MANPOWER: Fade-out of the Women

Women workers are fading from the labor market in increasing numbers, reported OWI last week. This drift back home is due to production cutbacks and layoffs; many of the women discharged do not apply for other available jobs. The chief reasons:

¶The new job may not offer the same high rate of pay as the old one, or may require too much physical strength.

¶A woman trained for a specific war job may not fit into other work.

¶If the first job was taken for patriotic reasons, the woman may feel she has done her share in the war.

¶Shopping, working and keeping house at the same time may be too much of a strain.

¶ woman may want to have a baby, spend more time with her children, or visit her serviceman husband.

The effect of this trend has not as yet shown up in overall figures on employment said OWI. In fact, the total employment of women last July reached an alltime high—18,590,000 as compared with 11,000,000 before the war. Nevertheless, the number of women in manufacturing dropped 134,000 between January and May of this year. And the July top came largely from seasonal gains (chiefly agricultural) and a summer influx of student workers. The net result is that the woman-power pool, largest U.S. labor reserve, is showing signs of drying up. But the possibility that the total labor force may fall below minimum needs before the end of the war emergency is remote.