Chapter Seven:

The Structure of the United States

Economy

The Primary Sector in the United States

Table 7.1 Value Added by Output Sector in the United States, 2011, billions of dollars

Industry Value Added Percent of GDPPrimary Sector

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 173.5 1.2Mining 289.9 1.9

Primary Sector Total 463.4 3.1Secondary Sector

Utilities 297.9 2.0Construction 529.5 3.5Durable goods manufacturing 910.1 6.0Nondurable goods manufacturing 821.3 5.4

Secondary Sector Total 2,558.9 17.0Tertiary Sector

Wholesale trade 845.1 5.6Retail trade 905.7 6.0Transportation and warehousing 447.9 3.0Information 646.6 4.3Finance and insurance 1,159.3 7.7Real estate and rental and leasinga 1,898.8 12.6Professional, scientific, and technical services 1,151.5 7.6Management of companies and enterprises 283.6 1.9Administrative and waste management 448.8 3.0Educational services 174.2 1.2Health care and social assistance 1,136.9 7.5Arts, entertainment, and recreation 148.0 1.0Accommodation and food services 443.1 2.9

Tertiary Sector Total 9,689.5 64.3GDP Attributed to Government 1,993.8 13.2Economy Total 15,075.7b 100.0b

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Survey of Current Business, 2011.

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Figure 7.1: The Allocation of a Dollar Spent on Food in the United States

Source: Canning, Patrick, “A Revised and Expanded Food Dollar Series: A Better Understanding of Our Food Costs,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Report No. (ERR-114), February 2011.

Figure 7.2: Energy Consumption in the United States, by Energy Source, 2012

Source: Monthly Energy Review, United States Energy Information Administration, February 25, 2013.

The Secondary (Industrial) Sector in the United States

Figure 7.3: Annual Number of Private Housing Starts in the United Sates, 1965-2012

Sources: Various editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States; U.S. Census Bureau, “New Residential Construction in January 2013,” press release, February 20, 2013.

Industry2011 Value Added (billions of dollars)

2012 Employment (thousands)

Durable Goods IndustriesComputers and electronics 132 1,087Fabricated metals 122 1,424Furniture 26 351Machinery 132 1,101Transportation equipment 77 1,477Other durable goods 421 2,054

Durable Goods Total 910 8,675Nondurable Goods Industries

Chemical products 254 787Food, beverages, and tobacco 215 1,466Paper products 53 377Petroleum and coal products 169 115Textiles, apparel, and leather products 30 268Other nondurable goods 100 1,444

Nondurable Goods Total 821 4,457

Table 7.2: Manufacturing Industries in the United States, Production and Employment

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Value Added by Industry database, November 13, 2012; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Employment Statistics,” table B-1a, March 8, 2013.

Percent of All Employees in Manufacturing

Manufacturing Employees (Millions)

Figure 7.4: Total U.S. Manufacturing Employment an Manufacturing Employment as a Percentage of

Total Employment, 1947-2010

Source: Various editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

The Tertiary (Service Sector)

Figure 7.5: Four-Firm Concentration Ratios in Retail Industries, 1992-2007

Source: Economic Census publications, United States Census Bureau

Finance, insurance, and real estate

Finance and insurance only

Figure 7.6 Value Added in Finance, Insurance an Real Estate, as a Percentage of GDP

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis online database, GDP-by-industry

Financial Business

Households and Nonprofits

Nonfinancial Business

Figure 7.7: U.S. Debt Ratios Relative to GDP, 1947-2012

Source: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, data download program

Total Expenditures: Out-of-Pocket, Private Insurance, and Public Out-of-Pocket and

Private Insurance

Out-of-Pocket Only

Figure 7.8: Health Care Expenditures in the United States as a Percentage of GDP, 1960-2011

Source: Various editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States

Appendix

Secondary Sector (19.6%)

Primary Sector (3.5%)

Tertiary Sector (76.9%)

Ownership Transactions

(31.3%)

Managing the System (28.2%)

Private Social Services (12.9%)

Entertainment (4.5%)

Figure 7.9: Classification of Private GDP in the United States, 2011

Tertiary

Secondary

Primary

Figure 7.10: Relative Shares of the United States Economic Production, by Output Sector, 1800-

2011

Sources: Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789–1945, U.S. Census Bureau, 1949 (1800–1938); Historical Statistics of the United States, Bicentennial Edition, Colonial Times to 1970, U.S. Census Bureau, 1975 (1947–1968); various annual editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Census Bureau (1969–2011)

Country Agricultural Sector (%) Industrial Sector (%) Tertiary Sector (%)Congo, Rep. 4 75 21Indonesia 15 47 38Saudi Arabia 2 60 38Ethiopia 47 10 43China 10 47 43Bangladesh 19 28 53India 18 27 55Norway 2 40 58Argentina 10 31 59Russian Federation 4 35 61Mexico 4 35 61Brazil 5 28 67South Africa 2 31 67Germany 1 28 71Japan 1 27 71Sweden 2 26 72United Kingdom 1 22 78United States 1 20 79

Table 7.3: Division of GDP by Output Sector, Selected Countries

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database.