New York Labor Bulletin

Published Quarterly by the State Department of Labor.

Unemployment.

EDITORIAL SUMMARY.

Returns from all labor organizations in the state, representing 475,000 members, show that in the first three months of 1911 there was considerably more idleness than in the corresponding months of 1910. Thus 9.8 per cent of the members were reported as idle continuously during the quarter in 1911 as compared with 7.3 per cent in 1910, while 20.3 per cent were returned as idle on the last day of March, as against 16.1 per cent in 1910. Again, the average number of days worked by those not continuously idle was this year 65.1 for men and 63.7 for women, or two days less than in 1910, when the averages were 67.3 for men and 65.8 for women. The returns as to causes of idleness at the end of March make it very clear that the greater idleness this year was due entirely to a lessened demand for labor. Thus while the number of members reporting was not quite one-third greater this year, there were nearly twice as many returned as idle for "lack of work," with less one-half as many idle because of labor disputes and with little change in numbers idle for other causes. The greatest increases in idleness this year are found in the building and metal trades. In the clothing trades also an increase of idleness appears but not nearly so large. The other two of the five largest groups of organized trades, transportation and printing, are notable as showing less idleness this year than last. As compared with earlier years the percentage of continuous idleness was lower this year than in years prior to 1910 back to 1897, except 1902 and 1903 and 1905 and 1906. On the other hand the percentage of idleness at the end of March, though lower this year than in 1908 an.1 1909, was higher than in eariler years except 1897, 1898 and

Wages and
Earnings.

But while there was less work this year, the returns show that wages were maintained at fully as high a level as last year, and the indication is that, speaking generally, the wages of organized labor ruled somewhat higher this year. The average per diem earnings for over 378,000 male members this year were $3.26, which is the highest on record for the first quarter of the year, $3.18 for 1910 being the highest previous record. In comparing these averages, however, allowance must be made for a disturbing factor in an enormous increase of very nearly 50,000 in number of members reporting. But an index number of per diem earnings, computed for 45 leading trades with over 200,000 members reporting and by a method which to some extent eliminates the disturbing element of changes in number of members reporting, also shows the highest point on record for 1911, being 125, or two points above the previous high record of 123 for 1910, the average for the years 1899, 1900 and 1901 being taken as 100 for these index numbers. But while wage rates were thus as high or somewhat higher, the considerably less favorable state of employment served to reduce quarterly earnings below last year's figures. Thus the general average for male members stood at $213 for the first quarter of 1911 as against $214 for 1910, while an index number for quarterly earnings, like that for per diem earnings and which for similar reasons is probably a better general indicator of amount of change, stands at 123 for this year as against 124 for last year, which was the highest on record except for the year 1906, when it was 126.

Labor

From the end of September, 1910, to the end of Organizations. March, 1911, the number of organized wage earners in the state increased from 481,924 to 495,770, the number of unions increasing by 40 in the same period. The total gain of 13,846, which thus carried the union membership to within less than five thousand of the half million mark, was principally in New York City where there was an increase of 11,585 members. Buffalo unions gained 1,817 members, but no other city gained

DEC 9 1933

above 225 (the Albany increase) except Utica with an increase of 446. In the other leading centers the membership remained nearly stationary, or made only small gains, except Schenectady which lost 761 members. Of the different groups of trades, those in the building and transportation industries made by far the largest gains, amounting to 7,584 for the former (over 5,000 of which was in New York City, chiefly among painters, excavators and tunnel workers) and to 5,221 for the latter (entirely in the metropolis and nearly all accounted for by an increase of nearly 5,000 among teamsters). Gains of from 1,500 to 1,700 in round numbers were made in the clothing and textile trades (mainly by the latter trades up-state), in the wood working trades (likewise nearly all up-state) and by the printing trades (nearly all in New York City).

In the first quarter of the year strikes and lockouts, as recorded by the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration, were as numerous as in the corresponding period of 1910 (46 as compared with 42), but involved few more than one-half as many employees (14,782, as against 26,027 in 1910), and caused the loss of less than onequarter as much working time (233,757, as against 998,369 days). The figures for 1911, both as to employees involved and time lost, are also substantially below those for 1909. The largest number of disputes was over questions of trade unionism (19 out of 46), with strikes for increase of wages (15) next in number. In the disputes over trade unionism, the workers were entirely successful in 9, lost 6 and compromised 3, with one pending, but owing to the workers' failure in one large dispute in this class (the last strike of express drivers in New York City), a majority of the employees directly involved were unsuccessful. In the 15 strikes for higher wages, the workers were entirely successful in only 3, and compromised but 3 others, but complete success in a large strike of knee pants makers in New York City brought the number of successful employees in the strikes for this cause up to nearly two-thirds of all those directly concerned in such strikes.