Buoyed by rising consumption and a surge in the tourism sector, the jobless rate fell further to 7.5 per cent in the September-November period, as compared with 8 per cent in August-October.

Commenting on the brighter jobs picture, Financial Secretary Henry Tang predicted yesterday: "The situation should be more stable in future. Next year's economic situation should be at least as good as this year."

The decline in the jobless rate indicates that the unemployment problem has bottomed out from its nadir marked by a record high of 8.7 per cent in July following the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.

Tang, while sounding an upbeat note about continuous economic recovery in Hong Kong, said he was "glad to see that there has been a notable decline in the jobless rate". But he also urged caution.

"Although the figures are very encouraging, the employment situation is still full of challenges because of our structural adjustment. I believe the adjustment is still ongoing, so we all have to work harder together to improve the figures further."

The decrease in the unemployment rate was most apparent in the consumption-related sectors in tandem with the recent rebound in local consumer spending and surge in inbound tourism, an official statement issued by the government said.

There has been an increase in the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong for sight-seeing via the Individual Travellers Scheme.

The number of unemployed persons has decreased by about 18,000 -- from 282,000 to 264,000, according to government figures.

Decreases in the unemployment rate were seen mainly in the wholesale/retail trade, construction, restaurants, import/export, and amusement and recreational services sectors.

The underemployment rate -- which tracks the number of people who were unable to find more than part-time work -- fell from 3.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent, said Tang.

It indicates that the number of underemployed went down by 3,500 from 120,500 to 117,000 during the period.

With growing positive sentiments in the labour market, the number of job vacancies in the private sector and the number of placements achieved through Labour Department job centres have remained at a steady, high level.

Altogether, 18,841 private sector vacancies were recorded last month, up 16 per cent on the same period last year. At the same time, 6,729 successful placements were made.

This came on the heels of the all-time record of 6,739 in October and represented an increase of 23 per cent over November last year.

Cheng Nai-yan, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Department Stores and Commercial Staff General Union, said that as Christmas and New Year draw near, companies' demand for labour has increased.

"Certain part-time salesmen may usually work only three days, whereas during this festive period, they may be working five to six full days," said Cheng.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union Choi Chun-wa said the year end brings a boon for construction and renovation workers. They work more than 10 days a month, rather than just three to seven days due to availability of minimum repair work in many places.

(China Daily HK Edition December 19, 2003)