Hong Kong’s Nov-Jan unemployment unchanged at 3.9%, outlook gloomy

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Job seekers wearing face masks fill in forms at a job fair amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, China October 29, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.9% in the November-January quarter, the government said on Monday, and the outlook is overshadowed by a surge in coronavirus cases that is piling pressure on the economy.

The figure was weighed by a COVID-19 outbreak fuelled by the contagious Omicron variant. It compared with 3.9% in the October-December period.

“The deterioration in the local epidemic situation of late will pose further pressure on the labour market,” the government said.