Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for June-August 2015 was 1.9%, up slightly by 0.1 percentage point from May-July; the underemployment rate remained stable at 0.4%. Total labour force was 402,700 and the labour force participation rate stood at 73.3%. Total employment decreased by 2,800 from May-July, at 395,100. Analysed by industry, employment in Construction and Retail Trade registered decrease, while that in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities saw increase. Number of the unemployed was 7,500, up by 100 from May-July. With fresh graduates joining the labour market, fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job (1,300) increased by 200, with its proportion in the total unemployed rising by 3.3 percentage points to 17.7%. In comparison with June-August 2014, the labour force participation rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points, while the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate increased by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points respectively.
