Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the general unemployment rate for December 2018-February 2019 held stable over the previous period (November 2018-January 2019), at 1.7%; the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.3%, down by 0.1 percentage point. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate was 0.5%, up by 0.1 percentage point.

Total labour force was 394,800 and the labour force participation rate was 70.8%. Total employment was 388,100 and number of employed residents totalled 283,600, down by 3,400 and 3,500 respectively from the previous period. Analysed by industry, employment in Gaming & Junket Activities decreased while that in Hotels, Restaurants & Similar Activities increased.

Number of the unemployed was 6,700, down by 200 from the previous period. New labour market entrants seeking their first job accounted for 6.6% of the total unemployed, down by 7.1 percentage points.

In comparison with December 2017-February 2018, the unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points, while the labour force participation rate and the underemployment rate rose by 0.6 and 0.1 percentage points respectively.