On April 18th, the Hong Kong government announced that the latest unemployment rate had risen to 3%, with 9,400 more people unemployed in the first three months of this year compared to the period from December of last year to February of this year.
According to data released by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department on the 18th, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from January to March this year was 3%, compared to 2.9% from December last year to February this year. This represents a 0.1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate from January to March this year.
The underemployment rate increased from 1.0% from December 2023 to February 2024 to 1.1% from January to March 2024.
In terms of the number of unemployed individuals, there were 111,700 unemployed from January to March this year, while 102,300 were unemployed from December last year to February this year. This means that there was an increase of approximately 9,400 unemployed individuals from January to March this year. The number of underemployed individuals also rose from 37,600 to 40,000, an increase of about 2,400 people.
The unemployment rates in almost all major economic sectors have seen increases. Particularly notable increases were seen in the construction industry, retail, accommodation and food services, as well as professional and commercial services (excluding cleaning and similar activities).
Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the Hong Kong Government, Lola Sun, stated that despite the rise in unemployment rate, it still remains at a relatively low level.
However, many netizens do not trust the government’s data. Some netizens commented, “Nowadays, all data are not accurately reported. How can we trust the unemployment rate figures?” and “The unemployment rate is disclosed by the government, but we should think for ourselves.”
Editor: Xiao Lusheng