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4-2312 FEDERAL V:ORKS AGEUCY Ylork Projects Administration For Rel.ease Tuesda:,, April 28, 1942. I 1NPA ' suRVEY SHc·xs 13 ,ooo , 000 PERSONS IN L.J30R RESERVE Eore than 13,000,800 persons not now considered part of the labor force are available for full or half- time errployment in the United States, accordin'.!, to a special survey conducted in connection with the re gular March report of unemployment of the 'Hork Projects administration, F. H. Dryden, Acting WPA Commissioner, announced toda:r. These are in addition to the J, 600 ,000 unemployed job- seekers reported in ::arch . There were 7,600,000 housewives, stuc:1ents ~nd other non- workers available for full -•time er:,_ployment, and 5 , 700,000 other non- workers who said they could not take full - tirr.e jobs but could work half- time , or at least 20 hours a week . '1'his number equals almost one- fourth of the present active labor force . i, Those who were counted in th.is labor reserve but not in the active labor market were persons wno said they "could take a job if one were available within their community during the next JO days." Thr :r were questioned also as to their work experience and their r easons for not being in the labor market . This survey provided the first detailed analysis of the potential labor supply to me et war ne eds . Mo st important of the sourc E- s of potential workers is the 11 housewife 11 or 11 homemaker 11 group, the report shows. This provided 6,500,000 of the 7,600 , 000 available for full - time employment . There were 500 , 000 students counted in this labor r e serve and the remaining 600 , 000 were pe rsons who would not take full-time jobs under ordinary conditions because of age or physical handicaps. "Factors limiting the hiring of this labor r e serve, 11 Mr. Dryden said, ''are : 11 1. Geographical distribution of _jobs and available workers vary so vd.dely that it is often difficult to bring the man or woman and the job together . 11 2. i,pproxim:J.tely tno- thirds of the, po_tential full - time v.o:::-ke rs have had no work experience outside their homes in the past five years and a large proportion of those i;.rith r ecent work experience have beEm engo.ged in c:!..erical, sales , domestic and service occupations . (over) Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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