XN000022-1990-05-14 — Page 2

MONDAY, MAY 14, 1990

1

JAN-MAR UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS RELEASED

-

RATE

THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT REMAINED STABLE AT A LOW LEVEL DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY MARCH 1990.

THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SUGGEST THAT THE LABOUR MARKET HAS BECOME LESS TIGHT.

BY

-

MARCH

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY

THE THREE 1990 WAS 1.7 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 1.3 PER CENT FOR BOTH MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER

THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

1989 AND

EARLIER

ARE

THE INCREASES OF 0.4 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD

YEAR BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

A

MARCH 1990 WAS THE THREE MONTHS

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN JANUARY ESTIMATED AT 46,300, COMPARED WITH 35,800 IN BOTH ENDING DECEMBER 1989 AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1989.

MARCH 1990 WAS 0.7 PER THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JANUARY CENT,

THE COMPARED WITH 0.8 PER CENT FOR BOTH

ENDING THREE MONTHS DECEMBER 1989 AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

PRECEDING THE DECREASES OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT BELow the

A YEAR EARLIER ARE THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF

UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS IN

WITH COMPARED

22,800

THE IN

JANUARY

THREE MONTHS

MARCH 1990 WAS 18,300, ENDING DECEMBER 1989 AND 21,300 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING MARCH 1989.

CURRENT

THE THAN MATERIAL FULL-TIME WORK)

SEEKING OR

CONSISTENT WITH THE

OF 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.

EITHER WERE

CENSUS AND JOB SEEKERS FROM MONTH TO ADJUSTED TO TAKE JOB-SEEKERS

FOR THE COMMISSIONER COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, 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 ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN

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

NUMBER

THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM

UNEMPLOYMENT THE

RATES UNDEREMPLOYMENT

AND

COUNTS, LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE

AVAILABLE

OF PROVISIONAL

COVERING THE WITHIN TWO WEEKS

AFTER THE SURVEY.

/THESE PROVIDE