SECTORAL TRENDS IN WORLD EMPLOYMENT AND THE SHIFT TOWARD SERVICES

This article seeks to identify and interpret the major sectoral trends in world employment. Drawing on UNIDO and ILO data, the author focuse s and trends in manufacturing employment - which diverge between indus trialized countries and developing countries. But in general, global l ong-term growth is in services. The author discusses difficulties in d efining services and their productivity, and presents alternative expl anations of the measured growth in services. An example: technological progress may lower transactions costs and lead to services formerly p rovided within manufacturing firms being contracted out - increasing ' 'services'' while leaving the activity itself unchanged.