ENG-1980 — Page 78

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Employment

HONG KONG's total employed population recorded in the Labour Force Survey held in September, 1980, was 2,268,700 - comprising 1,477,200 males and 791,500 females. The Labour Force Survey is a sampled household survey. The distribution was: agriculture and fishing, mining and quarrying, 30,700; manufacturing, 947,000; electricity, gas and water, 12,400; construction, 172,400; wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels, 460,500; transport, storage and communications, 171,000; financing, insurance, real estate and business services, 110,100; community, social and personal services, 364,500; and unclassifiable activities, 200.

The Manufacturing Employment Survey, also held in September, recorded a total of 892,140 people engaged in 45,409 establishments. The Manufacturing Employment Survey is an establishment survey. It covers working proprietors and partners, employees receiving pay, and unpaid family workers affiliated to business organisations, but excludes the self-employed, out-workers, and other unpaid workers who are included in the household- type survey. Some 380,250 people - the largest share of the manufacturing workforce were engaged in the textile and wearing apparel industries. The electrical industry and the plastics industry were the next two largest employers. Details of the distribution of manu- facturing establishments, and of the numbers of people engaged in them, are given in Appendices 13 and 14.

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The bulk of the manufacturing workforce is concentrated in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. However, industrial development in the New Territories is increasing and more than one-quarter of the manufacturing workforce now works there.

Labour Legislation

During 1980, 14 items of labour legislation were enacted to further improve workers' safety, health and welfare. This brings the total number of items of labour legislation enacted in the past decade to 141.

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The Employment Ordinance was amended to require the posting up of extracts of labour legislation and to bring employment agencies dealing solely with the recruitment of domestic helpers within the ambit of the Employment Agencies Regulations. So that the Employment Ordinance might deal with all measures of a social nature relating to employment – leaving the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance to deal with safety at work the regulations concerning hours of work for women and young people were transferred to its control during the year and formed a separate set of regulations under the ordinance. Under this set of regulations the permitted period of employment for young people was further reduced to provide for a period of at least 12 hours rest at night. To further strengthen legislation preventing the employment of children, several amendments were made to the Employment of Children Regulations.