Chart 11
The Unemployment and Underemployment Rates
Per cent
6
5
4
3
2
1
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
Underemployment rate
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2007
2008
2009 1
2010
2011
The Economy 61
Unemployment rate remained low at end-2011, signifying a full employment situation.
The labour force increased markedly by 2 per cent in 2011, the strongest growth since 1997 and reversing the modest decline of 0.8 per cent in 2010. Conceivably, increased job opportunities amid economic expansion, coupled with the implementation of statutory minimum wage (SMW), had induced more job-seekers. to enter the labour market. Total employment likewise grew at the fastest pace since 2000, by a remarkable 2.9 per cent in 2011, up distinctly from the meagre 0.2 per cent rise in 2010 and far outstripping the concurrent growth in labour supply. Employment growth was particularly strong in the domestically-oriented and consumption-related sectors such as retail, accommodation and food services; repair, laundry, domestic and other personal service activities; construction; financing and insurance; and professional and business services, which more than compensated for the meagre performance in the externally-oriented sectors (Chart 12).
Job vacancies in private sector establishments saw a further upsurge in 2011, when the number of private sector vacancies leapt by 19 per cent to reach the highest annual level since 1994. In December 2011, the ratio of job vacancies was 48 per 100 job-seekers, higher than that of 36 a year ago. Concurrently, the corresponding ratio for lower-skilled jobs rose from 35 to 45, and that for higher- skilled jobs from 63 to 84, signifying further tightening of the labour market.
Analysed by economic sector, the surge in number of job vacancies was across- the-board, with many sectors registering double-digit increases in December 2011 over a year earlier. In particular, more distinct year-on-year growth was seen among retail (up 27.2 per cent); transportation, storage, postal and courier services (up 20.2 per cent); social and personal services (up 19.9 per cent); and accommodation and food services (up 15.1 per cent), another manifestation of a buoyant labour market in full employment.