Glossary
Services
Economic activities — such as transportation, banking, insurance, tourism, telecommunications, advertising, entertainment, data processing, and consulting—that normally are consumed as they are produced, as contrasted with economic goods that are more tangible. Service industries, which are usually labor intensive, have become increasingly important in domestic and international trade since at least the 1920s. Services account for about two-thirds of the economic activity of the United States and for a rapidly increasing percentage of U.S. exports.