The labour minister says more jobs are likely to be created in the months ahead after the latest government figures showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent in July.
This was the lowest since December 2008, at the height of the global financial meltdown.
The improvement was better than expected after two straight months of unemployment at 4.6 per cent and points to growing signs that the economy is recovering from the global downturn. Many economists had forecast that the jobless rate would stay at 4.6 per cent.
The underemployment rate was unchanged at 2 per cent.
Hong Kong has an estimated 4 per cent natural rate of unemployment. This rate is the proportion of the workforce between jobs when the economy is operating at full capacity.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung attributed the drop in the jobless rate to employers hiring more people.
'In light of the latest feedback from business surveys and job vacancy data, more new jobs are likely to be created in the next few months, providing favourable conditions for the labour market to improve further,' he said.