Hong Kong’s unemployment rate drops to 4.1 per cent, but labour chief warns Covid, financial conditions may continue to affect job market

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has further eased to 4.1 per cent, the fourth consecutive improvement this year, but the labour chief has warned that tightened financial conditions and the Covid-19 pandemic may continue to affect the job market.

According to the provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Monday, the unemployment rate was down 0.2 percentage points for the June to August period, after reaching 4.3 per cent for the three months ending in July.

The underemployment rate also dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 2 per cent in the June to August period, with the number of underemployed decreasing by 7,900 to 76,400, while the number of unemployed fell by 6,300 to 161,900.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the job market had further improved after domestic economic activity saw a revival with the support of the latest round of consumption vouchers, which were disbursed in early August.

The minister said he expected the trend to continue but warned that tightening financial conditions and the Covid-19 pandemic could pose challenges to recovery.

“The development of the local epidemic may also have a bearing on economic activities and thus the labour market,” he said.