Jobless rate up 3.4% in November-January

Unemployment in the construction sector has hit a six-year high.

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate edged up 3.4% during the three month period November 2019 to January 2020, compared to the 3.3% recorded in the October to December 2019 period, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

The number of unemployed individuals slipped by 1,700 from 124,000 in October to December 2019 to 122,300 in November 2019 to January 2020.

“[T]he unemployment rate of the construction sector increased further to 5.7%, the highest level in close to six years, and that of the import/export trade and wholesale sector deteriorated visibly," said Secretary for Labour and Welfare Dr. Law Chi-kwong.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's underemployment rate remained flat at 1.2%. The number of underemployed persons during this period is at about 47,300, compared to 47,400 in the October to December period.

Total employment also dipped by around 14,600 from 3.82 million in the prior period to 3.8 million in November 2019 to January 2020. Over the same period, the labour force also slid by around 16,300 from 3.94 million to 3.93 million.

"The employment situation of the consumption- and tourism-related sectors remained difficult. The unemployment rate of these sectors combined stayed at 5.2%, the highest in more than three years, and employment continued to fall sharply on a YoY basis,” Law added.

Looking ahead, he is expecting more pressure in the near term amidst the threat of the novel coronavirus infection has already caused severe disruptions to a wide range of economic activities.