The Information Age means something different to everyone. In 1956 in the United States, researchers noticed that the number of people holding"white collar" jobs had just exceeded the number of people holding"blue collar"jobs. These reseachers realized that this was an important change, as it was clear that the Industrial Age was coming to an end. As the Industrial Age ended, the newer times adopted the title of "the Information Age". Of course, at that time relatively few jobs had much to do with computers and computer-related technology. What was occurring was a steady trend away from people holding Industrial Age manufacturing jobs. An increasing number of people held jobs as clerks in stores, office workers, teachers, nurses, etc. The Western world was shifting into a service economy. Eventually, Information and Communication Technology became a significant part of the economy. Microcomputers were developed, and many business and industries were greatly changed by them.