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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (395)	8/18/2003 11:45:53 AM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

HK unemployment hits new high, may have peaked Reuters Hong Kong, August 18 Hong Kong's unemployment rate climbed to a fresh record in the three months ended July but a sharp rebound in the SARS-battered tourism sector may mean the worst is almost over for those desperately seeking jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 8.7 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the government said on Monday, falling slightly short of an average of 8.8 per cent in a Reuters' poll of seven economists but up from a record high of 8.6 per cent for the April-June quarter. "The unemployment rate is beginning to stabilise... The economy is starting to show some signs of recovery," said Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Henry Tang at a press conference on the unemployment report. The number of people out of work increased by 9,000 to 309,000 as more people lost their jobs and new graduates and people leaving school started looking for work. This came on top of the lingering effects from the SARS virus, which claimed the lives of some 300 people in the territory between March and June and battered the tourist sector, adding pressure to a job market already hurt by persistent economic weakness. Economists expect the unemployment rate to peak at around nine percent in the third quarter but say it should begin to decline toward the end of the year as China eases restrictions on individual travel to Hong Kong, boosting the tourist industry. Previously, mainlanders could only visit as part of a tour group. hindustantimes.com