Abstract

This paper deals with the growth in the service sector employment of the Italian economy during the period 1965-1988. The analysis is conducted using the intersectoral approach developed by Momigliano-Siniscalco (1982). The results show that labour force growth in the tertiary sector was due mainly to the dynamics of labour productivity and to intermediate demand, with the latter coming increasingly from the service sector itself. Moreover, employment in the industry sector became more and more dependent on the final demand for services, which leads to the conclusion that growth in total employment during the 80s took place mainly within the service subsystem.