ABSTRACT
Since about 1960 the share of manufacturing employment in total employment in the United Kingdom has been declining. In the 1960s the decline was very gentle. It accelerated sharply in the 1970s and since then has continued at a steady and significant pace. The decline in the manufacturing employment rate, although more pronounced than in many other countries, is not confined to the United Kingdom. Other industrially advanced countries exhibit a similar trend.1 The observed pattern raises a number of questions: Why is it happening? What determines its pace in general and its different manifestation in various countries in particular? Is it a phenomenon of major concern that governments should address by pursuing policies to arrest its continuation?
