The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-03-22
Lnhor stntistics in Ne,r Jersoy.

lfau Oh SlHtlSlltS upon inc SuHIcCl Ol uDOT.
The first report issued under It's provisions
is now at hand, and furnishes information
of substantial value 10 the employer and
the employed. Enough has been done al
ready to convince the ctizcns of New Jersey
what impetus may be giycnfO the produc-
i've energies Of a State by the study and
exposition Of its resources and Industrial
conditions. And here we may point out that
although the returns just published at Tren-
ton are meagrc indeed, compared with those
secured In connection with the Mtssachu-
scts census in 1875, yet they are much fuller
than those obtained by the bureau Of the
latter state in the first year Of its orgnniza-
ton. We may add that In each ease tho
facts aycre elected by the same process Of
forwarding blank schedules Of kqulry to
workmcn on the ono hand, and employers
on theothcr.
One ii the interesting points toUehed in
this report is the falling Of in tho cost Of
labor between the years 1872 and laT. 1t is
noteworthy how much greater is the per-
ccntagc % reduction in unsklllcd than in
skilled work. I'm the latter case the decline
runs from eight to an occasional maximum
of thirty per cent. while in the former it
ranges from twenty to fifty per cent And
heCe we may observe in passing, that
although the cases OF women and children
reported are relatively few, yet the average
OF reduction seems TO be nearly identical
With that reported by heads Of families. In
several trades which have suffered most
acutcly from the prevailing commercial de-
pression-such, for example as the brick
pig iron. and mining Industries normal
diminution in the rate Of wages rises to
forty aud fifty per cent Considering the
power VI resistance TO such extreme decline
in wages exhibited by skilled labor, the pro-
dominance Of the foreign element in this
class Of employees is scarcsly crcditable to
the States educational appliances. 1t APP
pears that OF the skilled worl1men cnume-
rated, only thirty-seven per cont. were
natives Of New Jersey. II is one OF the
main objects contemplated by this bureau
OF statistics TO call attention 10 such facts
and promote their correction.
In the tables based on the inquiries ad-
dressed 10 workmen, proper care seems TO
have boon taken to exclude responses from
salary receivers, and To make wages the OK
elusive basis Of calculation. II appears that
tho average daily earnings Of some two hun
dred males engaged In fifty occupations was
Sis. The data may seem insufficient. but IL
must be- borne I'm mind that both European
statisticians and the United States Govern
mont are In the habit Of delucng averages
from small numbers provided the diversity
OF social and economical conditions Is ado
quatc. In this case moreover, the results
are not greatly at variance with the returns
procured una much larger scale in othcr
Sntos. as. for instance. In MASSACHUSETTS,
IN 1876. whcreia 500 males showed an aver
age OF S2Ol The average highest yearly
earning ~ forty-cight male workmcn IN
Ncw Jersey is set down at S6-742, and the aV-
orlgo lpw,.t gain ~ twonty-scven females
is $3.50. These tables show a very grave
percentage Of lost time. averaging forty
nine and Quaiterday, tocach man, or one
sixth Of the whole working year, and this
Of course accounts in some measure for the
largo proportion OF low earnings. There
seem Ia lebu. three cases recorded In this
report Of excess over sixty hours Of labor
per week. Il deserves special mention that
i'm one Of those instances. that of ear driver
sll20 was paid for ninety hours work IN
week. This, We may remind the reader, was
th,Nagc earned hy the head Of family who
had to lodge, feed. and clothe three or four
persons besides himself.
The sumo report institutes suggestive
comparl son between the yearly income and
expenditure Of one hundred and fourteen
families. the number in each family being
stated, aud the excess or deficit of wages rola-
/ tiveto outlay being exhibited in detail. 1t APP
pears that the total sum earned by the work
ingmcn at the head Of these families was
! So. jj3, while the total amount expended by