Chart 11
-1
Per cent
5
3
2
1
Total labour force and total employment (year-on-year rate of change)
0
Total employment
-2
Total labour force
The Economy | 59
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1999
2000 I
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total employment showed a higher increase than total labour force in 2004.
Total employment as enumerated from private sector establishments likewise went up appreciably by 3.1 per cent in December 2004 over a year earlier. This was attributable entirely to a 4 per cent increase in the service sectors, with growth impetus coming from all broad service sectors. For 2004 as a whole, total employment in the private sector was 2.4 per cent higher than in 2003. The corresponding growth rate for the service sectors was 3.2 per cent.
The local manufacturing sector registered a reduction in employment by 1.8 per cent in December 2004 from a year earlier, owing to continued relocation of production across the boundary. Employment of manual workers at building and construction sites likewise shrank, by 9.4 per cent over the same
same period, consequential to the scale-back in the Public Housing Programme and winding down or completion of several major civil engineering projects. For 2004 as a whole, employment in these two non-service sectors fell by 3 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.
Job vacancies in the private sector have reverted to an uptrend since the latter part of 2003. In December 2004, the total number of private sector vacancies jumped by 39.8 per cent over a year earlier. For 2004 as a whole, the increase was more impressive, at 55.8 per cent.
Growth over the past year was broadly based in general, whether analysed by economic sector or by occupational category. Vacancies in both the service sector and the manufacturing sector went up significantly by 39 per cent and 61.7 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, notable gains were also observed across various occupational categories. More specifically, vacancies at the lower and upper segments