ENG-2015 — Page 77

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The Economy

Overall investment spending in terms of gross domestic fixed capital formation remained weak, down 2.2 per cent in real terms in 2015, representing the second year of decline after a 0.1 per cent dip in 2014. Machinery and equipment acquisition was the key drag, down further by 5.8 per cent in 2015, with more visible declines in the second half of the year, conceivably reflecting increasing worry over the dimmer global economic outlook and impending interest rate lift-off.

On the other hand, overall building and construction expenditure posted moderate growth of 2.8 per cent, driven by a steady expansion of private-sector building and construction activity (chart 8).

Chart 8

20

15

10

5

O

-5

-10

Per cent

Main Components of Domestic Demand (year-on-year rate of change in real terms)

Government consumption expenditure

Private consumption expenditure

Investment expenditure

in terms of

gross

domestic

fixed capital formation

-15

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2011

2012

1

2013

2014

2015

Private consumption expenditure expanded solidly in 2015, but investment expenditure declined.

Labour Market

The labour market remained largely stable in overall terms, with the unemployment rate averaging 3.3 per cent for the year as a whole. Both total employment and the labour force grew further at a largely similar pace, with the former reaching a new annual high of 3,780,900 in 2015. The underemployment situation improved, with the underemployment rate falling slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 1.4 per cent, the lowest annual level since 1997 (chart 9).

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