A service industry produces services valuable to consumers as a final product, such as services provided by cafes and restaurants, or valuable to other service and goods producers as an intermediary input, such as wholesale trade and accounting services. Service industries are the largest component of the Australian economy in terms of number of businesses, employment and gross value added (GVA). Service industries encompass the following activities: wholesale trade; retail trade; accommodation and food services; information, media and telecommunications; financial and insurance services; rental, hiring and real estate services; professional, scientific and technical services; administrative and support services; public administration and safety; education and training; health care and social assistance; arts and recreation services; and other services.
The purpose of service industry collections is to provide information on the size, structure and nature of the industry under study. The range of data collected includes detailed information on the sources of income, the expenses of the business, the make up of employment (ie full time/part time, male/female, occupational groupings, etc) and invariably a range of other measures relevant to the specific industry. These data are at the Australian level but a subset of State data is also collected.
