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Jiang Chuqin

Hong Kong’s jobless rate rose to 3.9 per cent between July and September, with higher unemployment in social work and construction, authorities said on Monday.
Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department showed the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points over the preceding three-month period.
This marks the highest rate since the three-month period between July and September 2022, when it was 4 per cent.
Unemployment in the food and beverage sector remained unchanged, while improvements were seen in the financing and health sectors, the department said.
The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.6 per cent.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said some industries were undergoing transformation, inevitably putting pressure on the job market.
But he was upbeat that the government’s efforts in bringing in enterprises and technology-related companies would create more jobs and support the labour market.
Chan said he expected the recent bull run in the stock market, the stabilised property sector and mega-events would benefit the city’s overall sentiment and help the economy.
“Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Hong Kong’s economic growth momentum will continue, which will be beneficial to the employment market,” he said.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said some sectors would continue to face challenges during the economic restructuring despite the overall job growth supported by the continued expansion of Hong Kong’s economy.
“The increasing external uncertainties could also weigh on corporate hiring sentiment,” he said.
“The government will continue to closely monitor the labour market situation and facilitate job-seeking through enhancing dissemination of employment information.”


The number of unemployed people grew by about 4,600 to 155,600 between July and September from the June to August period. Over the same period, the number of underemployed increased by about 600 to 60,000.
“Hong Kong’s economy is weaker than it appears, suffering from a jobless recovery,” said Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.
“With ongoing uncertainties in consumer confidence and real estate, cost optimisation remains in the driving seat, and employers are hesitant to invest or add headcount.”
He added that it was “increasingly likely” the unemployment rate would surpass 4 per cent in the coming months so the government really needed to focus its limited resources on the economy given the fiscal deficit.
Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of ACTS Consulting, however, said the latest rolling average could have been pushed up by July’s high figure of around 4.3 per cent due to student graduations.
“Based on my estimate, the figures for August and September are not that bad, stabilising around 3.7 per cent,” Chow said.
“So there is no need for us to be too scared at this moment. The economy, at the same time, seems to have picked up in some sectors.”
She said she expected that the retail and food and beverage sectors would continue to be stimulated by Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year festivities, following a tourist influx during mainland China’s National Day “golden week” break in October.
Conversely, the outlook for the construction sector would depend heavily on the property market.
She suggested the government should be alarmed if the unemployment rate rose beyond 4 per cent and be more responsive to the ever-changing needs of individual industries when adjusting labour policies, including the imported worker scheme.
Separately, the Social Welfare Department announced that cases applying for a monthly cash allowance scheme for households in financial need recorded a slight decrease of 0.4 per cent to 779 in September.
The total caseload of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme reached 194,307 by the end of September, benefiting more than 257,000 people.
Some 15,800 cases fell under the category of unemployment, a 2 per cent decrease from last month, while low-earning cases also dropped 1.6 per cent to 1,269 cases.


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Unemployment in food and beverage sector unchanged, while improvements seen in financing and health, Census and Statistics Department says


Unemployment in food and beverage sector unchanged, while improvements seen in financing and health, Census and Statistics Department says.


Hong Kong’s social work, construction sectors hit as jobless rate rises to 3.9%

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Unemployment in food and beverage sector unchanged, while improvements seen in financing and health, Census and Statistics Department says

Unemployment in food and beverage sector unchanged, while improvements seen in financing and health, Census and Statistics Department says