Facet 5 — Taxonomy

Sectors

Areas of economic activity. A two-level scheme with some parts of the economy that matter most for legal work. A simplified two-level version of the European Union's NACE classification, which in turn is based on the United Nations ISIC standard, with some suggested additions and omissions to reflect modern economies.

19 top-level sectors ~50 sub-sectors Explicit additions and omissions

The sixteen core sectors

16 sectors
sec-agr Agriculture
Farming, forestry and fishing. Includes plant and animal production, hunting, logging and fishing.
3 sub-sectors: Farming · Forestry · Fishing
sec-nar Natural resources
Extractive industries — production only, not distribution, processing or sale.
2 sub-sectors: Mining · Upstream oil and gas
sec-mfg Manufacturing
Production only — not design, distribution or sale. Selected industries widely seen in law-firm taxonomies are broken out.
9 sub-sectors incl. Food & drink · Pharma · Chemicals · Automotive · Electronics · Fashion
sec-ens Energy supply
Supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning. Renewable electricity is broken out separately.
3 sub-sectors: Electricity (non-renewable) · Electricity (renewable) · Gas
sec-wtw Water and waste
Water management and supply, sewerage and waste management activities.
2 sub-sectors: Water · Waste disposal
sec-csn Construction
Construction of buildings and civil engineering works.
2 sub-sectors: Building · Infrastructure (civil engineering)
sec-rwt Retail and wholesale trade
Wholesale and retail trade, including motor-vehicle and motorcycle repair.
2 sub-sectors: Wholesale · Retail
sec-trs Transportation and storage
Passenger and freight transport across all modes, plus storage, postal and courier services.
7 sub-sectors: Rail · Road · Water · Aviation · Space · Storage · Courier & postal
sec-hos Hospitality services
Hotels and accommodation, on-premises drink services, restaurants and food delivery.
2 sub-sectors: Hotels and accommodation · Restaurants / F&B
sec-ins Information and recreational services
Software, content, telecoms, sports, gambling, arts and culture. Combines several NACE divisions to follow legal-practice convention.
8 sub-sectors incl. Software & data · Computer games · Films/TV/video · Music & audio · Telecoms · Sports · Gambling
sec-fsv Financial services
Insurance, banking, asset management, capital markets and private wealth. Further breakdowns in extension pack.
6 sub-sectors: Insurance · Pension funds · Investment funds · Banking · Financial markets · Private wealth
sec-res Real estate
Buying and leasing real estate. Excludes accommodation services and construction.
3 sub-sectors: Commercial property · Residential property · Rural land
sec-pub Public sector and NGOs
Government activity at all levels, plus charities, religious institutions, international organisations and other not-for-profit activity.
10 sub-sectors incl. Foreign affairs · Defence · Justice · Public order & safety · Social security · Migration · Charitable & not-for-profit
sec-edu Education
Education at all levels, from early years through to higher and continuing education.
1 sub-sector: Education
sec-cre Care
Health and social care services, including residential and non-residential provision.
2 sub-sectors: Healthcare · Social care
sec-pro Professional services
Legal, accounting, audit and other regulated professional services. A noslegal-specific cluster relevant to advisers and regulators.
3 sub-sectors: Legal services · Accounting / audit · Other regulated professions

View the Sectors spreadsheet

Full sectoral taxonomy including notes and NACE mappings. Apache 2.0 licence.

View spreadsheet