Hong Kong Unemployment Rates Drop to A Better Labour Force Outlook
Reports from Census & Statistics Department show that more people are being able to land jobs in Hong Kong. And as the unemployment rates drop, it’s an optimistic sign for economic activities in the special administrative region.
According to the report released on 16 February, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4%, between November 2022 and January 2023, compared to the period between October and December 2022.
Underemployment Drops As Well
The underemployment rate also decreased by 0.1 points to 1.4%.
The labour force shrank by about 10,700 people to 3,780,600, while total employment fell by around 3,100 people to 3,662,200.
Between November 2022 to January 2023,118,400 people had no jobs. This is down 7,600 from the previous quarter. 52,100 fewer people are underemployed than before, a decrease of about 3,200.
Reasons To Rejoice
Consumer and tourism-related industries’ combined unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from the previous three months to 4.5%. Most other sectors had decreases in unemployment rates as well, particularly the construction industry.
With economic activity gradually returning to normal following the epidemic, a rebound in inbound tourism, and the full resumption of regular travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, according to Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun, the labour market conditions in the coming months should further improve.
Demand For Workers
As these sectors exhibit active business operations, it clearly shows the increased demand from the purchasing power of the people in Hong Kong. With such a situation, these sectors are in need of more employees to keep up with the demand. As such, there are various and frequent recruitment drives organised by the Labour Department of Hong Kong to help the industries or sectors that require an additional labour force.
However, current employers may require workers with a different skill set than before the pandemic. Digitalisation is becoming common in the retail sector, and employing workers skilled with digital knowledge and tools is essential to strengthen business operations and sustainable productivity.
Businesses and industries utilising digitalisation are keeping with the times. Workers today should be optimistic about digitalisation within business operations, as they come with the opportunity to learn new skills and become experts themselves. As unemployment rates drop in Hong Kong, more workers still looking for a job could start learning a new digital skill so that they could be employed better by sectors or businesses.
