Business and personal services

The business and personal services sector of Canada's economy consists of firms providing services to businesses and households, excluding financial and transportation and warehousing.

The sector covers a wide spectrum of activities and occupations: innkeepers, salespeople, programmers, croupiers at casinos and Bay Street lawyers are all service providers. In 2002, the business and personal services industries collectively accounted for 21.4% of the total economy and employed 3.5 million Canadians.

Businesses make use of service providers to help ensure the success of their operations. Rather than hiring people, corporations are likely to engage the services of a consultant, for example, to help them install and use new technologies. Households also rely on service providers—often for convenience or to save time. Using such services can take the form of ordering fast food, hiring a gardener or employing a personal trainer.

The services sector is dominated by small business. Since there are few barriers to establishing a service business, the services sector is particularly dynamic. Businesses are constantly being established, leaving the sector or changing the nature of their operations. In 2001, close to three-quarters of all self-employed Canadians worked in the services sector. Entirely new industries have sprung up in the services sector. A few years ago, for example, the term 'Internet service provider' (ISP) was unheard of. In 2001, over 4.4 million Canadians subscribed to Internet access services from one of 256 ISPs. In addition to these ISPs, Internet access services are also provided by cable companies offering cable modem services and by telecommunications carriers offering dial-up telephone access and high-speed Internet access using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technologies.

Another burgeoning service is video-game rentals. In 2002, a total of 12.3% of households rented video games, up 11.7% from 2001.