The primary classification of occupations made by the Census recognized five great groups, as follows: 1. Professions; 2. Agriculture; 3. Trade and transportation; 4. Manufactures; 5. Personal Service. These titles are self-explanatory, with the possible exception of the last class, which is mainly composed of domestic servants.
Proportion of the Population and its elements, which were engaged in gainful occupations in 1890.
Diagram No. 1.
Classification of the Wage-earners by Race and Nativity and by Occupations.
Diagram No. 2.
The following table shows the proportion of the negro wage-earners engaged in each of these groups of occupations. In juxtaposition, for comparison, are placed similar figures for the native whites and the foreign born.
| Native White. | Foreign Born. | Negro. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per Cent. | Per Cent. | Per Cent. | |
| Professions | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 |
| Agriculture | 41.0 | 25.5 | 57.2 |
| Trade and transportation | 17.0 | 14.0 | 4.7 |
| Manufactures | 22.9 | 31.3 | 5.6 |
| Personal service | 13.6 | 27.0 | 31.4 |
| 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Similar facts are shown by diagram No. 2. In this the total area of the square represents the number of persons in the country pursuing gainful occupations. This is divided into rectangles by horizontal lines, the rectangles being proportioned respectively to the numbers of the native whites, the foreign born, and the negroes. The sub-division of these rectangles by vertical lines indicates the proportion in each group of wage-earners.
The most striking facts brought out by this table and diagram are that only a trifling proportion of the negroes were in the professions, that much more than one-half were farmers, and nearly one-third were engaged in personal (mainly domestic) service. Indeed, over seven-eighths of them were either farmers or servants. The proportions engaged in trade and transportation and in manufactures were very small. In respect to the farming class, they contrasted sharply with the foreign born. In trade and transportation and in manufactures the contrast was even greater, in the contrary direction. The foreign born contained a much larger proportion of professional men.
Comparing the negroes with the native whites, equally interesting contrasts appear. Professional men were much more numerous among whites than among negroes. The proportion of the farming class, although much smaller, was nearer that of the negroes than was the same class among the foreign born. In trade and transportation and in manufactures the native whites had much greater proportions, while in personal service the proportion was much less than that of the negroes.