Business and Service
The business and service sector contains businesses whose main activity is the provision of a service, rather than the provision of a physical product. This service can be provided to another business or to a member of the public. Companies in the business and service sector don’t make a tangible product, instead their employee’s complete tasks to deliver a service to their customers. It is usually the largest sector in any advanced economy and often the greatest driver of economic activity. Examples of business and service sector jobs include accountant, solicitor, customer service advisor, commercial cleaner and hairdresser.
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Did you know?
- In terms of employment, business and service is the second-largest sector in Hull and East Yorkshire, after manufacturing and engineering. Since 2015, the number of people employed by companies in the sector has grown by 2.4%, an increase of approximately 985 jobs.
- In Hull and East Yorkshire, business and service sector companies offer a huge range of services. The largest employers in the sector include temporary employment agencies (5,500 employees), cleaning companies (3,795 employees), property companies (3,300 employees), company head offices (2,550 employees), accounting, auditing and bookkeeping companies (2,400 employees), call centres (2,300 employees), recruitment agencies (2,250 employees), and hairdressers (2,150 employees).
- Since 2015, the business and service sector employers with the greatest increase in employment include cleaning companies (1,755 additional jobs), company head offices (1,250 additional jobs), accounting, auditing and bookkeeping companies (850 additional jobs), companies offering support and advice to businesses (850 additional jobs), call centres (760 additional jobs), recruitment agencies (550 additional jobs), and hairdressers (550 additional jobs). Over the same period, employment has decreased in banks and building societies (550 fewer jobs), market research companies (530 fewer jobs), and advertising agencies (500 fewer jobs).
Source: BRES (2025)
Will there be opportunities available?
- Nationally, 3.776 million jobs will need to be filled by 2027 as a result of employees leaving the sector, for example due to retirement.
- The business and service sector is expected to grow at a faster rate than the wider UK economy and continue driving employment over the next five years.
- In 2025, in Hull and East Yorkshire, demand for staff in the business and service sector remained high. Cleaner was the second most advertised occupation by companies seeking to recruit staff, with 2,584 total online adverts; customer service advisor was the seventh most advertised, with 1,158; bookkeeper, payroll manager and wages clerk was the thirtieth most advertised, with 510; service sector manager was thirty-fourth, with 439; and security guard was forty-third, with 331.
Source: Working Futures 2017-2027, Lightcast (2026)
Check out careers in the Business and Service sector in Career of the Week
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