Hong Kong’s jobless rate eases as economy mounts slow recovery

HONG KONG’S unemployment rate continued to ease in the three months ended July as the economy attempts to mount a tepid recovery from tough Covid restrictions this year. 

The jobless rate hit 4.3 per cent for the May-to-July period, the Census and Statistics Department said Wednesday(Aug 17). That was lower than a forecast of 4.5 per cent in a Bloomberg survey of economists, and also lower than the 4.7 per cent rate in a similar period ended June. 

While the rate has inched down from a recent high of 5.4 per cent at the peak of the city’s fifth coronavirus, when many shops were forced to cut business hours and intense social curbs were imposed on the city, it remains far from the lower levels registered before the pandemic.

The city reported its latest jobless rate, which is compiled for a moving three-month period, as the overall economy remains sluggish, even as Covid restrictions and quarantine measures for inbound travellers have eased.

Hong Kong now expects its economy to potentially contract this year for the third time since 2019. Even with a rollback of quarantine restrictions, Hong Kong is still far stricter than most other places in the world, and the city has to contend with additional headwinds such as a trade slump and high interest rates. BLOOMBERG