E EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT Employment in Selected Industries in May, 1924 MPLOYMENT in manufacturing industries in the United States decreased 4.2 per cent in May, while pay-roll totals decreased 5.1 per cent, and per capita earnings decreased 1 per cent. These unweighted figures are presented by the United States Department of Labor through the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are based on reports from 8,569 establishments in 52 industries, covering 2,604,259 employees whose total earnings during one week in May were $68,078,862. The same establishments in April reported 2,717,344 employees and total pay rolls of $71,766,134. The greatest decreases in employment and in pay-roll totals in May were shown in the East North Central geographic division. These decreases were 5.7 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively. The Middle Atlantic division followed with a decrease of 4.3 per cent in employment and of 4.4 per cent in pay-roll totals; the South Atlantic division with decreases of 3.7 per cent and 4.2 per cent; and the New England division with decreases of 3.3 per cent and 4.3 per cent in the two items. The decreases in the Pacific division were negligible, while the Mountain division, in which there is little manufacturing, showed an increase of 3.5 per cent in employment and of 2 per cent in pay-roll totals. Comparison of Employment in May, 1924, and April, 1924 COMPARING May and April reports from identical establishments, increases in employment are shown for May in 10 of the 52 industries, and increases in pay-roll totals in 9 industries. The industries showing the largest gains were seasonal ones, such as ice cream, which gained 7.8 per cent in employment and 6 per cent in pay-roll totals; sugar refining, which gained 7.2 in employment and 9 per cent in pay-roll totals; and brick, which gained 3.6 per cent in employment and 5.7 per cent in pay-roll totals. Other industries gaining in both items were cigars, sawmills, and baking, while cement, slaughtering and meat packing, petroleum, structural ironwork, book and job printing, electric-car repairing, and rubber boots and shoes gained either in employment or in earnings. increases made by the industries last specified were for the most part less than 1 per cent. The The fertilizer industry dropped over one-third of its employees, pay-roll totals being reduced in proportion, while the women's clothing industry decreased 11 per cent in employment and 18 per cent in pay-roll totals. Other industries showing large losses in employment were: Shipbuilding and agricultural implements, each about 10 per cent; automobiles, 9.5 per cent; iron and steel and pianos, each 8.8 per cent; carriages and wagons, 7.9 per cent; stamped ware, 6.4 per cent; and confectionery, carpets, and leather, each about 5 per cent. Other industries showing large decreases in pay-roll totals were: Stamped ware, automobiles, and pianos, each about 11 per cent; iron and steel, 10.3 per cent; carpets, 9.8 per cent; millinery and lace goods, 7.9 per cent; agricultural implements, 7.4 per cent; cotton goods, 6.7 per cent; hosiery and leather, each over 6 per cent; and carriages, furniture, shirts, boots and shoes, electrical machinery, and glass, each over 5 per cent. The stone, clay, and glass group of industries was the only one of the 12 groups which did not show a decrease in employment in May, and the increase in this group was 0.2 per cent only. The vehicles, stamped ware, chemicals, iron and steel, miscellaneous industries, leather, and textile's groups showed decreases in employment ranging from 6.4 cent to 3.7 per per cent. The tobacco and food groups showed increased pay-roll totals of 1.9 and 1 per cent, respectively, while the other 10 groups showed decreases ranging from 11.6 per cent in stamped ware to 0.1 per cent in the stone, clay, and glass group. For convenient reference the latest figures available relating to all employees, excluding executives and officials, on Class I railroads, drawn from Interstate Commerce Commission reports, are given at the foot of the first and second tables. COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS DURING ONE WEEK EACH IN APRIL AND MAY, 1924 COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS DURING ONE WEEK EACH IN APRIL AND MAY, 1924-Concluded * New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania. 1,743, 983 11 $234, 345, 120 +1.5 11 229,831, 147 -1.9 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. & Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia. 7 Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee. Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming. 10 California, Oregon, Washington. 11 Amount of pay roll for one month. Comparison of Employment in May, 1924, and May, 1923 REPORTS are available from 5,909 establishments in 51 industries for a comparison of employment and pay-roll totals between May, 1924, and May, 1923. These reports, from identical establishments in the two years, show in 1924 a decrease of 9.3 per cent in employment, a decrease of 11.5 per cent in pay-roll totals, and a decrease of 2.3 per cent in per capita earnings. The total number of employees covered in May, 1924, was 1,976,812 and their earnings in one week amounted to $52,128,354, while the number of employees in May, 1923, was 2,180,396 and their earnings in one week amounted to $58,878,154. Comparing data from identical establishments by geographic divisions: The New England division shows a decrease of 14.6 per cent in number of employees in May, 1924, as compared with May, 1923, and a decrease of 20.3 per cent in total pay rolls; the West South Central division shows decreases of 11.3 per cent and of 12.3 per cent in the two items; and the Middle Atlantic division shows decreases of 10.3 per cent and 11.5 per cent in the two items. The six other divisions also show considerable decrease in the 12-month period both in employment and employees' earnings, with the exception of the Mountain division, which shows an increase in employees' total earnings. There were increases in employment in May, 1924, as compared with May, 1923, in only 5 of the 51 industries, while there were increases in the earnings of employees in 10 industries. For the fourth month in succession the pottery industry showed the greatest gains both in employment and employees' earnings in the 12-month period, the increases in May, 1924, being 6.9 per cent and 15.2 per cent, respectively. Book and job printing ranked second in increased employment and earnings, the percentages being 5.5 and 7.5, respectively, while the baking, brick, and newspaper printing industries showed smaller gains in both employment and earnings. two lumber industries and the flour industry reported increased payroll totals, although each of the three industries showed a slightly smaller number of employees. The The decreases in employment in the year were over 10 per cent in 17 industries, five of the decreases being over 20 per cent, namely, 21.4 per cent in the agricultural implement industry, 21 per cent in the men's clothing industry, 20.8 per cent in the carriage industry, 20.7 per cent in foundries and machine shops, and 20.4 per cent in the shipbuilding industry. The cotton-goods industry shows a loss of 17.8 per cent in number of employees, the woolen-goods industry a loss of 12.4 per cent, and the iron and steel industry a loss of 4.4 per cent in the 12-month period. The decrease in employees' earnings in the year were over 10 per cent in 21 industries, the greatest being 31.3 per cent in cotton goods, 29.7 per cent in men's clothing, 24.7 per cent in shipbuilding, 23.1 per cent in foundries and machine shops, 22.6 per cent in rubber boots and shoes, and 21.9 per cent in woolen goods. The iron and steel industry reported a decrease of 7 per cent in pay-roll totals. The paper and printing group of industries showed an increase of 0.9 per cent in number of employees in May, 1924, as compared with May, 1923, and an increase of 3 per cent in pay-roll totals. The stone, clay, and glass group showed an increase of 1.5 per cent and the lumber group an increase of 0.3 per cent in pay-roll totals, but employment in these groups decreased 1.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. The nine other groups all showed decreased employment and pay-roll totals. The largest decreases were as follows: In the textile group, 14.2 per cent in employment and 22.4 per cent in earnings; in the chemicals group, 14.1 per cent in employment and 10.3 per cent in earnings; in the leather group, 12.8 per cent in employment and 18.1 per cent in earnings; in the iron and steel group, 10.2 per cent in employment and 12.1 per cent in earnings. COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS DURING ONE WEEK EACH IN MAY, 1923, AND MAY, 1924 |