xt7q5717q27f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7q5717q27f/data/mets.xml Pennsylvania Palmer, Gladys L. (Gladys Louise) Wharton School. Industrial Research Department United States. Works Progress Administration. 1937 xiv, 58 p.: ill.; 26 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call Number Y 3.W 89/2:53/P-1 books  English Philadelphia: Works Progress Administration, National Research Project This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Pennsylvania Works Progress Administration Publications Unemployed -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Labor and laboring classes -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Economic conditions Recent Trends in Employment and Unemployment in Philadelphia text Recent Trends in Employment and Unemployment in Philadelphia 1937 1937 2019 true xt7q5717q27f section xt7q5717q27f I ‘ V i I ,UNIVERS'TIO‘IIINWI '
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RECENT TRENDS IN 4
EMPLOYMENT AND
; PHILADELPHIA ‘
, niv. of Ky. Libraries é? /§’ A - 1
' i ‘i L IVWORKSPRO’GRESS ADMINISTRATION .
. ‘; NATIONAL, RESEARCHPROJECT'A’ND- . ‘ . j '
. .~~;. r _ INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT ‘- . .
V 7 UNIVERSITY oF- PENNSYLVANIA - I ‘1 ,I v- , , .

 THE W.P.A. NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT 5
‘ 0N REEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND RECENT CHANGES 1 ‘
, IN INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES
. Under the authority granted by the President in the Execu— .
tive Order which created the Works Progress Administration.
, Administrator flurry L. Iiopkins authorized the establishment , .
‘ of .a research program for the purpose of collecting and ana— ‘ 3
lyzing data bearing on proolems of employment, unemployment, ' z
and relief. Accordingly. the National Research Program was 3
established in October 1956 under the supervision of Corrington ‘ l
- Gill, Assistant Administrator of the WPA, who appointed the %
directors of the individual studies or projects. 5
. The Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes f
. in Industrial Techniques was organized in December 1935 to g
‘ inquire. with the cooperation of industry, labor, and govern- g
1 mental and private agencies. into the extent of recent changes .
in industrial techniques and to evaluate the effects of these . 3
changes on the volume of employment and unemployment. David j %
h’einfraub and Irving Kaplan, members of the research staff I .
of the Division of Research, Statistics, and Finance, were ap- 3
3 pointed, respectively. Director and Associate Director of the 3 I
Project. The task set for them was to assemble and organize ‘
the existing data which bear on the problem and to augment ' V :
these data by field surveys and analyses. “‘
To this end, many governmental agencies which are the col- ’
’ lecture and repositories of pertinent information were in- :4
vited to cooperate. The cooperating agencies of the United '1
States Government include the Department of Agriculture, the
Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. the Railroad
Retirement Board, the Social Security Board. the Bureau of
Internal Revenue of the Department of the Treasury, the De-
partment of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, and the
Tariff Commission.
The following private agencies Joined with the National ‘
Research Project in conducting special studies: the Indus-
- trial Research Department of the University of Pennsylvania. '
the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., the Employ—
ment Stabilization Research Institute of the University of
Minnesota, and the Agricultural Economics Departments in the ' .
Agricultural Experiment Stations of California, Illinois,
Iowa, and New York.
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‘ W O R K S P R O G R E S S A D M I N I S T R A T I O N N
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HARRY L. HOPKINS CORRINGTON GILL h
Administrator Assistant Administrator II
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NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT III
on 1I]
Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes II I
in Industrial Techniques II
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DAVID WEINTRAUB » IRVING KAPLAN III
Director Associate Director I
. III
III
In cooperation with II
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I . INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT %
WHARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE I
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA . fl
JOSEPH WILLITS ANNE BEZANSON I
Director Director 'T
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Philadelphia Labor Market Studies fl
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. , Gladys L. Palmer, Economist in Charge IIII
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PHILADELPHIA LABOR MARKET STUDIES E
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GLADYS L. PALMER, Research Associate, Indus- i
trial Research Department, University of ‘ E
Pennsylvania; Consultant, National Re— {
searchProject, directing studies of this j
section 1
JANET H. LEwIs, Statistician !
MURRAY P. PFEFFERHAN, Associate Statistician
MARGARET W. BELL, Assistant Statistician '
VIRGINIA F. SHRYOCK, Chief Statistical Clerk i
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1 RECENT TRENDS IN EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT 11
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1 Gladys L. Palmer 11
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I WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION II
I WALKER-JOHNSON BUILDING III
E I734 NEW YORK AVENUE NW. I
I WASHINGTON, D. c. (I
I HARRY L. HOPKINS III
E ADMINISTRATOR . H
I II
I .II
II
I II
I December 23, 1937 I
I I
I ,I
I I
Hon. Harry L. Hopkins I
I Works Progress Administrator III
I I
I Sir: I
I . ‘ II
I I have the honor to transmit a summary report on III.
I the studies of the Philadelphia labor market carried on III
I by our National Research Project in cooperation with I
I the Industrial Research Department of the University I
I of Pennsylvania. Of special interest to the Works Prog— I
I ress Administration are the findings of the nine suc— II
I cessive censuses of unemployment which were taken in III
I Philadelphia annually beginning in 1929. The other II
I studies will be described in detail in forthcoming re— III
I ports. These studies are being conducted under the I
I supervision of Dr. Gladys L. Palmer. I
I III
I Employers generally exercise as much discrimina— III
tion in the selection of their labor force as the size III
I of the available labor reserve will permit. This se— III
I lectivity is exercised during periods of declining in— II
I dustrial activity when an effort is made to retain as III
. I many workers as possible within the limits of profitable II
I operation. It is also exercised during periods of ris— III
I ing activity when jobs are offered first to those who III
I meet the highest specifications for the jobs. In the III
I latter instanceJ the existence ofa large labor reserve III
I is conducive to the maintenance of job specifications III
I. at so high a level that a "labor shortage" is sometimes II
I created in certain occupations simultaneously with gen— II
I eral widespread unemployment. FurthermoreJ the exis— I
I tence of a large volume of unemployment represents a pres~ I
I sure of human need which drives into the labor market many II
who would not otherwise seek jobs. The employers' lim—
I its for selectivity are thus widened even beyond the II
I
* I

 . I

I I
I I scope provided by declines in employment. The effect
I 3 of the operation of these forces can be seen in the data
I ‘ presented in this report.
. It is apparent from these studies that during the i

. depth of the depression employers kept as many workers
1 attached to their plants as they could afford. This
j was usually accomplished by the device of part—time :
employment. A considerable proportion of the increased I
I product ion during the years 1933—1937 therefore resulted
3 in more work for those already employed, that isJ in a I
decline of part—time employment rather than of unemploy— I
ment.
. Since there was a large labor reserve to choose fromJ
such additional jobs as became available represented I
employment opportunities only for those who happened
to meet the relatively high standards of selection. Evi- }
dence of this is available in the specifications con—
tained in the orders received by the Philadelphia State
Employment Office as well as in the Philadelphia unem—
- ployment census statistics. .The latter show that the '
level of unemployment declined from 46 percent of the ;
total gainful workers in 1933 to 25 percent in 1937. :
YetJ inexperienced young workers under 25 years of age
were unemployed to the extent of 37 percent of their
I numberJ even in 1937. The industrially aged workers too I
received less than their share of the reemployment. The ‘;
combination of these factors resulted in a situation in ‘
which declining unemployment was accompanied by an in— I
crease in the number of those persons who were unemployed .
I longest. This indicates that so long as the volume of g
. unemployment remains at even its recent lowest levelJ
a certain number of those who were working in industry 1
I prior to 1929 have no reasonable expectation of ever .
again being reabsorbed. I
During the years of depression and recovery note—
I worthy changes took place in the proportions of women
1' who came into or left the labor market. The entrants I
i and reentrants into the labor market were apparently
I prompted to a considerable extent by the fact that dur—
‘ ing the depth of the depression and early recovery there I
I were relatively more jobs available for women than for I
I men. The declines in the proportions that women are of
the total gainful workersJ which took place in the second _

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Ct half of 1936 and in 1937, probably reflect declining E
to need resulting from increased employment among men. ll
; The Philadelphia figures show that the earliest - E

he 3 increases in the proportion of women came from those over lEl
rs ; 40 years 'of age, and in the age group 20 to 24. During
ls : the years 1933 to 1936, the relative increase in the , lEl
me availability of jobs for women under 40 brought a sharp l'E
ed l increase of women between the ages of 25 and 40 who l
ed were seeking work. A considerable proportion of this E
Q l last group actually found jobs and remained in the labor
Y‘ market, while the youngest, that is, those under 25, and E
E the oldest, that is, those over 40, were found in 1936 . ll

and 1937 to be dropping out of the labor market to an El

m, E appreciable extent. The net effect of these movements EEEE
ed E was: Discounting the changein the size of the popula— l
?d 3 tion, there were 19 percent more women in the labor mar— Ell
1‘ ket in 1937 than 1111931,- a large number of them had ac— ElE
n— tually found jobs; and at least so long as the level of 1l;
te unemployment remains as high as it is, they will prob— Ell
m— E ably stay in the labor market, whether employed or un— ‘El
he employed . l!
he ;
7' 5 Existing social security legislation is of little E
99 value to many of the unemployed groups mentioned above. ll
II Aside from those who are attached to occupations which EEE
00 are not covered by the existing unemployment insurance El
he legislation, the unemployed youths remain outside the llll
”1 ‘E protection of these laws so long as they are without EEEE
n— E opportunity to start working in industry and to amass EE
ed ' credit toward unemployment insurance. Neither can those EElE
Of whose unemployment today is of long duration lay claim lEl
1’ l to benefits from unemployment insurance funds. Ap- ll
TY E parently, so long as unemployment remains as exten— EEE
er sive as it has been during recent years of depression EEE
l and recovery, some system of assistance for those who EE

cannot qualify for unemployment benefits will continue E

e— E to be needed not only to provide a measure of security if
en for these groups, but also to afford them an opportunity 5E
ts E to receive that training or to retain that training '
:Y Which should help them eventually to find employment in EEE
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re private industry. EEE
or E In addition to the analysis of the unemployment ll
Of census data, this report also contains summaries of find— EEl
nd l ings on the last ten years of employment and unemployment E
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I experienceof selected grouPS(3fworkers in such occupa— ;
‘1 tionsas machinists, weavers, radio workers, and.others.
.1 The detailed reports on these and related studies will .
' I. be transmitted to you when completed.
“ Respectfully yours, .
Corrington Gill :
Assistant Administrator
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' C O N T E N T S A
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Section Page A
; PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii i
A
A
‘ I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 H
. W
1 n
A II. EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN PHILADELPHIA PRIOR TO 1930 3 A
A A
A III. UNEMPLOYMENT IN PHILADELPHIA SINCE 1980. . . . . 7
A IV. THE RELATIONSHIP OF RELIEF TO UNEMPLOYMENT . . . 14 A
, h
. V. JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND THE OCCUPATIONAL CHARAC- A
A TERISTICS OF JOB SEEKERS IN PHILADELPHIA AA
1 DURING THE DEPRESSION . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Em
A VI. THE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE OF WORKERS IN SELECTED AA
1 OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES, 1926—1936 . . . 22 A
, A]
A
Radio workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 M
. Machinists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ‘
I Weavers and loom fixers. . . . . . . . . . . . 28 A
A Full-fashioned hosiery workers . . . . . . . . 30 A
A Comparative experience . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 AA
.A 1.“
. A
A VII. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS WITH RESPECTTT)RECENT TRENDS Ah
1 IN EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN PHILADEL- Am
: PHIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 AA
A A A
A d
. APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Ag
. w
A CHARTS A
A
A
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v
A 1. Index of employment in manufacturing industries in A
Philadelphia, 1928—1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A
. AA
= :‘A
' 2. Socio—economie group of usual occupation of gainful A
. workers in Philadelphia, 1910, 1920. 1930. . . . . e A
As
H
3. Employment status of employable persons irithePhila— m
. delphia Unemployment Sample, 1929-1937 . . . . . . A 9 A
h
‘ 4. Number of direct— and work-relief cases in Philadel— W
phia, 1982-1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 A
m
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3; x CONTENTS E
ii;
“ ‘ APPENDIX TABLES 4
m 3 . Page €
, ‘ Table 1. Monthly index of employment, Philadelphia man— E
l ufacturing industries, 1928—1936 . . .,. . . 4O ;
: Table 2. Number of establishments, wage earners, and
i value added by manufacture,Philadelphiaman‘ ,
; ufacturing industries, 1923—1935 . . . . . . 41 f
I 5
Table 3. Socio—economic groups of usual occupation of E
‘ gainful workers, by sex, Philadelphia 1910,
‘ 1920, 1930 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 §
1 J
i Table 4. Number of households by number of employable E
7 persons per household, Philadelphia Unem— f
; ployment Sample, 1931-1936 . . . . . . . . . 43 E
l
‘ Table 5. Employment status of households by number of i
i employable persons per household, Philadel— 1
§ phia Unemployment Sample, 1931—1936. . . . . 44 i
31 5
‘ : Table 6. Employment status of persons in the Philadel— E
' phia Unemployment Sample, 1929-1937. . . . . 46 l
‘ 5 Table 7. Employment status of employable persons by i
1 sex, Philadelphia Unemployment Sample,
l 1931-1937. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 i
j l Table 8. Employment status of employable persons by
3 } race, nativity, and sex, Philadelphia unem— ‘
g 1 ployment sample, 1931—1936 . . . . . . . . . 48 z
“:1 i
w 1 !
5 ‘ Table 9. Median age of employable persons, by employ— E
‘ ‘ ment status and sex, Philadelphia Unemploy~ f
l ‘ ment Sample, 1931—1936 . . . . . . . . . . . 5o 3
H ‘ §
Hi 5
j { Table 10. Employment status of employable persons, by i
‘; 3 sex and age, Philadelphia Unemployment E
‘ 3 Sample, 1931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 t
i: ‘ i
P
i: 1 Table 11. Employment status of employable persons, by i
‘Z, s sex and age, Philadelphia Unemployment :
I, j Sample, 1932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 3
1‘ 1 Table 12. Employment status of employable persons, by E
, ‘ sex and age, Philadelphia Unemployment E
‘ Sample, 1933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 3
‘1 3 Table 18. Employment status of employable persons, by E
‘j ‘ sex and age, Philadelphia Unemployment
Sample, 1935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 5
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g CONTENTS xi 5
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i APPENDIX TABLES—Continued g
i Page ,
E Table 14. Employment status of employable persons, by 9
\ i
? sex and age, Philadelphia Unemployment I
E Sample, 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 I
i All
1 Table 15. Usual industrial group of usual occupation of l
g unemployed persons, Philadelphia Unemploy-
§ ment Sample, 1931-1936 . . . . . . . . . . . 56 j
;- l
} Table 16. Duration of unemployment since last regular 2
g job for previously employed workers and j
j since date of entering labor market for i
i new workers by sex, Philadelphia Unemploy— . J
i ‘ ment Sample, 1931~1936 . . . . . . . . . . . 57 i
I Table 17. Number of direct— and work—relief cases in {J
5 Philadelphia at the end of each fiscal ffi
f month, 1932—1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
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PREFACE ‘ E
E The Philadelphia industrial area isone of the oldest manufac—
E turing centers inthe country,withhighly diversified industries 1
E requiring a variety'ofskills. It has heavy'aswell as light in—
E dustries; they produce durable asnell as nondurable goods, pro- U
E ducers' as well as consumers' goods; they include such old in— E
E dustries as foundries and textiles and such new industries as
E radio manufacture and automobile bodies, declining industries
E like carpet weaving, and growing industries like themanufacture
E of television equipment andindustrial instruments. As a metro— E
E politan center, Philadelphia affords all types of employment in w
E trade, clerical, andservice occupations. The sizeand diversity E
E of Philadelphia add to the results of the studies described in E
E this report an interest which extends beyond their locale. m
E These studies cover a number of approaches to the analysis of w
E labor market problems in Philadelphia. The series of unemploy- E
E ment censuses are designed to measure changes in the volume of 1
E unemployment and the change in the composition and characteris— E
1 tics of the employed and unemployed populations which have at— M
1 ' tended the successive changes inindustrial conditions. Closely E
E related to this analysis is the study ofjob openings and place— M
1 ments in the local public employment office, designed to throw w
1 light onthe kinds of opportunities available foremployment, the E
1 type of personnel requisitioned byindustry, and therelationship 1
E of these specifications tothe characteristics of persons whoare E
E able to find employment atdifferent times. Of special interest %
E in these studies are the differences in the sex, age, and prior E
1 occupational or industrial experience of those who are employed m
E and ofthose whcyareunemployed atdifferent times, asthey reflect E
t the trend of changes in industrial conditions and the operating M
E requirements of industry, and the characteristics of those who E
1 have been suffering relatively long periods of unemployment or M
3 have become ”frozen" on the relief rolls. E
E Changes in industrial conditions are not, of course, uniform %
f for all industries during any period of time, and each industry fl
1 has, to a greater or lesser extent, groups of workers attached 1
E 1 to it whose fortunes depend invarying degrees upon the work re— E
E quirements of the industry. The more intimate relationship of E
1 the employment and unemployment experience of the labor supply EE
E ' of selected industries has therefore been an additional subject fl
1 _ xiii E
l:
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 . . .
‘ E
E xiv PREFACE E
, ‘ EE of study. The groups selected are representative of the 1936
E E ‘ labor supply of the radio industry and of certain specialized
. ‘ textile industries — upholstery, woolens and worsted, and carpet
, weaving — and of the occupational group of machinists. The radio
‘ ‘ industry represents an expanding industry with several large E
E plants located in the Philadelphia area; the specialized textile E
E industries represent declining industries in an old center for E
these industries; and the machinists represent a skilled craft E
‘ in an old center of the metalworking industry. In addition to ‘
. the above, the labor force of recently shut—down mills in the E
E hosiery industry, which has been declining in the area, has been
‘ a subject of study. These studies are based upon analyses of
ten years of employment and unemployment experience of the workers
‘ 1 selected.
‘ Established governmental and private research agencies have ac— E
. cumulated a great deal of information on employment and unemploy— E
ment in Philadelphia. Much of this information is without par— "
allel in other parts of the country. With the cooperation of E
, .2 these agencies, it was possible to arrange the series of studies E
. which are described in this report. E
‘, The Philadelphia studies have been carried out in cooperation
E‘ with the University of Pennsylvania's Industrial Research Depart— E
ment. This Department not only made available to us its records E
.3} and the goodwill which it has earned in the community through E
1 years of useful research, but through the loan of the services 2
E of Dr. Gladys L. Palmer it has made possible a task which could
not otherwise have been done. We welcome this occasion to ex—
,E. press our deep gratitude to Drs. Joseph Willits and Anne Bezanson,
Directors of Research of the Industrial Research Department of
‘ the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
.\ DAVID WEINTRAUB E
E‘ IRVING KAPLAN E
‘3 PHILADELPHIA E
‘ 3 December 18, 1937 E
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E 1
SECTION I EE
INTRODUCTION i E
E This report summarizes the findings of a program of studies of IE
E the Philadelphia labormarket and outlines the contents of subse— EE
E quent publications which describe these findings in greater de— E
E tail. The program was initiated by the Industrial Research De— EE
partment of the University of Pennsylvania in 1923 and was con— E
E tinned in 1936 by the National Research Project of the Works Prog- E
ress Administration in cooperation with the former agency. It
has been the opinion of the sponsors of the program that a fairly EE
intensive analysis of conditions in one labor market overa period
of years might throw considerable light on problems of unemploy— E
E ment, occupational and industrial shifting, and occupational re— EE
E absorption during depression and recovery. EEE‘
" Several approaches to the analysis of recent trends in the E:
E Philadelphia labor market have been followed in this series of E
E studies. The original studies of the Industrial Research De— L
E partment of the University of Pennsylvania1 included an unemploy— EE
ment census of a sample of 45,000 households in Philadelphia . E
E which has been taken in the spring of each year since 1929. This E
E sample covered 10 percent of the city's employable population in E
E 1929. Annual surveys of job openings, of applications filed by . E
‘ job seekers, and of placements made by the Philadelphia State Em— E‘E
ployment Office were started in 1932. Data for a monthly index E
E of help—wanted advertising in'Philadelphia newspapers are avail— EEE
able from 1922 to date. Special studies of employment in selected EE
industries in the Philadelphia areawere also undertaken asa part E
E of this program. EE
E Beginning in 1936, the National Research Project of the Works EEE
E Progress Administration cooperated with the Industrial Research EEE
E Department of the University of Pennsylvania in bringing certain E
E of these studies down to‘date and in expanding the program in E
E other directions. The taking of the annual Unemployment Census E
E for the years 1936 and 1937 and the survey of employment-office EEE
. __ g
E 1The writer wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness to the Directors and form— EEEE
E er members or the staff or the Industrial Research Department or the Univer- EEE
E 3315K;iSEEZ‘EPXE‘Si32°92”?rtfifinfiiéififiéifii,‘ifi’éecfififiiffificffifiéeso:“ciéfiiéiiéEE
E Evans and Elizabeth Geary should be noted. E E
i , 1 E
E 1 E
. E
E

 pi
i 1 '
i 1 2 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN PHILADELPHIA ‘
i ‘ :
I 5 records for 1936 were a part of this program. In addition,
t ‘ ; i , special studies of the occupational characteristics of relatively
i A j A immobile parts of the city's labor supply on relief rolls were A
A undertaken. These studies were supplemented by the work histories ‘
3 ‘ of approximately 2,500 persons usually employed in selected im— ‘
‘ i portant occupations or industries in the city. The latter in—
i i cluded machinists, millwrights, and tool makers in metalworking ’
trades, workers of all grades of skill in the radio industry,
‘ knitters, toppers, seamers, loopers, and menders and examiners
‘ in the full—fashioned hosiery industry, and weavers and loom A
‘ fixers in certain specialized textile industries. The writer is
i deeply indebted to the Director and Associate Director of the i
l 7 National Research Project for their assistance at all stages of f
‘ ‘ the work in this part of the broader program of studies.
A A number of community agencies and individuals have cooperated
: with the sponsors of the studies of the Philadelphia labor mar— t
1 ‘ ket. The Bureau of Compulsory Education of the School District
” ‘ of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania State Emergency Relief Admin-
1 istration, the Pennsylvania State Employment Service, the Penn— I
‘ sylvania Works Progress Administration, and Area Statistical
i ‘ , Office No. 2 of the Works Progress Administration have cooperated I
in furnishing information. Many of the city's workers, employers, ‘4
; and government officials have given data of basic value to this
program and their cooperation has been appreciated. Special i
i 1 j acknowledgment should be made to the Philadelphia County Relief i
Board, to the Philadelphia State Employment Office, and to the
p ‘ _ local Works Progress Administration for cooperation in the present 1
i i as well as in the earlier program of studies.2 :
i 2Acknowledgments have already been made in earlier publications of the In— :
j dustrial Research Department or the University of Pennsylvania for assistance 5
f éESme§3§§%152%???132%‘33e313’fi‘é3nPESEESiswé‘s‘Té‘fiSZEZEiZfiapifiéifi‘i;WEE? E
A ‘ 1 Sfiswianiw’éioii‘éfiegé13‘?23232331Zfigm'éiipafélieEZEfiESS itdéfiiiifiifiebinS‘ékiEi 1
, ‘ ‘ supervision of the work of WPA Project 6014 and to her assistants. _
I
E

 I
1 II
I
I
I
I SECTION II II
I II
I EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN PHILADELPHIA PRIOR TO 1930 III
II
I Philadelphia is a metropolitan community of two million popu— I
I lation with widely diversified manufacturing and commercial in— L
I terests. It is an old industrial center, particularly in the II
I fields ofmanufacturing specialized textile, metal, and chemical I
I products and machinery and transportation equipment. A sur— II
I prisingly large number of its firms are over 100 years old, and ~
I the city has retained much ofits initial leadership even though I
I recent expansion of typically Philadelphia industries has taken 1%
I place in other geographical areas. In 1930 about half of the I!
I gainful workers in the city were attached to the manufacturing I
I and mechanical industries, in which various types of metal and M
I machinery manufacturing,textile manufacturing, andbuilding con— II
I struction predominated. One—fifth ofthe gainful workers in1930 IN
I were employed in trade and the remainder in other types of in— II
I dustries.1 I
.
I The importance of the manufacturing industries to the Phila— II
I delphia labor market cannot beoverestimated. A general decline I
I in manufacturing employment in the city since 1923 has created II
I a large labor reserve of persons formerly employed in the manu— II
I facturing industries. The lowest points in manufacturing em— I
I ployment were reached in 1932 and 1933. Considerable improve- I‘
I ment occurred in the years from 1933 to 1936 but the peak of I
I manufacturing employment attained in1923 has not beenduplicated I
I since that time (chart 1, Appendix Itable 1). Although there I
I have been some industries like radio manufacturing which have II
E expanded in this area, a considerable number of textile and I
I other plants have moved out of the city. II
I Some idea of the decline of Philadelphia's manufacturing in— II
I dustries is indicated in the summary of data from the Census of II
I Manufactures presented in Appendix table 2. A 10-year compari— II
1 son shows that the number of Philadelphia manufacturing estab— II
I lishments in 1935 had declined to 79 percent of those reporting II
I in 1925, the average number of wage earners employed in manu— iI
I 1Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, "Unemployment' (U- 5- Dept. II
I Com.. Bur. or Census, 1952), Vol. 1. table 9, D- 868- II
I :1
II
I ' 3 II
I
II
II

 I ..
. . .,..-LZ:.-§.ZL-_.1'1:71 1.17. [”1 , 7 , ,1 ' , , ' I, " , H ' . 7 , _ ' ' "'7 if} W7'TEE:[ifjglfff‘f' ' J}
I
a I
I
CHART I.-INDEX OF EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES I
max Nos. IN PHILADELPHIA, I923 - I936 INDEX Nos. 1:: I
I923- |925= I00 |923-I925= I00 E: :
I." I
|30 11._.T-7_. 1h .11.-..{1—1— . I30 2 I
I a. . -
I20 .__ IZO Z
>
I I0 A M, I ".4 [IO g
d
' 2
I00 ”- ‘A“ m I— I... I00 '5:
.l" I " ' I L..." a
I O
90 I I A 90
Pa
80 1* . 80
Z
70 ,,_ I 70 I-u
{:13
H
I h"... =~
60 g. 60 ’5
I?)
L“
50 . . . . , 50 n:
I923 I924 l925 I926 I927 1926 ' I929 I930 [93I 1932 I933 I934 |935 I936 :
See Appendix table 1 for data. Philadelphia Labor Market StudIes
IndustrIal Research Department —
University of Pennsylvania and
- WPA — National Research Project

 EMPLOYMENT TRENDS PRIOR TO 1930 5 i

. 1

LEE :1 facturing had declined to 82 percent of the 1925 average, and
5:? L the value added to products by the manufacturing process had

E: 1 declined to 66 percent of the 1925 level.

Egg 1 The city has always been noted for its highly skilled labor 1

£53 1 supply experienced in specialized types of work. In earlier 1

2;; i years many workers trained abroad came directly to Philadelphia, J

E»; 1 particularly from the textile and metal—producing centers of 1

3:21; 1 Great Britain and Germany. Nevertheless American-born workers 1

E2); 1 have always predominated in the city's industrial population. 1

53:; 1 The great majority of them are white. Although the Negro popu— 1

1 lation of Philadelphia has increased during recent decades, Negro 1

1 workers constituted only 13 percent of the city's gainful workers

1 in 1930.2 The ratio of gainful workers to the city's total 1

1 population, as reflected in the data of the United States Census, 11

1 shows no marked change from 1900 to 1930. Nor did the propor—

1 tion of women to men among gainful workers change much during 1

1 this period. .

‘ 1 Some changes occurred, however, in the types of employment 1

1 reported by workers in each Census of Occupations taken since I

1 1900. The extent and character of these changes are reflected 11

1 in the socio—economic grouping of occupations reported by the 11

9 city's gainful workers in 1910, 1920, and 1930 (chart 2, Appendix 111

table 3). These datashow that the most significant change which )1

has taken place during these years is a sharp increase in the 1

1 relative importance of clerical occupations and a decline in 1

1 the relative importance of semiskilled occupations. These occu— 11

1 pational changes have been relatively greater forwomen than for 11

1 men. During the years under consideration, the relative impor- 111

1 tance of employment in professional pursuits increased although 11

1 the proportion of proprietors and managers among the gainful 111

1 workers declined. The importance of the skilled occupations in— 11’

1 creased from 1910 to 1920 bu