the number of employees

This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the NationalBureau of Economic Research

Volume Title: Employment Hours and Earnings in Prosperity and Depression, United States, 1920-1922

Volume Author/Editor: Wilford Isbell King

Volume Publisher: NBER

Volume ISBN: 0-87014-004-3

Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/king23-1

Publication Date: 1923

Chapter Title: The Number of Employees

Chapter Author: Wilford Isbell King

Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c4866

Chapter pages in book: (p. 22 - 46)

CHAPTER II

THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEESHow important was the reduction in the number of employees brought

about by the decline in business activity occurring between 1920 and 1922?The object of this chapter is to answer the above question.

THE COMPARATIVE MEASURABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT ANDUNEMPLOYMENT

It will be observed that the purpose is to measure change in the numberworking as employees rather than variations in the amount of unemploy-ment. This form of stating the problem is imperative and not optional.Several statisticians have compiled satisfactory indices of unemploymentbut none has succeeded in measuring its absolute volume, and it is safeto say that none will ever obtain a quantitative statement of the extent ofthis malady which will successfully withstand the attacks of careful critics.The obstacle which prevents the accurate measurement of the quantityof unemployment is the fact that it is a condition subject to as manydefinitions as there are writers on the subject. This fact becomes apparentwhen we analyze the conditions that cause people to work or stop working.

Obviously the potential maximum of employment is very much higherthan anything ever experienced by present-day Americans. Under condi-tions of extreme stress all able-bodied persons over seven years of age mightwork from twelve to fourteen hours daily. Household duties might bereduced to a fraction of their present extent and the entire population out-side of the sick, infirm, and small children might devote part or all of theday to what the Census Bureau calls "gainful occupations." Under suchcircumstances, one could say that employment had reached a maximum.As the country returned to normal, there would, of course, be a tremendousdecline in the volume of employment. Would all of this decline representunemployment? If so, it follows that under normal conditions we ex-perience perhaps fifty per cent of idleness. To most people, however, sucha statement seems absurd. They will say that only those desiring employ-ment can be classed as unemployed and that, when the emergency is past,the new percentage of unemployment must be based upon the number de-siring work under normal conditions—in other words, that what is soughtis a measure of voluntary unemployment.

22

THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 23

Experience shows, however, that it is exceedingly difficult to ascertainjust who is to be counted as desiring work and what conditions are to beconsidered normal. Thousands of persons are on the border line. Is thesick man to be counted as unemployed? If so, does he still continue inthis status if he remains disabled for years? If he is unemployed, does thesame hold true of the cripple who has never been able to work regularly?

These problems are not easy to solve, but they are simple as comparedto those involving the relations of employment to pay and working condi-tions in different phases, of the business cycle.

It will perhaps be easier to see this last problem in its true light if we con-sider in connection with it an analogous case in another field. When cottonprices fell sharply during the autumn of 1920, many a farmer felt that priceswere too low and refused to sell his crop. True, he could market it readilyenough if he were willing to sell for any price offered; but the price be couldget commonly would not cover production costs and frequently its accept-ance spelled ruin. Therefore, he held on, and much of his cotton remainedon his farm unsold. His refusal to market his crop helped to check theprice decline and probably prevented prices from falling as low as theyotherwise would have done. If he was financially able, he may have heldhis cotton until prices rose again at the close of 1921. If, however, he waspoor, he was forced to sell earlier—even at a serious loss. Eventually,however, either a forced sale, the rising market price, or the deterioration ofthe old cotton caused his unsold stock to disappear.

Is there not a close parallel between this situation and what occurred inthe labor market at about the same dates? It is a well-known fact that, inthe latter part of 1920, there was a serious diminution in the volume oforders for factory products with a resulting collapse in the prices of thesegoods. Since labor is the second largest item of factory costs, employerscould not retain their entire force at the old wage level. Not oniy mustthey reduce purchases of raw materials: they must also either cut wagesor lay off their less essential employees. At a much lower wage rate, manyemployers could have afforded to manufacture for stock and many moreworkers could have been retained on the pay rolls. Most of the employees,however, were not disposed to accept a cut when the option was offered—and it was not offered in all cases, for many employers, knowing that awage reduction meant trouble, closed their factories without stopping todiscuss the matter. Like, the cotton planters, wage earners very generallyheld out for the old rates. As a result, many were laid off—in other words,their labor, like the cotton on the Southern plantation, remained unsold.In economic parlance, the price bid by the employer fell below the priceasked by the employee, and unemployment was the inevitable result.

Are we to consider the idleness of the employees under such circum-4

24 EMPLOYMENT HOURS AND EARNINGS

stances voluntary or involuntary? The cotton farmer held his cotton be-cause he thought it unwise to accept a serious loss when the prospects werethat he would get a better price later. The laborers deemed it bad policyto accept a cut because they feared it would be hard to reestablish the wagerates which they had fought hard to win.'

Eventually, as has been noted, poverty compelled many of the cottonfarmers to sell their cotton below cost of production. Table LVII indicatesthat, by the beginning of 1921, factory laborers were also being compelledby hard times to market their labor at lower prices, and that this processwent on throughout the year, for wage rates continued slowly to decline.Table V shows that, by the last quarter of 1921, this process, coupled pre-sumably with a reduction in the stocks of manufactured products on hand,had caused the number of employees at work in manufacturing to increasenoticeably. By the spring of 1922 there was, then, less labor unsold, justas on the cotton plantation there was less cotton unsold. In more technicalterms, we may say that either when the price at which the employee holdshis labor falls below the price which the employer is willing to pay, or whenthe employer's demand price for labor rises above the holding price of theemployee, unemployment disappears.

Whether it was wise or unwise for the cotton farmers to hold their cottonor the factory employees to stand out for the old wage rates must remainlargely a, matter of opinion. The statistician is not concerned, however,with the merits or demerits of any policy. The only question at issue hereis whether the cyclical unemployment of 1921 was voluntary or involun-tary. Does the evidence not indicate that many workers had a measureof choice between unemployment and wage maintenance, just as cottonplanters had a measure of choice between selling and holding for a betterprice? Probably, in particular sections, some grades of cotton could notbe sold for any price. Presumably, likewise, in certain localities, givenclasses of workers might not have been able to sell their labor at any wage,but there are no data showing the number of such cases. Without suchfigures, how can we measure the amount of unemployment which is in-voluntary?

The crucial difficulty in measuring the per cent of involuntary unem-ployment is, then, the fixing of a base. The evidence shows that this baseis practically indeterminate. The best method of dealing with the problemseems therefore to be to cut the Gordian knot and to treat of employment

Colonel M. C. Rorty, one of the Bureau's directors, comments as follows: "Labor-ers might not necessarily lose in the long run if, in times of depression, they were promptto accept wage liquidations. There is a theory, which is at least worthy of consideration,that the principal reason for the greater seventy of business crises in modern times is thatwage earners are better organized and hold out for a longer time against necessary wageliquidations."


rather than unemployment. Here we have a really tangible quantity. Noelusive base is involved. We can deal with a unit susceptible of statisticalmeasurement—a week's work, a day's work, or an hour's work for oneemployee. We can ascertain the changes that have taken place from timeto time in the total number of days or of employee hours worked and inthis way we can measure definitely one of the effects of the business cycleupon the employees of the country. It is this method that is pursued inthe following pages.

Do EMPLOYEES SHWr PROM ONE INDUSTRY TO ANOTHER?Pay roll statistics have been compiled for a number of years by the

Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics for Massachusetts factories. In recentyears, similar data have been collected elsewhere. These records haveshown large fluctuations in the numbers employed. It has, however, alwaysbeen a matter of doubt as to whether diminutions in the numbers on thefactory pay rolls did or did not represent a falling off in the total volume ofemployment. Might it not be true that the decline in factory employmentrepresented mainly a shift of employees from the manufacturing field toother industries? Hitherto, no information has been available which wouldenable one to answer this question. In the present investigation, the at-tempt has been made to throw light upon this subject from two differentdirections. First, inquiries have been made to ascertain whether givenindividuals have shifted their occupations from one industry to another.Second, employers in all important industries have been canvassed to seewhether any industry has taken on the employees laid off by the factories.The results of the first inquiry are shown in Tables II, III, and IV.

The chief impression received from a careful study of Table II is one ofstability. Manifestly there has been no tendency worth mentioning for thesons or daughters to change occupations because of the fluctuations of thebusiness cycle. The number of factory workers in this group declined byless than a dozen persons. The oniy shift of moment was the movement ofthose not gainfully occupied into the ranks of professional service, com-merce, and trade, and this change is explained mainly by the fact that aconsiderable number of boys and girls finished school during the period andbegan clerking in stores or teaching school.

Table III gives a similar record for the families of entrepreneurs. Thosereporting this information for their families are for the most part men doingbusiness on a small scale. They have given quarter by quarter the occupa-tions followed by themselves or by members of their respective families. Thistable shows even less evidence of change than does Table II. Evidently,the period 1920 to 1922 witnessed no important shift in the industrialaffiliations of the members of the families of the reporting entrepreneurs.

TAB

LE Ii

THE

NU

MB

ER O

F M

EMB

ERS

OF

8,47

7 R

EPR

ESEN

TATI

VEO

FA

RM

ERS'

FA

MIL

IES

WH

O W

ERE

16 Y

EAR

S O

F A

GE

OR

OV

ER IN

192

2 A

ND

TH

E IN

DU

STR

IES

IN W

HIC

H T

HEY

HA

D B

EEN

EM

PLO

YED

1920

1921

1922

SEX

iND

UST

RY

Firs

tSe

cond

Third

Four

thFi

rst

Seco

ndTh

irdFo

urth

Firs

tqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rA

ll In

dust

ries

14,6

4314

,643

14,6

4314

,643

14,6

4214

,641

14,6

3914

,637

14,6

37A

gric

ultu

re11

,671

12,312

12,993

11,8

1011

,717

12,3

2412

,909

11,7

8611

,739

Extra

ctio

nof Minerals

30

2428

3738

3244

4651

Fact

oryProduction

100

9093

107

100

7383

9488

Con

stru

ctio

n10

299

113

104

8511

313

412

4O

ther

Han

d Tr

ades

161

125

134

152

163

131

125

138

165

MA

LETr

ansp

orta

tion

197

174

192

198

201

182

191

197

198

Com

mer

ceand

Trad

e27

322

023

227

729

524

926

531

132

5Fi

nanc

e64

58

60

69

67

63

66

75

70

Public

and

Prof

essi

onal

Ser

vice

....

406

278

221

380

405

287

225

423

420

0Domestic

and

Pers

onal

Ser

vice

....

2216

2923

2422

3126

26N

ot G

ainf

ully

Occ

upie

d1,

484

1,12

642

31,

371

1,42

31,

057

444

1,29

01,

336

Indu

stry

Unk

now

n13

312

112

511

512

410

812

212

712

1

All

Indu

strie

s6,

614

6,61

46,

612

6,61

26,

611

6,61

16,

611

6,60

96,

609

Agr

icul

ture

2629

4329

28

32

48

32

34

Extraction

of M

iner

als

....

....

....

...

-

Fac

tory

Prod

uctio

n15

1512

1515

1613

1918

Con

stru

ctio

n..

....

....

....

....

Oth

erH

and

Trad

es...

2527

2727

2726

2827

27Tr

ansp

orta

tion

2626

3029

2931

3131

31'—

4

Com

mer

cean

d Tr

ade

126

128

145

134

130

134

152

145

137

ZF

inan

ce9

89

1011

108

88

Publ

ic a

nd P

rofe

ssio

nal S

ervi

ce60

355

322

865

066

460

424

571

672

2D

omes

tic a

nd P

erso

nal S

ervi

ce64

6779

7175

7488

8184

Not

Gai

nful

ly O

ccup

ied

5,68

35,

723

6,00

45,

610

5,59

65,

651

5,96

55,

513

5,50

8In

dust

ry U

nkno

wn

3738

35

37

36

3333

3740

aIn

form

atio

nob

tain

ed fr

om U

. S.A

gricultural

Dep

artm

ent's

Cro

p R

epor

ters

.A

ll Se

ctio

ns o

f the

Con

tinen

tal U

nite

d St

ates

repr

esen

ted

in a

ppro

xim

atel

y co

rrec

t pro

porti

ons.

Man

y fa

rmer

s fai

led

to re

port

the

occu

patio

ns o

f oth

er m

embe

rs o

f the

ir fa

mili

es;

henc

e th

e re

lativ

ely

smal

l num

ber o

f wom

en a

ccou

nted

for o

ther

wis

e th

an a

s "N

ot G

ainf

ully

Occ

upie

d."

TAB

LE U

I

THE

IND

UST

RIE

S EN

GA

GED

IN D

UR

ING

192

0 A

ND

192

1 B

Y P

ERSO

NS

WH

O iN

192

2 W

ERE

MEM

BER

S O

F TH

E FA

MIL

IES

OF

REP

OR

TIN

G E

NTR

EPR

ENEU

RS

(EX

CLU

DIN

G F

AR

MER

S) A

ND

WH

O W

ERE

THEN

16

YEA

RS

OF

AG

E O

R O

VER

a

1920

1921

1922

SEX

IND

UST

RY

Firs

tSe

cond

Third

Four

thFi

rst

Seco

ndTh

irdFo

urth

Firs

tqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rqu

arte

rA

ll In

dust

ries

1,41

51,

415

1,41

51,

414

1,41

41,

414

1,41

51,

415

1,41

5A

gric

ultu

re16

317

521

916

816

517

722

017

216

9Ex

tract

ion

of M

iner

als

46

44

46

55

5Fa

ctor

y W

ork

147

145

147

145

148

148

150

148

149

Bui

ldin

g an

d C

onst

ruct

ion

7073

7470

6869

7268

68O

ther

Han

d Tr

ades

9290

9289

9192

9390

90Tr

ansp

orta

tion

1415

.16

16

15

16

17

16

16

Commerce

and

Trad

e61

561

562

661

661

661

662

962

262

1Fi

nanc

e19

19

19

18

20

19

19

20

18

Public and Professional Service....

22

22

24

23

22

21

22

17

17

Domestic

and

Pers

onal

Ser

vice

8687

91

89

87

89

92

89

88

Not

Gai

nful

ly O

ccup

ied

163

148

8215

715

914

374

148

152

Indu

stry

Unk

now

n20

2021

1919

1822

2022

All

Indu

strie

s48

748

748

748

748

748

748

748

748

7A

gric

ultu

re1

13

21

13

21

Fact

oryWork

17

16

18

16

16

16

18

16

16

Other

Han

d Tr

ades

1212

1212

1212

1313

13

02

Tran

spor

tatio

n2

22

22

22

22

FEM

ALE

Com

mer

ce a

nd T

rade

7070

7270

7171

7270

72Fi

nanc

e3

33

53

3-

53

3Pu

blic

and

Pro

fess

iona

l Ser

vice

..37

3736

3939

3936

4140

Dom

estic

and

Per

sona

l Ser

vice

...29

3134

3231

3335

3231

Not

Gai

nful

ly O

ccup

ied

290

289

283

284

288

287

282

285

286

Indu

stry

Unk

now

n26

2624

2524

2321

2323

wor

king

on

the

hom

e fa

rm a

re c

lass

ed a

s "N

ot G

ainf

ully

Occ

upie

d."

28

TABLE IV

THE INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENTS OF 658 PERSONS WHO WERE EMPLOYEESAT LEAST PART OF THE TIME IN 1920 OR 1921 AND WHO WERE

OVER 15 YEARS OLD IN 1922

. 1920 1921—1922

Mar.Apr.May

Mar.Apr.May

JuneJulyAug.

Sept.Oct.Nov.

Dec.Jan.Feb.

MALE EMPLOYEE8All Industries

AgricuitureExtraction of MineralsFactoriesBuilding and ConstructionOther Hand TradesTransportation

Commerce and TradeFinancePublic and Professional ServiceDomestic and Personal ServiceIndustry UnknownNot Gainfully Occupied

516

3439

13042

962

751631231045

534

3441

131451157

90183625

937

535

4042

129481166

961932301111

536

3440

13249

961

92203631

923

542

3339

135501063

902139301022

FEMALE EMPLOYEESAll Industries

FactoriesBuilding and ConstructionOther Hand TradesTransportationCommerce and Trade

FinancePublic and Professional ServiceDomestic and Personal ServiceIndustry UnknownNot Gainfully Occupied

142

2823

1020

721232

26

145

3024

1123

72324

120

147

3214

1224

92326

115

148

3014

1026

102630

110

147

3115

1025

102630

18

Table IV records the changes in the industrial attachments of 658 em-ployees scattered over the United States. Those who were out of work wereassigned for this classification to the last industry in which they had beenemployed. This accounts for the small number reported as not gainfullyoccupied. Those doing clerical work of an unspecified nature were assignedarbitrarily to "Commerce and Trade." When this fact is considered, thetable seems simply to emphasize the same points brought out by the twopreviously considered—namely, that the only change of moment has beenoccasioned by boys and girls finishing school and going to work.

The combined evidence of the three tables is that the transition froma boom to a depression is accompanied by practically no shift of workers


from one industrial field to another. If this is true, employees laid off in anindustry must, for the most part, either remain idle or go to work on theirown account—often at such casual work as canvassing or peddling. Morelight upon the validity of this conclusion will be furnished by Tables V, VI,VII, and VIII, which show the average numbers of employees on the payrolls of the various industries in each quarter during the period.

CHANGES IN THE NUMBERS EMPLOYED IN VARIous INDUSTRIESIn the last column of these tables are entered figures intended to show the

decline in employment brought about by the cycle. Since many of the in-dustries under consideration are seasonal and since no data are availablewhich make it possible to eliminate the seasonal swings, it has been neces-sary to compare the figures for corresponding quarters only, in order toavoid gross error in the case of seasonal industries. In such instances, theprocedure followed has been first to ascertain the maximum differencebetween corresponding quarters and then to divide this difference by thenumber employed in the first quarter of the pair chosen. While frequentlythis method will produce results somewhat smaller than the actual maximumdecline, the error is not likely to be large enough to vitiate the comparisonof one industry with another.

When the figures show an increase from one year to another, the rulefollowed has been to take the minimum increase between correspondingquarters. This method seems to give a fair comparison, for, in most in-stances, the quarters compared are the same as thoseused in measuring themaximum decline in several other industries. Practically the same proced-ure has been followed in computing the last column of a large number ofthe tables in this volume.

The figures that appear in this and many of the succeeding tables are notthe totals of the samples sent in, but rather the estimated totals for thecountry as a whole. The items have been given weights representing theestimated numbers employed in the respective industrial fields in order thaterrors due to faulty sampling may be reduced to a minimum.' This pro-cedure enables us to form an intelligible picture of what really happenedto the number employed in the United States as a whole.

Table V indicates that 5,033,000 fewer workers were on the. pay rolls inthe early part of 1922 than were employed ill the third quarter of 1920.However, part of this decline was seasonal. If we compare the third quar-ters, we discover that there were 4,102,000 fewer people at work in 1921 thanin 1920, or about one-seventh of all who had been employed at the earlierdate.

1 As is shown in Table I, in certain important industries reports were received forrelatively few employees; while in other less important fields, many more employeeswere accounted for.

TAB

LE V

AN

EST

IMA

TE F

OR

TH

E C

ON

TIN

ENTA

L U

NIT

ED S

TATE

S O

FO

F A

LL E

NTE

RPR

ISES

THE

TOTA

L N

UM

BER

OF

EMPL

OY

EES

ON

TH

E PA

Y R

OLL

SO

F W

HA

TEV

ER S

IZE

THO

USA

ND

S O

F EM

PLO

YEE

S O

N T

HE

PA

YR

OLL

S

IND

UST

RY

Firs

tqu

arte

rSe

cond

quar

ter

1920

1921

1922

All

Indu

strie

sA

gric

ultu

reEx

tract

ion

of M

iner

als

Bui

ldin

g an

d C

onst

ruct

ion

Oth

er H

and

Trad

esFi

nanc

ePu

blic

and

Pro

fess

iona

l Ser

vice

..D

omes

tic a

nd P

erso

nal S

ervi

ce...

.A

ll Tr

ansp

orta

tion

Stea

m R

ailw

ays

Oth

er T

rans

porta

tion

Com

mer

ce a

nd T

rade

Who

lesa

leR

etai

lA

ll Fa

ctor

ies

Food

, Drin

k, a

nd T

obac

coLu

mbe

r and

Its P

rodu

cts

Met

als a

nd M

etal

Pro

duct

sP

aper

and

Prin

ting

Min

eral

Pro

duct

s"Te

xtile

and

Lea

ther

Pro

duct

s C

27,2

321,

370

1,04

71,240

548

390

3,07

52,

683

3,16

92,

032

1,13

62,562

288

2,27

411

,149

1,048

985

5,10

463

987

82,

495

Third

quar

ter

29,1

802,

300

1,12

01,

600

550

400

3,00

02,

820

3,42

02,

200

1,22

02,

600

300

2,30

011

,370

1,12

01,

050

5,20

064

091

02,

450

28,3

781,

871

1,07

21,

492

575

399

3,02

22,

763

3,24

32,

044

1,19

92,

606

303

2,30

311

,334

1,01

51,062

5,21

363

688

12,

525

Four

thqu

arte

r

27,4

161,

724

1,07

71,307

568

396

3,04

72,781

3,35

22,

101

1,25

12,

656

286

2,37

010

,507

1,07

591

24,

743

666

892

2,22

0

Firs

tqu

arte

r

24,8

281,

355

1,01

11,

104

554

398

3,12

02,

741

2,84

71,724

1,12

32,507

274

2,23

39,

189

881

839

3,90

161

9793

2,15

5

Seco

ndqu

arte

r

24,5

981,823

960

1,21

158

138

22,

973

2,75

32,

739

1,59

91,

140

2,52

728

42,

242

8,64

8858

928

3,30

560

274

82,

206

Third

quar

ter

25,0

782,204

944

1,41

556

538

02,

940

2,78

62,

865

1,71

01,

155

2,52

028

42,

236

8,46

095

991

52,

979

599

750

2,25

7

0 0 C12 II CI)

Four

thqu

arte

r

24,7

741,

666

862

1,40

457

237

33,

161

2,70

12,

922

1,74

11,

181

2,58

227

32,

309

8,53

295

285

23,

020

623

763

2,32

2

CY

CLI

CA

L

(Per

Cen

t)

14.0

64.

1726

.88

18.8

3.7

0d6.

752.

002.

8816

.23

22.2

75.

603.

086.

272.

7825

.59

15.9

414

.82

42.8

56.

4617

.80

14.6

5

Firs

tqu

arte

r

24,1

471,

372

819

1,32

056

137

43,

269

2,66

12,

674

1,58

61,

088

2,47

726

52,

212

8,62

186

185

53,

238

620

760

2,28

7

b In

clud

esch

emic

al, s

tone

, gla

ss, a

nd c

lay

prod

ucts

.In

clud

es c

loth

ing

of a

ll ki

nds.

a V

ehic

les,

railr

oad

cars

, and

all

prod

ucts

not

els

ewhe

re re

cord

ed a

re in

clud

ed h

ere.

d In

crea

se =

min

imum

forcorresponding quarters.


Though one is impressed by the very great seasonal fluctuations in agri-cultural employment, there is no evidence of any startling change broughtabout in that field by the business cycle. There was apparently a slighttendency for farmers to hire fewer employees during the depression, but incorresponding quarters the number of employees diminished by only about100,000. In the light of this evidence there is then no reason to believe thatthe farmers took on any considerable number of the workers whom the fac-tories, mines, and railways, laid off. Since the sample of farms secured islarge enough to be representative, this conclusion seems to rest on a firmfoundation and strengthens thQ indications given by the figures pertainingto entrepreneurs' families that the depression was accompanied by a strik-ing decline in the total volume of employment in the urban industries of theUnited States. When the agricultural industry is excluded, the decline inother fields is shown to be almost exactly4,000,000, which accords very wellindeed with the estimates by experts made for the President's Conferenceon Unemployment in September, 1921.'

In Tables VI, VII, and VIII, the pay-roll records are divided accordingto the size of the enterprise as measured by the number of workers em-ployed. These tables show that concerns having 100 employees in thefirst quarter of 1920 laid off 3,300,000 out of the 4,100,000 who were re-moved from the pay rolls, while two-thirds of the remaining reductionoccprred in enterprises employing 21 to 100 persons at the date mentionedand this despite the fact that about one-third of all employees work foremployers hiring fewer than 21 persons. Of the seventeen industrial groupsfor which records appear in the table, only five showed a cyclical falling offin numbers employed of as much as 6 per cent for enterprises in which Cewerthan 21 employees were working in 1920, while, in the large scale enterprises,12 out of the 17 register declines of more than 10 per cent.

Although these records give unequivocal evidence that it is primarily thelarge concern which is affected by a business depression, it is by no meanseasy to determine why this should be the case. It is possible that the smallemployer keeps less accurate accounts, and since he is not in a position tojudge as to what size of working force is most advantageous, the number ofpersons on his pay roll depends largely upon custom rather than upon thesize of. current profits. Perhaps the small employer, being well acquaintedwith his employees, is so much interested in the welfare of the latter thathis relationships with them are not governed primarily by purely businessconsiderations. It may be that the demand for the products of small estab-lishments is inherently more stable than that for the output of the largerconcerns. It is not unlikely that the smaller concern, as compared to thelarger one, is usually in closer touch with the consumer of its products—for

1 See pages 38 and 47 to 58 of the Report of that Conference.5

TAB

LE V

I

AN

EST

IMA

TE F

OR

TH

E C

ON

TIN

ENTA

L U

NIT

ED S

TATE

S O

F TH

E TO

TAL

NU

MB

ER O

F EM

PLO

YEE

S O

N T

HE

PAY

RO

LLS

OF

ALL

EN

TER

PRIS

ES H

AV

ING

FEW

ER T

HA

N 2

1' E

MPL

OY

EES

a V

ehic

les,

railr

oad

cars

, and

all

prod

ucts

not

els

ewhe

re re

cord

ed a

re in

clud

ed h

ere.

"Inc

lude

s che

mic

al, s

tone

, gla

ss, a

nd c

lay

prod

ucts

.In

clud

es c

loth

ing

of a

ll ki

nds.

dIn

crea

se—

min

imum

for c

orre

spon

ding

qua

rters

.'E

nter

pris

es a

re c

lass

ified

acc

ordi

ng to

the

num

ber o

f em

ploy

ees i

n th

e fir

st q

uarte

r of 1

920.

C C z It 0

T .LN

DT

JST

RY

OF

EMPL

OY

EES

ON

TH

E PA

Y R

OLL

S-_

____

____

MA

XIM

UM

CY

CLI

CA

LD

ECLI

NE

(Per

Cen

t)

1920

1921

1922

Firs

tqu

arte

rSe

cond

quar

ter

Third

quar

ter

Four

thqu

arte

rFi

rst

quar

ter

Seco

ndqu

arte

rTh

irdqu

arte

rFo

urth

quar

ter

Firs

tqu

arte

rA

ll In

dust

ries

8,65

69,

449

10,1

109,

273

8,55

59,

235

9,84

39,

162

8,73

92.

64A

gric

ultu

re1,

231

1,67

02,

120

1,56

21,

199

1,66

72,

059

1,52

41,

246

2.88

Extra

ctio

n of

Min

eral

s55

5860

5353

7883

6758

3.64

Bui

ldin

g an

d C

onst

ruct

ion

443

524

570

522

406

453

546

555

503

13.5

5O

ther

Han

d Tr

ades

277

298

280

289

277

293

280

284

283

1.73

Fina

nce

146

154

150

151

153

155

155

155

153

0•65

d

Publ

ic a

nd P

rofe

ssio

nal S

ervi

ce, .

..1,

582

1,58

21,

600

1,47

11,

545

1,49

01,

526

1,52

61,

637

5.82

Dom

estic

and

Per

sona

l Ser

vice

. ...

1,76

21,

832

1,92

01,

856

1,81

71,

841

1,90

81,

789

1,75

63.

61A

ll Tr

ansp

orta

tion

Stea

m R

ailw

ays

Oth

er T

rans

porta

tion

377 ..

377

403 ..

403

400 ..

400

453 ..

453

366 ..

366

390 ..

390

395 ..

395

444 ..

444

360 ..

360

3.23 ..

3.23

Com

mer

ce a

nd T

rade

Who

lesa

le1,

620 49

1,64

6 501,

650 50

1,67

4 511,

627 50

1,64

2 501,

640 50

1,66

2 501,

624 49

0.72

2.00

Ret

ail

1,57

01,

597

1,60

01,

623

1,57

71,

591

1,59

01,

612

1,57

40.

68A

ll Fa

ctor

ies

Food

, Drin

k; a

nd T

obac

coLu

mbe

r and

Its P

rodu

cts

1,16

522

643

0

1,28

324

947

5

1,36

030

047

0

1,24

226

840

4

1,11

122

536

4

1,22

723

843

5

1,25

128

339

4

1,15

625

333

9

1,12

123

134

4

8.01

5.67

16.1

7M

etal

s and

Met

al P

rodu

cts a

•••

100

113

140

121

106

9811

510

710

130

.00

Pape

r and

Prin

ting

Min

eral

Text

ile a

nd L

eath

er P

rodu

cts'.

..

170

121

119

174

130

142

170

140

140

185

143

120

186

124

107

185

133

138

180

137

142

195

137

125

184

134

127

1.08

4.20

10.0

8

Lrj 0 0

TAB

LE V

IZ

AN

EST

IMA

TE F

OR

TH

E C

ON

TIN

ENTA

L U

NIT

ED S

TATE

S O

F TH

E TO

TAL

NU

MB

ER O

F EM

PLO

YEE

SO

N T

HE

PAY

RO

LLS

OF

ALL

EN

TER

PRIS

ES H

AV

ING

21

TO lO

Od

EMPL

OY

EES

IND

UST

RY

THO

U8A

ND

S O

F EM

PLO

YEE

S O

NP

AY

RoL

LSM

AX

IMU

MC

YC

LIC

AL

1920

1921

1922

Firs

tSe

cond

quar

ter

quar

ter

Third

quar

ter

Four

thqu

arte

rFi

rst

quar

ter

Seco

ndqu

arte

rTh

irdqu

arte

rFo

urth

quar

ter

Firs

tqu

arte

r

Al]

Indu

strie

sA

gric

ultu

reEx

tract

ion

of M

iner

als

Bui

ldin

g an

d C

onst

ruct

ion

Oth

er H

and

Trad

esFi

nanc

ePu

blic

and

Pro

fess

iona

l Ser

vice

,...

Dom

estic

and

Per

sona

l Ser

vice

....

All

Tran

spor

tatio

nSt

eam

Rai

lway

sO

ther

Tra

nspo

rtatio

nC

omm

erce

and

Tra

deW

hole

sale

Ret

ail

All

Fact

orie

sFo

od, D

rink,

and

Tob

acco

Lum

ber a

nd It

s Pro

duct

sM

etal

s and

Met

al P

rodu

cts'.

...Pa

per a

nd P

rintin

gM

iner

al P

rodu

cts b

Tex

tile

and

Leat

her P

rodu

cts'.

..

4,21

311

314

737

916

6 95 391

644

197 ..

197

391 97 294

1,69

125

027

123

216

924

752

2

4,53

616

413

346

216

3 96 387

634

211 ..

211

400 98 302

1,88

625

3'

309

382

169

243

532

4,63

013

014

053

016

010

0.

400

600

220 ..

220

400

100

300

1,95

028

030

042

017

025

053

0

4,45

711

814

647

616

510

138

361

921

2 ..21

240

9 96 312

1,82

729

724

334

817

625

750

6

4,19

011

915

347

316

310

236

462

219

7 ..19

738

5 93 292

1,61

523

222

926

316

024

049

2

4,12

512

515

344

916

810

537

261

419

6 ..19

638

3 91 292

1,56

122

924

519

215

523

150

9

4,08

411

115

445

816

610

339

158

1.

202 ..

202

378 91 287

1,54

124

726

017

515

523

247

2.

4,09

811

2 89 435

169

103

385

617

192 ..

192

388 91 297

1,60

726

424

520

216

724

648

3

3,95

611

4 79 389

162

102

362

612

192 ..

192

371 89 282

1,57

322

525

121

616

424

347

4

14.5

623

.78

46.2

613

.58

3.57

2.86

7.42

4.97 9.43 ..

9.43

5.50

11.0

04.

8120

.97

11.7

920

.71

58.3

38.

82 7.20

11.2

8

a V

ehic

les,

railr

oad

cars

, and

all

prod

ucts

not

els

ewne

re re

cord

ed a

re in

clud

ed h

ere.

b In

clud

es c

hem

ical

, sto

ne, g

lass

, and

cla

y pr

oduc

ts.

Incl

udes

clo

thin

g of

all

kind

s.ar

e cl

assi

fied

acco

rdin

g to

the

num

ber o

f em

ploy

ees i

n th

e fir

st q

uarte

r of 1

920.

TA

BLH

VIII

AN

ESTI

MA

TE F

OR

TH

E C

ON

TIN

ENTA

L U

NIT

ED S

TATE

S O

F TH

E TO

TAL

NU

MB

ER O

F EM

PLO

YEE

S O

N T

HE

PAY

RO

LLS

OF

ALL

EN

TER

PRIS

ES H

AV

ING

OV

ER 1

00' E

MPL

OY

EES

TN

DU

ST

RY

THO

USA

ND

S O

F EM

PLO

YEE

SO

NTU

BP

AY

RO

LLS

-.

1VIA

XIM

UM

CY

CLI

CA

LD

ECLI

NE

(Per

Cen

t)19

2019

2119

22

Firs

tqu

arte

rSe

cond

quar

ter

Third

quar

ter

Four

thqu

arte

rFi

rst

quar

ter

Seco

ndqu

arte

rTh

irdqu

arte

rFo

urth

quar

ter

Firs

tqu

arte

rA

ll In

dust

ries

14,3

6314

,392

14,4

4013

,687

12,0

8211

,240

11,1

5111

,515

11,4

5222

.78

Agr

icul

ture

Extra

ctio

n of

Mm

Bui

ldin

g an

d C

onO

ther

Han

d Tr

adFi

nanc

e

eral

sst

ruct

ion

es

26 845

418

105

149

37 881

506

114

.149

50 920

500

110

150

44 878

310

114

145

38 806

226

114

143

32 729

310

120

124

34 707

412

119

122

30 705

414

119

116

13 683

427

117

119

65.7

9'25

.76

45.9

3

22.6

7Pu

blic

and

Pro

fess

iona

l Ser

vice

....

Dom

estic

and

Per

sona

l Ser

vice

....

All

Tran

spor

tatio

nSt

eam

Rai

lway

sO

ther

Tra

nspo

rtatio

n

1,10

227

72,

595

2,03

256

3

1,05

329

82,

639

2,04

458

6

1,00

030

02,

800

2,20

060

0

1,19

330

62,

686

2,10

158

6

1,21

130

22,

284

1,72

456

0

1,11

129

82,

153

1,59

955

5

1,02

229

72,

268

1,71

055

8

1,25

029

52,

287

1,74

154

6

1,27

129

32,

121

1,58

653

5

4.25

24.2

527

.91

10.8

3C

omm

erce

and

TW

hole

sale

Ret

ail

rade

552

141

410

560

156

404

550

150

400

573

139

434

496

132

364

502

143

359

502

143

359

532

132

400

482

127

356

10.3

68.

3311

.14

All

Fact

orie

sFo

od, D

rink,

and

Tob

acco

Lum

ber a

nd It

s Pro

duct

sM

etal

s and

Met

al P

rodu

cts'.

...Pa

per a

nd P

rintin

gM

iner

al P

rodu

cts"

Text

ilean

dLea

ther

Prod

ucts

'...

8,29

457

228

54,

771

300

511

1,85

4

8,16

551

327

94,

719

294

509

1,85

2

8,06

054

028

04,

640

300

520

1,78

0

7,43

851

126

44,

273

306

491

1,59

4

6,46

342

424

73,

532

274

429

1,55

6

5,86

139

024

83,

015

263

385

1,56

0

5,66

842

926

12,

689

264

381

1,64

4

5,76

943

526

82,

711

261

379

1,71

5

5,92

740

526

02,

921

273

383

1,68

5

31.6

629

.20

8.42

43.1

814

.71

27.1

216

.07

"Veh

icle

s, ra

ilroa

d ca

rs, a

nd a

ll pr

oduc

ts n

ot e

lsew

here

reco

rded

are

incl

uded

her

e.b

Incl

udes

chem

ical

, sto

ne, g

lass

, and

cla

y pr

oduc

ts.

'Incl

udes

clo

thin

g of

all

kind

s.In

crea

se—

min

imum

for c

orre

spon

ding

qua

rters

.°E

nter

pris

esar

e cl

assi

fied

acco

rdin

g to

the

num

ber o

f em

ploy

ees i

n th

e fir

st q

uarte

r of 1

920.

'Sam

ple

too

smal

l to

be d

epen

dabl

e.

0 z 0 (12 z 0 (1)


example, makes more of its goods to order—and that this more direct con-nection lessens the tendency to accumulate too large stocks or to overpro-duce in periodswben business men in are unduly optimistic. Per-haps in times of depression, when "hand-to-mouth" buying is the rule, thesmall concern profits by taking numerous small orders, none of which wouldjustify the attention of a large plant that had shut down or reduced its force.Without further research, it is impossible to say whether the tendency oflarge employers to give less stable employment than do the smaller concernsarises from some of the causes just suggested or whether it has an entirelydifferent origin. The discovery that unemployment is directly correlatedwith the size of the enterprise opens up, however, a whole vista of surmisesconcerning the probable history of unemployment and its relation to indus-trial organization. Did cyclical unemployment come into being only after.the advent of concerns hiring thousands of employees? Is the business cyclean outgrowth of industrial concentration? Such questions are alluring—but, unfortunately, this interesting field of speculation lies beyond the scopeof the present inquiry.

Although the tables record a wide divergence between different industriesin the extent of the decline, nearly all of them are alike in showing at thetime of the depression a reduction in total numbers employed. True, themiscellaneous hand trades show the numbers on the pay rolls increased, butthe gain was entirely negligible. Agriculture, public, professional, and do-mestic service, miscellaneous transportation enterprises, retail and wholesaleconcerns, paper and printing establishments, and financial institutions allsucceeded in retaining the bulk of their employees. Mines, steam railways,factories, and building enterprises were, as a rule, hard hit. Factories en-gaged in turning out metal products, vehicles, and the like suffered most ofall, the medium-sized establishments in this group reducing. their workingforces by more than one-half. The large factories included in this categorylaid off more than forty per cent of their working forces and conditions werereported to be as bad in medium-sized mines and in large scale constructionenterprises.

The Bureau of the Census compiled for this study more detailed tablesthan it is possible to present in the limited space here available and it isworth while .to note a few points therefrom in regard to the of the cyclein different geographical sections of the United States. The decline in em-ployment in financial institutions was confined almost entirely to large scaleenterprises in the northeastern part of the country. The South laid off alarger proportion of workers in textile and chemical mills than did otherregions. In most industries, however, the effects of the cycle appear tohave been much the throughout the United States..

36 EMPLOYMENT HOURS AND EARNINGS

THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES ON FARMSStatistics concerning employment in agriculture have heretofore been

almost non-existent, and the information secured by this inquiry appearsto be so thoroughly representative that it is worth while to present the re-suits in some detail. Table V shows that the farmers of the country, eventhough they apparently did not allow the cycle to affect materially thenumber of men hired, nevertheless employed about 900,000 more workersin the third than in the first quarter of each year. Seasonal unemploymentamong agricultural workers represents, then, a quantity of the first mag-nitude.

Table IX records the average number of employees working on a singlefarm in each of the quarters under consideration. The fact should be keptin mind, however, that the Crop Reporters of the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture are not typical farmers but employ far more help thando the average of their neighbors. That such is the case is made evidentby the figures in Table IX. This table shows that, in 1920, the averageCrop Reporter kept in his employ 1.46 men. If every farmer employedan equal number of male workers, the total for the United States wouldamount to about nine million hired men. The Census of Occupations for1920, however, shows that on January 1 of that year there were only1,843,307 males classed as hired agricultural laborers. Though the Censuscount, because of the season of the year when made, may be too low torepresent the average it is, nevertheless, clear that the typical Crop Re-porter hires three to five times as much labor as do farmers in general. Thefigures in Tables IX to XII, therefore, cannot be considered representativeas to absolute numbers but there is, notwithstanding, every reason tobelieve that they are satisfactory criteria of the relative conditions existingin different sections of the United States; for it is highly probable that, inregions where much help is hired, the Crop Reporters hire many employees,and vice versa.

Table IX shows how much greater are the seasonal variations in theNorth than in the South—and the striking seasonal changes characterizingthe Rocky Mountain section. This table also makes the fact clear that,as a rule, farmers in the extreme East and West hire much more help thando those in the Mississippi Valley, the New England or Pacific farmerfinding work for approximately three times as many assistants as does thefarmer in the North Central section.

In general, five times as many men as women are employed on the farmsof the United States. Of the male employees, about as many are hired bythe month as by the day, and of the female employees nearly twice asmany are hired by the day as by the week. As might be expected, day

TAB

LE IX

NU

MB

ER O

F H

IRED

EM

PLO

YEE

S W

OR

KIN

G O

N T

HE

AV

ERA

GE

FAR

M O

WN

ED B

Y A

UN

ITED

STA

TES

DEP

AR

TMEN

TO

F A

GR

ICU

LTU

RE

CR

OP

REP

OR

TER

SEC

TIO

NW

OR

KIN

G B

Y19

2019

2119

22

Firs

tqu

arte

rSe

cond

quar

ter

Third

quar

ter

Four

thqu

arte

rFi

rst

quar

ter

Seco

ndqu

arte

rTh

irdqu

arte

rFo

urth

quar

ter

Firs

tqu

arte

r

ENTI

RE

TATE

S

Bot

hM

ale

Mal

eFe

mal

eFe

mal

e

Tota

lM

onth

Day Day

Wee

k

1.30

0.63

0.45

0.13

0.09

1.77

0.82

0.66

0.19

0.10

2.24

0.88 1.00

0.24

0.12

1.67

0.73

0.67

0.18 0.09

1.28

0.62

0.45

0.12

0.09

1.78

0.81

0.68

0.19

0.10

2.19

0.86

0.99

0.22

0.12

1.62

0.71

0.66 o.m

0.09

1.33

0.63

0.48

0.13

0.09

NEW

ENG

LAN

D

Bot

hM

ale

Mal

eFe

mal

eFe

mal

e

Tota

lM

onth

Day

Day

Wee

k

1.77

0.83

0.62

0.16

0.16

2.43

1.01

1.02

0.21

0.19

3.52 1.15

1.75

0.39

0.23

2.61 1.24

0.85

0.28

0.24 1.27

0.59

0.54

0.08

0.06

2.51

0.99

1.07

0.26

0.19 1.75

0.99

0.57

0.08

0.11

0.83

0.45

0.28

0.05

0.05

1.82

0.85

0.65

0.15

0.17

1.38

0.86

0.35

0.07

0.10

0.62

0.37

0.16

0.05

0.04

2.53

1.08

1.05

0.20

0.20 1.93

1.06

0.60

0.18

0.09

1.01

0.55

0.34

0.06

0.06

3.66

1.16

1.82

0.45

0.23

2.53 1.19

0.91 0.25

0.18

1.21

0.57

0.50

0.08

0.06

2.54

1.02 1.07

0.25

0.20

1.78

0.98

0.60

0.09

0.11

0.85

0.45

0.29

0.06

0.05

1.79

0.86

0.63

0.13

0.17

1.45

0.89

0.41

0.07

0.08

0.62

0.36

0.05

0.04

MID

DLE

ATL

AN

TIC

Bot

hM

ale

Mal

e.

Fem

ale

Fem

ale

Tota

lM

onth

Day Day

Wee

k

1.35

0.86

0.33 0.07

0.09

1.89

1.02

0.59

0.17

0.11 1.00

0.56

0.32

0.06

0.06

EAST

NO

RTH

CEN

TRA

L

Bot

hM

ale

Mal

eFe

mal

eFe

mal

e

Tota

lM

onth

Day Day

Wee

k

0.65

0.38

0.18

0.05

0.04

Bot

hM

ale

Mal

eFe

mal

eFe

mal

e

Tota

lM

onth

Day

Day

Wee

k

0.61

0.42

0.11

0.02

0.06

1.02

0.64

0.26

0.04

0.08

1.63

0.72

0.76

0.05

0.10

0.95

0.53

0.31 0.05

0.06

0.59

0.40

0.12

0.02

0.05

1.00

0.59

0.29

0.05

0.07

1.48

0.66

0.67

0.06 0.09

0.87

0.49

0.29

0.03

0.06

0.62

0.40

0.14

0.02

0.06

0 0 02

TAB

LE IX

— (c

oN'r.

)

NU

MB

ER O

F H

IRED

EM

PLO

YEE

S W

OR

KIN

G O

N T

HE

AV

ERA

GE

FAR

M O

WN

ED B

Y A

UN

ITED

STA

TES

DEP

AR

TMEN

TO

F A

GR

ICU

LTU

RE

CR

OP

REP

OR

TER

SEC

TIO

NSE

X O

FW

OR

KER

SW

OR

KIN

G B

Y19

20

SOU

THA

TLA

NTI

C

Firs

tqu

arte

r

1921

Bot

hTo

tal

2.95

Mal

eM

onth

1.24

Mal

eD

ay1.

05Fe

mal

eD

ay0.

49Fe

mal

eW

eek

0.17

Seco

ndqu

arte

r

3.31

1.39

1.20

0.54

0.18

EAST

SOU

THC

ENTR

AL

Third

quar

ter

3.33 1.35

1.25

0.55

0.18

Bot

hTo

tal

1.82

Mal

eM

onth

0.77

Mal

eD

ay0.

72Fe

mal

eD

ay0.

26Fe

mal

eW

eek

0.07

Bot

hTo

tal

1.42

WES

TM

ale

Mon

th0.

43M

ale

Day

0.70

CEN

TRA

LFe

mal

eFe

mal

eD

ayW

eek

0.15

0.14

Four

thqu

arte

r

3.10

1.28

1.13

0.51

0.18

2.00

0.81

.0.

800.

32 0.07

1.94

0.52

1.04

0.24

0.14

1.07

0.58

0.39

0.07

0.03

MO

UN

TAIN

2.30

0.93

0.88

0.40

0.09

1.86

0.51

0.94

0.26

0.15 1.26

0.77

0.39

0.06

0.04

2.29

0.90

0.91

0.40

0.08

1.97

0.52

1.04

0.28

0.13

2.25

1.03

1.06

0.09

0.07

Firs

tqu

arte

r

2.64

1.15

0.96

0.35

0.18

1.81

0.80

0.69

0.24

0.08

1.41

0.43

0.73

0.12

0.13

0.63

0.42

0.13

0.05

0.03 1.83

0.92

0.82

0.03

0.05

Bot

hTo

tal

0.64

Mal

eM

onth

0.44

Mal

eFe

mal

eD

ayD

ay0.

130.

04Fe

mal

eW

eek

0.03

Seco

ndqu

arte

r

3.21 1.31

1.21

0.51

0.18

2.29

0.94

0.88

0.38

0.09

1.86

0.51

0.95

0,26

0.14

1.22

0.74

0.39

0.06

0.03

2.70

1.21

1.29

0.11

0.09

Third

quar

ter

3.14

1.28

1.21

0.47

0.18

2.33

0.90

0.98

0.37

0.08

1.91

0.50

1.04

0.23

0.14

2.23

0.99 1.08

0.10

0.06

3.93

1.39

2.19

0.25

0.10

PAC

IFIC

1922

Firs

tqu

arte

r

2.59

1.12

0.96

0.33

0.18

2.04

0.85

0.81

0.28

0.10

1.60

0.44

0.82

0.21

0.13

0.68

0.44

0.16

0.05

0.03 1.83

0.92

0.81

0.04

0.06

Four

thqu

arte

r

2.89

1.19

1.10

0.42

0.18

2.07

0.88

0.79

0.32

0.08

1.81

0 0.98

0.20

0.13

1.04

0.55

0.40

0.07

0.02

2.57

0.99

1.37

0.14

0.07

Bot

hTo

tal

1.82

Mal

eM

onth

0.90

Mal

eFe

mal

eD

ayD

ay0.

820.

04Fe

mal

eW

eek

0.06

2.57

1.16

1.23

0.09

0.09

3.95 1.29

2.26

0.31

0.09

2.53

0.95

1.32


work by females is most common in the East and the South. The NorthCentral and Rocky Mountain farmers employ little female help of any kind.

Table X shows the way in which the various classes of farm labor are dis-tributed on the farms of the Crop Reporters of the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture.

The figures indicate that one employee of either class is the most commonnumber hired. Scarcely one Crop Reporter in a hundred hires as many asten laborers from either class of employees. But this merely illustrates thewell known fact that farming remains a small scale industry.

While it is probable that females are, as a rule, hired by the day to do adifferent type of work on farms from that performed by those employed bythe week, the duties of male agricultural workers are much the same whetherthey work by the day or by the month. It has appeared worth while,therefore, to construct Table XI which classifies the farms of the UnitedStates on the basis of all male employees at work without regard to theform of contract existing. This table shows that the modal Crop Reporterin every section of the United States hires an average of less than two em-ployees and that, even in rush seasons, one-third, of these farmers hire nomen.

Tables XII and XIII portray the distribution of female workers on thefarms of the United States. Table XII indicates that nine-tenths of theCrop Reporters of the country hire no female labor by the day. As mightbe expected, the number of farms utilizing female day workers is propor-tionately much larger in the South and East than in other sections of theUnited States. The most common number of workers, however, does notrise above 2 in any section of the country.

The farm of the novel, with its inevitable "hired girl," seems to be any—thing but typical in the United States of today. According to Table XIII,only about one Crop Reporter in sixteen can boast of such an assistant tohis wife, and, for reasons previously stated, it is probable that female help isstill more rare on the average farm. In this regard no section of the countryseems to differ widely from any other. The North Central region shows thegreatest seasonal swing, indicating that the hired girl is there somewhatmore closely connected with the rush of summer work than is the case inother sections.

An extremely small proportion of farmers' wives employ on the averageas many as two hired girls, even in the rush seasons. Among Crop Reporters'wives in the entire United States, not even one in sixty had as many as twofemale assistants hired by the week. It appears that whether or not farmservants ever have been numerous, at the present time they constitute arare species.

TAB

LE X

FAR

MS

OF

CR

OP

REP

OR

TER

S FO

R T

HE

UN

ITED

STA

TES

DEP

AR

TMEN

T O

F A

GR

ICU

LTU

RE

CLA

SSIF

IED

AC

CO

RD

ING

TO

TH

E N

UM

BER

OF

EMPL

OY

EES

PER

FA

RM

NO

MB

ER O

F

AV

ERA

GE

NU

MB

ER P

ERFA

RM

DU

RIN

G Q

UA

RTE

R19

20

Firs

tqu

arte

r

MA

LES

HIR

ED B

YM

Orc

'rH

Seco

ndqu

arte

rN

one

Und

er 1

1 an

d un

der 2

2''

33

4• (4

6"

10"

over

1921

6 10

5,05

021

91,

410

486

162

133 71 46

1922

MA

LES

HIR

ED B

YD

AY

Non

eU

nder

11

and

unde

r 22

"3

34.

444

46

6 "

"10

10 "

over

Tota

l

6,82

234

466

929

812

310

5 52 648,

477

5,36

817

71,

708

693

221

173 81 56

6,00

759

791

646

817

615

4 73 868,

477

7,96

5 42 358 62 18 15 9 8

8,47

77,

757

128

368 96 34 41 22 31

8.47

7

Third

quar

ter

5,38

119

31,

584

702

254

192

104 67

&4f

l5,

151

842

1,06

364

425

225

613

213

78,

477

7,92

9 49 384 55 20 20 10 10

8,47

77,

700

125

398 89 38 '54 32 41

8,47

7

Non

e8,

041

Und

er1

291

and

unde

r2

321.

2""

342

FEM

ALE

S H

IRED

BY

3"

"4

17W

EEK

4"

6" 10"

" "ov

er

6 1012 7 8

Tota

l8,

477

Four

thqu

arte

r5,

730

246

1,48

153

018

916

5 81 558,

477

6,23

953

477

040

716

516

610

0 968,

477

8,02

5 33 324 46 19 13 9 8

8,47

77,

853 97 335 78 28 37 21 30

8,47

7

Firs

tqu

arte

r5,

975

200

1,42

746

217

712

8 64 448,

477

6,83

335

067

729

610

410

5 54 588,

477

8,06

4 30 299 41 15 11 10 7

8,47

77,

962 72 318 57 17 25 13 13

8,47

7

Seco

ndqu

arte

r5,

420

174

1,69

665

322

817

9 74 538,

477

5,97

659

294

546

418

715

1 77 858,

477

7.97

541 35

6 56 18 15 8 88,

477

7,77

111

737

5 94 32 38 25 258,

477

C C z z II z C)

Third

quar

ter

5,39

521

01,

574

679

256

207 89 67

8,47

75,

141

858

1,09

261

128

024

412

712

48,

477

7,93

6 51 374 57 20 17 12 10

8,47

77,

718

129

303 92 32 52 31 30

8,47

7

FEM

ALE

S H

IRED

BY

DA

Y

Four

thqu

arte

r5,

760

247

1,47

553

018

715

4 75 498,

477

6,21

251

885

138

118

215

8 89 868,

477

8,03

3 34 313 51 17 13 9 7

8,47

77,

868

101

325 89 25 28 19 22

8,47

7

Firs

tqu

arte

r5,

930

226

1,44

846

417

312

4 68 448,

477

6,63

641

175

132

612

810

8 56 618,

477

8,03

4 39 316 46 14 11 9 8

8,47

77,

930 84 321. 64 26 25 11 16

8,47

7

Non

eU

nder

11

and

unde

r 22

''3

34'

44

••6

6 "

"10

10 *

over

Tota

l

7,95

4 71 316 57 22 2S 15 14

8,47

7

41

TABLE XI

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF

MALE EMPLOYEES PER FARM

GEOGRAPII-ICAL

SEcTIoN

AVERAGENUMBER

PERDURING

QUARTER

NUMBER OF FARMS

1920 1921

Firstquarter

Secondquarter

Thirdquarter

Fourthquarter

Secondquarter

ENTIREUNITEDSTATES

1922

NoneUnder 1

4,692437

3,719541

3,278701

4,217549

3,738538

1 up to 22 " " 3

1,620666

1,899935

1,702973

1,595734

1,864913

3 " " 4 261 378 470 347 3744 " " 6 271 372 533 363 4116 " " 10 147 205 319 233 20810 and over 120 160 233 169 162

Total 8,214 8,209 8,209 8,207 8,208

Firstquarter4,564

4831,687

648284253165120

8,204

NEWENGLAND

None 326 226 166 277 210Under 1 41 60 82 51 561 up to 2 187 188 168 173 1882 " " 3 84 113 117 84 1153 " " 4 37 56 69 50 594 " " 6 41 52 67 53 61

6 " " 10 14 25 43 29 2610 and over 11 20 29 24 25

Total.. 741 740 741 741 740

None 274 198 153 211 192Under 1 24 34 52 41 27

MIDDLE1 up to 2

2 " " 313853

16068

13987

14959

16172

ATLANTIC 3 " " 44 66""10

10 and over

Total

13

1956

532

302498

531

29421515

532

26211410

531

362411

8

531

EASTNORTH

29653

195814241

2112

741

24727

159551812

77

532

89083

34486361321'•

1,455

1,17593385882622126

1,807

WESTNORTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 11 up to 2

2 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66 " "10lOandover

90166335100321461

695834321514732114

6021103951798254248

79791

3561194035113

69091

4291445040102

Total 1,455 1,455 1,454 1,452 1,456

NoneUnder 11 up to 2

2 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66 " "10

10 and over

1,18292

38189311997

897114497176614312

11

699185444207100944436

1,011

13339413660451912

92611347316859421910

Total .... 1,810 1,811 1,809 1,810 1,810

42

xx— (coNT.)

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF

MALE EMPLOYEES PER FARM

GEOGRAPH-ICAL

SECTION

SOUTHATLANTIC

NtTMBER OF FARMS

1920

AVERAGENUMBER

PER FARMDURING

QUARTERNoneUnder Ilupto 22 " " 33 " 44 " " 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

1921 1922

EASTSOUTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 1lupto 22"" 33 " " 44 " " 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

WESTSOUTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

Firstquarter

41372

160

4464 L

939

54065

160112

603120

54636

1216334..

302815

87335620723114834

508

15421663312181010

324

Secondquarter.

36470

17112046724945

937

47364

17712256723927

1,030

48153

1138344423621

87325438

10261181810

7

508

13125594120171417

324

Thirdquarter

36473

17710150686244

939

50557

15710954764626

1,030

49758847433594127

873

19357905929382120

507

9927484024352328

324

Fourthquarter

39576

1549753645643

938

54071

13511146624224

1,031

52740917337383829

873

307.348829171310

9507

15212552618321415

324

Secondquarter

36368

16912346745143

937

47661

17412453743929

1,030

49650

1148236453317

873252

4397511927

99

507

13329593416241019

324

Firstquarter

39569

17111047555040

937

51661

168121475734.26

1,030

53746

1226135292516

871

3363480231711

33

507

172176323161311

9324

MOUNTAIN

PACIFIC

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 33 cc 44 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 33 U 44 " " 66 " "10

10 and overTotal

43

TABLE XII

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF FEMALE

EMPLOYEES HIRED BY THE DAY ON EACH

GEOGRAPH-ICAL

SECTION

AVERAGENUMBER

FARMDuruNo

QUARTER

NUMBER OF FARMS1920 1921 1922

Firstquarter

Secondquarter

Thirdquarter

Fourthquarter

Secondquarter

Firstquarter

.

ENTIREUNITEDSTATES

NoneUnder 1

1 up to 22 " 33 " " 44 " " 66 " " 10

10 and over

Total

7,954713165722281514

8,477

7,7571283689634412231

8,477

7,7001253988938543241

8,477

7,853973357628372130

8,477

7,7711173759432382525

8,477

7,930843216426251116

8,477

NEWENGLAND

..

NoneUnder 11 up to 22""33""44 "" 6'6""10lOand over

Total

71411

4321

002

773

699124961

4

2

. 773

692S

461033

. 56

773

69912

436443

2

773

691155631

41

2

773

7131340221

1

1

773

•

MIDDLEATLANTIC

'

NoneUnder 11 up to 22""33 " " 44 " " 66" "10

10 and over

Total

5287

252

01

00

563

513. 12

2542

32

2563

50310

305

3444

563

5256

282

001

1

563

514102562

1

3

2563

5266

282

01

00

563

EASTNORTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 11 up to 22 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66""10

lOandoverTotal

1,433

5

4631

0. 0

0

1,488

1,4131355

52

000

1,488

1,40212

6243

320

1,488

1,423

948

62

000

1,488

1,4091855

42

000

1,488

1,429,

84541

001

1,488

WESTNORTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 11 up to 22""33""44 " " 66" "10

lOandoverTotal

1,8066

4232

001

1,860

1,78214

' 5371

1

1

1

1,860

1,764

19

6181

421

1,860

1,79912

4431

001

1,860

1,7941049

51

1

00

1,860

1,8108

3642000

1,860

()

44

TABLE xii— (CONT.)

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF FEMALE

EMPLOYEES HIRED BY THE DAY ON EACH

AVERAGE NUMBER OF FARMSGEOGRAPH- NUMBER

ICAL PER FARM 1920 1921 1922SECTION DURING First Second Third Fourth Second First

QUARTER quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarterNone 824 783 789 812 792 829Under 1 22 38 31 30 32 201 up to 2 56 64 68 56 60 562 " " 3 18 21 18 19 23 17

SoUTH 3 " " 4 9 15 12 8 13 11ATLANTIC 4 " " 6 11 15 16 11 146" "10 9 7 7 8 12 5

10 and over 6 12 14 11 9 6Total 955 955 955 955 955 955

EASTSOUTH

CENTRAL

.

NoneUnder 11 up to 22 " 33 " " 44 " " 66" "10

10 and overTotal

954146319

6834

1,071

9182065341011

58

1,071

930166823

813

58

1,071

941136325

712

46

1,071

919177131129

57

1,071

94414

6723

7736

1,071

WESTSOUTH

CENTRAL

NoneUnder 1

1 up to 22 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66" "10

lOandoverTotal

8743228173

1

919

843162714

1666

919

8451625114855

919

850122511

474

6

919

846123015

1744

919

8706

2483422

919

MOUNTAIN

NoneUnderl1 up to. 22""33 " " 44" "66" "10

lOandoverTotal

5042

10021

00

519

4943

1902

1

00

519

4847

20421

1

0

519

4973

1501

2

1

0

519

4943

18202

00

519

4955

16201

00

519

PACIFIC

NoneUnderl1 up to 22""33 " " 44""66" "10lOandover

Total

3171

920000

329

3120

115001

0

329

2916

186221

3

329

3070

1341

103

329

3120

11

5

0001

329

3144920000

329

45

TABLE XIII

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF

FEMALE EMPLOYEES HIRED BY THE WEEK ON EACH

GRAPH-ICAL

SECTION

AVERAGENUMBER

PER FARMDURING

QUARTER

NUMBER OF FARMS1920 1921 1922

Firstquarter

Secondquarter

Thirdquarter

Fourthquarter

Secondquarter

Firstquarter

..

ENTIREUNITEDSTATES

NoneUnder 11 up to 22 " " 33 " " 44 " " 66""l010 and over

Tota!

8,04129

321421712

78

8,477

7,96542

358621815

98

8,477

7,92949

3845520201010

8,477

8,02533

324461913

98

8,477

7,97541

35656181588

8,477

8,03439

316461411

98

8,477

.,

NEWENGLAND

NoneUnderl1 up to 22 ' " 33.CCC44 " " 66""10

lOandoverTotal

7062

5252420

773

6963

51142421

773

6914

5215

3422

773

5185

3420301

563

7001

5210

2431

773

5291

2820300

563

6924

5512

2521

773

5275

2631100

563

7025

5082420

773

5313

2512001

563

1,4259

5031000

1,488

MIDDLEATLANTIC

NoneUnderl1 up to 22""33 " " 44 " " 66""10

lOandoverTotal

5322

2521100

563

5268

2430200

563

EAST NORTHCENTRAL

NoneUnderl1 up to 22""33 " " 44 66""10

lOandoverTotal

1,4295

5031000

1,488

1,4124

6561000

1,488

1,4067

6492000

1,488

1,4251147

41000

1,488

1,4083

6881000

1,488

WEST NORTHCENTRAL

•

NoneUnderl1 up to 22 " " 33 44 66" "10

10 and overTotal

1,7637

76112010

1,860

1,74111

. 9110

5110

1,860

1,731129810

3321

1,860

1,7589

78104010

1,860

1,7577

8382210

1,860

1,7719

6611

1110

1,860

46

TABLE Xiii— (coNT.)

FARMS OF CROP REPORTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENTAGRICULTURE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF

FEMALE EMPLOYEES HIRED BY THE WEEK ON

OF

EACH

NUMBER OF FARMS

1921 1922GEOGRAPH-

ICALSECTION

SOUTHATLANTIC

EASTSOUTH

CENTRAL

AVERAGENUMBER

PER FARMDURING

QUARTER

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 " C( 33

(C CC 44 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 " CC 33 CC 44

CC. 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal..

Firstquarter

8992

3675

213

955

1,014

538

62

402

1,071

Secondquarter

8944

3992223

955

1,0104

4083411

1,071

8803

94033

919

4994

12

21100

519

3071

1910

00

329

Thirdquarter

8918

4053

2

33

955

1,012342

63401

1,071

8843

1754132

919

4915

1722200

519

3052

20101U0

329

WESTSOUTH

CENTRAL

MOUNTAIN

Fourthquarter

8952

4074223

955

1,0163

4142401

1,071

8843

157403.3

919

5043912000

519

3140

1410000

329

Secondquarter

8908

4065

123

955

1,0103

4110

2401

1,071

8823

1873'033

919

502591

1100

519

3073

1611100

329

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 " 33

CC (C 44 Cl u 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal

NoneUnder 1lupto 22 " 33(1 (144 (C CC 66 " 10

10 and overTotal

Firstquarter

8934

4183213

955

1,011339S3421

1,071

8854

1752033

919

5042

1210000

519

3120

1610000

329

883

3

3

0110

1

100

11

33 (1 CC 44 66 " " 10

10 and overTotal...

the number of employees

Documents