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UNITED
. STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
.
WOMEN'S BUREAU

.

.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN
DEPARTMENT STORES
IN 1932-33
A STUDY IN SELECT.ED CITIES


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UN ITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary

WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

+

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN
DEPARTMENT STORES
IN 1932-33
A STUDY IN SELECTED CITIES
OF FIVE STATES

By
MARY LO REITA SULLIVAN

BuLLETIN OF THE WoMEN's BuREAu, No.

125

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1936

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. - - - - - - - - - - Price 10 cente


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CONTENTS

Letter of transmittal _ ____ ______ ___ ___ _____ __ __ __ ___ ____ __________ _
Part !.-Introduction _______ _______ _______________________ ________ _
Scope and m ethod of investigation _____________________ ______ __ _
Number of women em ployed __ ___ __________ _______________ _
Summary of facts _____ _________ ___________________ ____ ___ ____ _
Part IL-Hours of work _______________________________ __ _____ ____ _
Scheduled d aily hours __ _ ____________________________________ _ _
Scheduled weekly hours _________________ ________________ ______ _
Hours actually worked ___ _________ __ ______ _____________ _______ _
Comparison of scheduled and actual weekly hours __ ___ ___ ___ ____ _ _
Saturday hours ________ ___ __ __________ ____________ ______ _____ _
Lunch period ___ ___ ____ __ __ ____ _________ __ ________ _____ _____ _ _
Change in store hours ___ __ _____ _____ _________ __ _________ __ ___ _
Spreading the work ____ ___ __ ___ ____________________ ___ _______ _ _
Basis of lay-offs _____ ___ ___ ____ __ _____ _____ _________ .. ______ ___ _
Part III.-Wages _____ ______ _____ ___ ______ ___ ___ ____ __ __________ _ _
Systems of payment _____ _____________ _______ ________________ _ _
Changes in method of p a y __ _________ ___ ______ ___ ______ ________ _
Week's earnings __________ __ ____ __ _____ ___ _____ ___ __ _____ _____ _
Median week's ear nings ___ __ ______ ________________________ _
Actual week's earnings __ ___________ _______________________ _
Earnings and hours worked _________ _____________ _______ ___ _
Earnings and time with the firm ____ _________ _____ ____ ___ __ _
Comparison of rates and earnings _______ __ ____ ___ __ ______ _____ _ _
Rates and earnings,· by locality _ _____ __ ___ ____ _____ _.. _____ _ _
Comparison of late and early pay-roll d ata ___ __ ____ ____ __ ___ ____ _
Part IV.-Personal information _____ __ __ ___ ___ __ _____ ____ ___ __ . ___ _ _
Age __ ____ ____________ ___ __ ____ ___ __ _________ ____ ____ _ ______ _
Marital status __ _________ ____ _____ _______ ___ _______ __ _______ _ _
Time with the firm ___ ___ _____ __________________ ______ ________ _

Page
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TEXT TABLES
1. Scheduled daily hours of regular women workers, b y locality________
2. Scheduled ·weekly hours of regular women workers, by locality _ ____ _
3. Comparison of scheduled hours and hours actually worked, by
locality______ ____ __ ______ ____ ____ ____ _________ ___ ____ ___ ____
4. Proportion of women in each locality with earnings of specified
amounts-late pay roll____________________ ______ ___ __ ________
5. Median earnings of women who worked less than 40 hours, 40 hours
and over, and 48 hours and over-late pay roll_________ _________
6. Rates and earnings, by locality-late pay roll __ ___________________
7. Comparison of late and early pay rolls, by locality _T___________ ____
8. Comparison of 48-hour workers on late and early pay rolls, by locality _
9. Medians of rates and earnings, by locality____________________ ____
10. Proportions of women in certain limited age groups, by locality_______
11. Marital status, by locality______________________________________
12. Time with the firm, by locality__________________________________
13. Proportion of women in each marital group with time with the firm as
specified, by locality __________________________ ------______ ___

m


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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,

Washington, March 18, 1936.
MADAM: I have the honor to transmit a report on the hours and
earnings of salespersons in department stores. Though comprising
only a small part of this great industry, the stores included may be
considered representative, and the information they supply is an
important contribution to the data available in an employment field
that intimately concerns the public.
I acknowledge with grateful appreciation the courtesy of the various
stores in supplying the information sought.
The report has been written by Mary Loretta Sullivan, of the
editorial division.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. FRANCES PERKINS,
Secretary of Labor.
V


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EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES IN 1932-33
Part 1.-INTRODUCTION
At the request of the State of New Jersey, a survey of the employment of women in department and general merchandise stores was
conducted in that State by the Women's Bureau in 1933. The purpose
of the survey was to secure authentic data regarding the conditions
under which the women worked, their wages and hours, together with
the basis of lay-offs and the practices of spreading employment among
women. Following the New Jersey study, similar surveys were
carried on in selected cities in Colorado, California, and Washington.
The investigation was to have been more extensive, but for reasons
of economy it had to be abandoned. In the process of tabulation,
information regarding the work of women in stores in two cities of
Arkansas, secured in November 1932, was incorporated.
To show the importance of women's work in such establishments and
to define as clearly as possible the make-up of the group selected for this
study, some facts from the 1930 Census of Retail Distribution, covering the year 1929, may be given. In the census classification of kinds
of retail businesses, that of the general merchandise group covers the
stores included in this survey. That this group is an important one
among the 10 classes of retail stores is shown by the fact that it
contained the largest number of wage earners in any of the groups.
In amount of net sales this group ranked fourth; it was surpassed bY,
the automotive, the food, and a miscellaneous group-"other retail
stores." Over one-eighth (13.1 percent) of the money value of these
sales was reported for the general merchandise group.
There are four subdivisions in the group-(1) department stores, (2)
dry goods stores, (3) general merchandise stores, and (4) variety, 5and-10, and to-a-dollar stores. In general, the first and third of these
correspond to the kinds of stores studied by the Women's Bureau.
The distinction between the two is defined by the Bcreau of the
Census, which calls them department stores if their annual sales,
exclusive of food departments, are $100,000 or more, and caRs them
general merchandise stores if thefr sales are less than $100,000. In the
country as a whole there were more than 17,000 such stores in 1929,
though they formed only 1.1 percent of the retail stores of all kinds.
By 1933 the number of department and general merchandise stores had
increased to nearly 25,000. The former group shows a decline in this
4-year period, though general merchandise stores had increased by
almost two-thirds. 1
1 U. S. Bureau of the Census.
Fifteenth Census, 1930: Retail Distribution, Summary for the United
States, table 1 A; United States Summary of the Retail Census for 1933. Mimeographed release of Dec. 3,
1934, p. 7.

1


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2

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

According to the census figures of 1930, the women wage earners in
these types of stores numbered nearly 400,000, comprising close to
two-thirds of the 600,000 employees on the pay rolls for whom sex
was reported. 2
SCOPE AND METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

The localities visited are so widely separated that the facts presented
here must be regarded as a sample of conditions in the general mercantile industry in these specific areas rather than representative of the
country as a whole. The stores visited are, however, of considerable
importance in their respectiv~ communities, and the relationship that
the women investigated in each locality bear to the total number
employed in that section serves to make valuable the facts collected
as r., reflex of the industry in general.
Seventeen cities in the 5 States were visited and 46 department and
general merchandise stores were covered. A list of the States and
cities visited, together with the number of stores and women employees, is given here. Many more stores in New Jersey than in any
other State were covered, a State-wide study having been requested
by the New Jersey authorities. The 10 cities visited in this area
are: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Trenton, Camden, Elizabeth,
East Orange, Atlantic City, Union City, and Asbury Park.

Locality

TotaL __ ___ __ __________ _____ __ __ ______________________ _

New Jersey-IO cities ___ ___________ __________________________ _
Arkansas : Little Rock and Fort Smith ____ __________________ _
Colorado: Denver ____ _____ __ _______ _________________________ _
California:
Los Angeles _______________________ ______________________ _
San Francisco and Oakland _______ ___ __ _____ ____ ____ ___ __
Washington: Seattle ___ ____________ _____ ____ ____ ____ ________ __

Women regular employees

Number
of stores
surveyed

Number

Percent

46

6,923

100. 0

21
9
3

2,343
384
562

33.8
5. 5
8.1

3
6
4

1,625
1,256
753

23. 5
18. 1
10. 9

Pay-roll data for women were copied in each of the stores for a
week that was selected by the management as one in which business
was fairly steady and general employment conditions were representative of the period. No week when overtime or a holiday occurred
was taken. The week selected was one late in 1932 or early in 1933.
To ascertain what changes had occurred in women's wages, pay rolls
of a week about 2 years earlier were taken also. Arkansas was an
exception to this, the early data there covering a week only 1 year
before the 1932 study. In a few instances where a change such as
reduction in personnel or in pay had been made before the fall of
1931, a pay roll of an even earlier date was secured.
Questions were asked at the time of interview as to the policies of
management that affected employees and any changes in policy in
the 2 preceding years. Among those inquired into were changes in
method of pay and in hours and any permanent or temporary spreadthe-work plans.
2 U . S. Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census 1930: Retail Distribution, Summary for the Uniteo
States, table 3.A.


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3

INTRODUCTION

In addition to the data from pay rolls and from interviews with the
management facts in regard to personal history were secured from
the majority of the women workers.
Number of women employed.
The 46 establishments employed as a regular or permanent force
close to 7,000 (6,923) women, and three-fourths of this number were
in the 30 establishments visited in New Jersey and California. In
addition to the employees regarded as regular workers were the
extras and part-time employees brought in for special sales, rushhour work, or other contingencies.
The study was not confined to either very large or very small
stores. There were two stores each of whose pay rolls contained the
names of more than 700 women regularly employed. On the other
hand, almost three-fifths of the establishments had fewer than 100
.women on the regular force and almost one-fourth of these stores had
fewer than 25 .
In the table following may be seen a comparison of the numbers in
this study by the Women's Bureau with the number of saleswomen
in the various localities according to the 1930 Census of Occupations.
Saleswomen 16 years of age
and over

Locality

New Jersey-10 cities ___ ___ __________
Arkansas
: Little
and________
Fort
Smith ____
________Rock
_________
Colorado: Denver____________________
California:

Los Angeles _____________________
San Francisco and Oakland _____
Washington: Seattle ____ _____________
t

Reported by
1930 Census of
Occupations
18,777

925

In Women's
Bureau

survey

2,343
384

2,547

562

11, 989
8,403
3,515

1,256
753

1,625

Excludes Asbury Park, not reported separately.

SUMMARY OF FACTS
Time of survey:
Early months of 1933.1
Scope:
Forty-six stores in 17 cities in 5 States were included. These employed
regularly 6,923 women.
Localities visited:
New J ersey, which had asked for a survey, 21 stores; Little Rock and Fort
Smith, 9; Denver, 3; Los Angeles, 3; San Francisco and Oakland, 6; and Seattle, 4.
Distribution of women workers:
New J ersey, 33.8 percent of the total; Little Rock and Fort Smith, 5.5; Denver,
8.1; Los Angeles, 23.5; San Francisco and Oakland, 18.1; and Seattle, 10.9.
Scheduled daily hours:
Percent of women whose schedule was under 8 hours, 39.5; 8 hours, 44.5;
over 8 and under 9 hours, 15.6; and 9 hours, 0.4.
3 D ata of 9 Arkansas stoces included in the 1932 survey of the State by the Women's Bureau are incorporated in this report.
74319 °-36- -2


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I

4

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

Scheduled Saturday hours:
Percent of women with schedule of under 8 hours, 36.6; 8 hours, 44.2; over 8
and under 9 hours, 12.7; 9 hours, 1; over 9 and under 10 hours, 3.2; and 10 hours,
2.4.
Scheduled weekly hours:
Percent of women with schedule of 46 hours or less, 11.3; over 46 and under
48 hours, 26.6; 48 hours, 44.2; over 48 and under 51 hour~, 9.4; and 51 to 54
hours, 8.6.
Hours worked:
In the three Pacific coast localities over one-fourth of the women had worked a
short week, one of less than 40 h ours. Denver showed close t o one-eighth of
those reported with such a week and New Jersey one-fifteenth . Arkansas, where
the scheduled week was somewhat longer than in other places visited, had less
than I percent of the women working below 40 hours.
Week's earnings:
The medians of the women's earnings were as followsLat~ r,a,
roll

New Jersey_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ $14. 00
Denver_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12. 00
Los Angeles_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16. 00
San Francisco and Oakland__________________ 16. 00
Seattle_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ 13. 85
The percents of women earning less than $12 wereNew Jersey ____ ___ ________________________ _
D enver __________________________________ _
Los Angeles ___ _________ __________________ _
San Francisco and Oakland _________________ _
Seattle ______________ _____________________ _

18.
44.
15.
8.
23.

7
1
9

3
8

Early
pay roll
(about
£ years
before)

$17.
15.
18.
20.
16.

00
15
70
65
85

7. 7
14.
3.
3.
7.

0
2
8
9

PERSONAL HISTORY
Number of women reporting personal history________ _ 4, 341
Number of stores in which employed____ _____ _____ __
28

Age:
New Jersey had by far the largest proportion (43.4 percent under 25) and Los
Angeles by far the smallest proportion (only 9.2 percent under 25) of young
workers. Two-thirds of the workers in Los Angeles and three-fifths of those in
San Francisco were 30 and under 50 years. Very few women had reached 60.
Marital status:
Seven in every 10 women in department stores in New Jersey were single; in
the other localities visited the proportions varied from approximately 3 in 10 to
4 in 10.
·
Denver ranked first in the proportion of married women workers; not far from
half of the workers reporting m that city were married.
In Los Angeles approximately one-third of the workers were widowed, separated, or divorced.
Time with the firm:
Similar proportions of the women in New Jersey and Little Rock-3 in 20-had
been with the firm less than a year. Denver shows approximately 2 in. 20 in this
classification and Los Angeles and San Francisco roughly 1 in 20.
Los Angeles and San Francico show 5 in 10 women, Little Rock and Denver 4 in
10, and New Jersey 3 in 10 in the class 5 years and over. With the exception of
Denver, where more than three-fourths of these workers were in the 5-and-under10-year class, the various localities reported that approximately two-fifths of the
women with the firm 5 years or more had been employees of the establishment as
long as 10 years.


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Part 11.-HOURS OF WORK
Department stores, more than other types of business, reflect the
public spirit of their communities, and the hours that employees in
this industry are expected to work are more or less influenced by the
industrial ideals existent in the city or town.
It is obvious that the hours of work of an employee cannot alwayE'
be the same as the firm's daily or .weekly schedule. In many stores
the regular employees are not expected to work the entire time that
the store is open. It is the custom of these establishments to increase
the staff of workers at times of special sales or during busy periods
of the day, or to relieve the regular workers when the store's schedule
is longer than the hours of work the law allows or the firm's policy
dictates.
Scheduled daily hours.
Though the hours actually worked by regular employees may not
be longer, frequently their hours of begmning and ending are respectively earlier and later than the hours of opening and closing the
store. In the present study the day of employees in three-fifths of
the stores was from 10 minutes to an hour longer than the hours
that the store was open to the public. Practically all these establishments reported periods of 15 to 30 minutes longer. This time
was spent in arranging the goods for the day's sales and in putting
the merchandise in order for the night.
Hours of work for women in mercantile stores were regulated by
law in all localities covered, and in no case did the schedules r eported
exceed the legal limit. In California, Colorado, and Washington
8-hour laws were in effect, and 8 hours was the schedule of all firms
visited in Denver and Seattle. In the California cities, however,
five of the nine firms operated on a schedule shorter than the. maximum permitted by law.
In Arkansas the 9-hour maximum fixed by law was the schedule in
only three of the firms, the six others reporting a schedule 15 or 30
minutes less than this.
A 10-hour day was permitted in New Jersey, but the longest scheduled day reported was 8% hours. Thirteen of the 21 firms covered
in this State reported a day of 8 hours or less.
Legal hours Cor women in mercantile establishments
State

Daily
hours

New Jersey __ _______ ____ _
Arkansas ______ __ _____ __ _
Colorado ____ ________ ___ _
California ______________ _
Washington ____________ _

1

Weekly Days per
hours
week

10
9
8
8

8

Minimum wage was set for 6-day week.


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Lunch period

54
54

6

Not less than three-fourths of an hour.

48

6

Entitled to 1 hour and not permitted to return
to work in less than half an hour.
Not less than 1 hour.

6 - ------ - -------- ----- - --- - - ---- - - --- -- -- ------- -

(I)

6

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

The daily and weekly hour schedules set by the firms as the work
periods of their regular employees were reported to the agents of
the Women's Bureau by all establishments. The schedules apply to
the 6,923 women included in the survey. Daily hours were as follows:
TABLE

!.-Scheduled daily hours of regular women workers, by locality
Number of stores and num ber of women whose
daily hours wereTotal

7½ and

Locality

less

More tha n
Hli, less
than 8

8

Moret:h an8

Cl)

~

s

C/1

Total-Number_ _____ ____ __ _____ _____ 46 6,923
6
Percent distributionofwomen _____________ ____ 100. 0 ____
New Jersey-IO cities_______ _____________ __ _ 21
Arkansas: Lit tle Rock and F ort Smith______ 9
Colorado: Denver___ _________________ _______ 3
C alifornia:
Los Angeles ____ ____________ ______ __ ____ 3
Sau Francisco a nd Oakland____________ 6
Washington: Seattle______ ___ ____ ___________ 4
1 Includes

578
9 2, 154 1' 3,084 1 17 1,107
8. 3 ____ 31. 1 ___ _ 44. 5 _____ 16.0

2,343
3
60
7 1,468
3
92
8
723
384 ____ _____ __ ____ _____ __ ____ __ _____ 1 !l
384
562 ____ ____ ___ ____ _____ __ 3
562 _____ _____ _
1, 625
1, 256
a 518 2 686
753 __ __ ____ __ _ ____ ______ _

3
1
4

1, 625 ___ __ _____ _
52 ____ _ · ---- 753 _____ __ ___ _

3 stores, employing 28 women, whose scheduled hours were 9.'

As a result of the community spirit existent in some of the localities
studied, all stores adhered to a specified standard of work hours. The
10 establishments reporting in Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle, comprising more than on e-fifth (21.7 percent) of the stores included in the
survey and employing over two-fifths (42.5 percent) of all the women,
had the same scheduled workday of 8 hours. In regard to the other
localities, all the stores in San Francisco and Oakland reported a day
of 8 hours or less; in New Jersey the firms had hour schedules extending from 7}' to 8½ hours; in Arkansas five firms had an 8}~-hour day,
one had an 8¾-hour day, and three small firms had a day of 9 hours.
Well over two-fifths (44.5 percent) of the 6,923 women had a day
of exactly 8 hours, only Arkansas being absent from this column of the
table. More than one-half of the workers with an 8-hour schedule
were in Los Angeles, where two of the three establishments included
were the largest in the survey, together employing 21.6 percent of all
the women who were regular workers.
In the San Francisco district 5 of the 6 stores had a scheduled day
of less. than 8 hours, as had 10 of the 21 New Jersey stores, where
1,528 women, almost two-thirds of the number reported in the State,
were employed. M ost of these New Jersey workers had a schedule
of 7¾ hours.
In only two localities, Arkansas and New Jersey, had any stores
scheduled daily hours of more than 8. All the 9 stores in Arkansas
and 8 of the 21 in New Jersey so reported, but only 3 firms, all in
Arkansas, and employing only 28 women, had hours as long as 9.
Scheduled weekly hours.
None of the 46 firms had a weekly schedule of less than 42 hours
and none exceeded 54 hours. Only 2.3 percent of the women employees had a week of 42 hours, set by a furn in San Francisco, and less


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7

HOURS OF WORK

than one-half of 1 percent were with the firms whose scheduled week
was 54 hours-two small stores in the Arkansas cities .
The fact that not far from one-half of the stores were in New J ersey,
and that they employed one-third of the women reported in the study ,
accounts to some extent for the greater variation in the scheduled
weekly hours of stores in this State, where the range was from 44;~
to 51 % hours. Except for four establishments in Arkansas, New
Jersey shows the longest hour schedules. In both Sta tes the legal
maximum for weekly hours in the mercantile industry is 54.
T A B LE

2.-Scheduled weekl y hours of regular women workers, by locality
N umber of stores and number of women whose
week ly hours wereT otal
Less
than 46

Locality

A

~

.£

a:>

s
0

46, less
than 48

A

13
5

a:>

s
0

A

~0

a:>

s
0

More
than 48,
less than
51

48

e
s

A

A

a:>

s
0

51 a nd
more

~
.£
Cll

a:>

s
0

A

a:>

s

~
...,0

0

s::
Cll
is: Cll ~
~
ch ~ 00
-- - - - -T otal, n umber _______ _____ ___ ____ 46 6, 923
4 533
9 2, 086 13 3, 057
7 650 13 597
Percentd istr ibutlon o!women ____ ____ ____ 100. 0 ____ 7. 7 ____ 30.1 ____ 44. 2 __ __ 9. 4 ___ _ 8. 6
Cll

New Jersey-\0 cities ____ __ __ ____ ___ ___ 21
Arkansas: Little Rock and Fort
Smith _____ ______ _______ __ ________ ___ 9
Colorado: Denver___ __ ____ __________ __ 3
C alifornia :
Los Angeles ___ __ _____ ________ _____ 3
San F rancisco and Oakland _____ __ 6
Washington: Seattle __ ______ _______ ___ 4

l:;::

--

- -

2,343

1

15

7

1, 400

2

-

65

7

-

650

4

213

384 - - - - ----- -- - - -- - - --- --- - - --- --- - - -- -- --- 9 384
562 - - -- - - - - - ---- - - -- - -- 3
562 - - -- - -- - - ---- ---1, 625
1,256

753

-------- ---------3 518
2
686

3
1
4

1, 625
52
753

The greatest concentration of workers in any group is that with a
48-hour week, which covers 44.2 percent of the women whose hours
were reported. In California, Denver, and Seattle, where the legal
maximum was 8 hours daily, 48 hours was the weekly maximum in
the stores surveyed. About 98 percent of the women in stores with
a 48-hour week were in these localities.
Thirteen of the firms had schedules of less than 48 hours a week,
and these employed three in eight of the workers, more than onehalf (54 percent) being in stores in New Jersey and almost one-half (46
percent) in San Francisco and Oakland.
A week of more than 48 hours was expected of 2 in approximately
every 11 women. These were in 20 of the 46 stores, and the establishments were in New Jersey and in Little Rock and Fort Smith. In all
the Arkansas stores surveyed the hours were from 51 t o 54, but in the
11 New Jersey stores with all women working over 48 hours, only 1
woman in 4 had a schedule of as much as 51 hours. The maximum
schedule in the New Jersey stores was 51 % hours.
Hours actually worked.
Weeks reported as shorter than the firm's schedule may be due to
illness or other personal matters on the part of the employee, to the
share-the-work policy initiated by employers or employees, to the fact
that the workers were new employees taken on during the week, or to
other reasons.


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8

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

In each of three localities-Seattle, Los Angeles, and the San
Francisco district- more than one-fourth of the women in the stores
visited worked a week of less than 40 hours. Denver had about 1 in
8 of its women so repor ted, and New J er sey had approximately 1 in
15, but Little Rock and Fort Smith had practically none (less than
1 percent).
.
In D enver the proportion of the women who worked a week of 40
hours even-three-tenths of them had a week of this length-is in
striking contrast to the proportions shown for Los Angeles, Seattle,
and the San Francisco district. In these, the numbers of 40-hour
workers did not exceed 10 percent; in fact, for the last mentioned
the proportion was less than 1 percent. No woman in the New Jersey
and Arkansas stores surveyed worked 40 hours in the week for which
data were secured.
It is interesting to note the range in the proportions of women who
had worked a week of over 40 hours in the various localities visited.
P ercent

Denver __ ·---- --- - -- - - --- - ---- · ________ __ __ ____ __
Los Angeles _ _ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _
Seattle ______ ___ ___ ________ ___ ___ _________________
San Francisco and Oakland _________________________
New Jersey (10 cit ies)__ _____ __ _______________ __ ___
Fort Sm ith and tittle Rock_ __ _________ _____ _______

57. 8

63. 8
6a
1
70. 2
93. 0
99. 2

In Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver no women, and in San Francisco only 1 woman, worked more than 48 hours. In Little Rock
and Fort Smith, however, 96.8 percent of those reported were working more than 48 hours in the fall of 1932. The New J ersey figures
show that 26.1 percent of the 2,316 women reported worked more
than 48 hours in the week for which the pay rolls were taken.
Comparison of scheduled and actual weekly hours.
Most of the women whose weekly hours were reported put in
shorter time than the scheduled hours of work prescribed, as noted
previously. For this reason a comparison will be made here of the
actual hours worked and the scheduled hours of the women as a
group and by locality.
Of the group of women workers considered as a whole, approximately one-third (33 .8 percent) actually worked less than 44 hours,
but only 2.3 percent had so short a schedule, all of the latter being
employees of one firm with a 42-hour week . Over one-sixth (17 .8
percent) of the women were working less than 40 hours, though no
firm had a schedule so short. Less than three-tenths (28.4 percent)
of the women worked 44 and under 48 hours, but such a schedule was
reported for over one-third (35.5 percent).
A schedule of 48 hours or more was reported for somethin~ over
three-fifths (62.2 percent) of the women, but only about three-eighths
(37.8 percent) actually worked such hours.
In Little Rock and Fort Smith, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver
all firms reported scheduled hours as 48 or more. In the Arkansas
cities hours worked were reported as this long for practically all the
women (96.8 percent). But in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver
large numbers of women worked shorter hours, as many as 39 percent,
40.4 percent, and 43.8 percent, respectively, having worked less than
44 hours. In Seattle and Los Angeles more than one-fourth of the


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9

HOURS OF WORK

women, 27 .5 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively, workei hss than
40 hours.
In San Francisco and Oakland seven-eightbs (87.2 p ercent) of the
women had scheduled hours of 44 or more, but 62.4 percent actually
worked less than 44 hours. On the other hand, only 1 firm, employing 52 women, had a schedule as high as 48 hours (48 hours
exactlv), but 59 women were reported as having worked this long.
In New Jersey scheduled hours were 44 or more for all women, and
6 in 7 of them were reported as working at least 44 hours.
TABLE

3.-Cornparison of scheduled hours and hours actually worked, by locality
Women with hours of-

All women with
hours reported
Less than 40

40, ·less than 44 44, less than 48

48 or more

Locality
Sched- Hours Sched- Hours Sched- Hours Sched- Hours Sched- Hours
uled
uled
uled
uled
uled
hours worked hours worked hours worked hours worked hours worked
-- --------- --

--

Women reported:
Number __ ______ 6,923
Percent
distribution _____________
100. 0

------- 1,228 161 1,100
17. 8
2. 3
16. 0
---------- - - -2,316
- - - - 163
New Jersey : 10 cities __ __ 2,343
190
----- - ------.Arkansas: Little Rock
and Fort Smith ______
370 ------ 384
3 ------5
Colorado : Denver ______
662
562 ------180
66 ------California:
Los Angeles ________ 1,625
1,625 ------426 ------207
San Francisco and
Oakland _________ 1,256
1,256 ------363
161
421
Washington: Seattle ___
207 ------97
753
753 -------

- -

6,882

2,458

1,952

4, 304

2,602

100. 0

35. 5

28.4

62.2

37. 8

1,415

1,301

928

662

4
71

384
562

245

92

1,625

900

413
71

52
753

59
378

- - - - - -- ------------------1,043

-------

358

Saturday hours.
Saturdays in stores, unlike those in most factories and offices,
usually are as long as, or longer than, the · schedule for the other
days of the week. It has become the custom within recent years for
the leading stores in large cities not to open their doors on Saturdays
during the summer months, or to open for part of the day only. The
hours quoted here are those that prevailed in a week considered by
the firm as representative.
Only 7 of the 46 firms, employing approximately 400 women (5.6
percent of those reported), had a Saturday schedule in excess of 9
hours. All those with a Saturday of more than 8 hours were in New
Jersey or Arkansas. In 1 store in Little Rock, Saturday hours were
shorter than the schedule for other days. This establishment was
open for 3% hours longer on the last day of the week, but it had
arranged to have workers come in shifts and the scheduled hours
reported for each woman were 8% instead of the usual 9.
Saturday hours in the 12 stores with longer schedules on this day
were from 15 minutes to 276 hours longer than M onday to Friday
hours. Two-thirds of these stores reported at least an hour more.
Ten of the number were in New Jersey, the two others in Arkansas.
Quite generally such a lengthening of the workday meant a very long
over-all period. Iu 8 of the stores the spread of hours for the workers
was at least 11}6 hours, though in no instance did the actual working
hours of an employee exceed 10.


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10

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

Lunch period.
The almost universal practice in department stores is to allow
employees 45 minutes or an hour for lunch. One-half of the women,
employed in·close to three-fourths of the establishments, had an hour's
recess, while well over two-fifths, employed in about one-fourth of the
stores, had 45 minutes for lunch.
Change in store hours.
Though four-fifths of the stores reporting on this had made no
recent change in the time of opening and closing, 9 managers stated
that some change had been made in their stores' daily schedule. Most
of these reported opening from 15 to 45 minutes later in the morning.
The changes were, however, of little consequence. In 2 firms the
daily spread of hours for workers was the same as before, in 5 it was
shortened, and in 2 it was made longer.
SPREADING THE WORK

The records of 28 firms- about two-thirds of the 43 reporting on
this subject- indicated a store policy in regard to spreading work.
Managements reported that this policy was made effective by furloughs of one or more days a week; lay-offs over an extended period;
short time for all employees; withdrawal of some or all of the vacationwith-pay privilege.
In some cases it was revealed that the workers had agreed among
themselves to ask for and accept furloughs. Such a resolution was
adopted, no doubt, to insure the permanency of their own jobs at a
time when thousands were without work of any kind. To accept
furloughs under these conditions would serve to prolong employment,
to stave off part-time work for those employed regularly, and to
spread work among those who had not been able to secure sufficient
employment.
Stores in New Jersey were requested to give an estimate of the proportion of their force affected by this policy, and 9 of the 16 that
reported spreading work gave such an estimate. One firm stated
that much less than 10 percent of its force was affected; another
reported 8 percent; in 2 cases the estimate was as much as 75 percent.
In the 5 others the range was from 10 percent to 25 percent.
Fifteen firms-9 of them in Arkansas, the State surveyed just
before the present study-reported that for regular workers there was
no policy of spreading the work. It is not possible to say how much
the earlier date of the interviews in Arkansas might be responsible for
this. Some of the 15 stores reported that they had been obliged to
reduce the working time of extras and of part-time employees or had
reduced the number on the part-time force.
BASIS OF LAY-OFFS

Only one-half the firms reported as to basis of lay-offs. Six of the
23 stated that they had made no lay-offs in the 2-year period inquired
into. Three of these were in Arkansas, and 1 each were in New
Jersey, California, and Colorado.
Of the 17 stores reporting the basis on which they made reductions
in the force, 13 stated that the efficiency of the worker was the basis of
selection. Two others considered the worker's family responsibility
as well as efficiency; l, family responsibility alone; and 1, seniority.


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Part 111.-WAGES
The pay of workers in department stores is on a different basis
from the systems common in factories, laundries, or hotels and restaurants. It. is generally supposed that the variations in earnings common in the experience of the factory worker are not suffered to any
great extent by the sales clerk, whose pay check is more or less regular
from week to week. Within the past few years, however, the payment
policy of many department stores has undergone a radical change.
Earnjngs have been affected not only by a reduction in the rate paid
as a commission or bonus, or by the complete withdrawal of this
dividend on sales, but by an entire change in a firm's system of payment. Such a change would inevitably a.ffect the life of every worker
in the establishment. To what extent earnings have been decreased in
the stores visited is reflected in the comparison of the late and
early pay rolls, for the amounts earned by the women in a representative week were taken also from a pay roll prior to any change in pay
or reduction of force. Wages are paid for a week, usually of 6 days,
though recently the tendency to share the work so that others may
hold a job in the establishment has reduced the number of days worked
and likewise has affected wages.
Systems of payment.
For stores in which some change had been made in the method of
payment during the 2 years immediately preceding the study, information was secured as to the wage system in force.
Salespersons usu2,lly are paid according to one of four systems, and
in some stores more than one may be used. These systems are:
Straight salary; straight commission; salary and commission; and
quota bonus.
Doubtless all but the fourth plan are familar to the reader, for
which reason only that one will be described.
The quota-bonus system of payment is based on the selling-cost
percentage of the departments as shown by past experience, the
period of time used as a basis varying greatly among the different
establishments. The selling-cost percentage is first computed for the
department and then for the individual salesperson. "The percentage
set for the individual sales quota is the rate paid on net sales up to the
point at which the weekly salary or drawing account is earned. For
sales above this amount the salesperson is paid a bonus, usually at a
lower rate than that used to determine the quota." 1
The summary following shows in detail the pay record of one employee for a I-year period and serves to illustrate this method. 2 The
employee's salary rate, $520, was 6 percent of $8,660, which amount
was distributed through the 12 months as the sales the employee was
supposed to make. It was distributed unevenly-as little as 6 percent
1 Bezanson, Anne, and Miriam Hussey. Wage Methods and Selling Costs. Philadelphia, University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1930, pp. 9-10.
' Ibid., p . 11.

11


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12

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

in January and in February, in contrast to 17 percent in Decemberaccording to the amount of business usually done. (The rounding of
the amounts in the quota column gives a total of $8,630.) At three
dates during the year the employee was paid a 3 percent bonus on the
amount by which her sales had exceeded her quota. The quota was
not charged against her for the week she was absent.
Name,

A. J.

Dept. 10.

Month

- - - - -January ___________ ____
February __ ____________
March ____ ____________
April__ ________________
May __ ____ _____ _______
June _______________ ___

Base R ate Wk., $10.

Sales
this
year

Year, $520.

6% Yearly

Percent

Quota, $8,660

Remarks

- - - - - - - - - - - - -1-- - - - - - - $410
6
$520 -$HO -- ------ --------20 -$130 -------6
520
500
- 80 -------6W
7
600
+50
700
7
600
+ 20
+100
890
8
690
+200
+220 --$6~60- $220 at 3 percent.

July_----------------August_ _______________

700
700
300

9
9
7

780
780
600

September ____________ _
October _______________
November _________ ___ _
December _____________

700
790
980
I, 600

7
9
17

600
690
780
1,470

To•aL __________ -------·

8

100

-80 -- ----- - ----- ---160
-80
- 294
Absent 1 week-$10. Equiv-300
alent sales-$166.
-194
+100
-94
+100
3. 18
+200
+106
3. 90
+130
+ 130

8,660 ________________ _______ _

As is true in manufacturing, the methods adopted by some firms
had made the computation of pay so involved that workers complained
frequently to the agents of the Women's Bureau of their inability to
figure just how much the week's pay envelope would contain. Many
said it was most confusing, for they could never be sure of the a.mount
of earnings they would receive. To them it seemed a hopeless task
to try even to approximate the amount due.
In addition to the systems of wage payments and the share-the-work
plans in effect there was still another factor within the control of the
management that had a direct influence on the amount the salespersons
received. This consisted of plain cuts, or reductions in wage rates that
lowered earnings. Accomplished by decreasing the amount of straight
salaries, or by decreasing or eliminating commissions or quota
bonuses, wage cuts had been made by several firms to lower selling
costs. ·
Though not really affecting the amount received, the time of payment had been changed in some cases. Two stores had changed from a
weekly to a semimonthly pay basis and one from a weekly to an
hourly basis. The first of these two changes would reduce selling
costs by decreasing the clerical work connected with the payment of
salaries, but th~ second undoubtedly caused an addition to the clerical
work involved.
·
Changes in method of pay.
Of the 45 firms reporting on changes in method of payment, 26 had
made no such change in the 2 years. The two cities in Arkansas had
a larger proportion of stores whose method had not changed than had
other localities. Seattle had the smallest proportion.


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WAGES

13

Eight of the stores studied reported that in the period between
1930 and 1932 they had adopted the quota-bonus method.
Seven stores had changed to the quota basis from a commission
basis, one of these reporting that the change had been introduced in
a few departments only. One other had changed from a weekly pay
period with a commission on all the week's sales to a semimonthly
pay period with a quota system and a bonus for all sales over quota.
This bonus was reckoned for the month and unless the quota for the
month was exceeded the worker did not receive any such addition to
her regular wage.
The change from a commission to a quota basis did not seem to be
confined to stores of any one section of the country. Except in the
two Arkansas cities, each locality had at least one establishment that
had made this change a.t some time in the 2 years. A smaller proportion of New Jersey stores than of establishments visited in the other
localities had replaced the commission method of payment with the
quota-bonus system.
Complete discontinuance of a sales commission was reported by
seven stores, six of them in New Jersey. The other was in a city in
one of the Pacific States and at the time of the survey this establishment had introduced in some departments a quota-sales system. As
the management of the store reported that few of the employees in
these specific departments reached the quota set for them, it would
seem that this firm's method of payment more nearly resembled the
system used in stores where payment was on a straight salary basis.
WEEK'S EARNINGS

As already mentioned, facts were secured in this study as to earnings
of the women employees for a representative week in the year of the
survey and also for workers in a week of an earlier period, in most cases
2 years before.
Median week's earnings. 3
The median week's earnings of the women on the late pay rolls
ranged from $16 in the two localities in California to $12 in Denver.
In other words, women in department stores in Denver had a median
lower by 25 percent than that of similar workers in the cities of California. The medians for women in the other localities fell between
these extremes.
Minimum-wage rates as set by the Pacific Coast States, $16 in
California and $13.20 in Washington/ indicate the minimum that
firms in those States were allowed to pay to experienced full-time
women workers. The $13.85 median for Seattle in the present study
is 65 cents hi~her than the minimum provided by law. The median
for the cities m California is exactly the same as the legal minimum
for that State.
1 The median as used in this study is the actual amount earned by the woman whose place is the midpoint of the group when ranked accordini to earnings.
'After this report was written, the mmimum-wage law of Washington was declared unconstitut ional
by a lower court of the State. This opinion was later reversed by the State Supreme Court and the case
has been appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

•

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14

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932- 33

The fact that $16 was the median for all the women in the California
stores visited is interesting because of the proportions of the women
who worked less than scheduled hours. In Los Angeles all firms reported scheduled hours as 48, but well over two-fifths of the women
worked less than this. Almost two-fifths worked less than 44 hours,
and one in four worked less than 40. In San Francisco seven-eighths
of the women had scheduled hours of at least 44, but more than threefifths worked less than 44 hours and about three-tenths worked less
than 40. (See table 3.)
Actual week's earnings.
Regardless of time worked week's earnings ranged from less than
$1 to $55, the latter for a woman in a New J ersey establishment.
The proportions of workers in each locality earning specified amounts
appear in table 4.
In the column showing week's earnings of less than $10 the range
is from 4.1 percent of the total in San Francisco and Oakland to 21
percent of the total in Denver. Los Angeles and New Jersey had
fairly small percentages in this group. From one-fourth (25.4 percent) of the women in Denver to close to two-thirds (64.9 percent) of
those in Los Angeles received $15 or more as their week's earnings.
As would be expected, the two California localities are among the three
showing the highest proportions of women getting $20 and over.
New Jersey had a slightly higher percentage than had the San Francisco district earning as much as $20. All localities had very small
proportions earning as much as $25.
TABLE

4.-Proportion of women in each locality. with earnings of specified amountslate pay roll
P ercent of women whose
earnings wereNumber Median
of women week's
reported earnings

Locality

Less Less Less $20
$25
than than than and and
$10
$12
$15 more more

--- -- -- -- ---New Jersey-10 cities __ ___ ____________ ___ _________ _
Arkansas: Little Rock and Fort Smith ____ ________
Colorado: Denver ___ ____ ____ ____ ________________ .. _
California:
Los Angeles _______ ____ .__ ____________________ __
San Francisco and Oakland _____________ ___ ___
Washington: Seattle ___ _____________ _______ _______

2,343
384
562

$14. 00
13. 00
12. 00

8. 6
12. 0
21. 0

18. 7
27. 3
44.1

52.8
61. 5
74.6

10. 8
8. 3
,,. 0

3. 0
3. 4
1.6

1,625
1,256
753

16. 00
16. 00
13. 85

7. 4
4. 1
10. 0

15. 0
8. 3
23. 8

35.1
37.1
62.8

13. 8
10.1
6. 0

3. 4
1. 7
1.2

Earnings and hours worked.
For all but 41 of the 6,923 women the hours worked were reported
The 41 exceptions were in New Jersey and Arkansas, and the omission
of hours worked for these women did not affect the amount of the
medians computed for a11 women in these two localities.
A table showing for each locality the number and the median earnings of women who worked a week of under 40 hours, of 40 hours and
over, and of 48 hours and over follows .

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15

WAGES
TABLE

5.-Median earnings of women who worked less than 40 hours, 40 hours and
over, and 48 hours and over-late pay roll
Hours worked
Total reported
Less than 40

Locality

40 and over

48 and over

Num- Median Num- Median Num- Median Num- Median
ber of earnber of earnber of earn- ber of earnwomen ings women ings women ings women ings

-- ------ -----New Jersey-IO cities. __________ ___ _
Arkansas: Little Rock and Fort
Smith_ .. _-··· .................. · Colorado: Denver __ ............... _
California:
Los Angeles._ ........... . .......
San Francisco and Oakland .....
Washington: Seattle . ......... -----1

2,316

$14. 00

163

$10. 50

2, 153

$15. 00

662

$14. 00

270
562

13. 00
12. 00

3
66

(1)
8. 35

367
496

13. 15
12. 60

358
245

13. 10
14. 00

l, 625
1, 2-56
753

16. 00
16. 00
13. 85

426
363
207

11. 25

14. 00

1,199
893
546

16. 25
16. 20
14. 85

900
59
378

17.16
16.16
15. 30

10. 65

Not computed; base less than 50.

When the groups of women in the two Ca]ifornia districts and in
Seattle who had worked less than 40 hours are compared wjtb those
who had worked 40 hours and longer, the difference in medians is
considerable, ranging from a ]ittle over $2 to $5 a week. Los Angeles
stores had medians of $11.25 for women working less than 40 hours
and $16.25 for those with a week of 40 hours or more. In the San
Francisco-Oakland section the corresponding amounts were $14 and
$16.20, and in Seattle they were $10.65 and $14.85. In each of these
minimum-wage localities (see footnote 4) approximately one-fourth
of the women worked less than 40 hours, considerably larger proportions than were reported in Arkansas (0.8 percent), New Jersey (7
percent), or Denver (11.7 percent).
In Denver, where medians were lower than in the other localities
visited, a week of Jess than 40 hours reported by as many as one-ninth
of the regular workers shows $8.35 as the median of earnings. For
the group working at least 40 hours the median was $12.60, still lower
than in any other locality but 50 percent higher than for those in
Denver who worked less than 40 hours.
In ew Jersey only 1 in 14 of the employees worked less than
40 hours and their median earnings were $10.50. The median rose
to $15 for the group who worked 40 hours or more. Practica]]y all
the women in Arkansas had worked more than 48 hours, so there can
be no comparison of the two hour groups.
In three of the six localities studied, the medians for women who
worked as long as 48 hour.s were lower than those for the larger groups
working 40 hours or more. In two instances the difference was negligible, but in New Jerse it amounted to an even dollar, lower by
close to 7 percent for the longer hours. In Seattle, Los Angeles, and
Denver there was an increase instead, ranging from 45 cents to $1.40.
Earnings and time with the firm.
The length of time an employee had been with the store naturally
would have some bearing on the amount of pay received. A correlation of week's earnings and length of service was possible for 4,039
women. The tabulation (unpublished) reveals some interesting data.


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lff

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

In each of the five localities included in this tabulation a comparatively small part of the workers had been with thefirmlessthanayear, the
proportion varying from less than 5 percent in one San Francisco store
to 15 percent in New Jersey. That the week's earnings of women in
this experience group have a wide range is indjcated in the summary
following. Because of the small · numbers of workers, the figures
presented show not the median but the highest and lowest week's
earnings, without regard to hours worked, reported for women whose
experience with the firm had been less than 1 year.
Week's earnings of women less than 1 year
with the firm
Locality
Lowest actual
earnings
New Jersey- 10 cities__ ____ ___ ________ ____ ____ __ ______ __
Arkansas: Little Rock ____ ________ ___ _______ _________ ____
Colorado: De nver _________ ____ ____ ______ ________ ________
California:
Los Angeles_--------- -- - --- -- -- -- ------ --- -- ------San Francisco ____ ___ ____ ____ _________ __ ____ _______ _

Highest actual earnings

Less than $5_ __ ___ $30, less than $35.
$6, less tha n $7 ____ $15, less than $16.
$5, less than $6 ____ $35.
$2, less than $3 ____ $30, less than $35.
$6, less than $7- ___ Over $16, less than $17.

Figures in an unpublished tabulation of earnings and time with the
firm give median earnings according to experience. An analysis of
such medians in the five localities reporting on this point follows.
Los Angeles maintained its minimum-wage rate, $16, in each of the
six experience groups ranging from 1 year to 10 and less than 15 years.
In the San Francisco store whose workers supplied personal
information to the Bureau, the women stated that they were working
a shorter week in order to extend employment, especially among the
temporary workers. More than two-thirds (68.1 percent) of the
women reported were working a week of 42 hours. Approximately
half of the women who had accepted this 42-hour schedule were earning exactly $14; as much as $16 was earned by less than one-fourth
(23.4 percent). Thus the median was found to be $14 instead of the
$16 basic minimum wage set by the State for this industry. Fourteen
dollars was the median also for the workers who had been 1 and under
2 years with the firm. Service of 5 and under 10 years brought a
slightly higher median, $14.30, while women who had been with the
firm 10 and under 15 years had a median of $14.75, an amount higher
by only 5.4 percent than the $14 for the group as a whole.
In Denver, women who had been with the firm 1 and under 2 years
and 2 and under 3 years had the same median of earnings, $12, as was
recorded for all workers in this city who reported the time they had
spent with the establishment. For workers with 5 and under 10 years'
experience the median was $12.45, and for those employed as much as
10 years the median was $15.35.
The 233 workers in the stores of Little Rock who reported their time
with the firm bad a median of $12.70, the lowest amount for any
locality but Denver. Only one experience group was large enough to
justify the computation of a median, and the 55 women in this group
of 5 and under 10 years' experience show $13.95 as their median
earnings. This is $1.25 more than the median for all who reported
time with the firm.


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WAGES

17

For the 2,120 women in New Jersey who reported on this subject the median earnings were $15. Women whose experience
with the firm was 1 and under 2 years had a median of ·$13. For
the group employed 5 and under 10 years the median was $15.20, and
for the groups with experience of 10 and un,der 15 years and 15 and
under 20 years the medians were $17 and $17.05, respectively. New
Jersey was the only locality reporting workers with as much as 20
years' service in sufficient number for computation of a median; these
had a median of $16.15, or 90 cents less than the amount shown for
those who had been with the firm 15 and under 20 years.
COMPARISON OF RATES AND EARNINGS

Rates and earnings, by locality.
In the two California localities there were great differences in the
proportions of women whose r ates and whose earnings on tLe late
pay rolls were exactly $16 (the minimum wage set for a standard
week). Two-thirds (66.2 percent) of the Los Angeles women, for
example, had a weekly rate of $16, but only one-fifth (20.6 percent)
of those reported had earnings of exactly $16. In contrast to the onethird whose rate was more than $16, almost two-fifths of the women
received more than $16 in earnings. In San Francisco and Oakland
$16 was the rate of alm03t one-third of the workers, yet only 1 in 25
of the women received that amount as their week's pay. The proportions of women with rates and with earnings exceeding $16 were
almost the same, 49 .8 and 48.3 percent, respectively. In Los Angeles,
the number of women whose earnings were $25 or more was slightly
higher than the number reported with rates of this amount-3.4 and
3.1 percent, respectively. In San Francisco-Oakland, the opposite
is true: 1.7 percent of the women had such earnings while 2.1 percent
had such rates.
Arkansas shows almost no differences in the proportions of women
in the rates and earnings columns. Less than $15 was the weekly
r ate reported for 57 percent, and 59 percent had earnings of such
amount. About two-fifths of these women had rates and earnings of
even less than $12. As much as $25 was recorded as the rate of 4
percent, and as the earnings of more than 3 percent.
Stores in New Jersey also showed similar proportions in the rates
and earnings columns. In each case, less than $15 was reported for
one in two of the women. One-fourth of the number having such r ates
and one-third of those having such earnings were in the group less
than $12. In the· higher brackets, $25 and over, rates and earnings
were reported for practically the same number-70 and 72 women,
respectively.
In Denver, the proportions with rates and with earnings of less than
$15 showed a greater contrast-66 and 75 percent, respectively.
For about one in three of the women with rates below $15 they were
below $12, and three in five of those with earnings below $15 received
less than $12 Only very small numbers of women had rates or earnin: s
of as much as $25, those with such rates slightly outnumbering those
with such earnings.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

18

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33
TABLE

6.-Rates and earnings, by locality-late pay roll
ci

Number of women with rates and with earnings of-

~A
.0 a,

Locality

ss

::lo

• A~

Less than
$10

E

30
E-<

New Jersey-10 cities _______ __
Arkansas : Little Rock and
Fort Smith _______ _______ __
Colorado: Denver _____ ____ __
California:
Los Angeles ________ _____
San
Francisco
Oakland
___ ____ __and
__________
Washington: Seattle ________
1

t

$10, less
than $12

$12, less
than $15

--- ---

p::;"'

A"'

o-.b.<l

o, A

rzi·-

-

-

E
p::;"'

"'

A"'
o-. b.<l

rzi ·-

-

A"'

G:>
.µ

o, A

-

p::;"'

1-< b.<l

Ol A

rzi ·-

-

-

$15, less
than $20

$20, less
than $25

I

~

p::;
"'

"'a,

A"'

1-<b.<l

OlQ

p::;

rzi·-

-

-

$25 and
more
ti)

A"'

~

1-<b.<l

o, A

p::;
"'

rzi ·-

-

A"'

~--

o-. b.<l

"'Q

-

-

2,343

59

201

255

238

857

798

905

854

194

182

72

70

351
562

34
38

36

54
130

119
252

118
171

119
161

113
110

18
18

18
24

14

118

47
82

11

12
9

-- .. --

121

-----

138

12

311 1,392

830

171

169

50

56

1,256 ----753 -----

51
82

53
97

182
319

362
294

663
228

103
50

106
43

26
8

21

1,625

4

-----

941
376

9

Weekly rate not reported for 1 of these women.

In Los Angeles, though less than 1 percent of the women had rates
of less than $15 reported, as many as 35.1 percent had such earnings in
the week the pay roll was taken. In no store surveyed here were
women paid a rate of less than $12, but almost 1 in 6 of the women
received earnings of less than $12. Of this number, approximately
1 in 10 received less than $5. Practically all the women earning less
than $12 worked a short week, the majority of them putting in less
than 30 hours.
In San Francisco and Oakland the lowest rate was $10, but 1 in 25
of the women received less than this in earnings. Of this number,
about one in six earned below $5. Less than 30 hours' work was
recorded for those earning below $10.
As reported by Los Angeles stores, more than five-sixths (84.6 percent) of the women had a rate of $16 and under $19, yet only half as
many-practically five-twelfths (43.6 percent)-had earnings so
classified. In the same city a rate of $25 or more was reported for 50
women and earnings of as much as that were received by 56. The
addition of the bonus or commission on sales probably is responsible
for this.
For two-thirds (66.2 percent) of the 1,256 women reported in San
Francisco and Oakland the weekly rate was $16 and under $19,
thougµ only 38. 7 percent of the women received earnings of this
amount. Twenty-six women had a rate of $25 or more and 21
received as much as this for their week's pay.

COMPARISON OF LATE AND EARLY PAX-ROLL DATA
To show the trend of women's earnings in this industry in the last
few years, pay-roll data were secured also for a period prior to 1932-33.
As the late pay roll covered a period in the fall or winter of 1932 or the
early spring of 1933, the Bureau endeavored to secure data for a week
that would picture conditions in the industry before any change
resulting from the business depression had been effected. For most
establishments the early pay rolls were secured for a week antedating
that of the late pay rolls by 2 years, and to secure the records of a
normal week in some stores it was necessary to go back to a pay roll
more than 2 years old.
·
In a majority of the firms in New Jersey early pay-roll data were
copied for a week in 1931 approximately 2 years before th~ late pay-


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

19

WAGES

roll dates. Some firms reported that a change in amount or method
of payment had been made earlier than that, and these firms supplied
records for a week before such change.
For Denver, Seattle, and the three cities in California there was a
2-year difference in the pay rolls taken. These usually were for a
week in March of 1933 and of 1931.
The following summary shows the number of establishments and
the number and median earnings of women with two pay records
reported, and compares the medians of their earnings for the two
periods.
7. -Comparison of late and early pay rolls, by locality

TABLE

Locality

1

New Jersey- IO cities ___ __ ____ __ __ __
Colorado: Denver ____ ____ ______ ___
California :
Los Angeles __________ ___ __ _____
San Francisco and Oak land __ __
Washington: Seattle -- --- -a ----- --1

Percent of
decrease,
late p ayroll from
Number M edian of Number Median of early payof women earnings of women earnings
roll medians
L ate pay roll

Early pay roll

21
3

2, 343
562

$14. 00
12. 00

2,492
570

$17. 00
15. 15

17. 6
20. 8

3
6
4

1,625
1. 256
753

16. 00
16. 00
13. 85

1, 710
1, 454
875

18. 70
20. 65
16. 85

22. 5
17. 8

Number
of establishments

14. 4

Arkan sas omitted becau se early pay-roll data secured for only 7 of the 9 stores.

In summarizing the earnings of women in stores it is seen that for
the week in 1933 the two localities in California had the same (and the
highest) median, $16; for the week in 1931 San Francisco-Oakland had
the highest, $20.65. This change in a 2-year period represents a
decrease of almost one-fourth (22.5 percent) in median earnings. In
Los Angeles the drop from the median of $18.70 for the week in 1931
to $16 in 1933 was a smaller decrease (14.4 percent), but it was
severe to those who suffered it. In each year Denver had a low
median, and between the two dates there was a decline of approximately one-fifth _ (20.8 percent), second only to that in the San
Francisco area .
When it is considered that in each case the median is the actual
earnings of the woman who was at the midpoint of her group when
such group was arranged according to earnings, the seriousness of a

decline in purchasing power by proportions varying from about
one-seventh (14.4 percent) to not far from one-fourth (22.5 percent)
becomes significant.
The following table gives certain figures for the 48-hour workers
in the late and the early pay-roll periods:
T A B LE

8.-Com parison of 48-hour workers on late and early pay rolls, by locality

Locality !

Number of
Percent 48women work- hour workers
ing a week
formed of all
of 48 hours
reported
Late
p ay
roll

New Jersey-IO cities _____________ ___ __ ____ _
Colorado: D en ver --- ------------- ---- -----California:
Los Angeles __ __ ___ ___ __ __ ____________ ___
San Francisco and Oakland _____ ___ ___ __
Washington: Seattle __ ______ ___ ___ _______ ___
1

Arkansas cities not Included.


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57
245
900
58
378

E arly
p ay
roll

-

E arly
pay
roll

Median of
earnings of
48-hour
workers

Percent of 48hour workers
earning $16
or more

Late
pay
roll

Late
pay
roll

E arly
pay
roll
- -- - - -- - 113
2. 5
4. 5 $15. 00 $16. 35
472
43. 6
82. 8 14. 00 16. 00

1,406
44
516

L ate
pay
roll

55. 4
4. 6
50. 2

82. 2
3.1
59. 0

17. 15
16. 15
15. 30

- -

19. 55
(2)

18. 00

• Not computed; base less than 50.

43. 9
26. 9
99. 1
86. 2
40. 2

Emly
pay
roll

--

64. 6
50. 2

99.6

(2)

83. 1

20

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

In 1933 considerably more than one-half of all the women in the
stores surveyed in Los Angeles, one-half of those in Seattle, and somewhat over two-fifths of those in Denver had worked a 48-hour week.
In the San Francisco district and New Jersey less than 5 percent were
in this hour classification.
Of the groups working exactly 48 hours the proportions who earned
$16 or more in 1933 were from 0.5 to 42.9 points below the corresponding proportions in the earlier period. The smallest decrease was in
Los Angeles, the greatest in Seattle.
Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles stores had no women working
more than 48 hours in the week in 1933. In San Francisco one woman,
whose earnings were slightly over $16, worked 1 hour longer than the
maximum. In the early pay-roll period none of the saleswomen in
these four localities worked more than 48 hours. Of those with
earnings of $16 or more in New Jersey about one-fourth in each period
had a week exceeding 48 hours.
A comparison of the medians of weekly rates and of week's earnings
in both pay-roll periods serves to emphasize the trend toward a lower
wage in each of the localities ; for while at the time of the early pay
roll medians of the rates extended from $15 to $18, in 1932- 33 no
locality showed a median of rates higher than $16, and one city had
a median as low as $12.
In four of the five localities in which comparisons of median earnings and median rates of the early pay rolls were m ade, earnings were
higher by from 1 to approximat ely 20 percent; in the other, earnings
were lower by slightly more than 6 percent.
Analysis of the late pay roll shows that median r ates and earnings
were the same in three of the five districts (two of these were in a
State with a minimum-wage law). In the two other districts the
median earnings were less than the rates, the proportions being 6, 7,
and 7.7 percent, respectively.
TABLE

9.- M edians of rates and earnings, by locality
E arly pay roll

Late payroll
Localityl

M edian ofNumber
of women
reported

Rates

--New Jersey-IO cities ______ __ ____ __________ _______
Colorado: Denver ... ______ ____ __________ _____ ___
California:
Los Angeles ____ ______ _____ _____ __ _____ _______
San Francisco and Oakland _____ _______ ______
Washington: Seattle _________ _. ____ ____ _. . _.. __ __
1

1

Arkansas cities not included .
Weekly rate not reported for 1 of these women.


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,,

Median ofNu mber
of women
Earn- reported Rates Earnings
ings
-

-------

22,343
562

$15. 00
12. 00

$14. 00
12. 00

2, 492
570

$16. 00
15. 00

$17. 00
15. 15

1,625
1, 256
753

16. 00
16. 00
15. 00

16. 00
16. 00
13. 85

1, 681
1, 454
875

18. 00
17. 40
18. 00

18. 80
20. 65
16. 85

Part IV.-PERSONAL INFORMATION
Facts in regard to personal history were reported by more than
4 1300 women. These were employed in 28 stores, about three-fifths
of the number included in the study.

Age.
With the .exception of New Jersey, where 11.3 percent of the women
were not yet 20, no locality had as many as 4 percent of its workers
under 20 years of age. New Jersey was the only locality that had
women workers of under 18 years. Three-fifths of the women in the
stores of that State were under 30 years of age and all but one-sixth
were under 40. In the other localities from about one-fourth to a1most two-fifths of the women were 40 or more.
The following table shows in the form of cumulative percents the
ages of the women employed in the 28 department stores in different
sections of the country that sent in data on this subject.
TABLE

10.-Proportions of women in certain limited age groups, by locality

Locality

Percent of women whose age wasNumber
of women
reporting Under Under Under Under Under Under
20 years 25 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 60 years

- -- -- -- - - - - New Jersey-IO cities ________________
Arkansas: Little Rock _______________
Colorado: Denver ____________________
California:
Los Angeles _____________________
San Francisco ___________________

2,076
267
436

11. 3
8. 7
2.5

43. 4

715

.8

398

2. 5

9. 2
17. 8

18. 4

20. 9

60. 5
89. 0
36.2

73.4
69. 5

95. 1
93. 6
90.8

100. 0
98. 9

23.1

62. 7
65. 8

90. 6
92. 7

99. 7
99.0

32.4

84.0

99.4

From the foregoing data it appears that only about 1 percent of the
women workers in the Denver and San Francisco stores reporting
had reached 60 years, that Little Rock had no women so old as this,
and that in New Jersey and Los Angeles the proportions were only
0.6 and 0.3 percent, respectively.
Numbers and percentages of workers in the various localities whose
ages were 30 and under 50 years may be seen in the summary following. More than half the women in Little Rock and Denver were of
these ages, as were three-fifths of those reporting in San Francisco
and two-thirds of those in Los Angeles. New Jersey :presents a
striking contrast, with not much more than one-third of its women
in these age groups because of the much larger proportion under 25
years.
21


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

22

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

A further break-down of the cumulative percents in the preceding
table makes it clear that in each locality much the larger group were
30 and under 40 years instead of 40 and under 50.
Women whose ages
were 30 and under 50
years

Locality

Number

Percent

720
146
238

34. 7
54. 7
54. 6

483
240

67. 6
60. 3

New Jersey-IO cities _______________________ _
Arkansas: Little Rock ______________________ _
Colorado: Denver ___________________________ _
California:
Los Angeles
_______________
----------- _____________
---- ---- ------San
Francisco
__

Marital status.
The fact that so many of the women in the department stores of
New Jersey were young would lead one to expect a high proportion of
unmarried workers in this State, and figures in the next table show
that 7 of every 10 of the store workers in New Jersey were single.
In the other localities the proportions of single women varied only
from approximately one-third to two-fifths.
D enver ranked first in the proportion of married workers; not
far from one-half (46.3 percent) of the women in the stores reporting
were married. New Jersey had much the lowest percent (22). Cities
as far apart as San Francisco and Little Rock had very similar proportions of their workers reporting their status as married-40.8
percent and 39.7 percent, respectively. One-third of the Los Angeles
women were married.
T he percent of workers who were widowed, separated, and divorced
was greater in Los Angeles than in any other locality visited. In
contrast to the 32.4 percent shown in this city is the small proportionless than 9 percent-found in the New Jersey stores.
TABLE

11.-Marital status, by locality
Percent o! women whose marital
status was-

Locality

New Jersey-IO cities______________________________________ __
Arkansas: Little Rock___________ _____________________ ____ ___
Colorado: Denver____________________________________________
California:
Los Angeles __ ------------------------------------------San Francisco ________________________________ ___________


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Nu-g:ber
women

2,045
229

i---.,....---,-----

Single

Married

Widowed,
separated,
or divorced

415

69. 4
35. 4
35. 9

22. 0
39. 7
46. 3

8. 6
24. 9
17. 8

723
429

34. 3
40. 3

33. 3
40. 8

32. 4
18. 9

23

PERSON AL INFORMATION

Time with the firm.
A correlation of time with the firm is significant, for it might well
be assumed "that length of service would have a definite bearing on
earnings because increased tenure of position would result in increased
earnings either as a reward for staying with a store or as the outcome
of increased experience which brought with it greater productivity." 1
In the 18 stores (combined) in New Jersey and the 5 in the city
of Little Rock practically the same proportions of workers reported
less than 1 year's experience with the firm- respectively 15 percent
and 14.7 percent, or about 3 of every 20 women. In Denver about
3 in 25 of the women had been with the store as short a time as this.
In California the proportions who had been with the firm less than
a year were very much smaller.
The proportion of women in the California cities who had been with
the firm 5 years or more was much higher than for New Jersey, or for
Little Rock or Denver. In San Francisco as in Los Angeles the
proportion was 5 of 10, in Little Rock and in Denver approximately
4 of 10, and in New Jersey 3 of 10. In both Little Rock and Denver
the proportion of workers with the firm 10 years or more was practically the same as the percent with less than a year's experience.
P ercentages in the various experience groups appear in the accompanying table.
•

TAB l,E

12.-Time with the firm, by locality

Localit y

Percent of women whose years with the firm wereNumber or
women
report- Less 1, less 2, less 3, less 4, less 5, less 10, less 15 and
ing
thanl than2 than3 than4 than5 thanlO t han15 more
--- - --

--- -

New Jersey- 10 cities............. ..
Arkansas: Little Rock ...... . .......
Oolorado : Denver • •• - ............ .
Oalifornia:
Los Angeles._ . .................
San Francisco........ ..........

2,120
245
533

15. 0
14. 7
11. 6

18. 2

9. 4
11. 6

16. 3
12. 2
12. 2

13. 5
11. 0
11. 4

7. 6
13. 9
9.8

721
432

6. 8
4.4

15. 5
12. 7

11. 7
10. 6

7. 9
9.0

9. 2
13. 4

-17. 6

--

23. 3
32. 8

6. 3
8. 2
6. 8

5. 6
7. 3
3. 8

28. 4
29. 2

15. 4
13. 4

5. 1
7. 2

From unpublished data it is noted that fewer than 100 of all the
women workers reporting h ad been with the firm as long as 20 years.
In no locality did the proportion of these workers reach 3 percent;
in one it was less than 1 percent.
From the table following may be seen the percentages of women
in the various marital-status groups whose employment with the
firm had been for less than 1 year, for 5 years or more, or for 10
years or more.
t Bezanson, Anne, and Miriam Hussey. Wage Methods and Selling Costs. Philadelphia, University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1930, p . 253.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

24

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS IN DEPARTMENT STORES, 1932-33

T ABLE

13. -Proportion of women in each marital group with time with the firm
as specified, by locality
Women who wereLocality
Single

I M arried I or=i~~:;:~:
divorced

NUMBER REPORTIN G
1, 356
80
149

411
89
192

169
57
74

246

241
175

234

15. 6

13. 1

11. 3
8. 1

18. 0
6. 3

13. 6
19. 3
13. 5

4. 9
8.1

5. 4
1. 7

10. 3
2.5

173

81

P ERCENT W ITH F IRM L ESS THAN 1 YEAR
N ew J ersey-10 ci tbs ___ ____ _______ ____________ ____ _____ _________ _
-- -··--- ---____
----- - ------ _______
_--- - --__ ________
Little Rock
Arkansas: Denver
___
______
___- ____
____________
___ ______
Colorado:
California:
Los Angeles ______ ____ _____ __ __ ____ ______ ____ __ ___ _______ ____ _
San Francisco __ __ _______ ___________________________ _________ _

PERCENT WITH FIRM 6 YEARS OR MORE
New J ersey- 10 cities ___ __ _____ __ _______ ___________ ______ _________
- ----_
---_____
- ---- ---- --_____ _--- ---___
_____
L ittle Rock
Arkansas:
______
___- ---_________
_____________
_______
Colorado: Denver
California:
Los Angeles ____ ____ _____ ___________________ __________ _______ _
San Francisco ___ ______--- _____ --- -- __-- ____ ___ _____ _____ _-- __

26. 5
37.5
43. 0

37. 7

39. 6

38. 2
48. 4

40. 5

47. 2
41. 0

58. 5
56. 6

41. 0

10.1

13. 9
7. 9
8. 3

13. 1
21.1
9. 5

21. 5

20. 7

18.6

20. 6

19.2
24. 7

38. 6

53. 1

P ERCENT WI T H FIRM 10 YE ARS OR MORE

New Jersey-IOcities __ ____ ______ ___ __ ____________ ____ _____ ______ _
Arkansas: Little Rock _____________ __ ___ _____ ________ __ ___ __ ______
Colorado: D en ver ________ ____ _____ ____ . ______ ___________ _____ ____
California:
Los Angeles __. ___ ____ _. ____. . _. ________ ____ ________________ __
San Francisco.. ____ __ ______ . . _. _. ____ _____ _____________ ___ ___

0


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10. 9
16. 3


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