14
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The following are details of increases in the numbers of under- takings and workers in some sectors of industry over the past ten years. The figures indicate clearly the rapid growth of light industry during this period, although shipbuilding and ship re- pairing remains the Colony's principal heavy industry.
No. of undertakings
No. of workers
1948 1958
1948
1958
Rubber footwear
49
69
4,370
7,864
Plasticware ...
3 296
33
8,024
Metal products
214
575
11,100
24,342
Cotton spinning
6
20
1,750
12,613
Knitting
183
272
5,084
8,511
Cotton weaving
151
183
6,480
15,870
Garments and Shirts
25
455
654
20,366
Shipbuilding and repairing
19
30
9,730
10,049
Increases in employment over the past ten years in six leading
industries have been as follows:
Garment making
Metal products
Cotton spinning
Cotton weaving
Plasticware
Rubber footwear
twear
Total ...
Workers
19,712
13,242
10,863
9,390
7,991
3,494
64,692
This figure of 64,692 in six industries is 56% of the total increase in employment in all industrial undertakings over the ten-year period. The textile industry as a whole, embracing cotton spinning, weaving, and the manufacture of wearing apparel, has been for some years the largest employer of labour in the Colony, account- ing for over one third of the employment in industrial under- takings. Other main industries from the point of view of employ- ment, besides those already mentioned, are the manufacture of foodstuffs and printing.
Despite the concentration on these leading industries, there has nevertheless also been a striking diversification. This is illustrated