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8 EMPLOYMENT
THE government's employment policy aims to make the best use of Hong Kong's manpower resources; to promote safety and health in the workplace; to maintain a well-trained workforce; to foster and maintain good labour relations; to improve the rights and benefits of the workforce in line with Hong Kong's social and economic developments; and to help job-seekers find employment.
During 1996, the government expanded the job-matching and placement services to help local workers find jobs and stepped up enforcement action to tackle illegal employment. The Supplementary Labour Scheme was implemented to replace the General Labour Importation Scheme. The new scheme allows importation of workers, on a case-by-case basis, for vacancies which employers can prove are difficult to fill locally.
To ensure that the workforce is equipped with the necessary skills to cope with the economy's dynamic and changing needs, the government initiated two comprehensive reviews, one on the directions and strategies of vocational training and the other on employee retraining. Legislative proposals were introduced to improve protection to employees' benefits, such as maternity protection, long-service payment and sickness allowances, some of which were enacted. A new Occupational Safety and Health Bill was introduced which sought to extend the protection of the safety and health of employees beyond the industrial sector to all work places.
Labour Market
Employment in all major service sectors remained on an uptrend during the year but declined further in the manufacturing sector as the structural shift in manpower resources continued. In the third quarter of 1996, the labour force was 1.9 per cent larger than in the corresponding period of 1995. The territory's labour force stood at 3.1 million, of whom 61 per cent were male and 39 per cent were female. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the third quarter of 1996 was 2.6 per cent while the underemployment rate was 1.4 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively a year earlier.
Of the employed, the majority (78.7 per cent) were engaged in the service sectors. 34.7 per cent in wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels; 11 per cent in transport, storage and communications; 11.6 per cent in financing, insurance, real estate and business services; and 21.4 per cent in community, social and personal services. About 11.4 per cent were working in the manufacturing sector. A structural shift in employment during the past decade has meant establishments in the service sectors now employ six times as many workers as the manufacturing