4.4
Although there was an upturn in domestic export
performance in the first quarter of 1983, the demand for
labour, especially in the manufacturing sector, has not yet
shown a significant improvement. Nevertheless, the indirect
evidence drawn from a number of indicators appears to be less
pessimistic. For example, the number of persons on the register of the Local Employment Service (excluding those on
the Special Register and those seeking Model I pay scale jobs
with the Government) was still small relative to the total
economically active
population (6), although it was
on
average 21% higher in the first quarter of 1983 than in the
first quarter of 1982. Over the same period, the number of reported vacancies was 5% lower, but the quarterly figure conceals a fairly sharp increase of 11% in March this year
over March 1982. Meanwhile, the number of labour disputes
arising from retrenchment and business failures in the first
quarter was lower
lower than in the corresponding quarter of 1982,
and the number of retrenched workers reported to the Labour
Department, at 2 173, was also 61% lower.
Employment by sectors
4.5
Employment statistics for the fourth quarter of 1982
show that employment in the tertiary services sectors
continued to grow, while employment in the manufacturing
sector declined. The trend of the relative shift in the
distribution of employment in favour of the tertiary services
sectors thus continued.
/4.6 Manufacturing
...
(6) The average number of persons on the register of the Local Employment Service was 7 125 in the first quarter of 1983, representing roughly 0.3% of the labour force or 5.6% of the number of persons unemployed.
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