It is worthwhile to be familiar with this classification and its categories because they are cited in many reports. Traditional services refer to services directed toward meeting the needs of consumers, such as retail trade, personal services and tourism. Non-market services include health, education and government. There are occupations which are specific to an industry, such as miner to mining, but there are also many occupations found in all industry sectors, such as clerical occupations. Workers in service occupations are not necessarily employed in the service sector.
Cooks also find employment in logging camps, and sales representatives work for manufacturing firms.
Because industries provide information on where an occupation can be found, knowing which industries are growing can help to increase the chances of a faster, successful job search by concentrating on those industries which offer the best opportunities for employment. The growth in the computer software industry for example, means a secretary, warehouse shipper or accountant would likely have a better chance of finding work at such a company than finding work in the mining or government sectors. Knowing about the growth of industries can also help in predicting which jobs will offer the best long-term prospects. Although all industries hire workers in finance, clerical, sales and administrative occupations, computer software firms hire mostly computer specialists and environmental protection companies hire mostly scientists and technicians. Almost all the growth industries in the new economy are technologically based.