According to a new study analysing the rise of machines and robotics in England and Wales since 1871, advances in technology have created more jobs than they have replaced.

The broad trend is that technological advances have led to less people working in hard, dangerous and repetitive jobs - and more people working in creative, and knowledge-intensive sectors.

The study says that advances in technology have been a "great job-creating machine."

It continues: “The dominant trend is of contracting employment in agriculture and manufacturing being more than offset by rapid growth in the caring, creative, technology and business services sectors."

“Machines will take on more repetitive and laborious tasks, but seem no closer to eliminating the need for human labour than at any time in the last 150 years.”

Between 1871 and now the number of people employed in British agriculture has declined by 95 percent - while there has been a drastic increase in the amount of people working in the caring and service industries.

In 1871 there were 9,832 accountants in England and Wales, that number has risen twentyfold since then, to 215,678.

Another trend is that technology has helped to facilitate a rise in disposable income, at the start of the period there was one hairdresser for every 1,793 people in the region, today there is one for every 287 people.