The line chart compares the number of jobs across four economic sectors – manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare – in the United States between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, employment in healthcare and retail experienced significant growth over the six-decade period, with both sectors reaching the highest job numbers by 2020. Conversely, agriculture saw a steady decline, while manufacturing, despite an initial rise, eventually followed a marked downward trajectory.
In 1960, retail and healthcare accounted for 6 million and 2 million jobs, respectively. Over the next two decades, both sectors doubled their workforce, reaching 10 million in retail and 5 million in healthcare. By 2000, job numbers in these fields continued to climb, rising to 15 million and 11 million. By 2020, both categories converged at the same peak figure of approximately 16 million jobs.
Regarding the remaining sectors, manufacturing was the dominant employer in 1960 with 15 million jobs, peaking at 20 million in 1980. However, it steadily dropped over the following 40 years, ending at 13 million by 2020. Meanwhile, agriculture started at 6 million jobs in 1960, halved to 3 million by 1980, and gradually tapered off to finish at a low of 2 million jobs in 2020.
