Significant decline was recorded in Hong Kong's job vacancy rates in the fourth quarter of last year amid the ongoing economic crisis, according to a survey released here Monday by Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM).

According to the Fourth Quarter 2008 Survey of Manpower Statistics, the overall average job vacancy rate for the quarter was 2.39 percent. The figure was 1.38 percentage points lower than the figure recorded for the third quarter of 2008, and 1.54 percentage points lower than the same period in 2007.

The survey also recorded near-zero (0.01 percent) growth in new positions during the fourth quarter of 2008, a further drop of 0.5 percentage points over the record set in the previous quarter, and 1.11 percentage points lower than the figure recorded for the same period in 2007.

The survey also collected data on companies' hiring intentions for the first quarter of 2009. Among the respondent companies, 63.5 percent indicated a recruitment freeze, while 18.8 percent said they may reduce hiring.

"A freeze in hiring is now the prevailing trend. However, some companies, especially those in the servicing industry such as the hotel, retail and telecommunications sectors, though they still have hiring plans, will be more prudent and may as well reduce the number of new recruits." said Wilfred Wong, the president of HKIHRM.

"The figures confirm that the labor market was in recession before the turn of the year. But it is likely that the worst of the job crisis is yet to come." He urged employers to place a high value on their human assets, and to make sure that redundancies are the last resort should all other alternatives fail.

Conducted since 2002, the HKIHRM Quarterly Survey of Manpower Statistics regularly tracks manpower movements in Hong Kong's labor market. A total of 100 companies participated in the fourth quarter 2008 survey, covering over 105,000 employees.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2009)