In History

Egyptian times

In the old kingdom of Egypt, a lot of social classes: The slaves, the free workers and the nobles. The slaves had no pay and were used by the richer people in any way they wanted. On the other hand, the free urban workers were people that didn't have an owner, and they could manage their money by their self, but they would have to pay taxes to the king. Finally, the nobles they normally didn't have a job, and they got all the money from the slaves and free urban workers.

Macedonian Empire (400 AC)

In the Macedonian Empire there where two main groups of: The military and the farmers. The farmers could sell their crops to the merchants and the traders, so their riches depended on how many crops you farmed and who you sold them to. In the military the situation was different. The mercenaries had a very hight wage so if they survive, they would be rich on the other hand the recruits would have no wage, but they were sure to have a wage.

Roman Times (190AD-476 DC)

Even thought in the roman empire slavery was at his peak free urban workers in the early Roman Empire were compensated for their work and were able to change their economic activities. There were no hereditary or guild barriers to overcome. Workers in large organizations like mines and galley ships, were paid wages, as in more modern labor markets.

Middle Ages (500 DC -1492)(England)

Peasants in medieval England were incredibly poor. Their main aim was to grow enough food to survive. This meant they often had to work long hours and their lives could depend on whether or not they grew enough food. A peasant's year would be based around farming and the seasons.

Industrial Revolution (1660 DC -1730 DC)

Working conditions were harsh and dangerous. Factory workers worked long hours for little wages in hot, poorly ventilated, and loud factories. Living conditions were worse, with large families sharing only one room in overcrowded tenement houses. Freshwater was in short supply, along with a lack of plumbing.

Imperial Era (1799-1918)

The labour movement developed as a response to capitalism and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, at about the same time as socialism. The early goals of the movement were the right to unionise, the right to vote, democracy, safe working conditions and the 40-hour week.

Great Depression (1929-1937)

The great depression began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe economic depression ever experienced by the Western world, although it originated in the United States, the Great Depression caused drastic declines in the industrial world. 12,830,000 people were unemployed in 1933. Its social and cultural effects were no less surprising especially in the United States, where the Great Depression represented the most difficult adversity faced by Americans since the Civil War in 1861.

The great depression was caused by bank failures and panics, and the collapse of the money supply. With World War II coming millions of men and women got a well-payed job in the military and in other categories.

One the wealthiest during the great depression was Howard Hughes because he was in power of selling airplanes for WW II and he was already rich, and he became even more in the Great Depression.

The depression was caused by prices getting higher because of the war and to go buy bread you had to have a suitcase full of money because money had no value.

Overproduction and Underconsumption were other reasons because if there are mass productions of a thing it stops getting value and reduces to cost nothing.

Mass unemployment was the result of it, leaving people starving and without a job but when WW II came many millions of people fought in the military and in the AirForce so they could have some money.

The reason why people lost their jobs was because of the banks that did not work, and everybody lost their funds in a bank also the managers, so they had to shut down companies which led to millions of people losing their jobs. Some banks were forced to go bankrupt because of the very small amount of money contained in the building.

In the history of the United States, Black Tuesday is the day that fully represents the panic of 1929 and is associated with the Great Depression, one of the most severe economic crises in the history of the industrialized world. For some, the stock market crash was a symptom of an economy already in full contraction by the fall of 1929, rather than its cause, while for others, the financial crisis was the triggering cause of the depression

W.W. II

The use of slave and forced labour in Nazist Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in occupied Europe. The Germans abducted approximately 12 million people from almost twenty European countries; about two thirds came from Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Many workers died as a result of their living conditions extreme mistreatment, severe malnutrition and abuse were the main causes of death. Many more became civilian casualties from enemy (Allied) bombing and shelling of their workplaces throughout the war. At the peak of the program, the forced labourers constituted 20% of the German work force. Counting deaths and turnover, about 15 million men and women were forced labourers at one point during the war.

Cold War (1947-1989)

In the cold war the world was already in the modern era but in the U.S.S.R under the regime of Joseph Stalin slavery was used in factories and camps even though the U.N already had a law against slavery in the U.S.S.R it continued.

Today

The global jobs gap - the estimated number of people who want to work but do not have a job - reached 402 million in 2024 so around 5% of the world population. This includes 186 million unemployed, 137 million who are temporarily unavailable to work and 79 million discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs.