Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-08-01
Average Working
Week Declines sc
Minutes in 2 Years

New York, July 31.-By A. P.)-
The length of the working week of
the average American employee has
declined SO minutes in the last two
years according to a statement by
the National Bureau of Economic
Research, summarizing the results
of a nation wide investiga ton which
was undertaken for the Business
Cycle Committee of President Hard
ing's Conference on Unemployment.
Outlining the results of the investi-
cation DR.. MILFORD IT. King, of the
staff of the National Bureau of Eco
nomfs Research under whose super
vision the facts were gathered, said:
According to some historians, our
great grandfathers thought II hours
reasonable days work. For more
than hundred years, however. the
length of the working day has been
declining steadily until the average
American in the first quarter of 1929
was expected by his employer to
work only sos hours per week, just
a trifle more than eight hours for six
days set forth as an ideal by re-
formers OF a generation or two ago.
The detailed figures covering all in
dustries in the United States show
that the length of the working week
declined SO minutes during the two
years covered by the study"
OF all classes of employers re-
porting, those engaged in rendering
domestic and personal service record
the longest full-time hours for those
working under their direction, the
average being slightly more than
eight hours daily for a seven day
week. Farmers and retail merchants
each require over SO hours of work
per week from their employees. EN-
pioyers in a considerable group OF in
dustries usually call for less than
As hours per week from their work.
and construction, finance, public and
professional services, paper and
printing establishments. and fac
tories making textiles, clothing,
leather and leather goods.
THE figures presented in the re-
port" continued DR.. King, indicate
that the man who is anxious to have
n steady job in dull times as well as
good times should seek a position
with a small employer. Moreover, II
he followed this course during the
last few years, he may have discov-
cred that he gained less than he ex-
pected by the choice, for the tables
show that in the last quarter for
which reports are available he was
asked to work SO hours each week
in the small enterprises instead of
AIS that the large establishment on
the average required him to serve.
This difference is partly accounted
for by the fact that farmers form so
large n portion of small employees.
However the farmers are not the
only ones of this class that call for
longer hours than the average. In
out of II industries, employers
hiring fewer than II workers re-
quired their employees to work over
fifty hours per week in the first
quarter of 1922. In the group en-
ploying 81 to 100 workers, long hours
for employees proved to be even
more common than in tho smaller
enterprises at the same date, for IL
out of the II industrial groups had
full time hours Of mere than so per
week. Only in concerns employing
| over 100 men were shorter hours the
rule. In that group only Z of the II
industries expected their men to
| work as much as so hours per week.
The great snowy owl of the Arc
fta som of N, &c moo S,,roc q foot arroSc