23-6 Number of Employed Persons by Industry
					(person)
Industry	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Manufacturing	489900	443000	379600	353900	333700
Construction	273100	303100	306600	286800	301700
Wholesale, Retail and
Import/Export Trades,	907800	960800	953500	935100	981700
Restaurants and Hotels
Transport, Storage and	336200	343400	349200	339400	356600
Communications
Financing, Insurance, Real
Estate and Business Services	363800	405100	410300	437700	452700
Community, Social and
Personal Services	667900	678200	695600	732900	754700
Others	34600	30000	27200	26500	26200
Total	3073300	3163600	3122000	3112100	3207300
Notes: Employment statistics are compiled separately based on the General Household Survey (GHS) and the Quarterly Survey of Employment and
Vacancies. Each source has its own merits and limitations in reflecting the employment situation. The GHS estimates are presented here
because the omission in terms of coverage of the employed population is negligible. Besides, individual persons, including multiple job
holders, are counted only once. However, a major limitation of the GHS estimates is that the respondents might not have reported accurately
the industry to which they belong, especially for workers in the manufacturing sector. With the relocation of some production processes to
the mainland of China, there is a change in the mode of operation of the traditional manufacturing establishments in Hong Kong. As a result,
some of these establishments are more appropriately classified as import/export establishments if the majority of the production activities are
carried out in the mainland of China. However, this change in statistical classification may not be readily recognized by all the employed
persons, particularly the technicians and craftsmen, of the establishments concerned. Hence, the GHS employment estimate in respect of the
manufacturing sector will be overstated to the extent that some respondents mistakenly regard themselves as still being engaged in the
manufacturing sector instead of the import/export trades.
Figures presented in this table may be different from those presented in earlier editions of this Yearbook due to one or both of the following
reasons :
1. The change in the approach for compiling population figures since August 2000.
2. The availability of up-to-date benchmark population data based on the results of the 2001 Population Census.
For details, please see Note III in the "Brief Introduction" of this chapter.