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Our major industries

Our major industries

Not including the Ile de France region, the Seine-Maritime County (Département) is ranked fifth in France in terms of economic power, with a GDP of more than 29 billion euros. This economic weight puts it on a par with a country like Slovakia, for example.

Through its association with the sea and its port facilities, the Seine-Maritime ranks second in France for foreign trade, after the Nord County, which has both a maritime frontier and a land frontier with Belgium. Exports reached 16.2 billion euros in 2005, and imports were 20.7 billion euros. This means that in 2005, the Seine-Maritime County, on its own, recorded an export figure more than 50% higher than the Lower-Normandy and Brittany regions put together.

As elsewhere in France, services, in both the private and the public sectors, are the biggest employers in the Seine-Maritime, with 59% of all salaried jobs, which represented 463 000 people in 2003. More specifically, with 29 000 jobs in the tourism industry, the Seine- Maritime area ranks first among the five counties which constitute Normandy, with more than 40% of all the jobs in the tourism sector. Employment in the private service sector continues to rise, particularly with the setting up of new activities such as customer relations centres.

However, industry is still particularly strong and well developed : it accounts for 22% of all jobs in the Seine-Maritime area, as against 13% on average for France as a whole. The Seine- Maritime County ranks fifth in France for its total industrial workforce, with 98 000 jobs.

The performance and the diversity of the Seine-Maritime economy can be illustrated by a number of sectors, industries and niche products.