The demise of manufacturing in Birmingham has been underlined by a survey highlighting the changing shape of the jobs market over the past 20 years.

City recruitment company Search Consultancy found the collapse of MG Rover two years ago was symptomatic of the disappearance of volume production and the gradual rise in importance of the service sector.

In 1987, the Rover Group was responsible for almost 70,000 jobs in Birmingham and the West Midlands, both directly at the Longbridge production plant and through an extensive regional components chain.

Manufacturing in Birmingham accounted for 144,000 jobs 20 years ago - today the figure is 61,000. The jobs market is now dominated by the service sector and the region has a strong business and professional services industry, the survey found.

Up to 60,000 new jobs in the professional services sector are expected to be created over the next 10 years.

Two of Britain's "big four" banks were founded in the city - Lloyds TSB and HSBC - and today Birmingham employs 108,000 in banking, finance and insurance.

As part of Search Consultancy's 20th birthday celebrations, the company looked at the popularity of particular jobs, average wages, and the number of female and male employees in 1987 and 2007.

It found the average wage had risen to £537, with the working week remaining roughly the same at 37.2 hours a week.

In 1987, there were 14 million men in employment compared with 10.5 million women.

But the country has since witnessed an increase in the number of women in work, with 13.3 million now in employment. A total of 15.7 million men currently work in Britain. Employment in the public sector, including

the NHS, Birmingham City Council, and surrounding local authorities, remains strong.

In 1997, no one but the business elite had a car phone and hardly anyone had surfed the 10,000 or so websites on the internet at the time.

The major employers in Birmingham have changed - particularly following the closure of the MG Rover factory.

Now, the largest private sector employers are Severn Trent (16,312), Mitchells & Butler (36,677), Abbot Group (4,759), and Wagon (4,391).

Debbie Edwards, managing director of Search Consultancy's Birmingham branch, said: "It has been amazing to investigate the full extent of changes we have seen in the last 20 years.

"The internet and email have made the whole process of recruiting candidates and researching information so much faster."