XN000022-1986-11-20 — Page 3

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1986

THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE SERVICES SECTORS AS A WHOLE WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE THAT OF THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR, WITH THE BANKS RERISERING RELATIVELY LARGER INCREASES, THE PREVIOUS MONTH, HOWEVER, THERE WAS LITTLE CHANGE IN OVERALL

COMPARED WIT TERMS.

PAYROLL AND PER CAPITA EARNINGS IN THE SERVICES SECTORS IN SEPTEMBER 1986 WERE GENERALLY HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR. IN THE CASE OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, PER CAPITA EARNINGS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE PRECEDING MONTH DUE TO THE PAYMENT OF BONUSES.

THE PERCENTAGE CHANGES IN ORDERS-ON-HAND, EMPLOYMENT AND PER CAPITA EARNINGS ARE SHOWN IN TABLES.

THE SURVEY COVERED A PANEL OF THE 200 LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES AND THE 50 LARGEST COMPANIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND SELECTED SERVICES SECTORS, CHOSEN BY REFERENCE TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT IN MARCH 1983.

AS THE SAMPLE WAS NOT DRAWN ON A RANDOM BASIS, THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT RESULTS ON THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE MIGHT NOT REFLECT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE, ALTHOUGH THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE A USEFUL INDICATION OF THE DIRECTION OF CHANGE FOR A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ECONOMY IN THE SHORT TERM.

THE SURVEY REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 1986 IS ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING AND AT THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES COUNTER, KAI TAK COMMERCIAL BUILDING, AT $1.50 PER COPY.

ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS MAY BE MADE TO THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION STATISTICS SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT AT 3-7212854,

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