The Cinemas Subsidy Scheme, which is established under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF), is now open for applications from today (April 20) to April 30 to support the cinema operators. … read more
A 32-year-old man was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for four weeks by the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts today (April 20) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E) (the Regulation).
The man was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at the place of quarantine (a specified hotel) for 14 days. Before the expiry of the quarantine order, he left the place of quarantine without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer and was stopped by staff of the Immigration Department at a border control point. He was charged with contravening sections 8(1) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was sentenced today to immediate imprisonment for four weeks.
A spokesman for the Department of Health (DH) welcomed the judgement. The sentence sends a clear message to the community that breaching quarantine orders is a criminal offence and that the Government will not tolerate such actions. The spokesman reiterated that compliance with quarantine orders is of paramount importance in Hong Kong’s fight against COVID-19.
Pursuant to the Regulation, starting from March 19, save for exempted persons, all persons arriving from countries or territories outside China would be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Moreover, pursuant to the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C), all persons who have stayed in the Mainland, Macao or Taiwan in the 14 days preceding arrival at Hong Kong, regardless of their nationality or travel documents, will be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Breaching quarantine orders is a criminal offence and offenders are subject to a maximum imprisonment for six months and fine of $25,000. The DH once again strongly reminded persons under quarantine to comply with the statutory requirements and conduct quarantine for 14 days. read more
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (April 20) the April 2020 issue of the “Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics” (HKMDS).
Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains two feature articles entitled “Movements of Producer Price Indices of Service Industries during 2010 to 2019” and “The Financial Services Sector in Hong Kong”.
“Movements of Producer Price Indices of Service Industries during 2010 to 2019”
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures changes in output prices of goods and services of an industry. It can be used as a deflator of output series for discounting the effect of price changes so as to measure changes of local output in real terms and to facilitate the assessment of productivity growth in an economy. PPI is also useful as an economic indicator for monitoring the price movements of local outputs and evaluating their price competitiveness vis-à-vis those delivered in other economies/territories. This feature article analyses the movements of PPIs of selected service industries from 2010 to 2019.
For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Logistics and Producer Prices Statistics Section, C&SD (Tel: 3903 7255; email: services@censtatd.gov.hk).
“The Financial Services Sector in Hong Kong”
Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant international financial centres in the world. The contribution of the financial services sector to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product increased from 13% in 2004 to around 20% in 2018. This feature article presents the operating characteristics and business performance of selected industries in the sector between 2016 and 2018. It also briefly highlights the overall quarterly business performance of selected industries in the sector in 2019.
For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Business Services Statistics Section, C&SD (Tel: 3903 7266; email: business-services@censtatd.gov.hk).
Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 140 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp460.jsp?productCode=B1010002).
Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Dissemination Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk). read more
According to the latest labour force statistics (i.e. provisional figures for January – March 2020) released today (April 20) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 3.7% in December 2019 – February 2020 to 4.2% in January – March 2020. The underemployment rate also increased from 1.5% in December 2019 – February 2020 to 2.1% in January – March 2020.
Comparing January – March 2020 with December 2019 – February 2020, the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) and underemployment rate increased across almost all the major economic sectors, with more distinct increases observed in the construction sector; education sector; transportation sector; and retail, accommodation and food services sector.
Total employment decreased by around 48 800 from 3 768 800 in December 2019 – February 2020 to 3 720 000 in January – March 2020. Over the same period, the labour force also decreased by around 20 800 from 3 903 000 to 3 882 200.
The number of unemployed persons (not seasonally adjusted) increased by around 28 100 from 134 100 in December 2019 – February 2020 to 162 200 in January – March 2020. Over the same period, the number of underemployed persons also increased by around 23 700 from 59 100 to 82 800.
Commentary
Commenting on the latest unemployment figures, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong said, “The labour market showed further sharp deterioration as the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted a wide range of economic activities. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate soared by 0.5 percentage point to 4.2% in January – March 2020, the highest in more than nine years. The underemployment rate likewise surged by 0.6 percentage point to 2.1%, the highest in nearly a decade. The year-on-year declines in total employment and labour force widened further to 3.6% and 2.2% respectively, both the largest on record.
“The unemployment rate of the consumption- and tourism-related sectors (viz. retail, accommodation and food services sectors) combined soared to 6.8%, the highest since August – October 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis; and the underemployment rate rose to 3.9%, the highest since June – August 2003 following the onslaught of SARS. In particular, the situation in food and beverage service activities was extremely severe, with the unemployment and underemployment rates surging to 8.6% and 5.4% respectively. Meanwhile, the unemployment and underemployment rates of the construction sector went up drastically to 8.5% and 7.1% respectively amid visible slowdown in construction activities. The unemployment and underemployment situation also worsened visibly in the transportation and education sectors. The labour market conditions in most other sectors also saw deterioration of various degrees.”
Looking ahead, Dr Law said, “The labour market will continue to face significant pressure from the economic fallout arising from the pandemic in the near term. The Government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale, including the one-off measures in the 2020-21 Budget and the two rounds of measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund totalling $287.5 billion (around 10% of GDP), with a view to preserving the vitality of the economy and relieving people’s financial burdens. Some specific measures, in particular the Employment Support Scheme and various types of support for specific sectors, should help keep workers in employment. The Government will closely monitor the developments, including the progress and effectiveness of the various relief measures.”
He noted that in light of the deteriorating employment situation, the Labour Department (LD) will raise the ceiling of on-the-job training (OJT) allowance payable to employers under the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, the Youth Employment and Training Programme and the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme in the second half of 2020, with a view to further encouraging employers to hire elderly persons aged 60 or above, young people and persons with disabilities and provide them with OJT. The LD also plans to launch a pilot scheme in the second half of 2020 to encourage eligible elderly persons, young people and persons with disabilities to undergo and complete OJT under the above employment programmes through the provision of a retention allowance, thereby stabilising employment.
Meanwhile, the LD continues to receive and release information on vacancies from various industries for job-seekers with different educational background and working experience. Job-seekers may make use of the LD’s online platforms such as the Interactive Employment Service website for obtaining employment information.
Further information
The unemployment and underemployment statistics were compiled from the findings of the continuous General Household Survey.
The survey for January – March 2020 covered a sample of some 26 000 households or 75 000 persons, selected in accordance with a scientifically designed sampling scheme to represent the population of Hong Kong.
Data on labour force characteristics were obtained from the survey by interviewing each member aged 15 or over in the sampled households.
In the survey, the definitions used in measuring unemployment and underemployment follow closely those recommended by the International Labour Organization.
Statistical tables on the latest labour force statistics can be downloaded free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp200.jsp?productCode=D5250021). More detailed analysis of the labour force characteristics is given in the “Quarterly Report on General Household Survey” which is published four times a year. The latest issue of the publication contains statistics for the quarter October – December 2019 while the next issue covering the quarter January – March 2020 will be available by end May 2020. Users can also download this publication free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp200.jsp?productCode=B1050001).
For enquiries about labour force statistics, please contact the Household Statistics Analysis Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5508 or email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk). read more
Sha Tin Police District will launch a traffic enforcement operation against illegal parking in Sha Tin, Tin Sum and Ma On Shan police divisions on April 21 and 22 to ensure smooth traffic flow and raise the safety awarenes… read more