This chapter examines more closely some of the things which can be involved in the apparently simple term ‘employment decline’.

It has been pointed out elsewhere (Massey and Meegan 1979b) that any net change in employment is actually the numerical result of two other movements, in output and in productivity. Thus, for example, in some circumstances job loss may be linked with a straightforward loss of output. In others, however, substantial increases in output may occur with a much reduced labour force as a result of an even faster growth in labour productivity. The nature and implications of em­ ployment decline in these different situations are clearly different. In the latter case, and in contrast with the former, the loss of jobs is not equatable with a downturn in accumulation; in other words, it is a problem for labour but not for the owners of capital. We are con­ cerned in this book with the problem of job loss experienced by labour.