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SOCIAL STUDIES: FORM 2

THE LABOUR FORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

All types of workers are important to the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago.

Economic development is the process by which a nation improves the living standards of its

people and makes social and economic process.

All types of jobs and careers contribute to economic development from highly skilled to non-

skilled.

PRIMARY SECTOR WORKERS

Primary sector workers help to exploit our natural resources both to be used within the country

and to be exported elsewhere in return for foreign exchange. Primary workers make up around

5% of the country’s employment. The energy sector employs 3.5% of the country’s workers but

contributes to 24% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while an additional 1% of GDP comes

from all other primary industries.

SECONDARY SECTOR WORKERS

The value of the secondary sector to the economic development is related to the satisfaction of

human needs from products that are created by the manufacturing sector. For example, canned

foods, steel, clothing, petrochemical products, lumber, computers, books etc.

The secondary workers or in some cases factory workers, make up 25% of our country’s

employed. Workers in the downstream energy sector-for example, employees at oil refineries

and at liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical plants- make up around 1.5% of our

Ms. Harris
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country’s employed. This sector also contributes 16% to the GDP of Trinidad and Tobago. The

total contribution to the GDP from all secondary industries is 20%.

TERTIARY SECTOR WORKERS

Tertiary businesses or organizations provide services such as government services, transportation

of people and goods, vehicle repair, plumbing, selling retail and wholesale goods, banking,

insurance, medical assistance, legal advice, security services, restaurant management etc. People

working in these areas make up about 70% of our country’s employed. The total contribution to

the GDP from all tertiary industries is 40%.

QUATERNARY SECTOR

This sector is important in terms of economic development because it includes knowledge-based

services such as information generation and transmission, computing, information technology,

film-making, journalism, scientific research and development, consultancy and education. In

2012 only 0.003% of persons were employed in this sector but made a contribution to GDP of

2.7%.

Every job in the economy is important for the economic development of the country. If everyone

in the workforce works effectively to the best of their ability and takes advantage of available

training, then they can improve their productivity. Workers can also be creative in improving

their own and others’ productivity, finding better ways of doing tasks or creating new products.

They can also contribute more by taking care of their health and improving their education and

skills as healthy, well-educated workers are more productive.

Ms. Harris