Some industrialists were reluctant to introduce new machines and preferred hand labour over machines because of the following reasons:

(i) Availability of cheap labour: People from villages started moving to cities in search of work. So, there was no shortage of human labour during nineteenth century Europe. Industrialists can hire more workers at lower cost than a machine.

(ii) Seasonal industries: In many industries such as gas works and breweries the demand for labour was seasonal. So industrialists usually preferred hand labour, in seasonal industries.

(iii) Demand for Specified products: Market demands of variety of designs and colour and specific type could not be fulfilled by machine made products. Intricate designs and colours in clothes could be done by human-skills only. These things could be produced only manually. So, to produce a specific range of products only hand labor can be used.

(iv) Demand of Specified people: In Victorian age, the aristocrats and other upper class people preferred articles made by hand only. Hand-made products came to symbolize refinement and class. They were better finished and carefully designed.

(v) Investment and Maintenance: Machines were costly, ineffective, difficult to repair, and needed huge capital investments and maintaining these machines was an expensive affair. The wear and tear of machines was costly. At that point of time machines were not as effective as they were declared by their inventors and manufacturers.

Hence, industrialists were cautious about using them.