Hong Kong Unemployment Rate Projected to Increase

The unemployment rate in Hong Kong, which will be released this week, is expected to increase, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan on May 15. Despite the rise in unemployment rate, Chan mentioned that the semi-autonomous region would likely exhibit economic growth.

During the first quarter of this year, Hong Kong's unemployment rate recorded its highest increase of 5% in the past nine months. Chan wrote a blog about Hong Kong's adjusted economic growth forecast for 2022 where he mentioned that the employment situation depends on the severity of another wave.

In case the Omicron variant will not trigger another surge and social distancing measures will ease off, the economic situation will stabilise, the finance minister added.

On May 13, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for this year was reduced from 1% to 2%. In February, Chan announced a decline from 2% to 3.5%. Meanwhile, the ongoing tensions between China and the United States also affected geopolitical situations, rising inflation, and interest rate hikes.