I suspect that the prostitution sense derived side-by-side with the sense "to work an illicit job," or, in essence, "to 'hustle'" and eventually developed into "searching for a job in general."

The only thing that seems certain is that being "on the pave" in any sense seems to have originated in the UK underground in reference to doing illegal work of various sorts.

Consider some early references from Green's Dictionary of Slang for on the pavement:

1. (also on the pave): in prostitution.

1835 [UK] ‘The Transport’s Complaint’ in Knowing Chaunter 36: Oh, where is my woman – my flashy young Sarah, / Who nightly went out, togged so smart, on the pave.

1838 [UK] ‘Ax My A-se’ in Sparkling Songster 45: I take my ware all over town / Upon the pave I’m well known.

1846 [UK] Swell’s Night Guide 58: I takes my pitch last night on Fleet pave.

2. (UK Und., also on the pave): working as a professional criminal, usu. an armed robber.

1835 [UK] ‘Rampant Moll Was A Rum Old Mot’ in Secret Songster 4: Rampant Moll had a fancy man, / A cracksman, the first on the pave.

1843 [UK] W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London I i: There isn’t a bigger leg on the whole pavement.

It is worth noting that the earliest citations listed by GDoS in direct reference to "pound the pavement" in the prostitution sense are actually using variants of the phrase. An 1834 citation uses the phrase "walks the pave."

pound the pavement (v.)

1. (US Und., also pound the blocks, walk the pavement, ...pave, trudge the street): to work as a street prostitute; thus pavement-pounding adj., street-walking; thus pavement pounder under pavement n.

c.1800 [UK] Song No. 13 Papers of Francis Place (1819) n.p.: Near to Temple bar, liv’d two trading women [...] Now we trudge the streets / We’re glad of half a shilling.

1834 [UK] ‘I Am A Blowen Togg’d Out So Gay’ in Flare-Up Songster 16: I never goes one fadge under my price [...] On my own bottom I walks the pave.

1836 [UK] ‘A Blowen in a Alley Pigg’d’ in Comic Songster and Gentleman’s Private Cabinet 34: A randy blowen truly; / Who walk’d the pave so gally rigg’d.

I suspect that the prostitution sense derived side-by-side with the sense "to work an illicit job," or, in essence, "to 'hustle'" and eventually developed into "searching for a job in general."

The only thing that seems certain is that being "on the pave" in any sense seems to have originated in the UK underground in reference to doing illegal work of various sorts.

Consider some early references from Green's Dictionary of Slang for on the pavement. Notice that we find early citations referring to prostitution around the same time we find citations for "working as a professional criminal" in general:

1. (also on the pave): in prostitution.

1835 [UK] ‘The Transport’s Complaint’ in Knowing Chaunter 36: Oh, where is my woman – my flashy young Sarah, / Who nightly went out, togged so smart, on the pave.

1838 [UK] ‘Ax My A-se’ in Sparkling Songster 45: I take my ware all over town / Upon the pave I’m well known.

1846 [UK] Swell’s Night Guide 58: I takes my pitch last night on Fleet pave.

---

2. (UK Und., also on the pave): working as a professional criminal, usu. an armed robber.

1835 [UK] ‘Rampant Moll Was A Rum Old Mot’ in Secret Songster 4: Rampant Moll had a fancy man, / A cracksman, the first on the pave.

1843 [UK] W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London I i: There isn’t a bigger leg on the whole pavement.

It is worth noting that the earliest citations listed by GDoS in direct reference to "pound the pavement" in the prostitution sense are actually using variants of the phrase. An 1834 citation uses the phrase "walks the pave." Still, most of the earlier citations from GDoS for "pound the pavement" all post-date the earliest "on the pave" citations quoted above, including those meaning "general criminal activity."

pound the pavement (v.)

1. (US Und., also pound the blocks, walk the pavement, ...pave, trudge the street): to work as a street prostitute; thus pavement-pounding adj., street-walking; thus pavement pounder under pavement n.

c.1800 [UK] Song No. 13 Papers of Francis Place (1819) n.p.: Near to Temple bar, liv’d two trading women [...] Now we trudge the streets / We’re glad of half a shilling.

1834 [UK] ‘I Am A Blowen Togg’d Out So Gay’ in Flare-Up Songster 16: I never goes one fadge under my price [...] On my own bottom I walks the pave.

1836 [UK] ‘A Blowen in a Alley Pigg’d’ in Comic Songster and Gentleman’s Private Cabinet 34: A randy blowen truly; / Who walk’d the pave so gally rigg’d.

I suspect that the prostitution sense derived side-by-side with the sense "to work an illicit job," or, in essence, "to 'hustle'" and eventually developed into "searching for a job in general."

The only thing that seems certain is that being "on the pave" in any sense seems to have originitated in the UK underground in reference to doing illegal work of various sorts.

Consider some early references from Green's Dictionary of Slang for on the pavement:

1. (also on the pave): in prostitution.

1835 [UK] ‘The Transport’s Complaint’ in Knowing Chaunter 36: Oh, where is my woman – my flashy young Sarah, / Who nightly went out, togged so smart, on the pave.

1838 [UK] ‘Ax My A-se’ in Sparkling Songster 45: I take my ware all over town / Upon the pave I’m well known.

1846 [UK] Swell’s Night Guide 58: I takes my pitch last night on Fleet pave.

2. (UK Und., also on the pave): working as a professional criminal, usu. an armed robber.

1835 [UK] ‘Rampant Moll Was A Rum Old Mot’ in Secret Songster 4: Rampant Moll had a fancy man, / A cracksman, the first on the pave.

1843 [UK] W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London I i: There isn’t a bigger leg on the whole pavement.

It is worth noting that the earliest citations listed by GDoS in direct reference to "pound the pavement" in the prostitution sense are actually using variants of the phrase. An 1834 citation uses the phrase "walks the pave."

pound the pavement (v.)

1. (US Und., also pound the blocks, walk the pavement, ...pave, trudge the street): to work as a street prostitute; thus pavement-pounding adj., street-walking; thus pavement pounder under pavement n.

c.1800 [UK] Song No. 13 Papers of Francis Place (1819) n.p.: Near to Temple bar, liv’d two trading women [...] Now we trudge the streets / We’re glad of half a shilling.

1834 [UK] ‘I Am A Blowen Togg’d Out So Gay’ in Flare-Up Songster 16: I never goes one fadge under my price [...] On my own bottom I walks the pave.

1836 [UK] ‘A Blowen in a Alley Pigg’d’ in Comic Songster and Gentleman’s Private Cabinet 34: A randy blowen truly; / Who walk’d the pave so gally rigg’d.

I suspect that the prostitution sense derived side-by-side with the sense "to work an illicit job," or, in essence, "to 'hustle'" and eventually developed into "searching for a job in general."

The only thing that seems certain is that being "on the pave" in any sense seems to have originated in the UK underground in reference to doing illegal work of various sorts.

Consider some early references from Green's Dictionary of Slang for on the pavement:

1. (also on the pave): in prostitution.

1835 [UK] ‘The Transport’s Complaint’ in Knowing Chaunter 36: Oh, where is my woman – my flashy young Sarah, / Who nightly went out, togged so smart, on the pave.

1838 [UK] ‘Ax My A-se’ in Sparkling Songster 45: I take my ware all over town / Upon the pave I’m well known.

1846 [UK] Swell’s Night Guide 58: I takes my pitch last night on Fleet pave.

2. (UK Und., also on the pave): working as a professional criminal, usu. an armed robber.

1835 [UK] ‘Rampant Moll Was A Rum Old Mot’ in Secret Songster 4: Rampant Moll had a fancy man, / A cracksman, the first on the pave.

1843 [UK] W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London I i: There isn’t a bigger leg on the whole pavement.

It is worth noting that the earliest citations listed by GDoS in direct reference to "pound the pavement" in the prostitution sense are actually using variants of the phrase. An 1834 citation uses the phrase "walks the pave."

pound the pavement (v.)

1. (US Und., also pound the blocks, walk the pavement, ...pave, trudge the street): to work as a street prostitute; thus pavement-pounding adj., street-walking; thus pavement pounder under pavement n.

c.1800 [UK] Song No. 13 Papers of Francis Place (1819) n.p.: Near to Temple bar, liv’d two trading women [...] Now we trudge the streets / We’re glad of half a shilling.

1834 [UK] ‘I Am A Blowen Togg’d Out So Gay’ in Flare-Up Songster 16: I never goes one fadge under my price [...] On my own bottom I walks the pave.

1836 [UK] ‘A Blowen in a Alley Pigg’d’ in Comic Songster and Gentleman’s Private Cabinet 34: A randy blowen truly; / Who walk’d the pave so gally rigg’d.