XN000022-1983-12-13 — Page 2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1983

UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION STABILISES

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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION HAS STABILISED SINCE THE SECOND QUARTER, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR AUGUST OCTOBER 1983 WAS 4.1 PER CENT COMPARED WITH 3.9 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1983 AND 3.8 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1983. CHANGES OF THIS ORDER ARE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. THE RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER LAST YEAR WAS 3.8 PER CENT.

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER 1983 WAS PROVISIONALLY ESTIMATED TO BE 103 000, AS COMPARED WITH 99 900 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING JULY 1983, AND 96 200 FOR THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR AUGUST OCTOBER 1983 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.6 PER CENT THE RATE FOR MAY - JULY 1983 WAS 1.7 PER CENT. THE PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 40 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER, AS COMPARED WITH 42 400 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING JULY 1983.

CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATION 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.

IN COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS 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 WHICH HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FOR THE VARIATION IN FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING OCTOBER 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 CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG.

PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE SURVEY BY INTERVIEWING EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER IN THE HOUSEHOLD SAMPLED.

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

THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1983 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE LATER THIS MONTH.

ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, TEL. NO.

5-452586.

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