Based on the underlined clue, what is the main idea of the passage? Although real wages (pay measured in terms of buying power) rose by 15 percent between 1873 and 1893, workers did not share equally in the improvement . . . In 1890, the average worker earned $500 a year. Many working-class families, whether native-born or immigrant, lived in poverty or near poverty; their economic survival depended on the contributions of all, regardless of sex or age. One statistician estimated that in 1900, as many as 64 percent of working-class families relied on income other than the husband's wages to make ends meet. The paid and unpaid work of women and children were thus essential for family survival and economic advancement