Adults Could Earn $16 a Month if They Worked
Having a job in the internment camps was not necessary. Very basic needs of the people were met. They were fed and given shelter. However, many of the adults chose to get jobs because it not only helped pass the time but it gave them a sense of purpose that they were otherwise lacking in the camps. People were needed to perform basic duties around the camp and help provide for the people housed at the camp.
In the beginning those who took on jobs or roles within the internment camp were not paid at all. As time went on this changed and wages were given based upon the work being done. Skilled and technical workers could get as much as $16 a month which translates to about $213 in 2017 dollars. A mid-range wage was $12 per month and the lowest rate of pay was $8 per month.
Workers typically worked 40 hours a week and were expected to perform and show up at their job just as if it were any other job that was not in a prison camp. There was also the additional benefit that anyone with a job was given an extra $3.75 credit to use toward clothes.
The wages given to internees were far lower than what they were getting outside of the camp. Regular Caucasian workers who were brought in to work as teachers or in other positions in the camps were paid substantially higher wages. An internee teacher could make up to $213 a year, which the base pay for a Caucasian teacher at the camps was $2,000 a year.