XN000022-1996-01-17 — Page 32

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Studies on changes in labour productivity

Following is a question by the Hon Law Cheung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

As the structure of the economy of the territory has been undergoing the process of transformation, will the Government inform this Council whether it has conducted detailed studies to assess the changes in labour productivity in various industries, as well as the reasons for such changes, in the past ten year; if so, what the findings are?

Reply:

The Census and Statistics Department has conducted detailed studies on changes in labour productivity in the manufacturing industries. Growth in labour productivity in the manufacturing sector averaged around 10% per annum in recent years. Analysed by individual industries, labour productivity in the electrical and electronic products industry recorded very impressive improvement, at an average annual rate of around 15% in real terms during the period from 1982 to 1992. Productivity in the plastic products, fabricated metal products, textile and wearing apparel industries recorded relatively less rapid increases of 9-11% per annum.

These improvements are closely tied to the relocation of labour-intensive production processes across the border. On the other hand, manufacturing activities remaining in Hong Kong have been upgraded, through investment in machinery, equipment and new technology, to become more sophisticated and skill-intensive. Those outputs have higher value-added content.