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Resozirces
Manpower Resources ARTHUR C. GERNES
I
DEFENSE MANPOWER ADMINISTFARON, 18 OLIVER ST., BOSTON IO. MASS.
NE
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EW Englanders are acutely conscious of, almost sensitive about, the decline in the textile industry and the transfer of large segments of it to the southern states. In the past year, some other industries, such as jewelry, have been hit by materials shortages, wbile other consumer goods industries important to the region, notably the shoe and leather group, are at best holding their own. These adverse factors have received more publicity than the favorable developments which are taking place in the New England economy. Sometimes the fact is overlooked, for emmPIe, that over-all employment is increasing at a time when some of the area's leading industries are dep==4 and that today New England has more people gainfully employed than at w other time in its history.
GLAND
goods employment, on the other hand, has shown little net change. The effect of all this has been an increase in the total numbers of people working. Since the start of the Korean confict, total nonagricultural employment bas increased more than 7.5%, and now totals 3,525,000. The most spechular growth haa come in those industriea whose prinoipa~raw material is meta~s-mac&nery, electrical machinery, fabricated metals, transportation equipment, and primary metals, 1951 the metal-worbg industries increased their employment by 75,000 jobs over 1950, The total increase in these industries Over 1939 amounted to more than ~,~ (1). By 1951 nonelectrical machinery manufacture had become New England's No, 2 industry, employmentwise, with elecWAGES trical machinery ranking third. Between them they accounted There are cries from all sides that New England is being for some 320,000 workers, well ahead of the combined textile stripped of its industries by migration to other areas of the counindustries (Table 11). While employment was increasing steadily, except for Certain try where cheaper labor can be obtained. The ides that wages are higher in New England than elsewhere in the United States seasonal fluctuatione, unemployment was following a ditIerent eoum, a t times apparently unrelated to the employment figures. iS not generdly tN9. The latest statistics show clearly that industrial wages in New England are no higher, and in many c a s e Immediately after Korea, unemployment declined precipitously throughout New England. In the early months Of 1951, are lower, than for the country as a whole (Table I). For example, comparing only the industrial wages in Connecticut and however, there were signs that the down trend in unemployment had halted, and in some areas unexpected increases were obMassaohusetts, the two states with the highest averages in New served. Now unemployment is almost a third higher than it England, with the rest of the country, in January 1952 in all manufacturing the average hourly earnings of factory workers in wa8 B year ago, although still below the level of June 1950 when the Korean confict started. Connecticutwere $1.64. This was exactly the same as the United We may ask, why has the number of workers without jobs Stam average. In Maasachusetts, hourly earnings were $1.54, gone up at a time when or 10 cents less than the national average. In short, the number with jobs bas fithough the t d e industry hM declined and other also gone UP? The answer the over-dl average for is found in terms of lOC* New England workers is industria, such M j-lry, have baen hit by materiels shortages. over-all employment in New England k intion. less than the United States avemge. However, t h e creasing and mom p-ple in New England am gainfully Industrial expansion and mplo,d at p-nt t h n at any othertime in ita history. the subsequent demand for average in certain industries, such as textiles, is Industrial highrMd in many clabor have been largely in lower than for the country (u a whole: in the chemical Connecticutand a few higher than in the South. indugtry hou.ly e ~ n w p r a c t i c ~ y the same defense areas in the other This one fact usually leads to the broader false conthughDut the country. In industries whprincipal New England States. At the same time, the nonclusion that New England's -W m a t 4 L -tab, a striking incin -ploy-nt mud in 1 ~ 1 .€xOnanu, England has & -io. durable industries, such 8 8 wages are higher. unemp~oyment. fi- of them t d i l . textiles and sh-, and inIn the chemical indue of provino dustries hurt by materials try, particularly in Concenters. Workem diqkcsd by one industry readily adaptable to employment in other industriea. shortages, such as jewelry, necticutand Massachusetts New Md d i 4 industria a m neaded, and the chemihave laid off workers in where most of New Engareas where little 01 nO land's chemical industry is and chemical proc-ng industri- should find now located, s o m e w h a t o p p o ~ u ~ t ih-. ea defense expansion is taking place. This has resulted in t h e s a m e s i t u a t i o u is pools of unemployment in found. The hourly earna number of large cities. New England has six major areas Of ings for chemical workers in Connecticut are the same as for substantial unemployment today. Five of these are textile employees in this industry throughout the country-namely, centers-Providence, R. I., Fall River, Lawrence, and Lowell, $1.66 per hour. In Maseachwtte, hourly earnings are slightly Mass., and Manchester, N. H.-while the sixth is Brockton, higher at $1.88. Mass., a shoe center. All the principal labor market areas in DEVELOPMENTS SINCE KOREA Connecticu%are now classified either BE labor shortage areas or balanced labor supply areas. All the classi6ed labor market Turn now to the &or&developments in the New Engareas in the other five states are surplus areas, with either moderland economy. Since the Korean outbreak, employment in the ate or substantial exce8se8 of labor supply. production of durable goods has risen steadily. Nondurnhle
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
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Table I. Average Weekly a n d Hourly Earnings a n d Average Weekly Hours in Manufacturing a n d Chemical Industries, J a n u a r y 1952 Average Weekly Earnings
Average Weekly Hours
Average Hourly Earnings
69.67 62.28 66.79
42.6 40.5 40.7
1.64 1.54 1.64
72.13 68.73 68.60
43.4 40.9 41.3
1.66 1.68 1.66
Manufacturing Connecticut Massachusetts United States Chemicals Connecticut Massachusetts United States
Source. U. 5. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Table 11. Estimated Nonagricultural Employment in New England by Industry (In thousands) June 1950 3276.4 Nonagricultural total 1400.3 Manufacturing total 095.5 Durable goods Ordnance 12.6 Lumber a n d wood products 42.2 Furniture and fixtures 19.3
Dee. June Dec. 1950 1951 1951 3489.4 3467.4 3625.8 1536.1 1535.1 1532.0 683.6 707.6 734.5 14.8 16.3 18.2 46.0 44.3 47.3 20.1 19.0 20.1
49.0 33.4
56.3 39.8
61.5 40.1
73.2 42.6
Nondurable goods Food Textile mill products Apparel Paper and allied products Printing a n d publishing Chemicals and allied products Rubber products Leather and leather products Miscellaneous manufacturinga
804.8 68.2 266.4 78.1 66.4 57.0 26.4 41.1 106.6 94.6
852.5 65.1 279,O 81.6 71.4 59.1 28.8 48.1 112.4 107.0
827,6 69.7 267.7 79,l 72.2 58.7 29.6 49.0 103.3 98.3
797.7 67.1 246.6 80.0 68.5 58.4 28.6 49.2 103.2 96.2
Contract construction Transportation a n d public utilities Trade, wholesale and retail Finance, insurance and real estate Service a n d miscellaneous b Government. total Federal State and local
150.4 221.3 636.2 138.4 356.3 373.5 94 5 279 0
152.5 222.0 690.3 141.4 343.1 404.0 124 0 280 0
149.9 224.8 651.1 143.3 358.8 404.4 115 9 288 5
148.5 221.0 695.2 146.6 347.3 435.2 145 5 289 7
Transportation equipment Instruments
Includes tobacco petroleum, and coal. b Includes mining hnd quarrying, service, and miscellaneous industries. Source, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Lahor Statistics. Q
LONG-RANGE DEVELOPMENTS Let us turn for a moment to the long-range developments in the New England economy. A report on regional trends in the United States by the United States Department of Commerce states: New England has continued to grow and to realize a high standard of living-both absolutely and relatively-for its residents. The population of the region and that of all of its states was larger in 1949 than in 1929. Its industries were larger and the incomes of its people were higher than a generation earlier, although employment in its factories was below the peak reached in 1919 ( 3 ) . Other parts of the country are growing faster than Xew England, and this, of course, means that its share of the national totals is declining. It is not that New England has ceased to grow and advance. The population is increasing, but the per cent of total population is declining. The decline in New England’s share of the nation’s total population must not be overlooked, but it should be viewed in its proper perspective. It is nothing new. In 1790, New England’s population was 26% of the nation’s total. This percentage has been steadily shrinking since then. About 20 years ago, i t was 6.7%, now it is 6.2%. In an expanding country, the regions
Vol. 44, No. 11
which were developed early must necessarily grow less rapidly than the newer regions. It ie not a sign of weakness that Kew England, settled and developed early, becomes a relatively smaller portion of the nation. This fact must be remembered, however, as it may influence the location of certain industries. New England’s population is not moving away. Between 1940 and 1950 the region gained slightly from net in-migration, Connecticut receiving most of this gain with a population increase of 6%. While every state in Kew England has increased in population over the last two decades, only Connecticut has increased faster than the nation as a whole. In-migration from other states during the war years was the cause of this. The smallest population increase has been in Vermont, where the number of people has increasd only 5% in 20 J ears. CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES What part have the chemical and chemical processing intlustries in Sew England played in this picture? There are more than 4000 establishments report,ing under the unemployment insurance laws in New England states which are classified in the industries primarily concerned with chemical production and chemical processing. Almost half of these firms are in food processing. These 4000 firms reported a total employment in June 1951 of over 300,000 workers. (This definition of chemicals and chemical processing is much broader than the Standard Industrial Classification category “Chemicals and allied products” which appears in Table 11.) This is nearly 10% of the total nonagricultural employment in New- England. Of the 300,000 employees, there are almost 68,000 in food processing, about 65,000 in primary metals industries, 49,000 in the production of rubber and rubher products, and 44,000 in paper and paper products. Other important categories are text,ile dyeing and finishing, with 25,000 workers, and leather tanning with over 11!000. The remaining chemical processing industries, such as petroleum products, coke, and by-products, glass and glassware, cement and clay, and miscellaneous industries, are all rather small. About half of the 300,000 employees in chemicals and cheniical processing are employed in Massachusetts, and one fourth are employed in Connecticut. In the three northern states, the only large concentration of these workers is in the paper and pulp industry vhich employs 18,000 in Xaine and 6000 in New Hampshire. The principal chemical processing industry in Rhode Island is textile dyeing and finishing, with 11,000 workers, followed by rubber products Tyith 7000 and food processing with 4000. There are 749 firms einploying 30,800 workers engaged in the direct production of chemicals, such as acids, alkalies, salts, organic chemicals, synthetic fibers, plaetic materials, animal and vegetable oils, colors and pigments, drugs, cosmetics, soaps, paints, fertilizers, and explosives. Over 60% of these firms employing almost one third of the Iyorkers are in Massachusetts. There are over 100 firms employing another third of the total, or almost 10,000 workers, in Connecticut. These tiyo states account for the bulk of the chemical industry employment in this region, Rhode Island and the three northern states account for the last third, with about 150 establishments. These chemical industries, representing almost 10% of the nonagricultural employment and about one fifth of the manufacturing employment, are important to New England. These industries are not expanding as rapidly here as they are in other parts of the country. In the first seven months of 1951 certificates of necessity valued a t almost $2,700,000,000 were granted to the chemicals and chemical processing industries (2, 3); only a tiny fraction of these were granted for construction in New England.
November 1952
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
ADAPTABILITY OF WORKERS lable labor reserves in New England, chiefly workers now unemployed, would be qualified for employment in many branches of the chemical industry. It has been the experience in recent years that New England workers displaced by one industry have been readily adaptable to employment in other industries. Many New England towns which were formerly dependent solely upon the textile industry now have a thriving divernified industry, employing workers who formerly were in the textile mills. The Committee of New England sponsored by the National Planning kssociation, which is currently studying the New England economy, is making an analysis of the transferability of displaced workers. While the reaults of their study are not yet available, it is known from experience that these workers are d i l y absorbed in other industries. To quote just one instance, a textile mill recently closed in a small Connecticut town. The Conneeticut State Employment Service there was able to place the textile workers in many industries where they had no experience. A number of women were found adaptable for clerical jobs in insurance companiee. Industries which traditionally employ relatively large proportions of women have always been concentrated in New England. In some of the larger employment centers, more than half of the total work force are women. Today B large proportion of the unemployed workera are women. Even in some of the labor ahortage areas in Connecticut, there is still a reserve of unemployed women which could be drawn upon. There is also an adequate supply of construction workers. Today, unemployment of construction workers is running as high ~ l l Z in 0 some ~ ~ a m . So far as is known,no construction projects have been seriously delayed by labor shortages. A number of plastics manufactum have been able to solve their labor supply problem by moving into New England communities with an abundance of labor supply. In’several instances tbis available labor influenced the decisions of the employera to select these locations. Many leading businesemen refuse to believe that New England bas loat ita punch as a leader in Americnn industry. At a recent meeting in Boston on industrial development a prominent and successful manufacturer declared that New England’s ailments are more paychological than economic.
2535
Resources
Because New England industry is older, it ueed fall apart while o t h e r sections of t h e country are forging ahead. 80 far as the textile industry is concerned, history ia repeating itaelf. Twenty-five years ago, the giant cotton textile industry in New England w a s running down like N a badly oiled piece of machinery. Mill after mill during thia period of industrial decline WKBB either closing down or transferring its operations to the South. However, the region weathered the storm. The great woolen and worsted industry retained its leadmg position, and other types of indus@ies, largely the more stable metal-working trades and electrical trades, gradually tmk up some of the slack of unemployment and began to establia themselves as the mainstay of the economy. New England is not a great raw materials m a nor will it ever be the center of huge electrochemical industries such as are now being developed in the Southwest and the West. However, it ia well adapted to processing and mechanical activities which do not have to be located close to source8 of bulk raw materials. Industries which typically have a high “value added in manufacture” characteristic generally do well in New England. Manufacturers locating here are not plagued by the overcrowded conditions found in areas experiencing a tremendous population growth overnight. Community facilities are generally adequate. New England needs new and divernil3 industries, and the chemical and chemical proceasing activities can 6nd many opportunities here, considering not only the available manpower but also the other facilities required by the induatry.
LITERILTURE CITED Statistics. U. 8. Department of Lnbor, and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, cemm of manufacturea dsts adjueted to 1939. (a, -, Nm, ,.who.s who in the c6emioslworld,”swial bulletin, 1962. (3) U. 8. Department of Commerce. “Regional Trenda in the United Btates Eaonomy.” 1951. (1) Bureau of L s b r
Bmcnvlir, for review Maroh 81. 1062.
Accznmo Augvllt 14,1052.
Educational and Research Resources CHESTER M. ALTER QMDUATE SCHOOL, BOSTON UNNKRSlTf. BOSTON. MASS.
T . HE word
“mourcw” suggests h t such natural mourcea mmerals, water, fuel, soil, timber, and other natural el* menta with which the earth ia endowed. On further d e c t i o n , mandeveloped resources such KBB power, transportation, finance, and production facilities come to mind. Human rmurces, often r e f d to as manpower, must also be conaidered in a IP view of the available r e s o m of B region or a community. These m o m have finite, measurable qualities, and hmce it ia relatively eaey to compare regiom with mpeot to requhementa in such factors. If it ia desirable to locate a plant in cloae proximity to an adequate supply of cold, fresh water, it is not a dit?icult problem to evaluate the relative merita of the Great Lakes region --ne t.he hot, arid arean of the Southwest. 88
The purpose of thia paper ia to pment certain facta about other resources of New England-namely, the educational and research rmurces of the region. By their nature, it is far more difficult to objectively evaluate factors that are so much involved in the intangible which we call the cultural environment of a region. This lack of ability to measure the relative merits of regions with respect to their cultural qualities does not, however, detract from their recognized importance. Perhaps in no industry is there greater recognition of the value of these intangible cultural qualitiee than in the chemical industry, together with its sister industries which are largely built on science and technology. Technically trained p p l e like to live and work where there t y p e s of
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