<P> The unemployment problem ended with the mobilization for war . Out of a labor force of 54 million, unemployment fell in half from 7.7 million in spring 1940 (when the first accurate statistics were compiled) to 3.4 million in fall 1941 and fell in half again to 1.5 million in fall 1942, hitting an all - time low of 700,000 in fall 1944 . There was a growing labor shortage in war centers, with sound trucks going street by street begging for people to apply for war jobs . </P> <P> Greater wartime production created millions of new jobs, while the draft reduced the number of young men available for civilian jobs . So great was the demand for labor that millions of retired people, housewives, and students entered the labor force, lured by patriotism and wages . The shortage of grocery clerks caused retailers to convert from service at the counter to self - service . With new shorter women clerks replacing taller men, some stores lowered shelves to 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m). Before the war most groceries, dry cleaners, drugstores, and department stores offered home delivery service . The labor shortage and gasoline and tire rationing caused most retailers to stop delivery . They found that requiring customers to buy their products in person increased sales . </P> <P> Women also joined the workforce to replace men who had joined the forces, though in fewer numbers . Roosevelt stated that the efforts of civilians at home to support the war through personal sacrifice was as critical to winning the war as the efforts of the soldiers themselves . "Rosie the Riveter" became the symbol of women laboring in manufacturing . The war effort brought about significant changes in the role of women in society as a whole . When the male breadwinner returned, wives could stop working . At the end of the war, most of the munitions - making jobs ended . Many factories were closed; others retooled for civilian production . In some jobs women were replaced by returning veterans who did not lose seniority because they were in service . However the number of women at work in 1946 was 87% of the number in 1944, leaving 13% who lost or quit their jobs . Many women working in machinery factories and more were taken out of the work force . Many of these former factory workers found other work at kitchens, being teachers, etc . </P> <P> The table shows the development of the United States labor force by sex during the war years . </P>

2. what roles did minorities play in world war ii