Hong Kong jobless rate rises to 3.7% as graduates, school leavers enter market

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent over the past three months, with authorities partly attributing the change to university graduates entering the job market, and the construction, catering, retail and property sectors taking the biggest hits.

Authorities said on Tuesday that catering employers applying to import foreign workers would be required to not only conduct a four-week local recruitment exercise but also to hold direct hiring events at Labour Department job centres starting next month.

Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the jobless rate for the May to July period increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the April to June figures.

This marks the highest rate recorded in 33 months, when the unemployment rate stood at 3.8 per cent from August to October 2022.

Between May and July, unemployment rates rose in several key industries, including the foundation and superstructure sector, food and beverage, retail and real estate.

At the same time, unemployment fell in the cleaning, building decoration and maintenance, and social work sectors.