XN000022-1989-05-15 — Page 6

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MONDAY, MAY 15, 1989

CONSISTENT

WITH

OF

THE THAN MATERIAL FULL-TIME WORKI WERE EITHER SEEKING OR

THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS 35 HOURS A WEEK DUE TO ECONOMIC REASONS (SUCH AS SLACK WORK, SHORTAGE. MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN AND INABILITY TO FIND WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.

FOR CENSUS AND JOB-SEEKERS

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME

TO I FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH

ADJUSTED ΤΟ TAKE MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY

THE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN

NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

OF PROVISIONAL

THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM

THE UNEMPLOYMENT

THE AND

RATES COUNTS,

UNDEREMPLOYMENT

COVERING WITHIN TWO WEEKS LATEST THREE MONTHS PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE

EARLY INDICATION OF THE AFTER THE SURVEY. THESE PROVIDE AN

LATEST

UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION.

THE

FEBRUARY

-

PROVISIONAL

APRIL

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

1989

UNEMPLOYMENT

RATE FOR

WAS 1.5 PER CENT AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.8 PER CENT.

THE COMMISSIONER SAID THAT ALTHOUGH THE UNEMPLOYMENT APPARENTLY EDGED UP, MORE OBSERVATIONS WERE REQUIRED BEFORE BE SAID THAT A TREND HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED.

RATE HAD

IT COULD

WERE OBTAINED CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS

THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THIS SURVEY

COVERS A

QUARTERLY

OF SAMPLE

SOME 14,000 SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY TO REPRESENT HOUSEHOLDS OR 51,000 PERSONS, THE LAND-BASED CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG.

ABOVE

SURVEY BY IN THE

PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE

AGED 15 AND

INTERVIEWING EACH

HOUSEHOLDS SAMPLED.

INDIVIDUAL

MEMBER

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

GIVEN IN DETAILED ANALYSIS OF LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS

WHICH IS PUBLISHED FOUR THE REPORT ON THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY TIMES A YEAR.

THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL AROUND JUNE 20 AT $10 PER COPY.

1989 SHOULD GPO BUILDING.

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