XN000022-1984-09-14 — Page 6

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1984

THE DECREASES OF 0.7 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND OF 0.5 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE SAME QUARTER OF LAST YEAR WERE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, THAT IS, THE DECREASES WERE GREATER THAN COULD BE EXPLAINED BY SAMPLING ERROR, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID.

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING JULY, WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 90 200, AS COMPARED WITH 103 800 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING IN APRIL, AND 99 900 FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF LAST YEAR.

A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN COMMENTED THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 3.4 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY 1984 WAS VERY LOW, SUGGESTING THAT THE LABOUR FORCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY FULLY EMPLOYED.

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY-JULY WAS 0.9 PER CENT

THE DROP WAS WHILE THAT FOR FEBRUARY-APRIL WAS 1.2 PER CENT. ALSO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE

FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF 1983 WAS 1.7 PER CENT.

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS WAS 23 200 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JULY, AS COMPARED WITH 31 200 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING APRIL, AND 42 400 FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF LAST YEAR.

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.

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 WHICH HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FOR THE VARIATION IN FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

BASED ON A SYSTEM OF MANUAL EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION FROM SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR THE LATEST MONTH, PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST MOVING THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SURVEY, HE SAID.

THE PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED) FOR JUNE-AUGUST WAS 3.9 PER CENT, AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.9 PER CENT. HOWEVER, THE PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE MAY CHANGE AFTER SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT. THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY-JULY WAS 3.7 PER CENT.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT