Jobless rate eases further to 6% in May

There are still around 233,000 unemployed in Hong Kong,

The jobless rate eased further to 6% between March to May, down from 6.4% recorded between February to April.

This is the third consecutive time the unemployment rate dropped since peaking at 7.2% between December to February.

"The labour market improved further in March - May 2021 amid the economic recovery and receding local epidemic,” Secretary of Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said.

"As the economy continues to recover, the pressure on the labour market should gradually ease, especially if the local epidemic remains well contained.”

Total employment has risen by around 8,400 to 3.63 million between March to May, whilst the number of unemployed dropped by 14,200 to 233,300.

The underemployment rate, likewise, improved as it decreased to 2.8%.

Moreover, the unemployment rate across economic sectors dropped over the same period. The jobless rate in consumption and tourism-related sectors slipped by 0.5 percentage point to 9.4%.

“As the pace of economic recovery is uneven across sectors, the unemployment rates in some sectors may take a longer time to return to the pre-pandemic levels,” Secretary Law said, noting uncertainty still looms as the global COVID-19 situation continues to evolve.

The OCBC Treasury Research noted the unemployment rate recorded between March to May is a one-year low, which beat market expectations.

The continued vaccination drive and recovering economy will likely boost hiring, but will be weigh down by the tourism industry.

“As such, though we expect overall jobless rate to fall towards 5% or even below this level in 2H, it may remain far away from the pre-pandemic level of sub-3%,” the OCBC said.