French statistics during the last half century indicate the same general movement so far as employment is concerned, though the movement is less regular. There is the same decline in the proportion of those engaged in agriculture, though less rapid than in England, the same shrinkage of the proportion engaged in manufacture, and generally in "making" industries, and the same notable expansion of the "dealing" classes. A rapid growth of the professional and public services is common to England and France. The following percentages mark these movements in France:--[186] 1856. 1861. 1866. 1872. 1876. 1881. 1886. Agricultural classes 52.9 53.2 51.5 52.5 53.0 50.0 47.8 Industrial 29.1 27.4 28.8 24.1 25.9 25.6 25.2 Commercial 4.5 3.9 4.0 8.4 10.7 10.5 11.5[187] Professional, } public service, } persons living } 9.1 9.2 9.5 11.1 10.3 10.2 11.1 on their incomes } These facts and figures seem to support the following conclusions:-- (1) That along with the increased application of machinery to the textile and other staple manufactures there has been in these industries a decrease of employment relative to the growth of the working population. (2) That in the transport industries the increase of employment is in inverse proportion to the introduction of machinery into the several branches as a dominating factor. (3) That the considerable diminution of agricultural employment is not compensated by any proportionate increase of manufacturing employment, but that the displaced agricultural labour finds employment in such branches of the transport and distributive trade as are less subject to machinery. In the rough estimate of the effect of machinery upon employment, its influence upon English agriculture has been left untouched by reason of the inherent complexity of the forces which are operative. But it must not be forgotten that by far the most important factor in the decline of English agricultural employment is the transport machinery which has brought the produce of distant countries into direct competition with English agricultural produce.