America’s Workforce Through 250 Years: From Slavery and Farms to a Digital Economy
A new historical report traces how America’s labor market transformed from a slave-based agricultural system in 1774 to a 21st-century digital economy powered by technology, women’s participation, and flexible work.
Since the founding of the American nation nearly 250 years ago, technological leaps and demographic shifts have transformed a scattered group of farmers and laborers into the modern workforce of over 150 million people.
The economic evolution began with a labor force barely large enough for a modern city. Over two and a half centuries, the U.S. economy radically reshaped itself—shifting from an agriculture-based society reliant on manual labor to a diversified service economy driven by technology and knowledge.
The report offers an in-depth historical reading of the U.S. labor market’s trajectory from 1774 to 2025, revealing massive shifts in income, employment numbers, and industrial structure.
From Slavery to the Industrial Revolution
In 1774, just before the American Revolution, the total national income was around $164 million (about $70 per capita in today’s value), with a workforce of only 800,000, mostly farmers and manual laborers.
By 1800, the labor force had doubled to 1.68 million, of which 83% worked in agriculture, and roughly one-third were enslaved people. Wages were extremely low—a construction worker in Massachusetts earned only $1 a day.
By 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, the workforce reached 11.11 million, including 2.34 million enslaved people. The average monthly wage for a farm laborer was $13.66.
Data show that the southern states depended almost entirely on forced labor, with enslaved people making up to 70% of the workforce in some regions—making them essential to the national agricultural output.
From Industry to Services
By 1910, agriculture had begun losing its dominance. Manufacturing emerged as a rising sector fueled by European immigration. The workforce grew to 36.2 million, with 22% being immigrants. The average industrial workweek was 51 hours.
After World War II, in 1950, the workforce rose to 56.9 million, with manufacturing representing 26% of total employment. Average work hours fell to 41 per week.
Data indicate that factory employment peaked in 1979 at 20 million workers, then gradually declined to about 12.7 million today, reflecting America’s shift toward services and technology.
Half the Workforce Are Women
By the end of the 20th century, social transformation reached its peak. In 2000, the workforce stood at 129.7 million, with women representing 47% of all workers. The service sector accounted for 42% of total employment.
Women’s participation had been steadily increasing since the 1950s—from about 30% mid-century to nearly half by the new millennium—marking an unprecedented structural change in the U.S. economy.
A Digital and Flexible Economy
Today, in 2025, the U.S. labor market includes about 159.8 million workers. Nearly 49% work in services, and the average annual income is about $63,914—a more than 300% increase from 1890 levels (adjusted for inflation).
Roughly 23% of employees now work from home, compared to 35% at the height of the pandemic in 2020, reflecting a lasting shift toward flexible and remote work.
Average weekly hours have dropped to 34.2, reflecting a mix of higher productivity and better work-life balance.
The report concludes that from a slave-driven agricultural economy to a diversified digital service economy, the face of the American worker has been completely transformed.
While work hours have fallen and wages have risen, the spirit of transformation and innovation remains the one constant in 250 years of American labor and production.
