XN000022-1989-06-15 — Page 12

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THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1989

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PER JANUARY

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR FEBRUARY APRIL 1989 WAS 0. 8 CENT, COMPARED WITH 0.7 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING 1989 AND 0.9 PER CENT FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

THE INCREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE DECREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY

SIGNIFICANT.

NOT

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR FEBRUARY APRIL 1989 WAS 22,200, COMPARED WITH 19,900 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1989 AND 24,700 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1988.

CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS

THE THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK DUE TO ECONOMIC REASONS (SUCH AS SLACK WORK, MATERIAL SHORTAGE, MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN AND INABILITY TO FIND FULL-TIME WORK) WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE EITHER SEEKING AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.

OR

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS IE.G. PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME JO8-SEEKERS SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM OF PROVISIONAL COUNTS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST THREE MONTHS PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SURVEY. THESE PROVIDE AN EARLY INDICATION OF THE LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION, THE PROVISIONAL SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MARCH MAY 1989 WAS 1.5 PER CENT AND THE PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.9 PER CENT.

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THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THIS SURVEY COVERS A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 14,000 HOUSEHOLDS OR 51,000 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 BACH 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.

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IS GIVEN IN THE REPORT ON THE GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY WHICH IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR. THE NEXT REPORT COVERING THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 1989 WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GPO BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL, AROUND JUNE 20 AT $10 PER COPY.

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