Pedestrians use a crossing in Central, Hong Kong, on Feb 28, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong held steady at 3 percent from March to May, with no change from the preceding three-month period.

From March to May, Hong Kong’s labor force and total employment surged, with increases of 16,700 and 17,900, respectively, reaching approximately 3.79 million and 3.67 million. This represents a change from the period of February to April.

Divided by sector, the combined unemployment rate of Hong Kong’s consumption- and tourism-related sectors, including retail, accommodation, and food services, held steady at 4.2 percent

The Census and Statistics Department released the figures on Monday.

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Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said that the figure had stayed at a low level, indicating “the labor market continued to improve along with the economic recovery”.

“The labor market should improve further in the coming months as the economy continues to recover,” he added. 

Divided by sector, the combined unemployment rate of Hong Kong’s consumption- and tourism-related sectors, including retail, accommodation, and food services, held steady at 4.2 percent.

The accommodation services sector saw a decline of 0.4 percentage points to 3.5 percent.

The construction, wholesale, human health activities, and social work activities sectors also experienced declines in unemployment rates.

The number of unemployed individuals decreased further by 1,300 to 113,100.

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The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.2 percent in the two periods.

The labor market survey for the period of March to May was conducted on a sample of approximately 26,000 households, or 69,000 individuals, who were selected based on a scientifically designed sampling program to represent the population of Hong Kong.

The unemployment and underemployment statistics were compiled from the findings of the continuous General Household Survey.

Contact the writer at tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com