The U.S. Labor Force over History --- After Beniger

Composition of the U.S. Labor Force over History

Data from Beniger's table 1.2; my growth-rate calculations. His source for the ``information'' sector, at least since 1860, includes the ``secondary information sector,'' i.e. ``bureaucracies of non-information enterprises.'' All sizes are percentages of the total labor force.

Year		Agriculture		Industrial			Service				Information
	Size	p.a. growth rates	Size	p.a. growth rates	Size	p.a. growth rates	Size	p.a. growth rates
		10yr	20yr	40yr		10yr	20yr	40yr		10yr	20yr	40yr		10yr	20yr	40yr

1800	87.2				 1.4				11.3				 0.2
1810	81.0	-0.7			 6.5	+16.6			12.2	+0.7			 0.3	+4.1
1820	73.0	-1.0	-0.9		16.0	 +9.4	+13.0		10.7	-1.3	-0.3		 0.4	+2.9	+3.5
1830	69.7	-0.5	-0.8		17.6	 +1.0	 +5.1		12.2	+1.3	0		 0.4	0	+1.5
1840	58.8	-1.7	-1.1	-1.0	24.4	 +3.3	 +2.1	+7.4	12.7	+0.4	+0.9	+0.3	 4.1	+26	+12	+7.8
1850	49.5	-1.7	-1.7	-1.2	33.8	 +3.3	 +3.3	+4.2	12.5	-0.2	+0.1	+0.1	 4.2	+0.2	+12	+6.8
1860	40.6	-2.0	-1.8	-1.5	37.0	 +0.9	 +2.1	+2.1	16.6	+2.9	+1.4	+1.1	 5.8	+3.3	+1.8	+6.9
1870	47.0	+1.5	-0.3	-1.0	32.0	 -1.4	 -0.3	+1.5	16.2	-0.2	+1.3	+0.7	 4.8	-1.9	+0.7	+6.4
1880	43.7	-0.7	+0.4	-0.7	25.2	 -2.4	 -1.9	+0.1	24.6	+4.3	+2.0	+1.7	 6.5	+3.1	+0.6	+1.2
1890	37.2	-1.6	-1.2	-0.7	28.1	 +1.1	 -0.7	-0.5	22.3	-1.0	+1.6	+1.5	12.4	+6.7	+4.9	+2.7
1900	35.3	-0.5	-1.1	-0.4	26.8	 -0.5	 +0.3	-0.8	25.1	+1.2	+0.1	+1.0	12.8	+0.3	+3.5	+2.0
1910	31.1	-1.3	-0.9	-1.0	36.3	 +3.1	 +1.3	+0.3	17.7	-3.4	-1.2	+0.2	14.9	+1.5	+1.0	+2.9
1920	32.5	+0.4	-0.4	-0.7	32.0	 -1.3	 +0.9	+0.6	17.8	+0.1	-1.7	-0.8	17.7	+1.7	+1.6	+2.5
1930	20.4	-4.6	-2.1	-1.5	35.3	 +1.0	 -0.1	+0.6	19.8	+1.1	+0.6	-0.3	24.5	+3.3	+2.5	+1.7
1940	15.4	-2.8	-3.7	-2.1	37.2	 +0.5	 +0.8	+0.8	22.5	+1.3	+1.2	-0.3	24.9	+0.2	+1.7	+1.7
1950	11.9	-2.6	-2.7	-2.4	38.3	 +0.3	 +0.4	+0.1	19.0	-1.7	-0.2	+0.2	30.8	+2.2	+1.2	+1.8
1960	 6.0	-6.6	-4.6	-4.1	34.8	 -1.0	 -0.3	+0.2	17.2	-1.0	-1.3	-0.1	42.0	+3.2	+2.7	+2.2
1970	 3.1	-6.4	-6.5	-4.6	28.6	 -1.9	 -1.5	-0.5	21.9	+2.5	+0.7	+0.3	46.4	+1.0	+2.1	+1.6
1980	 2.1	-3.8	-5.1	-4.9	22.5	 -2.4	 -2.2	-1.3	28.8	+2.8	+2.6	+0.6	46.6	+0.0	+0.5	+1.6

I have been unable to find 1990 numbers which use equivalent definitions.

A number of points seem worth remarking on:

The fluctuations in the size of the industrial sector, peaking at somewhat under 40% every hundred years
The service sector is largest during economic downturns
The service sector has always been large
Beniger claims the jumps in the size of the information sector during the 1830s and the 1880s are real and not statistical artifacts
Huge size of information sector since c.1890 and especially since 1930
Rapid growth of the service sector since 1960; as a fraction of the labor force, it is growing more rapidly than industry usually did, even during what we think of as the industrializing period in this country
The size of the information sector has been essentially stagnant since 1960.