XN000022-1990-07-14 — Page 2

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SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1990

MARCH-MAY UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS RELEASED

RATE THE

REMAINED AT A UNEMPLOYMENT

LEVEL LOW

WHILE - MAY 1990. UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASED DURING THE PERIOD MARCH

THE

THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (SATURDAY) BY INDICATE THAT ALTHOUGH THE AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT THE CENSUS

D

ESI

FOR LABOUR HAS PROBABLY BECOME LESS INTENSE, IN THE LABOUR MARKET WERE NOT YET APPARENT.

STRONG SIGNS OF

-

MAY

1990

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MARCH WAS 1.6 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 1.5 PER CENT FOR BOTH THE THREE MONTHS END] FEBRUARY 1990 AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

PRECEDING EARLIER ARE

THE INCREASES OF 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR BOTH STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.

MAY 1990 WAS THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN MARCH -

THE THREE MONTHS WITH 40,800 IN AT ESTIMATED

44,200, COMPARED ENDING FEBRUARY 1990 AND 40,300 IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1989.

+

MAY 1990 WAS 1.0 PER CENT, THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MARCH

1990 COMPARED WITH 0.6 PER CENT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY AND 0.9 PER CENT FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

THE PRECEDING

OF

THE INCREASE OF 0.4 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THREE-MONTH PERIOD IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WHILE THE INCREASE 0.1 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER IS STATISTICALLY NOT SIGNIFICANT.

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS IN MARCH MONTHS THREE 1990 WAS 26,900, COMPARED WITH 17,500 IN THE FEBRUARY 1990 AND 25,800 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING MAY 1989.

CONSISTENT WITH

THE

CURRENT

RECOMMENDATIONS

OF

MAY ENDING

THE THAN

MATERIAL WORK)

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

SEEKING OR

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

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

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

THE

PROVISIONAL THE COMMISSIONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM OF COUNTS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER SURVEY. THESE PROVIDE AN EARLY INDICATION OF THE LATEST AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION.

UNEMPLOYMENT

/THE PROVISIONAL