LI, Tao @ Hong Kong

Although total employment increased notably during the April-June period, Hong Kong’s jobless rate stood at 4.6 percent, unchanged from that during March to May, as a rise in labor supply has offset the new hires, the government said Tuesday.

Data released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) shows total employment increased by around 8,800 from the previous period in April through June, while the labor force grew by about 8,300.

The underemployment rate also remained unchanged, at 2 percent.

“This was the first time since Dec 2009-Feb 2010 that total employment had increased,” said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, adding that the jobs increase reflects that companies have become active in recruitment and the new jobs created are likely to absorb the concurrent increase in labor supply.

The number of private sector vacancies posted by the Labour Department in June increased by 33.3 percent to 61,302 over the same period of last year, and up 0.3 percent compared with the preceding three months.

New jobs were mainly seen in construction, social work activities, and financing sectors, while unemployment worsened in the postal and courier services, manufacturing, and education sectors.

Cheung said that, as unemployment rate in the construction sector decreased about 1 percent this time, it shows the government’s efforts to boost employment in the construction sector have progressively taken effect.

Billy Mak, associate professor of Finance and Decision Science from Hong Kong Baptist University, said the city’s buoyant property market also contributes to the decline in the jobless rate in the sector.

“Construction workers can more easily find a job as the Hong Kong government started selling more land this year. Developers seize opportunities to expand business as the city’s property prices keep climbing which also helps to create more jobs,” said Mak.

Although Cheung remains positive as Hong Kong’s overall economic performance remains favorable, he believes the euro zone debt crisis and its fallout will cause uncertainties in and pose challenges to the local labor market.

“The employment situation will still hinge on the pace of economic growth. considering in particular whether the number of jobs created can absorb the fresh graduates and school leavers who are entering the labor market in the next few months remians to be seen,” Cheung added.

Hang Seng Bank’s senior economist Irina Fan is also cautiously optimistic about the longer-term outlook for the labor market. She forecasts that the unemployment rate will likely sway around 4.7 percent in the coming months, as the economy is trending upward, but at a slower pace.

“People will still have difficulty finding new jobs in export-related sectors, such as trade and logistics, as the gloomy European and US economy will keep on affecting their business,” said Fan.

China Daily

(HK Edition 07/21/2010 page3)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2010-07/21/content_11027522.htm