XN000022-1985-05-14 — Page 16

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TUESD., MAY 14, 1985

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY-MARCH 1985 WAS 1.3 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 0.8 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE RATE FOR JANUARY

THE RATE FOR JANUARY - MARCH 1984 WAS 1.5 PER CENT. THE INCREASE IN THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1985 WAS 34 100, AS COMPARED WITH 21 800 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING DECEMBER 1984 AND 37 800 FOR JANUARY - MARCH 1984.

CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (I.L.0.), 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 FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB SEEKERS (E.G. PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIED 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.

HE ALSO SAID THAT 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. THE PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (NOT SEASONALLY ADUSTED) FOR FEBRUARY - APRIL 1985 WAS 3.1 PER CENT, AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 1.1 PER CENT. THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY MARCH 1985 WAS ALSO 3.1 PER CENT.

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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY (GHS) CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT,

THIS SURVEY COVERS A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 14 000 HOUSEHOLDS OR 53 000 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 AGED 15 AND ABOVE IN THE HOUSEHOLD SAMPLED.

IN THE SURVEY. THE DEFINITIONS USED IN MEASURING UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT FOLLOW CLOSELY THOSE RECOMMENDED BY THE I.L.O.

THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS FURTHER POINTED OUT THAT TO CONFORM TO THE LATEST STANDARDS RECOMMENDED BY I.L.O.. THE GHS DEFINITIONS OF +UNEMPLOYMENT+ AND +UNDEREMPLOYMENT+ HAVE BEEN MODIFIED SINCE JANUARY 1985.

/HOWEVER, A