Shortage of births goes from bad to worse in Hong Kong
Covid-19 health risks deter women from having babies
published : 25 Apr 2021 at 16:30
21 An official report on Hong Kong’s fertility rates released last December showed a declining trend over the past nearly four decades. (South China Morning Post photo)
HONG KONG: After seven years together, Poon and her fiance were ready to marry and start a family last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic spoiled their plans.
At 33, she worries that her chances of getting pregnant will decline as she grows older.
The Hong Konger, who works in finance and asked to be identified by only her surname, says she and her fiance, also 33, put their wedding plans on hold as the lockdown and travel restrictions meant their friends abroad could not come for the wedding.
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year but was still hovering around a 17-year high, with the city’s labour chief warning the job market may still face challenges in the near term.
The rolling figure for the three months ending in March edged down 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous period ending in February, the Census and Statistics Department revealed on Thursday.
About 259,800
people were out of a job in the latest period, roughly 1,800 fewer than the number recorded between December and February.
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Hong Kong s jobless rate retreats from 17-year high siasat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from siasat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
2021-04-22 09:35:18 GMT2021-04-22 17:35:18(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
HONG KONG, April 22 (Xinhua) Hong Kong s jobless rate declined in the first quarter of this year as the pressure on the labor market began to ease due to an abating COVID-19 epidemic, official data showed Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate retreated to 6.8 percent during the Jan.-March period, down from a 17-year high of 7.2 percent registered from Dec. to Feb., according to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. The labor market was under notable pressure in the first quarter of 2021, but the situation stabilized in the latter part of the quarter as the fourth wave of the local epidemic receded, Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said.