020 - Economic change in the UK

LO: how and why the industrial structure of the UK has changed.

Employment structure: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary.

Employment structure is often shown as a pie chart.

2015 employment structure in th UK^

The employment structure in the UK from 1800 - 2015 (how it has changed)
- Jobs in the primary sector declined.
- Jobs in the manufacturing sector increased.
- A decrease in the number of people working in the secondary sector to the service /
tertiary sector. This increased.
- Since 2006, the quaternary sector has been introduced.

Why has the employment structure changed?

● Jobs in the primary sector were declining due to the increase in the use of machinery
Jobs in the manufacturing industry increased as factories were built and urbanisation
occurred
● A decrease in the number of people working in manufacturing as mechanisation
(introduction of robots etc.) replaced jobs along with increased competition from
abroad
● The service sector increased dramatically due to the introduction of public services,
the growth of financial services and an increase in leisure time and disposable
income
● Since the 1980s, the research and development sector has become increasingly
important.
Deindustrialisation
● A decline in manufacturing industry and the subsequent growth of the tertiary and
quaternary sector.
● In the UK this happened because:
○ Machines and technology replaced many people in modern industries.
○ Other countries can produce cheaper goods because labour is less expensive
there.
○ Lack of investment - high labour costs and outdated machinery made UK
products too expensive.

Traditional UK industries – coal mining, engineering and manufacturing have now declined.
Instead the UK is now a world centre for financial services, media, research and the creative
industries.

Globalisation: The growth and spread of ideas around the World. This can involve the
movement or spread of cultures, people, money, goods and information.
• The internet and mobile technology has allowed greater communication between
people in different countries.
• Larger ships mean that the cost of transporting goods between countries has
decreased.
• Economies of scale mean the cost per item can reduce when operating on a larger
scale.