The line graph compares the change in the proportion of USA employment in agriculture , manufacturing and services in the period from 1875 to 2025.
Overall, agriculture employment fell dramatically over the period, while the services sector showed a steady and significant rise. Manufacturing employment grew until the mid-period before declining considerably.
In 1875, agriculture was the dominant sector, with nearly 80% of total workers. However, this figure dropped steadily to only 20% in 1950. The decline continued after that, reaching approximately 5% in 2000 then remaining unchanged until 2025. In contrast, the services sector followed the opposite trend to agriculture sector. Services figure started at only around 10% in 1875, then gradually increased until 1950, when it surpassed the agriculture sector. This sector continuously grew to the end of the period, reached around over 80%, became the largest sector in the industry.
The percentage of manufacturing started very low at around 10% in 1875. It increased gradually, then reached a peak at over 50%. After this point, it experienced a remarkable decline to about 20% in 1975 and continuing to fall slightly until 2025 at just over 10%.