FARM LABOR IN MASSACHUSETTS, 1921. 
13 
Table 8. — Numbers and percentages of 395 farm uorlers ecer engaged in certain occu- 
pations or groups of occupations. 
[See also fig. 5, p. 23.] 
Occupations. 
At any time. 
January, 1918, to 
summer, 1921. 
Number. 
^f 1 "! Number. 
Percent- 
age. 
Agriculture, unskilled 
Agriculture, skilled 
Industry, unskilled 
Industry, skilled 
Agriculture only, unskilled 
Agriculture only, skilled 
Agriculture only, both unskilled and skilled 
Agriculture uns'killed and industry unskilled only — 
Agriculture unskilled and industry skilled only 
Unskilled work only, any type 
Skilled work, any type 
Skilled work, any type other than agricultural skilled 
Skilled work only, any type 
368 
87 
162 
11 
22 
98 
22 
267 
127 
SI 
14 
93.2 
22..0 
41.0 
13.9 
24.8 
2.8 
5.6 
24.8 
5.6 
67.6 
32.2 
15.4 
3.5 
360 
77 
115 
32 
150 
24 
26 
87 
20 
281 
104 
36 
29 
91.1 
19. 5 
29.1 
8.1 
38.0 
6.1 
6.6 
22.0 
5.1 
71.1 
26.3 
9.1 
7.3 
Eliminating from consideration the foremen and farm operators 
working out when interviewed (66 persons in all), the percentages 
given in Table 8 for those ever engaged in unskilled agriculture would 
be raised slightly, and for those ever engaged in skilled agriculture 
reduced largely. The figures relating to industrial work would be 
changed but little. Practically four-fifths of these workers had never 
engaged in skilled or responsible work. 
The variety of occupations in which the farm workers engaged 
since 1917 was decidedly decreased from that of their lifetimes, but 
was still large; 283 workers seem to have done in their lifetime 
nothing which they did not do in the last few years. 
Farm workers were asked the amount of involuntary unemploy- 
ment they had had in the last two years and the consequent loss of 
wages, without regard to the jobs held preceding such periods of 
unemployment. (Table 9.) Because of the large amount of indus- 
trial idleness in 1921, probably more workers than would be usual 
reported unemployment. Workers' estimates of their wages lost 
were often plainly influenced by the pay they had received on pre- 
vious jobs, which had paid better than did the same work after the 
industrial decline began, carrying wages down with it. A much larger 
proportion of the foreign born than American born reported unem- 
ployment (Table 9), and per case, the foreigner lost more time and 
money. 
Table 9. — Unemployment, loss of time and wages in two years, 1920 to 1922, in any occu- 
pation, reported by American and foreign born farm workers. 
American 
born. 
Foreign 
born. 
All workers 
Total number of reports 
Number reporting no unemployment 
Number reporting unemploym"c-nt . . . 
Per cent reporting unemployment. . . 
Loss in wages: 
Amount 
Number reporting amount 
Average 
Loss in time: 
Amount (months ) 
Number reporting amount 
Average (months) 
212 
179 
33 
15.6 
ft 725 
25 
$349 
141 
31 
4.55 
178 
114 
64 
36.0 
$15,925 
32 
$497.66 
245 
43 
5.70 
390 
293 
97 
$24,650 
57 
$432.46 
74 
5.22 
