This is the classic work that gave the Phillips curve its name. There is an interesting article by A. G. Sleeman on the origins of this paper and its publication in a recent issue of Journal of Economic Perspectives.
The term "trade cycle" is an antiquated, English term for what we now call the "business cycle."
There is a good deal of detail in this paper that can be read quickly; your focus should be on the method and results.
Be sure to note that Phillips does his analysis in terms of wage
inflation, whereas most modern expositions of the Phillips curve use
price inflation. They often move together, but when real wages are not
constant they are not the same.
Questions for analysis
Characterize the mix of theory and empirical analysis in the
Phillips paper. How convincing do you find each of these two components
of the analysis?
In light of the empirical difficulties that the Phillips curve
encountered beginning in the 1970s and the theories that were developed
to explain them, why is it important that the U.K. was on the gold
standard (or a gold exchange standard) during the vast majority of the
sample period?
Based on the graphs of the various sub-periods, what seem to be the
typical values for what would later be called the "natural rate of
unemployment"?
Why is wage inflation not zero when unemployment is at its natural
rate? What can we infer from the level of wage inflation at the natural
rate of unemployment? (What would be the effects of a non-zero inflation rate or a non-zero rate of steady-state real-wage growth?)