HK's jobless rate is 'threat' to economy
20-01-2009
Hong Kong's jobless rate has risen as the Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, warned that unemployment is one of the biggest threats to economic recovery. Unemployment now stands at 4.1 percent - its highest level in more than a year. The previous figure was 3.8 percent. Job losses were seen in the decoration and maintenance sectors, restaurants and the import and export trade. Currently there are over 141,000 people out of work. The Chief Executive said that rising unemployment was one of the main obstacles to an economic recovery. Speaking at the opening of the Asian Financial Forum, Mr Tsang said the government was confident of creating more than 60,000 jobs this year - mostly through fast-tracking infrastructure projects. He said negative growth was anticipated for the first half of this year, but he expected Hong Kong to rebound strongly from the financial crisis. He also said the problems brought about by the downturn would change Asia for the better in terms of its long-term economic prospects. The Labour Secretary, Matthew Cheung, called on companies to explore measures other than redundancy to weather the crisis.
