From The Peopling of New York City
How Much Were the Irish Paid?
The Irish immigrated to New York City with literally no money in their pockets, which, by American standards, was extreme poverty. However, by their standards, they hadn’t reached the status of “dirt poor,” which is a good indicator of just how bad the economic situation was in Ireland at the time (1850s). When they first arrived in America, they were known to take jobs that were dangerous and paid low-wages; basically, the jobs that no one else wanted. In the mid-1800s, the Irish immigrants accepted jobs as ferrymen, boatmen, tailors, construction workers, canal workers, railroad workers and such and worked for as little as 87 cents a day. [1] They worked mostly as manual laborers because most of them didn’t have any special skills. Irish women mostly took jobs as domestic servants and worked for about $4 to $8 per month. [2]
How Much Are They Making Now?
However, with assimilation and more exposure to education and experience, the Irish community began to move up the economic ladder. By the turn of the twentieth century, the incomes for many Irish families rose due to mainly occupations in politics, law enforcement, and the fire department. According to the U.S. Bureau Census of 1980, the family income index of the Irish was 103, just slightly higher than the U.S. average of 100, indicating that the socioeconomic status of the Irish immigrants were better than the nation’s average. [3] In 2007, the American Community Survey found that the median income for Irish-American households is $56,966, which is higher than the national average household income of $50,740. [4]
References
- ↑ Baylor, Ronald, and Timothy Meagher. The New York Irish. Baltimore: JHU P, 1997.
- ↑ Anbinder, Tyler. Five Points the 19th-century New York City neighborhood that invented tap dance, stole elections, and became the world's most notorious slum. New York: Free P, 2001.
- ↑ Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. 1st ed. Texas: Basic Books, 1981.
- ↑ "IRISH IN AMERICA: Population, Trade, Income and Other Facts | EthnicNEWz." Home | EthnicNEWz. 15 Mar. 2009. 1 May 2009 <http://www.ethnicnewz.org/en/irish-america-population-trade-income-and-other-facts>.