The Labour Department placed a record high of 66,100 people into jobs last year.

Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung said the Government's measures to help place job seekers and enhance the employability of young people will continue.

Speaking at a thematic session on Economic Growth & Job Creation during the United Nations Asia-Pacific Leadership Forum - Sustainable Development for Cities, Mr Cheung said the Government is adopting a multi-pronged strategy that combines pragmatism and vision to address Hong Kong's employment challenges.

The strategy involves upgrading the local workforce, improving the business environment, embracing new technology and enhancing employment opportunities.

Labour market a major challenge

Mr Cheung said as we are facing both cyclical and structural unemployment, job creation and overcoming the mismatch between supply and demand in the labour market will remain a major challenge.

"Indeed, facilitating economic growth and restructuring as well as tackling unemployment rank high on the Government's agenda," he said.

Elaborating on efforts to upgrade the workforce to raise its competitiveness, Mr Cheung said education accounts for a hefty 24% of the Government's overall expenditure, some $61 billion in 2003-04.

He said the Government has been conducting extensive education reforms to provide more scope to develop workers' potential, with a target of 60% participation rate for post-secondary education by 2010-11.

The Government has a relatively liberal regime to tap talent and professionals from elsewhere, including the Mainland, to enhance Hong Kong's economic viability and create more employment.

Gov't determined to tackle unemployment

On improving the business environment, Mr Cheung said the Government always tries to make Hong Kong "a great place for doing business, with good public order, well-developed infrastructure, a simple and low tax system, free flow of goods and information and liquid capital markets, rule of the law, judicial independence and a level paying field".

He said: "Although the local unemployment situation is improving, the Government has decided to devote $1.2 billion this year to implement three employment measures. This comes at a time when we are striving to reduce the Government's fiscal deficit and demonstrates our determination in tackling unemployment."

The measures include:

* extending the timeframe for about 11,700 temporary jobs in a wide range of public services, including cleaning, health, welfare, leisure services and tourism;

* continuing the highly successful Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme for another two years to place about 10,000 young people into employment; and,

* introducing a one-year pilot scheme to train and assist 1,000 young people to become self-employed.