Decrease in Hong Kong’s unemployment rate – Industrial output Poland falls

10-19-2009 11:01

The jobless rate in Hong Kong fell, corrected for seasonal influences, to 5.3% in the period July – September in comparison to 5.4% in the period June – August, reported the Census and Statistics Department today. It was the initial decrease after the worldwide financial crisis started in August 2008, while economists forecasted an unchanged rate of 5.4%.

More optimistic

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare in the Hong Kong Government, commented: “Employers’ attitude regarding recruitment becomes more optimistic as a result of the business situation recovering slowly and due to the stabilizing employment conditions. It is likely that due to this the jobless rate will face less pressure in the near future.”

People without a job

The number of people without a job, not corrected for seasonal influences, declined by approximately 7.700 to 209.100 in the third quarter in comparison to 216.800 in the second quarter. The total number of unemployed persons in the third quarter was 3.495.500; almost unchanged from the second quarter, 3.495.300.
In September, the number of vacancies in the private sector, reported by the Labour Department, climbed considerably by 15.6% to 60.998, from 52.758 in August. Successful job placements advanced by 14.1% to 11.172 in comparison to 9.793 in August.

Stimulating measures

The administration will proceed their alertness and continue to observe the labor market circumstances carefully, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare stated. “Furthermore, we will persist our stimulating measures regarding employment in all sectors by (re)training employees and extending their competences.”

Industrial production and manufacturing

September’s figures regarding industrial production in Poland demonstrated a 1.3% decline on a yearly basis, in comparison to the 0.1% increase in August, according to the Central Statistical Office. The figures for August concerning the industrial output were corrected to a 0.2% decline, while economists previously forecasted a 2.4% decrease.

Poland´s manufacturing production declined 1% year-on-year last month, as quarrying and mining production dropped 10.2%. The inventories of steam, gas, air conditioning and electricity fell 0.7%. In September, industrial production decreased 15% month-to-month, while August showed a corrected decline of 4.4%. Industrial production fell 6% in the period January – September from the corresponding period of the preceding year.