SOURCE: For United States data for 1900, 1940, and 1950, see Stuart Garfinkle, Changes in Working Life for Men, 1900 to 2000 (in Monthly Labor Review, March 1955, p. 299); for 1955, see Seymour L. Wolfbein, The Length of Working Life, a paper presented at the Fourth International Gerontological Congress, Merano, Italy, July 1957.

factors which influence retirement-disability, pensions, social security for the aged, compulsory retirement, etc.-few directly apply to Japanese farmers, most of whom are either self-employed or family workers. To illustrate, in 1956, as many as 95 percent of the men workers in agriculture and forestry were either proprietors or family workers, whereas the corresponding figure for other industries was 28 percent.

Thus, with an increase in social welfare practices, formal education, plus a trend toward nonagricultural employment, the rate of accession into the labor force has tended to decrease in the younger age groups, and the rate of retirement to increase in the older groups. Nevertheless, the length of working life has been extended due primarily to the decline in the death rate.

Comparison With the United States. The average life expectancy and work-life patterns of Japanese men in 1930 were comparable to that of United States men prior to 1900 (table 1). In 1955, the gap between the two countries was not nearly so great as it was in 1930. In 1955, the life expectancy at birth was about 3 years longer for United States males than for their Japanese counterparts but the work-life expectancy for both was 42 years. At age 20, however, the life expectancy of Japanese men was 48.5-just 1 year less than United States men but their work-life expectancy

Minoru Tachi, An Estimate of Future Population of Japan (in Proceed. ings of the World Population Conference, Rome, August 31-September 10, 1954, New York, United Nations, Vol. III, pp. 243-249).

(44.3 years) was 1.3 years longer; the number of years of retirement for these men was 4.2 compared with 6.5 for American men.

As for work-life patterns, there are noticeable differences. While in the United States the highest labor-force participation rate in 1955 was observed among 34-year-old men, in Japan the rate was highest among men in the 40- to 44-year group. Retirement, on the average, began later in life for Japanese men; on the other hand, the retirement rate was higher than that for United States men up through the age group 60-64, suggesting that the practice of retirement at the age of 65 is much more common in the United States.

to these estimates, the proportion of those in the total population who are 14 years and under and of those 60 and over will in that year be 18.1 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively. This and other trends discussed in this article suggest certain problems related to the length of working life. For one, the retirement period will be lengthened and the responsibility of the labor force to support the nonproductive population in the form of pensions, etc. will increase.

Methodological Note

The working life tables presented in this article are based on Japanese census reports for 1930 and 1955. The methodology is the same as that used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor in constructing its tables of working life for men.5 For 1930, the standard life table figures were taken from the table con structed by the Japanese Government based on the mortality rates for the period 1925 to 1930.6 The 1955 life table figures are from the 9th abridged life table constructed by the Institute of Population Problems of the Ministry of Welfare. This life table is based on the death rates for the period April 1955 to March 1956. The labor force participation rates were computed from the 1930 and 1955 census reports.

As the current concept of "labor force" had not yet been developed in 1930, it is only proper to look into the comparability of the data for 1930 and 1955. Two points seem to be important: (1) the 1930 Japanese census surveyed only the "usual" occupations while the 1955 census took account of the specific status a person held and (2) the 1930 census included those unemployed in

Nihon Naikaku Tokei-kyoku, Showa 5-nen Kokusei Chosa Hokoku [1930 Population Census of Japan], Vol. II, Shokugyo oyobi Sangyo [Occupations and Industries], 1935. Nihon Naikaku Tokei-kyoku, Showa 30-nen Kokusei Chosa Hokoku [1955 Population Census of Japan], Vol. II, 1-pasento chushutsu shukei kekka (1 percent sample tabulations], Pt. 2, 1957.

For a description of methodology, see Tables of Working Life, Length of Working Life for Men, BLS Bull. 1001, 1950, pp. 58-74.

Nihon Naikaku Tokei-kyoku, Dai 56-kai Dai Nihon Teikoku Tokei Nenkan [The 56th Japan Statistical Yearbook], 1937, pp. 68-69.

'Nihon Kosci-sho Jinko Mondal Kenkyu-jo, Jinko Mondai Kenkyu [The Journal of Population Problems], August 1956, No. 65, p. 59.

Seo Takeshi Mizuno, Kokusei Chosa ai okeru Shugyosha no Suii [Trends of Employment Population Based on National Census], Rodo Tokei Chosa Geppo, [Monthly labor statistics and research bulletin], July 1952, Vol. 4, No. 7, p. 8.

each occupation, but excluded those who were working only temporarily at the time of the survey and those who did not have any "usual" occupations. Therefore, it is conceivable that many of those who were classified as being in the labor force in 1955 would not have been termed economically active in the pre-World War II censuses, and particularly since the census is taken at a time when a large number of workers are temporarily employed in agriculture, the large gap between the 1930 and 1955 statistics in the percent of those in the primary industries might be conservative. It is difficult to estimate, however, how much effect these differences have.

Establishments in the study sometimes made both suits and overcoats, but usually produced only one or the other. During the period studied, the industry cut nearly 3 times as many suits as separate tailored coats and more than 6.5 times as many suits as overcoats.*

Approximately 54 percent of the 98,000 production and related workers in the industry in March 1958 were employed in the Middle Atlantic region, with the Great Lakes region accounting for nearly 18 percent of the total. The industry was largely concentrated in a relatively few metropolitan Nine of these areas, for which separate

areas.

data are provided in this article, accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total industry employment-approximately the same proportion as in March 1951, the date of the Bureau's last previous study of the industry.5

There are three types of shops in the industry. The most important, in terms of employment, are the regular or "inside" shops which own the material and perform all or nearly all of the manufacturing processes. Cutting shops, the second type, own the material, cut the cloth, and deliver it to contract shops which make up the garments; they provided employment to less than 5 percent of the industry's work force in March 1958 and have been grouped with regular shops for purposes of this study. Contract shops, the third type, perform tailoring operations for manufacturers. Such shops were located principally in the Middle Atlantic region, particularly in and near New York City and Philadelphia, and employed approximately 25 percent of the industry's workers in March 1958.

More than 150 distinct operations are required to make a suit and more than 75 to make an overcoat or topcoat. Although the smaller shops combine several operations into a single job, the number of occupational classifications is still large. After the suit has been designed and patterns made in various sizes, garment parts are cut and then prepared for sewing by fitters who sort, match, and trim small parts and mark locations for pockets, buttons, belt loops, etc. Workers in

1 The study, in which data were collected by BLS field representatives, covered establishments primarily engaged in the manufacture of men's, youths', and boys' suits and coats and employing 5 or more workers at the time the establishment lists were compiled.

See Wage Structure: Men's and Boys' Suits and Coats, March 1958, BLS Report 140, for further details.

For definition of regions studied, see footnote 2, table 1.

3 For definition of centers studied, see footnote 2, table 2.

4 See Facts for Industry, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Series M23B-38, May 1958.

See Men's and Boys' Suit and Coat Industry: Earnings, March 1951, (in Monthly Labor Review, November 1951. pp. 573-575).

See Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1957 edition, BLS Bull. 1215, pp. 524-529.

TABLE 1.

the sewing departments are usually assigned a specific task in the assembly process, such as sewing on buttons, sewing fronts to backs, or setting in sleeves. From time to time during the processing, the seams are pressed and inspections are made for proper workmanship. By far, the largest proportion of the workers are engaged in sewing operations-performed either by hand or by machine. The number of sewing-machine operators, however, greatly exceeds the number of hand sewers who are more frequently employed in the fabrication of higher priced garments.

Women accounted for nearly two-thirds of the production workers; occupations in which they were predominant included sewing-machine operators, hand finishers, and thread trimmers. Among the occupations in which men were in the majority were cutters and markers, pressers, and work distributors. The proportions of men employees varied substantially among the 9 areas studied separately, ranging from one-fourth in St. Louis to about three-fifths in New York City.

Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Middle West-Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Pacific-California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Includes data for regions in addition to those shown separately.

4 Less than 0.05 percent.

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal 100.

Individual piecework was the basis of wage payment for approximately seven-tenths of the production workers studied in March 1958. The proportion was smaller in New England and in the Middle West (about three-fifths) and slightly higher in the Southeast (four-fifths). Among the 9 areas studied separately, the proportion of workers paid on an incentive (piecework) basis ranged from about three-fifths in New York City to about four-fifths in Rochester. Workers in the cutting department and inspectors, janitors, adjusters, and work distributors were usually paid on a time-rate basis; sewing-machine operators and hand sewers were generally paid on an incentive (piecework) basis.

7

Approximately nine-tenths of the production workers in the industry were employed in shops having labor-management contracts. In nearly all instances, contracts covering wages and related

Most of the lining cutters in Chicago and Rochester and cloth cutters and markers in Boston and Rochester were, however, paid on an incentive basis.

wage practices were with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Regionally, the proportion of workers covered by contract ranged from about 35 percent in the Southeast to virtually all in the New England, Middle Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific regions.

Average Earnings

Average straight-time hourly earnings of production workers engaged in the manufacture of men's and boys' suits and coats varied by sex, region, and metropolitan area. The 63,400 women in the industry averaged $1.54 an hour, compared with $2.15 for the 34,600 men, who tended to dominate the higher paying jobs in each region and were relatively more numerous in the higher

paying regions (table 1). Earnings levels for both sexes combined ranged from $1.87 an hour in the Middle Atlantic region to $1.39 in the Southeast region. Averages of $1.73 an hour were recorded for both the Great Lakes and New England regions; workers in the Border States averaged $1.58, and those in the Middle West, $1.51. Men accounted for more than two-fifths of the production workers in the Middle Atlantic region and earned, on the average, 65 cents an hour more than women. Only about a fifth of the workers in the Border States and in the Middle West and Southeast regions were men; their earnings exceeded those for women by 49, 40, and 22 cents an hour, respectively. Average earnings of workers in metropolitan areas exceeded the average for workers in nonmetropolitan areas by 41 cents an