Unemployment rose 0.1% to 3.2% from September to November, government figures showed. The jobless rate in the hard-hit tourism and catering sectors rose to 5.2 percent and 6.2 percent respectively. This was the highest level in the catering sector in eight years.
Hong Kong’s chief secretary, Matthew Cheung, said on Tuesday he was disappointed with recent protest violence after a period of relative calm, as the jobless rate rose sharply in the Asian financial hub’s catering and tourism sectors.
Cheung, speaking at a weekly press briefing, was referring to a protest on Sunday when police fired tear gas in late night street clashes - the first time tear gas had been used in nearly two weeks.
“The work of stopping the violence has not yet been completed, we need to keep working on it. At the same time, we need to put effort on resolving deep rooted problems,” Cheung said.
His comments came after the city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday. Xi offered Lam his support during these “most difficult times” of often violent anti-government protests.
China’s Premier Li Keqiang also called on the Hong Kong government to end the violence and address “deep-rooted issues in the economic and social development of Hong Kong”.
The financial hub has been embroiled in more than six months of anti-government protests which show no sign of abating and have weighed on the economy.
Unemployment rose 0.1% to 3.2% from September to November, government figures showed. The jobless rate in the hard-hit tourism and catering sectors rose to 5.2 percent and 6.2 percent respectively. This was the highest level in the catering sector in eight years.
“The labor market will be under even more pressure in the near term if the overall economy continues to weaken,” said Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong in a statement.
“The government will monitor the developments closely.”
More protests are scheduled across the city into Christmas week and the new year.
Protesters are angry about what they see as an encroachment by China on wide ranging autonomy Hong Kong was guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” framework which governs the former British colony and the neighboring casino hub of Macau.
China has rejected the complaints and blamed other countries, including the United States, for inciting the protests.
Xi is due to begin a three-day visit to Macau on Wednesday and security has been tightened.
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