The table on pages 2886-7 shows by State of origin the industry in which the applicants had previously been employed. Of the 1,961 persons 525, or 27 percent, had an agricultural background, and 292, or 15 percent, had formerly been in domestic and personal service. The manufacturing, construction, and trade industry groups each contributed approximately 10 percent to this group of migrants entering California and seeking aid.

It may be noted that, although agriculture as a whole contributed only 27 percent to the total number of applicants, in the four West South Central States of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, it contributed 43 percent; and 50 percent of the persons who had come from Oklahoma had agricultural backgrounds.

The table on pages 2888-9shows the occupational classifications of the 1,961 transients included in the survey. The previous table indicated that 525 persons had an agricultural background. Of these, 421 were reported as unskilled farm workers. In addition to these, 267 workers were reported as unskilled nonfarm workers. Therefore, a total of 688 persons or 35 percent of the number included in the survey were reported as unskilled workers. The skilled trades, the semiskilled trades, and the domestic and personal services each contributed in the neighborhood of 13 percent. There were 149 or 7.5 percent of the applicants reported as professional and kindred workers.

The reasons for starting migration, as stated by the 1,961 transient cases applying for relief, are shown in table 9 according to their occupational classifications. Approximately one-half left their homes seeking work in general with no specific place of settlement in mind. The fact that 50 percent of the applicants took 4 months or more before reaching California is a reflection of this fact.

TABLE 9.-Reasons for starting migration as stated by 1,961 Federal transient cases applying for relief at offices of the State relief administration of California during the last quarter of 1936, analyzed by occupational classification

About one out of eight reported that they had left home seeking work in a definite place and about the same proportion indicated that they had started their migration because of health problems.

The figures show that approximately 5 percent indicated that they had left home because of the drought. However, this figure should be considered in relation to the two reasons immediately following, "seeking work in general" and "seeking work in a definite place," since the drought may have been the casual factor in many of the cases of these persons leaving their homes to seek work.

It will be noted that in the group of farm operators, owners, and workers, 13 percent reported that they had left home as a result of the drought, but an addi

tional 68 percent indicated that they had left seeking work, or because the location was unhealthy. To what extent the drought entered into these latter cases is unknown.

In interpreting the above statements it should be noted that the four reasons above mentioned contributed in about the same degree in the case of nonagricultural persons as it did in the case of the farm workers.

An

Table 10 shows the number of times the transients applying for relief had entered California. In 1,388 of the 1,961 instances, this was the first time that these persons had come to California. This represented 70 percent of the cases. additional 20 percent had been in California once before. The few persons who reported that they had entered California numerous times previously were, in all probability, following the crops as agricultural laborers.

TABLE 10.-Number of times transients applying for relief have entered California

1 For facility in presentation, the percentage data have not made allowance for the data shown in the tables as "Not specified." This statistical correction would have no significant bearing on the figures presented.

Table 11 indicates that in 1,604 of the 1,961 cases the head of the family was a man and in 357 cases the head of the family was a woman. Of the 1,604 male heads, 1,217, or approximately 75 percent, were persons who were classed as physically capable of doing a full day's work and sufficiently skilled in their occupations to be normally satisfactory to private employers. Of the 357 women heads, 201, or about 55 percent, were classed in this category of group 1 employables.

TABLE 11.-Employability of 1,961 Federal transient cases applying for relief at the offices of the State relief administration during the last quarter of 1936