Full text of Monthly Labor Review : June 1945, Vol. 60, No. 6

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IN THIS ISSUE
Wartime Food Purchases
Prices in the First Quarter of 1945
Effects of Cut-Backs on Employment and Turnover
Postwar Job Prospects in Aviation Occupations
Union Agreements in Petroleum Refining, 1944
Earnings in the Cutlery Industry, 1945

U N IT E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T O F LABOR « BUREAU O F LABOR STATISTICS

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
F r a n c e s P e r k i n s , Secretary

+
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
I sador L u b in , Commissioner (on leave)

A. F. H inrichs , Acting Commissioner
H enry J. F itzgerald, Chief, Business

Management Branch
Editorial and Research (vacancy)
W alter G. K eim , Director of Field
Operations
H ugh B. K illough , Chief, Em
ployment and Occupational Outlook
Branch

N. A rnold T ollés, Chief, Working
Conditions and Industrial Relations
Branch
A ryness J oy W ickens , Chief, Prices

and Cost of Living Branch
J ohn H. S mith, Acting Chief Statisti

cian

J ohn H. G. P ierson , Consultant on Postwar Employment Policy
F aith M. W illiams, Consultant on Costs and Standards of Living
H erman B. B yer , Assistant Chief, Employment and Occupational Outlook Branch
L ester S. K ellogg, Assistant Chief, Prices and Cost of Living Branch
d iv isio n s

Construction and Public Employment,
Hersey E. Riley
Consumer’s Prices, Ethel D. Hoover
Cost of Living, Dorothy S. Brady
Employment
Sturges

Statistics,

Alexander

General Price Research (vacancy)

Industrial Relations, Florence Peter
son, assistant chief, Working Condi
tions and Industrial Relations Branch
Labor Information Service, Boris Stern
Machine Tabulation, Joseph Drager
Occupational Outlook, Chailes Stewart

Industrial Hazards, Max D. Kossoris

Productivity and Technological De
velopment, W. Duane Evans

Industrial Prices, Jesse M. Cutts

Wage Analysis, Robert J. Myers

Copies of Bureau of Labor Statistics publications and further information may
be obtained from the several field offices, a list of which appears on the inside
back cover of this issue. The services of the Bureau’s Regional Directors and
their technical staffs are available to labor organizations, management, and the
general public for consultation on matters with which the Bureau deals, as, for
example, employment, prices, wages, absenteeism, labor turnover, and industrial
accidents.
The M o nthly L a bo r R e v ie w is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents,
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price, SO cents a copy.
Subscription price per year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, $3.50, other
countries, $4-75.

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U N IT ED STATES D E P A R T M E N T O F LABOR » BUREAU O F LABOR STATISTICS
+
+ *###*** #######
C O N T E N T S

J U N E 1945, Vol. 60, No. 6

Special articles:

p age

Wartime food purchases_____ ___________________________________
Prices in the first quarter of 1945_______________________ _________
Effects of cut-backs in war contracts on employment and turnover of
selected plants_______________________________________________
Social progress—How can we work for it?________________________

1143
1158
1175
1182

Occupational outlook:
Postwar employment outlook in aviation occupations: Parts 2 and 3.

1186

Wartime policies:
Manpower policies after VE-day_________________________________
Wage provisions and price adjustments for bituminous-coal industry.
Directive on wage adjustments not directly involving basic rates___
Production-adjustment program of W PB_________________________
Japanese labor-mobilization law, 1945____________________________

1205
1209
1211
1211
1212

Postwar reconstruction:
Postwar planning for labor in the Netherlands____________________
Postwar reconstruction in the Union of South Africa_______________

1214
1215

Discharged soldiers:
Regulations for education or training of veterans__________________
Benefits for British ex-service personnel___________________ _____
Demobilization and benefits of servicemen in Union of South Africa___

1222
1223
1226

Handicapped workers:
1231

Restoring the civilian disabled to jobs____________________________

Social security:
Federal social security in 1944___________________________________
Railroad retirement benefits, 1943-44________________ ____________
Workmen’s compensation in Bolivia, 1935-44_____________________
Benefit schemes for Canadian factory workers_____________________

1236
1237
1239
1242

Employment conditions:
Effects of cut-backs in war contracts on employment and turnover in
selected plants_______________________________________________
Labor conditions in British West Indian sugar industry, 1945_______

1175
1246

Industrial relations:
Union agreements in the petroleum-refining industry in effect in 1944.

1249

Labor organizations:
Meeting of Confederation of Latin American Workers, 1944________
Trade-union growth in Egypt________________________________
Trade-union membership in Great Britain, 1943___________________
Labor-union membership in liberated Italy_______________________
6458 8 6 — 45 ---------- 1

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1254
1255
1255
1256

CONTENTS

Industrial disputes:
Strikes and lockouts in April 1945________________________________
Activities of U. S. Conciliation Service, March 1945_______________

p age

1258
1261

Labor laws and decisions:
Recent decisions of interest to labor______________________________
New South Wales vacations with pay act, 1944___________________

1262
1267

Women in industry:
Employers’ postwar plans for women workers_____________________
Women in labor unions-------------------------------------------------------------Women’s earnings in New York factories, September 1944__________

1269
1269
1270

Wage and hour statistics:
Hourly earnings in pocket-cutlery and steel-flatware industry, 1945_
Trend of factory earnings, 1939 to March 1945____________________
New York— Earnings of office workers in factories, October 1944___
Italy— Wages and cost of living in Rome, November 1940 and 1944..

1273
1281
1283
1284

Wage and hour regulations:
Minimum wages in Luxembourg, 1945____________________________
Minimum wages and labor conditions in Paraguay in 1944__________

1285
1285

Cost of living and retail prices:
Wartime food purchases______________________________ __________
Prices in the first quarter of 1945________________________________
Cost of living in large cities, April 1945 __________________________
Retail prices of food in March 1945______________________________
Supplies of food in independent retail stores, April 1945____________
Cost of living of worker’s family in Montevideo, Uruguay, 1937-44__

1143
1158
1288
1292
1298
1299

Wholesale prices:
Wholesale prices in April 1945___________________________________

1302

Labor turnover:
Labor turnover in manufacturing, mining, public utilities, March 1945.

1307

Building operations:
Building construction in urban areas, April 1945___________________

1313

Trend of employment, earnings, and hours:
Summary of employment reports for April 1945___________________
Industrial and business employment__________________________
Public employment__________________________________
Employment on shipbuilding and repair______________________
Construction employment___________________________________
Detailed reports for industrial and business employment, March 1945:
Nonagricultural employment_________________________________
Industrial and business employment_______________
Indexes of employment and pay rolls____________ ________
Average earnings and hours_____________________________
Civilian labor force, April 1945___________________________________

1316
1316
1317
1319
1319
1321
1322
1322
1331
1335

Labor chronology:
Chronology of labor events, January-March 1945__________________

1336

Labor conditions in Latin America __________________ 1239, 1254, 1285, 1299
Recent publications of labor interest________________________________ 1343

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This Issue in Brief

Wartime food purchases
The diet of most Americans in cities was much better in the fall of 1944 than
might have been expected under wartime conditions. At that time, city families
with incomes below $1,000 were purchasing somewhat more food than in the
spring of 1942, whereas high-income families obtained a smaller amount of most
foods, particularly meat and vegetables. Per person, the diet of low-income
families compared more favorably with that of high-income families in 1944 than
in the earlier period. Price advances and increases in food purchases together
resulted in a 45-percent rise in outlays for food by families in the lowest income
group. The proportion of income they spent for food rose from 50 to 70 per cent.
Despite smaller purchases, food expenditures were somewhat greater in 1944 than
in 1942 for families with incomes of $4,000 or more, but the proportion of their
incpme taken by food was about the same in the two periods. Page 1143.

Prices in the first quarter of 1945
Prices continued to advance in the first quarter of 1945. Primary market
(wholesale) prices rose 0.6 percent. The cost-of-living index declined 0.2 percent,
largely as a result of seasonal declines in certain foods, but the cost at retail of
many consumer goods continued to increase. The final stages of the war in
Europe and the acceleration of the Pacific war, together with a severe winter and
manpower difficulties which hampered production, placed many commodities in
tight supply. Pressures on stabilization controls increased, with demands for
wage and ceiling-price adjustments in many industries. Price increases were
granted for basic iron and steel products, wood pulp, newsprint, and cotton
textiles. In March 1945 primary-market prices were 40 percent higher than in
August 1939 and retail prices of family living essentials were nearly 29 percent
higher. Page 1158.

Effects of cut-backs in war contracts on employment and turnover
Total separation rates for selected plants receiving cut-backs in war contracts
between December 1943 and May 1944 were not significantly different from
the average separation rates for all manufacturing industries; however, the cut
back plants had lower accession rates and, as a result, experienced somewhat
greater declines in total employment. Voluntary quits made up 60 percent of
total separations, whereas lay-offs accounted for only 18 percent. Although
women were laid off in proportionately greater numbers than men, accessions of
women were at a high rate, with the result that the ratio of female to total em
ployment increased slightly in the 3 months following cut-backs. Page 1175.

Postwar employment outlook in aviation occupations
There are likely to be many new jobs for pilots and other flight and technical
ground personnel in air transportation and related services after the war, but the
jobs available will not be enough to employ the tremendous numbers of veterans
and others who will seek work in this field. Estimates of employment in nonscheduled air transportation, added to those for the air lines, show a maximum
of 32,000 new jobs for pilots by 5 years after the war, compared with some 200,000
pilots now in the armed forces. Employment opportunities for aircraft and
aircraft-engine mechanics and other maintenance specialists will also be small
relative to the trained labor supply. Men in some other occupations studied,
such as flight engineers, navigators, radio operators, dispatchers, and meteorolo
gists, will face a much greater oversupply of labor than will either pilots or me
chanics. Page 1186.

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T H IS ISSUE IN BRIEF

Postwar reconstruction in South Africa
The Government of the Union of South Africa has indicated the policies under
consideration for postwar reconstruction and has passed a number of measures
for the protection of ex-service personnel. The aim is to insure “ a healthier,
better-nourished, more fully employed, happy and prosperous nation,” safe
guarding the population against social disabilities and placing land use on a sound
basis. Ex-servicemen are to be kept on the rolls of the armed forces until they
obtain employment; they are to receive special loans and grants, be’ reinstated in
pre-service employment, benefit from special training courses, and receive prefer
ence in employment. Pages 1215 and 1226.

Restoring the civilian disabled to jobs
About 44,000 handicapped persons were restored vocationally and placed in
suitable employment under an expanded program of civilian vocational rehabili
tation during its first year of operation under the 1943 amendments to the Voca
tional Rehabilitation Act. The monthly earnings of the group, after economic
restoration, reached slightly less than 6}4 million dollars. The average expendi
ture during the fiscal year 1944 by State agencies (under this Federal-State
system) for completing the rehabilitation process was $146.91 per person. Seven
States led in this program, with more than 2,000 individuals each. Page 1231.

Federal social security in 1944
Under old-age and survivors insurance, 1.1 million benefits, amounting to
20.4 million dollars a month, were in force at the end of December 1944. Wage
increases accounted partially for higher average benefit payments in 1944. Pay
ments for unemployment compensation benefits made in the States during 1944
(63 million dollars), although 21 percent less than for 1943, were considerably
higher during the last quarter than for a comparable period in 1943. The average
weekly benefit rose from $13.84 in 1943 to $15.90 in 1944, reflecting, in part, the
higher earnings of the latter year. A net of 1,317 million dollars was collected
in contributions in 1944—slightly less than for 1943. Public-assistance rolls
continued to decline in 1944, except for aid to dependent children and general
assistance, the downward trend being halted in November. Page 1236.

Union agreements in the petroleum-refining industry in 1944
About 65 percent of the wage earners in the petroleum-refining industry are
employed in plants which have negotiated agreements with national or inter
national unions. The article on page 1249 gives an analysis of 21 agreements,
covering almost 60 percent of the workers under agreement at the end of 1944.

Labor-union membership in liberated Italy
Membership in the Italian General Confederation of Labor in the parts of Italy
which had been liberated by March 1, 1945, ranged from 9 to 10 percent in Apulia
and Sardinia and from 5 to 7 percent or less in Campania, Latium, and other
regions. In the Province of Rome, members numbered 121,113, of whom 18,623
were in agriculture and 51,395 in industry. Page 1256.

Wages in the cutlery industry, January 1945
Straight-time hourly earnings in selected occupations in the pocket-cutlery
and si eel-flatware industry in the Northeastern States averaged 69 cents in Janu
ary 1945. Male workers earned 78 cents on the average and female workers 60
cents. Page 1273.

Supplies of foods in independent retail stores, A pril 1945
Independent grocers had less meat of all kinds on hand in mid-April than in
mid-March 1945. The proportions of grocers without supplies of the various
kinds of meat ranged from 55 to 83 percent (except for frankfurters and bologna,
lacking in only 7 percent of the stores); the corresponding range in the previous
month was 44 to 78 percent. Butter, shortening, and certain canned fruits,
however, were more plentiful. Most other foods were generally adequate in
amount. Page 1298.

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CURRENT LABOR STATISTICS

Current Statistics of Labor Interest in Sheeted Periods 1
[Available in reprint form]
1945
Item

Unit or base
period

April

March

1944
Febru
ary

April

1939:
average
for year

Employment
Civilian labor force: Total (B C )____________
M ale......................................................... ..........
F em ale,.............................. ..............................
Employed 3............... .......................................
M a le,.................................................. ......
Female________ ______ ____________
N onagriculturaL................. ...................
Agricultural...... ..........................- ............
Unemployed, total_____________________
Civilian employment in nonagricultural es
tablishments: T o ta l3
Manufacturing____ _____ ______________
M ining...............................................................
Construction
_____________________
Transportation and public utilities______
T rade....................................... .......................
Finance, service, and miscellaneous_____
Federal, State, and local government, ex
cluding Federal force-account construc
tion.
Military personnel________________________
Wage-earner employment:
M anufacturing.._____ ______________ _
Bituminous-coal m ining________________
Class I steam railroads, including salaried
employees (ICC).
Hired farm workers (B A E )..........................

Thousands.
___ do_____
___ do_____
___ do_____
___ do_____
___ do_____
__ .do_____
___ do_____
___ do_____
___ do_____

51,930
33,840
18,090
51,160
33.410
17, 750
43.410
7,750
770
37,750

51,660
33,720
17,940
50, 830
33, 230
17, 600
43, 540
7,290
830
38,026

51,430
33,660
17,770
50, 550
33,170
17,380
43,760
6,790
880
37, 957

52,060
34,880
17,180
51,290
34,440
16,850
43, 790
7,500
770
38,689

3 54,230
3 40,950
213,280
2 46, 930
2 35, 600
2 11,330
2 37, 430
2 9, 500
2 7, 300
30,353

-do.
-do.
-do.
-do.
_do_
_do_
_do_

15,103
772
690
3, 797
6,988
4,441
6,003

15,375
796
636
3,788
7,078
4,377
5,993

15,517
798
599
3, 771
6,985
4,360
5,938

16,309
844
683
3,744
6, 968
4,236
5,905

10,078
845
1,753
2,912
6,618
4,160
3,988

_do.

12,100

12,000

11,10 0

___ do___
___ do___
___ do___

12, 674
312
1,422

12,940
334
1,422

13,081
337
1,413

13, 814
360
1,412

8,192
371

___ do___

1,660

1,520

1,494

1,679

» 2,109

45.5
43.6
39.3
40.0

45.5
45.2
39.7
39.1

« 45.3
3 44.6
6 40.2
38.7

37.7
27.1
43.0
32.4

$55. If

$47. 51
$52.17
$27.21
$54. 49

$47. 43 « $45. 64
$54. 08 «$52. 23
$27. 32 «$25.92
$52. 89 $50.18

$23. 86
$23.88
$21.17
$30. 24

$1.043 ' $1.006
$1.192 ' $1.174
$0. 756
$1.352 $1. 297

$0. 633

$1. 367

$1.045
$1.198
$0. 759
$1. 363
.969
.896

$0.968 6 $0.934
$0.891 6 $0.855

0. 622
0.622

$3. 58

5 $1.53

»18.7

15.4

362

Hours of labor
Average hours per week of wage earners:
Manufacturing______ r____________
Bituminous-coal mining..................... .
Retail trade_________________ _____
Building construction (private)..........

Hours.
___ do.
___ do.
___ do.

Weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings of wage earners:
Manufacturing. _............ ........................
Bituminous-coal m in ing........... ...........
Retail trade............. ..................................
Building construction (private)_____
Hourly or daily earnings
Average hourly earnings of wage earners:
M anufacturing_____________ ______ ____
Bituminous-coal mining________________
Retail trade___ _______ ________________
Building construction (private)._________
Average straight-time hourly earnings in
manufacturing, using—
Current employment by industry___
Employment by industry as of Janu
ary 1939.
Quarterly farm wage rate, per day without
board (B A E ).

1$0.711

4.12

$ 0.

886

$0. 536
$0.933

Industrial injuries and labor turnover
Industrial injuries in manufacturing, per
million man-hours worked.
Labor turnover in manufacturing:
Total separations, per 100 employees------Quits, per 100 employees........ ...............
Lay-offs, per 100 employees.......... ........
Total accessions, per 100 employees...........

(7)

6.8

6.0 «7.4
«5.0

5.0
0.7
4.9

4.3
0.7
5.0

6 0.9
« 5.8

400

310
109

453
165

218
98

412
0.06

614
0.08

1,484
0.28

Strikes and lockouts
Strikes and lockouts beginning in month:
N um ber.......................... ............................
Number of workers involved......................
All strikes and lockouts during month—mandays idle:
Number_____________ __________ _____
Percent of available working t im e ...___
See footnotes at end of table.

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Thousands—
.do.

450
285
1, 330
0.18

210

860
0.11

CURRENT LABOR STATISTICS
Current Statistics of Labor Interest in Selected Periods 1— Continued
1945
Item

Unit or base
period
April

1944

March Febru
ary

1939:
average
for year

April

Cost of living
Cost-of-living index (wage earners in large
cities): All items.8
Food___ ____ ____________ _
Clothing. _ __________ _
R ent_________________ ________
Fuel, electricity, and ice_ ____ _______
Housefurnishirigs___________
______
Miscellaneous_______ _________________

1935-39=100...

127.1

126.8

126.9

124.6

99.4

1935-39 = 100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100...

136.6
144.0

136.5
143.3

109.8
144.7
123.7

135.9
143.7
108.3
110.0
144.5
123.6

110.0
144.0
123.4

134.6
137.1
108.1
109.9
132.9
120.9

95.2
100.5
104.3
99.0
101.3
100.7

1935-39 = 100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100...
1935-39=100...
1935-30=100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39 = 100...
1935-39=100...
1935-39=100...

136.6
108.9
130.8
133. 5
139.9
173.3
124.6
123.8
126.4

135. 9
108.7
130.8
133. 5
140.7
169. 5
124.5
123.7
126.5

136.5
108.7
130.7
133.5
153. 2
168.9
124.5
123.5
126.3

134.6
108.0
130.0
133.6
127.6
168.8
124.4
123.5
126.6

95.2
94.5
96.6
95.9
91.0
94.5
95.5
87.7
100.6

1926=100____
1926=100_____
1926=100_____

105. 7
100.5
99.3

105. 3
100.4
99.2

105. 2
100.2
99.2

103.9
99.6
98.4

77.1
79.5
81.3

1926=100
1926—100

129. 0
105.8

127 2
104.6

127 0
104.7

123 2
104.9

65. 3
70.4

Retail food prices (large cities)
Retail price index: All fo o d s..______________
Cereals and bakery products____ _______
M eats.
____________________________
Dairy products________________________
Eggs---------------------------------- ------ --------Fruits and vegetables_____ _ _________
Beverages . . . . . . . ____
Fats and oils________________ __________
Sugar and sweets. • ____________________
Wholesale prices
Wholesale price index: All commodities
All commodities other than farm products.
All commodities other than farm products
and foods.
Farm products ___________ _________
Foods.
____ ____________ . .
National income and expenditures
National income payments, total (B F D C )___ M illio n s ____ $13,180 $13, 686 $12, 743 $12, 582 8 $5, 724
Consumer expenditures for goods and services, ____do______ 8$24, 380
8$22, 440 8$14, 256
total (B FD C ).
Retail sales, total (B F D C ). _. __ ..........
5,464 $6, 347 $5,166 $5, 487 3 $3, 471
Production
Industrial production index, unadjusted
(FR): Total.
Manufacturing
_____ _ _ . .
Minerals ___
Bimuminous coal (B M )_______

1935-39=100. -

1935-39 = 100...
1935-39 = 100.-.
Thousands of
short tons.
Electric energy (FPC): Total ____
M illio n s of
kw.-hr.
Utilities (production for public use)
_do _ _
Industrial establishments
.....
___do
Construction expenditures, all types (exclud- M illions_____
ing maintenance, except in farm construetion).
Building construction started in urban areas.
___ do _ __ __
New family-dwelling units in nonfarm areas
Carloadings index, unadjusted ( F R ) ... .
1935-39=100...

229

232

237

109

245
140
43, 350

249
136
52,170

250
135
47, 850

255
138
49. 510

109
106
32,905

22, 797

23, 930

22, 060

22, 658

18,631
4,166
$419

19, 526
4, 404
$392

18, 021
4, 040
$355

18, 413
4, 245
$366

$117
17, 900
139

$114
13,100
136

$79
8, 500
130

(7)
5

9, 752
( 7)

$527

(7)
$88
14,300 3 42,900
135
101

1 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics unless otherwise indicated. Abbreviations used: BC (Bureau of the
Census); ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission); BAE (Bureau of Agricultural Economics); B FD C
(Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce); FR (Federal Reserve); BM (Bureau of Mines); FPC (Fed
eral Power Commission). M ost of the current figures are preliminary.
2 10-month average—March to December 1940.
3 Excludes employees on public emergency work, these being included in unemployed civilian labor force.
Civilian employment in nonagricultural establishments differs from employment in civilian labor force
mainly because of exclusion of such groups as self-employed and domestic and casual workers.
4 Includes workers employed by construction contractors and Federal force-account workers (nonmainte
nance construction workers employed directly by the Federal Government). Other force-account non
maintenance construction employment is included under manufacturing and the other groups.
5 April.
8 March.
2 N ot available.
8 For the coverage of this index, see p. 1289.
8 Data for first quarter.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
JUNE 1945

W artim e F ood Pure

KALAM AZOO

flflw c

library

Summary

IN THE fall of 1944, just prior to the current meat shortage, the
diet of city families compared very favorably with the diet of families
with similar incomes in the spring of 1942. The lowest income groups,
in particular, bought more meat, milk, sugar, flour and bakery goods
than in 1942 when the drain of war needs on the civilian food supply
had barely been felt. Purchases of fruits and vegetables declined but
the total consumption of these items was supplemented by increased
home production. At the highest income level, the amount of meat,
butter, and cheese obtained was also smaller than in 1942, despite a
greater food expenditure.
The improved diets of the lowest income families meant a very heavy
drain on family resources, with food outlays taking about 70 percent
of their income as contrasted with 50 percent in 1942. Food costs pre
sented an especially serious problem for large families, not only in the
lowest income group, but at income levels up to $3,000. In the upper
portion of the income scale, the average family paid considerably more
for food in the later period, despite smaller purchases.
These are the findings of a survey of prices paid by consumers in
1944, which was conducted in two parts for the primary purpose of
comparing price changes reported by city consumers with price
changes indicated by urban store reports. The first part of the survey,
made in the fall of 1944, provided detailed information on food pur
chases during 1 week, purchases of clothing and household textiles
during the first 8 months of the year, tenure and rental in August 1944,
and sufficient information on family composition, living arrangements,
and income to provide a basis for classification. The second part will
provide data on food purchases during 1 week early in 1945, on pur
chases of clothing and other textiles during the last 4 months of 1944,
and of other goods and services throughout that year. As a by
product of the reports required for analysis of prices, certain data are
available on family expenditures and quantities of selected goods pur
chased. This article deals with the information obtained on food
purchases in the fall of 1944 by housekeeping families and single per
sons at different income levels. It is the only information of this
nature that has been obtained since the spring of 1942.
For this earlier period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation
with the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture, conducted the survey of spending
1 Prepared in the Bureau’s Cost of Living Division by Lenore A. Epstein.

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19 45

and saving in wartime for the primary purpose of providing national
estimates of expenditures and savings by income class for the year 1941
and the first 3 months of 1942. In conjunction with the main survey,
detailed information was obtained on food purchases and food con
sumption during 1 week in the spring of 1942. The reports on food
consumption have been analyzed and published for urban as well as
rural areas by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics
in U. S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication No. 550
(Food Consumption in the United States). The data collected on
food purchases have not been published.
The methods used in the two surveys were practically identical.
The samples are very similar as to coverage; both related to the civilian
noninstitutional population in cities of 2,500 or more scattered through
out the country. Information was obtained by personal interview in
each case. The figures on purchases of various types of food, from
both studies, were compiled from reports on purchases of a list of ap
proximately 200 food items.2
Since the findings of the survey of spending and saving in wartime
on weekly food purchases in the spring of 1942 have not been pub
lished, they are presented here to permit comparison between the fall
of 1944 and the earlier period, shortly before widespread rationing was
instituted3 and before significant shortages of certain foods had
developed. When making comparisons, it must be recognized that
many of the foods that are under the OPA rationing program were
temporarily off the ration list during part or all of the fall of 1944.
Some of these foods were nevertheless in short supply in several sec
tions of the United States.
Food-purchasing habits are by no means the same in all sections of
the United States. Furthermore, price movements during the war
have differed somewhat by region and by city size. Establishment
and expansion of shipyards and of war plants, while causing a con
siderable migration to the South and West, also improved very
greatly the employment opportunities in those areas. The distribu
tion of the housekeeping families represented in the urban sample
surveys at each income level, shown in table 1, clearly illustrates this
point. Thus, at low income levels, the highly industrialized North
east was much more heavily represented in the fall of 1944 than in
the spring of 1942, and the South and West proportionately less. At
the opposite end of the income scale, the importance of the Northeast
declined sharply during the period, and the representation of the
South nearly doubled, although it remained below the average for
all income classes combined. The West was better represented at
the top of the income scale than in the population at large, and had
greatly improved its position during the war.
There is similar, though less striking, evidence of an improved
income position for cities having a population below 25,000 in 1940.
2 A reprint of the present article will contain a statement on the sampling procedure used in the survey of
prices paid by consumers and an evaluation of the differences between the sample for that survey and the
sample for the survey of spending and saving in wartime. The former covered approximately 1,700 fami
lies, of which 1,500 were keeping house and provided information on purchases of food for use at home. In the
survey of spending and saving in wartime the corresponding numbers were approximately 1,300 and 1,100.
The reports on food purchases pertain in each survey to the 7-day period immediately preceding the inter
view, or the previous calendar week. The proportion of food reports that covered a week in each of the desig
nated months was as follows: 1944—September, 69 percent, October, 30 percent, and November, 1 percent;
1942—March, 5 percent, April, 42 percent, M ay, 45 percent, and June, 10 percent.
3 Sugar rationing was put into effect in March 1942, but meats, fats and oils, cheese, and processed foods
were not covered until a year later.

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1145

WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

T able 1.—Percentage Distribution of City Families and Single Persons Surveyed in

1944 and in 1942 by Region, City Size, and Annual Money-Income Rate
September-October 1944

Region and city size 1

All
families
and
single
persons

Housekeeping families and single persons by annual
rate of money incom e2
All

Under
$1,000

$1,000 to $2,000 to $3,000 to $4,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000 and over

All cities__________________________

100.0

Northeast________ _____ _______ ____
South. ___________________________
North Central__________ _________
W est______________________________

32.4
24.4
29.1
14.1

31.6
24.4
29.6
14.4

31.1
25.2
33.3
10.4

28.7
32.5
25.7
13. 1

32.8
23.1
29.6
14.5

30.9
20.9
33.3
14.9

31.6
19.6
29.8
19.0

500,000 or more population__________
100,000-500,000 population___________
50,000-100,000 population____________
25,000-50,000 population_____________
Under 25,000 population........................

33.6
20.7
10.1
9.0
26.6

32.4
21.4
10.2
8.9
27.1

30.4
24.4
11.9
5.9
27.4

26.0
21.8
14.0
10.4
27.8

35.7
18.7
10.1
9.9
25.6

33.4
22.5
7.2
7.2
29.7

34.8
21.8
6.6
8.9
27.9

Mareh-June 1942
All cities__________________ ______ _

100.0

Northeast__________________________
South_____________________________
North Central._____________________
W est______________________________

36.2
20.1
32.6
11.1

35.7
19.4
33.8
11.1

19.4
32.9
32.9
14.8

35.3
21.2
34.0
9.5

37.6
14.7
38.9
8.8

48.6
14.1
24.6
12.7

44.2
10.9
32.7
12.2

500,000 or more population. ________
100,000-500,000 population___________
50,000-100,000 population____________
25,000-50,000 population.. __________
Under 25,000 population_____________

31.0
20.9
9.1
10.6
28.4

30.6
20.3
9.2
11.2
28.7

19.9
18.0
9.3
13.0
39.8

31.4
20.6
6.5
9.5
32.0

31.4
20.6
9.1
14.7
24.2

38.8
21.8
14.1
6.3
19.0

34.7
21.1
10.2
9.5
24.5

1 Cities were classified by size as shown by the 1940 census. Each place covered was classified by region
and size, regardless of whether or not it was part of a metropolitan district.
2 See table 2 for definition of income.

Small-city families were much less numerous in the low-income popu
lation in 1944, but they did not show a corresponding increase at the
highest income level. Housekeeping families in cities of 25,000 to
100,000 in 1940 made some gains also, though less significant ones,
relative to those in cities of 100,000 or more. The shift of small-city
families out of the lowest income group meant that they were no
longer overrepresented in that group, in comparison with the entire
population of housekeeping families in cities. Among families with
incomes of $4,000 or more, those in large cities remained relatively
more numerous than in the 1944 population at large, though the dis
parity was less marked than in 1942 when large-city families comprised
51 percent of all city families. The middle-sized cities, by contrast,
were not so well represented in the highest income class as in the gen
eral population in 1944.
Two significant facts emerge from the comparison of weekly food
purchases by housekeeping families 4 in cities throughout the United
States in the fall of 1944 with those reported in the spring of 1942.
First, there was a striking increase over the period in the food expense
4
The term, “family,” is used in this article to include single persons. A family was defined as a group of
persons, usually related, who lived together during a designated period, contributing to the family income
or receiving a large part of their support from family funds; a single person as an individual who lived inde
pendently, apart from relatives.
A family occupying a house, flat or apartment with regular cooking facilities was defined as “house
keeping.” All data presented in this article are based on reports by housekeeping families.

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

of families and single persons with incomes below $1,000. Second,
a leveling off occurred among income groups in the quantities of many
basic foods purchased for home consumption, with increased purchases
by the low-income groups and reduced purchases of many foods by
higher-income families. These developments result in part from the
population shifts just described and the changes in the prices and
supplies of various foods between the two periods.

Changes in Outlay for Food 1942 to 1944

At the lowest income level there was a rise of 45 percent in outlays
for food to be served at home or carried from home, and a rise of
50 percent if the increased amounts for food purchased away from
home are taken into account (table 2). This contrasts with increases
of 14 percent in amounts spent for food at home by families with
incomes of $1,000 to $3,000 and about 16 percent in their total food
expenses. The increases in expenditure exceed by a considerable
margin the increases in quantities purchased. For the middle income
groups, the rise in expenditures closely approximates the 13-percent
increase over the period shown by the Bureau’s index of retail food
costs in large cities. For the higher income groups, expenditures for
food at home increased less than might be expected in view of the
13-percent rise—6 and 8 percent, respectively, at the $3,000-$4,000
and $4,000 and over levels. The difference appears, however, to
have been made up in part by more frequent restaurant meals.
T able 2 .—Average Expense for Food and Alcoholic Drinks, and Family Size,1 House

keeping Families in Cities, by Annual Money-Income Rale,2 W eek in 1944 and 1942
September-October 1944
Item

Total food 3 _____ . . .
Food at home_____
Food away from h o m e ...

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000
$1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and Under
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
$8. 42 $11.87 $17.04 $18. 70 $23. 51
7. 57 10.44 14.43 15. 08 18. 49
.85
1.43
2. 61
3. 62
5.02

$5. 61 $10.32 $14. 54 $16.41
5.24
9.16 12. 68 14. 21
.37
1.16
1.86
2.20

$21.00
17.11
3. 89

Alcoholic drinks____________

.22

.48

.90

1.16

1.96

.10

.27

.52

.67

1.13

Average family size 4...............

2. 10

2. 52

3.24

3.56

3. 93

2.10

2. 52

3.24

3.56

3.93

1 For comparability, purchases reported in the 1942 study have been adjusted to represent the spending
of families of the sizes found in the sample population in September-October 1944. A reprint of this article
w ill contain a description of method of adjustment, comparison of distribution of the families in each income
group by family size in the two periods, and a table showing actual family size and average food expense as
reported at each income level in 1942.
s Annual rate of income was based on reports for August 1944 in the recent study and on reports covering
the first 3 months of 1942 in the earlier one. In both instances, family income represents the sum of all types
of income received by family members during those periods: Wage and salary earnings, entrepreneurial net
income or withdrawals, and nonearned income from all sources, exclusive of inheritances, large gifts, and
lump-sum insurance settlements. For the 1942 study, total wage and salary earnings less occupational
expense wTas used in computing family’s total money income, but for the 1944 study, wage and salary earnings
after pay-roll deductions was used. Because of the increase in income-tax rates since early 1942, an income
classification for 1944 based on take-home pay is believed to provide a better basis for comparison at given
income levels of food purchases in the two periods.
1 Food expense includes cost of all food purchased during the week, whether or not paid for at the time
Food at home includes all food and drinks (nonalcoholic) purchased to be served at home or carried from
home (as box lunches), whether food was consumed by boarders, guests, servants, or family members.
Expense figures exclude amounts paid as sales taxes in places having a sales tax on food. Food away from
home includes board, meals, ana between-meal snacks purchased in restaurants, cafeterias, at counters and
fountains, and ice cream, drinks (nonalcoholic), etc., bought to eat with meals carried from home.
4 Family-size figures are based on the number of family members living at home during all or part of the
week covered by the food report.

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WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

1147

The allocation of the budget for food at home among the major types
of food was remarkably similar throughout the income scale in each
period (table 3). Cereal and bakery products, fats and oils, and (in
1942) sweets each tended to decrease slightly in relative importance
as income increased. In 1942, proportionately more went for meat,
poultry, and fish at successively higher income levels, 25 percent at
the lowest, and 30 percent at the highest; but in the fall of 1944, out
lays for this food group represented 28 to 29 percent of total expense
for food at home at all income levels.
T able 3. —Distribution of Expense for Food at Home, by Food Groups, Housekeeping

Families in Cities, by Annual Money-Income Rate, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942 1
September-October 1944
Commodity

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over

Average expenditures for food
at home________ _______

$7. 57 $10. 44 $14.43 $15. 08 $18. 49

$5.24

$9.16 $12.68 $14. 21

$17.11

Percentage distribution of expense
Meat, poultry and fish _ _ __
Dairy products and eggs____
Fats and o ils ... ____ ______
Fruits and vegetables_______
Sugar and other sweets _
Cereals and bakery products .
Other food and beverages___

28.3
21.2
3.8
20.5
4.2
14.1
7.9

28.5
22.5
3.5
20.6
3.4
13.3
8.2

27.9
22.6
2.8
21.8
3.7
13.0
8.2

27.6
23.4
2.9
21.1
3.4
12.9
8.7

29.2
22.1
2.7
21.1
3.9
12.9
8.1

25.2
22.1
4.4
24.4
3.0
13.6
7.3

26.9
24.4
3.8
22.5
3.3
11.9
7.2

27.4
23.6
3.2
23.9
2.8
11.5
7.6

28.9
24.4
2.5
22.7
2.5
11.5
7.5

30.2
22.5
2.2
24.6
2.4
10.8
7.3

1 See tables 5 through 11 for components of each food group. See table 2 for definition of income and note
on adjustment of 1942 reports for comparability with respect to family size.

Differences in price movements of various foods between the spring
of 1942 and September-October 1944, together with changes in quan
tities purchased, resulted in some changes in the allocation of food
expense at corresponding income levels. Thus, although dollar ex
penditures at each income level for every food group (except fruits
and vegetables at the two highest income levels) were larger last
fall than in the spring of 1942, the increases were not in the same
proportion. Slightly less went for dairy products, considerably less
for fruits and vegetables, slightly more for sugar and sweets, cereal
and bakery products, and miscellaneous foods and nonalcoholic
beverages. Fats and oils became less important at the low and more
important at the high levels. Amounts spent for meat, poultry, and
fish represented a larger share of the total at the lower income levels
in 1$44 than in 1942, and a smaller share at the higher levels.
Amounts of Food Purchased

The second significant fact revealed by the survey of prices paid by
consumers—the leveling off among income groups in home consump
tion of many of the basic foods—is strikingly illustrated by the
figures in table 4 on weekly per-capita purchases of meats and poultry.
The meat figures may well reflect the rationing program which is
designed to distribute short supplies equally among all groups. They
suggest also a tendency for the low income groups to buy close to the

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

limit of their red-point supply, even though they have customarily
bought less meat. Since poultry has never been rationed, the change
in purchasing habits cannot be explained in quite the same manner.
Chicken was unusually plentiful in the early fall of 1944 and it is
T able 4.—Per-Capita Purchases of Meats and Poultry by Housekeeping Families, by

Annual Money-Income Rate, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942 1
Average per-capita purchases (in pounds) of—
Annual money income

Meats
1944

Under $1,000______________________________________
$1,000 to $2,000__________ ________________________
$2,000 to $3,000_____________________________________
$3,000 to $4,000____________________________________
$4,000 and over_________________________ _________

Poultry
1942

1.99
2.21
2. 30
2.04
2.44

1944

1.78
2.37
2. 52
2. 54
2.70

1942

0. 48
.55
.55
.55
.60

0.20
.29
.34
.46
.63

1
See table 2 for definition of income and ncte on adjustment of 1942 reports for comparability with re
spect to family size. Averages are based on all housekeeping families and single persons in the class,
whether or not they purchased the item during the week.

T able 5 .— Purchases of M E A T , P O U L TR Y , A N D F IS H by Housekeeping Families in

Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income R a te1
September-October 1944
Item

Mar eh-,Tune 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

M eat, poultry, and fish ,........

$2.14

$2.98

$4.03

$4.16

$5.39

$1.32

$2.46

$3.48

$4.10

$5.16

M eat______________________
Beef___________________
Veal......................... ............
Pork 2_________________
Lamb_________________
Variety meat and game 3.
Poultry___________________
Fish and seafood __________
Fresh and frozen_______
Canned 4_______________

1. 52
.59
.12
.50
.09
.22
.44
.18
.15
.03

2.15
.78
.18
.67
.16
.36
.64
.19
.13
.06

2.99
1.10
.24
.89
.23
.53
.81
.23
.15
.08

2.98
1.15
.20
.82
.27
.54
.92
.26
.13
.13

3.93
1.51
.34
1.11
.34
f . 63
1.12
.34
.24
.10

1.10
.43
.04
.43
.07
.13
.13
.09
.06
.03

2.06
.87
.12
.69
. 12
.26
.25
.15
.09
.06

2.89
1.23
.15
.89
.26
.36
.38
.21
. 13
.08

3.25
1.31
.20
1.07
.33
.34
.56
.29
.19
.10

4.08
1.77
.24
1.30
.30
.47
.86
.22
. 14
.08

11.91

14.05

Average quantity purchased in 1 week (in pounds)
M eat, poultry, and fish_____

5.67

7.43

9.79

9. 81

12.65

4.69

7.44

10. 36

M eat____________ ____ ____
Beef____ ____ _______ . .
Veal___________________
Pork 2____ ____________
Lamb_____ . . . ._ _ . .
Variety meat and game 3.
Poultry__________ ____ ____
Fish and seafood___________
Fresh and frozen___ . . .
Canned 4_____ _________

4.17
1.65
.31
1.39
.22
60
1.01
.49
.43
.06

5. 57
2.01
.46
1.81
.43
.86
1.38
.48
.36
.12

7. 44
2.79
.61
2.36
.52
1.16
1.77
.58
.41
.17

7.28
2.82
.48
2.14
.58
1. 26
1.96
.57
.35
.22

9.57
3 65
.80
2. 89
.78
1.45
2. 36
.72
.54
.18

3. 73
1.45
.12
1. 49
.27
.40
.42
.54
.33
.21

5. 97
2. 57
.36
1.96
.37
.71
.73
.74
.38
.36

8.18
3. 49
.44
2. 49
.76
1.00
1.10
1. 08
.52
.56

9.04
10.61
3. 74
4. 57
.55 * .62
2.93
3. 30
.88
.89
.94
1.23
1.65
2.47
1. 22
.97
.78
.60
.44
.37

1 See table 2 for definition of income and note on adjustment of 1942 reports for comparability with respect
to family size. Averages are based on all housekeeping families and single persons in the class, whether or
not they purchased the item during the week.
2 Includes bacon and salt pork as well as fresh and other smoked or cured pork.
3 Includes in both periods liver, bologna, frankfurters, luncheon meats, cold cuts, head cheese, scrapple,
etc., and also all types of game purchased. In 1944 includes all kindey, tongue, heart and other entrails;
in 1942 includes such meats only when the type as beef, lamb, etc. was not known; if the type was known,
such meats were included with other beef, lamb, etc.
4 Includes also smoked or cured fish, but purchases of such fish were verv small, on the average, in both
periods.

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WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

1149

possible that the attitudes developed with respect to meat may have
carried over to poultry. Since the price per pound was higher for
poultry than for meats as a group, it cannot be argued that poultry
purchases by low-income families were an economy measure.
Beef made up a smaller proportion of meat purchases in 1944 than
in 1942 except for families with incomes below $1,000. This group
bought somewhat less pork, proportionately, perhaps because South
erners comprised a smaller segment of the low-income urban popu
lation in 1944 than previously (see table 5). At higher income levels
pork products represented about the same proportion of meat pur
chases in the two periods. Veal was consistently purchased in some
what greater quantity by all families, though the differences were not
great enough to make up for the smaller beef purchases. Variety
and ready-to-eat meats were more important both in amount and in
relation to the total in the later period. Since there was no point
value on variety or ready-to-eat meats last fall, their purchase was
undoubtedly encouraged. A slight difference in classification of
variety meats (other than liver) in the two surveys 5 was not suffi
cient to account for more than a small part of the larger purchases.
Fish has never had an important place in the average city family's
diet. As might be expected, canned fish, which was difficult to obtain
and had a relatively high point value in September-October 1944,
was bought much less often then than in the spring of 1942. Pur
chases of fresh fish and shell fish were not increased correspondingly;
in fact, they were smaller last fall at every income level except the
lowest. As a result, purchases of all types of fish averaged less than
one-fourth pound per person.
At every income level, purchases of fluid milk were somewhat
greater last fall than in March-June 1942 (table 6), but there was
little evidence of leveling off among income groups. Approximately
2 quarts per person per week were bought by the lowest-inc.ome
families as compared with about 3 per person in families that had
$3,000 or more. Butter and cheese purchases were, of course, lower
in 1944 than in 1942. In this case, as with meats, the effect of ration
ing was to cut much more deeply into the consumption of the high
than the low income groups.
Purchases of other fats and oils, most of which had a zero point
value last fall, were about the same for families with incomes under
$1,000 in the two periods, but relatively larger in 1944 at higher income
levels (table 7). On a per-person basis, purchases declined with in
creasing income in both periods. The increase with income in 1944
in purchases (per family) of oleomargarine, which is the most direct
butter substitute, is in striking contrast to the sharp drop, as income
increased, in the period before the butter shortage. The reduction in
butter purchases was not fully compensated for, however; butter,
oleomargarine, lard, and other shortening together averaged 0.2 to
0.4 pound less per family in the later period.
More sugar was purchased in the fall of 1944 than in 1942 at every
income level, with the increase most marked among families that re
ceived less than $1,000 (table 8). In 1942, per-capita purchases
showed no consistent relationship to income, but in 1944 they were
greater the lower the income. The relatively larger purchases of
> See table 5, footnote 3.

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1150

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

T able 6.— Purchases of D A I R Y PRODUCTS A N D EGGS by Housekeeping Families

in Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1
September-0 ctober 1944
Item

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
and
to
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

Dairy products and eggs____

$1.60

$2. 35

$3.27

$3. 53

$4.09

$1.16

$2.24

$2.99

$3.46

$3.85

Dairy products __ _______
Fluid milk. ____ _ ____
Cream___ _____________
Ice cream___ __________
Butter______________ _
Cheese_______ _______
Evaporated m ilk ,............
Condensed milk 2_______
Eggs---------------------------------

1.11
.59
.03
.04
.20
.09
. 15
.01
.49

1.72
.98
.05
.12
.28
. 14
. 15

2. 50
1.53
.09
.18
.35
.19
.15
.01
.77

2. 62
1.52
. 15
.21
.36
.23
.14
.01
.91

3.06
1.79
.14
.28
.47
.23
.15

.88
.43
.01
.02
.22
.07
.11
.02
.28

1.75
.87
.08
. 10
.41
.17
.10
.02
.49

2.40
1.27
.12
.18
.53
.20
.08
.02
.59

2.84
1.37
.23
.20
.66
.26
.11
.01
.62

3.12
1.44
.27
.22
.75
.29
.14
.01
.73

9.80
.82
.38
1.56
.81
1.17
.06
1.71

10.01
.98
.43
1.72
1.03
1.56
.03
1.89

.63
>

Dairy products:
Fluid m ilk_________ qt._
Cream_____________ pt__
Ice cream__________ qt_.
Butter_____________ lb__
Cheese_____________ lb.
Evaporated milk_14H oz_.
Condensed milk 2___ lb._
Eggs----- --------------------- doz__

4.01
. 11
.07
.39
.24
1.37
.06
.93

1.03

Average quantity purchased in 1 week

6. 78
.17
.26
.54
.33
1.41
.02
1.22

1C. 27
.31
.40
.68
.44
1.46
.03
1.43

10.06
.49
.41
.69'
.49
1.28
.04
1.67

11.81
.46
.53
.90
.52
1.41
.02
1.86

3.56
.05
.04
.53
.26
1.32
.15
.80

6. 54
.31
.23
.98
.57
1.06
.15
1.39

9.19
.48
.40
1.24
.64
.98
.16
1.62

T able 7. —Purchases of F A T S A N D OILS, by Housekeeping Families in Cities, 1

Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1
September-October 1944
Item

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000
$1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and Under
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

Fats and oils,
, _________
Oleomargarine_________
Lard________________
Other shortening___ . . .
Salad dressing, salad and
cooking oil___________

$0.29
.06
.07
.08

$0. 36
.08
.06
.10

$0.41
.08
.06
.12

$0. 44
.10
.05
. 13

$0. 50
.11
.05
.11

$0.23
.04
. 10
.04

$0. 35
.03
.06
.07

$0. 40
.03
.06
.09

$0. 36
.02
.06
.07

$0.38
.01
.05
.08

.08

.12

.15

.16

.23

.05

.19

.22

.21

.24

Average quantity purchased in 1 week (in pounds)
Fats and oils_____ _______
Oleomargarine__ _
L ard ... ______ _ _____
Other shortening.______
Salad dressing, salad and
' cooking o il2__________

1.26
.27
.35
.34

1.49
.30
.33
.45

1.68
.33
.32
.52

1.72
.37
.26
.56

1.96
.44
.28
.50

1.24
.23
.58
.22

1.37
.13
.34
.35

1.61
.15
.37
.40

1.49
.12
.34
.31

1.68
.05
.38
.27

.30

.41

.51

.53

.74

.21

.55

.69

.72

.98

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1151

WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

sugar last fall are undoubtedly explained in part by the severe sugar
shortage in the spring of 1942 when sugar rationing was instituted, and
in part by requirements for home canning of fruits which come on the
market in late summer and fall and were purchased in considerable
quantity in September-October 1944. The amount of other sweets
bought was similar at most income levels in the two periods.
T able 8.—Purchases of SUGAR A N D OTHER SW E E TS by Housekeeping Families

in Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1
September-October 1944
Item

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

Sugar and other sweets_____
Sugar_______________
Jam, jelly, molasses, sirup, candy, etc.-. ____

$0. 32
.18

$0.35
.19

$0.53
.23

$0.51
.24

$0. 73
.23

$0.16
.09

$0.30
.13

$0.36
. 15

$0.36
.15

$0.42
. 18

.14

. 16

.30

.27

.50

.07

.17

.21

.24

Average quantity purchased in 1 week (in pounds)
Sugar and other sw eets..........
Sugar__________________
Jam, jelly, molasses, sirup, candy, etc__ _____

3.16
2.67

3.49
2.82

4.25
3.33

4.51
3.54

4.74
3.34

1.74
1.26

2.69
1.83

3.10
2.14

2.99
2.02

3.51
2.53

.49

.67

.92

.97

1.40

.48

.86

.96

.97

.98

Bakery products were bought in slightly greater quantity in Septem
ber-October 1944 than during the earlier period in 1942 (table 9).
Since the use of commercially baked goods instead of home baked
foods serves to extend a family’s supply of shortening and sugar, and
saves the time of an employed housewife, a considerable increase was
to be expected. That they are more expensive, however, is evidenced
by the smaller per-capita purchases by families with incomes below
$1,000 than by higher income families. Purchases per person of
flour and other cereal products, by contrast, dropped off markedly as
income increased. As between 1942 aqd 1944, flour purchases rose
by at least 40 percent at each income level and by 75 percent at the
lowest, whereas purchases of other cereal products, which are an im
portant ingredient of meat-saving dishes, showed no change at that
level and a relatively small increase at higher levels.
Although seasonal differences in the supply of fresh fruits and
vegetables limit the significance of any comparison of purchases of
such foods during September-October 1944 and March-June 1942, a
few striking facts are noted. The average family in 1944 bought less
than half as many cans of fruit and vegetables—presumably because
of lack of ration points for more—and much less dried fruit and
vegetables, but purchases of fresh produce also totaled somewhat
less than in 1942 (table 10).
The comparatively small purchases of citrus fruit in the fall of 1944,
which undoubtedly reflect a seasonal low in supplies, were more than
compensated for by the large amounts of other fresh fruit bought.

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1152

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW----JU N E

194 5

T able 9.— Purchases of CEREALS A N D B A K E R Y PRO D UCTS by Housekeeping

Families in Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1
March-June 1942

September-October 1944
Item

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
and
and
to
to
to
to
to
to
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

Cereals and bakery products.. $1.07
H our____ _ . ________
.20
Ready-to-eat and un.17
cooked cereals 2_______
.04
Other cereal products 3. . .
.66
Bakery products.. . . . . .
.41
Bread and rolls_____
Crackers___________
.07
Cake, cookies, pastry,
.18
etc_______________

$1.39
.18

$1.87
.21

$1.94
.20

$2. 38
.22

$0. 71
.08

$1.09
.08

$1.46
.09

$1.64
.10

$1.84
.12

. 19
.05
.97
.53
.07

.26
.07
1.33
.71
.08

.22
.08
1.44
.79
.10

.24
.10
1.82
.90
.09

.11
.04
.48
.30
.05

.12
.06
.83
.48
.06

.16
.09
1.12
.60
.09

. 14
.06
1.34
.80
.08

. 19
.05
1.48
.81
.10

.37

.54

.55

.83

.13

.29

.43

.46

.57

Average quantity purchased in 1 week (in pounds)
Cereals and bakery products. 10.00
F lo u r ... ______________ 3.07
Ready-to-eat and un1. 67
cooked cereals 2____ ._
.30
Other cereal products 3__.
4.96
Bakery goods__________
Bread and rolls_____
3.89
C r a c k e r s ...______ .
.36
Cake, cookies, pastry,
.71
etc.......................... .

11.39
2.73

14.37
2.98

14.47
2.82

16.97
3.06

8.00
1.75

9.92
1.88

12.58
2.00

13.11
1.53

14. 70
2.11

1.53
.38
6. 75
5.08
.38

1.92
.53
8.94
6.69
.41

1.46
.58
9.61
7.27
.52

1. 54
.78
11.59
8.35
.43

1.55
.41
4.29
3.37
.31

1.05
.45
6.54
4.82
.38

1.33
.77
8.48
6.20
.54

1.08
.55
9.95
7.53
.43

1. 56
.46
10.57
7.64
.48

1.29

1.84

1.82

2.81

.61

1.34

1.74

1.99

2.45

It seems probable, however, particularly in view of the large sugar
purchases, that a portion of this fruit was canned for winter use and
not eaten at the time of purchase. Certainly every effort has been
made to encourage home canning during the war.
The smaller quantity of potatoes, a relatively cheap and filling food,
not rationed, is difficult to explain, particularly in the case of low-income
families. It may have been due to shortages in certain areas in 1944,
and to a considerably higher price per pound. Purchases of other
fresh vegetables were consistently smaller than in the spring of 1942,
although their average price was not a great deal higher. Victory
gardens may easily have made up the difference, and possibly meant
even more fresh vegetables for home consumption than in the spring
of 1942. One-third of the families occupying dwellings with house
keeping facilities reported consumption during the week of interview
of some home-produced food. It is probable that without this sup
plement, food expenditures would have been somewhat greater than
they were in 1944.
Taken in combination, fresh (and frozen) fruit and vegetable pur
chases provide a further illustration of the leveling that has occurred.
In the spring of 1942, about 7.5 pounds were bought per person by
families with incomes below $1,000 and 11 pounds by those at the top
of the income scale. By contrast, purchases in the fall of 1944 aver
aged 7 and 9 pounds per person in the lowest and highest income
groups, respectively.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1153

WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

T able 10.—Purchases of F R U IT S A N D VEGETABLES by Housekeeping Families

in Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1
September-0 ctober 1944
Item

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
and
to
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week.

Fruits and vegetables........ .

$1. 55

$2.15

$3.14

$3.19

Fresh and frozen................. .
Fruits_____ _____ ______
C itrus.........................
Other fresh..................
Other frozen________
Vegetables.........................
P o ta to e s........... ........
Other fresh_________
Other frozen............

1.28
.67
.20
.47
.00
.61
.22
.38
.01

1. 72
.87
.27
.60

2.60
1.44
.44
1.00

.85
.30
.53
.02

2. 57
1.41
.47
.94
(2)
1.16
.39
.74
.03

Canned___________________
Fruits________ ____ ____
Regular canned_____
Strained and chopped
for infants................
Juices________ i. . . . . .
Vegetables.____________
Tomato products and
juices 3___________
Other canned (reg
ular) *____________
Strained and chopped
for infants________

.22
.09
.03

.37
.16
.08

.50
.20
.10

.52
.22
.10

.68
.30
.15

.01
.05
.13

.01
.07
.21

.01
.09
.30

.05

.07

.14

.01

.02

Dried______ _______ _____

.05
.03

.00
.03

.02

.03

Fruits...___________
Vegetables (excluding
canned)________ _

(2)

$1.28

$2.06

$3.03

$3. 23

$4. 21

3.13
.87
1.68
.30
.55
.16
1.10
.03 } - 14
.57
1.45
.41
.21
.95 } .36
.09

1.48
.58
.31
.27
.90
.24
.66

2.13
.83
.43
.40
1.30
.32
.98

2.30
.96
.52
.44
1.34
.31
1.03

3.24
1.39
.69
.70
1.85
.36
1.49

.32
.09

.50
.17

.79
.24

.84
.35

.90
.35

^ .07
.02 1
.02
.13
.23
.38

.13

.19

.26

.28

.02
.10
.30

.04
.33

.05
.55

.09
.49

.07
.55

.09

.08

.10

.13

.17

.20

.18

.42

.32

.35

.03

.27 1
\ .15
.02 1

.23

.03
.07
.04

.07
.04

.09
.06

.09
.04

.08
.04

.11
.06

.09
.05

.07
.05

.03

.05

.04

.05

.04

.02

»
32. 55
13. 28
8. 75
4. 53
19.27
8. 81
10.46

36.31
16. 58
12. 02
4. 56
19. 73
8. 70
11.03

43.05
17.74
11.46
6.28
25.31
11.17
14.14

( 2)

1.16
.34
.79
.03

$3.90

Average quantity purchased in 1 week
Fresh and frozen........ .......lb .. 14.73
Fruits______________lb__ 6. 67
Citrus__________lb_. 2.17
Other fresh_____ lb_. 4.50
Other frozen____ lb__
.00
V egetables................ ..lb ._ 8. 06
Potatoes... .............lb._ 3. 85
Other fresh_____ lb .. 4.19
Other frozen......... lb._
.02
Canned:
Fruits:
Regular canned
2M can..
.11
Strained and chopped
for infants____ oz_.
.46
Juices____No. 2 can..
.29
Vegetables:
Tomato products and
juices 3..N o . 2 can..
.35
Other canned (reg
ular) L_.No. 2 can..
.47
Strained and chopped
.55
for infants_____ oz__
.25
Dried...........................
lb._
.13
Fruits......................
lb ..
Vegetables ( e x c l u d i n g
.12
canned)___________ lb ..

20.65
9.42
3.04
6.37
.01
11.23
6.14
5.04
.05

30.94
15. 77
5.15
10.61
.01
15.17
7.63
7.46
.08

31.83 '35.54 15. 76
17.38 17.17
4.67
4.91 *■6. 27
2. 98
12.46 10.79 } 1.69
. 11
.01
14.45 18.37 11.09
8. 20
6. 25
7.08
7.26
9. 89 } 4.84
.11
.28

22.95
8.82
5.97
2.85
14.13
6.88
7. 25

.27

.31

.30

.54
.39

.71
.53

1.08
.58

.45 1
} .29
1.14 1
.25
.67

.51

.75

1.03

1.16

.29

.44

.81

.48

.38

.42

.61

.53

.81

1.23

.98

1.60

.71

.79

1.05

1. 51

1.58

.82
.42
.16

1.32
.48
.25

1.49

} 1.18
1.12 1
.52
.78
.29
.26

1.65

3.33

2.19

2.15

.67

.75
.36

.45

.2 6

.96
.43

.26

.23

.21

.41

.5 3

.39

.16

.44

.23

.52

.29

45 -

-2

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1154

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

Although beverages and miscellaneous foods accounted for about 8
percent of all expenditures foi food at home in 1944, it is not practical
to analyze the purchases in terms of quantity. The increases shown
in table 11 in average expense for beverages at the two lower income
levels and for soups and prepared foods throughout the income scale,
though striking, contribute a negligible share to the increase in total
food expenditures.
Purchases of M ISCE LLA N EO U S FOODS by Housekeeping Families in
Cities, 1 Week in 1944 and in 1942, by Annual Money-Income Rate 1

T a b l e 1 1 .—

September-October 1944
Item

March-June 1942

U n $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Un $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
der
to
to
der
to
and
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average expense in 1 week

Miscellaneous foods___ . . . .
Beverages.. . . ____________
____
Coffee2. . . . .
Soft drinks_____________
Other 3__
. .. . . . ..
N uts and peanut butter
Packaged desserts 4_________
All soups, etc . ______•____
Soup, canned.
_ __ . .
Soup, dehyd rated_____
Prepared and partially
prepared food and food
mixtures .
_ _____
Relishes, pickles, olives
Seasonings, flavorings, and
other accessories. ._
.
Foods prepared for infants,
except vegetables, fruit, and
cereals
. . . .
Other food. _ __________

$0.60

$0.86

$1.18

$1.31

$1.50

$0. 38

$0. 66

$0. 96

$1.06

$1.25

.34
.21
.07
.06
.02
.02
.13
.08
.01

.49
.28
.14
.07
.06
.03
.16
.09
(5)

.61
.34
. 18
.09
.08
.05
.25
. 17
.01

.66
.33
.23
. 10
.10
.06
.28
. 16
.01

.71
.37
.25
.09
.15
.05
.35
. 17
.01

.21
. 15
.03
.03
.02
.02
.03

.40
.24
.11
.05
.04
.04
.05

.59
.31
.18
. 10
.06
.05
.07

.60
.33
.18
.09
.07
.07
.08

.84
.38
.39
.07
. 10
.05
.06

.04
.02

.07
.04

.07
.06

. 11
.07

. 17
.06

.02

.05

.07

. 11

.06

.07

.08

. 14

.01
(5)

.05
«

.05
.01

.03
.01

\ .08

.08

.12

. 13

.14

Food Expense in Relation to Income

It appears that most Americans in cities were eating much better
in the fall of 1944 than might be expected under wartime conditions.
The similarity of per-capita purchases at low and high income levels
must not be overemphasized, however, because the relatively large
expenditures for meals away from home by the liigh-income families
provided an important supplement to the food they brought home.
Moreover, the diet of the low-income groups, though improved, was
barely adequate, if that, and it was obtained at a relatively high cost.
Increased food purchases by low-income families may be attributed
in some part to the fact that in 1944 a smaller proportion of this group
lived in small Communities and in the South and West than was the
case early in 1942. Since small communities—particularly in the
South and West—offer families more opportunity than do large cities
to produce food for their own use, relatively greater purchases would
be required on the average by this group to maintain their customary

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

1155

diet. Similarly, since proportionately more of the middle and upper
income families were living in small cities and in the South and West,
they could maintain the same level of living with somewhat smaller
purchases.
A more significant factor may be the types of families represented at
different income levels in the two periods. The $1,000 group always
comprises—in varying proportions—newly employed single persons,
young couples, retired persons, and persons requiring public assistance.
The latter two groups presumably spend less for food than the former,
since they have little expectation of improving their economic status.
In 1944, because of high wage levels, the proportion of young persons
with incomes under $1,000 was probably smaller than in 1942, but
those that were in the group may have felt that employment prospects
were so bright that they could spend freely. In addition, there must
have been represented in 1944 a sizable group of servicemen’s wives
living on allotments, but accustomed to incomes that permitted a
much better scale of living. Information collected in the survey of
spending and saving in wartime suggests families do not immediately
adjust their diet to correspond with a decline in income.
The converse operates also, according to the findings of the 1941-42
study, i. e., families whose incomes have increased do not immediately
increase their expenditures for food to an amount that is customary
among families that have been living at the same income level for a
long period of time. There is no doubt that many of the families
with incomes of $3,000 or more in 1944 had never before earned so
much.
Regardless of the reason for the high food expenditures by families
with incomes below $1,000, it seems obvious that they must have run
up large debts, cut seriously into any savings they had, or reduced
their purchases of other living essentials to a very low point.
In the spring of 1942 families and single persons that cooked at
home spent $5.61 per week for food, out of an average weekly income
of $10.90—51 percent; this left them heavily in debt.6 In the fall of
1944, in contrast, families of the same size in the same income group
spent $8.42 per week for food, or about 71 percent of their weekly
income of $11.85.7
At the three middle income levels, the proportion of income spent
for food was about 4 percent greater in the recent period than in the
earlier one, ranging from 39 to 36 to 28 percent as contrasted with 35
to 31 to 25 percent at successively higher income levels. The some
what larger food expenditures in 1944 than in 1942 by families in the
highest income group were covered by their higher average income.
Hence, in both periods, the food bill absorbed about 17 percent of
income. This group probably saved a larger proportion of their in
come in 1944, since new automobiles and many other durable goods,
which normally absorb a significant share of their spending, were
not available.
Although there were fewer city families with incomes below $1,000
and $2,000, respectively, in 1944 than at any previous time in our
6 See Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 724, tables 9 and 10, for data on expenditures and savings
or debts in relation to income, for all city families and single persons, including the nonhousekeeping group.
7 This income figure and those used in the discussion that follows are preliminary estimates based on the
findings of the second part of the survey of prices paid by consumers as to income (after pay-roll deductions)
received during the entire year 1944. Income averages are not available by class for 1944, based on reports
for August, since in a considerable number of cases the information provided for August was sufficient only
as a basis for classification.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1156

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

history,8 this fact does not reduce the seriousness of the situation for
that group, particularly if present price levels are maintained or
increased.
Food Expense in Relation to Family Size

Family outlays for food are of course directly related to the number
of persons to be fed, but amounts spent per person at each income
level are smaller as family size increases (table 12). In the case of
food bought for use at home, there is some economy in large-scale
buying. However, the small savings that may be effected are by
no means sufficient to make up the differences in diet suggested by
the lower per-capita expenditures for food at home.
T able 12.—Average Expense for Food at Home and A w ay by Housekeeping Families in

Cities, by Family Size and Annual Money-Income Rate, Week in 1944 and 1942 1
September-October 1944
Number of persons in
family

March-June 1942

$2,000 $3,000 $4,000 Under $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000
Under $1,000
to
to
to
and
to
to
to
and
$1,000 $2,000
$3,000 $4,000 over $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 over
Average total food expense in 1 week

All families______ _______ _ $8.42 $11.87 $17.04 $18. 70 $23. 51
1 p erson _____ ___ .. 5.16
9. 33
9.76
0
0
2 persons_________ ___ 8.26 10.17 14.42 17.10 18.21
3 persons___________ -___ 14. 36 13. 59 16. 53 17.88 21.77
4 persons_______________
14.23 18.58 19.43 23.07
0
5 persons^
___ 18. 53 20. 55 21.23 27. 05
0
6 or more persons_______
19.01 24. 51 25. 33 29.58
0

$5.61 $10. 32 $14. 54 $16. 41
8.09
4.12
0
0
5.42
9. 93 12.87 12.93
8.36 U.52 14. 02 16. 34
7. 95 12.30 16. 63 17. 82
9. 36 10. 90 17. 04 18.48
13.65 21.20 22.41
0

$21.00
0
15.98
18.19
21.05
23.96
30.34

Average expense for food at home in 1 week
All families.................. .......... $7. 57 $10.44 $14.43 $15.08 $18.49
1 p erson ...................... . . 4. 41
7.29
7. 54
0
0
2 persons ................. .
7. 44
8.85 11.21 12.57 11.82
3 persons______________ 12. 92 12.32 14.03 14.82 16. 95
4 persons______ . . . ___
12. 96 16.17 15. 99 18.42
(2)
5 persons____ __ _ ____
16.93 18.24 18.13 22.67
(2)
6 or more persons_______
18.
06 22.77 22.07 24. 52
(2)

$5.24
3.66
5.19
7. 90
7. 27
8. 29
0

$9.16 $12.68 $14.21
6.68
0
0
8.88 10.99 10. 12
10.20 12.50 14.03
11.61 14.40 16.05
10.12 15.23 16. 58
12.14 19. 32 20. 32

$17.11
0
12.03
14.36
16.69
20. 22
26.71

Average expense for food away from home in 1 week
All families___ . . . ______ $0.85
1 person_____ ______ ___
.75
.82
2 persons___ _________
3 persons______________
1.44
4person s... ___________
(2)
............. .........
5 persons.
(2)
6 or more persons...........
(2)

$1.43
2.04
1. 32
1.27
1.27
1.60
.95

$2.01
2. 22
3.21
2. 50
2.41
2.31
1.74

$3.62
0
4. 53
3.06
3.44
3.10
3.26

$5. 02
0
6.39
4.82
4.65
4.38
5.06

$0. 37
.46
.23
.46
.68
1.07
0

$1.16
1.41
1.05
1.32
.69
.78
1.51

$1.86
0
1.88
1.52
2.23
1.81
1.88

$2.20
0
2.81
2.31
1.77
1.90
2.09

$3.89
0
3. 95
3.83
4. 36
3.74
3.63

1 See table 2 for definition of income and note on adjustment of 1942 reports for comparability with respect
to family size.
2 Averages not shown for fewer than 10 cases.

Since average expenditures for food away from home by families
in the' same income group show no consistent relation to family size,
it is clear that restaurant meals do not serve to round out the diet of
large families as compared with small ones. Rather, it appears that
persons in large families carry their lunches to work and to school
much more often than single persons or members of small families.
3
Estimates of the distribution by income of city families and single persons will be available in a few
months from data collected in February 1945 in the study of prices paid by consumers in 1944.

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WARTIME FOOD PURCHASES

1157

Information is not available on the amounts of various foods pur
chased by families of different size. It is logical to assume, however,
that families with incomes of $4,000 or more, and most of those receiv
ing $3,000 to $4,000, were able to allocate their income in a manner
that allowed sufficient money for food to purchase a good diet even
when the family consisted of 5 or more members.
Among large families with smaller incomes, adequate diets were
probably the exception rather than the rule, even in 1942, and cer
tainly in 1944. Furthermore, the proportion of income required to
cover their food bills was far in excess of that required by small
families. The general problem posed above on the basis of class aver
ages is thus in fact much more critical for large families. Since this
usually means families with young children, it is particularly serious.
Families of one or two and, at income levels above $2,000, somewhat
larger families do not, of course, face the same problem.
The percentage increase in food expenditures between the spring of
1942 and the fall of 1944 tended to be greater among large than
among small families at each of the lower income levels. This indi
cates merely that the usual food purchases of small families provided
more leeway for purchase of cheaper—or less—food in the face of
price increases, while this was not true for the larger families whose
diets were already restricted.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

P rices in th e F irst Q uarter o f 1 9 4 5
Summary

PRICES continued their gradual advance during the first quarter of
1945. Wholesale (primary-market) prices rose 0.6 percent. The cost
of living declined 0.2 percent, but the decline was due chiefly to a
seasonal drop in prices for eggs. Prices of most consumer goods
continued to rise.
The general level of primary-market prices and of most of the retail
prices of living essentials was as high as at any time since the war
began. In March 1945 wholesale prices were 40 percent higher than
in August 1939 and retail prices 29 percent higher. As a result of
price controls, however, these increases are still very much smaller
than those which occurred during World War I.
The percentage changes in wholesale prices and the cost of living for
certain periods since August 1939 are shown in table 1.
T a b l e 1 .-—Percent

of Change in Retail and Wholesale Prices in Specified Periods
Percent of change to March 1945 in—
Wholesale prices of—

From—

December 1944: Last quarter--. ____ _ _ _
March 1944: Last year----------- ----------------------M ay 1943: Hold-the-line order 1______________________
M ay 1942: OPA’s General Maximum Price Regulation..
August 1939: War in Europe----------- _ . . ---------- . . .

Retail prices
of living
essentials

- 0 .2
+ 2 .4
+ 1.4
+ 9.3
+28.6

All commodities

All commodities except
farm products
and foods

+ 0.6
+ 1.4
+ 1.2
+ 6.6
+40.4

+ 0.3
+1.1
+ 2.6
+ 3 .7
+23.8

i The President’s hold-the-line order was issued April 8, 1943. The peak of the rise which led to this
order was reached in M ay, which is, therefore, used for this comparison.

More significant than the actual rise was the tremendous under
lying pressure for higher prices that existed in the first quarter of
1945. The continuance of the war in Europe and the rapid tempo of
the war in the Pacific brought an unexpected expansion of demands
for military goods at a time when scarcities of many civilian goods
were more acute than ever. Meanwhile, civilian purchasing power
remained at an extremely high level and labor was pressing its demands
for increased earnings. Industry representatives were increasingly
outspoken in their demands for price relief to meet the steady war
time rise in labor and other costs. A few important advances in
price ceilings were granted during the quarter.
As regards wage costs, a number of significant developments
occurred. The War Labor Board issued a comprehensive report
upholding the basic limitations of the “Little Steel” formula. During
the quarter it also sought the approval of the Director of Economic
Stabilization for so-called “fringe” awards, such as those granted to
textile and packing-house workers. Although these awards did not
grant increases in basic wages, they did increase labor costs and thus
opened up the possibility of price increases to cover the higher costs.
1158

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 19 4 5

1159

On March 1, 30 days before the expiration of the bituminous-coal con
tract, the United Mine Workers of America presented its demands for
increases.
The acceleration of the war in the fipst quarter of 1945 intensified
existing shortages and created some new ones. Thus, lead and zinc,
which had been in fairly comfortable supply, were again scarce.
Severe weather conditions contributed to tightened supplies of coal.
Shortages of foods and apparel and black-market operations were
subjects of special investigations. Shoe rationing was tightened.
Paper was increasingly scarce. Plans for reconversion were tempo
rarily suspended.
In many industries demands for price relief were widespread and
forceful. The petroleum industry renewed its request for a general
increase in ciude-oil prices. On all sides there were demands for
suppression of black markets and for increases in meat-price ceilings
to relieve the severe shortage for consumers. The new OPA-WPB
program to insure essential low- and medium-priced apparel for
civilians was threatened by vigorous industry objection.
As the war continued it became increasingly difficult to maintain
stable prices in the face of continuously rising costs. During the
first quarter of 1945, OPA was forced to grant increases in price
ceilings on many items. For some commodities, these were the first
increases granted since price controls, were established. Some
increases, such as those on pig iron, steel products, wood pulp, news
print, and cotton textiles, were extremely important.
Cost of Consumer Goods and Services

The slight decrease of 0.2 percent in the retail cost of family living
essentials during the first quarter of 1945 was due primarily to seasonal
declines in egg prices. The temporary net decline does not reflect the
strong latent factors tending toward higher prices, or the Government’s
problems in maintaining price stability. Retail prices of all groups,
except food and rent, increased during the quarter under review.
Retail clothing prices in March 1945 were 12 percent higher than in
May 1943 and liousefurnishings were 15^ percent higher (table 2).
Consumer buying power was even higher in early 1945 than in
1944. Income payments to individuals during the first quarter were
equivalent to an annual rate of 164 billion dollars, or about twice as
large as in 1929. In spite of increasing shortages, retail sales were
at record heights, reflecting the high level of prices and pre-Easter
buying.
Although many civilian goods had been scarce for a number of
months, the shortages were much more apparent during the quarter
under review. Unexpected increases in military requirements of
clothing late in 1944, and demands for food for liberated areas led to
further Government restrictions in this period. Food and clothing
were the subject of extensive congressional investigations. Coal
supplies were critical, particularly in Eastern areas, because of severe
weather which crippled transportation.
Rising costs have presented a continuing problem of price control.
During the first quarter of 1945 OPA was compelled to grant ceilingadjustments for coal, poultry, and Army pork, and to increase the

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116 0

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

subsidies for crude petroleum and meats. During this quarter, also,
broad programs were initiated to combat the continuing disappearance
of lower-priced textiles which has become one of the most serious
problems of control, and steps were taken to relieve the growing
meat shortage. In addition OPA has undertaken a cost survey to
determine the need for a general increase in the ceiling for crude
petroleum, continually demanded by the industry. New threats to
the price stability of consumer goods were presented in the awards of
higher wages to textile and packing-house workers by the National
War Labor Board and in the demands of the United Mine Workers.
T able 2. —Percent of Change in Cost of Living and in Prices of Consumer Goods in

Prim ary Markets in Specified Periods
COST OF LIVING
Percent of change—
From
hold-theline
order

From
OPA’sGen.
Max. Price
Regulation

From
war in
Europe

In last
quarter

In last
year

Dec. 1944
to
Mar. 1945

Mar. 1944
to
Mar. 1945

All item s______________________________

- 0 .2

+ 2 .4

+ 1.4

+ 9 .3

+28.6

Food__________________________________
Clothing______________________________
R ent_______________ ______
____ ____
Fuel, electricity and ice--------- -----------. . .
Gas and electricity__________________
Other fuels and ice_________________
Housefurnishings________________ _____
Miscellaneous__________________________

- 1 .1

+ 1 .3
+ 5.1
+ •2
+ .1
- .5
+ .5
+12.0
+ 3 .8

- 5 .0
+12.4
+. 3
+ 2.2

+11.8
+13.9
- 1 .5
+ 4.9
- 1 .1
+ 9.9
+18.2
+11.5

+45.3
+43.3
+ 3.8
+12.8
- 3 .5
+28.9
+43.6
+23.1

+21.8
+ 5 .8
-.8
+ 1 .7
+ 1 .6

+108.5
+55.7
+27.1
+47.1
+22.1

Commodity group

+.6

0
+ .5
+ .7
+. 4
+ 1 .0
+ .4

M ay 1943 1 M ay 1942
to
to
Mar. 1945 Mar. 1945

-.6

+ 4 .5
+15.5
+ 7 .2

Aug. 1939
to
Mar. 1945

CONSUMER GOODS (PRIMARY-MARKET PRICES)
Farm products______________ ____ ______
Foods_________________________________
Hides and leather products________ _____
Textile products.________ ______________
Housefurnishings_________ _____ ________

+ 1 .4
-.9

+ 2 .9

+ .3

+ •8
+ 1 .9
+ .2

+ .2
+ .1

+ 1 .2
- 5 .3
0
+ 2.4
+ 1 .8

1 The President’s hold-the-line order was issued April 8,1943. The peak of the rise, which led to this
order, was reached in M ay, which is, therefore, used for this comparison.

Important steps were taken during the quarter to tighten up
retail-price controls. OPA issued Maximum Price Regulation No.
580, which replaced the General Maximum Price Regulation and other
price-control regulations at retail for most clothing, textiles, shoes,
furniture, and housefurnishings. This action was described by the
Price Administrator as “ one of the most important events in retailprice control since May 1942, when the General Maximum Price
Regulation took effect.” The regulation freezes retail mark-ups
existing on March 19, 1945, in an effort to assure that cost reductions
at the manufacturers’ level will automatically be passed on to con
sumers.
MPR 580 supplements the WPB-OPA textile-clothing program
announced in January to restore lower-priced goods to the civilian
market, and similar programs for furniture and housefurnishings.
Under the WPB order, effective May 1, 1945, manufacturers of

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PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1 9 4 5

1161

essential civilian garments selling at or below certain specified prices
are given priority assistance to obtain the necessary fabrics. The
order reserves 65 to 80 percent of available cotton, rayon, and woolen
materials, after military needs are satisfied, for such low-priced goods.
The OPA order, the Maximum Average Price Regulation (not actually
issued until late in April), requires manufacturers to distribute their
quarterly production of all items of men’s, women’s and children’s
apparel in all price ranges so as not to exceed the average price received
during 1943. Together with a previous order requiring pre-ticketing
of most cotton garments by the manufacturer with retail ceilings, and
proposed quality controls, these measures are expected to reduce retail
clothing prices 6 to 7 percent.
FOODS AND FARM PRODUCTS

Prices of foods declined approximately 1 percent at wholesale and
at retail during the first quarter of 1945, chiefly because of seasonal
declines for eggs. At the same time prices of farm products were
rising 1.4 percent, as a result of a 7-percent advance for livestock and
poultry and almost 2 percent for grains. Among the food groups,
dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and cereal products were
relatively stable. Other foods (including eggs), declined 5 percent in
primary markets, offsetting an advance of about 1.5 percent for meats.
Shortages of some foods (particularly meat, in urban areas) were
more severe during the first quarter of 1945 than during any previous
period of the war and there were general complaints that the shortages
were due to excessively rigid Government controls. Black-market
operations were a matter of chief concern to housewives unable to
purchase meat of any kind in retail stores. Butchers in a number of
cities closed down, allegedly because of inability to obtain supplies.
Several OPA price actions were taken during the quarter to encourage
increased meat production; these included higher ceilings for certain
pork products for the Army and increases in subsidies for livestock.
Livestock and meats.—With supplies far short of the demand, prices
of livestock and poultry moved up 7 percent at the primary-market
level during the quarter. Prices in March 1945 were 0.1 percent below
the high level prevailing in the spring of-1943, prior to the ‘TO percent
roll-back” in meat prices. Owing to the short supply, hogs of all
weights were selling at $14.75 per hundredweight in February and
March, whereas heavier weights ordinarily sell at a discount. There
were sharp increases in prices of cows during the quarter, because of
the unusually strong demand for good-grade cow beef, which is not
set aside for Government purchase.
In January there were several important changes in the cattle
stabilization program, designed to reduce the pressure on meat ceilings
and at the same time prevent reductions in prices of live cattle which
might adversely affect cattle feeding. An “over-riding” ceiling of
$18 per hundredweight at Chicago was established; the maximum of
the stabilization range was raised $1 and subsidy payments were
increased $1 per hundredweight for choice and 50 cents per hundred
weight for good cattle.
Wholesale and retail prices of all meats (except poultry, which rose
seasonally) were fairly stable. In March, roasting chickens were
selling at retail at an average of over 46 cents per pound in large

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1162

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

cities; this was the highest price reported since 1920. Despite the
short supply, average prices of beef and veal were slightly lower at
retail than in March 1944; meats as a group rose only 0.2 percent.
Shortages of all meats, particularly beef, pork, and poultry, were
widespread, with the most severe situation on the Eastern Seaboard.
A survey in mid-March in 56 large cities showed that 78 percent of the
independent stores had no pork loins and hams for sale, 68 percent no
bacon, over 70 percent no veal, and about 45 percent no beef steaks or
roasts. These figures compare with percentages of 32, 54, 33, and 24,
respectively, in December. Little relief is expected before late summer
or early fall.
There were widespread reports of diversion of meat from Federally
inspected plants, of transportation difficulties, and of black-market
operations. In addition the proportion of production reserved for
military purposes and lend-lease was increased. The resulting short
age for civilians brought mounting pressure for higher ceiling prices.
Dairy products and eggs.—Wholesale and retail prices of eggs
declined seasonally throughout the country from December 1944
through March 1945, the greatest decrease occurring between January
and February as provided by OPA regulation. Average retail prices
declined 25 percent, from the seasonal peak of 66.9 cents per dozen
in December to 49.9 cents in mid-March. In order to encourage
increased sales of live poultry, War Food Administration’s new sup
port prices announced in January were set at lower levels than in 1944.
Prices of dairy products were generally stable during the quarter.
Supplies of butter were equal to demand in most markets, owing to
high ration-point values. The number of independent stores without
butter decreased from 35 percent of the total in January to 9 percent
in March.
Other products.—Although there was a seasonal advance of 1.8
percent in the prices of grains between December 1944 and March
1945, the change was not reflected in the prices of most cereal products.
This stability may be attributed to large stocks of wheat, approxi
mately double those of a year ago.
Fruits and vegetables rose over 3 percent at retail, as fresh produce
moved up about 4 percent and there was a slight increase for dried
fruits and vegetables.
Prices of coffee, tea, and cocoa remained stable throughout the
quarter but there was a concerted effort on the part of coffee-producing
countries for increases in the ceiling on imports. Prices of sugar were
unchanged at wholesale and retail, with a slight easing of the shortage
that had threatened to force a price rise late in 1944.
TEXTILES AND APPAREL

Retail costs of clothing increased 0.6 percent during the first quarter
of 1945, continuing the advance which has persisted since the middle
of 1943, chiefly as the result of the gradual disappearance of lowerpriced articles. In March 1945 clothing prices were more than 5
percent higher than in March 1944 and nearly 12% percent higher
than in May 1943.
Prices for textiles and apparel of unchanged quality in primary
markets increased 0.2 percent on the average during the quarter and
were less than 2 percent higher than in May 1942, the date of the

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 194 5

1163

General Maximum Price Regulation. Chief increases were for cotton
goods under the Bankhead amendment to the Stabilization Extension
Act.
Boston prices of most grades of raw wool remained unchanged
during the quarter. Prices of raw cotton, however, reached almost
the highest level of the war period, about 135 percent above August
1939. Average price of 15/16 middling cotton in 10 spot markets was
21.75 cents per pound in March 1945, or nearly 1 percent higher than
in December 1944 and more than 3 percent higher than in March
1944. The rise in prices of raw cotton and higher labor costs have
exerted a continual pressure on the price ceilings for textile products.
With the recent War Labor Board award of an increase in minimum
wages, amounting to 5 cents per hour, for 50,000 textile workers in
northern and southern mills, textile mills have renewed their requests
for ceiling relief.
Since the hold-the-line order of April 8, 1943, advancing clothing
prices have been the most serious threat to the anti-inflation program.
Rising costs have caused manufacturers to shift production to higher
price lines on which profit margins are larger. There have also been
reports of black-market operations. Supplies, particularly of cotton
goods, have become increasingly scarce, and little improvement is in
prospect. Taking into account the fall of Germany, the Combined
Production and Resources Board has estimated that there will be an
annual world shortage of 1 billion to 2 billion yards of cotton textiles.
Supplies of most clothing were expected to be lower this spring than in
1944. Supplies of children’s underwear were very limited. Staple
cotton and rayon yard goods, other than spun rayon, were seldom
obtainable for home dressmaking. Full-fashioned rayon hosiery was
scarce. An informal policy of limiting sales of scarce items of clothing
has been instituted by many retail stores. During the quarter under
review a comprehensive new WPB-OPA program was announced, to
reduce clothing costs 6 to 7 percent and to restore supplies of essential
clothing to civilian markets at reasonable prices.
First effects of earlier directives to assure low-cost clothing for
civilians were reflected in some price decreases during the quarter,
although only limited supplies were available. Among the items
which returned to the market in limited quantities were men’s percale
dress shirts, shorts, and women’s percale housedresses. Prices of
men’s dress shirts, on the'average, decreased 2.7 percent in the quarter,
reflecting effects of these programs.
Scarcity of low-price merchandise during the war has resulted in
appreciable cost increases to consumers for a number of items. Per
cale housedresses, their upward trend lessened somewhat by the
limited quantities made with the assistance of war agency directives,
rose over 3 percent in the first quarter of this year, and in mid-March
were costing the consumer about twice as much as in the summer of
1939. Both rayon and cotton street dresses retailed at higher prices
in the first offerings of spring and summer lines. Increases of as much
as 11 percent were reported in some cities for work clothing. There
were sizable increases for men’s wool outer apparel.
A scarcity of men’s outerwear assumed serious proportions for the
first time during the quarter under review. Stocks of men’s woolen
apparel, topcoats, overcoats, suits, and woolen dress trousers, de
pleted by near-record sales, were reported to be lower than during

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1164

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

any period since the beginning of the war. Few woolen piece goods
were offered for sale by manufacturers, because of the diversion of
most wool yarns for military orders and uncertainty as to final details
of the WPB-OPA program for essential clothing. Demands for
woolen fabrics for the armed services in 1945 are expected to surpass
the peak of 1943.
HIDES AND LEATHER PRODUCTS

Hides and leather products advanced 0.3 percent in primary mar
kets as prices of shearlings, both raw and tanned, increased rather
sharply to near the ceiling levels. Retail prices of shoes were gener
ally stable during the first quarter of 1945.
Quotations for No. 1 raw shearlings, formerly in great demand for
aviators’ flying suits and now available for civilian slippers and coats,
increased to a level 1% times as high as in August 1939. Prices-of
imported Patnas goatskins, an important source of upper leather for
women’s shoes, rose approximately 3 percent as a result of higher
costs in India.
The unexpected cancellation of food stamps in December precipi
tated a scare that led to a shoe-buying epidemic early in the year but
supplies of adults’ shoes were generally adequate for demands under
rationing. Retailers continued to drop their lower-priced lines of
rationed shoes, and inventories of children’s shoes, particularly of
toddlers’ sizes, remained below consumers’ needs in some areas. In
view of the increased allocation of cattle-hide leather for military
footwear for the first half of 1945, the outlook for men’s and children’s
leather footwear is not favorable.
HOUSEFURNISHINGS

The retail cost of housefumishings advanced more than 1 percent
during the first quarter of 1945. Between March 1944 and March
1945 housefumishings increased 12 percent—more than any other
group of commodities included in the cost-of-living index. The rise
is attributable primarily to the continued disappearance of lowerpriced articles, production of which manufacturers find unprofitable
because of the critical shortages of material and manpower. There
was also a slight price advance in primary markets because of a 6percent increase in the manufacturers’ ceiling price for cotton blankets,
which was not reflected at retail.
The cost of upholstered living-room furniture and sofa beds con
tinued to show increases, because of the unavailability of lower grades
of covering formerly used in their manufacture. Price increases
during the quarter amounted to 1.5 and 1.3 percent, respectively.
February furniture sales had little downward effect on retail prices,
since the articles offered by the few retailers sponsoring sales usually
were restricted to occasional pieces and juveniles’ furniture. Articles
other than furniture remained generally stable but there were scat
tered price rises for gas stoves and wool rugs.
The price picture for furniture was overshadowed by merchandise
shortages throughout the quarter. Production currently represents
about 60 percent of the 1943 volume of wood furniture and 50 percent
of upholstered furniture. Because of a cut in lumber quotas, man
power problems, and shortages of materials such as upholstery and
ticking fabrics and high-carbon steel wire for inner-spring units, little
improvement is in prospect.

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PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1 9 4 5

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Dining-room furniture in all price lines was very short in supply
during the quarter and consumers were shifting to dinette sets.
Lower-priced bedroom and living-room suites were still scarce. Up
to the end of the quarter little low-priced furniture had returned to
retail stores as the result of OPA’s January order, permitting manu
facturers of certain types of furniture in specified price ranges (includ
ing 3-piece bedroom suites, 8-piece dining-room suites, and 5-piece
dinette sets) to apply for upward adjustment of maximum prices to
cover total costs.
Other housefurnishings, including towels and sheets and all types
of soft floor coverings were also scarce. Production under “spot
authorization” of inner-spring mattresses, electric irons, vacuum
cleaners, etc., has made little progress, and unexpected new war
demands for high-carbon steel and other materials will prevent any
immediate improvement.
FUELS AND UTILITIES

Composite gas and electricity rates to domestic consumers increased
1.4 and 0.8 percent, respectively, between December 1944 and March
1945. Domestic bills for both gas and electricity had been reduced
in December 1944 by refunds to customers, in cash or in partial or
complete cancellation of the December bill. There were several minor
changes during the quarter in gas bills, as a result of fuel-cost adjust
ments and of changes in the B. t. u. content of natural gas.
Retail prices of anthracite and bituminous coal rose 0.8 and 0.3 per
cent, respectively, during the quarter. There was also a slight in
crease in bituminous-coal prices in primary markets. Many retailers
in the Northeastern States and St. Louis, restricted to 1-ton deliveries
by order of the Solid Fuels Administrator for War, were allowed by
OPA to charge up to 25 cents more per ton.
These restricted deliveries of solid fuels developed out of scarcity
and rationing. Bad weather in the Appalachian region during De
cember 1944 continued into January, increasing the demand for fuel
and causing critical congestion of transportation facilities which
brought about a 72-hour freight embargo ending at midnight on Feb
ruary 5. Storms on the Atlantic Ocean hindered coastal traffic in
both petroleum fuels and coal. Retailers’ anthracite quotas were cut
from 87% to 82% percent of the quantity sold during the 1942-43 heat
ing season. Deliveries of solid fuels to consumers in northeastern
areas were limited to 1 week’s supply or 1 ton. To conserve coal used
in producing electric power, a “brown-out” of unnecessary commercial
lighting and a midnight entertainment curfew were ordered.
At the end of the quarter, the Government faced a new threat to its
price and wage ceilings in the bituminous-coal industry. The United
Mine Workers presented demands for substantial pay increases, in
cluding larger vacation payments, increases in overtime pay and a
royalty of 10 cents per ton of coal mined.
There were no appreciable price changes for petroleum products at
any level of distribution. Several changes were made, however, in the
subsidies paid by the Federal Government to producers of crude petro
leum in marginal fields and the number of wells entitled to this subsidy
was increased. Members of the petroleum industry continued their
agitation to replace subsidies by outright increases in price ceilings
with such increases passed on to ultimate consumers.

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COST OF HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE

Inflationary pressures in real estate continued to increase during the
first quarter of 1945. Commercial rents, purchase prices of houses,
and farm-land values, none of which is subject to Federal control,
reached high levels and during this quarter OPA sought authority from
Congress for control of both realty sales and rents of commercial prop
erty. Although rents of family homes and apartments, which have
been subject to OPA control since early in 1942, remained generally
stable during the quarter at a level 1% percent below May 1942, there
have been indirect increases which are not reflected in the actual rents
paid.
Rents of family homes and apartments in 34 large cities during the
quarter remained unchanged on the average. Rent increases amount
ing to 0.1 percent or more were reported for 4 cities. Slight decreases
occurred in some cities, caused in the main by forced reductions re
sulting from extensive rent ceiling-compliance drives by OPA.
The housing shortage continued acute. In most cities there has
been little building activity. Moreover, there has been continued
deterioration of property, with few repairs, and more and more
dwellings consequently are becoming uninhabitable. Even in cities
where there have been cut-backs in war production, the housing situ
ation has not improved a great deal. In Portland, Maine, where
there was a cut-back in shipbuilding, stores, garages, and uninhabitable
buildings were not being utilized as make-shift temporary dwellings
to the same extent in March 1945 as 6 months previously. The
situation was still so serious, however, that in many instances the new
tenant was waiting on the sidewalk with his furniture while the old
tenant moved out.
Reports for some cities indicate a continued use of “ bonuses to the
landlord” for finding suitable living accommodations, some of these
rewards running into large sums of money. With more money to
spend, tenants in some cities are looking for better quarters, causing
a shortage in the better houses.
Very little building—in spite of critical housing shortages—is taking
place. Many people want to build but cannot do so because of
restrictions on materials.
The outright sale of many homes, formerly rented, continued
throughout the quarter. In many cases, the present tenants were
being forced to purchase at high prices to avoid being forced to move.
In some cities where the housing situation was less critical, there
appeared to be a tendency for owner-occupants to sell their property
and rent a home, in anticipation of a more favorable chance to con
struct new residences after the war.
MISCELLANEOUS GOODS AND SERVICES

Miscellaneous goods and services increased 0.4 percent in cost at
retail between December 1944 and March 1945 and 3.8 percent be
tween March 1944 and March 1945. Fees for medical care were
higher and prices of haircuts and laundry and domestic services in
creased in some cities. Higher ceilings were allowed by the OPA for
some laundries, to cover higher costs of operation.
Cigarettes remained scarce. The shift from multiple- to singleunit sales of cigarettes and pipe tobacco contributed to the advance of

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1167

PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1945

0.9 percent in cost of tobacco products during the quarter. Cigars
also increased in cost as higher-priced lines replaced lower-priced lines.
Prices of Industrial Goods

Prices for industrial goods advanced moderately during the first
quarter of 1945 to the highest level of the war. Average prices for
commodities other than farm products and foods increased 0.3 per
cent during the quarter. In contrast to earlier periods, however, small
price increases occurred in every field, reflecting increasing pressure
on price controls and greater shortages of goods in civilian markets.
Supplies of many industrial commodities were reduced to a wartime
low as a result of revised estimates of war-matériel requirements
necessitated by increased activity on the European front and the ac
celerated tempo of the war in the Pacific, and unfavorable weather
and manpower shortages on the production front. Higher production
costs, resulting from increased wage rates and material costs, placed
heavy pressure on price controls and caused a number of ceiling
adjustments, with more under consideration.
For the first time since price control was instituted, general advances
were allowed in prices of basic iron and steel products to compensate
for higher production costs. The industry requested further adjust
ments to cover increased wage rates allowed in December 1944.
Masonry and cement prices continued to move upward as volume
of production decreased and overhead costs became heavier. Im
portant increases were allowed in prices of wood pulp, paperboard,
and newsprint to compensate for higher raw-material costs.
Other products showed smaller increases. More important, how
ever, were the growing shortages in all fields, with little prospects of
an improved position even after VE-day. Public salvage campaigns,
although given increased emphasis, were not successful in overcoming
material shortages, partly because of difficulties in processing collected
scrap. At the end of the quarter the outlook in industrial markets
was for increased production difficulties with stronger pressures on
stabilization controls.
Price changes for the principal groups of industrial products are
shown in table 3.
T able 3. —Percent of Change in Prices of Industrial Goods in Primary Markets, in

Specified Periods
Percent of change—

Commodity group

Fuel and lighting__________ ____ ______
Metals and metal products--------------Building materials.....
................................
Chemicals and allied products. ........
Miscellaneous commodities-------------

In last
quarter

In last year

From
From holdOPA’s
the-line
Gen.
Max.
order
Price Reg.

From war
in Europe

Dec. 1944
to Mar.
1945

Mar. 1944
to Mar.
1945

M ay 1943 » M ay 1942
to Mar.
to Mar.
1945
1945

Aug. 1939
to Mar.
1945

+ 0 .4
+ .4
+ .6
+ .1
+ .4

+ 0 .5
+ .5
+ 2 .5
-. 1
+ 1 .2

+ 3 .2
+• 4
+ 6.0
+• 1
+ 2.9

+ 6.9
+ .3
+ 6.4
-1 .7
+ 4 .5

+14.9
+11.8
+30.7
+27.9
+29.1

1 The President’s hold-the-line order was issued April 8, 1943. The peak of the rise which led to this
order was reached in M ay, which is, therefore, used for this comparison.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

METALS AND MACHINERY

Prices of metals and metal products, which had been generally stable
from early in 1942 to the end of 1944, increased 0.4 percent during the
first quarter of 1945. Average prices for iron and steel products rose
0.9 percent, as higher prices were allowed by OPA for five basic
steel products and for pig iron. Nonferrous metals rose 0.1 percent,
reflecting increased military demands for mercury. Short supplies
and heavy demand for other metals kept prices at ceiling levels. The
impact of the price increases for iron and steel products was softened by
the stability in prices for machinery and plumbing and heatingequipment. Compared with the relatively comfortable supply
position which prevailed in the fourth quarter of 1944, stocks and
inventories of many metals were low in the first quarter of 1945. A
speed-up in the war program and manpower shortages placed a
heavy burden on rolling mills, and demand for both steel and alu
minum sheets far exceeded the supply. Heavy melting scrap steel was
scarce in the principal steel-producing centers. Supplies of lead,
zinc, and antimony became so tight that it was again necessary to
place them under allocation.
Effective January 11, 1945, OPA allowed interim increases at the
mill level of from $2 to $5 per ton on five basic steel products: Hot
rolled carbon plates; hot rolled carbon sheets; galvanized sheets,
roofing and siding; nails and staples; and rails. This was the first
industry-wide advance in basic steel prices since 1939 and was due to
higher production costs in existence prior to the wage adjustment of
December 30. These increases were of a temporary nature. Further
adjustments for these products, as well as for other steel products,
are under consideration. Warehouses and jobbers were permitted to
pass the increase in mill prices of nails and staples on to their customers
immediately, but were forced to absorb the increase on the other four
products until March 1. In February, the OPA raised ceiling prices
on pig iron and manganese steel castings, to absorb higher production
costs and restore industry earnings to prewar levels. It was the
first advance in base prices for pig iron since price control was in
itiated in June 1941.
Unseasonably warm weather during March permitted one of the
earliest opening dates in history for Great Lakes shipping and thereby
reduced the danger of an iron-ore shortage. During the first quarter
of 1945, shipments of ore from Lake Superior mines were more than
double those of the first quarter of 1944. Stocks of ore on April 1
at furnaces and docks, however, were reported to be the lowest since
1918.
The accelerated war program after the German counteroffensive
late in 1944, severe winter weather, and manpower shortages combined
to reduce supplies of scrap steel, and prices again pushed against
ceilings. In mid-January, OPA officials stated that the scrap shortage
was as critical as at any time since the beginning of the war. Some
of the smaller steel mills were fast approaching the end of their inven
tories and operations in the scrap field were off as much as 50 percent
of capacity.
Several plans to relieve the scrap shortage were proposed. WPB
suggested that scrap consumers be required to purchase scrap only in
specified areas. This plan was opposed by steel mills and dealers.

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PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1 9 4 5

1169

The American Iron and Steel Institute recommended that price
premiums formerly allowed be reinstated and that OPA liberalize
commissions charged by brokers on sale of scrap. In order to build
up inventories of No. 1 and No. 2 heavy melting scrap, the WPB
industry advisory committee concurred in a scrap speed-up program
which included an industry pledge that steel mills and foundries would
maintain inventories of a 45-day minimum of usable prepared scrap.
Increased war orders and continued manpower shortages placed
most nonferrous metals again in tight supply. With the exception
of mercury, prices for primary metals remained firm at ceiling levels
where they became stabilized at the beginning of 1942 or earlier.
Both zinc and antimony were again placed under allocation controls.
Late in 1944, zinc stocks showed a decline, and substantial withdrawals
of special high-grade zinc were said to have been made from Metals
Reserve Corporation stocks during January. Consumers were urged
to use “regular” high-grade zinc, instead of the “special” high grade,
wherever possible.
At the end of January the Government stock pile of lead was
estimated to be 80,000 tons, or less than 1 month’s consumption.
The MRC contract with Mexican producers was renewed at a higher
price, equivalent to the ceiling price of 6% cents at New York. Because
of the shortage, War Production Board plans to release more lead for
civilian requirements were amended April 1 to permit use of lead
only for end products essential to the military program and civilian
economy.
Accelerated arms and shell programs and the steady decrease in
mine production because of manpower shortages required big cuts in
the amounts of copper which had been set aside for spot authoriza
tions. Copper consumption in February was at the highest level in
history, and the WPB Copper Division estimated a deficit in refined
copper of 208,000 tons for the year 1945. To increase copper supplies,
larger imports from Canada and Rhodesia were contracted for at
11% cents per pound, delivered at New York.
Near the beginning of the year, requirements for sheet aluminum
jumped approximately 50 percent. Because of the extremely tight
supply WPB instructed the Aluminum Co. of America to close its
order books for the first 4 months of 1945, and the scheduling of
aluminum sheet was taken over by the Army Air Forces. The books
of all seven manufacturers were closed indefinitely for orders not
specifically authorized. Soldiers were furloughed by the Army to
meet manpower demands of aluminum sheet producers.
Early in February WPB ordered aluminum ingot output to be
increased 10 million pounds monthly at four plants where operations
had been curtailed. In March the MRC completed negotiations with
Aluminum Union Ltd. of Canada for an additional 250 million pounds
of pig aluminum for 1945 delivery at current domestic prices.
At the beginning of 1945 the price of mercury continued to advance,
owing to the very short supply brought about largely by increased
military use of mercury in the development of a new dry-cell battery.
During February, however, favorable war news and rumors of mercury
shipments from Spain caused some irregularity in the market with
the average price for March below January and February averages,
but $35.00 above the December 1944 average price.
64 5 8 8 6 — 45 --------- 3

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

Higher cadmium requirements for 1945, together with an indicated
production drop, will keep this metal high on the critical list. Mag
nesium, on the other hand is past its war production peak and it is
estimated that the 1945 production will be only one-fourth that
of 1944. Only 6 producers of an earlier 15 were still in operation at the
end of the quarter.
Tin continued in short supply and probably will remain so through
out the war. At the first of the year, the Government stock pile was
estimated at about 9 months’ consumption based on current rates.
WPB again found it necessary to tighten up on the less-essential uses
of the metal. Early in March an amended contract was signed with
Bolivian producers, raising the price from 60 cents to 63% cents,
effective from December 19, 1944, to June 30, 1945.
Tin-can salvage continued unsatisfactory. In an effort to bring
about proper can reclamation, WPB made it compulsory for refuse
collectors to accept and make available for reclamation, all segre
gated and prepared used tin cans offered. The MRC agreement to
pay bonuses to detinning plants if the price of scrap steel should be
below the OPA ceiling was extended to March 31.
Nonferrous-metal scrap markets showed increased strength as bad
weather interfered with shipments and manpower difficulties con
tributed to the tight supply. Toward the end of the quarter, trading
became quieter, reflecting the trend of the war in Europe.
BUILDING MATERIALS

From December 1944 to March 1945 the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics price index of building materials at the primary-market level
advanced less than 1 percent. This modest rise was not indicative,
however, of the underlying pressure brought upon OPA for upward
adjustments in the ceiling prices of many building materials. The
effect of the manpower shortage and the increased demands of the
armed services brought about substantial reductions in the supply of
many building materials.
Lumber supplies, particularly 1- and 2-inch sizes, were critically
short. According to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association,
lumber shipments during the first quarter of 1945 were 8 percent above
the rate of production, and orders 16 percent above. Short supplies of
new lumber increased the demand for used material and OPA found it
necessary in March to give its field and district offices authority to set
ceilings on used lumber. Prices in some areas were reported to have
exceeded the prices of new lumber. OPA also undertook a study of
southern pine production costs, to determine the need for upward
price adjustments.
New lumber prices remained unchanged during the quarter and in
March 1945 were only 2 percent above the level of March 1944. How
ever, since the beginning of the war, lumber has advanced more in
price than any other important building material, and in March 1945
was 71 percent above the 1939 level. In World War I the peak of
lumber prices was reached in November 1918, when they were 67
percent above July 1914 prices. Six months after the close of the war
they had risen to 108 percent of the prewar level.
Brick and tile manufacturers in many sections of the country were
unable to maintain current production without price increases, and

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1 9 4 5

1171

OPA allowed advances in ceilings in an effort to prevent further closing
of plants. Consequently, prices advanced—for the seventh consecu
tive month—the increase for the past quarter being 5 percent. Brick
prices rose 10 percent during the last year, the greatest increase shown
by any group of building materials. In March 1945 bricks were 22
percent higher in price than in August 1939. The Department of
Commerce estimated that at the end of 1944 there were only 50 percent
as many brick producers as in 1942. Contributing to this situation
were lack of manpower, inefficiency of the labor available, and the
greatly decreased demand for bricks after building restrictions became
effective in early 1942. Although the Nation-wide supply of masonry
products is fair, acute shortages exist in some areas.
• Upward revisions were made in cement prices in the North Central
States, to cover adjusted total costs of production. The increase
during the quarter was approximately 2 percent, as producers adjusted
prices to the new ceilings permitted by OPA to compensate for the
rapid decline in volume of sales and accompanying higher unit over
head costs. In the past year cement prices rose 6 percent. Readymixed-concrete producers in February were allowed to pass along to
their customers their increased cost of cement. The total supply of
cement and concrete products is adequate. Both masonry products
and cement have advanced more in price since May 1942 than in the
war period preceding price control.
Quotations for plumbing and heating equipment, paint and paint
materials, and structural steel remained firm during the quarter.
Prices of plumbing and heating equipment showed a decline of 6 per
cent since May 1942, as the result of a roll-back of 5 to 12 percent in
ceiling prices in November 1942. Heating equipment was in short
supply, as were also fittings and trims for plumbing. Some brass
fittings returned to the retail market, usually at prices slightly higher
than the price of cast-iron fittings. The 6-percent gain in the prices
of paint and paint materials since the General Maximum Price
Regulation became effective in May 1942 has been due to advances in
paint materials. Prices of ready-mixed paint have not increased
since the latter part of 1941. Structural-steel prices have remained
unchanged since the beginning of price control. Miscellaneous
building materials rose one-half of 1 percent during the quarter, as a
result of advances in millwork, prepared roofing, lime, and sand.
CHEMICALS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS

The Bureau’s price indexes for chemicals and allied products rose
slightly from December 1944 to March 1945, as a net result of price
advances for quebracho extract, oleic acid, sodium bichromate, and
cottonseed meal, and a decrease in ergot prices. Chemicals advanced
0.2 percent and fertilizer materials 0.1 percent, but drugs and phar
maceuticals declined 0.1 percent. No change occurred in the other
subgroup indexes. Prices for basic chemicals and drugs and phar
maceuticals in March 1945 were lower than in May 1942, the peak of
the price rise from August 1939.
Price increases for quebracho extract, essential in the tanning of
heavy leather, reflected higher production and inland transportation
costs in Argentina, where the product is principally grown and proc
essed. Higher production costs, caused by increased prices for

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1172

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1945

chrome ore and labor, resulted in increases ranging from 25 to 75
cents a hundred pounds in maximum prices for primary chromium
chemicals.
Prices of other chemicals included in the Bureau’s indexes remained
unchanged. However, shortages were acute at times. In addition
to large Government needs for toluene, nitrogen, alcohol, and channel
carbon black, heightened military requirements for organic and in
organic acids limited the shipments allowed for civilians. Heavy
snows and a cold winter impeded the movement of heavy chemicals,
and caused further depletion of already low stocks. Prices for caustic
soda in resale markets increased 15 to 20 percent.
On the other hand, supplies of some chemicals increased. Ample
stocks of cryolite, important as a flux in the manufacture of aluminum
and as an insecticide, caused the discontinuance of the manufacture
of the synthetic materials. Improved supplies of hydrofluoric acid
made possible, in April, the release of freon for civilian refrigerant
requirements. All requests for sulphuric acid, placed under alloca
tion in November, were granted, even though many consumers had to
accept spent acid from ordnance plants rather than virgin acid.
Supplies of insecticidal chemicals were spotty. Increased produc
tion of DDT permitted its use in this country for general agricultural
experimental purposes. Supplies of calcium arsenate, copper sulphate,
sulphur, and cryolite were estimated to be sufficient to meet anticipated
foreign as well as domestic requirements. Supplies of rotenone,
pyrethrum, and lead arsenate continued to be short, and supplies of
nicotine sulphate remained critical.
During March, release for sale of Government stocks of ergot caused
the price to drop 10 cents, to $1.20 per pound. In the latter part of
January, prices of penicillin to the Government were reported to be
as low as 85 cents per 100,000 Oxford units, as compared with previous
low quotations of $1.50. Supplies of this “ miracle drug” became
available for the first time through retail-drug-trade channels on
March 15, with prices to distributors and wholesalers established at
$1.90 to $2.40 per 100,000 units, compared with prices of $2.40 to $2.60
which hospitals formerly had to pay. Price decreases were reported
for bromine and bromine derivatives, owing both to lowered produc
tion costs and to increased competition, and for pyridin. A price
decline for natural menthol from $13 per pound in the last week of
December to $10 by the end of March, caused the Brazilian Govern
ment to set a floor of $19.50 per kilo ($8.86 per pound) for this material.
On the other hand, prices of sulphanilimide increased from $1.05 to
$1.25 per pound at the end of February, despite ample production
and adequate stocks. Adequate supplies made possible the removal
of atabrine from allocation control.
The Bureau’s indexes for fertilizer materials rose 0.1 percent in
January as the price of cottonseed meal rose slightly. Ceiling prices
for Tennessee phosphate rock were advanced 10 cents a ton to com
pensate for increased wage rates. Supplies of superphosphate,
nitrogen and potash continued tight. Inadequate manpower con
tinued to plague the mixed fertilizer industry, because of its reputation
for low pay and unpleasant working conditions.
During this quarter, production of fats and oils continued to decline
and stocks were at their lowest levels since 1943. On January 31,
WFA reduced the fats and oils quotas for manufacturers of household

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PRICES IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1 9 4 5

1173

soaps from 90 to 85 percent of the average quantities used in the base
years 1940 and 1941. Because of the extreme shortage, attempts were
being made to resume shipments of copra from the Philippines.
PAPER AND PULP

Prices of paper and pulp rose 0.9 percent during the first quarter
of 1945, to their highest levels since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Higher production costs caused OPA to advance ceiling prices for
soda pulp 6 percent and paperboard 3 to 4 percent in January, and
for newsprint 5 percent in March. Effective January 30, manufac
turers’ ceiling prices for bleached and unbleached soda wood pulp
were increased $4, to $76 and $72 per air-dry ton, respectively, with
a reduction of Defense Supplies Corporation subsidy payments to
domestic producers. Ceilings for paperboard made from waste paper
or straw and sold east of the Rocky Mountains were raised $2 to $2.50
per ton, effective January 20. The increase for newsprint, the first
since September 1, 1943, amounted to $3 per ton.
Paper shortages continued, with expectations that they would be
even more severe during the second quarter of 1945. Supplies of
most grades of paper continued to be critical in spite of compulsory
reductions in printers’ and paper merchants’ inventories, “paper
holidays” in more than 480 cities, and launching of the “Double V”
waste paper campaign.
v The bottleneck for paper production continued to be lack of labor
in the woods. Prisoners of war have become an important factor in
meeting pulpwood needs, especially in the South, but increasing em
phasis is being placed on farmers’ cuttings. During the first quarter
of 1945, heavy snows and cold winters in the North and wet weather
in the South impeded woods and mill operations. Transportation
facilities were also further handicapped by truck and tire shortages
and the lack of freight cars. During January and February, rail
transportation embargoes in the Northeast also harassed the industry.
Imports from Canada were likewise restricted because of severe
weather conditions. At the end of February pulpwood inventories
averaged 12.7 percent less than in February 1944, with declines in
some regions as high as 22 percent. On the other hand, wood-pulp
production for the first 2 months of 1945 was about 4 percent greater
than that for the same 1944 period.
Increasing military requirements and the shortages of raw materials,
lack of manpower, and a critical transportation situation have neces
sitated further civilian curtailment for the second quarter in newsprint,
ground-wood printing and book papers, heavier weights of commercial
printing papers, bag papers, and container board.
RUBBER AND RUBBER PRODUCTS

Crude rubber supplies early in 1945 were at their lowest levels s nee
the attack on Pearl Harbor and below the minimum requirements
established in the Baruch-Hancock Report. Production of synthetic
rubber continued to increase, and production for 1945 is estimated
at 1 million tons, 31 percent greater than in 1944. Tire production
was currently limited by shortages in tire cord and carbon black.
Because of these shortages, tire workers were released from their

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

pledge to operate on a 7-day week and adopted a 6-day schedule in
March.
Prices of reclaimed rubber were raised another quarter cent per
pound in January, as the Office of Price Administration study ndicated that the September 1944 increase of that amount was not
sufficient to cover manufacturers’ costs for scrap rubber, labor, and
other items.
With few civilian tires being turned in for scrap, demand for existing
rubber scrap is active. The shortage of carbon black has also resulted
in greater demand for scrap rubber by reclaimers, particularly for
tire and tube scrap. Prices for mixed tires rose 5.6 percent during this
quarter, and increased demand for auto tire peelings reversed the
downward trend in prices for this commodity. However, reclaimers
were continuing to make few offers for synthetic scrap.
Shortages of carbon black also resulted in the issuance of a WPB
directive curtailing the manufacture of Grade A camel back. Supplies
of this grade were rapidly exhausted during the first quarter of 1945
and civilians are being forced once again to purchase Grades C and
F for recapping.

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FGRyiCTORY
BUY
U

I T E D

S T A T E S

W AR
BO N D S
AND

STAMPS

Effects o f Cut-Backs in War Contracts on E m ploym en t
and T urnover o f Selected Plants 1
Summary

A STUDY was made of all plants experiencing war production cut
backs during the period December 1943 through May 1944, for which
complete data on labor turnover were available. Employment
declined by less than 5 percent in this group of plants within the
3-month interval following the cut-backs. Total separation rates for
these establishments differed only slightly from those for all manu
facturing industries during the same period. The cut-back plants,
however, had lower accession rates and consequently experienced
somewhat greater reductions in total employment. Voluntary quits
accounted for 60 percent and lay-offs for only 18 percent of the total
separations. Although women were laid off in proportionately greater
numbers than men, accessions of women were also at a high rate, and
the ratio of women to total employees in plants covered in the study
remained relatively constant.
Purpose and Scope of Study

Cut-backs in the production schedules of war materials were first
made on a large scale toward the end of 1943, and continued well
into 1944. These war-contiact changes and cancellations, termed
“ production adjustments” by the armed services, varied considerably
in scope, ranging from minor modifications in the rate of delivery of
certain items to complete curtailment of production in plants employ
ing many thousands of workmen. According to procurement officials,
the cut-backs made during this period represented a realignment of
production programs, rather than a reduction in total military require
ments. To determine the nature of the impact of these production
adjustments on employment in the establishments involved, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics undertook the present study with the
cooperation of the War Manpower Commission.
Information on all prime contracts cut back by Government pro
curement agencies during the period December 1943 through May
1944 was obtained from the Army, Navy, Maritime Commission,
and the War Production Board. Statistics were collected for all
establishments for which complete turnover data were available from
the Reports and Analysis Service of the War Manpower Commission
for the periods of the cut-backs. These covered 559 plants which
employed almost 1,900,000 workers. To show the effect the cut-backs
had on the work force in these plants, turnover figures were obtained
for the 3-month periods following the contract cancellations. The
turnover data were compiled beginning with the month in which the
production adjustments occurred if the cut-backs were made before
the 15th of the month; data for the month following that in which
the cut-backs occurred were used if the cancellations were made after
the 15th of the month.
1 Prepared in the Bureau’s Productivity and Technological Development D ivision by Carolyn Gonyo
Bernhard under the supervision of James M. Silberman. The assistance of Samuel Weiss, Reports and
Analysis Service, War Manpower Commission, in obtaining much of the basic statistical data is gratefully
acknowledged.

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

J945

Nature of Cut-Backs in War Production

The wave of cut-backs which started late in 1943 and continued
through half of 1944 was not due to a drop in total production require
ments but represented instead a shift in production needs dictated by
combat experience and the changing nature of the war. Changes in
military strategy and the accumulation of inventories often call for
downward revisions in the production schedules of some items, while
simultaneously requiring sharp increases in production schedules for
others. The cut-backs made during this period were chiefly in speci
fied types of equipment, such as small-arms ammunition, carbines,
rifles, shells, explosives, and clothing. Cuts were also made in certain
models of armored cars, half-tracks, gun mounts, aircraft engines,
and fire-control apparatus.
The cut-backs in war production were made by reducing the size
of prime contracts or by cancelling them outright. Such adjustments,
however, did not necessarily entail lay-offs. In some cases they were
only “ paper cut-backs” which cancelled production still in the planning
stage and, therefore, had no effect on the work force already employed.
In some critical industries such as aircraft and shipbuilding, the
adjustment frequently consisted of scaling down scheduled production
in given plants to a level more feasible to attain. In companies pro
ducing for numerous war contracts, many contract cancellations
resulted merely in a shift of workers from one type of work to another,
with no need for laying off more than a few employees. Frequently,
unemployment resulted only during the period in which the company
prepared for a new type of production; after the retooling process was
completed, employment sometimes exceeded the former level.
Factors Affecting Turnover Following Cut-Backs

Information concerning the factors affecting turnover, following
cut-backs in war contracts, is available from a cross-section survey
made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May and June 1944.2
Bureau representatives visited 80 companies in various parts of the
country, to determine the nature of the employment adjustments
and the plant practices affecting the release or reassignment of em
ployees following contract cancellations. Some salient points from
that study are presented below.
In approximately a fifth of the plants the cut-backs had only
nominal effects upon the companies’ activities, since the cancelled
items represented only a small portion of total production. In the
remaining plants, employment adjustments of varying severity were
made necessary by the cut-backs. In about three-fifths of the plants
which were significantly affected by contract cancellations, lay-offs
accounted for more than half of the total employment reduction.
Many of the plants, however, were able to effect the adjustment with
few lay-offs.
In almost all of the surveyed plants which sustained substantial
cut-backs, recruitment decreased sharply or stopped entirely, and
voluntary separations increased. Some companies actively encour2 Effects of Cut-Backs in War Contracts on Selected Plants, in M onthly Labor Review, March 1945.

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EFFECTS OF CUT-BACKS IN WAR CONTRACTS

1177

aged quits, in order to reduee the size of the necessary lay-offs. In
such instances, workers who had other jobs in prospect were urged to
take them, and other employees were allowed to take time off to look
for new jobs. Most of the plants with sizable cut-backs readily
issued certificates of availability to workmen requesting them and
referred men to the U. S. Employment Service for other openings.
In a few plants, however, the organization of production was such
that significant numbers of separations could not be made until
contract commitments were fulfilled.
The relative importance of voluntary separations and lay-offs in
the employment reductions thus depended chiefly upon management
policy and the demands of the production schedule. Other factors,
however, such as the prevalence of exaggerated rumors concerning the
cut-back, the morale of the employees, the availability of comparable
jobs in other plants in the area, the reduction-in-force provisions of
the collective agreement with the union, and the wage scale of the
affected plant also influenced the pattern of the employment adjust
ments following the cut-backs.
Since most lay-offs were based on seniority, workers with short
terms of service were laid off in the largest numbers. The majority
of the short-term workers in many plants were women, who conse
quently were released in disproportionate numbers.
In some establishments employees affected by the cut-back were
given the option of lay-off, with “recall” rights, or transfer to work in
another department. In other cases, however, workers who refused
such transfers were released without “recall” rights or were listed as
voluntary separations. In many establishments the availability of
other jobs in expanding departments permitted the transfer of prac
tically all of the employees affected by the cut-back, and few lay-offs
were made; in such instances, certificates of availability were usually
not given to workers desiring to quit.
Turnover in Establishments with War-Contract Cut-Backs

Widespread public discussion accompanied the cut-backs made dur
ing the period covered in the present survey (December 1943-June
1944). It was generally believed that there was a substantial de
cline in employment in the cut-back plants. The turnover data,
however, indicate that for the plants covered, the total decrease in
employment following the cut-backs was relatively small. In the
559 plants covered by the study, the number of workers declined only
85,000, or 4.6 percent, in the 3-month period following the cut-backs.
Somewhat more than half of the decline occurred during the first month
after the contract adjustments took place.
Total separations during the 3 months after the contracts were can
celled numbered 325,000, of which 60 percent were accounted for by
quits and only 18 percent by lay-offs. It is noteworthy that quits
constituted a smaller proportion of total separations in the cut-back
plants than in manufacturing industries as a whole. In the cut-back
plants the ratio of quits to total separations following the contract
cancellations ranged from 40.7 to 62.5 percent during the 7 months
covered by the survey, whereas in all manufacturing the range was

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

from 66.7 to 76.1 percent. Quits in the cut-back plants increased
from 54.5 percent of total separations in the first month following the
cut-backs to 61.6 percent in the second month and 64.4 percent in the
third; during this same period the lay-off rate declined.
During the first month after the cut-backs were made, 65 workers
out of every thousand employed in the plants surveyed either changed
jobs or left their war work. Thirty-five employees per thousand
voluntarily quit their jobs, 17 were laid off, and the remaining 13 left
their work because of induction into the armed forces, permanent
disability, death, or retirement on pension.
Monthly labor-turnover rates for all manufacturing industries for
the 7 months, December 1943 to June 1944, were compared with
turnover rates for sample cut-back establishments one month after
cut-backs were made (table 1). Decreases in employment were most
marked following cut-backs during December, May, and June. For
example, in June, the 20 plants with cut-backs had a separation rate
of 12.3, with accessions at a rate of only 3.2. The establishments
with cut-backs had greater declines in employment than the average
for all manufacturing industries in 4 of the monthly periods, and in
3 there were no significant differences.
T a b l e 1.-—Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in A ll Manufacturing

and in Selected Plants 1 Month After Cut-Backs, December 1943—Junel944 1
Sample plants

Month

1943: D e c ...
1944:
Jan____
Feb___
Mar___
Apr___
M ay___
June___

Total separa
tions

Lay-offs

Quits

Other separa
tions

Total acces
sions

N um Total
ber
All
All
em
All
All
All
Sam man
Sam man
with ployees
Sam man
Sam man
Sam
ple
ple
ple
ple
cut at time man
ple
ufac
ufac
ufac
ufac
ufac
backs of cut tu rin g p la n ts tu rin g p la n ts tu rin g p lan ts tu rin g plan ts turing plan ts
during back
m onth
V
63

236, 415

6.6

7.0

4.4

3.7

1.0

2.2

1.2

1.1

5.2

4.1

70
116
140
109
41
20

256, 667
341, 313
352, 320
357,144
186,987
122, 452

6.7
6.6
7.4
6.8
7.1
7.1

7.2
5.0
6.0
5.6
6.5
12.3

4.6
4.6
5.0
4.9
5.3
5.4

3.8
2.7
3.3
3.5
3.9
5.0

.8
.8
.9
.6
.5
.5

2.1
1.3
1.0
.7
.5
7.1

1.3
1.2
1.5
1.3
1.3
1.2

1.3
1.0
1.7
1.4
2.1
.2

6.5
5.5
5.8
5.5
6.4
7.6

5.2
3.3
4.2
4.5
4.1
3.2

1 Turnover data for sample plants in each of above months cover contract cut-backs made between 16th of
preceding month and 15th of given month. Data for December and June each cover period of 15 days. Turn
over information for the sample plants is from the Reports and Analysis Service, War Manpower Commis
sion. The figures for all manufacturing are based on monthly estimates prepared by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.

In only 3 of the 7 months were total separation rates higher in the
plants where production was cut back than the average for all manu
facturing industries. In the plants cut back, however, lay-off rates
were higher throughout the period (except for 1 month when rates
were the same), while quit rates were lower. Accessions were signifi
cantly lower in plants with contract cancellations than in manufactur
ing as a whole, indicating that there were greater proportionate em
ployment declines in the group of plants which experienced production
adjustments.
Classifying the cut-back plants by industry group, the greatest
relative reduction in total employment Iduring the 3-month period

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EFFECTS OF CUT-BACKS IN WAR CONTRACTS

after cut-backs, 21 percent, occurred in chemicals and allied products
plants (table 2). This was a consequence of extensive contract can
cellations in the production of small-arms ammunition and explosives.
Large-scale reductions in production schedules for aluminum and
magnesium diminished employment in nonferrous-metals plants by
10 percent. At the other extreme, employment in the rubber-prod
ucts and electrical-machinery groups dropped less than 1 percent.
In these industries contract adjustments were small, and there was a
continued heavy demand for rubber and electrical products.
T able 2.—Employment in Selected Manufacturing Plants for 3 Months After War-

Contract Cut-Backs, by Industry, December 1943-M ay 1944 1
Per
cent of
reduc
tion in
em
ploy
2 months 3 months ment
later
later
in 3month
period

Employment—
N um
ber of
time
plants At
of cut
back

Industry

All sample plants________________

________

Ordnance and accessories__________
______
Textile-mill products___ _ __________ . . .
Apparel and other finished products made
from fabrics and similar materials___________
Chemicals and allied products___ _ ____ ..
_______
Rubber products______________ _
Leather and leather products________________
Stone, clay, and glass products..- . .
_____
Iron and steel and their products__________
Transportation equipment (except automo
biles)_______ _____ . . _ _________________
Nonferrous metals and their products___
Electrical machinery_______ __________ ___
Machinery (except electrical)____ ________ . . .
Automobiles and automobile equipm ent-------Miscellaneous manufacturing industries___ _.

1 month
later

559 1,853, 298 1,810, 691 1,785,955 1, 768,400

4. 58

142
13

364, 788
11, 521

354, 498
11,418

346,390
11,317

340, 526
11, 273

6.65
2.15

15
9
5
5
5
63

8, 272
19, 494
58, 630
6,619
12,124
97, 388

8,087
17,059
58, 520
6, 390
11, 824
94, 397

8,081
15, 758
58,382
6,407
11, 491
93,689

8,124
15, 457
58, 247
6,408
11,322
92,679

1.79
20.71
.65
3.19
6.61
4.84

98
15
66
81
16
26

687,427
20, 942
238, 645
211,119
31,693
84, 636

667,804
19, 968
237,185
209, 394
30,894
83, 253

656,854
19, 265
237,850
207,550
30, 420
82,501

648,131
18, 813
237,189
207, 718
30,463
82,050

5. 72
10.17
.61
1.61
3.88
3. 06

• See footnote 1, table 1.

The spotty nature of the cut-backs becomes evident when the turn
over figures are examined on an industry basis (table 3). Even in
groups in which some plants were being wholly closed down, other
plants were attempting to expand employment. Thus, only in
chemical products, and in only 2 of the 3 months, did lay-offs exceed
accessions. In only four industries (ordnance, chemicals, nonferrous
metals, and automotive), were lay-offs half as numerous as accessions
in even 1 month. Call-backs alone exceeded lay-offs in tiie nonfer
rous-metals group during 2 of the 3 months.
With the single exception of chemical products, quits in each
industry were a more important factor than lay-offs in reducing em
ployment during the 3-month period. There is no indication that,
on an industry basis, the necessity for lay-offs had any substantial
effect on quit rates. Among the four industries with above-average
lay-off rates (ordnance, chemicals, nonferrous metals, and auto
motive), quit rates were above average for one, below average for
another, and about average for the remaining two.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

T able 3. —Labor-Turnover Rates (Per 100 Employees) in Selected Manufacturing

Plants for 3 Months After Cut-Backs, by Industry, December 1943-M ay 1944 1
Separations
Total

Industry

Quits

Lay-offs

First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
month month month month month month month month month
6.49

5.88

5. 63

3.53

3.62

3.63

1.65

0.93

0. 60

Ordnance and accessories_________7. 74
3.42
Textile-mill products _____________
Apparel and other finished products
made from fabrics and similar ma9.09
terials
- --- -_ ........
Chemicals and allied products______ 16. 23
Rubber products ________________
5.80
Leather and leather products_______ 9. 50
2.89
Stone, clay, and glass products_____
Iron and steel and their products___ 6.14
Transportation equipment (except
6.54
au to m o b iles)------- --------- ---------Nonferrous metals and their products.. 9.04
Electrical machinery. ............................ 5.48
Machinery (except electrical)_______ 4.98
Automobiles and automobile equip7.31
ment
.
---- -Miscellaneous manufacturing industries____________________________ 5.26

7.09
4.06

6.42
3.96

3. 63
2.91

3.89
2.81

3.86
3.26

2. 57
.32

1.87
.31

1.26
.49

8.19
11.01
5.76
6.63
4.83
4.72

7. 70
6.61
5.33
6. 35
3.79
5.05

7. 69
2.34
4.74
5.67
1.70
3.41

7.89
1.66
4.76
5. 70
2. 59
3.29

7.15
1.71
4.31
5.43
2.45
3.51

.71
10.24
.10
2.11
.30
1.37

.16
6.53
.08
.00
.83
.26

.15
2.91
.08
.41
.39
.44

5.89
7.61
4.88
5.30

5.85
6.59
5.24
4.79

3.53
4.40
3.52
3.10

3.61
5.34
3.40
3.51

3.71
4. 79
3.62
3.21

1.71
3.26
.69
.68

.77
1.09
.43
.59

.38
1.36
.29
.43

All sample plants----------

-------------

7.27

5.86

3.46

3.88

3.13

2.95

2.03

1.24

4.53

4.51

3.17

2.69

2. 75

1.25

.69

.59

Separations--Con.

Accessions

Other

Industry

Total

Call-backs

First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
month month month month month month month month month
All sample plants------ -- -----------------

1.31

1.33

1.40

4.16

4.50

4.65

0. 39

0.47

0.46

Ordnance and accessories__________
Textile-mill products ------ ---------Apparel and other finished products
made from fabrics and similar materials-------- -------------- -------- -- -Chemicals and allied products______
Rubber products ________________
Leather and leather products_______
Stone, clay, and glass products_____
Iron and steel and their products___
Transportation equipment (except
automobiles)___ ____________ . . .
Nonferrous metals and their productsElectrical machinery.. ___________
Machinery (except electrical)_______
Automobiles and automobile equipm en t__________________________
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries_______________ ___________

1.54
.19

1.33
.94

1.30
.21

4.88
2.52

4.78
3.18

4. 72
3.57

.74
.25

.70
.28

.66
.32

.69
3.65
.96
1.72
.89
1.36

.14
2.82
.92
.93
1.41
1.17

.40
1.99
.94
.51
.95
1.10

6.82
2.91
5.61
5.98
1.23
3.02

8.11
3.08
5.53
6.89
1.97
3.97

8.23
4.68
5.10
6.37
2.31
3.96

.54
.10
.22
.02
.04
.39

.56
.10
.36
.63
.09
.81

.37
.04
.35
.31
.14
.58

1.30
1.38
1.27
1.20

1. 51
1.18
1.05
1.20

1.76
.44
1.33
1.15

3.64
4.28
4.87
4.16

4.23
4.03
5.16
4.42

4.51
4. 22
4.96
4.88

.23
1.42
.49
.27

.31
1.40
.62
.32

.41
1.50
.43
.30

.90

1.36

1.49

4.76

5. 73

6.00

.57

.36

.48

.84

1.15

1.17

3.61

3.62

3.96

.19

.42

.37

> See footnote 1, table 1.

Effect of Cut-Backs on Turnover of Women Workers

Women comprised approximately 32 percent of total employees in
the plants included in the sample, but a substantially higher propor
tion of both lay-offs and separations throughout the period covered
(table 4). However, this should not be considered as evidence of
discrimination against women workers in making reductions in em
ployment.

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EFFECTS OF CUT-BACKS IN WAR CONTRACTS

1181

Substantial majorities of employees" in war plants are covered by
collective-bargaining agreements, and these usually specify that
seniority shall deterniine the order in which employees are laid off.
The high proportion of women among accessions at the time of the
study (nearly 50 percent in the sample plants) indicates that women
in general would have less seniority than men and consequently
would be laid off in relatively larger numbers. It is noteworthy that
despite higher separation rates, the proportion of women among em
ployees increased slightly in the 3 months following the cut-backs.
It is clear that the constancy in the relative employment of women
during the. period was due to the fact that total accessions nearly
balanced total separations in the cut-back plants. If total employ
ment had fallen substantially, instead of less than 5 percent, there
would have been a marked reduction in the proportion of women
employed. Accordingly, it is to be anticipated that, when war pro
duction declines significantly, the employment of women in the
affected industries will decrease both absolutely and relatively.
T able 4. — Women as Percent of Employment, Separations, Lay-Offs, and Accessions

in Cut-Back Plants, for 3 Months After Cut-Backs, December 1943-M ay 1944 1
First month: Women Second month: Women Third month: Women
as percent of total—
as percent of total—
as percent of total—
Industry group
Em S ep
Ac Em S ep
A c Em S ep
Ac
ploy ara Lay ces ploy ara L ay ces ploy ara Lay ces
ment tions offs sions ment tions offs sions ment tions offs sions
All sample p la n ts-.--_________

31.94 41. 55 39.75 46.14

31.91 42.51 50.78 49.04

32.06 41.07 49. 25 48. 43

Ordnance and accessories____
Textile-mill products_________
Apparel, etc__________________
Chemicals and allied products. _
Rubber products___________ .
Leather and its products______
Stone, clay, and glass products .
Iron and steel and products____
Transportation equipment (except automobiles)_________ .
Nonferrous metals and products.
Electrical machinery__________
Machinery (except electrical)...
Automobiles and automobile
equipment-________________
Miscellaneous________________

36.22 45.02 52.93 53. 58
63. 26 78.83 89.19 70. 59
83.17 87. 06 84.48 82. 23
25.53 15. 20 7.91 64.47
34.21 39.39 50.82 26.10
45.37 77.83 98.54 60. 93
25.84 36. 59 44. 44 45. 05
19. 72 32. 77 25. 51 42.68

36.39 46.88 47.15 54.49
62.91 74.03 74. 29 63.16
82. 75 91.54 61.54 86.43
28. 54 30. 56 26.89 57.62
33.46 41.88 86. 96 28.54
43.18 69. 34 .00 61.45
25.73 35.88 61.86 37.83
19.61 35.10 64.49 43.83

36. 51 45.69 47.39 52.23
62.46 95. 30 83.64 65.26
82. 33 88. 94 16.67 88.61
29.24 23.16 2.42 48.84
32.70 39.89 89.80 28.49
42.70 60.93 57.69 69. 61
25.47 40. 51 80.00 29.66
19.84 45.44 73.67 44.87

27.00 33.38 30. 52 35. 50
25.41 18. 60 7. 50 36.23
46. 27 74.43 70. 57 62. 67
24.17 34. 59 49.06 42.16

26.89
26.51
45.52
24.40

27.01 31.04 56.97
26. 73 29.08 9.65
45.62 64.91 67.49
24.66 33.12 41.77

23. 85 26.82 32. 32 30.00
41. 78 53.84 54.10 59.89

23.93 31.30 50.24 44.42
41.80 50.07 57.92 58.18

1See footnote 1, table 1.

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36.17 57.45 42. 62
28. 53 28. 50 35. 57
62.11 62.22 63.10
36.21 48. 70 44. 33

43.81
41.72
60.40
44.92

24. 57 27.68 27. 39 36.98
42.02 52.41 64. 39 57.77

Social Progress— H ow Can W e W ork For It? 1
Problems We Face

PROPOSALS on international cooperation for social progress are not
so definite or complete as those for dealing with threats to the peace
or with economic issues. Much is left for later consideration by the
General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, the Economic
and Social Council, and the special international agencies now func
tioning or proposed. Some facts about social problems which will
face us at the end of the war are only now coming to light. .
What conditions does war created In the wake of war come threats
of famine, epidemics, and civil strife. The destructive power of this
war and the scorched-earth policy have laid waste millions of acres
of farm land, smashed public utilities and transportation systems,
destroyed millions of homes, schools, churches, stores, and public
buildings. Farmers in many countries lack fertilizers, breed-stock,
seed, and essential farm machinery. Fishermen lack boats, nets, and
other equipment. Millions of people—workers and farmers—in both
Europe and the Far East have been taken from their homes to work
for the enemy in far-off places. Displaced people—estimated at more
than 35,000,000—must be identified and returned to their communities.
These millions and others left in towns and villages bombed and burned
to rubble will face unemployment and lack of clothing, shelter, fuel,
and food.
What conditions existed before? Experts in social problems empha
size that the war has aggravated some bad conditions which existed
long before the war. Two-thirds of the people on earth have never
had enough to eat—though two-thirds of the people work at produc
ing food. About 75 percent of the people of Asia and 30 percent in
advanced industrial countries lived on a diet below a minimum stand
ard of health. In some countries 200 out of every 1,000 babies born
died during the first year. Approximately 50 percent of the adults of
the world were unable to read and write. The majority of factory
workers in the world, including women and children, endured sweat
shop conditions at substandard wages.
K inds of International Action

“We will fail indeed/’ said former Secretary of State Hull in April
1944, “ if we win a victory only to let the free peoples of this world,
through any absence of action on our part, sink into weakness and
despair.” He urged that “ we take agreed action for the improvement
of labor standards and standards of health and nutrition.”
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE PAST?

Many international organizations for social, humanitarian, and
educational advancement—both private and governmental—existed
before the war. Professional organizations of doctors, teachers, social
workers, labor, and business exchanged ideas and circulated informa
tion through international associations.
1
Third of a series of four Foreign Affairs Outlines on “Building the Peace,” prepared by the Department
of State, the first two of which were carried in the April and M ay 1945 issues of the M onthly Labor Review.

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The United States Government maintained membership in many
international agencies for social and economic advancement. These
agencies made contributions toward social progress along the following
lines:
1. Organized exchange of information through reports, publications,
and conferences to enable each nation to benefit from the knowledge
and experience of others. Example: Control of epidemics through
systematic reporting of the International Office of Public Health on
cases of plague, cholera, and yellow fever and other health information.
2. Prepared model laws to raise standards and improve conditions
and promoted their adoption by member nations. Also recom
mended methods of cooperation among nations. Example: Model
laws on the 8-liour day and the 48-hour week and on child labor
formulated and urged by the International Labor Organization
guided legislation in many countries.
3. Helped member nations make agreements among themselves for
social improvement, especially in cases where one country has difficulty
in acting by itself. Example: Agreements on the control of produc
tion and traffic in narcotics and dangerous drugs, involving coordina
tion of criminal laws and cooperation among police authorities.
4. Directed research and investigations on a regional or world-wide
scale to provide a factual basis for cooperation among nations in
solving social problems. Example: Research reports of the Inter
national Labor Office on social security and unemployment insurance,
providing scientific foundations on which many nations are building
their programs.
5. Made available technical experts to advise and assist member
nations. Example: Public-health authorities from various United
Nations assisting invaded nations through UNRRA to reestablish
their facilities.
WHAT IS PROPOSED FOR THE FUTURE?

The plans for the United Nations Organization proposed means for
nations to work together for social progress. The General Assembly
would have the responsibility for promoting cooperation in this field.
An Economic and Social Council—under its authority—would make
studies of the problems, spread information, make specific recom
mendations to the General Assembly, and coordinate the work of
various social, educational, and humanitarian international agencies.
The Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and the specialized
agencies are created by governments, not to legislate for them or give
orders to them, but to help governments do together what cannot be
done as well separately.
Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation

Allied armies are responsible during the military period for pre
venting starvation, epidemics, and social chaos. They provide
minimum relief and help organize the areas under their control.
Shortage of shipping and damaged transportation systems have made
it difficult to meet the most pressing civilian needs in addition to the
demands for military supplies.

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194 5

UNRRA was organized by 44 nations in 1943, to follow in the wake
of the armies and assist the military or the national governments at
their request. UNRRA was created not to do the whole job but “to
help people help themselves.” Countries not directly invaded by the
enemy provide supplies and assistance to peoples who have suffered
occupation. Invaded nations pay for the supplies they need if they
have foreign exchange. Those that cannot pay receive basic supplies
and services from an international pool organized by UNRRA.
Whether a nation is able to pay or not, it must clear its list of needs
with UNRRA so that no country may take more than its fair share of
a limited world supply.
UNRRA is a temporary organization which will be disbanded when
its emergency job is done.
It is furthermore proposed to create a European Inland Transport
Organization in which the United States would participate to reestab
lish essential transport facilities in devastated Europe.
Problem of Food

A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was
recommended at the Hot Springs conference in June 1943. By March
1945, 18 nations had indicated their intention to accept a constitution
drafted for this organization by the Interim Commission.
The Declaration of the Conference states both the problem and some
proposals to meet it.
This Conference * * * declares its belief that the goal of freedom from
want of food, suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all peoples,
can be achieved.
The first cause of hunger and malnutrition is poverty. It is useless to produce
more food unless men and nations provide the markets to absorb it. There must
be an expansion of the whole world economy to provide the purchasing power
sufficient to maintain an adequate diet for all.
The primary responsibility lies with each nation for seeing that its own people
have the food needed for life and health; steps to this end are for national determi
nation. But each nation can fully achieve its goal only if all work together.

The proposed Organization would not operate national programs or
dictate actions in the economic or social fields. It would serve member
governments in various ways, including the ways described on page
1183.
Living and Working Standards
The International Labor Organization, through the participation of
representatives of workers, employers, and governments of some 50
nations, has developed during the past quarter century a pattern of
cooperation to promote peace through social justice.
The ILO studies working conditions and existing legislation and
frames suggested standards which member nations consider for pos
sible enactment. In establishing the ILO the members recognized
in the constitution that “the failure of any nation to adopt humane
conditions of labor is an obstacle in the way of other nations which
desire to improve conditions in their own countries.” Examples of
positive action are the five agreements prepared by ILO on conditions
in maritime employment ratified by maritime nations, including the
United States. A reasonable living wage, a maximum workweek, a

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weekly rest period, freedom of association for employees as well as
employers, an end to exploitation of child labor, equal pay for equal
work, and an effective system, of labor inspection are among the goals
toward which ILO has helped the world make progress.
Educational Opportunity

The increase of knowledge and the free flow of information are
essential to social progress.2
The devastation of educational and cultural facilities during the war
was studied by the Allied Ministers of Education in London and plans
were made for rehabilitation. A delegation from the United States
met with the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education in 1944.
A draft constitution for a United Nations organization in the edu
cational and cultural field is now under consideration by the various
governments. Such an international organization would have among
its tasks to—1. Encourage the development of educational and cultural programs
in support of international peace and security;
2. Accelerate the free flow of ideas and information among the peoples
of the world;
3. Facilitate the exchange of information on educational, scientific,
and cultural developments;
4. Conduct and encourage research and studies on educational and
cultural problems;
5. Assist countries that request help in developing their educational
and cultural programs.
These attempts to seek social progress through international or
ganization in the past and the proposals to build on such successful
experience in the future are an integral part of the proposed structure
for peace.
2
For further information on the International Labor Organization, see Pioneers in World Order (Colum
bia University Press, 1944); America’s Role in the World Economy, b y A lv in H . Hansen (New York, W. W.
Norton & Co., 1945); Labor in the League System, by Francis Graham Wilson (Stamford University
Press, 1934); American Federationist (Washington, D . C.), December 1944 and M ay 1945; and M onthly
Labor Review, January 1932 (p. 8), December 1935 (p. 1467), February 1938 (p. 307), August 1938 (p. 284),
and July 1944 (p. 2).

6 4 5 8 8 6 — 4 5 -----------4

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Occupational Outlook

P ostw ar E m p loym en t O u tlook in A v ia tio n O ccupations:
Parts 2 and 3 1
Summary

THERE are likely to be many new jobs for pilots and other flight and
technical ground personnel in air transportation and related services
after the war. Nevertheless, the jobs available will be far too few
to employ the tremendous numbers of veterans and others who will be
seeking these types of work. An oversupply of labor is to be expected
in practically all aviation occupations, but the surplus of qualified
applicants will be much less, and the chances of finding work cor
respondingly greater, in some types of jobs than in others. These
conclusions are based on a study of postwar employment opportunities
in aviation undertaken by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to provide
information needed for vocational-guidance purposes.2
For some of the occupational groups studied—flight engineers,
navigators, flight radio operators, stewardesses, dispatchers—employ
ment opportunities exist only with the air lines. Pilots and aircraft
mechanics, on the other hand, can find jobs in a number of fields.
Thousands of them are employed by the nonscheduled flying services,
commonly known as “fixed-base operators,” which are active at many
civilian airports. Oil and other companies using planes for business
purposes also have pilots on their pay rolls. Airports, the Federal
Airways System, and Government regulatory agencies need ground
communications operators, traffic-control men, and other technicians.
These different fields together employed more pilots and communica
tions and traffic-control personnel than did the air lines before the
war, and they will offer expanding job opportunities in the postwar
period.
The greatest number of new jobs for pilots both with the air lines
and in other fields, which can be anticipated by the fifth postwar
year, is only about 32,000, however, and a conservative view of future
air traffic would suggest a much lower figure. In contrast, there are
now some 200,000 pilots in the armed forces. This total includes a
relatively small group of pilots with experience on multi-engine
transport planes, who should have a good chance of finding air-line
jobs if they are personally qualified and if the more optimistic traffic
1 Prepared in the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Division by Helen Wood, with the assistance of Hilda
L. Pearlman. The Bureau wishes to acknowledge the generous assistance received in the preparation of
this article from many members of the staff of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Civil Aeronautics
Board, and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration; from the Army, N avy, and Marine
Corps; and from officials of a number of companies and trade-unions.
2 Part 1, covering job prospects with air lines, was given in the April 1945 issue of the M onthly Labor
Review. Parts 2 and 3, here given, cover respectively job prospects in nonscheduled air transportation,
and postwar labor supply and demand. Part 4, to be carried in a later issue, will present information on the
duties, qualifications, training, licensing requirements, wages, and working conditions in aviation jobs.

1186

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forecasts prove to be correct. Nonscheduled commercial aviation
services and flying schools will offer the best hope of postwar flying
jobs for the enormous group of combat pilots, but the applicants for
such positions are likely to outnumber the available openings several
times over, despite the prospect that many pilots will want altogether
different types of work.
Men seeking jobs as flight engineers, navigators, flight or ground
radio operators, dispatchers, or meteorologists after the war will
have to contend with an even greater oversupply of labor. New jobs
of these types are not likely to exceed 9,500 in all aviation industries
during the first 5 postwar years, a figure only one twenty-fifth as
great as the number of men with comparable duties now in the
armed forces.
Employment opportunities for aircraft and engine mechanics, radio
technicians, and other maintenance specialists will also be small,
relative to the trained labor supply, but the odds against finding
work will be less in these occupations than in those listed immediately
above. In the other occupations studied—air-line steward, aviation
stock clerk, and airport traffic-control tower operator—there is a
better chance of job opportunities for qualified and experienced
applicants, but the realization of this hope will depend on many
uncertain factors.
Part 2.—Job Prospects in Nonscheduled Air Transportation and
Related Services
For some groups of aviation personnel essential to air-line operations,
there are no comparable employment opportunities in other fields.
Nonscheduled aviation services have of course neither need nor room
for flight engineers, flight radio operators, navigators, or stewardesses,
since 2- to 5-place planes are commonly used and short-distance contact
flying is the general rule. The occupation of dispatcher is another
included in the study which, for practical purposes, exists only with
the air lines. Pilots, mechanics, communications operators, and traf
fic-control personnel, on the other hand, can find employment in a
number of other industries including nonscheduled commercial flying
services, corporate and executive flying, airports, the airways system,
and Government regulatory agencies.3 Following sections therefore
briefly discuss each of these fields, as a prelude to analyzing postwar
employment prospects for different groups of aviation personnel.

Postwar Job Prospects by Type of Service
FIXED-BASE OPERATORS

“Fixed-base operations,” as the term is used in this report, include
the wide variety of commercial aviation services not conducted on a
scheduled basis, including flying schools and repair shops.4 Found
before the war at nearly every nonmilitary airport and seaplane base,
these operations were in many instances started by veterans of the
3 Test pilots, mechanics, and other aviation technicians are of course employed also by aircraft manufac
turers, but this industry is not included in the study because of the prospect that it will be a sharply con
tracting field of employment after the war.
4 The term “fixed-base operator” is here used in its broadest sense. It is sometimes limited to enterprises
which have facilities for storage, maintenance, and repair of planes belonging to others. See Commercial
Air Transportation, by John H. Frederick (Chicago, Richard D . Irwin, Inc., 1942), p. 127.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

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First World War who, during the twenties, flew all over the country
as barnstorming “gypsy” flyers, giving exhibitions and taking passen
gers for short flights, but later decided to settle down in one place.
The activities of fixed-base operators include nonscheduled transport
of passengers, freight, or both in charter, taxi, ferry and sightseeing
flights; instruction of student pilots; and special flight services such as
aerial photography and surveying, skywriting and other forms of aerial
advertising, crop dusting and spraying from the air, and forest and
other patrol flights. In addition, many operators offer services com
parable to those of an automobile garage, renting storage space in
their hangars, selling oil, gasoline, and repair parts, and doing main
tenance and repair work. Before the war a considerable number also
had sales agencies for light pleasure-type planes, and they will no doubt
resume this arrangement after the drastic wartime restrictions on
production of civilian aircraft have been lifted.
Though some enterprises offer only one of these types of services—
for example, transportation of passengers and cargo on a charter
basis, or flight and ground instruction—the usual practice is to engage
in several different activities, in order to increase and stabilize the
business. This is true of the largest operators in the country, who may
have 100 or more employees and branches at several airports. It
holds good also for the much more numerous small operations conduct
ed by individual pilots or partnerships employing few if any additional
workers and owning only a few aircraft, sometimes only a single plane.
In 1940, there were certainly more than 4,000 and perhaps more
than 5,000 fixed-base operations, according to a questionnaire survey
by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.5 Included were about 500
“charter operators” who had transported passengers or property for
hire at some time during the year, along with other activities engaged
in also by the more numerous and presumably smaller noncharter
operations.6
Information on employment is available from that survey for 348
charter operators, who reported a total of 2,173 employees—843 pilots,
446 mechanics, and 884 unskilled “hangar boys,” office employees,
and other workers. If, as seems likely, most proprietors of both
charter and noncharter operations were themselves pilots, a minimum
of 5,000 and perhaps as many as 6,000 or 7,000 pilots were at work in
the industry in 1940. In the case of mechanics, no total employment
figures can be given for fixed-base operations alone. However, an
estimate for March 1940, based partly on census and partly on CAA
data, puts the number of airplane mechanics and repairmen employed
in all industries except scheduled air transportation and aircraft
manufacturing at 6,200.7
After 1940, nonscheduled commercial aviation suffered in many
respects as a result of the war. Many small operations perforce
suspended activities when their proprietors went into the armed forces.
Others had to give up needed equipment and were hampered by strin
gent regulations governing landing areas, authorization of flights,
guarding of parked planes, and related matters. Moreover, within
restricted military zones and vital defense areas, which originally
s U. S. Civil Aeronautics Board, Docket N o. 857: Local-Feeder-Pickup Air Services, Statement of Eco
nomic Bureau, by Raymond W. Stough, September 28, 1943 (pp. 13-22, and Appendices 3-16).
6 In arriving at the figure of 500 charter operators, sightseeing flights taking off from and returning to the
same base were regarded as “noncharter,” not “charter,” operations.
7 Civil Aviation and Peace,^by JkParker Van|Zandt^(pp. 117jand 118). Washington, Brookings In sti
tution, 1944.

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1189

included zones about 150 miles wide along the entire length of the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts, nonscheduled flying was for all practical
purposes prohibited. In consequence, many operators on the eastern
and western seaboards faced the difficult alternative of moving to
other localities or suspending flying activities.
The result was a sharp drop in the number of fixed-base operations—
to only about 1,675 in February 1945,8 or one-third of the 1940 figure.
Employment in the industry is also believed to be well below the 1940
level at present, after a brief rise owing to temporary expansion in the
pilot-training activities of the larger operators.9
A renewed upward trend is already in evidence, however, at least
in charter operations, which now number about 500,8 as they did in
1940. This re-expansion has been aided by the lifting or easing of
many of the special wartime regulations with regard to civilian flying
and by a great reduction in the size and number of the restricted
military zones and defense areas. In addition, many second-hand
planes formerly used in military pilot-training programs have re
cently become available to civilians through sales by the Surplus
War Property Administration. Several thousands of these have been
bought by fixed-base operators, some for resale but most for use in
the purchasers’ own commercial activities.
The present rising trend in charter business is expected to continue
after the war. A new and large potential source of traffic, both for
established operators and for newcomers who may wish to enter the
field, is the contract transportation of perishable fruits and vegetables
and other cargo. Since much of the demand for air-taxi service arises
from air-line passengers coming from or going to points far from air
line terminals, the prospective expansion in scheduled air transport
should tend to generate greater demand for taxi flights, rather than to
cut into nonscheduled business, except as there may be a development
of scheduled local feeder lines reaching many additional communities
directly. The Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board has sug
gested that charter operators may play an important role in providing
air service in localities not yet able to support regular feeder lines.
In his opinion, nonscheduled transport operations were only at the
beginning of their growth before the war and may well number 2,000
or 3,000 within a few years afterward, as compared with only about
500 in 1940.10
For operators offering specialized flying services, an expansion in
activities is also in sight, though the rate of growth may be less than
that suggested for charter operations. The long list of prewar com
mercial uses of aircraft, given in a preceding section, will no doubt be
lengthened with the aid of recent improvements in photographic and
mapping devices and other wartime technical developments. In
addition, flight instruction is likely to have a renewed growth, espe
cially if Congress authorizes a revival of the CAA Civilian Pilot
Training Program. Already there has been some increase in enroll8 This estimate is based on unpublished data of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Airports Service.
9 For almost 300 enterprises which received contracts under the CAA’s civilian pilot-training program
and its successor, the War Training Service, 1943 was a peak year. The CAA program began to taper off,
however, in January 1944, and was discontinued altogether by August of that year. In addition, since
February 1944, the Army has gradually canceled most of its contracts with the 66 operators that had been
conducting cadet flying schools.
Nonscheduled Air Service. Address by L. Welch Pogue, delivered before the Fifth Annual Convention,
National Aviation Trades Association, St. Louis, Mo., December 7, 1944 (p. 10).

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

ments of civilians in flying schools which have ended their training of
armed-force pilots,11
Operators with facilities for storing, servicing, and renting private
planes and with sales agencies for light aircraft should likewise have
marked gains in business. The probable size of these increases is very
uncertain, however, since the answer depends on the much-debated
outlook for private flying. Estimates by the CAA, which are relatively
optimistic though not the highest that have been made, set the total
number of civilian aircraft likely to be in service 5 years after the war
at 111,000 and 10 years after, at 425,000. On the other hand, some of
the forecasts of aircraft sales suggest a total of no more than 75,000
planes, and perhaps considerably less, by the fifth postwar year.12
CORPORATE AND EXECUTIVE FLYING

Another field of employment for pilots and mechanics, important for
its future potentialities rather than its prewar or present size, is
business flying by private corporations and civilian agencies of
government.
Private companies use planes mainly in the transportation of
executives, though also for other purposes. The big oil companies,
which as a group probably own more planes than any other organiza
tions not in an aviation business, have utilized aircraft in inspecting
pipe lines, surveying land, flying repair parts to wells in emergencies,
and transporting personnel and supplies to and from remote locations.
The mining and construction industries, also characterized by scat
tered and remote operations, are among the others owning considerable
numbers of aircraft.
Planes used in private business flying totaled 2,600 at the end of
1941, according to estimates compiled by the CAA, and since then have
tended to decrease in number as a result of the war. It is doubtful
whether more than a few hundred pilots have been employed in this
field of work at any time, however, and the number of mechanics
needed has no doubt been smaller still. Many planes used in business
flying are piloted by the company officials themselves or by employees
of nearby fixed-base operators, and are garaged and serviced by these
operators.
Ownership and use of planes for business purposes by government
agencies is in its infancy. At the end of 1943, State, county, and
municipal governments owned only about 60 planes, and civilian
agencies of the Federal Government other than the CAA used an even
smaller number. Moreover, as in the case of private companies, this
use of aircraft by government agencies has not meant equivalent
employment of aviation personnel. The Forest Service of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, for example, which owns a few planes for
service during the summer months in patrolling forests and dropping
men and supplies to fight fires, has never had more than one pilot on
its regular pay roll. Instead, it has hired personnel as well as addi
tional equipment, as the occasion arose, from commercial operators
at airports in the vicinity of the National forests.
11 Civil Aeronautics (U. S. Department of Commerce), January 25, 1945 (pp. 2-3): CAA Estimates'.'Postwar Employment in Aviation.
12 For a summary of the varying forecasts of aircraft sales, see Aviation Predictions, A report for the Execu
tives of Simonds Accessories, Inc., prepared by Aviation Research Associates, N ew York, N . Y.

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A moderate upward trend may be expected after the war in cor
porate and executive flying. In a recent survey of petroleum pro
ducing and refining companies, for example, two-tliirds of the com
panies reporting (29 out of 44) said they were planning either to buy
planes for the first time or to increase their fleet after the war, but
one-third (15) neither owned planes currently nor anticipated buying
any.13 In the immediate postwar period the Forest Service expects
to have a slightly larger fleet than at present and to employ as pilots
former forest rangers who have learned to fly in the armed forces.
The Service does not anticipate a greatly expanded use of?.aircraft,
however, until helicopters become a practicable means of transporting
men and supplies to remote regions without landing fields.
GOVERNMENT REGULATORY AGENCIES

The only civilian government agency in which employment of pilots
and other aviation technicians has yet reached sizable proportions is
the Civil Aeronautics Administration, a branch of the U. S. Depart
ment of Commerce. By statute, the CAA is responsible for enforcing
the safety regulations promulgated by the independent Civil Aero
nautics Board. It also operates the Federal Airways System, builds
airports, and during the war has taken over operation of the trafficcontrol towers at most civilian airports upon request of the War
Department. Another major activity of the agency, discontinued since
mid-1944, has been its civilian and military pilot-training programs.
As civil aviation has grown in this country, so have the service and
regulatory functions of the CAA. Employment in the CAA’s Federal
Airways Service, for example, leaped from 1,800 at the end of June
1936 to 3,200 in 1940 and then to 7,800 by May 1945,14 under the
pressure of added wartime responsibilities for operation of trafficcontrol towers, identification of planes, and other special services to
the Army. The lighted mileage of the Federal Airways rose from
22,000 to 30,000 between 1936 and 1940, and now exceeds 36,000
miles. The airways join all principal cities and are equipped with
radio stations for ground-to-plane transmission, radio range stations
that send out directional beams to guide pilots along their courses,
intermediate fields for emergency landings, radio marker beacons
and beacon lights, and a vast teletype network over which is trans
mitted weather and other information essential to safe flying.
In operating this highway system of the air and regulating the
traffic that passes over it, the CAA employs most of the communica
tions personnel in the field of aviation, including thousands of airport
and airway traffic controllers and other radio operators and hundreds
of radio technicians (table 1). This service also has on its staff a
few pilots and mechanics to handle the planes used in airways inspec
tions. Most CAA employees required to have these latter skills,
however, are inspectors and examiners in the Safety Regulation
Service, engaged in determining and certifying to the air-worthiness
of aircraft and the competency of pilots and other licensed airmen in
all branches of civil aviation.
13 Oil and Gas Journal, November 25, 1944 (p. 54): Industry Turns'to Aviation for Swifter Transportation
Needs, by T. F. Smiley.
14 Unpublished data of U. S. Department of Commerce, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Information
and Statistics Service.

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T able 1.—Numbers of Civil Aeronautics Administration Employees in Selected Technical

Occupations, August 31, 1944 1

Total

Occupation

Federal
Airways
Service

Safety
Regulation
Service

P ilots______________________________________
Inspectors____________________ ____ ______
Others with pilot training________________

811
239
572

595
24
2 571

216
215
1

Airplane mechanics__________________________
Inspectors----------------------------------------------Repair mechanics------------------ ------ ---------Others with mechanic training------------------

160
93
22
45

137
92

Communications operators and repairmen-------Aircraft communicators 4--------------- ---------Radio repair technicians-------- ------ ----------Airport traffic controllers------------------------Others with airport traffic-control training ».
Airway traffic controllers-------------------------Others with communications training «-------

5, 215
2, 740
635
900
33
730
177

5, 204
2, 740
' 634
890
33
730
177

Washing
ton
National
Airport

9
1
8

3 45
11
1
10

1 From unpublished data of the U . S. Department of Commerce, Civil Aeronautics Administrat ion.
2 Includes 542 airways engineers not required to be pilots but who frequently have had pilot experience.

3 Aircraft factory inspectors, not required to hold CAA mechanic’s licenses but only to have familiarity
with the manufacture of aircraft.
4 Radio operators engaged in relaying information to aircraft m flight.
6 M ainly supervisory and administrative personnel.

That there will be continued growth in these branches of CAA
can hardly be questioned, in view of the expansion in scheduled,
nonscheduled commercial, and private flying which is in sight. The
volume of activities and employment in these agencies will, however,
be determined not only by the increase in air traffic but also by the
application to civilian uses of secret wartime developments in radio
and radar, the future policy of the CAB with regard to the exami
nation and licensing of aircraft and airmen, and other imponderable
factors. In consequence, the most definite statement as to employ
ment prospects which can be made is that the rate of increase is
likely to be slower than in the air lines, as it has been in the past,
and also slower than in fixed-base operations and other flying services.
Employment of aviation personnel by other Government regulatory
agencies is small and is likely to remain so after the war, though it
will probably have an upward trend. The most important of these
agencies, the Civil Aeronautics Board, now employs only 18 investi
gators who are required to have experience as pilots and about 3
other aviation specialists. Aviation commissions of various States
also provide a small field of .employment for aviation technicians, but
no figures are available with regard to their personnel requirements.
AIRPORTS

Although airports are the base of all aviation operations, they have
comparatively few technical employees of their own. Many workers
stationed there are on the staffs of air lines, fixed-base operators, or
concessions, and some may be employees of the CAA, the Weather
Bureau, or various departments of the city government.
In 1940, there were 2,331 airports and landing fields in this country,
consisting mainly of municipal and commercial airports but also of
CAA intermediate, military, naval, and private fields. Since then,
the total number of airports has risen by more than 50 percent, but

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most of the net gain has been in Army and Navy fields, as the following
figures show: 1
D e c . 81, m o

F eb. 88, m s

Total airports and landing fields__

______ 2, 331

3, 505

Municipal _
Commercial
CAA intermediate.
Other
A.rmy or N avy.
Army or Navy operated2__
Civilian air patrol
Miscellaneous government
Private__

______
______
______
______

1, 046
1, 100
228
1, 131
539
443
3
69
77

----------------

-------------------------------------

1, 031
860
289
151
(i)
( i)
( i)
d)

(!)

1 Information not available.
2 Municipal and commercial fields operated by the Army or N avy.

These figures include all sizes of airports, from the smallest landing
fields to great air terminals. More than four-fifths of the civilian
fields are small, able to accommodate only private-owner or feedertype planes.
The importance of airport size, for the purposes of this study, is
of course its relation to personnel requirements. Figures on 1941
employment for a small sample of airports, which are given in table 2,
point to this relationship. A more striking finding is, however, the
very small staff employed by some of the largest airports, owing
probably to low traffic loads and to the assignment of many functions
about the fields to concessionaires and others not on the airports’
own pay rolls.
T able 2. —Employment at 36 Airports, by Airport Size Class, 1941 1

1 Compiled from St. Paul Department of Public Utilities report: Compilation of Information Secured
From Airport Questionnaire, as submitted Jan. 1, 1942. Prepared for the American Association of Airport
Executives, by F. J. Geng, St. Paul, Minn.
2 The size classifications used are those of the CAA and are defined primarily in terms of length of runway.
Class I airports will accommodate only small private-owner type planes; Class II, large private-owner type
and feeder-transport aircraft; Class III, present-day transport planes; Class IV and Class V, the largest
aircraft now in use or planned for the immediate future.
2 La Guardia Field, New York City, which had a total of 76 employees,

Information on the occupational distribution of airport employees
is scanty. Where there is a traffic-control tower, the largest group of
technical personnel is likely to be the traffic-control staff, which
averages about 8 operators per tower for 24-hour operation and about
3 or 4 for part-time operation. Some 110 to 115 airports in this
• Figures for 1940'are from U. S. Department of Commerce, Civil Aeronautics Administration,
Statistical Handbookjof Civil Aviation, October„15, 1944 (p. 16); those for 1945 are unpublished data of the
Civil Aeronautics Administration.

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country now have towers in operation, but at the great majority of
these (102 as of February 1945) CAA personnel are in charge.15 The
remainder are, of course, manned by airport employees. In addi
tion, some airports employ a few aircraft mechanics to service planes
landing there, and all of them must have managers, unless they are
owned and run by fixed-base operators as are many but by no means
all commercial fields. There must also be at least one electrician if
the airport is lighted, and some maintenance employees, although
in the case of municipal airports many of these may be from the regu
lar city repair crews.
Future programs of airport construction will of course greatly in
fluence postwar employment opportunities in the industry. If Con
gress implements the CAA’s National Airport Plan (several bills based
upon it have been introduced), this will mean the enlargement and
improvement of more than half the airports now in existence and the
construction of a few additional large air terminals and many smaller
fields. In total, there would be 6,305 airports, most of them civilian,
within 5 to 10 years after the war,16 the date of completion depending
upon the amount of State appropriations against which the proposed
50-percent contribution of the Federal Government would be matched.
The figure of 6,305 would be nearly 3 times the total number of air
ports at the end of 1940 and about 2% times as many as are in civilian
operation at present. Although the number of very large air terminals
would rise to 850, several times the number now in civilian operation,
much the greatest numerical gain would be in small fields designed to
accommodate only private or feeder-type planes.
If the figures on airport employment in 1942, given in table 1, are
used as a guide, an estimate of about 50,000 to 60,000 airport em
ployees upon completion of the National Airport Plan is suggested.
This figure makes no allowance for increases in the amount of traffic per
airport, however, and it also excludes municipal employees assigned
to the airports and employees of restaurants and other establishments
operated on a concession basis. Apparently including such employees
and assuming a realization of their optimistic traffic forecasts, the CAA
has arrived at a much larger figure—an estimated total of about
125,000 jobs at the 6,305 airports.

Postwar Employment Prospects by Occupations

The great uncertainties and differences of opinion which exist as to
the future of nonsclieduled commercial and private flying and related
services have been illustrated in preceding sections. In view of these
uncertainties, only tentative and general suggestions can be made re
garding the number of new jobs likely to develop in different aviation
occupations after the war.
How many pilots will be needed outside the air lines will of course
depend largely on the growth in fixed-base operations offering charter,
instructional, or specialized flying services. Evidence already pre
sented with regard to future expansion in operations of these types
suggests at least a doubling, perhaps a tripling, of their activities and
employment within 5 years after the war. In some segments, notably
15 Unpublished figures made available by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
is In arriving at the figure of 6,305 airports, the CAA assumed that many Army and N avy fields would
be turned over to civilian operation after the war.

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1195

charter operations, the increase may be even greater, but probably not
in the field as a whole. If 2 or 3 times as many pilots are needed out
side the air lines and the aircraft factories as in 1940, there would be
jobs for 15,000 to 25,000 pilots, including flight instructors and those
who establish their own small flying services—a gain in employment
above present levels of perhaps 12,000 to 22,000.17
Forecasts of the total number of planes that will be in operation
provide the best clue to future employment opportunities for mechan
ics. It is probable that at least one aircraft and engine mechanic
will be needed for every 5 planes.18 On this basis, the total of 110,000
non-air-line planes forecast by the CAA for the fifth postwar year 19
would suggest the employment of about 22,000 mechanics, whereas
the lower estimate of 75,000 planes cited above would mean the
employment of about 15,000—possibly 13,000 to 20,000 more mechan
ics’ jobs than at present.20
These figures include only aircraft and engine mechanics. In
addition, there may be a few hundred opportunities for propeller,
instrument, and other specialists and one or two thousand openings
for radio mechanics, either with large fixed-base operators or in small
specialized repair shops owned and run by the craftsmen themselves.
In addition, some increase in employment of radio technicians by
the Federal Airways Service may be expected—perhaps about a 50percent gain, above the high wartime figure of 635 employees in this
occupation in August 1944. Such an increase would, of course, mean
roughly 300 new jobs for radio technicians.
If this same assumption of a 50-percent increase in Federal Airways
personnel above the August 1944 level is applied to other communica
tions occupations, it would mean nearly 1,400 openings for radio
aircraft communicators and 350 to 400 opportunities for airway
traffic controllers. These illustrative figures, like the others given
in this section, represent net changes only and take no account of
vacancies created by staff turnover. Among aircraft communicators
especially, a large amount of turnover is anticipated after the war,
since most persons now employed by CAA in this occupation are warservice appointees, many of them women, and many assigned to work
in remote places and at night hours.
The number of airport traffic-control tower operators employed
will of course be determined, after the war as at present, both by the
number of towers and by the volume of traffic. It has been roughly
estimated that 2,000 control towers, including 200 in operation 24
hours a day, would be needed, given completion of the CAA’s National
Airport Plan and realization of its forecast of 425,000 planes for the
tenth postwar year. To staff these towers, 7,000 to 9,000 operators
17 In arriving at these figures, 1940 employment of pilots was estimated at 7,500 to 8,500. Only 9,300 pilots,
in addition to those with the air lines, held commercial or air-line licenses from the OAA at the end of 1940,
including some who were unemployed or had only a nominal right to the title of commercial pilot. No sta
tistics on current employment of pilots outside the air lines and aircraft manufacturing are available, but
this has been roughly estimated at 3,000—probably a minimum figure, although it does not represent quite
as great a proportionate drop as has taken place in the number of fixed-base operations.
18 The minimum standard established by the CAA for approved flying schools is not more than 5 training
planes for every licensed aircraft and engine mechanic employed. The number of planes per mechanic in
the country as a whole was smaller than this—probably less than 3 to 1—in 1940. However, in view of the
suggested modifications in the provisions of the Civil Air Regulations dealing with maintenance of private
planes, the ratio of planes to mechanics may well be higher after than before the war.
19 The CAA estimates the maximum number of air-line planes likely to be in operation in that year at
1,000 and the total number of planes of all tynes at 111,000.
»“ In the absence of statistics on current employment of aircraft mechanics outside the air lines and aircraft
manufacturing, this was roughly estimated at 2,000, a minimum figure representing about the same pro
portionate drop from the 1940 level as has taken place in the number of fixed-base operators.

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1945

would be required, in view of figures on personnel requirements
previously cited. In the fifth year after the war, however, the airport
plan may be only one-third or one-half of the w~ay toward completion,
and the number of planes in operation will be only a fraction of the
400.000 figure. It is therefore reasonable to assume that employment
of traffic-control tower operators might be between 2,000 and 4,000,
5 years after the war, compared with about 1,000 at present. Whether
the operators will be employed mainly by the Federal Government
or by the airports themselves will depend upon the extent to which
the Federal Airways Service retains operation of control towers after
the war. Whatever the outcome, this should not greatly affect the
total volume of job opportunities for traffic-control tower operators.
Part 3.—Postw ar Labor Supply and Labor Demand
One hundred thousand new jobs for flight personnel and other
aviation technicians are a possibility by 5 years after the war. The
highest figures on postwar employment in nonscheduled aviation
services and related fields given in the preceding section add up to a
possible expansion of about 50,000 in the occupations studied. Esti
mates for the air lines presented in an earlier article point to another
53.000 jobs for flight crewrs and technical ground personnel, taking an
optimistic view of future air traffic, although a more conservative
traffic forecast suggests only about one-fourth as great a gain in em
ployment in these skilled occupations. In addition, there will be a
great number of new jobs of other types—mainly unskilled, semiskilled,
clerical, and managerial—with air lines, airports, and related services.
Also, neither the air lines nor other aviation industries are likely to
approach their maximum growth within this period.
The dark side of the picture is the very great oversupply of trained
aviation personnel which is in prospect. The figure of 100,000 addi
tional jobs for aviation technicians is an optimistic one and represents
the total gain estimated for the first 5 postwar years. Even under
the most favorable conditions, only a fraction of these jobs will become
available within 1 or 2 years after Japan has been defeated. In con
trast, armed-forces personnel with comparable specialties now total
nearly 1,000,000, exclusive of men in the regular Navy and of civilian
employees. This does not mean, however, that in all skilled aviation
occupations trained personnel seeking work will exceed employment
opportunities by over 10 to 1. The ratio of prospective jobs to
armed-forces personnel with related occupational specialties is much
smaller in some occupations than in others, and by no means all air
forces officers and enlisted men expect to stay in the field of aviation
after the war.
How labor demand and labor supply will compare, occupation by
occupation, becomes under these circumstances a crucial question both
for men interested in postwar aviation jobs and for persons responsible
for giving them vocational advice. Many factors influence an indi
vidual’s chances of finding work in a particular occupation, such as his
ability and personal characteristics, educational background, training
and work experience, and the locality in which he lives. When appli
cants are much more plentiful than jobs, however, labor supply and
demand may become of great importance. The following sections

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therefore relate the prospective gains in employment in each occupa
tion studied to the numbers of armed-forces personnel trained and ex
perienced in similar types of work and, as far as possible, to estimates
of the smaller numbers of men definitely planning to seek aviation jobs
after they are demobilized. The likelihood that large groups of civil
ians will be looking for work in the same occupations is discussed also.
Sources of Data

In view of the wide difference of opinion as to future trends in
commercial aviation among persons equally well acquainted with the
field, both the maximum and minimum figures on postwar employ
ment opportunities arrived at earlier in this study are used to suggest
the probable magnitude of labor demand.
The data on armed-forces personnel used in measuring postwar labor
supply represent the total strength of the Army Air^Forces, Naval
Reserve, and Marine Corps as of a recent date, classified by primary
military occupational specialty or current naval duty or rating.21 No.
allowance could be made for future personnel gains and losses, but
these will to a great extent offset each other. It should be noted that
the figures may understate the potential labor force in particular
occupations, since they exclude men who have had training and experi
ence of a given type but who now have different assignments or pri
mary specialties. There is, however,-an offsetting factor—the prospect
that some of the men included will remain in the armed forces after
the war. By omitting the regular Navy from the figures on Naval
personnel, the officers and enlisted men most likely to stay in this
branch of the services were excluded. No basis existed for a similar
adjustment in the Army and Marine Corps figures, but the numbers
of men involved will certainly be small relative to present total
strength.
With regard to the proportion of men planning to seek aviation jobs
after demobilization, the information presented comes from question
naire surveys of the postwar employment intentions of small samples
of Army Air Forces personnel, conducted by the Research Branch,
Information and Education Division, Army Service Forces. What
may happen to these intentions when the men are face to face with
the realities of the postwar labor market is a question obviously un
answerable for the present. It is nevertheless significant that, in all
occupational groups covered, only a minority of the men said they
were planning to use their Army skills in their first postwar jobs,
although the exact proportion varied considerably from one occupa
tion to another, apparently depending in part on the men's opinion
as to their chances of finding such work.
The figures given on potential labor supply in flight occupations are
limited to armed-forces personnel, since veterans will make up nearly
all the trained labor force in these occupations (in addition to workers
already employed in civilian aviation). Some pilots now employed by
aircraft factories will be forced to look for new jobs after the industry’s
postwar contraction, but these form a very small group. In addi
tion, a comparatively small number of jobs for radio operators, stew21 Unpublished data made available by the Army, N avy, and Marine Corps. The figures on N avy
enlisted personnel include U. S. N avy inductees as well as the Fleet and other Reserve.

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ards and stewardesses, and perhaps for pilots in the air lines’ foreign
operations will go to citizens of other countries.
In ground occupations also, employment of foreign workers will
probably be too small relative to total job opportunities to affect
appreciably labor-demand and labor-supply relationships. There are,
however, two large groups of civilian workers who will presumably be
competitors for jobs in certain of these occupations—namely, civilian
emplo}rees of the armed forces, and inspectors and test mechanics in
aircraft factories. Rough estimates of the numbers of workers in the
latter group likely to lose their jobs as a result of postwar cut-backs
are included in the discussion of employment prospects for mainte
nance personnel. To indicate the size of the first group, estimates
have been made of the numbers of civilian employees at Army, Navy,
and Marine Corps air bases in this country as of a recent date, classi
fied by comparable military occupational specialties. Unfortunately
no official information is available as to the numbers of civilian work
ers who will be retained by the air forces after the war, but these are
not likely to amount to more than a small fraction of the present total
figures.
Labor Supply and Demand by Occupation

A IR P L A N E PIL O T S

There are now about 200,000 pilots in the armed forces. This is,
at least at first sight, a staggering total, since the maximum expansion
in employment of civilian pilots envisaged by the fifth postwar year
is only 32,000, less than one-sixth as great. It would, however, be
easy to exaggerate the importance of this comparison, which lumps
together all groups of armed-forces pilots without regard to their
differing qualifications for civilian jobs and also takes no account of
the men’s postwar employment intentions.
The men best equipped for air-line jobs are, in general, the transport
and other service pilots flying multi-engine aircraft with the Air
Transport and Troop Carrier Commands, the NATS, and other units,
many of whom are now handling military versions of present and
future air-line planes. These pilots number only about 9,000. In
addition, about 115,000 men are flying multi-engine combat planes,
mainly bombers but in some instances 2-engine fighters. The re
mainder, close to 75,000, fly mainly single-engine fighters, though
a few hundred of them are single-engine service pilots and a few
thousand have administrative, liaison, and other special assignments
and cannot be classified by engine rating.
Whether service pilots with multi-engine ratings will have a good
chance of finding air-line jobs will depend on the accuracy of the more
optimistic predictions of future air traffic, and also on the timing of
their demobilization relative to the periods of most rapid expansion
in air-line operations. It has been estimated that the carriers might
need a maximum of 10,000 additional pilots by 5 years after the war.
Only a fraction of these jobs would become available within the first
year or two afterward, but by no means all the 9,000 multi-engine
service pilots will desire or be qualified for air-line positions. On
balance, the likelihood is that, should this optimistic employment
figure be correct, there would be openings for most qualified appli
cants with multi-engine transport experience fairly soon after their

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1199

demobilization. However, the air lines place great emphasis on the
personal characteristics and education of prospective copilots, as well
as on the nature of their flying experience, and at present are hiring
mainly bomber pilots and a few fighter pilots (in addition to some
others), since comparatively few military pilots with transport expe
rience are now being released. This situation will continue until
greater numbers of transport pilots are available.
Even for transport pilots, the hopeful picture which has'been painted
is only a possibility. If the more conservative view as to future air
traffic should prove to be correct, the fifth postwar year might see
only about 1,700 more jobs for air-line pilots than at present. Under
these circumstances, there would be few employment openings except
for veterans with reinstatement rights during the first year or two
after the war. Former air-line pilots now in the Army and Navy
total at least 500, and some former air-line employees not previously
qualified as pilots have received flight training in the armed forces.
Nonscheduled commercial aviation services and flying schools offer
the best chance of postwar flying jobs for the 180,000-190,000 pilots
without multi-engine transport ratings. The number of men seeking
such jobs is likely to be several times greater than the available oppor
tunities, however, despite the prospect that many pilots will want other
types of work. As indicated earlier in this article, an optimistic
figure on expansion in employment of pilots outside the air lines by 5
years after the war is 22,000, including men who start their own small
fixed-base operations, and these opportunities will develop gradually
over the period.
FL IG H T E N G IN E E R S , N A V IG A T O R S, A N D FL IG H T R A D IO O PER A TO R S

Opportunities for flight engineers, navigators, and flight radio
operators will be much more limited than for pilots after the war.
Using a conservative forecast of air-line traffic in the fifth postwar
year, it was estimated that there would be little if any net gain or an
actual decrease in jobs for these groups, who are needed only in cer
tain air-line operations. Even with an optimistic assumption as to
future air traffic, the prospective increase in employment over the 5year period was found to be no more than about 1,200 for flight
engineers, 500 for navigators, and 900 for flight radio operators. In
contrast, there are now some 60,000 flight engineers and mechanics,
35.000 navigators (including navigator-bombardiers), and more than
50.000 flignt radio operators in the armed forces. It is all too obvious
that in these occupations there will be a great oversupply of skilled
personnel after the war, even if a large majority of the men wish other
types of work.
ST E W A R D S A N D S T E W A R D E SS E S

Stewards and stewardesses are needed only on planes carrying a
considerable number of passengers and are therefore employed only
by the air lines. Expansion in employment in this occupation by
the fifth postwar year has been estimated at 2,700 to 6,700 above
present levels—2,400 to 5,700 in domestic air-line operations and 300
to 1,000 in the international and territorial field.
These separate figures for the two branches of the industry suggest
how the new jobs are likely to be distributed between women and

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men. All but one of the domestic carriers have used women exclu
sively in recent years. In international operations, on the other
hand, employment of women is a wartime development still in its
infancy and still limited to a few routes. It is likely that this situa
tion will continue after the war, with most jobs on domestic routes
going to women and most of those in international operations to men.
Comparisons between labor supply and labor demand have less
significance in this occupation than in others so far discussed, since
the specific skills involved are less and personal qualifications and
background have generally been given greater weight in hiring than
experience in the particular type of work. There is, however, a
small group of military and naval personnel whose duties are so
similar to those performed by stewards on commercial planes that
they should be able to obtain special consideration for jobs in this
occupation, provided that they meet the requirements with respect
to maximum weight and height and other personal characteristics.
The total of about 1,700 enlisted flight clerks and orderlies with such
duties is about 70 percent larger than the maximum foreseeable
increase in steward positions during the first 5 years after the war.
Allowing for the fact that by no means all these men will desire inter
national air-line jobs and assuming that the more optimistic figures
on postwar traffic and employment prove to be correct, it appears
that a very substantial proportion of the qualified applicants should
be able to find steward jobs within 1 or 2 years after their demobili
zation. A realization of the more conservative traffic predictions
would, however, mean much more limited employment opportunities.
MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL

Armed-forces personnel engaged in aircraft maintenance have
reached even more overwhelming figures than flight personnel.
There are now more than 330,000 aircraft and aircraft-engine
mechanics in the Army, Naval Eeserve, and Marine Corps, not
including 40,000 to 45,000 civilian employees at air bases in this
country. In considering the size of the potential labor force in the
occupation, nearly all the 60,000 flight engineers and mechanics
should be added to this figure, since it has been shown that very few
of these men will be able to find flight jobs after the war and they are
in general an especially well-qualified group. Allowance should be
made also for the aircraft inspectors and engine mechanics likely to
lose their jobs in aircraft factories, who may number roughly 10,000
to 20,000.22 In addition, there are the following large numbers of
enlisted men and civilians specializing in particular types of maintenance work:
Carburetor, electrical, hydraulic, instrument, propeller,
and supercharger specialists______ 1__________________
Aircraft radio technicians___________•___________________
Aviation machinists, sheet-metal workers, and welders___
Aviation carpenters, fabric and dope workers, and cable
splicers_____________________________________________
Parachute riggers and packers___________________________

E n lis te d

C iv ilia n
e m p lo y e e s o f

person n el

a r m e d fo rc e s

57,000
47, 000
56, 000

13,000
1, 900
24, 000

4, 500
10, 000

4, 500
1, 700

12 This rough estimate is based on the assumption, considered by many persons familiar with the industry
to be relatively optimistic, that employment in the manufacture of airframes, aircraft engines, propellers,
and parts will contract to about 300,000 after the war. Occupational data used in estimating how many
men in the selected occupations might be included in the total lay-offs were obtained from wage studies
made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1943.

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12 0 1

This listing is exclusive of the great numbers of radio and radar
technicians handling other types of equipment and of flight radio
operators, who are qualified to make minor repairs and adjustments
to aircraft radios. It also excludes some maintenance workers,
including aircraft painters, for whom separate figures are not available.
The figures cited add up to the tremendous total of about 675,000
maintenance personnel—a force that outnumbers by about 14 to 1
the maximum expansion in employment opportunities for such per
sonnel expected by the fifth year after the war. Even with an
optimistic forecast of future air-line traffic and nonscheduled flying,
the increase in maintenance jobs is not likely to exceed 49,000 within
this period—26,000 with the air lines and the remaining 23,000 in
other fields. Taking a more conservative view of future aviation
activities, the new jobs created for maintenance personnel during the
period .may be no more than about 21,000. Under either assump
tion, openings will of course be created gradually over the 5-year
period.
How the new jobs for maintenance workers will be distributed
among the different groups of specialists can be suggested only roughly.
Outside the air lines there might be as many as 2,000-2,500 new jobs
for radio technicians and a few hundred for instrument and other
specialists, but most of these jobs (about 20,000 out of the esti
mated total of 23,000) would go to aircraft and engine mechanics
with all-round skill. In scheduled air transportation, likewise, aircraft
and engine mechanics would obtain the greatest number, of new
maintenance jobs (at least 16,000 out of the maximum figure of
26,000), according to an estimated distribution of maintenance
personnel requirements in large air-line operations discussed in the
preceding article. Opportunities would not exceed 4,000 for car
buretor, electrical, hydraulic, instrument, propeller, and supercharger
specialists; 1,200 for aircraft radio technicians; and 3,800 for aviation
machinists, sheet-metal workers, and welders. When these figures
are added to those on job openings outside the air lines and the results
are compared with the numbers of enlisted and civilian personnel in
the given types of specialties, the following ratios of potential new
labor supply to maximum new employment openings during the first
5 years after the war are obtained: For aircraft and engine mechanics,
15 to 1; for radio technicians, 14 to 1; for carburetor, electrical, and
other specialists, 17 to 1; for aviation machinists, sheet-metal workers,
and welders, 21 to l.23
The oversupply of trained workers which these comparisons indicate
is likely to be much reduced, but will not be eliminated, by the desire
for a different type of work which many enlisted men express. Ac
cording to the War Department’s sample surveys, at least 15 percent
of AAF mechanics are now planning to seek aviation jobs after de
mobilization, and the proportion may be twice as great among me
chanics working on transport planes who know that their work qualifies
them particularly well for air-line employment. Assuming that as few
as 15 percent of the 570,000 enlisted men in maintenance specialties
will be active candidates for postwar mechanics jobs, this segment of
the potential labor force in the occupation is reduced to 85,000. Nev23 In the case of parachute riggers and of aviation carpenters, fabric and dope workers, and cable splicers,
no figures on postwar job opportunities could be derived, but they would certainly have been far smaller
than present military and civilian employment in the occupations.
645 8 8 6 — 45 ------------ 5

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1945

ertheless, this is still much greater than the greatest number of new
maintenance jobs likely to develop by 5 years after the war, and it
takes no account of the very considerable numbers of civilian
maintenance personnel who will also be competing for jobs.
STOCK A N D ST O R E S E M P L O Y E E S

At least 21,000 enlisted men and 5,000 civilian workers are em
ployed by the armed forces as stock clerks handling aviation supplies
and equipment, not counting many tool-room clerks and other clerical
employees with related duties. No more than 6 percent, or about
1,300, of the enlisted aviation supply clerks now seriously anticipate
looking for postwar aviation jobs, however, according to the Army’s
questionnaire surveys.
There is a good chance that many though not all of these job candi
dates will be able to find work in their present occupation shortly
after the war. An expansion of 2,300 in employment of air-line stock
and stores personnel by the fifth postwar year was estimated, using
an optimistic assumption as to future air-line traffic, and there will
also be a few stock-clerk jobs with the larger fixed-base operators.
If one takes a pessimistic view of future air traffic, however, very few
new jobs for stock clerks can be envisaged—no more than 300 with
the air lines during the period studied.
D IS P A T C H E R S , M ET E O R O L O G IST S, A N D A SS IS T A N T S

In the broad occupational group of professional meteorologists, dis
patchers (whose duties include both administrative and technical
functions), and their assistants, there will be a great oversupply of
trained men after the war under even the most optimistic assumption
as to the rate of growth in air traffic. The greatest number of new job
opportunities for the group that can be expected by the fifth postwar
year is 1,400; these jobs will be with the air lines only, since workers
of these types are not employed in substantial numbers in other avia
tion fields. In contrast, the armed forces now have about 6,000
meteorologists and 18,000 weather observers and technicians. There
are also at least 3,000 traffic- and flight-control officers and a smaller
number of enlisted men with duties closely related to those of air-line
dispatchers, and about 10,000 other operations officers with less
directly related experience.
By no means all these men will seek comparable civilian jobs.
Among enlisted weather observers, for example, the proportion ex
pecting to use their Army skills in their first postwar employment
appears to be, at the most, 1 out of 9. Nevertheless, qualified appli
cants for positions in this group of occupations will no doubt greatly
exceed employment openings in aviation industries.
A IR P O R T T R A F FIC -C O N T R O L T O W E R O P ER A T O R S

Expansion in employment of civilian airport traffic-control tower
operators was estimated in preceding sections at 1,000 to 3,000 by
5 years after the war, but only a few of these new jobs are in sight for
the first postwar year. Traffic-control tower operators in the armed
forces number about 8,500. Although the War Department’s studies
of postwar employment intentions do not give figures for this group

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1203

separately, in the most closely related group for which an estimate is
available—radio operators—the proportion planning to look for com
parable postwar jobs is, at the highest, about 22 percent. If this per
centage is taken as a rough guide to the employment intentions of
military and naval control-tower operators and a rapid extension of
the country’s airport system is assumed, the suggested oversupply
of labor is much reduced. Under these circumstances, a substantial
fraction—though probably not a majority—of the men desiring to
remain in this occupation should be able to find jobs there within 2
years after the war.
R A D IO O PER A T O R S

The outlook for radio operators in the field of aviation is much more
unfavorable. The enlisted personnel of the AAF, Navy, and Marine
Corps include about 50,000 men and women skilled in ground-to-plane
communications. To these must be added the 50,000 flight radio
operators, very few of whom will be able to find comparable postwar
jobs. In addition, there are many thousands of air-forces personnel
engaged in radio communication between different points on the
ground, and still greater numbers of radio operators in the Signal
Corps, Army Ground Forces, and other services. These men are
omitted from the labor-supply figures, since the only job opportunities
for radio operators covered by the employment estimates are those in
the field of aviation.
Assuming that, as suggested by the Army’s sample surveys, not
more than 22 percent of the 100,000 ground-to-plane and plane-toground operators seek comparable postwar jobs, the active candidates
for such jobs from among this group will not be greater than 22,000.
However, maximum new job openings for airline communications
operators, including teletypists as well as radio telephone operators,
are not expected to exceed 3,500 by the fifth postwar year. The only
other aviation field in which radio operators are employed is the Fed
eral Airways System, and here also new jobs will be very few—prob
ably no more than 1,800 (1,400 for radio aircraft communicators and
400 for airway traffic controllers) within the 5-year period.
Alternative Employment Opportunities

It is clear, from the foregoing sections that large numbers of pilots
and other aviation technicians trained in the armed forces will be
unable to find comparable jobs during the first year or thereabout
after the war.
Some men anxious to remain in the field of aviation may wish to
look for employment of other types with airports, air lines, and nonscheduled flying services, where their air-force background may often
give them a competitive advantage compared with applicants from
other fields. The prospect of thousands of new jobs at airports was
suggested earlier. There will also be many nontechnical positions
with air lines—for example, as ticket and passenger agents, traffic
representatives, office workers, cargo handlers, and semiskilled service
men. As stated in the preceding article, at least half of all air-line
jobs are in these and other occupations not studied in detail. If total
employment in the air transport industry should rise from the present
level of 45,000-50,000 to a figure approaching 160,000—suggested as

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the maximum estimate for the fifth postwar year—or even to the mini
mum estimate of 80,000, the result would, of course, be numerous job
openings in nontechnical as well as technical occupations.
It should be remembered that opportunities will become available
gradually both with the air lines and in other aviation fields, and that
these industries will continue to expand for many years after the war.
Men who cannot find positions of the particular type they desire
immediately after their demobilization may therefore wish to consider
jobs in other occupations in the same industry, which might in some
instances be stepping stones to their ultimate objective.
There will also be a variety of emploj^ment possibilities for men with
an aviation background and with training or aptitude in research or
promotional work—for example, with local chambers of commerce,
competitive transportation agencies wishing to follow developments in
air transport, large industrial companies interested in the application
of air transportation to their businesses, and university research
organizations.
The answer to the question, whether there are jobs outside the field
of aviation in which the groups of skilled workers here considered will
be able to use their Army and Navy skills, varies widely from one
occupation to another. Ability to pilot an aircraft, for example,
appears, by and of itself, to have little carry-over to other occupa
tions. On the other hand, many aviation radio technicians and oper
ators have had the same basic training required for radio-technician
and operator jobs in other civilian industries and should therefore be
able to qualify for such jobs with little, if any, additional training,
though they will have to compete for them with great numbers of men
from the Army Signal Corps and other branches of the armed forces.
Aircraft maintenance specialists, like most occupational groups
studied, wall be in an intermediate position with respect to the trans
ferability of their skills to nonaviation jobs. There are many related
occupations in other industries to which they could adapt themselves—
for example, automobile mechanic, refrigeration mechanic, and
machine-tool operator. For any of these types of work, however,
they would need additional training.

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Wartime Policies

M anpow er P o licies A fter Y E-D ay
FEDERAL agencies directly concerned with the manpower situation
following the defeat of Germany are making known their estimates of
and policies regarding the manpower problem with respect to the
period covering the second phase of the war—the crushing of Japan.
The following are some of the opinions and policies recently expressed
by those agencies.
Effect of Production Shifts on E m ploym ent 1

Regarding the effect of shifts in war production after VE-Day upon
national manpower and employment, the Office of War Mobilization
and Reconversion in a recent report to the President stated that the
vast majority of the 52,000,000 civilian workers are in jobs which will
continue during the first 6 months after the defeat of Germany. Of
this number, according to that agency, “nearly 43,000,000 are in agri
culture, trades and services, transportation, plants manufacturing
civilian goods, in government service, or in business for themselves.
About 9,000,000 are in munitions plants, a large proportion of which
must continue munitions production for the war against Japan.”
During the second 6-month period following VE-Day, “probably
about 1% million workers will lose their jobs. A larger number than
this will be out of war work, but they will continue in the same jobs,
producing for civilian consumption. * * * Also, in the next year,
about 2,000,000 men are expected to be demobilized from the Army.
During the following 6 moiitlis, perhaps another 3 million workers
will lose their jobs. * * * Unemployment, therefore, much of
which will be temporary, is not expected to total more than 2.5 million
at the end of the next 12 months, as compared with the present total
of about 1 million.” For persons displaced from employment, the
report points out, help in the form of unemployment compensation is
available in all States, with maximum payments varying from $15 to
$22 per week, and the period of benefit ranging from about 10 to
20 weeks.
Manpower Controls in the Transition Period 2

For the transition period between VE-Day and July 1, 1945, the
War Manpower Commission has announced that that agency’s
policy will be as follows:
1 Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion.

The War—Phase Two.

Washington, M ay 10, 1945.

2 War Manpower Commission, Press release (PM-4809), Washington, M ay 11, 1945.

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1. Manpower controls in group III and IV areas 3 may be lifted by area directors
at any time during the transition period between now and July 1, after consulta
tion with local management-labor committees.
2. Manpower programs that include employment stabilization programs, em
ployment ceiling programs, priority referral for males, and the 48-hour week, will
be maintained in group I and II areas.4 In these areas, the area directors will keep
a close check on changing labor-market conditions and avoid allowing anything to
interfere with the prompt reemployment of individuals being laid off from war
production when other jobs are available. The area directors have been in
structed to transmit immediately to headquarters any marked changes in man
power requirements in an area with recommendations for area reclassification.
3. If unemployment is appearing during the transition in group I and II areas,
area directors, pending the reclassification of areas, may make use of “blanket”
or open referral cards, which permit workers to accept any job, and ceilings will
be promptly adjusted or temporarily lifted. At the same time the United States
Employment Service will actively solicit orders for jobs from all employers in
order to alleviate any unemployment.
After July 1 there will be some relaxation of manpower checks on new and
expanded civilian production. Likewise, after that date, when all areas have
been reclassified on the new basis, all manpower programs in group II areas will
be made optional at the discretion of area manpower directors after consultation
with the area management-labor committees and with the approval of regional
directors. The Chairman said that after July 1, group I will be areas in which all
manpower controls will be continued; group II, areas in which manpower controls
will be optional; and groups III and IV, areas in which manpower controls will
be completely eliminated. The group I areas wrill be those in which labor strin
gency exists for meeting war production requirements. The group II areas will
be those in which there is an over-all balance of labor supply and demand. Group
III and IV areas will be those in which war contracts should be placed to fill
current and anticipated employment needs wherever possible and encourage
civilian production. If, however, these changes in any way jeopardize war pro
duction, more stringent controls will be immediately restored.
At the same time, the list of essential activities will be continued, but will be
restricted until it includes only direct war and war-supporting production. Ex
plaining the modified transitional program, the War Manpower Commission
head pointed out that except in such areas where unemployment is developing,
workers will be required to obtain statements of availability in group I and II
areas for the transition period. After July 1, certificates of availability will con
tinue to be necessary in group I areas and may also be required in group II
areas at the option of the area directors. He also pointed out that in all group
I and II areas, workers will continue to be referred to highest priority war pro
duction jobs or to jobs of a war-production supporting character.
In like manner, the 48-hour workweek will be maintained for establishments in
all group I areas with, as now, appropriate exemptions for individual plants.
In group II, the 48-hour workweek will be optional with area directors who have
headquarters approval to institute or maintain the 48-hour workweek if this
is deemed necessary to maintain labor balance or assure a sufficient labor supply.
The 48-hour workweek will be maintained on an industry-wide basis only as long
as it is required to meet labor shortages—such as textiles, logging and lumbering,
and nonferrous-metal mining. The 48-hour workweek will be revoked in the steel
industry, thereby making steel plants subject to the same workweek as other
plants in the areas in which they are located.

W age Policies in Converted Plants 5

To facilitate the fastest possible return to civilian production con
sistent with the maximum production of war materials for the fight
against Japan, the National War Labor Board issued a statement in
regard to the determination of appropriate wage-rate structuies for
plants converting from war production to the production of civilian
3 Group III areas are those in which labor supply substantially balances demand for essential production
or a moderate labor surplus exists or is anticipated. Group IV areas are those in which a substantial labor
surplus exists or is expected to develop.
4 Group I areas are those in which acute labor shortages exist, or are anticipated, which will endanger
essential production. Group II areas are those in which labor shortages exist which may endanger essential
production, or areas which are approaching a balanced demand-supply situation.
8 National War Labor Board, Press release (B-2082), Washington, M ay 10, 1945.

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WARTIME POLICIES

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goods. According to the Board, this statement outlines a procedural
first step in the process of modification and ultimate discontinuance
of the wage-stabilization program as we move to a complete peacetime
economy. The following is taken from the statement of the Board:
Establishment of Wage Structures for Converted P lants Without Advance Approval
of the Board

II.
A. The Office of Price Administration is establishing a reconversion pricing
plan for products which have been entirely or largely out of production. Wage
structures for converted plants which do not furnish the basis for a request for an
increase in the prices set by the Office of Price Administration, and which are
developed in accordance with the guides specified below, may be made effective
without the advance approval of the Board, provided that on or before their
effective date they are submitted directly to the appropriate regional board or
industry commission for post review. Upon such review the Regional Board or
Commission will determine whether the rates so established conform to the
standards outlined below and to the rules of stabilization regarding wage increases
and reductions. Any modifications of such rates resulting from the review will
not be made retroactive except as otherwise agreed by the parties or specified by
the applicant. The rates as filed must be paid until and unless a modified schedule
is filed under and pursuant to this paragraph.
B. Where the employees are represented by a union, agreement of the company
and the union is required before the converted wage structure may be made
effective. It is emphasized that the needs of conversion call for the establish
ment of wage scales by the parties themselves (with the aid of the U. S. Concilia
tion Service when requested by the parties) rather than by direction of a Govern
ment agency.
If there is disagreement over any portion of the wage-rate schedule, the parties
may agree to install a schedule to facilitate the starting-up process subject to
later modification upon such basis as the parties may agree. The modified schedule
shall be filed as provided in paragraph II. A. above.
If the parties are unable to agree upon the installation of such a schedule, they
shall submit to the appropriate regional board or commission the rates upon which
they are in agreement and those upon which they are in disagreement, with the
respective positions of the parties upon each rate in dispute. If, with the advice
of the regional board or commission, agreement on a complete schedule is not
reached, the regional board or commission will notify the National Board, which
will determine the appropriate procedure to be followed in finally disposing of
the case.
If the parties are in total disagreement as to the schedule, the dispute shall be
handled under the established procedures for other types of disputes.
C. Different methods of setting a wage structure may be adopted to meet
different problems.
1. In the case of a complete conversion of a plant, some or all of the key jobs
following conversion will normally remain substantially the same in job content
as before. Upon conversion, the rates for these common jobs may not be changed.
They are to be used as guide rates for the establishment of wage rates for other
jobs in the plant in such a manner as to result in a balanced wage-rate structure.
This will preserve the general level of wage rates existing in the plant prior to
conversion.
2. The change in product or operations may be of such a sweeping nature that
most of the jobs, including the key jobs, are substantially changed in job content.
In such cases, or where civilian production is resumed in plants discontinued in
wartime, the wage schedule should be fixed at the prevailing level of wages in
the industry or area for comparable occupations. It is expected that this type
of situation will be rare.
3. There will be cases where only a portion of the facilities of a plant is being
converted to the production of civilian goods. In such cases where jobs on
civilian production are substantially the same as those remaining on war produc
tion, no change in the rates for such jobs may be made incident to the present
program. Where rates must be set for new or changed jobs on civilian production,
the wage rates for the unchanged jobs shall be used as guides for the establishment
of a balanced wage-rate structure.
In those rate [rare] instances where all or
most of the jobs on civilian production, including the key jobs, are substantially
changed, the rates for the jobs on civilian production are to be fixed to provide a
proper balanced relationship with the rates for the jobs remaining on war pro
duction.

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III. In any case in which the application of the foregoing principles would not
result in a suitable or appropriate wage structure, a modified or different structure
may be agreed to by the parties where the workers are represented by a union, or
proposed by the employer where the workers are not represented by a union.
In such cases, advance approval of the Board is required before the wage structure
may be made effective. Such approval may be sought from the appropriate
regional board or industry commission and may be approved only in accordance
with the wage-stabilization policy in effect at the time.
IV. If the proposed wage structure will furnish the basis for a request for an
increase in the price fixed by the Office of Price Administration for the articles
to be produced, it may not be made effective without the advance approval of the
Board, and any necessary action by the Director of Economic Stabilization. In
such cases, the application for approval by the Board may be filed with the appro
priate regional board or commission.

Regulations for Discharge from Armed Forces 6

Standards have been established by the War Department to control
priority in separation of soldiers from the Army. To each enlisted
man and woman will be issued an Adjusted Service Rating Card
on which point credits are to be entered for each of the following
four factors:
1. Service credit: 1 point for each month of Army Service since September 16,
1940.
2. Overseas credit: 1 point for each month served overseas since September 16,
1940.
3. Combat credit: 5 points for the first and each additional award of the follow
ing for service performed since September 16, 1940:
(а) Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Distinguished
Flying Cross, Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Purple Heart,
and Bronze Service Stars (battle participation stars).
(б) Credit will also be given for the following decorations awarded by the
Navy Department: Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit,
Silver Star Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy and Marine Corps Medal,
Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and Purple Heart Medal.
(c) Credit will be given for those awards and decorations of a foreign country
which may be accepted and worn under the War Department regulations in effect
when the Readjustment Regulations are placed in operation.
4. Parenthood credit: 12 points for each child under 18 years up to a limit
of three children.

After the Adjusted Service Rating Cards have been filled out, the
number of soldiers with each point total in every theater of war will
be reported to the Adjutant General’s Office in Washington and a
certain point total will be established as the Critical Score. This
Critical Score will represent the minimum number of points with which
an enlisted man or woman can be released from the Army. There
will be one Critical Score for enlisted men in the Army Ground Forces
and the Army Service Forces, one for men in the Army Air Forces,
and a third for members of the Women’s Army Corps. The three
Critical Scores are designed to effect equality of treatment for enlisted
personnel in all branches of the service.
The men with the highest point totals will become eligible for release from the
Army, except where considerations of military necessity make it impossible to
let them go until qualified replacements can be obtained. This exception applies
particularly to men possessing special skills required in the war against Japan
and to men in units that will have to move into the Pacific so swiftly that no
opportunity is provided for replacing men with high scores until they reach
the new theater.
On the other hand, the carrying out of this program will not affect the continued
release of enlisted men over 42 years of age, which was started recently. Discharge
6 War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, Press release M ay 10, 1945.

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WARTIME POLICIES

1209

of these men, upon application, will continue without regard to other factors.
Likewise, holders of the Medal of Honor will be eligible for release upon their
own request. In addition, married members of the WAC will be released, at
their own request, if their husbands have been separated from the Army and
returned to civilian life.
According to the Secretary of War, it will take about 6 weeks before these
Critical Scores can be computed and announced. However, the War Department
has no intention of delaying releases until this computation is finished. An
Interim Score of 85 points has been established for Army Ground, Air, and Service
Forces enlisted personnel. All soldiers who have this many points or more will
be considered as eligible for release in accordance with the plan, and men will
start moving to separation centers for discharge * * * . For members as
of the WAC, an Interim Score of 44 points has been set up. Only points scored
of Saturday, May 12, 1945, will be taken into consideration in determining
eligibility for release. The only credits which will be given after that date will
be for decorations and battle participation stars earned prior thereto. Likewise,
additional credit will be given for children born on or before May 12 but whose
birth was not known to the father at the time the scores were prepared. Enlisted
personnel who desire to remain in the service and have a satisfactory record
will be retained.
Although officers will have an adjusted service rating score based on the same
multiples as for enlisted personnel, this factor will be secondary to the prime
requirement of military necessity. The expression “ military necessity” as ap
plied to officers means consideration must be given on an individual basis to
the relative utility of an officer, need for his specialty, and the availability of
assignments which will make the best use of his capabilities. Officers with
lengthy overseas service and long and hazardous service in combat will be given
special consideration for release. An officer’s desire to remain in the service at
this time will be another factor to be given consideration. The return of officers
to the United States will be controlled by theater commanders who will use the
foregoing principles in making their decisions. The determination of whether
or not an officer is to be released from the Army, as opposed to simply being re
turned to the United States, will be made by the Commanding Generals of the
Army Ground, Air, and Service Forces acting under the general supervision of
the War Department.
When individuals who are surplus to overseas theaters arrive in this country
they will proceed from ports to a reception station close to their home area.
Twenty-two of these reception stations will be placed about the country in order
that the Army may bring individuals as close to their homes as possible. Seven
teen of them are already in operation and the remainder will begin operations
during June. Here in the reception station those individuals with scores equal
to or above the Critical Score will be screened once more to determine whether
they are essential to the Army as a whole or are nonessential and can therefore
be returned to civilian life. An enlisted man whose score entitles him to release
will be held in the Army as essential only if his skill is so important to the Army
and so scarce that he cannot be spared. Individuals of this type who do have to
be held will be replaced as rapidly as the Army can train and make available
replacements with the proper skills. An individual who is found nonessential
at the reception station is immediately transferred to a separation center located
at the same post, for processing for release from the Army. The complete proc
ess in a separation center will take about 48 hours, after which the individual is
on his way to his home as a civilian. At the separation center, every possible
assistance is given to prepare the soldier for his return to civilian life.

W age P ro v isio n s and P rice A dju stm ents fo r B itu
m inous-C oal Industry
THE wage provisions of the bituminous-coal industry contract were
approved by the National War Labor Board and by the Director of
Economic Stabilization on April 23 and 30, 1945, respectively.1 In
1
National War Labor Board, National Bituminous Coal Conference and United M ine Workers of ¡America
April 21, 1945 (Case No. 111—14875—13); National War Labor Board, Press release (B-2025E), April 23, 1945,
Office of Price Administration, Amendment No. 137 to Maximum Price Regulation No. 120, May 1, 1945.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

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line with that approval, the Office of Price Administration adjusted
the prices the producer would be allowed to charge (f. o. b. mine),
effective May 1.
Tirage Provisions
The sections of the agreement subject to War Labor Board ap
proval were those dealing with (1) shift differentials, (2) job réévalu
ation of a few occupations, (3) increased vacation pay allowances,
and (4) the establishment of a portal-to-portal method of pay.
The new contract provides a premium of 4 cents per hour for
employees who work on the second shift (25 percent of the work force)
and a premium of 6 cents per hour for employees who work on the
third shift (8 percent of the work force). These premiums were deter
mined by the Board to be within established stabilizing limits and
were approved. The Board customarily approves shift premiums,
because of the disadvantages of night-shift work. Also approved were
increases in the basic wage rates for classifications in which less than
5 percent of all the miners are employed. Rate increases were made
for drillers and shooters in mobile machine-loading units and for inside
repair electricians or mechanics. The Board found that no significant
increase in the total wage bill would result from such an increase, as
the average rise in hourly wages would be less than half a cent per hour.
Portal-to-portal pay resulting, under the new agreement, in an aver
age increase of about 81 cents per day, was also approved. The Board
customarily allows vacation allowances up to 1 week’s pay for 1 year’s
service, and 2 weeks’ pay for 5 years’ service. Although the agreement
provided, on the average, more than 1 week’s pay to employees with
less than 5 years of service, it provided less than 2 weeks’ pay to those
with 5 years’ service or more (55 percent of the total) and the vacation
arrangement was therefore approved, as within “the stabilized limits.” 2
O P A Price Adjustments 3

To meet the increased costs entailed by the wage provisions of the
bituminous-coal agreement, the Office of Price Administration allowed
increases averaging 16 cents a ton in producers’ ceiling prices for bitu
minous coal. As the OPA estimated that the wage increases in the
agreement would increase operating costs approximately 21 cents a
ton on an industry-wide basis, 5 cents of the increase must therefore
be absorbed by the producers; individual adjustments will reduce this
amount somewhat.
The price increase allowed was based upon the principle, established
in 1943, that wherever the wage increases reduce a producing district’s
operating margin either below 15 cents a ton or below its 1942 margin,
whichever is greater, increases in ceiling prices for coal are allowed.
No increases were allowed by OPA for two producing districts (Nos.
16 and 19) and for strip mines in five other districts. In the other
regions increases granted ranged from 4 cents for strip mines in Dis
trict 15 to 55 cents for deep mines in District 14.
2 For account of strike preceding this settlement, see p. 1258.
3 Office of Price Administration, Press release (0PA-5544), M ay 1, 1945.

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D irectiv e on W age A dju stm ents N o t D irectly In v o lv in g
B asic R ates 1
THE Director of Economic Stabilization has authorized the National
War Labor Board to approve or direct certain classes of wage adjust
ments, irrespective of paragraph 2 of Executive Order 9328.2 If there
is reason to believe that such adjustments will involve an increase in
price ceilings or production costs they are to become effective only if
approved by the Director of Economic Stabilization. The classes of
wage adjustments the War Labor Board may approve are as follows:
(a) Vacation provisions up to 1 week after 1 year of service and 2 weeks after
5 years of service;
(b) Shift differentials in noncontinuous operations, not to exceed 4 cents per
hour for the second shift, and 8 cents per hour for the third shift;
(c) Meiit increases and automatic progressions on a basis no more liberal than
that embodied in the Board’s present standards;
(d) Reclassifications and job réévaluations, not to exceed an average increase
for all employees in the plant or plants covered by the order or authorization of
1 cent per hour or 1 percent. The Board shall continue to use its present safe
guards to prevent such adjustments from becoming general wage increases. In
rare and unusual cases affecting the critical needs of wrar production the Board
may authorize or direct reclassifications or réévaluations in excess of these amounts
but such adjustments shall become effective only if approved by the Director of
Economic Stabilization.
(e) In industries where continuous operations are made necessary by the nature
of the processes involved, and circumstances warranting shift differentials are
found by the Board to exist, shift differentials not to exceed 4 cents per hour for
the second shift, and 6 cents per hour for the third shift.
(f) Vacation provisions and shift differentials in accordance with stabilized
limits (whether higher or lower than the amounts specified in paragraphs (a),
(b) and (c) above) in cases where the Board finds in accordance with its past
practice (1) that such limits have been established in the appropriate area or
industry by a clear and well-defined practice, the following of which in the par
ticular case would not be unstabilizing to the area or industry, and (2) that it
would be fair and equitable to employer and employee under all the circumstances
to follow such practice.
(g) Other nonbasic wage rate adjustments or changes in working conditions
affecting earnings in cases where the Board finds (1) that such adjustments or
changes are in accordance with the substantial practice in the industry or the
area which it would be inequitable not to follow in the particular case and which
would not be unstabilizing to the area or industry, or (2) that they are equitably
required to meet a special or unique situation or problem within a company or
industry and consequently are not of a precedent-making character.
(h) In cases which require the Director’s approval, any adjustments made under
paragraph (f) or (g) shall, when submitted to him, be accompanied, in addition
to other supporting data, by special findings as to the nature and extent of the
industry or area practice on which the adjustment was based.

P rod u ction -A d ju stm en t Program o f W PB
THE production-adjustment program recently announced by the
War Production Board 3 applies to both current-production adjust1 Office of Economic Stabilization, Directives March 8 and April 24,1945.
2 Par. 2, Executive Order 9328, April 8,1943, states that the National War Labor Board and other agencies
exercising wage and salary control are directed to authorize no further increases in wages or salaries except
to correct substandards of living, or except in cases of promotions, reclassifications, merit increases, incentive
wages, or the'like, provided that such adjustments do not increase the level of production costs appreciably
or furnish the basis either to increase prices or to resist otherwise justifiable reductions in prices (Federal
Register, April 10, 1943, pp. 4681-2).
, "
3 War Production Board, Pressrelease (WPB-7471), March 6,1945; War Production Board, Directive No.
40, March 5, 1945.

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1945

ments and to those which follow the defeat of Germany (the so-called
Period I adjustments). The procurement services are required to
notify manufacturing plants of work termination at least 7 days in
advance of the cut-off date, if the cut-back involves more than $100,000
in any one month of the following year. Procurement agencies must
continue to give as much advance notice of a termination as is feasible,
but in no case may the advance period be less than 1 week if the ad
justment involves more than the $100,000 limit, except in agreed-upon
emergency cases. Exceptions to this procedure will be made only
with the consent of the chairman of the WPB Production Readjust
ment Committee. Simultaneously with notification of the contractor,
WPB will notify national labor unions concerned of the production
adjustment.
The program emphasizes the need for channeling war production to
facilities that are released by cut-backs. In each region, Production
Urgency Committees will assume the responsibility for assuring most
effective use of released facilities, following broad general policies
established by the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion.
Each case is to be considered on its individual merits, but the following
is to serve as a general guide in determining what use is to be made of
released facilities and related manpower:
1. Transfer workers to other war work within the plant.
2. Put “must program” work in the plant.
3. Put other war work in the plant, (a) This will not apply in the case of
communities where facilities such as housing are already overloaded if it is neces
sary to bring the war work in from outside the community. But it will apply,
even in crowded communities, to the transfer of war work within the community,
(b) If a plant has war production that will start within the next 60 to 90 days,
consideration should be given to putting stand-by work in the plant.
4. Direct released workers to other “must” work.
5. Direct released workers to other war work.
6. Handle nonmilitary production in order of urgency.

Japanese L abor-M obilization Law, 1 9 4 5
THE National Labor Mobilization Ordinance for the unification of
manpower control in Japan became effective on March 10, 1945, as a
part of the Government’s program of raising the country’s “productive
potential to the maximum” during the following year, and in April
special measures were prepared for the organization of the People’s
Volunteer Corps.1 All classes of labor (including students, unem
ployed men and women, and older persons who had retired from active
pursuits) were to be mobilized, and all unemployed males and females
were to be required to register and would be liable to a labor draft.
The only persons exempted were those in the armed forces, civilians
employed by the military, workers in the clothing industry, veter
inarians, members of ships’ crews, Government workers, members of
the Japanese Diet, and workers essential to the execution of the
mobilization program. Workers becoming unemployed owing to
factory shut-downs could be ordered to compulsory employment, and
the order must state the type of work to be performed and the place of
employment.
1 I n f o r m a t io n is fro rn O ffice o f W a r I n f o r m a t io n a n d d a i ly p re s s .

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Employers must apply for a labor quota and must report quarterly
on number of employees, pay rolls, and labor requirements. The
Government undertook to classify all workers according to their
ability, except those in certain categories. Persons found capable of
employment were to be “ encouraged to take work assigned to them.”
In the radio release on the terms of the ordinance by the Japanese
Government, it was reported that the new ordinance “ calls for com
posite as well as flexible operation of national labor mobilization and
the adoption of efficient methods for the strategic distribution of
labor.” The five previously existing ordinances, dealing with req
uisitioning, labor readjustment, restrictions on the use of student
labor, patriotic labor collaboration, and female volunteer labor, were
unified by the new measure.
An emergency measure for the organization of the people of Japan
into a People’s Volunteer Corps was approved by the Cabinet in April.
It was announced that the Corps would act ultimately as a third line
of defense, aiding the forces of the army and navy and reservists.
Until the need for defense became more “ intense,” the Corps was to
reconstruct or decentralize damaged cities, transport essential mate
rials, and produce lumber and food.
A material addition to the labor force was also made possible by the
decision of the Japanese Cabinet to close all schools, colleges, and
universities for a year beginning April , 1945, with the exception of
classes for first-grade children in primary schools.
In order to increase production in agriculture (which has lost 50
percent of its manpower by the draft), students from universities
and high schools were allocated to agriculture in 1945 rather than to
industry. Communal kitchens and children’s homes were begun to
free more women for work, and cooperative farming (which was
practiced in 120,000 villages in 1944) was becoming more widespread.

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Postwar Reconstruction

P ostw ar P la n n in g for Labor in th e N eth erlan d s
“RADICAL social changes in new directions” were predicted for the
Netherlands people in a broadcast given on November 28 by Dr.
J. Van den Tempel, Netherlands Minister of Social Affairs, via the
free radio station “Resurgent Netherlands” of Eindhoven.
Measures To Stabilize Netherlands Economy

Dr. Van den Tempel said that the Netherlands Government had
adopted a group of decrees designed to stabilize the economy of the
nation when it is liberated. Included in the contemplated changes
are the following:
(1) A thorough purge of collaborationists in the State Labor Bureau, which
will be placed under a new director-general;
(2) Redirection of labor, in view of the deportation of hundreds of thousands
of workers to Germany and the subsequent interruption of vocational training;
(3) Reestablishment of State sickness and unemployment insurance, which
were abolished by the Nazis;
(4) Reorganization of trade-unions and Government guaranty of their smooth
functioning, for which purpose the Government will provide the necessary funds;
(5) Appointment of a State arbitrator to effect changes in working conditions,
after consultation with employers and labor;
(6) Special regulations with regard to workers who during the enemy occupa
tion failed to act as good patriots.

Measures Affecting Labor

A far-reaching plan for postwar unemployment relief and encour
agement of job-creating enterprises was announced on December 9.
A series of royal decrees issued in London also included measures
dealing with medical care, housing, and rehabilitation of repatriates.
One of the main measures requires employers to pay a worker who
cannot work, because of the temporary closing of plants or their dimin
ished production capacity, up to 80 percent of his normal wages.
Activities of labor unions, which had been banned by the Germans
during the occupation, will be resumed, and the Dutch Nazi Labor
Front- will be liquidated. A decree covering relations between em
ployer and worker prohibits the dismissal of a worker without con
sent of the head of the local labor bureau. This consent may not be
refused, however, if the case should concern a worker who had con
ducted himself in an unpatriotic manner during the occupation.
To create jobs, a decree calls for the granting of State subsidies in
the form of part payment of wages or other costs in certain under
takings, as well as the launching of public works by the State itself.
A decree regulating unemployment insurance, in anticipation of new
legislation in this field, stipulates that the insured shall receive unem1214

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ployment pay to a maximum of 156 days in a period of 12 months,
provided he has paid at least 13 weekly premiums in the preceding
12 months of employment. Those in official positions and those
whose services are mainly domestic or agricultural are excluded from
this insurance. Unemployment pay may not exceed 70 percent of
normal wages—or 85' percent if children’s allowance is included.
Other social measures include provision for the continuation of the
State Labor Bureau and its local branches for mediation in employ
ment problems and for training or retraining workers. The functions
of labor deputy and social foreman, instituted by the Dutch Nazi
Party during the occupation, are abolished.
In regard to repatriation, a decree provides for appointment of a
Government commissioner. Repatriates, who will be largely persons
returning from forced labor in Germany, must register with their
labor bureau not later than 3 days after arrival, and must submit to
medical examination and other measures taken in the interest of
public health.
Postw ar R econ stru ction in th e U n io n o f Sou th A frica
VIEWS expressed by agencies of the Government of South Africa
on internal or domestic reconstruction are outlined in an official
memorandum published during 1944.1 This document reviews the
main findings of various official investigating bodies appointed to
study problems that may arise during the transition period immedi
ately following the war and in the long-term program to promote
permanent reconstruction. Policies affecting ex-servicemen in the
transition period are described on page 1226 of this issue. The long
term plans are discussed below. Broadly, the aim of reconstruction
in the Union is to insure “ a healthier, better nourished, more fully
educated, well-housed, usefully employed, happy, and prosperous
nation, whose individuals are secured against certain social disabilities
and whose land use is based on a sound system under which exploita
tion is obviated and the interests of future generations are safe
guarded.” The coverage of the postwar plans extends to health,
social security, nutrition and food subsidy, education, agriculture and
forestry, housing, public works, the need for increased productivity
and employment, industrial development, and the financing of recon
struction, including taxation.
Planning Agencies

In May 1942, the Government, acting on the recommendations of
the Industrial and Agricultural Requirements Commission, appointed
the Social and Economic Planning Council to investigate and make
recommendations for the promotion of a balanced development of the
nation’s resources and to advise on social and economic policy. The
Planning Council has issued reports and recommendations and has
initiated study of or commented on reconstruction problems for the
Government’s information. Other bodies have been formed from
time to time to make investigations in particular fields and their
findings have been commented on by the Planning Council for the
benefit of the Government.
* Union of South Africa.

Outlines of Postwar Reconstruction.

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National Health Plan

In August 1942, a commission was appointed to inquire into and
report and advise upon a national health service which would insure
adequate medical, dental, nursing, and hospital services for all sections
of the population. Fundamental changes in the existing health
services were recommended by the commission, which suggested that
a national health law should be promulgated and a national health
authority created. Such an authority, charged with responsibility
for the nation’s health, should also have advisory functions in services
to promote a living wage for workers, improved nutrition, recreation,
industrial hygiene, etc., and in exerting pressure on local authorities
to provide sanitary and related services. The national health au
thority would take direct charge of supplying free medical services
as a civic right to all sections of the people. The plan recommended
by the commission provides for establishing approximately 400 health
centers throughout the country, that is, roughly 1 to every 25,000
persons in the population. Each center should have a staff of doctors,
dentists, nurses, and other technical personnel. In addition, the
commission urged that emphasis should be placed on preventive
work.
Acting on the commission’s recommendations, the Government
established a number of health centers in areas where they were most
needed, and Parliament appropriated for these centers £50,000 for
the first year’s operations. As for the health plan as a whole, the
Prime Minister stated that it could be made effective only in a series
of stages. The immediate aim was to fill gaps in the existing hospital
and health services without radically changing the allocation of exist
ing functions.
The commission calculated that approximately 14 million pounds
was being spent annually on health services, of which the Union
Government bore 14.4 percent of the total cost, the Provincial coun
cils 12.3 percent, local authorities 2.9 percent, employers 9.0 per
cent, and the public (either as individuals or through medical-benefit
societies) 61.4 percent. At the inception of the national health
scheme, the Union Government would relieve the Provincial councils
and local authorities and the public of their share of these costs. The
first two groups would be expected to devote the amounts thus saved
to improving and expanding “ promotive and nonpersonal services” ;
the public, being relieved of its direct expenditures for health services,
would be required to make special contributions into a national health
services fund in amounts based on individual means.
Social-Security Proposals

The social-security committee, which was appointed in January
1943, recommended expansion of several forms of assistance and the
introduction of certain new types of benefits or grants. It was pro
posed that the European, colored, Asiatic, native farm, and per
manently urbanized native population should be covered by one
scheme (A) and the greater part of the native population by another
scheme (B). Under scheme A, a wide range of benefits was advocated,
including old-age, invalidity, unemployment, training-period, sickness,
maternity, mothers’ or widows’, death and family allowances for large

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families. The rates of benefit would vary according to the race of the
beneficiary and the area of residence (i. e., urban or rural). Under
scheme B, the coverage would be less comprehensive with respect to
the contingencies provided for, and both the rates paid and the ben
efits would be smaller. It was estimated that the total cost of the
social-security program would be around 33 million pounds annually
by 1955, when the system would be in full operation. This estimate of
cost was based on the 1943 population and price levels. It was sug
gested that part of the cost should be borne by the people, according
to their means.
The Social and Economic Planning Council favored the report of
the social-security committee, but estimated that the cost would be
about 40 million pounds a year by 1955 (instead of 33 million pounds).
The Council recommended that some forms of assistance should be
introduced in 1947-48, at an annual cost of approximately 16 million
pounds, raised partly from contributions by the people.
Both of the reports were given to Parliament during the 1944 session
and the House of Assembly appointed a select committee to consider
the recommendations. In turn, the select committee recommended
that a modified social-insurance scheme should be prepared for intro
duction at the 1945 session of Parliament. Accordingly, an inter
departmental committee was appointed by the Government for this
purpose.
Nutrition and Food Subsidy
As a social-security system alone would not safeguard all sections
of the population against undernourishment, it was regarded as in
the national interest to take measures to insure that persons with low
incomes, whose purchasing power for foodstuffs is limited, should be
protected. Under legislation enacted in 1940, a National Nutrition
Council, established to study and report on nutrition, stated that
“the high incidence of malnutrition in South Africa has been estab
lished beyond question.” Attributing malnutrition primarily to
inadequate income in relation to food prices, the Planning Council
suggested that selected foods should be subsidized to permit their
sale at reduced prices to low-income groups. An interdepartmental
committee agreed with the view expressed by the Council and recom
mended that certain staple foods, such as bread and corn, should be
subsidized to reduce prices to all consumers, that staple and protective
foods, such as butter, eggs, vegetables, and fruit, should have a
special subsidy, and that subsidized distributive services should be
established to insure that essential foods reach the homes of low-income
consumers at or near to the basic subsidized price. At the time that
the report under review was prepared, food-subsidy schemes had been
placed in operation covering wheat and corn; some action had been
taken in relation to the distribution of surplus fruit and chilled eggs;
school meals were being furnished at a cost of about £800,000 a year;
State-aided distribution of cheese and butter to low-income families
was in progress; and soup kitchens were in operation.
Experiments were under way to provide for the ultimate manufac
ture of food yeast in the Union, on a commercial basis and at a reason
able price. The National Nutrition Council expressed the view that
food yeast may prove to be among|the most useful weapons in doing
away with malnutrition in the Union.
6 4 5 8 8 6 — 4 5 ------------ 6

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194 5

A controller of food was appointed early in 1942 to handle problems
arising from the increased demand for food which was caused by the
inflow of refugees at a time when production was reduced as a result
of adverse weather and when importation was difficult. At first, the
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry was food controller and the
administration of food control was under his department; in January
1944, however, food control was placed in an independent organ
ization with its own chief who was responsible to the Minister of
Agriculture and Forestry. Although in the 2% years that the foodcontrol organization had functioned, periodic food shortages occurred
in particular commodities, in general the food position was sound.
Prices of all the chief items of food were fixed. The main complaint
arose from the lack of coupon rationing to individuals. Regarding
rationing, the report here reviewed states that this would have been
difficult, owing to the diverse population elements, each having a
different standard of living.
Problems of Education

A major advance in education was asked for by the Planning Coun
cil which stated that the Union should not expose itself to a losing com
petitive struggle against the mentally developed labor of western
countries, the awakening eastern races, or the workers in other parts
of Africa, by withholding education from non-Europeans. An ap
prenticeship law was advocated to provide for trade training, and such
legislation was passed. The Planning Council was to discuss the
financial phases of giving vocational education and of raising the com
pulsory education age limit to 17 years for European children with
the Provincial administrations. Native education is among the func
tions of Provincial agencies also but, following existing practice, ex
penditures for this purpose are to be covered by appropriations from
Parliament. In his discretion, the Governor General may establish
a board of native education to deal with estimates of expenditure and
to advise the central and local governments on matters pertaining to
native education.
Reconstruction of Agriculture
During 1941, the industrial and agricultural requirements commis
sion directed attention to the problems in agriculture, such as soil
erosion and land conservation. Agricultural assistance has been
granted on an increasing scale and the industry is in need of consider
able adjustment to make the contribution of which it is capable.
Grain production should be an auxiliary to animal husbandry, accord
ing to the commission, and cropping and pasture management should
be so arranged as to prevent any reduction in the productivity of the
soil. These objectives can be achieved only gradually and financial
assistance must be continued. Ultimately, the proportion of the
population engaged in agriculture should be reduced, and the transfer
of the excess workers to other productive fields of endeavor should
not be prevented by artificial means. The commission recommended
that every inducement should be given to the extension of both private
and public afforestation on a long-term basis. The Planning Council
regarded the reorganization of the Union’s farming industry as a seri
ous problem, and recommended that a committee should be appointed

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to formulate a comprehensive farming reconstruction scheme. In
stead, the Government entrusted the study to a Department of Agri
culture and Forestry Committee. That committee’s report was issued
early in 1944, proposing (1) a policy of proper land utilization, with
financial aid from the State; (2) extension of the control-board system,
giving price security to producers and protection to consumers; (3)
reorganization of municipal and small retail markets and the introduc
tion of food depots; (4) examination of agricultural potentialities to
raise the nation’s nutritional standards; (5) concrete schemes for fi
nancing farms and land nationalization on a voluntary basis; and (6)
a strengthening of State agricultural services to implement the meas
ures recommended. An additional report made detailed proposals for
the Government’s afforestation program. These reports were referred
to the Planning Council for consideration.
Housing and Public-Works Proposals

South Africa has had a housing shortage for many years. Approxi
mately 50,000 dwelling units (including flats) were erected between the
war of 1914-18 and the present war as a result of State intervention and
assistance, but even so the shortage became more acute. Total need
was estimated at more than 440,000 units by 1955. To supply the
housing required, the Government will have to take an important part
and has already outlined its policy. It is intended to continue the
practice of making loans available to local authorities at low rates, to
enable them to build or lend money to other agencies for building pur
poses. Losses incurred on national housing projects are to be borne by
the Union Government and local authorities in the ratio of 2 to 1
(a ratio more favorable to local authorities was being considered).
The existing central housing board is to be replaced by a permanent
National Housing and Planning Commission, having powers to make
policy, purchase in quantity, and construct houses in areas where the
local authorities are in default. The commission would have advisory
powers regarding town planning. Steps already taken to provide
housing consist of enactment of enabling legislation by Parliament in
the 1944 session, appointment of a commission, and completion of
arrangements for the erection of houses by local authorities to the
value of £6,500,000 between July 1, 1944, and June 30, 1945.
A vast public-works program will be needed to carry out the plans
described above, as well as to promote postwar development and ex
pansion that is not included under the term ‘‘reconstruction.” The
Planning Council was therefore asked to inquire into and make recom
mendations for such a program. Local governments were requested to
cooperate with the Council in this work.
Reorganization of the Public Service

The legislation governing the public services was enacted in 1923.
As great changes have occurred subsequently in the relationship
between the State and the people, that have expanded the responsi
bilities of the public service, and as the national income of the country
and standards of living have progressively improved, it is considered
reasonable that the position of the public servants should be related
to such improvements. Kequests for an inquiry into the public serv
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

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ices led the Government to appoint a committee for this purpose.
The committee commenced its duties in September 1944.
Means of Financing Reconstruction

Estimates of the probable annual cost of particular items of recon
struction by 1955 are 116 million pounds. Of this sum, 40 million
pounds would cover social security; 24 million pounds, expansion of
education; 12 million pounds, nutrition and food subsidies (including
school meals); 20 million pounds, national health services; 5 million
pounds, reorganization of agriculture; 7 million pounds, defense
(including war pensions); and 8 million pounds, increased interest
and charges on capital expenditure for housing and public works.
This list is not exhaustive; the indications are that an extra 100
million pounds per year will be needed to implement postwar plans.
To raise sufficient revenue to meet such expenses, productivity and
employment must be increased. The reconstruction program would
in itself bring about a higher level of employment. In addition,
other means of stimulating employment must be found, namely, in
existing and newly created industries. Farming, which is the largest
single permanent industry, should be reorganized on a sounder
basis to insure greater efficiency. In addition, a long-range mining
policy designed to develop the Union’s basic minerals would insure
the best use of available supplies.
Industrial Development

Favorable prospects were foreseen for industrial development in
South Africa. An expansionist economic policy was urged by the
Planning Council, coupled with a realistic classification of labor
under which wages would be commensurate with the degree of skill
required for individual operations. The Council stated that indus
tries having tariff protection should be of the size and efficiency to
produce the best results. Similarly, the most promising branches of
manufacturing should be given preference in development. Active
steps should be taken by the Government to aid in the preparation
of specific industry schemes. Ad hoc committees, each composed of
technicians, an expert adviser on labor, and one statistician-economist,
should be formed for the development of important industries. Con
sultation with interested groups to determine industrial possibilities
was also urged. The importance of cheapening and improving dis
tribution was stressed. Rationalization of the distribution and proc
essing of milk and other dairy products, wheat products and bread,
meat and fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables was recommended.
Government departments were instructed to go into the question of
acting upon the foregoing suggestions. The prime.consideration in
the Government’s long-term policy is to maintain a high level of
employment and productive expenditure, both public and private.
Immediately following the end of hostilities, effort is to be directed
toward converting war industries to peacetime needs. Measures
are under consideration whereby producers would bo assured of a
market for their goods; quantitative controls of imports would insure
priority for goods needed by South African industries and for those

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consumer goods that are not produced in the Union; preference
would be given to domestic products in buying for Government pur
poses; price supervision would be maintained to insure reasonable
profits; and necessary steps would be taken to avoid dumping and
other forms of disruptive competition.
The Planning Council foresaw that extra taxes would be necessary
to finance the schemes that have been described. The extent of the
addition to taxes will depend on the achievements in raising the
nation’s productivity. An increase of 2 percent a year in per capita
production is the aim between 1938 and 1955. Assuming that cer
tain wartime taxes will disappear, the income tax should be arranged
so as to allow a margin for future development. The Government
appreciates the importance of taxation policy in relation to the
stimulation of industrial development and is taking account of the
issues involved in revising the normal tax system for the postwar
period.

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FGBAGCTORY
BUY
U N

I T E D

S T A T E S

W AR
BONDS
AND

STAMPS

Discharged Soldiers

R egulation s for E d u cation or T raining o f V e te r a n s1
THE Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs stated on January 18, 1945,
that under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, any veteran
of World War II is entitled to education or training (or a refresher
or retraining course) in an approved educational or training institu
tion for a period of 1 year, or for such lesser time as may be required
for the course of instruction chosen by him. To qualify for such
education or training, the applicant must have (1) been in active
service on or after September 16, 1940, and prior to the termination
of the present war, (2) been discharged or released “under conditions
other than dishonorable,” (3) served 90 days or more, exclusive of
assigned education or training periods or (if with less than 90 days’
service) been released from actual service by reason of a serviceincurred injury or disability, and (4) must make application for anc^
initiate the course of education or training within 2 years following
discharge or release from active service, or from the date of termina
tion of the war, whichever is later.
Eligibility for education or training beyond 1 year.—In order to
be entitled to education or training other than a refresher or retraining
course beyond 1 year, satisfactory completion of such a course ac
cording to the regularly prescribed standards and practices of the
institution is required.
Further, it must be shown that the person’s education or training
was impeded, delayed, interrupted, or interfered with by reason of
his entrance into service. Such conditions are assumed as existing
in the case of a person who was not more than 25 years of age at the
time he entered active service (or September 16, 1940, whichever is
later), but must be proved by persons over 25 years of age at the
time above specified.
Refresher or retraining courses are open to any honorably dis
charged veteran with the required period of active service, on request.
Payment of expenses of veterans.—The regulations issued by the
Administrator make provision for subsistence allowance and the pay
ment of authorized expenses incurred by the veteran in his education or
training under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. Under this
measure, expenses of the veteran—if he is in an educational institu
tion—that will be defrayed by the Government include the “customary
cost of tuition, laboratory, library, health, infirmary, and other
similar fees as are customarily charged, and other necessary expenses
* * * as are generally required for the successful pursuit and com
pletion by other students in the institution * * * or those
charges which have been approved by the Administrator of Veterans’
1 Federal Kegister, January 30, 1945 (pp. 1239-1243).

1222

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Affairs. Board, lodging, and other living expenses and travel are
not to be included.’’ The Government also meets the charges for
“books, supplies, equipment, and other necessary expenses customarily
incurred for or by any student.”
gfe
If the eligible discharged serviceman selects some type of institu
tion other than one of an educational character, expenses defrayed
by the Government include “the charges for supplies, and other neces
sary equipment customarily furnished other persons being trained
by the establishment in the given trade or position.”
Full-time subsistence allowances are $50 per month for men without
dependents, and $75 per month for those having dependents. If
the veteran is not taking a full-time course, his subsistence is measured
in fractions of three-fourths, one-half, and one-fourth of the above
amount according to the fraction that his course is of a full course.
No such allowance is to be paid when the payment is barred because
the veteran is engaged in full-time gainful employment not a part
of his course of education or training.
When the veteran is receiving compensation for productive labor
performed as part of his apprenticeship or other training on the job,
the amount of subsistence plus his current monthly salary or wage
(based on the standard workweek exclusive of overtime) shall not
exceed the standard beginning salary or wage (similarly based) payable
to a journeyman in the trade or occupation in which training is
being given.
B en efits fo r B ritish E x-Service P erso n n el
ANNOUNCEMENTS have been made by the British Government
on the policy to be followed in the grant of gratituties to men and
women returning to civil life from the armed services and also as to
the proportion of vacancies in the civil service that are reserved for
ex-service personnel.
Gratuities to Ex-Service Personnel 1

War gratuities for ex-service men and women on their return from
the armed forces to civil life, announced in the British House of
Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on February 6, 1945,
are to vary in amount depending on the length of war service and the
individual member’s rank. An estimated expenditure of £200,000,000
is foreseen to cover the gratuities, but this sum would be increased
if the war were unexpectedly prolonged. Legislation was to be
introduced to exempt the gratuities from income tax. When the
program was presented, it was stated that the arrangements for war
gratuities round out the Government’s comprehensive plan for
resettling members of the armed services. Previously announced
benefits, estimated to cost £500,000,000, include accumulated and
terminal leave (Cmd. 6548)2 and postwar credits for service (Cmd.
6336).3 Provision has also been made for reinstatement in civil
1 Data are from Great Britain, Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, February 6, 1945, and the
Times (London), February 7, 1945.
2 For paid leave arrangement, see M onthly Labor Review, November 1944 (p. 973).
2 For ratings and other ranks, postwar credits at the rate of 6d. for men and 4d. for women have t een set
aside by the Government for every day of service since January 1942.

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employment, further education and training,4 and completion of
apprenticeship. Final details were being worked out, when the
Chancellor made liis statement, of a scheme of resettlement grants
up to £150 for ex-servicemen wishing to go back into business on their
own account or for men disabled in service who may wish to start in
business for the first time.
Eligibility.—The war gratuities are payable to regular and ex
regular officers and men. If the serviceman has died before collecting
the gratuity, his estate will be eligible to receive the proportion of the
gratuity that the deceased earned, provided an application is made in
a prescribed written form. At least 6 months/ approved service and
an honorable discharge from the forces are required for eligibility.
Amount oj gratuity.—The scale of war gratuities for men, for each
month of service after September 3, 1939, is given in the accompanying
table by rank for the Navy, Army, and Air Force.
T a b l e 1.— Scale of War Gratuities for Men in British Armed Forces
RATINGS AND OTHER RANKS

N avy

Army

Air Force

Amount of
gratuity for
each month
of service
since Sept.
3, 1939
S h illin g s

[AC II.......... ................
Ordinary seaman_______ _ . . . ----------- Private_____________ J IP T
Able seaman__________________________ Lance corporal--------- t a n
fCorporal____________
Trading SAaTnan
\Lanee sergeant______ i¡•Corporal____________
Sergeant_____ _______
Petty nffi pp.p
S e r g e a n t..___ _
Staff sergeant.
___ Flight sergeant______
Chief petty officer
Warrant officer II . ..
Warrant officer I ____ Warrant officer___ ..

1 10
12
14
16
18

OFFICERS
Midshipman....... .................... .........
Acting sub-lieutenant_-.......... .......
Warrant officer________________
Sub-lieutenant_____ __________
Commissioned warrant officer__
Lieutenant__ ______ __________
Lieutenant commander________
Commander....................................Captain_____ ____ ____________
Commodore, first or second class.
Rear admiral__________________
Vice admiral_________ ____ ____
Admiral______________________
Admiral of the fleet______ _____

Second lieutenant.
Lieutenant______
Captain.................. .......
Major---------------------Lieutenant colonel___
Colonel____ _________
Brigadier____________
Major general_______
Lieutenant general___
General______. . . ____
Field marshal...... .........

Acting pilot officer___
Pilot officer_________
Flying officer________
Flight lieutenant____
Squadron leader_____
Wing commander........
Group c a p ta in ............
Air commodore...........
Air vice marshal_____
Air marshal........ ..........
Air chief marshal____
M a r s h a l of the
R. A. F.

25
30

32H
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75

The scale of gratuities, shown above, is based on service beginning
on September 3, 1939, up to the date of release from a dispersal center
(or from the unit, etc., for those who do not pass through such centers).
For ratings and other ranks the basic amount of gratuity per month
of service is 10s. for the lowest rank and the maximum is 20s. for the
highest. Officers’ gratuities are from 25s. to 75s. for each month
served, according to rank. If an individual has served both in the
ranks and as an officer, the gratuity is calculated separately for each
period of service. In general, gratuities for women in the forces and
4 For reinstatement rights and training see M onthly Labor Review, July 1944 (p. 99).

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1225

DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

for officer nurses are two-thirds of those for men of corresponding
rank. Boys, including naval boys prior to draft for sea duty, are
generally to be paid one-half the rate for privates and equivalents.
Upon draft to sea duty, naval boys are entitled to the gratuity rate
for ordinary seamen.
Examples of total release benefits—An Army private or equivalent
in Navy or Air Force (single) whose pay is 6s. per day and who has
served 3 years (none of it abroad) would receive the following sums:
£

Benefits on release_________________________________

10 2

Release leave— 56 days-------------------------------------------Service postwar credit______________________________
Value of civilian outfit______________________________
War gratuity_____________________________

26
27
12
18

2
7
0
0

8
6
0
0

In presenting this example, it is assumed that the man is released in
his turn on June 30, 1945. The total of £83 10s. 2d. accruing to an
Army private under the conditions cited includes only the financial
benefits granted on release and excludes any resettlement grants and
payments in connection with the education and training schemes.
Also excluded is any war-service grant which may be in issue during
the release leave.
An Army private (single), paid 7s. daily, who has served 5 years of
which 3 were spent abroad would be paid on release £121 9s. 2d.,
distributed as follows:
£

Benefits on release__— ------------------------------------------ 121

Release leave—56 days------------------------------------------Foreign service leave—36 days-------------------Service postwar credit____ — -------------------------------Value of civilian outfit_____________________________
War gratuity_____________________________________

18
12
18
0
0

8
0
6
0
0

28
18
31
12
30

Release leave and value of civilian outfit are the same, regardless of
whether the privates have served at home or abroad and irrespective
of period of service. However, the man having 5 years of service, of
which 3 were spent abroad, receives a special grant for foreign-service
leave of 36 days. He also is paid more in service postwar credit and
war gratuity by reason of the extra 2 years spent in the Army.
Preference in Civil Service 5

The Civil Service National Whitley Council in Great Britain has
made recommendations for filling, during the reconstruction period,
the greater part of the civil service vacancies that “have accrued by
wastage and expansion.” Reservation for ex-servicemen of 75 percent
of the administrative positions becoming available was suggested,
66% percent of the executive positions, and 50 percent of the clerical
positions. In these and the subclerical classifications the Council
favors representation of ex-servicewomen according to the proportions
that their applications form of the remaining vacancies. The proposed
methods of allocating positions to ex-service personnel are shown in
table 2.
' Data are from Recruitment to Established Posts in the Civil Service During the Reconstruction Period:
Statement of Government Policy and Civil Service National W hitley Council Report (London,f 1944).
CCmd. 6567.)

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194 5

T able 2. —Proposed Methods of Allocating Civil-Service

Vacancies to Ex-Service
Personnel in Reconstruction Period in Great Britain

Branch of service

Age of applicant in
1945 i

Educational requirement

Method of
selection

Ex-service reserva
tion
Men

Administrative.. 21-30_________ ____

Executive
Clerical ______
Subclerical

18-24
25-30
16-22
23-30

(four-fifths),
(one-fifth).
(four-fifths),
(one-fifth).

16-22 (four-fifths),
23-30 (one-fifth).

1 year at university, first
or second class honors
standard.
To age of 17, or higher
school certificate.
To age of 16 , or school certificate.
To age of 15_____

Written general exami
nation, plus
interview.
___do ___ *

W ritten general exami
nation.
______ . . do__ ____

Per
cent
75

Women

In proportion to ap
plications.

66^

Do.

Do.
Do.

1 Some exceptions from the age requirement are stipulated.

In a statement on the Council’s recommendations, the Government
commented that it favors generous treatment of qualified members of
the armed forces in filling civil service positions. However, belief
was expressed that the public endorses the conclusion that it would
be unfair, at the end of a war during which total manpower has been
mobilized, to reserve all vacancies for ex-service personnel. The
Government added that the specific reservations of the varying per
centages of the number of positions would be coupled with a pro
vision that if ex-servicemen obtained, in free competition, more
vacancies than would actually be reserved, they would be entitled
to them. Adoption of the plan would add one more measure to the
numerous Governmental proposals to facilitate the resettlement of
ex-servicemen.
D em o b iliza tio n and B enefits o f S ervicem en in U n io n
o f S ou th A frica 1
DEMOBILIZATION of members of the armed forces in the Union
of South Africa has been placed under the jurisdiction of a civilian
organization which is to begin its task when the military authorities
are ready to discharge men from the services. Provision for the exer
cise of such powers by a nonmilitary body rather than a military
agency constituted a fundamental change in policy within the Union.
Ex-servicemen will be kept on the rolls of the armed forces until they
obtain employment, will receive special loans and grants, have rein
statement rights in pre-service employment, benefit from special
training courses, and receive preference in employment.
Administration
/

Planning for demobilization was concentrated in the Ministry of
Welfare and Demobilization, which was created in August 1943 and
empowered to draw up and execute plans for returning members of
1
Data are from Union of South Africa, Outlines of Post-War Reconstruction, Pretoria, 1944; and report by
Ann Van W ynen, United States vice consul, Johannesburg, Union of South Africa (b o . 164, October 19,
1944).

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DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

1227

the armed forces to civilian life. By permitting the Ministry to
execute the plans, the Government hoped to avoid the rigidity inherent
in a program adopted by act of Parliament. Under the Ministry of
Welfare and Demobilization, the Demobilization Directorate functions
as a separate Government Department administered by the Director
General of Demobilization who is responsible for giving effect to the
Government’s demobilization and rehabilitation proposals and for the
personnel of the Directorate as well as for all members of the Union
defense forces when they are posted for release or discharge (that is,
from the time when the Army has no further need for their services).
Two branches of the Directorate were formed— (1) military and (2)
liaison and rehabilitation. A deputy director is in charge of each
branch. These officials work together closely and are also members
of the executive board of the Directorate. The military branch deals
with the serviceman from the time he is posted for release or discharge
until he is actually out of the service. During this period, the liaison
and rehabilitation branch is also in touch with the serviceman. After
the latter severs his connection with the armed forces, the liaison and
rehabilitation branch is responsible for securing the serviceman’s
reinstatement in civil life and keeping in touch with him for some time.
To assist the Director General in making the demobilization scheme
effective, an executive board was appointed to coordinate the work of
the Government departments concerned with the welfare and rehabili
tation of ex-servicemen, to authorize payments under the program, and
to advise the Directorate on matters referred to it. The Director
General is chairman of the executive board. In addition, an advisory
council on demobilization advises the Directorate and the Director
General on matters of a general nature which affect the return to
civilian life of ex-servicemen. Each town and city is to have its
own demobilization committee, composed of representatives of bodies
and organizations of good will, to work in the interests of ex-servicemen
and to advise the Directorate on all problems affecting ex-servicemen
in their particular areas.
Specialized administrative machinery was established to deal with
the reinstatement of workers in their former employment, for which
provision was made by the terms of the Soldiers’ and War Workers’
Employment Act. Under this legislation, the Soldiers’ and War
Workers’ Board was formed and was granted the power to appoint
subcommittees to investigate special problems. The Board must
also be consulted by the Minister of Labor before establishing soldiers’
and war workers’ employment committees in different regions.
Appeals from decisions of such committees may be made to the Board.
Demobilization Policies and Payments

For the purpose of resuming civilian life, ex-servicemen are divided
into five classes, as follows: (1) Those returning to farm, profession, or
business; (2) those with jobs awaiting them; (3) those who were not
in employment prior to enlistment; (4) those whose abilities indicate
that retraining is desirable; and (5) those whose disability prevents
return to pre-enlistment employment or taking up new employment.
On demobilization, soldiers who have jobs to which to return may be
permitted to go directly to their homes from points of disembarkation;
others are transferred to dispersal depots and are aided by em
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

ployment officers, assisted by liaison committees, to find suitable
employment.
Military pay.—Military pay and allowances are granted to men
until they are reemployed, with the exception that if a man refuses
an offer that the dispersal-depot committee considers to be suitable,
he is placed on a reduced scale of allowances for a maximum of 4
months from the date of refusal.
Gratuities.—A person having at least 6 months of continuous service
in the armed forces (or less if injured while in training, etc.) is entitled
to a war gratuity varying in amount according to race and sex. For
each completed month of service the payment is £ l 10s. for a European
male, 15s. for a European female, 10s. for a colored person, and 5s.
for a native. European members of the Essential Services Protection
Corps (made up of men unfit for army services) receive 15s. for each
month of such service; colored and native members of this corps are
entitled to the same gratuities as are members of these groups who
have served in the regular armed services.
Clothing allowances.—Civilian clothing and cash allowances are the
same, regardless of the kind of service (i. e., armed forces or protection
corps). Each European man and woman is granted £15 in money,
a colored person receives £9, and a native £2 plus a suit of civilian
clothing and a hat. For members of the youth and physical training
bodies composed of young boys, the allowance is £10. Civilian cloth
ing and cash allowances are not pa,yable to ex-service personnel with
less than 3 months’ service or to women who have bought their
discharge.2 All items of uniform and necessaries, including two
blankets, haversack, and pack, may be retained.
Leave allowances.—On discharge, an ex-serviceman receives full pay
and allowances in lieu of vacation leave earned (subject to limitations
for volunteers having less than 1 year’s service), plus full pay and
allowances in lieu of any “ ex-North” leave (subject to a maximum of
30 days) to which he was entitled at the time of discharge, plus full
pay and allowances in lieu of ex-prisoner-of-war leave (subject to a
maximum of 30 days), in addition to “ ex-North” leave at discharge
which was not taken.
Special assistance.—Special machinery was created to assist exservicemen for whom the general employment and training scheme is
not appropriate. Such cases are to be dealt with on their merits by
the executive board of the Demobilization Directorate. The mone
tary value of any assistance given depends on the circumstances in
each case, subject to a maximum of a £250 grant or a loan of £1,250
(interest-free for the first 5 years). Assistance of this kind may be
given to those wishing to take an approved course of study; to those
requiring financial assistance for reinstatement in life and readjusting
themselves in their own profession or business, including farming;
and to others.
Reinstatement Rights
Under the terms of the Soldiers’ and War Workers’ Employment
Act, employees who notified their employers of their intention to en
list, and who joined the armed forces or the merchant marine of the
2
Women may purchase their discharge for fees ranging from £15 (with less than 1 year of service) to £1
(with 5 years of service.)

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DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

1229

Union or any allied force, must be reinstated in their former or similar
occupations, under conditions not less favorable than those prevailing
when they enlisted. They are entitled to benefit from any improve
ment in conditions of employment introduced subsequently by law or
wage-regulating measures. Reinstatement must take place within 6
months after discharge, unless the ex-serviceman has taken a retraining
course, in which case the elapsed period between completion of the
course and reinstatement may not exceed 2 months. A reinstated
employee subject to a pay scale based on length of service must be
credited with the length of his military service or 1 year, whichever
is shorter. Job protection is insured for 12 months. Violations are
punishable, and the courts are also empowered to order the employer
to pay the employee the difference between wages received and the
amount payable for a full year of employment.
Training

Vocational training and education.—Provision was made for voca
tional and technical training, and for higher education of ex-service
personnel. Special training facilities are to be made for the disabled,
regardless of whether their disabilities were incurred in connection
with war service. In general, ex-servicemen, who by reason of their
military service require vocational or technical training or retraining
in order to fit them for employment, will receive the special attention
of the demobilization organization. For those who, in the opinion
of the competent authority, are in need of training and are likely to
benefit from it, arrangements will be made. The training scheme is
available to all members of the defense forces who served full time,
to the members of the Youth Training Brigade and Physical Training
Battalion, and to Union nationals who have served with any Allied
force. Ex-servicemen who were discharged without benefits (gratui
ties, etc.) will not receive training, but may appeal for consideration.
An ex-serviceman who takes vocational or university training may
receive a grant not to exceed £250. If this sum is exhausted before
completion of the course, a loan up to £600 may be made to him.
Interest on the loan will commence 1 year after the course is completed.
Apprenticeship.—Plans for the resumption of apprenticeship have
not been completed. It is necessary to work out a program whereby
the rigidities in the South African wage legislation and apprenticeship
system may be modified, to permit men who received training in the
armed forces to avoid a long apprenticeship.
Special Provisions fo r the Disabled

In addition to training facilities for disabled persons who are unable
to resume their pre-enlistment employment, they are to receive med
ical care and therapeutical treatment, be employed in sheltered-work
shops in towns, and have small land holdings in the country. Under
the land-settlement program, housing and medical attention are to
be made available to medically unfit or semifit ex-volunteers and their
families.

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW-— JU N E

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Veterans' Preference

Under the Soldiers’ and War Workers’ Employment Act, employers
may not engage persons other than those who have rendered war
service, without the written consent of the appropriate employment
committee. These committees are to include an equal number of
employer and employee representatives whenever possible, each side
having a returned soldier among its representatives. If an employer
engages a nonservice employee without complying with the require
ment respecting written permission, he is guilty of an offense.
In the public service of the Union, 2,000 to 3,000 vacancies have
been kept open in the clerical, professional, and technical grades for
ex-servicemen who have not been in the public service previously.
Similar provisions have been made by other agencies, notably the
Railway and Harbors Administration and the police service.

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Handicapped Workers

R estorin g th e C ivilian D isabled to Jobs 1
Summary

UNDER an expanded program of civilian vocational rehabilitation
made possible by the passage, on July 6, 1943, of the Barden-LaFollette Act (Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943), 43,997
disabled persons in the United States were restored vocationally and
placed in employment designated as suitable, during the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1944. Of these, 10,076, or 22.9 percent, had never
worked; 39,072, or 88.8 percent, were not employed at the time the
process of rehabilitation began. The average earnings of the group as
a whole, after their economic restoration, reached a total of $6,482,225
a month—more than 12 times their previous earnings. This monthly
sum exceeded the entire year’s expenditures (from both Federal and
State sources) by the State boards of vocational education and State
commissions or agencies for the blind, which are responsible for the
actual work of rehabilitating the disabled under the Federal-State
grant-in-aid system.
The New Program
Coverage.—The Barden-LaFollette Act was designed primarily as a
permanent program for the civilian disabled.2 For the first time,
special provision was made for the blind; for the mentally handicapped
(by interpretation); for war-disabled civilians (including merchant
seamen); and for civilian employees of the United States Government
injured in the course of duty.
Services.-—Under the new program provision was made for various
types of services in order to render persons handicapped from what
ever cause (accident, disease, or congenital defect) capable of engaging
in remunerative employment or of being employed more advanta
geously on a normal competitive basis; and for the first time Federal
funds were made available for physical restoration. Physical resto
ration services are expected to remove substantially or eliminate the
employment handicap, which must be relatively stable, and remedial
within a reasonable period.
Physical examination, counseling, training, and placement are
available free, a medical examination being a requirement for the de1 Data are from U . S. Federal Security Agency, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Annual Report for
Fiscal Year 1944, and Charting the W ay in Vocational Rehabilitation, Washington, 1944; U . S. Congress,
Report of the House of Representatives Subcommittee to Investigate Aid to the Physically Handicapped
(H. Rept. No. 2077), Washington, 1944; Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943 (July 6) and
Disabled Veterans’ Rehabilitation Act of March 24, 1943 (U. S. Statutes.at Large, Vol. 57, Pt. 1, pp. 43 and
374); N ew Concepts of Disablement and Rehabilitation, by Tracy Copp (in Social Service Review, U ni
versity of Chicago Press, September 1944); Task for Social Work in Connection with Psychiatric Rehabili
tation, by Helen Witmer and Phebe Rich (in Smith College Studies in Social Work, December 1944).
2 B y interpretation of the act, a disabled veteran belongs to the general class of disabled civilians. Servicedisabled veterans are provided for under the Disabled Veterans’ Rehabilitation Act of 1943, administered by
the Veterans’ Administration; amended as to date of service by P. L. 346 (78th Congress, 2d sess.), June
22,1944.

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1231

1232

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

termination of eligibility. Medical treatment, including hospitaliza
tion up to 90 days and prosthetic devices, transportation, mainte
nance, instructional supplies, occupational tools, and equipment are
provided without cost if the applicant is unable to pay for them.
Administration.—The program of civilian vocational rehabilitation
is administered by a Federal-State plan under the Federal Security
Agency, which, in September 1943, established the Office of Voca
tional Rehabilitation as a constituent unit.3 That office is responsible
for the establishment of standards in the various areas of service, for
technical assistance to the States, and for certification of funds for
grants-in-aid to the States after approval of State plans. Immediate
objectives upon the creation of the office were (1) to guide disabled
manpower into war production and essential business; and (2) to pro
vide a comprehensive service to enable the handicapped to prepare
for and secure employment in peacetime pursuits. Eight regional
offices were established, and necessary funds for program operations
were made available late in December 1943. In addition, two impor
tant national advisory committees were created, to bring into the
program outside professional advice in matters of general policy and
outside medical counsel in the work of physical restoration.
Medical services.—The development of physical restoration, accord
ing to the Annual Report of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
for 1944, is of major importance, especially since State agencies have
had only limited experience in providing medical and surgical care
in the reconstruction of disabled persons. The Office has taken a
number of steps in this area of service and is developing a staff of
specialists, so that special studies can be undertaken in the States for
the rehabilitation of persons with the most difficult and complex
handicaps.
The provision by all States of a medical examination for every case
considered for service marks an advance in the rehabilitation process.
This examination includes all necessary laboratory tests and examina
tions by specialists and is provided free, whether or not it is anticipated
that physical restoration services will be needed.
Costs.-—The Federal Government assumes all State administrative
costs, including those for vocational guidance and counseling. The
costs for medical diagnosis and treatment, pre-vocational and voca
tional training, and other similar services are shared equally by State
and Federal Government, while the cost of service for war-disabled
civilians is borne entirely by the Federal Government.
State organization.-—State operations rest with State boards of voca
tional education, each with a division of vocational rehabilitation;
and in the case of the blind, with State commissions or agencies which
have legal authority to render this type of service. In the 32 States
where vocational rehabilitation was to be provided by the State
agencies for the blind, an entirely new type of program has had to be
formulated. During the fiscal year 1943-44, the States had to carry
on while reorganizing.
The program extends to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico; the
District of Columbia is provided for separately, under the BardenLaFollette Act, the United States Employees’ Compensation Com
mission being designated as the cooperating agency for rehabilitating
disabled Federal civilian employees with service-connected handicaps.
3 The program was formerly under the U . S. Office of Education of that agency.

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HANDICAPPED WORKERS

Rehabilitation in the States 1943-44
During the first fiscal year of operation under the 1943 amendments
to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, the number of persons voca
tionally restored and placed in employment—43,997—was slightly
higher than for the previous year, and was more than twice as great
as for 1941-42. In the last 2 years of the program, over half as many
persons were rehabilitated (86,615) as during the previous 22 years
since the passage of the original act (167,507). Job opportunities
created by the war accounted largely for this changed condition.
More than 89 percent of the 43,997 individuals restored to the labor
force in 1943-44 were rehabilitated under programs in 25 States
(table 1). Seven of these States had restored more than 2,000 dis
abled each: California (3,196); Georgia (2,771); New Jersey (2,640);
New York and Alabama (each 2,564); Louisiana (2,179); and Ken
tucky (2,131).
T able 1 .—Persons Rehabilitated and Placed in Employment (Civilian Program), in the

United States, Ju ly 1943-June 1944

State

A1] Rfflf.ps

Rehabil
itated
and
placed

43,997

Rehabil
itated
and
placed

State

North Carolina

______

T ' P|") p P$<3PP.

California
Opnrpia,
"Maw .Torsey
New York

3,196
2 771
2, 640
2, 564
2 564
2,179
2,131
1, 922
1 763

TiOni-SiftTip
TContneky
nPpxfls
South Carolina
Illinois

1,688

Pennsylvania _______
Michigan
__ ______
Virginia
. .
_
O h io .- ._______ ___ - _____ ____
W isconsin
Oklahoma
____________
Missouri _ _ _______________
Florida
_ ______ ___
Conn potion t
M ississippi___ ________

1,635

1, 530

1,428
1,375
1,285
1,042
1,030
976
969
837
836

State

Arkansas_____________
West Virginia_________
Minnesota- __________
Indiana --------- -----------------------Massachusetts. ..............
District of Columbia ____
Washington___ . . .
Maryland ________________ __
Iowa. — .
. . .
-----------K a n s a s ___ . . . ---------------O ther1_________ ______

Rehabil
itated
and
placed

733
691
611
483
477
435
415
355
330
320
1,966

S20

i Includes 17 States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, with less than 300 cases each.

No data have been made available as to the occupations in which
the persons who were vocationally rehabilitated during the fiscal year
1944 were placed, nor as to the number of men and women in this
group.
Types of disabilities.—The handicaps of 41,190 persons rehabili
tated under the program for the fiscal year 1944 were classified in a
preliminary tabulation in the annual report from special reports 4
received from the States (table 2). Mental disabilities came into the
T able 2.-—Disabilities of Persons Rehabilitated, July 1943-June 1944 1
Disability

Orthopedic 3__________
Cerebral palsy ---------Tuberculosis (p u lm o -

N um
ber

D isability

3 41,190

Hernia ____________
Arthritis _ ---- --------- -Diabetes_______ _
Blind
_
__
Defective vision_____ _
One eye_____ ____ -Deaf ____ . ___-Deaf m ute------------------

15, 592
3,237
387

p a ry )

Cardiac______________

2,668
2,158

N um
ber
1,088
761
199
1,112
2,253
1,720
577
746

' Preliminary tabulation from special reports from States.
2 Data were not available for 1944 from Colorado and New Jersey.
3 Orthopedic conditions other than poliomyelitis and cerebral palsy.
4 Data were not available for 1944 from Colorado and N ew Jersey.
6 4 5 8 8 6 — 45 -----------7

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Disability
Hard of hearing_______
Speech defect------ .
Other types of physical
disabilities . ----------M ental cases_______ --

N um
ber
2,494
309
5,129
760

1234

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

program as a new category by virtue of the Barden-LaFollette Act of
1943.
Earnings.—Of those rehabilitated, 22.9 percent, or 10,076, had never
worked; and 88.8 percent, or 39,072, were not working at the begin
ning of the rehabilitation peridd. Earnings of the group as a whole
(43,997 persons) rose after completion of the rehabilitating process to
$6,482,225 a month—more than 12 times their previous earnings.
Cost of rehabilitation.—The average expenditure by State agencies
for completing the rehabilitation process for one person was $146.91
in the fiscal year ended June 1944. This sum is considerably under
the average of $310 for the 23 years prior to the new legislation, but
it is recognized that altered training conditions and more extensive
physical reconstruction services will increase this cost in the future.
However, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation does not anticipate
that the average cost of restoring a disabled person to employment
will exceed the cost of maintenance for 1 year at public expense;
vocational rehabilitation, moreover, is a nonrecurring expense.
Expenditures in the States.—A total of $6,371,992 was spent by
State boards of vocational education and State commissions or agencies
for the blind under the Federal-State program during the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1944, the Federal share being 63.6 percent.
T o ta l f u n d s

F ederal fu n d s

All expenditures by State agencies__

$6, 371, 992

$4, 051, 551

$2, 320, 441

By State boards of vocational edu
cation________________________
By State commissions or agencies
for the blind__________________

6, 259, 499

3, 971, 520

2, 287, 979

112,493

80,031

32, 462

S ta te f u n d s

V eterans in the Civilian Program

Although the vocational rehabilitation of civilians and that of
veterans are provided for under separate laws, veterans are accepted
in the civilian program (under the Barden-LaFollette Act) either
because their disabilities are adjudged by the Veterans’ Administra
tion not to be service-connected (and therefore not covered under
the Disabled Veterans’ Rehabilitation Act of 1943), or because they
have elected to come, as civilians, under the civilian program. Vet
erans with psychiatric handicaps that are adjudged not to be serviceconnected may avail themselves of the opportunities offered under
the civilian program, since the enlarged civilian program resulting
from the 1943 amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
permits care of the mentally 5 as well as the physically disabled.
In spite of the newness of the mental program and its exploratory
nature, 760 mental cases were rehabilitated and placed in employment
during the 9 months in which this program was in effect in the fiscal
year 1944.
Accelerating Programs for the Disabled
Because of the urgency of retraining increasing numbers of the
handicapped and of accelerating the movement, and as a basis of
further national policy, a number of fields for study were indicated in
s The program provides for persons with mental disabilities, for persons with physical disabilities, compli
cated by the presence of psychiatric disabilities, and for persons with mental retardation.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

HANDICAPPED WORKERS

1235

the report of the Committee on Labor of the House of Representa
tives, December 15, 1944. These were as follows:
(1) The value of a national enumeration of the physically handi
capped, classified as to disability.
(2) The methods and means which might be used to urge the
employment of physically handicapped people in the normal indus
trial, agricultural, and commercial life of the Nation; to compile as
much information as possible as to the types of work which have been
done successfully by handicapped workers; to study the methods for
educating the public and employers as to the potentialities of physi
cally handicapped workers during the war period, when they have
been employed in the largest numbers, as to accidents, productivity,
absenteeism, and other factors affecting their employment oppor
tunities; and to determine the effect of workmen’s compensation
laws upon the employment of physically handicapped persons.
(3) The measures that may be needed to remove the lag in voca
tional-rehabilitation work.
(4) The needs of the physically handicapped for additional educa
tional opportunities to meet their special needs in elementary educa
tion, to provide them with adequate vocational training and with
opportunities for higher education, to the end that physically handi
capped children may become productive men and women. *
(5) The value and merit of the suggested reforms and improvements
in the Social Security Act, including the factors of incentives to work,
types of disablements which should be covered, the policy of the
determination of need, and the desirability of a form of national dis
ability insurance.
(6) The desirability of correlating and consolidating the activities of
the governmental agencies dealing with the physically handicapped,
and of providing for some systematic dissemination of information
about their work.
(7) The aids and services needed by physically handicapped rural
citizens.
(8) The needs which should be met in an expanded program of
research and public education in the prevention of handicapping
diseases and accidents.

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Social Security

F ederal Social Security in 1 9 4 4
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance

AT THE end of 1944, benefits numbering 1.1 million and amounting
to 20.4 million dollars a month were in force under Federal old-age
and survivors insurance, according to preliminary figures of the
Social Security Board.1 Both the number of benefits in force at that
time and the total monthly amount were 26 percent higher than
those at the end of 1943. Total benefit payments for the calendar
year 1944 amounted to 196 million dollars, an increase of 26 percent
over 1943; and awards of almost 319,000 monthly benefits were made
during 1944—a 21-percent rise over the previous year, caused largely
by the increase in the number of fully or currently insured workers.
Partly because of wage increases, the average payment for most
types of benefits rose slightly in 1944. Combined amounts received
in families of retired workers at the end of 1944 ranged from an esti
mated average of about $19.20 for a retired female primary worker 2
to about $43.90 for a retired person with two or more dependent
children. Benefits in survivor families ranged from an estimated
average of about $12.40 for an only survivor who was a child, to
about $50.80 for a widow with three or more children.
The estimated benefits at the end of December 1944, for the families
of retired workers and of survivors, are shown in the following table:
Estimated Average Family Benefit in Force, by Type of Family, October 31, 1944 1
[Estimates based on 20-percent sample]
Fam ily classification of entitled bene
ficiaries
Retired-worker fam ilies:2
Male primary only____________
Female primary o n ly _____
Primary and w ife_________________
Primary and 1 child___ ______
Primary and 2 or more children___
Survivor families:
Widow (aged 65 and over) only . . .
Widow and 1 child________________

Average
family
benefit

$23. 90
19. 20
37. 60
34.80
43. 90
20. 20
34. 50

Fam ily classification of entitled bene
ficiaries
Survivor families—Continued.
Widow and 2 children_____ _______
Widow and 3 or more children_____
1 child only
2 children ________________ ____ _
3 children__________________ ____ _
4 or more children________________
1 parent_________________________

Average
family
benefit

$47.30
50.80
12.40
23.26
34.50
46.40
13.20

'T h e estimated average family benefit in force at the end of December 1944, when rounded to the nearest
10 cents, was the same as at the end of October for each type of family.
3 Retirement benefits are paid to retired workers, to their wives at 65 years of age, and to dependent
children under 18.
1 Social Security Bulletin (Washington), issues of December 1944 and February 1945. See also Federal
Social Security and Related Programs in the United States in 1943, in M onthly Labor Review, March
1945 (p. 561).
2 A retired primary worker is one who was “fully insured” (and at least 65 years of age) at the time of
retirement.

1236

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

SOCIAL SECURITY

1237

Unemployment Compensation

During 1944 the States as a whole paid out more than $63,000,000
in unemployment benefits; this was 21 percent less than in 1943,
although the amount disbursed in the last quarter of 1944 was con
siderably more than during a similar period in the previous year,
when disbursements were at a record low level. The average number
of weekly beneficiaries—79,000—was nearly a third less than that for
1943, while the average duration of benefits dropped from 9.2 weeks
in 1943 to 7.7 in 1944. Nevertheless, of about 523,000 persons who
drew one or more benefit checks during the year (19 percent less than
in 1943), nearly 1 in 5 exhausted all rights to benefits. The average
weekly benefit, which had been as low as $10.56 in 1940, rose from
$13.84 in 1943 to $15.90 in 1944, and during the last quarter of 1944,
to $16.54 or $1.90 higher than for a comparable period in 1943. The
increase in 1944 reflected, in part, higher earnings as the result of
upgrading, overtime, and other wartime factors.
During 1944, 1.5 million initial claims were received in local offices,
20 percent less than in 1943 and 76 percent less than in 1942; more
than 5.5 million continued claims were received, 28 percent below
the 1943 level and 84 percent below the 1942 level.
A net amount of 1,317 million dollars was collected in contributions
during the year, 0.6 percent below 1943 receipts. Funds available
for benefits increased 29 percent during 1944—to 6.1 billion dollars,
as of December 31st.
Public Assistance
Public-assistance rolls continued to decline throughout 1944, except
for aid to dependent children and general assistance, in which the
downward trend was halted in November. In that month, for the
first time since March 1942, the number of families receiving aid to
dependent children was larger than in the preceding month.
Although the aged population had increased 900,000 during the
preceding 4 years, the 2.1 million recipients at the end of 1944 repre
sented the lowest number aided since December 1940, and a 4-percent
decrease since December 1943. The number of recipients of aid to
the blind also declined 4 percent.
Under all assistance programs, the average payment rose gradually
in 1944, in response to the wartime rise in living costs, the improve
ment in the fiscal situation in some States, and other factors. Ex
penditures for assistance in the continental United States in December
1944 totaled 79.7 million dollars, slightly more than in December
1943.
*+ »**+ *+ 4

R ailroad R etirem en t B enefits, 1 9 4 3 - 4 4 1
RAILROAD operations, employment, and pay rolls reached new
peaks during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1944. Tax collections
for the railroad retirement system during the fiscal year 1943-44
continued to grow at a more rapid rate than benefit payments. How
ever, the number of initial certifications for retirement increased over
1 Data are from Annual Report of Railroad Retirement Board for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1944,
Washington, 1945.

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1238

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

the preceding year, although still below prewar levels; this upward
trend is expected to continue during the reconstruction period, since
only a small proportion of those eligible applied for retirement benefits
during 1943-44.2
Tax collections under the Carriers Taxing Act amounted to $267,065,000 during 1943-44, an advance of $58,270,000, or 28 percent,
over the preceding year. The average number of covered workers
rose from 1,544,000 in 1942-43 to 1,626,000 in 1943-44; 2,800,000
workers3 performed some service during the calendar year 1943.
However, only 4,680 new employees drew benefits for periods of un
employment beginning in 1943-44. Retirement tax receipts exceeded
benefit payments and administrative expenses by $129,474,000—72
percent more than the excess in 1942-43. The balance in the retire
ment account at the end of June 1944 was $321,195,000—$137,342,000
more than a year previous.
Payments for retirement benefits averaged more than $11,400,000
a month during the last few months of 1943-44. Total payments for
the fiscal year were $135,215,000—3.3 percent higher than for 1942-43.
The current trend was expected to be reversed wiien tlie war—or even
its European phase—ended.
During 1943-44, the decline in number of initial certifications for
employee annuities (more than nine-tenths of all types of retirement
awards in that year), which had begun in 1941-42, was reversed, with
18,071 such annuities certified, compared with 16,114 in 1942-43.
At the end of June 1944, employee annuities in force numbered 139,000
and monthly benefits averaged $66.56 ($66.10 a year earlier). Monthly
benefits of all types totaled 164,100 and were being paid at a monthly
rate of $10,625,000; this was an increase of 2.5 percent in number and
3.4 percent in amount over the beginning of the period.
Payments for each type of benefit for the 8 fiscal years 1936-37
to 1943-44 are shown in the following table.
Benefit Payments Certified Under Railroad Retirement System, by Class of Benefit, 1936-37
to 1943—44

Period

All classes

Employee
annuities

Pensions

Survivor
annuities

Deathbenefit
annuities

Lump
sum
death
benefits

Cumulative through June
1944______________________ $822,861,717 $624, 266, 279 $167, 237,057 $7,052, 283 $3, 417, 674 $20, 888, 421
Fiscal years—
1936-37 ____
___ ___
193738___________
193839___
1939-40___ _____
1940-41 . . .
194142___________
194243___________
194344___________

4, 514,617
82,654, 534
107,131, 438
114,025,141
121, 799, 903
126, 656, 780
130,863, 976
135, 215, 325

4, 409,019
46, 759,441
75, 429, 661
84, 536,035
94, 306,246
100, 970,853
106,045,933
111, 809,089

34,880,960
28,886,175
25, 969, 281
23,086,813
20, 538,463
18,110, 430
15, 764, 933

36, 751
373,813
778, 234
912, 570
1,070, 684
1,180, 373
1, 293, 276
1, 406, 577

68,846
605, 300
716, 326
495,271
436,134
393, 051
363,168
339, 574

35,017
1,321,040
2,111,982
2, 900,023
3, 574,038
5, 051,167
5, 895,151

During the period of operation of the retirement system, $822,862,000 had been certified by the Board for 341,600 retirement and
2 This trend was already apparent during the second half of the calendar year 1944: more employee-annuity
applications were received than in any semiannual period since the first half of 1940 (Social Security Bulletin,
Federal Security Agency, Washington, February 1945).
3 1,100,000 of these employees acquired railroad wage credits for the first time since the establishment of
such records in 1937.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1239

SOCIAL SECURITY

survivor benefits, of which 164,100 were still in force on June 30,
1944.
N u m ber
c e r ti f ie d
1 9 3 6 -3 7 to

A m ount
c e r ti f ie d
1 9 8 6 -3 7 to

ms-u

All types of benefits_______________
Employee annuities________________
Pensions__________________________
Survivor annuities_________________
Death-benefit annuities____________
Lump-sum death benefits__________

19^3-U

1 $822, 862, 000
624,
167,
7,
3,
20,

266,
237,
052,
418,
888,

000
000
000
000
000

N um ber
in fo rc e
J u n e 30,
19U

1341, 600

1 164, 100

195, 200
48, 600
4, 200

139, 000
20, 900
3, 700
600

8 , 200

85, 500

i Total not sum of items, because of rounding of figures.

During 1943-44, applications for employment annuities were
received from only a small proportion of the total number of employees
eligible to retire. At the end of June 1944, about 57,000 railroad
workers past the age of 65 were still in active service 4 (compared with
49,000 the year previous and 35,000 on June 30, 1941). A some
what larger number were over 60 years of age and less than 65 on
each of these dates, but had 30 or more years of service; these workers
were therefore also eligible for retirement, although on reduced an
nuities. During the same period the number of former employees
who were no longer in active service but who had reached 65 grew
from 16,000 on June 30, 1941, to 26,000 on June 30, 1944. Although
over three-fourths of the latter were eligible for only small annuities,
an estimated 6,000 had service credits prior to 1937, and most of
these may be expected ultimately to apply for annuities. In addi
tion, there is an unestimated number of inactive employees between
the ages of 60 and 64 with 30 years of service.
Several factors were cited which may influence the rate of retire
ment of the above group: (1) The rate at which the railroad labor
force is reduced; (2) tbe pressure on older men to retire and make
room for younger employees and returning veterans; and (3) the
desire of older men to remain at work as long as the cost of living
remains relatively high.
W ork m en ’s C om pensation in B o liv ia , 1 9 3 5 —4 4 ’
BETWEEN the middle of 1935 and the end of 1942, more than 50,000
mine workers in Bolivia received workmen’s compensation, totaling
about 23,000,000 bolivianos.6 During the latter half (1939-42) of
the same period, 969 workers in manufacturing also received compen
sation. The Fund paid benefits with moneys derived from a 3-percent
tax on pay rolls and a 1-percent tax on workers’ earnings. The scale
for compensation was revised in 1942 and the rate of employer contri
bution was raised in 1943. In the first half of 1944, payments on
8,241 workers’ compensation cases including payments for certain
medical services totaled 11,696,722 bolivianos, and the Fund reported
a deficit. The rate of employer taxation was consequently raised
4 An employee all of whose service was performed after reaching age 65 is, of course, not eligible for an
annuity.
5 Data are from report of Howard Brandon, third secretary of the United States Embassy at La Paz,
January 19, 1945, enclosing text of decree of November 20, 1944; Memorandum, Elementos Generales sobre
las Condiciones de Trabajo, by Victor Andrade (La Paz, 1943); and Protección Social (Revista Mensual de
ía Caja de Seguro y Ahorro Obrero [La Paz?], July, October, and December 1943, and July 1944.
« Average exchange rate of boliviano, in 1942=46 cents; in 1943 = 43 cents.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1240

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

again in 1944. The workers’ compulsory savings system, introduced
by act of January 25, 1924, and the system of workmen’s compensa
tion, created by act of January 19, 1924, are administered by the
Workers’ Insurance and Savings Fund (Caja de Seguro y Ahorro
Obrero), established by decree of May 22, 1935.
Coverage of Fund

All national or foreign enterprises of either permanent or temporary
character, employing more than 50 workers, in which workers are
subject to hazard of industrial accidents or occupational disease come
within the jurisdiction of the system. Domestic servants and
workers in nonmechanized agricultural or forestry operations are
not included. Earnings above 3,600 bolivianos per year are dis
regarded in calculation of benefits. All workers registered with the
Fund are divided into two groups—those in mining and those in
other industries.
Records of the Fund published in 1943 showed 56,662 mine workers
from the 182 most important mineral enterprises as covered by the
Fund on December 31, 1942, and an annual average coverage of about
35,000 workers from 1935 to 1942. The same records gave 2,874
workers from 37 manufacturing enterprises as covered on December 31,
1942, and an annual coverage of 2,636 from 1940 to 1942 (not including
workers on railways, construction, public employees, etc.).
Operations of Fund in M ining Industry

Workmen’s compensation paid to 50,582 mining workers amounted
to some 23,000,000 bolivianos from August 1935 to December 31,
1942. Between 1939 and the same date of 1942, workers in manu
facturing who received benefits from the Fund numbered 969.
Table 1 shows for the mining industry the coverage, total pay roll,
contributions, and payments under the workmen’s compensation
system, 1937-42.
T able 1 .— Workmen’s Compensation Coverage, P ay Roll, Contributions, and Total Benefits

P aid in Bolivian Mining Industry, 1 1937-42

Year

1937________________________
1938________________________
1939________________________
1940________________________
1941________________________
1942________________________

Number
of
workers
employed
(m onthly
average)

35,151
32, 415
35,404
33, 595
41, 259
47,234

Workmen’s compensation
Total
pay roll

Bolivianos
76,056,214
108,505,376
124,259, 635
202,991,799
298,327, 213
371,468,857

Contributions
Total

Prom
workers

Prom
employers

Bolivianos
3,099,579
4,289, 996
4,973,887
8,134, 240
11,936, 444
14,860,240

Bolivianos
788,784
1,064, 795
1, 247,920
2, 946, 297
2, 987,943
3,715,817

Bolivianos
2, 310,795
3,225, 201
3, 725, 968
6, 087,943
8,948, 501
11,144,423

Total
compensa
tion paid

Bolivianos
1,407,423
2,172,860
4, 709,586
5,228,953
3,845, 290
5, 524,317

1 Data include establishments with 95 percent of the mineral production of Bolivia.

Table 2 shows the distribution of the number of mining workers
listed as receiving benefits, by type of case, from 1935 to 1942.

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1241

SOCIAL SECURITY

T able 2:—Benefit Cases in Mining Industry Under Workers' Insurance and Savings

Fund, Bolivia, by Type of Case, 1935—42
Types of occupational disease for
which compensation was paid

Workmen’s compensation cases
Perm anent disa
bility caused by—

Year
Total

Total, 1935-42...................

50, 582

1935_____ _____________
1936___________________
1937___________________
1938___________________
1939___________________
1940___________________
1941_____________ ____ _
1942____ _____ _____ _

59
4, 571
6,600
6, 045
6, 622
8, 213
8,874
9,868

Accident

Disease

Pulmo
nary
tubercu
losis

45,893

1,037

3,922

988

2,194

400

340

4,229
6,014
5, 503
5,651
7,218
8, 283
8,995

4
47
99
150
182
194
189
172

55
295
487
392
789
801
402
701

8
76
129
91
165
175
124
220

39
151
220
221
496
505
192
370

6
31
23
29
69
74
75
93

2
37
115
51
59
47
11
18

Tempo
rary dis
ability

Pneu
moco
niosis

Chronic
bron Other
chitis

Table 3 shows compensation cases and benefits paid for the various
types of injury, during the first half of 1943 and 1944. The increased
benefit payments reflect the liberalized provisions adopted at the end
of 1942. The sums expended monthly for compensation rose from
354,414 bolivianos in September 1943 to 1,469,070 bolivianos in
November, and this rise continued during the first half of 1944.
T able 3. —Number and Type of Compensation Cases and Amount of Payments in

Bolivian Mining Industry, January—June 1943 and 1944
First 6 months of 1943
Types of compensation
Number
of workers

All ty p e s ________________________________ __

i 5, 543

Accidents
________________________________
Occupational disease-------------- ---------------------Temporary disability _______________________
Medical service 1----------- ----------------------- ---------

116
438
4,989
0)

Amount of
payments

First 6 months of 1944
Number
of workers

Amount of
payments

Bolivianos
3, 795, 790

i 8, 241

Bolivianos
11, 696, 722

585,585
2,479, 529
594,828
135,848

107
539
7,595
0)

1,539,305
8,048,040
1,860,178
249,199

1 Number of workers represented by “medical service” not reported.

In the first half of 1943, compensation payments and medical
service in the mining industry, as indicated in table 3, cost the Fund
3,795,790 bolivianos. Collections from the employer and worker tax
during the same time amounted to 9,425,461 bolivianos, and the Fund
reported a surplus. Meanwhile new compensation rates were going
into effect. In the first half of 1944 the number of compensation
cases increased 48.7 percent, payments 208.2 percent, and collections
15.0 percent. A deficit was reported, amounting to 12,430,235
bolivianos for the first 8 mouths of 1944.
One report suggested as possible reasons for the deficit: the practices
of doctors and lawyers who certify workers’ cases and urge workers
to bring suit, the classification of many diseases as occupational
although they are unconnected with the work performed, the labor
shortage which induces companies to hire workers without medical
examination, and the calculation of benefit rates on the basis of
average wages during the last 90 days rather than for the total period

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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194 5

of employment and on a 30-day month rather than on the shorter
month actually worked.
Administrative and Financial Features

Successive changes have been made in contributions, benefits, and
administration of the system.
When the Fund was established in 1935, workers’ contributions
were fixed at 5 percent of earnings (of which 4 percent went into the
workers’ savings system) and employers’ contributions at 3 percent
of pay rolls. In December 1943 the employers’ rate was raised to
5 percent and they were required to bear the total cost. A decree of
November 20, 1944, provided for the revision of employers’ contribu
tions on the basis of their accident experience, effective January 1, 1945.
One source estimated that employers’ contributions would range from
5 to as high as 10 percent of pay roll.
In December 1942, compensation for temporary disability was in
creased from 50 percent to 100 percent of wages, and the compensable
period was lengthened from 300 to 360 days.
A decree of February 15, 1944, altered the membership of the
board of directors of the Fund, providing a tripartite system with
nine members—three each named by the Government, the employers,
and the workers. One each of the employers’ representatives was
to be named by the large mining companies, the medium-size and
small mining companies, and the manufacturing companies. Two
of the workers’ representatives were to be named by the mine workers
and one by the factory workers. The term of office was to be 2 years.
Previously, the board had consisted of two members designated by
the large mining companies and one by the small companies, one
member designated by the Government to represent the workers,
and a chairman appointed by the Government.

B en efit Schem es for Canadian Factory W o rk ers1
TOWARD the end of 1944, the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association
conducted a survey of the protective measures provided by its mem
bers for their workers. Of a total membership of nearly 5,000 firms,
provision for at least one benefit was reported by 339 members,
employing a total of 220,000 persons; in terms of labor force these
plants varied in size from about 25 to many thousands of workers.
Twenty-three of the 339 firms provided all of the benefits listed,2
and employed 37,500 workers. Pension or retirement schemes in
effect numbered 139, and 298 systems furnished life insurance, sick
ness and accident benefits, hospitalization, or surgical and medical
fees. Only a few of the plans were compulsory. However, member
ship of 75 percent of the eligible employees was often required for
operation.
1 Data are from Industrial Canada (Toronto), July and November 1944 and February 1945.
2 W ith the exception of medical fees, which were provided in only rare instances.

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SOCIAL SECURITY

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Pension and Retirement Plans

During the war, a tremendous increase occurred in the number of
pension and retirement plans established in manufacturing plants.
Over half of the schemes reported were established or revised during
the war, one-fourtli of these in the 12 months immediately preceding
the association’s survey.
The 139 pension or retirement schemes in effect at the time of the
survey covered approximately 150,000 industrial workers. Of the
total, 103 plans were contributory; employees contributed from 2 to
6 percent of their wages, 3 percent being the most common rate.
Employers usually paid at least half the cost of such schemes. Under
the other 36 plans, the employers paid the whole cost; provisions
ranged from a promise of benefits to a well-defined scheme but with
no obligation for the employer to continue paying benefits if condi
tions prevented. Eligibility for membership was based on length of
service. Requirements ranged from 2 months to 5 years, with 1
year the most usual. Many of the schemes had a minimum age
limit in addition, ranging from 18 to 35 years.
The amount of the benefits paid was usually computed by multi
plying 1% percent of the worker’s yearly earnings by the number of
years of service duiing which he contributed, or worked. The wage
figure used represented average wages during the whole period,
wages received on entering the plan, or the average of wages received
during the last 5 or 10 years before retiring. A number of plans
took into account the employee’s years of service before the plan
commenced; in such cases the percentage of wages used in computing
the pension was generally slightly lower—1 percent— and the number
of years required to qualify for the pension was sometimes subtracted
from the period of past service. In nearly every scheme the retire
ment age was 65 for males and 60 for females, with provision for
earlier or later retirement under special circumstances, such as for an
employee who entered the scheme at an advanced age. An employee
who terminated his employment for causes other than death either
was credited with his contributions or was awarded a cash payment,
and, if he had worked a specified period of time for the company, he
was credited with part or all of the firm’s contributions, in most cases.
If the worker died before pensionable age, a named beneficiary re
ceived his contributions; if he died while receiving the pension, the
guaranteed benefits were continued to his widow or other beneficiary.
Usually the pension was guaranteed for at least 5 years and in some
instances for 10 years.
A large proportion of the retirement schemes were underwritten
by the Annuities Branch of the Dominion Department of Labor.
The Government does-not pay annuities of more than $100 a month,
and therefore such schemes were sometimes supplemented by con
tracts with insurance or trust companies. Other plans were financed
through insurance companies only, and smaller numbers were operated
by the employing company itself.
Other Benefit Provisions

Approximately 190,000 employees were covered by 298 schemes,
which furnished one or more of the following benefits: Nonoccupational sickness and accident benefits; life insurance or death or

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permanent-disability benefits; hospitalization; and surgical or medical
benefits. Of this total, 245 employers contributed either part of the
cost of each scheme in their plants or the total cost of one, with the
employees paying the remainder. The most common procedure was
for the employer to pay about half the cost, but 22 employers paid
the entire cost. Reports on the remaining 31 plans did not include
the method of financing. Most of the schemes were available to all
employees, depending on length of service. In some plants a worker
became eligible as soon as he became a full-time employee, while in
others he must have been employed for as long as 2 years; usually
the requirement was either 3 or 6 months’ service.
Sickness and accident benefits.—The weekly indemnity for time away
from work owing to nonoccupational sickness or accident ranged from
$5 to $40, often varying according to the salary (in such plans, contri
butions also varied with salary). Benefits were payable for 13 weeks
or, often, for 26 weeks. Sickness benefits became payable only after
a waiting period of 3 or 7 days; usually no waiting period was required
in accident cases. Almost 80 percent of these benefit plans were
administered by insurance companies, and usually the policies included
life insurance. An example representative of the cost to the worker
was a group-insurance scheme wdiich provided for benefits of $15
a week and $1,000 life insurance, and cost the employee 35 cents
weekly. A number of employees’ benefit associations made payments
for absence from work on account of sickness; both the cost to the
worker and the benefits were lower under the association schemes
than under those of the insurance companies, and usually no life
insurance was provided for by the former. Under several non
contributory schemes the company paid part or full wages to employees
absent for 2 or more weeks a year, with the provision that such period
might be cumulative if unused.
Life insurance, and death and 'permanent-disability benefits.—
Although 36 plans covered life insurance only, the large majority of
life-insurance provisions were coupled with the sickness or accident
insurance described above. If the scheme was contributory, em
ployees usually paid at the rate of 60 cents monthly per $1,000. The
most common benefit was $1,000, but the amounts ranged much
higher for more highly paid workers who made greater contiibutions.
Benefits were provided not only for the beneficiary, following the
worker’s death, but also to the worker in his lifetime, if he was perma
nently and totally disabled owing to a nonoccupational sickness or
accident. The schemes were generally financed through life-insurance
companies, but occasionally through employees’ benefit associations.
Hospitalization and surgical and medical benefits.—Hospitalization
was provided by four methods: Group sickness and accident schemes,
employees’ benefit associations, medical-services associations, and
certain province-wide hospitalization plans. With certain exceptions
in the group sickness schemes, only the last two systems provided
for dependents. Under the first three plans, surgical fees were paid,
but payment of medical fees was limited almost exclusively to the
five establishments utilizing the medical-services associations; the
provincial plans provided for neither surgical nor medical fees. Pay
ment of benefits was usually limited to a period of 31 days. The
group sickness schemes paid benefits of from $2.50 to $6 a day;
benefits under other systems varied with the cost of the scheme. The

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SOCIAL SECURITY

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cost to the workers was 15 cents weekly under the group sickness
schemes, slightly less under the employees’ benefit associations, but
more under the medical-services association scheme. In some
instances the entire cost of the provincial schemes was paid by the
employees, individual rates depending on the number of dependents
covered and the type of hospital accommodation to be provided;
in such cases employers merely organized and administered the plans;
less frequently, the employer paid the whole cost, or contributed.
The provincial plans were available only to groups, and membership
of 40 percent of a plant’s employees was required.

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FQEyiCTGKY
BUY
U

I T E D

STATES

W AR
BONDS
A N D

STAMPS

Employment Conditions

Labor C on d ition s in B ritish W est Indian Sugar
I n d u str y ,1 1 9 4 5
FOUR recent agreements between labor unions and sugar producers’
associations in the British West Indies defined and improved labor
and wage conditions for the sugar-crop season of 1945, in Jamaica,
Antigua, and St. Christopher.
Jamaica

Conditions provided by agreement.—In Jamaica, the Bustamente
Industrial Trade Union—an important union of agricultural laborers—
made new gains in agreements of January 18 and 27, 1945, with
the Sugar Manufacturers’ Association of the island. The association
recognized the union as the “ sole bargaining agent between the workers
and the sugar manufacturers,” permitted collection of union dues on
factory premises, and accepted a limited form of preferential shop.
It was provided that all disputes not settled by direct negotiation
should be referred to the Labor Department, and, as a last resort,
to an arbitration committee of three (two members representing the
association and the union, and a chairman “ agreeable to both parties”).
The union agreed to endeavor to prevent strikes, slowdowns, etc.,
and to instruct workers to give a fair day’s work. A minimum of
1 week’s vacation annually with pay and 1 week’s sick leave annually
with pay was provided for. All workers in fields and factories paid
by the hour or day were to receive time and a half for work on Sundays
and holidays, and “ task” workers time and a quarter. The associa
tion also agreed to provide a “ minimum standardized form of
medical service.”
Both agreements were to go into effect January 29, 1945.
These agreements covered about 65 percent of the sugarcane
industry in Jamaica—that part under the control of the 26 sugar
factories. It is estimated that the wage increases (which will go
mainly to factory workers, some of whom work 12 hours a day, 7
days a week) will cost the manufacturers about £20,000 annually.2
An agreement to cover the remainder of the sugarcane industry
was made by the Bustamente Union with the All-Island Cane Farmers’
Association, to become effective February 2, 1945. This association
represents 9,390 independent cane farmers, the majority of whom own
less than 10 acres. The agreement granted a wage increase averaging
1 Data are from report of Paul Blanshard, senior economic analyst, United States Consulate, Kingston,
Jamaica, February 1, 1945, enclosing texts of agreements of January 18 and 27, 1945; and Memorandum of
Agreement between the Antigua Sugar Planters Association and the Antigua Trades and Labor Union,
signed January 17, 1945.
2 Average exchange rate of pound (20 shillings) =$4,035.

1246

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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

about 4 percent to workers on farms larger than 10 acres, although
it left such workers with wages 10 or 15 percent lower than those
paid on the large estates.
Dues-paying membership in the Bustamente Union, which was less
than 14,000 in 1942, has been increased by about 20,000 through the
recent labor agreements. The union is a single unit with branches
in several industries.
Employment and wages.—Employment in the Jamaican sugar
industry, it is estimated, rises as high as 40,000 to 45,000 during the
year. According to figures of the Labor Department for 1943, the
sugar factories employed some 22,000, almost 80 percent of whom
were field workers. Only 17,306 of these were employed in the
average week during the season.
Average weekly wages of those employed by the manufacturers in
1943 were 16s. lid . for an average workweek of 4.6 days of 9 hours
each during the crop season. Similar averages dropped to 14s. 4d.
during the off season. The 1944 wage agreement provided for a
sliding scale based on the cost of living and the price of sugar; this
resulted in increases of 1% to 2d. per shilling of wages. Present
wages (described in a report of February 1, 1945) were 12% percent
higher than wages in 1943, the sugar worker employed by manufac
turers thus averaging about 19s. per week during the season, and field
workers about 17s., or $3.40 in United States currency. It should
be noted, however, that some workers are assisted by children who
work without pay.
Antigua Leeward Islands

A memorandum of an agreement recently signed between the
Antigua Trades and Labor Union and the Antigua Sugar Planters
Association outlined the conditions and rates of pay for the reaping
Wage Rates of Sugarcane-Harvest Workers Established by Agreement in Antigua, 1945
Occupation

U nit of work

W age
rate

Cane cutting:
C e n ts 1
Plant cane (estimated 100-ft. lin e.-. 2 11-18
average yield per acre,
20-30 tons) .
First ratoons (estimated ____d o _____ 26-11
average yield per acre,
10-20 tons).
Other ratoons (estimated
_ do
2 5-9
average yield per acre,
9-17 tons).
Plowing:
Cattle plows:
Plowman
__
132 lines __
40
36
Driver __ ___
____do _
Plowman
Harrowing
Tractors:
Diesel driver.
---Gasoline driver
Forking:
Cambering, new beds:
30 feet wide
25 feet wide

1 acre
. do

3 40
8

8-hour day__
do

100
72

Center rod
do __

4
3

Occupation

Unit of work Wage
rate

Forking—Continued .
Furrowing___ __ 100-ft. lin e...
Rod___ _ _
Trenching.. _ _ . _ . do
Trenching ratoons
Lining:
For planting___ _ 1 acre ... .........
_ _ do _ __
For banking
For trenching . . _ _ _ ____do ___
Planting:
Trimming- _ . . . . - . . 1,000________
Dropping _________ ______ 1,000_______
Spacing _________ _______ _ 1,000________
Planting- _
_____
1,000_______
Supplying:
Trimming __ ______ 1,000 _____
Dropping
...... ............
l',000_______
Planting
_____ _____ 1,000 _____
Various:
Dropping pen m anure-.. 100-ft. lin e...
Dropping pen m anure... Holes, 100 ft.
Carting pen manure . . . 100 cu. f t - .. .
Other carting jobs______ Load______
11 omen
.
....
Day _____
Men
. . ___ . . ____do. _ _

1 Average exchange rate of British West Indian cent (l/2d.) in 1944=0.84 cent (U. S. currency).
2 Rates lower than these prevailed on 1 estate on which yield per acre was exceptionally low.
2 Assistant paid by plowman from this rate.

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C e n ts

3
2-3
1-2
34
34

6
8
6

6
24

8
7
28
1
4
10-12
2
24
36

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of the 1945 cane crop. The majority of the rates were set by task;
thus, the rate was 11 to 18 cents per 100-foot line for cutting cane,
36 to 40 cents for 132 lines of plowing with cattle plows, and 1 to 4
cents per rod for forking.
Cane cutters were to receive, in addition to the wages listed in the
table, a fee for “saving plants” at the rate of 18 cents 3 per 1,000
plants. The memorandum also provided that under certain con
ditions commissions for cane cutters, cartmen, packers, and loaders
were to be paid at the following rates: One cent for every 12 cents
received by cane cutters who earned $1.60 or more daily for 5 days
in 1 week, by cartmen who earned $10.66 or more weekly, by packers
who earned $4.76 or more weekly, and by loaders who earned not
less than two-thirds of the cartmen’s earnings when there were two
loaders to a cartman, or three-fourths of the cartman’s earnings when
there was one loader to a cartman.
St. Christopher

In St. Christopher an agreement between the St. K itt’s Nevis
Trades and Labor Union and the St. Christopher Sugar Producers’
Association, of January 15, 1945, provided for (1) an increase of
from 25 to 40 percent in the cost-of-living allowance, and sliding-scale
increases in the lower basic wages of the sugar-factory workers, (2) a
general increase of 12% percent in wages of estate labor, and (3) the
referral of disputes to a committee consisting of one representative
each from employers and the union, under the chairmanship of the
Labor Officer. In addition to these increases, workers on estates
were to receive in December one-third of the deferred payment for
canes, this amount to be pooled and distributed in proportion to
individual earnings. A committee of five (two each named by the
employers and the union, with the Federal Labor Officer or his sub
stitute as chairman) was to receive the total wages account for the year
and determine the proportions to be paid to the workers.
The agreement was to go into effect at the “start of the 1945 crop”
and remain in effect for 1 year.
Average exchange rate of the British West Indian cent (1/2 d.) in 1944=0.84 cent (TJ. S. currency).

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Industrial Relations

U n io n A greem ents in th e P etroleu m -R efin in g Industry
in Effect in 1 9 4 4 1
Summary

BETWEEN 50,000 and 60,000 wage earners, representing about 65
percent of the total employed in the petroleum-refining industry, are
covered by agreements negotiated by affiliated unions. A few agree
ments covering operating and maintenance workers in petroleum
refineries have been signed with A. F. of L. unions, the most important
being the International Union of Operating Engineers. Considerable
numbers of the workers are under agreements negotiated by unions
having members in only one company. However, none of the unions
except the Oil Workers International Union (C. I. O.) has as many as
5 percent of the total workers under union agreement in this industry.
The present discussion is based on an analysis of 21 agreements
negotiated by the Oil Workers International Union, which cover
almost 60 percent of the employees in the petroleum-refining industry
who are working under agreements. A few of these agreements cover
the operation of a company throughout one or more States, but the
agreement of the Sinclair Companies is the only agreement in the
industry which has been negotiated on a country-wide basis.
Maintenance workers as well as operating employees are covered
under the terms of most of these agreements. Supervisory employees
are not covered by any of the agreements, and clerical and technically
trained employees (such as chemists and engineers) are excluded from
the provisions of all but one agreement. A few exclude certain types
of skilled craftsmen such as electricians, brickmasons, boilermakers,
etc., because separate agreements have been made with other unions
to cover those employees. Six agreements specifically exclude watch
men, guards, or other plant-protection employees from the terms of
the agreements; one agreement has a supplement covering plantprotection men. The Sinclair agreement permits such supplements
to the national agreement to be signed locally.
Union Status
Union membership.—Three agreements, covering almost a tenth
of the workers under agreement, provide for union-shop conditions
under which employees must become union members within a stated
period after hiring. Nine agreements, covering over two-thirds of
the workers, require “maintenance of membership” for employees
who were members when the agreement was signed or who become
members during the life of the agreement. Two of these agreements
require the company to give preference to union members when hiring
1 Prepared by Philomena Marquardt of the Bureau’s Industrial Relations Division. A more complete
report appears in Bulletin No. 823.
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8

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new employees. Sole bargaining rights were granted to the workers
under the 9 remaining agreements and 2 of these also provide that
union members are given preference in hiring.
Collection of union dues.—Check-off by individual authorization,
with the privilege of cancellation, is provided under 16 of the agree
ments, while automatic check-off is specified in 1. No provision
for deduction of dues is made under 4 agreements; 3 of these specifi
cally forbid the collection of dues during working hours, while the
fourth makes no mention of union dues.
Wage Provisions

Minimum, hiring, and occupational rates.—None of the 21 agree
ments provides for incentive systems of wage payment. Plant-wide
minimum wage rates for different job classifications are listed in only
7 agreements, which also specify beginners’ rates below the minima
for stipulated periods ranging from 60 days to 6 months. The other
14 agreements include no actual wage rates, although 2 state that the
rates shown on the records of the company shall be continued and 7
specifically say that each employee shall be paid the wage rate for the
job classification on which he is working. The lowest minimum-wage
rate specified for laborers is 74 cents per hour; most of the minimum
rates are 86 cents or more; the highest is 95% cents.
Interim wage adjustments— According to 18 agreements, the general
wage scales may be brought up for reconsideration during the life of
the agreements; usually 30 days’ written notice is required. Three
agreements call for changes in wage rates whenever they fall below
the rates for comparable work in other refineries in the area. One
agreement requires an annual review of the rates. Most of the agree
ments permitting interim wage adjustments say that changes will be
considered at any time, but 2 specify that changes in wage rates will
be considered if there are “ substantial economic changes.”
Severance pay.—Only 3 agreements make provision for severance
pay when an employee’s services are terminated through no fault of
his own. One of these, the Sinclair agreement, provides for 1 week’s
pay after 1 year’s service, 2 weeks after 2 years, 3 weeks after 5 years,
and 4 weeks after 10 years. The second specifies $10 for each year
of service since 1942, and the third gives no details.
Minimum call and call-back pay.—Over three-fourths of the agree
ments require payment for a minimum number of hours to employees
who report at their usual hour without having been notified that no
work will be provided. The reporting pay most frequently specified
is 4 hours’, although a fourth of the agreements having such clauses
provide for 2 hours’ and a few for 3 hours’ pay.
The minimum pay guaranteed to an employee who is called back
to work outside of regular hours, but finds no work available, varies
from 2 hours’ pay at regular rates to 1 full day’s pay, with about twothirds providing a guaranty of 4 hours’ straight-time pay. About
half of the agreements require the payment of time and a half if any
work is performed, while about a third require the payment of the
penalty rate only after a specified number of hours.
Shift provisions.—Because it is necessary to keep refinery equip
ment in continuous operation, arrangements are made in all the
agreements for shift work. Provisions for premium pay for night
work and for rotation of shifts, however, are not common. Under 1

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

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agreement, employees who work on the night shift receive a premium
of 10 cents per hour, except where shifts are rotated, while another
provides 3 cents per hour for repair and maintenance men on the night
shift. Only 4 agreements make specific provision for the rotation of
shifts, and 2 of these and 8 others allow employees to exchange shifts
upon approval of the foreman.
Transfer rates.—Clauses specifying rates for employees temporarily
transferred to jobs paying higher or lower rates are included in all but
one agreement. Employees temporarily shifted to higher-classified
jobs immediately receive the higher scale under 19 agreements. When
an employee is temporarily transferred to a lower-classified job, 13
agreements provide that he shall be paid the rate of his former classi
fication. Four permit the immediate payment of the lower rate if the
employee has received sufficient notice. Six of the 13 specify the
length of time that the old rate shall be paid; they range from “the
balance of the day” to 2 weeks.

Hours Overtime and Week-End and H oliday Rates

Hours and overtime.—All but 3 of the 21 agreements require the
payment of time and a half after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
One stipulates that overtime shall be paid after 6 hours per day for all
employees, another that daily overtime shall be paid after 8 hours for
all employees, but weekly overtime after 36 hours for day men and
after 72 hours in 2 weeks for shift men. The third agreement provides
overtime after 8 hours for day men only, and after 40 hours for all
employees. Double time is paid to shift men after 12 hours of con
tinuous work, under 1 agreement.
The customary 36-hour week in petroleum refining has been ex
tended for the duration to 40 hours under 11 agreements, to 44 hours
under 1, and to 48 hours under 9. Participation by the union in any
change in hours is required under the terms of 11 agreements, while
10 specify that the company and the union shall negotiate shorter
hours when the critical labor shortage ends.
Week ends.—Prior to Executive Order 9240 it was not customary in
this industry to pay penalty rates for work done on Saturday or the
sixth day. Although 11 of the agreements require payment of time
and a half to day men for Sunday work, these provisions have been
superseded by Executive Order 9240.
Holidays.—Pay for holidays on which no work is done, although they
are part of the regular work schedule, is not general in the petroleum
refining industry. Five agreements, covering about two-fifths of the
workers, provide pay for Christmas Day. Four of them provide for
additional paid holidays—2 for two holidays, 1 for four, and 1 for five
holidays for day men only.
Although some of the 21 agreements provide premium rates at
double time for holidays worked and some specify time and a half
for more or less than 6 holidays, these provisions are all superseded
by Executive Order 9240 which requires the payment of time and a
half for 6 specified holidays.
Paid Vacations and Sick Leave

Vacations.—Annual paid vacations are provided under all the
agreements. A single vacation period, after a qualifying period of

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service, is specified by 2 agreements; graduated plans, under which
more extended vacations are allowed to employees with additional
service, are provided in the remaining 19. Both the single-period
vacation clauses and all the graduated plans allow 1 week’s vacation,
after 1 year’s service. Six of the graduated plans provide a maximum
of 2 weeks’ vacation after 2 years’ service; 4 require more service for
2 weeks’ vacation (3 years in 2 plans, 4 years in 1 plan, and 5 years
in 1 plan). The remaining 9 graduated plans provide 2 weeks after 2
years’ service but have longer vacations for those with greater service;
2 of these provide a maximum of 3 weeks after 15 years’ service and 1
provides for 3 weeks after 25 years.
The 6 remaining graduated plans have an unusual arrangement
which adds (to the 2 weeks after 2 years) 1 or more weeks of vacation
every fifth year, during the anniversary year only; the addition
begins in 1 plan after the 10th year of employment, in 4 plans after
the 20th, and in 1 plan after the 25th year. The maximum vacation
is 6 weeks in the 35th year and each fifth year thereafter.
In addition to service requirements for vacation eligibility, only
one of the agreements provides that an employee must have actually
worked a specified minimum time (1,404 hours) during the preceding
year, to be eligible for a week’s paid vacation. Vacation pay is
usually based on average earnings over a specified period of time.
Sick leave.—Specific provisions for paid sick leave are included in
12 agreements, covering about one-third of the workers under the 21
agreements, although 2 of them contain no details of eligibility require
ments or length of leave.
Three agreements allow for a single period of sick leave, regardless
of the number of years of service. One provides for 1 week after a
year’s service, which may be accumulated for 8 years, the second per
mits 3 weeks at two-thirds of full-time pay, and accumulation for 4
years. A third provides 12 days after 1 year, with no accumulation.
The 7 remaining agreements contain detailed outlines of the grad
uated sick-leave plans, providing additional leave for employees with
longer service. The period of paid sick leave ranges from 1 week to
6 months, and there is no uniform pattern in the increase of benefits
with years of service. Benefits of half pay are provided under
1 agreement and of full pay under 1; 5 specify 100 percent, 70 percent,
or 50 percent of full pay before workmen’s compensation payments
or those received from the company’s Employee Mutual Benefit
Association are deducted. The minimum service requirement in
one agreement is 60 days for half the benefit. Six months’ service is
required for full benefits under 2 plans and the other 5 restrict benefits
to those who have at least 1 year of service. One agreement requires
a minimum of 13 weeks’ employment immediately before sick leave.
The maximum paid sick leave provided is 6 months after 10 years.
Seniority Rules
Lay-off, rehiring, and 'promotion.—Seniority provisions granting
preferential treatment in promotion, lay-off, and rehiring, based on
length of service, are found in all of the agreements, although such
rights are not acquired until a probationary period (usually 6 months)
has been served. All but 2 of the agreements contain clauses, follow
ing the wording of the Selective Service Act, protecting the seniority
rights of employees who leave for military service.
It is customary in petroleum refining for a new man to start in the

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

1253

labor pool or yard gang. As he acquires seniority, he is upgraded into
the lowest classified job in a department and then to the more skilled
jobs. While progressing from one classified job to another, and from
one department to another, an employee acquires seniority in the
different classifications or departments and also retains his seniority
in the labor pool. His department seniority dates from his transfer
to the department, while his company or plant seniority dates from
his employment by the company. If he is laid off from his classified
job in one of the departments, he may displace any junior employee
in any department in which he has previously acquired seniority, or
in the labor pool. Lay-offs are normally made from the labor pool,
and the employee is laid off from the higher classification only when
there are no junior men in the labor pool. Rehiring is the reverse
of the lay-off procedure.
Health and Safety

Clauses relating to health, safety, and sanitation are contained in
all the 21 agreements. Provision is made for protective clothing,
for frequent inspection of equipment in order to prevent fires and explo
sions, and for physical examinations.
Adjustment of Disputes

Strikes and lockouts are banned completely by 14 agreements, all
of which have arbitration machinery; 3 others forbid strikes until after
a 90-day period of negotiation.
Formal machinery for the adjustment of disputes and for their
final settlement through arbitration is established under all of the
agreements. The employee is granted the option, under threefourths of the agreements, of presenting the grievance to the foreman
alone or of being accompanied by a union representative; about half
provide that grievances not adjusted satisfactorily with the foreman
shall be presented, usually in writing, to the union shop committee to
see if they have merit before anything further is done.
Most of the agreements provide that the union committee shall
take up grievances with the company superintendent or other local
representative of management, and, if they fail to settle the dispute,
the presidents of the national union and the company try to do so.
Arbitration.—All of the agreements establish machinery for the
selection of an arbitrator when the dispute requires one. The most
common arrangement is a tripartite arbitration board consisting of
one representative of each side, with a jointly selected impartial
chairman to act only in a particular dispute. Several agreements
name an outside agency to choose the neutral person in case of a
deadlock.
Discharges.—Appeal of discharge is specifically provided in 17
agreements, and under the other 4 it is assumed that discharge cases
may be submitted to the regular grievance machinery, since any dis
pute may be appealed. If the employee’s discharge is found to be
unjust, 9 agreements require that he be reinstated and paid for all
time lost. Two agreements provide that, before an employee can
be discharged, he must be notified that a repetition of his offense will
bring discharge. Five agreements forbid discharge because of an acci
dent if the employee is physically capable of continuing his duties, unless
it was caused by “negligence, carelessness, or malicious intent.,,

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Labor Organizations

M eeting of C onfederation o f Latin A m erican W orkers,
1944
THE second regular meeting of the Confederation of Latin American
Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores de América Latina) since its
founding in 1938, was held at Cali, Colombia, December 10-15, 1944,
and was attended by representatives of several million organized
workers in 17 Latin American countries.1 Also present were fraternal
delegates from the Congress of Industrial Organizations of the United
States, the Trades Union Congress of England, and the Canadian
trade-union movement, as well as observers from the International
Labor Organization and various Governmental and political bodies
of Colombia.
The meeting at Cali changed the basic structure of the Confedera
tion, substituting a president and 11 counselors for the president,
2 vice presidents, a general secretary, and 2 regional secretaries that
had been provided for in the constitution of 1938. Representatives
elected by the meeting as counselors included 2 from Argentina, 2
from Chile, and 1 each from Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador,
Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. Three of the counselors are to live in
Mexico, where the president lives. The Mexican national labor
organization affiliated with the Confederation has a membership of
about 1,300,000, the largest in Latin America.
The Cali meeting did not particularly emphasize trade-union
matters, but rather placed its principal emphasis on questions of
continental development and solidarity, policies to be followed at
the World Labor Conference at London, and Latin America’s postwar
program. Among points stressed in the Confederation’s program
were the intentions—
1. To break up the residue of feudalism which still hampers many Latin
American countries;
2. To prevent the forces of imperialism from hindering progress;
3. To open the ports of Latin America to foreign capital on condition that it
contribute to the progress of the people and not to their detriment;
4. To initiate the industrial revolution of Latin America;
5. To pursue with new vigor the task of raising the economic and cultural level
of the great masses of the people;
6. To coordinate the legitimate interests and rights of the Latin American
countries with the constant development and the legitimate rights of the great
industrial countries of America and of the other continents;
7. To work toward insuring that the peace which will come after the military
and political rout of fascism may be a long one, sincerely adhered to by the great
powers which have carried the burden of the struggle against the Axis countries,
in order that the ideals of democratic national and international progress can
be realized.
1
Sources: Mexican Labor News (Mexico, D . F., Workers University of Mexico), September 8, 1938
November 28,1941, September 1, 1943, January 5,1944, and November 30,1944; El Popular (Mexico, D . F )
JL ym ber.12, I f 17, 23, and 27,1944, and January 10, 1945; C. T. M. 1936-37 (Mexico, D . F„ 1938) and 1936i941 (Mexico, D . F., 1942?); International Labor Review (Montreal) February 1942; and report of H. The
odore Hoffman, economic analyst at United States Embassy, Bogota, Colombia, December 18, 1944.

1254

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1255

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

T rade-U nion G row th in E g y p t1
TRADE-UNION organization in Egypt was authorized by legisla
tion late in 1942,2 and, by December 31, 1943, recognized tradeunions numbered 311, with a total membership of 111,545. In Febru
ary 1945 the number of unions bad increased 50.0 percent, to 465, and
the number of members 3.4 percent, to 115,380. Evidence of an
interest in labor was seen in social legislation, in postwar planning,
and in cooperation with international labor groups.
In 1943 more than half of all Egyptian labor-union members were
in Cairo and Alexandria. Two of the Provinces (Giza and Assiut)
bad only 2 unions each, and 2 (Assuan and Qena) had 1 each.
Considerably more than half of the 311 unions registered in 1943
bad less than 200 members; 28 ranged in membership from 500 to
999, and 19 had more than 1,000 members.
The distribution of union membership by industry group in Febru
ary 1945 is given in the accompanying table.
Trade-Unions and Membership in Egypt, by Industry, in February 1945
Number of—

Number of—

Industry

Industry
Unions Members

Unions Members

All industries________________

465

115, 380

Transport (by road, sea, and

Industry____________________
Building _______________
Chemical _______________
Food . .
_ ____ _____
Manufacturing___________
Mines, quarries, saline-- ___
Textile _ - ----- _______
T obacco-.. _ ______

279
26
8
60
128
3
48
6

87,674
2,501
1,942
8,486
36; 530
521
35, 632
2,062

Personal services (domestic,
cafes, theatres, etc.) - _____
Commerce
____ Dock industry
State and municipal institutio n s-.
____ _ ________

13, 234

70
37
13

8,148
4’ 139
1, 648

53/

A growing interest in the Egyptian labor movement lias recently
been apparent from the enactment of labor legislation and the con
sideration of measures to provide social security. Labor problems
have also been included as factors in postwar planning, and the pos
sibility of bolding a regional labor conference in the Middle East in
1945 or 1946 has been suggested by labor delegates of Egypt and
other Middle Eastern countries.
T rade-U nion M em bership in Great B ritain , 1 9 4 3 3
STATISTICS released by the Bntish Government show that the
members of trade-unions in Great Britain numbered 8,100,000 at the
end of 1943 as compared with 7,781,000 at the close of 1942. The
unions affiliated to the Trades Union Congress represented approxi
mately four-fifths of the trade-union total for 1943. Membership of
trade-unions affiliated to the T. U. C. and total trade-union member
ship at the end of each year, 1937 through 1943, are shown in the
accompanying statement.
1 Data are frorrrreport of Ruth C. Sloan, economic analyst. United States Legation at Cairo, April 3,1945.
2 For the terms of the legislation, see M onthly Labor Review, September 1943 (p. 534).

3 Great Britain.

British Information Services.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

New York, 1945. Press release ID H 581.

1256

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943

____________________
____________________
____________ _______
____________________
____________________
____________________
__________ _________

1945

Trade-unions
affiliated to
T. U. C.

Total trade-unions

4, 460, 617
4, 669, 186
4,866,711
5, 079, 094
5, 432, 644
6, 024, 000
6,642,317

5, 842, 000
6, 053, 000
6,231,000
6, 542, 000
7, 093, 000
7, 781, 000
8,100,000

Of the T. U. C. affiliates, the Transport and General Workers
Union was the largest, haying 1,089,000 members in December 1943.
The three next largest affiliated labor organizations at that time were
the Amalgamated Engineering Union (825,418), the National Union
of General and Municipal Workers (726,487), and the Mineworkers
Federation of Great Britain (602,863). Among the nonaffiliated
bodies, the National Union of Teachers had 154,000 members, the
Union of Postal Workers 128,000, the National Association of Local
Government Officers 100,000, and the Civil Service Clerical Associa
tion 65,000, according to the latest figures issued.

L abor-U nion M em bership in L iberated I ta ly 1
ABOUT 6 percent of the population of those parts of Italy which
had been liberated by March 1, 1945, were reported to be members
of the free trade-unions represented in the Italian General Confed
eration of Labor (C. G. I. L.).
The proportion of the population registered with the labor unions
varied from region to region, being low in regions where the fascist
labor associations were abolished and high in regions such as Apulia and
Sardinia, where the present labor unions took over the complete
memberships of the fascist associations. Labor-union members rep
resented from 9 to 10 percent of the population in Apulia and Sar
dinia, and from 5 to 7 percent in Campania and Latium (including the
cities of Naples and Rome, respectively).
The table below shows the number of workers who were registered
with the C. G. I. L. in the Province of Rome as of December 31, 1944,
by industry and occupational group.
1 Data are from report of John Clarke Adams, labor attaché, United States Embassy at Rome, April 12,
1945.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

1257

Number of Workers, by Industry or Occupation, Registered with Italian General
Federation of Labor in Province of Rome, December 31, 1944

Industry or occupation

Number
of tradeunion
members

All groups___________________________

121,113

Industry
_ _ ___
Air crews and groundmen_________
Automobile drivers_____________ .
Carpenters
__________ - ______
nhomioal workers
Clerical employees. . . . . ------ --------Electrical communication workers.—
Electricians
_ _ _ _______ ____
Food-industry workers
Garment workers.................... .............
Gas-works and water-main employees
______ .
. ____
Glass and earthenware workers____
Hospital employees
TiOngshonvm en
Masons
____________ ________
Mechanicians
_ _____________
Mine and quarry workers
Paper and printing em ployees... . . .

51,395
144
1,104
736
3,054
71
1,996
1,644
1,775
473

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1,236
199
2, 635
44
6,885
5,363
71
2,079

Industry or occupation

Number
of tradeunion
members

Industry—Continued.
Postal and telegraph employees____
Stone breakers.
.
_ _______
Theatrical employees____ _____ . . .
Transportation (busses, street railways, etc.)__________ _______
All other ...... ........ ................... .......

11,333
77

Agriculture__________________________
Commerce___________________________
Banking and insurance_______________

18, 623
9,255
8,953

Government____________________ ____
State employees------- -----------------Employees of semigovernmental
enterprises (welfare, etc.)________
Teachers..
________ ____________
Employees of Provinces___________
Employees of communes__________
Railroad workers___ _____________
Garbage collectors__________ ______

.32,887
11,900

5,386
76
5,014

3,167
3,393
396
5,507
7,500
1,024

Industrial Disputes

Strikes and L ock outs in A p ril 1 9 4 5
PRELIMINARY estimates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics indi
cate 450 strikes and lockouts in April 1945, involving 285,000 workers
and 1,330,000 man-days of idleness. Idleness in April was 0.18 per
cent of the available working time. Approximately 56 percent of
the total idleness during April was accounted for by the large strikes
of coal miners, rubber and automobile workers, and freight handlers
described below.
Figures presented in the following table include all known work
stoppages owing to industrial disputes which involved six or more
workers and lasted as long as a full day or shift. They include all
workers in any plant who were made idle because of a strike or
lockout in that plant, regardless of whether or not they were all
directly involved in the dispute.
Strikes and Lockouts in A pril 1945, with Comparable Figures for Earlier Periods
Strikes and lockouts
beginning in month

Man-days idle in month

Month
Number

Workers
involved

Number

Percent of
available
working time

April 1945 »_________________________________
March 1945 1----------------- -----------------------------

450
400

285,000
210, 000

1,330,000
860, 000

0.18
.11

April
April
April
April

453
384
277
403

165, 498
219,186
56,038
511, 570

614,430
661, 738
367,400
7,112.742

.08
.09
.06
1.13

1944__
- - - ----------------------1943 - - - - - - - - -1942-------- ------ ----------------------------- 1941.. ------ -------------------- ---------------

1 Preliminary estimates.

Bituminous-coal-mining dispute.—Stoppages, involving approxi
mately 75,000 workers and about a half million man-days of idleness,
resulted when negotiations between officials of the United Aline
Workers of America and bituminous-coal operators failed to bring
agreement on a new wage contract to replace the 2-year agreement
expiring on March 31, 1945.
Principal demands o*f the union included a royalty of 10 cents for
each ton of coal mined, to provide medical and surgical service,
hospitalization, insurance, etc.; differential pay of 10 cents per hour
for the second shift and 15 cents for the third shift; vacation payment
of $100; full portal-to-portal pay; and inclusion under terms of the
contract of all persons employed except the superintendent and one
foreman at each mine.
On March 30 the union agreed to a compromise proposal submitted
by the Secretary of Labor, which excluded demands for the royalty
and the extension of contract coverage and modified those for shift
1258

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

1259

differentials. When the operators failed to reply on the proposal, the
case was referred to the National War Labor Board which ordered
an extension of the old contract, giving the parties until April 7 to
negotiate a new agreement. Although an overwhelming number of
miners had voted in favor of a strike in a ballot conducted under the
terms of the War Labor Disputes Act, union officials recommended a
continuation of work for 30 days beyond the expiration of the contract.
Nevertheless, intermittent stoppages developed at many mines in
several of the coal-producing States, and diminished coal output shut
down a number of steel operations. On April 10 the Federal Govern
ment took over 235 mines for operation under direction of the Solid
Fuels Administrator. On April 11 the operators and union signed a
new agreement, with wage provisions subject to approval by the
National War Labor Board and price adjustments to approval by the
Director of Economic Stabilization.1 Principal terms of the agree
ment provide for a basic 9-liour day, of which “7 hours shall be paid
for at straight rate, the eighth hour shall be paid for at time and onehalf, and the ninth hour shall be paid for at a flat rate of $1.50 ($1
at time and a half)” ; differentials of 4 cents and 6 cents per hour for
workers on the second and third shifts, respectively; increases in the
basic wage rates for a few classifications, to remove inequities; $75
annual vacation pay; and full portal-to-portal pay.
A majority of the miners still on strike returned to work after the
agreement was signed; others remained idle pending approval by the
National War Labor Board. This approval was given on April 23,
and the necessary price adjustments were approved later. The mines
taken over April 10, and an additional 33 seized on May 4 where
idleness continued in spite of contract approval, were still under
Government operation at the end of May.
Stoppages oj workers, Akron, Ohio.—Four stoppages of rubber
workers in Akron—two at the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co. and two at
the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.—involved large numbers of work
ers during April. At the Goodrich Co., approximately 16,000 workers
were involved in a 2-day strike when a few hundred foremen, members
of the Foreman’s Association of America, stopped work April 5 in
protest against the dismissal of one of their number. The union also
alleged that the company had failed to settle an accumulation of
grievances and refused to recognize the association as bargaining agent
for the foremen. With the help of the U. S. Conciliation Service, a
settlement was reached (April 6) under which the discharged foreman
was to leave the company, unsettled grievances were to be negotiated,
and the union was to petition the National Labor Relations Board
for an election.
A second stoppage at the Goodrich Co., involving about 16,000
workers at its peak, began April 19 over the questions of guaranteed
piece rates in one department and a 3-day suspension of a worker in
another. Work was resumed April 24 with the understanding that
the U. S. Department of Labor should conduct a time study to adjust
the disputed rates and the suspended worker should return to work.
At the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., about 300 employees stopped
work April 4 in protest against the discharge of a union committee
man who refused to accept a new wage rate on an experimental opera1 For price adjustments allowed, see p. 1210.

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1260

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

tion. Negotiations with the company were successful only in
getting the dismissal changed to a 1-week lay-off, and on April 8 the
plant was practically shut down, with about 6,000 workers idle. The
Federal conciliator and union officials persuaded the workers to return
to work on April 10 and later to negotiate the grievances with the
company.
The other strike at the Goodyear Co. involved only 400 workers
when it began April 23, but spread to include about 7,000 workers in
three plants by the time it ended on April 29. Here the two principal
issues were (1) the inconvenient location of the welding machine in
one department, causing the loss of time and piece-work earnings of
employees, and (2) delay in announcing an arbitration panel’s decision
on a wage rate in another department and plant. The case was cer
tified to the National War Labor Board on April 26 and the workers
were ordered back to work. Work was actually resumed April 30,
after the workers voted to petition the National Labor Relations Board
for a formal strike vote under the War Labor Disputes Act.
r7 'Stoppage at Packard Motor Car Co.—Approximately 16,000 workers
were idle April 25-29 at the Packard Motor Car Co. in Detroit in a
dispute over the work load for certain inspectors. The dispute arose
earlier in April when about 2,000 workers were idle for a day or two
until, at a show-cause hearing, the Regional War Labor Board ar
ranged an agreement whereby five inspectors should test two engines
each, as suggested by the company, for 2 or 3 days to see if they could
handle the work, the results to be reported back to the Board. The
stoppage was resumed April 25 on a larger scale when the company
claimed it was unable to find five volunteers and had, therefore,
requested all inspectors to test two engines each. Upon refusal,
the inspectors were sent home and the plant was closed. After another
show-cause hearing, the Regional War Labor Board directed the
company to reopen the plant, the employees to return to work, and
both the company and the union to follow the previously outlined
plan for a time study. The men returned to work on April 30.
Stoppage at Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Co.—About 5,000 workers were in
volved in a stoppage at three plants of the Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Co.
in Detroit and Plymouth, Mich., which began April 9 over the dis
charge of union stewards and committeemen. Work was resumed
April 19 after the Regional War Labor Board had ordered reinstate
ment of the 6 men involved, on the ground that the company had not
followed regular grievance procedure in making the dismissals. The
strike was resumed, however, on April 24 when these men and 7
others were discharged. Work was not again resumed until April 30,
after the regional board had ordered reinstatement of the discharged
men on a temporary basis, the company to file a bill of particulars
and the men to file their answers to the charges within 5 days, after
which the regional board would make final disposition of the case.
Stoppage oj Railway Express Agency employees, New York, N. F.—On
April 18 over 9,000 freight handlers and terminal employees of the
Railway Express Agency in the New York City metropolitan area
struck 'in protest against the company’s policy of hiring “dual job”
employees for part-time work, claiming that these men were working
at straight-time rates and thus depriving the regular employees of
overtime work and pay. The strikers, members of the Brotherhood
of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1261

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

Station Employees (A. F. of L.), also charged that in February the
company had placed an embargo on intracity shipments, explaining
that this action was necessary because of the manpower shortage.
The union claimed this had cost 400 men their jobs and threatened
the jobs of others.
A meeting had been called by the union for the afternoon of April
18, to discuss these and other grievances, but the men took matters
into their own hands and did not report to work at all that day. At
the meeting they were instructed to return to work the next day, but
action was taken to authorize a later strike if the grievances were
not adjusted satisfactorily.
A ctiv ities o f U . S. C on ciliation Service, M arch 1 9 4 5
DURING the month of March 1945, the United States Conciliation
Service disposed of 2,161 situations, as compared^with 1,867 in Feb
ruary 1945, and 2,043 in March 1944.
Of the 290 strikes and lockouts handled, 263 were settled successfully;
27 cases were certified to the National War Labor Board in which
strikes occurred during negotiations, but in 23 cases a Commissioner
of Conciliation had effected a return-to-work agreement prior to
certification of the case. The records indicate that 174 situations
were threatened strikes and 1,446 were controversies in which the
employer, employees or other interested parties asked for the assign
ment of a conciliator to assist in the adjustment of disputes. During
the month 410 disputes were certified to the National War Labor
Board. The remaining 251 situations included 101 arbitrations, 20
technical services, 26 investigations and 104 requests for information,
consultations and special services.
Cases Closed by U. S. Conciliation Service, March 1945, by Type of Situation and Method
of Handling

Method of handling

Total

Strike
and lock
outs

Threat
ened
strikes

Contro
versies

All methods________ __________ ______ ___________

2,161

290

174

1,446

Settled by conciliation____ ____ _________________
Certified to National War Labor Board ____________
Decisions rendered in arbitration__________________ _
Technical services completed_______ _______________
Investigations, special services _ ___________________

1,500
410
101
20
130

263
l 27

158
16

1,079
367

1 Of these, 23 were settled prior to referral.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Other
situa
tions
251

101
20
130

Labor Laws and Decisions

R ecen t D ecisio n s of In terest to L a b o r1
Decisions on National Labor Relations Act

COMPANY rules limiting union activity held unfair labor practice —
The Supreme Court of thé United States supported the position of the
National Labor Relations Board as to company rules which prohibited
union activities in general on company property, in Republic Aviation
Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board.2 To the extent that
the prohibition applied outside working hours, the Court found that
the Board correctly regarded the rule to be an unfair labor practice
in the absence of unusual circumstances making it a necessity for main
taining production or discipline. Such a rule, applying to working
hours only, was presumed to be a proper exercise of the employer’s
disciplinary powers in obtaining work from employees, unless there
were special circumstances, such as proof of its adoption for an anti
union purpose. The presumption was described as merely a reason
able inference from proved facts which the Board had indicated might
be overcome by certain types of proof. Accordingly, the Court held
that the Board might not only order the practices discontinued but
might also revoke the rule against solicitation as to nonworking hours
even though it found no evidence of actual anti-unionism.
A similar order of the Board was reinstated in the case of National
Labor Relations Board v. Le Tourneau Co? in which a general rule
against posting and circulating handbills on company property without
special permission was enforced against distribution of union literature
during nonworking hours on company property, even though the rule
was adopted long before unionization began and was intended to con
trol littering and petty pilfering. The Court decided that a discharge
or lay-off for violation of these invalid rules was discriminatory as a
matter of course.
Employer officiousness in representation election held unfair—An
employer who volunteered information as to the conditions connected
with an election and encouraged his employees generally to vote at the
election was held by the National Labor Relations Board guilty of an
unfair labor practice because, having showed hostility to the union,
his conduct amounted to representing himself as the source of “ official”
information and was coupled with delay in displaying the Board’s
official notices. By usurping or appearing to the employees to usurp
1 Prepared in the Office of the Solicitor, Department of Labor. The cases covered in this article represent
a selection of the significant decisions believed to bo of special interest. No attempt has been made to
reflect all recent judicial and administrative developments in the field of labor law nor to indicate the eflect
of particular decisions in jurisdictions in which contrary results may be reached, based upon local statutory
provisions, the existence of local precedents, or a different approach by the courts to the issue presented.
2
U. S.— (affirming C. C. A. 2), Apr. 23, 1945.
3
u . S.
(reversing C. C. A. 5), Apr. 23, 1945.

1262

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LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS

1263

the responsibility of running the election, the employer destroyed the
unique value of the guaranty of secrecy of ballot which rests upon the
exclusive control of the election by a disinterested Government
agency (May Department Stores, 61 N. L. R. B. No. 32,M ar.31,1945).
Local arbitration law not controlling in consent election.-—An em
ployer defended his refusal to bargain with a union which won a con
sent election, on the ground that the “ consent” was not expressed in
accordance with the Massachusetts law governing arbitration agree
ments 4 and was therefore not binding. The Board decided it was not
limited to local forms in carrying out a national policy and ordered
the employer to cease and desist from refusing to bargain with the
union {A. J. Tower Co., 60 N. L. R. B. No. 248).
Veterans’’ Rights

Veteran to be reinstated, not rehired.—An employer was directed by
the National War Labor Board not to require a new employment
application or a new bond application before replacing an honorably
discharged veteran in his job. Such a requirement, the Board held,
improperly limits the right of restoration to a position of “like senior
ity, status, and pay.” Placing the employee on a temporary pay roll
would also fall short of granting his rights (In re Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Co. case No. 111-10081-D, Feb. 13, 1945).
Decisions Relating to Fair Labor Standards Act

Employee's release of unpaid overtime and liquidated damages in
valid.—The Supreme Court of the United States recently decided, in
Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O’Neil,5 that an employee’s release of fur
ther claims, signed when his employer voluntarily paid him arrears
of overtime compensation admittedly due under the Fair Labor
Standards Act, was no defense to a later claim for unpaid liquidated
damages, based on section 16 (b) of the act.6
Much less was such a release, given for a sum which both parties
knew was less than the required amount of statutory overtime, a
defense against a suit for the balance of the wages and for liquidated
damages equal to the entire statutory overtime originally unpaid
(Dize v. Maddrix 7).
In reaching these conclusions, the Court found that the remedy in
section 16 (b) was intended to compensate employees for losses re
sulting from the delay in payment and to serve as a supplemental
enforcement method; that the public has an interest in uniform com
pliance with the act; and that this public interest prevents a waiver
or a release of statutory wages or of liquidated damages in situations
like the above. At the same time, the Supreme Court did not decide
what would be its attitude as to the compromise of a bona fide dispute
associated with the minimum-wage and overtime provisions of the act.
4
See Sun Ship Employees Assn. Inc. v. Industrial Union, discussed in M onthly Labor Review for March
1945 (p. 596).
«----- U. S . ----- , Apr. 9, 1945.
* Sec. 16 (b): “ Any employer who violates the provisions of sec. 6 or sec. 7 of this act shall be liable to the
employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid minimum wages, or their unpaid overtime
compensation, as the case may be, and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Action to recover
such liability may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction. * * * The court in such action
shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee to
be paid by the defendant, and costs of the action.”
1----- U. S.------ Apr. 9, 1945.

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y in a third case, in which the court below had entered judgment for
unpaid minimum wages and liquidated damages in an employee suit
and had also added ¿interest under ia^New York State lawgwhich it
called applicable, the Supreme Court decided that the Federal law
controlled the decision on this question; that the provision for liqui
dated damages was included as compensation for the uncertain re
sults of delay in payment of sums due under the act; and that interest,
which is compensation for delayed payment, is therefore not re
coverable in such judgments.
Three justices dissented in regard to the validity of the release of
liquidated damages in Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O’Neil. Because
the statute did not make it a crime not to pay the liquidated damages,
as it did the failure to pay the required minimum wage and overtime,
the view of the minority was that the failure to pay liquidated damages
was not a public wrong and that the employee had a right to release
some or all of these damages.
Oral change of written union contract ineffective.—An employee suing
his employer recovered straight time and overtime pay on the basis
of a written union contract and of the F air Labor Standards Act,
although his employer claimed that authorized union officials had
agreed, at the time of signing the contract and thereafter, to a con
tinuation of the lower rates actually paid. Overtime under the Fair
Labor Standards Act is one and a half times the “regular hourly
rate” of pay. The District Court for the Eastern District of Ken
tucky, in Cox v. Oatliff Coal Co.,8 made its decision as to what should
be considered the regular hourly rate by applying the Fair Labor
Standards Act and using the rate of the written contract as the
“regular” rate and by following an earlier interpretation of the
National Labor Relations Act. The Supreme Court of the United
States, in H. J . Heinz Co. v. National Labor Relations Board had said9
that the act in question contemplated a signed agreement as the
final step in collective bargaining. Therefore no attempt to change
the agreement in some other way could be effective. Further, the
Court decided that acceptance of inadequate payments by the em
ployee in this situation did not bar his later claim foi the balance due.
Supplying sand for steel making not covered under Fair Labor Stand
ards Act.—Employees whose work is the preparation of “cast sheet”
sand at a sand pit and its delivery from pit to steel furnaces in the
same State are not engaged in work necessary to the production of
steel for commerce, according to a United States District Court in
Colorado in the case of Walling v. Amidon.10 This decision was
reached after it was proved that the sand was used as a lining for
troughs to prevent molten metal from sticking and that the sand was
consumed or converted into slag and discarded during the process
of steel making. The court said the sand was not necessary^to pro
duction for commerce because it was not a constituent part of the
steel, it was not delivered to an ultimate consumer after interstate
transportation, and it did not itself move in interstate commerce.
The participation of employees of the sand company in supplying
the sand was held to be very remote from production for commerce.
Activities of contractors’ employees as related to Fair Labor Standards
Act.—Workmen employed by a highway contractor who were working
8------ K y.----- , Apr. 6, 1945.
» 311 U. S. 514, 525.
105 9 Fed. Supp. 294, Mar. 10, 1945.

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LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS

1265

under his contracts with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the
City of Pittsburgh, and various boroughs in Allegheny County were
held entitled to the benefits of the Fair Labor Standards Act because
of their work (Walling v. McCrady Construction Co.11). The work
done under the contracts consisted of maintenance, repair, recon
struction and relocation of public roads, highways, and bridges.
The employees involved were those engaged in common labor, oper
ators of power equipment and users of hand tools, foremen, time
keepers, flagmen, water boys, watchmen, and service drivers.
The district court applied the practical test of the function of the
work and decided that the work of such employees in keeping roads,
highways, and bridges open to interstate movement of persons and
goods was so closely related to the movement over these instru
mentalities of interstate commerce that the workers themselves were
“engaged in commerce” within the act. Independent of this ground,
the court found that the work described was also “production for
commerce” because of the industrial character of the Pittsburgh
area and “the extent to which its streets and highways are used in
carrying persons, raw materials and goods in process of fabrication”
to factories producing for commerce, a use which the court found
indispensable to the continuance of production for commerce.
The employer contractor also undertook extensive foundation work
for an interstate railroad and other work for interstate telegraph
and telephone companies. This work also placed the employees
“in commerce” since the construction was maintenance, improvement,
or facilitation of the flow of interstate commerce. As to a variety of
contracts carried out by the employer’s workmen in and about the
grounds of industrial plants, upon evidence that the products of
those plants move in interstate commerce, the court found all the
work covered as “necessary to production.” A part of it was repair,
reconstruction, and modification of existing facilities; the remainder
was the construction of new units designed for the manufacture of
particular goods. The court considered all the work, including the
new units, as integral parts of existing plants, constructed to enlarge
or replace buildings or machinery of the plants and thus to continue
the operation of the plants as a whole.12
Seamen’s exemption inapplicable to lighter captains.—The Second
Circuit Court of Appeals, in Anderson v. Manhattan Lighterage Co.,13
reversed the summary judgment of the district court which had held
that persons working as “captains” of non-self-propelled lighters which
transfer cargo in New York Harbor were exempt from the Fair Labor
Standards Act as “seamen.” 14 The facts proved that 95 percent of
their duties resembled the work of longshoremen. The court decided
that the proportion of nautical to nonnautical duties, the Adminis
trator’s interpetation,15 the legislative history, and the rule of narrow
construction for exemptions from remedial legislation, all indicated
that lighter “captains” were not exempt from the Wage and Hour Law.
No compensation due for secret, prohibited overtime work.—An oil
pumper, ordered to work no more than 42 hours 16 per week, who
iiFed. Supp. •— - (D. O. Western Pa.), Mar. 28, 1945.
12 The full scope of the court’s decision can be understood only by reading the descriptions of the varying
types of work performed, as given in the opinion, and the court’s analyses of their character, as related to the
employer’s arguments and to the meaning of the act.
is----- Fed. (2 d )------ - Apr. 16, 1945.
i« 29 U. S. O. sec. 213 (a) (3).
u Interpretative Bulletin No. 11 on the Fair Labor Standards Act.
is Overtime was then payable after 42 hours.
6 4 5 8 8 6 — 45 ----------9

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testified he worked longer because the work could not be accomplished
in that time, was denied recovery of unpaid overtime under the
Fair Labor Standards Act in Mabee Oil de Gas Co. v. Thomas}1 It
appeared that the worker during his employment made no claim for
overtime pay and that, on the record, the employer did not know
that the job required overtime or that any overtime work was done.
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma read into the words “suffer and
permit to work” the qualification, “with the knowledge of the em
ployer,” and hence inferred that the pumper was not “employed”
for any overtime hours so as to come within the requirement of that
section of the act 18 which stipulates overtime pay for excess hours
for which an employee is “employed.”
National War Labor Board Decisions

No rehiring to evade effect of maintenance clause.—The National War
Labor Board held it to be a breach of a maintenance-of-membership
clause to rehire an employee whose discharge was required by the
union because of his failure to pay dues (Lamson <&Sessions Co., case
No. 2538-CS-D, March 21, 1945).
Group insurance and sick leave part of wage structure.—In a case in
which an initial contract was the subject of dispute (in Edison Sault
Electric Co., case No. 111-7549-D, Mar. 6, 1945), the National War
Labor Board directed the inclusion of a clause prohibiting a change
in existing sick-leave and group-insurance provisions other than by
consent. Since these provisions were in effect, they were held to be
part of the wage structure for stabilization purposes.
Escalator clause retained"for future use.—Although under the “Little
Steel” formula an escalator (or sliding-scale) clause in a union con
tract is not at present effective, the National War Labor Board
reversed a regional board which ordered arbitration of wage rates in
case a dispute followed any future revision of the “Little Steel”
formula (Coolerator Co., case No. 111-4241-D, Feb. 2, 1945). The
Board held that it would not require arbitration in a situation in
which the parties' own contract might operate to dispose of the
question.
Antidiscrimination clause held redundant.—In affirming a directive
of a regional war labor board {In re Montgomery Ward & Co., case
No. 11-5443-D, Mar. 21, 1945), the National Board refused the
union’s request that a clause be inserted in its contract prohibiting
discrimination because of color, creed, or nationality. The Board
pointed out that the Committee on Fair Employment Practice
provides the desired protection.
Preferential hiring order in seasonal industry revised.—A regional
board’s direction to insert preferential-hiring and compulsory check
off provisions in a labor agreement in a seasonal industry (to which
employers had objected as being equivalent to ordering the closed
shop) was revised by the National War Labor Board in GrowerShipper Vegetable Assn, of Central Calif, (case No. 111-7377-D,
Mar. 6, 1945). By the revision, first preference was given to em
ployees who had seniority status with a particular employer, irrespec
tive of whether or not they were union members.
----- Pac. (2d )------ (S. Ct. Okla.), Apr. 17, 1945.
« 29 U. S. C.. sec. 207.

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LABOR LAWS AND DECISIONS

1267

Decision on State Law Regulating Labor Unions

Texas union-control law tested for constitutionality.—The Texas
Court of Civil Appeals in American Federation of Labor v. Mann 19
dealt with the Union Control Act of 1943 as follows:
It noted that neither party questioned the decision of the lower
court holding unconstitutional section 4, which regulated election of
union officers; section 7, which regulated fees, dues, funds, and assess
ments; and section 10 (a).
It held unconstitutional clause 3 (d), requiring annual financial
statements, which was based on the invalid section 7 and which had
no other reasonable ground; section 6, requiring unions to file copies
of contracts with check-off clauses, because Texas has not regulated
such clauses; and section 10 in part. The provision forbidding a
labor union to refuse to allow “a person desiring membership” a
reasonable time, after obtaining the promise of employment, in which
to decide whether to join or not was considered indefinite and
unworkable.
The court held valid the registration requirements within the
limits established by the Supreme Court of the United States.20 It
considered reasonable (as needed for regulatory purposes) the provi
sions requiring identification of the union, its affiliation, and its local
officers, and approved (on the basis of protecting the public from fraud)
the provisions requiring receipts for dues and initiation fees contained
in section 8. The requirement of books of accounts, subject to in
spection by union members and certain public officers, was valid for
the same reason.
Section 4 (b), which prohibited political contributions, was held
valid as limited to the union as a “separate functioning institution,”
but was not to be read as limiting the union’s education of its members
on political issues.
The prohibition in section 8 against collection of fees for work
permits (interpreted as not including apprenticeship fees) was held
valid (even though the closed shop is lawful in the State), since it does
not destroy the closed shop but tends to prevent unions from operat
ing with treasuries contributed by nonmembers who have no voice in
union affairs.
No change in law was effected by the provision of section 10, which
prevents expulsion of a union member except for cause and after
notice and hearing and confirms the power of a court to reinstate him
when these safeguards are not afforded. This provision was also
held valid.
N ew Sou th W ales V acations W ith Pay A ct, 1 9 4 4
A LAW enacted in New South Wales in 1944 provides for a paid
vacation of 2 weeks annually for employees in general.21 Full pay is
required for the vacation period and must be granted for each year
of employment, calculated from January 1, 1945, when the law became
effective. A vacation of 2 consecutive weeks is required unless the
employer and employee agree that it shall be taken in two periods.
i» ----- S. W. (2d )------ , April 4, 1945;
so See Thomas v. C ollins,----- U. S . ------ , discussed in M onthly Labor Review, February 1945 (p. 332).
51 Information is from Employers’ Review (Employers’ Federation of N ew South Wales) December 30,
1944.

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194 5

The vacation must be granted within 6 months from the date when
earned, unless the industrial registrar approves of a further post
ponement.
Employees covered by awards of the Commonwealth Court of
Conciliation and Arbitration are not covered by this Annual Holidays
Act, but are entitled only to the annual leave prescribed in awards of
the Court. All other employees, whether or not they are covered
by an award, were made subject to the 1944 legislation. However,
it was provided that if the period of leave granted by an award other
than that of the Commonwealth Court was longer than that fixed by
the 1944 law, the terms of the award should be fulfilled.
For 7-day-shift workers engaged on continuous processes, most
awards provide a longer vacation than for day workers. Under the
act, this excess, which is usually 1 week, is to be added to the generally
authorized vacation period. In effect, most shift workers are thereby
granted 3 instead of 2 weeks.
Paid vacations accruing to employees under an award, for service
prior to January 1, 1945, are not affected by the adoption of the
legislation here summarized, and must be granted in addition to the
allotted vacation period prescribed by the 1944 law.
If an employee’s services are terminated before the completion of
12 months of service, a payment must be made to him in the amount
of one twenty-fifth of the ordinary wages lie received during the
period of his employment.
Employees who receive either board or lodging or both from their
employers are to be paid 15s. for board, and 5s. for lodging, in lieu
thereof, weekly, unless the award provides otherwise.

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Women in Industry

E m ployers’ Postw ar Plans for W om en W orkers
IN New York State in 1940, women workers numbered 1,500,000; at
the beginning of 1944 this number had increased by half a million.
To obtain some light on the postwar employment prospects for these
workers, a survey was made by the New York State Division of
Women, Child Labor, and Minimum Wage.1
This survey of the policies and plans of 304 New York State war plants in the
summer of 1944 shows that although many firms had not yet formulated definite
plans regarding lay-offs or postwar employment of women, about half of the 304
plants anticipated no significant drop in women’s employment or looked forward
to an increase in women’s employment with the return to peacetime production. At
the same time, however, the survey showed a clear tendency on the part of em
ployers to lay off women workers first as war contracts are terminated and to
favor the reemployment of men. Nearly a third of the executives interviewed
definitely plan for a drastic cut in women’s employment after the war.
More than one-fourth of the companies interviewed had not yet faced the
problem of lay-offs in June and July 1944. Most executives interviewed reported
that seniority, regardless of sex, is the criterion applied as lay-offs become neces
sary. However, since women are usually the last to be hired they tend to be the
first discharged, except in industries which rely largely on women workers.
Moreover, one-fifth of the women included in the study were employed in plants
in which seniority is applied on a departmental rather than plant-wide basis.
In these plants, women who were transferred from “ women’s jobs” to “ men’s
jobs” often receive no seniority credit on these jobs for their previous experience
with the firm. In addition 16 large firms employing one-fifth of the 75,000 women
covered in the survey frankly declared that their lay-off policies favor men workers
regardless of seniority or ability.
One hundred and twenty-six firms employing one-fifth of the women included
in the survey were plants which have always had a high proportion of women
workers. In this group no significant replacement of women by men is antici
pated in the employers’ postwar plans for peacetime production. An additional
33 executives, employing 5,500 women factory workers, or nearly 8 percent of the
total number of women covered, stated that they look forward to retaining or
increasing their staff, both men and women, because of the backlog of civilian
orders, or because of expectation of increased demands for consumer goods. On
the other hand, 91 plants, employing 40 percent of the total number of women in
the survey, stated that their postwar plans provide for the replacement of women
workers by men, in whole or to a considerable extent, even where the women have
proven their ability during the war. A majority of these firms are in munitions
industries— iron and steel, electrical machinery, aircraft, and professional and
scientific instruments.

W om en in Labor U n ion s
GREAT increases in women’s membership in labor unions are reported
for the war years. In 1939 such membership was about 800,000.
The Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1944, estimated the number as 3,000,000. The same report
announced the expansion of the United States Women’s Bureau pro
gram in cooperation with unions. This program was entered into with
1 Employers’ Postwar Plans for Women Workers.
Women, Child Labor, and Minimum Wage, 1945.

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New York, Department of Labor, Division of

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1945

the United Electrical Workers in St. Louis, and in several localities
in New York State, with the objective of promoting a better under
standing between the women union members and other organizations
of women, in order that more satisfactory solutions to community
problems concerning women workers might be reached. An educa
tional drive among the unions of the' American Federation of Labor
and the Congress of Industrial Organizations was inaugurated by the
Women’s Bureau to obtain the incorporation in union contracts of
provisions “not discriminatory against women.”
The Bureau reported that it had under way a study of women’s
union activities and the measures being taken by union groups “to
secure equal treatment, equal pay and equal seniority rights for their
women members.”
In consultation with a committee composed of union women, the
Women’s Bureau has issued an initial leaflet giving technical help
in formulating provisions in union contracts in such language as will
best protect women wage earners. It also has aided unions in the
preparation of wage data for briefs to be presented to the War Labor
Board.
W o m e n ’s E arnings in N ew Y ork F a cto ries, Septem ber
19441
IN THE manufacturing industries in New York State, the average
weekly earnings of women, in September 1944, were $34.82, as com
pared to $31.23 in September 1943—an increase of 11.5 percent. The
average weekly earnings of men in the same periods were respectively
$57.39 and $53.51—an increase of 7.3 percent. The highest average
weekly earnings of women in September 1944 were $55.88, in the
women’s and misses’ suits, coats, and skirts industry; the maximum
for men in the same lines of manufacturing was $83.98. The canning
and preserving industry—also a seasonal industry—yielded average
weekly earnings of $22.05 to women and $35.50 to men, in September
1944; a year previously they were $19.62 and $33.14, respectively.
In September 1944 women constituted 37.7 percent of all wage
earners in the manufacturing industries in New York State, and 40.7
percent in New York City.
The accompanying table gives the average weekly earnings of
women and men in the manufacturing industries for the State and for
New York City, for September 1944 and for the same month in the
previous year.
1 Data are from Industrial Bulletin and Employment Review (Albany, D ivision of Research, Statistics,
and Publications, N ew York Department of Labor), August-October 1944.

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1271

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

Average Weekly Earnings of Men and Women in Manufacturing Industries of New York
State and New York City, September 1943 and 1944
N ew York State
M en

N ew York City

Women

M en

Women

Industry
Sep
tem
ber
1944

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

All manufacturing industries______________ $57. 39 $53. 51 $34.82 $31. 23 $61. 03 $56. 07 $35.80

Sep
tem
ber
1943
$30. 68

Food, kindred products__ ________________
M eat products_____________ _____ ____
Dairy products______ _______________
Canning, preserving__________ ________
Grain-mill products .
Bakery products___ ________ _________
Sugar__________ ____ ____ ______. . .
Confectionery, related products_______
Beverage industries___________________
Miscellaneous food products__________

47. 75
53. CO
43. 75
35. 50
56. 62
45. 92
50. 67
48.11
55. 60
45. 73

42. 77
44. 80
38. 52
33.14
51.11
41.88
49. 24
42. 65
48. 38
41.84

26.01
24. 83
22.84
22. 05
30. 85
27. 00
32.12
29. 44
31.49
24.03

23.68
23.20
20.17
19. 62
31.70
25. 44
32. 80
25. 87
25. 45
23. 51

50. 80
55. 97
52.21
51.88

44.32
45. 56
45. 80
35. 49

28.41
29. 39
25. 65
35. 62

25. 03
25. 07
20. 43
22.09

46. 67
50.67
48. 67
57. 57
43. 57

42.10
49.24
41.34
48. 65
40. 86

26. 85
32.12
28. 77
0)
23.17

25. 30
32. 80
24.81
0)
23. 08

Tobacco manufactures____________________

32. 72

29. 58

26.58

23. 47

33. 25

29. 08

27. 38

24.13

Textile-mill products________ ____________
Cotton textile mills___________________
Rayon, silk textile m ills.. .
________
W oolen, worsted textile mills
Knitting m ills...
............................ .........
Dyeing, finishing textiles_____________
Carpets, rugs, other floor coverings
Hat's (except cloth), millinery__________
Miscellaneous textiles......................... .........

41.89
38.85
40.08
44.08
40.11
38. 67
44.93
42.63
43.26

38. 53
37.51
36. 94
38.99
35.64
38. 80
41.59
39. 07
40.44

27. 52
29.57
26. 26
29.13
25.15
23. 65
34. 54
27.57
29. 66

25. 90
29. 46
23. 61
26. 66
24.45
22.44
31.31
25.24
25.48

46. 09
(>)
44. 58

42. 61
(0
40.45

27. 86
25. 39
26. 56

23.91
21.60
21.51

51.69
41.59

46. 26
47. 91

29.35
22.58

25. 52
23. 55

42.67
47.45

42. 02
39. 32

27.84
27. 72

26.26
22.09

Apparel, other finished fabric p r o d u cts____
M en’s, boys’ suits, coats, overcoats_____
M en’s, boys’ furnishings:
Work clothing, etc__________ ______
Shirts, nightwear, un derw ear_____
Women’s, misses’ outerwear___________
W omen’s, misses’ dresses____. . . .
W omen’s, misses’ suits, coats, skirts.
Women’s undergarments, accessories___
W omen’s underwear, nightwear____
Corsets, allied garments _________
M illinery___ _
_______ _______ ____
Children’s, infants’ outerw ear............... .
Fur goods_________ _________________
Miscellaneous apparel, accessories______
Miscellaneous fabricated textiles_______

67.12
50.90

56. 30
44.12

37.94
32. 66

31.11
27.19

69. 87
51.68

58. 55
45.44

41.23
33.03

33. 85
28. 43

46. 00
42. 38
77. 89
71.95
83. 98
45. 48
48. 51
40. 87
82. 43
59.90
72. 70
48. 75
43. 54

40.35
37. 54
62. 72
61.09
64. 97
43. 73
45. 98
40.35
66. 96
56. 30
68. 89
43. 42
38.17

27. 39
25. 62
44.96
44.36
55. 88
28. 62
28. 73
28. 53
44.01
31.89
55. 86
28.19
27.49

23.27
21.06
36. 59
37. 26
40.68
25. 35
24. 43
26. 69
35.90
27. 08
48. 57
23.47
23.54

51.52
47. 44
78. 07
72. 03
84.00
46. 97
49. 32
42. 30
83. 02
60. 38
72. 70
50.08
44.48

44.97
43. 70
62. 90
61.15
65. 08
45.89
47. 98
42. 08
67. 27
56. 64
68. 89
44. 42
38.28

31.46
28.14
46.54
45.19
56. 55
30. 29
29. 38
32.24
44. 91
32. 02
55.86
29.16
27.53

26.30
24.10
37.93
38. 07
41.41
27.15
25. 84
29. 47
36. 35
27. 37
48. 57
23.23
23. 63

Lumber, timber basic products____________ 42.23

36.91

22. 55

21.12

46. 34

40. 50

Furniture, finished lumber products_______
Furniture___________________________
Other finished lumber products ______

49. 50
50. 62
47. 00

44.19
45.46
41.33

33.08
36. 69
26.34

27. 03
29.18
23.28

48.99
47.80
49. 52

43. 60
45.18
42. 74

29.04
32. 25
27.99

25. 67
27.69
24.91

Paper, allied products
Pulp, paper
Paperboard containers, boxes__________
Other paper products________ _______ _

46.97
46. 71
47. 52
46. 80

43. 04
43.18
42. 55
43.40

26. 26
28.31
25. 95
25.82

23.94
27. 64
23.41
23.14

49. 21

26.29

22.98

48. 90
49. 52

43.14
45.49

25. 96
26.61

22. 62
23. 32

Printing, publishing, allied industries.. ----- 59. 52
Newspapers, periodicals ______________ 55. 26
Printing, book, job, etc________________ 61.34

54.46
52. 06
55. 53

27. 87
34.14
27. 69

24. 80
33.14
24. 59

61.29
58.13
62. 61

55. 42
55.00
55.60

27. 55
41.92
27. 21

23. 82
36. 70
23.53

Chemicals, allied produ cts_______________
Paints, varnishes, colors_______ _____
Drugs, toilet preparations, insecticides...
"Rayon other synthetic textile fibers
Industrial chemicals.. . _______ _______
Other chemical products______________

52.14
47.43
45. 07
58. 22
55. 80
50. 60

50. 46
45.49
43. 59
57.14
54.33
47.30

27. 98
26.36
24. 25
39. 60
37. 20
29. 37

26. 56
25.69
23. 60
33. 61
35. 08
26. 60

48.18
46. 32
45.18

46. 38
44.23
45.88

26. 66
26.15
24. 98

25. 26
25. 50
24. 50

45.07
52. 77

44. 49
49.01

(>)
30.52

0)
27. 50

Products of petroleum, coal_______________

56. 38

52. 94

27. 04

25. 22

54.66

51.91

26. 43

24. 57

Rubber products.......... .................. ....................- 54.48

49. 52

32.73

30.92

52.03

41.61

24.97

23.74

Leather, leather products________ ____ ____ 46. 08
"Leather* tanned curried, finished
47. 26
Footwear (except rubber)________ _____ 45. 89
"Leather gloves, mittens
44. 77
48. 02
Handbags, small leather goods________
Other leather products________________ 46. 55
1 N ot computed because the number of employees

39.90
39.37
40.16
36. 70
40.91
39.94
reported

48. 76

44. 74

28. 35

24.56

48.91

44. 62

30. 62

26.19

50.67 49. 95
46. 66 40.43
be significant.

26.59
28.03

23.13
24.71

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

28.29 24. 89
27.31 23.12
30.61 26.33
24.86 21.18
23. 50 23.39
27.73 24. 51
is too small to

1272

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

Average Weekly Earnings of Men and Women in Manufacturing Industries of New York
State and New York City, September 1943 and 1944— Continued
N ew York State
M en

N ew York City

W omen

Men

Women

Industry
Sep
tem
ber
1944
Stone, clay, glass products________________
Glass, glass products__ _______ ________
Cement__________
. . ___
Structural clay products______________
Pottery, related products- ____________
Concrete, gypsum, plaster products___
Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral products____________________________ _

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

Sep
tem
ber
1943

Sep
tem
ber
1944

$53. 86 $49. 20 $32. 77 $29. 50 $50. 44 $45. 05 $30. 29
51.06 45. 62 30. 38 27. 84 50. 66 44.16 25. 20
45.19 40. 80
(')
0)
40. 83 36. 32 23.44 23.14
43.13 39. 67 29.64 26.14
46. 60 45.48
53.31 45. 27
(9
(9
(9

Sep
tem
ber
1943
$27. 81
25.28

62. 44

56. 81

35. 67

31.10

48.12

45.91

31.05

28.10

Metals, machinery . _________ _________
Blast furnaces, steel works, rolling m ills.
Iron, steel foundry products___________
Tin cans, other tinware-- ____________
Hand tools, cutlery, general hardware-.Heating apparatus, etc_______________
M etal stamping, coating— ____________
Fabricated structural metal products___
Other iron, steel products_____________
Nonferrous metals and their products__
Jewelry, silverware, watches, etc___
Machinery (including electrical) _ _____
Agricultural machinery, tra cto rs.__
Office, store machines, devices______
Transportation equipment____________

60. 35
59. 66
57. 92
49. 34
50.43
50. 82
53. 09
57.10
67.66
57.11
58. 02
56. 99
58.17
63.47
64. 59

57.89
57. 88
53. 39
44.12
45. 52
49.89
48.19
56.17
63.23
54.60
49. 35
54.71
51. 59
60. 36
62. 05

40.35
39. 90
36. 39
26. 28
30. 67
29. 88
30. 92
30. 05
42. 99
38. 92
35. 03
37. 62
47.19
42. 49
44. 72

37.11
36. 42
38.26
24. 47
26. 01
29. 47
27. 99
27.48
42. 33
33. 73
29. 23
34. 56
31.08
40. 70
40. 57

62. 55

61. 65

33.81

30. 20

56. 65
53.48
54. 75
50. 92
44. 79
59.37
51.93
54.93
62.19
58. 34

50. 41
47.14
47. 92
56. 00
40. 07
58. 62
54.18
49. 28
51.26
55. 23

27. 83
31.42

25.59
24. 76

50.68
67. 72

Miscellaneous manufacturing industries. . . .

58. 65

55.24

33. 39

33.09

61.71

25.98
26. 92
37.11
33. 00
33. 60
34.94

24. 77
24.12
33.97
27. 93
28. 01
29. 98

48. 29
67.41

29.26
34. 20

25.87
35. 36

58.35

33. 32

33.49

N ot computed because the number of employees reported is too small to be significant.

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Wage and Hour Statistics

H o u rly E arnings in th e P ock et-C u tlery and SteelFlatw are Indu stry, January 1 9 4 5 1
Summary

IN January 1945 straight-time hourly earnings for selected occupa
tions in the pocket-cutlery and steel-flatware industry in representa
tive plants in the Northeastern States averaged 70 cents. The
average for all male workers was 78 cents, earnings among occupations
ranging from 55 cents for watchmen to $1.27 for class A tool and die
makers. Women in the industry earned an average of 60 cents an
hour; their occupational earnings ranged from 50 cents for parkerizers
to 87 cents an hour for class A hand polishers, buffers and glazers.
These averages are based on the earnings of approximately 2,500
workers, who constitute 69 percent of the workers in the 16 plants
surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Men and women worked,
on an average, 51.4 and 50.2 hours a week, respectively.
Rough comparisons with the results of an earlier survey 2 of the
pocket-cutlery industry in July 1942 indicate an average increase of
about 30 percent in earnings in the occupations studied in both
years. This increase was due in part to the extension of incentive
payment.
Scope and Method of Survey
This survey of the cutlery industry was made by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics for a pay-roll period in January 1945, to provide a
factual basis for collective bargaining on wages and for assisting in
the eventual reconversion of the industry. All wage and hour
data used in this study were obtained directly by trained field reprefsentatives of the Bureau from pay-roll and other pertinent records
of the companies visited.
Sixteen plants which manufactured pocket cutlery and steel flatware during peacetime were included. These plants normally em
ployed more than half the workers in the industry and are believed
to be reasonably representative of the industry as a whole. Twelve
of the plants, however, are currently engaged in the manufacture of
bayonets and fighting knives for the armed forces. Two plants are
engaged in the manufacture of professional flatware (such as butcher
knives and slicing knives) for both civilian and military use, and only
one plant is primarily engaged in the manufacture of flatware for
civilian use. One additional plant, although primarily engaged ill
1 Prepared in the Bureau’s New York Regional Office by Edith M . Bergstrom, under the general super
vision of Margaret L. Plunkett.
■ , r ,, , T .
T,
-vt
V
2 Earnings and Hours in the Pocket-Cutlery Industry, July 1942, in M onthly Labor Review, November
1942 (p. 1015).

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1273

1274

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

the manufacture of pliers and scissors, maintains a large knife depart
ment which was included in the survey. Two of the 16 plants manu
facture secondary products which are also directly connected with
the war effort.
Although these plants do not show important basic differences in
organization, varying types of subsidiary departments were found in
some cases. One company maintained a forge shop chiefly for forging
pliers and scissors, three establishments had shops for making handles
from bone purchased directly from slaughter houses, one plant manu
factured plastic handles by an injection molding process, and two
companies manufactured unrelated war products and maintained
production machine shops, utilizing machinery not ordinarily used
in the cutlery industry.
Nature of the Industry

The pocket-cutlery and steel-flatware industry in the United States
is concentrated largely in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode
Island, although there are a few plants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Colorado, and Ohio. In the 16 plants surveyed by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 3,600 workers were employed. These plants are in
New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsyl
vania, and constitute a majority of the plants in the industry.
The 16 plants studied ranged in size from 5 to 650 employees. One
plant, which had over 600 workers in January 1945, was converted
to the production of knives only within the last 2% years. Analysis
of employment in 11 plants that were also surveyed by the Bureau
in July 1942 indicates a total increase of only 250 workers. This
increase took place in the larger companies, while employment had
decreased in the smaller ones. These small plants are in a criticallabor-shortage area and have not been able to compete with the
higher wage levels in the locally important shipbuilding industry.
Although the older plants in the cutlery industry were built along
streams or rivers to utilize water power, all the cutlery plants studied
now operate with electric power. The plants along streams, however,
still have the advantage of a nearby water supply for the wet-grinding
operations. Few cutlery plants have been planned and built as
complete units. The present establishments were usually started as
home workshops or as small, single-building plants where a few men
made the complete knives. As the knife-making process was sub
divided into specialized operations, additions were made to the original
factory, or separate buildings were constructed for these specialized
operations. “ Building on” is still a common practice.
Plant operations.—Although there are some differences in processes .
among the various plants, the fundamental operations involved in
knife making were found to be generally the same. All the plants
studied had departments for such operations as stamping, heat treat
ing, grinding, polishing, assembling, inspection, wrapping, and packing.
Although the majority of plants make limited use of machine grinding
and polishing, practically all the operations in one plant were per
formed by hand, and each blade was stamped, forged, heat treated, and
polished individually. At the other extreme was a plant which had
mechanized practically all its grinding and polishing operations with
the use of specially constructed fixtures.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS

1275

The differences in the quality and appearance of knives depend
partly on the number of grinding and polishing operations performed
and on whether or not the blades are forged. The forged, hand-made
knife is the most expensive and is conceded to be of high quality.
Up to the time of the first World War, it was the practice to let
contracts to foremen who hired their own workers to make complete
knives. This practice, however, was generally discontinued many
years ago. Current production schedules have encouraged standardi
zation of product and a rather fine subdivision of processing operations.
Workers are now assigned to punch presses, forges, drilling and
milling machines, grinding wheels, polishing wheels or machines, and to
inspecting, wrapping, and packing operations. The assembly work is
almost always subdivided into highly specialized operations, although
it may be performed entirely by one person. This specialization
permits great speed, particularly if the worker is paid on an incentive
basis and the style of knife to be assembled does not vary. By
specialization, too, the unskilled or semiskilled work has been separated
from the functions of the skilled cutler. The advantages of making
fewer types of knife and the use of mass-production techniques have
become so evident during the war that many firms have expressed an
intention of using similar methods in the postwar period.
The production of flatware (such as butcher and slicing knives) does
not require so many grinding operations as do the fighting knives and
pocket cutlery, but a great deal more polishing is necessary. Hence,
there are proportionately more polishers in the flatware plants and
more grinders in the plants that manufacture pocket cutlery and
fighting knives. The survey showed that polishers receive slightly
higher rates in the flatware plants than in the plants manufacturing
pocket cutlery and fighting knives, whereas the opposite was true in
the case of grinders. In general, however, there was little difference
in occupational wage levels between the pocket-cutlery and flatware
branches of the industry.
THE LABOR FORCE

Women composed almost half of the labor force in January 1945,
although in 1942 almost two-thirds of the workers were males. At the
time of the earlier survey only two Negroes were employed in the
plants surveyed. Although no actual count was taken in 1945,
observation indicated that several hundred Negro workers were
employed at the time of the survey. The industry also employs a
large number of handicapped workers, minors, and elderly persons, who
are able to perform the light machine and assembly work. The
majority of the cutlery plants have employed many of their present
workers for long periods of years.
Unionization has increased in the cutlery industry during the war
period. Eight of the plants included in the survey, which employed
2,700 workers, were entirely or partially organized. Seven of these
had contracts with unions affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor and one had an agreement with a union affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations. At the time of the 1942 survey
only three plants, employing about three-tenths of the workers studied,
were unionized.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1276

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 194 5
WAGE-PAYMENT PRACTICES

The Bureau’s 1942 study showed that over four-fifths of the workers
in the plants surveyed were paid on a time basis. In January 1945,
however, from a third to a half of all workers were paid on an incentive
basis, most of these receiving individual piece rates. All the incentive
workers had a guaranteed hourly minimum rate. The introduction
of piecework has increased both production and the straight-time
earnings of the workers.
Of the 16 plants studied 12 operated one shift; 2 operated two shifts,
and 2, three shifts. In one plant no shift differential was paid to the
workers. Three establishments paid premiums of 3 cents an hour, 5
percent, and 10 percent, respectively, over the day rate. Ten of the
plants surveyed paid yearly nonproduction bonuses (usually at
Christmas time) ranging from $10 to 5 percent of the individual’s
gross annual earnings.
Male employees in 14 plants and female employees in 13 plants were
scheduled to work 48 or more hours a week. One plant had a sched
uled workweek of 47.5 hours and another of 44 hours, for both males
and females, and a third plant had a 40-hour week for females. Actual
hours worked, however, averaged 51.4 hours a week for males and
50.2 hours a week for females; these figures, of course, reflect a sub
stantial amount of overtime.
Eight companies gave paid vacations to plant employees, and 15
companies to office employees. A week’s vacation (or extra pay in
lieu of vacation) after 1 year’s service was usual for both plant and
office employees. Office employees were allowed sick leave with pay
in 8 plants; no such provision was found for production employees in
any of the establishments surveyed.
Six plants had accident, sickness, and life-insurance policies that
were wholly or partially paid by the employer. Two other plants had
group hospital and health-insurance policies to which the employee
might voluntarily subscribe; no payments were made by the company.
Occupational Hourly Earnings

Straight-time average hourly earnings 3 for all male workers ranged
from 55 cents an hour for watchmen to $1.27 an hour for class A
maintenance tool and die makers (table 1). The weighted average for
all occupations studied was 70 cents an hour. Over 70 percent of all
male workers received 70 cents an hour or more. The range for pro
duction workers was from 58 cents an hour for milling-machine opera
tors to 93 cents an hour for class A hand polishers, buffers, and glazers.
Skilled hand-wheel workers, who averaged 88 cents an hour as a
group, and cutlers, repairmen, and sample makers, who received 84
cents an hour, are generally conceded to be the most skilled of the
processing workers. Machine polishers, who are most important
numerically among the processing jobs, received 71 cents an hour.
This occupation is a subdivision of the large group of machine polishers
and semiskilled wheel workers, who averaged 73 cents an hour.
The wage rates for women ranged from 50 cents an hour for parkerizersTo 87 cents an hour for class A hand polishers, buffers, and glazers.
Excludes premium pay for overtime and night-shift work, but includes incentive earnings.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1277

WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS
T

able

1.— Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings 1 in Selected Occupations in PocketCutlery and Steel-Flatware Industry, January 1945

Occupation

Male?
Maintenance:
Carpenters, maintenance, class B
Electricians, maintenance, class B . .
Machinists, maintenance, class A . . .
Machinists, maintenance, class B
Maintenance men, general utility, class B
Maintenance helpers___ ...
Mechanics, maintenance, class B _____ .
Millwrights, class B ___________ .
Tool and die makers, class A .. . . _
Tool and die makers, class B _____ _ . .
W heelm en____ _______
Supervision:
Working foremen, processing departments. _________
Processing:
Assemblers______________
Cutlers, repairmen, and sample makers .
D iasetters___ _____. .
Drill-press operators, class C
. ..
Drop-hammer operators...
. _____ .
Grinding-machine operators, class B _________
Grinding-machine operators, class C .
Handle cutters_____ .
______
Heat treaters, class B _____ _
Laborers . . . _ ______ _____
Machine polishers and wheel workers, semiskilled .
Double headers_____________________ ______
Polishers, buffers, glazers, hand, class B . . .
Machine polishers (mirror polishers, machine buffers,
and glazers) _ .
Milling-machine operators, class C __________
Packers_____ . . . . . .
Parkerizers
____
Punch-press operators (set-up)___ . . . ____
Punch-press operators (no set-up)_________________
Riveters_______ _ . __________ _______
Set-up men, machine to o ls ___________
Sharpeners (edge setters)___ _ . _ _____. .
_________________ .
Straighteners. . . .
Tumblers
.. ..
Wheel workers, hand, skilled____. . . . . . .
Grinders, hand, class A _______ ____ _
Grinders, hand, class B ___ ..
Hafters____________
. . . _ ___
Polishers, buffers, and glazers, hand, class A _ . . .
Inspection and testing:
Inspectors, class C_________________________ ______
Recording and control:
Shipping clerks___ . . . _____ ____
. . ___
Stock clerks______ ____ ____ _____ . . . .
Material movement:
Truckers, hand.. ___________________
Custodial:
Janitors____________________ __________________
W atchmen__________________ _____. . .
Females
Processing:
Assemblers. . . _____ ___________ _
Bunchers (stringers).. . . . _____ ________ ___
Drill-press operators, class C ___________________________
Drop-hammer operators............. . . . ________
_____
Etchers ____ _____________________
Grinding-machine operators, class C____________________
Handle groovers_______________________ _____. . .
Knife openers____ _
._ . . _________ . . . . . . . . _.
Machine polishers and wheel workers, sem isk illed ___
Double headers__________ _____ _____________ _
Handle polishers__________ _________________ ____
Polishers, buffers, glazers, class B ________ _ _ . . .
Machine polishers (mirror polishers, machine buffers,
and glazers)__________________ ____________ ____

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

um Aver
N um N
age
Lowest High
ber of hourly
est
ber of employ
plant
plant
plants
earn
average
ees
average
ings

3
4
5
10
2

4
4
20
19
4
11
3
4
32
7
8

$0. 79
.79
1.09
.87
. 78
.78
.77
.64
1.27
.96
. 68

118

9
12
2
4
9
5
10
7
13
2
15
12
7

39
79
4
7
20
. 15
41
16
46
11
a 268
61
72

10
3
4
3
5
13
5
4
4
9
7
16
13
4
11
10

$0.60
. 57
.91
. 66
(?>
(2)
. 68
(2)
1.00
. 74
. 60

$0.90
1. 00
1 20
1 03
(2)
(2)
82
(2)
1 40
1. 11
. 80

.91

.60

1.16

. 65
.84
.85
.67
.68
.79
.65
. 66
. 70
.62
. 73
.80
.64

. 50
.62
(2)
.56
.50
. 62
.54
. 57
. 55
(2)
. 56
.60
.54

. 74
1. 28
(2)
1.05
.79
.97
1.06
. 73
.91
(2)
' 1.00
1.12
1.00

96
3
10
5
7
52
12
16
5
30
12
3 254
80
10
72
70

.71
. 58
.66
.74
.78
.68
.65
.84
.80
.68
.64
.88
.85
.75
.84
.93

. 55
. 53
. 63
.55
.62
. 50
.55
. 74
. 72
. 50
. 50
. 57
. 59
. 64
. 56
.60

.93
. 65
. 72
.85
.95
.82
. 72
. 95
.87
.84
.75
1. 22
1.12
1.16
1.27
1.19

.65

. 55

.75

3
6

5
8

.68
.62

.60
.45

.90
.71

.62

.45

. 70

8
12

27
27

.60
.55

.50
.40

.75
.70

15
4
11
3
8
12
2
4
9
2
2
4

207
30
79
14
22
120
8
14
3 136
22
27
52

. 60
.61
- .63
.64
.55
.63
.52
.53
.61
.62
.59
.61

4K
.52
.45
.50
.46
.52
(2)
.52
.48
(2)
(2)
.50

S3
.63
.88
.66
.80
.78
.55
.70
(2)
(2)
.68

.60

.52

.70

3
2
8

(2)

1278

M ONTHLY

LABOR R E V IE W — J U N E

1945

T able 1.— Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings 1 in Selected Occupations in Pocket

Cutlery and Steel-Flatware Industry, January 1945— C on tin u ed

Occupation

High
um Aver
Lowest
N um N
age
est
ber of hourly
plant plant
ber of employ
earn average average
plants
ees
ings

Females—C ontinued
Processing—Continued.
Milling-machine operators, class C .
............. ..........
Packers
___ __ ...... ... ......................................... ..... .
Parkerizers
_____
- _
-______
Punch-press operators (no set-up). . . __________ _____
Riveters
-- - _______ ____
Sharpeners (edge setters)
__________ . . __ ______
Straighteners
_____
- ___
- __
___ __
Wheel workers, hand, skilled _ __ __________ ___ _
Polishers, buffers, glazers, hand, class A ___
.
___
_______ _____ - _____
Wipers and cleaners________
Inspection and testing:
Inspectors, class C ______________ _
_________________
Recording and control:
Factory clerk s____________________ _____- ___ _____
Custodial:
Janitresses_______________________________ __________
Office:
Bookkeepers, hand ________
______ ____
______
Clerks, accounting___ _ _ __ __________ ___________ Clerks, general________________________________________
Clerks, order __________________ ______
_______
Clerks, pay roll
____________ ______- __________
Clerks—tvpists - _______________________ ___________
Stenographers, class B _ . __ __ _______________
Switchboard operators and receptionists________________

5
7
3
11
8
9
2
4
2
13

23
62
7
100
53
54
4
3 18
15
122

$0.83
.61
.50
.60
.58
.60
.55
.84
.87
.53

.59

.55

$0.45
.52
.48
.52
.44
.49
(2)
.64
(2)
.41

[ $1.10
.70
.57
.69
.75
.71
(2)
.87
(2)
.84
.68

.45
(2)

(a)

.55

.50

.58

8
3
6
4
8

.80
.68
.63
.62
.61
.64
.65
.62

.62
.60
.60
.55
.50
.50
.52
.50

.94
.76
.67
.71
.86
.71
.72
.71

6
6

27
5
19
8
9
6

1 Excludes premium pay for overtime and night-shift work, but includes incentive earnings.
2 Low- and high-plant averages omitted to avoid disclosure of identity of individual establishments.
3 Includes some workers whose duties could not be subclassified.

Ninety-seven percent, however, received less than 65 cents an hour.
The greater part of the female workers were found in such occupations
as assemblers, punch-press operators, class C grinding-machine opera
tors, drill-press operators, wipers and cleaners, and inspectors.
The higher earnings of the male workers are due in part to the
preponderance of men in the skilled occupations such as hand grinders,
hand polishers, hafters, cutlers, and the maintenance occupations.
Women, with the exception of a few skilled hand polishers, are in the
occupations requiring less skill. All set-ups on the machines that are
operated by women are made by male operators, who receive a wage
differential for their added duties.
Straight-time average hourly earnings are also shown in table 1 for
women office employees. So few male office workers were found that
it was not possible to present wage information for comparable jobs.
The rates for female office occupations ranged from 61 cents an hour
for pay-roll clerks to 80 cents an hour for hand bookkeepers.
Rate Variations by Method of Wage Paym ent and Unionization

Several factors have caused the wide ranges found in many of the
occupations shown in table 1. The survey included plants which
paid their workers on an incentive basis as well as those which paid on
a time basis. Seven of the 16 plants were union, in 1 plant only the
tool room was unionized, and 8 establishments were nonunion. Plant
size ranged from 5 to 650 employees. In addition, the plants were
scattered throughout the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. All these factors influenced

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1279

WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS

the wage rates of the occupations shown in table 1 and led to varia
tions in rates for similar occupations.
Method oj wage 'payment.—The payment of incentive wages is the
most important factor in explaining the ranges in earnings within
individual occupational groups. The straight-time average hourly
earnings for 14 male and 13 female occupations which can be compared
for both incentive and nonincentive workers, are shown in table 2.
Comparisons are made on the basis of the individual job classifications
rather than among the broader categories of jobs. Workers paid on
an incentive basis received higher rates in all cases. The differences
for male occupations ranged from 1 cent an hour for handle cutters to
33 cents an hour for skilled hand polishers, buffers, and glazers; for
female occupations the range was from 2 cents an hour.for knife open
ers, and for machine polishers and semiskilled wheel workers as a
group, to 26 cents an hour for class C drill-press operators.
*

T able 2.— Straight-Time Average Hourly Earnings 1 in Selected Occupations in Pocket-

Cutlery and Steel-Flatware Industry, by Method of Wage Payment, January 1945
Time payment
N um
ber of
plants

Occupation

*
Males
Supervision:
Working foremen_____________________________________
Processing:
Assemblers........ - _____ ______ _________________________
Cutlers, repairmen, and sample makers________________
Drop-hammer operators_______________________________
Grinding-machine operators, class B _____ . ___________
Grinding-machine operators, class 0 _________ _________
Handle-cutters.......... . . . ______ ___________________ _
Machine polishers and wheel workers, sem iskilled... ____
Double headers_____________________________ ______
Machine polishers (mirror polishers, machine buffers,
and glazers)_________________________ ____ _______
Punch-press operators (no set-up)______________________
Straighteners------------- ----------------------------------------------Wheel workers, hand, skilled__________________________
Grinders, hand, class A ____________________________
H a fters__________________________________________
Polishers, buffers, glazers, hand, class A ______ ___
Females
Processing:
Assemblers------------------ ------ --------------------------------------Bunchers (stringers)___________________________________
Drill-press operators, class 0 ___________________________
E tc h e rs.. ___________________________________________
Grinding-machine operators, class C.... .................................
Kniie openers____ _ . . --------------------------- . ------------Machine polishers and wheelworkers, semiskilled________
Packers... _____ . . . ________________________________
Punch-press operators (no set-up)______________________
Riveters____________ . ___________________________ . . .
Sharpeners (edge setters)______________________________
Wipers and cleaners___________________________________
Inspection and testing:
Inspectors, class C ------------ ---------------- ------ -------------------

Incentive pay
ment

Aver
Aver
N um
N um
age
age
ber of hourly ber of hourly
workers earn workers earn
ings
ings
*

108

$0.91

$0.99

9
12
9
5
10
7
15
12

25
58
16
6
28
10
174
34

.62
.76
.67
.63
.59
.66
.65
.73

14
21
4
9
13
6
94
27

.71
1.03
.72
.90
.79
.67
.88
.88

10
13
9
16
13
11
10

64
41
26
168
65
46
41

.63
.67
.66
.79
.82
.76
.82

32
11
4
86
15
26
29

.87
.74
.80
1.05
.98
.98
1.15

15
4
11
8
12
4
9
7
11
8
9
13

141
5
56
14
73
10
124
33
66
31
37
78

.54
.55
.55
.50
.61
.52
.61
.58
.58
.55
.55
.50

66
25
23
8
47
4
12
29
34
22
17
44

.72
.62
.81
.64
.67
.54
.63
.66
.64
.63
.69
.59

.58

.61

t Excludes premium pay for overtime and night-shift work.

Unionization.—On the basis of 26 individual male occupations and
11 individual female occupations, which appeared in both union and
nonunion plants, unionization appeared not to be an important over
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

all factor influencing average earnings (table 3). Thirteen male occu
pations had higher wage rates in union plants, with variations ranging
from 2 cents an hour for double headers, riveters, and class A tool and
die makers to 9 cents an hour for class B heat treaters and straighteners. Nonunion establishments also paid higher wage rates in 13
male occupations, the differences ranging from 1 cent an hour for class
B polishers, buffers, and glazers to 14 cents an hour for machine
polishers. Three individual female occupations were paid equal
rates in union and nonunion plants. Union plants paid 1 cent an
T able 3. —Average Straight-Time Hourly Earnings 1 in Selected Occupations in Union

and Nonunion Plants, Pocket-Cutlery and Steel-Flatware Industry, January 1945
Union plants
Occupation

Males
Maintenance:
Machinists, maintenance, class A __ . . ----------- - . . .
Machinists, maintenance, class B ------------ ----------------Tool and die makers, class A ____ . .
Wheelmen....... . __ ___
__ ...... ..............
......
Supervision:
Working foremen, processing departments____ ^ -----------Processing:
Assemblers_________ __________ - -- ------------- --------Cutlers repairm en, and sample makers..................................
Drop-hammer operators_____ ________________________
Grinding-machine operators, class B___ ________________
Grinding-machine operators, class C_______ ____ ________
Handle-cutters_________________ _____________ ______
Heat treaters, class B _ ___________________________ . .
Machine polishers and wheel workers, semiskilled____ .
Double headers_______________________________ ____
Polishers, buffers, glazers, hand, class B _____________
Machine polishers (mirror polishers, machine buffers,
and glazers)__________________ ______ ________
Punch-press operators (no set-up)_____________________ _
Riveters___ _____________ _________________ ________
Straighteners__________ _________________ ________ _
Tumblers_____ _____________________ . . . __ _________
Wheel workers, hand, skilled_______________ __________
Grinders, hand, class A _______ ___________________
Hafters________
______________________
Polishers, buffers, glazers, hand, class A ____ ____ ____
Recording and control:
Stock clerks____________________________________ _____
Material movement:
Truckers, han d.. _________________ __ _ ___
Custodial:
Janitors________ _______________ _____ _______ ______
W atchmen___ ______ ____________ ______ . .
Females
Processing:
Assemblers___________ ___________ ____________
Drill-press operators, class C ________ _______ _________
Etchers______ _______ ________ ______ ____
Grinding-machine operators, class C____ .
Machine polishers and wheel workers, semiskilled_______
Machine polishers (mirror polishers, machine bufiers,
and glazers)______ _ _________________
Packers_______ _ . . . _________. .
Punch-press operators (no set-up)___ _________ . _ _
Riveters____ _____ ___________
Sharpeners (edge setters)_________ __________
Wipers and cleaners.-. ________ _______________
Inspection and testing:
Inspectors, class C _______________________ ____ _______

N um
ber of
plants

Nonunion
plants 2

Aver
Aver
N um
N um
age
age
ber of hourly ber of hourly
workers earn workers earn
ings
ings

5
10
8
8

10
13
24
4

$1.08
.88
1.27
.66

10
6
8
4

$1.10
.84
1.25
.70

14
9
12
9
5
10
7
13
15
12
7

.94

.91

16
45
10
6
23
9
32
117
22
13

.64
.82
.71
.77
.62
.70
.73
.74
.81
.63

23
34
10
9
18
7
14
151
39
59

.66
.85
.65
.80
.69
.62
.64
.73
.79
.64

10
13
5
9
7
16
13
11
10

43
35
9
23
5
152
58
36
39

.63
.68
.66
.70
.66
.87
.83
.81
.88

53
17
3
7
7
102
22
36
31

.77
.70
.64
.61
.61
.88
.90
.87
1.00

.64

.60

.66

.58

8
12

23
9

.61
.53

4
18

.53
. 56

15
11
8
12
9

126
70
7
67
83

.59
.63
.55
.63
.61

81
9
15
53
53

.60
.62
.55
.63
.61

5
7
11
8
9
13

15
35
48
31
39
47

.56
.58
.58
.57
.58
.52

10
27
52
22
15
75

.66
.66
.61
.60
.64
.54

.59

1 Excludes premium pay for overtime and night-shift work, but includes incentive earnings.
2 Includes one plant whose tool room is organized; tool-room workers are included in union column.

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W AGE A N D

HOUR

ST A T IS T IC S

1281

hour more to class C women drill-press operators. The other 7
female occupations had higher wage rates in the nonunion plants, the
differences ranging from 1 cent an hour for assemblers to 10 cents an
hour for machine polishers.
Comparison between union and nonunion plants, with particular
reference to method of wage payment, showed in general that occupa
tions which were paid on a time basis had higher earnings in union
plants and occupations paid on an incentive basis had higher earnings
in nonunion plants. Regardless of unionization, the larger plants
almost invariably paid higher wages than the smaller ones.
Changes in wage rates in selected occupations, 1942 to 1945.—Because
of changes in the plants and occupations studied, it is possible
to make only a rough comparison between the rates found in the
Bureau’s 1942 study and those found in the current survey. At
the time of the earlier survey the occupational averages for male
workers ranged from 42 cents for watchmen, janitors, and sweepers
combined, to 74 cents for working foremen; those for female workers
ranged from 39 cents for etchers to 46 cents for sharpeners and hem
ming grinding-machine operators. The general average straighttime earnings, for all comparable occupations studied in both periods,
weighted by the number of workers studied in 1945, rose from 53
cents to 69 cents, or by 30 percent. On the same basis, all male workers
in comparable occupations averaged 61 cents an hour in 1942 as com
pared with a 1945 average of 77 cents. Female workers averaged 44
cents an hour in July 1942 and 60 cents in January 1945. These in
creases have resulted in part, of course, from the extension of incen
tive-payment plans and do not constitute a measure of the rate of
change in basic rates.
T rend o f F actory E arnings, 1 9 3 9 to M arch 1 9 4 5
THE published average earnings of factory workers are summarized
in the accompanying table for selected months from January 1939 to
March 1945.1 The earnings shown in this table are on a gross basis
(i. e., before deductions for social security, income and victory taxes,
bond purchases, etc.).
Weekly earnings in all manufacturing averaged $47.51 in March
1945—104.9 percent above the average in January 1939, 78.3 percent
above January 1941, and 22.2 percent above October 1942. Such
factors as longer hours of work, merit increases for individual workers,
premium pay for overtime worked, changing composition of the labor
force within plants, shifts in the distribution of workers among plants
and among industries, as well as wage-rate increases, account for the
rise in earnings.
Gross hourly earnings in all manufacturing averaged 104.5 cents in
March 1945-—65.3 percent above the average in January 1939, 53.0
percent above January 1941, and 17.0 percent above October 1942.
1
Compare Trends in Factory Wages, 1939-43, in M onthly Labor Review, November 1943 (pp. 869-994),
especially table 4 (p. 879). For detailed data regarding weekly earnings, see Detailed Reports for Industrial
and Business Employment, March 1946, table 6 (p. 1331), in this issue.

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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

Straight-time average hourly earnings, as shown in columns 7 to 9,
are estimated to exclude premium pay at time and a half for work in
excess of 40 hours. The effect of extra pay for work on supplementary
shifts and on holidays is included. For all manufacturing, the straighttime average in March 1945 was 96.9 ceuts per hour; this was 55.5
percent higher than in January 1939, 45.9 percent above January 1941,
and 15.5 percent above October 1942.
The shift of workers from relatively low-wage to relatively highwage industries since 1939 would have raised the average earnings of
factory workers, even if no other influences had been present. The
effects of such interindustry shifts have been eliminated from the
averages shown in columns 10 to 12 of the table. If employment had
been distributed between industries as it was in January 1939, the
straight-time hourly earnings of factory workers would have averaged
89.6 cents in March 1945, or 43.8 percent above the corresponding
average in January 1939, 38.3 percent above January 1941, and 14.6
percent above October 1942. Between February and March 1945
the increase in straight-time hourly earnings, after eliminating the
influence of shifting employment, amounted to 0.6 percent. Even
this latter series of averages exaggerates the rise in wage rates, because
it includes the influence of interplant shifts of employment, merit
increases for individual workers, and premium rates for work on extra
shifts and on holidays.
Earnings of Factory Workers in Selected Months, 1939 to March 1945

Average weekly
earnings
M onth and
year

Jan____
Jan____
Jan____
Jan ___
July___
Oct____
1943: JanApr____
July----Oct-----D ec____
1944: Jan ___
Apr____
July___
Oct_
D ec____
1945: Jan____
Feb.3 .
Mar.3. . .

Estimated straighttime average
hourly earnings 1

Estimated straighttime average hourly
earnings weighted
by January 1939
em ploym ent3

All
Non
Non
All
N on
All
N on
All
dura manu Dura
dura
dura manu Dura
dura manu Dura
manu Dura
ble
ble
ble
factur ble
factur goods
ble
ble
ble factur goods
ble factur goods
goods goods
goods
ing
goods
goods
ing
ing
ing
(1)

1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:

Average hourly
earnings

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(ID

$23.19 $25.33 $21. 57 $0.632 $0.696 $0. 583 $0.623 $0.688 $0. 574 $0.623 $0. 688
.717
.703
.589
.697
24. 56 27.39 22. 01
.655
.598
-.644
.635
.749
.683
.722
.711
26. 64 30.48 22. 75
.610
.664
.601
.648
33. 40 38.98 26. 97
.890
.762
.835
.729
.801
.688
.670
.810
.949
.725
.809
.885
.759
.846
36. 43 42. 51 28.94
.856
.701
.893
.919
.723
.782
.869
38.89 45.31 30. 66
.990
.751
.839
.919 1.017
.768
.859
.941
.733
.794
.886
40. 62 46.68 32.10
.897
.878
.959
.751
.808
42.48 48.67 33.58
.944 1.040
.790
.963 1.060
.899
.981
.823
.919
42. 76 48. 76 34.01
.806
.766
.997
.836
.929
44.86 51.26 35.18
.988 1.086
.824
.916
.781
.942
.927 1.011
.846
.995 1.093
.832
.788
44.58 50. 50 35.61
.931 1.013
.793
.945
45. 29 51. 21 36.03 1.002 1.099
.838
.850
.862
.955
45.55 51.67 36.16 1.013 1.110
.942 1.023
.806
.850
.973
.815
.874
45. 43 51.07 37. 05 1.018 1.116
.862
.950 1.035
.969
.829
.881
46. 94 53.18 37. 97 1.031 1.129
.878
.956 1.038
47. 44 53.68 38.39 1.040 1.140
.883
.963 1.046
.832
.886
.975
.891
.894
.984
47.50 53.54 38.66 1. 046 1.144
.970 1.053
.840
.977
47.43 53. 39 38. 73 1. 043 1.138
.893
.842
.891
.968 1.047
.846
.896
47.51 53.38 39.00 1.045 1.139
.969 1.048
.981
.897

(12)
$0.574
.589
.600
.667
.694
.716
.724
.741
.750
.765
.773
.778
.792
.799
.815
.818
.825
.827
.831

1 Average hourly earnings, excluding the effect of premium pay for overtime.
3
Average hourly earnings, excluding premium pay for overtime, weighted by man-hours of employment
in the major divisions of the manufacturing industry for January 1939.
3 Preliminary.

6 4 5 8 8 6 — 45 -

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-10

1283

WAGE AND HOUR STATISTICS

E arnings o f Office W orkers in N ew Y ork State F actories,
O ctober 1 9 4 4 1
EARNINGS of office workers in nonsupervisory positions in manu
facturing plants in New York State averaged $42.99 per week in
October 1944, based on data for 65,208 employees in 2,815 establish
ments reporting to the New York State Department of Labor in its
annual investigation of office workers’ earnings. The survey covered
only employees working in offices connected with factories; those
working in administrative or sales offices were excluded.
Supervisory employees were represented, for the first time, in the
October 1944 survey. Weekly earnings of the 39,371 persons in this
group, in 2,329 reporting establishments, averaged $88.24.
Earnings varied considerably among the different industries, usually
being highest in those composed of large plants. Leather products
had the lowest average weekly earnings for both nonsupervisory
($28.22) and supervisory ($67.82) employees, while metals and
machinery had the highest average for nonsupervisory employees
($47.08), and stone, clay, and glass the highest for supervisory em
ployees ($99.64), among the major industry groups. For miscel
laneous manufacturing, the combined average for nonsupervisory
employees was $47.80 and for supervisory employees, $110.43. Earn
ings were higher in New York City than in the rest of the State in
most of the individual industry groups, for both nonsupervisory and
supervisory employees.
Table 1 gives average weekly earnings in October 1944 of non
supervisory and supervisory office workers in New York State and
New York City, by industry. The nonsupervisory employees included
clerks, stenographers, bookkeepers, timekeepers, and technical and
professional employees working under supervision. The supervisory
group included office managers, superintendents, other supervisory
employees, and “responsible” professional and technical employees.
Of the 65,208 nonsupervisory office employees covered in the survey,
65.2 percent were women, and of the 39,371 supervisory employees, 9
T able 1.—Average Weekly Earnings of Office Workers in Manufacturing Plants in

New York State and New York City, October 1944
N ew York State
Industry

All manufacturing __________

Super
visory
workers
_____

_ ________

Food, tobacco products___________________ __ - ____
Textile-mill products _________________________ ____
Apparel, etc _____ _____ ________________________
Furniture, lumber products________________________
Paper, etc _______________________________________
Printing, etc___________ ____ ____________________ Chemicals, petroleum products__________ _________
Rubber products___________ _____________________
Leather products ________________________________
Stone, clay, and g la s s .____________________________
Metals and’ machinery
___
_____________
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries_____________

Nonsuper
visory
workers

New York City
Super
visory
workers

Nonsuper
visory
workers

$88. 24

$42.99

$95. 54

$40. 59

87. 89
75.13
73.91
72.45
76.97
90.86
82.11
71.17
67.82
99.64
87.27
110.43

35. 62
31.25
32.10
35.60
35.15
38. 58
37. 52
38. 39
28. 22
36. 63
47.08
47.80

95. 47
70.08
75.54
74. 80
78. 77
92. 39
84. 86
64.95
82.17
(')
92.24
142. 26

37.12
34. 32
33.42
36. 58
34. 73
40. 61
34.95
35.08
29.96
0)

44. 53
49.45

1 N ot computed; representation too small to be significant.
1 New York. Department of Labor. Industrial Bulletin and Employment Review (Albany), NovemberDecember 1944 (p. 336).

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

19 45

percent; in New York City alone, women constituted 66.9 percent of
the 19,191 nonsupervisory employees and 11.7 percent of the 10,682
supervisory employees. Earnings of women are still much lower
than those of men. For all industries combined, in the State as a
whole, women office workers averaged $34.68 per week in October 1944
as compared with $58.56 for men; corresponding figures for New York
City were $34.46 and $55.19 and for the remainder of the State,
$34.80 and $59.84. Weekly earnings of women office workers and
women production workers, all industries combined, averaged prac
tically the same, $34.68 for the former and $34.45 for the latter. Earn
ings of the office workers increased 7.5 percent from October 1943 to
October 1944 and of the production workers, 9.4 percent, as shown in
table 2.
T able 2.—Average Weekly Earnings of Nonsupervisory Women Office and Production

Workers in New York State Manufacturing Plants, October 1943 and 1944
Office workers

Production workers

Industry
October
1944
All manufacturing_________________ . .
Food, tobacco products____ ______ ____
Textile-mill products . _ .
Apparel, etc. _______ _ _ . . . ___ _____
Furniture, lumber products_____ _
Paper, etc. _ _______ ______ .
Printing, etc_______________
Chemicals, petroleum products. _
Rubber produ cts...
Leather products___________ .
Stone, clay, and glass__ . . . . . . ___
Metals and m achin ery___ _
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries. _

October Percent of October
1943
change
1944

October Percent of
1943
change

$34. 68

$32. 27

+ 7.5

$34. 45

$31. 50

+ 9 .4

30.68
27. 56
30. 95
29. 79
29.41
31.77
33.11
31. 90
26.42
30. 62
37. 08
39.43

28. 97
26. 28
28.88
28. 03
27. 99
29. 79
30.90
29. 73
25.71
30.34
33. 98
37.14

+ 5.9
+ 4.9
+ 7 .2
+ 6.3
+ 5.1
+ 6 .6
+ 7 .2
+ 7.3
+ 2 .8

26. 72
27.70
37. 06
30. 76
26. 39
27. 57
27. 93
34. 47
28.63
32.48
39. 77
33.85

24. 53
25. 99
30.30
28.01
24. 25
25. 39
26.97
31.96
25.03
29. 57
38.13
33. 70

+ 8 .9
+ 6.6
+22.3
+ 9 .8
+ 8 .8
+ 8 .6
+ 3.6
+ 7.9
+14.4
+13.7
+ 4.3
+ .4

+9.1
+ 6 .2

W ages and Cost o f L ivin g in R om e, N ovem ber 1 9 4 0
and 1 9 4 4
THE average industrial worker’s basic daily wage in Rome increased
from 29.00 lire 1 to 37.65 lire (about 30 percent) from November 1940
to December 1943, according to a radio broadcast by the secretary of
the Rome Chamber of Labor. In November 1944 the basic wage
was 49.35 lire, which indicated an increase of 70 percent over Novem
ber 1940. The basic wage for a worker with wife and 3 children, plus
family, cost-of-living, and other allowances, advanced from 35 lire in
November 1940 to 140 lire in November 1944, an increase of 300 per
cent. It was stated, however, that “ the majority of workers have
much lower wages.”
The standard of living of the workers had already deteriorated in
1940. According to statistics collected by the Rome Chamber of
Labor, quoted in the broadcast, it has fallen still lower since then,
for during the last 4 years the cost of living has increased by 750 per
cent. An average family which spent 194 lire per week in November
1940, would have had to spend over 1,000 lire weekly for the same
articles in November 1944.
1 Average exchange rate of lira in November 1940 was 5.04 cents. The Allied Military Government estab
lished in July 1943 for the liberated portion of Italy as exchange rate 1 lira for 1 cent; this became effective in
the Rome area about the middle of 1944.

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Wage and Hour Regulation

M inim um W ages in L uxem bou rg, 1 9 4 5 1
MINIMUM wages for all workers except domestic, agricultural, and
home workers in Luxembourg were fixed by a grand-ducal decree of
December 30, 1944.
The decree, effective January 1, 1945, provided that the minimum
hourly rate, based on the legal maximum workweek, should be from
9 to 10 francs2 for unskilled labor and from 11 to 12 francs for skilled
labor. Adult male employees paid on a monthly basis were to receive
not less than 1,750 francs. Minimum wages of young workers were
graduated from 50 percent of these rates for persons 16 years of age
to 90 percent for persons 20 years of age. Women’s wages were fixed
at from 80 to 90 percent of those applicable to men. The law author
ized employment of handicapped persons, by special permit, at lower
rates than those fixed by the decree. Penalties for infractions were
provided.
M inim um W ages and Labor C onditions in Paraguay
in 1 9 4 4 3
NOTEWORTHY developments affecting Paraguayan labor in 1944
included wage increases, the establishment of minimum-wage scales
throughout the country, and a rise in cost of subsistence of a worker’s
family to a figure that was more than 44 percent above the highest
minimum wage adopted.
M inimum Wage Rates

Wages in the capital zone, chiefly in the city of Asunción, increased
from 10 to 47 percent for different trades and occupations in 1944,
according to the National Labor Bureau of Paraguay, and the general
wage increase throughout the remainder of the country amounted to
approximately 30 percent. These wage changes occurred largely in
conformity with decisions and resolutions issued by the National
Labor Bureau in accordance with decree law No. 620 of October 2,
1943. Thus, on January 25, 1944, the Bureau established in final
form minimum wages for the capital zone, and divided labor employed
in industry and commerce into specific classifications. Payments to
labor were based upon those classifications, and varied in amount from
1 Information is from report of George Platt Waller, Charge d’Affaires ad interim, Luxembourg, Feb
ruary 17,1945, enclosing translation of text of decree.
2 The exchange rate of the franc = 2.28 cents.
3 Data are from reports by Wesley Frost, United States Ambassador, Asunción, dated January 27, 1944
(No. 1771), Harry L. Hamlette, junior economic analyst, and Frederick J. Cunningham, second secretary,
U nited States Embassy at Asunción, dated October 23,1944 (No. 115), and March 17,1945 (No. 41).

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1285

1286

M ONTHLY

LABOR R E V IE W — J U N E

194 5

1.00 to 2.56 guaranies. Subsequently, on October 6, 1944, the
Bureau established permanent wages for workers in industry and
commerce in the interior zones. These rates, for men, ranged from
1.40 to 2.56 guaranies.
In the meantime, on April 8, 1944, permanent minimum wages were
fixed for cattle-ranch workers. The daily rates were 1.00 guarani and
0.70 guarani, respectively, for males and females over 18 years of age.
For workers under 18, the minimum daily wage was set at 0.40
Minimum D aily Wages Set for Certain Workers in Capital and Interior Zones
of Paraguay, 1944
[Rates apply to wage earners, unless otherwise specified]
M inimum rate (in
guaranies) 1
Industry
Capital

Industry

Interior

Minimum rate (in
guaranies) 1
Capital

Interior

•
M a n u f a c t u r i n g —Con.

M a n u fa c tu r in g

Construction materials:
Brick kilns..................... .
1.76
Lime kilns
Marble works
2. 50
2. 50
Tile and mosaic
St.oneeiit.t.ing
2. 00
Foodstuffs:
2. 50
Bakeries - __________
Cane-syrup factories
"Distilleries:
Distillers __
Laborers
Processing raw7 materials:
2.00
Corn mills____________
2. 40
Flour mills__________
Rice mills:
2.00
M en .......................
Women ________
1.60
2. 50
Starch mills ________
Sugar plants
Oil miils and cotton gins:
Cotton gins _________
2.50
2.24
Oil mills
__________
Soap factories:
2.00
M en
__________
1.60
Women ________
Woodworking and furniture:
Carpentry and furni2.40
ture________________
Sawmills:
Men
_______ _
Women
Paper and printing:
Cardboard and paper:
Men
1. 50
Women
1.00
Printing:
M en
_______ -- 1. 50-2.00
1.60
Women ________
Leather:
Hides and skins (tan2.00
ning) - _
Saddlery_____________
Textiles:
Regular workers:
M en_____________ 2.00-2.56
■Women _________ 1.60-1.80
Coarse-cloth w eavers...

1.40
1.75

1.40
1.60
1.60
1.40
1.60
1.80
1.70
1.30
1.60

2.00
1.60
1.20

1.80
1.60-1.80
1.20

1. 40-1.80

J21.60-2.00
l
« 1.40
2.00-2.56
1.60-1.80
1.20

1 Average exchange rate of guarani=32 cents.
* Men.
3 Women.
* Skilled workers.
* Tile masons.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Clothing:
Hats and caps:
M en_____________
W omen. ________
Shoes:
Men__ _________
W omen. ________
Tailor shops ________
Metallurgy:
Foundries_________ . .
Machine shops_______
Shipyards.
______
T in shops____________

1. 50 }
1.00
2. 56
1.76
2. 50

1.20
4 1.80
1.40
1. 20-41.60
1. 40-4 2.00
1. 30-1.80

2.00
2.00

1.30-1. 70

N o n m a n u fa c tu r in g

Building and construction:
Carpenters___________
Masons ____________
Painters______________
Pavers _____________
Transportation, land:
Railroads. ......................
Street railways_______
Trucks and busses____
Wagons and carts_____
Transportation, river:
Crew________________
Stevedores______ _____
Hotels, restaurants, etc:
Waiters ______ ____ _
Other workers:
Men __________
W omen __________
Laundries:
Men
_____________
Women _____________
Beauty parlors
__ _ __
C o m m ercia l e sta b lis h ments:
Salaried employees:
M en ____________
W omen __________
Wage earners, m en____
Commercial agencies:
Men
______________
Women _____
___
Banks and insurance:
Salaried employees____
Wage earners_________

1.80
1.70
1.80

«2. 50
2. 50

2.40

1.70

2.50
2.00
1.60

1.40-2.00
1.60

2. 40
2.50

2.00
1.80

2.50

1.60

2.00
1. 60

1.60
1.20

2.00
1. 50
1.50

1.60
1.20

2.00
1. 50

1.80
1.40
1.60

2.00
2.40
1.76
f
\

2.00
1.60

W AGE A N D

H O U R R EG U L A T IO N

1287

guarani. In addition, it was specified that the employer was to
furnish shelter and food, that workers who provided their own tools
or equipment were to be paid higher wages, and that no existing
wages could be lowered because of the minima thus established.
Other wage increases granted by the National Labor Bureau were
in accordance with agreements reached between workers and their
employers, under the auspices and control of the Bureau. A report
edly typical case was that pertaining to workers in the printing
industry, 65 percent of whom had had a monthly rate of pay of less
than 80 guaranies. These workers received a 20-percent increase;
on the other hand those employees whose monthly wage had been
more than 80 guaranies, received a 15-percent increase.
Employment

By far the greatest number of Paraguayans (approximately 700,000)
were engaged in agricultural or pastoral pursuits, and many of the
remainder (about 300,000) received only part of their income from
industry and commerce. According to the National Labor Bureau,
12,105 persons were reported to be employed in industrial and 1,066
in commercial activities.
Cost of Living

The National Labor Bureau made a survey of the cost of subsistence
of a worker’s family in the Asunción zone. The study was based on
a family of 4, including the worker, his wife, and 2 minor children.
Estimates were made of the cost to such a family of food, shelter,
hygiene, transportation, culture, recreation, and clothing. This study
indicated that the cost of subsistence of such a family, as of October
1, 1943, was 3.06 guaranies per day. Between that date and the end
of 1944, the subsistence cost rose 21 percent, to 3.70 guaranies.
It appears therefore that the highest minimum wage established in
1944 (2.56 guaranies) was approximately 31 percent below the esti
mated cost of subsistence by the end of that year.
Trade-Union Membership

Membership in legally constituted trade-unions, at the beginning of
1945, was said to number 10,699. Of that total, unions in Asunción
claimed 7,458 members, and those in the rest of the country were
reported to have 2,027 in unions of “ white collar” workers. In
Asunción, the workers’ organizations totaled 65, with the greatest
number of unions in the transport and communications category.
Outside the capital area, there were 13 labor organizations.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cost o f Living and Retail Prices

Cost o f L ivin g in Large C ities, A p ril 1 9 4 5
CONTINUED shortages of meats, of some cotton clothing, and of
certain low-priced cost-of-living items were the most important fac
tors in the retail situation in mid-April. The increases that occurred
during the month were mostly seasonal and resulted in a small total
increase of 0.2 percent as compared with mid-March. Since the
outbreak of the war in Europe, prices of living essentials have risen
28.9 percent, not including an allowance of 3 to 4 points for quality
deterioration and uptrading (not included in the Bureau of Labor
Statistics index). On April 15, 1945, the index stood at 127.1 percent
of the 1935-39 average, and was 2.0 percent above the level of the
same date in 1944.
During the latter half of March and the first half of April, average
food costs rose 0.5 percent and were 1.5 percent higher than in midApril 1944. Fresh fruits and vegetables rose 2.6 percent during the
month, primarily because of advances (mostly seasonal) for oranges,
apples, lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots. There was little
change in quoted prices of meat, but it was practically unobtainable
in many cities. About 80 percent of the retailers surveyed by the
Bureau early in the week of April 17 had no pork or veal for sale,
and over 50 percent had no beef or lamb (see p. 1298). It was
reported that many markets were holding their limited supplies for
sale, to regular customers, on Fridays or Saturdays. All prices col
lected by the Bureau are obtained from established retailers, without
inquiry as to the sources of supplies. Overceiling prices are included
but “ under the counter” or “ back door” sales are not represented.
Clothing costs advanced 0.2 percent during the month, to a level
5.0 percent above that of mid-April 1944, reflecting the continuing
shortage of low-cost clothing items. Scattered increases in costs of
women’s rayon underwear and men’s white broadcloth shirts occurred.
The average cost of cotton house dresses continued to advance,
although prices in a few cities declined as directive garments produced
under WPB-OPA programs became available. Prices of men’s work
clothing showed minor price changes.
Prices of housefurnishings and miscellaneous goods and services
rose slightly (0.1 percent), reflecting small scattered advances, and
by April 15 were respectively 8.9 and 2.3 percent above 1944 levels.
Fuel, electricity, and ice costs declined 0.2 percent during the month
ending April 15, 1945. This resulted from discontinuing the extra
charges for one-ton deliveries for anthracite, bituminous coal, and
coke, temporarily allowed by the OPA in several cities. Rents were
not surveyed in April.
In connection with the tables here given it should be borne in mind
that the Bureau of Labor Statistics index indicates average changes
12 8 8

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

COST OF L IV IN G A N D

R ETA IL PR IC ES

1289

in retail prices of selected goods, rents, and services, bought by families
of wage earners and lower-salaried workers in large cities. The items
covered represented 70 percent of the expenditures of families who
had incomes ranging from $1,250 to $2,000 in 1934-36. The index
does not show the full wartime effect on the cost of living of such
factors as lowered quality, disappearance of low-priced goods and
forced changes in housing and eating away from home. It does not
measure changes in total “ living costs”—that is, in the total amount
families spend for living. Income taxes and bond subscriptions are
not included.1
The indexes here given are based on time-to-time changes in the
cost of goods and services purchased by wage earners and lowersalaried workers in large cities. They do not indicate whether it costs
more to live in one city than in another. The data relate to the 15th
of each month, except those for January 1941, in tables 1 and 2.
For that month they were estimated for January 1 (the date used in
the “Little Steel” wage formula of the National War Labor Board),
by assuming an even rate of change from December 15, 1940, to the
next pricing date. The President’s “hold-the-line” order was issued
April 8, 1943. The peak of the rise which led to that order was
reached in May, which is, therefore, used for this comparison.
Food prices are collected monthly in 56 cities during the first four
days of the week which includes the Tuesday nearest the 15th of the
month. Aggregate costs of foods in each city, weighted to represent
food purchases of families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers
have been combined for the United States with the use of population
weights. In March 1943, the number of cities included in the food
index was increased from 51 to 56, and the number of foods from 54 to
61. Prices of clothing, housefurnishings, and miscellaneous goods and
services are obtained in 34 large cities in March, June, September, and
December. In intervening months, prices are collected in 21 of the
34 cities for a shorter list of goods and services. Rents are surveyed
semiannually in most of the 34 cities (in March and September, or in
June and December). In computing the all-items indexes for individ
ual cities and the rent index for the average of large cities, because of
the general stability of average rents at the present time, the indexes
are held constant in cities not surveyed during the current quarter.
Prices for fuel, electricity, and ice are collected monthly in 34 large
cities.
r Ij For a description of the methods used in computing the index, see Description of the Oost-of-Living
Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An appraisal of the factors enumerated above was given in the
report of the President’s Committee on the Cost of Living, November 17, 1944.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1290

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

T able 1.— Cost of Living in Large Cities as of A pril 1945 and Earlier Dates
Apr.
1945

Apr.
1944

Mar.
1945

M ay
1943

Group
This
Last
month month

M ay
1942

HoldMax.
the-line Gen.
order Price Reg.

Last
year

Jan.
1941

Aug.
1939

“ Little
Steel”
decision

M onth be
fore war in
Europe

Indexes (1935-39=100)
All items___ ____ ______ ______
Food ___________ _______
Clothing__________________
Rent
_ _ ___________
Fuel, electricity and ice_____
Gas and electricity______
Other fuels and ice______
Housefurnishings. ________
M iscellaneous_____________

126.8
135.9
143. 7
108. 3
110.0
95.5
124.1
144. 5
123.6

127.1
136.6
144.0
109.8
95.5
123. 7
144.7
123.7

124.6
134.6
137.1
108.1
109.9
96.0
123.5
132.9
120.9

125.1
143.0
127.9
108.0
107.6
96.1
118.7
125.1
115.3

116.0
121.6
126.2
109.9
104.9
96.6
112. 9
122. 2
110.9

100.8
97.6
101.2
105. 0
100.8
97. 5
104.0
100.2
101.8

98.6
93.5
100.3
104.3
97. 5
99.0
96.3
100.6
100.4

Percent of change to April 1945
+ 0 .2
+ .5
+ .2

All items
Food _________________. . . .
Clothing__________________
R e n t1
Fuel, electricity and ice_____
Gas and electricity______
Other fuels and i c e ..........
Housefurnishings___________
Miscellaneous______________

+ 2 .0
+ 1 .5
+ 5 .0
+ .2
-.1
-. 5
+ .2
+ 8 .9
+ 2 .3

- .2
0
- .3
+. 1
+ .1

+ 1 .6
-4 .5
+12.6
+ .3
+ 2 .0
- .6
+ 4 .2
+15.7
+ 7 .3

+ 9 .6
+12.3
+14.1
-1 . 5
+ 4 .7
- 1 .1
+ 9 .6
+18.4
+11.5

+26.1
+40.0
+42.3
+ 3.1
+ 8 .9
- 2 .1
+18.9
+44.4
+21.5

+28.9
+46.1
+43.6
+ 3.8
+12.6
- 3 .5
+28.5
+43. 8
+23.2

1 Percent of change to March 1945.

T able 2. —Percent of Change, to A pril 1945, in Cost of Living From Specified Dates,

by Cities
Mar.
1945

Apr.
1944

M ay
1943

M ay
1942

Jan.
1941

Aug.
1939

Last
month

Last
year

Holdthe-line
order

Gen. Max.
Price Reg.

“ Little
Steel”
decision

M onth be
fore war in
Europe

City

A vera g e.._______________________

+ 0 .2

+ 2 .0

+ 1 .6

+ 9 .6

+26.1

+28.9

Baltimore, M d ___________________
Birmingham, Ala________________
Boston, M ass____________________
Buffalo, N . Y ____________________
Chicago, 111. _ . ________________
Cincinnati, Ohio______ ______ ____
Cleveland, Ohio________ _____
Denver, Colo____________________
Detroit, M ich____________________
Houston, Tex _________________
Kansas City, M o_________________
Los Angeles, Calif________________
Minneapolis, M inn________ ______
N ew York, N*. Y _________________
Philadelphia, Pa___________ ______
Pittsburgh, Pa_______ _ . ______
St. Louis, M o____________________
San Francisco, Calif.1_____________
Savannah, Ga____________________
Seattle, W ash. .
. . . _________
Washington, D . C________________

+• 2
+ .3
0
-.1
+ .4
+ .4
+ .3
+ .4
+ .4
+ .6
+ .3
+ .6
+ .1
+ .2
-. 1
+ .5
+ .2
+ .6
0
0
+ .2

+ 2 .6
+ 2 .4
+ 1 .4
+ 1 .8
+ 2 .0
+ 1 .4
+ 1 .0
+ 2 .1
+ 2.1
+ 1 .9
+ 2 .1
+ 3 .2
+ 1 .2
+ 1 .6
+ 1 .9
+ 2 .2
+ 1 .3
4-3. 4
+ 1 .4
+ 2 .7
+ 2 .4

+ 1 .4
+ 3 .9
+ .5
- 1 .3
+ 1 .6
+ 2 .6
+ 1 .6
+ 1 .7
+ .4
+. 9
+ 2 .4
+ 3 .3
+ 1.1
+ 2 .5
+• 9
+ 2.6
+ 1 .0
+ 3 .5
+ 2 .6
+ 1 .5
+ 2 .1

+10.0
+10.1
+ 8 .4
+ 5 .5
+ 8 .6
+ 9 .6
+ 9 .5
+ 9 .4
+ 7 .6
+ 8.0
+10.0
+10.1
+ 6 .3
+12.4
+ 9 .8
+10.7
+ 8.3
+12.8
+11.9
+ 8 .4
+10.1

+29.1
+28.6
+24.0
+24.7
+25.0
+27.5
+27.5
+26.5
+26.5
+23.0
+27.5
+26.8
+21.0
+26.0
+26.9
+26.7
+24.0
+30.3
+33.4
+28.7
+26.4

+31.7
+32.7
+26.6
+29.0
+28.2
+30.5
+30.1
+28.3
+29.7
+24.6
+27.3
+29.4
+23.6
+28.6
+28.7
+30.3
+27.6
+33.5
+36.3
+31.0
+28.1

1 Index for Mar. 15, 1945, revised: All items 131.8.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1291

COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES

T able 3. —Percent of Change in Cost of Living, March 1945 to A pril 1945, by Cities
City

All items

Average _________ _______ _______
Atlanta, Qa_______________ ______
Baltimore, M d ______ _ .
Birmingham, Ala________________
Boston, Mass_____________ _______
Buffalo, N . Y _________________ _
Chicaeo, 11!______________________
Cincinnati, Ohio............... ....................
Cleveland, Ohio___________ ______
Denver, Colo________ ______ _____
Detroit, M ich________________ .
Houston, Tex______________ _____
Indianapolis, Ind ___________
Jacksonville, Fla_______
Kansas City, M o .____________
Los Angeles, Calif________________
Manchester, N . H __________ ___
Memphis, Tenn
Milwaukee, W is_____
Minneapolis, M inn____
Mobile, Ala______________
New Orleans, L a_____________
New York, N . Y ________
Norfolk, V a ............. . . . .
Philadelphia, P a___ ____ _
Pittsburgh, Pa___ _____________
Portland, Maine...... ................
Portland, Oreg_________________
Richmond, Va_____ .
St. Louis, M o____________ . .
San Francisco, C alif1_____________
Savannah, G a______________ . .
Scranton, P a____________
Seattle, Wash_____________
Washington, D . C ________________

Clothing

Food

+ 0 .2

+ 0 .5

+ 0 .2

+ 0 .3
+ .6
+ .9
+ .2
-.4
+ .9
+ .7
+ .8
+ .7
+ .5
+ 1 .4
+ .9
+ 1 .9
+ .9
+ 1 .2
0
+ .6
+ .4
+ .2
+ .7
+ 1 .0
+ .3
-.9
-. 1
+ 1 .2
-. 1
+ 1 .1
-.2
+ .7
+ 1 .5
+ .1
+ .4
0
+ .7

+ .2
+ .3
0
-.1
+ .4
+ .4
+ .3
+ .4
+ .4
+ .6
+ .3
+ .6

+ .1
+ .2
-. 1
+ .5

+ .2
+ .6
0
0
+ .2

Fuel, elec
tricity,
and ice

Housefurnishings

- 0 .2
0
-.5
0
-.4
-.3
0
0
0
0
- .3
0
0
0
0
0
-. 1
0
0
0
0
+. 1
0
0
- 1 .0
0
0
+ .4
0
0
0
0
0
0
- .5

-.4
-.1
0
+ .4
+ .3
+ .3
+ .1
+ .1
+1.1
+ .2
-.1
+ .4

0
+ .1
+ .3
-.2

+ .2
-.1
+ .1
+ .5
+ .3

Miscella
neous

+ 0.1

+ .1
- .3
+ .4
-.1
0
0
+ .1
-.2
+ .4
+ .1

+ .1
0
0
0
+. 1
0
0
+ .3
+ .1
+ .1

+ .1
+ .3

-.1
+ .3

+ .3

+ .1

+. 1

+ .3
+ .1

+ .2
+ .1

+ .1
0
+ .8

0
0
-.1

0
-.4

0
+ .1

1 Indexes for March 1945 revised: All items, 131.8; miscellaneous, 132.3.

T able 4. — Indexes of Cost of Living in Large Cities, 1935 to A pril 1945
Indexes 1 (1935-39=100) of cost of—
Year and month
All
items

1935_________________________
1936_________________________
1937_________________________
1938_________________________
1939_________________________
1940_________________________
1941_________________________
1942____________________ ____
1943_________________________
1944_________________________
Jan. 15___ . . . . . . . . .
F e b .15__________________
Mar. 15__________________
Apr. 15__________________
M ay 1 5 _________________
June 15__________________
July 15_____ ___________
Aug. 15__________________
Sept. 15__________________
Oct. 15__________________
N ov. 15_______________ .
Dec. 15__________________
1945:
Jan. 15. _________________
Feb. 15__________________
Mar. 15__________________
Apr. 15---------------------------

Food

Clothing

Rent

98.1
99.1
102.7
100.8
99.4
100.2
105.2
116.5
123.6
125.5
124. 2
123.8
123.8
124.6
125.1
125.4
126.1
126.4
126.5
126.5
126.6
127.0

100.4
101.3
105.3
97.8
95.2
96.6
105.5
123.9
138.0
136.1
136.1
134.5
134.1
134.6
135.5
135.7
137.4
137.7
137.0
136.4
136.5
137.4

96.8
97.6
102.8
102.2
100.5
101.7
106.3
124.2
129.7
138.8
134. 7
135.2
136.7
137.1
137.4
138.0
138.3
139.4
141.4
141.9
142.1
142.8

94.2
96.4
100.9
104.1
104.3
104.6
106.2
108.5
108.0
108.2
108. 1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.1
108.2
108.2
108.2
(2)
(2)
108.3

127.1
126.9
126.8
127.1

137.3
136.5
135.9
136.6

143.0
143.3
143.7
144.0

(2)
(2)
108.3
(2)

Fuel,
electric
ity, and
ice

Housefurnish
ings

100.7
100.2
100.2
99.9
99.0
99.7
102.2
105.4
107.7
109.8
109.5
110.3
109.9
109.9
109.8
109.6
109.7
109.8
109.8
109.8
109.9
109.4

94.8
96.3
104.3
103.3
101.3
100.5
107.3
122.2
125.6
136.4
128.3
128.7
129.0
132.9
135.0
138.4
138.7
139.3
140.7
141.4
141.7
143.0

98.1
98.7
101.0
101.5
100.7
101.1
104.0
110.9
115.8
121.3
118.4
118.7
119.1
120.9
121.3
121.7
122.0
122.3
122.4
122.8
122.9
123.1

109.7
110.0
110.0
109.8

143.6
144.0
144.5
144.7

123.3
123.4
123.6
123.7

1 Based on changes in cost of goods purchased by wage earners and lower-salaried workers.
1Rents not surveyed in this month.

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

Miscel
laneous

1292

M ONTHLY

LABOR R E V IE W — J U N E

1945

R eta il P rices of F ood in March 1 9 4 5
PERCENTAGE changes in retail food costs on March 13, 1945, as
compared with costs in the previous month and in March 1944, are
shown in table 1.
T

able

1.—Percent of Change in Retail Costs of Food in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 by
Commodity Groups, in Specified Periods

Commodity group

All foods__ __

______ ______

M ay 18,
1943, to
Mar. 13,
1945

Jan. 14,
1941, to
Mar. 13,
1945

+ 1 .3

- 5 .0

+39.0

+45.3

+ .6
+ •2
- .6
+ •1
+ 1.3
+ 2 .3
- 2 .6
-, 1
+ 3 .8
+ 4 .1
+ 4 .7

+ 1.0
- 5 .4
- 9 .8
-1 0 .4
- 4 .0
+ 4 .1
+ 6 .9
- 2 .5
-1 .0
-1 1 .2
-13. 2
-.9
+ 5 .9
0
- 2 .1
-.9

+14.5
+29.4
+ 8 .2
+30.5
+37.7
+58.0
+80. 6
+27.0
+44.5
+81.7
+91.2
+42.1
+68.1
+37.0
+54.0
+32.7

+16.4
+36.7
+ 18.9
+27.7
+37.6
+62.4
+115.3
+43.4
+55.1
+83.4
+92.5
+41.8
+85.4
+31.2
+46.4
+32.3

Feb. 13,
1945, to
Mar. 13,
1945

Mar. 14,
1944, to
Mar. 13,
1945

- 0 .4
0
+ .1
0
-, 1
+ .3
+ .5
- .4
0
- 8 .2
+■4
+ •4
+ •1
+ .2
0
+ •2
+ .2

__ __________

Cereals and bakery products___
________ _- --M eats_________________________ ___ __________ Beef and veal--- - _________ _ ____ _______
P o rk ._______ ____________ _ . . . __________
Lam b_______ __________ ____ ______________
Chickens . . .
...
. . . . _______________ ..
Fish, fresh and canned______ _________________
Dairy products____ _______
___
________ . . .
Eggs---------------------------------------------------------------Fruits and vegetables_______ _ _____ ______ _
..
Fresh_________ ____________________________
Canned______________________ _ ____________
Dried___ __ _________________ _____________
Beverages_________ __________ ________________
Fats and oils__________________ ______ _ _ ______
Sugar and sweets_____________________ _________

+ 2 .6
+ .1
+ .2
0

Aug. 15,
1939, to
Mar. 13,
1945

■ The number of cities included in the index was changed from 51 to 56 in March 1943, with the neces
sary adjustments for maintaining comparability. At the same time the number of foods in the index was
increased from 54 to 61.

T able 2. — Indexes of Retail Costs of Food in 56 1 Large Cities Combined,2 by Commodity

Groups, on Specified Dates
[1935-39 = 100]
1945

1944

1943

1941

1939

Mar. 14

M ay 18

Jan. 14

Aug. 15

Commodity group
Mar. 13

Feb. 13

_____-

135.9

136.5

134.1

143.0

97.8

93.5

Cereals and bakery products___ __ _ -.
M eats___ _____________________ ______
Beef and veal____ _____ ____________
Pork________
_____ _________
Lamb-- ____
Chickens___ ___________
Fish, fresh and canned- _ _ __ _____
___ _ ______
Dairy products_____
Eggs--------------------------------------------------Fruits and vegetables__________ - ______
Fresh_____________________________
Canned__ _ .
___
D ried.. _ _________ _ _ ___ ___ __
Beverages----------------------------------- _
Fats and oils.-____________________
Sugar and sweets_________ _ - ____ . .

108.7
130.8
118.4
112.4
135.9
153.6
214.4
133.5
140.7
169.5
178.6
129.9
167.4
124. 5
123.7
126.5

108.7
130.7
118.4
112.5
135.5
152.9
215. 2
133.5
153.2
168.9
177.8
129.8
167.0
124.5
123.5
126.3

108.0
130.6
119.1
112.3
134.1
150.2
220.2
133.6
135. 5
162. 9
170.6
129.6
163.2
124.4
123.5
126.5

107.6
138.3
131.2
125.5
141.6
147.6
200. 5
136.9
142.1
190.8
205. 8
131.1
158.0
124.5
126. 3
127.0

94.9
101.1
109.4
86.1
98.7
97.2
118.7
105. 1
97.4
93.3
93.4
91.4
99.6
90.9
80.3
95.3

93.4
95.7
99.6
88.0
98.8
94.6
99.6
93.1
90.7
92.4
92.8
91.6
90.3
94.9
84.5
95.6

All foods____________

____

1 Indexes based on 51 cities combined prior to March 1943.
2 Aggregate costs of 61 foods (54 foods prior to March 1943) in each city, weighted to represent total pur
chases of families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers, have been combined with the use of popu
lation weights.

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

RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD TO CITY WORKERS
AVERAGE
INDEX

LARGE

CITIES

1 9 3 5 - 3 9 = 100

COST OF L IV IN G A N D
R ETA IL PR IC ES

1293

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

FOR

1294

M ONTHLY

LABOR R E V IE W — J U N E

1945

RETAIL PRICES FOR GROUPS OF FOOD
AVERAGE FOR LARGE CITIES
1 9 3 5 -3 9 = 100

index

) Ai RY P =Ì0D JOTS
A

DODS

.— ------

0 * 1

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS_______

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

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1295

COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES

T able 3. —Average Retail Prices of 78 Foods in 56 Large Cities Combined,l March 1945,

Compared With Earlier Months
1945

1944

1941

1939
Aug. 15

Article

Cereals and bakery products:
Cereals:
Flour, w heat___________ _____ 10 pounds..
Macaroni______________ ________ pound..
Wheat cereal2_________ ______28 ounces..
Cora flakes____________ _____ .8 ounces.
Cora meal____ _________ ________ pound..
Rice 2_____________ ____ __________ do___
Rolled oats____________ __________ do___
Flour, pancake 2. ______ _____20 ounces..
Bakery products:
Bread, white____________ ________ pound..
Bread, w hole-w heat____ __ ________ do___
Bread, rye_________ . . . _________ do___
Vanilla cookies__________ __________ do___
Soda crackers________ __ __________ do___
Meats:
Beef:
Round steak____________ _____ __do___
Rib roast. _____________ __________ do___
Chuck roast____ ________ __________ do___
Stew m e a t2_____________ ________ _do____
Liver___ ______ ________ __________ do___
Hamburger........ .................. ----------------do___
Veal:
Cutlets ____ _____ ______ --------------- do___
Roast, boned and rolled 2___________ do___
Pork:
C h o p s.________________ ------ 1_____ do___
Bacon, sliced____________ __________ do___
Ham, sliced_____________ ______ ___do___
Ham, whole____________ __________ do___
Salt pork______ ________ _________ do___
L iver2_________________ __________ do___
Sausage2_______ . . . . . . __________ do___
Bologna, big 2_________ __________ do___
Lamb:
Leg------------------------------- __________ do___
Rib chops______ ________ ______ ____ do___
Poultry: Roasting chickens. —..................... do___
Fish:
Fish (fresh, frozen).......... ______ -_do___
Salmon, pink___________ ___ 16-ounce can..
Salmon, red 2.......... ............ ............. .......do___
Dairy products:
Butter........................................... ________ pound..
Cheese_____________________ _____ _____ do___
Milk, fresh (d elivered)........... _________ quart..
M ilk, fresh (store)__________ __________ do___
M ilk, evaporated___________ --14J4-ounce can..
Eggs: Eggs, fresh_______________ ...... ............dozen..
Fruits and vegetables:
Fresh fruits:
A p p les................................. ............. .pound ..
B an an as.............................. _____ _____ do___
Oranges_____________ _ _________ dozen .
Grapefruit2_____________ __________ each.
Fresh vegetables:
Beans, green____________ ................pound .
Cabbage . . . ...... ................ __________ do___
Carrots__________ ______ ________ bunch..
Lettuce________________ ............. .......head..
O nions.............................. . ________ pound..
Potatoes_______________ _____15 pounds..
Spinach________________ ________ pound..
Sweet.potatoes....... .............. __________ do___
Beets 2______________ . . . ________ bunch..
Canned fruits:
Peaches....... ........................ ____No. 2 ^ can..
Pineapple......... .................... __________ d o ___
Grapefruit juice_________ _____ No. 2 can..
Canned vegetables:
Beans, green................. ....... __________ do___
Corn_________ ____ _____ ................... _do___
Peas....................................... .....................do----Tomatoes.............................. __________ d o ___
S o u p , v e g e t a b l e 2________ ___ 11 -o u n ce c a n . .
See fo o tn o te s at e n d o f table.

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

Mar. 13

Feb. 13

Mar. 14

J a n .14

Cents
64.2
15.7
23.1
6.5
6.4
12.8
10.3
12.3

Cents
64.2
15.7
23.1
6.5
6.4
12.8
10.2
12.3

Cents
65.2
15.7
23.3
6.5
5.9
12.8
8.7
12.0

Cents
41.4
13.8
23.5
7.1
4.2
7.9
7.1
0

Cents
35.8
14.0
24.2
7.0
4.0
7.5
7.1
0

8.8
9.6
9.9
28.9
18.9

8.8
9.6
9.9
28.8
18.9

8.8
9.7
9.9
28.6
18.8

7.8
8.7
9.0
25.1
15.0

7.8
8.8
9.2

40.4
32.7
27.9
29.3
37.2
27.5

40.5
32.8
28.0
29.9
37.3
27.5

41.9
33.9
29.2
31.7
37.5
28.6

38.6
31.5
25.2
(3)
0
0

0
0
0

43.7
34.9

44.2
35*3

45.7
35.4

45.2
0

37.0
40.9
50.0
34.9
22.0
22.1
38.5
33.6

37.2
41.0
49.9
35.2
22.3
22.0
38.3
33.9

37.4
41.2
51.4
35.4
22.5
22.2
38.5
34.5

29.1
30.1
45.1
26.2
16.7
(3)
(3)
(3)

39.7
45.3
46.2

39.8
45.2
45.6

40.1
45.4
44.9

27.8
35.0
31.1

23.6
40.3

0
23.5
40.5

49.9
35.8
15.6
14.5
10.0
49.9

49.9
35.5
15.6
14.5
10.0
54.4

50.2
35.9
15.6
14.5
10.0
47.8

38.0
27.0
13.0
11.9
7.1
34.9

30.7
24.7
12.0
11.0
6.7
32.0

11.4
10.3
44.4
9.0

11.2
10.3
43.9
8.8

11.6
11.3
41.9
7.5

5.2
6.6
27.3

4.4
6.1
31.5

20.2
5.5
7.8
12.1
5.4
77.4
11.6
9.4
9.4

20.5
6.4
8.7
10.6
5.9
75.3
12.7
9.0
9.3

18.9
5.1
8.6
10.5
8.2
63.6
10.3
11.0
8.8

27.9
26.8
14.4

27.7
26.4
14.4

27.1
27.5
14.4

16.5
20.9
0

13.1
14.8
13.3
12.1

13.1
14.8
13.3
12.0

13.4
14.5
13.5
12.0

10.0
10.7
13.2
8.4

13.4

24.2
43.1

15.7
26.4

36.4
28.9
22.5

42.5
30.9
30.4
46.4
27.4
15.4
0
0
0
27.6
36.7
30.9
0

12.8
23.1

14.0
3.4
6.0
8.4
3.6
29.2
7.3
5.0

14.8

7.2
3.9
4.6
8.4
3.6
34.4
7.8
5.5
17.1
21.0
10.0
10.4
13.6
8 .6
0

1296

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

T able 3. —Average Retail Prices of 78 Foods in 56 Large Cities Combined,1 March 1945,

Compared W ith Earlier Months-—Continued
1945

1944

1941

1939
Aug. 15

Article
Mar. 13

Feb. 13

Mar. 14

J a n .14

Cents
17.5

Cents
17.2

Cents
16.8

Cents
9.6

11.3
3.7

11.2
3.7

10.6
3.7

6.5
(3)

30.3
24.1
10.4

30.3
24.1
10.3

29.9
23.8
9.9

20.7
17.6
9.1

Fruits and vegetables—Continued.
Dried frufts: Prunes.. ____ ______ _..p o u n d ..
Dried vegetables:
N avy beans____ . ___________ ____do___
Soup, dehydrated, chicken noodle 2..o u n ce..
Beverages:
Coffee______ ______ . ------------- . ..p o u n d ..
T ea______ __________________ ____ ]4 pound. _
pound..
Cocoa 2________________ _________
Fats and oils:
Lard______ __ ______ — . . . . . . . ...p o u n d ..
Shortening other than lard—
In cartons.-. . . . . ________ . ____do___
In other containers_____________ ___ -do___
Salad dressing. _____ . . . . _______ ____p in t..
Oleomargarine______
.
_____ ..p o u n d ..
Peanut butter_________________ . . _____do___
Oil, cooking or salad 2______________ ____p in t..
Sugar and sweets:
. .p o u n d ._
Sugar___ ___________ ________
Corn sirup__________________ _____ 24 ounces..
Molasses 2_____________ ______ . . . 18 ounces..
Apple butter 2____ ____ ___________ 16 ounces..

Cents
8.8
5.8
(3)
22.3
17.2
8.6

18.8

9.3

9.9

20.0
24.6
25.6
24. 1
28.3
30.7

20.1
24.7
25.6
24. 1
28.3
30.7

20.0
24.8
25.6
24.1
28.6
30.6

11.3
18.3
20. 1
15.6
17.9
(9

11.7
20.2
(9 '
16.5
17.9
(9

6.7
15.8
15.7
13.6

6.7
15.8
15.8
13.5

6.8
15.8
15.9
13.2

5.1
13.6
13.4
(3)

5.2
13.7
13.6
(3)

1 Data are based on 51 cities combined prior to January 1943.
2 N ot included in index.
„
3 First priced, February 1943.
4 N ot priced.
3 Composite price not computed.
6 First priced, October 1941.

T able 4.— Indexes of Average Retail Costs of A ll Foods, by Cities,1 on Specified Dates
[1935-39 = 100]
1945

1944

1941

1939

Mar. 14

Jan. 14

Aug. 15

City
Mar. 13
United States. _____ .

. . . _ ___ _ ..

New England:
Boston_____ _______________ _____
B ridgeport... ______ _____________
Fall River______________ _________
Manchester________________ ______
N ew Haven
. . . ____
...
Portland, M ain e.. . . . . . ______ . . .
Providence_____________ _____ ______
M iddle Atlantic:
Buffalo____________ _ _____________
Newark------ ----------------------------------New York_________________________
Philadelphia_______________________
Pittsburgh___________ . . . . . _. _ ._
Rochester............ ..................................
Scranton_______ __ _ ____ _____
East North Central:
Chicago____ _____________________
Cincinnati____________ _____ _______
Cleveland_________________________
Columbus, Ohio____________________
Detroit______ ____________________
Indianapolis_____ _____________ _ .
Milwaukee____. .
_ ________ . _.
Peoria__________ . . . .
____ . . . ..
Springfield, 111...___________________
West North Central:
Cedar R apids2______ . _. .
____ .
Kansas C ity___ _________________
Minneapolis___ _ ________________
Omaha.. . . . _____ ________________
St. Louis_____________ ____________
St. Paul_______
_
______ _ .
Wichita 2_________________________
See footnotes at end of table.

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

Feb. 13

135.9

136.5

134.1

97.8

93.5

130.6
132.8
130.6
132.7
133.5
131.4
134.8

132.1
133.5
131.9
133.5
134.7
132.5
134.5

128.6
132.6
128.7
132.0
133.0
131.6
131.8

95.2
96.5
97.5
96.6
95.7
95.3
96.3

93.5
93.2
95.4
94.9
93.7
95.9
93.7

135.2
137.5
136.4
134.3
133.8
132.6
135.9

136.3
138.3
137.3
135.9
135.6
134.0
136.9

133.3
137.6
135.7
131.9
132.9
128.2
132.4

100.2
98.8
99.5
95.0
98.0
99.9
97.5

94.5
95.6
95.8
93.0
92.5
92.3
92.1

135.0
134.1
139.6
128.1
131.4
132.1
133.8
139.7
140.8

134.5
134.6
140.1
128.8
131.7
132.7
133.8
140.1
141.8

131.6
132.9
140.3
126.9
130.8
131.0
131.9
138.0
138.9

98.2
96.5
99.2
93.4
97.0
98.2
95.9
99.0
96.2

92.3
90.4
93.6
88.1
90.6
90.7
91.1
93.4
94.1

139.0
130.3
129.3
129.6
138.1
128.2
147.5

139.4
130.6
129.7
129.7
139.1
128.8
147.2

136. 6
129.8
128.7
131.3
135.9
127.1
145.4

95.9
92.4
99.0
97.9
99.2
98.6
97.2

91.5
95.0
92.3
93.8
94.3

1297

COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES

T able 4. — Indexes of Average Retail Costs of A ll Foods, by Cities,1 on Specified Dates—

Continued
[1935-39=100]
1945

1944

1941

1939

Mar. 14

J a n .14

Aug. 15

City
Mar. 13
South Atlantic:
A tlanta................ .
Baltimore_______
Charleston, S. C ...
Jacksonville_____
Norfolk 3...... ..........
Richmond...............
S a v a n n a h ....____
Washington, D . C
Winston-Salem 3...
E ast South Central:
Birmingham...........
Jackson 2__.............
Knoxville 3.............
Louisville...............
M em phis................
M obile__________
West South Central:
Dallas.......................
H ouston.............
Little Rock.............
N ew Orleans..........
Mountain:
B utte........................
D enver...................
Salt Lake C ity___
Pacific:
Los Angeles___
Portland, Oreg.
San Francisco..
Seattle...............

Feb. 13.

136.9
144.1
134.0
142.8
141.4
133.5
150.7
136.8
137.1

137.8
145.2
133.9
144.9
144.0
135.0
150.9
137.4
138.1

133.0
139.3
131.5
139.6
143.7
131.8
147.2
131.7
133.4

94.3
97.9
95.9
98.8
95.8
93.7
100.5
97.7
93.7

92.5
94.7
95.1
95.8
93.6
92.2
96.7
94.1

139.8
147.1
156.3
130.2
144.4
143.9

140.6
150.2
158.3
130.1
145.4
143.8

136.2
142.1
151.7
129.7
141.0
142.7

96.0
105.3
97.1
95.5
94.2
97.9

90.7
92.1
89.7
95.5

133.8
134.8
136.1
151.0

132.9
135.4
136.5
150.0

131.6
134.9
133.2
147.2

92.6
102.6
95.6
101.9

91.7
97.8
94.0
97.6

133.2
136.9
139.0

133.2
136.9
139.7

133.0
135.7
138.9

98.7
94.8
«7.5

94.1
92.7
94.6

142.7
145.8
146.2
143.0

141.8
146.4
145.3
142.2

140.9
143.3
142.2
140.5

101.8
101.7
99.6
101.0

94.6
96.1
93.8
94.5

1 Aggregate costs of 61 foods in each city (54 foods prior to March 1943), weighted to represent total purchases
of wage earners and lower-salaried workers, have been combined for the United States with the use of popu
lation weights. Primary use is for time-to-time comparisons, rather than place-to-place comparisons.
2 June 1940=100.
3 Includes Portsmouth and Newport News.

T able 5. —Indexes of Retail Food Costs in 56 Large Cities Combined,11913 to March 1945
[1935-39 = 100]
Year

All-foods
index

Year

All-foods
index

1913______________
1914______________
1915:_____________
1916______________
1917___________
1918______________
1919______________
1920______________

79.9
81.8
80.9
90.8
116.9
134.4
149.8
168.8

1929_____________
1930_______ _____
1931_____________
1932_____________
1933_____________
1934_____________
1935_____ _____
1936_____________

132.5
126.0
103.9
86.5
84.1
93.7
100.4
101.3

1921______________
1922______________
1923______________
1924______________
1925______________
1926________ _____
1927______________
1928________ _____

128.3
119.9
124.0
122.8
132.9
137.4
132.3
130.8

1937_____________
1938_____________
1939_____________
1940_____________
1941_____________
1942_____ _______
1943_____________
1944_____________

105.3
97.8
95.2
96.6
105.5
123.9
138.0
136.1

1 Indexes based on 51 cities combined prior to March 1943.

6 4 5 8 8 6 — 45-

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Year and month

All-foods
index

19U
January ...................
February. ______
March__________
April............ ..........
M ay____________
June........................
July____________
A u g u st____
September_______
October______ _
November_______
December...............

136.1
134.5
134.1
134.6
135.5
135.7
137.4
137.7
137.0
136.4
136.5
137.4

1946
January................
February ..............
M arch__________

137.3
136.5
135.9

1298

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

Su p p lies o f F ood s in In d ep en d en t R eta il Stores,
A p ril 1 9 4 5
THE meat counters of the nation were not so well-stocked in midApril as in mid-AIarch, but supplies of butter, shortening, and some
canned fruits were larger than in previous months, according to reports
of field representatives of the Bureau of Labor Statistics who visited
independent grocery stores 1 in 56 large cities. Supplies of many
staple foods continued to be generally adequate.
All cuts and grades of beef, veal, lamb, mutton, and pork were
found less frequently during the first part of the week of April 17
than in the same period in March. More than one-half of the inde
pendent retailers had no beef or lamb chops and roasts; veal, pork
loins and hams, or bacon was available in about one-fifth of the stores;
and about 7 out of every 10 stores had no mutton and unrationed
lamb. Stores without mutton or any unrationed cuts of lamb in
creased from 53 percent in mid-March to 69 percent in mid-April;
those without beef steaks and roasts from 44 percent to 55 percent.
Bacon and the less choice cuts of beef and veal were also considerably
more difficult to obtain than in the previous month. Frankfurters
and bologna, however, could be purchased in most independent stores
in large cities. In April of last year, 9 out of every 10 stores had
beef, 7 out of 10 had veal, 8 out of 10 had lamb, and pork was abundant.
As the shortage of meat has become more severe, the variation
in the percent of grocers without stocks in the several parts of the
country has decreased. More grocers in the Rocky Mountain and
Pacific Coast regions again had more beef, pork, lamb, and mutton
than in other sections of the country, but in those areas, also, the
number of retailers without stocks of fresh meats has increased
considerably since the first of the year. The Southeastern, the Mid
western (Chicago), and the New England regions had the smallest
supplies of meats in mid-April. Approximately 90 percent of the
independent stores interviewed in the Southern regions and more
than 80 percent in the Midwest (Chicago) had no beef, veal, lamb,
or pork on April 17.
Butter supplies continued to improve, with stocks available in 94
percent of the stores on April 17 and over 80 percent of the grocers
reporting that they had some butter for sale on each day during the
preceding week. Butter was difficult to obtain only in the South
eastern region. Shortening was also easier to find.
More retailers had canned peaches, mixed fruits, and pears in midApril than in mid-March. Canned apricots were not quite so plentiful
as in February, when supplies were last checked. Almost threefourths of the grocers were still unable to supply their customers with
pineapple. In April of last year, 85 percent of the independent re
tailers had canned peaches, 88 percent had supplies of mixed fruits,
and 79 percent had pineapple. Canned tomatoes were available in
94 percent of the independent stores, and more than 80 percent had
canned asparagus during the entire week preceding the April survey.
There was no shortage of evaporated milk except in Atlanta and
Richmond, where about half of the grocers had no stocks.
i Chain stores not included.

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1299

COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES

Independent Retail Stores Without Supplies of Specified Foods on Mar. 13 and Apr. 17,
1945, in 56 Large Cities
Percent of stores without supplies of specified foods 1

Commodity

Meats:
Beef, steaks and roasts_________
Beef, all other. . . . . . . ----------Veal, steaks, chops, and roasts__
Veal, all other_________________
Lamb, chops and roasts.. . ---M utton and all other lamb_____
Pork, loins and hams_____
Pork, bacon_________
Frankfurters and bologna______
Fats and oils:
B utter_________ ___
. . . .. Margarine----------------------Shortening __________ ___ .
Lard.. ------ ---------. . . -- Cooking and salad oils_________
Processed foods:
Peaches, canned_____ _ --------Mixed fruits, canned.. ------------Pears, canned.
. ------Pineapple, canned ------ ----------Apricots, canned... . . . . . ---- ----Grape juice_______
Asparagus, canned_______
Tomatoes, canned ..
. ------ ..
M ilk, evaporated, canned . . . .

Mar.
13,
1945

Apr. 17, 1945
Region 2

56
large
cities

44
48
74
71
53
53
78
68
4

55
56
79
83
57
69
80
78
7

73
64
87
89
68
70
3 90
78
1

44
44
71
76
44
59
80
78
6

47
46
75
75
69
73
81
71
10

88
90
3 90
s 90
3 90
84
3 90
3 90
8

9
11
35
15
7

6
17
30
26
8

7
12
18
12
6

7
21
38
34
9

40
3
28
30
7

47
45
61

45
38
50
72
14
16
19
6
2

49
37
46
67
5
10
14
6
40

63
42
59
62
15
29
21
7
40

48
62
51
81
29
11
19
5
2

5 72
s 11
(•)
78
6
81

III

VII

52
58
78
77
70
77
77
78
4

80
81
89
3 90
77
88
83
78
14

19
33
76
3 90
13
48
49
68
40

36
45
83
84
10
49
65
75
5

34
4
5
6
7

5
1
13
21
6

40
25
39
18
8

2
30
4
41
40

2
29
31
30
24

51
60
63
3 90
24
6
19
1
19

11
20
52
75
3
3
17
1
40

39
57
40
80
12
12
15
4
2

40
40
26
3 90
2
18
15
5
5

4
7
16
72
5
3
22
10
40

VIII

i Data are weighted by the number of independent food stores in each city to derive regional and all-region
p6rcGnt&§G S»

» Regions "consist of the following cities: Region /.—Boston, Bridgeport, Fall River, Manchester, New
Haven, Portland, Maine, Providence. Region / / . —Baltimore, Buffalo, Newark, New York, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Rochester, Scranton, Washington, D . C. Region / / / . —Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus,
Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Region IV .—Atlanta, Birmingham, Charleston, S. C., Jackson, Miss.,
Jacksonville, Knoxville, Memphis, Mobile, Norfolk, Richmond, Savannah, Winston-Salem. Region V —
Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, M o., Little Rock, N ew Orleans, St. Louis, Wichita. Region V I —Cedar
Rapids, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Peoria, St. Paul, Springfield, 111. Region VII.—
Butte, Denver, Salt Lake City. Region V I I I —Los Angeles, Portland, Oreg., San Francisco, Seattle.
3 Over 90 percent out of stock.
4 Same size, quality, or variety of the commodity was available in all stores surveyed.
s Feb. 13.1945, was last date surveyed.
e N ot included in the survey this month. List of foods covered is changed from time to time.
»Jan. 16,1945, was last date surveyed.
s N ov. 14, 1944, was last date surveyed.

Cost o f L ivin g o f W orker’s F am ily in M on tevid eo,
U ruguay, 1 9 3 7 - 4 4 1
THE general cost-of-living index (1929=100) for a worker’s family of
4 in Montevideo, Uruguay, advanced from 98.3 in 1937, when the
model budget still in use in 1944 was established, to 121.0 in August
1944. Though both the food index and the general index were
higher (by 6.02 and 4.58 percent, respectively) in August 1944 than
the average for 1943, the rate of increase for all parts of the index
except clothing was less than in the early years of World War II.
i Data are from report of Richard H. Post, United States vice consul, Montevideo, June 29, 1943 (No.
435): from cost-of-living publications of the Board of Economic Affairs in the Uruguayan Ministry of In
dustries and Labor, enclosed with reports of John T . Fishburn, senior economic analyst, October 2b, and
December 5, 1944; and Commercial Pan America, Part III, 1941, Pan American Union.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1300
T able

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

1.—Indexes of Cost of Living, of Worker's Family (4 Persons) in Montevideo,
Uruguay, 1937-44
Indexes (1929=100) of cost of—
Year and month
All items

1937
_______________________________
1938 ___________________ _____ _________
1939
___
___ _________________
1940-. - _____ _______________________
1941__________________________________
1942 ____________ ___________________
1943__________________________ ____ ___
1944:
April

- _____

August _November___

------

_ ___ . - ______
_____
_ ____

Food

House
hold
items

Lodging, General
expenses
rent

Clothing

98.3
97.8
103.2
107.8
107.1
110.3
115.7

95.5
91.6
97.5
102. 5
102.2
105.6
112.9

99.4
103.7
115.2
118.1
120.2
120.2
130.9

90.0
93.0
101.9
104.1
104.1
104.1
104.0

108.3
110.4
110.6
110.6
110.6
110.6
110.6

108.1
108.5
108.5
120.3
125.3
138.4
149.7

113.4
115.9
119.5
121.0
125.0

108.7
108.9
116.5
119.7

126.3
126.3
126.3
126.3

104.0
104.0
104.0
104.0

110.6
110.6
110.6
110.6

150.6
171.9
171.9
171.9

0 )

(')

0 )

1 No data.

After rising steadily from 1938 to 1941, as is shown in the table, both
the general and the food indexes dropped slightly in 1941. This was
due, in part, to a fall in the prices of corn, barley, oats, and flour.
Meat prices, however, did not decrease, and (since the Uruguayan
Government had had price-fixing powers since 1939) sales of beef and
veal were made subject to a special tax. In October 1941 a National
Subsistence Law was passed, which gave the Government broad
authority over the supply and prices of many articles of prime neces
sity. Under this authority decrees were issued in 1943 setting prices
of charcoal (June 14), rice (June 15), and potatoes (April 17, May 7).
Gasoline, kerosene, gas, oil, and fuel oil were rationed but, of these,
kerosene was the only commodity used in workers’ households.
The cost-of-living index in the table above was prepared by the
Board of Economic Affairs {Dirección General ele Asuntos Económicos)
of the Ministry of Industries and Labor. It is based on a model bud
get for a worker’s family of four, which was developed from a survey
of monthly expenditures of more than 4,000 Montevideo workers’
families, in 1937. The monthly expenditure required for the original
model budget amounted to 60 pesos. The index is computed from
averages derived from inspectors’ reports of prices prevailing in var
ious workers’ districts. The number of reports made annually and
the weights assigned in the index are as folows:
Weight in Number of price
index number reports per year

Food__________
Household itemsClothing_______
Rent________ _
General expenses

— 0)

1
1

---

...

15
17

1 No data.

Fifty-five percent of the food index is reported to be allotted to ex
penditures for meat, milk, and bread. Within this food group, pota
toes and eggs have been, according to one account, the only commodi
ties considerably affected by seasonal price fluctuations. The figures
used for compiling the rent index are based on inspectors’ records of

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1301

COST OF LIVING AND RETAIL PRICES

rents in workers’ districts, and a check of bank records for the rents
of workers’ houses. The clothing index represents 15 percent of the
entire index, and, as has been mentioned, is the only part in which
recent increases have outstripped those which occurred in the earlier
years of the World War II period.
The Board of Economic Affairs also publishes an index of cost of
living for the other coastal centers and the interior of Uruguay (based
on the family budget that is used in the Montevideo index), in which
certain modifications are introduced to meet different conditions in the
interior. This index is compiled from questionnaires sent to some 50
establishments in the 18 departmental capitals, on the same frequency
schedule as was shown above for the Montevideo inspections.
Table 2 gives the actual prices and quantities for August and Sep
tember 1944 and indexes for the various items included in the work
ingman’s family budget.
T able 2. —Prices and Indexes of Items in Worker's Family Budget, Montevideo, Uruguay,

August and September 1944
Price per
unit
Amount

Item

Total

2 liters 2____ 0.82
.22
2 kilos 3____
15 kilos___
.05
30 kilos......... .30
.20
4 kilos___
.29
1 kilo...........
2 kilos _________ .13
3 dozen__ _ .31
.13
45 liters____
35 kilos____
. 16
.14
15 kilos........
.20
5. 7 k ilo s __
.17
2 kilos ______ .
0.5 kilo ________ .95
10 liters___
.21

0.82
.22
.04
.30
.20
.29
. 12
.29
.13
.16
.10
.20
. 17
.95
.21

.32
4.0 kilos. . .
0.60 kilo. . .
.94
0.45 kilo____ 3.10
.42
2.5 kilos ______

.32
.98
3.10
.40

25 kilos _______
10 liters___
5 kilos_____

.09
.11
.27

48 trips____
10 copies___
4 services__

.05
.04
.30

1 Average exchange rate of peso In August 1944=52.6 cents
2 Liter = 1.0567 quarts.
8 K ilo=2.2046 pounds.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Sep
tem
ber

Au
gust

Indexes
(1929=100)
Sep
tem
ber

Pesos1 Pesos1Pesos1 Pesos1
79.15 78.26 122. 37

_ ______________

F o o d _____ ___ __________________________
Oil (sunflow er)_______________________
Rice
_ _____ _______
Sweetpotatoes ___________________ ___
B e e f_________________________________
Fruit...................... ...... _ _____ ______ ___
Suet
Flour (wheat) - _. _ ________
Eggs. _
____________ _ ___________
MUk______________ _________________ ____________
Bread..
_
_____________________
Potatoes* ______ ______ _____ __ _____
Macaroni
..
______
___________ ________
Fish . . . _
..................... .. ....... ................. ...
Cheese - ..........
.... .......................
W in e ________ ______ - - - - - ........ Miscellaneous
_ . __
Sugar (imported)__ ____________ ____
Coflee (imported)
__________ _______
____
Tobacco (imported)
Yerba maté (imported) ______________
Household item s_______ - - ....... .............. ........
Charcoal_______________________________ - ________
Kerosene__________________ - - ______________
Soap_____ ___________________ __________
Rent (or lodging)
___________________________ - R ent ______________________________________________________
Electricity____________________________
Clothing___________________________ _____
General expenses__________________________
Transportation__ ___________________
Newspapers___________________ _____
Barber_______________________________
Other_________ ______
_________

Sep Au
tem gust
ber

Cost

38.04
1.64
.44
.75
9.00
.80
.29
.26
.93
5.85
5.60
2.10
1.14
.34
.48
2.10
1.81
1.28
.56
1.40
1.05
4.70
2.25
1.10
1.35
14. 62
13.53
1.09
11.95
9.84
2.40
.40
1.20
5.84

37.15
1.64
.44
.60
9.00
.80
.29
.24
.87
5.85
5.60
1.50
1.14
.34
.48
2.10
1.77
1.28
.59
1.40
1.00
4. 70
2.25
1.10
1.35
14.62
13. 53
1.09
11.95
9.84
2.40
.40
1.20
5. 84

Au
gust

121.00

122. 51
110. 81
100.00
62.50
150.00
181.82
100.00
144.44
112. 90
108.33
123.08
114.00
111. 11
141.67
153. 23
100.00

119. 65
110. 81
100.00
50.00
150.00
181.82
100.00
133.33
82. 86
108.33
123.08
100.00
111.11
141. 67
153.23
. 00

152.38
120.51
139. 64
110. 53
126. 34
120. 57
191.67
175.32
103.98
104. 32
100.00
171.94
110. 56
100.00
133.33
120.00
112.31

152.38
125.64
139.64
105. 26
126. 34
120. 57
191. 67
175. 32
103.98
104. 32
100.00
171. 94
110. 56
100.00
133.33
120.00
1 1 2 .31

1 0 0

Wholesale Prices

W h olesale Prices in A p ril 1 9 4 5
SUBSTANTIALLY higher prices for agricultural products brought
the Bureau of Labor Statistics index of commodity prices at the pri
mary m arket1 level up 0.4 percent during April to a World War II
peak of 105.7 percent of the 1926 average. Very few changes occurred
in industrial commodity markets during the month. In the past
12 months, average prices for the commodities included in the all
commodity index rose 1.7 percent to a point nearly 41 percent higher
than their relatively low level of the summer of 1939.
In addition to increases of 1.4 percent for farm products and 1.1
percent for foods, average prices for miscellaneous commodities rose
0.2 percent and hides and leather products and fuel and lighting
materials advanced 0.1 percent. Textile products, on the contrary,
declined 0.1 percent, while the indexes for the metals and metal prod
ucts, building materials, chemicals and allied products, and housefurnishing goods groups remained unchanged at the level for March.
The increase in prices for agricultural products was reflected in the
index for raw materials by an advance of 1 percent. Average prices
for semimanufactured articles were the same as for March, while
prices for manufactured products rose 0.2 percent.
Prices for farm products in primary markets advanced 1.4 percent
in April to the highest point since the inflationary period following
World War I. The increase was the result of seasonally higher prices
for fresh fruits, OPA action in granting higher ceilings for potatoes at
country shipping points, stronger grain and cotton markets, and higher
prices for livestock, poultry, and eggs. The increases for grains ranged
from 0.4 percent for wheat to 1 percent or over for rye and corn.
Cotton advanced 2 percent to the highest point m nearly 20 years.
Quotations for steers were up nearly 3 percent and for calves over 4
percent. In addition, eggs were fractionally higher in most markets
and lemons, oranges, onions, and potatoes were substantially higher
than in March. Prices were lower for a few important farm products,
such as barley, hay, cows, sheep, sweetpotatoes, and fresh milk at
Chicago.
The increase in prices for fresh fruits and vegetables (6.5 percent)
largely accounted for the advance in food prices m primary markets
during April. However, prices were also somewhat higher for pork
and dressed poultry, eggs, and cereals.
Continued advances in prices for sheepskins brought the index for
hides and leather products up 0.1 percent. Prices for leather and
leather products, includmg shoes, gloves, harness, and belting, re
mained steady.
1 The Bure au of Labor Statistics wholesale price data for the most part represent prices prevailing in the
“ first comm ercial transaction.” They are prices quoted in primary markets, at principal distribution points.

1302

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WHOLESALE PRICES

1303

The OPA roll-back of 1 cent per pound in prices for print cloth,
effective April 14, caused the index for the textile products group to
drop 0.1 percent. No other changes were reported in prices for
textiles.
In the fuel and lighting materials group higher sales realizations for
gas and electricity more than offset lower prices for Oklahoma natural
gasoline. The index for the group advanced 0.1 percent during April.
Reports that supplies of mercury from Spain would shortly be
available in the United States depressed the domestic market, and
prices for this metal dropped nearly 4 percent. This decrease, how
ever, was not large enough to affect the index for the metals and metal
products group and it remained unchanged at 104.2 percent of the
1926 average.
Very slight variations were reported in prices for building materials
in April. Ceiling prices for extra-strength clay sewer pipe wete in
creased by OPA in 21 W estern States and higher prices were reported
for sand, lime, butyl acetate, and Ponderosa pine. Minor decreases
occurred in prices for common building brick in certain areas, for
Idaho pine lumber, and for turpentine. Realized prices for maple
flooring declined nearly 1 percent.
The chemicals, drugs, fertilizer, and industrial fats and oils markets
were firm during April.
No changes were reported in prices for furniture or furnishings, and
the index for the housefurnishing goods group remained unchanged
at 104.5 percent of the 1926 average.
The index for the miscellaneous commodities group rose 0.2 percent
because of a further increase of $3 per ton in prices for newsprint,
the third since it was put under price control in the spring of 1942.
Although average prices for commodities at the primary market
level have moved steadily upward since last August, the increase on
the whole during the past 12 months has been moderate. Since
April 1944 prices for farm products have advanced 4.7 percent, led
by an increase of over 10 percent for livestock and poultry. Grains
were less than 1 percent higher than in April of last year. During
the year period, foods rose nearly 1 percent, largely because of higher
prices for meats and dairy products. Fruits and vegetables, on the
contrary, declined 2.5 percent. An increase of nearly 1 percent in
the hides and leather products index resulted from a rise of more than
20 percent in prices for sheepskins. Increased ceiling prices for
cotton textiles contributed in a large measure to an advance of almost
2 percent in average prices for textile products. Other important
price increases during the year were: brick and tile, over 10 percent;
cement, nearly 6 percent; paint and paint materials, and paper and
pulp, nearly 2 percent. Prices for a few industrial commodities
were lower in April 1945 than in April 1944. These commodities
include rayon yarns, anthracite, and certain chemicals and drugs.
In contrast with the sharp price rise in metals and metal products
during World War I-—over 125 percent from July 1914 to July 1917—
the index for this group rose less than 12 percent after August 1939.
Average prices for raw materials advanced 76 percent from August
1939, while semimanufactured articles and manufactured; products
rose approximately 28 percent.
Percentage comparisons of the April 1945 level of wholesale prices
with March 1945, April 1944, and August 1939, with correspondingindex numbers, are given in table 1.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1304

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

T able 1.— Indexes of Wholesale Prices by Groups and Subgroups of Commoditios,

A pril 1945, Compared With March 1945, A pril 1944, and August 1939
Percent of change to
April 1945 from—

Indexes (1926=100)
Group and subgroup
April
1945

March
1945

April
1944

August March
1939
1945

April
1944

August
1939

All commodities___________

105.7

105.3

103.9

75.0

+ 0 .4

+ 1.7

+40.9

Farm products_______________
Grains___ _____________
Livestock and poultry________
Other farm products______

129.0
130.5
136.4
123.2

127.2
129.8
135. 6
120.5

123.2
129.6
123.6
120.3

61.0
51.5
66.0
60.1

+ 1 .4
+ .5
+ .6
+ 2 .2

+ 4.7
+ .7
+10.4
+ 2 .4

+111.5
+153.4
+106.7
+105.0

Foods___________ ____ _______
Dairy products_______ .
Cereal products__________
Fruits and vegetables_____
M eats__ ____________
Other foods______ ________

105.8
110.7
95.4
123.4
108.2
94.7

104.6
110.8
95.1
115.9
107.7
94.7

104.9
110.2
95.2
126. 5
106.2
92.2

67.2
67.9
71.9
58.5
73.7
60.3

+1.1
-.1
+ .3
+ 6.5
+ .5
0

+ .9
+ .5
+ .2
- 2 .5
+ 1.9
+ 2.7

+57.4
+63.0
+32.7
+110. 9
+46.8
+57.0

Hides and leather products___
Shoes________
. _
Hides and skins__________
Leather_____ .
_____
Other leather products._ __ _

117.9
126.3
117.0
101.3
115.2

117.8
126.3
116.4
101.3
115.2

116.9
126.3
111.2
101.3
115.2

92.7
100.8
77.2
84.0
97.1

+ .1
0
+ .5
0
0

+ .9
0
-{-5. 2
0
0

+27.2
+25. 3
+51. 6
+20. 6
+18.6

Textile products..........................
Clothing.
______ ._
Cotton goods___________ .
Hosiery and underwear___
Rayon_______ _ ______
Silk________
Woolen and worsted goods.
Other textile products_____

99.6
107.4
119.7
71.5
30.2

99.7
107.4
119.9
71.5
30.2

+ 1.8
+ .4
+5.1
+ 1.4
-.3

+46.9
+31.8
+82.7
+16.3
+ 6 .0

112.7
100.9

67.8
81.5
65.5
61.5
28.5
44. 3
75.5
63.7

-.1
0
- .2
0
0

112.7
100.9

97.8
107.0
113.9
70.5
30.3
(!)
112.5
100.5

0
0

+ .2
+ .4

+49.3
+58.4

Fuel and lighting materials___
A nthracite.. _________
Bituminous coal__________
Coke . ______ _
Electricity__________ ____
Gas_____________ _______
Petroleum and products____

83.5
95.3
120.6
130.7
(>)
(!)
64.2

83.4
95.3
120.6
130.7
(')
77.7
64.3

83.0
95.8
120.3
130.7
59.9
77.1
64.0

72.6
72.1
96.0
104.2
75. 8
86. 7
51.7

+ .1
0
0
0

+ .6
-.5
+ .2
0

+15.0
+32.2
+25.6
+25.4

- .2

+ .3

+24.2

Metals and metal products_____
Agricultural implements________
Farm m achin ery_______
Iron and steel______
Motor vehicles..
Nonferrous metals_______
Plumbing and heating____

104.2
97.5
98.7
98.1
112.8
85.9
92.4

103.7
97.2
98.3
97.1
112.8
85.8
91.8

93.2
93.5
94.7
95.1
92.5
74.6
79.3

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

+ .5
+ .3
+ •4
+ 1.0
0
+• 1
+ .7

+11.8
+ 4 .3
+ 4.2
+ 3 .2
+21.9
+15.1
+16.5

Building materials___________
Brick and tile_______
Cement__________
Lumber___ _____
Paint and paint materials______
Plumbing and heating.
Structural steel____
Other building materials___________

117.1
110.6
99.4
153.9
106. 3
92.4
107.3
103.8

117.1
110.7
99.4
153. 8
106.3
92.4
107.3
103.8

115.2
100. 3
93.9
153.4
104.4
91.8
107.3
102.8

89.6
90.5
91.3
90.1
82.1
79.3
107.3
89.5

0
-.1
0
+ .1
0
0
0
0

+ 1 .6
10.3
+ 5 .9
+ 1.8
+ .7
0
+ 1 .0

+30.7
+22.2
+ 8.9
+70.8
+29.5
+16.5
0
+16.0

Chemicals and allied products___
Chemicals___________
Drugs and pharmaceuticals__
Fertilizer materials____
Mixed fertilizers...........
Oils and fats________

94.9
95.8
106.8
81.9
86.6
102.0

95.5
96.3
112.0
81.4
86.3
102.0

74.2
83.8
77.1
65.5
73.1
40.6

0
0
0
0
0
0

-.6
-.5
- 4 .6
+ .6
+ .3
0

+27.9
+14.3
+38.5
+25.0
+18.5
+151.2

H ousefurnishing goods. . . .
Furnishings".__________
Furniture_________

104,5
107. 5
101.5

104.5
107.5
101.5

104.3
107. 2
101.4

85.6
90.0
81.1

0
0
0

+ .2
+ .3
+ .1

+22.1
+19.4
+25.2

Miscellaneous____________
Automobile tires and tubes_____
Cattle feed. ______
Paper and pulp_______
Rubber, crude__
Other miscellaneous____ .

94.8
73.0
159.6
109.0
46.2
98.9

94.6
73.0
159.6
108.0
46.2
98.9

93.5
73.0
159.6
107.2
46.2
96.7

73.3
60.5
68.4
80.0
34.9
81.3

+ .2
0
0
+ .9
0
0

+ 1 .4
0
0
+ 1.7
0
+ 2 .3

+29.3
+20.7
+133.3
+ 36.2
+32.4
+21.6

Raw materials______ _
Semimanufactured articles...
Manufactured products..
All commodities other than farm products _
All commodities other than farm products and
foods_____________

116.8
95.0
101.8
100.5

115.7
95.0
101.6
100.4

113.2
93.6
100.8
99.6

66.5
74.5
79.1
77.9

+ 1 .0
0
+ .2
+ .1

+ 3.2
+ 1.5
+ 1.0
+ .9

+75.6
+27. 5
+28.7
+29.0

99.3

99.2

98.4

80.1

+ .1

+ .9

+24.0

Data not available.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(I)

(i)

+ .3

1305

WHOLESALE PRICES

Index Numbers by Commodity Groups 1926 to A pril 1945

INDEX numbers of wholesale prices by commodity groups for
selected years from 1926 to 1944, and by months from April 1944 to
April 1945, are shown in table 2.
T able 2.— Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Groups of Commodities
[1926 = 100]

Year and month

1926........................... .
1929________________
1932________________
1933________________
1936________________
1937________________

Chem
Hides Tex Fuel
and Metals
icals HouseMisFarm
and
and Build
furtile
and
light
ing
celprod Foods leather
metal
ing
mate allied nishlaneucts
prod prod
prod
ing
rials
ucts
mate
prod
ous
ucts
ucts
rials
ucts goods

All
com
modi
ties

100.0
104.9
48.2
51.4
80.9
86.4

100.0
99.9
61.0
00.5
82.1
85.5

100.0
109.1
72.9
80.9
95.4
104.6

100.0
90.4
54.9
64.8
71.5
76.3

100.0
83.0
70.3
66.3
76.2
77.6

100.0
100.5
80.2
79.8
87.0
95.7

100.0
95.4
71.4
77.0
86.7
95.2

100.0
94.0
73.9
72.1
78.7
82.6

100.0
94.3
75.1
75.8
81.7
89.7

100.0
82.6
64.4
62.5
70.5
77.8

100.0
95.3
64.8
65.9
80.8
86.3

1938.............................. 68.5
1939________________ 65.3
1940________________ 67.7
1941________________ 82.4
1942 ______ ________ 105.9
1943________________ 122.6
1944 _______________ 123.3

73.6
70.4
71.3
82.7
99.6
106.6
104.9

92.8
95.6
100.8
108.3
117.7
117.5
116.7

66.7
69.7
73.8
84.8
96.9
97.4
98.4

76.5
73.1
71.7
76.2
78.5
80.8
83.0

95.7
94.4
95.8
99.4
103.8
103.8
103.8

90.3
90.5
94.8
103.2
110.2
111.4
115. 5

77.0
76.0
77.0
84.4
95.5
94.9
95.2

86.8
86.3
88.5
94.3
102.4
102.7
104.3

73.3
74.8
77.3
82.0
89.7
92.2
93.6

78.6
77.1
78.6
87.3
98.8
103.1
104.0

19U
April_______________
M ay .........................
June________ _______
Ju ly ...............................
August________ ____

123.2
122.9
125.0
124.1
122.6

104.9
105.0
106.5
105.8
104.8

116.9
117.0
116.4
116.2
116.0

97.8
97.8
97.8
98.0
98.4

83.0
83.2
83.3
83.2
83.2

103.7
103.7
103.7
103.7
103.8

115. 2
115.7
115.9
115.9
116.0

95.5
95.5
95.3
95.5
95.5

104.3
104.3
104.3
104.3
104.4

93.5
93.5
93.5
93.6
93.6

103.9
104.0
104.3
104.1
103.9

September _________
October __________
November_________
D ecem ber.......... .........

122.7
123.4
124.4
125.5

104.2
104.2
105.1
105.5

116.0
116. 2
116.2
117.4

99.2
99.4
99.4
99.5

83.0
82.9
83.1
83.1

103.8
103.7
103.7
103.8

116.0
116.3
116.4
116.4

94.9
95.0
94.8
94.8

104.4
104.4
104.4
104.4

93.6
93.6
94.0
94.2

104.0
104.1
104.4
104.7

1946
January____________ 126.2
February___________ 127.0
March_________ ____ 127.2
April_______________ 129.0

104.7
104.7
104.6
105.8

117.5
117.6
117.8
117.9

99.6
99.7
99.7
99.6

83.3
83.3
83.4
83.5

104.0
104.2
104.2
104.2

116.8
117.0
117. 1
117.1

94.9
94.9
94.9
94.9

104.5
104.5
104.5
104.5

94.2
94.6
94.6
94.8

104.9
105.2
105.3
105.7

The price trend for specified years and months since 1926 is shown
in table 3 for the following groups of commodities: Raw materials,
semimanufactured articles, manufactured products, commodities
other than farm products, and commodities other than farm products
and foods. The list of commodities included under the classifications
“Raw materials,” “Semimanufactured articles,” and “Manufactured
products” was shown on pages 10 and 11 of Wholesale Prices, July to
December and Year 1943 (Bulletin No. 785).

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1306

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

T able 3.—Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Special Groups of Commodities
[1926=100]

Year
\

SemiRaw manufacmate tured
rials
arti
cles

All
com
All
com modi
M an modi ties
other
ufac
ties
tured other than
prod than farm
farm prod
ucts
prod ucts
and
ucts
foods

100.0
93.9
59.3
65.4
75.9

100.0
94.5
70.3
70.5
82.0

100.0
93.3
68.3
69.0
80.7

100.0
91.6
70.2
71.2
79.6

84.8
72.0
70.2
71.9

85.3
75.4
77.0
79.1

87.2
82.2
80.4
81.6

86.2
80.6
79.5
80.8

85.3
81.7
81.3
83.0

83.5
1941________
1942________ 100.6
1943................. 112.1
1944________ 113.2

86.9
92.6
92.9
94.1

89.1
98.6
100.1
100.8

88.3
97.0
98.7
99.6

89.0
95. 5,
96.9
98.5

1926................. 100.0
97.5
1929________
55.1
1932________
1933________
56.5
79.9
1936________
1937________
1938________
1939....... .........
1940________

Year and
month

All
Semi Man com
modi
anRaw ni
ties
ufac- ufac other
mate tured
tured
than
prod
rials
arti
farm
ucts
cles
prod
ucts

All
com
modi
ties
other
than
farm
prod
ucts
and
foods

19U
April_______
M ay_______
June_______
July__...........
August_____
September__
October_____
N o v em b er...
December___

113.2
113.0
114.2
113.6
112.7
112.8
113.2
113.8
114.6

93.6
93.7
93.8
93.9
94.1
94.7
94.8
94.8
94.8

100.8
99.6
99.7
100.9
100.9
99.6
100.9
99.6
100.9 « 99.7
99.7
100.9
99.8
101.0
99.9
101.1
101.1 100.0

98.4
98.5
98.5
98.5
98.6
98.6
98.7
98.8
98.9

19J,5
January____
February___
March______
A p ril........... .

115.1
115.6
115.7
116.8J

94.9
95.0
95.0
95.0

101.3
101.5
101.6
101.8

99.1
99.2
99.2
99.3

100.1
100.2
100.4
100.5

Weekly Fluctuations

Weekly changes in wholesale prices by groups of commodities
during March and April 1945 are shown by the index numbers in
table 4. These indexes are not averaged to obtain an index for the
month but are computed only to indicate the fluctuations from week
to week.
T able 4. — Weekly Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices by Commodity Groups, March

and A pril 1945
[1926=100]
Commodity group

Apr.
28

Apr.
21

Apr.
14

Apr.
7

Mar.
31

Mar.
24

All commodities__________________

Mar.
17

Mar.
10

Mar.
3

105.7

105.6

105.5

105.1

105.0

Farm products____________________ 130.5
Foods_______________ ____ ________ 106.5
Hides and leather products_________ 118.3
Textile products__________________
99.1
Fuel and lighting materials________
83.9

129.5
105.7
118.3
99.1
83.9

128.9
105.5
118.3
99.1
84.0

127.2
104.9
118.3
99.2
84.0

127.3
104.8
118.3
99.2
83.9

127.0
104.5
118.2
99.2
83.9

127.4
104.6
118.2
99.2
83.9

127.1
104.5
118.1
99.2
83.8

127.2
104.5
118.1
99.2
83.8

Metals and metal products:________ 104.3
Building materials________ ______ 117.0
Chemicals and allied products_____
94.9
Housefurnishing goods_____________ 106.2
Miscellaneous_____________________ 94.6

104.3
117.0
94.9
106.2
94.6

104.3
116.9
94.9
106.2
94.4

104.3
116.9
94.9
106.2
94.3

Raw materials____________________ 118.2
Semimanufactured articles_________
94.8
Manufactured products________ ___ 101.9
All commodities other than farm
products_________________ . . . . . 100.3
All commodities other than farm
products and foods______________
99.5

117.7
94.8
101.9

117.3
94.8
102.0

116.1
94.9
101.9

116.2
94.9
101.9

116.0
94.9
101.8

116.3
94.9
101.8

116.2
94.9
101.8

116.2
94.9
101.6

100.3

100.4

100.3

100.1

99.5

99.4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Labor Turnover

Labor T urnover in M anufacturing, M inin g, and P u b lic
U tilitie s, M arch 1 9 4 5
OF EVERY 1,000 workers on factory pay rolls in March 1945, 50
quit, 7 were discharged, 7 were laid off, and 4 left to enter the armed
services. For the first time since 1940, the March accession rate,
48 per 1,000, was below that of the relatively short month of February.
The hiring rate for all manufacturing reached the lowest level since
December 1941. In the munitions group of manufacturing indus
tries, the accession rate of 43 per 1,000 was considerably below the
nonmunitions rate of 54. Of the 10 munitions groups, only the
chemicals group reported an increased rate of hires, and this was
primarily due to expanded production requirements in the explosives
and small-arms ammunition industries.
The rate of quits for manufacturing as a whole, 50 per 1,000,
was exactly the same as that in March 1944. It was considerably
above the rate of February 1945; as in previous years, there was the
usual exodus, this March, of transient workers from factories to farms
for the spring planting. All major groups, with the exception of
food, showed an increase in the quit rate. The highest rates, 81 and
80 per 1,000, were in the lumber and tobacco groups, respectively.
The high rate of quits in the lumber group reflects quits in anticipation
of seasonal lay-offs in addition to the migration of farm workers.
In manufacturing as a whole, as well as in both the munitions and
nonmunitions groups, the rate of lay-offs remained unchanged in
March. The highest rates, 17 and 15 per 1,000, occurred in the
transportation equipment and lumber groups. In the former, lay-offs
were due to continued cut-backs in new ship construction. The usual
difficulty in transporting logs at this time of the year accounted for
the high rate of lay-offs in the lumber group.
For the third consecutive month, the discharge rate for all indus
tries combined remained the same. However, about half of the major
groups comprising the munitions total showed slight increases in the
discharge rate, effecting a rise in the rate for the munitions group
from 8 to 9 per 1,000 employees.
The military separation rate showed a slight increase for the first
time since March 1944. The nonmunitions group, as a whole,
showed no change while the rate for the munitions group increased
from 3 to 4 per 1,000.
The total separation rates for the metal-mining group as well as
for both coal-mining industries, like those for all manufacturing,
increased between February and March. There was a marked in
crease in the quit rates in bituminous-coal mining—from 28 to 34
per 1,000. Labor unrest, pending the coal-contract settlement, was
probably mainly responsible for this rise.
1307

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1308

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

Total accession rates for both men and women in all manufacturing
were insufficient to offset their quit rates. This was most noticeable
in the transportation equipment group. Although women quit at
a much greater rate than men, involuntary separations were slightly
higher for men.
T able 1.—Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (per 100 Employees) in Manufacturing 1
Class of turnover and
year
Total:
Separation:
1045
1944____________
1943____________
1939____________
Quit:
1945
1944____________
1943____________
1939.___________
Discharge:
1945 ...................
1944___ ________
1943____________
1939____________
Lav-off:3
1945
1944____________
1943____________
1939____________
Military and miscellaneous:<
1945
1944____________
1943____________
Accession:
1945
1944............. .........
1943____________
.
1939___ ________

Janu Feb March April M ay June
ary ruary

July

Au
gust

N o D e
Sep
cem
tem Octo
ber vem
ber
ber
ber

6. 2
6.7
7.1
3.2

6. 0
6. 6
7.1
2.6

2 6.8
7.4
7.7
3.1

6.8
7.5
3.5

7.1
6.7
3.5

7.1
7.1
3.3

6.6
7.6
3.3

7.8
8.3
3.0

7.6
8.1
2.8

6.4
7.0
2.9

6.0
6.4
3.0

5.7
6.6
3.5

4 6
4.6
4.5
.9

4.3
4.6
4.7
.6

2 5.0
5.0
5.4
.8

4.9
5.4
.8

5.3
4.8
.7

5.4
5.2
.7

5.0
5.6
.7

6.2
6.3
.8

6.1
6.3
1.1

5.0
5.2
.9

4.6
4.5
.8

4.3
4.4
.7

.7
.7
.5
.1

.7
.6
.5
.1

2.7
.7
.6
.1

.6
.5
.1

.6
.6
.1

.7
.6
.1

.7
.7
.1

.6
.6
.1

.6
.6
.2

.6
.6
.1

.6
.8
.7
2.2

.7
.8
.5
1.9

2.7
.9
.5
2.2

.6
.6
2.6

.5
.5
2.7

.5
.5
2.5

.5
.5
2.1

.6
.5
1.6

.5
.5
1.8

.5
.7
2.0

.5
1.0
2.7

.3
.6
1.4

2. 4
.8
1.2

.7
1.0

.7
.8

.5
.8

.4
.8

.3
.7

.3
.6

7. 0
6.5
8.3
4.1

5.0
5.5
7.9
3.1

2 4.8
5.8
8.3
3.3

5.5
7.4
2.9

6.4
7.2
3.3

7.6
8.4
3.9

6.3
7.8
4.2

6.3
7.6
5.1

6.1
7.7
6.2

6.0
7.2
5.9

6.1
6.6
4.1

4.9
5.2
2.8

1 Month-to-month employment changes as indicated by labor-turnover rates are not precisely comparable
to those shown by the Bureau’s employment and pay-roll reports, as the former are based on data for the
entire month while the latter refer, for the most part, to a 1-week period ending nearest the middle of the
month. In addition, labor-turnover data, beginning in January 1943, refer to all employees, whereas the
employment and pay-roll reports relate only to wage earners. The labor-turnover sample is not so exten
sive as that of the employment and pay-roll survey, proportionately fewer small plants are included; print
ing and publishing and certain seasonal industries, such as canning and preserving, are not covered.
2 Preliminary.
3 Including temporary, indeterminate, and permanent lay-offs.
* Miscellaneous separations comprise not over 0.1; in 1939 they were included with quits.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1309

LABOR TURNOVER

T able 2.—Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and

Industries,1 March 1945 2

Group and industry

Total
separa
tion

Quit

D is
charge

Lay-off

Military
and mis
cellane
ous

Total
accession

Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb.
Manufacturing
0.8
.5

0.4
.3

0.3
.3

4.3
5.4

4.5
5.8

6.5

6.8

1.1

5.8

5.2

1.3
1.3

.6
1.3

.4
.6

.4
.4

.3
.3

6.8
8.3

7.5
7.2

3.3

M unitions 3_____ _________________ 6.4
Nonmunitions 3......... ................. ............ 7.2

5.4
6.8

4.3
6.0

3.5
5.6

0.9
.4

0.8
.4

0.8
.5

8.3

6.7

6.0

4.8

1.2

1.1

5.8

5.4

3.6

3.3

9.2
8.2

7.5
6.4

6.9
5.3

5.5
4.2

1.3
1.2

Ordnance________________________ _
Guns, howitzers, mortars, and related equipment___________ •—
Ammunition, except for small
arm s.___ _____________ ______
Tanks____ _____________________
Sighting and fire-control equipm ent______
________ ____
Iron and steel and their products-----Blast furnaces, steel works, and
rolling mills_____ ____ ___ ____
Gray-iron castings______________
Malleable-iron castings....... ...........Steel castings__________________
Cast-iron pipe and fittings_____
T in cans and other tinware______
Wire products_______ _____ ____
Cutlery and edge tools__________
Tools (except edge tools, machine
tools, files, and saws)__________
Hardware______________________
Stoves, oil burners, and heating
equipment___________________
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and steam fittings------Stamped and enameled ware and
galvanizin g...
-------------------Fabricated structural-metal products___________ _____________
Bolts, nuts, washers, and r iv e ts...
Forgings, iron and steel_________
Firearms (60 caliber and under)...
Electrical machinery.---------------------Electrical equipment for industrial use________ ____ _________
Radios, radio equipment, and
phonographs_________________
Communication equipment, except radios......................................
Machinery, except electrical________
Engines and turbines___________
Agricultural machinery and tractors.. ------ ---------- ------------Machine tools__________________
Machine-tool accessories........ .........
Metalworking machinery and
equipment, not elsewhere classified _______________________
General industrial machinery, except pumps________________
Pumps and pumping equipm ent..
Transportation equipment, jexeept
automobiles___________ _______
Aircraft__ . . . .
____________
Aircraft parts, including engines..
Shipbuilding and repairs________
Automobiles___________ ____ _______
Motor vehicles, bodies, and trailers_____ ___________________
Motor-vehicle parts and accessories__.............................................

See footnotes at end of table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

3.6

3.0

2.2

1.9

2.6

4.7

4.1

3.4

2.9

3.6

3.7

3.1
6.9
6.6
6.7
5.0
10.9
3.6
5.1

2.7
7.2
5.1
5.8
4.3
8.1
2.9
4.2

2.3
5.6
5.3
5.2
3.9
7.5
2.6
4.1

2.0
5.5
4.0
4.4
3.1
6.1
2.1
3.0

.2
.6
.7
.9
.5
2.8
.3
.8

.3
1.0
.6
.8
.4
1.6
.3
.9

.2
.2
.1
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1

.1
.4
.1
.2
.5
.2
.1
.1

.4
.5
.5
.4
.4
.4
.5
.1

.3 2.6
.3 5.4
.4 3.9
.4 5.3
.3 4.7
.2 11.0
.4 2.9
.2 4.0

2.6
6.8
4. 5
5.4
4. 2
10.6
2.5
5.8

5.4
4.2

5.2
4.2

4.5
3.5

3.8
3.4

.5
.3

.6
.3

0)
.2

.4
.2

.4
.3

4. 4
4.6

4. 6
4.4

10.4

8.1

6.2

5.2

1.2

2.1

2.5

4.9

6.6

5.1

3.8

4.2

2.9

(')

5.3

4.9

7.0

6.3

5.7

5.1

6. 4

7.1
4.8
4.6
7.9

7.7
3.7
3.8
6.3

4.6
2.7
3.4
3.3

4.0
2.7
2.9
2.6

.8
1.0
.6
.7

.9
.4
.4
.7

1.2
.8
.2
3.6

2.4
.4
.2
2.7

.5
.3
.4
.3

.4
.2
.3
.3

4.7
3.4
3.5
3.2

5.3
3.0
3.6
3.0

4.8

4.1

3.5

3.0

3.9

4.1

3.3

3.0

2.5

3.1

3.3

5.3

4.5

3.9

3.3

4. 6

4.3

3.7

3.2

2.9

3.3

4.1
3.8
3.3

4.7
5.5

4.0
4.2

3.4
3.7

2.8
2.9

.6
.7

.3
.6

.3
.3

.4
.5

.3
.3

3.4
3.4

5.5
3.4
4.5

4.3
3.0
4.0

4.5
2.3
2.6

3.4
1.8
2.4

.4
.6
.9

.4
.5
.6

.2
.1
.6

.1
.4
.8

.4
.4
.4

.4
.3
.2

3.1
2.4
3.5

3.7
2.8
3.4

4.4

3.2

3.0

2.2

3.6

4.9
4.0

4.1
3.9

3.4
3.0

2.9
2.7

.7
.4

.6
.7

.4
(9

.3
.1

.4
.6

.3
.4

3.8
3.8

4.2
3.7

8.2 7.3
6.0 4.8
4.8 4.5
12.4 11.0

4.8
4.5
2.9
6.4

4.1
3.5
2.4
5.6

1.3
.7
.6
2.2

1.2
.6
.6
2.0

1.7
.4
1.0
3.3

1.7
.4
1.3
3.0

.4
.4
.3
.5

.3
.3
.2
.4

4.1
3.6
3.4
4.9

4. 5
4.3
3.9
5.1

5.7

5.2

4.0

3.6

4.3

5.0

5.2

4.4

3.4

2.9

3.7

4. 5

6.9

5.8

5.2

4.2

1.0

6.6

5.4

1310

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

T able 2. —Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates (per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and

Industries,1 March 1945 2—Continued

Group and industry

Total
separa
tion

Quit

Dis
charge

Lay-off

M ilitary
and mis
cellane
ous

Total
accession

Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb.
Manufacturing—Continued
Nonferrous metals and their productsPrimary smelting and refining,
except aluminum and magnesiu m __________________________
Aluminum and magnesium smelting and refining______________
Rolling and drawing of copper and
copper alloys_________________
Aluminum and magnesium products______________ _____ _____
Lighting equipment____________
Nonferrous-metal foundries, except aluminum and magnesium-

6.3

4.9

4.8

3.8

0.7

0.6

0.4

3.4

3.2

2.8

2.4

7.8

7.3

6.6

5.9

4.5

3.5

3.4

2.8

7.5
6.4

5.6
5.1

5.5
5.2

4.3
4.1

0.2

0.4

0.3

6.2

6.3

(4)

3.3

2.7

9.6

8.0

4.3

4.4

.8
.5

.7
.7

.7
.3

.2
.2

.5
.4

.4
.1

7.4
4.0

7.9
4.7

5.9

5.0

4.5

3.7

4.6

5.4

Lumber and timber basic products___ 10.5
Sawmills______________________ 10.1
Planing and plywood m ills _____ 7.1

8.7
8.6
6.0

8.1
7.9
5.6

7.2
7.2
4.8

.4
.3
.6

.4
.3
.4

1.5
1.4
.4

.7
.7
.4

.5
.5
.5

.4
.4
.4

7.7
7.6
5.4

8.0
8.3
5.5

Furniture and finished lumber products_____________________________ 8.8
Furniture,
including
mattresses
and bedsprings................ ..................... 8.8

8.0

7.6

7.0

7.3

8.0

8.6

7.7

7.5

7.3

8.3

Stone, clay, and glass products______
Glass and glass products________
Cement______
Brick, tile, and terra cotta_______
Pottery and related products ___

5.4
6.0
4.4
6.0
5. 4

4.8
4.6
4.8
5.7
5. 4

4.1
4.3
3.0
4.4
4.7

3.6
3.2
3.3
4.4
4.7

.4
.5
.3
.4
.2

.4
.5
.3
.6
.2

.4
.5
.6
.7
.2

.3
.4
.9
.3

.5
.7
.5
.5
3

.5
.5
.3
.4

4.5
4.9
4.9
4.3
4 4

4.5
4.5
3.1
5.7
54

Textile-mill products_______________
Cotton________________________
Silk and rayon goods____________
Woolen and worsted, except
dyeing and finishing__________
Hosiery, full-fashioned__________
Hosiery, seamless_______________
Knitted underwear______ ______
Dyeing and finishing textiles, ineluding woolen and worsted___

6.6
7.9
6.9

5.9
6.9
5.6

5.7
6.9
5.8

4.9
5.9
4.6

.4
.5
.5

.4
.5
.4

.2
.2
.2

.3
.2
.3

.3
.3
.4

.3
.3
.3

5.1
6.1
5.5

5.2
6.3
5.0

4.3
4.7
6.0
5. 5

3.2
4.8
6.0
5.1

3.5
4.2
5.4
5.0

2.4
4.2
5.3
4.6

.2
.2
.3
.2

.2
.2
.2
.3

.4
.1
.2
.2

.4
.1
.3
.1

.2
.2
.1
.1

.2
.3
.2
.1

3.3
2.9
5.1
4.5

2.7
3.2
5.5
4.8

3.0

2.8

3.5

( 4)

4.1

3.8

Apparel and other finished textile
products______________________ __ 5.7
M en’s and boys’ suits, coats, and
overcoats____________________ 4.5
M en’s and boys’ furnishings,
work clothing, and allied garments__________________ ____ _ 5. 5

5.1

4.5

4.6

5.0

3.6

4.1

3.4

(4)

3.7

4.4

5.1

4.7

4.3

5.0

Leather and leather products............ __ 5.6
Leather________________________ 4.1
Boots and shoes.............................. . 6.0

5.0
3.7
5.3

4.9
3.1
5.3

4.3
2.9
4.6

.3
.5
.3

.3
.3
.3

.1
.1
.1

.2
.3
.2

.3
.4
.3

.2
.2
.2

4.9
3.0
5,3

4.6
3.2
4.9

Food and kindred products_________ 9.4 10.4 7.8
M eat products_________________ .10.2 11.8 8.1
Grain-mill products_____________ 11.9 7.8 10.6

8.0
8.6
6.6

.5
.5
.9

.7
.8
.6

.7
1.1
.1

1.3
1.9
.3

.4
.5
.3

5.9
4.4
8.5

6.9
5.9
8.2

Tobacco manufactures______________ 9.1

8.2

8.0

6.7

1.0

7.4

7.0

Paper and allied produ cts.................. 6.0
Paper and pulp________________ 6.2
Paper boxes......................................... 8.2

6.5
5.9
6.9

5.5
5.1
7.0

5.3
5.0
5.8

.5
.4
.7

.5
.4
.6

.2
'.2
' .2

.3
.1
.2

.4
.5
.3

.4
.4
.3

5.4
4.9
7.1

5.9
5.6
6.6

Chemicals and allied products_______
Paints, varnishes, and colors_____
Rayon and allied p r o d u cts._____
Industrial chemicals, except exp lo siv e s...________________
Explosives____________ ____ ____
Small-arms ammunition________

5.7
3.8
4.6

4.6
3.4
3.9

4.4
2.7
3.8

3.4
2.6
2.8

.7
.5
.3

.6
.4
.3

.2
.4
.1

.2
.1
.4

.4
.2
.4

.4
.3
.4

5.6
2.6
3.8

5.1
2.8
3.6

4.3
7.2
7.2

3.6
5.9
5.1

3.1
5.9
5.6

2.7
4.4
3.8

.6
.8
1.0

.5
.8
.9

.2
(4)
.3

.1
.1
.2

.4
.5
.3

.3
.6
.2

3.5
8.8
7.7

3.4
7.1
7.1

Products of petroleum and coal______ 3.0
Petroleum refining______________ 2.9

2.8
2.7

2.0
1.9

1.9
1.8

.3
.3

,4
.4

.3
.3

3.1
3.2

3.1
3.1

See footnotes at end of table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1311

LABOR TURNOVER

T able 2. —Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates {per 100 Employees) in Selected Groups and

Industries,1 March 1945 2—Continued

Croup and industry

Total
separa
tion

Quit

D is
charge

Lay-off

Military
and mis
cellane
ous

Total
accession

Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb. Mar. Feb.
Manufacturing—Continued
5.9
5.6

5.1
4.7

4.8
4.4

4.0
3.6

0.5
.6

0.2
.2

0.3
.1

0.4
.4

0.3
.4

4.6
4. 5

5.4
5.2

7.6
6.0

5.5
6.1

6.9
5.1

4.8
4.5

.4
.5

(4)
.1

(4)
.8

.3
.3

5.8
4.7

6.5
5.5

Miscellaneous industries.-..................... 3.8

3.6

2.7

2.5

3.2

3. 5

4.3
1.9
4.9
5.8

3.8
2.1
4.5
4.9

3.5
1.4
3.9
4.8

2.8
1.3
3.4
3.9

.3
.1
.4
.4

.3
.1
.4
.3

.1
.1
.1
.1

.2
.3
.2
.2

.4
.3
.5
.5

.5
.4
.5
.5

3.8
2.7
3. 5
4.6

3.5
2.0
3.8
4.4

5.7

4.6

4.2

3.0

5.8

4.2

Coal mining:
Anthracite_____________________ 1.7
Bituminous-coal______ __________ 4.2

1.5
3.4

1.0
3.4

1.0
2.8

(4)
.2

.5
.2

.3
.1

.2
.4

.2
.3

1.0
2.8

1.8
2.7

Public utilities:
2.8
Telephone.............................. .
Telegraph......................................... . 3.5

2.5
3.3

2.5
3.1

2.2
2.9

.1
.1

.1
.2

.1
.1

3.1
2.7

3.0
2.4

Rubber products___________________
Rubber tires and inner tubes___
Rubber footwear and related prod
ucts________________ _______
Miscellaneous rubber industries..

Nonmanufacturing
M etal mining______________________
Iron-ore___________ ____________
Copper-ore______________ ______
Lead- and zinc-ore______________
M etal mining, not elsewhere clas
sified, including aluminum-ore..

1 Since January 1943 manufacturing firms reporting labor turnover have been assigned industry codes
on the basis of current products. M ost plants in the employment and pay-roll sample, comprising those
which were in operation in 1939, are classified according to their major activity at that time, regardless of
any subsequent change in major products.
2 Preliminary figures.
3 The munitions division, which replaces the selected war industries group, includesthefollowingmajor
industry groups: Ordnance; iron and steel; electrical machinery; machinery, except electrical; automobiles;
transportation equipment, except automobiles; nonferrous metals; chemicals; products of petroleum and
coal; rubber. The nonmunitions division includes lumber; furniture and finished lumber products; stone,
clay, and glass; textile-mill products; apparel and finished textile products; leather; food and kindred prod
ucts; tobacco; paper and pulp; miscellaneous industries. Comparable data for 1943 and 1944 w ill appear
in a forthcoming issue of the M onthly Labor Review.
4 Less than 0.05.

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

1312

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

T able 3. —Monthly Labor-Turnover Rates {per 100 Employees)1for Men and Women

in Selected Industries Engaged in War Production, March 1945 2
Total separation

Quit

Total accession

Industry
Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

All manufacturing______ ____ ____ ______ _________

6.2

7.6

4.4

6.1

4.2

5.9

Ordnance____________________ __ _________
Guns, howitzers, mortars, and related equipment.
Ammunition, except for small arms____________
T a n k s.. __________________________
Sighting and fire-control equipment_____________

7.6
S.3
8.8
8.1
2.3

9.3
7.3
9.8
9.9
6.1

5.2
2.9
6.3
4.5
1.4

7.2
5.6
7.7
8.1
3.8

5.7
5.2
6.2
8.0
1.8

7.6
7.9
7.8
13.2
4.0

Iron and steel and their products____ ______ ____ ___
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills_____
Gray-iron castings_________________________
Malleable-iron castings____ _______ _____
.
Steel castings.-____________________________
Cast-iron pipe and fittings_____________ .
Firearms (60 caliber and under)_______________

4.2
2.8
6.9
6.7
6.7
4.8
6.3

7.5
6.3
6.6
6.0
6.5
7.2
13.2

3.0
2. 1
5.6
5.4
5.2
3.8
2.9

5.5
4.6
5.2
4.8
5. 1
5.0
4.9

3.2
2.4
5.3
3.9
5.1
4.4
3.0

6.1
5.1
6.8
4.4
7.0
7.2
3.8

Electrical machinery__ _________ ________
Electrical equipment for industrial use_______ .
Radios, radio equipment, and phonographs _
Communicaton equipment, except radios_______

3.5
2.9
3.8
3.3

6.2
6.0
6.4
5.1

2.4
1.9
2.8
2. 1

4.7
4.7
4.7
4.3

2.6
2.1
3.0
2.6

5.3
4.6
5.9
3.9

Machinery, except electrical__________________ . . .
Engines and turbines_________________ .
Machine tools______________ _______
Machine-tool accessories___________ _
Metalworking machinery and equipment, not else
________ _____ ________
where classified____
General industrial machinery, except pumps____
Pumps and pumping equipment_____________ ._

4.4
5.1
3. 1
4.1

6.2
7.0
5.4
5.5

3.0
3.2
2.0
2.2

4.8
5.2
4.2
3.8

2.9
2.8
2.1
2.8

5.3
5.2
4.2
5.4

4.3
4.3
3.7

5.6
6 .3 '
5.3

2.8
2.9
2.5

4. 1
4.8
4.8

3.2
3. 1
2.7

6.0
5.6
7.5

Transportation equinment, except automobiles_____
Aircraft_____________
___________ _________
Aircraft parts, including engines_________ _____
Shipbuilding and repairs______ ____ ______ _

8.1
5.1
3.9
12.8

8.9
7.6
6.6
15.9

4.4
3.5
2.4
6.3

6.1
6.2
3.9
9.2

3.8
2.9
2.8
5.0

5.1
4.8
5.1
5.8

Nonferrous metals and their products___ . .
Primary smelting and refining, except aluminum
and magnesium_________
______ _____
Aluminum and magnesium smelting and refining.
Rolling and drawing of copper and copper alloys..
Aluminum and magnesium products______ ___
Nonferrous-metal foundries, except aluminum and
v magnesium___________________ _____________

6.2

6.6

4.6

5.3

5.8

7.6

3.4
7.8
4.2
7.5

5.2
7.2
6.5
7.2

2.8
6.7
3.2
5.5

4.1
4.8
5.2
5.5

3.3
9.7
3.9
6.8

4.2
7.8
6.7
9.9

5.7

6.0

4.1

5.4

4.3

5.4

Chemicals and allied products_________ . ___
Industrial chemicals, except explosives__________
Explosives___
__________ .
Small-arms ammunition__________________

5.2
4.2
6.9
7.0

6.7
5.2
8.0
7.5

3.8
2.9
5.5
5.0

5.6
4.1
7.0
6.2

4.8
3.2
7.8
6.6

7.6
4.6
11.4
8.9

1 These figures are presented to show comparative turnover rates and should not he used to estimate
employment.
2 These figures are based on a slightly smaller sample than that for all employees, inasmuch as some firms
do not report separate data for women.

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Building Operations

B u ild in g C onstruction in U rban A reas, A p ril 1 9 4 5
THE 117 million dollars worth of building construction started in
urban areas of tlie United States during April was only slightly more
than in the previous month. Non-Federally financed work, which
constituted over seven-tenths of the total valuation, showed a gain of
15 percent, whereas Federal contract awards declined one-fifth.
Both new residential construction and additions, alterations, and
repair work increased considerably, 47 percent and 19 percent, re
spectively. On the other hand, the value of new nonresidential
building declined noticeably, principally because Federally financed
work dropped from 39. million to 24 million dollars.
The volume of construction started in April 1945 was nearly onethird higher than in April 1944, owing chiefly to substantial gains in
T able

1.—Summary of Building Construction in All Urban Areas, April 1945
Valuation

Number of buildings
Percent of change
from—

Class of construction
April 1945

March
1945

April
1944

April 1945
(in thous
ands of
dollars)

Percent of change
from—
March
1945

April
1944

All building construction__________

65, 348

+17.8

+22.3

116,917

+ 2 .4

+32.5

N ew residential____________________
N ew nonresidential_ __________
Additions, alterations, and repairs___

10, 672
9,925
44, 751

+53. 0
+16.1
+12.0

+30.1
+40.1
+17.3

40,027
40,747
36,143

+46.9
-2 8 .1
+19.3

+35.9
+15.6
+53.5

T able

2.—Number and Valuation of New Dwelling Units in All Urban Areas, by
Source of Funds and Type of Dwelling, April 1945
Valuation

Number of dwelling units
Source of funds and type of
dwelling

Percent of change
from—
April 1945
March
1945

April
1944

April 1945
(in thou
sands of
dollars)

Percent of change
from—
March
1945

April
1944

+51.1

+36.6

32, 722
+25.1
+11.7
9, 530
+19.6
Privately financed__________________
25, 767
+19.6
7,062 ......................
+11.2
+11.1
1family................................ ......................
......................
+ 2 .0
864
-1 3 .9
2,546
- 3 .9
2family 1___ _________
+37.6
4,409
+107.2
1,604
+123. 4
M ultifamily 2........ ................. ..........
7,080 +3,727.0
2,959 +4,009. 7
+178.1
Federally financed............................ .

+21.5
+27.9
-2 7 .3
+34.1
+220. 2

All dwellings_______ _______________

12,489

+55.4

+30.2

39,802

1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
645886-

45 -

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-12

1313

1314

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

two types of non-Federally financed activity—new nonresidential
construction (51 percent) and additions, alterations, and repair work
(48 percent). There was an increase, too, in both Federal and nonFederal residential building.
A sharp upturn in Federal residential construction accounted for
much of the 55-percent increase in the number of new dwelling units
begun during the month. Federal contracts were let for 2,959 of the
12,489 units started, while in March only 72 out of 8,039 units were
financed from Federal funds.
Comparison of first 4 month s of 1944 and 1945

The cumulative value of urban building construction begun during
the first 4 months of 1945 was 377 million dollars, over one-tenth
more than the aggregate for the same period in 1944. There were
increases in both Federal and non-Federal work, 14 percent and 9
percent, respectively. New nonresidential building and alterations,
additions, and repair work, both Federally and non-Federally financed,
were higher in value by the end of April 1945 than in 1944. On the
other hand, new residential construction fell off by one-fifth, chiefly
because of the curtailment of Federal housing during the first 3 months
of the year. Private residential construction also declined from the
1944 level.
T able 3.— Valuation of Building Construction in A ll Urban Areas, by Class of Con

struction, First 4 Months of 1944 and 1945
Valuation (in thousands of dollars)
Federal construction

Total construction
Class of construction

First 4 months of—

First 4 months of—
Percent
of change
1945

1944

All construction---------------------------------

376,689

339,972

N ew residential.. ____________ _______
New nonresidential-------Additions, alterations, and repairs-------

102, 361
162,295
112,033

127,002
125, 312
87,658

Percent
of change
1945

1944

+10.8

123,869

108,783

+13.9

-1 9 .4
+29.5
+27.8

11,410
101,313
11,146

19,352
84,212
5,219

-4 1 .0
+20.3
+113.6

T able 4. —Number and Valuation of New Dwelling Units in A ll Urban Areas, by Source

of Funds and Type of Dwelling, First 4 Months of 1944 and 1945
Number of dwelling units
Source of funds and type of dwelling

First 4 months of—
1945

1944

All dwellings------ ------------------------------

31,742

42,017

Privately financed___________ _____
fam ily.—...............- ...........
family A ----------- --------M ultifam ily2—......................... - ...........
Federally financed.......................................

27,871
21,835
2, 344
3,692
3,871

33,630
25,697
3, 554
4,379
8,387

1
2

1 Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with stores.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.

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Valuation (in thousands of
dollars)
First 4 months of—

Percent
of change

1945

1944

-2 4 .5

100,340

125,967

-2 0 .3

-1 7 .1
-1 5 .0
-3 4 .0
-1 5 .7
-5 3 .8

89,955
72,475
, 628
10,852
10,385

107,133
81, 861

-1 6 .0
-1 1 .5
-4 5 .3
-1 7 .5
-4 4 .9

12,120

13,152
18,834

1315

BUILDING OPERATIONS

Construction from, Public Funds A pril 1945

The value of contracts awarded and force-account work started
during April and March 1945 and April 1944 on all construction
projects, excluding shipbuilding, financed wholly or partially from
Federal funds and reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is
shown in table 5. This table includes construction both inside and
outside the corporate limits of cities.
T able 5. — Value of Contracts Awarded and Force-Account Work Started on Construc

tion Projects Financed From Federal Funds, A pril 1945
Value (in thousands of dollars) of contracts
awarded and force-account work started
Source of funds
April 1945 1

March 1945 3

April 1944 3

All Federal sources.. _______________________ ____

53,910

80, 362

95, 203

War public works_____________ _____ _____ _________
Regular Federal appropriations 3 ________ __________
Federal Public Housing Authority_______ __________

2,095
41,902
9,913

2,853
73, 553
3, 956

2,683
89,138
3,382

1 Preliminary; subject to revision.
2 Revised.
3 Excludes the following amounts (in thousands of dollars) for ship construction: April 1945, 141,954;
March 1945, 122,937; April 1944, 471,302.

Coverage and Method

Figures on building construction in this report cover the entire
urban area of the United States which by Census definition includes all
incorporated places with a 1940 population of 2,500 or more and,' by
special rule, a small number of unincorporated civil divisions. Valua
tion figures, the basis for statements concerning value, are derived from
estimates of construction cost made by prospective private builders
when applying for permits to build, and the value of contracts awarded
by Federal and State governments. No land costs are included.
Unless otherwise indicated, only building construction within the
corporate limits of cities in urban areas is included in the tabulations.
Reports of building permits which were received in April 1945
for cities containing between 80 and 85 percent of the urban population
of the country provide the basis for estimating the total number of
buildings and dwelling units and the valuation of private urban build
ing construction. Similar data for Federally financed urban building
construction are compiled directly from notifications of construction
contract's awarded, as furnished by Federal agencies.
The contracts awarded and force-account work started on Federally
financed building construction inside the corporate limits of cities in
urban areas were valued at $33,748,000 in April 1945, $42,115,000 in
March 1945, and $27,459,000 in April 1944.

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Trend

o f Employment, Earnings, and Hours

Sum m ary o f E m p loym en t R eports fo r A p ril 1 9 4 5
EMPLOYEES in nonagricultural establishments numbered 37,750,000
in April—939,000 or almost 2% percent less than in April 1944. The
net growth in the armed forces over the year was slightly more than
a million.
The decline over the month of approximately 275,000 workers re
flected primarily the downward movement of manufacturing and, to
a lesser degree, the post-Easter decreases in trade. The only sizable
increase was a seasonal expansion in the finance, service, and miscel
laneous division.
Industrial and Business Employment

Each of the major manufacturing groups reported declines. That
in the durable-goods group amounted to 190,000 and in the non
durable group to 76,000. Employment in all manufacturing plants
combined was 266,000 less than in March, and 1,140,000 (or 8 per
cent) less than in April 1944.
Among the durable-goods groups, net monthly decreases of more
than 10,000 wage earners were reported by each of the following
groups: Transportation equipment, iron and steel, machinery, auto
mobiles, and electrical machinery. Comments from firms in each
of these groups primarily engaged in the manufacture of munitions,
indicated that the declines were caused by completion and cancella
tion of war contracts.
Declining employment in transportation equipment reflects, pri
marily, completion of shipbuilding contracts and, to a lesser degree,
contract cancellations in aircraft and aircraft-engine production.
This group employed 95,000 fewer workers than in March and 567,000
or almost one-fourth fewer workers than in April 1944. Employment
was 1,875,000 in April 1945 as compared with a peak of 2,626,000 in
November 1943.
Although each of the 11 nondurable-goods groups reported some
declines, only in textiles and apparels did the decrease amount to
more than 10,000. In both, seasonal decreases are to be expected in
April; but shortages of material and the return of farm workers to
farms also contributed to these declines.
Bituminous-coal mines, operating without a new contract^ reported
an employment decline of 22,000 between March and April. Bitu
minous-coal miners numbered only 312,000 as compared with 360,000
in April 1944.
1316

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1317

T able 1.—Estimated Number of Wage Earners and Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment

in Manufacturing Industries, by Major Industry Group 1
Estimated number of wage
earners (in thousands)

Wage earner in
dexes (1939=100)

Industry group
April
1945 2

March Febru
ary
1945
1945

April
1944

April
1945 2

All manufacturing________________________ _______
Durable goods_________ _ _ _________________
N ondurable goods____ ______________________ .

12, 674
7, 471
5,203

12, 940
7, 661
5, 279

13,081
7,770
5,311

13, 814
8, 421
5, 393

154. 7
206. 9
113.0

158.0
212.2
115.2

Iron and steel and their products- ___________ - . . .
Electrical machinery_______ ____________ _________
Machinery, except electrical____ __________ _____ .
Transportation equipment, except automobiles_____
Automobiles____ ____________________ _______
Nonferrous metals and their products_______________
Lumber and timber basic products____ ____________
Furniture and finished lumber products____________
Stone, clay, and glass products_____________________

1, 628
683
1,128
1,875
656
404
445
330
322

1,658
693
1,152
1, 970
668
407
448
338
327

1, 666
696
1,165
2,042
680
403
450
341
327

1,680
755
1,227
2, 442
724
432
475
347
339

164.2
263.5
213. 5
1181.1
163.1
176.4
105. 9
100.7
109.9

167.3
267.5
218.0
1240.9
166.0
177.6
106.5
102.9
111.4

Textile-mill products and other fiber manufactures..
Apparel and other finished textile products_______ . .
Leather and leather products______ ____ ____ ____ _
Food______ _ . . . ___________________ __________
Tobacco manufactures. . . ________________________
Paper and allied products_________________________
Printing, publishing, and allied industries__________
Chemicals and allied products.. . . _______________
Products of petroleum and coal____________________
Rubber products_______________ ___________ _____
Miscellaneous industries__________________________

1,045
819
305
972
81
301
324
635
133
192
396

1,067
836
309
979
82
307
329
639
134
197
400

1,075
838
310
997
82
310
330
638
134
198
399

1,128
879
315
1,002
83
314
332
601
128
197
414

91.4
103.7
88.0
113.7
86.4
113.3
99.0
220.2
126.1
158.4
161.8

93.2
105.9
88.9
114.6
87.6
115.7
100.2
221.6
126.2
162.9
163.4

March
1945

1 The estimates and indexes presented in this table have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1942 and
preliminary 1943 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security
Agency.
2 Preliminary.

Public Employment

As a result of increased hiring of workers for the quinquennial
census of agriculture, increased employment in the Veterans Adminis
tration, and a seasonal increase in the Department of Agriculture,
employment in Federal agencies other than war agencies reached
880,000 in April 1945. This was the highest point ever attained in a
month (other than December) and represented a gain of approxi
mately 60,000 over April 1944 and of 10,000 over March 1945.
Although the April 1945 employment figure was only 2,000 above
the previous non-December peak of July 1942, many changes
in composition had occurred. For instance, there were increases in
the Treasury Department of 28,000, in the Post Office Department of
31,000, in the Commerce Department of 32,000, and in the Veterans
Administration of 14,000. On the other hand, employment decreased
in the Department of Agriculture by 18,000, in the Department of the
Interior by 7,000, in the Federal Security Agency by 44,000, in the
Federal Works Agency by. 15,000, and in the Tennessee Valley Au
thority by 28,000. Aside from a shift of the youth training program
and the employment offices from FSA to the War Manpower Com
mission, and the opening of the agriculture survey mentioned above,
these changes reflected different program emphases attributable in
large part to the war
Employment in Federal war agencies increased 2,000 in April 1945,
as the result of offsetting changes of approximately 10,000 in employ-

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1318

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

ment of the War Department within and without continental United
States and of minor increases in a number of the other war agencies.
The April 1945 total war-agency employment of 2,646,000 includes
590.000 outside continental United States, of whom approximately
10.000 were prisoners of war. Of the war-agency gain of 254,000 over
the past year, only 23,000 was within continental United States.
Federal services other than the executive showed little employment
change during the month. Employment in regular Federal services
and Government corporations totaled 3,569,000 in April 1945, as
compared with 3,256,000 a year ago.
Source oj data.—Data for the Federal executive service are reported
through the Civil Service Commission, whereas data for the legislative
and judicial services and Government corporations are reported to
T a b ie 2. —Employment in Regular Federal Services and in Government Corporations,

in Selected Months
E xecutive1 Legislative

Total

Year and month

Judicial

Govern
ment cor
porations 2

1939.. __________________________
1940. ________ _________________
1941 _ ------------------------------ -1942______________________________
1943_____ ________________________
1944_____________ ______ _________

928,467
1,003, 682
1,286,094
1,992,037
3,188,126
3, 256,494

896,128
969,155
1,248, 662
1,951, 686
3,144,683
3, 211,583

5,292
5,860
6, 033
6,339
6,119
6,147

2,317
2,379
2, 509
2,606
2,583
2,675

24, 730
26, 288
28,890
31,406
34, 741
36,089

January 1945. ----------- -------------------------February 1945 3_______
____
_______
March 1945 3___________ ______ ______
April 1945 3__________ - ................ ................

3,449,802
3, 500, 519
3,557,534
3,569,490

3,406,672
3,457,249
3, 514,820
3, 526,401

6,160
6, 561
6, 281
6,346

2,638
2,643
2,640
2,626

34,332
34,066
33, 793
34,117

April
April
April
April
April
April

1 Includes employees in United States navy yards who are also included under shipbuilding (table 4)
and employees on force-account construction who are also included under construction projects (table 5).
Includes employees stationed outside continental United States.
2 Data are for employees of the Panama Railroad Co., the Federal Reserve Banks, and banks of the Farm
Credit Administration, who are paid out of operating revenues and not out of Federal appropriations.
Data for other Government corporations are included under the executive service.
3Preliminary.

T able 3.—Employment in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, by War and

Other Agencies, in Selected Months 1
War agencies2
Year and month

Total

Other agencies

Continen
All areas tal United
States

Outside
conti
nental All areas
United
States3

Conti
nental
United
States

Outside
conti
nental
United
States3

1939_________________
1940_________________
1941______ _______ _
1942______ __________
1943_________________
1944...______ _______

896,128
969,155
1, 248, 662
1,951,686
3,144,683
3, 211,583

190,106
246,861
479,297
1,102,428
2,335,763
2,392,207

162,362
205,804
410,304
947,119
2,074,686
2,033,498

27,744
41,057
68,993
155, 309
¿261,077
358,709

706,022
722, 294
769,365
849, 258
808,920
819, 376

697,345
710,996
756,447
835,233
793,947
803,994

8,677
11,298
12,918
14,025
14,973
15,382

January 1945........ ...................
February 1945 4........................
March 1945 4______________
April 1945 4________ ____ _

3,406,672
3,457,249
3,514,820
3,526,401

2, 561,118
2,609,505
2, 644,184
2, 646,257

2,030,351
2,057,409
2,064,778
2,056,697

530,767
552,096
579,406
589, 560

845,554
847,744
870,636
880,144

829,327
831,432
854,090
863,656

16, 227
16,312
16, 546
16, 488

April
April
April
April
April
April

1 Includes employees in United States navy yards who are also included under shipbuilding (table 4)
and employees on force-account construction who are also included under construction projects (table 5).
2 Covers War and N avy Departments, Maritime Commission, National Advisory Committee for Aero
nautics, The Panama Canal, and the emergency war agencies.
3 Includes Alaska and the Panama Canal Zone.
4 Preliminary.

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TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1319

the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Force-account employment is also
included in construction employment (table 5), and navy-yard employ
ment is also included in employment on shipbuilding and repair
projects (table 4). Data for pay rolls are now being revised, and the
revised series will be available shortly.
Employment on Shipbuilding and Repair

Employment on the Federal shipbuilding and repair program de
clined sharply in April 1945, from 1,344,000 to 1,227,000 workers.
The drop of 77,000 was the greatest in a single month since the indus
try’s peak of 1,723,000 in December 1943. All regions were affected;
the Pacific Region had the greatest aggregate decline (27,000) and
the Inland Region the greatest relative decline (16 percent).
In spite of the sharp employment drop, pay rolls were maintained
at approximately the same level as in March. The fact that the
average number of hours worked increased by 15 during April 1945
indicates that there were probably a number of yards with five weekly
pay periods ending during April which would account for the stable
pay-roll figure.
T able 4. — Total Employment and P ay Rolls in United States Navy Yards and Private

Shipyards Within Continental United States, by Shipbuilding Region, A pril 1945
Employment (in thousands)
Shipbuilding region

Payrolls (thousands of dollars)

April
1945 ‘

March
1945

April
1944

April
1945 i.

March
1945

April
1944

All regions____________________________
United States navy yards 2 ... _____
Private shipyards__________________

1, 267.0
322.0
945.0

1,344. 0
327.0
1, 017.0

1, 628. 0
331.0
1, 297.0

371, 516
96, 528
274,988

372,450
98, 045
274,405

442, 204
90,717
351,487

North Atlantic. ______________________
South Atlantic------------ ----------------------Gulf___________________________ ____ Pacific. - _____________ _________ --Great Lakes___________________________
Inland________________________________

486.1
114.8
152.5
439.4
42.2
32.0

505.9
120.0
165.1
466.4
48.3
38.3

594.9
146.1
219.7
543.0
63.6
60.7

149, 392
30,867
40,198
127,679
13, 730
9, 650

148,980
32,244
43, 503
125,495
12, 768
9,459

(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

1 Preliminary.

2Includes all navy yards constructing or repairing ships, including the Curtis Bay (Md.) Coast Guard
yard.
2 Break-down not available.

Data on employment and pay rolls on shipbuilding and repair proj
ects are received monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics directly
from all shipyards within continental United States. Employees in
the navy yards are also included in data for the Federal executive
service (tables 2 and 3).
Construction Employment

The continued increase of employment on the construction of
facilities for the manufacture of rockets and other ordnance matériel,
partially offset by declines on most of the other types of projects, re
sulted in a net gain of 11,300 in site employment on Federally financed
construction in April 1945. A slight gain also was evident on elec
trification projects, which was attributable to a gradually expandingprogram of the Rural Electrification Administration. The contra
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1320

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 194 5

seasonal declines occurring on river, harbor, and flood-control projects,
streets and highways, and water and sewer systems, are evidence of
the gradual closing of war construction projects and the absence of a
new Federal public works program such as was characteristic of the
prewar years.
Site employment on non-Federal construction projects showed a
substantial increase in April 1945. Not quite half of the 41,000 gain
was in residential building construction, which was beginning to feel
an impetus from orders for homes from returning veterans. All other
types of non-Federal projects also showed employment gains during
the month of April. This is not an unusual trend at this time of
year during peacetime, but this is the first time since the beginning
of the war construction program that it has been evident.
Employment away from the construction site and at secret Federal
projects showed an increase of 6,100 in April 1945 which can be at
tributed to seasonal hiring. The completion of many of the secret
projects and the gradual conclusion of others account for the 40,300
drop over the year period.
T able 5.—Estimated Employment and P ay Rolls on Construction Within Continental

United States, A pril 1945
Employm ent (in thou
sands)

Pay rolls (in thousands
of dollars)

Type of project
April
1945 i

March
1945

N ew construction, to ta l2 _________________________
At the construction site__________
_____ . -.
Federal projects 4__________________________
Airports_______. . . - ________ _______
Buildings_______ __________ _____ . . .
Residential__________________ ____
- - _____ Nonresidential5__ _
Electrification____ - - - - - - - _ ______
R eclam ation___
. _
.
.. . . River, harbor, and flood control. --------Streets and highways____ - __________
Water and sewer system s. . ___________
Miscellaneous______________ _____ _____
Non-Federal projects
__________
---Buildings_____________________ _
____
Residential____________ ___________
Nonresidential_____________________
Farm dwellings and service b u ild in g s___
Public utilities_________________ ______
Streets and highways__________________
State. __ _ . . . ________________ . .
County and municipal______________
M iscellaneous___ _______ . . ______
Other e._ ________ _____ _____________________

799.4
678.2
213.4
5.7
165.7
10.8
154.9
.5
6.7
14.4
6.3
3.4
10.9
464.8
262.8
85.6
177.2
67.7
102.7
17.4
6.5
10.9
14.2
121.2

741.0
625.9
202.1
6.4
151.0
11.2
139.8
.3
6.7
14.8
6.6
3.6
12.7
423.8
235.0
68.1
166.9
59.9
100.7
14.4
5.3
9.1
13.8
115.1

Maintenance of State roads 7 _____________________

80.0

79.1

April
19451

March
1945

April
1944

759.1
597.6
250.1
24.1
160.8
30.2
130.6
.5
14.4
17.4
13.5
6.3
13.1
347.5
188.0
110.6
77.4
43.8
85.3
18.6
8.1
10.5
11.8
161.5

0
0
47, 930
985
38, 538
2,545
35, 993
94
1,508
2, 764
1,165
585
2,291
(3)
63, 072
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

0
0
43, 594
980
33, 492
2,621
30,871
33
1,561
2,904
1,216
578
2,830
0
55,930
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
'0
47, 764
3, 725
32, 593
6,122
26,471
114
3,057
3, 343
1,983
956
1,993
0
41,172
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

81.3

(3)

April
1944

1 Preliminary.
8 Data are for all construction workers (contract and force-account) engaged on new construction, addi
tions, and alterations, and on repair work of the type usually covered by building permits. (Force-account
employees are workers hired directly by the owner and utilized as a separate work force to perform con
struction work of the type usually chargeable to capital account.) The construction figure included in
the Bureau’s nonagricultural employment series covers only employees of construction contractors and on
Federal force-account and excludes force-account workers of State and local governments, public utilities,
and private firms.
s Data not available.
* Includes the following force-account employees, hired directly by the Federal Government, and their
pay rolls: April 1944, 27,964, $5,428,300; March 1945, 18,768, $3,678,100; April 1945, 19,556, $3,695,100. These
employees are also included under the Federal executive service (tables 2 and 3); all other workers were
employed by contractors and subcontractors.
{ Includes the following employees and pay rolls for Defense Plant Corporation (R FC) projects: April
1944, 51,500, $12,942,000; March 1945, 13,900, $3,085,000; April 1945, 14,500, $3,562,000. _
6 Includes central office force of construction contractors, shop employees of special trades constructors,
such as bench sheet-metal workers, etc., and site employees engaged on projects which, for security reasons,
cannot be shown above.
* Data for other types of maintenance not available.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1321

Altogether, all types of employment on new construction stood at
799,400 in April 1945, or 58,400 above the previous month, and 40,300
above last year. The gain over April 1944 was entirely in nonFederal projects, Federal projects having shown a drop of 36,700.
Source of data.—For construction projects financed wholly or par
tially from Federal funds, the Bureau of Labor Statistics receives
monthly reports on employment and pay rolls at the construction
site, directly from the contractors or from the Federal agency sponsor
ing the project. Force-account employees hired directly by the
Federal Government are also included in tables 2 and 3 under Federal
executive service.
Estimates of employment on non-Federal construction projects
(except State roads) are obtained by converting the value of work
started (compiled from reports on building permits issued, priorities
granted, and from certain special reports) into monthly expenditures
and employment by means of factors which have been developed from
special studies and adjusted to current conditions. For State roads
projects, data represent estimates of the Public Roads Administration.

D etailed R eports for In d u strial and B u sin ess
E m p loym en t, March 1 9 4 5
Nonagricultural Employment

ESTIMATES of employment in nonagricultural establishments are
shown in table 1. The estimates are based on reports of employers
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on unemployment-compensation
data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the
Federal Security Agency, and on information supplied by other
Government agencies, such as the Interstate Commerce Commission,
Civil Service Commission, Bureau of the Census, and the Bureau of
T able

1.—Estimated Number of Employees in Nonagricultural Establishments, by
Industry Division
Estimated number of employees (in
thousands)
Industry division
March
1945

February January
1945
1945

March
1944

Total estimated em ploym ent1_____ ______ __________________

38,026

37,957

37,952

38,725

Manufacturing 2__ ____. __
_______ __ __ ____________
M ining______________ _______ __________ ______ __ _____
Contract construction and Federal force-account construction..
Transportation and public utilities________________ _______ _
Trade
_________ .
Finance, service, and miscellaneous____________ _
___
Federal, State and local government, excluding Federal forceaccount construction____________________ ______________

15,375
796
619
3,788
7,078
4,377

15, 517
798
588
3, 771
6,985
4,360

15, 555
801
582
3,740
7,030
4,350

5,993

5,938

5,894

16, 559
852
678
3,723
6,919
4,123
f
5,871

1 Estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonagricultural establishments who
are employed during the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. Proprietors, self-employed
persons, domestic servants, and personnel of the armed forces are excluded.
2 Estimates for manufacturing have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1942 data made available
by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency. Since the estimated number of
wage earners in manufacturing industries have been further adjusted to preliminary 1943 data, the two sets
of estimates are not comparable subsequent to December 1942.

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1322

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

Old-Age and Survivors Insurance. The estimates include all wage
and salaried workers in nonagricultural establishments but exclude
military personnel, proprietors, self-employed persons, and domestic
servants.
Estimates of employees in nonagricultural establishments, by States,
are published each month in a detailed report on employment and
pay rolls.
Industrial and Business Employment
Monthly reports on employment and pay rolls are available for 154
manufacturing industries and for 27 nonmanufacturing industries,
including water transportation and class I steam railroads. The
reports for the first 2 of these groups—manufacturing and nonmanu
facturing—are based on sample surveys by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The figures on water transportation are based on esti
mates prepared by the Maritime Commission, and those on class I
steam railroads are compiled by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The employment, pay roll, hours, and earnings figures for manu
facturing, mining, laundries, and cleaning and dyeing, cover wage
earners only; but the figures for public utilities, brokerage, insurance,
and hotels relate to all employees except corporation officers and
executives, while for trade they relate to all employees except cor
poration officers, executives, and other employees whose duties are
mainly supervisory. For crude-petroleum production they coyer
wage earners and clerical field force. The coverage of the reporting
samples for the various nonmanufacturing industries ranges from
about 25 percent for wholesale and retail trade, cleaning and dyeing,
and insurance, to about 80 percent for public utilities and 90 percent
for mining.
The general manufacturing indexes are computed from reports
supplied by representative establishments in the 154 manufacturing
industries surveyed. These reports cover more than 65 percent of
the total wage earners in all manufacturing industries of the country
and about 80 percent of the wage earners in the 154 industries covered.
Data for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries are
based on reports of the number of employees and the amount of pay
rolls for the period ending nearest the 15th of the month.
INDEXES OF EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS

Employment and pay-roll indexes, for both manufacturing and
nonmanufacturing industries, for January, Februarj^ and March
1945, and for March 1944, are presented in tables 3 and 5.
The figures relating to all manufacturing industries combined, to
the durable- and nondurable-goods divisions, and to the major in
dustry groups, have been adjusted to levels indicated by final data for
1942 and preliminary data for 1943 made available by the Bureau
of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency. The Bureau
of Employment Security data referred to are (a) employment totals
reported by employers under State unemployment-compensation
programs and (b) estimates of the number of employees not reported
under the programs of some of these States, which do not cover small
establishments. The latter estimates were obtained from tabulations
prepared by the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, which
obtains reports]from all employers, regardless of size of establishment.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1 9 3 9 = IOO

WAGE EARNERS AND WAGE EARNER PAY ROLL

1323

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS
ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

1324

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

Not all industries in each major industry group are represented in
the tables since minor industries are not canvassed by the Bureau.
Furthermore, no attempt has been made to allocate among the
separate industries the adjustments to unemployment-compensation
data. Hence, the estimates for individual industries within a group
do not in general add to the total for that group.
T able 2.—Estimated Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries 1
Estimated number of employees
(in thousands)
industry
March
1945
All manufacturing . „ __________________ - -------------------- 12,940
7,661
------------- -------------------------------Durable goods
Nondurable goods-------------- ---------- - -------------------- - 5, 279

February January
1945
1945
13,081
7, 770
5,311

13,117
7,797
5,320

March
1944
14,056
8, 570
5,486

Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products-,- ------------------------ - - - Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills---------------- Gray-iron and semisteel castings
----------------- . . --------Malleable-iron castings___ - _ ------------- -------------- - Steel castings______ _ ---------------- ---------------------------Cast-iron pipe and fittings--------------------------------------------Tin cans and other tinware --- ............... . --- ----------Wire drawn from purchased rods— ---------------------- -----Wirework _
______. . . _ - . ------ -- - - - - - - ------Cutlery and edge tools.
------- ----------- -----------Tools (except edge tools, machine tools, files, and saw s)---Hardware____________ ____ _ ------ ------ -----------------------Plumbers’ supplies------- ------------------ --- ------------Stoves, oil burners, and heating equipment, not elsewhere
classified____________________________________________
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and steam fittings.
Stamped and enameled ware and galvanizing, - -------------Fabricated structural and ornamental metalwork , ---------M etal doors, sash, frames, molding, and trim . _ ----------Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets_________________ . -----Forgings, iron and ste el-.- . _ --------------------- ----------Wrought pipe, welded and heavy riveted----------------- -----Screw-machine products and wood screws------- ---------Steel barrels, kegs, and drums______________________ -Firearms____________ ________ ________ ___________

1,658
478.5
74.6
25.4
71.8
15.7
41.9
32.7
34.7
24.4
27.5
46.8
23.2

1,666
478.4
75.3
26.0
72.4
15.7
41.1
32.6
35.1
24.2
27.4
46.7
22.7

1,657
474.8
75.7
25.9
72.1
15.8
39.8
32.8
34.6
24.3
27.6
46.2
22.5

1,704
491.1
76.2
25.4
78.6
15.4
35.7
34.2
33.6
22.7
28.4
47.2
23.6

63.6
55.2
86.9
70.0
10.9
23.9
35.4
24.4
43.0
8.5
30.7

64.0
55.6
87.9
73.2
11.1
24.0
35.7
23.6
43.0
8.4
32.3

63.3
55.6
87.3
73.2
10.7
23.9
35.6
23.8
42.7
8.2
35.0

61.7
57.5
90.5
75.4
13.4
28.5
39.5
26.5
48.0
7.4
54.3

Electrical machinery----------------- --------------------------------- --Electrical equipment--------------- ------------------ -------------Radios and phonographs. ___________ . . ------------------Communication equipment. .- ------------------ ---------------

693
426.4
116.7
105.0

696
429.0
117.5
104.5

698
429.3
118.0
104.9

767
463.8
132.3
120. 2

Machinery, except electrical________________________________
Machinery and machine-shop products------------------ -----Engines and turbines . ........................ - - - - - - - . . .
Tractors ---------- ------------------------- ------------------------------Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors------ . . . --------Machine tools .
- ----------- _
..
Machine-tool accessories .
_________
Textile machinery------------------------------------------------Pumps and pumping equipment. _
----------- ----------Typewriters _
.
- ---------------------------Cash registers, adding and calculating machine_______
Washing machines, wringers and driers, domestic_______
Sewing machines, domestic and industrial- ____________
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipment--------- -----------

1,152
449.9
66.5
56.5
43.9
74.6
64.4
26.4
71.5
13.1
30.0
12.8
11. 1
51.1

1,165
454.2
67.5
57.2
44.8
74.8
65.2
26.4
72.6
13.0
30.6
12.6
11.2
52.4

1,163
451.8
68.1
57.5
44.6
74.3
65.0
26.7
73.8
12.8
30.6
12.0
11.1
52.5

1,251
484.0
72.4
59.9
46.1
83.2
73.8
28.1
83.7
12.0
34.0
14.0
9.4
54.1

Transportation equipment, except automobiles-------- -Locomotives______________
---------------------------- -Cars, electric- and steam-railroad — ______ ______________
Aircraft and parts, excluding aircraft engines 2— -- _
Aircraft engines 2______________ - --- -------------- --------Shipbuilding and boatbuilding-------------- -------------------Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts---------- ------------------------

1,970
34.0
58.6
637.6
210.6
917.1
9.5

2,042
34.1
59.2
646.4
213.7
973.0
9.6

2,082
33.9
57.8
639.8
212.9
1,020.8
9.4

2,486
35.4
59.7
783.7
259.2
1,213.4
9.5

Automob iles______ _____ ___________________-------- --------------

668

680

682

739

Nonferrous metals and their products _
--_
------Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous metals. . ........
Alloying and rolling and drawing of nonferrous metals, except aluminum___
_______ . . -------------------------------

407
39.5

403
39.7

398
39.5

444
54.2

72 .6

71 .9

70 .6

72.8

See footnotes at end of table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1325

T able 2. —Estimated Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries 1— Con.
Estimated number of employees
(in thousands)
Industry
March
1945

February January
1945
1945

March
1944

Durable goods—Continued
Nonferrous metals and their products—Continued.
Clocks and watches___________________________ ____ . . .
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’ fin d in g s...................
Silverware and plated ware. __________________________
Lighting equipment____ _______________________________
Aluminum manufactures____________ - .......... ................ . .
Sheet-metal work, not elsewhere classified-..................... . .

26.3
13.2
11.0
26.2
70.5
32.0

26.2
13.2
10.9
26.2
68.8
32.2

25.7
13.3
11.0
26.4
66.8
31.8

25.2
14.4
10.7
25.3
82.1
32.6

Lumber and timber basic products_____ ____ _______ ________
Sawmills and logging camps________ ____________________
Planing and plywood mill’s_______ _____ _______ __ _____

■148
218.4
69.7

450
218.9
70.5

450
218.5
70.5

482
234.0
76.1

Furniture and finished lumber products_____________________
Mattresses and bedsprings.___________________ ______
____________________ _____ ______
Furniture________
Wooden boxes, other than cigar______________ ________
Caskets and other morticians’ goods_______________ ____
Wood preserving . . . . . __________________ ___________
Wood, turned and sh a p ed __________________ . . . _____

338
17.6
152.5
27.1
12.2
9.9
21.4

341
17.8
154.1
27.2
12.3
10.0
21.5

339
17.7
153.0
27.5
11.9
10.0
21.6

354
15.8
164.2
28.2
12. 5
9.9
21.6

Stone, clay, and glass p ro d u cts..._________ ____ ____________
Glass and glassware. _____
___ . . .
_____ __________
Glass products made from purchased glass_______________
Cement. _ _ . . . . . .
_________ . . .
... . . . ___
Brick, tile, and terra cotta______________________________
Pottery and related products___________________________
Gypsum______________________________________________
Wallboard, plaster (except gypsum), and mineral w o o l___
Lime__________ _ _______________ ________ _________
Marble, granite, slate, and other products_____ _______ .
Abrasives____ _ ____________________________________ .
Asbestos products____________________ ____ ____________

327
88.3
11.1
16.1
40.9
38.9
4.0
9.4
7.7
13.9
21.6
19.9

327
87.6
11.0
16.1
41.2
39.3
4.0
9.6
7.7
14.0
21.5
19.8

328
88.0
10.7
16.5
41.3
39.5
4.0
9.6
7.7
14.0
21.3
20.1

343
92.6
10.7
17.1
44.1
42.1
4.5
9.7
8.5
12.3
22.1
21.7

Textile-mill products and other fiber manufactures__________
Cotton manufactures, except smallwares_________________
Cotton smallwares___ _____ ____ ____ _________ ________
Silk and rayon goods.. . ___________ ______ . . . . . . ____
Woolen and worsted manufactures, except dyeing and
finishing____________________________________________
Hosiery___ ___________ ______ _____________________
Knitted cloth________ ____________________________
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves___________________
Knitted underwear_____________ ________ __ ____ _
Dyeing and finishing textiles, including woolen and
w orsted.. . . . ____ ______________ _______________ . .
Carpets and rugs, wool_______ _________________ ______
Hats, fur-felt_________________________________________
Jute goods, except felts_________________________________
Cordage and twine___________________________ ____ ____

1,067
424.2
13.5
88.0

1,075
428.5
13.3
88.8

1,083
432.7
13.5
88.8

1,151
455.3
14.3
92.9

145.2
98.6
10.3
28.6
34.1

146.0
99.6
10.2
28.7
34.3

146. 6
100.7
10.3
28.5
34.4

157.8
109.4
11.3
30. 7
37.7

58.8
20.0
9.3
3.2
i4 .9

59.0
20.1
9.3
3.2
15.0

59.9
20.3
9.4
3.2
15.1

63.9
20.7
9.8
3.4
16.6

Apparel and other finished textile products.._______ _________
M en’s clothing, not elsewhere classified___ _____ _______
Shirts, collars, and nightwear___________________________
Underwear and neckwear, men’s______ _____ _______ _
Work shirts_____________________________ _____________
Women’s clothing, not elsewhere classified_______________
Corsets and allied garments____________________________
M illinery______ __________________ _____ _______________
Handkerchiefs___ _____ _________ _______ ______ ______
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads... _______ _________
Housefurnishings, other than curtains, etc_______________
Textile bags_____________________________________ ____ :

836
201.4
49.4
12.1
14.4
212.7
14.4
20.4
2.6
10.3
11.2
14.7

838
202.3
49.4
12.0
14.4
213.6
14.6
20.1
2.6
10.2
11.5
14.4

837
201. 2
49.6
12.0
14.1
214. 6
14.6
19.4
2.6
10.9
11.5
14.0

906
216.9
54.8
12.7
16.7
230.7
15.6
20.8
3.3
13.8
10.1
15.5

Leather and leather products________________ _____ ________
Leather. ____________________________________ ______
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings_____ ______ ________
Boots and s h o e s .___ ________________________________
Leather gloves and mittens________ ____________________
Trunks and suitcases......................................................................

309
39.3
16.1
172.3
11.9
12.6

310
39.5
16.0
172.6
11.9
12.9

311
39.5
16.1
173.1
12.3
12.9

318
41.1
16.7
176.2
13.4
12.5

Food._____ ______________________________ _______________
Slaughtering and meat packing_________________________
B u tter............................................ .................. ...............................
Condensed and evaporated m ilk............................... ......... . . .

979
136.2
22.6
13.9

997
144.9
21.6
13.5

1,013
154.7
20.7
13.1

1,002
161.5
21.4
13.0

Nondurable goods

See footnotes at end of tabla.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1326

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

T able 2. —Estimated Number of Wage Earners in Manufacturing Industries 1— Con.
Estimated number of employees
(in thousands)
industry
March
1945

February January
1945
1945

March
1944

Nondurable goods—Continued
Food—Continued.
Icecream .____ _______________ . ------- --------------- -----Flour
______________ _________ _____________
Feeds, prepared__________
. . . ______
------------Cereal preparations____________ . ------------------------Baking. ________________________ . . . --------------------Sugar refining, cane_____
_________ . . . . . . ---------Sugar, beet__________________ ___________ ________ Confectionery____________________________________ . . -Beverages, nonalcoholic______________________________
M alt liquors. _____ _________________________________
Canning and preserving_______________________________

14.1
29.0
21.2
9.3
256.8
15.0
3.9
58.1
25.8
49.8
95.8

13.5
29.6
2j. 5
9.3
257.2
15.3
4.2
58.3
25.6
50.1
101.2

13.3
29.5
21.3
8.9
257.0
i4 .8
5.2
58.8
25.8
49.6
105. 3

13.8
29.0
20.8
9.5
257. 3
14.2
3.6
59.0
26.6
47.8
90.1

Tobacco manufactures____ _____ __________ ______ _______
Cigarettes________________________________ . . ------------Cigars____ . . ___ _____________ ____________ . ----Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snuff__________ . .

82
34.8
33.2
8.6

82
35.2
33.2
8.6

82
35.2
33.3
8.6

83
32.4
38.0
7.8

Paper and allied produ cts------------------ --------------------------Paper and pulp_____ _______________________________ . .
Paper goods, other---------------- ------------- . . ------------Envelopes_____________________________________ _______
Paper bags______ _____ _______________________________
Paper boxes___________________________________________

307
146.1
44.8
9.4
12.9
77.4

310
147.5
44.9
9.5
13.1
77.9

309
147.3
44.8
9.5
13.1
77.7

318
147.6
47.9
10.0
13.6
82.0

Printing, publishing, and allied ind ustries___________ ____ . .
Newspapers and periodicals . . ____________ . . . ------Printing, book and job____________________________ . . .
Lithographing_____________ . . . ___________ . ---------Bookbinding.. ________ __________________ _______

329
109.3
132.4
24.5
27.6

330
108.8
133.9
24.3
28.0

331
109.6
134.2
24.4
27.9

336
110.3
134.9
25.0
30.2

Chemicals and allied products____ _ __________ _________
Paints, varnishes, and colors___ __________ ________ ____
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides.____ _________________
Perfumes and cosmetics________________________________
Soap
.
..
.
. . . __ . . . ______________ . .
Rayon and allied products_____________________________
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified______________________
Explosives and safety fuses_______________ ____________
Compressed and liquefied gases_________________________
Ammunition, small-arms_____________________ ________
Fireworks_____________________ __________ __________
Cottonseed oil____________ ______ ____ ______ _________
Fertilizers_____________________________ _______________

639
29.4
49.9
12.1
13. 4
54.6
115.3
98.7
5.9
67.2
23.8
16.1
26.9

638
29.5
49.4
12.2
13.4
54.7
115.3
97.9
6.0
65.9
25.0
18.3
25.1

628
29.7
49.2
12.2
13. 4
54.1
115.2
95.1
5.9
61.0
25.9
19.8
23.1

624
29.8
52.0
11.6
13.6
52.3
120.0
72.3
6.0
70.1
30.0
17.2
27.8

Products of petroleum and coal_____________________________
Petroleum refining.. ______ . . . ______ ____
_______.
Coke and byproducts______. . . ________________________
Paving m aterials3_____________________________________
Roofing materials___________ _______ ___________________

134
91.8
22.1
1.5
9.5

134
91.5
22.1
1.5
9.5

133
91.4
22.2
1.4
9.5

127
84.6
23.0
1.4
9.9

Rubber products__________________________________________
Rubber tires and inner tubes___________ _______________
Rubber boots and shoes________________________________
Rubber goods, other____ ______________________________

197
95.7
17.4
72.6

198
96.4
17.5
72.5

197
96.7
17.9
71.5

202
93.6
21.3
75.9

Miscellaneous industries____ ____ _______________ ______ _ . .
Instruments (professional and scientific) and fire-control
equipment- ______________ . _____
___________ _
Photographic apparatus________________________________
Optical instruments and ophthalmic goods____________ ..
Pianos, organs, and parts_______ ___________ _____ ______
Games, toys, and dolls_______________________ ____ _____
B uttons__ _______________ _________________________
Fire extinguishers_____________________________________

400

399

396

419

59.9
28.0
23.6
7.4
15.9
9.7
4.7

59.6
28.0
23.5
7.3
16.3
9.6
4.7

58.8
28.0
23.6
7.3
16.5
9.2
4.8

64.5
29.3
25.8
9.1
15.8
10.2
6.7

1 Estimates for the major industry groups have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1042 and pre
liminary 1943 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency.
Estimates for individual industries have been adjusted to levels indicated by the 1939 Censusof Manufac
tures, but not to Federal Security Agency data. For this reason, together with the fact that this Bureau
has not prepared estimates for certain industries, the sum of the individual industry estimates will not
agree with totals shown for the major industry groups.
2 Comparable data from January 1939 available upon request.
2 Revisions have been made as follows in the data for earlier months:
Paving materials.—September through December 1944 wage earners to 1.6, 1.6, 1.6, and 1.5.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1327

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

T able 3. — Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment and of Wage-Earner P a y Roll in

Manufacturing Industries 1
[1939 average = 100J
Wage-earner employment

Wage-earner pay roll

Industry
Mar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan.
1945

Mar. Mar. Feb.
1944 1945 1945

Jan.
1945

Mar.
1944

All manufacturing___________ ____ _______________ 158.0 159.7 160.1 171.6 325.7 329.0 330.5 341.3
Durable goods_______ ______________ ____ ____ 212.2 215.2 215.9 237.3 444.3 451.1 454.3 481.0
Nondurable goods______________ ____ _________ 115.2 115.9 116.1 119.8 209.7 209.6 209.4 204.1
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products_________________
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills____
Gray-iron and semisteel castings,. ____________
Malleable-iron castings_______________________
Steel castings________________________________
Cast-iron pipe and fittings........................................
Tin cans and other tinware. _________________
Wire drawn from purchased rods______________
Wire w ork.. ______________________________
Cutlery and edge tools_______________________
Tools (except edge tools, machine tools, files,
and saws)________________ _______________
Hardware__________ . . . , ___________________
Plumbers’ supplies_____________________ _____
Stoves, oil burners, and heating equipment,
not elsewhere classified _______ __________ .
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus and
steam fittings__________________ ____ ______
Stamped and enameled ware and galvanizing___
Fabricated structural and ornamental metal
__________
work____ ____ ________
M etal doors, sash, frames, molding, and trim___
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets.._____________
Forgings, iron and steel.. . _____________ ______
Wrought pipe, welded and heavy riveted______
Screw-machine products and wood screws______
Steel barrels, kegs, and drums________________
Firearms.......... ......................... ...................................

197.2
140.7
166.8
230.0
291.1
253.9
140.3
614.4

206.1
143.9
167.5
232.1
281.6
253.8
138.6
645.2

206.1
338.2
167.4
231.5
284.5
252. 2
135.6
699.7

212.2
172.8
198.9
257.1
317.0
283.4
121.2
1086.8

368.7
280.8
344.8
472.1
609.3
515.3
268.6
1404.6

Electrical m a ch in ery ............................ ....................
Electrical equipment_________________________
Radios and phonographs..........................................
Communication equipment..... ................................

267.5
235.9
268.3
327.0

268.6
237.3
270.0
325.4

269.2
237.5
271.2
326.5

295.9
256.6
304.1
374.2

504.7
452.5
528.7
556.7

505.0
451.9
535.1
555.5

504.8
454.4
539.9
541.3

524.7
465.9
570.4
579.8

Machinery, except electrical________ ____ ____ ____
Machinery and machine-shop products__
Engines and turbines___ _____ _____ _________
Tractors__________ ________________________
Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors_____
Machine tools______________________________
Machine-tool accessories______________________
Textile machinery__________________ _ .
Pumps and pumping equipment______________
* Typewriters___
___________ . . . . . .
Cash registers, adding and calculating machines.
Washing machines, wringers and driers, do
mestic_______________________ ____ _
_
Sewing machines, domestic and industrial_____
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipment ___

218.0
222.3
356.2
180.5
157.7
203.8
255.8
120. 6
295.0
80.6
152.3

220.4
224. 5
361.8
182.8
161.0
204.3
259.1
120.6
299.7
79.9
155.4

220.0
223.3
365.0
183.7
160.4
202.8
258.3
122.0
304.5
79.1
155.6

236.7
239.2
387.9
191.5
165.7
227.1
293.2
128.5
345.2
74.2
172.6

419.2
419.8
767.1
286.4
324.6
382.0
456.9
236.4
630.4
165.9
299.0

424.6
423.7
790.8
290.8
328.3
381.9
465.8
233.6
645.9
164.5
301.3

421.9
421.3
790.2
295.0
322.1
378.6
458.3
235.1
648.7
162.0
305.1

443.4
441.1
824.8
300.5
330.8
400.5
503.1
233.3
732.3
150.2
343.1

Transportation equipment, except automobiles_____
Locomotives_______________ _________
Cars, electric- and steam-railroad______________
Aircraft and parts, excluding aircraft engines 2. . .
Aircraft engines 2.. ___________________
Shipbuilding and boatbuilding________________
Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts______________

167.3
123.2
127.7
140.8
238.7
94.8
131.8
148.6
114.1
158.1

168.0
123.1
128.8
144.0
240.5
94.9
129.3
148.6
115.5
157.0

167.1
122.2
129.5
143.6
239.7
95.9
125.2
149.4
113.9
157.4

171.9
126.4
130.4
140.9
261.4
93.1
112.3
155.6
110.5
147.5

319.1
229.1
269.4
298.7
457.7
190.1
231.2
257.5
235.9
332.4

318.0
223.6
267.5
305.8
453.5
196.8
227.4
255.7
236.9
333.3

316.3
224.4
267.0
305.1
457.3
195.9
219.3
260.8
236.4
336.6

316.5
222.2
254.8
286.1
478.1
173.9
185.7
256.1
218.5
299.2

179.7 179.1 180.5 185.4 352.1 352.0 353.7 352.8
131.4 131.0 129.5 132.4 280.7 277.7 273.6 270.8
94.2 92.1 91.4 95.9 180.4 176.6 173.4 174.2
137.8 138.8 137.2 133.7 269.7 273.9 267.2 254.3
182.1 183. 5 183.4 189.8 349.7 355.3 358.0 357.0
156.4 158.2 157.2 162.9 331.4 338.1 336.7 325.6
396.0 395.1
285.1 266.0
335.3 331.0
479.8 477.0
566.5 571.7
514.6 509.2
274.6 262.5
1457. 7 1538.1

423.9
318.6
389.6
520.5
615.0
550.0
242.4
2525.1

171.4 168.3 160.9 187.7 315.4 314.5 290.7 330.3
142.1 142.5 141.1 120.4 304.7 305.6 302.6 261.5
145.3 149.0 149.3 153.8 266.0 276.6 271.1 275.8
1240.9 1286.6 1311.7 1566. 5 2945.4 2757.3 2852. 5 3171.9
525.7 526.6 523.3 546.6 1233. 2 1218. 0 1168. 3 1280.4
239.1 241.4 235.9 243.4 506.4 504.2 485.9 493.4
1607. 0 1629.1 1612. 7 1975. 3 3190. 3 3234.6 3257.1 3728.4
2368.1 2403. 5 2394.8 2915. 5 4257.8 4368.4 4334. 5 5194. 0
1324. 5 1405. 2 1474. 2 1752.4 2906. 6 3107. 6 3313.4 3599. 2
136.8 138.4 135.4 135.9 263.3 268.8 258.2 229.7

Automobiles...................................................................

166.0 169.1 169.4 183.7 312.7 319.2 319.3 342.1

Nonferrous metals and their products__
Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous
m etals.. ______ __________ ____ _____
Alloying and rolling and drawing of nonferrous
metals, except aluminum___________ _______
Clocks and watches. _________
______
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’ findings.
Silverware and plated ware___________________
Lighting equipment__________________
Aluminum manufactures........ ...................
Sheet-metal work, not elsewhere classified..........
See footnotes at end of tab le.

177.6 176.0 173.6 193.5 348.1 343.0 337.7 362.9

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

143.0 143.5 142.9 196.1 265.4 263.7 264.2 355.6
187.1
129.5
91.4
90.4
127.7
299.2

185.2
129.0
91.4
89.9
128.2
292.3

181.9
126.5
92.1
90.8
128.7
283.9

187.6
124.3
99.8
88.5
123.6
348.5

367.0
287.5
167.9
169.5
233.2
556.0

361.7
283.7
162.5
165.6
233.6
542.2

354.5
272.5
160.5
163.0
239.1
529.6

351.6
253.4
161.6
158.1
223.3

614.9
170.8 171.5 169.5 173.7 335.4 335.2 334.0 333.0

1328

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

T able 3.— Indexes of Wage-Earnar Employment and of Wage-Earner P ay Roll in

Manufacturing Industries 1—Continued
[1939 average=100]
Wage-earner employment
Industry

Mar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan.
1945

Wage-earner pay roll

Mar. Mar. Feb.
1944 1945 1945

Jan. Mar.
1945 1944

Durable goods—Continued
Lumber and timber basic products------- ------------- 106.5 107.0 107.1 114.7 195.9 196.5 192.9 204.0
Sawmills and logging camps----------------- ----------- 75.8 76.0 75.9 81.2 140.4 140.4 137.9 146.7
95.9 97.1 97.1 104. 7 168.0 170.0 167.2 173.5
Planing and plywood m ills..-------------------------Furniture and finished lumber products..................... 102.9 103.9 103.3 107.9 195.8 196.9 194.0 191.5
Mattresses and bedsprings................ ......................- 95.7 97.2 96.4 86.0 172.4 176.1 178.0 147.7
Furniture------ ------ --------------------- - .............. ....... 95.8 96.8 96.1 103.1 182.3 184.0 180.4 183.4
Wooden boxes, other than cigar . . . . ------------- 107.0 107.2 108.3 111.4 214.7 211.4 211.3 209.6
97.9 98.5 95.7 100.2 176. 5 179.1 170.9 166.6
Caskets and other morticians’ goods_________ _
88.1 89.3 88.9 88.1 195. 8 190.6 190.6 174.1
Wood preserving------------------------------------------Wood, turned and shaped------------------------------- 97.2 97.9 98.1 98.1 180.3 180.0 17S.9 169.2
Stone, clav, and glass products........................... ............
Glass and glassware_______________________ _
Glass products made from purchased glass_____
Cement_______________________ _____ ________
Brick, tile, and terra co tta ..----------- ---------------Pottery and related products_________________
G y p s u m ____ _____________________
_______
Wallboard, plaster (except gypsum), and mineral
wool__________________________ _____ ______
L im e.______________________________________
Marble, granite, slate, and other products--------Abrasives........................ .............................................
Asbestos pro d u cts...________________________

116.8
132.6
106.6
71.7
77.7
127.2
92.0

193.2
207.1
192.8
108.3
121.0
191.3
144.6

189.6
202.0
188.4
106.0
119.4
186.7
141.2

189.0
201.8
185.3
107.3
117.2
184.5
142.6

191.5
211.0
170.6
103.8
121.2
192.9
153.9

115.8 117.9 118.5 119.4
81.7 81.1 81.0 89.5
75.2 75.4 75.7 66.6
279.7 277.8 275.2 286.1
125.4 124.8 126.4 136.4

214.0
162.2
116.1
495.0
262.9

222.1
158.1
115.3
486.6
260.4

218.6
153.4
117.8
482.8
262.6

216.7
166.4
95.5
467.5
268.7

93.2 94.0 94.7 100.6 173.0 173.1 173.9
107.1 108.2 109.3 115.0 206.5 207.3 210.3
101.4 100.1 101.1 107.6 201.2 195.1 193.7
73.5 74.1 74.1 77.5 139.3 140.0 138.4

173.7
202.2
188.6
138.2

111.4
126.5
111.1
67.6
72.0
117.6
82.4

111.3
125.5
109.6
67.6
72.5
118.7
81.8

111.6
126.1
106. 7
69.1
72.8
119.3
81.2

Nondurable goods
Textile-mill Droducts and other fiber manufactures..
Cotton manufactures, except smalhvares______
Cotton smallwares_________________ __________
Silk and rayon goods_________________________
Woolen and worsted manufactures, except dye
ing and finishing._____ ___________ ______ _
Hosiery__________ __________ ________ ______
Knitted cloth_______ _____ ______ __________ .
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves_________
Knitted underwear__________________________
Dyeing and finishing textiles, including woolen
and worsted...................... ......................................
Carpets and rugs, wool________ ____ __________
Hats, fur-felt___________ ________ _______ _____
Jute goods, except felts_________ ____ _________
Cordage and twine__________________________

97.3 97.8 98.3 105.8 193.4 193.1 193.5 199.6
62.0 62.6 63.3 68.8 101.2 102.4 102.9 108.8
94.1 93.9 94.2 103.4 172.1 166.9 169.4 173.6
101.6 102.0 101.4 109.2 195.2 191.8 185.9 188.9
88.5 89.1 89.2 97.8 169.1 167.8 164.7 173. 7
87.9 88.3 89.6 95.6
78.0 78.7 79.4 80.9
63.7 64.0 64.4 67.4
90.1 90.0 90.4 95.4
123.3 123.8 125.1 136.9

151.3
140.0
128.2
178.9
236.1

151.3
138.3
126.8
178.5
235.2

152.2
138.6
125.3
179.3
235.3

154.9
134.8
124.2
180.2
241.1

Apparel and other finished textile products_______ 105.9 106.1 106.0 114.7
M en’s clothing, not elsewhere classified._______
92.1 92.5 92.0 99.2
Shirts, collars, and nightw ear________________
70.1 70.2 70.4 77.8
Underwear and neckwear, men’s . ___________
75.0 74.2 74.1 78.5
Work shirts_________________ ____ ___________ 106.9 106.8 104. 6 123.8
W omen’s clothing, not elsewhere classified_____
78.3 78.6 79.0 84.9
Corsets and allied garments . ___________ . . . 76. £ 77.5 77.8 83.0
M illinery. _______________ ________________ 84. 1 82.8 79.6 85.7
Handkerchiefs______________________________
52.7 53.5 54. 5 67.5
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads___________
60.6 60.5 64.5 81.4
Housefurnishings, other than curtains, etc___ . . 105.6 108.1 108.7 95.0
Textile bags____________ ________________ ____ 122.9 120.1 117.1 128.9

206.2
174.4
132.9
158. 3
213.2
157. 2
136. 7
158. 4
99.8
125.2
199.1
214.1

202.6
170.7
131. 5
154. 5
213. 2
154.3
137.2
154. 5
101.1
120.2
209.1
208.3

195. 2
165.3
126.1
146.7
204.1
149.1
135. 5
131. 0
100.6
129.2
204. C
206.2

200.2
167:3
136.6
153. 6
222.3
152.9
141.3
141.2
121.4
146.1
165.2
204.4

Leather and leather products________ ____________
Leather______________________________
Boot and shoe cut stock and findings__________
t Boots and shoes_________ _____ __________ . . .
F r Leather gloves and m ittens___________________
[
Trunks and suitcases_______________ ________

88.9 89.2 89.5 91.7 167.7
83.2 83.7 83.7 87.0 150.1
85.2 84.8 85.2 88.4 150.1
79.0 79.2 79.4 80.8 153.6
118.7 119.4 122.8 134.2 212.6
151.8 155.4 154.7 150.0 254.8

164.3
148.7
145.1
149.9
205.7
257.8

162.5
147.0
147.3
147. £
211.6
252.4

155.8
144.9
144.3
139.0
229.2
242.3

Food. _________________________________________
Slaughtering and meat packing_______________
B utter___________ ____________________ ____
Condensed and evaporated milk ____________
Ice crea m __________ _________ ____________
F lo u r ___ _______ ____ ______________________

114.6
113.1
125.1
143.6
89.5
117.0

189.1
188.1
190.1
227.8
125.7
204.3

195.8
221.9
181. C
218. £
122. C
206.0

185.7
212.3
178.4
207.1
120.2
184.4

See footnotes at end of table.

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

116.7
120.3
120.1
139. ]
86. '
119.4

118.6
128.4
115.5
134. £
84.5
119.2

117.3
134.0
119. 5
133.5
88.0
117.0

187.3
178.2
196. c
241.1
131.5
201.0 !

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1329

T able 3. — Indexes of Wage-Earner Employment and of Wage-Earner P ay Roll in

Manufacturing Industries 1—Continued
[1939 average=100]
Wage-earner employment

Wage-earner pay roll

Industry
M ar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan.
1945

137.5
124.5
111.3
106. 2
37.6
116.7

138.1
119.6
111.4
104.4
49.6
118.3

Mar. M ar. Feb.
1944 1945 1945

Jan. Mar.
1945 1944

Nondurable goods—Continued
Food—Continued.
Feeds, prepared_____________________ ______
Cereal preparations__________ . _____________
B a k in g ...
_
_______ . . . ________
Sugar refining, cane_____
________ . . .
Sugar, beet_____________________ ____
Confectionery.. . _______________
____ _
Beverages, nonalcoholic___________ _________
Malt liquors___ _ _ ____ _ . . . . __________
Canning and preserving______________________

139.8
124. 6
111.5
107.8
40.2
117.1

135.2
128.0
111.5
100.3
34.9
118. 5
1 2 1 .2 12 0 .2 1 2 1 .2 124.9
138.1 138.7 137. 4 132.3
71.2 75.2 78.3 67.0

235.6
232.6
170.2
181.3
58.1
198. 5
159. 7
200.5
142.6

241.6
227.3
168. 6
175.6
60.4
198.6
157.0

230.5
215.9
168.2
176.1
66.6

198. 0
157.3
200.6 194.9
149.0 153.9

220.0

220.7
163.0
161.6
51.8
191.2
156.0
185.8
126.8

Tobacco manufactures. _______ _____ _ _ . . . _____ 87.6 88.1 8 8 .1 89.5 165.2 165. 3
Cigarettes.. . . . . ..._______ _________________ 126.8 128.3 128.3 118.2 207.4 207.6
C igars... ._
...
. . . ________________ 65.3 65.3 65.3 74.7 135.3 135.4
Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snuff......... . 93.8 94.0 93.9 85.6 155.5 155.9

2 1 1 .1

Paper and allied products____ ____________________
Paper and pulp____________________ ________
Paper goods, other. ________________________
Envelopes. . . . _____________________ ______
Paper b ags.. . . . ________________ _____. . .
Paper boxes. . . . ______ ___________________

115.7
106.3
119.0
108. 2
116. 7
111.9

194.9
183.3
198.2
175.5
206.7
181.9

190. 5
176.4
198.1
176.3
199.8
183.0

Printing, publishing, and allied industries_________
Newspapers and periodicals________________ .
Printing, book and jo b .. _ _
. . . . .. . .. ..
Eithographing_______________________________
B o o k b in d in g__ _____________________________

10 0 .2

100.5 100 . 8 102.4 142.4 141.1 142.8
92.1 91.7 92.3 92.9 120 . 2 118.3 118. 4
104.8 106.0 106.2 106.7 157. 2 156. 5 159.9
94.2 93.6 93.7 96.2 136. 9 134.1 135. 5
107.2 108.6 108.1 117. 2 186.2 186.4 187.7

135.1
114.1
146. 5
132.6
189.3

Chemicals and allied products.........................................
Paints, varnishes, and colors__________________
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides .
________
Perfumes and co sm etics_____ ___ __________
Soap_______________________ _ _ _ . . . ___
Rayon and allied produ cts_________ ____ _____
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified____________
Explosives and safety fuses. _________________
Compressed and liquefied gases___ _. _
Ammunition, small-arms . _____________ . . .
Fireworks.
... _ _ .
________________ .
Cottonseed o il._.
______________ . ._ _
Fertilizers.. _____ _ ________ ____ . . ___

116.7
107. 3
119.3
109.3
118.0

116.5
107.2
119.0
109.7
118.3
1 1 2 .6 112.4

119.9
107.3
127.2
115.1
122.9
118.6

195.2
183 4
199.1
171.5
208.3
182.3

195.3
182.8
199.0
174.2
205.8
183.7

166.4 146.5
159.6
134.2 142.8
159.0 1 2 0 .1

221.3 217.8 216.6 394. 1 389.9 384.2 372.1
104.4 105. 0 105.4 105.7 169. 5 170.1 169.4 163.6
182.0 180.1 ■179.4 189.7 280.2 277.3 273.4 276.1
116.8 117.4 118.0 1 1 2 .2 167.1 169. 6 164.3 156.9
98.3 98.4 98.6 100.5 170.7 169. 7 168. 2 165.0
113.1 113.4 1 1 2 . 1 108. 4 181.8 180.2 182.0 172.0
165.7 165.7 165. 5 172.5 296.7 295.3 293.2 294.1
1361.1 1349.1 1311.3 996. 7 2091. 6 2019.9 1999.1 1508.6
149. 7 151.3 149. 4 151.9 270.7 273.2 267.4 263.1
1576. 2 1544.3 1431.4 1643.9 3167.0 3070. 0 2914. 7 3202. 9
2059. 2 2156. 6 2234. 6 2591. 9 5759. 0 6093. 5 6280. 7 7723. 5
105. 9 120 . 2 130.4 113.0 22 2.6 254.5 275. 5 214. 5
143.4 133.6 122.9 148.0 340.5 301.9 269.1 305.4
2 2 1.6

Products of petroleum and coal.
. . . . ________
Petroleum refining.. ___ . . . ______________
Coke and byproducts___ .
________________
Paving materials A .__________________________
Roofing materials ___________________________

10 2 .0

Rubber products.._ __ . .
____________________
Rubber tires and inner tubes. __ .
. . . ______
Rubber boots and shoes____________ _________
Rubber goods, other___ . . .
________________

162.9
176.8
117.4
140.3

Miscellaneous industries... . ____________
_____
Instruments (professional and scientific) and
fire-control equipment__________ _
_____
Photographic apparatus. . _______ . . . ____
Optical instruments and ophthalmic goods.. . .
Pianos, organs, and parts . _______ .
_____
Games, toys, and dolls_____ _______ _ _ _____
B uttons___ . . . . . __ . . . _________
_____
Fire extinguishers_____ ____ ___________ ______

541.4
162.1
202.7
97.7
85.3
88.4
470.9

126.2 126.1 126.0
126.1 125. 6 125. 5
10 2.0 102.4
62.8 60.5 57. 2
117.7 118.2 117.8
163.4
178.0
118.3
140.0

12 0 .1

116.2
105.9
56.5
122.5

163.2 167. 2
178. 5 172.9
120 .6 143. 8
138. 2 146.7

223. 9 223.3
220.6 218.2
180.2 185.8
119.5 118.6
213.9 216.2

221.7
215.7
189.0
114.7
211.5

203. 9
195. 7
180. 4
99.6

320.2
339.8
224.2
265.5

319.8
342.4
220. 7
261.2

297.0
299.3
254.6
257.6

296.7
301.9
216.3
264.5

2 1 1 .6

163.4 163.1 161.8 171.3 326.3 324.6 322.4 325.0
539.2 531. 6
162.1 162.1
203.2
95.8 95. 5
87.4 88.4
87.2 84.0
468. 1 478.1

202.6

583.6 1068. 3
169.9 275.4
354.3
119.3 190.0
84.8 178.3
92.9 175.0
675.1 1072.9
2 2 2 .2

1063. 0
276.1
350.5
182.4
183.7
175.9
1061.1

1057.1
277.5
353.5
187.3
182.7
173.4
1017. 8

1109. 2
280.0
370.7
228.4
160.3
177.1
1422.7

1 Indexes for the major industry groups have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1942 and preliminary
1943 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency. Indexes
for individual industries have been adjusted to levels indicated by the 1939 Census of Manufactures, but
not to Federal Security Agency data.
2 Comparable indexes from January 1939 available upon request.
3 Revisions have been made as follows in the indexes for earlier months:
Paving materials.—-September through December 1944 employment indexes to 66 .8 , 65.8, 65.6, and 60.0;
pay-roll indexes to 137.9,131.6,125.6, and 121.0.

0 4 5 8 8 6 — 45

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1330

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

T able 4. — Estimated Number of Wage Earners in Selected Nonmanufacturing Industries
Estimated number of wage earners (in thousands)
industry
Jan. 1945

Mar. 1945

Feb. 1945

65.4
334
69. 1
23.9

65.6
337
68.9
23.4

2 2 .1

2 2 .2

14.8
5.6
2.7
404
44.8

403
44.9

65.4
338
69.2
23.5
22.3
15.0
5.5
2.9
401
45. 2

201

200

Mining:
Anthracite ______ _____ ______________ _____
Bituminous coal____ __________ _
______ - M etal.. _ . ______________ .
. . . --------- . . .
. . . ------Iron _______ _ . . . . ------------Copper. . . . ___. . . ____ _ _______________
Lead and zinc____________
__________
Gold and silver _______ . . ----------- ------Miscellaneous___________________
. ------Telephone 1 ______________ __________ _____ -- ___
Telegraph2 . . .
. . .
...
Electric light and power 1 .
_ ______ . ---------- .
Street railways and busses L. ___ - ------ -- ------ -Hotels (year-round) 1 _________________ _____ ________,
Power laundries.. ------ ------------------- . . .
-----------•Cleaning and dyeing ----------- -----. . . . _ -- --------Class I steam railroads 3____
. .. ..
.. . ... ...
Water transportation 4---------------------------- . . ----------

14.9
5.6
2 .8

69.1
366
86.7
28.5
29.4
18.3
6.3
4.2
407
46.7
204
232
352
249
79.2
1, 400

227
355
240
75.6
1, 394
143

229
353
238
76.1
1,413
148

230
' 352
238
79.2
1, 422
152

Mar. 1944

111

1 Data include salaried personnel.
.
2 Excludes messengers, and approximately 6,000 employees of general and divisional headquarters, and
of cable companies. Data include salaried personnel.
s Source: Interstate Commerce Commission. Data include salaried personnel.
4
Based on estimates prepared by the U . S. M aritime Commission covering employment on active deepsea American-flag steam and motor merchant vessels of 1,000 gross tons.and over. Excludes vessels under
bareboat charter to, or owned by, the Army or N avy.

T able 5.— Indexes of Employment and Pay Rolls in Selected, Nonmanufacturing

Industries
[1939 average=100]
Pay-roll indexes

Employment indexes
Industry

Mining:
Anthracite
___________ _____ _____
Ritnminnns coal
_________
Metal
______ _____- - -- -- _____- - ___ - Iron
Copper
_______
_______
Lead and zinc____________________
Gold and silver _____- - _____
Miscellaneous
...
_____
Quarrying and non metallic _______ _
Crnde-petrolenm production 1 __ ___
Public utilities:
Telephone
________ ____ _________
Telegraph
_ ______ _
__ Electric light and power ___
_ ___
Street railways and busses ____ __ __ _
Wholesale trade
_______ ___ __ - ■Retail trade
_ __ _________ ___ - ___ Food
_ _____ _ _ _ _ _ __
General merchandise
_______ _ _
Apparel
______
_ ______
Enrnitnre and honsefurnishings_____
Automotive
___
_ __________
Tiirmher and building material
___
Hotels (year-round) 2
_____
Power laundries
________________
—
Cleaning and dveing
___ __ ____
Class I steam railroads 2
_ ___
Water transportation 5 __ ____________

Feb.
1945

Jan.
1945

150.2

137.7
214.3
125.7
180.3
156.6
183.3
30.0
121.9
135.0
132.2

Mar.
1945

Feb.
1945

Jan.
1945

Mar.
1944

Mar.
1945

79.0
90.2
78.4
118. 8
92.9
95.0
69.2
76.6
82.6

79.2
90.8
78.1
116.6
93.1
95.7
22.7
69.7
75.4
82.4

83.5
79.0
91.1
98.7
98.3
78.4
116.8 141.7
93.4 123.1
96. 6 ' 117.8
25.5
22.3
73.4 106.7
75.6
82.8
82.1
81.6

149.7
203.2
131.2
213.1
154. 2
180.4
29.5
113.9
142.5
132.8

129.7
202.4
155.3
182.4
29.9
117.3
137.0
133.7

127.2
118.9
82.1
118.8
95.3
99.3
105. 7
117.5

127.0
119.2
82.2
118.4
95.7
97.2
106.7
111.4

126.1

11 1.0

10 2 .8

162.2
170.8
116.8
175.2
141.3
132.9
141.0
147.5
153.5
87.4
104.3
131.5
166.7
162.2
192.0
(4)
724.7

158.8
171.4
117.3
178.9
141.4
130.5
141.6
141.8
140.6
86.7
103.9
130.4
167.9
159.4
175.6
(4)
708.5

2 2 .6

62.0
68.6

89.4
109.0
105.5
117.4
144.0
290.4

61.7
67.6

88.6

12 0 .2

82.0
117.3
95.7
98.3
107.2
114.2
105.9
62.4
6 8 .1

88.9

109.6
105.4

106.3

1 1 2 .8

1 1 2 .0

143.1
281.6

1 1 0 .2

141.1
272.6

128.1
123.9
83.5
119.6
95.4
96.9
107.8
108.6
106.7
63.3
65.4
89.7
109.2
110.3
117.3
141.7
211.7

2 12 .6

157.8
172.3
115.2
175.1
139.1
130.7
141.4
144.3
145.7
87.4
10 1.0

129.9
166.8
161. 5
175.3
«
685.2

Mar.
1944

157.8
225. 0
155. 5
223.4
20 2.0

215.4
33.4
166.5
144.9
125.7
151.6
171.5
112.5
164.9
133.4
12 2 .6

134.5
131.2
137.0
84.8
92.7
124.7
153.6
155.2
173.7
(4)
490.5

1 Does not include well drilling or rig building,
.
2 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and tips, not included.
8 Source: Interstate Commerce Commission.
’ iN u i a v a u a - u ic .

5
Based on estimates prepared by the U. S. Maritime Commission covering employment on active deepsea American-flag steam and motor merchant vessels of 1,000 gross tons and over. Excludes vessels under
bareboat charter to, or owned by, the Army or N avy.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1331

AVERAGE EARNINGS AND HOURS

Average weekly earnings and hours and average hourly earnings for
January, February, and March 1945, where available, are given in
table 6 for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries.
The average weekly earnings for individual industries are computed
by dividing the weekly pay rolls in the reporting establishments by
the total number of full- and part-time employees reported. As not
all reporting establishments supply information on man-hours, the
average hours worked per week and average hourly earnings shown in
this table are necessarily based on data furnished by a slightly smaller
number of reporting firms. Because of variation in the size and com
position of the reporting sample, the average hours per week, average
hourly earnings, and average weekly earnings shown may not be
strictly comparable from month to month. The sample, however, is
believed to be sufficiently adequate in virtually all instances to indi
cate the general movement of earnings and hours over fhe period
shown. The average weekly hours and hourly earnings for the man
ufacturing groups are weighted arithmetic means of the averages for
the individual industries, estimated employment being used as weights
for weekly hours and estimated aggregate hours as weights for hourly
earnings. The average weekly earnings for these groups are com
puted by multiplying the average weekly hours by the corresponding
average hourly earnings.
T a b l e 6 .—

Earnings and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries
M A N U F A C T U R IN G

Average weekly
earnings 1

Average weekly
hours 1

Average hourly
earnings 1

Industry
Mar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan. Mar. Feb.
1945 1945 1945

Jan.
1945

45.5
46.9
43.5

45.5
46.9
43.4

Cents Cents Cents
45.4 104.5 104.3 104.6
46.8 113.9 113.8 114.4
43.4 89.7 89.3 89.1

52.09 51.58 51.65

47.1

47.0

46.9 110.7 109.8 1 1 0 . 1

56.15
53.98
52.72
53.84
42.35
41.67
52.01
44.92

55.04
52.71
52.76
53.25
43.13
41.67
52.07
45.69

46.8
48.5
48.2
46.9
46.7
45.6
48.0
45.8

46.3
48.1
48.5
46.5
47.6
45.8
47.7
46.3

46.2
47.9
48.8
46.6
46.9
45.5
48.4
46.6

47.35 47.58 47. 67
47.31 47.24 47.22
49.97 50.06 49.55

47.3
47.6
46.6

47.4
47.6
47.2

47.8 10 0 .1 100.3 99.8
47.6 10 0 .2 99.1 99.1
46.9 107.2 106.1 105.7

All manufacturing . . ___________ _________ $47.51 $47.43 $47.50
Durable goods. _ . ___
____________ 53.38 53.39 53. 54
Nondurable goods_____ - ______________ 39.00 38. 73 38.66
Durable goods
Iron and steel and their products___________
Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling
mills_________ ______ _____________
Gray-iron and semisteel c a stin g s_______
Malleable-iron castings _ .. _______ . .
Steel castings.. - ____ - ____________
Cast-iron pipe and fittings 2 ________
T in cans and other tinware. __________
Wirework________________ ___________
Cutlery and edge tools. ______ . . . . . .
Tools (except edge tools, machine tools,
files, and saws)_______ _______________
Hardware----- ------ ------------------------------Plumbers’ supplies.
________________
Stoves, oil burners, and heating equip
ment, not elsewhere classified ________
Steam and hot-water heating apparatus
and steam fittings__ __________ . . . . . .
Stamped and enameled ware and galvan
izing __ _________ ____ _ __________
Fabricated structural and ornamental
metalwork . .
.
___ . _ . . . . . .
Metal doors, sash, frames, molding, and
trim ___ ______ ____ ________ ______
Bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets. _____ .
Forgings, iron and steel...... ................. .........
F o o tn o te s a t end o f tab le.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

54.58
53.16
52.79
52.84
43.79
41.87
51.41
45.35

119.7 118.1 119.1
1 1 2 .2 111.3 1 1 1 . 0
109.4 108.8 108.2
114.7 113.6 114.7
91.0 91.9 92.0
91.4 91.5 91.6
108.4 107.9 107.7
97.5 97.4 97.5

48.78 49.27 48.63

46.5

47.1

46.8 104.8 104.5 103.9

49.32 49.70 50.10

47.2

47.7

47.7 104.5 104.3 105.0

48.71 49 18 49.29

46.2

46.6

46.5 105.4 105.6 105.9

51.88 53.58 53.48

46.3

47.6

47.1 111.9 112.4 113.5

54.11 53.74 52.20
52.26 50.49 49.89
61.62 62. 73 61.95

49.1
48.5
48.0

48.9
47.7
48.7

48.1 110.3 109.9 108.5
46.9 107.4 105.9 106.5
48.2 128.5 128.9 128.6

1332

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

T a b l e 6 .—Earnings

194 5

and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—
Continued
M A N U F A C T U R I N G — C o n tin u e d

Average weekly
earnings 1

Average weekly
hours 1

Average hourly
earnings 1

Industry
Mar. Feb. I Jan. Mar. Feb.
1945 1945 1945 1945 1945

Jan. Mar. Feb.
1945 1945 1945

Jan.
1945

Durable goods—Continued
Iron and steel and their products—Continued.
Screw-machine products and wood screws. $52.44 $52.38 $52.13
41.90 43.36 42.38
Steel barrels, kegs, and drums. _ _
Firearms---------------- ---------------------------- 59.96 59.26 57.67

49.0
41.5
46.6

49.2
43.3
46.4

Cents Cents Cents
48.9 106.9 106.4 106.5
42.8 99.9 99.0 98.0
45.4 128.7 127.8 127.1

Electrical machinery--. --------- ----------- -- Electrical e q u ip m e n t____ - ------ - Radios and phonographs-. ---- -Communication equipment-------- ------ -

50.02
52.51
43.04
47.18

49.85
52.31
43.07
47.31

49.64
52.37
43.14
45.93

46.6
47.1
45.9
45.7

46.7
47.0
46.3
45.9

46.5 107.3 106.7 106.9
46.9 1 1 2 .0 111.3 1 1 1 . 8
46.2 93.4 93.1 93. 5
45.1 103.0 10 2.8 101.4

Machinery, except electrical---------------- -----Machinery*and machine-shop products—
Engines and turbines. ------- ------- -Tractors
----- -. —
Agricultural machinery, excluding tractors.
------- -- Machine t o o ls __ Machine-tool accessories. -------- ---------Textile machinery------ -------------------------Typewriters____ . . - _ ---- --Cash registers, adding and calculating
machines____________ ____ _
_____
Washing machines, wringers and driers,
domestic. .
____
- - - - - Sewing machines, domestic and industrial
Refrigerators and refrigeration equipment

56.16
55.03
60.85
53.58
54.68
60.49
61.70
51.03
49. 56

56.23
55.02
61.77
53.71
54.12
60.08
61.82
50. 68
49.52

55.92
54.92
61.18
54.23
53.40
60.21
61.14
50.33
49.27

48.8
48.6
49. J
46.4
47.5
51.5
49.8
49.6
49.0

48.9
48.7
49.5
46.8
47.3
51. 5
50.5
49.4
49.1

48.7
48.5
48.5
47.1
46.9
51.6
49.5
49.6
49.3

59.38 58.66 59.32

48.7

48.3

48.7 123.5 12 2 .8 123.1

48.85 49. 59 47.94
57.99 57.89 58.01
52.14 52.76 51.58

45.8
51.4
46.1

47.2
51.6
46.6

46.3 106.6 105.1 103.4
51.7 113.6 113.2 113.3
46.5 113.0 113.3 11 0 .6

Transportation equipment, except automobiles
Locomotives- .
Cars, electric-and steam -railroad----Aircraft and parts, excluding aircraft
engines
_ ____________ _____ ______
Aircraft engines.......... .
----------------Shipbuilding and boatbuilding--------------Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts________

61.39 61. 78 62. 61
66.58 65. 65 63.36
55.91 55. 08 54. 26

47.3
50.0
46.5

47.5
48.7
45.7

48.0 129.7 130.1 130.4
47.1 133. 3 134. 9 134.6
45.5 119.6 120.4 119. 2

56.23
62. 67
65. 10
53. 73

52. 78

47.1
46.7
47.6
48.7

47.3
46.9
47.7
49. 2

47.7
46.3
48.7
48.9

Automobiles _____ ___________

59.49 59. 51 59.42

46.5

45.2 128.0 128.0 131.4

51. 25 50.89 50. 92

47.5

47.3

47.2 108.0 107.6 107.9

49.61 49.08 49. 20

46.5

45.9

45.8 106.7 106.9 107.4

56.40 56.14 56.15
46.02 45.57 44. 63

48.7
47.3

48.8
47.3

48.7 115.8 115.2 115.3
46.3 97.9 97.1 97. 1

45.36
47. 42
48. 62
51. 37

46.3
47.5
45.3
47.4

45.0
46.8
45.3
47.3

45.4
46.4
45.0
47.4

101.4
104.3
105.4
108.0

100.6

34. 35 34.31 33. 72
Lumber and timber basic products.. . .
Sawmills and logging camps------------------- 33. 02 32. 96 32. 43
Planing and plywood m ills.. ---------------- 38.51 38.63 37. 75

43.1
42.4
45.2

43.2
42.5
45.5

42.6
42.0
44.7

79.7
77.9
85.2

79.3
77.5
84.6

37. 48
38. 16
41.32
34.17

44.7
44.6
46.0
45.0

44.8
44.8
46.4
43.7

44.4
44.2
46. 1
44.0

85.3
87.5
91.3
78.7

84.9
87. 2
91.4
77.9

39. 93
40. 32
36.06
41.6'
33. 68
35.92
45. 47
37. 17
40. 65
49. If
49. 5t

44.3
42.8
44. 1
46.0
42.3
42.3
48.5
49.0
43. 5
48.5
49.2

43.9
42.6
43.4
45.5
41.8
41. 1
47.7
48.1
43.2
48.4
49.2

43.6 92.4 91.6 91.7
42.0 96.8 95.6 96.3
43.9 81.9 82. 2 82.1
44.6 93.7 92.8 93.4
41.1 81.4 80.8 80.9
40.7 90.7 90. 1 89. 5
48. 5 93.8 93.3 93.8
47.0 80.5 80.0 79.5
45.0 91.7 91.6 89. 5
48.2 102. 5 101.4 10 2 .1
49.4 10 1.6 1 0 1 .1 100.4

__________

Nonferrous metals and their products----------Smelting and refining, primary, of nonferrous metals . - ------- - Alloying and rolling and drawing of nonferrous metals, except aluminum---------Clocks and watches
- . . . ..
Jewelry (precious metals) and jewelers’
findings - - ____- _________
Silverware and plated w are.. _ ---------Lighting equipm ent..
. ------ _ - —
Aluminum manufactures ----------------- --

56.24
61. 99
64. 63
53.24

47. 82
49. 53
47. 73
51.20

46. 26
48. 65
47.63
51.15

Furniture and finished lumber products------- 38.09 38. 05
38. 98 38. 94
Furniture
.........................
41.86 42.21
Caskets and other morticians’ goods. _
Wood preserving . . . . . --------------------- 35.45 34.04
Stone, clay, and glass products--------------------Glass and glassware______ - - - - - - - - Glass products made from purchased glass.
Cement
____
__ _ —
Brick, tile, and terra cotta.
--------------Pottery and related products___________
Gypsum
___ ___ ___ . . . ___
Lime
. ____
- - .
Marble, granite, slate, and other products.
Abrasives
_
__________ ________
Asbestos products— ---- -- ----------------F o o tn o te s a t end of ta b le.

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40.91
41.27
36. 03
43.1C
34. 6£
37. 78
45. 7"
38.9'
40. 3C
49.7'
50.021

40.19
40.70
35.71
41.93
34. 06
36. 56
44. 7‘.
38. 25
39.98
49.08
49. 85

57.19
62.41
6 6 .12

115. 1
113.0
124.5
115.5
115.1
117.8
124.0

115.0
112.9
125.1
114.9
114.4
117.3
123.2
10 2.8 102.7
1 0 1 .1

119.5
132.8
136. 7
109. 2

100.8

119.0
133.6
137.4
109.3

114.9
113. 2
126.3
115.1
113.7
117.2
123.5
10 1.6
100.0

119.8
135.0
136. 7
107. 9

98.3
103.9 102.4
105.2 108.1
108.0 108.3
79.1
77.3
84. 5
84.5
86. 6

90. 1
77.7

TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS
T a b l e 6 .— Earnings

1333

and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—
Continued
M A N U F A C T U R I N G — C o n tin u e d

Average weekly
earnings 1

Average weekly
hours 1

Average hourly
earnings 1

Industry
Mar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan. Mar. Feb.
1945 1945 1945

Jan.
1945

Nondurable goods
Textile-mill products and other fiber manu
factures. ------------------ ----------Cotton manufactures, except smallwares..
Cotton smallwares ___________________
Silk and rayon goods
-------------- . . . . .
Woolen and worsted manufactures, except
dyeing and finishing------------------Hosiery____ _________________________
Knitted cloth________ ____ ___ _______
Knitted outerwear and knitted gloves^__
Knitted underwear __
....
Dyeing and finishing textiles, including
woolen and worsted------- ----------------Carpets and rugs, wool------ ------------------Hats, fur-felt__
. ----------------- ---------Jute goods, except felts. ---------------------Cordage and tw ine_____________________

Cents Cents Cents
73.3 73. 1 72.9
65.4 65.2 65.2
81.4 80.8 80.5
71.3 71.1 70.9

$31.07 $30.89 $30. 78
27. 79 27. 63 27. 78
36. 21 35.66 35.68
30.33 30.17 29. 76

42.4
42. 5
44.6
42.5

42.3
42.4
44.2
42.4

42.3
42.6
44.4
41.9

36.95
29. 96
33.96
32. 45
28.10

36. 79
30. 07
33. 21
31. 77
27. 78

36. 73
29.81
33. 59
30.83
27. 20

42.9
38.5
44.0
40.3
41.4

42.9
38.6
43.6
40.1
41.0

42.9
38.4
44.5
39.3
40.4

35. 99
41.39
46. 94
35.49
34.06

35. 73
40. 54
46.18
35. 47
33. 79

35. 32
40. 26
45.35
35.46
33. 46

45.7
44.1
42.2
45.0
45.3

45.6
43.7
41.8
45.1
45.5

45.3 78.6 78.3 77.9
43.7 94.0 93.1 92.3
41.7 110.9 110.3 108.7
45.5 78.8 78.7 77.9
45.2 75.0 74.2 73.9

Apparel and other finished textile products.. .
M en’s clothing, not elsewhere classified. . .
Shirts, collars, and nightwear---------- ,-----Underwear and neckwear, men’s________
Work shirts... . . .
.
.....
. ..
W omen’s clothing, not elsewhere classified.
Corsets and allied garments ___________
__________ ______ _______
M illinery.
___
_____
Handkerchiefs
.
Curtains, draperies, and bedspreads ___
Housefurnishings, other than curtains, etc.
Textile bags . . .
____________________

34.10
35. 65
25. 68
28.21
21.55
42.93
30. 92
45. 76
24.89
27. 67
33.07
30.51

33. 45
34.69
26.15
27.78
21.57
41.96
30. 77
45.41
24.84
26. 64
33.89
30.37

32. 42
33. 90
25. 00
26. 56
21.17
40. 35
30.31
40.01
24. 27
26. 94
32.91
30. 77

39.1
40.0
38.3
38.1
37.0
37.8
40.4
35.3
37.8
37.5
41.0
42.3

38.9
39.7
37.9
37.8
37.4
37.5
40.7
35.5
38.2
36.7
42. 1
42.2

38.2 87.2 86.0 84.9
38.9 88.5 86.7 86.7
37.0 69.0 69.1 67.5
36.5 74.0 73.9 72.9
36.8 56.9 56.3 56.3
37.0 109.2 107.5 105.4
40.1 76.8 75.7 75.7
34.0 104.0 103.2 97.5
37.6 65.8 64.9 64.5
36.7 73.5 72.7 73.3
41.1 79.8 79.7 79.2
42.4 72.1 72.0 72.7

Leather and leather products_______________
Leather
....
...
i._ ------ -Boot and shoe cut stock and findings-----Boots and shoes______ . . . _____
Leather gloves and mittens ____________
Trunks and suitcases---------- --------------

35. 95
45.12
35.58
34. 46
30.82
35.15

35.17
44. 44
34. 69
33.56
29.68
34.71

34. 66
43. 93
35.01
33. 00
29. 62
34.13

42.4
46.2
43.0
41.8
37.6
41.9

42.1
45.9
42.6
41.5
37.1
42.7

41.8
45.5
42.9
41.2
37.7
41.5

F ood ____ _ ._ _ _ ----------------------------------Slaughtering and meat packing_________
B utter.. _____ ._ ----------------- _ -----Condensed and evaporated milk
_____
Icecream
. . . . . . . . . . . . . _______
Flour____ _ _________________________
Cereal preparations____________________
Baking____________ . . . . ------- . _
Sugar refining, cane____ . . . . . . . . .
Sugar, b e e t.. ------- -- ------------... ...
Confectionery.
.
. . . . _________
Beverages, nonalcoholic________________
Malt liquors__________________________
Canning and preserving 3______________

39.20
42. 94
34. 67
38.41
40. 52
43. 06
47. 45
39.08
40.81
38. 69
31. 13
34. 87
51. 45
32.28

Ì58.86
42.80
35. 19
37.40
40. 22
42.91
46. 35
38. 65
38.94
37. 65
31. 10
34. 56
51.24
32.05

39. 51
47. 18
34.85
37. 03
39.85
43. 30
45.85
38. 57
40. 32
33. 70
30. 79
34.15
50.29
31.69

45.1
46. 3
46. 1
49.9
46.8
49.9
48.0
45.7
47.7
39.5
41.5
43. 1
44.9
41.3

44.9
46.8
46.5
49.3
46.4
49.8
47.4
45.2
46.0
38.2
41.7
42.7
44.8
40.7

45.6 86.8 86.5 86.7
51. 1 93.0 91.7 92.7
46.6 73.3 74.2 73.8
48.9 76.8 75.9 75.7
46.3 82.6 82. 5 82.3
50.0 86.4 8 6.2 86.7
47.5 98.8 97.7 96.6
45. 2 85.7 85.3 84.8
47.2 85.5 84.7 85.5
34.5 98.0 98.6 97.7
41.4 76.1 75.4 75.2
42.4 80.5 80.7 80.4
44. 5 114.2 114.1 113.3
40. 1 78.8 79.4 79.6

'Tobacco manufactures____ _____________ . .
C ig a rettes___ . . . .
........
....
Cigars.. . . .
. . . .
.
. . ..
Tobacco (chewing and smoking) and snuff.

32. 01
34. 88
29. 60
29. 06

31.90
34. 50
29.61
29. 07

31.93
35. 07
29. 35
29.68

43.2
44.2
42.5
41.4

43.3
44.2
42.7
41.7

43.4
44.8
41.9
42.9

74.1
78.8
70.1
70.0

73.7
78.1
69.9
69.8

73.6
78.2
69. 7
69.2

Paper and allied products__________________
Paper and pulp ________ . . . .
......
E n v e lo p e s ...____. . . ________ . . . . . .
Paper bags_________________ ____ ____
Paper b o x e s________ _____ ____________

40. 46
43.60
38. 20
36.08
36.01

40.15
43. 03
38. 36
35.50
36. 06

40.18
43.19
38. 54
35. 67
35. 82

46.4
48.5
44.6
44.6
43.6

46.3
48. 2
45.0
43.9
44.0

46.2
48.1
45.3
44.1
43.9

87.3
89.9
84.9
82.1
82.5

86.6

86.9
89.7
84.3
81.4
81.7

Printing, publishing, and allied industries___
Newspapers and periodicals__ _________
Printing, book and job__ . . . _ . . . __
Lithographing_________ _______ _____

46.52
50.15
45.35
47.43

45. 66
49. 39
44. 33
46.76

46. 03
49.20
45.10
47.18

41.5
38.7
42.9
44.9

41.0
38.2
42.4
44.4

41.5
38.3
43.2
44.7

See fo o tn o te s a t end o f table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

8 6.2

77.8
76.5
79.5
67.7

84.8
97.7
83.8
82.0
82.8
82.6

85.8
77.9
75.0
78. 1
67.5

83.6
96.9
82.6
80.7
80.7
80.7

89.1
84. 5
81.4
82.0

85.6
77.7
74.4
77.3
67.0

82.9
96.5
82.6
79.8
79.5
81.1

1 1 2 . 1 111.3 110.9
127.5 127.1 126.4
106.1 104.9 104.8
106.8 106. 5 106.5

1334

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

T a b l e 6 . —Earnings

1945

and Hours in Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Industries—-

Continued
M A N U F A C T U R I N G — C o n tin u e d

Average weekly
earnings 1

Average weekly
hours 1

Average hourly
earnings 1

Industry
Mar. Feb.
1945 1945

Jan. Mar. Feb.
1945 1945 1945

Jan. Mar.
1945 1945

Feb.
1945

Jan.
1945

Nondurable goods—Continued
Chemicals and allied products ____________ $44. 78 $44. 28 $44.41
Paints, varnishes, and co lo rs___________ 47. 51 47.29 46.86
Drugs, medicines, and insecticides______ 36. 44 36.48 36.17
Soap
_
. . . . . _____ ______ ______ 49. 44 49.11 48.59
_______ 39.18 38.72 39. 51
Rayon and allied products 4_._
Chemicals, not elsewhere classified ___
53. 78 53.63 53. 31
Explosives and safety fuses_____________ 47.63 46.41 47. 25
Ammuniton, small-arms.........z____ ______ 45. 51 44. 96 46. 05
Cottonseed oil_____________ ___________ 28.45 28. 76 28. 70
F ertilizers__________ ______ ___________ 32.79 31.12 30. 58

45.9
48.0
43.6
48.7
42.6
47.3
45.3
46.3
51. 5
48.4

45.5
47.6
43.4
48.7
42.1
47.3
44.4
46.0
52.4
46.3

Cents Cents Cents
45.7 97.5 97.3 97.2
47.2 99.3 99.5 99.6
43.2 83.8 84.2 83.6
48.0 1 0 1 . 6 100.9 101.3
43.1 92.0 92.0 91.7
46.9 113.7 113.4 113. 6
45.1 105.1 104.6 104.7
46.9 98.3 97.7 98.3
53.4 55.3 54.9 53.7
45.0 67.8 67.5 67.9

Products of petroleum and coal__
Petroleum r efin in g .________________ .
Coke and b yp rod ucts__________________
Roofing materials______________________

56.58
59. 47
48. 33
46. 85

56. 58
59.14
49.79
47.04

56. 20
58. 55
50. 63
46.19

47.3
47.4
46.5
48.9

47.3
47.1
47.5
49.1

46.6 119.5 119.6 12 0 .6
46.2 126.0 126.1 127.1
47.4 104.0 104.8 106.7
48.5 95.8 95.7 95.2

Rubber products ______
.......... ..........
Rubber tires and inner tubes___________
Rubber boots and shoes.................................
Rubber goods, o t h e r _________ ______

50.62
57. 29
41.42
44.26

54.40
64.04
42. 59
44.42

54. 49
64. 29
41.09
44. 25

45.3
45.3
44.0
45.6

47.3
48.7
45.5
45.9

47.3 111.7 114.9 115.1
49.0 126.0 131.4 131.7
44.3 94.1 93.6 92.7
45.8 97.1 96.7 96.6

Miscellaneous industries.__________ . . .
45.59 45. 39 45. 43
Instruments (professional and scientific)
and fire-control equipment____________ 57. 36 57.31 57. 90
Pianos, organs, and parts_______________ 46.62 46.11 47.53

45.9

45.8

45.7

49.9
45.5

49.8
45.0

50.0 115.1 115.2 115.9
46.4 10 2.8 102.9 103.0

41.4
43.6
44.8
46.5
46.1

41.7
45.2
45. 0
45.5
46.1

38.9
44.9
44.0
44.6
45.7

99.4

99.1

99.3

N O N M A N U F A C T U R IN G

Mining:
A nthracite... ________________ __ . .
Bituminous coal_____ . . . ._
M etal____ ______
______
Quarrying and nonmetallic_____________
Crude-petroleum production........................
Public utilities:
Telephone ______________
Telegraph 5 ... ____
._ _.
Electric light and power . . . . . . . . .
Street railways and busses._______ . . . . .
Trade:
Wholesale . . . .
R etail_____________ ___
Food
. _
General merchandise______ ______
Apparel_______________ . . . . . . . .
Furniture and housefurnishings____
A u to m o tiv e ..___ . . _____ . . . .
Lumber and building materials______
Hotels (year-round) 6
____
Power laundries .
Cleaning and dyeing. ______ ____
Brokerage_________ __________ _
Insurance. . . . .
Private building construction_______________

$48. 76 $48. 68 $44.81
52.17 54.08 54.11
47.14 46. 72 45.08
40.26 39.27 38. 73
54. 58 55.23 54. 59

Cents
117.9
119.8
104.6

Cents
116.4
119.2
103.5

Cents
115.4
120.4
10 2 .386.8
86.0
86. 8
116.2 117.1 117.1

39. 94
37.20
49. 77
49. 55

39.17
37.23
49. 76
50. 83

39.49
37.14
48. 90
50.04

42.8
44.7
44.2
51.6

42.5
44.7
44.0
51.9

42.4 95.1 93.8 93.4
45.0 83.2 83.2 82.6
43.4 112.3 1 1 2 .2 1 1 1 . 6
51.6 94.8 96.5 96.2-

44.00
27.21
31.76
22. 37
29.03
38.46
42. 80
38. 05
23. 97
28. 80
33.12
64.74
47.39
54.49

43.85
27.32
31.44
22. 52
29.01
38.31
43.23
37.98
24. 07
28.31
31. 53
62.84
45. 81
52. 89

43.15
26. 99
31.49
22.31
29. 07
38.20
42.05
37.86
23.71
28.32
31.68
60. 33
46. 81
52. 98

42.9
39.3
39.9
34.5
35.9
44.1
46.4
43.5
44.9
43.8
44.3
(7)
(7)
40.0

42.8
39.7
39.9
35.1
36.5
44.2
46.9
43.3
44.5
43.4
43.4
(7)
(7)
39.1

42.7 10 1 .6 101.3 100 . 6
39.6 75.9 75.6 75.1
39.9 75.2 75.2 74.6
35.1 64.1 63.5 63.2
36.9 81.5 79.0 79.3
43.7 87.3 86.8 8 8 .2
46.3 93.6 93.5 92.4
42.8 88.9 88.9 89.4
44.2 53.2 53.9 53.2
43.5 66.0 65.3 64. 9‘
43.6 77.9 75.8 75.4
(7)
(7)
(7)
(7)
(7)
(7)
(7)
(7)
38.8 136.3 135.2 136.4

1 These figures are based on reports from cooperating establishments covering both full- and part-time
employees who worked during any part of 1 pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. As not all
reporting firms furnish man-hour data, average hours and average hourly earnings for individual industries
are based on a smaller sample than are weekly earnings. Data for the current and immediately preceding
months are subject to revision.
2 Revisions have been made as follows in the data for earlier months:
Cast-iron pipe and fittings.—December 1944 average hourly earnings to 90.3 cents.
3 Data previously published in Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 697 have been changed as
follows: 1939 annual average and July 1939 average weekly hours to 37.0 and 35.4, respectively; January
and July 1939 average hourly earnings to 48.1 and 44.6 cents, respectively.
4 Data have been revised from March 1940 through M ay 1942. Complete series from January 1939 avail
able upon request.
8 Excludes messengers and approximately 6,000 employees of general and divisional headquarters and
of cable companies.
6 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and tips, not included.
7 N ot available.

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TREND OF EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, AND HOURS

1335

C ivilian Labor F orce, A p ril 1 9 4 5
THE civilian labor force increased by 270,000 persons between March
and April 1945, to a total of 51,930,000, according to the Bureau of the
Census sample Monthly Report on the Labor Force. During the
month, employment increased by 330,000, while the volume of un
employment declined by 60,000 to a level of 770,000.
The gain in the civilian labor force between March and April
this vear was considerably smaller than in 1944 but approximately
in line with the 1943 and 1942 experience. However, it should be
borne in mind when making year-to-year comparisons that the Census
enumeration in April 1944 occurred during Easter week, at which
time many teen-age youths were in temporary jobs.
A seasonal upswing of 460,000 in agricultural employment between
March and April 1945 accounted for the gain in total civilian employ
ment during the month. The March-April increase brought the level
of agricultural employment to a total of 7,*750,000—about 250,000
over the April 1944 figure. Nonagricultural employment showed a
decline of 130,000 during the month interval, so that the level of non
agricultural employment in April 1945 was 380,000 below the April
1944 total.
The number of women in the civilian labor force—18,090,000 in
April 1945—is 910,000 above the level in April 1944. On the other
hand, the number of men in the civilian labor force (33,840,000) repre
sents a net decline of 1,040,000 from the level a year ago. However,
during the year the size of the armed forces increased by more than a
million.
Civilian Labor Force in the United States, Classified by Employment Status and by Sex,
March and A pril 1941-451
[Source: U . S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census]
Estimated number (in thousands) of persons 14 years of age and over 3
Item

1945

1944

1943

1942

1941

April March April March April March April March April March
Total civilian labor force-.
U nem ploym ent 3___
Em ploym ent_______
N onagricultural _.
Agricultural____

51. 930 51, 660 52, 060 51,360 52, 540 52, 290 53,850 53, 460 53,090 51,950
950 1,060 2,740 3, 230 5,810 5,950
870
770
770
830
51,160 50,830 51, 290 50, 490 51, 590 51, 230 51,110 50, 230 47, 280 46,000
43,410 43, 540 43, 790 43, 580 43, 720 44, 000 42, 690 42, 540 38, 870 38. 380
7,750 7,290 7, 500 6,910 7,870 7,230 8 , 420 7,690 8,410 7,620

Males
Civilian labor force_____
U nem ploym ent 3----Em ploym ent______
NonagriculturaL
Agricultural____

33,840 33, 720 34, 880 34,480 35,990 36,020 39,710 39, 890 40, 230 39, 660
520
610 1,890 2, 320 4,310 4, 540
440
470
430
490
33, 410 33,230 34,440 34, 010 35, 470 35, 410 37, 820 37, 570 35,920 35,120
26,940 27, 060 27, 750 27,680 28,680 28,910 30, 330 30, 400 28, ISO 27, 760
6,470 6,170 6,690 6,330 6,790 6,500 7,490 7,170 7,740 7,360

Females
Civilian labor force____
U nem ploym ent 3---Em ploym ent______
Nonagri cul tural Agricultural—. . .

18,090 17,940 17,180 16,880 16, 550 16, 270 14,140 13, 570 12,860 12 , 290
910 1, 500 1,410
430
450
850
340
330
400
340
17,750 17,600 16, 850 16, 480 16,120 15, 820 13, 290 12,66C 11, 360 10 , 880
16,470 16,480 16,040 15, 900 15,040 15,090 12, 360 12,14C 10,690 10 , 620
670
260
520
810
580 1,080
730
930
1,280 1 ,1 2 0

1 Estimates for period prior to November 1943 revised April 24,1944.
2 All data exclude persons in institutions.
3 Includes persons on public emergency projects prior to July 1943.

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Labor Chronology

C h ron ology o f Labor E ven ts, January-M arch 1 9 4 5
JANUARY
1945

Jan. 3. The National Headquarters of Selective Service asked all State directors
to reclassify or retain registrants in Class II—C (agricultural
workers) in accordance with the President’s finding that “the
further deferment of all men now deferred in the 18 through
25 age group because of agricultural occupation is not as essential
to the best interest of our war effort as is the urgent and more
essential need of the Army and Navy for young men.” (Source:
National Headquarters of Selective Service, S-56.) On January
1, 1945, there were 340,000 registrants of this age group in Class
II-C . (Source: S-57.)
On January 7, the National Headquarters of Selective Service
announced that men leaving the jobs for which they had been
deferred, without the consent of their local boards, would be in
ducted into the armed forces. As of December 1, 1944, about
4,256,000 nonagricultural registrants liable for military service
had been deferred because of their jobs. (Source: S-57.)
Jan. 4. The Office of Price Administration, on the occasion of the approaching
third anniversary (Jan. 10) of the War Price and Rationing
Boards, announced that the 5,578 in existence had (as of October
1944) 221,500 board members and other volunteers. Since
January 1942 the boards had issued more than 1 billion rations,
including 534 million war ration books and 229 million gasoline
rations, and had aided in the administration of price regulations
in some 1,700,000 retail establishments. (Source: Office of
Price Administration OPA-5144, OPA-5172.)
On March 9 the OPA reported that there were 132,600,000 copies
of War Ration Book Four outstanding; about 2,000,000 were
replacements. (Source: OPA-5391.)
Jan. 6. The President, in his message on the State of the Union, asked Congress
to enact a national service law, to insure full production of war
requirements (for discussion, see M. L. R., Feb. 1945, p. 297).
Jan. 8. The Supreme Court of the United States held unconstitutional a section
of a Texas law requiring the registration of labor-union organizers
(for discussion, see M. L. R., Feb. 1945, p. 332).
Jan. 8. The War Manpower Commission announced that a representative of the
U. S. Employment Service would be placed in each of the 17
Army Separation Centers throughout the country, to encourage
discharged veterans to accept employment in critical war pro
duction. (Source: War Manpower Commission, PM-4747.)
On February 6, the WMC stated that the total number of place
ments of veterans by the Service in 1944 was 806,139 (for dis
cussion, see M. L. R., March 1944, p. 547). (Source: PM-4758.)
1336

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LABOR CHRONOLOGY

1337

1945
Jan. 15. The E xecutive Director of the N ational War Labor Board announced
th at in the 3 years since its establishm ent (Jan. 12, 1942) the
Board had closed some 362,000 voluntary and dispute cases,
involving about 24,000,000 employees. Of the 14,000 dispute
cases, in only 25 had it been necessary for the Governm ent to
seize plants or facilities to enforce compliance to N W LB decisions.
(For summary of report of the 3 years’ a ctivity of the Board,
see M. L. R., M ay 1945, p. 1035.)
Jan. 16. The N W LB ordered the United States Rubber Co. to deduct from pay
the fine of $12.50, imposed by the U nited Rubber Workers of
America (C. I. O.) on each of 572 employees for failure to end
a “w ildcat” strike at the com pany’s D etroit plant in October
1944. The company had reported to the Board that, in view of
emergency demands of the armed forces, it was im practical to
discharge the em ployees in accordance w ith the maintenance-ofmembership clause in the collective agreement.
(Source: N W LB
B -1923.)
Jan. 16. The N W LB announced that it had amended its Rules of Organization
and Procedure to provide th at it “ shall ‘determ ine’ rather than
‘recommend’ the amount of unlawful wage paym ents which
shall be disregarded by the executive departments and other
agencies of the Government in determining costs or expenses for
income tax or other purposes.” (Source: N W LB, B -1921.) As
of January 30, 1945, there had been transm itted to the Bureau
of Internal Revenue 1,527 cases in which all or a part of the
unauthorized wage paym ents were to be disregarded as costs or
expenses for tax purposes. (Source: B -2001.)
Jan. 17. The N W LB, industry members dissenting, upheld the directive order
of its regional board at D etroit, which awarded preferential
seniority for union representatives in the Jarecki M achine &
Tool Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. The order provided th at all
stewards and members of the plant com m ittee of the United
Automobile Workers (C. I. O.), representing the 350 employees
in the plant, should be kept in em ploym ent as long as there is a
job which th ey can perform in their respective departm ents or,
in the case of members of the plant comm ittee, in any departm ent.
(Source: N W LB, B -1954.)
Jan. 22. The Chairman of the War Manpower Commission announced the vet
erans’ apprenticeship policies ratified by the 3-day conference in
W ashington of regional supervisors and industry consultants of
the W MC Apprentice Training Service. The main policies were
(1) veterans should not be “ high-pressured” into entering ap
prenticeship; (2) the number of apprentices should be large enough
to m aintain a skilled force of some 5,000,000 persons (about
600,000 apprentices in training annually, according to the esti
m ate of the ATS director); (3) th e number of establishm ents
having apprenticeship programs should be extended to 450,000
(from the present 32,000) in order to provide sufficient opportuni
ties to returning veterans; and (4) apprenticeship standards
should be safeguarded by the ATS. (Source: War Manpower
Commission, PM -4750, P M -4752.)
Jan, 23. The N W LB upheld, labor members dissenting, an order of its regional
board at D etroit, ruling, in a case affecting the Borg-Warner
Corporation, Muskegon Heights, M ich., th at subcontracting is a
prerogative of m anagem ent unless there is an agreement to the
contrary. The union contended th at subcontracting w ithout
negotiation was a violation of the union contract and th at it
would drive wage rates down. (Source: N W LB, B -1930.)
Jan. 31. The N W LB announced an amendment to its General Order No. 31 to
provide th at “ under certain circumstances an employer in critical
or essential work may hire workers at wage rates above the
minima of their job rate range w ithout regard to the 25 percent
lim itation of the order.” (For discussion, see M. L. R., Mar.
1945, p. 538; see also Chron. item for Sept. 21, 1944, M. L. R.
Dec. 1944.)

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1338

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

1945
Jan. 31. The President’s Committee on Fair Em ploym ent Practice announced th at
it had docketed 3,835 cases during 1944 and closed 3,712 cases
(1,324, or 35.7 percent, resulted in satisfactory adjustm ents).
On January 1, 1945, there were 2,054 cases pending, an increase
of 123 over the number of cases pending on January 1, 1944.
These cases were being processed by regional offices of the Com
m ittee. (Source: President’s Com m ittee on Fair Em ploym ent
Practice, OW I-3981.) (For discussion of progress toward fair
em ploym ent practices, see M. L. It. M ay, 1945, p. 1003.)
FEBR U AR Y

Feb. 1. The N W LB unanim ously approved the resolution of its regional board at
N ew York, granting employers in N ew York State the authority
to pay their em ployees regular wages or salaries w ithout deduc
tion for tim e not worked because of the closing of the working
place pursuant to an emergency Fuel Conservation Order.
(Source: N W LB, B -1942.)
Feb. 2. The N W LB amended its General Order N o. 4, to apply wage-stabilization
regulations to cigar makers with eight or fewer employees, in the
Tampa, Fla., area. Similar action was taken on March 7, to
cover employers of 8 or fewer workers in wholesale produce
establishm ents handling fruits and vegetables in Salt Lake City,
and, on March 26, to cover dry-cleaning establishm ents in nine
counties in Southern California, and luggage manufacturers in
Los Angeles county. (Source: N W LB , B -1956, B—1997, and
B -2010.)
Feb. 5. The N W LB affirmed, industry members dissenting, a decision of its
regional board at Philadelphia, which directed the Downington
(Pa.) Paper Co. to pay year-end bonuses to production employees,
holding th at the paym ent of such bonuses to office em ployees
alone constituted an intraplant inequity. (Source: N W LB
B -1996.)
Feb. 6. The N W LB announced that it had delegated authority to the Director
of Selective Service to approve adjustm ents in the wages and
salaries of em ployees of the Selective Service system which are
not fixed by statute. Such adjustm ents, however, must conform
to the Board’s wage-stabilization orders and policies. (Source;
N W LB, B-1947.)
Feb. 11. The N W LB announced, in a case concerning the M cCulloch Logging Co.,
Eugene, Oreg., th at if uniform base rates have been established
throughout an industry, the application of “guide rates” for key
jobs is a more realistic approach to the correction of intraplant
inequities than is the use of approvable rates (wage brackets).
(Source: N W LB, B -1952.)
Feb. 13. The N W LB, industry members dissenting, affirmed the directive
order of the San Francisco regional board directing a company
to include in a collective agreement a sick-leave plan which had
been in effect for 5 years. (Source: B—1955; see also Chron.
item for Sept. 13, 1944, M. L. R., Dec. 1944.)
On March 13, in a case concerning The Glenn L. M artin Co.,
Baltimore, Md., the N W LB directed (industry members dis
senting) th at an existing sick-leave plan should not be changed
during the life of an agreement except through negotiation be
tw een the company and the union. The industry members ob
jected th at this action would prevent employers from experi
m enting with new programs for the benefit of their em ployees.
(Source: N W LB, release of April 9, 1945, on Case N o. I l l —
7696D.)

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LABOR CHRONOLOGY

1339

1945
Feb. 15. The Director of Economic Administration, in the first action of its
kind, announced that he had directed the cancellation of the war
contracts of, and priority assistance to, E. A. Laboratories, Inc.,
Brooklyn, N. Y., which had refused to comply with a directive
order of the N ational War Labor Board. The Director had issued
the order on January 31, after receiving reports from the War and
N avy D epartm ents that “cancellation of the com pany’s contracts
would not appear to interfere unduly with the war effort,” and
that its production for the War Departm ent could be absorbed
by other companies if necessary. (Sources: Office of Economic
Stabilization, OW I-4058; B -1830B .) (See third Chron. item
for Dec. 27, 1944, M. L. R., April 1945.)
Feb. 19. The W PB and the OPA announced a broad Government program to
divert a larger proportion of clothing production to low- and medi
um-priced essential apparel, which “should start to become
available in quantity in the early sum m er.” The W PB issued a
textile order whereby (1) manufacturers of low- and mediumpriced garments were given priority ratings to obtain fabrics, and
(2) existing provisions for equitable distribution to retailers
were strengthened. The OPA directed manufacturers to attach
to the apparel produced under the program, tags giving price
ceilings. (Sources: OPA-5327, W P B-7362.)
On March 19, the OPA announced a new regulation providing
“simple and exact pricing rules for about 300,000 of the nation’s
retail stores selling clothing, textiles, furniture, and house fur
nishings.” The new regulation, called by the Price Administra
tor “one of the most im portant events in retail price control
since M ay 1942, when the General Maximum Price Regulation
took effect,” replaced the General M aximum Regulation and
several other pricing measures applying to these comm odities.
Manufacturers were ordered to restore the average level of their
price lines to the averages of 1942-43, and retail stores were or
dered to freeze their mark-ups as of March 19, 1945. (Source:
O PA-5417.)
Feb. 20. The N W LB, industry members dissenting, issued a directive order
fixing a minimum rate of 55 cents an hour (except for learners and
handicapped persons) in 23 southern cotton-textile companies,
25 N ew England cotton and rayon companies, and 6 N ew York
and Pennsylvania rayon companies. (Source: B -1963. For
discussion, see M. L. R., April 1945, p. 856.) On April 17, the
Director of Economic Stabilization approved the N W L B ’s action,
after assurance from the OPA th at the level of the textile-indus
try prices would not be m aterially affected. (Source: B -1963F .)
Feb. 22. The General Counsel of the N W LB ruled that employers could pay the
premiums on life-insurance policies of their employees w ithout
violating the wage-stabilization law, provided th at all em ployees
in any departm ent of a company in which any person is insured
were covered; employees with less than a year’s service might
be excluded at the em ployer’s discretion. (Source: N W LB, B 1964.)
Feb. 22. The WMC announced that nearly 300,000 handicapped workers were
placed by the U. S. Em ploym ent Service in 1944. (For details,
see M. L. R., M ay 1945, p. 1008.)
Feb. 23. The Chairman of the WMC announced th at in 1944, enrollments in
civilian war training programs totaled 3,366,950, distributed
as follows: Vocational Training For War Production Workers,
1,245,174; Engineering, Science, and M anagement War Training,
349,717; Food Production War Training, 1,260,292; Training
W ithin Industry Service of the WMC, 511,767. (Source: O W I4086.)

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1340

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

194 5

1945
F eb. 26. The N W LB resolved that proposed adjustm ents of wage or salary rates
up to 55 cents an hour could be approved in voluntary cases by
Regional War Labor Boards “w ithout regard to the wage-bracket
rates for such job classifications.” In dispute cases, “the
Regional Boards in their discretion m ay take into consideration
appropriate prevailing rates in making their determ inations.”
(Source: N W LB, B -1972.)
F eb. 26. The “ 12 o ’clock midnight curfew” went into effect for places of enter
tainm ent throughout the country. The W M C established
the curfew at the request of the Director of War M obilization
and Reconversion (announced Feb. 19), and stated th at it would
rely upon public opinion and local authorities for enforcement.
WM C area directors were authorized to lower the em ploym ent
ceilings of violators. (Source: PM —4766, P M -4767, P M -4768;
W hite House release of February 19, 1945.)
M ARCH

Mar. 7. The N W LB decided unanimously, in a case affecting the Dunbar Furni
ture M anufacturing Co., Berne, Ind., th at the company did not
need Board approval to continue paying its present wage rates.
The company had reconverted to the manufacture of furniture
but continued the rates it had paid while producing wooden
airplane parts; these were higher than the com pany’s prewar
wage level. (Source N W LB, B-1979.)
On March 8 the N W LB announced the denial of downward wage
adjustm ents requested by the Cuneo Press, Inc., Chicago. The
firm, after completing a war contract, wanted to reduce wages for
24 guards to the rates (50 to 75 cents per hour) it had paid before
obtaining a war contract which required the raising of the wage
rates to 75 to 90 cents per hour. (Source: N W LB, B -1982.)
Mar. 8. The Director of the Office of Economic Stabilization issued a directive
concerning proper “fringe” wage adjustm ents (i. e., adjustm ents
affecting vacations w ith pay, shift differentials, merit increases,
severance pay, holiday pay, autom atic progression plans, and the
reclassification of wTage scales within a particular plant). The
N W LB was authorized to approve vacations up to 1 week after a
year of service and up to 2 weeks after 5 years; shift differentials
in noncontinuous operations not to exceed 4 cents an hour for the
second shift and 8 cents for the third shift; merit increases in
autom atic progressions according to the Board’s present standards;
and reclassifications and job revaluations “not to exceed an aver
age increase of 1 cent or 1 percent for all em ployees in plant or
plants covered by the WLB ruling.” On April 26, 1945, the new
Director of Economic Stabilization (see Chron. item for Mar. 24,
this issue of M. L. R.) announced the issuance of a supplementary
directive lim iting third-shift differentials to 6 cents an hour.
However, the N W LB was authorized to approve higher or lower
“fringe” adjustm ents should it find “th at the am ount of the
adjustm ent follows an already established ‘clear and well-defined
practice’ in the industry or the area and therefore would not be
unstabilizing to the area or industry involved.” Approval by the
Director of Economic Stabilization is required “if there is reason
to believe that such adjustm ents will cause an increase in price
ceilings or production costs.” (Source: Office of Economic Sta
bilization, O W I-4045, OW I-4315.)
Mar. 11. The D irector of War M obilization and Reconversion announced the
creation of an interagency com m ittee on foreign shipments, under
the chairmanship of the Administrator of the Foreign Economic
Adm inistration. It was stated th at “it will be the duty of this
com m ittee to program American exports in relationship to the
requirements of our own civilian econom y.” (Source: W hite
H ouse release of March 11, 1945.)

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LABOR CHRONOLOGY

1341

1945
Mar. 17. The OWI announced that, according to the report of the War Food
Administration, the civilian allocation of m eat (3,793,000,000
pounds) for the second quarter of 1945 would be the lowest
quarterly civilian consumption in 10 years, and would be at the
rate of 115 pounds per capita per year, as compared w ith about
145 pounds in the record year 1944, and 125 pounds yearly in
the peacetime period 1935-39. (Source: OW I-4173.) On
March 1, the OPA had announced that, effective March 4, rationpoint values for low-point beef and pork cuts and a long list of
other meats (some of them previously point free) would be
increased. (Source: OPA-5357.) On January 22, lard, shorten
ing, and salad and cooking oils had been assigned ration points
again, after being point free from March 3, 1944. (Source:
OPA-5205.) (See also Chron. item for Dec. 26, 1944, M. L. R.
April 1945.)
On January 25, the Secretary of Agriculture announced that
1944 was another record food-production year, and that the out
put “was about as large a volume of crops and livestock as this
country has ever produced.” (Source: U. S. D ept, of Agriculture,
release of Jan. 25, 1945.)
Mar. 20. The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Office of War Mobilization
and Reconversion announced that the President had asked the
Board to study the various guaranteed-wage proposals and
make recommendations on the subject. The Board appointed a
subcom mittee, composed of Eric Johnston, Philip Murray,
Albert Goss, and Anna Rosenberg, for this purpose. (Source:
White House release of Mar. 20, 1945.) On December 1, 1944,
the ^National War Labor Board reported to the President that it
had declined to grant the demand of the U nited Steelworkers of
America for a guaranteed annual wage, and suggested the appoint
m ent of a commission to inquire into the whole question of
guaranteed-wage plans. (Source: W hite House release of Mar.
20, 1945.)
Mar. 20. The N W LB unanimously approved a voluntary application of American
Type Founders, Inc., N ew Jersey, to grant severance pay to its
salaried em ployees who would be discharged when the company
reduced its personnel for peacetime production. The severance
plan provided for a w eek’s pay to employees who have worked
between 6 months and a year, 2 weeks’ pay after 1 year of work,
3 weeks’ pay after 2 years, and 4 weeks' pay for those who will
have worked between 3 and 5 years. The Board said its policy
was to approve reasonable voluntarily subm itted plans. (Source:
N W LB, B -2000.)
Mar. 22. The Office of Civilian Requirements of the W PB announced th at the
fourth consumer-requirements survey would be made during the
week of March 26 by the Bureau of the Census of the D epartm ent
of Commerce. The survey would consist of interviewing 4,500
representative families in 68 communities in 45 States and the
D istrict of Columbia. The W PB will use the obtained informa
tion “in programing the essential civilian requirements considered
necessary to the maintenance of the war supporting econom y.”
The previous three surveys had been made within a period of 6
m onths (in Novem ber 1943, March 1944, and April 1944).
(Source: W PB-7551; see also Chron. item for Mar. 17, 1944,
M. L. R. June 1944.)
Mar. 24. James F. Byrnes resigned, effective April 2, as Director of the Office of
War Mobilization and Reconversion. He was succeeded by Fred
M. Vinson. William H. D avis, Chairman of the N ational War
Labor Board, was appointed as Economic Stabilization Director.
(Sources: White House release of Apr. 2, 1945; Office of Economic
Stabilization, OW I-4156; B-2012.)
Mar. 26. The National Labor Relations Board, in a case affecting the Packard
Motor Car Co., certified the Foremen’s Association of America
as a bargaining agent for foremen of the company (for discussion,
see M. L. R., M ay 1945, p. 1045).

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1342

M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JU N E

1945

1945
Mar. 28. Eric Johnston, President of the Chamber of Commerce of the U nited
States, W illiam Green, President of the A. F. of L., and Philip
Murray, President of the C. I. O., announced th at they had pre
pared and signed the “N ew Charter for Labor and M anage
m ent,” designed to insure the close cooperation of labor and
managem ent in the postwar period. It was announced that a
national comm ittee, representing business and labor organiza
tions, would be created to promote an understanding and sym pa
thetic acceptance of the code of principles in the charter, and to
“propose such national policies as will advance the best interests
of our N ation .” The code of principles, in brief, advocated (1)
the highest degree of production and employm ent, (2) private
com petitive capitalism, (3) no unnecessary burdensome restric
tions on management, (4) free collective labor bargaining, (5)
security of the individual against the hazards of unemployment,
incapacity, and old age, (6) stim ulation of untrammeled foreign
trade, and (7) the establishm ent of an international security
organization. (Source: New Charter for Labor and Management
Press Conference, Mar. 28, 1945; NW LB, B -2022).
Mar. 29. The Chairman of the War Manpower Commission announced th at the
total m ilitary and essential civilian labor requirements for the 6m onth period from February 15 to August 15 would be 1,500,000
persons (900,000 for the armed services). To m eet these require
m ents he estim ated th at there would be available for civilian
work 350,000 discharged veterans, 300,000 workers from ship
yards where construction schedules are declining, and 500,000
normal additions to the labor force, and th at the remaining
350,000 required would have to come from workers in less-essen
tial industries, from war prisoners, foreign workers, and from
women not in the labor force. (Source: PM -4782.)
On March 13. the D epartm ent of Agriculture announced that
as m any as 70,000 war prisoners at one tim e had been used in
agriculture in 1944. (Source: U nited States D ept, of Agricul
ture, AG-1180.)
Mar. 29. The N W LB announced that it had affirmed, industry members dissent
ing, a directive order of its regional board at D etroit “which
provided th at the records of original tim e studies made for the
purpose of setting new piece rates should be available for inspec
tion by the union on request, and any objection raised to such
rates should be treated as a grievance.” (Source: N W LB, B 2020 .)
Mar. 30. The N W LB announced th at it had vacated, the labor members and one
public member dissenting, a unanimous decision of its Trucking
Commission which had granted a $3 weekly wartime bonus, retro
active to M ay 3, 1942, to driver salesmen, and a corresponding
increase in hourly wages to nonselling truck drivers and garage
maintenance workers, in certain baking companies in Los Angeles
and San Diego. Instead, the Board directed a 15-percent in
crease in the guaranteed weekly earnings of the driver salesmen,
m conformity with the “Little Steel” formula. (Source: NW LB,
B -2024.)

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Recent Publications o f Labor Interest

June 1 9 4 5
Child Labor
C hild labor and youth employment in this N ation’s third year of war. B y Beatrice
McConnell. (In Social Service Review, Chicago 37, December 1944, pp.
444-460. Reprints of article are available free from Children’s Bureau,
U. S. Departm ent of Labor, Washington 25.)
Im pact of the war on child labor. B y Elizabeth S. Magee. (In Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 236, Philadelphia,
N ovem ber 1944, pp. 101-109. Also reprinted.)
Child labor in bowling alleys in New York State. Albany, D epartm ent of Labor,
D ivision of Women, Child Labor, and M inimum Wage, November 1944.
13 pp.; processed.

Cooperative Movement
A cooperative centenary. B y A. H. Turner. (In Economic Annalist, D epart
m ent of Agriculture, Ottawa, November 1944, pp. 86-92.)
A brief review of the cooperative movem ent, its principles, and extent of
developm ent throughout the world, together w ith a summary of cooperation in
Canada.
Urban cooperative development conference sponsored by the Council for Cooperative
Development at the 14th biennial congress of the Cooperative League, Chicago,
111., October 8, 1944■ Boston, Edward A. Filene Good Will Fund, Inc.,
[1945?]. 45 pp.
A nalysis, by various cooperative leaders, of cooperative developm ent in the
cities of the U nited States, reasons for the slow rate of expansion, and w ays in
which the spread of the cooperative m ovem ent in urban areas m ay be hastened.
Cooperative communities at work. B y Henrik F. Infield. N ew York, Dryden
Press, 1945. 201 pp. $3.
Exam ines a number of the cooperative communities, past and present, in the
U nited States, Soviet Union, and Palestine, analyzing their accomplishments
and shortcom ings w ith a view to the possible use of this type of comm unity in
the postwar period. One chapter contains a tentative blueprint (m otivation,
membership requirements, administration and management, degree of coopera
tion, and financing) for a cooperative comm unity feasible for postwar conditions.
The people’s year book, 1945. M anchester 4, England, Cooperative W holesale
Society, Ltd., [1945?]. 132 pp., illus.
Contains detailed statistics of the Scottish and English Cooperative Wholesale
Societies and of the whole cooperative m ovem ent of Great Britain, as well as a
number of articles dealing mainly with cooperatives and their plans for expansion
in the postwar period.
The Turkish cooperative movement. (In International Labor Review, Montreal,
April 1945, pp. 464-471. 50 cents. D istributed in U nited States by
W ashington branch of I. L. O.)
D iscusses the legislative basis of cooperatives in Turkey and shows the state
of developm ent of each of the various types of associations.
E d jto b ’s N o t f .— Correspondence regarding the publications to which reference is made in this list
should be addressed to the respective publishing agencies mentioned. Where data on prices were readily
available, they have been shown with the title entries.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Cost and Standards of Living
Standards and content of living. B y Joseph S. D avis. (In American Economic
Review, Menasha, Wis., March 1945, pp. 1-15. $1.25.)
Address by the president of the American Economic Association, giving
definitions of terms and emphasizing the basic importance of the subject in
economic thought and policy. It is stated th at the achievem ent of improved
standards of living is no mere humanitarian dream, but is basic to attaining
fuller utilization of available resources and to the maintenance of peace and
orderly political progress.
The cost of living index number. London, M inistry of Labor and N ational Service,
1944. 12 pp. 2d. net.
D etailed account of the scope and method of calculation of the statistics
relating to changes in cost of living of working-class families in Great Britain.
W orking class cost of living index numbers in In dia— a critical study. B y S.
Subramanian. N ew Delhi, Office of the Economic Adviser, 1945. 20 pp.
(Supplement to “ Guide to current official statistics,” Vol. I.) 12 annas
or. Is., Manager of Publications, Delhi.
F am ily budget counseling. Edited by D orothy L. Book. N ew York 10, Fam ily
Welfare Association of America, 1944. 92 pp., bibliography. 65 cents.

Employment and Readjustment of Veterans
A n analysis of the “G. I. B ill of Rights.” B y Lora D. Lashbrook. (In Notre
Dam e Lawyer, N otre Dame, Ind., December 1944, pp. 122-133. 75 cents.)
Covers the legislative history and various provisions, w ith a brief evaluation,
of the Servicemen’s Readjustm ent Act of 1944, generally referred to as the “ G.I.
Bill of R ights.”
Employment of the disabled veteran— a selected list of references to significant data.
Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Public Library, March 1945. 4 pp. (Business
information sources, Vol. 16, No. 1.) 10 cents.
The employment of the handicapped veteran. N ew York 10, M etropolitan Life
Insurance Co., Policyholders Service Bureau, [1944?]. 56 pp., charts, illus.
D esigned primarily to aid employers in planning for the em ploym ent of disabled
veterans, and based on the plans and experience of 54 companies in the em ploy
ment of both civilian and veteran handicapped.
Postwar occupational plans of soldiers. W ashington 25, U. S. War Department,
Army Service Forces, Information and Education D ivision, 1945. 26 pp.;
processed. (Postwar plans of the soldier series, Report N o. B -129.)
Reemployment of veterans. N ew York 17, N ational Industrial Conference Board,
Inc., 1945. 43 pp., forms, illus. (Studies in personnel policy, N o. 69.)
A study of the organized plans some companies have designed for the readjust
m ent of veterans, and of pertinent points generally stressed in reemployment and
rehabilitation programs, with outlines of programs now in operation in 11 com
panies and 1 comm unity.
Reemployment rights of veterans. (In N . A. M. Law D igest, N ational Association
of Manufacturers, Law Departm ent, W ashington 5, December 1944, pp.
17-32.)
Discusses the rights of veterans and the obligations of employers under the
reem ploym ent provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
The issuing office emphasizes th at the discussion is intended as a statem ent of
the “m inimum” requirements of the law.
Veteran's guide. B y D allas Johnson. N ew York 20, Public Affairs Committee»
Inc., 1945. 32 pp. (Public affairs pamphlet No. 102.) 10 cents.
Presents information for ex-service men and women on their legal rights as to
allowances, loans, education, medical care, etc., and on where to go for assistance
on their individual problems, with helpful suggestions concerning what to do
from the day they receive their discharge.
Release and resettlement, [Great B ritain ]: A n explanation of your position and
rights. London, His M ajesty’s Government, [1945?]. 48 pp.
A simple but detailed statem ent showing the order in which members are to
be discharged from the armed services and the financial and other benefits to
which they are entitled.

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Employment General)
Effect of war contract cutbacks on selected -plants. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1945. 16 pp. (Bull. No. 818; reprinted from Monthly
Labor Review, March 1945.) 5 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Wash
ington 25.
In addition to reviewing the effect on employment of war-contract cutbacks,
the report covers the situation as to wages, working hours, labor-management
relations, and other conditions after cutbacks in the plants surveyed.
The measurement of postwar labor supply and its capacity to produce. By S.
Morris Livingston. (In Journal of the American Statistical Association,
Menasha, Wis., March 1945, pp. 20-28. $1.50.)
The postwar goal of full employment is described as being almost universally
accepted, and it is stated that this has led to calculations of the number of people
who will be seeking employment and of the total output of goods and services if
substantially all of them are productively employed. Such estimates are de
scribed as necessary for appraising the difficulties in reaching the goal, the oppor
tunities that would result for business enterprise, and the resulting increase in the
American standards of living. Estimates of this nature are not predictions or
forecasts, but are to be viewed as “a target to shoot at.”
National budgets for full employment. Washington 6, National Planning Associa
tion, 1945. 96 pp., charts. (Planning pamphlets Nos. 43 and 44.) 50
cents.
Full employment is defined as opportunity for workers and for capital, com
prising the concepts of employment of men and money (1) at useful work and
(2) at good wages. Three different “basic models” or “patterns” of national
budgets are described as capable of sustaining a high level of income and em
ployment after that level has been reached. One of these is the “government
model,” implying an expansion in public works, public health, public education,
a,nd other government activities. Another is described as the “business model,”
implying emphasis on increased investments in plant and equipment, in residential
construction, or in capital investments abroad. The third “model” is the “stand
ard of living model,” which assumes an increased use of consumers’ income.
No policy recommendations are made, the study being designed to indicate at
this stage only the nature and direction of necessary policy decisions. National
policy, it is stated, must in the last analysis reflect the needs and wants of the
people.
The use of statistics in the formulation of a national full employment policy. By
Henry A. Wallace. (In Journal of the American Statistical Association,
Menasha, Wis., March 1945, pp. 11-19. $1.50.)
Examples are given of proposed policies in the United States and abroad for
achieving full employment. Particular attention is given to the full employment
bill introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Murray and to the propos
als of Sir William Beveridge for Great Britain in his volume entitled “Full em
ployment in a free society.” It is stated that the essential idea is that the Federal
Government is ultimately responsible for full employment and can discharge its
responsibility only by planning in advance to synchronize all of its programs with
the programs of private enterprise.

Foremen
How to select foremen and supervisors. By R. C. Oberdahn. Deep River, Conn.,
National Foremen’s Institute, Inc., 1944. 53 pp.
Manual for conference leaders on the N. A. F. code of ethics for foremen. Dayton 2,
Ohio, National Association of Foremen, 1944. 47 pp.
The new foremanship. By F. J. Burns Morton. London, Chapman & Hall, Ltd.,
1945. 253 pp., bibliography. 12s. 6d. net.
The author emphasizes what he describes as recent developments in the social
organization of the business unit, requiring, as an indispensable part of technical
effectiveness, an understanding of the human factor. There are sections on the
training of foremen in Great Britain and the United States. An appendix gives
the text of the constitution of a typical foremen’s association.
6 4 5 8 8 6 -4 5 -

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Proceedings of the first annual national conference of educational directors in industry,
Columbus, Ohio, March 17, 18, 19jf. Dayton 2, Ohio, National Association
of Foremen, 1944. 116 pp. 75 cents.
Deals with the selection and training of foremen.
Unionization of foremen and supervisors—bibliography. Compiled by Amy R.
Jennings. Washington 25, U. S. National Labor Relations Board, Library,
April 1945. 9 pp.; processed. Free.
Revision of the bibliography of the same title dated February 1945.

Handicapped Workers
Consolidated Vultee’s experience. By A. C. Dick, M.D., and C. O. Sappington,
M.D. (In Industrial Medicine, Chicago, February 1945, pp. 81-87. 50
cents.)
The writers discuss the medical and employee-placement program of the
■company, where the scientific coding and placement of handicapped workers has
demonstrated the desirability of this procedure for all workers. They state that
“one of the striking things brought out by this placement program was that
skilled and experienced workers of the normal variety required more reexamina
tions and transfers because of breakdown or failure on the job than did the less
perfect individuals who had been scientifically coded and placed.”
Jobs for the physically handicapped. By Louise Neuschutz. New York, Bernard
Ackerman, Inc., 1944. 240 pp,, reading lists. $3.
Helpful information for the handicapped (including the elderly and the aged)
is presented on a variety of independent income-producing opportunities, to be
pursued in or from the home.
The Ohio plan for the administration of vocational rehabilitation for disabled people
in Ohio (Public Law 118—78th Cong.). Columbus, State Board for Voca
tional Education, Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, 1944. 66 pp.
Description of the plan adopted by the State of Ohio for rehabilitating its
handicapped vocationally and placing them in employment, through FederalState cooperation, under the provisions of the Federal Barden-La Follette Act of
1943 (for civilians). Present organization, policy, and practice are dealt with.
Physical demands analysis and physical capacities appraisal. Washington 25,
U. S. War Manpower Commission, Bureau of Manpower Utilization, Division
of Occupational Analysis, 1944. 50 pp.; processed.
Manual for the job analyst, the physician, and the placement officer in the
preparation and matching of information on the physical demands of the job
and the physical capacity of the handicapped worker, looking toward successful
placement.
Physical impairment and job performance: A comparative study of accident experi
ence, production and efficiency, sick absenteeism,, and turnover among 2,858
physically impaired and 5,523 able-bodied workers in Government industry.
By Verne K. Harvey, M.D., and E. Parker Luongo, M.D. (In Journal of the
American Medical Association, Chicago 10, April 7, 1945, pp. 902-907, charts;
April 14, 1945, pp. 961-970, chart. 25 cents each.)
Report of a study made by the Medical Division of the U. S. Civil Service
'Commission in 43 industrial establishments of the War and Navy Departments.
Important findings bearing on the selective placement of disabled veterans and
other physically impaired workers were made.
Press reports on clinics for the physically handicapped. Washington 25, U. S.
Civil Service Commission, [1945]. 19 pp.; processed.
Reproductions of news stories on employment clinics for the placement of the
physically handicapped, held during 1944 in the fifth civil service region (Ala.,
Fla., Ga., S. C., and Tenn.).

Housing
Housing needs—a preliminary estimate. Housing costs— where the housing dollar
goes. Washington 25, U. S. National Housing Agency, 1944. 23 and 48 pp.
(National housing bulls. Nos. 1 and 2.) 10 cents each, Superintendent of
Documents, Washington 25.
A study of the social effects of public housing in Newark, N. J. Newark 4, Housing
Authority of the City of Newark, 1944. 95 pp., bibliography, charts, illus.
Limited free distribution.

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An evaluation of the effects of rehousing on health and welfare. Statistics are
cited of disease frequency, birth rates, infant-mortality rates, fatal home accidents,,
etc., and computations are made which show that the families living in the three
public-housing projects surveyed had a more favorable record in various respects
than those in the three wards represented.
Toward a postwar housing program. Washington 5, Producers’ Council, Inc.,
Postwar Committee, 1944. 98 pp. $1.
Private enterprise housing: Report of the Private Enterprise Subcommittee of the
Central Housing Advisory Committee of the M inistry of Health, [Great Britain].
London, 1944. 56 pp., chart. Is. net.

Industrial Hygiene and Safety
Accident statistics as an aid to prevention of accidents in metal mines. Accidents
from falls of rock or ore in metal mines. Accidents from hoisting and haulage
in metal mines. Washington 25, U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Mines, 1945. 26, 53, 60 pp., diagrams, illus. (Metal-mine accident-preven
tion course, sections 1, 2, 3; Miners’ circulars 51, 52, 53.) 10, 10, 15 cents,
respectively, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Explanation of tentative inspection standards for anthracite mines. Washington 25,
U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1945. 118 pp., bibliog
raphy. (Miners’ circular 46.) 15 cents, Superintendent of Documents,
Washington 25.
Explains and justifies the safety recommendations of the U. S. Bureau of Mines
as revised in March 1944 and published as its Information Circular 7282.
Safe practices around circular saws. Washington 25, U. S. Department of Labor,
Division of Labor Standards, 1945. Folder of 6 charts. 5 cents ($3.75 per
100 sets), Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
This set of charts is one of a series depicting various work hazards and dangerous
work practices, prepared by the editors of Mill and Factory in collaboration with
the Division of Labor Standards of the U. S. Department of Labor.
Industrial health hazards and their control in a bomb-loading plant. By Harry E„
Seifert, Lewis J. Cralley, George D. Clayton. (In Industrial Medicine,
Chicago, January 1945, pp. 75-80. 50 cents.)
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Industrial Hygiene
Association, St. Louis, May 1944, describing the major hazards from atmospheric
contaminants in various operations and methods of control.
The safe use of solvents for synthetic rubbers. By Leonard Greenburg, M. D., and
Samuel Moskowitz. (In Industrial Medicine, Chicago, April 1945, pp. 359—
366; diagrams, illus. 50 cents.)
Curso de higiene del trabajo. Edited by Primitivo de la Quintana [Lopez] and Juan
Dantin Gallego. Madrid, Jefatura Provincial de Sanidad, 1944. 620 pp.,
diagrams, illus.
A course of lessons on industrial safety and hygiene, for persons having respon
sibility for such matters, consisting of lectures by Spanish specialists on risks
peculiar to specific types of work, certain occupational diseases, and other subjects.

Industrial Relations
Arbitration and the [U. S.] National War Labor Board. By Jesse Freidin and
Francis J. Ulman. (In Harvard Law Review, Cambridge 38, Mass., Feb
ruary 1945, pp. 309-360. 75 cents.)
Discusses the role of the National War Labor Board in the field of arbitration
of industrial disputes, and gives references to cases illustrative of the various
phases of that problem.
Compulsory arbitration of labor disputes. Compiled by Julia E. Johnsen. New
York, H. W. Wilson Co., 1945. 258 pp., bibliography. (Reference shelf,
Vol. 17, No. 6.) $1.25.
Selection of pertinent articles published from 1938 through 1944, grouped
under the heads of general discussion, case for voluntary arbitration, and case
for compulsory arbitration.

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Encyclopedia of labor relations. Los Angeles 15 (117 W. 9th St.), Calif., Labor
Relations Associates, Inc., 1945. Various paging, loose-leaf.
A cooperative undertaking by 200 labor unions to compile and release, subject
by subject, a complete encyclopedia of labor relations for use and guidance of
labor-union executives, business agents, and committeemen.
How to handle labor grievances—plans and procedures. By John A Lapp. Deep
River, Conn., National Foremen’s Institute, Inc., 1945. 293 pp.
Sketches the development of systems for the handling of labor grievances,
describes how they work, and notes some of the problems connected with their
operation. Selected union-contract provisions concerning the handling of
grievances are reproduced in an appendix.
The original manual for labor and management committees. New York 17, T. K.
Quinn Co., Inc., [1945?]. 238 pp., loose-leaf.
Arranged according to subject headings, which relate to the organization and
functions of labor-management committees.
Personnel relations, their application in a democracy. By J. E. Walters. New
York, Ronald Press Co., 1945. 547 pp., bibliography, charts. $4.50.
Exposition of the factors that determine and influence the various phases of
worker-management relations, set forth by a personnel relations consultant with
industrial and academic experience. Among the subjects discussed are the gen
esis of the American labor movement; elements of collective-bargaining and'
union-management agreements; wages; personnel-relations techniques; Federal
labor legislation; Government agencies cooperating in personnel relations; and
union-management-Government cooperation.

Labor Organizations
'Organized labor. By Harry A. Millis and Royal E. Montgomery. New York,.
McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1945. 930 pp. $6.
The price of this book was erroneously given as $3.75 in a reference carried in
the Monthly Labor Review for May 1945 (p. 1135).
The British working-class movement—an outline study-guide. By G. D. H. Cole.
London, Fabian Publications, Ltd., and Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1944. 24 pp.
(Fabian special No. 7.) 6d.
A simple exposition of the British labor movement.
Italian labor today. Washington 1, American Federation of Labor, 1944. 20 pp.
Data on visit of five trade-union representatives (from International Federation
of Trade Unions, British Trades Union Congress, and A. F. of L. and C. I. O. of
the United States) to Italian labor groups, August-September 1944, including
mutually agreed-upon comments, message from Italian laborers to laborers of
England and America, supplementary report by the A. F. of L. representative,
and a translation of the General Italian Confederation of Labor’s Pact of Rome on
Italian trade-union unity.
Labor unions in the Far East. By Eleanor H. Lattimore. New York 22, Institute
of Pacific Relations, American Council, 1945. 56 pp.
Discussion of the development of labor unions in China, India, Southeast Asia,
the Philippines, and Japan, and the effects of the war on the labor movements.

Medical Care and Sickness Insurance
The economic basis of health. By Andrew T. Court. Pittsburgh 13, Industrial
Hygiene Foundation, [1945?]. 13 pp., charts. (Reprint from proceedings
of ninth annual meeting of the Foundation, November 1944.)
Shows the relation of family income to medical care and health.
Medical-care services in North Carolina. Prepared for the North Carolina Com
mission on Hospital and Medical Care by the Department of Rural Sociology,
North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. Raleigh, 1945. 82 pp.,
bibliography, maps, charts.
A statistical and graphic summary showing how North Carolina stands in the
Nation, and how the counties of the State stand, in regard to hospital and medicalcare services, health conditions, and underlying social and economic factors,
together with recommendations of the Commission on Hospital and Medical Care.

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The health and medical-care situation in rural Virginia. By Leland B. Tate.
Blacksburg, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Agricultural Experiment Station,
1944. 51 pp., maps. (Bull. No. 363.)
Analysis of rural health conditions and of facilities for medical care and related
services, including special prepayment and insurance plans, in operation in the
State. The author offers alternative programs.
New union health plan. By Leo Price, M. D. (In Industrial Medicine, Chicago,
February 1945, pp. 87, 88. 50 cents.)
Describes a new health program emphasizing eyesight conservation and dis
ability payments for 60,000 dressmakers in New York City, and operating under
the Health Fund of the Joint Board of Dressmakers of the International Ladies’
Garment Workers’ Union.
The Permanente health plan for industrial workers. By Clifford Kuh, M. D.
(In Industrial Medicine, Chicago, April 1945, pp. 261-270; bibliography,
charts, illus. 50 cents.)
Describes the voluntary prepaid-medical-care program for the workers of the
various Kaiser plants, with statistics for 1943 and 1944.
The story of Blue Cross: On the road to better health. By Louis H. Pink. New
York 20, Public Affairs Committee, Inc., 1945. 31 pp., charts. (Public
affairs pamphlet No. 101.) 10 cents.
Popular account of a well-known voluntary hospital-care organization and of
plans for expanding its scope and activities. It is stated that there are 75 Blue
Cross plans in the United States and that 19 medical-care plans are affiliated with
Blue Cross organizations.
Cash sickness compensation in Rhode Island. By Mary B. Dahl. Published jointly
by National Consumers League, Cleveland, Ohio, and Consumers League of
Rhode Island, Providence, [1944?]. 15 pp.
Analysis of the assets and shortcomings of Rhode Island’s Cash Sickness Insur
ance Act, enacted in 1942. A summary of proposals for sickness insurance on a
national basis, included in the Wagner-Murray-Dingell bill (H. R. 395, 79th Cong.),
and pertinent recommendations of the International Labor Conference in Phila
delphia in May 1944, are appended.
Summary of the cash sickness insurance program in Rhode Island for the benefit year
1943-44- Providence, Rhode Island Unemployment Compensation Board,
1944. 59 pp.; mimeographed.
Statistical data for the first benefit year of operation of the sickness-insurance
system in Rhode Island. Benefit payments are shown by type of illness, age of
claimant, place of treatment (hospital, home, etc.), industry group, State of resi
dence, and duration of benefit. (Some of the material was used in the article on
“Compensation for sickness in Rhode Island,” Monthly Labor Review, February
1945, p. 225; reprinted in Serial No. R. 1729.)

Postwar Reconstruction (General)
Economic problems of the reconversion period: Fourth report of the House Special
Committee on Postwar Economic Policy and Planning. Washington 25, U. S.
Government Printing Office, 1944. 79 pp., charts. (Union calendar No. 608,
House report No. 1855, 78th Cong., 2d sess.)
A general report by the Committee covering its various fields of inquiry and
including sections on transitional unemployment and reemployment, public works
and private construction during the early postwar period, the removal of wartime
controls, and the role of the Government in postwar readjustment.
Full employment: Proceedings of the conference on full employment, CIO Political
Action Committee, New York City, January 15, 1944 - New York, Congress
of Industrial Organizations, National Political Action Committee, 1944.
158 pp. Free.
Gives the views of a large number of representatives of labor, Government,
agriculture, small business, and the professions. The major topics discussed were
reconversion and postwar needs. Various special problems were given considera
tion, including those of veterans, women workers, and Negro workers. One
section of the report is devoted to social security and another to housing.
The human aspects of the transition from war to peace. By Morris A. Wainger.
(In Lawyers Guild Review, New York and Washington, January-February
1945, pp. 22-31. 50 cents.)

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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

Examines the adequacy of existing and proposed legislation to meet the prob
lems connected with demobilization of war workers and members of the armed
Jorces.
Postwar employment and the removal of wartime controls. New York 17, Committee
for Economic Development, Research Committee, 1945. 31 pp.
It is stated that many controls may be relaxed or eased within 6 months after
■final victory, but that others must be kept for longer periods. Among the latter
are rationing, as long as there are shortages of certain commodities, and controls
for avoiding inflation.
Disposition of five Du Pont munitions plants, World War I, 1918-26. Washington
25, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1944. 85 pp.; mimeographed. (Histori
cal study No. 77.) Free.
Impact of the war on the Cleveland, Ohio, area: Working notebook for use by local
groups studying recent economic developments and formulating plans for the
postwar period. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1944.
103 pp., charts; mimeographed. (Industrial area study No. 25.) Free.
The first reconstruction measures in liberated Belgium. (In International Labor
Review, Montreal, April 1945, pp. 419-432. 50 cents. Distributed in
United States by Washington Branch of I. L. O.)
Deals mainly with monetary measures taken to counteract inflation, wage and
salary adjustments, and social security.
What is to be done with Germany? Prerequisites of democracy in Germ.any. New
York 3 (Room 403A, 41 Union Square), German Labor Delegation in
U. S. A., 1945. 5 pp.
Declaration of the German Labor Delegation in the United States, whose
members were active in the free labor movement of Germany and in the public
life of the German Republic.
When the men come home. By Emanuel Shinwell. London, Victor Gollancz,
Ltd., 1944. 80 pp. 2s. 6d. net.
The author urges better living conditions, economic and social reconstruction,
the necessary degree of nationalization of basic industries, and a positive stand
on the part of the people on public issues, in Great Britain.
Second report on reconstruction planning [in India], New Delhi, Reconstruction
Committee of Council, 1944. 57 pp. 8 annas or 9d.
States the general principles to be followed in reconstruction and summarizes
development policy with respect to certain main subjects, including industry,
•education, cooperative societies, and the establishment of improved working
conditions.

Production Productivity and Technological Changes
The international comparison of industrial output. By E. C. Snow. (In Journal
of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol. CVII, Pt. 1, London, W. C. 2, 1944,
pp. 1-30; "discussion, pp. 30-55. 10s.)
The inaugural address of the president of the Royal Statistical Society. There
is an extensive discussion of comparable studies of industrial production and
labor productivity in the United States and Great Britain, together with dis
cussions of the address by other members of the Society. Suggestions are made
looking toward greater comparability of statistics of production and employment,
and toward the encouragement of further study in these fields of international
comparison.
Production-line technique. By Richard Muther. New York, McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., 1944. 320 pp., diagrams, illus. $3.50.
Detailed description of the processes and techniques involved in the establish
ment and operation of production lines. Advantages and disadvantages to
workers are discussed in a chapter on personnel. Production-line technique is
described as one of the most important contributions of manufacturers to
American industry.
Tools for the next job: A policy of progress through productivity. London, W. C. 1,
Europa Publications, Ltd. (for Tory Reform Committee), 1945. 63 pp.
2s. 6d. net.
To attain a higher standard of living, a policy of increasing productivity is
advocated, under which the interests of no group should be allowed to interfere
with the ultimate objectives.

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Trends in productivity. By Gertrude Deutsch, Caryl R. Feldman, M. R.
Gainsbrugh. (In Conference Board Business Record, National Industrial
Conference Board, Inc., New York 17, February 1945, pp. 51-55; charts.)
Summary of developments in labor productivity or average output per man-hour
in the United States from 1919 to 1943. Extensive use is made of data published
by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are also references to produc
tivity in Great Britain.
Wartime technological developments. A study made for the Subcommittee on
War Mobilization of the Committee on Military Affairs, United States
Senate, pursuant to S. Res. 107, 78th Cong., and S. Res. 46, 79th Cong.
Washington 25, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945. 418 pp. (Subcom
mittee monograph No. 2, 79th Cong., 1st sess.)
A report prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department
of Labor. Part I contains a summary analysis of wartime technological develop
ments in the fields of new materials, new methods, and new products, and an
evaluation of the significance of these developments in relation to employment and
standards of living after the war. It is stated that American workers fully
employed and using American methods can bring new meaning to the term “the
American standard of living.” Part II gives detailed information, largely from
technical and trade journals, regarding specific technological developments during
the war, with a cross-reference subject-matter index.

Social Security
Social security—an analysis of the Wagner-Murray bill. By Earl E. Muntz*
New York 17, American Enterprise Association, Inc., 1944. 102 pp.
(National economic problems, No. 401.) 50 cents.
Social security—its present and future fiscal aspects. New York, Tax Foundation,
1944. 126 pp. Free.
Summary of estimated future receipts and expenditures under the present socialsecurity law and under the proposals of the Wagner-Murray bill (S. 1161, 78th
Cong., 1st sess.).
Social security for “industrialized” agriculture. By A. J. Altmeyer. (In Social
Security Bulletin, Federal Security Agency, Social Security Board, Wash
ington 25, March 1945, pp. 2-5. 20 cents, Superintendent of Documents,
Washington 25.)
Points out the need for a suitable definition of “agricultural labor” under the
Federal Social Security Act in order to protect large groups of workers now shut
out from social-security inclusion by the broad definition of the term “agricultural
labor.” Suggests extension of coverage to all agricultural labor.
Labor security in the post-war period: Second Report of the [New Jersey] State
Commission on Post-War Economic Welfare. Trenton, 1945. 52 pp.
The recommendations by the Commission include liberalized benefits under
unemployment compensation and workmen’s compensation, improvements in
administration, and new provisions for dealing with the problem of migrant
workers, in New Jersey. It is proposed that a Division of Migrant Labor be
established in the State Department of Labor.
Ninth annual report, 1944, of the Rhode Island Unemployment Compensation
Board. Providence, [1945], 35 pp.; mimeographed.
Part I covers unemployment compensation. Part II deals with the Rhode
Island cash-sickness-insurance system, which the Unemployment Compensation
Board administers. Fiscal statements for 1944 are included, together with rec
ommendations for legislative changes intended to insure the solvency of the
sickness-insurance fund.
Report of the Social Security Committee and report No. 2 of the Social and Economic
Planning Council, [Union of South Africa], entitled: Social security, social
services, and the national income. Pretoria, 1944. 112 pp., charts. 6s.

Wages and Hours of Labor
Substandard wages. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Edu
cation and Labor, United States Senate, 78th Congress, second session, on
S. Con. Res. 48, Part 1, November 17 and 18, 1944. Washington 25, U. S.
Government Printing Office, 1945. 432 pp.

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1352

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW— JUNE 1945

Contains testimony by a large number of labor leaders, educators, business
men, and public officials, including the chairman of the National War Labor Board
and the Acting Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
Wage report to the President on the wartime relationship of wages to the cost of living.
Washington 25, U. S. National War Labor Board, 1945. 129 pp.
Report of the public members of the National War Labor Board on the rela
tionship of wages to the cost of living, together with the findings and conclusions
of those members.
Wages in six metalworking centers, 1944- Chicago 6 (226 W. Jackson Blvd.),
Regional Office of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1945. 141 pp.; mimeo
graphed. (Supplement to “ Wages in seven metalworking centers, 1943-44.”)
Free.
Union wages and hours of motortruck drivers and helpers, July 1, 1944- Washing
ton 25, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1945. 39 pp., chart. (Bull. No.
812; reprinted from Monthly Labor Review, December 1944, with addi
tional data.) 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Labor costs in Pennsylvania manufacturing. By George L. Leffler and Mary
Virginia Brown. State College, Pa., Pennsylvania State College, Bureau
of Business Research, 1945. 31 p p .; mimeographed. (Bull. No. 20.) Free.
The term “ labor costs” is limited in this report to wages as a proportion of the
value of finished products. The Census of Manufactures for 1939 is the source
of the data used.
Compensation in Congress. By F. M. Brewer. Washington 5 (1013 Thirteenth
Street, NW.), Eiditorial Research Reports, 1945. 17 pp. (Vol. I, 1945,
No. 8.) $1.
Reviews the history of congressional salaries and the current discussions of
proposed increases. There is also a section on the proposed extension of the
Federal retirement system to include members of Congress.
The guaranteed annual wage and other proposals for steadying the worker’s income:
Selected references. Compiled by Laura A. Thompson. Washington 25, U. S.
Department of Labor, Library, April 1945. 19 pp.; mimeographed. Free.
Union policy and incentive wage methods. By Van Dusen Kennedy. New York,
Columbia University Press, 1945. 260 pp., bibliography. (Studies in history,
economics, and public law, No. 513.) $3.
A study of organized labor’s attitude toward and experience with incentivewage methods, based on a series of field surveys in selected manufacturing in
dustries.

Women in Industry
More efficient use of women in industry: A composite report of five training con
ferences for management and women representatives of industry in Tennessee.
Nashville 3, Tenn., State Board for Vocational Education, 1944. 83 pp.,
illus.
State labor laws for women, with wartime modifications, December 15, 1944■ Port III,
Analysis of regulatory laws, prohibitory laws, maternity laws. Washington 25,
U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 1945. 12 pp. (Bull. No. 202—
III). 5 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25.
Women in factories, 1939-44'■ Estimated number of women wage earners employed
in manufacturing industries. Washington 25, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statis
tics, 1945. 16 pp., charts; mimeographed. Free.
Report of the Reconstruction Subcommittee, British Federation of Business and
Professional Women. London, S. W. 1, 1945. 36 pp. Is.
Deals with the anomalies confronting women in public life as regards dismissal
on marriage and inequalities with men as to pay and training opportunities, and
the extent of their representation on wage-negotiation machinery.
Railway women [in the Soviet Union], By Ilya Linn. (In American Review on
the Soviet Union, American Russian institute, New York 16, February 1945,
pp. 31-36. 65 cents.)
Brief accounts of certain leading women railway workers and administrators.
In 1944, the author states, 70 percent of all railway employees in the Soviet
Union were women.

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RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF LABOR INTEREST

1353

General Reports
Labor and social security in Latin America. By Henry P. Jordan. (In Inter
national Postwar Problems, American Labor Conference on International
Affairs, New York 17, January 1945, pp. 107-125. $1.)
Appraisal of the present-day situation of Latin-American labor with a brief
account of the historical development of the Latin-American economy.
Annotated bibliography of recent publications on Africa, South of the Sahara, with
special reference to administrative, political, economic, and sociological problems*
By Evans Lewin. London, Royal Empire Society, 1943. 104 pp. (Royal
Empire Society bibliographies, No. 9.) 5s.
China after 7 years of war. Edited by Hollington K. Tong. New York, Mac
millan Co., 1945. 246 pp., illus. $2.
Collection of short articles, by seven different writers, on various phases of life
in wartime. One of these traces the life of a white-collar worker, showing the
gradual increase in the gap between earnings and cost of living.
Labor in New Zealand, 1944. By A. E. C. Hare. Wellington, Victoria University
College, 1944. 54 pp. 2s. 6d.
Subjects discussed include labor legislation, industrial relations and disputes,,
industrial accidents, economic stabilization, working conditions, operation of the
Arbitration Court, and conditions in specific industries.
I oland. Edited by Bernadotte E. Schmitt. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Univer
sity of California Press, 1945. 500 pp., bibliography, maps, illus. $5.
Symposium, by various scholars, covering Polish history; land and people;
economic, political, social, and cultural development; agricultural reconstruction;
and international relations up to the present.
The industrial enterprise in Russia. By Solomon M. Schwarz. (In Harvard
Business Review, Vol. X X III, No. 3, New York 18, spring 1945, pp. 265-276.
$1.50.)
Description of administrative and planning machinery in Soviet industry, of
how Soviet enterprises are supplied with raw materials and manpower, and of
how the products of an enterprise are sold.

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U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1941

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Full text of Monthly Labor Review : June 1945, Vol. 60, No. 6

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