The business services sector has grown a lot since 1981, and it now employs more than 7% of BC's workforce
The business services sector includes workers with all sorts of backgrounds. People with training in areas like public administration, for example, could run a private consulting service whose main customer is the government. In fact, it's quite common for firms in the business services sector to work under contract to other industries, as well as providing services to individuals, governments and businesses on an ad hoc basis. The main characteristic distinguishing firms in the business services sector isn't who their clientele is, it's what sort of services they provide.
The business services sector has grown a lot since 1981, and it now
employs more than 7% of BC's workforce
Some of the growth in the business services sector since 1981 is probably related to the development of new industries like the computer services industry, but other factors have also contributed to the increase in both employment and GDP. Some observers suggest that the expansion in the business services sector may be a result of restructuring rather than large increases in economic activity. What this means is that large companies may no longer be hiring accountants, lawyers, or other professionals to be permanently on their staff. Instead, they may be contracting this type of work out to accounting firms, legal firms, or to other businesses. In other words, an accountant who might have been working in the manufacturing industry in 1981 might now be employed in an accounting firm. Exactly how much of this type of restructuring and increased specialization has occurred is hard to measure. It has probably had some effect on the growth in business services, but whether the effect is large or small is hard to tell.
Apart from the restructuring issue, growth in the province's economy and in its population has certainly contributed to increased employment and GDP in this sector. As the province's population increases, and the number of businesses grows, the need for the services of professionals, or employment agencies, or other business sector industries also becomes greater.
One in four workers in business services is in engineering,
architecture, or in other natural or applied science occupations
The number of men and women in the business services sector is almost equal, with women holding 45% of the jobs. A relatively high percentage of workers in service industries like business services are employed on a part time basis. In fact, about one in four workers in these industries has a part-time job. Unemployment rates in service industries such as business services have averaged about 8% during the period from 1990 to 1994.
One in three workers in the business services sector is self-employed. Almost two-thirds of the 14,679 establishments in this sector have less than five employees, and 91% have fewer than 20 employees. There are some large establishments, however: 39 establishments in this sector had 200 or more workers in 1994.
Still, most smaller centres have access to a wide variety of business services, and as this sector tends to have a large number of self-employed people, it's probably possible to work in almost any part of the province. Of course, the more specialized you are, the more likely it is that the market for your services will be greatest in the larger centres.
Forecasters expect that employment growth in business services will continue during the next ten years. However, the sector's share of total GDP is expected to remain virtually unchanged. This suggests that productivity in the business services sector is not expected to increase as much as in the rest of the economy. More people will be working in the sector, but their wages (which are used to measure the value of output) are not expected to increase at the same rate as wages in the rest of the economy.