| Summary: | Over 97 percent of the jobs created in the United States in roughly the past 12 years have been in the service-producing sector. In 1984, the manufacturing, retail trade, government, and service sectors employed a relatively equal number of people. By 1999, however, the number of jobs in business-oriented services had increased sharply as a result of flexible labor arrangements, continually altering intelligent technology, increased activity in the building sector, and strong economic growth. The continuance of this trend depends on such factors as technological developments, the number of workers required for each unit of output, future health care policy, and family lifestyles.
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