Hong Kong unemployment rate down 4.1%

Yet global financial crisis in US and Europe seen to affect employment even as labour demand is seen to continue as Lunar New Year nears.

The jobless rate for the September-November period dropped to 4.1% while the underemployment rate stood at 1.9%, the Census & Statistics Department says.

Drops in the unemployment rate were mainly observed in the hotels, warehousing and support activities for transportation, and cleaning and similar activities sectors. As to the underemployment rate, decreases were mainly seen in the arts, entertainment and recreation, and manufacturing sectors, offsetting increases in the construction and education sectors.

Total employment increased by 10,400 to an all-time high of 3,541,800 while the labour force was 3,685,100, similar to the 3,684,600 figure recorded for the August-October period.

The number of unemployed people decreased by 9,900 to 143,300, the lowest level in almost two years, while the number of underemployed increased by 900 to 71,600.

For people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 12.5%. The unemployment rate of the construction sector fell by 0.6 of a percentage point to 5.6%.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said with the seasonal upsurge in business activities in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, labour demand is expected to stay firm and newly created jobs will help absorb job-seekers. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at the currently low level.

"Notwithstanding this, the external environment, in particular the fragile state of the US economy and the sovereign debt crisis hanging over the Euro-zone, may still affect Hong Kong. We will continue to monitor developments closely," he added.