1990 POPULATION CENSUS Detailed data based on a 2 per cent representative sample (1992)

I. REVIEW OF THE DATA - A/ Main characteristics of the population

In 1990, half of the manual workers were skilled workers, in 1970 the respective proportion was one third. Between 1970 and 1980 the share of semi-skilled workers grew from 35 per cent to 41 per cent, then it declined somewhat, in 1990 it was 38 per cent. In the case of the unskilled workers, a continuous decrease can be observed, their proportion is not even half of what it had been 20 years before (28 per cent as against 12 per cent). Between 1970 and 1990, the overall decrease in the number of manual workers was over 800 000. One quarter of this great decline occurred in the first decade of the period in two major occupational groups: on the one hand, among those of agricultural occupations (by more than 400 000), and among those of the other manual occupations (by 98 000), on the other. These latter pursue activites for which, as usual, no qualification is required (handlers of materials, loaders, cleaners, unskilled workers etc.). In the 1970s the decrease in the number of persons pursuing such activities, reflected, on the one hand, the start in mechanizing the transportation of materials and the increase in the demand of the people concerned to perform more sophisticated activites, on the other. In this decade, the number of persons of non-agricultural manual occupations requiring no qualification of training still grew significantly, by over 300 000. The growth was the greatest in the case of those working in the fields of water works and supply, public health and services and, respectively, commerce and catering (45 and 37 per cent). This reflected the effort to make the supply of the population more cultured, the increase in tourism, and the expansion of the trade network. The number of those working in the field of transportation, post and telecommunication alsó grew significantly; the proportion of those with such occupations was by one third higher in 1980 than in 1970. The small growth in the number of industrial workers (by 4 per cent) in the 1970s already indicated the end of the period of the extensive development of the industry. In consequence of the economic development which became slower in the 1980s, then, in the last years of the decade, due to the braking of investments and production because of the decrease in the resources, and as a result of the above outlined problems with regard to the external economic relations in the 1930-1990 period — except those working in commerce and catering and alsó in water works and supply, public health and services — there was a decline in all major occupational groups. In ten years — for the first time for many decades — the number of those with occupations related to mining and manufacturing, and construction feli by about 260 000. The number of the agricultural manual workers feli to a smaller extent (by 230 000) than earlier, but in respect of their proportion this decrease was significant (by 46 per cent). There was a small growth among those pursuing doing a work of so-called "tertiary" character activities. Between 1980 and 1990, the number of those working in commerce and catering grew by 33 000, that of those in water works and supply, public health and services by 17 000. During the same period the number "of those of other manual occupations" constituting the group of unskilled workers — similarly to the former decade - decreased by 112 000 persons. From 1980 to 1990, the number of female workers with occupations related to manufacturing, construction and agriculture feli to a greater extent than the respective number of males. In 1990, the proportion of the 55 year old and older workers attained 6 per cent only in the group of those of agricultural manual occupations, in the other major groups of those of manual occupations it was even lower. The proportion of the middle-aged (30-54 year old) working in the various major occupational groups was between 60 and 73 per cent. The proportion of the young persons was relatively low in most fields. Within the manual activity, the changes in the proportion of those working in the various major occupational groups reflect to a certain extent alsó the transformation of the economic structure. In 1970, those of agricultural occupations represented nearly one quarter of the stratum of manual workers, in 1990, they did not even attain one tenth. The joint proportion of the workers in manufacturing and construction grew by 6 per cent between 1970 and 1980 and already only by 1 per cent after 1980. The share of those pursuing activities having the character of services grew from nearly 13 per cent in 1970 almost to the double in 1990 (22 per cent). 23