Author Archives: hksar gov

     According to the latest labour force statistics (i.e. provisional figures for February – April 2024) released today (May 20) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.0% in February – April 2024, same as that in January – March 2024. The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.1% in the two periods.
 
     Comparing February – April 2024 with January – March 2024, movements in the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) and underemployment rate in different industry sectors varied, but the magnitudes were generally not large.
 
     Total employment increased by around 5 700 from 3 688 400 in January – March 2024 to 3 694 100 in February – April 2024. Over the same period, the labour force also increased by around 7 700 from 3 800 100 to 3 807 800.
 
     The number of unemployed persons (not seasonally adjusted) increased by around 2 000 from 111 700 in January – March 2024 to 113 700 in February – April 2024. The number of underemployed persons in February – April 2024 was 40 500, about the same as that in January – March 2024 (40 000).
           
Commentary
 
     Commenting on the latest unemployment figures, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, said, “the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at a low level of 3.0% in February – April 2024, same as January – March 2024. The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.1%. The labour force increased further by 7 700 to 3 807 800, and the total employment bounced back by 5 700 to 3 694 100. The number of unemployed persons increased slightly by 2 000 to 113 700.”

     The unemployment rates of various sectors remained low in general in February – April 2024, mostly showing only small changes compared with the preceding three-month period.

     Looking ahead, Mr Sun said, “Continued economic growth is expected to keep the labour market tight in the near term.”

     In February – April 2024, the Labour Department (LD) recorded a monthly average of 75 425 vacancies from the private sector, representing a year-on-year decrease of 29.2% and a decrease of 2.7% over the average figure in January – March 2024. 

     On large-scale job fairs, the LD will organise the Embracing New Opportunities Job Fair at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai on May 30 and 31, 2024. About 60 employers will participate, offering a large number of vacancies. Job-seekers may also make use of the LD’s Interactive Employment Service website, for obtaining more information on available vacancies.
 
Further information
 
     The unemployment and underemployment statistics were compiled from the findings of the continuous General Household Survey.
 
     In the survey, the definitions used in measuring unemployment and underemployment follow closely those recommended by the International Labour Organization. The employed population covers all employers, self-employed persons, employees (including full-time, part-time, casual workers, etc.) and unpaid family workers. Unemployed persons by industry (or occupation) are classified according to their previous industry (or occupation).
 
     The survey for February – April 2024 covered a sample of some 26 000 households or 69 000 persons, selected in accordance with a scientifically designed sampling scheme to represent the population of Hong Kong. Labour force statistics compiled from this sample represented the situation in the moving three-month period of February to April 2024.
 
     Data on labour force characteristics were obtained from the survey by interviewing each member aged 15 or over in the sampled households.
 
     Statistical tables on the latest labour force statistics can be downloaded at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/scode200.html). More detailed analysis of the labour force characteristics is given in the “Quarterly Report on General Household Survey” which is published four times a year. The latest issue of the report contains statistics for the quarter October – December 2023 while the next issue covering the quarter January – March 2024 will be available by end May 2024. Users can also browse and download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050001&scode=200).
 
     For enquiries about labour force statistics, please contact the General Household Survey Section (3) of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5508 or email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (May 20) the composite interest rate at the end of April 2024 (Note 1).

     The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, decreased by 8 basis points to 2.65 per cent at the end of April 2024, from 2.73 per cent at the end of March 2024 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The decrease in composite interest rate mainly reflected the decrease in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex) (Note 2).

     The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of April 2024 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).

Note 1: The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest-rate-sensitive liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and all other liabilities that do not involve any formal payment of interest but the values of which are sensitive to interest rate movements (such as Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits) on the books of banks. Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation. It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses. There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.

Note 2: Since June 2019, the composite interest rate and weighted deposit rate have been calculated based on the new local “Interest rate risk in the banking book” (IRRBB) framework. As such, these figures are not strictly comparable with those of previous months. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, May 20, 2024 is 106 (up 0.1 against last Saturday’s index).

     â€‹The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, May 18, 2024 was 105.9 (same as last Friday’s index).
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     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 20) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly patho… read more

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met members of the University Grants Committee (UGC) today (May 20) to exchange views on the latest developments of higher education in Hong Kong. The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, and the Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, also joined the meeting.
      
     The UGC Chairman, Mr Tim Lui, briefed Mr Lee on the various initiatives being taken forward by the UGC to support the objectives of the Education Bureau, which included partnering with the eight UGC-funded universities to attract more students from around the world to study in Hong Kong under the Study in Hong Kong branding initiative, as well as expanding co-operation between local higher education institutions and overseas and Mainland universities in student exchange and research collaboration. Looking ahead, Mr Lui said that the UGC will actively guide the universities in achieving the current-term Government’s targets on the ratio of students studying in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) disciplines and those related to the “eight centres” under the National 14th Five-Year Plan through the Planning Exercise for the 2025-28 triennium in order to cultivate talent with knowledge in diverse fields.
      
     Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the local, Mainland and overseas members of the UGC for their valuable insights on the development of higher education in Hong Kong, and recognised the UGC’s progress in driving internationalisation, promoting innovation in teaching and enhancing research impact. He said the Government had drawn reference to the UGC’s recommendation and announced in last year’s Policy Address the development of Hong Kong into an international education hub for post-secondary education, which would better leverage the distinctive edges of Hong Kong’s highly internationalised and diverse post-secondary education sector. He said he hopes that the UGC would continue to support universities in their pursuit of excellence in teaching and research, nurturing of outstanding talent, as well as the transformation and commercialisation of research outcomes to dovetail with the development of new quality productive forces of the country, thereby injecting continuous impetus into Hong Kong’s high-quality development. read more