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MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1985
QUARTERLY JOBLESS RATE STABLE AT 3.3 PER CENT
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED STABLE WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION DETERIORATED SLIGHTLY IN THE QUARTER JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WHEN COMPARED WITH THE QUARTER ENDING MAY 1985, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WAS 3.3 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.2 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MAY 1985. THE RATE FOR JUNE - AUGUST 1984 WAS 3.4 PER CENT. THE INCREASE OF 0.1 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND THE DECREASE OF 0.1 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE YEAR ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING AUGUST 1985 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 88 100, COMPARED WITH 83 700 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MAY 1985 AND 90 800 FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF 1984.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WAS 1.4 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 1.0 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE RATE FOR JUNE - AUGUST 1984 WAS 0.9 PER CENT. THE INCREASES OF 0.4 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND 0.5 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE YEAR ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT THAT IS. THEY ARE GREATER THAN MIGHT BE EXPECTED TO ARISE FROM SAMPLING ERROR.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING AUGUST 1985 WAS 36 000 COMPARED WITH 26 700 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MAY 1985 AND 24 500 FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF 1984.
CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), 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 ADDED THAT BASED ON A SYSTEM OF MANUAL EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION FROM SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR THE LATEST MONTH, PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LASTEST MOVING THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SURVEY, THESE PROVIDE AN EARLY INDICATION OF THE LATEST TREND IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION. THE PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED) FOR JULY - SEPTEMBER 1985 WAS 3.7 PER CENT, AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 1.3 PER CENT. HOWEVER, IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WILL BE LOWER AFTER SESAONAL ADJUSTMENT. THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WAS 3.6 PER CENT.
/THE UNEMPLOYMENT