The economy of a country can describe the structure of employment in that country. Countries with a good rate of economy have more people employed in their tertiary/quaternary sectors than the primary and secondary sectors and when it comes to countries that have poor economies, it can be said that more people in that particular country work in the primary sector than in secondary or tertiary sector. Fifty years of planned development have always aimed at the expansion of the economy through an increase in national product and employment. During 1950-2010, the GDP of India grew at a positive rate and was higher than the employment growth at that moment in time. There was always a lot of fluctuation in the growth of GDP, but employment grew at a positive rate, but not more than 2 %. However, in the late 1990s, there was a decline in employment growth, and reached the level of growth that India had in the early stages of planning. During this period, the economy witnessed the trend of ‘Jobless Growth’ as the gap between the growth of GDP and employment was enlarging. A situation when the economy can produce more goods and services without a proportionate increase in employment opportunities is known as Jobless Growth. In other words, it is a situation when there is an overall acceleration in the growth rate of GDP in the economy without corresponding expansion in employment opportunities. As we all know, India is an agrarian nation. The majority of India’s population lives in rural areas and is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. The developmental strategies in many countries, including India, have always targeted reducing the proportion of people depending on agriculture.

Which of the following is the right order for a shift in occupational structure in order to take the country on the path of development?

Agriculture sector → Manufacturing sector → Service sector    

In the course of the economic development of a country, labor flows from agriculture and other related activities to industry and services. In this process, workers migrate from rural to urban areas. Eventually, at a much later stage, the industrial sector begins to lose its share of total employment as the service sector enters a period of rapid expansion. So, the correct answer is: Agriculture sector → Manufacturing sector → Service sector