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Show PLACED by the growth of the professional occupations, the white collar Jobs classification, which caught up with the number of blue collar workers for the first time two years ago, has moved decisively ahead as the biggest single group in the civilian labor force, according to data compiled by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. In the light of certain inherent characteristics of the majority of white collar jobs, particularly their high degree of employment stability and the above-average earnings they provide, this development devel-opment in the structure of the labor la-bor force represents one of the nation's most outstanding accomplishments accom-plishments in its progress toward widening the economic horizon of the working population and broadening broad-ening of opportunity in general. Figures show that in April of this year there were 27.7 million persons in the experienced civilian labor force in the white collar occupation oc-cupation group those in the pro- added up to 20 million in the Spring of this year as '(gainst 24.9 million mil-lion in the 1 956 period, an increase of just over a million. Thus the number of while :ollar workers in April this year topped their blue collar counterparts by one and three-quarter millions, more than three times the margin two years ago, and has shown a rate of growth twice as fast in the period. Of particular significance in this trend Is the rapid expansion of the classification of professional, technical tech-nical and kindred workers. This group includes our scientists and engineers, our teachers, and tha wide range of trained technical personnel needed to meet the technological requirements of a highly industrialized society plus the newly developed challenge of the space age. The figures show that in the last two years alone a million persons per-sons were added to this key group in the nation's work force. Thii brought the total in professional occupations to above 7 million for tessions ana reiaiea iasKs, non-farm non-farm managers and proprietors, and clerical and kindred workers. The equivalent number on the same date two years ago was 25.4 million, Indicating a gain of two and a quarter million in the period. The number of skilled and semiskilled semi-skilled workers and laborers, who make up the blue collar group. the first time, represent:! more than one out of every 10 in the experienced ex-perienced civilian labor force. This proportion has been growing rapidly rapid-ly in recent years. In 1950, for example, ex-ample, the number of persons .n professional and related tasks w:'s about one in every 12 in the civilian civil-ian labor force, and in l!Mi ti.a ratio was only one in IP. |