FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1983
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+WITHOUT THIS ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE TO ORGANISE AN EXHIBITION ON THIS SCALE, HE ADDED.
IN HIS VOTE OF THANKS, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE URBAN COUNCIL, MR HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, SAID CHOOSING A CAREER WAS NOT A SIMPLE TASK, AND THE COUNCIL RECOGNISED THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING YOUNG PEOPLE WITH CAREERS INFORMATION.
FOR ITS PART, THE COUNCIL WAS ALWAYS PREPARED TO GIVE SUPPORT IN PROVIDING FACILITIES AND RESOURCES FOR CAREERS-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES, AND LOOKED FORWARD TO CONTINUED CO-OPERATION WITH THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT IN THIS FIELD.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE STABILISES
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION STABILISED DURING THE THIRD QUARTER, ACCORDING TO LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JULY - SEPTEMBER 1983 WAS 3.8 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 3.7 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING AUGUST 1983 AND 3.9 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1983. NEVERTHELESS, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 4.4 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983, THERE WAS STILL AN IMPROVEMENT.
THE RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR WAS 3.6 PER CENT.
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1983 WAS PROVISIONALLY ESTIMATED TO BE 97 000. AS COMPARED WITH 110 900 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983, AND 90 900 FOR THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER JULY - SEPTEMBER 1983 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.6 PER CENT THE RATE FOR APRIL - JUNE 1983 WAS 1.9 PER CENT. THE PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 39 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER, AS COMPARED WITH 49 100 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983. CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION, PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE SEEKING MORE WORK OR WERE NOT SEEKING MORE WORK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED MORE WORK WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
IN COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (E.G. PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FOR THE VARIATION IN FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME, THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1983 WAS 4.1 PER CENT.
/THE UNEMPLOYMENT