On track: The jobless rate stands at 3.3% while the underemployment rate has grown to 1.9%.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 3.3% in the April-June period, unchanged from March-May, the Census & Statistics Department says. The underemployment rate nudged up from 1.8% to 1.9%

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said although the labour market remained active there is no room for complacency given the uncertainties in the external economic environment and the local skills-mismatch problem.

In the next few months, with the entry of fresh graduates and school leavers in the employment market, the near-term employment outlook will mainly hinge on whether the pace of job creation in the economy is sufficient to absorb the newcomers, he added.

Total employment

Total employment dropped 1,200 to 3,532,500 while the labour force fell 1,900 to 3,653,900. The number of unemployed persons dropped 600 to 121,500, and the number of underemployed persons rose 600 to 67,800.

Jobless rate dips were mainly seen in the restaurants and hotels, communications, and miscellaneous personal-services sectors, while increases were more apparent in the construction and insurance sectors.

Underemployment rate rises were mainly seen in the transport, and welfare and community-services sectors.

In June the Labour Department posted 51,845 private-sector vacancies, up 24.3% over the same period last year. In the first six months, the department posted 330,087 private-sector vacancies, up 32.4% over the same period last year.