Thus, the percentage working over 40 hours dropped from 49.6 in May 1933 to 7.7 in August 1934. During this period, the percentage employed over 40 but under 48 hours was reduced from 23.0 to 5.7, that working 48 but under 56 declined from 22.8 to 1.7, and that with a week of 56 hours or over decreased from 3.8 to 0.3. An examination of the distribution for individual occupations shows that a majority of the employees working over 48 hours per week in August 1934 were engaged in indirect work and so could have justifiably worked such long hours under the code. Along with the above reductions, the percentage of employees working a week of exactly 40 hours rose from 5.6 in May 1933 to 46.0 in August 1934. During this period, the percentages in each of the classes under 40 hours varied but little, the greatest change taking place in the 32- and under 40-hour class, which increased from 21.2 in May 1933 to 24.7 in August 1934. After the code, there was an upward shift in the distribution of employees for the entire industry. Between August 1934 and August 1935, the relative number of workers decreased in each of the classes of 40 hours and under and increased in each of the classes over 40 hours. During this period, the percentage employed 40 hours or less declined from 92.3 to 74.3, while the percentage working over 40 hours advanced from 7.7 to 25.7. The reductions were sharpest in the 32- and under 40-hour class and in the 40-hour class, the former dropping from 24.7 to 18.8 percent and the latter from 46.0 to 40.4 percent. On the other hand, the greatest increase occurred in the over 40- and under 48-hour class, the percentage here advancing from 5.7 to 16.9. An examination of the distributions of the four groups shows that the variations in each of these differ from the changes in the industry as a whole only in degree and not in kind. In each group, the relative number working over 40 hours per week declined sharply between May 1933 and August 1934. In the North the percentage dropped from 64.5 to 14.4 for males and from 38.8 to 4.5 for females, and in the South from 74.5 to 11.1 for males. and from 63.0 to 3.2 for females. With the increase in weekly hours after the code, the relative number employed over 40 hours per week rose considerably. In August 1935, 34.0 percent of the males and 21.3 percent of the females in the North and 37.0 percent of the males and 23.6 percent of the females in the South worked over 40 hours per week. However, the percentages in 1935 were lower, respectively, than in 1933. As previously stated, the sharp decrease in the percentages working over 40 hours per week was accompanied by a very pronounced concentration of workers at the code level. Between May 1933 and August 1934, the number employed exactly 40 hours rose from 4.9 to 54.6 percent for males in the North, from 6.5 to 42.5 percent for females in the North, from 3.8 to 48.5 percent for males in the South, and from 2.1 to 37.5 percent for females in the South. As may be seen, the increase in these percentages was greater for males than for females. With the discontinuance of the code, the 1934 percentages were not seriously disturbed, declining in three and increasing in one of the four groups. Thus, in August 1935, the percentage working exactly 40 hours in the North was 44.2 for males and 38.9 for females, and in the South 34.8 for males and 40.0 for females. Between May 1933 and August 1934, the relative number of employees working less than 40 hours per week remained practically unchanged in the North but almost doubled in the South. During this period, the percentage working less than 40 hours per week increased from 30.6 to 31.0 for males and decreased from 54.7 to 53.0 for females in the North. In the South, however, the percentage rose from 21.7 to 40.4 for males and from 34.9 to 59.3 for females. The increases in the South were brought about by the very sharp reductions in the relative number working over 40 hours per week. While a large proportion of these employees were absorbed in the 40-hour class, roughly one-third were shifted to the under 40-hour group. With the lifting of the maximum-hour provisions of the code and the increase in weekly hours, the percentage working less than 40 hours per week declined in each sex-region group. In August 1935, these percentages were 21.8 for males in the North, 39.8 for females in the North, 28.2 for males in the South, and 36.4 for females in the South. Changes by Occupational Classes Average weekly hours by individual occupations and occupational groupings are presented in table 9. TABLE 9.-Average weekly hours by region, sex, and occupational class TABLE 9.—Average weekly hours by region, sex, and occupational class—Continued The average hours per week declined between May 1933 and August 1934 in all but 2 of the 23 individual occupations and in all 7 of the • The average weekly hours of scorer feeders advanced 0.2 hour or 0.6 percent and those of corner-cutter operators increased by 0.6 hour or 1.7 percent. occupational groupings shown for male workers in the North. The smallest reduction, 1.4 hours or 3.7 percent, was for ender operators, and the greatest, 12.6 hours or 27.5 percent, was for unskilled miscellaneous bench workers. If, however, the 7 occupational groupings are considered separately, the decreases varied within a much more limited range. Thus, the smallest absolute and relative drop, 2.0 hours or 4.6 percent, was for compositors and printing pressmen, and the greatest absolute reduction, 6.0 hours, was for other semiskilled indirect workers and the greatest relative decrease, 13.1 percent, for both other semiskilled and unskilled indirect workers. These smaller declines may be explained by the fact that the above groupings are made up largely of indirect workers, many of whom were exempted from the maximum-hour provisions of the code. A better idea of the extent of the above decreases may be had if one realizes that, whereas in May 1933 the averages of 25 of the 30 occupational classes exceeded 40 hours (the highest was 58.3 hours for watchmen), in August 1934 only 3 occupational classes had averages in excess of 40. Although over 40, these 3 averages were still within the code, due to either general or specific exemptions. Thus, compositors and printing pressmen, with an average of 41.3 hours, and other skilled indirect workers, with an average of 40.4 hours, were amply covered by the 72-percent tolerance allowed to "laborers, mechanical workers or artisans" under the code. Likewise, watchmen, who averaged 47.0 hours per week in August 1934, were still well under the 56-hour maximum established by the code for this occupation. Between August 1934 and August 1935, the average hours per week increased in all but 1 of the 30 occupational classes for males in the North. Watchmen had the lowest absolute and relative gain, 0.2 hour and 0.4 percent, respectively, bundlers and packers had the highest absolute advance, 5.3 hours, and unskilled miscellaneous bench workers the greatest relative rise, 15.4 percent. During the same period, the average for compositors and printing pressmen did not change, remaining at 41.3 hours. In August 1935, a total of 18 occupational classes had average weekly hours in excess of 40. However, with the exception of watchmen, whose average weekly hours were 47.2, the averages of these classes did not greatly exceed 40. On the whole, the average weekly hours of the 18 occupational classes shown for females in the North did not vary greatly between May 1933 and August 1934. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that in the former period the averages of all but 2 of the occupational classes were already under 40 hours per week, or the maximum under the code. Between these 2 periods, the average hours per week increased in 3 and declined in 15 instances. The decreases ranged from 0.2 hour or 0.6 percent for unskilled miscellaneous bench workers |