Hong Kong’s jobless rate stays at 3.7% as retail, manufacturing struggle

Hong Kong’s jobless rate remained at 3.7 per cent between June and August, as the city’s food and beverage and manufacturing sectors continued to struggle.

Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday also showed that the number of unemployed grew by about 6,000 to 151,000 between June and August from the May to July period. Over the same period, the number of underemployed jumped by about 4,200 to 59,400.

While increases in unemployment were seen in the food and beverage and manufacturing sectors, decreases were observed in construction and professional and business services, excluding cleaning activities.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the latest figures for the labour force and total employment in Hong Kong increased to 3.83 million and 3.68 million, respectively.

“While the business situations of certain sectors will continue to weigh on employment, steady growth of the Hong Kong economy as well as the government’s various measures to boost economic momentum and bolster consumption will provide support to the overall labour demand,” Sun said.

The city’s underemployment rate increased to 1.6 per cent between June and August from 1.4 per cent in the previous three-month period.