MONDAY, MAY 17, 1976
SURVEY SHOWS CONSIDERABLE DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT
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A SAMPLE SURVEY CONDUCTED IN MARCH THIS YEAR BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SHOWED THERE WERE AT THAT TIME 107,000 UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN HONG KONG.
FORCE.
THIS NUMBER REPRESENTED 5.6 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL LABOUR
THESE FIGURES COMPARE WITH THOSE OF 177,000 AND 9.1 PER CENT DERIVING FROM A SIMILAR SURVEY CONDUCTED IN SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY, THOSE WHO WERE AGED BETWEEN 14 AND 64 AND WERE NOT IN EMPLOYMENT BUT WERE LOOKING FOR WORK WERE TAKEN TO BE UNEMPLOYED, WHILE THOSE WHO HAD WORKED FOR MORE THAN 15 HOURS IN THE SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE SURVEY DATE WERE TAKEN TO BE EMPLOYED.
THE COMMISSIONER DREW ATTENTION TO THE VARIATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN THE DEFINITION OF +UNEMPLOYED+ AND LABOUR FORCE+, IN HONG KONG +UNEMPLOYED+ INCLUDED PEOPLE WHO HAD JUST LEFT SCHOOL AND WHO REALLY HAD NOT HAD MUCH OF A CHANCE TO PICK UP A JOB WHO HAD JUST, BUT ONLY JUST, TAKEN UP WORK WHO HAD TEMPORARILY BUT ONLY TEMPORARILY, BEEN LAID OFF WORK AND PEOPLE WHO WERE AVAILABLE FOR WORK, BUT WHO WERE NOT ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR WORK BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS NONE TO BE HAD. ON THE OTHER HAND, AMONG THE EMPLOYED WERE SUCH PEOPLE AS HAWKERS AND UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS WHO WOULD TAKE UP OTHER JOBS WHEN THEY BECAME AVAILABLE.
IN THIS CONNECTION, HE POINTED OUT THAT THE DECEMBER 1975 FIGURES FOR THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED KINGDOM WERE 8.3 PER CENT AND 5.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. ADJUSTING, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. THE LATEST HONG KONG FIGURE TO THE U.S.A. BASIS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION HERE WAS REPRESENTED BY A FIGURE OF 4.3 PER CENT.
THE COMMISSIONER DESCRIBED THE DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT DURING THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD AS CONSIDERABLE. HE SAID THAT THIS WAS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER INDICATORS, IN RELATION FOR EXAMPLE TO EMPLOYMENT AND TRADE, WHICH GAVE CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM AS TO THE STATE OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMY.
THE COMMISSIONER SAID THAT INFORMATION SIMILAR TO THAT PROVIDED FROM THE RECENT LABOUR FORCE SURVEY WOULD BE AVAILABLE AT REGULAR SIX MONTHLY INTERVALS. THERE WOULD NOT BE A PARTICULAR SURVEY IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR BECAUSE THE 1976 BY-CENSUS WOULD SERVE THE PURPOSE. HOWEVER, THE SURVEY ROUTINE WOULD RE-COMMENCE IN MARCH 1977.
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