income in the Pittsburg district in the East. The Irish families whose heads were foreign-born exhibit their largest annual income in Community C. The table next presented shows the percentage of families having a total yearly income under $500, by locality and by general nativity and race of head of family. TABLE 49.-Per cent of families having a total yearly income under $500, by locality and by general nativity and race of head of family. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 20 or more selected families reporting in each of two or more localiities. The totals, however, are for all races. For selection of families, see Vol. II, p. 272.] a Community A and Community B are included in the Pittsburg district. On comparing the totals shown in the preceding table, it is seen that foreign families have considerably larger proportions in all localities with an annual income under $500 than do the families whose heads were of native birth. In the Pittsburg district in the East, 24.2 per cent of the native-born families, as contrasted with 49.6 per cent of those in the South, have an annual family income under $500, while 45.3 per cent of the foreign-born in the Pittsburg district and 67.5 per cent of those in the South also have an annual family income less than $500. The total for the foreignborn shows a smaller proportion of families in the Middle West with an income of this description, and for the native-born the smallest proportion in the Pittsburg district in the East. Of the families whose heads were of foreign birth, the South Italians and Slovaks in the Pittsburg district exhibit the lowest per cent of families, in comparison with other localities in which these races are represented, with incomes annually under $500. WIVES AT WORK. In connection with family incomes the question arises as to what contributions to this source arise from the employment or earnings of the wives of the families. In the following series of tables, which set forth the proportions of wives and female members of the households having regular employment outside the home, or keeping boarders or lodgers, this question is partly answered. The first table submitted shows by general nativity and race of head of family the number and per cent of wives at work outside the home and their average annual earnings. TABLE 50.-Wives at work, by general nativity and race of head of family. Of the 2,040 wives in the 2,049 families studied in the above table, 2.7 per cent are at work and earn an average of $130 each year. A smaller proportion of wives are at work among the foreign-born than among those native-born of native father, either white or negro, while of households whose heads were native-born of native father both white and negro have a smaller proportion of wives at work than those whose heads were native-born of foreign father. Of the households whose heads were foreign-born it will be seen that the German shows the largest proportion, or 7.7 per cent, followed by the Magyar with 5.5 per cent, of wives employed, while with the exception of certain races which show none, the Polish families show the smallest proportion, or 0.6 per cent, of their wives to be employed. The following table shows the per cent of wives in the households studied who were at work, according to locality and general nativity and race of head of family: TABLE 51.-Per cent of wives at work, by locality and by general nativity and race of head of family. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 20 or more selected families reporting in each of two or more localities. The totals, however, are for all races. For selection of families, see Vol. II, p. 272.] a Community A and Community B are included in the Pittsburg district. The totals of the preceding table indicate the greatest tendency toward the employment of wives outside the home in the case of all three general nativity groups in Community C in the East. Among the native-born the next largest proportion of wives at work is shown in the Pittsburg district in the East and among the foreign-born in the Middle West. Of the several races the Magyars exhibit the greatest tendency toward the employment of wives outside the home, showing, however, a much larger proportion in the East in Community C than in the other parts of the East or in the Middle West. The South Italians and Slovaks are the only other races reporting in more localities than those of the East, the South Italians showing a higher percentage in the South than in Community C of the East, and the Slovaks reporting more in the South than in the Pittsburg district, where their per cent is zero. ANNUAL EARNINGS OF FEMALES 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER IN THE HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED. The following table shows the range in annual earnings of females in the households studied who were 18 years of age or over and who were working for wages. The presentation is by general nativity and race of individual: TABLE 52.- Yearly earnings (approximate) of females 18 years of age or over, by general nativity and race of individual. Of the 144 females furnishing information for the above table with average earnings of $205 per year, those of foreign birth show lower average annual earnings than do the native females born of foreign father, and the latter show smaller average annual earnings than do the native whites born of native father. RELATION BETWEEN THE EARNINGS OF HUSBANDS AND THE PRACTICE OF WIVES OF KEEPING BOARDERS OR LODGERS. The tables next presented show, by yearly earnings of husband and by general nativity and race of head of family, for the industry as a whole, the number and percentage of families in which wives have employment or keep boarders or lodgers. TABLE 53.-Number of families in which wife has employment or keeps boarders or lodgers, by yearly earnings of husband and by general nativity and race of head of family. a For selection of families, see Vol. II, p. 272. Of the selected families, only those which have both husband and wife present appear in this table. This column includes 37 families in which husbands' earnings are reported as "none." |