The jobless rate was 4.9% in the November-January period, unchanged on the October-December quarter. The underemployment rate dropped from 2.3% to 2.2%.

The Census & Statistics Department today said total employment increased by 8,600 to 3,505,700 while the labour force grew by 2,100 to 3,672,000.

The number of unemployed people decreased by 6,400 to 166,400 while the number of underemployed people fell by 3,900 to 80,600.

Stable situation: Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung says the jobless rate was 4.9% in the November-January period while the underemployment rate dropped to 2.2%.

Market analysis

Falls in the unemployment rate were mainly seen in the information and communications, accommodation services, and professional and business services sectors, while rises were more apparent in the arts, entertainment and recreation, financing and wholesale sectors.

Decreases in underemployment rate were mainly seen in the construction and social work activities sectors.

The unemployment rate of the construction sector stood at 7.4%, while the underemployment rate has improved with a decrease of 1.5 percentage points to 10.6%. The unemployment rates of the 15-19 and 20-24 age groups dropped to 18.6% and 9.9%. 

Economic uncertainties

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said the rise in total employment reflected the vibrancy in business activities in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday, indicating the labour market is improving.

"As improving business sentiment and consumer spending should continue to boost labour demand during the Lunar New Year period, pressure on unemployment is expected to ease further. However, in the near term, the performance of the employment market hinges on the overall economic situation, as well as the pace of job creation in the corporate sector."

Hong Kong's economic outlook is still subject to uncertainties despite an economic rebound and successive improvement since the second quarter of last year, he added. 

"Specifically, fundamentals of the recovery in the advanced economies have yet to be on firm footing; also, the timing and pace of phasing out extraordinary fiscal stimulus measures in the advanced economies and the rise of protectionist sentiment are risk factors that we have to guard against. We therefore need to continue to be vigilant and closely monitor the labour market situation."

In January the Labour Department netted 47,836 private sector vacancies, up 53.1% over the same period last year. The number of successful placements rose 24.8% to 10,607.