On the rise: The unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in the September-November period while the underemployment rate rose to 1.8%.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in the September-November period, from 3.5% in the August-October quarter. The underemployment rate rose from 1.7% to 1.8%.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung today said the deteriorating external economic environment will inevitably dampen the local employment market.

Job preservation and creation top the Government's agenda, he said, adding more than 60,000 jobs will be created next year by expediting major infrastructure and minor improvement projects, recruiting civil servants and creating temporary jobs.

"We will continue to step up our training and retraining efforts. The Employees Retraining Board has recently relaxed the eligibility criteria for its half-day and evening courses, and course fees can be waived for low-income persons," Mr Cheung said.

Economic slowdown

The Census & Statistics Department said the jobless rate climbed further because of the slowdown in business activities in both the domestic and external trade sectors.

With the adverse effect of the financial turmoil increasingly feeding through to the labour market, the figure is expected to rise further in the coming months.

Increases in the unemployment rate were mainly seen in the retail, construction, manufacturing, communications, and import-export trade sectors. Growth in the underemployment rate was mainly seen in the construction and sanitary service sectors.

Labour force falls

Total employment dropped to 3,533,100 while the labour force fell to 3,669,500. The number of unemployed people rose to 136,400 while the number of underemployed people grew to 65,100.

In November, the Labour Department netted 45,000 vacancies from the private sector, down 20.1% on the same period last year. On average it received 2,200 vacancies per working day.

The department will organise job fairs in shopping malls and community halls as well as mini-job fairs at its Job Centres. Two job fairs providing more than 4,000 vacancies will be held in Tin Shui Wai on January 5 and 6.