XN000022-1980-07-24 — Page 2

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1980

MARCH 1980 LABOUR FORCE SURVEY

*****

THERE WERE SOME 73 000 UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN HONG KONG IN MARCH REPRESENTING 3.2 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL LABOUR FORCE, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF A SAMPLE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE FIGURES COMPARE WITH THE MARCH 1979 FIGURE OF 48 200 OR 2.3 PER CENT OF THE LABOUR FORCE, AND THE SEPTEMBER 1979 FIGURE OF 74 600 OR 3.4 PER CENT.

COMMENTING ON THE RESULTS, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS, MR C.C. GREENFIELD, SAID THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED EFFECTIVELY UNCHANGED OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS THE DECREASE IN THE RATE OF 0.2 PER CENT BEING STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT.

HOWEVER, HE SAID, THERE WERE USUALLY SUBSTANTIALLY MORE FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS — PEOPLE WHO JUST LEFT SCHOOL — IN SEPTEMBER THAN IN MARCH.

THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS ESTIMATED IN THE SEPTEMBER 1979 SURVEY WAS 18 600 COMPARED WITH 6 600 IN THE MARCH 1980 SURVEY -- A DECREASE OF 12 000 PEOPLE.

IF THE SEPTEMBER 1979 RATE IS ADJUSTED FOR THE SEASONAL INFLUENCE TO PUT IT ON THE SAME BASIS AS THE MARCH 1980 RATE IT BECOMES 2.8 PER CENT. THE CORRECTED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS FIGURE AND THE MARCH 1980 RATE OF AN INCREASE IN THE RATE OF 0.4 PER CENT IS, THEREFORE, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

ALTHOUGH THERE WAS AN ACTUAL INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT (AN ABSOLUTE INCREASE IN THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS OF 10 400) OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, THERE WAS ALSO AN INCREASE IN JOB OPPORTUNITIES TAKEN UP BECAUSE THE SIZE OF THE LABOUR FORCE ROSE BY 85 300.

THE COMMISSIONER EXPLAINED THAT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY, PEOPLE AGED BETWEEN 14 AND 64 WHO WERE NOT IN EMPLOYMENT OR WHO HAD WORKED FOR LESS THAN 15 HOURS IN THE SEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE SURVEY DATE, BUT WERE LOOKING FOR WORK, WERE CLASSIFIED AS UNEMPLOYED.

THE COMMISSIONER FURTHER DREW ATTENTION TO THE VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF UNEMPLOYMENT USED BY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

IN HONG KONG, THE DEFINITION UNEMPLOYED' INCLUDED PEOPLE WHO HAD JUST LEFT ́SCHOOL AND WHO REALLY HAD NOT MUCH OF A CHANCE TO FIND A JOB OR WHO HAD JUST, BUT ONLY JUST, TAKEN UP WORK- OR WHO HAD TEMPORARILY BEEN LAID OFF WORK (WORKING LESS THAN 15 HOURS IN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS) OR WHO WERE AVAILABLE FOR WORK, BUT WERE NOT ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR WORK BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS NONE TO BE HAD OR BECAUSE THEY WERE TEMPORARILY SICK.

A GREENFIELS