“Full employment” is here explored in the context of today’s profoundly changed industrialized working environment. Arguing that it encompasses relative poverty and the quality and income-generating capacity of jobs as well as low unemployment, the author defines it as an equilibrium that must be made acceptable on both social and economic grounds. Contrasting conditions before and after 1970, he considers patterns of output growth and use of labour that are compatible with full employment, and the existing diversity of employment contracts. Finally, he focuses on the difficult but unavoidable policy decisions needed for it to be achieved and maintained.
