Hong Kongs jobless rate edges up to 3.9%
Hong Kong’s jobless rate edged up by 0.1 percentage point over the past three months to 3.9 per cent after holding steady since the August to October period last year, with unemployment rising in the insurance, construction and finance sectors. But labour authorities expressed optimism, saying the growing economy would support the job market going…
Hong Kong’s jobless rate edged up by 0.1 percentage point over the past three months to 3.9 per cent after holding steady since the August to October period last year, with unemployment rising in the insurance, construction and finance sectors.
But labour authorities expressed optimism, saying the growing economy would support the job market going forward.
Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Friday showed the unemployment rate for the November to January period rose by 0.1 percentage point compared with the October to December stretch.
It returned to the level of the July to September period last year, when a jobless rate of 3.9 per cent was reported. The underemployment rate was unchanged at 1.7 per cent.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han noted that the jobless rate was “broadly on a par” with the level in the preceding three-month period.
“The sustained growth momentum of the Hong Kong economy should help buttress the overall labour market,” he said.
