XN000022-1989-09-14 — Page 5

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1989

THE DECREASES OF 0.3 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE

0.5 OF A PERCENTAGE THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND

YEAR

PERIOD

A

PRECEDING

POINT BELOW THE ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY

CORRESPONDING

SIGNIFICANT.

THE NUMBER OF

EARLIER

MAY PERSONS IN

UNEMPLOYED

JULY 1989 WAS MONTHS ENDING

ESTIMATED AT 34,100 COMPARED WITH 40,500 FOR THE THREE APRIL 1989 AND 46,600 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JULY 1988.

- -

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MAY JULY 1989 WAS 0.7 PER COMPARED WITH 0.8 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING APRIL 1989 0.6 PER CENT FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

CENT

AND

THE PRECEDING THE DECREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE INCREASE OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT

ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER

SIGNIFICANT.

MAY

-

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS FOR 1989 WAS 19,200, COMPARED WITH 22,200 FOR THE THREE MONTHS APRIL 1989 AND 16,100 FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JULY 1988.

WITH CONSISTENT

OVER

NOT

JULY ENDING

OF

THE

THAN MATERIAL

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 FULL-TIME WORK)

WERE WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.

SEEKING EITHER

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME (FOR EXAMPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY

THE

OF FIRST-TIME ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

NUMBER

OR

FOR

CENSUS AND JOB-SEEKERS FROM MONTH TO TAKE ADJUSTED TO

JOB-SEEKERS

OF PROVISIONAL

THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM

RATES COVERING THE COUNTS,

THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT

AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE

THE OF

LATEST EARLY INDICATION AFTER THE SURVEY. THESE PROVIDE AN UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION.

THE PROVISIONAL SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR

PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT THE PER CENT AND AUGUST 1989 WAS 1.3

JUNE

WERE OBTAINED

RATE WAS 0.6 PER CENT.

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

THIS

COVERS SURVEY

HOUSEHOLDS OR 52,000 PERSONS,

OF SOME 14,000 TO REPRESENT

SAMPLE A QUARTERLY

SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY THE LAND-BASED CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG.

/PERSONAL AND