24-8 Number of Employed Persons by Industry
					(10 000 persons)
Industry	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Manufacturing	35.39	33.37	32.64	29.02	27.24
Construction	28.68	30.17	29.14	28.65	26.61
Wholesale, Retail and
Import/Export Trades,	93.51	98.17	98.11	98.34	99.32
Restaurants and Hotels
Transport, Storage and	33.94	35.66	35.34	34.58	34.64
Communications
Financing, Insurance, Real
Estate and Business Services	43.77	45.27	47.81	47.44	47.02
Community, Social and
Personal Services	73.29	75.47	79.89	82.51	85.08
Others	2.65	2.62	2.31	2.62	2.41
Total	311.21	320.73	325.23	323.16	322.33
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.