2. Appropriation for Commission on Employers' Liability. 152, Incorporation of American Museum of Safety. 252. Licensing of Moving Picture Apparatus Operators *873. Protection of Persons Furnishing Materials and Labor on Public Works. *Chapter 450 was repealed by chapter 873 passed at the adjourned session in September and 3.31 New York Labor Bulletin Published Quarterly by the State Department of Labor.' Vol. XIII, No. 3. ALBANY, September, 1911 Unemployment. EDITORIAL SUMMARY. Whole No. 48 Returns to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 190 representative trade unions, with 120,000 members, as to idleness during the first half of the year 1911 plainly reflect a less favorable condition of the labor market, so far as demand for labor is concerned, this year than last or, in fact, than any other recent year except 1908. The mean percentage of members reported idle at the close of each month was 24.8 this year as compared with 19.2 last year and 22.3 in 1909. In 1908, when the business depression following the panic of 1907 was at its worst, the mean percentage was 34.7, the highest on record since 1901. But from 1902 to 1907 the mean for the first half of the year was below 20 in every year except 1904 when it was 20.2. The foregoing figures refer to all forms of idleness. But a consideration of the causes of idleness reported shows that the increase in 1911 was practically all due to an increase in “unemployment," that is, lack of work for those able and willing to work. By eliminating idleness due to strikes and lockouts and personal disability (sickness, accident and old age) the returns indicate essentially the course of "unemployment." On this basis the mean percentage for the first half of this year was 22.2 as compared with 14.3 in 1910 and 18.9 in 1909 with similar result unfavorable to 1911 in comparisons with earlier years except 1908. It is to be noted, however, that an increase of idleness this year does not appear universally in the different industries represented in the returns. The most notable exceptions are the clothing, printing, food and liquor and tobacco trades. It is in the metal trades that the greatest increase appears, but the increase is heavy in the building and transportation trades also. Industrial Relations: Returns of strikes and lockouts secured by the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration indicate that labor disputes were much less numerous during the second quarter of 1911 than during the same period of 1910, the number recorded this year being 72 as compared with 121 last year. There was a corresponding decrease also in the number of important disputes, so that only 22 of this year's disputes caused the loss of as much as 2,000 days' time by the workers involved, as compared with 35 last year. The total amount of time lost in all disputes, however, was almost exactly the same this year as last being in both years a little over 741,000 days. But over 500,000 days of the time lost this year was in a single dispute, the general strike of machinists in New York City on May 1, and no other dispute of the quarter occasioned the loss of much over 25,000 days. During the quarter the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration intervened in 30 disputes, and in two of these before any stoppage of work occurred. In 11 disputes conferences of the parties were arranged, and settlements resulted directly from the Bureau's efforts in 8. The corresponding figures for 1910 are 39 interventions, 17 conferences and 9 direct settle ments. Labor Laws of 1911. The Bulletin reproduces the text of the laws of 1911 which directly or indirectly affect the special interests of labor or employees, and indicates therein the changes made by amendment of previous laws. Of chief interest among these are the purely protective labor laws of the session. Unquestionably the most important act of the year, and one of the most important of any recent year is Chapter 729. This act provides for an increase of the force of state factory inspectors from 52 to 85, and for a higher level of salaries for the field force; it also provides for a reorganization of the field force on the district plan with a local office in each of eight districts in charge of a supervising inspector at $2,500 per year and further provides for raising the quality of inspection work by adding to the technical staff of the Bureau of Factory Inspection a mechanical engineer at $3,500 per year and increasing the salary of the chief factory inspector from $3,000 to $4,000 per year. The annual appropriations provide in full for |