The Service Industry
A recent post on The Daily Biz outlined differences between “primary” and “secondary” industries. Today we will take a brief look at the service industry, or “tertiary sector” as it is called in economic journals. The ratio of “service industry” to “manufacturing” in the United States was a hot topic during the 80s and 90s. (Nowadays the main discussion topic is the distinction between traditional businesses and online businesses, which we touched on yesterday. But that is neither here nor there.) Let’s turn to trusty businessdictionary.com for the definition of “service industry”:
An industry comprised of companies that primarily earn revenue through providing intangible products and services. Service industry companies are involved in retail, transport, distribution, food services, as well as other service-dominated businesses.
So basically any firm that does not manufacture or mine something it is part of the service industry. Restaurants, law firms, staffing agencies, credit card companies, and most stores are all examples.
