Noticing the influx of people entering the cities, building owners reconfigured their spaces, making smaller apartments out of bigger ones so as to
accommodate more tenants. The Irish had to pay for their housing out of wages from low-paying jobs that required back-breaking work. Most of the Irish
men, if they were able to get work at all, performed physical labor. America was expanding and needed new roadways, railways, bridges, tunnels, and
canals. Many of the Irish immigrants took jobs in those industries as well as in mining. Still, landlords overcharged Irish tenants for small living spaces
that often lacked ventilation and plumbing. Because money and food were so scarce, while housing was so expensive, women also had to join in as a
tremendous part of the Irish workforce, taking servants' jobs as housekeepers, nannies, and maids.
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