SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 1985
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IT HAS ENABLED US TO TALK AND DEBATE, DISCUSS AND ARGUE WITHOUT FORMING OURSELVES INTO POLITICAL PARTIES AND PLATFORMS.
+A FLEXIBLE SYSTEM OF DISCUSSION HAS EMERGED WHICH SEEMS TO SUIT HONG KONG'S PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND FROM WHICH A CONTINUOUS CONSENSUS HAS EMERGED, MR AKERS-JONES SAID.
AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE ELECTIONS THIS YEAR, HE ADDED. HONG KONG WOULD BE ENTERING A NEW ERA OF INVOLVEMENT BY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG.
- IN TURN THESE REPRESENTATIVES WILL MAKE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION AND DECISIONS WHICH WILL NEED TO BE MADE IN THE FUTURE.+
NOVEMBER ORDERS-ON-HAND, EMPLOYMENT, PAYROLL FIGURES OUT
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THE AVERAGE VOLUME OF ORDERS-ON-HAND IN TERMS OF MONTHS IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN NOVEMBER 1984 WAS SIMILAR TO THAT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
WHILE INCREASES IN ORDERS-ON-HAND WERE REPORTED IN THE FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS AND THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS INDUSTRIES, SOME DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN THE WEARING APPAREL AND TEXTILES INDUSTRIES.
EMPLOYMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR AS A WHOLE DECREASED, COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS MONTH'S FIGURES.
THE DECLINES IN EMPLOYMENT WERE MORE SIGNIFICANT IN THE FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS, THE PLASTIC PRODUCTS AND THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS INDUSTRIES. IN THE CASE OF THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS INDUSTRY, INCREASED AUTOMATION WAS QUOTED AS A MAJOR CAUSE.
EMPLOYMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR INCREASED SLIGHTLY DUE TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF SOME NEW PROJECTS. THIS IS THE FIRST INCREASE RECORDED SINCE JUNE, 1984.
IN THE SERVICES SECTORS, EMPLOYMENT REMAINED UNCHANGED
COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS MONTH.
DECREASES IN PAYROLL AND IN PER CAPITA EARNINGS WERE REPORTED IN MOST MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES BECAUSE OF A DROP IN THE PAYMENT OF OVERTIME ALLOWANCES.
/PAYROLL AND