How do the fluctuations in economic activity affect the number of strikes? Obviously, through their effect on unemployment. When this goes down, when the working day gets longer in the factories, due to new orders, when workers are employed six or seven days a week, instead of four or five, they realize (without having to consult the statistics) that business is going well and they try to take advantage of the situation. Hence, strikes. When, on the contrary, unemployment soars, when workers see some of their fellow workers being dismissed, and the number of working hours and days curtailed, they hesitate to strike, at least over wage issues, for fear of being replaced by the army of the unemployed. The curve of strikes dwindles. Therefore, there is a relationship of cause and effect between the fluctuations of unemployment and those of strikes.