AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
The extreme unemployment figures (35–75%) reveal that the working class had no economic safety net or job security. Workers were largely employed on a seasonal or casual basis, and wages were kept low due to an abundant labour supply — poor peasants and vagrants constantly migrated to cities seeking work. Since industrialists preferred cheap hand labour and avoided machinery, workers remained vulnerable to any economic downturn. There were no social welfare protections, forcing the unemployed into desperate circumstances — walking miles for work and sleeping under haystacks, as Will Thorne's account shows.
Source: Chapter 4, Section 2 – Hand Labour and Steam Power
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The examiner wants you to go beyond just restating the slump — the key phrase is "what does this reveal." You must link the statistic to the structural vulnerability of workers: seasonal employment, casual labour, no welfare system, and a labour surplus that kept wages minimal. Quoting or referencing Will Thorne adds evidence. Avoid padding; make every line analytically relevant.