New ways of creating more short-term jobs will be studied by the Government, Financial Secretary Antony Leung said after the Employment Taskforce meeting today.

The meeting discussed the serious impact of SARS on Hong Kong's economy and labour market.

Speaking on the recently announced unemployment figures, Mr Leung said it may not have fully reflected the impact of SARS.

He said the pressure on unemployment will likely continue for a while.

However, $400 million has been earmarked from the Government's $11.8 billion economic relief package, for creating 21,000 short-term jobs.

"Right now we already have more than 6,000 people engaging in various short-term employment opportunities as well as in training opportunities," he said, adding that in the short-term there will be more people benefiting from these particular programmes.

Meanwhile, he said some of the Government policies  have or will create jobs in the short and medium terms.

The Government's $1 billion Relaunch Hong Kong Campaign will create more job opportunities through encouraging domestic consumption, as well as promoting tourism and inward investment.

"As the efforts of the Government in containing the disease have taken effect, and with the WHO and the US Centres for Disease Control lifting their travel advisories on Hong Kong, we are already seeing improvements in local consumption and improvements in the tourism industry."

The measures announced by Team Clean will create employment opportunities related to building maintenance and improving the cleanliness of Hong Kong.