XN000022-1983-04-17 — Page 7

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SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 1983

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 2.6 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983, WHICH COMPARES WITH 1.9 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 1982. THE PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 64 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983, AS COMPARED WITH 46 900 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.

MR GREENFIELD EXPLAINED THAT, CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE SEEKING MORE WORK OR WERE NOT SEEKING MORE WORK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED MORE WORK WAS NOT AVAILABLE. IN OTHER WORDS, PEOPLE SUCH AS PART-TIME WORKERS WHO CHOSE TO WORK LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK AND WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK, WERE NOT UNDEREMPLOYED.

IN COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, HE SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (E.G. PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FOR THE VARIATIONS IN FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME. THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983 WAS 4.5 PER CENT.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT. THIS SURVEY COVERS A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 15 000 HOUSEHOLDS OR 55 000 PERSONS, SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY TO REPRESENT THE LAND-BASED POPULATION IN HONG KONG. PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE SURVEY BY INTERVIEWING EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER IN THE HOUSEHOLDS SAMPLED.

MR GREENFIELD DREW ATTENTION TO THE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS USED IN THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY COMPARED WITH THOSE USED IN THE PREVIOUS LABOUR FORCE SURVEY.

THE EFFECT OF THIS DIFFERENCE ON THE ESTIMATE OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, HOWEVER, WAS SMALL, HE SAID.

USING THE DEFINITIONS ADOPTED IN THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983 WAS 4.7 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE 4.5 PER CENT BASED ON THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DEFINITIONS.

HE ADDED THAT DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS GIVEN IN THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY REPORT WHICH IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR. THERE WILL BE NO REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING FEBRUARY 1983, BUT ONE COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING JANUARY 1983 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AROUND APRIL 20, 1983.

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