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FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN
DECEMBER 1987-FEBRUARY 1988 WAS ESTIMATED AT 44,600, COMPARED WITH 53,400 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1987 AND 52,600 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1987.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1987-FEBRUARY 1988 WAS 0.8 PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH 1.1 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1987. THE RATE FOR DECEMBER 1986-FEBRUARY 1987 WAS 1.0 PER CENT.
THE DECREASES OF 0.3 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE PREVIOUS THREE MONTH PERIOD AND 0.2 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW A YEAR BARLIER ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR DECEMBER 1987 FEBRUARY 1988 WAS 22,700, COMPARED WITH 29,800 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1987 AND 27,400 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1987.
THE
CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF 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 ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (FOR EXAMPLE, 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 PROVISIONAL COUNTS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST 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 SEASONALLY ADJUSTED JANUARY-MARCH 1988 WAS 1.6 PER CENT UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.9 PER CENT.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR AND THE PROVISIONAL
THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY CONDUCTED
BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THIS SURVEY COVERS A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 14,000 HOUSEHOLDS OR 50,000 PERSONS, SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY TO REPRESENT THE LAND-BASED CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG.
/PERSONAL AND