Services

The service industry, sometimes called the tertiary sector of the economy, consists primarily of the sale of “intangible goods.” Employing a greater part of the workforce than the primary (agriculture and mining) or secondary (manufacturing) sectors, the service industry is the source of soft-sector employment such as the hospitality industry, restaurants, healthcare and hospitals, real estate, legal and other professional services, education, and the media. “Service industry” and “service sector” are to be understood differently than “service economy,” which is a model of doing business in which service is emphasized even though the core of the business is the sale of physical goods. Because the service sector does not involve factories or fertilizers, it is often overlooked in discussing environmental issues and the green revolution. ...