XN000022-1983-08-09 — Page 2

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1983

MORE JOB VACANCIES IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

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THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER

OF VACANCIES IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR AS A RESULT OF THE RECOVERY OF HONGKONG'S EXPORT SECTOR AND MORE EMPLOYEES ARE NOW WORKING LONGER HOURS.

THIS WAS STATED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, SIR JOHN BREMRIDGE.

SPEAKING AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE FEDERATION OF HONG KONG INDUSTRIES, SIR JOHN POINTED OUT THAT IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING MAY, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS FIVE PER CENT AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 2.2 PER CENT, BOTH BELOW THEIR PEAKS RECORDED EARLIER IN THE YEAR.

+MOREOVER, THERE ARE CLEAR INDICATIONS, WHICH MAY SOON BE CONFIRMED BY STATISTICS, THAT THESE FALLS HAVE CONTINUED,+ HE SAID.

LOOKING AHEAD, SIR JOHN SAID THERE WERE SIGNS THAT HONGKONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORT PERFORMANCE WOULD REMAIN STRONG IN THE COMING MONTHS.

+FIRST MANY MANUFACTURERS ARE REPORTING A CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR ORDER BOOK POSITIONS. SECOND, THE GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS OF. RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES PICKED UP RAPIDLY IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF THIS YEAR,

+1 THUS EXPECT MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY TO INCREASE FURTHER AS THESE RETAINED IMPORTS ARE PROCESSED INTO FINISHED GOODS FOR EXPORT, HE SAID.

SIR JOHN DESCRIBED THE ECONOMY AT PRESENT AS BEING IN THE FOOTHILLS OF AN EXPORT-LED RECOVERY.

+IT IS TOO SOON FOR TOTAL OPTIMISM, FOR THERE REMAIN HEAVY CLOUDS - NOT LEAST OVER THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SCENE - BUT EVEN A CONSERVATIVE MAN WILL ACCEPT THAT THE SKY IS BRIGHTER,+ HE SAID.

HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORT GROWTH HAS GATHERED MOMENTUM SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, IMPROVING BY 14 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS, OR ABOUT NINE PER CENT IN REAL TERMS, IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS AGAINST THE SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR.

+MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, ALTHOUGH THE YEAR ON YEAR GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS WAS ONLY THREE PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER, IT WAS ABOUT 14 PER CENT IN THE SECOND,

+IN PARTICULAR, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES, BY FAR OUR LARGEST MARKET, GREW BY 25 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS, OR ABOUT 16 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS, IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR,+ HE SAID.

/SIR JOHN