Table 2. Change in employment at secondary jobs by 

industry, May 1980-85 

[In thousands] 

Industry of secondary job May 

1980 

May 

1985 Change 

Total nonagricultural wage and salary workers . 3,001 3,825 824 

Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., 14 11 -3 

construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 68 -47 

Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 290 87 

Transportation and public utilities . . . 162 213 51 

Wholesale and retail trade . . . . . . . 806 745 -61 

Finance, insurance, and real estate . . . 213 529 316 

Services, except private households . . . 1,255 1,721 466 

Public administration . . . . . . . . . . . 234 248 14 

NOTE : Data for 1980 have been adjusted to reflect the 1980 census population adjustments 

introduced in January 1982 . 820,000 over the May 1980-May 1985 period .5 

There is no direct way to ascertain exactly how much of 

the growth in moonlighting occurred between the end of 

1982, when the economic recovery began, and May 1985 . 

Some indirect evidence, however, suggests that the 1980-

85 growth in multiple jobholding is likely to have occurred 

during the recovery and that it contributed significantly to 

the greater employment growth shown by the payroll survey 

during this period .' 

First, an examination of the number of multiple jobholders over the course of business cycles since 1959 indicates 

little or no growth during recessions and typically large 

increases during recovery periods . If this pattern repeated 

itself in the 1980's, as is quite likely, there would have been 

little or no growth in moonlighting from 1980 to the end of 

1982, when the U.S . economy went through two recessions . 

The growth would have occurred from 1983 to 1985, during 

the economic recovery . 

Secondly, additional insight is gained by examining the 

1980-85 growth in the number of multiple jobholders by 

industry . The observed growth was heavily concentrated 

among those workers whose second jobs were in the finance, insurance, and real estate and services industries . 

These industries had some of the highest rates of overall 

employment growth during the recovery . (See table 2.) 

Based on this evidence, it can be concluded with some 

confidence that the 1980-85 growth in multiple jobholding 

occurred largely during the period of economic recovery, 

which began in late 1982. Put another way, these data suggest that there is only a limited inconsistency in the finding 

that the number of jobs has increased by 12 million, while 

the number of employed persons increased by about 11 

million . F1 

FOOTNOTES - 

1 This figure has not been adjusted to reflect the introduction of population adjustments introduced into the household survey in January 1986 . If 

an explicit account of these adjustments is taken, then the growth in employment would probably be reduced by about 200,000, to 11 .1 million. 

The population adjustments are described is "Changes in the Estimation 

Procedure in the Current Population Survey Beginning in January 1986," 

Employment and Earnings, February 1986, pp . 7-10 . 

2 The growth in the household survey employment series would be 

reduced to around 10 .5 million after making the adjustment described in 

footnote 1 . 

3 For an analysis of the May 1985 data on multiple jobholders, see John 

F. Stinson, Jr ., "Moonlighting by women jumped to record highs," 

Monthly Labor Review, November 1986, pp . 22-25 . 

4 After adjustment of the May 1980 data to 1980 census population 

controls . 

5 Persons who worked on second jobs in agriculture or as nonagricultural 

self-employed workers would not be counted at those jobs in the payroll 

survey and so are not of interest here . 

6 Between November 1982 and May 1985, when the bulk of the 820,000 

1980-85 growth in moonlighters most likely occurred, employment as 

measured by the payroll survey increased by about 900,000 more than in 

the household survey . Since May 1985, the employment gap has increased 

to about 1 .6 million, but presumably the multiple jobholding total has also 

increased and can account for some of the widening in the gap between the 

two series . 

Employment and wage changes of 

families from CE Survey data 

MARY F. KOKOSKI 

Recent data indicate an increase in real per capita income 

and a decrease in the average weekly hours worked by 

nonsupervisory employees.' These trends would seem to 

imply an increase in household welfare, gross of taxes . 

However, labor force participation of wives has increased, 

implying a corresponding increase in average weekly hours 

worked per household. 

A recent study of these issues compared market employment and wage and price changes experienced by households in the 1972 and 1980 Consumer Expenditure Interview Surveys. 2 Renter households, comprising a husband, 

wife, and children, if any, were grouped by race (white, 

nonwhite) and household type (by age of children). The 

study was limited to renter households because of problems 

in constructing commodity price indexes at the disaggregate 

(household) level. Specifically, data on owner estimates of 

the rental value of their residences are lacking for the 1980 

sample.' The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey provided 

data on market employment status, occupation, and earned 

income of each household member. Current Population Survey data on median weekly earnings of full-time workers by 

occupation were used to construct an index of wage changes 

from 1972 to 1980 . 

Table 1 shows the market employment rates of the households in each demographic group .' Data are shown sepaMary F. Kokoski is an economist in the Office of Prices and Living 

Conditions, Bur--au of Labor Statistics . 

31 
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW February 1987 a Research Summaries 

Table 1 . Market employment rates of renter families from 

1972 and 1980 Consumer Expenditure Surveys 

1972 1980 

Type of 

household o working working Not working working 

working part ttfull ~ part ~~ 

Husbands in white 

families withNo children 

present . . . . 0.31 0.09 0.60 0 .36 0.09 0.55 

Oldest child: 

Under age 6. . .04 .02 .94 .05 .04 .91 

Age 6 to 17 . . .05 .02 .93 .06 .06 .89 

Over age 17. . .18 .04 .78 .36 .02 .62 

Husbands in 

nonwhite 

families with 

No children 

present . . . . . .31 .09 .60 .36 .08 .56 

Oldest child: 

Under age 6. . . .06 .04 .90 .05 .08 .87 

Age 6 to 17 . . . .07 .05 .88 .13 .05 .82 

Over age 17. . . .23 .02 .75 .38 .08 .54 

Wives in white 

families withNo children 

present . . . .55 .11 .34 .52 .12 .36 

Oldest child : Under age 6 . . .58 .14 .28 .35 .24 .41 

Age 6 to 17 . . . .59 .17 .24 .38 .21 .41 

Over age 17 . . . .70 .11 .19 .75 .06 .19 

Wives in nonwhite 

families withNo children 

present . . . . . .43 .17 .40 .41 .11 .48 

Oldest child : 

Under age 6 . . . .37 .10 .53 .25 .19 .56 

Age 6 to 17 . . . .45 .15 .40 .30 .17 .53 

Over age 17 . . . .59 .12 .29 .51 .05 .44 

h Fewer than 35 hours per week . 

2 35 hours or more per week. 

NOTE : Market employment rates do rat correspond to the official eLs statistical series on 

labor force participation . Data are for proportion of total households in the given demographic 

group and sample year. 

rately for husbands and wives in each of three employment 

status classifications (not working, working part time, 

working full time), and by household type . For both whites 

and nonwhites, the greatest proportion of husbands who 

worked full time were in "young" families (oldest child 

under age 6) and "middle" families (oldest child aged 6 to 

17) in both the 1972 and 1980 samples. The proportion of 

husbands who worked part time was less than that of wives 

who worked part time . In general, larger proportions of 

working wives (both full- and part-time) appeared in the 

young and middle family groups. The largest proportions of 

nonworking wives were in the "older" family groups (oldest 

child over age 17) in both 1972 and 1980. Compared with 

the 1972 sample, more wives were working in 1980 in all 

family categories, except older white families . Interestingly, the greatest increases in the proportion of working 

wives were in the young and middle family types of both 

racial groups, that is, those families with greater household 

responsibilities . 

The rudimentary indexes of occupational wage changes 

between 1972 and 1980 are shown below: 

Occupational group 

Index 

(1972 =100) 

Professional and technical workers . . . . . . . . . . . 174 .5 

Managers and administrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 .4 

Salesworkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 .5 

Clerical workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 .6 

Craft and kindred workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 .4 

Operatives, except transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189.9 

Transport operatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184.9 

Nonfarm laborers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179.5 

Private household workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170.2 

Other service workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170.2 

Farm workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205.0 

Wages and salaries increased most quickly for farm workers, operatives, craftworkers, transport operatives, and 

nonfarm workers . The lowest rates of change occurred for 

private household and other service workers.' Grouping 

these occupational categories by their relative indexes of 

wage change provides the following categorization . 

Table 2. Occupational distribution of renter families from 

the 1972 and 1980 Consumer Expenditure Surveys 

[In percent] 

Whhe 

oolferl 

Blue 

oolf°r3 

SWWrx3 Ferm+ 

Type of household 

1972 1980 1972 1980 1972 1980 1972 1980 

Husbands in white 

families withNo children present. . . 45 .3 48.3 43 .0 42.4 9 .2 8.9 2.5 0.4 

Oldest child : 

Under age 6. . . . . . 35 .7 32.5 55.1 59.2 6.1 7.8 3.2 .6 

Age 6 to 17 . . . . . 31 .6 32.7 57.3 60 .8 5.2 5.8 5.9 .7 

Over age 17 . . . 35.5 22.5 51 .3 67 .4 9.2 10 .2 4.0 .0 

Husbands in nonwhite 

families with-- 

No children present. . 19.6 33 .3 72.6 51 .4 7.8 9.7 .0 5.6 

Oldest mild: 

Under age 6. . . . . . . 28.6 35 .3 59.2 58 .8 12.2 5 .9 .0 .0 

Age 6 to 17 . . . . . . . 23.9 35 .4 56.7 59 .8 10.5 4 .9 9.0 .0 

Over age 17 . . . . . . 11 .1 10 .5 72.2 79 .0 16.7 5 .3 .0 5.3 

Wives in white 

families with-- 

No children present . . . 74.5 70 .2 10.4 15.5 14.3 14.4 .8 .0 

Oldest mild : Under age 6 . . . . . 64.6 58.9 16.6 21 .0 16.6 20.1 .0 .0 

Age 6 to 17 . . . . . . 44.4 42.4 26 .6 31 .8 27.4 25.4 1 .6 .5 

Over age 17 . . . . . . 41 .5 33.3 22 .0 41 .7 36.6 25.0 .0 .0 

Wives in nonwhite 

families withNo children present . . . 53 .7 56.1 12 .2 17.5 31 .7 19.3 2 .4 7 .0 

oldest child : 

Under age 6. . . . . . . 58 .3 49.2 19 .4 33.9 22 .2 16.9 .0 .0 

Age 6 to 17 . . . . . . . 30 .8 42.2 23 .1 21 .9 33 .3 35.9 12 .8 .0 

Over age 17 . . . . . . . 37 .5 9.1 12 .5 36.4 37 .5 54.6 12 .5 .0 

h White-collar occupations include professional, technical, sales, and clerical workers and 

managers and administrators. These occupations had average wage increases over the 

period . 

2 Blue-collar occupations include craft and kindred workers, operatives, and ronfarm laborers. These occupations had above-average wage increases over the period . 

3 Service occupations include private household and other service workers. These occupations had low wage increases over the period. 

4 This occupatkin had high wage increases over the period. 

NOTE : Because of rounding, sums of totals may not equal 100. Data are for proportion of 

total households in the given demographic group and sample year. 

32 
Wage increase 

Occupational 

group Occupations 

High . . . . . . . . . . Farm workers Farm workers 

Above average . . Blue collar Craft and kindred workers, operatives, and nonfarm laborers 

Average . . . . . . White collar Professional, technical, 

sales, and clerical workers, and managers and administrators 

Low . . . . . . . . . . Service Private household and 

other service workers 

In table 2, the working husbands and wives in the 1972 

and 1980 sample households are disaggregated into these 

broader occupational categories . Most of the working husbands were employed in blue-collar occupations with 

above-average wage increases, while the wives tended to 

work in white-collar (average wage increases) and service 

(low increases) occupations . However, in many of the 

household categories, more wives were working in the bluecollar group in the 1980 sample than in the 1972 sample . 

Because the Consumer Expenditure Survey is now conducted on a continuing basis, further research on family 

welfare is planned and will focus on the effects of changes 

in the family's market labor, earned income, expenditures, 

and prices . 0 

FOOTNOTES 

t See, for example, Paul Ryscavage, "Reconciling divergent trends in 

real income," Monthly Labor Review, July 1986, pp . 24-28. Historical 

data on average weekly hours are contained in Employment and Earnings, 

a monthly publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics . 

2 See Mary F. Kokoski, "Indices of household welfare and the value of 

leisure time," The Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming . For 

more information on the Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey, see The 

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1980-81, Bulletin 2225 (Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, 1985); and Michael Carlson, "The 1972-73 Consumer Expenditure Survey," Monthly Labor Review, December 1974, pp . 16-23. 

3 These reported estimates are used to calculate the expenditure weight 

for the consumption of housing services under the rental equivalence approach in the Consumer Price Index. The sample also includes only households in which neither husband nor wife was retired or over age 60 . 

4 This measure of labor force participation does not correspond to the 

official Bts statistical series on labor force participation, which is produced 

from different data by other procedures . 

5 These indexes of wage change cannot be used to compare welfare 

across occupational groups because the base levels of wage and salary 

payments differ across these groups . 

Occupational wages 

in textile manufacturing, June 1985 

The top wage earners in the Nation's textile mills were loom 

fixers and maintenance electricians, according to a June 

1985 occupational wage survey . The survey, conducted by 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics, covered 210,735 production 

and related workers-nearly 200,000 in cotton and manmade fiber mills and 11,000 in wool yarn and broadwoven 

fabric mills. Wage data-averages and earnings distributions-were developed separately for more than three dozen 

occupational classifications in each industry, as well as for 

nonsupervisory production and related workers as a group . 

Pay levels varied by location, union status, type of mill, and 

type of fiber processed. (See table 1 .) 

In cotton and manmade fiber mills, pay averages in the 

occupations studied ranged from $8.46 an hour for electricians and $8.27 for loom fixers to $5 .12 for janitors . I Yam 

winders and ring-frame spinners, numerically the largest 

Table 1 . Number and average hourly earnings' of production workers in yarn and broadwoven textile mills by selected char- acteristics, United States and Southeast region, June 1985 

United States2 Southea9ta 

Characteristic Cotton and Wool yam and Cotton and Wool yam and manmade mills broadwoven mills manmade mills broadwoven mills 

Workers Earnings Workers Eamings Worker Earnings Workers Eamings 

All production workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199,719 $6.35 11,016 $6.37 183,760 $6.34 5,120 $6 .57 

Type of area : Metropolitan area64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Nonmetropolhan areas 

81,838 6.34 4,777 6.30 67,812 6 .31 578 5 .96 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117,881 6.36 6,239 6.42 115,948 6 .37 4,542 6 .65 

Type of mill : 

Yam or thread mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . 

Weaving mills 

83,279 6 .00 1,439 5 .60 77,876 6 .01 652 6.00 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Integrated mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

17,704 

98,736 

6 .55 

6 .61 

1,585 

7,992 

6 .59 

6 .46 

15,551 

90,333 

6.55 

6.59 

1,031 

- 

7.09 

- 

Labor-management contract coverage: 

Establishments with" 

None 

of workers covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,776 6.73 2,128 6.93 20 633 6 70 - - or minority of workers covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174,943 6.30 8,888 6.24 

, 

163,127 

. 

6.30 4,692 6 .48 

work 

t Wage data are straight-Ome hourly earnings which exclude premium pay for overtime and for 3 The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi , North Carolina , South on weekends, holidays, and late shifts . Cost-of-living pay increases (but rat bonuses) were Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia . included as part of the workers ' regular pay. Excluded were performance [onuses and lump~sum 

payments of the type negotiated in the auto and aerospace industries as well as profit-sharing ° Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the U.S . Office of Management and Budget through payments, aaendance bonuses, Chrstrrtas a yearend bonuses, and otter napoduc0on bonuses June 1983 . 

2 Includes data in addition to those shown for Southeast. NOTE : Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did rat meet publication criteria. 

33 
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW February 1987 " Research Summaries 

occupations, averaged $5.89 and $5.92 an hour, respectively . Weavers operating shuttleless looms averaged $7.50 

an hour, compared with $7 .32 for weavers on conventional 

looms. (See table 2.) 

Earnings data for the occupations studied separately in 

wool textile mills are presented for three major categorieswoolen, worsted, and the combination of woolen and 

worsted occupations . Among the woolen occupations, average hourly earnings were highest for loom fixers ($7.96) and 

lowest for yarn winders ($5.81) ; the worsted jobs registered 

averages from $8.53 for loom fixers to $5 .54 for cloth 

menders. For the combination jobs, the range was from 

more than $8 an hour for shuttleless loom fixers, carpenters, 

electricians, and maintenance machinists to $5.55 for 

janitors . 

Textile worker pay and employment moved in opposite 

directions between August 1980, when a similar survey was 

conducted, and June 1985 .2 Pay levels were up 25 percent 

in cotton and manmade fiber mills and 30 percent in woolen 

mills. During this period, the wage and salary component of 

the Bureau's Employment Cost Index for all nondurable 

manufacturing rose 29 percent. 

Employment, however, declined sharply over the 

period-down 21 percent in the cotton-manmade fiber sector and 23 percent in woolen mills. Among the regions 

studied separately, employment losses in cotton-manmade 

fiber mills reached 40 percent in the Southwest, 21 percent 

in the Middle Atlantic and Southeast, and I 1 percent in New 

England. In woolen mills, employment dropped 23 percent 

in New England and 12 percent in the Southeast. At the time 

e straight-time hourly earnings' of workers in selected occupations, by type of mill, yarn and broadw 

d Southeast region, June 1985 

United Stdes2 

Wool yam and broadwoven mills 

Sout 

Cotton and 

manmade fiber mills Woolen 

occupations 

I Worsted 

t occupations 

Cotton and 

manmade fiber mills 

$7 .23 $6.60 $7 .25 

5.78 6.04 $6.45 5 .78 

6.07 6 .07 

5.53 5 .51 

6.49 6.00 6 .49 

6.32 6 .35 

6.45 6.05 5 .55 6.45 

7.37 7.21 7 .21 7,39 

45.92 6.49 5.82 45.92 

5.95 5.94 5 .62 6.00 

5.54 5.54 

5.89 5.81 5 .61 5.90 

6 .44 6.44 

6.32 6.60 7 .04 6.26 

5 .59 55 .94 15) 5.56 

5 .71 5.69 5.70 

8 .27 7 .96 8.53 8.27 

7 .01 6.52 6.91 6.97 

7 .32 6 .42 7.76 7 .29 

7 .50 7.19 7.06 7.49 

5 .79 6 .42 6.00 5 .76 

6.07 6.18 5.54 5 .56 

6.46 58 .19 (5) 8 .45 

7 .30 7 .42 

5.12 55.55 (5) 5 .07 

5.73 56 .10 (5) 5 .71 

5.76 56.02 (5) 5 .75 

5.43 56 .20 (5) 5 .38 

lude premium pay for overtime and for 

of-living pay increases (but not bonuses) were 

3 The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississ 

Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia . 

Excluded were performance bonuses and lump-sum 

e auto and aerospace industries as well as profit-sharing 

ses, Christmas or yearend bonuses, and other nonproduction 

ata for regions in addition to those shown separately. The comprehensive report on 

dy provides data for additional regions and occupations. 

4 Data are limited to ring frame spinners in cotton and manmade fiber mills . 

5 Averages relate to combination (woolen and worsted) occupations ; data were not p 

separate categories . 

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication crited 
of the June 1985 survey, textile employment was heavily 

concentrated in the Southeast (nearly 90 percent of the 

total), was located largely in nonmetropolitan areas, and 

was comprised of mostly nonunion workers. 

The 1985 survey also reported on the incidence of employee benefits . Virtually all production workers were in 

mills providing paid holidays and vacations . In cottonmanmade fiber mills, workers typically received between 6 

and 8 holidays annually, and between 1 and 3 weeks of 

vacation pay, depending on their length of service. Provisions in the woolen mills were slightly more liberal-6 to 10 

paid holidays and between 1 and 4 weeks of vacation pay 

were typical . In both textile sectors, retirement pension 

plans and various insurance plans-including life, hospitalization, surgical, basic medical, major medical, and 

accidental death and dismemberment coverage-also were 

available to a majority of the workers. 

For each industry, separate reports for selected States and 

areas of industry concentration are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or any of its regional offices . A 

comprehensive report, Industry Wage Survey: Textiles, June 

1985, Bulletin 2265 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1986), may 

be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, Dc 20402, or from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Publications Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145, Chicago, iL 

60690. EJ 

FOOTNOTES 

I Wage data contained in this article are straight-time hourly earnings 

which exclude premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, 

holidays, and late shifts . Cost-of-living pay increases (but not bonuses) 

were included as part of the workers' regular pay. Excluded were performance bonuses and lump-sum payments of the type negotiated in the auto and 

aerospace industries, as well as profit-sharing payments, attendance 

bonuses, Christmas or yearend bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. 

For survey purposes, Virginia is included in the Southeast region . 

2 For a report on the 1980 survey, see Industry Wage Survey : Textile 

Mills and Textile Dyeing and Finishing Plants, August 1980, Bulletin 2122 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1982). 

Pay in synthetic fibers manufacturing 

in the Southern region 

Production and related workers in synthetic fibers manufacturing plants in the South averaged $10 .03 an hour in September 1985, according to a study by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics' . Virtually all of the 42,292 workers covered by 

the survey earned between $5 and $14 an hour; the middle 

50 percent earned from $8.67 to $11 .29 . All but 1 percent 

of the workers were paid time (rather than piece) rates, 

nearly always under formal plans providing single rates for 

specific occupations. 

The survey covered establishments producing two principal types of synthetic fiber suitable for further manufacture 

on textile processing machinery: cellulosic fibers, such as 

rayon and acetate; and other synthetic organic fibers 

(noncellulosic), such as nylons, acrylics, and polyesters . 

Manufacturers of cellulosic fibers often produced noncellulosics as a secondary product, but noncellulosic fiber plants 

generally did not produce cellulosic fibers . 

Three-fourths of the cellulosic fiber workers and one-fifth 

of the noncellulosic workers were in establishments having 

collective bargaining agreements covering a majority of the 

production workers. The major union was the Amalgamated 

Clothing and Textile Workers Union (AFL-clo). 

Eighty-five percent of the workers were employed in 

plants primarily producing noncellulosic fibers . They 

averaged $10.41 an hour; the remaining workers, who were 

in plants primarily producing cellulosic fibers, averaged 

$7 .91 . (See table 1 .) 

Pay levels were also tabulated by type of area, size of 

establishment, and union status . Surveywide, wages averaged 12 percent higher in metropolitan areas than in nonmetropolitan areas ($10.62 compared with $9.50) and in 

establishments with at least 1,000 employees than in smaller 

plants ($10.21 compared with $9.10) .2 Plants with fewer 

than 20 workers were excluded from the study . In establishments in which a majority of the workers were covered by 

labor-management agreements, the pay averaged $10.21, 

2 percent more than the $9.96 recorded in nonunion plants. 

The higher paying noncellulosic fiber industry accounted for 

all of the workers in metropolitan areas and four-fifths of 

those in large plants (at least 1,000 employees), but for less 

than one-tenth of the unionized workers estimated by the 

survey. 

Twenty-seven occupations, accounting for one-half of the 

cellulosic fiber workers and two-thirds of the noncellulosic 

fiber workers, were selected to represent the industries' wage 

structures, workers' skills, and manufacturing operations . 

Among cellulosic fiber plants, occupational pay levels 

ranged from $6.59 an hour for throwers (who twist rayon or 

acetate yarn) to $9 .57 an hour for general maintenance mechanics . Pay levels of other maintenance workers, generally 

the highest paid occupational group, ranged from $8 .04 an 

hour for machinists to $8 .77 an hour for pipefitters. Chemical operators, numerically the largest occupation, averaged 

$8 .03 an hour, compared with $8 .68 for spinners using the 

dry process. 

Among noncellulosic fiber plants, average earnings 

ranged from $7.93 an hour for yarn winders and material 

handling laborers to $13 .06 an hour for general maintenance 

mechanics. Dry-process spinners, numerically the largest 

job studied separately in noncellulosic plants, averaged 

$10.63 an hour, 6 percent more than their counterparts using 

the wet process ($10.05) . Chemical operators averaged 

$10.96 an hour. 

Where comparisons were possible, occupational averages 

were always higher in noncellulosic fiber manufacturing 

plants than in cellulosic fiber plants . The average wage 

35 
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW February 1987 a Research Summaries 

Table 1 . Number of workers and average hourly earnings' in selected occupations in synthetic fibers manufacturing by 

principal product, Southern region,2 September 1985 

Principal product Principal product 

All establishments All establishments 

Department Cellulosic fibers Noncellulosic fibers Department Cellulosic fibers Noncellulosic fibers 

and occupation Number Average Number Average Number Average and occupation Number Average Number Average Number Average 

of hourly of hourly of hourly of hourly of hourly of hourly 

workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings 

All production Finishing 

workers . . . . . . 42,292 $10.03 6,354 $7 .91 35,938 $10.41 Drawtwist 

operators. . . . . . . . 1,383 $8 .90 - - 1,359 $8.92 

Maintenance Throwers 

Carpenters . . . . . 79 10.23 25 8.66 54 10 .95 (twisters) . . . . . . . 384 6 .78 365 $6 .59 - - 

Electricians . . . . 345 11 .10 88 8.59 257 11 .96 Tow operators . . . . 2,559 9 .27 - - 2,450 9.30 

General Warper operators . . 924 8.75 318 7 .82 606 9.24 

mechanics . . . . 4,100 12.80 307 9.57 3,793 13 .06 Washer operators . . 56 8 .60 44 7 .33 - - 

Instrument Yam winders . . . . . 793 7 .44 - - 562 7.93 

repairers . . . . . . 885 12.36 59 8.71 826 12 .62 

Machinists . . . . . . 174 11 .06 42 8.04 132 12 .03 Inspecting and 

Maintenance trades testing 

helpers . . . . . . . 15 6.59 - - - - Laboratory 

Pipefitters . . . . . . . 183 9.68 133 8.77 50 12 .10 assistants . . . . . . 840 10 .63 82 7.90 758 10 .92 

Physical test 

Chemical operators . . . . . . 1,042 9 .30 131 7.38 911 9 .58 

preparation 

Chemical operators, Material movement 

Cellulosic . . . . . 564 8.03 564 8.03 - - and handling 

Chemical operators, Material handling 

noncellulosic . . . 2,528 10 .96 - - 2,528 10.96 laborers. . . . . . . . 643 7 .96 - - 572 7 .93 

Power-truck 

Spinning operators . . . . . . . . 419 9 .06 113 8.27 306 9 .35 

Jet handlers . . . 367 9.15 89 7.95 278 9.53 Forklift 

operators . . . . . . 384 9.07 96 8.22 288 9 .36 

Spinners, dry 

process . . . . 6,911 10 .48 525 8.68 6,386 10.63 Stock clerks ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 235 9.98 52 8.18 - - 

Spinners, wet 

process . . . . . 1 019 9.08 - - 759 10.05 Custodial . . , Guards . . . . . . . . . . . 139 8.77 24 7.81 115 8.97 

Finishing Guards I . . . . . . . 31 8.18 8 8.28 - - 

Creel tenders . . . . 526 8.56 - - 491 8.74 Janitors . . . . . . . . 275 7.89 103 7.77 172 7.96 

Excludes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts . 2 The Southern region, as used in this study, consists of Alabama, Delaware, District of ColumIncentive payments, such as those resulting from piecework or production bonus systems, and bia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennescostoi-living pay increases (but not bonuses) were included as part of the workers' regular pay . see, Virginia, and West Virginia . Excluded are performance bonuses and lump-sum payments of the type negotiated in the auto 

and aerospace industries as well as proltt-sharing payments, attendance bonuses, Christmas or NOTE : Dashes indicate that data did not meet publication criteria. Data for overall classificayearend bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. tions may include data for subclassifications rat shown separately . 

advantage for noncellulosic workers ranged from 2 percent 

for janitors ($7.96, compared with $7.77) to 50 percent for 

maintenance machinists ($12.03, compared with $8.04) . 

Also where comparisons could be made, occupational 

averages in noncellulosic fiber plants were typically 6 to 16 

percent higher in metropolitan areas than in nonmetropolitan 

areas and 20 to 30 percent higher in plants with 1,000 

workers or more than in those employing fewer workers. 

Data resulting from similar comparisons for cellulosic fiber 

plants did not meet publication criteria . 

All production and related workers covered by the survey 

were in establishments providing paid holidays and paid 

vacations. Ten to twelve holidays annually were typical as 

were 1 to 5 weeks of vacation pay, depending on years of 

service. 

Various health and insurance plans were available to virtually all workers . With the exception of major medical 

coverage, employers typically paid the entire cost of these 

health plans and, where applicable, dependents were also 

included . 

Retirement pension plans (in addition to Social Security) 

covered virtually all workers, while less than one-tenth of 

the workers were under plans limited to retirement severante pay . Employers typically paid the entire cost of these 

retirement plans. 

A comprehensive bulletin on the study, Industry Wage 

Survey: Synthetic Fibers, September 1985, Bulletin 2268, 

may be purchased from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Publication Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145, Chicago, IL 60690, or 

the Superintendent of Documents, U.S . Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The bulletin provides 

additional information on occupational pay, such as earnings distributions, and on the incidence of employee benefits in synthetic fibers manufacturing in the South. 0 

FOOTNOTES 

1 The survey was limited to the South, where more than 95 percent of the 

workers in synthetic fibers manufacturing are employed . Wage data are 

straight-time hourly earnings, which exclude premium pay for overtime 

and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts . Incentive payments, 

such as those resulting from piecework or production bonus systems, and 

cost-of-living pay increases (but not bonuses) were included as part of the 

workers' regular pay. Excluded are performance bonuses and lump-sum 

payments of the type negotiated in the auto and aerospace industries, as 

well as profit-sharing payments, attendance bonuses, Christmas or yearend 

bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. 

2 Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the U.S . Office of Management and Budget through June 1983 .