The line chart illustrates changes in employment levels in the USA, measured in millions, across three sectors: manufacturing, services and agriculture between 1975 and 2025, including future predictions.
Overall, it is clear that employment in services increased significantly over the period, while agriculture showed a strong decline. Manufacturing rose until 1980 but then decreased sharply afterwards.
In 1975, agriculture was the most dominant sector, employing about 80 million people. However, this number fell dramatically to around 45 million in 1979 and continued to drop to nearly 10 million by 2025. Manufacturing, on the other hand, started at approximately 8 million and grew steadily to reach a peak of 40 million in 1980. After this point, it experienced a notable fall, declining to about 15 million in 1982 and is predicted to fall further.
By contrast, the service sector increased continuously throughout the whole period. It rose from nearly 10 million in 1975 to 40 million in 1980, and is expected to reach around 90 million by 2025, becoming the largest employer in the USA.