View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

ALLEGHENY COLLEGE
LIBRARY _,,r
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, No. 103

WOMEN WORKERS IN THE
THIRD YEAR OF THE
DEPRESSION
STUDY BY STUDENTS IN BRYN MAWR SUMMER
SCHOOL UNDER DIRECTION OF AMY HEWES


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

.I /3. 3/ /.cJ3

[PuBLio--N o. 259-66TH

CONGRESS]

(H. R. 13229]

AN ACT To establish in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women's Bureau

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be
established in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women's Bureau.
SEc. 2. That the said bureau shall be in charge of a director, a
woman, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensation of
$5,000. It shall be the duty of said bureau to formulate standards
and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women,
improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for :profitable employment. The said
bureau shall have authority to mvestigate and report to the said
department upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women in
industry. The director of said bureau may from time to time publish the results of these investigations in such a manner and to such
extent as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe.
SEc. 3. That there shall be in said bureau an assistant director, to
be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, who shall receive an annual
compensation of $3,500 and shall perform such duties as shall be
prescribed by the director and approved by the Secretary of Labor.
SEc. 4. That there is hereby authorized to be employed by said
bureau a chief clerk and such special agents, assistants, clerks, and
other employees at such rates of compensation and in such numbers
as Congress may from time to time provide by appropriations.
SEc. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby directed to furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture, and equipment for the work of
this bureau.
SEc. 6. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after
its passage.
Approved, June 5, 1920.


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

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
W. N. DOAK, SECRETARY

WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, No. 103

WOMEN WORKERS IN THE
THIRD YEAR OF THE
DEPRESSION
STUDY BY STUDENTS IN BRYN MAWR SUMMER
SCHOOL UNDER DIRECTION OF AMY HEWES

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1933

For aale by the Superintendent of Document.a, Wa.itlnston, D. C.


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

-

.. ..

P~•~

~

<;:enq

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

CONTENTS
Pa~e

Letter of transmi ttaL _ _ __________ __________ _______________________
Introduction_____ ___ __ _____ __ _____ _____ ___ ______ _______ ____ ___ ____
The group studied________ ____ ______ __ ___ __ _______________ _________
Employment status during the year __ _____ ______ _____________ _______
Earnings and extent of employment __ ____ ___ __________ ______ ____ __ __
Weekly rates and year's earnings _____ __ __ ____ ____ _____ ·_________ ___ __
Savings and borrowing____ ________________ ______ ___________________
Trade-union orga11ization and unemployment ______________ ________ ___
Effects of unemployment on the standard of Ii vi ng _ _ __________________
The use of employment offices__ ___ _____ _________ ___ __________ ______
Programs for days without work__________ _______________ ___ _____ ___
Prospects for the future___ ____ ____ ____ ___ ____________ _____ _____ ____
When jobs are hard to find-case studies__ _____ ___ __________ ______ ___

1v

1

2
2
3
5
6
6
7
8
8
9
10

TABLES
1. Total earnings of previous year in six industrial groups___ ___________

2.
3.
4.
5.

Total earnings of previous year and weeks of employment___________
Full-time weekly rate and total year's earnings___ __ ________________
Amount of unemployment among union and nonunion workers_______
Lowered food and clothing standards and weeks of unemployment __ __
Ill


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

4
5
5
6
8

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,

Washington, January 5, 1933.
Sm: I have the honor to submit a report entitled "Women Workers
in the Third Year of the Depression." This study gives, in a few
pages, the industrial experience of 109 women and girls as described
by them while students in the Bryn Mawr summer school for women
workers in 1932. The study was made under the direction of Prof.
Amy Hewes.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. W. N. DoAK,
Secretary of Labor.
IV


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

WOMEN WORKERS IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE
DEPRESSION
INTRODUCTION
Many reports on unemployment have been written during the past
three years. ·Few of them have shown in any detail the changed
living conditions forced upon the workers who had lost their jobs, in
spite of the fact that the human cost of the breakdown of the economic
apparatus is measured in the effect on standards of living. The present study records the changes made necessary in the manner of life
of women who suffered unemployment thro~gh lack of work. It was
made by a group of workers themselves, while students in a workers'
school, in an effort to arrive at a better understanding of economic
conditions through an analysis of their own experience.
The Bryn Mawr summer school, where these workers were enrolled
in the summer of 1932, completed its twelfth session in that year.
This school annually brings ·together an extremely varied group of
women wage earners. The hundred or more students who are
appointed to scholarships come from all parts of the United States
and represent most of the major occupations at which women are
employed. They represent, as well, almost every race and color and
all the important social, political, and religious creeds. In spite of
this variety in their origin, these women have had in common since
1930 the experience of exchanging positions of relative security for
periods of enforced idleness or work on short time.
The project here outlined was undertaken by one of the units into
which the school is divided. The 22 members of this unit became
convinced.that it was their obligation, both as students and as workers,
to arrive at a better understanding of the predicament into which
they had been forced by the economic organization in which they live
and work. Many of them recalled the comparative cheerfulness with
which they met the first incidents of the period when jobs began to be
scarce. They then felt confidence in their ability to come through a
short spell of bad weather and regain their former security. As the
depression deepened, this confidence gave way to bewilderment and
discouragement and finally to a feeling of almost complete helplessness.
Questions as to the why and wherefore of unemployment were
uppermost in mind when the opportunity came for systematic study
in the school. It was decided to undertake a study of the workers'
own experience during the unemployment period as a first step in the
understanding of their problems.
The year immediately preceding the summer-school term, that is,
the year ended June 1, 1932, was still vividly in mind and the facts
of employment and the changes in living and working arrangements
1


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

2

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

could be easily recalled. It seemed well worth while to analyze this
experience because, although there is abundant evidence to indicate
that suffering is widespread, tbere can be only vague notions as to the
extent to which standards of living have been lowered, and little is
known of the actual program of the empty days when jobs are as hard
to find as the proverbial needle in the haystack. The cooperation of
the whole school was readily secured, and the results of the study,
which was cooperatively made, are presented in this report.
THE GROUP STUDIED

The group of 109 1 students whose experience was studied were
widely distributed among the millions of women wage earners in the
United States. They had come from 17 States, including such distant
ones as Washington, California, and Alabama, although the eastern
industrial States sent the largest numbers, as in the case of New York
with 34 representatives and Pennsylvania with 24. Almost one-half
(50, including the 4 workers who had come from foreign countries to
attend the school) were foreign born. The majority of the foreignborn workers had been in the United States 10 years or longer. In age
the entire group ranged from 4 who were under 20 to 3 who were 40 or
over. All but 12 were single, and by far the largest number (81) were
living at home. More than half who lived with their families either
paid all that they earned into the family exchequer or contributed as
much as half of what they earned to the expenses of the family.
Slightly less than half (50) were trade-union members.
The distribution among the major occupational groups was as
follows:
Industry

Total ________________________________________________ __ _
Clothing:
Women's and children's ___ ____ ________________ ____ _____ ---.-_
Men's ___________________ ___________________ ______ ___ ___ ___
Millinery ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ _______ _______ ____ __________ __ __ ___
Underwear and miscellaneous __ ___ __________ ______________ __ _
Textiles _______________ ___________ ___ ____ ________ ____ ______ __ __
Miscellaneous manufacturing __ ___ ___ _________ ___ _______ _____ ___ _
Trade, transportation, clerical work ___ __________ ___ ___ ____ ______ _ _
Domestic service ______________________ ______ ___ _________ ___ __:. _

Number or
workers

109

29
11
11
6

18
15
15
4

EMPLOYMENT STATUS DURING THE YEAR

Industrial conditions in .the year ended June 1, 1932, had made
steady employment the rare exception in the group. Only 10 workers
had known no unemployment during the year. This fortunate group
included 7 workers employed in American industry and 3 of the 4
foreign students-the Swedish worker (employed in a Government
1 There were 110 students enrolled in the summer school. One of these was a miner's wife, a young woman
thoroughly identified with industrial conditions and one whose family had been affected by prevailing
unemployment, but she was not included in the group studied as she herself was not employed.


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

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

3

clotbing factory), the German (a trade-union official), and 1 of the 2
English workers (a Lancashire cotton weaver). All the rest were
subject to longer or shorter periods when they were altogether without
work or were working on short weeks, or both, a.s follows:
Character of employment

Total __________________________________________________ _
Both wholly and partially unemployed during the year ___ __________ _
For more than half of the workers in this group the short weeks
numbered 16 or more.
Periods without a job but no short weeks _________ _______ _________ _
This group includes 2 workers not employed at all during the year.
Periods of short weeks but never without a job ____________________ _
Regular full-time employment throughout the year ____________ :. __ _ _

Number of
workers

109
56
23
20
10

The periods of employment of the majority of the workers (82) were
in connection with a single job, 19 held 2 jobs during the year, 5 held
3 jobs, and 1 held 4. Two workers were wi1::hout any job during the
en tire year.
EARNINGS AND EXTENT OF EMPLOYMENT

The extended unemployment that the workers suffered during the
year ended June, 1932, resulted in lower incomes than they had earned
fn the previous year, according to testimony so general as to be almost
without exception. For women in all occupations a large majority
(68) earned less than $600 (see Table 1), and there was no single
occupational group in which half of the workers earned as much as
$600. The actual median of the earnings was $480. In the clothing
industry, from which the largest number of workers came, half earned
less than $400, yet this group contained many highly skilled and
experienced women, whose earnings only a few years ago, in spite of a
highly seasonal industry, were sufficient to yield a very comfortable
living.
.
A comparison with the earnings of former years shows that the incomes of women in industry have been shrinking at an alarmin~ rate.
Decreases from totals that already were so small that they did not
make possible an American standard of living mean that workers must
go without some of the essentials for satisfactory living. A conspicuous trend is clear in a comparison with results from a study made by
Dr. Gladys L. Palmer of the earnings of 609 women workers who
attended the four summer schools (Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Wisconsin,
and the Southern school) in the summers of 1928, 1929, and 1930. 2
• Palmer, Oladys L. The Industrial Experience of Women Workers at the Summer Schools, 197.Stol930.
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau Bui. No. 89, 1931, p. 50.


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

4

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

These workers were drawn in similar pro.p ortions from the industries
represented in the present study. The medians of their year's earnings were as follows:
Median
earnings

Year

1928
1929
1930
1931
1932

(4 schools) ________________________ _______________________ _
(4 SGhools) ____ _____ __________ ____ _______ ________________ _ _
(4 schools) __ ________ __ __ __ _______ ____ ___ ___ ___________ ___ _
(Bryn Mawr) _______ __ __ _____ ________ _______ __ ___ _________ _
(Bryn Mawr) __ __ _____ ______ ___ ______________ _____________ _

$861
887

793

696
480

The medians of the weekly full-time rates for the same workers
(yielding depleted total incomes because of the short weeks) also show
a great discrepancy between the depression years and those earlier. 3
M edian
rate

Year

----------------------------1---1928
1929
1930
1932

(4 schools)
schools) __
(4
__ ---------------------------------------------__ ________________ ___ ___ _______________ ______ _
(4 schools) _ ____________ ____________________________ ______ _
(Bryn Mawr) ______ __ _ ______________ ___ ___ ___ ____ ________ _

TABLE

$21.
23.
20.
14.

65
15
15
50

1.-Total earnings of previous year in six industrial groups
Number of workers
Clerical
Miscellawork,
neous Domestic tradn,
Clothing Mllllnery Textiles manufacservice 1 transporturing
tation

Year's earnings
Total

-----------1---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TotaL---------------- ____
No earning!! ______ _________ ___ __
Less than $200 ____ _________ ___ _
$200 and less than $400 ____ ____ __
$400 and less than $600 ___ ____ __ _
$1100 and less than $800 _____ ____ _
$800 and less than $1,000 ____ ___ _
$1,000 and less than $1,200 _____ __
$1,200 and less than $1,400 __ ___ __
Unknown _____ _________ ____ ___ _

109
2

15
27
24
2.~

7
4
2
3

46

11

1
7
1
1,5 --- --- - -- -

6

6

12
1
I
1
2

4
- ------- ---- -- ------ -------- ---- ----

18

1/i

1 --------- 2
1
3
4
6
4
2
2
2
3
1
1
---------1 ----------

15
- -------·- ---------1
3
2
3

2

1
4
---------1
--- - --- -- 1
- -- -- - --- 1
--- - - ---- - ---- --- - --

- - - · - - - - - --'-----'-----'--- ~ - -~~--~---'----I Earnings

do not include an y estimate for meals or room.

Only 10 workers of the 109 in the Bryn Mawr summer school were
on full-time schedule during the entire year and only 39 had a·s much
as a half year (26 weeks) of full employment. The short weeks were
very short indeed, many consisting of only two or three days. This
fact accounts for the small total even in the case of workers employed
the greater part of the year. The weeks counted include all those in
which payment was received for any work, no matter how small the
amount.
• Palmer, op. cit., p. 39.


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

5

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION
TABLE

2.-Total earnings of previous year and weeks of employment
Number o! workers

Weeks of employment

Total

No
earn•
ings

106

2

Total.. ..•••• __ • ____ •• •

1

Less
than
$200

15

$200
and
less
than
$400
27

$400
and
less
than
$600
24

$600
and
less
than
$800

$800
and
less
than
$1,000

$1,000
and
less
than
$1,200

$1,200
and
over

4

25

2

- - - - - --1- - - 1- - · - 1 - - - l - - - 1 - - - l - -

No employment.---·-·······
Less than 8·---·-··-··· ······
8 and less than 16•.....•...•.
16 and less than 24 ........•..
24 and less than 32........• -.
32 and less than 40.•····----·
40 and less than 48.--•·-···-·
48 and over.·-·-···-·-·-··-··
13

2
2 --······ ................ --······ ····-·-·
7 -- ----··
7
6 ··-----2
3
1
12 ·-· -·--·
3
4
2
2
1
10 · -·----·
1
5
3
1 ··-- ·.•.
6
4
5
1
18 ··-----·
1
22 ··---·-1
4
9
7
1
5
5
10
4
29 ···----- -------·

··-···-· ·--·-·--

····==·· -===-=-- ··-·---·
··----·· ·-··---======-=
·•··•••· ··-·-·-1
·--·-·-- ··----·4
1

workers were unable to estimate their earnings.

WEEKLY RATES AND YEAR'S EARNINGS
Part-time employment accounts for the fact that even the workers
who had higher weekly full-time rates failed to pile up year's earnings
sufficient to guarantee them a satisfactory standard of living. For
example, only 3 of the 27 workers whose weekly full-time rates
ranged from $20 to $35 and over earned as much as $1,000 during the
year. Those with lower rates suffered correspondingly in wages
received.
.
TABLE

3.-Full-time weekly rate and total year's earnings
Number of workers

Full•tlme weekly rate

TotaL---------------·

Total

No
earn•
ings

106

2

1

No weekly wage ... --------··
$5 and less than $10.-----·-··
$10 and less than $15.----·-··
$11> and less than $20.•------·
20 and less than $25.------··
25 and less than $30.-------·
30
and less
$35.•------·.
$35 and
overthan
________________

!

1

Less
than
$200

15

$200
and
less
than
$400

$400
and
less
than
$600

$600
and
less
than
$800

27

24

25

$800
and
less
than
$1,000

$1,000
and
less
than
$1,200

$1,200
and
over

2

2
2 ·-----·· -·-----· --·--··· -----·-· ··-----· -------· -------19 ···----8
7
3
1 -------- -------- -------34 -------5
10
10
7
2 · ----·-· ·-------

24 --·----12
8
6
2

1

3

6

9

2

2

1

--- ----·
1
2
4
2
1
2 --------------- ·------3 -------3
1 -------·
1
-------- -- -----2 -------·
3 ·------- -------· ··-----·--·---· -------- -------1 ·-···--·
1 -----··· ·----·--

3 workers were unable to estimate their earnings.

The extent to which health and working efficiency may be undermined by the small pay resulting from part-time employment often is
not realized even by the workers themselves. A worker employed by
a large electrical-supply company possessed ability and experience
that enabled her to earn as much as $15 a week; but she totaled only
$360 during the year, although employed 52 weeks, an average of
$6.92. During the greatest number of weeks her pay envelope contained $4. In spite of her low earnings, this worker, like many another,
was forced to contribute $10 for relief, which the company collected
by deduc~ing it from her salary.
154503°-33--2


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

6

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

SAVINGS AND BORROWING

The ability to save for a rainy day exists only when the worker
receives pay during a substantial part of the year. Only 17 of the 109
workers reported that they had accumulated any savings that had
not dwindled away by the end of the year. For the most part these
savings were small amounts, less than $75 in the cases of 9 of the 17
workers. All these were fortunate enough to have had 32 weeks or
more of work.
Periods of extended unemployment and small earnings that made it
impossible to save frequently resulted in the necessity of borrowing- to
meet emergencies. Thirty-four workers reported such borrowmg.
The amounts ranged from less than $50 in seven cases to over $1,000
in two. Nearly all the sums borrowed were still owing at the end of
the year. These obligations, even when small in amount, weighed
heavily and greatly increased the discouragement of the workers .
.TRADE-UNION ORGANIZATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Because of the industries included, the trade-union members of the
group suffered more unemployment than did those not organized.
Clothing workers were by far the largest group in the school, and it
was this highl7 seasonal industry from which the largest proportion of
the trade-umonists came. Their experience with unemployment
undoubtedly had more to do with the character of the industry than
with the fact of organization. More important, it was the practice in
many of the union clothing shops to stagger employment in order that
a larger proportion of the members might share earnings. Naturally,
the effect of this system, when the staggering was week in, week out,
was to increase the number of weeks without work for the mdividual
worker.
Two-fifths (24) of the unorganized workers reported no unemployment, in the sense of never being entirely without a job, although often
on part time, while only 6 of the 50 trade-unionists held their jobs
continuously. More than one-half the trade-unionists had known 16
or more weeks of unemployment, while only about one-quarter of the
nonunion workers (15) suffered unemployment for periods of such
length.
TABLE

4.-Amount of unemployment among union and nonunion workers
Number of workers
Weeks of unemployment
Total

Total ___ _______________ ___ __---- -- -- ------------ ---- -- --- -----

Union

109

Nonunion

50

59

6
3
13
7
12
3
2

24

1 - - -- 1 -- -

N o unemployment ___________ ___ ___________ ____ ______ __ ______ ______
Less than s ________ ______ ___ ______ ___ ______ _____ __ __ ___ ___ ____ __ ___ _
8
---------------------- -------16and
andless
lessthan
than16------24 ___ ______
_________
__ ____--------________ -__________
__ ___
__ _
24 and less than 32 ___ ____ ___ _____ __ _______ ___ __ ___ __ ________ _____ __ _
82 and less than 40 ____ __ ________ ________ __ ___ __ ____ _____ _____ __ __ __ _

40 and less than 48_____ _____ ___ ____ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ __ ___ ____ __
48 and over--- -- -------- ----- ---- --- ------ ---------------------- -- -1 Includes

1 30
14
22
14
14
6
3
6

20 workers who were employed on short time but were never without a job.


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

•

11
9

7
2
3
1
2

'fOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

7

EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE STANDARD OF
LIVING

The standard of living of workers is affected not only by their own
unemployment but by that of other members of their families.
More than one-third of the 79 workers who had been without a job
belonged to households in which two or more members were unemployed in June, 1932. In some cases, women livin~ alone were better
off than other women, because they did not share m the support of a
group that included a number of unemployed. On the other hand,
the unemployed woman worker would have been destitute without
the help of other members of her household and had that advantage
over the woman living alone. Whatever the living arrangements, the
standard of living that they represented became imperiled as unemployment continued. An attempt was made to find out how the
various elements of the standard of living had been affected for
members of the group studied in the third year of the depression.
(Table 5.)
A better understanding of the importance of nourishing food has
increased the effort to secure it even at the expense of other items, yet
two-fifths of the 79 workers who had been part of the year without
jobs reported that they had less nourishing food than in the year previous. When ranked by number of weeks without a job, there was
a steady increase (with one exception) in the proportion of women
having a lower food standard as the number of idle weeks increased.
Only slightly more than one-fifth of the workers less than 8 weeks
out of work reported a lowered food standard, but 5 of the 6 workers
out of work 48 weeks and over had less nourishing food.
Ability to maintain the same clothing standard diminished as the
number of weeks without a job increased. With less than 8 weeks
of unemployment the lowered clothin~ standard affected only 4' out
of 14 workers. The proportion steadily increased up to the group
out of work 48 weeks and over, where 5 of the 6 women had ~ lower
standard.
The test of the ability to maintain the clothing standnrd was
absence from the wardrobe of some important article, such as good
shoes or a winter coat.
The housing standard was considered lower on any one of the
following counts:
1. If the family had moved to secure a lower rent.
2. If additional lodgers had been taken with the same number of
rooms.
3. If a mortgage had been increased on a house owned.
4. If the family had been more than two months behind in rent or
mortgage payments.

On this basis more than half (46 of the households of the 79 workers)
.
had suffered a lower housing standard.
The postponement of medical care when it was urgently needed
was considered an indication of a lower standard of health maintenance. On this count 48 of the 79 workers (61 per cent) had fallen
behind during the year.
Thus it was found that in the major elements of food, clothing,
shelter, and medical care extended unemployment was breaking down


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

8

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

the standard of living. The extent of the breakdown upon the group
of 79 workers who had been out of jobs is summarized here:
S tandard of li ving and unemployment

Type

Unemployed workers
with lowered standards
Number

Per cent

32

41
49
58
61

F
ood ___ ___
___ __
-- ---- - -- -_
____
______
___--__
Clothing
_____
Housing ______ _______ __ ___ ____
Medical care ______ ____ ___ ___ _

TABLE

39
46

48

5.-L owered food and clothing standards and weeks of unemployment
Number of workers
Number of weeks without a job
T otal

Total-Number
- -----------____
--- ___
--- ______
-- --- --_______
- -- ---------Per cent _-___ _____
_______
__ ____ _
Less than 8 _______________________ -----------------------------8 and less than 16 ________________________ __ __________ __________ _
16 and less than 24 ____________________________________ _____ ____ _
24 and less than 32 ____ _________ __________ _____________ _____ ___ __
32 and less than 40 ___________ ____ _____ ________________ _________ _
40 and less than 48_________ ______________ _____________ ____ _____ _
48 and over-------- - ---------- -- ______________________ _________ _

With lowered With lowered
food
clothing
standard
standard

79

32

100. 0

41

14
22

3

14
14
6
3
6

5
6
9
2
2
5

39
49

4
9
6
9
4
2
5

THE USE OF EMPLOYMENT OFFICES

Only eight workers had visited public employment offices when in
search of a job. Inquiry brought out the fact that comparatively
few workers knew of the existence of such offices. They were, in fact,
nonexistent as far as many workers were concerned, because of their
location in distant cities. Many of the factory workers who lived in
cities where there was a public employment office said that they
understood that such offices were for the placement of domesticservice workers only. One worker who had visited two public employment offices insisted that they were "not run right." For the
most part, jobs were sought through friends or through trade-union
connections. The public agency had not made itself felt as an
important resource.
Private agencies were used by nine workers, four of whom had also
visited public agencies. Stories of exploitation by fee-charging agencies were not lacking, and a feeling of prejudice against them was
general. The situation represented a widespread ignorance of facilities for placement and a completely unorganized labor market. Outside the largest cities, with only two exceptions, no contact had been
made with:.any placement agency whatever.
PROGRAMS FOR DAYS WITHOUT WORK

The urgent need of a job induced 23 of the total 109 workers who
had lost employment in their industry to use some of their enforced
leisure and hard-earned money for traming in a different line of work.


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

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR O:B' DEPltESStON

9

These workers had come chiefly from seasonal trades, clothing and
millinery, which also showed the highest numbers of unemployed.
Since industrial work is almost always learned on the job in this
country, there are few opportunities to train for employment in this
field unless one first finds a job. Seven of the twenty-three workers
had visited public offices, but as these offices were not connected
with training centers they did not secure there any advice about
retraining for work where labor was needed. To several of them the
best chance for security appeared to lie in clerical work, so they spent
their precious savings on lessons in stenography and typewriting,
oc·cupations already overcrowded.
The majority, however, put all their effort into getting back their
old jobs or securing others in the same industry. A genuine liking
for the trade in which they had already acquired experience and skill
prevented them from taking steps to leave it. When the workers
were members of trade-unions, there were additional ties to hold
them to the industry.
Besides the time required for job hunting, it was necessary to fill
the enforced leisure time with other occupations, but it was generally
found that leisure under these circumstances is not always enjoyed.
Some of the workers who had long wished for the time to study said
that they were too anxious to concentrate their minds on books. The
character of some of the activities undertaken during the time they
were unemployed, and the number of persons reporting each kind of
activity, are listed here for the 79 workers who were without a job
part of the year:
Type of activity

Household tasks not otherwise performed ___ __ _____ ____ ___ ___ __ __ _ _
Lecture courses and concerts (when free) ______ ________ ____ __ _____ _
Study courses---------------------- -- - --- - ----- - ---- ---- ----- ~Distribution of relief ____ ___________ ____ _____________ __. : ________ _
Sports __________________ _________________ ___ _____ __ ______ _____ _

Number of
workers

78
77
57
52
35

Members of trade-unions and of social and ·c hurch clubs and societies participated in their activities more fully when out of a job in
most cases, but it was difficult to separate their employed from their
unemployed time in this connection.

PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE
The most revealing fact about the employment status of the group
studied is indicated by the following classification of the total 109
workers with regard to their employment prospects as they stood in
July, 1932:
Out look

Total __________________________________________ _________ _
No job in prospect _____ ________ ________ __ __ ___ - _____ - - - - - _- - - - - Indefinite prospect, "when work begins" ____ __ __________ ____- - - - - Definite job promised ___________ _______ _____ - ___ - _- ___ - _- - - - - - - No report ___________________ _____ ____ ____ __ ____ ____ ________ ___ _


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

N umber of
workers

109

40
30
38
1

10

WOMEN WORKERS 1N THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

When it is remembered that the unemployed members of this
group are able-bodied, experienced workers, all of them in the heyday
of their powers and more than "willing to work," and that they have
been deprived of the opportunity to use these powers through no
fault of their own, it will be seen that their concern with an economic
system that withholds from them the chance to produce is profound.
They themselves are becoming aware of this. Their sense of justice
and the urge of their youth underlie their growing determination that
the future shall bring to them and to all workers greater security and
a better chance to work than was theirs in 1931-32.

WHEN JOBS ARE HARD TO FIND
The students who developed the project for this study of unemployment discussed with one another their individual experiences.
The significance of the general situation revealed itself with peculiar
poignancy in the cumulative effect of the stories of the individuals
whose experience is summarized in the foregoing statistical analysis.
The theme of the effect of unemployment was later found suitable
for practice in expression in English, and a number of brief personal
histories resulted. A few of these have been selected almost at
random as the best kind of illustration of the facts that have been
generalized in this study. Limitations of space have made it necessary to abbreviate them, but they stand here otherwise unedited.
CASE No. 1
I worked in the automobile industry in a shop in which were made oil gages,
gas gages, panel gages, nearly all the electrical equipments on the dashboard
for the different types of cars. In the time of depression not many people have
money to purchase an automobile. Consequently, our work became very slack.
Late in the year of 1931 I found myself thrown with other workers into the
whirlpool. I refused to take a man's job which would have taken from him,
his wife, and his children his weekly wage. This was a maneuver of the bosses
to produce as much and even more if possible at half the cost. Before this we
had received a 10 per cent cut and our weekly bonus had been taken frqm us.
I did not know what to do or which way to look when I left the shop, for I knew
it was impossible to get another job. But I could not be the cause of some
people starving even though it meant a job for me.
I would get up early in the morning and go to different factories in the hope
of getting a job. But I met everywhere the same answer, "No help wanted."
There was only one thing for me to do, and that was for me to go home.
My parents live on a farm and they t oo have a struggle for a living. They
work long hours and have to sell their crops for sums insufficient to provide a
decent standard of living. They are forced to sell all they have, such as butter
and eggs, and there is no surplus with which to buy clothes, not to mention medical care or dental work. We have no longer the comforts of life. The telephone
has been disconnected; movies, books, rides in the evening are no longer possible
for us.
I was planning to get married, but I could not quite pick up courage enough
to take this step with no security and maybe bring children into the world only
to starve.
In October, 1931, I tried and luckily succeeded in getting domestic work. I
have the privilege of going out evenings. I get my room and board and $8.
It isn't a large wage, but I am able to buy a few clothes and send some money
home to my family.
CASE No. 2
I have been working in the railroad yards for seven years. The conditions
are very bad. I would have to take charge of two or three women. The railroad yard looks very complicated to new people and there is very little difference
on the outside between a parlor car and an ordinary coach. These new girls


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

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

11

would be given an armful of tidies and told to go in the cars and put them on the
chairs. Naturally these girls would go in a coach and put them on. When a
parlor car was ready for service these tidies were missing. I was called to find
the girl, take the tidies off the coach, jump off the car, run down and over a dozen
tracks, hop on another, and that is not as easy as it sounds. As soon as the
girls did get on to the work the boss would find fault and discharge them.
I soon found out that he was providing jobs while a friend pocketed the employment fees-men $5 and women $3 or $4. I notified the grievance committee.
A meeting was called and both the boss and the mechanic got discharged.
The season begins to get dull, no passengers are traveling in parlor cars. Help
is laid off. Seniority counts. Slowly it reaches the older employees. I was
laid off and couldn't help the family any longer.

CASE No. 3
My employer was among those who lost heavily in the stock market and in
1930 he was forced to discontinue his neckwear shop in New York City. With
the loss of my job went all my independence. I did not realize my helplessness
until I began to hunt for another job.
Months passed and I could not find work. I met the same answer everywhere
I applied-"No help needed." Finally I had to consent to work for a contractor under the most unfavorable conditions, such as poor ventilation and poor
lights, with drastic cut in wages. Even this unpleasant work did not last long.
He could not get sufficient work to keep his place going, and in 1931 the shop
W9.S closed down.
Since neckties are not essential, this industry is particularly
hard hit, and I have been out of work for almost a year.
I have stayed with my brother, who is also a victim of unemployment. During
the last year we had to economize a great deal on clothes. recreation such as the
theater, concerts, week-end vacations, and once in a while buying a nice book.
We had planned to take a radio in the house, but this plan has entirely failed to
materialize. We had to cut out dental work and changing eye glasses. So far
we have managed to keep up a little place we call home. What is in store for us
we don't know.
CASE No. 4
Being a strong and fast working girl (this is what the garment industry needs),
I was a success. I made a nice wage and could afford to live decently. I had
a comfortable room, good clothes, and recreation such as plays, concerts, good
movies, and an opera once in a while. This was until 1930.
When the first cut in wages came, the workers in the shop (most of them married
men afraid of losing their jobs) agreed to it. The boss, becoming more powerful,
wanted us to work longer hours and also on Saturdays. This made me mad.
So like Adam, in the play "1931," I quit, thinking that the next step would be
better. I traveled from shop to shop, and one was worse than the other. Finally,
I realized that it was no use to waste time; all the shops were alike.
I remained in one where the workers attracted me because they were classconscious union workers. When we did not have enough work for a whole week,
we divided it equally. My wage was small, just enough to exist on: Room,
food, and a cheap dress which I made for myself. All recreations were stopped.
The worst part of all, what hurts me most, is that I can not help my old mother
who lives in Europe and has no income, but depends on her children in rich
America.
CASE No. 5
The biggest material loss which I have suffered so far is the loss of an independent little apartment just a year ago. I could not keep on paying rent any longer.
I rented a bigger apartment jointly with one of my sisters who had the same
problem. She has two young children. We share the cost of living jointly.
Even though there is harmony, I lost part of my independence and privacy.
My husband lost his regular job three years ago. He worked in the jewelry
line, which is a luxury and theieforG one of the first to dispense with in times of
depression. Later, for more than a year, he worked as a money collector for
jewelry sold on a weekly installment plan for much lower wagea. But this job
also ceased to be. He was an ever-smiling, good humored, high-spirited young
man. But since a year his contented, happy, almost childish continual smile
slowly dies away and a strange line of worry takes its place. His pride is hurt
to see that he is not able to contribute anything to the household.
My own job in a dressmaking shop is just as insecure. Every time less work,
longer lay-offs, less income, which makes the outlook for the future still darker.


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

12

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD -YEAR OF DEt>tt:msstON
CASE No. 6

Since the six-months' strike in New Bedford in 1928 my entire family has
suffered quite severely from unemployment. Right after the strike was settled
we all went on short time. The text ile mill where I worked only started up to
finish the order that was in stock, which only lasted about three months, and then
finally closed down for good.
Then started my search for another job, which meant going from one place to
another, getting one or two days' work in a week and sometimes not getting one
day's work in about five weeks. Every morning it was the same story, "Where
shall I go?" This mill was slowing down, that mill was laying off girls. It just
seems as if there was no place for me to go. Things were going worse all the time.
This last year about 20 mills have gone out of business, making it almost impossible
to get any kind of a job at all. We have had to run our rent on for some time and
have had to have city help so that we could have a little something to eat.
CASE No. 7

When in 1930 six members of my family and I arrived in this country everything seemed to be fine. A nice 6-room furnished fiat was awaiting us in Chicago.
My brothers aDd sisters, who had been living in this country for several years,
were happy, healthy, and working. I got work in a millinery shop and attended
evening school. Everything was pleasant and comfortable. We heard of unemployment, but I never realized its effects. It seemed so far away from us that
I never gave a second thought to it.
About the end of June, 1931, one of my brothers lost his job in a butcher shop.
In July, 1931, when over 100 .banks closed, we bst all our savings. The rent was
too expensive compared to our income, but the landlord lowered the rent and my
sister, brother-in-law, and baby came to live with us, so we managed to remain.
The office where my brother-in-law worked closed up in bankruptcy in November,
1931, so he also joined the ranks of the unemployed. My sister's baby was 4
months old at that time. Before Christmas, there was hardly any work, but I
found a place in a millinery shop where a friend of mine worked. We had to
take work home after eight and a half hours' work in the shop in order to make
$1.50 or $2 a day. My sister helped me in the evening, so she learned the trade.
She was glad to do this work, though it was hard and she had to work until 2 or
3 a. m. in order to make $2 or sometimes $2.50.
While the public evening schools were open I believed America was a fine country to live in, having free schools, libraries, and parks. But in November, 1931,
when evenin_g public schools closed down and never opened again, I suffered a
great loss. It was school after the long, hard working day that kept energy and
life in me. It made me forget the evils of the world and put before me a task:
"Learn and master the language; now is your time."
When the school closed, I beard that the teachers had not been paid for eight
months. I thought it ridiculous that a r ich and great city like Chicago couldn't
pay its teachers. I began listening and questioning. I found that it isn't
necessary: for the children of the poor to go to school.
There s a long road before me, full of unknown facts which I hope some day I
shall know and they shall guide me to a better life.
CASE No. 8
We have always been financially comfortable so we could provide the necessities and a few luxuries of life. My father was a furniture dealer on a small scale;
he sold furniture on the installment plan to people of the working class.
After the closing down of the factories in 1929 thousands of people were thrown
out of work, among whom were many of my father's customers. This destroyed
my father's business and he found himself with no means of supporting a wife and
two children.
I was working in a cigar factory for $13 a week, but about this time my salary
was cut to $10. I was forced to leave because of my health, and this left the whole
family without any money except the little my father could still collect.
After borrowing from all his friends and relatives, he managed to rent a store
to sell all kinds of confectioneries. We made a meager living from it and with
the tax the Government has recently put on all candies, we make still less. We
are scarcely able to provide food and clothing for the family, while the work is
unending and tiring. We have been going on like this for the past year and see
no way of bettering our conditions, our one hope being that economic conditions
in this country will improve.


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

.

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

13

CASE No. 9

The depression has awakened me to the things which are going on around me,
things I never thought existed in the world. We are told that the Government
is made by the people and for the people. We toil all day for meager wages. It
has made me think there must be a way out.
I wanted to become a citizen. I went to the Y. W. C. A. night school. But I
could not concentrate. I was worried about getting laid off. I was very discouraged.
In June, 1931, I worked in a silk-cr~pe lingerie shop, sewing lace on garments,
paid by piecework. After working 9 or 10 hours a day I could hardly straighten
myself. But the rush season lasted only six weeks. Then the girls were laid off.
Then I went to work in a rayon underwear factory, eight and a half hours a day.
We had steady work for only one month. Then we would sit all day and wait
for work. Sometimes we spent car fare and lunch money and went home without
making a penny. Other days we made a dollar a day. There were 25 girls on
seaming and they got together to discuss the situation. They agreed to go to the
boss and demand a higher wage.
. The forelady said she could get girls to work for 12 hours a day; that if we
wanted to keep our jobs we must be satisfied and get back to work. In January,
1932, the majority of the girls were laid off. Again we sat looking at each other.
They cam~ and examined our work every few minutes and found something wrong
with it. Then came the lay-off.
I got a job in a knitting factory where a friend of mine worked. Work was not
very steady but I was more at ease. Sometimes I put in only two or three days a
week. I went without many things, such as medical care, recreation, books and
magazines I would like to read. I buy only the clothes I need most.

CASE No. 10

'

Up until the fall of 1928, I had a very good job in one of the garment factories
in Detroit. I made good wages and was somewhat contented. I lived in an
apartment which had all modern conveniences, went to the summer resorts for
week-ends, attended shows and concerts in the winter and also to the evening
classes of the Y. W. C. A., and contributed generously to charity and church.
In 1928 the firm for which I worked merged with another and moved from the
city, leaving approximately 400 persons without jobs.
One day I heard that one of the larger factories was needing operators. I was
hired, but unfortunately the work went slack just a few days before the end of
eight weeks. Again I found myself on the streets and in the employment offices
looking for work.
Unable to find a satisfactory job, I decided to go home to a Pennsylvania
mining town and stay with my mother. At home living conditions were different
from those I had been used to in the city. There was no bathroom, no gas. We
had to do our cooking over a coal or wood fire even in the hottest weather.
After six months of that kind of living I was becoming ·m ore and more dissatisfied.
One day I found myself in a bus bound for Detroit, in hope of finding and taking
any kind of a job that would hap pen along. I secured a clerical position with the
Y. W. C. A. at a salary which was just about half of that I was used to getting.
However, I didn't complain. I was glad to have a job and thought m yself very
fortunate.
In the fall of 1931, the budget of the "Y" was cut below a minimum which
necessitated a reduction of wages and laying off of workers. So I am without a
job to-day.
I don't know what the future holds for me and my dependents. I can't find
work, therefore I can't buy things other workers are producing. I can not go
to shows or concerts and I can not contribute to charity, and I may find myself
without the most important things after my savings are exhausted.


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

PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU
[Any of these bulletins still available will be sent free of charge upon request)

*No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industries of
Niagara Falls, N. Y. 16 pp. 1918.
*No . . 2. Labor Laws for Women in Industry in Indiana. 29 pp. 1919.
No. 3. Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. 8 pp. Fourth
ed., 1928.
No. 4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 46 pp. 1919.
*No. 5. The Eight-Hour Day in Federal and State Legislation. 19 pp. 1919.
No. 6. The Employment of Women in Hazardous Industries in the United
States. 8 pp. 1921.
*No. 7. Night-Work Laws in the United States. (1919) 4 pp. 1920.
*No. 8. Women in the Government Service. 37 pp. 1920.
*No. 9. Home Work in Bridgeport, Conn. 35 pp. 1920.
*No. 10. Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia. 32
pp. 1920.
No. 11. Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 90 pp. 1921.
*No. 12. The New Position of Women in American Industry. 158 pp. 1920.
*No. 13. Industrial Opportunities and Training for Women and Girls. 48 pp.
1921.
*No. 14. A Physiological Basis for the Shorter Working Day for Women. 20 pp.
1921.
No. 15. Some Effects of Legislation Limiting Hours of Work for Women. 26
pp. 1921.
No. 16. (See Bulletin 98.)
No. 17. Women's Wages in Kansas. 104 pp. 1921.
No. 18. Health Problems of Women in Industry. 6 pp. Revised, 1931.
No. 19. Iowa Women in Industry. 73 pp. 1922.
*No. 20. Negro Women in Industry. 65 pp. . 1922.
No. 21. Women in Rhode I sland Industries. 73 pp. 1922.
*No. 22. Women in Georgia Industries. 89 pp. 1922.
No. 23. The Family Status of Breadwinning Women. 43 pp. 1922.
No. 24. Women in Maryland Industries. 96 pp. 1922.
No. 25. Women in the Candy Industry in Chicago and St. Louis. 72 pp. 1923.
No. 26. Women in Arkansas Industries. 86 pp. 1923.
*No. 27. The Occupational Progress of Women. 37 pp. 1922.
No. 28. Women's Contributions in the Field of Invention. 51 pp. 1923.
No. 29. Women in Kentucky Industries. 114 pp. 1923.
No. 30. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 170 pp. 1923.
No. 31. What Industry Means to Women Workers. 10 pp. 1923.
No. 32. Women in South Carolina Industries. 128 pp. 1923.
*No. 33. Proceedings of the Women's Industrial Conference. 190 pp. 1923.
No. 34. Women in Alabama Industries. 86 pp. 1924.
No. 35. Women in Missouri Industries. 127 pp. 1924.
No. 36. Radio Talks on Women in Industry. 34 pp. 1924.
No. 37. Women in New Jersey Industries. 99 pp. 1924.
No. 38. Married Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1924.
No. 39. Domestic Workers and Their Employment Relations. 87 pp. 1924.
No. 40. (See Bulletin 98.)
No. 41. Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Selected Cities. 145
pp. 1925.
.
No. 42. List of References on Minimum Wage for Women in the United States
and Canada. 42 pp. 1925.
No. 43. Standard and Scheduled Hours of Work f.or Women in Industry. 68
pp. 1925.
No. 44. Women in Ohio Industries. 137 pp. 1925.
• Supply exhausted.

14


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

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

15

No. 45. Home Environment and Employment Opportunities of Women in CoalMine Workers' Families. 61 pp. 1925.
No. 46. Facts about Working Women-A Graphic Presentation Based on
Census Statistics. 64 pp. 1925.
No. 47. Women in the Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the State of
Washington. 223 pp. 1926.
*No. 48. Women in Oklahoma Industries. 118 pp. 1926.
No. 49. Women Workers and Family Support. 10 pp. 1925.
No. 50. Effects of Applied Research Upon the Employment Opportunities of
American Women. 54 pp. 1926.
No. 51. Women in Illinois Industries. 108 pp. 1926.
No. 52. Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills. 203 pp. 1926.
No. 53. The Status of Women in the Government Service in 1925. 103 pp.
1926.
*No. 54. Changing Jobs. 12 pp. 1926.
No. 55. Women in Mississippi Industries. 89 pp. 1926.
No. 56. Women in Tennessee Industries. 120 pp. 1927.
No. 57. Women Workers and Industrial Poisons. 5 pp. 1926.
No. 58. Women in Delaware Industries. 156 pp. 1927.
No. 59. Short Talks About Working Women. 24 pp. 1927.
No. 60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
316 pp. 1927.
No. 61. The Development of Minimum-Wage Laws in the United States, 1912
to 1927. 635 pp. 1928.
No. 62. Women's Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 47 pp.
•
1927.
No. 63. (See Bulletin 98.)
· No. 64. The Employment of Women at Night. 86 pp. 1928.
*No. 65. The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities
of Women. 498 pp. 1928.
No. 6&-I. History of Labor Legislation for Women in Three States. 133 pp.
1929. (Separated from No. 66-II in reprint, 1932.)
No. 6&-II. Chronological Development of Labor Legislation for Women in the
United States. 145 pp. 1929. (Revised and separated from No.
66-I in 1932.)
No. 67. Women Workers in Flint, Mich. 80 pp. 1929.
No. 68. Summary: The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women. (Reprint of Chapter II of bulletin 65.) 22 pp.
1928.
No. 69. Causes of Absence for Men and for Women in Four Cotton Mills.
24 pp. 1929.
No. 70. Negro Women in Industry in 15 States. 74 pp. 1929.
No. 71. Selected References on the Health of Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1929.
No. 72. Conditions of Work in Spin Rooms. 41 pp. 1929.
No. 73. Variations in Employment Trends of Women and Men. 143 pp. 1930.
No. 74. The Immigrant Woman and Her Job. 179 pp. 1930.
No. 75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support.
21 pp. 1929.
No. 76. Women in 5-and-10 cent Stores and Limited-Price Chain Department
Stores. 58 pp. 1930.
No. 77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs.
11 pp. 1929.
No. 78. A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in 23 Cities. 166 pp.
1930.
No. 79. Industrial Home Work. 20 pp. 1930.
No. SQ. Women in Florida Industries. 115 pp. 1930.
No. 81. Industrial Accidents to Men and Women. 48 pp. 1930.
No. 82. The Employment of Women in the Pineapple Canneries of Hawaii.
30 pp. 1930.
No. 83. Fluctuation of Employment in the Radio Industry. 66 pp. 1931.
No. 84. Fact Finding with the Women's Bureau. 37 pp. 1931.
No. 85. Wages of Women in 13 States. 213 pp. 1931.
No. 86. Activities of the Women's Bureau of the United States. 15 pp. 1931.
No. 87. Sanitary Drinking Facilities, with Special Reference to Drinking
Fountains. 28 pp. 1931.
• Supply exhausteq,


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

16

WOMEN WORKERS IN THIRD YEAR OF DEPRESSION

No. 88. The Employment of Women in Slaughtering and Meat Packing.
211 pp. 1932.
No. 89. The Industrial Experience of Women Workers at the Summer Schools,
1928 to 1930. 62 pp. 1931.
No. 90. Oregon Legislation for Women in Industry. 40 pp. 1931.
No. 91. Women in Industry. A Series of Papers to Aid Study Groups. 79 pp.
1931.
No. 92. Wage-Earning Women and the Industrial Conditions of 1930-A Survey of South Bend. 84 pp. 1932.
No. 93. Household Employment in Philadelphia. 88 pp. 1932.
No. 94. State Requirements for Industrial Lighting. A Handbook for the
Protection of Women Workers, Showing Lighting Standards and
Practices. 65 pp. 1932.
No. 95. Bookkeepers, Stenographers, and Office Clerks in Ohio, 1914 to 1929.
34 pp. 1932.
No. 96. Women Office Workers in Philadelphia. 17 pp. 1932.
No. 97. The Employment of Women in the Sewing Trades of Connecticut-Preliminary Report. 13 pp. 1932.
No. 98. Labor Laws for Women in the States and Territories. Revision of
Bul. 63. 71 pp. 1932.
No. 99. The Installation and Maintenance of Toilet Facilities in Places of
Employment. 89 pp. 1932.
No. 100. The Effects on Women of Changing Conditions in the Cigar and
Cigarette Industries. 187 pp. 1932.
No. 101. The Employment of Women in Vitreous Enameling. 64 pp. 1932.
No. 102. Industrial Injuries to Women in 1928 and 1929 Compared with
Injuries to Men. 36 pp. 1933.
No. 103. Women Workers in the Third Year of the Depression. 16 pp. 1933.
No. 104. The Occupational Progress of Women, 1910 to 1930. (In press.)
Pamphlet. Women's Place in Industry in 10 Southern States. 14 pp. 1931.
Annual Reports of the Director, 1919,* 1920,* 1921,* 1922, 1923,* 1924,* 1925,
1926, 1927,* 1928,* 1929,* 1930,* 1931, and 1932.
• Supply exhausted.

0


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

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