Where did all the Farmers Go?

Click to view original chart. 

In this NPR interactive visualization we see the how the percent of US jobs in five categories has changed between 1850 and 2013. Wow, what a difference 163 years makes. A sector (Service) that hardly existed has steadily grown and Blue Collar work has stayed surprisingly steady. The real change is the move from making the food to sitting at a desk eating the food as we type away on our computers.

Study this chart for a few minutes and think about the changes that this visualization represents. Rural to urban . . . family business to big corporations . . . active to sedentary . . . local to global, and on and on.

Think about your family and go back a generation or two. How have these trends played out in your own family tree?

This chart has me asking a few basic questions:

1. Who is growing our food today anyway? 
2. How much more will the Service Sector grow and will it grow to the detriment of Blue or White Collar work?
3. Is White Collar work already plateauing? 

What are your questions? What will you do differently as you look around your would this week with this new perspective?