SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1986
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS RELEASED
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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION IMPROVED IN THE QUARTER AUGUST-OCTOBER 1986, COMPARED WITH THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1986, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR AUGUST-OCTOBER 1986 WAS 2.6 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RATES OF 2.9 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1986 AND 3.3 PER CENT FOR THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
THE DECREASES OF 0.3 PERCENTAGE POINT COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND OF 0.7 PERCENTAGE POINT COMPARED WITH THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE PERIOD AUGUST-OCTOBER 1986 WAS ESTIMATED AT 70 700, COMPARED WITH 79 900 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1986 AND 85 400 FOR THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR AUGUST-OCTOBER 1986 WAS 1.3 PER CENT. WHICH COMPARES WITH THE RATE OF 1.7 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1986. THE RATE FOR AUGUST-OCTOBER 1985 WAS 2.1 PER CENT.
THE DECREASES OF 0.4 PERCENTAGE POINT COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND OF 0.8 PERCENTAGE POINT COMPARED WITH THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR AUGUST- OCTOBER 1986 WAS 35 400, COMPARED WITH 45 700 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1986 AND 55 500 FOR AUGUST-OCTOBER 1985.
CONSISTENT WITH THE LATEST RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK DUE TO ECONOMIC REASONS (SUCH AS SLACK WORK, MATERIAL SHORTAGE, MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN AND INABILITY TO FIND FULL-TIME WORK) WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE EITHER SEEKING OR AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.
COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.
THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM OF MANUAL EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION FROM SÚRVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR THE LATEST MONTH, PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SURVEY.
THESE PROVIDE