The table illustrates the distribution among workers in four particular countries of three distinct fields in 1980 and 2010.
Overall, there was an increase in the percentage of workers in the industrial sector, reported in Germany, the USA, and Japan; meanwhile, opposite changes were seen in the figures for those in agriculture and services. In addition, the majority of people in all countries except for China opted to work in industry in both years.
The share of industrial workers in Germany started at exactly 60% in 1980, after which it experienced a 21% increase in the next thirty years. Similar changes, but to lesser extents, can be seen in the figures for the US and Japan, which went down noticeably from 52% and 49% in 1980 to 70% and 80% in 2010, respectively; However, the percentage of chinese people in industry remained consistent at 40% in both years.
Only 6%, 8% people in Germany and the USA worked in Agricultural field in 1980, with a subsequent decrease to 2% and 6% in 2010. The figures for Japanese and Chinese workers witnessed a reverse trend, reaching 12% and 70% in 2010. Additionally, the proportion of service employees in all countries underwent a downward trend, with Germany and the USA decreasing from 50% and 48% in 1980 to about 41% and 38% in 2010 and Japan and China dropping to 30% and 20%, respectively.