Trend of Factory Earnings, 1939 to January 1947 AVERAGE EARNINGS of factory workers, summarized in the accompanying table for selected months from January 1939 to January 1947,1 are on a gross basis (i. e., before deductions for social security, income taxes, bond purchases, etc.). Weekly earnings in all manufacturing averaged $46.94 in January 1947-102.4 percent above the average in January 1939, 76.2 percent above January 1941, and 20.7 percent above October 1942. Weekly earnings for January 1947 increased 14.1 percent above January 1946. However, the average weekly earnings are still below the wartime peak of $47.50 in January 1945, as the result of shorter working hours and shifts of workers from the high paid war industries to the lower paid consumer goods industries. Gross hourly earnings in all manufacturing averaged 115.8 cents in January 1947-83.2 percent above the average in January 1939, 69.5 percent above January 1941, and 29.7 percent above October 1942. Average hourly earnings exclusive of overtime, as shown in columns 7 to 9, are weighted by man-hours of employment in the major divisions of manufacturing for January 1941. Overtime is defined as work in excess of 40 hours per week and paid for at time and one-half. The method of estimating average hourly earnings exclusive of overtime makes no allowance for special rates of pay for work done on major holidays or the effect of extra pay for work on supplementary shifts. For all manufacturing, the average hourly earnings, exclusive of overtime, in January 1947 were 112.0 cents per hour-74.7 percent above January 1939, 68.7 percent above January 1941, and 38.8 percent above October 1942. 1 Compare Trends in Factory Wages, 1939-43, in Monthly Labor Review, November 1943 (p. 869), espe cially table 4 (p. 879). For detailed data regarding weekly earnings, see preceding table. 73603947- -12 Earnings of factory workers in selected months, 1939 to January 1947 1 Overtime is defined as work in excess of 40 hours per week and paid for at time and one-half. The method of estimating average hourly earnings exclusive of overtime makes no allowance for special rates of pay for work done on major holidays. Estimates for the months of January, July, September, and Novem ber, therefore, may not be precisely comparable with those for the other months, in which important holidays are seldom included in the pay periods for which manufacturing establishments report to the Bureau. This characteristic of the data does not appear to invalidate the comparability of the figures for January 1941 with those for the preceding and following months. * Preliminary. April 1947 Economic and Labor Conditions on West Coast California looks ahead. Edited by Dean E. McHenry. (In The Annals, American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 248, Philadelphia, November 1946, pp. 199-267. $2 (paper) or $2.50 (cloth) to nonmembers.) Papers presented at a joint meeting of the Pacific Southwest Academy and the Southern California Economic Association, Occidental College, Los Angeles, June 15, 1946. An introductory article on "California in perspective" is followed by three papers each on social prospects (including housing of minority groups in Los Angeles County), political prospects, and economic prospects (including industrialization in southern California). Postwar adjustment of aircraft workers in southern California. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1946. 6 pp. (Serial No. R. 1864; reprinted from Monthly Labor Review, November 1946.) Free. Report of the California State Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission for the period from August 1943 through December 1945 and for the year 1946. Sacramento, 1947. 103 pp. In addition to summarizing the activities of the Commission and its recommendations, the report reviews the status of California's economy with particular reference to population, employment, income, industrial and commercial growth, and construction, and discusses immediate and long-range prospects. Small business and the community: A study in Central Valley of California on effects of scale of farm operations. Report of Special Committee to Study Problems of American Small Business, United States Senate, 79th Cong., 2d sess., prepared by Walter R. Goldschmidt. Washington, 1946. 139 pp., maps, charts. (Senate committee print No. 13, 79th Cong., 2d sess.) Detailed comparison of a small-scale farming area and a large-scale area, with conclusions favorable to former as regards number of people supported per dollar volume of agricultural production, labor requirements, standard of living, physical and cultural services, and other factors. Summary of California statutory provisions conferring quasi-legislative functions upon State administrative agencies. Prepared for California Legislative Committee on Administrative Regulation. Sacramento, State Printing Office, 1946. 128 pp. Functions touched upon include those of agencies dealing with labor matters. Individual incomes of civilian residents of California, by counties, 1939-46. San Francisco, California State Chamber of Commerce, 1947. 35 pp., charts; processed. Union labor in California, 1945. San Francisco, Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Statistics and Research, 1946. 38 pp. Characteristics of union locals shown in part I include distribution of union members by industry, number of women members, and changes in male and female membership, 1944-45. Part II deals with collective-bargaining agreements and reproduces selected clauses on holidays, paid vacations and sick leave, severance notice and pay, and night-work differentials. EDITOR'S NOTE.-Correspondence, regarding the publications to which reference is made in this list should be addressed to the respective publishing agencies mentioned. Where data on prices were readily available, they have been shown with the title entries. 735 Wage rate differentials-comparative data for Los Angeles and other urban areas. By Ruth Macfarlane. Los Angeles, Haynes Foundation, 1946. 164 pp., bibliography; processed. (Research memorandum No. 1.) $1.50. The report is described as an effort to bring together available data on the wage-rate structure of Los Angeles County for comparison with other urban areas of the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the detailed occupational wage-rate data compiled during the war by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study indicated higher wages in the Great Lakes region and the Pacific Coast region than in other sections, but generally lower rates in Los Angeles County than in the other three major Pacific Coast urban areas of San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Differentials in cost of living over the country were found to be much smaller than differentials in wages. Digest of Oregon labor laws, 1945. [Salem], Bureau of Labor, [1946?]. 71 pp. Twenty-second biennial report and industrial directory of the Bureau of Labor and Wage and Hour Commission of the State of Oregon, from July 1, 1944, to July 1, 1946. Salem, [1947?]. 73 pp. The industrial directory takes up 53 pages of the pamphlet, and lists 4,655 firms by type of business and county. The brief Bureau of Labor report contains data on work permits for minors, collection of wage claims, and apprenticeship. Labor force and employment. Seattle, Office of Unemployment Compensation and Placement, 1946. 11 pp., maps; processed. Estimates of the labor force and employment, by industry groups, in Washington State, April 1940, July of 1944 and 1945, and January, April, and July of 1946. Child Labor State child-labor standards: A State-by-State summary of laws affecting the employment of minors under 18 years of age. By Lucy Manning and Norene Diamond. Washington, U. S. Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, Child Labor and Youth Employment Branch, 1946. 182 pp. (Child-labor series, No. 2.) Free. 8 pp. Child labor laws of Georgia. Atlanta, Department of Labor, 1946. Family Allowances Family allowances. Washington, National Catholic Welfare Conference, Family Life Bureau, [1946]. 19 pp. The discussion is in the form of answers to specific questions as to the nature and extent of family allowances, their potential usefulness, and other points. Some observations on the Canadian family allowances program. By Edward E. Schwartz. (In Social Service Review, Chicago, December 1946, pp. 451-473. $1.25.) Account of operation of the program, which became effective in July 1945, based on information obtained by the author (member of staff of U. S. Children's Bureau) from administrative officials, together with a review of results of and attitudes toward the program as reflected in interviews with a variety of observers, including social workers, school officials, and representatives of employer and labor groups. Memorandum on the effect of the Family Allowances Act [of Great Britain], 1945, on the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1925 to 1945. London, Ministry of National Insurance, 1946. 9 pp. 2d. net, H. M. Stationery Office, London. Housing Housing. (In Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. XII, No. 1, Durham, N. C., winter 1947, pp. 1-208, charts. $1.) This special issue devoted to different phases of housing includes articles on the housing shortage, the housing program for veterans, technical potentialities in home construction, and legal aspects of cooperative housing. Housing and construction. Report of chairman of complaints subcommittee to Special Committee to Study Problems of American Small Business, United States Senate, 79th Congress, 2d session. Washington, 1947. 33 pp. (Senate subcommittee print No. 15, 79th Cong., 2d sess.) The report is divided into three parts. Part I presents findings and recommendations; Part II deals with the original veterans' housing program and the new national housing program; Part III gives information on noteworthy housing activities of several local groups. A housing program for America. By Charles Abrams. New York, League for Industrial Democracy, 1947. 32 pp., bibliography. 25 cents. A 10-point program for slum clearance and the provision of decent, modern homes for all through public and private enterprise. The author states there is need for 4 million dwelling units immediately and 12 to 18 million in the next 10 years. The American Legion housing program. Indianapolis, American Legion, 1946. 28 pp. Contains the findings of the American Legion's special national committee on veterans' housing, and a program, based on these findings, which has been adopted by the national executive committee of the Legion. Report of the United States Advisory Housing Mission to the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Manila, 1946. 40 pp.; processed. Limited free distribution by U. S. National Housing Agency, Washington. Critical examination of legislation and policies with respect to housing and related problems in the Philippines, and recommendations concerning steps to be taken in the formulation and execution of a long-range housing program. Report of inquiry into the housing of the working classes of the city of Dublin, 1939-43. Dublin, Government Publications Sale Office, [1945?]. 279 pp. 3s. 6d. Bilan intermédiaire de la politique suisse en matière de logements. A propos de la politique suisse en matière de logements: Un bilan intermédiaire qui est plutôt un règlement de comptes. (In Revue Syndicale Suisse, organe mensuel de l'Union Syndicale Suisse, Berne, May 1946, pp. 227-236; July-August 1946, pp. 273-289.) Survey of housing in Switzerland during World War II with some comparison with World War I, including statistics of new units built from 1914 to 1919 and 1939 to 1945. Policies followed by Federal and communal governments are evaluated. Industrial Accidents and Workmen's Compensation Work injuries in the United States during 1945. Washington, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1947. 23 pp., charts. (Bull. No. 889; reprinted from September 1946 Monthly Labor Review, with additional data.) 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Annual report on industrial accidents in Illinois for 1945: Part I, Summary of industrial injuries reported in 1945 as compensable under the Workmen's Compensation and Occupational Diseases Acts. Chicago, Illinois Department of Labor, Division of Statistics and Research, 1946. 89 pp.; processed. A statistical study of all accident and occupational disease claims filed with the Industrial Commission of Ohio during the calendar year of 1945 with a summary of the years 1936-45, inclusive. Columbus, Industrial Commission of Ohio, Division of Safety and Hygiene, 1946. 27 pp. |