Evening star., 1948-04-25
Facing
Labor Shortage
Federal Experts Expect
Work Call to Go Out
for All Hands
By Robert E. Geioer

The United States faces labor
problem so tough that Government
labor experts say the work call
will 60 out for all Misunderstanding
women and retired workers-by
midsummer.
Robert c. Goodwin, director of
the United States Employment
Service, predicts around $1,000, 900
people will have jobs. In July,
l947, some 60,078,O00 were en-
ployed, an all-time high record.
Mr Goodwin says the situation
is more critical than at the start OF
the war because then the Nation
had an unemployment pillow" on
which to drop its wartime labor
recruiting problem. There were
100000 unemployed in 1910, but
MI. Goodwin says unemployment
virtually is nonexistent today.
Statistics Misleading
Privately government officials say
the availability of materials will
help control the labor situation as
it did during the war. That is
if material controls become neces-
sary, they say, it means essential
materials will be shunted to neces-
sary industries and workers will
follow the materials.
Statistics list 2,400,000 people
unemployed" today, but Mr.. Good
win says this is misleading. Actual
ly, he says, they were only shifting
from one job to another or were
temporarily out of work. Jobs were
available for them.
Although there is virtually no res
ervoir of unemployed, there are an
estimated 100000 persons outside
the labor force today who were
either in the civilian labor or mill
tary forces in 1914. Technically
the labor force" means persons
working or looking for work.
These mostly are women, men now
retired or veterans who were in the
military forces in 1914.
Mr.. Goodwin says the most i'm
portant part of the 1948 labor re-
cruiting program will be to induce
some of these people to return to
jobs.
This Years Big Problem
Other ways of meeting the pro-
duction demand include longer
hours of work, reclassification OF
Jobs and importation of foreign la
bor.
Mr.. Goodwin says the big problem
this year will be matching supply
with demand, promptly.
AS an example, a $100, 900, 900 ship
building program and an aircraft
construction plan costing several bill
lions are being discussed.
II steel becomes short and is shift
ed to ships from automobile and
other industries, it might mean a
movement of auto workers to sucn
shipb,ilding centers as Norfolk, Va
A similar shift might be neces-
sary to man the aircraft plants. AT
least one plant already is advertis-
! ing for workers.
/ If employees leave other essential
employment to work on ships and
aircraft, other workers have to be
recruited to replace them. One
ripple of this kind might cause q
wave that would disturb the whole
labor market, Mr.. Goodwin says.
The Squeeze is expected by mid
summer.
"A year ago agricultural employ
ment climbed 100000 between
February and June" Mr.. Goodwin
says.
Agricultural crop goals are at
least as large this year as last
Demand for farm and food pro-
cessing workers certainly will be
as great as last year. T.
| AN addition OF. 3,5O0,000 agricul-
tural workers will increase total
] employment close to 81 ,00O,0 ,000."
/ Three-quarters of all men Is and
10 years old now are in the labor
force. Eighty-two per cent of males
1924 years old also are employed
Selective service or universal mill
tary service would draw heavily on
this group Of workers unless there
are deferments.
distributed b. the Associated Press)