The unemployment situation has improved further, with the seasonally adjusted rate falling from 8% in the August-October quarter to 7.5% in September- November. The underemployment rate also edged down from 3.5% to 3.4%.

Comparing the two quarters, falls in the unemployment rate were more notable in the wholesale/retail trades, construction, restaurants, import/export trades, and amusement and recreational services sectors.

The trend is in tandem with the recent rebound in local consumer spending and surge in inbound tourism.

For the underemployment rate, visible falls were mainly seen in the construction and transport sectors, due to a more active property market and sustained robust performance of external trade.

The total labour force dipped slightly by around 2,600, from 3,484,600 in August-October to 3,482,000 in September-November. But total employment rose by 14,400 to 3,217,000.

The number of unemployed people dropped markedly by around 18,000, from 282,000 in August-October. At the same time, the number of underemployed people went down by 3,500, from 120,500.

Total employment went up further, with resumed increases in the last round of release for August-October from the continued decline since the beginning of the year.

The growing positive sentiments in the labour market, the number of job vacancies in the private sector and the number of placements achieved through Labour Department job centres have remained at a steady, high level.

Altogether, 18,841 private sector vacancies were recorded last month, up 16% on the same period last year. At the same time, 6,729 successful placements were made.

This came on the heels of the all-time record of 6,739 in October and represented an increase of 23% over November last year.

Next year will be better

Financial Secretary Henry Tang said this is a significant drop and the figure is below the 7.6% unemployment rate reported in March in the pre-SARS period.

Noting that private sector vacancies were up 16% last month compared with the same period last year, he is confident Hong Kong's economy will be better next year.

He said: "Although the figures are very encouraging, the employment situation is still full of challenges because of our structural adjustment. I believe the adjustment is still ongoing, so we all have to work harder together to improve the figures further."

To step up its efforts to canvass job vacancies and to help the unemployed re-enter the labour market as soon as possible, the department has devised four new measures to strengthen its employment service.

Job fairs, supplementing the usual major ones, are held to respond more promptly to the recruitment needs of employers, and enable job seekers to participate in job interviews on the spot.

Employer-focused recruitment services have been strengthened to speed up the rate and time for filling up vacancies, especially from employers with a large number of job openings. Publicity materials have also been sent to some 80,000 small and medium enterprises to canvass more vacancies from the private sector.

Meanwhile, user-friendly vacancy search terminals will be installed at the Social Welfare Department's 38 social security units by the first quarter of next year to help welfare recipients find jobs.