Seventh Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of California: For the Years 1895-1896 (Classic Reprint)

A window into California’s labor world in the 1890s, with practical efforts to help workers and study conditions.

This nonfiction volume presents the Seventh Biennial Report of the California Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1895 and 1896. It outlines the bureau’s aims, how it gathers data on wages, hours, and living costs, and the practical steps taken to assist workers, including a free-employment system that connected people with work.

• Learn how the bureau defined and organized labor data across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transportation.
• See how a state agency tried to move from data collection to real help for workers, including case studies of wage disputes and working conditions.
• Discover the challenges of maintaining a government statistics office with limited funding and how community support aided its mission.
• Understand early labor issues highlighted by the era, from wage delays to the treatment of unemployed and underpaid workers.