TNAG-0621-FCO40-769-Budget-of-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 136

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Chapter 5

EMPLOYMENT AND PRODUCTION

28.

The labour force

57.

The Census and Statistics Department estimated that the

unemployment rate in September 1976 was 4.6% compared with 9.1% and 5.6%

recorded respectively in the September 1975 and March 1976 Labour Force

Sample Surveys. The labour force was, towards the latter half of 1976,

probably as fully employed as it could be, for 4.6% is likely to be close

to the level of "structural unemployment" (that is unemployment resulting

from the difference in the type of worker demanded and the type of worker

available). In support of this contention, in 1971 when the economy

was progressing with a very rapid underlying trend growth, the unemployment

rate, as derived from the 1971 Foulation Census, was about 4.4%. It is

also borne out by the vacancy position referred to in paragraph 62 below.

Table 28

58.

Associated with the rapid drop in the unemployment rate between

September 1975 and September 1976 was a 3.2% decrease in the size of the

labour force. The labour force participation rate (the proportion which

the number of persons from 14 u wards who are working or unemployed bears

to the total number of ersons aged 14 and over) also decreased from 64.2%

in September 1975 to 62.4, in March 1976 and to 61.03 in September 1976.

These movements indicated that the rapid recovery of the economy experienced

in the latter half of 1975 and in 1976 had brought about significant

improvement in household incomes so that some housewives and teenagers

needed no longer to work. A comparison of labour force participation

rates analysed by age and by sex between Se tember 1975 and March 1976

Corresponding figures from the 1976 Population By-Census

confirmed this*.

are not yet available for comparison.

*

See Half-yearly Economic Report 1975.

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