<P> A 1957 speech by UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan captures what the golden age felt like, even before the brightest years which were to come in the 1960s . </P> <P> "Let us be frank about it: most of our people have never had it so good . Go round the country, go to the industrial towns, go to the farms and you will see a state of prosperity such as we have never had in my lifetime--nor indeed in the history of this country ." </P> <P> Unemployment figures show that unemployment was significantly lower during the Golden Age than before or after: </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Epoch </Th> <Th> Date range </Th> <Th> Percentage of British labour force unemployed . </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Pre Golden Age </Td> <Td> 1921--1938 </Td> <Td> 13.4 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Golden Age </Td> <Td> 1950--1969 </Td> <Td> 1.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Post Golden Age </Td> <Td> 1970--1993 </Td> <Td> 6.7 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

How did ww2 lead to one of the greatest population shifts in us history