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

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.