Unemployment rate remains stable

The general unemployment rate (1.9 percent) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.5 percent) for December 2017 to February 2018 increased slightly by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous period.

The underemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.4 percent.

Total labor force was 385,500 and the labor force participation rate was 70.2 percent, the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated.

Total employment was 378,300 and number of employed residents totaled 278,500, up by 2,300 and 2,100 respectively compared to the previous period.

Analyzed by industry, employment in gaming & junket activities and hotels, restaurants & similar activities registered increases, while employment in the transport, storage & communications sector decreased.

The number of the unemployed was 7,200, up by 300 from the previous period. Fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 7.7 percent of the total unemployed, down by 2.2 percentage points.

In comparison with December 2016 to February 2017, the labor force participation rate dropped by 0.7 percentage points, and both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points.