Daily wages of unskilled labourers in Stockholm, 1501-1850

By Johan Söderberg  

 

The series of daily wages for unskilled labourers in Stockholm presented below is based on the building accounts of Stockholm City, supplemented by some institutional and parish archives (Söderberg 1987; Jansson, Palm & Söderberg 1991; Söderberg, Jonsson & Persson 1991).


The main source on wages is the accounts of the Town Council of Stockholm. This material contains detailed descriptions of the building works initiated by the Town Council and the wages of various building workers. Parish accounts (e.g., Storkyrkoförsamlingen and the German Church) also provide information on wages.
Wages were paid in cash, and there were no substantial additional benefits in kind (though the City occasionally paid the gloves used by the labourers, and gave them some beer). Wages refer to summer rates of male labourers.

 

List of variables and their definitions:

Name 
Explanation
Daily wages of unskilled labourers, nominal rates Daily wages of unskilled labourers in Stockholm in öre (1501-1623), daler kopparmynt (1624-1775), skilling specie (1776-1803) and skilling banco (1804-1850).
Daily wages of unskilled labourers, in silver Daily wages of unskilled labourers in Stockholm expressed in grams of silver
Real wages of unskilled labourers  Real wages of unskilled labourers in Stockholm, calculated by deflating nominal daily wages by a cost of living index

 

 

References

Jansson, Arne, Lennart Andersson Palm & Johan Söderberg, Dagligt bröd i onda tider: priser och löner i Stockholm och Västsverige 1500-1700, Göteborg 1991

 

Söderberg, Johan, ”Hade Heckscher rätt? Priser och reallöner i 1500-talets Stockholm”, Historisk tidskrift 107 (1987), 351-356

 

Söderberg, Johan, Ulf Jonsson & Christer Pers¬son, A Stagnating Metropolis: The Economy and Demography of Stockholm, 1750-1850, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1991

DOCUMENTATION
 
Wages 1540-1850 | Excel icon 39 Kb

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28/02/2008