Unemployment lingers at 1.9 percent as at end-April

The city’s unemployment rate hovered at 1.9 per cent from February to April of this year, whilst the number of employees in the gaming sector registered a slight increase compared to the previous period.
According to official data released last Friday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the total labour force rose by 0.2 per cent period-to-period, amounting to 397,300 as at the end of April.
Of the total, the employed population accounted for 389,600, up by 600 compared to the previous period. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate remained at 72.2 per cent as at the end of the month.
According to the DSEC, 5 per cent of the 7,700 unemployed in the territory were fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, which declined by 1.3 percentage points compared to the first three months of this year.
More gaming workers
In terms of industry, the number of workers engaged in gaming and junket activities totalled 83,800 as at the end of April, which rose by 4 per cent period-to-period from 80,600. The number, meanwhile, accounted for some 21.5 per cent of the city’s total employed population.
However, the number of labourers serving for hotels and similar activities fell by 3.3 per cent period-to-period to 29,200 in the three months from 30,200 in the previous period. These workers, plus some other 27,800 of those working for local restaurants, accounted for 14.6 per cent of the total employed in the Special Administrative Region.
In addition, the number of labourers in the construction field was also down by 1.2 per cent – to 47,700 – in the three months compared to 48,200 in the previous period. The number accounted for 12.2 per cent of the total employed labour force.
According to DSEC, other major industries that local workers were working for include the wholesale & retail trade, the real estate & business activities sector, as well as public administration & social security, of which the number of labourers accounted for 10.7 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 6.9 per cent of the total, respectively.
On a year-on-year comparison, the city’s unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points for the three months whilst the labour force participation rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points, according to DSEC.