MONDAY, MAY 14, 1990
1
JAN-MAR UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS RELEASED
-
RATE
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT REMAINED STABLE AT A LOW LEVEL DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY MARCH 1990.
THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SUGGEST THAT THE LABOUR MARKET HAS BECOME LESS TIGHT.
BY
-
MARCH
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY
THE THREE 1990 WAS 1.7 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 1.3 PER CENT FOR BOTH MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER
THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.
1989 AND
EARLIER
ARE
THE INCREASES OF 0.4 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD
YEAR BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
A
MARCH 1990 WAS THE THREE MONTHS
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN JANUARY ESTIMATED AT 46,300, COMPARED WITH 35,800 IN BOTH ENDING DECEMBER 1989 AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1989.
MARCH 1990 WAS 0.7 PER THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY CENT,
THE COMPARED WITH 0.8 PER CENT FOR BOTH
ENDING THREE MONTHS DECEMBER 1989 AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.
PRECEDING THE DECREASES OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELow the
A YEAR EARLIER ARE THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.
THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF
UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS IN
WITH COMPARED
22,800
THE IN
JANUARY
THREE MONTHS
MARCH 1990 WAS 18,300, ENDING DECEMBER 1989 AND 21,300 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING MARCH 1989.
CURRENT
THE THAN MATERIAL FULL-TIME WORK)
SEEKING OR
CONSISTENT WITH THE
OF RECOMMENDATIONS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS 35 HOURS A WEEK DUE TO ECONOMIC REASONS (SUCH AS SLACK WORK, SHORTAGE, MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN AND INABILITY TO FIND WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED, ONLY IF THEY AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.
EITHER WERE
CENSUS AND JOB SEEKERS FROM MONTH TO ADJUSTED TO TAKE JOB-SEEKERS
FOR THE COMMISSIONER COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME (FOR EXAMPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY
THE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN
OF FIRST-TIME SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.
NUMBER
THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM
UNEMPLOYMENT THE
RATES UNDEREMPLOYMENT
AND
COUNTS, LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE
AVAILABLE
OF PROVISIONAL
COVERING THE WITHIN TWO WEEKS
AFTER THE SURVEY.
/THESE PROVIDE