Employment

Abstract

Employment T number at work in nonagricultural industries recorded a further substantial gain in October, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Factory employment recorded a slightly niore-tlnin-seasonal gain as compared with September, the adjusted index advancing about one-half point to 87.5 (1923-25=100). Factory pay rolls increased relatively more than employment, owing partly to the fact that reported September pay rolls were influenced to some extent by the observance of the Labor Day holiday. Gains in employment in October were predominantly in factories producing durable goods, with 35 of the 43 industries in this classification reporting increases over the month interval. Employment in these industries has recovered only to the March 1938 level, and in October the number employed was one-fourth less than at the recoveiy high readied in May 1937. Although 26 of the 44 nondurable-goods industries surveyed reported increased employment in October, the group as a whole showed a decline. However, the number at work in these lines in November was only about 11 percent below the high recorded in September 1937. The largest employment gain in October was in the automobile body and parts industry, in which approximately 85,000 workers were returned to work. This gain reflected the increased production of 1939-model cars. Other durable-goods industries reporting gains which were larger than seasonal included agricultural implements; electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies; hardware; steel mills; radios and phonographs; glass: and brass, bronze, and copper products. Among the non-durable goods industries, gains reported were largely of seasonal proportions except for men's furnishings, knit goods, and chemicals, which showed increases that were larger than those usually occurring at this season. Nine of the sixteen nonmanufacturing industries for which data are collected increased employment and 13 increased pay rolls in October as compared with September. In retail-trade establishments, the gain in employment was less than that usually experienced, while in wholesale trade the increase was of about seasonal proportions. The number of workers in coal mines and in metal mines increased by more than the usual seasonal amount, the latter gain reflecting the increased activity which has accompanied higher metal prices. Employment also increased more than seasonally in the private building construction industry.