Data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the city’s unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 percent in the three-month period ending February.
The underemployment rate, however, stood steady at 1.1 percent.
Another 1,600 people lost their jobs, taking the total to 111,700 in the December-February period, while the total number of those underemployed dropped by some 2,300 to stand at 40,700.
The jobless rate rises were mostly seen in the food and beverages, transport, construction and professional and business service sectors, excluding cleaning.
Commenting on the latest data, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun noted there were “diverse movements” in terms of the jobless rates in various sectors but that the rates “generally stayed low.”
He cautioned that “the labour market should remain largely stable in the near term amidst continued economic expansion, though some businesses would be affected by the uncertainties stemming from US trade protection measure.”
Sun’s remarks came as the city’s total employment number dropped by about 7,100 to more than 3.7 million, and total labour force decreased by about 5,400 to stand at 3.82 million last month.
