Hong Kong’s jobless rate falls by 0.1 percentage point

Hong Kong’s jobless rate dipped by 0.1 percentage point over the past three months to 3.8 per cent, with unemployment dropping in the retail, accommodation, and foundation and superstructure sectors.“The sustained growth momentum of the Hong Kong economy should continue to support the overall labour market, though employment situations in some local sectors may still face challenges due to their business performances,” Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Wednesday.The government would continue to carefully monitor various external uncertainties for any effects on corporate hiring sentiment in the relevant sectors, he said.Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department showed the unemployment rate for the December to February period was 3.8 per cent, down from 3.9 per cent for the preceding three-month period.The underemployment rate was unchanged at 1.7 per cent.The number of underemployed in the December–February period was 63,400, about 1,700 fewer than in the November to January period.