Chart 8
Percent
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
THE ECONOMY
Domestic demand
(year-on-year growth rate in real terms)
Investment demand
in terms of GDFCF
Private consumption demand
0
-2.0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
In 1996, domestic demand was underpinned by continued strong growth in investment demand and a steadily reviving consumer demand.
facturing sector remained slack, amid the weak performance of domestic exports and a continuing trend of relocating production processes across the border.
Employment conditions varied considerably among occupations. Unemployment and underemployment were mainly concentrated in the production-related workers and at the semi-skilled and unskilled levels. Professional, managerial, and ad- ministrative workers recorded considerably lower unemployment and under- employment rates.
4
The on-going structural change of the economy prompted a continued shift in employment from the manufacturing sector to the service sectors. Between September 1995 and September 1996, employment in the service sectors as a whole rose by 3 per cent to 1 932 000, and vacancies increased by 4 per cent to 43 300. Among the various service sectors, employment in transport, storage and communications showed the fastest increase, by 6 per cent. This was followed by community, social and personal services, by 5 per cent; and financing, insurance, real estate and business services, by per cent. Concurrently, employment in the wholesale, retail, import/export trades and restaurants and hotel rose by 2 per cent. Employment and vacancies in the manufacturing sector remained on a downtrend, falling by 15 per cent and 14 per cent to 327 500 and 5 900 respectively in September 1996 compared with a year earlier. Employment increased in building and construction sites, by 16 per cent, while vacancies fell sharply by 43 per cent. Reflecting mainly employment in foundation and superstructure construction, employment in the building and construction industry as a whole, comprising both site and non-site workers, also showed a notable increase of 18 per cent.
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