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Following is the transcript (English portion) of the remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on the latest unemployment statistics at a media stand-up today (November 17):
Reporter: Can you give a brief account on the improvement of the employment rate? Any signs of the situation that will be improving further?
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare: In fact, it is encouraging. The unemployment rate has come down. It is steadily coming down. Particularly, in fact, if you look at youth employment, it has been improving notably and also the construction sector was picking up quickly. Having said that, the labour market is still lagging behind economic recovery. If you look at the number of employed people in Hong Kong for the past period, it has dropped slightly. However, the near-term outlook still depends very much on the pace of economic recovery and on job creation. As business conditions continue to improve, employers are expected to adopt a more positive attitude towards hiring new hands. This would ease the pressure on unemployment in general.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:34
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