bls_1555_1967.pdf

HANDBOOK OF LABOR STATISTICS 1967

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:UMENT COLLECTION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

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HANDBOOK OF LABOR STATISTICS 1967U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary

BU REAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Arthur M . Ross, Commissioner

B U LLETIN NO. 1555

For sale Jby the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C., 20402 - Price $2.00


Prefatory NotePublication of the 1967 Handbook of Labor Statistics brings together in one volume,

as was last done in 1950, historical series that bear on labor economics and labor institutions. The coverage is very broad, embracing material not only from the Bureau of Labor Statistics but also from other offices of the Department of Labor and from other Departments of Government. In addition, there are series produced by foreign governments.

There are 153 tables in all. Each starts at the earliest point in time from which a continuous, reliable, and consistent series can be carried. Tables are numbered in a single sequence, but are grouped under readily identifiable headings and subheadings. A t the beginning of the volume is a section containing brief statements of method and limitations for each series.

One problem in producing a book of this type is that more recent statistics are available shortly after publication. W e feel, however, that the major value of the Handbook will lie in its comprehensiveness. W e hope that publication of new editions will provide a continuous service for the thousands of persons who require this type of reference book.

The Handbook was compiled in the Office of Publications, with the cooperation of the operating divisions of the Bureau, under the direction of Tom m y C. Ishee.

A rt h u r M . R ossCommissioner of Labor Statistics


Handbook o f Labor Statistics 1967

CONTENTSTECHNICAL NOTES Page

Current Population Survey______ ________________________________________________ 1Current Employment and Labor Turnover Statistics Program____________________ 3Wage and Salary Surveys________________________ 4Employer Expenditures for Supplementary Compensation Practices______________ 6Productivity_____________________________________________________________________ 6Consumer Prices_________________________________________________________________ 8Wholesale Prices_________________________________________________________________ 9Consumer Expenditures_________________________________________________________ 11Standard Family Budgets________________________________________________________ 11Union Membership______________________________________________________________ 12Work Stoppages_________________________________________________________________ 12Industrial Injuries_______________________________________________________________ 12Foreign Labor Statistics_________________________________________________________ 13Farm Employment and Wage Rates_____________________________________________ 14Governmental Employment______________________________________________________ 14Apprentices in Training_________________________________________________________ 15Manpower Development and Training___________________________________________ 15The Insured Unemployed________________________________________________________ 15Employee-Benefit Plans_________________________________________________________ 16Unemployment Insurance________________________________________________________ 16National Labor Relations Board, Jurisdiction and Cases__________________________ 17Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Investigation Findings_____________________ 18Gross National Product and National Income____________________________________ 18Consumer Income_______________________________________________________________ 20

TABLESLabor Force

1. Employment Status of the Noninstitutional Population, by Sex, 1947-66____ 212. Total Labor Force (Including Armed Forces) and Labor Force Participation

Rates, by Sex and Age, 1947-66_________________________________________ 223. Civilian Labor Force, by Sex, Color, and Age, 1947-66_____________________ 254. Civilian Labor Force Participation Rates, by Marital Status, Age, and Sex,

1957-66_________________________________________________________________ 285. Experienced Civilian Labor Force, by Occupation and Sex, 1954-66________ 296. Persons Not in the Labor Force, by Sex, Color, and Age, 1947-66__________ 307. Labor Force Participation Rates for Civilian Noninstitutional Population

14-24 Years Old, by School Enrollment, Sex, and Age, October 1947-65. _ 328. Educational Attainment of Civilian Labor Force 18 Years Old and Over, by

Sex and Color, Selected Dates, 1952-66_________________________________ 339. Median Years of School Completed by the Civilian Labor Force 18 Years

Old and Over, by Sex and Age, Selected Dates, 1952-66_________________ 3410. Labor Force Status of Married Women, Husband Present, by Presence and

Age of Children, 1948-66_____________ 34

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CONTENTS

EmploymentCharacteristics:

11. Employment Status of Persons 16-19 Years Old and Adults, by Color,1954-66_________________________________________________________________ 35

12. Employment Status of Persons 16-24 Years Old, 1947-66--------------------------- 3613. Employment Status of Persons 16-21 Years Old, by Color, 1963-66________ 3814. Employed Persons, by Occupation Group, Color, and Sex, Selected Years,

1959-66_________________________________________________________________ 3915. Employed Persons, 16 Years Old and Over, by Major Occupation Group and

Industry Group, 1966___________________________________________________ 3916. Full- and Part-Time Status of the Civilian Labor Force, by Age and Sex,

1963-66_________________________________________________________________ 4017. Nonagricultural Workers on Full-Time Schedules or on Voluntary Part Time,

by Selected Characteristics, 1957-66_____________________________________ 4118. Persons on Part-Time for Economic Reasons, by Type of Industry, 1957-66. _ 4219. Nonagricultural Workers on Part-Time for Economic Reasons, by Sex and

Age, 1957-66____________________________________________________________ 4220. Nonagricultural Workers on Part-Time for Economic Reasons, by Usual

Full-Time or Part-Time Status and Selected Characteristics, 1957-66______ 4321. Employed Persons Not at Work, by Reason for Not Working, 1957-66_____ 4422. Employed Wage and Salary Workers Not at Work in Nonagricultural

Industries, by Reason for Not Working and Pay Status, 1957-66________ 4523. Employment Status of Family Head, Wife, and Other Family Members in

Husband-Wife Families, Selected Dates, 1955-66________________________ 4624. Employed Married Women, Husband Present, by Major Occupation Group,

1947-66_________________________________________________________________ 4725. Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population 14-24 Years

Old, by School Enrollment, Sex, and Age, October 1947-65______________ 4726. Occupational Distribution of Employed High School Graduates Not Enrolled

in College and of School Dropouts as of October of the Year of Graduation or Dropout, by Sex, 1959-66____________________________________________ 49

27. Employment Status of High School Graduates Not Enrolled in College andof School Dropouts as of October of the Year of Graduation or Dropout, by Sex, Marital Status of Women, and Color, 1959-65_______________________ 50

28. Median Years of School Completed by the Employed Civilian Labor Force18 Years Old and Over, by Sex, Occupation Group, and Color, Selected Years, 1948-66_________________________________________________________ 51

29. Persons 14 Years and Over with Work Experience During the Year, by Extentof Employment and by Sex, 1950-65____________________________________ 52

30. Persons 14 Years and Over with Work Experience During the Year, byIndustry Group and Class of Worker of Longest Job, 1955-65___________ 53

31. Percent of Persons 14 Years and Over with Work Experience During the YearWho Worked Year-Round at Full-Time Jobs, by Industry Group and Class of Worker of Longest Job, 1950-65______________________________________ 54

32. Persons with Two Jobs or More, by Industry and Class of Worker of Primaryand Secondary Job, Selected Dates, 1956-66_____________________________ 55

Industry:

33. Employees on Nonagricultural Payrolls, by Industry Division, 1919-66_______ 5634. Employees on Manufacturing Payrolls, by Major Industry Group, 1939-66. _ 5735. Production or Nonsupervisory Workers on Nonagricultural Payrolls, by

Selected Industry Division, 1939-66_____________________________________ 5936. Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls, by Major Industry Group,

1929-66_________________________________________________________________ 6037. Nonproduction Worker Employment and Ratios of Nonproduction Worker

Employment to Total Employment, by Major Manufacturing Industry Group, 1939-66_________________________________________________________ 62

Tables Page

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CONTENTS

EmploymentContinuedIndustryContinued

38. Women Employees on Nonagricultural Payrolls, by Industry Division,1959-66_________________________________________________________________ 66

39. Women Employees on Manufacturing Payrolls, by Major Industry Group,1959- 66______________________________________________________________ 67

40. Farm Employment and Wage Rates, 1910-66______________________________ 6841. Governmental Employment and Payrolls, by Level of Government, 1940-66- 69

State and Region:42. Employees on Nonagricultural Payrolls, by Region and State, 1939-66-------- 7043. Employees on Manufacturing Payrolls, by Region and State, 1939-66______ 7244. Employees on Government Payrolls, by Region and State, 1939-66________ 74

Labor Turnover:45. Labor Turnover Rates of Employees on Manufacturing Payrolls, 1930-66.- 7646. Labor Turnover Rates of Employees on Manufacturing Payrolls, by Major

Industry Group, 1958-66____________ 77

Training:47. Registered Apprentices in Training, New Registrations, Completions, and

Cancellations, 1941-66__________________________________________________ 8248. Activities Conducted Under the Manpower Development and Training Act,

August 1962-65. 8249. Vocational Training-Institutional and On-The-Job Training Projects and

Trainees Approved, 1964-65_____________________________________________ 82

UnemploymentCharacteristics:

50. Unemployed Persons 16 Years and Over and Unemployment Rates, bySex and Color, 1947-66________________________________________ 83

51. Unemployed Persons and Unemployment Rates, by Sex and Age, 1947-66-_ 8452. Unemployment Rates, by Color, Sex, and Age, 1948-66____________________ 8653. Unemployment Rates, by Sex and Marital Status, 1955-66________________ 8754. Unemployment Rates and Percent Distribution of the Unemployed, by Age,

Sex, and Major Occupation Group, 1966_________________________________ 8855. Unemployed Persons and Percent Distribution of the Unemployed, by

Duration of Unemployment, 1947-66____________________________________ 8956. Long-Term Unemployment Compared with Total Unemployment, by Sex,

Age, and Color, 1957-66________________________________________________ 9057. Unemployed Persons, by Household Relationship, 1963-66________________ 9158. Extent of Unemployment During the Year Among Persons 14 Years and

Over, by Sex, 1957-65___________________________________________________ 92

Industry:59. Unemployment Rates and Percent Distribution of the Unemployed, by

Major Industry Group, 1948-66_________________________________________ 9460. Long-Term Unemployment, by Major Industry and Occupation Group,

1957-66_________________________________________________________________ 95

Insured Unemployed:61. The Insured Unemployed, by Industry Division, 1960-66__________________ 9662. The Insured Unemployed, by Major Occupational Group, 1960-66________ 9663. The Insured Unemployed, by Sex, Age, and Duration of Unemployment

1960- 66______________________________________________________________ 96

Tables Page

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CONTENTS

Hours64. Average Weekly Hours of Production or Nonsupervisory Workers on Non-

agricultural Payrolls, by Selected Industry Division, 1932-66____________ 9765. Average Weekly Hours of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,

by Major Industry Group, 1947-66______________________________________ 9866. Average Weekly Overtime Hours of Production Workers on Manufacturing

Payrolls, by Major Industry Group, 1956-66_____________________________ 10067. Indexes of Aggregate Weekly Man-Hours in Industrial and Construction

Activities, 1947-66______________________________________________________ 10168. Average Weekly Hours of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,

by State, 1947-66_______________________________________________________ 10369. Nonsupervisory Workers, Retail TradePercent Distribution by Weekly

Hours of Work, United States and Regions, Selected dates, 1956-65______ 10570. Scheduled Weekly Hours (Day Shift) Percent of Plant and Office Workers

by Weekly Work Schedule, all Metropolitan Areas, by Industry Division, Selected Periods, 1959-66________________________________________________ 106

Productivity and Unit Labor Costs71. Indexes of Output Per Man-Hour and Related Data, Private Economy,

1947-66_________________________________________________________________ 10772. Indexes of Output Per Man-Hour, Hourly Compensation, and Unit Labor

Costs in the Private Economy, and Underlying Data, 1947-66___________ 10873. Indexes of Output Per Man-Hour, Man-Hours, and Output, for Selected

Industries, 1939-65______________________________________________________ 109

CompensationWages:

74. General Wage Changes in Major Collective Bargaining Situations, 1954-65___ 11475. Interarea Pay Comparisons Relative Pay Levels by Industry Division,

1960-66_________________________________________________________________ 11576. Indexes of Union Scales and Weekly Hours in Selected Industries and Trades,

1907-65_________________________________________________________________ 12377. Indexes of Union Wage Scales and Weekly Hours in Selected Building and

Printing Trades, 1907-65________________________________________________ 12578. Indexes of Average Straight-Time Hourly Earnings of Men in Selected Pro

duction Occupations in Nonelectrical Machinery Manufacturing, Selected Metropolitan Areas, 1945-66_____________________________________________ 133

79. Average Union Scales for Selected Trades, by Cit} ,^ 1947-65________________ 134

Earnings by Industry:

80. Employment on Private Nonagricultural Payrolls Hours and Earnings ofProduction or Nonsupervisory Workers, January 1964-66_________________ 146

81. Average Hourly Earnings of Production or Nonsupervisory Workers onNonagricultural Payrolls, by Selected IndustryDivision, 1932-66__________ 147

82. Average Hourly Earnings of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,by Major Industry Group, 1947-66_________________ 148

83. Average Weekly Earnings of Production or Nonsupervisory Workers onNonagricultural Payrolls, by Selected Industry Division, 1909-66__________ 150

84. Average Weekly Earnings of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,by Major Industry Group, 1947-66_______________________________________ 151

85. Gross and Spendable Average Weekly Earnings of Production or Nonsupervisory Workers on Nonagricultural Payrolls, by Selected Industry Division, 1939-66_______________________________________________________ 153

86. Average Annual Salaries for Selected Professional, Administrative, andTechnical Occupations, 1961-66_________________________________________ 155

Tables Page

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CONTENTS

CompensationContinuedEarnings by Region and State:

87. Average Hourly Earnings of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,by State, 1947-66_______________________________________________________ 156

88. Average Weekly Earnings of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls,by State, 1947-66----------------------------------- 158

89. Production Workers, Manufacturing Industries Cumulative Percent Distribution by Average Hourly Earnings, by Regions, 1958-64____________ 160

90. Nonsupervisory Employees, Retail Trade Cumulative Percent Distribution,by Average Straight-Time Hourly Earnings, United States and Regions, Selected dates, 1956-65_________________________________________________ 160

91. Indexes of Average Weekly or Hourly Earnings for Selected OccupationalGroups in Metropolitan Areas, by Region, 1960-66______________________ 162

92. Average Earnings for Selected Occupations in Metropolitan Areas, byIndustry Division and Region, 1961-66__________________________________ 166

93. Number and Average Straight-Time Hourly Earnings of Production Workersin Selected Manufacturing Industries, 1965______________________________ 174

94. Number and Average Hourly Earnings of Employees in Selected Nonmanufacturing Industries, 1965--------------------------------------------------------------- 190

95. Indexes of Average Annual Salaries of Public School Teachers in Cities of50,000 or More, by Size of City, 1925-65_______________________________ 192

Supplementary Compensation:96. Health Insurance and Pension Plans, all Metropolitan Areas, by Industry

Division, 1959-66_______________________________________________________ 19397. Paid Vacations, all Metropolitan Areas, by Industry Division, 1965-66_____ 19498. Paid Vacations, all Metropolitan Areas, Selected Periods, 1959-66__________ 19599. Paid Holidays, all Metropolitan Areas, by Industry Division, Selected Periods,

1959-66________________________________________ - _______________________ 195100. Employer Expenditures for Compensation of Employees, Selected Industries,

United States, 1960-62_________________________________________________ 196101. Employer Expenditures for Compensation of Production and Related

Workers in Manufacturing Industries, by Region, 1959 and 1962_________ 197102. Private Pension and Deferred Profit-Sharing Plans: Estimated Coverage,

Contributions, Beneficiaries, Benefit Payments and Reserves, 1950-65____ 198

Unemployment Insurance:103. Old Age, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance: Beneficiaries with

Monthly Benefits, Under Social Security in Current Payment Status at end of Period, 1940-66_____________ 198

Prices and Living ConditionsConsumer Price Index:

104. Consumer Price Index, U.S. City Average for All Items, 1800-1966, SelectedGroups, and Purchasing Power of the Consumer Dollar, 1913-66_________ 199

105. Consumer Price Index, All Items and Major Groups, U.S. City Average,1935-66__________________________________________________ 200

106. Consumer Price Index, U.S. City Average, Special Groups, 1935-66________ 201107. Consumer Price Index, U.S. City Average, All Items and Purchasing Power

of the Consumer Dollar, 1935-66------------------------------------------------------------- 202108. Relative Importance of Major Groups of the Consumer Price Index, U.S.

City Average, at Dates of Major Weight Revisions______________________ 203109. Consumer Price Index U.S. City Average for Urban Wage Earners and

Clerical Workers, Food Items, 1935-66_________________________________ 204110. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, Indexes

for Selected Items and Groups Other than Food, 1947-66________________ 212

Tables Page

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CONTENTS

Prices and Living ConditionsContinuedConsumer Price IndexContinued

111. Consumer Price Index, 23 Cities or Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas,All Items and Major Groups, 1947-66___________________________________ 216

112. Estimated U.S. Average Retail Prices for Selected Foods, 1890-1966_______ 228

Wholesale Price Index:113. Wholesale Price Indexes, 1926-66__________________________________________ 230114. Wholesale Price Indexes, by Durability of Product, 1947-66----------------------- 239115. Wholesale Price Indexes, by Stage of Processing, 1947-66----------------------------- 240116. Industry-Sector Price Indexes for the Output of Selected Industries, 1957-66. 241

Consumer Expenditures:117. Average Annual Expenditures, Income, and Savings, All U.S. Families, by

Urbanization, 1960-61___________________________________________________ 244118. Average Annual Expenditures, Income, and Savings, All U.S. Families, by

Income, 1960-61_________________________________________________________ 245119. Average Annual Expenditures, Income, and Savings, All U.S. Families, by

Family Size, 1960-61_____________________________________________________ 246120. Average Annual Expenditures, Income, and Savings, All U.S Urban Families

in 1960-61 Compared with 1950_______________________________________ 247121. Average Annual Income and Expenditures of Families (Two Persons or

More) of City Wage and Clerical Workers, Six Selected Periods Since 1888-91___________________________ 248

Standard Family Budgets:122. Annual Costs of the City Workers Family Budget, by Major Components,

20 Large Cities and Suburbs, Autumn 1959________ 249123. Relative Differences in Costs of the City Workers Family Budget, 20 Large

Cities and Suburbs, Autumn 1959_________________________________________ 250124. Estimated Annual Costs of Goods and Services Providing the Same Level of

Living Among Families of Different Sizes, 20 Cities and Suburbs, Autumn 1959_____________________________________________________________________ 250

125. Annual Costs of the Retired Couples Budget, by Major Components, 20Large Cities and Suburbs, Autumn 1959________________________________ 251

126. Relative Differences in Costs of the Retired Couples Budget, 20 Large Citiesand Suburbs, Autumn 1959_______________________________________________ 252

127. Scale of Equivalent Income for City Families of Different Size, Age, andComposition_____________________________________________________________ 252

Unions and Industrial RelationsUnion Membership:

128. Distribution of National and International Unions, by Industry and Affiliation, Selected Years, 1956-64___________________________________________ 253

129. Membership Reported by National and International Unions, by Geographic Area and Affiliation, Selected Years, 1956-64____________________ 255

130. Membership of National and International Labor Unions, 1933-64________ 256131. Union Membership as a Proportion of the Labor Force, 1930-64__________ 256

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CONTENTS

Unions and Industrial RelationsContinuedWork Stoppages:

132. Work Stoppages in the United States, 1881-1965__________________________ 257133. Work Stoppages, by Size of Stoppage, 1964 and 1965______________________ 258134. Duration of Work Stoppages Ending in 1964 and 1965___________________ 258135. Work Stoppages, by Major Issues, 1964 and 1965_________________________ 259136. Work Stoppages, by Industry Group, 1956-65------------------------------------------- 261137. Work Stoppages, by State, 1956-65_____________ 264

Labor Relations:138. Type of Employer Bargaining Unit in Major Agreements, by Industry, 1961- 269139. Labor-Management Agreement Coverage, all Metropolitan Areas, Selected

Periods, 1960-66_______________________________________________________ 270140. Intake and Disposition of Cases by the National Labor Relations Board,

Fiscal Years 1936-66__________________________________________________ 271141. Investigation Findings Under the Fair Labor Standards and Public Con

tracts Acts, by Fiscal Year, 1939-66____ _______________________________ 273

Industrial Injuries142. Work-Injury Rates, by Industry, 1958-65________________________________ 274

Foreign Labor Statistics143. Population and Labor Force, Selected Countries and Selected Years, 1950-66- 285144. Labor Force and Unemployment in Selected Industrial Countries, 1959-66-_ 287145. Indexes of Unit Labor Cost in Manufacturing for Selected Countries, Se

lected Years, 1950-65__________________________________________________ 288146. Indexes of Earnings and Prices in Selected Countries, 1960 and 1965_______ 288147. Average Hourly Earnings and Average Hours of Work in Manufacturing, in

Selected Industrial Countries, 1955, 1960, and 1965_____________________ 289148. Indexes of Wholesale Prices for Selected Countries, Commodities, and Years,

1950-65_______________________________________________________________ 289149. Work Stoppages and Time Lost Due to Industrial Disputes in Selected

Countries, 1955-65____________________ 290

General Economic DataGross National Product:

150. Gross National Product: Annually, 1929-66______________________________ 291151. Gross National Product in Constant Dollars: Annually, 1929-66__________ 293

National Income:152. National Income by Type of Income: Annually, 1929-66________________ 295

Distribution of Families by Income:153. Percent Distribution of Families, by Income Level, by Years of School

Completed, and Color of Head, 1963-65________________________________ 297

Tables Page


Technical NotesCurrent Population Survey

(Note: Covers tables 1-32 and 50-60)

Collection and CoverageStatistics on the employment status of the

population; the personal, occupational, and other characteristics of the employed, the unemployed, and persons not in the labor force; and related data are compiled for the BLS by the Bureau of the Census in its Current Population Survey (CPS). A detailed description of this survey appears in Concepts and Methods Used in M anpower Statistics from the Current Population Survey, BLS Report 313, available from BLS on request.

These monthly surveys of the population are conducted using a scientifically selected sample designed to represent the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over. Respondents are interviewed to obtain information about the employment status of each member of the household 16 years of age and over. The inquiry relates to activity or status during the calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, which includes the 12 th of the month. This is known as the survey week. Actual field interviewing is conducted in the following week.

Inmates of institutions and persons under 16 years of age are not covered in the regular monthly enumerations and are excluded from the population and labor force statistics. Data on members of the Armed Forces, who are included as part of the categories total noninstitutional population and total labor force, are obtained from the Department of Defense.

ConceptsEmployed persons comprise: (a) all those who,

during the survey week, worked at all as paid employees, in their own business or profession or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a family member; and (b) all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from

which they were temporarily absent because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management dispute, or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid by their employers for the time off, and whether or not they were seeking other jobs.

Each employed person is counted only once. Those who held more than one job are counted in the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours during the survey week.

Included in the total are employed citizens of foreign countries, temporarily in the United States, who are not living on the premises of an Embassy.

Excluded are persons whose only activity consisted of work around the house (such as own home housework, and painting or repairing own home) or volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations.

Unemployed persons comprise all persons who did not work during the survey week, who made specific efforts to find a job within the past 4 weeks, and who were available for work during the survey week. Also included as unemployed are those who did not work at all, were available for work, and (a) were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off; (b) were waiting to report to a new wage or salary job within 30 days; or (c) would have been looking for work except that they were temporarily ill.

Duration of unemployment represents the length of time (through the end of the current survey week) during which persons classified as unemployed had been continuously looking for work. For persons on layoff, duration of unemployment represents the number of full weeks since the termination of their most recent employment. A period of 2 weeks or more during which a person was employed or ceased looking for work breaks the continuity of the present period of seeking work. Average duration is an arithmetic mean computed from a distribution by single weeks of unemployment.

The civilian labor force comprises the total of all civilians classified as employed or unemployed

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in accordance with the criteria described above. The total labor force includes members of the Armed Forces stationed either in the United States or abroad.

The unemployment rate represents the number unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force. This measure can be computed also for groups within the labor force, classified by sex, age, marital status, color, etc.

N ot in the labor force includes all civilians 16 years of age and over who are not classified as employed or unemployed. These persons are further classified as engaged in own home housework, in school, unable to work because of long-term physical or mental illness, and other. The other group includes for the most part retired persons, those reported as too old to work, the voluntarily idle, and seasonal workers for whom the survey week fell in an off season and who were not reported as unemployed. Persons doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours) are also classified as not in the labor force.

Occupation, industry, and class of worker for the employed apply to the job held in the survey week. Persons with two jobs or more are classified in the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours during the survey week. The unemployed are classified according to their latest full-time civilian job lasting 2 weeks or more. The occupation and industry groups used in data derived from the CPS household interviews are defined in the 1960 Census of Population. Information on the detailed categories included in these groups is available upon request.

The class-of-worker breakdown specifies wage and salary workers, subdivided into private and government workers, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. W age and salary workers receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, or pay in kind from a private employer or from a governmental unit. Self-employed persons are those who work for profit or fees in their own business, profession, or trade, or operate a farm. Unpaid family workers are persons working without pay for 15 hours a week or more on a farm or in a business operated by a member of the household to whom they are related by blood or marriage.

Hours of work statistics relate to the actual number of hours worked during the survey week. For example, a person who normally works 40

hours a week but who was off on the Veterans D ay holiday would be reported as working 32 hours even though he was paid for the holiday.

For persons working in more than one job, the figures relate to the number of hours worked in all jobs during the week. However, all the hours are credited to the major job.

Persons who worked 35 hours or more in the survey week are designated as working full time; persons who worked between 1 and 34 hours are designated as working part time. Part-time workers are classified by their usual status at their present job (either full time or part time) and by their reason for working part time during the survey week (economic or other reasons). Economic reasons include slack work, material shortages, repairs to plant or equipment, start or termination of job during the week, and inability to find full-time work. Other reasons include labor disputes, bad weather, own illness, vacations, demands of home housework, school, no desire for full-time work, and full-time worker only during peak season. Persons on full-time schedules include, in addition to those working 35, hours or more, those who worked from 1 to 34 hours for noneconomic reasons but usually work full time.

The full-time labor force consists of persons working on full-time schedules, persons involuntarily working part time (because full-time work is not available), and unemployed persons seeking full-time jobs. The part-time labor force consists of persons working part time voluntarily and unemployed persons seeking part-time work. Persons with a job but not at work during the survey week are classified according to whether they usually work full or part time.

The lower age limit for official statistics on employment, unemployment, and other manpower concepts was raised from 14 to 16 years of age in January 1967. Insofar as possible, the historical series have been revised to provide consistent labor force information based on the population age 16 and over. Where this has not been possible, data for the population age 14 and over have been provided, with two banks of data for the year 1966, containing both population groups. For more information on this and other revisions introduced in January 1967, see New Definitions for Employment and Unemployment reprinted from the February 1967 Employment and Earnings and Monthly Report on the Labor Force, which is available from BLS on request.


Current Employment and Labor Turnover Statistics Programs(Note: Covers tables 33-39, 42-46, 64-68, 80-85, and 87, 88)

Data from payroll records, submitted voluntarily by over 150,000 employers, provide (1) current information on wage and salary employment, hours, and earnings in nonagricultural establishments, and (2) labor turnover in manufacturing, by industry and geographic location. These statistical programs are conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with State agencies.

CollectionThe two types of data collection documents

used, Form BLS 790 (Monthly Report on Em ployment, Payroll, and Hours) and Form D L 1219 (Monthly Report on Labor Turnover) are of the shuttle type, with spaces for each month of the calendar year. The cooperating State agencies mail the reporting forms to the participating establishments each month, use the information to prepare State and area estimates, and then send the basic data to BLS in W ashington for use in preparing national series.

BLS 790 provides for reporting of data on the number of full- and part-time workers on the payrolls of nonagricultural establishments for the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. For the same period in most industries, it also provides for reporting data on payroll and man-hours of production and related workers, or nonsupervisory workers. The labor turnover reporting form provides for the collection of data on the total number of accessions and separations that occur during the calendar month.

Concepts and DefinitionsEmployment data refer to persons on estab

lishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the reference pay period, and include workers on paid sick leave (when pay is received directly from the firm), on paid holiday or paid vacation, and those who work during a part of the pay period and are unemployed or on strike during the rest of the period. Proprietors, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, farm workers, and domestic workers in households are excluded. Government employment covers civilian employees only.

Hours and earnings data are derived from reports of payrolls and man-hours for production and related workers in manufacturing and mining,

construction workers in contract construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the remaining nonfarm components.

The payroll figures relate to full- and part-time production, construction, or nonsupervisory workers who receive pay for any part of the reference period. They are reported before deductions of any kind, e.g., for old-age and unemployment insurance, group insurance, withholding tax, bonds, or union dues. Pay for overtime, holidays, vacations, and paid sick leave is also included.

Man-hours cover hours worked or paid for, during the pay period of reference for production, construction, or nonsupervisory workers. The man-hours include hours paid for holidays and vacations, and for sick leave.

Overtime hours cover premium overtime hours of production and related workers during the pay period. Overtime hours are those for which premiums are paid because the hours were in excess of the number of hours of either the straight-time workday or workweek.

Average hourly earnings are derived by dividing payrolls by man-hours. These averages are on a gross basis, reflecting not only changes in basic hourly and incentive wage rates, but also such" variable factors as premium pay for overtime and late-shift work, and changes in output of workers paid on an incentive plan. The earnings series do not measure the level of total labor costs on the part of the employer since the following are excluded: irregular bonuses, retroactive items, payment of various welfare benefits, payroll taxes paid by employers, and earnings for those employees not covered under the production-worker, construction-worker, or nonsupervisory-employee definition.

Average weekly earnings are obtained by multiplying average weekly hours by average hourly earnings. Weekly earnings are affected not only by changes in gross average hourly earnings, but also by changes in the length of the workweek, part-time work, stoppages for varying causes, labor turnover, and absenteeism.

Labor turnover is the gross movement of wage and salary workers into and out of employed status with respect to individual establishments. This movement, relating to a calendar month, is divided into two broad types: Accessions (new hires and rehires) and Separations (quits, layoffs


and other separations). Each type of turnover action is expressed as a rate per hundred employees. The data relate to all employees, whether full or part time, permanent or temporary, production or nonproduction workers.

Uses of DataThe statistics from these surveys are used widely

as timely indicators of changes in economic activity. The turnover rates are valuable for personnel and economic planning; employers frequently use these rates as a yardstick against which to measure the performance of their plants. Firms negotiating long-term supply or construction contracts often utilize series on average hourly earnings as an aid in arriving at an equitable agreement. Both labor and business use the series on hourly earnings and weekly hours in labor-management negotiations. The promptness with which the information is supplied makes it possible to incorporate the estimates in a number of other Federal statistical series, particularly in making current estimates of production, productivity, and national income. The data also are useful as a basis for projection of trends in manpower requirements.

Comparability With Other SeriesTotal employment in nonagricultural establish

ments from the payroll survey is not directly comparable with the Bureaus estimates of nonagricultural employment obtained from the monthly household survey (Current Population Survey). The household survey includes the self- employed, unpaid family workers, and private household workers and is basically a count of persons. The payroll series, in contrast, excludes these workers and is basically a count of jobs. Thus, the multiple job-holder, counted only once in the household survey, would be counted once for each job by the payroll survey. Employment estimates developed by quinquennial censuses may differ from payroll estimates due, primarily, to the reporting practices of multiproduct establishments, and administrative handling of central offices and auxiliary units.

For a more detailed description of these programs see Chapter 2, Employment, Hours, and Earnings, and Chapter 3, Labor Turnover, of the Handbook of Methods for Surveys and Studies, BLS Bulletin 1458.

W age and Salary Surveys(Note: Covers tables 69, 70, 74-79, 86, 89-95, and 138,139)

Industry wage surveys are undertaken in about 50 manufacturing and 20 nonmanufacturing industries on a recurring 3- to 5-year cycle; the majority of industries are surveyed at 5-year intervals. The studies provide information on straight-time earnings, as defined below, for selected production occupations peculiar to the particular industry. Data for some surveys are limited to areas of industry concentration; others include nationwide and regional data.

The studies include information on such establishment practices and related pay provisions as weekly work schedules; shift operations and differentials; the prevalence of paid holidays and vacations; health, insurance, and pension benefits; and other provisions important in the industry. To provide some insight into wage relationships, estimates are made of such employment characteristics as community and establishment size; labor-management agreement coverage, where the majority of workers in an establishment are

covered by an agreement; the proportion of workers employed under incentive pay plans, if significant numbers are employed under such plans; and the extent to which single rates or ranges of rates are provided for individual job categories.

Area wage surveys are undertaken annually in selected metropolitan areas to provide information on straight-time earnings, as defined below, in occupations common to a variety of manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries. Data also are provided on establishment practices and supplementary wage provisions. These studies are part of a program designed to permit projection of these data to represent all metropolitan areas in the United States. In fiscal year 1965-66, approximately 12,800 establishments employing about8.886.000 workers were included in the Bureaus sample of 84 areas. They were projected to represent 69,500 establishments employing about19.122.000 workers in all 221 Standard Metro-

4


politan Statistical Areas in the United States, as established by the Bureau of the Budget through March 1965. The data are shown also for four broad regions Northeast, South, North Central, and W est.

Area survey data are obtained from representative establishments within six broad industry divisions: (1) Manufacturing; (2) transportation, communication, and other public utilities; (3) wholesale trade; (4) retail trade; (5) finance, insurance, and real estate; and (6) selected services. Excluded from the scope of the studies are the construction and extractive industries and government institutions. The latter exclusion has a significant effect on the public utilities industry division. Municipally operated utilities are excluded, but utilities are included in areas where they are operated privately.

The scope of the studies generally is limited, within each of the six major industry groupings, to establishments which employ 50 workers or more. Smaller establishments are omitted because employment in the occupations studied tends to be insufficient to warrant inclusion.

White-collar salaries are studied annually in a national survey of the level and distribution of straight-time earnings, as defined below, in selected professional, administrative, technical, and clerical occupations in private employment. The industry divisions covered are manufacturing; transportation, communication, electric, gas, and sanitary services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; engineering and architectural services; and commercially operated research, development, and testing laboratories. Information is provided for a wide range of work levels in accounting, legal services, office services, personnel management, engineering and chemistry, drafting, and clerical occupations. Beginning in1965, the studies relate to establishments in nonmetropolitan counties in addition to those in metropolitan areas, to which the earlier surveys were limited. In the period 1961-65, establishments employing 250 workers or more were covered in all industries within scope of the survey. In1966, the 250 establishment-size coverage was retained for manufacturing and retail trade, but lowered to 50 in finance, insurance, and real estate, and to 100 in all other industries studied.

Union wage scales and hours for selected journeymen, helper, and laborer classifications are studied annually in four highly unionized industries building construction, local transit, local trucking,

and printing. The number of cities surveyed has varied over the years from 39 to the present coverage of 68 cities with 100,000 population or more. All cities of 500,000 population or more, and most cities in the 250,000 to 500,000 group, are now included in the surveys.

The data relate to the basic (minimum) wage rates agreed upon through collective bargaining, exclusive of holiday, vacation, or other benefit payments, and to the maximum number of hours per week at straight-time rates. Rates in excess of the negotiated minimum, that may be paid for special qualifications or other reasons, are excluded from the studies.

The average hourly union wage rates provided by city in building construction and trucking since 1947, and in printing and local transit since 1949, are calculated by weighting each quotation for the year by the number of union members reported at that time as working or available for work. Unlike the index series, the averages do not measure the trend of union wage rates, but are designed to provide comparisons among trades and cities at a given time.

Distributions of employee earnings and hours are prepared periodically to provide information on the internal structure of wages and hours of all nonsupervisory employees in selected broad industry groups or specific industries, and in selected areas, usually on a cross-industry basis. The data relate to straight-time hourly earnings, as defined below, and weekly hours of work, including those leave hours (holidays, vacations, or sick leave) for which pay is received.

Straight-time earnings. (Industry wage surveys, area wage surveys, white-collar salary surveys, union wage scale surveys, earnings distribution surveys).

Unless otherwise indicated, the data relate to the regular day-shift wages or salaries paid per hour worked or standard workweek, exclusive of premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts. Incentive pay, production bonuses, and cost-of-living payments are included in earnings, but nonproduction bonuses (e.g., Christmas bonuses) are not. Straight-time earnings thus are reflected in the index measures and interarea pay comparisons.

Supplementary wage provisions. (Industry wage surveys, area wage surveys, white-collar salary surveys).

Estimates of the prevalence of the selected provisions are derived by applying the particular

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263-886 0 - 67 - 2Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

provision to all plant and office workers of an establishment when the provision was applicable to a majority of those workers. The data, therefore, do not provide estimates of the percentage of workers affected by a particular provision, but rather the percentage that could be affected if specified qualifications, such as length of service, were met. Paid vacations. The data are limited to basic plans and exclude such plans as vacation savings or those which offer extended or sabbatical benefits. Holidays. Partial holidays are combined (8 half-holidays equal 4 days, etc.). Health, insurance, and retirement plans. The data relate only to those plans not legally required and for which at least a part of the cost is borne by the employer.

Regions. (Industry wage surveys, area wage surveys). Unless otherwise indicated, the regions are defined as follows:

Northeast Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, M aryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and W est Virginia; North Central Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Employer Expenditures for Supplementary Compensation Practices(Note: Covers tables 96-101)

The first studies of employer expenditures for supplementary employee compensation, derived from company records, were undertaken in 1959, and related to manufacturing industries. The program is now designed to cover, biennially, all employees in the total private nonfarm sector, with data for specific manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries in the intervening years.

The studies relate to cash disbursements of employers during a calendar year. The expenditure data are presented as a percent of gross payroll, as a percent of straight-time payroll, in cents per hour paid for, and in cents per plant hour, for all establishments, and for establishments that actually had an expenditure during the survey year. The major elements of supplemental compensation in American industry are considered to be covered by the expenditure practices studied.

The expenditures fall into two broad groups: payments made directly to workers, and employer expenditures made on behalf of workers. Direct supplements include payments for paid leave time; premiums for overtime, weekend, holiday and shift work; nonproduction bonuses; and terminal payments. Indirect supplements are those outlays not included in the payroll for which the employer irrevocably makes a payment under the provisions of a legally-required insurance program or private welfare plan: social security, unemployment compensation, workmens compensation, and other insurance for the benefit of the workers required by law; life, accident, and health insurance; pension and retirement plans; vacation and holiday funds; severance and supplemental unemployment benefit plans; and savings and thrift plans.

Productivity(Note: Covers tables 71-73)

The measures of output per man-hour in the private economy refer to the ratio between constant- dollar gross national product (GNP) originating in the private sector of the economy or individual sectors, and the corresponding hours of all persons employed.

Two series of output per man-hour estimates have been developed. One series is based on labor force data from surveys of households, conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of

Labor Statistics. The other series is based primarily on BLS surveys of establishments.

The output measure (G N P) used in preparing both series represents the market value (in 1958 dollars) of final goods and services produced in the economy. It includes the purchases of goods and services by consumers, business establishments, foreign investors, and the various government agencies. The G N P data are prepared by the

6


Office of Business Economics, U.S. Department of Commerce.

As mentioned above, two sets of estimates of labor input have been developed. The labor force series uses an hours worked concept, and excludes hours of persons employed but not at work duo to vacations, illness, and other reasons. The establishment series is based on an hours paid concept and includes the hours of all persons on establishment payrolls in the private economy.

In developing both the labor force and establishment man-hour series, it was necessary to adjust and supplement the basic data. For the labor force series, two major adjustments were made as follows: General government hours were subtracted from total man-hours to make output and input measures consistent, and an adjustment was made to eliminate the effect of holidays which occur during the survey week; for the establishment series, data from the labor force reports and national income series were used to supplement the BLS payroll series data.

These measures relate output to man-hours and to employment. They do not reflect the specific contributions of labor, capital, or any other factors of production. Rather, they measure the combined effect of a number of interrelated influences, such as skills of workers, managerial skills, changes in technology, capital investment per worker, utilization of capital, layout and flow of materials, and labor-management relations.

The indexes of hourly compensation and unit labor costs in the private economy were developed from a man-hours estimate based on the establishment series, described in the previous sector. Compensation includes wages and salaries, plus supplemental payments such as contributions of employers to social security and private health and pension funds. The all persons compensation data include an estimate for proprietors7 salaries and contributions for supplementary benefits. Real compensation per man-hour was derived by adjusting the compensation data by the Consumer Price Index to reflect changes in purchasing power.

The indexes of unit labor costs were developed by dividing compensation per man-hour by output per man-hour. Nonlabor payments represent the difference between total compensation and the gross national product (in current dollars) originating in the private sector of the economy.

Price is the sum of all the costs of production and distribution (unit labor costs plus nonlabor payments) and is derived by dividing the current

dollay estimate of gross product by the constant dollar estimate; The price index represents the change in price of all final goods and services produced by the private sector of the economy.

Data on output per man-hour in selected industries contain industry indexes of output, man-hours, and output per man-hour for selected U.S. manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries, covering the years 1939 and 1947 through 1965. The industries included here are not necessarily a representative cross section of U .S. industry, and their output per man-hour indexes, therefore, should not be combined to obtain an overall measure for the entire economy or any sector. Each index represents only the change in output per man-hour for the designated industry or combination of industries.

Output indexes are based primarily on the physical output of the products of the industry, combined with fixed period weights. Although man-hour weights are preferred and used whenever possible, it is often necessary to use substitute weights which are assumed proportional to unit man-hour weights. Unit value weights generally are substituted when unit man-hour weights are not available. Since the most comprehensive physical output data usually are available for Census years, benchmark output indexes are derived from data for 2 consecutive censuses. For inter- censal years, annual indexes are based on either physical output data or value of output adjusted for price change. The annual series subsequently are adjusted to the Census benchmark levels.

Indexes of man-hours are computed by dividing the aggregate man-hours for each year by the base period aggregate. Man-hours are treated as homogeneous and additive; there is no distinction made between the hours of different groups of employees.

Output per man-hour indexes are obtained by dividing an output index by an index of aggregate man-hours.

Although the measures relate output to one input labor time they do not measure the specific contribution of labor or any other factor of production. Rather, they reflect the joint effect of a number of interrelated influences, such as changes in technology, capital investment per worker, capacity utilization, and others. Industry output per man-hour measures are limited to the extent that they do not account for quality change, and often do not reflect adequately changes in the degree of plant integration and


specialization. In addition, there is not always strict comparability between output and labor input estimates. Finally, year-to-year changes in output per man-hour are irregular, and therefore,

not necessarily indicative of basic changes in long-term trends. Conversely, long-term trends are not necessarily applicable to any one year or period in the future.

Consumer Prices(Note: Covers tables 104-112)

The Consumer Price Index (C P I)1 measures the average change in prices of all types of consumer goods and services purchased by city wage- earners and clerical workers. The weights used in calculating the index, which remain fixed for relatively long periods, are based on studies of actual expenditures by wage earners and clerical workers. The quantities and qualities of the sample items in the market basket remain the same between consecutive pricing periods, so that the index measures only the effect of price change on the cost of living. The index does not measure changes in the total amount families spend for living; city indexes do not measure relative differences in prices or living costs between cities.

A study conducted during 1917-19 provided the weights used for 1913 to 1935. Since then, this index has undergone four major revisions, which involved bringing the market basket of goods and services up to date, revising the weights, and improving the sample and methodology. The most recent revision, incorporated in a new series beginning in 1964, introduced weights relating to expenditures for the period 1960-61.

The list of items currently priced for the index includes approximately 400 goods and services. The items priced are described by detailed specifications to insure that, as far as possible, the same quality is priced each time, and that differences in reported prices are measures of price change only. Sales taxes are reflected wherever applicable.

Since 1966, prices have been obtained in a sample of 56 areas, on a regular monthly or quarterly cycle. These include the urban portions of 37 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SM SA), the more extensive Standard Consolidated Areas for Chicago and New York, and 17 nonmetropolitan urban places. Price changes for the 56 areas are combined for the United States, and the weights are based on 1960 population of

1 A detailed description of the C PI is contained in The Consumer Price Index: History and Techniques, (BLS Bulletin 1517.)

areas represented by each sample area. Area indexes are compiled for 23 of the 56 areas.

Notes on TablesTables 104-107 Indexes from 1800 through

1912 are estimates, based on price data from sources other than BLS. The purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1 9 5 7 -5 9 = $ 1 ) for any given date is calculated as the reciprocal of the index for that date, expressed in dollars. It shows changes in the value of the 1957-59 dollar resulting from changes in prices of consumer goods and services. Purchasing power of the dollar with reference to other bases can be calculated by dividing the index for the desired base date by the index for the current date and expressing the result in dollars.

Table 108 The relative importance figures shown in this table are percentage distributions of the cost or value weights used in the index calculation. A t the time of their introduction, after a major weight revision, the cost weights represent average expenditures for specific classes of goods and services by urban wage earners and clerical workers. However, in subsequent pricing periods, the value weights and the corresponding relative importance figures change as prices change differentially, i.e., the relative importance increases for an item or group having a greater than average price increase and decreases for one having a less than average price increase. Since the index measures only price change, the cost weights eventually become unrepresentative of actual expenditures and must be revised on the basis of new surveys of consumer expenditures.

Table 109 Indexes for individual foods are based on monthly prices obtained in all cities in the index sample.

Table 110 Since 1964, quarterly indexes for individual items other than food have been based on the latest available prices in ail cities in the sample. For example, an index for December includes prices in all cities surveyed in December, as

8


well as October and November prices in cities surveyed quarterly in those months. From 1947 to 1963, indexes were based only on prices in the cities surveyed in March, June, September, and December. From 1935 to 1946, all cities in the sample were surveyed on the March, June, September, December cycle.

Table 111 C ity indexes show only different rates of price change among cities. They do not show whether prices are higher in one city than in another.

Table 112 Average retail food prices are published regularly for 96 items in Estimated Retail Food Prices by Cities, both for the United States and the 12 largest metropolitan areas. Prices are collected primarily for use in measuring month-to-

month changes in food prices as a component of the C P I and are not entirely suitable for calculating average prices. Variations in food habits, brands, sizes, and qualities included in the index, cause differences in computed average prices that do not represent real price differentials. To meet the need for dollars and cents prices, procedures have been devised to calculate estimated prices. Briefly, the procedure provides for the annual calculation of benchmark prices for defined qualities using special editing, and adjusting these each month by the price changes reflected in the index.2

2 For a more detailed description of the calculation procedure, see Calculation of Average Retail Food Prices, Monthly Labor Review, January 1965.

W holesale Prices(Note: Covers tables 113-116)

Wholesale Price IndexesThe Wholesale Price Index (W P I) is designed

to measure changes in prices of commodities sold in primary markets in the United States. Wholesa le / as used in the title of the index, refers to sales in large quantities, not to prices received by wholesalers, jobbers, or distributors.

The W P I universe consists of all commodities produced or imported for sale in commercial transactions in primary markets in the United States. Currently most actual price quotations are obtained on a sample of about 2,300 items from manufacturers or other producers.

Prices are usually f.o.b. production or central marketing point, and net of applicable discounts. However, a few prices are reported by trade associations and organized exchanges, and some are taken from trade publications or obtained from other Government agencies which collect quotations as part of their regular work. Since the index is intended to measure pure price change, that is, not influenced by changes in quality, quantity, shipping terms, product mix, etc., commodities included in the index are defined by precise specifications which incorporate price determining characteristics of the commodities.

The W P I is calculated as a weighted average of price changes and has been shown on the reference base 1957-59 since January 1962. The weights represent the total net selling value of commodities produced and processed in this country (or imported for sale), and flowing into primary markets.

The values are f.o .b . production point and are exclusive of excise taxes. The values of interplant transfers, military production, and goods sold to household consumers directly by producing establishments are excluded. Each commodity price series in the index is representative of a class of prices and is assigned its own weight (the shipment value of the commodity) plus the weights of other commodities not priced directly but whose prices are known or assumed to move similarly. The weighting structure is revised periodically when data from industrial censuses become available, generally at 5-year intervals.

The commodities in the W P I are classified by similarity of end-use or material composition rather than by industry of origin. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on development of more subdivisions within major groups and special combinations of indexes, such as by Stage of Processing and Durability of Product.

The Stage of Processing indexes are constructed by combining segments of the Bureaus regular comprehensive W P I, primarily in accordance with the amount of processing, manufacturing, or assembling to which commodities are subjected before they enter the market. The weights used in the regular W P I classification system are distributed in accordance with the relative importance of the output of each commodity which is consumed at various levels of processing.

The Durability of Product indexes were constructed to provide price indexes which could be used in conjunction with other important econo


mic series, such as production or inventory data classified according to durability. The indexes are made by combining segments of the Bureaus regular comprehensive W P I and embrace all its components.

The Wholesale Price Index is used for many purposes, including market analysis, escalation of long-term purchase and sales contracts, and measurement of general price trends. M any users employ the group and individual commodity indexes rather than the All Commodities index. The W P I is based on a purposive, judgment sample. Thus, the All Commodities index can be assumed to be more reliable than component group indexes. Also, the reliability of the index has increased over time as the sample has expanded. In 1952, the sample of priced items doubled to about 1,850 items and since then has increased to about 2,300 items.

Industry-Sector Price IndexesIndustry-sector price indexes were inaugurated

with the annual average indexes for 1957 through 1963. (See Monthly Labor Review, August 1965.) Indexes for selected industries and for their important product classes are currently published in Wholesale Prices and Price Indexes.

An industry price index is a composite index, derived from several price series combined to match the economic activity of a specified industry or sector. The indexes published here are industrial output price indexes; they measure average changes in prices of conmodities produced by a particular industry as defined by the Standard Industrial Classification of the Bureau of the Budget.

Industry indexes are relevant to studies of economic growth, productivity, and other types of economic analysis where the emphasis is on industrial structure as distinct from market or commodity-use classifications. One of their important uses is to deflate value of shipments data in order to derive measures of output in constant dollars. They also are useful for comparing industry price movements with other industry-based statistics of employment, production, and productivity, and for projecting price changes in studies of given industries.

The 4-digit indexes are built up from indexes for the individual commodities made in an industry including its secondary products. The product indexes, weighted by the total value of

their shipments, regardless of industry of origin, are combined into 5-digit census product class indexes. (Data for product shipments by individual industries are not available.) The product class indexes are, in turn, combined into 4-digit industry indexes. A t this step, the weights are value of shipments (by product class) originating within the particular industry.

Through 1966, the industry indexes are based on gross value of shipments in 1958 as reported in the Censuses of Manufactures and Mineral In dustries. The values include interplant transfers, goods produced and consumed in the same establishment, and goods sold for export. Imported commodities are not included. Beginning with the January 1967 indexes, ISPI weights are based on data from the 1963 censuses. The weighting structure is revised whenever comprehensive data from the industrial censuses become available.

The selection of items to be priced is purposive rather than being based on probability techniques. The objective is to represent 50 percent or more of the value of commodities included in each 5- digit census product class by pricing one or more specifications of its most important products. An industry meets the minimum standards for publication if 90 percent, by value, of its component 5-digit product classes satisfy the criteria for product class sampling. The sampling criteria may be modified if price variability within product classes or industries varies significantly from the average.

Because the current price collection for the industry-sector program initially was designed around the W P I structure, the sample in most industries is not strong enough to permit publication of industry indexes. As of December 1966, only 52 industries were covered adequately. As of January 1967, adequate coverage was extended to 15 additional industries. Further extension of industry coverage is proposed as resources permit.

Pending additional pricing of commodities, these new indexes will be limited by the coverage commodity and class of customer of the comprehensive Wholesale Price Index. It must be assumed that the W P I prices, which are generally at the primary market level, are similar to the market level of sales represented by the Census data used as weights. Since the data include values of interplant transfers and values of goods produced and consumed in the same industry, it is also necessary to assume that changes in those values are represented by price movements of goods in commercial markets.

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Consumer Expenditures(Note: Covers tables 117-121)

The 1960-61 information in this series is based on reports from a representative sample of all urban and rural families in the United States. Data were collected jointly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U SD A) as part of a nationwide Survey of Consumer Expenditures (CES). The survey was conducted in 2 years in 1961, covering family expenditures and income in urban places in the calendar year 1960, and in 1962, providing data on urban, rural nonfarm, and rural farm families for 1961. The CES classification of families by place of residence (i.e., urban or rural) follows the definitions adopted for the 1960 Census of Population.

All data were collected by personal interviews, through the voluntary cooperation of families. The family, or consumer unit (C U ), referred to(1) a group of people usually living together who pooled their income and drew from a common fund for their major items of expense, or (2) a person either living alone or in a household whose income and expenditures were not pooled with others.

The sample, for the total urban and rural population, included 17,283 living quarter addresses which were assigned to interviewers. Usable schedules were obtained and tabulated for 13,728 families.

To describe the spending and saving of all families in the United States, data from the CES

samples were combined to obtain regional and U.S. averages. This was accomplished by applying a system of weights, based on the 1960 Census of Population, to the sample data.

Information obtained from a sample survey as complex as the CES is subject to many types of errors: Sampling, recording, and processing errors, and errors due to the refusal or inability of some families to give the information requested. All data were reviewed, edited, and screened to minimize processing errors. The BLS computed sampling errors and evaluated selected characteristics of nonrespondents.1

Particular care is required in using the averages for families at the extremes of the income scale. These averages are based on small numbers of families who may differ sharply in their spending patterns.

The averages and percentages in the accompanying tables are based on all families included in each class, whether or not they reported receipts or disbursements for a particular item. Averages were calculated by dividing the aggregate amount of income, expenditures, or savings by the total number of families in the class. Since all averages for a class are based on a common divisor, they are additive.

1 See Chapter 8, Consumer Expenditures and Income in 1960-61: Design, Methods, and Evaluation o f Survey, forthcoming BLS Bulletin. For a general description of the survey methods, see Chapter 8, B L S Handbook of Methods for Surveys and Studies (BLS Bulletin 1458).

Standard Family Budgets(Note: Covers tables 122-127)

The budgets for both the 4-person family and the retired couple are estimates of the total costs of representative lists of goods and services necessary to maintain a modest but adequate (not a minimum subsistence) level of living in large cities, according to standards prevailing in the decade of the 1950's. The budgets are normative, or benchmark, estimates of living costs. They do not represent the ways in which family incomes should be spent, nor do they show how average families actually spend their incomes.

The quantities of goods and services included in the budgets were derived from two sources: (1) Scientific or technical judgments concerning

the requirements for physical health and social well-being; and (2) analytical studies of the data reported in the Bureau's 1950 Survey of Consumer Expenditures, to determine by objective procedures the choices of goods and services made by consumers in successive income groups. Scientific standards were used for the food, housing, and medical care components. For the other components, where there are no generally accepted scientific standards, the analytical technique developed relied on the collective judgments of consumers as to what is adequate for a modest living standard.

The comparative living cost indexes based on

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the BLS budgets reflect differences in costs for established residents in a community. Differences in housing costs are based on the average costs of occupied rental dwellings and are not a valid measure of the costs of vacant rental units available to new residents or the costs of maintaining an owned home. Differences in the cost of food reflect not only differences in price levels, but

differences in regional preference patterns in the choice of food to meet the nutritional standard.1

1 For a general description of normative estimates of living costs (i.e ., standard budgets), see Chapter 9, B L S Handbook o f Methods for Surveys and Studies (BLS Bulletin 1458). A new set of living cost estimates and intercity indexes, priced in autumn 1966 and reflecting living standards prevailing in the decade of the 1960s, will be published by the Bureau beginning in August 1967.

Union Membership(Note: Covers tables 128-131)

The Bureau's membership survey includes all affiliates of the A F L -C IO , all unaffiliated national unions, and all unafEliated unions which are party to collective bargaining agreements with different employers in more than one State. The study excludes unions whose activities are con

fined to a single locality or to a single employer.

In addition, the survey accounts for all unions of

Federal Government employees that have received

exclusive recognition , as specified in Executive

Order 10988.

Work Stoppages(Note: Covers tables 132-137)

The work stoppage series covers all strikes and lockouts known by the Bureau and its cooperating agencies to continue for 1 full day or shift or longer, and to involve six workers or more. For purposes of the studies, a strike is defined as a temporary stoppage of work by a group of employees to express a grievance or enforce a demand. A lockout is defined as a temporary withholding of work by an employer (or group of employers) to enforce terms of employment upon a group of employees. Since 1922, no attempt has been made to distinguish between strikes and lockouts; both types are included in the term work stoppage.

All stoppages, whether or not authorized by the union, legal or illegal, are counted. The series excludes, however, strikes of American seamen or other workers in foreign ports, and strikes of foreign crews in American ports. Also excluded are so-called slowdowns, in which employees continue to work but at deliberately reduced production speed. In addition, instances in which workers report an hour or two late each day as a protest gesture or leave work several hours before closing time to attend rallies or mass meetings are excluded.

Industrial Injuries(Note: Covers table 142)

These data were compiled according to the American Standard Method of Recording and Measuring Work-Injury Experience, approved by the U.S. Standards Institute in 1954. The injury rates shown in these tabulations include all classes of disabling work injuries. A disabling work injury is any injury occurring in the course of and arising out of employment, which results in death, permanent impairment, or temporary-total disability.

Injuries which require only first-aid or medical treatment are not included in the computation of injury rates. Absence from work for a part of a

day for treatment is not considered disabling. To be counted as disabling, an injury must have either caused some permanent impairment or made the person unable to work at a regularly established job for at least 1 full day after the day of injury. Cases are counted, however, even if the inability to work existed only on a Saturday, Sunday, or some other nonwork day.

The injury-frequency rate is the average number of disabling work injuries for each million employee-hours worked.

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The injury-severity rate is the average number of days of disability resulting from disabling work injuries for each million employee-hours worked.

Weighting. Injury rates for the 2- and 3-digit industry groups were computed from the rates of component individual industries by applying weights based on estimated total employment in each industry. In some nonmanufacturing divisions, data were not available for all industries; therefore, the division averages were not computed.

Classes of employees. The experience of all classes of employees (production, operating, and

related workers; construction workers; sales, service, delivery, technical, professional, office, administrative, clerical, and all other personnel) was included in the computation of these injury rates. Self-employed persons, however, were not included.

Survey coverage. These surveys included reports from more than 50,000 manufacturing establishments, employing over 55 percent of all employees in manufacturing. In the selected nonmanufacturing industries, data were received from over 33,000 reporting units, employing more than 3,000,000 workers.

Foreign Labor Statistics(N ote : Covers tables 143-149)

The Bureau oi Labor Statistics joins with other nations in developing statistical standards through such agencies as the United Nations, the International Labour Office (ILO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O E C D ), and the Organization of American States (OAS). It also provides technical assistance, when requested, to countries that are establishing labor statistical programs and furnishes specialized training to officials and technicians from .other countries. The Bureau collects and analyzes foreign labor statistics from a variety of sources, but it does not conduct surveys abroad or serve as a primary compiler of foreign data.

The following tables provide general statistics on manpower, labor cost, price trends, and industrial disputes in selected countries. M ost of the data originate from statistical offices of the various countries and, therefore, were intended to serve individual country needs. In many cases there are significant differences in definitions, concepts, and survey methods among countries, so that comparisons between countries can only be approximated. In a few cases, adjustments have been made to improve comparability. The data pertain only to the period after World War II, since foreign labor statistics for most areas were limited in earlier years.

Statistics on the labor force, employment, and unemployment abroad are obtained from periodic population censuses, household labor force surveys, employment surveys of industrial establishments, and occasional estimates based upon a variety of sources. The ILO receives such reports, makes some revisions, and publishes the results in its Year Book of Labour Statistics. The labor force

data in table 143 are taken from the ILO Year Book and, in some cases, from country publications. Estimates of unemployment rates in eight western industrial countries, adjusted to United States definitions, were furnished by the Bureau to the Presidents Committee to Appraise E m ployment and Unemployment Statistics (Gordon Committee) and published in 1962. Subsequent articles have brought the original estimates up to date and introduced changes owing to revisions of basic data. The adjusted unemployment series run from 1959 through 1966 for most of the countries (table 144).

Intercountry comparisons of labor cost per man-hour worked should not be used to represent unit labor cost (that is, labor cost per unit of output) because of large differences in productivity among countries. In a general way, high wages tend to reflect high productivity, and intercountry differences in unit labor cost are usually far smaller than intercountry differences in hourly wages. Indexes of unit labor cost in manufacturing in nine industrial countries are shown in table 145.

Trends in employee earnings are often examined in relation to consumer price trends (table 146) to indicate changes in the purchasing power of earnings. The consumer price indexes show changes over time in the price level of certain goods and services that are selected as representative of the consumption patterns of a particular population (e.g., urban wage earners families). Owing to differences in consumption patterns and methods of compilation, the results are not uniformly representative of changes in price levels.


Average hourly earnings of wage earners (table 147) can be subject to serious misinterpretation when used for international comparisons. In many countries, wage supplements (family allowances, special bonuses, paid leave, social security benefits, and others) are provided more extensively than in others, and direct wages or earnings represent a much smaller proportion of the employers total labor expenditure than is the case in the United States. Also, direct conversion of national currencies into United States dollars at the official rates of exchange may be misleading. Because prices of goods and especially of services vary greatly among countries, it is not easy to tell what level of living a particular wage income will provide. This difficulty is all the greater since workers in different countries have very different preferences for many goods and services. In addition,

Farm Employment(Note: Covers

Estimates of farm employment and wage rates are based on data obtained from mailed questionnaires sent to a sample of farmers. Estimates of annual farm employment are averages based on the number of persons reported as doing farm work during one survey week, the last full calendar week ending at least the day before the end of each month; wage rates are averages of data that are collected quarterly. Family workers include farm operators, doing one or more hours of farm work, and members of their families, doing 15 hours or more of unpaid farm work during the survey week. All persons doing farm work for pay during the week are counted as hired workers.

several technical differences exist in the methods of measuring wages and earnings. M any surveys pertain only to urban industrial centers, or to plants above a certain size, or to certain classes of workers, and working time is defined in various ways.

Published indexes of wholesale prices in nine countries are shown for all commodities combined and separately for manufactured goods (table 148). No adjustments have been made for the differences in relative importance of products priced in each country.

Statistics on industrial disputes (table 149) usually refer to strikes and lockouts, but definitions of such disputes differ among countries. Results for eight countries are shown for all years between 1955 and 1965, since the number of disputes and particularly the severity rates often show major change from one year to another.

and Wage Ratestable 40)

Estimates in the U S D A s series on employment generally exceed those of other agencies which may exclude children under 14 years of age, farm workers meeting the employment requirements on two farms or more in the survey week, or persons whose major employment is nonagricultural. U S D A s farm wage rate series is a composite of average rates compiled from reports submitted by individual farmers for their localities. Becau

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