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Hong Kong Finance Chief Expects Jobless Rate to Top 16-Year High

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Attendees fill in forms at partitioned booths at the Wan Chai Job Fair in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. Hong Kong's jobless rate for the July-to-September period increased to 6.4%, a 16-year high, as the service industry virtually shut down because of the pandemic.
Attendees fill in forms at partitioned booths at the Wan Chai Job Fair in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. Hong Kong's jobless rate for the July-to-September period increased to 6.4%, a 16-year high, as the service industry virtually shut down because of the pandemic.

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s unemployment rate for the three months ended December is likely to exceed the highest level in 16 years because of the impact of tightened coronavirus restrictions, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on his blog Sunday.

The latest jobless rate is scheduled to be released Tuesday. Unemployment stood at a high of 6.4% for the three months ended October, matching a high from January 2005.

Chan said he expected more business closures and layoffs in the city after the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, if the coronavirus situation isn’t brought under control soon.

“The Lunar New Year is usually a time when businesses such as retail and restaurants are the most prosperous and highest earning, but currently they are being severely affected by the epidemic,” Chan wrote.