How much was the weekly wage in world war 2?

Answer 1

In the US the minimum wage was set at twenty-five cents per hour in 1938, so, $10 for a forty hour week. However many jobs paid quite a bit more than this during the war, especially in defense plants, shipyards, and so on, as employers had to bid high for scarce labor. Contrast this with a private in the army in 1940, who received $21 per month - along with some scratchy, ill-fitting woolen uniforms, and some swill three times a day. If a man could qualify as an "expert" on the rifle range, that was worth an extra $5 per month, which was quite an incentive. Army pay was raised in 1942, but still was a lot less than people made in aircraft factories. News of labor strikes back home, seeking even higher pay, infuriated the men overseas in the service, and there was more than one "pennies for strikers" campaign as the boys in uniform passed the hat to help out those poor starving defense workers, stuck at home and already rolling in dough. There was all the overtime anybody could stand to be had in most defense plants. Once overseas military men could get combat pay, and that was a big raise. Paratroopers also got "jump pay", so an airborne private made as much as a ground-pounding second lieutenant. Aircrew received "flight pay" as long as they were in the air a certain number of hours per month.