Seesaw

In some sections of the U.S. last week, the rumble of recession grew. But in most the sounds were still faint and far away. Largely because of seasonal layoffs, unemployment jumped to 1,830,000 during the month of December, leading Government experts to forecast a total of 2,000,000 jobless by the end of January.

Autoworkers were hit hard, as carmakers began laying off men and cutting back production. Studebaker planned to drop 3,000 workers; Hudson laid off 4,500 men and shut down completely for seven days. The big surprise was Chrysler, which laid off 7,650 men and cut back to one shift at its main Plymouth assembly plant. Though Chrysler gave no explanation, other automen said that Chrysler's 1954 models were not selling as well as expected. But Ford and General Motors still roared ahead, and total auto production jumped 66% from the previous week. Railroad traffic was still dropping and steel production was rising more slowly than expected after the holiday lull. Credit was still easing, and in Manhattan interest rates on commercial loans dropped to the lowest point (2 1/8) in three years. However, consumers showed no signs of easing up their big buying. Department store sales were climbing; they edged up 1% over the same week a year ago. A poll of 250 big retailers showed that most expected to sell more goods in the first half of 1954 than they did in 1953. The stock market also took an optimistic view. The Dow-Jones industrials jumped 3.29 points to 284.19 before a late dip knocked two points from the gain.

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