Tertiary sector employment in Latin America: Between modernity and survival

Abstract

In the 1990s, around 90% of all new jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean arose in the tertiary sector. This article reviews the main theories about the expansion of this kind of employment, compares the recent evolution of the Latin American tertiary sector with global trends, and analyses the characteristics of the employment offered in the various branches making up the sector, as well as its underlying dynamics. The growth of employment in the Latin American tertiary sector is based on simultaneous processes of labour inclusion and exclusion. The firstnamed process reflects the growing role of some tertiary sector activities in systemic competitiveness and social reproduction, and is expressed in the generation of jobs of comparatively high productivity and quality. The second, however, is due to the pressures of the labour supply and gives rise to jobs that are usually of low productivity and quality.

Beach user perceptions at the eastern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico

“…In Latin America 55% of jobs are in the service industry (Weller, 2004). Along the Caribbean, tourist arrivals have increased five-fold, from 166 million in 1970 to 935 million in 2010 and cruise arrivals grew even more rapidly over the same period increasing from 1.3 in 1970 to >20 millions in 2012 (Caribbean Tourism Organization, 2012).…”

Production structure of the services sector in countries at different development levels

“…As noted above, Wölfl (2005) argues that each country differs in terms of the role and economic performance of its services sector. While the growth of the modern branch of services may reflect the trend of the production structure and society itself, which requires more flexible production and a wider range of services, other branches of the tertiary sector can be characterized by low-productivity and low-skilled labour, owing to supply-side pressures in the labour market (Weller, 2004).…”

“…Knowledge would be the key factor for economic growth, while education and vocational training would be targeted on increasing welfare and social advancement. The tertiary sector would contribute to that process in two ways: producing social development and welfare, and playing a strategic role by enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises and the economy as a whole (Weller, 2004).…”

“…Nonetheless, not all tertiarization processes are entirely spurious (or associated with low-quality jobs) in developing countries, or entirely genuine (or linked to skilled functions with great capacity to add value) in industrialized economies (Weller, 2004). There are multiple trends involved in tertiarization, and all economies display spurious and genuine processes simultaneously, in proportions that vary according to their development level (Weller, 2004).…”

“…The historical background that characterizes the "multiple trends" of tertiarization in industrialized and developing countries as described by Weller (2004) is reviewed below.…”