Urban Labor Markets, In-Migration, and Demographic Growth: Bremen, 1815-1914

In this study of the port city of Bremen during the nineteenth century, particular emphasis is placed on the impact of changing labor-market conditions on the structure of in-migration and the relative contribution of in-migrants to urban demographic growth. Until the 1880s, the persistence of pre-industrial employment structures limited the opportunities for permanent settlement. Family formation was delayed, and completed family size was smaller than in the case of the native born. Age- and disease-specific mortality data confirm that many in-migrants remained marginal elements within urban society. Only following the onset of industrialization in the late nineteenth century was there a significant improvement in in-migrant mortality. By 1905, the life expectancy of in-migrant men was generally higher than that of their native-born counterparts; the benefits for in-migrant women were even more substantial.