December saw a 3.1% surge in total employment to 2,299,800 over the same period in 2003. Total private sector vacancies rose 40% to 29,230 with a 140% increase in the sanitary and similar services sector.

The Census & Statistics Department said the import-export trade engaged 503,300 people in December, followed by the retail trade (218,400), the business services sector (208,500), and restaurants (185,400).

Distinct increases were recorded in the recreational and other personal services sector (14.1%), business services (9.7%), wholesale trade (9.5%), the transport and storage sector (5.4%), and hotels and boarding houses (5.2%).

Employment of construction site workers fell 9.4%.  Moderate falls were also recorded in the communications (2.6%) and manufacturing (1.8%) sectors.

Private sector rise

Private sector vacancies hit 29,230, up 40% over 2003. Among them, 5,640 were from the import-export trade, 3,940 from the business services sector, 2,860 from the financing and insurance sector, and 2,670 from the recreational and other personal services sector.

Vacancies rose noticeably in most selected sectors. Very remarkable increases were observed in the sanitary and similar services sector (140%), the education services and research institutes (120%) and the wholesale trade (120%).  However, vacancies for manual workers at construction sites (8.3%) and the welfare and community services sector dipped 8.3% and 2.5%.

Analysed by major occupation category, private sector vacancies were observed mainly for associate professionals (10,090), clerks (5,770) and service workers and shop sales workers (5,650).

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, while total employment in the selected major sectors rose 1.3% in December, total vacancies also surged 3.4%.