Hong Kong's unemployment rate decreased modestly in May, contrary to expectations that the jobless rate would remain unchanged month-on-month, latest data showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.4 percent in the three-months-to-May from 3.5 percent at the end of April, preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department revealed. Economists had forecast the jobless rate to remain unchanged.
The underemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.6 percent during the month, the agency said.
There were around 134,200 jobless persons in Hong Kong, a an unadjusted basis, at the end of May, higher by around 700 than in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the number of employed persons in the city-state rose to around 3.74 million in May from about 3.72 million a month earlier.
"The labour supply will continue to be boosted by the entry of fresh graduates and school leavers, and by some job-seekers induced by the recent increase in the statutory minimum wage rate," Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said.
"However, the resilience of domestic demand should to some extent cushion the pressure on unemployment rate stemming from the increasing labor supply."
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