Jobless Rate Hits 7.2 Percent, Highest Since 2004

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1580895_1_20210316180346.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1580895-20210316.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1580895-20210316.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });

2021-03-16 HKT 17:40

Share this story

facebook

  • More than 260,000 people in Hong Kong are unemployed, according to latest official figure. Photo: Shutterstock

    More than 260,000 people in Hong Kong are unemployed, according to latest official figure. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong's unemployment rate has risen to its highest level since 2004 amid the coronavirus outbreak, and the labour minister warned that the job market still faces challenges with the pandemic not yet fully contained here.

The jobless rate for the three months ending February reached 7.2 percent, up from 7 percent in the November-January period.

More than 261,000 people were left without a job in the period under review. That's 8,300 more than before.

Among different sectors, the jobless rate in consumption- and tourism-related sectors combined stood at just over 11 percent, despite having dropped slightly from the previous period.

Decline in the unemployment rate was also seen in the food and beverage service sector, but the retail and most other industries have deteriorated.

As for the underemployment rate, the latest figure reached a post-Sars high of 4 percent.

The city's jobless rate hit an all-time high of 8.5 percent during the Sars outbreak in 2003.

Commenting on the latest figures, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said the labour market remained under notable pressure, although the situation seemed to stabilise later in the period thanks to improvement in the local epidemic situation.

Law said challenges remain in the near term amid the epidemic, but is hopeful that the city-wide Covid-19 vaccination programme could help to ease the pressure on the employment market later in the year.

RECENT NEWS

StartmeupHK Festival And Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 Merge For 10th Anniversary Milestone

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on 10 March 2025 that both of its flagship events, Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 an... Read more

Ant AI-Powered Health Insurance Processes 7.25M Claims In 2024, 55%YoY Increase

In 2024, Ant Insurance, the online insurance brokerage platform of Ant Group, processed 7.25 million health claims, mar... Read more

Ping An Talent Uses AI For Job Matching, But Can Technology Make Recruitment Fairer?

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. has launched its 2025 Spring Campus Recruitment, offering over 2,000 p... Read more

HKEX Partners With CMU OmniClear To Boost Post-Trade Securities Infrastructure

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on 4 March 2025 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read more

PAObank Secures Insurance Agency Licence, Partners With Ping An And FWD Hong Kong

PAO Bank Limited (PAObank) has received its Insurance Agency Licence from the Insurance Authority and signed strategic ... Read more

IFAST Launches Self-Service Accounts For Hong Kong Family Offices

Fintech solutions provider iFAST HK launches self-service accounts in Hong Kong, catering to the growing demand for ind... Read more