Silicon Valley's Economy Shows Signs Of Growth

The article itself is not newsworthy. But the enthymeme in the story seems to go nearly unchallenged in our society, that is, that all economic activity should ultimately be measured by how many jobs it produces.

Isn't this crazy? Shouldn't we strive, as a society, to work less? If we didn't have this this neurotic need to work, or be employed, couldn't we find a better way to enjoy the fruits of technology? After all, people used to spend the majority of their day just working to procure enough food to eat, but now with mechanized farming, that's no longer necessary. Shouldn't advances like that imply that a healthy state of affairs would involve less people working, rather than "full employment?"