י
J
3
SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1974
SURVEY ON EMPLOYMENT SITUATION IN HONG KONG
******
A GOVERNMENT SURVEY RELEASED TODAY SHOWS THAT DESPITE ADVERSE WORLD ECONOMIC CONDITIONS THE AVERAGE MANUAL WORKER IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES LOST ONLY ONE HOUR FROM HIS WORKING WEEK IN THE YEAR ENDING MAY.
AND INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT STEAD IED IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN MARCH AND THE TIME OF THE SURVEY LAST MONTH, FOLLOWING THE DOWNTURN IN THE WORKFORCE DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR.
AT THE END OF MAY, THE AVERAGE WORKING WEEK - INCLUDING OVERTIME - WAS 49 HOURS 9 MINUTES, COMPARED WITH 50 HOURS
12 MINUTES IN MAY LAST YEAR - A MARGINAL DROP OF ONLY 2.09 PER CENT OR JUST OVER ONE HOUR A WEEK.
COMPARED WITH THE AVERAGE WORK ING WEEK OF 49 HOURS 4 MINUTES IN MARCH THIS YEAR, THE MAY FIGURE SHOWED AN UP-TURN OF 0.14 PER CENT.
THE SURVEY WAS CARRIED OUT BY THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT BETWEEN MONDAY JUNE 3 AND WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, AND THE RESULTS WERE PROCESSED AND COLLATED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
A RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD WAS USED, STRATIFIED BY TYPE OF INDUSTRY AND SIZE OF FACTORY, SO THAT RESULTS OF THE SAMPLE SURVEY COULD BE PROJECTED FOR THE ENTIRE WORKFORCE IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
THE FACTORIES SURVEYED COVERED SOME 40 PER CENT OF THE ENTIRE MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE IN HONG KONG, AND EVERY MAILED QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FOLLOWED UP BY A PERSONAL VISIT TO THE FACTORY.
THE SURVEY SHOWED THAT THE SLIGHT REDUCTION IN WORKING HOURS OVER THE YEAR HAD BEEN GENERAL RATHER THAN LIMITED TO PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES OR TO FACTORIES OF A PARTICULAR SIZE.
SIMILARLY, THE UP-TURNS IN WORKING HOURS WHICH WERE EVIDENT IN THE PERIOD FROM MARCH TO THE DATE OF THE SURVEY WERE ALSO WIDE-SPREAD IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES REGARDLESS OF FACTORY SIZE.
THE WORKING WEEK IN THE TEXTILE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN MAY WAS 48 HOURS 27 MINUTES COMPARED WITH 49 HOURS 32 MINUTES IN MAY LAST YEAR, A DROP OF 2.18 PER CENT. WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, SPINNING AND WEAVING SHOWED A DROP OF 2.01 PER CENT AND KNITTING SHOWED A DROP OF 1.25 PER CENT BUT AN UP-TURN OF 4.05 PER CENT BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY. THE WEARING APPAREL INDUSTRY SHOWED A DROP OF 2.1 PER CENT FROM 49 HOURS 14 MINUTES TO 48 HOURS 19 MINUTES.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING, WITH A WORKING WEEK OF 49 HOURS 56 MINUTES, WAS DOWN ONE HOUR (1.94 PER CENT) ON LAST MAY, BUT THERE WAS A 4.83 PER CENT UP-TURN BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY, 1974.
/PLASTICS