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Duration of unemployment and how to alleviate unemployment
Following is a question by the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan and a reply by acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Miss Jacqueline Willis, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
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Question:
In the past year, the unemployment rate has been at a consistently high level, and the average duration of unemployment has also shown a tendency to become more prolonged. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following:
(a)
(b)
(c)
with reference to the last two years' quarterly unemployment figures, what is the connection between the duration of unemployment and such factors as industry, occupation, academic qualification, sex, and age distribution for each quarter;
what are the achievements and effects of each of the initiatives mentioned at the two Summit Meetings on Employment convened by the Governor last year; and
What other new initiatives the Government will take to alleviate the unemployment problem?
Reply:
Mr President,
(a)
On the duration of unemployment, the median duration of unemployment (MDU) is the most commonly used statistical measure. The statistics gathered by the Census & Statistics Department through the General Household Survey indicate that the MDU during the period from the 4th quarter of 1993 to the 3rd quarter of 1995 ranged from 61 to 80 days (around 2 to 2.5 months). The detailed breakdown of the quarterly MDU statistics during this period has been tabled for Members' reference.