HONG KONG - HONG Kong's unemployment for the third quarter jumped to 3.5 per cent, figures showed on Tuesday, as the government warned the job market may suffer further from the global economic crisis.
The figure in the three months to end-Sept is up from 3.4 per cent in previous quarter, with the retail, manufacturing, and hotel industries hit hardest, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement.
It was the second consecutive period to show a rise.
The number of unemployed in the southern Chinese city now totals 131,800, while the amount of people looking for work increased by around 1,300 to an all-time high of 3,678,500 during the period, the department said. Total employment increased by around 3,600 to 3,546,700 over the same time.
A government spokesman said the increase in the unemployment rate was fairly widespread across the domestic and external sectors. He added that the figures had yet to reflect fully the impact of the global financial crisis as the labour statistics were lagging in nature.
Unemployment is expected to rise further in the near term, he said.
Mr Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, said job creation was at the top of the government's agenda.
'We will leave no stone unturned to promote employment on all fronts. Some 100 public works projects, creating 40,000 jobs for the construction sector, are expected to come on stream in the next nine months,' he said.
'I call on employers and employees to work hand in hand to face the challenges ahead. This is the time for understanding by employers and their staff.'
Mr Cheung said the Labour Department will closely monitor the recent company closure and redundancy cases, and lend employment support to the affected employees. -- AFP
