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Unemployment, underemployment rates decrease in HK

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 3.3 percent in January-March period to 3.2 percent in February-April period and the underemployment rate also decreased from 1.4 percent to 1.3 percent correspondingly, according to data released Tuesday by Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department.

The data showed that comparing the two periods, movements in the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) in various industry sectors varied. Decreases were mainly seen in the information and communications, retail, and professional and business services (excluding cleaning and similar activities) sectors. As to the underemployment rate, a decrease was mainly observed in the construction sector.

Total employment decreased by around 8,800 from 3,801,100 in January-March period to 3,792,300 in February-April period. Over the same period, the labor force also decreased by around 8,600 from 3,928,400 to 3,919,800.

The number of the unemployed (not seasonally adjusted) in February-April period was 127,500, about the same in January-March period. Over the same period, the number of the underemployed decreased by around 4,100 to 49,400.

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures, Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said the labor market remained largely tight in February-April 2015. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which remained unchanged at 3.3 percent for nine consecutive periods, edged down by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 percent. Both total employment and labor force sustained year-on-year growth.

To promote youth employment, the Labor Department has launched a "Career Let's go" special program from May to September to cater for the pre-employment training and employment needs of secondary school graduates. Some 40,000 youths are expected to benefit from the program.

The survey for February-April 2015 covered a sample of some 25, 000 households or 74,000 persons, selected in accordance with a scientifically designed sampling scheme to represent the population of Hong Kong.

Data on labor force characteristics were obtained from the survey by interviewing each member aged 15 or over in the sampled households. Endi