ECONOMIC

of essentially declining participation rates. One reason for these declineswas the absorption into the Armed Forces of many young men who wouldotherwise have been part of the civilian labor force. In addition, selectiveservice legislation, which provided exemption from the draft for those continuingtheir education, induced many others to stay in school. Recentlythe growth in college enrollments has slackened, and a number of young menwho might otherwise have continued their schooling are instead enteringthe labor force either directly after high school or after a year or two ofspecialized training.Teenagers have also displayed an increased tendency to join the laborforce. A large proportion of teenagers in the labor force are in school, holdingor seeking part-time jobs. During the past few years a wider availability ofpart-time jobs has contributed to the upward trend in the labor force participationof younger workers. The tight labor market of 1973 accelerated thisrise as it did in 1955, 1966, and 1972.EMPLOYMENT AND HOURSLast year's increase in the demand for labor took the form of a largeincrease in employment and little change in the average length of the workweek.The failure of weekly hours to rise is not an unusual cyclical developmentfor an advanced stage of a business expansion. In the early phasesof a business cycle upswing, employers prefer to lengthen hours ratherthan hire new employees, because the latter course of action is often morecostly and employers are uncertain about the duration of the expansion.Part-time workers are consequently put on full-time schedules, and fulltimeworkers are switched increasingly to overtime. There are limits to thiskind of switching, however, because overtime involves premium pay; atsome point it becomes more profitable to add additional workers, or an additionalshift, when that option is available.Another factor that served to hold down average weekly hours in 1973was the behavior of labor turnover. Average weekly hours are total manhoursworked during the week divided by the number of persons on thepayroll. Labor turnover was quite high during the year, because increasedjob availability led many workers to switch their jobs. As some employeesquit and others are hired to take their place, an increased proportion of thoselisted on the payroll during the survey week have put in less than a fullworkweek.UNEMPLOYMENTThe overall unemployment rate averaged 4.9 percent in 1973, well belowthe 5.6 percent average of 1972. Unemployment declined for almost alldemographic, occupational, or industry groups (Table 6).Last year we described "maximum employment," which is the goal specifiedin the Employment Act, as "a condition in which persons who wantwork and seek it realistically on reasonable terms can find employment." Webelieve that condition was approximately met in 1973, even though the aver-58