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luf HARRY STENERSON =================
E m p l o y m e n t c h a n g e s a r e t a k i n g p l a c e very s l o w l y in\ c h e m i c a l m a n u facturing . . . Layoff rate at year-end was only seven workers per 1,000 . . . W a g e s a r e h i g h e s t in C h a r l e s t o n , D e t r o i t , B u f f a l o E M P L O Y M E N T in the chemical mauufacturing industry fell off a b o u t 1,000 workers during t h e final quarter of 1948, b u t the total number employed in such pursuits, 209,000, was still some 2,000 higher than a t the start of 1948. If chemical consuming or chemical processing plants are included, the employment totals are.almost tripled. T h e D e p a r t m e n t of Labor, for example, reports that some 595,CMJb persons were engaged in the production of chemicals and allied products, or almost 7,000 more than were working at the s t a r t of t h e year. Employment in the chemical industry is thus far more stable than in a number of other manufacturing lines. Workers of all classes are taken on b y chemical plants at a comparatively slow rate during periods of expansion, and layoffs and dismissals likewise proceed slowly in a business recession. Figures 'which tell this story are compiled monthly b y the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Layoffs in all manufacturing industries, this survey shows, reached a postwar high point during December 1948. T h e r a t e was 22 per 1,000 employees, and part of it was seasonal. T h e highest layoff rates were shown by industries which are only remotely connected with chemicals, such as stoves and heating equipment (149 per 1,000 in December), enamel ware, gray iron and malleable iron castings, hardware, and clothing. Chemical
Layoff
Rate
In industrial chemicals, explosives excepted, the layoff r a t e at t h e end of t h e year was only seven persons per 1,000; in paints, varnish, and colors, four; and in rayon and allied products, three layoffs per 1,000 workers. Layoffs in industrial chemicals actually amounted to 17 workers per 1,000 in December, b u t this was offset by "accessions" of 10 persons for each 1,000 employed b y the industry. There are, of course, m a n y other processing lines related to chemicals besides paints and textiles. T h e net layoff rate for all chemicals and related products a t the year-end, however, was not higher than the rate reported for industrial chemicals or seven workers per 1,000. Technical and professional workers are included in the total number reported as employed by chemicals and allied products. So are office personnel, "working" foremen, and other supervisors. Rates of p a y also recede with much 718
slower regularity in chemical "manufacturing plants. T h e most recently available report shows t h a t t h e weekly average earnings in chemicals was $64.58 in November as compared with t h e average of $54.47 for all manufacturing industries.
T a b l e I.
Chemical Employment0 1948
Chemicals 207,000 Jan. Feb. . 206,000 March 205,000 April 207,000 May 205,000 208,000 June 202,000 July 211,000 Aug. 211,000 Sept. 210,000 Oct. 209,600 Nov. 2 09,000 ft Dec. α U. S. Department of Labor. t> Estimated.
1948 Chemicals and Allied Products 588,000 588,000 587,000 580,000 572,000 574,000 567,000 586,000 597,000 600,000 597,000 595,000
T h e wage level i n chemicals, one of t h e highest in industry, has been reached b y a steady climb since 1939. It is exceeded in only such lines a s printing, petroleum re fining, rubber, iron and steel, and aircraft parts. Hourly
Wage
Rates
Hourly wage rates, of more value prob ably in figuring production and product costs, averaged $1.576 for chemicals in November 1948, a s contrasted with $ 1.371 for all manufacturing. An interesting study made b y t h e Bureau of Labor Statis tics some time ago showed that main tenance workers generally received t h e highest rate of p a y in industrial chemical establishments. I n the 11 centers of the industry included in t h e study, the hourly earnings of electricians and pipefitters ranged from $1.85 and S 1.82, respectively, a t Charleston, W . Va., to $1.40 and $1.38 an hour in Baltimore. Tn most cities the
Chemical Ρ rice Trends Advances C U R R E N T PREVIOUS
Oil, coconut, lb.
S 0.15 Dccl n e e i Acid, oleic, USP, Lb. S 0.29 Alcohol, denatured, gal. 0.3 lVs Alcohol, ethyl, gaL. 17.40 Menthol, lb. 8.55 Oil, castor, lb. 0.181/4 Oil, cottonseed, l b . 0.13 Oil, peanut, lb. 0.15Vi Platinum, oz. 81.00 Rosin, 100 l b . 6.55 Turpentine, gum, gal. 0.4O
S 0.14V2 « 0.301/2 0.34 17.43 8.60 O.lOVi 0.13V2 0.16 85.00 6.68 O.tOVi
CHEMICAL
earnings of these workers exceeded $1.60 a n hour. The pay rates of Class A chemical opera tors ranged from $1.81 an hour in Charles ton to $1.32 in Baltimore, and of Class Β operators from $1.71 in Los Angeles to $1.14 in Baltimore. Wage levels in general for the chemical industry appear to be highest in Charleston, Detroit, and Buffalo and in what t h e bureau calls cities of the "historically high-wage Pacific region." Rayon
and
Nylon
Output per man-hour has been tradi tionally high in chemicals but recent d a t a for t h e industry in this respect un fortunately is n o t available. I t probably has more t h a n kept pace with a related industry, rayon and allied products, for which such a survey was made b y the Government for the years 1939-47. With 1939 a s the base year (100) the s t u d y shows t h a t o u t p u t per production worker in rayon rose t o an index figure of 136.6 in 1941, 160.3 in 1943, 181.8 in 1945, and to a peak of 204.6 in 1947. T h e figures from 1939 to 1943 a p p l y to rayon alone, a n d those for 1944 to 1947 t o rayon and nylon. T h e index of pro duction of r a y o n a n d nylon during those years increased 158%. More Price
Reductions
Chemical prices were still heading down ward in t h e manufacturing and wholesale markets a t t h e start of March. N e w de clines in industrial alcohol sent the quota tions below production costs, and a lowrange of values were named for oleic acid, benzene hexachloride, certain animal fatty acids, rosin, turpentine, ethylene oxide, liquid quebracho extract, film scrap, Argentine casein, and a fairly wide list of vegetable oils including dehydrated castor oil. T a n k car prices for denatured alcohol were down 2 t o 3 cents per gallon further, with tank car quantities quoted as low as 22 to 24 cents, depending on the formula. D r u m quantities usually are 10 cents per gallon more t h a n t a n k deliveries. Molas ses prices declined further along with alco hol, and according to trade reports new selling arrangements were being sought for blackstrap molasses by Cuban interests for the 1949 crop. Reports t h a t t h e pres ent contract with American alcohol distill ers had been canceled, however, were de nied. The Labor D e p a r t m e n t index for chemi cals declined 1.6 points during 1948 to 122.5 at the close, while drugs and pharma ceuticals dropped 3.5 points, and paints and paint materials, 2.5 points. Fertilizer materials rose 5.7 points to 120.1. AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
