Hong Kong's Jobless Rate Falls First Time After Financial Crisis

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Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.3% in July-September from 5.4% in June-August, the Census and Statistics Department said Monday. That was the first decline since the outbreak of the global financial tsunami in August 2008. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 5.4%.

"As business conditions gradually improve and the labor market stabilizes, employers may adopt a more positive attitude towards recruitment," Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said. "This is expected to ease the pressure on the unemployment rate in the near term."

The number of unemployed persons on a not seasonally adjusted basis, decreased by around 7,700 to 209,100 in July-September from 216,800 in June-August. Total employment in July-September was 3,495,500, almost the same as that in June-August, 3,495,300.

The number of private sector vacancies posted by the Labour Department increased substantially by 15.6% to 60,998 in September over the 52,758 vacancies in the preceding month. The number of successful placements also rose by 14.1% from 9,793 in August 2009 to 11, 172 over the same period.

The Government will remain vigilant and monitor closely the labor market situation, Cheung said. "We will also continue to promote employment on all fronts through training, retraining and skills upgrading."

Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.3% in July-September from 5.4% in June-August, the Census and Statistics Department said Monday. That was the first decline since the outbreak of the global financial tsunami in August 2008. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 5.4%. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)