Don't blame imported workers for Hong Kong's 30-month-high unemployment rate: minister
Hong Kong's labour chief has stressed that importing workers contributed very little to the 30-month-high unemployment rate recorded for March to May, while highlighting measures introduced to protect residents from being replaced by cheaper overseas candidates.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Wednesday that the city's 3.5 per cent unemployment rate for the latest rolling three-month period, the highest since the October to December stretch in 2022, had little to do with the imported labour scheme.
'The number of foreign workers who came to Hong Kong through the scheme is about 55,000, which is less than 1 per cent of our workforce,' he told a radio programme.
'So they have had little impact on the movement of our overall labour market.'
He attributed the recent figure to Hong Kong's economy undergoing a transition and uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions, but said he remained optimistic about the city's projected economic growth of 2 to 3 per cent for this year.
On Tuesday, the Labour Department introduced new measures to 'safeguard employment priority' for local workers, amid increasing complaints from residents that they were replaced by cheaper foreign labour.
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