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TL;DR
ThorstenMeyerAI.com published the first episode of Work After Work on Nov. 2, 2026, explaining how employment is grouped into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The episode traces the historical shift from farming toward manufacturing and services, while presenting a possible automation sector as the author’s thesis, not an established fact.
ThorstenMeyerAI.com published the first episode of its planned 60-part series, Work After Work, on Nov. 2, 2026, using the three-sector model to explain how employment has moved from farms to factories and services. The episode sets out historical employment estimates and frames the movement of workers between sectors as background for later installments on technology and work.
The episode groups economic activity into three broad categories: the primary sector, which takes resources from nature, such as farming, fishing and forestry; the secondary sector, which makes or builds goods, including manufacturing and construction; and the tertiary sector, which covers services such as trade, transport, education, health care and government. The author uses bread production to illustrate how all three can contribute to a single product.
The piece cites estimates showing the change in the U.S. workforce over time. In figures attributed to economic historian Stanley Lebergott, farming accounted for 73.7% of the U.S. labor force in 1800, 40.2% in 1900 and 12.0% in 1950. The episode also cites an International Labour Organization modelled estimate that farming represented 1.5% of U.S. employment in 2025. These figures use different sources and periods, and the latest number is identified as a modelled estimate.
The episode says the ILO’s modelled estimates show that services employed more people worldwide than farming from 2001 onward. It also disputes the claim that the United States no longer makes goods: citing figures in the source, it says factory employment was about 35% below its June 1979 peak, while real manufacturing output in 2025 was about 1.9 times its 1979 level. The article does not provide the underlying series or detailed methodology in the supplied material.
Why the Three-Sector Map Matters
The three-sector model offers a simple way to track where people work as economies change. A declining share of workers in farming does not by itself mean less food is produced; workers, methods and output can shift as technology and productivity change. The series uses that history to set up a practical question: when machines take on tasks in one part of the economy, where do workers go next?
That question matters to readers because changes in employment affect jobs, training and economic policy, not only industrial output. The episode’s distinction between employment and production is especially relevant to manufacturing: fewer factory workers do not necessarily mean less factory output. The cited U.S. comparison presents those measures moving in different directions, though the article’s supplied material does not explain all of the factors behind the change.
The author also offers a forward-looking thesis that automation could become a sector of its own within a decade or a few decades, doing as much as 90% of work without a human hand. That is explicitly presented as the author’s thesis, not a measured forecast or confirmed development. It signals a question the series plans to revisit rather than a conclusion supported by the historical figures alone.
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How Economists Defined the Sectors
The episode traces the framework to economists working in the first half of the 20th century. It says New Zealand economist Allan G. B. Fisher introduced the term “tertiary” in a book written in 1934 and published in 1935. Fisher described services as a broad, varied category. The labels primary and secondary were already used in statistical discussions in Australia and New Zealand, according to the historical account cited by the episode.
In 1940, economist Colin Clark compared employment across countries and described movement from agriculture to manufacturing and then to commerce and services as a feature of economic progress. The episode says Clark also observed that industry’s share of employment can rise and later decline. In 1949, French economist Jean Fourastié argued that services could absorb workers displaced as technology improved productivity in other sectors. These are historical interpretations and arguments, not guarantees that every worker displaced by technology will find equivalent work.
The categories are useful but not always consistent. The source notes that mining is counted as primary activity in many statistical systems but has been classified as secondary in others. A software engineer working for a car company could also be assigned to manufacturing or services depending on the statistical rules. The episode therefore treats the sectors as a simplifying map, rather than a precise description of every job.
“My thesis, not a fact: within a decade or a few decades, automation could become a sector of its own, doing up to 90% of the work with no human hand.”
— Thorsten Meyer, author of the episode
Limits of the Employment Comparisons
The figures in the episode come from different sources, definitions and time periods. The historical U.S. estimates cited from Lebergott count the labor force aged 10 and older, while the 2025 figure is described as an ILO modelled estimate. The supplied material does not provide the underlying methodology for the latter or explain how comparable its coverage is with the older series.
The episode also does not supply full data tables for its China and Japan comparisons, or detailed sourcing and definitions for the manufacturing-output comparison. The broad sector labels can vary by country and dataset, particularly for mining and jobs that combine production with services. Those limitations make the framework useful for describing broad shifts, but they leave some cross-country and long-run comparisons dependent on classification choices.
Finally, the claim that automation could become a sector performing up to 90% of work is a speculative thesis. The episode does not establish a timeline, define what counts as a separate sector, or offer evidence that such a level of automation will occur. It remains unclear how the series will measure those claims or distinguish tasks automated from whole jobs replaced.
The Series Turns to Automation
Work After Work is described as a daily series of 60 episodes about how the economy is built, how work has moved and which tasks may remain human as machines take on more of them. The first episode establishes the sector framework that later discussions are expected to use.
The source says episode 48 will put Meyer’s automation thesis “on trial.” It does not give publication dates for that installment or provide a detailed schedule for the rest of the series. Readers should treat the 90% figure as a question for later examination, not as a confirmed forecast. The immediate next development is the publication of the series’ subsequent episodes and the evidence they present about changes in work.
Key Questions
What are the three sectors of work?
The primary sector takes resources from nature; the secondary sector makes or builds things; and the tertiary sector provides services. Statistical classifications can differ for some industries and jobs.
When did services overtake farming worldwide?
According to the episode’s account of ILO modelled estimates, services employed more people worldwide than farming from 2001 onward.
Does the episode say the United States no longer manufactures goods?
No. It says U.S. factory employment was about 35% below its June 1979 peak, while real manufacturing output in 2025 was about 1.9 times its 1979 level. Those comparisons concern different measures: jobs and output.
Is the proposed automation sector a confirmed forecast?
No. Meyer labels the idea that automation could become a separate sector and perform up to 90% of work as his thesis, not a fact. The episode says a later installment will examine it.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
