ENG-2007 — Page 86

46 The Economy

The profound structural change in the economy towards the services sector was also borne out by a shift in the sectoral composition of employment. Over the past two decades, the share of services sector in total employment went up from 56 per cent in 1987 to 80 per cent in 1997 and 87 per cent in 2007. As for individual services, wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels accounted for 34 per cent of the total in 2007. This was followed by community, social and personal services (with a share of 26 per cent), finance, insurance, real estate and business services (16 per cent), and transport, storage and communications (11 per cent) (Chart 5).

Chart 5

Employment by major services sector

1987

2007

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 24.5%

Transport,

storage and

communications

8.3%

Finance, insurance,

real estate

and business

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 34.0%

Others

sectors

13.4%

services

6.1%

Community,

Others

social and

sectors

personal

44.4%

services

16.7%

Transport, storage and communications

10.5%

Finance, insurance, real estate and business services 15.7%

Community, social and personal services

26.4%

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels employed the most people in 2007.

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.

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 manufacturing 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. It is also worth noting that although the direct value-added contribution of the manufacturing sector to the economy is not large relative to the services sector, its well-established linkages with the Mainland economy have provided ample business opportunities for supporting the growth of Hong Kong's services sector.