Businesses needed workers as factories were being built. Employers could set wages as low as they wanted with a long line of people willing to work because people were willing to do work as long as they were paid. Six days a week, people worked fourteen to sixteen hours a day. However, the majority were unskilled workers who earned only $8-$10 per week while working for 10 cents an hour. Skilled workers made slightly more money, but not significantly more. Women were paid one-third to one-half of what men were paid. Children got even less. Owners who were only interested in making a profit were pleased because labor was less expensive.
