OCR Text |
Show Slight Decrease Is Noted in Employment DECREASES of 5.2 per cent In employment and of 2 per cent in the pay roll totals for this year were found by making a comparison of employment reports compiled by the United States Department Depart-ment of Labor from a survey of 5,772 establishments in 40 industries taken In April, 1923, and the same month this year. The statistical reports cover 2,045,-195 2,045,-195 employees In April, 1924, and show, their earnings amounted to $54,-934,432, $54,-934,432, while In April of last year there were 2,158,055, whose earnings amounted to $56,043,735. Gains in employment em-ployment were reported In only 13 of the 46 industries. Gains in the earnings earn-ings of employees were reported In 20 industries. "The Iron and steel Industry gained 8.7 per cent in the number of employees em-ployees and 17.5 per cent In earnings," the departmental report states. "Among Industries which gained both In numbers num-bers of employees and pay roll totals were the cement, sugar refining, electrical elec-trical goods, automobiles, book and job and newspaper printing, and sawmills saw-mills and mlllwork. These increases, however, are considerably smaller than those in the steel Industry. Referring to the wages and hours In the iron and steel industry, the federal review states : , "While the eight-hour turn has been adopted as the standard working time for all employees in some entire plants and in certain department divisions in other plants, the twelve-hour shift still prevails to a large extent. Some employees em-ployees also work seven days a week. "Earnings of these employees per hour have Increased 15 per cent In 1924, as compared with 1922, although they are still 26 per cent below the peak of high-wage rates of 1920. As compared with 1913, an increase of 70 per cent is noted in the 1924 figure, while earnings per hour have doubled since 1910. "In the United States the total number num-ber of children from ten to fifteen years of age reported as engaged In gainful occupations In 1920 was 1,000,-858, 1,000,-858, representing 8.5 per cent of all children in that age period, as compared com-pared with 1,990,225 or 18.4 per cent In 1910; 1,750,000 or 18.2 per cent in 1901; 1,503,771 or 18.1 per cent In 1890. ? "This increase was general throughout through-out the country and was more marked for boys than for girls. Only six states showed an increase In the number of children gainfully employed." |