Sector Overview
The Secondary Sector of the Economy involves the transformation of raw materials into finished or manufactured products. The emergence and development of processing equipment has led to the emergence of factories. The mechanization and automation of the manufacturing processes begins to increase the production of finished goods. The activities associated with the sector include metal processing and smelting, textile production, automobile production, aerospace production, chemical industry, engineering, energy utilities, bottling factories, construction etc.
Workers in the secondary sector of the economy are known as “blue collar” workers.
Trends in the secondary economic sector
The industrial revolution brings important portions of the population as workers in the secondary sector. Factories, seen as a system that involves inputs (eg wood), processes (eg transformation of wood into tables, chairs, cabinets) and outputs (sale of furniture) manage to cover the increasing demand for finished goods.
The professions of the secondary sector are declining due to the automation of the processes. In the highly developed countries the labor force barely reaches 15% of the working population. At the same time, industrialization leads to the development and consolidation of the tertiary sector.