The seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) stood at 3.3 percent in the April-June period, unchanged from March-May, the Census and Statistics Department says.

The underemployment rate nudged up from 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent.

Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung of the HKSAR government said although the labor market remained active, there is no room for complacency given the uncertainties in the external economic environment and the local skills mismatch.

In the next few months, with the entry of fresh graduates and school leavers, the near-term employment outlook will mainly hinge on whether the pace of job creation in the economy is sufficient to absorb the newcomers, he added.

Total employment dropped 1,200 to 3,532,500 while the labor force fell 1,900 to 3,653,900. The number of unemployed persons dropped 600 to 121,500, and the number of the underemployed rose 600 to 67,800.

In June, the Labor Department posted 51,845 private-sector vacancies, up 24.3 percent over the same period last year. In the first six months, the department posted 330,087 private-sector vacancies, up 32.4 percent year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2008)