THE ECONOMY
travel and tourism, trade-related services, and various financial and banking services. The shares of transportation services in total exports and total imports of services were 35 per cent and 22 per cent respectively in 1997. The corresponding shares for travel and tourism were 24 per cent and 55 per cent. Trade-related services, including offshore trading and purchasing/merchandising services, took up 26 per cent of the total value of exports of services and 8 per cent of the total value of imports of services. The corresponding shares for financial and banking services were 6 per cent and 4 per cent.
Between 1987 and 1997, the net output or value-added of the services sector rose markedly, by an average of 15 per cent in value terms a year. Among them, financing, insurance, real estate and business services increased most rapidly (at an average annual rate of 18 per cent). This was followed by community, social and personal services (15 per cent); transport, storage and communications (14 per cent); and the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels (also 14 per cent). Financing, insurance, real estate and business services remained the largest contributor to GDP, accounting for 27 per cent of GDP in 1997. This was followed by the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels, contributing another 26 per cent to GDP in 1997. The share of community, social and personal services in GDP was 17 per cent, while that for the transport, storage and communications was 9 per cent.
Chart 4
Gross Domestic Product by major service sector
1980
1997
Wholesale, retail, import/export trades, restaurants and hotels
Financing, insurance, real estate and
Transport, storage and communications
business services 26.5%
9.3%
Transport, storage and communications 7.4%
21.4%
Financing, insurance, real
bla cele w
estate and
business services
23.0%
Community, social
Others 36.1%
Community, social and personal services 17.4%
and personal services 12.1%
Others 20.7%
Wholesale,
retail, import/export trades,
restaurants
and hotels 26.1%
44
The distributive and catering trades as well as financing, insurance, real estate and business services remained the largest segments of the services sector in terms of contribution to GDP.
As to the contribution to total employment, the services sector took up about 80 per cent in 1998. Within this total, the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels was the largest employer, accounting for about 32 per cent of total employment in 1998. This was followed by community, social and personal
!