Ascanbeseenclearlyfromthegraph,thedifferenceinthenumbersofpeopleworkinginthethreemajoremploymentsectorsintheu.k.economyintheearly1980swasrelativelysmall,withabout4millionworkersinengineering,5millioninagricultureand5.5millionintheserviceindustries.
However,theperiod1980-1990sawsignificantchangesintherelativesizesofthesethreeemploymentsectors.therewasarapiddeclineinemploymentinagriculture,withthenumberofworkersdroppingbymorethan80%.Ontheother,employmentopportunitiesintheserviceindustriesincreasedsharply,especiallyafter1986,whereastheengineeringsectorexperiencedagradualbutconstantdecline.
Trendsintheabovegraphclearlyindicatethattheserviceindustrieswillcontinuetoemploythelargestnumberofpeopleatleastforthenextfewyears,whiletheengineeringsectorwillneedsomewhatfewerworkersinthenextdecade.Onthewhole,thetotalnumberofemploymentofferedinthesethreesectorswasmuchsmallerthantenyearsbeforeandtheredoesn'tseemtobeanylikelihoodforimprovementinthenearfuture.So,studentswhoaregoingtograduatesoonmayneedtopreparetoseekemploymentelsewhere.