ENG-1996 — Page 165

EMPLOYMENT

sector. In September 1996, 1931 983 persons were engaged in establishments in the various service sectors (not including most of the self-employed and those engaged in the provision of personal services), an increase of 3.1 per cent over the corresponding figure in 1995. In contrast, only 327 464 persons were engaged in manufacturing sector establishments (excluding outworkers), a decrease of 15.2 per cent compared with a year earlier.

With this continuing shift in employment, many manufacturing workers have been displaced. The Employees Retraining Board, set up in 1992 to retrain affected workers, had put 154 608 workers through its retraining programmes by the end of the year.

The import and export trade was the largest employer in the service sectors, with 535 553 workers in September 1996. Other major service industry groups include the retail trade, restaurants and business services, which had 207 169, 186 970 and 152 409 employees, respectively.

Despite declining employment, the clothing industry remained the largest manufacturing industry, employing 89 632 persons in September 1996. Establishments in the printing and publishing industry and the electronics industry were the next two largest groups of employers in manufacturing, employing 44 436 and 30 944 persons, respectively. Details of the distribution of establishments and persons engaged by selected major industry group are shown at Appendices 21 and 22, respectively.

Wages

Wage rates are calculated on a time basis, either daily or monthly, or on an incentive basis according to the volume of work performed. The average wage rate for employees up to the supervisory level, including daily-rated and monthly-rated employees, increased by 6.4 per cent in money terms between September 1995 and September 1996. After discounting for rises in consumer prices, the average wage rate increased by 1.2 per cent in real terms.

In September 1996, the average monthly wage rate for the supervisory, technical, clerical and miscellaneous non-production workers in the wholesale, retail and import and export trades, restaurants and hotels sector was $10,804. This represented an increase of 5 per cent in money terms, or a decrease of 0.1 per cent in real terms, compared with the same period of 1995.

Over the same period, the average wage rate in the manufacturing sector rose by 7.5 per cent in money terms, or 2.2 per cent in real terms. At the craftsman and operative levels in the manufacturing sector, 75 per cent of workers received a daily wage of $229 or more in September 1996; while 25 per cent received $361 or more. The overall average daily wage was $309, or $7,853 per month, for these craftsmen and operatives.

Employee Benefits

The Employment Ordinance stipulates employment-related benefits and entitlements which include rest days, statutory holidays, annual leave, maternity leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment. Many employers also provide additional fringe benefits and bonuses, such as a year-end bonus, to their employees.

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