Census of employment 1984 : an assessment

The Census of Employment is generally regarded as the most reliable source of information on employment trends in the UK. Since 1978 it has been conducted at three-yearly intervals and the first results of the 1984 Census have recently been published. This paper describes the major developments in Scottish employment since 1981 and compares Scotland's performance with the rest of Great Britain. The outcome is depressing if not unexpected: Scotland has lost jobs in all sectors and generally at a faster rate than the rest of Britain. Following the discussion of the main results, the respective roles of services and electronics as potential sources of future employment growth are considered and it is concluded that neither offers the prospect of satisfactorily reversing the trends of recent years