Evening star., 1924-11-09
LABOR CONDITIONS REFLECT
PROSPERITY IN BUSINESS
u. S. Statistics Show Close Relationship
Between E employment and
Economic Situation.

| that month. December 1922, exhibit
ed slight increase in the business
| volume, which was reflected in the
| decline in tho number OF applicants
per 1000 jobs to 767. January, 1928
recorded n gain in business trans
actions. while the number of appli-
cants continued to decline relatively.
Trend in Business Volume.
The trend in the business volume
since February, 1923. and throughout
| that year was unmistakably on the
downgrade, while since April, 1928
the Job-applicant ratio for 1923 was
| continuously rising except for one or
two brief recessions, reaching in No
vember l.6o6 applicants per l 900 jobs.
Early 1924 exhibited an increasing
| tendency in the dollar volume of
business, while in the face Of that
the ratio Of applicants continued to
, rise, standing for February at 2.04O
per 1000 jobs. So far the year 1924,
with the exception of April, Indicates
surplus OF applicants over jobs.
(The job-applicant ratio for Wash
ington for the months of August and
September was estimated from place
ments in those months, estimates be-
ing necessitatsd by 4 change in the
method of reporting the number of
apnllcants effected on August 1, 1924 }
FOR comparison, the chart gives
me labor market conditions for the
United states as whole, as we'll as for
the Eastern section, of which Washing
ton Is a part. In general, Washing
ton has Jared better than the coun-
try at large primarily because of it's
freedom from manufacturing enter
prises, while the relatively gentle
movements in labor conditions in the
rest OF the country, whether upward
or downward. bear not only a sharp
contrast to those in Washington, but
also a striking similarity in major
trends.
Situation In WashinEtsn.
For the United States as a whole
since the beginning Of 1922, there
were only seven months when the
number of jobs exceeded the number
OF applicants and even in those in
stances the excess was comparatively
slight. while for Washington there
were II such instances out of a pos
slble 33 This fact reflects to a
marked degree the effect of building
operations in Washington with it's
consequent demand for labor, both
skilled and unskilled, if not, indeed,
an increased need for domestics aris-
ing out of the extensive building
pIoSTdul. IN tNlS connection 1t is OF
interest to note that almost 46 per
cent of the jobs listed as available
in 1928 were for female domestics,
the ratio for the year being 500 serv-
ants per 1000 jobs, or, in other words,
two jobs from which the prospective
servant could select one, while A.
per cent of the total jobs listed in
1928 were for unskilied male labor,
the ratio for this class of help being
S5S applicants per 1000 jobs-a labor
market condition favorable to the
employe.
While the figures on tho labor
market, as thus outlined, are sub
ject to limitations. so far as the de-
ductions to be drawn therefrom are
concerned, they present an interest
ing commentary on economic condi-
tionS in Washington as we'll as in the
United States. Above that. they pre-
sent in an amazing measure the in
verse relationship to other economic
data relationship which Is worth
watching for an indication OF at least
the intensity of business in Wash
ington, If not, indeed. the possible
extent of business trends in the
future