For most of human history since the agricultural revolution, the majority of the labor force in countries like France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands worked in agriculture.
However, over the last few centuries, this share has plummeted. Today, less than 10% of the workforce is employed in agriculture, and in many cases, it’s just a few percent.
This trend is shown clearly in the chart, which is based on data from the International Labour Organization and historical reconstructions by Broadberry and Gardner (2013) and Herrendorf et al. (2014), as we’ve documented in detail.
The chart also includes the even steeper decline in agricultural employment in China over the last 50 years, as people have shifted to manufacturing and services.