THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1992
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
NOVEMBER 1991 RELEASED
* *
FOR SEPTEMBER
++
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR
SEPTEMBER
ΤΟ
NOVEMBER LAST YEAR WAS 1.9%, AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 1.6%, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (THURSDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE PROVISIONAL SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER ΤΟ DECEMBER 1991 WAS 1.8%, WHILE THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 1.6%.
THE STEADY DECREASE IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SINCE THE MIDDLE OF LAST YEAR INDICATED THAT CONDITIONS IN THE LABOUR MARKET HAD TIGHTENED UP AGAIN IN RECENT MONTHS. MEANWHILE, THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED GENERALLY STABLE.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER 1991 WAS 1.9%, COMPARED WITH 2.2% FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING AUGUST 1991 AND 1.4% FOR SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER 1990.
ALTHOUGH THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.5 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT HIGHER THAN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER, IT WAS 0.3 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT LOWER THAN THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD.
THESE DIFFERENCES ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY
THAT THEY ARE NOT DUE TO SAMPLING FLUCTUATIONS.
SIGNIFICANT, MEANING
SEPTEMBER 61,700 SEPTEMBER
-
IN
S
THE THREE MONTHS NOVEMBER 1990.
THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN
1991 WAS NOVEMBER
ESTIMATED AT 53,400, COMPARED WITH ENDING AUGUST 1991
IN AND 39,500
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT
SEPTEMBER RATE FOR
B
—
NOVEMBER
1.6%, COMPARED WITH 1.5% FOR JUNE AUGUST 1991 AND
SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 1990.
THE
1991 WAS
0.9% FOR
INCREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT, WHILE THE INCREASE OF 0.7 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD YEAR EARLIER IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
THE
—
PERSONS
IN
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 1991 WAS 45,700, COMPARED WITH 40,500 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING AUGUST 1991 AND 24,800 IN SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 1990.
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.
/AS THE