EMPLOYMENT
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individual industries. Restraints on the export of a number of textile items to the United States early in the year caused some disruption to production and the numbers employed in spinning, weaving and garment manufacturing were reduced sharply, though there was some improvement later. Persons engaged in weaving, spinning, knitting and the manufacture of garments reached a total of 71,088 and remained by far the largest section of the labour force in numbers, though the proportion of the industrial labour force employed in textiles dropped to 41 per cent from 47 per cent at the beginning of 1960. The plastics industry, in which a high percentage of known out-workers are employed, expanded and before the end of the year employed more workers than any other single industry other than the garments and shirt industry.
Building construction for industry continued, but there remained an acute shortage of premises for the small manufacturer of limited means. However, the number of registered and recorded fac- tories increased by 946 to 7,305. Many were small concerns. Development of the industrial areas of Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan continued but at a slower pace. San Po Kong in Kowloon also continued to develop and Government resettlement factories and a number of privately-owned factories were built there, as well as at Cheung Sha Wan, Quarry Bay and Aberdeen. Tables at Appendix I show development in the main industrial groups and selected industries.
Unemployment. Although the 1961 census reported some 16,000 persons as being unemployed the extent of unemployment or under- employment in Hong Kong remains indeterminate, as compre- hensive statistics on employment are not available. It is possible that some of those reported to be unemployed receive a fluctuating income from casual or indirect employment, since employers fre- quently report difficulty in recruiting labour despite better facilities and, in many cases, better wages. There were fluctuations in employment in various industries, but reduced employment in one sector tended to be offset by increased employment in another. Changes of this kind do not necessarily imply any lengthy period of unemployment for individual workers, since the majority of semi-skilled and unskilled workers are adaptable and can move from one industry to another similar industry.