| In general, industrial activities can be classified into three grades according to their natures. The primary industry covers agriculture, forestry, fishery, and husbandry, mainly for the production of basic foodstuff and materials; the secondary industry, or dubbed industry generally, comprises mining and dirt/gravel excavation, manufacturing, water, electricity, and natural gas, and construction, mainly for the processing and manufacturing of various products; the tertiary industry, dubbed service industry generally, covers industries not belonging to the previous two categories, mainly for the provision of various services.
Service industry covers a wide variety of industries and there have occurred many emerging services due to innovation and fad in recent years, ensuing the necessity to modify the definition and scope of service industry and complicating the study and analysis of service industry. According to the seventh revision of the "standard classification of industries, the Republic of China" by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics, under the Executive Yuan, service industry comprises the following industries: 1. Retail and wholesale; 2. Accommodation and dining; 3. Transportation, warehousing, and communications; 4. Finance and insurance; 5. Real estate and leasing; 6. Professional, scientific, and technical services; 7. Educational services; 8. Medicine, health care, and social welfare services; 9. Culture, sports, and recreational services; 10. Other services; and 11. Public administration. In the eighth revision of the standard classification, its constituent sectors were changed to the following: 1. Wholesale and retailing; 2. Transportation and warehousing; 3. Accommodation and dining; 4. Information and communications transmission; 5. Finance and insurance; 6. Real estate; 7. Professional, scientific, and technical services; 8. Supportive services; 9. Public administration and national defense, compulsory social security; 10. Educational services; 11. Medicine, health care, and social work services; 12. Arts, entertainment, and recreational services; 13. Other services. In consideration of the continuation of related statistical data, the article embraces the seventh edition of the standard classification in the exploration of the statuses of individual service industries.
In view of the wide variety and complexity of the lines covered by service industry, and the absence of complete production and sales data of the industry, the article only provides general analysis and explanation of the industry according to the data in government statistical publications and reports on the business activities of various service industries. |
