| Years. | Total Sentenced 10 to 16 Years Old. | Practicing a Trade.[55] | Percentage Sentenced who Practiced a Trade. | Percentage of Children in General 10 to 16 who Practiced a Trade. |
| 1899 | 791 | 363 | 45.8 | 18.5 |
| 1900 | 671 | 347 | 51.7 | — |
| 1901 | 674 | 344 | 51.0 | — |
| 1902 | 712 | 331 | 46.4 | — |
| 1903 | 671 | 344 | 51.2 | — |
| 1904 | 702 | 347 | 49.4 | — |
These figures are very significant. Among the young delinquents there are two or three times as many persons following a trade as among non-delinquents.
I do not know of any other statistics giving information upon this point directly.[56]
As to statics (the geography of crime) we encounter great difficulties of a technical nature. The statistics in which we can compare juvenile delinquency with the local extent of child labor are rare, often taking no account of the figures for the non-criminal population.[57] On this point the statistics of Germany, Italy, and Austria are the best.[58]
Since the work of young people has increased enormously, and in general is still increasing, we may expect an increase in juvenile crime also, unless there are other determining factors, such as special laws, which work in the opposite direction.
In order to give an example of the extent of child labor we take from one of the best sets of statistics of occupations the following figures.
In the census of occupations in the German Empire in 1895 it was shown that whereas in 1882 16.46% of the population under 20 had some occupation (other than that of domestic servant), in 1895 there were 17.97% so employed, an increase of 9.1%.[59] The absolute figures are the following. In 1882 the number of persons below the [[409]]age of 20 at work was 3,333,791; in 1895 it was 4,161,600, an increase of 827,809.
In 1895 the number of persons at work below the age of 20 was divided among the different ages as follows:[60]
| Below 12 | having paid occupation | 32,687 |
| From 12 to 14 | having,, paid,, occupation,, | 148,766 |
| From,, 14 to,, 16 | having,, paid,, occupation,, | 1,131,723 |
| From,, 16 to,, 18 | having,, paid,, occupation,, | 1,397,161 |
| From,, 18 to,, 20 | having,, paid,, occupation,, | 1,451,263 |
If the paid labor of young people has really an influence, then, upon juvenile criminality, statistics must necessarily show an increase in this criminality, unless other factors exercise an influence in the other direction.