Hong Kong Unemployment Rate

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong stood at 2.8 percent in the three months to October of 2018, remaining the lowest jobless rate since January of 1998. The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.2 percent, the same as in the July-September period. Unemployment Rate in Hong Kong averaged 3.67 percent from 1981 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 8.50 percent in June of 2003 and a record low of 1 percent in July of 1989.

Unemployment Rate in Hong Kong is expected to be 2.80 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in Hong Kong to stand at 2.80 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Hong Kong Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 2.90 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.

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Calendar	GMT		Actual	Previous	TEForecast
2018-08-17	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%
2018-09-18	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%
2018-10-19	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%
2018-11-16	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%
2018-12-18	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate		2.8%	2.8%
2019-01-17	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate			2.8%
2019-02-22	08:30 AM	Unemployment Rate

Hong Kong Jobless Rate Steady at Over 20-Year Low

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong stood at 2.8 percent in the three months to October of 2018, remaining the lowest jobless rate since January of 1998. The underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.2 percent, the same as in the July-September period.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of unemployed persons went down by 1,800 to 116,000 in August-October 2018 when compared with the previous period, and the number of underemployed decreased by 600 to 46,700 persons. On a yearly basis, the unemployment situation continued to improve for most of the main services sector, particularly in the accommodation services, amid the buoyant performance of inbound tourism.

Meanwhile, the number of employed dropped by 3 thousand from the previous three-month period to 3,872 thousand and the labour force participation rate edged down to 61.1 percent.

Looking ahead, "The labour market is expected to stay tight in the near term. Yet, the employment outlook beyond the near term will hinge on how the increased external headwinds will affect the local economy going forward. The Government will stay vigilant and monitor the situation closely. ", the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, said.

Census and Statistics Department | Agna Gabriel | agna.gabriel@tradingeconomics.com
11/16/2018 9:03:37 AM

Recent Releases

Hong Kong Jobless Rate Remains Lowest in Over 20 Years
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong was unchanged at a 20-year low of 2.8 percent in the three months to September 2018. The underemployment rate, however, edged up to 1.2 percent from 1.1 percent in the June-August period.
Published on 2018-10-19

Hong Kong Jobless Rate Unchanged at 20-Year Low of 2.8%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong was unchanged at a 20-year low of 2.8 percent in the three months to August 2018. Also, the underemployment rate was steady at 1.1 percent, the same as in the previous period.
Published on 2018-09-18

Hong Kong Jobless Rate Holds Steady at 2.8%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong was unchanged at a 20-year low of 2.8 percent in the three months to July 2018. The underemployment rate, however, edged up to 1.1 percent from 1 percent in the April-June period.
Published on 2018-08-17

Hong Kong Jobless Rate Unchanged at 2.8%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong was unchanged at 2.8 percent in the three months to June of 2018, the same as in the previous period. It remained the lowest rate since 1998.
Published on 2018-07-19

Hong Kong Labour	Last	Previous	Highest	Lowest	Unit
Unemployment Rate	2.80	2.80	8.50	1.00	percent	[+]
Employed Persons	3872.60	3874.60	3882.40	2370.60	Thousand	[+]
Unemployed Persons	116.00	117.80	307.70	24.90	Thousand	[+]
Labor Force Participation Rate	61.10	61.20	66.50	59.50	percent	[+]
Productivity	166.00	160.10	166.00	99.40	Index Points	[+]
Job Vacancies	79203.00	76875.00	127765.00	15919.00		[+]
Wages	16479.00	15897.00	16479.00	10382.00	HKD/Month	[+]
Wages in Manufacturing	219.60	215.00	219.60	141.80	Index Points	[+]
Minimum Wages	34.50	34.50	34.50	28.00	HKD/Hour	[+]
Population	7.41	7.37	7.41	3.08	Million	[+]
Retirement Age Men	65.00	65.00	65.00	60.00		[+]
Retirement Age Women	65.00	65.00	65.00	60.00		[+]
Youth Unemployment Rate	5.90	6.30	10.40	1.90	percent	[+]

In Hong Kong, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. This page provides the latest reported value for - Hong Kong Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Hong Kong Unemployment Rate - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on December of 2018.

	Actual	Previous	Highest	Lowest	Dates	Unit	Frequency
	2.80	2.80	8.50	1.00	1981 - 2018	percent	Monthly	SA

Export Data API

Country	Last		Previous	Range
South Africa	27.50	Sep/18	27.2	31.2 : 21.5	%
Spain	14.55	Sep/18	15.28	26.94 : 4.41	%
Brazil	11.70	Oct/18	11.9	13.7 : 6.2	%
Turkey	11.10	Aug/18	10.8	14.8 : 7.3	%
Italy	10.60	Oct/18	10.3	13.1 : 5.8	%
Argentina	9.60	Jun/18	9.1	20.8 : 5.9	%
France	9.10	Sep/18	9.1	10.7 : 7.2	%
Euro Area	8.10	Oct/18	8.1	12.1 : 7.3	%
Saudi Arabia	6.00	Jun/18	6.1	6.3 : 4.35	%
Canada	5.60	Nov/18	5.8	13.1 : 2.9	%
Indonesia	5.34	Sep/18	5.13	11.24 : 2	%
Australia	5.00	Oct/18	5	11.2 : 4	%
Russia	4.70	Oct/18	4.5	14.1 : 4.5	%
United Kingdom	4.10	Oct/18	4.1	12 : 3.4	%
China	3.82	Sep/18	3.83	4.3 : 3.82	%
South Korea	3.80	Nov/18	3.9	7.1 : 3	%
Netherlands	3.70	Oct/18	3.7	7.9 : 3.6	%
United States	3.70	Nov/18	3.7	10.8 : 2.5	%
India	3.52	Dec/17	3.51	8.3 : 3.41	%
Germany	3.30	Oct/18	3.4	11.5 : 0.4	%
Mexico	3.20	Oct/18	3.6	6.42 : 2.22	%
Switzerland	2.50	Nov/18	2.4	5.7 : 1.5	%
Japan	2.40	Oct/18	2.3	5.5 : 1	%
Singapore	2.10	Sep/18	2	6 : 1.4	%