Spring Slump

Last January U. S. officials in Washington predicted that the current unemployment crisis would be over in March. Early in March, when no perceptible industrial pickup occurred, President Hoover scrutinized statistics, forecast that the "worst" would be over in "60 days" (i. e., the first week of May).

Last week the Department of Labor issued its March employment figures which completely confounded the January prophets, raised doubts as to the fulfillment of the President's own forecast. Instead of a Spring employment rise, the March figures indicated a Spring slump of 1% under the already depressed February level.

The Labor Department arbitrarily sets up 1926 employment as 100% against which to reckon the rise and fall of employment. Last September before the stockmarket crash U. S. employment had reached 99.3%. Two months later it was down to 94.8%. In December it dropped to 91.9%, in January, to 90.2%. In February a gain of 1/10 of 1% was hailed as a "turning-of-the-corner." But for March, as revealed last week, employment had dropped down to 89.3%, lowest index since the Labor Department began to compile reports in 1923.

Heaviest March employment losses were reported in these industries: woolen goods, hosiery, men's clothes, beef slaughtering, railroad repairing, oil refining, boots & shoes, structural iron.

Undismayed by the general March decline the Department of Labor announced: "There was no great improvement in industrial activity during March. However operations were increased somewhat in several industries, with all signs pointing to further improvement in the next 30 days."

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