92.5 cents..
92.5 and under 102.5 cents
102.5 and under 112.5 cents.
112.5 and under 122.5 cents.
122.5 and under 132.5 cents
4.2
4.3
2.8
2.4
1.8
1.2
1.0
.4
.9
6.8
6.9
4.5
3.8
2.9
1.9
1.6
.7
1.4
.2
.2
.1
(>)
9.4
9.9
7.1
6.0
4.7
2.9
2.6
1.1
2.2
9.9
10.4
7.4
6.4
5.0
3.1
2.8
1.2
2.4
142.5 and under 152.5 cents
152.5 and under 162.5 cents.
162.5 cents and over_____
(>)
1 Female
1
Female
Under 30.0 cen ts... ___ _ 0.4
Exactly 30.0 cents_______ 10.7
30.1 and under 32.5 cents . 2.3
32.5 and under 35.0 cents . 8. 1
35.0 and under 37.5 cents.. 8. 7
37.5 and under 40.0 cents.
4.3
40.0 and under 42.5 cents.
7.1
1
1 Total
1
Male
Average hourly earnings
—
1.3
2. 1
2.1
.4
10
29.9
5.3
20.1
17.5
7.2
8.3
10.2
10.7
5.0
4.3
1.3
.3
.7
.2 —
7.2
2.7
.5
.2
.1
.3
(>)
T otal_____________ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number of workers____ . 9,628 5,913 3, 715 3,465 3, 227
Female
1
All workers
238 4. 502 2,088 2,414 1, 661
598
100.0
1,063
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
The wide dispersion of earnings and absence of any pronounced
central tendency in the data lead to the conclusion that other factors
besides differences in sex and skill are needed to account for the wage
structure of the jewelry industry. Evidence as to the effect of one
of these factors, namely, type of product, is furnished by a comparison
of the plant averages.
Although the distribution of plant averages varies considerably
among the three wage areas, this difference is due chiefly to variations
in the geographical distribution of the precious-jewelry plants and
those making medium- and low-priced products. For example,
nearly three-fifths of the plants in the New York metropolitan region
averaged 65 cents an hour or more and over one-fifth showed averages
of 95 cents or more, whereas only slightly more than one-tentli of the
New England establishments averaged 65 cents and over, and none
had wage levels exceeding 95 cents. This contrast is related to the
fact that the precious-jewelry establishments, which predominate in
the New York City area, show the highest wage levels, whereas the
plants making medium- and low-priced products, which are concen
trated in the lower earnings intervals, make up most of the coverage
in the New England region. The distribution of plant averages for
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
189
Wages and Hours of Labor
those establishments in the New York area which make mediumand low-priced j ewelry compares rather closely with that for the same
class of plants in the New England region A similar relationship is
also evident in the plant data for the area outside of the New England
and New York metropolitan regions It appears, therefore, that
although there are substantial differences between average hourly
earnings in plants making different types of products, the regional
variations for the industry considered as a whole are not especially
significant by themselves
The variations in hourly earnings by type of product, as shown by
the plant average data, are also evident in the distributions of indi
vidual employees’ earnings. (See table 5.)
T able 5.—Percentage Distribution of Jewelry Workers, by A verage Hourly Earnings and
Type of Product, 1940
Average hourly earnings
Medium- and
low-priced
jewelry
Precious
jewelry
Precious and
medium- and
low-priced
jewelry
Under 30.0 cents____________________________________
Exactly 30.0 cents..- - _ ------ ------ --------- 30.1 and under 32.5 c e n ts ___________________________
32.5 and under 35.0 cents------- ----------- ------ ----35.0 and under 37.5 cents------------------------------------------37.5 and under 40.0 cents......... ............................. - - ----- ----- ---40.0 and under 42.5 cents--------
0.5
1.7
.6
.5
2.4
1.2
1.6
0.3
14.7
3.0
11.6
11.0
5.1
8.3
0.6
5.1
1. 4
3.6
6. 5
4.0
7.5
42.5 and under 47.5 cents._ ----------- -------- ------47.5 and under 52.5 cents---- ------------- -- -----------------52.5 and under 57.5 c e n ts ___________________________
57.5 and under 62.5 cents . . ---------------------- --- -----62.5 and under 67.5 cents---------- ------------- ------ ------67.5 and under 72.5 cents______ . . -----------------------72.5 and under 77.5 cents------------------------------------------77.5 and under 82.5 cents . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- ----------
3.2
3.3
2.7
3.0
3.4
4.2
4.6
3.2
9.3
8.9
5. 5
4. 6
4.0
3.1
2.0
1.6
9.5
9.0
6.1
5.9
5. 0
4.1
4.1
4.2
82.5 and under 92.5 cen ts... - - - - - ------ . . . ------92.5 and under 102.5_________________________ _______
102.5 and under 112.5 cents-.. ----------- -- -------------112.5 and under 122.5 cents--------------------- --- ----------122.5 and under 132.5 cents---------------------------------------132.5 and under 142.5 cents---- ----------- - -------------------142.5 and under 152.5 cents----------------------------------------------------------- - -152.5 and under 162.5 cents-----162.5 cents and over_________________________________
8.4
13.7
8.6
7.8
7.6
5.5
5.7
2.5
4.1
2.5
1.6
.9
1.0
.5
6.3
5.9
4. 5
2. 7
1.8
.9
.5
.2
.6
T o ta l.--------------------------------------------- --------Number of workers_________________________________
.2
.1
(>)
.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
1,392
6,104
2,132
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
As pointed out before, both the precious and the medium- and lowpriced jewelry classifications embrace a wide variety of products.
Sufficient data are available to permit separate analyses of average
hourly earnings of employees working on some of these items. In
the precious-jewelry group, only the ring-manufacturing plants were
sufficiently numerous among those scheduled to yield worth while
figures for separate analysis. The averages by product are shown in
table 1.
2803 9 8 — 41------- 13
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
190
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENCES
Table 6 shows the average hourly earnings of the various occupa
tional groups in the jewelry industry, classified by sex and skill.
For the industry as a whole, the occupational averages ranged from
$1,057 for stonesetters, a skilled male occupation, to 34.2 cents for
chargers, an unskilled group consisting largely of female workers.
It will be observed that many occupations are common to both precious
and medium- and low-priced jewelry establishments, as well as plants
making both classes of products. Each of the occupational groups,
however, received substantially higher average hourly earnings when
working on precious jewelry than when working on medium- and lowpriced articles. However, a number of the more important occupa
tions in precious-jewelry establishments are rarely encountered in
plants making medium- and low-priced items, while the manufac
ture of medium- and low-priced jewelry involves several operations
not common in precious-jewelry establishments. In view of these
differences in the occupational structure and relative wage rates as
between the two types of products, the occupational averages for
precious and medium- and low-priced jewelry combined have very
little significance.
T able 6.—Average Hourly Earnings of Jewelry Workers, by Type of Product, Occupation,
Sex, and Skill, 1940
Number of workers
Occupation, sex, and skill
All
prod
ucts
Average hourly earnings
Precious
Pre Mediumand
All
cious and low- mediumjew
priced
and low- prod
ucts
elry jewelry
priced
jewelry
Pre
cious
jew
elry
Precious
Mediumand
and low- mediumpriced
and lowjewelry
priced
jewelry
S k ille d w o r k e r s
Males:
A nnealers... ____________ .
Colorers and platers_________
Engravers, hand . . . _____
Filers _______ . . _
Foremen, working__________
Jewelers___________ .
Machine set-up men
____
M elters.
Polishers____ _________ .
Kingmakers _______________
Rollers and drawers________
Stonesetters. _______ .
Tool and die makers . . . . . .
Miscellaneous, skilled, direct..
Miscellaneous, skilled, indirect.
Females:
Forewomen, w o r k in g .______
Polishers______ . . . . . .
Miscellaneous, skilled, direct..
32
130
125
27
409
582
59
43
615
72
147
311
396
197
82
i
4
45
17
54
391
14
118
22
1
180
63
30
2
18
93
27
6
249
80
41
12
344
16
72
58
207
132
60
93
86
59
1
32
5
78
30
43
14
24
11
.466
.554
.486
0)
.664
(0
62
33
19
10
.407
.428
0)
0)
57
21
(')
(■)
(')
13 $0. 621
O
33
.642
0)
53
.927 $1,014
4
.676
0)
106
.939 1.347
111 1.026 1.134
18
. 623
17
.730
0)
153
.665
.949
34
.782
0)
74
.638
0)
73 1.057 1.203
126
.992 1.216
35
.818 1.057
20
.743
(>)
0)
$0. 639
.763
(')
.857
.791
0)
.560
(i)
.642
.677
.959
.752
.760
.455
.454
.419
(i)
$0. 639
.944
(’)
.937
.863
(l)
(0
.695
.758
.637
.938
.944
.850
0)
0)
(0
0)
S e m is k ille d w o rk ers
Males:
Apprentices, first and second
year_____________________
Apprentices, third and fourth
year__________________
22
14
.521
1 Number of workers insufficient to warrant presentation of an average.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
191
T able 6.— Average Hourly Earnings of Jewelry Workers, by Type of Product, Occupation,
Sex, and Skill, 1940— Continued
Number of workers
Average hourly earnings
Precious
and
All Pre Medium- mediumand lowprod cious
jew
priced
and
lowucts elry jewelry
priced
jewelry
Occupation, sex, and skill
All
prod
ucts
Pre
cious
jew
elry
Precious
Mediumand
and low- mediumpriced
and lowjewelry
priced
jewelry
S e m is k ille d w o r k e r s — Continued
Males—Continued:
Assemblers_________________
Bench workers___ . Casters_____ ______________
Clerks, factory____ _____ ____
Drop hands and stampers____
Enamelers________ ________
Inspectors^ - . . . .
_ ___
Press operators.__ - - - - - - __
Scratch brushers __________
Shipping and stock clerks. . . .
Solderers, hand___ . . . ._ _
Miscellaneous, semiskilled, direct _____________________
Miscellaneous, semiskilled, indirect ________ _____ ____
Females:
Assemblers_____________ . . .
Bench workers
______. . .
Clerks, factory _________ Enamelers _________________
Inspectors___________ ______
Painters and decorators ____
Press operators. _ - - - - - - Shipping and stock clerks____
Solderers, hand..
- ___
Miscellaneous, semiskilled___
132
310
77
34
29
160
35
30
58
446
56
150
135
ii
42
16
6
54
1
12
4
ill
141
58
17
26
70
12
12
53
280
48
94
96
255
13
198
44
.526
(')
.501
62
6
41
15
.544
(>)
.543
694
147
95
61
94
190
597
161
186
189
2
1
15
6
1
63
46
19
34
24
10
122
45
19
43
.349
.387
.402
.453
.359
.374
.396
.419
.400
.394
(«)
(>)
(')
(>)
0)
1
14
2
24
629
100
61
21
69
180
474
102
165
122
0)
0)
0)
0)
.346
.374
.376
0)
.339
.364
.390
.392
.400
.377
106
54
31
29
1
1
60
49
15
17
4
15
.353
.441
.438
.387
(>)
(»)
.341
.443
(>)
324
22
214
88
.391
(')
.387
83
19
47
17
.439
0)
.415
(')
410
72
184
167
230
6
343
64
182
157
186
61
8
2
10
34
.351
.342
.354
.346
.347
(*)
.343
.333
.354
.347
.336
.385
0)
(1)
0)
.382
37
1
1
10 $0. 469
0)
.684 $0. 766
127
3
.520
(')
11
.588
0)
3
.452
53
.658
.937
22
.710
(0
.491
17
(0
5
.469
.772
112
.595
7
.466
(')
44
.552
0)
35
.565
0)
$0.465
.542
.419
(>)
.453
.513
0)
(0
.475
.454
.438
.562
.519
(*)
$0.829
(0
0)
(l)
.665
0)
0)
(')
.499
(>)
.497
.637
.615
0)
.377
.418
0)
.446
(')
0)
.414
.444
(>)
.414
U n s k ille d w o rk ers
Males:
Errand boys_____ ________
Washers and cleaners................
W atchm en .._ _ _ _ ________
Miscellaneous, unskilled, direct-------------- -----------------Miscellaneous, unskilled, indirect___ _________________
Females:
Carders and packers............
Miscellaneous, unskilled...........
10
(')
0)
0)
(‘)
.399
1 Number of workers insufficient to warrant presentation of an average.
Weekly Hours and Earnings
ACTUAL HOURS OF WORK
The actual workweek in the industry as a whole averaged 37.8
hours at the time of the survey. (See table 7.) Hours of work
averaged 35.7 a week in precious-jewelry plants, as compared with
37.8 in establishments making medium- and low-priced articles, and
39.4 in plants producing both types.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
192
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 7.—Average Weekly Hours and Weekly Earnings of Jewelry Workers, by Type of
Product, Sex, and Skill, 1940
Semiskilled workers Unskilled workers
Male
Female
37.9
37.1
37.6
38.4
36.9
38.5
40.6
37.3
34.8
34.8
34.5
37.2
37.0
38.4
39.9
39. 7
40.9
37.8
38.6
36.9
38.4
38.5
37.9
37.4
38.3
36.8
37.8
40.3
36. 8
39.4
40.1
37.6
39.9
40.1
36.7
38.4
39.5
37.0
41.3
42.1
40.3
Male
37.8
37.5
Total
37.0
35.5
Male
38.3
35.7
Total
37.8
Male
All products...... ..................
Precious jewelry________
Medium- and low-priced
jewelry____ __________
Precious and mediumand low-priced jew elry..
Total
Total
Female
Female
Type of product
Skilled workers
Female
All workers
Average weekly hours
Average weekly earnings
All p ro d u cts________ .
$21.96 $26.90 $14. 09 $31.62 $32. 58 $18. 55 $17. 39 $21.18 $14.12 $14.16 $16.20 $13.01
Precious jewelry_________ 33. 84 35.16 19.89 38.25 38.87 22.92 25.19 26.80 18. 89 16. 57 16. 52 16. 80
Medium- and low-priced
jewelry_______________ 18.23 22. 80 13.51 27. 22 28. 32 16.89 15. 75 18. 83 13. 67 13. 61 15.92 12.65
Precious and mediumand low-prieed jew elry.. 24.87 28. 32 15.82 32.05 32. 71 20. 27 20.29 24.19 15. 42 16.17 16.80 15. 40
The distribution of employees according to actual hours worked is
shown in table 8.
T able 8.—Percentage Distribution of Jewelry Workers, by Weekly Hours, Sex, and
Skill, 1940
All workers
Semiskilled
workers
Unskilled workers
i
Skilled workers
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
2.5
4.0
7.6
5.6
7.2
12.5
25.1
3.1
5. 4
9.0
5.7
3.1
13.7
25.5
2.7
4.4
8.2
6.4
8.5
11.8
25.6
2.7
4.3
8.2
6. .4
8.7
11.7
25.4
2.5
4.6
8.8
6.7
6.3
13.0
26.6
2.7
4.7
8.4
5.3
4.6
13.6
26.9
2.2
3.8
7.4
5.1
5.9
14.4
26.4
3. 2
5.5
9. 2
5.6
3.5
13. 0
27.2
2.7
4. 6
7. 2
5.0
2. 1
13. 4
20.5
2. 2
33
4 7
3. 5
3 5
9 7
19.2
3 0
n 3
8 7
fi 8
13
15 fi
21.3
40.01 and under 42 hours.. 6.8
Exactly 42 hours________ 13.9
42.01 and under 44 hours. _ 2.2
44 and under 48 hours___
6.9
48 and under 52 hours .
3.3
52 hours and over_______
2. 1
6.5
12.4
2.1
6.8
4. 3
3.4
7.2
16.2
2.3
6.9
1.8
.1
6.7
10.8
2.1
6. 1
4.0
2.7
6.6
10.8
2.0
6.1
4.2
2.9
8.4
10.9
4.2
6.3
1.3
.4
6.5
14.2
1.9
7.2
2.4
1.6
5. 7
12.7
2. 0
7.8
3. 2
3.4
7.1
15.3
1. 9
6. 7
1.7
.1
7. 7
19. 5
3 0
7. 5
4. 5
2.3
8 5
19. 5
3 2
7. 4
8 9
6.4
72
19 fi
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
T otal______ ____
100.0
100. 0
100. 0
Number of workers______ 9,628 5, 913 3, 715 3,465 3, 227
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238 4, 502 2,088 2,414 1,661
598
Female
Female
Under 16 hours_______
2.7
16 and under 24 hou rs....
4.5
24 and under 32 hours___
8.1
32 and under 35 hours.......
5.7
Exactly 35 hours________
5.6
35.01 and under 40 hours. _ 13.0
Exactly 40 hours.. ___
25.2
Total
Male
Weekly hours
7 fi
2 n
1,063
193
Wages and Hours of Labor
WEEKLY EARNINGS
Weekly earnings of all workers covered by the survey averaged
$21.96 in February 1940. Male wage earners averaged $26.90, as
compared with $14.09 for females. The highest weekly earnings
were received by skilled males, who averaged $32.58. The unskilled
females had the lowest earnings, averaging $13.01 a week. An
outstanding feature of the weekly wage picture is the wide variation
in earnings of men, as compared with women, among the three skill
groups. The average for skilled male workers exceeded that of the
semiskilled males by $11.40. For the women, the difference amounted
to only $4.43. Similarly, unskilled men received $4.98 less than
semiskilled men, whereas the unskilled women averaged but $1.11
less than the average for semiskilled women.
The distribution of weekly earnings is shown in table 9.
T able 9.— Percentage Distribution of Jewelry Workers, by Weekly Earnings, Sex, and
Skill, 1940
Male
Total
Male
Female
2.0
6.3
$5 and under $10________
27.1
$10 and under $15......... .-$15 and under $20, ............ 20.4
$20 and under $25-.______ 13.7
$25 and under $30...... ......... 8.7
1.2
3.3
12.5
16.6
17.9
13.2
3.1
11.1
50.0
26.6
7.0
1.6
0.7
2.3
6.2
10.3
14.2
15.1
0.7
2.0
5.1
8.3
13.7
15.7
1.3
5.0
21.4
37.5
20.6
9.2
2.6
7.9
33.8
27.0
14.9
6.2
1.8
4.1
17.5
25.8
23.4
11.6
3.3
11.1
48. 2
28.1
7.5
1. 5
2.8
10.5
51.4
23.8
9. 2
1.9
$30 and under $35.........
$35 and under $40--. -----$40 and under $45_____
6.8
5.0
3.9
11.0
8.1
6.3
3 8
.3
2.5
1.3
.4
.4
.4
4.4
1. 5
.9
.3
.2
9.2
3.1
1. 8
.6
.4
.3
2.0
3.3
14.0
12.9
10.4
6 7
49
5.6
.2
.1
(')
$50 ^iid under $«jo—. . . ---$55 and over____________
13.2
12.1
9.8
6 2
4 fi
5.3
.3
.7
.1
.1
1
0)
.1
2.2
3.2
7. Ö 12. 2
35.1
60. 7
21.2
28.4
2. 7
20.6
5. 2 —
.8 —
.2 —
0)
T otal...... .................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
598
238 4,502 2,088 2,414 1,661
Number of workers..........- 9,628 5,913 3, 715 3,465 3, 227
• Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Female
Total
fc3
o
E-i
Total
Female
CD
rc3
s<x>
Male
Weekly earnings
Unskilled
workers
Semiskilled
workers
Male
Skilled workers
All workers
100.0
1,063
194
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
UN IO N WAGES AND HOURS IN T H E BAKERY
IN D U ST R Y , JU N E 1, 1940 1
THE average hourly wage rate of union bakery workers in 62
cities was $0,753 on June 1, 1940. On the basis of reports which
furnished comparable rate quotations for identical occupations in
both 1939 and 1940, this average represented an increase of 2.7
percent over the average for 1939. Actual rates ranged from $0,262
for woman beginners in machine shops in Portland, Maine, to $1,643
for first hands in machine shops doing Hebrew baking in New York City.
Wage payments under bakery agreements are almost universally
established on a time basis. Agreements with large factory bakeries
generally specify hourly rates, whereas those with the smaller shops
specify daily or weekly rates. In order to achieve comparability,
these daily and weekly wage scales have been converted to an hourly
basis and are so presented throughout this report. The averages
cited include all of the occupations specified in the agreements, except
apprentices. Variations in the descriptive terminology applied to
particular occupations and in the duties assigned to workers in the
various classifications prevent the computation of averages by job
classifications.
Hourly Wage Rates
Nearly 75 percent of the bakery-union membership in the cities
studied had hourly rates between 40 and 90 cents per hour. Within
this range the distribution was comparatively even. Rates of 40 to
50 cents per hour were specified for 14.8 percent of the members; of
50 to 60 cents for 12.9 percent; of 60 to 70 cents for 16.1 percent; of
70 to 80 cents for 18 percent; and of 80 to 90 cents for 13.1 percent.
Rates between 90 cents and $1 per hour applied to 7.6 percent of the
members, and widely scattered rates of $1 and more per hour applied
to 15.5 percent of the members. Only 2 percent of the membership
had hourly rates of less than 40 cents.
Generally the rates of $1 and over per hour applied to members in
shops doing specialty baking, such as Hebrew baking (which accounted
for over 80 percent of the members having such rates), Polish baking,
French pastry baking, and cake baking. In a number of cities there
were rates of $1 and over per hour for foremen or for journeymen on
night shifts, but for journeymen doing ordinary baking on day shifts
scales of $1 and higher were reported only in Butte, Los Angeles, New
ark, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Oreg., St. Louis, San Francisco,
Seattle, Spokane, and Washington, D. C.
Because of the lack of uniformity in the occupational designations
and in the division of work among the rated occupations in the
1 Prepared by Frank S. M cElroy of the Bureau’s Industrial Relations Division, under the direction of
Florence Peterson, chief.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
195
Wages and Hours of Labor
various cities, no distribution based upon particular occupations was
possible. Examination of the reports, however, indicated that the
great majority of the rates of less than 60 cents per hour applied to
members in the auxiliary occupations, such as icers, slicers, wrappers,
packers, checkers, pan greasers, janitors, and general helpers. In
the main these occupations were reported only under the agreements
with large factory-type bakeries in which the occupational divisions
were frequently quite extensive. In the bakers’ classifications, rates
for benchmen or machinemen, the predominating journeyman desig
nations, were seldom less than 60 cents per hour and were most
frequently at least 70 cents per hour. Mixers and ovenmen gen
erally had the highest rates specified in each agreement.
T able
].—Distribution of Union Members in the Bakery Trades, by Hourly Rates,
June 1, 1940
Classified hourly rates
1940
$0. 753
Percent of members whose hourly rates were—
2 .0
14.8
12.9
16.1
18.0
13.1
7.6
4.6
2.5
2.3
1 .2
1 .8
2 .2
.9
O V E R T IM E R A T E S
Time and one-half was predominately specified as the initial over
time rate in the bakery agreements. This rate was reported in 88
percent of the quotations and applied to 80 percent of the total
membership reported. A few quotations specified overtime rates of
time and one-third, double time, or specific monetary rates which
were not multiples of the regular rates. A number of reports indi
cated that no penalty rate for overtime was provided and a few
stated that overtime was prohibited under the agreements.
Generally any overtime work was discouraged and frequently a
limit was set upon the amount of overtime permitted. Many of the
agreements, however, in recognition of the fact that the demand for
bakery products is not uniform throughout the week, specified that
the overtime rate should apply only on the basis of weekly hours
and not on the basis of any one shift. Others achieved the same
result by specifying longer regular shifts on certain days than on
others. Not infrequently a tolerance was provided whereby a lim
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
O
o\
DISTRIBUTION OF MEMBERS IN UNION BAKERIES
BY HOURLY WAGE RATES
JUNE 1 , 1 9 4 0
PERCENT
O F M E M B E R S H IP
PERCENT
OF M E M B E R S H IP
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
.40
.50
.60
.70
80
.90
1.00
110
1.20
1.30
1.40
150
160
UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
ANO UNDER
ANO UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
AND UNDER
$ .40
50
60
.70
•80
90
1.00
1.10
1.20
130
140
1.50
16 0
17 0
U N IT E D S T A T E S B U R E A U
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
H O U R LY
OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S
W AGE
RATE
197
Wages and Hours of Labor
ited amount of overtime could be worked without payment of any
penalty rate. The tolerance generally was not over two hours in
any week.
The overtime rates provided and the proportion of the union
members affected are shown in the following statement:
N u m ber of
qu otation s
No overtime rate provided.
Time and one-third.
Double tim e.
ra te _____________
Overtime prohibited.
20
165
41
. 2,212
7
ir
28
39
P e r c en t o f
u n io n m em b ers
a ffected
2. 9
5. 4
3. 1
79. 9
1. 7
1. 2
5. 8
, 1940
The average maximum workweek provided in the union agreements
for bakery workers on June 1, 1940, was 41.3 hours. Forty hours
constituted the basic workweek for 60.1 percent of the total member
ship. A limit of 42 hours was reported for 10.4 percent of the mem
bers; 44 hours for 6.2 percent; 45 hours for 5.8 percent; and 48 hours
for 10.4 percent. Only 1.2 percent of the members included in the
survey had agreements permitting more than 48 hours work in any
week without payment for overtime. On the other hand 5.8 percent
of the members had workweeks of less than 40 hours.
Generally speaking, the workweek in machine shops was limited to
40 hours. Practically all of the hour scales in excess of 42 hours per
week applied to hand shops. The only 50-hour scales reported applied
to hand shops in Indianapolis and Worcester. The 54-liour scales
applied to smaller shops doing Italian-style baking in New York City,
and the only 56-hour scale applied not to regular bakers but to plant
firemen who were working on a 7-day basis in Des Moines. All of
the 36-hour workweeks reported were in Portland, Oreg., San Francisco,
and Seattle, where the 6-hour day has been widely adopted. The 35hour week was in effect only for a part of the Bohemian- and Frenchstyle baking in New York City. All of the workweeks of less than 35
hours, reported in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, represented
work-sharing restrictions imposed upon the members of the unions.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
198
La b l e 2 .
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Distribution of Union Members in the Bakery Trades, by Hours per Week,
June 1, 1940
Classified weekly hours
Average weekly hours____________
Percent of members whose hours per week were—
24 hours_______
24J^ hours___________ _
26Ji hours__________________
32 hours_________
35 hours„ __________ _
36 h o u rs______ .
37J^ hours______ _____ . .
39 hours_______
40 hours_______ .
42 hours______________ _ _
44 hours_________
45 hours_______ _
47 hours___________ .
48 hours________ . .
50 hours____
.
54 hours______ . . .
56 hours________ _
1940
41.3
0
4
6
1 1
_2
24
'7
.2
fiO 1
10 4
fi 2
bX
1
10 4
1
1 1
0)
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Changes Between 1939 and 1940
W AGE RATES
Nearly half (49.3 percent) of the union members, for whom both
1939 and 1940 rates were reported, had wage-rate increases during the
year. The few rate reductions affected only 0.1 percent of the mem
bership. The increases appeared in 544, or 38.7 percent of the
quotations which gave data for both years. Five quotations, not
quite 0.3 percent, showed decreases.
The amounts of the increases reported ranged as high as 37.5 percent,
although the great majority of the advances did not exceed 10 per
cent of the 1939 rates. The largest percentage increase was that of
the porters working under one of the machine-shop agreements in
Baltimore, whose rate was raised from 40 to 55 cents per hour. Other
proportionately large increases were those of maintenance mechanics
under a Des Moines agreement, whose rate advanced from 63 to 83.3
cents per hour; wrapping-machine operators under a New Orleans
agreement, who were raised from 35 to 45.8 cents per hour; macaroni
bakers’ helpers in Chicago*, whose rate rose from 25 to 32.5 cents per
hour; and matzos and noodle bakers in New York City, whose rate
advanced from 42 to 55 cents per hour. No other increases amount
ing to as much as 30 percent of the 1939 rates were reported. Just
about half of the members who benefited by rate increases received
pay increases of between 5 and 10 percent, while somewhat over a
third received increases of less than 5 percent. Of the total quotations
showing rate increases there were 178 indicating advances of under
5 percent, 265 of 5 to 10 percent, 59 of 10 to 15 percent, and 42 of over
15 percent.
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199
ÌV(ages and Hours of Labor
N um ber
o f q u otation s
Increase_______________________________________
Under 5 percent___________________________
5 and under 10 percent_____________________
10 and under 15 percent___________________
15 and under 20 percent___________________
20 percent and over________________________
Decrease---------------------------------------------------------No change_____________________________________
544
178
265
59
19
23
5
855
P e r c en t
o f u n io n
m em bers
a ffected
49.3
17.4
24.7
4.7
1.8
.7
.1
50.6
W EEKLY HOURS
The scales of weekly hours reported for over 90 percent of the
membership included in the quotations, which gave data for both
years, were the same in 1940 as they had been in 1939. Reductions
in the maximum weekly hours permitted without payment for over
time were reported in 174 quotations applying to 8.2 percent of the
members for whom both 1939 and 1940 data were available. Increases
in allowed weekly hours were reported in 15 quotations, but these
increases affected only 1 percent of the membership.
N u m ber
o f quotation s
________________ 1,215
________________
15
_____________
174
No change ..
Increase _
Decrease _
P e r c en t
o f u n io n
m em bers
a ffected
90. 8
1. 0
8. 2
Trend of Wage and Hour Scales
Data based upon comparable quotations for the bakery trades,
from which inferences relating to trends may be drawn, are available
only for the past four years. Since 1936, however, the movement of
wage rates has been consistently upward and that of allowed weekly
hours has been consistently downward.
In 1937 the wage rates of union bakery workers were 5.1 percent
higher on the average than in 1936. The 1938 study showed an
average increase of 2.3 percent over 1937, and in 1939 the reports
indicated a further rise of 1.2 percent over 1938. The advance of
2.7 percent on the average between June 1, 1939, and June 1, 1940,
indicated by the reports upon which this study is based, was propor
tionately greater than that of either of the two preceding years, but
only slightly more than half as great as the rise from 1936 to 1937.
The year-to-year changes in allowed weekly hours since 1936 have
all been small. In 1937, weekly hours, on the average, were 1.6 per
cent less than in 1936. Subsequent changes have not amounted to
more than 0.5 percent in any one year. The average reductions
shown for each year in comparison with the immediately preceding
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
200
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
year were 0.4 percent in 1938, 0.2 percent in 1939, and 0.5 percent
in 1940.
Scope and Method of the Study
This study is one of a series of annual surveys started in 1907,
covering union scales in various trades in the principal cities of the
United States. The number of cities included has been gradually in
creased from 39 in the earliest surveys to 72 in those of recent years.
These cities are located in 40 States and the District of Columbia.
Effective union agreements providing wage and hour scales for bakery
workers were reported in 62 of the 72 cities covered in 1940.
Agents of the Bureau collected the data in personal interviews with
some responsible official of each local union included in the study.
Each scale was verified by the union official interviewed, and Was
further checked by comparison with the written agreements when
copies were available. Interviews were obtained with 131 union rep
resentatives, and 2,512 quotations of scales were received, 1,404 of
which included comparable information for both 1939 and 1940.
The union membership covered by these contractual scales of wages
and hours was 55,514, of which 46,169 were included in the reports
which gave comparable rates and hours for 1939. All the data were
collected as of June 1.
Averages.—The averages and percents of change given in this report
are weighted according to the number of members in the various local
unions. Each scale was multiplied by the number of members to
whom it was reported to apply. The resulting aggregates were added
and their sum was divided by the total number of members used in
the weighting. The result is the weighted average. The average
thus reflects not only the actual scales of wages and hours provided
in union agreements, but also the number of members benefiting from
those scales.
The percent of change from the previous year is the ratio between
similar aggregates computed from the scales quoted for identical
anions and occupational classifications in both years. The weights
in both of the aggregates used in each year-to-year comparison were
the membership figures reported in the second year.
Because of changes in coverage, the averages should not be com
pared from year to year for the purpose of determining trend. For
trend purposes the percents of change should be used, since these
are computed only from comparable quotations, and the influence of
changes in coverage has been eliminated. For comparison of the
wage and hour scales of union bakers with those of other trades at a
given time, the averages should be used.
Changes in coverage.—Prior to 1939 only union members engaged
principally in bread baking were included. In the 1939 and 1940 sur
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
201
veys all types of baking and all occupations included under bakeryunion agreements have been covered. The 1940 reports included
quotations of scales from two cities in which no effective union agree
ments had been reported previously. The increase in the reported mem
bership from 48,844 in 1939 to 55,514 in 1940, however, came only in
a minor part from these cities. The greater proportion of the increase
was in the larger cities, and to a considerable extent consisted of ex
pansion of membership in the auxiliary occupations under machineshop agreements. The influence of this increase in membership
among the less skilled baking occupations has tended to make the
average rate for all bakery workers for 1940 lower than it would have
been, had the expansion been proportionately equal in the more skilled
classifications.
U N IO N WAGES AND HOURS OF STREET-RAILW AY
EM PLOYEES, JU N E 1, 1940°
THE average hourly wage rate of union motormen, conductors, and
bus operators in 55 cities was 76.1 cents on June 1, 1940. This average
covers motormen, conductors, and bus operators employed on city
lines and also those employed on city-suburban lines, when those lines
also furnish city service. Employees of strictly intercity lines are not
included.
The hourly wage-rate index on June 1, 1940, was 110.4 (1929 = 100),
an advance of 1.1 percent since June 1, 1939. This was the sixth
consecutive yearly increase in the index. In 1934, after 3 years of
declining wage rates, the index had dropped to 96.1. The present
index represents an advance of 14.9 percent from the 1934 low point.
The greatest proportionate advances in single years were those be
tween 1936 and 1937, and between 1934 and 1935, which amounted to
4.6 and 3.8 percent, respectively.
T able
].— Indexes of Union Hourly Wage Rates of Street-Railway Motormen, Conductors,
and Bus Drivers, 1929 to 1940
[1929=100.0]
Year
1929
1930.
1931
1932
1933
1934 .
_____________ __________
.
_______________
_____ _______
_______________________
Index
100.0
101.0
101.0
99.0
0)
96.1
Year
1935_______________________________
1936_______________________________
1937__________________ ____________
1938_______________________________
1939_______________________________
1940_______________________________
Index
99.8
100.6
105.3
108.3
109.2
110.4
1 Not available.
« Prepared by Frank S. McElroy of the Bureau’s Industrial Relations Division, under the direction of
Florence Peterson, chief.
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Hourly Wage Rates
Hourly wage rates in street-railway and bus operations are generally
gi aduated on the basis of an employee’s length of service with the
company. Most frequently the agreements provide for an entrance
rate, an intermediate rate, and a maximum rate. A considerable
number, however, specify several intermediate periods, each with
successively higher rates. The specified time for the rate steps
varies widely from city to city. The entrance-rate period is usually
3, 6, or 12 months. The maximum rate most frequently applies after
1 year of service, but many agreements provide for longer periods,
ranging up to 5 years and including as many as 12 progressive rate
steps.
The differences between the entrance rate and the maximum rate
ranged from 4 to 32 cents per hour in 1940, the most frequently re
ported difference being 5 cents.
Rates for operators of 2-man cars were reported in only 19 of the 55
cities included in the survey. In each of these cities the agreements
pio\ided higher rates for 1-man-car operators and bus drivers than for
motormen and conductors on 2-man cars. Generally the rates for
bus drivers were the same as for 1-man-car operators. The differences
in favor of 1-man-car operators ranged from 3 to 10 cents per hour,
the most frequent being 7 cents.
The entrance rates for 2-man-car operators ranged from 48 cents
per hour in Salt Lake City to 75 cents per hour in Chicago and Detroit,
the great majority being between 50 and 70 cents per hour. For 1man car and bus operators the range of entrance rates was from 42
cents per hour in North Little Rock to 81 cents per hour in Pittsburgh,
nearly half being between 60 and 70 cents per hour.
Maximum i ates for 2-man-car opera tors ranged from 56 cents per hour
m Salt Lake City to 83 cents per hour in Detroit. Excepting only the
80-cent rate in Chicago, all other maximum 2-man rates were at least
63 cents but not over 78 cents per hour. For 1-man car and bus
operators the maximum rates ranged from 50 cents in New Orleans
to 95.5 cents per hour in Pittsburgh, with 61 percent of the operators
m this classification having rates between 70 and 80 cents per hour.
As streetcar and bus operators generally remain permanently in the
employ of one company, a very great majority of the union members
reported were receiving the maximum rates provided in their respec
tive agreements. Only 2.2 percent of the total membership were
receiving less than 60 cents per hour. Nearly 16 percent had rates
between 60 and 70 cents per hour; 45.7 percent, between 70 and 80
cents, 29.5 percent, between 80 and 90 cents; and 6.9 percent, between
90 cents and $1 per hour.
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203
XVages and Hours of Labor
T
able
2. —Distribution of Union Street-Railway Employees, by Hourly-Rate Groups,
June 1, 1940
1940
Classified hourly rates
Average rate per hour. _ -------------
-------
-
$0. 761
Percent of members whose rates were—
40 and under 50 cents
...... ..............
50 and under 60 cents____ ________ _________
60 and under 70 cents----- ---------- - -70 and under 80 cents___ _ __________ _____
80 and under 90 cents___________________________
90 cents and under $1___ __ _ ------------------------
.1
2.1
15.7
45.7
29.5
6.9
Slightly more than a third of the 416 quotations which gave data
for both years indicated that rate increases had been gained between
June 1, 1939, and June 1, 1940. These rate increases were reported
in 28 cities and applied to 28.8 percent of the total membership
included in the 2-year reports. All of the other reports showed the
same rates in effect on June 1, 1940, as on June 1, 1939.
A m o u n t o f rate ch a n g e
N u m ber o f
q u o ta tio n s
No change reported____________________________ 278
Increases reported _____________________________ 138
Less than 2 percent increase------- ----------------- 12
2 and less than 4 percent increase___________ 47
4 and less than 6 percent increase----------------- 30
6 and less than 8 percent increase----------------- 19
8 and less than 10 percent increase__________
7
10 and less than 12 percent increase_________
15
12 and less than 14 percent increase_________
5
14 percent and over________________________
3
P ercen t o f
m em b e rs
a ffected
71. 2
28. 8
3 .9
10. 5
9. 3
3. 2
.6
1. 2
.1
0)
1 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
In most instances the rate increases reported during the year were
moderate. More than half of the advances represented increases of less
than 6 percent over the rates in effect on June 1, 1939, and only 1
in 6 amounted to as much as 10 percent of the 1939 rates. The
increases of 10 or more percent applied to only 4.5 percent of the
members who received rate increases during the year, while over 82
percent of those benefited had increases of under 6 percent.
O V E R TIM E R A T E S
Overtime work in street-railway operations is generally defined, not
as time worked in excess of a specified number of hours, but rather
as time worked in excess of that required to complete the particular
individual’s regular run or assignment. Because it is customary in
street-railway agreements to require that all work outside the regular
assignments be given to men on the extra list, whenever such men are
available, overtime work as so defined is not frequently required.
Over a fifth of the quotations, therefore, indicated that no provisions
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204
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
205
Wages and Hours of Labor
for a penalty rate for overtime were included in tlie agreements.
These quotations covered over 8 percent of the total membership
reported. Nearly three-fourths of the quotations, applying to 86.8
percent of the membership, however, specified the overtime rate as
time and one-half, and a small group of reports indicated that specific
monetary rates, which were not multiples of the regular rates, had
been established for overtime.
The overtime rates provided and the number of members affected
are shown in the following statement:
N u m ber o f
q u o ta tio n s
No rate provided______________________________ 100
Time and one-half_____________________________ 336
Specified am ounts, not a multiple of regular rate__ 13
P e r c en t o f
u n io n
m em b ers
a ffected
8. 3
86. 8
4. 9
Hours per Day and Days per Week
Because it is impossible to arrange assignments in street-railway
and bus operations to make all runs of equal length, few agreements
specify an exact number of hours as constituting either a day’s or a
week’s work. The hour provisions in the agreements reported in 1940
commonly specified a basic number of hours per day, with the proviso
that a majority of the regular runs should be arranged to approximate
that figure. A basic day of 8 hours was reported in a considerable
majority of the quotations. Nine hours constituted the most common
basic day in those reports showing other than the 8-hour day.
The 6-day week prevailed generally for street-railway and bus
operators in the cities covered by the survey. The 5-day week,
however, was reported as being generally observed in Erie, Pa.,
Manchester, N. H., New Orleans, La., Pittsburgh, Pa., Providence,
R. I., San Antonio, Tex., and South Bend, Ind. In Rock Island, 111.,
the agreement provided that regular operators should have every
sixth day off duty, while the Des Moines, Iowa, agreement provided
for 6 days’ work to be followed by 2 days off.
Scope and Method of the Survey
This study is one of a series of annual surveys started in 1921.
In 1940 the Bureau’s agents visited 72 cities and obtained reports of
effective union scales for street-railway or bus operators in 55 of
those cities.
28 0 3 9 8 — 41------- 14
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
All of tlie rates upon which the averages and distributions are
based were obtained through personal calls upon responsible officials
of the various local unions or divisions. In nearly all cases the quo
tations were further checked by comparison with the written agree
ments, copies of which were generally secured for the Bureau’s files.
The rates reported were those in effect on June 1, 1940. Wherever
possible the comparable rates in effect on June 1, 1939, were also
reported. Interviews were obtained with 83 union officials and 449
quotations of rates were received, 416 of which included comparable
information for both 1939 and 1940. The union membership covered
by these contractual wage rates was 70,557, of which 69,708 were
included in the reports which gave comparable rates for 1939.
The average rate and the index numbers presented in this report
are weighted according to the number of members in the various local
unions. Each rate was multiplied by the number of members to whom
it was reported to apply. The resulting aggregates were added and
their sum divided by the total number of members used in the weight
ing. The result is the weighted average. The average thus reflects
not only the actual rates provided in union agreements, but also the
number of members benefiting from those scales.
The percent of change from the previous year is the ratio between
similar aggregates computed from the rates quoted for identical
unions and service classifications in both years. The weights in both
of the aggregates used in each year-to-year comparison were the
membership figures reported in the second year. The current index
number was computed by multiplying the index of the previous year
by the ratio so obtained.
Because of changes in coverage, the averages should not be com
pared from year to year for the purpose of determining trend. For
trend purposes the index numbers should be used, since these were
computed only from comparable quotations and the influence of
changes in coverage has been eliminated. For comparison of the
general wage level of street-railway and bus operators with those of
other occupations at the time the survey was made, the average
should be used.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wages and Hours of Labor
207
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, and
June 1, 1940, by Cities
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
C h icag o , I II .—Continued
A tla n ta , Oa.
2-man cars or feeder bus lines:
First 9 m onths_____________ $0. 565
Second 9 months. . . . . ____
.615
Thereafter__ ____________
.645
1-man cars, trolley coaches, or
busses:
First 9 m onths_____________
.635
Second 9 months___ ________
.685
Thereafter _______ _ ____
.715
$0. 550
.600
.630
.620
.670
.700
B ir m in g h a m , A l a .
2-man cars:
First year.. . ______________
Second y ear............ __ _____
Thereafter____ ___________
1-man cars or busses:
First year. _
____________
Second year_____ ______ __
Thereafter_________________
.600
.620
.650
.590
.610
.640
.675
.695
.725
.665
.685
.715
.580
.640
.780
.880
.580
.640
.780
.880
.580
.640
.780
.830
.580
.640
.780
.830
.800
.800
.560
.580
.600
.530
.550
.570
.750
.780
.800
.820
.880
.900
.750
.780
.800
.820
.880
.900
.880
.880
B o s to n , M a s s .
Surface lines:
2-man cars:
First 3 months_________
4-12 months____________
Thereafter_________ _. .
1-man cars or busses________
Rapid transit lines:
Guards:
First 3 months_________
4-12m o n th s.._ ________
Thereafter __________
Motormen________________
B u tte, M o n t.
C h arleston , S . C .
Busses:
First 3 months_____________
4-12 months_______________
Thereafter_________________
C hicago, III.
Surface lines:
2-man cars:
First 3 m onths_________
4-12 months_______ . . .
Thereafter_____________
N ight cars________ _ .
1-man cars____ . _________
Night cars...
. ____ _____
Busses:
D ay service, gas or trolley.
N ight service, gas or trolle y ---------------------------D ay service, less than 40passenger busses___ .
Elevated lines:
Extra conductors:
First year_______ _____
Thereafter_____________
Regular conductors______ . .
Motormen:
First 3 months (extra)___
4-12 months (extra)_____
Thereafter (regular or extra)__ ______________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
.900
.900
.800
.800
.748
.768
.766
.748
.768
.766
.757
.766
.757
.766
.811
.811
Elevated lines—Continued.
Extra guards:
First 3 months_________
4-12 months. __________
Thereafter_____________
Regular guards... . . _____
$0. 720
.730
.739
.748
$0. 720
.730
.739
.748
.620
.650
.670
.620
.650
.670
.690
.720
.740
.690
.720
.740
.740
.740
.690
.720
.740
.690
.720
.740
.670
.700
.720
.670
.700
.720
.740
.770
.790
.740
.770
.790
.600
.630
.650
.600
.630
.650
.560
.590
.610
.560
.590
.610
.500
.530
.550
.500
.530
.550
.610
.630
.650
.610
.630
.650
.480
.480
.590
.600
.610
.620
.630
.575
.585
.595
. 605
.615
C in c in n a ti, Ohio
Cincinnati Street Railway Co.:
2-man cars:
First 3 months__________
4-12 months____________
Thereafter_____________
1-man cars or busses:
First 3 m onths_________
4-12 m on ths.. . .
...
Thereafter______________
City Transit Co.:
Busses__ _ ___ _ _
. __
M t. Washington Bus Co. and
Valley Bus Co. of Cincinnati,
Inc.:
Busses:
First 3 m onths_________
4-12 months. ______ ___
Thereafter_____________
C lev elan d , Ohio
2-man cars:
First 3 months _ ___ _ _ .
4-12 months. _ ___ _____. . .
Thereafter __ _ ________ _
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 months......................... .
4-12 m onths., _____________
Thereafter_________________
C o lu m b u s, O hio
1-man cars and class A busses:
First 3 months___________ _
4-12 m o n t h s . ____________
Thereafter— _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Class B busses:
First 3 months_____________
4-12 m o n th s.._ _ ________ _
Thereafter.. ______________
Class C busses:
First 3 months_____ ________
4-12 m onths.. . . .
T hereafter_____ _____
D av en p o rt, I o w a
(See Rock Island (111.) district.)
D ay to n , Ohio
Motormen:
First 3 months_____ ________
4-12 months______ ____ _
Thereafter
_
Dayton City Line:
Electric cars_______________
D en ver, C olo.
2-man cars:
First 3 months_____________
4-12 months. ______________
13-18 months . _ _______ ..
19-24 months___
_ ......
Thereafter_________________
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
208
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, and
June 1, 1940, by Cities— Continued
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
D en ver, C o l o — Continued
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
L itt le R o c k , A r k .
1-man cars or busses:
First 3 months___ ________
$0. 640
4-12 months. ______________
. 650
13-18 months_____ . . . _
. 660
19-24 m onths. _____
____
.670
Thereafter... . . . ____ __ _
.680
1-man cars or busses:
$0. 625
.635
.645
.655
.665
D es M o in e s , Io w a
1-man cars or busses:
First 3 months_________ . . .
4-12 months___
._ . . . . . .
Thereafter_________ .
_
.625
.655
.700
.625
.655
.700
North Little Rock Division:
1-man cars or busses:
First 6m o n th s_ ........... .
7-12 m onths____________
$0.460
.480
.510
. 540
.600
$0. 460
.480
.510
. 540
.600
.420
.450
.480
.530
.420
.450
.480
.500
.560
. 620
.650
.530
.590
.620
.630
.690
.720
.590
.650
.680
.635
.645
.660
.680
.635
.645
.660
.680
.655
.665
.680
.700
.655
.665
.680
.700
.705
.715
.730
.750
.705
.715
.730
.750
.570
.600
.620
.640
.520
.550
.570
.590
.550
.610
.670
.550
.610
.670
.605
.655
.705
.575
.625
.675
.670
.690
.710
.730
.670
.690
.710
.730
L o s A n g ele s , C a lif.
D etroit, M ic h .
2-man cars:
First 6 months _______ _
7-12 months . . .
___
Thereafter...............
Owl cars___________
____
1-man cars or busses:
First 6 months________ __ .
7-12 months _ .
Thereafter:
Busses___________ ___
Street cars_____________
Owl busses.
_____________
Los Angeles Railway Co.:
2-man cars:
.750
.790
.830
.930
.730
.770
.810
.910
.780
.820
.730
.770
.860
.860
.960
.810
.860
.910
D u lu th , M in n .
Busses:
First year______________ . . .
Second year_______
Thereafter.. . _ _ ___
.560
.590
.610
.560
.590
.610
E r ie , P a .
Busses:
First 3 months___ _. . . . .
4-12 m on ths.. ___
Thereafter_______________ .
.600
.660
.690
.580
.630
.660
_
1.590
.550
I n d ia n a p o lis , In d .
1-man cars or busses:
First year____ _ __________
Second year________________
Third year___ ______ _
Thereafter____
_________
.630
.650
.670
.700
.630
.650
.670
.700
Second year. _ ___ . . .
Thereafter.. _ ._ _____
Single track service or bus
operations:
.530
.580
.580
.580
.580
.450
.490
.530
.550
.565
.490
.500
.510
.520
.530
.540
1 60 cents per hour after Dec. 1, 1940.
.460
.470
.480
.490
.500
.510
J a c k s o n v ille , F la .
Busses:
First 6 m on ths.. . . .
7-12 m o n th s ___ _
Second year.............................. .
Third year___
_____. . . _
Fourth year.. _ ______ ____
Thereafter______ ________
M a d is o n , W is.
Busses:
First 6 months________ ____
7-12 m onths_______ . . . .
13-18 months________ _____
M a n c h es te r, N . H .
Busses:
First 3 months___ _________
4-12m onths. .
_
Thereafter___ _____________
J a c k s o n , M is s .
Busses:
First 6 m onths____ _________
7-12 m o n t h s ..________
Second year_______ ______
3-5 years_________________ .
Thereafter... _ . . _________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Pacific Electric Co.:
Local, 2-man cars:
First 3 months_________
4-12 months______ . . . .
Second year.. _________
Thereafter_____________
Interurban, 2-man cars:
Second year____________
Thereafter. ___ _____
G ra n d R a p id s , M ic h .
Busses___ _____________ .
Los Angeles Railway Co. and
Los Angeles Motor Coach Co.:
Busses:
First year . .
_
Second year___ _ _ . . .
M e m p h is , T e n n .
1-man cars or busses:
First y e a r ... .
Second year________________
Thereafter_______ __________
M ilw a u k e e , W is.
2-man cars:
Thereafter__________ ____ .
209
Wages and Hours of Labor
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, and
June 1, 1940, by Cities— Continued
Rates of wages
per hour
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1939
1940
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
N ew Y o r k , N . Y .—Continued
M ilw a u k e e , W i s — Continued
1-man cars or busses:
First year__________________ $0. 720
Second year. _
______
..
.740
. 760
. 780
$0. 720
.740
. 760
.780
M in n e a p o lis , M in n .
2-man cars:
1-man cars or busses:
First year____ ____ . . . __
Second year___ ___ _ . __
Thereafter . . . _____________
.590
.620
.650
. 590
.620
.650
.680
.710
.750
.660
.690
.730
M o lin e , III.
(See Rock Island (111.) district)
N ew ark, N . J .
1-man cars or busses:
4-12 m on ths.. -
...
....
Ironbound Transportation Co.:
Busses:
Class D .
_____________
.660
.680
.700
. 630
.650
.670
600
560
. 530
.510
. 480
.570
. 530
. 500
.480
.450
. 640
670
710
.710
. 620
. 650
690
.690
.450
460
470
480
.490
.500
.400
410
420
.430
.440
.450
N e w H av en , C on n .
1-man ears:
B u sses..................................
..
N ew O rleans, L a .
Busses (Algiers Division):
First 6 months..................
...
25-30 months_______________
Thereafter___________ _____
N ew Y o rk , N . Y .
Surface cars:
Third Ave. Railway System:
Surface cars—Continued.
Brooklyn - Queens T ran sit
Lines:
First y e a r __ _____ ____ $0. 521
.528
13-18 m onths.-- ______
19-24 months_________ _
.550
.572
25-30 months. ........... .......
.594
31-36 months___________
37-42 m onths.. . . .
.616
43-48 months............. . . .
.638
Fifth year______________
.660
Thereafter _
.770
Queensboro Bridge R ailw ay..
.680
Subway and elevated lines:
I. It. T.:
Motormen:
First year________ .
.858
.953
Second year.................
Thereafter__________
.953
Yard motormen:
.659
First year_______ ..
.750
Thereafter____ ____
Conductors:
.648
First 2 years________
Thereafter__________
.700
Conductors, M. IT. D. C.:3
.668
First 2 years__
Thereafter...............
.700
Trainmen:
.574
First year... _______
.583
Second year.________
.633
Thereafter__________
Trainmen, M . IT. D . C .:3
.594
First year. ________
.605
Second year________
.655
Thereafter__________
B. M. T. Lines:
Operators:
.792
First y e a r __ _
.869
Second year _
.957
Conductors:
.638
First 2 years................
.660
Thereafter__________
Trainmen:
.521
First 2 years___ . . .
Third and fourth
. 528
.561
.616
Thereafter..
. . ..
Busses:
Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Co.:
.500
First 6 m onths_________
.560
7-12 months___ _________
. 620
Second year____________
.640
Third y e a r _____ _ . . .
. 690
Fourth year. . . .
. 740
Bee Line, Inc.:
.550
.570
Second y ea r..
____. . .
.600
Third year................... . . .
.630
Fourth year______
.700
Thereafter_______ . . . .
Brooklyn Bus Corporation:
. 521
First year. .
. ..
.528
13-18 months____
... _
.550
25-30 months___________ | .572
$0. 528
.550
.572
.594
.616
.638
.660
.770
.783
.858
.953
.659
.690
.648
.700
.668
.689
.574
.583
.619
.594
.605
.641
.792
.869
.957
.638
.660
.521
. 528
.561
. 616
.500
.520
.550
.570
. 620
.650
460
. 460
. 480
.480
.500
.500
.550
530
530
.570
. 550
. 550
.600
. 570
.570
.630
590
590
.700
. 610
.610
Third year_____________
.700
.700
. 521
710
710
.528
. 720
.720
. 550
760
. 760
.572
.600
Special beginners’ rate
.600
8 Applies only to men transferring from other departments of the company and having at least 1 H years’
service. The regular third-year rate applies after 1 year in car or bus service.
8 Multiple-unit-door control.
7-9 months. . __________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
210
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, and
June 1, 1940, by Cities—Continued
Rates of wages
per hour
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
June 1, Juno 1,
1940
1939
N ew Y o r k , N . Y .—Continued
Busses—Continued.
Brooklyn Bus C orporationContinued.
31-36 months___________ $0. 594
37-42 months___________
.616
43-48 months___________
.638
Fifth year______________
.660
Thereafter______________
.770
Comprehensive and East Side
Omnibus Corporations:
First 3 m onths__________
.560
4-12 months____________
.633
Second year______1.
.680
Third year_____________
.715
Fourth year__________
. 750
Fifth year______________
.820
.820
Thereafter_________ . ___
Fifth Avenue Coach Co.:
Drivers:
First year__________
.690
Second year________
.760
Third y e a r-......... .......
.790
Fourth year________
.800
Thereafter__________
.810
Conductors:
First year.................
.620
Second y ea r............
.690
Third year_____ ____
.720
Fourth year________
. 730
Thereafter.......... .........
.740
Green Lines:
First year______________
.605
Second y e a r ......................
.630
Third year_____________
.660
Fourth year____________
4. 770
Thereafter..........- ............ .
4. 770
Jamaica Busses, Inc.:
First year__ ____ _______
.550
Second year______ ______
.580
Third year...........................
.610
Fourth y e a r ..__________
.650
Thereafter______ ._______
.700
Manhattan and Queens Line:
First 6 m onths__________
.610
7-12 months____________
.640
Second year____________
.665
Third year_____________
.690
Thereafter______________
.770
N . Y . Omnibus Co.:
First 6 m onths_________
.610
7-12 months____________
.700
Second year____________
.760
.820
Third year_____________
Fourth year____________
.840
Thereafter______________
.900
North Shore Bus Line Co.:
First year______________
.605
Second year____________
.627
Third year_____________
.660
Fourth year____________
.693
Thereafter_____ ____ ___
.770
Queens-Nassau Transit Lines,
Inc.:
.580
First year______________
.620
Second year____________
.660
Third year_____________
.710
Fourth year____________
.740
Thereafter___________ . . .
N ew Y o r k , N . Y .—Continued
$0. 594
. 616
.638
.660
.770
.560
.633
.680
.715
. 750
.800
.820
.690
.760
. 790
.800
.810
.620
.690
.720
.730
.740
.550
.570
.600
.630
.700
.575
.599
.630
.662
.735
.610
.700
.760
.820
.840
.900
.550
.570
.600
.630
.700
Busses—Continued.
Schenck Transportation Co.:
First year____ ____ _____
Second year____________
Thereafter_____________
Staten Island Coach Co.:
First 3 months_________
4-6 months____________
7-9 months_____________
10-12 months____- ______
13-18 months___________
19-24 months......................
Thereafter_____________
Steinway Omnibus Co.:
First 3 months_________
4-6 months_____________
7-9 months_____________
10-12 months___________
13-15 m on th s.....................
16-18 months___________
19-21 months___________
22-24 months___________
Third year_____________
Fourth year____________
Fifth year______________
Thereafter______________
Third Avenue Railway Sys
tem:
First 3 months_________
4-6 months_____________
7-9 months_____________
10-12 months___________
13-15 months___________
16-18 months___________
19-21 months___________
22-24 months___________
Third year_____________
Fourth year:
First e m p lo y m e n t
before Dec. 1936___
F ir s t em ploym en t
after Dec. 1936____
Fifth year______________
Thereafter_____________
Special beginners’ rate 2__
$0.650
.680
.725
« .615
'.640
5.665
' .690
'.715
5.750
5.785
.460
.480
.500
.510
.520
.540
.560
.580
.590
.620
.630
.700
.460
.480
.500
.530
.550
.570
.590
.610
.700
.460
.480
.500
.530
.550
.570
.590
.610
.700
.730
.730
.710
.750
.780
.600
.710
.750
.780
.600
.620
.660
.680
.700
.750
.620
.660
.680
.700
.750
.610
.630
.650
.610
.630
.650
.660
.680
.700
.660
.680
.700
. 650
. 675
. 650
.675
O kla h o m a City, O kla.
1-
man cars and busses:
First 6 months_____________
7-12 months________________
Second year________________
Thereafter_________________
Interurban cars________________
P e o r ia , III.
2-
man cars:
First year__________________
Second year________________
Thereafter_________________
1-man cars, trackless trolleys, or
busses:
First year__________________
Second year________________
Thereafter_________________
P h ila d e lp h ia , P a .
Surface lines:
2-man cars:
First 6 months................ .
7-12 m o n th s ...______
2 Applies only to men transferring from other departments of the company and having at least 1
service. The regular third-year rate applies after 1 year in car or bus s e rv ic e ,
4 79 cents per hour after N ov. 4,1940.
' 4 cents per hour increase after Aug. 1, 1940.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
$0.650
.680
.725
years,
211
Wages and Hours of Labor
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, and
June 1, 1940, byjCities— Continued
Rates of wages
per hour
Rates'ofjwages
per hour
City and classification
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
June 1, June 1,
1939
1940
P h ila d e lp h ia , Pa.—Continued
Surface lines—Continued.
2-man cars—Continued.
13-18 months___________
_____
19-24 m onths-.
Thereafter__ ________
1-man cars:
First 6 m onths_________
13-18 m o n t h s ___19-24 months___________
R o c k I s la n d { II I .) district
$0. 700
.725
.750
$0. 700
.725
.750
.700
. 725
.750
.775
.800
.700
.725
.750
.775
800
. 680
. 705
.730
.775
.780
.680
705
.730
.775
.780
.650
.675
.700
725
.750
.650
.675
700
725
.750
Thereafter_____________
Busses:
.730
. 755
.780
.805
.830
730
755
.780
.805
830
13-18 months- __________ _
19-24 months______________
-
.750
.750
.810
.900
. 955
.810
.900
.955
630
. 740
. 770
.780
630
740
. 770
.780
.650
.650
P ittsb u rgh, P a .
1-man cars:
4-12 months_______ ____
Busses:
Thereafter_________________
P o r tla n d , M a in e
1-man cars and busses -
2-man cars:
.540
.600
.660
.710
.540
.600
.660
.710
.610
.670
.730
.780
.610
.670
.730
.780
.480
.560
.480
.560
.530
.610
.610
.530
.610
.610
.745
.745
8 .600
8 .625
8 .650
8 .675
8 .700
.600
.625
.650
.675
.700
8 .700
8 .725
8 .750
8 .775
8 .800
.675
.700
.725
.750
.775
.725
.725
.630
.680
.710
.710
.630
.680
.710
.710
_
.650
.650
.640
.690
.730
.630
.680
.720
.670
.690
.720
. 650
.670
.700
7-12 months. _____________
13-18 months _____________
1-man cars and busses:
First 6 m onths___________ .
Thereafter __ . .
_
.--
S t. P a u l , M in n .*
S a l t L a k e C ity , U tah
2-man cars:
First year
1-man cars and busses:
First year__________________
Thereafter
Extra men - ............__
S a n A n to n io , Tex.
S a n F r a n c is c o , C a lif.
P h o e n ix , A r iz .
1-man cars and busses___
$0. 610
.630
.650
S t. L o u is , M o .
Subway and elevated lines:
Motormen:
13-18 m onths___________
19-24m onths-. - . _____
Thereafter_____________
Conductors:
First 6 months_________
7-12 m onths_____ _____
Busses:
First 6 months_____________ 7$0,625
7. 645
7-12 months_______________
7. 665
Thereafter__________ _____
2-man cars:
First 6 months _____ . . .
7-12 months________________
13-18 m onths_______________
19-30 m onths____________ -.
Thereafter-,
.
Busses:
First 6 months . .. ........
7-12 m onths________________
19-30 months_________ .
Thereafter ___ - . - _____
Calif. Cable R. R.:
Gripmen or conductors. _
S c r a n to n , P a .
- - ___
P o r tla n d , Oreg.
1-man cars and busses:
4-12 m onths___________ ____
Thereafter-- ____
____
1-man interurban cars-. - ___ -
. 780
.810
.830
.720
780
.810
.830
.720
.725
.755
.775
.700
. 730
.750
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 months .......................
4-12 months .
______ - Thereafter. _ _______________
.660
.680
.700
.670
1-man cars and busses:
First 6 m onths. ______ ____
7-12 m onths________________
Thereafter_________ ______
P ro v id en ce, R . I.
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 months_____________
«.680
«.700
«.720
«. 690
2-man sub wav cars____ _________
6 1 cent per hour increase after Oct. 1, 1940.
7 2 cents per hour increase after Sept. 1, 1940.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
S o u th B e n d , I n d .
1-man ears and busses. _____
S p r in g fie ld . M a s s .
R ochester, N . Y .
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 months_____________
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 m onths__ _ ______
4-12 m o n t h s ____________
Thereafter _____ _ _______
T o led o , O hio
8 Rates are the same as for Minneapolis.
8 2J-4 cents per hour increase after Sept. 1,1940.
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
212
T able 3.— Union Rates of Wages of Street-Railway Employees, June 1, 1939, an
June 1, 1940, by Cities— Continued
Rates of wages
per hour
Rates of wages
per hour
City and classification
City and classification
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
June 1, June 1,
1940
1939
W a sh in g to n , D . C.
2-man cars:
First 3 months _
________
Thereafter. _ . .
1-man cars and busses:
Y ork, P a .
$0.630
.670
.690
$0.610
.650
.670
.700
.740
.760
.680
.720
.740
4-12 months Thereafter_________ ______
_ _
Third year
. . . ____
Fourth year________________
Thereafter, .
$0. 560
. 570
.580
.590
.600
$0.560
.570
.580
.590
.600
.650
.700
.750
.650
.700
.750
Y o u n g sto w n , O hio
1-man cars and busses:
First 3 months ___________
4-12 months___ __ ______ _
W o rcester, M a s s .
1 man cars and busses:
4-12 months__________ _____
Thereafter__________ . .
Busses:
First year .
.660
.710
.760
.660
.710
.760
PREIN VA SIO N WAGES IN D EN M A R K , 1938-39 1
INCREASES in average hourly wages of about 5 0re 2 in 1939, as
compared with 1938, are shown in table 1 for different groups of work
ers in Denmark as a whole, and for Copenhagen and the Provinces.
T able ].—Average Hourly Wages of Industrial Workers in Denmark in 1938 and 1939
Average hourly wages (in 0re)
Group of workers
1938
1939
1938
Entire country
1939
1938
Copenhagen
1939
Provinces
All workers,__ ____________________
142
147
153
158
136
140
Male workers., . ______________ . . .
Skilled____________________________
U nskilled._______ _______ __________
Female workers______________
______
151
166
140
94
156
172
146
96
171
187
154
97
176
192
159
99
141
151
136
89
146
155
141
91
Both the seasonal and daily wages of farm hands showed consider
able increases from 1937-38 to 1939-40, ranging for seasonal workers
from 22 kroner for female farm hands to 91 kroner for foremen in the
summer, and from 0.42 krone for winter, permanent day laborers
(with board) to 0.88 krone for temporary day laborers (without board)
in the autumn. Table 2 gives both seasonal and daily wages by class
of worker from 1937 to 1940.
1 Denmark. Statistiske Departement. Statistisk Aarbog, 1940.
2 Danish krone (100 0re) in 1939=20.3 cents.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Copenhagen, 1940.
213
Wages and Hours of Labor
T able
2.—Average Seasonal Wages of Farm Hands in Denmark in 1937-40
Average wages (in kroner)
per day, of day laborers—
Average wages (in kroner) per season—
Year (M ay 1 to Apr.
30) and season
Farm hands aged—
U nder 17 to
17
years years
21
1937-38:
Summer________
A utum n______ .
W inter.
_____
1938-39:
Summer.. _ ____
A utum n________
W inter____ . . .
1939-40:
Summer___. . . . .
A utum n________
W inter. _______
Over
21
years
Female farm With board
Cattle hands aged—
Fore men
men (with U nder Over Tem Per
board)
18
18
pora ma
nent
years years
ry
305
305
192
448
448
270
533
533
325
585
585
356
581
581
472
226
226
195
287
287
248
4. 92
5.49
4. 04
4. 30
4.80
3.61
334
334
217
493
493
300
578
578
355
638
638
389
621
621
520
241
241
206
304
304
267
5. 35
. 00
4. 40
6
4.58
5.14
3.82
353
353
236
527
527
329
613
613
391
676
676
422
658
658
550
248
248
219
312
312
275
5. 48
. 19
4. 61
4.84
5. 58
4. 03
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
Without
board
Tem
pora
ry
6.01
6. 75
5. 25
6. 29
Per
ma
nent
5. 22
6.04
4.81
5.58
7. 21
5. 76
6.44
6. 79
5. 79
. 71
5. 35
7. 63
5.92
5.12
6
Building Operations
R ESID E N T IA L CONSTRUCTION, FIR ST 9 M ONTHS OF
1940
Summary
APPROXIMATELY 391,000 new dwelling units were provided for
families in nonfarm areas during the first 9 months of 1940. The
estimates, based upon a large sample of building-permit reports, show
a 13-percent increase over the same period of 1939. The estimate for
the third quarter of 1940 alone was 21 percent higher than for the
third quarter of 1939 and 5 percent higher than during the second
quarter of 1940.
Publicly financed projects which got under way during the third
quarter of 1940 contained 17,664 dwelling units. This brought the
9-month total to 39,150, all except 878 of which were sponsored by
the United States Housing Authority. Included in the third-quarter
total were 2,635 USHA units designated for defense purposes.
The permit valuation of the 391,000 new units is estimated at
$1,322,000,000. This includes contract awards aggregating $119,000,000 on new publicly financed projects.
Scope of Report
The “nonfarm area” of the United States can, in general, be de
scribed as consisting of all urban and rural nonfarm places. The
urban group includes all incorporated places with a population of
2,500 or more and also a small group of towns specially classified as
urban. Incorporated places of less than 2,500 population, as well as
unincorporated areas excluding farms, are designated as “rural non
farm.” The classifications used here and also the groupings by size
of city are based upon the 1930 census. Revisions will be made when
data from the 1940 census are complete.1
The estimates of new residential construction presented are derived
from a large sample of building-permit reports. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics began collecting such data as early as 1920, at first includ1Preliminary census data for 1940 indicate that for cities over 10,000 population alone there are 172 changes
in city-size classification.
214
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Building Operations
215
ing only the larger cities. The coverage of the sample has since been
steadily extended until it now includes more than 2,000 cities of 1,000
population or over. Reporting cities have an aggregate population
of approximately 61,000,000. In addition to this sample of cities, the
Bureau receives building-permit reports covering the unincorporated
areas of a small number of counties. An attempt is now being made
to increase the sample to include some incorporated places of less than
1.000 population and a larger number of counties. The fact that no
reports at all are available regarding construction on farms explains
the restriction of the present estimates to nonfarm areas.
New Dwellings, First 9 Months of 1940
Estimates based upon building permits indicate that approximately
391.000 new dwelling units were provided in nonfarm areas during
the first 9 months of 1940. Despite a slow start in the first quarter,
this total represents an increase of 13 percent over the number pro
vided during the same period of last year. It is expected that resi
dential-construction reports for the entire year of 1940 will show a
larger number of new' units than were provided in 1929, the last high
year before the depression. It is also of interest to note that the per
cent of increase in residential construction over last year exceeds that
shown in nonresidential building, as measured by either building
permits issued or construction contracts awarded.
Erection of 1- and 2-family dwellings seems to have grown at the
expense of apartment units during the first 9 months of 1940. For
the nonfarm area as a whole, the 1-family type, with 51,000 more new
units, increased 19 percent over the corresponding period of 1939, and
the 2-family type, 58 percent. Apartments, however, showed a de
crease of 23 percent. Deducting the publicly financed units from the
totals causes a major change only for the 2-family classification. For
privately financed units alone, the 1- and 2-family types were 20 and
21 percent greater, respectively; the multifamily type, 21 percent
smaller.
Of the 391,000 new units in the first 9 months of 1940, 80 percent
were 1-family, 6 percent, 2-family, and 14 percent, multifamily. More
than half of the 2-family and nearly three-fourths of the apartment
units were in cities of over 100,000 population. New York City alone
accounted for 17,085 of the apartment units.
The net gain in dwelling units during the first 9 months of 1940, as
compared with the corresponding period of 1939, was not due to cities
of any one size group. Except for cities of over 500,000 population,
all urban population groups, and rural nonfarm as well, shared in the
increase. In cities of 500,000 and over, the upward trends in 1- and
2-family units were not sufficient to offset the 12,000 drop in apart
ments. These trends are presented in table 1.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
216
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T a b l e 1. —New
Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, First 9 Months of 1939 and 1940,
by Population Group and Type of Dwelling
2
1
-family
dwellings 1
-family
dwellings
All types
Population group
Multifamily
dw ellings2
First 9 months of—
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
391, 417
+12.5
347, 776
313, 615
+19.2
263,010
25,069
+57.6
15,909
52, 733
-2 3 .4
68,857
Total urban . _
_
-- ----- 283,978
500,000 population and over.- 73,836
100,000 to 500,000 population _ 60, 332
50,000 to 100,000 population.. 24,904
25,000 to 50,000 population.-- 28,630
10,000 to 25,000 population... 43, 677
30,135
5,000 to 10,000 population__
2,500 to 5,000 population____ 22, 464
254, 587
79,023
53,641
20,173
22,484
35,690
24,141
19,435
212, 460
39,180
43, 555
19, 776
24, 044
39, 273
25, 798
20,834
176,654
35,831
37,741
15, 785
18,192
30, 729
20,621
17, 755
22,066
6,553
, 626
2, 412
2,378
2, 067
1,255
775
12,986
2, 741
3,958
1,465
1,249
1,772
958
843
49,452
28,103
10,151
2, 716
2,208
2, 337
3,082
855
64,947
40,451
11,942
2, 923
3,043
3,189
2, 562
837
107, 439
93,1S9
101,155
86,356
3,003
2,923
3,281
3,910
Total nonfarm________________
Rural nonfarm.
__ __ _______
6
1Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
The second quarter is usually the period when the year peak in
permits for new homes is reached. However, the third quarter of
1940 showed a contraseasonal rise in residential permits issued, with
150,000 new units estimated as compared with 142,000 in the second
quarter. This represented an increase of 5 percent over the previous
quarter and of 21 percent over the third quarter of 1939.
T a b l e 2 . — New
Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, Third Quarter of 1939 and Second
and Third Quarters of 1940, by Geographic Division and Type of Dwelling
2-family i
1-family
All types
M ultifamily 2
Sec
Sec
Geographic division Third Second Third Third Second Third Third ond Third Third ond Third
quar quar quar quar quar quar quar quar quar quar quar quar
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
ter
1939
1939 1940 1940
1940 1939 1940 1940
1940
1939
1940
1940
All divisions.. - . . . . 150,102 142,402 124,265 123,360 116,112 96, 527 10,543 8,671 5,342 16,199 17,619 22, 396
N ew England__ __
Middle Atlantic____
East North Central..
West North Central .
South Atlantic - _
East South CentraL.
West South Central. _
Mountain
...
Pacific_____________
7,871 5,907 6,258
22,561
20, 285
30,114 27,922 22,386
, 621
10, 533 10,972
29, 276 25,009 21, 551
8,103
, 747
13,168 11, 555 12, 762
5,489 5,960 4,350
25, 256 25, 973 19,029
21,001
8,110
8
6
6
,354
12, 992
26,675
9, 990
22,003
7,097
5,248 3,861
12,781 12,145
25, 202 18,866
10,194
18, 831 16,935
6,207 5,886
10, 258 10,643
5,093 5, 267 3,906
22,136 22,124 16, 275
11,020
8,010
232
999
246
518
1,254
913
611 6,039
797
2, 671 1,929
768
252
354
291
307
1,937 1,090 5, 261
824
839
389
189
794
1,783
991
365
249
163
207
147
1,082 1,255
959 2,038
2,012
413
7,307
791
424
4,241
1,057
306
486
2,594
2,165
9,805
2,723
304
3, 526
472
1,325
281
1,795
1Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2Includes m ultifam ily dwellings with stores.
The South Atlantic and East North Central States made the largest
gains during the third quarter, as compared with either the second
quarter of 1940 or the third quarter of 1939. Four of the regional
totals decreased from the second to the third quarter, all of the de
creases being 8 percent or less. Compared with the corresponding
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
217
Building Operations
period of 1939, the Middle Atlantic States showed a drop of 2,000
units, a number more than accounted for by the decrease in the
apartment type. The geographic-division estimates of new dwelling
units of each type are presented in table 2 for the second and third
quarters of 1940 and the third quarter of 1939.
New Housing, by Source of Funds
Included in the estimates for the first 9 months of 1940 are accom
modations for 39,150 families in publicly financed projects. These
units comprised 10 percent of the total, approximately the same
relation that was shown during the corresponding period of 1939. Of
the 39,150 units, 18,373 were classified as 1-family, 8,074 as 2-family,
and 12,703 as multifamily.2
Except for one project of 878 units, all of the publicly financed
projects were financed with United States Housing Authority funds.
The one exception was a section of the huge Navy Yard Houses
Project in New York City. This was initiated by the city and aided
with State funds.
Defense-housing legislation did not have any appreciable effect
on new housing started in the third quarter of 1940. Projects under
USHA sponsorship and designated as being for defense purposes
contained homes for 2,635 families. These units will revert to use
by low-income families after the national emergency passes. In
addition to USHA defense projects there will be, beginning with the
fourth quarter of 1940, many units in defense projects planned by the
War and Navy Departments and the Public Buildings Administration.
T able
3.—New Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, First 9 Months of 1939 and 1940,
by Population Group and Source of Funds
Private funds
Total
Public funds 1
First 9 months of—
Population group
1939
1940
1939
1940
1939
Total nonfarm----------- ------ --------------------------- 391, 417
Percent of change.
_________________
___ +12.5
347, 776
352,267
+13.6
310,088
39,150
+ 3.9
37,688
283,978
73,836
60, 332
24,904
28, 630
43, 677
30,135
22,464
254, 587
79, 023
53,641
20,173
22,484
35, 690
24,141
19,435
245,332
63, 629
43,825
19, 866
24,354
41, 732
29, 593
22,333
217, 688
67,376
35,887
16, 722
19,951
34,326
23,991
19,435
38,646
1 10,207
16, 507
5,038
4, 276
1,945
542
131
36,899
1 11, 647
17, 754
3,451
2, 533
1,364
150
106,935
92,400
504
789
1940
500.000 population and over_____ ________
100.000 to 500,000 population------ -. ---50.000 to 100,000 population______ - -----25.000 to 50,000 population-----------------------10.000 to 25,000 population_______- ----------5.000 to 10,000 population. . . --------------2,500 to 5,000 population--------- -----------------
107,439
93,189
0
1 All except 878 units in 1940 and 240 in 1939 are USHA-sponsored.
2According 1o the Bureau’s definitions, row
houses are classified as 1-family dwellings. Rows of flats
arranged one over the other and rows of 2-story units directly over or under flats are included as 2-family
units. The multifamily units are either of the apartment type or combinations of 3 or more 2-story
units and flats.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
218
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
More than two-thircls of all publicly financed units in the first 9
months of both 1940 and 1939 were in cities of over 100,000 popula
tion. Of the privately financed units, less than one-tliird was within
these same cities. The source of funds for new units in the first 9
months of 1940 can be seen in table 3 for each population group.
The Pacific States led all divisions in total number of new privately
financed units for the first 9 months of 1940. Other regions with
more than 60,000 privately financed units were the East North Cen
tral and South Atlantic divisions. The Middle Atlantic States were
next, despite a decrease from 1939 levels. The three leading divisions
each made gains of more than 10,000 units as compared with the
first 9 months of 1939.
Publicly financed projects started during the third quarter of 1940
provided for 17,664 families, or 60 percent more than in the previous
period. This increase was not paralleled by privately financed resi
dential units, which gained only 1 percent. Compared with the
third quarter of 1939, however, publicly financed units showed a
small drop; privately financed homes, a 25-percent gain.
The largest concentrations of USHA units during the third quarter
were in the South Atlantic and East North Central States. Detroit
and Philadelphia were the sites of the largest single projects, 2,150
and 1,324 units, respectively. No projects were started during this
period in the West North Central and Pacific States, as shown in
table 4.
T a b l e 4 .— New
Dwelling Units in Nonfarm Areas, Third Quarter of 1939 and Second
and 'Third Quarters of 1940, by Geographic Division and Source of Funds
Total
Geographic division
Private funds
Public fu n d s1
Third
Second Third
Second Third
Third
Third Second Third
quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter,
1940
1940
1939
1940
1939
1940
1940
1940
1939
All divisions________
150,102
142,402
124, 265
132,438
131,331
106,114
17,664
N ew England_______
Middle Atlantic _ __
East North C entral..
West North Central. .
South Atlantic______
East South C en tra l..
West South C entral..
M ountain__________
Pacific______________
7,871
20, 285
30,114
10, 533
29, 276
5,907
6,258
22,561
22, 386
, 621
21, 551
, 747
12,762
4,350
19, 029
6,050
17, 526
25, 798
10,533
24,385
6,501
11,274
5,115
25, 256
5,707
18, 239
25,593
10.972
22, 465
5,986
10,986
5,410
25.973
4,236
18,804
20,108
8,621
16,412
4,845
10,316
4,350
18,422
1,821
i 2,759
4,316
2,762
2,329
4,891
1,609
1,894
374
2,544
2,117
569
550
8,110
13,168
5,489
25, 256
21,001
27,922
10.972
25,009
8,103
11, 555
5, 960
25.973
8
6
0
0
11,071
200
0
0
18,151
2,022
3,757
2,278
0
5,139
1,902
2,446
0
607
1All except 878 units are in USHA projects.
The valuation of the new dwelling units started in the first 9 months
of 1940 is estimated at approximately $1,322,000,000. This total in
cludes $1,203,000,000 for privately financed dwellings and $119,000,000 for public projects. The values given for privately financed
units are in terms of permit valuations, which generally understate
costs. The dollar volume for public projects is in terms of contract
values, and is therefore equivalent to costs.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
219
Building Operations
The valuation of new dwellings in the East North Central States
($291,000,000), was largest for all geographic divisions. Other divi
sions with dollar volume of new units rising above $200,000,000 were
the Middle Atlantic ($244,000,000), Pacific ($226,000,000), and South
Atlantic ($222,000,000). Except for the Pacific States, which had
little public housing, these same divisions led in valuations of both
new privately and publicly financed units. Estimated permit valu
ations of privately financed units and contract awards on public
projects are given for the first 9 months of 1940 in table 5.
T able 5.— Permit Valuation of New Dwellings in Nonfarm Areas During First 9
Months of 1940, by Geographic Divisioti and Source of Funds
Estimated permit valuation
Geographic division
Total
Private funds
Public funds 1
$1,322,477,000
$1, 203, 291,000
$119,186,000
70.123.000
243.653.000
291.479.000
84, 314,000
221.747.000
46.954.000
98.582.000
40.091.000
225.534.000
59.804.000
221, 879,000
266,369,000
83.422.000
193,704, 000
34.973.000
81.796.000
37.047.000
224, 297,000
10.319.000
21.774.000
25.110.000
892,000
28.043.000
11.981.000
16.786.000
3,044,000
1, 237,000
1 Contract values.
SUMMARY OF B U IL D IN G CONSTRUCTION IN
P R IN C IP A L C ITIES, NOVEM BER 1940 1
BUILDING-PERMIT reports for November were featured by a
235.1 percent increase in new nonresidential permit valuations over
the corresponding month in 1939. Increases ranging from 21.4
percent in cities having a population of 1,000 and under 2,500 to 767.7
percent in cities with a population of 50,000 and under 100,000 were
reported in all city-size groups. Other types of construction, how
ever, declined over the year periods. Permit valuations of new resi
dential construction were 4.0 percent lower than in November 1939
and additions, alterations, and repairs to existing structures declined
4.2 percent. As a result of the sizable increase in nonresidential
building, all types of construction combined showed a gain of 56.0
percent.
As compared with the preceding month, decreases were reported
in all types of building construction. New nonresidential construc
tion declined 13.6 percent from the high levels of October and new
residential permit valuations fell 31.4 percent. Additions and altera
tions to existing structures were 23.7 percent less than in October.
All types of construction combined showed a decrease of 22.1 percent.
i More detailed information by geographic division and individual cities is given in a separate pamphlet
entitled “ Building Construction, November 1940,” copies of which will be furnished upon request.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
220
Comparison of November 1940 with October 1940 and
November 1939
A summary of building construction in 2,105 identical cities in
November 1940, with percentage changes from October 1940 and
November 1939, is given in table 1.
T able 1.— Summary of Building Construction for Which Permits Were Issued in 2,105
Identical Cities, November 1940
Number of buildings
Percentage change
from—
Class of construction
November
1940
All construction___
Permit valuation
October N ovem
1940
ber 1939
Percentage change
from—
November
1940
October Novem
1940
ber 1939
______________ _
53,985
-3 3 .2
-1 4 .0
$259,171,930
-2 2 .1
+56.0
New r esid e n tia l..-___ . . . ______ _
New nonresidential__________________
Additions, alterations, and repairs_____
17, 263
10,870
25,852
-2 8 .9
-3 2 .8
-3 6 .0
-1 4 .7
- 7 .1
-1 6 .1
97,065,018
139, 775, 085
22,331,227
-3 1 .4
-1 3 .6
-2 3 .7
- 4 .0
+235.1
- 4 .2
A summary of permit valuations and the number of family-dwelling
units provided in new dwellings in 2,105 identical cities having a
population of 1,000 and over, is shown in table 2 for November 1940
with percentage changes from October 1940 and November 1939.
T able 2. —Number and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units in 2,105 Identical
Cities, November 1940, by Type of Dwelling
Permit valuation of house
keeping dwellings
Percentage
change from—
Type of dwelling
November
1940
All types . _______ ____ _ __________
Number of families provided
for in new dwellings
$95,412, 218
N o
October vember
1940
1939
-3 2 .2
1family_______ ___________
62,901,409
-2 8 .6
2fam ily 1 . _________________________________
4,393,615
-2 2 _.8 .
Multifamily 2________ ______________
28,117,194
-4 0 .1
Percentage
change from—
November
1940
No
October vember
1940
1939
- 4 .7
26, 558
-3 1 .3
- 5 .5
-1 3 .6
+52.2
+15.1
15.500
1,696
9,362
-2 9 .0
-2 2 .2
-3 6 .0
-1 8 .6
+45.1
+18.4
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
Construction During First 11 Months, 1939 and 1940
Cumulative totals for the first 11 months of 1940 compared with
the same months of the preceding year are shown in table 3. The data
are based on reports received from cities having a population of 1,000
and over.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
221
Building Operalions
T able 3. —Permit Valuation of Building Construction in Reporting Cities of 1,000
Population and Over, First 11 Months, 1939 and 1940, by Class of Construction
Permit valuation of building con
struction, first 11 months of—
Class of construction
1939
1940
All construction
__________ - _ -------------------
Percentage
change
$2,259,280.283
$1,920,244,909
+17.7
1,172,436,744
773,566,181
313,283,358
1,039,615,935
559,092,714
321,536,260
+12.8
+38.4
-2 .6
Table 4 presents the permit valuation and number of family
dwelling units provided in cities with a population of 1,000 and over
for the first 11 months of 1939 and 1940.
T able 4.-—Number and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units, hirst 11 Months,
1939 and 1940, by Type of Dwelling
Permit valuation of housekeep
ing dwellings, first 11 months Percent
of—
age
change
Type of dwelling
Number of family
dwelling units,
first 11 months
of—
Percent
age
change
1940
1939
320,378
280, 716
+14.1
+10.4
205, 766
738,086,861
814,492,667
1family
. . . ....... ......................
17,174
+ 5 .8 - ---------41,390, 761
43, 796, 438
2family i _ ___ _________ _________________________________
97,438
+19.6
246,426,561
294,648,279
M ultifamily 2---- -------------------
190,399
15,045
75,272
+8Ü
+14.2
+29.4
All types
_ . _______________
1940
1939
$1,152, 937,384
$1,025,904,183
+12.4
1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
Analysis by Size of City , November 1940
Table 5 shows the value of permits issued for building construction
in November 1940, with percentage changes from October 1940 and
November 1939, by size of city and by class of construction.
T able 5.—Permit Valuation of Various Classes of Building Construction in 2,105
Identical Cities, November 1940, by Size of City
New residential buildings
Total construction
Size of city
All reporting cities_________
500.000 and over--------- -----100.000 and under 500,000-----50.000 and under 100,000-- - 25.000 and under 50,000------10.000 and under 25,000-------5.000 and under 10,000-- ----2,500 and under 5,000----------1.000 and under 2,500_-- ---28039S—4 1 ------ 15
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Number
of
cities
Permit val
uation,
November
1940
2,105 $259,171,930
14
79
92
167
432
382
469
470
65,283,960
52,077,838
46,516,011
28,422,874
46.175,645
11,817,582
5, 546,421
3, 331, 599
Percentage change
Percentage change
from—
from—
Permit val
uation,
November
Octo N ovem
Octo Novem
1940
ber
ber
ber
ber
1939
1940
1939
1940
+56.0
$97,065,618
-3 1 .4
-4 .0
-22.1T +23.0
+17.1
-4 2 .9
+45.2 +216.0
-3 4 .6 +100. 5
+ 9 .9 +108.4
+25.6
-5 5 .3
+10.5
-3 5 .6
+ 8 .6
-2 6 .8
29,152, 709
19,721,876
7,491, 389
10, 540,686
16,010,948
8,000,255
3,894, 548
2,253,207
-3 0 .9
-4 8 .0
-2 4 .1
-1 8 .4
-1 8 .1
-1 7 .5
-3 0 .1
-3 9 .8
- 7 .6
-2 8 .5
- 8 .4
+30.6
+21.6
+20.0
+ 5 .2
+ 4 .6
-2 2 .1
222
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
I a b l e 5.
Permit Valuation of Various Classes of Building Construction in 2,105
Identical Cities, November 1940, by Size of City— Continued
N ew nonresidential buildings
Size of city
Permit val
uation,
November
1940
Additions, alterations, and
repairs
Percentage change
Percentage change
from—
Permit val
from—
uation,
November
Octo Novem
1940
Octo N ovem
ber
ber
ber
ber
1940
1939
1940
1939
Popula
tion
(census
of 1930)
All reporting cities. _ ______ $139, 775,085
-1 3 .6
+235.1 $212,331,227
-2 3 .7
-4 .2
60, 276,338
500.000 and o v e r . . . ____
100.000 and under 500,000
_
50.000 and under 100,000 .
25.000 and under 50,000
10.000 and under 25,000...
5.000 and under 10,000..
2,500 and under 5,000 . . .
1.000 and under 2,500. _ ___
-1 1 .2
-4 1 .3
+90.6
-4 2 .6
+42.8
-8 1 .8
-4 4 .5
+82.5
+112.5
+133. 7
+767. 7
+357. 5
+373. 7
+55.8
+50.6
+21.4
-2 4 .4
-2 5 .4
-1 3 .5
-3 1 .9
-1 0 .4
-3 1 .0
-4 8 .0
-2 2 .4
-9 .4
- .4
+13.7
-2 0 .0
- 2 .5
+ 8 .8
-9 .2
+10.0
21,449,853
15,017,880
6,128,576
5,886,770
6,651,056
2, 702,946
1, 679,081
760,176
29,008,887
27,022,164
36,347,547
15, 752, 873
26,946,384
2,770,185
1,144,330
782, 715
7,122,364
5,333,798
2,677,075
2,129, 315
3, 218,313
1,047,142
507, 543
295,677
The permit valuation and number of new dwelling units provided,
by type of dwelling and size of city, in the 2,105 identical cities
reporting for October and November 1940, is given in table 6.
T a b l e 6 .—
Number and Permit Valuation of New Dwelling Units, in 2,105 Identical
Cities, November 1940, by Size of City and Type of Dwelling
Permit valuation of house
keeping dwellings
Size of city
November
1940
October
1940
Per
centage
change
Number of families provided for in—
All types
Nov.
1940
1-family
dwellings
Oct. Nov.
1940 1940
2-family
dwell
ings 1
M ulti
family
dwellings2
Oct. Nov. Oct. Nov. Oct.
1940 1940 1940 1940 1940
Total, all reporting
c itie s.-. _ _
$95,412,218 $140, 730, 727
-3 2 .2 26, 558 38,638 15, 500 21,838 1,696 2,179 9,362 14,621
500.000 and over
28, 869, 309
100.000 and u n d er
500,000...
19,426,876
50.000 and under 100,000. 7,363,389
25.000 and under 50,000. 10, 494,186
10.000 and under 25,000. 15,169, 948
5.000 and under 10,000.. 7, 959, 255
2,500 and under 5,000.. _ 3,882,048
1.000 and under 2,500... 2, 247,207
41,846,984
-3 1 .0 8,074 11,168 3,291 4,688
765
866 4,018 5,614
37,887,325
9,805, 718
12, 792,713
19,513,938
9,622,042
5,532,848
3, 729,159
-4 8 .7
-2 4 .9
-1 8 .0
-2 2 .3
-1 7 .3
-2 9 .8
-3 9 .7
378
156
154
118
78
15
32
521 1, 779 6,166
222 412
469
231 1,296
847
205 1,114 1,083
68 616
408
40 119
14
26
8
20
5,693
1,953
3,123
4,009
2,097
1,030
579
11,382
2,670
3, 523
5,150
2,468
1,351
926
3, 536
1,385
1,673
2,777
1,403
896
539
4,695
1,979
2,445
3,862
1,992
1,297
880
1Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
The information on building permits issued is based on reports
received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2,105 identical
cities having a population of 1,000 and over.
The information is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from
local building officials, except in the States of Illinois, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where the State departments of labor
collect and forward the information to the Bureau. In New York and
North Carolina the information from the smaller cities is collected
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
223
Building Operations
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from local building officials and the
information from the larger cities is collected and forwarded to the
Bureau by the State departments of labor. The permit valuations
shown in this report are estimates made by prospective builders on
applying for permits to build. No land costs are included. Only build
ing projects within the corporate limits of the cities enumerated are
included in the Bureau’s tabulation. The data collected by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics show, in addition to private and municipal con
struction, the value of buildings for which contracts were awarded by
the Federal and State governments in the cities included in the report.
For November 1940 the value of these buildings amounted to
$117,818,000, for October 1940 to $142,599,000, and for November
1939 to $28,251,000.
Construction From Public Funds
The value of contracts awarded and force-account work started
during November 1940, October 1940, and November 1939 on con
struction projects financed wholly or partially from various Federal
funds is shown in table 7.
T able 7.— Value of Contracts Awarded and Force-Account Work Started on Construction
Projects Financed from Federal Funds, November 1940 1
Contracts awarded and force-account work
started
Federal agency
November 1940
T otal______________________________________________
Public Works Administration:
Non-Federal:
N I R A
E R. A. A
P W A A , 1938
- _________________
- ___________________
. _ _
_____________
October 1940 2 November 19392
$278,703,945
$417, 724,900
$93,333,582
203, 799
18,055
690,172
0
0
400,449
31,176
264,421,609
13, 646,912
81,618
0
941,925
584,988
399,386,095
16, 712,219
838,446
770,023
25,018,948
681, 208
51, 504, 592
13,830,193
1 Preliminary, subject to revision.
2 Revised.
The value of public-building and highway construction awards
financed wholly from appropriations from State funds, as reported by
the various State governments for November 1940, October 1940,
and November 1939, is shown in the following statement:
P u b lic bu ild in g s
November 1940_________
October 1940___________
November 1939_________
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
$1) 258, 398
2,315,563
1, 425, 561
H ig h w a y cons tr u d io n
$5, 857, 365
10,125,637
8, 508, 890
Retail Prices
+++++*4 4 4 + **+ 4 +4 * 4 * 4 * 4 * 4 * *+ 4 4 + *4 4 + 4 +4 # *+ 4+4 4 4 4 * 4 +4 4 4 4 4 * 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 *4 4 4 4 4 4 4
FOOD PR IC E S IN N O V EM BER 1940
RETAIL costs of food declined 0.3 percent between October 15 and
November 12 following a reduction of 1 percent between mid-Sep
tember and mid-October. Seasonal decreases in prices of meats,
fresh fruits, and vegetables were largely responsible for this reduction.
Lower prices for meats, fruits, and vegetables were offset in part by
seasonally higher prices for butter and eggs, and an advance in the
retail price of flour following the upward trend in wholesale markets.
Meats, one of the more important commodities in the wage earner’s
food budget, continued to move downward in price following reduc
tions in wholesale meat prices in October, when there were record
marketings of hogs and large sales of cattle. Reports from a limited
number of cities in the last half of November indicate further reduc
tions for retail prices of fresh pork and lamb following continued
declines in wholesale markets.
The index of the costs of all foods for November 12 was 95.9 percent
of the 1935-39 average and was 0.8 percent lower than for the same
period last year. Over the year period, decreases were registered for
some of the most important commodities, such as potatoes (20.2
percent), sugar (12.3 percent), coffee (7.2 percent), oranges (6.9
percent), and pork chops (2.4 percent). The average prices of white
bread and fresh milk were the same in November 1940 as they were
a year ago. Price increases reported for several important com
modities were: Round steak, 7.4 percent; rib roast, 7.3 percent;
butter, 5.1 percent; eggs, 4.1 percent; and roasting chickens, 3.9
percent.
Details by Commodity Groups
Flour prices advanced slightly in 23 cities and declined in 6 from
October 15 to November 12, while negligible changes in the price of
white bread were reported from 9 cities. The average price of white
bread for 51 cities remained unchanged. The price of rye bread
moved downward by 2 percent, the largest change reported for any
commodity in the cereals and bakery products group.
224
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Retail Pi ices
225
Meats as a group declined 1.8 percent between October 15 and
November 12, but were still 3 percent higher than in November
1939. Prices of beef decreased about 1 percent, somewhat less than
the usual seasonal decline. They were approximately 8 percent
higher than for the same period last year. Pork chops decreased 9
percent in price, which is about average for this time of year, while
prices of cured pork moved downward less than one-half of 1 percent,
considerably less than the usual seasonal decline. No change was
reported in the price of sliced bacon; salt pork, however, contrary
to the usual trend, continued to advance in response to greater demand.
Pork prices averaged 4 percent lower in November this year than a
year ago. Prices of lamb and roasting chickens declined seasonally
during the month with roasting chickens 4 percent lower than last
year. Prices of pink salmon, which did not change over the month
ending November 15, were 7 percent higher than in November 1939.
Exports of all types of canned salmon were nearly 37 percent higher
in September 1940 than a year earlier. Prices of fresh and frozen
fish advanced 2 percent over the month.
Dairy products increased seasonally with butter prices advancing
3 percent, and cheese and delivered milk nearly 1 percent. Prices of
evaporated milk were unchanged. Prices of delivered milk were up
eight-tenths of a cent per quart in New York and down 1 cent in
Louisville, while milk sold through grocery stores changed by approx
imately the same amount in the two cities, with much smaller advances
reported from Chicago and St. Paul and slight declines in Detroit
and Minneapolis.
Prices of fresh fruits and vegetables declined seasonally by 1.6 per
cent. Generally increased supplies of truck crops and Florida oranges
were largely responsible for this decline. The decrease of 5.3 percent
in the average price of oranges was due in large measure to the mar
keting of the seasonal crop of Florida oranges. Downward price
movements were also shown for green beans (2.5 percent), cabbage
(3.8 percent), and lettuce (5.9 percent). Price increases, offsetting
the lower prices to some extent, were apples (2.2 percent), bananas
(3.1 percent), potatoes (0.4 percent), and spinach (1.9 percent). As
compared with the same period of last year, fresh fruit and vegetable
prices were 9 percent lower on November 12, 1940. Potatoes, cab
bage, lettuce, and green beans were down by 20 to 33 percent, with
much smaller declines reported for oranges, carrots, and spinach.
An increase in the white potato supply this season was largely re
sponsible for retail prices being 20 percent lower this year, while an
18-percent advance in the price of apples was partly the result of a
20-percent reduction in the commercial apple crop. Smaller supplies
of sweetpotatoes resulted in an 11-percent increase in price.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
226
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
There was little change in the prices of canned and dried fruits and
vegetables for the month. Prunes were 5.5 percent higher than last
year, and navy beans 4.5 percent lower.
Coffee prices continued to move downward to new all-time lows
and were 7 percent lower than in November 1939. Prices of tea,
however, advanced slightly.
Lard prices were 1 percent lower for the month and 17 percent
lower than a year ago, when exports were nearly 3 times as large as
at the present time. Prices of shortening and salad dressing declined
less than 1 percent for the month, and prices of oleomargarine and
peanut butter remain unchanged.
Sugar prices advanced slightly but were 12 percent lower than for
the same period last year when they were still affected by the sharp
rise after the outbreak of the European War.
Indexes of retail food costs for November and October 1940 and
November 1939 are shown in table 1. The accompanying chart on
the 1935-39 base shows the trend in prices on all foods and of each
major commodity group for the period of January 1929 to November
1940, inclusive.
T a b l e 1.
Indexes of Retail Costs of Food in 51 Large Cities C o m b in ed b y Commodity
Groups, November and October 1940 and November 1939
[1935-39 = 100]
1940
1939
Commodity group
N ov. 121
Oct. 15
N ov. 14
All foods_________________
Cereals and bakery products.—
M eats________________
Dairy products________________
Fruits and vegetables________
Fresh. . _____
Canned________
Dried______________
Beverages_______________
Fats and oils______________
Sugar_______________
94.7
94.8
103.0
91.3
91.5
93.3
87. 5
„ ' Aggregate costs of 54 foods in each city, weighted to represent total purchases of families of wage earners
?r“rk®rs>have been combined with the use of population weights. (A discussion of the
revision of the retail food-cost indexes will be found in the M ay 1940 issue of Retail Prices )
2 Preliminary.
3 Revised.
Prices of 21 of the 54 foods included in the index were lower in
November than in October, 15 were higher, and for 18 there was no
change. Of the 53 foods included in the Bureau’s report for which
last year’s prices are available, 25 were quoted at lower prices, 22 at
higher prices, and for 6 there was no change. Average prices of
each of 63 foods for 51 cities combined are shown in table 2 for
November and October 1940 and November 1939.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
227
Retail Prices
T able 2.—Average Retail Prices of 63 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined, Novcn.ber
and October 1940 and November 1939
1939
1940
Article
Cereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
Flour, wheat_________ _____ Macaroni............................. ........
Wheat cereal8. ------------------Corn flakes..................................
Corn meal— ..................... - ........
Rice 8________________ - ..........
Rolled o a ts8___ ____ - ..............
Bakery products:
Bread, w hite........ ..................—
Bread, w hole-w heat............. .
Bread, rye----- ------ -------------Vanilla wafers______________
Soda crackers______ ______ _
Meats:
Beef:
Round steak___________ ____
Rib roast................... ............ .
Chuck roast------------------------Veal:
C u tle ts.................................
Pork:
Chops___________ ______ ____
Bacon, sliced________ _____ _
Ham, sliced 8------------- --------Ham, whole.................................
Salt pork—...................................
Lamb:
Leg........................................ ........
Rib chops........ ...........................
Poultry:
Roasting ch ick en s................
Fish:
Fresh, frozen..............................
Salmon, pink......... ....................
Salmon, red 8. -------------------Dairy products:
Butter----- -----------------------------Cheese________________________
Milk, fresh (delivered)................—
Milk, fresh (store)— .......................
Milk, fresh (delivered and store)8.
Milk, evaporated_____ _____ ____
Eggs................... ................... - .................. .
Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh:
Apples------- -------- --------------Bananas.--------------------- -----Oranges----------------------------Beans, green_______________
Cabbage----------------------------Carrots------------------------------Lettuce-----------------------------Onions------------------------------Potatoes----------------------------Spinach----------------------------Sweetpotatoes_____ ____ ___
Canned:
Peaches-------------- ------ -------Pineapple--------------------------Beans, green 8--------------------Corn_________ ____ ________
Peas----------------- ------ ---------Tomatoes--------------------------Dried:
Prunes------------------------------N avy beans-----------------------Beverages and chocolate:
Coffee............- --------- ----------------T e a ..-------------------------------------Cocoa 2-----------------------------------See footnotes at end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Nov. 121
Oct. 16
N ov. 14
C ents
C en ts
C ents
42.1
14.3
23.8
7.0
4.1
40.8
13.8
23.6
7.0
4.2
7.9
7.1
40.3
13.9
23.5
7.0
4.2
7.9
7.1
do—
.do—
.do—
do—
do—
7.8
8.8
9.1
25.1
15.0
7.8
9.3
24.9
15.0
9.1
25.1
15.1
do___
do___
do___
37.7
31.0
25.1
38.3
31.0
25.3
35.1
28.9
23.2
-d o .—
43.8
44.2
42.4
do___
do----do___
do___
do___
27.9
28.5
43.7
24.2
16.4
30.5
28.5
44.2
24.5
15.6
28.6
30.2
45.6
26.2
16.3
.do—
do— -
26.9
33.5
28.0
34.6
26.6
33.2
_dO—
29.2
29.9
28.1
(»)15.7
(*) 14.7
___ 10 pounds..
______ pound..
,28-oz. package..
-8-oz. package..
........ ...p o u n d ..
________ do___
........ .........do___
____ do___
16-oz. can..
____ do___
0
15.7
26.1
8.8
8.1
7.1
7.8
8.8
26.0
25.1
35.6
26.0
12.7
11.7
12.4
7.0
39.0
____ pound—
............d o ___
..........quart..
______ do___
............. do___
14H-OZ. can..
_____dozen..
37.4
26.1
11.7
12.4
7.0
40.7
36.3
25.9
12.7
11.5
12.3
7.0
39.1
---- pound-.
------- do--------- dozen. ---- pound—
_____do----___ bunch —
------- head—
-----pound—
15 pounds-.
___pound-_____do-----
4. 7
6. 6
28.4
7. 8
2. 5
5. 2
8. 0
3.3
28.1
5. 5
3.9
4.6
6. 4
30.0
8.0
2. 6
5.2
8. 5
3.3
* 28.0
5.4
3.9
4.0
6.4
30.5
11.7
3.1
5.3
No.
can—
______ do----...N o . 2 can—
______ do----______ do----______ do-----
16.6
20.9
16.6
20.9
9.9
17.1
20.9
12.8
10.0
10.6
10.2
3.1
35.2
5.6
3.5
10.0
13.3
8.4
« 13.5
8.4
10.4
13.7
8.5
pound-.
...d o ___
9.7
6.5
9.6
6.5
9.2
6.8
- ...d o - pound..
.8-oz. can—
20.5
17.6
9.1
20.6
22.1
10.6
17.5
9.1
17.2
8.9
228
T a b l e 2.
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Average Retail Prices of 63 Foods in 51 Large Cities Combined. November
and October 1940 and November 1939—Continued
1940
1939
Article
Nov. 12 1
Fats and oils:
N ov. 14
C ents
C ents
C ents
Shortening, other than lard:
In cartons____________
In other containers___________
Salad d ressin g --...................
Oleomargine____________
Peanut butter_____________
Sugar and sweets:
Sugar__________ ______
Corn sirupL _____ . . .
Molasses 1 _______________ _
1 Preliminary.
’ Not included in index.
Oct. 15
9.1
11.4
18.4
20.2
15.7
17.8
18.5
20.3
15.7
51.0
13.6
50.9
13.6
19.8
(5)
16.8
58.3
13.5
Prices for these items for November 1939 are weighted averages
3 Composite prices not computed.
4 Revised.
4 Effective January 1940, salad dressing replaced mayonnaise in the food-cost index.
Details by Regions and Cities
Retail food costs declined on the average in 32 cities, advanced in
17, and for 2 there was no change. Decreases of 1 percent or more
were reported from 12 cities, the largest declines being for Jacksonville
(2.1 percent), New Orleans (1.8 percent), Washington, D. C. (1. 7
percent), and Atlanta (1.6 percent). Greater than average declines
were reported for fruits and vegetables in all 4 of these cities, and in
addition meats in Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Atlanta showed an
appreciable drop. Less-than-average increases for dairy products
and eggs were reported from all 4 of these cities. The only increases
of 1 percent or more were reported from St. Paul (1.5 percent), Los
Angeles (1.3 percent), and Kansas City (1.1 percent). The higher
costs in these cities were due to price advances for fruits and vege
tables, greater-than-average increases for eggs in St. Paul and Kansas
City, and less-than-average declines for meat prices in the 3 cities.
Indexes of food costs by cities are presented in table 3 for November
and October 1940 and November 1939.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Retail Prices
'['a b l e
229
3.— Indexes of the Average Retail Cost of A ll Foods, by Cities,1 November and
October 1940 and November 1939
[1935-39 = 100]
1940
Region and city
1940
1939
Region and city
Nov.
12 3
Oct.
15
Nov.
14
96.2
96.7
93.5
95.3
96.3
96.2
94.4
93.9
96.2
94.9
95.4
96.5
97.0
95.0
2 94. 9
97.2
95.7
95.8
96.7
97.6
95.4
95.0
96.2
97.4
97.1
97.4
93.6
96.3
98.3
97.1
3 97.2
97.5
97.0
93.5
3 96.6
97.5
96.6
96.8
97.6
99.2
94.1
95.4
96.4
97.0
95.9
94.5
96.7
91.4
94.8
96.5
94.3
97.6
94.9
97.1
94.5
3 97.8
91.3
95.5
95.9
94.6
98.4
95.6
97.6
94.1
96.7
95.1
95.3
94.9
95.1
97.6
97.2
91.6
97.5
96.9
90.6
97.2
97.5
95.5
99.7
97.9
95.9
United States_____________
New England:
Boston _____________
Bridgeport....... ............ ..
Fall River____________
Manchester___________
New H aven_____
Portland, M aine______
Providence. _____ _____
Middle Atlantic:
Buffalo_______ _____
Newark .......................
New York____________
Philadelphia_____ ____
Pittsburgh____________
Rochester____________
Scranton_____________
East North Central:
Chicago ____ _____
Cincinnati____________
Cleveland __________
Columbus, Ohio.............
Detroit_______________
Indianapolis__________
M ilwaukee___________
Peoria______ ______
Springfield, 111__ __
West North Central:
Kansas C ity_____ ____
M inneapolis.. _______
Omaha______ ____ _ . .
1939
Nov.
12 3
Oct.
15
West North Central—Con.
96.3
97.0
St Louis_____________
St. Paul______________
96.9
95.5
South Atlantic:
94.9
Atlanta_______________ 93.4
95.4
Baltimore ___________
95.3
Charleston, S. C______
95. 1
96.0
Jacksonville _________
97.5
99.6
Norfolk _____________
94.8
94.6
93.4 3 92.5
Richmond____________
Savannah__________ __ 98.5
99.3
Washington, D. C _____ 93.9 3 95.5
East South Central:
94.1
Birmingham____ ____ 93.8
Louisville_____ ______ 94.3
94.9
93.3
M em p h is________ ___ 92.0
M obile__ ___ _________ 94.8 3 96.1
West South Central:
92.1
93.1
D allas.. _____ - _ _
Houston
...
101.3 101.0
92.8
Little R ock...................... 93.5
New Orleans__________ 98.7 100.5
Mountain:
B u t t e , . . _____________ 96.3
96.9
D enver_______________ 92.9
93.2
Salt Lake C ity _____ _
98.3 3 97.8
Pacific:
Los Angeles---------------97.5
98.8
Portland, Oreg ............. 99.9
99.9
98.2
San Francisco ________ 97.8
99.2
99.0
Seattle_______________
Nov.
14
97.3
98.9
96.4
95.8
97.7
98.7
94.6
93.9
98.6
94.7
93.8
96.1
95.2
97.8
95.9
99.3
96.5
100.7
98.1
95.4
97.8
97.2
99.7
97.8
100.3
1 Aggregate costs of 54 foods in each city, weighted to represent total purchases of families of wage earners
and lower-salaried workers, have been combined for the United States with the use of population weights.
(A discussion of the revision of the retail food-cost indexes will be found in the M ay 1940 issue of Retail
Prices.)
! Preliminary.
3 Revised.
COAL—M ON TH LY COLLECTION OF R ET A IL PR IC E S
BECAUSE of the interest of the public and of Government agencies
in more frequent and prompt reports of prices of fuel, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics is now securing prices of coal monthly rather than
quarterly, as has been the practice since July 1935. The Consumers’
Counsel Division of the Department of the Interior has assisted in
making the arrangements for the more frequent price collection.
Prices are now collected and published monthly for the burning
season, September through April. For the summer, prices will be
published as usual, only in June. Mimeographed reports giving coal
prices for September, October, and November 1940 are available upon
request.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
230
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
H O SIERY PR IC E S IN 1939 AND 1940
IN RESPONSE to a number of requests, the Bureau is presenting a
series of special tables showing average prices for certain articles pur
chased by consumers, and not previously published in this pamphlet.1
Prices of men’s and women’s hosiery are presented in this report not
only because of the importance of hosiery in retail trade but also
because of the great interest in the price movements resulting from
recent changes in the prices of silk and other textile fibers. Table 1
presents retail prices for men’s and women’s hosiery for 1939 and 1940.
Prices of hosiery for the period from December 1926 through March
1940 were released in mimeograph form on July 24, 1940. Copies of
this publication may be obtained by writing to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Washington, D. C.
T able
1.—Average Retail Prices of Hosiery in 33 Cities Combined, March 1939 to
September 1940
1939
1940
Item
March
M en’s seamless half hose:
Cotton, medium quality________
Cotton, inexpensive quality_____
Rayon, inexpensive quality______
Women’s silk full-fashioned hose:
3-thread, 45 gauge______________
4-thread, 45 gauge_______________
June
Septem Decem
ber
ber
March
June
Septem
ber 1
$0.31
.16
.16
$0.31
.16
.16
$0.31
.16
.16
$0.31
.16
.16
$0. 31
.16
.17
$0. 31
.16
.17
$0.31
.16
.17
.96
.94
.96
.94
.96
.94
.99
.97
1.00
.96
.96
.94
.95
.94
1 Preliminary.
The data on which the prices shown in the above table are based
were obtained by personal visit of the field representatives of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics from approximately four retailers in each
city. Sales taxes have been included in the prices for those cities
where sales taxes are in effect.
Beginning with March 1935, pricing has been done on the basis of
detailed technical specifications in order that the comparability of
prices could be maintained from period to period and, insofar as possi
ble, from city to city. The prices included in table 4 are based on the
following specifications:
Men's Seamless Half Hose
Cotton Mercerized, Combed Yarn, 220 to 240 Needles, Medium Quality.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y l i n g .— Plain colors; w ithout clocking; reinforced heel and
toe; full sized (similar to U. S. Commercial Standard CS 46-36); 1}£ to 1% pounds
per dozen.
1 Prices of tobacco products were included in R e t a i l P r i c e s for M ay 1936, March 1937, and October 1937.
Retail prices of cotton clothing were included in the issues for August 1936, March 1937, February 1938, and
November 1938.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Retail Prices
231
Cotton, Combed Yarn, 180 to 200 Needles, Inexpensive Quality.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s ty lin g .- —Plain colors, w ithout clocking; reinforced heel and
toe; 1J4 to 2 pounds per dozen.
Rayon 180 to 200 Needles, Inexpensive Quality.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y li n g . — Fancy patterns; cotton reinforced heel and toe, cotton
welt; 14 to 16 ounces per dozen.
Women’s Silk Full-fashioned Hose
Silk, 3-Thread, 45 Gauge, Manufacturer's Brand, Widely Advertised by Manufacturer.
F a b r ic .- —All silk, yarns to have composite eveness of 87 to 90 percent, 9 m eter
and seriplane tests; silk heel, sole, toe, and welt.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y li n g . — Full-fashioned, plain knit welt with run stop, full
coursed, not less than 1,380 to tal courses counted from upper edge of picot to
lower edge or looping round of heel based on standard 30-inch length, not more
th an 5 flare narrowings, ringless, crepe, high twist, construction similar to S tandard
“ A” of N ational Association of Hosiery M anufacturers.
Silk, 3-Thread, 45 Gauge, Distributor's or Manufacturer's Brand, Not Advertised or
Advertised Locally Only.
F a b r ic . — All silk, yarns to have composite evenness of 87 to 90 percent, 9 m eter
and seriplane tests; silk heel, sole, and welt.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y li n g . —Full-fashioned, plain knit welt w ith run stop, full
coursed, not less than 1,380 to ta l courses counted from upper edge of picot to
lower edge or looping round of heel based on standard 30-inch length, not more
than 5 flare narrowings, ringless, crepe, high twist, construction similar to Standard
“ A” of N ational Association of Hosiery M anufacturers.
Silk, 4-Thread, 45 Gauge, Manufacturer's Brand, Widely Advertised by Manufacturer.
F a b r ic . — All silk, yarns to have composite evenness of 85 to 87 percent, 9 m eter
and seriplane tests; heel, sole, and toe reinforced with mercerized cotton, silk
welt.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y li n g . —Full-fashioned, plain knit welt w ith run stop, full
coursed, not less than 1,280 to tal courses counted from upper edge of picot to
lower edge or looping round of heel based on standard 30-inch length, not more
than 4 flare narrowings, ringless, high twist, construction similar to S tandard “ A ”
of N ational Association of Hosiery M anufacturers.
Silk, 4-Thread, 45 Gauge, Distributor's or Manufacturer's Brand, Not Advertised or
Advertised Locally Only.
F a b r ic . —All silk, yarns to have composite evenness of 85 to 87 percent, 9 m eter
and seriplane tests; heel, sole, and toe reinforced with mercerized cotton, silk
welt.
C o n s tr u c tio n a n d s t y li n g . —Full-fashioned, plain knit welt w ith run stop, full
coursed, not less than 1,280 total courses counted from upper edge of picot to
lower edge or looping round of heel based on standard 30-inch length, not more
than 4 flare narrowings, ringless, high twist, construction similar to Standard “ A ”
of N ational Association of Hosiery M anufacturers.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
232
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
D IFF IC U L T IE S OF P R IC E F IX IN G IN GERM ANY
REPORTS which have appeared in Der Deutsche Volkswirt1 are
indicative of difficulties in fixing the prices in Germany. One prob
lem is that there are, even in the war economy, certain goods which
remain unsold. Advice by the price-fixing offices to consumers to
buy these goods, and the decrease of prices to the lowest possible
minimum, are often ineffective. The goods remain unsold because
they have gone out of fashion, a better substitute has appeared on
the market, or the consumers, practicing stringent economy, are try
ing to get along without them. All measures and tricks of dealers in
trying to unload the goods upon the consumers are energetically op
posed by the State Price Fixing Commissar. For instance, dealers
had used the expedient of attaching goods for which the demand was
small or nonexistent to goods with a ready sale, so that the consumer
in buying the commodities he wanted had also to take those he did
not want. Such “ bundle sales” have been fought by the Price Fixing
Commissar. Yet, in view of the loss—in some cases a substantial
loss—entailed by this “ dead” merchandise, to dealers and producers,
and through them to the State, the Price Commissar has had to pro
vide certain loopholes in his prohibitive orders. Thus, exceptions
can be granted by the local price-fixing offices after thorough investi
gation of the merits in each case—as to the intrinsic worth of the
goods and whether they could be disposed of by lowering the prices.
Other problems that have arisen under the price-fixing system in
clude the issue of products under a new name, in order to sell them
at a higher price; and the question of setting equitable prices for
margarine, in view of the increasing difficulty (under war conditions)
of importing the raw materials for its manufacture. Margarine is
the principal fat in the German war diet. Second to it is butter
mixed with fat of domestic animals. The German margarine is made
mainly from plant oils and whale fat—ingredients which were largely
imported during the war-preparation period. As a result, the mar
garine factories clustered near harbors along the Rhine, and on the
Baltic seacoast.
Prior to July 1, 1940, there were 181 margarine factories in Ger
many, but the blockade has caused an acute shortage of raw materials,
in consequence of which many margarine factories have closed down.
Only 31 remain in operation, a few of which are located in the southern
and eastern portions of the country.
In order to remedy the existing unsatisfactory geographical location
of the margarine factories still in operation, the country was divided
into seven margarine districts, only a certain number of factories
being permitted to operate in each district.
1 Der deutsche Volkswirt, Berlin, September 13, 1940: Phantasiepreise für neuartige Waren (Fantastic
Prices for New Goods); Neuordnung der Margarinewirtschaft (Reorganization of the Margarine Industry).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Retail Prices
233
Into the cost of the production of margarine enter two considerable
variables, namely, overhead expense and transportation costs. In
order to equalize at least the latter cost, the factories were assessed 5
marks for each 200 pounds of margarine sold. Out of the sums thus
collected the factories having a higher transportation cost are com
pensated, so that a uniform price for margarine can be fixed—and
revised from time to time—in accordance with the rapidly changing
production conditions which obtain during wartime.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wholesale Prices
W HOLESALE PR IC E S IN N O V EM BER 1940 1
A GENERAL advance in wholesale commodity prices in November
resulted in increasing by 1.1 percent the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics index of nearly 900 price series, to 79.6 percent of the 1926
average, the peak since March 1938. Higher prices for agricultural
commodities and raw industrial commodities contributed largely to
the advance.
From the 1937 high point, 88.0 in April, the index declined gradu
ally to a low of 75.0 in August 1939. With the outbreak of war in
Europe, prices rose rapidly, and from August to October the index
advanced nearly 6 percent. Early in 1940, prices began to recede
from their speculative war peak and by August the index had
fallen 2.5 percent. Since the 1940 low, 77.4 in August, the index has
risen approximately 2.8 percent.
Each of the 10 major commodity groups, except housefurnishing
goods, shared in the advance in November. The increases ranged
from less than one-half of 1 percent for metals and metal products
and fuel and lighting materials to nearly 3 percent for farm products.
During the year period, November 1939 to November 1940, seven
groups advanced. Building materials rose nearly 6.5 percent and
metals and metal products and farm products increased over 1 per
cent. Fuel and lighting materials, on the contrary, declined 3
percent; textile products, 2.5 percent; and hides and leather products,
over 1.5 percent.
Largely because of higher prices for agricultural commodities, cocoa
beans, coffee, hides, hemp, jute, crude rubber, crude petroleum,
scrap steel, and tankage, the raw materials group index rose 1.7
percent. Average prices for semimanufactured commodities ad
vanced 1.6 percent and manufactured commodity prices rose 0.6
percent.
Prices for industrial commodities and nonagricultural commodities
also were higher. The indexes for these groups, “All commodities
other than farm products” and “All commodities other than farm
products and foods,” advanced 0.7 percent.
1More detailed information on wholesale prices is given in the Wholesale Prices pamphlet and will be
furnished upon request.
234
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Wholesale Prices
235
During November average prices of farm products in wholesale
markets advanced 2.7 percent largely because of a 3.5 percent increase
in grain prices. Barley prices increased nearly 22 percent and oats
rose over 13.5 percent. Sharp advances were also reported in prices
for cotton, wool, hay, seeds, eggs, milk, fruits, and potatoes. Live
stock and poultry declined 1 percent. Quotations were lower for
calves, hogs, and live poultry, and for hops, peanuts, onions, and
tobacco.
The foods group index rose 2 percent to the highest point of the
year, principally because of increases of 6.5 percent for dairy products,
3.2 percent for other foods, and 2.5 percent for fruits and vegetables.
Important food items which were higher were butter, cheese, flour,
oatmeal, rice, prunes, canned beans and tomatoes, fresh beef, cured
and fresh pork, dressed poultry, cocoa beans, coffee, canned salmon,
lard, raw sugar, edible tallow, and most vegetable oils. Prices were
lower for bread, corn meal, dried fruits, bananas, mutton, veal,
glucose, and peanut oil.
Pronounced gains in prices for hides, skins, and leather and a
fractional advance in prices for shoes resulted in an increase of 1.9
percent in the hides and leathe'r products group index.
Sharp advances in prices for woolen and worsted goods; cotton
goods, particularly broadcloth, drills, duck, osnaburg, print cloth,
percale, sheeting, ticking, toweling, and yarns; and for burlap, hemp,
jute, and cordage raised the textile products group index 1.2 percent
to the highest point since February. Haw silk, silk yarns, and sisal
declined.
Advancing prices for Pennsylvania crude petroleum, fuel oil, and
kerosene accounted for the increase of 0.4 percent in the fuel and
lighting materials group index. Prices for gasoline declined. Higher
prices for scrap steel, pig lead, and lead manufactures and a minor
increase in prices for agricultural implements and motor vehicles
caused the metals and metal products group index to rise 0.3 percent.
Quotations for aluminum, quicksilver, and pig tin were lower.
Average wholesale prices of building materials increased 1.1 per
cent to the highest level since December 1926. Advances of 2.7
percent for lumber, over 1 percent for paint materials (including rosin,
shellac, and turpentine), and higher prices for mill work and cement
were responsible for the increase. Sand and gravel prices declined
slightly.
In the chemicals and allied products group higher prices were
reported for oleic, stearic, and tartaric acids; for arsenic, alcohol, and
ergot; also fertilizer materials, principally potash, cottonseed meal,
and tankage; and for most fats and oils. Prices were lower for phenol,
tin tetrachloride, copra, and palm oil.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
236
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
T able 1.—Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commodities
November 1940, With Comparisons for October 1940 and November 1939
[1926 = 100]
Group and subgroup
All commodities_____ .
Farm products__ ________________ _ _
Grains___________ ...
Livestock and poultry____
Other farm products___
Foods. ... ... ..................... ... _ __________
Dairy products____ ...
Cereal products.
. .
Fruits and vegetables____
Meats . . . . . . . .
Other foods________
Hides and leather products.........
Shoes_______ __
Hides and skins____
Leather_______ ...
Other leather products
Textile products_____ ____
Clothing___________
Cotton goods ...
Hosiery and underwear _
Rayon
Silk__________
Woolen and worsted goods
Other textile products
Fuel and lighting materials___
Anthracite_______
Bituminous coal____ .
Coke _
FJectricity________
Gas_______ _
Petroleum and products
Metals and metal products. . _
Agricultural implements
Farm machinery
Iron and steel..
Motor vehicles2
Nonferrous metals
Plumbing and heating
Building materials____ _ _.
Brick and tile
Cement___ _.
Lumber3.
Paint and paint materials
Plumbing and heating
Structural steel
Other building materials
Chemicals and allied products .
Chemicals_____ .
Drugs and pharmaceuticals
Fertilizer materials
Mixed fertilizers .
Oils and fats_____
Housefurnishing goods
Furnishings
Furniture .
Miscellaneous____
.
Automobile tires and tubes
Cattle feed___ .
Paper and pulp__
Rubber, crude..
Other miscellaneous
Raw materials. ._ ..
Semimanufactured articles
Manufactured products
All commodities other than farm products
All commodities other than farm, products and foods..
1Data not yet available.
2 Preliminary revision.
3Revised series.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Novem
ber 1940
October
1940
79.6
78.7
68.2
67.7
69.9
66.8
72.5
82.3
74.8
60.4
76.2
65.4
102.3
107. 1
101.2
93.2
99.7
74. 5
85.7
73.6
61.5
29.5
42.8
88.8
73.7
71.9
80.7
100.4
112.6
(>)
C)
49.3
97.6
92.6
93.8
95.3
100.3
83.9
80.5
98.9
90.2
90.8
117.5
85. 7
80.5
107.3
94.2
77.5
85.1
95.9
69.9
74.2
42.3
88.6
95.0
81.8
77.5
58.6
92.1
93.1
42. 9
82.8
72.6
80.7
82.6
81,9
66.4
65.4
70.6
63.8
71.1
77.3
77.0
58.9
75.6
63.4
100.4
107.0
93.8
90.9
99.7
73.6
85.7
71.5
61.4
29.5
44.7
86.3
72.1
71.6
80.7
100.4
109.7
(')
82.4
49.0
97.3
92.5
93.8
94.9
100.1
83.6
80.5
97.8
90. 2
90. 7
114.4
84.8
80. 5
107.3
93.8
76.9
85.0
95.8
68.1
74.2
39.8
88.6
95.0
81.8
76.9
58.8
80. 1
93.2
41.6
82.7
71.4
79.4
82.1
81.3
84. 1
83.5
Change
from a
month
ago
Percent
Novem Change
from a
ber 1939 year
ago
+1.1
79.2
+2.7
+3.5
-1.0
+4.7
+2.0
+6.5
-2.9
+2.5
+.8
+3.2
+ 1.9
+.1
+7.9
+2.5
0
+1.2
0
+2.9
+ .2
0
-4.3
+2.9
+2.2
+.4
0
0
+2.6
67.3
64.1
66. 1
68.3
72.3
80. 1
78.0
61.2
71.2
69.2
104.0
107. 2
104.3
97.8
99.9
76.4
83.8
74.8
64.8
29.5
56.5
90.5
83.4
74. 1
76. 1
98.1
111.2
76. 5
82. 2
53.9
96.0
93.3
94.6
96.0
94. 7
85.1
79.3
93.0
91.6
91.3
100. 1
84.9
79.3
107.3
92.9
77.4
85. 2
79.7
69.8
72.6
54.7
88.4
94.2
82.3
77.0
55.6
91. 5
88.0
42. 5
86.0
72.4
82. 1
82.0
+.6
+.3
+.1
0
+•4
+.2
+.4
0
+1. 1
0
+■1
+2.7
+1.1
0
0
+.4
+.8
+.1
+.1
+2.6
0
+6.3
0
0
0
+.8
- .3
+ 15.0
-. 1
+3.1
+.1
+ 1.7
+ 1.6
+.6
+.7
+.7
81.6
84.0
Percent
+0.5
+1.3
+5.6
+5.7
-2.2
+.3
+2.7
-4. 1
-1.3
+7.0
-5.5
-1.6
-. 1
-3.0
-4.7
- .2
-2.5
+2.3
-1 .6
-5.1
0
-24. 2
-1.9
-11.6
-3.0
+6.0
+2.3
+1.3
-8.5
+1.7
- .8
-. 8
-. 7
+5.9
-1.4
-f-1. 5
+6.3
-1.5
-. 5
+ 17.4
+.9
+ 1. 5
0
+ 1.4
+. 1
-. 1
+20. 3
+• 1
+2.2
-22.7
+.2
+ .8
- .6
+.6
+5.4
+■7
+5. 8
+.9
-3.7
+. 3
-1.7
+.7
+.4
+ .1
237
Wholesale Prices
Slight advances in prices for furniture and stoves did not affect
the index for the housefurnishing goods group as a whole. It re
mained unchanged at the October level, 88.6 percent of the 1926
average.
In the miscellaneous commodities group, cattle feed prices rose 15 per
cent. Crude rubber advanced about 3 percent and prices were also
higher for cooperage and soaps. Paper and pulp declined fractionally.
Index numbers for the groups and subgroups of commodities for
October and November 1940 and November 1939 and the percentage
changes from a month ago and a year ago are shown in table 1.
Index Numbers by Commodity Groups, 1926 to November 1940
Index numbers of wholesale prices by commodity groups for selected
years from 1926 to 1939, inclusive, and by months from November
1939 to November 1940, inclusive, are shown in table 2.
T able 2.—Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices, by Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]
Year and month
By years:
1926__________
1929__________
1932__________
1933__________
1936__________
1937__________
1938__________
1939__________
By months:
1939:
November__
December__
1940:
January____
February___
March___ _
April______
May_______
June______
July_______
August____
September__
October____
November__
Hides
Farm
and
prod Foods leather
prod
ucts
ucts
100.0
94.0
73.9
72.1
100.0
94.3
75.1
75.8
100.0
82.6
64.4
62.5
100.0
95.3
64.8
65.9
86.7
95.2
90.3
90. 5
78.7
82.6
77.0
76.0
81.7
89.7
86.8
86. 3
70.5
77.8
73.3
74.8
80.8
86.3
78.6
77. 1
96.0
96.0
93.0
93.0
77.4
77.7
88.4
88.5
77.0
77.4
79.2
79. 2
72.7
72.4
72.2
71.8
71.7
71.4
95.8
95.3
95.5
94.5
94.5
94.7
93.4
93.2
93.3
92.5
92. 5
92. 4
77.7
77. 5
77.0
76.8
76. 7
76.1
87.9
88.0
88.0
88.4
88.5
88.5
77.7
77.3
76.9
77.7
77.7
77.3
79.4
78.7
78.4
78.6
78.4
77.5
71.1
71. 1
71.0
71. 6
71.9
95. 1 92.5
94.9 93.3
95.4 ' 95. 6
97.3 97.8
97.6 98.9
77.0
76.7
76.8
76.9
77.5
88.5
88.5
88.5
88.6
88.6
77.7
76.7
76.5
76.9
77.5
77.7
77.4
78.0
78.7
79.6
100.0
109.1
72.9
80.9
100. 0
90.4
54.9
64.8
80.9
86. 4
68.5
65.3
82. 1 95.4
85.5 104.6
73.6 92.8
70.4 95.6
71.5
76.3
66.7
69.7
76.2
77. 6
76. 5
73.1
87.0
95.7
95.7
94. 4
67.3
67.6
72.3
71.9
104.0
103.7
76.4
78.0
74.1
72.8
69.1
68.7
67.9
69. 4
67.9
66.2
71.7
71.1
70.2
71.6
71.4
70.3
103.6
102.4
101.8
101.8
101.3
99.2
77.9
75.4
74.0
72.9
72.9
72.6
66.5
65.6
66.2
66.4
68.2
70.3
70.1
71.5
71.1
72.5
99.0
96.9
98.3
100.4
102.3
72. 4
72.3
72.5
73.6
74.5
100.0
104.9
48.2
51.4
100.0
99.9
61.0
60.5
Chem HouseTex Fuel Metals
icals fur- Mis All
and Build
ing
tile
and metal
and
cella com
prod light prod mate allied nishing neous modi
ing
ties
ucts
ucts rials prod
goods
ucts
100. 0 100.0 100.0
83.0 100.5 95.4
70.3 80. 2 71.4
66.3 79.8 77.0
1 Revised.
The price trend for specified years and months since 1926 is shown
in table 3 for the following groups of commodities: Raw materials,
semimanufactured articles, manufactured products, commodities
other than farm products, and commodities other than farm products
and foods. The list of commodities included under the classifications
280398— 41------- 16
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
238
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
“Raw materials,” “Semimanufactured articles,” and “Manufactured
products” was given in Serial No. R. 1069—Wholesale Prices, Decem
ber and Year 1939.
1 able
3.
Index Numbers of
W
holesale Prices,
by
Special Groups of Commodities
[1926 = 100]
SemiRaw manYear and month mate u fac
rials tored
arti
cles
B y years:
1926________
1929________
1932_______
1933_________
1936_______
1937..........
1938________
1939________
B y months:
1939:
November___
December___
M an
ufac
tured
prod
ucts
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
97.5 93.9 94.5 93.3
55.1 59.3 70.3 68.3
56.5 65.4 70.5 69.0
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods
100.0
91.6
70.2
71.2
79.9
84.8
72.0
70.2
75.9
85.3
75.4
77.0
82.0
87.2
82.2
80.4
80.7
86.2
80.6
79.5
79.6
85.3
81.7
81.3
72.4
73.3
82.1
82.0
82.0
81.7
81.6
81.6
84.0
83.9
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods
Raw
mate
rials
Semimanufactured
arti
cles
M an
ufac
tured
prod
ucts
All
com
mod
ities
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
B y months—Con.
1940:
January_____
February____
March______
April_______
M ay________
June__ _ _
73.8
72.7
72.0
73.0
72.0
70.7
81.7
79.9
79.7
78.2
78.3
77.9
81.7
81.4
81.1
81.2
81.3
80.5
81.5
80.8
80.5
80.5
80.5
79.8
83.9
83.2
82.9
82.5
82.5
82.2
July________
August______
September__
October_____
November___
70.7
69.8
70.5
71.4
72.6
77.8
77.0
77.6
79.4
80.7
80.9
81.0
81.5
82.1
82.6
80.0
79.9
80.4
81.3
81.9
82.3
82.0
82.3
83.5
84.1
Year and month
Weekly Fluctuations
Weekly fluctuations in the major commodity group classifications
during October and November are shown by the index numbers in
table 4.
T a b l e 4 — Weekly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Commodity Groups, October
and November 1940
[1926 = 100]
Commodity group
All commodities___________ ______________
Farm products_________________
Foods___ _____________________
Hides and leather products_________
Textile products_____________ ______
Fuel and lighting materials_____ ____
”
Nov. Nov. N ov. Nov. N ov.
30
23
16
9
2
Oct.
26
Oct.
19
Oct.
12
79.7
78.6
78.4
78.1
77.8
69.1 68.8 68.4 67.2 66.5 67.0 66.7 66.1
73.3 72.8 72.6 71.7 70.8 70.8 71.0 71.0
103.1 103.1 103.0 102.4 102.3 101.9 100.7 100.3
74.2 74.2 74.0 73.9 73.7 73.6 73.5 72.6
72.8 72.4 72.6 72.5 72.2 72.2 72.3 72.3
65.5
70.7
99.9
72. 5
72.3
79.5
79.3
78.8
78.5
Oct.
5
Metals and metal products
Building materials___________ Y I_ I Y ” ~ I
Chemicals and allied products________
Housefurnishing goods_______________ III"!
Miscellaneous___ ____ ___________
97.6
99.1
77.7
90.2
77.4
97.4 97.5 97.4 97.4 97.4 97.4 96.4
98.8 198. 3 198. 3 >98.1 >97.6 >97.3 197.5
77.5 77.4 77.2 77.1 77.0 76.9 76.8
90.2 90.1 90.1 90.1 90.0 90.0 90.0
77.5 77.6 77.1 76.9 77.0 76.8 76.4
Raw materials................. ................................. ......
Semimanufactured articles.______________
Manufactured products._____________
All commodities other than farm products___
All commodities other than farm products and
foods____________________ ____ ____
72.9
80.6
83.1
82.0
72.7
80.5
82.9
81.8
72.5
80.4
82.8
81.8
71.6
80.2
82.4
81.4
71.2
80.0
82.0
81.1
71.5
79.7
82.1
81.1
71.3
79.4
82.1
81.0
70.8
78.8
81.8
80.7
70.4
78.6
81.6
80.5
84.5
84.3
84.1
83.9
83.7
83.7
83.5
83.1
82.9
1 Revised.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
95.8
96.5
76.8
90.1
76.4
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
SUMMARY OF REPO RTS FOR N O V EM BER 1940
Total Nonagricultural Employment
TOTAL nonagricultural employment, exclusive of the armed forces,
was 36,545,000 in November, a gain of nearly 50,000 since October
and more than 1,100,000 since November of last year. Although the
increase over the month was small, it was noteworthy because em
ployment has shown a decline in November of each year since 1929,
the average decline for the past 11 years having been 400,000. Fac
tory employment showed a contraseasonal increase from October to
November of 62,300 wage earners, in contrast to a normally expected
decline of 150,000. There was a seasonal increase of 60,000 workers
in retail and wholesale trade, a gain of 5,000 in mining, and a small
increase in the number employed on construction projects. Employ
ment declines were shown in the following groups: Transportation
and public utilities (56,000), finance and miscellaneous (19,000), and
Federal, State, and local government excluding the armed forces
(5,000).
The major portion of the gain in total nonagricultural employment
from November 1939 to November 1940 was in manufacturing indus
tries, which added more than half a million workeis to their pay rolls.
Employment on construction projects was also considerably above
last year’s level, 270,000 more workers having been taken on since
a year ago. Wholesale and retail establishments employed 93,000 more
workers; finance, service, and miscellaneous companies, 46,000 more;
and transportation and public-utility companies, 42,000 more. Em
ployment in the Federal, State, and local government services was
146,000 higher than a year ago, while the armed forces, which are not
included in the above nonagricultural totals, showed a gain of 420,000.
The mining group showed a decline of 20,000 in the number of employees.
These figures do not include emergency employment which in
creased 67,000 as follows: 34,000 on projects operated by the Work
Projects Administration, 3,000 in the Civilian Conservation Corps,
and 30,000 on the out-of-school work program of the National Youth
Administration.
239
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
240
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Industrial and Business Employment
Gains in factory employment and pay rolls from October to
November continued to be widespread, 114 of the 157 manufacturing
industries now surveyed showing increases in the number at work
and 92 showing larger pay rolls. Of the 16 nonmanufacturing
industries regularly surveyed, 8 reported increases in the number at
work and 6 reported gains in pay rolls.
The gains of 0.7 percent in factory employment and 0.3 percent in
corresponding pay rolls represented increases of 62,300 in the number
of wage earners and more than $600,000 in weekly wages. These
increases were in contrast to seasonally expected declines of 1.7 per
cent in employment (or 150,000 workers) and 3.2 percent in weekly
pay rolls (or $7,000,000). In the durable-goods group of manu
facturing industries employment rose 2.5 percent, while in the non
durable-goods group there was a decline of 1.0 percent. Most of the
increases in the individual industries were larger than seasonal and
most of the declines were smaller than seasonal.
Defense industries continued to increase their working forces.
The 6 defense industries which have attracted particular attention
in recent months showed employment gains as follows: Aircraft,
10,200 wage earners; shipbuilding, 3,700; engines, 3,000; machine
tools, 2,200; aluminum manufactures, 800; explosives, 200. Employ
ment in these 6 industries has increased by 220,000, or nearly 115
percent, since 1937, the most recent peak year. Other industries stim
ulated directly or indirectly by war orders and showing large em
ployment gains over the month were cotton goods (13,200), woolen
and worsted goods (8,200), foundries (13,500), electrical machinery
(10,000), steel (8,600), brass, bronze, and copper products (4,900;,
and chemicals (1,400).
Automobile plants again reported a larger-than-seasonal employ
ment gain of 3.5 percent or 17,700 workers, reflecting a continued
expansion in production. Electric and steam-railroad car-building
firms showed an employment increase of 9.5 percent, or 3,400 workers;
glass factories hired 3.3 percent, or 2,700 more men; wirework plants,
6.8 percent, or 2,300 workers; and planing mills, 2.8 percent, or 2,000
workers. Most of the industries showing declines usually have
recessions in November, among them being canning (38.9 percent),
millinery (20.0 percent), boots and shoes (4.8 percent), women’s
clothing (3.5 percent), and beverages (3.1 percent).
Among the 67 industries recently added to the monthly report,
employment increased in the following industries affected by defense
activity: Professional, scientific, commercial, and industrial instru
ments and apparatus (5.5 percent), abrasives (10.2 percent), ammuni
tion (7.6 percent), firearms (10.4 percent), screw-machine products
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
241
(5.1 percent), optical goods (4.7 percent), machine-tool accessories
(4.8 percent), fire extinguishers, chemical (11.3 percent).
In retail trade, there was a better-than-seasonal employment gain
of 1.8 percent, or 47,000 workers, due largely to the 6-percent increase
in the general merchandise group in preparation for pre-Christmas
trade. Department stores took on 5.8 percent more workers; variety
stores, 6.9 percent; general merchandise stores, 5.5 percent; and
mail-order houses, 5.8 percent. Men’s and boys’ clothing stores
gained 2.6 percent more workers, family clothing stores 2 percent,
and stores dealing in women’s clothing maintained employment at
the high October level. Grocery stores took on 1.1 percent more
workers, and jewelers 4.4 percent more, to handle holiday trade, and
automobile dealers reported a gain of 0.8 percent. Firms dealing in
lumber and building materials decreased employment by 2.5 percent;
heating and plumbing equipment, 4.1 percent; and paint, glass, and
wallpaper, 1.9 percent.
A contraseasonal employment gain of 1 percent, or 17,000 workers,
was reported by wholesalers between mid-October and mid-November,
small increases being shown in most of the major lines of wholesale
trade. Wholesale dealers in farm products reported a substantial
seasonal gain (19.4 percent), while in the automotive and dry goods
and apparel groups employment declines of 2.5 percent and 0.1 per
cent, respectively, were reported. Assemblers and country buyers
took on 7.3 percent more employees; dealers in chemicals, drugs, and
allied products, 4 percent; metals and minerals, 3 percent; and jewelry
and optical goods, 1.6 percent.
Anthracite mines increased their workers by 1.9 percent and pay
rolls rose by 16.5 percent, reflecting increased production during the
first half of November. In bituminous-coal mines, the employment
gain of 0.8 percent, which was less than the usual November increase
of more than 2 percent, was coupled with a pay-roll rise of 1.1 percent.
Metal mines again took on more workers (0.4 percent), continuing
the series of monthly gains which began in April. Quarries curtailed
employment less than seasonally by 2.9 percent, one of the smallest
November declines recorded during a 12-year survey of this industry.
Employment remained at about the October level in telephone and
telegraph, brokerage, and insurance offices and in street-railway and
bus operations. Dyeing and cleaning plants and laundries reduced
their working forces less than seasonally by 2.9 percent and 0.7 per
cent, respectively, crude-petroleum producers by 1.6 percent, and
electric light and power companies by 0.7 percent.
Private building-construction employment decreased 4.2 percent
from October to November and pay rolls dropped 13.7 percent. The
drop in employment was about equal to the average November de
crease of the past 8 years (5.0 percent), while the observance of the
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
242
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Armistice Day holiday and inclement weather in many sections during
the reported pay period contributed to the sharp decrease in weekly
pay rolls. The level of employment in November 1940 was 22.2
percent higher, and weekly pay rolls 18.4 percent higher, than in
November 1939. Only slight increases in employment were registered
in the Pacific States (0.7 percent) and the East South Central States
(0.2 percent), but the West South Central States showed a slight
decrease (0.7 percent). Large percentage decreases were reported for
the Mountain States (14.1 percent), West North Central States (9.7
percent), South Atlantic States (6.1 percent), Middle Atlantic States
(5.1 percent), New England States (4.4 percent), and the East North
Central States (3.5 percent).
General building contractors and special trade contractors reported
curtailed employment in November (2.8 percent and 5.5 percent,
respectively). Each of the special building trades surveyed reported
an employment decrease except glazing, building insulation, orna
mental metal contracting, and structural steel erection, in which the
employment gains were 9.1 percent, 5.7 percent, 3.2 percent, and 0.1
percent, respectively. The most marked decreases were reported by
firms engaged in painting and decorating (13.4 percent), excavating
(9.0 percent), and brick and stone masonry (8.8 percent).
A preliminary report of the Interstate Commerce Commission for
class 1 steam railroads showed a decrease in employment of 2.7
percent between October and November, the total number employed
in November being 1,043,733. Corresponding pay-roll figures for
November were not available when this report was prepared For
October they were $176,589,188, a gain of $4,947,004 since September.
H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S
The average hours worked per week by manufacturing wage earners
were 38.6 cents in November, a decrease of 1.7 percent since October.
The corresponding average hourly earnings were 67.8 cents, a gain of
1.0 percent over the month interval. The average weekly earnings
of factory workers were $26.93, a decrease of 0.5 percent since October.
Ot the 16 nonmanufacturing industries regularly surveyed 5 reported
increases in average weekly earnings. Of the 14 nonmanufacturing
industries for which man-hours are available, only 2 showed gains in
average hours worked per week but 11 reported increases in average
hourly earnings.
Wage-rate increases between October 16 and November 15 were
reported by 265 of the 33,706 manufacturing establishments which
supplied employment information in November. These increases
averaged 8.3 percent and affected 91,256 of the 6,376,836 wage
earners covered. Among the industries reporting wage increases
were brass, bronze, and copper products (33,835 wage earners affected),
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
243
foundry and machine-shop products (6,416), sawmills (5,799), smelting
and refining of copper, lead, and zinc (4,265), automobiles (3,993),
paper and pulp (2,384), shipbuilding (2,302), electrical machinery
(2,204), and dyeing and finishing (2,132).
Employment, P ay Rolls, and Earnings in A ll Manufacturing Industries
Combined and in Nonmanufacturing Industries, November 1940 (Preliminary
Figures)
T a b l e 1 .—
Employment
Industry
All manufacturing industries
combined 1________________
Class I steam railroads2......... .
Coal mining:
Anthracite 4............. ...........
Bituminous 4____ _____
Metalliferous mining........ ........
Quarrying and nonmetallie
mining__________________
Crude-petroleum production—
Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph 8_
Electric light and power 8__
Street railways and bus
ses 8 7................... ............
Trade:
Wholesale 8. . ......................
R e ta il8_________ _____
Hotels (year-round) 42..............
Laundries 4________________
Dyeing and cleaning 4__..........
Brokerage____________ ____ _
Insurance__________________
Building construction........
Water transportation 11......... .
Index,
Novem
ber
1940
Percentage
change from—
Octo
ber
1940
No
vem
ber
1939
+ 0 .7
- 2 .7
+ 6 .6
+ .5
50.4
90.0
72.9
+ 1 .9
+ .8
+ .4
- 1 .9
- 5 .2
+ 9 .7
47.4
61.4
-2 .9
-1 .6
79.1
91.6
(1923-25
=100)
110.8
58.4
68.6
Index,
Novem
ber
1940
Percentage
Percentage
change from— Aver change from—
age
Octo
ber
1940
N o
vem
ber
1939
N o
vem
ber
1940
Octo
ber
1940
No
vem
ber
1939
(1923-25
= 100)
114.8
(3)
+ 0 .3 +12.9 $26.93
(3)
0
0
- 0 .5
0
+ 5 .8
0
37.6 +16.5 -1 0 .5
84.6 + 1.1 -1 2 .2
70.8
- . 8 +10.8
24.56 +14.3
25.10
+ .3
30. 38 - 1 .2
- 8 .8
- 7 .4
+ 1.1
+ .8
- 3 .7
42.6
56.5
- 8 .9
- 1 .9
22.50
33.78
- 6 .2
- .3
- 1 .7
- 1 .5
+ .1
- .7
+ 4 .0
+ 1 .5
101.8
106.0
- .7
-.9
+ 5 .6 631.58
+ 3 .4 835.29
- .8
- .2
+ 1 .5
+ 1 .9
-.1
- 1 .0
70.2
- .7
+ 1 .2 «33.44
-.6
+ 2 .3
80.6
+ .5 + 1 .9 830.46
86.9 + 1 .3 + 3 .9 820. 71
83.7
- .5
+ 2 .3 815.65
87.3
- .8
+ 5 .4 18.16
78.0 - 5 .3 +10.2 20.10
+ .4 -1 2 .3 «37.24
(3)
+ • 2 + 2 .6 «36. 37
(3)
-1 3 .7 +18.4 30.44
(3)
(3)
0
0
0
-.5
-.5
+ .5
-.1
- 2 .5
+ .4
+ .1
- 9 .9
0
+ 2 .2
+ 1 .0
+ 1 .6
+ 1 .2
+ 1 .4
-.2
+ .8
-3 .2
0
(1 9 2 9 =
100)
91.9
96.0
92.5
99. 5
106.2
(3)
(3)
(3)
75.9
Average weekly
earnings
Pay rolls
+ 1 .0
-.2
+ 1 .8 + 2 .9
- 1 .1
+ .7
+4. i
-.7
- 2 . 9 + 8 .6
+ ( 0 -1 2 .2
+ • 1 + 1 .7
- 4 .2 +22.2
- 5 .1
(3)
(1 9 2 9 =
100)
-.9
-5 .2
1 Revised indexes—Adjusted to 1937 Census of Manufactures. See also table 5 in the December 1940
M onthly Labor Review (p. 1591).
2 Preliminary; source—Interstate Commerce Commission.
3 N ot available.
4 Indexes adjusted to 1935 Census. Comparable series back to January 1929 presented in January 1938
issue of the pamphlet, Employment and Pay Rolls.
8 RetaU-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 Census and public-utility indexes to 1937 Census. N ot comparable
^ , Ì1J+dexes published in pamphlets prior to January 1940 or in the M onthly Labor Review prior to April
1940. Revised series available upon request.
6 Average weekly earnings not strictly comparable with figures published in issues of the pamphlet dated
earlier than January 1938, or in the M onthly Labor Review dated earlier than April 1938 (except for the
January figures appearing in the March issue), as they now exclude corporation officers, executives, and
other employees whose duties are mainly supervisory.
7 Covers street railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated, and successor com
panies.
8 Indexes adjusted to 1933 Census. Comparable series in November 1934 and subsequent issues of pam
phlet or February 1935 and subsequent issues of M onthly Labor Review.
8 Cash payments only; the additional value of board, room, and tips cannot be computed.
48 Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
44 Based on estimates prepared by the U . S. Maritime Commission.
Out of a total of approximately 97,000 nonmanufacturing establish
ments reporting in November (excluding building-construction firms),
47 showed wage-rate increases averaging 6.0 percent and affecting
4,323 workers out of a total of about 3,000,000 employees covered.
The only nonmanufacturing industry in which a substantial number
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
241
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
of employees was affected by wage-rate increases was the metalmining industry (2,517).
As the Bureau’s survey does not cover all establishments in an
industry and, furthermore, as some firms may have failed to report
wage changes, these figures should not be construed as representing
the total number of wage changes occurring in manufacturing and
nonmanufacturing industries.
Employment and pay-roll indexes and average weekly earnings for
November 1940 are given in table 1 for all manufacturing industries
combined, for selected nonmanufacturing industries, for water trans
portation, and for class I railroads. Percentage changes over the
month and year intervals are also given.
Public Employment
Construction projects financed from appropriations to regular Fed
eral agencies furnished employment to 631,000 workers in the month
ending November 15. The number of men at work on buildingconstruction projects rose to 296,000, a gain of 157,000 as compared
with the preceding month. Approximately 11,000 more men were
given jobs on ship construction. Employment on other types of con
struction projects financed from regular funds declined 14,000 during
the month, leaving a net gain of 154,000. Pay-roll disbursements of
$65,139,000 on all types of projects were $13,412,000 greater than in
October.
Contractors on low-rent projects sponsored by the United States
Housing Authority curtailed employment to the extent of about 2,000
workers in the month ending November 15. Wage payments of
$5,503,000 to the 51,000 building-trades workers employed were
$74,000 less than in October.
The number of workers employed on construction projects financed
from Public Works Administration funds dropped to 31,000 in the
month ending November 15, a decrease of 7,000 from October. Pay
roll disbursements amounted to $3,614,000.
Reports from contractors indicate that there was no change in
employment on construction projects financed by the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation. Wage payments to the 2,000 men employed
during the month ending November 15 totaled $192,000.
Employment on work-relief projects operated by the Work Projects
Administration showed a gain of 34,000 in November. Pay-roll
disbursements of $90,811,000 to the 1,746,000 workers on relief
projects were, however, $8,560,000 less than in the preceding month.
In the same period approximately 73,000 workers were employed on
Federal agency projects financed by the Work Projects Administra
tion, an increase of 2,000 over October. Pay rolls on these projects
were $3,475,000.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
245
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
The National Youth Administration reported employment gains
on the student-work program and the out-of-school work program.
An increase of 98,000 brought employment on the student-work
program up to 440,000 in November and a gain of 30,000 on the outof-school work program lifted the total to 267,000. Wage payments
totaled $3,068,000 on the former, and $5,504,000 on the latter.
Employment in camps of the Civilian Conservation Corps rose
3,000 in November. Of the 321,000 on the pay rolls, 286,500 were
enrollees; 1,500, educational advisers; 200, nurses; and 32,800, super
visory and technical employees. Pay rolls amounted to $14,016,000.
T a b l e 2 .— Summary
of Employment and P ay Bolls in the Regular Federal Services
and on Projects Financed Wholly or Partially from Federal Funds, November 1940
(Preliminary Figures)
Pay rolls
Employment
Class
Novem
ber 1940
October
1940
Federal Services:
Executive 1______ ____________ 1,111,530 1,086, 639
2, 841
2,919
Judicial_____________ _____
5,892
5, 932
Legislative__________________
733, 220
M ilitary_______________________ 821, 662
Construction projects:
Financed by regular Federal ap630, 848
477, 397
propriations. . . - _______ ____
52, 555
US 11A low-rent housing________
50,806
37, 824
Financed by PW A A. _____
31, 117
1.826
1,832
Financed by RFC A
Federal agency projects financed by
71,674
73, 306
Work Projects Administration
Projects operated by WPA
1,746,065 1,711,674
National Youth Administration:
341,199
Student work program__________ 439. 548
236,312
266, 759
Out-of-school program__________
318, 453
Civilian Conservation Corps______ - 321,157
Percent November
age
1940
change
October
1940
Percent
age
change
+ 2 .3 $168, 388, 802 $166, 485,603
656, 398
669, 379
+ 2.7
1,299,002
1, 294,629
+■ 7
52, 796, 914
47,902,197
+ 12. 1
+1.1
+ 2 .0
- .3
+10.2
+32. 1
- 3 .3
-1 7 .7
-.3
65,138,967
5, 502, 764
3, 614,039
191, 592
51, 727, 448
5, 577, 218
4,191,769
215, 858
+25.9
- 1 .3
-1 3 .8
-1 1 .2
+ 2.3
4-2.0
3, 474, 911
90, 810, 663
3, 373,145
99,370, 355
+ 3.0
- 8 .6
+28.8
+ 12.9
+ .8
3,067, 736
5, 504, 433
14,016, 434
2,160, 889
4, 943, 231
14,058, 799
+42.0
+11.4
- .3
1 Includes force-account and supervisory and technical employees shown under other classifications
to the extent of 164,277 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $21,692,218 for November 1940, and 159,960
employees and pay-roll disbursements of $22,909,162 for October 1940.
2 Data covering PW A projects financed from National Industrial Recovery Act funds, Emergency Relief
Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936, 1937 funds, and Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of 1938
funds are included. These data are not shown under projects financed by the Work Projects Administra
tion. Includes 4,629 wage earners and $473,672 pay roll for November 1940; 5,429 wage earners and $570,344
pay roll for October 1940, covering Public Works Administration projects financed from Emergency Relief
Appropriation Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 funds. Includes 23,979 wage earners and $2,906,994 pay roll for
November 1940; 30,177 wage earners and $3.402,104 pay roll for October 1940, covering Public Works Ad
ministration projects financed from funds provided by the Public Works Administration Appropriation
Act of 1938.
* Includes 606 employees and pay-roll disbursements of $63,405 for November 1940 ; 756 employees and
pay-roll disbursements of $94,921 for October 1940 on projects financed by the RFC Mortgage Co.
Increased employment was reported in all the regular services of the
Federal Government. Employment in the executive service reached
1,112,000, a gain of 25,000 over October. The armed forces of the
United States Government were increased by 88,000 in November.
Slight increases were reported in the judicial and legislative services.
Of the 1,112,000 employees in the executive service 153,000 were work
ing in the District of Columbia and 959,000 outside the District.
Force-account employees (employees on the pay roll of the United
States Government who are engaged on construction projects, and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
246
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
whose period of employment terminates as the project is completed)
were 12 percent of the total number of employees in the executive
service. Employment increases were reported in the War, Navy,
Treasury, and Post Office Departments and in the Department of the
Interior, while a decrease was reported in the Federal Works Agency.
Employment on State-financed road projects dropped 29,000 in
November. Of the 179,000 on the pay roll, 51,000 were engaged in the
construction of new roads and 128,000 on maintenance. Pay-roll
disbursements of $12,676,000 were $2,838,000 less than in October.
A summary of employment and pay-roll data in the regular Federal
services and on projects financed wholly or partially from Federal
funds is given in table 2 on page 245.
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Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
247
D ET A ILE D R EPO R TS FOR OCTOBER 1940
A MONTHLY report on employment and pay rolls is published as a
separate pamphlet by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This gives
detailed data regarding employment, pay rolls, working hours, and
earnings for the current month for industrial and business establish
ments and for the various forms of public employment. This pamph
let is distributed free upon request. Its principal contents for the
month of October 1940, insofar as industrial and business employ
ment is concerned, are reproduced in this section of the Monthly
Labor Review.
The estimates of “Total nonagricultural employment,” given on the
first line of table 1, represent the number of persons engaged in gainful
work in the United States in nonagricultural industries, including
proprietors and firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers,
and domestic workers. The series described as “Employees in non
agricultural establishments” does not include proprietors, self-em
ployed persons, and domestic or casual workers. Neither set of figures
includes persons employed on WPA or NYA projects, or enrollees
in CCC camps. The estimates for “Employees in nonagricultural
establishments” are shown separately for each of seven major industry
groups. Tables giving figures for each group, by months, for the
period from January 1929 to date are available on request.
The figures represent the number of persons working at any time
during the week ending nearest the middle of each month. The
totals for the United States have been adjusted to conform to the
figures shown by the 1930 Census of Occupations for the number of
nonagricultural “gainful workers” less the number shown to have
been unemployed for 1 week or more at the time of the census. Sep
arate estimates for “Employees in nonagricultural establishments”
are shown in table 2 for each of the 48 States and the District of
Columbia for September and October 1940 and October 1939. Tables
showing monthly figures for each State from January 1938 to date are
available on request. The State figures do not include the armed
forces of the United States nor employees on merchant vessels.
Certain adjustments have been made in the United States estimates
which cannot be made on a State basis, and for this reason the total
of the State estimates will not agree exactly with the United States
figures even if allowance is made for military, naval, and maritime
employment. These estimates are based in large part on industrial
censuses and on regular reports of employers to the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics and to other Government agencies, such as
the Interstate Commerce Commission. Data derived from employers’
quarterly reports in connection with “old age and survivors’ insur
ance,” and employers’ monthly reports in connection with unemploy
ment compensation have been used extensively as a check on estimates
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248
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
derived from other sources, and in some industries they have provided
the most reliable information available.
T able
1.— Estimates of Total Non agri cultural Employment, by Major Groups
[In thousands]
October
1940
(prelim
inary)
Industrial group
Septem
ber 1940
Change
Septem
ber to
October
1940
October
1939
Change
October
1939 to
October
1940
Total nonagricultural em ploym ent1____________ __
36,987
36, 652
+335
35,800
+1,187
Employees in nonagricultural establishments 2
Manufacturing_____________________________
M ining_____________________________________
Construction . . . . . ____ ____ . .
_ _ _
Transportation and public utilities ___ _______
Trade____________________
____________
Finance, service, and miscellaneous____ _____
Federal, State, and local government:
Civil employees____ ____________________
Military and naval forces______________ . .
30,838
10, 373
852
1,545
3,079
6,297
4,193
30, 500
10,184
847
1,489
3,075
6, 240
4,252
+338
+189
+50
+4
+57
-5 9
29, 651
9,862
871
1,366
3,033
6,228
4,158
+1.187
+511
-1 9
+179
+46
+69
+35
3,876
623
3,853
560
+23
+63
3,747
386
+ 129
+237
1 Includes proprietors, firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers, and domestic workers.
2 Does not include proprietors, firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers, and domestic
workers.
T able 2.—Estimated Number of Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments, by
States
[Excludes proprietors, firm members, self-employed persons, casual workers, domestic workers, the armed
forces of the United States, and employees on merchant vessels]
[In thousands]
Change September
to October 1940
Change October 1939
to October 1940
October
1940
(prelim
inary)
Septem
ber 1940
New E n g la n d ..................
M aine____________
New Hampshire___
Verm ont.__ ______
Massachusetts_____
Rhode Island______
Connecticut_______
2 , 594
2 , 575
+ 0 .8
196
127
78
1,350
238
605
200
133
79
1, 335
234
594
-4
-6
-1
+15
+4
+11
2 , 501
+93
- 1 .9
-4 .5
-2 .2
+1.1
+ 1.9
+ 2 .0
190
127
75
1,313
235
561
+ 3 .7
+6
0
+3
+37
+3
+44
+3.1
Middle Atlantic________
New York________
New Jersey________
Pennsylvania______
7 , 865
7 ,8 3 1
+34
+ .4
7, 654
+211
3,907
1,217
2, 741
3, 904
1,227
2,700
+ 2 .8
+3
-1 0
+41
+ .1
-.8
+ 1 .5
3, 873
1. 127
2, 654
+34
+90
+87
+ .9
+ 8 .0
+ 3.3
6 , 998
6 , 903
+95
+ 1 .4
6 , 668
1, 815
814
2,278
1,447
644
1, 789
809
2, 253
1,405
647
+330
+26
+5
+25
+42
-3
+ 1.5
+ .6
+ 1. 1
+ 3 .0
-.6
1,747
762
2, 193
1, 343
623
+ 4 .9
+68
+52
+85
+ 104
+21
+ 3.9
+ 6 .8
+ 3.8
+ 7.8
+3. 3
West North Central_____
M innesota_________
Iowa______________
Missouri___________
North Dakota______
South Dakota______
Nebraska__________
Kansas____________
2 ,3 9 8
2 , 389
2 ,3 5 9
+39
540
412
774
80
85
203
295
+9
+ .4
532
411
785
80
85
207
298
+ 1 .7
527
403
767
78
84
206
294
+5
+ 18
+2
+1
+1
+4
+ .9
+2.1
+ 2.3
+ 2.8
+ .6
+ .7
+ 1.7
South Atlantic__________
Delaware__________
Maryland__________
District of Columbia
Virginia___________
West Virginia______
North Carolina_____
South Carolina_____
Georgia____________
Florida____________
3 , 575
3 , 518
3 , 428
77
530
360
505
376
606
285
476
360
77
525
351
499
373
601
284
465
343
+ 147
69
492
328
485
378
603
274
465
334
+38
+32
+20
-2
+3
+ 11
+11
+26
Geographic division and State
East North Central______
O h io .____________
Indiana___________
Illinois____________
M ichigan__________
Wisconsin_________
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Number
+19
-8
Percent
age
+11
0
0
+4
+3
-1 .5
-. 1
+ 1.4
+ .2
- .3
+ 2 .2
+1.1
+57
+ 1 .6
0
+5
+9
+6
+3
+5
4-i
+ ii
+17
+• 7
+ 1.0
+2. 6
+ 1.3
+ .9
+ .8
+ .3
+ 2.4
+ 4.9
-1
October
1939
Number
Percent
age
+ 3.7
+ 2.8
+ 1.4
+ 7 .9
+ 4 .3
+ 12. 1
+7. 7
+ 9.8
+ 4.3
-.6
+ 3.8
+ 2.5
+7. 7
249
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
T a b l e 2 . —Estimated
Number of Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments, by
States— Continued
[In thousands]
Change September
to October 1940
October
1940
(prelim
inary)
Septem
ber 1940
East South Central____________
Kentucky______ _ . ____
Tennessee_______________
Alabama________________
M ississippi______________
1,387
366
458
374
189
West South Central __________
Arkansas________________
Louisiana________________
Oklahoma, ____ ______
Texas___________________
Geographic division and State
Change October 1939
to October 1940
October
1939
Number
Percent
age
1,371
364
452
369
186
+16
+2
+6
+5
+3
+ 1 .3
+ .7
+ 1.4
+ 1 .5
+ 1 .6
1,351
366
441
355
189
+36
0
+ 17
+ 19
0
+ 2.8
+■ 2
+ 3.9
+ 5.5
(')
1,855
183
381
294
997
1,829
180
374
292
983
+26
+3
+7
+2
+14
+ 1 .3
+ 1.8
+ 1 .6
+ .4
+ 1 .4
1,832
183
374
295
980
+23
0
+7
-1
+17
+ 1.2
-. 1
+ 1.7
- .3
+ 1 .7
Mountain________________
Montana________________
Idaho___________________
W yoming_______________
Colorado,,, . __________
New Mexico__ _ _
Arizona____ ___________
U tah ____________________
N evada_________ ____ ,,
801
115
91
54
234
71
89
114
33
786
113
87
54
229
68
88
114
33
+15
+2
+4
0
+5
+3
+1
0
0
+ 1 .9
+ 1.3
+ 3 .8
+ .3
+ 2 .5
+ 4 .0
+ 1.6
+ .3
- 1 .0
776
113
88
54
226
67
87
110
31
+25
+2
+3
0
+8
+4
+2
+4
+2
+ 3.1
+ 1.3
+ 3 .2
+ .3
+ 3 .6
+ 5.4
+ 2 .6
+ 3.8
+ 4 .9
Pacific.
. . . . ................... . .
Washington, ____ _ . . .
Oregon . ___ ___ _______
California_____ ____ _____
2, 449
429
236
1, 784
2,475
443
247
1,785
-2 6
-1 4
-1 1
-1
- 1 .1
- 3 .3
- 4 .4
(')
2,376
426
230
1,720
+73
+3
+0
+64
+ 3 .0
+• 6
+ 2.3
+3. 7
Number
Percent
age
1 Less than Mo of 1 percent.
Industrial and Business Employment
Monthly reports on employment and pay rolls are available for
157 manufacturing industries; 16 nonmanufacturing industries, in
cluding private building construction; water transportation; and
class I steam railroads. The reports for the first 2 of these groups—
manufacturing and nonmanufacturing—are based on sample surveys
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures on water transporta
tion are based on estimates prepared by the Maritime Commission,
and those on class I steam railroads are compiled by the Interstate Com
merce Commission. They are presented in the foregoing summary.
The indexes of factory employment and pay rolls are based on the
3-year average 1923-25 as 100 and are adjusted to 1937 census data.
They relate to wage earners only and are computed from reports
supplied by representative manufacturing establishments in 90 of
the 157 manufacturing industries surveyed. These reports cover
more than 55 percent of the total wage earners in all manufacturing
industries of the country and more than 65 percent of the wage
earners in the 90 industries covered.
The indexes for the nonmanufacturing industries are based on the
12-month average for 1929 as 100. Figures for mining, laundries,
and dyeing and cleaning cover wage earners only, bat the figures for
public utilities, trade, and hotels relate to all employees except corpo-
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Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
250
ration officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are
mainly supervisory. For crude-petroleum production they cover
wage earners and clerical field force. The coverage of the reporting
samples for the various nonmanufacturing industries ranges from
approximately 25 percent for wholesale and retail trade, dyeing and
cleaning, and insurance, to approximately 80 percent for quarrying
and nonmetallic mining, anthracite mining, and public utilities.
The indexes for retail trade have been adjusted to conform in general
with the 1935 Census of Retail Distribution and are weighted by
lines of trade. For the public utilities they have been adjusted to
the 1937 Census of Electrical Industries, for wholesale trade to the
1933 census, and for coal mining, year-round hotels, laundries, and
dyeing and cleaning to the 1935 censuses.
Data for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries are
based on reports of the number of employees and the amount of pay
rolls for the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month.
The average weekly earnings shown in table 3 are computed by
dividing the total weekly pay rolls in the reporting establishments
by the total number of full- and part-time employees reported. As
not all reporting establishments supply man-hours, average hours
worked per week and average hourly earnings are necessarily based
on data furnished by a smaller number of reporting firms. The size
and composition of the reporting sample vary slightly from month
to month. Therefore, the average hours per week, average hourly
earnings, and average weekly earnings shown may not be strictly
comparable from month to month. The sample, however, is believed
to be sufficiently adequate in virtually all instances to indicate the
general movement of earnings and hours over the period shown.
The changes from the preceding month, expressed as percentages,
are based on identical lists of firms for the 2 months, but the changes
from October 1939 are computed from chain indexes based on the
month-to-month percentage changes.
EMPLOYMENT AND PAY-ROLL INDEXES, AVERAGE HOURS,
AND AVERAGE EARNINGS
The indexes of employment and pay rolls as well as average hours
worked per week, average hourly earnings, and average weekly
earnings in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries for
August, September, and October 1940, where available, are presented
in table 3. The August and September figures, where given, may
differ in some instances from those previously published because of
revisions necessitated primarily by the inclusion of late reports.
Table 4 gives revised data for anthracite mining for the months
February to September 1940, inclusive.
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Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
251
In table 5, indexes of employment and pay rolls are given for all
manufacturing industries combined, for the durable- and nondurablegoods groups of manufacturing industries, and for each of 13 non
manufacturing industries, by months, from October 1939 to October
1940, inclusive. The accompanying chart indicates the trend of
factory employment and pay rolls from January 1919 to October 1940.
Use of Average Hourly Earnings in "Escalator” Clauses 1
Average hourly earnings of wage earners, such as those shown in
table 3, have been compiled regularly by the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics since 1932. These averages are published for the use of those who
wish either to compare the average earnings of wage earners in dif
ferent industries or to study the changes in average earnings over a
period of time.
Certain characteristics of the average earnings should be indicated.
The average of the actual earnings of wage earners as a group may
change from one period to another for either of two reasons: (1) By
reason of changes in the wages paid or (2) by reason of changes in the
composition of the group of wage earners actually at work in different
periods. As an example of the latter cause of change, it is evident
that if, from one month to the next, the number of wage earners
employed in a high-wage industry increases proportionally more than
employment generally has increased, the average of actual earnings
for the group as a whole will increase. This increase might take place
even though there were no changes whatsoever in the earnings of any
wage earner in any one of the establishments. It is apparent, there
fore, that the Bureau’s averages reflect both changes in the actual
hourly rates paid as well as changes in the composition of the wage
earners in the group. The averages contained in table 3 for all manu
facturing, for durable goods, for nondurable goods, and for the various
subgroups of industries, such as “ iron and steel and their products,”
reflect both types of influence upon hourly earnings; and they measure
the average of the actual earnings of the wage earners actually at work
in each respective period.
To an increasing extent use is being made of these average hourly
earnings figures in so-called “ escalator” clauses in Government con
tracts. These are designed to protect contractors from losses that
might arise from general wage increases over which they could exercise
no control. A number of contracts extending over many months have
been written recently with clauses that provide for increased payments
to the contractor in case of increases in the average of the hourly
earnings in the durable-goods industries.
i Reprint from the August Employment and Pay Rolls pamphlet.
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U N IT E D STATES
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
to
to
in
EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
1923
-2 5 = 1 0 0
INDEX
140
120
¡-H
a
100
80
60
<5
40
20
BUREAU OF LA BO R STA TIS T IC S
AD JU STED TO 1 9 3 7 CENSUS
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
253
It should be pointed out that the characteristics of the Bureau’s
average hourly earnings figures, as described above, make it desirable
to use these averages for other than their designed purpose with a cer
tain degree of caution. The purpose for which they were compiled
limits their usefulness, especially in July and August, as a measure of
change in labor rates. In these months the averages show a seasonal
movement unrelated to rates of pay. For example, the average hourly
earnings figure in the durable-goods industries dropped from 73.2 cents
in June to 72.7 cents in July. This drop was due not to a general
decline in wages in this period but almost entirely to the fact that em
ployment in the automobile industry declined sharply as the result of
model changes. This industry is a high-wage industry in which the
average hourly earnings are about 95 cents an hour. Between June
and July, employment in the automobile industry dropped from 104.9
to 82.3. This relative decline, of a purely seasonable character, in the
number of highly paid automobile workers was very largely responsi
ble for the decline of half a cent noted in the average hourly earnings in
durable-goods industries.
By way of illustration of the problem involved, it would be possible
to construct an index of earnings that was unrelated to changes in
the relative occupational composition of the group workers actually at
work. For example, giving the averages for the several industries the
same weights in July and August that they had in June and considering
only the influence of changes in average earnings in each industry, we
find no change in the rate of earnings from June to July and approxi
mately the same percentage change as is shown by the currently pub
lished figures from July to August. This means that from June to
August, the currently published figures show a slight decline over this
3-month interval whereas the series computed with constant weights
shows a small gain.
It is not wuthin the province of the Bureau to indicate the type of
average that was contemplated by the contracting parties in the con
tracts already drawn, least of all can the method of compiling an
average be changed. It is obvious, however, that in incorporating any
statistical series in legal documents careful consideration should be
given to the purpose for which the figures were originally compiled and
to their relevance to some new purpose. The officials of the Bureau
are at the disposal of all those who wish to apply any of the Bureau’s
series to administrative problems. Carefully interpreted and applied,
these data have a present usefulness far greater than was imagined in
the past. Their appropriate adaptation to new uses involves on the
one hand a careful consideration by the Bureau of the purposes of the
contracting parties; on the other, consultation with the Bureau to
discover whether the new figures as they stand meet the purposes in
mind.
2 8 0 3 9 8 — 41------ 17
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
T able 3. —Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries
Employment index
Industry
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Average weekly earn
ings 1
Average hours worked
per week *
Average hourly earn
ings 1
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Octo
Sep
ber
tember August
1940
1940
1940
Octo
ber
1940
C en ts
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
C en ts
C en ts
110.1
109.9
110.2
107.7
105.5
109.7
103.8
99.8
107.6
114.5
122.2
105.9
110.1
114.1
105.6
104.0
105.5
102.4
$27.13
31.42
22. 28
$26. 54
30.57
22.20
$26.10
29. 98
22.10
39.3
41.0
.37.6
38.8
40.2
37.5
38.4
39.7
37.2
117.1
125.3
121.3
83.9
113.6
123.2
117.9
81.9
110.7
122.1
114.9
80.2
123.7
131.3
149.5
84.8
118.2
128.2
139.1
79.3
113.5
124.8
138.7
76.3
30.97
33.04
29. 68
24.10
30. 60
32.93
28.38
23.02
30. 24
32. 25
29.02
22.72
39.9
38.8
42.4
39.8
39.2
38.5
40.9
38.3
38.8
38.1
41.5
37.9
77.8
85.5
70.0
60.2
77.9
85.7
69.4
59.7
77.7
84.8
70.0
59.4
111.3
80.4
105.3
91.0
188.7
107.0
76.7
101.2
88.5
175.8
101.5
72.8
95.8
86.7
164.4
106.3
102.2
118.8
85.1
217.3
100.7
91.9
113.5
80.8
200.6
93.2
86.4
106.5
79.9
182.6
24. 87
34.30
27.74
27. 26
27. 21
24.49
32.51
27. 53
26. 57
26.96
23.91
32.22
27.29
26. 97
26.21
40.4
42.8
40.6
39.2
40.8
39.8
40.9
39.8
38.3
40.6
38.8
40.6
39.1
38.7
39.9
62.2
80.8
68.4
70.1
66.2
62.4
79.6
69.1
70.0
66.0
62.6
79.3
69.7
69.7
65.7
99.4
105.9
85.6
101.3
94.3
101.2
83.4
105.2
89.7
97.7
79.9
108.1
102.5
105.9
79.6
112.7
91.1
97.4
74.8
116.8
84.6
89.2
72.9
121.9
31.34
28.78
30. 02
25.17
29.34
27. 54
28. 99
25.01
28.80
26.09
29.51
25. 61
43.2
41.9
41.0
39.7
41.2
40.4
39.5
39.6
40.3
38.6
40.1
40.4
72.7
68.4
73.3
63.7
71.5
68.2
73.5
64.0
71.6
67.7
73.6
63.9
106.0
192.6
99.9
164.7
95.6
146.1
113.3
231.4
104.0
191.6
95.6
163.4
26.81
30.09
26.33
29.12
25.22
28.00
42.2
41.7
41.4
40.0
39.8
40.0
63.7
72.4
63.8
73.0
63.4
70.8
127.3
134.9
123.1
133.5
119.2
131.2
145.3
158.8
137.9
156.2
131.0
152.0
31.71
31.41
31.22
31.17
30. 67
30.87
42.4
39.2
41.8
39.1
41.2
38.6
74.9
80.2
74.6
79.9
74.5
80.1
132.0
116.1
131.8
111.2
128.7
106.6
142.1
138.2
140.3
131.4
135.9
123.7
33. 68
31.73
33.38
31.50
33.11
30. 92
40.5
41.7
40.2
41.3
40.2
40.7
83.6
75.9
83.1
76.4
82.7
76.3
190.4
106.7
257.8
163.6
79.7
126.8
182.2
103.4
248.0
159.5
78.1
122.5
174.8
100.5
237.5
157.1
76.4
118.0
263.4
111.7
351.7
164.3
78.8
163.2
249.4
105.4
332.3
161. 5
76.4
137.2
238.5
101.3
302.9
149.8
73.5
125.4
36.33
31. 18
37. 95
24.74
27.24
31.52
35.93
30.. 31
37. 27
24.89
26.84
27.43
35.81
30.12
35.48
23.49
26. 30
26.04
44.4
42.1
49.1
40.1
41.0
45.8
44.7
41.2
48.4
40.2
40.4
42.1
44.1
41.0
46.7
38.5
39.6
39.7
82.2
74.0
77.0
61.8
66.5
68.9
80.5
73.4
76.6
62.1
66.6
65.2
81.3
73.3
76.0
61.1
66.6
65.6
67.3
73.9
60.9
67.1
73.7
61.1
66.8
73.1
61.3
D u r a b le goods
Iron and steel and their products, not including ma
chinery ________
_________
-------------Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills___
Cast-iron pipe_______ _______ _____
Cutlery (not including silver and plated cut
lery) and edge tools______________________
Forgings, iron and steel__ ____ ______ ______
H ardw are._____ __________ ________ ______
Plumbers’ supplies_____________________ . . .
Stamped and enameled ware_____ . _____ ..
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and
steam fittings___________ _ ____________
Stoves.. .
____ _ .
Structural and ornamental metalwork______ _
T in cans and other tinware______ . _____ . .
Tools (not including edge tools, machine tools,
files, and saws)____ _______ _______ ______
Wirework______ _____________________ _
Machinery, not including transportation equipment.
Agricultural implements (including tractors)..
Cash registers, adding machines, and calcu
lating machines_________ _____ _
____
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies.
Engines, turbines, water wheels, and wind
m ills___________ _______________________
Foundry and machine-shop products______
Machine tools____ . ______ . . . . . . ______
Radios and phonographs.. ______ . . . . . . .
Textile machinery and parts________________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Typewriters and parts_____________________
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
All manufacturing_____________________________
Durable goods.
_______________________ _
Nondurable goods___________ _____________
Octo
ber
1940
Pay-roll index
254
MANUFACTURING
[Indexes are based on 3-year average, 1923-25=100, and are adjusted to 1937 Census of Manufactures for all industries except automobiles. N ot comparable to indexes published in
pamphlets prior to August 1939. Comparable series available upon request]
transportation equipment.......... ------ A ircraft2_______________________
Automobiles___________________
Cars, electric- and steam- railroad..
Locomotives----------------------------Shipbuilding___________________
lum ber and allied products______ _______ Furniture.-.___ _____________________
Lumber:
M illwork________________________
Sawmills........ ............................ ............
Stone, clay, and glass products..
Brick, tile, and terra cotta..
Cement____________ __ —
Glass_______ ____
Pottery.
37.89
32.78
39.24
28.12
31.24
36.93
85.60
32.56
36.67
28.94
31.57
36.08
85.41
31.79
37.13
28.86
30.47
34.86
41.6
44.5
41.3
37.7
40.2
41.7
40.0
44.9
38.6
38.0
40.2
40.9
39.9
43.8
38.8
38.4
39.0
40.3
89. 8
75.0
94.9
74.3
77.8
87.7
80. Ô
73.8
95.0
76.3
78.5
87.4
89.7
73.9
95.8
75.3
78.2
86.2
126.1
203.0
154.9
104.6
110.8
106.8
76.7
94.6
119.8
195.3
146.6
100.5
102.7
99.7
72.9
92.4
113.8
189.2
138.2
95.2
99.0
87.7
68.7
91.4
136.3
249. 7
190.0
119.1
97.8
96.5
78.2
93.4
128.0
239.3
177.6
108.6
90.8
90.2
70.1
91.8
117.0
224.5
160.7
101.4
83.0
76.5
60.5
88.8
30.00
29. 91
33.37
25.35
24. 37
28.22
29.34
27.82
29.38
29. 75
32. 97
23.98
24. 45
28. 26
27.69
28.05
28.18
28.91
31.55
23.67
23.19
27.17
25. 25
27.35
42.0
41.4
43.4
42.0
42.0
40.7
44.3
38.3
41.5
41.1
42.7
40.3
41.8
40.8
42. 4
39.1
40.1
40.1
41.4
39.6
39.4
39.1
39.0
38.2
71.2
72.2
77.4
60.3
58.0
69.2
67.3
72.7
71.0
72.4
77.5
59.4
58.2
69.3
65.8
71.8
70.3
72.0
76.5
59.7
57.9
69.4
65.0
71.2
74.4
96.8
73.4
94.6
71.3
91.0
73.7
91.3
71.2
87.4
68.3
81.7
21.49
22.49
21.06
22.07
20.81
21. 39
40.7
41.3
39.9
40.6
39.4
39.4
52.4
54.7
52.5
54.6
52.6
54.6
69.3
66.6
66. 7
66.3
64.2
64.9
58.4
65. 1
55.0
63.8
52.5
62.2
23.30
20.23
22. 84
19. 85
22.69
19. 79
42.6
40.0
41.8
39.2
41. 5
38.9
54.7
50.6
54.6
50.7
54.5
50.9
87.5
65.0
75.7
113.2
47.9
97.9
85.8
64.7
75.1
109.3
48.7
93.5
84.5
64.4
74.5
106.9
48.6
90.9
82.8
55.1
75.5
129.8
37.3
92.8
79.5
54.0
76.8
120.7
37.6
86.5
76.9
53.6
72.6
116.0
36.7
81.0
25.75
21.87
28. 55
27.90
27.03
24.06
25.27
21.62
29.18
26.90
26. 69
23.45
24.81
21.49
27. 94
26. 56
26. 06
22.75
38. 1
38.5
39.9
37.4
37.8
37.9
37.4
38.1
40.1
36.0
36.9
37.5
37.0
37.7
38.8
35.9
36.4
36.2
67. 1
56.6
71.6
74.7
71.7
63.4
67.2
56.5
72.7
75.0
72.7
63.1
66.8
56.8
72.0
74.3
72.0
64.0
104.5
96.1
79.6
95. 1
83.2
128.3
80. 1
142.8
75.3
76.0
157.3
64.6
94.1
119.0
104.6
171.4
112.6
127.7
76.1
121.9
102.6
92.8
75.8
91.7
79.0
124.8
86.4
138.6
73.2
73.8
153.6
63.6
88.8
120. 7
107.8
171.1
112.1
122.5
87.1
121.5
99.7
90.4
71.4
88.7
76.7
121.5
86.5
136.1
70.3
73.1
147. 5
63.0
86.9
116.7
107.4
164.3
109.4
116.6
73.3
117.1
93.2
89.5
72.8
90.3
83.0
111.3
92.6
84.8
65.4
85.3
77.3
106.5
77.1
146.9
64.3
68.0
138.3
51.1
82.1
102.5
82.9
141.5
122.9
120.3
93.8
108.1 1
87.4
80.9
58.7
80.0
72.6
101.8
83.1
143.6
59.9
65.5
129.4
51.4
77.9
94.9
81.8
129.6
108.6
113.5
64.7
102.1
18.10
17. 95
25.31
15. 41
19.41
21.32
23.11
19.68
18. 22
16.03
19. 34
16. 63
21.40
18. 53
19. 05
20.47
18. 33
15. 96
21.65
14.92
18. 09
17. 57
23.90
15.11
19.01
20. 81
24. 32
18. 87
18. 41
15.59
20. 25
16. 50
21.26
19. 51
19. 72
22.15
18.22
14.88
31.87
14 16
17.64
17.15
22. 78
14.67
18. 36
20.37
26.17
18. 82
17. 88
15. 24
19.73
16. 79
20.63
18. 95
19.64
21.12
16. 49
14. 72
26.14
13.80
35.9
37.3
37. 5
37.2
39.2
39.1
31.3
35.8
37.4
36.7
39.6
36.6
38.2
33.4
31.6
33.8
38.0
36.8
30.7
35.6
34.9
35.7
36.4
35.7
33.8
35.6
36.4
35.5
38.2
37. 1
38.2
37.1
36.6
33.1
33.8
33.9
38.0
37.0
36.0
35.0
40.7
39.7
36.8
36.1
37.6
36.5
34.4
33.5
32.4
32.7
35.1
34.0
37.8
33.7
34.2
33.8
39.8
34.7
33.8 1 33.1
50.9
48.7
67.5
41.4
49.6
54.1
73.3
55.4
47.9
43.8
48.2
45.3
56.6
55.2
60.2
56.0
48.3
42.6
64.4
41.8
51.4
48.7
67.1
41.5
49.9
54.2
73.8
55.7
48.0
43.6
49.2
45.5
57.1
56.3
60.3
57.6
48.3
42.1
71.1
41.6
51.2
48.6
67.4
41.3
49.5
54.6
72.9
55.6
47.6
43.6
49.4
45.5
56.6
55.8
60.5
56.7
48.5
42.2
67.4
41.9
N o n d u r a b le goods
Textiles and their products..............--Fabrics_______________________
Carpets and rugs___________
Cotton goods______________
Cotton small wares_____
Dyeing and finishing textiles .
Hats, fur-felt..______________
Hosiery___________________
Knitted outerwear........ ...........
Knitted underwear_________
Knitted cloth______________
Silk and rayon goods_______
Woolen and worsted goods . . .
Wearing apparel----------------------Clothing, men’s-----------------Clothing, women’s _________
Corsets and allied garments. .
M en’s furnishings__________
M illinery_________________
Shirts and collars.----- ---------
See footnotes a t end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
68.0
158.1
65.6
72.1
136.3
52.4
87.6
94.9
77.5
131.0
124.2
133.8
55.3
114.6
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
Nonferrous metals and their products-------- _—
Aluminum manufactures-. ------------------------Brass, bronze, and copper products,------------Clocks and watches and time-recording devices.
Jewelry___________________________________
Lighting equipment_______________________
Silverware and plated ware------ ------ -----------Smelting and refining—copper, lead, and zinc..
115.7
141.5
163.3
126. 9
1Ô4. 9
139.4
4,115.9 3,764.3 3,478.6 i, 639.4 4, 211.9 3,727.4
96.1
85.4
124.9
149.0
124.7
111 8
47.2
49.5
51.2
50.3
56.2
53.6
32.8
36.6
33.0
40.1
39.3
35.6
277.5
211.6
244.3
197.4
188.1
181.1
<
Di
04
T able 3. —Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—Continued
M ANUFACTURING-Continued
Employment index
Pay-roll index
Average weekly earn
ings 1
Average hours worked
per week 1
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Octo
ber
1940
Average hourly earn
ings
Industry
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Octo
ber
1940
Sep
tember August
1940
1940
Digitized for
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
90.0
88.4
81.6
141.4
145. 9
271.3
95. 7
201.5
102.0
80.6
73.8
109. 6
266.6
95.0
66. 5
56.6
67.7
117.7
124.1
115.1
90.8
89.7
79.9
147.5
146.6
283.1
99.8
268.9
96.2
80.7
81.2
108.0
101.8
91.5
65. 8
56.1
66.9
116.2
120.3
116.7
92.0
91.1
80.3
145.7
146.6
299.1
103.2
263.6
79.9
79.7
91. 1
106.8
89.2
95.8
64.4
55.4
65.5
115.2
117.5
116.9
73.4
69.1
81.6
134.3
139.2
314.1
81.6
170.5
103.2
77.9
64.0
115.8
212.8
82.9
66. 5
67.6
66.2
115.2
141.9
123.8
7416
72.0
76.8
138.6
140.8
331.8
88.4
231.7
98.3
81.3
69.9
112.6
116.2
78.3
65.9
67.1
65.7
113.4
134.3
124.2
77.0
75.0
77.0
139.0
140.1
357.7
89.4
248.3
77.2
76.4
78.0
112.3
87.5
83.1
62.3
64.7
61.9
110.9
130.7
124.8
$19.28
17.93
25.04
23. 82
26.31
33. 93
22. 60
16.11
19. 87
25. 98
30. 03
27.64
20. 58
24.71
18.25
19.28
18.05
29.20
22. 78
26. 45
$19.37
18. 32
24.09
23.48
26.60
34. 34
23. 30
16.40
20.05
27.04
29. 84
27. 38
29. 42
24.23
18.42
19. 32
18.24
29.18
22.19
26.12
$19.86
18.94
23. 96
24.17
26. 40
35. 07
22. 79
18. 02
18. 96
25.74
29. 71
27. 57
25.40
24.39
17. 79
18.86
17. 57
28. 73
22.10
26.14
34.8
34.0
38.3
40.0
41.5
38.4
45.6'
37.6
40.1
42.4
44.4
40.3
35.2
38.2
37.6
35.7
37.8
38.7
40.9
40.5
34.8
34.3
37.1
40.3
41.6
39.2
47.3
38.5
40.3
43.7
45.6
39.6
42.3
36.7
37. 8
35.7
38.0
38.4
39.8
39.9
35. 8
35.5
37.3
40.4
41.2
40.1
47.0
39.6
36.7
41.8
46.6
39.8
38.4
37.9
36.1
34.6
36.2
38.2
39.4
40.4
102.6
117.8
125.3
121.2
126.3
145.6
131.1
118.3
144.9
96. 7
125.1
311.1
88.8
92.8
58.7
74.0
160 7
99.7
116.0
123.0
122.6
123.1
143.4
81.0
117.6
147.8
95.6
126.1
311.7
87.9
89.4
56.1
72.6
152.5
99.7
113.8
119.4
122 7
118.6
141. 6
52.4
114.4
139.9
81.1
123.5
307.7
83.6
85.9
54.6
70.5
143.8
91.0
111.5
139.3
136. 3
140.3
176.2
128.2
133.0
180.9
82.4
135.8
322.6
107.2
99.4
62.9
86.7
161.1
87.8
111.1
138. 2
139.3
137. 8
170.9
78.1
132.6
175.4
85.4
135.6
327.7
107.0
95.7
59.5
84.6
152.8
85.9
106.3
134.4
137.4
133. 5
169.3
48.5
127.1
172.1
70.7
132.1
318.0
101.8
87.7
56.7
76.3
142.0
30.89
38. 25
29. 96
34. 93
28.13
32.39
15.36
25. 51
34. 44
15. 71
29. 60
26. 53
28.42
29.31
24. 64
34.37
24.30
30. 55
38. 68
30.08
35. 43
28.31
32.06
15.14
25. 58
32. 74
16. 59
29. 40
26. 99
28. 69
29.15
24. 38
34. 08
24. 29
29.93
37. 73
30.16
34. 94
28.34
32.18
14. 56
25.16
33. 94
16.14
29.28
26. 53
28. 68
27.81
23.86
31.64
24.00
38.8
35.8
39.3
36.4
40.2
40.6
45.8
40.0
40.1
35.5
41.1
38.7
39.9
38.0
39.5
35.7
40.0
38.5
36.1
39.0
36.1
40.0
39.8
43.1
40. 1
39.0
36.1
40.8
39.6
40.5
37.5
39.2
35. 2
39.7
37.9
35. 7
38.7
35.8
39.8
39.9
41.8
39.5
40.6
34.6
40.6
39.4
40.3
36.3
38.3
33.0
39.0
C en ts
C en ts
80.7
103. 7
75.7
97. 2
68.7
80.4
32.0
61.4
85.9
44.2
72.0
68.5
71.1
77.4
62. 4
96.1
62.0
80. 5
103 8
77.3
98.3
70.0
80. 7
34.0
61. 5
84.0
45.9
72.2
68.2
70.9
78.0
62.2
97.1
61.7
55.7
53.3
65. 7
61.0
63.5
89.4
48.5
44.0
49.3
61.2
65. 8
68.4
57.8
64. 6
48.4
54. 3
47.8
79.2
55.9
65.4
55.8
53. 7
65. 3
60.3
64.1
89.0
48. 7
43. 5
50.1
61.6
64. 4
69.1
71.4
65. 7
48. 7
54. 4
48.1
79.2
58.0
65.4
C en ts
55.4
53.3
64. 6
61.5
64.3
88.6
47.9
46.4
51.9
61.4
63. 0
69.1
67.3
64.3
49.2
54. 7
48.6
78. 9
56.4
64.8
79.9
103.1
77.8
97.7
70.7
80. 6
33.5
61.5
83.6
46.6
72.0
67.2
71.2
77. 9
62.3
96.0
61.9
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
N o n d u r a b le g ood s —Continued
Leather and its manufactures_ .
Boots and shoes—. ____ ____
Leather.. ________ _____
Food and kindred, products ________
Baking_______________
Beverages ______________
B u tte r ...
___ . . . . ___
Canning and preserving_____ . . .
Confectionery______ ________
Flour___________ _____ ____
Ice cream. ___
....
Slaughtering and meat packing .
Sugar, beet__________________
Sugar refining, cane. _______
Tobacco manufactures . . .
Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff____
Cigars and cigarettes________
Paper and p rinting_________
Boxes, paper___________
Paper and pulp . . . .
Printing and publishing:
Book and job____ . . .
Newspapers and periodicals
Chemical, petroleum, and coal products
Petroleum refining . . . . . .
Other than petroleum refining
Chemicals____ _____
Cottonseed—oil, cake, and meal
Druggists’ preparations_______
E xplosives.. ____________
Fertilizers______ ____
Paints and varnishes_____
Rayon and allied products____
S o a p _________
Rubber products_________
Rubber boots and shoes
tires and inner tubes____
FRASERRubber
Rubber goods, other_____________
NONMANUFACTURING
[Indexes are based on 12-month average, 1929=100]
71.5
48.5
63.6
32.2
84.3
71.5
46.2
58.3
39.3
83.2
69.5
46.2
58.2
33.1
82.5
68.5
45.2
59.0
$21. 26
25. 06
30.81
23.95
34. 73
$25. 96
25. 25
29. 97
23. 75
33. 98
$21.82
25. 32
29. 99
23. 20
33. 99
22.5
28.6
41.9
42.1
38.3
28.4
28.7
41.1
41.8
36.9
24.3
28.5
41.2
40.9
38.1
91.8
87.6
73.8
56.9
88.3
93.6
88.3
73.2
56.7
89.5
92.6
88.7
73.1
56.7
87.6
78.9
92.7
68.5
79.0
93.0
68.4
102.9
107.4
70.9
101.8
105.8
71.5
100.4
108.1
70.4
32. 03
35. 56
33, 89
31.66
34.86
34.15
31.23
35. 39
33.66
39.9
40.8
45.9
39.7
39.1
46.5
39.3
40.0
46.0
80.8
87.3
73.0
80.1
89.2
72.6
79.8
88.5
72.2
90.9
92.8
103.5
99.4
87.7
75.9
85.1
78.3
91.6
101.9
110.0
- 3 .1
-.4
+ 2.9
90.1
88.7
103.0
90.1
73.1
74.6
80.5
85.8
95.9
92.6
81.8
69.3
79.4
76.4
83.6
88.0
82.7
+ 0 .3
+ .3
+ 6 .5
81.1
85.1
95.9
90.5
80.0
68.8
77.7
75.6
81.8
89.9
85.6
- 1 .9
-.6
+ 4.1
78.7
81.5
95.7
82.3
68.4
65.9
79.6
72.4
80.7
90.5
78.9
- 5 .7
- 1 .3
+ 6 .7
30. 55
20. 90
23.47
17. 58
20.74
28. 34
27. 92
26. 84
15.57
18.13
20.64
36. 79
36.03
33. 84
31.08
21.16
23.67
17. 83
21.15
28. 63
27. 25
26. 97
15. 51
18. 20
21.30
35. 97
35. 89
32.92
30. 32
21.35
23. 63
17. 65
21.91
28. 03
27. 35
26. 47
15.46
18.09
20. 05
35.18
36.10
32.47
41.2
42.7
43.4
38.5
37.7
44.5
47.2
43.1
46.0
42.7
43.0
00
00
35.4
41.5
43.2
43.8
39.0
38.3
44.3
47.6
43.0
46.2
42.8
44.3
00
00
34.8
41.2
43.1
43.8
38.1
38.8
44.1
47.6
43.0
46.7
43.0
42.9
00
00
34.1
74.0
53.3
52.1
45.6
54.6
67.5
58.4
63.3
33.6
42.7
49.1
00
00
95.7
74.8
53.3
52.2
45.6
54.7
68.4
57.0
63.8
33.6
42.7
49.2
00
00
94.7
73.6
54.1
52.1
47.1
55.6
68.3
57.6
62.5
33.0
42.2
48.1
00
00
95.6
49.8
89.5
72.6
48.4
61.8
49.8
87.7
72.5
48.9
63.0
49.9
78.9
92.2
68.5
91.8
94.4
104.4
103.6
91.2
77.2
85.0
79.5
93.1
100.1
109.6
- 1 .9
(12)
+ 3 .9
86.6
86.1
76.0
90.3
102.8
106.7
- 3 .3
+.2
+ 5 .2
1 Revised series. Mimeographed sheets giving averages by years, 1932 to 1939, inclusive,
and b y months, January 1938 to August 1940, inclusive, available on request. Average
hours and average hourly earnings are computed from data supplied by a smaller number
of establishments than average weekly earnings, as not all reporting firms furnish man
hours. The figures are not strictly comparable from month to month because of changes
in the size and composition of the reporting sample.
2 Revised series-—-Adjusted on basis of a complete employment survey made by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for August 1940. N ot comparable with previously published
indexes from January 1938 to August 1940, inclusive. Comparable figures for this period
even in table 9 of the September issue of the Employment and Pay Rolls pamphlet.
3 Indexes adjusted to 1935 census. Comparable series back to January 1929 presented
in January 1938 issue of this pamphlet.
4 See table 4 for revised employment and pay-roll indexes, average hours worked per
week, average hourly earnings, and average weekly earnings in anthracite mining,
February 1940 to September 1940, inclusive.
3 Average weekly earnings, hourly earnings, and hours not comparable with figures
published in pamphlets prior to January 1938 as they now exclude corporation officers,
executives, and other employees whose duties are mainly supervisory.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8 Retail-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 census and public-utility indexes to 1937 census.
N ot comparable with indexes published in pamphlets prior to January 1940 or m
M onthly Labor Review prior to April 1940, w ith but one exception, retail furniture,
which has been revised since publication of July 1940 pamphlet back to January 1936.
Comparable series for earlier months available upon request.
....
, .
7 Covers street-railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated,
and successor companies; formerly electric-railroad and motorbus operation and maintenance
8 Indexes adjusted to 1933 census. Comparable series in November 1934 and subsequent
issues of pamphlet.
..
,
, .
.. . , ,
9 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and tips not included.
10 Indexes of employment and pay rolls are not available; percentage changes from pre
ceding month substituted.
11 N ot available.
72 Less than Mo of 1 percent.
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
Coal mining:
A nthracite34_____________
Bituminous 3________________
Metalliferous m in ing..----------------Quarrying and nonmetallic mining.
Crude-petroleum production--------Public utilities:
Telephone and telegraph 56----Electric light and power 3 6 . . . .
Street railways and busses 3 8 7_
Trade:
Wholesale 38_______________
R e ta il38___________________
Food 6__________________
General merchandising 3 8.
Apparel8_______________
Furniture8_____________
Automotive 8----------------Lum ber8______________
Hotels (year-round)3 3 9-------------Laundries 3____________________
D yeing and cleaning3.-------------Brokerage 310-------------------- -----Insurance 310--------------------------Building construction 18________
tol
O
—
J
T a b l e 4.
Revised Employment, P ay Rolls, Hours, and Earnings in Anthracite Mining, February to September 1940, Inclusive
to
[Revision due to corrected reports secured by the Bureau]
Employment
Pay rolls
Percentage change
from—
Month
month
Preceding Same
preceding
month
year
Average hours worked per
week
Percentage change
from—
Percentage change
from—
Percentage change
from—
Index
month
Preceding Same
preceding
month
year
Aver
age
month
Preceding Same
preceding
month
year
Aver
age
Preceding Same month
preceding
month
year
Average hourly earnings
Percentage change
from—
Aver
age
month
Preceding Same
preceding
month
year
mo
February_________
M arch.. . . _____
April____ _ ___
M ay______________
51.6
52.2
51.2
51.8
+ 0 .2
+ 1 .0
-1 .9
+ 1 .2
-1 .0
+ .9
- 3 .5
-1 .5
32.9
38.4
36.3
40.0
-3 7 .3
+16. 9
- 5 .6
+10.2
-2 7 .2 $20. 94
+12.3 24. 22
-1 6 .5 23.31
-2 9 .9 25. 38
-3 7 .5
+15.7
- 3 .8
+ 8 .9
-2 6 .4
+11.3
-1 3 .5
-2 8 .8
22.4
26.3
26.2
27.9
-3 9 .1
+17.5
-.4
+ 6 .4
-2 8 .3
+12.2
- 9 .5
-2 7 .4
June________ ____ _
July______________
August____ _______
Septem ber._______
49.7
50.5
49.9
49.8
- 4 .0
+ 1 .5
- 1 .1
-.2
-2 .9
+13.0
+ 3 .0
+ .8
40.6
36.5
33.1
39.3
+ 1 .6
-1 0 .1
- 9 .3
+18.8
+12.6
+45.1
- 2 .1
- 1 .8
+ 5 .8
-1 1 .4
- 8 .3
+19.0
+15.9
+28.4
- 5 .0
- 2 .7
29.3
26.5
24.3
28.4
+ 4 .8
- 9 .6
- 8 .3
+17.2
+16.3
+32.3
+ 1.1
+ .1
1 Less than J-io of 1 percent.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
26.85
23.79
21.82
25. 96
C en ts
91.7
92.5
91.5
92.4
-0 .2
+ .9
- 1 .1
+ .9
- 0 .5
+ •2
- 1 .1
+ .4
93.0
92.6
92.6
93.6
+ .7
-.4
0)
+ 1 .0
0)
-.5
-.2
+ 1 .8
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Index
Average weekly earnings
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
259
T a b l e 5 . —Indexes
of Employment and Pay Rolls in Selected Manufacturing 1 and Nonmanufacturing2 Industries, October 1939 to October 1940, Inclusive
Employment
1940
1939
Industry
Av. O ct. N ov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. M ay June July Aug. Sept. Oct.
M a n u fa c t u r in g
All industries __________
96.9 103.7 103.9 104.2 101.5 101.5 100.9 99.7 99.1 99.6 99.7 103.8 107.7 110.1
Durable goods 3 -------- 87.9 96.2 98.3 100.2 97.6 96.7 96.6 96.2 96.7 97.3 95.9 99.8 105. 5 109.9
Nondurable goods4 . . . 105.5 110.8 109.2 108.0 105.3 106.1 105.1 103. 0 101.4 101.7 103.3 107.6 109.7 110.2
N o n m a n u fa c t u r in g
Anthracite mining 5______
Bituminous-coal mining A.
Metalliferous m ining_____
Quarrying and nonmetallic mining_____________
Crude-petroleum produc
tion__________________
Telephone and telegraph 6
Electric light and power A
S tr e e t r a ilw a y s and
busses 6 7___________
Wholesale trade________
Retail trade 6____________
Y ear-round hotels A . ___
Laundries A ._ _ . . _____
Dyeing and cleaning 5____
50.6 51.9 51.3 51.0 51.5 51.6 52.2 51.2 51.8 49.7 50.5 49.9 49.8 49.8
78.6 93.0 94.9 92.6 91.8 91.7 89.7 86.2 85.1 83.8 84.9 86.6 87.7 89.5
62.7 65.3 66.5 67.3 66.4 66.3 66.2 67.7 69.2 70.3 71.0 71.5 72.5 72.6
44.6 48.0 47.1 44.0 37.8 38.3 41.0 44.5 46.9 47.9 48.1 48.5 48.9 48.4
65.8 64.3 63.8 63.8 63.2 63.0 63.2 63.1 63.3 63.8 63.7 63.6 63.0 61.8
75.8 76.5 76.1 75.8 76.1 75.9 76.0 76.7 77.3 77.8 78.8 79.0 78.9 78.9
89.0 90.4 90.3 90.1 89.1 89.2 89.3 90.0 90.6 91.2 92.2 93.0 92.7 92.2
69.0
89.2
89.8
92.0
95.9
101.3
69.5
92.4
.91.7
92.9
96.0
105.1
69.3
92.1
93.3
91.8
95.6
97.8
69.0
92.2
104.2
90.8
95.6
97.4
68.8
90.6
87.7
91.3
96.0
94.0
68.7
90.2
87.0
92.1
95.8
93.7
68.2
90.5
91.1
92.0
96.2
99.5
68.3
89.3
89.8
92.7
97.2
104.5
68.4
88.9
91.2
93.4
99.1
108.7
68.5
89.6
91.9
92.0
102.1
112.6
68.4
89.2
89.1
90.3
102.5
108.2
68.4
90.1
88.7
90.3
102.8
106.7
68.5
90.9
92.8
91.6
101.9
110.0
68.5
91.8
94.4
93.1
100.1
109.6
Pay rolls
M a n u fa c t u r in g
All industries....... - ............
90.8 101.7 101.7 103.9 98.4 97.9 98.4 96.5 96.4 98.1 96.8 104.0 110.1 114.5
Durable goods A ..........
Nondurable goods4__
85.3 99.8 101.1 104.8 98.4 96.9 97.8 97.5 97.8 100.4 96.5 105.5 114.1 122.2
97.0 103.9 102.4 102.8 98.4 99.1 99.0 95.4 94.9 95.6 97.1 102.4 105.6 105.9
N o n m a n u fa c t u r in g
Anthracite mining 6-------Bituminous-coal mining A
Metalliferous mining____
Quarrying and nonmetal lie m ining_____________
Crude-petroleum produc
tion__________________
Telephone and telegraph 6
Electric light and power 6
S tr e e t r a ilw a y s and
busses 67-------------------Retail trade6_____ _____
Year-round hotels 5_____
Laundries 5____________
Dyeing and cleaning 3----
39.5 52.2 42.0 26.6 52.5 32.9 38.4 36.3 40.0 40.6 36.5 33.1 39.3 32.2
69.9 97.6 96.3 84.3 87.0 87.0 78.3 72.2 75.3 73.9 75.2 82.5 83.2 84.3
56.0 63.4 63.9 65.0 63.6 64.2 63.2 63.5 65.7 65.4 63.7 68.5 69.5 71.5
38.7 45.6 42.9 39.2 29.6 30.8 34.1 38.1 42.7 43.9 43.5 45.2 46.2 46.2
61.0 58.8 59.6 59.2 58.4 59.0 58.4 59.0 58.7 58.8 59.1 59.0 58.2 58.3
. 0 101.3 100.4 101.8 102.9
95.6 97.2 96.4 97.4 97.4 96.9 98.1 98.7 98.8
100.4 102.0 102.5 102.4 101.6 102.2 102.3 103.3 104.2 104.8 105.8 108.1 105.8 107.4
100
69.5
76.6
80.8
81.2
83.1
73.6
71.2
80.3
83.2
82.2
83.9
77.3
69.4
79.0
83.6
81.8
82.9
70.8
69.8
79.1
91.8
81.1
83.7
69.9
69.0
77.1
79.9
81.1
83.4
65.5
71.5
77.1
79.1
82.7
83.1
64,4
69.5
77.8
82.0
81.8
84.1
72.7
69.2
77.4
82.3
83.2
85.6
79.6
69.2
77.4
83.4
83.0
88.5
85.4
70.5
78.4
84.8
82.0
92.4
89.6
70.0
78.3
82.6
80.5
90.0
80.0
70.4
78.7
81.5
80.7
90.5
78.9
71.5
81.1
85.1
81.8
89.9
85.6
70.9
80.5
85.8
83.6
88.0
82.7
1 3-year average 1923-25=100—adjusted to 1937 Census of Manufactures. See table 9 in September 1940
issue of Employment and Pay Rolls pamphlet for further revisions.
.
, . .
2 12-month average for 1929 = 100. Comparable indexes for wholesale trade, quarrying, metal mining, and
crude-petroleum production are in November 1934 and subsequent issues of Employment and Pay Rolls,
or in February 1935 and subsequent issues of M onthly Labor Review. For other nonmanufacturing indexes
see notes 5 and 6.
.
„
. , ,
,
, ... ,
3Includes: Iron and steel, machinery, transportation equipment, nonferrous metals, lumber and allied
products, and stone, clay, and glass products.
4 Includes: Textiles and their products, leather and its manufactures, food and kindred products, tobacco
manufactures, paper and printing, chemicals and allied products, products of petroleum and coal, rubber
products, and a number of miscellaneous industries not included in other groups.
« Indexes have been adjusted to the 1935 census. Comparable series from January 1929 forward are pre
sented in January 1938 and subsequent issues of pamphlet.
.
_
6 Retail-trade indexes adjusted to 1935 census and public-utility indexes to 1937 census. N ot comparable
with indexes published in Employment and Pay Rolls pamphlets prior to January 1940 or in M onthly
Labor Review prior to April 1940. Comparable series January 1929 to December 1939 available in mimeo
graphed form.
.
, , .
,
,
,
7 Covers street railways and trolley and motorbus operations of subsidiary, affiliated, and successor
companies.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
260
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT IN PRINCIPAL METROPOLITAN
AREAS
A comparison of employment and pay rolls in September and
October 1940 is made in table 6 for 13 metropolitan areas, each of
which had a population of 500,000 or over in 1930. Cities within
these areas but having a population of 100,000 or over are not included.
Footnotes to the table specify which cities are excluded. Data con
cerning them have been prepared in a supplementary tabulation
which is available on request. The figures represent reports from
cooperating establishments and cover both full- and part-time
workers in the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries
presented in table 3, with the exception of building construction, and
include also miscellaneous industries.
Revisions made in the figures after they have gone to press, chiefly
because of late reports by cooperating firms, are incorporated in the
supplementary tabulation mentioned above. This supplementary
tabulation covers these 13 metropolitan areas as well as other metro
politan areas and cities having a population of 100,000 or more ac
cording to the 1930 Census of Population.
T a b l e 6 .— Comparison
of Employment and P ay Rolls in Identical Establishments in
September and October 1940, by Principal Metropolitan Areas
Metropolitan area
New York 1_____ _______ _ .
Chicago 2____ _ __________
Philadelphia 3_________ .
D etroit. __ ______
Los Angeles 4___________ .
Number of Number on Percentage
Amount of Percentage
establish
change
change
pay roll
pay roll (1 from
ments
from
Sep
Sep
October
week) Octo
October
tember
tember
1940
ber
1940
1940
1940
1940
13,658
4,451
2, 533
1,693
3,091
747, 355
504, 260
263,045
388, 304
204,151
+ 2 .0
+ 2 .6
+ 3 .2
+ 7 .9
+ 1 .0
$21,589,496
14, 511, 519
7,452,151
14,456, 281
6,196, 236
+ 1 .4
+ 2 .2
4-3.0
+12.2
+ 1 .2
Cleveland _______ .
St. Louis _______
B altim ore...
Boston 5______________
Pittsburgh___________
1,642
1,419
1,104
2,915
1,344
146, 682
142, 881
123, 587
200,191
219,020
+ 2 .2
+ 2 .5
+ 3.3
+ 1 .9
+ 2 .4
4, 485, 738
3, 677,040
3, 294,434
5, 259,971
6,879,913
+ 4 .7
+ 4.1
+ 2 .8
+ .6
+ 4 .7
San Francisco 8 _____ .
Buffalo_______
M ilwaukee__________
1,706
802
1,001
99,075
95,017
113,129
+ .4
+ 2 .4
+ 2 .8
3,098, 613
2,820,073
3,374, 940
+ 1 .5
+ 3 .9
+ 5.1
1 Does not include
2 Does not include
3 Does not include
4 Does not include
{ Does not include
8 Does not include
Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, or Paterson, N . J., or Yonkers, N . Y.
Gary, Ind.
Camden, N . J.
Long Beach, Calif.
Cambridge, Lynn, or Somerville, Mass.
Oakland, Calif.
WAGE-RATE CHANGES IN AMERICAN INDUSTRIES
The following table gives information concerning wage-rate adjust
ments occurring during the month ending October 15, 1940, as shown
by reports received from manufacturing and nonmanufacturing
establishments which supply employment data to this Bureau.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Trend of Employment and Pay Rolls
261
As the Bureau’s survey does not cover all establishments in an
industry and, furthermore, as some firms may have failed to report
wage-rate changes, these figures should not be construed as repre
senting the total number of wage changes occurring in manufacturing
and nonmanufacturing industries.
T able 7.— Wage Rate Changes Reported hy Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing
Establishments During Month Ending Oct. 15, 1940 1
Employees
Establishments
Group and industry
All manufacturing_____________________
Iron and steel group___________________
Blast furnaces, steel works, and roll
ing mills__ ____ _________________
Forgings_______________ __________
Structural and ornamental metal
work____________________________
Machinery group______________________
Electrical machinery_______________
Foundries and machine s h o p s .......... .
Transportation group__________________
Nonferrous metals group_______________
Brass, bronze, and copper products.. .
Smelting and refining—copper, lead,
and zinc_________________________
Lumber and allied products group__ ___
Furniture_________________________
Sawmills__________________________
Stone, clay, and glass group_____________
Glass_____________________________
Fabrics group_________________________
Woolen and worsted goods group____
Food group___________________________
Canning and preserving_______ ____
Paper and printing group______________
Paper and pulp____________________
Book and job printing______________
Chemical group____ ___________________
Chemicals_____________ ______ _____
Rubber group_________________________
Average per
centage
change in
wage rates of
employees
having—
Number re
Number
having—
porting—
Total
num
Total
ber re Wage Wage number Wage Wage
covered
port rate
rate
rate
rate
ing
IninDein
de
decreases creases
creases creases creases creases
33,334
2,498
185
22
328
92
4
6 , 21 8 ,7 8 2
39 ,3 1 6
884, 753
5,412
4
3
473, 744
13,397
1,029
125
3.9
15.7
302
3,833
576
2,258
730
1,130
366
3
31
8
17
6
25
7
29,337
869,860
223,446
288,383
688,492
223, 850
86,362
82
5,018
1,770
2,502
6, 234
8, 299
661
10.0
53
2, 617
706
760
1,602
154
3,621
483
5, 333
1,061
3,977
434
1,597
2, 235
240
250
11
27
3
18
17
6
7
3
6
3
19
10
4
14
5
3
30,496
327,934
99,090
135, 752
198,437
64,429
943,291
149,634
520,645
118,207
362, 581
127,211
79, 771
317, 584
65,968
116,528
5, 777
5,056
1,291
3,489
1,249
576
1,779
1,355
79
1,379
507
1,103
7.6
7.3
9.8
9.9
5.4
5.5
5.4
6.7
5.8
3.3
All nonmanufacturing (except building
construction)______________________ _ 66,071
297
Metalliferous mining__________________
292
Street railways and busses______________
Wholesale trade____ ___________________ 11,272
36
15
6
6
2 , 0 01, 09 3
14 ,4 28
4.7
52,218 12, 538
90, 739 1,215
316
247,582
4.7
3.0
9.5
2,886
1,478
155
101
675
7.0
9.1
6.4 ........ .
6.1
4.6
6.9
11.2
6.1
8.1
5.5
6.1
9.0
5.1
6.6
6.8
1 As the Bureau’s survey does not cover all establishments in an industry, and furthermore, as some
firms may have failed to report wage changes, the figures should not be construed as representing the total
number of wage changes occurring. Figures are not given for some industries to avoid disclosure of infor
mation concerning individual establishments. They are, however, included, where practicable, in “all
manufacturing,” in “all nonmanufacturing,” and in the various industry groups.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications o f Labor Interest
JANUARY 1941
Agricultural Labor
u n d e r S ta te la b o r la w s .
Statem ent by Clara M. Beyer,
A ssistant Director, U. S. Division of Labor Standards, before subcommittee
of Senate Com mittee on Education and Labor. Washington, U. S. D epart
m ent of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, 1940. 13 pp.; mimeographed.
T h e p r o b le m o f a g r ic u ltu r a l la b o r .
(In International Labor Review, Geneva,
August-September 1940, pp. 95-107.)
Summary of the measures taken in France, Germany, G reat Britain, H ungary,
Sweden, and Switzerland to com bat the shortage of agricultural labor.
H a r v e s t la b o r d i s t r i b u ti o n a n d c le a r a n c e m a n u a l.
Bismarck, N orth D akota State
Employm ent Service, 1940. 55 pp.; mimeographed.
A g r ic u ltu r a l w o rk e rs
Apprenticeship
p r in c ip le s fo r p erso n n el m a n a g ers.
By William F. Patterson.
(In Personnel, New York, August 1940, pp. 1-13.)
F irst of a series of articles being prepared by the staff of the Apprenticeship
U nit of the Division of Labor Standards, U. S. D epartm ent of Labor, for publica
tion in Personnel. In this first article, the chief of the Apprenticeship LTnit out
lines its functions and lists and discusses 6 principles of apprenticeship.
A p p r e n t i c e w a g e r a te s .
By O. L. H arvey. (In Personnel, New York, November
1940, pp. 108-116.)
Second article on apprenticeship prepared for Personnel in the Apprenticeship
U nit of the U. S. Division of Labor Standards.
A p p r e n tic e s h ip
Consumer Problems
By H arriet Elliott. (In Labor Infor
m ation Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, November
1940, pp. 1-3.)
C o n s u m e r r e p r e s e n ta tio n i n th e N e w D e a l.
By Persia Campbell. New York,
Columbia University Press, 1940. 298 pp. (Studies in history, economics,
and public law, No. 477.)
Describes the various agencies in the New Deal, beginning w ith the Consumers’
Advisory Board of the N. R. A., which represent the consumers’ viewpoint, and
analyzes their policies w ith reference to programs for the regulation of industry
and agriculture.
P r o d u c t S ta n d a r d s a n d la b e lin g f o r c o n s u m e r s .
By Alice L. Edwards. New York,
Ronald Press Co., 1940. 134 pp.
Summarizes the general procedures of a few outstanding national agencies
which foster joint activity in developing and promoting the use of standards and
inform ative labels. Points out certain factors which seem of special importance
in insuring the practicability, as well as the economic and social soundness, of
standards established under the various procedures.
C o n s u m e r p r o te c tio n i n n a t i o n a l d e f e n s e .
E d i t o r ’ s n o t e .— The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not distribute the publi
cations to which reference is made in this list, except those issued by the Bureau
itself. For all others, please w rite to the respective publishing agencies men
tioned.
262
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
263
Cooperative Movement
A b s tr a c ts o f la w s 'p e r ta in in g to c o o p e r a tio n in th e U n ite d S ta te s o f A m e r ic a , i t s
p o s s e s s io n s a n d te r r ito r ie s .
New York, Cooperative Project, 625 Madison
Avenue, 1940. 350 pp.; mimeographed. (Studies of the Cooperative
Project, Series A, P art II; prepared w ith assistance of Work Projects Ad
m inistration for City of New York.)
These abstracts cover “ cooperation” in a very wide sense, including in th a t
term not only the recognized types such as marketing associations, such partially
cooperative types as fraternal consumers’ cooperatives, credit unions, etc., but
also benefit societies, building and loan associations, physicians’ and dentists’
associations, salvage corporations, and fair associations. The m aterial is pre
sented State by State, and a topical index shows the specific types of cooperatives
covered. The broad groups dealt w ith in this exhaustive study include agri
cultural m arketing and purchasing cooperatives; consumers’ cooperatives; credit
cooperatives; producer cooperatives; cooperative housing, including building and
loan associations; cooperative medicine; cooperative insurance; and “ acts pertain
ing to associations not strictly cooperative but involving the application of
cooperative principles.”
A h is to r y o f c o n s u m e r s ’ c o o p e r a tiv e s i n O r e g o n p r i o r to 1 9 0 0 .
By Iver Willis
Masterson. Eugene, 1939. 52 pp., bibliography; mimeographed. (Univer
sity of Oregon thesis series, No. 8.)
A valuable though lim ited contribution to the history of consumers'’ cooperation
in the United States. Most of th e early cooperatives included here—purchasing
and insurance associations—were those of the S tate and local granges.
S t a t i s t i q u e d e s s o c ié té s c o o p é r a tiv e s [ in B u l g a r i a ], 1 9 8 8 . Sofia, Direction Générale
de la Statistique, 1940. 143 pp.
E ntirely statistical, covering the year 1938, and giving information on both
producers’ and consumers’ associations (including in the la tte r not only distribu
tive b u t credit and insurance)—business, membership, employees, and balance
sheets. Printed in Bulgarian, b u t with some equivalents in French.
T h e c o o p e r a tiv e c r e d it m o v e m e n t i n P a le s tin e .
By M anoah Lavanon Bialik.
Ann Arbor, Edwards Bros., Inc., 1940. 128 pp.; mimeographed.
D etailed analysis of cooperative credit, including m aterial on mortgage-loan
activities in relation to the housing problem in Palestine, central institutions, and
an appraisal of the credit movement and its accomplishments and shortcomings.
.An introductory chapter summarizes the cooperative situation in various countries.
Employment and Unemployment
Sacramento, California D epartm ent
of Employm ent, 1940. 77 pp., charts; mimeographed. (Report 127.)
Study of workers covered by the California Unemployment Insurance Act,
classified by industry and by county.
P e n n s y l v a n i a c a le n d a r o f s e a s o n a l e m p lo y m e n t.
H arrisburg, Bureau of Em ploy
m ent and Unemployment Compensation, 1940. 42 pp., charts.
A sum m ary of the research on seasonal employment being conducted by the
Pennsylvania Bureau of Employm ent and Unemployment Compensation, in
tended primarily as a reference m anual for adm inistrators in directing field workers’
contacts with employers and in anticipating periodic unemployment and claims
for compensation. Seasonal conditions and employment fluctuations in Pennsyl
vania are shown, by industry, in a series of tabulations and charts.
C a l i f o r n i a e m p lo y m e n t a n d p a y r o lls i n 1 9 3 8 .
T h e f i r s t W i s c o n s in C o n fe re n c e o n S te a d ie r J o b s , M i lw a u k e e , W i s . , J u n e 2 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
Madison, Industrial Commission of Wisconsin, 1940. 68 pp.
The conference, which was sponsored by the Industrial Commission, employer
and trade-union groups, and the American Legion, discussed various questions
relating to employment stabilization.
T h e s e r v ic e in d u s t r i e s i n r e la tio n to e m p lo y m e n t tr e n d s .
By D avid W eintraub
and H arry Magdoff. (In Econometrica, Chicago, October 1940, pp. 289-311.)
Discussion of the extent and significance of the relative trends of employment
away from “commodity producing” industries and tow ard the “service” industries.
T h e p r o b a b le e ffe c t o f th e d e fe n s e p r o g r a m o n u n e m p lo y m e n t.
(In Conference Board
Economic Record, New York, Dec. 5, 1940, pp. 469-471; chart.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
264
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
Buenos Aires, D epartam ento Nacional
del Trabajo, 1940. 57 pp.; processed.
This report on unem ployment in Argentina contains an account of the steps
being taken by the G overnment and by private employers to m eet the situation,
and measures recommended, together w ith data on unem ploym ent up to Septem
ber 14, 1940, in the various Provinces and Territories.
L a d e s o c u p a c ió n e n la A r g e n t i n a , 1 9 4 0 .
Health and Industrial Hygiene
(In Inform ation Service of D epartm ent
of Research and Education, Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
America, New York, November 23, 1940, pp. 1-8.)
Gives accounts of im portant experiments in provision of medical care, including
group practice, consumers’ cooperative associations for medical care, hospital
insurance, medical expense indem nity plans, and coordinated service for lowincome families. Summarizes the general situation regarding the adequacy of
medical care, problems involved in the provision of such care, and pending legisla
tion, and gives selected references on the whole subject.
P u b l i c h e a lth a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n th e U n ite d S t a t e s .
By Wilson G. Smillie. New
York, Macmillan Co., 1940. 553 pp.
The author reviews in this revised edition the developments in the field of
public health in the past five years. There is a historical account of the develop
m ent of public-health adm inistration in the United States, and sections on adm in
istrative control of communicable diseases, basic activities of a health organization,
and organization of public-health programs are also included.
A p r e l i m i n a r y s u r v e y o f th e i n d u s t r i a l h y g ie n e p r o b le m i n th e U n ite d S ta te s .
By
J. J. Bloomfield and others. Washington, U. S. Public H ealth Service,
1940. 132 pp., charts. (Public health bull. No. 259.)
Based on the results of surveys in 15 States during the period 1936-39 covering
1,487,224 workers in 16,803 plants. The data cover safety measures, hospital
and general health-service provisions, and exposure to various m aterials and
conditions.
M o v e m e n ts f o r e x te n s io n o f m e d ic a l c a r e .
A s t u d y o f th e e ffe c ts o f e x p o s u r e to d u s t i n th e m i n i n g a n d m i l l in g o f p y r o p h y l li t e .
By H. F. Easom, M. D., and others. Raleigh, Division of Industrial Hygiene
of N orth Carolina State Board of H ealth and Industrial Commission, 1939.
100 pp., bibliography, diagrams, illus.
The study covered 101 present and former employees of the mine. The
medical examinations showed no cases of pneumoconiosis among the men having
less than two years’ exposure to the dust, b u t of the 43 workers w ith longer
exposure 15, or 35 percent, were affected.
T o x ic ity a n d p o te n tia l d a n g e r s o f a l i p h a t ic a n d a r o m a tic h y d r o c a r b o n s — a c r itic a l
r e v ie w o f th e lite r a tu r e .
By W. F. von Oettingen. W ashington, U. S.
Public Health Service, 1940. 135 pp., bibliography, charts. (Public health
bull. No. 255.)
The first p art of the bulletin deals w ith the toxicity and hazards of the different
paraffins, olefines, and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the second p art, w ith
toxicity and hazards of benzene, toluene, and other compounds of the benzene ring.
Housing and Construction Activities
th e U n ite d S ta te s .
By M argaret H. Schoenfeld.
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 16 pp. (Serial No. R.
1161, reprint from August 1940 M onthly Labor Review.)
P r o g r e s s o f p u b lic h o u s in g i n
T h e h o u s in g s ta tu s o f i n d u s t r i a l a n d u n i v e r s i t y e m p lo y e e s i n A n n A r b o r , M ic h ig a n .
By Richard U. Ratcliff. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Bureau of
Business Research, 1940. 44 pp.; mimeographed. (Report No. 5.)
Report of a survey conducted by the questionnaire method.
R u s s e ll C i t y [ C a lif o r n ia ] s u r v e y : H o u s in g a n d s a n i t a t i o n .
By Anne W. Dierup
and Bernie Firestone. Los Angeles, State Division of Im m igration and
Housing, 1940. 25 pp.; mimeographed.
Results of an investigation of living conditions and home ownership in a shack
town.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
265
[N e w Y o r k ] H o u s e s : A c h a p te r i n p u b lic h o u s in g .
New York,
New York City Housing A uthority, 1940. 11 pp., plan, illus.
Traces the history of the Jam aica public-housing project from the planning
stage.
V iv i e n d a s d e la le y 9 6 7 7 [ A r g e n tin a ] ,
Buenos Aires, Comision Nacional de
Casas Baratas, 1940. 74 pp., plans, illus.
A publication of the N ational Commission of Low-Cost Housing of Argentina,
giving statistics of housing as affecting living conditions, especially in Buenos
Aires, and a pictorial account of the apartm ent houses and individual dwellings
constructed by the Commission for rent or sale to low-income families, w ith
inform ation on projects for the future.
C o o p e r a tiv e w o r k e r s ’ h o u s in g i n P a le s tin e .
By Israel Mereminski. (In Jewish
Frontier, New York, October 1940, pp. 28-31.)
P e r m i t f e e s f o r r e s i d e n t i a l c o n s tr u c tio n i n th e U n ite d S ta te s , 1 9 4 0 .
Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 11 pp. (Serial No. R. 1188, re
p rin t from December 1940 M onthly Labor Review.)
S o u th J a m a i c a
Income
By Adolph J.
Goldenthal. W ashington, U. S. G overnment Printing Office, 1940. xv, 112
pp. (U. S. Tem porary N ational Economic Committee investigation of con
centration of economic power, monograph No. 4.)
C o n c e n tr a tio n a n d c o m p o s itio n o f i n d i v i d u a l in c o m e s , 1 9 1 8 - 1 9 3 7 .
I n c o m e p r o b le m s i n P u e r to R ic o : A n a n a l y s i s o f in c o m e le v e ls , th e ir e ffe c ts, a n d s o m e
p o s s i b i l i ti e s o f im p r o v e m e n t.
By Dudley Smith. W ashington, D. C., Asso
ciation of Sugar Producers of Puerto Rico, [1939].
charts; mimeographed.
98 pp., bibliography,
Industrial Accidents and Workmen’s Compensation
By George R. Mc
Cormack. W ashington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 12 pp.
(Serial No. R. 1164, reprint from August 1940 M onthly Labor Review.)
C a u s e s a n d p r e v e n tio n o f a c c id e n ts i n lu m b e r m a n u f a c tu r e , 1 9 3 9 .
By Max D.
Kossoris and Swen Kjaer. W ashington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1940. 17 pp. (Serial No. R. 1184, reprint from September 1940 M onthly
Labor Review.)
A c c id e n ts i n th e u r b a n h o m e a s r e c o r d e d i n n a tio n a l h e a lth s u r v e y [ 1 9 3 5 - 3 6 ] .
By
Rollo H. Britten, Joan Klebba, D avid E. Hailman. (In Public H ealth Re
ports, U. S. Public H ealth Service, Washington, November 8, 1940, pp.
2061-2086; charts.)
Summary of data on home accidents among 2,498,180 white and colored per
sons of known age, or 3.6 percent of the urban population of the U nited States
(1930 Census). I t shows frequency of accidents causing disability for 1 week or
more, by age, sex, economic status, employment status, means of injury, etc.,
and prevalence of impairments caused by home accidents, by means of injury and
by age.
I n j u r y e x p e r ie n c e i n ir o n a n d ste e l i n d u s t r y , 1 9 3 8 a n d 1 9 3 9 .
A s t a t i s t ic a l s t u d y o f a ll a c c id e n t a n d o c c u p a tio n a l d is e a s e c la im s f ile d w ith I n d u s t r i a l
C o m m is s io n o f O h io d u r in g c a le n d a r y e a r 1 9 3 9 , w ith s u m m a r y o f y e a r s 1 9 3 0 1 9 3 9 , in c lu s iv e .
Columbus, Industrial Commission, 1940. 27 pp.
The to ta l num ber of claims filed for industrial injuries in Ohio during 1939 was
182,840, as against 166,925 filed for 1938. The increase is attrib u ted largely to
a heavy increase in employment. The m anufacture of m etal products, other than
machinery, accounted for 22 percent of the injuries b u t less than 10 percent of
th e fatalities, while commercial employment, Which ranked second in num ber of
injuries (15 percent of the total), had nearly 11 percent of all industrial fatalities in
the State.
O ly c k s f a ll i a rb e te , d r 1 9 3 7 .
Stockholm, Riksforsakringsanstalten, 1940. 59 pp.
Annual report on industrial accidents and diseases, and compensation therefor,
in Sweden in 1937. Printed in Swedish w ith table of contents, resume, and list of
industries and accident and disease causes also in French.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—-January 1941
266
By Sidney J. Williams and W. W. Charters. New York, Macmillan
Co., 1940. 451 pp., diagrams, illus.
The authors discuss the reasons for m any accidents, the dangers of unsafe
practices, and precautions which should be taken to elim inate unnecessary
hazards. Accident hazards a t home, in the school, on the street and highway,
in industry, in recreation, etc., are covered. A list of references accompanies
each chapter.
S a fe ty .
Industry Reports
T r a n s a c tio n s o f t h i r d a n n u a l a n th r a c ite c o n fe r e n c e o f L e h ig h U n i v e r s i t y , M a y 9 ,
1 0 , 194-0, B e th le h e m , P a .
Bethlehem, Lehigh University, 1940. 238 pp.
H arrisburg, State Planning
Board, 1940. 38 pp., charts. (In Septem ber-O ctober 1940 issue of Pennsyl
vania Planning.)
Traces the decline in bitum inous-coal production, discusses the problems arising
in Pennsylvania, and makes recommendations for protecting the industry.
M e x ic o ’s o il.
Mexico City, G overnment of Mexico, 1940. 881 pp. (In English.)
The report of the E xpert Commission to the Federal Board of Conciliation and
A rbitration in the Conflict of Economic Order in th e Petroleum Industry in
Mexico, presented in this volume, includes data on wages in the industry by
occupation and region or company in 1934 and 1937, w ith some figures for earlier
years; and collective labor-contract provisions dealing w ith hours, vacations,
safety, housing, workm en’s compensation, medical service, pensions, savings
funds, scholarships for workers and their sons, and planning for the leisure tim e of
workers in the petroleum industry. Similar data are also given for the mining
industry and railroads, together w ith figures on cost of living and purchasing
power of wages in the oil, railway, and mining industries.
T r e n d s i n b itu m in o u s - c o a l i n d u s t r y i n P e n n s y l v a n i a .
Labor Organizations and Publications
By A. A. M yrup. (In Labor
Inform ation Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, October
1940, pp. 1-4; illus.)
J o u r n e y m e n B a r b e r s ’ I n t e r n a t i o n a l U n io n o f A m e r i c a .
By William C. B irthright.
(In Labor Inform ation Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washing
ton, November 1940, pp. 7-10.)
L o n g s h o r e m e n , P a c if ic a n d A t l a n t i c .
Seattle, Wash., International Longshore
m en’s & W arehousemen’s Union, 1940. 32 pp., charts, illus.
The pam phlet contains data on the wages and working and living conditions
of longshoremen, particularly those on the W est Coast.
A m e r i c a n la b o r p r e s s — a n a n n o ta te d d ir e c to r y .
Washington, American Council on
Public Affairs, [1940?]. 120 pp.
Of the 676 publications (30 Canadian and the rem ainder U nited States) listed in
this directory, 327 are organs of branches of the American Federation of Labor
and 110 of affiliates of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, th e rem ainder
being sponsored by independent labor organizations, fraternal organizations,
political parties, and some private individuals. The list consists of publications
addressed to the working people of the U nited States and Canada, hence includes
those th a t are antiunion as well as those th a t are pro-union.
T h e B a k e r y a n d C o n f e c tio n e r y W o r k e r s ’ U n io n .
Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1940. 13 pp. (Serial No. R. 1177, reprint from September 1940
M onthly Labor Review.)
F o u r y e a r s o f th e D i v i s i o n o f P u b l i c C o n tr a c ts , U . S . D e p a r tm e n t o f L a b o r .
W ash
ington, U. S. D epartm ent of Labor, Division of Public C ontracts, October
1, 1940. 7 pp.
Operations under the Public Contracts Act of 1936, known as the W alsh-Healey
Act, from September 28, 1936, to August 31, 1940, were summarized in an article
in the October 1940 M onthly Labor Review (p. 805). This article was reprinted
in Bureau of Labor Statistics Serial No. 1192.
T w o y e a r s o f F a i r L a b o r S t a n d a r d s A c t.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
267
A n n u a l r e p o r t o f M i n i m u m W a g e B o a r d o f D i s t r i c t o f C o lu m b ia f o r p e r i o d J a n u a r y
1 , 1 9 3 9 , to D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 1 9 3 9 .
W ashington, [1940]. 58 pp.
Contains a review of the work of the Board since July 1, 1937, tex t of the
minimum-wage law of the D istrict, and orders and rulings of the Board in six
industries, covering approxim ately 35,000 woman workers and minors.
Negro Problems
e m p lo y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
F rankfort, Ivy., K entucky Unemployment
Compensation Commission, 1940. 31 pp.; mimeographed. (Research re
p o rt No. 22).
Analysis of the industrial distribution of job opportunities for Negroes, and of
such opportunities by occupation, size and location of firm, and Negro population.
P lo w i n g th r o u g h : T h e s to r y o f th e N e g r o i n a g r ic u ltu r e .
By Edwin Ware Hullinger.
New York, William Morrow and Co., 1940. 60 pp., illus.
D uring the last 10 years, under the national farm program, Negroes have for the
first time taken an extensive p art in agricultural com munity and national life.
Today 500 Negro county agents are working among the colored farmers in the
South.
T he N egroes o f N eb ra sk a .
W ritten and compiled by workers of W riters’ Program,
Work Projects A dministration, State of Nebraska. Omaha, Nebr., Omaha
U rban League Com m unity Center, 1940. 48 pp.
Includes discussion of the social and economic problems of the Negro.
N egro
Occupations and Occupational Surveys
By H. Dewey Anderson and Percy E.
Davidson. Stanford University, Calif., Stanford U niversity Press, 1940.
618 pp., charts.
Contains basic inform ation in regard to the composition and changing condi
tions of the working population of this country from 1870 to 1930, with some
statistical forecasts for 1940.
O c c u p a tio n a l in f o r m a tio n m o n o g r a p h s , N u m b e r s 1 - 1 7 .
Albany, U niversity of
S tate of New York, Bureau of Guidance, 1938-1940. Various paging;
mimeographed.
<The monographs in this series have dealt w ith the following industries, occupa
tions, etc.: Aviation, air-conditioning and refrigeration, Diesel-engine industry,
radio and television, junior technical positions in electrical industries, junior
positions in industrial chemistry, forestry, service trades, dentistry, clinical
laboratory technician, X -ray technician, service-station attendant, licensed and
unlicensed personnel of U. S. M erchant Marine, and the New York Ranger School.
P h o to g r a p h ic o c c u p a tio n s : C h o o s in g y o u r c a r e e r i n p h o to g r a p h y .
By Captain Burr
Leyson. New York, E. P. D utton & Co., Inc., 1940. 178 pp., illus.
Press, advertising, commercial portrait, motion-picture, newsreel, public
relations, medical and surgical, war correspondent, highspeed, color, police, aerial,
microphotography, pictorial, military, and nature study, are among the types of
photography considered. Photo finishing, darkroom work, and selling are also
•discussed.
O c c u p a tio n a l tr e n d s i n th e U n ite d S ta te s .
Relief Measures and Statistics
By Enid Baird and Hugh P. Brinton.
Washington, U. S. Works Progress Administration, Divisions of Research
and Statistics, 1940. xv, 89 pp.
P u b l i c r e lie f, 1 9 2 9 - 1 9 3 9 .
By Josephine Chapin Brown. New York, Henry
H olt & Co., 1940. 524 pp., bibliography, charts.
Covers the relief measures during the period 1929-39, showing the changing
•concepts, the various programs adopted for unem ployment relief and general
relief, and the beginning of a perm anent program. Also contains an introductory
section giving the historical background prior to 1929.
A v e r a g e g e n e r a l r e lie f b e n e fits, 1 9 3 3 - 1 9 3 8 .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Monthly Labor Review—January 1941
268
Washington, U. S. Social Security Board,
Bureau of Research and Statistics, 1940. 98 pp., charts. (Bureau report.
No. 8.)
Statistical presentation of the growth of the various phases of the social-security
program—old-age assistance, aid to dependent children, aid to the blind, and
general relief.
T h e D e n v e r r e lie f s tu d y : A s t u d y o f 3 0 4 g e n e r a l r e l ie f c a s e s k n o w n to D e n v e r B u r e a u
o f P u b l i c W e lfa r e o n J a n u a r y 1 5 , 1 9 4 0 .
By Jean Sinnock and associates.
Denver, Colorado State D epartm ent of Public Welfare and Denver Bureau
of Public Welfare, 1940. 62 pp.
Contains personal d ata on members of these families and sections on employ
able and unemployable cases and attitu d e tow ard employment. One chapter
deals with social questions: Results of an inadequate relief budget, diets, health,
etc., of the unemployed, how they live, and attitudes of the unemployed.
T r e n d s i n p u b lic a s s is ta n c e , 1 9 3 3 - 1 9 3 9 .
Social Security
Washington,
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 8 pp. (Serial No. R. 1162, reprint
from August 1940 M onthly Labor Review.)
C h a r a c te r is tic s o f S ta te p l a n s f o r a i d to th e b lin d (r e v is e d J u l y 1, 1 9 4 0 ) .
Washington,
U. S. Social Security Board, Bureau of Public Assistance, 1940. 25 pp.
A n n u a l w a g e a n d g u a r a n te e d - e m p lo y m e n t p l a n s i n u n io n a g r e e m e n ts .
C h a r a c te r is tic s o f S ta te p l a n s f o r a i d to d e p e n d e n t c h ild r e n (r e v is e d J u l y 1, 1 9 4 0 ) .
W ashington, U. S. Social Security Board, Bureau of Public Assistance, 1940.
27 pp.
P r o c e e d in g s o f N a t i o n a l
M a y 2 1 -2 6 , 1940.
C o n fe re n c e
o f J e w is h
S o c ia l
W e lfa r e ,
P itts b u r g h ,
P a .,
(In Jewish Social Service Quarterly, New York, Septem
ber 1940; 207 pp.)
Includes m aterial on family welfare, child care, vocational services, and care of
the aged.
T h e B r i t i s h s o c ia l s e r v ic e s .
By A. D. K. Owen. London, Longmans, Green &
Co., Ltd., 1940. 48 pp., charts, illus.
The services covered include education, health, treatm en t of physical and mental
defects, housing, pensions, and unemployment.
Unemployment Compensation
W h ith e r u n e m p lo y m e n t c o m p e n s a tio n ?
By Edwin E. W itte. (In Social Service
Review, Chicago, 111., September 1940, pp. 421-437.)
The author discusses proposed changes in the unem ployment-insurance laws
in view of the large surpluses accum ulated in the various States. He believes
th a t benefits should be increased rather th a n contributions lowered, and th a t the
thirty-five States which have experience-rating provisions which have not yet
become effective should not be prevented by Federal legislation from putting them
into effect, although reduction in contributions under experience rating m ight be
made conditional upon inclusion in the S tate law of minimum-benefit standards.
S t a n d a r d s a n d p r o c e d u r e s f o r th e c o m p e n s a tio n o f s e a s o n a l u n e m p lo y m e n t.
Wash
ington, U. S. Bureau of Employm ent Security, 1940. 75 p p .; mimeographed.
(Em ployment security memorandum No. 11.)
The report was prepared especially for furnishing inform ation and the con
clusions of the Bureau of Em ploym ent Security on the subject of compensation
for seasonal unem ployment to those States which now grant such compensation.
I t is suggested th a t States whose laws do not now contain seasonal provisions
should study the implications of the seasonal question in th e light of general
benefit experience over a longer period than has yet elapsed before attem pting to
legislate on this question.
Usages and Hours of Labor
By Douglas V. Brown and
Edwin M. M artin. Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1940.
xxvi, 172 pp., charts, illus. (U. S. Tem porary N ational Economic Com mit
tee investigation of concentration of economic power, monograph No. 5.)
I n d u s t r i a l w a g e r a te s , la b o r c o s ts, a n d p r ic e p o lic ie s .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Recent Publications of Labor Interest
269
By Irving H. Siegel. (In
Journal of American Statistical Association, Washington, D. C., September
1940, pp. 455-460.)
The author states th a t conclusi'Qfis regarding the rigidity of wages and the
m agnitude of labor cost which are based on average hourly earnings rath er than
on wages per unit of output, the derived piece rates, may be very misleading.
E a r n in g s a n d h o u r s i n e m b r o id e r ie s i n d u s t r y , 1 9 4 0 .
By H. E. Riley. Washing
ton, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 22 pp. (Serial No. R. 1171,
reprint from December 1940 M onthly Labor Review.)
T h e s h o r te n e d w o r k d a y i n th e N e w Y o r k C i t y b u ild in g i n d u s t r y .
By Division of
Industrial Economics, N ational Industrial Conference Board. New York,
Building Trades Employers’ Association, 1940. 46 pp., charts.
The conclusion reached is th a t a uniform 6-hour day in the building trades
would increase construction costs of typical buildings approxim ately 15 percent
over costs under a universal 8-hour day, and about 8 percent over costs under the
present split-day method of operation (i. e., under which different trades work
varying numbers of hours per day).
H o u r ly e a r n in g s a n d u n i t la b o r c o st i n m a n u f a c tu r in g .
S a la r ie s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r i n N e w
Y o r k C i t y P o lic e D e p a r tm e n t, J u l y 1, 1 9 3 8 .
Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1940. 12 pp. (Separate from
Bui. No. 685, Vol. II.)
P art of a comprehensive survey of wages, hours, and working conditions in
police and fire departm ents in cities of the United States having populations of
25,000 or more, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with
the Federal Work Projects Administration. The first report from this survey, on
hours of work of municipal firemen, was published in July 1940 M onthly Labor
Review and reprinted as Bureau of Labor Statistics Serial No. R. 1141.
S a la r ie s , h o u rs o f w o r k , a n d v a c a tio n p e r io d s i n p o lic e d e p a r tm e n ts o f N o r th C a r o lin a
c itie s o v e r 3 ,0 0 0 p o p u la tio n , f o r y e a r e n d in g J u n e 3 0 , 1 9 4 0 .
Raleigh, N orth
Carolina League of Municipalities, 1940.
No. 36.)
8 pp.; mimeographed.
(Report
C o m m e r c ia l m i n i m u m w a g e s c a le s , h o u r s , a n d w o r k in g c o n d itio n s o f s u b o r d in a te
u n io n s o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r i n t i n g P r e s s m e n a n d A s s i s t a n t s ’ U n io n o f N o r th
A m e r i c a , S e p te m b e r 1 , 1 9 4 0 .
Pressmen’s Home, International Printing
Pressmen and A ssistants’ Union, Tenn., 1940.
88 pp.
Wartime Labor and Industrial Conditions
New York, N ational Industrial Conference
(Studies in the economics of national defense,
L a b o r p o l i c y a n d d e f e n s e p r o d u c tio n .
Board, Inc., 1940.
No. 8.)
10 pp.
By Francis Hoague, Russell M. Brown,
Philip Marcus. (In H arvard Law Review, Cambridge, Mass., November
1940, pp. 50-104.)
The article deals With measures for governm ental control of labor in the United
States and foreign countries. Experience in the U nited States up to the end of
the World W ar and the tendencies in this respect since 1918 are reviewed,
and the constitutionality of governm ental labor control is discussed. One p art
of the article deals w ith foreign countries.
W a r t i m e c o n s c r ip tio n a n d c o n tr o l o f la b o r .
P r o b le m s a n d p o lic ie s i n i n d u s t r i a l r e la tio n s i n a w a r e c o n o m y — s e le c te d re fe r e n c e s .
Princeton, N. J., Princeton University, Industrial Relations Section, Novem
ber 15, 1940. 11 pp. (Bibliographical series, No. 62.)
Supplement to a bibliography of the same title dated May 1940.
W a r - ti m e la b o r p r o d u c t i v i t y .
By E. C. Robbins. (In H arvard Business Review,
Vol. 19, No. 1, NewYork, Autumn 1940, pp. 99-105.)
Advocates the development of grievance machinery acceptable to labor or
ganizations, such as exists, for example, in railroad transportation, and warns
against too arduous production schedules as interfering w ith the efficiency of
workers.
A m e r ic a tr a in s h er in d u s tr ia l a r m y .
(In Factory M anagement and Maintenance,
New York, November 1940, pp. 42-48; illus.)
Training plans for skilled and semiskilled labor needed for the defense program,
which have been adopted by 6 industrial organizations, and one S tate plan, one
town plan, and the program of the Federal Government, are described.
2S039S— 41-------18
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
270
Monthly Labor Review January 1941
—
By Charles M. M ohrhardt.
Chicago, American Library Association, August 1940. 12 pp. (The
Booklist, Vol. 36, No. 22, P art 2.)
A e r o n a u tic t r a i n i n g f o r n a tio n a l d e fe n s e .
By Paul Howard. Chicago, American
Library Association, 1940. 9 pp. (The Booklist, Vol. 37, No. 4, P art 2.)
This list of references was prepared as a supplement to the bibliography noted
in the preceding entry.
I n d u s t r i a l tr a i n i n g f o r n a tio n a l d e fe n s e [ b ib lio g r a p h y ].
By Lyle M. Spencer and Robert K. Burns. Chicago,
Science Research Associates, 1940. 64 pp., illus. (Occupational monograph
No. 17.)
The 7 sections of this pam phlet deal, respectively, w ith preparedness, our
m ilitary forces, aviation, m ilitary service—-the college of practical knowledge,
the organization of our Army, how the N avy is organized, and advantages and
disadvantages of m ilitary life.
S h ille d w o r k e r s f o r d e fe n s e in d u s t r i e s .
By Charles S. Slocombe. (In Personnel
Journal, New York, October 1940, pp. 120-158; November 1940, pp. 160-193;
also reprinted.)
The study covers methods of obtaining sufficient skilled workers for defense
industries. Methods of hiring, emergency and apprentice training, and selection
of men to be trained, are among the subjects discussed.
P r o c e s s e s o n w h ic h w o m e n a r e n o w a t w o r k i n d e fe n s e i n d u s tr ie s .
Washington,
U. S. Women’s Bureau, October 1940. 5 pp.; mimeographed.
W o m e n a v a ila b le f o r d e fe n s e w o r k .
Washington, U. S. Women’s Bureau, October
1940. 8 pp.; mimeographed.
M i l i t a r y tr a i n i n g a n d j o b s .
General Reports
Bv James H. Shoemaker. Washington
1940. 244 pp. (House Doc. No. 848, 76th Cong., 3d sess.)
Report of a survey made by the U nited States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sum m ary data are given in this issue of the M onthly Labor Review (p. 24) and
in the December 1940 issue (p. 1305).
L a b o r i n th e T e r r ito r y o f H a w a i i , 1 9 3 9 .
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 r e n c e , th ir ty - s e c o n d a n n u a l m e e tin g , J u n e 2 - 5 ,
1 9 4 0 , D u lu th , M i n n .
Chicago, Governors’ Conference, 1313 E ast 60th
Street, 1940. 178 pp.
Among the topics considered a t the conference were problems of relief, civil
service, land utilization, and national defense. One of the addresses gave the
history of the M assachusetts Conciliation and A rbitration Board.
S ta tis tis k aarb o g , 1 9 4 0 .
Copenhagen, Statistiske D epartem ent, 1940. 306 pp.
This statistical yearbook contains inform ation on prices, wages, unemployment,
strikes and lock-outs, employment service, social insurance, relief, labor unions,
etc. Some of the figures are for early 1940 but most of them are for 1939 and
earlier years.
of J a p a n a n d M a n ch u ku o, 1 9 3 0 -1 9 4 0 .
Edited by E. B.
^ Schumpeter. New York, Macmillan Co., 1940. xxviii, 944 pp.
This volume deals w ith population, raw m aterials, and industrial development of
Japan and Manchukuo, with special emphasis on the past ten years.
V e n e z u e la — a d e m o c r a c y .
By H enry J. Allen. New York, Doubleday, Doran &
Co., 1940. xix, 289 pp., map, illus.
Contains inform ation on retail prices and cost of living in Venezuela in term s of
U. S. currency; working conditions in the oil fields (housing, wages, profit sharing,
m utual sickness-benefit scheme, union organization and activities, workers’
education; public health service; and economic and social conditions).
T he in d u s tr ia liz a tio n
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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