Child labour in the British Industrial Revolution

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When the Industrial Revolution began, industrialists used children as a workforce. Children as young as four and five years old often worked the same 12-hour shifts as adults, although some worked shifts as long as 14 hours. By the 1820s, 50% of English workers were under the age of 20. Many workers under 12 were employed by their parents (not directly by the business owner), and worked alongside parents in support roles. According to the Census of 1851, the majority of working children were not in factories, but were filling traditional roles, especially farming and domestic service. The 1851 Census shows that 98 per cent of children under the age of 10 did not work regularly for wages. Of children aged 10 to 14, 72% were either attending school or unoccupied.

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