Among developed nations, which country has the smallest proportion of factory workers?

• A. Japan
• B. Germany
• C. United States
• D. Sweden

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is manufacturing employment share—the portion of a country’s workforce that works in manufacturing or factory-related jobs. This metric shows how labor-intensive production is and reveals whether an economy relies more on services or on goods production.

In developed nations, the factory-work share tends to decline as services expand and as automation boosts productivity, allowing the same output with fewer workers. Germany and Japan sustain large, highly skilled manufacturing sectors tied to engineering and export industries, and Sweden has a substantial manufacturing footprint in areas like automotive and machinery. The United States, however, has a comparatively larger service sector and a highly automated manufacturing base, so even with strong production, it employs fewer people in factories relative to its total workforce. That combination leads to the smallest proportion of factory workers among these countries.