- 35 -
-
(b)
(c)
These statistics indicate that the median duration of unemployment had lengthened to 77 days in 1995 when the unemployment rate showed a marked rise. But as labour market conditions improved thereafter, the median duration of unemployment also fell, to 66 days by the third quarter of 1996, a level which was broadly the same as in 1993.
Breakdowns of the unemployed in the manufacturing sector by the reason of leaving their last job are provided in Table 1, and for the wholesale, retail, import/export trades, restaurants and hotels sector in Table 2.
Further breakdowns into the wholesale, retail and import/import trades sub-sector, and into the restaurants and hotels sub-sectors are however not available, as such breakdowns are subject to relatively large sampling errors.
In 1995, the proportion of dismissals/lay-offs in the manufacturing sector averaged at around 72%, and the proportion of the unemployed due to dissatisfaction with the job was around 22%. For the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels sector taken together, the proportion of dismissals/lay-offs was lower, at around 42%, while the proportion of the unemployed due to dissatisfaction with the job was higher, at around 46%.
Statistics gathered from the General Household Survey (GHS) on the proportion of discouraged workers, i.e. those unemployed persons who believe to have no chance of finding employment, are given in Table 3. Quarterly figures are subject to larger sampling errors and hence only the annual figures are presented here.
The total number of discouraged workers averaged at 1,900 in 1995, representing around 2% of the total number unemployed.
In the GHS, discouraged workers are defined as those unemployed persons who are available for work but have not sought work because they believe work is not available to them. The definition and coverage used in this regard follow closely the guidelines and recommendations of the International Labour Organisation. Currently, the GHS is based on a scientifically selected sample of some 27,000 living quarters covering around 80,000 persons in each quarter.