When computers made their way into workplaces, in the 1980s, typists had a problem. As computers replaced traditional typewriters, the skills of typists who did not know how to work with a word processor grew obsolete. Nevertheless, few would argue that information technology permanently increased unemployment. Although the unemployment rate did spike in the 1980s, it eventually went back down again, so the average unemployment rate in the 1990s was similar to the rate in the 1970s. The labor force adjusted to a new technology replacing an older one.
