Sectors of the economy Edexcel International GCSE Business revision
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In plain words
Every job belongs to one of three sectors. Someone gets the raw material out of the ground or the sea. Someone turns it into a product. Someone sells it, moves it, insures it or teaches the people who do.
As a country gets richer, the balance between the three shifts in a pattern that is much the same everywhere.
5 things to know
- The primary sector extracts natural resources: farming, fishing, mining, forestry.
- The secondary sector makes things from them: manufacturing and construction.
- The tertiary sector provides services: shops, banks, transport, schools, hospitals, tourism.
- In a developing economy most people work in the primary sector. As the economy develops, the secondary sector grows, and then the tertiary sector becomes the largest, in both employment and output.
- Why it shifts: machines replace farm workers, rising incomes are spent on manufactured goods and then on services, and manufacturing moves to countries where costs are lower.
Tips and tricks
- Classify by what the business does, not by what it sells. A shop selling fish is tertiary. A fishing boat is primary. A fish cannery is secondary.
- "Importance" of a sector can be measured two ways: its share of employment and its share of output. Say which you mean.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Sectors of the economy: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Which is a primary sector activity?
Growing crops takes a resource from nature.
A firm builds houses. Which sector is it in?
Construction is secondary, along with manufacturing.
Which sector is usually the largest employer in a developed economy?
Most people in rich countries work in services.
Which is a tertiary sector activity?
Transport is a service.
Why does the tertiary sector grow as incomes rise?
Once basic needs are met, extra income goes increasingly on services.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 7 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Sectors of the economy
Edexcel International GCSE Business 4BS1 · 7 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
State which sector each belongs to: a coal mine, a car factory, an insurance company.[2]
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Coal mine: primary. Car factory: secondary. Insurance company: tertiary.
Explain why the share of workers in the primary sector falls as a country develops.[3]
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Farms and mines use more machinery, so fewer workers are needed to produce the same output. Those workers move to factories and services, where demand grows as incomes rise.
Describe the typical employment structure of a developed economy.[2]
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Most workers are in the tertiary sector, a smaller share are in the secondary sector, and very few are in the primary sector.
Answers: Sectors of the economy
- 1. Coal mine: primary. Car factory: secondary. Insurance company: tertiary.
- 2. Farms and mines use more machinery, so fewer workers are needed to produce the same output. Those workers move to factories and services, where demand grows as incomes rise.
- 3. Most workers are in the tertiary sector, a smaller share are in the secondary sector, and very few are in the primary sector.