xt776h4crf6k https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt776h4crf6k/data/mets.xml Pennsylvania Palmer, Gladys L. (Gladys Louise) Stoflet, Ada M. (Ada Margaret), 1909-1976 joint author Wharton School. Industrial Research Department United States. Works Progress Administration. 1938 xiv, 102 p: ill.; 26 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call Number Y 3.W 89/2:53/P-2 books  English Philadelphia, Pa.: Works Progress Administration, National Research Project and Industrial Research Dept., University of Pennsylvania This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Pennsylvania Works Progress Administration Publications Radio -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Unemployed -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Economic conditions The Labor Force of the Philadelphia Radio Industry in 1936 text The Labor Force of the Philadelphia Radio Industry in 1936 1938 1938 2019 true xt776h4crf6k section xt776h4crf6k « llllllllul ~
‘I‘ THE LABOR FORCE ,I
,' OF THE PHILADELPHIA
- RADIO INDUSTRY

3 , IN 1936 ,

I i — GOVERNMENT PUBLICATlONE
, DEPT.
GCTTSIQTT

{ UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

: LlBRARlES

C ’

~ light ' I
T
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

: ' NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT AND
; E INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

‘7 i E UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ,

 , 5%.
THE W.P.A. NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT
0N REEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND RECENT CHANGES
‘ IN INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES
v Under the authority granted by the President in the Execu— i
, tive Order which created the Works Progress Administration. ‘ ‘
Administrator Harry L. Iiopkt’ns authorized the establishment ‘-
_ of a research program for the purpose or collecting and ana- 3'
lyzing data bearing on proolems of employment, unemployment, _
, . " and relief. Accordingly, the National‘Research Program was
established in October 1935 under the supervision of Corring ton V
v Gill, Assistant Administrator of the HPA, who appointed the
‘ directors of the individual studies or projects. ,
' , The ProJect on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes
in Industrial Techniques was organized in December 1955 to 7
" inquire, with the cooperation of industry, labor, and govern— ;
. - mental and private agencies. into the extent of recent changes 2'
in industrial techniques and to evaluate the effects of these, ‘ i
changes on the volume of employment and unemployment. David :
Weintraub and Irving Kaplan', members or the research staff
' of the Division otResearcn, Statistics, and Finance, were ap- '
‘ ' pointed, respectively, Director and Associate Director or the
' , Project; The task set for them was to assemble andorganize 3
I the existing data which bear on the problem and to augment , ,
, these data by field surveys and analyses.
To this end, many governmental agencies which are the col- '
. ' lectors and repositories of pertinent information were in- y‘
‘ " vited to cooperate.» The cooperating agencies of the United ' :,
States Government include the Department of Agriculture, the
> Bureau 'of Mines of the Department of the Interior, the Bureau ,
_ * ’ , of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, the Railroad
v Retirement Board, the Social Security Board, the Bureau of
' Internal Revenue of the Department of the Treasury, the De- ~53;-
' partment of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, and the '
. ' Tariff Commission. 7
' , ,_The following private agencies [Joined with the National
' ' Research Project in conducting special studies: . the Indus-
_ I trial Research Department of, the University of Pennsylvania, L' 1:
- , the National Bureau of Economic Researcn; lnc., the Employ- - .-- 1"
- ~ ' / ment Stabilization Research Institute 701’ the University of 73 g f
' 7 ' Minnesota. and the Agricultural Economics Departments in, the . ‘
.. ’ '_ ' _ Agricultural Experiment Stations of California, ~Illinois, ‘, -' I
- L ' lowa, and New York. v , . . 7

 ” WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

,- x 7' 31:5 :

‘ '7 :gl-éf‘gxif

i i ” HARRY L. HOPKINS OORRINGTON GILL

' " 7- f 7’57 Administrator Assistant Administrator

1 7’ ' t':';:;,:;';gj_ ,

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, : A
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7 i : .

i .. N AT ION AL RESE ARCH PROJECT

on I
I : Reemployment Opport unit ies and Recent Changes
- in Industrial Techniques
Mg DAVID WEINTRAUB IRVING KAPLAN
91% Director Associate Director
K" I n c ooperat ion wit h
INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT .
WH ARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE
‘5' UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
JOSEPH WILLITS ANNE BEZANSON V
3;} 5;.“ ‘3 Direc t or D irec t or
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VC:§WA"“"‘n _ . .
,
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iii: Philadelphia Labor Market Studies .
51:31:35.1]: “131' .j-j:
“ ”a" , 1* 5, . .
S§€§§l Gladys L. Palmer , Economist in Charge
i}

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;
PHILADELPHIA LABOR MARKET STUDIES f
|
GLADYS L. PALMER, Research Associate, lndus— ?
trial Research Department, University of
Pennsylvania; Consultant, National Re—
search Project, directing studies of this
section
JANET H. LEWIS, Statistician
HELEN L. KLOPFER, Associate Economist
MURRAY P. PFEFFERMAN, Associate Statistician
MARGARET w. BELL. Assistant Statistician
. VIRGINIA F. SHRYOCK, Chief Statistical Clerk
HELEN HERRHANN, Research Economist in charge
of field work for Schedule #20

 ;i

1 THE lABOR FORCE OF THE PHILADELPHIA RADIO INDUSTRY
j IN 1936

1 by

Gladys L. Palmer and Ada M. Stoflet
f
Philadelphia Labor Market Studies
Report No. P—2
Philadelfihia, Pennsylvania
_ Abril, 1938

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._n__._.-.~_--....... -._._.-. 9—H.__~-w--.__..___..__.~_«_w___~__~ ;
IPA-National Research Project (Rifle) _ ‘
WORKERS IN THE RADIO INDUSTRY 1
The typical man.or woman attached to ghe radio industry women workers was 2n and of men 33 years — only 11 percent }
of the Philadelphla area In 1936 was, like these workers, of all workers were us or more years old.
young and semiskilled. of 686 production and maintenance . 1 1 -
workers studied, 553 were classified as semiskilled, only triggfiogégfigrecsohfiwss tggpggdtg;sthecgg1eg:r Légeciggngogfléig
121 ’ ' T _ 1 1 1
as skilled, and 12 as unsknlled. he average age of are lnstalled.

 WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
WALKER-JOHNSON BUILDING
1734 NEW YORK AVENUE NW.
_ WASHINGTON, D. C.
53 HARRY L. HOPKINS
'23 ADMINISTRATOR
30
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UNI)
C
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(63 .
2;
:§ . April 26, 1938
u‘ L — ;
r— (1)”)
O '00.) . , -
(v.-
II) 0’0
L. mm!
a w
>~50; Hon. Harry L. Hopkins
g 03 Works Progress Administrator
E 2'5
‘5 “’8 .
m 33 Sir:
=l' 4-1
w my;
EEC": Much of the research work of the Works Progress
m :0 _ Administration and its predecessors has centered around
EEK»? the questions: What kind of people are the unemployed?
Egg"? How, if at all, do they differ from the employed popu—
PBEE lotion? We now know in considerable detail what age
ff§3 groups predominate among the unemployed, what their oc—
0 ““1 cupational and industrial composition is in various
(53:33 areas, how many of those seeking jobs have never worked
Eégg before, and a great deal more. Some of this material
Egg: was published in such research monographs as Urban
3.3;? Vorkers on Relief, Farmers on Relief and Rehabilitation,
29$; The Transient Unemployed, The Migratory-Casual Yorker,
u:-—
“”5“, and Rural Youth on Relief.
fez:
JESD‘ , In the light of the heterogeneous character of the ‘
g‘égi’ unemployed population, it is of direct interest to the
:‘1‘5’; Works Progress Administration to find out .what it can
ouomw
“9325 about the opportunities for reemployment which may be
Eg:g open to workers of various ages and differing occupa—
§_g~ tional experience. For instance: Which groups among
:39“ the unemployed are likely to find employment should
égmé certain types of mass—production industries expand or
3:23,; should a new mass—production industry develop?
are:
:03: . . .
igm: The report submitted herew1th throws some light
Eigé’ on these questions. The radio—manufacturing industry
95:: is relatively new. Within a period of about 15 years
0*?“ it developed into one of the country's important manu—
facturing industries. In the Philadelphia area it is _
. a major employer of labor. Where did it obtain its la—
‘ bor force? Who among the unemployed can hope to find

 [3 31‘
3 33 33"
r
i3
' 33 employment inthe industry should production and employ— ;
3| ment expand?
1
‘3 The outstanding fact developed by the study of ‘ 3
3 The Labor Force of the Philadelphia Radio Industry in
3 1936 is that older workers found it practically impos— 1
sible to gain a foothold in the industry. Although the
‘ 3 growth of this new industry in Philadelphia has undoubt— *
edly afforded employment opportunities for some workers .
‘3 who were displaced from older and declining industries _ .
3‘ in the area, it was only the younger workers who were
absorbed. This fact becomes evenmore significant when ,
‘3 it is realized that the major establishments in the
radio-manufacturing industry are not new but have existed
33 in the area for a long period of years as producers of
‘3 either musical instruments, storage batteries, or ig—
3‘ nition equipment. It was found that, in spite of this,
i only one—eighth of the labor force in 1936 consisted
3‘ of workers who had been employed by these plants prior
33 to their introduction of radio manufacture and that
this group was concentrated in the skilled occupations.
33
33 One—fifth of the labor force in 1936 had never
3 :33 had a job before. Aside from the eighth who were former
33 employees, the remainder were relatively young workers
33 who had transferred into the radio—manufacturing indus—
33 try from a large variety of other industries. Even in
those instances in which the industry found it neces—
3 sary to employ skilled workers, such as machinists and
cabinetmakers, it was only the younger workers in those
33 skilled occupations who were absorbed by the radio-
3 manufacturing industry. 3
3’ This report covers one of the studies of the Phila—
‘ 3 delphia labor market carried on by the National Research
‘1 Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes
. in Industrial Techniques in cooperation with the In-
3 dustrial Research Department of the University of Penn-—
3 sylvania. The study was conducted under the supervision
33 of Dr. Gladys L. Palmer, who, withAda M. Stoflet, also
33 wrote the report.
3 I‘
3 Respectfully yours,
2 7"» $44
33 Corrington Gill
33 Assistant Administrator
3
i3
3 .

 z
%
' CONTENTS
. Section ‘ Page
; PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
i I. INTRODUCTION.................. 1
1 Purpose of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I ~ ‘ The position of the radio industry in
Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
. - Composition of the sample studied. . . . . . . 5
Reliability of the data. . . . . . . . . . . . 8
II. OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIO
WORKERS IN MAY 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 y
Employment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . 10
Occupation of present or last job. . . . . . . 11
Age and sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Residence and nationality. . . . . . . . . . . 15
Schooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Marital status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
III. SOURCE OF THE RADIO INDUSTRY'S LABOR FORCE
IN 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Year of beginning employment in the radio
industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Industry and occupation of last job preceding
employment in the radio industry. . . . . 19
Selected work histories. . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Occupation of last job preceding employment in
the radio industry compared with occupa— '
tion of present or last job . . . . . . . 23
. Grade of skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Occupation and industry of longest job . . . . 25
Stability of workers' jobs and occupations . . 27
Length of service on the longest job . . . . . 28
Number of years employedat usual occupation. . 28
IV. TEN—YEAR EMPLOYMENT HISTORY OF WORKERS ATTACHED
TO THE RADIO INDUSTRY IN 1936 . . . . . . . 30
Employment status, 1926-85, by months. .'. . . 30
Number of months employed in the radio indus—
try and in other industries, 1926-35. . . 35
Full—time and part—time employment, 1926—35. . 36
Employment historyof‘individual radio workers,
1926—35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
V. UNEMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE AND MOBILITY OF WORKERS
WHO ENTERED THE LABOR MARKET BEFORE 1926. . 41
Number of months unemployed, 1926—35 . . . . . 41
vii

 H Ti

h '#

‘z‘ 2;

‘3 E

E‘
‘ “‘ viii CONTENTS 3

‘3 Section Page i

“ Number of months unemployed, 1926—30 and ;

‘ 1931—35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 .

i Longest period of unemployment and frequency

N of unemployment periods, 1926—35. . . . . 48

1 Factors in the mobility of workers . . . . . . 45 1

‘L Mobility in the lO-year period, 1926—35. . . . 46 .

‘J ~ Mobility in the two 5—year periods, 1926—80 .

‘3 - and 1931-35 . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . 4e ‘

1” Employer separations, 1926—35. . . . . . . . . 49 '

.‘ VI. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

W

“ APPENDIX A: TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

l

J

‘T APPENDIX.BI SCHEDULE AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

‘1 USED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

W

H CHARTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

i2:

“ Figure

‘H Workers in the radio industry . . . . . . . . Frontispiece

“ 1. Index of pay rolls in the manufacture of radio and

‘fl musical instruments in the Philadelphia Federal

‘h Reserve District, January 1926—May 1936 . . . . . 4

,N 2. Inspecting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

‘1

‘T 3. Age distribution of workers in the radio industry

‘h and of all employable persons in Philadelphia,

“ May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. . . . . . . 14

‘ 4. Industrial group of last job preceding employment

‘ in the radio industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

i 5. Cabinet work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

. 6. Employment status, January 1926-December 1985, by

T, occupational group of last job. . . . . . . . . . 31

l

“ . 7. Average number of months of specified types of em-

“ ployment experience, 1926—35, by age in 1936. . . 37

J 8. Employment history of men in skilled, semiskilled,

9 and unskilled occupations, January 1926—December

‘ 1935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

fl 9. Employment history of women in semiskilled occupa— .

“ tions, January 1926pDecember 1935 . . .'. . . . . 39

“ 10. Percentage distribution of persons in sample by

“ type and frequency of separations, 1926—35. . . . 47

m

"3r

 ; CONTENTS _ ix
3 APPENDIX TABLES
; Table Page
1. Index of pay rolls in the manufacture of radio and
. musical instruments in the Philadelphia Federal
1 Reserve District, January 1926—May 1936 . . . . . 6O
1 2. Employment status in May 1986 by sex and age. . . . 61
I 3. Plant of present or last job in May 1936 by sex and
’ employment status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4. Duration of unemployment since last job for those
unemployed in May 1986 by sex and age . . . . . . 62
5. Employment status in September 1936 of workers un—
employed in May 1936 by sex and age . . . . . . . 62
6. Occupation of present or last job by sex. . . . . . 63
7. Age of workers in the radio industry and of all em—
ployable persons in Philadelphia in May 1936. . . 64
8. Median age of radio workers by sex and occupation
of present or last job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
9. Number of years of continuous residence in
Philadelphia by sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . 65
10. Country of birth by sex and age . . . . . . . . . . 65
11. School grade completed by sex and age . . . . . . . 66
12. Marital status by sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . 66
13. Year of beginning employment in the radio industry
by sex and age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
14. Industrial group of last job preceding employment
in the radio industry by sex and age. . . . . . . 68
15. Occupational group of last job preceding employment
in the radio industry by sex and age. . . . . . . 69
16. Grade of skill of present or last job compared with
grade of skill of last job preceding employment
in the radio industry, by sex and age . . . . . . 70
17. Occupation of present or last job compared with 0c—
cupation of last job preceding employment in the
. radio industry, by sex and age. . . . . . . . . . 70
18. Grade of skill of present or last job compared with
grade of skill of last job preceding employment
in the radio industry by sex, age, and time of
beginning employment in the radio industry. . . . 71

 3AA

‘IAA ' ‘
1H ,

A AA A
:A . » A

. AA x CONTENTS . A

AA APPENDIX TABLES-Continued A
A A

AA Table Page
A

A .19. Industrial group of longest job for workers whose ‘
A longest job was not in the radio industry, by sex

AA and age . . . . z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 A

All A

H 20. Occupational group of longest job for workers whose

AV longest job was not in the radio industry, by sex ?

AVA and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 ' I

AA 21. Length of service on longest job by sex and age . . 74 ‘

:.A ' A

MA 22. Number of years employed at usual occupation by sex .

AA and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 . 1

hi 1

A ' .

A' . 23. Employment status by months, 1926-35, of 118 men ‘

M who in May 1936 were attached to the radio indus— '

{A try in skilled occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . 75

hfl 24. Employment status by months, 1926—35, of 803 men

AW who in May 1936 were attached to the radio indus-

HA try in semiskilled and unskilled occupations. . . 76

A.3A

AA

Ad 25. Employment status by months, 1926—35, of 265 women

fl who in May 1936 were attached to the radio indus—

%3 try in semiskilled occupations. . . . . . . . . . 77

NA

.q 26. Number of months employed in the radio industry,

‘1 1926—35, by sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

th 27. Number of months employed in industries other than

MW radio, 1926—35, by sex and age. . . . . . . . . . 79

Ava

A4 28. Number of months employed full time, 1926-35, by

AA ' sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

A I

A: , .

A. 29. Number of months employed part time, 1926—35, by A
. sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

f 30. Average number of months of specified type of em—

QA ployment experience, 1926—35, by sex and age. . . 82

N 31. Number of months unemployed, 1926-35, for workers

AA who entered the labor market before 1926, by sex

AA and age . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

AA 32. ' Number of months unemployed, 1926-30, for workers

AA who entered the labor market before 1926, by sex

AA and age a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

A“_ 38. Number of months unemployed, 1931—35, for workers -

AJ who entered the labor market before 1926, by sex

A and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

AA

AA

 7: . .
E CONTENTS xi
E APPENDIX TABLES—Continued
i
E Table Page
E 34. Length of longest period of unemployment, 1926—35,
E for workers who entered the labor market before
E 1926, by sex and age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
E 35. Number of unemployment periods, 1926—35, for work—
; ers who entered the labor market before 1926, by
; sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
E 36. Median number of months of unemployment and median
. length of longest periodof‘unemployment, 1926—35,
for workers who entered the labor market before
3 1926, by the number of unemployment periods . . .' 88
E 87. Workers reporting one or more employer, industrial,
1 and occupational shiftsas a percentage of workers
reporting one or more job separations, 1926—35,
. for workers who entered the labor market before
1926, by sex and age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9
88. Men reporting one or more employer, industrial, and
occupational shifts as apercentage of men report—
ing job separations, 1926—80 and 1931—85, for men
who entered the labor market before 1926, by age 89
39. Number of job separations and employer, industrial,
and occupational shifts, 1926-30 and 1981-35, for
men who entered the labor market before 1926,
by age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
40. Number of job separations and employer, industrial,
and occupational shifts, 1926-35, for workers who
entered the labor market before 1926, by sex
. and age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
_ 41. Number of separations from employers in the radio
industry and from employers in other industries,
1926—35, for workers who entered the labor market
before 1926, by sex and age . . . . . . . . . . . 94

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i
E PREFACE
: While the Philadelphia area, with its diversified industries,
E can be regarded asa single general labor market, it also repre—
f sents numerous individual labor markets which are either over-
.E lapping and competitive or highly specialized. One effect of
i the existence of these labor markets within a labor market is
5 the fact that persons with certain occupational and industrial
T experience are either overrepresented or underrepresented among
Z those who are unemployed during any period of time. Both dur— I
i ing periods when the number of jobs available is declining and
. when employment opportunities are increasing, the industrial,
‘ occupational, sex, age, andracial composition of the unemployed
reflect the degree to which these selective factors operate in
the labor market.
_ Perhaps more striking is the fact that a metropolitan labor
2 market like Philadelphia's cansimultaneously experience a labor
‘ shortage and a stranded—population problem — the one with re—
spect to machinists and the other with respect to textile weav—
ers. These two groups are the subject of forthcoming reports
in this series.1 The present study deals with still another
typeriflabor—market problem: How and where does a newandgrow—
ing industry located ina.highly diversified labor market obtain
its labor force?
The radio—manufacturing industry is organized along highly
modern production lines and employs mainly semiskilled workers.
The training of a semiskilled production worker ordinarily re—
‘ quires a period of only 2 weeks to 1 month. The report on The
. Labor Force of the Philadelphia Radio Industry in 1936 illus—
trates how the nature of the production process employed in an
industry has influenced theselection of workers in the building
' of thelabor force of a new and growing industry. While thedata
available foranalysis do not cover thelabor force as it existed
_ prior to 1936 and therefore do not permit a complete study of
1 the character of the labor turn—over and of the process of per-
sonnel selection, they clearly show that the 1936 labor force
1The Philadelphia Labor Market Studies being carried on in cooperation with
the Industrial Research Department or the University of Pennsylvania have
been described by Gladys L. Palmer in Recent Trends in Employment and Unem—
ployment in Philadelphia (works Progress Administration, National Research
Project in cooperation with Industrial Research Department, University of
Pennsylvania, Report No. P—i. Dec. 1937).
xiii

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I I II ‘ PREFACE ' I

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III :
III II was built up by drawing toa large extent on young and untrained I
IIII I workers in the labor reserve of the general market and that the
III I older unemployed workers in Philadelphia never had a chance to
I I be absorbed by this new mass—production industry.

I II I Philadelphia's 1923 peak in manufacturing employment has never I
III I been reached since, and even the spring of 1929 saw a rate of I
. II I unemployment of 10 percent. _This fact doubtless made it possi- I _
I ble for the new radio—manufacturing industry to pick and choose
I I from a growing labor reserve and thus to end up in 1936 with a I
III labor force which consisted of 39 percent women and 61 percent I

II I men and whose average age was below the average for all indus-
III tries in Philadelphia by 5 years for men and LI. years for women.
IIII II This report is based on data supplied by a sample of Philadel—
IIII II phia radio workers who patiently answered time—consuming ques-
IIII II tions concerning the past 10 years of their working life. Without I
IIII II their cooperation this study could not have been made We are
III II happy to have this opportunity to express our gratitude to them ,
II; as well as to all those who have otherwise contributed toward '
I II this study.
III II DAVID WEINTRAUB
IRVING KAPLAN
I I PHILADELPHIA
If , April 22, 1938
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3 SECTION 1 .

;‘ INTRODUCTION

i ‘ PURPOSE or THE stunY

'. The major objectives of this study have been to examine the

I sources of the labor supply used by a relatively new and expanding

: industry in Philadelphia and the recent employment opportunities

‘ offered in it. The radio industry was selected for special study
of these questions.

The Philadelphia labor market has been characterized in recent
years by the presence of a large unemployed labor reserve.1 This
reserve has been made up of workers from industries and occupa—
tions with a large volume of unemployment during the depression

. and of workers displaced from industries and occupations of de—

L clining importance in the local area. The reserve has also in—

, , cluded a growing group of new entrants to the labor market who
were unsuccessful in securing employment. At the same time, one
of, the largest plants in the radio industry in Philadelphia was
expanding operations and enlarging its labor force.

There were many specific questions upon which it was hoped that
some light might be shed by this study. Were new entrants to the I
labor market employed in large numbers? Among previously employed
persons, were older or younger workers preferred, men or women?
From what occupations and industries were workers accepted for
employment in the radio industry? Were unemployed workers who
were laid off from the occupations or.industries of declining
importance in the local labor market absorbed by the radio in—
dustry? Were skilled workers recruited to the industry and were

‘ they employed at the same levels of skill? Did the background
experience of the workers attached to the industry in 1936 indi-
cate occupational mobility or a high degree of specialization and
immobility? When workers transferred to the radio industry, was
the transfer immediately preceded by employment or unemployment?
iii-2“{Sokk’s’aé‘fifiga’éicizh$233:f3f’“£§€¥:§:f aziezzzztémm ‘1’; ”$3323:
fiéonpwithfigdusggé? Research Department. University of Pennsylvania, Report

. 1

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£3 I II 2 THE LABOR FORCE OF THE RADIO INDUSTRY I
S I :I
I I ' THE Pusn'mN or THE RADIO INDUSTRY IN PHILADELPHIA I
II II I Radio manufacturing isa relatively new but important industry I
I" I I in Philadelphia. At the present time the industry ranks as one I
II I of the 10 leading manufacturing industries.2 This place of im—
I I portance has been attained, moreover, within the past 15 years. I
I :I I Prior to 1922 the industry did not exist in Philadelphia, and
II I I radio-receiving sets, which were used chiefly for experimental
II I purposes, were made byplants manufacturing electrical machinery
‘ I; and apparatus. %
III It is common knowledge in the industry that Philadelphia is I'
III , one of the most important centers for the manufacture of radio— I
III I ,II receiving sets in the United States. Two of the largest radio—set .-
III;I I'I manufacturers in the country are located here, and one of these
III III firms is known to be the largest single employer among manufac— I.I
IIII turers in the city of Philadelphia. Although the radio industry I
III I is considered a new industry, the three most important companies
1‘ developing radio production in Philadelphia, the R C A Victor I
I II Company, Inc., the Philco Radio and Television Corporation, and I
II III the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company, were well—established ~
‘1 I III manufacturing plants in the local area before they began producing .
III radios. .
.n ,1
III II Before 1928 the Philco Radio and Television Corporation had
I '1; manufactured storage batteries for more than 24 years. During
III I the 5 years preceding 1928, the company had specialized in the
II I production of batteries for radio—receiving sets. In the fall of
III III 1927, alternatingocurrent tubeswere perfected, and sets equipped
I13 I££ With these tubes could be plugged into any electric outlet.

II£3 II Batteries, therefore, became superfluous. This new advance in

. I‘ radio reception meant that this battery firm was faced with the

I immediate loss of its markets and with extinction. It escaped

I, III this fate by entering the field of radio—set production and in ‘

I I doing so has greatly increased the dollar value of its business

II I over that of the years when it was producing batteries. -

II II The Victor Company had long been famous for its production of

II I phonographs. During the 1920's, demand for these products was '

II I contracting as a result of the growing popularity of the radio. I

II II; In 1929 this company was purchased by the Radio Corporation of

I££' I££ America, which held most of the basic patents essential to the

III III zNorman F. H311, Radio - A Key Industry in Philadelphia. anunpublished report

IIII III pggpared by the Research Section of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce,

IE ,

I;
1| ,3.

1 , ,_. . , $5

 i INTRODUCTION _ 3
i manufacture of radio sets. The latter company had not manufac-
tured radio sets prior to this time, but had marketed sets pro—
} duced by two electrical—machinery and ~apparatus firms with which
1' it had manufacturing contracts. The victrola plant provided .
; adequate manufacturing space, an excellent cabinetmaking shop,
and nationally established distributing outlets. Accordingly,
after the radio company acquired the victrola plant, it began
the production of radio sets as Well as phonographs.
7 The Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company, the oldest radio manu-
facturer in the Philadelphia area, produced automotive and other
types of ignition systems prior to 1923 when the production of
‘ radio sets was started. The company began curtailing production
‘- in 1935 and discontinued the manufacture of radios in the spring
L of 1936.
Figure 1 , showing an index of the pay rolls of the radio industry
3 in the Philadelphia area from 1926 to 1936,"5 may be used as a
‘ rough index of the productive activity in the industry during
‘ this period, despite the fact that changes in wage rates as well .
. as in business activity are reflected in the index. The industry
was expanding in this area from 1926 to 1930; this was followed
by a sharp decline from 1931 to 1933. During the latter year
and in the years 1934 and 1935 productive activity increased,
but the levels of the earlier years Were not attained. See
table 1.4 There wasa serious dislocation of the market resulting
from drastic price competition during the years from 1930 to
1933. This was reflected in the loss of orders by firms which
could not meet the price competition because of higher operating
costs. One firm failed to regain its markets after 1933 and
discontinued the manufacture of radios i