Social Security in Review

The Labor Force in December

Despite some dislocations caused by the coal-mine shut-down, the economic system worked at or near full capacity in December. Nevertheless, business uncertainty about keeping future profit margins at present levels because of possible declines in inflated prices and increases in wages was reflected in the failure of stock prices to record their usual year-end rise.

The volume and composition of unemployment during December in industries covered by unemployment insurance were characteristic, for the most part, of high-level economic activity. With covered employment averaging 31 million, the State employment security agencies handled slightly more than 1.1 million claims each week as compared with about 1 million in November. These totals include not only compensable claims but likewise claims of workers who regained employment before they drew any benefits. A comparison of the numbers of initial and compensable claims suggests that almost onethird of the claimants either were reemployed before they served their waiting period or did not qualify for benefits because of insufficient wage credits or for other reasons (unavailability for work, disqualification from benefits, and so forth). The number of compensable claims averaged 840,000 per week in December. Thus, the load of claims filed with local offices represented approximately 3.5 percent, and totally unemployed beneficiaries about 2.5 percent, of the working force in covered establishments during an average pay period.

The variation during December in the weekly number of claims of different types, as reported by State agencies, is shown in the table in the adjoining column.

Apart from the repercussions of the coal strike (reflected mainly in the

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upswing in initial claims) these weekly figures were affected also by the number of work days per week, declining in weeks with a holiday and increasing in the next week. Most of the unemployment during December con

Weekly number of claims for unemployment insurance benefits, November 30December 28, 1946

Week ended

Claims (in thousands)

Initial

Waiting- Compenperiod sable

November 30. December 7. December 14. December 21. December 28.

148

213

213

186

184

In this issue:

SOCIAL SECURITY IN REVIEW:
The labor force in December_.
November in review_-_-

Number 1

sisted of workers laid off in industries which suffer a seasonal lull in the winter, such as building construction, lumber, food preserving, and some branches of clothing industries. Contraction in building industries was comparatively mild this year, but layoffs were considerable in lumber industries in the West and in food industries all over the country. Shortages of raw materials in heavy industries and the stoppage of work in coal mining were additional sources of temporary unemployment. Moreover, the impact of the coal strike was felt mainly in the flow of initial claims in the first half of December. Most workers laid off because of that strike returned to work before their waiting period had expired.

The flow of benefit payments during December suggested that a beneficiary

EMPLOYMENT SECURITY:

OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE:

would receive benefits for 8.0 to 8.5 weeks on the average, as in the 2 or 3 preceding months. Still shorter-approximately 6 weeks-was the average number of weeks in which individuals remained in claimant status during a spell of unemployment (including persons who filed initial claims but found jobs before the end of their waiting period). This estimate of benefit duration seems to indicate a fairly short average spell of individual unemployment. Since

some workers who are laid off always have small chance of finding a suitable job and will receive benefits until they exhaust their benefit rights, the average duration of benefit payments of not more than 2 months per beneficiary proves that many persons returned to work less than a month after the termination of their last job.

In relation to covered employment, State insured unemployment—that is, unemployment for which an individual filed a waiting-period or compensable claim-averaged 3.2 percent in December in the country as a whole. The highest rate was recorded in the State of Washington (about 9 percent). The rate of insured unemployment was also comparatively high in California (about 6 percent). In New York the rate was only slightly above the national average, while Michigan and Pennsylvania reported

rates slightly below that average. By the end of December the situation was rather spotty. In many States, especially in New England and the Middle West, the main problem was still the shortage of labor. In other States, as in New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, the demand for labor and the supply of labor were approximately in balance, and similar conditions seemed to prevail in the country as a whole. However, in a few States, such as California, Oklahoma, and Washington, the insured unemployment rate was higher than would be expected, under favorable seasonal conditions, in an economy operated at full capacity.

November in Review

After an increase in October, claims and benefit payments under State unemployment insurance systems turned downward again in November, partly because industrial conditions stabilized in a few large States and also because of holidays and other administrative factors that affected the number of days on which claimants could report to file their claims. From 681,600 in October, initial claims went down to 620,000 in November, and continued claims dropped from 4.1 million to 3.5 million. This decrease in continued claims more than offset the October rise and brought those claims to the

lowest level since August 1945. Ben

efit payments, which totaled $64.4 million in October, dropped to $54.1 million in November. This amount, compensating for almost 3 million weeks of unemployment, went to a weekly average of 698,000 beneficiaries.

IN OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS insurance, fewer monthly benefits were awarded in November than in any other month in 1946. The decline resulted partly from the provision in the 1946 amendments under which entitlement to primary benefits becomes retroactive for as much as 3 months for claims filed after 1946. A claimant who could have been entitled to primary benefits in October but did not file until November would lose his October benefit in that case. He was advised in such cases to defer filing his application until January 1947. At the end of the month, more than 1.6 million beneficiaries were receiving payments at a monthly rate of $30.8 million. A year earlier, 1.3 million beneficiaries received $23.2 million. Monthly benefits totaling $68,600 and lump-sum payments of $143,500 were certified during the month under the 1946 amendments to survivors of veterans of World War II.

IN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, both the number of recipients and the amount disbursed in payments increased slightly; contributing factors in the rise were the seasonal increase in need and the additional funds made available under the 1946 amendments to the Social Security Act. Average payments for each of the special types of assistance were also higher than the October averages, although the average for general assistance declined slightly. Since the amendments became effective, 8 States have increased their average payments of old-age assistance, and 5 States their payments for aid to the blind, by $5 or more, and 14 States have raised by more than $3 their average per dependent child.

Arthur J. Altmeyer Appointed to

UN Social Commission Arthur J. Altmeyer, Commissioner for Social Security, has been appointed representative of the United States on the Social Commission of the