Hongkong job cricis down

Job creation in the construction, import- export and hotel sectors drove Hong Kong's unemployment rate below five per cent for the first time since late 2008, the government said on Tuesday. The city's jobless rate fell to 4.9 per cent between October and December, which was also the fourth consecutive decline since the start of the global financial crisis, the Census and Statistics Department said. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell from 5.1 per cent in the September to November period, the government said. Hong Kong said it last recorded a jobless rate below five per cent in the period between November 2008 and January 2009. In the most recent period, the number of jobless declined by 8,200 to 172,800, while the overall workforce fell slightly from 3,678,600 to 3,669,900 in the three months ending December, the government said. Matthew Cheung, secretary for labour and welfare, said Hong Kong could see a further drop in unemployment as firms hire staff for the busy Chinese New Year holiday next month. '(But) a solid recovery of the labour market in the longer term would hinge on the pace of job creation in the corporate sector,' he warned in a statement.