Jewish Immigration to the United States from 1881 to 1910 Part 11

[115] _Cf._ table XLVIII, p. 185.

[116] _Cf._ table XLIX, p. 185.

[117] The number of Jewish emigrant aliens in 1908 was deducted from the number of Jewish immigrant aliens: the combined number of Jewish emigrant and non-emigrant aliens in 1909 was deducted from the combined number of Jewish immigrant and non-immigrant aliens. _Cf._ Fairchild, _Immigration_, 1913, p. 361.

[118] _Cf._ table L, p. 186.

CHAPTER III

OCCUPATIONS

The occupations of an immigrant people throw light upon their industrial equipment and their probable future occupations in this country. A study of the occupational distribution of the Jewish immigrants from 1899 to 1910 will serve to illuminate some of the characteristics of their movement.[119]

The largest group is that cla.s.sed as having "no occupation". This group comprises 484,175 immigrants, and is 45.1 per cent of the total.

In the fact that it holds so large a place in the occupational distribution, there is reflected the great number of women and children among the Jewish immigrants. The rise in the proportion of the "no occupation" group in the second half of the twelve years follows a similar rise in the proportion of women and children in the Jewish movement, which has been previously noted.[120] These are, in the main, economically dependent, a fact which is of the highest importance with reference to the character of this immigration, as well as in its influence upon the economic and social problems facing the immigrant Jews in their new home.

Skilled laborers were the second largest group, numbering 395,823 immigrants and comprising 36.8 per cent of the total. Next in order was the group cla.s.sed as "miscellaneous", with 186,989 immigrants, representing 17.4 per cent of the total. This group included common and farm laborers, servants, merchants and dealers, _etc._ In professional occupations there were 7,455 immigrants, comprising 7 per cent of the total.

Omitting the "no occupation" group, and considering the 590,267 Jewish immigrants reporting occupations, we find that of these the great majority--67.1 per cent--were skilled laborers.[121] Laborers numbered 69,444 and comprised 11.8 per cent. Next in order of numbers were servants, 65,532, who comprised 11.1 per cent. A much smaller group was that composed of merchants and dealers (chiefly petty merchants, hucksters, and peddlers), who numbered 31,491 and were 5.3 per cent of the total. Of farm laborers there were 11,460, comprising 1.9 per cent. The entire professional cla.s.s comprised 1.3 per cent of the total. There were 1,000 farmers, who comprised .2 per cent.

In the professional cla.s.ses the teachers were the largest group, represented by 2,192, and comprising 29.4 per cent.[122] The next cla.s.s were the musicians, who numbered 1,624, comprising 21.8 per cent of the total. Together these two groups were more than half of the total.

Thus, by far the most important occupational group was that of the skilled laborers.[123] An examination of the distribution of this group shows that they were represented in thirty-five trades. By far the largest group of the skilled laborers were the tailors, numbering 145,272, and comprising 36.6 per cent. The dressmakers and seamstresses numbered 39,482, and comprised one-tenth of the total.

Including the closely allied trades such as hat and cap makers, milliners, _etc._, the garment workers composed practically one-half of the entire body of skilled laborers. Second in rank were the carpenters and joiners, who, together with the cabinet makers and woodworkers (not specified) numbered 40,901, and comprised more than one-tenth of the total. The fourth highest group were the shoemakers, with 23,519, or 5.9 per cent of the total. Clerks and accountants, and painters and glaziers contributed an almost equal number--the former 17,066, the latter 16,387--representing 4.3 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively of the total. Of butchers there were 11,413, or 2.9 per cent, and of bakers 10,925, or 2.8 per cent. There were also 9,385 locksmiths, or 2.4 per cent, and 8,517 blacksmiths, or 2.2 per cent.

Together, these ten groups comprised 318,104, or 80.4 per cent of the Jews in skilled occupations.

Another skilled occupation represented by more than 5,000 was tinners.

Trade groups of more than 3,000 were watch and clock makers, tobacco workers, hat and cap makers, barbers and hairdressers, weavers and spinners, tanners and curriers, furriers and fur workers, and bookbinders. More than a thousand skilled laborers were found in the following trades: photographers and upholsterers, mechanics (not specified), masons, printers, saddlers and harness makers, milliners, metal workers (other than iron, steel and tin), machinists, jewelers and millers. Less than a thousand laborers were found in two groups: iron and steel workers, and textile workers (not specified).

The Jewish immigrants were therefore concentrated in the two groups of "no occupation" and "skilled laborers", to which belonged more than four-fifths of the total number.

In the part taken by the Jewish immigrants in the occupational distribution of the total immigrants from 1899 to 1909, these two groups are prominent.[124] To the 1,247,674 skilled laborers, the Jewish immigrants contributed 362,936, or 29.1 per cent. This was more than twice the proportion of the Jewish immigrants in the total number of immigrants. They were also represented in the "no occupation" group by more than one and one-half times their proportion of the total immigration, contributing to a total of 2,165,287 immigrants, 445,728, or 20.6 per cent. In striking contrast with the great contribution to these two cla.s.ses is their insignificant contributions to the groups of common laborers and farmers, and farm laborers, to which they contributed respectively 2.9 per cent, 1.1 per cent, and 0.1 per cent.

It is, however, in comparison with the occupational grouping of the other races that the peculiarities of the distribution of the Jewish immigrants are most clearly seen.[125] An examination of the number of those cla.s.sed as having "no occupation" of each European immigrant people and the percentage this group comprised of the total immigration of each people, shows that the Jews have the highest proportion, 45.1 per cent, of all immigrants belonging to this group.

The Bohemians and Moravians are next in order, with 39.5 per cent. The absolute numbers of the Jews belonging to this group are also higher than those of any other people. The Italians have only 440,274 immigrants in the "no occupation" group, as compared with the 484,175 Jewish immigrants in this group. Even more striking is the contrast with the Poles, who have only 200,634 immigrants belonging to this group. This corresponds closely with similar facts as to the relative proportions of females and children found in the Jewish immigration and among the other immigrant races.

An even greater contrast exists in the proportions of skilled laborers between the Jewish and the other immigrant peoples.[126] Of those reporting occupations the Jews have, by far, the highest proportion of those in skilled occupations. The nearest approach to their proportion of skilled laborers is found among the Scotch, with 57.9 per cent. The next in order are the English, with 48.7 per cent. A much smaller proportion is found among the Bohemians and Moravians and the Germans.

All these races contribute not only much smaller proportions than the Jews, but very much smaller absolute numbers to the total body of skilled laborers.

Of laborers (including farm laborers), the Jews, on the other hand, have a smaller proportion, 13.7 per cent, than any people, except the Scotch (who resemble the Jews most strongly in their high proportion of skilled laborers and their low proportion of common laborers).

The most striking contrast, in occupational distribution, however, is presented with the Slavic peoples.[127] Of those reporting occupations, the Slavic peoples, with the exception of the Bohemians and Moravians, are seen to be overwhelmingly concentrated in the two related groups of common and farm laborers, whereas the Jews are mostly to be found in the group of skilled laborers. Relatively ten times as many Jews as Poles, for instance, are in the skilled occupations.

That the Jews form a striking exception in their occupational grouping is evident. A comparison of the occupational distribution of the "old"

and the "new" immigrants with that of the Jewish immigrants, from 1899 to 1909, leads to the same conclusion.[128] The Jewish immigrants have twice as many in the "no occupation" group as the "new" immigrants, and a much higher percentage than the "old" immigrants. They have relatively four times as many skilled laborers as the "new"

immigrants, and more than one and one-half times as many as the "old"

immigrants. Most remarkable is the fact that in spite of the relatively great proportion of women among the Jewish immigrants, they have a smaller proportion of servants than the "new" immigrants and one-third as large a proportion as the "old" immigrants. This indicates that the Jewish women are, as a rule, not servants, but either do not engage in work, or, if they do, are employed in skilled occupations. The latter group is, however, relatively inconspicuous.

In professional occupations the Jews occupy an intermediate position between the "old" and the "new" immigrants. In common and farm laborers, the Jews have an exceedingly low proportion as compared with the "old" and a strikingly low proportion as compared with the "new"

immigrants.

Some distinctive traits in the occupational grouping of the Jewish immigrants have become evident. They are apart from all the other immigrant peoples in the great number of those having "no occupation".

In other words, the Jewish immigrants are burdened with a far greater number of dependents than any other immigrant people, standing apart in this respect from the peoples of the "old" immigration and to a far greater extent from the peoples of the "new" immigration. Secondly, the Jewish immigrants are distinguished by a far greater proportion of skilled laborers. In this respect again they exceed even the peoples of the "old" immigration. The fact that the skilled laborers are more largely represented among the Jewish immigrants than they are in the occupations of the Jews in the countries of Eastern Europe is significant as showing an unusual pressure upon these cla.s.ses abroad.

FOOTNOTES:

[119] _Cf._ table LI, p. 186.

[120] _Cf. supra_, pp. 127-128.

[121] _Cf._ table LII, p. 187.

[122] _Cf._ table LIII, p. 187.

[123] _Cf._ table LIV, p. 188.

[124] _Cf._ table LV, p. 189.

[125] _Cf._ table LVI, p. 189.

[126] _Cf._ table LVII, p. 190.

[127] _Cf._ table LVIII, p. 191.

[128] _Cf._ table LIX, p. 191.

CHAPTER IV

ILLITERACY

The rate of illiteracy has been generally used as a rough standard for estimating the mental equipment of the immigrants. A consideration of the rate of illiteracy among the Jewish immigrants dispels the popular impression that practically every Jew is able to read and write.[129]

Out of a total of 806,786 Jews fourteen years of age and over who entered this country from 1899 to 1910, 209,507 or 26 per cent, were unable to read and write. As the average rate of illiteracy among all the immigrants, from 1899 to 1910, was 26.7 per cent, the rate of Jewish illiteracy is seen to be only slightly below the average.

A number of considerations enter. One of these is the influence of s.e.x. It is generally recognized that, as a rule, females are more usually unlettered than males. This difference of illiteracy between the s.e.xes is also more p.r.o.nounced in countries where popular education is less widely spread than in those where it is the rule. Such is the case with the countries of Eastern Europe, which are the source of the recent Jewish immigration. The contrast between male and female illiteracy is strongest among the East-European Jews, who neglect the education of their daughters as much as they strive to educate their sons. This is reflected in the relative illiteracy of males and females among the Jewish immigrants.[130] Of the 172,718 Jewish males fourteen years of age and over entering this country from 1908 to 1912, 33,970, or 19.7 per cent, were illiterates. Of the 139,283 females fourteen years of age and over, 51,303, or 36.8 per cent, were illiterates. The illiteracy of Jewish females is thus almost twice as high as that of Jewish males. As the proportion of females in the Jewish immigration is so large, the influence of the s.e.x factor in increasing the rate of illiteracy among the Jewish immigrants is considerable. A tendency from a lower to a higher rate of illiteracy is discernible. The average rate for the first six years was 23.8 per cent, that for the last six years was 27.2 per cent. This corresponds with the increase in the latter years in the proportion of females in the Jewish immigration, which has been previously noted.

A comparison of the rate of illiteracy of the Jewish immigrants with that of the other immigrant peoples shows that the Jews occupy an intermediate position.[131] They have a relatively high rate of illiteracy, as compared with the peoples from Northern and Western Europe. In comparison with the Slavs, their rate of illiteracy is also much higher than that of the Bohemians and Moravians, and, higher also, though to a far less degree, than that of the Slovaks.

The relative position of the Jews is clearly shown in a comparison of their rate of illiteracy from 1899 to 1910 with that for the same period of the "old" and the "new" immigration (from the latter of which the Jews are excepted.)[132] The rate of illiteracy of the "old"

immigration is 2.5 per cent, that of the "new" immigration (Jews excepted) is 37.2 per cent, that of the Jews is 25.7 per cent. The Jews occupy a middle ground, yet near enough to the "new" immigration to be cla.s.sed with it in this respect.