ABSTRACT
The bulk of the manpower forecasting attempted to date which has been intended for educational purposes has consequently tended to steer a middle course between the two extremes, and to deal primarily with medium-run periods. The distribution of manpower by sector of activity in future years can then be estimated either by projecting the trend or by noting the position on the curve of technically more advanced countries. The position appears even more complex when this comparative approach is applied on an international basis, where inferences about the future position of the more backward countries are drawn from the existing situation of the more advanced nations. The manpower projection for Ireland, while following the general procedure, differed somewhat from the pattern of the other OECD countries, in that separate projections of output and employment had been prepared as part of an overall economic programming process, somewhat akin to that of the French.
