Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for April-June 2011 was 2.7%, up slightly by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (March-May 2011) on account of more people looking for work during the Summer Holiday. The underemployment rate was 1.2%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 338,000 in April-June 2011 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.6%, with the employed population increasing by about 800 over the previous period to 329,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of Real Estate & Business Activities and Retail Trade saw increase, while that of the Construction Sector registered a decrease. Number of the unemployed increased by about 200 from the previous period to 9,000, with 7.4% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, up by 1.1 percentage points over the previous period. In comparison with April-June 2010, the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.1 and 0.7 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the labour force participation rate stayed unchanged. In the second quarter of 2011, the unemployment rate and the labour force participation rate of local residents held stable quarter-to-quarter, at 3.3% and 66.8% respectively.
