XN000022-1983-05-13 — Page 5

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1983

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 2.5 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1983, WHICH COMPARES WITH 2.1 PER CENT FOR THE. QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1982. THE PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 63 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1983, AS COMPARED WITH 52 200 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.

CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION, 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 IT WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SECRETAR FAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT BECAUSE CHANGES IN UNEMPLOYMENT TEND TO LAG BEHIND CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY, THE INCREASES IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES IN THE FIRST "QUARTER OF THIS YEAR DID NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE UNDERLYING ECONOMIC SITUATION HAD CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE.

INDEED, GIVEN THE INDICATIONS OF SOME REVIVAL IN EXPORT PERFORMANCE AND IN MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY GENERALLY IN THE FIRST QUARTER, THE UNDERLYING ECONOMIC SITUATION IS ALREADY IMPROVING BUT THE IMPROVEMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN SUFFICIENT TO RESULT IN A FALL IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT OR UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES.

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 CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG, PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE SURVEY BY INTERVIEWING EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER IN THE HOUSEHOLDS SAMPLED.

IN COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (E.6. 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 MARCH 1983 WAS ALSO 5.1 PER CENT.

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. THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1983 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE AROUND JUNE 20.

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