The Secondary Sector

Sector Based on the Production of Finished Goods

It involves the transformation of raw materials into finished or manufactured products. The emergence and development of processing equipment has led to the emergence of factories. The mechanisation and automation of the manufacturing processes begins to increase the production of finished goods.

Sectorial Activities

The activities associated with the sector include metal processing and smelting, textile production, automobile production, aerospace production, chemical industry, engineering, energy utilities, bottling factories, construction etc. Workers in the secondary sector of the economy are known as "blue collar" workers.

Trends in the Secondary Economic Sector

The industrial revolution brings important portions of the population as workers in the secondary sector. Factories, seen as a system that involves inputs (eg wood), processes (eg transformation of wood into tables, chairs, cabinets) and outputs (sale of furniture) manage to cover the increasing demand for finished goods.The professions of the

secondary sector are declining due to the automation of the processes. In the highly developed countries the labor force barely reaches 15% of the working population. At the same time, industrialisation leads to the development and consolidation of the tertiary sector.