Hong Kong’s unemployment rate for the July-September period fell to a provisional 4.7%, a 62-month low, from 4.8% in the preceding three-month period.

Decreases in unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) were mainly seen in the sanitary services, construction and manufacturing sectors.

The territory’s underemployment rate also fell to a provisional 2.3% from 2.4% in the same comparison periods, with decreases seen in the foundation and superstructure construction, communications and restaurant sectors.

In the July-September period, total employment grew by around 23,100 to an all-time provisional high of 3,496,900 from the previous three-month period. The labor force also grew by 14,600 to a new provisional high of 3,677,300 in the same comparison periods.

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government spokesman noted that the labor market showed a broad-based improvement in the July-September period, as employers generally increased their staffing levels amid the sustained economic revival. Total employment expanded strongly to another record high of nearly 3.5 million. The near-term outlook will depend on the continued pick-up in overall economic activity giving rise to additional jobs for the workforce.