Jobless rate at 2.8% in May-June 2023

The number of unemployed people dropped by 1,900 compared to April-June.

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate fell to 2.8% in the May to July 2023 period, from 2.9% in April to June 2023, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

The number of unemployed persons dropped to 111,700 in the May-June period, lower by around 1,900 compared to the April-June period. 

Over the same period, the number of underemployed persons decreased by around 1,000, to 40,500, data from C&SD showed.

"With the economic recovery, the labour market should improve further in the coming months,” said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun, commenting on the latest unemployment figures.

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The underemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 1.1% in the two periods.

Total employment rose by around 19,200 to 3.708 million in May-July 2023, from 3.688 million in the April-June period.

Over the same period, the labour force also rose by 17,300 to over 3.819 million, from 3.802 million in the previous three-month period.

Across sectors, the most distinct decreases in the jobless rate were reported in the food and beverage service activities sector, transportation sector, information and communications sector and real estate sector, C&SD noted.