The latest seasonable unemployment between February and April 2009 went up from 5.2 percent to 5.3 percent, a 41-month high since October 2005, the government announced last week.

The 0.1 percent growth in unemployment was milder than the 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent rises respectively, in the two previous months. It was also the lowest increase since the outburst of the global financial tsunami in September last year, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung said.

The global economy is facing its worst depression in 60 years, he added. Given that the external economy remains bleak and uncertain and the labour market still sluggish, he envisaged the jobless rate would continue to rise in the near future.

And as thousands of graduates will enter the job market, the government has set aside funds for a series of youth employment and training programmes for their benefit. The Labour Department has also been granted a HK$400 million funding to launch a wide range of employment service projects to benefit people of various age groups, including the disabled, he said.

Cheung also said the Labour Department would organize two large-scale job fairs in the districts of Tsing Yi and Tung Chung in May and June. Together, they will provide 4,000 labour-intensive jobs for people with lesser education and skills.

On Tuesday, the AsiaWorld-Expo convention and exhibition centre, situated next to the airport, organized a job fair in the new town of Tung Chung, offering 150 full-time, part-time and temporary jobs for security officers, catering staff and cashiers.

Although not many job vacancies were offered, they did not require high education or skills level or previous working experience. They are therefore suitable for residents of a new town that is far away from the urban areas and which offered scarce job opportunities, like another new town in Tin Shui Wai.

The hourly rate for part-time and temporary jobs ranges from HK$30 to HK$50, depending on the nature of work. As for permanent jobs, the salary ranges from HK$5,000 to HK$10,000 per month.

Through prior appointment, more than 200 applicants were offered on-the-spot interviews while over 100 walk-in applicants were arranged to come for interviews later on.

In view of the zealous response, AsiaWorld-Expo is planning another job expo in Tung Chung.

Lawmaker Tam Yiu-chung, whose constituency covers both Tung Chung and Tin Shui Wai, noted that many residents in the Tung Chung neighbourhood face the problem of unemployment. Because of the limited number of available jobs, they need to pay considerable money and time commuting to their place of work in urban areas.

Although the residents can benefit from the government's travel allowance scheme, the most they can get is HK$3,600 (i.e. HK$600 per month x 6) but that does not help much. It will be best if the residents can find jobs in Tung Chung so they save on travelling time and transport fare, he said.

Chau Chuen-heung, vice-chairman of Island District Council and chairman of Hong Kong Outlying Islands Women's Association, said that despite the limited number of job vacancies, they could not have come at a better time as unemployment in Hong Kong continues to rise.

She said the large number of job applicants reflects clearly the acute employment need in the neighbourhood and the residents' willingness to earn their living with their own hands than to apply for social security.

As the jobs offer flexible working hours, they are suitable to housewives who live in Tung Chung as they can do part-time or temporary work while taking care of their families.

Among the applicants was widowed Madam Yim, in her late 30s, who wanted to be a full-time waitress at one of AsiaWorld-Expo's restaurants, but who said she could also settle for a part-time job.

She had worked as a waitress before arriving from the mainland in 2005. In Hong Kong, she worked as a cashier in a supermarket, but she quit work a year ago after her husband's death. She has since been living on social security but she now wants to find a job to support herself and her son, who is studying secondary one.

Mr. Lau, 59, who worked for 20 years in the security sector, including experience at supervisory level, wants to apply for a similar job. For about two years, he has been out of work and has been relying on social security.

Lam Hiu-tung, 20, a repeat fifth former, wants to apply for a job as a cashier or waitress whilst awaiting the open examination results. If the results remain unfavourable, she plans to find a full-time job.

She lives with her parents and a younger sister. Although her parents are both employed, she wants to ease their financial burden especially because her younger sister, who is on secondary three, needs to buy new sets of expensive textbooks under the revamped education system in the new school year.

All of them want to work in Tung Chung to save on travelling time and transport fares.

(HK Edition 06/05/2009 page4)