A sector is a combination of 2 or more industries which cross broad industry groupings. The sector productivity measures use a value-added concept of output. Value added output measures the increase in output due to the application of capital and labor in production. Only capital and labor are explicitly included as inputs. Industry measures use a gross output concept.
Gross output measures the total value of production including inventory accumulation.
Comparisons between sectoral and industry measures of multifactor productivity are generally misleading. Multifactor productivity comparisons should be made between measures based on the same output concept. The multifactor productivity measures are designed to measure productivity within a specific set of industries. In general, select the measure which most closely corresponds to the industry that you are interested in. Sectoral output is similar to gross output, but excludes shipments from one manufacturing establishment to another.