Where the Work Is - What Is a Sector?

A sector is an economic, political or social sub-division of a society. In a discussion about working in Canada, we talk about Canada's four major industries or sectors and the sub-divisions related to each one.

Canadian flag with a globe and symbols of labour sectors.

Four Main Sectors in Canada

Each of these sectors has a number of sub-divisions. Make a chart with the titles of each Sector at the top. Observe people as they work. Make a list of as many different types of jobs as you can. Guess which sector each job is related to.

Reflection

Have you heard the terms public sector and private sector? What does that mean to you? Are there public sector organizations related to manufacturing or service? What about retail/wholesale or resource? Does every country have these sectors? Do most countries have both public and private sectors?

Public VS Private Sector

According to Statistics Canada (1996), the most employment opportunities are in the private sector, yet the private sector accounts for only 14% of all jobs in Canada.

A pie chart with a slice of 14%

This pie chart represents the two sectors. If the private sector has 14 % of all jobs, what percentage of jobs are in the public sector?

Where the Jobs Are

The largest numbers of jobs are in the service and retail sectors. The fewest jobs are in the resource sector.

Hmmmm....

Did you know that health and social services, educational services and public administration account for 30% of all service sector jobs? Are you surprised?

For lists of the sub-divisions of each sector visit this WEB site:
http://strategis.gc.ca/epic/site/ic-ic.nsf/en/Home