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"Now we must build on this foundation, in the same spirit in which it was laid. The rule of law will remain our guiding principle. We will not allow the independence of judiciary to be fettered," he said.

As set out clearly in the Policy Commitments, the Government would continue to co-ordinate the review of legislation to ensure its compliance with BORO, Mr Suen said.

"We will expedite action in establishing the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure that our discrimination legislation and data protection legislation are fully implemented." he said.

End

Unemployment and underemployment statistics

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period August to October 1995 was 3.6%, and the underemployment rate was 2.3%, according to the latest labour force statistics released today (Friday) by the Census and Statistics Department.

The provisional seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period September to November 1995 remained at 3.6%, while the provisional underemployment rate was slightly lower, at 2.2%.

Commenting on the latest figures, a government spokesman said while the unemployment rate was still relatively high, the labour market situation seemed to have remained generally stable.

"Unemployment in the restaurants, and community, social and personal services sectors declined, offsetting the rise in unemployment in the construction and transport sectors. Unemployment in the manufacturing sector remained broadly stable. "As to underemployment, there was some reduction mainly in construction," the spokesman said.

The spokesman also noted that total employment continued to show a notable increase, by 2.4% in the three months ending October 1995 over a year earlier. But total labour supply rose even faster, by 3.9% over the same period.

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