All sectors expect a second-quarter surge in business volume or output, with significantly more respondents in the construction-and-banks and financing-and-insurance sectors expecting a rise in employment, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The department's Quarterly Business Tendency Survey for the second quarter found sectors with a significant proportion of respondents expecting their production or business volume to go up include the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, banks, financing and insurance, and real estate, business services and telecommunications sectors.

In the import and export trade, more respondents expect a rise in sales volume. In the construction and transport and related services sectors, moderately more respondents expect their construction output or business volume will go up. However, marginally more respondents in the restaurants and hotels sector expect a surge in their business volume.

Employment up

Sectors with significantly more respondents expecting an increase in their employment are the construction as well as banks, financing and insurance sectors. The wholesale and retail; import and export; transport and related services; and real estate, business services and telecommunications sectors foresee their employment will rise.

The restaurants and hotels sector anticipate their employment to remain broadly unchanged or to increase, while the manufacturing sector expect their employment to remain broadly unchanged.

As to selling price, moderately more respondents in the wholesale and retail sector expect an increase. The restaurants and hotels sector expect selling price of food and services provided to stay unchanged or to go up.

However, respondents in the construction as well as import and export trade sector generally expect their tender or selling price to remain unchanged or to fall. Other sectors anticipate their price of services to stay unchanged.