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enon, as in 1885 it was already an important factor in the typically industrial state of Massachusetts and was particularly noticeable in the industrial towns.

Unemployment since 1900 forms a topic that lends itself to discussion, because since that date considerable material has been collected which bears directly on the problem. In order to present the subject fairly the sources of the material will first be described, and then the material itself will be analyzed.

There are five principal sources of material on unemployment since 1900.

I. The United States Census of 1900 (volume on Occupations) deals at some length with "Unemployment." In 1880 questions on unemployment were asked by census takers, but the answers were not compiled because of lack of funds. The census of 1890 discusses "Unemployment," but very inadequately. In 1900 an attempt was made to treat the question thoroughly. Even in 1900 the figures are regarded as unsatisfactory by the compilers of the census and are described as representing tendencies rather than definite conclusions.

The figures of the census of 1900 are defective in that they do not give the average duration of unemployment for the various trades, but for this purpose classify the unemployed according to the duration of their unemployment. Thus among 5,227,472 males unemployed in all occupations in 1900:

49.6 per cent. were unemployed 1-3 months. 39.6 per cent. were unemployed 4-6 months. 10.8 per cent. were unemployed 7-12 months.

In short, half of the unemployment is for less than 25 per cent. of the working time, and half of it for more than 25 per cent. of the working time. Thus nearly three millions of working men and boys were unemployed in 1900 for more than one-quarter of the full working time. The census does classify the unemployed by color, nativity, sex, trade, occupation, and state and territory of residence.

II. The Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor (1903) is more restricted in scope, but more authoritative in result, than the census. It includes 25,440 families of whose lives a special investigation was made. This investigation was made by experts, while that of the census was made by persons wholly untrained in social investigations. The returns from this work of the Bureau of Labor can therefore be regarded as much more reliable than the census returns.

The 25,440 families selected by the Commissioner of Labor were representative of those gainfully employed in all parts of the country and in all types of employinent, and the intensive character of the study makes certain a result of considerable value. The report of the Commissioner does not go into such analytical detail as does the United States Census. The unemployed are classified according to nativity, color, and length of time unemployed; but no attempt is made to classify them by industries.

III. The reports of the New York Bureau of Labor Statistics furnish the most thoroughly compiled, the most ably presented, and the most up-to-date unemployment material available. The Bureau receives reports from the secretaries of as many labor unions as are willing to make the returns, and it is thus enabled to publish, four times a year, a group of facts regarding the employment of about 400,000 labor union members in New York State. The material secured from the labor unions is thoroughly analyzed, and the unemployed are classified by trades, causes of unemployment, months and years unemployed.

The New York figures, coming as they do from union men alone, are not entirely comparable with the census and other figures that are collected irrespective of union membership. There has been considerable discussion as to whether union figures should show a greater or less percentage of unemployment than general figures. On the one hand, it is contended that the unions consist almost exclusively of the skilled workers, who are employed with much greater regularity than the unskilled workers. On the other hand, it is held that many of

the unionized skilled trades, such as glass blowing and building construction, are distinctly seasonal trades, and therefore show a high proportion of unemployment. Then the strikes and stoppages, due to union influence, are responsible for much unemployment. The figures presented in this paper do not furnish any adequate basis for a conclusion as to whether union or non-union workers show the higher percentage of unemployment. All that can be said is that the New York figures cannot be used as strictly corroborative of the figures from other sources.

To make the comparison still more difficult, there is a slight difference in the methods of statement between the New York figures and the United States Census and Commissioner of Labor figures. The New York figures state average unemployment for the year. Thus, if January shows 20 per cent. unemployment and July 10 per cent., the New York method of figuring the unemployment for the year would be to add the 20 per cent. and the 10 per cent. and divide by 2, giving an average unemployment for the year of 15 per cent. In the cases of the Census and the Commissioner's report, however, the unemployment is the total for the year, not the average. Thus in the above illustration, if 20 men in a hundred were unemployed in January and 10 men in a hundred in July, and if the 20 men and the 10 men formed different groups, no member of the group of 20 belonging also to the group of 10, the unemployment would be 30 per cent. for the year. The difference in these two statements is caused by the fact that the New York figures are compiled from the labor union returns,-the question asked is, "What per cent. of your men are unemployed?"while the census and Commissioner of Labor figures are compiled from individual investigation,-the question asked is, "Were you unemployed?" The resulting difference is apparent. Aside from these slight differences in method the two groups of figures are fairly comparable. It will be noticed, in the succeeding tables, that the percentage of unemployment given by the various authorities is very similar for similar industries and geographical locations.

IV. The United States Geological Survey issues an annual report in which there is a statement of the number of work days and idle days in the coal-mining industry of the United States.

V. The Illinois (annual) Coal Report contains similar material for Illinois. In addition, detailed figures are given for the individual mines. These coal-mine figures give the unemployment not of men but of an industry, and they, therefore, indicate the probable number of days that a miner can go to work if he wishes to, but they do not, like the other figures dealing with unemployment, take into consideration sickness, accident, or any other cause that might keep a man from working. They represent opportunity to work and not work actually performed.

These five authorities, taken as a whole, are by no means satisfactory, but they represent the total available resources of one who seeks to learn the extent of unemployment in the United States, and an attempt will now be made to analyze and compare them. Unemployment in 1900 is shown in Table II. Four of the five authorities cited contribute to this group of figures, but the census figures do not give the length of time unemployed, as was explained in a previous paragraph. It will be noted from the table that unemployment is most severe among the miners. The Census shows that nearly half of them were unemployed at some time during the year, while the figures from Illinois show 126 idle days, and those from the United States Geological Survey show 96 idle days, out of a possible 306 working days,-in each case about a third of the maximum days during which employment is possible. In the lower part of the table a contrast is presented between the census figures and the New York Bureau figures in three specific industries,— printing, tobacco work, and textile work. The census figures cover a much larger number of employees than the New York figures, and in the first two industries show a much higher percentage of unemployment. As previously explained, however, this should be the case because of a difference in method of compilation. When the difference in method is taken into

account, it will appear that the census figures and the New York figures correspond very closely.

Table II shows that, excepting the miners, about one-quarter of those gainfully occupied during 1900 were unemployed. This conclusion is borne out by the census and the New York figures, which show unemployment in "Industry" to the extent of 27 per cent. and 20 per cent. respectively.

The 1902 unemployment figures are presented in order to bring out the relation of the United States Commissioner's report of 1903 to the general problem. This report, as already indicated, is entitled to great consideration, owing to the intensive method of the investigation underlying it. It will be noted that the New York Bureau figures and the coal-mine figures in Table III are almost identical with the same figures in Table II. From this it might fairly be inferred that unemployment was about as extensive in 1902 as in 1900. In view of this stability of unemployment in two cases where comparison is possible and in view of the careful manner in which the United States Commissioner's report was compiled, the unemployment of half of the heads of families coming under the United States Commissioner's investigation is most startling.

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