Chapter 12 notes key issue 1 “Where did services originate”Three Types of ServicesThe service sector of the economy is subdivided into three types: consumerservices, business services, and public services. Each of these sectors is divided into several major subsectors:Consumer Services.The principle purpose ofconsumer servicesis to provide services toindividual consumers who desire them and can afford to pay for them. Nearly half of all jobs inthe United States are in consumer services. Four main types of consumer services are retail andwholesale services, leisure and hospitality services, health and social services, and education.Business Services.The principle purpose ofbusiness servicesis to facilitate the activities of otherbusinesses. One-fourth of all jobs in the United States are in business services. The three maintypes of business services are transportation and information services, professional services, andfinancial services.Public Services.The purpose ofpublic servicesis to provide security and protection for citizensand businesses. About 10 percent of all U.S. jobs are in the public sector. Excluding educators,one-sixth of public-sector employees work for the federal government, one-fourth for one of the50 state governments, and three-fifths for one of the tens of thousands of local governments.Changing Service EmploymentAll growth in employment in the United States has been in services,whereas employment in primary and secondary sector activities has declined. Within business services,jobs expanded most rapidly in professional services (such as engineering, management, and law), dataprocessing, advertising, and temporary employment agencies. On the consumer services side, the mostrapid increase has been in the provision of health care, but other large increases have been recorded ineducation, entertainment, and recreation.
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