The rate increased from 3.2 percent during the Jun-to-Aug period, with the retail, manufacturing, restaurant and financial sectors hit hardest, the census and statistics department said in a statement.

Total employment decreased by around 3,200 to 3.54 million during the period, the government said, while the labour force increased by around 1,800 to 3.68 million.

The city's labour department said there was a decrease in the number of new vacancies in the finance and real estate sectors over the period, highlighting the city's under-pressure banking and property sectors.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Labour Matthew Cheung said it was unlikely the figures showed the full extent of the fallout from the global slowdown and worse could be in store.

'Looking ahead, unemployment is likely to rise further in the near term,' he said in a statement.

'Some sectors are bound to be affected by a contraction in business triggered by the global economic crisis.'

Mr Cheung said government infrastructure projects would help create employment in the future and that it was proposing new measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises. -- AFP