THE RISE OF THE SERVICE SECTOR

The vast majority of the world's workers are employed in providing services to others. Despite the often-heard lament about the loss of manufacturing jobs, the proportion of people working in services continues to increase. It's time for a change in mindset about jobs that drive the developed economies of the world.

Jobs in just one service sector, professional and business services, have replaced manufacturing jobs as the mainstay of the middle class in the world's developed economies. In the United States, there are many more jobs in professional and business services than in manufacturing, they are growing at a faster rate, and they pay substantially more for work that is much less menial. All of this is documented in the appendix.

The simple fact that service jobs make up such a large proportion of available employment at present and in the future places added responsibility on the shoulders of leaders in the service economy. The way service jobs are designed and the way service workers are led will influence the job satisfaction of more than 80 percent of the world's workforce. The quality of their leadership will determine employees' loyalty to their employers and their customers; their productivity; the profits they help create for their employers; and the long-term economic development of cities, states, regions, and countries. It will have a profound effect on life for billions of people around the world.