XN000022-1985-05-14 — Page 15

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AND SOUND RECORDING AND

14

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1985

2 078

690

+1 389

+201

REPRODUCING

APPARATUS

AND EQUIPMENT

ARTICLES OF

1 660

1 460

200

+ 14

APPAREL AND

CLOTHING

ACCESSORIES

OFFICE MACHINES

1 439

439

+1 000

+228

AND AUTOMATIC

DATA PROCESSING

EQUIPMENT

MISCELLANEOUS

1 420

913

507

+ 56

MANUFACTURED

ARTICLES

QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE FIGURES RELEASED

****

THE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION IMPROVED WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION DETERIORATED IN THE QUARTER JANUARY - MARCH 1985 WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1984. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY - MARCH 1985 WAS 3.3 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.8 PER CENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1984. THE RATE FOR JANUARY - MARCH 1984 WAS 4 PER CENT. THE DECREASES OF 0.5 AND 0.7 PERCENTAGE POINTS OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND THE SAME QUARTER OF LAST YEAR RESPECTIVELY ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, THAT IS, THEY ARE GREATER THAN MIGHT BE EXPECTED TO ARISE FROM SAMPLING ERROR.

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1985 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 84 500, AS COMPARED WITH 99 500 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1984 AND 102 000 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1984.

/THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT