Business News
Hong Kong jobless rate climbs to 4.6 per cent
Jun 17, 2010, 12:07 GMT
Hong Kong - Hong Kong's jobless rate rose to 4.6 per cent for the three months ending in May after a long period of decline, officials said Thursday.
Unemployment in the wealthy city of 7 million from March to May was up 0.2 percentage points on the 4.4 per cent recorded in the February to April quarter, the government said.
The increase in the jobless rate was the first since mid-2009 and comes after unemployment in the former British colony fell steadily to a 15-month low.
Announcing the figures, Labour Secretary Matthew Cheung said uncertainties in the external environment and a reluctance to hire had hit the jobless total.
Cheung said, 'The Eurozone debt crisis and its contagion also pose uncertainties to the labour market. This will bring pressure on the unemployment rate in the near future.'
Hong Kong's jobless rate peaked at 5.5 per cent in mid-2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Unemployment figures are released every month based on figures for the preceding quarter.
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