The Economy | 47
-
As a result, the share in GDP of the tertiary sector comprising the import/ export, wholesale and retail trades; accommodation and food services; transportation, storage, postal and courier services; information and communications; financing and insurance; real estate, professional and business services; public administration, social and personal services; and ownership of premises has risen progressively over the years, to 93 per cent in 2009 (Chart 3). Development on the employment front was similar. Over the past two decades, the tertiary sector employed significantly more workers while the share of employment in secondary production continued to shrink (Chart 4).
Chart 3
-
Gross Domestic Product by Broad Economic Sector
1989
Secondary production 25.7%
Primary production 0.3%
Tertiary production 73.9%
2009
Secondary production 7.3%
Primary production 0.1%
Tertiary production 92.6%
Over the past two decades, the economy has become increasingly service- oriented.
Note: Due to adoption of the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0, the series from 2000 onwards are not strictly comparable with those of the earlier years.
The Services Sector
The services sector has become the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy and the key driver of growth, having fared strongly on a broad front along with the economy's structural transformation in recent decades. Services related to trading and tourism; community, social and personal services; financial services such as banking and insurance; and a host of business and professional services such as real estate, have all grown significantly.
The services sector displayed much resilience against the downturn of 2009 triggered by the global financial crisis, and subsequently expanded robustly in 2010. Over the past five years between 2005 and 2010, the value-added part of the services sector grew by a cumulative 23 per cent in real terms, outpacing the corresponding 21 per cent growth of the economy. Among the constituent service sectors, financing and insurance showed the fastest cumulative growth of 56 per cent, a testament to Hong Kong's drive as an international financial centre. Import and export trade also performed impressively, with a 26 per cent increase in the