Given what looks like a possible discrepancy in classification, and the aim here being only an initial rather than detailed look, the next analysis examines only the most recent 2017 numbers and some additional measures: revenue, net income or profit, total assets and number of employees (see Table 1.2).3 This comparison helps develop a sense of the differences between sectors. In terms of a pattern, the digital is relatively high in profit while being low in assets and moderate on employment. The fact that the sector has roughly 28 per cent of profits with only 16 per cent of revenue, 9 per cent of assets and 15 per cent of employees might be a starting point for understanding the high valuation of digital companies, which come out with 30 per cent of total market value. Retail having 28 per cent of employees but less than 8 per cent of profit suggests the importance of employment in this sector while also perhaps explaining its low market value of only 7 per cent of the total.
Table 1.2 Economic Sectors (2017) – Other Measures (USD millions)
| Market Value | Profit | Revenue | Asset | Employees (total number) | |
| Manufacturing | 3,885,168 | 155,430 | 2,350,529 | 3,496,514 | 5,479,283 |
| % of Total | 17.99 | 15.47 | 18.34 | 8.30 | 19.41 |
| Financial | 3,400,038 | 228,481 | 2,232,306 | 27,909,063 | 3,198,268 |
| % of Total | 15.75 | 22.74 | 17.42 | 66.26 | 11.33 |
| Retail | 1,462,153 | 77,704 | 2,641,316 | 1,184,934 | 7,933,952 |
| % of Total | 6.77 | 7.73 | 20.61 | 2.81 | 28.10 |
| Service | 4,329,598 | 181,381 | 2,144,832 | 2,826,420 | 6,538,487 |
| % of Total | 20.05 | 18.05 | 16.74 | 6.71 | 23.16 |
| Digital | 6,650,784 | 276,929 | 2,047,313 | 3,821,682 | 4,254,320 |
| % of Total | 30.80 | 27.56 | 15.98 | 9.07 | 15.07 |
| Extractive | 1,865,371 |
|