Annual average employment growth in Western European countries 1950-1970, by sector

Between the 1950s and 1970s, employment grew exponentially during the most prosperous period in modern European history, particularly in the manufacturing and non-agricultural sectors (services, public sector, education). Total employment generally grew at a slower rate than in the two specified sectors, as the mechanization of agriculture, mining, and construction led to fewer working in the primary industry of the economy. The automation of Ireland's agricultural sector, along with the government's protectionist policies and mass emigration, saw Ireland become the only state where employment fell in these years (despite the expansion of other industries); it was not until the 1960s when Ireland would make ground on the rest of Western Europe's economic progress.

Employment growth was largely driven by the expansion of manufacturing and non-agricultural sectors of the economy, although these developments varied by country. Belgium was the country with the largest discrepancy between these sectors, as non-agricultural employment grew, on average, five times faster than manufacturing's employment rate. This discrepancy was due to Belgium's already-established industrial sector, which occupied a much larger share of economic output at the beginning of this period than most other countries. Employment in non-agricultural and non-industrial sectors also boomed in this period due to the enlargement of the welfare state, the emergence of service industries, and secondary and higher education expansion.