FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1984
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UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION STABLE
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED LARGELY STABLE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1983 FEBRUARY 1984 WAS 4.0 PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH THE RATE OF 4.1 PER CENT RECORDED FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1983, AND 3.7 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1984.
A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID THAT THESE CHANGES ARE, HOWEVER, NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983 WAS 4.5 PER CENT.
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1984 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 100 900, AS COMPARED WITH 106 300 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1983, AND 112 700 FOR THE CORRESPONDING QUARTER OF LAST YEAR.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1983 - FEBRUARY 1984 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.6 PER CENT, THE SAME AS THAT RECORDED FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1983.
THE ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 41 400 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1984, AS COMPARED WITH 40 000 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 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 SPOKESMAN SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (E.6. PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WHICH HAD BEEN 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 FEBRUARY 1984 WAS ALSO 4.0 PER CENT.
THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT. THIS SURVEY COVERS A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 15 000 HOUSEHOLDS OR 55 000 PERSONS, SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY TO REPRESENT THE LAND BASED CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG. PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE SURVEY BY INTERVIEWING EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER IN THE HOUSEHOLDS SAMPLED.
DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS GIVEN IN THE REPORT ON THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY WHICH IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR. THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1984 WILL BE ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE IN LATE JUNE.
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