Lesson 2 – How do jobs differ around the world?

Different types of jobs can be classified into different sectors – Primary, secondary, tertiary
and quaternary. The employment structure of a country shows how the work force is divided
into the different sectors.

The four main sectors:

Primary Industry: the extraction of raw materials from the land or sea.

Secondary Industry: manufacturing (making something) where raw materials are converted
into a finished product.

Tertiary Industries: The tertiary sector is also called the service sector and involves the selling
of services and skills. They can also involve selling goods and products from primary and
secondary industries.

Quarternary Industries: Provide information and expert help. They are often associated with
creative or knowledge based industries.

Together, the balance of these is known as a countries employment structure. All countries
have an element of each sector but which type of often linked to the level of development
within a country.

How job sectors vary between different types of country:

The employment structure of a country can tell you quite a lot about its economy. In the
richest countries, for example, there will usually be more people working in the
tertiary/quaternary sector than in the primary and secondary sectors. This is usually because
more people are likely to be highly skilled and have benefitted from an education. In the
poorest countries, there tend to be more people working in the primary sector than in either
the secondary or tertiary sectors. Look at the diagram above. In the most developed country
(USA), most people work in the tertiary sector. In developing countries (Nepal), most people
work in the primary sector. In Brazil, an emerging country the labour force is more evenly
distributed between the three sectors.

(Note that the quaternary sector has been included in the tertiary sector)