The Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) is a statistical classification of economic activities obtaining in the country.

For purposes of international comparability, this industrial classification system is patterned after the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) with some modifications to suit national situation and requirements.

The PSIC serves as a guide in the classification of establishments according to their economic activity useful for economic analysis.

• It serves as a framework for data collection, processing and compilation to ensure uniformity and comparability of industrial statistics produced by various entities in both government and private sectors, including those involved in statistics and research activities.

• It provides an effective mechanism for the integration of large numbers of statistics being collected for decision-making and policy formulation.

• It serves as a basis in the construction of input-output (I-O) table.

• It provides a basis for anticipating the emergence of new industries.

The 1994 PSIC provides a Summary of Classification Scheme which presents a list of the major division, divisions, and their corresponding number of groups, classes and sub-classes, and a Detailed Classification presenting the hierarchy of categories of industries such as:

• 17 major division (one-digit alphabetic codes)
• 63 divisions (2-digit codes)
• 230 groups (3-digit codes)
• 587 classes (4-digit codes)
• 1,067 sub-classes (5-digit codes)

The section in the 1994 PSIC are as follows:

Major Division A. Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry
Major Division B. Fishing
Major Division C. Mining and Quarrying
Major Division D. Manufacturing
Major Division E. Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Major Division F. Construction
Major Division G. Wholesale and Retail Trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods
Major Division H. Hotels and Restaurants
Major Division I. Transport, Storage and Communication
Major Division J. Financial Intermediation
Major Division K. Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities
Major Division L. Public Administration and Defense; Compulsory Social Security
Major Division M. Education
Major Division N. Health and Social Work
Major Division O. Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities
Major Division P. Private Household with Employed Persons
Major Division Q. Extra-territorial Organizations and Bodies.

As in the 1977 PSIC, the 1994 PSIC provides five levels of disaggregation. At the first level are the Major Divsion representing the major fields of economic activity:

1. First Level - the Major Division are represented by one-digit capital letter codes

2. Second Level - the Divisions are further disaggregated into more homogenous smaller groups called the Divisions and are represented by two-digit numeric codes.

3. Third Level - the Divisions are subdivided into more detailed aggregates called the Groups, represented by three-digit numeric codes.

4. Fourth Level - the Groups are further subdivided into finer details or classes and represented by four-digit numeric codes.

5. Fifth Level - the classes are subdivided into more specific categories or subclasses with five-digit code numbers.

The code numbers in the 1994 PSIC are so designated that: the first two digits represent the division, the first two digits and the third digit, taken together, indicate the group, the first three digits and the fourth digit, taken together, indicate the class, and all five digits identify the sub-class of industries.

To illustrate:

15521 - Fruit Wine Manufacturing

Division - 15 - Manufacture of Food Products and Beverage

Group - 154 – Distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits, ethyl alcohol production from fermented materials.

Class - 1552 - Manufacture of Wines

Sub-class - 15521 - Fruit Wine Manufacturing