Speech

For Release oil Delivery Sunday, May 5, 1974 11:00 A.M., C-.D.T. (12 noon, E.D.T.) WIDENING HORIZONS Prospects for Black Employment A Commencement Address By Andrew F. Brimmer Member Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Delivered at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, Texas May 5, 1974 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis WIDENING HORIZONS Prospects for Black Employment By Andrew F. Brimmer I spend a fair amount of time on college campuses, and whenever I can I try to get an appreciation for the expectations of black students regarding their careers. I am frequently told by f, 11 many of them that they want to help the black community rather than 11 engage in a "middle class race for economic security. Given the history of this institution—with its roots deep in the soil of career- oriented technical fields — this attitude may be less prevalent than on some other predominantly black campuses. However, the "soundings" I made when the invitation was extended to me indicated that this graduating class might be interested in hearing any thoughts I might have regarding the outlook for black job opportunities. With this in mind, I undertook an analysis of recent changes in the pattern of black employment. This was done against the backdrop of the efforts to reduce racial discrimination in employment led by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I have also reviewed the job progress made * Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. I am indebted to Mr. John Austin and Mrs. Ruth Robinson of the Board's staff for assistance in the preparation of these remarks. I also want to thank Chairman John H. Powell, Jr., of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for authorizing the special tabulations of reports to the Commission on which much of the analysis is based. The views expressed here are my own and should not be attributed to anyone else. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 2 - by blacks employed by the Federal, State and local governments. Finally, an effort was made to assess job opportunities for blacks out to 1985, The main conclusions of this analysis can be summarized briefly: --To a considerable extent, employment advances made ! by blacks during the 1960s were partly the result of the long period of economic expansion culminating in 1969. However, these gains were also partly a reflection of the rising educational level and the acquisition of skills within the black community. --Moreover, legislation adopted in 1964 aimed at fostering equal opportunity in employment also played a role. The evidence reported by companies subject to the law indicates that they are opening jobs to blacks at a rate much faster than is true for all employers in the country as a whole. However, it appears that the expansion is much slower in the upper reaches of the occupational job categories than at the lower end. Thus, the task of occupational upgrading remains considerable. --The extent of occupational integration varies greatly among different regions of the country. But in the last seven years, the greatest gains in white collar employment have been made in the South--although the absolute shortfall in that region remains the largest. --Blacks have made relatively more job progress in public service than they have in the private sector. But, with employment opportunities likely to expand more slowly in the Federal Government in the years ahead, blacks would do well to look more to the private sector for future careers. --Among the promising opportunities available to blacks, careers in protection are especially worthy of examination. Given the persistence of high crime rates in the black community (and blacks are the principal victims), there will be a strong demand for sympathetic police officials with better-than-average educations. Each of these points is discussed more fully in the rest of these remarks. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 3 - Long-Term Trends in Black Employment During the decade of the 1960's, blacks made substantial economic progress. This was evident in terms of the number and range of jobs held by them. The extent of occupational upgrading can be traced in Table 1 (attached). In general, blacks expanded their share of white collar jobs while their share of lower-paying service jobs shrank somewhat. The propor- tion of blue collar occupations held by blacks rose moderately. Blacks left agriculture (both as farmers and as farm laborers) at a much faster rate than American workers at large. Within these broad trends, a number of important specific developments were occurring. For example, among white collar workers, the largest relative gains were made by those engaged in professional and technical occupations. In 1960, 4.7 per cent of all black workers (vs. 11.4 per cent for all workers) were in this category. By 1970, the fraction for blacks had climbed to 9.1 per cent and that for all workers to 14.2 per cent. 1 Over the decade, blacks share of these jobs at the top of the occupational scale expanded from 4.4 per cent to 6.9 per cent. However, the greatest growth occurred in technical fields (especially in fields requiring only moderate skills) rather than in those professions demanding long years of college education or advanced training. Another sub-trend worthy of note is the relatively modest advances \ made by blacks as managers, officials, and proprietors. This category includes the self-employed as well as public and private salaried officials and administrators. In 1960, blacks held 2.5 per cent of the managerial jobs, Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 4 - and their share had climbed to only 3.6 per cent in 1970. Within the economy at large, the number of self-employed businessmen continued to decline over the decade. When the figures are adjusted for this trend, it is evident that the number of salaried managers expanded appreciably. Blacks shared in this expansion--but to a much smaller degree than was true in the case of professional and technical workers. The figures in Table 1 do not show it, but the steady progress made by blacks during the 1960's was seriously interrupted by the recession of 1970. In fact, between blacks as a group and whites as a group, blacks suffered all of the recession-induced decline in jobs--while whites made further job gains. From the fourth quarter of 1969 through the fourth quarter of 1970, total employment decreased by 66 thousand. This was the net result of a drop of 174 thousand in the number of jobs held by blacks which was partly offset by an increase of 108 thousand jobs held by whites c During the sluggish recovery of 1971, job gains by blacks lagged considerably, and unemployment in the black community continued to rise. Only last year did the rate of job improvement among blacks f resume the pace recorded during the 1960s. Figures on employment in the main occupational groups in 1973 are shown in Table 1 For the most part, 0 the basic trends noted earlier are still evident. The proportion of white collar jobs held by blacks had risen further. The relative advances by professional and technical workers were again striking. But the gains by those in the managerial group were also noticeable. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 5 - To a considerable extent, employment advances made by blacks f during the 1960s were partly the result of the long period of economic expansion culminating in 1969. However, these gains were also partly a reflection of the rising educational level and the acquisition of skills within the black community. Moreover, legislation adopted in 1964 aimed at fostering equal opportunity in employment also played a role. The Campaign for Equal Employment Opportunity Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Commission began operations on July 2, 1965. However, it was preceded by a generation of essentially voluntary action at both the Federal and State and local level. It was against this background that EEOC came into being. Actually, EEOC was not part of the legislation proposed by President John F. Kennedy in mid- 1963 which became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He thought that the inclu- sion of such a controversial provision would further decrease the already unpromising prospect of the bill's passage. Instead, he thought it best to expand further—through executive action—the existing efforts to check job discrimination. As the bill moved through the legislative process, the fair employment provision was added at Congressional initiative. Lyndon Johnson—who had by then succeeded to the presidency—threw his strong support behind the entire measure. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 6 - Nevertheless, EEOC started life with a number of handicaps. In the first place, its start-up was delayed for a full year after the bill was signed. Its coverage was severely limited—being restricted for the most part to private companies in interstate commerce with 25 or more employees. Its actions had to depend on the filing of complaints by« individual workers. This was an extension of the voluntary approach followed at the Federal level during World War II--and despite evidence accumulated in the intervening years under State fair employment programs which demonstrated that the complaint mechanism had not been particularly successful. For the first seven years of its life, the Commission had no enforcement powers of its own. The Attorney General could bring suit when a "pattern or practice" of discrimination was discovered by EEOC. But, for the most part, the Commission was left to rely on education and persuasion--along with the provision of technical assistance—in its efforts to end discrimination in employment. After nearly eight years of effort, the EEOC's authority was strengthened by the 1972 amendments to the Act. The most important of these gave the Commission enforcement powers of its own. Once the new authority was implemented in March, 1973, EEOC could initiate civil actions in Federal Courts to enforce the provisions barring job discrimi- nation and to remedy instances of their violation. Coverage of the statute was extended to employees of State and local governments and their instrumentalities, employees of educational institutions, and firms or labor organizations with 15 or more workers or members. Additional protection was also provided Federal Government employees. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 7 - Armed with this new authority and an enlarged budget, EEOC in the last two years has accelerated its drive against employment discrimination-- concentrating on sex and language bias as well as on racial barriers• It achieved a landmark settlement of its suit against AT&T in January, 1973, which will result in cash payments (mainly to blacks and white women) in excess of $50 million in compensation for past discrimination and as bonuses for transferring to better-paying jobs* The Commission has also worked out agreements in the trucking and steel industries which will yield greatly improved job opportunities for blacks in the years ahead. Mixed Pattern of Job Expansion Given the efforts of EEOC to broaden job opportunities for blacks and other minorities (and more recently for women) , one can naturally ask just what has been the impact of the campaign. Unfortunately, no direct answer can be given. But the indirect evidence does suggest that the Commission's activities are having generally favorable results. Employers, trade unions and others covered by the statute are required to report the racial and sex composition of their work forces to the Commission at least once each year. So far EEOC has required annual reports from those with 100 or more employees. On the basis of these reports, one can get a fairly good idea of the changing composition of jobs held by blacks compared to others. Table 2 shows total and black employment in EEOC-reporting firms, by major occupational categories, for 1966 and 1973. Corresponding figures for all nonfarm employment Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 8 - reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the U.S. Department of Labor are also shown. Changes in these job categories between 1966 and 1973 are shown in Table 3. Several conclusions stand out in these data: Black employment in EEOC-reporting firms rose much faster than employment in the economy as a whole. For instance, blacks accounted for 21 per cent of the growth in jobs in EEOC-reporting firms vs. 15 per cent in the total. However, within the white collar category, only clerical workers and sales workers recorded relatively larger gains on EEOC-reported payrolls (34 per cent vs. 22 per cent and 10 per cent vs. 8 per cent,respectively). In the case of professional and technical workers, EEOC figures show blacks getting 10 per cent of the increase in jobs vs. 14 per cent for black professionals and technicians in the economy at large. The lag was especially noticeable among managers and officials. In the country as a whole, blacks accounted for 14 per cent of the expansion; their share in EEOC reporters was only 7 per cent. In contrast, blacks got a much larger share of the new craft and service jobs in EEOC-reporting firms--e.g., 26 per cent of craft jobs vs. 12 per cent for all firms and 31 per cent of service jobs vs. 10 per cent for all employers combined. The relative gains were about the same in the case of operatives (56 per cent). In the case of laborers, blacks in EEOC firms accounted for a smaller proportion of the rise in employment--18 per cent vs. 45 per cent. On the basis of these figures, I conclude that the companies reporting under the EEOC requirements are opening jobs to blacks at a rate much faster than is true for all employers in the country as a whole. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 9 - At the same time, however, it appears that the expansion is much slower in the upper reaches of the occupational scale than it is among job categories at the lower end. Thus, the task of occupational upgrading for blacks remains considerable. The EEOC data also enable one to get a feeling for the extent to which blacks have not made headway in gaining employment in specific types of firms. In response to my request, the Commission prepared special tabulations showing the number of firms which have black employees and those which do not. The number of total employees and the number of blacks on the payroll of each group of firms are also shown. The tabulations for 1973 covered 50 industry groups and 145,877 firms—which had 31,838,867 employees. Of the latter, 3,448,535 (or 10.8 per cent) were black. Of the total number of firms, 106,624 (or 73.1 per cent) had 28,502,748 employees. In these companies, 3,448,535 blacks were employed, representing 12.1 per cent of the total. The remaining 39,253 firms (26.9 per cent of the total) had 3,336,119 employees--10.5 per cent of the total. None of these was black. Some idea of the distribution of firms with and those without black employees in 1966 and 1973 can be gotten from the figures reported in Table 4. In 1966, the data are based on the experience of 117,600 establishments and total employment of 25,571,000—of whom 2,097,000 (or 8.2 per cent) were black. Among the 22 industry groups identified 1 1 in the table, securities and commodities brokers in 1973 had the largest proportion of firms (53 per cent) with no black employees. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 10 - Jobs in these firms represented 18 per cent of total industry employment Eating and drinking places with no black workers accounted for 32 per cent of the firms—but for 23 per cent of the jobs—in that industry. The insurance industry also had a sizable proportion of firms with no black workers on their payroll—e.g., 34 per cent of insurance carriers and 38 per cent of agents and brokers. On the other hand, the percentage of firms without black employees in 1973 was substantially smaller in all but a few industry groups than was the case in 1966. In the latter year, almost half (47 per cent) of the EEOC reporters had no black workers. Among credit agencies, insurance firms, and securities'and commodities' brokers, the proportion in that year was in the neighborhood of three-quarters of the reporters. So, from these data, a general conclusion emerges: while blacks are making considerable headway in finding new job opportunities, there remains many doors on which they must still knock! A substantial number of these are to be found in the banking and finance industry. Geographical Pattern of Black Employment In tracing trends in black employment, I also wanted to know the extent to which significant differences are observable in various geographical areas of the country. Figures for EEOC reporters showing regional patterns of black employment in 1966 and 1973 are given in Table 5. The details in this table underscore a number of regional differences, but only the highlights can be mentioned here. Perhaps the most striking change over these years is the sharp expansion in Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 11 - white collar jobs held by black workers in the South. These relative gains were largest in the technical, sales, and clerical categories. However, noticeable improvement also occurred among professional workers and managerial personnel. In the Northeast and Mid-West, blacks also made significant gains in white collar employment, but the strides were proportionately less dramatic than those observed in the South. An even more graphic picture of geographic differences in 1 blacks employment status emerges when the proportion of jobs held by blacks in each occupational category is viewed on the basis of data relating to metropolitan areas. This is done in Table 6, showing the situation in the United States as a whole and in 13 standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSA's). These are New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco-Oakland. 1 The situation is put in even sharper focus when blacks representation 1 in a given occupation in a given SMSA is related to blacks proportion of total employment in the area. For this purpose, an "Index of 11 Occupational Integration was calculated. The index was derived as 1 follows: (1) blacks share (percentage) of total employment and their share of employment in each occupational group in each metropolitan area was calculated. (These are the same data shown in Table 6.) 1 (2) Next, blacks share (percentage) in each occupation group was divided by their share (percentage) of total employment. The result is the "Index of Occupational Integration." An index number of 100 indicates Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 1 2- equality; an index number less than 100 indicates an occupational deficit, and an index number greater than 100 indicates a surplus or over-representation of blacks in a particular occupation. Indexes were calculated for the United States as a whole and for each of the 13 SMSA's. The results are shown in Table 7. Several conclusions stand out in these data: In the country at large, blacks have a white collar job deficit of 48 per cent. But the biggest deficit (75 per cent) is evident in the managerial category--followed by professionals (70 per cent), salesworkers (53 per cent), and technical workers (31 per cent). The closest blacks come toward occupational equality is in the clerical category (where the deficit is 21 per cent). In contrast, blacks are heavily over- represented in blue collar jobs—except in the case of craft workers (where there is a deficit of 40 per cent). In the case of operatives, the index was 143, and it was 192 for laborers. Among service workers, it was 229. The degree of occupational integration enjoyed by blacks in f individual SMSAs in broad job categories in 1973 was as follows: Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Total Total Craft White Collar (Deficit) Professional (Deficit) Blue Collar (Surplus) Workers (Deficit) 1. Dallas 63% 1. Dallas 89% 1. Dallas 58% 1. Detroit 57% 2. New Orleans 63% 2. New Orleans 80% 2. Wash., D.C. 48% 2. St. Louis 51% 3, Atlanta 55% 3. Detroit 80% 3. Atlanta 48% 3. At lanta 47% 4. Baltimore 55% 4. Chicago 77% 4. Chicago 44% 4. Baltimore 42% 5. Houston 55% 5. Houston 76% 5. Houston 41% 5. Houston 38% 6. Detroit 53% 6. Baltimore 76% 6. New Orleans 40% 6. S.F.-Oakland 35% 7. Chicago 48% 7. Atlanta 76% 7. Detroit 39% 7. Phila. 32% 8. Phila. 47% 8„ Phila. 74% 8. Baltimore 36% 8. Chicago 30% 9. St. Louis 44% 9. Wash.,D.C. 70% 9. Phila. 3:0% 9. New York 30% 10. Wash., D.C. 39% 10. S.F.-Oakland 69% 10. S.F.-Oakland 29% 10. New Orleans 30% U. Los Angeles 35% 11. Los Angeles 67% 11. Los Angeles 28% 11. Dallas 30% 12. S.Fo-Oakland 31% 12. New York 60% 12. New York 18% 12. Wash., D.C. 27% 13. New York 23% 13. St. Louis 23% 13. St. Louis 14% 13. Los Angeles 21% Several comments can be made with respect to this array. In general, the cities in the South and Southwest are the farthest behind in the integration of blacks in white collar jobs. On the other hand, only a handful of cities in the North and West are doing appreciably better than the national average. The deficit in black employment in jobs is enormous all over the country. Likewise, every area recorded a surplus of blacks in blue collar occupations—except in the case of craft workers, where all areas reported deficits. Here also the lesson is clear: blacks all over the country still have a long way to go before they achieve occupational equality in the better-paying jobs. Much of the current deficit undoubtedly reflects the legacy of racial discrimination and exclusion suffered by blacks in the past. The effects Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 14 - are observable not only in the large deficit in white collar jobs but also in the skilled crafts—where trade union practices have frequently kept blacks out of those fields. On the other hand, the lack of skills has prevented blacks from taking advantage of many opportunities which have emerged—especially in recent years. The task of remedying this deficit in skills should be high up on the agenda of the black community in the years ahead. Employment Opportunities in the Public Sector While I have dwelt on the employment status of blacks in private industry, we must not overlook the still unsatisfactory situation in public service. Historically, a larger proportion of employed blacks (especially of those in professional positions) has been on the public payroll than has been true for the population as a whole. For example, while blacks represented about 10 per cent of total employment in nonfarm occupations in private industry in 1973, they accounted for nearly 16 per cent of all civilian employees in the Federal Government (Table 8). Moreover, while Federal employment absorbed 3.0 per cent of the total civilian labor force, about 4.8 per cent of the blacks in civilian jobs were on the Federal payroll. Behind these overall statistics is an even heavier reliance by blacks on the public sector for a disproportionate share of the better jobs they hold. The extent of this reliance was fully documented in the 1960 and 1970 Census of Population. In 1960, employment in public administration at the Federal, State and local level accounted for about Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 4.9 per cent of total employment. The percentage of blacks so employed was roughly the same, 5.0 per cent. However, while just 6 per cent of all professional and technical workers were employed by public agencies, 7.3 per cent of black workers in the same occupations were employed by such agencies. By 1970, public administration represented 5.5 per cent of total employment, but the proportion for blacks had risen to 6.6 per cent. The much greater reliance of blacks on the public sector for better-paying white collar jobs is particularly noticeable. For instance, in 1960 about 1 in 8 of all salaried managers (both black and the total) worked for public institutions; by 1970, the ratio had declined to under 10 per cent for the total—but it had risen to 16 per cent for blacks. Nearly one-fifth of the black engineers worked for government bodies in 1960 and 1970 compared with only 8 per cent for all engineers. For accountants, the ratios were roughly one-third for blacks and only 13 per cent for all accountants in both years. Some 18 per cent of black lawyers were employed by public agencies in 1960, compared with only 12 per cent of all lawyers. By 1970, the proportion of all lawyers employed in public administration had risen to 18 per cent, but for blocks the figure was 26 per cent. Clerical workers provide the most striking example of all. In 1960, about two-fifths of all black women employed as secretaries, stenographers, and other classes of clerical workers were on the public payroll. Only 14 per cent of the white women employed as clerical Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 16 - workers were on the public payroll. Moreover, while black women represented less than 4 per cent of all women with such jobs, they accounted for 10 per cent of those employed in the public sector. By 1970, these proportions had changed very little. Black women still constituted only 3.6 per cent of all clerical workers—but 10 per cent of those in public administration. And 30 per cent of all black female clerical workers were on the public payroll. Although the details obviously have changed since 1970, the broad conclusions probably still hold. While private industry has greatly accelerated its hiring of blacks in recent years, so has the public sector. For example, as shown in Tables 8 and 9, in 1963, blacks constituted 13 per cent of total employment in the Federal Government; by 1973, the ratio had risen to almost 16 per cent of the work force. In the ten-year period, the number of blacks employed by the Federal Government rose from 302 thousand to 395 thousand, a gain of 93 thousand—representing 41 per cent of the increase in total Federal civilian employment. However, while great strides have been made in the employment of minority groups in the Federal Government, the vast majority of blacks is still concentrated in the low- and middle-grade jobs. Again, as Table 8 shows, of the 395 thousand blacks employed by the Federal Government in 1973, two-fifths (162 thousand) were in the regular civil service grades, and three-fifths were in the postal field service or held blue collar (wage board) jobs. Moreover, in regular civil service categories, blacks are heavily concentrated in the low- to middle-salary grades. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 17 - The employment status of blacks in State and local governments appears to be generally less favorable than it is in the Federal Government. The extent to which this is the case cannot be determined because of a lack of comprehensive information. However, a survey conducted in 1967 by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission casts considerable light on the situation. The Commission collected information on government employment in seven major metropolitan areas—representing 628 governmental units. The areas were San Francisco-Oakland, Baton Rouge, Detroit, Philadelphia, Memphis, Houston, and Atlanta. In all, nearly 250,000 jobs were involved. About one-fourth of these jobs were held by blacks. Of the black workers in State and local governments, more than half were on the payrolls of central city governments. The distribution of black and other minority group employment in the seven central cities is shown in Table 10. In four of these areas (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Memphis), the percentage of total city jobs held by blacks was equal to--or exceeded--their proportion of the population. In both Baton Rouge and Oakland, the city employment rate for blacks was roughly one-half of their representation in the population. The data from the survey also show that blacks are heavily concentrated in the low-skill, low-pay occupations in all of the central cities listed. In fact, in each of the cities (except San Francisco and Oakland), blacks held 70 per cent or more of all laborer jobs. In three of the cities (Philadelphia, Detroit, and Memphis), they made up Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 18 - about one-third of all service workers. In only two cities—Philadelphia and Detroit—did the number of blacks in white collar positions come near to reflecting their proportion of the population. On the basis of these results from the survey, one must share the Commission's conclusion: State and local governments have fallen far short of meeting their obligation to assure equal employment opportunity to all of their citizens. Consequently, the quest for job equality must still be pressed at city halls and in State capitals— as well as in the Federal Government. On the other hand, I am personally convinced that blacks would do well to look more to the private sector—and less to public payrolls—for expanded job opportunities in the years ahead. This is especially true of the Federal Government--where the expansion of employment is likely to be quite sluggish. Outlook for Black Employment: Selected Occupations Over the next decade, job prospects for blacks will be especially good—if they have marketable skills and can take advantage of the unfolding opportunities. According to projections published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the civilian labor force is expected to expand as follows out to 1985: Actual Projected Category 1973 1975 1980 1985 Total civilian labor force (millions) 88.7 90.1 98.0 104.4 Black labor force (millions) 10.2 10.5 11.9 13.2 Per Cent of Total 11.5 11.6 12.1 12.6 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 19 - Thus, by 1985, more than 13 million black workers will be holding jobs or seeking work. Between 1973 and 1985, the black labor force will expand substantially faster than the civilian labor force as a whole. As a consequence, their share of the total will rise from 11.5 per cent to 12.6 per cent. Moreover, the demand for skills over the next decade will strengthen considerably, and workers with few skills—whites as well as blacks—will find the competition for jobs especially keen. Aside from trying to get an appreciation for the general outlook for black employment in the years ahead, I have attempted to assess the prospects in those fields which may be of particular interest to the black community. For this purpose, a combination of data (shown in Table 11) was used. Blacks' share of employment in selected occupations was obtained from the 1970 Census of Population. An assessment of employment prospects in particular occupations was derived 1 from the Bureau of Labor statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1974-75 Edition. The specific occupations were grouped under 10 headings- beginning with those which appear central to the solution of some of the most pressing problems facing the black community (health, education, social services, urban improvement and protection) and fanning out into fields more related to the economy as a whole. In drawing up this array, however, I must stress the fact that I am not suggesting that blacks who pursue occupations in categories I through IV should work only—or even primarily—in the black community. Rather, I am suggesting Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 20 - that young blacks who place special emphasis on service to the black community may well find it rewarding to consider those lines of career development. Although the annual incomes one might expect in those fields may not be as high as in some other areas of specialization, many young people may still find them attractive. The information in Table 11 indicates that job opportunities in the health field are likely to be very good out to 1985. With the spread of pre-paid medical care, the demand for health personnel is likely to be quite strong. So while the supply of workers with such skills will also grow appreciably, the number of job openings may expand even faster. In contrast, the demand for school teachers is expected to be quite weak. The supply of college graduates going into education is expected to slacken somewhat, but a sizable surplus of teachers is expected to prevail for some time. The field of social services (including both recreation and social workers) is expected to offer good job prospects. This is a field into which blacks have gone in considerable numbers in the past, and undoubtedly many will continue to find it attractive. I would especially urge young blacks to consider opportunities in the area of urban improvement and protection. The need to rebuild or rehabilitate urban facilities will give rise to strong demands for architects, urban planners, and other professionals with similar skills. But even more strongly, I would urge young blacks to examine the prospects for careers involved with protection. The persistent high crime rates in the black community (in which blacks are the principal victims) Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 21 - clearly call for an increased number of blacks interested in fighting crime and improving the security of the community. So far, the representation of blacks in most city police departments is proportionately quite small. In most State police forces, the situation is much worse. Among the other occupations identified in Table 11, I would call attention particularly to those associated with electronic computers and banking and finance. Undoubtedly, the computer will continue to transform the techniques for controlling the production and distribution of goods in the economy. Moreover, further inroads will be made in the handling of financial and other service transactions- including the provision of medical care. Blacks have already established a toehold in computer-related occupations, and considerable scope will exist for broadening these. The demand for workers in the banking and financial field will also remain strong. Here, too, blacks can expect to find better-than-average career opportunities. Many of these will be at the officer—rather than clerical — level; they will also involve lending as well as community relations functions. In the final analysis, however, the extent to which blacks can take advantage of the widening opportunities on the horizon will depend as much on them as on the continuing efforts by Government and business to eradicate the legacy of racial discrimination and deprivation 1 which still restricts blacks chances for economic development. - 0 - Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 1. Employed Persons by Major Occupation Group and Color, 1960, 1970, 1973 (Numbers in thousands) Total Employment; 1960 Total Employment: 1970 Total Employment: 1973 Total Black 1/ Total Blacks 1/ Total Black 1/ Percentage Percentage Per Cent bv Percentage Percentage Per Cent by Percentage Percentage Per Cent by Number Distribution Number Distribution Occupation Number Distribution Number Distribution Occupation Number Distribution Number Distribution Occupation Total Employed 65,778 100.0 6,927 100.0 10,. 5 78 j, 527 100., 0 8,, 445 100.0 10., 7 84,, 409 100. 0 9,, 131 100., 0 10. 8 Whi P t r e o f C e o s l s l i a o r n al W or & ke T r e s c hnical 28 7 , , 5 4 2 o 2 l> 4 1 3 1 . . 3 4 1,1 3 1 3 3 1 1 4 6 . . 7 1 4 3 . . . . 4 9 1 3 1 7 , , , , 9 1 9 4 7 0 4 1 8 4 . . , 2 3 2,, 7 3 6 5 6 6 27 9 . . 9 1 6 6 . ., , 5 2 4 1 0 1 , , , , 7 3 7 8 7 6 4 1 7 4 . ., 8 0 2,, 9 8 0 4 1 0 31 9 . . , . 1 9 7 7 . . 7 0 Managers, Officials & Prop. 7,067 10.7 178 2.5 2.. 5 8,, 289 10., 5 297 3.5 3., 6 3,, 644 10. 2 374 4., 1 4. 3 Clerical Workers 9,762 14.8 503 7.3 5.. 2 13,, 714 17.. 4 1,, 113 13.2 8., 1 ,548 17. 2 1,, 356 14., 9 9. 3 Sales Workers 4,224 6.4 101 1.5 2.. 4 4,, 854 6., 2 180 2.1 3., 7 5,, 415 6., 4 209 2. 3 3. 9 Blue Collar Workers 24,057 36.6 2,780 40.1 11,. 6 27,, 791 35., 3 3,, 561 42.2 12., 8 29,, 869 35., 4 3., 721 40., 8 12. 5 Craftsmen & Foremen 8,554 13.0 415 6.0 4,. 8 10,, 158 12., 9 692 8.2 6., 8 11,, 288 13. 4 809 8., 9 7. 2 Operat ive 11,950 IS.2 1,414 20.4 11.. 8 13,, 909 17., 7 2., 004 23.7 14., 4 14,, 269 16. 9 2,, 030 22., 2 14. 2 Nonfarm Laborers 3,553 5.4 951 13.7 26,. 8 3,, 724 4., 7 866 10.3 23., 2 4,, 312 5. 1 883 9., 7 20. 5 Service Workers 8,023 12.2 2,196 31.7 27,. 4 9,, 712 12,. 4 2,, 199 26.0 22., 6 11,, 128 13. 2 2,, 314 25,, 3 20. 8 Private Household 1,973 ;\o 982 14.2 49,. 8 I,, 558 2., 0 652 7.7 41., 8 1,, 353 1. 6 520 5., 7 38.44 Other Service Workers 6,050 9.2 1,214 17.5 20,. 1 8,, 154 10.. 4 1 ; , 546 18.3 19., 0 9., 775 11. 6 1;, 794 19.. 6 18. Farm Workers 5,176 7.9 841 12.1 16., 2 3,126 4., 0 328 3.9 10., 5 3,, 027 y. 6 255 2., 8 8. 4 Farmers 6c Farm Managers 2,776 4.2 219 3.2 7., 9 1,, 753 2.. 2 87 1.0 5., 0 I,, 664 I., 9 62 0., 7 3. 7 Farm Laborers & Foremen 2,400 3.7 622 8.9 25.. 9 1,,3 73 1,,8 241 2.9 17., 6 1,,3 63 I. 9 193 2.. 1 14. 2 1/ Negro and other races. Source: I .S. Department of Labor, Manpower Report of the President, April, 1974, Tables A-ll, p. 267 and A-12, p. 269. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 2. Total and EEOC-Reported Employment, 1966 and 1973 (Number in Thousands) 1966 1973 Total Employment 1/ EEOC-Reported Employment 2/ Total Employment 1/ EEOC-Reported Employment 2/ Occupation Black Black Black Black Per cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Total Number of total Total Number of total Total Number of total Total Number of total Total Employment 67,325 6,487 9.6 25,571 2,097 8.2 80,029 8,356 10.4 31,839 3,439 10,. 8 White Collar 33,068 1,644 5.0 10,996 286 2.6 40,386 2,840 7.0 15,061 843 .6 . 1 Pro P f r e o s f s e i s o s n i a o l n al a nd tech. 9,310 551 5.9 2 1 , , 8 6 3 9 3 2 6 2 9 2 2 1 . . 4 3 11,777 901 7.7 4 2 , , 1 7 4 0 3 3 19 8 4 6 / i\ J I \ , 4 2 7 Technical 1,141 47 4.1 1,440 108 7,. 5 Managers and officials 7,405 207 2.8 2,083 18 0.9 8,644 374 4.3 3,066 83 2,, 7 Sales workers 4,541 138 3.0 1,802 43 2.4 5,415 209 3.9 2,745 140 5,, 1 Clerical workers 11,812 748 6.3 4,277 150 3.5 14,548 1,356 9.3 5,108 434 8.. 5 Blue Collar 26,950 3,300 12.2 12,613 1,362 10.8 29,869 3,721 12.5 14,287 1,986 13., 9 Craftsmen 9,589 600 6.3 3,630 131 3.6 11,288 809 7.2 4,173 271 6,, 5 Operatives 13,829 1,782 12.9 6,506 702 10.8 14,269 2,030 14.2 7,221 1,112 15,, 4 Laborers 3,532 918 26.0 2,477 525 21.2 4,312 883 20.5 2,894 599 20,, 7 Service Workers 7,308 1,544 21.1 1,961 453 23.1 9,775 1,794 18.4 2,491 615 24,. 7 1./ Excluding private household and farm workers, 2/ Reported to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by firms with 100 or more employees. Components may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Manpower Report of the President, April, 1974, Tables A-ll, p. 267 and A-12, p. 269, and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 3. Changes in Total and EEOC-Reported Employment, 1966-1973 (Numbers in Thousands) EEOC-Reported Total Employment Employment Black Black Percent of Percent of OCCUPATION Total Number Total Total Number Total f y —— Tocal Employment 12 ,704 1,869 14 .7 6,268 1,342 21 .4 Whit§. Collar 7 ,318 1,196 16,. 3 4,065 557 13,. 7 Professional and technical 2 ,467 350 14,. 2 1,310 125 9 . 5 Professional - — 1,011 64 6,. 3 Technical 299 61 20,. 4 — -- Managers and officials 1,239 167 13., 5 983 65 6,. 6 Sales workers 3 874 71 8., 1 943 97 10.. 3 Clerical workers 2,736 608 22. 2 831 284 34., 2 3 Blue Collar 2 ,919 421 14., 4 1,674 624 37. 3 3 Craft workers 1, 699 209 12. 3 543 140 25., 8 Operatives 440 248 56.4 715 410 57. 3 Laborers 780 350 44. 9 417 74 17. 7 Service Workers 2,4 67 250 10. 1 530 162 30. 6 Source: Table 2 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 4. Black Employment and Firms with NO Black Employees, Selected Industries, 1966 and 1973 Black Employment as Percentage of Firms with No Per Cent of Total Employment 1/ Black Employees 1973 1966 1973 1966 Firms Per Cent of Total Employment All Industry 8.2 10.8 47.1 26.9 10.5 Banking and Finance Banking 4.4 9.1 31.9 21.8 6.7 Insurance 3.3 77.8 Insurance carriers -- 8.1 34.0 12.9 Agents and brokers — 6.2 38.0 18.5 Securities, commodity brokers 2.4 6.2 75.5 52.6 18.2 Credit agencies 2.4 7.1 71.3 18.4 5.6 Communication 4.3 9.9 40.9 14.9 5.6 Construction (Heavy const, contractors) 12.7 13.7 47.0 20.3 8.8 Manufacturing Food/Kindred product 11.1 13.0 39.0 31.0 14.5 Printing and publishing 4*8 6.6 32.7 24.0 10.3 Primary metals 12.3 12.8 23.5 18.9 6.9 Transportation equipment 9.1 12.8 27.7 23.2 4.2 Machinery, non-electrical 4.3 6.8 37.4 26.7 10.3 Electrical machinery 5.4 8.4 26.0 21.7 6.6 Railroad Transportation 8.0 7.2 25.5 22.1 7.3 Air Transportation 4.2 6.4 50.3 20.8 5.1 Electric, Gas, Sanitary Service 3.8 7.4 48.4 28.9 11.2 Wholesale Trade 6.5 8.7 62.5 26.7 12.1 Retail: General Merchandise Stores 7.4 8.6 33.4 28.4 10.7 Eating, Drinking Places 23.3 14.4 28.4 32.4 22.8 Hotels, Lodging Places 25.3 19.5 13.4 19.6 11.9 Medical, Health Services 16.4 16.0 17.8 21.5 8.4 1/ Reported to EEOC by firms with 100 or more employees. Source: Special Tabulation by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TabLe 5. Regional Pattern pf Black Employment, By Major Occupation Group, 1966 and 1973 Black: Total WHITE COLLAR WORKERS BLUE COLLAR WORKERS Total Number Managers & Sales Clerical Employed Employed Percent of Total Prof. Tech. Officials Workers Workers Craft SERVICE Year and Region (thousands) (thousands) Total Total Workers Operatives Laborers WORKERS 1966 United States 25,571 2,097 8.2 2.6 1.3 4.1 .9 2.4 3.5 10.8 3.6 10.8 21.2 23.1 New England 1,786 59 3.3 1.3 .7 2.0 .4 .9 1.9 4.1 1.8 4.6 6.7 9.0 Middle Atlantic 5,322 397 7.5 3.6 1.8 5.1 1.1 2.8 5.3 9.3 4.1 9.5 16.8 21.5 East North Central 6,338 540 8.5 2.7 1.2 3.8 .9 2.6 4.1 11.0 3.6 12.5 16.3 22.2 West North Central 1,773 79 4.4 1.4 .9 2.8 .4 1.3 1.6 5.2 2.0 5.6 9.0 15.7 South Atlantic 3,550 510 14.4 3.1 2.0 5.6 1.3 3.7 3.6 18.4 5.5 15.0 44.1 39.5 East South Central 1,368 168 12.3 2.2 1.6 6.1 1.2 2.5 1.8 14.6 4.6 12.4 32.9 38.9 West South Central 1,762 183 10.4 1.7 1.1 4.3 .7 1.7 1.7 14.5 3.7 13.8 33.1 33.1 Mountain 695 16 2.2 .8 .4 1.2 .2 .7 1.2 2.0 .7 1.9 4.2 8.8 Pacif ic 2,977 140 4.7 2.1 1.0 3.2 .6 2.0 3.0 6.1 2.8 7.1 10.0 14.0 1973 United States 31,839 3,439 10.8 5.6 3.2 7.5 2.7 5.1 8.5 13.9 6.5 15.4 20.7 24.7 New England 2,043 91 4.5 2.9 1.8 3.7 1.4 2.3 4.5 5.3 2.9 6.3 6.4 10.0 Middle Atlantic 6,327 639 10.1 7.2 4.0 8.7 3.1 5.2 11.5 U.l 6.0 12.0 16.9 25.2 East North Central 7,412 764 10.3 5.5 2.8 7.1 2.8 4.9 8.5 12.8 5.7 15.0 16.4 22.5 West North Central 2,177 125 5.8 3.4 3.4 5.0 1.7 2.7 4.4 6.4 3.4 7.3 8.4 14.8 South Atlantic 4,804 917 19.1 8.0 4.9 10.9 3.8 8.5 U.l 24.9 11.2 25.8 41.4 41.7 East South Central 1,849 310 16.8 6.2 4.2 10.7 3.1 6.5 8.0 20.5 9.7 20.4 35.2 37.8 West South Central 2,499 351 14.0 5.8 3.1 9.1 2.5 6.2 8.0 18.8 8.7 20.7 30.7 35.7 Mountain 1,031 33 3.2 1.9 1.2 2.4 1.0 1.8 2.7 3.0 2.0 3.1 4.6 9.6 Pacific 3,697 219 5.9 4.2 2.2 5.6 2.0 3.9 6.2 7.0 4.3 8.4 8.4 12.7 Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 6. Occupational Pattern of Black Employment In Major Metropolitan Areas , 1973 New York, Philadelphia , Baltimore, Washington, Detroit , Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco OCCUPATION GROUP United States N.Y. Pa. Md. D.C. Mich. 111. Mo. Ga. La. Tex. Tex. Cal. Cal. Total Employment 31,839 1,870 797 353 362 752 1,458 480 321 158 353 391 1 ,217 510 White Collar Workers 15,061 1,267 414 177 236 352 757 235 179 75 202 208 687 316 Professional 2,703 229 80 31 54 65 118 44 24 12 34 42 141 63 Technical 1,440 80 40 17 22 34 61 20 11 7 22 24 59 27 Managers & officials 3,066 228 79 34 36 77 147 48 34 15 39 41 125 55 Sales workers 2,745 194 66 33 46 62 150 48 47 15 37 34 113 46 Clerical workers 5,108 536 149 62 79 114 280 75 62 25 70 68 249 125 Blue Collar Workers 14,287 430 322 145 79 349 598 203 117 68 129 152 438 154 Craft workers 4,173 159 III 48 32 94 167 65 37 28 37 66 167 57 Operatives 7,221 173 149 69 29 205 294 101 58 25 69 58 193 69 Laborers 2,894 98 62 29 17 49 137 37 22 15 24 28 79 28 Service Workers 2,491 173 61 31 48 52 103 43 25 14 22 30 91 39 Black Employment: Total 3,439 267 113 74 89 132 217 64 60 39 45 61 104 43 White Collar Workers 843 139 31 17 35 29 58 18 15 7 10 15 38 18 Professional 194 13 3 2 4 2 4 4 1 1 1 2 4 2 Technical 86 12 5 2 4 3 5 2 1 1 2 3 4 2 Managers & officials 108 10 3 2 3 3 5 I I I I 1 3 1 Sales workers 83 14 3 7 5 9 3 4 2 2 3 6 2 Clerical workers 140 90 17 8 18 15 35 6 8 3 5 7 21 11 Blue Collar Workers 434 73 59 41 29 85 128 31 32 23 26 34 48 17 Craft workers 1,986 16 11 6 6 7 18 4 4 5 3 6 11 3 Operatives 271 32 29 22 13 65 70 17 16 9 16 16 26 8 Laborers 1,112 24 19 14 10 13 40 9 12 9 7 11 11 5 Service Workers 599 55 22 16 25 18 31 15 13 8 9 13 18 8 Black as Per Cent of All Employees Total Employment 10.8 14.3 14.1 20.9 24.6 17.6 14.9 13.3 18.6 24.7 12.7 15.7 8.5 8.4 White Collar Workers 5.6 :i.o 7.5 9.3 15.0 4.2 7.7 7..i 8.3 9.2 4.7 7.1 5.5 5.8 Professional 3.2 5. / 3./ 5.0 7.4 3.6 3.4 10.2 4.9 4.9 1.4 3.7 2.8 2.6 Technical 7.5 15.1 12.0 14.2 13.6 \S 8.: 12.2 9.5 10.8 7.0 11.4 7.4 8.4 Managers & officials 2.7 4.4 3.5 4.6 .1 4.3 3.5 2.9 3.8 4.4 2.0 2.7 2.6 2.4 Sales workers 5,1 7.1 6.0 8.4 14.5 7.3 6." 5.9 7.7 11.8 4.6 8.0 4.9 5.0 Clerical workers 3.5 16.8 11.3 13.6 22.6 13.5 12.3 8.6 12.4 12.3 7.2 9.9 8.4 8.6 Blue Collar Workers 13.9 16.9 18.4 28.5 36.5 24.4 21.4 15.2 27.5 34.6 20.1 22.2 10.9 10.8 Craft workers 6.5 10.0 9.6 12.2 18.0 7.6 10.5 6.5 9.9 17.3 8.9 9.7 6.7 5.5 Operatives 15.4 18.6 19.6 31.7 43.9 31.7 23.8 17.3 28.5 36.6 22.7 27.9 13.4 12.2 Laborers 20.7 24.8 31.3 48.0 58.5 25.8 29.2 24.9 54.6 63.8 30.1 40.2 13.8 18.1 Service Workers 24.7 32.0 36.7 50.4 52.4 35.6 29.7 35.7 50.2 59.6 42.5 41.9 19.8 20.9 : Special tabulation by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 7. Indexl/of Occupational Integration in Major Metropolitan Areas, 1973 WHITE COLLAR WORKERS BLUE COLLAR WORKERS Managers & Sales Clerical SERVICE Metropolitan Area Total Prof. Tech. Officials Workers Workers Total Craftsmen Operatives Laborers WORKERS United States 52 30 69 25 47 79 129 60 143 192 ">29 New York City 77 40 106 31 50 117 118 70 130 173 224 Baltimore 45 24 68 22 40 65 136 58 152 230 241 Philadelphia 53 26 85 25 43 80 130 68 139 222 260 Washington, D.C. 61 30 76 33 59 92 148 73 178 238 213 Detroit 47 20 56 24 41 77 139 43 180 147 202 Chicago 52 23 60 23 40 83 144 70 160 196 199 St. Louis 56 77 92 22 44 65 114 49 130 187 268 Atlanta 45 26 51 20 41 67 148 53 153 293 270 New Orleans 37 20 44 18 48 50 140 70 148 258 241 Dallas 37 11 55 16 36 57 158 70 179 237 335 Houston 45 24 73 17 51 63 141 62 178 256 267 Los Angeles 65 33 87 31 58 99 128 79 158 162 233 San Francisco 69 31 100 29 60 102 129 65 145 215 249 1 If The index is calculated as follows: (1) Blacks' share (percentage) of total employment and of employment in each occupation group in each metropolitan area is calculated. (2) Blacks' share (percentage) in each occupation group is divided by their share (percentage) of total employment. An index number of 100 indicates equality. An index number of less than 100 indicates an occupational deficit, and an index number greater than 100 indicates an over-representation in a particular occupation. Source: Calculated from Table 6. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 8. Minority Group Employment in the Federal Government 1973 Total Minority Groups Black Spanish Surnamed American Indian Oriental All Other Full Time Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent PAY SYSTEM Employees Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Total: All Pay Systems 2,524,968 515,129 20.4 395,409 15.7 78,243 3.1 20,266 .8 21,211 .8 2,009,839 79.6 Total: General (or similar) Schedule 1,330,581 217,346 16,3 162,203 12.2 29,984 2.3 13,229 1.0 ,930 .9 1,113,235 83.7 GS-1 thru 4 314,999 89,045 28,3 69,051 21.9 11,082 3.5 6,805 2.2 2,, 107 .7 225,954 o GS 5 thru 8 386,860 79,354 20,5 62,585 16.2 9,880 2.5 3,595 .9 3., 294 .8 307,506 79.5 GS-9 thru 11 314,738 31,552 10.0 20,339 6.5 5,822 1.8 1,885 .6 3,, 506 1.1 283,186 90.0 GS-12 thru 18 313,984 17,395 5.5 10,228 3.3 3,200 1.0 944 .3 3,023 1.0 296,589 94.5 ; GS-12 thru 15 308,267 17,193 5,6 10,087 3,3 3,164 1.0 936 .3 3,, 006 1.0 291,074 94.4 GS-12 129,814 8,204 6..3 4,928 3.3 1,547 1.2 457 .4 1,, 272 1.0 121,610 93.7 GS-13 100,582 5,104 5-1 3,100 3.1 892 .9 265 .3 847 .8 95,478 94.9 GS-14 49,100 2,487 5.1 1,334 2,1 445 .9 139 .3 569 1.2 46,613 94.9 GS-15 28,771 1,398 4..9 725 2.5 280 1.0 75 .3 318 1.1 27,373 95.1 GS-16 thru 18 5,717 202 3.5 141 2.5 36 .6 8 .1 17 .3 5,515 96.5 GS-16 4,055 146 3.6 104 2.6 21 .5 7 .2 14 .3 3,909 96.4 GS-17 1,190 41 3,4 27 2.3 10 .8 1 .1 3 .3 1,149 96.6 GS-18 472 15 3.2 10 2.1 5 1.1 0 0 0 0 457 96.8 Source: U.S. Civil Service Commission, Press Release, March 4, 1974. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 9. Minority Group Employment in the Federal Government 1963 Total Minority Groups Black Spanish Surnamed American Indian-1/ Oriental-^ All Other Full Time Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Pay Category Employees Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of Total 19 6 3 Total: All Pay Systems 2,298,808 374,321 16.3 301,889 13.1 51,682 2.2 10,592 0.5 10,158 0.4 1,924,487 83. Total: General (or Similar) Schedule 1,103,051 125 j, 596 11,. 4 101., 589 9,, 2 15,292 1.4 5,315 0.5 3,, 400 0., 3 977, ,455 88.6 0. GS-1 thru 4 355,329 78,, 170 22,, 0 66,, 169 18,, 6 7,520 2.1 3,373 1.0 1,, 108 ,3 277., 159 0. a GS-5 thru 8 315,203 33 j, 851 10.. 7 26., 452 8., 4 4,809 1.5 1,311 0.4 1,, 279 ,4 281,, 352 0. GS-9 thru 11 243,325 10,, 433 4,. 3 7., 016 2,, 9 2,178 0.9 481 0.2 758 ,3 232,, 892 95.7 GS-12 thru 18 189,194 3,, 142 1 , , 7 1,952 1 . , 0 785 0.4 150 0.1 255 0. ,1 186,, 052 98.3 ; 1/ Surveyed only in Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Dakota in 1963. 2/ Surveyed only in California, Oregon and Washington in 1963. Source: U. S. Civil Service Commission, "Study of Minority Group Employment in the Federal Government," 1963, Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 10, Minority Group Employment as a Percentage cf Total Employment by Occupation, Selected Central Cities, 1967 (Full Time Noneducational Employees) White Collar Blue Collar Total Total All White Officials Professional Office & Blue Craftsmen 6c Service City and Race Occupations Collar & Managers & Technical Clerical Collar Operatives Laborers Workers San Francisco - Oakland Total Number 19,745 6,850 256 4,357 2,237 5,206 3,947 1,257 7,689 Minority (7) 26.8 18.7 4.7 19.8 18.2 29.5 27.8 34.6 32.3 Black (%)0 17.9 9.5 3.9 9.5 10.2 24.4 23.0 28.7 21.0 Spanish American (%) 2.0 1.4 0.0 1.5 1.6 3.2 2.8 4.2 1.1 Oriental <%) 3.8 7.8 0.8 8.8 6.4 1.9 2.0 1.7 9.C Philadelphia Total Number 28,075 9,092 863 5,070 3,159 5,847 3,319 2,528 13,136 Black (%) 40.6 34.3 21.9 27.6 48.3 71.7 56.6 91.7 31.2 Detroit Total Number 26,448 7,206 800 3,028 3,378 8,370 5,259 3,111 10,872 Black (7o) 40.1 30.5 14.4 22.3 41.6 57.1 42.7 81.5 33.4 Atlanta Total Number 6,001 884 65 397 422 2,997 1,450 1,547 2,120 Black (%) 32.1 3.6 0.0 4.5 3.3 53.0 16.7 87.0 14.5 Houston Total Number 8,417 2,060 313 751 996 2,683 1,295 1,388 3,674 Minority (%) 27.8 11.0 10.5 9.3 12.3 61.9 33.4 88.5 12.4 Black (%) 19.1 4.4 6.1 4.0 4.2 47.9 23.7 70.5 6.3 Spanish-American (%) 8,7 6.6 4.5 5.3 8.1 14.1 9.7 18.1 6.1 Memphi s Total Number 10,729 2,783 433 1,311 1,039 3,980 1,486 2,494 3,969 Black (%) 41.7 20.9 2.8 32.5 14.0 65.8 13.9 96.7 32.2 Baton Rouge Total Number 1,990 597 97 230 252 702 401 301 709 Black (%) 16.4 0.9 0.0 2.2 0.0 41.6 20.0 70.4 4.2 Source: U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, "For All the People...By All the Teople: A Report 11 on Equal Opportunity in State and Local Government Employment, 1969. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table 11. Employment Outlook in Selected Occupations, 1972-1985 Employment: 1970 Employment: 1972 Employment Outlook: 1985 Annual Earnings, 1972 Black Job Opportunities Per Cent Women as Per Demand Occupation otal NUmber of total Total Cent of Total for Workers (Demand vs. Supply) Beginning Average I. Health Occupations Physicians 279,658 6,002 2 316,500 7 strong very good $16,700 $44,000 Dentists 92,563 2,363 3 105,000 2 very strong very good 13,996 34,000 Registered Nurses 835,797 65,224 8 850,000 99 very strong good 8,100 10,000 Medical Technologists 75,000 80 moderate good 7,694 9,520 II. Education Elementary School Teachers 1,428,831 134,, 537 9 1,, 300,000 85 weak poor 7,, 357 9,823 Secondary School Teachers 993,548 65,, 540 7 1,, 100,000 50 very weak very poor 7j» 357 10,460 College & University Teachers 491,707 16 j, 284 3 620,000 25 weak very poor 10,, 662 13,813 III. Social Services Recreation Workers 50,106 ,923 14 55,000 45 very strong good 7,, 200 9,520 Social Workers 218,281 34,, 169 16 185,000 63 very strong good 7,, 320 9,800 IV. Urban Improvement and Protection Architects 56,284 1,, 315 2 60,000 4 very strong good 7,, 800 14,975 Policeman (local) 355,924 22,, 750 6 370,000 3 very strong good 9,, 500 10,750 Urban & Regional Planners 9,130 478 5 12,000 10 strong very good 9,, 000 11,667 V. Social Scientists Economists 66,271 1,, 550 2 70,000 6 moderate good 7,, 694 17,200 Psychologists 28,388 1,, 213 4 57,000 25 strong good 11,, 000 16,000 Sociologists 1,364 142 10 15,000 15 very strong good 11., 500 14,000 VI. Scientific & Technical Chemists 110,060 3,, 854 3 134,ooa 10 moderate good 9,000 15,600 Engineers 1,233,148 14,, 343 1 1,, 300,000 1 very strong good 10,, 700 16,600 Engineering 6> Scientific Technicians 819,714 26,273 3 700,000 12 very strong good 10,000 12,000 Statistical Clerks 244,918 17 ,971 7 300,000 65 moderate good 5,, 200 6,630 Til. Computer & Related Electronic Computer Operating Personnel 13,028 355 3 15,000 15 strong very good 6,, 604 9,204 Programmers 163,766 6 ,108 4 186,000 25 strong good 8,, 500 11,000 System Analysts 82,478 2 ,571 3 100,000 10 very strong good u, ,800 15,700 VIII.Banking, Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Bank Officers 313,338 4,509 1 220,000 17 atrong good 7,980 25,, 000 Bank Tellers 251,110 10,491 4 250,000 86 strong good 3,328 5,, 824 Insurance Agents and brokers 459,237 13,675 3 385,000 90 moderate poor (commission) 14,, 000 Insurance underwriters -- — 60,000 90 moderate good 8,140 13,, 500 Real Estate Salesworkers 261,300 4,573 2 Securities Salesworkers 98,135 1*260 1 110,000 90 moderate good 7,200 21,, 000 IX. Administration & Related Accountants 711,363 16,246 2 '720,000 25 strong excellent 9,100 14,650 Lawyers 263,745 3,406 1 300,000 5 moderate good 11,614 25,000 Purchasing Agents 162,256 2,981 2 180,000 10 moderate good 8,000 15,000 X. Co—unicatlons & Related Editors & Reporters 148,112 3,328 2 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Newspaper Reporters 39,000 40 moderate good 5,200 12,000 Radio & TV Announcers 21,705 527 2 17,000 6 moderate poor 8,840 11,336 Source: 1970 Employment: 1970 Census of Population, "Occupational Characteristics," PC(2)7A. Employment 1972 aad Outlook, 1985: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1974-75 Edition. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Andrew F. Brimmer (1974, May 4). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19740505_brimmer

@misc{wtfs_speech_19740505_brimmer,
  author = {Andrew F. Brimmer},
  title = {Speech},
  year = {1974},
  month = {May},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19740505_brimmer},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}