2018.10.1906:01:00UTC+00Hong Kong Unemployment Rate Steady At 20-year Low

Hong Kong's unemployment rate was unchanged for a fifth straight month in September at its lowest level for two decades, preliminary data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.8 percent in the three months to September, in line with economists' expectations. The rate has been at this level since April. On a not-seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate edged up to 3 percent in September from 2.9 percent in each of the previous two months. The number of unemployed persons in July - September was 117,800, roughly the same as in the three months to August. Total employment decreased by around 7,800 from 3.88 million in the three months to August to 3.87 million in September. "Overall labor market conditions will likely remain favorable in the near term," the Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said.

"Nonetheless, the Government will continue to monitor closely how the increasing external headwinds will affect the local labor market going forward."