Economic activity looks at industry, jobs and how the population of a country or the world earns wealth. Changes in this sector have caused people around the world to become more connected regionally and internationally. Many of these changes have significant effect on Caribbean people and its economy.The way in which products and services are made or created is termed as industry. For example, the fashion industry includes all those businesses and people involved in making clothes, from designers to factory workers and retailers. 

Classification of Industries 

All economic activities can be grouped or classified into different types of industries or sectors. These are primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary activities or primary industries are those that take the natural resources out of the earth. That is, they make direct uses of the earth’s resources. For that they are called extractive industries. Examples include fishing, forestry, mining and quarrying. Some primary industries produce goods that can be used directly as they are such as fishing and fruits. For example the fishermen go to sea and come back with the fish they sell directly to the market. Other primary industries provide raw materials for other industries. For example, oil from Trinidad and Tobago is exported in the USA to make petroleum products. 

Secondary activities or secondary industries are involved in the production of processed goods such as clothes and cement. They include all the manufacturing industries which produce processed and assembled goods. Some manufacturing industries use raw materials produced in the primary industries such as canning fruits, freezing fish or making cement from limestone. Others assemble or re-process goods made by manufacturing industries for example, a garment factory or a car factory. Construction and utilities industries are also classes as secondary industries. Secondary industries are also known as manufacturing industries. 

Tertiary activities or tertiary industries are those that provide a service. They do not produce anything which you can pick up and take away. Because of this they are known as service industry. Tertiary industries include employment in education, health, the police and fire brigade, public transport local government, banking and finance. Tourism and retailing (all types of selling) are the largest employers in the tertiary industry in the Caribbean.

Quaternary activities or quaternary industries are those concerned with information. It takes into account the acquisition, manipulation and transmission of information. Institutions such as law firms, finance and education, research and media will fall into this category. This sector of industry is sometimes described as an extension to the tertiary sector because they provide services. The main difference however, is that quaternary industries concentrate on those industries that provide information and expertise.