The also true with regard to idleness caused by disability. slightly lower percentage of idleness at the end of March this year as compared with last, therefore, is accounted for by less idleness due to lack of work. CAUSES OF IDLENESS OF MEMBERS OF LABOR UNIONS AT END OF MARCH, 1906-1912. Inspection of the returns as to idleness by industries reveals no striking change in any single industry as compared with last year. It is found, however, that the small net decrease in percentages of idleness above noted for all industries together, is due almost entirely to decreases in the four leading groups of industries which together include more than 65 per cent of all the union members in the State. With the exception only of the metal trades in respect of idleness throughout the quarter, all of these four groups show a reduction in idleness percentages as compared with last year greater than that shown in the percentages for all the industries together. In contrast to this is the fact that in the other nine groups, lower percentages of idleness this year appear in only one for the end of the quarter and in only three for idleness throughout the quarter. IDLENESS OF MEMBERS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, BY INDUSTRIES, 1909-1912. 1. Building, stone working, etc.... 47,719 37.6 39.2 26.6 36.3 30,579 2. Transportation.. 3. Clothing and textiles. 4. Metals, machinery, etc. 5. Printing, binding, etc... 6. Wood working, etc.. 9. Tobacco.. 10. Restaurants, trade, etc. Total... 23.6 24.7 14.0 26.1 9,060 11.9 14.9 14.9 19.6 3,180 4.2 6.6 10.8 13.9 It may be seen by the following table which classifies idleness in the different groups of industries by causes that the reduction in idleness in the four leading groups was due to less unemployment and not to decreased idleness on account of labor disputes or disability. In fact, the small increase in total idleness because of disputes above noted is here revealed as almost all in the leading group comprising the building trades. The increase here was due to a strike of 450 granite cutters and 400 rock drillers and tool sharpeners in Manhattan. At New York Mills, near Utica, 600 men and 300 women, members of textile organizations, were on strike. More than 1,000 men were reported as still on strike at various points in this state on account of the strike of boiler makers and helpers in the New York Central shops. In no industry other than the three above mentioned were labor disputes an appreciable factor in idleness at the end of March. CAUSES OF IDLENESS OF MEMBERS OF LABOR UNIONS AT END of March, 1910-1912, BY INDUSTRIES. * Inclusive of lack of work, lack of stock, and weather. Returns as to amount of employment of union men in January, February and March are summarized in the two following tables and show results in general correspondence with those shown by the returns as to idleness above noted. There is a slight increase in the average number of days worked by those men who had some employment during the quarter. Of the individual groups of trades nine show increases and only four decreases, the largest decrease being one of 2.5 days in the clothing and textiles group the only one of the four leading groups to show a decrease. The average days worked by female members, the number of whom is relatively small as compared with the men, is in contrast to that for the men in showing a considerable decrease which is accounted for by a lower average in the clothing and textiles where the largest number of organized women is found, and where the decrease corresponds to that shown for men. AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS OF EMPLOYMENT OF MALE MEMBERS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN FIRST QUARTER, BY INDUSTRIES, 1906-1912. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF ORGANIZED MALE WAGE EARNERS WITHIN CERTAIN LIMITS OF EMPLOYMENT IN FIRST QUARTER, 1906-1912. PERCENTAGE. DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT. 1-29 days. 30-59 days. 60-79 days. 80 days or more. Number, 1910. 1909. 1908. 1907. 1906. 14.7 Total.. 376,132 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 WAGES AND EARNINGS. The summary below would indicate that the average per diem earnings of union men, while larger than for the corresponding quarter of other years except 1911, were smaller than for that year. Analysis of the table, however, shows that in nine of the industries, which together embrace more than 290,000 or 78 per cent of the total number reporting as to earnings, there were increases in the averages, while in four only, embracing 22 per cent of the total number reporting, were there decreases. In only one of the five most important industries - transportation - was there a decrease. This decrease was confined to the navigation trades, and further analysis reveals that this was due to changes in the membership, which increased the number of low-paid men reporting and decreased the number of high-paid men. Thus, there was an increase of 4,808 (9,500 as against 4,692), in the number of marine firemen reporting. The daily earnings of this group were slightly (four cents) higher than for the first quarter of 1911 but this was still much below the average rate for all the navigation trades. Likewise, there was an increase of 3,650 marine cooks and stewards (5,250 as against 1,600), whose rate of pay was also much below that for all navigation trades. In this case, there was an actual decrease of six cents per day in the earnings but its effect was negligible as compared with the increase of numbers. In addition to these increases in the number of low-paid members, there was a decrease of 771 (1,285 as against 2,056), masters and pilots. The daily earnings of the smaller number in 1912 were twenty-two cents greater than the larger number in 1911, but the reduction in number of this group of high-paid men far outweighed the increased daily earnings. The three changes mentioned served to lower not only the average daily earnings of the navigation trades but of the entire transportation industry. An even more striking factor than the above in reducing the average daily earnings for all industries was the reduction in the theaters and music group from $7.18 to $3.15. Here, again, a |