国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Hong Kong's unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.2%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-18 01:47

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's unemployment rate for the three months ended October fell slightly to 5.2 percent, the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Tuesday.

The unemployment rate in the three-month period ended September, in comparison, was 5.3 percent, while that in the three-month period ended August was 5.4 percent.

Decreases in the unemployment rate were mainly observed in the construction, food services, insurance and wholesale sectors, the department said.

The Labor and Welfare Department said the further decrease reflected that the labor market has continued to show signs of improvement along with economic recovery.

Related readings:  U.S. Prof: China does best in coping with financial crisis  China in right direction fighting crisis: IMF chief  China's cool head in crisis praised  Beyond the crisis

"In particular, the unemployment rate of youths aged 15 to 19 dropped notably by 3 percentage points to 22.7 percent, indicating that the youth employment situation is gradually improving," Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung said.

"It is clear that the (HKSAR) government's all-out efforts to create jobs in the construction sector are continuing to bear fruit," he added.

Cheung said the near-term outlook would depend mainly on the pace of the economic recovery and job creation.

"As business conditions continue to improve, employers are expected to adopt a more positive attitude towards new hiring. This will ease the pressure on unemployment," he said.

Nevertheless, Cheung said the decrease in total employment in the latest round of figures suggested that it might take some time for the labor market to keep up with the pace of economic rebound.

"A sustained and solid recovery still hinges on a fundamental improvement in the external environment.  We will remain vigilant and continue to monitor closely the labor market situation," he said.