XN000022-1982-07-27 — Page 6

TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1982

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IN THE SOCIAL FIELD, MR GREENFIELD SAID, THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, WHICH WAS STARTED IN 1975 AND CARRIED OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS, HAS NOW BEEN REPLACED BY A MORE COMPREHENSIVE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY.

MR GREENFIELD SAID THAT IT WAS TO BE EXPECTED THAT EMPHASIS IN THE FUTURE WILL BE PLACED MORE ON THE SMALLER-SCALE, ECONOMIC SURVEYS, RATHER THAN THE LARGE-SCALE BENCHMARK CENSUSES.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS, HE SAID, CAN BE QUICKLY COMPILED FROM THE RESULTS OF THESE SHORT-TERM SURVEYS, WHEREAS RESULTS OF BENCHMARK CENSUSES TAKE A LONG TIME TO COLLECT AND ANALYSE AND CANNOT BE RELEASED IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME FOR IMMEDIATE USE.

THIS EMPHASIS WILL BE FACILITATED BY THE DEPARTMENT'S INCREASING USE OF COMPUTERS IN MANY AREAS OF ITS WORK TO FURTHER UPGRADE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF ITS SERVICES AND TO REDUCE ERRORS TO THE MINIMUM, HE SAID.

THE DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO CONDUCTED MANY OTHER SAMPLE SURVEYS, INCLUDING THOSE DEALING WITH CRIME VICTIMISATION, TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS, CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT, TEXTILE PRODUCTION AND MANPOWER.

THE RESULTS OF SOME OF THESE SURVEYS ARE PUBLISHED FOR GENERAL PUBLIC INTEREST, AND DETAILED ANALYSES OF THE DATA ARE MADE FOR USE ONLY BY VARIOUS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.

THE MOST POPULAR OF THESE PUBLICATIONS IS THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS, WHICH CONTAINS A WIDE RANGE OF INFORMATION ON POPULATION, VITAL STATISTICS, HOUSING AND OTHER SOCIAL TOPICS, EMPLOYMENT, PRODUCTION, FOOD SUPPLIES, PRICES, TRANSPORT, BANKING AND OTHER RELATED ECONOMIC TOPICS.

ANOTHER OF THE MORE POPULAR PUBLICATIONS IS THE HONG KONG TRADE STATISTICS, WHICH CARRIES A DETAILED BREAK-DOWN OF TRADE FIGURES BY COMMODITY AND FURTHER BY COUNTRY. PARTICULARLY IN DEMAND HAS BEN THE DECEMBER ISSUE OF THIS PUBLICATION WITH ITS SEPARATE SUPPLEMENT PROVIDING FIGURES BY COUNTRY AND FURTHER BY COMMODITY. MR GREENFIELD POINTED OUT, HOWEVER, THAT THE MAIN AIM OF THE PUBLICATIONS IS TO PROVIDE A SERVICE FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL AND NOT TO MAKE MONEY.