The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3% for the period between August and October compared to the period from July to September, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

The underemployment rate also decreased to 1.9% during the period.

Total employment rose by about 8,500 to 3,666,500 while the labour force stood at 3,838,200, about the same as that in the previous period.

There were 171,800 unemployed people from August to October, a drop of around 8,800 from the preceding July to September period. The number of underemployed people also dropped by around 6,300 to 72,700.

Among the consumption and tourism-related sectors, the unemployment rate of food and beverage service activities declined notably by 0.8 percentage points from the preceding three-month period between August and October to 7.7%. Other sectors that showed more visible unemployment rate decline include the decoration, repair and maintenance for buildings sector and the arts, entertainment and recreation sector.

Looking ahead, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong said the labour market should continue to improve, with the extent of improvement depending on the pace of economic recovery.

“The stable local epidemic situation and the Consumption Voucher Scheme should continue to render support to consumption-related activities in the near term. Yet, the virtually frozen inbound tourism remains a constraint.”

To lay a more solid foundation for the economy and the labour market to further improve, the community should stay vigilant against the COVID-19 epidemic, strive towards more widespread vaccination and abide by the anti-epidemic measures, he added.