Memphis. The census distributions of family characteristics differ from ose in table 1 for several important reasons. BLS data are based on results a small sample survey without adjustment for sampling variability; Census ureau income data were obtained from a large sample and other information om the complete census. The BLS "family" includes only persons who poled incomes and shared expenses, regardless of relationships; the Census family" is a group of persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, living gether, without regard to their economic dependence. Census data refer to

family groups as they existed in the spring of 1950; BLS data, refer to families as they existed throughout 1949. The Census Bureau obtained reports of gross money income, with reference to only general source classification; BLS obtained gross income itemized by detailed source classification, as well as net income after deductions of personal taxes and occupational expenses. Income distributions in table 1 are based on net income.

• Expenditure and income data for families of different sizes-2, 3, 4, and 5 or more persons-by income class, will appear in a reprint of this article.

Residential Rent Increases in Vine Decontrolled Areas

N NINE AREAS where rents have been decontrolled or 2 to 17 months, from about a fourth of all ental dwellings in some cities to almost threeourths in others have had rent increases. These ine areas are included in the Bureau of Labor tatistics Consumers' Price Index. The cityvide increases-averaging the dwellings that had ncreases and those that did not-ranged from 4 ercent in Mobile to 23 percent in Birmingham. mong the dwellings reporting rent increases, the verage increase after decontrol varied from 17 ercent in the Norfolk area to 35 percent in the irmingham area.

The largest percentage rent increases, in every ity, occurred among the dwellings which rented or less than $30 a month before decontrol (table ). In five of the cities, over two-thirds of the wellings in this lowest rent group reported icreases for the periods covered by the surveys;

The date of Federal decontrol (Aug. 5, 1949) coincided with the beginning of Wisconsin State control which permitted rent increases up to 30 percent. During this period of State control, mid-1949 to Feb. 15, 1950, rents for all units in Milwaukee rose 12 percent; 60 percent of the rental units had increases averaging $8, or 20 percent. From mid-1949 to Feb. 15, 1951, including the period after State rent control was removed, the average increase in rent for all units was 28.7 percent.

During the period covered by the Housing and Rent Acts of 1947 and 1948, new construction was exempted from controls and landlord-tenant voluntary 15-percent increases were permitted. These increases were contingent upon the execution of leases extending from 12 to 18 months.2 With this substantial relaxation of Federal rent control, rents advanced rapidly-13.2 percent in the 2 years from mid-1947 to mid-1949.

Under the Housing and Rent Act of 1949, landlord-tenant voluntary increases were no longer permitted, but Federal rent control was further liberalized to permit area-wide decontrol. Decontrol was subject to appropriate action by local or State government and could also be initiated by the Housing Expediter. (For results of earlier surveys, see March 1950 Monthly Labor Review, p. 253.) When decontrol action was taken by the Expediter, he could recontrol the area or any part of it, if he found that the subsequent rent rise justified the reestablishment of control. All nine areas included in the present study (as well as most other large decontrolled cities) were decontrolled as a result of State or local action; consequently, none is subject to recontrol under the current rent law. The average rise in rents from mid-1949 to February 1951 for the nine decontrolled cities was 19.8 percent. By contrast, in the other 25 cities, regularly surveyed by the Bureau which remained under control, rents rose 3.5 percent over the same period. (See table 2.)

Decontrol Action Among Nine Areas

Jacksonville was the first among the 34 cities to become decontrolled completely. This action became effective August 5, 1949, under a resolution of the local governing body. At the same time, the Milwaukee area was transferred (by State action) from Federal to State control which permitted rent increases up to 30 percent. In May 1950, State control was allowed to lapse, resulting in an average rise of 29 percent for all units for the over-all period mid-1949 to February 1951.

Houston rentals were released from control with the remainder of Texas in October 1949. Despite a fairly high vacancy rate, Houston showed one of the highest rent increases, since decontrol, among the 9 cities. The city councils of Savannah, Ga., and Norfolk, Va., passed a decontrol resolution which became effective in March 1950. The

Virginia Legislature, 3 months later (June 25), lifted control over the entire State. As a result of this action, Richmond reported even greater increases than occurred in Norfolk. In Alabama, Birmingham and Mobile were decontrolled May 25, 1950, when the legislature took action covering the entire State. Rent increases in Mobile after decontrol were less than in the other decontrolled cities, because of the reduced activity in Mobile shipyards following World War II.

Rents in Los Angeles city proper were decontrolled on December 21, 1950, following a series of

1 These cities were among the 34 large cities where samples of residential dwellings are regularly surveyed by the Bureau. In late 1949 and early 1950, comprehensive housing surveys were conducted in the 34 city-areas to bring the Bureau's rent samples up to date and to obtain information necessary to reflect rentals for new housing in the index. (See Correction of New Unit Bias in Rent Component of CPI, Monthly Labor Review, April 1951.) The samples were chosen to represent white and non-white neighborhoods, densely and sparsely populated blocks, and old and newly developed housing areas in the primary housing market area of each city. (Each city area corresponds to the Bureau of the Census designation of the urbanized area, used in the 1950 Census, and designed to separate more efficiently urban and rural population around large cities.) Commercial rooming houses, hotels, trailers, and tourist courts were excluded.

decontrol actions which had occurred among the suburbs during the preceding year. About 16 percent of the rented homes in Los Angeles were already renting at decontrolled levels prior to December 1950, because they were built in 1947 or after. These new units form an important part of the group not reporting increases after decontrol action. Excluding this group, approximately 56 percent of the remaining units showed increases between November 1950 and February 1951.

-GEORGE G. JOHNSON Division of Prices and Cost of Living.

The samples used to measure rent change were surveyed by personal visit to the dwellings in the fall and winter of 1950, and again by mail questionnaire in early 1951. The mail questionnaire samples consisted of from 600 to 850 tenant-occupied dwelling units in each area. The earlier surveys in Houston and Jacksonville were based on a somewhat smaller number of units in the old samples.

For detailed information concerning Bureau procedure in pricing rents see The Rent Index, Part 1-Concept and Measurement, and Part 2-Methodology of Measurement, Monthly Labor Review, December 1948 and January 1949 (also reprinted as Serial No. R. 1947).

For earlier discussion of the Housing and Rent Act of 1947 and its effect on rent movement see January 1948 Monthly Labor Review: Residential Rents Under the Housing and Rent Act of 1947.

Ceiling Price Regulations 17-26 and Wage Adjustment Order No. 1'

TEN NEW CEILING PRICE REGULATIONS, a basic pricing policy, and the first Wage Adjustment Order were among the major developments in the field of price and wage regulations during April. Four of the ten regulations, all issued by the Office of Price Stabilization, established price ceilings for beef from the packer to the ultimate consumer; another, a Manufacturers' General Ceiling Price Regulation, was designed to result in a roll back of prices of many of the products covered at the retail level by late summer. The Administrator of the Economic Stabilization Agency promulgated a basic pricing policy to be followed by the Office of Price Stabilization in replacing the interim pricing regulations which superseded for the commodities covered, the general freeze order of January 25, 1951. The first Wage Adjustment Order, piercing the formula (whereby general increases were limited to 10 percent) and covering nonoperating railroad employees, was also issued by the Administrator.

Commodities Covered

Principal products of the petroleum industry, including automobile and aviation gasoline, residual and distillate fuel oils, naphthas, solvents, and natural gasoline, were placed under ceilings by CPR 17, dated April 5 and effective April 10. The regulation applies to sales at all distribution levels, except retail sales at service station outlets, and establishes the ceiling price as the highest price charged between December 19, 1950, and January 25, 1951.

Sales of wool yarn or fabric, by manufacturers, were placed under regulations by CPR 18, dated April 5 and effective on April 9. It allows manufacturers to add to their pre-Korean prices (based on their highest contract price during the 3 months ending June 24, 1950) dollars-and-cents increases in the cost of manufacturing materials and labor cost up to December 31, 1950.

Additional segments of the retail trade were placed under margin-type price control by Amendment 2 to CPR 7, dated April 5 and effective April 10. (For discussion of previous retail items, see Monthly Labor Review for April 1951, p. 410.) The new commodities are covered in the following

groups: Musical instruments, radio and television sets, phonographs, and records; housewares, notions, luggage, sporting goods; and silverware, chinaware, glassware, jewelry, watches, and clocks. An estimated additional 76,000 retail stores are affected by the amendatory regulation.

Ceiling price for sales and deliveries of tungsten concentrates was established at $65 per short ton, f. o. b. shipping point, by CPR 19, dated April 6, effective April 16.

Dollars-and-cents ceiling prices for Exchange Standard wool and wool top, traded on the New York Cotton Exchange, were established by CPR 20, dated April 6. The maximum prices, set by this regulation, are $3.535 per pound for wool futures and $4.265 per pound for wool top futures. Ceiling prices for coal, sold as bunker fuel at points on the Great Lakes and their connecting or tributary waters and at points at tidewater, were outlined in CPR 21, dated April 10. Ceilings are set at the highest amounts received by the supplier during the base period of July 1, 1948, through June 30, 1949.

A Manufacturers' General Ceiling Price Regulation fixes ceiling prices on many manufactured products in CPR 22, dated April 25 and effective on May 28. The ceiling is based on pre-Korean prices, plus actual increases in materials costs through December 31, 1950, and increases in labor costs through March 15, 1951. Among the products covered are: Radios, TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, bedding, housewares, cereals, baked beans, baking powder, many building materials, many textile products, tires and rubber products, and paper products.

Beef prices, from the packer to the retail level of distribution, were placed under price control by four regulations, all dated April 30. CPR 23, effective for the accounting period starting on or about May 20, establishes maximum prices which slaughterers may pay for live cattle. It provides for further reductions in beef prices of about 41⁄2 percent each after July 29, 1951, and after September 30, 1951.

Specific ceiling prices for all grades of most beef and beef products sold at wholesale were outlined in CPR 24, effective May 9. Further successive roll-backs are to be effective on August 1 and October 1, 1951.

Dollar-and-cents ceiling prices on beef cuts by grade, and most beef variety meats and beef

by-products at retail level, were established in CPR 25, effective May 14. Prices, fixed by the regulation, vary. They depend on store group differentials, based on marginal differences in volume of sales and special services rendered by individual stores. Further successive price rollbacks at the retail level are to become operative on August 1 and October 1, 1951. Similarly CPR 26 sets ceilings for Kosher beef cuts and Kosher beef by-products.

Over-all Price-Ceiling Policy

A new policy for determining whether price ceilings for an industry should be raised was outlined by the Economic Stabilization Administrator on April 21. It specifies that an industry will not be allowed to raise prices if dollar profits amount to 85 percent or more of the average for the three best years from 1946 through 1949. Profits are to be established before Federal income and excess profits taxes and after normal depreciation only, with adjustments made for any changes in net worth. The policy applies to industry-wide prices and profits and not to individual companies. Its main purpose is to determine whether ceiling prices should be increased.

Wage Adjustment

On the recommendations of a temporary Emergency Railroad Wage Panel (for discussion of factors involved, see p. 712 of this issue), the Economic Stabilization Administrator on April 24 issued Wage Adjustment Order 1. It approves the escalator clause increase, negotiated by the nonoperating railroad workers on March 1, 1951. By this action, the Administrator permitted the first rise in wages above the 10 percent allowable increase over January 15, 1950, levels, as outlined in General Wage Regulation 6. (For discussion see Monthly Labor Review, April 1951, p. 409.)

The adjustment order also approves any increases for other employees of carriers covered by "stand-by" agreements, patterned after the nonoperating railroad workers' contract; and it also applies to related employees not covered by specific agreements.

1 Sources: Federal Registers, vol. 16, No. 67, April 6, 1951 (p. 3006); vol. 16, No. 68, April 7, 1951 (pp. 3033, 3039, 3043, and 3045), vol. 16, No. 70, April 11, 1951 (p. 3157); vol. 16, No. 81, April 26, 1951 (pp. 3559 and 3562); and vol. 16. No. 84, May 1, 1951 (pp. 3696 .3704, 3721, and 3739); New York Times, April 22, 1951.

Electric Utilities:

Wage Structure, September 1950 1

ELECTRIC UTILITIES furnish relatively stable employment to many thousands of plant and office. workers throughout the country. The earnings of these workers provide important indicators as to the general level of wages in the various economic regions. The data presented in this article are based on a study of September 1950 wages and supplementary benefits for selected plants in nine regions throughout the country.

Because of the outdoor nature of much of the work and the technical requirements of many of the occupational categories in the industry, the nonoffice labor force of the industry is composed entirely of men. Women staffed a great majority of the office occupations, although they constituted only a negligible part of

the workers in the operating and servicing departments.

Plant Workers' Earnings

Plant workers in the Nation's electric utility industry earned an average of $1.58 an hour in September 1950. Wage levels varied considerably among the different sections of the country.2 Average hourly rates ranged from $1.40 in the Southwest to $1.78 on the Pacific Coast. Regions, in addition to the Pacific coast, having wage levels in excess of the national average, included the Great Lakes ($1.65) and Middle Atlantic ($1.63).3 Averages below the national level in regions other than the Southwest were $1.45 in the Border States; $1.46, Southeast; $1.49, Middle West; $1.53, Mountain; and $1.56 in New England.

Individual rates of practically all workers in the industry ranged from 75 cents to $2.50 an