XN000022-1985-08-14 — Page 14

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1925

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 1985 WAS 27 700, AS COMPARED WITH 34 100 FOR THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1985 AND 25 600 FOR APRIL-JUNE 1984.

CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEN WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE SEEKING MORE WORK OR WERE NOT SEEKING MORE WORK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED MORE WORK > 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) 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 MAN COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS ADDED 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.

THESE PROVIDE AN INDICATION OF THE LATEST TREND IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION. THE PROVISIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED) FOR MAY-JULY 1985 WAS 3.1 PER CENT, AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 1.2 PER CENT. THE UNADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR APRIL-JUNE 1985 MAS THREE PER CENT.

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 52 000 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 HOUSEHOLDS SAMPLED. IN THE SURVEY, THE DEFINITIONS USED IN MEASURING UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT FOLLOW CLOSELY THOSE RECOMMENDED BY THE ILO.

THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS FURTHER POINTED OUT THAT TO CONFORM TO THE LATEST STANDARDS RECOMMENDED BY THE ILO, THE GHS DEFINITIONS OF +UNEMPLOYMENT+ AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT+ HAVE BEEN MODIFIED SINCE JANUARY 1985. HOWEVER, A COMPLETE CONVERSION WILL ONLY BE INTRODUCED IN MAY 1986 WHEN A SUFFICIENTLY LONG SERICO

USTAL OF THE STATISTICS UNDER THE NEW DEFINITIONS IS AVAILABLE. THE NEW DEFINITIONS THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE APRIL-JUNE 1985 WAS 2.9 PER CENT, AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE. 1.5 PER CENT.

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS GIVL IN THE REPORT ON THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY WHICH IS PUBLISHEJ FOUR TIMES A YEAR. THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDOS JUNE 1985 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE AROUND SEPTEMBER 19.