Production, Job Level To Rise, Mitchell Says
Secretary of Labor James P'. Mitchell took issue yesterday with forecasts of chronic unemployment amid increasing</br></br>Mitchell said ÛÏobviouslyÛ he does not agree with that analysis of coming events:- Instead, he said, he believes the general level of economic activity this year will be up over last year. All current indications, he said, seem to point to a higher level of production and employment, and ÛÏunemployment naturally will be less.Û	j</br></br>Mitchell told a press conference he believes production and employment will be higher this year than last and unemployment will be lower.</br></br>! The Secretary also signaled a Government hands-off atti-j tude toward the impending showdown in the automobile industry on the demand o.f the CIO Auto Workers for a guaranteed annual wage- Mitchell said that is a matter for collective bargaining on which it would be ÛÏinappropriateÛ fori him to comment. He said lie was confident there is enough Û÷Û¢skill, judgment and maturityÛ, in labor and management to i decide the guaranteed wage at the bargaining table.	; i As for the outlook on unemployment, Secretary Mitchell made clear he does not share the concern voiced to CongressÛª Joint Committee on the Econ*: omic Report about a danger of chronic unemployment. Leon H. Keyserling, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Truman, was among those who told the committee the nation may be in for a period of rising unemployment amid mounting production..</br></br>ÛÏThe whole problem of technical advance is one we have faced for many years,Û said Mitchell. ÛÏWe may be in for some period of acceleration. However, the ingenuity of labor and management has always met the problemÛ