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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ETHELBERT STEWART, Commissioner

BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES 1
XT
B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S /....................

TO A

llO. OL\3

E M P L O Y M E N T A N D U N E M P L O Y M E N T S E R IE S

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTER OF
UNEMPLOYMENT IN PHILADELPHIA
APRIL, 1929
By
J. FREDERIC DEWHURST and ERNEST A. TUPPER
Industrial Research Department, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce
University of Pennsylvania

JUNE, 1930

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON ; 1930

For sal© by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.




-

Price 15 cents




Preface
NEMPLOYMENT, in one form or another, is a chronic ailment
of our modern industrial society. The existence of unemployed
labor and unemployed productive equipment in such a highly indus­
trialized community as Philadelphia becomes glaringly apparent in
periods of depression like those of 1914 and 1921. At such times bread
lines and soup kitchens signalize the misfortune of the laborer, while
deficits and receiverships threaten the investment of the capitalist.
But unemployment is not confined to these periods of so-called
cyclical depression. Even in years of prosperity much of industry’s
man power is idle and unproductive. Sickness, disability, old age—
some of these causes inevitably, perhaps—contribute substantially to
the burden of unemployment. Seasonal changes in raw-material sup­
ply or in consumer demand, technological improvements resulting in
the displacement of manual labor by machines, shifts in the location
of industries, the rise of new and the decline of old industries—these
and many other characteristics of our ever-changing economic order
are responsible for a considerable amount of temporary or permanent
unemployment. On the other hand, many of the 66unemployed,”
because of laziness or indifference, are themselves no doubt chiefly
responsible for their own 66unemployment.55 In whatever form it
appears, however, and for whatever reason it exists, unemployed
labor is a waste of human resources and an economic and social
burden which, in the last analysis, is borne not only by the worker
but by the entire community.
Granting that a considerable amount of unemployment is unavoid­
able and inevitable, we must ask ourselves: How much of it can be
prevented? To what extent can we regularize employment through
knowledge of the causes of unemployment? To what extent will it
become necessary to adopt some such measures in solving the problem
as unemployment and old age insurance? These questions can not
be answered until we know more about the nature, extent, and causes
of unemployment.
Recognizing that unemployment is a community problem of vital
importance in Philadelphia, the department of industrial research of
the University of Pennsylvania has planned to devote considerable
attention to investigations in this field during the next three years.
Much preliminary work has already been completed on many phases
of this important problem. Among the studies now under way
which will be published in the near future are:
A Study of the Occupational Experiences of 1,000 Applicants for
Work at Representative Industrial and Mercantile Establishments in
Philadelphia.
Technological Changes as a Cause of Labor Displacement in the
Metal Industry.
#
Methods of Finding Jobs in the Hosiery Industry.

U




hi

IV

PREFACE

Factors Responsible for the Decline of Employment during Recent
Years in the Manufacturing Industries of Pennsylvania.
Construction of Indicators of Industrial and Employment Con­
ditions in Philadelphia.
The present study was undertaken as an initial step in the effort
to establish statistical data which would measure the changes in the
number of unemployed in the city from time to time. To deter­
mine the amount and nature of unemployment existing in Phila­
delphia, the latter part of April, 1929, wTas selected as a period which
seemed to represent a fairly normal industrial and labor situation.
It was believed that such an investigation must be based upon a
house-to-house canvass of a carefully selected sample of the city’s
population.
At the time the department of industrial research contemplated
this study, the bureau of compulsory education, under the direction
of Mr. Henry J. Gideon, had decided to undertake a survey of un­
employment in the various school districts of the city. This bureau
is responsible for giving vocational advice to young people actually
employed or about to become employed, for issuing employment and
age certificates, for supplying placement service to juniors, and for
making general occupational surveys necessary for adequate voca­
tional guidance. In view of the many changes taking place in local
industry, it was believed that such a study would be of considerable
value in forwarding the work of the bureau. The bureau, with its
experienced staff of attendance officers, is responsible for taking a
census of school children in Philadelphia each spring. Its experi­
ence in taking this census and its familiarity with conditions:
throughout the city admirably qualified it for making such a survey.
In order to avoid any duplication of effort, the department of indus­
trial research gladly welcomed the opportunity of cooperating with
the bureau in making this study. The department agreed to be
responsible for the compilation and analysis of the data to be
collected by the bureau. After agreement upon the questionnaire and
the sample areas to be covered, the canvass was undertaken and
completed during the third week in April. Great credit is due to
the 94 attendance officers whose whole-hearted interest and coopera­
tion made the survey possible, and especial acknowledgment is made
to Mr. Henry J. Gideon for his able direction of the field work
and for the careful and intelligent supervision of the survey by the
following attendance supervisors: Elizabeth W. Davis, district 1;
Nelson Ogden, district 2; Joseph A. Snee, district 3; Samuel E. Van
Houten, district 4; Albert W. Whitaker, district 5; Joseph W.
Temple, district 6; Carson G. Hansell, district 7; H. Forest Kerbaugh, district 8; Leah A. Gingrich, district 9; and James Marks,
district 10.




Contents
Page

Summary__________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1.— Scope and method of the survey_____________________________
Industrial character of Philadelphia_________________________________
Method employed in this study______________________________________
Representativeness of the data collected_____________________________
Chapter 2.— Unemployment in Philadelphia______________________________
Extent of unemployment_____________________________________________
Regional differences in unemployment_______________________________
Racial differences in unemployment__________________________________
Unemployment and occupational status______________________________
Unemployment and economic status_________________________________
Unemployment compared with income_______________________________
Unemployment in families of different size___________________________
Reasons for unemployment___________________________________________
Time lost by unemployed since last regular job______________________
Chapter 3.— Unemployment in school districts of Philadelphia___________
District 1_____________________________________________________________
District 2 _____________________________________________________________
District 3 _____________________________________________________________
District 4 ____________ ________________________________________________
District 5 _____________________________________________________________
District 6 _____________________________________________________________
District 7 _____________________________________________________________
District 8 _____________________________________________________________
District 9 _____________________________________________________________
District 10____________________________________________________________

1
5
5
7
10
17
17
18
19
20
25
25
28
34
35
41
41
43
44
45
46
46
47
48
49
50

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.— Occupations of gainfully employed persons in Philadelphia in
1920_____________________________________________________________________
Table 2.— Number of wage earners employed in Philadelphia manufactur­
ing establishments, 1919-1927__________________________________________
Table 3.— Employment in manufacturing industries, 1919 and 1927_____
Table 4.— Number of employees and salaries and wages paid in manufac­
turing industries of Philadelphia in 1927_______________________________
Table 5.— Comparison of families and persons in unemployment survey
with estimates for entire population of Philadelphia____________________
Table 6.— Racial, occupational, and economic character of population in
school census blocks included in the survey, by district________________
Table 7.— Number of families and persons included in unemployment
survey___________________________________________________________________
Table 8.— Unemployment in school districts of Philadelphia_______ _____
Table 9.— Number of white persons and negroes unable to find work____




V

5
6
6
7
13
14
16
18
20

VI

CONTENTS
Page

Table 10.— Customary occupations of unemployed compared with all
persons reporting gainful occupations________________________________
Table 11.— Customary occupations of the unemployed persons, by districts.
Table 12.— Persons unemployed for all reasons, classified by customary
occupation______________________________________________________________
Table 13.— Comparison of number of unemployed, in the several manufac­
turing industries, with number in the same industries reported as
employed, in 1927_______________________________________________________
Table 14.— Average family income and unemployment in Cawl survey
by districts______________________________________________________________
Table 15.— Unemployment and income in school districts of Philadelphia_
Table 16.— Number of persons in family, compared with number usually
employed________________________________________________________________
Table 17.— Number of persons usually employed compared with number
unemployed_____________________________________________________________
Table 18.— Unemployment in families of different size___________________
Table 19.— Classification of persons unable to find work, by sex and age_
Table 20.— Reasons for unemployment, by district_______________________
Table 21.— Reasons for unemployment by occupations___________________
Table 22.— Time lost since last regular job by all unemployed persons, by
length of time___________________________________________________________
Table 23.— Time lost since last regular job by all unemployed persons, by
school district, and length of time______________________________________
Table 24.— Time lost since last regular job by persons unemployed for
specified reasons________________________________________________________
Table 25.— Time lost by persons unable to find work since last regular job,
classified by sex and race_________________________________________ ______
Table 26.— Time lost since last regular job by persons unable to find wTork,
classified by age_________________________________________________________
Table 27.— Unemployment statistics in Philadelphia, and by district, in
April, 1929______________________________________________________________

21
22
23

24
27
28
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
36
37
38
39
51

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1.— Index of factory employment in Philadelphia_________________
Chart 2.— Map of Philadelphia showing the location of the school blocks
sampled in each school district_________________________________________
Chart 3.— Cawl survey districts___________________________________________
Chart 4.— Map of Philadelphia showing percentage unable to find work in
each school district_____________________________________________________




11
15
26
42

BULLETIN OF THE

U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
NO. 520

WASHINGTON

JUNE, 1930

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTER OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN
PHILADELPHIA IN APRIL, 1929
Summary
NE out of every 10 wage earners in 31,551 Philadelphia families
interviewed by the bureau of compulsory education was found
to have been unemployed during the latter part of April, 1929.
Three-fourths of the unemployed wage earners reported themselves
as unable to find work. On the basis of this sample covered in the
survey of unemployment, it is estimated that 96,900 of the persons
usually employed were out of work and 72,700 were unemployed
because they could not find jobs suitable to their qualifications and
reasonable expectations. As the survey covered families residing
in 166 widely distributed school census blocks representing all
economic, occupational, and racial classes, it is believed to provide
an accurate cross-section of unemployment in the city.
While it is impossible to determine whether or not unemployment
was abnormally large, it is enlightening to compare the results of
this study, made at a time when industry was apparently fairly
active, with a similar survey made in the spring of 1915 by the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. At that time, when the industries
of Philadelphia were just commencing to recover from the serious
1914 depression, 10.3 per cent—practically the same proportion—
were found to be unemployed.
Unemployment probably decreased considerably from the April
level during the late spring and summer, however, for the employ­
ment data collected monthly by the Federal Reserve Bank of Phila­
delphia showed that the city’s manufacturing plants increased their
working forces substantially during that period. Since August,
1929, the manufacturing employment index has again turned down­
ward, reaching, in January, 1930, a point about 2 per cent below
the April level, which indicates that there were at least as many,
and probably more, workers unemployed at the latter date.
There were wide variations in the severity of unemployment in
various parts of the city and among different occupational groups.
A much larger proportion of the workers living in the densely pop­

O




1

2

U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

ulated sections of South Philadelphia and in the industrial districts
of Kensington and Frankford were out of work than in the better
residential parts of western and northwestern Philadelphia. Unem­
ployment was as high as 30 per cent in some of the blocks in the
former sections, while in a few of the blocks in West Philadelphia
and Chestnut Hill no workers were found to have been unemployed.
Unemployment was considerably more severe among industrial
workers than among those engaged in clerical, mercantile, and
professional occupations. Thus 18.9 per cent of the wage earners
were out of work in district 3 of South Philadelphia, which is over­
whelmingly industrial in character, while only 5.3 per cent were
unemployed in district 1 of West Philadelphia, where most persons
are usually engaged in clerical and professional work. That there
was greater unemployment in the manufacturing and building
industries is evident from the fact that, while the census shows less
than one-half of the city’s workers engaged in these industries, over
60 per cent of the unemployed were customarily engaged in these oc­
cupations. Less than 10 per cent of the idle workers, on the other
hand, were engaged in personal and professional service, although
the census assigns over 15 per cent of all workers to these occupa­
tions. Unemployment among persons engaged in trade and trans­
portation likewise appeared to be relatively less severe than the
general average for all occupations. Most of the idle factory
workers were usually employed in the textile and metal industries.
These industries and the food, the clay, stone, and glass, and the
lumber industries appeared to have a greater number of their
workers idle than did other lines of manufacturing.
Such evidence as was available indicated marked variations in the
relative severity of unemployment among the various racial groups.
Generally speaking, the native-born white persons fared better than
the foreign born, while the negroes suffered the greatest unemploy­
ment. Of the 68 blocks classified by enumerators as having a popu­
lation predominantly native-born white, 34 showed unemployment of
less than 7.7 per cent, while in 20 of the 40 blocks having a prepon­
derance of foreign-born people more than 15 per cent of the workers
usually employed were idle. A larger proportion of negroes than of
white persons were unable to find jobs in all but one of the nine
school districts in which this comparison was made. In district 3
of South Philadelphia nearly one-fourth of the negro workers
enumerated were reported as unable to find work as compared with
only 14 per cent of the white workers. The disparity was even greater
in district 10, where 29.2 per cent of the negroes, but only 6.3 per
cent of the white workers, could not find jobs. For the city as a
whole,, 11.8 per cent of the negro workers could not find jobs as
compared with 6.8 per cent of the white workers. This greater
extent of idleness among the negroes is probably due to the fact
that most of this group are engaged in manual labor and in domestic
work—jobs which are frequently temporary in character.
As might be expected, unemployment was more extensive in the
poor and congested parts of the city than among workers in the more
prosperous residential districts. None of the 10 blocks described
by the investigators as having a population of “ medium to high ”




STIMMABY

3

economic character had unemployment above 10 per cent, which was
approximately the city average; the average unemployment in this
group of blocks taken as a whole, however, was 5.6 per cent. Of the
75 blocks described as lowest in economic status, 45 experienced
greater unemployment than the city average; the average unemploy­
ment among these workers was 11.7 per cent.
A comparison of the results of the unemployment survey with the
estimated income in various districts as determined by a survey
recently published by the Philadelphia Public Ledger shows more
clearly that the burden of unemployment falls most heavily upon
those who can least afford it. In school districts 3 and 7, for instance,
where the average per capita income was $441 and $418, respectively,
as compared with $550 for the city, unemployment was 18.9 per cent
and 14.6 per cent, respectivelyy as compared with the city average of
10.4. Only 5.3 per cent of the workers—a smaller proportion than
for any other district—were idle in district 1, where the per capita
income amounted to $769. It is not surprising to find less unemploy­
ment among the higher income groups in view of the fact that they
contain a larger proportion of executives and professional workers
whose employment status is more permanent than that of industrial
laborers.
Comparison of figures on, family size with unemployment showed
that a relatively greater proportion of the workers in large families
were out of work at the time the survey was made. The average size
of the 4,914 families having unemployment was 5.3 persons, as com­
pared with an average of 4.4 persons for the entire group of 31,551
families covered by the survey. With the exception of “ families
of one ”—single persons without actual family responsibilities—in
which unemployment amounted to 16.5 per cent, there was a general
tendency for unemployment to increase as the size of the family
increased. Except for this group, 9.3 per cent of the wage earners
were unemployed in all families of five or less, as compared with
the city average of 10.4 per cent. The families with six or more
members, on the other hand, reported 12.5 per cent out of work—an
indication that unemployment was nearly 35 per cent more severe in
the large than in the small families.
Although it was impracticable to obtain detailed facts concerning
the ages of all workers covered in the survey, some information is
available which indicates that unemployment due to inability to
find wrork was relatively more severe among persons under 21 years
of age than among those 21 years of age and over. According to
estimates based on the census of 1920, about 15 per cent of all persons
reporting gainful occupations were under 21 years of age, while the
unemployment survey showed that 23.1 per cent of all persons
unable to find jobs were in this age group. Unfortunately, detailed
age information is not available to check the widely held belief that
unemployment in recent years has been particularly severe among
“ older 55 workers, i. e., those over 45 years of age.
Comparison of the results of the unemployment survey with
figures from the census of occupations indicates that female workers
experienced less unemployment from inability to find work than
males. Only 23.4 per cent of the persons unable to find work were




4

U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

females, while this group, according to the census, constituted
approximately 27 per cent of all persons having gainful occupations.
This discrepancy reflects the fact that there was less unemployment
in clerical and mercantile trades, in which women are chiefly
engaged, than in the manufacturing and construction industries,
which are large employers of men.
Inability to find work was by far the chief reason for unemploy­
ment, accounting for three-fourths or more of the idle workers in
most of the districts and occupations. About 14 per cent of the
unemployed reported sickness as cause of idleness and 5 per cent
were out of work because of old age. The investigators endeavored
to ascertain in each case whether unemployment was due to indif­
ference or unwillingness to work, but this reason was found to
account for only 4.3 per cent of the total unemployment. Labor
disturbances were practically negligible ; only 5 of the 6,110 unem­
ployed were on strike.
Further indication of the severity of unemployment is furnished
by a knowledge of the time lost by workers since the last regular
job. Over half of the idle workers reported that they had been
without regular work for more than three months and 11.6 per
cent for more than a year. Assuming that 96,900 persons were out
of work at the time of the enumeration, 49,000 had been without a
regular job for more than three months and over 11,000 for more
than a year. As might be expected, sickness and old age accounted
for much of the long-term unemployment, while the average time
lost since the last regular job was noticeably less in the case of those
unable to find work. Only 5.8 per cent of the latter group had been
without regular work for more than a year, while 26.6 per cent of
those unemployed because of sickness and 55.4 per cent of the super­
annuated had been idle for a similar period.
Among the negro workers, who suffered the greatest unemploy­
ment, the average time lost since the last regular work was much
less than in the case of wThite workers. Only 2.1 per cent of the
former, as compared with 6.6 per cent of the latter, had been out
of a regular job for more than a year. Duration of unemployment
was shorter among women than among men. Only 37.7 per cent of
females unable to find work had been without regular employment
for more than three months, and only 4.1 per cent for more than a
year, as compared with 48.3 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively,
for males. A similar relationship between males and females also
held true both for the age group under 21 years and for that 21
years and over. As would be expected, the average time lost since
the last regular work was much greater among persons 21 years of
age and over than among the younger persons.
A complete description of the methods used by the bureau of
compulsory education and the department of industrial research in
conducting this field survey and compiling results, as well as a
more detailed analysis of the information revealed by the study, will
be found in the pages following.




CHAPTER 1

Scope and Method of the Survey
Industrial Character of Philadelphia
HILADELPHIA is one of the most important industrial,com­
munities in the United States. The population of the city,
according to the census of 1920, totaled 1,823,799, while in 1929
the estimated population was 2,071,000. The great diversity in
the occupational, racial, and social characteristics of the city’s popu­
lation is evident from an examination of census data. Although the
1930 census will probably reveal some important changes in occupa­
tions, the figures showing the occupational distribution of the'
population in 1920 probably give a fair approximation of the voca­
tions of the city’s wage earners in 1929. In Table 1 it is shown
that 819,000 persons living in Philadelphia in 1920 were reported
as having gainful occupations.

P

T able 1 .— Occupations o f gainfully' employed persons in Philadelphia in 1920 1

Persons gainfully
employed
Occupation
Number
Agriculture, foiestry, and animal husbandry________
Extraction of minerals.. _ _ __ __ __
__
__ _
Manufacturing and mechanical industries ___ __ __
Transportation ___ __ ___ __ __
_ _ _
Tiade_ ________ __ _________ __ __
_______
Public service
_ _ _
_
_
Professional service___
____ __ ___ _
Domestic and personal service___ _ _* _
_______
Clerical occupations___ _____ _______________ _____
All gainful occupations _ ___________ _____ __

Per cent

3, 594
483
388, 696
66,218
110, 579
22,068
42, 977
84, 424
99, 961

0.4
.1
47.5
8.1
13.5
2.7
5.2
10.3
12.2

819,000

100.0

1 U. S. Census of Occupations, 1920.

The predominance of industrial activities in the city is evident
from the fact that nearly half of the gainfully employed persons
were engaged in manufacturing and mechanical industries, which
consist chiefly of factory and construction activities. Since 1920,
however, there has evidently been a decline in the relative impor­
tance of manufacturing, for the biennial census of manufactures,
taken in 1919 and in alternate years thereafter, shows that the
number of wage earners employed by Philadephia manufacturing
plants has declined substantially during the past decade.




5

6

C H A P. 1 .---- SCOPE AND M ETHOD OF SURVEY

T able 2 . —

Number of mage earners employed in Philadelphia manufacturing
establishments, 1919-1927 1
Number of—

Number of—

Year

Year
Estab­
lishments

1919__________________________
1921__________________________
1923__________________________

9,064
6, 788
6,399

Wage
earners
281,105
226,042
273, 980

Estab­
lishments
1925
1927

_

_ _

5, 636
5,860

Wage
earners
246, 680
243, 608

1 IT . S. Biennial Census of Manufactures, 1919, 1921, 1923, 1925, and 1927.

This falling off in the number of workers engaged in manu­
facturing operations, occurring in the face of an appreciable in­
crease in the city’s population, indicates that, unless these workers
formerly employed in manufacturing are now unemployed, they
have drifted in considerable numbers into other vocations. Manu­
facturing during the past decade has thus become less important
as an employer of labor, both in the absolute and in the relative
sense.
Despite the decline in manufacturing employment since 1919 and
the probable shift of factory workers to other trades, it is obvious
that, with nearly a quarter of a million people engaged in these
industries, manufacturing still constitutes the economic backbone
of Philadelphia.
To a considerable extent, the decline of employment in these
industries has resulted from the introduction of labor-saving ma­
chinery and improvements in managerial technique which have made
possible greater output with fewer workers. It is difficult to meas­
ure the extent of this saving, however, owing to the lack of
information on the physical output of the city’s establishments.
There is some reason to believe that Philadelphia’s industries
have experienced a relative decline in importance as compared with
those of other industrial communities. The comparison of manu­
facturing employment in 1919 and 1927 in the United States as a
whole, in the leading industrial sections, and in the more important
manufacturing cities, shown in Table 3, gives some indication of a
change in the relative industrial position of Philadelphia.
T able 3 . — Employment in manufacturing industries, 1919 and 19271
Locality

1919

1927

United States

__ _______ - ____

100.0

92.9

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia

___ _______ _____
_________________

100.0
100.0

86.9
86.7

Southern States 2________ ____ __
East Central States 3............... .......
Middle Atlantic States 4 ...............
Lower New England States 5___

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

124.7
96.7
85.9
81.9

Locality

1919

Detroit........... ............ ...................
St. Louis____________________ ___
Chicago_____________ ________ __
New York City___________ _____
Cleveland....................... ............. .

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

1927
113.6
101. 4
92.1
86.5
83.7

1 Fourteenth Census of United States, Vol. IX , Manufactures, 1919; Bureau of Census, Statistics for
industries and States, 1927, and Statistics for cities, 1927.
2 Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina.
3 Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri.
* New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
6 Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island.




M ETH O D EM PLOYED

m

7

T H IS STUD Y

It is apparent from Table 3 that manufacturing employment
declined 5.9 per cent more in Philadelphia from 1919 to 1927 than
in the United States as a whole. Employment in Philadelphia
during 1927 compared with 1919 was at a higher level than manu­
facturing employment in the Lower New England and Middle
Atlantic States, but was considerably lower than in the East Central
States and very much lower than in the Southern States. Phila­
delphia is evidently enjoying a relatively higher rate of activity
than most cities in the surrounding States, but compares less favorably
with some of the larger western and southern cities.
Nevertheless, unlike many cities of the country having but one or
two major industries, Philadelphia is fortunate in having a highly
diversified group of industries. Textile and metal manufacturing
predominate. Table 4, based on data published by the Department
of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shows the
relative importance of Philadelphia’s manufacturing industries as
employers of labor in 1927.
T

able

4.— Number of employees and salaries and wages paid in manufacturing
industries of Philadelphia in 1927 1
Number of
employees

Industries

Salaries and
wages

Chemicals and allied products_________ ____________
Clay, glass, and stone products______________________
Food and kindred products_________________________
Leather and rubber goods___ _______
_
Lumber and its remanufacture____ _______________ _
Paper and printing industries._____________________
Textiles and textile products____ ___________________
Metals and metal products, primary___ ___________
Metals and metal products, secondary___ _ ______
Mines and quarries _____ _ _________ __ _______
Tobacco and its products ______ ___________________
Miscellaneous products. ...
___ ______________ _

17, 507
2,862
22, 245
12,030
9,158
34, 560
99, 792
1, 708
60,952
850
9, 005
18, 940

$30,317,300
4, 582,900
33, 999, 800
17,349,100
14, 273, 900
59, 030, 900
142, 216, 800
2, 657, 300
102. 801, 200
1, 399,100
7, 557,900
23, 387, 500

All manufacturing industries.................................

289, 609

439, 573, 700

i Pennsylvania.
in 1929.)

Department of Internal Affairs.

Productive industries, 1927.

(Photostat copy, issued

Method Employed in this Study
F o r p u r p o s e s of public school administration Philadelphia is
divided into 10 school districts. The bureau of compulsory educa­
tion of the board of public education is charged with the re­
sponsibility of insuring the attendance of all children of school age
at the public or private schools of the city. This bureau, following
the general administrative organization of the school system, main­
tains a district office in each of the 10 school districts. An attend­
ance supervisor in each of these districts, having under his super­
vision from 9 to 11 attendance officers, is responsible for main­
taining attendance standards in his district. The administra­
tion of this function involves, necessarily, the taking of an annual
census of all children of school age in the city. This survey is
made each year during the months of April and May by means
of personal interviews between attendance officers and the parents
of the children. The members of the various district staffs, who are
for the most part college graduates, have had years of field experi-




8

C H A P . 1 .---- SCOPE AND M ETHOD OF SURVEY

ence in taking the annual school census, while their daily contacts
with the residents of their districts have made them thoroughly
familiar with the economic character and composition of the popu­
lation in various sections of the city. For this reason it was par­
ticularly fortunate that the bureau of compulsory education under­
took the collection of the statistics forming the basis of this report.
Several limitations made it necessary to plan a study somewhat
more restricted in scope than would otherwise have been desirable.
First, in order that the investigation might not unduly retard the
regular work of the bureau, it was essential that the collection
of facts consume a minimum amount of time. Second, since the
staff of the bureau of compulsory education already enjoyed cor­
dial relations with the public it could not afford to ask any personal
questions which might jeopardize these relations. Third, this
bureau, in connection with its annual school census, employs an
occupational classification which, while sufficiently detailed for the
purpose for which it was designed, was not entirely satisfactory
for use in a survey of unemployment. Since, however, the regular
school census and the census of unemployment had to be taken
simultaneously, the use of separate occupational classifications for
each survey would have led to unending confusion. For this reason
it was decided to adopt the school-census occupational classification
for use in the census of unemployment.
Time limitations made impossible the collection of data on parttime employment, desirable as this information might have been.
For the same reason, it was necessary to avoid inquiring about the
occupations of employed wage earners, but to limit this information
to the unemployed. It was also felt desirable to secure the approxi­
mate ages of the wage earners included in the survey in the hope that
some light might be thrown on the very much debated question of
industry’s policy toward the man of 45 years of age and over. Owing
to the reluctance of many people to furnish information concerning
their age, it was deemed advisable, in order to avoid the possibility
of stirring up any antagonism, not to ask for specific information
on age.
The schedule as finally constructed included all the necessary
facts which it seemed practicable to obtain. It provided for obtain­
ing the following information:
For each family interviewed:
1. Address of family.
2. Number of persons in family.
3. Number of persons in family usually employed.
4. Number of persons usually employed who were unem­
ployed at the time of the survey.
5. Race—White, Negro, or Mongolian.
For each unemployed person in families having unemployment:
1. Relationship to family (father, son, etc.).
2. Sex.
3. Age (under 21 years or 21 years and over).
4. Regular occupation.
5. Time lost since last regular work.
6. Reason for unemployment.




M ETH O D EM PLOYED IN T H IS STUDY

9

The following schedule, based roughly on the classification of
the census of occupations, shows the industrial and occupational
classification used by the bureau of compulsory education in its
annual school census and in recording occupations in the unemploy­
ment survey:
Agriculture.—Farming* gardening, etc.
Manufacturing and mechanical pursuits.—Building trades; chem­
icals, paints, drugs, dyes; clay, stone, and glass products; clothing
and millinery; food products, etc.; cigars and tobacco; leather and
rubber goods (shoemakers); machinists and metal workers; printing
and paper goods; textiles, knit goods, hosiery, dyeing; wood manu­
facturers ; and miscellaneous.
Trade and transportation.—Cashiers; cash girls and bundle
wrappers; errand, messenger, and office boys; office help; salespeople;
shipping and stock clerks; street trades; telephone and telegraph
operators ; and miscellaneous.
Domestic and personal service.—Housework in the home; domestic
and personal service elsewhere.
Professional service.—Musicians, actors, etc.
In order to obtain some information on the duration of unem­
ployment, the investigators were asked to secure data on the number
of weeks lost since the last regular job rather than the time lost
since the last work of any kind. The former information was
believed to be more significant of the real severity of unemployment,
since many of the unemployed who had had no regular work for
a considerable period may have had during the interim a few casual
jobs of a few hours or a day’s duration which afforded little sub­
stantial relief from unemployment. As an instance, a skilled work­
man in one of the families interviewed had been laid off three
months previous to the time the survey was made. During that
period he had been employed on only two occasions, on each oc­
casion for less than a day at casual work entirely unrelated to his
regular occupation. I f this question had been worded to indicate
the number of weeks since the last work of any kind, it would have
shown him “ out of work for only two weeks ” rather than for
the actual period of three months. For this reason it was believed
more important to obtain information on the duration of unem­
ployment since the last regular job held by the worker. The tab­
ulated results on this item, therefore, should not be interpreted
to mean the time lost since the last work of any kind.
The most commonly accepted and most satisfactory definition of
an unemployed person is one who is both willing and able to work
but unable to find a job suitable to his qualifications and reasonable
expectations. For the purposes of this study, however, it was
desirable to determine how many persons, in addition to the number
unable to find work owing to causes beyond their immediate control,
were out of work on account of sickness, superannuation, or indiffer­
ence. Those persons totally and permanently disabled for work of
any kind were excluded from the group out of work on account of
sickness and were not listed as unemployed. I f a person considered
himself or was considered by the attendance officer as unable to
find work because of advanced age, he was listed as superannuated.
But all other persons of advanced age, who no longer desired to




10

CH AP.

1 .---- SCOPE AND M ETHOD OF SURVEY

work or who reported themselves as retired, were excluded from
this classification. Those persons who were considered by other
members of the family or by the attendance officers as indifferent
to employment opportunities or unwilling to work were classified
as unemployed because of indifference.
The field survey covered the period from April 15 to April 24,
although in practically all of the districts the interviews were com­
pleted within the first three or four days. This is a seasonally
active period in most industries, and employment in Philadelphia
manufacturing industries as indicated by Chart 1, was not far from
“ normal ” at that time in 1929. An additional advantage resulting
from making the survey in April is that it makes possible a
comparison with the amount of unemployment existing at the same
season one year later, since a Federal census of unemployment
was taken in connection with the census of population in April,
1930. This evidence that employment and business activity were
fairly normal at the time of the survey should be remembered in
interpreting the results of the study.
When the field survey was completed by the staff of the bureau
of compulsory education, the work of tabulating and analyzing
the results was undertaken by the department of industrial research
of the University of Pennsylvania. Each of the 36,000 cards received
was carefully edited and checked for possible and obvious discrepan­
cies. It became necessary to exclude from the tabulation approxi­
mately 500 cards on which certain necessary data had been omitted.
Approximately 4,000 of the homes visited were either unoccupied or
the investigators were unable to secure any response. Return calls
were not made at the homes where the attendance officers had failed
to secure response. Whenever questions arose concerning the accu­
racy of the information recorded on the individual schedules, the
attendance supervisor in charge of the particular district involved
was consulted in the attempt to straighten out the difficulty.
Suitable codes were devised and the original records transferred
to tabulating machine cards. Tabulations of the extent of unem­
ployment in each block and each district were then made and the
district totals were combined into summary tables for the entire
city. Inasmuch as the primary interest was in that group of people
who were both willing and able to work but unable to find a job, more
detailed analyses were made for this portion of the unemployed.
Representativeness of the Data Collected
A t t e n d a n c e o f f i c e r s interviewed every family in 166 school cen­
sus blocks1 during the last week of April, 1929. These blocks
were carefully selected by the attendance supervisors in consultation
with the attendance officers in each of the various school districts so
as to give an adequate representation to people of varying economic
status and to racial differences. A further effort was made to include
in the survey the same proportion of families in each district as the
proportion of all families living in that district was of the total num­
ber of families in the city. In all, 31,551 families were visited. These
1 The school census blocks are not “ city blocks,” but may include two or more city
blocks.




o s— o9T

R E P R E S E N T A T IV E N E S S
OF
THE
DATA




Chakt 1.— IN D E X OP FACTORY EM PLO YM EN T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA ( 1 9 2 3 -1 9 2 5 = 1 0 0 )

COLLECTED

S ou rce: Bureau of S tatistics, Departm ent of Labor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

12

CH AP,

1 .---- SCOPE AND M ETHOD OF SURVEY

families had a total family membership of 140,174 persons, of whom
58,866 were usually employed. The smallest number of families in­
terviewed in any district was 2,114 and the largest, 4,922. It is
believed that the sample obtained in this survey represents an ade­
quate and accurate cross section of the city’s population despite the
fact that only a fraction of the total number of families in the city
was interviewed.
Accurate data concerning the size and characteristics of the pop­
ulation of Philadelphia in 1929 are not available. The latest avail­
able information is contained in the census of occupations taken in
1920. For the purpose of evaluating the sufficiency of the data
collected in the present survey, estimates have been made of the num­
ber and composition of the population of Philadelphia for the year
1929 based on the census for 1920 and earlier years. Following the
customary practice of assuming that the net increase in population
from 1920 to 1930 is at the same rate as from 1910 to 1920, it is esti­
mated that the population of Philadelphia in 1929 was 2,071,000
persons.
In 1900 the average size of the Philadelphia family was 4.9; in
1910, 4.7; and in 1920, 4.5. Assuming the same rate of decrease,
the average size of the Philadelphia family in 1930 would be 4.3.
For the purpose of this study 4.3 2 has been considered as the average
size of the families of Philadelphia in 1929. Applying this esti­
mated average size of the family to the estimated population, there
appear to have been approximately 481,630 families in Philadelphia
in 1929.
It is very difficult, if not impossible, to estimate with accuracy
the relative numbers of white persons and of negroes in Phila­
delphia in 1929. Large numbers of the latter started coming north
at the time of the World War and this migration continued at a
rapid rate during the post-war years. Even during the period
from 1910 to 1920 the census showed an increase of 58.9 per cent in
the negro population of the city while the white population
increased but 15.4 per cent. In the previous decade, from 1900 to
1910, the negro population increased 34.9 per cent while the white
population increased only 19 per cent. Assuming that the rate of
increase during the past nine years has been somewhat less than
that for the previous decade which included the war period—
approximately 50 per cent—the negro population in 1929 was doubt­
less close to 200,000.
The percentage of the population reporting a gainful occupation
has been almost the same for each of the last three census periods.
In 1900, 44 per cent of the total number of persons in the city were
reported as having a gainful occupation; in 1910, 45.9 per cent; and
in 1920, 44.9 per cent. Assuming the year 1929 to show about the
same proportion of the total population gainfully employed, there
would have been approximately 931,9503 persons in Philadelphia
with gainful occupations at the time the unemployment survey was
made.
2 Since the decline in size of the family probably occurs at a decreasing rate and also
because only nine years have elapsed since the last census, 4.3 persons per family may
prove to be too low an estimate. Possibly 4.4 will be found to be more nearly accurate.
3 Forty-five per cent of the estimated total population o f 2,071,000,




13

REPRESENTATIVENESS OF TH E DATA COLLECTED

The proportion of employed females to the total number of per­
sons reporting a gainful occupation has not shown any great varia­
tion from 1900 to 1920. In 1900, 26 per cent of the total number
of persons reporting a gainful occupation were females; in 1910,
28.2 per cent; and in 1920, 26.3 per cent. Assuming that the pro­
portion in 1929 was greater than in 1920 but less than in 1910, or
27 per cent, the total number of females having a gainful occupation
in 1929 would have been 251,627 and the total number of males
680,323.
An idea of the size and representativeness of that fraction of the
city’s population included in the survey may be obtained from an
examination of Table 5, which shows a comparison of the sample
under consideration with estimates of the city’s population in 1929
based on the United States census reports.
T

able

5.— Comparison of families and persons in unemployment survey with
estimates for entire population of Philadelphia

Item

Estimates
based on
census

Unemployment
survey
Number

Number of families__________________________
Number of persons__________________________
Average number of persons per family_______
Number of persons usually employed________
Number of persons per family usually em­
ployed..---------------------------------------------------Number of white persons____________________
Number of negroes__________________________

481, 630
2, 071, 000
4.3
931, 950

31, 551
i 140,174
4.4
58, 866

1.9
1, 871, 000

1.9
123, 663
12,346

200, 000

Per cent
6.6
6.8
6.3
6.6
6.2

i Includes 4,165 persons for whom color was not specified.

Table 5 shows that 6.6 per cent4 of all the Philadelphia families
were visited in connection with the unemployment survey. These
families represented 6.8 per cent of the total population of the
city and 6.3 per cent of the persons estimated as having a gainful
occupation in 1929. From a comparison of these figures it would
seem that, while the survey covered 6.6 per cent of the families,
it reached only 6.3 per cent of the wage-earners, and that, therefore,
the families showing a relatively high proportion usually employed
were inadequately represented. However, this is probably not true
since this study determines the number “ usually employed ” while
the census determines the number of people having a “ gainful occu­
pation.” The broader classification of the United States census
in 1920 included a considerable number of such persons as children
under fourteen and inmates of institutions who are regularly em­
ployed, but who were not considered in this study as being usually
employed. In addition, owing to the failure of the census enumer­
ators to follow instructions accurately, a large number of house­
keepers who were doing housework without wages in their own
homes were also included as having gainful occupations. I f these
groups and others of similar character were to be deducted from the
4 It was pointed out previously that the estimated figure of 4.3 persons per family from
which the total number of families was estimated might be too low. If 4.4 were used the
percentage of families included in the survey would amount to approximately 6.8 per cent.




14

C H AP.

1 .---- SCOPE AND METHOD OP SURVEY

estimated population having gainful occupations, the percentage
of usually employed included in the survey would naturally be
raised. The table indicates further that the number of white persons
and of negroes included in the sample was very nearly in the proper
proportion, 6.6 per cent of all white persons in the city and 6.2
per cent of all negroes being included in the survey. The slight
overweighting of white persons should have little effect, if any, on
the accuracy of the results.
It is recognized that any sample of the city’s population to be
used in estimating the extent of unemployment must include per­
sons of different racial origins. The impracticability of ascertaining
the nationality of all persons enumerated and thus testing the ade­
quacy of the sample in this respect has already been pointed out. In
order partly to overcome this lack of information concerning the
nationality of the persons enumerated and to furnish other data
which would help to evaluate the representativeness of the sample,
each attendance supervisor was asked to express the joint opinion
of himself and his attendance officers concerning the predominant
racial, occupational, and economic characteristics of the population
in each block covered in the survey. Table 6 presents this infor­
mation.
T

able

6.— Racial, occupational, and economic character of population in school
census blocks included in survey, by district
District No.—
item

Number of school census blocks_________ _
Racial characteristics:
Native white.
_____
Native and foreign white.
Native and colored, foreign and colored,
colored_________ __ __
...
Foreign white_________ ____
_______
Occupational status:
Professional___ __ _ ___________
Clerical and trade.
_
. .
Industrial and trade__
Industrial____
______ .
..
Economic status:
High to medium..
._ _
Medium. ________ _ _
Medium to low ___ __ _

...

___ _______
_____
_____ _____

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

13

13

12

18

20

14

22

10

18

26

166

5
6

5
1

9

5
4

15
1

3
2

15
2

11
11

68
27

2

2
5

8
1

7
4

3
3

3
2

1

3
1

31
40

1
1
5
11

1
4
14
7

7
18
39
102

1
6
11

1
10
15

10
81
75

12

3
11

4
6
1
2

10

12

17

17
3

14

21

1
2
2
5

4
6
3

10
3

1
8
3

10
8

1
9
10

4
10

14
8

2
4
4

1

3

1

10 Total

Table 6 sheds additional light on the adequacy of the sample used.
Of the 166 school census blocks included in the survey, 68 were
predominantly native white, 40 predominantly foreign-born white,
27 a combination of native and foreign white, while the remaining 31
consisted of blocks that were either native white and colored, foreign
white and colored, or predominantly colored. One hundred and two
blocks were populated largely by people engaged in manufacturing
and mechanical industries, 39 by people engaged in industrial occu­
pations and trade, 18 by clerical workers and sales people, and 7
largely by professional men and executives. Ten blocks were classi­
fied as being populated largely by people having an economic status




REPRESENTATIVENESS OF TH E DATA COLLECTED

15

ranging from high to medium, 81 as medium economic status, and
75 included families of medium to low economic status.
It will of course be recognized that “ high,” “ medium,” and “ low ”
are relative terms and subject to different interpretation by different
persons. The experience and training of the persons supplying

Chart 2.— LOCATION OF TH E SCHOOL BLOCKS SAM PLED IN EACH SCHOOL
D ISTR ICT

these data were such, however, as to warrant the assumption that
the interpretation has been fairly uniform from district to district.
Similarly, in the case of occupational and racial characteristics, the
statements for each block in the district are based on the mature
judgment of the supervisors. In view of the careful selection of




16

CH A P.

1 .---- SCOPE AND M ETHOD OF SUPvVEY

blocks, it seems safe to conclude that the sample accords adequate
representation to people of different races, of varying economic
status, and of unlike occupational pursuits.
T a b le

7.— Number of families and persons included in unemployment survey
Number of—
District
Census
blocks

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Families

Persons

Persons
usually
employed

1_____ ________________
2____ _________________
3______________________
4____ _________________
5______________________
6____ _________________
7______________________
8____ _________________
9____ _________________
10.______ _____________

13
13
12
18
20
14
22
10
18
26

2,445
2, 738
2,114
3,075
3, 248
2, 657
3,129
4,922
4, 387
2,836

10,190
13,262
11,111
13, 732
15, 862
10, 566
14, 515
21, 347
17, 245
12, 344

4,222
5,311
4, 088
5,833
7,048
5,152
6,147
8,495
7, 431
5,139

Total_____ ____________

166

31, 551

140,174

58, 866

Chart 2 shows the geographic diversity of the sample. Each of
the black areas represents one of the school census blocks included
in the survey. As was pointed out previously, each of the school
census blocks includes one or more city blocks. Generally speaking,
the density of the population varies inversely with the size of the
shaded areas. Approximately as many families were interviewed in
district 10, the northern section of which had extremely large school
census blocks, as were interviewed in district 2, where practically
all of the blocks were small.
The wide scattering of the blocks throughout the city would
provide in itself, even if other facts were not available, sufficient indi­
cation of the representativeness of the sample. Within each of the
ten districts, as indicated by Table 6, there is a wide variation in
the occupational and economic status of the residents as well as
racial differences. Inasmuch as the blocks in each district were
selected as a reliable cross section of the district, they should, when
combined, give an excellent cross-section picture of the city as a
whole.




CHAPTER 2

Unemployment in Philadelphia
Extent of Unemployment
F THE 31,551 Philadelphia families included in the survey,
4,914, or 15.6 per cent, reported one or more of their members
unemployed, while 6,110, or 10.4 per cent, of the 58,866 wage earners
in these families were not employed at the time the enumeration
was made. Assuming the latter percentage to be representative of
the city’s entire estimated working population of 931,950 persons,
96,900 were idle for one reason or another at the time the field
survey was made in the latter part of April, 1929. What is still
more significant, three-fourths of this total, or approximately 72,700,
were idle because they were unable to find work.
Whether or not this total represents “ normal,” “ subnormal,”
or “ abnormal ” unemployment for Philadelphia is, of course, entirely
conjectural in view of the almost total lack of recently compiled
comparable data for this city or for other large cities of similar
economic character. It may be of interest, however, to compare
the results of this survey with a similar study made by the Metro­
politan Life Insurance Co.1 in March and April, 19i5, at which
time there was believed to be considerable unemployment in the
larger cities of the country. The results of that survey, which
covered 79,058 Philadelphia families, including 137,244 wage earners
in their membership, showed that 14.2 per cent of the families
suffered unemployment, and that 10.3 per cent of the wTorkers were
idle at the time of the enumeration.
Thus unemployment in Philadelphia appears to have been no less
severe in the spring of 1929 than at the time the earlier survey was
made, when business was just commencing to recover from the rather
serious depression of 1914. This inference is particularly striking
in view of the fact that the present survey was made at a time when
business activity in Philadelphia appeared to be fairly normal.
A fair measure of industrial activity in Philadelphia is provided
by the monthly index of employment in manufacturing industries
compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. As indicated
on chart 1 in chapter 1, employment had advanced substantially during
the first few months of 1929, and in April, when the unemployment
survey was made, the employment index was 100.7, less than 1 per
cent above the base of 100 which represents average employment
during the period from 1923 to 1925. During the four following

O

1 U. S. Bureau
States, p. 6.

of




Labor

Statistics,

Bui.

No.

195:

Unemployment in

the

17

United

18

CH A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

months the index rose to a high point of 110.9 in August, or 10.1
per cent above the April level. This rise probably reflects a general
increase in employment throughout the city and a corresponding de­
crease in unemployment during the late spring and summer. Since
August, however, the employment index has declined each month
and in December was 99.9, slightly below the April level. This
indicates that fully as many—and possibly more—workers were
unemployed in December, 1929, as at the time the survey was made.
It is hardly safe, however, to place too great reliance upon interpo­
lations of this nature, since the employment index measures the trend
of factory employment only, in which both upward and downward
fluctuations are probably more pronounced than in the general level
of employment. Moreover, migration of workers into or out of the
city may have caused an increase or decrease in the number of
unemployed. It seems safe to conclude, however, that the 10.4 per
cent unemployment revealed by the survey was a fairly close approxi­
mation of the situation existing in Philadelphia in the latter part of
April when the survey was made, and that the following four months,
during which manufacturing and construction activities employed
more labor, witnessed a decline in unemployment, which was fol­
lowed, during the fall, by a slackening of business and an increase of
unemployment to nearly the same volume as existed earlier in the
year.
Regional Differences in Unemployment
A nalysis of the results for each of the 166 blocks included in
the survey and for each of the 10 school districts revealed the
existence of striking variations in severity of unemployment in
different parts of the city.
T a b le 8. — Unemployment in school districts of Philadelphia

District

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Families having
unemployment
Number
of families
inter­
viewed Number Per cent

Number of per­
sons—

Unemployed (all
reasons)

In
Usually Number
families employed

Per cent

1 --................. - ..................... 2___ ______________________
3__________________________
4__________________________
5__________________________
6__________________________
7__________________________
8__________________________
9__________________________
10_________________________

2,445
2, 738
2,114
3,075
3,248
2,657
3,129
4,922
4,387
2,836

207
487
594
459
524
610
678
501
401
453

8.5
17.8
28.1
14.9
16.1
23.0
21.7
10.2
9.1
16.0

10,190
13,262
11,111
13,732
15, 862
10, 566
14, 515
21, 347
17,245
12, 344

4,222
5,311
4,088
5, 833
7,048
5,152
6,147
8.495
7, 431
5,139

222
616
772
580
672
763
900
589
465
531

5.3
11.6
18.9
9.9
9.5
14.8
14.6
6.9
6.3
10.3

Total—----------------------------

31, 551

4,914

15.6

140,174

58, 866

6,110

10.4

An examination of Table 8 shows that the amount of unemploy­
ment ranged from as low as 5.3 per cent in district 1 to more than
three times as much—18.9 per cent—in district 3. In four of the
districts unemployment was considerably greater than the average




RACIAL DIFFERENCES

19

of 10.4 per cent for the entire city; in three other districts unem­
ployment was substantially under the Philadelphia average, while
only in district 10 was it practically the same as in the city as a
whole. As might be expected, unemployment was most severe in
the densely populated parts of South Philadelphia and in the eastern
section of the city bordering on the Delaware River, including such
industrial sections as Kensington, Frankford, and Tacony. The
least unemployment was found in western and northwestern Phila­
delphia, especially in the better residental districts of Overbrook,
Germantown, and Chestnut Hill. Data for individual blocks show
even more strikingly the disparity between the poorer and better
sections. Unemployment was as high as 30 per cent in some of the
crowded and poor parts of South Philadelphia, while in a few
instances some of the high-grade residential blocks reported no
unemployed workers.
Racial Differences in Unemployment
C o m p a r i s o n of the information on the racial and economic char­
acter of the school districts presented in Table 6 with that given
in Table 8 helps to explain the marked differences in unemployment
in the various districts. Generally speaking, the districts with
larger proportions of native-white residents had less unemployment
than those in which foreign-born and negroes predominate. This
was particularly true in districts 3 and 6, which had the greatest
proportion of foreign-born residents and which show the greatest
amount of unemployment. Native-born population noticeably pre­
dominated in districts 1, 7, and 9 and in the first and last ox these
districts, unemployment was less severe than in any of the others.
District 7, including parts of the Kensington textile section, proved
an exception to this general tendency, for (although having a pre­
ponderance of native born) unemployment was large, amounting
to 14.6 per cent.
Since nearly all of the districts contain a mixture of blocks with
various racial elements, these differences in the extent of unem­
ployment become even more evident in an analysis of the returns
for individual blocks. The enumerators classified 68 of the 166
blocks as having a predominant native-white population and in
this group of blocks the average unemployment was less than for
the entire city. In only half of these blocks was unemployment
greater than 7.7 per cent.
In the blocks in which there was a preponderance of foreign-born
white residents, on the other hand, average unemployment was much
above that for the city as a whole; in 20 of the 40 blocks with a pre­
ponderance of foreign-born population, more than 15.2 per cent of
the workers were unemployed. Unemployment in the blocks having
a mixture of native white, foreign-born white, and negro families
fell between the two extremes just mentioned. In the 27 blocks in­
habited by both native and foreign born, 9.3 was the median per­
centage of unemployment, while in the 31 blocks with a mixture
of all three racial elements, the median percentage of unemployment
was 10.7.




20

CH AP. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA
T able

9.— Number of w hite persons and o f negroes unable to find w ork
White persons

District

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Number
usually
employed

Negroes

Unable to find
work
Number

Per cent

Unable to find
work

Number
usually
employed

Number

1 _ _______________________________
2____________________________________
3____________________________________
4 ____
___________ ____
5 . _ ________ . _____ - _ __ _
--- - _______ -- _
6 _____ ____
7
_______________________________
8 __________________________________
9 __________________________________
___ ______________________
10

4,081
4,411
3,913
3,764
5,728
3,234
5, 741
7, 941
6,770
4,884

162
349
549
208
344
287
608
368
269
309

4.0
7.9
14.0
5.5
6.0
8.9
10. 6
4. 6
4.0
6.3

98
462
159
1,767
1,129
1,731
400
475
2
233

6
34
39
160
96
241
92
28
1
68

Total _________________ __________

50,467

3, 453

6.8

6, 456

765

Per cent
6.1
7.4
24.5
9.1
8.5
13.9
23.0
5.9
0)

29.2
11.8

1 Sample too small to be significant.

Greater severity of unemployment is particularly apparent among
negro workers. From all families visited, whether unemployment
existed or not, the enumerators were asked to ascertain whether
they were white or colored. It is thus possible to compare directly
the severity of unemployment among white and negro workers.
Table 9 shows, for each district and for the city as a whole, the
number of white persons and negroes usually employed in the fami­
lies interviewed and the number and percentage of each group who
were unemployed because they were unable to find work. Inability
to find a job, of course, measures more accurately the relative work
opportunity in the two groups than does total unemployment, which,
of course, includes workers idle because of sickness and other reasons.
Not only was average unemployment for this cause much greater
among negroes than among white workers for the city as a whole,
but likewise in each of the nine districts for which comparable in­
formation was available. The contrast was particularly striking
in district 10, where 29.2 per cent of the negroes, as compared with
only 6.3 per cent of white workers, were out of work for this cause.
In three of the districts more than 20 per cent of the negro workers
could not find jobs at the time the survey was made, while the
largest proportion of unemployment among white workers was in
district 3 in South Philadelphia, where 14 per cent were unable to
find jobs. The greater severity of unemployment among negro
workers is undoubtedly attributable to the fact that custom and
lack of education restrict their working opportunities chiefly to
manual and casual labor and domestic work, jobs that are likely to
be somewhat temporary in character.
Unemployment and Occupational Status
M a n y or the regional variations in unemployment are accounted
for by occupational differences in the population living in various
sections of the city. Since the enumerators obtained detailed infor­
mation on occupations only from the unemployed persons in the
families interviewed, it is impossible to determine with any great



21

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

accuracy the percentage of unemployment existing in each occupa­
tion. As in the case of racial characteristics, however, the enumera­
tors were requested to indicate the predominant occupation in which
the wage earners of each block were engaged. In Table 6, wThich
gives this information for each of the 10 school districts, it is seen
that most of the blocks are described as “ industrial.” This classi­
fication is, of course, an indefinite one, but can be interpreted as
including not only workers in manufacturing industries, but also
those engaged in construction and other manual occupations, as well
as many of those employed in tranportation. Since the census of
occupations shows quite definitely that a substantial majority of the
city’s wage earners are engaged in these occupations, the group of
166 blocks canvassed in the survey seems to be a fairly representative
cross section of Philadelphia’s population. It is quite apparent from
a comparison of Table 6 with Table 8 that the burden of unemploy­
ment fell most heavily upon the districts which were overwhelmingly
industrial in character. Thus in districts 3 and 6, in which all of
the blocks were described as industrial, unemployment amounted to
18.9 per cent and 14.8 per cent, respectively, higher than for any other
district. In district 1, on the other hand, with professional and
clerical and trade occupations predominating, only 5.3 per cent of the
workers were idle. Districts 8, 9, and 10, in which there was a
noticeable proportion of trade, clerical, and professional occupations,
likewise experienced less unemployment than the city as a whole.
Analysis of the data for individual blocks indicates even more
clearly that unemployment was more serious among industrial
workers than among clerical and professional workers. In half of
the 102 industrial blocks more than 11.5 per cent of the workers were
idle, while in the blocks where professional occupations were most
important the corresponding median percentage of unemployment
was only 1.8. In the blocks with a mixture of industrial and trade,
and of clerical and trade occupations, unemployment fell between
these two extremes, and below the average for the city, the median
percentages being 8.5 for the former and 8 for the latter group.
T

able

10.— Customary occupations of unemployed compared with those of all persons
reporting gainful occupations
Unemployed persons

All gainfully employed
persons 1

Customary occupation
Number
Agriculture _____ _ _________________ _______ __ ___ ______________________
__ ___
Building trades
Manufacturing
_ _ __ __ _____
_______ _
Personal and professional ___________________________
Trade and transportation . _________________________
Other______________________________________________ __
Total.

.

__ ________________________ _____

Per cent

Number

Per cent

23
801
3,000
563
1,469
254

0.4
13.1
49.1
9.2
24.0
4.2

3,594
55,431
333,265
127,40i
276, 758
22,551

0. 4
6.8
40. 7
15. 6
33.8
2.7

6,110

100.0

819, 000

100.0

1 Estimated from Census of Occupations, 1920.

Further evidence of the occupational incidence of unemployment can
be obtained from a comparison of the distribution of the unemployed
among the principal trades and industries with the occupations of all
persons having gainful occupations in the city, according to the census



22

C H A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

of occupations. Table 10 shows the estimated occupational distri­
bution of all gainfully employed persons in 1920, based on the census
of 1920, and similar information for the 6,110 unemployed workers
enumerated in the survey. More than two-fifths of the workers in
Philadelphia were engaged in the various manufacturing occupations
and about one-third in trade and transportation, with building trades
and personal and professional service of subordinate importance.
Of the unemployed workers, however, a much larger proportion—
nearly a half—reported that they were usually engaged in manu­
facturing, while less than a fourth reported trade and transportation
pursuits as their usual occupations. Since the geographic diversifi­
cation of the blocks included in the survey is believed to have pro­
vided a satisfactory occupational diversity as well, the fact that
49.1 per cent o f the unemployed were engaged in manufacturing
as compared with only 40.7 per cent of all wage earners, indicates
that unemployment was considerably more severe in these industries
than in others. The reverse is true of trade and transportation,
which account for only 24 per cent of the unemployed, but for
33.8 per cent of all workers, thus indicating relatively less severe
unemployment among these workers. The same situation appeared
to exist in personal and professional occupations, which include
15.6 per cent of the workers according to the census and only 9.2
per cent of the unemployed. In the building trades unemployment
was also apparently more severe than the general average of 10.4
per cent for all occupations, since 13.1 per cent of the unemployed
were engaged in building as compared with 6.8 per cent of all
workers. That unemployment was considerably more severe among
workers in manufacturing and mechanical industries than among
those engaged in trade and transportation and in professional and
clerical service is shown in Table 10, thus confirming the results of
the comparison of unemployment in individual blocks with the
occupational status of the families in each block.
T a b le 11.— Customary occupations of the unemployed persons, by districts
Unemployed
persons (all
reasons)

Number of unemployed persons customarily employed in—

District
Num­
ber

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Per
cent

Manu­
factur­
ing

Trade
and
trans­
porta­
tion

Build­
ing
trades

Occu­
Personal
No reg­ pation
and
Agricul­ ular
not
profes­ General
ture occupa­ speci­
sional
tion
fied
service

1_____________
2_____________
3______________
4______________
5_____________
6____________
7______________
8______________
9____________
10_____________

222
616
772
580
672
763
900
589
465
531

5.3
11.6
18.9
9.9
9.5
14.8
14.6
6.9
6.3
10.3

59
298
393
146
293
222
428
329
268
331

109
129
110
114
156
175
166
142
80
57

34
97
159
102
59
38
87
43
40
80

9
53
24
96
70
137
72
40
19
43

e
7
62
93
49
169
111
8
16
5

0
3
1
5
1
3
0
3
4
3

0
8
9
9
12
3
4
11
11
0

5
21
14
15
32
16
32
13
27
12

Total............ .

6,110

10.4

2, 767

1,238

739

563

526

23

67

187

Examination of Table 11, which shows, for each of the districts
and for the city as a whole, the number of unemployed engaged
in each of the main groups of occupations, reveals the wide vari


23

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

ations in the occupational nature of unemployment in different parts
of the city. In the entire city more than twice as many of the idle
workers were normally engaged in manufacturing as in the next
largest class—trade and transportation. This excess of manufactur­
ing over trade and transportation occupations was great in districts
3 and 7, in which there were also large proportions of building
workers among the unemployed, and in which unemployment was
above the city average. Unemployed manufacturing workers also
considerably exceeded trade and transportation workers in districts
9 and 10 in which unemployment was below the city average. In
district 6, in which unemployment was particularly heavy, the
number engaged in manufacturing was relatively small, but this
district contained large numbers of unemployed domestic servants
and casual industrial laborers, groups which are especially subject
to unemployment. In district 1, which had less unemployment than
any other district, practically half of its unemployed were engaged
in trade and transportation and a much smaller number in
manufacturing.
T a b le 12.— Persons unemployed for all reasons, classified by customary occupation
Persons unemployed
Customary occupation

Number

Per cent

23
739

0.4
12.5

67
60
61
197
75
518
131
886
91
681

1.1
1.0
1.0
3. 3
1.3
8. 8
2. 2
15.0
1.5
11.5

2, 767

46.7

121
378
64

2. 0
6. 4
1.1

563

9.5

19
13
70
338
158
75
39
18
508

.3
.2
1.2
5. 7
2. 7
1.3
.6
.3
8.6

1,238

20.9

116
13
397

2.0
.2
6.7

-

526

8.9

No regular occupation ________________ ________ _____________________________
_____________________ ______________________________ ____
Not specified ______

67
187

1.1

6,110

100.0

Agriculture __________ ___ - _______________ _ _____________ ______ . _ _ ____ __
Building trades_____________________ ■__ _ _ ________________ ____
_ __ _ __ _
Manufacturing:
___ __ . . _ _______ ________
___ _______
Chemicals, paints, drugs, dyes.
Cigars and tobacco ____
_
___ _
___ __
_ _ _ __
Clay, stone and glass products__ _______ _______ _ _ ______ _ _ __ ____
____
___ _______
__ _ _ _ _ _ _
____ _____
Food products__
Leather and rubber goods_______ ___________ ______ _______________
___ __
Machinists and metalworkers _
__ __
_____________ __
___
Printing and paper goods
____ __ ___ __ _ ___ ___
Clothing, textiles, knit goods, hosiery and dyes
__________
__ _ _ _
_
_
_
Wood manufacturers. . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ ----- --Miscellaneous
________ _ _________ _______________ _______ ____
Total

____

_______

_ __ __ __ _____ _

________

_______ ___

Personal and professional service:
Housework in the hom e________ _ ________ _______ _ _____ _
Domestic and personal service elsewhere
___ __
____ _
Musicians, actors, etc__ _ _______ _ _ ___ ____ ______ __ __
Total

___ ______ _____

__

_ _
_______

____ __ _________ ___ _______ ____ _____

Trade and transportation:
Cashiers _________________ _____ ___ - _ __ __________ _____ __
__ ___ _
Cash girls and bundle wrappers_______ _ _____ _______ _____
__ ______
Errand, messenger and office boys_____ _ _ _ __ ___ _______
___ __ .
Office help______ _____________________ ______ _ ___________ _ ___ __ __ _
Salespeople
__ ____ _______ __ __ _____
_ _ __ __ _
___ __
Shipping and stock clerks.
__ ___
_ ___ _
_ _____
_ __
Street trades. _ _ ______
_________________ . . . _____ __
___ ___ _.
Telephone and telegraph operators_______ _ _______ _ ______ _____ __
Miscellaneous_______________________________ ____________ ________________
Total

______________________________________________________

General:
Chauffeurs __________ __________ _________________________ ______________
Helpers ___________________ _____ _____
__ _______ _________ ____________
Laborers.
__ ______ ____________________ ____________ ________ ________
Total _________ __________________________________ - ______ ________ __

Grand total




__ _______________________ ______ ________________________

24

CH A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

The industrial and occupational distribution of the unemployed
is shown in somewhat greater detail in Table 12. The classification,
which generally follows that of the census of occupations and is used
in taking the census of school children in Philadelpia each spring,
is by no means satisfactory, since it is partly an industrial and
partly an occupational classification. Lack of information on the
occupations of the workers covered in the survey, employed as
well as unemployed, as in the case of Table 10, makes it im­
possible to compare accurately the extent of unemployment in various
industries and occupations. The largest group of unemployed
manufacturing workers were those usually engaged in the clothing
and textile industries, constituting 15 per cent of all unemployed,
and machinists and metal workers constituting 8.8 per cent of the
unemployed were the second largest group. Food-products indus­
tries and printing and paper goods were also important among the
occupations of the unemployed. Building laborers were the most
important in the nonmanufacturing trades, while large proportions
of the unemployed consisted of chauffeurs, laborers, sales people,
office employees, and domestic servants.
T

13.— Comparison of number of unemployed in the several manufacturing
industries, with number in the same industries reported as employed, in 1927

able

Persons unem­
ployed

Persons employed
in 1927 i

Industry

____ _ ______
Chemicals, paints, drugs, dyes
. _
__
__ __ __
_ __ _ _ _
Cigars and tobacco
___ ___ _ ___
Clav, stone, and glass__
- _______ _ _ _ _
Food products
_
__ _ _ _____ _____
_ _ _ _ _ _
Leather and rubber goods
Metal products _ _ _
_
__
_
_ __
Printing and paper goods
_ _ _
_ _ _ _
________ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Textiles and clothing
Lumber and its remanufacture _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
Total..

_______________________________________________

Miscellaneous and unspecified..
Grand total
i Pennsylvania.
issued in 1929.)

_____ _________

__ _ _________

_ - _ _ __

_ _ ______________

Department of Internal Affairs.

_

Number

Per cent

Number

67
60
61
197
75
518
131
886
91

3.2
2.9
2. 9
9.4
3. 6
24.8
6.3
42.5
4.4

17, 507
9,005
2, 862
22, 245
12, 030
62, 660
34, 560
99, 792
9,158

6.5
3.3
1.1
8.2
4.5
23.2
12.8
37.0
3.4

2, 086

100.0

269,819

100.0

681

19, 790

2, 767

289, 609

Productive industries, 1927.

Per cent

(Photostat copy-

Table 13 shows the number and proportion of unemployed
workers in each of the leading groups of manufacturing industries
in Philadelphia compared with the distribution of all persons
employed in these industries in 1927. It is noticeable that in five
of the nine industries—clay, stone, and glass; food products; metal
products; textiles and clothing; and lumber and its remanufacture—
the proportion of all unemployed workers was larger than the pro­
portion of workers employed in these industries in 1927. In the
remaining industries, on the other hand, the proportions of unem­
ployed were less than those of all employed workers in 1927. If
the 1927 figures are indicative of the numbers engaged in these
industries in 1929, it would seem that unemployment was relatively
more severe in the former than in the latter group of industries.




COMPARED W IT H INCOM E

25

Unemployment and Economic Status
I t m i g h t be expected from the comparison of unemployment
with the racial and occupational characteristics of the population
that the burden of unemployment would fall most heavily on the less
prosperous families. Although, of course, it was impossible to obtain
specific information on the economic status of their wage earners
from the families interviewed, certain other information is avail­
able which makes it feasible to compare income with unemployment.
The school census enumerators who made the field survey were
requested to classify each of the blocks included in the survey,
according to the economic status of the residents, as high, low, or
medium. It is realized, of course, that the status of all the families
in each block was not uniform, and that high, low, and medium
are relative terms possessing different meanings in the minds of
different people. The enumerators, however, being thoroughly
familiar with conditions in their districts, could be depeiided upon
to exercise sound judgment in making such a classification, and for
that reason this comparison should not be without value.
In Table 6 is shown the number of blocks in each district
classified as “ high to medium,” “ medium,” and “ medium to low ”
in economic status. Thus, of the 166 blocks in the city included in
the survey, 10 were described as “high to medium ” in economic
character, 81, or about half the total, as “ medium,” and 75 as
a medium to low.” District 1, which had the smallest proportion
of the poorer blocks and the largest proportion of the best blocks,
reported the smallest amount of unemployment. In district 6, 10
of the 14 blocks were classified as “ medium to low ” in economic
status, and unemployment amounted to 14.8 per cent, being exceeded
in only one other district. In districts 3 and 7, on the other hand,
a majority of the blocks were above the lowest economic status,
yet unemployment was high, amounting to 18.9 per cent and 14.6
per cent, respectively. Although there is a tendency for districts
with heavy unemployment to have a low economic status, any pro­
nounced relationship is not definitely established by this comparison
between districts.
When the same comparison is made on the basis of individual
blocks, however, a fairly close relationship is revealed. In none
of the blocks classified as high to medium was unemployment above
10 per cent, which was approximately the city average, while the
average unemployment in this group of blocks taken as a whole
was 5.6 per cent. Of the 75 blocks described as lowest in economic
status, 45 experienced greater unemployment than the city average,
while the average unemployment in all these blocks was 11.7 per
cent. Half of the blocks of medium economic character showed
more than 9 per cent unemployment, while the percentage of idle
workers in all of them was 9.9 per cent—between the extremes for
the other two groups.

Unemployment Compared with Income
A s t u d y of family incomes in Philadelphia made for the Public
Ledger by Dr. F. R. Cawl, of the University of Pennsylvania,
in the winter of 1927-28 makes it possible to throw some further



26

CH AP. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

light upon the relative severity of unemployment among various
income classes. In that study the entire area of the city, as shown
in Chart 3, was divided into 47 districts of various sizes, in each of
which the economic and occupational status of the families was
fairly homogeneous and uniform. Average family-earned income in

each district was then carefully determined and checked. As might
be expected, family income in different sections varied widely from
the city average of $2,581, ranging from as low as $1,346 in South
Philadelphia (district 18) to as high as $7,390 in Chestnut Hill
(district 31A), and $13,409 in a small section of the city northwest
of Fairmount Park (district 7).




27

COMPARED W IT H INCOM E

The 166 blocks included in the unemployment survey were widely
scattered throughout the city and gave adequate representation to
nearly all of the economic districts of the Cawl survey except a few
of the wealthiest sections. It is, therefore, possible to compare the
family income in each of the Cawl survey districts with the amount
of unemployment existing in those families included in that district.
This comparison is made in Table 14, which shows the estimated
family-earned income in each Cawl survey district, the number of
families canvassed in the unemployment survey living in that dis­
trict, and the percentage of unemployment among working members
of these families. The unemployment sample is probably too small
to be representative in some cases, notably in districts 36B and 41,
but the general tendency toward a small amount of unemployment
in the high income districts and heavier unemployment in districts
with small family income is quite evident. The district with the
highest family income—$6,745—for instance, reported unemploy­
ment of only 1.3 per cent, lower than for any other district. And
while the district, in which unemployment amounted to 22.3 per
cent—higher than for any other—did not have the lowest family
income, the income in this district was only $2,047, much beneath
the average for the entire city.
T

able

14.— Average family income and unemployment in Cawl survey districts

Cawl survey
district

No. 31B _
_
____
No. 9
No. 1 2 ____________
No. 33B _______
No. 26_____________
No. 36A___________
No. 32B___
___
No. 27_____________
No. 36B___-_______
No. 28_____________
No. 10_____________
No. 34_____________
No. 32A___________
No. 38_____________
No. 23B___________
No. 8______________
No. 21_____________
No. 29_____________
No. 25_____________

Number
of
families
inter­
viewed
in un­
employ­
ment
survey

Average
family
income
(earned)

Per cent
of un­
employ­
ment

255
340
101
858
178
440
1,620
156
60
409
2,004
984
659
418
208
1, 400
172
1,194
2,293

$6, 745
5,669
1, 921
3, 594
1, 950
4, 744
3, 285
2,068
4, 744
2,595
2,855
2, 045
2, 636
2,198
2, 719
2, 633
2,033
1,925
2,166

1.3
2.2
2. 5
3. 0
3.4
3.6
4.4
4.8
5.0
5. 7
6.1
6.3
6.4
6.6
6.9
8.1
8.6
8. 7
8.8

Number
of
families
inter­
viewed
in un­
employ­
ment
survey

Average
family
income
(earned)

37B....................
24
_ .
23A__________
41_____________
42____________
40____ _______
4 ________ _
16_____________
30_____________
18_____________
14
____ _
37A ___________
15___ _______
20____________
1______________
13____________
22_____________

771
1, 022
147
73
233
308
1, 675
1, 019
785
370
314
758
1,339
4, 779
1,446
2,518
245

$1,983
2, 070
3, 659
2,904
2,421
2,554
2, 096
2,474
2,197
1,346
2,035
1,919
1,809
1,879
2,963
2, 321
2,047

9.2
9.2
9.2
9.4
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.6
11.7
11.8
12.0
12.1
12.4
13.5
13.8
18.5
22.3

All districts..

31, 551

i 2,440

10.4

Cawl survey
district

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Per cent
of un­
employ­
ment

1 This average was calculated to show the estimated income of the families covered by the unemploy­
ment survey; the estimated income of all families in the city according to the Cawl survey was $2,581.

Composite figures showing the estimated average income among
the families covered in the unemployment survey in each of the
school districts of the city were calculated from the data collected
by Doctor Cawl. These estimates are shown in Table 15, together
with the percentage of unemployment and the average size of all
families interviewed in each district. Since the economic status of
109416°— 30-------3




28

C H A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

a family is measured not only by the family income but by the
number of persons to be supported by this income, average per
capita income was calculated for each district by dividing family
income by the average number of persons per family. Examination
of the data in this table reveals a fairly close inverse relationship
between income, especially per capita income, and the extent of
unemployment.
T

15.— Unemployment and income in school districts of Philadelphia

able

Average—
District

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Number of
families
Number
in family

Family
income

Per cent
Per capita
Unem­
Unable to
income
ployment find work

1______________________________
2______________________________
3______________________________
4______________________________
5______________________________
6______________________________
7______________________________
8______________________________
9______________________________
10_____________________________

2,445
2,738
2,114
3, 075
3,248
2, 657
3,129
4,922
4, 387
2, 836

4.2
4.8
5.3
4.5
4.9
4.0
4.6
4.3
3.9
4.4

$3, 208
2,035
2,321
2,496
2,210
2,341
1,939
2,817
2, 587
2,166

$769
420
441
558
453
588
418
649
658
498

5.3
11.6
18.9
9.9
9.5
14.8
14.6
6.9
6.3
10.3

4.1
8.6
14.7
7.2
6.9
11.2
11.8
4.9
4.8
7.4

All districts...................... ..........

31, 551

4.4

2,440

550

10.4

7.8

Thus, in the three districts (1, 8, and 9) with highest per capita
income, unemployment was less than in any of the others. The
heaviest unemployment was found in district 2, with 11.6 per cent
unemployed; in district 3, with 18.9 per cent; in district 6, with 14.8
per cent; and in district 7, with 14.6 per cent. Three of these four
districts had a per capita income much below the city average and
lower than for any of the other six districts. District 6, with 14.8
per cent unemployment and per capita income of $588, appeared
to be the only striking exception to this general tendency for unem­
ployment to be more severe in the poorer sections.
A number of factors combine to cause more unemployment
among those who can least afford it. The higher income classes
include a large proportion of professional workers, whose employ­
ment status is of a permanent nature, and of persons occupying
managerial and other responsible positions in business. These
workers are more likely to be retained when business declines, while
many of the wage earners are laid off. Moreover, executive and
professional workers, with their superior training and ability, find
it easier to satisfy the requirements of a greater variety of jobs than
the more specialized workers at lower economic levels. Quite prob­
ably also there is less voluntary unemployment resulting from shifts
from one job to another among the higher income group.
Unemployment in Families of Different Size
T h e c h a r a c t e r and extent of unemployment in Philadelphia are
indicated not only by the proportion of the city’s wage earners who
are out of work but by the number of families affected by unemploy-




F A M IL IE S

OF D IF F E R E N T

S IZ E

29

ment and the severity of unemployment among families of differ­
ent sizes. As previously indicated, the survey shows that 4,914
families, or 15.6 per cent of the total number of families included
in the study, experienced some unemployment, while the unem­
ployed numbered 6,110 workers, or 10.4 per cent of the total. Thus,
of the 12,862 persons reported as usually employed in these 4,914
families, 6,110, or 47.5 per cent, were unemployed at the time the
survey was made.
Reference to Table 15, showing the average number of persons
per family compared with the extent of unemployment in each of the
school districts, suggests the possibility that unemployment may be
more severe among the large than among the small families.
Thus, district 3, with the largest average family size—5.3 as com­
pared with 4.4 for the city as a whole—reported unemployment
amounting to 18.9 per cent, higher than in any other district. In
three of the four districts with family size below that for the city
as a whole, unemployment was lower than in other districts. Dis­
trict 6, with an average of 4 persons per family and unemployment
of 14.8 per cent, appeared to be the only striking exception to the
tendency for unemployment to be large in districts with large family
size and vice versa.
In order to test this relationship more carefully, an analysis was
made of the 31,551 individual family returns to show the relation­
ship between size of family,2 number usually employed, and number
unemployed. As has been stated, there were 140,174 persons in the
31,551 families included in the survey, an average family size of
4.4, which is believed to approximate closely the average size of all
families in Philadelphia.3 Of the total number of persons covered
in the survey, 58,866 were reported as usually employed, or an aver­
age of 1.9 wage earners per family. This coincides with the average
number of workers per family computed from the census of occu­
pations and indicates that the sample is adequately representative
of the entire population. The 4,914 families reporting unemploy­
ment had a total family membership of 25,977, or an average of
5.3 persons per family, while 12,862 of these persons, or 2,6 per
family, were usually employed. Since both average family size and
number of workers per family in the unemployed group exceed
the corresponding averages for the entire population, it appears
that unemployment was more severe among the larger families.
Table 16 shows the distribution of the 31,551 families according
to the number of persons in the family and the number usually
2
“ The word 4family ’ for census purposes has a somewhat different application from
what it has in popular usage. I t means a group of persons living together in the same
dwelling place. The persons constituting this group may or may not be related by ties
of kinship, but if they live together and form one household they should be considered
as one family. Thus a servant who sleeps in the house or on the premises should be
included with the members of the family for which he or she works. Again, a boarder or
lodger should be included with the members of the family with which he lodges, but a
person who boa,rds in one place and lodges in another should be returned as a member of
the family at the place where he lodges or rooms. It should be noted, however, that two
or more families may occupy the same dwelling house without living together. If they
occupy separate portions of the dwelling house and their housekeeping is entirely separate,
they should be returned as separate families.”
(Census of Population, 1920.)
This
definition was used in the unemployment survey.
s See chapter 1.




30

C H A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

employed. As would be expected in view of the fact that the
average family size was 4.4, the largest single group, constituting
over a fifth of the total, were the families of 4 persons. As the
family size increases a^ove 4 persons and decreases below this
number the number of families in each group progressively declines,
there being less than 1 per cent of the families with 12 or more
persons per family and only 2 per cent with one person per family.
In over four-fifths of all families the family membership, was
between two and six persons. The number of workers per family
generally varied with the size of the family and ranged from none
in 426 families to as high as 12 in one family. Nearly half of the
total number, however, reported one person usually employed and
almost a third of the families had two wage earners.
T

able

16.— Number of persons in family, compared with number usually employed
Num-

family

1 person________
2 persons_______
3 persons— ____
4 persons _____
5 persons._____
6 p e r s o n s ___
7 persons_______
8 persons______
__
9 persons
10 persons______
11 persons______
12 persons. __
13 persons
14 persons
15 persons
Over 15 persons1
T o t a l___

fami­
lies

Number of families in which specified number of persons usually employed were—
0

1

2

680
4,967
5,868
6, 851
4,929
3, 501
2,068
1, 248
679
397
185
88
48
19
12
11

128
172
53
27
12
25
5
1
1
1
1

552
3, 441
3,458
3,176
2,104
1,121
552
257
107
37
12
2
2
1

1, 354
1, 896
2, 527
1, 424
1,040
532
308
141
83
23
9
4
1

31, 551

426

14, 822

9, 342

5

6

275
393
401
270
194
126
103
49
24
5
3
3
4

102
145
138
81
69
39
27
16
9
7
2
2

59
53
41
27
14
13
10
5
4
1
2

1,850

637

229

3

4

461
846
894
710
498
336
181
95
50
19
12
1
1
1
4,105

7

20
18
11
4
6
1
6
4

8

9

12
10
12
5
4
1
2

70 | 46

6
3
2
1
1
1

14

10

11

12

6
2
1
1

9

1

i Includes 4 families with 16 persons; 4 with 18 persons; 3 with 21 persons.

The severity of unemployment in families with varying numbers of
wage earners is shown in Table 17. Thus 976 families, or 6.6 per cent
of the 14,822 families with one wage earner, experienced unem­
ployment, which in this case obviously amounted to 100 per cent of
all the persons usually employed in these families. Of the families
with two wage earners, 1,682, or 18 per cent, experienced unem­
ployment, but of this total in only 225 families, or 13.4 per cent,
were both of the family’s wage earners out of work. In the same
way, as the number of wage earners per family increases the number
of families affected by unemployment also increases, but the pro­
portion of families having all of their wage earners out of work
becomes progressively smaller.
The extent to which the effects of unemployment were concen­
trated in relatively few families is evident from the fact that in
1,260 families—more than a fourth of all families having unem­
ployment, and 4 per cent of the total number of families covered in
the survey—all of the wage earners were out of work. Furthermore,




F A M IL IE S

OF D IF F E R E N T

31

S IZ E

3,257 families covered in the survey, or 10.3 per cent of the total
number, had half or more of their wage earners unemployed. Thus,
on the average, one out of ten of the city’s families was deprived of
the income from half or more of its wage earners.
T

able

17.—Number of persons usually employed compared with number
unemployed
Number of families with—

Number in family usually
employed

None______
1 person___
2 persons.__
3 persons.__
4 persons.__
5 persons.__
6 persons.
7 persons. __
8 persons.__
9 persons.__
10 persons._
12 persons..
Total

Number
of
families

426
14, 822
9, 342
4,105
1,850
637
229
70
46
14
9

Specified number of persons unemployed

Unem­
ployed
workers

976
1,682
1,151
700
251
106
25
13
3

976
1,457
858
463
141
50
12

5
2
5

6

1

1

31, 551

4,914

3,

225
248
153
70
31
7

2

737

173

The greater severity of unemployment among the large families
is well illustrated in Table 18, showing the extent to which unem­
ployment was experienced in families of different sizes. Obviously,
since the number of wage earners tends to increase as the size of the
family increases, a greater percentage of the large families than
of the small families experience unemployment. The fourth column
of the table shows that the proportion of families affected by unem­
ployment increases steadily from as low as 9.7 per cent of the fami­
lies of two to 46.5 per cent of the 185 families with 11 members.
The data for the still larger families are probably not entirely
representative owing to the small size of the sample.
Since the larger families have a larger number of wage earners
upon whom to depend for their livelihood, the real severity of unem­
ployment can not be adequately measured by the proportion of fami­
lies affected, but only by the proportion of unemployed wage earners
in each family group. The information in the last two columns of
Table 18 shows quite distinctly that unemployment was more severe
among the larger families. As might be expected, unemployment
among the small group represented by “ families of one,” consisting
of single persons without actual family reponsibilities, was quite
heavy, amounting to 16.5 per cent. Except for this group, families
with fewer than six members reported a smaller proportion of their
wage earners out of work than the general city average of 10.4
per cent. On the other hand, in families of six 10.8 per cent of the
workers were unemployed, and in all of the other larger family
groups, a still greater percentage was out of work, rising to as high
as 25 per cent in the case of families of 14. Of the total of 31,551




32

CH A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

families included in the survey, 8,256 had 6 or more members. This
group reported 2,750 of their 21,948 working members, or 12.5 per
cent, unemployed, while unemployment among the wage earners of
the families with 2 to 5 members amounted to only 9.3 per cent.
Thus, unemployment was nearly 35 per cent more severe among the
large than among the small families.
T

able

18.— Unemployment in families of different size

Number
of
families

Number in family

Families with un­
employment
Number

1 person _____ ___ _____________________
2 persons ____ ___ _____ _____ _________
3 persons _ . . __ . ____ ______
___ __
4 persons
. _ __ __ ____
______
5 persons _
____ _____
__ __ . . __
6 persons _ _ _ __ . . . ____
. _ __
7 persons __ _ ____
__ _____
__
____ . . . . ______ _____
8 persons
9 persons
____ - ____ ___
10 persons
_ _
__
__ __
__ __ ________ . . _ ___
11 persons
12 persons
__ ___ ___ ________ _____
13 persons. _ ______ - - ____ _______
14 persons.__________ ___
___ ________
15 persons. .
____ ___ . . . __________
Over 15 persons _________ ____________ __
Total

_____ _________

__________

Number Persons unemployed
of
persons
usually
Per cent employed Number Per cent

680
4,967
5, 868
6,851
4, 929
3, 501
2,068
1, 248
679
397
185
88
48
19
12
11

91
481
692
822
782
701
501
315
224
143
86
35
19
12
5
5

13.4
9.7
11.8
12. 0
15.9
20. 0
24. 2
25. 2
33. 0
36. 0
46. 5
39. 8
39. 6
63. 2
41. 7
45.5

552
6,149
8, 633
11, 868
9, 716
8, 014
5, 338
3, 530
2,154
1,390
697
381
224
96
67
57

91
530
797
980
962
866
684
420
311
195
130
60
40
24
12
8

16. 5
8. 6
9. 2
8. 3
9.9
10.8
12.8
11.9
14. 4
14.0
18. 7
15. 7
17.9
25.0
17.9
14.0

31, 551

4,914

15.6

58, 866

6,110

10.4

Table 19 shows the number and percentage of males and females
under 21 years of age and 21 years of age and over in the families
interviewed in each district and in the city as a whole who were
unable to find work at the time the survey was made. As was stated
before, about three-fourths of all unemployed persons reported
inability to find work as the reason for their idleness. Females
constituted 23.4 per cent of this group, whereas, according to
estimates based on the census of occupations, females constitute
approximately 27 per cent of all persons having gainful occupations.
This difference seems to indicate that unemployment owing to lack
of work was somewhat less severe among females than among males,
reflecting the fact that clerical and mercantile trades, in which
women are chiefly engaged, were more active at the time of the
survey than the manufacturing and construction industries which
are the principal employers of male workers. In most of the dis­
tricts the ratio between males and females unable to find work was
not far from the city average. Table 19 does not, however, include
27 persons unable to find work for whom sex was not reported and
116 for whom age was not reported.




F A M IL IE S
T

able

OF D I F F E R E N T

33

S IZ E

19.— Classification of persons unable to find work, by sex and age
Age

Sex
Males and
females

District
Total

Males

Fe­
males

Males

Females

Total
Under 21 years Under 21 years Under 21 years
and
and
and
21 years over 21 years over 21 years over
Number

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

1 - ....................
2_____________
3_____________
4_____________
5______ ______
6_____________
7_____________
8_____________
9___ _________
10____________

168
450
592
403
471
565
698
400
333
378

125
360
459
311
346
438
540
289
259
286

43
90
133
92
125
127
158
111
74
92

163
446
591
397
443
548
698
396
312
375

Total_______

4,458

3,413

1, 045

4, 369

119
304
414
330
333
463
577
300
241
277

27
90
96
47
66
57
79
63
44
76

96
268
362
259
260
372
461
225
202
209

17
52
81
20
44
28
42
33
27
22

23
36
52
71
73
91
116
75
39
68

3, 358

645

2,714

366

644

44
142
177
67
110
85 ,
121
96
71
98
1, 011

Per cent
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

1_____________
2_____________
3_____________
4_____________
5_____________
6_____________
7_____________
8_____________
9_____________
10____________

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

74.4
80.0
77.5
77.2
73.5
77.5
77.4
72.2
77.8
75.7

25.6
20.0
22.5
22.8
26.5
22.5
22.6
27.8
22.2
24.3

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100. 0 ,

27.0
31.8
29.9
16.9
24.8
15.5
17.3
24.2
22.8
26.1

73.0
68.2
70.1
83.1
75.2
84.5
82.7
75.8
77.2
73.9

21.9
25.1
21. 0
15.4
20.2
13.3
14.5
21.9
17.9
26.7

78.1
74.9
79.0
84.6
79.8
86.7
85.4
78.1
82.1
73.3

42.5
60.0
61.9
22.0
37.6
23.5
26.6
20.6
40.9
24.4

57.5
40.0
39.1
78.0
62.4
76.5
73.4
69.4
59.1
75.6

Total_______

100.0

76.6

23.4

100.0

23.1

76.9

19.2

80.8

36.2

« 63.8

Nearly a fourth of all unemployed persons—almost a fifth of the
males and more than a third of the females—were reported as under
21 years of age. Owing to lack of similar information on age for
all persons covered in the survey, it is impossible to state accurately
the percentage unemployed in each age group, but a comparison
of these proportions with similar estimates based on the 1920
census of occupations indicates that unemployment was relatively
more severe among young persons. According to estimates based
upon the 1920 census, about 15 per cent of all persons reporting
a gainful occupation were under 21 years of age; of the males ap­
proximately 11 per cent, and of the females nearly 25 per cent,
were under 21. In each case these proportions were substantially
less than the proportions of unemployed persons in this age group,
as shown in Table 19, so that unemployment was apparently much
more severe among those under 21 years of age than among those
21 years of age and over. These data, unfortunately, do not help
to test the assertion so frequently made that unemployment in recent
years has been particularly severe among the “ older ” workers—
over 45 years of age—since detailed information on the age of the
unemployed was not collected.




34

C H A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

Reasons for Unemployment
W i t h a v i e w to determining as accurately as possible the causes of
unemployment, and especially to discover how many of the unem­
ployed were unwilling to work or were indifferent to employment
opportunities, the enumerators were requested to record the reason
which, in their judgment, was actually responsible for each instance
of unemployment, rather than to depend entirely upon the statements
of the families interviewed.4
T

able

30.— Reasons for unemployment, by district

District

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

1 ________________________________
___ __
2
__
3
___________________________
4_ _ _______ __________________
5___ _____ ___________________ __
6_________________________________
7_________________________________
8 _______________________________________

9_________________________________
10________________________________
All districts

Num­
ber of
unem­
ployed
persons

Per cent of all idle workers unemployed for each specified
reason

Total

Unable
to find
work 1

Sick­
ness

Super­
annua­
tion

Indif­
ference

Other
reasons

215
604
759
567
654
754
865
582
441
523

100.0
100. 0
100. 0
100. 0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

78.2
74. 5
78. 0
72. 3
72. 2
75. 4
80.9
71.0
75. 5
72.3

11.6
13.4
11.9
17.1
16. 5
14.9
10.1
17.4
16. 3
13.9

5.1
5. 2
3. 7
5.8
5.2
3.6
6.2
5.8
5. 7
4.6

4. 7
6.6
5.9
3.0
5. 0
4.1
1.9
3.6
2. 3
6.5

0.4
.3
.5
1.8
1.1
2. 0
.9
2. 2
.2
2.7

2 5, 964

100.0

75.2

14.2

5.0

4.3

1.3

1 Includes also such reasons as “ slack season/’ “ laid off,” “ work irregular,” etc.
2 Does not include 146 persons for whom data on reasons for unemployment were not given.

An analysis of the principal causes of unemployment is shown in
Table 20 for 5,964 of the 6,110 unemployed persons in the 10 districts.
Inability to find work was the predominant reason for unemployment
in all of the districts and accounted for more than 75 per cent of the
unemployment in the entire city. Thus, an estimated total of some
72,700 of Philadelphia’s wage earners, or 7.8 per cent of all persons
usually employed, were out of work at the time the survey was made
because they were unable to find jobs. It is of some significance
to note that, although total unemployment in the spring of 1929
was about as great as in 1915, when the earlier survey was made, the
proportion of all workers unable to find work amounted to only 7.8
per cent, as compared with 8.5 per cent in 1915.5 Hence, lack of work
appears to have been more pronounced in 1915 than in the spring
of 1929.
Sickness was responsible for 14.2 per cent of the unemployment
in the city, and superannuation or old age for 5 per cent, despite
the fact that all persons who had definitely retired were eliminated
from the latter group. It is interesting to note that only 4.3 per cent
of the unemployed, or about 0.4 per cent of all persons usually
occupied, were reported as out of a job owing to indifference or
unwillingness to work. Assuming this proportion to be representa­
tive, approximately 4,000 of the estimated total of 96,900 unemployed
persons were out of work because they were lazy or indifferent to
4 See chapter 1.
5 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bui. No. 195 : Unemployment in the United States,
p. 78.




35

TIM E LOST SINCE LAST REGULAR JOB

employment opportunities. Only 5 out of the total of 6,110 unem­
ployed, or one-tenth of 1 per cent, reported that they were out of
work because of a strike.
Variations between districts in the reasons for unemployment
appear to be without any easily explainable significance. More than
80 per cent of the unemployed were unable to find work in district 7,
where unemployment was heavy, while only 71 per cent reported
this reason in district 8, which experienced comparatively light
unemployment. Sickness as a cause of idleness ranged from 17.4 per
cent to 10.1 per cent, while superannuation accounted for only 3.6 per
cent of the, unemployment in district 6 and for 5.8 per cent in
districts 4 and 8. Only 1.9 per cent of those without jobs in district
7, where unemployment was much above the city average, were
reported as indifferent to work opportunities, while in district 2,
where unemployment was not excessive, 6.6 per cent were disinclined
to work.
In Table 21 are shown the reasons for unemployment in each of
the principal occupations. Manufacturing, building trades, and
“ general ” occupations, which include chauffeurs, helpers, and la­
borers, showed the largest proportions unable to find work, while
in agriculture and personal and professional service, scarcity of
jobs was relatively less important as a cause of unemployment. In
the latter group of occupations, where considerable nujnbers of
women are employed, sickness accounted for an unusually large
amount of unemployment, as was also true for agriculture. Old
age and indifference were responsible for only a small amount of
unemployment in most of the occupations, but were particularly
important in agriculture and in the casual labor group which reported
no regular occupations, and in the group for which no information
on occupations could be obtained.
T

able

21.— Reasons for unemployment, by occupations

Occupation

Manufacturing_______________________
Trade and transportation________
Building trades________ ______________
Personal and professional service_____
General____________________
______
Agriculture_______ _ ______________
No regular occupation.______________
Unspecified________ ________________
All occupations________________

Num­
ber of
unem­
ployed
persons

Per cent of all idle workers unemployed for each
specified reason

Total

Unable
to find
work

Sick­
ness

Super­
annua­
tion

Indif­
ference

4.4
5.0
5.1
4.5
1.2
17.4

0.9
1.4
.5
2.5
1.5

1.3

2, 767
1, 238
739
563
526
23
67
187

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

76.5
74.6
77.6
72.5
83.2
43.4
66.2
40.7

14.4
15.6
11.4
16.9
10.2
26.1
13.8
13.1

30.6

3.8
3.4
5.4
3.6
3.9
13.1
20.0
11.9

6,110

100.0

75.2

14.2

5.0

4.3

Other
reasons

3.7

Time Lost by Unemployed Since Last Regular Job
T he s e v e r i t y of unemployment is measured not alone by the
number of workers out of a job at a given time but by the dura­
tion of their idleness. For this reason the enumerators endeavored
to ascertain from each unemployed person the length of time lost
since his last regular job. For reasons stated in chapter 1, the “ time




36

CH A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

lost since last regular work ” was believed to provide a more adequate
measure of the “ intensity ” of unemployment than “ time lost since
last work of any kind.”
T

able

22.— Time lost since last regular job, by all unemployed persons, by length
of time
All unemployed
persons
Length of time
Number
1 day and over_____________ _____________
More than—
1 week__________________________ ____
1 month_________________________ ____
2 months____ _______ ________ . __
_
3 months____ _______
______
4 months. .
5 months
6 months
7 months
8 months
9 months
10 months.. . _ ___________________
11 months______ _________ _______ _
1 year___ ____________________ _______

Per cent
of all
persons
usually
Per cent employed

i 6,110

100.0

10.4

5, 573
4, 480
3, 670
2, 944
2,443
2,103
1, 661
1,508
1, 397
1,286
1, 211
1, 200
676

95.8
77.0
63.1
50. 6
42. 0
36.1
28. 5
25. 9
24. 0
22.1
20.8
20. 6
11.6

9.9
8.0
6. 5
5. 3
4.4
3. 8
3.0
2.7
2. 5
2. 3
2. 2
2.1
1.2

1 Includes 292 unemployed who did not specify time lost since last regular job.

In Tables 22 and 23 this information on duration of unemployment
is shown for the city as a whole and for each of the 10 school districts.
Generally speaking, more than three-fourths of the total number of
unemployed workers had been without regular work for more than
a month, approximately half of them for more than three months,
and between a third and a fourth for more than six months. In the
case of 11.6 per cent of the unemployed persons, or 1.2 per cent of all
persons usually employed, more than a year had elapsed since the last
regular job.
Applying these same percentages on the assumption that 10.4 per
cent of the city’s wage earners, or approximately 96,900 persons, were
unemployed at the time of the survey, 49,000 had been without a
regular job for more than three months, 27,600 for more than six
months, and 11,200 for more than a year.
T

able

23.— Time lost since last regular job by all unemployed persons, by school
district, and length of time

District

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

Number
of unem­
ployed
persons

Per cent of all idle workers unemployed for more than—
One
week

One
month

Two
months

Three
months

Six
months

One
year

1_________________________________
2____ ____________________________
3_________________________________
4_________________________________
5_________________________________
6____ ____________________________
7_________________________________
8_________________________________
9____________________ ______ ______
10_________ ______ _______________

222
616
772
580
672
763
900
589
465
531

96.3
96.9
97.6
94.9
95.0
96.6
95.7
95.5
95.6
93.0

75.5
73.1
82.9
77.1
74.4
76.3
77.4
80.8
78.7
71.3

64.4
61.0
66.9
65.6
62. 5
59.9
63.1
68.7
64.3
54.6

53.7
49.5
49.5
51.1
49. 5
49.4
50.0
58.0
55.0
43.9

32.4
27.8
24.7
27.5
28.2
24.9
29.4
38.1
34.5
23.5

7.9
11.5
6.8
11.5
11.5
9.7
11.3
20.8
15.4
10.7

Total___________________________

6,110

95.8

77.0

63.1

50.6

28.5

11.6




37

TIM E LOST SINCE LAST REGULAR JOB

The time lost since last regular work varied widely among the
different districts. In district 3, for example, where unemploy­
ment was more severe than in any other district, the proportion of
unemployed without regular work for more than month was also
greater than in other districts, but only 6.8 per cent of the idle
workers—fewer than in any other district:—had been without a reg­
ular job for more than a year. On the other hand, in districts
8 and 9, unemployment was comparatively slight and much beneath
the city average, but unusually large proportions of the unemployed
in these districts had been without regular work for more than a
year.
It can not be assumed, however, that the extent and duration of
unemployment are inversely related, since district 1, with light
unemployment, also had an unusually small proportion of unem­
ployed without regular work for more than a year. Comparison of
the duration of unemployment in the various districts with the
causes of unemployment as shown in Table 20 suggests the probabil­
ity that duration is greater in districts where sickness and super­
annuation are relatively more important reasons for idleness. Thus
in districts 1, 3, and 7, with comparatively few out of work because
of sickness and old age, the proportion unemployed for more than a
year is below the average. In districts 4, 5, 8, and 9, where- sickness
and superannuation account for a larger share of unemployment,
the proportions out of work for more than a year were relatively
heavier.
T a b le 24.— Time lost since last regular job, by persons unemployed, for specified

reasons
Per cent of persons unemployed for—
Length of time

1 day and over. _______________________
More than—
1 w eek..............................
2 weeks.__ ___________________ ___
3 weeks____________________________
1 month_________________________
2 months___________________________
3 months.__ ____ __________
4 months_____ ______________
5 months_________________ ____ __ .
6 months___________
7 months.._ ____________________ __
8 months___________
9 months_____ ____ _________
10 months__________________________
11 months... ._ ____________
1 year.. ________ ____ _____

All rea­
sons

Unable
to find
work

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

95.8
90.0
85.0
77.0
63.1
50.6
42.0
36.1
28.5
25.9
24.0
22.1
20.8
20.6
11.6

95.8
89.7
84.2
75.6
60.2
46.0
36.2
29.7
21.8
18.9
16.8
14.7
13.4
13.3
5.8

95.7
90.9
87.0
80.0
68.7
61.2
56.1
52.5
46.3
44.3
42.9
41.3
40.0
39.5
26.6

99.2
98.0
97.2
95.2
93.6
88.8
85.7
82.9
79.3
78.9
77.7
76.1
76.1
74.9
55.4

Sickness Superan­
nuation

This relationship is illustrated more clearly in Table 24, showing
time lost since last regular work by workers unemployed for various
reasons. Slightly more than half of all the unemployed had been
out of regular work for more than three months, as compared with
only 46 per cent of those unable to find work, while 61.2 per cent of
those reporting sickness as the cause of idleness, and 88.8 per cent
of the superannuated, had been without a regular job for the same




38

CH A P. 2 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

period. Only 5.8 per cent of the wage earners unable to find work—
half the percentage of all unemployed persons—had been without
regular employment for more than a year, whereas 26.6 per cent of
those unemployed because of sickness and 55.4 per cent of the super­
annuated reported more than a year’s time since the last regular
job.
Table 25 shows the time elapsed since the last regular work by
males and females and by white persons and negroes who were
reported as unemployed because of inability to find work. Duration
of unemployment is noticeably greater among males than among
females, with 6.2 per cent of the former and 4.1 per cent of the
latter without regular work for more than a year. Of the females,
67.9 per cent had been out of work for more than a month, 37.7
per cent for more than three months, and 17.6 per cent for more
than six months. The proportion of male workers out of work
for the corresponding periods—77.8 per cent, 48.3 per cent, and 23
per cent, respectively—was greater in each instance.
Although as has been indicated, unemployment among negroes
was much more severe than among white persons, the average
duration of unemployment among the latter was much greater than
among the former. Only 2.1 per cent of the negroes, less than
a third as many as the proportion of white persons, had been
unable to find work for more than a year. Nearly a fourth of
the latter group had been without regular work for more than six
months, while only 16.3 per cent of the negroes reported an equally
long period without a job.
T

able

25.— Time lost by persons unable to find work since last regular job, classified
by sex and race
Per cent of persons unable to find work
Length of time

1 day and over......„.............. .............
More than—
1 week.......................... ................
2 weeks............................. ............
3 w eeks______________________
1 month________________ _____
2 m o n th s ..______ _______ .
3 months____ ___________ ____
4 months.._ _ ___ __________
5 months___ _________________
6 months.. _ _______________
7 months__________
...
8 months_____________________
9 months_____________ _______
10 months___ _____ __________
11 months_________ ______ ___
1 year________________________

White
persons Negroes

Total

Males

Females

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

95.8
89.7
84.2
75.6
60.2
46.0
36.2
29.7
21.8
18.9
16.8
14.7
13.4
13.3
5.8

96.2
90.7
85.4
77.8
62.5
48.3
38.4
31.7
23.0
19.7
17.2
15.2
14.0
13.8
6.2

94.5
86.7
79.9
67.9
52.0
37.7
28.6
22.6
17.6
16.1
15.0
12.7
11.1
11.0
4.1

95.9
90.0
84.6
76.0
60.6
46.3
36.8
30.6
22.9
20.0
17.7
15.5
14.2
14.0
6.6

95.0
87.8
81.4
71.9
58.0
43.5
33.0
25.1
16.3
13.5
11.9
10.3
9.0
8.9
2.1

Unfortunately, it was not possible to obtain more specific data
on age than whether the unemployed persons were under 21 years
of age or 21 years of age and over. As was shown in Table 19,
nearly a fourth of all persons unable to find work were under 21
years of age and comparison with estimates based on census data
showed unemployment to be relatively more severe among the




39

TIM E LOST SINCE LAST REGULAR JOB

younger group than among those 21 years of age and over. The
duration of unemployment among this younger group as indicated
by Table 26 is, however, much less than among the older workers.
Of those under 21, 34 per cent had been out of work more than three
months, and only 1.7 per cent for more than a year as compared
with 49.5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, for the older workers.
It is also quite noticeable that in both age groups, the male workers
had been out of work for relatively longer periods than the female
workers. Of the persons under 21, 37.2 per cent of the males and
only 28.4 per cent of the females had been out of work more than
three months, while 14.3 per cent of the males had been without
regular work for more than six months, as compared with only 10.9
per cent of the females.
Of the total number of males over 21 unable to find work, 51 per
cent had been without a regular job for more than three months,
25.3 per cent for more than six months, and 7.3 per cent for more than
a year, as compared with 43 per cent, 21.5 per cent, and 5.6 per
cent, respectively, for female workers over 21 years of age.
T a b le 26. — Time lost since last regular job by persons unable to find work, classified

by age 1
Persons under 21 years

Persons 21 years and over

Length of time
Total
1 day and over___________________________ _ __
More than—
___
1 week___________________ _______
____
2 weeks__________ _______
3 weeks___________________________________
1 month_________________________________
2 months.- ______________ _______ __ __
3 months.__ ____________
_____
4 months . ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
__ _____
5 months........................... .............................
6 months___ _________ ________________
7 months______________ ________ _ _ _
8 months_____________ _______ ___________
9 months_______________ _ _ _ __
__ __
10 months_______ _______
11 months___________________ _ _
1 y e a r .____ __ _ _ __
__ _______ _ __

Males

Females

100.0

100.0

100.0

94.2
86.1
78.4
66.4
48.8
34.0
24. 5
19.0
13. 0
10. 4
8. 7
7. 2
6. 8
6. 5
1.7

95. 2
88.1
80.6
70.8
53. 2
37.2
26.8
21. 2
14.3
11. 5
9. 3
8.0
7.4
7. 2
1.8

92.5
82.5
74.7
58.8
41. 2
28.4
20. 6
15. 3
10.9
8. 4
7. 8
5. 8
5.8
5. 3
1.7

Total

Males

Females

100.0

100.0

100.0

96. 2
90.7
85.8
78.1
63.5
49.5
39. 6
32. 7
24. 5
21. 6
19. 3
16. 9
15.5
15.3
7.0

96.4
91. 2
86.5
79.4
64.8
51.0
41. 0
34. 2
25. 3
21. 8
19. 3
17.0
15.7
15.5
7.3

95.7
88. 9
82. 7
72.9
58.1
43. 0
33. 2
26. 5
21.5
20.5
19. 3
16.7
14.6
14.4
5.6

1 Includes a total of 1,011 persons under 21 and 3,358 persons 21 years and over; 654 males under 21 and
2,714 males 21 years and over; 366 females under 21 and 644 females 21 years and over,







CHAPTER 3

Unemployment in School Districts of Philadelphia

A

NALYSIS of the results of the survey for Philadelphia as a
L whole indicated striking variations in the extent and severity of
unemployment existing in various sections of the city. Owing to
the existence of these variations, which reflect the diversity in the
economic, racial, and occupational characteristics, it was believed ad­
visable to extend the analysis in some detail to each of the 10 school
districts in which the survey was made, even though this involved
some repetition of facts already presented. Moreover, there is local
need for more detailed information which may help to reveal the
sections in which unemployment appears to be most severe and in
greatest need of relief. While it is true that even within the various
districts there exists a considerable range of economic and occupa­
tional levels, these districts are far more homogeneous and uniform
in character than the entire city.
Reference to Chart 1 will show the approximate location of the
blocks in each district which were canvassed in the survey, while
Tables 6 and 15 contain certain information showing variations
in family size, income, occupations, and racial and economic character
of the population in the 10 districts. Map 3 shows the location of
each district, the average per capita income calculated on the basis
of the Cawl survey, and the percentage of persons interviewed in the
unemployment survey who were reported as unable to find work.
It is immediately apparent that unemployment was most severe in
the densely populated sections—the southern and eastern parts of the
city where average income was low—while in the better residential
parts, such as West Philadelphia, Germantown, and Overbrook, a
much smaller proportion were unable to find work. Generally speak­
ing also, unemployment was found to be more extensive in sections
with a large proportion of industrial workers and among the foreignborn and colored population.
District 1
T his d i s t r i c t includes the southern part of West Philadel­
phia extending south from Market Street and west from the
Schuylkill River to the city limits. The southeastern part of the
district, bordering on the Schuylkill River, contains much swampy
and vacant land and a considerable industrial development, but it is
sparsely populated, with a generally low-grade residential develop­
ment. The Eastwick section in the extreme southwestern part of
this district is only slightly developed residentially, most of the area
being vacant land or devoted to truck farming.
41




42

CH A P. 3 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

The densely populated northern and northwestern parts of district
1 are a high-grade residential district, most of the population being
native white engaged in clerical and mercantile pursuits. The
average per capita income of the families covered by the unemploy­
ment survey estimated on the basis of the Cawl survey, was $769,

C hart

4.— PER CEN TAGE OF PERSONS IN EACH SCHOOL D IST R IC T U N A B L E TO
FIN D W ORK

higher than for any other school district and considerably above the
city average of $550.
Unemployment was less severe here than in any of the other school
districts, a fact which is particularly significant in view of the
relatively high economic status of the inhabitants. Of the 4,222
persons usually employed in the families interviewed, only 222, or




SCHOOL DISTRICTS

43

5.3 per cent, were unemployed at the time the survey was made. As
indicated in Table 27 (p. 51), this is little more than half the propor­
tion for the city as a whole, while the percentage unable to find
work, but among the white persons and the negroes, was also substan­
tially less than in most other parts of the city. About three-fourths
of the unemployed had lost more than a month’s time since the last
regular job, but only 7.9 per cent of the total, as compared with 11.6
per cent for the entire city, reported no regular work for more than
a year.
Inability to find a job, as in other districts, was the principal
cause of unemployment, nearly four out of five unemployed workers
reporting this reason. Sickness, with only 11.6 per cent as com­
pared with 14.2 per cent for the city as a whole, was less important
as a cause of unemployment than in most other districts. Since
this district is nonindustrial in character, by far the largest
proportion of the unemployed were engaged in trade or clerical
occupations. In general, this district, with better-than-average
homes occupied chiefly by native white population having high
incomes, experienced much less severe unemployment than did most
other parts of Philadelphia.
District 2
T he w e s t e r n part of South Philadelphia, between Broad Street
and the Schuylkill River and south from Market Street to the
city limits, is included in this district, which presents a consider­
able diversity of economic and racial characteristics. In the extreme
south and west, along the Schuylkill River, industrial and shipping
activities are important, while the residential development, with
foreign-born and negro population predominating is poor in charac­
ter. Somewhat similar in economic and racial character is an area
in the north central part of this district included between South and
Moore Streets and extending west from Broad Street nearly to the
Schuylkill. Directly to the south of this section and extending to
Pollock Street there is a residential area of much better character
with a predominantly native-white population of a considerably
higher economic status. In the northern part of this district, extend­
ing a few blocks south of Market Street, the residential character is
rather poor except for the presence of a number of high-grade
apartments.
Despite the few striking exceptions noted above it can be said
that the major portion of district 2 is characterized by a rather
poor population with a predominance of foreign born and negroes,
engaged for the most part in industrial pursuits. The average fam­
ily size of 4.8 is larger than for the city as a whole, and the esti­
mated per capita income, based on the Cawl survey, is $420, less than
for any other district except district 7, which includes a large part
of the Kensington mill section.
Unemployment in this district, amounting to 11.6 per cent of those
usually employed, was somewhat higher than the average for Phila­
delphia, and was exceeded in only three other districts. Within
the district, however, local variations existed, and unemployment
109416°— 30-------4




44

C H A P. 3 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

varied from as low as 6 to 8 per cent in a few blocks in the better
residential section to nearly 20 per cent in one of the poorer blocks.
The proportion of workers reported as unable to find jobs was also
higher than in most other parts of the city, although only 7.4 per
cent of the negroes in this district were unable to find work, as com­
pared with 11.8 per cent for the entire city.
About half of the unemployed had had no regular work for more
than three months and somewhat more than a tenth had been without
a regular job for more than a year. Most of this latter group
suffering from a long period of unemployment, however, were un­
employed because of sickness or old age rather than from inability
to find work. Among the total number of unemployed, nearly
three-fourths reported themselves as unable to find work.
Nearly half of the unemployed—298 out of 616—were regularly
engaged in manufacturing industries, particularly in the clothing
and millinery trades. Unemployment appears to have been most
severe among men; a majority of the unemployed females were under
21 years of age.
District 3
D i s t r i c t 3 includes the eastern part of South Philadelphia, ex­
tending south from Washington Avenue and east from Broad
Street to the Delaware River. This district, like district 2, has
a generally poor residential character, the northern part being
densely populated chiefly with foreign born engaged in industrial
activities. The southern half of the district, especially the territory
along the Delaware River, is an industrial and shipping area,
with a scattered residential development generally poor in character
and containing a preponderance of foreign born and negroes. Fur­
ther evidence of the economic and social status of the people in
district 2 is seen in the fact that the average size of the families
interviewed, which is believed to be typical, is 5.3 persons, noticeably
larger than that of any other district. An average family income
of $2,321, somewhat higher than might be expected from the general
character of the district, was indicated by the Cawl survey, but
owing to the large family size, the average per capita income was
only $441, much below the city average.
Unemployment was much more serious here than in any other
district; 18.9 per cent of the 4,088 usually employed persons enumer­
ated were reported as out of work for all reasons, while 14.7 per
cent of the total were unable to find work. Lack of work was, of
course, the outstanding reason for unemployment, sickness and old
age being relatively less important than in most other districts.
Nearly one-fourth of the negroes enumerated were unable to find
jobs, as compared with 11.8 per cent of the city as a whole. More­
over, idleness was pronounced in all parts of the district. In none
of the blocks enumerated were less than 10 per cent of the workers
unemployed, while in one populous block, 30 per cent were idle,
and in over half of the blocks 20 per cent or more were out of work.
Despite the heavy unemployment indicated by the survey the
average duration of unemployment appeared to be somewhat shorter
than in other sections. Thus, although 82.9 per cent of the unem­
ployed in this district had been without regular work for more than




SCHOOL DISTRICTS

45

a month, as compared with 77 per cent for the entire city, only 6.8
per cent had been idle for more than a year, as compared with an
average of 11.6 per cent for Philadelphia. Of those unemployed
because they were unable to find jobs, only 3 per cent had been
without regular work for more than a year.
The great majority of the unemployed were men normally
engaged in manufacturing and building trades. More than a third
of the unemployed manufacturing workers were ordinarily engaged
in the clothing and millinery trades, with food-products and metal­
working industries of secondary importance.
District 4
E x t e n d i n g north from Market Street and west from the Schuyl­
kill River to the city limits, this district includes the northern
part of West Philadelphia and Overbrook. The upper part of
this district, to the north of Lancaster and Girard Avenues, is
one of the best residential sections of the city, inhabited chiefly by
professional and executive people with large family incomes. In the
southern part of the district, the residential character is poor, the
economic and occupational status showing gradual improvement from
the Schuylkill River to the city limits. Average family incomes
naturally show a great variation in different parts of the district,
much higher incomes prevailing in the western and northern sections.
The general average family income of $2,496 and the per capita
income of $558 are close to the averages for the entire city.
Unemployment was slightly less in this district than in the city
as a whole. Of the 5,833 workers enumerated in the survey, 9.9
per cent were reported as idle and 7.2 per cent as unable to find jobs.
Only 9.1 per cent of the negro workers in this district were unable
to find work, as compared with 11.8 per cent for Philadelphia.
Unemployment was noticeably less severe in the more prosperous
blocks, in a few cases being as small as 3 to 4 per cent.
The average duration of unemployment in district 4 was about
the same as for the city as a whole, as indicated in Table 27 (p. 51)
in which percentages of workers without regular work for varying
periods of time are given.
It is significant from an examination of the reasons given by the
unemployed for their idleness in this comparatively prosperous
district that inability to find work is of less importance and sick­
ness of considerably more importance than in the city as a whole.
Only 3.9 per cent of the number of workers who could not find
work had been without regular employment for more than a year.
This district is noticeably less industrial in character than the
densely populated districts of South Philadelphia. Only 146 of
the 580 unemployed persons were ordinarily engaged in manufactur­
ing, as compared with 46.7 per cent for the city as a whole, while
20.2 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, of the workers reported
their usual occupations as “ trade and transportation ” and “ per­
sonal and professional.” Almost a fourth of the persons unable
to find work were women, but girls under 21 constituted a much
smaller proportion of the total than was true in South Philadelphia.




46

CH A P.

3 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

District 5
T h is
d is t r ic t ,
extending north from Market Street to Alle­
gheny Avenue and west from Broad Street to the Schuylkill
River, is of only fair to medium residential character. The popula­
tion is chiefly native and foreign-born white, with some negroes in
certain sections. There is some industrial development within the
district and the population is engaged chiefly in industrial and mer­
cantile occupations. Parts of this district show a per capita income
somewhat lower than the average of $453 for the entire district,
while in the extreme southern part and in a few limited areas, the
income reported by the Cawl survey is considerably above the
average.
Unemployment was lighter in this district than in the city as a
whole, 9.5 per cent of the workers usually employed being out of
work at the time the survey was made. Among both white persons
and negroes, the proportion of workers unable to find jobs—6 per cent
and 8.5 per cent, respectively—was smaller than in the city as a whole.
The severity of unemployment varied widely among the separate
blocks in the district, one block showing as little as 5.2 per cent
unemployed, while 7 of the 20 blocks covered in the enumeration
each had more than 12 per cent of their workers unemployed.
Nearly three-fourths of the unemployed workers in the district
had been without a regular job for more than a month, almost half
for more than three months, and 11.5 per cent—about the same
proportion as for the city as a whole—had been out of work over a
year. Inability to find work accounted for 72.2 per cent of the
unemployment and sickness was given as the cause of 16.5 per cent.
The great majority—95 per cent—of those unable to find work had
held regular jobs at some time during the previous year, however.
Less than a fourth of the unemployed were women, of whom more
than a third were under 21 years of age.
Manufacturing industries ordinarily employ nearly half of the
total number unemployed, machinist and metal worker being the
most important occupations among this group. The textile trade
occupations were second in importance, while most of the unemployed
workers in trade and transportation were classified as salespeople,
shipping and stock clerks, and office help.

District 6
A c o n s i d e r a b l e part of the central business section in Phila­
delphia is included in district 6, which extends between Girard
and Washington Avenues, east from Broad Street to the Delaware
River. Residential development is found chiefly in the northern and
southern parts of the district and is generally poor in character. For­
eign-born predominate in the population, with a considerable number
of negroes in the southern part of the district. In the extreme north­
ern part there is intensive industrial development, and throughout
the district the predominating occupations of the people are indus­
trial. An average per capita income of $588 in the families inter­
viewed throughout the district is indicated by the Cawl survey, but
family incomes are noticeably lower in the northern mill section.




SCHOOL DISTRICTS

47

In this district 14.8 per cent of the workers were out of work, a
larger proportion than in any other district except district 3 in
South Philadelphia. Of the total number of white workers, 8.9
per cent, as compared with 6.8 per cent for the city, were unable to
find work, and 13.9 per cent of the negroes were out of work for
the same reason. Unemployment was heavy in nearly all parts of
the district, but particularly severe in the densely populated blocks.
In one block, 22.5 per cent were out of work, and in each of six
blocks, which included in the aggregate two-thirds of the people
in the district covered in the survey, more than 15 per cent of the
workers were unemployed.
The average duration of unemployment in this district was
slightly less than in the city as a whole. Approximately a fourth
of the unemployed had been without regular work for more than
six months and, 9.7 per cent for more than a year, as compared with
28.5 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively, for the entire city.
Only 3.6 per cent of the workers unable to find work had lost more
than a year’s time since their last regular jobs.
Of the 763 unemployed enumerated in this district, the largest
single group, amounting to about a fifth of the total, were casual
laborers. A third of the unemployed were engaged in building
trades and manufacturing; of the latter, clothing and millinery
and metal manufacture were the most important industries.
District 7
I n c l u d i n g a large part of the Kensington mill section and the
shipbuilding district along the Delaware, district 7 is one of the
most densely populated in Philadelphia. The district lies east
of Broad Street and extends from Girard Avenue on the south to
Lehigh, Kensington, and Allegheny Avenues on the north and east.
With the exception of a small section along Broad Street in the
northwestern corner, the residential character is only fair and the
economic status of the population lower than in most other parts
of the city. The residents generally are native white, engaged in
industrial occupations, most of them being employed by the textile
mills and other factories of this section. The average per capita
income of the families in this district was $418, less than for any
of the other nine school districts.
Only in districts 3 and 6 was unemployment more severe than in
this district, in which 900 persons, or 14.6 per cent of the 6,147
workers covered in the survey, were out of work. That this con­
dition is fairly widespread in this section is apparent from the fact
that, in 18 of the 22 blocks canvassed in the survey, unemployment
was above the average of 10.4 per cent for the entire city. In one
block 26 per cent were out of work and in five blocks 20 per cent
or more.
The duration of unemployment here appears to have been about
the same as for the city as a whole, but of those unable to find jobs,
6.9 per cent, as compared with only 5.8 per cent for the entire
city, had been without regular work for more than a year. This
figure is particularly important in view of the fact that 80.9 per cent
of the idle workers, a larger proportion than in any other district,




48

CH AP.

3 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

were unemployed because of lack of work. Only 10.1 per cent, as
compared with 14.2 per cent for the city, reported sickness as the
cause of unemployment.
The district is predominantly industrial in character, 428 of the
900 unemployed being usually employed in manufacturing and 87
in building. A third of the manufacturing workers were engaged in
the various branches of the textile industry; machinist and metal
worker were second in importance among the industrial occupations.
District 8
T his d i s t r i c t , including the northwestern part of Philadelphia,
north of Allegheny Avenue and west of Broad Street, is one of
the largest in area in the city. It displays a great diversity in the
residential character of various sections, ranging from the mill sec­
tion of Manayunk to the high-grade residences of Germantown and
Chestnut Hill. The Manayunk section, in which there are numerous
factories and mills and a dense population of industrial workers,
mostly foreign born, is a poor residential section with comparatively
small family incomes. Adjacent to and north of Manayunk is
Roxborough, which is of a somewhat better residential character,
with considerable vacant land. To the west and north of Roxborough
and Manayunk are the fine residential districts of Germantown and
Chestnut Hill. In these, districts the bulk of the population is native
born; professional and better-class clerical occupations predominate,
and the average family income is far above that in nearly all other
parts of the city. The portion of the district directly west of
Broad Street is undergoing rapid development at the present time,
and is generally of a good residential character, with family incomes
above the average for the entire city, but lower than in Germantown
and Chestnut Hill.
Generally speaking, district 8, with an average per capita income
of $649 among the families included in the survey, together with
districts 1 and 4, contains the largest proportion of the higher income
groups and better-grade residences in the city.
Average unemployment in this district, amounting to 6.9 per cent
as compared with 10.4 per cent for the city as a whole, somewhat
conceals the striking disparity between various parts of the district.
In one block in Chestnut Hill, for instance, populated by native-white
families with 371 workers engaged chiefly in professional and execu­
tive work, only five persons, or 1.3 per cent, were reported as
unemployed. In one of the densely populated blocks in Manayunk,
on the other hand, 17.7 per cent of the people usually employed were
out of work. Generally speaking, the same situation prevailed
throughout the district, the poorer sections with a preponderance of
foreign-born industrial workers having the greatest unemployment,
although even in these blocks, unemployment was less severe than in
Kensington or South Philadelphia.
The average duration of unemployment, however, was noticeably
greater here than in other parts of the city. In Philadelphia, as a
whole, 77 per cent of the unemployed had been without regular
work for more than a month, 28.5 per cent for more than six months,




SCHOOL DISTRICTS

49

and 11.6 per cent for more than a year, while in this district the
percentages were 80.8, 38.1, and 20.8, respectively.
Moreover, among the 71 per cent of the unemployed who were
unable to find work, 15 per cent—a much larger proportion than in
any other district—had been without a regular job for more than
a year. Sickness accounted for an unusually large proportion of
the unemployment, 17.4 per cent, as compared with 14.2 per cent for
the entire city.
Most of the unemployed were ordinarily engaged in manufactur­
ing. Of these 329 workers, 125 reported their regular occupations
in various branches of the textile industry, which is concentrated
to a great extent in the Manayunk and the Kensington sections.
The metal-trade occupations, reported by 76 of the idle workers,
were second in importance.
District 9
E x t e n d i n g e a s t from Broad Street and north and west from
Lehigh and Kensington Avenues, this district in the north-central
part of the city is generally of a fair or medium residential char­
acter except in the Olney and Oak Lane sections, where the eco­
nomic status of the population is considerably above that of the rest
of the district. In these latter sections families are small and family
incomes are among the highest in any section of the city, and a con­
siderable proportion of the population is engaged in professional
and mercantile pursuits. In the southern and eastern parts of the
district, the residental character and economic status tend to decline,
a majority of the people in this densely populated section being
engaged in industrial occupations. Throughout the district nativeborn population predominates with some foreign born, however,
and a few negroes in certain sections.
The average per capita income of $658 in the district is consider­
ably higher than for the city as a whole, but tends somewhat to
obscure the fact that incomes in the northern part are above, and
those in the southern part below, this figure.
Unemployment is noticeably less pronounced here than in most
other parts of the city, with only 6.3 per cent idle for all causes,
and 4.8 per cent unable to find work. Moreover, there are but a few
blocks among the 18 covered in the survey which show much varia­
tion from the average for the district. In only one block, which
showed 14.3 per cent idle, were more than 9 per cent of the workers
out of work, while only three blocks reported less than 3 per cent
unemployment. In most of the other blocks unemployment ranged
from 4 to 8 per cent.
A fairly large proportion of the unemployed—15.4 per cent—
however, had been without regular work for more than a year, while
9.9 per cent of those unable to find work had been out of a job for
more than a year. Three-fourths of the idle workers reported inabil­
ity to find work as the cause of their unemployment, while, as in
other better-class districts, sickness was a more important cause of
unemployment than in the city as a whole.
Industrial occupations predominate among the unemployed in
this district, nearly a fourth of the total being usually employed




50

C H A P. 3 .---- U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN P H IL A D E L P H IA

in the textile industries. Other important occupations and indus­
tries reported by the unemployed include metal trades, clothing and
millinery, food products, and clerical and sales work.
District 10
B y f a r the largest of all the districts in area, district 1 0 com­
prises all of northeastern Philadelphia, extending northeast from
Frankford Creek to the city limits. Despite its large area, the
population is smaller than that of any other district, and the entire
northern half, with the exception of Bustleton, consists almost en­
tirely of farms and vacant land. The economic status of the popu­
lation and the residential character are only fair or poor in the
Tacony section close to the Delaware River, where there is con­
siderable industrial development, but improves somewhat in the
central part, which includes the 66northeast section ” and part of
Frankford. Lawndale and Fox Chase, farther to the west, and
Bustleton, to the north, have a fairly high-grade residential
character and family incomes above the average for the district
as a whole.
The population of this district consists chiefly of native-born
white persons, but includes some foreign born and negroes. Indus­
trial and clerical occupations predominate, but in the better sections
considerable numbers are engaged in professional and executive
work. The average income of $498, based on the Cawl survey,
is somewhat lower than might be expected, no doubt owing to the
fact that the group of families canvassed in the survey included
a large proportion from the poorer sections.
Variations in the economic character of different parts of this
district are reflected in differences in the severity of unemployment.
Average unemployment in the district amounted to 10.3 per cent—
about the same as in the city as a whole—but there was a range
from less than 6 per cent in 7 of the 26 blocks included in the
survey to more than 20 per cent in 3 of the blocks.
Only 71.3 per cent of the unemployed had been without regular
work for more than a month as compared with 77 per cent for the
entire city, 43.9 per cent for more than three months, as compared
with 50.6 per cent for the city, and 23.5 per cent for more than six
months, as compared with 28.5 per cent for the city as a whole.
These figures would seem to indicate that in this district a relatively
large number of the idle workers had lost their jobs during the
two or three months immediately preceding the time the survey
was made.
A somewhat smaller proportion than in most other parts of the
city—72.3 per cent—reported inability to find work as the cause
of their idleness, while indifference was responsible for a relatively
large amount of the total unemployment.
Manufacturing occupations were by far the most important among
the unemployed in this district, 331 of the total of 531 unemployed
being engaged in them. Nearly half of the unemployed manufac­
turing workers ordinarily worked in the textile and metal trades
and a substantial proportion of the total were engaged in the building
industry.




51

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

T a b le 27. — Unemployment statistics in Philadelphia, and by district, in April, 1929
District
Item

Number of families interviewed________
Average size of family---------------------------------Average family income.
-------- ---------------- ___
Average per capita income. -----------------------------

Phila­
delphia

31, 551
4.4
$2,440
$550

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

2, 445
4.2
$3, 208
$769

2, 738
4.8
$2, 035
$420

2,114
5.3
$2, 321
$441

3, 075
4.5
$2, 496
$558

No 5
3, 248
4.9
$2,210
$453

Unemployed persons
Total unemployment----------------------------------------Unable to find work___________________________
White persons unable to find work.__ _________
Negroes unable to find work____________ __
Time lost since last regular job:
1 day or more______________________________
More than 1 month----------------------------- ---More than 3 months________ _________ ___
_________
More than 6 months_______
_______ ____
More than 1 year_________
Reasons for unemployment:
All reasons______________________ _____ Unable to find work___________________ ___
___ _______
__ __ ___
Sickness______
Old age_______________________________ -- Indifference--------------------------------------------------------------------------Other reasons-------Occupations:
All occupations------- -----------------------------------Manufacturing__________________________
Trade and transportation__________________
Building trades____________________________
Personal and professional service___ _____
General___________________ -- - - -------------Agriculture-------------------------------------------------No regular occupation______________________

Number of families interviewed------------------------Average size of family _ _
_ ----------------------Average family income— _______________ •_____
Average per capita income---------------------------------

Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent
10.4
5.3
11.6
18.9
9.9
9.5
4.1
7.2
8.6
14.7
7.8
6.9
7.9
6.8
14.0
5.5
4.0
6.0
7.4
11.8
9.1
6.1
24.5
8.5
100.0
77.0
50.6
28.5
11.6

100.0
75.5
53.7
32.4
7.9

100.0
73.1
49.5
27.8
11.5

100.0
82.9
49.5
24.7
6.8

100.0
77.1
51.1
27.5
11.5

100.0
74.4
49.5
28.2
11.5

100.0
75.2
14.2
5.0
4.3
1.3

100.0
78.2
11.6
5.1
4.7
.4

100.0
74.5
13.4
5.2
6.6
.3

100.0
78.0
11.9
3.7
5.9
.5

100.0
72.3
17.1
5.8
3.0
1.8

100.0
72.2
16.5
5.2
5.0
1.1

100.0
46.7
20.9
12.5
9.5
8.9
.4
1.1

100.0
27.2
50.2
15.7
4.1
2.8
.0
.0

100.0
50.1
21.7
16.3
8.9
1.2
.5
1.3

100.0
51.8
14.5
21.0
3.2
8.2
.1
1.2

100.0
25.8
20.2
18.0
17.0
16.5
.9
1.6

100.0
45.8
24.4
9.2
10.9
7.6
.2
1.9

31,551
4.4
$2, 440
$550

No. 6

No. 7

No. 8

No. 9

2,657
4.0
$2,341
$588

3,129
4.6
$1,939
$418

4, 922
4.3
$2, 817
$649

4, 387
3.9
$2, 587
$658

No. 10
2, 836
4.4
$2,166
$498

Unemployed persons
Total unemployment_______________ __________
Unable to find work-------------------------------------- . .
White persons unable to find work _ __________
Negroes unable to find work-----------------------------Time lost since last regular job:
1 day or more----------- ----------------------------------More than 1 month_____ _________
___ __
More than 3 months_____ ______ . . .
More than 6 months____ ____ __ ________
More than 1 year__________ __ ------------- _ _
Reasons for unemployment:
All reasons___________________ __
_____
Unable to find work_________ ____________
Sickness__________
_ ________ ________
Old age___________________________________
Indifference_________________________ ______
Other reasons_____________ ____ __________
Occupations:
All occupations____ __________________ ____
Manufacturing. __ ......... ................. ........
Trade and transportation____ ___________ _
Building trades____________________________
Personal and professional service___________
General__________________ _________ ______
Agriculture________________________________
No regular occupation________
________
i Sample too small to be representative,




Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent
10.4
14.6
14.8
6.9
6.3
10.3
7.8
11.8
4.9
4.8
7.4
11.2
6.8
8.9
10.6
4.6
4.0
6.3
13.9
23.0
5.9
11.8
29.2
0
100.0
77.0
50.6
28.5
11.6

100.0
76.3
49.4
24.9
9.7

100.0
77.4
50.0
29.4
11.3

100.0
80.8
58.0
38.1
20.8

100.0
78.7
55.0
34.5
15.4

100.0
71.3
43.9
23.5
10.7

100.0
75.2
14.2
5.0
4.3
1.3

100.0
75.4
14.9
3.6
4.1
2.0

100.0
80.9
10.1
6.2
1.9
.9

100.0
71.0
17.4
5.8
3.6
2.2

100.0
75.5
16.3
5.7
2.3
.2

100.0
72.3
13.9
4.6
6.5
2.7

100.0
46.7
20.9
12.5
9.5
8.9
.4
1.1

100.0
29.7
23.4
5.1
18.4
22.6
.4
.4

100.0
49.3
19.1
10.0
8.3
12.8
.0
.5

100.0
57.1
24.7
7.5
6.9
1.4
.5
1.9

100.0
61.2
18.3
9.1
4.3
3.7
.9
2.5

100.0
63.8
11.0
15.4
8.3
.9
.6
.0




LIST OF BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
The following is a list of all bulletins of the Bureau of Labor Statistics published since
July, 1912, except that in the case of bulletins giving the results of periodic surveys o f the
bureau only the latest bulletin on any one subject is here listed.
A complete list of the reports and bulletins issued prior to July, 1912, as well as the bulletins
published since that date, will be furnished on application. Bulletins marked thus (*) are
out of print.
Conciliation and Arbitration (including strikes and lockouts).
*No. 124. Conciliation and arbitration in the building trades of Greater New York.
[1913.]
*No. 133. Report of the industrial council of the British Board of Trade on its in­
quiry into industrial agreements.
[1913.]
No. 139. Michigan copper district strike.
[1914.]
*No. 144. Industrial court of the cloak, suit, and skirt industry of New York City.
[1914.]
*No. 145. Conciliation, arbitration, and sanitation in the dress and waist industry of
New York City.
[1914.]
*No. 191. Collective bargaining in the anthracite-coal industry.
[1916.]
*No. 198. Collective agreements in the men’s clothing industry.
[1916.]
No. 233. Operation of the industrial disputes investigation act of Canada.
[1918.]
No. 255. Joint industrial councils in Great Britain.
[1919.]
No. 283. History of the Shipbuilding Labor Adjustment Board, 1917 to 1919.
No. 287. National W ar Labor B o a rd : History of its formation, activities, etc.
[1921.]
*No. 303. Use of Federal power in settlement of railway labor disputes.
[1922.]
No. 341. Trade agreement in the silk-ribbon industry of New York City.
[1923.]
No. 402. Collective bargaining by actors.
[1926.]
No. 468. Trade agreements, 1927.
No. 481. Joint industrial control in the book and job printing industry.
[1928.]
Cooperation.
No. 313. Consumers’ cooperative societies in the United States in 1920.
No. 314. Cooperative credit societies (credit unions) in America and in foreign
countries.
[1922.]
No. 437. Cooperative movement in the United States in 1925 (other than agricul­
tural).
Employment and Unemployment.
♦No. 109. Statistics of unemployment and the work of employment offices in the United
States.
[1913.]
No. 172. Unemployment in New York City, N. Y.
[1915.]
*No. 183. Regularity of employment in the women’s ready-to-wear garment industries.
[1915.]
*No. 195. Unemployment in the United States.
[1916.]
No. 196. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference held at Minneapolis,
Minn., January 19 and 20, 1916.
*No. 202. Proceedings of the conference of Employment Managers’ Association of Bos­
ton, Mass., held May 10, 1916.
No. 206. The British system of labor exchanges.
[1916.]
*No. 227. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.,
April 2 and 3, 1917.
No. 235. Employment system of the Lake Carriers’ Association.
[1918.]
*No. 241. Public employment offices in the United States.
[1918.]
No. 247. Proceedings of Employment Managers’ Conference, Rochester, N. Y., May
9 -1 1 , 1918.
*No. 310. Industrial unemployment: A statistical study of its extent and causes.
[1922.]
No. 409. Unemployment in Columbus, Ohio, 1921 to 1925.




(I)

Foreign Labor Laws.
♦No. 142. Administration of labor laws and factory inspection in certain European
countries.
[1914.]
No. 494. Labor legislation of Uruguay.
[1929.]
No. 510. Labor legislation of Argentina,
[1930.]
Housing.
♦No. 158. Government aid to home owning and housing of working people in foreign
countries.
[1914.]
No. 263. Housing by employers in the United States.
[1920.]
No. 295. Building operations in representative cities in 1920.
No. 500. Building permits in the principal cities of the United States in [1921 to]
1928.
Industrial Accidents and Hygiene.
*No. 104. Lead poisoning in potteries, tile works, and porcelain enameled sanitary
ware factories.
[1912.]
No. 120. Hygiene of painters’ trade.
[1913.]
*No. 127. Dangers to workers from dust and fumes, and methods of protection. [1 9 13 .]
♦No. 141. Lead poisoning in the smelting and refining of lead.
[1914.]
♦No. 157. Industrial accident statistics.
[1915.]
*No. 165. Lead poisoning in the manufacture of storage batteries.
[1914.]
♦No. 179. Industrial poisons used in the rubber industry.
[1915.]
No. 188. Report of British departmental committee on the danger in the use of lead
in the painting of buildings.
[1916.]
*No. 201. Report of the committee on statistics and compensation insurance cost of
the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Com­
missions.
[1916.]
♦No. 209. Hygiene of the printing trades.
[1917.]
♦No. 219. Industrial poisons used or produced in the manufacture of explosives.
[1917.]
No. 221. Hours, fatigue, and health in British munition factories.
[1917.]
No. 230. Industrial efficiency and fatigue in British munition factories.
[1917.]
♦No. 231. Mortality from respiratory diseases in dusty trades (inorganic dusts).
[1918.]
♦No. 234. Safety movement in the iron and steel industry, 1907 to 1917.
No. 236. Effects of the air hammer on the hands of stonecutters.
[1918.]
No. 249. Industrial health and efficiency. Final report of British Health of Munition
Workers’ Committee.
[1919.]
No. 251. Preventable death in the cotton-manufacturing industry.
[1919.]
No. 256. Accidents and accident prevention in machine building.
[1919.]
No. 267. Anthrax as an occupational disease.
[1920.]
No. 276. Standardization of industrial accident statistics.
[1920.]
No. 280. Industrial poisoning in making coal-tar dyes and dye-intermediates.
[1921.]
♦No. 291. Carbon-monoxide poisoning.
[1921.]
No. 293. The problem of dust phthisis in the granite-stone industry.
[1922.]
No. 298. Causes and prevention of accidents in the iron and steel industry, 1910—1919.
No. 306. Occupational hazard and diagnostic signs : A guide to impairments to be
looked for in hazardous occupations.
[1922.]
No. 392. Survey of hygienic conditions in the printing trades.
[1925.]
No. 405. Phosphorus necrosis in the manufacture of fireworks and in the preparation
of phosphorus.
[1926.]
No. 427. Health survey of the printing trades, 1922 to 1925.
No. 428. Proceedings of the Industrial Accident Prevention Conference, held at
Washington, D. C., July 1 4 -1 6 , 1926.
No. 460. A new test for industrial lead poisoning.
[1928.]
No. 466. Settlement for accidents to American seamen.
[1928.]
No. 488. Deaths from lead poisoning, 1 925-1927.
No. 490. Statistics of industrial accidents in the United States to the end of 1927.
No. 507. Causes of death by occupation.
[1929.]
Industrial Relations and Labor Conditions.
No. 237. Industrial unrest in Great Britain.
[1917.]
No. 340. Chinese migrations, with special reference to labor conditions.
[1923.]
No. 349. Industrial relations in the W est Coast lumber industry.
[1923.]
No. 361. Labor relations in the Fairmont (W . Va.) bituminous-coal field.
[1924.]
No. 380. Postwar labor conditions in Germany.
[1925.]
No. 383. W orks council movement in Germany.
[1925.]




(II)

Industrial Relations and Labor Conditions— Continued,
No. 384. Labor conditions in the shoe industry in Massachusetts, 1920 -19 2 4 .
No. 399. Labor relations in the lace and lace-curtain industries in the United States.
[1925.]
Labor Laws of the United States (including: decisions of courts relating to labor).
No. 211. Labor laws and their administration in the Pacific States.
[1917.]
No. 229. Wage-payment legislation in the United States.
[1917.]
No. 285. Minimum wage laws of the United States : Construction and operation.
[1921.]
No. 321. Labor laws that have been declared unconstitutional.
[1922.]
No. 322. Kansas Court of Industrial Relations.
[1923.]
No. 343. Laws providing for bureaus of labor statistics, etc.
[1923.]
No. 370. Labor laws of the United States, with decisions of courts relating thereto
[1925.]
No. 408. Laws relating to payment of wages.
[192G.]
No. 486. Labor legislation of 1928.
No. 517. Decisions of courtsi and opinions affecting labor, 1 9 27-1928.
Procedings of Annual Conventions of the Association of Governmental Labor Officials of the
United States and Canada.
(Name changed in 1928 to Association of Governmental Officials
in Industry of the United States and Canada.)
No. 266. Seventh, Seattle, W ash., July 1 2 -1 5 , 1920.
No. 307. Eighth, New Orleans, La., May 2 -6 , 1921.
No. 323. Ninth, Harrisburg, Pa., May 2 2 -2 6 , 1922.
♦No. 352. Tenth, Richmond, Va., May 1 -4 , 1923.
*No. 389. Eleventh, Chicago, 111., M ay 1 9 -2 3 , 1924.
*No. 411. Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 13—15, 1925.
No. 429. Thirteenth, Columbus, Ohio, June 7 -1 0 , 1926.
*No. 455. Fourteenth, Paterson, N. J., May 31 to June 3, 1927.
No. 480. Fifteenth, New Orleans, La., May 2 1 -2 4 , 1928.
No. 508. Sixteenth, Toronto, Canada, June 4 -7 , 1929.
Proceedings of Annual Meetings of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards
and Commissions.
No. 210. Third, Columbus, Ohio, April 2 5 -2 8 , 1916.
No. 248. Fourth, Boston, Mass., August 2 1 -2 5 , 1917.
No. 264. Fifth, Madison, W is., September 2 4 -2 7 , 1918.
*No. 273. Sixth, Toronto, Canada, September 2 3 -2 6 , 1919.
No. 281. Seventh, San Francisco, Calif., September 2 0 -2 4 , 1920.
No. 304. Eighth, Chicago, 111., September 1 9 -2 3 , 1921.
No. 333. Ninth, Baltimore, Md., October 9 -1 3 , 1922.
*No. 359. Tenth, St. Paul, Minn., September 2 4 -2 6 , 1923.
No. 385. Eleventh, Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 2 6 -2 8 , 1924.
No. 395. Index to proceedings, 19 1 4 -19 2 4 .
No. 406. Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 1 7 -2 0 , 1925.
No. 432. Thirteenth, Hartford, Conn., September 1 4 -1 7 , 1926.
♦No. 456. Fourteenth, Atlanta, Ga., September 27—29, 1927.
No. 485. Fifteenth, Paterson, N. J., September 1 1 -1 4 , 1928.
No., 511. Sixteenth,, Buffalo, N. Y ., October 8 -1 1 , 1929.
Proceedings of Annual Meetings of the International Association of Public Employmnet;
Serivces.
No. 192. First, Chicago, December 19 and 20, 1 9 1 3 ; second, Indianapolis, September
24 and 25, 1 9 1 4 ; third, Detroit, July 1 and. 2, 1915.
No. 220. Fourth, Buffalo, N. Y ., July 20 and 21, 1916.
No. 311. Ninth, Buffalo, N. Y ., September 7 -9 , 1921.
No. 337. Tenth, Washington, D. C., September 1 1 -1 3 , 1922.
No. 355. Eleventh, Toronto, Canada, September 4 -7 , 1923.
No. 400. Twelfth, Chicago, 111., May 1 9 -2 3 , 1924.
No. 414. Thirteenth, Rochester, N. Y ., September 1 5 -1 7 , 1925.
No. 478. Fifteenth, Detroit, Mich., October 2 5 -2 8 , 1927.
No. 501. Sixteenth, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1 8 -2 1 , 1928.
Productivity of Labor.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry.
[1 9 24 .]
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923..
No. 407. Labor cost of production and wages and hours of labor in the* paper boxboard industry.
[1926.]




( I ll)

Productivity of Labor— Continued.
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 441. Productivity of labor in the glass industry.
[1927.]
No. 474. Productivity of labor in merchant blast furnaces.
[1928.]
No. 475. Productivity of labor in newspaper printing.
[1929.]
Retail Prices
*No. 121.
*No. 130.
*No. 164.
No. 170.
No. 357.
No. 369.
No. 495.

and Cost of Living.
Sugar prices, from refiner to consumer.
[1913.]
W heat and flour prices, from farmer to consumer.
[1913.]
Butter prices, from producer to consumer. [1914.]
Foreign food prices as affected by the war.
[1915.]
Cost of living in the United States.
[1924.]
The use of cost-of-living figures in wage adjustments.
[1925.]
Retail prices;, 1899 to 1928.

Safety Codes.
*No. 331. Code of ligh tin g: Factories, mills, and other work places.
No. 336. Safety code for the protection of industrial workers in foundries.
No. 350. Specifications of laboratory tests for approval of electric headlighting de­
vices for motor vehicles.
*No. 351. Safety code for the construction, care, and use of ladders.
No. 375. Safety code for laundry machinery and operations.
No. 378. Safety code for woodworking plants.
No. 382. Code of lighting school buildings.
No. 410. Safety code for paper and pulp mills.
No. 430. Safety code for power presses and foot and hand presses.
No. 433. Safety codes for the prevention of dust explosions.
No. 436. Safety code for the use, care, and protection of abrasive wheels.
No. 447, Safety code for rubber mills and, calenders.
No. 451. Safety code for forging and hot-metal stamping.
No. 463. Safety code for mechanical power-transmission apparatus— first revision.
No. 509. Textile safety code.
No. 512. Code for identification of gas mask canisters.
No. 519. Safety code for woodworking plants, as revised 1930.
Vocational and Workers’ Education.
*No. 159. Short-unit courses for wage earners, and a factory school experiment.
[1915.1
*No. 162. Vocational education survey of Richmond, Va.
[1915.]
♦No. 199. Vocational education survey of Minneapolis, Minn.
[1917.]
No. 271. Adult working-class education in Great Britain and the United States.
[1920.]
No. 459. Apprenticeship in building construction.
[1928.]
Wages and Hours of Labor.
*No. 146. Wages and regularity of employment and standardization of piece rates in
the dress and waist industry of New York City.
[1914.]
*No. 147. Wages and regularity of employment in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry.
[1914.]
No. 161. Wages and hours of labor in the clothing and cigar industries, 1911 to 1913.
No. 163. Wages and hours of labor in the building and repairing of steam railroad
cars, 1907 to 1913.
*No. 190. Wages and hours of labor in the cotton, woolen, and silk industries, 1907
to 1914.
No. 204. Street-railway employment in the United States.
[1917.]
No. 225. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber, millwork, and furniture industries,
1915.
No. 265. Industrial survey in selected industries in the United States, 1919.
No. 297. Wages and hours of labor in the petroleum industry, 1920.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry.
[1924.]
No. 358. Wages and hours of labor in the automobile-tire industry, 1923.
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923.
No. 365. W ages and hours of labor in the paper and pulp industry, 1923.
No. 394. Wages and hours of labor in metalliferous mines, 1924.
No. 407 Labor costs of production and wages and hours of labor in the paper boxboard industry.
[1926.]




(IV)

Wages and Hours of Labor— Continued.
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 416. Hours and earnings in anthracite and bituminous coal mining, 1922 and
1924.
No. 471. Wages and hours of labor in foundries and machine shops, 1927.
No. 472. Wages and hours of labor in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry,
1927.
No. 476. Union scales of wages and hours of labor, 1927.
[Supplement to Bulletin
457.]
No. 484. Wages and hours of labor of common street laborers, 1928.
No. 487. Wages and hours of labor in woolen and worsted goods manufacturing,
1910 to 1928.
No. 492. Wages and hours of labor in cotton-goods manufacturing, 1910 to 1928.
No. 497. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber industry in the United States, 1928.
No. 498. Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry, 1910 to 1928.
No. 499. History of wages in the United States from colonial times to 1928.
No. 502. Wages and hours of labor in the motor-vehicle industry, 1928.
No. 503. Wages and hours of labor in the men’s clothing industry, 1911 to 1928.
No. 504. Wages and hours of labor in the hosiery and underwear industries, 1907 to
1928.
No. 513. Wages and hours of labor in the iron and steel industry, 1929.
No. 514. Pennsylvania Railroad wage data.
From Report of Joint Fact Finding
Committee in wage negotiations in 1927.
No. 515. Union scales of wages, May 15, 1929.
(In press.)
No. 516. Hours and earningsi in bituminous coal mining, 1929.
Welfare
*No.
No.
*No.

Work.
123. Employers’ welfare work.
[1913.]
222. Welfare work in British munitions factories.
[1917.]
250. Welfare work for employees in industrial establishments in the
States.
[1919.]
No. 458. Health and recreation activities in industrial establishments, 1926.

United

Wholesale Prices.
No. 284. Index numbers of wholesale prices in the United States and foreign countries.
[1921.]
No. 453. Revised index numbers of wholesale prices, 1923 to July, 1927.
No. 493. Wholesale prices, 1913 to 1928.
Women and Children in Industry.
No. 116. Hours, earnings, and duration of employment of wage-earning women in
selected industries in the District of Columbia.
[1913.]
*No. 117. Prohibition of night work of young persons.
[1913.]
♦No. 118. Ten-hour maximum working-day for women and young persons.
[1913.]
No. 119. Working hours of women in the pea canneries of Wisconsin.
[1913.]
*No. 122. Employment of women in power laundries in Milwaukee.
[1913.]
*No. 160. Hours, earnings, and conditions of labor of women in Indiana mercantile
establishments and garment factories.
[1914.]
*No. 167. Minimum-wage legislation in the United States and foreign countries.
[1915.]
*No. 175. Summary of the report on conditions of women and child wage earners in
the United States.
[1915.]
*No. 176. Effect of minimum-wage determinations in Oregon.
[3 915.]
*No. 180. The boot and shoe industry in Massachusetts as a vocation for women.
[1915.]
*No. 182. Unemployment among women in department and other retail stores of Bos­
ton, Mass.
[1916.]
No. 193. Dressmaking as a trade for women in Massachusetts.
[1916.]
No. 215. Industrial experience o f trade-school girls in Massachusetts.
[1917.]
*No. 217. Effect of workmen’s compensation laws in diminishing the necessity of in­
dustrial employment of women and children.
[1918.]
*No. 223. Employment of women and juveniles in Great Britain during the war.
[1917.]
No. 253. Women in the lead industries.
[1919.]




(V)

Workmen’ s Insurance and Compensation (including laws relating thereto).
♦No. 101. Care of tuberculous wage earners in Germany.
[1912.]
♦No. 102. British national insurance act, 1911.
No. 103. Sickness and accident insurance law in Switzerland.
[1912.]
No. 107. Law relating to insurance of salaried employees in Germany.
[1913.]
*No. 155. Compensation for accidents to employees of the United States.
[1914.]
*No. 212. Proceedings of the conference of social insurance called by the International
Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, Washington,
D. C., December 5 -9 , 1916.
*No. 243. Workmen’s compensation legislation in the United States and foreign coun­
tries, 1917 and 1918.
No. 301. Comparison of workmen’s compensation insurance and administration.
[1922.]
No. 312. National health insurance in Great Britain, 1911 to 1921.
No. 379. Comparison of workmen’s compensation laws of the United States as of
January 1, 1925.
No. 477. Public-service retirement systems, United States and Europe.
[1 9 29 .]
No. 496. Workmen’s compensation legislation of the United States and Canada as of
January, 1929.
(W ith text of legislation enacted in 1927 and 1928.)
Miscellaneous series.
♦No. 174. Subject index of the publications of the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics up to May 1, 1915.
No. 208. Profit sharing in the United States.
[1916.]
No. 242. Food situation in central Europe, 1917.
No. 254. International labor legislation and the society of nations.
[1919.]
No. 268. Historical survey of international action affecting labor.
[1920.]
No. 282. Mutual relief associations among Government employees in Washington,
D. C.
[1921.]
No. 319. The Bureau of Labor Statistics : Its history, activities, and organization.
[1922.]
No. 326. Methods of procuring and computing statistical information of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
[1923.]
No. 342. International Seamen’s Union of A m erica: A study of its history and prob­
lems.
[1923.]
No. 346. Humanity in government.
[1923.]
No. 372. Convict labor in 1923.
No. 386. Cost of American almshouses.
[1925.]
No. 398. Growth of legal-aid work in the United States.
[1926.]
No. 401. Family allowances in foreign countries.
[1926.]
No. 461. Labor organization in Chile.
[1928.]
No. 462. Park recreation areas in the United States.
[1928.]
No. 465. Beneficial activities of American trade-unions.
[1928.]
No. 479. Activities and functions of a State department of labor.
[1928.]
No. 483. Conditions in the shoe industry in Haverhill, Mass., 1928.
No. 489. Care of aged persons in United States.
[1929.]
No. 491. Handbook of labor statistics, 1929 edition.
No. 505. Directory of homes for the aged in the United States.
[1 9 29 .]
No. 506. Handbook of American trade-unions : 1929 edition.
No. 518. Personnel research agencies, 1930 edition.




(VI)