Stable stats: The jobless rate stood at 5.7% in June-August while the underemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point to 2.7%.

Total employment hit an all-time high of 3.386 million in June-August with 14,400 people finding work, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The total labour force rose by 13,900 people to a record high of about 3.6 million. The underemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point to 2.7%.

Unemployment remained broadly stable as the rise in total employment was offset by the growth in total labour force.

According to the latest labour force statistics released today, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 5.7%, same as in May-July, and was the lowest in 46 months.

Rate falls were mainly seen in the construction, wholesale and retail trades, restaurants and hotels, and the amusement and recreational services sectors, offsetting rises seen in the manufacturing, sanitary services and education services sectors.

For the underemployment rate, falls were mainly seen in the construction, transport and wholesale trade sectors. The number of jobless was 216,000, little changed from May-July's figure. But the number of underemployed fell by 2,800 to 97,000.

Labour demand

Despite the continued entry of fresh graduates and school leavers, an increased proportion of these newcomers have found employment.

Looking ahead, labour demand is likely to continue to grow along with the sustained pick-up in overall economic activity. This will help relieve pressure on the unemployment rate in the coming months.

Overall labour market sentiment has remained positive. In August, the Labour Department received a record high of 46,619 job vacancies from the private sector, 29.7% up on July and a substantial rise of 58% on a year earlier.

On average, over 1,800 vacancies were received from the private sector on each working day in August, compared with the daily average of 1,600 vacancies in recent months.

At the same time, the department achieved another record high of 10,589 placements in August, up 8.5% over the previous peak of 9,761 in June and representing a significant surge of 37.8% over a year earlier.

Meanwhile, more than 14,000 applications have been received for this year's Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience & Training Scheme.