Case Study: Sector Shift in the UK
- The UK is in the post-industrial stage of the Clark-Fisher model
- It was the first country to experience the Industrial Revolution
- In the 1800s jobs in primary economic activities were rapidly declining reaching 15% in 1900
- In 1900 most people (over 60%) worked in secondary economic activities and tertiary economic activities were also steadily increasing
- In the 1950s tertiary economic activities overtook secondary economic activities as the main employment sector
- In 2021 over 70% of people in the UK are employed in tertiary economic activities
- These changes have both positive and negative impacts
% Employment in Economic Sectors 2020 - UK
Positive Impacts
- Deindustrialisation has led to improvements in the environment and decreased levels of pollution
- The UK has developed expertise in secondary and tertiary economic activities which are in demand around the world
- London is the second most important financial centre in the world after New York
Negative Impacts
- Deindustrialisation led to high numbers of job losses particularly in the north of the UK
- Job losses in secondary industries led to large areas of deprivation, especially in inner cities such as Liverpool and Leeds
- Increasing numbers of transnational corporations (TNCs) have moved their factories and offices to emerging and developing countries