Discover the Three Types of Work: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Activities

Every day, people go to work to earn money and help their communities. The work people do to earn money is called economic activity. You can find economic activities happening all around you on farms, in factories, in hospitals, and in schools.

There are three main types of economic activities: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Learning about these types helps you understand how goods are made and how services reach the people who need them. You can also explore Basic Economics to build on what you learn here.

Primary activities are the first step. Workers in primary industry take natural resources directly from the environment. A natural resource is something found in nature that people use, like water, trees, fish, and minerals.

Examples of primary activities in Canada include farming on the prairies of Saskatchewan, fishing in the Pacific Ocean, logging in British Columbia's forests, and mining for gold or oil in Alberta. A farmer who grows wheat is doing primary work because the wheat comes directly from the land.

You can learn more about how resources connect to industries by visiting Resource Industries.

Secondary activities happen after primary activities. Workers in secondary industry take raw materials and turn them into finished products that people can buy and use. This process is called manufacturing.

For example, a paper mill takes wood chips (a raw material from logging) and turns them into paper rolls. A bakery takes wheat flour and bakes it into bread. A clothing factory takes cotton and sews it into shirts. All of these are secondary activities because raw materials are being changed into new products.

You can explore how industries change over time at Changing Industries.

Tertiary activities are also called the service industry. Instead of making a product, workers in tertiary industry help people by providing services. A doctor helps sick patients. A teacher helps students learn. A bus driver takes people where they need to go. A police officer keeps communities safe.

Services are actions done for others, not physical objects you can hold. You can discover more about the kinds of jobs people do in Types of Jobs.

Goods are physical things that people make, buy, and use every day like boots, bread, or a wooden chair. You can touch and hold a good. Services are helpful tasks done for you by another person like getting a haircut, riding a bus, or visiting a doctor.

Both goods and services are important parts of Canada's economy. You already learned about this in Goods and Services, which is a great foundation for understanding types of work.

Canada is special because it has all three types of economic activities working together. This is called a mixed economy. Canada mines resources, manufactures products, and provides many services all at the same time.

For example, in British Columbia, workers catch fish (primary), process and package the fish in a plant (secondary), and then sell the fish at a store (tertiary). Each type of activity depends on the others. You can explore how trade connects these activities at Exchange of Goods.

Economic Activity: Economic activity is any work that people do to earn money and provide goods or services to others. For example, farming, building cars, and teaching are all economic activities.

Primary Industry: Primary industry is the first type of economic activity. It involves taking natural resources directly from the environment, like fishing, farming, logging, and mining.

Secondary Industry: Secondary industry is the second type of economic activity. It involves turning raw materials into finished products, like turning wood into furniture or wheat into bread.

Tertiary Industry (Service Industry): Tertiary industry is the third type of economic activity. It involves providing services to people, like health care, education, and transportation. It is also called the service industry.

Natural Resource: A natural resource is something found in nature that people use, such as fresh water, trees, fish, minerals, and soil. Natural resources are not made in factories.

Producer: A producer is a person or business that makes or grows something. For example, a Canadian wheat farmer who grows grain is a producer.

Consumer: A consumer is a person who buys and uses things. For example, someone who buys bread at a store is a consumer.

Income: Income is the money a worker earns for doing their job. When you work, you receive income in return.

Trade: Trade happens when people or communities buy and sell goods and services with each other. Trade is very important across Canada's provinces and territories.

Goods: Goods are physical objects that people make, buy, and use. You can touch and hold goods, like boots, bread, or a chair.

Services: Services are helpful actions done for others by workers. A haircut, a bus ride, and a doctor's visit are all services.

Mixed Economy: A mixed economy is when a country has all three types of economic activities primary, secondary, and tertiary working together at the same time. Canada has a mixed economy.

Manufacturing: Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials into finished products. It is the main activity of secondary industry.

Raw Materials: Raw materials are natural resources that have not yet been changed into a finished product. Wood, cotton, and fish are examples of raw materials.

You can see all three types of economic activities in your everyday life. Think about the bread you eat a farmer grew the wheat (primary), a bakery turned it into bread (secondary), and a store worker sold it to your family (tertiary).

Understanding how work is organized helps you see why communities need workers in all three types of industries. You can explore how technology is changing these industries at Technology Impact and how decisions are made in the economy at Decision Making.

Before learning about types of work, you explored some important ideas. In Goods and Services, you learned the difference between physical products and helpful actions. In Jobs in Communities, you discovered the many roles workers play. In Changing Workplaces, you saw how work environments have changed over time. In Community Services for Basic Needs, you learned how services help people meet their everyday needs.

Now that you understand types of work, you are ready to explore bigger ideas. You will next study Resources and Industry and learn about Economic Factors: Fur Trade and Gold Rush Boom-Bust Cycles, which show how economic activities have shaped Canada's history.

You can also connect your learning to Labor Systems and Economic Activities and explore how Canada trades with other countries through International Commerce.

Understanding types of work connects to many other important topics. Here is how they all fit together:

• Types of Jobs You will explore specific job roles and how they fit into primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.
• Labor Systems and Economic Activities You will discover how labor systems organize workers and economic activities across societies.
• Changing Industries You will learn how industries change over time due to technology and new ideas.
• Basic Economics You will build your understanding of how economies work and why people make economic choices.
• Decision Making You will explore how workers and communities make economic decisions about goods and services.
• Exchange of Goods You will see how goods produced in primary and secondary industries are traded and exchanged.
• International Commerce You will learn how Canada trades goods and services with other countries around the world.
• Resource Industries You will explore how Canada's natural resources power its primary industries.
• Technology Impact You will discover how technology is changing the way people work in all three types of industries.