A union leader has called for English-language training for workers in the retail, wholesale and transport sectors after the Government identified them as the latest victims of unemployment.
Chan Yuen-han, legislator and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Department Stores and Commercial General Unions, said the market for non-English speaking workers was shrinking.
Unemployment rose from 3.2 per cent to 3.3 per cent between February and April, according to Census and Statistics Department figures released yesterday.
An estimated 94,100 people were unemployed, 6,300 of them first-time job-seekers.
The rate for underemployment - part-time workers who want full-time jobs - fell from two per cent to 1.8 per cent. Their number was estimated at 62,000.
Ms Chan said 1.6 million workers had less than Form Three education and poor language skills, and 700,000 of them were either unemployed or working in jobs below their qualifications.
