Its most important industrial establishments are the mirror manufactory of St Gobain and the chemical works at Chauny, and the workshops and foundries of Guise, the property of an association of workpeople organized on socialistic lines and producing iron goods of various kinds.
Bourg is the capital and Belley is the seat of a bishop. Jujurieux, in the arrondissement of Nantua, has the most important silk factory in the department, occupying over 1000 workpeople.
A noteworthy feature is the attention paid by the manufacturers to the well-being of their workpeople.
It employs about 12,000 workpeople, and produces about three-fourths of the watches sold in France.
In large industrial centres there are also industrial courts to deal with disputes between employers and workpeople.