About 10,000 jobs have been lost in Hong Kong since the financial crisis began, according to a report posted on the website of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on Sunday.

Hong Kong's Labor Secretary Matthew Cheung said on Saturday that it is difficult to predict when the unemployment rate will peak, there will be more pressure on the labor market when graduates leave schools in May.

However, despite the jobs being cut, Cheung said the sectors like the catering industry and the insurance trade are still expanding.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)