The unemployment rate in Hong Kong slightly decreased in August – October 2009.
According to the latest labour force statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 5.3% in July – September to 5.2% in August – October 2009. Decreases were in construction, food services, insurance and wholesale sectors. Comparing the two periods, the number of unemployed persons also decreased, by 18,700 to 190,400.
The statistics show that underemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.4%. Decreases were mainly in food services and warehousing and support activities for transportation sectors, offsetting increases in foundation and superstructure, and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors.
It is reported that the total employment decreased by 7,200 to 3,488,300 in August – October 2009, and the labour force decreased by 26,000 to 3,678,700 in the same period.
The government commented that the labour market has continued to improve along with the economic recovery. Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, pointed out that the unemployment rate of youths aged 15-19 dropped by 3 percentage points to 22.7%, indicating improvement in youth employment situation.
He said that the unemployment rate of construction sector also dropped, by 1.5 percentage points to the latest 7.9%. "The decoration and maintenance sub-sector decreased markedly by 2.2 percentage points to 8.6%, accumulating a total decrease of 13 percentage points over six consecutive periods, while the foundation and superstructure sub-sector fell by 1.1 percentage points to 7.7%."
The outlook of the recruitment market would depend on the pace of economic recovery and job creation, Cheung commented.
