Abstract
This chapter compares the occupational distributions in 1990 and 2000 of adult white men and women for American Jews and non-Jews, after adjusting for the changes in occupational classifications. The data are from the microdata files from the National Jewish Population Surveys (1990, 2000/01) and the 1990 and 2000 Censuses of Population. Among both men and women, American Jews had a greater proportion in the high level occupations (managerial and professional) in 1990, and the difference increased over the next decade. Among Jews and among non-Jews, there were only small gender differences in the proportions in the high level occupations. Thus, religion was more important than gender in explaining occupational patterns. American Jews of both genders experienced a continued decline in self-employment over the decade, and a continued shift among those in managerial and professional jobs away from self-employment and toward being salaried workers.
Revision of the original article published in Contemporary Jewry, 27(1), 2007, pp. 80–111.
I appreciate the comments of Carmel U. Chiswick, as well as those of the two referees, the research assistance of Jidong Huang, and assistance with the NJPS from Lawrence Kotler-Berkowitz.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
This is consistent with the racial distribution of Jews in the General Social Survey, 96 percent white non-Hispanic, 1 percent Hispanic, 2 percent black and 1 percent Asian (Smith 2005, p. 287).
- 3.
Since the Census Bureau did not create a PUMS file for 1930, the 72-year bar to private access to these data had to expire before a non-governmental agency could create these micro data. A preliminary microdata file became available in 2005.
- 4.
The NJPS in 1990 and 2000 was designed to be a representative sample of the Jewish population. As with all censuses and surveys, some individuals selected to be included in the sample did not respond at all or did not respond to particular questions. The extent to which nonresponsive rates affect the results or interpretations reported here is unclear. Another study of the NJPS analyzed earnings and the extent to which biases result from item non-response to the question on earnings (see, this volume, Chap. 15). Item non-response to the earnings question was largely random and did not affect the results of the analysis.
- 5.
The algorithm converts 1990 Census occupation categories into the new 2000 Census codes. The reverse, converting 2000 occupations into their 1990 equivalents, cannot be done. See Scopp (2003) and U.S. Census Bureau (2003).
- 6.
An econometric analysis of the labor supply decisions of Jewish and non-Jewish women is beyond the scope of this chapter, but can be found in this volume, Chap. 10.
- 7.
- 8.
For a discussion see this volume, Chap. 8.
- 9.
The self-employed include those who are self-employed in incorporated and unincorporated businesses, as well as the very small number reported as unpaid family workers. The self-employed in principle can be in any occupation, but most are in professional and managerial occupations, or are farm owners.
- 10.
These data are, of course, reported only for women who worked and reported an occupation.
- 11.
This large increase in the proportion of Jewish women in professional occupations reflects the large proportion in professional employment among younger Jewish women in 1990. Among Jewish women age 25–44, 48 percent were in professional occupations compared to 31 percent for women age 45–64.
References
Blake, Kellee. 1996. First in the Path of the Fireman: The Fate of the 1890 Population Census. Prologue, Spring, p. 64–81.
Billings, John R. 1890. Vital Statistics of the Jews of the United States. Census Bulletin No. 19, Washington, DC, December 30, 1890.
Chiswick, Barry R. 1988. Labor Supply and Investment in Child Quality: A Study of Jewish and Non-Jewish Women. Contemporary Jewry 9 (Fall): 35–61.
———. 1999. The Occupational Attainment and Earnings of American Jewry, 1890–1990. Contemporary Jewry 20: 68–98.
———. 2001. The Billings Report and the Occupational Attainment of American Jewry. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 19(2), Winter, p. 53–75.
Glenn, Susan A. 1990. Daughters of the Shtetl: Life and Labor in the Immigrant Generation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
North America Jewish Data Bank. 1991. National Jewish Population Survey, 1990. New York: Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York.
North American Jewish Data Bank 2002. National Jewish Population Survey, 2000–01. Storrs, University of Connecticut (web address: www.Jewishdatabank.org).
National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01. Strength, Challenge and Diversity in the American Jewish Population. New York, United Jewish Communities, September 2003.
Scopp, Thomas S. for the U.S. Census Bureau 2003. The Relationship Between The 1990 Census and Census 2000 Industry and Occupation Classification Systems, Technical Paper #65 October 30, 2003, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ioindex/tp65report.html.
Smith, Tom W. 2005. Jewish Distinctiveness in America: A Statistical Portrait. New York: American Jewish Committee.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1993. 1990 Census of Population, Public Use Microdata Sample (1/100 Sample), Washington, DC.
———. 2003a. 2000 Census of Population, Public Use Microdata Sample (1/100 Sample), Washington, DC.
———. 2003b. Template for Converting 1990 Census STF-3 Occupation Categories to Census 2000 SF-3 Occupation Categories available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ioindex/occross menu.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chiswick, B.R. (2020). The Occupational Attainment of American Jewry: 1990 to 2000. In: Chiswick, B. (eds) Jews at Work. Studies of Jews in Society, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41243-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41243-2_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41242-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41243-2
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)