XN000022-1983-08-12 — Page 2

1

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1983

LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS FOR APRIL-JUNE QUARTER

****

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY RELEASED THE FOLLOWING LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS FOR THE QUARTER APRIL - JUNE 1983 OBTAINED FROM THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY.

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER APRIL - JUNE 1983 WAS 4.4 PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH 5.1 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1983.

THIS LATEST RESULT CONFIRMS THE POINT NOTED LAST MONTH THAT UNEMPLOYMENT IS NOW DROPPING. THE RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE LAST YEAR WAS 3.2 PER CENT, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS POINTED OUT TODAY.

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983 WAS PROVISIONALLY ESTIMATED TO BE 110 000, AS COMPARED WITH 127 300 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, AND 79 400 FOR THE CORRESPONDING QUARTER LAST YEAR.

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.9 PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH 2.5 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1983.

THE PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 49 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE, AS COMPARED WITH 63 200 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 MORE WORK WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

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 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 JUNE 1983 WAS HOWEVER ALSO 4.4 PER CENT.

HE ADDED THAT DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS GIVEN IN THE REPORT OF THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY WHICH IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR.

THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1983 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE NEXT MONTH,

/2