XN000022-1985-02-14 — Page 5

-

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1985

LADY YOUDE TOURS KWAI CHUNG AND TSING YI

****

LADY YOUDE VISITED VARIOUS PLACES IN KWAI CHUNG AND TSING YI THIS (THURSDAY) AFTERNOON TO SEE THE SHIP-REPAIR INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES.

ACCOMPANIED BY THE TSUEN WAN DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, MR CHAN SUI-JEUNG, AND THE KWAI CHUNG AND TSING YI DISTRICT OFFICER, MR TAM WING-PONG, SHE VISITED THE CHEUNG CHING COMMUNITY CENTRE ON TSING YI ISLAND AND MET MEMBERS OF THE CHING HONG YIN NGAI SOCIETY AND REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL ORGANISATIONS.

LADY YOUDE THEN TOURED THE CHUNG MEI LO UK RESITE VILLAGE AND MET TSING YI RURAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

LATER SHE STOPPED AT THE HONG KONG UNITED DOCKYARDS AND LOOKED AT THE REPAIR FACILITIES, INCLUDING THREE FLOATING DOCKS FOR ALL TYPES OF SHIPS.

FROM TSING YI ISLAND, LADY YOUDE WENT TO THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY TRAINING CENTRE IN LAI KING. SHE WAS BRIEFED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY TRAINING AUTHORITY, MR FRANCIS TIEN, ON THE TRAINING FACILITIES PROVIDED IN THE CENTRE.

-

AT HER LAST STOP THE S.K.H. LADY MACLEHOSE CENTRE - LADY YOUDE MET THE CENTRE DIRECTOR, MRS NANCY LAM, AND SAW THE OPERATIONS OF AN ELDERLY CO-OPERATIVE WORKSHOP AND A NURSERY IN THE CENTRE,

QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED

*****

THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION REMAINED LARGELY STABLE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1984, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR OCTOBER DECEMBER 1984 WAS 3.8 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.5 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1984. THE RATE FOR OCTOBER - DECEMBER 1983 WAS 4.1 PER CENT. THE INCREASE OF 0.3 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND THE DECREASE OF 0.3 PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1983, WERE BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1984 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 99 500, AS COMPARED WITH 92 400 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 1984 AND 105 500 FOR THE SAME QUARTER OF 1983.

"THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT