XN000022-1990-09-14 — Page 5

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1990

CONSISTENT WITH

THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK DUB TO ECONOMIC REASONS (SUCH AS SLACK WORK, MATERIAL SHORTAGE, MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN AND INABILITY TO FULL-TIME WORK) WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY EITHER SEEKING OR AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK.

FIND

WERE

CENSUS AND JOB SEEKERS MONTH то 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 ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

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 THE SURVEY.

AND

THESE PROVIDE AN EARLY INDICATION OF THE LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION. THE PROVISIONAL SEASONALLY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR JUNE AUGUST 1990 WAS 1.8 PER CENT PROVISIONAL UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 0.9 PER CENT.

-

ADJUSTED AND

THE

OBTAINED

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

THE SURVEY FOR MAY - JULY 1990 COVERED A QUARTERLY SAMPLE OF SOME 11,500 HOUSEHOLDS OR 41,000 PERSONS, SELECTED SCIENTIFICALLY TO REPRESENT THE LAND-BASED CIVILIAN NON-INSTITUTIONAL POPULATION IN HONG KONG.

BY

PERSONAL AND LABOUR FORCE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN THE SURVEY INTERVIEWING EACH 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 JUNE 1990 WILL AVAILABLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GROUND FLOOR, BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL AROUND SEPTEMBER 20 AT $11.50 COPY.

BE

GPO

PER

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