ENG-2005 — Page 79

The Economy 49

and 86 per cent in 2005 with wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels accounting for 34 per cent of the total. Community, social and personal services followed with a share of 26 per cent, and then finance, insurance, real estate and business services (15 per cent), and transport, storage and communications (11 per cent) (Chart 5).

Chart 5

Employment by major service sector

1985

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades,

restaurants and hotels 23.9%

Transport,

storage and

communications

8.0%

Finance,

insurance, real estate

and business

services

5.6%

Community,

Others 45.7%

social and

personal

services

16.8%

2005

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels

34.4%

Others 14.0%

Transport, storage and communications

10.5%

Finance, insurance, real estate and business services 15.0%

Community, social and personal services

26.0%

Note: The compilation methodology of composite employment estimates has been reviewed in June 2005. Employment figures from 1996 onwards have been revised accordingly. They are thus not strictly comparable with those of earlier years.

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels employed the most people in 2005

The Manufacturing Sector

Hong Kong's manufacturing sector is expected to continue to be versatile and flexible in coping with the changing environment. While the productive capacity has effectively been expanded by multiples through increased outward processing arrangements in the Mainland, Hong Kong's productive efficiency and product quality are also expected to be continuously upgraded by advances in technology and a shift towards production with a more knowledge-based and higher value-added content.

As the more labour-intensive production processes have gradually moved to the Mainland over the past decade, manufacturing has taken a back seat. Manufacturing output made up 16.7 per cent of Hong Kong's GDP in 1990 which declined to 5.4 per cent in 2000 and 3.5 per cent in 2004. In the local manufacturing sector, paper products and printing contributed the largest share of net output to the sector — 26 per cent in 2004, followed by textiles and clothing with a 22 per cent share. Other major industries included machinery and equipment, electronics, food processing and metal products.