Results of the Employment Survey / February – April 2005

According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate was 4.1% for February - April 2005, which remained at the same level of January - March 2005 but decreased by 1.3 percentage points over the same period of 2004. The underemployment rate was 1.2%, up slightly by 0.1 percentage point over January - March 2005 but dropped by 1.3 percentage points compared with the same period of 2004. Number of the unemployed searching for their first job was about 900, or 8.8% of the total unemployed, which was identical to the proportion recorded in January - March 2005. Compared with January - March 2005, unemployment situation was improved in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other service activities and Construction sectors, while it was worsened in Transport, storage & communications and Manufacturing sectors. Total labour force was estimated at 240,400 in February - April 2005; the employed and the unemployed populations were 230,500 and 9,900 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 62.4%, which fell slightly by 0.1 percentage point compared with January - March 2005 but increased by 1.6 percentage points over the same period of 2004.
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