FX.co ★ Hong Kong Jobless Rate Falls To 3-Year Low Of 3.4%

Hong Kong's unemployment rate decreased for the ninth month in a row in January to the lowest level in three years, the labor force statistics from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.4 percent in the November to January period from 3.5 percent in the October to December period.

Further, this was the lowest unemployment rate since the November to January period in 2020, when it was also 3.4 percent.?

The underemployment rate also fell to 1.4 percent in the three months to January from 1.5 percent in the preceding period.

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The number of unemployed decreased by around 7,600 to 118,400. Data showed that total employment rose by around 3,100 to 3.66 million in the November to January period.

Analysed by sector, the combined unemployment rate of the consumption- and tourism-related sectors ?fell by 0.2 percentage point from the preceding three-month period to 4.5 percent in the November to January period.

"With the economic activities gradually returned from the epidemic to normalcy, coupled with a rebound in inbound tourism alongside the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the labour market conditions in the coming months should be further improved," the Secretary for Labor and Welfare Chris Sun said.