The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-04-01

Peter EoooM million men ana women and civilian industry has reached the idylllo and Utoplan condition of so-called full employ ment.
 Examination of the various class es and the conditions of the quar- ter-mllllon workers now drawing unemployment compensation gives Q little light on why this must ap. parently he SO, according Co the So- clal Security Board point of view.
 In the first group are war indus. try workers temporarily laid off, The cause Of the layoffS may be shortage of materials, lack of parts for assembly, chance In design of some piece Of war equipment mak- ing necessary retooling of tho fac- tory. State unemployment compen- sation offices now have better checkup on workers than they ever had, so applicants for unemploy. ment insurance must present proof that they have left Job for good cause before they can begin to draw benefits, Also, there Is Q com pulsory waiting period before the temporarily unemployed can begin to collect in most states, so there Is little chance to fake tho record and cash-ln whiSs playing absentee.
 NON.ESSENTIAL UNEMPLOYED
 Second group of workers drawing benefits includes those former em- ployeS of industrial now considered non-essentlal to war production.
 During the time they're looking for m essential job In a war indus- try, these people can collect com- penSatlon, but here again Nre check ups, Beneflciaries must report ueg- ularly at employment offices and must take tho first bona fide offer of a job in their particular trade, MehcanicS aren't compelled to take farm jobs, or vice versa, nor are workers compelled to take jobs that require extreme inconvenience in travel to and from work or the tak- ing Of Q job In another community, requiring Q worker to move or be separated from his family. The In- diana proposal that all unemployed must take farm jobs met violent op- position, SO was never ordered or en- forced.
 Workers living in communities re- mote from war production centerS make up the third and probably the largest of the groups of unemploy. ment insurance hsneficiaries. Twen- ty per cent of all the benefits paid go to workers in the New York City area, which got comparatively few war contracts and is today the big gest surplus labor supply area in the country. This New York labor market situation is of course an old story. but one about which no one has been able to do anything con- structive. Most surplus workers are in the needle trades. Many are older workers, unable to learn new trade, unwilling to move out of New York.
 WORKING WIVES
 Working wives, on the fringe of the labor force, make up the fourth group. Many were persuaded to take war jobs, sometimes against their better judgment, sometimes through sheer patriotism and @ desire to help win the war. When layoffs come, these working wives are often the first to be dropped, but having been gainfully employed, are eligible for benefits If they register with the employment offices as willing to take another job.
 In all, from % per cent to 60 per cent of those receiving unemploy- ment compensation today are wom- en-single, career women as well as working wives-whereas the normal percentage of women on the benefit roles is 26.
 Men about to be drafted make up fifth large group of beneflciartes. If man is about to be called up for service, he is likely to be among the first to be layed off, if his plant is forced into a temporary shut down. While waiting for his num- Der to be called, he is eligible for unemployment insurance.
 Two out of three workers now are being covered by federal-State uEl- employment insurance programs. the figure of 225.000 workers now receiving benefits represents only a little over one-half of 1 per cent of the 40 million workers under job in- surance. This is of course not the entire number of unemployed in the United States today. Social Secur- ity Board experts estimate the total unemployed at the present time may number IS million, believe it may drop to 75O.0OO eventually, but will never get below that figure. The minimum to receive benefits may get as low as I25,000. or about half what it is now. A statistical study on this entire situation, now being made, will be announced in the course of the next month or