HK Government to Honor Promise of Creating New Jobs: Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 30, 2001

HK Government to Honor Promise of Creating New Jobs: Official

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will spare no efforts in expediting the creation of some 32,000 jobs announced in Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa's Policy Address, said a senior governmentofficial on Thursday.

Following the 28th meeting of the Task Force on Employment, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Antony Leung emphasized that "employment is an issue of serious concern in our community" and "it is of very high priority for the government."

At the 28th meeting of the Task Force on Employment today, Leung said he briefed members of the task force on the progress ofthe job creation initiatives and the government's initiatives to promote job opportunities for workers with low education and skilllevel.

"Some 7,900 jobs will be created by the end of this financial year, of which some 3,400 jobs will be available by the end of this year. Moreover, over 16,900 will be created in 2002/03," he said.

To promote employment opportunities for local domestic helpers,the Employees Retraining Board will enhance its training for localdomestic helpers and improve services for potential employers.

A central register of local domestic helpers and employers willbe set up to facilitate job matching. In addition, "one stop" recruitment, referral and post-placement services will also be provided to employers to meet their needs in engaging local domestic helpers, according to Leung.

The government is also making efforts to improve Hong Kong's business environment to take account of the changing economic landscape, Leung said.

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