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Unit 4 Social Institutions
Section 5
Work in the Modern Economy
Key Terms
• primary sector
• secondary sector
• tertiary sector
• occupations •
core tier
peripheral tier downsizing
contingent employment
Section
The Changing Nature of Work
To understand work in modern society you need to be familiar with the three basic economic sectors. They are primary, secondary, and tertiary.
How do the economic sectors differ? The primary sector of an economy depends on the natural environment to produce economic goods. The types of jobs in this sector vary widely—farmer, miner, fisherman, tim- ber worker, rancher. In the secondary sector, manufactured products are made from raw materials. Occupations in this sector include factory workers of all types, from those who produce computers to those who turn out Pokémon cards. Those in the secondary sector are popularly known as blue- collar workers. Employees in the tertiary sector provide services. If today you went to school, filled your car with gas, stopped by the bank, and vis- ited your doctor, you spent most of your time and someone’s money in the tertiary (service) sector. Other service industries include insurance, real es- tate, retail sales, and entertainment. More and more people in these indus- tries are white-collar workers.
Section
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Workers today face a changing job structure. More corporations are down- sizing and replacing full-time employees with consultants or temporary workers. Evidence indicates that this trend is having some nega- tive consequences.
primary sector
that part of the economy producing goods from the natural environment
secondary sector
that part of the economy engaged in manufacturing goods
tertiary sector
that part of the economy providing services
To which sector of the economy does this California logger belong?