The Echo was disproportionately read by skilled manual workers and by the middle-aged and old.
In previous recessions, many of the casualties were manual workers who could be fired instantly.
Skilled computing staff are in short supply, as are builders and even unskilled manual workers.
It has a reasonable employment rate, a fair number of professionals and more non-manual workers than manual.
BBC: NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | City of Durham
There has been a strong public reaction to the proposed increase following a pay freeze offer for manual workers.
Dr Penny stressed this was particularly prevalent amongst manual workers, saying the professional classes are now smoking a lot less.
Central has one of the highest proportions of professional workers in the country, and a relatively small number of skilled manual workers.
BBC: NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Disabled ex-manual workers are not generally in the highest income brackets, and may find accommodation easier to obtain in Hackney than in Chelsea.
The study then compared the views and voting behaviour of unskilled and skilled manual workers to those in the better paid white collar jobs.
Three-quarters of boys born to professional fathers in the 1950s ended up in the same kinds of jobs, meaning they had as much inertia as manual workers in the early 20th century.
Says he: "Armchair professors and bureaucrats who sit behind desks pushing a pencil all day can work until age 68 without any serious difficulty, " but manual workers are too worn out by physical labor to stay on the job that long.
People who worked for the state, in state-owned companies or in state-approved collectives, enjoyed cradle-to-grave benefits ranging from housing, education and health care to a generous pension scheme, with an official retirement age of 55 for men and 50 for women for manual workers (but five years more for white-collar workers) and a replacement rate of about 80% of final salary.
JCO, the company that operates the uranium-processing plant at Tokaimura, had quietly compiled a manual that encouraged workers to cut corners, quite illegally, to reduce costs.
Workers who perform manual labor would receive a hardship exemption.
While Japanese alarmists blame a lack of competitiveness, the fact is that Japan's working-age population is declining, and within that population the proportion of workers willing to do manual jobs is also falling.
Five workers at the plant were sacked after it was discovered manual checks on fuel rods had been faked to save time.
Many employers remain prejudiced against older workers, and not always without reason: performance in manual jobs does drop off in middle age, and older people are often slower on the uptake and less comfortable with new technology.
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