Evening star., 1936-04-12
UNEMPLOYMENT STILL
A NATIONAL MYSTERY
Vast Sums Spent to Create Jobs, But
Government Doesn't Know How
Many Are Out of Work.

guished from unemployment, in GER
tain industries, including manufacture
ing, mining. trade, public utilities and
year-around hotels. The departments
figures show that 15.745,000 men and
women were employed in these in
dustrieS in April, 1880. This number
had dropped to 10,579 900 by April,
1888, but last December it had climb
ed back to 13,874,000 While this in
dicates substantial improvement in
these classes of employment, the fig
ures do not take into account the
number of young people entering the
work for the first time and the num-
ber Of old persons permanently out.
Secretary Perkins, in an address
last month. said approximately 5000.
600 men and women in private in
dustry have been returned to jobs
since the low point of the depression,
but she did not indicate the sources
from which this figure was taken.
She pointed. however, to highly sig
nificant" gains in the machine tool
industry, the employment index for
which now stands at the highest
point reached since October, 1880.
A. F. of L. Not Optimistic.
The significance of the gain in ma
chine tool production lies in the fact
that it indicates revival Of the So
called heavy industries, which always
suffer worst in a depression and are
the slowest to recover. Secretary
Perkins said employment in the heavy
tndustries-mines, manufacture of
durable goods, construction, railroads,
etc.-has shown an increase since last
Summer, and pointed out that contin-
ued gains would 60 far toward in
creasing employment in all other
lines.
The Federation Of Labor, in its un-
employment survey, takes a less op-
timistic attitude, but its figures are
more specific.
Recovery thus far has not pro-
gressed evenly throughout industry"
the federation's report says. Con-
sumer goods industries have made the
largest proportionate contribution to
unemployment. The so-called heavy
industries have re-employed less than
one-third of the workers they laid OF
In depression, while consumer and
other industries have re-employed 81
per cent of their laid-off workers.
THE reason is not far to seek: The
industries re-employing workers have
been those most quickly affected by
consumer buying power-retail stores,
automobile, food and clothing indus
tries. The heavy industries, whose
customers are other industries, must
wait until those industries begin to
make profits before they can sell iron
and steel, machinery, railroad equip
ment, lumber and stone. And 5000
600 workers must wait for those profits
before they may have work."
Only 30 Per Cent Back.
The federation's unemployment es-
innate Of 11,449,000 covered all per-
sons seeking work in American indus
try. The term industry was used in
its broadest meaning, including agri-
culture, mining, manufacturing, trans
portation, service and all other indus
tries and the employment provided by
normal Government work. It did not
count as employed those persons hav-
ing emergency work under p. w. A.,
c. G. c., w. p. A., or the Federal
emergency relief work program.
Pointing out that business has al
ready recovered SO per cent of its loss
since 1929, but that only 80 per cent
the depression unemployed are back
to work, the report asked:
Can we expect the remaining half
Of recovery-actually less than half
to create jobs for the 70 per cent
still without means of livelihood? II
we cannot expect this, and it seems
highly improbable, then how are the
millions seeking work today to find
q place in our economic order?"
Asserting this problem Is basic in
Americas future, the report added:
while chronological improvements
are steadily reducing the jobs neces-
sary to provide all the goods and
services industry can market, the num-
Der of workers who want those jobs
is steadily increasing. The army CT
job seekers Is increasing today at the
rate of at least 100000 a year. This
means q total increase Of 100000
job seekers from 1929 to October, 1885.
In this same period, the number OF
workers needed to operate American
factories at the 1929 level, with 1929
Continued on Third Page.)