ABSTRACT
In the economically developed world, the vast majority — often more than 75 per cent — of all jobs involve services of one form or another (Table 6.1). The precise definition, magnitude and composition vary from country to country. Further, new jobs — on the order of 90 per cent — are overwhelmingly concentrated in services in most of these countries. Thus, the societies of Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, as well as parts of the developing world, not only revolve predominantly around services, but are becoming more so all the time. This transformation has enormous implications for the world of work — who works, how, when, why, for how much, how often, and where. This chapter examines the implications of this shift, including the associated changes in output and skills, the commonalities that characterise most forms of service labour and the often-neglected role of the low-paid service worker.
