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Curated

Cost of Living of Industrial Workers in the United States and Europe, 1888-1890 (ICPSR 7711)

Released/updated on: 2006-12-07

Geographic coverage: Great Britain, Belgium, United States, Europe, France, Switzerland, Germany, Global

Time period: 1888-01-01--1890-01-01

These data were gathered in order to determine the cost of living as well as the cost of production in selected industries in the United States and several Western European countries. The study is comprised of nine industries (cotton and woolen textiles, glass, pig iron, bar iron, steel, bituminous coal, coke, and iron ore) and contains family-level information on the household composition, income and expenditures of workers in these industries. Additional topics covered include sources of income, ages and sex of children, detailed occupation of the household head, detailed expenditures for food as well as nonfood items, and characteristics of the family's dwelling units.

Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1972: A Comparative Study on Personnel Practices in Private Firms (ICPSR 7905)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16

Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

This study of 132 adults in managerial, personnel, and supervisory positions in private firms in the Detroit metropolitan area in 1972 provides information on affirmative action in the workplace, as well as company products, type and structure, management style, and profitability. Data are provided on respondents' firms' product lines and services, labor force, assets, profit margins and revenues, salaries and wages, stocks, use of computer technology, supervisors' duties and roles, pension plans, recruitment methods, unions, rates of promotion, dress codes, and work processes. Other items explored respondents' attitudes toward government's efforts to eliminate employment-based racial discrimination, and white collar and blue collar jobs. Demographic variables specify sex, race, education, income, religion, political party affiliation, length of residence in the Detroit area, and length of time in current job and position.

Self-published

Job tenure and unskilled workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul’s Cathedral 1672-1748 (ICPSR 182784)

Released/updated on: 2022-11-04

Geographic coverage: England, United Kingdom

Time period: 1672-01-01--1748-01-01

How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labour markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (1672–1748) to analyze the hiring and employment history of over one thousand general building labourers, the benchmark category of ‘unskilled’ workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St. Paul’s created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral’s strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.