Help wanted: In September, vacancies in restaurants surged 79% over a year earlier.

Total employment of surveyed sectors rose 2.3% over a year earlier to 2,328,900 people in September, while vacancies surged 33% to 43,580, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The import and export trade engaged 515,600 people, followed by the retail trade engaging 221,700 people, the business services sector 206,400 people and restaurants 185,900 people.

Increases in employment were recorded in the recreational and other personal-services sector (18.8%), hotels and boarding houses (12.2%), the real-estate sector (5.7%), the financing and insurance sector (5.6%), and the sanitary and similar services sector (5.6%).

However, employment at construction sites dipped 12.4% while the manufacturing sector's went down 1%. Jobs in the welfare and community services sector fell 3.9% while in the communications sector they dropped 1.2%.

The month also saw rises in vacancies in most of the selected sectors and the major occupation categories. Among the private-sector vacancies, 7,950 were from the import and export trade, 4,860 from the financing and insurance sector, 4,810 from the retail trade and 4,500 from the business-services sector.

More help wanted in eateries, welfare sector

Vacancies surged in restaurants (79%), the welfare and community services sector (72%) and the financing and insurance sector (54%). Jobs available at construction sites dropped 77%.

Analysed by major occupation category, private-sector vacancies were observed mainly for associate professionals with 13,290 jobs reported, service workers and shop sales workers, 10,940, and clerks, 7,990.

Compared with the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted total employment in the surveyed sectors dipped 0.1% in September while the total vacancies rose 19.7%.