SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 1935
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QUARTERLY JOBLESS RATE DECLINES
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION IMPROVED WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED LARGELY STABLE IN THE QUARTER DECEMBER 1984 FEBRUARY 1985 WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1984, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
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THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1984 FEBRUARY 1985 WAS 3.1 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.8 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1984. THE RATE FOR DECEMBER 1983 - FEBRUARY 1984 WAS 4.0 PER CENT. THE DECREASES OF 0.7 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND 0.9 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 FEBRUARY 1985 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 82 100, AS COMPARED WITH 99 800 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1984 AND 100 900 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1984.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1984 - FEBRUARY 1985 WAS 1.2 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 1.0 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE RATE FOR DECEMBER 1983 - FEBRUARY 1984 WAS 1.6 PER CENT. THE DECREASE IN THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985 WAS 31 800, AS COMPARED WITH 24 900 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1984. THE NUMBER FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1984 WAS 41 400.
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.
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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.
HE ALSO