Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has risen to 3.9 per cent between July and September, with the construction and the food and beverage (F&B) sectors hit hardest.
Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) on Monday indicated a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous three-month period from June to August.
The number of unemployed persons increased by around 4,600 in the latest figures. Some 155,600 people were unemployed in the July-September period, up from 151,000 in the June-August period.
Total employment was down by 6,100 from the last three-month period.
Hong Kong measures the unemployment rate on a moving three-month basis, with the rate adjusted for seasonal influences.
Labour minister Chris Sun said in a statement on Monday that the employment situation in some sectors “would continue to face challenges during economic restructuring,” adding that “external uncertainties” could also weigh on corporate hiring sentiment.
Hardest hit
According to census figures, unemployment in the construction industry was the highest, increasing to 7.2 per cent, up from the previous period’s 6.9 per cent.
The F&B sector recorded a jobless rate of 6.8 per cent, which remained unchanged from the previous three-month period, but the industry was still among the hardest hit.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sun said that the unemployment rate in the F&B sector remaining unchanged reflected demand for those services.
He also pointed to the government’s move to more stringently maintain a ratio of local to imported workers, saying the adjustment would ensure locals stand a better chance of being hired.
The new stricter policy, introduced by Chief Executive John Lee in the 2025 Policy Address last month, only allows restaurants to hire one waiter under a labour import scheme for every two local full-time waiters. The same ratio also applies to junior cooks.
The government will also require a longer six-week local recruitment period before employers are allowed to start hiring from mainland China, aiming to “combat abuse in a targeted manner, focusing on job categories with more imported workers,” Lee said.
Sun also said on Monday that a HK$30 billion injection into infrastructure works, also announced at the 2025 Policy Address, would have a positive impact on the construction industry’s employment situation.
