LCQ4: Addressing rising unemployment rates
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Question:
According to the Census and Statistics Department, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.7 per cent between June and August this year. The unemployment rates in the construction sector, food and beverage service activities sector and retail sector were recorded at 6.9 per cent, 6.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, which is a cause of concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the monthly number of new job vacancies received by the Labour Department over the past 24 months, and the sectoral distribution and employment arrangements of such vacancies; whether it has studied the wage trends for these positions and whether it has identified any instances of mismatch between employers and jobs seekers;
(2) as the construction sector, food and beverage service activities sector and retail sector have become three of the sectors with the highest unemployment rates, what other specific measures apart from organising job fairs put in place by the Government to alleviate the unemployment in these sectors; and
(3) to further assist elderly and middle-aged unemployed persons in entering the workforce, whether the Government will expeditiously conduct an interim review of the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme, increase resource allocation to the scheme and extend its implementation period, while simultaneously strengthening the role of trade unions in employment counselling and actively providing on-the-job and career transition training alongside start-up support measures, so as to enhance the effectiveness and coverage of the scheme?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been closely monitoring the situation and changes of Hong Kong's employment market, and committed to promoting training and retraining to enhance the quality and productivity of our local labour force. In tandem, the Government provides employment services to encourage and assist people to join the labour market. The Government recognises that the business situations of certain sectors will continue to weigh on employment, nevertheless the steady growth of Hong Kong's economy, and the Government's various measures to boost economic growth, enhance economic momentum and bolster consumption sentiment will provide support to the overall labour demand.
In consultation with the Development Bureau, the reply to the Member's question is provided as follows:
(1) The Labour Department (LD) provides diversified and free employment services to job seekers and actively liaises with employers to canvass job vacancies from different industries with a view to expediting the dissemination of employment information. Over the past 24 months, the job vacancies received from private sector by the LD each month, with breakdowns by industry, job nature and salary range are at Annex. By industry distribution, the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sector recorded the largest number of job vacancies, followed by the restaurants and hotels industry, and the wholesale, retail and import/export trades. During the period, the proportion of job vacancies with a monthly salary of $15,000 or above, relative to the total number of vacancies, increased gradually from 61 per cent to 66 per cent.
Currently, the vast majority (99 per cent) of job vacancies advertised through the LD allow job seekers to apply directly to employers without the need to register with the LD for job matching services. To enhance job seekers' opportunities to find suitable employment, the LD's job centres provide personalised employment advisory and job matching services. Employment officers provide job seekers with the latest information on the employment market, assist them in enroling retraining courses to acquire relevant work skills and improve their employability.
(2) The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) provides training and retraining services for the local workforce. Of these, placement-tied courses assist people in seeking employment and the unemployed in acquiring industry-specific vocational skills to enhance their employability. The ERB also provides tailor-made retraining support to industries with higher unemployment rates to enhance competitiveness.
Apart from organising large-scale job fairs and district-based thematic job fairs, the LD has also established industry-based recruitment centres for the catering, retail, and construction industries. These centres specifically display job vacancies of the respective industries, and set up interview rooms so that employers and job seekers can conduct on-the-spot interviews, thereby shortening the time required for recruitment and job seeking. The LD has set up dedicated webpages for the catering, retail, and construction industries on its Interactive Employment Service (iES) website to facilitate job seekers in searching for relevant job vacancies, the latest details on job fairs and training information. Job seekers can also make use of the iES website or its mobile application to opt for receiving automatic updates on latest job vacancies matched automatically by the system with their pre-set criteria as well as information on job fairs.
As regards the construction industry, the annual average government capital works expenditure will rise from $90 billion to $120 billion over the next five years. As the economy recovers and private sector construction works rebound, the demand for manpower in the construction industry will remain strong in the coming years. With the support of the Development Bureau, the Construction Industry Council has been actively coordinating with the industry to strengthen training for construction workers, including the part-time "multi-skilled" short course launched last year, and provide subsidies to encourage construction workers enhancing trade skill to improve their employability. Besides, the Construction Industry Council will strengthen employment matching services, including physical job fairs as well as online platform for job and training course matching, so as to facilitate construction workers' access to information on vacancies and training opportunities.
(3) The LD launched the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (REA Scheme) on July 15 last year to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been engaged in paid work for three consecutive months or more to re-join the employment market. The LD has commissioned service organisations to assist in the implementation of the scheme. Each eligible participant who has worked full-time for 12 months continuously may receive a maximum Re-employment Allowance of $20,000 during the implementation period of the REA Scheme. The REA Scheme has been well-received, with over 50 000 participants and over 27 000 placements recorded as at August this year. The LD welcomes employers who hired the participants of the REA Scheme to join the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged to uplift the work skills of older and middle-aged persons. Both schemes are complementary and achieve synergy in promoting the employment of older and middle-aged persons.
The LD is collecting and collating information and data on the participants and placements of the REA Scheme, and planning to conduct a mid-term review in the first quarter of 2026, along with the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, to evaluate the effectiveness of the REA Scheme and map out the way forward, including exploring further measures to promote silver employment.
The Government will continue to closely monitor changes in the economy and employment market, and review and adjust various measures and employment services in a timely manner.
Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:53
Issued at HKT 12:53
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