Service industries include warehousing and transportation. The tertiary or service sector, which includes all services, is the third stage of the three-tiered economy.
The economy has three parts: the primary, secondary, and tertiary sector. Agricultural and mining operations are part of the primary economic sector, including the first three sectors. Manufacturing and commercial operations in the secondary industry get help from the production of items from raw materials in the primary industry. However, the global economy’s business activity is dominated by the service or territory sector, categorised as the third sector.
The Application of Technology to the Service Sector
Technology, notably the information technology method, is reshaping service industry businesses. As the term “knowledge economy” takes hold, companies in this industry are increasingly focusing on how they may gain an advantage over their rivals by better knowing their target consumers’ desires and needs and then responding to those wishes and needs swiftly and cheaply—improved income sources due to reduced expenses.
The Most Important Areas Of The Economy
- Initiating Sector
The primary sector comprises businesses that deal in raw materials collection—the mining, timber, oil drilling, and the agricultural and fishing industries.
- The Secondary Market
All firms that produce and sell commodities in the secondary sector, such as automobile manufacturers, Steel & Iron manufacturing industry, petroleum refining sector, etc., fall under its umbrella.
- The Tertiary Sector
Services make up the tertiary sector. Finance, healthcare, and entertainment sectors are all included in this category of businesses.
Quaternary sector economists consider the research, information technology (IT), education, consultancy, and other components of today, known as the “knowledge-based economy”, as a fourth industry.
When it comes to goods and services, the knowledge-based economy uses information and communications (such as social media) to adapt products and services to individual consumers or clients.
When a store, like Amazon or Walmart, sends you personalised adverts based on your prior purchases or searches, this is an example of the knowledge-based economy at the action.
Economists who don’t employ a fourth economic sector category assign the quaternary sector industries to the tertiary sector.
Growth of the Economy
According to the tri-sector economic theory, economic growth may be seen as a process reflected in the three economic sectors.
Natural resources, agricultural production, and fishing are the primary economic activities of the most basic economies. The manufacture and sale of completed items account for most economic activity as countries expand and develop.
The service sector has been the last to expand significantly in the economy and is a characteristic of advanced economies and developed countries.
The Service Industry Holds the Top Spot
The designation of the service industry as the tertiary sector should not be interpreted as implying that it is less important than the primary and secondary sectors.
The service industry has grown tremendously during the last century. It has overtaken the manufacturing and retail goods sector by the turn of the 21st century to become the most critical sector of the economy in most industrialised countries.
In the early part of the 21st century, the United States’ global economic supremacy was built on its enormous service sector instead of the early part of the 20th century when the United States became the dominating world economy owing to its vast manufacturing industry.
The service sector accounted for less than 50 per cent of GDP in the United States between 1919 and 2019, accounting for almost 85 percent of GDP.
As a result of the quick expansion of technology, rapid growth of information, and immediate, global communication through the internet and mobile phones, the service sector has grown exponentially over the last 50 to 70 years.
The change from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy is facilitated by increased automation, which decreases the number of workers needed for manufacturing activities.
As the service industry grows in importance, it is also due to the tremendous development of government services in industrialised countries.
Service Sectors Illustrated
Many individuals don’t know how many firms and primary, secondary and tertiary sectors make up the service industry.
In industrialised countries such as the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Japan, the service industry is the most significant economic sector. If you stop and think about all the different service-related firms, you can understand why.
Just a handful of the numerous firms that make up the service sector are included below, along with a short explanation.
- The Travel and Tourism Sector
The travel business extends well beyond the offices of travel agencies and the headquarters of major airlines. Public transportation, such as subways and city buses, is also part of this fast-expanding industry. The travel sector includes Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, which were non-existent 20 years ago.
The tens of thousands of local tourist sites dispersed around the country, including museums, leisure areas, national parks, music halls, and art galleries, are included in the tourism sector. As part of the tourist business, hotels and motels are also included.
- The IT industry
Except for the production of computer hardware, the IT business encompasses nearly everything connected to computers, information, communication, and software.
Millions of companies on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Did you know that the United States was home to almost 30 million YouTube channels as of 2019?
Information technology encompasses a wide range of businesses, including online education, one of the fastest-growing in the world.
- Industry of the Media and the Entertainment
The media and entertainment sector has grown tremendously due to technological breakthroughs. Radio, print media, and television networks used to be the primary means of disseminating news.
Cable and satellite TV have given rise to a media landscape with hundreds of news outlets. For instance, Fox, CNN, and NBC offer round-the-clock news coverage, running their business-oriented news networks.
It’s impossible to keep track of all the websites that provide news and information online. Films explicitly created for television much outnumber those made by the major motion picture studios and production firms combined every year.
Online entertainment such as YouTube and Pinterest and video games on the Xbox or PlayStation may occupy a person’s whole day. Video game and app developers, social media strategists, and visual website designers are the most profitable new jobs.
Conclusion
The tertiary, or third-tier economy, is the third layer of the three-tiered economy. Rather than manufacturing products, this sector provides services such as repair and maintenance or training. Cleaning, travel, healthcare, and teaching are all instances of service-sector occupations.
For-profit and nonprofit organisations make up the majority of the tertiary sector. Even those with no formal education or training may find jobs in large numbers in the tertiary sector.
Only a modest glimpse into our economy’s enormous service sector can be gained from the above descriptions, which are by no means complete.