sity base his report upon the number who apply for unemployment benefits, rather than upon any intimate knowledge of local conditions in any particular industry. For example, the quarterly reports on unemployment are obtained by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics directly from local secretaries of labor organizations, the average membership of which in 1913 was only 172, while the reports based on payments of unemployed benefits (as in the case of those obtained by the Department of Labour Statistics of the British Board of Trade and the Labor Statistics Division of the German Imperial Statistical Office) are obtained from the secretaries of international unions having a membership in some cases reaching well up into the thousands.

Notwithstanding the incomparability of the absolute figures of unemployment obtained in the several countries, such figures furnish a fairly good representation of the fluctuations of unemployment in each country and may therefore be used in the preparation of a chart showing the curves of unemployment for a period of time in the several countries, thus indicating, graphically, the extent to which the industrial activity in one country corresponds with that of another. For purposes of such comparison1 this Bureau has prepared a chart showing the curves of unemployment owing to lack of work for Great Britain, Germany, New York State, and Massachusetts and additional curves for New York State and Massachusetts based on the statistics of unemployment for all causes. (See Chart on page 35.) An examination of the chart shows a remarkable correspondence in the fluctuations of the curves for New York State and Massachusetts with some degree of correspondence between these curves and similar curves for Germany and the United Kingdom. It will be observed that the fluctuations in the curves representing the returns for Germany and the United Kingdom are by no means as violent as the corresponding fluctuations in the curves representing the conditions in New York State and Massachusetts. This, no doubt, may be explained by the fact that the British and German returns refer to far larger numbers of employees than do the returns. for New York State and Massachusetts, and consequently a large variation in the number unemployed in a few industries does not affect the general percentages in the one case as noticeably as in the other.

1 It should be borne in mind that the fluctuations only in the curves should be compared, because the method of securing the material and the sources of the information vary so greatly in the several countries that any attempt to compare the level of unemployment fails utterly.

2 At the end of December, 1913, returns relating to unemployment were furnished to the Labor Statistics Division of the German Imperial Statistical Office by 49 trade unions with an aggregate membership of 2,023,051 — Reichs-Arbeitsblatt, Jan., 1914, No. 1, page 10. The British returns for the same date represented a net trade union membership of 965,500- Board of Trade Labour Gazette, Jan., 1914, page 1. The returns for New York State at the end of December, 1913, were supplied by 237 representative unions with an aggregate membership of 156,910 New York Labor Bulletin No. 58, Feb., 1914, page 17. The returns for Massachusetts covered 1,081 unions with an aggregate membership of 178,182 (see Table on page 37).

On comparison of the fluctuations of the curves, year by year, it will be noted that the upward rise during the winter periods of each year is common to each curve. In the main, the Massachusetts curves correspond more closely in their fluctuations during the five-year period, 1909-1913, with the curve for Germany than with any of the other curves represented on the chart. The curve for the United Kingdom, like the other curves, shows, in general, a downward trend from the high point at the beginning of the period, but, with the exception of the winter rises, its fluctuations do not appear to correspond in any marked degree with the fluctuations of the other curves. In fact, early in 1912 this curve moved violently upward as a result of the strike of coal miners in England, reaching the maximum point at the close of March of that year, then as rapidly descended and toward the end of the year, actually crossed the curve for Germany, since which time its level has been lower than that of the German curve, whereas, during at least four years prior to 1912, its level had been continuously, and for three years, decidedly higher than that of the German curve.

The Massachusetts curve representing unemployment for all causes for the five-year period under consideration shows in general a downward inclination during the first two years of the period, interrupted by upward fluctuations at the points representing the close of the last quarter of each year, followed in 1911 by a high level at the close of March, a downward movement during the summer period, a sharp upward rise at the close of the year continuing upward until March, 1912, followed again by a sharp trend downward during the Summer and Autumn of 1912 with an upward trend at the close of the year; while in 1913 the curve rose still further at the close of March, was followed by a comparatively low level during the Summer and Autumn and was succeeded by the usual upward winter rise. The curve thus represents the gradual improvement in the conditions of employment following the industrial depression of 1907, while the upward fluctuations at the close of each year represent the usual increase of unemployment occurring during the winter months. The very high point reached at the close of March, 1912, was due principally to the unemployment of a large number of textile workers who were on strike in Lawrence, Lowell, and other textile centers.

It will be observed that the Massachusetts curve representing unemployment for lack of work follows closely the trend of the curve (for all causes) above described, at a fairly constant distance below the former A marked exception to this rule is found in the high point

curve.

CHART.-Percentage of Trade Union Members Unemployed in Massachusetts, New York, United Kingdom, and Germany, 1909-1913.

reached at the close of March, 1912, by the curve for all causes, due to unemployment directly and indirectly resulting from the series of important textile strikes which occurred early in the year 1912. The effect of these strikes does not appear in the curve representing the percentages unemployed for lack of work or material and, therefore, this curve did not follow the upward trend of the curve for all causes.

While no comparison of the general level of the several curves can be safely made, owing to the varying nature of the returns on which they have been based, yet it may be proper to add that the generally high level of the two curves for New York State has been attributed to the relatively large representation in the returns for that State of certain trades in which usually there is apt to be considerable unemployment, as for example, in the garment trades1 in New York City.

5. SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY REPORTS RECEIVED FROM LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS DURING THE YEARS 1908

1913.

A. INTRODUCTORY.

3

In this report are presented statistics relative to the state of employment in the organized industries2 in the Commonwealth for the six-year period, 1908-1913. The quarterly returns have already been published in detail in quarterly reports issued by this Bureau. During this entire period an endeavor has been made to follow identical methods in the collection and tabulation of the returns in order that the reports for the successive quarters might be strictly comparable in every respect. The returns on which these statistics are based were submitted voluntarily by officers of local labor organizations on inquiry blanks which were mailed to them at the end of each quarter.

The following comparative statement shows the number and membership of the organizations reporting at the end of each quarter since the collection of these returns was inaugurated, also the number of members unemployed and the corresponding percentages:

1 In a discussion of the New York returns for the year 1913, by the New York Department of Labor, it was stated with reference to the strike of garment workers in New York City which lasted from December 30, 1912, until March 12, 1913, that—"As a result of this strike taken in connection with the great weight which garment workers have in these returns (their membership reporting in January and February constituted 34 per cent of the total membership reporting in all representative unions), the dispute idleness percentage for the entire representative union membership reached an unprecedented figure (19.8 in January and 19.1 in February)." New York Labor Bulletin No. 58, February, 1914, page 6.

2 The statistics of unemployment presented in this section of the report were obtained wholly from labor organizations. There is no source from which comprehensive information as to the state of employment of unorganized workingmen can be obtained short of a census; and the results of the latter method are always extremely unsatisfactory for reasons inherent in the circumstances under which censuses must necessarily be taken. See Note 1 on page 24.

Number and Membership of Organizations Reporting at the Close of Each Quarter since the Collection of Returns was Inaugurated, and Number of Members Unemployed, with Corresponding Percentages.

1 Owing to the fact that the respective dates - December 31, 1911, March 31, 1912, and June 30, 1912-fell on Sunday, the date chosen for the returns in each case was the day preceding.

2 In explanation of this unusually high percentage unemployed for all causes it should be stated that over 9,000 organized textile workers in Lowell who were involved in a strike pending on March 30 were included in the aggregate number reported as unemployed on that date.

At the close of the last quarter of 1913, complete reports were received from 1,081 organizations having an aggregate membership of 178,182, or approximately 73 per cent of the aggregate membership of all local labor organizations in the Commonwealth. As contrasted with this showing it may be noted that at the end of the first quarter of 1908 the number of unions reporting was only 256, representing a membership of 66,968. Since the work was first undertaken the Bureau has continuously endeavored to secure returns from an increasingly large number of unions and from an increasingly large percentage of the aggregate union membership in the State, and in this endeavor it has met with the hearty co-operation of the union officials, which the results, as stated above, clearly indicate.