XN000022-1997-02-20 — Page 20

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To encourage secondary school students to visit the Expo and collect careers information, the Labour Department's Careers Advisory Service has arranged group visits for about 12,000 students from over 120 schools.

"To introduce its employment services, the Labour Department has set up a booth at the Expo. An integrated approach is adopted in the presentation of the multi- dimensional employment services provided by the department for different client groups such as young people, people with a disability and the unemployed," Senior Labour Officer (Careers and Employment Agencies), Mrs Louisa Poon said.

"Colourful displays in the booth carry information on the Job Matching Programme, Job Matching Centre, careers advisory, employment and selective placement services," she added.

Moreover, there are computer games to test participants' knowledge of career options and services provided by the Labour Department as well as video shows on principles in choosing suitable career, summer job traps and support services to the employers employing people with a disability.

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Unemployment and underemployment statistics

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period October - December 1996 was revised marginally downwards to 2.6%, 0.1 of a percentage point lower than the provisional figure released last month. No revision was made to the underemployment rate, at 1.6%. These latest labour force statistics are released today (Thursday) by the Census and Statistics Department.

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For the period November 1996 January 1997, both the provisional seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and the provisional underemployment rate edged lower, to 2.5% and 1.4% respectively.

Commenting on these figures, a Government spokesman said that labour market conditions showed further improvement in the most recent months. Reflecting this, the unemployment rate fell back to the 2.5% level, which was also that for the three-month period ending October 1996. Such level was the lowest since the three- month period ending February 1995. Concurrently, the underemployment rate also fell back to the low level in early 1995.

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