How Britain went from making things to sitting at a desk: Census reveals huge drop in people working in factories and farms

Social and economic change laid bare by Office for National Statistics

Fewer than 1 in 100 now work in agriculture, down from 1 in 5 in 1841

Just 8.9% work in manufacturing compared to 80% in service industries

British workers have swapped the hard work of factories and farms for an easier life sitting behind a desk, new research reveals.
In the last 170 years the number of people working in agriculture and manufacturing has slumped, while millions more now work in offices, shops and
More people now work for the state in government, schools and the NHS than actually making things in factories.

Change: Since millions went to work in factories in the 1930s (left) economic and social changes mean far fewer people make things and instead spend their day sitting at a desk

Growth in banking, out-of-town shopping centres and demand for flexible working have led to a boom in the so-called service industries, with manufacturing jobs outsourced overseas to take advantage of cheaper labour.

 

A study by the Office for National Statistics revealed the number of people working in farming and manufacturing has fallen below one in 100 for the first time. In 1841 the figure was more than one in five.
Researchers said a combination of mechanical inventions and cheap foreign food imports meant that far fewer Britons are now needed to feed the nation.

Industry: In the last 170 years the number of people working in manufacturing and farming has collapsed, while there has been a huge boom in the service industries

Manufacturing was as important as the service industry to the economy until the mid-1960s.
But large-scale factory closures and outsourcing meant that by the 2011 Census 80 per cent of people worked in the services, compared to just 8.9 per cent working in manufacturing.
Statistician Jamie Jenkins told MailOnline: ‘We are less reliant on making things within the country, partly through increased globalisation. We do now rely on imported manufacturing.
‘We have moved towards desk work from manufacturing. The service sector tends to be lower average hour, it is more flexible working.
‘It used to be the High Street where all the shops were, now we have all these big shopping centres.’

Desk jockeys: Social and economic change means millions more people now work in offices

Census: Data taken in the Census every 10 years shows how the jobs we work in have dramatically changes

Service industries include distribution, hotels, restaurants, transport, banking, government, education and health.
Women in particular are more likely to work in services than men. In 2011, 92 per cent of women in work were within the service sector compared with just 71 per cent of men.
A new ONS study on 170 Years of Industry reveals that in 1841, 22 per cent of people worked in agriculture and farming, but by 2011 this had fallen to less than on per cent.
Mr Jenkins said: ‘In every Census since 1841 the number of people working in agriculture has fallen. ‘We have got tractors and ploughs and inventions which mean it is less labour intensive
‘But also over the last 100 years we built the railways, and we took the railways to the rest of the world, so now we can import food.
‘We rely a lot more now on food from the rest of the world than we ever have.’

Gender: Women are more likely to work in service industries while nine out of 10 people in construction are men

Regions: The data showed wide variation in different parts of the country, with rural areas more reliant on farming

The study revealed a wide regional variation in the industries which dominate different parts of the country.
Around eight per cent of people in Powys in Wales, Eden in Cumbria and Torridge in Devon work in agriculture, compared to the national average of 0.9 per cent.
Hackney topped the league table for people working int the arts and entertainment (8.3 per cent) while almost a quarter (23 per cent) of people on the Isles of Scilly working in tourism-related accommodation and food services.
Corby relies most on manufacturing, with 24 per cent of people working in the industry, followed by Pendle (21 per cent) and Barrow-in-Furness (21 per cent).