FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 195
UNEMPLOYMENT, UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION IMPROVED WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED STABLE IN THE QUARTER NOVEMBER 1984 - · JANUARY 1985, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT,
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR NOVEMBER 1984 JANUARY 1985 WAS 3.3 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.8 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER 1984. THE
THE RATE FOR NOVEMBER 1983 JANUARY 1984 WAS 3.7 PER CENT. DECREASES OF 0.5 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND 0.4 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE YEAR WERE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, THAT IS, THEY ARE GREATER THAN MIGHT BE EXPECTED TO ARISE FROM SAMPLING ERROR.
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1985 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 86 300, AS COMPARED WITH 99 900 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER 1984 AND 95 200 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1984.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR NOVEMBER 1984 - JANUARY 1985 WAS 1.1 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 1.0 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, THE RATE FOR NOVEMBER 1983 - JANUARY 1984 WAS 1.5 PER CENT. THE INCREASE IN THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER WAS NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1985 WAS 27 700, AS COMPARED WITH 26 500 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER 1984.
THE NUMBER FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1984 WAS 38 700.
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.
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 WHICH HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FOR THE VARIATION IN FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.
/THE COMMISSIONER