HK Sees 5.0 Percent Unemployment Rate in April-JuneThe seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of Hong Kong stood at 5.0 percent in the April- June period of this year, slightly lower than that of 5.1 percent in March-May, according to the latest provisional labor force statistics released Monday by the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong.Meanwhile, the underemployment rate was 3.1 percent, which was also lower than that of 3.3 percent in the March-May period. Comparing the April-June period with the March-May period of this year, decreases in the unemployment rate were seen mainly in the foundation and superstructure construction, manufacturing and import/export trades sectors. As to the underemployment rate, decreases occurred mainly in the retail trade, manufacturing and construction sectors. The size of the total labor force in the April-June period was estimated at 3,564,000, slightly larger than that in the March- May period, at 3,562,500. The number of employed persons also increased marginally, from 3,385,200 to 3,386,000. Over the same periods, the number of unemployed persons, which was not seasonally adjusted, edged up from 177,400 to 178,000, while the number of underemployed persons declined from 116,300 to 113,000. A government secretariat spokesman said that while both the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and the underemployment rate edged down, the total number unemployed had a small rise. This was mainly due to fresh graduates and school leavers beginning to enter the job market at this time of the year, he explained, but the strengthened labor demand upon the on-going economic recovery should help absorb the additional labor supply. |
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