TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1986
9
JOBLESS RATE REMAINS STABLE
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED STABLE IN THE QUARTER DECEMBER 1985-FEBRUARY 1986 COMPARED WITH THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1985, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1985- FEBRUARY 1986 WAS 3.2 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.4 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1985 AND 3.1 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985. THE CHANGES IN THE RATE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985 ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.
THE NUMBER OF THE UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1986 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 84 600, COMPARED WITH 88 900 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1985 AND 82 100 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1985-FEBRUARY 1986 WAS 1.1 PER CENT, WHICH IS THE SAME AS THAT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1985. THE RATE FOR DECEMBER 1984-FEBRUARY 1985 WAS 1.2 PER CENT.
THE DECREASE OF 0.1 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985 IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1986 WAS 27 800, COMPARED WITH 30 100 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1985 AND 31 800 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1985.
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.
COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB SEEKERS (THAT IS, 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 LATEST MOVING THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SURVEY.
/THESE PROVIDE
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