The Service Sector in Canada
Tertiary Industry: industry that provides services rather than goods (almost 75% of Canadians are employed in tertiary industries)
Development of the Service Sector: number of Canadians employed in service industries has grown tremendously
Tertiary Industries
- Support workers in the primary and secondary industries
Development of the Service Sector: number of Canadians employed in service industries has grown tremendously
- Greater use of machinery in farming, mining, forestry, and manufacturing increased productivity (workers received more money, and enjoyed leisure time more)
- Greater educational opportunities helped people obtain the specialized skills which enable them to offer services to others
- Growing population has increased the demand for services
- Complex technology has also given rise to a wide variety of services
Tertiary Industries
- Trade Services: trade means the selling of goods, and has two categories (wholesale and retail)
- Wholesale: selling of goods and services to businesses or stores, not to the public
- Mostly basic
- Retail: the selling of products and services directly to the public in stores, vending machines, over the telephone, through mail-order, door-to-door, or over the Internet
- Mostly non-basic
- Sample Occupations: inventory clerk, merchant, sales representative, cashier etc.
- Wholesale: selling of goods and services to businesses or stores, not to the public
- Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Services: includes services provided by banks, trust companies, credit unions, stock exchanges, insurance companies, real estate etc.
- Sample Occupation: bank clerk, investment manager, insurance agent, real-estate agent, stockbroker, secretary etc.
- Could be both basic and non-basic (head office work could be basic, while local branch work could be non-basic)
- Business and Personal Services: the largest category of tertiary industries and supplies the services needed by business and individual Canadians (fastest growing employment area in Canada)
- Sample Occupation: accountant, mechanic, hairdresser, lawyer, secretary, personal fitness trainer, server, lifeguard, copywriter etc.
- Most business and personal activities are local, and therefore non-basic
- Can be basic, if the services are provided for companies or people outside of the city
- Transportation and Communication Services: involve the movement of goods, people, and information
- Sample Occupation: truck driver, bus driver, air traffic controller, railway engineer, journalist, radio announcer, cable television installer etc.
- Can be both basic or non-basic (pilot is basic, bus driver is non-basic)
- Government Services: Can be federal, provincial, or municipal, with each providing their own services
- Federal: postal services, defense, Native affairs etc.
- Provincial: health and social services, education, natural resources etc.
- Municipal: police and fire protection, water and sewage services, parks and recreation etc.
- Sample Occupations: politician, park ranger, jail guard, postal employee, economist, social worker, fire fighter, park maintenance worker
- Federal and provincial governments are mainly basic, with municipal services almost always non-basic
- Healthcare and Social Services: include dental and medical care, research etc., while social services include day-care, shelters for the homeless, lunch programs, underprivileged children
- Sample Occupation: doctor, nurse, dietitian, X-ray technician, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, medical researcher, social worker, psychologist
- Mostly non-basic (they serve the local community), with some basic (cancer treatment centre helps local people and non-local people)
- Education Services: elementary and secondary schools, post-secondary education, vocational training, religious training, English or French language instruction etc.
- Sample Occupation: teacher, principal, secretary, custodian, professor, librarian, teachers’ aide etc.
- Elementary and secondary schools are non-basic, universities and colleges are a mix