3
The Economy
In 2016, the services sector contributed 92 per cent to GDP. Financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services remained the largest services sector, accounting for 29 per cent of GDP. This was followed by import/export, wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and food services (25 per cent), public administration, social and personal services (18 per cent), transportation, storage, postal and courier services, and information and communications (10 per cent) (chart 3).
Chart 3
Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 24.9%
Gross Domestic Product by Major Service Sector
1996
Transport, storage and communications
9.2%
Finance, insurance,
real estate and
business services 23.7%
2016
Transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and
communications
9.7%
Financing
and insurance, real estate, professional and business services 28.7%
Other sectors 24.5%
Community, social and personal services
Import/export, wholesale and retail trades,
17.7%
accommodation and food services 25.1%
Other
sectors 18.5%
Public administration, social and
personal services
181%
The financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services sector and the import/export, wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and food services sector remained the two largest service sectors in terms of net output in 2016.
Note:
Due to the 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.
It is worth noting that although the manufacturing sector's direct value-added contribution to the economy is not large, Hong Kong's manufacturers continue to be versatile and resilient in coping with the changing global and regional economic landscapes. Hong Kong's productive capacity has effectively expanded, thanks to increased supply-chain arrangements involving the Mainland and other neighbouring economies. Its well-established links with the Mainland economy have underpinned the growth of Hong Kong's services sector, especially the rapid development of trading, financial and other supporting services.
The increasing service orientation of the economy was also borne out by a shift in the sectoral composition of employment. Over the past two decades, the share of the services sector in total employment increased from 80 per cent in 1997 to 87 per cent in 2007 and 88 per cent in 2017. As for individual service segments, import/export, wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and food services accounted for 30 per cent of the total in 2017. This was followed by public administration, social and personal services with a share of 27 per cent; financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services (20 per cent); and
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