G.F. 323
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30.
Employment and vacancies in manufacturing
61.
Employment in manufacturing, the largest sector in Hong Kong
from the recession.
Production.
in terms of both employment and output, started in March 1975 to recover
It continued to increased rapidly through out the
rest of 1975 and in 1976. By June 1976, manufacturing employment was 5%
higher than the previous peak record in the 1973 Census of Industrial
Between June and September 1976, it increased by a further
4% and in December 1976, totalled 773,746, 14% higher than in December
1975 and 8% higher than the average for 1973. The latter percentage is
equivalent to an annual rate of increase of 3% which is roughly in the
same order of magnitude as the trend rate of growth for the labour
force as a hole between 1971 and 1976. In terms of employment, the
manufacturing sector has thus maintained its relative importance at over
In the last quarter of 1976, the growth in manufacturing employment
levelled off, an inevitable outcome given an annual rate of growth
averaging 20% in the first three quarters of 1976 compared to a trend
rate of growth in the labour force of only 3%. This could also be a
delayed effect of slower growth experienced in Hong Kong's major exort
markets in the second and third quarters of 1976.
40.
Table 30, Diagram 107
62.
Reflecting the buoyancy in the labour market, reported vacancies
in manufacturing establishments known to the Census and Statistics
Department also remained fairly high during 1976.
Quarterly reported
vacancies as a proportion of employment averaged between 4% and 6.
In September 1976, in particular, reported vacancies represented 5% of
manufacturing employment. Compared to an unemployment rate of 4.6%,
this suggests a tight market for labour for manufacturing.
Table 31
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機密