XN000022-1991-06-19 — Page 2

1

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1991

UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS FOR FEBRUARY

J

APRIL 1991

—

BOTH THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE DURING THE PERIOD FEBRUARY APRIL 1991, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (WEDNESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE FIGURES SHOWED THAT THE LABOUR MARKET HAD BECOME LESS TIGHT IN RECENT MONTHS.

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR FEBRUARY 1991 WAS 2.1%, COMPARED WITH 1.4% FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING 1991 AND 1.8% FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

APRIL JANUARY

·

THE INCREASES OF 0.7 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE PRECEDING THREE-MONTH PERIOD AND 0.3 OF A PERCENTAGE POINT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

-

WAS

THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS IN FEBRUARY APRIL 1991 ESTIMATED AT 59,000, COMPARED WITH 38,400 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1991 AND 48,700 IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

W

APRIL 1991 WAS 2.1%, JANUARY 1991 AND FEBRUARY

THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FOR FEBRUARY COMPARED WITH 0.7% FOR BOTH NOVEMBER 1990

APRIL 1990.

L

―

THE INCREASE OF 1.4 PERCENTAGE POINTS OVER THE PRECEDING THREE- MONTH PERIOD AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

--

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF UNDEREMPLOYED PERSONS IN FEBRUARY APRIL 1991 WAS 57,700, COMPARED WITH 18,500 IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1991 AND 20,300 IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD A YEAR EARLIER.

OF

CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS

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

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (FOR EXAMPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIES FROM MONTH TO MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THAT HAD BEEN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS SHOULD BR USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS OVER TIME.

THE COMMISSJONER ADDED THAT, BASED ON A SYSTEM OF PROVISIONAL COUNTS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES COVERING THE LATEST THREE-MONTH PERIOD COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER SURVEY.

THE

THESE PROVIDE AN EARLY INDICATION OF THE AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT SITUATION.

LATEST

UNEMPLOYMENT

/THE PROVISIONAL