_Occupation._--If we have any doubt of the fact that there is still "a deal of human nature" in girls and women, we have only to compare the Census statistics of occupation and marriage. We have already seen that the numbers married increase up to 45. As the number married increases the number occupied rapidly falls off. The percentage of women and girls over 15 who are occupied was, in 1911, 35.5; an increase of 1.0 since 1901. This does not, however, mean that only a little more than one-third of all women enter upon a trade or occupation. In point of fact a very large proportion are workers in early youth, as the following tables show. In order to illustrate the relation of occupation to marriage, we place the two sets of figures side by side. +---------------------------------------+ | |Percentage|Percentage| | | Occupied.| Married. | |-----------------|----------|----------| |Girls aged 10-13 | 1·0 | .. | | " 13-14 | 11·3 | .. | | " 14-15 | 38·7 | .. | | " 15-16 | 57·6 | } | | " 16-17 | 66·8 | } | | " 17-18 | 71·9 | } 1·2 | | " 18-19 | 74·3 | } | | " 19-20 | 73·4 | } | |Women aged 20-25 | 62·0 | 24·1 | | " 25-35 | 33·8 | 63·2 | | " 35-45 | 24·1 | 75·3 | | " 45-55 | 23·1 | 70·9 | | " 55-65 | 20·4 | 58·4 | | " 65- | 11·5 | 31·3 | +---------------------------------------+ The highest percentage of employment therefore occurs at the age of 18. The next table shows the proportions of workers in age-groups. WOMEN AND GIRL WORKERS OVER TEN YEARS OLD. +--------------------------------------+ | | Number. |Per cent of Total.| |-------|-----------|------------------| | 10-15 | 182,493 | 3·8 | | 15-20 | 1,156,851 | 23·9 | | 20-25 | 1,037,321 | 21·5 | | 25-35 | 1,057,275 | 21·9 | | 35-45 | 604,769 | 12·5 | | 45-55 | 422,464 | 8·7 | | 55- | 369,561 | 7·7 | | |-----------|------------------| | | 4,830,734 | 100·0 | +--------------------------------------+