It has been recently revealed that Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.1 percent in the three-month period ended November 2021. This is in comparison to the 6.3 percent that was experienced in the same period last year. The news is according to the recent labour force statistics published by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
It was also revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 4.3 percent in August to October 2021 to 4.1 percent in September to November 2021.
The number of unemployed persons decreased by around 13,800 from 171,800 in August to October 2021 to 158,000 in September to November 2021.
There was also a fairly notable drop in unemployment rates in most economic sectors from September to November 2021 in comparison to the preceding three-month period that came before. In particular, the unemployment rate of the consumption-and tourism-related sectors combined fell by 0.6 percent to 6.3 percent.
Total employment increased by around 6,800 to a total of 3.67 million in September to November 2021. Over the same period, the labour force also decreased by around 6,900 to 3.83 million.
“The Department also noted that the total number of vacancies in the private sector was 54,560, representing an increase of 40 percent or 15,650 over the preceding year.
With the local epidemic situation remaining under control, the local economic and labour market conditions should continue to improve. To strengthen the foundation for a broad-based economic recovery, it is essential for the community to strive towards more widespread vaccination and abide by the anti-epidemic measures. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely,” said Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi-kwong in a statement.
