The average wage rate, for all major sectors surveyed taken together and measured by the wage index, fell 2.1% in nominal terms in September over a year earlier. This was smaller than June's 2.5% fall, the Census & Statistics Department says.

About 51% of the companies surveyed reported some fall in average wage rates in September, partly attributable to reduction in guaranteed allowances.

Some 34% of the companies recorded some increase in average wage rates over the same period. This was partly due to retrenchment of lower-paid clerical staff and operatives, leading to a rise in the proportion of relatively higher-paid workers.

The remaining 15% reported almost no change in average wage rates.

After discounting the fall in consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (A), the overall average wage rate for all major sectors surveyed taken together rose 0.7% in real terms.

The index of payroll per person engaged for all the major sectors surveyed taken together likewise decreased, by 1.8% in nominal terms in the third quarter of 2003 over a year earlier. Again this was smaller than the 2.5% fall in the second quarter.

After netting out the effect of the fall in consumer prices as measured by the Composite Consumer Price Index, average payroll per person engaged rose 1.9% in real terms in the third quarter, over a year earlier.

For the nominal wage indices, year-on-year falls were seen in all the major sectors in September, ranging from 0.3% to 4.1%.

The falls were more significant in respect of the personal services and the manufacturing sectors, by 4.1% and 3.7% respectively.

For the real wage indices, year-on-year falls were seen in the personal services and the manufacturing sectors in September, by 1.3% and 1.0% respectively.

Yet for the wholesale, retail, import/export trades, restaurants and hotels; the transport services; and the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sectors, increases ranging from 0.2% to 2.5% were recorded.

As for the payroll per person engaged, year-on-year falls in nominal terms, ranging from 0.6% to 5.7%, were likewise observed across all the major sectors in the third quarter.

For the wholesale, retail, import/export trades, restaurants and hotels; the transport, storage and communications; and the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sectors, increases ranging from 1.8% to 3.1% were recorded.

In tandem with the recent rebound in local consumer spending and surge in inbound tourism, more and more of the affected employees in the tourism and consumption-related sectors, who had earlier been temporarily suspended from work or asked to take no-pay leave due to SARS, resumed normal work.

Payroll per person engaged in these sectors thus showed moderated falls or even renewed increases. 

They included restaurants (-5.8% in nominal terms or -2.3% in real terms), hotels (-4.3% in nominal terms or -0.8% in real terms), retail trade (+0.7% in nominal terms or +4.5% in real terms), and services incidental to transport such as travel agencies (+1.2% in nominal terms or +4.9% in real terms).