The rising standard of living, 1750 - 1875

Working people's standard of living rose between 1750 and 1793. Harvests were mainly good, so bread prices were fairly low. Labourers had money to spare for new clothes, as well as food. And from the 1780s, the new cotton mills were making cheap cloth.

During the long wars with France (1793 to 1815) it became harder to make ends meet. Britain imported less wheat from abroad, and prices rose. Also, there were bad harvests in the mid-1790s and in 1811-12. On the other hand, wages were quite high at this time, and unemployment was rare.

From 1815 to 1850, wages fell, but prices fell even more, so people were better off. Some were not so lucky, though. The wages of handloom-weavers fell far more than prices. And there were spells of unemployment that hit most trades. Since no work meant no pay at all, unemployment brought great hardship.

From 1850 to 1875, prices were rising, but wages were rising faster. New factories, mills, mines, and ship-yards were taking on people. Thousands of workers left the land, where wages were low, and took better-paid jobs in the growing towns. Standards of living were higher than ever before.

Walter Robson: Britain 1750 – 1900; Oxford University Press, 1993/2002, page 51