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Occupational Breakdown of Germany’s Population (1882-1907)
Industrialization changed the way the rapidly expanding German population earned its livelihood. In 1871, about 49% of the workforce was engaged in agriculture; by 1907, that number had fallen to 35%. In that time span, many Germans migrated to urban areas to take full advantage of employment opportunities in growing industries. Industry’s share of the workforce rose from 31% to 40%. It is obvious that women represented a much higher proportion of the workforce in some sectors – e.g., domestic service – than in others. As note 9 reminds us, in order to appreciate the size and significance of female labor – especially in agriculture – contemporary statistics must be interpreted carefully. |
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Gainfully Employed Persons and their Dependents by Economic Sector (in thousands)
Economic sector | Year | Total number of gainfully employed | Number of women | in % | Family members (d)(7) | Gainfully employed and family members | in % of total population | A. Agriculture (1) | 1882 | 8,236 | 2,535 | 30.8 | 10,564 | 18,801 | 41.6 | 1895 | 8,293 | 2,753 | 33.2 | 9 834 | 18,127 | 35.0 | 1907 | 9,883 | 4,599(9) | 46.5 | 7,634 | 17,517 | 28.4 | | | | | | | | | B. Industry (2,8) | 1882 | 6,396 | 1,127 | 17.6 | 9,359 | 15,756 | 34.8 | 1895 | 8,281 | 1,521 | 18.4 | 11,652 | 19,933 | 38.5 | 1907 | 11,256 | 2,104 | 18.7 | 14,799 | 26,055 | 42.2 | | | | | | | | | C. Trade and commerce (3,8) | 1882 | 1,570 | 298 | 19.0 | 2,665 | 4,236 | 9.4 | 1895 | 2,339 | 580 | 24.8 | 3,344 | 5,683 | 11.0 | 1907 | 3,478 | 931 | 26.8 | 4,458 | 7,935 | 12.9 | | | | | | | | | D. Domestic Service (4) | 1882 | 1,723 | 1,466 | 85.1 | 539 | 2,261 | 5.0 | 1895 | 1,772 | 1,548 | 87.4 | 453 | 2,225 | 4.3 | 1907 | 1,736 | 1,570 | 90.4 | 320 | 2,056 | 3.3 | | | | | | | | | E. Administration, military, and independent professions (5) | 1882 | 1,031 | 115 | 11.2 | 1,027 | 2,058 | 4.6 | 1895 | 1,426 | 177 | 12.4 | 1,218 | 2,644 | 5.1 | 1907 | 1,739 | 288 | 16.6 | 1,445 | 3,184 | 5.2 | | | | | | | | | Total A. through E. | 1882 | 18,957 | 5,542 | 29.2 | 24,154 | 43,111 | 95.3 | 1895 | 22,110 | 6,578 | 29.8 | 26,501 | 48,611 | 93.9 | 1907 | 28,092 | 9,493 | 33.8 | 28,655 | 56,747 | 91.9 | | | | | | | | | F. Those without occupations and those drawing pensions (6) | 1882 | 1,354 | 702 | 51.8 | 756 | 2,117 | 4.7 | 1895 | 2,143 | 1,116 | 52.1 | 1,016 | 3,159 | 6.1 | 1907 | 3,405 | 1,792 | 52.6 | 1,568 | 4,973 | 8.1 | | | | | | | | | Total A. through F. | 1882 | 20,311 | 6,247 | 30.7 | 24,911 | 45,222 | 100.0 | 1895 | 24,253 | 7,694 | 31.7 | 27,517 | 51,770 | 100.0 | 1907 | 31,497 | 11,285 | 35.8 | 30,223 | 61,721 | 100.0 | |
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