The Tertiary Sector

Sector Based on the Service Industry

It is a sector that involves the sale of services and skills. This sector sells the goods of the primary sector or the finished products of the secondary sector and offers commercial services to both the population and to businesses in all five sectors of the economy.

Sectorial Activities

Activities associated with this sector include retail and wholesale, transportation and distribution, restaurants, religious services, mass-media, tourism, insurance, banking, healthcare, law. Workers in the tertiary sector of the economy are known as "white collar" workers.

Trends in the Tertiary Economic Sector

Workers in the tertiary sector require higher levels of education to access the various opportunities in the market. In most developed or developing countries, an increasing proportion of workers is dedicated to the tertiary sector. As the economy progresses from the tertiary sector, a fourth sector of the economy develops based on the supply and production of information technologies and information called the quaternary sector.