This undated photo shows a man strolling on a walkway at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, with an outside view of Victoria Harbour. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
Hong Kong's job market continued to improve over the past three months amid the city's sustained economic recovery.
The city’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent between June and August, down from 5.0 percent during the May – July period, according to Census and Statistics Department data released on Thursday.
The underemployment rate also decreased from 2.4 percent during the May - July period to 2.2 percent between June and August.
The underemployment rate also decreased from 2.4 percent during the May - July period to 2.2 percent between June and August
"The labor market continued to improve, thanks to the economic recovery. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage point from May - July 2021 to 4.7 percent in June - August 2021,” said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong.
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He added that total employment increased by 1,700 to 3,651,700 while the number of unemployed persons went down by 10,700 to 187,700 during the same period. The labor force decreased by about 8,900 while the number of underemployed also fell by around 6,100.
The unemployment rates of most other economic sectors fell, with those of the construction sector and the transportation sector showing visible declines, Law said.
Among the consumption- and tourism-related sectors, the unemployment rates of the retail sector and the accommodation services sector fell by 0.4 and 0.5 percentage point from the preceding three-month period to 6.4 percent and 6.9 percent respectively in June - August 2021.
On the other hand, the unemployment rate of food and beverage service activities remained unchanged at 8.6 percent after successive periods of decline since early 2021.
Law said the unemployment rates of most other economic sectors fell, with those of the construction sector and the transportation sector showing visible declines.
"The labor market should see further improvement as the economy continues to recover. The government's disbursement of electronic consumption vouchers will continue to render support to consumption-related activities,” Law said.
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“Yet, with the spread of the more infectious Delta variant in many places around the world, the global pandemic remains a key source of uncertainty over the economic and labor market outlook,” he added.
The unemployment and underemployment statistics were compiled from the General Household Survey, covering a sample of about 25,000 households or 69,000 Hong Kong people.
