The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in the December to February period, from 4.9% in the November-January quarter. The underemployment rate also dropped from 2.2% to 2.1%.

The Census & Statistics Department said today the 4.6% figure was the lowest since November 2008-January 2009. In particular, the jobless rate of the 15-24 age group improved significantly, falling 1.2 percentage points to 9.9%. This was mainly due to the drop in the number of unemployed school leavers and people with post-secondary degrees.

The unemployment rate of the construction sector dropped to 7.3%, showing its job situation is steadily improving.

Work rise: Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung briefs reporters on the 4.6% drop in the jobless rate.

Market revival

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said the notable drop in the jobless rate was mainly due to a significant job gain of 7,900 led by the pick-up in overall economic activities.

Noting total employment recorded a solid increase of 8,600 in the November-January quarter, he said this shows the labour market is continuing to revive and many employers are in a stronger recruiting mood.

"Given the positive business sentiment and market feedback on vacancies, unemployment is likely to ease further in the next couple of months. Beyond that, the outlook will hinge on the external environment and the pace of economic growth, in particular, the number of jobs created for absorbing the new batch of fresh graduates and school leavers entering the labour market this summer," Mr Cheung said.

Total employment rose from 3,505,700 to 3,513,600, while the labour force increased from 3,672,000 to 3,672,700.

The number of unemployed people fell from 166,400 to 159,100, while the number of underemployed people dropped from 80,600 to 78,200.

Drops in the jobless rate were mainly found in the foundation and superstructure, retail and food services, cleaning activities and warehousing and support activities for the transportation sectors. For the underemployment rate, decreases were mainly seen in the decoration and maintenance, and transportation sectors.

Last month the Labour Department netted 40,088 vacancies from the private sector, down 16.2% on the preceding month due to fewer working days in February. The number of successful placements dropped from 10,607 in January to 9,517, but rose 9.3% over the same period last year.