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FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1989
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS FOR DEC FEB RELEASED
BOTH THE UNEMPLOYMENT
REMAINED AT A VERY LOW LEVEL
RATE AND THE UNDEREMPOLYMENT RATE DURING THE PERIOD DECEMBER 1988 FEBRUARY 1989, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THESE FIGURES SHOW THAT THE LABOUR MARKET STILL VERY TIGHT,
CONDITIONS WERE
1988
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER FEBRUARY 1989 WAS 1.2 PER CENT COMPARED WITH 1.
.3 .PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1988 AND 1.6 PER CENT FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.
THE DECREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE PRECEDING THREE MONTHS PERIOD IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT WHILE THE DECREASE OF 0.4 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
FEBRUARY
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPOLYED PERSONS IN DECEMBER 1988 1989 WAS ESTIMATED AT 33,600, COMPARED WITH 36,900 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1988 AND 44,600 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1988.
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THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR DECEMBER 1988 FEBRUARY 1989 WAS 0.6 PER CENT, WHICH WAS THE SAME AS THAT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1988. THE RATE FOR DECEMBER 1987 FEBRUARY 1988 WAS 0.8 PER CENT.
THE DECREASE OF 0.2 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER 18 STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
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THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR DECEMBER 1988
THE FEBRUARY 1989 WAS 17,200, COMPARED WITH 18,100 FOR
THREE MONTHS ENDING NOVEMBER 1988 AND 22,700 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1988.
CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 36 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 UNDEREMPOLYED 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 (FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH ΤΟ MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ΤΟ TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.
JOB-SEEKERS
THE COMMISSIONER