Using the capacity of linked census data to combine two levels, indivi
dual and aggregate, and two dimensions, longitudinal and cross-section
al, the process of structural change is explored to reveal aspects of
change which are usually hidden. North Troms, in North Norway, which s
till had a peasant economy at the end of the Second World War is used
as an example. The trajectories of those economically active in 1960 a
nd 1970 are disentangled then reassembled to show how they combined as
structural change. Only a minority of personal histories paralleled t
he change in society as a whole. Much more structural change resulted
from succession of cohorts leaving and entering the labour force. By j
oining the study of individuals to that of structures, it is possible
to see how change occurs in the spaces between people, out of the effe
cts of many contradictions.