Record low: Hong Kong's jobless rate fell 0.1 of a percentage point from June-August, to 4.1% in July-September, the lowest level for more than nine years.

Hong Kong's jobless rate fell 0.1 of a percentage point from June-August, to 4.1% in July-September, the lowest level for more than nine years, the Census & Statistics Department says. The underemployment rate also fell 0.1%, from 2.3% to 2.2%, over the same period.

Falls in the unemployment rate were mainly observed in the decoration and maintenance, real estate, wholesale trade and restaurants sectors. As to the underemployment rate, decreases were mainly seen in the construction, wholesale trade and hotels sectors.

Total employment fell by about 1,200, from 3,503,400 in June-August, to 3,502,200 in July-September. Over the same period, the labour force decreased by around 11,400 - from 3,669,700 to 3,658,300.

The number of unemployed people fell around 10,300, from 166,400 in June-August, to 156,100 in July-September, while the number of underemployed fell by around 3,300, from 83,800 to 80,500.

The total labour force registered a notable decrease in July-September, due to the return of some summer workers to schools upon the start of the new academic year. Yet total employment declined only moderately and stayed above the 3.5 million mark.

9 years' low

As a result, the number of unemployed people dropped markedly. After discounting the seasonal factor, the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 4.1%, back to its lowest level for more than nine years.

On the back of robust economic growth and optimistic consumer sentiment, whether the unemployment rate would drop to the 4% mark or below in the near term hinges on the pace of job creation relative to the growth in labour supply, the department said.

Meanwhile, the labour market remained buoyant. In September, the Labour Department netted 51,670 vacancies from the private sector, a rise of 19.2% over the same period last year. On average, the department received more than 2,700 vacancies per working day.

In the first three quarters of 2007, the department netted 406,414 private sector vacancies, up 9.5% over the same period last year.