It contains chapters on many important fields of work not previously covered, including technicians, sales occupations, protective service occupations, the clergy, instrument repairmen, driving occupations, and occupations in the paper and allied products and baking industries.

Cumulative sales of the 1957 edition of the "Occupational Outlook Handbook" totaled more than 30,000. In addition, approximately 165,000 reprints of the statements on different occupations and industries had been sold.

Four issues of the "Occupational Outlook Quarterly" were published. As of July 1, 1959, paid subscriptions to the Quarterly totaled approximately 5,500. In addition, more than 1,500 single copies of the last issue were sold.

Employment Statistics by Occupation

Compilation of statistics on employment of scientists, engineers, and technicians was continued during the fiscal year, with major financing from the National Science Foundation. The final report on the 1956-57 survey conducted by the Bureau for the Foundation was prepared, giving detailed data both on the employment of scientific and technical personnel and on expenditures for research and development. The findings of a parallel 1957-58 survey of nonprofit institutions were also compiled and analyzed. A new survey of scientific and technical employment in private industry was conducted for the Foundation in January 1959, and tabulations of the survey results were in process at the end of the fiscal year. It is anticipated that these surveys will form the beginning of regular annual surveys of employment of scientists, engineers, and technicians.

Plans were completed for a survey of employment of mathematicians in nonteaching positions, and the academic training needed for such jobs. This survey was started at the request of the Mathematical Association of America with financing from the National Science Foundation. Authorization for the conduct of the survey was received in the late spring. Data collection is to begin early in the next fiscal year.

The occupational-industry employment matrix developed by the Bureau is being brought up to date. The matrix is an aggregate of occupational distributions, by industry, and represents total employment in the economy. It is a tool for estimating employment in detailed occupations, by industry, and can be used for projecting occupational requirements for the economy.

Prices

The Division of Prices and Cost of Living continued to produce and publish the Consumer and Wholesale Price Indexes which are used extensively in wage and commercial contracts and as economic barometers.

During the year, a number of improvements were accomplished in the construction of these indexes.

Continuing the program inaugurated last year, revisions were effected in several additional cities of the outlet samples in which prices of commodities and services are obtained for the Consumer Price Index.

The frequency of pricing of a number of commodities and services in the Consumer Price Index was increased from quarterly to monthly, and the number of price quotations obtained for some items was increased. Particular effort was expended in the areas of medical care, property taxes, water rates, automobile insurance, petroleum products, and restaurant meals.

Some of the data processing for the index was facilitated by the acquisition of an IBM 650 electronic data computer by the Bureau. The calculation of the Wholesale Price Index was transferred to this machine and progress was made in adapting other programs to it.

A program for the improvement of the Wholesale Price Index focused principally upon the accuracy of the price data obtained from reporting firms. Mail questionnaires and field visits were employed to review and verify the specifications of the commodities and the prices being reported, with special emphasis on discount structures. In addition, reporters were added for some price series in which the number of quotations had been inadequate. Also, the pricing of new items was initiated in commodity areas not now covered by the Wholesale Price Index.

Preparations for the computation of an interim revision of the City Worker's Family Budget and the Elderly Couple's Budget continued. Quantity data were derived and specifications for the pricing of commodities and services were being developed.

Preliminary plans were made for an anticipated revision of the Consumer Price Index. Preparatory work on the development of schedules and instructions for housing unit and consumer expenditure surveys was instituted.

Wages, Salaries, and Related Benefits

The Bureau's work in the area of wages, salaries, and related benefits included surveys in 20 major labor markets: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, New York City, Newark-Jersey City, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, San Francisco-Oakland, and Seattle. These surveys provided earnings information for selected office clerical, professional, and technical, maintenance and powerplant, and custodial and material movement jobs. Data were also compiled on work schedules, shift differentials, paid vacation and sick leave plans, paid holiday provisions, minimum entrance rates, and health, insurance, and pension plans. These studies provided the basis for analysis of trends, levels, and intercity differences in occupational earnings. A special study of wages was made in the Lawrence, Mass., area.

Occupational wage studies, nationwide in scope, were made for a number of industries. These studies also developed information on the distribution of nonsupervisory workers by wage level. Data were tabulated separately, where

possible, by type of operation or product, size of establishment, size of community, method of wage payment, and labor-management agreement coverage. This program typically developed information on related wage practices, including shift differentials, paid vacations and sick leave, paid holidays, and health, insurance, and pension plans. In fiscal 1959, studies of this nature were made in the synthetic fibers manufacturing, leather tanning and finishing, wood household furniture (except upholstered), west coast sawmilling, and communications industries, the latter study being based on data collected by the Federal Communications Commission. Also completed was a study relating to occupational earnings, employment patterns, and annual earnings of seamen on U.S.-flag ships. This survey, which began in fiscal 1958, was made at the request of and in cooperation with the Maritime Administration.

Another series of nationwide wage studies was limited to distributions of nonsupervisory workers by individual earnings, with appropriate breakdowns by geographic region. Studies of this type were completed for manufacturing as a whole, wholesale trade, and for a number of specific manufacturing industries, such as electron tubes; cotton, silk, and synthetic textiles; narrow fabrics, cordage and twine, and surgical dressings; paper and paperboard containers; industrial chemicals; and electronic component parts. These studies, undertaken at the request of the Department's Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions, provided information for the Secretary's recommendations to the Congress relating to the level of the minimum wage and worker coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and in the determination of the prevailing minimum wages in selected industries under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act.

Other wage studies with an industry orientation and limited to localities in which the industries are primarily concentrated provided data for key occupations and on related wage benefits. Industries included in these studies were machinery manufacturing, gray iron foundries, and auto dealer repair shops. Special industry-locality surveys were also made in electronic home appliance service shops (Atlanta, Ga., and Dallas, Tex.) and hospitals (Cook County, Ill.). Annual studies of union scales and standard hours of work were made in the construction, printing, local transit, and local trucking industries in 52 cities with populations of 100,000 or more. In addition, special quarterly surveys were made in 100 cities of the union rates and employer contributions to insurance (welfare) and pension funds for 7 major building trades.

Information on current wage negotiations and wage movements was made available on a systematic basis during the year. The "Current Wage Developments” report, issued monthly, provided information on collective bargaining settlements involving 1,000 or more workers, listing the details of each individual settlement. Statistical summaries of the settlements were made quarterly and annually, including wage changes provided by deferred increase clauses in union agreements and wage escalator clauses. An analysis of developments in industrial relations was issued monthly for publication in the "Monthly Labor Review." Information on changes in wages and related wage practices in selected key collective-bargaining situations were maintained on a current basis through the

issuance of supplements to the established wage chronology series. The specific situations for which chronology supplements were completed in fiscal 1959 were International Shoe Co., Swift & Co., Federal Classification Act employees, American Viscose Corp., Anaconda Copper Mining Co., Pacific coast shipbuilding, bituminous and anthracite coal mining, and Ford Motor Co.

A series of reports were issued on wage indexes for policemen and firemen, Federal classified workers, women office workers, skilled maintenance workers, unskilled plant workers, women industrial nurses, and selected occupational groups in the machinery industries.

The first of a series of studies designed to establish the relationship between plant man-hours and total man-hours paid for in various sectors of the economy was inaugurated. The study begun in fiscal 1959 was limited to production workers in manufacturing industries. The results of the initial study will become available in fiscal 1960.

Industrial Relations Developments and

Analysis

The Bureau maintained current files of selected collective bargaining agreements; union constitutions and related documents; and health, insurance, pension, and welfare plans. These materials are used in studies of the substantive provisions of collective bargaining agreements, employee benefit plans, and union constitutions. They also provide the basis for studies relating to union activities and related subjects. The files of labor-management agreements and similar documents are available for public use and are widely utilized by employers, labor representatives, conciliators, and others concerned with labor-management relations.

Reports were completed in fiscal 1959 on paid holidays and premium pay for weekend and night (shift) work. Additional studies were begun on paid sick leave, union security, and pay to employees for time spent on union business. Reports completed in the area of employee benefit plans included accident and sickness benefits in health and insurance plans and vesting and compulsory retirement in pension plans. A calendar of the agreement expiration and reopening dates covering major collective bargaining situations was issued.

A report on union constitution provisions relating to the election and tenure of national and international union officers was completed. A calendar of conventions of national and international unions and State organizations to be held in 1959 was made available.

Statistics of work stoppages, presenting monthly estimates of the number of strikes, workers involved, and man-days idle, were issued. A detailed analysis of work stoppages in 1958 was completed.

The first supplement to the series of reports entitled "A Guide to LaborManagement Relations in the United States" was issued. The following topics were covered: Union participation in community activities; health, insurance, and

pension plans under collective bargaining; government's role in labor-management relations; labor-management programs in training and retraining workers; and a selected industrial relations bibliography. This series of reports, inaugurated in fiscal 1958, provides a brief, nontechnical analysis of selected aspects of union activities and labor-management relations.

Construction

The major continuing program of the Division of Construction Statistics involved: (1) the collection, tabulation, analysis, and publication of the number and characteristics of new nonfarm dwelling units started, the dollar volume of new construction put in place (prepared jointly with the Department of Commerce), the value of Federal construction contract awards, and the number, value, and location of new dwelling units and other types of building authorized by local building permits; and (2) the production of the monthly publication "Construction Review" (issued jointly with the Department of Commerce).

In October 1958, the Bureau of the Budget announced agreement between the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Commerce to shift responsibility for the collection and publication of the statistical series outlined above to the Bureau of the Census at the end of fiscal year 1959. The agreement was subject to congressional approval. At the same time, the production and publication of "Construction Review" was to be transferred to the Business and Defense Services Administration of the Department of Commerce. These transfers became effective as of July 1, 1959.

Efforts during the year were directed mainly toward the maintenance and improvement of the basic statistical series and continuation of associated longrange planning; improvement of the production schedule for "Construction Review"; and completion of scheduled articles and bulletins.

The group of building permit reporters was expanded during the fiscal year, which enhanced the usefulness of the monthly and annual report on "New Dwelling Units Authorized by Local Building Permits." The annual summary compiled for calendar years 1957-58 included information on housing activity in more than 7,300 places, listed by their location within States and metropolitan areas. Plans to publish monthly data on housekeeping-type trailers neared completion following conferences with the Mobile Home Manufacturers Association.

To interpret the local and area markets more effectively, the Bureau continued to publish annual estimates of dwelling-unit volume in 50 leading homebuilding areas, and the central city-suburban distribution of new housing and other types of building construction. Analysis was completed also of survey results covering builders' operations and the selling-price class of one-family houses built in permit and non-permit-issuing places during 1955-56, including comparisons of data from a previous study of homebuilding operations in 1949.

A special report prepared for the January 1959 issue of the "Monthly Labor Review" analyzed the timing of fluctuations in housing-starts volume and con