these funds were made necessary because of discriminatory hiring. And, gentlemen, a part of those payments were Federal funds.

Because the information is so important, and pertinent, I'd like to quote some figures given in testimony last week by the Honorable W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor. "Only a small proportion of new employees hired today are 45 or older. In 70 percent of the establishments surveyed by the Employment Service for my report to Congress, less than 5 percent of the new hires were workers 45 and over. One-fifth of the employers hired no workers over 45. Overall, only 8.6 percent of the total new hires represented workers 45 and over.

"About half of all job openings which develop in the private economy each year are closed to those over 55. A quarter are closed to those over 45."

Gentlemen, I think those are shocking statistics. A man might spend years building up proficiency in a given line of work and, through no fault of his own find that his job had simply disappeared. And, because he was over 45 years of age he might find that he was unemployable. I believe that this is incongruous with our moral precepts and ideals that all men in this country are entitled to an opportunity. I do not see how we can sit idly by and see opportunity denied someone solely because he has reached his 45th or 46th birthday.

How would you feel if you were told you could not seek reeleection because you had reached your 45th birthday?

I readily admit that pension plans, insurance plans, and other fringe benefits might make such a law difficult for some employers. But, I feel quite confident that faced with the need, the insurors would come up with an equitable plan for employers that would cover the hiring of these older workers.

In this day and age when we are continually finding new ways to prolong man's lifetime, it is incongruous that we turn our backs on the need of older people to sustain themselves through gainful employment.

My bill, while perhaps not the entire answer, is certainly a step in the right direction and I urge your careful consideration of the provisions I have set forth.

STATEMENT BY HON. DANIEL J. FLOOD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me this opportunity to testify on the subject at hand before your distinguished committee.

The problems faced by older workers are particularly acute in Luzerne County, Pa., my congressional district, where we have experienced such heavy losses in employment opportunities due to the decline in our basic anthracite mining industry.

The magnificent efforts of our local people, which have generated over 80 new industrial plants or expansions providing about 15,000 new jobs since 1950, manifestly could not offset the loss of 30,000 jobs in mining plus several thousand more in activities serving the mining industry.

Consequently, Luzerne County showed a population loss of 45,000 persons or 11.5 percent from 392,000 in 1950 to 347,000 in 1960. Our gains in manufacturing employment over the past 5 years, coupled with an end to severe mining losses, have apparently stemmed this population loss at a level of about 346,000.

However, we find that we now have a disproportionate share of older people in our total population. The losses that occurred during the 1950's were heavily concentrated in the age group 20 to 39, and we actually had an increase of 12,000 people or 13 percent in the number of persons over 50 years of age.

I point these cold figures up to indicate that with this population loss it is entirely our younger people who relocate and the lack of employment opportunity falls most severely on those in the older age bracket.

In Luzerne County, we have been very much concerned about this. We have encouraged older workers to participate in retraining programs. We have also encouraged employers to employ them. And we have had some measure of

success.

Many of our established industries take pride in the loyalty, stability, and productivity of their older employees.

The technical schools in Luzerne County are continuously retraining and placing older workers with employers who are so satisfied that they continue to call upon the schools for mature persons who are willing to go through training and who really appreciate having a job with a regular pay check.

Our Federal installations such as the Tobyhanna Army Depot, Veterans' Administration, and Social Security Administration attest to the stability and productivity of long-time employees and older workers in this area.

However, the problem remains with us. At latest count over 3,000 persons over 45 years of age were actively seeking employment in Luzerne County. This is 35 percent of all those registered for work with the U.S. Employment Servicea ratio of slightly more than one in every three. And this figure, of course, does not include unknown numbers of others who have become discouraged and are no longer registered.

Our success in retraining and placement of older workers in Luzerne County, where we have had an abundant supply of unemployed of all ages, while limited in scope is strong evidence that something can be done for these people. Given an opportunity to do so the older worker proves to be diligent, stable, productive, and above all most appreciative of a job where he can earn a living and retain his self respect.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to repeat and emphasize the special problem we have in Luzerne County where the average age of those seeking employment is considerably above the national average because of the decline in employment in the anthracite industry with the closings of numerous mining operations in the county where men were employed all of their working lives and were thrown out of work in their forties and fifties.

We in Luzerne County know this sad story much too well and I feel strongly that the Congress has a clear and distinct responsibility to help alleviate this chronic condition which in my judgment has become a black eye on an otherwise prosperous and affluent economy and society.

I am hopeful that this committee and the Congress can develop some corrective and helpful legislation to attack this discriminatory practice that has unfortunately become widespread throughout our Nation.

Mr. Chairman, as part of my statement today I would like to submit for the record of these hearings an age distribution table, a chart showing population changes between 1950 and 1960 by selected age groups, and a release of June 23, 1965, by the Pennsylvania State Employment Service.

LABOR MARKET LETTER, Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton Area, May 1965.

AREA EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES GAIN

Estimated employment in Luzerne County at 125,000 continued upward for the 4th consecutive month and was up 1,400 persons from the mid-April figure of 123,600. Manufacturing employment at 47,500 declined by 100 as losses of 100 each were experienced in tobacco and textile products, which were partially offset by a 100 gain in apparel. Nonmanufacturing at 61,100 moved up by 600 with gains of 200 in construction, 200 in services and miscellaneous, and 100 each in mining and government, while all other industry lines remained unchanged. The self-employed, unpaid family and domestic workers group at 15,200 recorded a seasonal gain of 800 persons and agricultural employment at 1,200 was up by 100. The current estimate of 125,000 workers is 1,300 more than last year's total of 123,700 and is the highest employment figure since 1957.

UNEMPLOYMENT AND CLAIMS DECLINE

Total unemployment currently estimated at 7,400 declined 1,500 during the past month to reach the lowest unemployment estimate ever recorded by the Bureau and reduced the percentage of unemployed workers to the civilian workforce to a low of 5.6 percent. The continued high level of employment in manufacturing, coupled with the seasonal gains in nonmanufacturing lowered unemployment. Reflecting the employment increase in the area since mid-April, claims for total unemployment compensation at 4,287 were down 1,299 such claims from the 5,586 filed during a comparable week in April. The area is still classified as group D (an area of substantial and persistent unemployment.)

LOCAL LABOR SUPPLY SURVEY

The occupational distribution by sex and age of persons currently registered for work is shown in the table below:

Average weekly earnings for production workers in manufacturing industries estimated at $72.56 were $1.76 more than the $70.80 recorded last month. The increase resulted from a seven-tenths of an hour gain in the workweek from 35.4 to 36.1 hours, coupled with a 1-cent rise in the average hourly earnings. Last year's average weekly earnings were $71.96.

GUY A. SOLFANELLI,
District Manager.

STATEMENT OF HON. LINDLEY BECKWORTH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you on your interest in the older American worker. The Congressional Record of February 13, 1964, evidences the effort I have made along this line. Also the Congressional Record of June 27, 1958, evidences some other efforts I have made along this line.

I hope the officials of our Government will hire more older people than they have in the past. I believe this to be just and fair and very important from the standpoint of setting a good example.

Mr. O'HARA. Also, without objection, today's record will be held open until the conclusion of these hearings for submission of statements by other Members of Congress.

The Select Subcommittee on Labor of the Committee on Education and Labor will now adjourn, to meet again tomorrow morning in room 2261, at 10 a.m., at which time we will hear testimony from Mr. John Edelman, National Council of Senior Citizens; Mr. Murray Latimer, consulting actuary and former Chairman of the Railroad Retirement Board; and representatives of the Department of Defense and General Services Administration.

(Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the committee adjourned to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, September 1, 1965.)