•15 /
THE
ESC QUARTERLY
VOL. 28 NO. 1-4
RESEARCH
AND
STATISTICS
EDITION
North Carolina State
Raleigh
Library
W. fc
nr\C..
CHAIRMAN'S
COMMENTS
Henry E. Kendall
Chairman
N. C. Employment
Seen rit 11 Com miss/on
KENDALL
One of the most reputable sources of labor market
information in North Carolina is the Employment
Security Commission's Bureau of Employment Security
Research—the topic of this issue of the ESC Quarterly.
Directed by Donald Brande, BESR has approximately
40 labor market analysts, research analysts, statistical
aides and clerical workers, and occupies almost the
entire fourth floor of the Employment Security Com-mission
central office in Raleigh. The bureau also has
seven labor market analysts stationed in six standard
metropolitan statistical areas to submit reports required
by the U.S. Labor Department in Washington.
Compiling data on almost every conceivable item
within the insured and non-insured work force in North
Carolina, BESR is a mainstay to industrial development
in the State because it is the primary reference point for
new employers seeking plant locations. Its studies of
occupational shortages have also provided the basis for
occupational training in North Carolina by the Depart-ment
of Public Instruction and the community colleges
system, and its figures on unemployment by region and
county establish the allocation of federal funds.
About a dozen articles in this issue of the Quarterly,
written by research analysts and the directors of the
Bureau, illustrated the diversity of BESR's activities, and
also its value to the State as well as to the Commission.
BESR provides information to numbers of State and
private agencies, and with its statistics, North Carolina's
economic situation is revealed.
Last year's General Assembly passed a bill amending
North Carolina's unemployment insurance law. Intro-duced
to bring the State program into conformance with
federal statutes, the bill was considered major legislation
involving an insurance program over 30 years old.
Important provisions to the law included extended
unemployment insurance coverage to additional workers
in North Carolina by establishing liability of each
employer employing one or more workers in 20 calendar
weeks. About 138,000 additional people were brought
under the bill.
For years coverage was extended only to employers
of four or more workers.
An additional 33,000 employers were brought under
the law by the 1971 legislation.
And for the first time, some State workers will be
covered by unemployment insurance. Those employed
in State hospitals and institutions of higher learning may
begin accruing wage credits to provide jobless benefit
payments during involuntary unemployment. Our BESR
estimates that 20,000 State employees will be included
in this new provision, and a story on the new UI law
appears on page 33.
An article about the JAVA decision, a unique
judiciary move affecting the rights of UI claimants in all
states, is included on page 25.
A former college placement official expresses his
opinions on job opportunities for college graduates, page
31, and the Public Employment Act, a federal program
to provide jobs for unemployed and underemployed
workers in public service positions, is explained on page
23.
THE
ESC QUARTERLY
Volume 28, No. 1-4, 1972
Issued at Raleigh, N. C, by the
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION
OF NORTH CAROLINA
Commissioners
P. R. Latta, Raleigh; Charles L. Hunley, Monroe;
Henry E. Kendall, Raleigh; Samuel F. Teague,
Raleigh; R. Archie Parker, Murfreesboro; Walter A.
Orrell, Linwood; Harvey D. Heartley, Raleigh.
State Advisory Council
Public representatives: Hoyle T. Efird, Chairman,
Gastonia; Way S. Abel, Canton; Sherwood Rober-son,
Robersonville; Mrs. W. Arthur Tripp, Green-ville;
Mrs. M. Edmund Aycoek, Raleigh. Employer
representatives: Joseph D. Ross, Jr., Asheboro;
G. Maurice Hill, Drexel. Employee representa-tives:
Melvin Ward, Spencer, AFL.
HENRY E. KENDALL Chairman
R. FULLER MARTIN Director
Unemployment Insurance Division
JOHN B. FLEMING Director
State Employment Service Division
H. E. (Ted) DAVIS Editor
Public Information Officer
Sent free upon request to responsible individuals,
-agencies, organizations and libraries
Address: E.S.C. Information Service,
P. O. Box 25903, Raleigh, N. C.
The Employment
Security Commis-sion
administers
two major State
programs — Un-employment
In-surance
and the
State Employ-ment
Service. The
Employment Ser-vice
provides ex-pense
free job
placement to ap-plicants
through 60 local offices of the Commission.
Unemployment insurance covers approximately
1,738,000workers in North Carolina, providing them
with benefit payments in case of involuntary unem-ployment.
The Unemployment Insurance program is
supported by payroll taxes contributed by approxi-mately
78,000 Tarheel employing companies, firms
and corporations. The Commission has operated since
the mid '30's when it was established by the General
Assembly as the Unemployment Compensation Com-mission.
ESC QUARTERLY
I
suppose that since our department
is the only one in the Commission
tagged with that much maligned title
"Bureau," the "BESR" must be com-prised
of the only true "bureaucrats"
in our entire agency. In fact, there are
few "bureaus" left in all State govern-ment.
Despite its rather ostentatious
title, the Bureau of Employment
Security Research in reality is one of
several "joint service" departments of
the Commission. Our chief function is
to compile and coordinate most (not
all) of the reporting programs for the
agency, especially the seemingly
never-ending series of reports that
ultimately are transmitted to the
depositories of the Manpower
Administration of the U.S. Depart-ment
of Labor in Washington. Being
"joint" in character simply means that
BESR serves both the Unemployment
Insurance and the Employment
Service Divisions in reporting matters.
While the reporting of the agency's
activities has always been our main
"tour de force," the years have pro-duced
a gradual evolution of the
Bureau from a mere reporting unit to a
rather diversified research organiza-
LABOR FORCE STATISTICIANS
BUREAU
of
EMPLOYMENT
SECU
RESEARCH
By DAVE GARRISON
Assistant Director
Bureau of Employment Security Research
GARRISON
tion. In the early years our department
was known as "Research and Statis-tics."
But when some wag once
remarked that "the only things
statistics will support are statisticians,"
we decided to drop the word statistics
from our title.
The diversification of BESR activi-ties
is adequately depicted in the many
articles prepared by various members
of our staff for this issue of the
Quarterly. They have attempted to tell
the reader what BESR is all about, and
even a perfunctory review of these
articles will show that BESR is
involved in a variety of programs
—
many of which have far-reaching
influence on the social and economic
development of North Carolina. Even
so, not all of the functions and
responsibilities of the Bureau are
covered by articles. Much research
goes on behind the scenes, some of
which is not generally recognized as
having been the product of the BESR,
and some of which is never publicly
disseminated. For example, research
relating to legislative changes is con-ducted
as necessary. The benefit
formula and the experience rating tax
structure of the Employment Security
Law didn't get the way they are by
"happenstance." Administrative
recommendations to the General
Assembly are based on alternative
costing research studies conducted by
the Bureau.
Currently the Bureau staff consists
of 41 persons. Five additional staff
members will join the unit early in
197 2 when the new Occupational
Statistics program becomes opera-tional.
For the most part, the day to
day work performed by the Bureau
staff is of the hard-nosed, practical
variety. There isn't a single Ph.D. on
the staff! Much of what we produce,
however, is widely used by economists
and researchers all over the country
So perhaps in that sense we do help
"support statisticians" after all.
ESC QUARTERLY
Bureau Keeps Tab On Tarheel Workforce
By RUTH CRAVEN
Employment Security Research Analyst
The Labor Market information unit
of the Bureau of Employment
Security Research is responsible for
compiling work force data for all
counties of the State. Outstationed
labor market analysts in the Asheville,
Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, High
Point and Winston-Salem local offices
compile current monthly data for nine
counties and analysts in the central
office compile data for the 91 other
counties and for North Carolina.
Each year a publication is prepared
which shows final employment with
industry detail, unemployment, and
work force estimates for the 100
counties, the defined multi-county
labor areas, and the State. The publica-tion
is entitled North Carolina Work
Force Estimates by County, Area and
State and is released in August of each
year. Each edition contains quarterly
and annual average data for the most
recent calendar year and annual
average data for the prior six years.
The publication is designed to be a
reference source for managers of local
offices to use in answering questions
concerning employment and unem-ployment
in their administrative areas.
The publication is distributed to
regional and community planning
groups, state and federal agencies,
research groups, libraries, and private
agencies who need employment and
unemployment data for making plan-ning
decisions.
The data compiled for the work
force publication are used by the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research in keeping abreast of
unemployment development in all
counties. Since federal assistance is
provided counties with high
unemployment under numerous pro-grams,
it is important that these coun-ties
be identified.
In North Carolina there are current-ly
11 counties classified by the U.S.
Department of Labor as areas of
persistent unemployment, i.e., unem-ployment
above six percent for three
out of four of the last calendar years.
Thirteen counties are classified as areas
of substantial unemployment, i.e.,
unemployment above six percent for
the most recent calendar year and anti-cipated
to remain above six percent
for the near future. These 24 counties
are eligible for benefits under the
Public Works and Economic Develop-ment
Act administered by the U.S.
Department of Commerce as well as
for benefits under various other
programs of aid for depressed areas.
In order for an area to be classified
as an area of high unemployment, a
report must be submitted to the U.S.
Department of Labor describing
economic conditions in the area and
showing current and anticipated
employment and unemployment
trends. If the U.S. Department of
Labor classifies an area, current bi-monthly
work force data are compiled
and a semi-annual Area Manpower
Review must be prepared and sub-mitted
to the national office. The Area
Manpower Review contains a narrative
section and a table showing current
and prior employment and unemploy-ment
trends in the area. The report is
supposed to access current and antici-pated
economic conditions in the area
and copies of the report may be distri-buted
to community leaders who need
manpower information for planning
and other purposes.
When current work force estimates
are required, it is necessary to survey
employers since it normally takes six
to nine months for information
collected on the Contributed Reports
required by the Employment Security
Law to be processed and tabulated.
Current work force estimates are
prepared for all the major metropoli-tan
areas of the State and for all classi-fied
counties. A sample of employers
is selected to survey from each
industry category and a letter is mailed
CRAVEN
to these employers. The employment
trends in the sample firms are used as a
basis for making current or prelimi-nary
employment and unemployment
estimates. Each year when the tabula-tions
of employment reported on the
Employer Contribution Reports
become available, the preliminary esti-mates
are revised or benchmarked. The
benchmarked figures are considered
final estimates and are used as a basis
for making estimates for the next year.
The publication North Carolina Work
Force Estimates presents final work
force figures for all counties.
The Bureau of Employment Securi-ty
Research began publishing work
force estimates for all areas in 1962.
The first edition entitled North Caro-lina
Labor Force Estimates by Labor
Market Area showed March, 1960, and
March, 1961 data. The next three
annual editions contained data for the
month of March only. With the
passage of the Economic Development
Act of 1965, the need for annual
average data became apparent. There-fore,
the publication released in 1966
was changed and showed quarterly and
annual average data for the year 1965
and annual average data for the years
1962, 1963, and 1964. This edition
was entitled North Carolina Work
Force Estimates by Labor Area. In
1968 the title was changed again to
North Carolina Work Force Estimates
by County, Area, and State and the
order of presentation was changed so
that county data was included alpha-betically
in one section, multi-county
labor area data was included in
another section, and state-wide data
was included for the first time. Since
1968 the publications have remained
basically the same.
The various publications have
included supplemental data compiled
by other agencies. Population, high
school graduates entering work force
and per capita income data are some
of the items that have been included in
various editions.
The work force data compiled in
North Carolina are designed to be
comparable to those prepared in other
areas throughout the nation. Detailed
methodology are provided by the Man-power
Administration, U.S. Depart-ment
of Labor. The following section
defines and briefly explains work
force, unemployment and employ-ment.
The civilian work force is defined as
the total number of employed and
unemployed persons, excluding mili-
ESC QUARTERLY
tary personnel. All work force
estimates prepared in North Carolina
are for the civilian work force.
Many people are confused about
the meaning of total unemployment.
Total unemployment is defined as all
people who did not work at all during
a given week but who were able, avail-able,
and during the last four weeks
had made a specific effort to look for
work. Total unemployment, therefore,
includes persons who are filing claims
for unemployment insurance for a
total week of unemployment, people
who have exhausted their unemploy-ment
insurance benefits and are still
unemployed, unemployed people who
were disqualified from receiving UI
benefits, people who have worked for
establishments not covered by the
Employment Security law and were
not eligible for unemployment
insurance benefits, and people who
have never worked or who have been
out of the work force for a time and
are now seeking jobs.
Unemployment for North Carolina
and for the 100 counties is estimated
following the procedures outlined by
the Manpower Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor in the Handbook
on Estimating Unemployment.
These procedures and methods are
designed to give unemployment results
comparable to those derived for the
nation as a whole in the Labor Depart-ment's
survey of 52,000 households.
The estimating techniques that are
available yield the total number of
residents of a county that are unem-ployed.
No procedures are available
for deriving the characteristics of the
unemployed.
Total employment is defined as the
total number of persons who worked
for pay or profit during a given week
or who worked as unpaid family
workers for 15 or more hours during a
week.
The employment information is
derived by using data from many
sources. Tabulations prepared from
the Employer Contribution Reports
required by the Employment Security
Law are used as a basic source. Infor-mation
on number of people
employed by firms not covered by the
Employment Security Law is derived
from Social Security information on
firms employing less than four
employees; Railroad Retirement Board
information on railroad employees;
special surveys of hospitals, colleges,
county and city school systems, local
government agencies, etc. and releases
including Census of Government,
Census of Population, and Census of
Agriculture.
Since the data collected come from
establishment payrolls, they reflect
employment by place of work. The
data differ from census data which
reflect employment by place of
residence.
LABOR MARKET FORECASTS NEEDED
IN ERA OF CHANGING MANPOWER
By ROBERT S. STEPHENSON
Employment Security Research Analyst
In a growing economy, the occu-pational
composition of the work
force, as well as the skills required in
each occupation, change through the
years. Present manpower needs, there-fore,
are an uncertain guide to future
requirements. In order to plan educa-tional
and training programs to meet
future needs at the national, state, and
area levels, projections are needed of
these changing manpower require-ments.
To the extent that education,
training and vocational guidance
accurately reflect the changing
character of manpower needs, im-balances
between manpower require-ments
and labor supply can be
reduced, economic productivity and
the earning power of workers
enhanced, and structural unemploy-ment
minimized.
Manpower planning prior to the
1960's played a minor role, except in
wartime emergencies, in an assumed
labor surplus economy. Planning
tended to be restricted to those
occupations in which manpower
development required substantial lead
time and, after Sputnik in 1957, to
those regarded as crucial in advancing
the nation's technological standing.
The need for more extensive
occupational data was dramatized by
President John F. Kennedy. In his
initial Manpower Report in 1963, he
wrote, "Manpower is the basic
resource. It is the indispensable means
of converting other resources to
mankind's use and benefit. How well
we develop and employ human skills is
fundamental in deciding how much we
accomplish as a nation. The manner in
which we do so will, moreover,
profoundly determine the kind of
nation we become."
Tightening labor markets with some
shortages of qualified manpower
emerged as a sequel to the soaring
economic growth of the early sixties.
Manpower planning, based upon
reliable information regarding occupa-tional
employment needs, aims to
enlarge job opportunities and improve
training and employment decisions.
This is achieved through the power of
informed personal choice and calcu-lated
adjustment to rapidly changing
demand. By means of more intelligent
training and career decisions, man-power
planning can enhance satis-faction
on the job, raise the quality
and utilization of labor resources,
reduce the cost of industry staffing,
and, thereby, increase the output of
the nation.
Collection of occupational data and
its corollary spinoff, the emergence of
long-range forecasting techniques, have
lagged behind other aspects of the job
market information program for
obvious reasons. The great expense in
collecting data by occupation using
the "skill survey" techniques, burden-some
employer reporting, technical
problems in translating employer job
titles into standard occupational
nomenclature, and problems in
developing acceptable projection
techniques are some of the more
important reasons for such slow
progress.
The spate of manpower legislation
in the first half of the sixties, however,
placed an urgent priority on the
expansion of occupational informa-tion.
In federally funded manpower
training programs, there had to be a
reasonable expectation of employment
for the trainees upon course comple-tion.
Hence, the need arose for a
forecasting technique which could
STEPHENSON
ESC QUARTERLY
yield adequate data within available
time and cost limitations.
The Vocational Education Act of
1963, in allocating millions of dollars
for vocational training, specifically
gives a mandate to the Employment
Security system to provide job market
information. State Employment
Security agencies with no additional
funding and with only the traditional
and costly skill survey technique
available to them, have in many
instances been unable to furnish that
information which by law they are
obligated to provide. Being handi-capped
by a lack of funding, the skill
survey approach gave way to the
technique now in general use—
a
"regression-matrix model" based upon
a national industry-occupational
matrix.
North Carolina Manpower Needs by
Industry and Occupation to 1975
represents the initial effort of the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research to develop occupational
projections for the state using the
least-squares regression technique and
a national industry-occupational
matrix (table of staffing patterns).
Total industry employment data for
the years 1958-1968 were used to
project the state's level of employment
for 197 5. Occupational employment
projections were derived by computer
application of a programmed national
industry -occupational matrix to
correspondingly detailed 1960
employment by occupation for North
Carolina.
Significant changes in the industrial
and occupational structure of North
Carolina's economy have had and are
continuing to have profound effects
upon the number and nature of
employment opportunities throughout
the state. An analysis of total employ-ment
in terms of goods-producing and
service-producing industries reveals
that during the mid-1960's North
Carolina became a service-oriented
economy. The following table indi-cates
that in 1960 for every 100 jobs
in goods-producing industries there
were 83 jobs in the service-producing
TABLE 2
Percent Distribution of Total Employment by Major Industry Division
In the United States and North Carolina, 1960 and Projected 1975
Percent Distribution
United States 1 North Carolina
Industry 1960 1975 1960 1975
Total, all industries
Agr., Forestry & Fisheries
Mining
Contract Construction
Manufacturing
Trans., Comm., & P. Util.
Wholesale & Ret. Trade
Fin. Insur. & Real Estate
Services
Public Administration
1 National employment estimates made by Bureau of Labor Statistics published
in Tomorrow 's Manpower Needs.
2 Includes only those workers engaged in activities unique to government. All
workers whose activities are also conducted by private industry are classified
in their appropriate industry.
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
8.7 4.4 18.1 5.3
1.1 0.7 0.2 0.2
6.1 6.4 5.7 7.0
26.0 23.3 30.6 34.8
6.8 6.1 4.5 5.2
20.0 20.8 16.3 18.4
4.3 4.5 2.7 3.6
22.2 28.1 18.9 22.1
4.8 5.8 3.0 3.4
sector. By 197 5, it is projected that
for every 100 jobs in goods-producing,
112 will exist in service-producing
industries. This trend is in keeping
with our nationwide service-oriented
economy.
Further analysis of the state's
industry employment trends indicates
several divergent trends in relation to
national forecasts. Of primary impor-tance
is the manufacturing segment
which is expected to decline in relative
importance nationally but increase
significantly on the state-wide level.
Transportation, communication and
public utilities will claim a slightly
greater proportion of total state
employment, while a decline in rela-tive
growth is anticipated for the
nation. Employment in agriculture will
decline in both the nation and the
state, but at a significantly greater rate
in North Carolina. Tables 2 and 3 give
a comparative distribution of state and
national employment by industry, as
well as annual growth rates for the
survey period.
TABLE 1
Many economic factors will also
cause notable changes in the occupa-tional
structure of North Carolina's
work force. An important factor is the
varied growth rates among the State's
industries, spawned by changes in
consumption patterns and shifts in
income distribution.
Other major factors which con-tribute
to occupational shifts are: (a)
population growth and significant
shifts in age distribution, (b) the
increasing trend toward a service-oriented
economy, (c) rapid industrial
diversification throughout the State,
and (d) constant development of new
products and processes through tech-nological
advances which will affect
farm workers and lesser-skilled
industrial workers most dramatically.
Highlights of past and anticipated
developments among the state's
occupational categories are presented
in Table 4.
Estimating job opportunities cre-ated
by industrial expansion completes
only half the task of projecting total
Estimated Employment and Annual Average Growth Rates
for North Carolina Industries 1960, 1968 and Projected 1975
Total Employment (Annual Avg.)
Total, All Industries
Goods-Producing Ind. 1
Percent of Total
Service-Producing Ind.
Percent of Total
1960
1,705,350
930,605
54.6%
774,745
45.4%
1968
2,064,000
1,026,160
49.7%
1,037,840
50.3%
1975
2,316,160
1,094,590
47.3%
1,221,570
52.7%
Annual Average Growth Rate
Percent No. of Jobs/Year
1960-68 1968-75 1960-68 1968-75
2.4
1.2
3.6
1.6
0.9
2.3
44,830
11,945
32,885
36,025
9,780
26,245
Includes Agric, Forestry & Fisheries; Mining; Construction; and Manufacturing.
Includes Trans., Comm. & Pub. Util.; Wsle. & Ret. Trade; Fin., Ins. & Real Estate; Services; and Government (Public
Administration).
ESC QUARTERLY
labor demand. It is essential, therefore,
to also consider replacement demand
generated by the voluntary with-drawal,
retirement or death of workers
in order to obtain total labor needs
over a given time span.
During the 1969-1975 survey
period, 144 existing workers will need
to be replaced for every 100 new jobs
created by industrial growth. Only
four of the nine broad occupational
groups reflect a greater need for
expansion purposes than for replace-ment.
Further analysis reveals that in
each of these four groups male
workers comprise the greater propor-tion
of total employment. Generally,
those occupations consisting of
predominantly female employment
will reflect a considerable greater need
for replacement of workers than for
expansion.
Table 5 illustrates the overall
impact of expansion and replacement
needs on North Carolina's work force.
It further reveals that operatives,
clerical workers, service workers, and
craftsmen, respectively, will probably
claim the greatest number of needed
workers. Close scrutiny of detailed
occupational data can provide impor-tant
insights into possible future
shortages and training needs.
Admittedly, one area of our latest
effort to project future employment
needs remains somewhat deficient—
that being the estimation of labor
supply. Considerably more work needs
to be done on both state and national
levels to develop techniques for
estimating labor supply by occupation.
Because of our limitations of funds
and inadequate staff resources, no
effort was made to develop estimates
of supply. However, a comparison of
projected labor force date for 1970
and 1980* does indicate that a
condition of economic equilibrium
may be expected in 197 5. Assuming a
four percent rate of unemployment
the projected employment of slightly
over 2.3 million workers in 1975 for
North Carolina coincides with national
labor force projections of approxi-mately
2.4 million. Equilibrium, as a
long-run economic condition, tends, at
least in principle, to be theoretically
less demanding than a condition of
labor shortage or surplus.
It is important to remember,
however, that the resultant occupa-tional
employment projections are not
intended, in themselves, to predict
exactly the levels of occupational
employment. Instead, these projec-tions
suggest that, given the presently
developing economic trends and
relationships, a particular number of
persons will be employed and those
who are employed will be distributed
to various occupations in the esti-mated
proportions. Similarly, on the
labor supply side, assumptions must be
made regarding the stability or regu-larity
of such variables as population,
migration, training, output, and the
level of economic activity.
1. National BLS projections published in
Tomorrow's Manpower Needs, Vol. I, p.
85.
TABLES 4 and 5
ON PAGE 8
-,
1 "' TABLE 3
Total Industry Employment in the United States and North Careilina
With Average Annual Growth Rates from 1960 to 1975
Employment (Thousands) Annual Growth Rate
Industry United States North Carolina 1960 -1975
1960 1975 1 1960 1975 U.S. N.C.
Total, All Industries 66,681.0 88,660.0 1,705.4 2,316.2 1.9 2.0
Agric, Forestry & Fisheries 5,816.0 3,875.0 308.2 122.2 -2.7 -5.8
Mining 723.0 640.0 3.5 4.2 -.8 1.2
Construction 4,068.0 5,675.0 96.2 163.5 2.2 3.5
Manufacturing 17,307.0 20,625.0 522.7 804.7 1.2 2.8
Durable Goods 9,749.0 11,995.0 152.0 254.0 1.4 3.4
Lumber & Wood Products 688.0 615.0 38.0 32.2 -.8 -1.1
Furniture & Fixtures 395.0 535.0 45.6 84.4 2.0 4.0
Stone, Clay & Glass 614.0 675.0 10.9 18.3 .6 3.4
Fabricated Metals 1,362.0 1,830.0 9.8 15.0 2.0 2.8
Nonelectrical Machinery 1,499.0 2,110.0 12.4 34.6 2.3 6.3
Electrical Equip. & Supplies 1,465.0 2,035.0 25.7 41.6 2.2 3.2
Instruments & Rel. Prods. 403.0 540.0 0.9 6.2 2.0 10.0
Other Durables 3,323.0 3,655.0 8.9 21.7 .6 5.6
Nondurable Goods 7,558.0 8,630.0 370.7 550.7 .9 2.6
Food & Kindred Prods. 1,813.0 1,710.0 34.5 48.0 -.4 2.2
Textile Mill Products 919.0 890.0 224.8 293.1 -.2 1.8
Apparel & Related Prods. 1,241.0 1,550.0 36.0 100.8 1.5 6.3
Paper & Allied Prods. 597.0 790.0 14.6 18.0 1.9 1.4
Printing & Publishing 1,114.0 1,365.0 10.1 17.3 1.4 3.5
Chemicals & Allied Prods. 833.0 1,140.0 13.2 31.6 2.1 5.5
Other Nondurable Goods3 1,041.0 1,185.0 37.3 41.9 .9 .8
Transp., Comm., & P. Utilities 4,538.0 5,390.0 76.6 120.7 1.2 3.0
Wholesale & Retail Trade 13,365.0 18,455.0 278.1 426.3 2.1 2.8
Finance, Insurance & R. Estate 2,852.0 3,980.0 45.5 83.3 2.2 3.9
Services 14,794.0 24,880.0 323.0 512.7 3.5 3.0
Public Administration4
3,218.0 5,140.0 51.6 78.7 3.2 2.8
National Projections Prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Tomorrow's Manpower Needs, Volumes 1-4.
Includes Primary Metals, Transportation Equipment and Miscellaneous Manufacturing.
3 Includes Tobacco Manufacturing; Petroleum & Coal Products; Rubber and Plastic Products; and Leather and Leather
Products.
Includes Government Workers Engaged in Activities unique to Government; Those Engaged in Activities also carrie d on by
Private Enterprises are Classified in Their Appropriate Industry.
ESC QUARTERLY
TABLE 4
Total Occupational Employment in North Carolina for
1960, 1968 and Projected 1975 with Average Annual Growth
Rates from 1960-1968 and 1968-1975
Occupational Group
Total, All Occupations
Professional, Technical & Kindred
Engineers, Technical
Medical & Other Health Workers
Teachers
Natural Scientists
Social Scientists
Technicians, Exc. Medical & Dental
Other Prof., Tech. & Kindred
Managers, Officials & Proprietors
Clerical & Kindred Workers
Stenos, Typists & Secretaries
Office Machine Operators
Other Clerical & Kindred
Sales Workers
Craftsmen, Foremen & Kindred Workers
Construction Craftsmen
Foremen, N. E. C.
Metalworking Craftsmen, Exc. Mechanics
Mechanics and Repairmen
Painting Trades Craftsmen
Transportation, Pub. Utility Craftsmen
Other Craftsmen & Kindred
Operatives & Kindred Workers
Drivers & Deliverymen
Transportation, Public Utility Operatives
Semi-Skilled Metalworkers
Semi-Skilled Textile Occupations
Other Operatives & Kindred
Service Workers
Private Household Workers
Protective Service Workers
Food Service Workers
Other Service Workers
Laborers, Except Farm & Mine
Farmers & Farm Workers
Employment
1960 1968 1975
1,705,350 2,064,000 2,316,160
140,860 187,655 231,985
9,585 15,000 23,045
26,245 33,360 40,950
51,095 65,380 67,295
2,050 3,105 4,820
410 590 820
8,090 11,360 16,710
43,385 58,860 78,345
120,420 141,985 173,725
169,350 237,375 284,035
40,655 62,190 74,900
3,565 5,305 7,655
125,130 169,880 201,480
113,655 133,925 164,030
209,820 275,660 335,210
68,850 87,370 97,700
31,035 41,235 54,560
13,325 17,890 20,700
57,100 80,275 102,135
4,155 5,410 5,685
6,460 8,680 10,675
28,895 34,800 43,755
444,370 618,000 656,450
65,880 80,570 101,495
2,420 2,675 3,020
172,850 269,390 271,280
80,925 119,405 111,890
122,295 145,960 168,765
195,800 239,615 275,550
79,100 85,655 93,300
13,300 16,655 17,340
31,935 46,985 58,910
71,465 90,320 106,000
90,225 95,320 93,430
220,850 134,465 101,745
TABLE 5
Annual Growth Rate (Pet.)
1960-1968 1968-1975
Total Job Opportunities and Percent Distribution
By Broad Occupational Group in North Carolina 1969-1975
2.4
3.6
5.5
3.0
3.1
5.1
4.5
4.2
3.8
2.1
4.2
5.2
4.9
3.9
2.1
3.4
3.0
3.5
3.7
4.2
3.3
3.7
2.3
4.1
2.5
1.3
5.5
4.8
2.2
2.5
1.0
2.8
4.8
2.9
0.7
-6.1
1.6
3.0
6.0
3.0
0.4
6.2
4.7
5.5
4.1
2.9
2.6
2.7
5.2
2.4
2.9
2.8
1.6
4.0
2.1
3.4
0.7
2.9
3.3
0.9
3.3
1.7
0.1
-0.9
2.1
2.0
1.2
0.6
3.2
2.3
-0.3
-4.0
Total, All Occupations
Prof., Tech. & Kindred
Mgrs., Officials, & Propr.
Clerical & Kindred
Sales Workers
Craftsmen, Foremen & Kindred
Operatives & Kindred
Service Workers
Laborers, Exc. Farm & Mine
Farmers & Farm Workers
Expansion Replacement Total
Needs Needs Job Opportunities
(Number) (Number) (Number) (Percent)
252,160 362,260 614,420 100.0
44,330 36,525 80,855 13.2
31,740 19,780 51,520 8.4
46,660 59,605 106,265 17.3
30,105 25,670 55,775 9.1
59,550 27,715 87,265 14.2
38,450 81,710 120,160 19.5
35,935 62,060 97,995 15.9
-1,890 9,735 7,845
-32,720 39,460 6,740
ESC QUARTERLY
ANALYSTS SUPPLY LOCAL LABOR MARKET INFORMATION
By JOHN M. BENNETT
Labor Market Analyst, Asheville Employment Security Commission
The labor market analyst is pri-marily
involved in the collection,
compilation, analysis, and reporting of
labor market information. Labor
market analysts work in local offices
and cover a geographical area of the
State or work in the central ESC office
with responsibilities for obtaining and
evaluating data pertaining to the many
facets of manpower utilization.
The field of work of the labor
market analyst has expanded greatly
since the outbreak of World War II. It
has evolved from part-time assign-ments
of rather rudimentary reports to
a line of full-time complexities.
Only six local offices in the State
are assigned labor market analysts.
These are Asheville, Charlotte,
Durham, Greensboro, High Point and
Winston-Salem. Needs in the balance
of the State are handled by personnel
attached to the central office.
Although labor market analysts
assigned to the field are under the
direct supervision of the local office
manager, they are functionally super-vised
through the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research.
The Manpower Administration has
a system of periodic—monthly, bi-monthly,
semi-annual, and annual
—
area manpower reports. Some 150
major labor areas over the United
States participate in this program,
including four in North Carolina.
These are the Asheville, Charlotte,
Durham, and Greensboro-High
Point-Winston-Salem labor areas. Best
known of these reports is the Area
Manpower Newsletter because of its
wide distribution to employers,
agencies, groups and the general
public. The newsletter is prepared bi-monthly
and usually consists of a one
page summary and a statistical table
comparing the current situation with
past periods and indicating the prob-able
outlook for employment and
unemployment.
Another labor market information
tool is the Labor Area Summary
(LAS). This is a brief narrative report
on area employment and unemploy-ment
trends and manpower problems
together with one or more statistical
tables. This report is also prepared
bimonthly, but on alternate months
from the newsletter. This product is
intended for internal use within the
Manpower Administration-State
Employment Security system. It is
designed to summarize statistical and
other area data needed for the opera-tion
of federal area assistance and
manpower programs and for the classi-fication
of areas according to relative
labor supply.
New and expanded manpower,
vocational education, and anti-poverty
programs which have been initiated
over the past few years have made
even more urgent the need of a com-prehensive
system of local area labor
market information. The Area Man-power
Review (AMR) is an analytical
and statistical report designed to
summarize manpower developments
and problems in the area. The report
covers developments for the area as a
whole, and to the extent available for
specific sections within the area where
manpower and unemployment prob-lems
are concentrated.
The AMR is intended for use both
in Employment Security and Man-power
Administration operations and
for public distribution to manpower
and community planners, educators,
anti-poverty organizations, local and
State officials, business, labor, and
community leaders, and others who
need accurate and timely job market
information for decision-making pur-poses.
Within the Employment
Security system, data and analysis con-tained
in the Area Manpower Review
are needed to carry out local, state,
regional and national responsibilities
under existing human resources, man-power
development, and manpower
utilization programs to alleviate local
unemployment.
The Annual Manpower Planning
Report (AMPR) is another comprehen-sive
product prepared by the labor
market analyst. It is intended to
provide at least the minimum informa-tion
required for annual overall
manpower planning, on a State and
area basis, with respect to the dis-advantaged
and other groups in need
of employment-related assistance. It is
designed for use at the area and State
levels in connection with the CAMPS
planning system, the development of
local office and State plans of service,
and for planning under Model Cities,
CEP, WIN, and similar programs. The
report is designed to help identify and
analyze the characteristics and prob-lems
of significant groups making up
the total "universe of need for man-power
services".
Although numerous sources of
information are required for the series
of area manpower reports, the basic
document is the NC-30A. T*- : Id a
monthly shuttle-type report from
employers providing confidential
establishment trends on current
employment and outlook which, in
turn, are developed into industry
trends. These monthly trends are
benchmarked and revised annually,
usually at the turn of the year when
establishment trends are available on a
much larger sample from unemploy-ment
insurance tax reports and other
sources. Other important indices and
tools used come from records of
persons filing claims for unemploy-ment
insurance, work applications on
file in the local office, census records,
special studies, and handbooks on
employment security research
methods. All ^State Employment
Security Agencies in the United States
used stardardized statistical methods
in their analyses to assure comparable
products.
Some reports are required from all
offices in the State. Most of these are
assigned to the labor market analyst in
those offices having one. The quarterly
RS-50 report is one of these. This
Industrial Expansion Labor Potentials
report is designed for use in estimating
the number of recruitable experienced
manufacturing workers, other experi-enced
workers and the inexperienced
but referrable and trainable workers in
each county served by the office. The
RS-50 report serves the local office,
the State office, and the Department
of Natural and Economic Resources as
a uniform reference source for current
labor availability. This information is
frequently requested by chambers of
commerce, other agencies, branches of
government, utilities, and others work-ing
with industrial prospects.
Local offices also report on new,
proposed and expanding manufactur-ing
operations in their area, another
product handled by the labor market
analyst. This report provides the State
office and the Department of Natural
and Economic Resources with factual
information concerning these firms.
The information is essential to effec-tive
planning operations.
The Bureau of Employment
Security Research conducts wage rate
surveys and fringe benefit studies to
provide information often requested
by existing North Carolina firms, new
firms considering North Carolina plant
locations and other requests for data
of this nature. The LMA assists the
Bureau in the collection of data for
these studies in assigned counties.
Reports prepared by the labor
market analyst take from a few hours
(See ANALYST, Page 38)
ESC QUARTERLY
The Job Opportunities Labor Turn-over
Statistics Program (JOLTS) is a
cooperative federal-state venture
supported by the Manpower Adminis-tration
and the Bureau of Labor Statis-tics
under which the North Carolina
Employment Security Commission
collects data from a representative
sample of employers. At the present
time, approximately 1,100 sample
employers in the mining and manu-facturing
industries voluntarily report
confidential data monthly to the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research concerning job vacancies,
accessions, and separations.
In the years prior to the establish-ment
of the cooperative BLS-State
program, labor turnover reports were
collected directly from employers
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As
state agencies began to participate in
the program, they took the responsi-bility
for collection of data from
sample establishments in their respec-tive
areas. In May, 1956, the Employ-ment
Security Commission of North
Carolina assumed responsibility for
carrying out the Cooperative Labor
Turnover Statistics program in North
Carolina. The data collected under this
program fulfilled a need for such infor-mation
by the State ESC and also
provided BLS in Washington with
turnover data needed for national
summaries. This arrangement elimi-nated
duplicate requests to employers
for labor turnover statistics.
The North Carolina program started
with 350 establishments participating.
Early in 1957 the sample was
expanded to include as many of the
reporters in the BLS Current
Employment Statistics (790) reporting
sample as possible. Later, some further
expansions were made to include
manufacturing and mining firms not
CARPENTER
CALL IT
JOLTS
EMPLOYERS FURNISH
INFO ON OPENINGS,
QUITS AND HIRES
By LOUISE CARPENTER
ES Research Analyst
included in the other two groups.
In January, 1969, the program was
changed to include job openings data.
With the addition of job openings data
to the program, the new name
"JOLTS" was adopted.
The primary objectives of the
JOLTS program is the preparation of
current monthly estimates of the
number and rate of job openings and
the rate of labor turnover.
Labor turnover rates measure the
movement of workers into and out of
pay status. This movement is
expressed as the number per hundred
employed during the pay period
including the twelfth of the month. By
the use of labor turnover statistics, not
only can the net movement of workers
into and out of jobs be measured, but
also it may be determined whether the
job market is tight, as in recessionary
periods, or loose, as in periods of
expansion when a labor shortage may
exist.
The accession rate measures the
rate at which workers are hired; the
new hire rate measures the rate at
which workers are hired exclusive of
transfers and recalls. The total separa-tion
rate measures the rate at which
employees are separated from pay
status. This measure includes the quit
rate which measures the rate at which
workers voluntarily leave their jobs
and layoff rate which measures the
rate at which workers are separated
from their jobs by the employer, pri-marily
for the purpose of adjusting
production. Also included in the
separation rate are discharges, retire-ments,
deaths, and transfers to other
establishments of the same company.
The job openings rate is the number
of job openings divided by the sum of
total employment plus job openings.
The data also supplement the
published statistics on employment
since labor turnover data measure
gross volume of changes in employ-ment
during the calendar month,
whereas the statistics on the number
of people employed measures the
difference between employment at
specific points in time (i.e., the payroll
period including the twelfth of the
current month and the same period
the previous month, or year). There-fore,
the information is essential to the
proper analysis and interpretation of
labor market development, including
labor force and employment changes.
Labor turnover rates are useful as
economic indicators to predict the
behavior of the economic cycle.
Though seasonal influences and other
factors tend to obscure the relation-ship,
the following is a theoretical
example of what could be expected
from labor turnover rates in a model
economy during a recession and subse-quent
recovery and expansion:
The first indication of an economic
downturn is a decline in the accession
rate, followed closely by a decline in
the quit rate as workers realize that
jobs are becoming more difficult to
obtain. The next sign is a rise in the
layoff rate to such a point that separa-tions
exceed accessions. As soon as the
layoff rate begins to rise, the new hire
begins to comprise a smaller and
smaller proportion of the total acces-sion
rate.
At the very bottom of the reces-sion,
all labor turnover rates are very
low, and quits and new hires are nearly
nonexistent. Employers may be
operating with a bare minimum of
employees, and some firms may
operate only on alternate weeks.
The first sign of an economic
upturn is the lowering of the layoff
rate, followed next by an increase in
the accession rate as employers require
more workers. The far greater part of
accessions will be recalls of previously
laid off workers. As the latter stage of
the recovery is reached, the new hire
rate will begin to edge over the 50
percent mark because the number of
previously laid off workers proves
inadequate to meet the demand. As
the new hire rate rises above the 50
percent mark, the quit rate will also
rise as workers realize that other jobs
are available.
If the expansion continues beyond
this point, the layoff rate remains very
low, but the quit rate continues to rise
slowly. The new hire rate approaches
the total accession rate as the labor
shortage becomes acute, and many
people previously regarded as unquali-fied
or who have not been able to
meet arbitrary requirements are then
hired.
The durable goods group is more
susceptible to the business cycle than
nondurable goods manufacturing.
Also, while activity in durable goods
10 ESC QUARTERLY
Commissioners
hvnry b- kendall. cna
illy earl andrews
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION
NORTH CAROLINA
Bureau of Employment
Security Research
i L. HUNLEY
r
p. o. box sag
RALEIGH. NORTH CAROLINA 27602
Lu-Lu Fashions, Inc.
Anytown
North Carolina
L J
ATTENTION: PERSONNEL DIRECTOR
Gentlemen:
For your information and use, we are showing below your firm's turnover rates for
the first six months of 1971 as compared with similar rates for your industry in
the State.
Average Monthly
Rates For:
Average Turnover Rates
For First Six Months'of 1971
Separations Accessions
Total Quits
Dis-charges
Lay-offs
Other Total
New
Hires Other
Your Firm -- Confidential 3.7 3.1 * A _2 5-9 2.3 3.6
# Your Industry in N. C. h.7 3.8 .6 .2 .1 5-3 k.k .9
t Apparel (SIC 23)
* None or less than .05
We are glad to be of assistance in making these figures available.
Sincerely,
Donald A. Brande
BLS Cooperating Representative
Prepared By:
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION OF NORTH CAROLINA
IN COOPERATION WITH
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Manpower Administration
Here's an example of the letter used by analysts seeking employer informa-tion
on job openings, accessions and separations. Information gathered in this
manner is kept confidential but the findings in total are summarized. Over
1,100 employers in North Carolina are participating in this program with the
Employment Security Commission.
manufacturing tends to lead the
business cycle in a period of time, non-durables
tend to have an activity level
more nearly coincident with the
business cycle.
Labor turnover rates are useful
indicators of the dependability of the
labor supply in the State. When
employers study an area with the view
of locating a new factory there, they
are very interested in the labor turn-over
rates and how these rates
compare with other parts of the coun-try.
The average turnover rates for an
industry are used by employers as
yardsticks with which to compare
their own firm's individual experience.
Most employers strive for a minimum
turnover, since training new workers
can be expensive. If a firm's quit rate
is unusually high, the employer maywish
to study the situation and find out the
reasons. In general, employers use
turnover data in planning for the
orderly recruitment and maintenance
of adequate personnel.
In 1963 each participating
employer was sent a semi-annual com-parison
of his firm's individual labor
turnover experience with that for his
industry in the State. Each participant
was asked to indicate if they would
like to receive the comparison on a
regular basis and to make any
comments they would. Some of the
comments were: "This is an excellent
report and we would like to have all of
our North Carolina plants
represented ..." "This information is
of great interest to us ... " "This is
exactly what we need and will be help-ful
in controlling our turnover." and
"This seems to be interesting informa-tion
we could very well use." The
response was so favorable that this
service has been continued ever since
and has been responsible for the acqui-sition
of many new employers in the
program.
The Bureau of Employment
Security Research role in the JOLTS
program includes the following activi-ties:
1. Maintaining sample adequacy.
If the sample appears deficient, the list
of essential reporters is checked
against the listing tabulation. Any
reports received subsequent to tabu-lating
the data are added to the
tabulated totals to remedy the
deficiency.
2. Soliciting new employer
reporters. Special efforts are made to
expand the sample to meet the criteria
in the "Instructions For Current Job
Openings Labor Turnover Statistics
Program."
3. Mailing monthly report
schedules to employers and following
up on reports not received on time.
This involves second request postals,
duplicate schedules, letters and flyers.
4. Editing individual reports from
employers to assure accuracy. Any
unusual activity is coded on our office
record cards so that we can inspect the
tabulation later in regard to large lay-offs,
closings, quits, etc.
5. Corrections. All corrections are
posted on office cards and a form is
sent to BLS—Washington, transmitting
corrections.
6. Transmitting punch cards to
Washington. After the data are posted
on the office record cards they are
sent to data processing to be key
punched. The punch cards are sent to
Washington twice a month (due dates
are set by BLS Washington).
7. Estimating rates. Data are
inflated to the universe and rates are
computed on an industry basis for job
openings and labor turnover. Monthly
rates and annual averages are furnished
to BLS.
8. Analyzing and publishing data.
After the rates are computed the data
are analyzed using information
furnished by reporters. Two releases
are prepared each month, "Job Open-ings
in Greensboro-Winston-Salem-
High Point SMSA," and "Labor Turn-over
in North Carolina Manufacturing
Industries." These are mailed to each
participating firm as well as to almost
1,000 other firms requesting the
releases. Since individual establishment
data are confidential and may be used
only for statistical purposes, we must
be careful not to publish in such a
manner that data relating to an
individual company can be identified.
9. Six-month rate comparison.
Each participant is sent a table show-ing
his firm's semi-annual turnover
rates as compared with the rates for
his industry in the State.
10. Records and Reports. Indus-trial
classification comparisons are
(See JOLTS, Page 38)
ESC QUARTERLY 11
RESEARCH CENTER
Develops Techniques
To Measure Labor
Market Information
By PRESTON JOHNSON
Chief, Regional Job Market
Research
There are only two Job Market
Research Centers in the United States,
one here in North Carolina and the
other in Pennsylvania. The North
Carolina center was established in
1966 as a part of the Bureau of
Employment Security Research. A
primary purpose of the Job Market
Research Center is to originate and
conduct research in the field of man-power
information. The results of this
research are then used to develop
improved techniques for measuring
employment and unemployment in
states and areas.
One of the important responsibili-ties
of State Employment Security
agencies is the estimation of employ-ment
and unemployment data on a
periodic basis for states and areas.
Such information is of vital concern to
federal, state and area administrators
for policies and programs as economic
conditions change over time, and in
determining the eligibility of areas for
assistance under various federal pro-grams
which condition eligibility on
the relative severity and duration of
unemployment within areas.
These estimates of employment and
unemployment are prepared on a uni-form
and consistent basis in all states
and labor market areas by applying
methods and techniques prescribed by
the Manpower Administration for
developing such estimates. These
methods and techniques stem from a
variety of sources, among the most
important of which are data derived
from special surveys and investigations
conducted in past periods on various
segments of the labor force.
It is, of course, of extreme impor-tance
that such estimates be as
accurate as possible so that manpower
programs may be administered with
emphasis on major problems, and so
that federal economic assistance may
be directed to those areas in which
such assistance is most vitally needed.
To insure such accuracy, it is necessary
that the methods and techniques used
JOHNSON
be investigated on a continuing basis
for applicability to current situations
and that they be revised or new techni-ques
developed when investigations
reveal the need for change.
Recognizing the need for con-tinuing
research in this field, the
Congress appropriated funds in 1966
to improve employment and unem-ployment
estimating techniques.
Rather than distribute the funds to
many states, as had been done in
previous years, the Manpower
Administration established two Job
Market Research Centers. The North
Carolina Center was allocated six posi-tions:
a chief of the Job Market
Research Center, a statistician, two
labor market analysts, a stenographer,
and one position allocated for data
processing functions.
Although the Job Market Research
Center is staffed by State agency
personnel, it's activities are in close
communication with Manpower
Administration officials who also assist
in providing needed training, guidance,
and work assignments. The center is
accountable for finished research
products (new research and tech-niques)
of a substantive nature,
adaptable for use in other states.
Specific techniques, methods, and
areas to be investigated are agreed
upon in periodic meetings in Washing-ton,
D.C. (about every six to eight
weeks) between federal and Job
Market Research Center personnel. It
is then the responsibility of the
research center to determine what data
should be collected and/or extracted
from existing resources which bear on
the technique or method under investi-gation;
to formulate and plan the
statistical and/or methodological
research necessary to acquire the
needed data; to develop the necessary
letters, questionnaires, forms, etc., for
collecting data from employees, job
applicants, claimants, local employ-ment
offices and other groups; to
develop the sampling techniques and
survey procedures necessary for imple-menting
the research study; to instruct
and provide leadership to local office
personnel in data collection and
recording procedures when local
employment offices are involved in the
data collection process; and, in some
cases, to assist in or assume complete
responsibility for the collection of
data.
Also involved are the processing
and organization of the collected data
into pertinent formats designed to
emphasize the important results of the
research study; the application of
various statistical reliability measures
which characterize the data; the
writing of reports describing research
findings and their implications on cur-rent
estimating techniques; and the
development of recommendations for
changes, alterations or modifications
in current techniques or methods
when the survey findings indicate that
such changes appear to be in order. A
detailed methodology developed by
the Job Market Research Center,
describing how to conduct such a
research study is an integral part of
every study, which provides other
State Employment Security agencies
with a uniform technique to be used in
the event other states wish to conduct
similar research.
Reports and findings embodying
such recommendations are presented
to appropriate officials in the Man-power
Administration for examination
and content. Final publications are
prepared which represent the con-sensus
of Manpower Administration
and Job Market Research Center
personnel as to content, emphasis, and
recommendations. Also involved is the
testing of new or revised techniques
for measuring labor force components
which arise from such studies, in
geographic areas other than those in
which they were developed, to ascer-tain
their applicability in areas with
different degrees of unemployment
and/or with different economic and
industrial backgrounds.
A second major responsibility of
the Job Market Research Center is to
conduct operations research studies.
Such studies, while embodying much
the same techniques, procedures, and
responsibilities set forth previously,
are designed to measure the extent of
the use and efficiency of various
operating procedures and programs in
use in the Employment Security
system. Statistical and analytical
results of such studies are made avail-able
to administrators at the national
and state levels for evaluation and
appropriate administrative action if
survey results indicate that such action
is necessary or desirable.
Some specific examples of the type
of research applicable to the objectives
of the North Carolina Job Market
Research Center are as follows
:
1. Studies of workers separated
from employment covered by
the Employment Security Law
to determine the proportions
who:
(a) File claims for Umemploy-
12 ESC QUARTERLY
ment Insurance benefits
immediately,
(b) Delay filing for one or more
weeks,
(c) Exhaust their benefits,
(d) Are disqualified for benefits
due to earnings require-ments
or,
(e) Are disqualified for benefits
due to type of job separa-tion
(i.e., quit, discharged,
etc.).
2. Household surveys in small areas
measuring labor force com-ponents
designed to build a
body of data necessary for
developing relationships be-tween
the components of
employment and unemployment
in rural areas.
3. Development of methods and
techniques to estimate unem-ployment
in sub-areas of
Standard Metropolitan Statisti-cal
Areas, neighborhoods within
large cities, and parts of
counties.
4. Development of techniques for
identifying the characteristics of
workers residing in disadvan-taged
areas, and methods to esti-
' mate underemployment in these
areas.
5. Other pilot programs or statis-tical
techniques which relate to
labor force research, employ-ment
or unemployment estimat-ing,
and employment service
operations.
Squeeze
a fewdollars
intoyour
future.
lake stock in America.
NowBonds paya bonus at maturity
Bureau Researches Recruitable
Labor In Each Tarheel County
By HORACE C. AUSLEY
ES Research Ayalyst
In an effort to meet inquiries about
available labor in North Carolina, the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research prepares a quarterly release
of estimated recruitable labor by
county. The publication is a summary
of estimates of labor potentials pre-pared
for each of North Carolina's 100
counties by the local Employment
Security Commission offices through-out
the State. The local offices serving
the respective county or counties
make their best estimate of persons
who might reasonably be expected to
accept jobs in manufacturing indus-tries.
The types of worker generally
included in these estimates of recruit-able
labor are persons seeking work
and the potential job seeker. The local
office's estimate of the available labor
supply includes: the unemployed, per-sons
with less than full-time employ-ment,
individuals holding jobs which
do not utilize their highest potentials,
housewives who would join the work
force if more suitable work or better
job opportunities were made available,
workers who are present are com-muting
out of the county to work but
would take jobs in the county in
which they live if the jobs were avail-able,
young people who expect to
enter the work force after school is
completed, and agricultural workers
who would take industrial jobs if they
were available.
It should be noted that only that
part of these groups which the local
employment office feels could be
selected for referral to the employer
through an active recruitment effort
by the local office, plus that part
deemed likely to respond directly to
an employers own recruitment efforts,
are reflected in the available labor esti-mates.
The labor supply data for each
county are characterized according to
sex, occupational experience, and
industry attachment. The quarterly
release, "Estimated Recruitable Labor
for Industrial Development in North
Carolina, By County," summarizes the
data into the following three groups:
experienced manufacturing workers; all
other experienced workers; and the
inexperienced but referable and train-able
segment. The release also includes
an estimate of high school graduates,
by sex, entering the work force
annually.
The completed release is circulated
to interested chambers of commerce,
industrial development groups,
libraries, local Employment Security
Commission offices, other state
agencies, and others upon request. The
quarterly release may be very helpful
in indicating to prospective employers
or industrial groups the number of
workers who would be expected to be
referable to industrial jobs.
More detailed and comprehensive
reports of labor supply estimates can
be prepared from the individual coun-ty
data, upon request. These reports,
called "Estimate of Recruitable
Workers for Industrial Expansion,"
depict the labor supply of a specifical-ly
defined area, usually a 25-mile
radius from a central town or city
rather than for a single county. Prior
to the preparation of these special
reports, the population percentages of
townships within the defined area
must be developed. Basically, this
procedure entails determining that
percentage of the counties' population
that falls within the limits of the radii
used in the report, 0-15 miles, 15-20
miles, and 20-25 miles. The process is
accomplished by the use of North
Carolina census maps of minor civil
divisions and plastic overlays contain-ing
concentric circles, to scale, of the
various radii to be used. The percen-tage
of population within the selected
radii for each county included are then
applied to the respective county esti-
AUSLEY
ESC QUARTERLY 13
mates of recruitable labor; thus, the
estimate of recruitable workers can be
derived for the stated radius for the
county, countries, or parts thereof.
Total population percentages of each
county or part are applied to the
respective county's total population to
determine the population of the
defined area. A complete report con-tains
such information as definition of
recruiting area, total area population,
estimates and characteristics of the
recruitable labor supply, and a map
depicting the geographical area in-cluded.
These estimates of potential pro-duction-
related workers may be used
by industrial and development groups
in their efforts to attract industry to
the state and to assist in the expansion
of existing industry. The estimates are
adaptable for industrial use and enable
a prospective employer interested in
several possible plant locations to
examine and compare the labor supply
in the several different areas at once.
Up to five copies of these estimates are
available, upon request, from the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research.
When an employer becomes
definitely interested in a particular
area but needs more detailed informa-tion
about the quantity and composi-tion
of the local labor supply, a com-munity
questionnaire-type labor sur-vey
may be necessary. A community
questionnaire-type survey provides the
industrial development committee or
prospective employer with a more
detailed picture of the labor supply in
an area. These data can be used to
determine the available supply of
potential workers which a new firm
can draw upon to staff a plant. The
sex, age, educational attainment, and
residence location, as well as the
respondent's current work status and
previous work experience, may be
determined.
The Employment Security Com-mission
is glad to assist community
groups in planning and developing the
labor survey and in presenting the
findings. A representative of the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research can be made available to
meet with committees in an advisory
capacity to aid in the planning and
organization of these surveys. The
conducting of the survey itself, includ-ing
its cost, must be assumed by
responsible local groups, such as: the
chamber of commerce, industrial
development groups, county commis-sioners,
etc. The printing, distribution,
and collection of the forms are the
responsibility of the sponsoring com-munity
groups. When the forms are
completed and collected, the Bureau
of Employment Security Research will
code, tabulate, summarize, and publish
the results in a report suitable for
presentation to an industry or for use
by other groups. Up to 50 copies of
the completed report will be furnished
to the sponsoring group or groups at no
charge.
Once the need for a labor survey
has been determined, the Bureau of
Employment Security Research is
notified by the manager of the local
Employment Security Commission
office serving the area. An initial
conference should be planned with the
sponsoring group or groups, and it
should include other potential partici-pants,
such as: newspaper representa-tive^);
radio and TV personnel; school
superintendent(s); the local Employ-ment
Security Commission office
manager; and a representative of the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research attending in an advisory
capacity. This meeting also may be
attended by the prospective employer
or his representative. At this meeting
each phase of the survey will be dis-cussed,
including areas of responsi-bility;
drafting of the survey form;
organization, distribution, and collec-tion
of the completed forms; adver-tising;
and the timing of various
development stages.
The information collected by using
the questionnaire-type survey should
not be restricted or limited to certain
occupational or industrial segments of
the area's labor supply or to a specific
industry. For example, if the local
group or the industrial prospect who
prompted the survey is interested
primarily in experienced sewing
machine operators, this is not suf-ficient
reason to limit the scope of the
survey to only include females. It
should include all potential workers
who might accept jobs in any type of
industrial employment. Through
proper survey design an extensive
industrial profile can be derived. In
this way the survey will meet the cur-rent
need of a specific prospect and
still have value and be available for
future use. It should cost but little
more in money and effort to survey
all types of workers than it does to
survey for a specific type of industrial
prospect or some specific group.
STAR-SPANGLED
SAVINGS
PLAN
WHAT
ISA
VETERAN?
A veteran is someone who
has the will to live, to sur-vive.
He's self-disciplined and
mature. He's had to grow
up fast.
He's acquired the skills,
the technical knowledge,
the education, and the ex-perience
the Government
provides.
He knows he has a job to
do and how to do it.
He's a leader.
A veteran knows and ap-preciates
the value of life,
of work, of success.
He's dedicated, moti-vated,
and determined.
A veteran is the kind of
person you want working
for you.
For information on hiring
veterans: See your local
office of the State Employ-ment
Service. Contact the
Veterans Administration for
training information.
DON'T FORGET.
HIRE THE VET!
THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE
JOBS FOR VETERANS
Sign
up for
U. S. Savings Bonds,
New Freedom Shares
CONTACT YOUR NEAREST
STATE
EMPLOYMENT
OFFICE
14 ESC QUARTERLY
N. C. PARTICIPATES IN NATIONWIDE OCCUPATIONS STUDY
By DAVE GARRISON, Asst. Director, BESR
In recent years there has been an
ever growing need for current and
projected data on employment by
occupation. Although such informa-tion
is essential to effective manpower
and educational planning at local, state
and national levels, the data which are
now available are not considered
adequate to meet the needs of most
users.
It has been estimated that more
than $50 billion were spent by federal
and private sources for vocational
training during 1968 and 1969. Such
outlays demand that vocational train-ing
programs must be planned on the
basis of realistic manpower require-ments.
Past efforts to collect occupational
employment information in North
Carolina have taken the form of
periodic "skill surveys" conducted by
the Bureau of Employment Security
Research. Several such studies were
made during the decade of the 1960's.
In these surveys Tar Heel employers
were called upon to furnish a consider-able
amount of detailed data on their
current employment and projected
requirements for a relatively limited
number of key occupations. These
employer-type surveys were expensive
and time-consuming to conduct, and
they could be made only when cooper-ative
funding arrangements could be
worked out jointly with the North
Carolina Department of Community
Colleges. Unfortunately there was no
provision for a badly needed,
permanent, and continuing program of
occupational labor market information
research.
Except for the Commission's
periodic "skill surveys" and the infre-quent
occupational data from Census,
there has been a dearth of authorita-tive,
detailed occupational statistics.
Now, however, because of a new
program which will be known as the
"Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES) Program," North Carolina
should soon be well on the way
toward the development of a compre-hensive,
more effective occupational
labor market information program.
WHAT IS OES?
The Occupational Employment
Statistics program is a federal-state
cooperative undertaking currently
involving 15 state Employment
Security agencies as well as the U. S.
Labor Department's Manpower
Administration and the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. North Carolina, along
with three other states and the District
of Columbia, will join the program in
1972, and, ultimately, it is likely that
all states will participate.
The OES program involves the
collection on a sampling basis of
occupational employment statistics.
These data will be used in developing
more detailed and reliable estimates of
occupational employment at the
national, state and area levels. The pro-gram
provides for coverage of manu-facturing
industries in the first year
(1971) and nonmanufacturing
industries in the second year (1972).
The cycle will be repeated every two
years.
DATE WILL BE
USEFUL TO EMPLOYERS
North Carolina employers who are
asked to participate in OES hopefully
will have an interest in the success of
the program since the information
collected can help assure that public
training programs will provide the
right training at the right time and,
therefore, contribute to the movement
of unemployed workers into produc-tive
employment. Other benefits to
employers are: (1) provide access to
current information as to the geo-graphic
location of workers according
to specific occupational skills; (2)
enable employers to compare the
occupational composition of their
operations with the profile of their
respective industries at the national,
state or local area level; (3) provide
occupational projections of shortage
occupations so that employers can
take steps to alleviate these shortages
through new or accelerated training
programs both institutional and on the
job.
The OES program also is expected
to provide occupational information
which can be used at the national level
for the development and improvement
of industry—occupational matrices.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has
already done considerable work in
developing such matrices for 1960,
1967, 1975 and 1980. These matrices
are comprehensive tables dividing the
total U. S. employment into about
160 specific occupations which are
cross classified by 116 different indus-tries.
These matrices are actually
staffing patterns for the various indus-tries,
and can be used in developing
projections of future manpower
requirements. Our Bureau of Research
made use of the BLS national staffing
patterns in compiling the data for its
publication, "North Carolina Man-power
Needs by Industry and Occupa-tion
to 1975." An article describing
this 1971 study and the findings
appears elsewhere in this issue of the
Quarterly.
STATE MATRICES
CAN BE DEVELOPED
Approximately 50,000 establish-ments
will be included in the national
OES sample of manufacturing indus-tries,
and between 80 to 100,000
establishments are to be covered in
nonmanufacturing. While the national
sample will be adequate for the
development of state estimates in
some industries, it is hoped that with
good employer cooperation, North
Carolina will be able to supplement
the national sample to the extent that
state and regional industry-occupa-tional
matrices can be prepared. If this
does prove to be possible, the state
will have the most detailed occupa-tional
data ever before available. If
successful the OES data will be vastly
superior to the too-infrequent Census
data which is based on a 20 per cent
household sample and which is lacking
in occupational detail in such classes as
"craftsmen" and "operatives."
The OES employer surveys will be
conducted by mail to the extent possi-ble
and will utilize structured ques-tionnaires,
ie, questionnaires on which
pre-selected occupations are listed.
The questionnaires will also be open-ended
to allow employers to add other
important new and emerging occupa-tions.
Each questionnaire will contain
many occupations that are common to
different types of industries, but also
listed will be those occupational titles
which are commonly found in the
respective industries being surveyed.
Each questionnaire will be accom-panied
by occupational definitions
which have been standardized as much
as possible from industry to industry.
Employers will be asked merely to
provide the current employment for
the listed occupations as well as total
wage and salary employment of the
establishment. No projections to
future target dates will be asked for, as
was done under the old skill survey
programs.
Initially, the OES program in North
Carolina will operate with a small staff
within the Bureau of Employment
Security Research. The OES unit will
consist of one Research Analyst II, as
supervisor, and four Labor Market
Analysts, who will be responsible for
collecting, editing and transmitting the
occupational data to BLS in Washing-ton.
This unit will also develop and
publish periodic reports which will
relate to the employment outlook in
(See OES, Page 36)
ESC QUARTERLY 15
In Manufacturing Industries
FRINGE BENEFITS
By JOSEPH W. RICHARDSON
ES Research Analyst
Among the many and varied pub-lications
released by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research are
two biennial wage surveys and a
biennial study of fringe benefit
practices in manufacturing industries.
The wage surveys consist of "North
Carolina Occupational Wage Rates in
Production Jobs" and "North Carolina
Weekly Earnings in Nonproduction
Occupations." These studies are
conducted simultaneously, while
"North Carolina Fringe Benefit Prac-tices
in Manufacturing Industries" is
conducted in alternate years. Data for
the surveys are collected on question-naire
forms sent directly to sampled
employers selected by random, for the
most part, from a statewide listing of
employers covered by the North Caro-lina
Employment Security Law. Some
non-covered establishments such as
schools, hospitals, and local govern-ments
are, however, included in the
sample for the survey of weekly earn-ings.
Each survey sample consists of the
principal industry groups found
throughout the State. Additional
groups have been added over the years
as new and varied products have been
introduced and have contributed to
the growth of industry in North
Carolina. The selection of occupations
for review in the production wage
survey is based on the frequency of
requests and often on the basis of their
representativeness in each industry.
Some jobs are also selected on the
basis of their cross-industry prevalence
to enable some comparison of wage
rates for the same occupation in
different industries. This is particularly
noticeable in the survey of weekly
earnings whereby all occupations
sampled are found throughout all
establishments both manufacturing
and nonmanufacturing. The defini-tions
of the job titles for the survey of
production jobs are taken from the
Dictionary of Occupational Titles,
1965, and those occupations reviewed
in the survey of weekly earnings are a
composite of descriptions from the
DOT and definitions used by the U. S.
Department of Labor in conducting
similar area surveys. Wage rates alone
are not an adequate measure of labor
costs; and since growth in fringe bene-fits
substantially increase the cost of
doing business, the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research developed a
study of fringe benefit practices to be
used as a complement to and in
conjunction with the study of occupa-tional
wage rates for production jobs.
Thus, with the economic and indus-trial
growth in North Carolina, these
data meet an increasing and continuing
need of employers contemplating
expansion or an initial location within
the State.
The first study of wage rates for
production occupations was released
in March, 1957, and the eighth survey
in the series was released the latter
part of 1971. Until the release of the
October, 1964 report (survey period
November, 1963), wage data were
obtained through North Carolina's
Employment Security Commission
offices. Most of the offices had the
wage data on file for the selected
occupations as a result of claims and
ordertaking activities. As necessary,
the data were verified and brought
up-to-date during each survey period
by contacts with two or more local
employers in the industries studied.
The wage data in the summaries were
unadjusted and unweighted since, in
the first few studies, the number of or
frequency of workers by individual
rates was not determined.
In the survey period November,
1963, the first random sample of firms
to be surveyed for the study of pro-duction
workers' wage rates was made.
The Bureau of Employment Security
Research made the selection and data
were obtained from the sampled firms
by the local Employment Security
Commission officers by direct contact.
Beginning with the study conducted in
December, 1965, questionnaire forms
were mailed directly to the sampled
firms from the Bureau of Employment
Security Research. Forms were return-ed
to the local Employment Security
16 ESC QUARTERLY
Commission offices and follow-up con-tacts
were made from the local offices
as necessary. The wage data were then
returned to the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research for analysis,
editing, and final publication of the
results. This procedure has been quite
successful since its initiation and has
become the general means of collect-ing
wage data up to and including the
survey of occupational wage rates now
underway. Approximately one
thousand firms were contacted and
asked to participate in the most recent
survey. Although many establishments
elected not to participate for
numerous reasons, over 60 percent of
those contacted did respond.
The format for "North Carolina
Occupational Wage Rates in Produc-tion
Jobs" has experienced some
modifications since its beginning in
1957, primarily in the area presenta-tion
of the data. The difficulties in
collecting reliable data and enough
data to meet publication criteria
develop because of the concentration
of the same type of industry in one
general area and the sparsity of
industry in other locales. Consequent-ly,
the scope of areas studied was
broadened to include the three main
geographical regions of North Caro-lina—
Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal
Plains.
The North Carolina survey of wage
rates in production jobs is presented in
three parts, the first part being a state-wide
and regional survey of wage rates
by occupation. Included are the
number of workers surveyed in each
occupation, the wage rate range, and
the average of the most prevalent wage
rate paid. For comparative purposes
the most prevalent wage rate average is
shown for the Mountain, Piedmont,
and Coastal Plains regions along with
statewide findings. Part two includes
statewide and regional summaries of
occupational wage rates by industry,
RICHARDSON
and part three is a summary of wage
rates by occupation for the three
geographical regions of the State. The
most prevalent wage data appearing in
the studies have been adjusted to
include the most prevalent rates
reported for 90 percent of the workers
employed in the surveyed occupations.
This avoids some of the distortions in
averages which may arise as a result of
extremely high or low hourly wage
rates. Averages are weighed by multi-plying
the most prevalent wage rate
for each occupation by the number of
workers at each rate and dividing the
resulting total wages by the number of
workers surveyed. In order not to
reveal the rates of an individual
employer, all published wage rates
represent data gathered from three or
more firms and from occupations in
which at least three workers are
employed. All data are for fully
experienced workers including
incentive payments resulting from
piece work on a production bonus
system. Excluded from the study are
training rates and premium pay for
overtime, holidays, and late shifts.
The survey of weekly earnings was
begun in 1952. Until 1967 the survey
was conducted at the request of and in
conjunction with the North Carolina
State Personnel Department. The
studied fulfilled a two-fold purpose.
The studies supplied the State Person-nel
Department with wage information
for use in reviewing and studying State
employees' salaries as compared with
those of private industry, and as with
all wage data, furnished existing or
prospective employers in North Caro-lina
a guide in studying the wage struc-ture
and patterns in the State. Two
studies of weekly earnings, 1967 and
1969, have been conducted solely by
the Bureau of Employment Security
Research with another in progress.
Sampled firms in the latest study
totaled over 1,000 with more than a
56 percent response.
Occupations selected for review in
"North Carolina Weekly Earnings in
Nonproduction Occupations" are not
restricted to or definable by any parti-cular
industry. Rather, the occupa-tions
are those relevant to both manu-facturing
and nonmanufacturing
establishments. Categories of survey
jobs include office, technical and
administrative, custodial and material
movement, and maintenance.
The survey of weekly earnings is
composed of two parts. Part one
consists of statewide summaries of
weekly wage scales, average earnings,
and average starting salaries in the
selected occupations by broad indus-try
groups and in selected manufactur-ing
industries. Part two lists
comparable data for the Mountain,
Piedmont, and Coastal Plains regions
of North Carolina. All earnings and
averages represent the amount earned
in a normal full-time workweek with-out
regard to the number of hours
worked. Data are in terms of straight-time
earnings and do not reflect over-time,
shift differentials, or bonus
payments. Only occupations surveyed
and found to exist in three or more
employing establishments with three
or more employees are included; there-by,
individual salaries for one firm are
in no way revealed.
The first study of fringe benefit
practices in manufacturing industries
was released in 1959, and the fifth
study of the series was released in
1970. The study is useful as a comple-ment
to the wage survey of production
jobs and is helpful in providing
information influencing labor costs of
the principal manufacturing industries
in the State.
Differences of opinion often arise
regarding just what constitutes fringe
benefits. Some individuals consider
legally required payments such as
workmen's compensation, social
security, and unemployment insurance
as fringe benefits. Still, others may
regard shift differentials and overtime
premium pay as fringe benefits. The
Bureau of Employment Security
Research's "North Carolina Fringe
Benefit Practices in Manufacturing
Industries" defines certain benefits
provided production employees by
North Carolina firms and lists the
major fringe benefits which are not
required by law and reflects to what
extent the sampled firms provide these
benefits.
The fringe benefits studied are
those considered to include the major
benefits provided by most
manufacturing establishments. Items
such as time off with pay for jury
duty, military training, or other pay-ments
occuring at infrequent intervals
and constituting only a minor propor-tion
of overall costs, are excluded
from the study. Legally required bene-fits
as well as those applicable only to
the administrative, executive, pro-fessional,
sales, and office personnel
are not included. Findings resulting
from a random sample of manufactur-ing
establishments are presented to
show the number of sampled firms
which did or did not provide the bene-fits
to the production worker. Benefits
provided by each industry can be
compared with the statewide results
with further breakouts of the textile
and apparel industries whereby the
benefits provided by a selected
segment of the respective industry
may be compared with the entire
industry.
With continuing growth and
industrialization in North Carolina,
wage data and fringe benefit practices
will continue to assume their roles in
providing prospective employers with
an indication of some of the costs
prevailing and necessary to the opera-tions
of a manufacturing establish-ment.
ESC QUARTERLY 17
EXPERIENCE
RATING
Unique Feature of
North Carolina Law
Finances
Unemployment
Insurance, Provides
Tax Savings to
Tarheel Employers
By STANHOPE DUNN
ES Research Analyst
In a consideration of any govern-ment
program, two of the most
important things the employer, or
whoever is involved, wants to know
are: "How much will it cost me? And
what will I get out of it?" Let's stop
for a moment, therefore, and analyze
the Unemployment Insurance program
in North Carolina with respect to its
costs and benefits; and in studying
cost, we will concern ourselves
especially with the Experience Rating
method of financing the program.
Since the beginning of the
Unemployment Insurance program in
1938 through December 31, 1970, the
Employment Security Commission has
collected $943.9* million in contri-butions
(taxes) from insured em-ployers,
and its Unemployment
Insurance fund has been credited with
interest totaling $168.
5
2 million. The
agency has paid out unemployment
benefits totaling $698.3 million, and
on December 31, 1970, had a reserve
fund balance of $414,112,096 avail-able
for future benefits.
This reserve was equal to 9.56
percent of North Carolina's taxable
wages reported to the agency for the
12 months period ended June 30,
1970, the highest reserve-to-taxable-wage
ratio in the nation and compared
with the average for all states of only
6.39 percent. Georgia, with a ratio of
9.19 percent, was the only other state
having a ratio in the nine percent
range. Following Georgia, only seven
other states had a ratio of eight
percent or better. Therefore, North
Carolina is the leading state in the
nation in this measure of reserve fund
adequacy.
This is all to the good, but what
about the average contribution rate
and benefit cost rate over an extended
period which made this high reserve
ratio possible? What price did
employers pay to accumulate such a
healthy reserve? During the decade,
1961-70, North Carolina's insured
employers paid an average of 1.35
percent of taxable wages in contri-butions
as compared with a nation-wide
average of 1.82, which means
that employers in an average state paid
35 percent higher contribution rates
than North Carolina employers. As a
matter of fact, employers in only 18
other states and the District of
Columbia paid lower contribution
rates on taxable wages than did North
Carolina employers during the 10-year
period.
During this period, the State's
average cost rate (benefit disburse-ments)
was .98 percent of taxable
wages as compared with an average of
1.68 percent for the nation. Only five
states had a lower cost rate than North
Carolina.
But what about now? During
calendar year 1970, North Carolina's
tax rate was 1.0 percent of taxable
wages as compared with the national
average of 1.3 percent. With respect to
the benefit cost rate, the State com-pared
even more favorably; specif-ically,
1.07 vs. 2.07. The State's
projected 1971 tax rate remains at one
percent despite the 1969-70 "mini-recession."
Listed below are several factors that
we believe contributed to North
Carolina's successful financial exper-ience
in the Unemployment Insurance
program:
(1) Although some states have
been more conservative than North
Carolina in the administration of the
program, the State's program could
still be considered conservative with
respect to maintaining a healthy rela-tionship
between income and outgo,
which reflects good administration.
(2) In recent years, North Carolina
has enjoyed a lower rate of insured
unemployment than the national
average. Other things being equal (e.g.,
benefit formula, duration, etc.), the
lower the level of unemployement, the
lower the benefit disbursements and
need for replenishing the reserve fund.
(3) The operation of the State's
Experience Rating program, which is
designed to: (a) insure fund solvency;
(b) maintain a stable and the lowest
contribution rate level as possible,
consistent with fund solvency; and (c)
vary individual employer rates in
direct relationship to their unem-ployment
experience as reflected by
their reserve balances.
Reduced to the simplest terms, the
steps in the experience rating program
follow: (1) the "fund ratio" is calcu-lated
by dividing the Unemployment
Insurance fund (reserve fund) available
for benefits at computation date
(August 1st) by all taxable wages for
payroll year ending June 30 preceding
the computation date. (2) The Law
18 ESC QUARTERLY
provides for nine "Fund Ratio Sched-ules"
(ranges of ratios), the lowest
range being below 2.5 percent
(Schedule A), and the most favorable
range starting at 9.5 percent (Schedule
I). Between these extremes are seven
intermediate ranges applicable to
schedules B through H. Each of these
schedules provides a different set of
contribution rates for assignment to
individual employers depending upon
the range in which their reserve ratios
fall.
(3) It follows, therefore, that the
final step in the Experience Rating
process is to calculate the reserve ratio
of every active employer's account
which is used in determining his
assigned contribution rate within the
applicable rate schedule. An em-ployer's
credit (positive) reserve ratio
is the quotient obtained by dividing
the credit balance in his account as of
July 31 of each year by his total
taxable payroll for the 3-year period
ending June 30 preceding the compu-tation
date. The debit (negative) ratio
of each overdrawn deficit account is
similarly calculated and used in
determining from the rate schedule the
employer's assigned rate for the
following calendar year.
Rate notices are normally mailed to
employers around November 15th of
each year, giving them a financial
accounting of their individual reserve
TABLE I
FUND RATIO SCHEDULES E
Fund Ratio Range Applicable Schedule
— to 2.4% A
2.5% to 3.4%
3.5% to 4.4%
BC
4.5% to 5.4% D
5.5% to 6.4% E
6.5% to 7.4% F
7.5% to 8.4% G
8.5% to 9.4% H
9.5% and up I
1 Unemployment Insurance Fund on August 1st
divided by taxable wages for Fiscal year ended
June 30th.
TABLE II
SCHEDULE H RATES
Reserve Ratio Range i Contribution Rate
Positive Accts.
:
— to 0.5%
0.6% to 0.7%
0.8% to 0.9%
2.7
2.5
2.3
1.0% to 1.1% 2.1
1.2% to 1.3% 1.9
1.4% to 1.5% 1.7
1.6% to 1.7% 1.5
1.8% to 1.9% 1.3
2.0% to 2.1% 1,1
2.2% to 2.3% 0.9
2.4% to 2.5% 0.7
2.6% to 2.7% 0.5
2.8% to 2.9% 0.4
3.0% to 3.1%
3.2% to 3.3%
0.3
0.2
3.4% or more 0.1
Negative Accts.:
0.0% to 0.2% 2.9
0.3% to 0.5% 3.1
0.6% to 0.8% 3.3
0.9% to 1.1% 3.5
1.2% to 1.4% 3.7
1.5% to 1.7%
1.8% to 2.0%
2.1% to 2.3%
3.9
4.1
4.3
2.4% to 2.6% 4.5
2.7% or more 4.7
Employer's reserve fund on August Is»t divided by
his taxable wages for three-year period ending June
30th.
DUNN
accounts. Voluntary contributions
may be made within 30 days after an
employer is notified of his contri-bution
rate for the forthcoming year.
Therefore, whenever a particular
employer's reserve ratio is very near
the next more favorable range, it may
be to his advantage to make a volun-tary
contribution in order to move his
reserve ratio into that range and thus
be assigned a lower contribution rate
for the new year.
Pursuant to the 1971 amendments
to the Law, Schedule H now becomes
applicable when the fund ratio reaches
8.5 percent of taxable wages instead of
the 9.5 percent limit as in prior years.
With the Unemployment Insurance
fund gaining at a rate only slightly
more than taxable wages during the
past year, by the August 1, 1971,
computation date the fund ratio had
reached only 9.4 percent which was
still under the 9.5 beginning range of
the most favorable Schedule I. This
9.4 ratio compares with a ratio of 9.3
on August 1, 1970. As a result, the
applicable rate schedule in 1972 will
be "H" for the first time as compared
with "G" rates in 1970 and 1971.
In 1972 Schedule H contribution
rates for positive reserve accounts
range from 2.7 percent down to 0.1
percent of taxable wages. Employers
with overdrawn accounts will continue
to be subject to contribution rates
ranging from 2.9 to 4.7 percent,
depending upon the size of their debit
ratios.
Do many employers qualify for
reduced rates under the experience
rating plan? Yes, most do. Data from
the computation for rate year 1971
(latest available) reveal that 36,193
accounts or 89.3 percent of the
40,517 total active accounts were
rated." These rated accounts, however,
comprised 97 percent of the taxable
wages of all covered (active) em-ployers.
Of the taxable wages of these
rated accounts, 97.6 percent applied
to employers with positive reserve
(See RATIO, Page 36)
ESC QUARTERLY 19
VALIDATION INSURES ACCURACY IN REPORTS
The purpose of the reports valida-tion
program is to assure accuracy,
uniformity, and comparability in the
reporting of statistical data derived
from the employment service and
unemployment insurance operations.
To do this, surveys are made to check
the conceptual understanding of local
office personnel who are involved in
reporting, to identify weaknesses in
reporting procedures, and to verify the
integrity of basic documents. Such sur-veys
involve on-the-spot observations
to check reported activities against
basic documents.
Outside verification of nonagricul-tural
job placements is also a part of
the validation study. Letters are
mailed to a sample of approximately
100 individuals who were reported as
placed in jobs by local offices of the
Employment Security Commission.
These applicants are asked if the local
office had been helpful in their secur-ing
employment. If the applicant does
not reply, or replies negatively, a letter
is mailed to his employer.
Need For Accurate Reporting
Reliable statistical data on the
activities performed by the local
offices are essential for planning,
supervising, and evaluating "these
offices; for budgeting staff and equip-ment;
for reporting to the public; and
for econmic analysis. Complete and
accurate operating statistics are basic
to any review of local office program
operations to determine and correct
weaknesses and to maintain a balance
of program emphasis. If conclusions
are to be reliable, then statistics on
which they are based must be valid.
Validation had its modest beginning
shortly after World War II when the
Research and Analysis Division of the
Pennsylvania Employment Security
Commission conducted a survey of its
local office reporting practices. It
found that, left on their own, local
offices had developed well over 600
different kinds of tally sheets and
report forms for transcribing data to
required statistical reports. All
employees in the local office who did
any work were in the reporting busi-ness.
This idea of each interviewer
reporting his own activity is built into
the present reporting concept under
the Employment Security Automated
Reporting System. A uniform
methodology for assembling and
recording data was developed in order
to assist local offices with their report-ing
program so that accuracy check
By MARYIN VICK
Evaluation and Training
Specialist
and data comparisons could be made.
The validation studies were designed
primarily to insure accurate and realis-tic
reporting and to aid local office
staffs with reporting problems.
In 1964 the validation program was
instituted in North Carolina. In the
beginning the North Carolind valida-tion
effort was a team approach that
developed very rapidly as local offices
were quick to adapt to uniform report-ing
techniques. Accuracy became a
by-word in most offices. Procedural
errors were reduced and most errors
were caused by reporting data in the
wrong reporting period. Managers'
complaints concerning reporting
subsided as validation of local office
activity reports was accepted and
recognized as a helpful program. We
like to think that validation studies
satisfy the need for proper measure-ment
of the activities in the various
local offices.
Verification Of Placements
Outside verification of reported
nonagricultural placements is an
interesting phase of local office reports
validation. Many contacted applicants
take this opportunity to readily praise
the local office staff, while others
express derogatory opinions of
individual staff members and recom-
VICK
mend areas of improvement—usually
pertaining to unemployment insurance
benefits. Employer responses also
point-up areas of community
acceptance of the Employment
Security program in a particular city.
Some typical replies from appli-cants
or employers are represented by
the following quotations taken from
respondents' letters.
(1) "The referred applicant was
hired but before he went to work a
thunder storm blew up and he took
off and didn't come back."
(2) "I appreciate the sincere atti-tude
of all those people in the local
office as they try to help everybody
find a job."
(3) "I was referred to two jobs and
was hired at both but I didn't have a
baby sitter. I still need a job."
(4) "They didn't pay me but $3.00
an hour so I quit."
(5) "Why can't I get my check."
Validation of ESARS Data
Validation is not intended to be a
"cloak-and-dagger" investigation
designed to root out minor
deficiencies or to put anyone "on-the-spot";
rather, its purpose is to
emphasize the importance of report-ing;
to help define any reporting prob-lems;
and to assist in correcting those
reporting problems. The need for a
strong validation program is magnified
under the Employment Security
Automated Reporting System
concept of activity reporting as the
prospect for making errors is multi-plied
by the great amount of informa-tion
gathering that is required in
carrying on a viable Employment
Security program.
Once upon a time an Evaluation
and Training Specialist awoke sudden-ly
to find himself in a large pasture
under a shade tree. There was a rope in
his hand. He was confused because he
didn't know whether he had found a
rope or had lost a cow.
The validation of Employment
Security Automated Reporting System
data as reported by the various local
offices is similar in one respect to the
above illustration. It is confusing! The
results of comparing data found in the
Automatic Data Processing master file
with entries found on basic source
documents fail to adequately convince
local office personnel that the com-puter
is a dumb machine which does
only what it is told by blips on Optical
Mark Reader forms. Needless to say,
(See VALID, Page 38)
20 ESC QUARTERLY
The Bureau of Employment Securi-ty
Research is a Joint Service unit of
the Employment Security Commis-sion.
The Bureau is divided into four
units: (1) Labor Force and Wage
Studies; (2) Activity Reporting and UI
Employment and Wages; (3) Man-power
Research and Training and (4)
Job Market Research Center. The
Bureau of Employment Security
Research also has functional supervi-sion
over seven area Labor Market
Analysts stationed in six local offices.
The mission of the Bureau of Em-ployment
Security Research is to
report the activities of the Employ-ment
Security Commission; to collect,
analyze, publish, and distribute labor
market information; and to complete
special studies for the Chairman of the
Commission and other ESC adminis-trators
for use in program planning,
program changes and program
improvement.
In carrying out the reporting pro-gram
a great amount of economic data
are collected. The multitude of reports
required by the national and regional
offices of the Manpower Administra-tion
are prepared from data submitted
by employers and our local offices.
Data for required reports are used to
answer requests from employers, col-leges
and universities, business organi-zations
and others. The importance of
using reports data to supply the
answers to requests from these organi-zations
was recognized soon after the
Employment Security Commission
became an agency and plans were
made to release selected data in publi-cations
prepared by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research. Many
other requests for data from organiza-tions
and individuals require special
research. This research may require a
few minutes to many hours to obtain.
In the following paragraphs the
publications and reports prepared and
Researchers Issue
Many Publications
Which Supply Labor
Force Information
By DONALD BRANDE
Director
Bureau of Employment
Security Research
released by the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research to fulfill
requests for data will be discussed
briefly. Other articles in this issue of
the ESC Quarterly will cover most of
these releases in detail.
Each year an Annual Report of
Employment Security Local Office
Operations is prepared. This report
details the major activities performed
by local Employment Security offices
and presents the information regularly
collected for the required federal and
state reporting programs in tabular,
graph, and narrative form. These data
are designed to serve as an aid in
evaluating the year's accomplishments
of the individual local offices and to
provide a record of data for
researchers and others concerned with
claims and Employment Service activi-ties
carried out by local offices.
Area Manpower Newsletters are
prepared for 16 areas in North Caro-lina.
These newsletters are prepared
bimonthly for 12 areas and every four
months for the other four areas.
Employment and unemployment esti-mates
of the total work force are
provided in these newsletters along
with a narrative analysis.
A monthly release entitled Employ-ment
Security Trends summarizes
local office activities in unemployment
insurance and employment service pro-grams
along with state summaries.
The number and location of recruit-able
labor is an important data item
for any new or expanding industry. To
fill this need the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research publishes
quarterly a publication entitled Est-imate
of Recruitable Labor For
Industrial Development in North Caro-lina.
The basic data for this report is
provided by the local Employment
Security Commission offices. A table
and map depicting the estimated
number of resident workers considered
ESC QUARTERLY 21
available for work in new and expand-ing
manufacturing industries in each
North Carolina county is shown in this
publication. In addition to this
quarterly release, the Bureau of
Employment Security Research
prepares as requested estimates of
recruitable workers for industrial
expansion within a specified com-muting
radius for any given North
Carolina locality. Included with this
estimate is a map depicting the recruit-ment
area covered by the estimate;
population estimates; and number of
high school graduates who have
entered the labor force during the past
year. Around 1,000 of these estimates
are prepared each year by the Bureau
of Employment Security Research.
An Experience Rating Report
summarizing the financial operations
of the Unemployment Insurance
program administered by the Employ-ment
Security Commission is prepared
annually. The current experience
rating plan is highlighted and data on
experience rating, distribution of
accounts by contribution rates and the
UI Fund condition is included in the
report.
A Fringe Benefits Study of North
Carolina manufacturing firms is
conducted every two years by the
Bureau of Employment Security
Research and the results of these
studies are published.
A monthly labor turnover publica-tion
is released by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research and an
annual summary is published in
December. This report presents turn-over
rates for manufacturing and
mining industries for the State and the
Charlotte and Greensboro-Winston-
Salem-High Point SMS Areas.
A job openings newsletter for the
Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point
area showing job vacancy rates for
selected manufacturing industries is
issued monthly by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research.
An annual report summarizing the
calendar year's employment and wage
data of workers insured under the
North Carolina Employment Security
Law is published by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research. These
data are presented by major industry
group, and by county with industry
detail. A quarterly report summarizing
wage data of workers insured under
the Employment Security Law of
North Carolina is also prepared. The
data are presented for each county by
broad industry groupings.
A monthly newsletter presenting
statewide employment and unemploy-ment
estimates of the total work force
is prepared by the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research. An analysis
of changes from the one-and-twelve
month-ago periods is also included in
this publication. Total and insured
unemployment rates for the State and
the seven Standard Metropolitan
Statistical Areas are shown.
Wage rate studies for production
and nonproduction jobs are conducted
by the Bureau of Employment
Security Research every two years.
The wage rate information is intended
primarily to provide both existing
firms and potential new firms with
current wage patterns in the State.
One of the most widely used publi-cations
prepared by the Bureau of
Employment Security Research is the
North Carolina Work Force Estimates
By County, Area, and State. This
study includes quarterly and annual
average employment by major indus-try
divisions and unemployment for
the State, each county, and each
multi-county labor area for the preced-ing
calendar year. This series was
started in 1962.
A Weekly Report of Claims-taking
Activities is prepared and
released by the Bureau of Employ-ment
Security Research. This report
summarizes claims activity by selected
industry with a brief explanation of
changes in claimstaking activities.
In addition to the publications
described in the preceding paragraphs,
DONALD A. BRANDE, Employ-ment
Security Research Director,
joined the Employment Security
Commission in 1954 as an inter-viewer
in Shelby. He subsequently
served as an office manager in
Rutherdfordton and moved to
Raleigh as an occupational analyst
in 1961. Brande, 44, was promoted
to assistant director of BESR in
1968, and to director in 1969. He is
a graduate of Elon College.
the Bureau of Employment Security
Research staff answers hundreds of
requests annually for unpublished
data. Many of these requests come
from our 58 local Employment
Security Commission offices. Em-ployers,
other state agencies, banks,
industrial development groups, re-searchers,
college and universities and
students also request both published
and unpublished data from the Bureau
of Employment Security Research and
in most instances, these requests are
met. The number of inquiries for
information from the Bureau of
Employment Security Research
totaled 719 for the first quarter of
1971. It is estimated that over 3,000
inquiries for information will be
received and answered by the Bureau
of Employment Security Research
staff during calendar 1971.
The Bureau of Employment Securi-ty
Research has and will continue to
work with other State agencies in
developing manpower reports. During
the past decade a number of man-power
and training needs report has
been completed and published by
BESR. These studies were undertaken
primarily to meet the need for such
information by the North Carolina
Department of Community Colleges.
The two agencies jointly planned and
financed the studies. Working relation-ships
are maintained with many of the
other State agencies concerned with
manpower utilization and training.
The Bureau of Employment Security
Research cooperates with regional
development groups by supplying
labor market information needed in
compiling economic development
plans. Local industrial development
groups and Chambers of Commerce
are provided data on wages, recruitable
labor, fringe benefits, etc., for use in
working with prospective employers
considering North Carolina sites for
the location of their new plants or
business.
The point of this article is to show
that the reporting unit of the Employ-ment
Security Commission does more
than summarize data for federal
reports. The data generated by our
required reporting program are com-piled
into reports and publications so
that they may be used by our agency
and others concerned with manpower
utilization and training. Special studies
such as wage studies, fringe benefits
studies, occupational projections
studies, work force estimates, labor
turnover, and employment trends are
developed using the information and
data necessary for the reporting pro-gram.
These reports and publications
are distributed free to any organiza-tion
or individual and perhaps in a
small way compensate those employ-ers
covered by our Employment
Security Law who sumit those reports
necessary and required for our State
and federal reporting system.
22 ESC QUARTERLY
EMERGENCY
EMPLOYMENT ACT
NEW PROGRAM ATTEMPTS TO OPEN UP PUBLIC SERVICE
JOBS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, HOPING TO PROVIDE
WORK EXPERIENCE TO UNEMPLOYED AND UNDEREMPLOYED
North Carolina's share of the $1 bil-lion
Emergency Employment Act
(EEA) has given state and local govern-ments
a $6.1 million windfall to
finance an estimated 1,500 new public
service jobs.
The idea behind the act is simple:
Make immediate cuts in unemploy-ment
and improvements in public serv-ices
by temporarily subsidizing useful
jobs that revenue-starved state and
local governments can fund from their
own resources now. Provide the new
public service employees with job
experience which, in the long run, will
help them move into jobs in the pri-vate
sector when the economy
improves or become regular public
employees as state and local revenues
increase.
But if the idea behind the act is
simple, making good on that idea is
not. In North Carolina—as in many
other states—comprehensive plans to
get the most out of the EEA windfall
are proving difficult to come by.
All levels of government were
caught napping when this public serv-ice
employment program passed into
law. Planning has been suffering ever
since.
The trouble developed because few
people expected the Emergency
Employment Act of 1971 to get by a
presidential veto despite its popularity
in Congress. President Nixon vetoed
similar legislation in 1970. So the U.S.
Department of Labor made no
advance preparations for implementing
the program. It got little public notice
among state or local agencies that
might have expected to benefit from
it.
But when the EEA cleared Congress
on July 1, President Nixon took a new
position. Faced with growing national
unemployment, he not only removed
the veto threat; he called for quick
implementation—with hiring to begin
by Labor Day.
At this point, the North Carolina
Manpower Development Corporation
began a survey to study how North
Carolina could and would respond to
passage of the act. interviews with a
cross section of state department
heads and representatives of city and
county government turned up a wide
range of suggestions on where and how
subsidized jobs could be used profit-ably
in North Carolina.
In summarizing the potential public
service jobs turned up in the survey, an
MDC research assistant reported:
"Most of the people interviewed
thought in terms of adding personnel
to already existing job areas . . . filling
needs such as the shortage of teacher
aides and guidance counselors in the
school system. ... A few departments
had done some thinking about "hiring
workers to handle problems which are
just becoming recognized—for
example, in law enforcement planning,
public health, housing and rural
development. ..."
The MDC survey also showed, how-ever,
that out of more than 30 highly
placed administrators, fewer than half
a dozen knew the specific terms of the
new Emergency Employment Act. Of
course, none knew how much money
would actually be available in North
Carolina, how that money would be
distributed, or what guidelines would
be applied—none of that had been
worked out.
In fact, it wasn't until August 9
that "preliminary guidelines" became
known. Then, at a conference in
Washington for governors' representa-tives
the first draft of the guidelines
was announced. Other details worked
out since July by a Labor Department
task force began to come out.
Over the next few days North Caro-lina
learned how its $6.1 million
would be allocated. The State, five
This article reprinted
from the January, 1972,
edition of
NORTH CAROLINA,
official publication of the
N.C. CITIZENS ASSOCIATION.
cities and 16 counties with popula-tions
in excess of 75,000 and the
Cherokee Indian tribe were designated
as "program agents" to receive direct
grants from the Secretary of Labor.
The State would be expected both to
create public service jobs of its own
and allocate money to the "balance of
the state"—counties and cities with
populations of less than 75,000.
With that the program was rolling.
On Monday, August 16, a regional
meeting was held by the Labor Depart-ment
for city and county program
agents. Applications were distributed
to apply for the first 20 percent of the
EEA money. Program agents had until
Friday, August 20, to get those appli-cations
in the mail to Labor's regional
manpower administrator! It was
understood that checks would bj
mailed back to program agents as soon
as their applications were in. And they
were.
By August 24, the chief of the
Labor Department's EEA task force
could report that, nationally, $42
million had been distributed to 700
state and local governments to fund
11,000 jobs. Initial EEA hiring in
some states beat the Labor Day target
date by more than a week.
The MDC survey in North Carolina
showed planning running far behind.
Before the August 9 meeting in
Washington, state agencies could only
speculate on what EEA might mean to
them. Cities like Raleigh and Winston-
Salem—where mayors are served by
special manpower assistants—could do
some tentative planning. But later
evidence indicated that few, if any,
key officials in North Carolina cities
and counties considered the act's
possibilities as they wound up their
1971-7 2 budget making—an ideal time
to identify spots where subsidized
public service jobs could best be
utilized.
Three North Carolina counties
designated as program agents (David-son,
Randolph and Wake) missed the
regional meeting and almost missed
getting in applications for their funds.
Wayne County made the meeting but
later decided it would rather the State
figured out how to use its money.
Officials in Gaston County were
quoted in the press as wondering why
Gaston would get any money in an
emergency employment program since
its unemployment rate was below 2
per cent—one of the lowest in North
Carolina.
Time straightened out some of the
factual confusion. But the State's
experience showed how difficult it was
to plan for a program that began as a
surprise and was pushed through its
first phase as a race against the Labor
Day target date.
After the Washington meeting for
governors' representatives, the State
activated its own task force to plan
how to create State public service jobs
ESC QUARTERLY 23
North Carolina Total to be To Program Agents To State
Program Agents. Spent in Each Area for Local Jobs
(Figures in Thousands)
Government
Charlotte $ 239.6* $ 239.6 $ 0.0
Durham 125.8 88.0 37.8
Greensboro 125.8 69.4 56.5
Raleigh 83.9 25.5 58.4
Winston-Salem 520.6 399.8 120.9
Alamance County 149.3 149.3 0.0
Buncombe County 131.8 131.8 0.0
Catawba County 113.8 113.8 0.0
Cumberland County 282.7 282.7 0.0
Davidson County 222.5 222.5 0.0
Forsyth County 47.9 47.9 0.0
Gaston County 101.8 101.8 0.0
Guilford County 137.8 137.8 0.0
Mecklenburg County 83.9 83.9 0.0
New Hanover County 83.9 83.9 0.0
Onslow County 142.1 142.1 0.0
Randolph County 71.9 71.9 0.0
Robeson County 315.7 252.6 63.1
Rowan County 53.9 53.9 0.0
Wake County 83.9 83.9 0.0
Wayne County 111.7 74.5 37.2
Subtotal $3,230.3 $2,856.5 $ 373.8
Balance of N.C. 2,899.7 — 2,899.7
Total $6,130.0 $2,856.5 $3,273.5
* Emergency Employment Act money is allocated to North Carolina in a two-way split.
The sixteen counties and five cities listed above are "program agents" eligible for direct grants
to create public service jobs under local government control. In four of these cities and two
counties, the state is receiving some funds to create public service jobs in state agencies or
departments. The state is also receiving $2,899,700 to allocate public service jobs in "the
balance of the state"—the remaining counties and cities that were not given direct grants.
and allocate funds to the "balance of
the state." But the task force's first
meeting (August 17) came right after
applications were distributed among
program agents to be mailed back by
August 20. The task force could only
designate priority job areas so the
State could qualify for the first 20 per
cent of its funds.
The task force was thus pushed into
a position where it had to act first and
plan later, if at all. And if this .situa-tion
wasn't a big enough obstacle to
genuine planning, the MDC survey
pointed to others.
There was no existing machinery,
and no time to perfect machinery, that
could develop data to indicate which
public service jobs would be most
beneficial—either in terms of improv-ing
public service or of relieving
unemployment. In fact, the survey
found no machinery at all (except the
task force, itself) to process the
hundreds of applications from the
hundreds of cities and counties in the
"balance of the state" that weren't
eligible for direct grants.
Under pressure to follow up the
first application with a plan to utilize
the remaining 80 per cent of the
money due the State, the task force
had no time to create complicated
machinery even after its first applica-tion
was filed. It could only minimize
the problem of handling applications
by naming Councils of Government or
economic development agencies as
"coordinating organizations" for each
of North Carolina's 17 planning dis-tricts.
This approach utilizes local views
on useful and necessary jobs. But it
could only assume that job proposals
would meet aims of the act—for
example, that at least half of the
subsidized public service jobs would
become regular locally supported jobs
within two years. As for the idea of
preparing public service employees for
jobs in the private sector, that simply
had to be left to work itself out, one
way or another.
One state, Utah, demonstrated how
to minimize the kinds of problems
that have plagued sister states like
North Carolina. Utah's State Man-power
Council (which is similar to the
council created for North Carolina by
the last General Assembly, but not yet
activated) had developed the
machinery and the manpower
personnel for planning. It had a public
service employment plan already
worked out last July. It was in a
position to do something more con-structive
than simply meet a deadline
for funding jobs.
The Emergency Employment Act
of 1971 still promises useful benefits
to North Carolina. It can be a godsend
to an estimated 1,500 men and women
expected to be hired from among the
ranks of the North Carolina's
unemployed and underemployed. But
the MDC survey indicates that the full
potential of the Emergency Employ-ment
Act can't be realized until
priorities are reversed so that jobs are
planned before they are created.
Administered By
State, Local
Government Units
Create Jobs
Under EEA
In North Carolina, the Emergency
Employment Act is being administered
by the Department of Administration.
Purpose of the Act is to give
unemployed and underemployed
transitional employment in public
services during high unemployment,
and training and manpower services to
help such persons move into employ-ment
and training not funded by the
Act. Special consideration shall be
given Vietnam veterans.
Public service jobs shall be in such
fields as environmental quality, health
care, education, public safety, crime
prevention, prison, rehabilitation,
transportation, recreation, main-tenance
of streets and other public
facilities, housing, beautification, and
other fields of human and community
improvement.
Wages paid persons in public service
jobs shall be highest of federal, state or
local minimum wage, or prevailing rate
the employer pays for similar occupa-tions.
There's no upper limit on salary,
but federal contributions cannot
exceed $12,000 a year for any one
person. Participants must receive the
same fringe benefits, working condi-tions
and promotional opportunities as
the employer's other employees.
The Act authorizes for its main
program $750 million for fiscal year
1972, $1 billion for fiscal year 1973.
Funds may be spent if the national
jobless rate goes above 4.5 percent for
three consecutive months.
Of the funds appropriated, 85
percent must go for wages and job
benefits for hirees. The remainder is
for planning, evaluation, training,
supportive services, and administra-tion.
Grantees put up 10 percent in
cash or kind.
No program will be funded under
the EEA that displaces employed
workers; substitutes federal funds for
other funds being used; substitutes
public service jobs for other federally
assisted jobs; permits acquisition,
rental, leasing of supplies, equipment,
materials, or real property; discrimi-nates
because of race, creed, sex,
color, national origin, political affilia-tion,
or beliefs; involves political
activities; uses enrollees to build or
operate facilities for religious pur-poses,
or fails to increase the number
of job opportunities over those now in
existence.
24 ESC QUARTERLY
At least 80 percent of appropriated
funds shall go to state and local
governments, with no state receiving
less than $1.5 million. The remaining
20 percent shall be available as the
Secretary of Labor deems appropriate
to carry out the purpose of the Act.
Hiring priority under the Act shall
be given the unemployed over the
underemployed. Program participants
must be recruited and selected on a
fair and equitable basis from among all
significant segments of the unem-ployed
and underemployed popula-tion.
At least one-third of all
participants should be veterans of the
Asian theater who served in the armed
forces in Indo-China or Korea on or
after August 5, 1964, and who
received other than a dishonorable
discharge.
Also, special consideration in hiring
should be given to the needs and rela-tive
numbers of unemployed and
underemp