XN000022-1990-02-18 — Page 4

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1990

COMPARING DECEMBER 1989 WITH DECEMBER 1988, PER CAPITA EARNINGS INCREASED BY 23 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS. MOST MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES SURVEYED REPORTED SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES EARNINGS, WITH THE LARGEST INCREASES RECORDED IN ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS AND THE FOOD AND DRINKS INDUSTRIES.

WERE PARTLY

THE

IN PER CAPITA ELECTRICAL AND

HOWEVER, THESE INCREASES

BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TIMING OF ISSUING DOUBLE PAY AND YEAR-END BONUSES BY SOME COMPANIES BETWEEN 1988 AND 1989.

FEBRUARY

IN

IN 1989, THE CHINESE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS WERE IN EARLY

JANUARY AND MOST COMPANIES ISSUED DOUBLE PAY AND YEAR-END BONUSES

BEGAN 1989. IN 1990, THE CHINESE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS

IN LATE JANUARY AND A NUMBER OF COMPANIES SURVEYED HAD THEIR DOUBLE PAY AND YEAR-END BONUSES ISSUED IN DECEMBER 1989. THIS HAS TENDED TO DISTORT THE YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISONS FOR THE DECEMBER 1989 FIGURES.

IN THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES SURVEYED, EMPLOYMENT IN DECEMBER

CHANGE 1989 SHOWED LITTLE

WHEN COMPARED WITH NOVEMBER

BUT 1989, DECREASED SLIGHTLY WHEN COMPARED WITH DECEMBER 1988. PBR CAPITA NOVEMBER 1989 BUT EARNINGS IN DECEMBER 1989 INCREASED SLIGHTLY OVER SIGNIFICANTLY OVER DECEMBER 1988.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT FIGURES FOR THIS SECTOR COVER COMPANY EMPLOYEES ONLY; SITE WORKERS EMPLOYED BY LABOUR-ONLY SUB-CONTRACTORS ARE NOT INCLUDED.

IN THE SELECTED SERVICE SECTORS, THE OVERALL EMPLOYMENT

IN DECEMBER 1989 AS REPORTED BY THE COMPANIES SURVEYED REMAINED ALMOST THE SAME AS IN NOVEMBER 1989, BUT INCREASED SLIGHTLY WHEN COMPARED WITH DECEMBER 1988.

SUBSTANTIALLY YEAR-END INCREASE

PER CAPITA EARNINGS IN DECEMBER 1989 INCREASED OVER NOVEMBER 1989 DUE TO THE ISSUE OF DOUBLE PAY AND BONUSES BY SOME COMPANIES SURVEYED, WITH THE LARGEST RECORDED IN BANKS.

PER

A

CAPITA WHOLE,

THE

COMPARING DECEMBER 1989 WITH DECEMBER 1988, EARNINGS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR THE SERVICE SECTORS AS THOUGH THE COMPARISON IS AGAIN SOMEWHAT AFFECTED BY THE TIMING OF ISSUE OF DOUBLE PAY AND YEAR-END BONUSES IN 1988 AND 1989.

EMPLOYMENT AND PER THE PERCENTAGE CHANGES IN ORDERS-ON-HAND, CAPITA EARNINGS ARF SHOWN IN THE ATTACHED TABLES 1 TO 3.

CONSTRUCTION

AND

THE SURVEY COVERED A PANEL OF THE 200 LARGEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES AND THE 50 LARGEST COMPANIES IN THE SELECTED SERVICE SECTORS, CHOSEN BY REFERENCE TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT SIZES IN SEPTEMBER 1986.

ON A BY

THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT AS THE SURVEY IS NOT BASED SCIENTIFICALLY SELECTED SAMPLE, THE MAGNITUDES OF CHANGE INDICATED THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE MERELY A REFLECTION OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE COMPANIES SURVEYED.

/HOWEVER,

GIVEN