This BusinessWeek article posts some interesting statistics about the job market. Since we’re all busy people, let me summarize the key statistics:

• Consumer spending on goods dropped 2.6% last quarter.
• The Service sector grew 3.5% last quarter.
• The Economy lost 20,000 jobs in April, but the services sector gained 90,000 jobs in April.
• Services and the service sector has grown from 52% of the economy’s GDP two years ago to 60% today. Summary: we’re becoming more and more a services-based economy
• Quote from the article: “This year’s rise in the number of people forced to work part-time is the fastest since the 2001 recession.”

The article basically outlines how the service sector is faring much better than the manufacturing and good sectors and how it’s helping keep the economy from dropping like a stone. The trend is not a surprise, but it does cause concern for the future of the U.S. economy and the viability of an economy that is becoming more and more dependent on services. And more dependent on foreign goods.

Still, as the article states, the economy’s still sliding and many people are snapping up part-time work as jobs become more difficult to come by.

Tell us: Do you know anyone who used to work full-time but is now part-time? And were they in the manufacturing or goods sectors?

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