Chart 9
THE ECONOMY
4.0
Per cent
Unemployment and underemployment rates
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
Underemployment rate
QI Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1992
1994
1995
1996
1993
The labour market tightened in 1997, having improved steadily in 1996.
1997
matched by an even faster growth in total employment. Overall vacancies thus recorded a marked increase in the first three quarters of 1997. However, towards the end of the year, there was some easing in employment conditions.
Employment conditions for most of the semi-skilled and unskilled occupations tightened earlier in the year, before easing in the latter period. For 1997 as a whole, the unemployment rates for craft and related workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, service workers and shop sales workers, clerks, and workers in elementary occupations were all lower than in 1996, some by a considerable margin. Employment conditions for occupations at the higher end remained tight throughout the year, and with a lower unemployment rate than in the preceding year.
Employment in the service sectors as a whole reached 1 933 900 in September 1997, little change from a year earlier. Among the service sectors, employment in financing, insurance, real estate and business services recorded an increase of 6 per cent, while employment in community, social and personal services showed virtually no change. Employment in the wholesale, retail, import/export trades and restaurants and hotels as well as transport, storage and communications declined, by 2 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. Employment at building and construction sites grew by only 2 per cent to 78 100 in September 1997. The large decline in employment at public-sector sites due to the completion of most of the projects under the Airport Core Programme was more than offset by the pick-up in private-sector building activity. Employment in the manufacturing sector remained on a down-trend with a decline of 6 per cent over a year earlier to 309 200 in September 1997. These were nevertheless more moderate than the double-digit declines in earlier periods. Relocation of production processes outside Hong Kong, while still continuing, thus appeared to have slowed somewhat.
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