Full text of Wartime Earnings and Spending in Honolulu, 1943 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 788

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UNITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins. Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commitsioner (on leave)
A . F. Hinrichs, Acting Commissioner

+

W artim e Earnings and Spending
in Honolulu, 1943

By
L E N O R E A . EP STEIN
o f th e

COST OF LIVING DIVISION

Bulletin T^o. 788
(Reprinted from the Monthly Labor Review, April 1944,
with additional data]







For sale b y the Superintendent o f Documents
U . S. Governm ent Printing Office
Washington 25, D . C.
Price 10 cents

Contents
Page

Summary---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Family income:
Earnings of workers_______________________________________________
Family income, family size, and number of earners__________________
Racial and national origin in relation to family size and income_____
Family outlay:
The family balance sheet in relation to income_____________________
Summary of expenditures for major categories of consumption______
Food purchases---------------Housing and household operation___________________________________
Housefurnishings-------------------Clothing________________
Medical and personal care_________________________________________
Transportation____________________________________________________
Recreation expenditures___________________________________________
Description of sampling method. ---------




in

1
2
4
6
8
10
13
19
22
24
31
32
33
36

Letter o f Transmittal

U nited States D epartment of L abor,
B ureau of L abor Statistics,

Washington, D. C., July 18, 1944•
’T he Secretary

of

L abor :

I have the honor to transmit herewith a report summarizing the results o f a
survey of the income and expenditures of families of wage earners and clerical
workers in Honolulu, Hawaii, during wartime. This report was prepared in the
Cost of Living Division by Lenore A. Epstein, assisted by Elizabeth H. Hyde.
The general discussion on family income and family outlay appeared in an article
in the April 1944 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.
The survey was conducted during July and August 1943, under the direction
of Lenore A. Epstein, assisted by Elizabeth H. Hyde of the Cost of Living Divi­
sion, and Stella M. Jones, of Honolulu, on summer leave from the Territorial
Department of Public Instruction. Thirteen residents of Honolulu, representing
the principal racial groups in the population, interviewed the families selected for
study. The success of the survey is due in large measure to their painstaking
work and the generous cooperation of the families studied. This study had the
benefit also of cordial cooperation and advice from persons in Territorial and
Federal agencies and at the University of Hawaii, and from interested individuals.
The survey, the first of its kind undertaken in Hawaii, was designed to provide
the basis for an index of changes in the cost of goods and services purchased by
families of wage earners and clerical workers in Honolulu. The Department of
Labor and Industrial Relations, Territory of Hawaii, has used the data to prepare
such an index and is publishing the results at quarterly intervals.
A. F. H inrichs, Acting Commissioner.
Hon. F rances Perkins,
Secretary of Labor.

IV




Bulletin 7^o. 788 o f the
U nited States Bureau o f Labor Statistics
[Reprinted from the M onthly L abor R eview , April 1944, with additional data]

Wartime Earnings and Spending in H onolulu, 1943
Summary
Eighteen months of war brought m any changes in the lives of
civilian workers living in Honolulu, Hawaii. The black-out and the
curfew were m ost noticeable to one arriving from the mainland, but
residents soon adjusted their living habits to conform to these restric­
tions. War-inflated incomes and correspondingly large expenditures
have, despite high prices, m eant more satisfactory diets and more
luxuries to m any families of wage earners and clerical workers than
they were able to afford in pre-war days.
In April 1940 Honolulu, the largest city in the Territory of Hawaii,
had a population of 179,326. Japanese comprised 34 percent of the
total population at that time, Caucasians 28 percent, Hawaiians and
part-Hawaiians 17 percent, Chinese 12 percent, Filipinos and persons
of other races 8 percent. O f the entire population, 87 percent were
American-born.1
The present population is estimated at about 230,000, exclusive of
the large number of m en in military service recently stationed in and
near the city. T he increase reflects partly the influx of workers from
mainland United States to fill war jobs in the Pearl Harbor N a v y
Y ard and on A rm y construction projects, and partly the migration of
workers from the sugar and pineapple fields of Oahu and the other
islands to better-paying city jobs.2*
During the summer of 1943, the U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
conducted the first general survey of the incomes and expenditures
of families of wage earners and clerical workers in Honolulu, to pro­
vide a basis for an index of changes in the cost of living. This covered
a carefully selected group of 100 families representing all important
racial groups in the city.8 T he study excluded families of business
and professional people and certain “ white collar” workers with
relatively high incomes, as well as single individuals. Information
was obtained on income and on all categories of family spending for
the m onth of June 1943. In addition, detailed reports were obtained
on actual purchases of foods in the 7 days immediately preceding the
interview with the family. Reports on purchases of clothing and
housefurnishings and, as a check, estimates of amounts spent for all
other types of family expenditure were also obtained for the 12 months
ending with June 1943.
1 United States Census of 1940.
2 After the outbreak of war the movement from the outer islands was virtually stopped by restriction
on transportation between Oahu and the outer islands.
’ For description of sampling method used in selection of families, see p. 36.




1

2

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

The survey shows that large cash incomes were being received b y
families of working people in Honolulu in 1943. In the m onth of
June 1943, the gross income averaged $415 per family. This was
before deductions for taxes, war bonds and stamps, and various forms
of social insurance. One of the principal reasons for these unusually
large cash incomes, in addition to the many opportunities for employ­
m ent at high wages during the war, is the large size of the families in
Honolulu, and the fact that typically two or more persons in each
fam ily are working. Actually over one-third of the families surveyed
had as many as three earners. Families are large, averaging 5 persons
as compared with 3.6 persons in wage-earner and clerical families in
the mainland cities. O f these five, 3.3 were 14 years of age or over.
Although prices of living essentials are typically high in Honolulu
and outlays for family living are necessarily large, these high money
incomes enabled most Honolulu families not only to meet current
expenses, but to make some savings in addition to their purchases
of war bonds and stamps and their current payments of Federal
and Territorial income taxes. For this group of 100 families, about
65 percent of total income, or $270 in the month of June, went for
actual purchases of goods and services. Federal and Territorial in­
come taxes and the victory tax took another 17 percent, or $71,
from the family income, and savings including purchases of war
bonds and stamps took another 15 percent. Small outlays were
also made for gifts and contributions.4
Food absorbed about%44 percent of the $270 spent currently for
goods and services. This includes not only food for preparation at
home, but meals eaten away from home. Clothing took another 11
percent; housing, fuel, household operation and furnishings together,
another 17 percent. Transportation and medical care each took
about 6 percent. A relatively large proportion— about 10 percent—
went for recreation, liquor, and tobacco, and the remainder for other
miscellaneous expenditures.
Food took an unusually large share of the family budget for incomes
as large as these. This is attributable to the relatively high prices
o f food in Honolulu, the large size of the families, and also to the fact
that virtually no new housefurnishings or cars, which would normally
have been bought with these greatly enlarged incomes, were available
for purchase. A considerable share would probably also have been
spent for larger houses to alleviate the overcrowding which charac­
terizes these homes, had it not been for the serious housing shortage.

Fam ily Income
EARNINGS OF WORKERS

W ith the need for workers at the Pearl Harbor N a v y Y ard , on other
war jobs, and in civilian industries, many wage earners were receiving
very high earnings; a fourth of those in the families studied earned
4 Presumably part of the income tax payments had been saved in April and May, as no income taxes were
paid in those months. The monthly tax burden for the average worker’s family in Honolulu was thus
about $33 during the second 3 months of 1943. Since a few persons paid during March the full amount of
the Federal income tax due and some paid the full amount of the smaller Territorial tax due, the average
monthly income tax payment for the first 6 months of 1943 would have been slightly higher. Since the
Federal and Territorial withholding taxes, with higher rates on current income, went into effect on July 1,
1943, the average monthly tax burden has risen to about $41. A $5 poll tax was also levied on each adult
resident prior to July 1943, and was usually deducted from earnings during the early months of the year.




3

F am ily Incom e

more than $250 in June. O f the entire group of wage earners and
clerical workers, however, half earned less than $175 (table 1).
M a n y of the workers in the families surveyed were on the Federal
pay roll, some were Territorial and city employees, and others worked
in civilian plants, offices, restaurants, and the like.
T he wageearner occupations represented ranged from the highly skilled ma­
chinist, electrician, carpenter, welder, rigger, policeman, truck and
bus driver, jeweler, barber, hotel cook, seamstress, through stevedore,
presser, waitress, fruit grader, cannery packer, and laundry checker,
to charwoman, janitor, and general laborer.
The clerical group was
relatively large, since the main offices of the sugar and pineapple
companies and the large wholesale houses which supply most of the
retailers in the Territory are in Honolulu. Clerical workers for these
firms and in the employ of the Government included typists, stenog­
raphers, sales clerks, assistant cashiers, bookkeepers, office-machine
operators, and inspectors whose monthly salaries did not exceed $300.*
T

able

1.— Distribution o f Earners in Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
in Honolulu , by M onthly M oney Earnings, June 1943

Money earnings in June 1943

with classified
Earners with classified ' Earners
money earnings after
total money earnings
pay-roll deductions1*
Number of Percent of Number of Percent of
earners
earners
earners
earners

Under $50..........................................................................
$50 and under $100............................................................
$100 and under $150..........................................................
$150 and under $200........... ..............................................
$200 and under $250..........................................................
$250 and under $300..........................................................
$300 and under $350...........................................................
$350 and over.......................... ................................ .........

19
33
37
40
35
26
16
13

8.7
15.1
16.9
18.2
16.0
11.9
7.3
5.9

22
36
52
41
36
19
8
5

10.1
16.4
23.7
18.7
16.4
8.7
3.7
2.3

All earnings classes.................................................

219

100.0

219

100.0

Median earnings per earner_________________________
Mean earnings per earner___ _______________________

$176.25
181.22

$150.00
161.75

1 Deductions for victory tax, war bonds, unemployment compensation, Federal old-age and survivors
insurance, Federal retirement benefits, and Territorial public welfare.

A bout one-fourth of these workers earned less than $100 in June,
principally older persons and school children. Some were employed
only part time— particularly the children of high-school age who
started work at the close of the school term on June 10— but the great
m ajority worked the full m onth.6
T he high earnings of some workers were attributable in part to over­
time pay for long hours; those of others, to substantial cost-of-living
bonuses paid by some of the Hawaiian firms. A n indication of the
wages that must be paid to attract workers, at least to jobs in “ nonessential” industries, is given b y a newspaper advertisem ent7 that
called for a fountain boy, with entrance wage of $150.00 per month.
* Families were excluded from the survey (1) if they included persons in professional occupations or salaried
workers whose regular earnings were more than $300 per month or $3,000 during the year ending July 1943,
(2) if the chief earner was self-employed (unless the net income from his business was less than 25 percent of his
own total earnings), (3) if other earners in the family were self-employed and had full-time employees or
received from their business net income that amounted to more than 25 percent of family income, and (4)
if more than 25 percent of the family’s income was derived from rents, securities, relief allowances, or socialinsurance benefits.
6 The average number of equivalent full-time workers per family (assuming 26 days of work as full-time)
w as 2.0 as compared with an average of 2.2 persons working at some time during June.
1 Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 11, 1943.




4

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

“ Take-hom e” earnings averaged nearly $20 less than total earnings
per worker, after pay-roll deductions of approximately $9.00 for war
bonds, $6.50 for victory tax, and additional amounts largely for socialinsurance benefits.8 F ifty percent of the workers received less than
$150.00 per month in pay after such deductions.
FAMILY INCOME, FAMILY SIZE, AND NUMBER OF EARNERS

Over half of all the families surveyed had 5 or more members 9 and
over a third had 3 or more earners (tables 2 and 3). Of the total
number of persons in these families, two-thirds were 14 years of age or
older and over one-quarter were aged 3 to 14 years.
Altogether
44 percent of all family members were gainfully employed during all
or part of the month of June.
T a b l e 2.— Number and Age o f Members in Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical

Workers in Honolulu, by N et M oney-Incom e Class,1 June 1943
Families with net money incomes,1 in
June, of—
A11 iamfo «Y1
All
ilies

Item

Number of families having2—
2 members__________________________________
3 or 4 members____________________________ _
5 or 6 members______________________________
7 or more members___________________________
All families

______

Average number of persons 2 per family:
14 years of age and older______________________
TTndftr 14 ypsars
....
Total

________

$100 and
under
$250

$250 and
under
$350

$350 and
under
$450

11
37
27
25

5
12
9
5

5
12
6
3

1
10
5
4

3
7
13

100

31

26

20

23

3.3
1.7

2.2
2.5

3.0
1.2

3.4
1.4

5.1
1.3

$450 and
over

___________

5.0

4.7

4.2

4.8

6.4

Average net money income1 per person____________

$74.56

$44.50

$71.19

$82.85

$101.44

1 Money income in June after specified pay-roll deductions (see table 1).
* No families included persons who were not family members for the full month.

T

able

3.— Number o f Earners in Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in

Honolulu, by N et M oney-Incom e Class,1 June 1943
Families with net money incomes,1in
June, of—
Item

Number of families having—
1 earnar

2 earners..................................................................
3 earners__________ ^_________________________
4 earners___________'....... ............................. ........
5 or more earners...................................... __.........

All families

41
25
17
10
7

$100 and
under
$250

$250 and
under
$350

$350 and
under
$450

25
6

13
10
3

3
6
6
4
1

$450 and
over

3
8
6
6

All families..........................................................

100

31

26

20

23

Average number of earners per fam ily.......................

2.2

1.2

1.6

2.7

3.7

1 Money income in June after specified pay-roll deductions (see table 1).
8 Including unemployment compensation, Federal old-age and survivors insurance, Federal retirement
benefits, and the Territorial public-welfare tax of 0.5 percent on earnings. The latter was not strictly a social
insurance contribution, since the funds were collected for general relief. However, it was not possible to
tabulate this item separately.
8 Single individuals, or 1-person families, were excluded from the survey.




5

F am ily Incom e

The large number of earners per family meant substantial incomes
for m ost families.10 During June 1943, the gross incomes of approx­
imately four-fifths of the families exceeded $250, and the incomes of
a third amounted to $450 or more (table 4). E ven after pay-roll
deductions for bonds, victory taxes, and social security, more than
two-thirds had over $250 left to spend in that m onth, and nearly
one-fourth had $450 or more. On the average, these families thus
had cash to spend amounting to $372 in June, or about $75 per person
CHART I

FAMILY COMPOSITION AND INCOME
WAGE EARNERS AND CLERICAL WORKERS
NUMBER OF
PERSONS

$100
AND UNDER

250
!
I

NUMBER OF
PERSONS

HONOLULU, T .H ., JUNE 1943

U NITED S TA TES DEPARTMENT OP LABOR
BUREAU OP LABOR S TA T IS T IC S __________

$250

$350

AND UNDER

AND UNDER

350

450

$450
ANQ OVER

NET MONEY INCOME PER FAMILY

W henever family incomes were very large, exceeding $450 per month
after deductions, m any members of the family— both old and young—
worked.11 The 23 families in this class averaged 6.4 persons, 3.7 of
whom were employed during the month.
A ll these families had at
least 2 earners and more than half had 4 or more.
B y contrast, the
10Income from sources other than earnings was of relatively slightrtmportance, averaging less than $18 per
family, in June, as compared with gross earnings of $397.
11 Families are classified by the amount of income they received after pay-roll deductions whenever data
are presented by income level, since consumption expenditures (which form the main subject of this article)
are more closely correlated with net than with gross income.
602146— 44------- 2




6

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

31 families with cash to spend (after pay-roll deductions) between $100
and $250, had 4.7 members, and an average of only 1.2 were em­
ployed— since 2.5 were under 14 years of age.
(See chart 1.)
T a b l e 4.— Distribution o f Families of Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu ,

by M onthly M oney-Incom e Class, June 1943
Number of families
Total
money
income
in June

.Money
income
in June
after
pay-roll
deduc­
tions 1

$100 and under $150............................................
$150 and under $250............................. ..............
$250 and under $350-.........................................
$350 and under $450-.........................................
$450 and over.......................................................

1
18
27
21
33

4
27
26
20
23

All families..............................................

100

100

Median income per family................................. $367.31
Mean income per family.................................... $414.68

$322.92
$372.05

Money-income class

1 Deductions for victory tax, war bonds, unemployment compensation, Federal old-age and survivors
insurance, Federal retirement benefits, and Territorial public welfare.

The families with the largest incomes (exceeding $450) to spend in
June, after deductions, were not so much better off as at first appears,
because of the large size of their families. On a per-capita basis, incomes
at the highest level (over $450) averaged 22 percent greater than
those from $350 to $450, although family incomes averaged about 60
percent more. Similarly, per-capita incomes for the $3 5 0 -$ 4 50 income
group were 16 percent higher than those of families at the $ 2 5 0 $350 level, while family incomes were about 35 percent larger.
Families in the two lowest income groups were an exception because
of the much greater number of young children in families with incomes
below $250.
RACIAL AND NATIONAL ORIGIN IN RELATION TO FAMILY SIZE AND INCOME

T he racial composition of the population of Honolulu goes far to
explain the large size of families. I t has been traditional in Oriental,
particularly Chinese, families for adult children to remain in the
household and turn their earnings over to their parents. The new
generation has gradually been breaking away from the custom.
N ow ,
when more adequate earnings might be expected to accentuate this
trend, the serious shortage of houses and apartments prevents many
young couples from finding separate quarters.
There has been a strong tendency in Hawaii toward economic
stratification b y race, as evidenced b y the findings of a study of labor
conditions in the Territory in 1939.
The author summarizes, as
follows:
It is obvious that the Caucasians who migrated to Hawaii from the American
mainland hold the dominant economic position in terms of both wealth and
management. Broadly speaking, Hawaiians and Portuguese are next. * * *
Because the Chinese arrived earlier than the great bulk of Oriental migrants they
had the advantage of having established themselves in strategic positions early
in the period of economic expansion. The Japanese, on the other hand, have the
advantages of large numbers and great racial solidarity. * * * The Filipinos,
of all the large racial groups, occupy the least advantageous economic position.12
12 Shoemaker, James H.: Labor in the Territory of Hawaii, 1939. Washington, D. C., 1940.




7

F am ily Incom e

A s a result of the war and the consequent labor shortage, employ­
ment opportunities have improved for persons of Oriental extraction.
Despite the large number of skilled workers brought from the mainland
to work in the navy yard and on war construction projects, many
local residents are filling jobs at a higher level of skill than they could
obtain previously. Although alien Japanese cannot be employed on
restricted projects for the W a r or N a v y Departments and even
American-born persons of Japanese ancestry encounter some dis­
crimination, large numbers have shifted from domestic work at
extremely low wages to somewhat more lucrative employment. In
pre-war days a small store provided the sole support of m any a large
Oriental family. A t present, m any such stores are run by elderly
parents with the assistance of young children in after-school hours,
while the older children are employed outside at jobs which now
provide the m ajor portion of the families' incomes.
The families covered in the present survey represented a wide
diversity of racial groups as follows:
Number offamilies, by racial origin of—
Family head
Homemaker

Hawaiian________________ .....................
7
11
Part-Hawaiian___________ ____________
Caucasian___________ ;___ ....................... 28
Japanese_________________...................— 34
Chinese______________________________ 1 12
Other 3__________________ ____________
8

4

15
26
36
1 13
6

i Includes 1 man of Chinese-Japanese ancestry.
* Includes 1 woman of Chinese-Caucasian ancestry.
8 Includes Korean, Filipino, and Puerto Rican families, which, because of the small number in the
sample are grouped together.
The Census classifies Puerto Ricans in Hawaii as a separate group rather than with other Caucasians,
because of special interest in their number. Census reports for Honolulu, however, combine Puerto Ricans
with Koreans, Negroes, and “ All others.” The latter Census classification was used in this study.

The Caucasian fam ilies13 contained only 3.9 persons, on the average,
as contrasted with 5.5 among the families of Japanese, Chinese,
Korean, Filipino, and Puerto Rican extraction (table 5). T he
number of persons gainfully employed in June averaged 1.8 for the
former and 2.4 for the latter. The families with a Hawaiian or
T a b l e 5.— Number o f Persons and Number o f Earners in Families o f Wage Earners

and Clerical Workers in Honolulu , by Race oj Fam ily Head9 June 1943

Item

Total number of families____

. _ _

Number of members in family:
2 to 5 members___________ ___________________
fi tn 7 mfimhfirs

.........

7 or more members . . . .
Number of earners in family:
1 earner_____________________________________
2 earners. __
....
8 earners
_ ____
•
_
4 or more earners_____________ _______________
Average number of persons per family
Average number of earners per family

_

.. ...

Hawaiian
andpartHawaiian

Cauca­
sian

100

28

18

54

34

48
27
25

19
7
2

9
3
6

20
17
17

14
10
10

41
25
17
17

15
4
8
1

6
8
2
2

20
13
7
14

11
9
3
11

5.0
2.2

3.9
1.8

5.2
2.0

5.5
2.4

5.4
2.0

* In addition to Japanese, includes Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Puerto Rican.
w Half of those covered in the survey were of Portuguese extraction.




Other

All
families

T otal1 Japanese

8

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

part-Hawaiian head covered in the survey contained 5.2 members, on
the average, of whom 2.0 were gainfully employed during June.
Over half of the Caucasian families were supported by a single earner,
as compared with one-third of the Hawaiian and slightly over a third
of all the other families. A third of the families of Japanese ancestry
contained 4 or more earners.
Individual earnings were largest among the Caucasian group. The
average earner in Caucasian families received $217, gross, during June,
as compared with $166 for Oriental workers (table 6). Workers of
Japanese ancestry, who were numerically m ost important in this
group, earned $149 on the average.14 Hawaiian workers received an
average wage of $185 before deductions.
T

able

6 . — M oney

Incom e and Earnings o f Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers in Honolulu, by Race of Fam ily Head, June 1943

Item

All families Caucasian

Total number of families.............................
Families with net money income, in June,
of—
$100 and under $250.................... ..........
$250 and under $350...............................
$350 and under $450...............................
$450 and over_________ ________ _____
Average money income in June:
Total income per family, before de­
ductions________ ______ __________
Income after deductions:
Per family__________ ___________
Per person______________________
Average money earnings in June:
Total earnings per family—
Before deductions_______________
After deductions________________
Total earnings per earner—
Before deductions_______________
After deductions________________

Hawaiian
and partHawaiian

Other
T otal1

Japanese

100

28

18

54

34

31
26
20
23

6
12
6
4

5
4
5
4

20
10
9
15

11
9
8
6

$414.68

$409.37

$412.10

$418.29

$397.14

372.05
74.56

355.64
90.53

364.34
70.52

383.12
69.89

366.67
68.50

396.86
354.23

395.07
341.34

380.10
332.35

403.38
368.21

384.77
354.30

181.22
161.75

216.90
187.40

184.91
161.68

166.28
151.78

148.66
136.89

i In addition to Japanese, includes Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Puerto Rican.

Because of smaller families, the average income received b y Cau­
casian families was slightly lower than for any other major racial
group except the Japanese. On a per-capita basis, however, average
income (after pay-roll deductions) ranged downward from $90 for the
Caucasian group to $70 for the Oriental, Filipino, and Puerto Rican
families.

Family Outlay
THE FAMILY BALANCE SHEET IN RELATION TO INCOME

In Honolulu, as elsewhere, the smaller the income, the smaller the
savings and the larger the proportion of income spent each month for
living essentials. Thus, among families with net incomes between
$100 and $250 per month, outlays for current consumption during
14 The number of families of Chinese ancestry covered in the survey was too small to provide reliable data
for separate analysis. A composite picture of the income and earnings of families of Chinese, Korean, Filipino,
and Puerto Rican origin has little significance because of the heterogeneity of the group. Information from
these families together with that furnished by families of Japanese ancestry, however, provides a good
indication of the economic level of the “ third stratum” at the present time.




9

F am ily Outlay

June amounted to 85 percent of gross income and 95 percent of the
income received after pay-roll deductions (table 7). Am ong families
at the higher end of the income scale, consumption expenditures
amounted to 53 and 58 percent of gross and net income, respectively.
T a b le 7.— M oney Income, Expenditures, and Savings o f Families o f Wage Earners

and Clerical Workers in Honolulu , by Net M oney-Incom e Class,1 June 1943
Expenditures for—
Total
income

Net money-income class1

Income
received1 Current |Gifts and Personal Savings2
consump­ |contribu­ taxes2
tion
tions
Average amount per family in June 1943

$100 and under $260______ _____________
$260 and under $350....................................
$350 and under $450............................ „......
$450 and over..................................- ...........

$233.49
335.69
455.40
712.77

$209.58
298.45
401.83
648.31

$198.65
237.51
300.79
376.39

$11.11
7.40
13.90
12.96

$21.99
53.16
96.03
130.98

$1.74
37.62
44.68
192.44

All families........................................

414.68

372.05

270.06

11.13

70.97

62.52

Percent of total income
$100 and under $250.....................................
$250 and under $350.....................................
$350 and under $450.....................................
$450 and over...............................................

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

89.8
88.9
88.2
91.0

85.1
70.8
66.0
52.8

4.8
2.2
3.1
1.8

9.4
15.8
21.1
18.4

0.7
11.2
9.8
27.0

All families.........................................

100.0

89.7

65.1

2.7

17.1

15.1

1 Total money income in June minus specified pay-roll deductions (see table 1).
2 Includes June installments on Federal and Territorial income taxes and victory taxes deducted from
pay. Excise taxes are included as expenditures for the item to which they apply.
2 Includes war bonds purchased directly and through pay-roll deductions and social-insurance contribu­
tions deducted from pay (see table 8 for details).

Personal taxes at the higher income levels were substantially larger
than at the lower levels, as would be expected. Am ong families with
net incomes below $250 per month, they took more than 9 percent of
gross income. If the June income taxes could have been evenly dis­
tributed over the 3-m onth period, April through June, the tax pay­
ments, including victory-tax deductions, would have represented the
following proportions of gross income, for families with specified net
incomes:
Percent of
gross income

$100
$250
$350
$450

and
and
and
and

under $250______
4.
under $350___________________ 7.
under $450___________________ 9.
over__________________________8.

5
5
3
5

All families_____________________ 8. 0
Individual purchases of war bonds and stamps b y wage earners and
clerical workers were relatively generous, in relation to income, in
view of the considerable amounts already allotted for this purpose
through pay-roll deductions (table 8). The total going to war-bond
purchases in June represented nearly 8 percent of gross income.
Families at each income level except the lowest devoted approximately
8 percent of their gross income to bonds. Those at the lowest level
spent 6 percent in this manner, although m any went into debt to do so.




10
T

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

8 . — Personal Taxes, War-Bond Purchases, and Other Savings o f Families o f Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, by N et M oney-Incom e Class,1 June 1943

able

Families with net money income,1in
June, of—
All
families

Item

$100 and $250 and
under
under
$250
$350

$350 and
under
$450

$450 and
over

Personal taxes.................................... _
Income taxes paid directly____ __________
Victory taxes deducted from pay______________

$70.97
56.66
14.31

$21.99
17.18
4.81

$53.16
41.78
11.38

$96.03
80.57
15.46

$130.98
105.91
25.07

Savings. ______
___
War bonds and stamps. ___ ___________
Purchased directly.. . . .
_____
Allotted through pay roll.................. ............
Social-insurance contributions2 deducted from
pay.................................... s................... ............
Residual net surplus or deficit2...........................

62.52
31.88
12.05
19.83

1.74
14.12
2.68
11.44

37.62
27.68
7.63
20.05

44.68
38.02
11.25
26.77

192.44
55.23
30.38
24.85

8.49
22.15

7.66
—20.04

5.81
4.13

11.34
-4.68

14.54
122.67

1 Net money income in June after pay-roll deductions for victory taxes, war-bond purchases, and social
insurance contributions.
2 Unemployment compensation, Federal old-age and survivors insurance, Federal retirement benefits,
•and Territorial public welfare.
2 Savings include payments on life insurance and annuities; mortgage principal paid; increase in cash, in
hank accounts, and in money loaned; and repayments on debts. Deficits comprise decrease in cash or bank
•accounts, amounts received from sale of property and on debts due, and increases in mortgage principal and
In debts. Included also in the net figure is a small amount accounted for by minor discrepancies in
figures furnished by families on their income and disbursements.

Gifts and contributions during June showed no clear relation to
family income, since they always vary greatly in any single month.
W h en averaged over the entire year ending June 1943, amounts spent
per month for gifts to friends and contributions in support of relatives,
war relief, church, and welfare organizations were as follows for families
with specified net incomes in June:
P er m onth

$100
$250
$350
$450

and
and
and
and

under $250_________________ $5.
under $350________________ 8.
under $450________________ 11.
over________________________20.

All families__________________

91
32
70
52

11. 05

A s previously noted, families in the lowest bracket found their
incomes insufficient to cover current expenditures, gifts, taxes, warbond purchases, and social-insurance contributions. T hey ended the
month with a net cash deficit of $20, or nearly 9 percent as much as
their gross income (table 8). Even if it is assumed that two-thirds of
the money used to pay income taxes was withdrawn from savings accu­
mulated for that specific purpose, they would still have been over $8
“ in the red.” Families in the two middle income brackets came out
approximately even. Those with the very largest cash incomes—
that averaged $648 after deductions— saved 19 percent of this sum,
in addition to the amount spent for bonds, or about 17 percent of
their gross income.
SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES FOR MAJOR CATEGORIES OF CONSUMPTION

In considering family buying, the 100 families surveyed have been
analyzed together rather than by separate racial groups, first, because




F am ily Outlay

11

the number studied was small, and, second, because food-consumption
habits have been so Americanized during the war as to make it less
important than it would have been before the war to consider con­
sumption by racial groups. This is the result of both the higher
incomes and the limited supplies of oriental-type foods available.
In pre-war days, there were also significant differences in habits of
dress and in home furnishings. Now native dress has been discarded
almost completely b y the residents of Japanese ancestry. On the
other hand, more women of Chinese extraction wear native dress
now than formerly, although it remains the exception rather than the
rule for street wear.
O f the $270 spent for goods and services in June b y the average
family in the group surveyed, 44 percent went for food, nearly 17
percent for rent and home maintenance,15 13 percent for clothing and
personal care, and 11 percent for recreation, reading matter, tobacco,
and liquor. Another 13 percent was divided almost equally between
transportation costs and medical care, leaving a small amount for
miscellaneous items. (See table 9 and chart 2.)
Average outlays per family for all categories of consumption except
housing increased with fair regularity as income increased. The
decline in bousing expenditures reflects the increasingly large propor­
tion of families that owned their homes, since the current costs of
upkeep, exclusive of mortgage payments (which are considered sav­
ings), were considerably less than cash rents.
A s a proportion of total expenditures for current consumption, food
was, of course, m ost important, ranging from 48 percent at the lowest
level to 42 percent for families that received $350 to $450 net income.
Housing was next m ost important for the lowest income group, followed
b y clothing. A t all other income levels, however, clothing ranked
after food, taking 10.4 to 11.5 percent of the total.16 Housing took
fourth place for the families in the two middle income ranges, but fell
to ninth at the highest level. However, when fuel, household opera­
tion, and furnishings expenditures were combined with outlays for
housing proper, they totaled 17 or 18 percent at the three lower income
levels and 14 percent at the highest. M edical care and transportation
both ranked among the first six separate categories for families at
each income level.
On a per-capita basis, average expenditures for goods and services
amounted to $42 at the $100 to $250 income level, as compared with
approximately $60 at the three succeeding income levels. For each
category except housing, families in the lowest income class spent less
than those with larger mcomes. Am ong the three groups of families
with higher incomes, however, there were no consistent differences
in average per-capita outlays, except for a steady decline in those for
housing.
n Includes current housing expenses of home owners and outlays by all families for cooking fuel, light,
and refrigeration: household operation, supplies, and services; and housefurnishings.
16 Clothing purchases were at a considerably lower rate in June than during the year ending July 1943,
when family outlays for clothing averaged $515, or 16 percent of total annual expenditures for current
consumption.




12

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

CHART Z

AVERAGE MONEY DISBURSEMENTS
OF FAMILIES OF WAGE EARNERS AND CLERICAL WORKERS
HONOLULU, T.H ., JUNE 1943
DOLLARS

O

20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

40

60

80

100

120

FOOO
CLOTHING
HOUSING, FUEL,LIGHT
a REFRIGERATION

TRANSPORTATION
MEDICAL CARE
RECREATION
HOUSEHOLD
OPERATION
FURNISHINGS
a EQUIPMENT

LIQUOR
PERSONAL CARE
TOBACCO
READING

a

OTHER GOODS
SERVICES

a

G IFTS
CONTRIBUTIONS

PERSONAL TAXES
WAR BOND
PURCHASES

OTHER SAVINGS

AVERAGE AMOUNT IN DOLLARS
UNITED S TATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR S TA TIS TIC S




13

F am ily Outlay

T a b l e 9 , —Average M onthly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical

Workers in Honolulu, by N et M oney-Income Class,1 June 1943
Families with net money income
June of—
All
families

Item

$100 and
under
$250

$250 and
under
$350

$350 and
under
$450

1

in

$450 and
over

Average expenditures in June 1943
Food 2 .........................................................................
Housing________________________________________
Fuel, light, and refrigeration______________________
Furnishings and equipment______________________
Clothing________________________________________
Personal care____________________________________
Medical care___________________________________
Transportation__________________________________
Reading_______________________________________
Recreation______________________________________
T obacco ________________________________________________________________
Liquor3__________________________________________________________________
Miscellaneous4_______________________________________________________
Total

______

__________________________

$119.00
17.81
7.26
10.96
8.77
28.63
6.95
16.59
17.46
3.07
14.47
4.47
8.42
6.20

$95.01
20.56
5.65
7.08
2.53
18.94
5.65
12.96
8.76
1.39
8.12
3.68
5.12
3.20

$105.08
17.61
6.46
10.14
5.84
26.36
6.68
13.42
18.25
2.78
8.93
4.44
7.20
4.32

$124.75
19.32
8.89
11.40
14.82
34.50
7.27
18.38
18.57
3.16
21.56
4.30
5.34
8.53

$162.06
* 13.00
8.94.
16.75
15.22
39.15
8.74
23.51‘
27.32
5.57
23.10
5.6S
16.91
10.35

270.06

198.65

237.51

300.79

376.39

Percent of total expenditures
Food 2____________ _______________ ____________________________
Housing_______________________________________
Fuel, light, and refrigeration______________________
Household operation _____________ ____________________
Furnishings and equipment...............................................
Clothing:. - ................... ....................... ........... ............................
Personal care____________________________________
Medical care___________________________ __________ ____
Transportation__________________________________
Reading..______________________________________
Recreation___________________ ________ _____________
Tobacco________________________________________
Liquor 3
............
Miscellaneous4 . _

.
_

__

Total

_

...

44.0
6.6
2.7
4.1
3.2
10.6
2.6
6.1
6.5
1.1
5.4
1.7
3.1
2.3

47.8
10.4
2.8
3.6
1.3
9.5
2.8
6.5
4.4
.7
4.1
1.9
2.6
1.6

44.2
7.4
2.7
4.3
2.5
11.1
2.8
5.6
7.7
1.2
3.8
1.9
3.0
1.8

41.5
6.4
3.0
3.8
4.9
11.5
2.4
6.1
6.2
1.0
7.2
1.4
1.8
2.8

43.1
3.4
2.4
4.4
4.0
10.4
2.3
6.2
7.3
1.5
6.2
1.5
4.5
2.8

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1 Money income in June after specified pay-roll deductions (see table 1).
2 Includes expense for food at home, meals and liquor purchased away from home.
3 Includes expense for bottled liquor only.
4 Including education, union dues, tools, funeral and cemetery expense, interest on debts, war insurance
on property.
•This low average reflects the large proportion of families that owned their homes and incurred little ex­
pense for upkeep during the month.
FOOD PURCHASES

Expense per meal per person averaged 27 cents for food served in
the homes of wage earners and clerical workers in Honolulu during
the summer of 1943.17 M eals eaten at restaurants, cafeterias, can­
teens, and fountains cost 56 cents per person, on the average. These
findings are based on detailed information provided b y the 100
families surveyed on food purchases during the 7 days preceding the
date of interview. During the week an average of $25.65 per family
was spent for food to be eaten at home or carried from home in box
lunches, $4.85 for meals away from home, and $0.64 for snacks and
17 The total expense for food at home was divided by the number of meals eaten in the borne or carried
from home during the week. Of the total number of meals prepared at home, 97.8 percent were eaten by
family members and 2.2 percent by boarders and guests. Infants’ feedings were not considered meals.
602146— 44------- 3




14

W artim e Earnings and Spending in H onolulu

for drinks in restaurants and at bars (table 10).18 Food supplements
in the form of vitamin and mineral concentrates and cod-liver oil
represented an additional $0.22. Nearly 18 percent of the total
outlay for food was for food purchased outside the home. O f all
the meals eaten by fam ily members during the week, 90 percent were
eaten at home, 8.5 percent were purchased away from home, and the
remainder were obtained as guests of friends or without charge at
the place of employment.
1 0. — Food: Average W eekly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers in Honolulu, by M oney-Incom e Class,1 July-August 1943 2

T able

Food expenditures in 1 week

Money-income class in June i

Average amount per family

Total

For prepa­ In restau­
ration at
rants,
home
etc.*

Percent of total
Fcr prepa­
ration at
home

In restau­
rants,
etc.*

All incomes____________________________

$31.14

$25.85

$5.49

82.4

17.6

$100 and under $260--------------------------$250 and under $350......................................
$350 and under $450......................................
$450 and over................................................

22.54
28.56
35.37
41.99

19.65
24.93
28.47
32.11

2.89
3.63
6.90
9.88

87.2
87.3
80.5
76.5

12.8
12.7
19.5
23.5

i Money income in June after pay-roll deductions (see table 1).
* 78 schedules cover a 7-day period in July; 22, a 7-day period in August.
* Includes alcoholic drinks purchased in restaurants and at bars.

Expenditures for food away from home were considerably higher
for families with larger incomes than for those receiving less. A bout
13 percent of the total for food was spent in this way by families in the
two lowest income classes, and 24 percent by those who received cash
incomes of $450 and over in June.19 Since most of the meals purchased
away from home were purchased at work, the amounts spent are
closely related to the number of earners.
Substantially all families with incomes above $450 had some expense
during the week for meals out, as compared with slightly less than twothirds of the families at each of the three lower-income levels. Aver­
age expense for these meals ranged from 51 cents for persons in fami­
lies with spendable incomes under $250 in June to approximately 58
cents for those at higher income levels.
Families in the lowest income group spent considerably less per per­
son per meal served at home than did those with larger incomes— 22
cents as compared with an average of 31 cents at the next two income
i* Average food expense per week was somewhat lower according to the families’ estimates for June than
for the 7-day period for which detailed information was obtained. A similar relationship has been found in
all previous studies of family expenditures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In these studies the “ food
check list” information was generally obtained after the general schedule had been completed. The differ­
ences have been attributed to the fact that families tend to forget certain expenditures when they are called
on to make a general estimate for a relatively long period of time and that a total derived from reports on
specific items is more inclusive and therefore more accurate. In the Honolulu survey, however, detailed
information on food purchases was obtained first. The homemaker was then asked whether expenditures
during the week covered were usual; if not, she was asked either to itemize expenditures that were larger or
smaller than normal during the week as compared with her food outlays in June, or, if this was not prac­
tical, to estimate her total expenditures for food during June. A number of the women were very positive
xegarding their average weekly food expenditures
Although it seems likely that the “ food check list” reports on food purchased for home use include some
expenditures made prior to the 7-day period covered, there is no evidence that there is any bias in the dis­
tribution of the total among various foods. However, if expenditures for food at home were overstated,
the proportion for food away from home, which was reported as substantially the same as in previous
months, may be slightly understated.
» Money income in June, after specified pay-roll deductions. See p. 9, table 7.




F am ily Outlay

15

levels and 28 cents at the highest. This difference probably reflects
in part the economies that are possible when buying for very large
families.
M ore than one-third of the expense for food at home was for meat,
poultry, and fish (table 11). Roughly one-fifth was for dairy prod­
ucts, eggs, fats, and oils and another fifth for fruits and vegetables.
The grain and baking products group accounted for more than a tenth
of the food cost, reflecting the importance of rice in the Oriental diet.
The remaining amount went for sweets, beverages, special Hawaiian
and Oriental foods, condiments, and miscellaneous foods. The
various food groups took roughly the same share of the food-at-home
budget of families with low as with high incomes. In general, the
diet of families of wage earners and clerical workers during the summer
of 1943 appears to have been rich in calories, protein, and protective
foods.
Food rationing had not been extended to the Hawaiian Islands by
June 1943, and for the previous year, at least, Honolulu had had
an ample supply of most foods. Fresh fish, however, which is tradi­
tionally of great importance in the diet of Hawaiians and Japanese,
was very scarce, largely as a result of wartime restrictions on fishing.
The local supply of chicken (also popular) was likewise inadequate,
and shipments of poultry from the mainland had been negligible
except for holiday turkeys.
Despite the shortages, 41 of the 100 families bought fresh or quickfrozen fish during the week surveyed, and 30 bought chicken. A
number of these purchases were made at prices above the ceilings
established b y the Territorial Office of Price Administration. This
explains in part the large expenditures per family buying— $3.00 for
chicken and over $1.90 for fish.
The fish and chicken shortage undoubtedly partially accounts for
the relatively large amounts spent for beef and other meats. Although
both cattle and hogs are raised in the Islands, most of the meat in the
Honolulu market comes from the mainland. Ninety-three of the
families bought one or more cuts of beef— 81 of these bought steaks
and/or roasts during the week. Hamburger was next in popularity,
with 57 families reporting purchase, as compared with only 32 buying
cheap cuts for boiling. Fresh pork was used almost as much as
beef, expenditures for pork comprising 9 percent, and for beef 11
percent, of the total expense for food at home. During the week
covered, fresh pork was purchased by 71 families, bacon and/or
smoked or cured ham by 55.
M ore money was spent for whole milk than for any other food item
except steaks and roasts (table l l ) . 20 A t the usual price of 20 cents
per quart both in stores and delivered, $1.45 provided an average of
more than 1 quart per family per day. There were 14 families that
did not buy any whole milk during ,the week, but 9 of these bought
evaporated milk, leaving only 5 that bought neither. Nearly half of
the families bought some evaporated milk. Total purchases repre­
sented an average of more than six 14K-ounce cans per family buying.21
20 The milk expenditures shown in table 11 include the charges incurred for milk that was delivered during
the week to families that were billed once a month for delivered milk.
21 In September 1943 the Territorial Office of Food Control made a plea for a voluntary reduction of 10
percent in purchases of evaporated milk, 20 percent in butter consumption, and 33 percent in purchases of
canned fruits and vegetables.




16

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

T a b l e 11.— Food—A t Home: Average Weekly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners

and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, July-August 1943 1
Weekly ex­
penditures
for food at
home
Item

Aver­
age
per
fam­
ily

Item
Per­
cent
of
total

All fo o d s.,........................................ $25.65

100.00

Meats, poultry, and fish...................
Beef - _ ________________ - __
Steaks and roasts.................
Other, fresh______________
Corned, dried, chipped.......
Veal, fresh...................................
Lamb, fresh................................
Pork......... ..................................
Fresh— ....... ........................
Smoked or cured:
Bacon............ ................
Ham__________ ______
Sausage and salt pork_____
Other meats2..............................
Poultry. ...................................
Chicken................................
Other. ................. ...............
Fish and other sea fo o d _______
Fresh and quick-frozen____
Canned, dried, and other...

8.80
2.91
2.09
.63
.19
.17
.14
2.34
1.08

34.31
11.35
8.15
2.46
.74
.66
.55
9.12
4.21

.32
.79
.15
.96
1.18
.90
.28
1.10
.79
.31

1.25
3.08
.58
3.74
4.60
3.51
1.09
4.29
3.08
1.21

Dairy products and eggs..................
Milk, whole, bottled.................
Milk, evaporated.......................
Milk, other___________ _______
Cream (canned, Avoset)______
Cheese........................................
Eggs...........................................

3.73
1.45
.36
.03
.03
.35
.13
1.38

14.54
5.65
1.40
.12
.12
1.36
.51
5.38

Fats and oils................................ .
Butter_____ ____ ____________
Mayonnaise................................
Other fats and oils8...... .............

1.13
.54
.28
.31

4.41
2.11
1.09
1.21

Grain and bakery products..............
Bread....... .............. ...................
Other baked goods 4....... ...........
Flour and prepared mixes.........
Rice_____ _____________ _____
Macaroni, spaghetti,
and noodles...... ......................
Other cereal and grain products.

2.74
.71
.73
.08
.95

10.68
2.77
2.84
.31
3.70

.13
.14

.51
.55

Sugar and sweets..............................
Sugar..... .....................................
Candy........................................
Jellies, jams, and preserves........
Other sweets...............................

.76
.25
.29
.14
.08

2.96
.97
1.13
.55
.31

Vegetables and soups.......................
Fresh and frozen........................
Potatoes 8.............................
Beans........................ ..........
Cabbage8.............................
Cucumbers...........................
Lettuce.................................
O nions................................
Tomatoes.............................

3.00
2.23
.27
.16
.34
.08
.17
.23
.19

11.70
8.69
1.05
.63
1.32
.31
.66
.90
.74

Ice cream______________________

Weekly ex­
penditures
for food at
home

Vegetables and soups—Continued.
Fresh and frozen—Continued.
Turnips__________ _______ $0.11
Watercress_______________
.18
Other fresh and frozen vege­
.60
tables__________________
Canned vegetables and soups__
.75
.12
Asparagus.............................
Com ......... ...........................
.06
Peas.......................... ..........
.06
Other canned vegetables___
.16
.24
Soup____________________
Tomato sauce and paste,
and catsup.................. .....
.11
.02
Dried vegetables____ ____ ____
Fruits................. ...............................
Fresh and frozen_____________
Avocados............. ...............
Bananas...............................
Oranges................................
Other citrus fruit.................
Papaya.................................
Watermelon.........................
Other fresh and frozen
fruits.................................
Canned.......................................
Pears..................................

2.23
1.81
.07

0.43
.70
1.95
2.93
.47
.23
.23

.43
.08
8.69
7.06
.27
.51
3.47
.47

.17

.66

.38
.06
.06

1.47
.23
.23

.08
.18
.04

.31
.70
.16

Canned and bottled juices.
49
Grape...........................
07
Pineapple....................
08
T om ato..____ _______
10
Citrus fruit juices____
08
Other juices.................
16
Beverages.........................................
98
Tea.............................................
11
19
Coffee.................... ............ .......
Soft drinks and fruit drink
62
mixes.......................................
Other............................ ............
06
Miscellaneous foods..........................
1.79
Local.............................. ............. 1.11
.41
Poi............ ............................
Miso andnatto 7........ .........
.09
.06
Tofu and aburage7..............
Soya sauce_______________
.45
Salt-pickled vegetables and
other pickled foods......... .
.10
Other..........................................
.68
.06
Nuts.............. .......................
.13
Condiments and sauces.......
.14
Olives and dill pickles_____
Packaged dessert mixtures— .09
.26
Other foods..........................

1.91
.27
.31
.39
.31
.63
3.82
.43
.74

Pineapple_________________

Fruit cocktail and salad

mix,...... ....................

Other canned fruits.............
Dried..........................................

1 78 schedules cover a 7-day period in July; 22, a 7-day period in August.
2 Including bologna, frankfurters, canned luncheon meats, liver, etc.
2 Including oleomargarine, shortening, salad and cooking oils, etc.
4 Including rolls, crackers, cookies, cakes, etc.
8White potatoes, $0.26; sweetpotatoes, $0.01.
fi Including head, Chinese, mustard varieties, and swamp cabbage.
7 Fermented soybean foods.




Aver­ Per­
age
cent
per
of
fam­ total
ily

.82

2.42
.23
4.33
1.60
.35
.23
1.76
.39
2.65
.23
.51
.55
.35
1.01

F am ily Outlay

17

Egg' purchases b y the 100 families of wage earners and clerical
workers surveyed aggregated 197 dozen during the week, or an
average of about
dozen for each of the 80 families reporting
expense for eggs. Fresh Island eggs, at an average price of 79 cents
per dozen, made up 37 percent of the total. California eggs were 15
cents less per dozen, on the average. Some of these were cold storage,
many months old; others, fresh at the time of shipment, had been in
transit 10 to 14 days and m ay or m ay not have been refrigerated
during that time. I t is the custom to sell such eggs as “ California
eggs,” without information as to their age* Fresh local eggs are,
therefore, in great demand, but" the supply is insufficient and many
never reach the retail stores. Hawaiian and Oriental wage earners
are at an advantage in obtaining local eggs, since they are m ost likely
to have friends among the poultry producers.
Butter purchases dining the week averaged more than 1% pounds
for each of the 61 families reporting such expense. Purchases of
oleomargarine were negligible. Outlays for mayonnaise and other
fats and oils, which are important in Oriental cooking, together
amounted to slightly more than butter expenditures.
Expenditures for rice were larger than for any other type of grain
product. Oriental families commonly buy rice in quantity. O f the
34 families that purchased rice during the week, 8 bought in 100-pound
bags and 3 in “ half bags” (50 pounds). Few families do much baking
at home and expenditures for flour were small. Purchases of bread,
reported by all but 2 families, amounted to about 1 loaf per day, at
10 cents a loaf. Amounts spent for other baked goods were about
the same as for bread, on the average— 7 in every 10 families report­
ing expense for commercially baked cookies, cake, pies, or sweet rolls.
A bout two-thirds of the families bought white potatoes during the
week— an average of nearly 6 pounds per family purchasing.
Poi, the native Hawaiian substitute for both bread and potatoes,
has become popular with m any Island residents. Despite the serious
shortage of poi in Honolulu, resulting from a decline in taro produc­
tion on Oahu, 27 of the 100 families reported purchase during the
week, with expenditures averaging slightly over $1.50. A t the ceiling
price of 12.5 cents per pound, this meant an average purchase oi
about 12 pounds per family.
The large quantity of bread and potatoes purchased, in addition to
rice and poi, suggests that the diet of wage-earner and clerical families
in Honolulu is high in calorie content as well as in the protective foods.
Fruits and vegetables accounted for over one-fifth of the families,
expenditures for food at home, with fresh produce much more im­
portant than canned. These purchases were supplemented from
small home gardens in a few cases, although in most sections of
Honolulu, summer gardens are not very successful since plants dry
up unless watered daily and generously. Hom e gardens and com­
mercial plantings have both been urged vigorously, to relieve the
pressure on shipping.22 I t is only since the outbreak of war, however,
that any significant amount of land has been released from sugar
and pineapple production for truck-garden purposes.
Approximately $2 was spent during the week for fresh vegetables
other than potatoes. Except for dry or mature onions, which ac­
» The Territorial Office of Food Control has encouraged commercial production of vegetables on patriotic
grounds, and price ceilings on local produce have been set at generous levels as an incentive.




18

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

counted for 19 cents, practically all vegetables were locally grown.
Various types of cabbage were most important, with tomatoes (nearly
1 pound per fam ily), watercress, lettuce, and beans next in importance.
Expenditures for m any of these vegetables were slightly higher and a
few somewhat lower than would be expected on a year-round basis,
to judge by monthly production estimates for the Territory.23 Potato
purchases were slightly low.24
Outlays for fresh fruits, on the other hand, amounted to nearly
20 cents more per family, on the average, than would be expected
the year round. Local watermelon and mainland plums, pears, and
grapes, which were on the market during the period of the study,
are highly seasonal. The papaya supply is also somewhat better m
July and August than during most other months. Production of
avocados and bananas, however, is relatively low in the summer.
Oranges shipped from California, were b y far the most important
among the fruits purchased, accounting for about half the total
expense for fresh fruits. Of the 100 families surveyed, 72 purchased
oranges during the week, averaging about 2% dozen per family pur­
chasing.25 In addition to 89 cents spent for oranges, 12 cents went
for lemons and grapefruit.
Canned vegetables and fruits together accounted for only 3.5 percent
of food expenditures. Canned soups added another 1 percent . Expend­
itures for canned asparagus, which is generally considered a luxury
item, were larger than for any other single item.
A s soon after December 7 as supplies warranted, families in Hawaii
were urged to lay in a supply of canned goods. The Federal Surplus
Commodities Corporation has endeavored to maintain a stock pile of
essential foods in the Territory for use in the event shipping is cut off.
Several times, when warehouses were overcrowded, families were
again urged to buy in quantity to relieve the shortage of storage space.
The small purchases of canned goods m ay reflect consumption from
stocks previously accumulated by the families. A considerable num­
ber of the wage-earner fan dies interviewed, regularly bought canned
goods as well as rice in quantity.
Juices, canned and bottled, were more important than canned fruits,
comprising 2 percent of all expenditures for food at home. T om ato
juice was most popular, followed by pineapple, citrus fruit, and grape.
The popularity of canned pineapple and pineapple juice is striking in
a city skirted by pineapple fields. Fresh pineapple is available in
many stores throughout the year, but is expensive.
Soft drinks were purchased for consumption at home b y 71 of the
families.
#
Except for rice, special foods characteristic of the Oriental diet are
at present surprisingly insignificant among families of wage earners
and clerical workers in Honolulu. They comprised less than 4 percent
of the total spent b y the entire group for food at home. Lack of the
foods formerly imported from the Orient is, of course, an important
factor. Probably more important, however, is the tendency toward
Americanization of food habits among second- and third-generation
persons of Oriental extraction, particularly those that are employed
23 Agricultural Outlook, University of Hawaii and U. S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service.
24 Based on data on monthly unloads at Honolulu from the mainland during 1941 (the latest date for which
information was available) in Agricultural Extension Circular No. 146, University of Hawaii and U. S. De­
partment of Agriculture Extension Service.
2« Based on an average price of 49 cents per dozen for oranges, 176 to 220 in size, as reported by the De­
partment of Labor and Industrial Relations, Territory of Hawaii.




19

F am ily Outlay

and therefore in close touch with Occidentals and their customs.26
Present large incomes have given great impetus to adoption of Ameri­
can food habits, which are more costly than the Oriental diet.
HOUSING AND HOUSEHOLD OPERATION

Two out of every five families of wage earners and clerical workers
surveyed in Honolulu owned their homes in June 1943, most of which
were single-family dwellings (table 12). Of the renter group, over
half lived in one-family houses and about one-fourth in two-family
houses. The houses and apartments contained, on the average,
3.3 rooms, exclusive of baths, kitchens, and lanais (porches). About
one-sixth of them contained 1 or 2 rooms, and less than a tenth as
many as 5 or 6. Alm ost all of the very small dwellings were tenantoccupied; 26 of the 34 containing 4, 5, or 6 rooms were owner-occupied.
T a b l e 12.— Housing: Size and Type o f Dwelling Unit and Water and Telephone Facili­

ties, Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, June 1943
Item

Number of families....... .......................
Average number of rooms per dwelling.
Average number of persons per room..
Type of dwelling:
1-family..... .....................................
2-family..................................... ....
Other__________ _______________
Water facilities:
Running hot and cold...................
Running cold o n ly .......................
Telephone in dwelling.........................

All
families

Renters

Owners

100
3.3
1.5

59
2.9
1.7

41
3.8
1.4

72
17
11

33
15
ill

39
2

40
60
46

19
40
17

*21
20
29

1Includes 1 family for which type of dwelling was not reported.
2 Includes 1 family with running hot and cold water outside dwelling

Both renters and owners were seriously crowded, however, with an
average of 1.7 persons per room (exclusive of kitchen) in the tenantoccupied units and 1.4 per room in the owner-occupied units. The
families that rented were smaller in size than those of home owners,
and had 1 room less per dwelling, on the average.
In the studies of housing accommodations in war production areas
on the mainland, 1.5 persons per room has been set by the National
Housing Agency as the maximum for satisfactory accommodations.
In arriving at this standard, kitchens (but not kitchenettes) were
included as rooms. Since the data for the Honolulu study were
obtained without this distinction, it is assumed for comparison pur­
poses that all had kitchens.27 Measured by this wartime standard, 17
of the 100 families surveyed were living in excessively crowded
quarters;28 another 32 dwellings housed between 1.0 and 1.5 persons
per room (including kitchen). Thus, nearly half of the families lived
26 As contrasted with the large number of first- and second-generation persons who operate small stores,
and whose contact is mainly with others of their own national background.
27 Families not having housekeeping facilities were excluded from the study.
28 Families of war workers living in houses or apartments in 13 key production centers on the mainland
have recently been surveyed by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics at the request of the National Housing
Agency to assist in determining whether more housing is needed in the city. The proportion of such families
(excluding those not reporting number of rooms) in which the number of persons per room was in excess of
1.51 was as follows:
Percent
Percent
Percent
Akron, O h io ........................... 4 Lancaster, Pa........................... 2 New Orleans, La................... 16
Baltimore, M d......................... 6 Macon, Ga______ ___________ 13 Omaha, Nebr........................... 4
Chester, Pa............................. 5 Milwaukee, Wis....................... 3 San Antonio, Tex.......................14
Denver, Colo................. - ........ 4 Mobile, Ala................................ 20 San Diego, Calif....................... 6
Harrisburg, Pa......................... 3




20

W artime Earnings and Spending in H onolulu

in homes providing less space than the generally accepted American
standard of 1 person per room.
I f kitchens are excluded from the room count, 42 of the 100 families
surveyed had more than 1.5 persons per room, the present war housing
accommodation m axim um ; and 69 had more than 1 person per room,
the peacetime adequate housing standard.
(See table 13.) T h e
situation is particularly serious in view of the large number of persons
14 and over in these families.
13.— Housing: Distribution o f Families According to Number o f Persons P er
Room (Exclusive o f Kitchen ), by Tenure and Race o f Family Head, Honolulu, June 1943

T able

Number of families by

Persons per room

Total
number
of fam­
ilies

Tenuro

Race of family head

Renters

Owners

Hawai­
ian and
partHawaiian

Cau­
casian

Japa­
nese

Other

JL.00 and under...... .....................
1.01 to 1.50..................................
1.51 to 2.00 ................................
2.01 and over....................... ......

31
27
25
17

16
15
15
13

15
12
10
4

6
3
4
5

17
5
5
1

5
13
10
6

3
6
6
5

Total................................

100

59

41

18

28

34

20

Percentage distribution of families
1.00 and under_______________
1.fti trt 1.60
1.5i to 2.00 ................................
2.01 and over________________

27.1
25.4
25.4
22.1

36.6
29.3
24.4
9.7

33.3
16.7
22.2
27.8

60.7
17.9
17.9
3.5

14.7
38.2
29.4
17.7

15.0
30.0
30. 0
25.0

Total................................

100.0

100.0

100.0

100 0

100.0

100.0

Overcrowding was most pronounced among the large Oriental and
Hawaiian families. Approximately half of the Chinese, Japanese, and
Hawaiian homes had more than 1.5 persons per room (exclusive of
kitchen), whereas only slightly over a fifth of the Caucasian families
suffered from similar crowding. Three in five of the latter had quar­
ters that provided at least 1 room for each family member.
As would be expected, there were relatively more home owners at
the higher than at the lower income levels (table 14). H a lf of them
estimated their homes would rent for $50 or more; whereas half of the
renters paid $22 or less for their dwellings during the month of June29
(table 15). The average rent was only slightly over $2 4 ; with fewer
than 1 in 10 families paying $40 or more. A few of the tenant families
occupied units in low-cost housing projects.
W hile real estate values in Honolulu have sky-rocketed as a result
of the housing shortage, a large share of the rent increases took place
when there was a change of tenant. These increases were particu­
larly marked in W aikiki and other areas that cater to the white
transient trade. Since m ost of the families covered in the survey are
long-time residents and m any had not moved since the war started,
the rents they were paying in June probably were not much higher than
in pre-war days, when crowded quarters were the best they could
29 According to the Census returns for April 1940, half of all the tenant-occupied units in the city of Hono­
lulu rented for less than $21.61; and in the areas of the city most heavily populated by wage-earner families
half rented for less than $19.45 (Census tracts 2-10, 12-16,18,19, 23, 24-26).




21

F am ily Outlay

afford. M a n y might be glad to m ove to larger quarters now, however,
if any could be found at fairly reasonable rates.
T a b le 14.— Housing: Tenure o f Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in

Honolulu , by M oney-Incom e Class 1 ana by Race o f Family Heady June 1943
Money income in June

All fam­ Renters Owners
ilies

All fam­ Renters Owners
ilies

Race of family head

$100 and under $260

31

25

6

$260 and under $360

Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian...................................

26
20
23

17
11

9
9
17

Japanese_______________

$360 and under $460
$460 and over

__ _

6

18
28
34
20

Caucasian
Other _

10
16
22
11

8
12
12
9

1 Money income in June after specified pay-roll deductions (see table 1).

T ab le 15.— Housing: Number o f Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers

Renting and Owning Homes in Honolulu, by Monthly Rent or Rental Value, June 1943
Number of
families
Monthly rent or rental value

Monthly rent or rental value
Renters Owners
$12 and under $15______________
$15 and under $20______________
$20 and under $25
$25 and under $30___ __________
$30 and under $40
$40 and under $50________ ______
$50 and under $S5..........................

7
15
15
8
9
4
1

Number of
families
Renters Owners

$76 and under $100

__

9
6

$100 and over

1

g

8
9

Total

59

41

Median rent or rental value_____ $22.00
Mean rent or rental value............ $24.13

$50.00
$61.60

Facilities in the homes of wage earners and clerical workers in Hono­
lulu were quite modern despite the crowded conditions. Tw o out
of five had hot and cold running water; the remainder had cold run­
ning water. A ll had electric lights and about three out of four had
gas or electric cooking stoves. Nearly half had telephones in their
homes. The proportion of owners having both hot water and tele­
phone facilities was considerably higher than the proportion of families
who rented their homes.
In semitropical Honolulu, heat is not necessary in any season.30
Electricity charges, therefore, accounted for nearly half the total
June expenditures for fuel, light, and refrigeration, and gas for cooking
took another 28 percent. Electricity charges were probably lower
than normal, however, because of stringent black-out restrictions in
June 1943.31 Average m onthly expenditures for fuel, light, and re­
frigeration items by families of wage earners and clerical workers in
Honolulu in June 1943 were as follows:
Number of
families
reporting

All items________________ ...................... ..
Electricity______________ _________ _____
Gas--------------------------- - - _______________
Kerosene________________ _______________
W ood----------------------------- _______________
Charcoal________________ _______________
Ice______________________ _______________

Average
expenditure
per family
in June

99

$7. 26

i 97
62
27
5
3
11

3. 50
2. 07
. 52
.7 0
. 16
.31

1 Lights were included in the rent paid by the 3 remaining families.
* Homes in som of the more exclusive heights areas require fireplaces.
31 Black-out regulations were gradually relaxed, beginning in the summer of 1943, and the black-out was
lifted entirely in the spring of 1944.




22

W artim e Earnings and Spending in H onolulu

Kerosene was purchased by a fourth of the families as cooking fuel,
and by a few others as fuel for heating water. W ood and charcoal
were purchased b y a small number of Japanese families, primarily for
use in heating water for their outside baths.32 A large m ajority of
the families had mechanical refrigerators. Eleven families reported
purchase of ice, with an average expenditure during the month of
$2 .8 2 ; for the entire group of families, however, this amounted to less
than 5 percent of fuel, light, and refrigeration outlays.
Other services and supplies for household operation required an
average monthly expenditure of about $11 per family. Laundry sent
out was the largest single item, amounting to $2.23 or one-fifth of
the total. The following statement shows average monthly expendi­
tures for items of household operation by families of wage earners and
clerical workers in Honolulu in June 1943.
Average
expenditure
per family
in June

All household operation_____________________________ $10. 96
Water rent__________________________________________
Telephone__________________________________________
Domestic service____________________________________
Laundry sent out___________________________________
Soap for household use.,_____________________________
Other cleaning, laundry, and kitchen supplies 1_______
Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, etc______________
Stationery, postage, etc__________________ ___________
Other household operation expense___________________

1. 55
1. 72
1. 54
2. 23
1. 58
.7 5
.7 4
.4 8
. 37

1 Includes cleaning powders, polishes, starch, bluing, steel wool, and matches.

Expenditures for domestic service, water rent, and soap for house­
hold and laundry use each absorbed $1.60 per family. Four-fifths of
the renters reported that water was included in their rental rate.
T hus, expense for this service represents the costs incurred b y owners
and the relatively small group of tenants who paid their own water
bills. Only 6 of the 100 families employed domestics in June. W hile
it is not customary for families of wage earners or clerical workers to
employ servants, it seems probable that somewhat more of the
families, especially those with an employed homemaker, would have
done so if domestic help had been available.
HOUSEFURNISHINGS

Despite wartime shortages of m any types of housefumishings,
families of wage earners and clerical workers spent slightly over $100
per family for such goods during the year ending July 1943 33 (table 16).
M ore was spent for radios and radio-phonographs than for any
other single item. Ten of the 100 families purchased a radio, at an
average price of more than $100.
Expenditures for all types of kitchen, cleaning, and laundry equip­
ment averaged $15. Few families purchased durable equipment such
as stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, etc., but
unit prices of such articles, even when second-hand, were so high that
82 Large tubs, in outside bath houses, arranged so that a fire may be built under the tub to heat the water,
are common to many Japanese families. However, 12 of the 34 covered in the survey had running hot and
cold water in their dwellings.
83 The expenditure per family in June was about 35 cents more than the monthly average of the annual
expenditures.




23

F am ily Outlay

in the aggregate they accounted for two-thirds of this total. Pots,
pans, mops, and other items that need frequent replacement com­
prised the other third.
N o t only has furniture production on the mainland been curtailed
during the war, but shipments to Hawaii have been severely limited
to conserve shipping space. Some furniture, mostly bedroom suites,
punees,34 and mattresses are made locally. The rattan furniture that
was so popular in pre-war days has been off the market entirely since
the fall of the Philippines. Nevertheless, outlays for furniture
amounted to $27, on the average, with more than half of this going for
bedroom furniture.
T

able

16.— Furnishings and Equipment: Average Expenditures by Families o f Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943

Item

Average
expendi­
ture per
family

All furnishings and equipment.................

$101.18

Kitchen, cleaning, and laundry equipment.
Kitchen stoves:
Gas......................... ......................
Kerosene__________________ ___
Refrigerators:
Electric.........................................

14.99

Washing machines, electric................
Vacuum cleaners, electric.... .............
Other electrical equipment.................
Pots, pans, and cutlery......................
Brooms, brushes, and mops...............
Other kitchen, cleaning, and laundry
equipment.......................................

*>.20

Bedroom, living room, and dining room
furnishings..............................................
Suites:
Living room____ _____ ________
Bedroom..... ..................................
Dining room____ ______________
Beds, cots, and cribs...........................
Mattresses and matting____________
Daybeds, couches, and punees...........
Dressers, chiffoniers, and chests__ . ..
Sofas, settees, divans, etc....................
Tables, large and small.......................
Other furniture........................ ...........
Bugs and textile furnishings___
Floor covering:
Linoleum and felt-base..
All other floor coverings.

2.39
.27
2.04
.05
t

.23
1.79

2.02

1.49
1.51
26.81
5.16
9.13
.32
3.89
2.00

1.01
1.C
1.75
1.10
1.42
24.42

Item

Bugs and textile furnishings—Continued.
Blankets, comforts, and quilts..........
Bedspreads, slip covers, and afghans..
Sheets...................................................
Pillowcases..........................................
Draperies and curtains......................
Tablecloths and napkins.....................
Bath and hand towels________ _____
Yard goods for household:
Cotton...........................................
Other............................................
Other textile furnishings..............

Average
expendi­
ture per
family

$3.85
2.15
2.86

1.21
1.67

2.30
2.60
1.36

Dishes, silver, and other tableware...........
China, dishes, and pottery.................
Glassware.............................................
Tableware............................................
Other.............................. ....................

3.71
1.87

Miscellaneous............... .............................
Water heaters:
Gas_____________________ _____
Other............................................
Electric fans.........................................
Sewing machines......................... ........
Light bulbs.........................................
Badios and radio phonographs...........
Flashlights and batteries....................
Blinds, shades, screens, and awnings.
Other furnishings and equipment___
Bepairs and cleaning......_...................

31.22

.47

2.36
.58
1.44
6.88

10.92
1.36
1.54

2.87
t.67

W o ol rugs, which have been popular in Honolulu homes despite the
warm climate, were practically unavailable during the year ending
July 1943. This was also true of lauhala floor coverings, which are
a local product, since the lauhala weavers have found small articles
such as purses and mats more profitable. Expenditures for floor
coverings (mostly for linoleum, felt-base floor covering, and small
mats) were, therefore, small, averaging less than $5.
Purchases of other textile furnishings accounted for about a fifth of
the total, with sheets and bed coverings most important. A fifth of
the families bought blankets of wool or wool mixtures. A third of
the group reported expense for sheets, and nearly half bought bath
towels.
34 Wooden frame to bold bedsprings and mattress.




24

W artim e Earnings and Spending in H onolulu

Sewing-machine expenditures were relatively large, reflecting the
importance of home sewing. Six of the 100 families purchased sewing
machines at an average price of more than $100. In the aggregate
these expenditures represented 7 percent of the total amount spent
for housefurnishinojs.
Although a considerable number of families made some expenditure
for dishes, glassware, or other tableware, the amounts spent were not
large. For black-out use, 7 in every 10 families bought dim-out
light bulbs, and more than half purchased flashlights or flashlight
batteries.
CLOTHING

Informality is the general rule of dress for m ost of the population
in Hawaii. A large proportion of the men regularly wear gaily
colored sport shirts. W om en commonly go bare-legged, wearing
play shoes or sandals and simple wash frocks to the office. M a n y
wear slacks when shopping downtown, as well as for sports and work
in shops or in the navy yard. The black-out and the curfew had so
restricted evening social activities that dress clothes were seldom
needed. H eavy coats, which are usually the most expensive item in
the mainland clothing budget, are unnecessary in Hawaii’s warm
climate.
During the 12-month period ending July 1, 1943, families of wage
earners and clerical workers in Honolulu spent an average of $515 for
clothing, or 16 percent of their estimated annual expenditures for
current consumption.35 This compares with expenditures of $278
during the calendar year 1941, or 12 percent of total expenditures, b y
mainland city families averaging 3.4 persons in size.36
T h e large amounts devoted to clothing and accessories b y the
Honolulu families surveyed are due in the first instance to the large
size of the families and to the proportion of the adults who worked
during the year. A previous investigation showed that employed
persons spend more for clothing than nonworking persons of the same
age in families with similar incomes.37 T he large incomes, a result of
the m any opportunities during the war for employment at relatively
high wages, undoubtedly encouraged some free spending. T he large
amounts— 8 percent of the total clothing budget— spent for watches
and jewelry is indicative of this. There is evidence, also, of hoarding
of shoes during the spring of 1943, when shoe rationing was announced
for the mainland. Purchases of shoes, sandals, and slippers amounted
to almost $90 per fam ily, or 16 percept of the total for clothing of all
kinds during the year.
3« Spending was thus at a considerably higher rate than in June 1943, when clothing costs represented only
11 percent of consumption expenditures. The difference may be attributed to three factors: (1) tradi­
tionally heavy pre-Christmas sales of clothing; (2) the custom of outfitting children shortly before the open­
ing of school in September; and (3) the June income tax installments.
36 Unpublished data from a study of family spending and saving in wartime, by the U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Clothing expenditures per person (including single consumers), exclusive of materials and serv­
ices for home sewing, compared as follows:
Women
Men
Honolulu, 1942-43:
and 9irls and b°Vs
14 years and older........................................
$118
$127
40
33
3 to 14 years.......................................... ......... —.........................................................
Mainland cities, 1941:
16 years and older........................................................................................................ 99
86
3 to 14 years.................................................................................................................
47
39

37u. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin No. 638: Money Disbursements of Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers, 1934-36—Summary Volume, pp. 121-123.




25

F am ily Outlay

Ready-made garments, footwear, and accessories together amounted
to 86 percent of the annual outlay for clothing; yard goods and find­
ings to 7 percent; and. tailor and seamstress services to 2 percent
(table 17). The remaining 5 percent went for upkeep of clothes and
shoes— m ostly cleaning and pressing.
T able 17.— Clothing: Expenditures for Ready-to-Wear, Yard Goods, and Services, Fam­
ilies o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943
Annual clothing expenditures for—
Persons in the family
during the full year1

Item

Persons in the family at
any time during the
year

Percent of
Average
Average
Average
cloth­
amount per amount per amount per total
ing ex­
person 2
family
family
penditures
All olothing

_ _

Beady-to-wear clothing and accessories *_____________
Men and boys 14 years of age and over_____ ______
Women and girls 14 years of age and over.________
Boys 3 through 13 years of age.................... ..............
Girls 3 through 13 years of age_______ ___________
Infants under 3 years *.................................. .............
Yard goods and findings •
Seamstress and tailor «
Cleaning and pressing
Shoe shines and repairs _ ^ _

_____

$114.70
113.78
32.45
39.12
16.71

$495.29

$515.37

100.0

423.48
177.79
192.30
24.34
23.87
5.18
36.17
9.61
22.25
3.78

443.38
189.92
200.01
24.38
23.87
5.20
36.17
9.61
22.39
3.82

86.0
36.9
38.8
4.7
4.6
1.0
7.0
1.9
4.4
.7

i
All persons 1 year of age or over who were family members for the entire year ending July 1943 and all
infants under 1 year whose parents were family members for the entire year.
* The figures in this column are averages per person of the designated sex-age group. They differ from
the totals in tables 18 and 22 because of the exclusion of expense for cleaning, pressing, alterations, and shoe
shines and repairs.
* Includes hats, gloves, belts, ties, handkerchiefs, watches, and jewelry.
<Includes expenditures for clothing for unborn infants.
* Information is not available as to whether any expenditures for yard goods, and seamstress and tailor,
were for persons in the family only part of the year.

M u ch more home sewing is done by families of wage earners and
clerical workers in Honolulu than on the mainland. Three-quarters
o f the Honolulu families reported purchases of yard goods during the
year, as contrasted with 57 percent of the families of wage earners
and clerical workers in large mainland cities during the depression
years 1 9 3 4 -3 6 ,37 when the economies of home sewing should have been
especially attractive. Moreover, only 2.4 percent of the total cloth­
ing expenditures of the mainland families were for yard goods and
findings. One in 3 of the Honolulu families had some expense for a
seamstress or tailor, as compared with 1 in 20 of the families of main­
land wage earners.
These differences are due in large measure to the Japanese custom
of sewing at home. M o st women of Japanese ancestry are expert
seamstresses; m any have used this skill to earn a livelihood. In
pre-war days m any probably made their own garments and those of
their children as an economy measure. A second important factor
is the small stature of the Japanese, which makes it difficult for adults
to find ready-made garments that fit properly.
All of the Japanese families surveyed purchased yard goods during
the year. Their expenditures for materials and findings averaged $78 *
,37Idem, table A-8, p. 270.




26

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

per family, or 15 percent of their total annual expenditures for cloth­
ing. An additional $11 was paid to have the garments made. E x ­
penditures b y famihes of Japanese ancestry represented nearly
three-fourths of the aggregate outlay for yardage and findings, and
about two-fifths of the aggregate amount paid to seamstresses and
tailors. A third of the pajunents for having clothes made to order
were reported b y families with a Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian head.
Cleaning and pressing services were most important to the Cau­
casian families, possibly because proportionately more of the workers
in these families have white-collar jobs. Shoe shines and repair
services, although small in the aggregate, were also relatively more
important for these families.
The apportionment of clothing expenditures among ready-to-wear,
yardage, and services was influenced more by racial background than
by family income. The most clearly defined difference in relation to
income was the greater importance of yardage and findings at the
low than at the high income levels.
Over three-fourths of the aggregate annual outlay for clothing by
all of the families studied went for ready-to-wear apparel for persons
14 years of age and over 39 (table 17). W hen their expenditures for
cleaning, pressing, alterations, and shoe-repair services are included,
the proportion of the total chargeable to persons 14 or over rises
above 80 percent.40 An understanding of the types of apparel im ­
portant to wage earners and clerical workers in Honolulu can, there­
fore, be obtained best b y examining in some detail the manner in
which their annual clothing expenditures were distributed.41
Clothing jor women and girls 14 years of age and over.— Shoes and
dresses were by far the m ost important purchases by women and girls
during the year ending July 1943, with more than $20 spent for each
(table 18). Since outer wraps are . seldom needed, coats, jackets,
suits and sweaters together accounted for less than half as much, or
only 8 percent of the total. Underwear was of considerable impor­
tance, with more than $6 spent on slips alone. Although bare legs
are more common than stockings on the Honolulu streets, expendi­
tures for hose also amounted to more than $6, over 5 percent of the
clothing budget of women and girls 14 years and over.
Sport clothes are much more popular in Honolulu than in m ost
mainland cities. Slacks are accepted for street wear and, with the
Hawaiian-print bio uses, are common garb for work. Overalls and regu­
lar work clothes have not been adopted b y many working women, as
they have in some W e st Coast aircraft and shipbuilding centers.
Purchases of native Hawaiian, Chinese, or Japanese dresses and
sandals are negligible. Although the Chinese high-necked, split-skirt
dress is not uncommon on the streets, and the Hawaiian holoku is
popular for dancing, these garments are seldom for sale ready-made.
The large expenditures for m any women’s apparel items reflect both
generally high prices and extensive purchases by some of the women
8®Fourteen years was selected as the basis for classification because of the tendency for Honolulu children
in their middle teens to dress as adults and because of frequency of employment (at least part-time) among
children of this age at the present time.
40 The survey provides no information on the allocation by age groups of expense for yard goods and
findings nor on payments to seamstresses and tailors for making up garments.
41 Unless otherwise noted, all data presented subsequently refer to persons who were family members
for the full year, since the inclusion of expenditures for persons who entered or left the family (whether for
marriage, military service, employment elsewhere, or other reasons) only for the period that they were
members of the family would distort the pattern of spending.




27

Fam ily Outlay

and girls surveyed. Although many apparel merchants contend that
their customers now prefer high-priced merchandise to that lower in
price, women in over a third of the families surveyed reported that
they regularly shopped for underwear for themselves and their children
in the 5 and 10 cent to $1 variety stores which specialize in low-priced
lines. The O P A ceilings on apparel and shoes, issued in the late sum­
mer and fall of 1943, reduced m any prices, particularly for shoes, sub­
stantially below those paid by families during the period covered by
the survey.42
T a b le 18.— Clothing: Average Annual Expenditures fo r Women and G irls1 Families

o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943

Item

Annual cloth­
ing expendi­
tures for
women

Annual cloth­
ing expendi­
tures for
women

Item

Aver­ Per­
age per cent
wom­
of
an
total
All clothing...................................... $118.27

100.0

Dresses, slacks, sportswear, etc....... 34.69
Dresses:
Rayon, silk______________ 15.69
Cotton
4.81
Other....................................
.19
Native costumes: Kimonos,
hoo, and den sam, holokus,
.24
etc............................................
Slrirts __ _ ____
1.95
Blouses:
Rayon, silk
2.76
Cotton
.71
Slack suits:
Rayon, silk.......................... 4.08
Other______ _____________
.96
1.52
Slacks and coveralls__________
.77
Play suits, sun suits, and shorts.
Bathing suits
.75
Other _
.26

29.3

9.38

7.9

2.78
.14
2.40
1.92
,84
1.30

2.4
.1
2.0
1.6
.7
1.1

18.40
6.32

15.6
5.4

Coats, suits, and jackets...................
Coats:
Light wool
Other
Suits
__ ____
Sweaters

Jackets..............- ........................
Raincoats

Underwear, nightwear, and robes__
Slips____ ___________ ________

13.3
4.1
.2
.2
1.6
2.3
.6
3.4
.8
1.3
.7
.6
.2

Aver­ Per­
age per cent
wom­
of
total
an
Underwear, etc.—Continued.
Cirrilps
corsets
VJU
UlvOf vUiuvto.
•.
. 82
Brassieres___ ____ ___________ $l! 94
Panties........................................ 4.04
Pajamas
.96
Nightgowns _
2.06
Robes, housecoats, and beach
robes. ......................................
2.09
Other................ ..........................
.17
Footwear_______________________
Hose:
Raynn, silk
Other
Anklets................ ......................
Shoes:
Leather

Fabric___________________
Sandals and slippers for street
wear___________

___________

Slippers for bedroom wear
Shoe shines and repairs....... .
Accessories........................................
Hats
Cloves
Purses

......

1.8
.2:

31.39

26.5

6.24
.51
.81

5. a
.4
.7

19.60
1.51

16.6
1.3

1.43
1.00
.29

1.2

20.21
1.35
.02
5.24
.65

Handkerchiefs_______________
Jewelry and watches—purchase
and repair______ _ _____ 12.20
Other accessories...................
.75
Cleaning, pressing, and alterations..

T
L&
3.4
.8
1.7

4.20

.8

.2
17.1
1.1

(2)

4.4
.6
10.4
.6
3.8

1 Based on information provided by 169 women and girls 14 years of age and over who were members of
the family during the full year. All but 3 of these had some expense for clothing during the year.
2 Less than 0.05 percent.

Nearly a third of all the leather shoes purchased for women and girls
14 or over during that period cost more than $7.50 per pair (table 19).
A b ou t a sixth were obtained for less than $4.50, but most of those were
of the play-shoe type.43
42 For example, according to prices on identical shoes collected by the Territorial Department of Labor and
Industrial Relations, men’s inexpensive quality street oxfords declined 12 percent in price and men’s
medium quality work shoes nearly 17 percent, when the price schedule went into effect.
43 The average price of $6.53 compares with an average price of $4.52 for leather shoes purchased by women
in mainland cities during 1941—unpublished data from a study of spending and saving in wartime, by the
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.




28

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

T a b l e 19.— Clothing: Distribution af Shoe Purchases, by Price , Families o f Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943
Percentage distribution by purchase
price
Shoes

M en and
boys 14
years of age
and over

Purchase price per pair *
.............. . _
$1 .<>0 and under
_
$i si tn p .fin
______
P SI tn $3 Sft
______
$3 SI tn $4 Sft
__
_______
__________
$4.51 to $5.50............................................................................................
$s si
$ft.«n
_____
____
____ _______
$fi SI tn $7. Sft
$7 SI tn $8.50
.
______
______ _______
$8 SI tn $Q SO
$Q SI tn $10 Sft
$10.51 and nyer
Tntftl

_____

_____

Average number nf pairs purchased 2 __..........
j^ycrage price, per pair 1
M edian price per pq.ir 1

________

W omen
and girls
14 years
of age
and over

Children
3 to 13
years of age

2.5
12.1
28.1
14.6
25.5
8.3
7.0
1.9

0.8
2.3
3.7
17.2
14.4
23.3
10.7
12.4
9.6
5.6

1.3
4.8
11.7
16.9
16.2
18.1
15.0
10.6
2.9
2.5

_______

100.0

100.0

100.0

.

2.2
$7.46
$7.50

3.0
$6.53
$6.50

1.2
$4.95
$3.95

i Based on purchases of leather shoes by persons who were in the family at any time during the year.
* Based on purchases of leather shoes by persons who were members of the family for the full year.

T a b l e 20.— Clothing: Purchases and Prices o f Selected Articles for Women and M en,1

Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943

Item

Women’s textile clothing:
Dresses:
Rayon............................ ...... ....................................................
Cotton.............. ............................................. ............... .........
Coats, light wool....................................... — ........- -----------------Slack suits, rayon.......... ............... ........... - ......... . ........................
Slips, rayon, silk.................... ......... ................................... ..........
Panties, rayon.............. ......... ................. .............. .......... ..........
■Rrass'pres
Hose, rayon............................. .......................................................
Anklets, cotton...............................................................................

Average
Price per article *
number
purchased
per person1
23
4 Average
Median

1.8
1.0
.2
.5
3.4
5.7
1.9
3.4
2.9

$8.95
4.62
15.64
8.49
1.84
.59
1.05
1.31
.27

$7.50
3.95
13.50
7.95
1.95
.55
.75
1.35
.25

Men’s textile clothing:
Suits, light wool......... ....................................................................
Trousers, wool. ............... ..............................................................
Trousers, cotton...................... ................ .......................................
Jackets, leather......... ............ ........................................................
Shirts:
Wnrk . ...
_ ..
Business........ ...... ................... ............ ...... .............................
Sport. ._ _____________________________________________
Undershirts, cotton.........................................................................
Shorts, cotton................................................................................
Hose, cotton......................... .........................................................
Handkerchiefs....... .............. ..........................................................

.3
.8
2.2
.3

34.62
11.28
3.91
13.26

35.00
10.00
3.50
13.00

4.0
.4
3.1
7.2
7.2
11.8
8.8

1.78
2.31
2.85
.51
.49
.33
.23

1.50
2.25
2.95
.50
.50
.25
.15

Yard goods for clothing for all family members:
Rayon____________ _____ __________________________________
Cotton____________________________________________________

M3.6
4 28.4

81.00
8.55

81.00
8.50

1 Persons 14 years of age and over.
2 Averages based on number of women and men, respectively, who were members of the family for the
full year.
3 Based on all articles purchased by persons who were in the family at any time during the year.
4 Average number of yards per family.
8 Price per yard.




29

F am ily Outlay

The number of leather shoes purchased— 3 pair per woman on the
average— seems especially high since in Honolulu shoes are seldom
worn at home after working hours. The extensive purchases clearly
reflect the hoarding that occurred in the spring of 1943 when shoe
rationing was announced for the mainland but was not extended to
Hawaii. However, the popularity of play shoes, which are not very
durable even when high-priced, and which are difficult to repair, is a
second important factor.
Dresses purchased averaged three per person during the year,
almost all of them rayon or cotton (table 20). Rayon dresses were
more numerous than cotton, although the latter are common for street
as well as house wear. Prices were below $5.50 for a fourth of the
rayon dresses purchased and above $10.50 for about 30 percent
(table 21). Cotton dresses, in general, were much cheaper, about half
of these costing less than $3.95.
For slips, rayon hose, and anklets, purchases per woman averaged
one every 3 or 4 months, at prices averaging $1.84, $1.31, and 27 cents,
respectively. Purchases of panties averaged one every other month.
21.— Clothing: Distribution by P rice o f Women's Rayon and Cotton Dresses
Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943

T able

Percentage distribution
by purchase price of—

Percentage distribution
by purchase price of—
Price class

Price class
Rayon
dresses
$1 Art find nndftr
__ _
$1 51 tn $2 50
$2.51 to $3.50..................
$3 51 tn $4.50
$4.51 to $5.50.....................
$5 51 tn $fi 50
$6.51 to $7.50........... .........
$7.51 to $8.50.....................

1

0.3
1.0
10.9
13.2
9.2
12.5
11.8

Cotton
dresses
2.7
12.0
28.8
13.6
12.5
9.8
11.4
1.1

Rayon
dresses

Cotton
dresses

$8.51 tn $9.50
$9.51 tn $10.50
$10.51 to $11.50..................
$11.51 to $12.50 _____
$12.51 to $14.00__________
$14.01 and over
_ _

3.3
8.2
6.9
8.9
7.9
5.9

7.1

Total.......................

100.0

100.0

.5
.5

J Includes all rayon and cotton dresses purchased by women and girls 14 years of age and over who were
family members at any time during the year.

Clothing jor men and boys 14 years oj age and over.— A larger share
of the men’s clothing dollar was used for trousers and slacks than for
any other type of apparel (table 22). Shirts and shoes were next'in
importance. Expenditures for underwear averaged considerably less
than among women and girls. Cleaning and pressing services, by
contrast, were much more important for men than for women, with
charges representing nearly 8 percent of their total outlay for clothing.
Outlays for wool suits and separate wool trousers, respectively,
averaged $9, despite the climate and the customary informality of
dress. W o ol or part-wool trousers are commonly worn with sport
shirts, and two-piece gabardine or tropical worsted wool suits are
popular with wage earners for dress. During the year, about a fifth
of the men and boys 14 years of age and over bought wool suits.
Prices were high, half of these costing more than $35. A third of the
group purchased wool trousers— an average of nearly three pairs
(2.7) for those reporting such expense. M ore than a fourth of these
cost over $13.50; fewer than a fourth, under $7.50. Alm ost three
times as many cotton as wool trousers were purchased, at an average
price about a third as high (table 20). Approximately 60 percent of




30

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

them were work trousers, which were much more ’p opular than bibstyle overalls.
T he m ost characteristic article of men’s attire in Hawaii is the shortsleeved sport shirt, frequently with colorful designs. I t is the fashion
for street and office wear, except among the salaried officials. Three
sport shirts per m an were purchased during the year, half of them at
$2.95 or more. W ork shirts were bought in greater quantity— four
per year, on the average; the. cost was more than a dollar less per shirt.
T h e business shirt that is customary on the mainland, except for
manual work, was of negligible importance.
T a b l e 22.— Clothing: Average Annual Expenditures fo r M en and Boys,1 Families o f

Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, Year Ending July 1943
Annual clothing
expenditures for
men

Annual clothing
expenditures for
men
Item

Item

Aver­
age per Percent
man of total

Aver­
age per Percent
of total
man
All clothing................................... $126.69

100.0

Suits, slacks, shirts, and sportswear.
Suits:
W ool.................................
Other................................
Slack suits................. .............
Trousers and slacks:
Cotton................. ............
Wool___ ______ _________
Other................................
Shirts:
Work.................................
Business............................
Sport.................................
Other................................
Overalls and coveralls............
Bathing trunks and shorts___
Other.......................................

54.12

42.7

8.90
.88
1.72

7.0
.7
1.4

8.82
9.44
1.79

7.0
7.4
1.4

7.09
.95
8.60
.60
2.75
1.25
1.33

5.6
.7 .
6.8
.5
2.2
1.0
1.0

Jackets and coats.................. ........
Sweaters......................... ........
Jackets:
Leather.............................
Other.................................
Raincoats................................
Other.......................................

8.03
.82

6.3
.6

3.42
2.54
1.19
.06

2.7
2.0
.9
.1

Underwear, nightwear, and robes.. $10.53
Undershirts.............................
3.80
Shorts____ __________ _____
3.52
Pajamas and nightshirts......
2.41
Bathrobes, beachrobes, e t c ...
.63
Other......................................
.17

*.3
1.0
IS
l. 9
.5
.1

Footwear............................ .
Hose...............................
Shoes.............................
Sandals for street wear.
Bedroom slippers..........
Boots, etc......................
Shoe shines and repairs.

26.68
5.20
16.96
.60
.92
.95
2.05

21.1
4.1
13.4
.5
.7

Accessories......................
Hats..........................
Gloves, work............
Handkerchiefs..........
Ties_______________
Jewelry and watches.
Other accessories___

17.44
1.98
1.13
9.63
1.50

13.8
1.6
1.0
1.6
.9
7.6
1.1

9.89

7.8

Cleaning, pressing, and altera­
tions...................................... .

2.00
1.20

.8

1.6

1 Based on information provided by 155 men and boys 14 years of age and over who were members of the
family during the full year. All but 5 of these had some expense for clothing during the year.

M e n bought fewer leather.shoes than women and paid considerably
more per pair. H a lf of them cost more than $7.50 and 28 percent
more than $8.50 per pair.
Clothing for children 8 to 18 years of age.— It is generally much less
expensive to outfit children than adults, especially in large families
where clothes can be “ handed down.” Am ong the families of wage
earners and clerical workers surveyed in Honolulu, only a third as
much was spent for clothing for girls 3 to 13 years of age as for women
and girls 14 years or over— an average of $40 per girl; and only a
fourth as much for young boys as for men and boys 14 or over— an
average of $33 per boy.
Dresses were by far the largest item of expense for girls under 14,
comprising 25 percent of the total. Outlays for trousers comprised a
third of all clothing expenditures for young boys.




31

F am ily Outlay

Shoe purchases accounted for about the same proportion of the
clothing budget for girls as for women and for boys as for men, but
the price per pair was, of course, much lower for children and fewer
pairs were purchased. It is not uncommon for children in Honolulu
to go barefoot to school or the movies.
M EDICAL AN D PERSON AL CARE

Expenditures for medical care vary greatly among families. During
June, 16 of the 100 families reported no expense and 27 others made
relatively small payments. Over half of the aggregate expenditures
for medical care and supplies was incurred b y the 9 families who spent
over $50 during the month. These bills, averaging more than $90,
meant a heavy financial burden to the families concerned.
The distribution of total monthly medical-care expenditures of
families of wage earners and clerical workers in Honolulu, b y amounts
s p e n t44 in June 1943, is shown below.
Percent of
Number of
families

No expense reported______________________
Under $5_________________________________
$5 and under $10__________________________
$10 and under $20_______________________
$20 and under $30___________________ _
$30 and under $50__________________________
$50 and over________________________________
T o ta l.______ _________ _______ _____

16
27
17
18
6
7
9

100

total monthly
expendituresfor
medical care

______
3.2
7.2
14.3
9.0
15.4
50.9
100.0

Aggregate expenditures for dental care in June were about the same
as those for care by general practitioners and specialists. Together
they comprised over 75 percent of all expenditures for medical care
(table 23). T he number of families reporting expense for dental care,
however, was considerably smaller than the number reporting phy­
sician’s charges. Medicine and drugs absorbed 8 percent of the total.
Health and accident or hospitalization insurance was carried by one
or more members of about a fifth of the families;45 payments were
sm all and during June averaged only 2 percent of all expenditures for
medical care.
T

able

23.— M edical Care: Average M onthly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, June 1943

Item

Number of
families re­
porting
expense

Expenditures in June
Average
amount per
family

Percent of
total

All medical care.................................................................

84

$16.59

100.0

Care by general practitioner or specialist.!......................
Dental care........ ...............................................................
Hospital room or ward.......................................................
Medicine and drugs...........................................................
Eyeglasses........................................................ .................
Health and accident insurance, and group hospitalization.
Other medical care and supplies................... ......... .........

43
27
3
52
7
19

6.26
6.31
.99
1.31
1.06
.38
.28

37.7
38.0
6.0
7.9
6.4
2.3
1.7

44 For items included, see table 23.
« Many of these insurance payments were made through pay-roll deductions. However, amounts
deducted for this purpose were considered part of net spendable income and were included as medical-care
■expenditures.




32

W artim e Earnings and Spending in Honolulu

The June expenditures for physicians’ care imply a rather heavy
incidence of illness. There was an epidemic of light influenza during
the m onth, and several persons required attention because of indus­
trial accidents. Physicians’ fees also included varying amounts for
prenatal and pediatric care. During the preceding 11 months, babies
were born to 10 of the 100 families surveyed. Some, but not all, were
delivered in hospitals. A total of 22 family members, including these
mothers, specifically reported expense for hospitalization during the
year. Three of these cases were in June.
T he relatively large amounts paid to dentists in June m a y reflect
the tendency of families to wait till the end of the school term to have
work done on their children’s teeth. Nevertheless, they point again
to the fact that families of wage earners and clerical workers in
Honolulu were living at a comfortable level in 1943, since expendi­
tures for dental services are usually closely related to income,46
persons in strained economic circumstances seldom visiting the dentist
except in urgent cases. M a n y families m ay have been having dental
work done in 1943 that they were unable to afford in pre-war days
when incomes were lower.
Expenditures for personal care, in contrast to those for medical
care, vary little from m onth to month. A ll the families surveyed
reported some expense. Substantially all of them made some outlay
for haircuts for the m en and boys of the family. Permanent waves
are common among the women and girls, and haircuts are infrequent
in the periods between the semiannual permanents.
Approximately a third of the $7.00 spent in June for personal care
went for haircuts and a sixth for other services (table 24). T he other
half was spent for various toilet articles and preparations. Cosmetics
and dentifrices were m ost important, with 53 and 85, respectively, of
the 100 families reporting such expense during the month. Nine
out of ten bought toilet soap.
T a b l e 24.— Personal Care: Average M onthly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners

and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, June 1943

Item

Monthly ex­
penditures for
medical care

Item

Aver­ Percent
age per
of
family
total
All personal care............................

$6.95

100.0

Rp.rvie.fta
_ ___
Haircuts
Shaves.....................................
Shampoos...............................
Permanent waves...................
Other waves............................
Other services.........................

3.46
2.24
.15
.21
.47
.11
.28

49.8
32.2
2.2
3.0
6.8
1.6
4.0

Monthly ex­
penditures for
medical care
Aver­ Percent
age per
of
family total

Toilet articles and preparations__
Toilet soap
Dentifrices_____ ___________
Cosmetics____________ _____
Shaving soap, cream, and
other toilet preparations___
Brushes, combs, razors, files,
and other toilet articles.......

$3.49
.60
1.03
1.21

50.2
8.6
14.8
17.4

.32

4.6

.33

4.8

TRAN SPO R TA TIO N

Outlays for automobile operation during June 1943 were almost as
large, in total, as the amounts spent for public transportation facilities.
46 See U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 648, Family Expenditures in Selected Cities, 1935-36,
Volume V—-Medical Care.




33

Fam ily Outlay

Over half of the families surveyed owned cars. M o st of them also re­
ported some expense for bus or trolley travel to work, to school, to
shopping centers, to movies, or to visit friends and relatives.
Car-sharing pools were fairly common. Workers in a number of
families made payments to others under such an arrangement, and
several reported receipt of payments from co-workers and friends
who regularly rode to work with them.47
Under the gas-rationing system in effect in June 1943 every car
received a basic monthly ration of 10 gallons of gas, with additional
allowances for occupational driving.48 Supplemental allowances were
provided for 24 of the 55 automobiles owned by members of the wageearner families surveyed. The average expenditure of $3.60 for gas
meant approximately 17 gallons per car. The relatively large expendi­
tures for oil and for repairs and maintenance reflect the age of the cars
(table 25). Em ploym ent in war work gave many of the car owners
access to the limited supply of new tires or better grades of recapped
tires. Taxes paid during the month were relatively high, since 42 of
the car owners paid the $5 Federal use tax in June. The Territorial
auto tax and license fees, which were payable earlier in the year,
together with the Federal use tax, represented an average monthly
cost of $1.76 per automobile, as compared with the average June
payment of $3.82.
T a b le 25.— Transportation: Average Monthly Expenditures by Families o f Wage Earners

and Clerical Workers in Honolulu, June 1943
Average
expend­
iture per
family

Transportation

All transportation

$17.46

Automobile operation and maintenance. .

Other transportation_________________
Bus and trolley
_______________
Shared automobile expense; rented
automobile and motorcycle_______
Taxi
__ __ _________________
Railroad—Honolulu to Pearl HarborPlane....................................................

8.42
9.04
6.64
.87
.66
.28
.59

Automobile operation

All automobile operation

Average
expend­
iture per
automo­
bile 1
$15.31

Gas— _______________________________
Oil....................... .......................................
Tires and tubes________ ______________
Repairs and maintenance....................... .
Taxes_______ ________________________
Insurance_________ ____ ______________
Garage rent, parking, and other expense..

3.60
.58
1.70
4.40
3.82
.50
.71

Number of automobiles owned.................

55

i Includes 1 car owned by a policeman who received a monthly allowance for gas, oil, and maintenance
but paid his own taxes and insurance.
R E C R EA T IO N E X P E N D ITU R ES

A s noted previously, the b la ck -ou t49 and the 10 o’clock curfew
that were put into effect immediately after the December 7 attack
limited evening social activities in Honolulu. A t the same time, the
popularity of movies increased. Even after 18 months under black­
out restrictions, m any homes in Honolulu had no facilities— or un­
satisfactory ones— for ventilating a blacked-out room. Hence movies,
which were scheduled so that the last show ended by 9 o’clock at the
latest, provided an excellent escape from hot and crowded homes.
47 These amounts were considered part of net spendable income.
48 Mileage rationing was instituted in September 1943. The A ration books issued likewise provided 10
gallons a month, but half of this was allocable to occupational driving in the case of persons receiving B or O
books.
49 Black-out requirements were gradually eased, beginning in the summer of 1943. In the spring of 1944,
the black-out was lifted.




34

W artim e Earnings and Spending in H onolulu

The average June expenditures of $14.47 per family for movies and
other types of recreation are particularly striking in comparison with
the average m onthly outlay of $8.00 (including expense for radio
purchase) reported b y families in urban areas of mainland United
States during the first 3 months of 1942.60 For the families surveyed
in Honolulu this represented 5.4 percent of all expenditures for current
consumption in June 1943 as contrasted with 4.2 percent for mainland
families.
During June, 95 of the 100 families paid some movie admissions.
T h e payments averaged $6.15 per family, or more than 2 percent of
total family expenditures (table 26). A t rates ranging upward from
20 cents for adults and 10 cents for children in some neighborhood
houses, to 77 cents at the W aikiki theater where seats for all evening
shows were reserved, this expenditure would have allowed practically
every family member (except infants) one m ovie each week. Outlays
for admissions to other types of entertainment and to sports events
were relatively small. Some concerts and illustrated lectures are
provided free of charge in parks and at the Academ y of Arts and the
Public Library.
T a b l e 26.— Reading, Recreation , and Tobacco: Average M onthly Expenditures by

Families o f Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in Honolulu , June 1943
Number of
families
reporting
expense

Item

■Riding, reereation, and tnhaeeo . ,

.

Average ex­
penditure
per family
in June 1943

100

$22.01

95
94
54
10

3.07
1.28
1.28
.51

"Recreation
. . .
Admissions to movies
...
..........
_____________________ ____ _____________ _
Other admissions
Social and recreational club dues________________________________
Equipment, supplies, and fees for games and sports____________- __
T a m il expenses, 2 and flowers and favors for other entertaining
Photographic equipment_______________________________________
■Reeords and sheet mnsie ....._ r.....
_ _.
...
_
Other reereation 3_ _ . _ ._T

98
95
18
17
18
17
12
13

14.47
6.15
.81
1.13
1.69
1.29
1.18
.55
1.68

Vfthflwvi
. ...
Oigarett.es
_
Oigar-s and other tnhaeco _____

75
71
11

4.47
3.89
.58

Reading
Newspapers ...
Magazines _
Rooks 1

_

_

.

. ._.
_
...

.

......

. . .
........
............. __
_

_

_

_ _ _
........

........
_

1Purchase of books, other than school books, and loan library fees.
2 Other than food.
>Including musical instruments, toys, food for and care of pets, orchid raising as a hobby, and unitemized
vacation expenses.
4 Information not available.

Expenditures for games and sports were second in importance after
those for movies, with pool and bowling popular among the young
adults. Swimming, which Honolulu’s long shore line makes acces­
sible to the entire population, generally entails no cost.
Families of Honolulu wage earners and clerical workers spent $3.07,
on the average, in June for newspapers, magazines, and books— about
50 percent more than the average m onthly outlay for reading by
mainland city families in the winter of 1942.61 Newspaper prices in 5
*
0
50 Unpublished data from a study of family spending and saving in wartime, by the U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
81 Unpublished data from a study of family spending and saving in wartime by the U. 8. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.




35

F am ily Outlay

Honolulu were unusually high— 5 cents for each of the two regular
dailies as well as for the Chinese- and Japanese-language papers, which
are popular with older persons of Chinese and Japanese ancestry.
Less than half of the outlays for reading matter went for news­
papers, however. Despite the fact that magazines from the mainland
generally arrive 3 or 4 weeks out of date, outlays for magazines were
as large as for newspapers in June. A s income increased, amounts
spent for magazines and books rose rapidly in relation to outlays for
newspapers, as follows:
Average expenditures for—
NewsMagazines
papers
and books

Money income in June:
$100 and under $250________________ $0. 87
$250 and under $350_____________ - 1. 32
$350 and under $450______________
1. 47
$450 and over_____________________
1. 62

$0. 52
1. 46
1. 69
3. 95

A t all income levels, purchases of comics represented a considerable
share of the total for books and magazines.
During June, expenditures for cigarettes averaged $3.89 per family,
as compared with only 58 cents for all other tobacco products. For
the 71 families with,members that purchased cigarettes * this provided
over a package a day at the 17-cent rate that prevailed for standard
brands— slightly more at the carton pride of $1.50 that a few stores
offered.
Bottled liquor has been rationed in Hawaii since Novem ber 1942.
The ration allows each ration-book holder (adult), per week, either a
quart (or fifth) of hard liquor, a gallon of wine, or a case of beer.
Beer manufactured on the mainland and domestic (mainland) or im­
ported wines and hard liquor are not available continually because of
shipping limitations. Locally manufactured beer, imitation gin, rum,
and bourbon are on sale regularly, but few persons use their ration
for local products, when mainland stocks are on sale. During June,
when mainland liquor was available for 2 weeks, members of 57 fami­
lies made purchases amounting to 3.1 percent of all expenditures for
current consum ption62— almost twice as much as tobacco outlays.
82 Exclusive of liquor purchased by the drink at restaurants and bars, which was included with food
away from home.




36

W artim e Earnings and Spending in H onolulu
D escription o f Sampling M ethod Used

Names of families to be interviewed were drawn at random from a registration
file covering every individual in the city of Honolulu.
Under the Hawaii Defense Act, enacted immediately after the attack on Pearl
Harbor, all persons in the Territory of Hawaii were required to register. The
original enumeration was carried on by house-to-house canvas; thereafter, all
new residents were required under penalty of law to register at a central office and
old residents were required to record change of address and of marital status, and
relevant facts. For each individual registered, information was obtained on place
of birth and citizenship, racial and national extraction, age, occupation, place of
employment, and person to be notified in case of accident or death. In addition,
from one member of each household (generally the head), information was obtained
on the number in the household; on household equipment such as beds, baths,
and radios; on automobiles, etc. The enumeration sheets for Honolulu residents
were filed by the 29 census tracts of the city, on the basis of the persons address at
the time of registration. The total number of persons in the city was estimated
at about 230,000.
In order to have a sufficiently long list of names to provide the requisite number
of eligible families for the study, the sampling ratio 1:200 was used. A random
number between 1 and 201 was used in sampling each of the 29 census tracts.
If the person whose name was drawn was not the head of a household, the name of
the first householder that was filed in sequence thereafter was selected.
Relevant information for each householder so selected was noted on a special
record sheet. (These were kept in order, by tract and within tracts.) When the
drawing was completed, a total of 1,156 names had been obtained. The distri­
bution by racial extraction of the persons in this sample corresponded closely with
that estimated for the city in the spring of 1942.
Two hundred of the families in the original drawing were clearly ineligible for
the survey, primarily by reason of occupation or because the family comprised
only one member.
The final sample of 100 was drawn from the remaining 956 record, sheets. The
first, tenth, nineteenth, twenty-ninth, thirty-eighth, etc., sheets were drawn. The
remaining sheets in each group served as a pool of substitutes for the family
assigned from that group. Substitutes were subsequently drawn, as needed, in
such a way that the substitute family was as similar as possible to the family
originally assigned in respect to racial extraction, occupation, and/or family size.
A total of 163 families were visited by field agents; of these 2 were unwilling to
provide the information requested, 2 were unable to provide information that was
sufficiently complete for use, and 56 were found to be ineligible for inclusion in the
survey.