A second comparison is suggested by the investigations conducted by
the Department of Labor. Through these it was found that the annual
cash earnings of the working-women in twenty-two typical cities are
$272.45.[212] This average takes into consideration time lost—a factor
which does not enter into domestic employments except in a casual way.
The annual earnings, therefore, of the class of women represented by
the Report are much less than those of the domestic employee. The same
point is also illustrated by a comparison of the amounts saved in the two
occupations. In eleven cities investigated by the Department of Labor the
average amount saved was less than $50; in nine cities it was $50, but
under $100, while in only two cities was it more than $100, the highest
average amount being $111.[213] As has been suggested, the highest of
these averages is small in comparison with the amount it is possible to
save in domestic service.
No question in regard to earnings saved was asked on the schedule sent
to employees, but many statements on this point were voluntarily made
by employees.[214] The question as to comparative amounts saved has
also been asked the cashiers of banks in small cities and towns where
factories are found and the personnel of depositors is known by the
officials of the banks. No records are of course kept, but the opinion
has been several times expressed that the factory employees do not save
as much, as a class, as do domestic employees. In one place, where about
two thousand factory employees are found, it was stated that no woman
employee had a sum to her credit as large as had been deposited by a
domestic.
A corollary follows from this proposition. High wages alone are not
sufficient to counterbalance the inducements offered in other occupations
where wages are relatively or absolutely lower but whose special
advantages are deemed more desirable.
(7) The wages paid in domestic service are on the average high, but the
occupation offers few opportunities for advancement in this direction.
An examination of Table XI shows but one instance, with the exception
of nurses, where the weekly cash wages reach $10.00 per week, and only
nine others where they rise above $7.00. In the two occupations the wages
in which have been compared with those in domestic service, while the
general average wages are low, it is possible to reach through promotion
a comparatively high point. The fact that the wage plane is a high one
is one inducement for women of average ability to enter the occupation.
On the other hand, the fact that the wage limit, high as it is, is soon
reached must act as a barrier in the case of others.
(8) The amount of time unemployed is less in domestic service than in
nearly every other occupation.
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