III. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
The economic position of the Jews in Austria-Hungary presents a close parallel to that in Russia. The largest proportion of the Jews—44 per cent—were engaged in commerce and in trade, and 29 per cent were engaged in industry.[30] A significantly large proportion were engaged in public service and in the liberal professions. A surprisingly large proportion—11 per cent—were engaged in agriculture and allied occupations. Thus, a little over seven-tenths of the Jews were concentrated in commerce and trade, and industry.
The contrast between the Jewish and the non-Jewish population is most striking in the relative proportions of those engaged in agriculture, and commerce and trade. 54 per cent of the non-Jews were engaged in agriculture, or five times as many, relatively, as Jews. On the other hand, only 8 per cent were engaged in commerce and trade, or relatively one-fifth as many as Jews.
Of the total population engaged in commerce and trade the Jews constituted 21 per cent. They constituted, on the other hand, 5 per cent of all engaged in industry. Thus, the Jews in Austria-Hungary were concentrated in commerce and trade to a much larger extent than in all other occupations, constituting an important part of all engaged in this branch.
It is in Galicia, however, where conditions in general most resemble those in Russia, that the Jews are seen to occupy relatively the same position as their brethren in Russia. In Galicia, 29 per cent of the Jews were engaged in commerce and trade, and 26 per cent in industry. Together the Jews engaged in these two branches constituted more than half of the total Jewish working population.
By far the largest part of the non-Jewish population—86 per cent—were engaged in agriculture. In industry only 4 per cent of the non-Jews were engaged and in commerce only 1 per cent. Thus the Jews were largely concentrated in commerce and industry, the non-Jews preponderatingly concentrated in agriculture.
As compared with the Jews in Russia and Roumania the Galician Jews engaged in agriculture show a surprising proportion—18 per cent being so engaged—a larger proportion than in any other country.
The Jews in East Galicia were 13 per cent of the total population.[31] Of all the "independents" engaged in commerce in East Galicia 92 per cent were Jews; of all the "independents" engaged in industry 48 per cent were Jews. The Jews in West Galicia were 8 per cent of the total population. Of all "independents" engaged in commerce they constituted 82 per cent; of all "independents" engaged in industry they constituted 33 per cent. This gives the crux of the economic position of the Jews in Galicia. They play an overwhelming part in its commercial life, practically monopolizing it. In industry their participation is very significant.
Socially the Jews in Austria-Hungary and especially in Galicia, present characteristics similar to those in Russia and Roumania. In the forty cities in Galicia with a population above five thousand there dwelt 34 per cent of the total Jewish population. Only 7 per cent of the non-Jewish population lived in these cities. Thus, relatively five times as many Jews as non-Jews were urban. Though the Jews in Galicia were 11 per cent of the total population, they constituted 37 per cent of the population in these cities, thus being represented in the cities by more than three times their proportion in the total population. In nine of these towns they formed a majority of the population. They were more than one-third in twelve, and more than one-fourth in eleven other towns. In the two chief cities in Galicia—Lemberg and Cracow—they constituted a third of the total population.
The figures regarding literacy are not available for Austria-Hungary or Galicia, but there is every reason to believe that essentially the same situation exists as in Russia and Roumania. In the liberal professions in Austria-Hungary there were 16 per cent of the Jews so engaged as compared with 11 per cent of the non-Jews. In Galicia the contrast is much sharper. Relatively ten times as many Jews as non-Jews were represented in the liberal professions.[32]