This GCSE Geography quiz takes a look at the service industries. There are four industry sectors, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. The primary sector is concerned with the supply of raw materials e.g. mining and agriculture and the secondary sector is concerned with the manufacture of goods. The tertiary sector is referred to as the services sector which involves the sale of services and skills plus the selling of goods and materials from the primary and secondary sectors. The quaternary sector is also a services sector, but dealing with information services, consultancy and R&D (research and development).
Britain was the first nation to industrialise, back in the 17th and 18th centuries. This developed a strong economy that was based on manufacturing. In the 19th century, other countries started to industrialise but it wasn't really until after the second world war, when cheaper transport and labour costs led to globalisation.
During the 1960s and 1970s, manufacturing in the UK declined rapidly as a series of major industrial disputes and cheap coal imports made UK produced goods more and more expensive.
During this period of globalisation, the labour structure of the UK changed. As the primary sector employment declined, there was an increase in the demand for jobs in schools, hospitals and the retail industries. This led to further rural depopulation and the loss of many rural services - for example, local butchers, grocery shops and post offices closed. By the end of the 20th century, over half the population now worked in the tertiary sector and the financial services industry is currently the fastest growing area.
These changes have continued into the 21st century and the use of computers and computer systems, plus the need for increased research and development of products and business consultants, has given rise to the quaternary sector, which is regarded as part of the services industry. At the time of writing this quiz, about seventy eight percent of the UK labour force works in service sector industries.