This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) Economic sectors Three-sector hypothesis Colin Clark Jean Fourastié Primary sector (raw materials) Secondary sector (manufacturing) Tertiary sector (services) Others suggested Quaternary sector Quinary sector By ownership Public sector Private sector Business sector Voluntary sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state. By contrast, enterprises that are part of the state are part of the public sector; private, non-profit organizations are regarded as part of the voluntary sector. Contents 1 Legal status 2 Employment 3 Statistical organizations 4 See also 5 References // Legal status The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2009) This section needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the talk page for details. WikiProject Business or the Business Portal may be able to help recruit an expert. (December 2009)

A variety of legal structures exist for private sector business organizations, depending on the jurisdiction in which they have their legal domicile. Individuals can conduct business without necessarily being part of any organization. The main types of businesses in the private sector are: Sole trader Partnership, either limited or unlimited liability Private Limited Company or LTD-limited liability, with private shares Public Limited Company – shares are open to the public. Two examples are: Franchise – business owner pays a corporation to use their name, receives spec for the business Workers cooperative – all workers have equal pay, and make joint business decisions

In countries where the private sector is regulated or even forbidden, some types of private business continue to operate within them. Employment The private sector employs the majority of the workforce in some countries.citation needed However, in some countries such as the People's Republic of China, the public sector employs most of the workers.1 Statistical organizations Eurostat United Nations Statistics Division [1] UNESCO Institute for Statistics [2] OECD Statistics Division [3] PARIS21 [4] International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) [5], a section of the ISI [6] Worldwide statistical sources See also Private Sector Development Economics portal Free enterprise Private enterprise Private law Public economics Company law References ^ Joe Zhang. "China’s private sector in shadow of the state". ft.com. http://news.ft.com/cms/s/efebf320-34ff-11da-9e12-00000e2511c8.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.