ENG-2009 — Page 90

46 The Economy

financing and insurance, real estate, and professional and business services, 18.3 per cent; and transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and communications, 11.8 per cent (Chart 6).

Chart 6

Employment by Major Service Sector

1989

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 26.6 %

Other sectors 40.3 %

2009

Import/export trade and wholesale, and Retail trade, and Accommodation and food services 32.8 %

Other sectors 12.0 %

Transport, storage and

communications

9.1%

Finance, insurance,

real estate

and business

services

6.9 %

Community, social and personal services

17.1 %

Transportation, storage, postal and courier services, and Information and communications 11.8 %

Financing and insurance,

real estate, and professional and

business services 18.3 %

Public

administration, and social and personal

services

25.2 %

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels employed the most people in 2009.

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

Starting from the first quarter of 2009, industrial classification of employment has adopted the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0 while that in previous years is based on Version 1.1.

The Manufacturing Sector

Hong Kong's manufacturing sector continues to be versatile and resilient in coping with the changing environment. Thanks to the increased manufacturing arrangements in the Mainland, not only has Hong Kong's productive capacity been effectively expanded, its overall productive efficiency and product quality have also seen significant upgrading along with the 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 that go hand in hand with the growth of Hong Kong's services sector.

Economic Links between Hong Kong and the Mainland

Since the introduction of the Mainland's open door policy in 1978, the ongoing economic integration between the Mainland and Hong Kong has brought enormous mutual benefits. The huge flows of goods, services, people and capital between Hong Kong and the Mainland and between the Mainland and the world through

Page 90Page 91