6
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1987
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT
STATISTICS FOR MAY
—
JULY 1987
BOTH THE
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT
RATES REMAINED
STABLE AT A LOW LEVEL IN THE THREE MONTHS MAY - JULY 1987, COMPARED WITH THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1987, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT. THESE FIGURES INDICATE THAT THE LABOUR MARKET CONDITIONS HAVE REMAINED TIGHT, WITH THE LOCAL WORKFORCE FULLY EMPLOYED.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY JULY 1987 WAS 1.8 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 2 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1987 AND 2.9 PER CENT FOR THE SAME PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.
THE DECREASE OF 0.2 PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE PREVIOUS THREE MONTH PERIOD IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT, WHILE THE DECREASE OF 1.1 PERCENTAGE POINTS BELOW THE SAME PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER 19 STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
JULY 1987 WAS
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN MAY ESTIMATED AT 49,100, COMPARED WITH 54,100 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1987 AND 79,900 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JULY 1986.
P
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY JULY 1987 WAS 1 PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH 0.9 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1987. THE RATE FOR MAY JULY 1986 WAS 1.7 PER CENT.
—
THE INCREASE OF 0.1 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS THREE MONTH PERIOD IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT, WHILE THE DECREASE OF 0.
7 PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE SAME PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR MAY 1987 WAS 28,600, COMPARED WITH 24,800 FOR THE THREE MONTHS APRIL 1987 AND 45,700 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JULY 1986.
JULY ENDING
THE
THAN
CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS 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,
CENSUS AND JOB-SEEKERS
COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME (E.G. 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