New-York tribune., 1899-06-12
FIGURES OF EMPLOYMENT.
FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE AL
RAINY BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS


Albany June n.-That there is q decided i'm
.rovement throughout the State in employment In
rr.sr,y all industries. with the exception OF the
h,lding trades is shown by the first quarterly bull
,,,n just issued by the Bureau OF Labor Statistics
sor the quarter ending March 81. The publication
:, these quarterly bulletins Is In pursuance OF
cnapter s of the Laws of 1899, upon the suggestion
of Governor Roosevelt.
Early in May the Bureau made inquiries OF lead
49, manufacturers Of the State concerning the con-
acton OF business. Their answers summarize
=, about twenty-five reports. Five reported an ad-
rance OF business since the first OF January four
,een others reported an increase of working force.
,vh,le only three reported declining or stationary
nusness The industries most favorably situated
.srs the iron and steel industries Qncluding foun-
sdes agricultural implement and stove factories).
common goods. clothing Qncluding boots and shoes.
Collars and cuffs and straw hats. canned goods,
cigars and lumber
The trades-unon returns on employment for the
ouarter ending March 81 show the following COM
narsons for the corresponding period Of 1885, Num-
her OF unions l56. against 1c4S for last year.
increase of los; number of members. 1856. Of
which le6.2S5 men and 1881 women against
1p@5 last year. decrease of 64S9; number of un-
empoyed on March 81, 3l,6l3 against 1851 last
rear a decrease of 7.244; number unemployed during
the entire quarter 2659, as against lS2 last year,
an increase of 4557.
The striking facts of this table the large num-
hers of the unemployed in the periods covered
The economic situation of trade-unionsts Is popu-
,arlv supposed to be more secure than that OF the
average workngman, yet 440o0 out OF l43,0U trade
un,onists were reported idle March 81. 1897. While
saD had been unemployed for the entire three
ortbs between January l and March 81, 1881. being
,rost exactly one-fourth of the total membership.
These large percentages of idleness pertain to the
winter season. and do not hold good for the whole
year.
since 1897 the conditions of employment have Inn
,,oved the percentage of total membership idle on
the last day Of the first quarter In 1898 being 1S2 as
.gains, q for the corresponding quarter Of the
,rov,ous year While the conditions OF 1898 showed
IN jmproveuent over those OF 1897, the improve
yneut since 1898 has not been so noticeable In fact
The percentage of those idle for the whole three
rnonths' period in this year exceeded that of 1898
The change In the condition of employment In
,ho tobacco trade affects the women workers with
..oec,al severity. Women in the clothing trades
ws-e manifesy better situated in March, 1899. than
N March. 1885 while those in printing and book
blpdng were in about the same condition. I'M
movement among the male workers is especially
not.,esble in the clothing and iron and steel in
0yss Of street railways on March 81 OF this
wear was almost reduced to naught g out OF $3.50.
Table OF the report completely sets ioIth Lno @
i! and towns of the State respecting employ
meni among organized workingmen. II NANNY NANNY
sitUation than those OF the metropolis, 50 far as
~ amount of employment is concerned. Wnle
Ia Der cent OF the working people in New YORK
cgiy were idle throughout the quarter ehdlnS
March 81 1899, the percentage elsewhere IN bbnne
State was only l0l. In New-lork Elt!, ohiy 90
ner cent Of the unionists worked full tlme, but ~
pther towns 62S per cent were steadily empioytu
throughcpt the quarter The same ratlo holHs
good OF both sexes, and II is worth noting that te
Swenty-two hundred women uniOnists OUTSIDE New
Work CITY exceptionally well sltuated-'4-o per
cent OF them being occupied on virtually ever!
working day in the quarter while only 10 per Ceh'
were idle. . ,,,o,oss was
fo,nd among the builders stoneworkers ana ioHs-
shoremen Puffalo). which is mainly accoun'e9 lOr
Nv The season The largest relative amount OF uh-
smplovmert was among the freight handlers tne
entire union In Buffalo having reported l.S lneii ~
hers out of work some of whom had doupuesSs % oo-
taned employment elsewhere. Among the ldIset se
calings the state Of employment was. esPeOia"'
eood on railroads. both steam and street. -..
, comparison Of the earnings or men anu MoiH.
IN the entire State shows that b92 per cent Oi
them armed between $50 and $40 during ti5e qudl
,sr while 37S per cent earned between so anu
s6; the number that earned over sl2o IN tne auS on
.sr ieouvalent TO 81 a day. was inslgnlncan'' 81
inc hiher hand more than one-han the men !'o'
nav cent? earned over $50 each. AS between New
York civ and the remainder of the state tie eaIl
ings are higher in the metropolis although as ,
fops noted employment is less contiguous. but
eren after allowance has been made LOT tne
gres Ter amount of idleness among the city Molht,
ers as IS done In the percentage OF no eaThthess
the METROPOLITAN unionists are in somewhat pe1IeI II
crcnmstances than the upstate unionists Inc
trades wherein the largest quarterly earnings were
reported are the printing and allied trades i ioco
motive engineers. theatres ana music al" e4"''