1

TABLE 5.-Estimated number and permit valuation of new dwelling units scheduled to be started in all urban areas, selected months of 1946 and 1947

7 For number of, and estimated cost of, dwelling units contained in New York City Housing Authority projects, but included here with federally financed housing, see table 4, footnotes 6 and 7.

Hours and Earnings

In March 1947, average hourly and average weekly earnings in private building construction reached the highest level reported since January 1934, the earliest year for which monthly data are available for private building construction as a whole. Average hourly pay reached $1.61, and a 4-percent rise during March brought average weekly pay to $61.23. The 38-hour workweek in March was 1 hour longer, compared with February. Earnings reported are for all workers on construction-site pay rolls-skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled; superintendents, time clerks, etc.

In the special building trades, average weekly earnings increased both over the month and over the year for all groups, largely because of wage increases and overtime pay (see table 6). For the plumbing and heating trades, and for excavation and foundation workers, wage increases since March 1946 brought average weekly earnings up 20 percent over the year to $66.89 and $58.36, respectively. Lengthening of the workweek and wage changes for plasterers and lathers increased their weekly pay 23 percent above the 1946 level to $69.15. Compared with February, the March workweek was 20 hours longer for masonry workers, and their average weekly earnings of $57.37 were almost $5 higher than in February.

A fractional decrease over the month in weekly hours worked by electrical workers was offset by a 31⁄2-cent increase in hourly earnings, bringing weekly pay for this group to $75.75. This is the highest reported average weekly earnings for any group in private building construction since January 1939, when monthly data first became available by type of reporting contractor.

Both the special trades and general building contractors reported 8-year peaks in average weekly and average hourly earnings.

Reports are received monthly from over 11,000 different contractors. Data published are summaries of all reports received during the months shown but do not necessarily represent reports from identical firms. TABLE 6.-Average hours and earnings on private construction projects for selected types of work, March 1947 1

Includes all firms reporting during months shown (over 11,000) but not necessarily identical establishments. Data cover all workers on the construction-site pay roll-skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled, superintendents, time clerks, etc.

2 Hourly earnings when multiplied by weekly hours of work may not exactly equal weekly earnings because of rounding.

3 Revised.

Includes types not shown separately.

Labor Force, April 1947

WHO IS COUNTED IN THE LABOR FORCE

Labor force.-Persons 14 years of age and over who
are employed or unemployed during the census
week (the week containing the eighth day of the
month).

Employed. Those who, during the census week,

(1) work full or part time for pay or profit; (2)
work without pay in a family enterprise (farm or
business) at least 15 hours; or (3) have a job but
do not work because of illness, vacation, labor-
management dispute, bad weather, or lay-off with
definite instructions to return to work within 30
days.

Unemployed. Those not working, but seeking a
job.

Increases of 640,000 in employment and 90,000 in unemployment between March and April combined to raise the civilian labor force by 730,000, according to the Bureau of the Census Monthly Report on the Labor Force. The civilian labor force in April 1947 numbered 59,120,000, including 56,700,000 employed and 2,420,000 unemployed.

A seasonal expansion in agricultural employment accounted almost entirely for the gain in total employment. The number of workers employed on farms in April 1947 (7,860,000) was 310,000 below that in April 1946, as bad weather and flood conditions hampered spring planting in many parts of the country.

Nonagricultural employment, at the level of 48,840,000, remained virtually unchanged over the month. Idleness resulting from the safety stoppage in bituminous coal mines during the census week apparently balanced off minor seasonal gains in other industries. The number of women "with a job but not at work" in nonfarm activity increased by 410,000 between March and April, largely reflecting the effect of the labor-management dispute in the telephone in

dustry. Total nonagricultural employment in April 1947 exceeded the level a year previous by 2,890,000-2,790,000 men, largely veterans, and 100,000 women.

Unemployment, except for the temporary rise in idleness among bituminous coal miners, held virtually stable between March and April. An increase of nearly 100,000 in the number of unemployed, to 2,420,000, was about the same as the estimated number of miners who had been idle during the entire week of the census survey. The unemployment total has now remained at about the same level since last January, apart from minor fluctuations, and continues some half million higher than the 1946 low point of last fall.

TABLE 1.-Total labor force in the United States, classified by employment status, hours worked, and sex, March and April 1947 and April 1946

[Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census]

1 Estimates are subject to sampling variation which may be large in cases where the quantities shown are relatively small. Therefore, the smaller estimates should be used with caution; those under 100,000 are not presented in the table but are replaced with an asterisk (*). All data exclude persons in institutions. Total labor force consists of the civilian labor force and the armed forces.

Excludes persons engaged only in incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours); these persons are classified as not in the labor force.

Includes persons who had a job or business, but who did not work during the census week because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor dispute, or because of temporary lay-off with definite instructions to return to work within 30 days of lay-off. Does not include unapid family workers.

Summary of Employment Reports for April 1947

EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING between March and April 1947 dropped 93,000-the first decline since the reconversion low in February 1946 and, for the first time since before World War II, seasonal influences were strongly reflected in employment changes. The decline in manufacturing employment was the single most

important employment development in April. However, moderate seasonal increases in construction almost offset these declines. The telephone strike and the stoppage in the bituminous-coal-mining industry are both reflected in the over-all decrease of 276,000 in the total number of employees in nonagricultural establishments.

Industrial and Business Employment

Practically all of the employment loss in manufacturing occurred in the nondurable-goods industries. The apparel and textile industries were the chief contributing factors. The workweek in the nondurable-goods industries was also curtailed in April. Reports indicate that plant closings occurred in the woolen and worsted mills because of reduced business. The drop in the apparel group is attributable in part to the seasonal change-over in the coat and suit industry.

Smaller employment declines, which totaled nearly 15,000, were reported in tobacco, leather, and the miscellaneous industries. Tobacco had the greatest relative decrease with preliminary reports indicating that lack of business was primarily responsible for lay-offs in the cigar industry.

Employment in the durable-goods industries also registered a slight decline between March and April 1947. For the most part, this reflected strikes in plants in the electrical-equipment and communications industries. However, there were indications of production cut-backs in such industries as lighting equipment, aluminum manufactures, radios, and furniture.

TABLE 1.—Estimated number of employees1 in nonagricultural establishments, by industry division

1 Estimates include all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonagricultural establishments who worked or received pay during the pay period ending nearest the 15th of the month. Proprietors, self-employed persons, domestic servants, and personnel of the armed forces are excluded. These estimates have been adjusted to levels indicated by final 1945 data made available by the Bureau of Employment Security of the Federal Security Agency and supersede data shown in mimeographed releases dated prior to April 1947 and Monthly Labor Reviews dated prior to May 1947. Data from January 1939 forward were affected by this revision. The complete series from 1939 are available upon request.

Finance and service were formerly combined and published as "Finance, service, and miscellaneous." Comparable data from 1939 are available upon request.