14.1. Most Important Occupations

If we want to have a correct “picture” of the development of wages in the working class during the first stage of the Industrial Revolution, we have to inspect the most important branches of employment, collect the figures, and see in which cases the wage level was fixed by factors apart from the general economic situation, i.e. it was influenced by the Revolution.            

Following, we have a list of the most common occupations in Great Britain, according to the Census of 1851 (the first one to collect these data in detail).

Occupation	Number
Agricultural labourer (males, outdoor)	1,006,000
Domestic servant	1,038,000
Cotton, calico, manufacture, printing, dyeing	501,000
Labourer	376,000
Farmer	306,000
Boot and shoe maker	274,000
Milliner, dressmaker	267,000
Coal miner	219,000
Carpenter, joiner	182,000
Army and navy	178,000
Tailor	152,000
Washerwomen	146,000
Woollen cloth manufacture	137,000
Silk manufacture	114,000
Blacksmith	112,000
Worsted manufacture	104,000
Mason, paver	101,000
Messenger	101,000
Linen, flax manufacture	98,000
Seaman (merchant service)	89,000
Grocer	85,000
Gardener	80,000
Iron manufacture, moulder, founder	80,000
Innkeeper	75,000
Seamstress, shirtmaker	73,000
Bricklayer	67,000
Butcher, meat salesman	67,000
Hose (stocking) manufacturer	65,000
Schoolmaster/mistress	65,000
Lace manufacture	63,000
Total of these 30 occupations	6,221,000

(Registrar-General of Great Britain, 1854, Census of Great Britain 1851, Occupations of the People, pp. 72-73)

Note: the investigations of Feinstein and of Allen do not include any data as to the numbers supposed to be employed in each occupation (Feinstein’s working papers appear to be lost).

Of these occupations, it is not useful or possible to present data about wages or movements of the same: domestic servant, farmer, army and navy, washerwomen, blacksmith, messenger, seaman (merchant service), grocer, gardener, innkeeper, butcher, schoolmaster/mistress. It is probable that their incomes moved in step with the costs of food. In some of these cases, food and lodgings were provided by the employer, additional to a small cash payment weekly.  

The following occupations have been commented in detail in earlier chapters: agricultural labourer, cotton manufacture, woollen cloth manufacture, worsted manufacture, iron manufacture.  

Monetary system Pounds (L.), shillings (s.), pennies or pence (d.) 1 Pound = 20 shillings, 1 shilling = 12 pence  Wage of farm labourer = 9 to 12 shillings per week Wage of male worker in textile factory = 20 to 30 shillings per week  Dry weight measures 1 bushel wheat = 60 lb., 1 quarter = 480 lb.  Price of 4 pound loaf of wheaten bread = 6 to 8 pence Energy supplied by 4 pound loaf = 4,500 calories  Price of butcher’s meat = 4 to 6 pence per pound