Hong Kong's total employment in the past three months was slightly lower, with the unemployment rate in certain sectors such as retail increasing further due to the recent unrest, according to latest labor force statistics released on Tuesday.
"The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 2.9 percent in June-August 2019. The underemployment rate was also unchanged at 1.0 percent. However, total employment was slightly lower than the level a year ago," said Law Chi-kwong, the secretary for labor and welfare of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.
The total employment decreased by around 3,600 from 3,867,300 in the period from May to July to 3,863,700 in the period from June to August, according to the HKSAR government's Census and Statistics Department.
"Analyzed by major sector, the unemployment rate of the retail, accommodation and food services sectors taken together increased further over the preceding three-month period, amid weak local consumption and plunging visitor arrivals caused by the recent social incidents," Law said.
"The unemployment rate of the construction sector went down from the preceding three-month period, but employment of the sector continued to show a year-on-year decline due to subdued construction activities," he said.
Looking ahead, Law said: "As economic conditions have deteriorated further lately, the local labor market will unavoidably be subject to increasing pressure in the near term. The government will monitor the labor market closely."
