© Reuters. Hong Kong’s total private sector employment fell by 10,200 in March, down 0.4% year-on-year
The Zhitong Finance APP was informed that on June 20, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department released the employment and vacancy statistics for March 2022. Statistics show that in March 2022, compared with the same period of the previous year, the total employment in the private sector in the industries covered by the statistical survey decreased by 10,200, or 0.4%; Compared with December 2021, the total number of employed persons and the total number of vacancies in the industries covered by the survey in March 2022 decreased by 1.0% and 9.4% respectively on a seasonally adjusted basis.
In March 2022, all covered industries employed a total of 2,680,500 people, of which 385,600 were employed in import and export trade, followed by professional and business services (excluding cleaning and similar services) 302,600, retail 245,200, financial And 236,000 people in the insurance industry, 205,200 people in the education industry and 204,700 people in the catering service industry.
Year-on-year changes in employment were mixed across selected industries. The industries with a decrease in employment were mainly manufacturing (-6.7% or -5,400); arts, entertainment, recreation and other services (-5.5% or -6,400); construction sites (site workers only) (-4.3% or -4400); information and communications (-1.9% or -2100) and retail (-1.9% or -4700). On the other hand, the industries with an increase in employment were mainly real estate (4.9% or 6,700), wholesale (4.1% or 2,100) and cleaning and similar services (3.1% or 2,500).
Of the 53,700 private sector vacancies in March 2022, professional and business services (excluding cleaning and similar services) accounted for 6,010, education 5,980, finance and insurance 5,510, and human health services 5,050, while residential care and social work services accounted for 4,650.
In March 2022, the number of job vacancies in most selected industries increased from a year earlier, with the increase mainly seen in human health services (2640 or 110%), education (1850 or 45%), professional and Business services (except cleaning and similar services) (1540 or 35%) and real estate (1280 or 49%). On the other hand, the industries that saw a decrease in the number of job vacancies were import and export trade (-450 or -15%) and wholesale (-140 or -31%).
Analysed by major occupational group, job vacancies in the private sector were dominated by service and sales staff (14,880), paraprofessionals (10,210) and professionals (10,190).