Hong Kong's unemployment rate stands pat at 3.4%

Weak job growth seen in transportation and construction sectors.

According to a report by the Census & Statistics Department says, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.4% in December-February, the same as the November-January figure.

Announcing the latest labour force statistics today, the department said the underemployment rate decreased from 1.6% to 1.5%.

Increases in the not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate were mainly observed in the transportation and construction sectors, while decreases were mostly seen in the warehousing and support activities for transportation sector, and professional and business services sector.

For the underemployment rate, decreases were mainly seen in the social work activities and construction sectors.

Total employment increased by 6,000 to 3,712,000 in December-February. Over the same period, the labour force increased by 8,600 to 3,835,100.

The number of unemployed people (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 2,600 to 123,100. The number of underemployed fell by 1,700 to 58,600.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said the labour market remained largely stable recently in tandem with solid labour demand during the festive period on entering 2013.

On the short-term outlook, Mr Cheung said the buoyant domestic consumption and inbound tourism should continue to fuel labour demand, helping to keep labour market conditions stable.

"Nevertheless, as business activity generally subsides after the Lunar New Year and the effect of employers' customary annual review on staffing position has yet to fully emerge, we need to remain vigilant and continue to monitor development in the labour market closely."