BC's GDP by Industry: The Last 20 Years

Archived Topic Box from the 2004 Fourth Annual Benchmark Report

In 2003, BC's goods producing sector represented 24.5% of GDP, down from 31.6% in 1984 and the service sector accounted for 75.5%, up from 68.4% in 1984. The goods sector consists largely of resource extraction and processing, utilities, construction and manufacturing. The service sector consists mainly of wholesale and retail trade, transportation, finance & insurance, health care, education and government.

British Columbia's economy has become more diversified by shifting away from natural resource extraction and processing industries in favour of "new" manufacturing and the service sector. However, BC's resource sector is still a large part of the provincial economy; half of the province's goods production is based on the extraction or processing of agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining products. Although it is difficult to measure, a portion of the service economy is here to support the resource sector. As an extreme example, a complete shutdown of the forest industry would have a larger impact on GDP than is suggested by the "Forestry and Logging" and "Wood Product Manufacturing" shares in the accompanying table.

British Columbia's improved diversification and the continued importance of the resource industry is also reflected in manufacturing and exports. Although there has been a shift towards other types of products, the province's manufacturing sector is still dominated by wood, pulp and paper production and agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining products account for over three-quarters of our exports.

Wholesale trade, professional, scientific & technical services, and administrative & support services saw the strongest growth in GDP by industry between 1984 and 2003, earning the top three ranks, respectively. Pulp, paper & paperboard mills (manufacturing), fishing, hunting & trapping and forestry & logging, respectively, earned the bottom three ranks. These three bottom-ranked industry groups saw their absolute GDP value as well as their relative shares of GDP shrink between 1994 and 2003. For example, forestry & logging shrank from $3.4 billion in 1994 to $2.6 billion in 2003 and its relative share of GDP by industry shrank from 3.6% to 2.1%.

Source: Quick Facts About British Columbia, BC Stats, July 2004.