Hong Kong : Hong Kong's jobless rate fell to a one-year low, aiding the city's economic recovery.
The seasonally adjusted rate for the three months ended on February 28 slid to 4.6 per cent, the government said yesterday on its website.
That was lower than the median 4.8 per cent estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
"Given the positive business sentiment and market feedback on vacancies, unemployment is likely to ease further in the next couple of months," Matthew Cheung, secretary for labour and welfare, said in yesterday's release.
The "notable drop" in the rate was due to a "significant" job gain of 7,900 led by the pick-up in overall economic activity, Cheung said.
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang said on March 12 that he remains "cautiously optimistic" on the city's economy as its recovery is still at an early stage. The economy grew in the nine months through December after a yearlong recession.
Tsang last month budgeted HK$20.4 billion (Dh9.65 billion) for the financial year starting April to support growth.
The stimulus package included personal income tax rebates and property-rate waivers.
"Tourist demand is boosting retail sales volumes, driving the need to expand staffing levels," Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist in Hong Kong at SJS Markets Ltd., said before the report.
The jobless rate "should keep declining" as the global economy rebounds, he said, predicting the rate will fall to 4.3 per cent by the end of the year.
Hong Kong retail sales rose for a fifth month in January as more tourists visited the city.
