* 24.6 percent of all farm laborers.

For other attractive job categories, the present rate of progress would leave Negroes very far from equality. By 1985, only 3.8 percent of all managers and proprietors would be nonwhite. That is just 420,000 people, compared to an equality target figure of 1.33 million.

There would be

* 410,000 sales people compared to a target of 830,000

* 1.20 million craftsmen compared to a target of 1.63 million

* 1.51 million clerical workers, compared to a target of 2.16 million.

At the other end of the scale, there would still be

* 850,000 laborers, instead of a target of 530,000, and

* 3.7 million service workers, compared to a target rate of 1.88 million.

These figurse are very crude, of course. The categories are extremely broad. Within each category, Negroes, on the average, have worse jobs at lower rates of pay. But even at this very gross level, many of the essential problems emerge clearly.

Human Investment for Economic Equality

Can the recent rate of progress be sustained for the next twenty years? And could it be accelerated to move Negroes more quickly toward economic equality?

Doors are opening. But is the rate of investment in human resources sufficient to equip Negroes for the better jobs? Again, a few gross figures to outline the problem and show what remains to be done.

The typical professional and technical job is held by a college graduate see Table 3). A high school diploma is a prerequisite for the typical managerial, clerical and sales job, and for the skilled craftsman. By 1985, semiskilled jobs and service jobs will also be held typically by high school graduates.

TABLE 3 Median Education of Occupation Groups, 1965 and 1985 Estimated   White  1965 Nonwhite  1985 Total Occupation Group  (yrs.)  (yrs.)  (yrs.) White-collar workers Professional & technical workers  16.3  16.5  16.3 Managers, officials & proprietors  12.6  11.8  12.6 Clerical  12.5  12.6  12.5 Sales  12.5  12.3  12.5 Blue-collar workers Craftsmen & foremen  11.8  10.4  12.5 Operatives  10.7  10.2  12.0 Laborers, excluding farm & mine  9.9  8.6  11.0 Service workers Private household  8.9  8.9  10.0 Other  11.6  10.4  12.0 Farm workers Farmers & farm managers  8.9  5.9  8.8 Laborers & foremen  8.7  5.3  8.4

Source: For 1965 data, Manpower Report of the President, March, 1966. 1985 figures are very conservative projections of the trends of the last 18 years.