Unemployment in the United States

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236179

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-226169

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Unemployment in the United States

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: United States, Government Printing Office

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: II, 193 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Statement of Mr. William Green, president of American Federation of Labor

Collection:: Economics Books

161 .S nt 10 2 3 3 12 12 UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 41 Mr. Micuener. What is the average number of men out of em- ployment in the United States in ordinary prosperous times? Mr. Green. About 9 per cent. Mr. MicueNer. Normal times. Mr. Green. About 9 per cent; that is, it has increased to 9 per cent during these periods, during this intense period of machine displacement and technological unemployment. Heretofore it was not quite so great. Mr. MoNTAGUE. You mean involuntary unemployment. Mr. Michener. What I mean is this: If the country was normal and we were going along in a way in which I was satisfied, you were satis- fied, and everybody else, how many men would naturally be out of employment? Of course, it is often asserted and I think I heard Mr. Gompers say at one time, before this committee, there were probably 2,000,000 men who were not working in the country who did not want to work. That is what I am getting at. Mr. Green. Congressman, that question has been highly debated. The Labor Department has made statements that a certain number of men were unemployed. Mr. MicHENER. Yes. Mr. Green. Then other statistical departments have challenged the statement and there has been some more or less confusion. Mr. MicueNER. I have great respect for your judgment and I wondered what your judgment was. Mr. Green. Thank you, sir. I want to try to maintain the stand- ard you have set; but it is our best judgment that the unemployment runs about 9 per cent under normal conditions. Now let me make this observation, however, that the census on unemployment has been taken and for the first time in the history of our country we ought to have the picture before us—the picture of unemployment; because, through the census enumerators, the Government has endeavored to ascertain the number who are constantly employed, who want work, but can not find work, and the men who are out of work because of sickness, or because of some other inability, and because of seasonal unemployment. So the whole picture will be before us and we will be able to know what the situation is in a few months. Mr. Micaener. This 9 per cent—that would mean about how many individuals? Mr, GReeN. Well, we have to find the total number of employed in the United States. I think perhaps 9 per cent of 30,000,000 or 35,000,000 emplovees. That would take in. of course, office em- ployees. Mr. MicaeNer. That would be, normally, we would have, say, between two and three million people in this country out of emplov- ment? Mr. Green. Well, you understand they would be out of emplov- ment temporarily, most of them. Mr. MicueNER. Yes. 1 am talking about normal times, just the number of people not working. Mr. Green. Yes. I judge it would run perhaps 9 per cent of whatever the total number was. _ Mr. Hickey. Do you take the agricultural workers into considera- tlon in that number? Mr. GreeN. Yes.

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