The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-22

"141WWNN and the balance m civilian occupa- tons. .%NsF VOW
 When Germany was converting her economy from peace to war, the best she could do In any one year was to shiftsi.S million workers from civilian to armament and munitions production. 0erTnany's population being about half that Of the United states, the normal expectancy would be for this coO1ntrys war industries to absorb about S.6 million workers in the first year. As matter of fact, our war industries may not achieve this goal for the calender year l04l. Employment in defense industries at the end of le40 was estimated at three million workers, but by the end of this year the total may not quite reach 46 million, Q gain of only a>mlllion and Q half.
 BETTER WHIP UP
 The showing for 1e42 will ob- viously have to be Q lot better if the country is to get any place at all in Its war effort. Pointing out that the building up of production takes time, the National Resuorces Planning Board made e study of what can be done if everybody gets In the pitches, using all the techno- logical planning, drive, foresight ard cooperation the country can muster. In such an effort, employment in defense industries by the end of l942 might Do raised Co II million, with the number of unemployed at two million.
 For io43, defense industries might absorb i6 million workers, at which unemployment would practically dis. appear And by i944 the war industries could have 23 million workers, The armed services would have soy four million men at e minimum, workers in agricultural and fion-war occupA- tions would number 8 million in. stead of the present 46 million, and for every million additional men in the armed services, million would have to be subtracted from the number of workerl in non.war oc. equations. This calculation Is on the basis of 60 million possible workers, as compared with the present labor force 10 b3 million. l
 Where will thesa seven million additional workers come from? The present unemployed will provide four million of them. Every year, about 600,0O0 more people grow up and be. come eligible for jobs than the nun. Der of older workers who retlre or die. And in addition to those prin- cipal sources of labor supply, there VIII Dc more women taking jobs now held by men. more older workers staying oil the job instead of retir. Ing, more non-employed becoming employde. 'i
 Obviously there Is no shortage in the potens.al labor supply. The prob- lem is one Of training the unskilied for jobs requiring tho skilled up. grading of all workers by training the semi-skilled to, do jobs requiring just . little more skill than their present or past jobs required, rec training workers who have grown rusty in the practice of their old trades. Skilled workers in the non- war trades must expect to ho shifted to war industries and learn new- ekills. N, 3a sf,
 FAHE START MADE
 A pretty good Job has already been done in getting this transfer of the labor force started. AS early as June, l040, Sidney Hillman's employment division of the. original defense council asked for sib million for this work, and when Congress appro- prlated the money, voca tlonal train. ing began in half 6 dozen different directions. More than Sl6b million have now been appropriated for this job, and 9S6 million have been spent, with the result that l.7 million workers have gone to detsnse schools Of one kind or another.
 Looking at the picture up to the first of March. i942, the U. s. Em- ploytnent Service has made Q survey estimating the hiring Of some 476 900 wrokers in e000 factories of the principal 2 6war industries. Aircraft and shipbuilding will take nearly half of this number, and another quarter will 90 into the iron, steel and machinery industries.
 skilled workers will make up ss out of every 100 new workers, aemi- skilled 26, Inski!led 28, and seven managerial or clerical. That's about the ration for the CT tire period of ex- Y1aY4dsraO aFsstNlAvfaanS Sa9r a,a afi.nYst