Unemployment has risen for the second month in succession, with the lacklustre property market partly blamed.
The provisional seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the three months to March was 4.6 per cent, up 0.1 of a percentage point from the December-February period, the Census and Statistics Department reported yesterday.
The underemployment rate fell by the same margin, to 2.4 per cent.
Rises in unemployment took place mainly in the construction, property, hotels and recreational services sectors. The improvement in the underemployment rate was largely seen in the foundation and superstructure construction sector, more than offsetting a fall in the decoration and maintenance sectors.
The size of the labour force increased by 3,000 to 3,429,000 while the number of employed fell 1,000 to 3,276,000. The number of unemployed rose from 149,000 to 154,000 and the number of underemployed fell from 84,400 to 81,000.
The Government noted that the rise in unemployment had been modest.
