Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed, says 140 years of data

Study of census results in England and Wales since 1871 finds rise of machines has been a job creator rather than making working humans obsolete

In the 1800s it was the Luddites smashing weaving machines. These days retail staff worry about automatic checkouts. Sooner or later taxi drivers will be fretting over self-driving cars.

The battle between man and machines goes back centuries. Are they taking our jobs? Or are they merely easing our workload?