Economic Restructuring

Lorna Mason

Economic restructuring refers to any major reconfiguring of the primary way in which goods, services, capital, and jobs get produced, distributed, or consumed. Over the past 70 years, the U.S. economy changed from one dominated by manufacturing and farming to one dominated by industries that provide services rather than producing goods. As early as 1955 the percentage of employees in the service sector passed the 50 percent mark, and that trend has continued ever since. In 2004, service industries accounted for 70 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and for 75 percent of all employed persons. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2014, that employment figure will increase to 78.5 percent. What are the service industries? As tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, they are retail and wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information, finance, and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; ...

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