Even in the case of coal mining, jobs fell as output increased. See the two charts in https://acoel.org/the-rise-and-decline-of-coal-mining-jobs-1970-2022/ http

Even in the case of coal mining, jobs fell as output increased. See the two charts in https://acoel.org/the-rise-and-decline-of-coal-mining-jobs-1970-2022/ https://acoel.org/the-rise-and-decline-of-coal-mining-jobs-1... Peak coal jobs was in the 1980s but peak output was in the early 2000s, while employment went from 200k to about 75k in that period. Sure, coal might have been cheaper but it didn't translate into more jobs overall.