Unemployment will continue to rise this year, but at a much slower rate than last year as the economy begins to stabilise, experts have predicted.
They said the latest unemployment rate - to be announced by the Government tomorrow - will reach 6.2 to 6.4 per cent for the three months to March, from six per cent for the three months to February.
Economists said the jobless rate this year would remain at a two-decade high but would not match the pace of last year when it shot up from 2.5 per cent in January to 5.9 per cent in December.
Chi Lo, an HSBC senior international economist, said the stabilising property market, rise in the stock market and reduced interest rates were signs the economy was recovering.
He expected the unemployment rate to stand at 6.4 per cent in March, peak in the second quarter at 6.5 per cent and begin tapering off to 5.8 per cent at the end of the year.
Few mass lay-offs were expected for this year, Mr Lo said, although there would still be job losses in trading companies, financial firms, restaurants and the retail sector.
'We'll continue to see company restructuring but job losses won't be as great as last year,' Mr Lo said.