sachusetts
Bureau of Labor, it possesses as much authority as statistical
statements ever do.

While taking the census of Massachusetts for 1885, Colonel Wright
thoroughly canvassed the subject of the unemployed in that State, the
result being published in the Report of the Bureau of Labor for 1887.
This report, though much delayed, is a remarkable one, not only for its
completeness and the masterly analysis of the figures it contains, but
also for its minute divisions of the classes of unemployed; giving the
age, sex, nativity, and trade of each person unemployed, and how many
months in the year such enforced idleness is suffered.

Out of a total of 816,470 persons employed in gainful occupations in
Massachusetts in 1885, 241,589, or 29.59 per cent, were unemployed. The
duration of the idleness varied greatly in different industries and
localities, but the average loss of time was 4.11 months per year for
each of the unemployed. Over 29 per cent of Massachusetts protected
workingmen idle for over four months of each year! The idleness of
241,589 persons for 4.11 months is equivalent to 82.744 persons
unemployed for an entire year. This is nearly 11 per cent of the entire
population employed in gainful pursuits. Idleness, that is enforced
idleness, increased 110 per cent in Massachusetts between 1879 and 1885;
and this average time unemployed is net average, as the 10,758 persons,
whose loss of time at their "principal occupation" or trade was
partially made up by securing "other occupations" and "odd jobs," are
separately tabulated, and the amount of work at "other occupations" is
deducted from their loss of time at "principal occupation," thus giving
a net average of the time wholly unoccupied at any sort of labor. It is
interesting to note the industries in which the greatest percentage of
this enforced idleness occurs. I take the following from an elaborate
table given in Mr. Wright's report. In the boot and shoe industry of
Massachusetts, 48,105 male adults are supposed to be employed. Of these
15,731 get steady work, while 32,374, or 67.3 per cent, are unemployed
four months in the year. The same industry employs 14,420 females, of
whom 10,250, or 71 per cent, are idle four months, an average of 2.62
months idleness for all persons employed in that industry. The
cotton-mill operatives number 58,383 of whom 26,642 are males, 31,741
females. Of all these operatives, 24,250, or 41.5 per cent, are idle
more than one