The line graph shows how the number of jobs across four economic sectors—manufacturing, agriculture, retail, and healthcare—in the USA changed from 1960 to 2020, at 20-year intervals. Overall, while employment in healthcare and retail showed a steady increase, job numbers in manufacturing and agriculture declined. Despite its downward trend, manufacturing remained the dominant sector until 2005.
Manufacturing had the highest starting point, with approximately 15 million jobs in 1960, whereas employment in the healthcare sector stood at just 2 million. By 1980, both sectors saw an increase, with manufacturing peaking at 20 million, while healthcare experienced moderate growth, reaching 5 million. In the following decades, healthcare continued to expand, surpassing 15 million jobs by 2020. In contrast, manufacturing experienced a consistent decline, falling by 7 million and eventually being overtaken by healthcare.
Regarding the remaining sectors, both retail and agriculture began at around 6 million jobs. While retail employment grew steadily to 15 million, surpassing manufacturing and aligning with healthcare in 2020, agriculture saw a sharp decline. By 1980, its workforce had fallen to 3 million, being surpassed by healthcare. Over the next two decades, the number remained stable before dropping to 2 million, widening the gap between agriculture and the other sectors.